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Chapter Text

Izuku Midoriya was legally quirkless, despite his lack of a toe joint in his x-rays, his quirk never really manifested.

During the first couple of years Izuku assumed he was simply a late bloomer and that his quirk would come in anytime now, maybe his quirk was really powerful and that’s why it needed more time to develop, but it never appeared. Despite the long wait he remained hopeful, after all the doctor did say some quirks have specific requirements for them to become active, he just had to figure out what it was … but he never did and the way people treated him because of that didn’t make it any easier.

His former best friend always had a brash attitude and that got worse with the years specially when Izuku’s quirk never manifested. “If you are supposed to have a quirk and you can’t even manifest it then you must really be a useless Deku!” Izuku remembered how the blonde laughed when he said that, he awkwardly laughed with him despite how much those words hurt him … it was Kacchan, his best friend, he could be a little mean at times but Izuku knew he never really meant it or that’s what he tells himself at least, it makes living the way he does easier.

His mom was as hopeful as he was when they told him his quirk was coming but it never really did, she always told him that when his quirk came he would become a great hero just like All Might. She kept repeating that over the years, although she started saying it less and less until she stopped, sure she would say it again when Izuku asked her if he could be a hero but he could see the look in her eyes, she didn’t mean it and she didn’t believe his quirk would come anymore. He stopped asking at some point, it didn’t matter how much he wanted to be reassured about his quirk coming, seeing that broken look in his mom’s eyes wasn’t worth it.

As it was to be expected he was bullied for not having a quirk, a rumor started to spread that he made up the whole late bloomer thing, that he did have a toe joint and that he truly was quirkless and was still in denial. Midoriya had the x-rays to prove his story, but he didn’t bother trying to prove it, no one would believe him anyways they would just say he made things up again, the best thing he could do was lower his head and try to make sure no one noticed he was there.

But Kacchan noticed, he always did. Sometimes he thought the blonde had it out for him and he couldn’t really understand why, he did his best to stay out of his way and yet it felt like the teen made an effort to find him just so he could hurt him for fun. Izuku shook his head, that couldn’t be right, Kacchan was going to be a great hero and heroes didn’t hurt people for fun, he just annoyed him with his mumbling or something.

Right now he was in class and his teacher was talking about what schools they wanted to apply to and what careers they would choose, soon enough he threw all applications into the air. “Oh who cares! We know you are all aiming to be heroes!” All the students cheered displaying their quirks in excitement, Izuku just shrank in his seat, he can just stay quiet and finish the day and go home. “Midoriya, you are aiming for UA too right?” Izuku didn’t move, he could feel Kacchan’s glare on him and he just knew things would go wrong once class was over.

“Oi?! What the fuck do you think you are doing Deku?! I’m the only one applying to UA!” The greenette couldn’t stop himself from flinching at the sound of explosions, as always his teacher did nothing to stop the future number one hero from throwing a tantrum.

“Now, now, calm down. We still have a class to finish.” The teen is already dreading the end of the class, he sighed knowing he would come home to hide bruises and burns from his mom again.

When the bell rang Izuku tried to put everything in his backpack to rush out of the class, as always he simply wasn’t fast enough. “You in a hurry Deku?” Izuku held onto his notebook like his life depended on it.

“N-No, just you know, mom worries a lot if I’m late.” He saw the blonde roll his eyes, as if he cared about why Deku is in a rush.

“You are applying to UA? You think you are better than me?!” Izuku stepped back while Kacchan stepped forwards.

“No! O-of course not Kacchan! I just thought there was no harm in trying.” His little outburst became quieter the longer he spoke, he isn’t better than Kacchan, no one is better than Kacchan.

“You are just going to make UA waste their time! Why would they ever allow a quirkless freak into the hero course?!” The blonde snatched his notebook putting it between his two hands before blowing it up. “Get this through your thick skull Deku! You will never become a hero!” After saying that he threw the notebook out the window, Izuku rushed to the window trying to catch it but Katsuki stopped him putting a hand on his shoulder, he could already feel the heath through his uniform. “You want to be a hero that badly? Then take a swan dive of the roof and pray you get an actual quirk in your next life!” The new starburst mark on his shoulder was burning, but he could only feel frozen at Kacchan’s words.

