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Chapter Text

Ikumi Midoriya was about four when she really learned that the world is not kind or particularly fair.

She had grown up a normal girl. But Ikumi had a very distinctive appearance, with teal and cream fur and a sharklike muzzle.  A pair of pointed ears stuck out of a mop of dark green hair, nearly matching her eyes. Tiny white dots were scattered under her eyes and over her muzzle, similar to her father's freckles

It was just another day at the park with the other kids in the neighbourhood. Some of the kids had gone off to the woods to try and catch beetles while others went on the swings and play equipment. With his main group of friends following his lead, Kacchan grinned up at his best friend. "Alright we're playing tag!!"

She smiled timidly as the other boys cheered, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "O-okay, Kacchan!" The spiky haired boy strode forwards confidently, flanked by Tsubasa and Hitosashi. Ikumi hurried behind them, hunching up when she saw a couple of girls staring at her. Despite being the same age as Kacchan and his friends, she stood about three heads taller than them.

Still, she was just happy to be there with Kacchan. It was a nice sunny day, and as they played, she started to forget the other kids giving her weird looks. She reached for Tsubasa, only to pout when the winged boy flew out of reach. "Hey, that's cheating!"

In response, Tsubasa stuck his tongue out. "Is not!"

She jumped up at Tsubasa, trying to grab him. "Is too!"

Tsubasa blew a raspberry at her.

Kacchan stamped his foot as Ikumi stuck her tongue out in retaliation. "Come on Tubby! Play fair!"

As Tsubasa came lower, grumbling all the way, Ikumi's ear twitched as she heard scuffling. Turning around, she saw another boy being pushed around by a pair of older kids. She could hear the other boy starting to tear up.

Before she really knew what she was doing, she was running over to them. "HEY!"

As she got closer, they turned around, sneering. "What do you-" their eyes widened when she loomed over them. They might have been taller than the other boy, but she was still head and shoulders above them.

Ikumi put her hands on her hips, staring down at them. She wanted to grin at them like All Might, but she didn't have friendly teeth like him – only fangs. "Don't be mean to people! Say sorry to him!"

One of them sneered at her shakily. "Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?"

Looking back at the crying boy, Ikumi resumed her stare down. "I-I'll protect him from you jerks!"

The bullies looked between each other, then the larger boy went to shove her. He pushed her with both hands but Ikumi barely budged. Her own, one-handed shove knocked him off his feet and into the dirt. His buddy whimpered as Ikumi pulled him up to her eye level with one hand. "Are you going to be mean to him?"

They scampered off, glaring at her. Smiling, Ikumi looked down at the boy she'd helped. "Are you alright?"

He didn't say anything, instead staring up at her with wide, teary eyes. She leaned forwards, carefully stretching out a hand. "Do you-"

He slapped her hand away, scampering off. "Scary!"

Ikumi watched him go with wide eyes. "I-"

Jogging up to her, Kacchan frowned at the fleeing boy. "Hey, what gives? You helped that wimp!"

Ikumi looked at her hands. "I-I didn't want to scare him!"

She'd just wanted to help.

Kacchan's angry expression softened, before turning to his typical cocky grin. "Hey, don't worry Midori! When we become heroes together, I'll be the strongest around! And then all the Villains'll fear me!"

It didn't lift Ikumi's mood as much as it should have. Maybe people would be less afraid when they got older? Or maybe she wouldn't grow much taller.

She didn't want to be any scarier.

--

Ikumi Midoriya's huge height was even stranger because her parents were anything but tall. Her dad Hisashi always joked that his orange-furred ears were the only thing that let him get on rollercoasters. They'd still been concerned when their baby girl had shot up to be so much taller than her classmates and approaching her mother's height.

Doctor Tsubasa had taken a blood sample and scheduled a MRI to see if Ikumi was suffering from gigantism. The tests came back negative, indicating that Ikumi's height was just a natural part of her Quirk.

He had asked for more samples. Ikumi hadn't liked him, her sensitive nose picking up the stench of chemicals and blood. Her parents had agreed, deciding to see a different doctor. He was nicer, and he hadn't smelled as weird as Dr. Tsubasa.

It was just as they were going to see the new doctor when Ikumi found that there was more to her Quirk than she'd first assumed. She'd been feeling a comforting warmth all over her body, concentrated in her chest. As she'd hopped up to the table, some dust hit her nose.

She sneezed, a spurt of embers and smoke coming from her mouth.

Her mother had been surprised and slightly alarmed. "Oh, we thought that Ikumi wouldn't have that part of her father's Quirk!"

Doctor Hamamoto shrugged. "There's still a lot we don't know about Quirks. Even now, there's still a lot to learn about how they work. Since your husband has some minor mutations, it seems that Ikumi's inherited his Quirk with a more extreme variation of those. It's not uncommon."

Ikumi grinned widely. "I can breathe fire like daddy! An' – an' I can be a cool Hero like Kacchan when I get older!"

Meeting Kacchan later and sharing her new, super cool fire breath got Kacchan excited. "Bet it's not as cool as my explosions, though!" he'd boasted.

Ikumi giggled. Same old Kacchan.

---

Later, they found that Ikumi had extra parts of her body. Most of it went over Ikumi's head, but what she understood was that she had a sort of flame sack that ran down her throat to her stomach. It stored flammable material for a later date, breaking it down into a gas. When she breathed it out, heat generated in her mouth to ignite the gas as it mingled with oxygen.

She wasn't sure what the feeling around her body was, or why it had died when she breathed fire. Since it didn't seem bad, she never mentioned it until later. Ikumi eventually learned what it meant, though that is for another time.

Given her unusual animal look and fire breathing, they had to update the registry from 'Fox-Shark.' Eventually, they gave it the name 'Dragonbreath.' It wasn't a cute name, but Ikumi could't think of a better one.

--

Inko loved her daughter. How could she not? Ikumi was a kindhearted girl who just wanted to help everybody.

She smiled to her daughter, bouncing in place. "Okay, Ikumi. Where are you and Kacchan going to play today?"

Ikumi beamed up at her with a gap toothed grin. "We're going up by the creek!"

"Alright. You play safely now!"

Ikumi bounded away to meet up with Katsuki, the blonde boy grinning up at his friend. Inko watched them go with a smile on her face.

"I can't believe you let your daughter go off like that."

Inko mentally composed herself, before turning to the other woman. "Oh, Kodozute-san. This is a bit unexpected. Besides, she's going with friends, they'll be fine."

Kodozute sniffed. "I mean, really. She should be quieter."

Inko's smile slipped slightly. "She's a four year old girl going to play with her friends."

"Still, she should be more mature. Even if she is a mutant."

Inko was about to say something considerably nastier when Mitsuki barged in, a sharp grin on her face. "Hey, Inko! Sorry to interrupt you, Kodozute, but I'm taking Inko to get some coffee, do you mind?"

"I-"

"Great! See you around, Kodozute!"

Inko smiled at Mitsuki, allowing herself to be dragged away as Kodozute glared at Mitsuki. "Thank you for that."

Mitsuki shrugged. "Eh, it barely counts as a favour. She's a stuck-up bitch who's got a stick up her ass about everything."

She couldn't help but giggle, then sighed. "I don't mind her judging me, but she shouldn't judge Ikumi."

Her friend nodded pensively. "Yeah. Ikumi's been the best thing for Katsuki – keeps him from getting too big a head."

Mitsuki took a sip of her coffee, sighing.  "Still. People are jerks."

Inko couldn't help but agree.

--

Ikumi huffed, letting out a tiny lick of fire. She looked up at her dad, who clapped.

"Good work, Ikumi!" he praised, grinning. His own fangs were less pronounced than hers, something she found reassuring. "Just remember, no practicing your fire breathing when there's flammable stuff around."

Ikumi nodded seriously. "I won't!"

Hisashi Midoriya ruffled her hair, sighing. "You really got my hair, huh?" his ears twitched in their black mop. Then he saw his daughter's ears droop slightly as she looked away. "What wrong, Ikumi?"

She shrugged, rubbing her arm. "It's nothing."

Hisashi frowned. "Doesn't look like nothing."

"I just…" She shuffled in place. "…Do you think I'm going to get bigger when I get older?"

"Of course you are. You're a growing girl- "

Ikumi stamped her foot. "I don't want to get bigger! I just want to be smaller so that I don't scare other kids when I help them! The other girls don't let me play with them because I'm too tall, and-and they say mean things about me!"

Hisashi paused, then nodded. "Ah." He knew this was going to be an issue. Ikumi was already so tall, looking more like a teenager than a normal four-year-old.

He mentally slapped himself. They'd checked several times, and Ikumi was growing normally. Not her fault she was just bigger. Ikumi continued talking, tears gathering in her eyes. "I… I just want to be normal."

He pulled his daughter into a hug, ignoring how she came up to his shoulder. "Listen, Ikumi. You know that no matter what, we love you, right?"

"Mm," she mumbled into his armpit.

Hisashi just smiled, patting her on the back. "And Katsuki likes you, doesn't he?"

"Yeah…"

He bent down slightly so he could meet her eyes. "So don't worry about them. They don't know you."

"Kodozute-san says I-I have to be quieter when we play with Kacchan. Even if I'm a-a mutant."

Hisashi frowned. "Kodozute-san says a lot of things. You don't have to listen to her about everything." He paused. "Don't tell your mother I said that."

Ikumi giggled a bit. Hisashi grinned with her. Internally, he worried. It wasn't fair for his beautiful daughter to be judged for something beyond her control. It was her Quirk, after all. There were books about not judging others based on their Quirks around. Clearly, most kids hadn't gotten the message.

Or maybe it was adults that hadn't.

--

People aren't born equal, and sometimes people will judge you for no reason. But that was my first and greatest obstacle. I was never entirely comfortable with my height. It just separated me from other people. Maybe I would have been shy without my Quirk.  

Anyway. My name is Ikumi Midoriya. I'm just an ordinary girl now. 

But this is my story about becoming a Hero like All Might. About saving people with a smile. It wasn't always easy, but I don't regret it.

Chapter Text

There were a couple of times where Ikumi wished that she didn't have her Quirk. She could have lived without constantly being the largest kid in the room. More than once she had begged, pleaded and outright wished that she would just stop growing. Her Quirk didn't listen and continued to make her the tallest person in any room.

Some of her classmates and friends had wanted to be taller for ages but Ikumi didn't see the appeal. Ikumi found that her height gave her a tendency to loom over people when she didn't want to, neck cramps from both parties trying to simply make eye contact and having to fit into a society built at half scale. Pens and pencils not built for increased strength shattered in her grip.

To the despair of the P.E teacher at her junior school, Ikumi was never particularly interested in sports. She always felt too uncoordinated, too out of place. As far as he was concerned though, Ikumi's sheer size and strength made her a shoe-in for practically any sport. People always told her that she had the build for basketball and volleyball, but she would have rather not.

Still, it was her Quirk. Like all Quirks, it came with upsides and downsides. Even if it seemed that there were more downsides than normal.

—

Eight year old Katsuki glared up at his taller friend. "Your Quirk's kind of unfair," he grumbled. He'd said it every winter they'd been friends.

Midori giggled, the traitor. Katsuki was completely bundled up in thick winter gear and boots, restricting his movements and making it harder to get around. Midori, on the other hand, only needed a pair of boots and a jumper to shrug off the cold. Her fur had thickened up slightly, making her seem larger than she normally was.

"It's just how my Quirk works, Kacchan!" She patted her chest. "I-I keep my fire inside my body, and I've got a fur coat of my own!"

Katsuki scoffed. "Maybe your Quirk works better in the winter, but that's just a starting edge! It just takes me longer to warm up, that's all!"

Midori shrugged, walking through the snow in the park at an impressive pace. Katsuki growled, managing to keep up with his friend. Midori was officially slightly over two metres tall now, and still growing. In Katsuki's opinion, that was what made Midori the coolest of his friends.

That you could feel the heat emanating off her if you leaned against her was a nice touch.

Katsuki had everything he could ever want - top grades, a powerful Quirk and a friend who could keep up with and challenge him. About the only thing he didn't have was a Hero licence, but that'd come when he and Midori crushed U.A and became Heroes together.

Sure, Katsuki knew he was great - pretty much everybody around him said so! And he knew Midori's Quirk, even if it wasn't quite as cool as his, was great as well. Not many people thought Midori was great like he was, though.

Katsuki didn't give a damn what other people thought. Midori was great and everybody who thought otherwise was a poophead. A bunch of adults had said that Midori was a 'bad influence,' but Katsuki thought that was stupid. Midori didn't start fights, she intervened in them and tried to defend the other guy.

As far as he cared, that's what Heroes did - they went in and beat up bad guys. Midori didn't do much hitting, so that was up to him.

—

Ikumi grumbled as she ran a comb through her mop of hair in a futile attempt to untangle it, then switched to a different one. "Spring sucks," she mumbled, combing along her arms and legs and across her torso, excess teal fur being dragged with it.

Winter was her favourite time of the year, but springtime was when she started to shed her winter coat. And that meant that until her body decided to stop shedding, there were small piles of teal and white fur getting everywhere. It gathered on clothes (hers and other people's in equal amounts), it stuck on couches. Not to mention that Ikumi felt itchy and uncomfortable, since her winter coat stuck around for a while and the loose hairs irritated her.

At least in summer her coat got back to a normal thin layer and she didn't feel itchy all over her body. Once she was satisfied with having removed as much excess fur as was humanly possible she pulled on the rest of her clothes, resignedly running over them with a lint roller to purge the excess.

Ikumi looked at herself in the mirror, doing a little twirl. Gang Orca T-shirt and shorts, and her favourite red sneakers. She winced when she saw that the T-shirt was a little too short, clutching her midriff tightly. But it was the only thing she really had.

Beaming, she turned back to her bed and the bag of fur that she'd pulled off her body. It wasn't going to be enough - there was always fur in some stupid, unexplained place that she would miss. But at least most of it was in one place.

It was practically routine at this point, to get the bag ready, swipe a lint roller up and down her bed to grab any loose fur that had fallen out when she was sleeping and tie it shut. Then double check that there's no shed fur on her clothes and run the lint roller over it again when she potted some fur that she'd missed.

Ikumi took one last look at herself, then hurried downstairs, collected fur in hand. Dumping it in the bin, she quickly went to the door, trying to ignore how close her ears were getting to the ceiling. "I'm going to hang out with Kacchan and the other kids!"

Her mother popped her head around the corner. "Have fun, dear!"

Ikumi waved goodbye, heading out into the spring sunshine to meet with Kacchan. "Morning!"

Kacchan sighed, walking with her. "How the hell does your fur keep getting everywhere?" He gestured to his black T-shirt for emphasis, where a couple of teal strands had already gathered.

Ikumi let out a long suffering sigh. "Spring sucks," she moaned, causing Kacchan to laugh.

—

Ikumi swallowed nervously, holding out her wallet. "O-one ticket for All Might versus Alien, please," she managed to get out, pitching her voice slightly lower than normal.

The cashier gave her an odd look as he accepted the money. Ikumi tried to act natural as she stood there in an oversized coat. Tsubasa had grabbed it from an aunt apparently.

She fidgeted slightly as the cashier finished up. "Alright, here you go," he handed her the ticket.

Ikumi  smiled widely as she got the ticket back. "Thank you!"

Ticket in hand, Ikumi carefully walked into the movie theatre, getting a seat in the back. Carefully looking both ways, she opened the coat. "O-okay Kacchan, the coast's clear," she muttered.

He hopped out, Tsubasa and Hitosashi following. Ikumi anxiously looked, checking that the theatre doors were closed. "Good one, Midori!" Kacchan hissed, pulling out a bag of popcorn.

Ikumi gulped nervously as the trailers started. It seemed like a good idea at the time to do this. Sure, All Might versus Alien was a MA-rated film and looked scary, but it had All Might in it! So the four of them had pooled their pocket money to get a ticket.

Kacchan grinned. "This is gonna be great!"

Ikumi had her doubts. Still, how scary could it be?

…

About two and a half hours of gore, swearing and in the climax All Might hitting the Alien so hard it exploded, Ikumi managed to stagger out of the theatre, her disguise haphazardly in place.

Once out of the theatre, Tsubasa cheered. "That was awesome!"

Hitosashi joined him, fingers stretching for emphasis. "Yeah! Like that bit where that other Hero's chest exploded-"

Ikumi managed to get to a trashcan before vomiting, tears coming from her eyes.

Bakugou awkwardly patted his friend on the shoulder. "I didn't think it would be that gory, Midori," he managed. He brightened up a bit. "You wanna choose the next movie?"

It was the closest he would come to an apology. Ikumi wordlessly nodded as she managed to recover.

—

Inko couldn't help but worry about her daughter. Ikumi was self-conscious about the way she looked, and had known from preschool that there was something fundamentally different about her. Inko wasn't a tall woman, but it had still been a bit of a shock when Ikumi had grown taller than her when she was only five years old, and then her father at six.

Her height had only increased, and with it her difficulty in navigating their apartment. It was an old one from before the dawn of Quirks. Ikumi's long ears almost brushed against the ceiling, and she had been ducking through doorways for a while. Probably too long, Inko supposed, if she was so used to it.

Inko had asked her parents about inviting Ikumi over, and they had declined. Not because they thought that Ikumi wasn't cute, or because they had anti-heteromorph prejudices like so many people out of the cities did. But because Ikumi wouldn't have been comfortable in their place out in the country.

She didn't want her baby girl to have to deal with that. Inko had been looking at some options already. There was a block of flats nearby that had been constructed specifically for heteromorph Quirks, so that might be the best place to go. If there was no other option, there were some warehouses that had been retrofitted for habitation.

"Ikumi," Inko called hesitantly. Ikumi was doing her homework in another room, but could always hear her from anywhere in the house. Ikumi came over, slightly distracted.

"M-mum? What's-"

Inko winced when her daughter's snout impacted the doorframe with a thud. "Ow!"

Inko ran over to her daughter as she rubbed her snout. "Ikumi, are you okay? Do-do you want me to get an ice-pack-"

Ikumi shook her head. "Y-yes, I'm fine! I-I should have been more careful about where I was going-"

Seeing her daughter try and brush it off was what firmed Inko's resolve. "Well, Ikumi… we were thinking of moving to a different apartment-"

Ikumi's eyes widened in panic. "Y-you don't have to! I-I'm fine-"

"Ikumi, that's the third time you've hurt yourself trying to go through a doorway!" Inko hugged her daughter, grateful that she could at least wrap her arms around her. "I-I wouldn't ask you to change schools, but I… I just think you should be able to walk in your own home without banging your head on anything!"

Ikumi sniffed. "But… that'll be expensive, and I-I already eat too much-"

"Please don't say that, Ikumi. You're eating the normal amount that a girl your height should."

"M-maybe I won't get any taller! I-if I drink some coffee-"

Inko nearly teared up. "Ikumi, there's-there's nothing I wouldn't do for you, you know that? Besides, it's not such a big deal. I've seen a place that's still close by."

"But what about-"

Inko reached up with a shushing motion. "We'll work it all out. Together."

Chapter Text

Ikumi didn’t like driving. She felt too cramped in the back of the car, having to sit in an awkward position so that her ears weren’t uncomfortably pressed against the roof. In the front, her mum gave her a reassuring smile. “We’re almost there, Ikumi.”

She shifted as much as she could. “I-I’m sorry I’m making us move,” she said for what felt like the hundredth time. Even though it was irrational to feel bad about it, the sure knowledge that she was to blame for her parents having to move sat in her stomach like writhing snakes. 

Her father shook his head. “I’ve been meaning to move anyway - my job’s sending me to a new office, and this place is closer to it. Less time on the train for me!” 

Ikumi managed to crack a slight smile. The only blessing this whole situation had was that they weren’t moving out of Musutafu - just slightly further away from Kacchan and the rest of her friends. She didn’t want to have to make new friends and deal with new girls talking about her behind her back.

She tried to reassure herself. Heroes took a while to settle down in one place - All Might ran all around the country, fighting Villains wherever he went. Even Gang Orca had worked in other places depending on what was needed! So she’d have to be brave and not cause her parents any more problems.

—

Ikumi’s favourite Hero of all time, of course, was All Might. Ever since she’d seen All Might on screen rescuing over a thousand people in his Japanese debut, a fire had been lit in her that burned as hot as her breath. She loved all Heroes, how they could save people with a smile and inspire them to be better.

But her truest inspiration was rather different. 

It had been when they were walking back from school to hang out at Kacchan’s house. Ikumi had intervened with an older kid bullying one of their classmates, only for the older boy to run to a teacher and say she was picking on him. Only Kacchan saying that she had stopped him bullying another student had prevented her from getting detention. 

The teacher had frowned, letting her off with a warning to ‘play nice with the other kids,’ since Kacchan was obviously right. Ikumi had found that so frustrating. The other boy had been older and bigger than Kacchan yet was picking on a four year old boy and making him cry. But the other kids treated her like she was the bad guy - why? Because she didn’t look like them?

She knew she looked different. It didn’t mean that she didn’t want to be normal and do normal girl things. 

So she and Kacchan had gone off after school to the arcade. Kacchan had been angry about it as well, since the teacher was obviously stupid if he believed that. A news bulletin had flashed on a TV screen on the way back home. She’d stopped, Kacchan looking over. “What is it? A new Villain attack or something?” 

A cruise ship had been attacked by Villains, a gaping hole torn into its side. The passengers were terrified, running from Villains dressed in diving suits. Ikumi’s heart wrenched when she saw the hulking Villain on the ship’s bow, a massive shark laughing as he held a terrified woman in his hands. Even if her classmates didn’t watch it, their parents would watch it and then they’d look at her like she would do something like that, and it wasn’t fair-

Kacchan had watched her with a concerned look on his face, then gasped as something happened on screen. “Midori, look!”

Ikumi shook herself when she saw what looked like a jet of white water head to the sinking ship. It had to be a Hero! It didn’t look like All Might, but who-?

The Hero jumped out of the water, and Ikumi gasped when they landed, because it was a Hero like her. 

On deck, the Villians and civilians backed up a step as he unfolded to his full height. He stood head and shoulders above the Villains, wearing a crisp white suit and a pink tie that looked like a tongue. Red eyes glared at the Villains disapprovingly, a black cape fluttering limply in the wind. 

The resulting fight was pretty one-sided. Ikumi cheered when the orca-themed Hero knocked the shark man down effortlessly, saving the hostage. Even when they tried to overwhelm him with their superior numbers, a burst of sound and they were helpless, unable to move as he locked them in handcuffs. 

“Incredible! A new Hero has made his debut here at Okuto Island! He - well, he looks a bit scary to be honest, but there’s no denying his heroism!”  

Ikumi teared up as she watched the Hero coordinate with the police to get everybody on board to safety. Kacchan cheered as well, giving Ikumi a huge grin. “Go Orca guy!” 

On the scene, a reporter came up while he was hauling somebody away. Next to the Hero he looked like a child playing with a toy microphone. “Sir, that was amazing! Can you give a name for the press?” 

He paused. “The name’s Gang Orca.” He turned to the camera briefly, a serious expression on his face. “I would love to talk more, but there’s still injured passengers to rescue. Please excuse me.” 

Ikumi stared rapturously at the scene. “He’s like me…” she breathed. It was one thing to know, more than anything else that you wanted to be a Hero. It was another thing to see somebody like you who managed to achieve it. 

Kacchan gave her a shove. “I told you that the other kids are poop heads. We’re gonna be Heroes together, Midori!” 

She grinned at him, flashing a full set of fangs. And when the other kids had laughed at her wanting to be a Hero because she was too scary looking, a tiny part of herself said, they’re wrong.

—

Despite a long argument with their previous landlord, they hadn’t been able to get their initial deposit back - he had sniffed, saying that Ikumi’s fur was still in nooks and crannies despite the professional cleaning they had done. Not wanting to drag the process out any longer than she had to, Inko had dropped the matter.  

Now that she was there in person, Inko gave their new apartment building an admiring look. The Jukai apartment complex had been built by a sizeshifting mutant who had despaired of never having a place that was the right size for him. He had wanted a place where people of practically any size could feel comfortable. 

The Jukai apartments enclosed a large courtyard, towering trees and greenery shrouding the gravel paths. Ikumi unfolded from the car, stretching. Looking at the apartment building, her eyes widened. 

“T-the door’s taller than me…” 

Inko patted her daughter on the arm, looking at the door in question with a smile. The door into the apartment was truly massive - nearly twice as tall as Ikumi herself. ”It is rather big, isn’t it?”

And that sense of scale applied to the rest of the apartments. The wing they were in, despite being the same height as a typical apartment block, only had half as many balconies, the windows and balconies themselves adjusted to a larger scale. After so many rental agents had told her to just buy a warehouse or be grateful for prices about three times higher than her current rental, Inko was happy to find an apartment like this.

Ikumi broke out into a huge grin, teeth flashing. Then she seemed to remember herself and hurriedly closed her lips. Inko frowned when she saw her daughter clamp down on her body language like that. She wanted to talk to Ikumi about that, but decided to talk about it later. 

—

For the first time she could really remember, Ikumi had to look up at somebody. It was a new experience. 

The landlord must have had an oni mutation, Ikumi thought, as he seemed to fill the space. His deep red skin and huge muscles looked kind of funny in his white shirt and black pants.  He smiled at the family, baring an impressive set of fangs. Her parents didn’t even blink at the sight, and his smile seemed to get a smidgen more genuine. “You must be the Midoriyas.” 

He politely bowed. “Lovely to meet you. My name is Kojiro Mochizuki.”

Inko bowed politely as well, going through the formalities. Ikumi couldn't help but look around the building in wonder, before her gaze returned to Mochizuki. When they came to the door of their apartment Ikumi frowned. "Um... Why is the door small?"

It looked like a regular door - maybe wider than normal but still the same height. Mochizuki nodded simply. "It's to keep you in the habit of ducking under doorframes when you're to here."

Ikumi nodded seriously. That did make sense. As mum opened the door, she ducked under. Standing up, she stared at the rest of the apartment, eyes wide ope. The landlord chuckled upon seeing her face.  "The first time anybody comes here they're like that."

The apartment itself seemed almost oversized. It felt like there was so much space. Ikumi hesitantly reached up, to see if she could touch the ceiling, reaching up further and further. Her mother looked at her when she strained. “Ikumi?”

“I can’t touch it,” Ikumi almost whispered. Then, louder: “I can’t touch the ceiling.” 

Tears built in the corners of her eyes. Mochizuki gave her an encouraging smile. “Everybody likes to try that. When we say we can house anybody, we mean it.” 

—

Hisashi chuckled as he saw his daughter run around, happily helping with the unpacking. The delivery men had offered to help, but Ikumi was on a roll. She practically bounced in place as he stepped up, ready to act the part of a strong dad. 

He gave Ikumi a smile. “Okay, Ikumi! Now, I’m pretty sure I could take the couch in by myself, but would you mind giving me a hand?”

Ikumi gave him a wide grin, carefully not showing any teeth. “Not a problem Dad!” 

Hisashi braced himself under the couch, Ikumi taking a similar position. With a grunt of effort, he managed to lift his end. Ikumi pulled her end up with one hand, the delivery men boggling at the sight. Hisashi carefully staggered back. “Careful… 

Ikumi carefully ducked under, careful not to hit her head. It was a short stagger to the elevator and they were able to lean it against the wall. Hisashi smiled up at his daughter. “Whew. It’s pretty heavy, isn’t it?”

She shrugged, looking down at the couch. “Not really, dad.”

Hisashi flexed, a confident look on his face. “What can I say? I’m taking the lion’s share of the weight.” As Ikumi giggled, he braced himself to lift it again. The rest of the journey was a tough one, but it was much easier to get the couch through this door than it had been getting it out of their original apartment. 

“Whew! Barely broke a sweat!” 

Ikumi gave him a disbelieving look. Hisashi pretended not to notice. Inko looked over the countertop with a fond smile. “Hisashi, could you give me a hand with the bowls?” 

“Sure thing, dear!” 

Ikumi bounded off to the hallway, a wide smile on her face. Hisashi watched her go, sighing. Behind him, Inko leaned against his shoulder, taking a moment from the unpacking to appreciate the change it had brought in Ikumi. He grinned. “Inko, apart from saying yes to my proposal, this is the best idea you’ve ever had.” 

Inko playfully shoved his arm. “Surely I’ve had better.”

They chuckled, watching as Ikumi ran up to the truck. Hisashi blinked. “I should probably go help her if she means to move the fridge.” 

His help, it turned out, was unneeded. But it was the thought that counted.

Chapter Text

Mitsuki whistled, looking around the apartment. “Hot damn, Inko! You really got lucky, huh?” 

The scale of the apartment was pretty interesting. The Midoriya’s normal table was sat in a space that dwarfed it. Everything else reminded Mitsuki of when she’d been a little girl running around the house. Inko had thought ahead and installed some footstools at the stove and oven so that she could actually use them. The landlord was apparently trying to track down something to plug in so that Inko didn’t have to do that, which Mitsuki thought was surprisingly nice for such a grumpy fellow. 

Next to her, Katsuki beamed. “It’s Midori sized! Awesome!”

Ikumi just grinned, fangs flashing. Mitsuki was happy to see the normally shy and reserved girl so expressive in her new home. It had seemed like her smiling full force had happened less and less as she grew up. “Yeah! I was worried that even if we moved here it would be too small but it’s not!” 

Mitsuki smiled warmly, before her face turned to a mock frown. “Ikumi, you’re not still wearing those T-shirts, are you?” 

For a girl who had Inko as a mum and Mitsuki for an aunt, Ikumi’s fashion sense was awful. She hugged the plain white T-shirt to herself, the inscription reading ‘T-shirt.’ “I like them! They’re funny!” 

Katsuki cackled, the annoying brat. Mitsuki sighed, somewhat fondly. “That’s fine, Ikumi. Just remember to hit me up if you want a nice dress to wear.”

“I will, Auntie Mitsi!” 

Katsuki grabbed his friend’s arm. “Hey, you said there’s a park nearby, right? Let’s go!” 

Mitsuki gave her son a glare. “Don’t blow up anything that doesn’t belong to you, Katsuki!” 

“Yeah, yeah!” 

Ikumi looked over to Inko, who smiled gently. “Make sure you’re back for lunch, Ikumi, Katsuki.”

She beamed, bouncing in place slightly. “Let’s go, Kacchan! You can meet my friends here!”

Mitsuki smiled as they ran off, Ikumi half-ducking before straightening up. Behind her, Inko set some coffee and sweets on the table. “Nice to see she’s got somewhere she fits in.”

—

Katsuki stared at the other kids Midori had brought him to meet. She grinned, waving him over. “Guys, this is Kacchan! He’s my best friend ever!” 

The first one looked pretty cool - some kind of bug guy with a shock of green hair. He glared at Katsuki, and Katsuki met his glare back. “Name’s Kamakiri.” 

“He’s got a really cool Quirk, Kacchan! It’s called Sharp Edge and he can make knives come out of his arms!” 

Katsuki snorted. Trust Midori to swoon over any vaguely cool Quirk. 

Next to him was a girl with a rabbit mutation, brown furred and built a bit like Tubby. And she was also head and shoulders taller than Katsuki. She grinned, flexing an arm. “Iku’s talked a lot ‘bout ya. My name’s Hiroko Usagiyama, so ya better remember it!” 

Katsuki grinned at her. He kind of liked her already. “Okay, Long Ears.” 

Long Ears shook her head. “Usagiyama was too hard for ya to remember?”

“It’s not too hard! I just don’t wanna say it!” 

“Kacchan definitely likes you - he actually gave you a nickname rather than call you an extra,” Midori whispered to Long Ears. 

Katsuki scowled up at Midori. “Well, she’s like a friend of yours. Course I’m gonna respect her! More than some of our poophead classmates, that’s for sure!” 

The bug guy blinked, then turned to Katsuki. “You gonna nickname me or something?” 

“...Bug Face.”

“Bug Face?!” Bug Face glared at him, a short blade coming from his arm. Katsuki grinned, explosions popping in his hands. Then Midori stepped between them, towering over them both. 

“Kacchan, that wasn’t a nice nickname! You could call him something else, maybe?” 

He crossed his arms. He thought it was an okay nickname. Midori huffed, looking down. “He doesn’t like it. So maybe something different?”

Bug Face glared at him, then Midori. “Look, if you just let me-”

He sighed. “Okay, Stabby.” 

Stabby blinked. “Stabby?” 

“Since Midori’s asking.” 

Katsuki wasn’t big on apologising, even to his mum. But Midori was willing to fight on this shit, so he was at least going to try and get along with her new friends. Stabby glared at him, then the blade went back. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring. After dealing with his shit, Stabby was alright. Even if Katsuki thought he was a bit of an arrogant jerk. 

—

Surprisingly Ikumi wasn’t the only person in their group of friends who was moving. She looked over to Tsubasa curiously, bento in hand. “You’re going away, Tsubasa?” 

The shorter boy grinned, wings flapping idly. “Well, my grandpa’s moving his clinic to Kamino, and my folks are still overseas. So I’ll be going with him.”

She shrugged, fiddling with her bento. Ikumi still didn’t like how his grandpa smelled - she couldn’t put a finger on it but he just smelled wrong. Tsubasa hadn’t liked her commenting on how Doctor Tsubasa smelled, though, so she’d stopped talking about it.

Hitosashi frowned. “That isn’t fair. Who’s gonna help keep Katsuki and Ikumi out of trouble?” 

“Hey!” Ikumi pouted. 

“It’s true.” Hitosashi leered, fingers stretching. “You an’ Katsuki keep fighting older kids-”

“They keep bullying our classmates! It’s not fair!”

Tsubasa rubbed the back of his head. “W-well, it’ll be fine! Kamino isn’t that far away!”

Kacchan looked up, grinning. “Eh, like I care, Tubby!” He then shrugged. “But if you don’t keep in touch I’ll freaking beat your ass!”

As Tsubasa glared at Kacchan for using that nickname and Hitosashi laughed, Ikumi sat back with a sigh. Moving had been a lengthy process but she’d made some friends at the apartments already. Sure, they weren’t as tall as she was, but she didn’t feel as out of place. 

Later, they waved Tsubasa off as he drove away with his grandfather to Kamino. They tried to keep in touch, but eventually Tsubasa must have forgotten. Sometimes friends just drifted apart due to differences of location. 

—

It wasn’t the last time that they ever saw him. Their next meeting was due in several years. Still, time goes quickly when you have things to do.

Ikumi had gained friends at Jukai apartments and managed to introduce them to Katsuki without anything breaking. For a couple of years she was pretty happy there, with Kacchan coming over and helping deal with bullies. And of course she practised her fire breathing with him, since they knew they wanted, more than anything else, to be Heroes. 

It was on her tenth birthday that Ikumi found out what the warm feeling shrouding her body meant. 

—

When Ikumi was three, she had an accident with a glass of soda. Kacchan had shaken up a bottle as a joke, and it sprayed all over her. Ikumi had needed to wait until she could get it rinsed off. The sticky feeling and matting of her fur had stuck with her. Since then she’d always been extremely careful about soft drinks and juice, not wanting a repeat.

Her tenth birthday party was fairly well attended. They’d sent an invitation to Tsubasa’s address, but he hadn’t gotten back to them. Still, Hitosashi and Kacchan and the rest of her friends were here, so Ikumi tried not to take it too personally. 

Ikumi grinned as her mum set the All Might themed cake down in front of her. The candles weren’t lit, but that was just how her dad and her liked it. As her friends and parents sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her, Ikumi waited until they were done, then sucked in a breath. Pursing her lips, she blew a tiny spurt of flame over the candles, lighting them up. 

As always, her wish was pretty much the same. Please, don’t let me grow any taller. 

Kacchan grinned. “What’d you wish for Midori? More Hero shit?”

Her mum shot him a look, which Kacchan ignored. Ikumi carefully cut a slice of cake and then let her mum do the rest. 

As cake was served, Ikumi was practically bouncing in place, raring to go. It was a beautiful sunny day outside and she wanted to get out there and run around with her friends! Her mum smiled. “Well, here you go-”

Ikumi’s jolting leg hit the table, and her glass of orange soda fell back towards her. It almost felt like she was watching it fall in slow motion, the liquid heading for her new Gang Orca shirt-

That strange feeling on her body seemed to intensify. The liquid hit maybe a millimetre away from her shirt, then dribbled off. Ikumi stared as it dripped away from her shirt, and onto the floor. Her mother, half seeing this, sighed. “Okay, Ikumi, I’ll-”

She stopped, seeing that her daughter was dry and not in need of a towel. Ikumi stared at her dry shirt. “I… how did that happen?”

It wasn’t as if she had some sort of moisture repelling Quirk - she had been caught in the rain and she’d gotten wet then! Maybe it was some sort of really specific Quirk that only repelled soft drinks? But then she wouldn’t have gotten soaked by soft drink in the first place all that time ago, so maybe-

“Midori, you’re mumbling.” Kacchan glared at her. “Also, why did you hide that part of your Quirk?”

Ikumi flushed, then flailed, trying to come up with an explanation for Kacchan. “I-I didn’t know I could do that! I-”

Mum blinked. “It’s certainly news to me! It would have been nice to know you had a Quirk that could help repel all those dirt and mud stains you pick up.”

Kacchan glared up at her mum. “Dirt stains? Auntie, Midori gets way less muddy than we do!” 

Ikumi’s mind whirled while her friends concurred. Had she seriously not noticed this? Sure, she liked looking at other people’s Quirks, but she hadn’t seriously looked at her own one. Not like she did with other people.

“Ikumi? Sweetie? Are you okay?” her mum said, worried. 

Ikumi suddenly sat up. “I have a second part to my Quirk that I only just noticed! How could I not be okay?” 

—

Inko had always described her Quirk as an extension of her arms - like she was casting a line out to a smaller object and attaching onto it. When she latched onto something, it steadily retracted back to her body, dragging whatever small item she had focused on with it. 

The purple skinned Quirk Counsellor, looking at her Quirk and Ikumi’s, concluded that Ikumi had picked up a stronger version of Inko’s own Quirk. “It almost sounds like a telekinetic field that is focused solely on your arms,” he explained, tapping Inko’s hands for emphasis. “A way of tethering what you can do to safe limits.”

He then pointed to Ikumi. “Your daughter’s field is spread all over her body - perhaps the Quirk creating a redundancy for her much larger frame.”

“But why hasn’t she activated it consciously before?” 

He shrugged. “If I had to guess, she may have activated it unconsciously. Now, you said that this feeling goes when you breathe fire?” 

Ikumi nodded, excited. “It feels like it goes ‘whoosh’ and then it goes into the fire, and then it comes back later!” 

“Hm.” He jotted down a note. “We would need to test this, but from my initial assessment, it sounds like her fire breathing and telekinetic shell are connected.” 

“Oh! It’s like mummy's telekinesis! Cause she reaches out with her stuff and then she grabs it! But my telekinesis goes into my fire and then it goes and my body makes more of my field! Or maybe it comes back to me!” 

“Sounds like you’ve got a good idea of how it works, young lady,” he chuckled. 

Inko smiled, patting Ikumi on the back. “She likes looking at Hero Quirks. Why, Ikumi has practically filled out three notebooks with notes on them!” 

“Muum! Don’t tell him that!” 

With new information about Ikumi’s Quirk, they had to update the name, which took a while. Ultimately, Hisashi was the one to make a name. “Dragonframe! Since her body has a telekinetic shell, like a framework around her body! And it’s a pun in English!” 

Inko sighed. “It’s not completely accurate. We just referred to it as Dragonbreath because Ikumi doesn’t look like any one animal.”

“Well, the alternative would be clunky. Half Telekinetic Shell, Half Fire Breath? Doesn’t roll off the tongue.”

Ikumi giggled. “No it doesn’t!” 

‘Dragonframe’ it was. Inko could only hope that there were no more surprises coming from Ikumi. 

Chapter Text

Ah, puberty. That time in young life where, just when you thought you had a handle on everything, it all changes. Hair starts growing in unusual places; your sweat starts smelling really bad; you start having funny dreams about your opposite sex classmates (or same sex). Not to mention your voice flip-flopping between outrageously high and low. 

Ikumi had thought that a second part to her Quirk was the most change that would happen to her life, but that had been a foolish hope. A couple of months before her tenth birthday, Ikumi’s chest started to feel tender. Her gangly frame started to fill her clothes in accordance with basic biological laws. She found herself wanting to eat even more than she normally did, like there was a black hole in her stomach.

And to her profound mortification, Ikumi had a growth spurt. 

—

The saleswoman blinked, staring up at the gigantic customer who had come in awkwardly. A woman with the same hair and eye colour stood next to her, holding her arm in a reassuring way. Then she mentally shook herself, looking at the shorter woman. “S-so how can I help you?” 

She smiled slightly shakily, looking up at her much taller daughter. “W-well, I’m here to help my daughter Ikumi get a bra - women in my family tend to develop early. She was anxious about buying one, so…”

That seemed odd to her. “Shouldn’t she know how to get one already? I mean, she’s a grown woman-”

“I-I’m ten…” the tall girl squeaked, ducking her head. Her mother patted her on her forearm.

Looking at her, she squinted, seeing her in a new light - seeing how her jeans were hiking up over her ankles, indicating that this young girl was having a growth spurt. Her hand flew to her mouth as the taller girl squirmed in embarrassment. “Oh, I am so sorry! H-here, I’ll get you measured!” 

A couple of other women in the shop stared at the awkward young lady as she hurried to get the stepladder. Apologising again, she got to work on measuring her latest customer. “O-okay, so…” a measuring tape spooled around her hands, running around Ikumi’s chest. “Has your mother done any measuring?” 

Her mother nodded, slightly awkwardly. “A friend of ours did. All around, Ikumi is about 117 cm.”

Such proportions were rare, but not unmanageable - ever since the dawn of Quirks standardisation had gone out of the window. “So, a band size 28 or 30 should be the right size.”

The customer’s ears drooped as she measured, noting down her size. It wasn’t much effort to find a training bra in her size, and she handed it over with a smile. “This should be a good fit.”

“T-thank you,” the young woman stuttered, taking the bra and trying not to die with embarrassment. She smiled.

“You’re welcome. Again, I am so sorry for mistaking you for an older girl-”

Ikumi looked down. “Don’t worry about it. It… it happens.”

That small statement made her feel even more awkward. Still, at least the girl had a functional training bra. 

—

Katsuki looked up at Midori as she pulled out her huge bento with All Might’s face on it. In her hands it looked normal, but in his hand it could have held his own bento three times over. They gave thanks, Ikumi’s containing a stylised Gang Orca made of rice and nori, chicken teriyaki and pickles. After a few quiet bites, Katsuki spoke. “Oi, Midori.”

“Hm?” About half the rice in her bento had disappeared into her mouth with a flash of fangs. Swallowing, she put it down.

“You seen that American Hero in Naruhata, right? What’s his name…”

“Captain Celebrity?” When Katsuki nodded, Midori hummed, gazing up at the sky contemplatively. “Yeah, I-I found him when I was researching Quirks similar to mine. He was in the Top Twenty American Heroes only last year.” 

She frowned. “He’s also, uh, associated with a lot of lawsuits. He flirts with a lot of women, and… rumour online is that he’s in Japan since he can’t work in the states. I… think he’s trying to turn his image around with all that local club stuff he’s doing?”

Katsuki had known about Naruhata before. There was all kinds of shit on the Internet about some dweeb called the Cruller, palling around with some wannabe idol and crazy guy who beat the crap out of Villains. Nothing that had hit the papers, but online there were lots of rumours. 

Katsuki didn’t think much of Vigilantism - he wanted to be a legit Hero, thank you very much - but he liked Knuckleduster’s style. Midori’s favourite was Cruller - she liked his All Might hoodies and how he helped people. 

Katsuki shook his head. Heroes helped by beating Villains, that was how he saw it, even if Midori was right that helping people felt good. “Trust you to know all that shit already,” he grinned. “Does he give you any ideas on how to use that other part of your Quirk?” 

Midori shrugged, finishing her rice in a few bites. “I can see what he’s doing, but my Quirk doesn’t really work like his. I can’t fly with mine.”

Apparently, Midori’s telekinesis couldn’t go far from her body if she wasn’t touching something else - maybe a centimetre or two. When she breathed fire, though, it spread through the flames apparently automatically, since it was technically part of her body. 

Katsuki shook his head. At least his parents’ Quirks made sense when you combined them. “How do you know that? The same way you didn’t know you had a telekinetic shell?” 

Ikumi paused as she held a piece of Teriyaki to her lips. “...Fair point, Kacchan. But… it doesn’t feel like I can fly, not yet. Maybe if I train it more I could?”

Katsuki sniffed dismissively. “Fine. You better train that other part of your Quirk as well as the fire. Can’t have my future Hero buddy lag behind me.” 

Midori nodded, determinedly. Then her ear twitched. “Somebody’s being mean to another student.” She sniffed deeply. “I think it’s Ashitaka picking on a junior.” 

“Seriously? Guy’s a dickhead.” 

—

Ikumi was never directly bullied. 

The old proverb was that the nail that sticks up gets hammered down, made to conform. But that wasn't so applicable in a society where everybody had an individuality, a Quirk that they couldn’t just ignore. 

