Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

                                                                                                   official fanfic art

Chapter 1

The fifth-grade boys were once again harassing the youngest ones in the neighborhood. It was becoming increasingly common every day, and their actions were growing more aggressive with each incident.  This was usually what happened when no one stopped right at the beginning; the limit widened further each time. I was around ten years old at the time and I was returning home when I saw them playing a trick on another kid. The boy was already scratched and with signs that he had been bullied.

With determined steps, I walked towards them and shouted:

“Hey, you idiots. Stop this now!” I positioned myself between the kid and the boys. They were so big… I felt my body shake.

“Huh, who are you? His girlfriend?”  one of them mocked.

“She's that useless without quirk who hangs out with the blond guy that causes explosions” another chimed in.

The two looked at each other and then looked at the boy behind me.

“Tsk, whatever”. He muttered, grabbing my shirt collar and hoisting me up.  “Next time you want to play the heroine, at least bring your little friend along”.

The boy behind me ran away, leaving me there, alone.

“Look what you've done, useless. Now you will take his place”.

I bit my lip, recalling that event on my way to school. On that day, I couldn't "save" the young boy and I was still beaten by the older boys, leading to a serious discussion afterwards among the parents. It was always caused problems, even though, in the end, the boys still took it easy on me because I was a girl. Still, I got beaten up without being able to defend myself properly. Existing without a quirk has always been a tremendous struggle for me.

 It all started in the city of Qing Qing in China, when news broke about the birth of a glowing, mysterious baby. Shortly after, similar phenomena began to appear all over the world, people started being born with superpowers. What used to be something extraordinary is now commonplace. 80% of the world's population has developed these unique abilities, and a new era has begun: that of the superhumans. In this world full of chaos, a new profession has emerged, the superheroes.

The big problem is that in this fantastic world where people could achieve the impossible, I was precisely in those 20% with outdated genetics, people with the remnants of the past: I didn't have any quirk. What was once common and normal has now become uncommon. But that barrier wouldn't stop me from fulfilling my big dream: to be a heroine. Preferably one as great as Japan's No.1 hero: All Might.

As I continued to walk, a loud bang caught my attention. A fight had erupted in the middle of the city! A villain the size of a building and a ridiculously pointy nose destroyed everything around while screaming. I know, I shouldn't have been so excited to see a villain in action. But I joined the crowd of onlookers and moved closer.

“Who is fighting?” I asked, hoping that one of the strangers would answer me, but they didn't have to. The hero soon appeared.

“AAAAAA, this is Kamui Woods!!! So this is that rookie hero who is catching the spotlight”. I hurriedly grabbed my notebook from my backpack.

We were too far away to hear the conversation between the villain and the hero, but based on the position of the attacks I'd say that Kamui had unleashed his " Lacquered Chain Prison" move - his limbs stretched, forming a wooden chain that held the villain. I must have been mumbling about it – I had this hard-to-miss mania, because an old man next to me looked at me and smiled.

“You really like to talk huh! Are you a hero fanatic by any chance?”

I smiled back and shrugged my shoulders as if to say “maybe” because I was too embarrassed to admit to a stranger that yes, I was a mega hero fanatic.

 I turned my eyes toward the ongoing fight, expecting to see Kamui finishing the arrest of the villain, but something really unexpected happened, a giant butt, that's right, giant butt, soared over our heads, followed by colossal feet striking the villain, who fell unconscious still tied.

The person, owner of that ass, was an equally giant girl, with a beautiful body and blonde hair that reached her waist, however she had an attitude somewhat... well.

She turned to us and shouted:

“My name is Mount Lady! Nice to meet you, and leave the rest to me. Please don’t meddle”.

I wasn't exactly sure whether she said that to the crowd or to the heroes, since her ass was facing us and only tilted her head slightly to speak. The guys around her started taking pictures of her…ergh, gross. I'm definitely not going to wear anything that sticks to my ass as much as that.

Those were the heroes, paid by the government, recognized by the population. They needed to go through training and approval, a regulated profession, a way they had found to stop the rise in the crime rate that came with the fact that 80% of the population had the super power to do whatever they wanted. Good or bad.

I took my pad out of my bag and started to write down about this new heroine. I started mumbling again.

"Gigantification… as a quirk it’s very good at drawing people's attention, but doesn’t it end up limiting who uses it? Bearing in mind that it is quite easy to do damage to the city while the hero does her job, but this is quite relative if she has good control."    

“Are you taking notes?” the same old man came closer to me to look at my notebook.  “You intend to become a heroine, do you? Nice! Good luck, girl!”

I was a little embarrassed again, but this time I replied:

“Yes sir! I will do my best!”

I continued on my way to school. The day began with the teacher’s booming voice echoing in our ears:

 “Come on, class! You’re in your final year of junior high school! It's time to start thinking seriously about the future! I’ll be handing the vocational! But I bet everyone here wants to be a hero, right?”

The class erupted in euphoria as I silently raised my hand, not wanting to draw too much attention to myself. Especially with a certain person there.

 “As I suspected,” continued the professor. “The quirks possessed by almost of you are magnificent. Perhaps some of you truly stand a chance.”

“Teacher, don't lump me with the rest!”

Oh, that voice. It gave me a mixture of agony and ‘I don't know what’ feeling. Bakugou Katsuki. Or Kacchan.

 “Don't compare me to those losers with shitty quirks! Mine is on a completely different level”. Kacchan proclaimed, propping his foot on his own desk.

We had known each other forever, living in the same neighborhood and being the same age.

 He was a boy who was always yelling, gradually developing a penchant for foul language. Even his face always had an irritated look (or at least it was when he was in my presence). His eyes were reddish brown, and his hair was a dull blonde, almost beige and all spiky. We used to be best friends, until when we entered junior high school about three years ago. Since then, he started ignoring me and treating me badly. And I never discovered why.

“You have a huge mouth, Katsuki!” replied a boy in the room. I kept looking straight ahead pretending I wasn't even there, I didn't want him to glance at me for even a second during that argument.

 “Quiet, you bunch of garbage!”

 The room fell into silent, a testament to the lack of manners exhibited by one person... But another student said:

“Oh, yeah, I forgot... Bakugou intends to enter U.A, doesn’t he?” he said, laughing.

 “You mean that national-level academy? Isn't the entrance exam difficulty level there set at 79% approval?” added another.

 “Have you finished talking, you trash?” shouted Kacchan. “I got "A" in the simulations! And I'm the only one in this school who stands a chance!” Kacchan, to the surprise of no one, climbed up on his desk to scream even louder. “I’ll surpass even that cretin superhero, All Might, and I will be the greatest hero of all!!”

You don't have anything else to add?

“ Now that you mention it, wasn't Midoriya the one who also wanted to join U.A?” Some student had to open his mouth unnecessarily.

The classroom fell silent again, including Kacchan, for a few seconds. Soon everyone started laughing, my face turned red to the tips of my ears.

"HAAAA? Midoriya ?! No fucking way !!!" laughed one of the students.

“For a person who can do nothing but study, being a hero will never be more than a dream”. continued the other.

My classmates continued to laugh and insult me, I was used to it. But generally I didn't accept in silence. I got up and leaned on my desk, feeling a bit unsure:

“I know there haven't been cases of people like me becoming heroes, but I can be the first!”

“Fuck you, Deku.” Kacchan approached me, grinding his teeth together. I took a few steps back, trying to create some distance between us, but it only served to pushed me against wall. No one in the room reacted, not even the teacher. Perhaps it was fear of his personality – or they simply didn’t care about a quirkless. I looked Kacchan in the eyes, it bothered me – looking at him. It was a discomfort as it reminded me of my best friend who had become a psychological abuser, constantly calling me “Deku”. “Forget what I said about having a shitty Quirk. You're even worse because you don't have any”. He practically shouted in my face. I struggled to comprehend how he could be so angry with me all the time, but as time passed, I lost the opportunity and courage to ask. I just continued to stare at him silently, counting the seconds until it was over. “Then why do you want to compare yourself to me? Put yourself on my level?”

I sighed, he always got things wrong.

“Calm down, Kacchan, it's not that”. My voice came out a little shaky, I hated that side of me, I just wanted to give a firmer answer, but whenever I argued with Kacchan I felt stupid than usual, weaker. “I'm not trying to compete with you, I'm just living my own dreams, minding my own business. You know my dreams. And at least I have to try”.

Of course, he knew about my dreams. We had planned them together when we were little.

And anyway, you have nothing to do with it, asshole. I wanted to retort, but I didn't have the courage. Kacchan screamed so loudly that the voice echoed to the depths of my brain.

“DO YOU AT LEAST HAVE TO TRY?” Damn, he should try to be a rock singer after that demo. “The entrance exam will be a waste for someone for you! What's an idiot like you going to do there besides get hurt all over?”

I sighed once more, I don't know if he was expecting any answers, but I just patted his shoulder and walked over to my desk. Nothing new under the sun. The Professor pretended as if nothing had happened, continuing the class – quite professional of him. And Kacchan continued to stand there behind my desk, glaring at me as irritated as ever, until the professor asked him to go back to his seat.

The class continued and all those events in the room weighed heavily on my spirits, causing them to plummet. I felt exhausted and afraid that Kacchan was right: that I couldn't do anything in the entrance exam.

I shook my head, pushing those thoughts away, I couldn't let myself go. I took my cell phone and opened the news, what happened in the morning was on all the sites. I needed to rush home and jot down everything I had witnessed about the techniques of heroes and the villain, so I wouldn't forget. However, as I was about to pack my belongings, I heard that voice again.

“We're not done yet, Deku.” Kacchan grabbed my hero notebook from the table before I could stow it away.

 “What is this, Katsuki?”  One of the boys from his gang approached "For the future... Really?! Holy shit, Midoriya!”

“A diary for the future, huh?”  chimed the second boy. “What a pussy thing”.

“Give it back, it's mine.” I pleaded.

Ignoring my plea, Kacchan pressed his hands together, sandwiching the notebook between them, and with a "puff", burst into flames from the explosion he generated. I looked at him with tears welling up in the corners of my eyes. I refused to cry in front of him, but sometimes it was truly difficult...

“Why...?” I asked with a cracking voice.

His look...

"Do you know what they say about all the great heroes?" He got very close to me, my body stiffened, I looked at his mouth so I wouldn't have to face him. “What did they always say about their time in school? ‘I came from a humble public school, I ranked first and I was the only one there too!’ And I want to ensure that the term "graduate in U.A" keeps the same level. Because I’m a damn perfectionist, can’t you tell?”.

 Petty. He threw the remains of my notebook out the window.

 “In other words” Kacchan grabbed my chin, lifting it to make me meet his gaze. “Forget about U.A, you fucking nerd”.

I held my breath, he was too close. If I gave him a headbutt, would he faint and I be in peace? But my body did not respond. Hitting him wasn't really my thing.

 Bakugou's bunch began to leave, and he finally released his grip on my chin. I realized my body was trembling and I couldn’t even find my voice to speak.

“Man, she doesn't even say a word,” his colleague said.

“Leave her. It's truly pathetic that even now in the last year, she still can't face reality”. He stopped and looked back at me. “If you’re so desperate to become a heroine, there is a good method for it. In case you believe they are guarding your quirk in the other world...you should try jumping off the terrace and see what happens”.

For the first time I looked at him with hatred. He smiled and activated his Quirk causing small explosions in his palm.

“Are you going to say something?”

I was quiet and still. He's gone.

I went looking for my notebook that he threw out the window, it had fallen into the pond and the fish were trying to eat.

Are you crazy, Kacchan? If I really did that, it would be as if you had tricked me into suicide and might even be arrested. Think before you speak.

 I've never seen Kacchan so angry with me. I placed my hand on my chin where he had placed it.

 “Idiot…don't go around touching a girl like a rude pig like that”.

I sat on the edge of the tank, still suppressing my tears, but I couldn't stay there any longer, so I began the way home, remembering when I was younger. Of how I asked my mother to replay that old recording over and over again.

"That again? You watch this video so much it must have thousands of views, Izuku. Mother is afraid to see it" she said with a smile on her face.

In the video, on moments of tension after a disaster, a guy shouted:

"He has rescued more than 100 people! It's unbelievable !! And it hasn't even been 10 minutes !! Unbelievable, just unbelievable!"

Then, among the flames, a new hero appeared, his debut, laughing, carrying more than 5 people at the same time.      
Rest assured, do you know why? BECAUSE I'M HERE"  
At that time in the video I shouted together. 
"Mommy, Mommy, when I have my quirk, I will be like that!"        
She stroked my head with a smile.    
It was on that same week that I heard from the mouth of a fat doctor:
"Better to give up”    
My world completely crumbled as the doctor explained the concept of human evolution and how I was a human of the last generation. There was a study stating that humans lost both joints in the little finger because they were useless, at the same time that they gained their quirks. And that's who I was, a human with two toe joints and no superpowers. I remember being in a state of shock, when I got home I asked my mom to put that video back on while she hugged me in tears and repeatedly apologized to me.

Apologies? It was not what I wanted to hear. I had made a decision, I would never forget, I would never give up, I would lift my head up and continue!       
"A disguise size M"

That voice was hideous and it scared me, I looked back in fear of what I would see. A dark green slime with two eyes and a mouth stared at me. I didn't have time to react, he started to surround my body.

"That's it, I'm going to die here" I thought.

Chapter Text

POV: All Might

 My muscles ached, my breathing was tired. Who would have guessed that years of work and dedication would end like this? I even felt like an old man rambling. Not that there was much I could do, other than keep moving forward. I walked slowly in my miserable current form through the streets when someone screamed

"Help! Someone stole my purse!"

 I looked to the side, a guy covered in greenish mud was running with a bag in his hand. Two boys ahead of me were talking.

"Someone always comes quickly. Did the guy enjoy this morning's mess? These crimes never end". 

Something burned inside me. I inflated my muscles and automatically was already in that glorious form that everyone knew.

"It does have an end! Do you know why ?! Because I’m here!"

The boys gave euphoric screams when they looked back and I opened my widest smile.

Chapter Text

I strugled with all the strength I had, which unfortunately wasn't much, I couldn't think of anything but being alive, the things I still had to do. That I wanted to do.

“For God’s sake girl, stop moving, it won't hurt a thing. I'll borrow your body for a bit and then return it. We can even have some fun later, what do you think?” He sneered with a villainous laugh. “If he thinks he could capture me in this liquid form he’s sorely mistaken.”

That green goo began to wrap my whole body, creeping up to my mouth, like it was trying to get into my throat. My breath grew shallow, and I could feel the oxygen escaping me. I refuse to die at the hands of a disgusting pedophile villain. Please, please, anyone, save me. I can’t die here. Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes.

“Don't worry, my girl.

That voice.

“Because I'm here.”

I didn't quite understand what happened – a massive blast of air threw the villain away from me, I fell to the floor almost unconscious. It was him. All Might! I recognized him only by the voice and still didn't believe what I was seeing. He crouched down in front of me and gently shook me.

“Hey, wake up…”

I mustered all my strength to sit up, I still couldn't breathe properly and I would say it was more from the nervousness of seeing him than from the almost asphyxiation the villain caused.

I tried to touch him to see if he was real.

 "Hooooow?”  My voice sounded squeaky. The question was more like" How on earth did I end up meeting All Might here?", but he didn't understand it that way.

“The most important thing is that you're okay! Sorry for involving you in this, little girl, I think I was careless because I'm in unknown lands!”

All Might stood before me, a towering figure with bulging muscles that seemed to burst out of his clothes. His smile was larger than life, capable of lighting up not just the neighborhood, but the entire city.         

 I still didn't know what to say when he showed me a two-liter plastic bottle containing the captured villain in its disgusting liquid form.

 “But thanks to you, I managed to apprehend him, and we managed to arrest the villain without any complications!”

 He gave me a thumbs-up with his other hand. My God, it's really him. He's so fantastic. He's here in the flesh. On TV he doesn't look as big as he really is, fantastic. My God.

I reached for my backpack.

“Please, may I have your autograph?”

When I picked up the notebook I was surprised that it was already signed. And filling an entire page! I bowed, I didn't want to look like a hysterical fan, but I think it was too late for that.

“MY GOD, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'll treasure this as my most precious item!”

“Well, I need to head back. Heroes must constantly fight villains and time.”

All Might turned, clearly in a rush. But I still wanted to ask him so much, I approached him, I couldn't let him go. I had to ask him that ONE question.

“I count on you to keep supporting me in the future!”

He prepared to jump and without even thinking I ended up holding his leg, it was too fast, in a mere fraction of a second we were soaring at an incredible height and tremendous speed. The wind rushed against my face and I clung to him as if my life depended on it. Because it really did. All Might glanced down at his legs, visibly uncomfortable.

“What are you doing? Release me! You don't have to be such an ardent fan.”

“If I let go now, I'll die” I even tightened my grip on his legs, fearing the fall. In a louder tone, almost verging on a scream, I continued “And I have something important to ask you!”

“All right! Just stop moving!”

All Might landed on the roof of a small building. As my feet touched the ground, my legs quivered uncontrollably. I couldn’t believe I had survived.

“That was so scary …”

I felt like my spirit was about to leave my body.

“If you didn’t want to be scared, you shoundn’t have grabbed onto me. Now I have to go, I don't have time to fool around.”

“Wait!”

 “Nope.”

He turned his back on me again, such a hurried man. 

 “Is it possible for someone without a quirk to become a hero like you?” I asked and All Might stopped walking. It was my chance, I looked at my hands nervously and continued to talk. “I don't have a quirk, everyone makes fun of me because of that, they treat me like trash. But you know, I think it's really fantastic to be able to save others, to be able to bring hope.”  I squeezed my hands. “I want to be able to save others, to be able to face fear with a smile on my face, I want to be a hero as respectable as you are ....”

As I looked up to gauge All Might's reaction, my heart sank. Instead of the towering figure of the Symbol of Peace, I saw a frail and gaunt man with sunken cheeks and dark circles under his eyes. The only semblance of resemblance was the familiar shade of his hair. 

“WHAT? Are you an impostor? It wasn't All Might to begin with.” 

“I'm All Might” The skeleton's voice was similar to the previous form, but in a less cheerful and inspiring tone. 

"I refuse to believe it.”

“I just inflate my muscles, like the guys at the pool do.”

What? I don't think that was even possible, he didn't inflate his muscles, he just had two totally different bodies. 

 “Facing fear with a smile on your face …” This All Might's voice took on a somber tone too, while one was hope, this one was a little, well, hopelessness. He lifted his shirt and I could see a ghastly bruise on his chest. The scar resembled several jagged cracks that stretched across his left side. It was difficult to even look at. That kind of bruise that would always hurt in the cold even when healed. 

 “This is a wound from a fight five years ago. It almost completely destroyed my respiratory system and I had to remove part of my stomach. This depressing and thin appearance of mine has irreversible consequences from countless surgeries. Currently, I can stay in that shape for a maximum of 3 hours. I ask you not to tell anyone, no one in the public can know. The "Symbol of Peace" that saves others with a smile ... cannot allow itself to bend its knees to evil. I smile to deflect the fear that I feel and the strong pressure that it is to be a hero.” 

 My legs started shaking slightly again as I listened to All Might's speech, I already knew where it was heading, but I didn't want to hear it, I didn't want to. I put my trembling hands on the sides of my face, hoping to drown out his words. Nevertheless, he continued:

 “Professionals put their lives at risk every day. Thus, I can't say openly that becoming a hero is possible for someone without a quirk.”

 My world fell apart. If my legs and hands were shaking before, now it was my entire being. I clenched my teeth, I didn't want to believe what I was hearing.

 “If you really want to help people, you should become a police officer. It’s a noble profession that needs more representation from strong and dedicated women. I’m certain you’ll find a place there.”

 The withered version of All Might started to walk towards the exit door. 

“Dreaming is not a sin, but it's also important to keep your feet on the ground, girl.”

I squatted on the floor, watching him go without even glance back. The urge to cry overwhelmed me, but no tears would come.  

I don't know how many minutes I stood there in that position, but when I got up to leave, my knee hurt and there was no sign of All Might anymore. Slowly, I started walking home, his words of discouragement echoing in my mind. Tears came slowly.

Even the greatest hero of all told me to stop dreaming.

I was pathetic. 14 years old and still dreaming like a naive child. It was obvious that he would say what he did. Deep down, maybe I knew it too, but I refused to accept what everyone was telling me. Kacchan came to my mind, his irritating voice echoing, calling me useless over the past 3 years. Perhaps he was doing me a favor, I should have listened to him before. Was it my pathetic and stubborn spirit that irritated him so much?

 “Police Officer” he said. I don't know if I would be able to in this pitiful state. For those years I only dreamed.

Suddenly, I heard screams.

I was walking so absentmindedly that I only noticed the commotion when I passed in front. On the other side of the street a crowd was watching some kind of attack. Well, it didn't matter anymore, I no longer needed to write anything down or cling to false hopes. Feet on the ground girl, feet on the ground.

But my feet on the ground ended up even taking me closer to the crowd, I would not stop being so curious at the snap of a finger, a little peek wouldn’t kill right? After all, look at all those people watching too. I stood up on tiptoe and couldn't believe what I saw.

That gooey villain. It couldn't be! How did he escape? It was certainly my fault, by the time I grabbed All Might's leg irresponsibly, the bottle must have fallen ... The crowd was saying something about him catching a child. I approached, shivering with nervousness, someone was taken hostage because of me. The heroes there couldn't even do anything from fear that they would hurt him. They would have to wait for someone with a quirk that fit the situation. I kept walking forward.

Sorry, sorry, sorry, besides being useless I even put your life at risk.

The person's body was almost completely covered. Reddish brown eyes appeared among the slime-green goo.

Kacchan. His look was so desperate.

I started running towards him. I heard the shouts of the heroes behind me telling me to stop. But I didn't. There was so little left to get close, why did I do that? What would I do now?

I threw the backpack right at the middle of the villain, where Kacchan's stomach would be. Then I threw myself at the same place and started clawing the sludge of his face in a desperate and awkward way.

“Why you?” Kacchan was agonizing, it was a mixture of his voice and that of the villain who was forcing its way through his mouth. But in the same angry tone as him.

“I don't know! I just saw you and ran towards you.” Tears started streaming down my cheeks – what a great time to cry. The sludge returned as I took it out. I didn't want to die and I couldn't let him die, no way.  “Your face ... It was the face of someone who needed help, Kacchan. I needed to help you.”

The villain started to grab my arm and it was getting harder and harder to move.

 “STOP” I didn't know who was shouting, the villain or Kacchan.

I didn't know what to do. That's when I felt that air pressure. While I was surprised, I was also relieved, now I would be safe. My hand was gripping Kacchan's arm and I felt someone holding it too.

“How can I say one thing and do another? A hero always puts their life at stake in what they do!”

Yes, All Might. The blast divided the villain into several blobs of goo and I didn't go flying only because he was holding us.

It all happened in seconds, out of nowhere I was lying on the ground panting while still holding Kacchan's hand. He looked terrible. The rain started to fall and run down my face.

I was alive. Kacchan was alive. Everything would be fine.

“The guy made it rain with a hit! INSANE” People shouted.

"Let go of me," Kacchan said, but more like a low growl, he didn't look at me with the usual hatred, but I wouldn't say it was gratitude. I hadn't noticed that still held his hand with enormous strength. I took my hand away without saying anything. What an ungrateful boy.

For the next hour, I heard a sermon from several heroes of how crazy and foolish I was and that I should never do that again. On the other hand, Kacchan only heard praise about how he resisted bravely using his quirk. I sighed. It's life. How difficult it is for people to praise a woman for being brave?

When they finally released me, I collected my belongings and walked home, my mother would be crazy when she found out everything that happened – if she hadn't already seen it on television. Nowadays everyone was filming everything on cell phone.

I would have to apologize to All Might too, maybe send an apology to his website?

“Deku!”

Here it comes…

Kacchan came towards me, he looked like an angry pinscher shaking and complaining.

I always had a mixture of respect, fear and admiration for him, but now, after trying to save him and having to face the pinscher in front of me, I started to get irritated by him.

"I didn't ask you to save me," he snarled. Yeah, just like a pinscher . “I could have done it myself. You remain a Deku, useless, quirkless. Don't think I'm going to thank or owe you any favors. You fucking nerd.”     

My day had already sucked and I still had to put up with that. But I stood quiet and wore my best poker face. I saw him turn and walk away stomping his feet in irritation. There would be no reason to argue, it all happened because of me. And in the end he was right, I really was worthless. At least we wouldn't go to the same high school anymore.

“I'M HERE” All Might came running in front of me, I was so surprised that I fell, sitting on the floor.

 “All Might? What in the world?? What are you doing here? Weren't you giving an interview?”

“I'm great at running away from reporters'' He held out his muscular hand to me. “Because I'm All Might after all …”

 Before I could take his hand, he coughed up blood and a cloud of smoke appeared between us, when it dissipated, the hand that was reaching out to me was the thin one.

  “My girl, I came here to apologize to you and make you a proposal.”

  I looked at his hand for a few seconds. Okay, okay, it was All Might, but a man making a proposal to a 14 year old girl should always be questioned. After all, isn’t there a saying, "Never meet your idols?" Even so I accepted his help to get up, that hand was really so thin, it seemed that even I could break it. It gave me chills. 

“If it weren't for you, and your story, I would have continued to be just a muscular hypocrite.”

“It was my fault that all that happened, I hindered all your work and still put mine and Kacchan's life at risk without even having a quirk.”

“IT WAS YOU” All Might shouted so loudly in that hoarse sick voice that I jumped back. “The most fearful, the one without a quirk, the only one who took a step at that time! You inspired me to act.”

I looked at him in a mixture of ecstasy and confusion. This time it was me who was shaking.

“Generally, the greatest heroes of all time tell stories from the time they were students and most say the same thing. "When I realized, I was already acting", it was like that for you, wasn't it?”

I leaned forward crying.

"It was," I said.

The only thing that came to my mind at that time was my mother's voice repeatedly apologizing for me not having a quirk. The crying started to come out without any control. It wasn't what I wanted to hear, mom. I just wanted your support, I wanted to feel able to get over it, I wanted you to support my dreams with love even though they were difficult and to stay on my side cheering. I dropped to my knees on the floor, crying so hard it felt like my head was going to explode. All Might said what I always wanted to hear from my mother.

 “You can become a heroine.”

Chapter Text

POV: Bakugo

That wretched nerd.

I had just thrown her precious notebook out the window, and yet she was looking at me with that simple smile and poker face. She shouldn't think I deserved an answer—and it just made me even angrier. Who did that useless think she was?

We were already on our way back home. In front of the school, I glanced at the terrace and then kept walking.

“Hey, isn't she your childhood friend?” said one of my classmates.

“Exaggerated a little this time, huh, Bakugo?” said another who was walking beside him. “But she's pretty—it gives a little pleasure to annoy her.”

I held out my hand and launched an explosion at his foot, and he fell to the ground complaining. What I really wanted was to blow that motherfucker's head off.

“She always gets in my way, so it's her fault. These idiots who live dreaming and don't grow up piss me off.”

I reached out to the other one who was standing.

“I already told you not to smoke at my side. If they catch us, I’m screwed too.”

“Hey, hey, hey—”

The one on the floor pointed behind me.

“Finally I’ve found a disguise with a nice quirk.”

I didn’t have time to turn around—something gooey stuck to me. A villain. I started hitting him with my explosions, but every time I blew him apart, he took shape again. Shit. A totally advantageous quirk over mine—that shit didn’t burn.

I don’t know how much time passed. People were huddling together and even some shitty heroes were just staring at me with pouty faces. The disgusting goo tried to enter my throat; I was panting and barely able to breathe.

Everything around us was already destroyed by so many explosions. I wasn't going to let that wretched thing take over my body. What were those fucking heroes doing? Were they not going to help me? Would I have to solve it myself? Could I even solve it myself? I started to lose hope as my blasts weakened from exhaustion.

The crowd started to shout—someone came running toward us. Finally, a decent hero would save me. It was about time.

But I didn’t want to believe it when I saw who was sacrificing herself in front of me, trying to pull the mud off my body with her bare hands.

Midoriya. Her face was red from the effort, and tears wouldn’t stop streaming down.

I didn’t know what to feel—what the fuck was that?

“Why you?” I managed to yell.

The villain would kill her. He started to get angrier, speeding up the process of taking over my body.

“I don’t know! I just saw you and started running.” Midoriya managed to grab my arm and started pulling me. “Your face... it was the face of someone who needed help, Kacchan. I needed to help you.”

“STOP.” The villain used my mouth to speak. I could barely breathe. “Just a little longer—get out.”

I tried to use my last strength to launch more explosions. The image of her dying there with me boiled my blood, but I started to lose consciousness from suffocation. Everything else was blurry. All Might himself came and saved us. When I fully recovered, I was lying on the floor, and Midoriya just wouldn’t let go of my fucking hand. She was squeezing it so hard it looked like she wanted to break it.

“Let go of me,” I said, and only then did she notice. She let go and blushed. The paramedics came to my rescue, but I had nothing that needed treatment, so they released me to go home.

Now I was hearing some of those shitty heroes who didn’t save me praising me for holding on for so long.

I wouldn’t have had to endure that much if you were useful.

At a certain point I stopped listening and could only look at Midoriya, an extraordinary anger burning inside me. I could see that her hands were bruised, rubbing her right palm with her left thumb, but she said nothing to the paramedics.

Again. “Face of someone who needed help.” Again that shitty nerd thought I was worthless. She was the useless one here. To be saved by someone without a quirk... If All Might hadn’t shown up, she would have died, and I would have been just a dummy for a villain.

She noticed I was staring at her, smiled with that annoying face she always had, waved, and walked away.

It took me a few minutes to get rid of all that nonsense and the people who wanted to interview me. They can all go to hell with their interviews. When I finally caught up with Midoriya, we were already close to our neighborhood.

“Deku!” I called.

She turned around. Her fingertips were scraped, her eyes a little swollen from crying, and her hair all tousled and wet from the rain All Might caused. Pathetic.

“I didn’t ask you to save me.” The anger I felt was so much I didn’t even know the origin anymore. I couldn’t stand that way of hers—and now, while I was speaking, she looked at me with that face like she wasn’t even listening, or worse, like she didn’t care about anything I said. “I could have done it myself. You remain a Deku—useless, quirkless. Don’t think I’m going to thank you or owe you any favors. You fucking nerd.”

I turned to go. I didn’t wait for an answer—she never bothered to answer. She probably thought she was too good to argue with me.

Chapter Text

I didn't know that there were so many muscles in the body that could hurt. My routine had become exhausting in the past few weeks, but I faced it with all the excitement in the world.

It had been exactly 15 days since that event changed my whole life. All Might, right in front of me, saying that I could be a heroine. That day he also explained to me about his quirk: One for All, the power to transfer his own strength to another. His quirk was passed on from generation to generation, its strength increased with each user and I would be next, but I needed to prepare my body first.

“You're still very weak; your body would explode if you received the One for All.”

So that was it, with a new hope for my days, I started training like crazy. I would wake up at 5 am and go for a run, come back, have a hearty breakfast, go to school and afterwards meet All Might at the edge of a filthy beach where we stayed until nightfall, come home, have dinner, do homework, and finally go to sleep.

All Might wanted me to clean up that whole beachfront where, for years, the city population had thrown away trash. There was everything there: old furniture, tires and pieces of cars. I even had to push a broken-down minivan. That day I threw up from the effort, and All Might started to worry if he was overdoing it.

“No!” I yelled, I didn’t want him to take it easy on me “If I don't try harder than anyone, I know I'm not going anywhere. I need to enter the U.A!” All Might gave that usual big smile.

“So, let's continue with my 'American dream' plan to join the U.A!”

And so, the days went by. Despite all the physical exhaustion, the worst thing was going to school always tired, mainly because I couldn't let my grades drop in any way. One day I was scolded by the teacher for being "muttering like crazy" about training and the U.A in the middle of the class; and the other day I was caught sleeping in the classroom.

I was also using the breaks to sleep in some strategic corners of the school. And some people who used to talk to me started commenting on my strange attitudes and how my body was changing.

After 5 months of training, my body, which used to be very skinny, started to gain some muscles, not many, but enough to be noticed. That day I went to one of my places to sleep, one of the best, the stairs between the gym and the equipment room, or even inside the equipment room itself. I would only lean in a few gym mats and that was it, I slept. It was exactly what I was doing at that moment, I dragged some mats to the darkest corner and lay down, my body hurting so much ... I set my phone alarm for 15 minutes and fell asleep in seconds.

In my dreams I heard Kacchan's voice, it wasn’t so rare for me to dream about him, after all, we were friends since childhood. Since the accident with that villain, Kacchan wouldn’t come near me or talk to me anymore, but sometimes I caught him staring at me with that face like he wanted to throw me out the window.

When I woke up I felt strange, there was something on top of me, it was a mat. So oddly, I didn't remember doing that, it must have been leaning against the wall and then fallen on me, or I was really drowsy.

Wait ... I didn't hear the alarm clock either. I took out my cell phone and the screen flashed in my face. 2:30 pm, there was only 1 hour to finish the class. I went into despair. Never in my life had I skipped class.

My god, my god, my god. What do I do? I started to walk in circles, all my stuff was in the classroom. I couldn't go and get them without being scolded by the teacher. I sighed: it would be better to just accept the facts.

When I opened the door to the equipment room, my stuff was there, along with a canned coffee.

But how? Surely it was Yuki-chan, she was the only one who knew that I slept there and besides, she was so kind. She never made fun of me in the class, and there were times when she even tried to defend me. I grabbed my things and went to the girl's locker room. I put on my clothes for the daily struggle. It was almost like CrossFit; it even had a tire to drag. I waited for the bell to ring while drinking the coffee that Yuki-chan had left there, it would be good to give a boost for training.

At the time of the students' departure, I blended with everyone and went towards the exit, I ran into Kacchan as soon as I turned the corner of the gate. He was standing there like a post.

“Sorry, Kacchan” I bowed slightly. Would I finally hear his voice talking to me after months?

Apparently, no. His look said, "I can't believe she ran into me; I'll have to put disinfectant on my whole body when I get home", but his mouth didn't even open a millimeter. He looked at my coffee can.

“I would even offer it, but it's over. Coffee is so invigorating, isn't it?” I shook the can in front of him. Kacchan stole it from my hand and crushed it. I think he wanted that to be my head.

“Well, I have to go now. See you later.”

I dodged him and ran away, took a little look behind and he was still standing in the same place. Was he expecting someone?

Well, it doesn't matter. Even though he said that he would not owe me anything for that day, he was doing me a big favor by not tormenting me and turning my school life into hell. More people in the classroom were talking to me now that they saw that he had forgotten about my existence.

After an absurdly tiring workout, I got home and found my mother suspicious, because of course the teachers had called to tell her that I had skipped class. I was sincere, said that I ended up sleeping at lunch. My mother tried several times to tell me that I was overdoing, and I kept repeating that I had to work hard to get into the U.A. She ended up ducking her head with an expression on her face that left me a little disappointed. That expression of someone who doesn't have the courage to tell his daughter to give up.

In the seventh month, while running during training, I ended up stumbling and my body wouldn't stop shaking, I couldn't lift my head anymore.

“Hey Girl! Only three months to go! There is no way to achieve it at this rate.” All Might in his skinny version shouted hoarsely. “Do you want to give up? Take a day off, maybe a beauty sleep?”

I tried to look at him, but my body just kept shaking. He approached me firmly, but with concern.

"The 'American dream to pass is a balanced plan to adjust your physical fitness in time for the entrance exam. You're not following the plan, are you, girl?”

All Might found out. I hadn't told him about the morning runs, and I had been training in my room for two months before and after studying. All that time, I had been sleeping in the classroom or at the time of the break. But I tried my best and my grades were still intact.

“Exaggerating only leads to negative results!” He said. “Do you want to pass or not?”

I started to struggle to get up while my body wanted to stay on the floor.

“I want to continue ... But it's not enough to just pass the exam.” I looked at him, everything hurt, my body and my feelings. “If I don't try a dozen times more than the others I will stumble and fail!! I want to be a hero like you! I want to be as strong as the strongest hero.”

He helped me up. Now he was in his muscular form.

“You reckless! You really are obsessive! But you know what? I can't say that I don't like it! Still, it is not good to be so impatient with your training! Now I understand where you want to go! Don't worry, this old man here will review the plan for you!”

“You're not old, All Might” I smiled at him. It was so good to have someone who didn't give up on me, who believed I was capable.

He took me home.

And so, ten months passed, and we finally arrived at the entrance exam day.

It was 6 am and I was with All Might on the shore. Sweating, but satisfied. Everything had been cleaned up. I screamed in a mixture of happiness and hysteria.

“You managed to complete it at the last second! You have crossed the finish line! Congratulations! Now you deserve a rest.”

All Might helped me not to fall while I climbed down from the rubble and put me on the floor, I hugged him and leaned on him, I was so tired.

“All Might, I did it! I achieved it!”

He smiled at me and put me on the floor.

“Look at this, your before and after.”

He showed me two pictures, one taken ten months ago. Another just now while I was on top of the rubble. The difference was stark. Before, I was so thin that it looked like I could break some bone if I fell. Now how could I say, full-bodied? Within my capacity of still being, recently turned, 15 years old, my arms had taken shape, my belly was not so thin, and the biggest difference was in the legs. I had read in an adult women's magazine that my mother read that we had an easier time defining the lower limbs. My ass and thigh were three times the size of what they were! And my calf felt like it could take any jump I made. I could not contain myself with joy. I started crying.“You went so far for me, All Might, and I feel so blessed.”

“Stop being such a crybaby.” All Might looked embarrassed. “If you continue like that, they will make stupid comments that you are crying just because you are a woman. But well, now your reward.”

All Might pulled a huge strand of hair from his tuft.“You know what they say right? There is a difference between something that is born with you by pure luck and something that you get after working your ass out for it! Inflate your chest and be proud! This is the power you have earned in a just and deserved way, girl! Now eat this.”

All Might stuck his hair out for me.

“What?” I got no reaction.

“Technically the way you absorb my DNA is not important! But time is running out.”

Do you know when we are going to eat a piece of pie and out of nowhere we find an unknown hair, pull it out of the chewed piece of the pie and automatically feel like throwing up? It was similar, except that without the piece of pie, without being able to pull the hair out or vomit. I wrapped it around my fingertips until it made a little ball and swallowed it without thinking about it. A glass of water would now be most welcome.

I ran home, took a shower, put on my most comfortable sweatpants and a denim jacket over the thick turtleneck, had a second breakfast, managed to rest on the couch for 10 minutes and then went running for the entrance exam.

I arrived at the gates of U.A still with a little time. I was so excited! Just from seeing that school I was losing myself. I had only eaten 1 strand of hair; would that be enough? I put my hand in front of my mouth when I remembered the retching.

“Get out of my way, Deku.” That hellish voice I barely heard for 10 months. “Don't get in my way if you don't want to die.”

Kacchan came walking towards me, it was comical not to say depressing, that he had all the space in the courtyard to pass and avoid me and yet he wanted to walk in a straight line (and for me to get out of his way). To tell you the truth, I was no longer as afraid of him as I was before, after 10 months of training, if he wanted to fight, I would have done it, but since I was in a very good mood, I simply left from his presence with a smile on my face.

“Let us do our best today, Kacchan.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

I sighed and he continued his way, some students around him started whispering about him being "the boy from that incident".

Kacchan also changed a bit in those 10 months, he was no longer hanging out with those two troubled kids at school and when people started murmuring about the event, he would slightly lower his head as if he was holding himself up so as not to punch anyone. Not to mention that he now took a considerable distance from me.

Anyway, it was time to take my first step towards being the best hero in history.

When I went to walk, I felt my foot slip, the floor was getting closer to my face, I prepared myself psychologically for the impact, but my face stopped inches away.

“I'm sorry for using my quirk on you. It would be a shame if you stumble.”

I looked at the person who helped me, she was a girl with medium rounded Chanel haircut and fluffy, red cheeks, her eyes were also brown and looked like almonds. She wore a pink blouse, black skirt, and pantyhose. Everything about her exuded gentleness. She looked like an angel. I even ran my hand through my hair trying to control the rebellious frizz because seeing such cuteness made me feel a little sloppy.

“I'm so nervous” her voice was kind. “You must be too. Good luck to you in the exam!”

She patted my shoulder and ran away.

Damn, what a cute girl. Did I have the capacity to be cute like that? I felt like a potato.

I ran off to the exam room. Because we were from the same school, my place to sit in the auditorium was besides Kacchan. He looked at me with that usual hatred of those who would rather be sitting next to a stinky corpse. Sitting so close to him made me a little nervous.

The nervousness passed when a guy with a huge, blond, thin and funny-looking tuft came in, dressed in black clothes, yellow glasses and a device around his neck that resembled a speaker.

“Welcome to my live show! Everybody say HEEEY!” He shouted.  “Alright candidates, I'll get right to the point on how it will work! Are you ready?”

“My God, it's Present Mic. I listened to him on the radio every week, this is incredible! All U.A teachers are really professionals!”

I started murmuring to myself, only Kacchan could hear it too.

"Shut up," he said.

“Now pay attention, audience!”  Present Mic continued.  “We will test your courage by running a practical race in our replica city! Everyone can take what they want! Everyone get together at the meeting point determined after the presentation, understand?”

“They're not intending to let friends or classmates cooperate, are they?” Kacchan whispered when he noticed we were staying in different fields.

Until now he had his usual face, only when he saw that I would be in B and he in C seemed about to kill someone with such anger, crumpling the paper in his hand. "Probably so I don't end up finishing you".

I sighed, that urge he had to do me bad needed psychological treatment. But now I wasn't going to leave it alone, I had to take advantage of the fact that he wouldn't yell there.

“C’mooon Kacchan” I didn't do that tantrum voice with him since we were kids and his hatred weren’t that big yet, I even put my hand on his. All the training from All Might had given me a little more confidence. “It seems that it was not this time huh, but don't worry, when we became classmates on U.A, you will be able to try to finish me as many times as you can.”

I smiled. Perhaps I had exaggerated a little. His face went red with anger and looked like he was about to explode. Instead of taking my hand away, he turned his hand over mine and started to squeeze it on the table. I could feel that he was holding himself up so as not to blow it up right there. I started to push it up and it was like a mini arm (or was it hand?) wrestling, he was still stronger, but I was not that weak anymore.

We both remained quiet, but a few students around us noticed the clattering of wood from our hands and I let go before anyone could complain. Now I had to control myself, that had been very immature on our part. Present Mic was still talking about what the test would be like:
“We will send a huge number of "villains" on the battlefield. Using each of your individual skills, defeat as many as you can! Your goal is to get a high score!”  Present Mic showed a chart showing that each "villain" would give an amount of points. “And don't think about directly attacking another competitor or something like that, anti-hero. Because this is against the rules, capisce?”

“Hehe”  I looked at Kacchan, maybe that was a little too loud. He ignored me.

“Excuse me, may I ask a question?” A tall guy with medium blue hair and glasses raised his hand. Before he got an answer, he started talking. “In the brochure, they are listing four types of villains, but there are only three on your board. Such a mistake can be very embarrassing for one of the best national academies like the U.A! The reason we came today is because we want to be guided to become model heroes! And even more.” The guy turned and pointed at me; I had my spine erect at the same time. “What's your problem?”

I pointed to my face to confirm that it was me.

“Yourself, the messy-haired girl. You keep talking, mumbling, hitting the table and laughing. Can't keep still? If you think U.A is some fun ride, then leave immediately.”

“I’m sorry...”

I sank into the chair. Kacchan came so close to me that I felt his hot breath, he brought his mouth to my ear.

“Hehe”  he said so quietly that it came out more like a breath in my brain.

“Okaayooo, Okay!”  Present Mic started to answer the guy who apparently was what they called "know-it-all".  “Thanks for the information, much appreciated, candidate 7111!” Present Mic didn't seem so appreciated at all. “The fourth type of villain you'll find is worth 0 points! We will call it "arena trap".”

“Thank you so much! Sorry for being rude!”  Mr. Smarty Pants sat down again.

“Well, that would be all from my side! I will leave you with my presentation of the "school rules" of this academy! As a certain "hero" named Napoleon Bonaparte once said "A true hero never stops overcoming misfortunes in life!! Now let's get to the main event!!! PLUS ULTRA!”

Chapter Text

POV: Bakugou

A few days after the incident with the villain, my life turned into hell, everyone on the street was pointing at me and whispering about me being "the boy who was attacked" and at school nobody would shut the fuck up with a bunch of stupid questions.

However, that was not at all what bothered me the most. Midoriya had been acting weird and more annoying than before. She kept smiling at nothing with a certain hope in her eyes and murmuring things about training. I wanted to press her against the wall and have her wake up. Was she so full of herself for almost killing us both? Irritating.

Normally I would have continued trying to make her realize how useless she was, as a favor, but every time I prepared to say something or maybe burn that shitty notebook again, I ended up stopping halfway there, remembering her crying trying to rescue me. It wasn’t gratitude, and it wasn’t an pure rage either, but it burned inside my stomach like something. So annoying that I preferred to just walk away. Soon it would be the entrance exam, so it was better to focus on myself.

With each passing month it got more difficult to be quiet. Midoriya, the usual shitty geek, started getting scolded for sleeping in the classroom. She was more introspective, despite maintaining a tired smile for everyone. The classroom began to comment on the changes. Also, her body ... she was really training. Before, it looked like I would end up breaking her if I took her arm. Now…

At lunchtime I went to the terrace with Susumo and Tatsuo, the same ones from that day of the attack, they talked about something that I didn't pay attention to. The school was still shit, they still hadn't forgotten about that attack and the conversations were so tiring that I got used to being quiet around so many airheads.

“Are you tired of Midoriya, Bakugou?” Asked Susumo.

“True, since the incident I haven’t seen you two talking again.” Tatsuo reached into his pocket, the bastard was going to get a cigarette, for sure.

“That useless girl is not worthy of my time, I need to concentrate for the entrance exam.”

“So, you don't mind if I ask her out, right? Man, she looks hotter every day.” As expected, Tatsuo took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

“Some folks from the basketball team said that one of these days they saw her sleeping on the gym stairs and you could even see her panties.”

“Woow, did they take pictures? I would love to see.”

Before Tatsuo took the first drag, I propelled my arm back and with the urge to swing it forward I launched a strong enough explosion to launch them onto the wall of the terrace door. Everything came out a little stronger than I expected, sometimes the explosion would respond in a way that correlated with the anger I felt.

“I already told you not to smoke near me.” I yelled.

It was useless, those two were assholes with no future. There was no reason to waste time with them. They both said nothing as I left the terrace.

Obviously, I got "scolded" by the teacher that day:

“I will not give you a formal warning to not hinder your entry into the U.A., for sure you will have a bright future and in any case those two were problematic. But avoid doing this again at school.”

I laughed internally. Obviously, I was too incredible to fuck myself because of them, even the teacher knew that.

Two weeks after that event, while taking an iced coffee from the patio machine, I saw Midoriya heading towards the gym, so that's what they were talking about. She walked like a zombie. I leaned against the machine and started drinking my coffee slowly. The bell rang, I stayed there, got another coffee to drink, but I never got to open it, because even after 15 minutes Midoriya did not leave the gym.

So now the fucking nerd was skipping classes? Was this how she dreamed of entering the U.A.?

I walked towards the gym, she wasn't on the stairs, I continued and found her lying in the corner of the equipment room, on the mattresses. Just looking at that useless zombie face sleeping as if she were in her own home, I wanted to scream.

“That's ridiculous. You're so useless that you don't even know how to act like a girl.”

Lying like that in a dark room near a gym full of boys. And did she want to save someone like that? Just one more point for my theory of her uselessness.

Wasn’t she who had been saying since we were little that didn't need to be saved by me? What an irony. I took a mattress and placed it on top of her. She didn't even wake up, she should be dead, would start to stink soon, for sure.

I got out of there before I woke her up in a yell.

I went back to the classroom; I had lost the mood to stay there. I took my things and Midoriya's, the teacher just looked at me with a complacent face, I could do whatever I wanted in that shit place.

It would be a good time to throw all the material off the terrace. I almost did it, but after all, it wasn't fair to make fun of someone sleeping. It would be cooler when I could see her crying face. I left that shit at the door to the equipment room.

When I left, I stayed at the school gate. I was interested in knowing if I would have to wake her up with a stomp, it would be somewhat rewarding. I felt someone bump into me. There were only idiots at that school.

“Sorry, Kacchan” I looked, it was the useless of the useless ones, so I had woken her up. She should, in addition to apologize, thank me for taking care of a sleeping girl. And what's more, my coffee can. I ended up leaving it by her side when I went to get the mattress.

“I would even offer it, but it's over. Coffee is so invigorating, isn't it?” She shook my empty can. I took it from her hand and crushed it.

She got saved, drank my coffee and still kept that annoying little smile on her face.

”Well, I have to go now. See you later.”

She turned aside and left.

From then on, it was more and more irritating to look at her.

Even the people in the classroom started talking about it like it was a big deal.

But they also spoke the obvious, she was trying to fail less badly in the entrance exam. No muscle would make up for her lack of quirk.

On the day of the test, the first thing I saw was her standing there looking at nothing with a smile on her face. She was sloppier than usual.

“Get out of my way, Deku.”

It was annoying that she hadn't really given up on that, for sure she was going to get hurt all over the exam. It would be a good opportunity for me to save her and for her to accept the inevitable truth of how superior I was.

“Let us do our best today, Kacchan.”
“Go fuck yourself.”

I continued my way to the auditorium; our seats were next to each other. Apparently, I was destined to live with that thing.

When a hero came in to explain how it would work, she started to murmur.

“Shut up”

The explanations continued; the candidates would be divided into groups.

“They're not intending to let friends or classmates cooperate, are they?” I whispered angrily. “Probably so I don't end up finishing you.”  
“C’mooon Kacchan” I looked at the side, worked up, what the fuck was that voice? I remembered when we were little. “It seems that it was not this time huh, but don't worry, when we are classmates, you will be able to try to finish me as many times as you can.”.

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?

She put her hand on top of mine. She was always a useless person who thought she was better than me, but that attitude was completely new. I turned her hand over and started to squeeze her, what right did she have to snub me like that? Did she know how to look at herself? She tried to resist, she sure was stronger, but it was still insufficient. I was about to hit the table from rage when she stopped what she was doing and let go of my hand.

When the hero talked about anti-heroic things, Midoriya approached a little and said "hehe", ok, now I WISHED from the bottom of my soul that we could do the exams together so I could destroy her.

Out of nowhere a candidate stood up and started spouting crap. He even pointed at Midoriya and started to correct her, turning her red as a pepper.

I waited for him to finish and approached her enough to touch my lips on her ear.

“Hehe.”

Although it was a little funny to see her being embarrassed, I was staring at the guy who got into our "discussion". Apparently, the world was full of little shits that considered themselves better.

Chapter Text

I had changed into a sports outfit and now found myself standing in front of the fake city gate, alongside the other candidates in my group. Nervousness began to creep in as I gazed at the vastness of the city. It was so huge that it was hard to call it a scenery.

My stomach started to hurt, so I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. A few meters away, I noticed the girl who had helped me earlier. She seemed a little nervous as well, and I thought that maybe if we talked a little, it would help us both relax. I began walking toward her, but just as I did, I felt someone grab me by the shoulder:

“Who exactly are you?”

I turned around, it was that "know-all" with glasses and bluish, almost black, hair. His face was very square and he had a serious expression.

“Did you come here to hinder other competitors?”

His hand was still resting on my shoulder. I didn't like very much that strange men touched me. In fact, it was inelegant. I took his hand in mine. 

“I came here to do my best, just like you. I was just going to talk to a friend, you don't have to be so neurotic.”

Some people were staring at the two of us, apparently not taking me too seriously as a competitor. The smartass went red because I took his hand. So I let go and went to another corner.

“What are you waiting for? Nobody said they would count down in a real battle! Run! Start the game!” Present Mic shouted.

Everyone ran like crazy and I found myself late, I had little reaction and was already several steps behind everyone. I needed to calm down and make it happen. When the first robot appeared in front of me I came across the first problem, although All Might had told me that I should take the power out of my guts and shout, I didn't exactly know how to use a power that had never been mine for those 15 years. The robot turned its sights on me and I froze with fear. And now?

A laser beam destroyed the robot in two. He was a thin blonde with neat hair.

“Merci. It was great teamwork. However, I believe that we will not see each other again.”

He left and I stayed there. Each minute the number of robots was decreasing and I couldn't destroy any, wherever I went I saw people counting how many they had defeated. Was that it? Would I disappoint All Might and prove that Kacchan was right. Just useless. Desperation washed over me.

The ground started to shake and a gigantic robot appeared. It was bigger than a building, the ground was completely destroyed and many ran away, I also started running, but something stopped me abruptly, that girl from before, the one who helped me, had fallen among the rubble and the robot was approaching her.

She would be crushed, that was just an exam, would they let that happen? No one was coming, not even other candidates. I felt something burn all over my body and ran towards the robot.

I boosted myself and with a single jump I was already at the height of the robot's head. I didn't know exactly what to do, but I was inspired by All Might himself and punched the robot with all my strength. It shattered under the force of the blow and started to fall backwards. Had I really done that? My punch totally smashed his head and his giant body was pushed back. All with a single punch of mine? 

I started to fall from the height of a building, and now we had another problem. My legs and my right arm were broken. Only now did the absurd pain hit me and I threw up as I fell. It was obvious, I had only been training for 10 months, I was not prepared to fully use the power of All Might. That was it. So, would I die there, with no points on the exam?

I was almost reaching the ground when I felt a slap on my shoulder, that girl floated beside me on a piece of the robot and before I hit the ground, I also started to float. I leaned slowly between the wreckage. The pain was unbearable, but maybe I still scored a single point. I cried and my condition was unfortunate, but at least I was alive to keep trying.

“At least 1 point…” I crawled across the floor

“THE TEST IS OVER.” Present Mic shouted to everyone over the speaker.

That was it, totally useless. I stayed there on the floor, all broken. The pain wouldn't stop, but I would rather stay there for the rest of my life than have to get up and tell All Might that I had failed.

An elderly lady came over, dressed in a doctor's clothes.

“You did so much damage with your quirk, huh?” She said pointing to the robot, she had a friendly smile and was so tiny, she used a cane to walk. “But apparently your body and your quirk are still not in sync, little girl.”

She gave me a kiss on the forehead and I felt a warm (and a little painful) sensation all over my body. So, that was the famous Kango Kyouyu, one of the pillars of U.A. that had the power to speed up the healing process of people's bodies with just one kiss.

I walked out of there like I hadn’t been broken a few minutes ago, and then spent a week locked in the house. I didn't go to school because I didn't want to meet Kacchan, and I didn't tell either my mother or All Might about the test fiasco. I had not yet found courage; All Might had placed so much hope in me and now I had thrown everything out the window.

“Daughter! Daaaughter.” My mother appeared shaking in front of me with a letter in her hand . “The result has arrived!”

I took the letter and ran to the bedroom, I know it's a little mean, but I shut my mom out, I didn't want her to see me suffer.

Inside the letter was an image transmitter, I placed it on the table with shaking hands. When I turned it on, All Might appeared in his muscular version in a yellow suit. Wait, wasn't the letter from the U.A?

“It took a while to resolve some things and finish this, so I was unable to contact you earlier. It's my fault! I think we will see each other a lot more. It was decided that I will work at the U.A, that's it. Right, you did very well on the written test. You studied a lot, huh? In the practical test, however, you got a score of 0 points. You, of course, failed.”

I knew that, I don't know why I expected anything else, I started to cry and tremble.

“Wait, there's more!” All Might continued as if he knew I was crying, even though it was just a recording “Watch this screen!”

In the broadcast, All Might pointed to a big screen behind him and showed a footage of the cute girl who saved me from falling twice, asking to share the points with me because she discovered that I had no points and believed that I had lost because of her.

All Might turned off the screen and continued to speak:

“Your actions touch people much more than any quirk. And judges are looking for much more than just smashing robots for points. Do you think a heroism department would reject a candidate for doing the right thing? Do you think it's cliché? This is in the description of the hero job! Risking your life to do cliché things! Therefore, you have received your rescue points !! All the judges agreed !! They saw another heroic skill in you! Izuku Midoriya: 60 points! Meanwhile, Uraraka Ochaco: 45 points. Meaning ... that you passed, my girl. Calm down Midoriya, my girl, because now the U.A is YOUR academy of heroes.”

I started to cry and scream like crazy, my mother came running into the bedroom and we celebrated together. She had not yet believed how it happened, but she was happy that her daughter quirkless was chasing her dreams.

The following day I was ready to face the last weeks of elementary school, take the final exams and go with everything to the high school of my dreams. That morning I felt so good that I spent even more time getting ready. Nothing beats a great day other than making it greater by feeling gorgeous, doesn’t it?

When I went down for breakfast, my mother smiled from ear to ear: 

“Wow, what is all that power, huh?” When I dressed up like that, which was rare, my mother got very excited. In fact, I even looked a little like her in the old photos “You are going to rock the school today, but don't you think the skirt is a little short?”

I huffed. 

“It isn’t, mother, that's how girls wear them nowadays.”

“Then girls these days are exaggerating. Isn't that kid going to be jealous? The

one that has been following you since you were little. What's his name again? Ah, Katsuki.”

I choked with the breakfast rice.

“Mom! ” I felt my face blushing a bit. “I was the one who followed him everywhere. But he won't be jealous, he currently hates me and always does something mean. Not that he didn't do it before, but it got worse.” I huffed again ”In fact, I don't run after him anymore. Especially now that we both passed the U.A, he will have to see me as an equal.”

“I understand.” My mother smiled in a strange way. But I think mothers are like that anyway, they wanted to be inventing romances throughout their children’s school life.

Without further ado, I went to school. Everyone in the room seemed eager to see me, the results of the approved ones had come out on the U.A website last night after the letter arrived. So everyone already knew that Kacchan and I had passed.

“AAAA, congratulations, Midoriya!”

“You look so beautiful today!”

”Go for it in the U.A., girl!”

“Break the hearts of all the guys there.”

I heard this and many other phrases from the girls in the room, they seemed to be really happy. The boys were more restrained, but they still congratulated me. Kacchan was silent at his desk, he looked at his hands, he didn't look at me once, at least that I noticed. Probably by the end of the day he was going to explode at me. It looked like it wasn't just time yet.

Later, we were both called to the teachers' room to receive our congratulations. One of the teachers said that my admission had been the miracle of miracles. I just smiled and thanked him; I didn't need to tell anyone at that school that I now had a quirk.

When we left there we were walking side by side in silence, I was waiting at any moment for the discussion when he took me by the hand and dragged me behind the gym a few meters away. That was it, it would be now, he dragged me through almost the whole school so that he could mistreat me without anyone seeing, but I was going to fight back. There was no one there, he chose the most remote place of all.

“What the hell is this about screwing up my plan to be the first one here to enter the UA? You tore up my glorious future and stepped on it!” He was screaming.

“Calm down, Kacchan, you are still the first boy in school who did this, and I the first girl, we can share this pleasure together, can't we?” In my head nothing I could say would calm that outburst of yelling at me, but at least I would try. To my surprise he lowered his voice, it sounded more like an angry hatred coming from the back of his throat. Kacchan pushed me against the wall and locked me. Was he really going to do a "kadebon" with me? 

He just did a shoujo cliché, put both hands on the wall, and I was in a mix of getting angry and laughing, why did the guys always think they had the right to do those things? And it wasn't like Kacchan was some kind of handsome good guy – quite the opposite, he was more like a cute villain complaining like a crybaby because he hadn't been the only one to pass into U.A. I think for him to be happy they would have to make a classroom just for him.

Kacchan took one hand off the wall, it was shaking so much ... Was that all anger, Kacchan?

“What dirty trick did you use?” I was going to answer that none. He lowered his trembling hand to my thigh and touched it with his fingertips. I totally lost the thread, I remembered my mother talking about the length of my skirt. But no, it wasn't my skirt's fault. “Did they do anything to you? You are too useless to defeat those robots”.

I looked at Kacchan's face, my brain took a long time to process, or rather, translate what he had said.

His gaze was a mixture of anger and pain and his hand was still trembling.

"Who did you have sex with to be accepted?" That was the translation of what he had said.

Enough, I punched Kacchan in the face and he took a few steps back with the sudden impact. Now it was me who was trembling and tears were slowly coming out of the corner of my eyes.

“I am no longer a useless person who will be listening to the shit you talk about, Kacchan, I really defeated the robot and earned my place in the U.A. Someone came up who believed in me and acknowledged me, he said I can become a hero. And it won't be you, an idiot crybaby who comes to tell me something so absurd like having sex for the admission, that will prevent me from going to U.A. Maybe you should rethink what you said and apologize to me, if you're man enough for that. But I doubt you are.”

I got out of there without looking back. Kacchan had always been hot-headed since he was a kid, but that hurt me in an absurd way. And to make matters worse, he probably wouldn't even apologize to me. I've known him since I know myself and I've never seen him apologize to anyone.

A few weeks after that event, elementary school finally ended and I spent the days ignoring Kacchan. We didn't see each other on vacation either (in fact, it had been some time since we last spent together, since we stopped playing in the neighborhood).

On the first day of high school I wore my U.A uniform very happily, it had a light gray cardigan and a dark green skirt similar to my hair.

“You look so cool!” My mom was just as excited as I was.

“See you later, mom”.

I went to school, the building was so cool, all mirrored and it seemed to unite four letters "H", besides being gigantic, I had some difficulty finding my classroom, but as soon as I found it, the first thing I heard was the voice of that young wiseass:

“Don't put your legs on the desk! Don't you think you're disrespectful to your classmates?” He spoke to none other than Kacchan, who was sitting in his usual way, using his desk as a leg rest. He had that mocking smile on his face. It was the first time I had seen him since we graduated.

“No, I really don't think so. Anyway, what school did you come from, secondary character?” His voice was loud as usual.

How lucky for me to have fallen into the same class of the wiseass and the irritated guy. I sighed.

“I came from Soumei College, my name is Iida Tenya.”

“Soumei ?!” Kacchan shouted “Well, you are the elite! It looks like I got a reason to finish you off after all.”

“Such daring, do you want to become a hero?” Iida seemed surprised by Kacchan's unpretty reaction, well, for me it was zero news. Iida glanced at the door (where I was standing watching the discussion) and immediately ditched Kacchan alone and came running towards me.

“Hello, I'm Iida Tenya, from Soumei School…”

“Ah yes, I am Midoriya, nice to meet you, Iida.”

I was looking at his face, was the boy in love with me? It was the third time he had followed me.

“Midoriya ... I need to tell you. You realized the true nature of the practical exam, didn't you? I ... was blind to that! I thought you were completely wrong! I hate to admit it, but you were the best of all”.  Iida took my hand and gave it a kiss, I warned up right away, my face must have looked like a pepper. Was that the way the rich people apologized?”

“Err …” I was going to say something, but I was very embarrassed, and got interrupted.

“Ahhhh, the tomboy girl, I'm happy to see you again! So we're in the same classroom!”

I jerked my hand away from Iida's lips to turn around, it was the cute girl! Wait, me, tomboy? Is it because of the clothes she saw me in that first time? Well, anyway, she looked super cute in that uniform! More than me.

“You did it, just like Present Mic said. And girl, that punch of yours was insane!”

I laughed, it was so nice to talk to someone like her and not crazy like Iida and Kacchan.

“It wasn't like that, if it weren't for you I wouldn't even be here.”

We started talking about what the teachers would be like and if we would have any ceremony or guidance from the counselor. I looked around the corner, Kacchan stared at us angrily. For a change, right.

“If you want to make friends go to another school. This is the course of heroes!” Said a voice behind us at the door!

Chapter Text

POV: Uraraka

When I saw her almost fall, the first thing that went through my head was to help her. I touched the girl with green hair and she stopped, floating a few inches from the ground. She had a sloppy style that looked a bit like a boy, was that what they called a tomboy? It was kind of sexy.

The second time I saw her was in the field of practical examination, when the floor broke into pieces and I got caught, I thought I would be crushed by the robot, but she ran and destroyed it with a single punch. I don't know what happened, but she couldn't control the fall. So I used what was left of strength to keep her from falling again.

Her broken legs and arms looked grotesque, but she was still talking about continuing the exam. That girl was just incredible.

She had to enter the UA anyway! She had to be my classmate! I wanted to see her as many times as possible. Besides, she had wasted time saving me and that kept her from passing. I went after the Present Mic to ask them to share my points with her, but he ran his hand over my head and said I wouldn't have to worry, that we had both passed.

I was so happy! So we really would be classmates.

On the first day of school I saw her at the door with her hand stretched out to a guy with glasses, she seemed very uncomfortable with him there, so I promptly made sure to get all her attention and keep that bizarre guy away. She looked so cute in a skirt! We would definitely be best friends. Our conversation was interrupted when a strange teacher appeared. But I would still have many other chances to meet that girl. We could even schedule to have ice cream together, my heart warmed just thinking about the possibility

Chapter Text

POV: Bakugo

I was lying down in bed, today was the 15th of July, that elementary shit is over and now I was waiting for the day to start studying at U.A. The weather remained warm as it usually is in July, even with a tank top and a fan in my face, I was still sweating, listening to music with headphones. That day my desire to do anything was close to zero.

I put my hand on my cheek where Midoriya punched that day behind the gym, it was the first time in our life together that she did such a thing. What did that useless think? I went to my desk drawer, at the bottom of it was a white handkerchief, I unwrapped it and a hair clip with the face of All Might showed up. In reality, I only used to remember that this shit existed at that date of the year. I don't know why I haven't thrown it out yet.

That was seven years ago, when we were both 8 years old. On summer holidays we spent the whole day playing in the street, from dawn until dark. This when we weren't going to have dinner at each other's house. It was one of the last summers before we started to get away.

We were eating ice cream at the playground, me, Midoriya, Susumo, Toya and Hiroki. Midoriya was the only girl in the group, but the others were not uncomfortable talking to her there, it was almost as if she were just another boy.
“The best part of not going to school is not having to put up with those girls all screaming and following Bakugou.” Said Toya, we all studied in the same elementary school and it was undeniable that I was the most popular boy there, after all, my quirk was incredible.

“Well, I can't help it, Toya” I puffed out my chest. “I am very amazing!”

“And you, Midoriya, are also one of those girls following Bakugou because think he's incredible?”

That sudden question made the whole group open their eyes wide, Toya was a nosy bastard, that was it. Midoriya looked at me and then at Toya, she wasn't even embarrassed, in fact I didn't even want to hear her answer, it was obvious that she also found me incredible.

“How about we play hide and seek?” Hikori interrupted before Midoriya answered, all of us, except her, knew that Hikori liked her. That was really annoying. Who did she think that was more incredible? I put my hand in my pocket and felt the volume of something I had brought, today was her birthday. I was sure that Hikori was also waiting for the moment, as Toya and Susumo were too stupid to remember anyone's birthday.

”I'm in, but Midoriya is going to start counting.” I said.

“Kaaacchan…” Midoriya complained, she hated being the seeker, she was terrible and almost always lost. Okay that she almost always lost when it came to being one of the hiders, especially by me.

As we all agreed that she was going to start, we went to the woods nearby, she leaned on the tree and started to count. We all split up to hide, each in a corner, the only rule was always to stay in that little forest, we couldn't go outside. A small stream passed in the middle. Every time I conduced my hand in the pocket.. I sure as hell wouldn't give it to her if she found that idiot Hikori first.

I was hidden near some big roots, almost under them. Time passed and Midoriya never appeared, I started to get really impatient, even nervous. I would go after that useless one.

It didn't take long to find her, she was sitting on the floor crying.

“Há, did you get lost, Deku?” I arrived with a puffed chest, after all, only myself to come to her rescue. Her arm had a small burn mark, it made me lose my temper, Hiroki had a quirk of fire. “Hey, what is that?”
I took her arm to see the wound, but she took it away from me abruptly.

“I fell while looking for you” Midoriya tried to control the crying, got up and started cleaning the dirt from the clothes. Her burnt arm shook slightly.

“This is not a fall injury.” I was so angry that I took her by the arm again. “Did somebody do this to you?”

“Let me go, Kacchan. I don't need your help, I'm fine!”

Again she took her arm away, it was not the first time she had put me down. There was also that time that I fell in the stream and she thought I would need help for something so stupid. And now she clearly said that I would be unable to resolve such a simple thing. And the most irritating thing, she was covering up for Hikori, does that mean that he was the favorite of the group?

The rage was so big that I pushed her back to the ground.

“You are useless, Midoriya, you don't even know how to play hide and seek.”

I went away and left her there, I was so angry!

I tightened the clip in my hand. Still with the same hatred. In the end, even now after all these years I had never found out what happened that day, Midoriya never talked about it and Hikori never came to play with us again.

“Will you give it this year, idiot?” I startled by my mother's sudden voice at the door. What the fuck, no one knew how to knock in that house. I put the clip back in the drawer and closed it.

“Get out of my room.” Said returning to bed.

She laughed.

“Ha, what a pity, my stupid son will die alone. These teenagers…”

What an old bore from hell, as if I had any intention of staying with Midoriya, she just pissed me off because she thought was better than me. I turned up the volume on my headphones to the maximum to ward off all those thoughts about the most boring day of the year.

Chapter Text

When I looked towards the voice that came from behind Uraraka I saw a man with long black hair up to his shoulder, a thin mustache and beard and deep dark circles, but the strangest thing was that he was lying on the floor in a very thick yellow sleeping bag. In a way it looked comfortable. The whole classroom exclaimed in surprise when they saw that scene, but they soon calmed down when he introduced himself as the teacher responsible for the class, his name: Aizawa Shouta.

He told us to put on our physical education clothes and go outside the building. But already? Without even classroom presentations or anything?

“Sensei, what about the opening ceremony?” Asked Uraraka.

“If you want to be heroes, we don't have time for silly subtleties.”

Professor Aizawa had a somewhat acidic and even curious personality. I started to get cold feet, I felt that something not very good would happen.

And I got it right.

When we all changed and went outside, Aizawa announced that we would do a quirk test in sports activities like 50-meter dash and strength tests. To make matters worse: the last place would be expelled.

My nervousness went on, I still didn't know how to control the power of All Might, it was all or nothing. Despite the exclamations of disgust and surprise in the classroom, Aizawa did not change his mind. He just smiled with the face of someone who was loving our suffering.

“Welcome to the heroes course.” He put the hair that fell over his face backwards with his hand.

What was I going to do?

The tests started and I was not using my quirk. If I used it, I would end up in the infirmary and miss the other tests. There were still 7 to go! I needed to adjust my quirk. All Might told me that it was like an egg in the microwave, I would have to control the power and timing so that the egg would not explode. But honestly, speaking was very easy to do. I just wasn't managing to release just a little bit of quirk.

The other students were doing perfectly well. Kacchan made 705.2 meters in the shot with the ball. He seemed to enjoy himself, he had no worries about getting kicked out. I couldn't deny it, it was a little fun to look at him like that, without controlling his instincts, just exploding here and there, it was like seeing a wild animal that was finally released into its habitat. Kacchan looked at me, as if he sensed that I was looking at him and I turned my face away. It was bad enough to have to deal with my own destructive thoughts at that moment, I didn't want to see his "I knew you were useless" look.

Iida had a speed quirk, each of his calves had six exhausts. Uraraka was devastating in the tests that she needed to eliminate the force of gravity from things. And even that thin, blond boy from the admission test was there, he would emit a laser beam from the navel area and you could even say he was graceful.

The pitch test would be my last opportunity to use my quirk, for the other two I could not think of a way to use it.

“Midoriya is not doing very well, right? That's weird.” I don't know if Iida wanted to be careful, but in the end I heard what he said to Uraraka and that made me even more nervous.

“Of course not!” Shouted Kacchan, he was meddling in their conversation. “She doesn't even have a quirk!”

The room began to whisper. How wonderful…

“You certainly must be mistaken” replied Iida “Do you happen to know her? Didn't you see what she did on the entrance exam?”

I sighed, it was cute Iida defending me against Kacchan, I believe he was one of the first to do that. I glanced at them both, Kacchan was furious, is it because Iida said he didn't know me? Kacchan hated being asked what he knew. I took two steps away from them to stop listening to the conversation. But apparently it had already ended on its own.

I sucked the air firmly. That was it, it had to be now. I felt the quirk flowing and I threw it with all my strength.

Plof.

The ball fell not even 5 meters from me. Huh.

“I'm sure I used it …” I said quietly to myself in despair.

“I erased your quirk.”

I looked at Aizawa, he now had red eyes, yellow glasses around his neck and white bands all over his shoulder. Did he erase it?

”My God, are you Eraser Head?”

He ignored my question and used the bands to pull me closer to him and further away from the students, he held me by the arms and waists.

“It doesn't make sense, how did someone like you enter this academy?” He spoke softly so that nobody but me could hear, he held me in the air. “From what I observed, you have no control over the maximum strength of your quirk, that is, you cannot use it efficiently. Do you think someone will save you after getting hurt all over again?”

I bit my bottom lip, so he had seen the entrance exam.

“I was just going …”

I started to answer, only that he tightened the bands even more and approached me, if I stretched my neck I could bite the teacher's nose. He was a little scary, like he wanted me to lose hope.

“There is an unbearable hero who made his name by rescuing more than a thousand innocents from a disaster that he himself caused. You even have the courage ... But face it, your "power" is not going to help you become a hero, Izuku Midoriya.”

I glanced at the classroom, everyone stared at me with a big question mark on their face, of course, except for Kacchan, his face, well, it was indecipherable. His voice invaded my mind, asking me that thing. I started to struggle, I didn't want him to think any more wrong things, I didn't want any teacher to treat me in a special way, even if it was in a negative way.

“Why don't you let me go and give me another chance? After all, you didn't even let me try. I don't care if you find All Might unbearable, I'm here to try my best.”

“Let's get this over with.” Aizawa handed me back to the place I was. My hands were shaking a little. What an encouraging teacher, isn't he? But until then he was right. I already expected to be completely broken and taken to the infirmary, I couldn't do that. I had to show him that I was capable.

I started to throw the ball. And at the last second when the ball was already touching my index finger, I concentrated my strength on just that finger and the ball was thrown absurdly into the air. The pain came, my finger broke and the bones cut the skin a little, it started to drip blood. But I looked at the professor with a smile on my face and tears in the corners of my eyes. I wish I had sounded a little more gentle, but the voice of defiance in my voice was clear.

“I can still move.”

He smiled at me. He seemed to have been surprised.

“YAAAY! Finally you showed what you came for!” Uraraka jumped in joy.

“Did you see?” Iida turned to Kacchan. “I think you were thinking about the wrong girl.”

Kacchan was gaping. Probably wondered how the hell I had a quirk if they manifested up to a maximum of 4 years after birth. And that sentence from Iida then ... he finished taking him seriously.

“Oi!” He screamed, started taking slow steps towards me, but as the anger grew in his eyes, his steps became faster “What the hell is this, Deku? EXPLAIN”.

Before he could get any closer. Aizawa held him with the same strips.

“What the fuck is that?”

“It is my weapon of capture, an alloy of steel twisted with carbon nanofibers. We are wasting time on this childishness. Let's go to the next test.”

I walked away from Kacchan feeling a little guilty and went over to Uraraka and Iida.

“Midoriya, your finger, is everything okay?” Uraraka took my hand gently and started to tie a handkerchief to stop the bleeding, she was genuinely worried.

Iida put a hand on my shoulder.

“Sure you can continue? It is important that you do not give up.”

“Sure, Iida” With my free hand I put it over his hand. “You may have noticed, I'm not the type to give up. I will continue, this pain here is bearable”.

The three of us nod to each other with determined looks and smiles on our faces. In the two tests left over, I didn't get any results out of the ordinary.