The blond left with his lackeys but Izuku remained frozen on the spot, Kacchan was going to be a hero, Kacchan was supposed to be his best friend … best friends and heroes don’t tell you to kill yourself. There is no way Kacchan actually meant that right? Doesn’t he have any idea in how much trouble he could get if he actually did that? … Would he even cared if he actually jumped? Izuku shook his head trying to get those thoughts out of his head, he should go fetch his notebook.

He sighed when he saw that his notebook fell in the pond, being nibbled on by a few koi fish, he carefully took it trying to dry it off. “I can salvage it … maybe.” He put it back in his backpack and started to walk home, taking a different route so he wouldn’t bump into Kacchan again. He stopped for a moment when he felt something fall on his head, he looked up to see dark clouds on the sky alongside droplets that were starting to fall. He quickly rushed to take cover under a bridge. “This day can’t get any worse.” Just as he said that the cover of the sewer began to move, he just had to jinx it didn’t he?

A villain made of sludge came out of the sewer and quickly latched onto him covering his mouth and nose trying to push it’s way into him. “You will do just fine as a meat suit! Stop struggling and I’ll make it quick kid!” Izuku tried to claw the sludge off his face but he could barely move, the goo making it’s way into his mouth was disgusting and he so desperately wanted it to stop but he couldn’t, he couldn’t breathe, he was drowning and there was nothing he could do about it. Black dots started to appear in his vision, he blacked out just as he saw a silhouette approaching.

Small taps on his face brought him back to the world of the living. “Are you alright my boy?!”

Midoriya was so confused. “Wha-?” His vision started to clear up and there before him was none other than the number one hero. “A-ALL MIGHT?!” The number one hero stood in all his glory.

“Glad to see you are okay citizen! I have to take care of this villain now!” He said lifting up a soda bottle that had sludge and a pair of eyes inside.

“Wait! Cou-Could you sign my-” He rushed looking for his notebook, to his surprise it was already signed.

“I already took care of that! If you are okay then I must leave!” He can’t let All Might leave, this is his only chance to ask!

“All Might wait! I really need to ask you something!” The hero walked out of the bridge and readied himself to leap away, Izuku not having time to think things through grabbed onto All Might leg, shrieking loudly when the hero took off.

“What are you doing?! Let go!” The hero tried to nudge him off but he held on tighter, his life quite literally depended on it.

“If I let go I’ll die!” The hero had to agree with him,  quickly finding a place to land on top a tall building.

“That was very irresponsible of you young man!” The hero scolded.

He closed his eyes as he gripped the chest of his uniform trying to even his breathing after that adrenaline shot. “I’m sorry! But this is really important! All of my life I’ve want nothing but to become a hero All Might! So I must know! Can one become a hero even without a quirk?!”

When Izuku opened his eyes there was no hero in sight, just a skeleton of a man. “A-All Might?” The man coughed into his hand trying to hide the blood from the teen, at least the rain was helping him cover that up.

“Now that you’ve seen me like this young man, I need you to know you can’t spread this online.” The hero said sitting on the roof, Izuku nodded slightly still in shock. “Five years ago a villain did this to me.” He said lifting up his shirt, Izuku gasped at the sight of the scar. “I lost a lung and my whole stomach, that’s why I look like this now. Due to my condition I can only be a hero for three hours a day.”  

Izuku gulped still taking in well, everything. “five years ago? Was it toxic chain saw?” All Might looked slightly impressed.

“You know your stuff kid, but no he couldn’t have done this even if he tried. I asked for that fight to remain under wraps.” With that being said the hero supported himself on the building railing before pulling himself up. “This happened to me with a quirk as strong as mine, imagine what would happen to someone that doesn’t have one. So no, I don’t think someone without a quirk can be a hero.” The hero began to walk towards the door. “If you still want to help you can become a police officer or a firefighter, they are not as recognized but they still help others … dreams are nice kid, but you need to be realistic.” With that the hero left him alone on the roof.