Many books insisted that people should not be judged by their Quirks. But bias crept in and was shown in a hundred different ways - some powers quickly rose to the top of the pecking order and others fell. And so kids pressured those whose Quirks were undesirable. The Villainous Quirks, those with mutations and looked distinctly unhuman. Those without a Quirk of their own were not treated kindly either. 

Ikumi’s appearance was as outlandish as they came - her height and fur made her stand out and her timid nature should have made her an easy target. However, she was best friends with Bakugou, and everybody knew Bakugou was destined for great things. Despite his rotten attitude, teachers and students alike were well aware that he was future top ten Hero material. 

And when Ikumi jumped into fights, or intervened with girls playing a mean prank on another girl, Bakugou was normally a few seconds behind, ready to fight.

So nobody went out of their way to bully Ikumi. Nobody said anything directly to her face, choosing to whisper amongst themselves, about her size and fangs. They didn’t exclude her or anything but they did make a few jokes about how close their friendship was. That was okay with Ikumi, who was glad to have a few close friends like Kacchan.

But then Ikumi developed early. 

—

Tomoko watched as Midoriya awkwardly ducked through the door to class. A couple of the boys stared at Midoriya’s chest, her breasts straining her top. The other girls looked between each other, then turned to each other. 

“Look at her showing off,” Nami whispered, her long blue hair fluttering in response. 

“It’s not like any of the boys would actually go for a freak like her,” Hanabi muttered, glaring at Midoriya as she shuffled over to her desk, pulling out her notebook and writing. Tomoko cast a glance at Midoriya, the larger girl clearly trying not to hear them. 

“Can you believe that anybody would want that? Maybe she’s meeting those kinds of people,” Haruma sniggered, her flamethrower arm dangling to her side. 

“Did you hear? A couple of weeks ago Midoriya got in trouble with the police,” Hanabi not so subtly confided with Nami. “Apparently she beat some guy really badly.”

Nami simply nodded, deliberately talking louder as Midoriya looked the other way, gripping her pencil tighter. “Well, I guess being a delinquent whore wasn’t enough, she had to go beat up her pimp.”

Midoriya’s pencil snapped between her fingers. Bakugou just entered the room, and his expression went from resting bitch to murderous when he saw Midoriya’s face.

Nami looked over, face set in an expression of faux innocence. “Sorry, did we strike a nerve, Lady Eight Foot Tall?” 

Bakugou took a step toward her, but Midoriya shooting out of her chair stopped him. Nami’s smirk faltered as Midoriya loomed over her. Tears in the corners of her eyes, she opened her mouth, fangs practically bared-

Then the teacher came in and Tomoko winced when she realised what it would mean. The whole scene froze, Nami with her back to the door as he looked up at Midoriya. “What’s going on?” he demanded. 

Nami’s face twisted in a smirk before she turned to the teacher with an innocent look on her face. “Oh, sensei! Midoriya here just overreacted to a little joke about her height. I-I didn’t think she’d be so sensitive!”

Midoriya flinched, shrinking in on herself as much as she could. The teacher frowned at her, his sense of authority diminished by how tall Midoriya was compared to him. “Midoriya, there are better ways of communicating your displeasure than physical intimidation. I know that heteromorphic types have stronger instincts, but show some restraint.” 

“I-”

Tomoko stood up, hesitantly. “N-Nami left out the part where she called M-Midoriya a wh-” 

She tried to force it past her lips, the other girls glaring murder at her. Then Tomoko remembered how Midoriya had helped her and forced it out. “She called Midoriya a whore.” 

Bakugou’s eyes widened, and he glared at Nami. “Oh? That a fact?” he growled. 

The teacher shook his head. “Don’t do anything reckless, Bakugou. Midoriya, is what Ukabu said true?” 

Midorioya’s eyes widened. “Y-yes. I-I just wanted them not to say anything, and-”

Nami glared at her, then looked pleadingly at the teacher. “Sensei-”

The teacher looked at the rest of the class, then he glared at Nami. “Tomoko hasn’t caused any trouble, so I’ll give you a warning to not make such remarks again. And I will be talking with your parents and the principal about your conduct.” 

He then levelled a stare at Midoriya as well. “Next time, don’t loom over your classmates like that, and don’t provoke your classmates. Try to find a way to deal with future issues that doesn’t involve threats.”

Midoriya slowly nodded. “Y-yes, sensei.”

Nami sat down, a sullen look on her face and her arms crossed. Tomoko sat back down, sucking in a deep breath. Midoriya came over, quickly sitting down so that she was at eye level. “T-thank you, Ukabu,” she said. 

Tomoko shook her head. “You saved me a couple of weeks ago. I just returned the favour.” 

Midoriya’s eyes widened. “Oh! Well… anybody would have done that! I-It was no trouble!”

Well, Tomoko privately doubted that, but she still bowed politely, her mind's eye flashing back to that time. 

It had been when she was just going home after school. She’d gone through the underpass, as she had a hundred times before. Then there had been the sound of a blade unsheathing, and Tomoko had been pressed against a wall by a wild-eyed man, her glasses knocked askew by the force. “Give me your wallet!” He snarled.

“Huh?” 

He growled at her, the knife that his hand had turned into pressing against her throat. “I said give me your fucking wallet! Are you deaf or something?” 

This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. Shouldn’t there be a Hero or something? She wanted to try and levitate her keys, but she couldn’t move. “I-I don’t have any money! P-please!” 

She wasn’t lying - she didn’t have any money on her. Spittle flecked on his lips. “Bullshit! Give it to me!” 

He reached to grab her-

A shadow loomed overhead. The guy turned to look and his eyes bulged before a massive fist connected with his side, sending him flying. She collapsed on the ground like a puppet whose strings were cut. Tomoko looked over, eyes wide as Midoriya stood over him, fist raised. Huge green eyes turned to Tomoko, and she reached a massive hand out. “A-are you okay?” 

Tears in her eyes, Tomoko let herself be pulled up. Midoriya called a police officer and stayed with her until they got to the underpass. 

The police officer had glared at Midoriya as he handcuffed the suspect. “A grown woman should know that vigilantism is not acceptable. I know that mutants sometimes have a hard time keeping their composure-”

“I-I’m nearly eleven. I’m-Here’s my student card.” She proffered it, the policeman looking at it with a sceptical expression. 

“Is this a joke?”

“N-no,” Tomoko managed to breathe. “She’s in my class. It’s real.”

He shoved it back into her hands. “Very well. Since you are a minor… I’ll leave it as a warning. Leave stuff like this to the police or Heroes.” 

“I-Yes. Sorry-”

It had been terrifying, yet ultimately she’d seen Midoriya’s kind nature first hand. Tomoko shrugged. “Still, thank you.”

Midoriya hesitantly beamed at Tomoko. “It’s… Uh, you’re welcome, Ukabu?” 

Next to her, Bakugou gave her a flat stare. “They give you trouble, Midori and I’ll kick their ass.” 

The other girls didn’t react to that, but Tomoko shrugged. “I’ll be fine.” 

Later, Tomoko found herself sitting with Midoriya. Midoriya didn’t say much, but quietly pulled out her notebook, writing something down. Hanging out with Midoriya was definitely more of her style, but Tomoko was modestly surprised to find that she was Midoriya’s second female friend, the first being a rabbit girl who was tall, but not Midoriya tall.

And so the years went by. Life went on, and soon… Ikumi was in her final year of middle school.

—

It was a bright sunny day outside. Ikumi was walking in the park with nobody else around. It seemed like nothing was happening.

And then she realised that she was growing larger and larger. “N-no, stop!” she cried, trying to get her body to listen. It didn’t, and she whimpered when her clothes burst from her body. Passersby who hadn’t been there before stared at her and she tried to cover herself, but her body didn’t seem to listen as she shot up and away. 

She kept growing and growing, towering over trees, houses - soon, Ikumi was the size of a skyscraper. Cars and trucks gathered on the roads, and she had to pull herself close, blushing furiously. Down below, a tiny blue and yellow speck showed up - it was All Might!  He could help!

He cupped his hands, managing to be heard from her height. “MISS! YOU HAVE TO SHRINK! YOU’RE GETTING TOO BIG!”  

“I…” She concentrated, trying desperately to grow smaller. Tears gathered in her eyes as she shot up another metre or so. “I… I can’t! I-This is just how big I am! I’m sorry!” 

“What do you mean?” 

A bevy of voices came from all around, somehow seeming to come from above.  

“You don’t fit in!” “Just go somewhere else!” “You’re causing a scene!” “Mommy, she’s scary!”

They continued to echo around her, accompanied by hundreds, thousands of staring eyes. Ikumi curled into a ball, crushing a couple of houses under her, but she could feel eyes all around, staring at her. Could hear people complaining about her size and how much of a hassle it was dealing with it-

Gasping, Ikumi woke up. Hurriedly she looked down at herself, briefly confused before she realised. “That dream…”

It was a recurring nightmare Ikumi had. The thought that she might never stop growing, and would just grow bigger and bigger until there was nowhere for her to live… Ikumi knew it was an irrational fear, but rationality didn’t factor into dreams.

She took a deep breath. “Hopefully we can make it into U.A," she muttered drowsily before heading back to sleep. 

Chapter Text

Ordinary Girl 6 - Meeting your Heroes

It was a bit past five thirty when she came back to the apartment, fur matted with sweat. Ikumi panted, wiping her brow. She took a sip of water from her sports bottle, stretching slightly.

Ikumi knew that she couldn’t just rely on her natural strength without training it. Heroes had to train pretty hard to protect people and get to disasters quicker than anybody else. So she’d started jogging to build up her stamina and muscle. Since she had such a long stride, she’d had to run further.

In the grey morning light she checked her phone. “26 minutes, 28 seconds…” she muttered. She’d gotten a bit faster than when she’d started - she’d shaved a few minutes off her fifteen kilometre morning run. 

She pulled at her bottom lip as she walked to her room. “I’ll probably have to start running further… maybe twenty k’s next time…” 

A couple of morning stretches later and Ikumi went into the shower. She sighed as the cold water poured around her, reaching for the gallon sized bottle of mutant shampoo to properly clean herself. It was at least better than when Mrs. Usagiyama had been a child - back then ‘mutant’ shampoo was usually pet shampoo with some minor additions, sold at two or three times the original price. 

Fortunately things had changed for the better - the Hearts and Minds party had lobbied for stringent checking of any product meant for those whose physiology had changed massively as part of their Quirk. Ikumi and her mum had spent a long time checking between pet shampoo and her favourite brand of shampoo to make sure that it was right. 

It still looked a bit ridiculous, the massive bottle sitting next to her parents’ comparatively smaller bottle. Covering her entire body in suds and washing it off, she turned the shower off. Washing finished, Ikumi took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, her fire rushed around her, drying the worst of the water off. Pulling out a towel that looked more like a blanket, she finished drying herself off then pulled her dressing gown on. 

She pulled her uniform on, carefully trying to tie the ribbon under the blouse, the result somehow misshapen and lumpy. It was the best she could do - her dad had the same problem with his ties.

Ikumi stared at herself in the mirror and sighed. At fourteen, her height had almost stabilised. She was highly unlikely to grow much taller at this point. Not that it was much comfort. At just under three metres tall, Ikumi now had problems with low clearance underpasses and most buildings. Everything was built wrong for her to be truly comfortable - at least Aldera’s ceilings were just high enough for her to walk relatively straight, even if her ears bent. And then there was her figure.

She had inherited her mother’s figure, wide hips and large breasts - though her ribcage was larger than her mother's, probably to help compensate for her increased size. This was a problem when you tried not to attract attention. No matter what kind of shirt she wore, her chest seemed to push it out, making the boys stare at her and girls making remarks when they thought she couldn’t hear them. To try and avoid being noticed too much, she did her best to find an oversized school shirt so that her chest didn’t strain it so much. Her skirt had gone down to her ankles after an incredibly embarrassing incident with a windy day.

At least she hadn’t worried about back pain too much - Ikumi had found herself practising using her Quirk on her chest a lot, especially when playing volleyball. Even without her Quirk she was strong enough to handle the weight. But her large chest still annoyed and embarrassed her.

“Ikumi! It’s breakfast time!”

Her stomach grumbling, Ikumi shook herself out of her slump. “Coming!” 

She liked helping her mother make breakfast - it helped make up for the fact Ikumi ate enough food for a family of four by herself. Waving a quick goodbye to her mother as she finished her meal, she hurried outside to meet with Kacchan.

—

Katsuki gave a half-hearted glare up at Midori. “Took you long enough.” 

She gave him a light-hearted shove. “Really, Kacchan?” 

They strode through the streets, other pedestrians giving Midori a wide berth as she walked. Katsuki shrugged. “How’s your Hero training going?” 

“I’m trying to find a gym that can house, well…” she gestured, pointing at herself. “...Me, really. And it’s not like I can find somebody my height who can teach me how to fight.”

“What? You already know how to fight! Just hit them in the face!” 

Midori shrugged. “W-well, gigantification VIllains exist, but most of how I fight is about beating somebody smaller than me. But none of the dojos nearby will have me - they say I’m in too different a weight class.”

Katsuki kicked a can, scowling. “Screw them.”

Ikumi’s ears pricked. “Sounds like there’s something coming from the train station - there’s a lot of chaos.” 

“Villain attack? Midori, no-”

A smile crossed her face, ear twitching. “Kamui Woods! He’s there!” 

Katsuki tried to hold her back but it was like stopping a car. Midori hurried over to the scene with him clamped to her arm, eyes flashing-

And then she stopped. “Oh,” she mumbled. 

Katsuki glanced over at the scene and could immediately get why she’d stopped. He scowled. “Well, this sucks.”

A hulking Villain roared, dreadlocks swaying in the wind as he flailed at the Heroes attacking him. Somebody in the crowd commented, “What a crazy Quirk, turning into a monster!” 

Midori stared up at the scene, before looking at the Heroes. “T-there’s Kamui Woods, as I said,” she managed, a slight smile crossing her face. “He’s a real upcoming superstar!” 

Katsuki looked up. “He looks alright,” he conceded as Kamui Woods stood on top of a skyscraper, glaring at the Villain’s wild eyes.

The man with stars on his head next to her grinned. “Wow, a full on-” He turned to look at her, only to gawk when he realised that he was barely up to her waist. He blinked, then shrugged. “-Commentary? You, uh, must be a real fan.”

“I really like Heroes,” she muttered, perking up slightly as she watched Kamui. “Oh! Here comes his finishing move!” 

Katsuki watched vaguely as his arm uncoiled, huge branches shooting out. “LACQUERED CHAIN-”

“CANYON CANNON!” 

Midori blinked in surprise when an even larger woman crashed onto the scene with a flying kick, knocking the Villain into the train stop. She turned around with a sultry expression, the purple horns of her costume complimenting the cream of her skintight leotard. “Pleased to make your ‘ass-quaintance’,” she purred. “Today’s the debut of Mount Lady!” 

Midori blinked, before somebody shoved her leg. “Outta the way! Gotta get the hot pics!” 

Her ears drooping, she stepped aside to let them pass. Katsuki glared up at her. “Seriously, Midori! Tell them to fuck off!”

“It’s… really not worth it.” As Mount Lady posed for the cameras, the police leading the Villain away, she idly pulled out her notebook, writing a few notes. “Nice to see a female Hero with a size shifting Quirk, at least!”

Katsuki looked at his phone, sighing. “Look, fangirl over her shit later. We’re gonna be late if we keep standing around.”

“Oh! Right!”

“If you wanna be a Hero, I got you!” The star headed guy yelled as they left. Katsuki marked him as a half decent asshole.

 She carefully turned around, trying not to get in anybody's way. Katsuki, in contrast, just shoved his way past without regard to other people.

A businessman, not looking where he was going, collided with her legs in a similar fashion to running into a brick wall and bounced backwards. He spluttered. "Watch where you're-"

His voice died down when he slowly looked up at the person he'd crashed into.

Katsuki glared at the guy as Ikumi gasped. "O-oh! I'm sorry! I-I didn't see you!" She knelt down, offering a hand that seemed like it could wrap around his entire torso. "Do you need a -"

Hurriedly he picked himself up, bowing politely. "N-no need! I'm fine!"

Katsuki glared up at his erstwhile friend as she stared at the rapidly departing businessman with a despondent expression. "Come on, Midori! Hurry the fuck up!"

"C-coming!"

—

The whispers started when she awkwardly ducked through the door. Kacchan glared at his classmates as he slouched over to his desk, kicking his feet up in a display of confidence Ikumi wished she shared. Tomoko gave her a happy smile, shooting a look at the girl next to her.

“Think she knew that giant Villain?”

“Sure could. He’s ugly enough that he could be her cousin.”

“Think she’s going to try and pretend that nothing happened?”

Ikumi took a deep breath, sitting carefully at her larger than normal desk. She started making notes about Mount Lady as their teacher Zeitakuna came in, slapping a pile of papers on his desk, the whispers stopping for now. “Now then! Since you're in your third year, it’s time for you to start thinking seriously about your futures!” 

It felt like the air was sucked out of the class as he picked up a paper. “Now, I should hand out these future career forms, but…” 

With a whisk of his hand, he threw the papers into the air. “I guess you all want to be Heroes, don’t you?”

The class cheered, their Quirks going off left and right. Wind blew through the classroom, a boy grew so much muscle his shirt and jacket exploded off his body, bright light shone from a couple of students’ hands… The only ones who didn’t use their Quirk in some form were Ikumi and Kacchan, Ikumi trying to keep her head down and Kacchan leaning back with a smirk on his face.

Zeitakuna tried to get order back in his class. “Yes, you all have wonderful Quirks, but you can’t just use them whenever you want!” 

Kacchan spoke up. “Come on, teach! You can’t just lump me in with the rest of these idiots!” 

Ikumi shook her head fondly when the rest of the class collectively glared at Kacchan. “Get over yourself, jerk!” Was their response to that, Kacchan just laughing in their faces. 

Zeitakuna spoke admiringly about Kacchan’s application to U.A and Ikumi privately hoped it would be enough. Maybe she could get through this lesson without being brought up-

Then he looked over her application with a disinterested look. “Oh, yes. Midoriya, you’re aiming to get into U.A as well, aren’t you?” 

The class went practically silent. Kacchan glared at their classmates. Nobody spoke aloud, but it didn’t matter when she could hear them whispering to each other.

“Really? Midoriya in U.A?”

“She’s got a flashy Quirk, but… Would they even want somebody like her? She kind of looks like a Villain already.” 

“Bet she’s just going so she can drag Bakugou down with her when she fails.”

She raised her head slightly. “I-It’s not like I’m the only mutant who wants to go in. And I-I think I’ve got the power for it.”

The class tittered. “I don’t think that people with a police caution on record can get into U.A,” Kawa sniggered. Ikumi tried to glare her down, the other girl matching her stare.

Kacchan glared at them. “Oh, fuck the lot of ya! Like any of you’ve got Quirks half as awesome as Midori’s!” 

Zeitakuna tried to get order back, but not before shooting her a look like it was her fault Kacchan was antagonising the class. Ikumi tried to shrink in on herself more. 

Hopefully the day would end soon.

—

Hedoro panted, sucking in breaths as he flowed through the sewers. He grit his teeth, feeling the bills that were still suspended in his mass. Why, of all things, was All Might here?! Shouldn’t he be in Tokyo or something?

Well, Hedoro wasn’t going to be caught. He slithered through the pipes, straining to find somebody. Somebody, anybody would do. Any kind of invisibility cloak he could quietly kill and wear around. 

The sound of footsteps came from overhead, along with muffled conversation. His eyes narrowed. Then he slithered along, careful to keep an ear out. Once one of them went away, he would strike.

—

Katsuki glared up at Midori as they walked home. The events of the morning replayed in his mind, along with a couple of other incidents. “I still say you should stand up for yourself more, Midori.”

Sighing, Midori shook her head. “You know what happened the last time I-I tried to do that,” she mumbled. Some extras had gotten pissy when she’d tried to talk to them and the teacher had made her stand outside, even when he’d tried to talk sense into him.

Katsuki wasn’t going to back down on this point.“We’re gonna be Heroes, Midori! Can’t care what other people think when we’re kicking ass.”

“Being a Hero isn’t just about beating up Villains, Kacchan. Heroes also have to do rescue work as well,” she chided gently.

“Yeah but my Quirk was made for kicking ass.” 

Ikumi shook her head. “It’s a great Quirk, Kacchan, but you could definitely save people with it!” When he grunted in annoyance she gave him a determined look. “It’s true! You could use controlled detonations to knock down walls in burning buildings, get rid of rubble-”

“Heroes beat Villains!”

“And they save people, Kacchan-”

“Tch,” he growled. “I guess you wouldn’t be up for a fight anyway after how you acted in class.”

Midori stopped. “...What?” 

Katsuki snarled. “Seriously, you’re so goddamn timid! You’re taller than everybody yet you just let them walk all over you!” 

Midori glared back at him. “That’s easy for you to say! You don’t get in trouble just for trying to move around!” She ducked under a store sign, other people in the street giving her a wide berth.

“So? Actually take some pride and tell them to go hang!” 

“It’s not that easy-”

Katsuki glared at her, about a decade’s worth of anger at how Midori just rolled over boiling up. “It is! They treat you like crap and you don’t even get angry about it! Why the hell don’t you get mad at them more?!” 

Her eyes flashed and she whirled on him, small licks of flame coming from her mouth. “I can’t get angry because people treat me like I’m the Villain!” Midori glared back at him, fists balled. A couple of extras stared at her, some muttering to themselves. And like that, Midori deflated, shrinking back in on herself. “See?”

Katsuki hated that. 

“Tch. Just when you grow a spine-”

As they passed the underpass, her nose wrinkled. 

—-

Ikumi had always had a great sense of smell. This had made growing up with a class that was mostly sweaty teenage boys difficult. Right now, something smelled… bad. Like an open sewer.

“What is that?” 

Kacchan glared at her. “We’re not done-”

A mass of slime shot from the darkness, knocking Ikumi back. Kacchan’s eyes widened as it wrapped around him, foul teeth chomping down on him. “Gotta say, kid…” A slimy voice chuckled, a veiny yellow eye bubbling to the surface, “you’re a real godsend! Just the right size disguise and a good Quirk to boot!” 

Ikumi’s eyes went wide when it chuckled, forcing Kacchan’s mouth open. “Now I’m just gonna have to crawl inside you and wear you like a good meat puppet, how about that?” 

For a second she hesitated, then she shot up, dashing to reach Kacchan. “Get off him!” 

“Oh, playing Hero are you? A grown woman who dresses like a schoolgirl?” Kacchan’s arm was whipped around, her friend struggling to force it back. His other arm clawed at the slime, trying to drag it off him.

Ikumi barely managed to get out of the way as Kacchan’s hand sparked against his will, the explosion lighting the alleyway up. She tried to throw a punch but the Villain pushed Kacchan’s body in the way. Ikumi had to pull her punch and got rewarded with an explosion that knocked her back, Kacchan’s eyes widening as his body was forced to move. “G’t… ‘ff me,” he grunted, struggling. 

“Come on, boy! Stop struggling, help a guy out! It’ll be all over soon…”

Ikumi managed to push herself up, then her eyes met Kacchan’s. For a moment she froze. She’d seen Kacchan with a lot of looks in his eye - rage, confidence, quiet caring…

She had never seen him afraid, pleading for help. And on seeing that, everything else didn’t matter. Her legs moving without conscious thought, Ikumi darted forwards, reaching to grab Kacchan. 

The Villain tried to hit her with one of Kacchan’s explosions but she ducked, focusing on the other side of her Quirk. Fire Breath would only hurt Kacchan but maybe…

Ikumi had experimented with Dragonframe before. Ever since she’d found out about it, she’d managed to train her control of it. Dragonframe flowed around her hands, and she grimaced at the slimy feeling of the Villain’s body, pushing him away from her. 

It’s just like mud. Push it away! 

Her hands reached deeper, managing to grab Kacchan’s face. He gasped, Ikumi straining as a tiny gap, maybe a couple of centimetres thick formed around his mouth and nose. 

“You bitch!” 

Ikumi barely managed to throw Kacchan clear as the Sludge Villain turned on her as she braced. He glared at her, eyes darting back to Kacchan. “You wanna die so bad?!”

Ikumi’s eyes narrowed. Sucking in a deep breath, she breathed fire, forcing the Villain away. Kacchan pushed himself up, hacking up a lungful of slime. 

Snarling, the Villain lunged forwards, and Ikumi focused. Straining harder with Dragonframe than she ever had, she focused on the Villain’s body as it impacted her hands. He lunged, lashing out at her but she stood firm. Pulling on reserves she didn’t know she had, Ikumi held the Sludge Villain in place, tendrils of sludge leaking but his eyes and mouth held in place.

His panicked flailing went harder as she held him. Sweat poured from her face as she held him in her grasp, both hands straining to hold him, Dragonframe covering his body in a trembling area. Kacchan stared, then slammed his fist into his palm with a small BANG. “Good one Midori!” 

“I… I can’t really hold him…” Ikumi muttered, gritting her teeth as he thrashed. 

Desperately she looked around. She had never held something as big as this with Dragonframe before, much less something that was actively thrashing around. “C-call the Heroes-”

The manhole cover exploded, and her control wavered. The Villain popped a few tendrils of slime free, his foul grin widening as he tried to wrap them around her neck-

A familiar figure burst out, clad in a T-shirt and jeans. Ikumi’s heart leapt into her mouth on seeing him. “FEAR NOT, KIDS! I AM HERE!” 

—

When he took in the scene, All Might was slightly perplexed. 

All Might knew he was taller than the vast majority of people. There were those who had greater height but they were pretty rare, and they usually were adults. For the first time in a while, All Might looked up.

The girl in front of him - a teal fox by the look of her, though the smooth snout looked a bit awkward - had held the Sludge Villain in place - maybe a liquid manipulation Quirk? But he had no time to think about that. 

All Might grinned at the Villain as he panicked, then he brought his fist back. “TEXAS… SMASH!” 

The Villain splattered with the force of the shockwave, pieces dripping around the alleyway. All Might shook his head slightly, then turned to focus on the students in front of him - they wore matching uniforms, so they must have been walking home from school when they got caught up in his mess.

“A-All Might? Oh-oh gosh!” The girl squeaked, eyes wide. All Might internally shook his head - he knew how to deal with fans, at least. 

Next to her, the spiky blonde kid shoved her leg. “Course it’s All Might,” he coughed, trying to affect a cool demeanour. All Might could see the look in his eyes though. Seems that the tall girl wasn’t his only fan. 

“Indeed!” He looked up to the young girl who had held the Villain in place. In a flash, he gathered up the groaning Villain’s body, pouring him into a couple of handy soft drink bottles. “I must apologise for getting the pair of you mixed up in my Villain hunt!” 

“It’s-it’s no problem!” She gasped. “Oh no - I-I accidentally used my Quirk illegally and-”

“Like All Might’s gonna give a damn about that, Midori!” Her friend shoved her roughly, before looking over at him intensely. “It’s not a problem, right?”

All Might nodded. “Since you were using your Quirk in self defence, young lady, we’ll just leave it at that. Just an unofficial warning.”

She nodded frantically, then paused. Shyly, she pulled out a notebook from her backpack, extending it out hesitantly. “Um… autograph?” 

All Might let out his signature laugh. “Not a problem!” With a blur of his pen, he signed it before handing it back to her.

She squeaked in joy, then looked at her friend. “And one for Kacchan as well.”

“Tch.” Looking away, ‘Kacchan’ pulled out his own notebook. “You don’t have to or anything-”

Another signature scrawled into his book. “There you go, young man!” 

He took his book back, face warring between showing he was happy and trying to seem cool and composed. All Might smiled, then his face froze slightly when he felt blood come into his mouth. 

“Well then! I must be off to secure this Villain! Take care!” 

The young woman blinked, then smiled. “O-okay! We’re always going to cheer for you!” 

“Go kick some Villain ass, All Might!” 

With a final smile, All Might ran around the corner. After checking that the Villain was unconscious, he sighed, unflexing One for All. 

On the edge of hearing, he watched the pair of them leave. 

“When the hell could you do that, Midori?” 

“I just… I thought about how Captain Celebrity held up the Sky Egg, and then…” she gestured helplessly, “It just… happened.” She clenched her hand. “That was… I couldn’t hold him.”

He kicked a can. “You saved my ass though. But I gotta say, why the fuck did you run in like that? Why not call for the Heroes?” 

She looked down. “It’s-it’s silly, but… it felt like my legs just moved on their own, you know?” 

“...You’re too nice for your own good, you know that?” 

She sighed. “I wasn’t able to do it by myself. I-I’ve got to get better with my Quirk.”

Her friend smiled, then punched her playfully on the arm. “AND you’re gonna start standing up for yourself more, Midori. Show those extras who’s got the second best Quirk ever.”

“Not like your Quirk was able to get him off, Kacchan,” she teased, eliciting an angry yell from her friend.

All Might smiled gently as they walked off, the boy strongly insisting that he had the Villain right where he wanted him. 

Maybe in another time, she could have been his successor. Still, it was reassuring to know that there were still fools like him out there who would move to save others without thinking.

Chapter Text

Inko stared at Ikumi in shock. “You did what?!” 

Ikumi chuckled nervously. “I, uh… fought off a Villain that was trying to attack me and Kacchan on our way home? And sort of used my Quirk to do that?” 

“Oh my god.” Inko rushed over to her daughter, looking over frantically for injuries. “Were either of you hurt? Do-do you need to go to the hospital, or the police, or-”

“Mum, it’s okay! All Might saved us and-”

That surprised Inko. “All Might? In Musutafu? But why-”

Ikumi rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. “I didn’t have a chance to ask him that, and, uh… I thought it would be a good idea to be quiet about it?” 

Inko frowned, “I’m glad to hear that neither of you were hurt, but… you used your Quirk in public?” When Ikumi looked away awkwardly, Inko went closer to her daughter. “Please, don’t use your Quirk like that until you’re a Hero! Even if it was self defence, you could still be in trouble for using it.”

“W-well, he was trying to kill Kacchan and I-I couldn’t just do nothing! I just tried to hold the Villain off, that’s all. Besides, All Might already warned me not to do something like that again.”

That took a weight off Inko’s mind, but she still gave her daughter a stern look. “Well, alright… But we are going to have a serious talk about this with your father.” 

Ikumi awkwardly nodded, downcast, and Inko managed a smile. “And Ikumi?”

“Yes?”

Inko pulled her daughter into a hug. “Just know that we’ve always got your back, okay?” Sighing, she continued. “I’m just happy that neither of you was hurt.” 

Ikumi blinked, then her eyes teared up. Red eyed, she returned the hug. 

Hisashi had much the same opinion when he came in. “Neither of you got hurt?” 

Ikumi shook her head. “N-no - Kacchan was able to recover after the Villain tried to-” She fell silent, awkwardly twisting her hands. 

Hisashi exchanged a look with Inko, then patted his daughter on the arm. “What matters is that you’re both safe.” He paused. “Also, I want a full play-by-play.”

Inko lightly smacked him on the arm. Hisashi ignored it. Ikumi looked between her and Hisashi, before taking a breath. “O-okay. So, we were walking back…”

As she listened, Inko fretted slightly. She knew it was going to get worse when Ikumi actually became a hero - and she felt bad when a small part of her wanted Ikumi to do something else that didn’t put her life in danger. 

But seeing Ikumi so confident after surviving a villain attack was something she couldn't help but light up for.

—

Katsuki had known for a while that Midori was physically stronger than he was. It was practically a fact of life at their point. Midori’s height meant that she was strong and fast without really having to work for it. It was a slight point of contention, though he had been pleased to see her taking Hero training seriously with those runs of hers.

Seeing Midori pick up a fifty kilo barbell without much effort really hammered it in. 

After the Sludge Villain, Katsuki had known that he had to get stronger himself. So he had signed up for a local gym and managed to get Midori to sign up with him. 

The wolf headed trainer coughed into his furry fist, looking at Midori. Her head was quite close to the ceiling, towering over him. “That is an impressive baseline. I must apologise, but… I do not believe that we can help you achieve your goals here.”

Blushing, Midori put it down. “Sorry!”

“Nothing to be sorry about!” he managed to laugh. “Well, I can give you some help on finding a good strength and endurance plan, but you might do better at this venue.” He scribbled an address down, passing it over to her. “It is a fault of our gym that we cannot support your… physique.” 

“Why the hell don’t you have good enough equipment for her?” Katsuki politely asked. 

The trainer shook his head. “Not enough demand. Even now, it takes a while to make weights for people over a certain size. Our gym simply doesn’t have the space for it.”

Katsuki wanted to yell at him but he managed to hold it back. The guy wasn’t being a dickhead about it, and he was actually a professional. 

Midori gave him a polite bow. “Thank you for the recommendation. And… you mentioned something about a training plan?” 

Katsuki glared up at her. “Don’t let them give you shit at the place, Midori.”

“I won’t.”

And Katsuki believed her. Ever since the Sludge Villain, Midori had been different. She carried herself with a bit more confidence, and didn't shrink away from what the extras in their class thought. 

He had changed as well, he knew that. Katsuki was well aware that he wasn’t close to being the Number One now, after seeing him handle that Sludge Villain so effortlessly. Nearly dying really gave you a change of perspective. He wasn’t the Number One right now, but that was gonna change. 

As the trainer gave him a set of reps and Midori went to this other gym, Katsuki grit his teeth. The gap between him and All Might seemed huge but he was going to pass it. And Midori was gonna be right behind him. 

—

Kacchan stared at the place she’d found. “So this is your new training area?” He asked.

Ikumi nodded, determinedly. 

Ikumi had wanted to build muscle mass for a while, but was held back due to her sheer size. Her body’s bones and muscles were structured slightly differently from a normal person’s to hold her increased weight, and the sheer length of her limbs meant that her muscles could take a lot more stress before tearing.

The gym she had gone to had been in a warehouse. Other oversized heteromorphs had been there, some shorter than her, some taller. It had helped, but Ikumi wanted more than working out her body, she wanted to seriously try flexing her Quirk. 

So she’d tried to work out and gone for long runs to try and build some muscle. Since they had been attacked by a Villain, Ikumi knew that she had to get better if she wanted to be a Hero like All Might and Gang Orca. 

It had been sheer coincidence that she’d found an ideal place to train. She had gone further with her jog, feet pounding as she tore down the streets, pushing herself further. On her route she’d passed the ocean, and then she’d paused. 

Dagobah Beach was a beach in the technical sense that there was sand skirting the ocean. Now it was more accurately described as a dump. Fridges, washing machines, general rubble - there were even a couple of cars just left to rust away in the sea breeze. Despite the ‘No Littering sign,’ Ikumi watched as a couple of people chucked a used TV there and walked away whistling. 

Nobody came here, really. It used to be a nice spot, but then the currents had started sweeping sea borne garbage in and people started to dump their waste here. Ikumi had stared, then an idea came to her.

“Aunt Mitsuki lets us practise our Quirks in the garden but I can’t get heavy enough weights there. So I thought that this would be the best place to try and train Dragonframe, and another way to try and train.” 

Kacchan cracked his neck. “And nobody comes here?” 

For answer, Ikumi gestured to the mountains of trash. Kacchan glanced at it, then nodded. “Let’s get to it.”

Ikumi nodded, reaching for a fridge. Closing her eyes, she willed Dragonframe to swell around her. Her fur briefly ruffled, then it settled. She flexed Dragonframe, feeling it cover her body in a comforting warmth.

It was almost like a dial in her mind, a second skin that slipped over her. After she had found the second aspect of her Quirk, she had hit the switch then tried again and again to use it consciously. Then she’d had no idea how to turn it back on - like a centipede having to think about its dozens of little legs, or being told to not imagine a pink elephant.

She had never really looked at her Quirk that much before - it just felt a bit awkward looking at your own Quirk like that. Kacchan had suggested looking at her Quirk like she did with Hero Quirks - ‘put your damn nerd brain to use! ’ had been his exact phrasing.

It had helped, and she’d felt silly for not thinking of that as a possibility. With the newest revelation of her Quirk spreading to hold a Villain in place, she had poured more time into finding out how her Quirk worked. 

Dragonframe had two parts -  fire breath and a slight telekinetic field that covered her body. It couldn’t travel far from her body normally, unless it was something that was in contact with her body already like her clothes or when she breathed fire.

Ikumi tried to concentrate on that feeling she’d had - letting her field out into the washing machine, she tried to ‘coat’ it, thinking of it as an extension of her field, her body. Her previous practice had been with much smaller things than the Sludge Villain - marbles, pens, drink bottles. 

She tried to get her field around it, Dragonframe slipping and sliding but not catching. Ikumi grunted in frustration. She could have just picked the fridge up without any issues, but Dragonframe wasn’t cooperating!

Kacchan started limbering up. “You managed it yet, Midori?” 

“It’s… harder than I thought,” Ikumi managed, her ‘grip’ slipping once again. 

He paused, staring at her. “How the hell is that harder to grab than the Sludge bastard? It’s not even moving!” 

“Well, I just did it without thinking, Kacchan! It must be a similar sensation to my fire breath but-”

“Get better! I can’t be Number One if you aren’t giving it your all!” He stomped off, palms popping with explosions. 

Ikumi shook her head. Same old Kacchan. Turning back to the fridge, she tried one more time to layer her Quirk over it before turning Dragonframe off. 

Grunting slightly, she picked it up, hauling it up the slope. She knew what to do for training, in a way - she had asked Hiroko for a workout plan. The rabbit girl, having shot up to nearly two and a half metres tall herself, had given her some advice on proper training for her size. 

They spent a couple of hours here, Ikumi using her Quirk as much as she could to try and coat larger objects while hauling them away and Kacchan letting off explosions. Their return home was exhausted, yet triumphant. Ikumi felt like she had made progress in using her Quirk, at least.

—

Hiroko looked at the cleared area of Dagobah beach and whistled. “Not bad, girl!” 

Ikumi sucked in a breath. The taller girl had managed to clear a fairly large area of sand in a couple of months. “T-thank you!” She leaned over to a washing machine. Closing her eyes, she slapped a hand on it. “Okay, it worked better this time,” she muttered. 

Hiroko blinked. “What worked better-”

She gasped when Ikumi slowly swung her flat palm around, the washing machine moving with it. Ikumi sucked a breath, then breathed a small gout of fire as she started moving. However, this time the washing machine didn’t budge. 

Ikumi sighed. “I thought I had it this time.”

“What are you trying to do?” 

She sat down on the washing machine. “Well, I’m trying to use both parts of my Quirk at the same time - fire breathing and the telekinetic shell. It should be possible but when I breathe fire it all just goes out my mouth. So I’m trying to put Dragonframe in two places.”

Hiroko shook her head. “Well, I have to admit that was pretty freaking impressive!” She paused. “Sort of on that note, are you following the workout plan?” 

Ikumi nodded. “Yeah. It’s pretty good.”

“Just remember that overtraining can be as bad or worse than undergoing it,” Hiroko cautioned. Ikumi had looked at her with wide eyes when she’d broken out the pictures. Freaking out her friends was always good for a laugh.

“I know.” Ikumi pushed herself up. “Are you sure you don’t want to be a Hero?”

Hiroko blinked, then grinned, shaking her head. “Nah! Sure, putting on the spandex and all that seems fun, but it’s not for me. I wanna be Japan’s next Volleyball Queen!”

Sure, the U.A Sports Festival grabbed the nation’s attention every time, but there was still a demand for professional athletes. Hiroko’s personal dream was to make a performance that would outshine the Sports Festival. Ikumi had been supportive even if the nerd couldn’t imagine being anything other than a Hero in her career path.

Kind of like Hiroko’s older sister Rumi, really - even if that was because her sister enjoyed fighting even more than Bakugou. It was slightly ironic that her sister hadn’t gotten their mother’s height.

Ikumi smiled. “Well, when you crush the Volleyball nationals, I’ll be cheering for you!” 

—

The months flew by. Ikumi split her time between the gym and Dagobah, moving the garbage to the truck Dad and the Gym owner had hired to haul the trash away. It seemed that with each piece of junk it got easier and easier to coat large objects with her field. She was nowhere near Captain Celebrity being able to support an ocean liner or the Sky Egg, but she had a lot of time to train to get that good.

Soon, Ikumi stared at a clean beach, panting. About a month before the Entrance exams, the last piece of trash had been cleared away, leaving a pristine beach. Behind her, Kacchan and Tomoko patted her on the back. “Nice, Midori!”

Tomoko smiled. “It actually looks like a nice place to go in the summer. And you were the one who did it?” When Ikumi nodded, Tomoko smiled. “Yeah, you guys are kinda crazy.”

Ikumi grinned. “We-we did it! This is-” 

Her stomach chose that moment to let out a gurgle like a sea monster rising from the deep. Kacchan and Tomoko jumped back slightly, slightly alarmed.

She flushed at that. Ikumi had been so eager to get it finished that she’d skipped breakfast. Now her body was crying for vengeance.

Kacchan grinned. “Right, we’re gonna celebrate cleaning this place. And I know where we’re going.”

His grin widened. “We’re going to Tonkatsu Domo.”

Ikumi’s eyes widened. “That’s a bit unfair on them,” she managed, before another rumble came. 

—

Tonkatsu Domo was a fairly quiet little restaurant in Musutafu. A traditionally styled place, in deference to newer building regulations it had a higher ceiling than a traditional restaurant.

Arata blinked as a spiky haired kid slapped some money down on the bench, a black haired girl looking at him with confusion. “The Sauce Katsudon Challenge. And make it snappy.”

Then another girl stepped through and he couldn’t help but stare. She was gigantic, her head close to the ceiling of the restaurant. Her stomach roared, loud enough that Arata half thought that the cutlery rattled. The spiky haired guy jerked a thumb over to her. “She’ll take it.”

“Uh…” Remembering his training, Arata scrambled to the register. “So, you’re taking the Challenge?”

The Sauce Katsudon Challenge that Tonkatsu Domo offered was pretty substantial. About two kilos of cooker rice, topped with the same amount of deep fried pork cutlet and paired with a heap of bean sprouts and drizzled with Worcestershire sauce. 

And it was free if you finished in twenty minutes. 

Arata could see why they had come here. Accepting the money, they sat down while he rang them up. Her friends ordered a normal amount of food, thankfully. 

From the kitchen, the chef took one look at the customers and brightened up. “Oh, it’s Midoriya. Seems like it’s been a while since she was here.”

Arata blinked. “Is… this alright?”

The chef shrugged, moving to prepare the massive quantity of food. “She really likes katsudon. Plus, she’s good publicity - if it takes that much food to satisfy somebody of her height, people take the challenge more seriously. We usually get some idiots who think they can take it on.”

Arata shrugged. “I hadn’t thought of it like that…”

Soon enough, the huge bowl of rice and meat was set in front of her. A steaming mountain of rice and fried pork cutlets sat in front of her, the spiky haired kid and her friend watching. 

After picking up a pair of chopsticks, she began. Arata stared as she shovelled it down, chopsticks practically a blur. It was fresh from the kitchen and piping hot yet she gulped it down like it was lukewarm. Her spiky haired friend gave him a cocky grin as she devoured her lunch, the other girl staring in amazement. In about ten minutes, four kilos of food had disappeared. 

Arata shook his head in amazement. He quietly returned the deposit to her friend, then set to clearing away the remains of their meal. Midoriya bowed politely. “Tell the chef that it was delicious,” she managed, a content smile on her face. 

“I-I will!”

—

A month went by quickly, and soon Ikumi and Kacchan were at the gates of U.A. Ikumi stared up at their dream school, a nervous expression on her face. Her winter fur had fluffed up, and she glanced over to her oldest and best friend.  “Well, Kacchan, this is it.”

Beside her, Kacchan nodded. “Yep. We’re gonna kill em.”

They’d been through a lot of training to get to this point. Ikumi took a deep breath. Ten months of improvised Quirk training and physical training had toned her muscles and made her faster. Kacchan had been fit before but had pushed himself further, making bigger explosions and the muscles in his arms were more defined. 

Ikumi let her breath out. This is for my future. 

She stepped forwards, and her foot immediately caught a loose tile.

Chapter Text

Ochako took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. No pressure, just going into the literal hardest Hero school in Japan, no biggie! All she had to do was beat about three hundred other people who wanted the position!

As she walked forwards, she caught a look at the other students there. One student in particular was drawing a lot of attention - probably because she was the tallest person there. If Ochako had to guess, the girl was about three metres tall, not counting the ears. And she was adorably fluffy! 

She’d seen a lot of heteromorphs working at her parents’ firm. The tallest worker she knew would have been a whole head shorter than this girl. She stumbled slightly as her foot caught a sticking up ti but managed to catch herself, the other students backing up slightly. 

Ochako sighed with relief. That would have been unlucky if she’d tripped fully. Ochako took a deep breath, strode forwards confidently-

And managed to trip on seemingly nothing. 

Ochako had a brief moment to appreciate the irony of this before  tagging herself with her Quirk. She floated slightly, trying to reorientate herself. Then the tall girl came up to her, her friend shooting her an angry look. 