That was it, I would probably be expelled. We lined up in front of Aizawa.

“Time to show the results The total is the sum of each of your notes. If I speak one by one it will take too long. So I'll just show them all at once.” He fiddled with some papers in his hands. “And oh, that expulsion thing was a lie. It was a logic trick for everyone to do their best.”

The room started to celebrate and I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I was in last place, but at least I had not been expelled.

“Midoriya, now go to the infirmary to get a bandage. And get ready that starting tomorrow I will turn your life into a real test.” He punched my head lightly.

“I can't wait, Sensei” I smiled. I think it's okay, I would be the next All Might in the world, okay if the professor was expecting too much of me, he would be one more person that I couldn't disappoint. I hurried to the infirmary, before I lost sight of the room, I glanced back and saw Kacchan, he had a terrible face.

Chapter Text

POV: Aizawa

Come on, the school year would start. My excitement was racing, but down. In that class would be the new All Might disciple who could not control her powers, the son of Endeavor and a totally freaked out boy I saw on the entrance exam. Why did I really want to be a teacher?

I was so out of patience that I didn't even get out of my sleeping bag to go to the classroom. The beginning of the school year was the worst, with all those babies full of hope who were going to give up at the first moment.

And there were already two students all happy at the door. One of them was the All Might girl. With a child's body like that, it was no surprise that she couldn't stand the quirk of the unbearable number one hero.

After the presentation I took them outside and started to explain how the tests would work, except that their happy faces irritated me, so I added the expulsion rule. It would be great to start the year by expelling some soft ass.

The tests were passing and I was taking notes about each student, Midoriya did not use her quirk, she was waiting for the best moment to get hurt. It was depressing, she would never become a hero with that way of behaving. When I saw that she would use her quirk, I activated my erasure.

“I'm sure I used it …”

”I erased your quirk.”

“My God, are you Eraser Head?” She looked surprised, but I ignored it.

It would be a pleasure to expel her, at least it would show All Might that courage is not everything. I used my capture gun to get her closer, maybe if I intimidated her a little she would have given up before she even hurt herself for nothing.

“It doesn’t make sense, how did someone like you enter this academy? From what I've noticed, you have no control over the maximum strength of your quirk, that is, you cannot use it efficiently. Do you think someone will save you after getting hurt all over again?”

“I was just going …”

She started to respond and I tightened the straps around her arms even more.

”There is an unbearable hero who made his name by rescuing more than a thousand innocents from a disaster that he himself caused. You even have the courage ... But face it, your "power" is not going to help you become a hero, Izuku Midoriya.”

I looked at her steadily, except that instead of looking more frightened, Midoriya changed her expression to a look of determination, even smiled in a mocking way.

“Why don't you let me go and give me another chance? After all, you didn't even let me try. I don't care if you find All Might unbearable, I'm here to try my best.”

“Let's get this over with.”

I put her on the ground, she threw and the ball went out far, she had beaten the record for the classroom. Her finger was broken and bleeding.

“I can still move.”

She had tears in the corners of her eyes, that must have hurt, but her look of determination remained the same. She was interesting.

“Oi! What the fuck is this, Deku? EXPLAIN.”

The burst boy started to go towards Midoriya and I stopped him. What was that, anger at having your record broken? No, it was certainly something else.

“What the fuck is that?”

“It is my weapon of capture, an alloy of steel twisted with carbon nanofibers. We are wasting time on this childishness. Let's go to the next test.”

I said and the students continued. Midoriya even without using her quirk anymore, performed the other activities in a normal way with her finger in that state.

Okay, now I understood All Might a little bit, there was something about her. Perhaps her insistence. Or maybe she had already gone so far down the rock that now all she had to do was struggle until she climbed.

“Time to show the results The total is the sum of each of your notes. If I speak one by one it will take too long. So I'll just show them all at once. And oh, that expulsion thing was a lie. It was a logic trick for everyone to do their best.”

The classroom celebrated. It seems that it was a lie. I never lie. I just changed my mind. If not I would have to expel Midoriya with her poor performance.

“Midoriya, now go to the infirmary to get a bandage. And get ready that starting tomorrow I will turn your life into a real test.” I punched her lightly in the head.

“I can't wait, Professor.”

She smiled and left.

I dismissed the room and made my way inside.

“Aizawa, you liar.”

All Might was standing in the shade of the buildings in his yellow suit, what a horrible color.

“Oh, All Might, so you were watching? You must have been worried about your protégé then.”

“A logic trick? April Fool's Day was last week. You kicked out an entire room last year. You expel students without hesitation when you consider that they have no chance. You already expelled a total of 180 students, did you change your mind because you also felt Midoriya's raw potential?”

He smiled at me with that huge smile and pointed.

“Her chances were greater than zero. That is all. I can expel her at any time if I see that she does not evolve. It is not a cruel thing to end unfounded dreams.”

I started walking back, only I stopped and looked back.

”Be careful not to get attached beyond Midoriya's account because she looks like that woman, it will be bad for both of you.”

All Might's smile went a little stiff. Despite saying that, he knew it was going to happen anyway.

Chapter Text

Leaving the infirmary with my finger already healed, I was mentally and physically exhausted. It was time to leave, that day we wouldn't have the entire period, it was just a introduction . I sighed, we didn't even get that pleasure because our teacher was eccentric.

“Is your finger better?” Iida appeared out of nowhere behind me and grabbed my shoulder, I startled right away. Apparently he likes shoulders, the third time he put his hand there since we met, I was already getting used to it. I also put my hand on his shoulder as a joke and imitated his tone of voice.

“I'm perfectly fine, my friend.”

“That's good!” Iida didn't seem to get the joke. “The Professor totally deceived me, I didn't even imagine that he would be able to use lies to motivate students.”

The first time I saw Iida he looked angry and boring, but apparently he was just a very serious and methodical person (and a little slow). He had his cute side.

“Don't go without me!!” Uraraka came running towards us, she was so cute running, her cheeks were redder than they already were. “Are you going home?”

“Well, we could go for coffee to celebrate the first day without expulsion.” I said with a mischievous smile on my face, it was good to finally have the opportunity to make friends and forget the depression that was my upper secondary school.

“Err…” Uraraka looked a little embarrassed. “I'm okay, but I won't take anything, I'm a little broke.” She smirked, not so happy.

“I pay! No problem, it will be fun”. Said Iida.

“Of course it will be, Iida, you're going to have coffee with two wonderful girls on your first day of school.” I replied, I wasn't usually that showy, I had a more introvert personality at the other school, but I was really happy that two people had been interested in being my friends on the very first day.

Iida blushed.

“Believe me, I have no ulterior motives with you two.” He started to move his arm like a robot.

“We know!” Uraraka laughed. “So let's go?”

She pulled me by the hand towards the exit. And I took advantage of the momentum and pulled Iida, almost like a hand in hand folk dance. Only around the corner from the gate Uraraka stopped abruptly and let go of me.

I looked in front of her, Kacchan was standing there and she bumped into him. Now he got the gate inspector mania?

He looked at the three of us then looked down at my hand holding Iida's, I released it on automatic.

“We're going to have a coffee near here, do you want to come along?” Iida invited him.

“Oi? Am I going to be the third wheel to a bunch of fucking nerds now?” Kacchan didn't yell as much as I thought he was going to yell, his voice had some mockery.

“Be the third wheel? But we would be in four people.”

The voice inside my brain screamed, Iida was too slow, of course Kacchan referred to the holding hands. And Iida simply gave the worst answer on the planet "Be the third wheel?? But you stay with Uraraka while I keep Midoriya".

Bakugou's face was like someone who was going to vomit. With hate and disgust.

“Fuck you all” He said and turned to leave, Bakugou looked back a little and said through gritted teeth. “We're not done yet, Deku”.

He's gone. It probably referred to the explanations I "owed" him. We continued on our way to Moonbrucks and when we got there we sat in a comfy little corner with plush armchairs.

“Why does he call you Deku? I thought it was Izuku Midoriya, or is it Deku Midoriya?” Uraraka asked.

“It's Izuku Midoriya, it's another bad nickname he gave me since I was a child.”

“Sorry, I did not know. But Deku is nice, seems like a word of encouragement.” She smiled in her cute way and took a sip of the cappuccino Iida bought her.

“Serious? So you can call me Deku!” I also had a sip of my iced green tea with lemon.

“Can I call you Deku too?” Iida had a double espresso. Dammit, would he be able to sleep later?

“No, you do not. You have to call me "My sweetie"!”

Uraraka and I laughed, but it looked like Iida had taken it a bit seriously, he wouldn't call me that would he?

We continued to talk about our lives in upper secondary school and ended up with the same old question.

“Why do you want to be heroines?” Iida asked.

“I want to be someone who can always save others with a smile on the face” I replied “It's very simple, since I was little I have wanted to help others.”

Uraraka stirred the empty paper cup.

“My reason is not so pretty”. She looked embarrassed. “I want to be rich”.

Iida and I looked at each other, she didn't seem like that kind of person.

“My parents go through a lot of difficulties since their company is going bad, and even so they try to give me everything, I just can't take it anymore. I want to give back and give them a dignified life so they can fulfill their dreams. And I believe that being a hero is the fastest way to make quick money.”

“That's so cute, Uraraka! I think it is super valid.”

“It's okay to want to live a comfortable life.” Iida agreed and she was really happy, she probably expected us to judge her and call her futile.

“And you, Iida?” I asked.

“I want to continue the lineage of my family's heroes and honor them!”

“A family of heroes? Wow! Cool.”

“Do you know the Hero Turbo Ingenium?”

“YES!” I responded excitedly “He is super well known and has more than 65 sidekicks registered in his agency.”

"Looks like you know a lot," Iida laughed and puffed out her chest in pride. "He's my big brother! He is a hero loved and respected by people, follows the rules and sets an example! It was to be like my brother that I decided to be a hero!”

“Wow, and he's handsome, right?” Uraraka had a picture of Turbo Ingenium open on her cell phone, as she didn't know who it was, she went searching.

“It is! He has a less serious face than Iida.” I said comparing the photo on the cell phone with Iida, really the beauty had stayed with the older one, but it must have been the serious expression that our colleague was carrying.

After a few minutes we decided it was getting late and it was time to leave.

“I loved meeting you two. You guys are so fun.” Uraraka had a cute appearance, but actually she was very direct in what she said and what she did, unlike me, who thought a thousand things, but ended up saying the least to others.

I went home super happy to have new friends, we would be the best trio in school.

The next day, the class started normally, the morning classes were like any other high school, with Japanese, math, etc. But the afternoon started with another surprise, All Might came running into the room.

“I will be the teacher of the Fundamentals of Heroism! In this class we will have several training sessions to create your heroic foundation! And let's get started right away! Today there will be combat training!

The room squealed in joy, I got a little nervous for a change. Kacchan looked at me with a "I'm finally going to be able to break you in two" face.

“Do you remember the "quirk details" and "desired characteristics" forms that you sent in the registration? Yeah, they were used to make your uniforms! Now change and head to the field! The habit also makes the monk, my boys and girls! Get it through your head, from today onwards you are heroes!”

I went to the locker room and took the clothes out of my backpack, different from the other girls who had the suitcase given by the school. On vacation before starting at the U.A. my mother arrived with a green jumpsuit and tears in her eyes.

“I brought a gift, daughter”. She had sewn that costume herself. “You know, Mom always regretted saying those things and you never gave up! So from now on I will support you with all my strength, okay?”

I smiled looking at the jumpsuit, it might not be technological, but it carried my mother's love and it was enough. It was green with even darker green accents, and it covered my face with a jaw guard that reminded me of a smile. In addition to the pointy ears. The inspiration was clear: All Might.

I was late getting dressed and was the last to arrive on the field, all the clothes were beautiful. Kacchan had two huge grenades in his arm and was wearing a tight black tank top, that sexy blow-out look suited him.

“Deku?” Uraraka came close, her clothes were very tight, black with pink. My clothes hadn't been so tight, it was a little baggy like cold weather clothes.

“My God, girl!” I said laughing, she was a little embarrassed.

“I didn't end up filling out what I wanted right, and it came a little tighter than I expected... Your outfit reminds me of a…”

“Are you a rabbit, my sweetie?” Iida uttered the most embarrassing phrase of my life super loud coming towards me and Uraraka. The room looked at us, including All Might, Uraraka was holding back laughter and luckily my face was covered, no one would see how red I was. Before I could say anything, All Might said:

“Ha, this youth is really wonderful. But let's get started, my hero prototypes! It's time for combat training!”

All Might explained how the training would work, it would be several duos, 2vs2, one duo would be the villains, another the heroes. The mission would be inside a building. The villains hijacked a bomb and would win if they defeated the heroes or the heroes couldn't catch the bomb in time. It would be complicated because nobody knew each other and they didn't know how to work together. The pairs were drawn by lot, I stayed with Uraraka and felt relief, Iida fell with Kacchan and the two were not very happy with that.

But chaos happened when I was drawn to go against Bakugou.

He smiled, but I immediately started to get nervous.

At the entrance to the building Uraraka asked:

“Bakugou is that guy who teases you, right? That one a mite angry.”

“A mite is dram.” I replied with a sigh. “We know each other like always. We can say that he would be almost perfect if not for the personality. His individuality, confidence, physical ability. Even his appearance. He was always better than me at everything. That's why I don't want to lose to him now.”

Uraraka smiled awkwardly at my speech but said nothing.

We started the race and if I had bet that Bakugou would act alone, I would have won. He appeared over our heads and let out an explosion that luckily I managed to dodge and pushed Uraraka.

I felt a frigid wind on my face, half my mask burned. Tsk. I pulled the rest of it down. I used to bow my head to Kacchan and follow him everywhere, but in these last few months, since I started training with All Might, that boy used to get me mad, the irritation he always directed at me started to be reflected. And every time Kacchan looked at me with that angry look, I felt like screaming and punching him. I think I accumulated for so many years that Bakugou managed to get the worst out of me.

“I was sure you would ignore the rest and come attack me, Kacchan, you always come after me, don't you?” I smile, his hatred for me was one of his weaknesses, even if I didn't have the strength to stop him, I would find a way to make him lose.

“Shut up! We will finally be able to resolve ourselves.”

He yelled as he came towards me to attack. Always with the right arm. I used it to my advantage, used his own momentum to grab him by the arm and throw him to the ground.
“Kacchan, that notebook you burned, had things about you too. Like you usually attack with your right arm. I'm not worthless anymore, Kacchan” I yelled back at him, stuff I've let build up in those months. “You can call me Deku all you want, now it's a word of encouragement! And your spoiled child screams will only push me forward.”

“YOU MAKE ME POSSESS” Kacchan got up, screaming. Iih, maybe I should have stayed quiet.

Kacchan and I were childhood friends, we always lived close to each other and we were always in the same classroom. There were times when I was anxious just to wait to play with him in the street, but after his quirk appeared, everyone around us only knew how to praise him and soon it started to go through his head. Before, he was confident in an inspiring way, but it gradually turned into something irritating, I could see in his face that he expected me to treat him like the others, like he was special. I thought he was amazing, but I treated him like I treated everyone else. He was a human being, who could have his ups and downs. They didn't teach Kacchan to have limits and that saddened me, maybe we would still be best friends today if at age 4 my quirk awakened with something as cool as his.

He tried to kick my shoulder and I defended by doing an X with my arms. It was so strong... But adrenaline keeps me from feeling any pain there.

“Uraraka, can you…”

Kacchan caught me by the back of the jumpsuit and threw me against the wall, the thud was such that I lost my breath.

“Do not ignore me. You don't have time to chat.”

I got up and he tried another kick, I used the capture tape given by the teacher to wrap his leg, but he managed to free himself. I would have to get him away from Uraraka so we could do something useful. I run through the corridors of the building.

He came running after while yelling:

“WHAT'S UP. Have you enjoyed deceiving me for so long? Did you laugh in my face? Did you think I didn't deserve to know? Your power is pretty cool isn't it?” Kacchan started to release explosions as he ran to try to hit me. “Use your quirk! Then I'll show you that I'm better.”

I managed to get far enough away to lose sight of him, he was more busy yelling than running.

“Uraraka, where are you?” I spoke on the communicator

“In the hall on the fifth floor, that's where the bomb is.”

It's practically on top of me.

“Wait there, and get ready!”

“Deku... Why are you ignoring me? Why don't you show me your quirk?” Through Kacchan's eyes I could tell, he was running wild. The anger was so much that it felt like he was hurting himself. “If you know so much about heroes, then you know that my quirk is an explosion, the sweat glands in my hand secrete a liquid similar to nitroglycerin, and that's what makes it explode.”

He pointed his arm at me.

“If the guys designed it as I ordered, then this glove here also serves as a tank to store liquid and…”

“DO YOU WANT TO KILL HER?” All Might screamed into our telecom.

“If I don't get it right, she won't die.” He yelled and pulled the pin from her arm.

A gigantic explosion passed close enough to me to push me back and burn me a little. This was insane, the entire back of the building behind me had been destroyed and now a fresh breeze was coming in.

“Use your quirk, Deku, let's go! Use your quirk with me.”

Seeing that attack of his I had an idea.

“Uraraka, what is the situation there?“ I put my hand to my ear for the communicator.

“Holy Shit! Will you still leave me blank? What do you need to give me attention? Can you still move? Why don't you come here and get this over with?”

I know ignoring him would only piss him off, but my brain was thinking too many things at the same time to keep answering those sentences that sounded more like a fight in elementary school. He was offended because I still didn't take "how amazing he is" seriously, but actually I was focused precisely because I knew he was amazing and I had to work hard.

All Might informed us that if he used that move again he would be disqualified because destroying the environment was not a valid strategy. This only made Bakugou angrier.

He came towards me, I was preparing for defense, when he assumed an explosion to change course and landed an explosion in my back. Before I could react, he slammed a grenade from his arm into the side of my body. Everything happened very fast, in a blink I was thrown on the ground. That was Katsuki Bakugou, he was going to kick ass anyway, whether I was a woman or a man, and I even liked that. It's not like a villain is any different.

Even with the lack of air I got up and ran to a specific corner of the place.

“Why…” Bakugou put a hand to his face, not sure if all he was feeling was just anger “Why, Midoriya, don't you use your fucking quirk with me?”

Rancor, that was what Kacchan's voice carried.

“Since we were kids? Since that time have you laughed behind my back?”

My legs were shaking a little.

“I want to beat you, Kacchan. I will beat you and overcome you, you idiot!”

He came running towards me and I went to him. I felt the power flow through my arm. And when I was almost ready for impact I yelled into the telecom.

“Uraraka! Now!”

Bakugou's explosion blew out of me at the same time I punched towards the ceiling and an immense air pressure destroyed all the floors above us.

When the dust started to settle we could see the sky through the huge hole, how was the building still standing?

My arm was all broken. And Bakugou at the last second lowered his hand and instead of hitting my face he hit my chest, everything was sore and a little burned, the overalls burned to pieces.

“Kacchan, I really want to use my quirk with you, but now... my body just can't take it.”

I couldn't say anything else, my body slumped, expecting to find the cold ground, but I felt Bakugou catch me before falling and I lost consciousness as All Might announced that Team Heroes had won.

Chapter Text

Pov: Iida

I was happy and excited, there was no way the school year started better. On the first day of school, after not being expelled (which didn't even make sense), I went to a coffee shop with two classmates.

To tell the truth, I wasn't used to it, hanging out with girls, in the old school, some usually ignored me or laughed in the corners, it was too immature, however I believe it was inevitable since we were in elementary school. Now in high school I just expected a little more maturity.

The coffee shop was quiet, Uraraka was one of the cutest girls I had ever met, she had pink cheeks and spoke her mind. Midoriya, on the other hand, seemed to think a lot before speaking, while emanating a different energy, it was as if something in her screamed for me to take her side. And there was also something curious about her personality, she asked to call her "my sweetie", that was very strange and even a little exaggerated (or would it be inappropriate?) for classmates, but there must have been some reason, besides moreover, that same feeling made me want to follow everything she said.

The next day we were informed about combat training, Uraraka wore a tight-fitting outfit that made me embarrassed just looking at it, how could the girls wear that? Midoriya came running late, her outfit was a little baggy, but she had long ears and something that looked like big teeth. A rabbit? Could it be that she could jump so high? No use trying to guess, just ask.

“Are you a rabbit, my sweetie?” I approached the two of them, everyone was silent and looked at us.

Midoriya had completely stopped moving and Uraraka was all red in the face. I was waiting for the answer that didn't come until All Might said:

“Ha, this youth is really wonderful. But let's get started, my prototype heroes! It's time for combat training!”

I ended up in a duo with Bakugo, a very angry boy. We would be villains, he seemed not quite sane, but I hoped he would take the training seriously. We would go against Midoriya and Uraraka.

Bakugo and I walked in silence to the room that was the bomb, Bakugo was walking in a heavy way, making a noise that echoed down the corridor. When we got there we saw a very stereotyped cartoon-style bomb twice our size.

"It might just be an exercise, but I don't like being a villain," I said aloud. "Even if I just need to protect this thing…”

I was interrupted, Bakugo who had been silent until then, pulled me by the part of my armor that protected my neck.

"My sweetie", huh? Are you dating that fucking nerd now? So she developed a quirk and told you, yeah? You knew she had that shit.”

Bakugo was angrier than I saw him in those two days, there were so many questions that I wasn't even sure what exactly annoyed him, but one thing was for sure, he had something with Midoriya, maybe she had denied some declaration of love when they were younger? Because the way he spoke…it wasn't just anger, it was kind of choked up.

“Of course I saw, we took the entrance exam in the same team. She's amazing, even though quirk is at high risk. Anyway, you're going to attack her head on, aren't you?”

He let go of me and let loose a lot of curses and bad words that you don't expect from a student.

“We're not dating, in case it matters for this training. The first time I talked to her properly was yesterday, but it would be no offense to date her, unlike what you said. If she's a nerd then it’s just one of the qualities besides being hardworking and very pretty.”

Bakugo stared at me as if I were an insect, but said nothing. As soon as All Might told us we could get started, he sprinted out of the room and left me there alone. That was no surprise, the boy didn't even know how to work in a team. If he was going to go after Midoriya, I wouldn't have to worry, I had to fix Uraraka's quirk, I would take everything out of the room that she could levitate.

A few minutes spent in the room in silence.

“Bakugo is naturally rotten, it even looks like a villain, it fits perfectly in this exercise”. I started talking to myself. “But thinking that way, I should try and act more like a villain. This is also just another challenge to becoming a worthy man for the Iida Family!” I took a deep breath. “Put yourself in the place of a villain.”

Wrap yourself in darkness, Iida.

“Now I'm pure evil....”

I really needed to make an effort to think evilly, I heard a noise of something that sounded like a female laugh, Uraraka or Midoriya?! If a person went unseen by the angry Bakugo, it must have been Uraraka.

“So you came, Uraraka. I knew you would come as soon as Bakugo went after Midoriya. Your quirk makes everything that touches levitate, with that in mind I prepared myself and cleaned the whole room!” I gave an evil laugh. “Now you can't use your tricks! You made a mistake in your calculations, heroine!!”

I let out another evil laugh, that laugh was actually fun to give.

After a few minutes of staring at each other, we heard a gigantic noise and the ground shook. It was an explosion…

“But what??? Is it Bakugo? What the hell is he doing?” I said

Was Midoriya alright?

Uraraka came running towards me and started to levitate, so could she use her quirk to lift herself? If she simply touched the pump it would already be considered as "recovering" and we would lose.

Before she finished her descent trajectory, I accelerated and got the bomb out of her way. Nothing compared to my speed! My brother would be proud to see.

“As long as you can't touch me, I don't need to worry!!! So I'll stay here as long as it takes!!”

I let out another evil laugh.

We faced each other for several minutes, but then Uraraka retreated behind a pillar.

When I thought nothing else would happen because we were so peaceful, the communicator in my ear exploded with All Might's voice:

“Attention both teams! The match was susp…”

Uraraka held onto a pillar like a monkey.

I heard a strange noise and within seconds the floor in front of me began to crumble and fly upward, the noise was unbearable, the whole building was being broken to the ceiling, that was Midoriya's quirk, that crushing pressure. It was frightening to witness this up close.

”Sorry, Iida. This is my new improvised super move!”
Uraraka held the pillar as if it were nothing.

“Home Run Comet!”

She slammed the pillar into several pieces of concrete that flew like baseballs in my direction.

“You call it home ruuun?”

I had to dodge, there were many pieces being thrown in addition to those that were still rising (or falling) due to Midoriya's impact.

“Recovered!”

I looked back.

“No! The bomb!!!!”

Uraraka was hugging the bomb. All Might was back on the communicator.

“The heroes... The hero's team won!!”

Uraraka got off the bomb, celebrating.

“Congratulations on your victory, Uraraka! After all, what did those two do?”

We look through the hole to see below. Bakugo held Midoriya in his lap as if she were a child. Bruised, with clothes torn and unconscious. Already Bakugou was pale and I could have sworn he was trembling. That didn't make any sense. If you saw the situation without knowing the training you would say that a villain attacked the two, that Midoriya protected them and now Bakugo was devastated because she got hurt. But we knew, he had done that, so why did he keep that face?

Did he have a psychological problem? Dual personality maybe?

All Might had to appear behind him, say something we didn't hear, and only then did Bakugou put her on the stretcher to be taken by the robot nurses. The three of us went back to the spectator room with the other students. Everyone was looking surprised.

I was really surprised by All Might saying I was the best.

“But weren't the winners Ochako and Midoriya?” Asked a girl with very long green hair.

“Then I ask, why would I think so? Does anyone know why?”

“Yes, All Might, I know!” A girl with black hair and a very low-cut red outfit raised her hand. “It was because Iida was the only one who adapted to the situation. After watching the fight, Bakugo's behavior was clearly driven by some sort of personal, and therefore arbitrary, feeling. Also, as you told us, Sensei, using a large-scale attack like this in an enclosed space is silly. The same thing goes for Midoriya. Uraraka's strategy, however, only lasted halfway through and his final attack was very reckless. We were considering this papier-mâché thing as a real nuclear bomb, so that kind of attack wouldn't have worked. Iida created a counter strategy for his opponent, because he correctly assumed that the game revolved around the bomb. While he was very slow to react to this latest attack. I believe that the "victory" that the team of heroes achieved went too far around the rules and was too reckless.``

The room was silent, wow. All Might coughed

“Well... Young Iida could also have been less stricter... But, correct answer!” All Might made a thumbs-up sign.

We watched the other groups, there were different types of quirks, a guy with a tail, another who released lightning, the girl who said that much managed to get things out of her body.

But surely the most surprising one was a boy with his body half covered in ice, he froze the entire building in seconds and defeated the other pair, alone.

After the training ended, we went back to the classroom, it was almost time to leave.

“Damn, man, you have no pity to kick a beautiful girl ass eh? I got goosebumps seeing it.” The guy that releases lightning bolts, with yellow hair and a black lock said looking at Bakugou.

“Hey, just because she's a woman doesn't mean he has to take it easy.” A whole pink girl replied “Villains wouldn't do that.”

“Yeah, and bro, your quirk is amazing!” A young man with spiky red hair got into the conversation. But Bakugou just looked at them in silence and left the room as soon as the teacher released us.

His expression was that of someone who didn't even know what he was doing there anymore.

Chapter Text

I had already woken up, but I still kept my eyes closed, pretending to sleep, after all, an important conversation was going on by my side and even though it wasn't entirely right to do that, it was about me! So I needed to know. When I became aware the conversation was already happening, in fact, I believe I woke up precisely because of the exaltation of the voices.

“For God's sake, All Might, this is the disciple you gave your power to, you can't let her act in any way like today, her body won't withstand many destructions like that".

“I can't argue, I ended up not interfering to value her will to win…”

Recovery Girl sighed, they exchanged a few more phrases about the transfer of power being secret and about the symbol of peace.

“Is it so important that she be the symbol of peace?”

“If there is not one, society will succumb to evil”. All Might replied in a serious tone.

“In that case, you must learn to act as her teacher and mentor, or it will only bring suffering for both of you.”

All Might was silent. The conversation ended, I waited several minutes until it was safe to "wake up". I was already free to go back to the classroom, sfor sure Aizawa would have massacrated me for having broken myself wholly. One of my arms was in a splint and the other whole was bandaged, I would need to spend other days in the infirmary to heal slowly.

When I opened the door I heard an unknown voice.

“Hey, Midoriya, come closer!”

I looked towards the voice, a boy with spiky red hair and a nice face, all his teeth were pointed like fangs and that gave him a strangely cute look. I was ashamed of an unknown boy calling me, but I approached, maybe it was a message from the teacher.

“I don't know what you two said at the time of the brawl, but it was all very animal!” He said. “After that fight there was no way for us to get carried away either!”

Along with him was a girl with pink hair and skin who looked like an alien due to her antennae. Other students came over to talk and we ended up giving a quick introduction.

The cute one was Eijiro Kirishima, the pink Mina Ashido. There was also a green-haired girl named Tsuyu Asui, a broad-lipped guy named Sato, and a blond-haired boy named Kaminari.

Everyone talked excitedly about how amazing I had been in training, I was totally out of reaction, that was something totally new for me... people praising me.

I felt someone grab the sleeve of the blouse on the arm that wasn't bandaged, it was Uraraka, she looked very worried.

“Deku... didn't Recovery heal you?”

“Ah, this is because my condition is not very good, so it goes little by little.” I looked around. “Where's Bakugo?”

Uraraka arched an eyebrow. Okay, okay, I understood her, the boy had just destroyed me, but I needed to talk to him.

“He's gone. The people in the classroom even told him to stay, but he left without saying anything. He didn't look very…well.”

I didn't understand the expression on her face, but I didn't have time to think, I left the classroom running, I wanted to catch him before he left.

I found him near the gate. He walked slowly, something unusual for him.

“Kacchan!” I yelled at him to stop walking.

He looked back. My heart was in my mouth as he turned. It was hard to explain his look. If I had come by surprise and shot him in the back, I think it would have been a look similar to the one he would throw.

Kacchan looked at my arm and then back to my face. My condition was depressing, I had the splint on one arm, the other that was moving was all bandaged, my face with some scratches and to make matters worse my clothes were so torn it looked like I was going to wear it at some crazy festival. Underneath the suit I wore a black top, even so, only now did I stop to think how ridiculous it looked.

“I need to tell you something” I took a breath to take courage. “I received this quirk from someone else. I can't tell you how and from whom, and I still don't know how to control it. I wanted to beat you without using it, until I learned more, but in the end I ended up using it. I didn't hide anything from you and I didn't make fun of your face in secret. But I'm going to master this quirk so I can say it's mine, and overcome your strength!”

“What the fuck?” Kacchan yelled. “Did you come here to continue making fun of my face? Received quirk? Who do you want to fool? I can't stand that irritating face of yours that pretends to be a saint, but come here to make fun of me.”

Hey...that wasn't true, I had never made fun of him. He didn't believe me. I wanted to answer but was shocked when I saw him crying. It was the first time in my life.

“I lost to you today, that's all. And I saw the ice guy and he's stronger than me! And in the end that ponytail girl was right... You all shit.” Kacchan cried as he tried to hold back, I didn't know if it was frustration, anger or sadness, maybe a mixture of all? I had no idea who the two he had quoted were “So you can make fun all you want, Izuku. You'll never beat me again. I will defeat you before we get to that point.”

In “that” point? Which point? And "Izuku"? He hadn't called me by name in years, my heart pounded, my stomach ached, my head felt heavy. I didn't understand anything, but I wanted him to stop crying. I know he was being spoiled, crying because he lost, because for the first time in his life he was dealing with frustration, but seeing him cry made me feel weird.

He started walking to leave, I didn't know what to say.

All Might appeared beside him like a flash:

“Having self love is very important! You have what it takes to become a professional hero!! But there is still a lot to…"

“Let go of me, All Might, I can't walk like this,” Kacchan said, wiping the tears with his sleeve. “You don't need to tell me anything!! Rest assured that I will be an even greater hero than you!”

Kacchan said in his usual angry and confident tone and stopped crying. My heart became calmer. He's gone. Kacchan was determined to improve, and I wouldn't be left behind.

******

The next morning the first thing I noticed was that "ice boy" that Kacchan said, how come I hadn't seen him before? The boy simply left ice covering half of his body, instead of his eyes a red light came out. However, the bare side of him appeared to be handsome (it was difficult to analyze only half), white hair and brown eyes. He didn't speak to anyone and he didn't seem to care. He seemed to be the complete opposite of Bakugo, so was he really that strong? I was upset that I had missed seeing.

During lunch time I ended up separating from Iida and Ochako right after we finished eating, I actually saw the ice boy come out of the cafeteria and I wanted to follow him, but I couldn't tell the two of them, it would be bizarre, they would think that I was a crazy stalker. I lied that I was going to get something to drink, and to disguise it I actually bought two coffees that the can already comes out hot from the machine. Nor did I understand why, maybe Bakugo's tearful words piqued my interest. After all, that was the boy who made him feel inferior, you didn't see it every day.

I found him sitting outside the building, on benches far apart and isolated. The most curious part is that he was getting some sunshine. Was the ice boy feeling cold? I was very nervous, I wasn't the kind of girl who would go up to a stranger and let out a "hey man, so you're really strong? Show me", I was only stripped down with the Ochako-Iida combo because they approached me. I was standing behind a tree a few feet away, building up my courage and wondering what to say when I felt my foot go absurdly cold.

I looked down, my feet were stuck with ice.

“Who's there? Why are you spying on me?” I heard the boy's voice, it was kind of in the same linear tone.

“Maybe you'll have a coffee?” I leaned my body forward to appear from behind the tree, my face was probably red, it felt hot.

“You're from the class, right? The girl who has the destructive quirk. Why did you follow me?”

The ice on my foot melted and I walked over to the bench he was sitting on, I stretched out one of the coffee cans and he took it, our fingers touched and it was really cold. Was he alive?

“I just wanted to talk, but I'm glad I got a hot drink. Does that part of your skin never melt?” I pointed to half of ice, starting to get calmer after being caught.

“It's not my skin, I just cover it with ice.”

Huh? I looked at him for a few seconds, he was holding the warm can in his hand.

“But you seem to be cold, why do you do that?”

“I don't like what my other half looks like.” He replied. A person of few words, but very sincere.

Did he hide half of his face because he thought he was ugly? I didn't think he had self-esteem issues. Maybe I should try to cheer him up? He seemed to be pretty lonely, I better than anyone else knew how terrible it was, being alone and feeling like crap.

“Show me! I'm sure the other half of your face is just as pretty as this one”. I pointed to half uncovered, but automatically I blushed. I think I had two great skills, being quiet and saying embarrassing things.

I thought the boy was going to make fun of me, but it seems I left him in shock with my barefaced, because he stared at me in silence.

“Okay, no need” I sighed, how I was stupid. “But you know, you seem to be cold. At least have the coffee to warm up.” He was still holding the can, neither of us had drunk it yet. I had a slight impression that his was already cold, so I touched it. Confirmed, his coffee had gone cold.

“Can we exchange? I even like iced coffee.”

He was still staring at me. God, was I that weird?

Out of nowhere a smoke started to come out and the ice on his body to dissipate, a few seconds later I could see the other side of his face, the hair on the other half was bright red, and the eye was azure blue, but what really called the attention was a scar on the face, a burn that caught the entire region of the eye and a little beyond. Even so, I felt a slight flutter in my heart, he was very handsome, even with the scar and the totally neutral expression he did. Imagine if he gave a little smile?

“You see” I started to get a little nervous, I wasn't good with people, especially cute boys. “No need to hide, it's good this way. And I bet that more comfortable.”

"Is it as pretty as the other half?"

What a boy was that who asked a question like this with that calm expression on his face? He was really the opposite of Bakugo. I was completely red, down to the tips of her ears.

“Yes!” I got up, feeling nervous. “I bet that when you become a hero you'll be able to appear in several magazines, they'll ask you to go on TV shows, there will be those fan clubs of hysterical girls who keep posting pictures of you just after going to the market to buy toilet paper . If you want, you can even work like a model when you're not saving anyone.”

And there we go, nervous Midoriya was Midoriya that can’t stop jibber-jabbering!

“I really don't want my picture taken while buying toilet paper.” He said with a serious voice, and even more, his expression. He had taken it seriously. It reminded me of Iida who took everything literally. I didn't know how to respond, but thank God the bell rang announcing the end of lunch break. Neither of us finished our coffee or opened it.

“Let's go to the classroom?” I asked. “We can finish the coffee after”.

He got up and followed me. Halfway there I realized something.

“Hey, what's your name?”

“Todoroki Shoto, and yours?”

“Midoriya Izuku.”

Todoroki? Where had I heard that last name?

Chapter Text

POV: Uraraka

Bakugo didn't know he liked Midoriya.

Although I didn't really know either of them and their history, I started to understand.

The first time I saw them was in the entrance exam, he was rude at first, but when I looked at them sideways, I could see him staring at her over and over, even though she didn't notice.

After we all entered the same classroom, the signs became clearer. The constant irritation, the obsession, the hidden worry.

Of course, I could be totally wrong. After all, I wasn't phd in feelings.

However, after that training my conviction grew stronger.

He did not know. And to make matters worse, he confused the feelings inside and externalized them in a way of anger and frustration. Anyone would say, "yes, he hates her for some reason".

But that face as he held her passed out... He didn't even understand why he was sinking into despair.

He hurt her so much that she would have to be sent to the infirmary.

The funniest thing was that it started to make me angry, Midoriya was “Kacchan” over here, “Kacchan” over there. I wasn't sure what she felt, for sure Bakugo was on a much higher level of feeling. Midoriya didn't even seem to consider something like that, liking someone romantically. But her subconscious sought his approval like a dog after its owner.

When she came back to the classroom still all bruised and the first thing she asked me was where he was, my heart sank in a mixture of terrible feelings. The main thing was about my own inability.

When we have a heroine-nurse at school who can take care of almost everything, we don't take our injuries too seriously. But when I saw Midoriya still in that state, I felt terrible. She did almost everything in training, the only thing I did was jump when she told me to and grab me on the bomb.

If I had been more helpful would she have been hurt like that? If I were stronger, would I be able to help her stop Bakugou before they both reached that point?

I needed to get stronger, needed to be able to stand beside her as an equal and not repeatedly watch her get hurt.

The other thing that worried me was Bakugou, I didn't want him to realize that he liked Midoriya and end up talking, I was afraid of what she would answer. He was too destructive, too coarse, and he abused her. It irritated me to think that he thought it was ok to treat her like crap because he himself couldn't understand what he felt and was going through his head. He pushed her away out of fear of his own feelings and when she started to go, he would pull her back aggressively because that's how spoiled kids acted when they were missing something important.

The next day I noticed that Midoriya tried to shake off me and Iida at lunchtime, what would she do now? I also shook off Iida and followed her.

I stopped a few feet away to see that she was stalking the boy who covered half his body in ice. What was she going to do anyway? And by the way, what was going through my head to do that?

I couldn't hear anything, maybe if I approached a little closer…

“What are you doing?”

I turned around nervous at being taken by surprise. It was that girl with the black ponytail who pointed out our team's shortcomings in training. She approached me and noticed that I was snooping on the two of them from a distance. My face blushed.

“I'm worried about my friend's destructive taste for men.” It wouldn't do much good to lie, she already saw that I stalked.

“At least this one looks a little better than the blown blonde”. She put her hand over her mouth to giggle. She looked all elegant.

“I can't even deny it” I laughed too. “My name is Uraraka Ochako”.

“Momo Yaoyorozu” She tilted her head. “But why is she worried about boys in a hero school?”

“She's not” I replied firmly, I didn't want her to think anything wrong about Midoriya. “But she's so slow that she doesn't notice that she's surrounded by stupid wolves.”

“Your concern for her is very sweet, Uraraka.” Momo's tone of voice was so gentle that I blushed a little.

“Girls have to take care of themselves.”

Momo was excited with a sentence and we started talking about other things, only later I noticed that I found her there because Momo was having lunch alone, I was her first friend from school. We went back to the classroom, but before we went I took one last look back to see smoke coming out of the boy's face, it seemed to be melting the ice.

Chapter Text

When we got back to the classroom, everyone seemed surprised to see the other half of Todoroki, some students even commented on how handsome it was and laughed, but he just thanked them without much enthusiasm.

Some people stared at me for going in with him, three actually, and in a totally different way. Iida was staring at me with a smirk on her face (I deserve it...), Uraraka looked sullen (was she like that why didn't I call her to talk to the pretty boy in the class?) and of course, Bakugou, with an expression between very serious and very angry. I was such an idiot, what else would he think?

Yesterday he told me crying that Todoroki made him feel inferior, today I came back from lunchtime beside him holding a coffee. He would probably think by now that the two of us were talking about and making fun of him. I sat on my desk and sank into it wanting to disappear. Midoriya, you idiot.

Classes went on as normal, and when the bell rang for us to leave. Todoroki stopped by my desk. I stared at him blankly for several seconds, until he realized that I didn't understand.

“You said we'd finish breakfast later.”

The boy was really literal. That coffee must have been awful at this point. And to improve, there were still several students in the room who listened. Yesterday Iida calling me sweetie, today the boy talking about the coffee. I had no peace.

“Are you leaving without us?” Uraraka appeared almost like a teleporter there beside us, she wanted so much to go out with Todoroki?

“Let's all go to Moonbrucks!” Iida also appeared. My entire allowance went to coffee apparently, but I was relieved we would have more company.

“Will you pay for me, Iida?” Uraraka, for a change, was very direct.

"Of course, a gentleman always pays the lady's coffee," Iida said proudly, it was almost as if it were already a matter of honor.

“Am I not a lady, Iida?” I said pouting, just managed to have that boldness with both.

“I'll pay for your coffee.” Todoroki stared at me as if he'd just found out he had that obligation.

“No need” I said, a bit shrilly and red. “I was joking with Iida, you don't need to worry”.

I got up from my desk.

“But I want to pay, I want to thank you for calling me beautiful and to apologize for not drinking the coffee you bought for me”.

My face couldn't get any redder.

Before I can respond, I hear a thud. Bakugou also gets up from desk by throwing a punch.

“Now this shitty school turned into a playground for idiots?”

He's gone.

I sighed, the situation with him only got worse.

I thought that little by little, being two students of the heroes course, and both with quirks, we would end up going back to that time in our childhood when we got along better. But apparently we were just getting further apart.

There wasn't much to do if he was going to continue to act in that manner, I sighed again.

The four of us went towards the coffee shop. Along the way, we shared our presentations, after all Uraraka and Iida still didn't know their colleague's name.

“I'll introduce myself again then, I'm Izuku Midoriya.”

"Or my sweetie." Iida replied.

“Iida, you really need to stop this” Even after explaining that it was a joke, now it seemed that he used my shame as revenge for the mockery I made to him.

”Is that your nickname?” Todoroki asked. “Can I call you that?”

“Iida is just making fun of me.” I replied, blushing. “My nickname is Deku”.

“You look so cute with embarrassment” Uraraka chuckled, squeezing my cheeks and I blushed even more.

After a few minutes of walking the subject changed.

“So your quirk is ice?” Iida asked.

“I can also control fire, but I don't use it.” Todoroki replied.

“Why not?” Uraraka was walking arm in arm with me, would she be ashamed because of him?

“I don't need to use that side of me.”

The three of us nodded in silence, it was kind of hard to think of what to say, but something inside me burned, I spent my life without a quirk, suffering prejudice for it and there we had a young man who didn't use half his capacity. Why?

The cafeteria was a cozy place, in browns and greens, separate corners for conversation groups, beyond the tables and chairs of any food establishment. Jazz-like ambient music alternating with indie music played loud enough to be heard but low enough for you to ignore if you were talking. As it was a little crowded, we decided to look for a place in the corners with a sofa upstairs before placing the order. I almost tripped off the stairs when I saw them.

Mina, Kirishima, Kaminari and Bakugo were sitting in one of the corners.

Mina smiled broadly when she saw us and waved:

“Hey! Come here! I didn't know you would come too. There's a place to sit with us”.

Indeed, the first three hadn't heard the conversation in the living room, they didn't even know we would be there, but what about Bakugo? I didn't even know he liked that sort of thing.

“We haven't ordered yet, so we don't lose our place, it's better just two to go and bring everything”. Mina started to write down what we wanted on a paper and collect the money from each one. “Midoriya and Bakugou, you two go! You guys need to look less crazy after how much you scared us in training. Nothing better than bringing food to colleagues to improve this image.”

“Huh? I'm not going to buy the fucking coffee”. He replied in his usual angry tone.

“I'll go with her.” Todoroki got up to accompany me and everything happened very quickly afterwards.

“Let's go buy this shit." Bakugou took the paper and money out of Mina's hand, took me by the free arm and started dragging me to the front of the cafeteria. It didn't even make sense, I had an immobilized arm and the boy had already demonstrated to everyone that he hated me, why did Mina give that idea?

When I realized, we were already far from the table and standing in the long line next to each other. I looked at the ground not knowing what to say and he looked straight ahead. How uncomfortable. I needed to think of something.

I looked at the counter, there were all kinds of cute foods there.

“You don't like candies, do you, Kacchan? I remember you always preferred spicy things. I wonder if they have some chocolate with pepper.” I pointed to a cupcake with a kitten design inside the showcase. “That one is so cute, it matches Uraraka”.

Silence.

“I didn't think I'd meet you in a coffee shop” I felt a drop of sweat start to rise on my forehead, the quiet Kacchan was as terrifying as he was mad. I went into my nervous chatty mode, I was still looking at the floor, little by little the line was advancing. “It's been years since we went out together, the last few times we still exchanged All Might stickers”.

“I’m so…”

I looked up. Terrifying. Kacchan looked like he was holding back not to kill me. I think the anger was such that he was seriously struggling to finish his sentence. I felt the color drain from my face. I'm sure he would talk "I'm so exhausted of you."

“I'll stay quiet.” I sighed, looking down, I couldn't deny that it was a little tiring dealing with him, always thinking what would annoy him on the normal level and what would be on the level "don't waste your time talking or he'll bark".

Finally it was our turn and we placed the order, in the end, with only one arm available, I managed to take very little, he took almost everything. When we got back everyone was in animated conversation about the teachers and what they expected from U.A.

Kacchan didn't talk much, Mina pushed him a lot into the conversation, I ended up not saying much either. A song I loved was playing and I drummed my fingers on the table in the rhythm.

“Do you like this song, Midoriya?” Uraraka asked me in a lower tone so as not to disturb the rest of the conversation.

“I love! It's so nice to hear.”

“And what's the name?” Todoroki intruded on the conversation.

“New Light by John Mayer”

I saw that Uraraka and Todoroki took out their cell phone to write down the name. Bakugo stared at us in silence. It was still a little uncomfortable being there.

When the conversations and the coffee were over, it was almost dusk, it was time to leave, I was happy to get to know more of everyone there. I was also a little relieved that the meeting ended because of Kacchan, but the relief gradually wore off as we parted ways and it was just the two of us, after all, we lived in the same neighborhood since we were little. From there it would be another 20 minutes of walking.

I thought he was going to disappear, but strangely, he kept pace with me. I saw him writing something on her cell phone as we walked, so I kept quiet.

After about 10 minutes of walking in silence I started to get in agony.

“I went to talk to Todoroki after you said he was strong, I was the only person who missed watching the other students and I felt a little behind, so I wanted to see, apparently he has two quirks, fire and ice. I don't want you to think I started talking to him just because of what you told me”.

“Whatever”.

Kacchan, who was always irritated and stared at me heavily, said in a neutral tone as he looked up at the sky when he replied. I didn't even know he had any other way of talking than screaming. That surprised me as much as him crying. Who was he and what did he do with the real Katsuki?

Cry, respond quietly, face the sky? What would come next?

I let out one of those nose blows when we find something funny. He looked at me.

“What's the fun?”

“I didn't know your voice could be emitted in that tone, it's beautiful, Kacchan, you should talk more like that and less yelling”. I lay it on the line with the face and courage that God gave me.

“Huh? Fuck you, Deku. I speak the way I want.” Despite having increased the tone of his voice, it was still normal, he walked ahead and I couldn't see his face.

I smiled, who knows, maybe I would meet the Katsuki of our childhood again.

—

It was so early and the front of the school was already packed with journalists. Everyone asked what it was like to have All Might as a teacher. Iida and Uraraka had not been able to escape. I was almost at the gate when a reporter pointed the microphone in my face:

“ With what kind of lessons does All Might teach students?

I hated that, what would I say?

“She needs to go to the infirmary, excuse me”.

Todoroki walked between me and the reporter, slightly pushing the microphone away. He followed the path without looking back and I followed him. Aizawa had just left school and closed the protective gate (a large sheet of metal) in front of all the teams. When we were about to enter the building Todoroki stopped.

“Yesterday you left with that wacky boy, did he do something to you?”

Wacky? Kacchan already had a hell of a reputation.

“It’s all right, nothing happened. We've known each other for many years”.

“And why do you accept that he mistreat you? Why don't you ignore him?” Todoroki was so serious, he seemed really bothered by Bakugo's attitudes.

I clenched my fists, actually that question was very good.

“I don't really know what to answer you. Maybe I really need to think about this. Sometimes I look at him and I hate what I see, but…”

I was going to go on to say that most of me still believed that Bakugo had a kind and heroic side, but I stopped abruptly when I saw Todoroki's reaction, his eyes widened and trembled slightly, his mouth was a line, he looked like someone in a state of shock.
“Todoroki…”

No reaction.

I started to get nervous and worried, I reached out and put it on his face.

“Ei, Todoroki”

As if lightning had struck him, he came to himself and took my hand.

“Sorry”. He pressed my hand to his cheek for a few seconds and then took it away, dropping it. “Bastards like this are beyond repair, they will always destroy everything they touch, please be careful.”

Before I could answer anything, he left to the classroom.

Bastards?

The only thing I could think of was the famous, "Huh?"

Chapter Text

POV: Shigaraki

What time was it? I wasn't entirely sure, I knew it was too soon even for that bunch of scumbags to be there. Nasty, useless, yelling, asking pointless questions about All Might. None of that hysteria made sense.

The day before, Japan discovered that All Might would teach at U.A. I knew it would be crowded like this, human stupidity was the same as any game pattern. It would be the perfect opportunity, hiding among the garbage.

The Sensei had said, if All Might was going to be a professor, he was looking for someone to pass One For All, so he was weakening. I cracked a smile, I wanted to kill him with my bare hands.

Confusion increased with reporters and the metal door was closed. But obviously they weren't going to settle for that. I watched all morning as they waited for the door to open, and when it finally opened around lunchtime, I saw the inevitable, some reporters thought they would make it to the school door.

I entered with them unnoticed and soon the alarm sounded, the gates closed again. I broke away from the crowd and started walking in the shadow of the building. Would I have the pleasure of killing someone?

A boy alone was getting juice from one of those vending machines, distracted, he didn't hear me approach. Would that level of idiot be the next heroes? They got worse and worse.

I reached out my hand to touch his black hair when I felt that familiar, uncomfortable feeling. Within seconds I was in the middle of a dimly lit bar, my "home".

“Why did you take me out of there?” I asked bored, a few more seconds and I would have enjoyed myself.

“It was not the time, nor the place, you would be caught, it was the Sensei's orders.”

I bit my lips, ripping the skin off.

“It was just to take me out of there after I touched him.”

“We can't get attention early.”

The person who answered me was a black shadow sticking out of an over-dressed suit. He was useful for the game sometimes, but he was also that annoying character who didn't release quests early.

“So, when?” I sat on the bar stool.

“Our informant said that in a week there will be an out-of-school training, All Might will take the students, it will be the best chance.”

I lowered my head to the bar counter using it for support. One week.

A week seemed like too long for me to kill that wretched.

Chapter Text

After Todoroki said those weird things, I went back to the room. In the morning the classes were the usual, geography, history, English, etc. But Aizawa announced that we would choose our room representative. Everyone applied, including me, after all, being a representative of class 1 in the Heroes Course was something to put on your curriculum.

I was very surprised when I received 4 votes and I came in first, considering that everyone had voted for themselves, but the other three votes that I received from people who "abdicated" from the post: Todoroki, Iida and Uraraka. The runner-up, who would remain as an alternate, had been Momo, with two votes. When it came time to introduce myself, I was nervous and I stuttered, I was too embarrassed to speak like that in public. When I got back to my desk, it even gave me some relief.

At lunchtime, the four of us were talking, I thanked them for their votes.

"Thank you, I didn't think I would win. I know I applied, but now I don't know if I can do it..".

"Of course you can, Deku!" Uraraka said, joining her fists close to her body in enthusiasm.

"Your courage and decision-making in critical moments are necessary qualities, that's why I voted for you."

"Didn't you want to be too, Iida?" Asked Todoroki while putting rice in his mouth, he and Uraraka hadn't raised their hand to apply. "Your hand was the most raised".

"Wanting doesn't mean deserving. In the end…"

The alarm rang in our ears and then a voice of guidance.

"Alert Level 3. All students must evacuate the building immediately."

The seconds later were pure hysteria, students started pushing each other down the hall, I held Uraraka's hand, but with a shove we parted to opposite sides of the hall. I, Todoroki and Iida were pressed against the glass of the big windows, Todoroki got in front of me so no one could hurt me, his body was so close...

I kept my eyes closed because I was too embarrassed to face him in that situation.

"Hey, what's that?" He asked.

"It's the press!" Iida replied and then I opened my eyes to look, Aizawa and Present Mic were trying to stop several uncontrolled journalists from advancing.

I looked ahead again and really, Todoroki was in a close proximity far above the acceptable, he was looking to the side due to the uncomfortable situation. People kept pushing and he leaned hard on the glass not to get even closer to me, if that was possible. I had my head leaning against his shoulder, dead with embarrassment.

I was totally aloof from the world when I heard Iida scream.

"Uraraka, make me float!"

Iida with great force managed to touch Uraraka's hand, who came advancing from the other side of the corridor just pushing the others. When he started to float, he used his quirk, but this caused him to crash into the wall above the cafeteria door.

"Attention students!" He shouted and everyone looked. "Don't worry. It's just the press! There's no reason to panic. This is the U.A. let's act according to the best institution in the country!"

The students gradually began to calm down and take their course in a controlled manner. Uraraka released Iida from the float and as soon as the hallway began to empty, Todoroki walked away some steps from me. He didn't look nearly as embarrassed as I did.

He made a motion with his head down, and then lifted the collar of his uniform.

"My uniform got your scent, Midoriya" He smelled the uniform. I was going to explode with embarrassment, what peace of mind to say such things was that? I ran out of there without even saying anything, I think no normal person would be able to answer something of that level.

I even breathed a sigh of relief when I arrived in the room. Some students were already there, including Bakugo, Mina and Kaminari.

"Hey, hey, why are you so red, Midoriya? What were you up to huh?" Kaminari opened a smile and approached as if he was going to tickle me.

"If you come up with those tickles I'll break your finger and shove it up your ass."

The few students there were silent, Mina started to laugh and it felt like Kaminari's soul left his body. Bakugo arched his brow.

I was in shock, how had I said such a thing? It was very sudden, I had just gotten out of a mega uncomfortable situation and now just the idea of another boy getting close to me irritated me in a surreal way.

"Sorry, Kaminari". I approached him. "It's just that I really don't like tickling". I lied.

"Hahaha" His soul seemed to be slowly returning. "Alright, I apologize".

Kaminari looked a little embarrassed, but happy that I was back to normal.

"It sounded like Bakugo talking now". Mina was still laughing. "You are more alike than you look."

"I'm nothing like that shit nerd."

"Thank God, right?" I replied.

"What did you say?" He got up to fight me. But Aizawa entered the room at that time.

When all the students returned, I bowed to the front of the room.

"Sorry, I believe that after what happened in the refectory, Iida is the most suitable to take my place as Representative of the class".

Everyone agreed and Iida looked radiant, he couldn't stop thanking me.

And so the rest of the day went on as normal.

---------------------------------

Finally the weekend arrived, my first week of classes had been quite noisy and I had met some very curious people. I had a lot of homework to do, but I also wanted to spend time with my mom, train, and at one point or another I would have to set up a meeting with All Might to tell him that I told Bakugo the secret of my new quirk.

Sometime after lunch, I go for a run around the neighborhood. That's when I found Mitsuki Bakugo carrying several grocery bags. Kacchan's mother, they were very similar, the hair color was the same and hers was also spiky, although a little more voluminous and long (up to the shoulder). Her eyes were redder than her son's, but the angry face was the same. She is beautiful.

"Midoriya, how you grew up." She said when saw me, from what I remembered of her, she was still the same. "You never went to my house again".

"Mrs. Bakugo, it's really been a long time," I replied with a slightly embarrassed smile. I'm not going there anymore because of your idiot son. But I couldn't say that.

"It must be because of that idiot Katsuki" She said and I choked back laughter. "And please call me Mitsuki, calling me Mrs. makes me feel so old". Really, old was something she didn't look like. "Could help me take these groceries? I ended up picking up too much and now it's so heavy".

"Sure". I took half of the bags, they weren't really heavy, it must have been because I was training now.

We walked towards the house, it was only a few blocks away.

"Midoriya, did Katsuki do something with you?"

And I looked at her not quite understanding the question, well how could I answer that it was the only thing he's been doing for the last 3 or 4 years?

"That idiot…" I think she had the quirk to read minds and I didn't know. - "These days I heard him talking to himself in the room, it wasn't exactly talking. When I snooped through the crack in the door, the idiot was repeating "I'm sorry" to the mirror. But just don't go out." She started to laugh. "It was unfortunate, He spoke stuttering or choked. That was when he could finish. He never apologized to anyone in his life. So I thought, who had he teased at the level of trying so hard and all I could think about was you".

Kacchan training to apologize to me? Impossible, if only for the training, but I couldn't imagine a world where he would apologize for that… Wait… for that other day behind the gym?

"We're here, can you help me take the groceries inside?"

I was so immersed in my thoughts that I didn't even notice that I agreed with that and out of nowhere I was already in the kitchen. I hadn't been there for years, but little has changed.

"Since you helped me so much, I'm going to make some tea, I bought a very tasty cake to go with it."

"You really don't need to!" I replied, there was no sign of Kacchan and his father, if he found me here he would be angry.

"If you deny it I'll be offended" Mitsuki really had the same angry face . "Go wash your hands in the bathroom, you remember where it is, don't you?"

I nodded and went silently to the bathroom. I was a nervous wreck, at any moment I could be "killed" by Kacchan if he saw me inside his house. I opened the door to what I thought was the bathroom, but my nervous carelessness made me forget exactly which door it was.

The first thing I saw was a poster of a band on the wall, my body froze. I looked down, Kacchan was lying on a mat, doing sit-ups. That was it, I was speechless. And so did he. I'm standing there in running clothing clutching the doorknob like it's my life and he's standing, sweaty and shirtless, halfway through a never-ending sit-up.

"Your mother bought cake and is making tea." I said, what else would I say? My brain snapped. "I was going to wash my hand and missed the bathroom door."

I swallowed hard, he didn't move. It felt like ages, but it was only a few seconds. I looked at Kacchan's body, that only made me more ashamed.

"You're doing well, Kacchan, you're already getting six packs, the girls are going to freak out". I gave a thumbs up with the hand that didn't hold on to the doorknob, I had no control over what I said when I got nervous.

Only then did he react, with the impulse of the rest of the sit-up that was still he got up, I thought he was going to scream and blow me to pieces, but he went to the closet and took out a black tank top.

"Why did that old woman invite you to eat? Crap."

He pulled on the tank top under sweat, his face red from training.

"We bumped into each other near the market and she asked for help carrying her groceries, I hadn't been here for so many years."

"Thank God right?" He imitated my tone of voice the other day and I blushed.

Kacchan walked past me and headed towards the kitchen.

"Where's that old woman?"

I went back, there was no one. On the table rested two cups of tea, a cake and a note with Mitsuki's handwriting:

"I forgot some things at the market, I'll be back soon"

Great. Wonderful. Fantastic. I was alone with Kacchan. He sat at the table, looking annoyed. He drummed his fingers on the table and wouldn't look me in the eye. He didn't say anything.

I sat across from him where the other mug was positioned and held it with both hands. I wanted to drink that quick tea and leave, but it was so hot. The seconds passed and his mother didn't come back. I managed, with a little pain, to drink that tea twice as fast as usual. No one spoke and Kacchan still looked irritated about something.

"Well, I'll wash these dishes and leave, I need to go back and help my mother".

When I got up, he got up too. I don't know what his intention was, whether to pick up the mug, or also to go to the sink, but our sudden movements collided and the mug shattered on the floor. Kacchan's hands gripped my wrist as if he was going to lift them up like in celebration.

" I'm…" Kacchan started to speak and looked like he was about to throw up. I remembered what his mother had said.

"I'm…?" I repeat.

His gaze was deep, the boy was really struggling, was I about to witness a miracle?

"What the fuck, I'm sorry. Shit". He let go of my wrists and bent down to pick up the large pieces of porcelain on the floor.

I also squatted down in front of him, a smile on my face.

"I don't remember very well, what exactly is this apology for?"

"Tsk, die!." That usual scream.

"If I die, I won't know what the apology is for."

He stood up and used his foot to push me back, I fell on my ass on the floor.

"What I said before we entered the U.A., but you're still useless with quirk or not, and you'll never get to my feet."

Kacchan being Kacchan.

I propelled my body forward and placed a hand on each of his feet, looking up.

"Look, it looks like I'm already on your feet, it won't take long for me to climb higher."

His face turned red with anger again. I felt that he was going to scream and until he released some explosion in my face, I ran to the door of the room. But a strange thing happened, in seconds I was right in front of the door.

Huh?

My legs tingled. I used All Might's Quirk and it hadn't broken?

My excitement went to a thousand, Kacchan appeared in the hallway.

"Ooi."

"Sorry Kacchan, I need to go. See you at school."

I opened the door and ran out. I took out my cell phone and dialed.

Three rings, he answered.

"All Might, I think I managed to use it, and my leg didn't break".

"My girl! Come to the U.A. so we can test it now!"

I turned off my cell phone and changed direction to school.

Chapter Text

POV: All Might

I was at school planning training for the next month when I got a call from Young Midoriya, it was rare for her to call me, even when it came to our training, I noticed that she was still afraid to bother me. Flustered, she said that had managed to control her strength. Excited, without thinking too much, I told her to go immediately to the U.A.

I looked at the paperwork in front of me, this would have to be left for later.

“Was it Midoriya that you ordered to come here?” Aizawa appeared behind me and I straightened my spine. “A weekend training? We cannot favor any student, it is unprofessional to put personal feelings into your role as a teacher”.

“Haha, don't worry, Aizawa” I got up quickly from the table. “I just need to take a quick look at something she said, I won't favor her in any way”.

I started to walk towards the door in stiff steps to get away from him when I heard:

“And the planning? It needs to be ready by the end of the day”.

“It will stay, it will”. I gave an encouraging laugh so that he would have confidence in me, but his face was just the opposite, I got out of there very quickly.

Not half an hour later Midoriya appeared at the school gate in running clothes and sweaty. We went to the drinks machine to get her some water while she told me how she had managed to use her Quirk.

“Then, bang, out of nowhere I was at the door and my leg just tingled, but it hadn't broken. It was amazing, All Might!”

“Let's test it right now!” I replied excitedly in my stuffed form.

We went to the back of the school where the students had taken their first day's physical test.

“The best way is not to risk it, try to create air pressure using a flick with your finger, Midoriya.”

“All right!” She responded. Even tired from running, I could see how the girl went into full concentration mode, her face became serious and she seemed to be 100% focused. Midoriya positioned herself and after a few seconds she flicked, the air pressure was huge, I could hear the bones of his index finger breaking.

She held his hand, didn't cry, but a few tears of pain appeared in the corners of her eyes:

“I think it didn't work out very well”. She had a disappointed smile on her face. The girl was pretty good at taking pain.

“I wonder why? You had it, what did you do differently?”

“I don't know, All Might, maybe it was too much strength for one finger?”

“You got it because you weren't thinking about it”. Aizawa walked towards us. “I followed you and listened to your story of a teenager who should be at home doing her homework and instead went to have tea at someone else's house”. Aizawa arrived at Midoriya's side and took her hand to see the broken finger. “You think too much about how to control and then you end up not controlling. When it acts naturally your own body adapts”.

That made sense. Really Midoriya thought too much for everything she was going to do.

“And how do I not think about it?” she asked.

“And why would I know? It wasn't me who gave you that power”.

They both looked at me and once again I straightened my spine. That was more complicated than defeating a villain.

“Well” I coughed to clear my throat. “That's it, you have to go there and do it, you can't think too much. Let your body respond.”

“All right, All Might! Go there and do it, got it!” Midoriya replied excitedly. But Aizawa looked at me sarcastically.

“Go there and do another time, now go to the infirmary for Recovery Girl to heal that finger, you're lucky she's here today because of the school planning that all teachers should be doing”. He looked at me.

Midoriya nodded and ran to the infirmary, but before she looked back.

“All Might, after you finish your planning, I need to say something very important to you”.

“Okay, young Midoriya! Come to the staff room as soon as you leave the infirmary!”

She continued on her way. Aizawa and I went back to the teachers' lounge.

When she came back, I was still stuck on that paperwork. Only the three of us were left there.

“Aizawa, so you know the secret?” She must have been referring to One for All.

“Yes”

“From here at school only he, Recovery Girl and the Headmaster know.”

“And Kacchan” She completed.

“What?” I ended up speaking in a louder tone, unconsciously crumpled the papers in front of me.

“Sorry, All Might” She bowed. “This is what I needed to tell you, I told Bakugo. In fact, I haven't even told my mom about having a Quirk yet, but I needed to be honest with him, ok he didn't believe me…”

I sighed, I believed that with Midoriya we wouldn't have this problem because she isn't showy or arrogant, however I hadn't thought about the issue of being too sincere.

“All right, but understand, it's essential that you don't tell anyone. If the world finds out about this, it will put your life and society at risk. It will attract the most diverse types of evil people behind this quirk. Glad he didn't believe it, don't mention it to him again. You have to reflect on the weight of having this power, you know?”

Midoriya, who was still bowing, looked at me with a tearful face.

“Got it... sorry, All Might.”

I patted her on the back.

“Now go home and do your homework. And think about what I said.”

After nodding, still crying, Midoriya said goodbye and left the staff room. I forgot that she was only 15, I would have to be much firmer with her. I sighed. I didn't know how to be firmer.

“She didn't tell her mother about the quirk” Aizawa, who had remained silent until now, commented. “But she thought it was necessary to tell Bakugo. These two will still give us a lot of headache. Mostly for you”.

“It will be? A healthy rivalry is always important”.

“Hunf, if it were healthy.”

He replied. Thinking about it, that training in the buildings hadn't been healthy at all. I rested my head on the table. What would I do with these kids?

“I'm leaving, finish this paperwork before you go.”

Chapter Text

The day started calmly, it was only the second week, but I already felt the school routine with normal classes in the morning and special classes in the afternoon. At lunchtime I was almost always in the refectory with Ochako, Iida and Todoroki. Even if the latter disappeared from time to time to have lunch alone.

Kacchan went into a silent mode never seen before, even after the episode at his house over the weekend, he now struggled to pretend I didn't exist. It was so curious that I didn't really know how to react so I started to ignore him too. After all, a neutral relationship was better than a negative one, right?

Right after lunch Aizawa informed us that we would have an external rescue training accompanied by three teachers. We would go by bus to the place, I started to get very excited. It would be another step towards achieving my dreams, I had to do my best!

I had to put on half of my hero outfit along with my gym uniform.

“Your hero outfit was destroyed, right, Deku?” Me and Ochako were already in line for the bus that Iida organized.

"Yes, but the Support Team is already doing another one, so maybe it will come soon." I sighed. “I'm just a little upset, my mom had sewn that one. But what can I do? I think we're still going to lose a lot of uniforms. I just didn't think it would be so fast."

I looked towards Kacchan, the reason for my uniform's destruction. His was so cool with those grenades.

We got on the bus and I sat next to Ochako and Tsuyu, the girl with green hair that resembled a frog. Close to us also sat Mina, Kaminari, Kirishima and Aoyama.

“You know Midoriya, I always say what's on my mind” Tsuyu started and I looked at her a little surprised by the sudden interaction. “Your quirk is very similar to All Might's”.

I choked.

“What do you mean, Tsuyu?” - Answers in a squeaky way. “Pff, mine is not…”

“Calm down, Tsuyu, All Might's doesn't hurt his own body.” Kirishima intruded on the conversation, maybe he didn't know how much I thanked him internally for that intrusion - “I'm a little envious of these flashy quirks, mine is hardening, It's not even bad to punch someone, but it's not flashy”. Kirishima showed his quirk on his arm, it was as rigid as a stone.

“Wow, you really get hard, don't you?”

Kirishima undid his quirk and his face turned really red, my penny dropped.

“Your quirk!”

Mina and Kaminari looked at me with a funny face.

“You guys have a very dirty mind.” Ochako grabbed my arm.

“I also know how to get really hard”. A thin and irritating voice said that. He was a very short boy, with purple balls in his hair. What a disgusting boy.

“Only if it was hard as a dead man.” I replied with a smile on my face and the others laughed. I looked back at Kirishima.

“Does quirk need to be flashy?” I asked, trying to make people forget about the subject of getting hard.

“This pro hero business is also very much associated with popularity”. Mina replied

“If we're going to talk about flashy quirks, the ones that win are Todoroki and Bakugo.” Tsuyu said. “But with such a stressed personality Bakugo will never be popular”.

“What the fuck are you talking about? I'm going to be popular, damn it!” Kacchan, who was sitting in front of us a few steps away, stood up in a scream and leaned on the partition of the bus.

“Did you see?” She replied pointing.

“We haven't even known each other for a long time and we've already seen that your personality smells like shit cooking in the sewer”. Kaminari said to Bakugou.

It was the first time I saw him being made fun of.

“What the fuck is that vocabulary? Shut the fuck up before I kill you”.

“What a dirty mouth!” Said Mina.

“Was he always vulgar like that, Midoriya?” Asked Iida. “It's very inappropriate”.

I blushed to be brought up in conversation about Kacchan.

“He's always had a short fuse, but the swearing is more recent”. I replied, looking at the ground. I could feel his gaze glaring at me.

“If he explodes so easily we should call him Bang-snaps boy”. Kaminari said and everyone laughed. Bakugou was about to lunge at him like a rabid dog when we heard Aizawa's voice.

“We're almost there, let's calm down”.

Everyone was silent and waiting anxiously to park the bus. When we arrived and entered the Center, I was super mega surprised. It was huge!

And to top it off, a hero dressed in a little oversized spacesuit came close to us.

“Ahhh.” I shook Ochako's arm. “ Is the space hero #13! He specializes in environmental disaster rescues!”

“Hahah, you're so enthusiastic, Midoriya”. She replied while being shaken, but she also seemed happy to see the hero.

Thirteen began his speech, introduced himself by talking about his "Black Hole" Quirk and how we could use our quirks too to hurt people if we weren't careful. The famous "Destroy the city to save the city" and that as future heroes we had to think about it and also practice so that we could save others from disaster regardless of our quirk.

After a few minutes when he finished his inspirational speech, we applauded.
"Okay, now we can start…" Aizawa started to speak, but stopped abruptly looking at the middle of the training center. Out of the blue, in a shout he turned to us. “Get together and don't move! Thirteen, protect the students!”

We weren't seeing anything yet, until a hole appeared in the middle of the building and several people started to get out.

“What is this, part of the training?” Asked Kirishima beside me.

“Don't move, they are villains!” Aizawa shouted, truly nervous.

Despair took over me, what do you mean villains? And at the training center?

“Eraser Head and Thirteen? I thought All Might would be here, will he show up if I kill the kids?” One of the villains, with blue hair and fake hands covering his face, said it loud enough for us to hear. He wanted us to know he was going to kill us.

The room went into a relatively controlled hysteria, everyone was nervous, we came to the conclusion that some of the villains were using something to prevent the invasion signal from being sent. It was a well-planned attack. Aizawa directed 13º to begin the evacuation and Kaminari tried to use his quirk to send a signal while he went to hold off the villains.

“Teacher, but are you going to fight alone?” – I took a step forward, I had to help him. “Even if I manage to nullify the quirks, they are many. A head-on fight isn't really your style…”

“No hero has just one card up his sleeve”.

Upon saying that, Aizawa jumped into the midst of the villains and began to fight. It was amazing! He used his shoulder strap to pull or throw them. He landed every blow he threw, without wasting energy, and managed to dodge quickly. But at this rate he would soon be tired. My feet moved by themselves a few steps in front of me when I felt someone grab my arm.

“Come on, Midoriya. We need to go out with the teacher”. It was Ochako. Nº13 was taking us to the exit.

I turned to run when a huge black spot appeared in front of the group. A being made of black aura blocked our path.

“We apologize for disturbing your training.” I could hear irony in his voice . “We are the League of Villains. We've taken the liberty of coming here so All Might can make his ultimate journey”.

His voice became haunting, they wanted to kill All Might!

Before I could do anything, Kirishima and Bakugo jumped at him with their respective attacks.

“And do you think we would stand still?” Kirishima shouted.

The villain didn't seem to feel anything from the attack. In fact, a sinister laugh was coming out of that mouthless smudge.

“Really, golden students. But are they so brave when alone?”

The black mist began to spread and before Nº13 could do anything. I felt like my body was free-falling. Everything went dark. My heart was going to burst from so much nervousness.

Everything lasted seconds, when I realized I was falling towards the mud ground, I prepared to use my quirk and land on my feet, but an ice slide broke my fall, I was sliding fast until I reached the ground.

Todoroki had done the same for him and approached, we were in the slip zone.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“Yes, but we have a problem”. I pointed to a group of eight villains that were approaching with satisfied smiles on their faces.

Todoroki didn't even give me time to think, he leaned his arms forward and in seconds everyone was frozen. Somehow that was absurd, it was even obscene to be so strong like that at such a young age. He turned to me to say something, but the only thing I saw was a villain approaching, he had some quirk that made him blend in with his surroundings, like a chameleon, he was about to hit Todoroki when I got in the middle and pushed the villain who was flung so far that we saw no sign.

My palms tingled. Again I'd used my quirk without breaking me. My hands were shaking from the nervousness of having made it.

“It didn't break.” Todoroki approached with a voice that could be faintly distinguished from neutrality to kindness.

"No." I replied with a smile on my face. I turned to the frozen villains.

“You have a lot of free time to come here with such a stupid plan”. Todoroki approached one of the frozen ones. “I would like to avoid cruelty if possible, as I intend to be a hero. If you continue like this, your body will suffer frostbite necrosis. After all, what's the plan to kill All Might?”

Todoroki managed to maintain an absurd calm and coldness at a moment like that. The villains had been caught so easily that they didn't seem like a big deal, but they'd been unlucky enough to catch such a strong enemy. I think some people were really unlucky. When they saw that he wasn't joking, they said they had a secret weapon to defeat All Might and that was all they knew.

“We need to go to Aizawa, he is at a disadvantage with so many villains, we need to support him”. I said and Todoroki nodded.

“Let's go, when we're far enough I'll thaw them. I believe they will be incapacitated for some time due to the extreme cold their bodies have suffered”.

When we got to where the professor was, we saw some scenes of him fighting a blue-haired boy who had the quirk of tearing things to pieces. Later, when it looked like Aizawa was going to reverse the situation, a strange guy (or was it a monster?), appeared. With a full black robust body, bird's beak and exposed brain. He pinned the professor and slammed his head on the floor.

I was paralyzed, what would we do?? We heard the blue-haired one speak on a communicator that he was leaving. I saw that Todoroki prepared to freeze them both when the blue haired villain appeared in front of us in seconds. He would touch Todoroki's arm, the arm would fall apart.