Izuku didn’t know where his tears ended and where the rain began, but he didn’t want to figure it out. Eventually he got down from the roof, walking home with his head down, until he heard explosions that is. Logically he knows he shouldn’t go look and he shouldn’t go closer but his curiosity won, as he approached the scene he could see a bunch of people under their umbrellas mumbling amongst each other about what was happening. 

When he raised his head he froze, it was the villain that attacked him earlier, but that couldn’t be right All Might caught him … but he got in the way, did he cause this? He didn’t have much time to dwell on it because soon enough his eyes connected to the ones trapped within the sludge, Kacchan.

He looked so scared, Izuku looked around there were a few heroes but none of them were doing anything because their quirks weren’t suited for this. The sludge kept growing in size due to the rain and Kacchan kept firing explosions in an attempt to free himself, nothing was catching on fire but his explosions were strong enough to create debris whenever he fired. His former best friend is suffocating, drowning in disgusting waste and no one is doing anything to help, someone has to help.

His feet moved before his mind could process it, the sky crackling with lightning with every step he took.

A lightning bolt struck him and Izuku felt his body change.

The lightning blinded everyone near by including the heroes and the villain. When everyone recovered they saw the villain reforming himself with the debris his hostage caused and the endless supply of rain water. “Where is my new meat suit?!” Behind the villain some sort of black cocoon could be seen, no one was quite sure what happened and no one was willing to move before they figured it out. The heroes tensed when they saw the cocoon move, something else had joined the fight and they had no way of telling whether it was good or bad.

The cocoon began to open up rather than break open, what they originally thought was a cocoon spread into a wing and another one followed soon after. A beast with black scales stood up from the ground standing over the hostage, that was heaving and coughing up the sludge, without stepping on him in a protective manner. The beast looked at the villain it’s eyes turning into slit pupils before baring it’s teeth, the sky roared with lightning just as the beast roared at the sludge. “I don’t care what you are! You will pay for ruining this!”  A whip of sludge was directed towards the beast, that thing growled again before firing something at the sludge making the whip explode, after that he looked at the villain growling again, as if he was challenging him to try again

“That won’t stop me!” Another sludge tentacle tried to reach him only for it to be exploded again, this happened a few more times before someone in the crowd spoke up. “The kid isn’t a hostage anymore! What are you waiting for?! Do something!” That seemed to be enough to break the heroes from their shock and engage into battle, the beast remained over the blonde boy, blasting away any sludge that tried to come close. It was a matter of time before the heroes could subdue the sludge villain, that only left them with one thing to address, the hostage and the beast.

They tried to approach him, but stood still when the beast growled at them still baring it’s teeth, up til now they believed this was someone from the crowd playing hero but for all they know this could be a different villain trying to assert dominance, display their power or looking for an easy hostage. They saw how easily that thing blasted the sludge into bits, they stood completely still hoping not to trigger another fire round. The beast looked at them for a few seconds, they saw it’s pupils dilate and becoming rounder much like a cat’s would, the creature stopped baring his teeth and started looking somewhat relaxed, he stepped off the teen and sat beside him.

The heroes heard that thing grumble or maybe even purr before it shut it’s mouth looking slightly confused, since talking wasn’t an option Izuku settled for looking down at Kacchan, then at the heroes and then back at Kacchan hoping they could get the message. Death arms was the first one to move approaching slowly. “Stay calm … thing, we just want to help the boy, okay? Can you let us do that?” To his surprise the beast nodded at him before lowering his head to nudge Kacchan, the teen pushed his head away with one hand. “Do-don’t touch me, I didn’t need your help.” Katsuki wanted to scream but his throat wouldn’t allow it.

Izuku didn’t like how scared the heroes or the crowd looked at him, as if he was about to do something bad, so he decided to lay down hopefully that would make him seem less threatening. He isn’t exactly sure what happened but he knows he doesn’t look like the lanky teenager he is, he sure doesn’t feel like it at least. His actions did seem to work because when he laid down the other heroes moved as well to check up on Kacchan, making sure he wasn’t injured. Tentatively Mt. Lady put a hand on his head petting him, he let out an involuntary purr. “Aww, you aren’t big and scary are you? You are just a softy trying to  defend a kid, you did so well.” If he purred a little loudly at the praise he didn’t care, he never gets praised for anything let him have this.