She smiled. “Could you give me a hand, please?”

“S-sure!”

—

Ikumi sighed, helping the other girl get onto the ground. She pressed her fingertips together, and seemed to settle. “So you’re okay?”

“Oh! I’m fine, thank you!” The other girl laughed, rubbing the back of her head. “It would have been bad luck to trip and fall before an exam!” 

Ikumi chuckled weakly. “Yeah… You’re going for the Hero course as well? You’ve got a really cool Quirk-”

“Ah, hell no.” Kacchan gripped her arm and tried to pull her along. “Come on Midori. Talk Round Cheeks’ ear off about how cool you find her Quirk AFTER we take the exam!” 

The nice girl pointed at herself. “R-Round Cheeks?”

Ikumi gave Kacchan a pointed glare. “S-sorry about Kacchan. He’s being unusually well behaved right now.” Ignoring Kacchan’s angry complaining, she smiled at the other girl. “My name is Midoriya Ikumi. And you are…?”

“Oh!” She beamed up at Ikumi. “I’m Uraraka Ochako! Nice to meet you Midoriya, but we should really get going!” She skipped off, waving. “Good luck!” 

“Good luck as well, Uraraka!” Ikumi exclaimed.

Beside her, Kacchan sighed. “Okay, now let’s hurry it up.” He stomped forwards, Ikumi easily keeping pace a moment later. As Katsuki pushed ahead, Ikumi smiled.

She’d managed to make a new friend! 

—

The written exam had been pretty tough, but Katsuki and Midori hadn’t just been training physically. Every spare moment not spent working on their Quirks or hanging with their friends had been spent studying. There hadn’t been anything really surprising. 

Well, except for the latest announcement. The Hero on the podium stared at the microphone then turned it off, choosing to shout to the auditorium.

“WELCOME TO TODAY’S LIVE PERFORMANCE!!! EVERYBODY SAY ‘HEY’!!!!” 

Silence blossomed, slightly broken by Midori whispering to him. “Oh, wow! Kacchan, it’s Present Mic!” 

Katsuki shot an annoyed glance up at Midori as she fangirled over the skinny blonde guy in shades. “You’re gonna give yourself a freaking heart attack with every teacher, aren’t you?”

“WELL THAT’S COOL, LITTLE LISTENERS!!!!! NOW THEN, I’M HERE TO GIVE YOU THE GUIDELINES FOR THE PRACTICAL!!! EVERYBODY WHO’S READY, SAY ‘YEAH’!!!!” 

Nobody said anything. One person coughed slightly. 

Unperturbed, Present Mic turned the screen on. “ALRIGHT LITTLE LISTENERS, THIS IS HOW THE TEST WILL GO!” 

As he explained, Katsuki looked down. “So they’re splitting us up so that people from the same school can’t work together,” he figured. Made sense - if he and Midori teamed up they would be unstoppable.

Midori nodded. “Well, we thought it would be like that anyway.” She paused. “Good luck, Kacchan.”

“Tch.” Katsuki scowled. Like he needed luck. “If you don’t make it in, I'm gonna kill you.”

“Excuse me? May I ask a question?” 

Katsuki blinked as a hybrid of a jock and nerd stood up, pointing at the handout. “You mentioned that there were three Villains to fight, yet this handout shows four! If this is an error, then it is highly unbecoming of Japan’s top Hero school! After all, we are here to be moulded into Heroes!”

Katsuki could practically see the stick shoved up his ass. He then turned to look disapprovingly at Midori, who flinched. “And you! You’ve been muttering to a friend this entire time! The pair of you are distracting other students and being incredibly disrespectful to this great institution!”

Aw, hell no.

“Shut the fuck up, Glasses!” Katsuki glared back at him. “You really so prissy that us talking throws you off your game?!” 

The nerd-jock recoiled. “S-so rude!” 

Ikumi looked the jerk in the eye. “W-well, I think Present Mic was about to explain it…” She managed, pointing to the Hero.

Present Mic nodded. “LET’S SETTLE DOWN, EXAMINEE 7111!!! YES, THERE IS AN EXTRA VILLAIN, BUT THAT ONE PROVIDES NO POINTS!!!! THINK OF IT AS A HUGE OBSTACLE THAT’LL RAMPAGE IN CLOSE QUARTERS!!!” 

Nerd-Jock bowed, apparently satisfied. “I see! Sorry for the interruption!” 

Katsuki bit back several choice words. 

“OKAY, LISTENERS!!! THAT’S PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING, SO I’LL GIVE YOU ONE LAST THING!!!” Present Mic spread his arms wide. “NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, EMPEROR OF FRANCE ONCE SAID, ‘TRUE HEROISM CONSISTS OF BEING SUPERIOR TO THE ILLS OF LIFE’.”

Midori leaned forward, a look of wonder on her face. Katsuki found a smile splitting his face. “SO IN THAT SPIRIT, GO PLUS ULTRA, KIDS!!!” 

—

Mezo looked up at the tallest person on the bus, who had carefully manoeuvred herself into a seat. Like everybody else, she had changed into a dark red tracksuit with purple lining. It wasn’t everyday that he met somebody who seemed so like him. “I wasn’t expecting to meet somebody taller than me today.”

She twisted her hands, looking away. “Oh. Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologise.” Mezo stuck a hand out, which she shyly accepted. “Shoji Mezo.”

“M-Midoriya Ikumi.” She looked over his arms curiously. “So, what is your Quirk? If-if that’s not rude, we’re technically competing-”

Mezo simply nodded, letting another arm form from his tentacles. “My Quirk is called Dupli-Arms. Basically I can replicate my eyes and ears to improve my senses or make extra arms, and I’m a lot stronger than I should be.”

Midoriya hummed, starting to scribble in a notebook. “That’s really cool! Can you alter the properties of your arms beyond extra sensory organs? Is there a limit to how many extra limbs you can make or can you make as many as you  like-”

“I think we’re at the testing area,” Mezo interrupted as the bus stopped outside what looked like a small city. The other examinees looked around, awestruck. 

He paused when he saw her put the notebook away, her face slightly downcast. “Nobody’s really asked me questions about my Quirk like that before. Usually they said-”

No matter what, we will never accept cursed blood like yours!

“-That they weren’t very interested in it.”

“W-well, every Quirk is unique, so why wouldn’t-” Midoriya stepped off the bus, the vehicle briefly tilting as she left. She flinched slightly as some of the other examinees stared at her. Her face brightened as she spotted another girl, apparently trying to calm herself. “O-oh! Ochako’s here as well!”

She started to walk over only to be interrupted by the dark haired boy from earlier. “Excuse me, miss. That girl is clearly trying to concentrate! Are you trying to interfere-” 

Midoriya shook her head. “No, I just helped her earlier at the gate and I-I wanted to talk to her, that’s all!”

“I see. Still, this isn’t the time for idle chit-chat,” he shook his head disapprovingly. Midoriya looked away awkwardly, but nodded. The other competitors tittered at the display.

Mezo gave her a quiet thumbs up, shooting a disapproving look at the other boy. 

Present Mic grinned at the group, then a buzzer sounded. “AND… BEGIN!” 

—

Ikumi blinked with the rest of the examinees. Present Mic grinned at them. “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! REAL LIFE DOESN’T HAVE A COUNTDOWN!” 

With that, everybody shot forwards. Ikumi pushed off, sprinting ahead of practically every other contestant. The glasses guy outsped her, legs pumping as the engines let out orange scented smoke. 

Ikumi headed in a different direction, a cluster of One Point Villains charging over to her. Sucking in a deep breath, she felt Dragonframe surge within her breast. 

She had trained her Fire ever since she’d discovered she could do it. It had progressed from mere embers to a powerful blast of fire. But after training the telekinesis aspect of her Quirk…

FWOOSH!

She exhaled, a blast of fire hitting the cluster with a dramatic explosion. Ikumi quickly counted - about four. A Two Pointer nearby fired on her and she darted to the side, then kicked it hard enough to smash its metallic exterior.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a Three pointer bearing down on a student who had tripped, and she reacted, kicking a hole in the tank-esque robot and destroying it. “Are you okay?” 

Shakily, the other student nodded, managing to pick himself up and dart after a Two-Pointer. Ikumi ran over to another group of One Pointers, breathing more fire at them. As they broke down, she quickly took stock of her surroundings, looking for more robots.

The rest of the area was filled with chaos. Pieces of One and Two-pointers littered the streets, with a few Three pointers being attacked. Ikumi managed to pick up another One Pointer for use as a flail, hitting a Three Pointer hard enough to crack the pavement beneath it. 

Her ear twitched when she heard a Three Pointer trundling in a nearby area. Sprinting after it, she kicked its face in, earning an angry yell from another examinee. “Hey! No kill stealing!” 

“Sorry!” Ikumi yelled back. The other student turned to throw some ice at another bot, a disgruntled expression on his face. Grimacing, she leapt on another Three pointer, breathing fire directly into its face. Only two minutes into the exam and Ikumi felt like she would be able to manage at this pace.

“Twenty…” Uraraka huffed, running forward. She gave Ikumi a brief smile as she ran over to another bot to tag it with her Quirk, several already floating in the air.

Ikumi smiled back, before turning her focus back to the matter at hand. She darted around, finding a few more faux-Villains to break as she did. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Shoji on the rooftops, extra eyes and ears extruding from his arms, searching for Villains. Ikumi craned around, looking for more Villains-

KER-ASH!

—

Midnight grinned. “Oh, I like her,” she purred, watching as the teal furred girl ran forwards once more, smashing robots with fists and flame.

Eraserhead watched with a sigh. “Another brawler getting by in a test tailor made for her strengths.”

All Might nodded absently. He had only caught a nickname - Midori - but he couldn’t forget a Quirk as distinct as that. It was good to see her at U.A, taking those natural Heroic instincts to greater heights. And she seemed a far cry from the timid girl who had barely been able to make eye contact. 

Still, he had thought she had a liquid manipulating Quirk. Maybe she had some other aspect to her Quirk beyond liquid manipulation? He knew that Endeavour’s youngest child Shoto had a Quirk that allowed him to create fire and ice, so it wasn’t impossible. 

If he hadn’t been in Chiba and seen a fine example of heroism, then she could very well have had One for All.

He was shaken from his thoughts by Nedzu. “A promising crop so far, no?” 

The ambiguous mammal's face turned vicious. “Let’s test their mettle.”

All Might watched slightly apprehensively as Eraserhead flipped open the switch case for the Zero Pointers. He knew that the other girl and his successor would be alright, they had proven themselves to be tough enough. But All Might was still worried, all the same. 

—

Katsuki smashed through another Two Pointer. “Fifty-four,” he grinned, eyes stitching themselves to his next target. The other Extras at the exam were giving him a wide berth but that just meant more robots for him to break. 

There was one guy who stayed close to him though. Some guy with sharp teeth and a bad haircut who smashed the robots with fists that turned hard and craggy. What few robots didn’t get turned to scrap by Katsuki got finished off by Shitty Hair. Guy had balls, at least, staying so close to his explosions. Katsuki would give him that. 

A huge crashing sound came from across the road. Katsuki briefly stared at the hulking Zero Point robot, then charged forwards while Extras ran away. These robots were attracted to loud noises, and he could see a cluster of abandoned Villains just waiting to be killed.

As he charged, another Three Pointer came around the corner. “Hasta la vista, meatbags,” it rumbled, redying its missiles.

Katsuki smirked, ready to smash it-! 

Behind him, he heard Shitty Hair trip over a piece of robot. “Damn it!” 

Unfortunately, he was just in the path of a salvo of missiles. Katsuki had a brief moment to appreciate the other guy’s eyes going wide before he moved, shoving Shitty Hair out of the way. The missiles hit the patch of concrete where he was lying just a couple of seconds earlier, the explosion barely phasing Katsuki as he glared at the machine.

Then he smashed the Three Pointer’s faceplate in. “DIE, YOU FUCKING ROOMBA!” 

Shitty Hair stared up at him. Katsuki glared down at him. “You alright, Shitty Hair?!” 

“Uh… yeah?”

Katsuki nodded sharply. “Get the fuck up! I ain’t gonna help you again!” 

He charged forwards again, smirking slightly when he heard Shitty Hair follow him. The other guy grinned, slightly shakily when Katsuki tore through the bots like they were made of paper, refusing to slow down.

—

Mezo felt rather than heard the Zero Pointer’s approach. Standing on the top of a building to hunt the Villain bots, he was at a good vantage point to see the absolutely gigantic machine rise from the ground, towering over the tallest buildings in the mock city. A huge red lens focused on him as it started moving, changing its course.

As calmly as he could, Mezo started to run, trying to get away from the machine as it raised a hand. Too late, it came crashing down, the shockwave cracking and breaking the building he was standing on. His footing gone, Mezo was barely able to twist around to fall properly-

Suddenly, somebody slapped him, and he felt his whole body lose all weight. Stunned, he floated just above the ground, unable to land properly. Twisting one of his eyes around, he saw the brown haired girl floating on a piece of discarded rubble. “R-release…” she moaned, pressing her fingertips together. 

The Zero Pointer took another earth shaking step, Mezo barely able to pull her out of the way. He tried to run but another tremor from its movement broke his stride and he went sprawling. His rescuer looked up with wide eyes as the Zero Pointer came closer-

And then Midoriya was there, sucking in a deep breath. As she grabbed them she breathed out, a massive gout of flame hitting the Zero Pointer’s hand and forcing it back, the flames punching a hole in its hand. The flame petered off and she ran with both of them in her arms, smoke still leaking from her mouth. 

As they reached safety the brown haired girl stared up at Midoriya with wide eyes. “Midoriya-”

Her eyes crossed and her cheeks bulged. They barely managed to get out of the splash zone as she puked. Mezo looked over at Midoriya, who didn’t look much better. The much larger girl awkwardly patted her friend on the back, keeping her out of the vomit.

“AND… THAT’S TIME!” 

—

At about the same time as Ikumi, Mina was dealing with a similar problem. She had been charging around, dealing with robots and being generally amazing. 

Then the Zero Pointer had shown up and thrown everything into chaos. Mina was big enough to admit that seeing something that big had brought back unpleasant memories of the Villain she had barely managed to redirect. 

She was running when she heard a confused sounding cry.  “Whey…”

A blonde guy with a lightning bolt in his hair stood there, a dazed look on his face. Apparently he couldn’t hear the freaking Zero Pointer bearing down on him.

It came closer, and for the second time in a while Mina ran into trouble without consciously thinking about it. 

Under her skin, One for All clicked. Instinctively, Mina leaped, remembering All Might’s advice, her bones creaking but not breaking. A mass of acid formed around her fist, far more than she could normally make. 

“ACID SMASH!” 

—

SSSSHHH!!!

The teachers stared at the screen. “Holy…” Snipe breathed. 

All Might couldn’t help but agree. One minute, there was a whole Zero Pointer… the next, nothing but a half melted mess of metal, the rest already corroding into sludge. 

The judges looked between each other. “Where did she pull that from?” 

“That was far more power than she displayed earlier!”

“And did you see that jump she made? Does she have a strength enhancing aspect to her Quirk-”

As they talked, All Might couldn’t help but grin. Young Ashido had made a good first impression, it seemed. All Might knew that One for All boosted Quirks, but… he hadn’t imagined anything as dramatic as this! Maybe he should see about getting her some more Quirk based training in school.

—

Landing was a bit harder, but a jet of high PH acid from her hands slowed her descent as the Zero Pointer melted away. “Whoa…” Mina breathed, looking at the massive pile of melting metal which had once been a Zero Pointer. One for All was seriously crazy. Then she looked over at the blonde guy who was staring vacantly around. “Are you okay?!” 

“Yay…” He gave a thumbs up. 

Mina flopped backwards in relief. “Ah, that’s good…”

“AND THAT’S TIME!” 

Mina gasped. “Damnit!” 

The points she’d grabbed would have to be enough.

—

Ikumi’s throat and mouth burned. Maybe if this was a comic book she could have kept breathing fire endlessly, but most Quirks didn’t work like that. Dragonframe gave her body in general and her mouth and throat in particular incredible heat resistance but constantly using her Quirk had been approaching that limit before that last attack.

She had never let off a blast that big before. 

Shoji looked over to her with a concerned look in his eyes. “Are you alright, Midoriya?”

“I’m fine,” Ikumi rasped. She had overused her fire breath before - what she needed was a cool drink and some rest. “How about you and Uraraka?”

Ikumi had just been fleeing when she saw Uraraka and Shoji fall. After seeing that, nothing else had mattered and she had run in without thinking. Uraraka managed to look up, pale and shaking. “‘M fine,” she managed. 

Shoji gave a short nod. “I got a few scrapes and bruises from the attack but I’m fine otherwise.”

“That’s good…” Ikumi pulled out her water bottle, which she’d filled with aloe vera juice. Taking a swig, she sighed as it soothed her overheated throat. 

He looked over at Uraraka. “Do you need to go to the nurses’ office…”

“Uraraka,” the other girl responded. She shook her head. “As-as I said, I’m fine. Just a bit queasy now.”

“I’ll be the judge of that, young lady.”

Ikumi started slightly as she saw the familiar short figure of Recovery Girl come up. She gave each of them a critical look. “Here you go, young lady.” Uraraka blinked as she got a handful of candy. 

Recovery Girl patted her gently on the back. “Apart from using your Quirk too much, you managed to avoid anything life threatening or crippling. Make sure you eat something that’s easy on your stomach and don’t try to use your Quirk for a while.” 

She then looked up at Ikumi. “Open up, young lady.” Sheepishly, Ikumi did so, kneeling down so that the Heroine could look at her mouth. She hummed, then handed her a large handful of candy. “Hm. No serious damage, but just in case…” 

She pecked Ikumi on the cheek, and she gasped as she felt the burning in her throat and mouth just vanish, followed by a tired feeling. “Eat those, they’ll help you feel better.”

“Y-yes, Recovery Girl!” Ikumi managed to squeak out. 

As the Heroine went, Ikumi sighed. Uraraka looked down at herself awkwardly. “I just hope I have enough points to get in…” she mumbled. 

Shoji shrugged. “We don’t know what the cut-off point was. I feel pretty confident that the points I got will be enough.”

Ikumi nodded. “You’ll get in, I’m sure of it! You were really cool out there, making those robots fly!”

“Aheh…” Uraraka rubbed the back of her head.

—

Unseen by the new group of friends, Tenya couldn’t help but stare. The other examinees shook their heads, muttering amongst themselves. 

“Man, that was crazy.”

“Did you see her try and fight that thing? I mean, she’s big and all, but that was on another level!”

Tenya shook his head. She hadn’t gone in to fight it, she had gone to save the other students… Had she forgotten that this was an exam?

His eyes widened. An exam… Maybe they were testing us for more than our ability to destroy robots!

Tenya couldn’t help but grit his teeth. He had been wrong about the tall girl. He had thought that she was being disruptive but in the end she had been a superior candidate. When he met her at U.A, he was going to apologise for his harsh words. 

As they piled onto the bus, he wondered if anybody else had figured out the hidden meaning of the exam besides Midoriya. 

Chapter Text

Waiting for the results to come back from U.A was more stressful than the exam itself. The entire week afterwards Ikumi fretted. At least she had been able to exchange phone numbers with Shoji and Uraraka before they had gone their separate ways. 

Ikumi groaned, hands twisting around each other. “I know I did well, but… what if it wasn’t enough?” 

Kacchan shot her an unsympathetic look. “You got, what, forty points? That’s enough to get in, stop worrying!” He scowled. “You should’ve gotten more though.”

She shrugged. After they’d taken the exam, Kacchan had been angry that she didn’t have as many points as he did. “I didn’t want to take too many from other people-”

“Screw them! You should’ve smashed every damn one you could see!” Kacchan kicked a can. “I’m not happy about beating you like this, damnit!” 

Ikumi sighed. “I know, I know! It just didn’t feel right.”

Kacchan scoffed. “Well, you kicked a lot of ass, at least. Burning a hole in the Zero Pointer was cool.” 

Ikumi took the compliment for what it was. Next to them, Tomoko shook her head. “Don’t worry too much, Ikumi. U.A would be crazy not to take you.” 

In spite of these reassuring words, it wasn’t until they received their letters that Ikumi felt at peace. 

—

Katsuki became aware of the letter arriving when his mum knocked on his door and burst in with the same motion. “Your letter from U.A is here, brat!” 

“I can see that, hag!” He gently snatched it from her, his scowl lessening. “Took long enough to say something that was freaking obvious,” he grumbled. 

“You gonna show us or-”

“I’ll show you later!” Katsuki shoved her out of his room, closing the door normally rather than slamming it in her face. 

He tore it open, blinking slightly as he saw a metal disc fall out. “The hell-”

A hologram came from the top, displaying All Might in an awful yellow pinstripe suit. “HA HA HA! I am here as a projection! Not just that, but starting this year I will be teaching at U.A!”

Katsuki’s customary snarl was replaced with a look of wonder. All Might continued. “Now then young Katsuki, first of all your written exam was almost perfect! You scored in the top five percent of all applicants, no mean feat when U.A accepts thousands every year!” 

He smirked at that. All Might gestured over to another screen. “Moving on to the practical exam, you scored an impressive 77 points! By itself you would have passed… But we weren’t just looking for Villain Points!” 

Katsuki blinked. The hell?

The screen flickered, displaying Katsuki as he helped Shitty Hair up, cutting to them working together on beating up robots. Katsuki blinked. “What kind of Hero school would penalise you for doing the right thing? If you think we do it just for the cameras, then think again! Putting your life on the line for others, that’s what being a Hero is about!” 

All Might gave him a thumbs up. “Our panel of judges deliberated, and we gave you 24 Hero Points, for a total of 101 points overall! Congratulations, young Bakugo!” His smile, somehow, became even more blinding. “You are one of the few students who has ever come here to earn over a hundred points - a list that includes myself and Endeavour among others!”

Katsuki sat back on his bed, aware that he was trembling. “It’s rare for more than one student to make it to a hundred in one year, and I have nothing but great expectations for  all of you! You placed second in the exam after your friend! Be proud, Bakugou, for this is your Hero Academia!” 

It flickered off, Katsuki staring at it for a second before the reality of it sunk in. Grinning, Katsuki flung the door open. “I GOT OVER A HUNDRED FUCKING POINTS! I’M IN!” 

The hag glared at him. “STOP YELLING! AND THAT’S GREAT KATSUKI! NOW GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AND TELL US ABOUT IT!” 

At the table, his dad smiled widely. “Congratulations, Katsuki. We never doubted you could do it, but it sounds like you got even more points than you thought.”

Katsuki huffed, letting himself calm down. “Yeah,” he sighed. His phone buzzed, and he answered it.

Midori had sent him a picture, her eyes brimming with tears. The display behind her was plain as day. Ikumi Midoriya, 40 Villain Points, 80 Hero points - 120 points total. 

A text came below. I got in!!!!! 120 points!

Katsuki stared at the picture, then he sighed. He could accept being second if it was to Midori - it just meant that he had to try harder next time. Didn’t mean that he couldn’t have a little fun.

–

Congrats Midori

Guess I gotta one-up you another time!

Still got more Villains than you

Really Kacchan?

STILL BEAT YOU IN VILLAIN POINTS

–

Looking over his shoulder, the hag grinned. “Got second place to Ikumi, eh?” 

“Ah, shut it,” Katsuki grumbled. Then he saw her eyes mist up. “What?”

“Nothing, I’m just… I’m just proud of the both of you.” She gave him a smirk. “Plus, if you hadn’t made it in, I would have kicked your ass!”

“Like you could, hag.” 

As they started arguing with each other, Dad gave the pair of them a fond smile. “I reckon that this calls for a celebration. Not every day that you get accepted into U.A after all.”

“Fuck yeah we need to celebrate!” Katsuki yelled. “Midori only beat me ‘cause of those Rescue points, but next time I’m gonna blow her score outta the water!” 

“Mapo tofu?” His mum guessed. Katsuki nodded - that was one of his favourite dishes. “Alright, I’m gonna make it so hot you’re gonna be breathing fire.”

Katsuki grinned. “Bring it, hag!”

For the first time, Katsuki wanted to go to school earlier. Aldera was honestly a shithole and the sooner they were out the better.

—

Togaru grinned up at Ikumi as they waited at the train stop. “Shame that we’re not in the same class, but that just means you’ll have to deal with Bakugou.”

Ikumi nodded anxiously. “Y-yeah.” She smiled. “It’s… it’s honestly crazy to think about.”

Bakugou stomped up, a frown on his face. “Morning, Stabby.” He looked him over. “How many did you kill in the exam?” 

Togaru glared right back, a smirk on his face. “Fifty points worth.”

He had also earned about eight Rescue Points for helping up a competitor. Seeing his name just beneath some guy called Tokoyami had been a bit infuriating, but at least he’d gotten into the top ten. Ikumi and Bakugou were kind of insane, as was that Ashido girl. 

Ikumi shook her head while Bakugou cackled. ‘You beat Midori in killing robots! Told you killing robots was important!”

“W-well, we both made it in. No need to keep on about it.” Ikumi carefully ducked into the train, hunching over to avoid knocking her head on the ceiling. A couple of people stared at her as she tried to shift in position, one hand on her skirt to hold it down.

Bakugou glared at the carriage, everybody finding something else to do with their time. “Buncha extras,” he grumbled. 

Togaru glared at his other rival. “How many did you get?” 

“77 Villains, 24 Rescue points.”

Bakugou smirked while Togaru groaned. He glared at the smug blonde. “Rescue Points are bullshit.”

The jerk had the audacity to mock gasp. “Finally, we agree on something.”

Ikumi shook her head. “It’s a Hero exam, you know that they would have to test for rescues.”

Togaru sighed. Damn Ikumi and her being reasonable. “Yeah, yeah. Should have told us though.”

“You know why they wouldn’t, Togaru. It wouldn’t be real heroism if you had known beforehand.”

Bakugou glared at him, then the train stopped. “Looks like we’re here.”

As they left, Togaru glared at the pair of them. “Guess I’ll have to wait on kicking your ass, Bakugou.”

Bakugou smirked. “Bring it, Stabby.”

With that, they parted ways. A small part of Togaru didn’t believe that he’d made it in. Even though his classmates had said his Quirk was more like a Villain’s, he’d beaten them all and was in the Hero course. Maybe he wasn’t in the same class as Ikumi, but they had both made it in. 

As he stepped through the gates, he wondered what the other person who had broken a hundred points was like. Maybe they were like Ikumi.

—

Mina grinned as she saw a familiar face under unfamiliar hair. “Heeey, Kiri! Digging the new ‘do! You got yourself horns like me!” 

Kirishima whirled around, anxiously. “Ssh!” 

She laughed. “Relax, I ain’t gonna out you. Going for a high school debut kinda thing?” 

He sighed. “Yeah… It’s a declaration. I’m not the lame Kirishima I used to be!”

Mina looked over to Kirishima, remembering when she had first really met him - when he had bowed to her and her friends and apologised for not running in against Gigantomachia. “That day really hit you hard, didn’t it?” 

He briefly paused. “...Yeah.”

With a smile on her face, Mina jabbed him a bunch of times. “You’re still a bundle of nerves, aren’t ya?” 

Instinctively he used his Quirk. “Ow - I mean, it doesn’t hurt, but what the heck are you-”

Shaking her hand slightly, Mina shook her head. “You’ve still got that gloomy look on your face! Let me know when you’re gonna grow outta that, or I’m gonna tell our classmates about your old haircut.”

Kirishima stared at her with wide eyes, before a smile split his face. “Thanks, Ashido.”

They continued walking for a while, then Kirishima paused. “So, how’d you do?” 

“Got 50 Hero and Villain Points,” Mina replied, chuckling. “Apparently I got beaten out by two others.”

He stopped. “Whoa, what’d you do?” 

Mina awkwardly chuckled. ‘Uh, I fought the Zero Pointer to get somebody out of the way?”

Kirishima stared. “Holy - you fought that thing?” When Mina nodded he clenched a fist. “That’s so manly.”

Mina grinned. “Thanks.” She paused, looking at him. “So…”

He gave her a questioning look. “What?”

“Race you to class! Ready, set, GO!” 

Laughing, Mina ran up to the huge gates of U.A. Kirishima managed to get in gear a second later. “What- HEY!” 

Mina grinned as he ran after her. One for All hummed within her, the Quirk seeming to respond to her good vibes. 

She had never thought that anything would happen after leaping in front of her classmates and directing that giant guy away. Back then, her legs had just moved on their own and flung her in front of him and she’d babbled out an excuse. All Might appeared later, having fought off the brute.

He had seen her move when he had been unable to, with the only thought in her head being ‘protect my classmates.’ Mina had heard the tale of how All Might was down a stomach and a lung and could only be a Hero with the bile rising in her mouth, then he had asked her if she wanted his Quirk. 

After accepting, she had gone through ten months of strength training. Sure, Mina was athletic, but All Might had wanted to be sure that she could handle the immense strain of One for All. And having felt how her muscles ached after using it for the first time, Mina could totally get why. 

Running into their class with a huge grin, Kirishima just behind her, Mina knew that this was the place to be. Today, she was taking the first step on the journey to become a Hero. And hopefully live up to the massive legacy All Might gave her. 

—

Tsuyu had to admit, she hadn’t expected the large boy with glasses - Iida Tenya, as he had stiffly introduced himself - to be in her class. His hand chopped aggressively at a blonde boy who was lounging back, feet on desk. “Remove your feet from the desk this instant! Do you intend to mock those who came before us with such disrespectful behaviour?” 

Kaminari grinned. He had introduced himself with a flirtatious wink and a cocky grin before taking his current seat. “Dude, take it easy! I’m not being disrespectful, I’m just leaning back a bit.”

“We are here to be Heroes, not delinquents!” 

“After our exams, I just want to take a bit of a break, you know?” 

As they continued talking, they were interrupted when the door was slammed open, a pink skinned girl standing there in triumph. “In your face, Kiri!” 

The red haired boy behind her huffed. “Come on Ashido, you had a head start!” he grumbled, before flashing a sharp toothed grin at the class. “Anyway, the name’s Kirishima Eijirou! Nice to meetcha all!” 

Ashido came over to her, a hand outstretched. “Hey there! My name’s Ashido Mina, and I like breakdancing! What’s your name?” 

Tsuyu shook her outstretched hand with a slight smile. “Asui Tsuyu. Nice to meet you, Ashido.” 

The pink skinned girl grinned. “Nice! Wow, you have a firm grip, Asui.”

“Please, call me Tsuyu.”

She barely blinked. “Alright Tsuyu, you’ve got a really firm grip, I like it! Call me Mina if you want, it’s alright.” 

Tsuyu blinked, then smiled a bit wider. “That would be nice, Mina.” 

“Hey! You’re the pink girl who saved me in the exam!” Kaminari got out of his seat, ignoring Iida’s outburst about being respectful. He grinned. “The name’s Kaminari. Thanks for the save. I don’t really remember anything about it, but-”

“No worries!” Mina grinned.”Glad to see you made it into U.A too! I was a bit worried you wouldn’t.”

Kaminari grinned. “Yeah, of course I did! Though I have to say, this place is crazier than I expected!”

Tsuyu looked over. “How so, kero?” 

To answer, he pointed at the door, which must have been about four metres tall. “The door. I mean, it’s freaking huge!”

Mina hummed. “You’ve got a point there. Not to mention the desk. Kind of wonder who that’s meant for”

Tsuyu nodded, looking at a desk and chair that was about twice the size of the ones around it sitting near the back. “Must be a student who can’t control their size shifting or is just that tall, kero. U.A is committed to making sure that everybody can study at their campus.” 

Kaminari tilted his head. “Seems logical. Still, it’s hard to imagine who would need a door or desk like that.”

—

Ikumi took a deep breath. This was it. After a week of anxiety, she was here. After getting her U.A uniform and being happy about its ankle length, Ikumi was ready to face the world. The train ride with Kacchan and Togaru had been pretty quiet but now she was here she felt a nervous energy building up. 

Next to her, Kacchan snorted. That had been a pleasant surprise - they were both in the same class, same as their Junior and Middle school days. “Alright, Midori. This is it.”

Ikumi looked over at her friend, his face set in a cocky smirk. Her eyes widened. “Kacchan-”

He slammed the door open and strode through. Ikumi sighed, walking through. A couple of conversations briefly stopped as everybody looked up at Kacchan, then further up at her. A short student with purple balls for hair dropped his pencil, staring at her. Then they turned back to whoever was talking. 

Glasses came up, a serious look on his face. “Hello. My name is Iida Tenya, from Soumei.” 

Ikumi internally sighed. Was he about to start something on the first day? “H-hello? I’m Midoriya Ikumi-”

He bowed. “I must apologise for my harsh words at the exam!” 

Ikumi blinked. “Huh?”

“You divined the true purpose of the practical exam, while I did not.” His hands chopped through the air robotically. “Truly, you were the superior candidate!” 

Kacchan stared at him as well, shock on his face. Then his smirk returned. “You’re apologising for existing already, huh?” 

“Kacchan!” Nudging her friend harshly, Ikumi smiled awkwardly. “I-I didn’t really do anything -”

“No need to be modest!” 

Ikumi glanced around, her eyes widening as she spotted a familiar face. “Oh! Shoji!” 

Shoji blinked, then one of his arms morphed into a grinning mouth. “Probably a good omen that we’re in the same class.”

Katsuki grunted, looking Shoji up and down before apparently approving. “Good talk, Octopus.”

Shoji raised an eyebrow. Ikumi sighed. “Don’t take it personally. Kacchan’s… like that with everybody.”

“I’ve been called worse.” Ikumi wanted to ask more but then a girl with large hands and a frog-like face came up. 

“Well, I guess we know whose desk that is.” She stretched a hand out. “My name’s Asui Tsuyu, kero.”

“Oh! N-nice to meet you, Asui!” Ikumi took Tsuyu’s hand with her own massive paw, shaking it carefully. “If it isn’t rude, what’s your Quirk? I’m guessing it’s a Frog Quirk, but I have been wrong before-”

“That’s my Quirk, kero. Frog.” Asui gave her a flat stare. “And please, call me Tsuyu.”

“It’s a bit early for that-”

Katsuki flopped into a chair next to her oversized desk, kicking his feet up. Iida ran over, hands chopping in the air. He ignored Iida yelling at him about disrespecting the craftsmen and past students, leaning back in his chair. “God, Midori, just call her whatever she wants. It’s easier that way.”

Ikumi rolled her eyes, then the door slid open. Uraraka came in, her eyes lighting up as she saw Ikumi. “Wow! Good to see you guys!”

“Uraraka. How are you holding up?” Shoji’s mouth-arm stretched around the group. Uraraka barely blinked, having seen Shoji in action.

They chatted a bit after the exam, mostly Ikumi talking about various Quirks while Uraraka worked on her nausea. When Ikumi heard that Uraraka was coming to U.A as well, Ikumi was really happy to be learning to be a Hero with her new friends. 

“Nice to see you as well, Uraraka!” Ikumi smiled while Iida and Kacchan argued. “It’s p-pretty lucky we all made it into the same class.”

Uraraka hummed, the bell ringing. “Must have seen us all team up and thought that we would work well together?”

Ikumi’s nose twitched as she picked up a strong smell - coffee mostly, with elements of cat fur and jelly for some reason. “W-well, I guess it makes sense.”

“Right? I wonder what the teacher’s going to be like. I’m pretty nervous,” Uraraka chattered. 

Ikumi hoped that whoever they got as a teacher would be better than Aldera. She sniffed the air distractedly. The coffee and cat smell was close by.

—

Unwilling to leave his sleeping bag just yet, Shouta carefully flopped behind the newest student. Time to really spook these students. “If you’re here to socialise, then get out.” 

The pair of students in the door turned around - Uraraka, the gravity girl and the unmistakable Midoriya. He shuffled up, sucking a jelly pouch down. The class finally quieted down - too slowly. Well, they would learn soon enough - if they didn’t disappoint him.

He gave the class a flat stare. ‘It took you all eight seconds to calm down. Time is a precious resource, and you are spending it. Not very rational, is it?” 

Every second a Hero delayed was a second that somebody was getting hurt, dying. 

Shouta swept his gaze over his class. About half of his students had Quirks that could hurt themselves or other people easily, which was why he had chosen them. Those ones he would be keeping a careful eye on. “My name is Aizawa Shouta, your homeroom teacher. Pleased to meet you.”

The class stared at each other, then back at him. Midoriya was looking at him with a slightly cocked head, probably trying to figure out who he was. 

She could try and guess. Midoriya had ranked extremely high in the exam but that didn’t mean much if she was a typical teenager with a strong Quirk.

He pulled out a spare gym uniform he kept in his sleeping bag. “The change rooms are next door. Change into your gym clothes and meet me at the main grounds.”

Chapter Text

The changing rooms were a flurry of activity. “Okay, what is our teacher making us change into our sports uniforms for?” Mina wondered, pulling her top over her head. 

“Dunno. Probably something crazy if it’s anything like the exam,” Jirou commented. 

“True, wouldn’t put anything past them.” Mina looked over at Midoriya, who was staying quiet for the most part. “What do you think, Midoriya?”

“Me?” When Mina nodded, Midoriya looked off to the side. “W-well, U.A is known for being a bit… unconventional? Which they get away with by being the best in the country, really.”

Mina grinned, pumping a fist. “Whatever it is, we can crush it like we beat the exam!” When the rest of them stared at her she grinned. “We beat out like three hundred other people, didn’t we?”

Tsuyu nodded, a more determined look on her face than before. “Mina’s right, kero. We all made it in, so we’re just going to have to deal.”

As they filed out, she looked up at Midoriya. It was honestly pretty crazy to think that one of your classmates has legs that were almost as long as you were tall. “Say, your hair looks incredible! What kind of product do you use?”

Once again Midoriya seemed to freeze up. “Uh… G-Getsuhime Moisturising Formula. F-for Fur.”

Tsuyu nodded. “It really brings out the gloss. I use their aquatic brand.” 

Midoriya lit up a bit. “It looks like it works really well - your hair is really smooth, Asui.”

“Please, call me Tsuyu. No need to be formal, kero.”

As Midoriya spluttered, Mina grinned at her. “Come on, Midori! It’s okay if she asks you to call her that!”

Mina couldn’t help but smile as Midoriya awkwardly flustered about properly introducing herself. Tsuyu seemed to find it amusing as well, a slight smile on her face. Jerks had given her crap about her appearance before but she had never really cared. 

Still, the first day of Hero school and already she’d made a couple of friends!

—

Shouta was mildly impressed when his students got onto the grounds in good order. Better than the last lot he’d had at least. “Good. Now that you’re all here… We’re doing a Quirk Assessment.”

He hid a smirk as the class collectively gasped. “What?!” 

Uraraka looked at him with a confused expression. “W-what about the Entrance ceremony? Or the Guidance sessions?”

“Guidance sessions can come later. You don’t have time to waste on things like the Entrance Ceremony.” Especially since Nedzu had a tendency to drone on and on and he wasn’t allowed to fall asleep. “We are known for our freestyle education, after all.”

The class gave him confused looks. He gave them a look. “You’ve all done those ‘no-Quirk’ fitness tests in middle school, right? The softball throw, the 50 metre dash, grip strength… you get the picture.” 

He shook his head. “The Board of Education wants to pretend that Quirks never happened for the sake of their precious averages, but it’s futile. Might as well get it over with and just let you use your Quirk.”

Shouta levelled a stare at what he considered the prime example of this irrationality. Midoriya Ikumi squirmed a bit under his gaze. “Midoriya, you placed first in the exam. How far could you throw a softball?”

She looked away. “Um… It was recorded as, uh… fifty metres?”

The rest of the class looked confused at that, Midoriya looking to the side. Shouta could see that Shoji and Asui didn’t look surprised. Internally he sighed at another bit of stupidity the Board of Education insisted on - heteromorph types had to hold back to normal human scores. “Hmph. And how far did it actually go?” 

“About… two hundred? I-I wasn’t able to properly measure it-” 

Shouta tossed her a softball, which she fumbled and was forced to bend over and pick it up. In her massive furry hand it looked more like a small apple. “Right. Throw the ball as hard as you can, using your Quirk in whatever way you see fit. Don’t leave the circle to do so.” 

Midoriya hesitated. “S-shouldn’t I have a, um, bigger ball? It wouldn’t be fair-”

Shouta gave her a flat stare, but internally gave her a point for caring about such things. “Life isn’t fair. In this case, it’s unfair in your favour.”

“Throw the damn thing already, Midori!” Bakugou yelled. Shouta shot him a glare, which the teenager ignored. 

Yaoyorozu raised her hand. “Um, sensei? If-if you would approve it, I could make her a larger ball if you show me the schematics.”

…These kids were shaping up to be good. That was bad - good kids meant that he had to worry rather than let them drop out into a less life-threatening field. “Not unreasonable, Yaoyorozu.”

“What do you mean, make a larger ball?” Midoriya cocked her head to the side slightly before her eyes widened. “Oh, is that your Quirk? Because that’s… that’s so interesting.”

Pulling up the design for the balls on his phone, Shouta handed it over to Yaoyorozu. She blinked, humming as she went over the design. “That should be it.”

Then she unzipped her shirt, eliciting concerned shouting from Jirou and Midoriya as well as a whoop from Mineta and Kaminari. He glared at them and they looked away awkwardly. Jirou gave them both the stink eye, a couple of other classmates raising their eyebrows.

… Could be a problem, but only if it interfered with the tests. Hopefully he could nip that kind of behaviour in the bud before it became a problem. Nobody wanted another Captain Celebrity case.

Her stomach sparkled with light and a larger version of the ball appeared. Midoriya looked at it with wonder. “Whoa… So your Quirk lets you make anything you want? That’s so cool!” 

“Well, I have to know how it’s made, but… yes, just about anything.” Yaoyorozu beamed at Midoriya.

Shouta raised a mental eyebrow. So far Midoriya wasn’t acting like his typical model of typical students with a strong Quirk, nor like students who came in with natural size and bulk. Those students tended to think that training was beneath them, that their natural size and Quirk would be enough. 

Those kinds he was used to forcing out.

And he had seen her pass up robots in the exam that she should have been able to beat. Shouta had assumed it was an arrogant thing, a way of showing ‘I don’t need all those points.’ Maybe not.

Midoriya picked the enlarged ball up, looking at it with narrowed eyes. Then she sucked in a breath before sticking the ball in her mouth. Shouta barely reacted as she breathed a massive column of flame, the ball shooting off with it. 

…Reasonably creative, at least. More than most of the larger students I’ve dealt with at least.

Shouta held up his phone, displaying the score - 749 metres. “Good. Now we have a better idea of your limits, we’re a step closer to figuring out what kind of hero you will be.” 

Midoriya blinked, an awestruck look on her face. The rest of the class seemed to be in a similar mood. 

Kaminari grinned at a neighbour. “We can use our Quirks however we feel like? Awesome!” 

As the students started to talk amongst themselves, Shouta sighed. Time to see what they were made of. 

—

Ikumi shivered when she saw Aizawa’s stare lock onto Kaminari. A dark aura seemed to come off the quiet teacher. “Oh? Awesome?”

His glare swept over the whole class. “You think your three years here will be all fun and games? Then here’s a game: the person who gets the lowest score on these tests will get expelled.” 

For a moment, everybody stood still. Then they reacted. “Hold on!” Uraraka shouted. “That’s not fair-”

“Life isn’t fair. Anybody who tells you otherwise is selling something,” Aizawa shot back. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Villain attacks, natural disasters… Those aren’t fair either. When you’re a Hero, your job will be correcting that unfairness.”

Ikumi frowned at him. She was well aware that life wasn’t fair. “E-even so, it’s our first day…”

“Were you expecting U.A to be easy? We’re going to put you through the wringer.” Aizawa smiled, or more accurately bared his teeth. “That’s Plus Ultra for you - do whatever you have to do to overcome it.” 

Ikumi swallowed anxiously. 

—

Katsuki shoved Midori in the side as they got ready for the fifty metre dash. While he disliked the Hobo Teacher, that challenge he’d issued had lit a fire in him. Katsuki wanted to get the first to end all firsts and rub it in the guy’s face. “Get ready to lose, Midori,” he growled. 

Midori gave him a curt nod, trying to brace properly against the tiny footsteps. Katsuki paused as they got ready. An idea for how to ace this thing came to mind and he smirked. When they were given the go-ahead he activated his Quirk in both hands, flinging himself forwards with the force. 

“4.13 seconds,” the robot intoned. Midori came just behind. “5.01 seconds.” 

He raised an eyebrow. “Eat shit Midori! I beat you!”

“I-I could have beaten you back in Aldera if they-they let me,” she shot back. 

Katsuki snarled at that. Aldera had told Midori to ‘walk it,’ since she would have otherwise gotten it. Midori had tried to run properly one time and had gotten a verbal reprimand to ‘not use your Quirk’ in school. 

Hobo Teacher was right about being able to use your Quirk for school, at least. 

—

Mezo looked over at Ikumi as she got ready for the grip strength test. “How do you feel about using your Quirk like this?”