No no no no no.

“Get your hands off him!”

I punched the villain and felt I hit something. I achieved it! And my arm didn't break, it had been the second time.

But instead of hitting the boy, that monster had entered the front and there was no effect, it was as if I hadn't even attacked. Todoroki pulled me back and made a barrier of ice just as the monster retaliated with a punch that shattered the ice.

We hear a loud bang coming from upstairs.

In the midst of the smoke from the wreckage of the door, All Might appeared with an angry face I'd never seen before.

“Don't worry, because I'm here!”

Chapter Text

POV: Bakugo
As the black mist covered us, I looked back towards Midoriya and saw her disappear into the darkness. I couldn't reach it. Soon I was also covered by darkness and felt an uncomfortable pressure that lasted for seconds. When I saw again, was falling. I used several explosions to slow the fall until I reached the roof of a building without any problem.

Falling into the Ruins Zone, several buildings destroyed around us, the guy with the red hair that stiffened hit the ground like a stone, made a hole in the ground and fell to the floor below. He had used his quirk. I looked around, just the two of us, with no fucking sign of anyone else. I took advantage of the hole in the floor and jumped. We were in a wide place of a destroyed executive building.

Villains began to appear from the elevator shaft and surround us. That was so annoying, I didn't have time to waste with them, I had to go to where Aizawa was, it was the most obvious place.

“Looks like we're going to have to defeat them, Bakugou” Said the spiky hair, what was his name again?

One of them who had a weasel face advanced towards me. It was shit, with just a few movements I grabbed his face and exploded, superficially burning him. Enough to make him pass out and get out of my sight. His companions weren't too difficult either. The spiky hair took a few punches without even feeling it, and when he fought back, he only needed one hit.

When villains stopped entering, there were already eight people passed out around us.

“I'm worried about the others, better look for them, Bakugo.”

“Tsk, if you want, go alone. I'm going to Aizawa to kill that bastard with the blue hair”.

Midoriya's voice asking if Aizawa would fight alone echoed through my head. I also wanted to kill the teleport bastard to stop their escape route, but at that time the other matter was more pressing.

“Dude, are you crazy? That one is definitely the boss, let's just get in the way, we need to find the others”.

“You... br…” A villain got up and came at me, I turned my body to kick that bastard right in the middle of the rib, he fell back to the ground unconscious.

“Those are a bunch of useless people. They must be fine”. I started walking towards the emergency exit.

“Wait, I'll go with you. I trust my friends and you're looking pretty manly, Bakugo!”

Manly? What the fuck was that? We started down the building.

“I thought you would go after Midoriya”. He said as we ran, I straightened my shoulders. –“While she seems to be very strong, she also seems to be very fragile, right, with that strange quirk that hurts her. It must not be good for fighting. So, I think it's natural for our manly side to want to protect.”

“Stop talking shit”. I replied. That masculine thing again. “Strong” my ass!”.

He was right, I didn't understand her quirk, but seeing how her body broke when using it and if I was really going to believe that shit received power... then really her body couldn't handle even 5 minutes of direct fight. And she still wanted to help Aizawa. How useless. First she had to look at herself.

That path seemed endless, when we left the Ruin Zone I could see, on lower ground, maybe 2km away, Midoriya and the boy half and half in the water watching Aizawa fight.

“Hey, is that Midoriya and Todoroki down there?” Kirishima pointed to the fake lake around the central area.

An irritation took over, I started to run towards them when the blue haired guy approached them, my mind was going to explode with anger. They were still a long way away, I saw Midoriya react with a punch, but she couldn't knock anyone down, obviously, that useless one didn't learn. The beast with the exposed brain tried to hit her, it was still so far out of range of my outbursts. The half and half pulled her into his arms and protected them with a barrier of ice that shattered, that wouldn't be enough.

A bang at the door. All Might has arrived.

******

Pov: Momo

Mist covered us and when I blinked we were in the Mountain Zone, me, Uraraka, Jirou and Kaminari. Some villains began to emerge from behind the rocks with sly smiles on their faces.

Uraraka's eyes widened and stared at her hands. Other people hadn't noticed, but she'd tried to cling to Midoriya at the exact moment we'd been sucked in.

“I couldn't do it again…” I heard her whisper as Kaminari's voice covered hers.

“How many! We need to defeat these villains. I'm trying to call for help, but something is blocking the signal” He said, putting his hand on the communicator he had over his ear.

"Don't you give shocks?? Electrocute them". Jirou dodged a villain's attack. I stretched out my arm and out of it came a metal staff. I hit another man who tried to approach us, there were exactly ten, counting quickly, they formed a circle cornering us.

“I can't! I can't control it and you would be hit too”.

“You're useless”. Jirou pushed Kaminari on top of a tall man who was electrocuted by the touch.

Uraraka was still unresponsive. Her hands were shaking slightly.

One of my greatest strengths was keeping my cool at times like this. And it was the most necessary in a risky situation. However, seeing her in this state caused me a certain discomfort and slight irritation.

A man with green skin and a mix of leather and social clothes came up behind her with amazing speed and lifted her by the waist. I had never created something so fast in my life, when I reached for both of them, a metallic spear shot out of the man and hit him in the shoulder, dropping Uraraka, I used the stick I was holding to hit him on the head and push him to the back.

“Hey, look at me”. Uraraka stared at me, only then came to her senses. “She'll be fine, she's strong. First worry about yourself”. My voice came out a little angrier than I'd ever heard it before.

“Sorry, Momo” She nodded with a determined tone of voice. “I'm an idiot, I need to focus on what's here now.”

“Yes”. I smiled at her. “Hey Kaminari, get ready to become the real pikachu”.

I turned to Uraraka and slightly opened the middle of my clothes, she turned her face a little flushed. When I finished creating the cloth I threw it over myself, Uraraka and Jirou. Kaminari got the message and in the darkness of that shield I could hear all our enemies being electrocuted.

*****

Pov: Iida

I ran with all my heart, my companions were struggling to survive at that moment. After the room was separated by the villain with the teleportation quirk, Nº13 held him for a few seconds so I could escape from there. Now I was running towards the school.

Be well, please.

Uraraka, Midoriya, don't do anything stupid.

My teammates' lives depended on how fast I was.

I, Iida Tenya would not let them down. Could not.

Chapter Text

Todoroki held me in his arms to form an ice shield in front of us. The door to the Training Center burst open with a bang.

“Don't worry, because I'm here!”

All Might emerged from the dust. Even though your teeth are showing, don't smile. His face, the pure anger, I would never have thought I'd see him like that.

The time it took for Todoroki to lower the arms that held me was the same time it took All Might to get to us, taking down all the villains he had in his way.

“I felt that something didn't smell right and I started to come here, I found young Iida on the way”. All Might approached. “You two, go to the gates and take Professor Aizawa”.

The blue haired boy started to laugh non-stop in that freaky villain way. Todoroki carried Aizawa with the help of a bed of ice that slid on top of even more ice. He looked at me to follow, but I motioned for him to continue. He looked undecided for a few moments, but when he looked again at Aizawa's situation, he decided to continue on his way without me.

“Finally you arrived, I wondered how many students would have to kill for you to come.” His voice was somehow childish and malevolent. “Apparently it was true, that you are weakening”. He bent down to pick up the prototype hand that covered his face, it had fallen. But he used his own left hand so we wouldn't see him. A shock ran down my spine at those words, so did he know that All Might wasn't the same anymore?

I took a step forward.

“Midoriya”. All Might stretched his arm in front of me. “Do as I say”.

His tone of voice was firm.

The monster with the exposed brain advanced on him and a mad fight started, it was punch after punch at an exaggerated speed, my eyes barely followed, I still hadn't moved an inch looking at it.

I knew I had to follow Todoroki to the gates. I knew that if stayed there I would get in the way of All Might, but just couldn't. Everyone faithfully believed in All Might's strength, like an untouched god, but I knew his secret. I knew he was smiling to hide his own pain from everyone, and when I saw a trickle of blood come out of his mouth, I knew he had already crossed the line.

He prepared to bury the monster in the ground when a portal opened up engulfing the villain, preventing him from being torn apart by All Might's attack.

“Did you plan to bury it in concrete? Looks like it didn't work out too well.” The blue haired one laughed like a football commentator from hell. “Isn't that fantastic, Kurogiri? He gave you the perfect opportunity”.

The villain who had a black mist in place of his head, Kurogiri, emerged from within another hole.

“Nomu's mission was just to stop you. Done with you... what an honor it will be to have this role.” Kurogiri said.

At that very moment I totally lost any feeling of fear. Just needed to save All Might, I ran to him. My fingers almost touched Kurogiri when I felt someone grab me by the back collar of my shirt and pull me back.

“Get out of here, hell”. It was Kacchan, no one else screamed like that. At the same time he threw me backwards with his left arm, an explosion came out of his right hand that hit Kurogiri throwing him backwards. When he fell to the ground Kirishima threw herself on top of him and trapped him, stiffening his body.

I also fell on my butt on the floor.

“As I imagined, even with that fog-like appearance you have a body. And if you do, I can kill you”. Kacchan placed his hand on Kurogiri's metallic structure that was below his "face". The black hole closed by cutting off a piece of that monster they called Nomu and All Might managed to break free.

Kirishima came up to me and offered my hand for me to get up, kind of him, but I got up on my own a little annoyed at Kacchan flinging me away.

“If you move an inch, I'll blow you up”. Said Bakugo to the villain.

“How heroic…” Kirishima laughed.

All Might was about to say something to us when the blue haired young man started.

“We were cornered by a bunch of kids. This will be a disgrace to the League of Villains. I'm not enjoying this game. Nomu, kill the boy with that explosion”.

Then the events bordered on the surreal, the hitherto split in two Nomu, began to regenerate, far from being human. Still recovering, like a thunderclap he charged towards Kacchan. Standing right beside him, I couldn't let them hurt him. I stepped in front of Bakugo and raised my arms like a barrier.

Even using One for all I felt the bones in my forearms break with Nomu's strength. But I stopped him.

And then Nomu disappeared from my face, All Might punched him away, he went to the blue haired one as he finished regenerating.

“You fucking idiot”. Bakugo yelled behind me angrily. “I didn't need your help.”

Bakugo put his hand on my shoulder sharply, his face covered in fury, why did he let go of Kurogiri? My arms crushed by the attack hurt too much, I felt my stomach turn, I threw up at Bakugo's foot as the villain disappeared from inside a black hole. I dropped to my knees on the floor and supported on Kacchan, leaning my head on his knee.

“You really have to learn to be grateful”.

“What an annoying girl. Too bad Nomu was still recovering and didn't use full force on the punch, it would be nice to see her dead.” Said the villain. “All of you stuck-up heroes, a bunch of trash, in the end also solve everything with violence. Villains and heroes are exactly the same and you are the worst of them all, All Might. Let's get this game over with”.

Now Nomu has fully recovered. In addition to super strength, did he also have regeneration?

I got up with a long sigh, I had already broken my arm before, even if not to that magnitude, I would take the pain.

“Come on down. It will be 4 against 2”. Said Kirishima, and then looked at me. “Maybe three and a third against 2”.

I let out a huff of laughter through my nose.

“No, you will get out of here. Please. I take care of them”. Said All Might.

And then, the insane fight returned. It was a whole other level, All Might threw consecutive punches without any rest. It lasted a few minutes, Nomu was thrown out of the Training Center.

“Man, this looks like a scene from a movie”. Said Kirishima.

I was starting to feel a little sleepy from the pain, but I knew All Might wouldn't last long, a lot of smoke surrounded him. Soon he would return to his decaying form.

“Now villain, it's the end of the line”. Said All Might to the boy.

“Listen All Might, I started to get annoyed. They classify us as heroes or villains and in the end it all comes down to violence. Who exactly decides what is right or wrong? You, the "symbol of peace"? Gimme a break. You are the symbol of oppression. Violence only breeds violence. As soon as I kill him people will realize that. So let's get this over with”.

The villain walked towards him.

All Might wouldn't be able to defend himself in the state he was in. I thrust my legs forward, luckily they didn't break.

“Leave All Might!” I screamed. I would punch him with the broken arm.

A black hole opened up above us, obvious that Kurogiri would return. I saw a hand come out of the darkness, it was coming towards me.

Bakugo blew it up. An explosion so big it made me, All Might, the blue-haired villain, and the black hole go up in smoke. He had butted in again. He pushed me away from my attack, using his own body. With the speed it was, we both rolled on the floor. I felt a twinge of pain as I rolled under my broken arm.

“You just do shit, you useless. Do you want to kill yourself?” Kacchan clenched his teeth to speak. He had landed on top of me and used the strength of his arm to get up and sit beside me. Again, I became numb with the pain. Again he wasn't yelling at me, on the contrary, his voice seemed to carry a grudge in the back of his throat.

“I can only kill myself if it's your order?” I smiled at the image of him blurring in front of me. Remembering the day he threw my notebook out the window. I couldn't see his expression.

I heard gunshots, the heroes had arrived. We achieved.

Chapter Text

Pov: Uraraka

How many times would I see that scene repeat itself?

Bakugou carried a fainted and injured Midoriya, heading to the same heroes who quickly took All Might without even giving us a chance to see his condition after the villains fled.

That's what worried me, when Momo tried to reassure me that Midoriya would be fine, I had a slight impression that she wouldn't. I couldn't tell if Bakugo's presence had increased or diminished that feeling.

I approached.

“I can take you with my quirk”. I approached him in quick steps, it wasn't a question, I wanted to get her away from him.

“Shut up”. He replied, we were still a little far away for other people to hear.

“You didn't protect her, and you always make it worse when you're with her. I heard Kirishima say that she got hurt because she tried to protect you. I take her to the heroes”.

Bakugou continued to walk, looked at me with murderous eyes and almost shouted:

“And where were you? Wasting time with those shitty villains? You are too weak even to protect yourself”.

I stopped abruptly and watched him continue on his way.

I looked down at my hands that were still shaking slightly since we'd gotten there. Bakugo was right. I had no answer. I stopped and watched him take her away.

The next day we obviously didn't have class, I went to the hospital to visit Midoriya, but she had already been discharged for having "only" a broken arm. I was carrying a bag with some cheap but out-of-budget cookies that I bought at the convenience store. I leave the Hospital reception with a long sigh.

“Did you come after Midoriya too?”

Todoroki approached me. He wore a pair of slightly shabby jeans and a plain blue shirt. He was carrying a small bag with what looked like several cans of iced coffee.

“Yeah, she was discharged. And I don't know where she lives”.

He looked at me as if going to her house was the most innovative and brilliant idea on the planet. He took out his cell phone and called someone.

“Hello? Midoriya, what's your address? I want to go to you”. I heard an embarrassed and a little hysterical voice from Midoriya on the other end of the line. “No, no problem, Ochako is here too, we want to go”.

When Todoroki hung up he looked back at me.

“Now I know the address. Let 's go”.

It wasn't far. The walk was mostly silent.

“Aren't you ashamed, Todoroki?”

“Of what?”

“Just call a girl and ask for her address because you want to go there”.

He seemed to think seriously about the matter.

“I should?”

“Errg, maybe? I do not know. I think it's a good sign that you're not ashamed of her, at least for me”.

Todoroki looked at me with a big question mark on his face and I just smiled.

When we arrived at the house we saw two people approaching the gate at the same time. Bakugou with a more sullen face than ever and a woman very much like him holding a bakery cake.

“What the fuck did you guys come here for?” He yelled and the woman punched him in the head.

“Shut up, rude. Is that how you treat your classmates?” Her angry face was just like her son's. “Sorry, are you Midoriya's friends? Did you come to visit too? I had to drag this idiot here. The poor thing got hurt because of him and he wasn't even going to visit her. My son just disappoints me, he's such an idiot”.

Bakugou was about to yell something when the door to the house opened and Midoriya appeared wearing sweatpants shorts and a loose tank top (with All Might's face obviously). Her face reached a surreal level of red in seconds at the sight of us all standing in front of her house.

Within minutes, all of us, with the exception of Bakugo's mother, were sitting in Midoriya's room at a small makeshift table with cookies, pieces of cake, and cans of iced coffee. Bakugo sat with his legs and arms crossed and stared at the window with a frown without saying anything.

Midoriya's room was a strange mix, as Barbie had married All Might, there were some fluffy stuffed animals and others with heroes, All Might figures and anime figures (that part I would never imagine seeing in her room). The bedspread was baby pink and we sat on a fluffy white fur rug.

One of Midoriya's arms was just bandaged, the other still wore a splint to hold it. When she tried to cut a piece of cake, I stepped forward and did it for her, in addition to opening the can of iced coffee and placing it in front of her.

“Thank you, Uraraka. And thank you for visiting me, I didn't have to! I'm a lot better. Tomorrow I will be ready for school”.

“We didn't come here forcefully! Well, at least me and Todoroki” I looked at Bakugou. “We wanted to see you.”

Bakugou didn't say anything, continued to stare out the window. Midoriya blushed.

“You all are very kind”.

“I shouldn't have left her alone. The fault is mine”. Said Todoroki who looked upset, his expressions changed little from one feeling to another.

“Todoroki, it's not your fault! You needed to take Professor Aizawa and you did the right thing!” Midoriya leaned on the table with his free hand and leaned forward towards him.

“There's only one culprit in this story”. I replied looking at Bakugou, he stared back at me, his eyes burned in fury, I heard his teeth gnashing, his mouth started to open when Midoriya spoke again.

“Which is that bastard villain”.

She sat back down, I looked a little surprised because she didn't think words like "bastard" would come out of her.

“Yes, you're right”. I pursed my lips in disgust.

The room fell silent. That formation of people was totally uncomfortable for a group of conversations at an afternoon tea.

Ironically it was Todoroki who again spoke up and broke the ice. Was he incapable of feeling that atmosphere?

“You have a lot of manga here, Midoriya, I didn't think you liked that kind of thing”.

He got up to look at the shelf. She blushed again.

“They're good for distraction from time to time”.

“What is BL?”

I spit out some of the coffee I'd just taken from my mouth.

Midoriya turned so red that it looked like she was going to explode, Todoroki reached out to pull the manga. She got up running and took his hand.

“I'm hungry, cut me another piece of cake, Todoroki.”

Bold. Midoriya could be very bold, I also felt my face a little hot.

Todoroki nodded without questioning much and went to the table, but Bakugou got up and took the manga, everyone except the boy half and half had their faces red. Midoriya gave a hysterical little cry of pain as he saw Bakugou leaf through the copy acquiring an increasingly shocked expression.

“So the fucking nerd is reading gay porn instead of studying?” His voice was comical, did he seem irritated? No, surprised? Excited? Surely Bakugou felt the same way I did now.

“Kacchan, don't be angry”. Midoriya went towards him trying to take the manga from her hand, but he lifted it away from her”.

Did Midoriya think the redness of Bakugou's face was anger? Pfff, I burst out laughing at that scene.

“Gay porn? “ Repeated Todoroki.

Midoriya turned redder and redder. She almost climbed into Bakugou to get her copy back.

Bakugo blew up the copy he was holding.

“Kacchan.” Midoriya looked sadly at the manga. “It was my favorite volume”.

“You can't go into other people's houses and just blow things up”. I got up annoyed and approached the imbecile. “If she wants to see dicks, it's her life!” I picked up the burnt BL on the floor and grinned evilly. “Or are you jealous of a comic strip?”

That was it, I had been testing Bakugo's fuse up until now, it was amazing that we hadn't slapped each other.

“What the FUCK are you talking about?” He yelled.

The door opened.

Bakugou's mother and Midoriya glared at us. I became aware that seconds ago I was yelling about dicks in someone else's house.

“Do I bring you here to scream? What an idiot”. Said Bakugou's mother. “If you're done with your tantrums, let's go”.

Bakugou looked at me and then at Midoriya, he left the room with a huff.

Minutes later Todoroki and I left too. I was too embarrassed by what had happened to look at her mother's face.

“How do you manage to be so calm in all that situation?” Todoroki looked at me. “You weren't ashamed? We went into Midoriya's room and found some BLs. We invaded her temple of pleasure, Todoroki. We are a wretch. But Bakugou is definitely the worst”.

I sighed, Todoroki's cheeks reddened, he could be strong, but he was very slow to understand social situations and feelings.

Anyway, my only goal was to defeat Bakugou, when would I be able to face him?

Chapter Text

Many would say that after an attack of that proportions we would be weeks without classes, but that was not the case, after all, U.A was the most renowned Japanese hero school, it could not give the image that it had been enough to destabilize everyone.

Two days after all that, here I was in the Recovery Girl's room, finishing completely healing my arm broken by Nomu, there were thirty minutes to go before the bell.

“At this rate, there will come a time when I won't be able to heal you, Young Midoriya, all bodies have limits, you need to take care of yourself more”. Recovery Girl showed genuine concern for her look

I scratched my head.

“Sorry. But anyway, I couldn't let that monster touch Kacchan.” I replied and blushed when the words I said made another sense. “Would have done it for anyone in danger” - I was completely squeaky. I lowered my eyes. “Really need to train more, I'm so weak”.

“You are only 15 years old, you are not weak”. She looked at me kindly. “You shouldn't have to face this kind of thing, that's all”.

I looked at her in silence. Did I want a normal high school for heroes? For sure. Would you have it? I doubted it a lot, especially after learning about that villain's plans to kill All Might.

I left the infirmary, I wouldn't go to class yet, if I did, I would probably find someone who also arrived earlier and we would be in that obligation of having to interact because we were the only ones in the room. I started to walk towards the library, yes, no one spoke about it, but it existed. What school wouldn't have a library?

Really, it was a bit hidden, almost on the top floor, if you didn't ask older students or teachers you would never find it. There were books for all the high schools that U.A taught, from heroes to normal. The books were divided by courses and topics, I hadn't gone there looking for anything specific, so I just walked among the white wooden shelves looking at the titles. There was no one but the library clerk there.

Well, that's what I thought. As I turned the corner of a shelf, I was startled by the sudden appearance of a boy standing while leafing through a book, almost bumped into him.

“Sorry, I hadn't seen you”. I said bowing slightly in the form of an apology. The boy was tall, so I had to look up a little to see his eyes. If I was 1.60 cm, he was close to 1.77. Her messy hair and eyes with large circles under her eyes were dark purple, her eyebrow was thin. He looked dissatisfied with my appearance.

I looked at the book he was holding.

"The power of the psyche, a weapon or a curse?"

He closed the book sharply, and I looked back at his face.

“Nice! Is your quirk psychic? I've never met anyone like that! Can you show me?” My curiosity overcame my shyness, I couldn't deny it. A quirk in the mental realm? That was really cool, one of the greatest heroines of the past generation had psychic powers!

The boy go away.

Yes, he left. Just like that, he looked at me and without changing a single line of expression he turned away from me and headed towards the exit carrying that book. It was so sudden that I didn't even move.

I could only think:

“Huh?”

Had I said something wrong?

Class would start in a few minutes, so I ran to the room.

Now it was crowded, everyone had arrived.

“Midoriya! I’m glad you recovered”. Mina approached me with a hug, then took me by the shoulders and looked at me with a smile. “You look like you just got dumped”.

“What?” I gave a little squeaky squeak and blushed. “Stop talking nonsense”

It wasn't totally bullshit, somehow that was a dump, wasn't it?

She narrowed her eyes.

“Nobody fools the alien mother here”.

“Stop it, Mina”. Ochako approached “As if Midoriya was going to hit on someone”.

Despite all the tension of two days ago, the room was lively, everyone was talking in a very loud tone about the events, about how they had defeated the villains and things like that. When the bell finally rang, Iida went to the teacher's dais.

“Guys, let's calm down! Everyone go to your seats!”

I sat at my desk, Kacchan sat in front of me, I got into my desk remembering yesterday, him burning my manga. As if sensing my gaze on the back of his head, Kacchan looked back with his angry expression.

I automatically turned red.

“Good Morning?” I risked it softly, he stared at me for a few more seconds and then looked straight ahead, what was the problem with the boys at that school?

Aizawa opened the door to the room, his face and body were almost completely bandaged.

“Are you back yet, Professor?” Some of the room shouted in surprise, he had been hurt a lot in the attack.

"We're glad you're on the mend!” Said Iida leaving the platform, sitting at his own desk.

“How I look doesn't matter” Despite having said that, Aizawa was dragging himself to the middle of the room, he really should have been resting a little longer. “Because your fight isn't over yet.”

The room made an exclamation of surprise. How come our fight "isn't over yet"?

“Next week the U.A. Sports Festivals will start, you must prepare. As most of you know, it is the biggest sports festival in Japan, today even more important than the old Olympics”.

My heart fluttered with excitement, equally with concern, the room returned to the euphoria of comments, Momo spoke what was going on in my head at that very moment:

“A lot of professional heroes appear as scouts, don't they? It's a great chance!”

“We can be called to be Sidekicks!” Completed Kaminari.

Aizawa asked for silence and continued the classes, only adding that even with the attacks of villains, it was important to show the world that U.A was prepared. At lunch break, everyone in the room returned to their animated conversations.

I approached Iida and Uraraka, her face showed an exaggerated determination, when I got close enough she gave me a punch sign.

“Let's do our best, Midoriya.”

“Damn, Uraraka, you're really excited”.

Me, Iida and her started to go out in the halls.

“Probably all this excitement increases your possibility of making money soon, right?” Iida adjusted his glasses.

“Of course, the sooner I can make my parents comfortable, the better. But there's also the possibility of being able to face him”. Uraraka put her hands on her face, pressing her rosy cheeks lightly to her lips, her voice was lower, like a small complaint. “I need to start training more right now”.

The question "Face who?" formed on the tip of my tongue, but before I could speak, All Might surprised us at the turn of the hall.

“Young Midoriya, can we have lunch together?

“Even you, All Might?” Asked Uraraka in an indignant scream”.

“Sure”. I replied, in seconds my level of concern was as high as Tokyo Tower, what did he want that was so important to the point of looking for me at school?

We went to his office (every teacher had one) and as soon as the door closed All Might returned to his skinny form.

“Sit down, please, do you like tamagoyaki? Brought some”.

All Might opened his obentô, it wasn't "some", it was "only" tamagoyaki, nothing to go with it. That got me thinking. All Might lived alone. He who managed to cook his own food? I opened my obentô, took a piece of the omelet and while he spoke, I discreetly put a little of everything in his pot, rice, boiled egg, etc.

“We didn't meet at the Hospital, Young Midoriya, I was worried about you. It all happened so fast, the heroes took me before anyone came, and well, from what the birds told me, Young Bakugo didn't let anyone touch you until he took you straight to the doctor in the ambulance”.

I swallowed the food. It came down like a stone. I didn't know that.

What was going through Kacchan's head?

“He's not a bad person,” I said, a little embarrassed.

“Absolutely not” All Might coughed. “But that's not why I called you. I wanted to thank you, once again your attitudes saved me, if you hadn't shown up with the others I would have been hit”. I felt a few tears in the corners of my eyes, but I tried to hold them back, he reached out to pass my head, but before he got to my hair he picked them up and coughed again. “I think you should also know that now I can only stay 25 minutes transformed”.

“25 MINUTES?” I screamed unintentionally.

“Shh”. All might signaled for me to lower my voice. “My body is already very weak. That's why I called you, you must have already been notified of the Sports Festival”. All Might stood up. “Midoriya, I gave you my powers, you will be the next Symbol of Peace. You need to tell the world that you have arrived! Need to show your strength!”

My stomach churned, the hashi in my hand trembled.

“Show that I arrived?” I asked in a choked voice. “But All Might, how do I do that?”

“Do you know how the Festival works?” His face became serious.

“Sure! The Support, Administration, General Education and Heroic Departments unite and organize preliminary elimination competitions for each series. Winning students compete in the main event, the much talked about Racing Points Championship”.

“Exactly! So you have to take this opportunity to show yourself!”

I looked at him deeply.

“Hmm”.

Couldn't deny it, All Might wasn't much for explaining complex things.

“What do you mean "hmmm"?” Asked, he slumped his body on the couch in dismay. I didn't want to discourage him.

“No! Sorry All Might, I understood what you said! I just don't know if I'm ready, I'm not very good at physical tests and I can't control my quirk properly. I know I'm being coached by you, but I still need more motivation because I really don't believe I'm going to excel. Besides that "Symbol of Peace", will society accept a woman in this post?”

“Stop thinking so negatively, Young Midoriya! Don't forget what you felt that morning on the beach. The world is separated into those who aim for the top and those who do not. Don't let all these negative murmurs overwhelm you. It may seem silly, but it's what moves society! And if they will accept you for being a woman?!” He raised his voice, with a cloud of smoke turning into his muscular version. “You will make them accept it, regardless of their sexuality! You will show that a woman's strength is also gigantic”.

I started to cry, why did I have to be such a crybaby?

With another puff of smoke he reverted to the skinny version.

“But you really have to cry less”.

He finally put his hand on my head.

“ I met a wonderful, strong woman who made me who I am today. You remind me a lot of her”. All Might's eyes looked sad.

“Who?” I asked.

“One day I'll tell you. Now go back to the room, it's time”.

It really was. I took my bentô and left.

My mood had only intensified, once excited and worried, now triply with these feelings. The next week would not be easy.

Chapter Text

Pov: All Might

I left the police meeting room accompanied by the Director of the U.A, after a few hours inside I felt worn out.

The entire meeting was geared towards talking about the villains' ambush and Shigaraki, a teenager with a dangerous quirk who inspired 72 other villains to attack children. It freaked me out just thinking about it. If something had happened to any of them…

As we got into the car, Principal Nezu fastened the belts around his small body and looked at me seriously.

“I decided not to raise this point in the midst of everyone” The Director began, his animalistic appearance mixed something between mouse, cat and bear. “But the situation is worrying, All Might.”

I started the car.

“You say that by the nature of Shigaraki's quirk?” I asked.

“They knew you were going to that training”. He concluded. It was a thought that was already floating through my mind, but I believed it was too bitter to raise this point.

“Do you think there is a traitor among us? Among the teachers? Or among the students?”

“Unfortunately”.

I was silent thinking about the possibility. It was dangerous information to expose, it would cause suspicion even if there were no traitors.

“I can't imagine any of those young students being a spy”. I referred to the students in Class 1A

“There is a possibility, but I think it unlikely”.

I looked at him intrigued.

“Think about it, the person knew you would do the training, but not that you would be late. When the students got there and didn't see you, wouldn't it be normal for the spy to warn the bosses that something in the plan was going wrong? From what Aizawa said, Shigaraki was quite annoyed and surprised to see his absence. But that doesn't totally remove the probability, as there is also the fact that maybe the spy didn't want to take the risk of trying to pass a message there, even if it was a cell phone text”.

“Well, but it's something. We know that nº13, Midnight, you and I knew I was late. Who else knew about the training?”

“All the other teachers”.

“Some other classroom?”

“No.” He replied “1B would only have training the next day” .

I took a long breath.

“It is not very secure information, there are still many options”.

“Yes, anyway, I'll ask Aizawa to keep an eye on the students, and you, let me know if you see anything strange with any teacher”.

“Certainly”.

I drove for some time in silence when Nezu spoke again:

“The Sports Festival will start soon”.

“This is already worrying me”. I answered sincerely. “I don't know if Midoriya is prepared for this kind of competition”.

“You can try to encourage her, talk about the importance of the Festival to her career”.

“I don't know if I'm very good at this.” I scratched my head. “But I can try, it shouldn't be difficult to say a few words of encouragement, right?”

That was it, the next day I would call Midoriya for lunch and make her excited about the opportunity!

Chapter Text

It was at the end of the second day after we knew about the Festival that after classes we heard a crowd in front of our classroom door. As I was still finishing my notes, I was the last to pack my things and head towards the noise.

I heard Bakugou at the end of what he was saying:

“…. they want to spy on us before the battles, bunch of motherfuckers. It's no use trying, damn riffraff!”

Even though I didn't hear the whole conversation, I was sure it wasn't anything that justified Bakugou's attitude, I put my hand on my face, embarrassed and perplexed.

“Don't call others riffraff!” Iida shouted from my side to Bakugou.

“Or even motherfuckers." I whispered still with my hand on my face.

“I came to see what this classroom was like, I didn't expect to find someone so arrogant. Is everyone in this room like that?” I took my hand away from my face to see the same purple-haired, dark circles boy I found in the Library. He saw me too, stared at me for a few seconds before looking back at Bakugou, taking the front of the other students. “I'm a little disappointed. You may not know it, but there are a lot of people who end up in the general education department because they can't get a spot on heroic. But using the results of the Sports Festival, there is still a chance they will be transferred to the heroic department. And the opposite situation can also happen…” He gave a sour smile. “Spy on you? At least a boy like me is thinking…” The boy creepily approached Bakugou, he was even taller than Kacchan. "Hey, how about I knock these heroic children off their white horses? Consider this a declaration of war”.

I saw Bakugou's face turn red, he was going to yell more low-level insults. I didn't want it to continue, but it would only make the situation worse if I tried to stop Kacchan. I don't know how I got the courage, but I went to the two of them and took the boy's arm. He and Kacchan glared at me, each in their own way. I felt my fingers holding his sleeve tremble slightly.

“I don't think you can call anyone arrogant after treating me like that in the library. Consider the Declaration of War accepted. “I heard a hysterical little scream that I could have sworn was from Mina, besides some whistling, I tried to smile, but I probably couldn't, I felt my face red. The boy stared at me in silence, unperturbed in the slightest. He opened his mouth to respond when someone yelled behind us.

“Hey you! I'm from 1B!” Another boy with spiky white hair and an irritated face also opened space in the crowd and approached Bakugou. “I heard you beat up the villains, so I came to hear it straight from your mouth! But I don't want to hear any more from an asshole like you. Don't embarrass us during the main event, do you hear me?”

The purple haired boy took advantage of the new commotion to grab my fingers that were holding his sleeve. He smiled at me, I could have sworn he would bite them as he started to bring towards his face, but then he dropped the fingers and walked away from us.

“OI”. Bakugou's voice came out cavernously beside me. He totally ignored the white haired boy, but he would probably snap at me for the intrusion. Before it happened, Mina and Kirishima pulled us back into the class and closed the door.

“Now we get a lot of people who hate us!” shouted Kirishima, that, luckily for me, took Bakugou's focus away from me.

“None of that matters as long as you're at the top”. Kacchan replied seriously, we all fell silent. Kirishima clenched his fists in excitement.

“So much masculinity in so much simplicity!” Said Kirishima.

Others in the room eventually agreed, but Kaminari pointed at him.

“Don't listen to this idiot, the only thing he did was create new enemies for no reason”.

I couldn't disagree, he didn't have to say those things. But now I just wanted to get away from it and go home. One thing Bakugou was right, even if indirectly, being at the top was hard work, it was what everyone there wanted, I couldn't be left behind, as All Might said, I had to bring out the feeling of that day at the beach.

I glanced sideways to see that the movement in front of the door was slowing down and as people really started to disperse, I prepared to leave. Someone held me from behind. Wrapping the arms around my waist.

"After treating me like that? Girl, do you hear what you say?” Mina laughed. ”Will we have another person with a broken heart for you?”

“Let go of me, Mina”. I took my arm hyper mega embarrassed. I didn't know where she got those "one more people" from, unless she was telling Iida because of that "sweetie" joke.

“Not until you tell me everything!” Mina held me tightly, I dragged towards the door as tried to escape.

“There's nothing to tell! I tried to talk to him and was ignored”.

Mina let go of me and I slammed into the door at the sudden release of weight.

“Poor thing, you got dumped”.

My face got even redder. The room watched us, Kacchan glared at me, I understood him, the classroom of heroes didn't have to talk about boys. The futility of it next to the entire Sports Festival embarrassed me more than anything else.

“I didn't take any out! He's just a rival.”

I slammed the door open, stepping through it and closing it. Walking away from there dissatisfied with what everyone who took this classroom seriously would be thinking of me.

Chapter Text

Pov: Bakugo

The festival was approaching. Everyone in the classroom was trying hard, even if the outcome was already decided, I would win that shit. But okay, I guess somehow it was good for those weaklings to have something to cling to to keep going.

I'd like to say my focus was totally on training, but the bookshelves next to me said otherwise. It was the third time that week that I went there, to the library. What the fuck was I doing there? Every time I remembered her words to that bastard my feet automatically took me there.

In part I understood. The two motherfuckers pissed me off with that "rival" thing, who did she think she was to say that had a rival after all? And he must be pretty weak to consider her that way. Well, if it was the regular course, he probably sucked.

I would leave that place, I was just wasting my time. But then, he appeared. He walked among the shelves unpretentiously as if looking for something, my blood boiled.

“If it isn't the riffraff of the regular class”. I told him to hear me across the hall. He looked at me with disinterest, which pissed me off even more. “I can't wait to break you all over”.

As if I had finally caught his attention, he glared at me and came walking towards me, he was only a few inches taller, that purple hue to his eyes and the dark circles under giving him the look of an idiot goth.

“I have no interest in facing you.” He stopped in front of me. “Actually, I already have a much better person that I'm going to defeat”. He flashed a sarcastic smile. Before I could think of anything else, I launched a small explosion towards a bookshelf and then grabbed him by the collar of his uniform. Leaving the hand that just released the blast still warm near his face.

“I will face you. I will.” I ground my teeth.

I wanted to destroy him right there. The bastard continued to smile at me.

“Hey, you two!” The librarian came running towards us. She looked at the burnt-out shelf and started yelling annoyed at us, I didn't pay any attention to anything. I got a formal warning for improper use of quirk and the guy the librarian called Shinso walked out of there intact and still with a smile on his face.

Chapter Text

I didn't think that day would come so quickly, I wish I had more time to train, but in the end, it was always that way, right? I would never feel that I had done enough. I was sitting in the waiting room with the other students as the crowd began to fill the bleachers.

Everyone talked distractedly, I was the only one quiet, sitting at the table with the other girls, Ochako tried to start conversations a few times, but I felt too nervous to keep up the pace. I felt someone poking my shoulder and turned around, it was Todoroki. He motioned for me to go to the corner of the room with him and I felt everyone's eyes following us with various murmurs.

I looked at Todoroki's face, my hands were trembling slightly in front of my body, so I brought them together to make myself less visible. His gaze was so serious that it would be hard to believe that yesterday we had breakfast together talking about today. Did he decide when went home that was tired of me?

“You’re my friend and so I’ll be direct, in matters of tactical strength I’m stronger, and know that All Might always has his eye on you. I’ll defeat you and won't let my feelings get in the way. You are also my rival”.

Todoroki clenched his fists. Our eyes stared at each other intensely, he didn't even blink. I swallowed hard, I think I was already with too many rivals for a school championship. I heard a whistle and Kirishima approached us holding Todoroki by the shoulders.

“What the hell, man, why so serious with the girl…”

“You’re stronger than me”. I replied, ignoring Kirishima, he didn't need to interrupt us. “As probably stronger than most of us. But I won't be left behind. Me too…” I faltered a little, but then I mustered up the courage and clenched my fists in front of me. “I will cling to you with everything I have”.

Maybe I closed my eyes a little when I said that and maybe my voice came out louder than I'd like. When I looked back at Todoroki he was covering his lips with the back of his hand and his cheeks were slightly flushed, as was Kirishima's face.

Someone grabbed me around the waist and pulled me.

“You really have to think more before you speak”. Mina turned me around to go back to the girls' table and the heavy atmosphere began to dissipate. Only then did I stop to listen to the words I'd said and slap my forehead, feeling my body warm.

“Someone should shut my mouth…” I muttered softly, avoiding opening my mouth or looking around until they called us to go to the arena.

***

I was stunned by the amount of people who came to watch the Sports Festival, Present Mic was introducing the microphone and Midnight, a heroine known for her beauty and questionable tastes, introduced the classrooms. She called Kacchan to go up on the platform and say a few words. Again I hit my forehead, what a terrible choice to represent the school. He walked with heavy steps and the hand in his pocket.

“Sensei. I’ll take first place”.

A loud murmur among the other students turned to screams of complaint and challenge, some actually offended by Kacchan.

“I'm sure you will only be obstacles in my way”. He completed and to my surprise (but not so much), he met my gaze and stared at me, his brows knitted together in contempt and anger.

I sighed, the complaints increased even more. Some calling he confident, and indeed it was a little. But if it was the Kacchan I knew he would be screeching and laughing. Bakugo got down from the dais the same way he got up, but he came towards me, my heart racing so much that anyone on my side could hear.

He stopped right in front of me, I raised my head slightly to look at him, his face had a silent anger, he opened his mouth to say something to me, but just in time Midnight started screaming into the microphone again.

“Right! With that we can go straight to our first test” She waved her whip back and forth. “In the so-called "Preliminaries"! A lot of people end up drowning with their tears here every year! And this year the first battle will be... Obstacle Race!”

Midnight continued to explain how the race would work. I looked back at Bakugou, who was still standing in front of me, and with a shake of my head, I deviated from his path and went to the starting line. I could feel his eyes following me and a shiver ran through my body, I didn't know which was worse, him screaming, or him serious.

When the race started I was determined to push as hard as I could and win! But things are not always 100% as we wish, the crowd was pushing and elbowing each other violently, it was a lot of work to get away from all that and get a little further ahead. I wasn't too surprised to see Todoroki taking the lead making an ice rink to slide on. It was like setting fire to all 1-A's spirits and before the spectators could blink, the class took the lead shouting that they wouldn't be left behind Todoroki.

I even tried to speed up my pace, but I was one of the last in the room, next to the disgusting Mineta. He, in the exaggerated self-esteem he had, threatened Todoroki screaming and when he was getting ready to throw one of those purple balls at his colleague he was hit by a robot, I dodged before it hit me too.

“Obstacles appeared! And right at the beginning, the first barrier will be robotic hell!”

At the same time that Present Mic shouted into the microphone numerous robots appeared in our path, they were the same ones from the entrance exam. Todoroki froze the largest of them and managed to get away quickly, but left several lying in our path, making confrontation inevitable.

My legs froze, I looked at those robots with a huge weight on their backs, what would I do now? I couldn't afford to break any bones in the first round of the tournament.

Chapter Text

Pov: Kirishima

The weight of the robots that fell on top of me would have killed anyone else, but by toughening my skin with my quirk I managed to emerge back into the race.

“As if I were going to die!” I screamed.

I sure as hell wouldn't, but anyone who wasn't male enough might not be so lucky, what was going through Todoroki's mind to make that kind of approach? It was as if there wasn't a single iota of concern for the others in the room. Anyone else could have died, I shouted exactly that at him, even though he was already too far away to hear me.

The ground beside me cracked, a boy emerged from it, hardened much like mine, the only difference being that his skin felt like smooth metal. He yelled at how detestable room 1A was and that anyone other than him could have died.

I stopped for a few seconds thinking about all the similarity in that scene, but I didn't allow much beyond that, I needed to get back to the race, Present Mic had just shouted that Bakugou was in the front right behind Todoroki, I needed to catch up with them, Bakugou was showing himself to be one of the guys more males than I'd ever met, despite the over-the-top personality.

I passed by Midoriya to the point of seeing her use a piece of robot to cut another in half, and also used the piece of metal to defend herself, I had already noticed how much she avoided using her own quirk, probably because of how much it hurt her.

The second obstacle was terrible for anyone who didn't have some quirk to help with the jump, as we had to jump between columns of earth inside an "abyss", Bakugou passed with thunderous ease, the explosions of his hands acting like rockets.

When I jumped onto one of the pillars, Midoriya jumped with me, losing his balance. She fell into the abyss and I instinctively pulled her close. Even if she was, at that moment, a competitor, I could never have let a girl get hurt falling into that hole, it just wasn't how I functioned.

“Thank you, Kirishima. I owe you this one.”

“You would do better without that piece of metal”. I replied, but she had already gone to the next column, she looked at me over her shoulder and smiled.

“I'm still going to need him a lot”. She jumped another column away from me, Midoriya had a strange way of moving forward.

And speaking of "front", there he was, Bakugo, standing on the other edge of the chasm. Looking at Midoriya, as if to check if she was still behind him or if she had fallen into the abyss. Our eyes met for a few seconds and I jumped to the next column.

He could say whatever swear word he wanted, for me, I couldn't change the conception that he was a man of respect.

Chapter Text

It wasn't one of the best things I'd ever done, in fact, nor should it please spectators, watching a seemingly ordinary girl with a huge chunk of metal struggling to advance in the race. Okay, not the time to worry about something like that, the last obstacle lay in front of me, a minefield.

Kacchan blew up a bunch of mines without a care, but it slowed him down compared to Todoroki, even if the difference was short-lived. In a few seconds they were both running side by side. The two of them were frighteningly close to the finish line and I hadn't even entered the minefield yet, just watching the others advancing and taking explosions at their feet.

I could drop the sheet metal on the floor to see if it would explode and then follow the safe path after checking, but that would take a long time. Seeing Kacchan being flung upwards once more, I had an idea. Luckily it was possible to see on the ground where some mines were buried. I would only have a few minutes, three or four at most, so I started digging in and when I piled up a few, it fell down with the sheet metal on top. I was thrown forward with the plate and all, but there was one big problem, it would be impossible to control a falling object. And worse, my body had its back to the finish line. I saw Kacchan's face as I passed him.

He yelled something I couldn't understand and quickened his pace, almost approaching. I would hit the ground before the goal. I propelled the steel plate to the ground and it caused more explosions that messed up Todoroki and Bakugou. I rolled over to the finish line, stuffing my clothes with dirt and scraping my elbows. When I got to my feet, Present Mic announced that I had won the race. In fact, I was only a few inches ahead of the victory line, and I felt a little woozy from the impact and the sound of the explosions. I surpassed them all! Todoroki came in second and Kacchan in third.

Todoroki came to me.

“I didn't expect it to show up like this”. For a moment it looked like he was going to reach out to help me up, but his body froze listening to Kacchan's screams about me having won (or about him being third?), it was sometimes difficult to understand his babble. The one who helped me up was Ochako.

“What was that?! It was amazing!!”

“You were amazing, I did what I could”.

I didn't like being the only one not using the quirk, but I was afraid of crippling myself right away.

“Go fuck yourself!” Kacchan yelled. “You again…”

Ochako pulled me away from him, Iida appeared complaining that she still needed to train more and Todoroki didn't follow us.

“I hope our friendship survives this festival". – I said to Ochako, not referring to just the two of us, but also to me and Todoroki, since he declared me as a "rival", he became more introspective than usual, staring at me from afar.

We waited for everyone to finish the race and when it was finally over, Midnight reported that the top 44 finishers would go on to the next stage. Incredibly, everyone in room 1-A was ranked.

“Now, let's go to the second test!” Midnight pointed to a screen, I couldn't believe it when saw the word "Prison" written on the screen. What would that be like?

“You will have to form groups of 4 people and will have to arrest the members of the other team in our prison. To secure it, just remove the armband that each one will have on the arm and take it to the "prison". Each participant is worth 20 points. With the exception of the first place that is worth 100 points. After all, being first has its perks, right? But it can also be soooo laborious. You do not lose if one of the members is arrested, but you lose the point he is worth and he must be stopped for the rest of the game. In the end, the teams with the most free points are ranked. It will only be 15 minutes of play. Now go! Assemble your teams!”

My body froze. ONE HUNDRED POINTS?

I looked around, everyone was staring at me. It took seconds for the confusion to set in, I would be doubly targeted. Teaming with me was interesting because it increased their chances of finishing in first place, but it would be the most attacked team to take the most obvious first place.

It would be a game mainly of defense and escape, there would be few teams that would go for the spontaneous attack.

In the midst of all that talk I looked for Kacchan, our eyes met. How likely would it be that we were on the same team? From his hateful face, I'd say 0.

“Let's be on the same team, Deku”. Ochako took my arm.

I felt so much emotion that my eyes watered. Even if I had the advantage of starting points, being the main target of attack would not be any good.

“You’re an angel”. - I said to her and she smiled.

If we could use her quirk to float us, it would be perfect, other quirks that would be very useful would be Todoroki and Iida's, but it was obvious that the former already had his team formed. But I was surprised by the refusal of the second one, who stayed in Todoroki's team.

“I was already noticing, but you are amazing, Midoriya. And I don't want to be left behind. No, if I just follow you I'll never grow up. You are a dear friend. But Bakugou, Todoroki and that guy from 1-B aren't your only rivals here!”

He walked away from us and I glared at Ochako, who shrugged.

“Now I even feel strange here”. She said, laughing. “I want to grow up and I will. By your side”. I nodded, still excited. “This rival talk must be some man fetish”.

“It sure is”.

We heard an unknown voice and turned around, a girl with pink hair and eyes was standing behind us. She wore large goggles on her head and other supportive gear around her waist and feet.

“My name is Hatsume Mei and I would like to use you, Midoriya. Now that you're number one, everyone will be watching you, this is the perfect opportunity for me to introduce my babies! And maybe some big company will notice!”

Mei got so close to me that our breasts (hers much more) tightened, and I could feel her hot breath on my cheek, her glazed, excited eyes fixed on mine.

“What are you talking about?” Ochako pulled me back a little.

Mei took several kind of equipment from her pants pockets.

“I'm from the support department! We develop items for heroes and it's the perfect chance to show them off.”

She turned around and I could see that she was also wearing a jet pack.

“Perfect! You can participate!”

I still preferred Iida, but Mei could be useful if the other things she showed were as good as the backpack. I looked to the side looking for the fourth and last person. I saw him from afar with his bird's beak. There was no team yet, people unfortunately avoided animorphs.

“Come join our team”. I said, approaching him. “Your quirk creates a physical shadow, doesn't it?”

“It's not exactly that. But why should I join your team?” His voice was beautiful and thick, somehow matching the black fuzz.

“Well, I'll bring you victory”.

I reached for him, trying to smile confidently (and probably failing).

He looked at it for a few seconds, then held my hand.

Chapter Text

POV: Bakugou

I could barely think in my rage when the race was over. First place was supposed to be mine, if that shitty nerd hadn't distracted me. She was annoying as she had won, practically screaming in my face that she didn't even need her powers to win. I saw her speed her way when she went to my house, in the blink of an eye she got away from me, and now she's going to make a big deal out of finding alternative ways to win.

This and that damn half-and-half that won't get out of my way. I would destroy both.

When they announced the second test and each participant's score, I stared at her. Deku would need a strike team to protect herself, and the idiot was only recruiting useless ones. I turned around, it would be easier to attack her.

“Hey, let's make a team”. The pink girl approached and other suckers who didn't know the name, including the one with spiky red hair who followed me on the day of the attack at the training center.

“Todoroki already joined a team while you're there asking the quirk of others”. He approached smiling. “We will be an unbeatable team, attack and defense together. And let's go after Midoriya to take those 100 points!”

“This is going to be a big, more aggressive tag. I’ll be helpful too”. A guy with a roll of tape on his elbow approached us.

I agreed to join the team.

We were taken to a huge field with several small towers to hide and use as difficulty in hunting, in the center there was a circle with bars to throw the armbands. Each team would start in their own corner space and when Midnight informed us that we could be rough the start alarm rang.

Because of the towers, I couldn't see where that shitty geek and the half-and-half started, but right away a team of extras attacked us. I ripped the armband off one of them with as much ease as you'd expect, and the guy with the elbow, whose name is Sero, tied them up so we could go to the center and take them.

Then I saw her, wearing a jetpack holding a birdface guy with her legs, dodging another with arms like wings and silver hair. The floating girl had just gotten her foot stuck in a purple ball and couldn't reach Deku.

I advanced on them as my team followed. We had already agreed that we would attack them, so I couldn't be criticized for acting on impulse going after her like they said in our first training.

The one with the strange arms was immobilized by ropes that came out of support equipment thrown by a pink-haired girl and she used a Midoriya-like jetpack to bring the armband to the center.

I jumped towards Deku

“Stop being so full of yourself, you little shit”. I prepared an explosion to hit her. But the burst was stopped by a shadow. As I started to fall, Sero pulled me with his ribbon. Before I hit the ground I felt pressure on my arm and when I turned around a blond guy with lank bangs was holding my armband in his hand.

“Easy as taking candy from a child”.

“WHAT THE FUCK! You motherfucker piece of shit. Give this back before I kill you”.

“Quick, let's get him before he takes it to prison”. Mina shouted.

But the boy instead of running away with his team started an unhappy speech about having used the previous test to look at our quirks. I could barely understand how angry I was.

“I’ll take you to the grave”.

Sero tried to grab him with the tape, but meanwhile he was held by giant hands that immobilized him completely, it was someone from that motherfucker's team. Mina tried to stop it by throwing acid, but he and the armband were thrown into the prison. Our team lost 20 points and I could see from the score that in less than five minutes four teams had already been eliminated completely. There were still ten minutes left and seven teams with their points intact or partial.

“Kirishima, before Deku, let's kill these motherfuckers”.

Chapter Text

I only believed that it would work when I saw Tokoyami's Dark Shadow stop Kacchan's explosion. We were propelled backwards and I controlled the fall with the jetpack. It was obvious that he would come after me, not only for the points, but the irritated one would not let my victory in the first race go unnoticed. No, he wanted to destroy me in this second trial.

However, his plans were interrupted when a team from Classroom 1-B attacked him, took Kacchan's armband and arrested Sero. My feelings were totally divided upon seeing that. Half of me wanted to laugh until my stomach hurt to see Kacchan make a mistake out of distraction. And the other half wanted to punch that cocky blonde from 1-B and get the armband back. But I wouldn't do that, nor could imagine what Kacchan would do if I intruded.

The best I could do to help him was to eliminate other teams as they were now down to -20 points due to Sero's slip.

I would start with Mineta. I couldn't imagine how pleasurable it was to beat that disgusting boy, but it was. I used a rope that wrapped itself on impact, created by Mei and, dodging all the purple balls thrown, I tied it up and ripped the armband, passing it to Uraraka.

As soon as our hands touched and she reached for the fabric, something wrapped around my waist. Something wet and slimy and disgusting. I looked at the other end, it was Tsuyu's tongue. She was also on Mineta and Shoji's team.

“Tsuyu! This is very disgusting! It's full of drool”. I held Tsuyu's tongue digging in my nails, but there was no reaction on her part.

“Thbat's it fbor bou” She tried to say as she lifted me off the floor. The tip of her tongue came toward my armband.

Mei had just returned from "prison" and threw several metal pellets at me and on the tongue, I fell to the floor in the middle of smoke, an unpleasant taste like spoiled egg filling my palate and making my eyes water. Tsuyu couldn't stop coughing. It was Mei who tied her up and took her armband away.

“Are you okay?” Tokoyami asked.

“If I disregard the rotten egg taste in the mouth”. I got up. “We managed to eliminate an entire team”.

“And we already have another problem.”

I didn't even have time to get excited, there they were.

Todoroki, Iida, Kaminari and Momo.

Other teams were approaching too, but I couldn't worry about them. Not with that piercing gaze of Todoroki, would he really take the rivalry thing seriously. We stared at each other for several seconds.

“I thought we would only face them in the final, but it seems that is not the case”. Tokoyami pointed at them. “You've been making very strong rivals, Midoriya”.

“But allies too”. I replied, trying to smile confidently.

My brain was trying to come up with a plan to defeat them, Mei and Uraraka approached.

“Tokoyami, continue to be my defense. Uraraka, just don't let Kaminari get close or he'll electrocute everyone”.

It was a little late to speak.

When I realized, Momo created an anti-shock fabric and threw it on top of his team, with the exception of Kaminari.

After the attack on the training area, Uraraka commented that the duo had already performed that combo before, but still managed to catch us.

I felt a shock wave through my entire body, making me fall to the floor. The intensity of the electricity was greater than I expected him to use with other students, I had almost passed out, happened to several other competitors and Iida used his speed to rip off the armbands and take them to the center.

Mei tried to grab Uraraka and go up with her jetpack at the time of the attack, but the electrical discharge made both her backpack and mine fail.

Momo came at us with a huge hammer that came out of her arm, Tokoyami blocked her with the dark shadow, but had difficulties. He'd told me that he'd have a hard time with Quirks that emit light like Kaminari's beams, but the other group didn't need to know that we were powerless.

Todoroki tried to freeze our feet, this trick we already knew, Uraraka touched my shoulder and I floated in time to avoid being caught. He kept advancing, I saw his ice punch approaching and without thinking too much I blocked him. I retaliated with a punch to the chest that made him move away, Mei took the cue and tried to hold him with her rope, however he froze both the equipment and her arms.

He approached again and I punched him again, Todoroki had to create an ice barrier or he would be hit. It shattered into pieces. My fist tingled and the impact had knocked me to the ground. Pieces of broken ice pierced the knuckles of my hand, but I couldn't keep the smile off my face because my arm hadn't broken.

I didn't even have time to celebrate, that air pressure went through me. Iida was holding my armband. Midnight announced that there were 3 minutes left and that I was about to lose 100 points.

“You have to pay more attention to me, Midoriya. Remember? I challenged you”.

His smile was wild and determined.

I felt a lump in my throat. I would not lose.

Everything happened at the same time.

Kaminari tried to electrocute us again, but Uraraka grabbed him from behind and the two of them floated away in a distant shockwave. Mei managed to break the ice and trap Momo and when I felt that Todoroki was going to attack me, Tokoyami stepped in front to protect me from the ice.

I boosted the speed using my toes and managed to keep up with the speed of Iida heading to the prison. I didn't run fast. The impulse threw me on top of him. I felt the toes on my toes break, but I rolled onto Iida and caught him by the arms, gasping. We rolled together for a few feet and I touched my armband just as the alarm went off at the end of the race. My points were intact.

I threw the weight on top of Iida, feeling the pain of my broken fingers. That was bad. It was terrible, no one could know, if I could walk I could go to the next test without anyone suspecting.

The pain blurred my vision for a few seconds.
“Midoriya, are you okay?” My head was resting on Iida's shoulder, he said while spitting my hair over his face. “Looks like I'm no match for you”.

Using my arms to pull away from him, I stared into his face, serious, but with a slight smile at the corner of my mouth.

“You're more than a match, Iida, if the competition had lasted one more minute I wouldn't have been able to accompany you”.

“Don't be complacent”. He put his hand on my thighs, it was a silent request for me to get off him, but I jumped at the touch. “You’re awesome”.

I got up hiding my flushed face. Pain from my little toes rippled through my body with an uncomfortable shiver.

Midnight shouted into the microphone the ranked teams:

"1st Place: Team Midoriya;
2nd Place: Team Todoroki;
3rd Place: Team Shinsou;
4th Place: Team Bakugo."

The pilasters began to sink into the ground, leaving it flat again. I could see the purple haired boy standing there with a triumphant smile on his face. So he was called Shinsou.

Chapter Text

POV: Bakugo

My kick was stopped by the bastard's stiffened arm. And it wasn't Kirishima, it was that motherfucker from room 1-B who stole my armband when I attacked Deku. His quirk was to copy that of others.

Kirishima and the pink girl were struggling with the big hands’ girl, at least we had already eliminated the other two from their team, so weak that there wasn't even time to find out what the quirk was.

I punched him in the face, and he stiffened, blasting the same explosion as mine in my face.

“Damn, your quirk is incredible”. He said arrogantly. “But mine is better’.

I felt so much anger clenching my teeth that I couldn't even speak, even when Kirishima screamed complaining that he had stolen our moves. I clenched my fists.

I would take first place.

I would destroy the boy and then look for Deku.

“I'll finish you, and everyone who gets in front of me”. I growled. ”I'll take first place”.

“Calm down, you provoked, remember? With that rude speech…” The boy replied.

Even with Kirishima's request for me to calm down, I jumped at him with everything. Every punch and kick he stiffened his body, but he couldn't fight back. And with each explosion he countered with another explosion. He would get tired, I wouldn't.

I was pushed back by the impact of the combined explosions.

Kirishima and the girl defeated the opponent. Kirishima ran to take the armbands while Mina stayed by my side.

“Oi, the black eye”. I said, getting her attention. “As soon as I say so, throw acid on the floor”.

She nodded and I ran once more towards the bastard. He braced himself for impact, but then I yelled at the girl. An irritating, stinky acid smeared on our shoes causing us to slip. I was already expecting that, as we fell I jerked my body backwards, turning a somersault and kicking him so hard in the stomach he didn't have time to stiffen. The unfortunate fainted at the same time.

I took my armband and his, throwing them for the pink girl to take to prison.

Now I would go back to Deku, I wouldn't leave the first place with her again, I ran towards the last place I saw her, dodging those pillars that got in the way of having a sense of what was happening and I found her throwing herself on top of that bastard with glasses.

I went towards them. The alarm sounded at the end of the competition.

I stopped suddenly, again I felt something inside me burn so hard that I didn't know whether to scream or continue on my way to her. That bastard's hand pressed into her thigh. Finally a scream in the back of my throat came to me, but it was drowned out by the sound of the score. My team ranked last, hers first.

I turned my back to get out of there.

My teeth gnashed with the pressure. Small explosions made noise between my fingers.

In the next and final step she wouldn't escape me.

----------------------------

Pov: Tokoyami

The first time I saw Midoriya nothing caught my attention. An ordinary girl, neither pretty nor ugly. Even after the first classroom training, I couldn't understand all the commotion. Bakugo with a fixation on her, Todoroki, Iida and Uraraka always surrounding her. It was in fact, curious, that in a few weeks of classes, people had already moved so much, while most of the class had not even formed a group, including me.

This was common, my appearance scared, or bothered. Nobody wanted to talk for more than 5 minutes with a bird's head. And I could be sad or complaining in the corners, but I didn't care. With my headphones, my rock and my peace, I just hoped no one would bother me.

That must have been what surprised me when Midoriya approached me and invited me to her team. She had apparently watched me so much that she more or less understood how the dark shadow worked, so she asked me to be her shield.

She didn't look away, didn't comment on my beak or the feathers on my face. She just stared at me with determination. She trusted that I would defend her and didn't even think that maybe I couldn't (even if I could).

When Todoroki and Iida appeared I commented on the strong rivals who declared war on her and Midoriya stared at me:

“But allies too”. Shee referred to me, and my strength.

The big green eyes were sincere and mesmerizing. Her smile is somewhat brave. She exuded a fire and an urge to move forward that turned my stomach.

I understood.

Maybe that was it.

I would defend her.

No, I wanted to defend her.

The trust she placed in me screamed to walk alongside her and destroy anyone who stood in the way of our team.

During the fight, Midoriya understood every need of my quirk and thought of a backup plan, when she left me with Todoroki I used all my strength to get in his way. I was lucky that other opponents also advanced on him.

When the alarm sounded I sighed in relief along with the dark shadow.

Because of Midoriya, I came in first. I saw her limp along beside Iida, approaching us.

In fact, an ordinary girl, neither pretty nor ugly.

But she was my ally. And I am her ally. And whenever she called me, she would have my shadows at her disposal.

Chapter Text

My toes hurt.

I'd like to say my concern was focused on Kacchan's withering gaze a few feet away in the stands, on Uraraka's distressed face, staring at me with suspicious eyes as I nibbled on a tuna onigiri I'd brought for lunch. Or even in Iida's analyzes of the previous proof. But as I chewed my body shivered with the uncomfortable and painful sensation.

We would have an hour break until the next competition and for me that felt horrible, more time for the pain to settle and take root, even to silently rebel in a "damn girl, heal me". But I knew, if I went to Recovery Girl, she would immobilize me and I wouldn't be able to do the next level. She said that even with her quirk, in case of broken bones, rest was still necessary for at least 1 day.

I hadn't even finished chewing when Momo arrived bringing the cheerleading uniforms for us to participate in the Cheerleading Battle that Kaminari and Mineta said would be mandatory for the girls, Momo herself made a fabric fitting room and metal stand with her quirk and we changed right there.

“Midoriya, you don't have to make this face! You look beautiful with the cheerleading outfit, more feminine!!” Said Mina.

I couldn't tell them that the face was from the pain, but actually the clothes were a little uncomfortable, both the blouse and the skirt were too short. When we left the dressing room we heard an exclamation of surprise from one of the boys. I felt my face redden, Uraraka took my arm.

“You look so cute, Uraraka”. Said, that kind of outfit suited her SO MUCH. Ochako also blushed.

“Are you sure you liked it? I thought it was too small”. She tried to pull her skirt down a little, which made her belly more exposed. “You were also… good-looking!”

I chuckled, because even the tremor of laughter sent shivers coming from my toes.

“By the way, "good-looking" is the last thing it sounds like”.

“No! It really is!” Her face turned red as a pepper. “You always wear baggy clothes, even your heroine uniform. Kind of seeing you like that made you even sexier”.

This time it was my turn to blush. Sexy? This was new.

I was thinking about what I would answer when Todoroki approached and called me to talk somewhere else. From the seriousness on his face, I didn't expect it to be a good thing. I tried to follow in his footsteps, but twice he had to stop and look back because of my speed. Until he apparently got tired, came to me and lifted me in his lap.

“TODOROKI!” I yelled.

“We don't have all day. And I need to talk to you”.

His face was still impassive. It was nothing to him, nothing to be ashamed of. Todoroki was practical.

A howl of celebration and excitement came from the entire audience and only then did I see that the scene of him carrying me was being played on the big screen. I tried to beg him to put me down, but to no avail. I turned my red face to his shoulder and buried myself there. Was it possible to feel such embarrassment?

“Are you going to compete even with a broken foot?” He asked, so he had noticed.

“It's not the whole foot”. I said, the sound being muffled by the fabric of his shirt. “I can go on.”

After descending a long flight of steps that had me fidgeting in his arms, he stopped in the hallway under the bleachers. The sound of the audience was muffled and they had probably already changed the focus of the screen, since there were no cameras here.

He put me down.

“I hope all this chaos makes some sense, Todoroki!” I said a little squeaky, unhappy with the way I had been brought there.

We were friends enough for me to say that, but the icy look on his face made me recoil, both verbally and emotionally. What was I about to hear from him?

“You felt it, didn't you?”

I arched my brow, I could have thought anything, even the fact that I felt absurd embarrassment with him carrying me. But I knew what he was talking about.

I nodded in agreement.

Yes, when I was thrown backwards by punching his ice shield, what pushed me wasn't something icy, but something hot that singed the hairs on my arms.

“I didn't expect you to be able to make me break my promise. This surprised me”.

The promise not to use the fire quirk he possessed, he had never explained, but we knew that Todoroki only fought with half his power.

“Your quirk gave me the same feeling as when I saw All Might fight, are you his daughter?”

I gasped, so that was the seriousness. Todoroki had seen, or heard from Iida, that All Might had called me to lunch that day, and maybe a few others, when All Might was too eager to tell me anything.

“You understood all wrong!” My voice came out so weird that it came out false, even I would say I was lying. “That's something someone would say if it was, isn't it?” I tried to take a deep breath. “He's not my father, I wouldn't be able to hide it from anyone if he really was. Because I wish he were”.

“But then you have a relationship?! You must know that my father is Endeavor, hero #2. He always tried to outdo All Might, but he never succeeded. So he came up with a plan”. Todoroki's hands were shaking softly. “He used the "marriage of Quirks" to practically buy my mother out of her family and try to have a son that was stronger than All Might, to overcome him indirectly”.

I swallowed hard, marriage of quirks was something outdated and terrible. Yet another way to almost enslave women with strong quirks in loveless marriages. I've never seen a case of a man "sold" to that. No, it was always the family of women who provided them (at exorbitant fees) to men eager to improve their bloodlines, no matter what the price. Didn't have to be very smart to know what it did to a woman's life.

“Most of my mother's memories are of her crying, sad, or scared. She said my left side was ugly so she threw boiling water on my face”. Todoroki placed a trembling hand on top of the scar, I felt as if the blood had been trained from all over my body. “It was even funny when you said that this side of me is also beautiful when even I don't believe it”.

I took a step forward.

“I did not lie! You are one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen in my life. And a man a thousand times better than your father. I know we've only been friends for a few weeks, but I'm already convinced of that!”

He finally managed a simple smile, almost as if he was grateful for my words.

“I despise my father, and I will become the number one hero without having to use his shitty quirk. And defeating you is one of the barriers to achieving that, Midoriya”.

I approached him and gently placed my hand on his head, feeling the softness of his hair. It was something my mother used to do when I was feeling down. Todoroki opened his heart to me, told me about his family and his goals.

“You know, Todoroki, I needed to be saved several times to get here. In some ways that I still can't or can't explain to you. I owe so much to these people and I want so much to become the number 1 hero. I accept your challenge, but you may be surprised that the barrier is much higher and firmer than you might think”.

I took my hand out of his hair and stretched it out in front of him.

“May the best win”. He said.

He squeezed my hand.

“You look good in that outfit, Midoriya”.

I let go of my hand in embarrassment. As always, practical. The first subject was over, why not move on to the next?

“Thanks”.

He turned to leave.

“Hey! Won't you take me?”

It was the first time I saw Todoroki crack such a mischievous smile.

“I want to see how firm this barrier really is”.

And off he went.

A swear-word came on the tip of my tongue, but I held it back, thinking that hearing Kacchan say them too much would make me comfortable using them too.

I walked at a snail's pace down the hall, feeling each step hurt my soul. I heard, a little further on, footsteps approaching and I imagined that it would be Todoroki returning with a smile saying that the intention was just to make fun of me a little, but who appeared down the stairs in hurried steps was Iida.

“After Todoroki came back alone I needed to check if he hadn't frozen you down here”. He tried to smile, but his eyes looked worried. Iida was carrying something in his hands and when He saw that my eyes had dropped to the object he held it up in front of me, two rolls of bandage. “Since you don't want to give up the next game, at least let me try to immobilize a little”.

“You’re a sweetheart, Iida”. I felt tears at the edges of my eyes. “And then you come to say that you are my rival. It's more like the best friend I've ever had in my entire life”.

I sat on the stairs so I could take off my red sneakers, he started to help untie them.

“I thought this was Bakugo”. He responded.

“Maybe 4 years ago? Now I don't know what name to give my relationship with him"

I let out a groan of pain as Iida took off his first sneaker and then the sock. The entire tip of my foot was terribly swollen. He let out a dismayed sigh before starting to wrap the bandage around my foot, until he reached a spot that was tight enough to slip back into the shoe with very minimal movement.

“Make no mistake, you are my rival. And today showed that I'm still several steps behind you. I have so much to improve. But we can be both, can't we? I know we will grow side by side.”

I turned away, blushing.

“Yes, we will, Iida”.

As he went to the other foot, a silence settled between us. I stared at the frames of his glasses and the outline of his square, rigid face. His hand was a little rough and as I began to notice, I could feel his every movement, one hand holding my foot while the other wrapped the bandage.

“Miss Yaoyorozu made inappropriately short clothes for this cheerleading battle”.

I closed my legs more for fear that Iida was seeing something too much, but I couldn't hold back a small laugh at his speech.

I think that's the intention, huh? Girls wiggling their butts and pom poms in short skirts to cheer each other up. Doesn't that cheer you up?”

He turned red.

“It doesn't seem to make much sense”.

“I don't think it was made to do. But you really don't get the least bit excited about girls dressed up as cheerleaders?”

“You all are beautiful”. He replied finishing immobilizing and putting back his sock and sneakers. “But it is still inappropriate”.

“Oh, Iida. It's inappropriate to be a villain. A short skirt is at most an attack on girls without attributes like me”. I laughed, getting up, even though I limited my movements a little, because my fingers were practically immobilized inside the sneakers, the pain became a little milder.

“Always very humble Midoriya, you are the one that was the most beautiful!” Iida placed her hand on chest robotically. He always went into robot mode when he got nervous.

I laughed.

“I'm not going to go easy on you even praising me, Iida”.

“I don't even intend for that to happen.”

We both laughed together and I leaned on his shoulder to go upstairs.

Chapter Text

POV: All Might

I was too proud! All right, all right, I knew that young Midoriya was finding alternative ways to win the competitions, first not using her quirk, then getting hurt and hiding from everyone. Still, I was proud! She was going into the third and final phase. I started to get really hopeful that she would win.

I saw a little far from me Endeavor walking through the stands and I had a great idea, for sure talking to him would help me! I went into my muscle mode and caught up with him quickly.

As soon as he saw me he quickened his pace away, it wasn't the first time he did this, Endeavor did his best to ignore me even though we were both Japan's greatest heroes.

 “Calm down, Endeavor, no need to hurry, hasn't it been more than ten years since we've spoken? I'm happy to see you here!”

“I don't say the same. Now excuse me, I'm going to the bathroom!”

“Always so cold!” I entered in front of him, blocking the way, I could feel the heat of the flames that he left constantly burning in his hero uniform. “Todoroki is having a wonderful performance in all the tests, you created him very well!”

He stopped running and looked me in the eyes, frowning.

 “What do you intend?”  Endeavor's voice came out so angry that I had to force my smile to remain on my face. The man had always had problems with sympathy (and especially problems with me).

I forced a laugh.

“I wanted to know how you’re training him so well so I can apply with my young apprentices!”

“By young apprentices do you mean that girl with the green hair? She fights the same way you do”.

“You know I'm a professor at U.A., everyone in the classroom is my apprentice”. I tried to control my voice, I didn't want to show anything about my relationship with the young Midoriya. And after all, does she really fight the same way I do?

“Whatever. I trained my son to be better than you, no girl will pass him, being trained by you or anyone else. I created him just for that and that's what he will do. Now get out of my sight”.

Endeavor pushed me out of the way and I stood there with serious doubts if it was Endeavor's training that made Todoroki like that, or if it was something else.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

POV: Bakugo

Sometimes I wanted to control how possessed I was about certain things, but the feeling came to me in an uncontrollable burst of anger and frustration. The first moment that day I felt it was when I saw Deku walk past me on top of a sheet metal. A mixture of feelings, surprise also among them.

Then I saw her limping beside Four-Eyes and again a strong feeling nearly blinded me with rage, and I didn't even know the source. If I was irritated that she had won again, if because she was an idiot who couldn't even finish a simple race without getting hurt. Or even if it was a combination of the two.

I wanted to confront her, to ask her how she managed to do that kind of useless thing. And how she did it while keeping the snobbish, confident smile on her face. But I didn't even have time to get close. Even before appearing on the screen, I saw Todoroki lift her in his lap and take her away. I stood up in a rage.

No thought other than the need to reach them crossed my mind, nor did I know what I would do. I stopped at the corner of the hall when began to hear their whispered conversation. Todoroki talked about his past, about his mother and father. He asked if Deku was All Might's daughter and they both openly declared their rivalry between them. When he was about to leave, I went a little way forward and hid in a corner that didn't lead to the way back so they wouldn't see me.

But the bastard left her there to return alone with her injured foot.

I stood there staring at her walking slowly up the stairs.

I took a step forward towards her as Four-Eyes came down and started to bandage her foot. I went back into hiding and watched silently as the bastard ran his hand down her exposed legs, holding her tight, even getting the same glimpse of her panties I got because of that damn short skirt. But my feet wouldn't budge, as if anger was holding me back. I could hear bits and pieces of the conversation, like him saying that she looked beautiful in the cheerleader outfit and her, before that, saying that until 4 years ago she could call me best friend, but not anymore.

I gritted my teeth watching him lead her up the stairs.

Four years?! Go fuck yourself. It was 3 years and a few months.

I didn't see her for the entire vacation period back then, and by the time I got to our freshman year of junior high school, we weren't speaking normally anymore. It was just that litany of her judging everything I did and my anger started to grow. That's when I nicknamed her Deku and from then on it just went downhill.

And now I was the one watching and listening outside a bunch of bouncing idiots holding hands declaring themselves rivals and licking over each other's boots like this was a fucking amusement park. And she didn't even dignify me to consider herself because she thought she was much better than me, being the useless thing that she was.

I needed to defeat her on the next test. Maybe only then would she realize how considerate she must have been all along, would she see how much better I was.

-----------------------------------------------------

POV: Momo

How could I believe that stupid and pointless story Mineta told?