“Careful Mt. Lady, we still don’t know what or who that is, it doesn’t seem related to the hostage’s quirk.” Said Kamui woods, the heroine ignored him.

“Oh shut it, it’s harmless now if this thing wanted to blast us it would’ve done it already!” The heroine wasn’t wrong, Izuku was never a threat not to the heroes at least. An ambulance came to check on Kacchan, the police arrived shortly after gathering statements from everyone, a man in a brown coat approached him or maybe he was approaching Mt. Lady, yeah that seemed more logical.

“Mount Lady, I’m detective Tsukauchi, could you please explain what happened and what that is?” A lot of eye witnesses had already said a lightning bolt blinded them and then the beast appeared, none of them were lying but it still seemed odd.

“First we heard explosions and we came to find a kid being held hostage by that sludge thing, we couldn’t really do much since our quirks weren’t fit for the job, that’s when this big guy comes in!” She scratched just below his chin and Izuku melted, he was even wagging his tail a bit … wait he has a tail now??

“There was a bolt of lighting and when we recovered the villain didn’t have the kid anymore and this guy was standing over him, protecting him. They were very helpful to us fending off the villain while we captured it … was a bit hostile to us at first, but when it realized we meant no harm it just moved to the side and let us do our job.” The detective took note of everything before addressing the big reptile.

“While we appreciate the help, I assume you don’t have a heroes license, this was an act of vigintalism I can’t ignore.” Whatever bliss he felt from the heroine’s petting banished, he stood up walking towards the detective with distressed grumbles but he just can’t communicate like this.

“Hey, hey easy.” The heroine tried to calm him down but her pets didn’t work anymore, despite being distressed he wasn’t hostile and thankfully the heroes recognized this. “I can’t understand you!” The detective said backing up a bit, Izuku did the only thing he could think of, he gave the detective the biggest puppy eyes he could, maybe this will help him understand he didn’t want to do anything wrong on purpose.

“Look at that face Tsukauchi, I’m sure this was a one time thing, the adrenaline of the moment. Can you just give it a warning?” Mount Lady pleaded.

The detective sighed. “No, that’s not how the law works. This would be easier if you just transformed back or do something to reduce your mutations.” Izuku didn’t know how to do that! He stared at the detective for a few seconds before tilting his head to the side, maybe he can understand Izuku is confused and has no idea what just happened.

“Do you … not know how to switch back or control this?” Izuku shook his head, well at least they are communicating. “Oh my god, okay. You won’t fit into a police car so some officers will walk you there okay? Can you follow the officers?” He did not like being talked to like he was stupid, then again the detective has no way of knowing how smart this new version of him is, he nodded in response. “Okay, great. Officer Sansa, please help guide this uh lizard? Back to the station, I will meet you there shortly.” The cat headed officer didn’t look thrilled but he followed the detective’s command, while the officer guided him away he could hear the detective talking on the phone. “Eraser? I need a favor.”

Izuku was led to the police station but he couldn’t quite walk in, sure the doors where wide enough for his new body but well they where to many desks and he wasn’t exactly small enough to squeeze through, that and he couldn’t quite control how his tail moved yet, he is sorry for anything he dropped. Getting him into an interrogation room was even harder because those doors were not made for him, he did what he could to help even walking on two legs despite how wrong it felt to do it like this, eventually they managed  to get him one of the rooms and just left him there for a while, Izuku just laid down, not like he could do anything else.

He has no idea how long he spent alone in there, his head perked up when heard the door open. “Hello, I’m detective Tsukauchi. You remember me right?” He nodded, Izuku also noted the other man, he look tired and like he was homeless. “Great, this here is Eraserhead, he is a pro hero and maybe he can help us switch you back or control this. Is that Alright?” Izuku nodded eagerly, it’s not like he didn’t like this bigger stronger body but he did like you know being able to speak. “Good, Eraser if you could?” The hero rolled his eyes before activating his quirk looking at the overgrown weird lizard, immediately Izuku felt his body shifting back into a more human shape it was surprisingly painless.

Tsukauchi did not know what he was expecting, but a dragon child wasn’t it. The kid instinctively  covered himself with his wings. “Thank you Eraser, kid could you tell us your name?”