Ikumi paused, picking up the grip strength machine, conveniently upsized for her by Yaoyorozu. “Honestly? I-I’ve done some training at the gym, but it feels… I don’t know, different when you’re doing it for an official school event.”

He wrapped his hands around the grip strength machine, and squeezed it shut. “What kind of training?”

“Strength and endurance, and a bit of flexibility - I want to be able to fit in most buildings.” Ikumi looked at it consideringly, then placed the machine in her mouth, biting down hard. The metal beneath her jaw creaked under the force. 

In spite of himself, he blinked. Then he shrugged - animal heteromorphs tended to have stronger bites. His own strength test read 580 kilograms, over ten times what he had gotten in middle school. It made sense - he had been training each arm at the gym as well as using them together.

Sero looked at him admiringly. “Whoa, 580 kilos? Hot damn, are you a gorilla or an octopus?”

“Octopus… that’s pretty sexy,” Mineta mumbled. Mezo was a bit thrown by that - he hadn’t really heard anybody from his hometown call him that before. A lot of other things, but never ‘sexy.’ 

Yaoyorozu’s eyes widened as Ikumi pulled her grip strength tester out, pausing as she screwed a vice shut on her own. “N-nine hundred kilograms?!” 

The rest of the class stared at it, causing Ikumi to shrink back. Mezo had to agree with the general shock the class felt. Having a bite almost equal to a ton was scarily impressive. 

Ikumi blushed, taking it out of her mouth. “I-I knew I had a strong bite but I didn’t know it was that strong. I-I didn’t even use the other part of my Quirk for it.” 

Next to her, Bakugou seethed. “Don’t think that means you’re better than me!”

“I-I think it does, Kacchan. In this event at least.”

Mezo gave her a thumbs up. “That’s close to a shark’s bite, Ikumi. Nice work.”

Mina whistled. “Hot damn, girl!” She gripped her tester, concentrating. Pink sparks travelled up her arm as she squeezed before it settled. “Two hundred kilograms and change!” 

Ikumi looked over at the pink skinned girl with a curious look on her face. “I thought your Quirk was to do with acid, but super strength and electricity as well?” 

Mina looked up. “Uh-’

She looked over excitedly. Mezou recognised the look in her eye, having seen it when she was talking to him about his Quirk. “Well, my Quirk has two aspects to it - well, three if you count the mutative aspect. But this is really interesting! You make acid in your body to release from your hands and feet, right?”

The pink skinned girl looked a bit overwhelmed. “Yes?”

Ikumi tugged on her bottom lip, appraising Mina. “Quirks with dual aspects tend to be related in some way. Is your Quirk a stockpile one by nature? Where the acid in your body acts in a similar fashion to a battery and builds electrical impulses to stimulate and fuel additional strength?” 

Mina paused, eyes wide. “...Yes. That’s how it works.”

Mezo shook his head slightly. It sounded a bit complicated to him but, then again, Ikumi was a huge fan of Quirks. But two aspects? He would have to ask Ikumi later. 

—

Minoru wondered if he was in some special circle of hell as he got up for the standing long jump. Here he was, in a class whose girls were universally smoking hot, and he couldn’t appreciate it! Every time he thought about the girls the threat of expulsion loomed in his head and banished his happy thoughts.

Still, he could hopefully be excused for staring at the unmistakable Midoriya as she took a similar page from Aoyama’s book and propelled herself backwards with her fire, getting a ridiculously high score. If only he’d been as tall as her!

When she had walked into the class he had been stunned and more than a little envious of her height. He was used to being the absolute shortest person around but to see a girl almost three times as tall as you felt pretty humiliating. 

Then he had looked at her chest, made some calculations and realised that they were each roughly the size of his torso. After that incredible mental image he had formed his resolve.

He was going to die smothered beneath them or he was never going to die. Too bad that their insane teacher was probably going to expel him.

Minoru was under no illusions about his strength - he was the size of a toddler! It wasn’t that he hadn’t exercised in preparation for U.A, it just wasn’t his best area. He had a mean throw and could run fast but that wasn’t much in the face of guys with engines in their legs. 

Soon enough it was his turn for the jump. Fortunately he had a strategy. He pulled more and more balls from his head, stacking them into a pile. Then he braced against it, building as much force as he could. His balls flexed back, then shot him forwards with tremendous force, managing to get just over the white line. 

Yaoyorozu pulled out one of those athlete’s trampolines and did much the same thing, managing to go further than him. Minoru actually wanted to cry at that. 

At least he got the undisputed highest score in the side to side steps, even if he had almost puked afterwards.

—

Mina looked at the softball, grinning determinedly. Okay, just remember All Might’s advice! Clench your buttcheeks and yell…

One for All sparked up from her feet, travelling up her body and mixing with her acid. A huge amount built up just under her skin, only about as acidic as lemon juice. “ACID SMASH!” 

A jet of high pressure acid mixed with her throw sent it cannon balling through the air. Mina huffed as it flew. Aizawa watched with tired eyes before holding up his phone. “750.6 metres,” it read. 

Mina took a deep breath. All Might’s advice was working perfectly! It was pretty much the same control she used for her own acid - just with a lot more power to work with in dialing it around. 

Most of One for All seemed to have gone into her acid - she could make so much more now and at higher pressure. She was going to have to thank Ikumi so much for describing a perfect way to explain how her Quirk had changed!

Everybody cheered at that. “You beat Midori’s score!” Bakugou cackled, elbowing her in the side. The taller girl ignored it in favour of clapping.

Mina noticed that the boy with red and white hair - Todoroki - was glaring at Bakugou. She kind of wondered why he was doing that - maybe he didn’t like his attitude? Bakugou seemed to be an asshole but Ikumi wasn’t pushing him away or anything.

Then she got distracted when Uraraka blew everybody’s scores for the softball throw out of the water. Aizawa barely blinked as he held out a phone displaying ‘infinity,’ while everybody else lost their minds. 

Bakugou’s own efforts managed to eclipse hers, managing an impressive 750.7 metres. Mina rolled her eyes as he smirked at the pair of them, Ikumi just shaking her head. “He’s… pretty competitive.” 

Mina gave Bakugou a challenging grin. No way she was going to back down to him easily. 

—

Aizawa swept his gaze over his current class. They panted, some looking more confident than others. Mineta in particular looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown. “Alright, time for the results.” 

Despite his seemingly lazy appearance, he had been keeping an eye on them as they went, ready to erase an out of control Quirk. And he was suitably impressed. Some students had turned out to be obvious powerhouses - Midoriya, Ashido and Bakugou had gotten some of the highest scores in various events. Others had been a bit more unexpected - he had like Yaoyorozu’s approach, the girl having the right mindset for a Quirk with practically limitless application. 

Seeing the girl just pull a moped out of her body and drive around for the endurance and fifty metre fash had been amusing. As had the cannon.

“Now, your total score reflects your performance totalled over all the events. I won’t go into details, but I was watching how you applied your Quirk in each event. You’ll just get the final results now.”

A bit of a white lie - he had been watching for how they used it outside of events as well. Yaoyorozu had gotten extra points for helping Midoriya with fabricating equipment. Kaminari had charged a couple of his classmates’ phones. 

He tapped the hologram emitter, displaying the rankings. The Top Five had been contentious, but Yaoyorozu had taken the top spot, followed by Midoriya and Bakugou ,the larger of the pair staring in wonder while Bakugou gave a determined glare at the rest of the class. Todoroki gave everybody a neutral stare, while Ashido cheered at getting fifth place. 

Aizawa gave the class a natural stare. “By the way, I was lying about expelling somebody.”

Silence. Then-

“WHAT?!” 

Mineta, who had been at the bottom, looked up at Aizawa with tears and snot pouring down his face. “You-I-THANG-THANG YOU!!” he blubbered. 

The short boy ran forwards to hug him. Aizawa easily sidestepped the boy and let him faceplant. “That was just a rational deception to bring out your best.” 

He smirked at them. 

Yaoyorozu sighed. “Well, of course it was a lie. The top Hero school wouldn’t expel students on the first day, after all.”

Aizawa paused. 

…She was technically right. The expulsion did go on their records but unless they were serious slackers or displayed truly abhorrent behaviour they got back in the next day. Mineta was a borderline case, but he had gotten his head in the game after that threat. Still, he would have to make sure that any perverted antics were swiftly dealt with.

Midoriya shook her head. “That’s-that’s a bit of a cruel trick, Aizawa-sensei.”

Aizawa turned around. “Get changed and meet back at the classroom,” he called over his shoulder. “The guidance sessions will start shortly so don’t waste time.” 

As he left, he sighed. “Couldn’t be more obvious, could you?”

—

All Might frowned at the younger man. “I didn’t think you were the type to lie, Eraserhead. You expelled your entire class last year!” 

Eraserhead sighed. “Yes. I gave them the same threat and even then they treated it like a game.” He grinned. “So I let them stay in the General Course for a bit before re-enrolment. They took it a lot more seriously after that.”

All Might could see the logic in that but it still chafed. He preferred using gentle encouragement to methods like Eraserhead’s. The other teacher gave him a tired stare. “So, why are you here? Because I’m sure you could be using that muscle form in a more productive way.”

“No. I just wanted to keep an eye on Ashido, Bakugou and Midoriya - I think they have serious potential.” He looked at the man closely, having noticed his eyes widening very slightly. “And so do you.”

Eraserhead paused. “...Midoriya surpassed my expectations of oversized students. She applied her Quirk well and she’s clearly put in some training. And Ashido uses your irrational ‘Smash,’ callsign.” 

All Might shrugged. He was just happy to see that his advice on controlling his Quirk was working so well for Ashido. Maybe he was better at this teaching thing than he’d initially thought?

Still, he had a lesson to plan for their Heroics class. 

—

The girls’ change room was abuzz. Ikumi gave Yaoyorozu a wide smile as she awkwardly fumbled with her tie. “That was - you were incredible out there, Yaoyorozu! Your Quirk is amazing!”

Jirou grinned. “Gotta admit, seeing you pull a cannon out of your stomach was metal as hell.”

Yaoyorozu blushed. “It-It was nothing, really…”

Ikumi glanced over at Ochako, the brown haired girl taking a deep breath. “And you threw that ball so far it went into orbit!” 

“W-well, I-I just removed its gravity and then… threw it hard?” Uraraka squeaked.

“I have to admit, Midoriya, your performance was incredible as well, kero,” Asui said. 

Ikumi spluttered a bit. “I-I, what?” She wasn’t really used to hearing things like that being said about her. Kacchan tended to be more confrontational, seeing it as more of a rivalry than anything else. 

It was… pretty nice? 

Hagakure bounced over. “Yeah! You were like, ‘FWOOSH’ and ‘CRUNCH’! And you just acted really cool!” 

Jirou grinned. “Girl power for the Top Two in the assessment test.”

Ikumi and Yaoyorozu flushed simultaneously as the others cheered. “GIRL POWER!”

—

Katsuki was just pulling on his shirt when he heard Shitty Hair come up behind him. “Gotta say, that was manly as hell out there!” He shook his head. “I mean, overcoming an obstacle like that expulsion threat… U.A is awesome!” 

Nerd-Jock chopped the air aggressively. “I must disagree about the expulsion threat being ‘manly!’ Our own teacher threatened to expel us only to reveal it was a ruse? How can we trust him in the future?”

He snorted. Hobo Sensei had meant it when he said that he’d expel a student. Bastard had changed his mind for some reason. 

Grape Bitch sighed. “I’m glad he didn’t! I-I was terrified that I’d miss out on seeing the smoking hot babes here!” 

Bird Head shook his head. “Truly your heart is mired in darkness.” 

Katsuki glared at the Grape hard. “Fuck off with that shit, Grape Bitch.”

Nerd-Jock glared at him. “Bakugou! That language is unbefitting somebody in the Hero course-”

He flipped the Nerd-Jock off. “It’s like the Hobo teacher said - we’re not here to have fun, we’re here to learn how to be Heroes! We don’t have time for meaningless shit!” 

Nerd Jock looked affronted, while Shitty Hair shrugged. “Well, it’s kinda crude but I see what you’re going for, Bakugou! We all gotta do our best!”

Grape Bitch looked affronted. “Well, I guess you’re the kind of guy who isn’t interested in girls, considering you’re not interested in the beauties on the other side of this wall.” But he wisely didn’t say anything else.

Katsuki threw on his blazer, then paused. He glared at the other bastard who had been staring at him when he thought he wasn’t looking. “You got a problem, Half and Half?!” 

The bastard simply glared at him, then turned and left. Katsuki snorted. 

—

The rest of the day passed without any more insanity, seeming almost mundane compared to the insanity earlier in the morning. Ikumi glanced down to Yaoyorozu as she left. “Goodbye, Yaoyorozu. Have a nice evening!”

Yaoyorozu gave her a wide smile. “Thank you Midoriya. Hopefully tomorrow will be more conventional.”

Katsuki stomped off. “Like anything’s gonna be normal with Hobo Sensei.” He turned around. “Hurry up Midori! I actually want to make the train!” 

Ikumi shook her head. “Coming, Kacchan.” 

Mezou came over, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “Mind if I walk with you guys to the train station?”

“Ah, no, sure!” Ikumi beamed at the multi-armed boy. “Don’t mind Kacchan, he’s a bit prickly.” 

Kacchan was waiting for them at the main door. “Took you long enough, Midori.” He gave Mezou a look, then shrugged. “You did pretty well today, Octopus.”

Ikumi was happy that Mezou apparently didn’t take offence. “You and Ikumi were pretty dangerous out there as well.” 

“W-well, we both tried to train ourselves as much as possible, and Kacchan’s parents let us do some practice in his backyard…” Ikumi trailed off. 

Mezou nodded, letting his arm change into a mouth. “But it’s different from being able to use your Quirk so freely.” 

Kacchan grunted. “Hobo Sensei was right. Speaking of…” he looked up at Midori intently. “You have any idea who he is?” 

Ikumi paused. “W-well, it’s just a theory but… I think he might be Eraserhead?” 

Mezou paused. “I think I heard that name before. He’s an underground Hero, right? Who can stop people’s Quirks from working.”

She nodded, Kacchan giving a considering look. “W-well, he wasn’t a Hero I recognised immediately, and he would have to be good at being a Hero if-if U.A wanted to hire him, so I thought he had to be an underground Hero. I-I looked through some old posts and… I came across a description of Eraserhead that matched Aizawa?” 

Kacchan barked out a laugh. “Good shit, Midori. You actually put your nerd brain to good use.”

As they walked home, Ikumi couldn’t help but feel confident. Meeting up with friends and making some new ones… it was almost more than she could have hoped for!

Chapter Text

Inko looked up at Ikumi as she dished up another serving of rice. “How was your first day, Ikumi?” 

Ikumi smiled. “It was pretty crazy, if I’m being honest.” 

“Oh?”

Ikumi carefully dished up a mound of vegetables. “Well, we had to do this Quirk assessment test as the first thing all day. Our teacher, uh, Aizawa, said that we could use our Quirks to do it-”

“Way more interesting than what we did in school,” Hisashi commented. He grinned up at her. “So, how’d you do in this test?” 

She managed a bright grin. “Oh, I got second in the class!” 

Hisashi and Inko both smiled at that, her husband grinning inappropriately. “Did you beat Katsuki then?” When Ikumi nodded he cackled. “It’s good for him to lose sometimes.”

Then her face fell slightly. “But then, um… Aizawa-sensei said that whoever got last place was going to get expelled-” 

Inko nearly dropped her chopsticks. “W-what?” 

“D-don’t worry! Nobody got expelled! H-he said it was a logical ruse to make us do our best!” 

Inko shook her head. “Our teachers certainly didn’t do anything like that when we were in high school,” she murmured. Still, she would have to hope that he knew what he was doing.

Hisashi shook his head. “U.A really is crazy if they send you a hologram emitter and then threaten to kick you out on the first day,” he muttered. Then he smiled. “Sounds like U.A’s more interesting than Aldera at least.”

Inko gave him a light nudge. “Honestly,” she sighed. Then she gave Ikumi a proud smile. “Well, you’re going to have to keep going. So after this Quirk assessment, what did you do next?” 

Ikumi thought back on it. “Well…”

—

After the near expulsion threat that was the Quirk assessment, 1-A had gone into their next class with a feeling of foreboding and trepidation. Present Mic had grinned at them cheerfully as they came through the door. “Welcome, Little Listeners! Come on in, sit down and we’re gonna go into the exciting world of… ENGLISH!” 

Kaminari raised his hand. “Um… Are you going to expel any of us if we don’t get it right?” 

Present Mic slapped a hand to his face. “Damn it Shouta! You just had to ruin my opening with your ‘logical ruse’!” He gave Kaminari and the class a gentle smile. “Nah, no logical ruses here, except for homophones.” 

As one the class breathed a sigh of relief. Present Mic grinned as they sat down. “Now then, I’m sure you’re wondering why you’re learning English at a Hero course! That’s for a couple of reasons!” 

Present Mic pulled out a piece of chalk and started scribbling on the board behind him. “Now, the first reason is that as Heroes, you might be the first person a tourist on the street comes to if they have a problem! As Heroes, you might have to get intel about a crime that happened to them or just give them directions to a landmark or hotel!” 

“They should just have a map on their phones or something,” Kacchan grumbled. Ikumi shushed him. 

“The second reason?” Present Mic grinned. “Being able to speak a second language is AWESOME! Plus it means that you can look like a cool dude or dudette in front of other people! So we’re gonna learn how to flex on people with English! Who’s up for it?!” 

The class cheered, even Bakugou lightening up a bit. He gave them all a proud smile. “Great!!! Now, today’s just a light lesson so we’re going to go over the basics of English and get an idea of where everybody is in the class!” 

Ikumi had to admit that it was a lot more interesting than Aldera’s English lessons. Present Mic was enthusiastic and energetic, always giving the class encouragement and urging them to practise their English. Plus, it was Present Mic teaching!

—

Hisashi had to admit that Ikumi’s day sounded pretty amazing when put like that as she talked about her teachers more energetically than she ever had before. “So all of your classes are taught by Heroes?” 

Ikumi nodded, beaming. “Y-yeah! Present Mic - Yamada-sensei - teaches English and-and Ectoplasm - well, Ikuta-sensei - teaches mathematics!” She looked down a bit awkwardly. “It, well, still feels a bit weird calling them by their civilian names if I’m being honest.”

“I kind of wish I’d been taught by Heroes when I was in school,” Hisashi grinned. “So were they all in costume or were they in suits?” 

“Oh, in costume.” Ikumi grinned. “It was - it was just so cool, seeing them up close!”

A thought struck him. He leaned over to grab a piece of pork. “Say, Midnight is apparently a teacher there. Did you see her?” 

“Uh, no, not today. I think she teaches modern Art History? I think we have her tomorrow.”

“Great!” Hisashi looked at Ikumi with a conspiratorial air. “Say, do you think she teaches in costume as well?”

Inko gave him a look which he pretended to ignore as Ikumi spluttered. A bright red flush crept through her fur. “W-what?” 

Hisashi’s grin grew wider. “Just saying, the boys in your class would have a real hard time focusing on her lesson plan if she taught them wearing her gear-”

Ikumi gave a pained groan, slumping down. “DAD!” 

He held his hands up, laughing. “Okay, okay, no more embarrassing remarks. Even though it’s part of my job as your father to embarrass you.” 

Ikumi sighed. “W-well, it is her Hero costume, a-and it’s visually striking… But there’s a reason she’s referred to as the R-Rated Heroine, Dad. It might be a bit inappropriate for her to show up in costume.”

“I know, I know.” Hisashi paused, giving his daughter a smile. “Still, this is great! You made it in and tomorrow you’re going to have a Heroics class!” 

Ikumi’s eyes went wide. “Oh - oh my God, I forgot that was tomorrow!” She anxiously pulled on her bottom lip. “That’s - I really hope that they got my costume-”

Inko put a calming hand on her upper arm. “Don’t worry so much, Ikumi. They definitely have it - we submitted it specially.” 

“Make sure you go to sleep, Ikumi,” Hisashi joked. “You’ve got a big day ahead of you.”

“I know, I know. It’s…” Ikumi waved her hands around. “It just feels like a dream, you know?” 

As they started moving everything to the dishwasher, Hisashi paused as he looked up at Ikumi. “I’m really proud of you for getting in, you know?” 

“I know.”

“You’re officially my favourite daughter.”

Ikumi shook her head, a grin forming on her face. “More like your only daughter.”

Hisashi huffed, a tiny tongue of flame passing his lips. “That just makes it doubly true then.” He gave her a light shove. “Knock ‘em dead in Hero training tomorrow, Ikumi.”

—

Katsuki grinned up at Midori as they got off the train. “We’re finally doing Hero shit at U.A, Midori!”

Midori sighed. “It’s not like we weren’t doing anything like that yesterday, Kacchan,” she mumbled, carefully stepping around some other pedestrians. 

He shoulder checked his way through. “We did one thing that could be Hero stuff yesterday and that was being threatened by Hobo Sensei in a gym test.”

“Kacchan!” She gasped. “You-you can’t call him a hobo!”

“What?” Katsuki shoulder checked somebody who tried to get in his way. “Guy showed up to teach and be a Hero in his goddamn pyjamas. It’s sloppy!” 

The hag certainly had a long list of expletives regarding people who showed up to a fashion show in similar attire. Even his dad had only told her not to swear in front of Katsuki. Like he hadn’t heard all those words already.

Midori opened her mouth, then closed it. “...W-well… I think he may have slept in his clothes,” she mumbled. 

Katsuki barked with laughter as they came up to the door. Shoving the door open, he was rewarded with Nerd Jock’s disapproving glare. “Hurry, to your seats!” 

“You ever gonna take that stick out your ass, Glasses?” Katsuki flopped into his chair. Glasses followed him, hands chopping the air robotically. 

“I simply seek to act in a manner befitting this great institution-”

Katsuki tuned out Glasses’ attitude as he got his desk ready for the day. Eventually he got the point and went back to his seat, huffing disapprovingly. Then a certain jerk walked down the aisle.

Half-and-Half briefly stopped in front of Katsuki, his face showing absolutely no emotion. Then the bastard went to his chair, ignoring everybody else.

Midori looked at the guy, then at him. “W-what did you do to him?” She whispered. 

Katsuki shrugged as Hobo-sensei walked in. “Haven’t done shit to him. Guy’s just an asshole.” He scowled. “Fuck him.”

As Hobo-Sensei started doing role, Katsuki kept his eyes firmly locked on the front of the room. Whatever the Hero class was going to be about, he was ready to kill it.

—

Minoru couldn’t help but grin when he saw Midnight come into their class in full Hero attire. Yep, this is officially the best school on the planet. 

Next to him, Midoriya looked a bit shocked. “M-Midnight’s our teacher?! In full Hero costume?” 

Midnight grinned. “We’re all technically on duty as Heroes, so we can wear our costumes as necessary. Besides, it’s surprisingly comfortable.”

She gasped then started frantically babbling. “I-I-I wasn’t, um, d-disapproving or anything! i-I mean I-I don’t think I could pull off a look like that and-”

Minoru shook his head frantically. Miss out on this? No way!

“It’s alright, Midoriya. No harm done.” Midnight looked out at the rest of the class, grinning. “It kind of leads into this class - Modern Art History!” 

Her face grew more serious as she came over to the blackboard. “Now, I’m sure you’re all wondering what relevance Art History has for the Hero course.”

Bakugou slouched in his chair. “Yep.” 

Midnight shook her head slightly. “That’s because of the largest modern phenomena in the past century - Heroes!” A hologram projector turned on, and she flicked through scenes. ‘As the cultural phenomenon of Heroes swept the world, so Heroes have influenced the art scene as well.”

“From the very first vigilantes that came from the chaos of Quirks emerging,” a photograph of a group of men wearing leather and masks fighting a man holding a torn out safe, “to the establishment of the current Hero system according to the New York Regulations,” it switched to a photo of a smiling Hero with an America themed cape shaking hands with a politician. 

Her face grew more solemn. “And the tragedies that came from certain groups.” The projector briefly showed a painting Minoru recognised - a depiction of the Jeda Purge, the stylised black robes of the CRC standing starkly amongst the forest background. It was almost idyllic, until you saw the figures hanging from the trees and the blood on the ground.

Minoru shuddered. Next to him, Midoriya took a deep breath, then her face set in a more determined look. Everybody in class seemed to be shaken at seeing a reminder of such an event - even Todoroki seemed a bit on edge. 

Midnight turned the projector off, a stoic look on her face. “Art isn’t always pleasant. The men and women we will be learning about through their works came from very different times - current standards weren’t always the norm, regrettably.”

For the first time in a while Minoru wasn’t trying to look at Midnight’s chest. Midnight grinned at them. “Plus, we’ll be going over a bit of Hero costume design. Bertholt Brecht once said ‘art is not a mirror to reflect reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.’ A Hero’s costume is a piece of art by itself - and you may decide to change your costume to something more accurate to the Hero you want to be.”

As the class started properly and they went through the material, Minoru grinned. His costume already declared what kind of Hero he wanted to be in the future. A super cool one who women would actually like.

When the bell rang for lunch, Minoru felt disappointed to be leaving the lesson. And not just because he wasn’t able to see Midnight’s costume any more. 

—

Mina carefully held out her lunch card to Lunch Rush, grinning. “The big curry rice please!” 

Lunch Rush gave a thumbs up. “Sure thing! Any accompaniments?” 

“Natto. Lots and lots of natto!” Mina grinned as the big bowl was carefully deposited on her tray, followed by a heaping serve of natto. Stomach rumbling, she sat down. All Might had warned her that One for All’s stockpiling nature meant that it needed a lot of fuel to keep running. 

She was about to dig in when she saw Midoriya, the timid girl stacking plate after plate on a tray sized for her. Beaming, she waved her over. “Hey, Midoriya! You want to sit over here?” 

Midoriya blinked, then when she was sure she had the right amount of food came over, careful not to bump into people on the way. “Hey Ashido-” Her nose wrinkled. “...That’s a lot of natto.”

“I really like natto!” Mina started stirring rapidly, then once she was sure she had done it enough, dumped it on top of the curry. Midoriya gagged slightly and Mina winced. “Oh! Sorry, I forgot you had a really good sense of smell!”

She shook her head rapidly. “It’s-it’s fine, Ashido!” A low grumble came from her side of the table. Flushing through her fur, Midoriya broke her chopsticks apart and quickly gave thanks. Taking a bite her eyes widened. “So good…”

Mina laughed, giving thanks and finished mixing her natto in with her curry. “I mean, we had lunch yesterday and it was just as good then!” Quickly she ate the curry, grinning widely as the taste hit her. Lunch Rush was too damn good at his job. 

“There you are,” Bakugou stomped up, his own obnoxiously spicy dish in hand. Mina could swear there was a visible heat haze coming off the thing. He glared up at Midoriya as he sat down. “Don’t fucking run off without me, Midori!” 

Midoriya shrugged, cheeks bulging with food. Swallowing, she sighed. “It’s-it’s not like I can’t sit with f-friends every once in a while, Kacchan.”

“Hmph.” Bakugou took a bite, chewed and swallowed. His angry face mellowed out, before he ground out, “...That’s good.” 

Mina grinned. Not even Bakugou could stay grumpy in the face of Lunch Rush’s food. She swallowed another bite of natto-curry and he stared at her. “...Fucking hell, you an alien or something Pinky?” 

She sighed at that. “What’s wrong with natto?”

“It’s disgusting is what it is.” Bakugou swallowed another mouthful of potentially nuclear curry. 

“Um… Is this seat taken?” 

Mina grinned upon hearing the familiar voice. “Nah, it’s available-” She looked over to Yaoyorozu and her jaw dropped. 

Yaoyorozu stood there slightly sheepishly, her tray piled high with food. “Thank you.” She bowed graciously, taking a seat and putting it down. 

Bakugou stared at it. “Damn, Ponytail. Do you have enough food there?” Mina shot him a small glare which he summarily ignored. 

Yaoyorozu gave him a polite  smile. “Well, Creation is a calorie and lipid intensive Quirk, so I’m eating as much as I can to fuel it for this afternoon.” 

Mina nodded in acknowledgement. “Same. I need a fair amount of fuel for Acid to make enough.”

Midoriya looked up, eyes sparkling. “So that’s how your Creation Quirk is fuelled! I guessed that it had to be something internal since you made things come from your body rather than them appearing next to you. So you said it came from lipids and calories, yes? Is your Quirk a stockpile that focuses on existing fat cells or is it all in the Plus Alpha? Or is it not a stockpile Quirk, but a metabolic facet that breaks down lipids in the process to fuel your body’s stamina similar to Lampert’s proposal?”

Mina paused, chopsticks to her mouth. Yaoyorozu was in a similar position. “Uh-”

She blinked, then covered her mouth. “S-sorry! I-I know that it’s awkward. S-sometimes I get a bit excited about Quirks, and yours is a really interesting one-”

Yaoyorozu shook her head. “No, it’s fine! Regarding your question, my Quirk stockpiles excess energy in my fat cells, rather than the Plus Alpha. Though in a way it is similar to Lampert’s analysis of various Quirks.”

Mina shook her head, confused. “Wait, who’s Lampert-”

Bakugou reached over and roughly patted Mina on the shoulder. “Some old Quirk nerd. Don’t get them started or we’ll be here all day.” 

Midoriya blushed. “I’m not that bad… But Kacchan’s probably right. We’re going to be busy this afternoon, so we should probably get started.”

“Hear, hear.” Mina picked up her chopsticks and twisted the natto in her bowl again. “Let’s get to it!”

—

On a different table, Denki was well aware that he was staring at Yaoyorozu as she ate lunch. At least he wasn’t alone. Next to him, Jirou was looking at her as well. 

“Where is it all going…” he muttered as the dark haired girl daintily finished the bowl of pork belly and rice, reaching for a bowl of noodles. Yaoyorozu ate quickly yet politely, and about half the food was gone already. Was there a black hole in her stomach or something?

Midoriya eating a lot of food he could understand - she was the tallest person in class and had a fire Quirk, and those guys usually needed more food. And Mina, well, she had super strength and acid, that probably needed a lot of food to use. He hadn’t expected the nice, polite Yaoyorozu to eat enough for three people.

“I can’t look away,” Jirou muttered, distractedly eating her own meal. She’d tried to harangue him for staring only to join him when Yaoyorozu kept eating. 

“We should, though. It’s rude to stare.” Despite his words, his eyes didn’t budge. 

Mineta shook his head. “Really? She’s not even eating in an erotic way.” 

“That’s gross, Mineta,” Tsuyu bluntly stated. As Mineta turned and glared at Tsuyu, Denki managed to tear his eyes away. 

“Still, is anybody else nervous for this afternoon?” he tried to deflect. “I mean, it’s going to be our first Hero class.” 

“Course I’m nervous!” Mineta shouted. “I mean, what if it’s Aizawa-sensei and he decides to actually expel one of us?!” 

Jirou rolled her eyes, having managed to tear her stare away from Yaoyorozu. “Yeah, the ‘logical ruse’. Kind of agree with Iida about him shaking our faith in him.”

Denki shook his head. “It’s not like we’re going to get a teacher that’s worse than Aizawa, right?”

“That’s hard to imagine,” Tsuyu flatly said. 

—

Ikumi fidgetted slightly in her chair, nervous energy pouring off her. The rest of the class wasn’t much better, the anticipation building. This was what they had come here for - the opportunity to learn how to be Heroes and save others. 

She wondered who the teacher was going to be - maybe it was going to be Snipe - she knew that he was a Hero here, but wasn’t sure what subject he taught. All Might was a possibility, but it would have made more sense for him to teach the third years rather than them. 

“I AM…”

Ikumi’s eyes went wide. No way…

“COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!” All Might, THE All Might shouted, walking into the classroom in a way that was anything but normal. 

Immediately everybody in the class cheered, Ikumi cheering with them. “All Might’s really here, teaching us!!” Kaminari almost screamed. 

Ikumi gasped slightly. “That’s his Silver Age Costume! Worn back when Sir Nighteye was his sidekick!” 

All Might stood in front of the lectern, his signature smile lighting up the room. “Now then, kids! I’m going to be teaching Hero Basics! This class will put you through all kinds of training to help mould you into the best Heroes you can be!” He turned around, flashing a card that read… “BATTLE TRAINING! No time like the present, so let’s not dawdle!” 

Kacchan grinned like a Jack o’lantern. “Battle training…” he growled.

Ikumi wasn’t the biggest fan of fighting but if it was called for… “Yay?” 

All Might clicked a tiny remote. “And for Hero Training… you’ll need these!” Slots on the walls hissed open, a set of twenty briefcases popping out. “According to your Quirk registry and the special requests you made beforehand… U.A presents your costumes!” 

If the atmosphere before was electric, then Ikumi didn’t have a proper term for the excitement coursing through the room. “Costumes…” she breathed. 

“Once you've changed, then come in ranking order to Training Ground Beta!” All Might’s smile seemed to widen as they cheered. 

Ikumi picked her costume up with a trembling hand. This was the next step on the way to becoming a Hero. 

—

Ochako looked at her costume with a raised eyebrow. Most of it was a skin-tight bodysuit, with light pink boots and bracers. “Not what I meant when I said ‘space themed,’ but it’s fine! At least all the additions I asked for are there.” 

Hagakure pulled on her own costume, a light grey leotard with similarly coloured boots and gloves. With the press of a switch on her wrist, the entire ensemble turned invisible. “Yes! I thought I was going to have to run around naked!” 

Jirou turned from looking at her black leather jacket and blinked. “Whoa, Midoriya. Nice one!”

Looking at Ikumi, Ochako had to agree. Ikumi had gone with something more formal than they’d expected. 

She wore a dark purple three piece suit, the legs baggy to give her plenty of room to move. The sleeves of her black shirt were short, exposing her furry arms. A red bow tie was fastened neatly in place, complimenting the red boots she wore over any other shoes. She looked more like a businesswoman than a Hero, but it admittedly complimented her figure well.

Once aware that everybody was staring at her, Ikumi squirmed a bit. “W-well, I-I asked some friends of m-my parents to make it… A-and I wanted a costume to p-pay homage to one of my favourite H-Heroes-”

Ochako gave her a thumbs up. “It looks really good on you! I should have really been more specific with mine - I wanted it to be a homage to Thirteen!” 

Ikumi hummed. “B-but Thirteen’s costume is m-more to contain the side effects of her Q-Quirk. It wouldn’t have really been practical from a combat standpoint? J-just since H-Heroes usually do a lot of fighting.”

Tsuyu nodded. “She’s right, kero. Thirteen’s costume is pretty bulky.” 

“I guess…” Ochako finished pulling her costume on. “Would have been nice if it wasn’t so… skintight-”

“I understand.” Yaoyorozu nodded, and Ochako’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head when she saw the depth of neckline she had. “I asked for a costume that had more skin exposed-”

“More skin?!” Ashido yelled, her costume a camouflage pattern in teal and purple. “It’s practically a swimsuit!” 

Yaoyorozu flushed. “W-well, I saw some images of female Heroes and their costumes - especially Midnight when she was a student-”

Ikumi’s eyes went wide. “Yaoyorozu, she was nearly n-naked! A-and that costume forced the laws regarding costumes to change!” Flushing bright red, she gestured. “W-why not a bodysuit like hers?” 

“I didn’t want to waste time tearing it in the middle of a fight.” Yaoyorozu blinked. Does it look bad?” 

“Well, it looks nice-” Jirou suddenly shook her head, blushing. “M-maybe we should get to Training Ground Beta! B-before it’s too late,” she coughed out.

As they filed out, Ochako grinned up at Ikumi. “Well, this is it, isn’t it?”

Ikumi strode forwards, a more confident expression on her face. “Yeah. This is it.”

Chapter Text

Katsuki glanced up at Midori as they left for the training ground, stepping out into the sun. His own costume was black and dark green, orange accents on his tank top and mask adding to the look. “The hag did alright with the suit,” he grunted. 

Midori nodded, eyes sparkling. “Yeah, it’s - I know she said she could make a suit that I could fight in, but this is-” she rolled her shoulders, the fabric not bunching or catching. 

Katsuki grunted. “Yeah, she’s pretty good at designing clothes. And she has your measurements.” 

Ever since Midori’s growth spurt, the hag had kept dragging her off to model clothes. In exchange for a fair chunk of extra pocket money, she’d been put into a wide variety of outfits the hag was working on, helping Midori get proper measurements for her clothing and also getting a leg up on the competition. She had also seen it as a way to try and get Midori to wear something that wasn’t Hero merch or those T-shirts that said ‘shirt,’ to limited success.

Though some of their classmates had frankly shit taste when it came to costumes. He glared at two of the biggest offenders - Thick Lips and Grape Bitch. Thick Lips’ costume was boring as hell and a frankly hideous mustard yellow, and the Grape wore what looked like a diaper. If his parents saw them, then the pair of them would be stuck in their studio for a week while they got a fashion overhaul.

But their classmates’ terrible taste couldn’t take away that they were going to have actual Hero Training today. Katsuki’s lips peeled back in a savage grin. 

—

All Might took a deep breath as the students came through. He only had a small amount of experience teaching young Ashido, but she had managed to master One for All pretty easily, hadn’t she? And he had spent all of last night and his free time furiously flipping through Teaching for Complete Idiots to help prepare his lesson. 

As the students lined up in front of him he couldn’t help but feel confident about the future ahead. In only a couple of years they would be Heroes in their own right - and a couple like Ashido and Midoriya had already been a Hero in one way or another. He shook himself slightly. Time to start them off with a basic exercise. 

A young man in body armour - an Ingenium, it was good to see the family tradition had continued - raised a hand. “All Might sensei! This appears to be the same field that we used for the entrance exam! Will we be performing cityscape manoeuvres?” 

All Might shook his head. “Nope! Today’s focus will be indoor fights!” His smile shifted slightly to a more serious one. “Now, the flashiest battles happen outdoors, but statistically the worst Villains are found indoors. After all, things like black market deals don’t happen out in the open!” 

The class seemed to pick up on his words and he smiled. “So today, you’ll be split into teams of two and face off against each other!”

For a second, everybody was quiet. Then, a flurry of questions came from various students.

“Are we not having any basic training beforehand, kero?” 

Bakugou’s face split into a feral grin. “Can I just blast everybody away?” 

Yaoyorozu raised her hand. “What determines victory in this exercise?” 

Uraraka gave him an anxious look, her question obviously on the minds of a couple of other students. “Are… Are you going to threaten to expel the lowest performer like Aizawa-sensei did?” 

Iida’s hand blurred through the air. “How are we going to divide ourselves into teams, All Might sensei?” 

“Isn’t my cape fabulous?” 

All Might winced. It was almost worse than dealing with the press. “Slow down a bit, kids! I haven’t even gone over the scenario!”  

As they calmed down, he took a deep breath, pulling out his cheat sheet and rapidly scanning it once more. “Now, the scenario is a simple one: the Villains have holed up with a nuclear bomb, and the Heroes have to stop them! You have a limited time to either capture both Villains or secure the bomb. Villains must either incapacitate the Heroes or wait until the bomb goes off in fifteen minutes!” 

He took a deep breath. “Regarding the questions that I didn’t answer by describing the scenario, I am not going to make the same threat that Eraserhead did. Using your Quirks is obviously permitted, but try not to send your classmates to Recovery Girl. And teams will be determined by drawing lots!” 

Young Iida gasped. “Drawing lots?! Isn’t that a bit haphazard?”

Midoriya got a look of sudden understanding. “It makes sense - during emergencies Heroes often have to team up with Heroes from other agencies on the spot. Or a Villain attack happens when you have a new Hero at your agency…”

Iida nodded rapidly. “I see! My greatest apologies, All Might-sensei!” 

“No harm done, young man! Let’s get to it!” 

Soon enough, everybody had their teams. 

A: Midoriya Ikumi and Shoji Mezo

B: Kaminari Denki and Uraraka Ochako

C: Mineta Minoru and Yaoyorozu Momo

D: Bakugou Katsuki and Todoroki Shouto

E: Ashido Mina and Iida Tenya

F: Aoyama Yuga and Koda Koji

G: Asui Tsuyu and Satou Rikido

H: Jirou Kyoka and Tokoyami Fumikage

I: Tohru Hagakure and Kirishima Eijirou

J: Hanta Sero and Ojiro Mashirao

All Might swept a careful eye over them, then plunged his hands into each box. The class leaned in slightly, eager to get started. “Now then, the first matchup is…” 

He pulled out the balls dramatically. “Team A as the Villains, and Team C as the Heroes! The Villain team goes in first and gets five minutes of prep time!” His gaze swept over Midoriya and Shoji, who seemed a bit downcast at being cast as a Villain. Still, it was valuable experience in dealing with a more defensive fight.

“Shoji, Midoriya. For this exercise you need to adopt a Villainous mindset! Go all out, don’t hold back! Though if you go too far I will have to stop you.”

“Um…O-okay, All Might sensei!” she squeaked. 

“Let’s get ready, Ikumi.” Shoji looked up at the taller girl, and then they went off. 

“If you lose this, Midori, I’m gonna kick your ass,” Bakugou growled. 

Kirishima looked over at Bakugou with a slightly weirded out look on his face. “Uh…”

Midoriya managed a faint smile, before looking at the door. All Might looked over and winced when he saw it. For a person who was in the Japanese average it was right sized. 

For somebody like him or Midoriya, it was an obstacle that would have to be ducked under. And the ceiling was definitely too low for a person of Midoriya’s height. He looked over at the tall girl. “...Do you want to change buildings, or-”

“No, no! This is… fine.”

All Might raised an eyebrow but her face was set in a determined expression. “Very well! Now Villains, make your preparations! The Heroes will be attacking after five minutes!” 

—

After awkwardly ducking through the door into the building, Ikumi sighed, ears flattened against the ceiling. After only a couple of days at U.A, she’d grown used to a school where she could stand up properly indoors. About the only small mercy was that the room with the bomb was just barely big enough for her to stand upright. “I-I know it’s just an exercise and it was random, but… I just feel awkward being cast as a Villain.” 

Shoji paused, considering. “...It’s similar for me. But at the end of the day, it’s just one exercise.”

Ikumi managed a nod. Just like old playground games, except less hurtful since it was randomly determined. “W-well, let’s be the best Villains we can!” 

“Do you have any insights in fighting our opponents? Or any particular observations about their Quirks?”

She tapped her chin. “Well, Yaoyorozu’s the biggest threat… Her Quirk’s so versatile, and combining it with that reference book on her belt means she’s even more dangerous! She potentially has the answer to anything we can do.”

Shoji nodded. “She’s a recommended student as well. From what I’ve heard that exam is even tougher than what we went through.”

Ikumi nodded, tugging her lip. “Still, it takes her some time to create what she needs, and she has to think about its composition. Plus she’s limited by surface area and lipids in her body and I haven’t seen her create more than one object at a time. Can she affect the temperature of what she creates, or the speed with which it leaves her body? She made a cannon so she has to know how every part works, but does she make the parts individually or -”

She cut herself off when she saw Shoji’s stare. “O-oh! S-sorry, I-I just like analysing Quirks and-and Yaoyorozu’s Quirk is really cool, and I-I didn’t mean to get distracted-”

He shook his head. “No, that was pretty informative. What about Mineta’s Quirk?”

“Oh, that one’s not as interesting, but it’s still cool! Those balls on his head stick to things that aren’t him, and he can bounce off them - though I’d say that when they’re on his head they aren’t sticky, otherwise he’d have to peel his pillow off his head every time he slept.” Tugging on her lip, she thought about how she would use those Quirks together. “I-I think I have a plan for how to deal with them. Are you okay with going patrolling in the building?”

He gave a thumbs up. “I’ll keep several eyes and ears out for our opponents. Given how much you’ve figured out from their Quirks after seeing them a couple of times, it seems like you’ve got a good plan.” 

Ikumi nodded. Well, if they were supposed to act as Villains… “I do, uh… Mwa-hahaha!” It felt right for some odd reason. “Okay, here’s the plan…”

—

In the basement below, Katsuki watched the screens intensely. In front, All Might grinned. “Seems like they’re getting into it!” 

“Yeah, this is gonna be tough!” Pinky cheered. Katsuki weighed it up and had to agree. 

Much as he knew Midori would kick ass, he had to admit that Ponytail was something else. Girl was smart and pretty fit even without her Quirk. He knew Midori was going to win but Ponytail was gonna make Midori fight for it. 

Though he had to admit, being paired up with the Grape was a major handicap. The little jerk looked like he was trying to be serious, but Katsuki could catch him sneaking glimpses at Ponytail’s chest. 

All Might leaned into the microphone. “HERO TEAM… BEGIN!” 

“Good luck Ikumi!” Round Cheeks shouted. 

Katsuki snorted. As if Midori needed luck.

—

Minoru took a deep breath. “You ready, Yaoyorozu?” 

What happiness he’d gained from being paired up with the most attractive girl with the skimpiest costume in class had been squashed when they were going up against the two tallest people in the class. Still, at least All Might had included the clause that getting the bomb was a win. It meant that they could aim to rush the bomb rather than fight. Minoru had no illusions about his combat ability relative to Shoji and his ridiculous grip strength or Midoriya’s sheer size compared to him. 