Present Mic had just yelled into the microphone asking what had happened to the girls in our class, after all, we were all dressed as cheerleaders, since they had hired professionals from the United States.

It all started a few days ago with Kaminari and Mineta saying that girls from all classes would do cheerleading battles at halftime. Now hearing it again the idea sounded so stupid that I didn't really understand how I believed it.

“Mineta! Kaminari! You really tricked me!” I yelled angrily to both of them.

“Both are idiots”.  Said Jiro.

Uraraka put her hand on my shoulder and smiled gently. I looked at her carefully and my gaze stayed there for several seconds, I felt my chest warm and my face blush softly. Come to think of it, that hadn't been the worst idea on the planet.

“Well, we can enjoy that we have plenty of time and have fun!” Who said that was the invisible girl, Hagakure. I couldn't see her expression, but I'd say from her voice, she was quite excited.

“I agree with Hagakure, I believe that now that we are already changed we need to enjoy it, right?” Uraraka's smile almost convinced me that it wasn't even the end of the world.

“But those clothes are so short”. Jiro complained.

 “And anyway, where are the others girls?” I asked.

“Mina went to lunch with Kirishima, Tsuyu I don't know and Midoriya still hasn't come back from where she went with Todoroki”.

 “Impossible, Todoroki has already returned”. Uraraka pointed to Todoroki, but we didn't even have to wait long for the answers, Midoriya came back holding hands with Iida, not that the scene was very romantic, clearly he was helping her to walk. But even though that fact was clear, I saw Uraraka's smile fade.

I waved the pom pom in front of her face.

“Let's move those hips and show these fools that we've bounce back!”

“But let's do it our way!” Jiro went to her things and got a portable speaker, then took her cell phone and plugged it in.

The music wasn't loud enough to disturb anyone more than five meters away from us, but loud enough for us to hear.

It was an English song, I had never heard it before.

"First things first, I'm the realest"

It was a beat that maybe I would have a little trouble dancing to.

"Drop this and let the whole world feel it
And I'm still in the Murda Bizness"

Jiro didn't seem like the kind of girl who could dance to that kind of music, but apparently looks could be deceiving. The sync with the pom poms, the hips and the beat was great. Hagakure caught up with her in seconds.

"I can hold you down, like I'm giving lessons in physics
You should want a bad bitch like this"

I was speechless! What lyrics was that?! I looked around, no one seemed to care.

Really, Momo, not everyone spoke English. One class a week with the basics of the basics wouldn't make a person understand a song that easily.

Uraraka held my hand. My face was already flushed before she even did that.

“Come on, Momo! Shake that ass”.

"Drop it low and pick it up just like this
Cup of Ace, cup of Goose, cup of Cris"

Uraraka was a dancing goddess, apparently she had never heard that song either, but she adjusted to the beat quickly. At some point Mina and Tsuyu approached and got into the mood.

“Let's go for victory, 1-A!!”

Mina was already screaming at the top of her lungs.

Of all of them I was the least able to move in rhythm, Tsuyu also barely moved, but she was making an effort, so I would make an effort too.

I stared at Uraraka and she was staring at Midoriya standing a few feet away with Iida, watching us. I sighed.

I walked over to Midoriya and took her by the hand.

“Come on, you will also participate”.

I knew her foot was hurt and she was trying to hide it, but I didn't care. Because just like that Uraraka would focus on having fun.

And said and done.

Another song started.

"You ain't gotta worry, it's an open invitation
I'll be sittin' right here, real patient
All day, all night, I'll be waitin' standby
Can't stop because I love it
Hate the way I love you
All day, all night
Maybe I'm addicted for life, no lie"

This song had a much harder beat to follow, Jiro was overreacting to think that we would be able to keep up with it.

Incredibly Midoriya danced well. I had to stop for a few seconds to gape. She had an injured foot and yet her hips were moving like waves and her pom-poms followed the exact rhythm of the music.

“Now I'm surprised! Where did this skill come from?” Mina yelled at her excitedly, trying to copy Midoriya's moves.

She smiled shyly.

“Many years dancing alone in the room”.

The big screen took the focus away from the professional cheerleaders and focused on us. I felt the sweat trickle down my back, but this was the moment to shine.

Uraraka's smile was beaming, I couldn't help but smile too.

I looked to the side, the boys were staring at us.

Did the girls notice that?

Because I had no interest in them, I could judge them so coldly (and maybe that was also my personality).

A lot of story lines began to unfold since we met, and how would that all end?

Bakugou was staring at Midoriya so intently that if she even moved the wrong pom pom he would know. Todoroki wasn't much different, but while the first looked serious, the second looked dazzled.

Even though Iida tried to concentrate on all of them, he ended up staring at her longer as well. Kaminari did the same thing with Jiro. Kirishima seemed to have a certain interest in Mina.

I smile at the screen.

We would be professional heroes and heroines. But we were also human, after all. What would happen in those three years of interactions? I was curious to know.

None of the boys looked at me with any noticeable particularity. That relieved me. Another song started to play, Jiro informed us that it would be the last one, our little show was already taking too long and we needed to rest a little.

The music started and it seemed easier to dance to. Until the chorus invaded my mind.

"I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it"

I stared at Jiro right away. She looked at me with a mischievous smile.

Chapter Text

I was already dressed again in the school blue outfit, feeling a little grateful for the visual protection the pants provided compared to the tiny cheerleader skirt. It wasn't that it was a total torture to participate, in fact, it was the opposite, because apart from the eyes of the crowd, I loved to dance. Besides the fun of participating in it with other girls.

 My ability to dance seems to have come as a surprise to everyone, as they always thought I was shy (which in fact I was). Bakugo already knew that side of me, after all, he was in almost all my elementary school performances and as much as he wouldn't admit it, I saw him watching me in one of the only performances I did in junior high in a theater play that practically forced me to participate . I never had the courage to ask why he was watching me that day, most likely, even though he hated me at that moment, he still liked dancing. And really, what a day! They liked the performance so much that I received a bouquet of red roses bigger than my head from some secret admirer.

But that whole story of dances and flowers was another time, now here I was, with my = toes broken waiting for the battle pairs to be drafted.

Ojiro, a blond boy with a tail, who was studying in my class, raised his hand.

“Excuse me, Midnight. I would like to give up”.

The others exclaimed in surprise, Ojiro said that he felt like an idiot for that, but that he didn't remember having participated in the previous competition. Everyone fought with all their might and he didn't remember doing anything. He said it was probably the purple haired guy's quirk. Then the entire team that participated with him dropped out and was replaced by another. My eyes met the boy's.

Psychic ability. I hadn't lied when I'd told him it was something really cool. But looking at it that way, wasn't it also terrible? Ojiro and the others didn't remember anything, they were somehow controlled. The boy smiled at me and I felt goosebumps run through my body. It wasn't a kind smile.

Midnight draft the names.

My first battle would be against him.

Midnight asked us to wait while Cementoss finished building the place we would fight. As we walked back inside the bleachers I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“So you're Midoriya Izuku?” I turned around, Shinsou looked like a cat, silent, observant. His gaze pierced and the smile made my chest quicken, not in a good way. “Looks like we're going to settle down sooner than I thought”.

I was about to open my mouth when Ojiro used his tail to shut me up.

“Don't answer him, Midoriya, it's something about his quirk”.

Shinsou frowned at Ojiro, but then he shrugged and walked away from us with an impatient click of his tongue.

***

Not even thirty minutes had passed when Present Mic announced the first battle. While the others continued to stand in the stands to watch, I entered the hallway that led to the fighting arena.

All Might was waiting for me there with a gigantic smile on his face.

“It's going to be all right, my girl! You managed to use a little quirk without getting hurt, but not entirely”. He pointed at my foot. “Remember about what Aizawa said! Try not to think about it.”

“When I'm about to hit someone it seems like my brain understands that I have no intentions to kill and unconsciously lowers the strength. I'm afraid that doesn't happen and I end up seriously hurting someone”.

All Might slapped me, even too hard, on my forehead.

“Don't think too much, Midoriya, don't think too much”. He took my cheeks and lifted them up. “And try to smile, do you want to be Japan's number 1 hero without a smile on your face?”

He let go of my cheeks and I kept the smile on face even though it hurt the sides of my mouth.

“It is in the moments of tightness and discomfort that you must show your smile and confidence to everyone. And don't forget, I expect fantastic things from you!

All Might turned me onto my back and pushed me to continue walking. Soon I was facing Shinsou and Present Mic shouted into the microphone

“First match! Midoriya, winner of the first two matches! And what is that face, girl? You need to go to the bathroom. vs. Shinsou! The boy from the regular class that we still have no idea what he does”. After that I even had to make an effort to keep the smile on my face. “The rules are simple, to win, just take the opponent out of the ring, make him unconscious or unable to move, or make him give up! It's totally forbidden to kill your friend, that's not how heroes do it! You can start”.

“Give up huh?”  Said Shinsou. “It doesn't look like you at all. But it's like that idiot. After all, he was bastards to give up, wasn't he? A coward”.

I looked at Shinsou's face and bit my lower lip. I had a PhD in putting up with aggressive teasing with the best teacher, my dearest Bakugo, I wouldn't let myself get carried away by something as light as that.

“Apparently 1-A only has wimps, or bastards. But you're different aren't you Midoriya? I noticed it that day at the library. That must be why that guy came looking for me, desperate for me to get away from you”.

“What guy?”  I asked in a rush of curiosity and regretted it immediately. I felt my body freeze and my mind cloud over. The last thing I heard was Shinsou's voice.

“But I won't walk away from you”.

***

Looking at Shinsou was like looking through a heavy fog, I saw his face next to me, but it seemed far away. I heard his voice, but it also sounded covert.

I was an idiot. Ojiro told me that his quirk was activated by his voice, and even though I got over the first provocation, I was overcome with curiosity. Ojiro also said that a blow had brought him out of the trance, but it had been an outside knock. How could I do that standing there like that?

“It must be nice to be born blessed with such luck, your quirk is really cool”.  He said, standing right in front of me. He ran his hands up to my hair and wrapped a strand around his index finger. “But now, turn your back on me and get out of the ring”.

My body turned away from him and started walking towards the exit door. I couldn't control it. No! No! No!

My voice inside the head was screaming in desperation. For my idiocy. I hadn't even started the competition and I was about to lose. So many people trusted me. I looked forward to that door with a sinking heart. Several figures stared at me. What was that?

I felt a tingling go through my whole body, a sensation that was too hot, the same feeling as when I used the one for all at 100%. That heat was coursing through my body until it concentrated on the little finger and ring finger of my left hand. With a crack I felt a violent pain and the pressure of the air pushed me back, throwing me away from the line that demarcated the ring.

Control of my body was back. I breathed a sigh of relief when Present Mic narrated my "freedom" from the opponent's quirk.

“How?” Shinsou asked in bewilderment, but then his eyes dropped to my fingers and his lips turned into a disgusted line.

My finger had moved by itself. One for All is passed down from generation to generation, was it those figures I saw at the door? Now they were gone. Did they do that for me? I bet yes.

“Wow, all this with just one finger, Midoriya? What can you do with your whole hand? I'm curious”.

He was trying to provoke me again. I stared at him silently, just arching an eyebrow. With one hand I would make him regret it.

“I'm jealous of your power, I didn't have any door to success. But you don't understand anything about it.”

Yes, I understood. I ran toward him with my toes throbbing from the movement. Even if it was almost a brisk walk instead of a run, due to the bandage Iida had put on.

“No, you who were born with perfect Quirks will never understand me”.

I understood. His voice grew more desperate with every step I took, now he almost screamed.

“You’re a blessed preppy, Midoriya, who lives in the world of flowers with your special friends while people like me have to crawl in the shadows to get something”.

I tried to touch his shoulder and he dodged punching me close to the chest. I grabbed his wrist as it sank into my skin and pulled him into a hug.

Present Mic yelled that he didn't understand nothing.

I leaned my body back on a backbend bridge, remembering that Nomu's attack on All Might, and heard the thud as Shinsou's back hit the ground. The boy lost consciousness for long seconds from the impact and Midnight announced my victory.

 I gasped, tears at the edges of my eyes starting to well up, not just from the pain.

“I understand you, Shinsou. I understand you”.

Chapter Text

POV: Aizawa

I wasn't surprised when saw Midoriya standing there, her eyes glazed over and her mouth slightly open. I knew that Shinsou's quirk was brainwashed and probably the boy had spent years and years of his life practicing the best way to make people respond to him, whether with provocation or otherwise.

“Can a guy who hasn't shown anything special so far be that scary?” Present Mic yelled beside me to the booth microphone. I rolled my eyes, shall we say his narration was covertly aggressive? “anything special”, special is not necessarily what it appears.

 “The entrance exam has no logic, that's why Shinsou ended up in the regular class, not because of his quirk”. I said, checking if Present Mic's microphone was really off.

“What? What do you mean about no logic?” Present Mic was always a little reactive to any criticism of the school, which, on my part, were not few.

 “How do you earn points for yourself if your quirk is controlling others? At most you would get points for another competitor”. I held out two papers for him, Midoriya's and Shinsou's file. “They had the same grade on the theory test. There was nothing to be done for the practical test”.

Present Mic took the papers to read the two students' data. At the same instant Midoriya broke free from the brainwashing by breaking her own fingers. One thing I couldn't deny was the capacity for pain she possessed.

Midoriya has shown advances in quirk control since the attack on the Training Center, but still considers her the worst in the classroom. The Sports Festival was relatively quiet this year and even then she had already broken two of her fingers and was trying to hide her injured toes from the audience. However, she was still stronger than Shinsou.

For having a quirk like that he neglected physical training.

I tried to scratch my cheek under the bandages, I was fed up with those bandages that covered my whole face.

I watched Midoriya shove Shinsou into the ground the same way Nomu attacked All Might, it was interesting to see the way she evolved learning from others' punches.

However, as thought, Shinsou was physically inferior.

I took a long breath. I had no other choice but to train him. A boy with that quirk should not be removed from the hero life he so much craves or he will end up turning into a villain.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pov: Shinsou

I lost consciousness. It felt like several, several minutes, but apparently it was just long seconds. As my mind got back on track, along with my breathing, I was reminded of the endless times I'd heard people praising the quirk I possessed.

"It’s so cool! Just don't control me, okay?"

“Man, it’s looks like a villain's quirk”

“Wow, we can do a lot of nice things if you use brainwashing”

I was always asked to do wrong things by my colleagues. Deceiving a teacher, sneaking out of school, etc. I declined all invitations and that limited my number of friends. Because those who didn't invite me to hang out were afraid to approach me. The first girl I fell in love with said she felt uncomfortable around me, she said I would use my quirk to take advantage of her.

My blurred vision was lining up and I could see Midoriya standing next to me, her eyes filled with tears.

Damn, girls crying were my soft spot. I wanted to use the brainwashing to ask her to stop.

She reached for me to help me up.

I hit her hand and Midoriya took it to her chest, she closed her eyes to hold back a new wave of crying.

“I don't need your pity”.

“I don't feel sorry for you. I'm upset because can't express how much I understand you Shinsou. Crawl in the shadows while everyone says we can't be heroes”.

I arched an eyebrow as stood up. I doubted that she really understood or had gone through this - spoiled girls liked to maximize their problems to compare themselves with others.

Present Mic announced her victory. I motioned with my hand to let her understand that I wasn't going to waste my time talking. I turned around and walked towards the door.

“Hey Shinsou! You were amazing!” Someone from the audience shouted, it was a classmate.

“You almost beat the girl who took first place in both tests!” Said another colleague.

“The heroes are all here whispering how amazing your quirk is and that it's unfair that you're not in the hero class. You are the star of the general department”. A third colleague.

I opened my mouth in surprise, I couldn't imagine a proof of support and affection coming from them.

I looked at the crying girl behind me.

“Midoriya!”

She looked up at me.

“Huh?”

I cracked a smile as the brainwashing hit her.

“Get over here”.

Midoriya obediently walked the few steps that separated us. I had to crouch down so our faces meet and I let go of the brainwashing.

“I can still be transferred to the heroic department. I'll even show you what it's like to be a fantastic hero. And stop crying”. I raised my hand, running my finger under her eyes. Even without the brainwashing, Midoriya didn't move in total shock. “I don't want the person who defeated me to be crying in the corners. You have to do your best in the next battles”.

“Right!” She clenched her fists beside her. With that answer I activated the brainwashing again. The glassy eyes were always the sign that she got it right. I moved closer, our mouths were so close, I could feel her breath on my lips. I cracked a smile.

“You are very naive, girl”. I flicked her nose and turned to leave, only then did I free her from the brainwashing.

Really, I couldn't stand girls crying in front of me, I always wanted to stop their crying, but I would never use my quirk for that.

Knowing the meaning of consent and the right moment to use my strength were the main pillars that would keep me from being a villain. I looked over my shoulder at her standing there. Because, really, some people gave a slight urge to be at least a little inconsequential. I smiled and continued on my way.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pov: All Might

Recovery Girl and I were waiting for Midoriya in a separate waiting room from other students. When she entered, she was startled by the presence of my co-worker.

“Brought Recovery to heal your foot and fingers”.

Midoriya's eyes widened and Recovery responded with a smile.

“At no time was it said that the students could not look for me in case they were injured in the exams. I have no idea where you got that from”.

“Whaat?” Midoriya almost screamed.

“It's not mentioned as a possibility, but it's not forbidden either”. I shrugged my shoulders. “Seeking help in an emergency is also the role of heroes”.

She sat up, muttering that she'd been hurt all this time for nothing.

“In the end I couldn't keep smiling”. She said.

“Well, it wasn't a pleasant fight. Psychic Quirks are always tricky to deal with. And Shinsou ended up venting to you.

“I felt sad about his story, but I still didn't want to give the victory. That's what it's like to aim for the top, isn't it?”

“You put a lot of pressure on that girl's shoulder”. Recovery Girl kicked my knee, without getting up from the chair in which she was healing Midoriya's feet.

“All Might, I had hallucinations”. I frowned as looked at her. “When I was brainwashed, I saw figures, maybe 8 or 9 people, one of them had hair like yours. That's how my fingers moved by themselves. Would it be the people who used One for All before me?”

“What a bizarre thing!” I ended up talking too loud.

“What? Have you never seen this?” She gave a hysterical little scream. Sometimes the look of disappointment on her face about my ability to be a good tutor outweighed her admiration for me.

I scratched my forehead in embarrassment. I had no idea what that was. I've only seen it once in my entire life and I was nothing more than vague shapes, nor could I see any shape of hair. I wish I had recognized Nana among the figures.

“When I was young I saw them. It must be an important milestone. A sign that you are adapting to One for All. They are just images of previous users, mere essences, they cannot influence with their own actions”. I held her shoulder, it was all guessing, but it was the most obvious. “Don't run away from the most obvious, Midoriya. Your willpower encouraged their essences to appear and that gave you the strength to break your own fingers”.

 “Look, All Might, don't know if I'm convinced”. She took a long breath.

“Enough of that!” I replied, couldn't stand that face of her disappointment anymore. “Now go watch the next fight because the winner will be your next opponent!”

Midoriya jumped to his feet. Recovery Girl had finished.

“Thank you so much for the support you two always give me!”

 The young woman kissed the old woman on the cheek and gave me a light awkward hug before running away with a red face. I was embarrassed by that demonstration and scratched my forehead again.

“She is kind, determined and not afraid to show what she feels”. Recovery Girl put her hand on her cheek.

“Yeah, just a little crybaby. People will say it's because she's a woman”.

Recovery Girl laughed softly.

“If Midoriya were a man, he would probably be much more reserved, men aren't going out hugging each other, afraid of being considered soft ass or gay. But I doubt it would be less of a crybaby. That's part of her kindness”.

I nodded in agreement. Recovery Girl was right. Midoriya would be a crybaby male or female.

Chapter Text

Pov : Todoroki

 “Get out of my way”. I didn't expect to see my father there on the way, but it was also no surprise that he would find a way to annoy me.

“Your behavior is being shameful”. He had his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. “If you had used your quirk to its fullest, you wouldn't have fallen behind in both tests. Your rebellion is childish and tiresome. I trained you to surpass All Might and you were born for this, to be my masterpiece, not to lose to a girl who is being trained by him. It's clear from the way she moves. It's unacceptable for you to lose to a girl. Unacceptable”.

 “Is that all you have to say?” I replied, walking in front of him without stopping, I clenched my fists so much that my knuckles hurt, I hated him, but wouldn't give him the pleasure of losing my composure in front of him. “I will win using my mother's power”.

“You will reach your limit. It's almost there. Her power was never enough”.

Anger rose like flames through my body, to a point that I almost actually let the flames out. But I clenched my fist tighter and gritted my teeth. When I entered the arena I couldn't hear and understand anything. I just burned. How dare he curse Midoriya? How dare he say my mother's power was never enough? How was he able to stand in front of me and call me a masterpiece? After all, after what was written on my face was an indirect result of him, the way he treated my mother.

I didn't hear when Midnight said we could get started, only realized when Sero's ribbon was wrapped around my waist and I launched an ice attack in his direction. When I blinked, an ice structure larger than the gym's ceiling had formed, starting with Sero.

“Man, that was a bit of an exaggeration”. He said, arrested.

Midnight also had ice on parts of her body and asked if he could move, on the negative, she declared me the winner.

I could have killed him. I looked at the structure, towering into the sky as far as the eye could see and approached him, with a weight in my chest.

“I'm sorry, I was a little irritated. I ended up exaggerating”.

 “It's all right”.

But it wasn't all right, even the audience screamed for him not to worry. I looked at the bleachers, not looking for him. My eyes met Midoriya's, it wasn't a scolding look. She was worried and it turned my stomach to an unhappy core. I raised my left hand and started to thaw the ice. After all, it was the left side that carried the weight of what I hated most.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pov: Iida

For me there was no other option but to win. Not only did I want first place, but also wanted to prove to Midoriya that we were on the same level. Even if she was subtly showing that we weren't, I wouldn't stop trying.

“Can we talk for a minute, Iida?”

The girl who had been on Midoriya's team in the last competition and was going to face me in the next fight was behind me when I turned to see the source of the voice, Hatsume Mei her name. Her eyes were pleading and she twisted her hand in front of her, causing her arms to squeeze her breasts. I stiffened my back. I don't know what she hoped to get from me.

“Of course, Miss Hatsume”.

 “Our fight won't be fair if you don't help me. My quirk helps me craft fantastic support gear, and I'll be using a lot of them in battle, so please use one of them in our fight!” Mei stretched out to me a support equipment that I didn't see where it was hiding a few seconds ago. I looked at it for a few seconds “Please, Iida! I know you are an honest man and you want our battle to be as fair and just as possible”.

I puffed out my chest, how could deny a sincere request like that? Even if I didn't need any equipment, I would do my best to fulfill her wishes.

But I shouldn't have listened to her.

After Midnight asked us if we were okay with using the equipment, Mei turned on a microphone and started introducing the one I was using to the audience. She spent about 10 minutes running away from my attacks until she simply jumped out of the arena and gave up on the match.

“You made a fool of me!”

“Thank you for letting me use you!!” Mei winked at me, sending a kiss.

“You didn't use me!”

Who did I want to fool? She had used me.

I left the arena angry and disgusted, and as soon as returned to the waiting room I found Midoriya and Uraraka talking. I told them about my previous conversation with Mei and Midoriya laughed.

“Oh, Iida, I'm sorry, I should have warned you that she couldn't be very normal. But I didn't think she would go so far as to deceive you like that”.

“It's okay, I'll never fall for a bullshit like that again”. I crossed my arms, still annoyed with myself and that girl. “But, Uraraka, why do you have that face?”

Uraraka was frowning too much, was she worried about the fight? I would be too if I were to face Bakugo's freak.

“Uraraka, I prepared a strategy with your quirk to face Bakugo”.

Midoriya held out a yellow-covered school notebook to her, but Uraraka shook her head.

“You're always so kind, Midoriya, but can't accept it. I need to defeat him on my own merit and even if it seems impossible I will try hard, so will be worthy of being in your group”.

Midoriya clutched the notebook to her chest. With an expression of determination she nodded.

“I understand”.

Uraraka got up, it was her turn to fight.

“When Kacchan gets angry, he does things on impulse”. Midoriya took a step forward. “The attacks get stronger, but he thinks a lot less. The more you piss him off, the better”.

“I don't even have to try to piss him off”.

Uraraka smiled and left the waiting room. Me and Midoriya looked at each other worriedly. But eventually she patted my back.

“Let's go watch it, Iida, before some other girl tricks you”.

My face turned red as I watched her walk away.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Pov: Uraraka

At some point I would have to face Bakugo. Not for any school competition, but to get him away from Midoriya, so why not take advantage of the fact that fate made the confrontation sooner than I thought?

Even with that thought in mind my hands were shaking softly as I walked to the arena. I had seen several times what Bakugo was capable of and above all I knew how our levels were at completely different levels.

When the sun and the blue sky appeared over me I looked ahead and Bakugo was already there, with his hands in his pockets, his usual irritated face. I clenched my fist. What exactly about that idiot had Midoriya so fixated?

 “Hey, idiot who makes things float, if you're going to give up, do it now because I'm not going to go easy on you. And don't even stop if you give hysterical little screams”.

Rude, uneducated, inelegant. I gritted my teeth.

“You don't deserve the attention you get from her. Kacchan, Kacchan, Kacchan. You're a rude brute who only knows how to scream and foam at the mouth. I will not give up”

I didn't know where those words came from, Bakugou irritated me so much! Midnight informed us that the fight was about to begin and I advanced. I needed to be quick, just touching him once I could win by sending him out of the arena. But before I got any closer, an explosion hit me, knocking me back. It wasn't strong enough to burn, but the impact hurt.

I tried to trick him by making my jacket float, but he was faster than me and attacked again.

“Slow as hell. And you still talk about worthiness”. To my surprise Bakugo wasn't angry like I imagined he would be.

I attacked him again, again and again, each time he pushed me with explosions. I felt like had been hit by a truck. But I got up again.

“I imagined your fetish was to harass girls”. I ran my hand under my lips, where a streak of blood ran from a cut there. “If I win, you will never approach Midoriya again”.

“OI? It's that useless one that won't leave me alone”.

“You only deceive yourself, Bakugo, and maybe deceive her too. But I'm not an idiot”.

I advanced once more and this time the explosion came stronger. The audience started to complain that he was taking it too hard and Aizawa said into the microphone that Bakugo was being correct, there's no such thing as taking it easy because I'm a girl.

It was no surprise to me, I saw what he did with Midoriya, I knew he didn't mind fighting a girl for real. At least in that he was respectable.

I looked at all the pieces of arena around me, several pieces of cement that I had touched. It was time to put my plan into action, it was my last attempt.

I tried to trick him one more time and in a moment of carelessness of him, all the pieces of cement floated above, I released them as soon as he noticed. I smile, he would be unable to get away from so many pieces. Meanwhile, I was moving forward to try to touch him.

Bakugo stretched his hand up and the explosion that came out of there was so strong that in addition to reducing all the stones to dust, it threw me away, I was rolling, almost leaving the arena.

That was my final attack, I felt despair rise in my throat. I remembered my parents supporting me in being a hero, because they believed in my dreams. Beating him wasn't just about taking him away from Midoriya, it was also about my own way to go.

I got down on all fours to try to get up, blood running from my nose, tears starting to form in the corners of my eyes. I put my foot forward to support myself and stand up. Midoriya would not give up.

I finished propelling my body forward, running towards him, but my mind clouded. The last thing I saw was a blurred Bakugo in front of me and I felt the ground below, my whole body shaking involuntarily. I heard Midnight declaring my defeat.

“You two are alike, insistent weaklings”. Bakugou stopped beside me before leaving the arena.

Chapter Text

Those bloodshot eyes were too close when I bumped into Bakugo around the corner of the hallway, heading for the waiting room.

“Don't you look where you're going, you useless?” He held my elbows, keeping me from falling, but once I was stabilized, he let go.

“Sorry, Kacchan. I was in a hurry”. I wanted to find Uraraka as soon as possible, at least talk a little with her before my fight.

“That shit strategy, it was your thing, right? It's just like you to do something annoying”. Bakugo frowned.

“No, it was totally Uraraka's idea, very good, isn't it? Looks like it almost got you in trouble

“Tsk, you are both useless”.

“Useless, huh? You like this word, Kacchan”. I clasped my hands behind my back, leaning my body a little towards him. “And many called me in this way when I found out I had no quirk, many adults, it's so mean, isn't it? Such a violent word. You didn't call me useless back then, even when I told you about my situation, no, you started calling me after a while. Will you ever tell me why?” I smiled at him, Bakugo seemed surprised by my approach, his brow got even more furrowed and he opened his mouth to spit some more cursing. “Still, thank you, Kacchan, for not taking it easy on Uraraka. It makes me happy to see how you treat everyone equally in your disdain”.

I waved at him and followed the hallway towards the waiting room, I wasn't going to wait for an answer. I had never said something like that to him, but it was the truth, many called me useless before Bakugo, many said I wouldn't be able to. My own mother apologized to me when the doctor said I would have no quirk. That conversation with Shinsou had made me reflective. How many people didn't hear things like that on a daily basis?

Conversation sounds came from inside the waiting room, Uraraka was talking on the cell with her parents, her shaken voice apologized, saying she couldn't win. Then she started to cry. I clenched my fists, should I stand there and listen? Come in and hug her? Comfort her? Being a hero was also about accepting the lows, about understanding that we're not always the strongest.

When silence once again settled inside the room, I turned the knob slowly, opening the door carefully so as not to startle her. Uraraka was sitting, wiping away her tears. Seeing me, she rubbed her eyes harder to hide the crying and smiled at me.

“Looks like it didn't work, huh?” Her voice still came out shaky.  “In the end I lost concentration, and Bakugo is totally on another level”.

“Yes he is”. I sat at the table in front of her. “He and Todoroki are like two monsters. It's even obscene for two teenagers to be that way. That's why we need to keep trying”.

She looked up at me, barely crying anymore.

“You don't think you're going to lose to Todoroki, do you?”

“It is not what I intend”. I replied, but who knows? The control he had of the ice was frightening and besides, I would make him use the Fire Quirk. “You fought well, Uraraka”. I put my hand over her hair and she started crying again.

“This is unfair, Izuku. It's also unfair for a teenager to be so cool like you”.  Uraraka wiped her tears once more with the back of her hand. “I’m fine. And I know I didn't fight well”.

“O-cha-ko. I found Bakugo in the hallway and he was really annoyed with your strategy. You just need to improve your stamina. Even though you have endured so many explosions from him is already a great test of endurance. I'm proud of you, it's okay to cry a little. About crying I understand well”.

 “I'll give you much more reason to be proud”. She stood up, her eyes at the same height as mine. “Even after your battle you continued to evaluate the other fights, I’ll not stay here whimpering even more. I’ll do like you! And...”

Present Mic reported that Kirishima's fight ended with him winning. Now it would be my turn against Todoroki.

“Sorry, for my talkative you couldn't prepare yourself”. Uraraka put her hands in front of her chest, showing concern.

“Don't worry, I don't think there would be any way for me to prepare to fight Todoroki in a short time”.

“I’ll cheer for you. Don't lose to him!”

“Leave it to me”.

We smiled at each other and then I followed the path to the arena. Apparently it was the day to bump into the others. As soon as turned the hallway, I stopped abruptly when saw that huge figure in front of me.

Endeavor and its flames were even less sympathetic up close. The presence was suffocating, I felt a shiver run through my body in agony.

“Endeavor, what are you doing here?”

“Well, hello”. - Despite the exclamation of surprise, the expression on his face remains rigid. “I watched your fight, girl. Your quirk is incredible for the little you showed. Very similar to All Might's”.

I stiffened my body with that claim. Had he discovered anything? I dodged him.

“Yeah, I hear that all my life, a big coincidence”.

“Shoto was created to dethrone All Might, a fight with you will be a good demonstration of that. So try to give him a worthy fight”.

 We had our backs to each other.

“I'm not All Might”.

“This is obvious”.

“And your son is not you”.

We stared at each other for a few seconds, I saw the anger flicker in Endeavor's eyes, but I continued on my way.

                ***

My body was so cold that it felt like I had already started fighting Todoroki, even though he was standing in front of me. His face was serious as I had never seen it before. I tried to smile.

“May the best win, Todoroki”.

He nodded in agreement. I took a deep breath, so deep that my entire body filled and my head throbbed slightly. Every time I used it correctly (without breaking myself) All Might's quirk crossed my mind, even when I went to Bakugo's house.

Present Mic introduced us and informed that we could get started.

Todoroki threw a wave of ice at me, I dodged only with my natural speed. We did this about three or four times, their attacks had the same amount of time to approach me. But the fifth time, he managed to catch my foot still in the air, I despaired to see a second wave of ice coming towards me and I flicked it with my right index finger that broke both itself and all the ice.

The crowd gasped in surprise. Todoroki frowned, but didn't wait long to launch another attack. I was distracted by the pain and couldn't dodge it in time, the only chance would be to repeat that stupid act. I broke two more fingers when I got far enough away.

Since the fight had started, I'd watched his every move – the barrier of ice he left behind so he wouldn't be thrown far, the speed at which the waves come, the time it took from one to the other, the range they could go – and everything indicated that I was in big trouble. His reach surpassed any distance I could have within the arena. The time between waves was less than I could use to get close. However, something caught my attention, his arm was shaking, covered with ice chips. I remembered that day we met, how he would stand in the sun to make up for the cold he felt from only using just one of his sides.

Another wave came over me and I narrowly dodged it.

I looked at my broken fingers. The pain so intense it tried to cloud my mind.

Useless.

Kacchan's voice filled my mind. I ended up looking for him in the stands, but it was too far away to see anything, or was my vision starting to blur?

But he was right.

The fight hadn't even started for five minutes and I'd already broken three fingers. Todoroki was standing in the exact same spot from the start.

Was this the kind of person who would inherit All Might's power?

I took a deep breath.

I didn't want to be useless anymore.

Another wave of ice, this time I didn't break it, I just pushed my body forward and in the blink of an eye I was behind Todoroki, kicking him, the force breaking the ice that protected his back and flinging him away. He made another barrier of ice before he was flung out. Once again a wave of ice, I dodged again.

Another one came, I broke the fourth finger.

I staggered back.

“You just dodged and defended yourself and you're all broken, Midoriya. I'm sorry. But anyway, I have to thank you. Thanks to you, that idiot dad's face is tight”.

I tried to smile.

 “Ridiculous, no?” I almost spat the words, with the pain I felt, I couldn't speak properly. “And I'm not talking about me”. Todoroki widened his eyes.  “I may even be a Deku, a useless doll that breaks easily*, but I'm trying hard, giving my best. I'm not shaking like an idiot because I don't want to use my power right”.

I flicked it so fast that Todoroki couldn't dodge the air pressure, almost left the arena, but managed to stop it with another ice support.

“Quirks are just any function of the body! So you must have a limit of cold you can generate and withstand, right? And that means if you used the powers of your left side, your problems would be over, right? Everyone is doing their best!!” I shouted and I was sure that people from the stands nearby could hear me, due to the exclamation noises. “To win, to achieve their goals, everyone is striving. But you, arrogant, claim that you will win with only half your strength? I don't know if you noticed, Todoroki, you didn't hurt me or touch me once. I hurt myself! But I almost threw you out twice. Then get off the pedestal and face me with all your might!”

Chapter Text

POV: Todoroki

"It's all right"

My mother's voice came to mind. I felt sick right away, that discomfort every time I thought of her, of the vague, jumbled memories I had of my childhood.

In front of me Midoriya was screaming at me, in a sorry state, some fingers were broken, the glassy eye of those who were holding on to not faint, I didn't want to hurt her so much, the fight was already going on longer than I would like, even so at that moment anger began to burn inside me.

"Did my bastard father ask you to talk to me, Midoriya?"  I ran towards her, Midoriya was right, I didn't hit her once, I would do it now.

When I got close enough, she reached down and punched my stomach. I've never been punched so hard in my entire life, and I was almost thrown a third time out of the ring.

I didn't understand what the criterion of her power was, we continued attacking each other and there were moments when I could hear her bones breaking, as there were moments when she hit me and left intact. I couldn't bear to see her so hurt.

“Why do you keep moving forward?”

 “I will become an amazing heroine”. She screamed. “And you keep acting like that, saying you're going to be the number one hero without using all your power is a shit joke. Denying yourself is not a way of rebelling, it's a way of running away. Run away from what you are. And run away from what you're afraid to be”.

A tremor ran through my whole body, I couldn't dodge another punch from her, I fell backwards on the floor, pulling the air hard. I tasted vomit at the top of my throat, bringing back memories of that day.

Vomit littering the floor, my mom begging my dad to get away from me.

“Get up! If you can't take it, then forget about All Might. Even a failed villain should take it. ” shouted my father.

"Stop with that, please! He's only five years old.” My mother stepped in between the two of us, he raised his hand to hit her in the face with a slap that sent her falling to the ground.

“He is already five years old. Do not disturb”

She didn't cry. Not. It was I who cried holding her, later that day.

“I hate this, Mom… I… I don't want to be like Daddy. I don't want to be someone who hurts Mom"

“But you still want to be a hero, right?

 “I'll get over you!” Midoriya's scream brought me to reality, I launched another ice attack, which she dodged with ease. “Your ice attacks are getting weaker, Todoroki. When are you going to take this seriously?”

Take seriously.

My brothers were playing outside the house, I felt a tug on my arm.

“Stop spying, start taking it seriously. Your brothers live in a different world from you”

Midoriya punched me again, hitting me in the chin, smearing me with the blood that dripped from an open fracture in her hand.

My mother was talking on the phone.

 “Mother… I… I think I'm going crazy… I can't take this… Every day the children look more and more like him… Shoto… this boy's left side ... sometimes it's scary!! I can't take care of him anymore, if I get close to him again, I'll be sick.”

"Mommy? I called out to her, not wanting to believe what I was hearing.

She turned around startled, her face in absolute shock, she hung up the phone and grabbed the teapot that was heating water on the stove.

“Face me, Todoroki! Show me how you really are!!” Midoriya shouted.

"Where's Mom?" I asked.

"I had to take her to the hospital because she hurts you" replied my father "What the fuck... I told her now is a critical moment".

"It's your fault". I said.

It was always his fault. I hated him.

"My father..." I started to say to Midoriya.

“It's yours!” She yelled, interrupting me. “The power is yours!! The left side is you too! You are not a copy of your father. You will be a wonderful man with an incredible half-and-half quirk!”

I was sitting on my mother's lap, on TV All Might was doing an interview:

“Quirks are inherited, but what really matters is not that bond… it's your own body and blood… they are yours and no one else's. And that's part of why I always say "I'm here", you know?"

My mother's voice from that other day when she was beaten came back to my mind.

“But you still want to be a hero, right? It's okay, Shoto, you don't have to surrender to your blood. You can become the man you want to be.”

 “Be a wonderful man, huh?” Flames started to come out of my left side.

In a way the two were so alike. How could I forget those things she said to me? I looked at Midoriya, bruised, broken in several places, bleeding. My heart tightened. Yes, so similar.

“You're pitiful, and you're still trying to help me? Who of us is a joke?

She smiled at me.

“Now there's no turning back”. I smiled at her. The feeling of the fire warming me, controlling the excess ice in my body was comforting. “Thank you, Midoriya”. Said so low that she couldn't hear.

---------------------------------------

POV: Aizawa

“Should I stop them, Midnight? Aizawa?” Cimentoss asked on our communicator “Midoriya is acting rashly; she must think they're just going to heal her. And she's so caught up in adrenaline that she doesn't even feel pain. But the wounds are serious... I don't think it will heal quickly... And even if she win the fight, what will happen next?”

Me and Midnight were silent. She wasn't being hasty, maybe few noticed, but the amount of attacks she did without breaking her bones was being more than the ones that broke. The evolution she had was slow but clear. However, as she was still weak compared to Todoroki, that inconsequential way of fighting was the best she found to defeat him.

Besides, even knowing that she would be cured, it was not easy to bear such pain. I looked down at my bandaged arms. I would say that Midoriya was one of the only ones I knew who could spontaneously break herself with such courage, without letting her thoughts delay her attack by even 1 second for fear of pain.

As the fight progressed, I overheard Midoriya and Todoroki's conversation over the communicator, she was trying to convince him. Is that what made her go this far? Save Todoroki? I let out a huff of laughter through my nose. These teenagers had strange ways of trying to solve their problems.

I widened my eyes as huge flames began to shoot out from Todoroki – that was the reaction of everyone present. Midoriya had managed to push him to the limit, she had managed to make him use the power he denied in class so vehemently.

The two smiled at each other.

“Shoto!” Endeavor yelled from the edge of the bleachers. “So you finally accepted yourself, huh?! Excellent!! Great!!! Now this will be your real beginning!! You, who carry my blood, will surpass me!!! And then, fulfill my ambition!”

It was disgusting, and depressing, Present Mic coughed into the microphone before speaking.

“And Mr. Endeavor appears out of nowhere... cheering?! He must be a doting father”.

He was far from a doting father.

I turned my eyes to the pair and Cimentoss and I both shouted into the communicator at the same time.

“Midnight!”

They would make one last attack, that could kill Midoriya. Todoroki ran with his two sides active, as she went towards him without a second thought.

Cimentoss created several walls between the two, which were destroyed when their power clashed. A huge explosion pushed hot air to everyone in the stands, even breaking the glass of the cabin we were in with pieces of the arena that flew with it.

The whole place fell into morbid silence, smoke blocking the view of the arena.

“Not that all that strength is a good thing, but it was amazing,” Cimentoss said over the communicator.

“What was this?” Asked Present Mic with the microphone on. “What a strange classroom do you own, man?”

As the entire audience listened. I gave a neutral answer.

“Todoroki simply used the flames on the already cooled air of the arena, which allowed for its expansion”.

  “So that's how he created this blast of hot air! And I can't even see anything! Who won this duel...?”

When the smoke cleared we could see that Todoroki created an ice barrier behind him to stay inside the ring, while Midoriya was unconscious near the wall.

Chapter Text

They probably carried me to the infirmary in a hurry. I was unconscious, but I could imagine everyone's concern when they saw my condition, I could imagine that cavernous face on All Might's frown with worry like every time I got hurt.

My consciousness kept going back and forth over and over again, catching lapses in conversation – Recovery Girl said she wouldn't be able to heal right away, would need surgery first, so she could remove the exposed bone fragments in my right hand, the one I most had broken with the flicks hand.

 “Don't even think about praising her, All Might”. I heard the voice of Recovery Girl.  “I don't know the way you've been teaching her, but apparently it's not being the best. What is happening to her has to stop. With only 15 years and almost deformed the hand”.

At that moment I felt no pain, I must have been anesthetized, my vision was also blurry from the medication, but I saw the outline of All Might's skinny hand and reached for it, putting the bandaged bun that was my hand against his.

“Please don't fight with All Might”. I was crying.  “It was my fault, I crossed the line. Todoroki was so sad, since the day I met him. I just wanted to help him. Wanted him to accept himself”.  I couldn't control the crying. All Might lowered my bandaged hand and squeezed my arm in concern.

“Midoriya...”

It didn't even take all my mental faculties to know that All Might had been absurdly nervous to be seen like this, even if they didn't know who it was. His voice caught.

The door opened with a jolt that woke me up a little more.

 “Midoriya!!” Uraraka, Iida and for some reason, Mineta, were at the door.

Uraraka looked down at All Might's hand holding my arm.

“Er… pleasure, I'm Uraraka Ochako. Are you Midoriya's father?”

It didn't even take all my mental faculties to know that All Might had been absurdly nervous to be seen like this, even if they didn't know who it was. His voice caught.

“My uncle,” I replied, even if I wanted to lie that it was my father, it would be a difficult excuse to maintain. – And your next fight, Iida?

My heart was warm to see them there, but I would also like them to leave so All Might can rest easy.

“We were worried about you,” Iida said. “And the arena was so destroyed that it will take some time to fix it. We're on a forced break”.

“I'm sorry...”

Before either of them could respond, Recovery Girl started pushing them out.

“Come on, come on, you can talk after. Midoriya needs to undergo surgery”.

Everyone exclaimed in surprise and concern, but they didn't have time to say anything else, as the door slammed in their faces.

“You too, All Might”.

“Midoriya, I understand that I can't praise you, what you did with your own body was very inconsequential, but I believe that in a way, putting your nose where it wasn't called, worrying about the well-being and happiness of others is also a form of heroism. A form that moves a person from the inside out, and I'm sure you'll see how it touched young Todoroki's heart”.

I cried again.

Recovery Girl also pushed All Might out. She waited for me to stop crying, which was not a short time, to fully sedate me for the surgery.

I don't know how much time passed, I couldn't open my eyes and my mind wasn't fully awake, but I imagined the surgery was over. I felt a kiss on my right hand, probably Recovery Girl, and then I lost consciousness again.

                ***

When I woke up, Recovery Girl prescribed me a lot of medicine and took the bandage from my hand. There was a huge scar on torso, running from left to right, and a few small scars on the fingers.

“You have to thanks the universe for not being worse”. Recovery Girl tilted the bed I was lying on. “But if you keep destroying yourself like this, you'll be without the movement of your hands. You have to find another, less destructive way to get what you want. If you end your journey unable to move, how will you save others?”

I held back crying again, Recovery Girl looked so calm, but at that moment she was really pissed off.

“There there. You don’t need to cry. It's just something you need to consider. I knew a man who did things in a similar way, and always came with his tail between his legs for me to cure him”. She let out a slight huff.

 “And he found another way?”

“He died before he could”.

I sniffled. All Might entered the infirmary.

“Young Midoriya, are you going to keep crying or do you want to go see the next fight? You've already lost several! And the final will be Bakugo and Todoroki.”

“This final doesn't surprise me”. I wiped away the tears, sniffling once more. All Might helped me up and draped my school coat over my shoulders.

I thanked Recovery Girl countless times before I left.

Skinny All Might and I walked in silence down the hall, until I had the courage to say what came to mind.

“Maybe you'd better find someone else to be your replacement. Is there still time to pass on your quirk to someone else?”

He widened his eyes at me.

“I'm useless, All Might”. And there we go, the tears again. “This championship made me see how strong people are to inherit your powers, and my body just doesn't fit. I'm sure someone like Todoroki or even Kacchan will be able to do amazing things with this quirk”.

All Might placed his hands on my shoulders, turning me to face him. An expected thing then, he reached up and wiped my nose with the sleeve of his suit.

 “I swear I don't think I've ever met anyone with as much water in their body as you, young Midoriya, maybe that was your secret quirk”. He laughed, but then turned serious. “Todoroki and Bakugo already have strong quirks. And I don't see in them what I saw in you, not to the same extent. I was also a person without quirk. I know the battles you face, I know the difficulties you've been through since the moment you heard the news. Even though in my day it wasn't as uncommon as yours, it was still a hard thing to see. And because of that, Midoriya, I know you are my ideal heiress. And since the day I found you on that terrace, you have not disappointed me once, on the contrary, you have exceeded all expectations”.

Hold back the cry, hold the cry, I NEEDED to hold back the cry. But the only thing I could do was hug him while a few stubborn tears came out.

 “All Might, I promise I will try harder”.

He patted my shoulder.

“Just keep doing what you're doing, only with less violence”. He laughed and pushed me away. “And when we're in public, it's better to call me Toshinori, Midoriya. Your friends are always probing you around corners, it would be a problem if any of them listened to us”.

 “Toshinori?” I asked.

All Might stood up, still with his right hand on my shoulder.

“Toshinori Yagi, at your service”.

***  

Upon returning to the stands, Iida and Uraraka approached me.

“Your eyes are swollen, Deku, have you been crying?” Uraraka asked, worried. “Is it because of the pain?”

 “A little. But it's not hurting”.

“You lost some fights, Midoriya, including my shameful defeat to Todoroki” said Iida.

“He's not from this planet,” I replied. “Did he burn you?”

“No, just froze me.”

We stared at each other deeply, so in the end, all I did was useless?

“I hope my brother hasn't seen this humiliation on TV. He was too busy with work to come in person.” Iida scratched his head awkwardly.

“A pity, I would love to meet the handsome Ingenium”.

“My mother always said we look alike”.

“Look, after being tricked by a woman, Mr. Iida is learning to joke” Uraraka said and the three of us laughed.   

Chapter Text

POV: Todoroki

I wasn't surprised to see my dad blocking the way in the hallway just as I got out of the fight with Midoriya. I was tired and sore, but far beyond that, my concern for her screamed inside me. When I saw her lying outside the arena I realized that I didn't even want to hurt her like that. I had exaggerated.

“What you want?” My voice came out cold.

“The fight now was proof that you can go much further with my power. I believe you will now stop this ridiculous childishness”.

I clenched my teeth and fists.

His power.

The memory of Midoriya screaming came back to my mind.

"It's yours, the power is yours"

“Get out of my way,” I replied. He didn't leave, waiting for an answer. I sighed. “I don't know what I'm going to do. Need to think”.

“Think about whether you want to be mediocre or not?”

“Thinking if… forget it, just get out of my way. I need to prepare for the next fight”.

I dodged him, this time not stopping me. I couldn't even formulate what needed to think, the memories of my mother invading me, my father's aggression, Midoriya's insistence. I wasn't supposed to have used the Fire Quirk, I had used it and she'd been hurt. That was what it meant to get involved with whatever came from him.

                I had promised I would never use that Quirk in combat, but Midoriya – with his big, green, tearful gaze; her worried screaming and her self-mutilation – made me forget everything I had ever said to myself, in that moment the only thing that mattered was the desire to live up to her expectations, to show that I would beat her and be the number one hero.

I went to the locker room to change my clothes and hoped to have time to visit her in the infirmary, but I met Uraraka on the way and she said that Midoriya would undergo hand surgery, my heart went cold. Present Mic announced that the battles would continue and we could prepare.

***

I couldn't help but think of her, going through the surgery.

I couldn't help but think about my mother, the daily despair, the physical, emotional and psychological violence she suffered.

I couldn't help but think of my dad's angry face every time I didn't live up to his expectations in training.

Iida ran back and forth in the battle, but I dodged mechanically, trying to freeze him. He tried to attack me at close range and I held onto his leg, freezing his entire lower body.

“Just because I tend to attack from a distance doesn't mean I can't defend myself at close range”.

I waited for Present Mic to announce my victory before heading out to the infirmary.

***   

 “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Bakugo came out of the infirmary where Midoriya was.

“They said that Midoriya would undergo surgery”.

“And?” Bakugo didn't yell as usual, he even seemed to respect the silence that the infirmary demanded.

“Was she all right?”

“And how will I know?”

I arched my brow. Hadn't he just come out of there?

“All right, excuse me.”  I went to push his shoulder so I could enter the door. Bakugo suddenly grabbed me by the collar and leaned me against the opposite wall. I didn't react, my willingness to deal with his outbreaks was the same as I had to deal with my father.

“She’s sleeping. Don't disturb her”.

I held his hand tightly.

"I thought you didn't know," I said and Bakugo practically growled in my face, I couldn't have chosen a better expression for how he reacted. “Was she always like this? Going to extreme lengths to lighten others' burdens?”

He seemed to be irritated by the question, as if he was trying to force the answer out of himself.

“Always,” he growled and let go of me, walking away down the hall, but before turning the corner he glanced over his shoulder at me. “Use your damn quirk on me, or I'll kill you”.

And off he went.

I looked at the infirmary door. I wanted so badly to enter, but I turned my back and left to wait for the next battle, I already knew, my final opponent would be Bakugo.

Chapter Text

Pov: Bakugo

 “Man, this is surreal, it doesn't even look like a school championship”. Kirishima got up from the chair next to me, standing up to lean on the edge of the bleachers.

I remained silent, looking in the same direction as him. Did that idiot think no one was listening to their conversation? Because screaming like that there would be no way not to hear. She was trying to convince the half-and-half asshole to use the fire quirk he always kept hidden. A useless and arrogant piece of shit.

The floor of the arena began to smear with the drops of blood that fell from her hand. The hand was so bruised and swollen, and yet she kept unleashing those attacks to destroy the jagged waves of ice.

 “What is that quirk of hers, bro? It's very self-destructive”. Kirishima continued.

“Kacchan, I have no quirk”, the memory of a 4 year old Midoriya came to my mind. That day my mother had taken me to her house, claiming that my presence was important. My mom and hers were in the kitchen talking, when I walked into her room, Midoriya was sitting on the side of the bed, hugging her knees. When she saw me she started to cry.

"What do you mean? I asked.

 “I’m different, the doctor said I’ll never have a quirk. Sorry Kacchan, sorry, I don't think I can be your partner against the crime."

She cried so much. I stood there. I did not know what to do. Something strange began to grow inside of me, something that had never let go and stopped growing since that day.

My mother had taken me there to hug her and tell her everything would be all right. But it wouldn't be okay. She had promised. I had waited weeks to show the uniforms I designed for us.

I pulled her arm away from her hugging her knee.

 “Stop this damn crying” Midoriya looked at me surprised, I was too, it was the first time I had ever said a bad word – after that it became something of my common vocabulary. "If you don't want to be my partner, just say so, you don't have to blame other things."

She got up, starting to stop crying.

"I can not!" she raised her voice.

"You don’t want!" I screamed even more.

"I CAN NOT"

"YOU DON’T WANT."

Midoriya had stopped crying, we both started screaming so much, and indefinitely, that our mothers came scared into the room to break up the fight.

The half and half used the fire Quirk and the fight went to another level, Kirishima was right, that had gone beyond a school championship, the two didn't even think about the attacks anymore, they just advanced against each other. I got up to get a better look at what was happening when a blast of hot air pushed everyone back, I had to hold on to keep from falling.

When the smoke cleared Midoriya was passed out. Tsc. Obvious.

I ran my eyes over his bruises. Damn it. She hadn't lied to me all that time. That destructive quirk shit really wasn't hers.

                ***

I entered the infirmary. Todoroki was fighting with Iida, I heard that shit Mineta telling the others that Midoriya would have to have a quick surgery on his hand. She was lying down, sleeping.

There were so many bandages all over her body, I put my thumb on a band-aid on her cheek. Useless. And you still ask me why I started calling you that. If you don't remember, that's your problem. I ran a hand through her tangled hair. The bandaged hand looked as small and fragile as it ever had. I got it. Even under the bandages I could feel the hot skin, I pressed my lips together, closed my eyes.

“It's desperate, isn't it?” I moved away from her in a start, Recovery Girl was sitting in the corner, when she arrived? “Just watching, not being able to do anything. Bakugo, have you always been by her side?”

Tsk, she was the one who haunted me since we were children. But I didn't have time to respond.

“Well, never mind”. Recovery opened a smile. “Just stop what you're doing”. She turned to fix a medicine box, but then she turned to me again “What do you feel? Rage? Love? Inability? Do you feel jealous that she is evolving? Are you frustrated because you can't control what she does?” Recovery twisted his lips. “Do you feel abandoned because now the only thing you see is her back advancing away from you? Well then. As long as you don't know, just walk away. The path she chose to take is dangerous, and someone like you who doesn't know how to control emotions will only push her over the edge. Believe me boy, I was once like you”.

Recovery Girl, with her petite body and old woman's gait, grabbed me by the arm and shoved me out the door.

And there was that half-and-half muggle in the hallway. My head was whirring violently, what was all that old cachectic litany? Feel abandoned? Frustrated? Holy shit, what idiocy. But she was right about something, what the fuck was I doing there in that infirmary? And what the fuck was he doing there too? Why did he want to go in? Why did he need to know if she was okay?

He asked me if she had always been such an idiot. The “go fuck yourself” was on the tip of my tongue when I ended up unconsciously saying yes. Remembering the many times she'd been hurt in our childhood, assuming that I or some motherfucker needed help with the slightest bit of bullshit. And she was the one without quirk, she was the person who actually needed to wait for help from others. But she never waited.

                ***  

The battle against that bird boy was a pain in the ass, his quirk was strong and constantly blocked mine, blocking my outbursts with a black shadow coming out of him. But just because it took longer than I expected didn't mean I was going to lose. If I hadn't been so full of idiocy in my head, it wouldn't have taken me so long to realize that their backs were always unprotected.

After repairing the opening in his defense, it was a matter of seconds before I managed to catch him and throw him forward, I let out a blast right in the middle of his back, and when he fell, I grabbed his beak, while stepping on the strange shadow also in front of him. bird shape. He give up.

Now it would finally be my battle with the ice and fire bastard.

                ***  

As soon as they announced the start of the battle I advanced on him. The bastard was listless and out of spirits, and it didn't take him long to notice that he was only going to use his ice quirk.

“Motherfucker, am I not strong enough for you?”

I launched an explosion very close to his face, but he defended himself with a barrier. He didn't bother to answer. I felt the fury inside me. Arrogant, he did the same thing as Midoriya, he didn't bother to answer because he didn't think it was even necessary. And to make matters worse, the bastard thought he didn't even need to use the Fire Quirk.

“Are you belittling me?” I asked. In the end, would I always end up bumping into some jerk with that kind of quirk? It was the same thing as Hikori* and the way he meddled in my affairs with Midoriya. Apparently being an arrogant asshole was an evil of that individuality.

Todoroki frowned a few seconds before a wall of ice came at me, I had to blast a hole in it so it wouldn't be frozen together. His power was so absurd and violent that the idiot did everything imperfectly. I lunged at him, grabbing his hair and throwing him to the ground.

He managed to recover and when he tried to attack me grabbing me by the arm I dodged, just looking at his past struggles I knew he wasn't giving it his all.

“Why the fuck are you here now?”

If I beat him, I could almost consider that I was stronger than the useless Deku, but that would only be valid if he gave his all in battle, not running away like that, with his head elsewhere than in the fight. Deku was right about all the shit he had to work on to face the challenge.

 “I’ll kill you!!” I shouted. “I won't be able to reach my first place ultrabomb by massacring my enemy if I just destroy someone who does nothing against the opponent! And if I'm not above Deku, it won't mean anything. If you didn't intend to win, get out of my way!”

Fuck that once again, shouting things out without thinking I had openly quoted that idiot girl again. It was true. What was the point of finishing that shit below her? Todoroki didn't react and that only made me more possessed.

“Don't miss it now, Todoroki!! You can win!!”  Midoriya yelled at the edge of the bleachers. With his right arm bandaged and his face bandaged.

WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK THE FUCKER was doing standing there and cheering.

Todoroki seemed to get excited about that and flames came out from his left side.

“I WILL KILL YOU!”

I ran towards him. My explosion was proportional to my feelings and what came out of me was something gigantic, but I saw Todoroki undo the fire at the last moment, he just stood there.

And when all the smoke from the explosion had cleared there he was passed out. That could only be a joke.

“HEY!” I went to him and grabbed by the collar “Are you making fun of me? It wasn't supposed to be like this!” I was going to punch him to wake up and continue the fight in the right way, but I felt a sudden sleep and everything went out.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

POV: Stain

The taste of iron spreading across my tongue was gratifying, to think that this was the taste of cleanliness of that filthy society... A world driven by money and incapable people labeling themselves as "heroes". I looked at the fallen body in front of me, still breathed, but for a little while. They couldn't even protect themselves, let alone protect others.

The only true hero was All Might. The rest are just false idols worshiped by a dirty and hypocritical society. I would show them all. There was still time to save themselves.

I licked the knife with the “hero's” blood, not that he could still move much. He was panting heavily and in a few seconds I would finally end his suffering. But movement behind me stopped me.

“I was looking for you, Stain, the hero killer”.

I turned around, it was nothing but a black smog. I tried to hit him with the sword, but it went right through him.

“Don't get exalted, we're on the same side. Could you give us a minute of your time?”

It didn't have to see his face to know he was smiling.

*****

Pov: Iida

My cell phone started vibrating in my pocket. My mother's name flashed across the screen. I swallowed hard, would she have called to talk about my disgraceful performance in the Todoroki fight? My parents were never so quick to criticize, but I understood that perhaps this was a time for urgency. After all, the fight was on TV all over the world. And many must have known that I was the brother of the great Ingenium.

When I answered, my mother's voice came out shaky and tearful like I've never heard her before.

“Iida, a villain... a villain attacked your brother. He's in the hospital, come quick. We don't know if he will survive”.

I froze. A thousand questions came to my mind, but my mother wasn't in a position to answer any of them.

I hung up the phone and immediately my mother sent the location of the hospital where they were. I needed to notify some teacher and leave as soon as possible.

“Hey, Iida, you're going to lose Bakugo's fight with Todoroki”.  Midoriya approached me, she stopped walking as soon as identified something wrong in my expression. “Everything is fine?”

“Midoriya, it's kind of sudden, but tell some teacher that I'm leaving, my brother was caught by a villain”. I felt my own voice tremble a little.

“I'll go with you!” She didn't hesitate to speak, as she clenched her uninjured fist in front of her.

What was going through her head at that moment?

“I'll send you news later. Stay here and then tell me how the two fought”.

I didn't wait for her to answer, I ran out using my quirk, I needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

*****

Pov: Tokoyami

One of the strangest awards I had ever attended, or even watched. On the other side of the podium, the second place, Todoroki, had a terrible expression on his face, a mixture of stomachache and depression. And Bakugo had to be tied up next to me - and oddly enough they even put a protector over his mouth - so that he would stop in place and not advance on anyone, especially Todoroki. Which didn't stop him from screaming and trying to break free.

“It's like a demon about to decapitate us”.

Bakugo was annoyed at that level as Todoroki refused to use the Fire Quirk on him, even after using it on Midoriya. I think anyone would be furious with that, but Bakugo had a very peculiar way of showing it, even more knowing that we were being filmed.

Midnight reported that Iida had to be absent and I would be awarded third place alone. A pity, Iida was excited about that podium. Apparently nothing was going as it should have been at that award show, but I couldn't be more proud and happy to be up there, in third next to two absurdly strong guys.

All Might arrived and the feathers on my face ruffled. Being by his side always cheered me up, even though I hid it very well from everyone.

“Congratulations, Tokoyami, you were very tough”.

“Thank you for the kind words”.

He guided me a few more seconds on how I should improve my attack and then went to Todoroki. It surprised me he speaking so openly that it was exclusively Midoriya who had made him use his Fire Quirk and that he still needed to think of several things she made him question. Even Bakugo had been silent to listen to their conversation.

But as soon as All Might went to Bakugo, he ranted again, I could barely hear what All Might was saying as the madman shouted that he didn't want the medal, that there was no point in winning that way. Eventually All Might managed to hang the medal on him and ended the games.

                So that was it, the championship had felt like weeks, but it was just one huge day that had taught me so much not just about myself, but everyone at 1-A. And damn, how excited I was to think about everything that awaited us from now on. I looked at Midoriya and she, as if sensing my gaze, looked back at me and smiled, clapping her hands in front of her face to congratulate me.

I had promised myself. We would be allies, and something told me that we would soon have many opportunities to evolve side by side. I bowed my head in thanks for the excitement she was giving me.

Chapter Text

Two days off. That's what we "won" after the championship. And it was almost 10 o'clock in the morning of the first day when my mother entered the room and opened the curtain in a single swoop, waking me up instantly.

“Come on, sleeping beauty. Change your clothes”.

I pulled the sheet over my face. In addition to the previous day being exhausting, medication for pain made me sleepy.

“Change?”

“Let's go to the mall, have lunch and buy you new clothes”.

“I don't need new clothes,” I grumbled, just wanted to keep sleeping.

“Yes you do, and it's my gift to you to have gone so far in the competition”.

“But I didn't win.”

“Small details, small details. We need to celebrate how fantastic you were”.

She ripped the sheet off me and in a way only mothers can do, in less than an hour she had me change, dragged me down the subway and we were entering one of my favorite malls. Inside was a huge manga store and a hero collectibles store.

I faced my mother, now I almost passed her height. She had taken care of me all by herself. We didn't talk about my father, but I knew he had abandoned us. I didn't even have any memories of him. She worked as a store clerk and I believed she received a small amount of support from him – I wasn't sure about that.

“No need to spend on clothes, Mom,” I said, watching her as we climbed the escalators to the next floor. “Most of the time I'm in uniform.”

“Let me buy you something to congratulate you”. Her tone was pleading. Ever since I told her about having “late developed” a quirk, my mother radiated happiness. I knew how much she too had suffered when we received the news. And I don't doubt that she blamed herself. No, I knew she had blamed herself, I heard her questioning health professionals if she did something wrong in pregnancy, or if she did something wrong when I was a baby.

“Okay,” I replied with a pout. “Something darker this time. My friends make fun of me saying that I have a lot of pink things in my room”.

My mother laughed.

“In your Barbie phase you wanted everything pink. Do you remember? You even made Bakugo show up at the house wearing Ken's clothes, polo shirt, shorts, white coat tied around the neck”.

We both laughed together as we walked down the hall.

“He was so pissed off. I thought he wouldn't even show up with your clothes on. At least back then, he still joined in the fun.”.

“You don't talk anymore?”

“I told you, Mom, he's been being a total jerk to me for quite a few years now. Bullying me, including…” My throat caught, I wanted to tell that it had only been a few months since he said I could throw myself off the building to see if I was born again with a quirk. Damn, that was too mean. It was the height of bullying that day, I had to rewrite everything in that notebook he threw burned out the window. Bakugo had spent the last few years belittling and criticizing me, but that was the first and only time he ever said something so aggressive. Of course, there was also the day he asked if I'd had sex with someone to get admitted to U.A. Mom stared at me waiting for an answer. “He's an idiot. Without further ado”.

 “Hmm, a pity. I miss Mitsuki's visits”.

“You could continue to meet her, Bakugo's mother is really nice.”

She smiled.

“Who knows, I think at some point I'll actually meet her again”.

We continued our tour. I was too indecisive to buy clothes, but my mother loved that strip and put it on, the steps “parading” in front of her so she could give her opinion - and the process was time consuming, after all the splint on my arm didn't help me so much to change.

Finally I bought a dark purple pleated skirt and a black blouse, made of light fabric, with long sleeves and a high collar. She insisted that I leave the store wearing them, said that the clothes I was wearing were too clunky.   

 “It's your first purple outfit. It's the same color as that boy's hair you defeated yesterday”.

I blushed instantly, I had thought of that when I tried on the skirt.

“Serious? I hadn't noticed”.

I turned to face the stores down the aisle.

“Shall we go to the arcade?”

I looked at her with a smile.

“Yes, please!”

My mother loved the arcade at the mall, even more than I did. And the love of her life was aero hockey. Never won from her.

“I can tell you that you're going to win, I have my good hand bandaged”.

“Ahhhh”.  She provoked. “I would have won anyway”.

I sticked out my tongue.

While we were playing we were talking, she was not satisfied with my new quirk, she thought it was too dangerous, which broke me too much. I tried to convince her that the problem was exclusively mine, that because it developed late, my body was still trying to get used to it. She wasn't satisfied with the answer.

“I almost fainted watching you participate in the competition. I don't know how I still have hair after all I ripped out in your final fight”.

I grimaced at the moment of one of her goals. I knew all about it, I knew how worried everyone was, and I needed to find another way. That was already in my plans.

”Midoriya?” My mother and I looked to the side just as she scored another goal. Tokoyami was standing next to the air hockey table, and next to him was a woman with long black hair and completely black skin – just like china ink. Only her eyes and lips were red.

“Tokoyami, good to see you here!”

I introduced my mother to him and he introduced his own mother, the woman with the blood red eyes. She was more like the dark shadow than him. She was tall and slender, she looked like a model. Her skin was mesmerizing.

“Looks like you're losing it”. His mother pointed to the table's score.

“It's because my arm is hurt,” I replied.

“Sure, sure”.  Mom laughed. “Want to play?” She offered it to Tokoyami's mother. Her eyes widened softly, but she smiled.

“I would love”.

I went to Tokoyami's side and they both started a much fiercer dispute than I imagined I would see. They were women determined not to lose.

“Your mother seems like a nice person,” he said.

“Yours too”.

In the end they evened out. But they finished the game sweating and laughing. His mother invited us to lunch and my mother agreed. I sporadically looked at my cell phone, I hadn't heard from Iida all day, and it wasn't for lack of texting him.

I didn't know how, but after lunch we still went for a coffee and by the time we saw it, most of the day had passed and our mothers had arranged to see each other the next day while I went with Tokoyami to a rock band concert. I didn't even like rock that much, but I didn't want to deny it after all the excitement of the two of them having a time “free from children”.

“Thank you, Midoriya”.  Tokoyami approached me and said softly as our mothers said goodbye. “She doesn't have many friends. I think it's because of the way she looks”. He shrugged his shoulders in disagreement. “And she seems to have enjoyed talking to your mother quite a bit”.

“All right, Tokoyami. My mother doesn't have many friends either. She's always busy working to sustain us”. If his mother's “many” was the same as mine, then it was actually “none”.  “Let's have fun”.

Chapter Text

Pov: Uraraka

My hands were shaking on the door handle I had just turned. It was just my kitnet handle, but something was wrong, because it was unlocked. I went out to buy some things at the market and I was pretty sure I had locked the door. I always check!!

I opened the door slowly getting ready to face the thief when two people came running towards me and I felt a strange sensation in my eyes. Strange but familiar. Mom was stretching my eyes with her quirk. She could stretch anything, organic matter or not, alive or not, and then get it back to normal.

“You should have warned me! Did they come by shinkansen?”

I mentally started to do the math on how much they spent to be there. From the intercity passage to the expense of the taxi and snacks along the way. My heart tightened.

“As if we weren't going to visit our pretty fighter!”

My mom pulled me into a hug and I held her tightly to her back. My parents came because they were worried after the beating I took. I held back tears in front of them, but I must have sniffled too loudly, because my mother pulled me away and kissed my forehead.

“What will my independent girl who lives alone cook for her parents who came to visit?” She smiled.

“My specialty at the moment is omelet and instant noodles!”

My parents laughed. But my mother vehemently denied it and said she would teach me how to make good rice.

******

Pov: Iida

The day before, when I rushed to the hospital, the doctor said that my brother had not died by luck, that if the surgery had taken a few more seconds to arrive, he would not have survived. That we needed to be grateful to the first responders.

Grateful... for sure I was, for the excellent work that everyone showed from the moment we walked in there. But it was hard not to be overwhelmed by bad feelings. Hatred, rancor, sadness. I felt my throat constrict as I remembered him groggy after the surgery apologizing for being beaten. What world did we live in that a hero needed to apologize for? Feeling guilty and less honoured.

I clutched my cell phone in my hands. Sporadically it would beep with some message from Midoriya that I didn't feel well enough to read.

Sitting in the escort chair, I alternated between watching my brother's chest rise and fall slowly and searching the internet for the villain who had attacked him. Stain, the hero killer. Big brother hadn't been his first victim, and he'd hardly be his last.

But I would make it one of the last.

******

Pov: Todoroki

“Why now after so long? Won't you tell dad?”

My sister would chase me around the house as I finished picking up my things and putting on my sneakers.

“I won't tell him, and I'm counting on your cooperation not to tell either”.

I finished getting ready and left the house closing the door on my sister's incredulous face. I could understand what all the commotion was about, it would be the first time since the incident that I would see my mother. After all that, my father had put her in a psychological rehabilitation house and forbade me to visit her, because according to him “she was unstable”. After a few years had passed, I myself avoided going there. I was afraid and ashamed and guilty—I had been the cause of her madness and instability, my face, my appearance, my existence. How could I just appear in front of her?

My cell phone beeped, a message from Midoriya, saying she was worried about Iida and asked if he had contacted me. I typed as I walk.

"I haven't heard from him... I wanted to tell you, you gave me courage, I'm going to visit my mother." I looked at the message for a few seconds, deleted it.

"I haven't heard from him." I pressed send.

The clinic was not far, in less than 40 minutes I arrived by subway. The nurses were equally surprised and suspicious of my arrival. Did my brothers go there often? They didn't talk to me, so I didn't know. Talking about her was taboo in the house.

All the way there, I tried not to pay attention to my own feelings, but now, reaching for the doorknob that separated me from it, my fingers were trembling.

As I turned it around and pushed open the door I saw her sitting in front of the window, holding a picture. My heart was so loud in my ears that if I greeted her I didn't hear it, but I guess I did because I felt my mouth move.

She got up and hugged me, so hard I felt my body ache. So strong that I noticed how fast her heart was beating too.

********

Pov: Bakugo

It was rare for me to wake up this late, close to lunchtime, even if I was tired, but the effect of Midnight's Quirk spread throughout my body and I had slept all that time. When I got up in bed I saw parts of my hero outfit in the corner of the room and when I pulled back the covers I was only in my underwear.

As if hearing my movements, my mother opened the door, again without knocking.

“Finally the sleeping beauty woke up! Go take a shower before eating anything”.

I rubbed my eyes, still wanting to go back to sleep, Midnight had a very wretched quirk.

“You can't imagine how hard it was to get all that stuff out of you.” She pointed at the grenades.  “Midoriya and I had a hard time undressing you when they brought you home unconscious yesterday”.

I felt a hot shock go through my whole body that made me get up at the same moment:

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?” I shouted.

The old woman began to laugh.

“It was your father who carried you and took out your clothes, don't worry. But if it's any consolation, she's sent me a bunch of messages asking how you're doing. Now enough rambling, we are waiting for you for lunch”.

She left and I stood there in my underwear in front of the closet mirror. I stared at myself, still red and hot-skinned. Recovery Girl's voice came to my head, "just stop what you're doing".

Recovery was right, I didn't understand why Midoriya made me so angry and at the same time made me so worried. We grew up together, that must have carried some weight. The anger I felt when she snubbed me was proportionate to the unease that invaded me whenever I saw her hurt. In my 16 years of life there isn't a memory related to friends and school that she wasn't. Sometimes even on family outings. Why did I think it wouldn't affect me in any way?

It was affecting me. And that was clear in the competition the day before when she could have narrowly taken first place. When she constantly showed me her back and pissed me off, getting in my way with everything else. Really, it was time to stop. Stop looking at her back, stop being out of control over my own thoughts. She was my rival. We may have started out life as best friends, but that was now in the past and I would no longer let that influence my goal of being the greatest hero in history.

                *****

Pov: Momo

It was a nice day – our second day off. I loved that Tea House, it was tree-lined and with flowers scattered everywhere, whether they were planted in pots, on the ground or pulled up to put in the decoration. It made the place have a pleasant floral scent. Even the specialty there were floral teas.

I was sitting at the white metal table on the front porch when I saw her arrive. She was totally out of ambient style in her black jeans and ripped denim jacket. She was carrying one of those guitar carrying bags. When she saw me she waved and smiled, coming towards me.

“What a cute place”. Jirou sat on the chair opposite me and placed his guitar bag on the exposed brick wall of the balcony. “And expensive”. She completed as took a small look at the menu, closing it and putting it aside.

 “I'll buy you tea,” I replied and she silently agreed. “Are you going to play somewhere?” I pointed to the bag.

“This afternoon some friends of mine are going to perform and the guitarist got sick, I'm going to replace him”.

“Cool!” I called the waiter and asked for a specific tea to bring along with some butter cookies. “I've never been to a rock concert”.  And I don't even know if I would, I just wanted to generate a conversation. I felt nervous and worried, Jirou who had texted to meet us quickly that afternoon, and I was pretty sure after our cheerleading “intro” she knew about my…preferences.

 “You can come with me if you want”.

Before I could reply that I wasn't quite sure I wanted it, the waiter brought out the tea and cookies and set them in front of us. Jirou made an exclamation of surprise.

“This cup seems to be more expensive than my guitar”.

I laughed.

“I don't know much about guitar, but this cup is really expensive. The price Romain charges for his porcelain is obscene”. Jirou smiled at me without understanding, I coughed, obviously she shouldn't know Romain's collections. She drank the tea and made a surprised face. “This is the pina colada tea, with pineapple and coconut, it is inspired by the drink”.