His partner nodded, pulling on a pair of dark glasses and ear protection. “Yes.” She paused as she pulled out similarly sized equipment for him along with a metallic cylinder. “Though I must admit, you’re taking this more seriously than I thought you would.” 

He let out a bitter chuckle. “Aizawa’ll probably actually expel me if I don’t get a good enough grade in this class. That and I’m pretty sure either Shoji or Midoriya could throw me through a wall.” Maybe yesterday he would have stared at Yaoyorozu’s cleavage the whole time, but not now! 

…Well, he’d only been looking at it half the time. Not like he could help it if they got in the way of direct eye contact. 

Yaoyorozu turned around, opening her costume. Minoru stood rooted to the spot, gaping as a light show went on. “I-uh-wha-huh-”

Zipping her costume back up, Yaoyorozu handed him a controller. “I needed a bit more surface area to make this,” she explained. Minoru shook himself before he saw the drone on the ground, its sleek body shining in the light. “Scout ahead with this, please.” 

Shakily, Minoru moved the sticks, letting the drone fly up. “...Can I keep this after the exercise?”

“Technically I’m not supposed to, since it could potentially destabilise the economy…” 

He shook his head, looking through the cameras. “Anyway, I think I found Shoji… Wait, he can grow eyes and ears on his arms?! That’s…” the phrase ‘I kinda wish I had that Quirk so I could peek on girls’ crossed through his mind and buried itself. 

“Keep looking. It’ll probably be in one of the bigger rooms,” Yaoyorozu urged. He made it fly a bit higher, up further. 

Minoru grinned as he saw a familiar oblong shape in the fourth floor window. “Okay, I found the bomb-” 

A gout of flame shot from the window, and the camera feed turned to static, the smoking remains of the drone crashing to the ground. Minoru gaped. “...And Midoriya’s guarding it,” he weakly muttered. 

Yaoyorozu nodded, more light sparking from her stomach. “I thought as much. I would say that Midoriya or Shoji might move the bomb now that it’s discovered, so we need to act fast.” It blossomed into a grappling hook. “Mineta?” 

He sighed, pulling balls from his head. “Got it!” Pulling a couple of balls from his head, he ran over to the wall. Taking a moment to imagine Midoriya in Yaoyorozu’s costume, he found the energy within to clamber up like a monkey. Meanwhile, Yaoyorozu threw her grappling line up and started climbing with him.

Minoru felt pretty proud of himself when he made it to the top at the same time as Yaoyorozu, opening the window further and clambering inside. Minoru sighed, taking some deep breaths while Yaoyorozu looked around, making a staff. “Okay. Let’s hope Shoji didn’t hear us-”

“Well, well. The Heroes are here to thwart our evil deeds. How unexpected.” 

Slowly, Minoru turned around. There stood Shoji, arms crossed. “...I hate my life,” he muttered, before pulling out the flashbang Yaoyorozu had made and tossing it at him. If they could take out Shoji, they would have a much easier time with this exercise.

—

Mezo had barely a second of warning before the grenade went off in a burst of intense sound and light. For a moment he flailed blindly, then felt a pair of sticky balls impact his chest. Forming new eyes and ears on his arms, he got to see the look of panic on Mineta’s face before the shorter boy shot around the corridor, throwing his balls around with a frantic battle cry. Yaoyorozu backed him up, swinging her staff to try and sweep his legs. 

“They’re a couple of corridors away from the bomb!” He shouted into the mic as he fought. Any reservations he had about trying to hit a girl went out the window when her staff rattled his arms. Grunting, he grabbed it and bent it into a right angle, causing her to immediately retreat, light sparking as she pulled out another staff.  

“Got it, I’ll be right there!” As she cut the communications short, he heard her start to run. 

“Take this!” The shorter boy cried, pegging a ball at him. Mezo grunted as Mineta threw more balls in his direction that he narrowly dodged, scampering around a corner with Yaoyorozu. He almost charged after them, but stopped. Bending an eye around the corner, he saw Momo pull another grenade from her midriff. 

“Fire in the hole!” She yelled. 

Hurriedly he pulled his eye back and dismissed his extra eyes. The grenade rolled around the corner and he winced. He backed up and clapped his hands to his ears and shut his eyes to try and block the worst of the flashbang, ready to form new eyes and ears. Then he could try and deal with the pair of them - !

Rather than a loud bang and flash he dimly heard somebody running at him. He opened his eyes just as Yaoyorozu swung her quarterstaff at his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. As he folded up, MIneta bounced through the air and latched onto his back, frantically wrapping capture tape around his shoulders even as he tried to throw the shorter boy off.

All Might’s voice came crackling over the intercom. “Shoji Mezo, I’m afraid you’ve been captured.” 

Yaoyorozu bowed politely. “Sorry about this Shoji. That was a dummy flashbang.”

Mezo sighed. “No, it was a good strategy. But you won’t be able to defeat my partner in crime so easily!” 

Mineta grinned. “O-okay! Now we just need to take on Midoriya-”

Suddenly, Mineta and Yaoyorozu were covered in a familiar shadow. Mezo couldn’t help but smile. 

—

Momo felt rather than heard the impact behind her. Turning slightly, she stood, stunned for a second.

In the two days she had known her, Midoriya had been quiet and reserved. Her height had been noted but it wasn’t something that had been especially prominent. Midoriya held herself tightly, her body language restrained and non threatening. That had gone out of the window. 

Now, Midoriya loomed. 

To Momo, Midoriya filled the corridor, towering over her and Mineta with her fangs half bared and a growl coming from her throat - it was easy to forget that she had fangs since she acted so meek. The claws on her fingers seemed more pronounced as well. 

“Uh… surrender?” Midoriya managed, before attacking. She tried to throw a hook punch, only to have to stop that attack when she realised she would hit the wall. Yaoyorozu tried to recover but Midoriya changed strategy.

Rather than try punching again she kicked at Momo, and she barely dodged as the massive boot shot through where she was standing. Pulling her leg back, Midoriya came forwards to press her advantage, her near impossible speed hampered by the tight conditions and the balls stuck around the roof and floor. 

Despite her reservations, Momo felt slightly excited. Mineta had come up with the idea to try and bait Midoriya away from the bomb by fighting Shoji if he was patrolling, or rushing the bomb as quickly as possible. The balls from his fight before were scattered around, and Midoriya was doing her best to avoid them but all it would take was one careless move and she’d be caught. 

“S-surrender, Villain!” Momo managed, trying to hold herself like she’d seen heroines act on the street.

Midoriya tried to keep a straight face. “I’m afraid I, uh, can’t do that, Hero! Um… Mwa-hahaha?” That done, she kicked again. 

It wasn’t entirely an act when she backed up, trying to make something to deal with her. Midoriya slowly stepped forwards, Mineta trying to get back up and readying a ball. Quickly she threw her shield at Midoriya to slow her down, which Midoriya swatted out of the air like a fly. Momo’s eyes widened when she saw Midoriya suck in a breath. 

Quickly reaching for a wooden shield, Momo winced when the heat poured over her from that attack, the flames rolling off her shield and scorching the floor. Despite Midoriya’s lack of formal skill, she was simply too big to fight properly. Momo tried to pull out a flashbang but Midoriya didn’t let up, launching a quick kick that felt more like a sledgehammer. 

Momo was knocked to the ground, the wind knocked out of her. Midoriya came closer, a spool of capture tape held in hands far too large for it. Just as she wrapped Yaoyorozu’s hands in the tape, Mineta’s hairball flew into the gap between Midoriya’s hands, sticking them together. 

“Hah! Got you!” Mineta yelled. As Midoriya straightened up, another ball came careening towards her head, then another aimed at her retreating foot. She managed to duck the first hairball, only to get her foot stuck on an existing one. 

“Yaoyorozu has been captured!” All Might announced. “Also, Heroes have five minutes to secure the bomb or capture both Villains!” 

“What?!” Mineta yelped.

Momo took a deep breath, then winced when she saw Midoriya take a deep breath, setting her face in a determined look. “S-sorry about this,” she muttered. 

With those words, Momo had a bad feeling. A feeling that intensified when Midoriya’s fur seemed to ruffle with an invisible wind. Then, impossibly, Midoriya came unstuck from Mineta’s hairball. The purple sphere plopped off her wrists at the same time as she pushed off the ball that was keeping her shoe pinned.

Mineta gaped at this, which was enough time for Midoriya to lunge forwards and picked him up with a massive clawed hand. “Give up, Hero,” she growled. Then her face turned back to her normal worried look, shrinking in on herself. “S-sorry, Mineta-”

He struggled in her grip, then flopped back. “I… I give!” 

“VILLAINS WIN!”

Momo sighed at that. Then Midoriya came up to her, a concerned expression on her face. “S-sorry, Yaoyorozu. You were really cool there! Um… N-no hard feelings?” 

She smiled, taking Midoriya’s huge hand. “No hard feelings.” 

After this, she had a lot to think about. 

—

In the control room, there was silence as Midoriya carefully put Mineta down and reached for Momo to untie her. Then, Kaminari opened his mouth. “Holy shit,” he said. 

All Might shook a finger. “Language, Kaminari!” 

That had been an exciting first match - both Hero and Villain teams had acted in great fashions. Acting like a Villain was a good way to try and get into their head, an act that was encouraged by some of the more underground Heroes he associated with. 

Yaoyorozu and Mineta shuffled back in, looking bruised but otherwise alright, Shoji bringing up the rear. Midoriya was last, coming in with her head bowed low and body language more restrained than ever. 

Ashido came over to her, grinning excitedly. “Holy cow, Midoriya, that was so cool!” 

She blinked, obviously startled. “Um… What?” 

“Yeah! You guys were really leaning into that whole Villain thing, and you just took out Yaoyorozu and Mineta like it was nothing!” Ashido’s eyes glittered as she looked up at Midoriya. “Plus you just… loomed-”

She winced when Midorioya seemed to tighten her posture. “S-sorry, Midoriya! Still cool though!” 

“...I don’t really like doing it though…” Midoriya muttered. “I-I just feel mean when I loom over people, even if it’s an accident.”

“You did pretty good, Midori,” Bakugou growled, earning a surprised look from Midoriya. Todoroki gave his partner an odd look, one All Might had seen on Endeavour’s face a few times when he teamed up with the man. 

Well, hopefully they would work as well together as he had with his father. Even if he took different patrols than All Might. If All Might hadn’t known better he might have thought that Endeavour was trying to avoid him. 

Meanwhile, Mineta was also being praised for his actions, something that seemed to surprise the shorter boy. “When you tackled Shoji, that was manly as hell!” Kirishima crowed, slapping Mineta on the back. He winced when it nearly knocked the shorter boy down. “Whoops…”

“I-I’m fine…” Mineta managed. 

“I have to say, you’re a surprisingly fast climber,” Asui noted. Mineta flushed at the praise.

All Might coughed into his fist, the class turning back to him. “Well, you can congratulate your classmates later. For now, it’s time to judge who was the MVP of this round!” 

He grinned at the class. “So, who do you feel made the greatest contribution to their team?” The class muttered between each other and his smile widened. It was a close thing, but being honest he had a choice already made. 

Yaoyorozu spoke up. “Reflecting on my performance and the Villains, I feel that it comes down to Midoriya.” 

Midoriya spluttered. “W-what? No way, that should be you! Your team was more coordinated and you stayed together rather than split like we did! Not to mention you took the time to scout ahead and found an ideal entry point!”

Yaoyorozu shook her head. “While we did that, our approach wasn’t as flexible as yours. When you went on the offensive, we weren’t able to respond in a meaningful way.”

“T-that was just what I figured out about your Quirk - I-I thought that putting pressure on you would stop you from being able to make dangerous items with Creation-”

Iida suddenly raised his hand. “That is what I think was the deciding factor! Midoriya, you had a better idea of how your opponents’ Quirks worked, based on your plan!” His hand chopped the air robotically. “Not just that, you kept a secondary aspect of your Quirk a secret until it became relevant and the Hero team wasn’t able to meaningfully respond!” 

All Might’s smile twitched. Kind of the point he’d wanted to make, except a bit blunter. Still, not inaccurate. 

“Speaking of, Midoriya, how’d that work?!” Mineta yelled. “I had an amazing dump this morning, so that should have held you in place for hours! Or you should have torn your sleeves getting that ball off!” 

“Too much information, kero.” Asui shook her head at the shorter boy. 

Midoriya squirmed a bit. “Ah, well… I, uh… kind of have both my parents’ Quirks? W-well, a mutated version of my mother’s and a stronger version of my dad’s, technically.” 

The other students stared at her, wide eyed. Todoroki in particular had a curiously intense look on his face. “Wait, you’ve got two Quirks?!” Uraraka yelled. 

Midoriya shook her head. “Um… yes, but actually no? They’re two different parts of the same thing- I got my fire breath and my, uh…” she waved her hands around her vaguely, “appearance from my dad, and my mother’s Quirk… changed a bit? I have a telekinetic force field around my body almost constantly? It goes into my fire and makes it hotter, and… I used it to stop the balls from hitting my fur.”

Yaoyorozu’s hand flew to her mouth. “T-that’s right! You briefly mentioned having two parts to your Quirk in the assessment but didn’t go into detail! “ She looked down sheepishly. “I just assumed it was your height you were referring to.” 

All Might grinned. “Indeed! Being able to figure out your opponents’ Quirk on the fly is a valuable skill to cultivate! Know your enemy and you come one step closer to beating them! Ultimately it’s a close call but I have to give Midoriya the MVP role since she was able to adapt the best to her plan going awry.”

“I have to agree!” Iida boomed. “Mineta’ while you worked with Yaoyorozu well, there were a couple of times where you froze up rather than acted, especially when Midoriya freed herself from your Quirk! Shoji performed well and detected the Heroes early but made an understandable tactical error in dismissing his extra eyes and ears before the fake flashbang! As future Heroes we have to be careful to preserve our own well being but keeping temporary eyes and ears up would have prevented you from being attacked like that!” 

Shoji nodded stoically. “I would also like to point out that Midoriya was the one who came up with our plan while I felt I didn’t contribute much.” 

All Might smiled. “Don’t put yourself down too much, Shoji. You asked questions and made suggestions to the plan that improved it. Sometimes it helps to have a second opinion.” 

He smiled. A good first match like this set the benchmark for the other students to aspire to. “That being said, let’s determine the next matchup!” 

Chapter Text

Ikumi clasped her hands anxiously as All Might reached for the next set of balls. With a flourish he pulled them out. “Team E are the Villains, while Team B are the Heroes!” Iida looked similarly uncomfortable with the idea of being a Villain as Ikumi had. At least she wasn’t the only one.

Ashido cheered, grabbing Iida by the arm and dragging him off like he weighed nothing. “Heck yeah, Iida! We’re gonna be the best Villains ever!”  

“She’s pretty energetic, kero.”

Ikumi sighed as she watched them leave. “Really wish I had that level of confidence,” she muttered. 

Kirishima simply nodded, a distant look on his face. “Yeah, I feel that.” When she looked over he blinked, before pasting a cocky grin on his face. “But confidence is just a habit that we gotta work on!” 

Kacchan snorted. “See Midori? Even Hair for Brains gets it.” 

She shook her head, watching the Villain team on screen. “Did I look like that when we were up there?” Ikumi wondered, looking at a downcast Iida. 

“Yep,” Kacchan snorted.

—

Mina shook her head as Iida continued to mope. “Come on Iida, it’s just a fun exercise!” 

“I suppose… Still, I must admit I was hoping to fight on the side of justice!” Iida suddenly struck a pose. “But if we are to be the best Heroes we can be… then for this exercise I must mire my heart in darkness!” 

For a second she stared at Iida, then her smile returned. “Bit of an odd attitude but okay!” 

One for All crackled under her skin. While Mina couldn’t handle its full strength, she reckoned she was getting maybe 3 or 4 percent of it consistently, which was still a lot. She turned to her partner. “So what’s our plan beyond kick ass?”

“MWA-HAHA - eh? Oh, yes, the plan!” Iida’s hand chopped in the air robotically. “W-well, Uraraka’s Quirk lets her remove the gravity from whatever she touches, so I believe that they will float up to a better vantage point! Kaminari boasted of having a powerful electricity Quirk, so we’ll have to watch for that!” 

Mina hummed. “Yeah, sounds right! So, do you want to go looking for trouble or shall I?”

Iida brought a hand to his chin. “I shall go. And I have an idea for how to handle her gravity Quirk.” 

As MIna listened, a grin crossed her face. “I like how you think, Iida!”  

—

Katsuki glared at the screen like it had personally offended him. As soon as All Might started the match Pink Cheeks and Sparky were off, her touching a couple of trash can lids and then getting on top of them, holding the dunce close. It was admittedly pretty cool when they floated up, Pink Cheeks awkwardly managing to get through the window.

As she pulled Sparky in he could see Midori already scribbling in her notebook, a low mutter on her lips. “...Removal of gravity mostly counteracted by existing gravity, she did mention that removing her own gravity felt worse since it messes with her inner ear… Haven’t seen much of Kaminari’s Quirk in action but it must be quite powerful if he’s so confident in it… Would he be able to sense electrical signals or-”

“Oi, Midori. Who do you reckon’s gonna win?” 

She started, almost dropping her notebook. “Oh, um…” She looked at the screen, calculating, then she sighed. “W-well based on what I’ve seen of each of them… Probably the Villain team. Iida’s incredibly fast and Ashido’s really strong. Then again, it depends on if Uraraka and Kaminari can get the drop on one or the other.” 

She pointed as Glasses came around a corner behind the Heroes, watching them. “It looks like Iida’s in position. Is he going to do a sneak attack-”

Iida suddenly put his hands on his hips and threw his head back in what must have been laughter. 

—

“MWA-HAHAHA!” 

Denki jumped, almost losing control of his Quirk at the loud burst of sound behind them. Whirling around, he saw Iida there, hands on his hips. Uraraka took a look and her eyes widened. 

“BE AFRAID, HEROES! FOR I… AM THE ULTIMATE EVIL!” 

For a second Uraraka stared at him, then spluttered with laughter. Denki burst out laughing as well, Iida staring at them incredulously. He knew he should be more serious but… seeing Iida act like that was pretty damn crazy. 

“YOU DARE MOCK REVERSE INGENIUM?!” 

Uraraka went into a fresh spurt of laughter at that, barely managing to push herself up. “Iida… that’s-that’s too much-”

Iida suddenly shot forwards with a spool of capture tape in hand, Denki managing to flare up with electricity just in time. He tried to hit Iida with his fist, cursing his inability to send his electricity further from his body. Uraraka’s eyes narrowed, and as Iida swung his foot in an axe kick she barely ducked underneath, hitting him with all five fingers. Iida yelped as his momentum combined with his sudden lack of gravity sent him pinwheeling through the air and hitting the opposite wall.

Uraraka managed a half chuckle. “Um, looks like you’re really light on your feet?” She shook her head. “No, that’s bad.”

Iida tried to push himself up, only for the movement to send him flying through the air as he miscalculated. “R-release me!” 

Denki blinked as a mischievous grin split Uraraka’s face. “Okay.” She pointed to Iida. “Kaminari, do you mind?” 

He blinked, then grinned, going close to where Iida was. As Iida tried to kick out and spun through the air again, Uraraka brought her fingers together and gravity held him again. Denki reached out and tagged Iida. As Iida spasmed from the massive electrical shock hitting him, Denki pulled out his capture tape and wrapped it around his wrists. 

“Iida Tenya has been captured!” 

“Damn it…” Iida groaned. 

Uraraka bowed apologetically to him as they left. “Sorry Iida!” They ran forward, conscious that they hadn’t seen Ashido or the bomb. 

“Okay, it’s gotta be somewhere here!” Denki panted as they tore through the rooms.

“Eight minutes left, Heroes!” All Might’s voice boomed. 

“Come on, come on…” Denki muttered, flinging another door open. 

Next to him Uraraka stiffened. “Denki… Did All Might say they couldn’t move the bomb?” 

Iida weakly managed a chuckle behind them. 

Denki blinked, then groaned as he put two and two together. “That’s pretty sneaky!” 

As they ran downstairs, her eyes widened. “Okay Denki, I’ve got a plan to win but you may not like it.”

“Why not?”

She told him. He did not like it. 

—

Mina had to admit, she was getting kind of bored. Sure, Iida had the right idea in moving the bomb here but then he’d gotten involved in a fight while patrolling the higher level! She half groaned, just wanting to get some action. 

Then Kaminari appeared, obviously nervous. “Uh… surrender, Villain?” He squeaked, managing a hesitant step forward. 

She grinned. “Hey Kaminari! Face the wrath of the Alien Queen! A-hahaha!” 

“Did you both practise evil laughs or-” 

Mina grinned, One for All’s sparks coating her body. “Yeah, maybe.” 

She shot forward, Kaminari squeaking and ducking under her fist. Yellow lighting poured off his body and she barely shot away as it hit the area around him. Luckily she hadn’t used her acid near him otherwise she would have shocked herself. 

Kaminari grinned, eyes slightly unfocused. “Wanna dance?” 

“I really like dancing-” A thought struck her. “Say, where’s Uraraka?” 

A sudden sound came from behind her and she twisted. Uraraka was on the ceiling, and leaped down as Kaminari reached out to try and hit her with his Quirk. Panicking, MIna pulled on One for All, legs pumping as she shot up-

Uraraka’s hands clasped around the bomb just as Mina collided with her, knocking bomb and Uraraka to the ground. Mina stared as the buzzer sounded, pushing herself up. “Heroes have secured the bomb! The Heroes won!” 

Mina stared at Uraraka as she panted in victory, then snapped her fingers in frustration. “I forgot to look up, huh?” 

“Y-yeah…” Uraraka panted, looking slightly nauseous. 

Mina slapped herself, stretching a hand out to her. “Well, if we do this again, I’m not gonna fall for that!” 

—

All Might looked at the students. “An exceptional match, all four of you! Now, who would you say was the MVP of this match?” 

Yaoyorozu’s hand shot up. “Iida Tenya, obviously. While Uraraka formed a solid strategy to clinch victory, both the Heroes lost focus and precious time reacting to the Villains laughing. Ashido let herself get baited into a confrontation and forgot to take Uraraka’s Quirk into account. However, Iida had a clear idea of how to conduct the engagement and planned around his opponent’s Quirks as best he could.” 

Iida looked quite proud of himself, while Uraraka and Kaminari looked suitably chastened. Ashido nodded. “Yeah, I made a pretty bad mistake by forgetting about Uraraka’s Quirk. I forgot to check the ceiling.” 

“I-I went in through the half open window - I didn’t think I could take you on directly,” Uraraka explained. 

All Might coughed. “Excellent analysis, Yaoyorozu! Now, for the next match…” 

—

Hanta glanced over at Ojiro, throwing up tape strip after tape strip around the bomb. “Gotta be ready for if they try a sneak attack like Uraraka did in the last round,” he grinned. 

Ojiro nodded, limbering up. “I can’t see Kirishima making a sneak attack but Hagakure’s Quirk is practically built for that.” He smiled. “Still, at least it’s better than trying to beat Bakugou or Todoroki.”

Hanta nodded. “Yeah, Todoroki alone would be terrifying. Having to fight Bakugou as well…” 

Ojiro finished stretching. “So, I think I should stay in the bomb room. They’re gonna come to us.” 

Hanta’s grin came back. “Yeah, what do you think Kirishima’s gonna do? Yell ‘halt Villains before the face of my pure manliness?’ Something like that anyway,” he chuckled. 

—

Eijirou kicked the door in. “HALT VILLAINS, BEFORE THE FACE OF MY PURE MANLINESS!” No backing down for him, not now! 

The whole room was covered in hanging strips of tape - obviously to try and catch Hagakure and stop her from sneaking up to the bomb. Then he saw Ojiro standing there in a cool karate pose. 

He rushed forwards, a roar on his lips and fist pulled back far-

Suddenly his whole world flipped on its axis. He grunted as he hit the ground, trying to roll to the side. Then Ojiro was on top and he instinctively hardened his body. 

“KI-YAI!” Ojiro’s palm slammed into his stomach, and he gasped as the air left his body. Barely managing to roll over and up, Eijirou lashed out with a kick that got blocked by his tail. 

Both staggered back, Ojiro massaging his tail and Eijirou sucking in a breath. Then tape shot out and coiled around his arms, snapping them to his sides. Sero stood there, face covered by an impassive black mask. “Aw come on Sero,” he wheezed. “That isn’t manly at all!” 

He had to keep their attention focused on him, otherwise the Heroes wouldn’t win! Eijirou tried to break out of the tape, hoping that the sharp edges of his Hardening would do some damage to the tape as he pulled it along. 

Unfortunately, he wasn’t so lucky. As he struggled, a couple of strands of tape caught an invisible figure and Ojiro spotted her. Charging over, Ojiro tried to hit her, only to miss. He suddenly staggered back as an invisible foot connected with his chest. Eijirou tried to run forwards and headbutt Sero, but more tap wrapped around his legs and he hit the ground. 

Hagakure tried to bolt to the bomb but only got caught on more tape, and Sero wrapped his tape around her arms. “Nice try,” Sero panted, already going for more Capture Tape to make it official. 

“That’s just unfair,” Hagakure managed to tap her glove to make her costume visible, something about her tone implying she was pouting. 

“VILLAIN TEAM WINS! GOOD JOB, BOTH TEAMS!” 

Eijirou had to admit he couldn’t argue when Midoriya and Yaoyorozu both agreed that Sero was MVP - his preparations had caught both Hero team members and neither of them had been able to counter him.

As All Might declared Team F as the Heroes and Team G as the Villains, which elicited happy reactions from them and groaning from Jirou, Eijirou looked down at his hands with frustration. Despite his declaration to change himself, he hadn’t been able to live up to his own ideals. 

Midoriya gave him a thumbs up. “You were pretty cool out there, Kirishima. You probably could have taken Ojiro out if your fight had gone a bit longer.” 

Mina grinned at him as well. “Yeah, you looked pretty Heroic out there! Charging in and yelling like that was cool!” 

He stared at the pair of them, then smiled. “Thanks guys! Next time I’m not gonna back down!”

—

Koji huddled close to a small rat. “Okay little one, please keep an eye out for our opponents. S-swarm them if you have to.” The rat saluted, and he heard them chitter and squeak as they followed his orders. 

Aoyama’s strange smile twisted a bit and he held his sparkly cape close. “D-do we have to use the rats?” 

Koji quietly sighed, straightening up. Despite their reputation as dirty, rats were actually quite clean and intelligent animals. He had been surprised that they had made their way into U.A, but considering the Principal’s ambiguous mammal nature he wasn’t surprised. He had his own theory on what the Principal was but had always felt too shy to bring it up. 

He made a couple of exploratory signs to Aoyama and was pleasantly surprised when Aoyama actually responded - clumsily but at least he could. It meant that he didn’t have to write it out at least. [ What’s the plan Aoyama?]

The blonde boy paused for a moment. [ Tell me when they’re coming to bomb, then I’ll sparkle at them.] 

Koda raised an eyebrow but nodded. [ Okay, I’ll talk over the mic and get into position.]

—

Tsuyu glanced over at Sato as they carefully advanced. “Okay, Sato. Are you ready?” 

Sato winced. “S-sure thing Asui - Tsuyu!” He amended. “I’ll follow the plan as well as I can when I’m hyper.”

She could only nod. Sato had explained that his Quirk boosted everything - strength, speed, durability - but apparently overrode his rationality the more sugar he consumed. Purity of sugar had something to do with it as well, which was why he only had a small amount of white sugar. 

A slight squeak alerted her. She looked in the corners, thankful that part of her Frog Quirk gave her slightly better night vision that would be expected. A rat had spotted them and was squeaking rapidly. “I think Koda knows we’re coming. We might be getting close.” 

Sato stiffly nodded. “Okay.” Taking out a capsule from his belt, he poured its contents into his mouth, crunching briefly. His eyes lit up with newfound alertness, his whole body shuddering. “Hopefully I won’t need to eat more sugar.”

Tsuyu glanced around, then back to the map All Might had provided. “If I had to guess, Aoyama’s by the bomb and Koda’s keeping an eye on us with his animal spies. With that said, splitting up would be our best option.” 

—

Yuga stood next to the bomb, carefully keeping an eye on the doorway. Every so often he cast his gaze to the window, just in case Asui was climbing outside of the building. 

His intercom crackled. “Sato’s coming!” 

Immediately he sprung to action. Wincing as his Quirk warmed up, he quickly fired a blast of searing white-blue light, the blast sparkling down the corridor at the figure there. 

It was a wide shot that filled most of the corridor, and he’d calibrated it to about a strong punch. Sato moved faster than he’d thought possible and was now charging quickly towards them. “WHOO YEAH!” 

Then Koda intervened. A small army of rats scrambled along the floor, a leader squeaking and pointing at Sato. Aoyama carefully fired another laser as Sato got up, only for him to suddenly fling himself at the wall before it hit him. A creaking sound came from behind him and he whirled around, seeing Asui crawling in the window. She ducked back when he fired a laser through the window, then hastily crawled in while he tried to recover. 

Koda got in close to Sato and threw a punch that Sato managed to block, then grimaced. He didn’t stop his attack as Sato tried to get something from his pouch. Rats clambered over the taller boy who shouted indistinctly, trying to fling them off him. Yuga tried to fire another beam at Asui but the frog girl sprung off the ceiling just as he fired, dashing to the bomb. Gritting his teeth, he threw himself in the way.

His cape would get dirty but it would be worth it to win-

Asui gave him a neutral look and kicked him in the side, knocking him out of the way. As he struggled up, she touched the bomb. 

“HERO TEAM HAS SECURED THE BOMB!” 

Yuga sighed, glancing down at his cloak mournfully. “Oh, I’ve gotten dirty for nothing,” he griped. 

Sato took a deep breath, then slumped. “Yeah… good…” he yawned, carefully going on to the ground. 

“That was a pretty good plan, Aoyama. You nearly got us a couple of times,” Asui said. 

“Merci, Asui-”

“Please, call me Tsuyu, kero.” 

Yuga smiled slightly awkwardly but accepted her hand. “Merci, Tsuyu! Of course, I shall shine even better in our next exercise!” 

—

Midoriya looked over at Asui with a wide smile. “I think that Asui-”

“You can call me Tsuyu,” she said bluntly. 

“-Right, sorry, uh, Tsuyu… I think she was the MVP by coming up with the best plan! It was pretty narrow - Koda and Aoyama had a good defensive strategy and he managed to hold off Sato for a while - but Tsuyu decided to split the groups for a pincer attack that wasn’t a desperate move.” 

Uraraka chuckled. “Yeah, we were pretty desperate when we tried it.”

All Might smiled at his class, some more battered and bruised than others but everybody was able to attend. The final match of the day should prove interesting, especially since it was two of the students that Aizawa had noted to be exceptionally powerful and flashy. “For the final match… the Villains are Team H and the Heroes are Team D!” 

Young Bakugou grinned, while Todoroki simply stared ahead impassively. “Though the pair of you are powerful, don’t forget that this is a team exercise! Two Heroes working together can accomplish more than one!” 

“We’re doomed,” Jirou said flatly. 

—

Katsuki glared at his partner, then took a deep breath to try and calm down. “Alright Two Face, you don’t like me for whatever reason, I don’t give a shit. But we gotta at least try to work together-”

“I don’t need your help,” Two Face cut him off harshly, eyes locked on the building. “I can finish this exercise by myself.”

He couldn’t believe this guy. “...Did you not hear him say that this is a team exercise? Newsflash genius, we actually need to work together on this!” 

The bastard glared at him, before he relaxed. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.” 

“Fucking finally. I reckon we split up and search for the bomb individually. We keep in communication and if we need help we ask for it.” He glared at the other boy. “Sounds good?” 

Two Face considered it, then nodded. “Fine. But I still won’t need your help.”

Katsuki growled, already at his limit. “Okay fucker, what is your problem with me? I’ve literally not done anything to you-”

“No, you haven’t. It’s what you-” The buzzer sounded and Two Face cut himself off. “Let’s just finish this. It won’t take long.”

Katsuki glared at the asshole then charged ahead. Whatever this bullshit was, it wasn’t over. 

—

“Hello darkness, my old friend.” Fumikage whispered slightly. Looming above him, Dark Shadow shook his head, the darkness strengthening him. It was a bit risky turning off the lights but he needed Dark Shadow as strong as he could without losing control.

“I’ve come to talk to you again,” Dark Shadow snickered.  

He shushed his Quirk who reluctantly obeyed. Bakugou‘s Quirk was unfortunately a natural counter to Dark Shadow, so finding him was top priority. If he could take Bakugou out then the rest of the exercise would go much smoother. Fumikage crept around, checking his earpiece. “Any sign of them?” 

Jirou was staying by the bomb, having plugged her Earphone Jacks into the wall to try and track their movements. “...Bakugou’s charging in. They’re splitting up - Todoroki’s coming my way, and Bakugou’s coming closer to you.”

Fumikage nodded. “Do you want me to back you up?”

“Honestly, yeah. You saw the size of that ice thing he threw out in the assessment right? Not to mention that he’s one of the recommended students in our class.” 

“Got it. I’ll be there.” 

—

Kyoka kept a careful eye and ear out even as she heard Tokoyami start running to her position. Despite his wild attitude Bakugou was methodical and patient as he searched every room. Her Earphone Jacks crept towards her directional speakers, a bead of sweat pouring down her neck as Todoroki came closer. 

Todoroki came into the room and she barely had a second to jam her Earphone Jacks into her boots before a wave of ice crashed towards her. 

Her heartbeat poured from her speakers, slamming into the ice and smashing it to pieces, throwing them around the room. Todoroki’s eyes bored into hers, one grey the other a menacing red under his ice half-helmet. “You would be wise to surrender,” he stated flatly. 

Kyoka grimaced. “Nah, don’t feel like it.” Todoroki frowned, then another wave of ice poured towards her, only to be hit with another blast of sound that cracked and shattered it. “What’s the matter?” She taunted. “Only got one trick up your sleeve?” 

He grit his teeth, throwing an arm forward-

Then Tokoyami was there. His eyes widened and he twisted, throwing a blast of ice that got smashed by Dark Shadow. “HERE’S JOHNNY!” The Quirk laughed.

“You’re using that reference incorrectly, Dark Shadow!” Tokoyami yelled.

Todoroki tried to get up but she was not going to let him. Jamming her Earphone Jacks into her boots once more, she slammed him with a debilitating wall of sound, knocking him flat. 

Dark Shadow lashed out and she had to gawk as Todoroki rolled out of the way. That move had sent robots reeling yet he just shrugged it off like it was nothing. Was Todoroki even human? With a manic look in his eye Todoroki threw a sloppier blast of ice at Tokoyami, and she winced when she heard frost cracking on Todoroki’s skin. Seemed he was starting to hit his limit.

But his last attack wasn’t enough to stop Dark Shadow. Laughing, Dark Shadow pinned Todoroki to the ground. ‘’Ice’ to see you, pretty boy!” Todoroki grunted as Dark Shadow slammed him with his fist. 

Tokoyami loomed over him, his reel of Capture Tape in hand. Kyoka couldn’t help but smile as he went to restrain Todoroki-

Pounding boots came closer and her heart sank. “WHAT THE FUCK SCARFACE?! I TOLD YOU TO CALL FOR HELP!” 

Dark Shadow turned only to shrink suddenly as a massive explosion rattled the corridor. Kyoka clutched her ears from the sheer force Bakugou casually threw around. She tried to help Tokoyami, throwing a massive blast of sound in Bakugou’s general direction while trying not to hit Dark Shadow. Kyoka had the brief satisfaction of hearing Bakugou stumble but the wall had shielded him from the worst as he continued.

“...Parley?” A much diminished Dark Shadow weakly offered. 

Bakugou smirked, tying Tokoyami’s hands together with Capture Tape. “Hell no.” 

“Tokoyami has been captured!” 

Kyoka grimaced, then jammed both Earphone Jacks into her boots, unleashing the full force of her Quirk. Screw villain monologues, both of them were way too powerful to fool around with. 

Under her sonic assault Bakugou briefly clutched his ears, then grinned. An explosion popped in his palm, seeming so much louder than it had when it was outside. A multitude of pops came from his arms as he charged forwards, each one stinging her ears and disrupting her focus. 

She tried to jab an Earphone jack directly into him only for him to swat it aside, burying his fist in her midsection. “Good shit, Earlobes,” He rasped, wrapping Capture tape around her arm. He then grabbed the bomb with a smirk. 

“...Well, The Villains have been captured, as has the bomb! Hero Victory!” 

He glared down at her as she struggled. “You want a hand or something?” 

Kyoka glared at him. “...Fine,” she groused. 

He glared at Todoroki. “How are you feeling, Two Face? Gonna die on me?” 

Todoroki simply pushed himself up, shaking his head. “I’ve had worse,” he muttered, so low only Kyoka heard him. She wanted to ask, but shook her head. Recommended students had some crazy hard training regimes apparently.

—

“Hell yeah, flawless victory!” Kacchan cheered. Ikumi had to admit, it was good to see that Kacchan was so happy. That entire fight had been pretty thrilling - her heart had leapt into her mouth when she’d seen Todoroki get ambushed by Tokoyami. 

All Might cleared his throat. “Well, Young Bakugou I must agree that you pulled off an incredible victory! However, can anybody tell me who the MVP was?” 

…Ikumi winced. “W-well, I-I reckon that it was Jirou who was the best performing student.” 

Kacchan glared at her. “Eh? I won!” 

“I-I know, but… while both of you were really good as Heroes, you, uh… had issues working together and split up?” 

His face twisted into a scowl. “Blame Scar Face for that. I actually tried to work with him and he kept blowing me off!” 

Todoroki looked away at that. All Might sighed. “I know that both of you have exceptionally powerful Quirks but you must learn how to work with others!” 

Ikumi nodded. “It-it did look like you tried but I don’t-I don’t think that you got through to Todoroki about it. A-also Todoroki tried the same strategy multiple times d-despite seeing that it didn’t work. Maybe it would have been better to-to retreat and work together with Bakugou, but instead you pushed yourself too far and nearly got captured.” 

She turned to Jirou. “Jirou, on the other hand, kept track of the Heroes and communicated far better with her teammate than you did. N-not just that but she was almost able to take both of you out…”

She fidgeted under her classmates' stares. In particular Todoroki seemed to be staring at her intently, an expression she couldn’t identify on his face. “W-well that’s just what I think,” she finished lamely. 

All Might clapped. “An astute observation Young Midoriya!” She flushed at his casual praise as he turned to the class. “I would also add that both Villains acquitted themselves admirably against bad matchups for their Quirks. Not every fight will be to your strengths, so knowing how to compensate for your Quirk’s downsides is essential!” 

His smile brightened. “Now get cleaned up! Todoroki, you took a heavy beating in that last fight. I’ve called for the medical bot to take you to the bay-”

“No need. I’m fine.” Todoroki flatly said. 

All Might shook his head. “Even if you feel that way, I would be more comfortable if you got taken there by a robot.” 

—

Recovery Girl shook her head. “Quite a bit of bruising, cracked ribs, and the beginnings of Quirk exhaustion as well as early frostbite. Not as bad as it could be, Todoroki, but don’t make it a habit to get injured like this.” 

Shouto nodded. “Understood.”  As she puckered her lips and kissed his arm his mind turned once again to his current issue with his class. Rather, one specific person in it. 

In spite of his father, Shouto didn’t hate people with fire Quirks. His hatred was reserved for his father and his Quirk alone. Midoriya for instance - if his father was a blazing inferno then Midoriya was like a campfire, warm and comforting. Bakugou’s explosions weren’t the problem either - but they certainly helped. 

But seeing Bakugou’s perpetually angry eyes, how Midoriya seemed to flinch at everything despite her size… seeing them talk reminded him too much of similar scenes of his mother and father. Learning that she had a Quirk like his made it even worse - Bakugou clearly was only her friend because her Quirk was powerful. 

He pushed himself up, accepting the candy from Recovery Girl and politely bowing to the Heroine. Whatever else happened, Shouto was going to keep a close eye on Bakugou. If he tried to push Midoriya like Endeavour had pushed his mother… He would stop it. 

—

Katsuki glanced up at Midori as they left. “...You were right,” he eventually admitted.

“Huh?” 

“About Earlobes being better in our match,” he grumbled. Katsuki looked up at her as she looked surprised. “I still say that I would have been MVP on a team without Two Face,” he shot back.

Midori chuckled. “Yeah, probably. But you still got the quickest victory today.”

Katsuki snorted. “Damn right I did,” he chuckled. He looked down. “...But it wasn’t enough,” he grumbled. 

“What do you-”

He stopped, looking up at her. “You kidding me Midori?! Two Face is a walking ice age, Ponytail can just make whatever the fuck she wants, and Pinky… FUCK!” Katsuki was used to him and Midori being the biggest fish around. They had won against older kids, him slamming explosions into them and Midori just picking up the biggest guys with one hand and growling at them. 

To see people who could dethrone them was unsettling. 

He was aware that angry tears were pricking his eyes but he didn’t care. “I’m not gonna let them overtake me, you got that Midori?!” 

“I-uh-yes?” 

He snarled, jamming a finger into her stomach. “And that goes for you as well Midori! You and me, we’re gonna be the best Heroes ever!” 

Midori blinked, then she nodded. “Y-yeah! No matter what, we’re going to be the best!” 

—

Ken carefully walked around the other pedestrians, wary of bumping into somebody. At just under two metres tall and wolf-headed, people tended to stare or be wary around him. Still, life was going pretty okay for him - he had a steady job, a decent apartment… he even had a girlfriend! 

Honestly he had no idea how he managed to get a girl like Kagome but he wasn’t about to throw it away. He hurried as quickly as reasonably possible down the road, glancing down at his phone. “Crap, I’m gonna be late…” 

Somebody bumped into him roughly, stumbling. He winced, turning to look at the black haired businessman who was already shaking himself off. “Shit - sorry about that-”

 The other guy was already walking off smartly, rounding the corner. Ken stared after him, then turned back. His arm kind of hurt, that guy must have really hit him pretty hard. As he took a couple more steps, he frowned. Pretty rude of the guy to just… run off after colliding with him like that.

A spike of pain came from his arm suddenly. Then it started all over his body, an itching pins and needles sensation that pushed inside his skin and out through his fur. He staggered, aware that everybody around him seemed to be backing up. 

What-

The world went red.

—

Half an hour later, the businessman watched from the sidelines as the creature was captured. With the help of the local Heroes, it was pinned in place as they tried to get it into the police car, pedestrians staring. Its eyes were blank and bloodshot, and it howled and snapped at the officers’ restraining it. The sheep were horrified, taking in the bodies that had been thrown through windows and doors, the claw marks in the concrete where he had swiped at Heroes and civilians. 

He sighed internally as they managed to drive off, the vehicle shaking as it strained against its chains. The creature was supposed to have killed more people in this rampage, maybe eaten somebody. Still, that was what happened when you tried to get a beast to do anything. 

Chapter Text

Ikumi couldn’t help but smile with Kacchan as they walked up to U.A’s gates. “It still feels unreal when you think about it,” she commented. “I-I mean, we were taught by All Might yesterday!” 

Kacchan shrugged, smirking. “Yeah, that was pretty cool.” 

Translated from Kacchan, she knew just how excited he was that All Might was there. “Do you think we’re going to have another Heroics lesson today?” 

“Probably not. Rest of the class needs time to recover from all that exercise,” Kacchan grunted. 

“At least you’re not calling them Extras.” Her ear twitched at the faint sound of a crowd, just in her hearing range. “Because-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Only one person out of three hundred managed to pass the exam so they all have , yadda yadda…” Kacchan kicked a pebble that was in his path, stomping forwards. 

As they came up to U.A Ikumi winced. The source of the sound made itself apparent. “Oh.” A crowd of reporters had gathered outside of U.A’s gates, clamouring for an interview. A couple of their classmates were already being harangued by reporters.

Kacchan scowled. “Buncha freakin’ vultures. All Might’s got more important shit to do than cosy up to these extras.” 

“Kacchan!” She wanted to be harsher with him, but he did have a point. Instead, she took a deep breath, then walked up with Kacchan. Ikumi wasn’t a fan of particularly loud noises of crowds but this was almost Hero training in itself. If All Might and Gang Orca could cope with being swarmed by reporters, so could she.

—

“Hey! Hero student! Can you tell me what it’s like to learn from All Might?” 

Koji tried to get away and keep his head down but the reporters kept closing in. There were too many people around and they kept getting into his personal space. He tried to sign for them to back off but he kept getting hounded. 

Then Ashido barged in. “Hey, you mind leaving my classmate alone?”

He smiled gratefully at the pink girl, Ashido shooting him a wink. Trying to take advantage of the temporary reprieve he pushed forwards only to be blocked by the crush of reporters angling for comments. Then a familiar furry hand came near him, Midoriya giving him a nervous smile. “Um, do you want a lift?” 