“It really looks like the drink, it's delicious! And in this case, not illegal”. She gave me a wink. I had never tried the drink, or any kind of alcohol, after all, we were minors!

We were silent again as she took sips of tea and nibbled on the cookies.

“Well, what do you need?” I asked, without further ado, I was too anxious.

“Oh, sure”. She rummaged in her small bag and took out a paper folded in four. When she finished unfolding it I could see a drawing of mine. But not a well done one, it was just a sketch.

“After seeing you in action in the attack of villains I started to have this idea, but before yesterday, at the festival I was sure you needed a new outfit. Your quirk needs your skin exposed for the things you create to come out of it, but the design they made for you is so indecent and just doesn't make sense! You have to always be concerned about your cleavage and whether someone will see your breasts when you use your power, not to mention covering your biggest area of contact: your belly. So I drew this version. It's a top, like a gym top, that covers your entire breast, without any cleavage and firm straps to prevent it from swinging. Hell, we're women, right? We know how bouncing boobs in a baggy outfit makes exercise uncomfortable. At the bottom, there are also shorts for exercise, knee pads and a comfortable and stylish boot. The cape is optional. And I kept the colors of your current uniform. With this outfit you have a lot more area of contact”.

I was stunned not only by the perfect design, but by the whole introductory speech. I took the paper in my hands.

“Jirou, it's perfect. I don't even know how to thank you”.

“Alright, just using you will make me happy. These guys who make our equipment are usually a bunch of men who only think about what will attract the most attention, I had to be very specific so that my clothes didn't come with any sexualization. And we are teenagers! Imagine what they don't try to do with adult heroines' clothes”.

“Yes, you’re right”. I was kind of speechless and emotional, it was the first time a friend had done something like that for me. We could call each other friends, right? I chuckled. “I thought you called me here for another reason”.

Jirou opened an almost roguish smile.

 “The thing about you liking women?”

“Jirou” My face turned completely red. I looked around to make sure no one had heard.

“Don't stress about it, I won't tell anyone. But one day I would like to know how you discovered yourself”. Jiro got up. “I really have to go, Momo, or my friends will kill me. Thanks for the tea, it was delicious”.

Jirou started to head towards the stairs that separated the balcony from the sidewalk. I got up from my chair and went to the wall to look at her.

“And you, Jirou?” She looked at me from below with a smile, I didn't even need to say the whole sentence for her to understand.

“Let's say I love everything that walks on this earth. Bye, Momo”.

I waved at her and watched her disappear as she turned the corner.

*******

Pov: Shinsou

“Why don't you dance with me?” Said a few inches of her.

Midoriya turned around ready to deny – or curse – the person who approached her, but at the first response I trapped her in one of my brainwashes. She stopped dead there in the crowd.

I had gone to see some friends of mine from elementary school play that afternoon and of all the people I expected to see at a rock concert, Midoriya, with her spoiled way, was one of the last I would think of. But there she was, accompanied by that boy in her class with the head of a black bird. It had been over half an hour and she hadn't seen me a few feet from her. And what a hellish half hour, thirty minutes I spent thinking about our fight, how much she made me want to use my quirk to provoke her.

When the bird boy left to go to the bathroom and left her alone, I approached. And now, how I wanted him to tell her to just dance. She was wearing a black tank top and a skirt the color of my hair. But I freed her from the brainwashing.

“Shinsou!” Her tone of voice was excited, had a girl ever greeted me like that before? “I could say ‘what a surprise to see you here’, but honestly it's a place that I would super imagine you would go to. Do you want to dance? But I don't know how to dance to that kind of music”.

As if a greater force wanted everything to go well, the band ended an upbeat song and as soon as she finished the sentence, a slow song started.

“And this one, do you know?”

I pulled her close. The fact is, I didn't know how to dance, but I wanted to touch her.

Midoriya put one hand on my shoulders and the other on my waist. She had already noticed that I didn't even know which way to move.

“I was thinking about our fight,” I said. “I wanted to take back what I said, then in your next fight I saw how hard you try”.

She smiled awkwardly.

“I told you, I understand you more than you can imagine”.

“I have my doubts”.

Those big, green eyes stared at me with false bravery.

“You are the first girl who has the courage to hug me after already knowing my quirk. Don't you think I'll control you?”

She tightened her grip on my waist.

“I do not think so. I don't know you, but I know you're not like that”.

“Are you sure?”

We stared at each other in silence, I could have sworn her eyes dropped to my mouth. At least I was sure mine did. I got so close to her that I could feel her breath, I could feel our lips start to brush.

A loud and out of tune guitar sound invaded the hall and everyone complained, Midoriya jumped away from me. We look at the stage. The guitarist apologized for the slip.

“Wow, it's Jirou,” said Midoriya.

I stared at the guitarist, it was really that girl from Midoriya's classroom, she was looking directly at both of us.

Slip, huh?           

The bird-headed boy returned and I took the opportunity to say goodbye to them both and leave.

Chapter Text

The subway was packed, and so were my thoughts. In just two days off my mother and Tokoyami's mother became friends, we went to a rock concert and Shinsou tried to kiss me. And worst of all, I wanted to! I only walked away because of the fright. Wait, the worst thing was that Jirou saw that, because she did, right?

If all this teenage drama wasn't enough, I couldn't stop thinking about the school championship and how terrible my performance in it was, breaking me whole, not even being able to use my quirk properly. Even on that subway, some people recognized me and said things like “girl, you need to be careful with that strength of yours”, “what a destructive quirk huh?”, “it was kind of ugly to watch you”.

I let out a long sigh as I got off the train, I didn't want to be known by the girl with the absurd quirk – I desperately needed to train, I just didn't know how to make it. And I couldn't lie, but apparently All Might didn't know either. So who could help me find a way? Aizawa had given me a good tip that day I went to school, but he always seemed too reactive to maintain any favoritism in teaching. And I needed favoritism, I needed someone on my side watching every wrong move I made.

I sighed once more.

That morning we chose our hero names. Everyone in the room chose great names – but not everyone, Iida put his own name, he didn't look good, and denied any attempt by me to approach him. Bakugou just couldn't choose a name that wasn't too exaggerated and I chose Deku – the derogatory nickname Bakugou gave me about three years ago. It was a Japanese doll made of wood, with no arms and no legs, but it could also be used to call someone useless. I just wanted to turn something negative associated with me into something positive. It would show everyone that a Deku could be useful.

Bakugou didn't seem too happy with my choice, but so far, whatever, right?

Then we were told by Aizawa and Midnight about a week-long internship we would have at professional agencies and I didn't receive any invitations. It wasn't surprising, but it made me upset. It wasn't until it was time to leave that All Might called me and said that I had received an invitation from one of his former teachers: Gran Torino. All Might was super worried, because Gran Torino was partnered with One for All's predecessor and he thought that maybe the hero was thinking that All Might wasn't teaching properly.

I didn't want to give an opinion on that, I loved All Might too much to complain directly, but I couldn't contain myself with happiness in knowing that I wouldn't be left out of the stage and besides that I would know more stories from All Might's past.

As that week wore on, I tried everything to cheer up or get Iida to open up to me — I even showed up one day wearing a bunny-ear tiara. And yet, aside from brief chuckles and constant “sorry, I have something else to do,” I couldn't get him to talk. I should have insisted more, but the classes were so packed with information from the internship that in the blink of an eye we were already at the station with our bags, each one prepared to go their own way.

                ***

My first day of internship started with me getting beaten up by Gran Torino after thinking he was a crazy old man. He told me to hit him and within seconds I was on the ground, with his hand pressing my face and him saying that my biggest problem was treating One for All as something special because it came from All Might. But when I asked what to do he just said “I'll leave you some time alone to think while I go to lunch”.

I sat on the floor scratching my hair and talking to myself, what was going on with the teachers in the hero area? I doubt a math teacher would just walk out of the room after saying something like "I'll let you guys figure out the baskara formula on your own." But that's how I spent my day, training alone on the street, trying to treat One for All as something more natural to my body and crashing into the corners.

The next day I woke up sore and Gran Torino continued to test me, we talked about my power and he mentioned something about All Might's predecessor having already died.

“You look a lot like her, even in appearance,” Gran Torino said.

“Was the predecessor a woman?” I asked in surprise.

“Was?”

I snorted, I didn't know if the old man was a little crazy or if he did it, but at various moments of the conversation he released these “memory forgetfulness”.

“Do you use the same force to carry a gallon of water and a pencil?” He asked.

 “Obviously not, or the pencil would break...”

When I said that sentence Gran Torino smiled and my brain lit up.

“I always act like I'm going to carry a gallon!”

“You're kind of quick-thinking, girl. Your body isn't even used to using all its strength, but you can use less strength, just like you controlled your physical strength before you had a Quirk, now you can continue to do so. So come on, and try to catch me”.

We started that tag again, but the most I managed to do was brush against his cover. It was hard to keep controlling my strength in every movement.

“It got better, but you think too much, girl”.

I sighed, this was nothing new.

                ***

On the third day, Gran Torino said that to improve our training, we would go to fieldwork, but not in that district – due to the low crime rate there – so we would take a train that would pass through Hosu, the city in which Iida was doing his internship. Maybe on the way back I could convince him to see me, Iida had been very despondent and distant since the incident.

What I didn't expect – after all, who would expect that? – is that our train would be attacked by nomus right next to Hosu. And there was something that made it all worse, it was the city where the last attack of Stain, the hero killer, had taken place. Did those events have any connection? And how come I hadn't realized why Iida had chosen that city before?

I told Gran Torino I was going after a friend and running around town. I sent a message to the class group telling whoever was close to Hosu to find me, and I sent my location in real time.

Chapter Text

Pov: Iida

I found him. I knew that at some point I was going to get that, the city wasn't even that big, but I didn't imagine it would be on the third day of the internship. There he was, with the red scarf and blood everywhere – Stain, the hero killer.

And I'd just stopped him from killing yet another hero, but he wasn't taking me seriously, calling me a kid in uniform, telling me to go away. Stain was as horrible-looking as I'd imagined.

“You attacked my brother, the best hero I've ever known! And I'll stop you in his place, so don't forget our name: Ingenium”.

“Well, are you his brother? I'll finish that day's work and kill you instead”.

Even though I said I would defeat him in a matter of seconds I was on the ground, and Stain was stepping on my back as he thrust his katana into my hand. The pain was searing, but it didn't compare to everything else—the realization that I would die without avenging my brother.

I was immobilized and ready to take the final blow when something pushed Stain away.

 “I came to save you, Iida.”

It was Midoriya, my heart raced.

No.

If it was bad enough that I died without completing the quest, it would be even worse if we both died.

“Get out of here, Midoriya! You have nothing to do with it”.

“Not really, but I've been told before that I'm quite nosy”  She made a sign of "peace and love to me".  “Can't get up?”

“It has something to do with his quirk”.

“Beautiful. His friend coming to save him,” Stain said. “Then I will kill them both. The weak must die.

I could see Midoriya's horror face, Stain had a murderous presence we had never seen before.

“Midoriya, please! Go away from here. run away! This fight is mine!”

Please, please, I couldn't bear that my last memory in this life was to see her die.

No matter how much I tried to move, my body didn't react. Midoriya advanced on Stain and it was one of the scariest things I've ever seen, she moved so fast and gracefully... How did she evolve all that in just three days of internship? When she punched him and Stain went to the ground I almost believed we would have a chance, but he licked his katana and Midoriya stopped moving at once. How did his quirk work? Come on, Iida, think! Probably Midoriya had already found out.

“Your power wasn't enough,” Stain told her. “You couldn't outrun my moves. Just by looking I knew you would try to attack me out of my line of sight and try to take me down with one precise blow. Young people who just chatter are worthless... but you are different, for now I will not mow you down”. Stain bent down and ran his thumb over her cheek.  “Those two… I don't say the same.”

Stain got up and started walking towards me. Midoriya yelled at him to stop. But before he could attack me a wave of ice pushed him away.

“Midoriya, you could have explained better, so I would have come faster.” And there he was, Todoroki, with his cell phone in his hand.

I don't know if I was happy or more desperate to see him there. And no matter how much I screamed, neither of them heard me, so Midoriya managed to get away and discover that the villain quirk had to do with blood and blood type.

Todoroki and Midoriya were giving Stain trouble, but it wasn't enough. Every minute the two got more tired and the villain showed no signs of tiredness, just impatience.

“Please stop!” I shouted.

“If you want to stop us, then stand up!” shouted Todoroki. “And keep the vision of the hero you want to be!”

I had never seen Todoroki so angry, or speak so loudly, not even when he fought Midoriya, but he was right. What kind of hero did I want to be? That only watched your friends die?

I remembered the time I asked my brother why he wanted to be a hero and he said if I admired him, he must really be an amazing hero.

I was an amateur.

It didn't even come close to my brother's feet, there, watching my friends bleed for my inconsequential acts.

If I didn't get up now I would never get to his feet, Midoriya's feet. And I had promised her that we would be rivals.

We would defeat that villain.

********

                Pov: Todoroki

I thought we had totally defeated Stain, but when a flying nomu grabbed Midoriya, he was the one who managed to break free and cut off Nomu's head. My heart froze, he had Midoriya at his feet.

My dad tried to get closer to him and he pressed her even closer to the floor.

“Another fraud,” Stain said to my father, his voice cavernous and frightening. “Frauds must be repaired. Someone must be stained with their blood... The expression “hero” must be restored. Come everybody! And try to defeat me, you frauds! The only hero allowed to defeat me is All Might!”

And out of nowhere, Stain stopped talking. He had become unconscious.

                ***

Later Iida and I walked down the hospital corridor looking for Midoriya's room, we were not put in it because she is a girl. I understood, but I preferred her to be close to me, so I could see if she was okay.

When we found the room, she was sitting on the bed, reading. Seeing us she closed the book and smiled.

“Iida, Todoroki! I wish I could have come to you, but to tell you the truth my leg is still hurting a little”. She pointed to her bandaged leg. “If Stain wanted to, he would have killed me. He would have killed the three of us”.

“Yes, he would have,” I replied, approaching her. I sat on the edge of the bed, but Iida remained standing.

“Sorry, Iida, I should have been more incisive when I noticed you weren't well”.

Iida didn't react, his face went pale and he suddenly threw himself on the floor, in an apologetic position with his head resting on the floor.

“I owe you both an apology! It was my responsibility what happened!”

Midoriya crawled to the edge of the bed to look at him on the floor.

“I think I can forgive you this time. But you can tell me, you know? You two can tell me your feelings. Why do I need to be spanked every time you are hurting?” She laughed, and to my surprise, she reached one hand to Iida's head and took mine with the other. “Family problems, grudges, wild plans for revenge. We are friends, you need to tell me things, sometimes talking is the fastest way to solve something, oddly enough. And I think would actually avoid a few broken bones”.

When it was over Iida was crying, as was she. I didn't even remember the last time I cried, but I squeezed her hand so hard that Midoriya looked at me and pulled me into a hug.

“Promise you'll tell me things?” Midoriya put his hand in my hair, I held her by the waist. My heart beat so fast.

“I promise”.

I wanted to tell her right now about my first visit to my mother and how she had forgiven me. But the door opened.

It was the police investigator and tutors for Iida and Midoriya. They told us that in order not to be penalized my father would have to take all the credit for defeating Stain, that we would have to keep it a secret. The whole proposition was ridiculous, being blamed for saving others. But we agreed, that would be our secret.

Chapter Text

Once again I had arrived early at school. But that time I couldn't say it was totally unintentional. Of course, I'd lost sleep thinking about recent events regarding the hero killer, but I didn't need to have gotten out of bed early, changed, and walked briskly to the library before someone from my class came around and see me

I greeted the librarian and entered the room, completely empty. I walked unpretentiously along one, two, three shelves. What was I waiting for? That it didn't matter what day I would find him? Even if it was the same day of the week as the first time I saw him?

“Are you looking for something, young lady?”  The librarian came to me, suspicious because I was walking up and down the halls.

“Nothing special!” –I ended up answering a little too hasty. “But thank you”.  I bowed softly in apology and in the same step I went there, I left the library dying of shame for being so silly.

I was just rounding the corner of the stairs downstairs when I almost bumped into someone and apologized. My heart raced, it was Shinsou.

“Were you in the library?” he asked. I just nodded, even though I was one step above him, Shinsou was still taller than me. “But you didn't take any books?”

I blushed and nodded, indicating the backpack.

“Interesting, which one?” he climbed on the same step as me, I thought I was going to melt and run down the stairs because felt my skin so hot. Almost sure I said a few "hms" without being able to simply say the name of any book.

“I saw you on the news about the hero killer, that you were saved by Endeavor. Are you okay?”

I put my hand into a fist in front of my chest. It was harder than it looked to lie saying, "Yes, I'm glad I was saved," when I'd shed so much blood and sweat to defeat him. But I smiled uncomfortably and nodded. To my surprise Shinshou let out a relieved sigh.

“I was worried”.

Only then did I look him in the eye – I was ashamed before – it was the same look from that day, from the show, a mixture of determination and desire. I didn't know how to react, no one had ever looked at me like that. Shinsou took a step towards me and unconsciously I backed away a little, leaning my butt against the stair rail. He came a little closer, I leaned my back against the wall.

Was he going to kiss me? He was going, wasn't he? Did I want that? Well, at that moment I wanted – and who did I want to fool? I've wanted it from the moment he tried it the first time. How long had it been since the only kiss I'd had in my life? 3 years, 3 and a half years maybe? What if I had bad breath? What if I drool too much?

My head snapped, what if my saliva passed One for All to him? He got a little closer and in seconds I managed to get rid of him with my quirk. I was at the bottom of the stairs and I stared at him.

“Sorry, I still can't do that”.

I didn't even wait for an answer, I disappeared in front of him in the blink of an eye.

*****

I believe my face was still hot with embarrassment as we put on our hero clothes for the day's training. How would I ask All Might that?

"Hi, if I kiss, will I lose my powers?"

What if that was true? Would I have to spend my entire life kissing just one boy – who I didn't even like? Sex I couldn't do? Would I die a virgin? Was that the weight of being Japan's #1 hero? Couldn't be in a relationship? But some comic book heroes had their loves. Many of our real heroes were married, hey, Endeavor was married. Why not All Might? Had he never been in love? Or could he not?

“You have that scary face when you're burning neurons, Midoriya” I startled to hear Uraraka's voice behind me.

“Do you think a hero can maintain a lasting relationship?”

Uraraka's eyes widened softly and stopped midway of putting on the boots.

“Of course you can!” The one who answered was Mina. “There are a lot of couples who even work together at the same agency!”

“Maybe working together is bad, but each one in their separate agency should be smooth!” replied Hagakure.

“Bad?” asked Jiro.

“Of course!” This time it was Momo. “You have to work seriously, but you will always be worried if your loved one is being attacked or not. Completely unfocused!”

“But calm down, doesn't this even happen with friends and co-workers? “ whoever was missing, Tsuyu joined the conversation. “Being a hero is always struggling with the pressure that someone might get hurt.”

“Is different. It's not somebody. It's the love of your life,” Hagakure said.

“We have a romantic around here”. Mina grabbed Hagakure's shoulders and smiled. “The real mystery is. Why the question, Midoriya?”

I knew that would come the moment Mina joined the conversation, but I didn't give a damn, as soon as she finished her sentence I was already leaving the locker room, all changed.

“Hey, come back here! Don't kill the gossiper with half gossip!”

The girls laughed and I went to meet everyone.

               ***

Aizawa and All Might took us to training site “Y” (according to themselves), I was looking forward to any training, we haven't had time to talk about our internships yet and it would be nice to see how each person had progressed that week – a part of me also wanted to show how much I had evolved myself.

We would make 4 groups of 5 people for a knockout race. Of these 20 people, 3 from each group would be classified and after the 12 people, 4 would go to the final. Each “rescue” race would include finishing first at the designated rescue location. My first group would be Ojiro, Sero, Mina and Iida. The room started placing small bets on who would win, Kacchan bet I would come in last, but he wasn't the only one, Momo commented how I still broke down every time I tried to use my Quirk. My heart started to beat faster, I wanted to show soon what I learned to do.

When the race started I kept the 5% of my power running through my entire body and jumped over buildings, pipes and whatever barriers got in my way. Sero bellowed beside me as I passed him, questioning how I did it, and I could have sworn I heard gasps of surprise as soon as I left the base. All that excitement made me slip, but I managed to recover in time to get in front of Iida and Ojiro. Me, Mina and Sero were classified – Iida was only left out because of his injured leg.

We would wait for the rest of the classroom there, and as they arrived, almost everyone commented on my evolution and how I ran similar to the way Kacchan ran. So did they notice? It wasn't by accident, I thought it was cool and above all, effective, the way he ran in those situations. And when I tried to copy the movement in my internship I saw that they were much better than they looked when I watched them. Kacchan might have a foul mouth and a terrible temper, but everything else he did was perfect.

And speaking of terrible genius, as soon as he won first place in his group, the first thing he did as he put his foot on the floor of the base we were in was to stare at me deathly and grit his teeth in an inaudible grunt. I'd bet everything that he was enraged because I copied him. Kacchan didn't interpret my acts of inspiration very well. And who said he was willing to listen to the explanation? I just tried to hide myself, discreetly, behind a pillar so he would stop staring at me.

Of the first 20 students, the 12 ranked were: Sero, I, Mina, Kacchan, Tsuyu, Todoroki, Tokoyami, Kirishima, Uraraka, Momo, Jirou and Shoji. And after a second race, in which luckily I wasn't in Kacchan's group, the final 4 classified were me, Kacchan, Tokoyami and Sero. Aizawa explained that the last way to run would have to end up going down a tunnel that passed one person at a time, so pretty much whoever entered the tunnel first had the close win. It wasn't worth hurting the friends – reinforced Aizawa to Kacchan – nor was it worth destroying the buildings.

“Why are you saying that looking at me?” Kacchan yelled.

All Might gave the kickoff and we started the race. Could I tell how absurd that boy was? 5% of my power was used to speed me up and Kacchan managed to stay by my side without even looking tired – just irritated. He yelled at me a few times, telling me to fuck off and lose, but we kept running side by side. But in a fit of rage, he accelerated. And there was the tunnel hole, right in front of him. I was so close to winning!! I tiptoed forward and in a flash he and I fell into the hole in a mass of people.

The grenades in his arms jammed as we rolled and I bounced from corner to corner until I came to rest on something soft—Kacchan himself. I blinked a few times to understand what was happening. We were stuck. It was as if Kacchan was lying there, arms raised, grenades stuck and feet stuck at a crooked angle on the other side of the tunnel. I had fallen sitting on his waist.

“Are you okay?”  I asked, I was afraid to move and his foot would bend even more.

“Tsk, my foot got tangled up in this shit. All because you fucking threw yourself at me”. Kacchan didn't scream, but there in the tunnel his angry voice echoed. It was dark and the only thing I could see was him. What if the others came? It would hurt both of us. I needed to resolve this quickly.

“Sorry, Kacchan. I wanted to pass you”.

“You can even copy my moves, you fucking nerd, but you wouldn't catch up to me”.

A wave of anger coursed through me.

“I have a name and I would like to hear you use it”. I lowered my head close to him. Were my teeth grinding together the way he did when he got angry? “But yes, I copied you, isn't it normal to want to be inspired by those we admire?”

Kacchan stared at me deeply. What would he be thinking? That I was an idiot? Was I the idiot for being the only one sincere in that “friendship” of ours for the last few years?

“Why did you push me away? Why did you nickname me Deku?” I got even closer, now the only thing I saw was his reddened eyes. He was the best friend I ever had in my entire life, why did he come to hate me? And why was it the first time I had confronted him? But I knew – I was afraid of the answer. That just like everyone else, he got tired of treating the useless without quirk well.

We stood there, staring at each other in silence, feeling the warm air of our breaths. Until the inevitable happened, another runner descended through the tunnel. Sero didn't even have time to react when he saw us trapped. He slammed into me and with a “crack” of Kacchan's ankle, the three of us rolled down one after the other to the end—and what a long tunnel.

Downstairs, the entire gang, All Might and Aizawa waited for the winner, but what they found were three skinned people and one with an injured – maybe even broken – ankle. I tried to help Kacchan up, but he waved his hand while cursing me to get away from him and Kirishima helped him to the infirmary. I stood there, clenching my fists and my heart sinking.

“We saw an example of how we need to think about the logistics of our uniforms,” All Might said.

The room started to debate that, it wasn't as if Kacchan hadn't thought, the tunnel wasn't made for two people.

               ***

As soon as Kacchan returned to the room healed, I should have gone to the infirmary to heal my scrapes, but I didn't want to meet him on the way. He sat across from me in the classroom, and made sure not to look at me as he took his place.

“Now that everyone is here, we are going to talk about Jugyou Sankan, all first year classes will participate”.

The class went into an uproar, how could we have jugyou sankan? It was a classic event where parents would visit the school to see their children's classes. But we were a school of heroes! Would we have that kind of event there?

Aizawa asked for silence and explained that it would be next Monday, and that in addition we would have to write a letter to the relative who came and read it in front of everyone! Once again the voices in the room mixed together. I sank my head between my arms on the table. Read a letter to my mother in front of everyone? I would probably die of embarrassment before I even finished reading it.

“On second thought, this makes sense as a hero's training,” Iida said, as we were in the hallway leaving. Me, him, Todoroki, Uraraka and Tokoyami (the group just grew). “It is the role of a hero to know how to speak out in public on all matters. And we will always have to write thank you letters as well as answer them”.

“It hasn't been long since my parents came to town, and now they'll have to come again,” muttered Uraraka, knowing she was worried about her parents' expenses. No one in the group looked very excited. Tokoyami must have been worried about bringing his mother and her being the target of gossip. And who would Todoroki call? I approached Tokoyami.

“I'll bet my allowance our mothers will arrange to go out after the event”.

“It's so obvious it doesn't even need a bet.” He smiled. “They were on the phone for 40 minutes yesterday! What do they have against text messaging?”

I laughed and was about to answer when I heard someone call me. It was All Might.

“Excuse me, young people... Midoriya, I need you to come to the teachers' lounge, you forgot to sign some homework... of English.”

The gang looked at each other, we didn't even have English homework that week. But before they could question, I said goodbye to everyone and followed All Might to the teachers' break room, where we usually talked. As soon as we entered he locked the door and returned to his skinny appearance.

“I'm very proud of you! I almost fell on my back when I saw you in training.”

My chest almost exploded with happiness. I started to tell him everything I had seen, done and talked about with Gran Torino.

“You've been through so much, and I wasn't close. I'm sorry”. the atmosphere seemed a little heavy. I put a hand on All Might's shoulder.

“No need to apologize, All Might! Actually, I'm glad you called me here. I have a question about what you said when you gave me your hair to eat, about passing quirk through DNA”. I sat in the chair opposite him. All Might put his hands on his knees.

“I figured you would ask that. It was one of the reasons I called you here”.

I tried to hide my surprise and my anxiety, how did he already know that I almost kissed Shinsou?

“When I found out that the hero killer licked your blood, I imagined you would be so worried that you would be passing One for All to him.

“Huh?” I must have opened my mouth in surprise. I had completely forgotten about the villain having actually consumed my blood to activate the Quirk.

“But don't worry, that's not how it works. In order to pass One for All, it needs to be a mutual agreement, you need to want to pass and the person wants to receive. Someone might force you to go through threats, which is why it's so important that you don't tell anyone about OFA, but there's no way you could lose your quirk any other way”.

“So besides not working with this kind of thing, it's also impossible to lose this quirk, for example with a kiss?”

The room went silent, All Might's face froze in an embarrassed smile.

“Why such a question?” His voice came out a squeaky tic, I felt my face go red.

“Hey, I'm a teenager! And if some boy steals a kiss from me! I can't risk losing One for All because of that!” I felt that my voice came out like his.

“Just don't let anyone kiss you! You are too young!”

“I'm 15 years old, All Might! And I just asked a question!”

Silence.

All Might sighed.

“Love relationships don't make you lose your quirk unless you want to. But I still think you're too young to date”.

“I understand”.

We were both silent. Had I just gotten a slap on the wrist about 'boyfriends'? It made him look too much like my dad (well, which I guess a dad should be, since he'd never even met mine). All Might coughed softly to break the mood.

“There are other things I need to tell you. About the origin of One for All”.

All Might told me everything. About the origin of the quirk and about All for One, how the OFA was a derivation of that power. About a villain and his brother, and how the nomus related to each other in the story. He said that One for All was the junction of two quirks: accumulating strength and passing on. And that it was the role of the bearer of the OFA to defeat this super villain who carried the All For One, which he had been trying and which would now also be my role.

“I'll do my best! Any mission you give me, I will fulfill, All Might”.

All Might looked very strange to me. I had never seen that look. But finally he smiled.

“Thanks...”

I got up to leave.

“All Might, have you ever dated?”

The man turned red as a pepper.

“Why these questions today? Of course I dated when I was young. Then things got complicated...”

I took a hit with the answer. That was “inside information” that no other fan should have. I needed to know everything! Who was? How long were they together? Why did they break up? Did he intend to get married?

Before I could ask all that, I felt his hand pushing me towards the door.

“But, All Might, I have more questions!”

“Enough questions for today.”

He unlocked the door and with a pat on my shoulder shooed me away.

Gosh, I almost got more All Might stories. I sighed.

At least now I knew what my greatest mission would be.

And it had also cleared up a big doubt. I exit towards the library. I needed a cell number and think the librarian could help me.

Chapter Text

POV: Todoroki

All Might had taken Midoriya once again. She swore to me that she wasn't his daughter, but it was hard not to think she wasn't.

“Do we have English homework?”  asked, I really didn't remember.

“We don’t have”. Uraraka replied with an indecipherable face.

The group was silent, what would we say? Everyone must have their own guess about their relationship, but no one knew for sure. Some teachers should have favorites of theirs and I would believe her.

“I just remembered, but I won 4 amusement park' tickets from Native. In this Saturday. Midoriya said she won't be able to go, so we could go the four of us,” said Iida. Native was that super hero we saved from Stain.

“Sorry, Iida, I already made another appointment with the girls,” Uraraka replied.

“I also have another appointment. I'm going to visit my mother,” I replied.

“I’m free”. Tokoyami shrugged his shoulders.

“At least one! We need to find two other people”.

Tokoyami and Iida arranged to go look for two other people in the room who could go and I continued the way in silence with Uraraka, it was the first time we were alone.

“Are you going to invite your mother to come on Monday?”

“I don't think she can leave the hospital,” I replied.

“Oh, sorry for the question”.

“No problem”.  And it really didn't, none of my friends were obliged to know things I didn't say.

 “Todoroki, for any chance, are you going to meet Midoriya on Saturday?” asked Uraraka, she was staring at her shoes.

“No, should I?”

“She told me she's going on a date, but she hasn't told me who are the person. I was wondering who it could be.”

“It's not me,” I replied. Midoriya on a date? Why did those words together make me… uncomfortable? “Isn't it the... Bakugou?” My voice came out a little shaky when pronouncing his name, it wasn't that, was it? She wouldn't stoop to date him. Me and Uraraka stared at each other for a few seconds and started laughing together.

“It's certainly not him,” she replied.

“Of course”.

We sat in an uncomfortable silence, what if it was?

We parted with brief greetings without saying anything more on the subject.

                ***

When I greeted the hospital clerk, she was surprised. I didn't blame her, I was also surprised to have gone there. I was usually visiting her only on weekends, but my feet moved almost on their own, wanted to see her.

I knocked on her door calmly, but my hands still insisted on shaking every time I went there. My mother opened the door and surprise invaded her face, followed by an affectionate smile.

“Shouto! What a surprise to see you here. Please come in”. she opens a room for me to pass and so I did. I went straight to sit on the chair next to her bed.

She sat up in bed and I stared at my own hands. Even though it was my fourth visit, I still had trouble meeting her eyes. I felt like a bad son and a bad person.

As if sensing my uncomfortable mood, she got up and went to the fridge in her room, grabbed something from inside and held it out to me. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the cat drawing on the grape juice package.

“It was your favorite when you were little. Glad to hear they still make it. I thought you would like it.”

I reached up with shaking hands and took it, bowing my head in thanks a few times. I hadn't brought anything for her. She sat back down and watched me silently as I opened the package and took a few sips of juice.

“Today we had a rescue exercise at school” I said, wanted to say so many things, but where would I start?

“Cool, Shouto! And how it was?” She asked excitedly.

I started to talk about my day, and then I moved on to other days and when I noticed I was talking about how Midoriya had convinced me to use my fire side, and how she had said I was beautiful. My mother never stopped smiling.

“She seems like a great friend to you, Shoto. I would be happy if one day you brought her to me to meet her.”

Once again I felt my heart stumble. I squeezed the empty juice box carefully.

“You can meet her... there's going to be a parent visit at school...”

“Shouto...” My mother's smile was replaced by a sad expression, despair covered me at the same time.

“No, I know, you can't, you don't need to worry”.

"All I wanted was to go..." She took my hands over the juice box I was holding. “But really...”  Mom seemed to feel pain saying those things, why did I bring up the subject? “I'll ask your sister to record everything. I don't want to miss any details.”

She smiled sadly and I tried to smile back.

I would accept my older sister's embarrassment with a camera if it would make my mother happy.

*****

Pov: Tokoyami

I scratched the elephant ears of the tiara Iida had made me wear. A bird-faced boy with an elephant ear, I should be comical. But so were they. Denki with cat ears, Mineta with wolf ears and finally Iida with rabbit ears.

He even took a selfie and sent it to Midoriya with the caption: "Today I'm wearing a bunny, sweetie", if I hadn't been walking with them the last few days and I didn't know that was the way he made fun of her, I would think that was very suspicious. After all, it was weird even knowing the whole story, but Iida was kind of weird anyway. He opened the Zoo Park map in front of us, he had already drawn the exact route we would take.

Zoo Park was a nature-themed amusement park. It was my first time going to an amusement park.

 “At what point in your schedule are we going to hunt our prey?” Mineta asked, Denki just nodded beside him. I rolled my eyes, I already knew what was coming.

“Hunt what?” Iida asked confused. “This is an amusement park, there is no room for hunting”.

“Hunting women, silly. It was a joke with my ears”. Mineta pointed to the wolf ears.

“What a disrespectful way to refer to ladies! We didn't come here for that! It's a place for families!”

“Wow, Iida, we're in a park! In friends! Don't you feel like flirting at all?” asked Denki. Did he need to ask? The answer was all too obvious. Aside from what I agreed with our classroom president, an amusement park wasn't very appropriate, there were more kids than anything else there.

“For what? He already walks with those two hot babes. I bet he feel them up”. Mineta said disdainfully. “I bet you were sending them this photo you took”.

Iida blushed.

“They are my friends! And be more respectful when talking about them”.

“Okay, okay, whatever. Let's follow your script, but if I see any kittens on the way I'm going to attack!”

I used to be a quiet person, but Mineta made me want to spank him, I didn't doubt that Iida thought the same thing, but he twisted his lips and we continued the script, I went on many toys had never seen - and it was amazing how many involved spinning, after about three or four toys it felt like my head would never stop spinning.

Mineta and Denki tried to approach some girls – and they took them off every time. One of them even asked “Gee, is this some kind of joke?”, and I tried to hold back my laughter. Because as depressing as it was, it was also funny to see their elaborate approach plan fail.

“This is ridiculous, these young women are here to enjoy the day, not be pestered”. Iida grumbled every time they tried a new girl.

“I agree, but isn't it really fun to see them failing like that?” I commented.

Iida thought for a few seconds.

“Yeah, so far.”

We continued our way until we stopped at the food court, the apple pie there was famous, it was the main reason that made me accept to come. I love apples! I ran to the line to buy at least three of those pies and while I was in line with Iida a woman approached.

 “Excuse me boys, I got lost and saw that the young man here has a map” she pointed at Iida. “Could you help me?”

Denki and Mineta widened their eyes from the hot dog line a few feet away. They couldn't hear the conversation, but they must have been shocked by her beauty.

“A bit irresponsible at that age to walk in the park without a map, ma'am,” replied Iida. I held back a gasp of surprise.

“Come on, don't call me ma'am”. She pouted. “I'm not even thirty yet”.

“Sorry, but you didn't introduce yourself for me to call you another way”.

I looked desperately at Iida, I think she meant that she preferred "Miss".

“I'm Iko Yuta” she smiled, showing great ease and patience with Iida. “And will you help me?”

“I never deny help to anyone. Where do you want to get?”

“In the women's bathroom. But you could take me there.”

“Can't I just point on the map? Or do you have some difficulty on understanding maps? “

I wanted to sink into the floor after that one. Was it just me or was she hitting on Iida?

“Maybe I have difficulty, that's why I wanted you to take me.”

“Wait until we finish buying our pies, Tokoyami has been waiting all morning for this.”

“I can stand in line alone” I replied “Go fast and come back, I'll wait for you to eat”.

Iida stopped to think, probably calculating how long it would take. Then he opened the map to check and took a long breath.

“All right, but wait. I don't want to eat alone”.

Iida left with the woman and a while later Denki and Mineta came running to me.

“Where is that bastard Iida? Did he go with that woman?” asked Mineta. I told you what happened.

“Calm down guys, it's Iida, I bet won't happen at all”.

We sat and waited, and not 15 minutes later he came back with his hair disheveled, he was all red in the face. Did it happen?

“Iida, you bastard! You look like you got it!” Mineta was tearful.

“Got what?”

“Hunt a woman!”

“Stop it, Mineta, I already told you to stop using 'hunting'”. He adjusted his hair. “But no, I'd say I was almost the prey!”

“DID YOU GET WITH AN OLDER WOMAN?” Denki shouted in surprise, then lowered his voice when he saw the looks of those who passed by.

“Of course not, Kaminari” this time he adjusted his glasses. “Actually she tried to kiss me. And she even gave me her cell number.”

“AND WHY DIDN'T YOU KISS?” this time it was Mineta.

“I told her this is a crime, she must have thought I was over 18. I explained that I was 15 years old and that would not be right”.

“You fucking bastard. She was delicious!”

“Foods are delicious, she was stunning,” replied Iida.

Finally we put that matter aside and went in the bumper car. Iida smiled at me:

“Now we can beat the shit out of Mineta's cart”.

I couldn't help myself and burst out laughing. Now I understood why Midoriya liked Iida so much.

****

Pov: Kirishima

An exhibition of heroes, obviously it would be fun. When my dad gave me two tickets for Saturday because he would be working and couldn't go with me, I was pretty sure who I would invite—if he accepted.

And I don't deny that I was surprised when he first accepted. I only had to say “All Might exclusive products” that I saw the slight tremor in his pupils as he nodded. I admired how manly Bakugou was in all his attitudes, but there were things that only in his head he thought no one noticed. Being an All Might fan boy was one of them.

We meet at the nearest subway station. Bakugou wore jeans and a black shirt that said “Faith no More” with a drawing of an open-mouthed wolf – which I later asked and discovered was a band. It was easier to talk to him than to demonstrate to the classroom (or simply he had sympathized with me). We talked about the exhibition and the last few classes, I avoided mentioning Midoriya as much as possible, since it was one of the only subjects that made him mad in seconds. We had already seen almost everything in the exhibition when I came across something curious.

“Hey, that cute is wearing the same shirt as you”. When I pointed to the person, her face was covered by a flyer from the exhibition, seconds later my stomach turned in regret. What was the probability? When she lowered the flyer I saw that it was Midoriya. I saw Bakugou tighten every muscle in his body and his face contort in a mixture of disgust. To make matters worse, she saw us, smiled and approached.

 “Kirishima, Kacchan! What a coincidence to see you here. Did you come after the exclusive figure too?” Midoriya started to chatter nonstop about an All Might figure that would be released exclusively at here that apparently she had already managed to get. She talked more about it and about the exhibition, but at some point I got lost in the subject and started to get dizzy. Bakugou looked to the side, ignoring her presence, but I bet he was listening carefully.

“Apparently I'm the only one who doesn't know this band. I'm not really into rock”. I pointed to the blouse, interrupting her, hoping she would give up talking and leave. I didn't have anything against her, but I wished Bakugou's mood didn't get any worse.

“To be honest, I'm not either. It's one of the only ones I listen to, who introduced me was Kacchan”.

What the fuck, Kirishima, what the fuck! Why did you get into that subject? The three of us fell into an uncomfortable silence.

“Well, it was a pleasure to see you, Midoriya, I think we are going in line for that figure you mentioned”.

Midoriya smiled and I caught a glimpse of Bakugou clenching his fists. Maybe she didn't notice, but she had a kind of snobbish smile, something that said "okay, I didn't really want to hang out with you anyway", even though it was clear from her personality that it was a "wow, I thought we were going to talk more” – for me, the fact that Bakugou was so stubborn and egocentric to the point of not realizing it was the main source of friction between the two. After all, dammit, they were even wearing the same shirt! Was there anything more fanciful on her part than that? Even if it wasn't intentional, she'd bought it out of admiration. It wasn't much different than her buying that All Might figure.

She said goodbye to us and we silently went to the figure line. Bakugou didn't say he wanted to, but he didn't say he didn't either. I tried to bring up a few topics and he grumbled, but as the minutes passed he seemed to struggle to answer me normally, even though his eyes wandered over the exhibition.

It was almost forty minutes later when we left there – Bakugou had bought the figure, I hadn't (it was too expensive) – and we came across Midoriya again. I swear I just didn't gasp in agony for emotional control. There she was, standing there, leaning against a wall, wearing her Faith No More shirt, skirt, fluffy knee socks and black boots. Inside the exhibition I hadn't noticed because it was darker, but now in the sun I saw that Midoriya even wore lipstick and that black thing that girls put on their eyes. The hair was tied in side buns. She was prettier than usual. She just greeted us with a nod.

I would go our way. We were going to have a snack. But Bakugou stopped walking, I almost tripped on his sudden stop. A neat girl looking to the sideways? I knew what I was about to see, which is why I wanted to run away from there before the person arrived. But my jaw dropped when I saw who it was. Shinsou Hitoshi, the goth guy who almost made Midoriya lose the school festival. Which brainwashed others.

He was very villainous, especially seeing him in casual clothes: jacket and ripped jeans. Was that what Midoriya liked? I glanced at Bakugou, well, couldn't tell that this one looked like a good guy. But Bakugou was manly. Shinshou had something about the way he walked that made you shiver.

Shinsou saw us a few meters from Midoriya and smiled, even his smile was villainous. I could have sworn he looked into the Bakugou's eyes before approaching Midoriya to give her a peck. She totally froze and turned red, she probably didn't even expect that.

It was like watching a soap opera. But luckily some part of me alerted and I gently grabbed Bakugou's shoulder.

“Hey man, let's eat something I'm hungry. And then we can go somewhere to train”.

I don't know how much willpower it took Bakugou to turn his back on the couple who were talking animatedly. He walked beside me, bent over, sullen and with his hands in his pockets. I wasn't sure before if he hated Midoriya or not, but that look that stared at the ground was that of a hurt and confused person, and I wouldn't say that these were the feelings that came from hate – I'd bet not.

In the end we didn't eat, we went to an open field to train. I could feel his anger in every punch, every outburst. I hardened my body and reciprocated. A few hours later when we collapsed exhausted to the ground I smiled at him.

“See how I put up with your outbursts? Whenever you want to train and let off steam, I'm here!”

He didn't smile, much less he responded. He just looked at the sky with the sun setting and I knew in that moment: our friendship was signed.

****

Pov: Mina

Finally a weekend with friends. Damn, it was already the middle of May and so far I've barely managed to enjoy a single weekend, it was just fighting, fighting, attacking villains, fatigue and muscle pain. Okay, I knew the life of a hero would be like this, but also a girl needed a break, a little party, a fun time. Anything would do. I was in an uproar when Jirou commented that he was still covering the guitarist friend of hers who got sick and that Saturday would do a little show in a bar that is open to minors – during which they would wear the “no alcohol” bracelet.

With a lot of dedication I managed to convince everyone to go - with the exception of Midoriya. Amazed: she had a date. But she vehemently denied saying who she was with, after all, she only said the word “date” because she was totally distracted, as soon as she said the word she was totally in shock, regretting letting such information slip.

I put on a dark pink gloss while looking at myself in the mirror. It was worth it, I knew Jirou played rock (although this is pretty generic, I didn't know what kind of rock), but I tried my best to find something black in my closet. Finally, it was a shabby crop top that I complemented with a green jacket and pants of the same color. My pink skin always made me think five thousand times about the colors I would wear.

The show would start in the early afternoon and we arranged to meet at the station. I was the second to arrive, the first was Tsuyu, she was always more slack, wearing jeans and a shirt with a print of frogs. Even her shoulder bag was the face of a cute frog. Uraraka was the third, wearing brown boots and shorts, wearing a flowery pink ruffled blouse. Think of any outfit, if Uraraka wore it, it would be a thousand times cuter. Hagakure wore a pink dress, and there wasn't much to say about it, there was no way to find out if that outfit suited her or not. The last to arrive was Momo, and wow! She'd taken the "rock concert" thing seriously. Leather pants, a black tank top that highlighted her tits and one of those fringed vests also in leather. And I'm not talking about fake leather, the thing was genuine leather. I would venture to say that even the bootie to the heel was too. Her hair was tied in two inlaid braids. We were only 15, but that way Momo would easily have looked 19.

“Dammit, Momo, dammit, now I feel like a lettuce walking”. Laugh, joking – black definitely didn't suit me.

“Did I exaggerate? As I didn't have anything rocky at home I went to the mall to buy it earlier today. My mother loves it when I want to buy clothes and she helped me choose”.

“Do not exaggerate, you're wonderful!” Uraraka said and Momo blushed at the same moment.

We went to the bar talking about our dreams as heroines. In fact, that afternoon we talked about everything that involved the school: the attacks we suffered, our quirks, ways of training to increase our strength. Momo was great at helping with these things. We only effectively stopped talking when Jirou climbed onto the counter with his guitar and the other band members. She smiled and waved at us.

Momo uncomfortably curled the fringe of her jacket around her fingers as she watched Jirou play the guitar. I smile at the scene. Kirishima and I made bets on which couple would be formed first in the room.. Okay, okay, we knew we needed to stop focusing on such silly things, but we studied together since freshman years of elementary school and we always made those bets, I was undefeated in winning!

My cell phone beeped. It was Kirishima.

“Damn bro, you were right, I was wrong again. I just saw Midoriya on a date with Shinshou! Bakugou is here with me..."

Dammit! I locked my cell phone screen before someone read the message by mistake. I hadn't bet that Midoriya and Bakugou would be a couple, but for other reasons – Bakugou would probably need a few years of therapy. But knowing that Midoriya was on a date with Shinsou was really surprising. I even felt a little sorry for Bakugou to have seen that, I started to sympathize with him because Kirishima wanted so much to be his friend.

That year I had been bold, I told Kirishima that the first couple to form would be Tsuyu and Tokoyami, but it was just a random bluff, because the real bet I wouldn't count: Mina Ashido and Eijiro Kirishima. If the universe wanted it and I had the courage to declare myself - and luck to be accepted - that year we would be the first couple in the room.

“Hey, Mina, will you come with me to the bathroom? I'm ashamed to walk there alone”. Hagakure nudged me, curiously she was all shy.

“I want to go too,” Tsuyu said. Momo and Uraraka would stay there.

We entered the bathroom and an uncomfortable smell invaded my nose. Just like a sound.

The door to one of the urinals was open and a woman was pouring all her lunch – and liters of drinks – out into the toilet, she was alone. My first reaction was to reach out and grab her hair.

“Hey, you're not well, do you need us to call someone?”

“I just drank too much". Her tone said she was very groggy.

“But it's not even 7pm yet!” Hagakure looked shocked, apparently she didn't know that it didn't mean much to adults who wanted to get high.

“Did you come alone?” Tsuyu asked. The girl vomited again and leaned against the bathroom partition.

“I came with some friends. But I don't know where they are now. They must have traded me for dicks again”. The woman started to cry. I tried to pull her out of that vomit-stained bathroom, but she wouldn't help herself.

We looked at each other and Tsuyu had an idea. After a few minutes she came back with Uraraka and Momo, this second one made a wheelchair with the Quirk and Uraraka floated it to sit her there.

The woman, named Kimiko, kept repeating how wonderful we were and that she wanted friends like that. Sometimes she also complained about something about work or kept saying that she just wanted to end the peaceful night with a cock in her mouth. Then she would start crying apologizing for saying that in front of children.

Hakagure and Momo seemed shocked by those lines, Tsuyu was the true picture of neutrality and Uraraka, like me, seemed to control herself not to laugh every time the woman said something stupid. Finally, we left her with a security guard and continued to enjoy the show.

“That woman spoke a lot of obscenity!” said Momo. “I'm still in shock”.

"She was drunk," Tsuyu replied. “That's why I'll never drink alcohol”.

“It's never too strong a word,” I said. “Just don't overdo it like that”.

“Looks like someone here wants to have some booze.” Uraraka laughed.

“Just nope! You have a face that would like to get assholed too” I replied, laughing.

“Ugh, definitely not!” Uraraka laughed. “I'm curious, but it's not something I'd say I'd like”.

“Calm down, we're still talking about alcohol, right?”Asked Hagakure. The group fell into shocked silence. Hagakure was a mystery, the girl was invisible! If I could see her face I'd say she had a gigantic bastard smile on her face now.

“Of course,” finally replied Uraraka awkwardly.

Jirou's friends' concert was over and she came down from the stage, coming towards us. Everyone praised her and as the party at that little bar was getting too adult by the time, we decided to go to dinner at a nearby mall. When we were at the exit Tsuyu said:

"Isn't that the woman who was vomiting in the bathroom?"

We looked in the direction she pointed. A man was carrying her half unconscious into a taxi.

“Someone must have come to get her,” Uraraka said, we saw the guy close the taxi door.

“But she said she'd only come with her friends”. completed Momo.

Once again we look at each other. We could have let it go. Adult lives were complicated. But that's not what heroines did, right?

In that short time, the taxi drove away and despair hit all of us. We cut the taxi line and got into the next one. Me in the front seat, everyone else in the back seat.

“Follow that taxi!” I said to the taxi driver. ALWAYS meant do that, but the guy just looked to me annoyed.

And so Momo simply threw two ¥ 5000 bills into his lap and surprised (and pleased) the taxi driver sped up.

It wasn't a thrilling chase, the cab in front wasn't running away or anything, so ours just followed it normally. But my heart was beating fast as if it were. When we arrived at an apartment complex we got out of the car almost with the boy and the girl, now passed out.

“Hey you!” I went ahead, the girls followed me. The man looks at us with suspicious eyes. “What are you doing with her?”

“What do you mean? I brought her home. We were together”.

“What's her name?” asked Momo.

“And why do I have to answer that to you brats? He started to get irritated.

"If you were innocent you wouldn't be stressed like that," Tsuyu said.

The guy looked at the woman passed out on his shoulders and then at us, probably calculating how to get rid of us. The place was dark and empty, even the taxi drivers were gone after leaving us.

He leaned forward and something on his back started to protrude from his coat. Seconds later the fabric tore, making several greenish and slimy tentacles appear. I wanted to vomit. Was there anything more coherent with a pervert with an quirk like that? The tentacles came towards us and I quickly threw acid at one of them. The man screamed in pain. Despite everything, the guy was not a very good villain, in a matter of minutes we managed to immobilize him and called the police, explaining the whole situation. Momo and Uraraka synchronized a punch right in his face and Tsuyu used her tongue to tie his tentacles together – a filthy war.

When the police arrived he was already unconscious and tied by ropes created by Momo. She was also the one who guided the answers to the police. And we finally managed to get out of there with a “be careful next time.”

By the time we gave up going to the mall and had an impromptu sleepover at Uraraka's apartment. Some Momo employee showed up half an hour later with pajamas and a toothbrush for everyone. How rich was she? Well, on second thought. She had simply thrown TWO ¥ 5000  bills into the cabbie driver's lap. One note would have been enough for him to take us to the next town, but she probably didn't even know about these things.

We talked and talked even more, mostly about our expectations as heroes and about today's event. When I was almost closing my eyes from sleep, I noticed that Uraraka had stuck to her cell phone.

“News from Midoriya?” I asked. She nodded awkwardly.

“She's already home from the date.”

“Aaaaa, and she kissed?”

“I don't know!”

I snatched the cell phone from her hand to video call Midoriya, she answered already in her pajamas. They all tried to position themselves to fit the screen.

“Look, if it's not the flirt one!” Midoriya blushed instantly. “switched friends to kiss”.

“Stop, Minaaa,” she complained. “I didn't switched you, I promise that next time I'll go with you”.

“Ahãaa”. we all laughed. “And the guy who gave that hickey there on your neck will let you?”

Midoriya brought his hand to her neck so fast that she dropped her cell phone on the floor. There were no marks there, but the joke got to her so well that we could only imagine what had happened. We all laughed, except Uraraka.

Chapter Text

Seeing the person two days in a row was not dating, right? Anyway, why was I worrying about this? My face was hot and red with embarrassment as I laced up my gym shoes and remembered everything I'd done on the date the day before.

Shinso was strangely...lovely. He didn't talk much, but listened, but at various times he would pull my hands to kiss them, or give me a kiss on the forehead when I was close enough. He liked kissing – and not that it was a problem. He interrupted several of my sentences for this, at first I freaked out of embarrassment, not knowing what to do, then I got used to it and even sought his lips before he even mentioned it.

But well, during our meeting we talked a lot about the dream of being heroes. Obviously I couldn't tell that I was a non-quirk, but within my possibilities we talked a lot about it. And I promised that I would help him train to enter the hero class – since today he belonged to regular high school. Which brought me to that moment.

Sunday, 8 am, putting on my training clothes to meet him on the same beach I used to train with All Might, that gave me a certain nostalgia.

When I got there Shinsou was already waiting for me, wearing sports clothes. He pulled me in for a kiss and with a smile on his face said:

“Good morning, little thing”.

I felt my face redden, I couldn't imagine that the boy with an unfriendly face would greet someone else like that. But I kissed him back and we started our workout. Shinsou was out of shape, I only used 3% of my power that morning and I beat him in everything: running, stamina and fighting. I must have dropped it in the sand like 30 times before 10 am.

I threw him a bottle of water from my bag.

“I knew I'd get hit. But I didn't think it would be that much. And you're not even remotely tired”.

I sat next to him.

“I've been training every day for a few months now, Shinso. You will get there soon. You just can't give up”. I made a 'peace and love' sign with my fingers at him.

“And who said about giving up?” he smiled that determined – and a little crazy – smile that he sometimes showed. “You know, you can call me Hitoshi”.

My face flushed. Call him by name? Wasn't that too intimate? Okay, so was kissing. But it looked different.

He shrugged.

“No stress, when you feel ready”  the tone of voice was serious, it shook me a little. Had I hurt him? “Let's continue?”

“I have a favor to ask of you. I want you to brainwash me”.

“Now?”

I nodded.

“For what?”

How could I say that? I wanted to investigate those shadows I saw at the school championship since All Might couldn't explain about them. But I smiled and lied.

“Well, you're training the body, I need to train the mind, I can't be so easily controlled”.

He twisted his mouth into an unpleasant smile. Yesterday Shinso had commented that he didn't like to use brainwashing outside of a fight, so maybe my request was inconvenient, but I wouldn't miss that chance.

“Hey little thing.” He brought his lips to my ear, breathing hot there.

“Huh?” I replied, feeling a shiver run through my body. And then nothing but the fog in my head and the feeling of not controlling my own will.

“Call me by my name,” he said.

"Hi..." I started to say and something started to get weird.

Seconds ago it was as if I saw him through a fog, now everything was dark. Was the darkness inside my head? My body was there, I walked through the darkness, ran through it until a distant scream caught my attention. A cry of deep despair.

I ran towards it like there was no tomorrow and in the middle of the darkness a door appeared. I knew it was a door because of the lighting ripping through the thin cracks. I opened it in such a rush that my mind took a few seconds to get used to the light that invaded me – light, screams and the characteristic smell of blood that I would never forget after facing Stain.

Far away, someone was screaming so loud it didn't even seem that far. But it wasn't just any scream, from anyone, it was from someone I knew, that I loved. He had told me that the heroin life would bring suffering to our family, but I denied it, said I wouldn't let that happen - and in the end I was wrong, right? I let it happen.

All For One had promised he'd destroyed everything I loved, and he was steadfast in his promises. First I thought I could defeat him before he got close to them, then I thought about hiding them. It was no use. And now the deepest despair invaded my heart. I quickly floated in the direction of the screams to find my husband half-broken by wreckage, covered in blood, vomit and feces. When I saw that I started to cry, there would be no way to save him.  

"Love... I knew... that you would come to save me..." He smiled, breaking my heart. It was that man, with a warm heart and an immense kindness who had taught me to smile in the most difficult moments. “Nana, protect Kotaro... protect...”

And just like that, he died – the man I had most mattered in my entire life, slipped through my fingers. And the only thing I could feel was a hopeless emptiness.

I hit something soft so hard that I was out of breath at once. The smell of blood in my nostrils, the sight of that unknown man shattered. The love I felt for that stranger and the pain of seeing him die. It all came in one wave and I threw up on the beach sand. Someone was holding my hair back. Gradually I “came around”, the someone was Shinso, that's what I had fallen into. Huh, fallen?

“I will never brainwash you again. Never”. at first he looked angry, but by the shaky voice I could see that it was concern. “You were floating, Midoriya. It just started to float and I almost miss you like a balloon. What the hell was that?”

I stared at him but couldn't answer because another wave of vomit washed over me. There goes my entire breakfast.

What the hell was that? Good question, I had no idea. But one thing I did know, the images I saw inside my head were memories, but not mine.

***

 “You're not even paying attention to what I'm saying!”

I looked at my mother.

In fact, I wasn't. I couldn't get those images out of my head. I made Shinsou promise he wouldn't tell anyone. No one at all, not even for a teacher. Because I wasn't sure yet what to do. I tried to float back home and nothing happened. Of course, that was ridiculous, All Might's Quirk wasn't that. But I found out that his predecessor was a woman, what if she was this Nana? What if floating was hers? If One For All passed things along, wouldn't it have passed on her quirk as well? But All Might didn't know how to float, so this theory shouldn't make sense.

My mother snapped her finger in front of my face.

“Earth to Izuku.” I blinked and stared at her. “Do you think I should go with the moss green or black pantsuit?”

She chose an outfit for the next day, the parents' visitation.

“I like your baby pink suit,” I replied, not actually stopping to think about whether I really preferred it.

 “That one is much clear, maybe it gets dirty when…” She stopped suddenly and after a few seconds she continued. “Light colors makes me fat”.

I frowned, that's not what she was going to say. Was? Well, it didn't matter, I wasn't in the right frame of mind to talk about clothes right now.

“The moss green matches your hair”.

She agreed with me and I excused myself to shower and then lie down. Not that I managed to sleep well, because when I laid my head on the pillow those images hit me again. The dying man, the pain of not being able to save him.

I buried my head in the pillow to cry silently. How would I explain if my mother asked why I'm sad? "I'm crying because a part of me feels like I've failed."

***

The next morning when I woke up my mother had already left for school, she had mentioned something that they were going to tour earlier, before the demo class. Mom left breakfast ready, but I could barely eat it. I felt like a zombie after a bad night's sleep. My cell phone was full of worried messages from Shinso and I was still wondering how I was going to tell All Might that.

“Hi All Might, so I think I’m having delusions about your predecessor, did she lose everyone she loved?”

Well, I didn't know if exactly everyone, after all, had that Kotaro guy she needed to protect.

I went to school to find everyone very excited about the visitation, I tried to push away bad thoughts for later and let myself into the excitement.

"You don't look like you slept very well, Midoriya," said Iida, after greeting me.

“I'm worried about reading the letter in front of everyone,” I lied. When had I become such a liar? I would say from the moment I had to hide about One for All.

“Everything will be all right”. He put his hand on my shoulder, it had been a while since he did that and somehow gave me comfort. I smiled at him.

“Yes, will. Did you write yours?”

“I wrote 40 pages, but I thought it was too much and managed to reduce it to only 20.”

I laughed nervously. 20 pages?

“Now I'm ashamed of my 1 and a half pages”.

“I think we’re average” Uraraka approached the conversation.

We waited patiently for the bell, and when it rang, Aizawa entered the room, informing us that our parents were waiting in the training town, the same town where we took our entrance exam. According to him, we would defeat some robots for demonstration and then read our letter right there. So we put on our hero clothes and took the bus there.

Everyone was chatting excitedly, but I didn't really feel the vibe, I just leaned my head against the glass and waited for us to arrive. And when we arrived, something wasn't right. One of the robots approached and simply turned the bus upside down, I had to hold on to the seat so it wouldn't roll over, but many did. Aizawa shouted for us to be prepared that this was not in the plan. My heart raced.

We got off the bus, among everyone else, Mineta had passed out hitting his head and Jirou had twisted her foot when she didn't have time to catch herself. Inside the city there were robots everywhere, and they all flashed their screens red.

“Despicable heroes,” said all the robots at once. “Where is All Might?”

Oh no, not again.

We hear screams and run towards them. A masked villain was on top of one of the buildings, surrounded by robots and worse, used a big robot to surround all of our parents. My mother looked at me scared. I felt the nausea of the day before hit me.

Was it a robotic control Quirk?

Some robots tried to attack us and one of them just punched Aizawa so hard that he fell bloodied and passed out right in front of me. That was the trigger for panic. All of us still hadn't recovered from the last attack and now it would all start all over again. I could barely stand up from the discomfort.

“You bunch of bastards!” shouted Bakugou, and not to the robots, but to us. “We just need to defeat this idiot and save our parents”. He took my arm and lifted me up, putting his face close to mine, his teeth grinding together. “Or is it too much for a Deku like you?”

I smiled.

“That's exactly what we need to do”.

I helped Kacchan coordinate the attacks, but the robots didn't run out anymore. At some point the villain shouted from above.

“One more robot destroyed and I'll kill the hostages”.

We all stopped.

We needed to distract the villain. Then Uraraka floated Hagakure to the building and the her, invisible, managed to hold him while others of us climbed in behind. But in doing so, the large robot grabbed two people and jumped into another building. My mother's scream of horror washed over me.

The scream of someone I knew, the scream of someone I loved.

Not again, I wouldn't lose anyone.

I wouldn't miss someone I loved.

My mind went from 0 to 100 at the same instant, my body activated 5% of One For All and even though Uraraka didn't touch me I floated absurdly fast towards the robot. I kicked him so hard that his head dented and went flying into the sky. My mother and the other kidnapped man started to fall along with the rest of the robot and I floated up to them, catching them both before the robot fell.

We reached the floor without much delicacy and I started to vomit again, nauseated. If One For All broke my bones from using too much, floating around made me nauseous for never having done it. That conclusion hit me like lightning.

“Izuku, are you okay, my baby?” shouted my mother.

 “Great presentation from you. It could have been better” Aizawa stood up, rubbing the blood from his own nose. Kacchan and Todoroki brought the villain tied up and we all didn't understand a thing.

Finally Aizawa explained that it was all an act that our parents were aware of, the villain was a hired actor and according to the teacher the activity was to teach us to act under pressure when one of our loved ones was in danger. We could never let our emotions take over. Isn't that exactly what I did? Aizawa also wanted us to always remember that everyone we saved had families waiting for them at home.

We all read our letters, in mine I just apologized for always worrying her and thanked her for everything. Obviously we both cried. Iida ended up reading only a few of the 20 pages – and gave the rest. Kacchan just wrote “Thank you for giving birth to someone as amazing as me” and took a smack on the head from Mitsuki.

Another bus came to pick us up, but before I got on it, someone pulled me by the shoulder. It was that villainous actor. The bus left without me.

“Uraraka hadn't touched you”. - The villain took off his mask and voice modifier, it was All Might in his skinny version. I've never seen him so serious. “I checked the videos while you read the letters”.

“No, she didn't”.

And then I told All Might everything.

***

Shinso was definitely forbidden to brainwash me until we found out what had happened to me. Well, All Might knew: I could use the Quirk of Nana Shimura, his predecessor who was killed by All For One. But All Might himself never made it, so he went through various stages from “you must be very special”, to “this is so dangerous for a young girl like you”. Dangerous because before Nana there were 6 other carriers, what if their quirk appeared? How would my body handle it? All Might didn't know who the predecessors were, he would have to research. And he also considered it dangerous because it would get AFO's attention.

How would we also explain to my colleagues that out of nowhere I had another quirk? He believed that no one had seen that I hadn't been touched by Uraraka, and we would try to fool this one with the famous “you did, don't remember because you were nervous”. The plan would be to train “Float” in secret until I stopped getting seasick. And when I controlled him, Shinso would brainwash me with Aizawa and All Might by his side, mainly because my having access to Nana's memories also worried him, he had no idea who Kotaro was or that Nana had been married. This was all before they met, he would have to ask Gran Torino. It surprised me to see how much All Might himself didn't know about all that, but somehow it made him more human, didn't it?

A human, an ex non-quirk like me, who accepted a mission and tried to fulfill it to the limits of his own body. I hugged All Might as he continued to talk about what he knew about Nana's past and I started to cry.

Why was I crying? I didn't even know anymore, everything that had happened since yesterday, all the feelings that came from Nana's memories, all that mystery and especially All Might's concern, he could try to hide it, but I could see in his face that he was about to have a nervous breakdown with so much new stuff happening to me. He patted my head.

“There, there, we really need to take care of your crying issue” he smiled kindly. “Because other than that, you were fantastic today. Of course, when I saw you floating around I almost fell backwards, it felt so much like Nana, and Young Midoriya, she was one of the most fantastic women I've ever met, I'm proud to see you getting closer to what she was”.

How did All Might want me to control my crying by saying those things?

I did cry, but for a little while. He made me an espresso and we sat down again. The next topic he wanted to discuss: Shinso. Aizawa would train him, so I could rest easy and definitely away from the brainwashing.

I tried to explain that I couldn't stay that far. All Might choked on his coffee.

“Are you dating?”

“No, All Might, we're just hanging out.”

“And that's not dating?”

“Dating is much more serious, All Might! We're just chilling”.

“Hmm, and does your mother know about this?”

“She doesn't need to know if it's not dating.”

All Might stopped for a few seconds, seemed to want to say something, but finally he just sighed and said:

“Promise me that you will never use his Quirk without us being close”.

“I promise, All Might.”

I replied, but deep in my heart I was wondering if I really promised or was it just another lie I was learning to tell.

Chapter Text

Pov: Momo

Things were never smooth at that school. After the school championship and the internship, Aizawa had told us that this month – it was July – we would have the final exams, a whole week of theoretical exams and practical exams. And there was more, only those who did well in the tests could go to the two trips of the summer vacation (yes, two! ), first we would spend a few days between the end of July and the beginning of August, on the I-Island, a artificial island with a Quirk Research Center, then we would come back, stay at home for just a few days and then spend a few days at a training camp. Only after that would we have our rest time with the family.

We all got really excited, two trips with the gang? Several days of all of us sleeping together and talking and training all day? It was every teenager's dream, and after all, we were teenagers! Would we have a test of courage, bonfire, hours of conversation and maybe even some romantic event? It would be my first event like this, I was as excited as everyone else, but first a concern knocked on the door of some: the bad grades.

Among a few desperate ones were: Mina, Kirishima, Uraraka, Sero (literature only), Jirou (math only), Ojiro and Kaminari.

Mina asked if I could help them study on the weekend, that request made me so happy! Since my championship defeat, followed by a pretty useless internship, I've started to feel terribly weak and unable to become a quality hero. The request to help them gave me a tiny feeling of still being useful in something.

We agreed to study every weekend, Kirishima would study with Bakugo – which was surprising, to think that the busted kid would have the patience to teach – and I narrowly missed Uraraka to Midoriya, I had to insist that she come home with the others.

And on Saturday, as agreed, the six came to my house. I didn't understand at first why they wore scared expressions until Mina asked:

 “Do you really live here, Momo? This house is gigantic.”

The others nodded in agreement and I smiled.

“My parents are a bit exaggerated, most of the rooms I hardly ever go into. But anyway, let's go to the study hall”.

“Study hall?” Kaminari and Mina said in unison.

“Where else would we study?” I asked them to follow me.

We studied for a few hours, until my mother came in with a cart with tea and cookies. I arched a brow in surprise, but not too surprised, I knew how curious she was to meet my friends. I didn't have many friends at school before, and Mom was excited to hear that we were having visitors. There was only one problem. I looked at the cookies next to the tea – Mom was a terrible cook. And from the dubious appearance of those cookies, I'd say it was her doing.

“Well, what diligent students! Brought some cookies full of brain goodies,” she said.

Everyone introduced themselves and I tried to signal them not to eat the cookies, but it was too late. In the first bite I felt a characteristic taste of fish mixed with chocolate. I could see in my friends' eyes the desperation and the desire to spit them out.

 “Mother! The cookies taste like fish,” I said, trying not to sound either angry or sad, I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

“Maybe just a little bit, omega three is great for memory. I'm sure these cookies will help you to get good grades”.

“Really?” asked Kaminari. “Then I need to eat more!”

Kaminari stuffed three cookies into his mouth at once and I felt like throwing up right away. But he was firm and maintained his composure until he swallowed them. My mother laughed at his friendliness.

“I hope I'm blessed with good grades too, Momommy”. Mina also put another cookie in her mouth.

 “Momommy?” My mother asked, blushing.

“Yes. Because you’re Momo's mother”. Mina smiled, the way only she could smile. The smile of conquering adults with a screaming sympathy.

“Oh my god, this is perfect”. My mother blushed even more, I could see how excited she was to have her first nickname given by “children” and that warmed my heart. I even forced myself to eat another cookie.

We talked some more, Uraraka asked to go to the bathroom and one of the maids accompanied her. The others and I continued our studies and after half an hour I noticed that Uraraka was not coming back. I excused myself and went looking for her. I met the maid halfway there and said she let her go, Uraraka said she could come back on her own.

I scratched my chin. Probably Uraraka got lost, so I went in search of her.

Yes, the house was gigantic, but just as the Minotaur knew his own labyrinth, I knew every corner of that place. It didn't take long to find her, inside the smaller library. When she saw me, Uraraka flashed that kind, cute smile that made my heart flutter.

“I got lost! And I ended up in your library, it's huge! Have you read everything?”

“In this one, yes. From the other, I possibly need two lives”.

“From the other?” Uraraka pull a face. “I guess I'll have to marry you to be that rich”. She laughed softly and I blushed. Marry me?

Seeing that I didn't laugh, Uraraka was embarrassed.

“Sorry, Momo, it was a joke. I wouldn't marry you, not for money”.

“But would you marry if it was for love? Because I would”.

Uraraka's eyes widened slightly and blushed. My heart beat fast. She liked Midoriya, I was sure, it was clearer than water. But if she knew I was a lesbian wouldn't she start looking at me as an option after she got dumped? Midoriya was basically one of the straightest girls in the classroom.

“There you are”. I heard my mother's voice entering the library. “Others are worried that studies have been abandoned. And I brought a cake, but don't worry, I had the baker make this one”.

“You're a cutie, Momommy”.

“Stop it, you are! You’re even the cutest girl I've ever seen!”

Uraraka blushed and my mother guided us back to the hall. My heart was still beating fast.

****

Pov: Kaminari

Was it possible for a house to take up an entire block? Apparently it was. Because no matter which way I looked, I still saw the wall of Momo's house. The entrance gate was so big that if you laid it on the ground it would be the size of my house.

“I knew Momo was rich, but not that rich” I said to the others, everyone agreed with their jaws dropped.

When I rang the bell, it didn't take long for the gate to open by itself and on the other side of it a butler was waiting for us. A real butler, with neat clothes and classic old man style with a mustache and a goatee.

“She has a butler, Mina, a real butler,” I whispered to Mina beside me as he led us into the house. “I can't believe Mineta missed seeing this”.

Mineta didn't have bad grades, contrary to what everyone expected of him, and he still insisted on snubbing our stupidities because we needed reinforcement. But when I saw what was waiting for us at the door I knew he would regret having been an idiot, and regret it a lot, because what awaited us was four maids in a row, maids in maid clothes, little black dress and all. Was this a dream?

“Shut your mouth, you're almost drooling, idiot,” Jirou said to me. I think I really had my mouth open.

We started studying and after a few hours my brain didn't work anymore, even Momo's mother's terrible cookies didn't help to understand anything.

 “I can't take this anymore”. I hit my forehead on the table, Momo and Uraraka had left the hall, and the others were as desolate as I was, only Jirou seemed calm. OK she always seemed calm. I looked at her, how would she look dressing like a maid? With that closed face she was always making, I don't know, it would match very well. Maid outfits matched cute faces and big boobs like Uraraka or even Midoriya. Momo would also be a charm. I lowered my eyes, really, Jirou had almost no boobs, but on second thought, her outfit would look good on her...

“What are you staring at, idiot?”

Should I say I'd like to see her in maid's clothes? Nhe, I would definitely get hit.

“I can't stand studying anymore, my head is full. I'd better think of a way to cheat or give up  going camp.”

“How heroic to talk about cheat,” said Sero.

“If they catch you, you will be expelled,” completed Ojiro.

Jiro sighed.

“Didn't you pass the entrance exam?”

“I passed,” I replied on a grunt.

“Then you can pass these tests if you keep trying”. Jirou smiled at me, I felt my face get warm.  “If you miss the camp you will miss the girls in casual clothes and just think, even the possibility of some bathing in the lake, if they have one”.

The scene with the girls in the bikini room was enough to give me the courage to continue studying.

******

Pov: Kirishima

Even though I didn't go into a library much, I didn't expect to be kicked out of one when I did. Bakugo and I were studying, or at least trying to, but it didn't take long for him to get annoyed with some of my doubts and get carried away, talking loudly and cursing. The librarian asked for silence twice, the third time she asked us to leave. I sighed but didn't complain. In a way, Bakugo's way of teaching was encouraging, it made me feel that I would be able to learn with a little more effort and masculinity than he did.

We went to a cafe nearby, as it was a Saturday it was a little crowded, so they probably wouldn't complain about his noise. However, I was sincerely worried about one thing, it could even be a bit silly, but not totally impossible to happen: finding Midoriya. She and Bakugo lived nearby (after all, I went to him to study) and it was Saturday! What if she showed up for a date there? Today I wouldn't praise any girl that I couldn't see the face, or rather, I wouldn't praise any girl to Bakugo! We went there to study math, so why change the subject?

“I didn’t understand this part”. I pointed to one of the equations. Bakugo frowned at me.

 “How? This is the simplest fucking thing on the planet. You just have to do like this and then like this”. he was developing the equation in front of me and… nothing, I would still have to ask again. He huffed at how dumb I was and started again.

“Look, if it's not Bakugo”.Two boys approached us, Bakugo had his back to them, but apparently recognized the voice, because he rolled his eyes before turning to them.

“Speak up, you assholes”.

“Tsk, the same as always. We saw you at the U.A. School Championships, you were looking like a rabid dog getting the medal”.

“And bro, we saw Midoriya too, since when did she have that quirk? For a little she doesn't face you huh? Would you finally get beaten up by her? The big Bakugo getting beaten up by a useless girl?”

Bakugo got up so fast that I barely saw him, grabbed the boy by the collar and the boy dropped the soda he was carrying on the floor as he took his hands to his neck to try to get free.

 “And you're still a motherfucker who doesn't know when to shut the fuck up”.

The other placed his hand on Bakugo's arm, I remained seated, just watching with a smile on my face.

“Calm down, Bakugo. We were just surprised to see her in the same classroom as you. And even more in the championship. We know she wasn't going to defeat you”.

Hmmm, but that wasn't what had pissed off Bakugo, was it? Maybe not entirely.