Koji nodded and then braced as Midoriya gently picked him up and above the crowd. A couple of reporters tried to stretch their microphones up only for them to not be able to reach her or him. Next to her Bakugou glared at the reporters, forcing them to back away. 

“T-thank you,” he managed to stammer out as they crossed the barrier.

Midoriya gave him an understanding smile. Ashido ran up, grinning. “No problem. I’m not really a fan of crowds either.” 

“Nice one Midoriya!” Ashido smiled at him. “And yeah, that’s fine. Not everybody’s like me or Kiri over there.” She turned around to where Kirishima was boisterously talking about how manly All Might was. Shoji made his way through, gently depositing Mineta from his shoulder perch. 

At the gates, Aizawa-sensei shooed the reporters. “You’re trespassing on private property and interrupting our classes. All Might’s off today so please go away.” 

Bakugou barked out a laugh as a reporter tried to come in only for the gate to slam shut. “HAH! Nice one, Hobo sensei.” 

—

Shouta looked over his class. “Good work with yesterday’s battle training.” He meant it - All Might’s exercise was a tough one even for new Heroes but they had managed it with only minimal problems. All Might had probably learned that ‘beginner level’ for him was a challenge for anybody else though, so maybe that would reflect in his new lesson plans. 

He’d looked over the reports and grading of his student’s efforts and for the most part had been impressed. There were obvious areas to work on - some students needed to focus more in that class, others needed technical skill. He’d watched a recording of Midoriya’s performance and had winced at the sloppiness and wasted movements he’d seen - the girl had clearly never fought anybody remotely in her weight class before. 

Then again, if they were perfect right out of the gate there wouldn’t be any need for Hero schools or for teachers like him. He hadn’t seen anything that couldn’t be corrected with enough time and effort. 

One student had surprised him, though. And not in a good way. “Todoroki.” As the scarred boy looked up impassively he shot him a flat stare. “If you can’t work with a partner in the field, you’re going to hamstring your potential as a Hero. If you want to be the best, learn how to work with people you dislike.”

Somehow Todoroki’s face closed off even more. “Understood, sensei.” 

He looked over his class. “This was your first lesson in Heroics, and it won’t be your last. That being said… on to homeroom business.” Shouta carefully kept his face flat. “Sorry for the sudden announcement, but today…”

His class leaned in, hanging on his every word. Shouta took a moment to let the tension build, then introduced his topic. “You’ll pick a class president.”

For a second the atmosphere was still tense, then his students started shouting and throwing their hands in the air. Probably to be expected, given that it seemed like a bigger deal in a Hero school. 

In any other school the role of class president was fairly nominal, mostly focusing on allocation of school clubs and organising Sports Festivals - and that wasn’t any different here. At U.A, though, Heroes and spotters typically saw it as a sign of leadership potential despite how irrational that was. There were related skills but ultimately founding and leading an agency was a different thing from leading a classroom. 

But try telling these kids and talent agents that. 

“I want to do it,” Jirou politely said, one of the few who actually had.

Kirishima grinned. “Hell yeah, I’m gonna be the manliest class prez ever! We’re gonna do weight training every day!”

“In my administration girls will have to show at least 30 cm of thigh-” 

Bakugou audibly growled at Mineta and the shorter boy shrank down in fear. “I-I mean, if… they want to?” 

Snorting, Bakugou turned back. “You get to live.” He then sneered at the rest of the class. “Anyway, vote for me! I’ll lead, you obey! End of discussion!” 

“Enough!” 

Shouta raised an eyebrow as Iida stood up suddenly. “While we all want to be the Class President, it is a heavy burden! If this is to be a democracy then I say that we hold an election! Is that okay Sensei?!” 

“Sure. Just get it done quickly.” Shouta pulled his sleeping bag on, carefully watching his students. As far as he was concerned, choosing a class president was another test. 

Asui gave Iida a flat look. “We haven’t really had enough time to build trust.” 

“Yeah, everybody’s just gonna vote for themselves!” Kirishima bluntly stated.

That didn’t deter Iida. “Exactly! That just means that anybody who manages to garner multiple votes will be the most suited for the role!” 

Everybody murmured between each other, then everybody nodded. Shouta kept an eye on the proceedings as Iida fastidiously handed out pieces of paper and a hat to tally the votes. Iida was a very different person from Tensei - all serious where his brother was lighthearted. Not a bad thing but if he couldn’t be more flexible in the field then he would be in trouble. 

Eventually, the votes were tallied. Shouta slumped in his sleeping bag as the proceedings dragged on and on. Hopefully the kid who got chosen for the top position would be up for it. 

—

Ikumi stared at the votes on the board. When she had cast her vote she had been focused on Iida - after all, he seemed like the person who would be the most suited to being Class President. That didn’t explain what she was seeing.

Midoriya Ikumi - 5 votes

Yaoyorozu Momo - 3 Votes 

Iida slumped in his chair. “Only one vote… Truly this is the harsh reality of this sacred office!” 

“You were the one who insisted on voting, Iida,” Satou said with a confused look on his face. Iida stiffened but didn’t say anything else. 

Aizawa-sensei looked out with a dull eye. “Alright, so it looks like Midoriya is your president and your vice-President is Yaoyorozu.” The other girl bowed politely, Ikumi feeling too anxious to make any definite statements. 

Pretty much every other name on the board had received at least one vote. Which just made it all the more confusing. “Who… who voted for me?!” 

Kacchan snorted. “Honestly Midori. You made a gigantic fucking impression at Battle Training and the Quirk Assessment and you’re asking stupid shit like that.” 

She looked down at her hands. “I-I’ve never been Class President before!” 

Mostly because she had never really had an interest in the position. But All Might had apparently been Class President for his three years at U.A so she had decided to not say she didn’t want the position, thought she had voted for Iida. 

Kacchan had no sympathy. “Then learn, dipshit. Honestly, not like it’ll be hard. Just get your nerd brain in gear.”

Ikumi had her doubts about that - Kacchan had never been elected Class President either despite him having the strongest Quirk in their middle school. Then again, he’d never really applied seriously and was always angry. “W-well, I, uh, I’ll do my best?” 

Everybody clapped politely as she made her way back to her desk. Kacchan grinned. “Good shit Midori.” 

—

At lunch, Ikumi sighed, looking down at her food. She had spent the intervening periods in a daze, still unable to believe that she had gotten the position. “I-I know it’s a silly thing to worry about, but I’m just worried if I can even be a good class president.”

“I’m guessing this means you didn’t vote for yourself?” Yaoyorozu asked. Ikumi nodded.

“Who’d you vote for? Bakugou?” Ashido interjected. “Cause if you did-”

Ikumi shook her head. “What? No, I voted for Iida. I just thought he was student council material-”

“Hey, Ikumi!” 

She turned and gasped. “Kamakiri!” 

Kamakiri managed a grin. “Finally caught you.” He took a look at the rest of the table. “Looks like you’ve got some friends.” 

“Yeah.” She gestured for him to sit, then turned to Yaoyorozu and MIna. “This is Kamakiri Togaru - we live in the same apartment block. I made friends with him when my folks moved there.”

“Pleased to meet you, Kamakiri,” Yaoyorozu bowed politely. “My name is Yaoyorozu Momo.”

Ashido grinned. “Nice to meet ya as well! Name’s Ashido Mina!” 

“Nice to meet you as well.” He flopped down into the chair, picking up his chopsticks. “First time I’ve managed to catch you for lunch at U.A - the place always gets too busy.”

Ashido nodded. “Yeah, it's hard to find a free seat.” She quickly shovelled some natto down her throat, earning a disgusted glance from him. “So you’re in the other Hero class then?” 

He nodded. ‘Yeah, our teacher’s Vlad King. He’s a really cool guy.”

“Wow, that’s incredible!” Ikumi’s eyes lit up. “Vlad King’s a really flashy frontline Hero and is also a major blood donor to various hospitals!” 

“Not just that, he really knows his stuff on teaching - I think I’ve actually learned some stuff and had fun for the first time in ages. Even my classmates are cool.” He paused, before a smirk crossed his face. “Though there is an annoying blonde in my class who might be related to Bakugou - he’s certainly got the ego for it.”

“I can fucking hear you, Stabby!” Kacchan shot back from the next table, only for Kirishima to take the opportunity to steal some food from his plate. While Kacchan raged, Kamakiri turned back to them.

“But yeah, U.A’s been everything I thought it would be and more. How are you holding up, Ikumi?” 

Ikumi grinned. “I got elected Class President!” 

“Wow, congrats-”

An alarm sounded. “Security Level Three breach. All students, please evacuate in a calm and orderly fashion.” 

—

For maybe a second there was calm, then there was a general panic. Every student started shoving, trying to make their way to the exits. Panicked shouting and grunts of pain came from the doors, Lunch Rush running to the doors to try and organise the students to little success.

Mina glanced around. “W-what’s going on?” 

An older student briefly turned as he hurried to the main door. “It means somebody has infiltrated the main building! This hasn’t happened in the three years I’ve been here, but we should hurry up and get out of here!”

Kamakiri winced. “For real?!” He grinned. “Wonder if we can fight them.”

Yaoyorozu shook her head - Mina knew she needed a shorter name for the prim and proper girl. “That’s hardly the best course of action, Kamakiri. Let’s try to evacuate in a safe and sensible fashion.”

The pressure from everybody moving started to sweep them along, only Midoriya able to really weather it. “Um… P-please stop shoving-” 

Mina tried to stay upright, seriously contemplating pulling on One for All to push through. Everybody kept pushing, trying to get out first. 

“Midoriya, can you see anybody who could have infiltrated?!” Yaoyorozu half yelled. 

Trying to move quickly, Midoriya looked out the window. Her eyes widened. “Ah, it’s the Press! They must have gotten in somehow!”

Mina managed to get closer to her oversized friend. “Really?! We should try clearing it up!” 

“Everybody! It’s-It’s just the press!” She tried to say, but her voice was drowned out by the crowd. 

Yaoyorozu tried to stay upright, trying to avoid tripping. Mina looked up at Midoriya. “Maybe a bit louder? I don’t think they heard you.”

“I, uh-”

“Get loud! You’ll be fine!” 

Midoriya squirmed, but she sucked in a deep breath that seemed to take from the rest of the room. Cupping her hands to her mouth, she let it out in a veritable roar. “EVERYBODY! IT’S ALRIGHT!”

Mina winced a bit. Yeah, Midoriya could be loud when she wanted to be. It carried over the crowd, causing everybody to stare at her. Midoriya seemed to freeze with everybody’s eyes on her, awkwardly standing there. Mina gently nudged Midoriya, trying to get her to say something. 

Midoriya took another deep breath then continued, quieter this time. “Um… It’s just the press? We-we shouldn’t panic about it!” 

From the depths of the crowd, Iida’s voice suddenly boomed. “I think she’s right! We must act in a way that is becoming of this great institution!” 

With that, the tension and panic left the room as they recovered. As everybody filed out in a much calmer fashion, Mina grinned up at Midoriya. “Nice work, Class Prez.” 

Midoriya slumped down, groaning. “I-I froze up stupidly though…”

“Neither of us were able to do anything about the situation, though,” Yaoyorozu nodded. She then frowned. “Although, maybe I should have made a megaphone or a riot shield…”

“Ah, ah, none of that!” Mina shook her head. “No point in worrying about what you could have done, just do better next time!”

Yaoyorozu smiled. “I suppose that’s true enough.” 

“Ah - yeah, that’s a good point.” 

“See?” Mina gave the much taller girl a slap on the back. “I mean, nobody’s gonna expect you to be a champ at public speaking on the first day. Just keep at it girl.”

Midoriya flushed but her small smile stayed. Outside, the press continued to demand All Might’s attention, the faculty having to keep an eye on them and looking increasingly exasperated. 

As everything started to get back to normal, watching Present Mic cheer as police led the reporters away, Yaoyorozu frowned. 

“What’s the matter, Yaoyorozu?” Mina asked.

“I’m just wondering how the press could have gotten past the barrier,” she pondered. 

Midoriya frowned as well. “That’s true… U.A’s security is only surpassed by HPSC security and Tartarus. Principal Nedzu designed most of the security so a large group getting past… I find it a bit weird as well.”

Mina hummed. “Yeah, that does sound strange. But maybe there’s nothing else to it?” 

—

Sidling through the corridors with his head down, a lanky man grinned. While the annoying NPCs were holding up the Heroes, he’d managed to find what he was looking for. “Get me back, Kurogiri,” he rasped, carefully sidling out of campus. As the police arrived to drag the reporters away he was already out of there, carefully disappearing down the same dark alleyway he had appeared in. 

Back in the bar Shigaraki Tomura smirked, glancing over at his max level Tank/DPS hybrid. “Well, well… Rescue training, huh?” He snapped a glance up to Kurogiri. “Looks like it’s at U.A’s USJ - not the one in Tokyo.” 

“Understood, Master Tomura.” Kurogiri polished a glass. “Shall I put the word out to our new recruits?” 

“Yeah. Tell them it’s time.” Tomura leaned on the bar, snapping his fingers. “And get me a whiskey - having to deal with Heroes is thirsty work.”

Sipping his drink, Tomura could see the course. Soon enough, All Might would die, and a bunch of Hero n00bs would get ganked before they could do their stupid shit. With All Might out of the way, this Hero obsessed society and everything else he hated was going to crumble to dust. 

Sensei was going to be so proud of him.

Chapter Text

The first Student Council meeting Ikumi had ever gone to was a surprisingly relaxed affair. Half ducking on reflex before straightening up, Ikumi hesitated. “Um… M-my name is Midoriya Ikumi. From 1-A.”

Yaoyorozu smiled gently. “Yaoyorozu Momo, from the same class. I’m the vice-representative.”

Ikumi quickly bowed. “N-nice to meet you all!”

The girl with bright orange hair smiled. “Nice to meet you Midoriya! The name’s Kendo Itsuka, pleased to meet you as well! I’m the student rep of 1-B, and Shoda Nirengeki is my vice-rep.” 

She gestured to a grey-haired boy who was about the same height as Mineta but with a more solid build. “Hello…” He shyly waved. 

“Let’s get this over with,” A slouching purple haired boy said from his seat, shifting position to lean forward on the table. 

“Don’t mind my vice-rep!” A boy with a pronounced lantern jaw said, giving him the side-eye. “The name’s Agoyamoto Tsutsutaka from 1-D, and the definitely ecstatic guy there is Shinsou Hitoshi.”

Shinsou sat back up with a sigh. “I still don’t know why I’m even here.”

“You got more votes than the rest of the class and we wouldn’t let you switch,” Agoyamoto reminded him. Shinsou rolled his eyes at that.

A chubby boy with beehive hair coughed. “Do we have everybody-”

WIth that, a girl with long blue hair and a cheerful smile came in, a boy wearing a high tech helmet and gloves coming close behind. “Sorry I’m late - I had to stop Hatsume from levelling the Support lab again.” 

Ikumi traded a glance with Yaoyorozu. What did she mean, again ?

She bowed deeply. “My name’s Kitagawa Nomi, Class-rep of 1-H.” 

“Hidaka Jounetsu, and the same.” He paused. “Mostly because nobody else wanted the position.”

“Maybe so, but you have still been chosen above your peers for this position.” The beehive haired student turned to face the rest of the room. “My name is Moriyama Tetsujin of 1-J, and I hope to be working with you in future.” 

The rest of the meeting was surprisingly mundane, all things considered. Ikumi knew that it would be unrealistic but she had half thought, given everything else about U.A, that the Student Council would be like something out of an anime - where they could expel people like Aizawa had threatened for minor infractions. Instead the main discussion was about small things like clubs, other representatives for Student Council Roles (Ikumi recommended Iida for the role of Health and Safety Representative since it struck her as something he would throw his whole being into), and the school’s Festivals. 

Ikumi paused, a flash of memory hitting her. Oh, right. The Sports Festival was in three weeks! Back in Aldera the Sports Festival was later in the year but U.A preferred to have it earlier to give the other courses a chance to be competitive with the Hero course. Shinsou had sat up more when they’d mentioned the possibility of students getting into the Hero course - was he aiming to transfer into the Hero course?

Moriyama shuffled through the stack. “Anyway, where we come in for the Sports Festival is organising the games for students between the second and third rounds. They need to keep the interest of the crowd and help students who didn’t pass the second round.”

Shinsou snorted. “Nobody actually watches that bit at the Sports Festival anyway.”

“The live crowd does,” Agoyamoto pointed out. He turned to the rest of the Council. “Any ideas?” 

Kitagawa raised her hand. “Maybe a treasure hunt? I don’t think I’ve seen one in past Sports Festivals.” 

Ikumi smiled, giving a thumbs up. “That sounds like a great idea! Maybe we can get them to find specific Heroes in the audience and get an item from them - if-if that’s okay,” she mumbled.

Moriyama hummed. “Not a bad suggestion. We’ll have to clear it with the teachers but it’s a start.”

The rest of the meeting went along similar lines, with a couple of suggestions for side events that weren’t the cheerleaders. Ikumi made a couple of tentative suggestions which were taken on board, though ultimately none of them had been used. 

As they walked home, Kacchan looked up at her. “So, how was the Council stuff?” 

“Pretty much the same as normal school, I guess.” Ikumi sighed, then paused. “Out of curiosity, who did you vote for?” 

“Ponytail,” Kacchan flatly responded. 

Ikumi adopted a mock-hurt expression. “So you weren’t one of my votes?” 

He snorted. “Just cause you’re my friend doesn’t mean I can’t vote for somebody else. Ponytail’s actually got a brain, plus she wasn’t Glasses.” 

Ikumi hummed, conceding the point. Then she grinned cheekily at her friend. “Well, I didn’t vote for you either. I voted for Iida actually.”  

Kacchan barked a laugh. “Man, some friend you are.” 

She lightly shoved him, still grinning. 

—

Toshinori knocked on the door of one of his oldest friends he still talked to. Which, well, was a narrow demographic. He had heard about a recent case his friend was working on and decided to check in while it wasn’t busy. “Are you alright?” 

Tsukauchi looked up, then sighed. “Honestly, Toshi, not really.” 

“Oh?” 

He pointed to his file. “This whole situation with Yokoyama Ken is a mess. Kind of reminds me of the Villain Factory Incident at Naruhata.” 

That had been a headache and a half to deal with. There was a staggering amount of paperwork regarding its earliest incidents alone. Not mentioning the Anonymous Villains and the valiant efforts from the Crawler to stop Number Six’s rampage. All he had done in that attack was play clean-up. 

Toshinori’s sunken eyes scanned the pages then flicked back to him. “This man-”

“-Has no discernable motive or drug history, I know,” Tsukauchi replied, draining his cup of coffee. “We took a blood sample, managed to check his tongue and…” he paused. “Well, we determined that Yokoyama’s on Trigger and… something, and it’s still in his system. Probably made from a Quirk and boosted with a mix of Trigger, then he took it or had it injected into him.”

Toshinori winced. “Making it harder to purge from the body.”

Quirk created substances often held a middle finger up to things like ‘wearing off’ without specialised help. Finding a potential antidote was going to be a time consuming and difficult process. If they had an inactive sample it could help but this attack had been way too sudden and random.

“Whatever it is, it’s not wearing off and it’s hitting hard. As far as the Quirk scientist can determine, it’s locked his brain in a near constant rage state - we’ve had to sedate him so that he doesn’t tear his body in half trying to break free.” 

Toshinori frowned, looking at the images of Yokoyama before the incident. He had been an office worker with a quiet record and even had a girlfriend. A far cry from what had been done to him - a raging berserker that had killed several people. 

“This feels like a hate crime.” All Might sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I really, really want this to be an isolated incident.”

—

In a rather unassuming townhouse, a plain looking businessman stared at a news report of some of U.A’s students. His lip curled back with disgust. The multi-armed freak, the oversized fox creature and its rock monster friend parading around decent people… In a less degenerate society they should have never been allowed out of doors. A truly pure society would have never suffered such creatures to live. 

“Great Shepherd.” A subordinate came up while he stared at the screen. “There’s been hints in the underworld of a major attack on U.A students.” 

He contemplated it. It would be difficult for any member to get away but U.A had long been a symbol of degeneracy with its abominable creature Nedzu as the Principal. “Any creatures joining the attack?” 

They sniffed disdainfully. “Several, as is expected. A rampage could be quite dangerous.”

The Great Shepherd smiled. “Send a couple of our lower ranked acolytes in plain Villain outfits then. No need to reveal just what we’re doing yet, but this is too good to pass up. We should make sure that this attack is as bloody as possible.” 

They bowed deeply. “As you command.” 

He turned back to the television and his thoughts, sighing. Hopefully an incident like this would help show that the Great Jeda Purge had been necessary all along. Certainly there were Pure ones among the Creatures, but it was a sacrifice that he was willing to make. Besides, cavorting with Creatures like that meant they were no better than them,

—

Pausing just outside the door and easy eyeshot, Shouta sighed as he watched Iida shoot over to Midoriya. “Ah, Class President Midoriya! Good morning!” He boomed, like it wasn’t too early in the morning to be so cheerful.

“Oh! Good morning Iida!” Midoriya gave Iida a hesitant look. “Um, what did you-”

“If it is not too rude, I have some suggestions for how to prepare the class in a fashion befitting this great institution!” Iida practically vibrated in place, hands chopping at odd angles.

“Um-”

He pulled out a binder with at least fifty different tabs, holding it up to Midoriya like an offering to a shrine. “I’ve also taken it upon myself to organise a class schedule! If that’s okay with you!”

“Wow, Glasses, that’s way too much information,” Bakugou drawled. 

That earned him a glare from Iida before Midoriya smiled. “A-a bit, yes. Then again, I’m like that with analysing Quirks and talking Heroes, so…” She paused. “I-I mean, if I need help Iida, I’ll ask. But thank you for trying to help.”

Iida nodded rapidly. “Understood! I’ll try not to get in your way regarding your role as Class President!”

Shouta chose that moment to walk into the classroom, watching impassively as chatting students shot back to their seats. “Not too bad but could be better,” he commented, sweeping his gaze across the students. 

He hadn’t had so many good students before. It was both heartening and worrying - sending teenagers into a world as dangerous as Heroics had grated on him ever since he’d become a teacher. Depending on how well they did at Rescue Training his opinion of them would shift one way or another. 

The Principal had had a bad feeling after the break-in yesterday. As a result, Eraserhead was going as well as 13 and All Might and had improved security across the main campus. For his students’ sake, he really hoped that the break-in was just a stupid media event. 

—

Their trip for Rescue Training was heralded by a really tall bus. Mina had stared, slightly gobsmacked, then remembered it was likely for Midoriya and shut up. Then Iida turned to Midoriya with a whistle in hand. “Ah, Midoriya! Should we not be ordered by our student ID’s to get on the bus in a safe and orderly fashion?” 

Mina sighed as Iida badgered Midoriya. Guy just didn’t know when to quit. The large girl just smiled awkwardly. “M-maybe tone it down a bit Iida? S-sorry, it’s just-”

“Ah. I’m being overbearing, aren’t I? Sorry.” Iida looked abashed. 

In the end, his needling about student ID numbers hadn’t meant much given that there were a pair of benches facing each other in the front half. As Iida slumped in despair that his idea hadn’t been necessary in the first place, Mina just patted him on the back. “Eh, it wasn’t a bad suggestion! You just gotta trust that Midoriya’ll talk to you about any issues she faces.”

Tsuyu turned to Midoriya, who was currently stretching her hand up hesitantly, seeing if she could touch the ceiling. “Speaking of Midoriya. I generally say what’s on my mind.” 

“Oh! W-what is it, Asui?” 

“Please call me Tsuyu. Your Quirk’s kind of crazy, since it’s essentially two or three in one.” 

Midoriya looked dumbfounded. “W-well, it’s really only two… I-I just have more pronounced mutations than my dad…”

“Dude, you breathe fire and have invisible armour on your body!” Kirishima spoke up, before a slightly downcast look came over his face. “Plus you’re super strong! All I do is get rock hard…”

“Phrasing,” Mineta drily commented, high-fiving Kaminari. 

Midoriya looked affronted. “It’s a really cool Quirk though! You’re probably the toughest person in class!” 

“You’re not the only one with two Quirks,” Tsuyu commented. She turned to Mina, a slight smile on her face. “I mean, Mina can make acid and has super strength. How are those related?” 

Mina shrugged, trying to recall the explanation. “I did some more physical conditioning and… it sort of turns out I had a secondary stockpile aspect to my Quirk where my acid’s been stimulating my muscles?” 

It worked well enough as an explanation - though Mina had to admit she did feel a bit of a failure since she couldn’t use One for All to its fullest like All Might had. She just knew her body would break and snap under its full force - and she wasn’t desperate enough to break her everything just to get ahead in school. 

Kirishima sighed at that. “Which is crazy manly and all, plus it’s flashy! Cause today it’s not enough to have a good Quirk, you have to really stand out!”

“Like moi!” Aoyama sparkled. And yeah, Mina would pay that - he fired laser beams from his belly button. Didn’t get flashier than that. “Power and flashiness in spades!” 

Mina couldn’t help but poke a bit of fun at the sparkly French kid. “So long as you don’t blow up your stomach.”

As Aoyama pouted, Kirishima shrugged. “Now, if we’re talking powerful and cool… Well, it’s gotta be Ashido, Midoriya, Todoroki and Bakugou - you guys are just insane!” 

Midoriya flushed, trying to shrink as much as her huge frame allowed. Todoroki didn’t even react, staring off to the side. Mina and Bakugou both grinned widely at the well-deserved praise. 

Tsuyu shrugged. “Shame Bakugou’s a bit of a jerk though.”

Bakugou glared at her. “The heck do you mean, Kermit?!” 

Kaminari chuckled, a lazy expression on his face. “Yeah, you’re just kind of rude and angry all the time, man.”

While Bakugou raged, Midoriya looked at the class with mild amazement. “Never heard anybody else rib Kacchan before… Well, except Kamakiri, he and Kacchan are very similar…”

His head snapped over to Midoriya, Todoroki watching him with a frown. “What?! I’m nothing like Stabby!” 

The bus came to a halt then and Mina hopped out. She honestly couldn’t wait to get this Rescue Training started!

—

“WHOA, THIS PLACE IS MANLY!”

“Is this Universal Studios or something?” 

Shouta sighed as his students boggled at their latest training grounds. No matter how many times he’d taken students here, the first time always got them. 

“No, but damn close! This facility is designed to simulate any natural disaster imaginable! Whether it’s flooding, landslides, earthquakes, wildfire or storm conditions, you name it, it’s here!” Thirteen popped in front of them, spreading their arms wide. “This is the Unforeseen Simulation Joint!” 

Midoriya perked up. “Oh! It’s the Space Hero, Thirteen! She's a Rescue Hero known for her charming attitude!” 

“Oh, I love her!” Uraraka squeed, almost loud enough to pierce Shouta’s ears. Fanboys and fangirls were always the same. 

While the students were chattering and milling around, Shouta came up to Thirteen. “Where’s All Might?” 

Thirteen spared a glance at his class, in particular Jirou and Midoriya. The two students with enhanced hearing had already glanced over their way, mildly curious. “Oh, he had to resolve the paperwork for three incidents at his office. He should be here at the end.” 

Shouta sighed, despairing at how All Might was so irrational even with his time limit. “Well, guess it’s just us. Let’s get this started. Thirteen, would you mind explaining the purpose of today’s lesson?” 

The students perked up as Thirteen came in front. “Well, before we get started I want to say… oh, I want to say a lot of things…” She held up some fingers before snapping her eyes on the class. “As I’m sure you know, my Quirk is called Black Hole. Like its namesake, it can suck in and destroy anything.” 

“Yes! You’ve used it to rescue an incredible number of people,” Midoriya explained while Uraraka nodded almost as rapidly as Iida’s hands chopped. 

Thirteen nodded. “Yes, I choose to use my Quirk to save lives.” Her voice lost its jolliness, becoming more serious. “But don’t forget that my Quirk could just as easily kill or maim.” Thirteen's gaze swept over his students. “And some of you likely have Quirks like that as well.” 

Most of his students looked shocked or contemplative at that blunt statement. He was privately pleased to note that Bakugou, Ashido and Todoroki, three of the biggest powerhouses in the class, were listening and taking this seriously. Sometimes students only focused on the battle aspect because it was the most publicised part of Heroics. 

“In this superpowered society, Quirk usage is still heavily restricted - even using your Quirk for a business has many restrictions outside of Heroics. It is easy to forget that it only takes one move from an uncontrollable Quirk for people to die.” Thirteen’s tone was deadly serious, their words hitting their mark with the students. 

She spread her hands to make her point. “Eraserhead’s initial Quirk assessment helped demonstrate where your strengths lie and started making you more confident with using your Quirks. All Might’s battle training introduced you to how dangerous your Quirks can be to others. In this class, I will show you a new perspective - I will show you how to use your Quirks to save others!” 

He saw Midoriya nudge Bakugou with a slight grin on her face, the blonde scowling. Thirteen continued, heedless of this. “Your Quirks are not meant to harm others. I hope that by the end of today you will leave with the understanding that you are meant to help people, not harm them!” 

She took a bow, Iida leading the class in clapping and cheering for Thirteen. Shouta leaned against the railing. “Alright. First off-”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a speck of something by the main fountain. Focusing directly on it, his eyes widened when he saw what was coming. 

—

Ikumi’s ears twitched when she heard a faint sound. Eraserhear whipped around to the class, face frantic. “Everybody, huddle together and don’t move!” He shouted, the loudest they had ever heard him talk. 

In the main plaza below, Ikumi could see what had made the noise. Black-purple mist spread out, and what emerged… 

A tall, skinny man with white hair stepped out, covered in what looked like hands. Following him were an assortment of people in various costumes - she’d seen a couple of them on the news - usually having run away from the Heroes pursuing them. Her heart thundered in her ears.

Then the monster stepped out. Almost a foot taller than All Might, with black, angrily scarred skin and an exposed brain. It vacantly stared at them, its beaked mouth filled with teeth. A slight breeze came from the plaza behind the group, carrying up to them.

And Ikumi couldn’t help but be nauseous. 

Ikumi’s sense of smell was incredible. She had been banned from Hide and Seek when she was four because she could find her playmates wherever they went. Only about a week with her classmates and she could already tell them apart just from how they smelled - every person was unique. 

There was a whole host of smells for the various people there, but two stuck out. The monstrous figure and the man with hands clutching his body stank of blood and decay ostensibly, but she would have to classify that scent as nothing less than death. 

She stared, wide-eyed. Kirishima peered at the group, unsure what to think. “Are they robots like in the exam or-”

Their teacher pulled his goggles on. “Stay behind Thirteen and don’t move! Those are Villains!”

A man who seemed to be made of the same mist that had brought the Villains here materialised, yellow eyes studying their group. “Hm… Only Thirteen and Eraserhead. According to the staff schedule I received yesterday, All Might is supposed to be here. Did he have a change of heart?” 

Ikumi’s eyes widened. The reporters yesterday… That had been their doing! 

“Aw, what?” The man covered in hands rasped, looking at them. “We went to all this trouble to get our raid group together, and the Symbol of Peace doesn’t even show up!” He stood there, distractedly. “Well, if he’s not here… killing these kids’ll be a good consolation prize.” 

—

Ironically it happened in what was supposed to be Rescue Training. When we were supposed to be learning how to save and help others, we were the ones who most needed those teaching applied to us. We were thrown into the deep end, confronted by dark forces that had lurked in the shadows for their chance. 

To make matters worse… Unknown to us, another group was making its moves as well. 

Chapter Text

Ikumi swallowed anxiously, staring at the Villains downstairs. Next to her, Kirishima looked stunned. “Villains here? W-what kind of Villains’d be dumb enough to attack U.A?!” 

Yaoyorozu looked at Thirteen desperately. “Thirteen, aren’t there intruder sensors here?” 

“Y-yes, we should be hearing them right now-”

“Or the Villains cut them off,” Todoroki’s voice cut through the air. His eyes narrowed. “I’d say they’re just attacking here though - they knew there’d be less people here. It’s better planned than it seems.” 

Ikumi’s heart leapt into her mouth. They want All Might here, don’t they… Why would they want that? 

Aizawa-sensei turned to look at them, that scarf of his starting to rise and coil in the air. “Thirteen, begin the evacuation! They must have an electrical Quirk here that’s cutting the sensors. Kaminari!” He jerked when Aizawa spoke. “Try to use your Quirk to signal for help.”

“G-got it!” Kaminari managed to stammer out. 

Ikumi gasped. “Y-your fighting style is more focused on quick, decisive strikes backed up with your Quirk! Y-you can’t take on all these fighters-”

“No competent Hero is a one trick pony,” Aizawa sensei drawled. “Thirteen! Start moving!” And with that, he leapt down to the plaza, and Ikumi couldn’t help but watch as he went to town on them. 

“E-even when he's so badly outnumbered, he’s able to fight them so easily…” she breathed as he moved, effortlessly defeating a four armed fighter with rocky skin. The Villains in the main plaza hung back, none of them wanting to engage in close quarters combat with Eraserhead, the Pro Hero lashing out at any Villain that so much as moved towards the class.

“Midoriya! This is no time for analysis!” Iida shouted, and she shook herself. Right, she couldn’t afford to watch!

“Come on, students!” Thirteen ushered them away, Ikumi quickly charging forwards. Ikumi just had to hope that Eraserhead could hold out long enough to get help. She cast a look over at where Eraserhead was fighting - 

Her eyes widened in fear at what she saw, or rather what she didn’t. Where had the mist man gone-

“I am afraid I cannot let you escape, students.” The black and purple mist surrounded them, blocking their escape. “Good day, students,” he stated in an echoing, pleasant tone. “We are the League of Villains. Please forgive our audacity, but we have come here today to kill All Might, the Symbol of Peace.” 

Her breath caught in her throat. And looking at her classmates, she wasn’t the only one. 

—

Mina’s eyes were wide. If she hadn’t known about All Might’s condition, then she might have been able to shrug it off. But since she knew about his injury and that he didn’t have much time at full power… Whatever scheme they had could work. 

Apparently unaware or uncaring of the fear they were feeling, the Mist Villain continued talking. “We expected All Might to be here, but it seems he isn’t. Did he change his schedule?” After a second, he shook his head, Thirteen opening a finger on her glove. “It doesn’t change my role-”

Pink lightning arcing around her, Mina charged in with Bakugou and Kirishima. “EAT SHIT!” Bakugou yelled, a mighty BOOM emphasising his point. Kirishima and her struck at the same time, her fist surrounded by an acidic coating that protected her hand from the heat of Bakugou’s explosion. 

Kirishima grinned, Mina joining him. “Didn’t expect that, didya-”

Her grin faded when his misty head came back into view. “Guh… That was close. You children are a cut above the rest, aren’t you?” 

Black-purple mist sprung around her classmates. Barely thinking, Mina leapt back to try and run out of his mist or protect a classmate- 

“Writhe in torment until you breathe your very last, students. Try not to die when you’re in my Quirk, I don’t particularly want to clean up the mess,” the Villain hissed. 

Panicked shouts sprung up from the rest of the class. Thirteen quickly slammed the finger of her glove shut, and the rest of the class stood there, frozen. Midoriya gestured at Iida frantically. “Try and run for it, Iida-”

Mina tried to jump back again, but it was too late. Blackness consumed her and, when she could see clearly again, she was surrounded by flames. A Villain loomed over her, grinning. Then Ojiro spun nearby and slammed his tail into his midsection. 

“Nice move Ojiro!” She gave him a thumbs up, before One for All sparked once again. She shot a jet of high pressure acid into a Villain charging at him. As the Villain shrieked at getting what was basically a fire hoses’ worth of acid smashing into him, she gestured to Ojiro. “Let’s get outta here!” 

She hoped the rest of her class was okay. Particularly Kirishima - hopefully he was with Bakugou since they seemed to have hit it off. 

—

Katsuki briefly stumbled, then regained his footing. Next to him, Shitty Hair braced, teeth grit. “Dammit! I thought we had him!” 

He snorted, watching the Villains around them. “Tch. Guess we gotta try harder next time.” A Villain, apparently emboldened, decided to charge only for Katsuki to bash him with his gauntleted arm. “Anyway, gotta fight now!”

“Got it!” Shitty Hair’s rock hard fist slammed into another Villain’s jaw, knocking them down with a single hit. 

Katuski grinned, readying himself as Villains charged in. A tiny part of him expressed concern for Midori but he pushed it down - after all, she was his friend. No way these two bit Villains could threaten her.

—

Tsuyu was briefly stunned for a second when she hit the water. Then the reality of the situation hit her and she shot through the water. If she had been warped here by that Villain, other students might have been brought here as well. Used to the aquatic conditions, she spotted Mineta flailing in the water, a stream of bubbles pouring from his mouth as he tried to swim up. 

Shooting over, she grabbed him, looking for other students. A huge splash behind her and she twisted, seeing Midoriya plummet through the water. She quickly started to swim over to Midoriya, but the larger girl had managed to recover and was starting to swim back to the surface. 

A shark Villain grinned at Midoriya. “Say goodbye, kid-” Tsuyu nodded with satisfaction as Midoriya lashed out with a punch that sent the Villain spiralling backwards, leaving Midoriya free to make it to the surface. 

Trying to keep an eye behind her, Tsuyu rocketed back to the surface, heading for the ship. Midoriya surfaced later, gasping as she grabbed the ladder. 

“Need a hand, Midoriya?” 

“Ah - yes, thank you Asui.” Midoriya hauled herself out of the water as quickly as she could, grabbing Tsuyu’s hand for what small support Tsuyu could give her. 

“Please, call me Tsuyu, kero,” she told Midoriya as the much larger girl got on board. 

Mineta coughed up a mouthful of water. “T-thank you, Asui- Tsuyu!” He amended upon seeing her give him a look. 

“Don’t thank me just yet. We’re not in a good spot, Midoriya,” she croaked. Tsuyu really hoped that they only had to deal with one Villain in the water, but that would have been too easy. 

Mineta went pale. “So… They did that whole media invasion thing yesterday?!”

“It’s the only explanation we’ve got,” Midoriya stated shakily. “They planned this carefully… And they only got tripped up because All Might had to deal with paperwork at his office.” 

Mineta laughed shakily. “But - there’s no way they could kill All Might! I-I mean, he’s All Might! When he gets here, he’ll take them all out in a second!” 

Tsuyu shook her head, an anxious expression on her face. “True, but they wouldn’t have gathered all of these people here if they didn’t have a way to kill him. They have to have some weapon or Quirk that would work.” 

His face fell. Tsuyu felt pretty bad about stating something so bluntly but it had to be done. “Not to mention, even if All Might gets an alert, who’s to say that we can hold out long enough for him to get here?” 

With that, Mineta let out a manic giggle. “How much worse can this get?!” 

After that statement, a series of splashes from the lake came. Looking over the railings, they could see a whole host of water themed Villains. One of them, the shark Villain, seemed particularly agitated. 

“Oh, there’s more of them,” Mineta stated shakily. 

—

Across the various parts of the USJ, Villains jeered as Hero kids got warped to their locations. A few, however, carefully slipped near their less human looking colleagues. While this was nerve-wracking work, it had to be done.

Making those with cursed blood show their undeniable true nature was more important than their own lives. They had already pushed down their distaste and disgust at having to work alongside them. Syringes were primed, watching for an opportunity. 

Not all of them were able to find a suitable Creature, though. The agent in the landslide zone didn’t even have the opportunity to take it out of his pocket before the ice hit him and a scar-faced boy started to interrogate them.

But in the flood zone, one of them decided to make the situation a bit bloodier. Plus, it would take out two Creatures at once, so there wasn’t any downside he could find. His hand slipped towards Sharkyonara…

—

Ikumi took a deep breath. She really, truly wanted to find some reason why the League of Villains was doing this but for the moment she couldn’t think about that. “If… If there’s even a chance that they can take out All Might, then we have to fight!”

Mineta stared at her. “HOW ARE YOU SO FREAKING CALM?! I MEAN, THEY SAID THEY WANT TO KILL ALL MIGHT AND YOU WANNA FIGHT EM?! THAT’S JUST INSANE!”

“I know it’s terrifying Mineta, but we have a chance!” Ikumi shot back. “Look, they clearly planned around having suitable Quirks for each Zone, but they warped Tsuyu here! So I don’t think they know what our Quirks are-”

A wordless bellow of rage interrupted her train of thought. Whipping around, her eyes widened as she saw the Shark Villain from before roaring, his pupils shrunk to pinpricks of pure rage. A Villain near to him tried to back up, only for him to swipe down their chest, practically tearing him in half. 

The Villains around him swore, backing away with disgusted and horrified looks on their faces. Unheeding, the shark Villain snarled, red eyes focused on them. With a feral growl, he shot towards them, focused on Ikumi. Mineta screamed shrilly as he shot out of the water, jaws opened with saliva foaming around his lips-

Ikumi took a deep breath, feeling Dragonframe flow into and around her before grabbing him as he charged, barely keeping his snapping jaws from her face. Dragonframe flowed from her arms and over the struggling Villain, and she managed to spin him around, howling with rage at being denied. “M-Mineta!” She cried, barely managing to pin his arms as he thrashed. 

Mineta blinked, then he nodded. Hastily he threw Pop Off at the Villain, balls sticking in spite of the water that clung to his frame. The Villain, still howling, scrabbled madly at the shorter boy only for Pop Off’s balls to stick to his arms and legs, locking them in place. 

Ikumi nodded, then sucked in a deep breath. 

—

Minoru cheered as he saw Midoriya’s fire impact the side of the Shark Villain with a massive BWOOMPH of fire, sending the Shark Villain flying in the opposite direction, still struggling to remove the purple balls pinning his limbs in place. 

He watched, wide-eyed, as the Shark Villain crashed into the lake. “Holy…” He breathed, just impressed at how far she’d sent him. Even though Minoru knew Midoriya was crazy strong, seeing that was just… unreal. 

Then his face split into a grin. “T-that was so cool Midoriya! You just took him out!” Then he took a look at her face and froze.

Midoriya was shaking in place, trying to look confident but failing. Minoru looked at her anxiously as she tried to regain her confidence. “I-I did it…” she breathed. 

“You alright, Midoriya?” Minoru asked. Because, sure, seeing Midoriya in action was hot, but right now they were surrounded by Villains and he was finding it a bit hard to think of a plan beyond ‘don’t die’. But he couldn’t back down, not when he knew that Midoriya was as scared as he was. 

She nodded, then took a deep breath. “I’m fine. Just… going to try and get us out of here.” 

Minoru looked at Midoriya with a confused look on his face. “What are you going to-”

Midoriya loomed over the railing. “ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO FIGHT?!” She roared, glaring at the assembled Villains with her ears folding back. As one, the Villains flinched back. “COME TRY IT!” 

“Y-Yeah!” Minoru backed her up, pulling a Pop Off Ball from his head and jumping onto the railing. “Or do ya want a taste of our Quirks?! Your buddy sure didn’!” Tsuyu leant against a railing, arms crossed and glaring out to match Midoriya. 

Inwardly he prayed. Please work, please work, please work-!

The Villains looked at her, then at where the Shark Villain had landed. As one, they fled, backing far away from them. 

“Nice one, Minoru,” Tsuyu commented, offering a hand. “Get on my back, kero.” 

“Got it,” he managed, quickly clambering on while his heart jackhammered in his chest. “Okay, that was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done.”

“Let’s go, Tsuyu, Mineta. I-I don’t think they’re going to come back, but I don’t want to risk it,” Midoriya said, gearing up to get in the water. 

“Get ready, Mineta.” 

As she shot towards the shore and Midoriya dived through the water, he sighed in relief, clinging tightly to Tsuyu’s shoulders. It wasn’t long before they hit the shore line, watching the main plaza. 

Minoru glanced over at the class president. “...So, what’s the plan?” 

“Plan?” Midoriya hummed. “W-well, we should try and get back to the gate…” she focused back on their teacher as he fought. “But Eraserhead can’t fight all these Villains forever.” 

“M-Midoriya, please tell me you’re not planning to jump in like that…” Minoru pleaded. 

Midoriya shook her head. “No. Just… If we can find an opening to help sensei, we-we should take it.” 

Minoru looked over at Tsuyu, then let out a shaky breath. “Y-yeah. Maybe.” 

While they’d only stopped one Villain, it didn’t seem like they were going to get attacked anytime soon. Though that Shark Villain going feral like that… Was he on Trigger or something?

—

Eijiro panted for breath, looking over at Bakugou as he shook his hands. “Looks like that’s all of ‘em in this building,” Bakugou sucked in a deep breath. “Damn bunch of mooks.” 

Eijirou grimaced, pointing to the door. “Alright! We gotta go help the others! If we’re here, then they’ve gotta be in the USJ as well-” 

A ferocious scream interrupted that thought. Eijiro looked outside and his eyes widened upon seeing some guy with a dinosaur Quirk fighting a couple of Villains. Blood stained his hands, a couple of Villains trying to back away with huge claw wounds over their arms and torsos. “Wait, they’re… fighting each other?” 

“Could be Trigger or some shit,” Bakugou glared. “Like in Kamino a few years ago.” 

Eijirou hummed, then winced when the Villains trying to fight back got injured. The Dinosaur Villain flung one of them through a building, his victim trying to get back up then falling back. “Guy looks worse than that. Looks like he’s even more pissed off than those guys in Kamino.” 

Bakugou looked down, then shook his head. “Look, let’s get outta here and take out that mist guy! That’s the most important guy here!” 

He couldn’t help but level a flat look at Bakugou. “Dude, he can teleport-”

A louder scream came from below. A Villain was staring, open mouthed as the Dinosaur guy loomed over them, jaws salivating and about to crunch down on the Villain’s head. Bakugou took one look at the situation and his eyes widened. “Fucking-”

Eijirou yelled and charged after Bakugou as he rocketed out of the building. Hurrying down the stairs, he saw Bakugou slam into the dinosaur guy with the force of a small missile before launching another explosion at the prone Villain, knocking him into another building. 

The Villain he’d saved took one look at his saviour and promptly passed out. Bakugou dusted himself off angrily. “Can’t fucking believe I saved a Villain,” he groused. “Midori’d never let me hear the end of it if I just let a Villain die.” 

Eijirou sighed. “Yeah, that’d be pretty bad.” 

Bakugou scoffed. “Anyway, what are you worried about?! If all they’re sending after us are,” he suddenly twisted and slammed a chameleon Villain who had snuck up on them into the ground, making Eijirou jump, “ these chumps… we should be fine.” 

He couldn’t help but grin as Bakugou stood back up, dusting his hands off. “You know, you’re awfully calm all of a sudden, Bakugou.”

Eijirou couldn’t help but grin slightly as Bakugou glared at him. “I’M ALWAYS CALM, SHITTY HAIR!” 

—

Tomura scratched his neck ferociously as he watched Eraserhead tear through the mooks he’d brought. Admittedly, he wasn’t exactly stressing about the manpower since he had Noumu and Krugori by his side to take out the Symbol of Peace, but it was still disheartening. Was this really the best quality of party members he could recruit? 

Eraserhead executed another combo and his mental countdown finished. “Twenty-three seconds,” he hissed. Yep, it had definitely gotten shorter. 

Sure, Eraserhead seemed like an impossible boss, especially since he could turn Quirks off by glaring at people. But Tomura had played enough games to know that to beat a boss, you had to learn their patterns, find their weak points. And unlike in video games, when you got somebody to half health in real life they didn’t get stronger or develop new attacks - they tended to slow down. 

“What’re you talking about?” Eraserhead managed, already throwing his Capture Weapon out to slam a mook into the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, Tomura spotted some Villain sneaking towards the four armed guy who had tried and failed to take out Eraserhead - some sort of friendship deal? Whatever.

Tomura grinned as he ran in, seeing his path. “See, here’s the thing, Eraserhead. I don’t know where you’re looking due to those goggles of yours, but I can tell when your Quirk turns on and off. When you turn it on your hair floats up, right? So cool.” 

Eraserhead charged in, throwing out that Capture Weapon to try and catch him. Tomura grabbed it, watching the Hero’s face. 

A guttural roar sounded from behind him. Tomura paused, annoyed that somebody was interrupting his strategy and monologue. “What the hell is it?” He rasped. 

—

The small-time Villain stared at the four-armed, rock-skinned Creature as it roared, its eyes bloodshot. His legs had given out under him, terrified. The Great Shepherd had said that it would unleash the true nature of the Creature he injected, showing them for what they were. He had thought that injecting the Villain while he was unconscious and attention wasn’t on him was a good idea.  

Whatever the serum had in it was potent, considering that the Creature was up and roaring, eyes bloodshot. He had known that Creatures were worse than animals, but seeing the truth of the world up close was terrifying. Horrific. 

Snarling, it turned around, and he realised that he was in its way. His legs locked up in fear as it bore down on him, despite his desperate desire to get away. And the last thing that went through his head was its fist.

—

Tomura stared as his four-armed mook, who he had thought was knocked out by Eraserhead ages ago, punched another mook in the head, smashing his skull open like an egg. His other Villains screamed in horror but Tomura had seen worse - done worse. “What the hell was that? Why are you team killing?”

The rocky guy with four arms roared, his fist covered in blood. He then turned to the other Villains, snarling like a rabid dog. The rest of the Villains backed away, faces anxious as he flailed around angrily, roaring louder. Even Eraserhead was looking at the scene with his mouth open, but not so distracted he couldn’t dodge a Villain trying to sneak attack him. 

One of his Villains asked, shakily, “Is he on Trigger? Fucking-” 

Snarling, the rocky guy charged at another guy at the same time as Eraserhead launched an attack on Tomura. Tomura was forced to back up and start his count again, watching and waiting for Erasure to drop so he could take this frustrating Pro Hero out. 

“Boss, we need help!” A mook cried as the rock guy with four arms started swinging. He threw up some kind of earth wall but that barely phased the hulking brute. Another Villain threw a knife at the rampaging teamkiller, accomplishing nothing more than attracting the guy’s attention. 

“Duly noted, but a little busy at the moment!” Tomura rasped, lunging at Eraserhead. “See, I think I got your pattern down. You finish a combo and then turn off Erasure, right? Well…” 

Eraserhead hissed in pain as his elbow crumbled. “Looks like your interval’s been getting shorter and shorter!”  

The Hero punched him in the gut to force him away and his elbow stopped disappearing. But Tomura was pretty happy with the results. “What did you think was gonna happen, huh?! I mean, you’re a Rogue with lots of burst damage! Why go and fight a huge group-”

More screams sounded from his men, and Tomura sighed. Well, he couldn’t have this team-killing fucktard kill more of his team members and distracting him from Eraserhead. Whatever this shit was, he was not having it interfere with his plan to kill All Might and these worthless Hero students. “Excuse me, Eraserhead.”

He snapped his fingers, pointing at the rampaging Villain. “Noumu, deal with him.”

Noumu stared at him dully, then it moved. 

—

Eraserhead nearly swore when he saw that brute - Noumu? - by the side of the main Villain attack. One second it was standing, eyes vacant. The next, its hand was on the rampaging Villain’s head. It stared at the Villain dully, as he roared and flailed in Noumu’s grip. 

Eraserhead had a horrible feeling about what it would do. Just before he looked away and slammed his hands on his ears, he saw Noumu's hand twitch. Then:

CRUNCH.

The hand covered Villain sighed as his large minion threw the headless body away, blood and bits of bone on its hand. “I really wanted to keep him in reserve longer. But then that Villain had to start killing my men for no reason.”

Eraserhead stared at this newest Villain, already firing up Erasure. He knew he was at his limit already, and the only thing he could hope for was that he could hold out until help arrived. But in the face of a Villain like this… He didn’t have much hope.

The hand covered Villain’s grin widened. “Eraserhead? Meet Noumu, the actual boss.” 

Chapter Text

From the shore of the lake Ikumi stared at the hulking Villain that loomed over their teacher. Her eyes were drawn to Noumu’s hand, still bloody from where he had casually killed the other Villain. Next to her, Mineta retched. She couldn’t blame him, not after hearing that sickening CRUNCH , horrifyingly loud even when she clamped her hands over her ears just before-

She shuddered with fear. Nobody deserved to die like that.

“...We are in serious trouble,” Tsuyu murmured, face pale and eyes wide. 

Ikumi nodded in terror. “That - He just killed that man,” she murmured. She wanted to run, to flee, but her legs felt like they were stuck in cement. This was nothing like the Sludge Villain, nothing like the lake. 

This was nothing more or less than true evil. 

“And he was acting like the Shark Villain,” Tsuyu commented. “Did - did they have the same Trigger?” 

Eraserhead was standing there, teeth grit and Capture Weapon writhing in the air. The Hand Villain and Noumu loomed over him, the former leering and the latter staring blankly, mouth open and drooling slightly. For a second, there was a stand-off, then the Hand Villain snapped his fingers.

It happened almost too fast to see. One second, Eraserhead threw a spool of his capture weapon around its fist, trying to pin its hand shut as he darted forward. The next, he was flat on the ground, face pressed into the dirt by one mighty hand, the other delicately gripping their teacher’s arm. 

The Hand Villain shook his head with mock sadness. “See, erasing Quirks is a pretty neat gimmick. Too bad for you, you’re going up against the answer to All Might - Noumu, the Anti Symbol of Peace! Against his bio-engineered strength, you might as well have no Quirk at all.” 

In the midst of the horror, Ikumi’s mind latched onto that idea. Bioengineered?

Eraserhead tried to push himself up, glaring at Noumu to try and nullify his Quirk. The Hand Villain tutted. “Noumu?”

Sausage thick fingers squeezed. Ikumi winced when she saw Eraserhead’s arm snap like a dry twig, their teacher barely able to stop screaming in pain. 

As the Hand Villain sneered down at Eraserhead, Noumu gripping their teacher’s head with a hand still sticky with blood, Ikumi braced against the bank. “What are you doing?!” Mineta hissed. 

“They haven’t noticed us yet, I don’t think. And I-I can’t just-”

Just before Eraserhead’s head was smashed into the ground, a swirl of black-purple mist appeared near the Hand Villain, followed by yellow eyes and an elegant waistcoat. “Shigaraki, I have urgent news to report.”

“What is it, Kurogiri?” Shigaraki rasped. “Can’t you see I’m taking out this midboss? I hope you at least managed to take out Thirteen.”

“Thirteen is in no condition to fight. However, there are two things I wish to report. The first is that some of our Villains are calling in about infighting - apparently several Villains have gone feral and are attacking Hero students and Villains alike. It’s causing quite a bit of chaos.” The Mist Villain - Kurogiri - spoke quite flatly, as if the information didn’t matter. 

Ikumi’s eyes went wide with that information. There had been more attacks like what had happened at the lake? What was going on?

—

Momo and Jirou were not in the best place. When she had been dropped in the mountain zone with Jirou and Kaminari, the situation had been dire. Only her and Jirou’s quick thinking and Kaminari pushing his Quirk to its limits had given them some semblance of breathing room.

Then another Villain had grabbed Kaminari while he had been stumbling around in a dazed state. He had demanded that they surrender to save his life. Momo had complied, Jirou surrendering with her.

He glared at them, gesturing for them to move. “Go over there, and don’t move. He may be a fellow electric Quirk user, but I’ll fry him if needed.”

“...Yay…” Kaminari slurred, dopey expression beginning to twist in panic.

“Hey, just wanna know, why are you even a Villain?” Jirou suddenly asked. 

Momo turned her head to look at her. “What?” 

Jirou managed a shaky laugh, a bead of sweat trawling down her face. “Well, you could get a licence for just about any job. Your Quirk’s pretty damn versatile.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Momo saw Jirou’s earjack slowly sneaking down to her boots. Carefully she kept her face as blank as possible. If Jirou could launch an attack-

“You thought I wouldn’t notice?” The Villain brought his sparking hand closer to Kaminari’s face. 

Jirou grit her teeth, her Earjack getting pulled back. Momo winced - had she given Jirou’s plan away?

The Villain just shook his head. “That kind of trick only works in goofy kids’ manga. You Heroes should take these hostage situations more seriously.” 

Momo shuddered, then her eyes widened. A hulking Villain with a bear mutation staggered upright, eyes bloodshot. He seemed to glare at the Villain, then raised his claws. “Behind you!” 

The Villain shook his head. “Really? You’re trying that-”

Behind him, the bear Villain let out a bestial roar, jolting the Electric Villain. He spun around, grip loosening on Kaminari. The bear Villain swiped his massive clawed hand down, which the Electric Villain barely dodged. 

A risky plan hatched in her mind. Momo ran forwards as the Electric Villain was distracted, managing to pull Kaminari free. The Electric Villain snarled, then nearly got hit by the Villain’s feral swiping. With a grunt of frustration, the Electric Villain ducked under another ferocious swing then shocked the Villain back into unconsciousness. 

He turned back, hands sparking with power, only for Momo to smash a baseball bat into his stomach. Wheezing, the electricity on his hands vanished. 

Desperately Momo turned to Jirou, already darting to the side. “Jirou!” Not needing much more than that, Jirou’s Earjacks slammed into her boots. A wave of sound crashed into the Electrical Villain, sending him keeling over. 

Momo panted in shock, but managed to keep her hands steady. A spool of rope started to slowly unwind from her stomach. “Jirou, could you…?” 

Jirou started, then grabbed the rope. “Oh! Right, sure…” 

—

Ikumi sucked in a breath while Shigaraki growled with frustration. “Okay, so we’ve got more teamkilling idiots? Great! Fantastic!  What’s the other news, Kurogiri? And it better be good-”

Kurogiri shook his ethereal head. “Alas sir, it isn’t. I was unable to prevent one of the students from escaping - the other students stopped me from reaching him before he sped away. I surmise that we will have unwanted visitors within half an hour at most.”

A spark of hope went through Ikumi. It sounded like Iida had managed to get out of the USJ, at least. 

With that, Shigaraki briefly went still before starting to twitch. “...if you weren’t our way out I’d turn you to dust,” he snarled, shaking with rage. “This whole raid has gone wrong! First All Might isn’t here, then there’s some team-killing assholes, and now a kid’s escaped?!”

“With a powerful speed Quirk. I estimate that we only have half an hour at most before the faculty is alerted.” Kurogiri bowed apologetically to Shigaraki. The Villain growled like a feral animal.

He paced, hands clawing at his neck while Noumu and Kurogiri stood still, watching. “If that brat gets to the teachers, we’ve gotta deal with All Might as well as dozens of Pros! Present Mic, Midnight, Ectoplasm, and that fucking rat…” 

Suddenly Shigaraki went still. “Well, guess this raid was a bust. Kurogiri, we’re gonna have to quit.”

“Understood, sir,” Kurogiri replied, a dark mist starting to spring up around his hands. Shigaraki stood there for a few seconds, taking a deep breath and letting it out with a frustrated air.  

Behind her, Mineta grabbed Tsuyu in a hug. “Oh my god, they’re leaving!” he sobbed as quietly as he could. 

“I have a bad feeling about this, Mineta.” Tsuyu paused, looking down at Mineta’s hand on her chest with a slight blush and disapproving eyes. “Also, I’m aware that today’s been stressful to all of us, but please stop grabbing me there.”

“What - oh!” Mineta let go, flinching under Tsuyu’s judgemental stare. “Not like I meant to, I’ve only got short arms…” 

Ikumi urged them to stay quiet with a wave of her hand. This Villain group leaving sounded good but Shigaraki didn’t seem like the kind of person who would just give up so easily.

—

Tomura let the tension drain from his shoulders. Angry as he was, the situation wasn’t so bad - he’d just have to try again. “Yeah… Guess we’ll DC. But before we do…” 

He turned to point at the three brats who had thought they were safe, like he hadn’t seen them. “Why don’t we humiliate All Might… by leaving some dead kids?” 

He shot over, hand reaching to clamp on on of their faces-

FWOOMPH!

-Only to pull his hand back hastily as a jet of flame shot in front of him. A shadow loomed over him - the freakishly tall girl with a vaguely sharklike face towered over him, teeth bared and hands clawed. A low growl came from her throat as she glared down at him.

“Get away from us,” she rumbled, ears flat on her head. Behind her, the other students watched, terror plain on the small one’s face but less so on the frog girl’s. 

It might have been a scary sight to somebody else. But as a Pro gamer and Villain, Tomura had seen and done much, much scarier things. He snapped his fingers in frustration, pointing at the girl. “Noumu.” 

Noumu, his beautifully min-maxed DPS/tank hybrid, perked up, then dropped Eraserhead. Tomura was vaguely impressed that this random girl had about thirty centimetres on Noumu, but Noumu positively bulged with muscle. 

He pointed at the girl, and Noumu responded. It surged forwards, just as the girl managed to breathe more fire at Noumu, the air filled with a horrible smell - almost like cooking rotting pork but not quite. Engulfed with flames, Noumu reared back, screeching in pain as the flames licked its skin, the bluish-black flesh turning steadily darker. Then Noumu pushed forwards, the girl’s eyes widening as Noumu pulled a fist back. 

Tomura watched gleefully as Noumu slammed its fist into her midsection. Her fire sputtered out, the girl wheezing and trying to get her breath back. Noumu stood there impassively as she threw a sloppy punch that didn’t even get a reaction. In response, it gripped her arm with an iron hold, pulling her away and into the water even as it burned. 

Tomura leered at the remaining students, both horrified as he grinned. “Now… where were we?” 

Once more, he lunged for the frog girl, watching with glee as she threw the purple brat away. Not like it would do her much good as his hand came closer to her face-

KA-BAM!

He stopped in place, then turned to see what had caused that noise. “Oh, what is it-” His breath caught in his throat. The one man he wanted to see was standing alone, face locked in a furious scowl. All around him, the brats at the gates stared up at him like they had 

The raid boss had shown his face. He could still win this. 

—

There were few things or people that All Might could say he truly hated. Only a few Villains had earned his enmity thus - the former leader of the CRC, a child trafficker that even now made his skin crawl… All for One. 

But seeing the terrified faces of his students giving way to hope, the sight of Thirteen lying flat with their suit torn open, seeing two Villains about to attack young Asui, Mineta and Midoriya… All Might had passed straight from anger into the cold fire of wrath. 

“Never fear, students.” His mighty voice carried far, far around the USJ, almost further than it should logically travel. All Might could wear a smile in almost any situation, but not this. With a casual gesture, he tore his tie off. 

“I am here.” 

The situation was dire, and he didn’t have much time for nonsense. After hearing Iida’s panicked account, there was no time to lose. And to think that all this danger could have been averted if he had been just slightly better at managing his time. 

“I’ve been waiting for you, All Might. You worthless trash,” the Villain covered with hands spat. 

A bunch of punk Villains stared up at him. ‘That’s-that’s him alright,” one of them muttered. 

Another managed a shaky grin, bracing himself for combat. “Who cares? If we just gang up-”

He never finished that sentence. All Might tore through the group to get to Eraserhead, wincing as he saw the state of his arm and face. “I’m sorry I took so long, Eraserhead. Can you stand?”

Eraserhead managed a tight nod, the remains of his capture weapon snapping around his shattered arm. “That huge brute he calls Noumu - he’s on the same level as you physically. He’s got some kind of regeneration Quirk - he’s barely affected by that fire Midoriya hit him with. Deal with him quickly.”

All Might glanced over at Midoriya and the other students. The larger girl had tears in her eyes, trying to tear her arm out of the burning Villain’s grip. She looked up at him with eyes filled with desperate hope.

His eyes narrowed. He turned fully to face the students and Villains, and then he moved. The world seemed to be in slow motion as he darted around the still smoking bruiser, grabbing Asui and Mineta in one arm and Midoriya in the other. He knocked the hand on the Villain’s face off as he sped around, which he privately considered a small price to pay. 

In safety, the students stared, trying to figure out what happened. “Huh?” Mineta asked weakly. “How’d we…”

All Might waved at them to go, eyes fixed on the Villains. “Go to the entrance, students! Your safety is our number one priority!”

The Hand Villain grabbed his dropped hand off the ground. “Sorry I dropped you, Father… Still, now we see the violence inherent in the system,” he rasped, snapping the hand back. “And you’re way too fast - too fast for us to see.” his face split into a ghastly rictus, cracked lips stretching over his face. “Too bad you’re not as fast as you used to be.”

All Might was immediately on guard. Not many Villains had the knowledge or insight to pick up on that fact.

Eraserhead managed to weakly push himself up, gesturing to his students. “Hurry!” Still shaken, Midoriya and the others started to move. Eraserhead and All Might traded a brief glance, then Eraserhead nodded, moving closer to the children to herd them away. 

“I-I think Noumu has some sort of impact-reducing aspect to his Quirk!” Midoriya managed to gasp, clutching her stomach in pain. “I-I hit him as hard as I could and it didn’t-”

“Hey! Stop helping All Might!” The Hand Villain complained, glaring at her. 

All Might mentally filed that information away, masking his feelings with a smile. “Never fear, kids!”

He charged forwards, arms crossed. “CAROLINA… SMASH!”

Both arms chopped into Noumu, hitting the bruiser right in the middle of his ugly mug. All Might quickly ducked as Noumu barely reacted to his full force hit, instead going for a crude bear hug. 

“That’s a rather annoying ability - regeneration and shock absorption together?” In spite of his light tone, All Might was seriously worried. The nature of this Villain… A horrible thought wormed into his mind at that revelation. 

“Exactly! You’d need to try slowly tearing him to pieces, but that won’t be enough! Noumu won’t let up, even for a second!” The Villain cackled with malicious glee. 

All Might shook his head as he spun around Noumu. For all his boasting, Noumu had the fighting skill of a complete amateur. “I won’t give him that opportunity!” 

With that, he pulled Noumu back, ready to pile drive him into the concrete to at least slow his movements down-

—

In spite of himself, Eraserhead stopped as he saw All Might slam Noumu into the concrete, a huge cloud of dust emerging. Even if All Might was a rookie of a teacher, his skill as the Symbol of Peace was undeniable. Next to him, Asui looked at the scene impassively, a slight smile on her face. 

“I guess they underestimated All Might, kero.” Asui’s comment was fairly polite and restrained. 

“Kick him in the junk, All Might!” Mineta’s was decidedly not. 

For a moment, he couldn’t blame them for staring at the scene with wide eyes, seeing a man so far above them in terms of speed and strength. Then Eraserhead’s anxiety flared. “Be that as it may, you need to get to the entrance and away from here. This is no place for students.”

This was a battlefield, after all. He was not about to see his students die. Not like Oboro. Eraserhead watched with a worry that didn’t reach his face, trying to find an opening to help All Might. 

Unfortunately, he couldn’t risk using Erasure at this distance with all the dust from that explosion in the way. If he got All Might, then the Number One would die at the hands of Noumu, simple as that. Not just that, but All Might had practically insisted he get the kids out -  the Rescue was the most important part of Heroics, after all. 

All Might didn’t have much time left today - maybe a few minutes. He had to make it quick-

Suddenly the impossible happened. All Might grunted with pain. And as the smoke cleared, Eraserhead felt dread settling in his stomach. 

—

Mina couldn’t help but stare, eyes wide. Just as her and Ojiro had left the burning zone littered with groaning Villains and had headed to the main plaza, they caught the explosion. She had hurried over with Ojiro to try and see what had happened… But she hadn’t anticipated this. 

The Hand Villain giggled, looking at All Might, bent over backwards to try and suplex the huge Villain. “Trying to immobilise Noumu? Not a bad move at all! Too bad Noumu’s got the same insane Strength score you do.” 

Mina’s heart skipped a beat when she saw All Might hack up a mouthful of blood as Noumu’s fingers dug into his side. The black mist of the gate sprung up in two places, leaving All Might in an unfortunate position. Tomura grinned maliciously. “Good timing, Kurogiri.”

The Warp Villain - Kurogiri - appeared next to All Might. “Thank you, Shigaraki. Now, I do despise having somebody dying in the middle of my Warp Gate… it makes such a mess. But for you, I shall make an exception.” 

Noumu started to slowly pull All Might through the portal. And as soon as Mina saw that, she felt the same manic urge that drove her in front of that hulking VIllain take over. She turned to Ojiro, a slightly shaky smile on her face. “Ojiro, I’m gonna do something incredibly stupid.” 

“Wait - what-?”

Pink lightning arced around her body as One for All flared up. High pressure acid shot from behind her, rocketing her towards All Might. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Midoriya suddenly break away from Eraserhead. 

“MIDORIYA! ASHIDO!” Their teacher yelled. Pinned in place, All Might could only watch with a strained look on his face. 

Mina heard him, of course, and she knew that Midoriya did. But at that moment, one thought remained in her head as she shot towards Shigaraki. 

All Might, you’ve got a whole bunch to teach us! You’ve got to help me use your Quirk to the fullest!

Shigaraki looked surprised as she swung her fist at him, barely managing to dodge. Black-purple mist sprung up. Gritting her teeth, Mina prepared to try and hit that misty bastard-

KABOOM!

—

“EAT IT, MISTY!” 

Katsuki relished the grunt of pain that the mist bastard let out as he was knocked down, his Warping ability winking out of existence. He glared up at Midori, his friend watching with wide eyes as he slammed the Villain to the ground. 

“Kacchan-”

“You thinking at all when you charged this guy?!” Katsuki yelled at her. His prisoner tried to shift, only to wince when he slammed his hand down. “Oh, no. No moving for you!” 

Midori teared up. “I - N-not really?” 

A crack of ice from behind her caused them to both turn. The hulking bastard with All Might in his grip was suddenly half frozen, and the Ice Jerk was there. “I heard you people were here to kill All Might,” the jerk said dully. “Too bad scum like you could never do it.”

Shitty Hair tried to hit the Hand Bastard only to wince as the jerk decided to dodge. “Damn, almost had him!” Shitty Hair cried. 

“K-Kirishima?!” Pinky yelled, that weird lightning surrounding her. Shitty Hair briefly turned to give her a thumbs up before turning to face them.

All Might pulled himself free, standing tall as the icon of victory Katsuki knew he was, staggering slightly and clutching his side where the Villain had gripped him. Katsuki knew that was likely just a bluff though - no way anybody could hurt All Might. 

Curiously, the other Villain didn’t seem concerned. “Well, you’ve locked down my hearthstone. This is a problem.” 

“S-Shigaraki-”

Katsuki ground the bastard’s head into the dirt. “Ah-ah–ah, no moving for you. I’ll blow your head off if you try that warping shit!” 

“That’s not very heroic, dude…” Shitty Hair mumbled. 

While Katsuki really wanted to turn and yell, he wasn’t going to risk it. Not while the other Villain was standing around like this was a casual day out. 

—

“Okay, what the hell happened here? Did you pricks seriously no-hit my level? Man, my League of Villains should be ashamed…” Shigaraki mumbled. 

Ikumi couldn’t help but tense up. She had gotten really lucky that Noumu hadn’t tried to break her arm like Sensei’s - she had had to pull all of Dragonframe into her midsection just to soak that hit and even then, it was a close thing. Her telekinic shell was trying to flare back around her body but she had already used most of her energy on trying to hurt Noumu.  Maybe Noumu looked a bit crispier-

“Noumu, kill the explosive brat. We need our warper back.” 

With a cracking of ice, Noumu, impossibly, pushed himself back up, tearing the frozen chunks of his body away. 

“What - how’s he still moving?!” Ashido shouted. 

“Get back!” All Might flung an arm out, and Ikumi gasped as she saw Noumu, impossibly, regrow his lost arm and leg, bone and muscle seeming to come from nowhere. 

“Please! Noumu’s a living sandbag who can take whatever you miserable Heroes throw at him!” Shigaraki cackled at that, watching as his minion pushed himself back up.

This was far beyond what she had expected. How could a person even regrow that much lost tissue and not be affected? Noumu howled, screaming for dominance-

“EAT THIS!” Ashido yelled, a massive geyser of acid hitting Noumu square in the chest. And it screamed in horrific agony, flesh bubbling and steam coming from its chest as its body was slowly stripped to the bone once more, somehow, impossibly, still standing. Ashido’s stream of acid shut off, a horrified look on her face. 

“I-”

Noumu staggered, its body stitching itself back together again. To Ikumi’s eye, though, it looked like the process wasn’t as quick as before. His chest was discoloured to a corpse white, splatters of damage still on its relatively unharmed arms and legs. 

Shigaraki stomped his foot petulantly as Noumu staggered. “What the fuck?! Stop ruining this plan! Noumu, get your stupid ass up and KILL THAT BLONDE!” 

Ikumi’s breath hitched. Desperately she flung herself in the way, knowing that she could never catch Noumu-

—. 

KABAM!

For a second, Tomura was sure that the kid had been turned to paste. But when the smoke from Noumu’s strike cleared, he sighed in disappointment upon seeing him next to the oversized girl. 

“K-Kacchan?! Did you dodge-”

“Hell no,” the brat growled. “All Might must’ve done it.”

Still, Kurogiri was free and hanging just by him. And, of course, All Might was still alive, and still smiling. “Your friend doesn’t know how to hold back, does he?” 

Tomura glared at his nemesis. “Wow, anything to save an ally, right? Like before - the tall one and that pink girl came at me and Kurogiri with everything they had, all to ‘save a friend.’ Because violence in the name of saving others is so good , isn’t it?!” 

He waved his hands. “I mean, that just pissed me off! Heroes are good, Villains are evil?! That’s just the victors writing history all over again! Well, when I kill you, I’ll rewrite that history and show the world how you’re just a tool to get rid of those who don’t fit in!” 

All Might laughed at that. “You don’t even believe that, young man. You’re just doing this because you enjoy it.”

Tomura shrugged. It had been worth a shot, at least. “Wow, you saw right through me.” 

Behind All Might, the brats started talking. “W-well, it’s three on six, we can take him!” The red haired guy said. 

The pink one managed a shaky smile. “Y-yeah, we can do it-”

Then All Might flung out his arm. “No, stay back children!”

“Things wouldn’t have gone so well if I hadn’t dealt with that Noumu,” the candy cane kid bluntly pointed out. 

“Plus you’re-you’re bleeding, All Might… And it smells like you’re bleeding a lot.” The ridiculously tall girl squeaked. 

“Right you are, Todoroki! And don’t worry about me, Midoriya!” All Might gave them a thumbs up. Tomura fought the urge to puke at his cheesy attitude. “Sit back and watch a Pro get serious!”

"Noumu, Kurogiri. Team fight All Might while I deal with the kids," Tomura waved at his minions idly. 

All Might squared up as Tomura darted towards the group. “It’s time to clear this fucking level!” 

As Tomura came closer, he saw the kids trying to get into fighting stances. Not like it would help them much against his Quirk. Then All Might just had to get in the way, forcing Noumu to get in front of him to fight. 

Snarling, Tomura was forced to jump back as a shockwave sprung up from their fists colliding. “You know he’s got Shock Absorption, right?” 

“So what?” All Might’s fists suddenly blurred, and Noumu responded in kind, their exchange of blows blurring. “Too bad he can’t nullify impacts!” Tomura growled angrily as All Might kept blabbering. “So if you built him to beat me…” 

To Tomura’s shock, he saw Noumu start to get pushed back even as its blows hit All Might. “...THEN I’LL JUST HAVE TO SURPASS MYSELF!” 

“No, no, no…” Tomura muttered as Noumu staggered, reeling back as- 

Frustratingly, All Might kept talking. “Say, Villain, do you know the meaning of the words?” He grinned. “ PLUS-”

And then All Might hit his beautiful Noumu with a punch. For a second, Tomura was hopeful as Noumu stood still. Then Noumu shot away with the force of a cannon, smashing through the ceiling and boring through a cloud. 

“-ULTRA!!”

Tomura stared at the torn hole in the ceiling where Noumu had flown. His mind went blank. While the brats started blowing smoke up All Might’s ass about how wonderful it was that he overwhelmed Noumu’s Quirks, one thought went through his mind. 

How… 

He was snapped out of it by All Might chuckling. “I really am slowing down… In my heyday, I would have only needed about five punches. But that took me over a hundred blows!” 

Tomura’s eyes narrowed. 

—

“You… You hacking bastard!” Shigaraki raged, hands clawing.

Internally All Might winced. He had maybe a few seconds left where he could safely move with his Quirk. He had to make them count. “Surrender, Villain! Unless you want to go another round?” 

“Did-did they lie to me?” Shigaraki sounded lost, clawing at his neck. 

All Might wanted to know who this ‘they’ was but knew he didn’t have the time for a long, drawn out interrogation. He reckoned that he could take a couple of steps before he lost his hold on his transformation. “You were the one acting like this was a game. Come on, see if you can win!” 

Just a little more time until the other Heroes get here!

Shigaraki scratched his neck hard enough to draw blood. “If only Noumu was still here… He took those hits so well!” 

“Now, now, Shigaraki…” Kurogiri tried to reassure his master. “It looks like Noumu did some real damage to All Might. If we team up, we can take him out.”

Shigaraki stopped scratching his neck. “...Yeah… Yeah, the kids are hanging back as well. No way they can interfere.”

All Might glared at them, trying to summon the rest of his power. “I’m warning you!” He took a single step forward, the Villains flinching back as he did. Unfortunately, he really had hit his limit at this point. 

“We really should retreat-”

Shigaraki waved Kurogiri to shut up. “No way, Kurogiri! The final boss is on one hitpoint! We’re so close!”

All Might grit his teeth as Kurogiri and Shigaraki charged forwards. Calling on reserves he didn’t even know existed, he managed to bring up his arms, aching and bloody-knuckled as they were. He faced the Villains with a grim resolve. 

It seemed that Sir Nighteye’s prediction was about to come true. He had been ready for this to happen but it seemed so sudden-

Suddenly Ashido was between him and Shigaraki with a war cry of her own, pink lightning sparking around her as she charged at Shigaraki. His heart leapt into his mouth when he saw a gate open above Ashido's head, Shigaraki reaching a hand through with a disinterested expression on his face.

Then Midoriya leaped in front of Ashido, teeth bared and one fist pulled back. Shigaraki leered. “Well I wanted the pink one, but you’ll do!” 

All Might watched helplessly as Shigaraki reached out to grab Midoriya-!

His fingers stopped a centimetre away from her. The Villain stared, open mouthed. “What-”

Midoriya’s fist lashed forwards. 

—

…I am very used to holding back. Everything’s too small, too delicate for me to easily handle, but I manage. After so many broken pens and pencils, I can finally hold ones that aren’t designed for my hands without breaking them. 

Other parents and kids were worried that I’d accidentally hurt other kids if I played. Kacchan was the first kid who actually wanted to play with me since that was a risk. I-I think that was something I really needed to hear at that point. 

…What I’m trying to say is, before now I never seriously tried to punch somebody full force. I knew that I was going to have to hit some Villains with everything I had, I just - 

Like Mineta said, I’d really hoped that would be later. Not in our first week. But at the time, I was furious at Shigaraki for treating everything like a game, and I was terrified that Ashido and All Might were going to be killed. 

So I hit Shigaraki, as hard as I could. 

—

CRUNCH.

Mina stared at Shigaraki with wide eyes. Sure, she knew that Midoriya was strong - she kind of had to be given how tall she was. But seeing Shigaraki go flying from that hit, a visible imprint of Midoriya’s fist still buried in his midsection as he spat up a stream of blood… 

Everybody was just happy that Midoriya was so nice and gentle. Midoriya stood there in front of All Might, panting with a fist raised. 

The Warp Villain’s eyes widened. “Shigaraki!” With a furious glare at Midoriya, Kurogiri grabbed Shigaraki and the body of the four-armed Villain. Bullets flew past from the entrance - Mina saw that it was Snipe, trying to take out Kurogiri before he could flee. 

Mina darted forward to try and grab Shigaraki or Kurogiri but it was too late - her fingers only managed to snag a fallen hand as Kurogiri warped away. “Dang it,” she muttered. She turned back to Midoriya with as big a smile as she could manage. “Nice work, Class Prez-”

Midoriya slumped down, tears gathering in her eyes. All Might managed to step over, raising an arm. “Young Midoriya-”

As the teachers started to come in to help the students, Mina and All Might stood with Midoriya. Mina hugged MIdoriya as hard as she could, holding her. “I-I thought we were going to die!” Midoriya sobbed as All Might heped hold her up. 

All Might looked down. “...Again, I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help.”

Mina managed a shaky smile. “D-don’t worry, Midoriya. We’ve got your back, all the way. And we’ll get that guy next time.” 

The thought struck her as she stood there with them. Next time. Mina knew she wasn’t the brightest student around, but she knew that Shigaraki would try again. 

But next time, they’d be ready.

Chapter Text

Inko had just been tidying up when she got the phone call. Sighing slightly, she went to pick up her mobile phone, wondering if it was a friend or a telemarketer - but no, it was a private number.

With a raised eyebrow, she answered the phone. “Hello?” 

“Am I speaking to Midoriya Inko?” When she responded, the man on the other end continued. “I’m part of the Musutafu Police Department, and you were listed as an emergency contact by your daughter.”  

A hundred horrible scenarios flashed through Inko’s mind. A deep, frozen pit opened in her stomach. She gripped the phone tighter, fighting to keep her voice level. “What happened to my daughter? Is she alright?” 

—

Earlier…

As soon as her eyes pricked, Ikumi tried to hold her tears back, to little effect. Her mother’s whole family were big criers, and Ikumi just had that part of her genetics interfere. A flood of tears poured from her face, eliciting a concerned noise from Ashido and All Might. “S-sorry,” she blurted out on instinct, trying to stop the waterfall that poured down her face. 

“It’s okay, Midoriya,” Ashido said, a pensive look on her face. “I totally get it.” 

Blurry eyed, Ikumi managed to stand up a bit straighter, keenly aware that she was leaning on All Might after his fight. “I - oh gosh, are you alright?” she squeaked. 

All Might managed a quick nod. “I’ll be fine, young Midoriya. If I’d gotten here earlier…” he managed to clench his fist then grimaced. 

Ikumi looked at him closer. The smoke from All Might’s last attack should have dissipated by now. Why was there more smoke…? 

Ashido gave her and All Might an uncharacteristically nervous look. The smoke seemed to be increasing as All Might stood there - had he accidentally damaged a pipe or something? “Maybe we should get back to the rest of the class?” 

“That might be for the best,” All Might interjected. Ikumi looked at him closely - was there something different about his face? 

“Oh! Sure, All Might!” 

“Yo! Midoriya, Ashido, you guys okay?” Looking up, Ikumi could see Kirishima running over to them, concern clear on his face. 

Ashido’s eyes widened. “Yeah, we’re fine Kirishima! Me and Midoriya’ll be there in a minute!” 

He didn’t look too convinced, before a wall of concrete sprung up between them. Ikumi looked over, her eyes going wide at seeing Cementoss coming over. “We need to be sure that all you students are okay. I’ll take care of All Might.” 

Ikumi poked her head over, managing to smile at Kirishima. “Don’t worry, Kirishima. Ashido and All Might are fine. You should get back to the rest of the class.” 

He gave her a thumbs up. “Okay, Class Pres!”

Ikumi gave him one back, then her ears twitched as a small explosion happened behind her. As Kirishima ran off, she turned back to Ashido and All Might. “Alright Mina, let’s-”

Her eyes widened. Ashido stood there with a guilty expression on her face. Next to her…

The man who now slumped on the ground bore some passing resemblance to All Might - he was almost as tall, with the same blue eyes and yellow hair, and he wore the same yellow suit All Might had arrived in. But his hair was scraggly and unkempt rather than neat and slicked back, and his suit hung off an unhealthily skinny frame. 

Despite how she felt when she stared, she couldn’t help but run her eyes over the rake-thin man. It had to be All Might - there wasn’t any other way. But he looked so… 

Beaten . The thought sprung up, unbidden as she looked at him. Far from the undefeatable Symbol of Peace that inspired Kacchan so. 

“A-All Might?” She squeaked. 

“Indeed,” All Might said. He sighed, a forlorn look on his face. “I must ask that you keep this side of me a secret.”

Ikumi managed a wordless nod. Ashido patted her on the back. 

Cementoss gave them sympathetic looks, before turning back to All Might. “I’m a fan of yours, All Might. So we’ll get you to the nurses’ office without letting others see this side of you. But honestly, you need to stop overdoing it like this…” 

“If I hadn’t overdone it, the students would be dead,” All Might rasped. Cementoss’s smile slipped, giving All Might a serious look. 

Ikumi couldn’t help but stare at All Might. Overdoing it? She could understand that comment - after all, All Might looked like he was on the verge of collapse - but that choice of words stuck with her. Not just that, seeing how Ashido looked more surprised when she had looked at All Might and not All Might’s diminished state…

“W-what happened to you-”

All Might held up a hand, a tired look on his face. “Since you’ve seen this side of me… I guess you should know the full story. But not right now - you students need to get back to the main campus.” He slumped on the ground, Cementoss carefully scooping him up. 

Her breath caught in her throat. The rest of the class was waiting for them with the police. Right - she had to make sure that everybody was okay as well. “Ashido - Mina, are you…” Ikumi trailed off. 

Mina shakily nodded, dusting herself off and patting Ikumi on the forearm. “I’m fine.” She then managed a smile. “Thanks to you getting in the way of Shigaraki.”

—

Naomasa carefully looked over the students. “Eighteen, nineteen…” he nodded. “Looks like all the students made it back in one piece.” 

Under the watchful eyes of the police and Heroes the students had gathered at the gate, anxious, tired looks on their faces.  Naomasa shook his head as the rest of the officers got to arresting every Villain they could find. These students were probably going to be amazing Heroes if they could recover from this. 

“Man, you and Mina got through the fire zone, huh…” The invisible girl commented to the tailed boy - Ojiro, from the class registry - next to her. 

He managed a shaky smile. “Yeah, we managed to get out by the skin of our teeth. Then she shot off to try and fight that Noumu thing.”  He paused. “Where were you, Hagakure?” 

“The landslide Zone!” She rubbed her hands on her arms. “Man, Todoroki’s crazy strong!” 

At that, Todoroki looked down briefly. Having seen the landslide zone for himself, Naomasa could guess he was thinking about how he had nearly hit her. 

“Say, where do you think I was?” Aoyama pointed at his classmates dramatically. The other students just shrugged, talking about where they had been attacked.

“It sounds like there were nefarious ne’er do wells in every corner of the USJ,” the boy with the bird head commented. 

“So does anybody want to know where I was?” Aoyama shot again, dramatically posing. 

“Alright students, we’re going to get you back to your classroom now,” Naomasa interrupted. He spared a glance down near the water, where officers had just managed to subdue a rampaging shark Villain, his jaws stained red with blood. Naomasa . “Now’s no time to take your statements.”

“Detective… Are our teachers going to be okay?” Asui asked, an anxious look on her face. Next to her, the purple haired boy nodded, a similar expression on his face. 

Naomasa paused, before managing a nod. “From what I hear, Thirteen’s injuries were the most severe - her Quirk’s torn lacerations in her back and arms but she should be able to recover. As for Eraserhead, his arms have been reduced to splinters.” 

The purple haired boy looked like he was about to pass out while Asui took a shaky breath. The rest of the class were similarly distressed - some looked like they were ready to be sick, others just staring at him almost uncomprehendingly. 

He paused. “And regarding All Might… this Noumu wasn’t able to inflict life threatening injuries but it was close. He’s gone to the nurse’s office to recover.” 

Asui’s worried frown cleared up slightly. The rest of the class let out a collective sigh of relief upon hearing that. Naomasa looked over at Sansa. “I’ll leave the rest to you. I have to check in with All Might and get his statement of events.” 

“Understood.” 

“Sir!” Officer Onizuka came up, saluting. “We’ve apprehended what seems to be a Villain about half a kilometre away.” He frowned. “He didn’t even try to resist arrest - he could be mute.” 

Naomasa digested this information then tipped his hat to the Principal. “Principal Nedzu, I’d like to go over this school with a fine toothed comb, if you don’t mind.” It was unlikely they had other infiltrators but they had to be sure. 

“Please, do so!” Nedzu’s voice was chipper and polite, but Naomasa could tell that Nedzu was on edge. “Investigations are your jurisdiction, so please do what you feel is necessary!” 

Naomasa managed a curt nod, looking back over to the still struggling Villain. Looking back at Sansa, his meaning was clear. As Sansa started escorting the kids back to the bus, he stared at the Villain with a worried frown. 

First it was just a heteromorph pedestrian who had suddenly attacked. Now, only Villains who were heteromorphs displayed the same set of symptoms as that previous attack. Naomasa watched as the officers finally managed to get these Villains locked into the prison transports, a frown on his face. Either the Villain Factory had resumed its operations… or this was something else entirely. 

—

Going back on the bus was almost as bad as the USJ. Mina and the rest of the class had been checked over by the police and were given Hound Dog’s number with the other therapists on staff to deal with the event.

They had gone through the departure in a dazed state, as if they were half asleep. It wasn’t until they got back on the bus and it trundled off without Aizawa-sensei in the front that it hit them. 

We were nearly killed today. 

The bus was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Mina slumped in her seat, looking at the rest of her classmates. Even knowing that their teachers were going to be okay, everybody was shaken. It was going to be a while before she could smile. Next to her, Ojiro looked down at his clasped hands with a frustrated and stressed expression. 

Satou, Sero and Kaminari were nodding in their seats, jerking back to consciousness every now and then before trying to get back to sleep. Koda sat next to Tokoyami, Dark Shadow wrapping its arms around them both. Shoji and Todoroki looked calm on the outside but Todoroki gripped the guard rail in front of him tightly and Shoji’s arm stretched up every now and then, an eye or ear manifesting to check on the bus.Yaoyorozu sat prim and proper but was fiddling with a matryoshka doll that hadn’t been there before. Next to her, Jirou had stuck her Earjack into her phone, distractedly flicking through songs to try and distract herself. 

Midoriya sat pretty much where she had been before, Aoyama sitting next to her with a tight look on his face. Opposite her,  Iida sat hunched up, a guilty look on his face while Uraraka tried to comfort him. “You got there as quick as you could, Iida,” she said, managing a brief smile. 

“I should have been faster,” Iida insisted. “I-I can’t believe I just ran and left you to fend for yourselves!” 