“Get out of this fucking place we're occupied”.

Bakugo abruptly released the boy and turned to sit back down. But the boy had his pride hurt in public, he smirked at Bakugo.

“By the way, what's her number? She's pretty hot. Now that she's tired of standing behind, I'm going to set up a date with her. She always had the face of being easy”.

And so, we were also kicked out of the cafeteria.

The punch Bakugo landed in his face was so hard that I heard his nose break at the same moment. Spilling blood all over the floor. We were lucky that the second boy apologized for his friend and dragged him out without wanting to call the police.

Now we were sitting on a bench near a playground and continuing our class, but I couldn't stand it and said:

“It was pretty manly, man, defending Midoriya like that”.

“I didn't defend her, I just couldn't stand to hear his voice talking anymore”.

“I hope you never get tired of my voice then”. I laughed, accepting his lie so as not to irritate him.

“Don't be a jerk. Now you're gonna learn this shit we don't have our whole lives.”

“Yes sir!”

After we finished studying we had an ice cream and talked about the trip to I-Island. It was funny, when Bakugo didn't try to hide his feelings from others, he was a normal teenager, just like me, only angrier.

****

Pov: Shinsou

I spent the morning tidying up the apartment to make it as fragrant as possible, then I started making a special lunch: sushi. I rarely did it there alone, I preferred simpler and faster things, but today Midoriya would come to visit me, we would have lunch together and study, she was having difficulties in English – and I had no idea that the fourth place in the best classroom in the school would have difficulties in some subject.

She would be the first girl to visit me. In elementary school, sporadically, a colleague came to take advantage of the fact that I lived alone, but never specifically thinking about seeing me.

The doorbell rang and I stopped cooking to open the door.

Midoriya was again with that Faith no More shirt that I saw the screaming idiot had on (that time of the exhibition), a pair of sweatpants and her hair tied in a ponytail. Unlike our first date, she didn't wear any makeup and looked even prettier. She blushed at the sight of me.

 “You... in an apron! Can I take a picture of it?”

I pulled her by the waist to let her in and kissed her. Kissing her always warmed me.

“I'd rather not, or I risk having this photo leak when I'm a famous hero”.

“Fair enough,” she replied with a smile. “Aren't your parents home today?”

“I live alone,” I replied, heading towards the kitchen to continue preparing the hossomakis and nigiris. “They weren't very comfortable living with a person who can control minds”.

Midoriya stopped with a shocked expression, but I continued to cook. It didn't affect me anymore, it did a few years ago. A child at one time or another always plays a prank on parents with their quirk, but my parents didn't interpret that with love or patience, they were just scared of me.

“You don't have to come with your inspirational chatter, little thing. I'm already used to it.”

“Well, you shouldn't get used to things that hurt you”.

I let out a laugh in the form of a puff of air through my nose.

“Maybe you're right”. Finished assembling the sushi and started making our dishes.  “That shirt of yours, I ended up not asking the other time, but Faith no More is not your style”.

“True”. She sat on the kitchen counter, watching me make the food. “Mike Patton is Kacchan's favorite vocalist, he listened to everything from him, Fantomas, Tomahawk, Peepin Tom and a few others that I can't even remember the name of. These others I end up not listening to a lot, one song or another, but I ended up really liking Faith No More”.

“Liking Mike Patton, what an alternative. But who is this Kacchan?”

“Bakugo, the one you went to threaten in front of my room.”

“Oh”. I stopped setting up the dishes. She couldn't call me by name, but did she call that snob 'Kacchan'? “So you two are good friends?”

“We used to be. I've known him for as long as I've known myself, but we lost our friendship a while ago, well, you've seen what he's like”.

 “I saw”

I finished doing everything and called her to the table for us to eat. My mood hadn't gotten the best of that information. Midoriya was way too distracted when it came to reading others between the lines. Bakugo had gone after me in the library, they weren't just "friends no longer friends", but the less I said about it, the harder it would be for her to repair something, so I asked about things about classroom. And then we got to the subject of my training with Aizawa. I and he saw each other almost every weekend and sometimes after school. My body was always sore and he had started teaching me how to use his bandages.

“While your class goes to I-island he will continue to train me, but we will take a break from the camp period until back to school”.

“When I get back from camp we can train together”.

“We can, but I won't brainwash you, little thing.

Midoriya smiled, I knew she wanted that. Aizawa had reinforced several times that I shouldn't or would put her at risk, even though everyone didn't explain to me exactly why.

“Don't worry, Shinso. I wasn't going to ask you”.

“Hmm, you lie so badly”. I smiled back at her and Midoriya stuck out his tongue.

“The sushi is delicious!” She changed the subject.

“Thank you, what will I get for thanks?”

Midoriya turned red as a pepper. She was very easy to tease.

****

Pov: Tokoyami

It was turning into some kind of weekly ritual for my mom to go out with Midoriya's mom, which I thought was great, her mom had the same gentle “I don't care about silly things” presence as Midoriya herself. After all, they're both the only people I've ever met who haven't looked a second time – with that expression of surprise or curiosity – at my bird's head or my mother's face. Sometimes I asked my mother to drop me off at her apartment so we could talk or play video games, other times I preferred to just stay in mine. Today was one of those days I asked her to leave me there. It was a Sunday and I wanted to take the opportunity to see if Midoriya could clear up some grammar questions with me.

I found her training inside her room with the gym weights she owned. Sweaty, wearing only a top and shorts. She smiled when she saw me, she always did. She wasn't surprised to see me there again. Joy Division was playing on the speaker.

“Hey, Tokoyami. Were you bored today?”

“I came to ask for help”. I showed her the grammar book. “Listening to Joy Division?”

She finished the squat exercises and paused the music.

“Shinsou told me to listen, apparently he doesn't get over the fact that I like Faith no More, but honestly, I’m hating this”.

I threw myself on her bed and crossed my legs. She started doing a shoulder workout.

“I'm surprised you two manage to date, you have nothing in common”.

“We're not dating. We don't even have time for that, we're focused on our goals”.

“But if he asked would you accept?”

“Errrr, I didn't think about this”.

“Poor emo-boy, his heart will be broken for Japan's next #1 heroine. He will even be able to give an interview about it”.

“Auch, be quiet, birdie”. Midoriya threw one of the weights at me, but I stopped it with the dark shadow. “I don't intend to break anyone's heart, he knows what we have”.

“Uh-huh…” I rolled my eyes. “Will it take long, meathad? I have so many doubts that I don't know if there's time to get them out in a single lifetime”.

“Four exercises to go”.

As she said that, the doorbell rang again. We looked at each other. Midoriya went to the entrance door and when she returned Iida and Todoroki were with her.

“More people had the idea to ask questions today.” Midoriya pointed to the two. Already Iida pointed at me.

“Tokoyami, what freedom is this to lie in a lady's bed?”

I put on as serious a face as I could.

“What do you mean, President? I lie in this bed a lot more than you can imagine”.

Iida froze like a robot.

 “He's just making fun of you, Iida, keep calm”. Midoriya returned to her training, nothing in this world would stop her from finishing it. “But the birdie is getting really loose”.

“Birdie?” asked Todoroki, sitting on the desk chair. “And Iida calls you Bunny, am I the only one in the group that doesn't have an animal as a nickname?”

Midoriya blushed, sometimes wondering if she didn't have a crush on Todoroki, or just couldn't stand being around very beautiful people... Well, that explained why she was totally at ease around me (self-deprecating jokes, who never).

“Iida doesn't have one either,” I replied.

The doorbell rang again, Midoriya frowned and walked over. When she returned, Uraraka and Tsuyu were with her.

“Did you by any chance combine to come here?”

We all deny it. In addition to the arrangement between Todoroki and Iida, Tsuyu and Uraraka, the meeting of us all had been a coincidence created by the same will: to take advantage of Midoriya's intelligence.

“You were right Uraraka, it really is like Barbie married All Might”.

I laughed, I had never thought of it that way.

The room was cramped for everyone, after all, Midoriya lived in a small apartment in a simple complex. She finally finished her training and we all went to the classroom to study. Uraraka told how it was the day before at Momo's mansion and we also talked about the trip to I-Island. It was only after a while that the subject of animal nicknames came up again.

 “Mine is easy to solve,” Tsuyu said.

“Yes, frog!” replied Uraraka.

“And you, you look like a hamster, because you have big and fluffy cheeks” Tsuyu said, we all agree. She blushed.

“Iida would be a horse! Because he runs fast” Midoriya said.

“And it's straight as a horse kick,” I added.

“Nhonho, a little horse”. Midoriya scoffed, touching Iida's arm.

“I don't know if I liked it and stop, you're all sweaty!” Saying that, Midoriya laughed and tried to rub more sweat on Iida, he stretched to try to escape.

“Todoroki would be a cat” - Tsuyu continued. “Quiet, always watching”.

“And sometimes it seems like he's thinking about something, but he's just spacing out,” Uraraka said.

 “Todoroki, a kitten?” Midoriya blushed again.

We all laugh.

“Not a very good nickname for everyday life”. Todoroki blushed too?

“Oh, because ‘little horse’ it is”.

“Little horse is perfect for you. And I'll tell you why”.

Midoriya climbed onto Iida's back and we all laughed, after a few seconds he managed to knock her down on the couch.

She was a lot more shy when classes started, just like me and even Uraraka and Todoroki, but I think that was the essence of having friends, little by little losing the shame of being who we are.

***

The next day, I was already sitting at my desk when Iida walked in with Midoriya mounted on his back. Horseback riding.

"Has she been stuck there since yesterday?" Tsuyu asked.

“Imagine that Iida would let me up again if I hadn't showered”. Midoriya smiled.

“It's the least you had to do”.

I felt a murderous aura suddenly, Bakugo stared at us. It was surprising that Iida didn't just drop dead with that aura. Iida noticed too. I thought he would just ignore it, as we usually did. But I saw that same smile when Iida wanted to hit Mineta's cart appear on his face. He walked over to Midoriya's table – which was right behind Bakugo – and stopped in front of him. Everyone in the room was waiting for the show.

“Miss Midoriya has a bad habit of pestering me, could you help me get her off my back and put her in her own desk?”

“Oi? And what the FUCK do I have to do with that?” Bakugo growled.

“I'll take her off”. Todoroki sat behind me, even so he got up to walk towards the trio. Before Todoroki even reached out, Bakugo grabbed Midoriya by the waist and lifted her off Iida's back. Keeping her up.

“You think I can't get this shitty nerd off that four-eyed, half-and-half bastard?”

“How much swearing!” said Iida.

“I don't think you can do it without hurting her”.

“Actually, I was quite capable of going down alone”.  Midoriya was red and bothered to still be suspended in the air by Bakugo.

“Capable, eh?” Bakugo placed Midoriya on her own table and stretched out on top of her. “I don't know if you've started to understand using your Quirk, but you keep pissing me off, you fucking nerd”.

I crossed my arms watching the scene, it was taking a while for him to mention the fact that Midoriya had copied his moves in the race.

“In the final exams we will see who is better, I will not have the same meaningless result of the Sports Festival, I will annihilate you and show you how better and capable I am”. Bakugo pointed to Todoroki. “And the same goes for you asshole.”

The boy was shaking with rage. He turned to go back to his desk.

Aizawa entered the room and everyone returned to their seats.

Chapter Text

Of so many things that could happen in the final practice test, that was definitely the last one I could imagine: being a duo with Kacchan, against All Might! During the whole week we did the theoretical tests and I had no problems, but I certainly would have in this one. Well, it could only be a joke, right?

Fight against the teachers?

Fight against the greatest hero of all time?

 “Kacchan, we need to come up with an escape strategy.” I walked behind him. Since the test started he had only huffed and screamed in indignation at Aizawa and All Might himself.

“Leave me alone! And stop following me! Escape my ass, I'll wear him out until I beat him.” Kacchan finally turned to face me. He was pissed. That look always turned my stomach uncomfortably.

“Defeat him? You forgot it's All Might, we need to get away! Let's come up with a strategy and...”

Kacchan put his hand on my shoulders and pulled me close, he hit my forehead on his and I fell to the ground, it didn't hurt, but it took me by surprise.

“Shut the fuck up, girl! Weren't you the one who was so full of youserlf because copied my moves? And now only speaks about run way”

I widened my eyes at him.

“The only thing you do is shout out! I can never have a normal conversation with you!”

We faced each other, both angry, in our own way. I heard a strange sound of something breaking, and he heard it too, but we didn't have time to react, a gigantic air pressure passed through us, destroying the entire corridor of buildings in which we were. I had to hold on to the ground so I wouldn't be pushed along with the wreckage.

Amid the dust of the buildings the sounds of heavy footsteps echoed.

“You may think this would be a simple test, but you better start taking it seriously, because I'm a villain”. All Might appeared among the gray clouds, his brows furrowed and a half smile on his face. He was a terrifying villain, how would we defeat him? Kacchan didn't see reality because he was too proud. I took Kacchan's hand and pulled him to me.

“Let's go now!”

“Stop giving me orders! A hero always wins”.

All Might lunged towards us. Kacchan grabbed my hand and threw me to the side, All Might grabbed him by the head and instead of protecting himself, Kacchan launched several explosions in his face. As you might imagine, nothing worked. All Might slammed him into the ground. Only one of us had to go through the gate for us to win.

A hero always wins. My heart sank, it was the usual Kacchan, the one that was inspired, just like me, by All Might. Who said that no matter the situation, All Might always won.

I finally got up.

Kacchan, you blockhead.

The race had two conditions to win: defeat or go to the exit. If we escaped together we would also have a victory. Taking the best path was not losing, but he had always been like that: headstrong.

All Might stared at me:

“Are you going to run away?”  He asked.

“I aim. But not without this idiot”. I pointed to Kacchan, still lying under All Might's foot.

All Might smiled, not a villainous smile, it was the smile he gave me when he was satisfied. He came towards me so fast that I didn't even have time to react, I just dodged his punch, but the air pressure pushed me to the side, causing me to hit a lamp post. All Might ripped off the same post and wrapped it around my waist, trapping my arms together. I fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Kacchan tried to attack and was punched so hard in the stomach that he vomited. As he stood up, he glared at me fiercely.

“I don't need your help, Deku, I'd rather lose than have to be rescued by you”.

Auch. Lose? Kacchan would rather LOSE than work as a team with me? I felt so angry that I activated the OFA and released the lamp post from me, All Might was about to attack Kacchan again but I was the one who punched him in the face. He fell immediately and I pulled Kacchan by the waist, walking away.

Only when I managed to get far enough away, alone in an alley, did I throw him to the ground. I could have just walked away to the exit and left him there, ignoring him for the amount of shit he always told me. But I picked him up by the shirt and held him to the wall. I hadn't stopped using my Quirk at any time since I got him out of there.

“You know, Kacchan, I don't care anymore that you hate me. You can hate me if you want, you can whimper around that I used your moves, you can call me worthless, nerdy shit, and whatever other idiocy you can think of. But if you talk one more time about giving up, I'll never look at your face again. Because this is not the Katsuki I know, not the boy who said he would never give up. If you don't feel like telling me why you'd rather lose than get my help, cool, I don't want to know either, We should've gone our separate ways 3 years ago as I should have done 3 years ago when you started being an asshole. But now let's finish this proof by going to the exit door. Let's win this way. Do you understand me, Kacchan?”

As I spoke, I brought our faces closer, I only noticed how angry I was when my nose touched his and her reddened eyes filled all my vision. He hadn't moved, but then he took my hand. His face was red with anger, but he averted his eyes.

“Tsk, what's your plan?”

I smiled.

            ***

I waited for Kacchan to give the signal for me to attack, he took All Might from behind and as soon as I heard my name – or rather “Deku” – I attacked him too. We decided, together, to do a lot of damage as we continued to try to escape. He had finally understood that going through the gate was a victory. In my left arm I felt the weight of the grenade. Yeah, it was surreal to think he'd let me use it. It smelled like Kacchan, after all, it was his sweat accumulated there that caused the explosions. I brought it up to my nose to sniff, damn, that grenade was really cool.

I threw such a big blast at All Might that I felt my shoulder crack, I was almost thrown backwards. Was this what Kacchan put up with every time he used it? It was too cool!

 “Come on, idiot, run!” Kacchan yelled at me, I had unfocused my attention. In a snap I followed his speed and we started towards the exit.

“Kachaan, your grenade is so cool,” I said. I know, I'd just told him that each one would go to their own way, but wasn't his collaborating a good sign? Kacchan didn't answer me, just continued on his way. “All Might is not following us, did he pass out?”

“Don't be an idiot,” he said.  “He must be planning something, when he attacks us you go ahead, and I hold him”.

I was about to reply that I wouldn't leave him alone when All Might appeared between us:

“Hold me? Tell me more about it”.

Kacchan turned to launch a blast at him, but All Might broke the grenade in his arm, then broke mine. And in the blink of an eye, he took me by the arm and used me to hit Kacchan. Everything in my body hurt. Damn, was All Might supposed to be pushing that hard on a test?

All Might was about to do it again when Kacchan grabbed me by the waist.

“Let her go, you bastard”.

I felt like a doll being stretched by the arm while Kacchan refused to let go of me, well, if he wanted to, All Might would have ripped me in two right there. And I knew Kacchan didn't want to lose (nor did I), but he held me so tightly it almost made it seem like whoever held me the most would win the test.

Kacchan slipped one of his arms under my armpit – while the other hand was still squeezing my waist – and he shouted once more to All Might:

“The armbands only serve to make me hurt less!”

A gigantic explosion erupted from Kacchan's palm. There, watching so close, I could see his arm twitch in pain, and the sound of the explosion echoed in my brain.

 “I'll throw you”. He lifted me by the waist with the hand that was already holding me and used an explosion to launch me towards the gate. I didn't even have time to say I didn't want that, but now, the gate was so close that there was no point in complaining.

I heard another explosion and then a thud, I looked back, Kacchan was unconscious as All Might smashed his head to the ground.

Sorry Kacchan, I will never leave you behind.

I activated OFA, felt my limit go up from 5% to 7% and punched All Might so hard he fell to the side.

How did I know my limit had gone up? Well, I couldn't explain it, but I just knew it from the force that had coursed through my body. My desire to save Kacchan was so strong that the limit increased. There were no other students there, Kacchan was unconscious. I picked him up on my lap and floated out of there.

The gate beeped our victory as I passed it. I fall to the floor exhausted.

***

We were in the temporary exam ward, Kacchan was unconscious, my whole body hurt (especially my spine), after all, All Might used me to hit someone else. He apologized several times and Recovery Girl scolded him for not holding back. She also said that Kacchan would be unconscious for a while from the blow to the head. Recovery Girl said that I could stay there watching the end of the other fights, instead of lying down, I replied that I would go in a little while.

They left us alone – me and Kacchan – and I stared at him unconscious. I knew All Might wouldn't kill him, but when I saw him passed out I felt an anger towards All Might that I never felt before. Now the feeling was gone and I just wanted to look at Kacchan for a few minutes breathing, to make sure he was okay. I got off my bed and sat on his bed. I laid my head on his chest, it went down and up with the breath. I felt calm.

I had said, didn't I? Go on separate ways. The thing was, before I had hope. After all, we were inseparable for 12 years, and during this period we didn't have see each other only for a few days – we always studied together and on weekends we went out to play. And I've spent the last three years hoping he'd forgive me for not having a Quirk, for being too weak to be by his side. It was just the dream of a child that every day got further away. I took a deep breath holding back the tears, it was time to give the distance he wanted so much.

I got up and went to watch the rest of the class.

            ***

Floating at the sunrise was one of the most pleasant things left in my life. That's what sometimes gave me hope that I could ever have Kotaro back, my life back.

I heard the sound of air jets and looked to the side, how did Sorahiko always find me? If he had not been my wedding's best man, I would say he was in love with me, so much that he doesn’t go out my hair. Besides, I would find impossible to him fall in love with someone, always being so focused on finding his ex.

"Don't you think it's a little early to chat, Sorahiko? You know my mood is terrible before breakfast”. I landed in a building and so he did it.

“That's why I brought you that”. He took a taiyaki wrapped in his pocket. It was green tea, my favorite. The last time we saw each other, we discussed ugly, he did not agree with my decision to leave Kotaro with a foster family. But it was I who saw my husband destroyed by a building, and it was my son who was at the same risk.

 “If this is an attempt at reconciliation, it's off to a good start”. I sat on the edge of the building and started to unwrap the taiyaki, it was still warm. “Anything new in your search?”

Sorahiko, known to the public as Gran Torino, had taken the hero license solely to use his Quirk for his own benefit: finding his runaway ex. He'd never gotten into the details with me, so I never knew if it was something like revenge or a "for God's sake, come back with me." But that "solely" thing was a fake story that he told others: he saved people a lot and I'll say more, he enjoys save everyone!

Gran Torino shrugged his shoulders to say that he had no news about her.

“What about the teenager?” he asked.

I sighed, putting a large piece of the pancake in my mouth.

“Still breathing down my neck. He believes that Japan needs a symbol of peace for all this chaos to subside.” I pointed to the city that was dawning in front of us. “The boy has courage, I won't deny, wanting to be the symbol of peace without having a quirk”.

 “And are you going to train him?” He asked.

"I'll do more than that, Sorahiko."

He knew what I was talking about, I would pass One for All to that teenager, Toshinori.

"I'll help you train him, Nana, although I don't have patience with children."

"I'm sure he will be haunted with your teachings."

We laughed together.

I hit my forehead on something. I opened my eyes, it was the ceiling.

I went straight to the ground, falling with a thud. Lucky, Mom wasn't home, or she would have been scared to death by the noise.

Once again I relived the memories of the former user, Nana. But this time I didn't need the brainwashing, did it have to do with the fact that I was starting to control the “float”? Because on the day of the test it was the first time I was able to float without feeling sick.

I rubbed my temples, that was too much information. I ran to write down in a notebook:

- Gran Torino name: Sorahiko

- Gran Torino was looking for his ex?

- Nana left her son for adoption?

I stared at the notebook, it all had happened before she even started training All Might, I felt strange and a little invasive to see her memories, but I wanted to talk to Gran Torino about it, the only problem: the old man didn't have cellphone.

I looked at my little suitcase made by the bed, it was our first day of vacation and that afternoon we would take a plane to I-Island. My mother went to work early, so we said goodbye last night. If I took the train I would have time to go to Gran Torino and then meet everyone. So I got up quickly, changed and left.

If I lost the plane Aizawa and All Might would kill me, then several times I looked at the cellphone to see the time. When I arrived at the old building I did my internship, I started to question myself. Was Gran Torino there always?

I knocked on the door a few times, apparently not.

How stupid I was!

I looked around to make sure there was no one and floated up to the top of the building.

“So it's true that now you can float”.

My heart sped up at the start of Gran Torino's voice behind me.

“Sorahiko!” I said, he widened his eyes. My voice sounded like Nana's, and I called him by name. How embarrassing!

After a few elated moments, I explained the two visions I had. Gran Torino sat on the edge of the building, as in Nana's memory. Before I saw him as a normal old man, now, I knew how he was younger, I thought “wow, how he aged”, which was strange, those memories weren't mine. Would I go crazy?

“I came here because I want to know more about Nana, how she died and what happened to her son.”

 “Nana was killed by the AFO, it's not something worth remembering, and about her son, over the years I lost contact with the family that adopted him, I passed all the information to Toshinori to try to locate him. We don't want you to get involved in this, girl”. Sorahiko sighed, seemed tired of remembering Nana, he leaned his head on the walking stick. “When I said you looked like her, I didn't think it would be that much. But girl, don't cling to her memories, you're not her”.

I felt a pang inside me, how was Gran Torino so accurate? That's why I went there, her feelings started to mix with mine. Would Kotaro be okay? It was the mantra that got me there. But Kotaro was not my son. What would change if I knew if he was alive?

My throat felt tight, but I managed to say:

“What if I go crazy. Gran Torino? I feel like it was my husband he killed. I feel the desire for revenge burn inside me. What about the other users, what if I start to feel their pain too?”

Gran Torino stood up and tapped my head with his walking stick.

“Don't lose sight of who you are. Even if everyone invades your head. I believe that One For All is revealing you these memories exclusively to show you the way to defeat All For One. You’re All Might's student Izuku Midoriya, never forget that. Your pains are yours, your desires are yours. Interpret the past as a lesson, not an obligation. Nana is dead. You’re alive.

I nodded.

Izuku Midoriya.

All Might’s student.

I wasn't Nana, I didn't have a child or a dead husband.

“And I told All Might, but I better tell you too, of the old predecessors I only heard Nana talk about two, the sixth and the fifth. Both were killed by the AFO. The sixth was Nana's teacher, his name was En, I never met him, but she said he was the quiet type, his quirk was Smokescreen. The fifth, was En's colleague, Daigoro Banjo, the quirk was the Black Whip”.

I swallowed, were they both killed by the AFO? And could I use their Quirks? I was already happy with the two I had. My body could barely handle One For All... Gran Torino seemed to see my concern.

“Remember, you’re Izuku Midoriya. The crybaby girl with a name that makes it sound like a boy. The girl who will miss her plane if she stays here listening to this old man's stories”.

I looked at the clock and got surprised! I would really miss the plane if I didn't get out of there now! I started floating out of the building with my suitcase.

“Thank you, Gran Torino, for everything”. I was about to leave when I remembered one more thing. I looked at him again. “And after all, did you find your ex?”

Gran Torino smiled.

“That’s none of your business, Izuku Midoriya”

Chapter Text

Pov: All Might

One day Aizawa told me that young Midoriya's rivalry with young Bakugo was unhealthy. And there were times I agreed, and there were times I didn't. When I saw her with his grenade in her arm, that was one of the ones I thought not. Then when he held her so tightly it felt like I really was a villain.

But they cursed and yelled at each other a lot. Midoriya desperately wanted his acceptance, and he... I still hadn't figured out exactly what he wanted from her, but one thing I was sure of, every move the young Bakugo made was millimetrically designed to pull her away from me or any attack that hurt her. He was overprotective, but only with her, because with himself young Bakugo was reckless and inconsequential to achieve victory, hurting his own arm, using his own body as bait for her to flee. I knocked him out before he hurt himself even more.

I wonder, in the role of her mentor, how could I help them understand each other, I think I would start by putting them in neighboring seats on the plane to I-Island, and maybe neighboring rooms? Each pair of students would have 1 room, would Aizawa let me put both in the same room? It wasn't very ethical, was it? A girl and a boy sleeping in the same room. Yeah, I definitely wouldn't let that happen to young Midoriya... Had she already slept at Shinsou's house? I needed to talk to her about the importance of not doing that, I never thought what these teenagers could do to a distracted young woman like her.

***

We were all at the airport. Almost all. Where was young Midoriya?

My cell phone rang, I felt a shiver run down my spine when I saw that it was Gran Torino.

“Hello, sensei?” I said, pulling away from the rest of the class.

“I believe the girl will arrive there shortly. She came to me, Toshinori, dreamed about Nana again, she knows about her son”. Gran Torino paused. “She was unstable, Toshinori, she came here looking for information, keep an eye on her. Don't let her lose sight of who she really is. And watch out if she shows signs of using the other Quirks. Don't forget, she's just a kid. As you were when we met”.

Had Midoriya gone looking for Gran Torino? Had she dreamed of Nana again? Could it be that even with our warnings she asked Shinsou to brainwash her?

I exchanged a few words over the phone and returned with the class, everyone wondering where she was. Young Midoriya arrived just in time for us to board, she glared at me and I glared back. She smiled at me and for a moment I remembered all the times Nana smiles when I worried.

I smiled back.

*********

Pov: Shigaraki

Why do that girl's face piss me off so much? The dark green wavy hair, the big green eyes, the freckles, the determined look on her face. She made me want to throw up, but at the same time she reminded me of someone, churning inside my stomach, that must be why I was looking at her picture for almost 1 hour. It wasn't just the fact that she was All Might's successor and displeased me that time we attacked training, there was more to it. I needed to talk to her, understand why she annoyed me so much.

Blackmist was cleaning the glasses next to me, he was the one who handed me the photo, he was the one who said we needed to focus on eliminating her before All Might finished her training.

Someone knocked on the door, it was the agent of villains – whose name I didn't even remember – and two other strangers. I kept the girl's photo in my pocket and faced them with boredom, after all, that's what I felt for so long closed in that bar.

One of the strangers was a high school girl, she must have been about the same age as the girl in the photo, but she looked crazy. The other was an young adult like me, his body covered in burns and patches. The agent introduced them, she a serial killer, he with no crimes worth mentioning. What she was saying didn't make sense and the guy was ill-mannered. Was it what I would have to put up with to achieve my goals? Blackmist said I would need to accept them, but I left them alone in the bar to think calmly about all that.

As I walked down the hall I took the photo back out of my pocket. When could I see her?

**********

Pov: Aizawa

Conversations began excitedly inside the room that morning, it was the first day after the exam and the last day of class before the four-day trip the class would make to the I-island. I still had my doubts that All Might would manage to take care of the whole 1-A students by himself, but it was the agreement we made with the Director so that I could get everything ready for the seven-day camp.

My doubts about it increased even more when he arrived awkwardly beside me and asked for Midoriya's seat on the plane to be next to Bakugou. What did he expect would happen? That the two of them would sit next to each other on the plane for a few hours and come out best friends? If it was that easy it would have happened already, they sat one behind the other in the classroom. But I just kept silent and let him change the places of the seats as he thought was best.

I opened the door of the room saying:

“When the bell rings you should already be seated!”

I saw students running to their seats. I explained that everyone would go to the I-island Expo and then they would also go to the camp, even though some of them had failed in the practical test, none got 0 in the theoretical test, and that in the Camp the studies would continue even harder for those who failed.

***

The next day the school was empty, the holidays had started, I accompanied the students to the airport and said goodbye to them with a feeling of discomfort, but I would have to trust All Might, after I saw them boarding I went back to school. Shinsou was already waiting for me there.

The boy had dedication and one of the strongest psychic Quirks I had ever seen, but he still lacked a lot of battle technique.

“Has 1-A already embarked for the exhibition on the island?” He asked me as soon as we greeted each other.

“Yes, and your girlfriend almost made everyone miss the plane” I replied, I knew he was asking from the students exclusively to find out about Midoriya. He nodded silently and headed towards the arena we used for training. I usually wasn't interested in students' personal affairs, but this morning Shinsou was particularly apathetic. "Didn't she say goodbye to you?"

“She did” he replied.

“So what happened?” I asked impatiently, feeling really old for those dramas.

“Tsk, I'm just thinking about that idiot traveling with her”.

Okay, dealing with teenage jealousy was beyond my patience limit for a friendly conversation.

“You'll have to think about it another time, now we'll focus on training. I still need to take care of camp things”.

Shinsou nodded. If he felt that way just knowing that Midoriya was going to travel with Bakugou, imagine if he knew All Might's plans to turn them into best friends again.

****

Pov: Kirishima           

What a situation.

I think my shoulder would hurt from carrying that weight all the way to I-island. On my right side sat Bakugou, on the left Midoriya. At first she was supposed to sit in the middle, but she looked at me with those big pleading eyes and asked me to switch places with her. How could I deny a lady's request?

I didn't know what had happened at their final exam, but I did know one thing: the situation had gotten worse. Bakugou was always complaining when she was near, and Midoriya did her best to ignore his existence. Not the “ignoring” from before, that she always found a way to talk. She had distanced, pretended he was invisible. The Midoriya from before the test wouldn't have asked to switch places with me.

I scratched the back of my neck, feeling the tension between the two of them thick. Who had distributed the seats on the plane? I knew I was a little dumb, but not to the point of putting those two sitting together. It must have been a bad coincidence.

Midoriya opened a flyer about the Expo we were going to visit on I-island and I stretched to see it too. She took that as an opening to start babbling about the fact that the island was a research center for Quirks and support equipment, that it was super safe and etc etc, meanwhile I felt Bakugou's aura burning behind me.

“They asked us to bring a formal outfit, is there going to be a ball?” I asked.

“Yea! A closing party on the second day of Expo. We might even have to dance! I'm looking forward to it.”

From what I saw at the Sports Festival, Midoriya likes to dance.

“Dancing as a couple? Urg, I totally pass”.

Midoriya laughed.

“I can teach you how to dance, Kirishima”.

I broke out in a cold sweat imagining myself exploding just touching her to dance. I gave a humorless laugh to cover it up. Never that I would be a grass cutter. Never.

“Nope. But I appreciate the invitation”.Maybe I was about to make the riskiest move of my entire life. “Dance with Bakugou, he looks like he needs to learn to dance”.

“Huh?” Bakugou turned to me, he was listening to the conversation from the beginning. Finally the two had faced each other. But it didn't last long, sulking, each turned his face in the opposite direction. "Fuck you with that dance talk."

“I already taught Kacchan to dance, I don't need to do it again”. Midoriya crossed her arms, still looking in the opposite direction.

I sighed.

It would be a long trip.

*************

Pov: Uraraka

I couldn't believe it, the place was fantastic! With colorful buildings, flying transport, technologies everywhere. Famous heroes passing by here and there. People arriving for the Expo smiling with their families!

It would be four days of fun and learning.

We arrived close to lunchtime, on that first day we were free to explore the Island, on the second and third days we would be attending lectures and walking around the exhibition learning as much as possible – we would even have to write an essay about it. On the night of the third day we would have a gala to close the event! And after lunch on the fourth day we would leave.

I would share a room with Midoriya, how could I not be happier than that? Three nights sleeping in the same room as her! Would she agree to dance a song with me at the ball?

“Here you can use your Quirk freely, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be used with parsimony, especially the Quirks that are kinda… destructive” said All Might.  “Now you are released to walk around the island. Keep your wits about you, okay?. We met in the evening for dinner at the hotel”.

All Might handed hotel cards to each of us. Would we be totally free to do whatever we want? I had doubts that if Aizawa was with us we would have so much freedom like that.

“But what time for dinner?” asked Iida.

"Whenever you feel hungry," replied All Might, with his smile on his face.

“This is so relative!” said Iida again. “Each person feels hungry at one time”.

“Err”. All Might started to think. “About 7pm, maybe?”    

“You have to decide, All Might”. Iida was about to collapse for not receiving clear and objective orders.

“At 7 pm in the hotel’s dining room. See you there”. All Might signaled for the class to disperse and so most of them did. I started walking with Midoriya, Iida and Todoroki towards a direction that looked attractive when All Might approached again.

“Actually, I'm sorry, but Midoriya, you need to come with me to fill out some paperwork that was missing because you were late at the airport”.

Midoriya agreed and followed All Might, not even any paperwork he was carrying.

I sighed, I would have to enjoy the time with her in the periods when All Might didn't drag her up and down.

“Do they have an affair?” Mineta approached our group, he is one of those who had not dispersed.

"Don't be an idiot, Mineta, Midoriya was late at the airport," replied Iida.

Me and Todoroki looked at each other, we wanted the same thing, a little more time with her. And we were always disturbed by either the smiling All Might or the angry Bakugou. Iida opened the map of the Island in front of us, when did he get that?

Chapter Text

Hello my dearest reader,
As some of you might think, I vanished into thin air. Well, there was no big problem besides a lot of work in my awful job (since November my boss has been trying to make my life a true hell, and he accomplished it). So usually I'm so tired that there's no room left in my mind to think in english.

Anyway, I was not feeling confortable with my english after a tiny shitty reader said my fanfic looked poorly translated (but the "thing" didn't tell what was so terrible about the writing). And another big deal hit me: I was totally bored with Boku no Hero Academia and having the "obligation" to write such a HUGE project as rewriting the entire story drained my energy.

Now, being sincerely honest, I'm not so happy with the idea of going back to writing about BNHA, so I've decided that I'll switch between stories on a monthly schedule (because I want to focus on one project at a time), this way I won't abandon my readers who come here for the girly Deku, and I won't lose my temper. The next montly schedule:

March: finish the "Tea, please" - fanfic +18 about Attack on Titan with Levi (it's a "sequel" to the manga)
April: Go on with "A Girl can be the number 1 Hero", I'll try to advance as much as I can in the story, obviously without losing quality.
May-June: Totally focused on a fanfic about Hogwarts Legacy. I'm addicted to these characters, but didn't like very much how the plot was made, so I want to rewrite it as a book full of mistery and a totally gray and tormented female protagonist. (It won't be a +18 story because I don't write smut with teenagers )
July: Continue with "A Girl can be the number 1 Hero"

Well, that's it. I'm not going to do such a long schedule because I don't know when "A Girl can be the number 1 hero" will finish. But this was the way I found of not letting readers down. Beautifil and cute readers who are so fucking patient with me and my disappearances.

Anyway, I will continue to improve my english and revise the chapters of both already published fanfics. I beg you, if you see something strange in the writings, let me know. Like "we don't say in that way in english" will help a lot. Portuguese is very different and I don't use the language in my daily life, so sometimes I get really confused.

Chapter Text

1st Day Travel

Pov: Midoriya

It was rare to see All Might so excited. I know, every time he was in that muscular version he was more excited to the others, but it was just that hero facade for the population. Now that I was getting to know him better, and moreover, living with his taciturn version, I knew how to identify: he really was excited. Stopping to take pictures, sign autographs while talking about an old friend from the time he lived in the United States of America that I would soon meet.

It was also the first time I saw him talking about a friend, the teachers were co-workers, Gran Torino, ex-master. But friend? To hang out and have fun? Definitely the first. I was just as excited to meet him as All Might was to introduce him.

While waiting for All Might to sign his autographs, looking at the details around us, the I-island was somehow a floating absurdity, to think that every piece of it was artificial. Not to mention the technology there, a technology not seen in other countries, like floating capsules to transport people and robots doing all kinds of things, from sweeping floors to serving drinks. It was a paradise of inventions, it seemed that everything would be possible there.

All Might managed to escape the crowd and we went through a large and flowery garden with a small square in the center. Some robots watered the grass. I heard a “toc-toc-toc” and looked to the side, someone was approaching on top of a pogo stick, but the part that was touching the ground slipped on the wet grass and the person went straight to the ground. Well, she would have gone to the ground if I hadn't floated up and caught her by the back of her shirt in the air.

“Are you okay?” I asked, it was a teenager, maybe a little older than me. I landed on the ground and placed her gently on the grass.

"That was close, thanks for picking me up!" The girl stood up, she was almost two feet taller than me, she had long blonde hair, blue eyes and wore light framed glasses. I felt embarrassed right away, she was so beautiful! She looked past me. “Uncle Might!!”

She ran towards him, All Might lifted her by the waist and whirled her around in a hug. Uncle? Did All Might have siblings? I had never heard of it, but they were both blonde, so it could be, right? Besides, he spun her around and hugged her with such affection. We'd known each other for almost a year and we'd never shown that level of affection, maybe she really was his niece. All Might placed her on the ground and brought her closer to me.

“Midoriya, this is Melissa, my friend's daughter”.

“But All Might is almost like family”. Melissa hugged him around the waist, but soon let go and stretched out her hand to me. “Nice to meet you, Midoriya, I'm happy to know that my savior will also be part of the family”.

I froze as I reached out to shake her hand. Hey, part of the family? Melissa smirked playfully as she reached out just enough to reach for my greeting.

“I know about you. But I didn't know that you also floated”.

She shook my hand excitedly. Did she know about me? Does that mean she knew about One For All? All Might patted us on the back.

“That's new to us too, but she shouldn't use it openly”. All Might looked at me as if he were scolding me. I bowed my head apologetically, I knew I couldn't Float in places my classmates could see, but it was an easy Quirk to manipulate – once I stopped getting nauseous – and my body ended up reacting to it before I even could think. The dreams I had about Nana helped me to think of the Float as something I had before. “Now, come on Melissa, take us to your father, I'm looking forward to seeing him.”

“So is he, Uncle Might!”

Melissa took us to the research buildings, the whole way I listened to her tell how she and her father had spent the last few years on the island since the last time the three of them saw each other. It was a curious feeling to know that All Might had a whole life that I didn't know, a life that was never even mentioned in the media, a dead master, a hero master, an archenemy, a best friend. But why did I think it was a curious sensation? Wouldn't that be normal? I looked at All Might and my eyes deceived me, he was so young, he was just a teenager with a bit of body. I came to a screeching halt with a queasy stomach, blinked and All Might was back to being the muscled hero I've always known.

“Are you okay, Young Midoriya?” he asked, Melissa also looked worried.

“I am, Toshinori”.

The muscles in my body tensed, All Might frowned, did I call him by his last name? We stared at each other for a few seconds and continued on our way as if nothing had happened.

******

Pov: All Might

The trip kept bringing up old memories, after all, it was to escape the AFO that I went to spend a few years in the USA.

Nana had died in early July, coincidentally a few days after Midoriya had used the Quirk Float for the first time. I was a third year student at U.A and I remember that if it weren't for the encouragement from Gran Torino I would probably be dead. Nana was not only my teacher, I loved her like a mother. I didn't have a mother before I met her, I was abandoned at the orphanage for being born without a Quirk in difficult times in Japan – at least that's what I always believed. Nana was the first person to reach out to a person like me and from the age of 12 to 18 she took care of me, guided me to achieve my dream of being the Symbol of Peace.

And when AFO killed her and Gran Torino dragged me away from her so I wouldn't be killed, all I thought about was revenge. I, in my naivety of an 18 year old high schooler, just wanted an escape from the overwhelming pain of losing her. But Gran Torino knew I would meet the same fate if I stayed in Japan, so when I graduated the following spring I fled to another country to complete my training.

Now, so many years later, I saw myself once again immersed in the memories of my 18 years and every time I saw Midoriya floating my heart tightened with joy and sadness due to the resemblance to the woman I considered my mother.

Young Midoriya pronounced “Toshinori” the same way Nana did, did fate pull strings and maybe she was a reincarnation of Nana? And was it also the work of fate finds each other?

Melissa opened the elevator door inside the research building and led us down a hallway, with all the traveling and walking time my body was starting to feel tired, wanting to give up on staying in my muscular shape. I coughed a few times and every time Midoriya gave me a worried look.

As soon as we entered the laboratory I saw David Shield, my best friend, bent over his calculations, he turned towards the noise of the door and at the same moment he opened a huge smile. We hugged and when I was about to introduce him to Midoriya, the young woman simply freaked out because she knew who he was, and that he was responsible for developing all my costumes.

I coughed again, not to interrupt her, but because my every-second time limit was painfully charging my body, but Young Midoriya stopped talking and started apologizing.

“Melissa, why don't you take Midoriya to see the Exhibition's preview?”

“Of course, Dad”.

Melissa and Midoriya left the room, I finally let my body revert to its decaying form. Melissa knew about One for All, but she didn't know about my decline, I didn't want to make her upset and worried.

David sighed.

“It's worse than I thought”. – Since my fight with the AFO that left me in that state, I had never seen him again. “Is that your successor? She is so small”.

“She's still a child, David. She has a lot of potential within her”.

David frowned, distrusting my words, it would be impossible to explain just in words how Midoriya was, inevitably he would see.

After his insistence, I agreed to be evaluated by his machines, but obviously the report wasn't good, in addition to all the sequels from previous fights, the remnants of One For All slowly disappeared from my body – probably as Midoriya's strength grew.

“If the Council hadn't confiscated my creation… You wouldn't have lost this battle.”

David had created a device that could maximize a person's quirk without the use of drugs, the International Support Council believed that it was unethical and could cause many problems for society, so they confiscated the invention. I agreed that something like that could get trouble.

“Things happened the way they were supposed to happen. Now we need to do our best for Midoriya to achieve what I couldn't.”

“Sam came up with the idea of stealing him from the board,” David continued, ignoring my line. I sighed.

“You would be arrested. And it's no use anymore, this device won't increase a force that no longer belongs to me.”

“Yes”. David sighed. “I denied that, but for a few seconds the idea seemed so tempting.”

“Evil sometimes seems tempting, which is why so many people turn into villains, David.”

***

Pov: Midoriya

Up and down. Up and down.

Melissa and I had climbed on her pogo stick, well, she had climbed, I was piggybacking on her back, every time the pogo went up I activated the float and then deactivated it to make it fall to the ground. Melissa had said my Quirk was perfect for testing the super-tough springs she'd created. And really, we were going super high and back. Melissa had such a nice laugh to listen to that I ended up laughing along with her.

We only stopped when we arrived at a large space where they opened for the Expo preview, a small demonstration of all the equipment that would be presented in two days of the fair.

Melissa was pointing out the objectives and explaining every little detail, I avidly listened, it was all very interesting! So many hair-raising innovations! It was a pity that from the time it left the research and reached the heroes it was still a time-consuming and bureaucratic process. She put a helmet on my head and I wasn't there anymore, I was at a crime scene. A scene rereading device for the police to use, with 360° scanning and annotation additions. I started walking when I bumped into something soft. I took off my helmet in embarrassment. A short, chubby man was standing next to me.

Sam, this is Midoriya, one of All Might's students. And Midoriya, this is Sam, one of my dad's helpers.”

“All Might student, huh? Then he really came.”

I smiled and nodded in agreement, even though I couldn't say that the man was overjoyed with the information.

“He's with Dad now, if you want to see him.”

Sam smiled at Melissa.

“Thank you, Melissa, I will.”

After Sam said goodbye, the two of us continued on our way, we continued on the pogo stick and she stopped at an arena that ran a competition for the public: who made the best time in the destruction of robots. Coincidentally the whole class was there, only they were on the other side of the arena and the only thing I did was wave away. Inside the arena Kacchan was getting ready, our eyes met and I turned away right after. I was still trying to avoid him. Melissa seemed to notice.

“Hmm, I'm not a big fan of younger boys, but he is really a charm”.

“Oh sure, just wait for him to open his mouth,” I replied, a little too disgusted. Melissa smirked.

The presenter triggered the alarm and Kacchan started to destroy the robots, it only took 40 seconds. I watched from the corner of my eye because I didn't want him to think I was there to watch him, Melissa wanted to watch.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we simply have the best time! Will anyone be able to beat it?” shouted the presenter.

"Hey, she wants to try," Melissa yelled, lifting my hand, my face instantly reddening, Kacchan glared at me. Melissa brought her mouth close to my ear and whispered. “Come on, show me you can replace Uncle Might.”

I looked at her firmly, I would show.

I jumped into the arena with the scream of the people in the room, I passed by Kacchan:

“Made new friends, huh? You can tell her I'm better than you, you fucking nerd.”

"Did you happen to be interested?" Go there and speak yourself” I replied, again a little more excited than I would have liked. He half-opened his mouth to say something, but the presenter asked him to leave so that my turn could begin, the robots were already prepared. The alarm went off and within 45 seconds I had defeated them all. I hesitated on one of the robots and that's what made me lose, for once the overthinking always got in my way.

I returned to Melissa's side with a sigh.

“Sorry, in the end Kacchan was better.”

Melissa hugged me:

“You were amazing. And you didn't even want to float, if you wanted to you would have won by much more!”

Again I was red with embarrassment. I started to stutter a thank you, but I didn't know if I deserved it. The presenter released another last-minute participant: Todoroki. He froze the entire arena in exactly 30 seconds.

“What's his name? Is it from his class?” Melissa asked excitedly, her eyes sparkling. Truly, Todoroki was impressive, there was no denying that.

“It's from my class, Shoto Todoroki, he has two Quirks, fire and ice”.

“He’s wonderful!”

“Yes, he is!” I replied excitedly and started to tell about our fight.

Melissa took my hand and started to lead me out of the arena, I looked at Uraraka and Iida on the other side and they waved to me again, calling me closer.

“Don't you want to meet them?”

“Yes, I will! But first I need to show you something”.

We left the arena with Kacchan yelling at Todoroki that he was going to try again to beat him. But I believe that would be against the rules.

Melissa led me out of the Expo space and we started walking around the island city.

“We have everything here, schools, markets, shopping. There is a whole network.”

“Don't you miss the outside world?” I asked. I-Island's security was greater than the best prison in Japan, anyone who worked there could not leave, so as not to affect the system or leak information. If you signed a 5-year work contract to be a cashier at the market, you would be stuck there for that period, even if you had little contact with any technology, thus also guaranteeing less movement of people from outside to the island.

The Expo was the only day of the year that the population could enter and there were robots and security guards everywhere. It really was just like a prison.

“Sometimes, but I've been in here so long I don't even remember what it's like out there. We've been here since my mother died.”

“I'm sorry,” I said.

“Do not worry. It's what I want to show you.”

I looked where she was pointing and squealed in excitement, it was the I-Island Academy, the best school in the entire world for anyone wanting to study about support equipment.

“You study here?” I asked excitedly.

“Yeah. I'll show you my room.”

“Whoa.”

I followed Melissa, but wait, her room? I started to feel nervous about what would happen next. I knew that foreigners were more liberal than in Japan, but just as liberal? When we got into her room, Melissa started going through some boxes and I felt my whole body go rigid. She found what she was looking for and asked me to give her a hand. I closed my eyes and stretched out my hand, honestly I don't know why I did that, I was just too nervous!

I heard a 'click' and opened my eyes, Melissa laughed with amusement at my attitude. A dark red bracelet was on my wrist. She gave two clicks and the bracelet unfolded into a tight glove.

“Uncle Might said you get hurt with the quirk, so I developed it for you. It's still a prototype, and so far I've only made it for one hand, but I want you to try it out. With that it's for you to use almost 100% of your power without getting hurt. But like I said, it's a prototype, so don't expect too much from it.”

I looked at Melissa with teary eyes. Had she done that to me?

“When I heard that Uncle Might chose a girl to succeed him I was so happy! Genuinely happy. At the age of five I discovered that I would never have a Quirk and decided that my dream was to become a scientist as good as my father. I spent years imagining myself creating things for Uncle Might. And then he told me that he had passed the baton to a girl. I thought, "Wow, I'm going to create amazing things for another amazing woman, this is so much better than anything else I could think of." We're going to be that, right Midoriya? Two amazing women working together.”

“Yes, we certainly will, Melissa”. I felt a stubborn tear run down my cheek.

            ***

            Pov: All Might

It was dinner time, all the 1-A students were sitting down, placing their orders with the waiters, David was next to me and there was no sign of Melissa and Midoriya. A few minutes later they came in, all covered in dirt, but laughing.

“Izuku was helping me to test the Pogo stick's springs, but apparently I'll need to improve them”.

Izuku? I smiled to see them getting along so well, Midoriya blushed when he heard his own name.

“Sorry about that,” she said.

David and I laugh as we remember the time when we were young too and doing those things. Midoriya and Melissa went to sit with the other teenagers.

“I'm glad they're getting along so well,” David said to me, and I couldn't help but agree.

            ***

            Pov: Midoriya

            The water ran down my body, washing all that dirt away. Melissa had dinner with the gang, everyone loved her. Mineta too much, blerg. Kacchan must have been playing hard to get, because he didn't look back or speak to her. Uraraka, on the other hand, seemed a little jealous because I had spent the day with a friend other than her. I apologized and said that during the two days of Expo we would all be together.

I closed the shower covered in thoughts. Melissa was also a non-quirk like me. And in no time had she given up on her dream. We were so similar that it only thrilled me even more.

I walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, Uraraka said she would put our clothes in the closet. And as soon as I entered the room I didn't see her, on the side of the door we entered there was another brown door, probably the closet. Would she be in there? I opened the door as I walked in and screamed when I ran into Kirishima and Kacchan. It was a connecting room!

Kirishima was standing, shirtless, right next to their bathroom door and Kacchan was sprawled on the bed. They both widened their eyes when they saw me. The towel was tiny! Barely covered my privates, I pulled it down and the part on my chest almost came undone. The way I came in screaming, I left screaming and one of them slammed the connecting door.

“I swear I didn't see anything! I swear, man! I swear on my whole family!”  Kirishima yelled at me through the door.

My breathing was fast, my face red. Uraraka entered through the normal door carrying two bottles of water. She arched an eyebrow at the sight of me there, sitting on the floor, wrapped in a towel.

“Did something happen?”

“Where were you?” I asked in a squeal.

“I went to get water” she lifted two small bottles. “For some reason our minibar was empty.”

I tried to control my breathing. Had Kacchan seen something? I had never seen him so shocked in my entire life. I heard the sound of him blowing something up in the room.

“It looks like we're not very lucky”  said Uraraka with a sigh. “In addition to the minibar, we also stayed in the room connected with Bakugou and Kirishima, that doesn't even make sense. All the other girls have rooms connected to each other. It was too bad luck.”

I buried my head in my hands. Bad luck was little for that situation.

2nd Day of Travel

Pov: Midoriya

“Don't let his dreams end here, Sorahiko.”

I pushed Toshinori away, far away. It would be the last time I would see that face, my student's face, the face of someone I loved. It would be my last bow. My final moment.

“I leave the rest to you!” I pointed to Toshinori, he was crying, well, he had always been a little emotional – and mostly sullen – I always had to repeat the importance of always smiling when facing barriers. But Sorakiho was also crying.

I turned to All For One, the man, no, the monster, responsible for all my suffering, all my losses. I felt my strength drain away, the blood trickled down my head and I started to feel dizzy. For a change there was so much stuff around AFO that it was hard to dodge everything. He looked at me and light filled the room.

“Young girl, Midoriya, what happened?”

I felt like my vision was fragmented, part of it saw that All Might in front of me and part of it saw Toshinori, young and crying while his hands tried to reach me. I hugged All Might and started crying like I had never cried in front of him.

“I don't want to die, Toshinori, I don't want to die.”

But those feelings weren't mine, were they? That's what Nana thought before the final attack hit her. Dying heroically didn't mean it was without fear, without regrets. That perspective and conclusion had hit me like a wave along with her old feelings.

“Hey, Midoriya… Hey,” All Might said, but I couldn't stop crying. “Hey, Izuku”. In the blink of an eye All Might was in his muscular form and gently held my face. “It's okay, I'm here. I am here. Tell me what happened.”

“I saw her dying, I felt her dying, All Might. It hurts, All Might, it hurts”. I held my chest, it wasn't a physical pain, it was something difficult to explain. How to explain the feeling of having felt one's own death? Not exactly being the death of me.

“Shh, there, there, you're fine, you're alive. I am here.”  All Might passed his huge thumbs under my eyes to wipe away the tears and hugged me, stroking my head. I released my weight, accepting the gentle caress and after I don't know how long, I fell asleep.

 When I woke up again, it was dawn through the window, All Might had put me to bed, but there was no sign of him in the room. I left there making sure no one was in the hall and I walked down. Only now did I notice that I was barefoot. My eyelids were heavy from crying and my hair felt all matted, I must have been depressing, but honestly I didn't even care about that at that moment, Nana's feelings were still there covered in a melancholy layer beneath my own.

I was almost at my bedroom door when Kacchan came out of his room. Oh great, it was just what I needed.

As if I'd already said something, Kacchan walked over to me and grabbed my wrist, pulling me close. If someone saw it from afar, they would imagine that I would have greeted him with a “hey motherfucker, I hope you have a shitty day” for him to act like that early in the morning.

“What happened? Where were you?” Kacchan's voice came out slightly shaky, dammit, I must have really been in bad shape for him to think that something had happened. I took advantage of the fact that he had already pulled me by the wrist and I took another step forward to lay my head on his collarbone, I felt Kacchan's body stiffen, but he didn't pull away. Kacchan smelled faintly of caramel because of the similarity his sweat had to nitroglycerin. It was always a comforting smell. I closed my eyes.

“I just had a nightmare, a really bad nightmare.”

Kacchan slipped one hand around my waist and the other plunged into my tangled hair. I felt his muscles tighten around me and his voice came out thick:

“You're lying again, dammit”.

“I am fine. I just need to go back to sleep.”

He didn't let go of me, no, I felt the hand that was on my waist tighten more, angrily, and Kacchan pulled his face away to look at me. I avoided his gaze, but he forced me to look at him with the hand that was previously in my hair.

“What the fuck happened?”  this time the voice was starting to get the squeaky tone I was used to hearing, Kacchan was losing patience. I didn't want him to think I wasn't even capable of handling a few bad dreams. Luckily I didn't have to answer. Someone coughed in the hall, it was All Might, muscular and in his hero costume. Had he come looking for me why had I left the room?

Kacchan released me slowly.

“You two better rest a little more today will be a busy day. Leave the discussions for later”.

I silently agreed with him, I think I really needed some more sleep. I didn't wait for either him or Kacchan to say anything else, I just walked into the room and threw myself on the bed.

It didn't even seem like that much time had passed when Uraraka shook me to get up before we missed the first Expo lectures. In fact, we were already quite late, everyone else had already had breakfast and gone, so I just had a chocolate drink, grabbed some cookies and we ran there.

The morning went without stress, I tried not to think about absolutely anything from the previous events, not even the dream, not Nana's feelings, All Might's concern and Kacchan's approach – I even avoided even looking at him so he wouldn't think that I it was still bad. The only thing I allowed myself to think about were the lectures and the fact that Melissa was nowhere to be found. The day before we talked so much that we didn't exchange our cell phone numbers. I looked at the red bracelet (which I didn't know how to take off) and wondered if she'd had something unforeseen.

At the end of the last lecture I found her father talking to the speaker, I asked if he had seen her and Mr. Shield frowned:

“She left very early, to find you” he said, I started to feel nervous. He tried calling her cell phone and no one answered. “I'll talk to All Might, let me know if you hear from her.”

Mr. Shield had clearly been worried. I wrote down his cell phone number and returned to the group.

“Guys, you can go ahead, I'll look for Melissa.”

“Can I go with you?” asked Uraraka. I agreed, even though that would keep me from floating in some places to look for her.

I didn't exactly know where to start so we went to her dorm, the room was locked. But on the door there was a chipped mark in the corner that I didn't remember from the day before. Or was it just that I hadn't noticed? I searched the hallway for other clues, but found nothing.

“Let's go to the central tower of the island, Midoriya” said Uraraka “I can float us and we'll have a wider view of the place.”

It was a good idea, and I could use my float freely. But it would be more difficult than we thought, there were a lot of people around the tower, walking in the event. I had even climbed higher and didn't see a single sign of Melissa. If before I was a little worried, now I was a lot.

“Deku! Come see this!” Uraraka appeared floating to my left, every time she saw me I had to pretend to hold myself so I wouldn't float out of control because of her Quirk. I followed her and Uraraka led me upstairs to a small balcony in the building that opened onto a greenhouse. “Isn't that hers?”

Uraraka pointed and Melissa's pogo stick was lying near some bushes, how did it end up there? We barely set foot in the place and a security guard appeared running, well they said it was safer there than Tartarus.

“Who are you? This is a restricted area” said the security guard.

“Sorry, mister, we're looking for a friend, have you seen Melissa? She is the daughter of Mr. David Shield, you must know her,” I said.

“Who are you? This is a restricted area” repeated the security guard. I looked at Uraraka and then I looked at the man again and I noticed that the pupils were dilated and the brightness of the eyes was a bit opaque, I had seen that before. He raised the club and I dodged just as he brought it down and a current of electrical charge tried to hit me, a Quirk like Kaminari's.

"He's under the control of some kind of psychic Quirk, Uraraka!" I dodged one more of his attacks and managed to knock him out with a punch in the stomach.

“What was this?” asked Uraraka.

“Something's going on. Go call All Might, I'll keep going up!”

“Alone?” she asked, worried.

“It's the fastest way, we don't know if Melissa is in danger”.

Uraraka looked at me in doubt if it was really a good idea, but finally floated off in search of All Might. He must have been at the photo and autograph session, or having lunch with the gang.

I looked at the elevator, the greenhouse was huge, tall, probably taking up four floors of a normal building. If something was wrong, the elevator would be the worst choice, but also the fastest – for a person who doesn't float. I made sure Uraraka wasn't there anymore and I also went to the balcony, floated to almost the top floor and looked for an open window – there wasn't, I chose to break one. The floor was dark, no alarms sounded. I ran through totally dark corridors and stairs and there was no sign of anyone, when I turned one of the corners I bumped into someone.

I fell to the floor and looked up, it was Sam, assistant of Mr. Shield, I felt relieved to finally meet someone I knew.

“Mr. Sam, something is wrong, Melissa is gone! And one of the security guards I encountered was being controlled!”

He held out a hand to me, it was bruised with what looked like fingernail scratches.

“Is Melissa gone? I saw her around the gardens this morning. Did you search right?” he said softly, still holding out his hand.

“I looked right” I answered firmly, not reaching out to him.

“Well well. You’re quite a smart girl.”

I got ready to jump backwards, but a copper energy conductor came out of the ground and pinned me by my feet. Within seconds my feet and hands were trapped. I might break free, but at least this way Sam would lead me to Melissa. And so he did, he dragged me to the elevator and soon we reached the top floor, where the security command center was located.

“Melissa!”  I shouted when I saw her also tied up in the corner, she had scratches on her arm and a black eye. Anger awoke inside me, I needed to save her. She whimpered my name when she saw me, but a third person held a gun to her head.

“Don't think about doing anything, or the floor will be littered with her brains.”

The man wore a long white coat and pieces of metal covered his face like a mask. Besides him, three other security guards stood in the corner of the room like statues, eyes glazed over, mouths hanging open. The elevator door beeped and for a few seconds I had hope that it would be All Might, but another security guard entered pushing Mr. Shield, he despaired when he saw Melissa, but the masked villain pressed the gun barrel closer to her head.

“Why, Sam?” Mr. Shield asked.

“You shouldn't have let them take our invention, David! Years of work! Of dedication! And you didn't even fight for it!”  Sam put his hand on his face, slightly upset. “And I said we could come up with a plan to steal the Amplifier without anyone getting hurt, we could come up with theater, but you're a fucking coward! A shitty coward who isn't capable of fighting for anything! Now you will collaborate one way or another or Melissa will die.”

“Come on, take him to the Central.” Sam pointed to the controlled security guards and they held Mr. Shield.

“How are you controlling them?”

“Someone gave me this fantastic quirk. With some conditions. But it turned out much better than I expected. Who knew I could capture All Might's student!” Sam chuckled, looking at me. I felt a tingling through my body, “someone”, I only knew a villain who passed quirks to others. All For One was involved in that.

The masked Villain grabbed Melissa's arm and lifted her to walk behind the two, he turned his back to me. It was my chance! I activated the OFA, the glove that Melissa gave me, and let go of the bars, advancing with a kick towards him, he managed to protect himself, but with a rotation of my body, I grabbed the gun and bent the barrel to the side at the same moment. I heard an explosion. A shot grazed on my thigh and wow, that hurt like hell! I had already been beaten in many ways, but a shot was the first time, it was a piercing pain that burned. But I didn't have time to analyze the pain, I took Melissa in my arms and walked away from the villain, again several copper wires tried to grab us and I was dodging.

With a crack a metal bar came out of the ceiling and hit us, Melissa went rolling on the floor and once again I was trapped, this time pressed against the wall. The masked villain approached and punched me in the face.

“What an annoying bitch.”

He pulled Melissa by the hair and she screamed as she tried to break free. Sam came out of the other door carrying a suitcase, his clothes were stained with blood and Mr. Shield wasn't with him.

“What did you do to my father?” Melissa yelled.

"Kill her," Sam said to the villain. I tried to move and the metal bar creaked. From the hands of the masked man came a metal blade that he was about to press on Melissa's neck. A loud bang filled our ears, as well as a shaking of the entire building and smoke from debris, someone destroyed the wall to get in from the outside of the building.

All Might came through the smoke and my body relaxed. But before All Might even understood what was happening, Sam put his hand on my face.

“Kill your master.”

His brainwashing was much stronger than Shinsou's, I tried to resist, but everything in my head went blank.

            ***

            Pov: All Might

"You still have a lot to learn, Toshinori, your dodging leaves something to be desired.” Nana had knocked me down more times than she could count, I was already starting to feel the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

“Instead of a good dodge, wouldn't it be better to have a force capable of preventing blows?” I asked, getting up to advance on her.

Nana dodged and punched me once more.

“Not always, a good dodge is always something important.”

Midoriya punched me in the face so hard that I lost my balance. I pushed her back and she landed on her feet a few feet away from me. Behind her, David's assistant, an unknown villain, and Melissa walked out towards the helipad.

“Your dodging leaves something to be desired.”

My whole body shook. Nana?

Midoriya lunged again, but this time I dodged. She floated towards me to close dodging distance and tried to twist my arm back. I held her by the shoulder, I was afraid of hurting her. Midoriya was fighting and floating like Nana used to: ferociously, yet cautiously, each blow thought to land squarely, with no waste, it was quite different from the hasty and youthful way that Young Midoriya fought.

Sam was running away, I couldn't waste another second. But Young Midoriya dislocated her own shoulder to free herself and kicked me. I was pushed back.

“What is this face, Toshinori? Where is your smile?”

What was that? Midoriya was smiling, but her eyes were unfocused. Was it Nana speaking for her?

In a moment of distraction, I took another blow.

Midoriya was bleeding from his leg. I managed to hold her again.

“Nana?” I whispered. Her face contorted in pain.

The elevator beeped and Bakugou, Kirishima, Todoroki, Uraraka and Iida came out. I had told Uraraka to look for other professional heroes as I led the way, but she went after her classmates. It was the last thing I needed there, more students to worry about.

“What are you doing? Get out of here!”

Midoriya took advantage of my moment of distraction and break free of my hands, also heading towards the helipad.

“Deku! Ukaraka” shouted.

“She's being brainwashed.” I said back. Bakugou didn't wait for the others, he ran after her.

Uraraka found David lying in the next room, he was still alive, but very hurt, I asked Iida to take him to the hospital on the island. And that Uraraka would actually call in reinforcements from other professionals. Todoroki, Kirishima and I ran to the helipad.

            ***

            Pov: Midoriya

My body didn't respond, my mind was a whirlwind of scenes from the present mixed with memories of Nana, I had never been brainwashed for so long, I felt that something inside me wanted to explode. I heard orders to return to the helicopter, Sam wanted to kidnap me, probably to take me to the AFO.

I reached them and boarded together with Sam and the Villain who was still carrying Melissa and the helicopter started to climb.

“We don't need her anymore, Wolfram.” Sam pointed at Melissa.

The masked villain, Wolfram, pushed Melissa out of the helicopter and my whole body tried to react, but nothing happened. I could see her fall. Kacchan came up and grabbed her. Then the helicopter stopped, a column of ice froze it.

“Shit”. Wolfram went to the briefcase and took out some sort of helmet inside.  “Let's see if it really works like you said.”

He placed the device on his head at the same instant that All Might appeared beside the helicopter.

“Attack him!” Sam shouted at me, my body reacted at the same time. Moving on to the last person I wanted to fight.

***

            Pov: All Might

Midoriya really was attacking and dodging like Nana used to, but how could I forget Gran Torino's words? Don't let her lose sight of who she really is. I had just been doing the opposite up until this point, yearning for a part of Nana to still live in Midoriya.

But what lived inside her wasn't exactly Nana, it was just One For All transmitting glimpses from one of her keepers, maybe to teach Midoriya how to Float, or just to teach more about All For One. Nana was dead. Midoriya was alive. I was her teacher, her mentor, her most trusted person. I needed to help her face that and I should, together with her, bury the past.

She punched me once more with that red glove, I grabbed her by the wrist.

“Midoriya, wake up!”

“Be careful, Toshinori, or you'll end up getting hurt.”

The brainwashing was bringing back random memories of Nana, that sentence wasn't even said in a context like that. Midoriya floated me up using her other hand to pull me by my hair. Now I remembered how irritating it was to hit Nana with the quirk she had.

“Midoriya, stop acting like her, you're not Nana!”

She threw me to the floor of the helipad, I pulled her with her foot. We both hit the floor, destroying all the concrete.

“Remember, you are Midoriya! The crybaby girl who never gives up!”

Midoriya stopped abruptly, her whole body trembling trying to fight off the brainwashing.

            ***

            Pov: Midoriya

“Sensei, you should stop hiding from others, I'm sure if you showed your face everyone would love the "Smoke Man." I looked at a man in front of me. With black hair in a fringe and a collar that covered half of his face, it was now reaching down to suck on a strawberry popsicle.

“Are they seriously calling me “Smoke Man”? What a lack of creativity”. He had a calm voice. He frowned at the popsicle in front of him. “Strawberry, without filling?”

“You asked for a Strawberry popsicle, you didn’t say it needed to have filling!” I replied with a snort.

“Always irritable, Nana.” he replied, but with a gentle smile. “If you go on like this, you'll scare the people you want to save.”

“Sensei, do you regret having passed the OFA to me?”

En looked at me, frowning as if I were now the strawberry Popsicle without the filling.

“Why such a question?”

“Because I'm not calm like you.”

He let out a breath of air through his nose in the form of a laugh and took a bite of the popsicle.

“Each of us is unique. You don't have to try to be like me, One For All is beautiful because of that, Nana, with each person who passes by, it doesn't just take power, it takes what each of us has learned, our essence. If you're lucky, you'll always feel them with you. So just focus on being yourself, Nana. No other person. Just yourself”.

Ah, the crybaby girl who never gives up.

That's what All Might yelled at me.

And there I was, letting myself be controlled.

“You fucking nerd, are you going to stand there helping the villain now?”  another voice shouted at me, it was Kacchan.

Todoroki was trying to freeze the gigantic metal columns that were advancing on us, Kirishima was trying to help him and Kacchan was still holding an injured Melissa.

“Izuku!” shouted Melissa. “Wake up! You said we would work together! For this you need to wake up!”

My entire body shook, trying to fight off the brainwashing.

            ***

            Pov: All Might

It was clear Midoriya's desperation to let go of control, I approached her.

“Midoriya, let's go”  I stretched out my hand to her. “Let's defeat him together. How should be.”

She looked at me and her eyes acquired the same brightness and vivacity as always.

“How should be”. she smiled at me.

“But without floating”. I whispered and pointed to the others in the room.

The rest was what we should have done from the start. With Midoriya's help, we advance on the metal-controlled villain and defeat him together with a synchronized punch. Even if he used the power amplifier, he wouldn't be a match for us. David's device was shattered on impact, as was the strange red glove Midoriya was wearing. Bakugou and Todoroki prevented Sam from running away and soon other heroes arrived there.

“Thank you, All Might” said Midoriya, standing next to me, with a dislocated shoulder and the wound on his thigh that was still bleeding. “For reminding me to just be myself.”

I smile at her. That's what I should have done from the start.

3rd Day of Travel

Pov: Midoriya

I tried not to miss any lectures on the second day of the event, as I missed half of the first day with all the chaos, in addition to the time I had to stay in the hospital. Here didn't have any healers as good as Recovery Girl, so my shoulder was put back in the traditional way and my thigh was bandaged.

I managed to tell All Might everything that had happened, including the last vision I had about Nana's master, I also told him about the previous day and that AFO was involved.

Luckily Mr. Shield would be fine, as would Melissa. When I went to visit her I found Kacchan inside the room, he immediately frowned and left the room grumbling. I felt a little weird seeing him there but I didn't think too much about it, lately I felt weird whenever I saw him regardless of the situation.

Melissa made sure she would meet me at the Closing Party and afterwards we just chatted about everything from the day before.

***

I looked in the mirror, it had been a few years since I last wore such a beautiful dress. My mom had bought it for me, but I hadn't tried it on before I left. It was a little tight to the waist, with a V-neck, and then it was loose. It was a burgundy dress, but over it was a thin black tulle with silver details that made it look like stars. The tulle descended just beyond the burgundy fabric and also formed a long sleeve. Finally, a silver belt completed the look. Uraraka made sure to fix my hair and makeup. I didn't even know why I was looking so pretty, I didn't even know who I was going to dance with! I sent a photo to Shinsou while waiting for Uraraka to finish getting ready. We left together in the hallway and found Kirishima and Kacchan coming out of their room.

“You’re beautiful!” Kirishima said. “Don't you agree, Bakugou?”

“Tsk, whatever.”

He walked out ahead of us.

“Kirishima, won't you dance with me? I'm out of date!” I said to him.

“Err, sorry, Midoriya, I'm going to dance with Mina.”

“You can dance with me!” Uraraka said.

It was also an option.

The closing ceremony was filled with speeches and thanks to All Might and us for defeating the villains, as well as other speeches about the event. Melissa stayed with us, she looked beautiful in a blue dress and contact lenses! Would Kacchan dance with her?

When they cleared the dance floor for the first song I went out on the balcony to take a breath. I didn't really feel like watching others dance. Iida had pulled Uraraka to dance (which didn't seem to please her, but she didn't want to deny it either) and Tokoyami had danced with Tsuyu, the two had grown close after final exams – but I was really hoping Tokoyami would dance with me to help me out. Todoroki was apparently going to dance with Momo, they also made the final exam together.

After several days of having memories of Nana, finally a memory of mine surfaced:

“Are you kidding me? Of course I'm going to learn this crap”.

Despite saying that, Kacchan had stepped on my foot again. After my dance performance he suddenly wanted me to teach him how to waltz. He watched me dance with someone else at the end of the set and said if I could do it, so could he.

He held on to me tighter as if that was what would make him learn to dance fast.

“It's not about strength, Kacchan. It's about technique!”  I held his shoulder and Kacchan turned softly red with anger at having been thwarted.

I smiled remembering that, leaning on the edge of the balcony, I was going to send a message to Shinsou that I wanted to teach him how to dance, but I didn't have time, because someone entered there.

“I was going to ask you to dance, but you ran away.” It was Todoroki, he was wearing an ice white suit, a blue blouse and a red tie. Wow! I blushed when I saw him.

“I thought you were going to dance with Momo.”

He shook his head, holding his hand out to me.

“No, I want to dance with you. But actually I don't know how to dance”.

I took his hand and smiled, we approached.

“I can teach you.”

The music was a little muffled by the balcony door, but it was still audible. Todoroki pulled me close, wrapping his hand around my waist. He brought his body and face closer than necessary, but I let him, and tried to guide his steps.

“You look stunning.” Todoroki said softly in my ear, the air came out hot and it was like my whole body warmed up with that.

“You look very handsome too,” I replied, embarrassed. He pulled me closer. My head seemed to whistle with that feeling and with the desire to be kissed, the same whistle as when Shinsou was by my side. I took a few steps away from him. “The music is over, you danced well, we can dance more inside.”

At least with lots of people around I wouldn't be assailed with conflicting thoughts. Todoroki smiled in the simple way he used to smile.

“Of course”

When we walked, my eyes went straight to Melissa, she was dancing with All Might. I could only say, as smiled:

“Hey! I want to dance with All Might too.”

4th day of travel

Pov: Midoriya

I said goodbye to Melissa with tears in my eyes, we promised each other that we would always stay in touch and I would visit her whenever there was an Expo, since she wouldn't be able to leave the Island for a few more years, not until she graduated.

“I’ll develop a new glove for you, one that won't break!”

“I'll be looking forward to it!”          

We cried and hugged each other some more.

I went to meet the others at the airport.

“Late again!” said Iida, always being very straight. I apologized.

“We're planning to go buy things for the camp tomorrow,” said Mina. “All together, ok, Midoriya?”

“Of couse! I also need to buy a few little things, like new sunscreen.”

“So it’s agreed!”

We boarded the plane.

That trip had exceeded my expectations, I felt even closer to All Might and I had discovered so much about Nana, I also wanted to become a woman like her. I was no longer having visions and dreams with her memories, I think OFA had shown me everything it wanted to show, I looked through the small window of the plane. Was I now ready to meet En, the Smokescreen bearer who loved stuffed strawberry popsicles?

I looked at All Might, with him by my side I knew I could do it.

            ***

            Pov: All Might

The trip was over.

A school bus came to pick us up and left all the students at their homes, but I asked Midoriya to accompany me somewhere and so she did.

It was a remote and small cemetery, currently almost no new tombs were placed there due to lack of space. We walked to one of the tombs, there was a photo of Nana and her husband, even though Nana's body had been decimated by AFO, I wanted to make that symbology so that her spirit could rest beside her beloved man. Midoriya bent down to see the photo. It was the first time she saw Nana as a third person, and not through her own eyes. On top of the grave there was an unopened package of taiyaki, every week Gran Torino went there.