“Nah, you told All Might to come quick,” Mineta mumbled from where he clutched onto Tsuyu’s arm. The frog girl didn’t make any comment, only nodding quietly. 

“Plus we had the class president with us. I mean, Midoriya sent that Shigaraki guy flying,” Kirishima said, a small grin on his face. MIdoriya flinched at that, causing Kirishima to frown. “Uh, are you okay-”

Midoriya looked up with an anxious expression on her face. She twisted and tangled her fingers together. “Yeah, just… I-I’ve never hit anybody that hard before. And I just ran in without thinking-”

Bakugou shook his head, his face neutral, almost calm compared to his typical cocky, angry demeanour. “None of that crap Midori. You saved Pinky’s life with that stunt.” 

Mina winced, the memory settling in. Right, she had almost been killed. Even though it wasn’t the first time she had stared death in the face ( a hulking giant with teeth like jagged cliffs loomed over her classmates, metal and concrete crushed beneath his fingers like it wasn’t even there, his voice increasingly impatient as he demanded they tell him where the police station was) , it wasn’t any less terrifying. 

Midoriya managed a tight little nod. “Y-yeah, but it was still reckless.”

Kirishima nodded. “Right. Sorry, I just…”

“It’s fine, Kirishima,” Midoriya said reassuringly. She hunched back up.

Mina looked up at her large friend. A guilty feeling rose in her stomach - if she hadn’t been in danger, All Might wouldn’t have had his secret revealed. If there had to be anybody in the class to learn about this, though, she was kind of glad it was Midoriya. When they got back to school, she was going to take Midoriya to see All Might and clear this up.

Beneath her skin, One for All’s faint pulse reassured her slightly. Even if it had been a close thing with Shigaraki, she would have to get better next time. 

—

Toshinori managed to sit up when he heard Midoriya and Ashido walk in. Midoriya looked at the ground awkwardly as he looked up at her. “Hello, Midoriya.” A cough built up in his throat, thankfully without any blood. These students had gone through enough today without seeing the Number One bleed. 

“Hey…” she shuffled her feet. “S-sorry for-”

“For what? Seeing me like this?” Toshinori shook his head. “If I had been there from the start, you students wouldn’t have gone through everything. Still, there is no time for talking about what should have happened.” 

Midoriya looked between them. “Ashido, you knew about All Might’s, uh, condition?”

Ashido nodded, a subdued look on her face. “I… saw All Might before the school year started.” 

She nodded. “I-I thought that was the case, I just wanted to be sure.” Midoriya sucked in a deep breath. “How… what happened?” 

Toshinori sighed, then pulled up his shirt. She whimpered upon seeing the mass of scar tissue that stretched over his left side. “Eight years ago, a Villain did this to me.” He let his shirt flop down, sighing. “I lost a lung and part of my digestive system.”

Midoriya gasped. “A Villain? Did Toxic Chainsaw do that to you?” 

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Toshinori almost laughed at that. “You’re remarkably well-informed, but that lowlife? No, it was-” 

All for One’s crimson eyes bored into his as he screamed, a tentacle that seemed to be made of drill bits and teeth tearing through his side. “My word, your master was pathetic if YOU’RE the best she could do,” he sneered, just before All Might managed to pull himself in closer-

“-a different Villain,” he said. Toshinori shuddered. “You wouldn’t have heard of him - every record concerning that man has been removed.” He sighed, looking down at himself. “Thanks to my injuries, I can only be a Hero for three hours a day.” 

And even that may not last much longer - after that last stretch of effort, it might drop to two, or even one. But if he told Midoriya that, then she might feel even worse about the situation. 

Midoriya stared at the ground for a few seconds longer. Ashido nudged her friend in the side. “Midoriya, this is… nobody’s fault except the Villain’s. And besides, that Villain got beaten. Right, All Might?” 

He managed a smile. “Right.” 

Midoriya looked torn. “I-I should really tell Kacchan about this-” 

Toshinori held a hand up, shaking his head. “Don’t tell anybody who doesn’t have to know. Please.”

She looked stunned. “Kacchan’s my best friend! He-he wouldn’t tell anybody-”

“If somebody knows about my condition, it may make them targets for the League of Villains,” Toshinori interrupted. When she jolted at that, he looked up at her tiredly. “I do not doubt that he is trustworthy. But the knowledge of my physical condition is a heavy burden to bear. You and your friend already have enough to worry about without this on top of it.” 

Ashido reluctantly nodded. “I wanted to tell a friend as well, Midoriya. But if I can keep this secret…” she trailed off, giving Midoriya a knowing look. 

Midoriya looked between them, then she reluctantly nodded. “Okay. I-I won’t tell him.” 

A wave of tiredness came over him. Toshinori sagged back onto his bed. “Alright, young Midoriya.” 

—

Katsuki glanced up at Midori as they waited in the classroom, everybody having changed back into their school uniforms. “What kept you with All Might and Pinky?” He asked. 

Midori hunched up. “Uh… I was just making sure that Ashido was okay,” she said quietly. 

He looked at her oddly. “Didn’t you say you were both fine or something?” he asked. 

She nodded awkwardly. Katsuki glared up at her. “Then what was the fucking hold-up? Why’d you go with her just now?” 

“I… can’t really tell you, Kacchan.” She fiddled with her hands, looking away. 

Katsuki’s eyes widened. He snarled at her. “The fuck’s the matter with you, Midori? Why can’t you tell me?!” 

“I just can’t,” Midori said, raising her voice a little. When he glared at her she twisted her hands together, but her eyes were firm. 

He took a long, hard look at her, then sighed. Midori didn’t keep secrets unless there was a good reason. While she might be a bad liar, if she didn’t want to tell him something, then she wasn’t saying anything no matter how much he yelled. “Tch.” He paused. “Fine, I won’t ask. But if you need somebody’s ass kicking-”

She managed to smile. “I know, Kacchan. I’ll ask you to help then.”

—

Naomasa quietly knocked on the door to Recovery Girl’s office, then opened the door. “Pardon me,” he tipped his hat to the elderly Heroine. 

The pink girl - Ashido - jolted when he entered’ “I - uh - is-is this okay-”

Toshinori just laughed. “Don’t worry, Ashido. This is my favourite detective on the force, Detective Tsukauchi! He’s known about this side of me for ages.” 

Naomasa couldn’t help but sigh. “We,, thanks for the weird intro.” he came over closer, pen and notebook in hand. “Sorry to rush you, but I want to ask about these Villains…”

“I’ll go over that later. I know the students are alright but… How are Thirteen and Eraserhead?” Toshinori asked. 

“Thirteen’s out of danger, and Eraserhead’s arms are being seen to,” Naomasa confirmed. “In all honesty, if you Heroes hadn’t fought so hard, then the students wouldn’t have made it out unscathed.”

Toshinori nodded. “True. But don’t forget that the students put their lives on the line as well.” He shook his head in admiration. “They survived a coordinated attack of that magnitude in their first year. Who knows what may happen in future?” 

Naomasa nodded, before a frown crossed his face. “Not wholly coordinated,” he mused. 

Toshinori looked up at him sharply. “What do you mean?” 

Sitting down, Naomasa sighed. “Because some of the Villains are acting like that berserker we put into custody yesterday,” he said. 

Ashido looked up, an awkward look on her face. “That attack in the middle of the street?”

“Yes, that’s the one.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Three of the Villains apparently went insane and started attacking everyone and everything around them. We’ve sedated them and are looking for the cause… but we haven’t found it.” 

—

Earlier…

A rather plain looking police officer grabbed one of the Villains roughly. “Come on, you,” he growled, spinning him around. His hand went into the Villain’s pocket, and he felt the syringe there. For a second, his eyes widened, then he surreptitiously checked to see if anybody was focusing on him.

When he saw nobody around, he made his move. Quietly tapping it, it shrunk down to a minuscule size and he carefully removed it from the Villain’s pocket, slipping it into his own. “Nothing in this one’s pockets,” he said to another officer. 

The Villain looked at the officer, who surreptitiously nodded, then put a rough hand on the Villain’s shoulder and shoved him towards the van. Their holy war against the corrupt couldn’t be interrupted with such things. The so-called ‘Heroes’ wouldn’t understand that what they were doing was right. 

Chapter Text

As the day drew to a close, Mezou kept looking around the room at his classmates, eyes sprouting along his arms. Even though his arms shook with the effort, he couldn’t just stop keeping an eye on his classmates. Next to him, Iida had a similar look on his face.

He barely blinked as Midoriya came up to him, giving him a worried smile. “How are you feeling, Shoji?” 

Mezou paused. “...Tired and stressed,” he said. Sighing, he looked around the class again. 

Midoriya did so as well, a slight frown on her face. “You want to keep an eye on everybody after Kurogiri took them.” 

It wasn’t a question. Mezou nodded. It was a foolish thing but… “Everybody was right there. And then…” He stopped, unable to find the words. It hurt that he hadn’t been able to keep more than a couple of his classmates in one place, and only because Kurogiri had been too distracted. 

She looked him in the eye, the same exhaustion that Shoji felt shining in them. “I-I get it. They - I’m the class President, I’m the one who’s responsible for us. And they were just… just gone before I could help.”

“Even so, Class President,” Iida said, having gotten back some of his flair, even if his hand chopping was far more restrained than it had been that morning, “we all did the only thing we could to survive such an attack! Though I am ashamed of running away from my classmates, there wasn’t any other way to tell the Heroes to come with our phones out of commission!” 

Mezou nodded seriously. “It still hurts that the only thing I could do was keep an eye and ear out.” 

Midoriya looked at Iida with a soft smile, then a spark entered her eyes. “Phones…” she breathed. 

“Class President?” Iida looked up. 

She pulled out her phone, then stepped to the front of the class. The rest of the class turned to look at her. Midoriya shrank back, then steeled herself. “Um… How do people feel about a class group chat? And, um, sharing contact numbers? Just in case!” 

Mezou could have slapped himself for not thinking of that. It seemed so obvious, yet he hadn’t thought of something so simple to try and keep in touch. Admittedly, he wasn’t the most social person either - but neither was Midoriya.

The class looked between each other, then Bakugou spoke up. “Fuck it. That’s okay with me, Midori.” With that, the quiet broke. Small smiles came over people’s faces as they pulled out their phones. 

Numbers were exchanged, even Todoroki pulling out his phone to connect. A couple of cute dog and cat pictures were shared in the meantime. Kaminari, now freshly recovered from frying his brains, helped set up the chat. And Mezou looked at the new phone numbers added to his phone with a smile on his face as their parents finally came.

It wasn’t perfect. But it would be good enough. 

—

A painful knot in Inko’s chest unclenched when she saw her daughter alive and safe just in the classroom. Not particularly caring about how she looked, she ran over to Ikumi, grabbing her in a hug. “Ikumi! You-you’re okay!” 

Clutching her back like she was about to disappear, Ikumi sniffed, lifting Inko clean off the ground. “It’s-it’s okay, mum, I’m safe. We-we all are.”

“Oh, Ikumi…” Inko sniffed, feeling her eyes start to water. “I was so worried…”

“Get to high ground, Grape,” Katsuki called to a shorter student. 

“Why-” 

A flood of tears poured from her eyes, and Ikumi joined in as they clutched each other, sobbing. With a flat expression on his face, Katsuki grabbed the short boy and lifted him onto the desk. The rest of Ikumi’s class managed to hold their ground as their tears soaked the classroom before a couple of drains opened on the floor, sucking the water away.

Normally Inko would have been embarrassed about crying so hard in public, but she didn’t care. Not after a frantic twenty minutes where she had almost broken several road laws driving to U.A with Mitsuki and Masaru. 

From the looks of several other parents gathered around the door, she wasn’t the only one. Everybody there looked like they were about to collapse in exhaustion and relief. 

The tears finally dried up and Inko was gently lowered to the ground. Ikumi managed a smile. “See? I’m fine. None of us got seriously hurt, we’re all in one piece.” 

Inko looked over at her daughter once more and saw how tightly she was holding herself. “Did… did you get hurt?” 

Ikumi hesitated, then she nodded slightly. “I’m just bruised. It’s fine.” 

Inko looked at her daughter in horror. She had known in the back of her mind that her daughter was going to get hurt as a Hero, whether it was from Villains or natural disasters. But for it to happen so soon… “You got hurt?! Are you sure you’re okay?”

Ikumi nodded, a determined glint in her eye. “Yeah, we all are, especially now we’ve shared phone numbers.” 

“You even got Katsuki to join?” Mitsuki managed, before shakily smiling at her son. “Nice to see him listening to you.” 

Katsuki didn’t respond to that, simply getting ready to leave. A red and white haired boy - that must have been Todoroki - watched Katsuki and his mother with an expression Inko couldn’t place, before leaving with a young, white-haired woman with similar red streaks in her hair. 

Inko didn’t pay too much attention, simply smiling up at Ikumi. “W-well, if you’re keeping in contact… that’s good.”

“It is, yeah.” Ikumi took a deep breath. “I-I know you want me to come home but… Can I just stay and make sure that everybody’s okay?” 

Inko looked up at her daughter’s face, saw how she looked around at her classmates, before nodding. “If it’ll make you feel better.” 

—

Midnight saw the last of Shouta’s students go with their parents, smiling and waving them away with Yamada. As soon as the parents were off campus she slumped, sighing. Yamada gave her a sympathetic look, passing her a cup of coffee. “It sucks, but this is the best we can do,” he stated, grabbing his own mug. 

She sighed, taking a sip of coffee. “I know, but… God, these kids are too young for something like this.” Nemuri took her mask off, pinching the bridge of her nose as she took another sip. The only consolation they had was that they had captured that Noumu Villain, a host of D and C-list Villains and there had been no fatalities - and even that was only because of All Might. “They were supposed to be safe here-”

“And they will be,” Nedzu chirped from behind them. 

Nemuri stiffened upon hearing Nedzu’s voice. To the uninformed ear, Nedzu sounded happy. But there was just a slightly brittle edge to his voice, that promised murder. He continued talking, almost sounding cheerful. “As I said to the police, we - no, I’ve gotten complacent during this long period of peace. We will improve our security - in fact, I have some ideas for Power Loader. This League of Villains won’t be free for long.” 

Hizashi looked at him seriously. “Really?” 

Nedzu’s smile slipped for a second. He bared his teeth, fur bristling. “ They have tried to kill children in my care.” 

And that was that. Despite his seemingly laissez faire attitude to what teachers did in their classes, Nedzu took his role as an educator and principal seriously. If there was something he took even more seriously than educating students it was protecting children, as the rather unscrupulous characters Nedzu had put away with extreme prejudice could attest to.  Even though his wrath wasn’t directed at her, Nemuri still shivered. 

Then Nedzu’s pleasant mask was back in place. “Well, in any case, we have much to do! Including preparing for the Sports Festival in a few weeks!”

Nemuri started. “So soon? I mean, don’t get me wrong Nedzu, I love the festival for its youthful enthusiasm, but U.A’s just been attacked-”

Nedzu simply nodded. “While I’m not entirely happy with this plan, I feel that delaying or cancelling the Sports Festival this year would only please the League of Villains and their benefactor. We will have more security - the police have promised five times the security for the Festival, to say nothing of increased hero presence.” 

Hizashi shook his head slightly. “...Shouldn’t we delay it?” 

The Principal folded his arms behind his back. “And appear weak to other Villains? If U.A is perceived to be weak, then other Villains will threaten our students.” he clapped his paws together. “So we’re going to put on a show of strength, browbeat these thugs.” 

She could see the logic of that. Not that it mattered when the students’ health and wellbeing was at risk. 

“Those students could have been killed.” Nemuri hadn’t felt so unable to help people in a long time. Not since- (A collapsed building in the rain, Shouta and Hizashi standing over it, soaked to the bone-) 

She shoved those feelings down. Looking at Hizashi’s grimace, she knew that he’d thought something similar. Nedzu gave them a sympathetic look. “U.A will support these students and the rest as best we can,” he said.

Nemuri had to hope that it would be enough for these kids. 

—

Ikumi blearily woke up to bright morning sunshine and the sound of birdsong. She glanced over at her alarm clock and jolted up in a panic. “Is it this late?! Why didn’t I-” 

Then Ikumi remembered what Midnight had said before mum had picked her up. “Right… school’s cancelled today.” 

She flopped back on her bed, staring at the ceiling in her bedroom, before managing to push herself up. As she got dressed under the confident stares and smiles of the Hero posters on her wall, primarily Gang Orca and All Might, she sighed. 

After what she’d seen at the USJ, All Might’s smile didn’t seem so reassuring. Not after knowing he could only fight for a few hours a day after extensive injuries like that. It wasn’t like she didn’t know the risks of being a Hero - natural disasters and Villain attacks weren’t known for being gentle - but it was another thing to see how badly All Might had been hurt. 

Villains had attacked her class to try and kill All Might and her classmates - and the Villain that had almost done it had torn through her defences like it was nothing. Not just that, but All Might had injuries that meant he couldn’t be a Hero for more than a couple of hours a day. 

She shuddered. If anything, that latter revelation was almost the scariest thing about yesterday. Because it meant that All Might was weak, vulnerable. “...That explains why he was so rushed after the Sludge Villain, at least,” she murmured, pulling on a pair of shorts. But even if it explained why All Might had acted that way, it didn’t provide much comfort, only an explanation. 

Dusting off her plain white T-shirt with ‘Shirt’ written on it, Ikumi took another look at the Heroes on her walls, a resolved expression forming. After eating, showering and sleeping, she had managed to get her head mostly straight about everything that had happened. The suddenness of the attack, the brutality of the League of Villains and that particularly feral shark Villain from the lake… it had been terrifying. 

And the attack had only increased her resolve to be a Hero. 

Ever since she’d learned what Heroes were and had seen All Might save over a thousand people from that burning building, Ikumi had known what she wanted to be. She had admired them, and wanted nothing more than to be like All Might and Gang Orca as they saved people, inspired others to act and help the world, and stopped Villains from harming others. And Ikumi had tried her best to stand up for what was right, fighting against bullies and standing up for people who couldn’t fight back. 

Knowing that All Might wasn’t able to be a Hero like he used to due to his injuries scared Ikumi, she couldn’t deny that. But she also couldn’t deny that standing against Shigaraki and those Villains to try and protect her classmates hadn’t been the right thing to do, or that she wouldn’t do so again in a heartbeat. No matter how scared she was, she couldn’t just back down and let Villains like Shigaraki have their way. 

Villains like him were ultimately just bullies trying to push other people around. Ikumi had a lot of experience pushing those people back. 

“Ikumi! It’s breakfast time!” 

“Coming!” Ikumi left her room, a smile on her face. 

Chapter Text

Coming back to 1-A’s homeroom felt weird after the USJ, but seeing Iida sitting at his desk with his serious school face put Ikumi at ease. “First one here as always, Iida,” she said as the rest of their classmates filed in with varying levels of enthusiasm. 

“Of course!” Iida practically vibrated. “As students at the most famous Hero school in Japan, we must strive to live up to U.A’s high expectations! Part of that includes being in class ten minutes before it starts!” 

I don’t think anybody expects that much - not even Aizawa-sensei’s that strict, Ikumi thought. 

Still, she was happy to see Iida back in his slightly overbearing state. Looking at her classmates, she cleared her throat. “Well, um… Homeroom’s about to start so… make sure you’re all seated!” 

“No probs, Class Prez.” Sero gave her a thumbs up. The rest of the class made similar noises, most people already sitting in their places. 

Double-checking to make sure that was true, Ikumi sat down. She half wondered if Aizawa-sensei was going to be back today or if he was going to be taking a break. 

That question was answered when the door slid open, and Aizawa-sensei walked through, one arm in a sling but otherwise no worse for wear. Tsuyu and Mineta let out a small sigh of relief as he looked out at the class. “Morning.” 

“Good morning, sensei,” they said, just happy to see him in the class. He swept a tired eye over them, before apparently being satisfied. 

“Um… sensei?” Yaoyorozu put her hand up hesitantly. “Are you sure you should be teaching with a broken arm?”

He gave her and the class a flat stare. “I told Recovery Girl I would be fine, but she insisted I stagger the healing process since I have that luxury. However, my well-being isn’t what’s important. After all… your battle is far from over.” 

As one, the class tensed up. Ikumi clasped her hands together anxiously. What was Aizawa or U.A planning? 

Aizawa-sensei narrowed his eyes. “The U.A Sports Festival is in two weeks.” 

The class let out a collective breath. “That’s so ordinary!” Kaminari cried.

She couldn’t see Sero’s face, but his shoulders tensed up. “Wait, is this such a good idea after being attacked by Villains?” 

“The Principal thinks it’s necessary to show that our crisis management protocols are up to date to stop other Villain attacks like that.” Aizawa gave them a steely stare. “We are aware of the risk, so there’s going to be about five times the police presence this year compared to normal, not to mention the Heroes in the stadium.”

Ikumi was barely aware that the entire class was listening closely, Aizawa giving them a small, leering grin. “The U.A Sports Festival is not an event that can be cancelled by a few Villains.”

She couldn’t help but wonder how the other classes were taking this information. 

—

“Our Sports Festival cannot be cancelled by the actions of a few Villains.” Togaru grinned when he heard Kan-sensei say that, their teacher giving them a determined frown. This was the kind of stuff he’d signed up for when he became a student. 

If he’d heard that U.A was going to back down from a couple of Villains, then he would have probably transferred. 

The rest of the class mostly shared that sentiment. “Of course it can’t be cancelled just like that!” Monoma crowed, a huge grin on his face. “After all, this is our great chance to show the Heroes out there what we can do!” 

Over at the front of the class, Kendo grinned. “The U.A Sports Festival really captures people’s imaginations - though I have to admit, me and my family still watch the Olympics when they happen - after all, they are a contest of strength and skill several hundred years old.”

“If you like that kind of thing, I guess. But the Olympics has so many restrictions on how Quirks are allowed to be used, it just results in all the same Quirks being seen,” Monoma muttered. 

“He’s got you there!” Setsuna cackled, brushing off Kendo’s dirty look. “Seriously, the Olympics have so many restrictions that you only see enhancer Quirks, maybe a heteromorph if you’re lucky. Barely any variety!” 

Togaru snorted as he remembered that. He’d watched the Olympics ages ago, and he had to admit he couldn’t really see the appeal. Some countries still held the Olympics in high regard - at least Greece did, he remembered that much from one of Ikumi’s mumble storms.

Kan just shook his head. “Getting back to the Sports Festival itself, this is a huge opportunity for you to sell yourselves to Heroes. Depending on how well you do, you may be picked up for an internship by a big name Hero. Just remember, you only have three chances to make an impression. Use them wisely.” 

The class went so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Then Tetsutetsu threw a fist in the air, a manly grin on his face. “Hell yeah! We’re gonna go Plus Ultra, sensei!” he crowed, Kendo chuckling at the display. 

Kan-sensei just sighed. “In any case, you have two weeks to prepare for the Sports Festival. Don’t forget to do your best.” 

Monoma grinned at that. “And if we can take out the arrogant 1-A, then that will be even better!” 

Togaru glared at Monoma. “Wait, arrogant? Where’d you get that idea?” 

The other boy sniffed haughtily. “Well, they’re so proud of how they dealt with a Villain attack-” 

“No, they’re really not.” 

Monoma actually looked surprised at that, before responding. “What makes you so sure of that?” The rest of the class looked over, curious as to how Togaru was going to respond. 

He hesitated, but pushed forwards. “Unlike you, I actually know some people in 1-A. Neither of them were bragging about the USJ.”

When he had gone back to the apartment, he’d caught a glimpse of Midoriya and Bakugou. Midoriya had looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion, red-eyed and drained. And Bakugou, surprisingly, hadn’t responded to his barbs beyond a ‘we beat up Villains.’ 

Togaru just glared right into Monoma’s eyes. “Maybe you should actually get over yourself and talk to them rather than making assumptions.” 

Monoma looked somewhat contrite. “Okay, so maybe not all of them are boasting about it…” Then his smirk came back. “But nevertheless, the rest of them have to be proud of such a jumpstart to their careers!” 

Kendo just facepalmed at that declaration. Togaru slumped back down as Kan called the class to order. 

Well, he’d tried. But if Monoma talked smack about his rival and other buddy, he might have to cut Monoma down to size. 

—

Before homeroom finished and his class could leave, Shouta made eye contact with Midoriya and Ashido, gesturing for them to stay. “Before you leave, a word.” 

Midoriya flinched at that, head bowed. Ashido gave him a troubled look, the rest of the class filing out. When everybody was gone, Shouta looked them both in the eye. “At the USJ, when All Might was being attacked by the Noumu you ran into the middle of an active combat situation, despite me ordering you to regroup with your classmates. Why?” 

“B-because All Might might have needed help and… I didn’t think about it - my-my legs just moved on their own,” Midoriya muttered, looking like she wanted to sink into the ground. 

Ashido simply nodded, guilt written all over her face. “What she said.”

Shouta sighed. “I see.” He gave them both a stern glare. “Now, that was a good, heroic thing to do. I won’t punish you for trying to help people.”

Midoriya let out a shaky breath, then jerked up as he continued. “However, you put yourselves in danger when All Might was handling the situation and disobeyed an order made to protect you and your fellow students. If things had gone wrong, then neither of us would have been able to help, and they nearly did.” 

“But they didn’t!” Ashido cried, almost getting up from her desk. “We were able to help-”

“Yes, but you took far too great a risk when you tried to attack Shigaraki and Noumu.” Shouta sighed. “It was a mess of a situation that none of you should have been put through, but mistakes happen, and in future I would prefer if you didn’t make that mistake again.”

“...Are we getting punished for running in?” Midoriya asked softly, almost too quietly to hear. She hunched over as much as she was physically able. 

Shouta shook his head. “While you have damaged my trust in you for disobeying an order like that, going through a traumatic situation like this is punishment enough.” Midoriya jerked her head up, staring at him with tears in her eyes. Ashido gave him a similarly wide-eyed look. “Just remember that when your teachers give you an order like that, it is for you and your classmates’ safety. Understood?” 

(As long as he drew breath, no kids would die on his watch.)

When Midoriya and Ashido both nodded, clearly processing what he’d said, he nodded stiffly. “Good. Now, make sure you get to your next class.” 

Watching them leave, he pinched the bridge of his nose. This class was probably going to be the death of him. 

—

When Modern Literature was over, Ikumi got nudged by Kacchan, who had been waiting to interrogate her over the entire period. “What’d Aizawa Sensei want?” 

Ikumi chose not to comment on him not giving Aizawa a nickname. “He-he just wanted to lecture me and Mina about running at the fight. I’m not in trouble!” She hastily added upon seeing Kacchan frown. 

“Still can’t believe you didn’t tell me you got punched by that thing until later,” Kacchan grumbled. “

Ikumi winced. Kacchan had gotten in her face about that when they had gotten home. “I-I know. I just - I just didn’t want you to worry. I was fine-”

“Bullshit you were fine, you said it got through your Quirk! Fuck’s sake, took me ages to get through it!” Kacchan shot back. 

“Bruised is… fine?” Ikumi shrank away from Kacchan glaring at her. 

“Okay, enough with the arguing!” Kirishima shouted. “I mean, sure, the USJ was scary but now we’ve got a chance to really show our stuff!” 

“Indeed!” Iida boomed, and Ikumi felt a bit bad about snorting when he started doing a little dance. “This is our chance to add our names to the ranks of the greatest Heroes of Japan, so we should all be in high yet school approved spirits!”

“I-I know that, but-”

“Midoriya, Iida.” Ikumi was startled when Uraraka turned to face them, a determined frown on her face. “Let’s do our best at the Sports Festival!” 

“What’s with the serious look, Uraraka?” Mina asked. “Normally you’re just really cheerful.” 

Uraraka ignored that comment, throwing a fist in the air. “Hey, everyone! I’m gonna crush it!” 

Ikumi and a couple of other people in the class copied the gesture, some more enthusiastically than others. But she had to admit, she completely got why Uraraka was so excited - Ikumi had watched the U.A Festival almost every year, starry-eyed at seeing all these future Heroes prove themselves. 

—-

Mina stared at All Might with wide eyes, a dark pit opening in her stomach. When All Might had asked her to have lunch just when she was about to interrogate Uraraka, she hadn’t expected bad news quite like this. “Wait… you’re down to just over an hour a day?” 

All Might nodded with a solemn expression. “My time limit’s growing shorter by the day, since I transferred One for All. I’m trying to restrict myself so that I can teach you students, but it’s hard to ignore people in need.” He chuckled darkly. “Ironically, that almost happened with the USJ.” 

She looked down at her knees. A part of her felt horrible that All Might couldn’t keep going like he used to. “Oh - oh no - I - should I give it back or-”

He shook his head sharply. “What’s done is done - I knew that this would happen when I gave you One for All. It’s just happening a bit quicker than I thought it would since I’ve pushed myself so much.” All Might pointed at her directly. “Back to the matter of the Sports Festival… how much of One for All do you feel you can use?” 

Mina held up a fist, letting One for All fire up. Pink lightning sparked along it as she thought about it. “About… five, six percent? Maybe a bit more?” She winced when she said that - when All Might had said that he could use it at full force when he got it, she had felt terrible for not being able to use it like he could. Like she had failed him as a student. 

All Might gave her a thumbs up. “That’s good! You don’t have to master it right away - just being able to use it without blowing your limbs off is good enough for me.”

That made her feel a little better, but not by much. “I know. I still feel like I should be able to use more but… I really don’t want my limbs to pop off.” 

“Combined with your existing Quirk, you should have no trouble with the Sports Festival.” All Might gave her a shrewd look. “You know how the Sports Festival works, right?” 

Mina laughed. “Yeah, totally! We get mashed up with the other courses and then do some preliminary challenges to compete, right?” 

“There’s more to it than that, but yes, those are the basics.” All Might pointed at her dramatically. “But back to the matter at hand… Be sure to give it your all.” 

Mina grinned. “Of course, All Might-sensei! Wasn’t planning on giving anything less!” She paused. “Though I kinda wonder why when I’ve already got you for a mentor.”

All Might coughed up blood as he laughed. “Just because I’m your mentor, it doesn’t mean you can slack off like that!” He gave her a serious look. “There’s only a tiny difference between those who always aim for the top and those who don’t - but once you debut as a Hero, that difference will matter.” 

She looked him in the eye, a determined smile on her face. “Trust me, All Might. I always give it my all. Maybe not on Bakugou level, but close enough!”

—

Round Cheeks squeaked when she opened the door to leave. “W-what’s going on?” 

Katsuki took a glance out the door, where a bunch of people from other classes had gathered, staring in like they were on TV and blocking Pink Cheeks and Glasses from leaving. 

“Why’re there so many people out here?” Grape Bitch whined. 

“Isn’t it obvious? They’re scoping out the competition.” Katsuki stomped to the front, keeping as nice an expression on his face as he could. “We’re the class that survived a Villain attack. Course they want to check us out before the Festival.” 

He glared at them contemptuously. “Not that it matters. Piss off, losers.” 

Midori gasped, a hand clasped to her mouth. “Kacchan!”

The mass of people in the corridor looked pissed off. Not like he had much respect for people who wanted to gawk at him and the rest of the class like they were there for their entertainment. Behind him, Glasses let out a huge gasp. “Bakugou! Please refrain from calling people you don’t know ‘losers'! It is unbecoming of a Hero student!” 

“Wow. Are all the kids in the Hero Course like this?” 

Katsuki felt his temper spike as somebody pushed their way to the front. A tall, skinny guy with messy purple hair and dark bags under his eyes came forwards, a disinterested leer on his face. 

—

Hitoshi sized up the guy who had opened the door. Blonde haired and perpetually angry, this guy - Bakugou - was everything that he really hated. He could see it written all over him - the guy had a powerful Quirk that let him breeze through the entire exam. 

“Cause I gotta say…” he cast a disinterested eye over the people he could see, before deliberately locking eyes with him. “I’m not impressed if this is the best you can do.” 

Bakugou glared at him. “You clearly have something really interesting to say, so say it.” 

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I do, yeah. See, those of us who couldn’t make it through the Hero course get shuffled off to the other courses. There’s quite a few of us who weren't able to break robots as well as you guys.” 

(It was one thing to know that you didn’t make it into the course of your dreams. It was another to hear All Might tell you that you were a failure.) 

Hitoshi’s eyes bored into Bakugou’s and the other Hero students.“But if we do well in the Sports Festival, we could get moved up into the Hero Course. And as I understand it, the reverse is true as well.” 

Bakugou grinned at that. “Is that a challenge, Zombie?” 

Hitoshi raised an eyebrow at that. “A challenge? Sure, you can see it that way. I see this as a great chance to knock you Hero course students off your pedestals.” 

“O-our pedestals?” Midoriya poked her head around the corner, an awkward look on her face. A couple of people in the crowd looked a bit shocked - and if he hadn’t already met her, he would have shared their stunned reaction. It wasn’t every day you met somebody as tall as Midoriya even in this increasingly superhuman society. 

“Yep.” Hitoshi managed to leer in her general direction. “Consider this a declaration of war.” 

Honestly, he didn’t have much of an issue with Midoriya. People with complex mutations like her got almost as much flak as people with ‘Villainous Quirks’ like his in the cities. 

Bakugou glanced back at Midoriya. “I got this, Midori.” She raised an eyebrow, but simply nodded as Bakugou turned back. “Nice to see you’ve got some balls at least. More than the rest of these losers at least.” 

The rest of the crowd gasped, offended. Hitoshi wasn’t sure how to take that other than a raised eyebrow. 

Bakugou leered. “You try and topple me at the Festival, you Zombie looking fucker-” 

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WE DON’T HAVE BALLS?!” 

Hitoshi winced when he saw some grey haired guy with sharp teeth push his way forwards. He glared at Bakugou with an angry snarl on his face. “JUST BECAUSE WE HAVEN’T ISSUED OUR OWN MANLY CHALLENGES YET, DOESN’T MEAN WE DON’T HAVE BALLS! SPEAKING OF, I WANT TO ASK YOU GUYS ABOUT THAT VILLAIN ATTACK!” 

Bakugou glared at the guy, but Miodirya stepped forwards. “W-why do you want to ask us about that?” 

“I want to hear more about it, that’s why!” Spiky haired guy grinned at her. “My name’s Tetsutetsu! See, I’m from 1-B next door, and I’ve got my own declaration of war for 1-B! But first, I wanted to hear more about how you guys fought those Villains! How’d it go?” 

Midoriya winced. “I-I don’t think that we really want to talk much about the attack itself…” 

Tetsutetsu frowned. “What? But you guys fought Villains! Shouldn’t you be proud that you did such a cool thing in the first week-”

Midoriya stomped forwards. And Hitoshi suddenly became very, very aware that Midoriya could loom. 

—

Kacchan backed down as she stomped forwards. She glared Tetsutetsu down, the grey haired boy shrinking away. “It wasn’t cool, what we did. We-we barely got out alive thanks to All Might. If he hadn’t been there, we-we could have been killed.” 

He flinched at that. Ikumi pushed forwards, stepping forward. The crowd collectively backed off. “Right now isn’t a very good time for us to talk about the attack. Just - please understand that. Maybe somebody else wants to talk about it but I really don’t.”

Tetsutetsu, at a loss for words, looked at the floor. “‘M sorry,” he muttered, browbeaten into submission. 

“That’s okay - just - just save it for another time and I think we’ll be able to talk about it. It’s too soon for that.” As she wound down, she was aware that everybody was staring at her. Ikumi squirmed as they looked at her - oh, and she could see now that some of them must have backed away when she walked up… 

Ikumi glanced back desperately at Kacchan, who simply gave her a thumbs up. Shrinking down as much as she could, she gave the group outside a desperate look, her heart pounding in her ears. “P-please? Can-can we save this for the Festival?” 

The crowd looked at each other, then went away with nervous looks (A small part of Ikumi hated that - it wasn't like she had intentionally intimidated them into leaving.) Shinsou looked up at her for a moment longer, then sauntered off with the rest of them. 

As soon as everybody went she slumped down, sighing in relief. “Oh god, that was so stressful,” she moaned. 

With the way clear, the rest of the class started to make their way out. Tsuyu looked at her with a sideways glance and raised eyebrow. “You faced off against a bunch of Villains in the Shipwreck Zone.This seems pretty minor in comparison.” 

Kacchan shook his head, patting Ikumi on the back. “Get up, Midori. Stop giving a shit about them.” 

Kirishima looked at him awkwardly. “Dude, you know you probably got us a hatedom with those answers, right? I mean, those guys-”

“Why do they matter?” Ikumi and Kirishima looked up sharply as Kacchan said that. “Me and Midori are aiming for the top, and the rest of you fought actual Villains. Why should we care what they think?” 

With those words, he left. Ikumi couldn’t help but stare at her best friend as he left. Behind her, she heard Kirishima sigh dramatically. “Damn it, Bakugou’s so straightforward and manly!” He cried, clenching a fist. 

As the rest of the class agreed with Kirishima, Ikumi looked at Kacchan as he turned, glaring at her roughly. “Well?” You coming?” 

Shaking herself, Ikumi left. “Coming!” 

Hopefully the Sports Festival would help everybody feel better after being attacked by Villains. 

—

Just after the USJ attack, Kamino

Tomura woke up snarling with rage and pain. His whole body ached, centred on his chest and head. But the pain was secondary to the rage he felt at being robbed of a Hero kill. “Where’s that cheating bitch?!” 

The short doctor yelped, waving at him to lie back down. “T-Tomura! You’ve just been in surgery - you should still be unconscious-”

From the darkness, Sensei chuckled. “My, my, doctor. Never underestimate the power of hatred.” 

With that, Tomura stiffened, managing to calm himself. “Sensei…” He winced as a spike of pain shot through his body.

Kurogiri hovered over him. “Are you alright, Tomura?” 

“M’fine,” he muttered. 

Sensei strode forwards, his oxygen mask wheezing as he took a breath. Looking around the room, he could see it was the medical lab where the weird Doctor did his health checkups. The headless body of the team killer was draped on the table next to him while the doctor looked him over. “It was quite touch and go, but Dr. Garaki has done admirable work.” 

“Indeed.” The rotund little healer sighed, flicking through his notes. “You have suffered extensive trauma to the stomach, lungs and liver, and your spleen has ruptured. Your ribcage is also badly fractured, and a couple of bone splinters have pierced your lungs. Not to mention the extensive bruising,” he waved a hand over Tomura’s shirtless chest, where a huge, reddish-purple blotch roughly shaped like the imprint of a fist stretched over the centre of his body, “on the point of impact.” 

He shook his head admiringly. “Just a bit harder or higher, and you would have been killed outright.”

Sensei patted Tomura on the shoulder while he stewed in impotent rage. “I have to admit, I didn’t expect something like this from you trying to kill All Might like that, even if I didn’t think you would succeed.” 

Tomura stared at sensei, unable to believe what he heard. “You… you thought I couldn’t do it? All Might…” He gripped his sheets in a white hot rage. “Well no wonder everything went wrong! First All Might didn’t show up, then I had to deal with members of my League going berserk, and now this shit!” 

Sensei glanced over at the headless body in the lab. “Ah, yes. Kurogiri said this was the body of one of these berserkers.”

“Yeah - Kurogiri said that they were just aggressive for no reason,” Tomura managed. “You think it’s some bad Trigger or something? Didn't you do something weird with Trigger in Kamino, Sensei? Doctor?” 

“We did do a lot of studies on Trigger, yes - and it does sound similar. Nevertheless, I’ll do testing on the body later,” the Doctor huffed. 

Tomura growled. “Yes, yes, the body’s probably important. But you know what, sensei? You lied! All Might is still as strong as he was before!” 

Sensei shook his head. “No, he is definitely weaker. But you made a mistake, Tomura - you underestimated him… and paid for it by him injuring you so-” 

“All Might didn’t do this!” Tomura rasped. When Sensei didn’t say anything he continued. “I was trying to kill this pink Hero student, not even provoking her, and this huge green shark-fox girl charged and went to punch me! I tried to gank her, but I couldn’t touch her due to some bullshit hacks!” 

The doctor glanced up. “...That Quirk? Really?” 

Tomura stared at the doctor. “You know that hacking bitch?!” 

“Oh, indeed I do.” The Doctor sighed, a mournful look on his face. “I briefly met her in my civilian identity - such a shame that I wasn’t able to acquire a sample of her Quirk. A Quirk like that, so close to Singularity… it would have been perfect!” 

Tomura didn’t care for this. “I don’t care how cool her Quirk is, she stopped me from killing All Might and killing another Hero brat! Sensei-”

He stiffened when he heard the short, clipped tone of Sensei’s voice. “That is quite enough, Tomura.” 

With a click, Tomura’s jaw snapped shut. Sensei tousled his hair in a paternal fashion, a smirk on his face. “In any case, Tomura, what’s done is done. You must rest… for the next time you act, the world will know of the terror you represent.” 

Chapter Text

When she heard the news about the Sports Festival, Inko couldn’t help but be alarmed. It was subtle, but the way her hands trembled as she tried to eat was a dead giveaway. “They’re holding the Sports Festival after a Villain attack like that?”

Ikumi nodded, poking at the pile of pork and rice in her bowl. Looking at Inko’s anxious expression, she winced. “Yeah. I was nervous as well, but Principal Nedzu doesn’t want people to think that U.A’s afraid of Villains attacking.”

Hisashi shook his head. “I don’t really understand that line of logic. Then again, I’m not a supergenius like Nedzu.” 

Inko twisted the hem of her shirt. “Is Principal Nedzu sure that this is the best idea?” 

“I… don’t know?” Seeing Inko’s expression, Ikumi hastened to reassure her. “But Principal Nedzu’s making sure that there will be more Heroes and police at the Festival this year.”

That didn’t make Inko feel relieved, if anything it just made her worried. She fiddled with her napkin, twisting it in her hands. “If you’re sure… It just seems a bit irresponsible, that’s all.” 

“Maybe it is,” Hisashi agreed, before turning to Ikumi. “But you can’t hide away from risks like this all the time - especially if Ikumi wants to be a Hero.”

She frowned, looking at Ikumi with a worried expression. “I just want you to be safe at school, Ikumi. Not - not worrying about maniacs trying to kill you.” 

“I know, mum.” Ikumi gave her a determined look. Inko had seen that look a few times before, always when focusing on why Ikumi wanted to be a Hero. “But I-I don’t want to back down because of the League of Villains. ”

Hisashi chuckled at that, a huge, sharp toothed grin on his face. “There’s my girl!”

He had to stand up to ruffle his daughter’s hair affectionately. She squirmed, trying to get away. “Come on, Dad!” 

“I mean it - you’re going to beat them all into the ground out there!” Hisashi beamed at her. 

Ikumi managed to duck under his hand. “But - but what if I mess up?” She blanched, slumping over and holding her head tightly. “Oh, no. I’m going to be on national TV and everybody in the country’s going to be watching me and-”

Inko reached across the table to put a reassuring hand on her daughter's, uncaring of how small her hand was in comparison. For all her worrying, she did her best not to stifle her daughter, and set aside her own worries to offer some reassurance. “Ikumi, I-I know I’m stressed about how… sudden this Festival is,” slight understatement on her part, “but it’s just a Sports Festival.”

“But - but it’s one of the biggest events in Japan!” Ikumi whined. Her breath quickened as well as the tempo of her speech. “If I do poorly it’s going to affect what internships I get and-” 

Inko shook her head, giving her daughter a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry so much about it. You still have two more years at U.A to make a big impression on them. Your father is right that you’re going to be amazing - just do your best and try to have fun.” She emphasised that last piece of advice with a gentle petting of her wrist. 

Ikumi looked down at her plate, before returning with her own small,  hesitant smile. “O-okay, mum.”

“I know, sweetie. Now, how about the rest of your day?” 

Inko knew that this wasn’t going to be enough. Her daughter’s class had been attacked by Villains so early in the school year already. She wanted nothing more than to take her out and put her into a course that wasn’t going to attract attention from maniacs like the League of Villains. But at the same time, Inko knew that Ikumi had wanted nothing more than to be a Hero - not just to help people, but to inspire them. 

Seeing Ikumi’s face light up as she talked about her classmates and meeting with the other Class Presidents to discuss the Sports Festival, Inko knew that Ikumi was where she was always meant to be. 

—

Minoru groaned as he walked to the bus stop. “Man, the Hero class is busting my balls,” he grumbled, rubbing his head. Tsuyu barely reacted as they went on their way.

“We are having to make up for a Rescue Training trip we never actually did,” Tsuyu commented bluntly. 

Walking home with a girl was… different from what he’d expected it to be. Maybe it was because both of them had been threatened by a homicidal maniac who could disintegrate people by touching them. He had half-expected some hijinks of some kind to have happened like in anime. 

“Yeah, yeah… But we’re also having to work hard for the Festival on top of Heroics! And I mean, I know we gotta work hard for it.” The memory of Aizawa with a face serious as the grave threatening expulsion loomed in his mind, making him shudder. “But does it have to be so intense all the time?!” 

Tsuyu gave him a flat stare. “You know, you could have transferred out of the Hero course if it’s too much.”

Minoru briefly paused as his mind wandered back to after the Initial attack .