“Excuse me sensei, I didn't bring you flowers this time, but I brought Midoriya for you to meet her.”

Midoriya bowed, introducing himself. She said a few things about the honor of continuing One For All's legacy and apologized for invading her memories.

I was never a crybaby, unlike Midoriya, but at that moment I felt a tear form in the corner of my eye. I put a hand on her shoulder.

I always said that Nana was like a mother to me and now I noticed how much with each passing day Midoriya filled the loneliness that Nana had left and I couldn't think of her as anything other than a daughter.

They weren't the same person, but I loved them both like family.

Midoriya placed his hand on top of mine and smiled.

Chapter Text

It was funny, after spending a few days with the whole class, to be there again with them all together. And to think that we would spend another seven days sleeping in the same place. We were all in front of the biggest mall in the region, it was incredible there! It had clothes and accessories for all types of quirk, both for delivery and order.

"I thought you would bring Shinsou," said Uraraka with her usual sweet smile.

“He’ll come later, he didn't like the idea of walking with the class, he thought he would intrude, so we will watch a movie later.”

"Tsk, he shouldn't come," Kacchan grumbled. I had my doubts that dealing with him was one of the reasons that kept Shinsou away from our tour.

“This is so romantic. Which movie are you going to see?” Mina asked.

“I think it's called Killer Doll or something like that.”

Those who were paying attention stared at me placidly. Kacchan mumbled something and left with Kirishima to walk around the mall, Mina and Sero apologized and went with them.

"Doesn't sound like much of your movie style," Tsuyu continued.

“Yeah, I wouldn't say I like horror very much.”

But Shinsou wanted to watch this movie so much, and we were going to spend a good part of the vacation without seeing each other...

Eventually we ended up splitting up into several small groups to buy things and I'm not sure how exactly I managed that but at some point I got lost from the others. I felt someone grab my hand and I turned around excitedly thinking Uraraka or Iida had found me. But I froze in utter shock when I saw Shigaraki with a black hood covering part of his face and a scary smile.

“Act naturally, we're just a happy couple”. His voice was ripped, my stomach twisted. Shigaraki moved closer, pulling me by the hand, his mouth almost touching the side of my cheek. “And don't even think about making a fuss, if I lay all my fingers on you, you'll instantly turn to dust. Or I turn anyone to dust. Imagine how many I can kill before help arrives?”

I looked again at our joined hands, the index finger was extended, not touching me. My body shook, he smiled even more at my reaction.

“Let's go to a more private place.”

No. But how could I react knowing that he had that quirk capable of killing everyone in the mall so quickly?

Shigaraki made his way through the crowd, pulling me along like an impatient boyfriend until we reached the elevators, he leaned against the corner wall, and I was sort of diagonally across from him. It was a empty so that no one would be surprised by a couple standing there talking, but not empty enough for me to be sure he wouldn't attack anyone.

"You make me so angry just looking at you."

I arched an eyebrow, still totally shocked by the unusual interaction. For the first time I looked him straight, face to face, eye to eye. Despite the slightly dirty hair, the deep and marked dark circles under his eyes, the dry mouth and in some places even cut, Shigaraki had something that screamed inside my brain: he looks like someone I know. I just couldn't remember who.

Looking at him didn't make me angry, it made me afraid at first, but deep down, it also made me sad. But I couldn't say those things, could I? Not even asking if I knew him from somewhere before he became a villain.

“This makes me angry too.” He looked at a boy coming out of the elevator, he wore a red band over his eyes like Stain.

“So we have something in common.”  I replied, squeezing his hand, afraid that Shigaraki would try something with the boy. “I thought Stain was in League, with you”.

Shigaraki shrugged his shoulders, as if to say "whatever".

“That's the biggest problem, if he's in the League, why is everyone talking about him? Not about the League, not about me?”

Was he mad because he wasn't mentioned? My first impression of the attack on our training remained: he is childish.

“Why do you think this is happening?” Shigaraki pulled me closer, his eyes were an unnatural red, making him even scarier. It wasn't a comforting red like Kacchan's – reminiscent of autumn. Shigaraki's eyes reminded me of blood.

I placed my free hand in the middle of his thin chest, otherwise I would have lost my balance and fallen into an unwanted hug.

“Stain had a purpose. He lived with an ideal that he did everything to protect. He doesn't go out destroying for the sake of destroying. Stain inspires ideals like All Might does. Somehow, even if distorted, his actions inspire people into some ideology.”

My legs shook and I almost vomited with nervousness when Shigaraki reached his other hand behind my back and let go of my hand, but held it around my neck – this time raising his index finger, to show me how easily he could kill me. If someone looked from afar, they would think we were a couple making out in a corner of the mall, but if someone looked closely, they would see my pure despair. He flashed a scary smile.

“You cleared my mind, Midoriya”. The way he pronounced my last name gave me chills. "Like dots coming together. That's why everything pisses me off so much, because of All Might. These people smiling, all thinking that All Might can save them from anything.”

Damn, he hadn't understood the point at all: the problem was that he didn't have an ideal to follow as a villain. He looked me in the eye like he knew I was thinking about something.

"But looking at you really pisses me off. Being heiress to All Might's power or not”.  My body stiffened. “Oh yes, I know. But this will be our little secret”. He smiled again, and the hand that was on my neck slowly slipped to my face, he placed his thumb on my lips. "If I kill you now, will he be mad?"

The All For One.

“Midoriya?”  Uraraka's voice came from behind me. “Who is he?”

Shigaraki pushed me on top of her before I could say anything.

“Shigaraki,” he said in a shaky voice. “What is All For One's plan?”

“I do not care...”

Shigaraki blended into the crowd. And what happened afterwards wasn't much more pleasant. We called the police, the mall was blocked so they could look for him and I gave a statement to the police. What I didn't expect was to find All Might outside the police station. I ran towards him, but I refrained from hugging him in front of the policeman, he seemed to notice and stroked my hair.

“Sorry I wasn't there to save you, young Midoriya.”

“Don't worry, All Might”  I scratched my head. “Sometimes it doesn't seem like it and it's even easy to forget, but I know you're not omnipresent and omniscient”. I clenched my fists. I was going to ask “was there ever a time you couldn't save someone?” but I had seen his face when Nana was left behind to die, I knew even he couldn't save everyone on this planet so I changed my question. “How did you deal with when you can't save someone?”

“How do I deal?” All Might seemed a little bewildered by the question, but then he faced the sky. “I continue to smile and move on. That's being the Symbol of Peace, it's not saving the whole world, because many people are out of reach of our hands, it's being an eternal memory inside people's heads, of the heroes and even the villains that there is hope to be saved, a light that shines at the end of the tunnel.”

Without noticing, I pressed my shirt in front of my heart, I never thought that way. It was easy to think of All Might as the one who saved everyone, I had never thought about what exactly it meant to be a Symbol of Peace. I opened my mouth to reply when another sound emerged:

“Izuku!” My mom came running over and hugged me, her eyes wet from crying and her lips trembling. “In this way your mother's heart won't take it...”

“Keep calm mom.” I held in her arms, I hated seeing her that way, it made me want to cry myself, but if I did that in front of her, it would only make her more nervous. “The heroes and the cops did a great job.”

“And your daughter is always brave and calm even in the worst moments”  completed All Might. Even though he had on his skinny look that no one else knew about, I was surprised he didn't hide, instead reaching out to her. “I'm Toshinori, your daughter's teacher.”  My mother returned the handshake and All Might smiled. “Now I see where Midoriya got this habit of being such a crybaby”

I opened my mouth, my mother blushed. That would have been rude if All Might's voice hadn't come across as highly affectionate. Even so, my mother clenched her fists and dabbed under her eyes.

“I didn't know my daughter had a teacher who had the audacity to call a woman a crybaby the first time he saw her.”

All Might blushed so much that his whole face turned red, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“I won't my intention… I… is that the young Midoriya… a thousand pardons!”

He bowed, but my mother started to laugh.

“Okay, she really is a crybaby, more than me, just for the record. Thank you for always taking care of Izuku.”

The two smiled at each other and I stayed there, quiet, just watching what was going on there.

When we all said goodbye, the police took us home and in the car I asked quietly:

"Did you happen to be flirting with my teacher?"

“Stop being silly.”  But despite answering that, my mother's cheeks turned red “How old is he?”

“Mother!”

***

            ***

First Day of Camp.

In the end I couldn't see Shinsou before we left for the camp, I was looking at the last messages we exchanged while boarding the bus:

Shinsou

"I wish I could have seen you yesterday. I was worried (╥ ﹏ ╥)"

Midoriya

"Me too! What bad luck to be in the same place as Shigaraki"

"Did you also want to see me or were you worried too? ( ㆆ _ ㆆ )"

"Silly boy. Both. <3<3<3"

"hmm... I see... Anyway, have a nice trip, and I hope you remember me. Watch out for the snobbish idiots in your class."

"Of course I'll remember, I just hope there's a signal there!"

Snobbish idiots. I could hear Shinsou's exact tone of voice when saying that, he must be referring to Kacchan. Someone pulled the cell phone out of my hand.

“No boyfriends on the trip, Midoriya” said Mina with a smile on her face. “This trip will be totally focused on our classroom”.

“That's right!” agreed Uraraka, everyone was very excited about the whole camping thing. I smiled, putting my fists in front of me to show my excitement.

“I'm totally focused!”

Mina handed my phone back and I put it in my pocket. The trip would take a few hours, I sat next to Uraraka, behind us were Tokoyami and Iida, and in front of us was Todoroki and Aoyama. After so many neck turns back and forth, I lifted my body a little and leaned against the window, so that it would be easy to talk to the five. That's when I heard Mina's voice again:

“Hey, Midoriya! We need you here!” She was sitting next to Kaminari and both were leaning on the bench to talk with Kirishima and Bakugou behind them. Sero was standing right behind the two boys' bench. It was a group that formed since that day in the cafeteria. I arched an eyebrow and staggered with the movement of the bus until I reached them. “We're telling funny stories from our childhood and Bakugou simply refuses to participate, you grew up together, didn't you? You must know something”.

“Tsk, you better not open your fucking mouth, shitty nerd.”

I bit my cheek, I had a lot of stories, but why should I tell when he told me to go away? To annoy him, perhaps?

“Come on, Midoriya, he only makes threats, we want to listen!” Kirishima said, and in an instant everyone on the bus was asking me to tell them.

“Well, when we were 6, I told Kacchan that my mother had hired a spy to watch us, and he was, like, totally pissed off. I had only said that because he was up to no good all the time, but then Kacchan would only let me in the room if he did a checkup in every corner looking for hidden cameras. And one day, a plumber happened to come to the house while we were playing, and my mother went to the market. Kacchan thought he was the spy and locked him in the bathroom. The guy never came back to the house”.

“I can't imagine Bakugou looking for hidden cameras”. Kirishima laughed.

“I can imagine the plumber's happiness at being locked in,” continued Kaminari, also laughing.

“Yes!! He offered us sweets to leave and Kacchan shouted "You don't deceive us, I know your evil plans and you won't achieve them"

Kacchan stood up and pulled me by the collar.

“How could I know that early on you would already be a little liar?” the eyes were so serious that my smile disappeared at the same time and I swallowed hard. He released me with a huff and sat back down.

“Calm down, tetchy. Or the spies will note that you’re being naughty”.

“Shut up, lousy alien.”

Mina stuck her tongue out at him. I hurried back to my seat before Mina asked for anything else that would put my life at risk.

“You lying about having spies after you? Not quite like you,” said Iida.

“Kacchan was always getting into trouble with the kids in our neighborhood. I wanted him to settle down before he ended up hurting himself.” I threw myself into my armchair. “But of course it didn't help”.

The rest of the trip passed without further major events. At one point I switched places with Iida and sat down with Tokoyami to exchange pokemons in the video game while we shared the headphones with the rocks he liked to listen to – and I was already getting used to it, since it was a taste similar to from Shinsou, I even interpreted it as training for my ears.

A while later, Aizawa announced that we would make one more stop, which would be the last one, and in less than thirty minutes the bus stopped in a kind of meadow on top of the mountain. There was no sign of any kind of little shop or gas station.

“We have located the target with our glowing eyes!” shouted a voice above our heads. “While our thin and fluffy paws pierce! Wild. Wild. Pussycats!”

I gave a hysterical scream of emotion, it was Mandalay and Pixie-bob, two professional heroines. Uraraka approached and nudged me, asking who they were.

“They are part of a group of heroines who specialize in mountain rescues. This year is the twelfth of them performing!”

“Are you calling us old ladies?”  Pixie-bob, the blonde, approached me, staring at me fiercely. “In our hearts we are 18 years old!” She stretched out her cat paw gloves and squished my face between them. “Did you understand?”

I tried to nod in agreement, even though I was limited in movement by Pixie-bob herself.

“Great”.

Mandalay coughed softly to draw attention to her, then explained that we would have to reach our base camp at the bottom of the mountain by 12:30, it was now 9:30. The room exclaimed in complaint. The foot of the mountain was far away! Very far away!

The bus left us behind taking all our luggage with food. And even though Mandalay had said that we could use our quirks, some earth monsters started to attack us, making the path even more difficult.

It was 5:20 pm when we arrived tired, hungry and completely covered in dirt at the camp.

Mandalay, Pixie-bob and Aizawa were waiting for us, together was a boy in a red cap. He was also with the two in the meadow before they abandoned us. I asked who it was, Mandalay said he was her nephew.

I smiled at him and held out my hand.

“I'm Midoriya, nice to meet you, I'm from the U.A, department of heroes.”

He looked deeply into my eyes, and then he did something I would never have imagined anyone would do – not even a villain. He pinched my boob. Not those playful pinches. The boy cheered with all his might. I screamed, cupping my breasts and feeling my eyes water.

“HEY! Why did you pinch Midoriya? You can't do that to a lady!” Iida approached us. Mandalay also got into a fight with the boy who was apparently named Kouta.

“I have no intention of wasting my time with a stupid bunch of would-be heroes.”

Kouta walked away from us and Mandalay apologized for him.

After that very strange event, we just took our luggage to the rooms, had dinner and went to bathe in the hot springs!

“I can't believe there are hot springs here, it has to be paradise.” Jiro dove in up to her neck.

I got into the water very quickly, even though we were just girls, it was weird to be naked in front of everyone. Uraraka who walked with her arms forming an X in front of her chest also only relaxed when her whole body was submerged.

"Being embarrassed is just like you!" Mina pointed at the two of us, she was standing by the edge of the fountain, naked as she came into the world. “There's nothing to be ashamed of, everyone here is wonderful.”

I nodded, still a little embarrassed. Mina was admirable with that outgoing personality.

“I just thought this world was kind of unfair,” said Jiro. She squeezed her breasts; it was the smallest among them. I think in order from biggest to smallest it would be: Momo, Mina, me, Uraraka, Tsuyu and Jirou.

“Having a small chest has its advantages, those open front top look great on you!” said Mina

“And you don’t have so much back pain” completed Momo, her breasts were a little big even for someone who was 15 years old.

"And it sucks when you try to talk to a boy and he just stares at your chest." Uraraka rolled her eyes.

“I think I still preferred all those things.” Jirou grimaced.

But before we could continue the conversation, we heard an exaltation from the side of the boys – what separated us was a high wooden wall. Apparently, from what we noticed, Mineta wanted to spy on our side. We were even prepared for the worst when I saw Kouta fall off the wall. I activated my Quirk and caught him before the boy hit the ground. He passed out, so I took him to Mandalay.

I ended up talking to her and Pixie-Bob and they both told me that Kouta didn't like heroes because his parents, who were professional heroes, died two years ago in service, so he couldn't understand the desire to be a hero, he thought it repulsive, that was what had taken his parents away from him. My heart sank and I started to make my way back to the bath.

I looked sadly at the floor when I bumped into Todoroki and Kacchan, it was rare to see them together, but apparently they had been the first to get out of the shower and were on their way back to the bedroom.

“Midoriya... it's good that you managed to catch the boy in time...” Todoroki said looking to the side, without looking at me, his face and neck were red, maybe from the hot shower?

“Yes” I sighed, still lost in my thoughts about Kouta's parents. That's why I even got scared when Kacchan pinned me to the wall in his beloved kabedon, I was even surprised by how long he hadn't done it. His face was also red from the effect of the hot spring water.

“Is walking around in a towel a fetish of yours now, you fucking nerd?”

I looked down. Damn it. I had been so worried about Kouta that I just wrapped myself in a towel and went after Mandalay. I pushed Kacchan back and ran out of there with a face just like theirs, but in my case, with embarrassment!

Chapter Text

SECOND CAMP DAY

Pov: Tsuyu

Quirk Amplification sounded like a nice thing to do – considering the name – but that training was a real ordeal.

Aizawa proved to us that despite all the difficulties and physical growth we've been through in the last few months, our Quirks have developed a lot less, which apparently would be normal. Classroom 1-B's teacher, Sekijiro Kan, believed that this should be practiced over several months, with patience, but accepted Aizawa's view – we didn't have time. Not just because of the proximity to the provisional license, but mainly because of the constant attacks from villains.

So here we were, 40 students – between the two classrooms – in an open field, doing insane things. It looked exactly like a madhouse. Each student pushing their body to the max, Sero kept throwing his ribbons, Mineta pulled the purple balls out of his hair until it started to bleed. Kirishima stiffened as Ojiro used his tail to hit him.

It was no different with me, Aizawa said that for us – mutants and hybrids – we also needed to push the limit of our own organs. And after a few hours, the only thing I felt was pain in these organs.

 I stuck out my tongue as far as I could to climb the top of a cliff and stopped there for a few seconds – before Aizawa noticed that I was resting. From up there, I could analyze what my friends and classmates did to push their bodies to the limit. And I couldn't deny that among all of them, two most caught my attention, the first Tokoyami with his dark shadow. Since we held the practical test together, my curiosity about the boy had grown, and now he had closed himself in a dark cave in an attempt to control the Quirk that had a life of its own. His screams echoed everywhere, adding a dark air to our training, but few noticed, most were too focused on their own screams and their own pain.

The second that caught my attention was Midoriya, she trained alone with Tiger, from the Wild Pussycats. Midoriya could almost match his strength, but what was hammering in my head was: wouldn't she use her ability to float? There was no way anyone but me could have noticed. Once or twice Midoriya just floated claiming it was a partnership with Uraraka, but it was different. The effect didn't seem to be something that afflicted her body as an external quirk, it was something that came from her. But out of some collective blindness everyone believed it was just a great combo – including Uraraka herself. And I couldn't help but wonder, did she always have that quirk? Did she have two? And why was she hiding?

Why did her first Quirk look so much like All Might's? As I have openly commented before. And why now did she suddenly have another Quirk and hide it from everyone?

I crouched like frogs crouch and leapt down the mountain. Inevitably I would discover those mysteries, I just needed to be patient.

--------------------------------

Pov: Kendo

A long sigh and a lot of patience was usually what I needed to put up with Monoma every time we went to interact with room 1-A. The first time was at the Sports Festival, in which he insisted on going right behind Bakugou – and almost won. Afterwards he always found one way or another to annoy them, including, he loved to target either Bakugou or Midoriya. I would say that he even had a certain fixation for the two. And of course, there, while the two rooms came together to make dinner, it would be no different.

He spent long minutes deciding whether he was going to attack Bakugou, who was now showing how skilled he was in the kitchen by cutting the vegetables with mastery, or even Midoriya, who was helping to arrange the dishes on the table. Obviously he chose Midoriya (Bakugou holding a knife would certainly be a dumb choice) and I followed him a few steps back to see if I had to intercede again.

I expected him to start with the classic demeaning of class 1-A, but to my surprise he pointed at Midoriya.

“You’re so slow in setting the table, for someone who was giving Tiger trouble. Or has that old man lost his touch?”

Midoriya arched an eyebrow upon hearing Monoma's approach.

“He was just taking it easy”.

"Of course, how else would a wimp like you stand up to him? Or is your quirk strong?”

Monoma reached out to touch Midoriya and copy her Quirk. It was at this point that I would interrupt. But Midoriya moved in milliseconds and held him in a hug, trapping his arms close to his body. The two fell to the ground.

“Don't copy my Quirk… it's dangerous for your bones”. Midoriya seemed really worried about that possibility. Which was funny, that genuine sympathy for the idiot Monoma who always tried to look down on her and her class.

Monoma's face took on a reddish tint that was totally new to me. Mr. “I'm better than everyone else” embarrassed because a girl landed with her boobs on top of him? That was funny.

“Get off me, you giant broccoli, I’ll not copy your quirk. You're being dangerous to my bones right now.”

Midoriya stared at him with pleading eyes, he blushed even more, and I started to laugh. I used my Quirk to pull her off him.

“Calm down, Midoriya, I'll keep an eye on him. We don't want to take care of him with all his bones broken here at camp, do we?” I said, looking more at Monoma than at Midoriya.

Monoma walked off and I had to apologize for him again. And I was sure it wouldn't be the last time on that trip.

------------------

Pov: Hagakure

When I was younger, not that much younger, around the age of eleven, my mom had given me a book called "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." It wasn't exactly about an invisible person, it was about a group of "out of character" teenagers who were generally excluded by others at school. And for a long time I wondered why I got that book, after all, I was really invisible. My parents are truly invisible. And for many, many years I believed there was no advantage. The last time I saw my own face was when I was four years old, before my Quirk awakened. In fact, I had never seen the faces of my own parents. Just imagine, a child who could barely form thoughts being carried around by invisible parents.

I knew when I had to cut my hair because I felt it running my hand, just like I felt the size of my breasts and the curves of my body, but I didn't see anything. I didn't know myself. From the pictures of me at three years old, I knew that my hair was very light green, and my eyes were gray with yellow circles around the pupils. But was it still like that? Was I beautiful? So you can imagine, when I received that book, the last thing I saw in my situation was “advantages”. But calm down, we will get there.

Because it was reading this book that I realized that I wasn't exactly happy. Hell, no one saw me. How would I be happy? It was over the years that I learned to speak with a friendly and smiling tone, even if I wasn't smiling – after all, nobody knew. However, on a terrible day that I cried, with that book in hand, my quirk had a peak of strength and I saw my hand. A glimpse of it, but for the first time after years I saw something. That's when my parents explained to me that we weren't invisible, our quirk was to refract light. And that maybe, if I tried really hard, I could control it. And choose when to become invisible. That's why I chose to be a hero, to be strong. To push my quirk to the max and maybe achieve that dream – to be seen for who I am. Of course, saving others felt good too.

And, now let's talk about the advantages. I'll save you from telling all the suffering and barriers I had to go through to make friends – and the girls at U.A helped me a lot with that. But what I'm going to tell you is how I learned to have too much fun with my quirk: I knew everything, or almost everything. All I had to do was say I was going to the bathroom, throw my clothes in any corner and puff, no one could see me. I could snoop on anything. I’m practically a professional spy.

Of course, professionals like All Might and Aizawa felt my presence. But there were few who managed that, in general, I walked everywhere and nobody noticed. What did I know? So many things! I knew how Uraraka sometimes mumbled in the corners saying Midoriya's name and how many times Kaminari looked at Jirou during classes. But wait, I also knew about more serious things: how many times a week Mineta went to the bathroom to jerk off and where Bakugou hid from time to time to put on his headphones and listen to songs that Midoriya had coincidentally commented on. And I also knew that Midoriya was probably All Might's daughter, or something like that, because he always dragged her into his classroom.

Several things I bet internally, like when Kaminari would notice that he liked Jirou. Several things I wrote down to use in my favor, like All Might and Midoriya's relationship. And others I simply left alone – like everything involving Bakugou – after all, I didn't want him to discover me, I had more fun watching.

Even there, while we were all preparing our dinner together, curry, and Bakugou tried to light the oven by exploding it, I could see how Todoroki's smile was happy to be useful. And I also saw that Monoma couldn't stop staring at Midoriya, probably thinking of the next shit he would say to the class – he must have also noticed that it was the best way to piss off Bakugou, going for Midoriya. And with that done, he managed to piss off Bakugou, who watched from afar as she restrained Monoma with a hug. The stressed-out guy took out all his anger on the vegetables he was cutting.

But what most caught my attention that night was that instead of going to shower, Aoyama went in the opposite direction. I wanted to know what he was up to, so I quickly made the excuse to go to the bathroom, stripped down and got back to acting fully naked, and when I play spy, I don't wear my gloves and shoes, what's the point? I couldn't be seen. I headed out into the woods behind the hot baths and had only taken a few steps into the darkness when I heard a crack. I stopped abruptly, trying to control my breathing, there was nothing around, no sign of Aoyama.

I should have brought a flashlight or something! It got dark very quickly here. I heard another noise and I turned sharply, only to feel black hands grab me by the wrist. Half a boy's body emerged from the shadow of a tree trunk. It was Shihai Kuroiro, a student at 1-B. His skin was black as ink, but his hair and eyelashes were snow white. His irises were grayish and seemed to stare me straight in the eyes.

“I was wondering at what time you would go on your stalker walks here at the camp, Miss Hagakure” Kuroiro smiled at me, I had never even spoken to him. How did he know? “Oh, I know. You may be invisible, but I feel you creeping through the shadows to snoop around. I felt it the first time you were in our room. And since then I've been watching you.”

I felt my face flush. Was he watching me?

“If you're got his eye on me, you know I've done nothing wrong.”

He chuckled mockingly. White teeth clashed against the black of his skin.

“Of course not, being curious is still not a crime.”

Kuroiro let go of my wrists and walked back into the shade of the tree. Seconds later his voice came from behind me.

“But I also started to get curious about your little walks, and when I saw it, I was already following you around. And Hagakure, the incredible invisible girl, didn't even notice.”

Incredible? My body felt hot.

“So in the end you're just another stalker, like me.”

Kuroiro came out from within my shadow. He was so close! Did he know I was naked? I took a step back against the tree.

“Perhaps”. He chuckled again. “But don't forget, Hagakure, while you walk through the shadows, know that I'm seeing you, and I'm feeling you.”

He pushed my own school sports clothes towards me. He knew I was naked. His voice was a little hoarse for his age, which fit with that dark way of him. When he disappeared back into the darkness my legs felt like jelly and I had to sit on the floor.

It took me a few minutes to recover from that approach and I found most of the boys arm wrestling for some stupid reason. Aoyama was there watching. Just like Kuroiro.

I already had my clothes on, but he was the only one who followed me with his eyes until I was out of sight towards the dorms.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Pov: Kouta

Tsk. What a waste of time. And what an idiots. What was the point of all that effort? So much effort for the result to be just the same destruction? Regardless of which side you were on.

“Won't you be hungry? I brought you curry!”

I was startled by the sudden voice. I was in my secret hiding place, the mouth of a cave on top of the mountain, not even the Wilds Pussycats went there. And how had that girl found me? Did she follow me?

I glared angrily. The big green eyes stared at me the way everyone else stared – after hearing about my parents.

"I already told you that I don't want anything to do with you! Get out of my hideout!”

“Hideout?” She carefully set the plate of curry to one side and leaned over the edge of the cliff. Her hair, also green, fluttered in the wind. “It is a beautiful place. Sorry to intrude, I thought you'd be hungry. And the curry is delicious, the guys really put in the effort”.

The girl smiled at me, a kind smile, so kind it reminded me of... Tsk. I clenched my fists, suddenly feeling the urge to cry, but I wouldn't do it in front of her. Instead I said aggressively:

“You’re an idiot. I saw you training with Tiger. Do you get that excited about strengthening your quirk? Why so much desire to show a stupid power?”

“Did you think my power was stupid?” She frowned in annoyance, but then the corners of her lips turned up softly, mixing sadness and sarcasm. “Yeah, thinking about it I think I'm kind of stupid. I only got here because I received help at all times...”

I clenched my fists even tighter.

“You are all stupid! Using quirks on each other, showing them around, and in the end it only serves to kill each other!”

“Your parents were from the duo "Water Horse", right?”

“Did Mandalay tell you?” I screamed, feeling that sudden urge to cry again.

“Er, no. I searched”. She scratched her hair awkwardly. “Do you think that if they didn't have quirk they wouldn't have died?” She turned toward the cliff, getting so close that a wrong-way wind would make her fall. “You know, I have a friend who was born without quirk, he always wanted to be a hero, but when he found out that he wouldn't, he didn't give up, he continued to train stubbornly. And I haven't seen him in a while, but I'm sure he found a way to move on. Your parents probably wouldn't have taken a different path because of the absence of quirk on the planet. The desire to save others is greater than that. And if you repudiate quirks, it will be a bit of a difficult world for you.”

My entire body was shaking. How dare she say that my parents would die anyway?

“GET OUT OF HERE,” I screamed with all the air I had in my lungs, but all she did was lower her head sadly and sigh.

“I'm sorry if I said something that displeased you. I'm not very good at these things... Anyway, eat the curry. Now it should be a little cold, but still tasty”.

Before I could respond, she dropped her body off the cliff and disappeared into the darkness.

----------------------------------------

Pov: Mina

The six girls from Class 1-B came to our dorm door with a few bags of snacks and an apology for all the times Monoma had been rude or stupid to Class 1-A. We gladly accepted both, especially the treats – as Monoma would probably talk more shit soon given the chance. We invite them to a pajama party. It was my idea – I really wanted new gossip, especially to know what was going on in the other classroom. Hakagure and Midoriya came in a little later, both joining the party in totally out of the box moods, Hagakure was elated and Midoriya was all sad. She took the cell phone when I said:

“Did you have an argument with Shinso?”

“I don't even have signal for that.” She took a quick look at her cell phone and put it back in her pocket.

“You can stay away for a few days. Take that depress away! Now come on, what's the topic of the night going to be?” I asked anxiously and the girls looked at each other. If I didn't steer the conversation where I wanted it to go, we'd soon be talking about training and quirks again. “Which boy do you have a crush on? Or girl, without prejudice. Anyone besides Midoriya dating?”

Silence.

“C'mon girls, this is a pajama party. Eating and talking nonsense are the rules! You”. I pointed to Kendo. “Do you and Monoma have something?”

Kendo started to laugh.

“Gee, he's like an annoying brother to me. And I don't like boys, like you said, without prejudice.”

The girls from my class gasped in surprise. Not just for the revelation, but for the direct way she said it. But Kendo declined to say if she had a crush on any of us.

“From your classroom, what makes my style the most is Tetsutesu,” I said.

“Of course, he's a less beautiful version of Kirishima” Jirou completed, laughing.

  “Hey!”

“I think the most beautiful one is Kaibara,” said Uraraka, and Momo nodded. The boy was that pretty pattern, not my style.

“Hmm, maybe Monoma really is the most beautiful in the room?” Midoriya said. Almost all of them made a “disgusting” sound, “Well, if only he had less of that sadistic freak out face of his.”

Jirou agreed with her.

“Well, but you two like blondes”  I said to Midoriya

“Whaat? Shinsou isn't even blonde!”

I wanted to say “exactly!”, but Tsuyu cut the conversation short.

“I think I prefer Kamakiri.”

The girls were silent. There was taste for everything. From our classroom, only Hagakure was missing.

She got stuck a few times and finally said that she would choose Kuroiro. For me that was the most out of line vote, Hagakure was the type that liked patterns, like Kaibara - at least that's what I thought. And out of nowhere she'd brought up the least standard guy in the room. And detail: she had never spoken of him before.

When it was the turn of the girls from room 1-B to speak, the thing was kind of obvious, except for Kendo who didn't want to say anything, Kodai, Komori and Tsutonori vote to Todoroki. But the two that surprised were Shiozaki who voted for Iida! And the Tokage who said she has a crush on Bakugou.

"It's just a matter of time, as soon as he sees me with my heroine outfit, he'll fall down drooling," said Tokage.

Tokage was hot and she knew it. She was also outgoing. I glanced at Midoriya from the corner of my eye and she fidgeted with her hair uncomfortably. Tokage was perfect for throwing straw at this fire and the gears in my head started to move.

------------------------------------------

Pov: Kirishima

The boys from room 1-B challenged us to an arm wrestling match to prove who was better, things didn't go as expected and we ended up settling it in a pillow fight that was interrupted by teachers Vlad and Aizawa. After all that I imagined that the day was already over and that we wouldn't have any more problems before going to sleep, mainly because Monoma managed to totally burn out Bakugou's patience that night.

After Midoriya threw himself on the floor with him in a hug, Monoma said in the midst of all the boys that she was crazy – like the rest of the class. That only made their rivalry worse.

And now, late at night, Mina said that it was urgent that Bakugou and I meet them in front of the only drink vending machine that was there in one of the halls of the accommodation. I had no idea what would be waiting for us, but knowing Mina, it was probably something that would give me a lot of headaches later – something that would involve Bakugou. But even so, I convinced him to accompany me. Only instead of Mina, when we turned the corner, we saw one of the girls from 1-B. For a few seconds I almost had a heart attack thinking it was Midoriya, because of her green hair, but the shade of green was different, it just fooled anyone who looked at it quickly.

I didn't remember her name, but the girl was wearing a purple nightgown a little too sexy for the occasion and when she saw us she broke into a smile with pointy teeth – like mine.

“Look, I didn't expect to find two kittens around here.” She leaned sensually against the machine.

“If the alien isn't in this shit, I'm going to go back to sleep, it's already fucking late”.  Bakugou totally ignored the girl, he was particularly angry that night. In fact, he was particularly irritated since we got back from I-Island, but he didn't want to tell me what happened, all I knew was that he had gone to talk to Melissa. Did he try and get dumped? Pff, impossible, he wouldn't hit on anyone.

“Well, since we're here, don't you want something to drink?” She leaned against his arm.

There, turning the wall on the side of the machine, I saw the glimpse of a little yellow antenna, Mina. What was she up to? I took a step to the side to see. She was with someone else... Midoriya.”

Jeez, Mina, you really are a criminal mastermind!

“Tsk, don't funcking bother me.” Bakugou tried to push her away, but her hand let go of her body, clinging to his arm. That was her quirk, she managed to chop herself into pieces.

“Comeeee oon, Bakugou, if I defeat you now, would you like to drink something?”

I took a few steps away, walked down the hall. Bakugou also repaired the little antennas in addition to the machine and was stomping his foot hard. By the time he tried to grab Mina by the collar and pull her along, the smart one had already sailed away. Instead he pulled a Midoriya in her plush pajamas with bunny designs (she even had a hood with ears!). Bakugou was speechless. The girl from Class 1-B pursed her lips in disgust to see that her plan to seduce Bakugou went down the drain.

He even ripped her hand from his arm and hurled it at her face, before pulling Midoriya closer by her collar. From a distance I analyzed the whole situation. Apart from the similar hair and eye color, the rest of the two were totally different. Even in style, as demonstrated by the camisole vs bunny.

“Sorry, Kacchan, Mina bet that Hagakure wouldn't be able to win you over. And she dragged me in as a witness.”

Bakugou didn't move for several seconds. At that moment, even I wondered what was going on in his head.

“I don't have time to puppy love. I'm going to be Japan's #1 hero,” he said through gritted teeth.

Auch. That one hit the right spot.

He dropped her abruptly on the floor and walked towards the bedroom.

I said goodbye to the two girls and followed him. On my cell phone a new message beeped. Mine age:

“Hey, was that enough straw in the fire?”

I looked at Bakugou's back as he walked a little bent over in irritation, sometimes he seemed to carry an eternal weight that he couldn't let go.

I sighed.

In a way, that helped him release a part of one of the many feelings he kept.

Chapter Text

THIRD DAY CAMPING.

Puppy love. Wow, that caught me off guard. Kacchan thought I wasn't trying hard enough just because I was hanging out with Shinsou? And, was that true?

No, Izuku, get your head together! You didn't stop doing any training because of the dates (which weren't even that many). By the way, I also trained with Shinsou, if it weren't for him, I would never have access to the other Quirks of One For All. It would be a matter of time to convince him to use Brainwashing again, thus "unlocking" the memories of the next user, En. So I couldn't let Kacchan get inside my head about that.

But it was actually easier said than done.

“You're a little distracted today,” said Tiger, the tall, muscular man in the cute kitty clothes walking a few steps ahead of me as we entered the woods, moving far enough away from the rest of the room that no one could see us training.

“Am I? Sorry about that”. I took a long breath and then tried to smile excitedly. “I swear I'll focus.”

“I expect. Aizawa made me promise that today your training will be much harder than yesterday.”

And so it was, Tiger was fast and strong. Not as much as All Might in our final test, but enough to wear me out, and he was taking it easy. We separated from the rest of the classroom so that I could also practice “Floating”. He was trying to improve my skills of launching strong attacks while floating, but it was just as difficult: floating fast and getting enough momentum to land a good punch or kick while in the air.

It was only at sunset that we stopped training. My whole body ached, I felt nauseous, and I was dripping with sweat. We sat on top of a branch of a huge tree – I floated us to the top – and as we watched the sunset, Tiger handed me a protein bar.

“You really fulfilled your promise to Aizawa.”  My arms were shaking from the tiredness just trying to open the wrapper of the bar. Tiger smiled at me and popped his whole bar in his mouth. Only when he finished chewing did he say:

“But you were still a little distracted compared to yesterday. Problems with boys?”

I blushed, nearly choking as I chewed. He laughed out loud, the laugh thick and good to hear.

“No need to be ashamed, at this age I think the most common headaches in our lives are boys and villains. That when not both together. Which boy is keeping you up at night?”

“Arg, it's not exactly one of them”.  and so I told Tiger what had happened. I think I ended up saying too much, talking about some frustrations I carried for Kacchan since we stopped being best friends.

"And have you tried to tell this... Kacchan... how you feel?"

“He doesn't care! He knows he was my best friend, how much I love him... loved him... I don't know. And now he keeps saying mean things to me”.  Without noticing, I was already letting tears run down my cheeks. “I'm not in a puppy love, I'm not even dating. My goal still remains the same, I'm going to be Japan's greatest hero.”

I shoved half the bar into my mouth and chewed furiously. Kacchan and I promised as kids that we would be the greatest heroes together, but lately he made me so upset that I wanted to get over him more and more.

Tiger patted my shoulder. His hand was so big and heavy that I almost lost my balance on top of the tree.

“You who are super fans of heroes should know that I was born a woman.” He looked at me seriously, I nodded softly. Of course I knew, Tiger was one of the four female members of the Wild Pussycats, until he took time off and when he came back, he was a trans man. But I thought it inelegant to broach the subject, no matter what it had been before. “But I always knew I wasn't a woman, that I was in the wrong body. I wanted to feel good about myself. I wanted to achieve my emotional and physical balance. But people don't see it that way”. Tiger took a long breath. “People think that just because we choose to be professional heroes we are above being normal humans. Having relationships, wanting to find yourself. The Wild Pussycats were the only ones who stood by me, who supported me, while so many others said it was freshness, or totally unnecessary. Some also said that I would soil the group's line-up. But they supported me and off I went. And you know what? We can only save others if we ourselves are well. It's okay if you want to date or whatever. From what you've shown me in these two days of training, you're going to become a fantastic woman capable of taking care of many things in your life. Even if you ever want to join the Wild Pussycats, I'm sure the others will love it too.”

I blushed again, not knowing what to say. My heart was beating fast. Tiger. The region's strongest hero, specialist in rescues across all of Japan, had invited me into the group?

“But I think what you have to do now is sit down with this boy and talk. Clearly there is something the two of you are not saying to each other.

Talk to Kacchan? I frowned, I couldn't even remember the last time I did that.

            ***

When we got back to the accommodations, it was already dark and dinner was starting to be prepared. The first to approach me was Iida.

"Were you trying to evade your obligations, young lady? No way! Go there and cut the vegetables! We'll make ramen today!”

“It sounds like my mother talking, Iida.” I laughed, but he was soon pushing me to the table where I would fulfill my obligations. Kacchan was also chopping, the boards were side by side. Yesterday I had helped with the dishes, but I don't remember the boards being this close together. In fact, weren't they even at different tables?

I walked over to him, asking for permission to stay by his side – the only response was a grunt-growl – and started chopping the chives. Kacchan was cutting the meats. He was very skilled with a knife, he always cooked well, his mother made him help in the kitchen. Now I... a denial. I cut the chives so slowly that it would be lucky to finish it for dinner today instead of tomorrow.

For several minutes the only sound was the knives hitting the wooden boards. But Tiger's speech stuck in my head.

“Kacchan. I won't…” My voice came out as a whisper. Kacchan didn't look at me, but stopped the movement with the knife. “I won't lose focus of becoming a hero because I'm dating Shinsou. Heroes can be both, heroes and humans. They can date, get married, have kids and...”

I was interrupted by the sound of the knife being driven into the wooden table.

“Are you thinking of marrying that fucking goth?”  for a moment I almost felt the indignant way that the Kacchan from our childhood had, but soon he went back to growling “Tsk, fuck you, whatever. It better not get in my way”.

Kacchan went to get the knife back, but I put my hand in front of his. We stared at each other, his irises seemed to flicker.

“I won't marry him, at least I don't think so. Damn, Kacchan, we're not even dating. What I'm trying to tell you is that I'm not going to stop being your rival. I will fight you for the top spot, I will always be in your way.”

“Hey, Midoriya, you're bleeding!” Uraraka approached us, interrupting the conversation. I hadn't noticed, but when I tried to stop Kacchan, my hand grazed the knife, cutting the top, I didn't even feel it in the heat of the moment, after all, it wasn't a deep cut. Even so, Uraraka took me inside to get a bandage.

"Thanks, Uraraka, I didn't even notice the knife was there," I said clumsily. Uraraka, with her rosy cheeks and upturned nose, pursed her mouth in dissatisfaction as she swabbed the small wound with antiseptic.

“You know, Midoriya, we miss you”.

I looked at her without understanding.

“Me, Iida, Tokoyami and even Todoroki. Since the final exam, you've been a little off. When you're not with Shinsou, are fighting with Bakugou. I don't know what happened, but we're here for anything you want to talk about, okay?”

I was a little surprised by that. She was right, since the final exam something wasn't right. From the moment I promised myself that I would stay away from Kacchan (and I haven't been exactly fulfilling that) my head was a little confused, I only knew how to think about things like “I need to get over Kacchan, I need him to talk to me, I need to understand what's going on” and with that I neglected the rest, even the Shinsou a little, but mostly the friends who really cared about me.

Uraraka gently wrapped a tiny piece of gauze over the wound and secured it with a sticking plaster.

“Sorry, Uraraka, you're right, I haven't been a good friend lately these last few weeks. But I’ll make up all the time with you. Let's do something today!”

After showering and before going to sleep, everyone had some free time, we could sit and talk, or play games. Uraraka loved the idea, and before long she had it all set up. Soon we were Todoroki, Tokoyami, Tsuyu, me, her and Iida sitting at the dining table with a deck of cards. We started with easy things, like blackjack, then we ended up playing truco and poker. It was impossible to beat Todoroki's poker, he just had the best poker face ever!

Uraraka took a lot of pictures and even Tokoyami and Dark Shadow took one with me. We all laughed, we talked not only about training, but about music, movies, series and so on. It was what Uraraka had been talking about, it seemed like ages since I had fun like this.

And that's what I needed to get through my head: Stop worrying about Kacchan.

            ***

FOURTH CAMPING DAY:

“Aizawa-sensei. It's the fourth day of camp, won't All Might and other teachers come?” I asked, after a brief scolding he gave us for the result of the final exams – he wanted us to make more effort in those training sessions.

  “As I explained before we left, we’re employing as little staff as possible in order to make it difficult for the villains to corner us. And as for All Might, he is more than likely a target for villains. So, of course, he won't come here. For better or worse, he's someone who tends to stand out.”

“I see...”

It was a bit comical the way Aizawa singled out the word "worse". He didn't like the whole showy way All Might worked. Anyway, I was upset to hear that he wouldn't be there to train with us, and I also wanted to ask for guidance on how to best help Kouta.

After that Pixie-Bob reminded us that that night we had the test of courage. The day passed with no different events, just more of that grueling training that everyone faced with special excitement due to the event of the night.

While I lit the wood to prepare dinner, Todoroki approached bringing more.

“Wish All Might was here? I heard you asking Aizawa. Do you need anything from him?”

Arg, sometimes I was surprised by the interest that Todoroki had in my relationship with All Might, I smiled taking the firewood from his hand.

“I wanted to ask about Kouta, the boy” I went to point to Kouta, but he disappeared, he must have gone to that place again. “He doesn't like heroes, quirks and our whole society. And I couldn't say anything to change his mind. I wanted to ask All Might what he would say, he's good at finding encouraging words”. I let out a long breath. “What would you say?”

Todoroki didn't seem to think for a minute to answer me:

“It depends. Without knowing his history, a speech about justice from a stranger would only be irritating. What really matters is what the person who is speaking has been doing, what them are doing in life. The words, by themselves, must be very meaningful to move someone. So you must back up your words with your actions. It’s what I think”.

I watched the logs crackle, feeling helplessness.

“You're right, why would he listen to a stranger?!”

“I'm not sure what you're trying to get out of him, but it's not good to meddle in such a sensitive matter. Even if you are used to doing this.”

Todoroki smiled at me, that simple, sincere smile he used to give, the corners of his mouth lifting just a little and his eyes seemed to glow with kindness. I blushed.

“Sorry...”

It was a bit about that, right? I liked to be a busybody. A part of me thought it would be nice if I could save others from everything and everyone. The way I was able to help Todoroki, I wanted to help Kouta feel better about himself.

“No need to apologize to me. I would probably be miserable right now if you hadn't meddled in my life.”

I didn't know how that was possible, but I felt even hotter and redder.

We were intruded by the chatter in the room and I couldn't even respond properly (not that I knew what to respond).

***

We had dinner and showered with a sore body, but with priceless animation. It would be my first “test of courage”. It wasn't just any event, almost all students expected an excursion to take this kind of test. We even thought that because the U.A was a school of heroes, that we would not have the possibility of going through this experience, but we were wrong.

Of course, not everything was going to be perfect: the students that failed on exams weren't going to participate. I was upset for them.

The 1-B students who would try to scare us. And that information put me a little more at ease, after all, none of them were particularly scary. It was a positive point, since in the doubles draw I took the number 8: in addition to going alone, it would be the last one.

How could I be so unlucky?

Okay, I was part of the tiny 20% who were born without quirk. Of course bad luck was one of the things present in my life. I sighed as I watched the other pairs lead the way.

Kacchan tried to switch partners with someone else because he didn't want to go with Todoroki. Would he trade with me? I almost asked, but both scenarios seemed uninviting: going with Kacchan and continuing my currently interminable discussions with him, or going with Todoroki and dying of embarrassment from having scare after scare in the presence of someone so calm.

I watched patiently as each pair entered the forest. Most of them were already gone when the worst happened: villains appeared and knocked out Pixie-Bob who was left passed out on the ground, with her head bleeding while a villain pressed some kind of weapon wrapped.

Mandalay asked the students not to get involved, but my head just screamed one thing: Kouta was alone on top of that hill. I turned to her:

“Mandalay! I know where he is!”

That's all I had to say, she nodded, disgusted to let a student out of there alone. But what choice did she have? Only I knew where he was.

I waited out of their sight and activated Float.

The vision I had was frightening: the forest was burning. A dense layer of purple fog covered where my classmates entered to take the test. Desperation covered me all over, everyone was at risk, I wanted to save them, but I had to continue the direct path to the mountain and I didn't regret not having lost focus.

Of all the places a villain could appear, one of them chose Kouta's secret hideout. And it wasn't an unfamiliar face, I saw that villain when I researched the boy's parents. It was exactly the same!

A shudder ran through my body at the thought of the possibility of Kouta being killed by the same man who killed his parents. I approached them and with a flying shot I hit the villain away from the boy. I had the element of surprise on my side, the impact was enough to push him but not enough to hurt him.

It was like kicking a rock.

My cell phone fell out of my pocket on impact and shattered.

The villain stood up with a smile on his face.

Kouta was crying behind me.

"I don't remember anyone on the list of students who could fly," said the villain, scratching his chin with his finger. “But I remember your face on the list. Midoriya, right? Shigaraki said you were his. But what can I do if you're so desperate to die? I will kill them both.”

‘Kouta, stay behind me, I will protect you, whatever it takes.”

“Will you protect him? Whatever it takes?” asked the villain between one laugh and another.  “With this weak body of yours?”

If I tried to float with Kouta in my arms, I would be limited and we would still be an easy target in the air. My cell phone was broken, no one would come to help me. In the attack on rescue training Kacchan saved me. Against Stain I received help from Todoroki and Iida. On the island, if it wasn't for All Might, I might never have woken up from that brainwashing.

And it went further. Against All Might I used a lot of Kacchan's strength.

At the Sports Festival, I lost to Todoroki.

I clenched my fist, my body trembled.

I was absolutely alone. A child's life depended only on me. It depended on a person who always needed help from others.

I forced my body to stop shaking.

I gave the villain a sour smile.

There was always a first time for everything.

I would defeat him.

He advanced on me. If I dodged he would hit Kouta behind me.

I activated Quirk and received the impact with my arms. I heard the top one crack. Pain coursed through my body. I didn't let my body be thrown backwards, I held the villain's fist and activated the float. My body was thrown up and I managed to get behind his body. Wrapping my legs around his neck. I pulled him up.

“Whore. You really fly!” he said choking as we continued to climb.

“No. I float.”

I let go of him as soon as he grabbed my legs. I activated 100% of my power going towards his falling body and punched him in the middle of the belly. When we reached the ground he sank into the rocks on impact and a gust of wind nearly blew Kouta off the cliff.

"Sorry, I almost threw you out."

“Your arms...” Kouta's eyes were wide open, my two arms were starting to turn purple from the fractures.

I thought the fight was over.

A punch hit me in the stomach throwing me away again.

I spat blood on the ground. I almost lost consciousness.

“Always check if your rival is dead even before turning your back”. He laughed, approaching. “Finally some blood! That's what I wanted to see! Fuck! Woman's blood makes me so horny!”

His hand was so big that he managed to grab me by the neck and run his thumb over the blood running down my chin.

“Oh, before I kill you, do you know someone called Bakugou and where he is?”

I grabbed his wrist with both hands. My arms ached, but the adrenaline spiked again hearing that.

“What do you want with him?”

He lifted me up and then lowered me to the ground, the impact drawing more blood. One of my ribs broke.

"I'll assume then that you don't know."  He laughed. “You’re a weakling. Has two Quirks and is still a worse version of me. Didn't you say you were going to protect the boy at all costs? You’re ridiculous”.

His laugh was insane. The force around my neck, pinning me against the rocks on the floor was surreal.

I heard a “tuc” and the villain looked back.

“Waterhouse…my father…my mother…Did you bully them like that before you killed them?” Kouta threw a tiny rock at the villain's head, while crying. My conscience hovered in limbo, but that was enough to shatter my heart. Would he watch me die?

“Are you the son of those two?” The villain let go of my neck, raising towards Kouta.

No. My body didn't respond.

“They were the ones who took my eye out. Is fate giving me the opportunity to kill you too?

“It's your fault!” Kouta shouted. “It's because of people like you that things like this happen!”

No. No. No. Just run, Kouta!

“This new generation loves to put the blame on others, not good. I wanted to kill, your parents wanted to stop me. There are no culprits, just adults doing their own thing”. He paused for a long time as if thinking about his own twisted philosophy. “Come to think of it, they’re guilty of one thing. In trying to do something they weren't even remotely capable of. Does you not agree?”

He raised his arm to punch Kouta. His quirk was capable of expanding muscle fibers. The villain was a disgusting mass of bare muscle.

My body reacted with the need to save Kouta.

I reached over, thrusting my left hand between the muscle fibers of his arm and punched him in the face.

Not just once. With each punch I felt another crumb of my bone break.

“It's all your fault!” I said. A punch. “There is no such thing as “doing what you want” another punch. “You're just a crazy bastard who just wants to kill”.

I threw a final punch, letting go of the fibers.

The villain flew several meters away. Fading among the crumbling rocks.

I vomited blood and Kouta approached me shaking all over.

“Get away from here. Go to the...”

"Looks like it's time to end the game. You really are interesting, Midoriya.” The villain left between the rocks with a smile on his face.

My hopes began to run along with my blood from my nose and mouth.

Both my arms were broken. I had already used the power at 100% several times.

I couldn't even clench my fists as a reflection of my dissatisfaction.

I thought of Kacchan. What did the villains want with him?

Would he be okay even if I couldn't warn everyone? Would he be very angry if I died?

My heart was in my throat, I felt like I could throw up again just thinking about the villains hurting him.

“When I say, you run, all right?”

“You can’t…” shouted Kouta with a trembling voice. “Your arms are broken! And your attacks are having no effect!”

“I will be fine.”

I closed my eyes for a few seconds.

I will be fine.

A memory lapse came to my mind. Nana's memories again. Those were En's last words before he died. The sad smile on her face. Then images of him dead, lips bruised, arm ripped off, tears dried on his cheeks.

I opened my eyes.

Was that the fate of all users?

“Why are you smiling, slut? Have you lost your mind now that you're going to die?”

Had I really lost my mind?

The villain rushed towards me, I pushed Kouta back a few steps away. He punched me, I held the punch. It was hard to describe the pain.

But it didn't matter anymore.

“Are you weaker?” he laughed.

What would Nana do? All Might was brute force. Nana, in his own words, was annoyingly difficult to get right. Brute force with grace.

Graciousness.

I had never thought of bringing that into the fight.

She inspired me a lot in All Might's tough way to fight.

But after seeing Nana's memoirs I was blown away by how she seemed to dance.

Dance.

This I knew how to do.

He kept trying to push me.

“Kouta, run now!”

Kouta took a few steps back. He didn't run away. The space he provided me was insufficient.

I floated with my arm up.

“You won't do that again!” said the villain. Using his free hand to try and grab me.

“Kouta! I told you to run!”

The boy didn't react.

Damn it.

I gripped the villain's fiber-filled wrist with my other hand. I was upside down on top of him, our arms linked and open. Our eyes met for a few seconds. I activated the Quirk in my legs and used all the strength I gathered to spin forward, I heard my arms emitting another “crec”. I was on my back with him, as soon as my feet took momentum on the ground I activated the quirk again and pulled up throwing him to the ground with all the strength I still had left. He growled. I did that again and again. Float, spin, push. Float, spin, push.

The fourth time the villain was unconscious.

I finally let go and was floating. Unbelievable that I had won.

My body fell to the ground and I stared at the stars.

Oh, everything hurt.

Recovery Girl would be really mad at me again.

My mother would probably cry.

And Kacchan... Kacchan!

I sat up in a rush, noticing that Kouta was crouched beside me, crying and muttering something.

“I need...” I began, desperate, just thinking that I needed to warn everyone about the risks Kacchan was running.

“Stop! You're all hurt. What else do you have to do?”

“I need to warn teachers that students are at risk. And leave you safe.”

I asked Kouta to climb on my shoulder and I jumped on the cliff.

My body was on the verge of collapse and the only thing keeping me awake was the fear that they would hurt Kacchan.

But above all, a thought came to me like a slap:

I won. Alone.

Chapter Text

Pov: Jirou

“Will we find everyone from room 1B?” asked Hagakure with a trembling voice. “Some have quite frightening Quirks.”

We walked on a clear path through the trees for the 'test of courage'. The other room would have to really try hard to scare me. But I couldn't deny that it was an interesting idea, and in terms of unobtrusive powers, ideal for coming up with plans to pull pranks, room 1B won. After all, how would we scare others with such offensive Quirks?

When you think about it, a completely broken Midoriya could scare a lot of people.

Todoroki could make ice zombies.

And Bakugo's own angry face was scare enough.

“Just keep in mind that nothing is real. It's just our colleagues.”

“It’s easier to say than to make the brain believe that.”

"You won't be so scared if Kuroiro shows up," I said, covering my mouth to smirk, imagining that Hagakure had blushed from the way her clothes shifted.

“Shhh, he could already be here listening to everything we say.”

"Looks like someone's here..."

I stopped talking abruptly.

Something stirred in the darkness.

I plugged my quirk into the ground.

Many people moved within the forest. More than the 2B class should have.

Something was starting.

Something really bad.

And the confirmation came with a thick layer of purple smoke that spread out and left me dumbfounded.

***

Pov: Kouta

How did she do it? How did she not faint? Midoriya carried me on her back as she ran through the forest, trying to get back to where her teacher was.

She desperately tried to hold back her tears as she took a closer look at every bruise on her destroyed arm.

“Kouta, I'm going to need a favor” she began, without slowing down, I nodded in agreement. “A big favor actually, you can't tell anyone that I have two quirks. I shouldn't have used it in that fight. It will need to be our secret.”

“Okay.” I rubbed the back of my hand over my eyes, maybe if I stopped crying so much she wouldn't think I was a crybaby. “I've never seen anyone like you. “With two quirks.”

“Errr” Midoriya started to curl up. “Huh, in fact, you saw, Todoroki has ice and fire, sometimes it happens, you know?”

She stuttered as she spoke. She was a terrible liar.

After all, the least I could do was not push her.

I hugged her tightly.

“It will be our secret,” I whispered, and she smiled at me.

It didn't take long for us to reach Professor Aizawa, and chaos passed by there as well. At least they managed to warn all the students, using Mandalay's Quirk, that the villains were after one named Kacchan.

I thought Midoriya was finally going to rest, but instead she went in search of this colleague herself. Aizawa led me into the building and I held onto the hem of my shirt as we walked.

"She...she almost died! To save me...”  I could no longer hold back tears. "Is she going to be... okay? I couldn't even say thanks.”

Aizawa placed his hand on my head.

“When she comes back you thank her”.

I looked at him, blurred between tears.

Yes, when she returns, alive.

***  

Pov: Toga

She was so cute! I needed her blood! And the way she looks! If I were like that, would I have friends? If I were like that, would she be my friend?

A punch hit my nose, besides being beautiful, she knew how to fight better than me.

The name was Ochako Uraraka.

The other one, with green hair, didn't catch my eye. She could die and I wouldn't care. I could kill her right now, but I couldn't take my eyes off Ochako-chan, her hair was shiny and her cheeks were rosy. Her expression was so angry!

“Who are you? And what do you want?” Ochako asked, just in time for me to dodge another attempted punch. Come to think of it, she was good, but not fantastic. If she were my friend, I could teach her how to be much better. There was no bloodlust. Ah, that I could teach very well.

“Now I want to be your friend.”

Ochako turned up her nose, it didn't piss me off, that was so normal that it would be strange if she smiled.

She paused a few seconds, looking up, and then frowned at me again.

“What do you want with Bakugou?” She asked.

“Bakugou?” I repeated. Ah, would it be that boy we needed to kidnap? I didn't care about that. Dabi took care of these annoying bureaucracies of being a villain.

I wanted friends, and I wanted to have fun.

I dodged another blow and managed to hold her by the waist while I stuck my syringe in her thigh. She pushed me back, that other girl's tongue tried to reel me in. Tsuyu, the name of hers. I slashed Tsuyu with my knife.

None of that stopped me from getting Ochako's blood.

Now I could transform me in her!

She wouldn't complain about being my friend, right?

I felt an abrupt movement to my right and dodged. It was imminent danger, as if I could actually have been hurt if I'd been hit. A concern that Tsuyu and Ochako couldn't get past me even fighting together.

“Are you all right?” the question was not directed at me.

The girl, with big green eyes, wavy and disheveled green hair, was all hurt.

Her arms swollen and bruised, one eye half-closed by a bruise. Torn clothes.

It was hideous.

It was the most wonderful thing I've seen in my life.

A fallen angel.

Was that the feeling of love at first sight?

“Midoriya! What happened to you?” Ochako shouted.

Midoriya Izuku.

I clicked my tongue.

The girl Shigaraki warned us not to kill.

That only he could touch.

As if!

"Izuku, right?"  I said, feeling every syllable of her name. It was like honey running down my mouth.

A shiver ran through her body when she heard her own name.

“Deku, for you”. In the blink of an eye she ran towards me and jumped, going over my head and propelling a kick on my shoulders. Fall forward feeling everything hurt.

Did I hear my bone crack?

She just got better. Every second more looking at her was heaven.

Other students came out of the woods, defeated that imbecile who must have been releasing poisonous gas. I rolled my eyes.

“I don't deal well with large numbers. Let's see each other again, Izuku.”

I fled into the forest, apparently the plan was starting to go awry.

--------------

Pov: Todoroki

The feeling of incapacity accompanied me since childhood. It was with it that I watched the abuse my mother suffered every time. It was also with it that I watched her be hospitalized, when I knew that the problem wasn't exactly her.

So now, as that feeling throbbed like an open wound, I couldn't exactly say I didn't know what it was like to feel that way. However, incredibly this incapacity somehow managed to show that there would always be a new piece of my heart to break.

And how he broke in that instant.

Bit by bit as Midoriya screamed and cried on the floor and there was nothing left to do.

It all happened so fast. Event after event.

Bakugou and I, against our will, started our test of courage and we were halfway through when the villains' attack took shape. The first villain we encountered stretched his metal teeth into blade-like shapes. And even after Aizawa's authorization for us to attack, we had a hard time defeating him.

Besides that something else caught our attention.

“The villains are after Kacchan. He shouldn't fight alone or get involved in fights.”

That message came from Midoriya, through Mandalay's Quirk, there was no doubt about it. But what mess had she gotten herself into to get such information?

“What the fuck?” Bakugou tried to approach the villain and I had to make an ice barrier to protect him, which didn't stop him from trying to attack again. “Where is she? It could only be that Deku thing to tell me not to fight. Always thinking I'm incapable of defeating any piece of shit.”

I had to protect him again and again, I wasn't sure that Bakugou got the message right. And I certainly didn't believe that was why Midoriya had sent the message. But we didn't have the time, or intimacy, to talk about it.

The villain was skilled, knew how to use the terrain and much more dangerous than we thought. He couldn't attack with fire without burning the forest, we couldn't run away because of the poisonous smoke and he couldn't freeze him as he was so good at dodging.

We were running out of options when Shoji showed up carrying a badly injured Midoriya.

***

Pov: Shoji

It was hard to understand the power of a magnet until you were close to it.

“Just a huge ass”

“A soft breast”

“A pretty face”

It was one of the many things that I already thought were the reasons that led Midoriya to cause a certain commotion inside the room among some of the guys. I had never tried to get close to her, or talk to her, and vice versa, and despite knowing that she was strong and intelligent, I didn't think Midoriya was close to the strength that Bakugou and Todoroki had.

Until I saw her that night.

With his arms broken, his legs bleeding, his face bruised, Midoriya was able to somehow figure out the villains' intentions and get the message across. I found her looking for Bakugou, and even though I told her that she wouldn't get anything in that state, she didn't give up. She even managed to think of a way to take the out of control Tokoyami to the villain who attacked Todoroki and Bakugou.

It was amazing, I couldn't have done half of those things myself with working arms. She didn't seem to mind the bruises, the pain. It was what drew everyone to loyalty.

“What happened?” Todoroki approached us, eyes wide at Midoriya's situation. Bakugou was behind him, his mouth a pale line and his fists were clenched.

“I had a little trouble with a villain.” She smiled, trying not to worry them, which was impossible, just by looking at her for a few seconds we could see how worrying the situation really was. “The most important thing is that the villains failed to capture Kacchan and...”

“CAPTURE ME?” Bakugou yelled. “LOOK AT YOU, YOU FUCKIN' NERD.”

Bakugou was trembling.

We were interrupted in whatever discussion was about to start. Uraraka and Tsuyu appeared.

***

Pov: Uraraka

            Horrifying. I wanted to throw up as soon as my eyes met Midoriya's.

It looked like she had been in fifty car accidents in a row and came to us.

I missed some beginning of discussion, I found them following Bakugou's screams.

I also wanted to scream at that moment.

“Nothing matters now, we need to take Kacchan safely to Professor Aizawa” said Midoriya, and I believe more for Bakugou himself than anyone else.

I approached her, trying to see the severity of the injuries.

She was right.

Now it only mattered to take Bakugou, because the sooner we did this, the sooner she would accept rest. How did she maintain consciousness?

We started running back to the building Aizawa was supposed to be in, but at a glance backwards. Bakugou was gone.

            ***

            Pov: Mr. Compress

“If you're talking about the blond boy, I captured him with my magic.” I moved my fingers carefree making the little green ball move between them. Sometimes throwing it upwards. “He is too talented to be among the heroes, let's show him that with the right ideals, he can shine much brighter with us.”

Wearing a mask was always helpful, the brats didn't see me roll my eyes at those repeated words that first came out of Warp's mouth.

No one traded ideals that way.

That boy wouldn't see anything different, he wouldn't have a “villainous enlightenment”, and I didn't care. I was in the League of Villains for the fame. I was a magician. I wanted my tricks to become world famous.

“Give him back! Give me Kacchan!” shouted the girl with wavy green hair to her shoulder.

“Give back? And is he yours by any chance?” I cracked a smile. “Bakugou belongs to himself. Be less selfish.”

“Give him back now!”

I sighed.

Ah, so much teen drama.

It was even a little fun.

The boy with the burn scar tried to attack me with a massive amount of ice.

“Escape tricks are my favorite,” I said, dodging in the air. I expected more from those kids. I wanted to play a little more with the feelings of that desperate girl. But I said over the comm that we could all leave and I left the brats behind.

Magicians didn't like to get involved in direct fights.

When I was almost arriving at the agreed place, I felt something hit me.

There were three of those boys, among them the girl all crippled.

I had to compress myself within my own confinement to avoid injury.

And battle came, battle went, everyone got tired.

But what really mattered was my final act.

Bakugou kidnapped.

And instead of clapping, the girl's scream of despair.

Ah, that would always be the highlight of my performances.         

------------------------------------

Pov: All Might

            I should be there. I should have saved Bakugou. I should have prevented Midoriya from getting to such a drastic point again. The news was bad. While everything was happening I took a hot bath.

I entered Midoriya's room as soon as the doctors put her there after hours of surgery. While waiting, I managed to catch up on all the events with Aizawa, Vlad and the other students who were questioned by the police.

Young Midoriya still had bruises all over his body after all. Recovery would be there for the next few days, ensuring that her healing had as few sequelae as possible.

She defeated a big villain. That many professionals would die to face – which in fact already happened involving him. Part of me was stupidly proud and the other part just felt stupid for letting all that happen to a 15 year old girl. Basically a child.

The door behind me opened abruptly.

I was in my form that nobody knew as All Might, so I didn't worry when Inko Midoriya ran in and went to her daughter, crying.

“Ah, my girl...” she said between tears.

I placed a hand on Inko's shoulder, a move unexpected even for me. I wasn't used to approaching anyone in my skinny form, but to my surprise she took my hand.

“She’s strong. Soon she'll be causing trouble again,” I said, smiling. I also tried to believe those words of mine.

Inko squeezed my hand.

“No, you’re the teacher. You have to stop her from getting into trouble, or...”  Inko started crying again. “Or one day we'll meet at her funeral.”

Inko took a step back, burying her head in my chest. She didn't want to cry even more over her unconscious daughter, but that left me speechless.

I put my hands on each of her shoulders and squeezed.

“This will not happen. Not as long as I live.”

Inko cried for a few more minutes before sniffling and looking at me. Her green eyes were huge, even bigger than Midoriya's eyes, and brighter, probably from the water of tears.

“I think you'll need to train more, it looks like you haven't eaten in months.”

She said it with some simplicity as she patted my chest to show there was no muscle there.

I frowned and looked at her.

“You're right.”

She laughed.

I laugh along.

It was nice to meet someone who wanted the same thing I did so badly: Young Midoriya's health and happiness.

---------------

Pov: Shinso

            If it weren't for Midoriya's message asking me to go to the hospital where she was, I would believe that she would already be dead by the funeral face her friends received me at the reception.

Midoriya was in a coma for two days, and at that time, all the news was talking about Bakugou Katsuki's kidnapping.

When I opened the door to her room, my heart sank to see her bandaged up, although, due to the excellent work done by the doctors, it didn't seem that anything so serious had happened.

Midoriya was dozing and I woke her up with a kiss on her forehead.

She smiled sadly when she saw me.

“Shinso.” Midoriya held my hand when I sat next to her on the hospital bed.

“You look awful,” I said, feeling a lump in my throat. The dark circles under her eyes were deep.

“Apparently sleeping for two days still wasn't enough to recover”  she kept the smile on her face and squeezed my hand. “Shinso,” she repeated my name. “Sorry to call you to come here so far from your house, I need a favour.”

“That I brainwash you again,” I said seriously.

I thought about that possibility while waiting on the train.

Still, it hurt to know that she didn't just want a visit to see me.

“I can't,” I replied. “Aizawa and All Might were very clear about that”.

Tears started to well up in her eyes.

“He slipped through my fingers. He was right in front of me. It's my fault.”  she stopped to breathe because the crying was starting to get out of control. “Because of me, Kacchan is two days in captivity. Kacchan, my childhood best friend. Is he eating? Are they letting him go to the bathroom? Is he being tortured? I didn't save him, Shinso, and I need to get stronger. You don't know what it feels like to not save someone who is right in front of you.”

In parts she was right. I didn't know. And it must have been desperate. Now in front of me someone needed help, and I had already made up my mind about what to do. Even though part of me screamed to not obey her.

“Do you intend to rescue him alone?” I asked worriedly.

“No, some of the classroom will come with me. We do not intend to fight, sneak in and sneak out. That's why I need you to brainwash me.”

“What will happen when I use it? If you don't tell me, I won't help you.”

"I'm going to awaken another Quirk. One that will come in handy now.”

“I didn't ask the first time because I expected you to tell me of your own free will... Why do you awaken other Quirks after I use brainwashing on you?”

“Let's say this is my family's quirk. An ancestor back there had that quirk, and it comes forward from generation to generation carrying the quirks of descendants. Floating was my mother's quirk. The next one I will wake up is my grandmother's. I already have two Quirks, four to go.”

I looked into her eyes, she was serious like I've never seen her.

I couldn't tell if she was lying or not. Midoriya didn't usually lie well, but now her voice was steady. And what would be another explanation for that absurdity? I saw it with my own eyes when she floated away. And today, I would witness the third quirk.

“Hey, just promise me one thing,” I said.

“Yes?” she replied and I activated my Quirk, her gaze became opaque.

How I hated doing that to her.

“Please don't do anything stupid”. I felt the weight of my chest increasing every second. For everything that's happened in there since I opened the door.

And then, the room filled with smoke.

Chapter Text

The first time my quirk awakened I was 6 years old (yes, later than other children). My parents were in the front seat, a fleeing villain hit the side of the car.

We spun several times until we hit the bridge's guard rail and our car overturned repeatedly into the ravine. When we came to a stop, I was hanging upside down by my belt, hot blood running down my neck, running down the side of my face and making an annoying dripping noise on the top of the car.

Other than that, no other noise.

The silence was deadly.

I called my parents, they didn't answer. I screamed for help until my throat itched.

My vision blurred and a cold sensation coursed through my body. Purple smoke seeped through my pores, escaping through the broken car windows and rising to the sky in the hope that someone would see us.

Ah, the room was a purple spot. At first I thought it was the tears running down my eyes blurring everything in front of me. But it was the effect of not being used to the sixth wielder's Quirk: En.

And it was the same when I first used Nana's powers.

It arrived rolling up the door. The memories, quirk and mainly, feelings that weren't mine: the screaming fear of dying, the pain of seeing the dead parents.

Everything transferred, the good parts and the bad parts.

But this time I would be strong, not confuse my existence with En's. We were separate individuals.

“You're so fantastic it's annoying, Midoriya.” Shinso placed his hand on my right cheek and used his thumb to wipe away the tears. His hair was the same shade as the smoke, so he was nothing more than a pale beige blur. I rubbed my eyes, it didn't get better. Would it last until the night when we went to rescue Kacchan? I needed to be 100%.

“Praising too much will make me uncomfortable”.  I smiled at him. “Thank you, Shinso. Now...now I know I have a chance to bring Kacchan back.”

There was a silence that was too long. His hand dropped to my lap and he sighed. Then he got up to open the window and the smoke goes away.

“You told me how you were childhood friends, inseparable, etc etc. But also told me how he's mistreated you over the last few years.”  As it had drifted away, I could barely see it now, just a blur against the blue sky, the smoke around it growing subtler by the moment as it dissipated. “And I also understand that you would be worried about anyone in his place, because you’re a kind person. But why, for the Gods sake, do you care so much about this asshole?”

I clenched my fists, closing my eyes, my sight like that was starting to give me a headache.

“You wouldn't be the first to call me an idiot”  I sighed, the first person who said that was myself, I knew how I was treated, despite people thinking I was a complete imbecile who accepted all the shouting without questioning me. “And it certainly won't be the last. Ignoring my desperate concern to get him out of the hands of the villains” – I swallowed hard. “I always have hope that he will return to what he was. Of course, the swearing, the screaming was always part of him, the high-strung genius... but he was kind to me. The best friend anyone could have... And I don't have a single happy memory from my childhood that he isn't. I think all this time we spent together is worth at least a little bit of waiting. As silly as it is to hope, I know that one day he will be able to forgive me”.

“And what exactly does that asshole have to forgive you for? And not the other way around?”

There was some resentment in Shinso's voice, I understood him, he worried about me.

A nurse opened the door, euphoric with the smoke of unknown origin that crept through the corridors. Shinso took the blame and was politely shooed out of the hospital after giving me a kiss.

I laid my head back on the pillow, needing to rest before dark.

What did Kacchan need to forgive me for?

Among so many things, for having promised that we would be partners against crime and for being born without quirk.

I closed my eyes extremely tired.

Our friendship was the only thing that mattered. Nothing was left after that day.

“Poor thing, so young and orphan.”

“The accident was horrible, it killed both parents at the same time.”

“It was lucky that he survived.”

Luck. Luck would be is my parents was alive.

It would be lucky if some family accepted my adoption.

But at age 6, here I was, in an orphanage.

Times were tough, nobody wanted another mouth to feed.

I didn't cry, I just stood in the corner of the room with ten other beds around it, the stench of sweat subtly in the air, even with the beds made and the floor clean.

I heard someone approach, but I didn't raise my head in the protection I made with my arms resting on my knees.

“No matter how you want to get through this, I'm pretty sure starving yourself won't do you any good.” I looked up, a boy a little taller than me was holding a strawberry popsicle in front of me. How did he get that?

“Leave me alone,” I muttered, burying my face back in the darkness of my bodily hiding place. It seemed wrong to want something as simple as a popsicle so badly when my parents were dead.

“Hmm, I'm not into it.” The boy's voice was a little thick and annoyingly loud. He sat next to me and I heard the package being opened. “I don't have parents either”.

“Is it because we are in an orphanage?” I said, without looking up again.

The boy laughed out loud.

“I deserved this one”. I heard him biting the popsicle and then he made an even more annoying sound than his voice saying he had frozen his brain. “I meant that my parents died too. Some here have just been abandoned. My parents were killed by a villain. I couldn't do anything.”

I was silent, what did I have to do with it? I didn't want to know, didn't want to remember. I didn't want their dead faces to come back to my mind. I just wanted to die there alone.

"It's kind of fucked up, isn't it?" I lifted my head in a rush without even thinking. Had he said one of the "forbidden words"? “We went out to celebrate my birthday and a motherfucker who was on drugs wanted to steal my mother's jewelry. They didn't even react and the guy shot. The bastard didn't even have a quirk. Fuck, how pissed off I was. One day I'm going to get revenge on this guy. Oh, I will”.

I opened my mouth at the amount of forbidden words. Four? Five? I think I lost count.

“Come on, take this crap, I prefer chocolate popsicles. I spent all my semester savings to buy it for you”.

He thrust the ice cream at me and I took it, astonished.

“By the way, my name is Daigoro Banjo.”

I bit the popsicle, it was stuffed, the strawberry cream went down my throat, freezing and sweetening every inch of my existence.

“Call me En,” I replied. And I started to cry.

            “Hey, Midoriya! Are we going or not?” Kirishima shook me, outside, it was already dark and a cold wind came in through the half-open window.

Wasn't that a wonderful idea, the classroom argued about it. Tsuyu made us promise that we would leave that to the adults. But Kirishima liked Kacchan as much as I did, we wouldn't let him down. He and Todoroki convinced Momo to make a copy of the tracker for us.

Todoroki said he would go because he also failed to save him. I knew he would never let me down.

“Come on, let me just change”  I replied, rubbing my eyes, my vision returned to normal. If it was like Float, I would need some more time using Quirk before my body would fully adapt, I would need to add that factor into my calculations.

Kirishima waited outside for me to finish changing. Before I left, I took one last look at the letter Kouta wrote to me, thanking him for everything I'd done. I took a deep breath and opened the door, when I left Kirishima looked at me steadily:

"Are you really okay for us to go? Your appearance is not the best”.

“And when my appearance is good, Kirishima?” I smiled, feeling little of myself in that acidic answer and a little more of En, I grimaced at my colleague's surprised face. Dealing with the memories of other personalities could still mess with my head even a bit. “Like you said yesterday, you know this is hurting me more than anyone else. I’ll rescue Kacchan even if it costs my life.”

Kirishima nodded and as we walked towards the hospital entrance, he said quietly:

“No, not that it costs your life, I wouldn't even be able to face Bakugou if I let that happen.”

“Don't worry, Kirishima. Kacchan is strong, he would get over it quickly” he smiles sourly at the prospect. "But don't worry, we're all going to make it out alive, right?"

"Okay..." muttered Kirishima.

We passed by a vending machine near reception, a strawberry ice cream flashed at me.

Dagoro worked odd jobs around town to buy two popsicles every month, one strawberry for me and one chocolate for him. The stuffed ones were the most expensive. On that sunny afternoon, a few months had passed since I arrived at the orphanage, and upbeat music was playing on the Housekeeper's ancient old radio, foreign words sung by three women, “I can see. No matter how near you'll be, you'll never belong to me. But I can dream, can't I?”.

“It's not fair that you do everything alone, I want to start working with you, it shouldn't be so difficult.”

“I don't know”  Dagoro bit the tip of the chocolate popsicle, he always grimaced when the ice cream touched his teeth, and always preferred to bite. “You’re so tiny. And it's dangerous out there.”

“I'm smarter than you, sure you can think of a gig for me”.

Dagoro stuck out his tongue.

“Midoriya!” Kirishima's loud voice warned me. “Do you want something from the machine?”

I was standing there staring at it.

“I'll just get a popsicle”.

Kirishima frowned, but waited.

Upon leaving we meet Momo and Todoroki.

“And then, Momo, will you give us the tracker?” asked Todoroki.

Before she could answer, Iida approached us, serious as I've ever seen him.

“Wait!” he looked at me and then at Todoroki. “Of all people, you two should know better than anyone else. I was criticized for my rash actions when I wanted to act alone. And just like me, you also had to ask for forgiveness in the end! Why are you about to make the same mistake I made? This is nonsense!”

Momo and Kirishima didn't understand, but me and Todoroki knew, he was talking about when he tried to hunt Stain alone to avenge his brother.

“We're still under protection,” he continued. “And the U.A. is already facing difficult times. Who do you think will have to take responsibility for your actions?”

"Breaking the law, is it?"

“That's not quite it, En. I help heroes here and there. Nothing serious or that would land me in prison”. Dagoro tried to explain himself.

“You know that many heroes go to prison. They get in the way of police action a lot when they want to” I replied.

We were 11 years old. The years went by, the children came and were adopted and the two of us stayed.

“Be nicer, En.”

“Try not to make so many sarcastic comments.”

They also told Dagoro to swear less, to shout less, to be less explosive.

They wanted to change who we were. And we wouldn't let it.

Besides, we liked being there together.

Dagoro possessed the Quirk "Black Whip" and after he started showing up with various gifts for me, I knew something was wrong. It didn't take long to discover that he was working with heroes.

“You didn't get involved in this to find your parents' killer, I hope.”

He turned deadly serious. I took a deep breath.

“Revenge won't bring them back”.

“I know! You don't get tired of repeating that shit? I'm not getting in trouble, okay? It's honest work, we're arresting real villains, helping to clean up the city”.

I massaged my temples. There was no way, if he was getting involved with heroes, I would need it too, just to ensure his safety.

I felt a slap hit my face, I came to myself instantly.

“What’s wrong with you? Talking so casually about breaking the law?” shouted Iida, he who had slapped me and that surprised me, even if it was super light. “I have regrets too!! And of course I'm worried. And I'm still the room rep! Naturally I care about everyone and not just Bakugou! Seeing them injured… seeing you injured like that made me think of my injured brother!” He screamed at the top of his lungs. “What will happen when your reckless little acts lead you to a place where there will be no turning back, just like my brother? And you're telling me you don't give a shit? Are you telling me you don't care how I feel here?”

“Iida!” Interrupted Todoroki, calm in his own way. “You're not really thinking that we planned to storm in through the front door with guns drawn, are you? We will do a mission without any fight.”

“It will be a secret mission! This is how we heroes-in-training can fight... on the right side of the law!”

I looked at my popsicle, for the slap I dropped it on the floor.

I promised I wouldn't let the new quirk affect me, and here I was, freaking out again. Was there a right side of the law? It wasn't a thought coming from me. En was from another time, the heroes was still going through a troubled period and the regulation was still in progress.

“You're talking about revenge,” I began, looking at Iida. “You went after revenge for your brother. And it never brings any benefit. As long as Kacchan is alive, I won't rest without saving him.”

“If there is no way to convince, then take me with you!”

“I will too, I agree with Iida, and I will go to make sure nothing happens to you all.” Said Momo

Me, Todoroki and Kirishima smile.

Saving Kacchan was ever closer to our fingertips.

Iida hugged me tightly.

“Do you forgive me for the slap? I got excited! And for a minute you didn't look like you...”

“All right, all right, no discrimination because I'm a woman, right? If I were a guy you would have done it too.”

“Probably if you were a man, I would have punched you much harder.”

I laughed and took his hand.

“It's okay, Iida, I'm grateful to have you in my life”.

***

I was grateful to have Dagoro in my life. 19 years old, it was us against city crime. Black Whip and Smokescreen. Unbeatable, we arrested more people than many heroes. We didn't live in the orphanage anymore, logically we weren't old enough., so we rented a small and old apartment in the center of the city, in the center of all the chaos and started our poor life as clandestine heroes – very few had a license.

We had some rules, we didn't kill. We didn't steal. We didn't do anything that was too much against the law, just a few things to ensure the success of our missions.

Dagoro respected the silence I appreciated and I respected how much he liked to scream. We were an odd, mismatched pair. But the period we lived together was the happiest of my life.

A happiness that lasted three years, because one day he called me for ice cream and in the middle of the square, embarrassed and in his truncated way, he said that he would disappear for a while.

Truly disappear. I would have no contact with him.

He explained that he was going to train with a weirdo old man named Hikage Shinomori in the mountains and didn't know when he would be back.

“Training in the mountains? Do you think you're a comic book character, Dagoro?”

“Dude, seriously. I can't tell you details for now. But he's kind of going to give me his powers, and I'm going to be THE hero, you know?”

“Um, I'm on.”

Actually, I wasn't that “on” like that, but I knew Dagoro better than anyone, I knew how he wanted to be The hero of heroes and who was I to stop him? It was like that song we listened to when we were kids eating ice cream. We could dream, couldn't we?

“I'll wait for you to come back.”

Dagoro pulled me into a slightly awkward side hug by the shoulder.

“And when I return you will continue to be my best partner”.

"I didn't know there were others."

Dagoro rolled his eyes and chuckled.

It was the last time I saw him for five years.

"Are you sure you're okay, Midoriya?" Todoroki was in front of me, standing on the train, with his hand on my forehead, measuring the fever. I had blacked out and dreamed of En and Dagoro, they reminded me a little of myself and Kacchan, although their personalities were totally different, it still made me wonder what we would have been like if our friendship had never fallen into the abyss of anger and uncertainty.

“I am, it's the medicines they gave me that are playing with my conscience, but I’m almost completely fine, by the time we get there I'll be perfect.”

"Let me know if you feel bad, please," completed Todoroki.

Now with me awake we talked about a few more things. These included Kacchan's location and how others in the room tried to talk them out of the idea. Uraraka being one of the most incisive, saying that Kacchan would be offended if he was rescued.

She wasn't wrong. Before being abducted by Warp I heard him say "Deku, don't come."

Well, let him deal with the “shame” of being saved later.

I wouldn't go back. And I made it very clear to my colleagues there on the train.

We arrive in the Kamino district and use disguises.

Momo bought me a short, bright green dress, silver hair clips, and high heels. As we needed to hide our face, she also made me up in an exaggerated way. I looked like a stereotypical movie character that wants to look sassy, grown-up girl.

The others' disguises were also pretty funny.

We just stopped to listen to a statement from the U.A on the district's big screen, they apologized for everything that happened. The audience around us didn't react well. People only cared about results.

Always only with the results.

They never cared how they achieved it. I couldn't deny it, in those five years without Dagoro as my partner, I lost track a bit. I've never killed anyone, not directly, or that I've heard of, but I can't deny that I may have crippled a few people.

Fighting crime was lonely.

Even now, few were licensed, and I certainly didn't meet the criteria to receive one. That was my life, in the dark. In a tiny apartment with all his stuff that he didn't take away.

Every morning I prepared my coffee with milk and drank it leaning against the window, watching the movement in the center. And on this particular morning, a crime was happening far below - a robbery. I sighed, putting the mug aside and opening the window, jumping directly on top of the villain, spreading smoke so that the victim could escape. What I didn't expect was that it was a trap encouraged by revenge and with a few miscalculated blows, I was hanging by some web quirk and a knife impaling my neck, about to kill me.

If they'd been quick enough, my story probably would have ended there, but some villains liked to brag about how they found out where I lived and why they needed to get back at me.

As he jabbered, something wrapped around his waist and hurled him into the building's walls. The others ran away.

“Looks like you were having fun.” Dagoro landed with a jump from the top of the building.

I cut the web that held me by my ankles with a knife I kept in my boot.

“I would have deal with him.”

“All right, all right”. Dagoro pulled me into a hug. He was like that, hot-tempered, impulsive. I was embarrassed, but I didn't pull away.

I was finally feeling at home.

We went up to the apartment to finish breakfast.

“Hey, did the crazy old man pass his powers? Will I finally get to meet him?”

His brow furrowed, his lips curling uncomfortably.

“Master Hikage is dead. And yes, I inherited One for All. Fuck En, I have so much to tell you”. Dagoro buried his face in his hands.

It was the first time I saw him tormented like that.

Dagoro told me everything.

“You really became a comic book character. A really super super power. Mountain training, a deceased master. A megalomaniac archenemy who will haunt you until the end of time.”

He let out half snort, half laugh. Half sad, half ironic.

I came closer, putting my hands on his shoulders, he didn't move.

“Nothing will change, we’ll continue to fight crime, side by side”.

“It will be dangerous, All For One is strong. Although he didn't kill Hikage, he did kill all three of the previous users, including his own brother”.

“You’re Daigoro Banjo, the fifth bearer of a special power, I'm sure you can handle it. Even more so with the help of a partner as skilled as I am”.

“Didn't look all that skilled hanging upside down”.

We laughed together, but he knew that together we were much better.

“The tracker is pointing there,” said Momo, snapping me out of En's memory lapse, my mouth turning sour when for the first time the thought popped into my mind: If Daigoro inherited the One for All, what had happened for the quirk to end with En?

We follow Momo to an empty, dirty street without a living soul. We stopped in front of a dirty building.

“This is where is pointing,” said Momo.

“So this is their hideout?' It's really like I imagined.”  Kirishima noted.

“We have no information, but according to what I've verified, the villains haven't moved an inch since morning. And even if they're here, we don't know if Bakugou will be too. Think calmly about how we decided to come here even with such fragile evidences” Momo added.

“None of us are as good at infiltration as Jirou or Hagakure” Iida began “If it's decided that the situation is too dangerous, we'll flee right away! We will not hesitate to go to the police either.”

"I'll think of a plan," I replied, even though I already had it almost formed inside my head.

We hid behind the building, so as not to attract attention, Momo was going to make some night vision goggles, when Kirishima took one out of his pocket, he had spent a lot of money to take it with him for this mission. Iida lifted Kirishima and I put my feet on Todoroki's shoulder so we could see out the back window. Well, in the case, at first, only Kirishima saw it, and he turned pale, sweating cold. He held out the glasses to me and inside were countless Nomus in tanks connected by various wires. I felt fear in its purest form run down my spine. If one woke up, we'd already be in trouble, if all those woke up, we'd be dead.

Kirishima and I got down and leaned against the wall, shaking.

"And now, what's the plan going to be?" asked Momo, looking at me.

My lips were trembling.

The ground and wall shook, and an explosion went over our heads with wind and dust.

Then everything went so fast, a loud whistle stuck inside my head.

It wasn't the first time he tried to kill us, Dagoro was right, the AFO would not rest until he killed the OFA user.

Lapses of several separate fights invaded my mind. Behind us, the professional heroes started to rescue Kacchan, in the distance we could hear the voice of All Might and other famous heroes.

Iida sighed in relief.

“The heroes were always one step ahead of us, now we can go away and leave it in their hands! Bakugou will be fine,” he said, looking directly at me.

I glared back at him. My head ached, my breathing was heavy. I looked at Iida and my consciousness kept replaying memories of En, battles, blood, deaths. My stomach twisted, I turned my face away and threw up. Momo grabbed my hair.

I wouldn't leave without making sure Kacchan was okay.

I wouldn't lose another friend.

There were screams, the sound of things being destroyed, and a frighteningly heavy aura.

We looked over the wall and everything turned to dust, all the buildings around, several fallen heroes and in the middle of it all a man standing, with a black suit and a metallic structure that covered his entire face, with tubes coming out of his head.

No.

An archenemy, it seemed like a joke when I thought about it. Talking about how grandly evil he was wasn't enough to describe the reality when I first saw him.

All for One wanted to kill the user and steal the Quirk, the motive? I don't know, maybe just the brother's revenge, a piece of ego wanting to destroy all that's left of the past. Destroying the one thing he was afraid of, the one thing he knew could defeat him.

He tried to kill Daigoro, I remember my despair, how at the last minute I managed to trick him with my Quirk, grab my best friend and run away.

He was relentless, frightening.

We were all frozen back there with fear, Iida was holding me, sensing that I would try to go there despite my fear.

All Might was fighting All For One, Kacchan was there in the middle, at risk of his life.

“Momo, I need you to make locator glasses that see temperature and gas masks. I have an ace up my sleeve.”

I told the plan hiding the main part: the origin of the smoke.

I spoke of a piece of equipment that Mei lent me. I showed a circular resin object with gold stars that was actually just to put lipsticks inspired by an anime that I liked.

When the whole place became impossible to see a foot ahead, Todoroki would make an ice rink to Kacchan and then Iida and Kirishima would take him out.

I said goodbye to them and went around the wall.

Taking a deep breath.

Feeling my entire skin tingle.

Every step I took expelled purple smoke from me.

The building was abandoned. We received a distress call, but there we only found empty shells, people already dead for a long time, their quirks ripped out, left to languish. No use for Him.

All Might exclaimed in surprise when he saw me approaching with smoke billowing out, Kacchan didn't have time to identify me.

The gas was thick, it didn't rise to the heavens, and the amount was exaggerated, in no time my skin stopped expelling it.

“What are you doing here?” All Might yelled.

It was impossible to see anything else. But I felt inside the smoke. Every breath. Every move.

A sound of ice, of things slipping. Kacchan was taken away.

We didn't expect to find him there. It was an old hideout. Was the distress call fake? Once again I fall into a stupid trap? And did I bring Daigoro with me?

“Well, this is new. Are you using En's power?”

The voice. It hasn't changed. Exactly the same, like a cleaver slicing through the guts.

“Get out of here now!” All Might shouted at me.

I could feel the other heroes and villains lost in the smoke. Confused by what happened, trying to dispel it. There it was just the three of us,

“How many more times are you going to try to kill us? Don't you realize you can't?” My voice came out cold. My eyes were starting to fail.

All For One approached me in rambling steps.

“You’re more interesting than the previous ones” AFO laughed.

Kacchan was rescued. I should get out of there, I was disturbing All Might.

I was getting in the way of all the heroes.

But my leg wouldn't move.

Daigoro and AFO fought, ridiculously hard punches, kicks. Daigoro held him with the black whip and hit him from side to side. I was weak physically and AFO already had a good Quirk to see beyond my smoke.

All Might punched All For One to get away from me.

“Go away, now!”

I faced All For One.

It wasn't time yet. I couldn't kill him.

Has anything changed since that day?

My body stopped emitting smoke.

All Might pushed me back. Upstairs the sound of an approaching helicopter. The media was coming.

“We’ll see each other again, All For One, I will be the last user”.

I clenched my fists and floated away.

The smoke I expelled gradually dissipated, when I looked back, the confusion would continue. That sentence was not mine. I landed on an empty street away from the hustle and bustle.

Daigoro lost.

I lost.

Blood oozed from a huge cut on my forehead, my whole body ached. The building collapsed on top of the three of us, few meters away from me Daigoro had half his body crushed. His breathing almost stopped.

No no no no.

I approached him.

“Looks like it wasn't this time,” he said, his voice cracking.

"It's going to be okay, I'm going to take you to the hospital and..."

He held out a bloodied hand to me.

“Drink, you need to stay with One For All.”

“You're kidding I'm going to drink your blood, Banjo. You'll make it out of this alive and you'll defeat the AFO in the next time.

“He must be coming... Drink soon, En!”

“You know I'm not worthy of this power. Heck, you wouldn't even be offering it to me if I wasn't the only person here.”

“You’re worthy, you always were, much more than me. Please take that power away and defeat him. For me.

Tears streamed down, washing the dust from my cheeks. I took his hand and took a sip of his blood. Daigoro smiled.

“Thank you, En, thank you for being the best friend I could have in my life”.

Holding my hand, Daigoro Banjo, my best friend and the only person I loved in the world, died.

The world was a blur. I used a lot of En's power, my eyesight was worse than the first time. I couldn't identify anything even a foot in front of me, bumping into people, following the flow, hoping to get away from the mess.

“Midoriya!” I heard Iida's voice in the middle of the crowd. I stopped, trying to identify the sound. “Midoriya!” He shouted again, I looked to the left. A few meters to my side I saw some familiar smudges, one of them with a blond stain stuck in the head.

I ran to him and jumped into his arms.

“You’re alive. You’re alive. Please never leave me again“.

“My God, who are you?” The person I hugged pushed me away. Iida came running over.

“Midoriya, why were you hugging that stranger?”

I couldn't see anyone's face. My body felt hot, my face red.

“Where is Kacchan, is he ok? The smoke affected my vision, it will soon pass.”

Iida led me to where the others were, just a few meters to the side. I hoped they hadn't noticed my mistake, because everyone was watching All Might's fight. I watched too, my vision slowly returning. I didn't have the heart to do with Kacchan what I did with that stranger (it was the kind of spontaneous thing you only did once). But my heart was at peace with him by my side, alive. Screaming for All Might to resist.

  The peace was short-lived, All For One was defeated but not killed. The price? Almost All Might's life, with the fact that now the entire world knew of his true appearance.

He pointed at the cameras and it was pretty clear, I was next.

It was what I expected.

            ***

Later in that same fateful day, Gran Torino called me, asked me to meet him at the hospital where All Might was hospitalized. I arrived disguised and floating, because the front of the venue was full of reporters.

As soon as I landed on the terrace, I took off my hood and Sorahiko was waiting for me.

“I saw you there, girl, what you did was brave and very, very stupid,” he began. “I see you've learned more about En.

“It's been easier to deal with than it was with Nana, probably because her memories were very connected to All Might. But it was still painful, and confusing, and still is”. I crouched down, feeling all the pressure it was to have that power.

“All Might and I are concerned about what the other users' memories can do to you. Those were dark times. And when you awaken their quirk, you look less like yourself and more like your predecessors.”

He was referring to my interaction with All For One.

"It'll pass later," I replied in a growl. “Once their quirks settles within me, I stop having the memories, I had none with Nana.”

  Maybe a lapse here and there, of things she said or did, but nothing so clear that it threw me off my axis like the clear memories I had today. I couldn't tell them how it all altered me, how the idea of having Nana inside me made me bold or how now En made me sarcastically questioning.

“We discovered something,” Gran Torino resumed seriously. “Shigaraki Tomura is Nana's grandson. All For One counted mid-match to shake All Might.”

A tightness in my chest caught my breath.

Nana's grandson.

Everything hurt, mattering more than it should to me.

“And the son, is he alive?” the question was a rip.

“We still don't know, I'll need to research more, find Shigaraki's birth record.”

I nodded silently and Gran Torino walked over to me, patting me on the head.

“Want to see him?”

I looked at him anxiously. Yes, desperately. Apologize for being so stupid and reckless.

But when Gran Torino opened the bedroom door, the only thing I could do was cry and cry, hugging him tightly.

All Might wanted to give me a huge scolding, but he couldn't, he also cried a bit, he was worried about me, with my powers that only increased. With the memories that slowly fragmented my sanity and even my personality.

The two, he and Gran Torino made me promise that I wouldn't awaken Daigoro Banjo's powers without them being around, much less before I fully controlled the smokescreen without getting sequels.

I told them everything I saw and asked them to research the fourth user: Hikage Shinomori, even though I knew I would get to know him better when I saw Daigoro's memories.

I asked to sleep in the hospital that night. Facing my mother was a fight I didn't want right then; it would be a battle for the next day. I fell asleep next to All Might's bed, in a guest chair and for the last time, I dreamed of En.

Seven years was too long to be alone.

Too long to run away and be afraid.

Too long to be without your best friend.

I continued to be a hero, but I refused to take my license, even though every year it got easier and anyone could do it.

My body demonstrated the weight of carrying that power every day, that abrupt and absurd physical force, a force that my muscular size could not adapt to. It was a power for people like Banjo.

The best thing I could do was pass it on to someone as fantastic as he was, someone even stronger, even more capable.

I was sitting on the playground bench when Nana came running over with the two popsicles I'd ordered, one strawberry stuffed one for me, any one for her. Nana always chose the chocolate one. It was a cheerful 15-year-old girl I met beating up some villains who tried to take a picture of her panties. Yes, she was a quarrelsome.

I would pass One for All on to her. I hadn't officially made the transfer yet, I was just training her because she liked my fighting techniques and hounded asking to be her Master. However, I had already made up my mind and told her many things about power and All For One.

“You're too old to be fighting crime, Sensei. Don't you think it's time you gave me the OFA?” She smiled, she was a daring girl.

I leaned back against the bench and bit the tip of the Popsicle.

“Maybe it’s. We need to move on to the next stage of your training”.

Nana's eyes widened. Surprised by my response, hoping that once again I would tell her that she wasn't ready. The girl's hands shook.

"Sensei, what if I'm not good enough?"

I propped my elbows on my knees, laughing.

"Are you just wondering about that now?" I took another bite, remembering how presumptuous I was to tell All For One that I would be the last user, and there I was, after several fights and escapes from him, a few assassination attempts on both sides, passing power to the next person. “You’ll be wonderful, you’re strong, dedicated, lively, you will do well. And if one day, you see in a young person someone who can be much better than you, who could be the real chance to defeat All For One, if you no longer see yourself in this role, pass the power on. Fight like you're going to be the last. But it's a transfer skill, Nana. Don't be afraid if you have to actually transfer it. That's the beauty of this quirk: there will always be someone you trust to carry on the legacy”.

Chapter Text

I woke up before sunrise. My back hurts, it wasn't the most comfortable chair ever, I stretched with my eyes still closed.

“You won't be able to run away from your mother forever”. All Might, sitting on the bed, bandaged almost from head to toe, looked at me seriously.

I growled.

“I know. I'm going home in a little while”.

“You must have understood by now, Young Midoriya” All Might's voice was more sullen than usual, I couldn't look him in the eyes because I knew what was coming. “That was my last fight, I’ll retire. My body can't take any more fighting anymore. I can no longer maintain my muscular form.”

I nodded silently, turning my face to the side, holding back the tears.

He took a deep breath and nearly yelled, which made me jump out of my chair.

“And it doesn't matter how many times I ask! You never obey! You always find a way to get yourself into trouble!!” I widened my eyes at him, but All Might smiled. “I was glad that this time you managed to get out without hurting yourself. You're getting stronger Midoriya and now All For One knows it. Therefore, from now on I will dedicate myself fully to your development. Let's do our best, okay?”

All Might's smile was so kind that I couldn't help it and started crying nonstop. He scratched his head.

“And crybaby as always...”

I got up to hug him.

“I will do my best, All Might, I swear, I really swear. I won't break anything anymore.”

“But you need to promise, and this time for real, that you will not use the brainwashing again without us being close and with time for you to absorb the new quirk.”

I took a few steps away from the hug to look him in the eye.

My life became a web of lies, I lied to everyone. I didn't want to go on like this, much less with All Might.

“I promise, as long as it's not extremely necessary like it was yesterday.”

All Might sighed.

“I think that's enough for now. Go home. Your mother must be worried”.

“My mother will be tearing her hair out knowing that she was trying bein’ cute with All Might!

I headed towards the door.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WITH THIS?”

All Might gasped. I run away.

            *******

"Why, Izuuku?" Whyyyyy you didn't tell me it was All Might?”

My mom really did have her hand in her hair, pulling it to one side, her face red as a bell pepper, sitting in the kitchen chair.

“I just couldn't go around spilling his biggest secret, Mom. And besides, it doesn't change that you liked him, right?”

“I didn't like anyone, girl!” she replied hysterically. “I just...just...just laying a charm... Oh my god, I laid a charm on All Might!”  now she buried her face in her hands while swinging her legs nonstop.

I laughed and went to my room and put some things in my backpack.

“You're not thinking of going out again, young lady. We still have a lot to talk about.”

"I need to run some errands, Mom. It's really important.”

“There's nothing more important than talking to your mother. Now sit down”.  She pointed to the bed and I obeyed, but not without sulking. She raised her index finger.  “First I find out that my daughter is in a coma in the hospital because she decided to fight a villain three times her size”. I was going to start complaining that I didn't decide that when she made a “psss” and raised the second finger. “Afterwards, already calm because my daughter is being treated well at the hospital, I discover that she and her inconsequential friends ran away to try to do the work of professionals”.  I crossed my arms and she raised the third finger. “And finally I find out that my daughter, inconsequential and stubborn who is stopping at the hospital all the time is an All Might student and that is probably why she has been getting into so much trouble”.

“Mother! All Might has nothing to do with all this!”

“No?” It was her turn to cross her arms in front of her body. “You always wanted to be like him, Izuku. And it is destroying you!”

“This is making me stronger! I saved a boy, Mom! We saved Kacchan!” I screamed, tears starting to blur my vision.

“You’re a child!! It's not your role to save people. This is the work of professionals! And you are not one!” My mother went to the door. “And no, you will not go out to take care of your important things! You're grounded until school starts again”.

I groaned loudly as she slammed my bedroom door.

I pressed my palms to my eyes.

            ***

Mom left breakfast ready on the kitchen table.

Rain or shine, she would have to work.

And I was counting on that, I would have around 8 hours, and I would lose 2 hours to go there and 2 hours to return by train.

I tossed my breakfast into a bowl and ran out of the house after dressing in sweatpants and my beat-up Faith No More shirt. Inside the backpack, in addition to the food in the pot, I put a coat if I needed it and some cereal bars.

On the way to the train, I passed in front of Kacchan's house, I had to take a little detour, but maybe I would be lucky enough to find him in front of the house and I could have a glimpse if he was all right. Unfortunately the house was quiet.

I stopped, looking toward his window.

My heart squeezed, the dead Banjo scene in my memories.

It could have been Kacchan.

A shiver ran through my body.

The door to the house opened, Mitsuki was leaving for work, looking as elegant as ever.

“Oh, Midoriya! Have you come to see Katsuki?”

I quickly shook my head.

“I was just passing through. How is he?”

“Sulky, irritated, not that different than usual”. She closed the door behind her and spoke quietly. “A little quiet, I think he didn't like being saved by you”.

I smiled sourly.

“We already were counting with that... Please, don't tell that I was here. Have a great working day!

Mitsuki arched an eyebrow as I walked away.

“Midoriya! I thought your mom grounded you!”

I looked back and widened my eyes. She winked at me.

I sighed in relief, gripping the straps of my backpack.

I arrived in time to catch the train to Osaka, there from Shizuoka Station it was scheduled to arrive at 2h17m. My time would be tight. I took a book to read on the way, but I couldn't concentrate, replaying scenes of everything that happened since I entered U.A. Everything I had already learned from the past users.

The battles.

The pains.

The friendships.

I felt so grateful for everything. And so, so scared.

Looking All For One in the face, seeing the deaths he caused.

I had never seen so many dead people as I did in July, and they were all inside my head.

I sighed.

My cell phone beeped. My eyes widened when I saw Kacchan's name on the notification, it was the first time in almost four years that he had messaged me.

 “Kacchan ò-ó”

“Fuck, the police told everyone to stay indoors until school starts again, where are you going?”

Izuku Midoriya

“Osaka. Visit a friend.”

“Kacchan ò-ó”

"Shitty nerd, I'll tell your mom."

Izuku Midoriya

“You’re many things, but you aren’t a snitch. I hope you are well."

I looked at the screen for several seconds and the answer never came. What had that interaction been about? Was he worried?

The idea stayed in my head for a few seconds and came out of it with a loud laugh that made fleeting eyes look at me.

Most probable Kacchan must have been suspicious of something after yesterday. Had he seen me use the Smoke Screen?

Impatiently and worriedly, I put my cell phone away to pick it up after a few seconds. I typed “Hikage Shinomori” into the internet search and flipped through pages without seeing anything relevant. Until I finally found a reference to his name: a ramen restaurant in Omaezaki, a coastal district not far from home. If I did things really fast in Osaka I would have time to get everything sorted out before my mom gets home.

My stomach rumbled and I finally remembered to eat breakfast.

            ***

The building was decrepit, but not entirely spooky. It was difficult to find him based only on En's memories. And to my total misfortune, there were no traces of him having lived there. Nobody even knew him. The current resident had no idea about the former residents.

How many years ago were those memories? The song that played on the radio was from 1950, exactly 190 years ago. En sure wasn't that old. I sighed. I could have asked All Might's age to make the math easier, but either way, possibly he was somewhere around 48 to 50 years old, from all the discussions on the fan forums. From Nana's memories, she must have been around 30 years old when All Might was 15. And when she herself was 15, En already looked 37-38 years old.

If those accounts are right, En was born in 2053, 87 years ago. It would be unlikely that I would find any evidence of him in Osaka. But I was already there, I would try one last thing.

I looked for the place on the internet and I needed to go by bus, I couldn't afford to spend money on a taxi.

The orphanage had been mostly renovated and it was almost impossible to identify it against the memories, but it was the right place. The place En and Banjo grew up.

Upon entering, I came across an old lady with round glasses and a bony nose. She looked at me over her glasses.

“Excuse me, can I get information about two children who stayed here until they turned 18 some 80 years ago? I have the names. One of them was a relative of mine. I want to know more about my family.”

The old woman looked me up and down. She wasn't one of the nicest little old ladies on the planet to be a receptionist at an orphanage, but she waved her pen back and forth and emitted the most bovine “hmmmmmm”.

“We can take a look at the files,” she replied.

“Serious?” I leaned against the counter. “I would be so happy!”

She got down from her chair and disappeared behind the counter. I waited for so many long minutes that I thought she had forgotten about me, but a door beside me opened and I could see that the old woman was small, smaller than Gran Torino and had a badge written “Sakamaki” on her suit. Her teeth were long and her pupils like a cat's.

“Come on, this way”.

I followed her in hurried steps, she walked pretty fast for her size! We passed children playing in the courtyard and I tried not to think how many there were. I've never been in a place like that. Why were there so many?

“Even though Japan has one of the lowest crime rates in the world because of All Might, we still live in a society full of villains”  she stopped to stare at the children, seeing that I was staring at them so intently. “Some were sons of heroes”.

I swallowed, thinking of Kouta, she started walking again, I followed.

We entered a room no bigger than our classroom with countless metal filing cabinets.

“What's their names?”

“Daigoro Banjo, the other one I don't have the full name, I know they called him En.”

“Those lockers belong to children who were here from 2050 to 2070, help me look for them”.

I nodded, heading to the lockers. Everything was very organized, each child had a brown folder with their information inside. In less than 10 minutes we found both folders.

Kawano En.

His first name was En.

It was the way he introduced himself to Daigoro, without using the surname of his dead parents.

“Can I take these folders?”

“Of course not!” The old woman frowned at me. “You can look at them as much as you like, take a picture of what interests you and then store them exactly where they were.”

I blushed at the scolding, and even felt a little silly for having asked such a question. She left the room and left me there with dust and more memories.

I sat down on the floor and started flipping through the folders, picking up a small pad to write down anything that would be useful.

En was born in 2054, I narrowly wrong. Daigoro was from 2052.

Inside the folders were reports on how they got there, on their behavior, their grades in class.

Honestly there was nothing really useful.

Except that in one last leaf through En's folder I found a photo.

The two were standing side by side, holding ice creams. They must have been around 10 years old, Daigoro raised his right arm excitedly with the ice cream while holding En by the shoulder, En already looked at the photo from the corner of his eye, clearly embarrassed.

I looked at that picture long enough to realize I was crying.

I kept the photo in my things.

I almost had a heart attack because seconds later the door slowly opened and I thought the old woman somehow knew I was stealing.

It was a little girl.

“Miss, are you okay? I heard you crying”.

“Yeah, I just got emotional about some old stuff.” I wiped away the tears and started putting away the folders.

"You're that girl from U.A., aren't you? I saw you at the U.A. Sports Festival.”

I approached her, embarrassed. The girl was perhaps no more than 7 years old and had red hair and red eyes.

“Yes I am.”

“Whoaaa. I knew! I remember you breaking yourself!” She chuckled, grabbing the edge of my pants. “Are you friends with the one who won the first place?”

“Kacchan?! Oh, I'm not sure, maybe?”

She jumped up and down with joy. It was so cute!

“Do you have a picture of him for me to see?”

“Are you a fan of his?” I asked with a smile on my face.

She nodded, her face turning red, tucking it between her hands.

“What is your name?”

“Endo Reika, my friends call me Rere”.

“Well, Rere, I'll send him a picture of us and maybe he'll send you one back?”

The girl was frozen, but she accepted to take a selfie with me.

Izuku Midoriya

“Kacchan, my friend happens to be a huge fan of you, could you send her a nice photo? It will really make her day!”

I attached the photo to the message and waited. My hand was in a cold sweat. Wishing from the bottom of my heart that he wouldn't ignore me. She was looking at me anxiously and I was about to answer that he must be busy with something else when the cell phone beeped. There was no message, just a photo.

A selfie of him looking deathly angry and sticking out his tongue. It’s almost like a middle finger was missing in the photo vibe. Perhaps he had taken a photo like that and then rethought why it was for a child?

The photo could have come with a caption: “One day I'll kill you”, and I would have believed the threat. But the girl took my cell phone excited and started jumping all happy.

My heart warmed.

“Miss. Miss. Miss, can I have this photo?”

“Let's see if Sakamaki-san can solve this for us.”

Not only did she solve it, but she also had a photo printer (she said she liked to immortalize the children's moment with old printed photos). The old woman printed a copy for Rere and one for me, even though I told her again and again that I didn't want one.

To make matters worse, she took a photo of me and Rere holding Kacchan's photo and also printed out three photos of that. One for the girl, one for me, and one for the orphanage keepsake board.

Apparently they didn't get many visitors.

Rere took my hand and pulled me out into the courtyard to present to all the children as “that girl who broke herself in the School Festival Sports”, there were so many names that I got confused. Everyone introducing themselves, peppering me with a thousand questions about U.A., pulling me in to play.

I think I saw Sakamaki taking more pictures.

“One day I will study at U.A too!” Rere said. “And I'm going to be a great heroine”.

“Wow, I'll look forward to seeing it,” I replied. “What is your quirk?”

Rere held out her hand and a small explosion came from it.

Oh. That's why she liked Kacchan so much.

I took out my cell phone and started recording.

“Rere, show your quirk again. I'll send a video to Kacchan.”

The girl's eyes bulged with excitement and she obeyed, several small explosions came out of her hand and Rere started running after a boy with blue hair to try to hit him.

“Rere, stoooop pissed me off!!” Shouted the boy as he ran.

"Come here, weakling! Fight with me.”

I frowned uncertainly, still recording.

“I don't want to fight anyone.”

Rere caught up with the boy and jumped on top of him.

“Ha! Got you.”

The boy turned and threw water in Rere's face, that was his Quirk. The two continue to play-fight. I stopped recording. I sent it to Kacchan, feeling nostalgic for when we were little.

Madam Sakamaki “forced” me to stay for lunch. And then I heard so many stories and dreams that I wasn't sure whether to cry or laugh anymore. Some there were children of former unknown heroes, some children of victims and even some children of villains, Rere was one of those, but she didn't seem very shaken by that, not that she showed it, she never tired of saying how an incredible heroine would be that would defeat all "evil men".

When I noticed, the sky was darkening.

I got up suddenly.

I was very late. I would never get home before my mother.

It took me a while to say goodbye to everyone and I promised Rere that I would send letters, since I didn't know when I would be able to get back there.

            ***

I saw the light on in our apartment across the street outside. Even without being able to pass the ramen restaurant in Omaezaki, I was already late.

As I slowly opened the door, I came across my mother, sitting on the sofa in the living room, with her arms crossed.

“Mom…” I started. She held her hand out to me.

“Your cell phone”.

“But...”

“You were grounded, Izuku, it doesn't matter that you were worried about Bakugou. Staying at his house all day is also disrespecting the punishment.”

I stuck. The day at Kacchan's house? I couldn't say anything.

“You will be without cell phone, without a video game and without a computer until you return to school.”

“But mother! How am I going to see the news, talk to everyone?”

“Television and telephone, make yourself at home.”

She went to the kitchen to prepare dinner and I went to my room to take things out of my bag.

I had three new photos with me: En and Daigoro's, Kacchan's and me with Rere holding Kacchan's photo. I looked at the three of them for a long time.

Kacchan lied to my mother?

Why was he being kinder?

What had changed?   

            ***

The house was swept three times, and my mother was again running the broom to make sure no dust was in sight.

A few days ago we received a letter from the U.A saying that the school would change to a boarding school format. And today we would receive one of the teachers to get the formal authorization from the parents. We expected Aizawa, but All Might ran the company.

“PLEASE COME IN!”

My mom almost screamed.

“Mom, calm down,” I said in a whisper, but I was just as nervous as she was.

All Might also looked awkward.

The three of us sat in the small room until my mother filled the table with biscuits and tea.

All Might coughed after thanking him for the tea and taking a sip.

“Err.. I believe you have been notified in advance, but I would like to talk to you about our plan to relocate students to dormitories at the U.A.”

“Yes…” My mother sipped her tea. “Well, about that. I am against.”

“But mother! You said yes when we got the letter!”           

“I thought about it more and changed my mind. I cannot accept! Izuku's quirk had never been manifested and yet she admired you and wanted to be like you, All Might. Then, by a miracle, the quirk belatedly awakened and she managed to enter the U.A. And because she constantly wants her approval, she keeps pushing the limits of her own body. She is being beaten up by villains as if she were a hero and not a child”.  She put the cup on the table. “You've seen the medical reports too, haven't you? And the scars on her arm... Izuku looks up to you more than anyone else, but if the fate of being a heroine is as violent and bloody as I saw your fight on TV, I...” She started to cry, I clenched my fists in my lap... “If my daughter had continued without a quirk, if she had continued to admire you heroes from afar, wouldn't she be happier, more secure? I can't stop thinking about it.”

“Mother!” I got up from the chair, shaking. How could she say such a thing? It was my dream. I remembered how she had apologized for not having a Quirk and not encouraging me to continue.

"Izuku, I told you before. I will always watch over you and cheer you on, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't constantly worry about you. I know you want to continue studying at U.A. I'm sorry, but given the current situation at the school, I don't trust this school, nor you, All Might. I can't let her go to that school”.

The room fell silent.

I put my right hand on my face, squeezing my head.

I was feeling so angry.

Anger and frustration. I was barely able to think through her point of being a concerned mother. All I could think about was the former users and how they needed me to defeat All For One. Thinking about all my friends I'd have to leave behind.

I knocked the table.

“Fine.” She looked at me with surprise, she had never seen me use that tone of voice. “You can get me out of U.A. if you want. None of this will stop me, Mom. Of being a heroine. And if it takes five thousand more scars to do that, I won't mind. I won't mind the bruises and the pain. I saved a boy, Mom”. I raised my bandaged arms. “This has nothing to do with the U.A. and classes in a school, it has nothing to do with All Might. This has to do with me. It was my arm or Kouta's life. There is no teacher to teach my body to stop breaking down. If that were the case, All Might would not have arrived in this state. So fine, get me out of U.A, but that won't stop me at all.”

All Might inflated his body into muscular form.

“It's my fault for not keeping an eye on her, not being there for her when she needed it.” All Might knelt in front of my mother and lowered his forehead to the ground. “I believe that Izuku will be a worthy successor to my legacy, I believe that she will be the next Symbol of Peace.”

“What are you saying?” My mother was euphoric and embarrassed.

“How the previous Symbol of Peace, this is my apology. For taking advantage of her admiration and neglecting her education. My apologies!” In a "puff" of smoke All Might returned to skinny form. “And as a professor at U.A. this is my plea. It is true that the path I trod is stained with blood. And that's exactly why I won't allow her to walk the same path. I want to be by her side, walking step by step the whole long way. Indeed, as things stand now, the U.A is covered in insecurities and at the moment we don't have the strength to change that! However, we U.A heroes are doing everything we can to change that. But instead of looking at how things are in the U.A., I implore you to look at how they will be. So please allow me to give all I can to Young Izuku? Even if it costs my life, I will protect and raise her right.”

My mother dropped to her knees in front of All Might and lifted him by the shoulder to look at him.

“I can't accept that, after all, you are the reason for Izuku's life. It's not that I hate you or U.A., all I want is for her to be happy. You cannot throw your life away, no matter what.” My mother put her hand on All Might's face and that surprised him as much surprised me. “Please continue to live, while protecting her and making her mature as much as possible. If that's something you can promise me, then I won't stand in your way.”

All Might raised his hand and also placed his hand on her face.

“I PROMISE!” he almost shouted.

The two were silent, I was still watching that scene, with one leg in front of the other as if I was going to run away. Stunned. Was that the effect a man gave a single mother when he said he would protect his daughter with his life? When my mother noticed what she had done, she walked away with a red face, no redder than All Might himself.

“And you, Izuku”  she approached me. “If you are going to continue and live in the U.A. you already know, right?”

I nodded, clenching my fist in front of me.

"I promise I won't worry you anymore!"

I ran and hugged her, crying, she also started to cry.

“Eeer...” All Might would start to say something.

“Don't even think about calling us crybabies!!” My mother pointed incriminatingly at him, All Might raised his hands, guilty.

We all laugh.

My mother invited him to stay for dinner and that was another surprise, but All Might refused, he needed to finish visiting, but he promised that he would have dinner with us another time.

I accompanied him to the exit.

“Your mother is a wonderful woman, now I know who you take after.”

“Uhuuuum.” I smirked at him.

“That's not what I meant!!” All Might blushed again.

“All right, To-shi-no-ri.”

I waved and went back inside the house, leaving an awkward All Might outside.

Chapter Text

Pov: Kirishima

It was unbelievable that we were alive. That everything went well.

I spent the rest of the vacation days thinking about the things that could have gone wrong, although the pride that had gone right often eased my worries.

We were all standing in a row shoulder to shoulder, I glanced at Bakugo. Deadly serious. His mood hasn't improved since the day of the rescue.

When we arrived slipping on the ice, in the middle of all that smoke, dressed in masks and glasses, I stretched out my hand to him and Bakugo didn't think twice before taking it. I even saw him smile when we were free and away from the bad guys. But his smile crumbled when Todoroki wondered if Midoriya had also managed to get out of there. Iida broke away from us to look for her.

“Are you telling me she's there?” Bakugo lifted Todoroki by the collar, Todoroki held his wrists, unmoved.

“This was all her plan. The smoke was her idea.”

Bakugo widened his eyes, bared his teeth. Maybe it was going to scream, maybe it was going to have a nervous or physical breakdown. After two days in captivity the dark circles under his eyes were huge and he was oily and slightly stinky and dirty.

I knew what he was thinking.

Bakugo didn't care what state he was in. Not until he saw Midoriya in front of him, safe.

I held onto his shoulder.

“It's Midoriya, she always finds a way.”

I couldn't think of anything else. Bakugo didn't trust Midoriya, her ability. Just look at Todoroki, the guy also liked her and was very calm. He knew Midoriya was going to come back with that pasty smile of hers and an apology for whatever the reason. Bakugo, on the other hand, was so scared at all times that he didn't see her beyond what he wanted to see. And that became clear when I saw him having an anxiety attack on I-island.

Who would have thought, that Bakugo, with all the hard shell he appeared, was so... normal.

Luckily I didn't have to force him to stay. Midoriya actually appeared, running past us, jumping into the arms of a total stranger. A stranger with hair similar to Bakugo's.

Bakugo's body relaxed. All the exhaustion of the two days washed over him at the knowledge that everything was all right now. I grabbed him by the shoulder, but he quickly composed himself as Midoriya approached us, being guided by Iida. From what she said, the smoke would make her a little blind for a while.

I sighed.

Probably Bakugo went home that night and mulled over everything that happened. Did he bother so much that we saved him? It wasn't Midoriya alone.

Aizawa approached, greeting us. It was the first day of “boarding school”, even though classes were to start in two days.

“First of all, Class 1-A, the most important thing is that you’re safely gathered here today”.

Everyone exclaimed in relief, some commenting on how their parents almost didn't let them stay in school.

“The same goes for you, Professor!” began Tsuyu. “Glad you made it back safe and sound. After watching the press conference, I thought you couldn't come back. I was really sad...”

“It was a surprise for me too. Well, certainly a lot has happened. Now, I'm going to give you a brief explanation about the dorms. But before that, one other thing. It's true that the plan was for you to receive "provisional hero licenses" after training camp, but you didn't get them. So why are you acting like you've earned?”

Some of us began to question ourselves without understanding where this was going to lead.

“What I'm trying to say is important, listen.” Aizawa silenced us once more. “Todoroki, Kirishima.” I stiffened my back. “Midoriya, Yaoyorozu and Iida, you five were present that night and in that place and acted alone to go towards the place of Bakugo's rescue”.

We, the ones involved, lowered our heads, the rest of the room exclaimed in surprise.

“As things stand, all your colleagues understand the weight of the decision they've made. A lot was left behind due to what happened, but I have to say that if it weren't for All Might's sudden retirement, with the exception of Bakugou, Jirou, and Hagakure, I would have expelled everyone. As for the five invaders I mentioned, I think it goes without saying, but the same punishment applies to the twelve who knew of their intentions and did nothing to stop them. Whatever the reason, the fact that they betrayed our trust doesn't change anything. Going forward, if you would do me a favor and follow the rules and procedures accordingly, I would greatly appreciate it. And it would certainly help to regain my confidence in you.”

I didn't know where to stick my face, Aizawa had never been so dry and serious in his scolding. I looked at my classmates who were just as criminal as I was and was surprised to see Midoriya staring directly at Aizawa.

There was a petulance I'd never seen in her before. Something that said, "Dare to kick me out, just dare."

Aizawa seemed to notice, the two's eyes locked for long seconds. In a lapse, her expression returned to normal, the usual worried Midoriya, and she lowered her head. Aizawa stared at her some more before continuing.

“That is all. Now smile and show your energies.”

Aizawa motioned for us to follow.

Before we could start the path, Bakugo pushed Kaminari into a bush and when they both came back, seconds after the sound of shock invaded our ears, Kaminari was in idiot mode, talking nonsense and everyone started laughing.

Damn... everyone calmed down. The weather softened. How did Bakugo never get tired of surprising me?

Then he came to me and pushed a wad of cash.

“Take that shit.”

“What is that? I can not accept!”

“Take it soon, you're making me feel like shit.”

Was he trying to pay for the night vision goggles?

“How did you know?”

“Who cares? Just stop being an asshole, as usual.”

He threw the money at me and walked on ahead.

I squeezed all that money, relieved that soon Bakugo would be fine.

-------

Pov: Todoroki

 The photo I took with my mother flew out the window.

After all the scolding and further explanation about the rooms, Aizawa released us to pack the moving boxes and with a sudden wind the photo I left on the table went flying.

It was the first photo we'd taken since she was admitted, since I started visiting her. We took it out on my last visit.

The last few days after Bakugo's rescue were... complicated. Staying at home was almost unbearable. My father was unbearable. Breaking everything, muttering in corners, burning things. He was angry, no, he was frustrated that All Might was defeated, and not by him.

My father's life was largely about defeating All Might, about surpassing him. My existence was about that. His marriage, my brother's death. Everything was about surpassing All Might and in the blink of an eye it all went downhill.

I could barely stay at home. My head was in a mess, more than the house itself with his successive angry attacks.

I couldn't decide if I was happy or not.

All Might was defeated. I admired him and the fact itself was sad.

But a dark part of me laughed.

Was it worth it, bastard?

Was it worth wasting our lives to not even achieve your goal?

I wanted so badly to ask him out loud. Say with a smile on my face:

“You reached first place, and not on your merits, but because the strongest person lost to someone else that you wouldn't be able to defeat anyway. You’re a shit.”

But I couldn't.

I couldn't externalize something as disgusting as that tiny bit of happiness at what All Might's defeat meant to my father.

I wandered around town for several days until my sister stopped me two days before I was due to move to school and told me I should visit Mom, who wouldn't be able to make it all the time afterwards. She was right and so I did.

Although both of us, my mother and I, were getting used to the visits, we still didn't have that much to talk about, I used to tell everyday things about school, so I repeated the cycle, telling about the latest events. She listened carefully, exclaiming or commenting when she felt it necessary.

“And when are you going to bring that girl to visit me? Your friend?”

I widened my eyes at the question, feeling my face flush. I hadn't forgotten that she asked to bring Midoriya after I told her about the School Festival.

"I don't know if she can…" I arched my back, scratching my hair with one hand. I suddenly felt uncomfortable. “She is dating.”

“But you like her, right?” My mother smiled.

It was the first time I was directly confronted about my feelings. I avoided thinking about it. There were enough things that constantly hurt me, like my father's existence, my mother trapped in there. I spent weeks denying to myself that I had feelings for Midoriya and that she wouldn't be able to reciprocate, I first thought it was because of Bakugo, but the biggest surprise was when she started to openly date Shinso.

I sat down despondently.

“I think so.”

I think.

If I said I was sure, I would allow myself to suffer more.

What was the worst option? To think that Midoriya would never get over that sickening feeling she had for Bakugo?

Or that she would get over it by loving someone else?

Equal relief and despair hit me when the girls made fun of Shinsou, about her supposed relationship.

My first thought was: thank goodness, it's not Bakugo. But then: but it wasn't me either.

To my surprise, my mother laughed and stroked my hair.

“Worry less, Shoto, at this age it's exciting to have boyfriends, I remember that time well. It's not always serious. What you cannot do is simply give up. Do you treat her well?”

I opened my mouth and closed it a few times. My mom laughed again.

“You know... gives flowers, chocolates. Speak kind words.”

I felt my face flush, I sure as hell didn't do that.

But I've never seen Shinso do it either.

By the way, Bakugo and Shinso had a kind of... villainous way? Did she like flowers and chocolates after all?

My mother insisted on that subject some more, until I, unable to take any more embarrassment, changed the subject. Before going, she asked us to take a picture. I wanted to ask my sister to reveal it and take it to her. I would also have one.

And it flew away.

I run out of my room, going around the corner of the building, into the small grove the school left on campus. I searched for almost an hour, almost giving up, when I tripped over a machine the size of a tennis ball and it tried to attack me.

I froze it.

Three more. I stopped them all.

A girl came running towards me. Pink hair, weird eyes. The girl who making fool of Iida in the School Festival. If I'm not mistaken, Mei.

“Oh, you found my babies! Thanks!”

“Babies?” I questioned, arching an eyebrow and she pointed to the frozen machines. “Your babies tried to kill me”.

“Slander! Could I have lost control of them a little?! Yes, but they would never kill someone.”

I shrugged.

"By the way," I continued. “You made the smoke device for Midoriya, right? I found it frighteningly well done and useful.”

Mei frowned.

“Smoke device? I've never done anything like this, although it's a great idea.”

Mei started muttering ideas for making a device like this and I felt something inside me stir. Midoriya lied?

“Are you sure? It’s spherical, with colorful stars and a half moon.”

Mei started digging through her pockets and pulled out a device just like Midoriya's.

“Like this?”

I nodded.

She used her thumb to pry it open.

“It's a lipstick case.”

I didn't know what to answer. My feet felt stupidly stuck to the ground and my mouth unable to utter anything.

“Oh!” Mei exclaimed in surprise, suddenly remembering. I was hoping she remembered such a device, but instead, she rummaged in her pocket and pulled out the photo I'd been looking, a little wrinkled and smudged with grease. “I think that's you in that picture, right? Fell flying on my babies.”

I stretched, picking up the photo.

“Thanks.”

I stared at the photo for a few seconds.

Again, unsure of what to feel.

*****

                Pov: Shinso

 I knocked three times on the door. Midoriya opened it with a smile on her face. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and she wore a shirt so baggy and long that it hid the shorts she wore underneath.

The sun was beginning to set and I thought it wouldn't hurt to visit her in her new dorm.

 “Nobody saw you, right?”

She pulled me into the room looking down the halls. Ever since I sent the message saying I was going there Midoriya had been freaking out that this would get us into trouble, not just because he was a boy locking himself in a girl's room, but because I was a student from the regular class walking around the hero dorms.

"Not a living soul," I replied, allowing myself to be dragged

She closed the door and locked it, as well as drawing the curtains.

It was the first time I entered her room, Midoriya never called me to her house. The room was exactly how I imagined it would be, there were figures of All Might and some anime; some barbies standing on stands and some sitting on the shelf along with stuffed animals, romance books and manga. The comforter on the bed was pink with white bunny prints, and the rug in the middle of the room was beige plush. There were a few posters of All Might, Barbie, and a large poster of live-action Beauty and the Beast centered squarely in front of the white desk.

Midoriya was so strong and impulsive when it came to being a heroine that it was easy to forget that she had some pretty standard preppy girl tastes. With all that amount of pink, 'flufs' and barbies, All Might composed a strange composition in the bedroom.

I started walking around slowly to see the details.

A ballerina barbie was standing next to a barbie dressed as All Might as if they were talking.

The All Might figures were lined up in some order unknown to me. But Midoriya quickly explained that it was in keeping with the era of the uniform he wore.

On top of the desk were some pictures that she would probably put up on a mural soon. Most with friends from her class, but the one that caught my attention was one where she was with a child with red hair, both holding another photo of that asshole.

What kind of photo was that?

I didn't know if she had little cousins or relatives, we never talk much about our families. But it wouldn't explain why they held a picture of him.

I pretended I didn't see it. I held another in my hand.

“Your mother?” The photo in question was of her and a short, chubby woman.

“Yeap.” She sat on the bed, her face flushed, not looking at me. Sweat from tidying up the room trickled down her exposed neck.

“We need to take a photo of us” I said.

I left the photo on the desk and walked over to her on the bed, pushing her so she fell onto the mattress. I took off my shoes and climbed onto the bed as well, putting my knees between her legs and my arms by her head.

“Shiinso, if someone catches us we will have problems”.

I bent down, kissing her neck.

“You never say those things when you ask me to misuse my Quirk on you”. I nibbled on her neck, and a wave of shiver ran through her body. “Besides, we're not doing anything wrong. You're just showing me your room.”

Midoriya put her hand inside my shirt, caressing my back. She looked me in the eye, her face still flushed.

“I promised All Might that this time, for real, I won't ask you that again. Not without him being close.”

“What was the next Quirk you would unlock?”

“Black Whip.”

I sighed. Also putting one of my hands inside her shirt to hold her waist, while the other still rested on the side of her head.

“It's getting harder and harder to get over you. But don't think I'm giving up, I'm still your rival, if you haven't forgotten. Your exclusive rival, who knows very creative ways to defeat you” I slowly passed my index finger around her navel and Midoriya shivered all over, his face getting even redder.

What came next surprised me, she brought her knee up between my legs and pressed.

“Don't think you're going to beat me at anything. I can also be very creative”.

I bent down to kiss Midoriya, completely absorbed by her existence.

            ***

In one thing Midoriya was right, we needed to be cautious and not abuse our good luck, so I needed to gather all my willpower to get out of that room. Because what I really wanted was to spend every night there with her.

I was fixing my hair that she messed up while we were kissing when I saw him standing a few meters from the door.

Of course.

“Don't you think you're far from your dorm, you piece of shit?” Bakugou's voice was a tear.

I straightened my shirt, with no intention of hiding how much Midoriya groped and kneaded me. I could have walked away in silence, but the photo of him on the desk didn't leave my mind for a single moment.

“It's more fun here”. I smile. The smile that my classmates loved to say was villainous.

Bakugou was so fast that he was truly frightening. He grabbed me by the collar and slammed me against the wall so hard the noise echoed inside my head.

I should be amused, should use my Quirk on him and tell him to punch himself in the face. I could think of a thousand things to do.

But I hadn't counted on his expression.

So suffered.

Lips trembling.

Hands shaking.

Brow furrowed in pain.

Any pleasure I would have taken in making fun of Midoriya being mine evaporated in an instant.

It was like being a real villain.

To cause such great suffering like that was a villain's thing.

I couldn't say anything, I just held his hand tightly, so he let me go.

I heard the sound of a door opening and footsteps.

“What are you two doing?” Midoriya approached, she was almost whispering, but her voice was incredulous.

“Tsk, fuck you. If I see you here again, Aizawa will hear about it.” Bakugou released me and walked away from us without looking back once.

“It's not a good place or a good time for you to be teasing Kacchan, Shinso.” She rolled her eyes angrily.

I put my hands in my pocket.

Kacchan.

How I hated that nickname. It almost made me forget the weight on my conscience a few seconds ago.

“It's difficult when he's always such an asshole.”

She rolled her eyes once more and I got out of there before Bakugou really decided to call Aizawa.

-------------------------------

             Pov: Tsuyu

            I didn't get to enjoy myself with everyone that first night after we cleaned up our rooms.

Mina had the idea of giving everyone a room tour, and the coolest one would win a prize. And I just couldn't. How could I?

I was a coward.

I told them in the hospital that acting irresponsibly, breaking rules, was no different than being a villain. But that wasn't true, I was just scared.

They weren't afraid, they went there and did it, but my words would always stay in their memory, what would they think of me? I didn't want to hurt them.

I didn't notice what time it was when Uraraka walked into my room without knocking and saw me lying on the bed, crying.

“It's rude to enter another's room without knocking, Uraraka, I could be naked.” I buried my head in the pillow.

“I heard you crying.

"I could be crying naked."

I felt her fingers smooth my hair gently.

“I said horrible things…to them.” I sniffled.

“They understand the situation, Tsuyu.”

“Do they really do? Midoriya has been weird since we got back. Did you see the way she looked at Professor Aizawa during the scolding?”

Uraraka stopped her hand on my head, thinking. She knew something wasn't right.

"She looked as if she was capable of breaking him in half for wasting her time with the scolding," completed Uraraka.

“Exactly. That's nothing Midoriya. She must be really, really mad about everything that happened. With people who didn't support her when she needed it.”

I wiped my tears.

"That's not exactly like Midoriya," Uraraka muttered. “Do you want to talk to them? I can gather them outside.”

I nodded. Maybe it would be good to be honest with them.

And it wasn't long before Uraraka gathered the five of them outside the building, only their own light illuminating us.

"Tsyuyu wants to say something to you," Uraraka began.

'I…' I swallowed hard. “I always say what I think, no matter the situation. But there are times when I have no idea what to say. Do you remember what I said at the hospital?”

Midoriya nodded silently.

“Even though I sympathize with you,” I continued. “What I said was very rude. But when I found out this morning that you actually did that, I was totally shocked. I was frustrated with my cowardice... which manifested itself in an attempt to try and stop you. And then, so many feelings started to well up inside me”.  I started crying. “I had no idea what to say to you, and I couldn't have fun with you pretending that nothing happened, pretending that I had never said such mean things. But it made me really sad. That's why I had to have a real talk with you, to get it all straight. All I wanted was to be able to go back to having fun with you guys like we always did.”

Uraraka completed by saying that everyone in the room felt that way and Kirishima and Iida started apologizing non-stop. But looking at Midoriya sent a chill down my spine.

“Do you still think breaking rules is what makes us a villain?”  The question took everyone by surprise, including myself. It was Iida who went ahead to speak.

“Going against the law is basically the essence of a villain, Midoriya. What we did wasn't right”.

“It was necessary,” replied Midoriya, she looked like she was going to say something else, but she stopped the words in half, widening her eyes almost imperceptibly. “But I think in the end, you might be right. Are we all mutually forgiven?”

Midoriya reached out her hand to me.

That was so…weird.

As if she simply wanted to get the matter over with and not exactly make peace between us.

I shook hands and Midoriya smiled, Kirishima's usual kind smile and a pointed joke about the rooms swept all that awkwardness under the rug.

But eventually someone would have to lift the rug.

Chapter Text

Pov: Momo

The first few days in the dorm were so busy and fun that I barely had time to think or worry about how small my new accommodations were. Really small. Now, a week after class, when everyone got used to the fact that we would live together, my daily life settled down and there was no space for everything. My mother helped me pack so many things from my room to here, but I had to send many boxes back untouched, few things would fit. Besides, it was strange to have a bathroom and common areas with general use. The bathrooms were divided for girls and boys, yet it was the first time I had the experience of seeing hair of other colors on the floor. At several moments I found myself doing something I had never done in my entire life: sweeping the bathroom.

In fact, that's what I was doing now. I was going to go in to take a shower, when I saw the huge amount of pink hair around the sink and I went into agony. It was almost finished when someone knocked on the door and Jirou opened it a crack.

“Oh, are you going to take a shower? I needed to brush my teeth quickly.”

“Feel free, I'm still finishing here.”

Jirou nodded and frowned as she looked at the broom I was holding.

“My father was always irritated by the amount of hair my mother and I left around the house. It's going to be endless work with so many girls together.”

“I know, but I just can't help but see it.” I continued sweeping and Jirou went to the sink with her toothbrush. I looked at her in the mirror, from the corner of my eye and cleared my throat. “So many things have happened since that day in the tea house, but I wanted to tell you first. The outfit you designed for me is finally ready. I won't wear that cleavage anymore.”

Jirou opened a wide smile, dirty with toothpaste foam. She spat it all into the sink before turning to me with a foul mouth.

“Reeeally? I thought you didn't even think it was a big deal! I'm super excited to see it!”

“Of course I thought it was cool!” I held the broom close to my body. “It's just been crazy these weeks...”

“Don’t even get me started, it’s only August and it seems like enough things have happened that we’re already in the third year.”

We laughed together, I tightened my grip on the broom and looked away, feeling my face flush.

“And about that other subject... I don't know if I understand what you meant. About liking...”

“I like people, no matter their gender, or how they present themselves to the world.”

I nodded, feeling my heart racing.

“If I remember correctly, you owed me to tell you how you found out you were a lesbian.”

Lesbian.

The word hit me all at once. My fingers trembled and hurt from squeezing the wood of the broom. I had never described myself with the exact word, and saying it seemed too real. Taking on something that I didn't yet have the courage to tell the world.

  I wish I had replied that I didn't owe anything, she was the one who said she wanted to know when we met at the tea house.

“It was only natural,” I replied softly. “My schoolmates talked about boys and I never saw much of anything in them. It didn't take long for me to notice that everything they admired in them I admired in other girls”.

Jirou nodded.

“And you’ve never fallen in love with someone until now?”

“Only platonic passions.” I frowned. What did she mean by “until now”?

“If you need help with anything. I'm here, alright?”

“Do your parents know about you?”

“Yes. My mother is bi, actually. And my father always knew from the day they met at one of his shows”.

“I don't know if my parents will accept this well.”  This time I faced the ground.

“It’s more common than you might imagine. But look on the bright side, now you can enjoy being here. And take one step at a time”.

I nodded, discouraged.

“I'll let you take a shower. But really, Momo, I'm here whenever you want to talk, okay? I'll love to hear about your platonic passion for Uraraka”.

“Hey!” I shouted in embarrassment as Jirou ran out of the bathroom.

My face was hot, my heart was beating nonstop.

Another feeling that I preferred not to put into words so it wouldn't seem real, I was in love with Uraraka.

--------

Pov: Kirishima

We were having a blast that week! Finally, we would choose some special moves to prepare for the Heroes License test. Of course we were all super excited! Bakugo killed the Ectoplasm clones one after another and I heard him shout “Damn, it feels so good to be angry and blow everything up again!”. It was good to see him like that, since we rescued him, Bakugo was a little quiet, not to the point that everyone found it strange, but enough for me to know that something was going on in his head.

All Might approached me and said that I needed to focus my hardening on being less performative and more tactical and that was the highlight of my day. I couldn't stop thinking about the tip I received, so when we had already eaten dinner, I knocked on Bakugo's door. He opened it, ready to kill whoever had bothered him so close to his bedtime. Strangely enough, Bakugo slept really early by teenage standards.

“Hey man, I know you enjoy your sleep, but will you help me train? There in the woods. I need some powerful blows to train my hardening.”

Of course, he cursed me with every possible bad word, but finally he accompanied me. Aizawa was clear about the prohibited time to be outside the dormitory buildings, but there was still about 50 minutes left to do so.

We trained for almost half an hour, it was the maximum time I could withstand Bakugo's blows even though I did my best to harden. I was always surprised by the power of his kicks and punches. I fall into the short grass of the forest, pulling in and releasing the air sharply. He squatted, his body sweaty.

“Are you tired already?”  Bakugo opened an evil smile, in his own way.

“Yeah, I think so.” I closed my eyes, still breathing.

“You're getting better,” he murmured.

I smiled broadly and sat down.

“Serious?”

“Tsk, don’t get too excited, you’re still a weakling compared to me.”

“Of course” I laughed at his reaction, but then another sound caught my attention. “Hey, is there anyone else training here?”

Bakugo looked to the left, also listening and we got up going towards the sound, when we got close, I barely had time to react, Bakugo pushed me behind some bushes and only when I recovered from the sudden fall did I notice the reason.

Midoriya was training with Shinso.

Training was a curious word for the situation.

She was beating him up.

Shinso was visibly tired, his clothes were dirty from being thrown on the floor and his body was shaking. We were too far away to hear the conversation.

“What a bizarre choice for a date,” I said, feeling awkward being there nosing around.

“What a shitty workout.” Bakugo didn’t even blink.

I looked more closely, since apparently we weren't leaving anytime soon.

“Midoriya is holding back” I commented. “Probably so as not to hurt him.”

Bakugo clenched his fists.

At moments like that I wondered if the thought going through his head was “If she were with me, she wouldn’t need to hold back to train”? Because certainly, if I were in a situation like that, that would be the typical thing I would think. But I’m simpler than Bakugo, my thoughts were simple, they didn't make as many twists and turns and doubts as theirs.

I looked at the couple again and something very strange happened. Midoriya went to attack him and to dodge, somehow her body rose up, almost as if she was flying, but within seconds she came back down, taking Shinso.

I frowned, ready to say something, but then Shinso pulled Midoriya by the hand and with her on his lap, they started kissing.

Anything I could have said about the attack dissolved into heavy silence. I could have made a joke about the situation being inappropriate or that we could tell on Aizawa, but Bakugo was quicker. He launched an explosion at a nearby tree, scaring them and walked back to the dorms.

I wasn't sure that setting the tree on fire was the solution, but they would definitely have trouble putting it out so close to bedtime.

---------

Pov: Uraraka

The cicadas sang for the summer cheer.

Definitely not one of my favorite seasons. And certainly not so ideal for a secret meeting behind the school buildings.

The sun was shining and making sweat run from my hair down my neck.

Iida was the first to arrive, stiffened, walking with robotic steps, he bowed in front of me shouting:

“Sorry, Uraraka! I can't accept your feelings!!”

I frowned for a few seconds. What the hell was that?

My neurons, tired because the heat, took a little longer than usual make a conclusion: I called him to talk behind the buildings. It was a classic soap opera declaration scene!

“No, Iida, that's not it.” I euphorically waved my hands in front of my body. Did I get dumped without even declaring myself? “I called here to talk about Midoriya.”

“About Midoriya?”

As soon as he pronounced syllable by syllable, Tokoyami and Todoroki turned the corner of the building, entering our field of vision.

I waited a few more minutes, he wouldn't come. Bakugou.

I left a clear note, “we need to talk about Midoriya” and slipped it under his door. But I already imagined he wouldn't show up.

I take a deep breath.

“I called you here to talk about Midoriya, we are her best friends and something wrong is happening.” The three remained quiet, with curious eyes. “Since we returned from I-island, sometimes she says or does things that are so un-Midoriya, it's very punctual, you have to pay close attention, but when it happens it's out of the ordinary. Things that she definitely wouldn't say, some too bold, others too sarcastic.

Iida nodded repeatedly, placing his hand on his chin.

“When we went to rescue Bakugo, she was very strange. Staring into space or giving acidic responses with an unusual smile on her face”  he added.

"Have you ever watched “Split”? Tokoyami whispered, getting into the secret meeting mood. “The character in the film has 23 personalities, any chance of Midoriya having developed multiple personalities?”

The group felt silent.

The idea was so ridiculous that it could even be true. I swallowed.

“I don’t think that’s the case, if not, it wouldn’t just happen in certain moments, right? Overall she is the usual Midoriya”.

“Maybe some post-traumatic stress?” asked Todoroki. “Which may have gotten worse with the kidnapping…” he placed his hand behind his neck, looking away from us. “We all saw how she looked that night...”

I murmured in agreement. If I closed my eyes I could still hear her screams of despair.

“But there’s one more thing” Iida continued. “We can't forget that time we went to visit her at the school clinic and she said that All Might was her uncle, even though we didn't know at the time that it was actually All Might.”

“She probably just wanted to hide the fact that that was All Might.”

“But we can't rule out the possibility of them being related, right?” Tokoyami scratched his chin as he formulated the thought. “Remember when Tsuyu asked about her quirk?! They are in fact similar.”

“And I think that besides that, she can also float” that seemed as stupid as it seemed in my head and everyone looked at me without understanding. “It took me a few times to notice, it was from the I-Island too. She floated a few times and said it was because I touched her and I had done that, but it felt different. And the last time she asked me, I didn't activate my quirk, and she floated.”

The group again fell into an uncomfortable silence. Until Todoroki let out a long sigh.

“I still didn’t know what to do with this information. But I talked to Mei, coincidentally found her walking through the school grounds, and asked about the smoke device she made for Midoriya to use the night we rescued Bakugo. She said she never did anything like that, not to Midoriya, not to anyone.”

“You’re saying” Iida resumed. “That Midoriya has multiple personalities and multiple quirks, in addition to being related to All Might?”

“I have my doubts about this part about All Might”. Tokoyami raised his shoulders. “Our mothers became best friends and apparently Midoriya's family is very scarce, if not practically non-existent.”

“But it wouldn’t be impossible, right? For them to be related” I concluded.

“That wouldn’t explain the quirks” reinforced Todoroki.

Iida gave a shout of “aaahh” as he thrust both of his fists back and forth like a robot.

“I trust Midoriya!! I would trust her with my life!! If she's hiding something from us, she must have a reason. Why don't we wait and see if she will tell us?”

“Iida’s right” added Todoroki. “I want to trust her. I want to respect her space. Let's wait.”

“I'm with them, if Midoriya hasn't told you yet, it's simply because it's not time yet.” And finally, Tokoyami gave the final word.

“All good.” I bit my lower lip dissatisfied. Obviously I also trusted her as much as the others, but what if she was carrying too heavy a burden? I would be careful.

When I looked up to look at Todoroki, behind our group, around the corner of the building, there was someone.

I held my breath, the figure moved.

I hurriedly walked there, but when I reached the corner, the person was already on the way back to our dorms.

The back was unmistakable.

Bakugou.

Did he listen to what we said? Would he question Midoriya?

“What happened, Uraraka?” Iida asked. “Was there anyone there?”

“I thought I saw someone, but it was just my imagination.”

Come to think of it, Bakugo would be the best way to solve this mystery.

-----------

Pov: Tokoyami

I held the Switch in front of my face, lying on Midoriya's bed while she finished her squat series so we could finally talk about her favorite house from Fire Emblems: Three Houses, since we finally platinum.

It was surprising that Midoriya left her dorm room so similar to the one at home, it seemed like nothing had changed between us since the past few months, despite the conversation with Uraraka kept ringing in my head.

“Hey Midoriya” I started, without taking my eyes off the screen. “Are you good?”

Midoriya finished the squat and lay down to do a series of sit-ups.

“I am?” She frowned, not quite understanding the question. “And you?”

“I would be better if you were real.”

Midoriya sat up, eyes wide.

“Are you having problems with multiple personalities?”

“Not that I know of…” Midoriya stood up, frowning again. “Do I seem to be with other personalities?”

The question seemed more concerned than it should have been if the problem didn't exist.

“Sometimes, Uraraka is worried.”

She nodded.

“A lot of things happened, I’m just too stressed. And I ended up questioning things I believed in”. She sat on the bed, pushing my foot to the side. Even though I was looking at the video game screen, I hadn't clicked on anything in the last few minutes. “I went to visit an orphanage.”

This time it was my turn to frown, I put down the video game and faced her, resting my elbows on the bed.

“Did you know that the children of villains and heroes have no support if their parents die? They are simply placed in orphanages. But who would want to adopt a child whose parents are villains?” Midoriya clenched her fist.

“I didn't know.” In fact, I have never in my entire life asked myself what was left after both sides killed each other. Of course, I questioned the Government a lot, but never specifically that issue. I wanted to ask what she was doing in an orphanage, but her door opened and Mina walked in excitedly.

“Tokoyami! I knew I would find you here! We need your room to tell horror stories.”

“Why specifically my room?” I asked, in a huff.

“Oh, you know, the black decor? The plastic skulls? The candles? Let's go!” Mina started pulling me by the wrist. “Are you coming, Midoriya?”

“I'm not a big fan of horror stories, I'm just going to take a shower and go to bed.”

“Chicken” Mina smiled, but did not insist.

“I deserve this....” I said, sullenly.    

-------

Pov: Mina

As imagined, Tokoyami's room was perfect for telling horror stories.

Kaminari had the idea and there were some of us: besides me and Kaminari, there was also Sero, Tsuyu, Mineta and Hagakure.

We started telling some stories, but none were very hairy, until we asked Tokoyami himself to try, he told us about a village haunted by a woman who was given to a pact by a demon when she was just a baby. She killed everyone in the village, always leaving a strand of blonde hair on her victims. The story was a little bloodier and scarier than we expected and at the end we all left the room a little scared (including myself), only Tokoyami was smiling at having managed to make us worry.

That night, I tossed and turned in bed thinking about the story, about the woman's ghost, when I heard something scratch the glass of my window.