Izuku was still you know processing he was human again but not quite, he could still feel wings and a tail, claws and even some scales, hell there was still something at the sides of his head where his ears should be. “Mi-Midoriya Izuku.” Truth. “Um, detective before we continue could you um get me a blanket or something? I-I had my uniform before this whole thing happened and um I don’t anymore?” Truth.

“Right sorry, we’ll get you that before continuing.” He could hear Aizawa mumble something along the lines of ‘not another Togata’ before rubbing his temple.

A borrowed and cut pair of sweatpants to accommodate his new tail and his requested blanket later, the detective could finally get the kids statement. “Okay, please state your name and age.”

Izuku swallowed before answering. “Midoriya Izuku, 14.”

God damn it, it was really just a kid which means a parent should be present … then again this isn’t an interrogation, he is just getting a statement. “Midoriya, before we continue you should know you are allowed to have a parent or a tutor here with you. Do you still want to continue or would you rather wait?”

Izuku looked on edge, nervous, he had good intentions but what he did was still illegal. “You should call my mom, she must be really worried I’m not home yet but I can continue.”  

“Very well, Midoriya can you tell me what happened?” The kid nodded.

“Yeah uh, that villain attacked me first actually and All Might saved me! But I latched onto him and I think that’s how the villain got away, sorry.” Truth.

“That’s alright Midoriya, please continue.” The kid is tapping his claws against the desk nervously.

“Right! All Might makes sure I’m somewhere safe and I start walking home but I hear explosions and I just really like watching and analyzing a hero fight. Besides today wasn’t great, so I thought seeing a hero win could cheer me up.” Truth. “But then I saw Kacchan, he was stuck there like I was but no one was helping him. I know  how … suffocating that feels and suddenly I started running at him, I just wanted to help.” Truth. “The rest is kind of blurry to be honest, I remember running then something hit me and then … nothing. The next thing I remember is the heroes looking at me like I was going to hurt them, which I would never do! Then the ambulance and you arrived.” Truth.

The detective sighed. “While what you did was helpful, it wasn’t legal. Using your quirk to engage with villains, you committed vigintalism Midoriya, do you understand how serious that is?” The kid is this close to letting the waterworks lose.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know this would happen, I didn’t even have a quirk until all of this.” Truth.

Tsukauchi stops himself for a moment, why did his quirk registered that as truth? The kid struggled with switching sure but by what he heard he knew how to use his quirk. “Could you explain that to me?”

Izuku bit his lips fidgeting with his hands. “The doctor said I had a quirk, that maybe I was just a late bloomer but it never really came.” Truth. “Then he said some quirks need specific requirements and I never knew what mine was so, until this I was quirkless … legally at least.” Truth. Tsukauchi took a deep breath, this changes everything.

“You are lucky then, since this was the first time your quirk manifested we can’t really get you in trouble. After all you didn’t have any intentions to break the law, it was out of your control. Don’t let it happen again you hear me?” Tsukauchi warned.

Izuku nodded. “Yes detective.” 

“This time you get a little scolding for putting yourself in danger, next time you will be in big trouble. About your quirk you might need a bit of help considering how unstable it is right know.” The detective said looking at the one way glass, oh Aizawa was going to hate him fro this one. “But that can wait until your mom gets here okay kid? I’m gonna go call her, would you like anything to eat or drink while you wait?”

Izuku kept his eyes on his lap. “Some water please, thank you.” Tsukauchi nodded before walking out of the room. 

“I expelled a whole class and somehow I still end up dealing with a problem child.” The kid can’t shift at will, if he gets stuck only Eraser can help him back, he already knows Tsukauchi will ask him to assist with the kid’s quirk counseling and considering how dangerous that quirk can get specially because the kid does not even remember attacking the villain. He will be forced to say yes, great.

Chapter Text

Tsukauchi decided to moved the teen into the interrogation room made for children, sure the kid wasn’t in the age range the room was designed for but it was better than leaving him in a normal interrogation room especially considering how anxious the kid was. He and Eraserhead watched from the other side of the glass, the kid kept glancing around the room, fidgeting with his hands, his tail was curled up around his ankles and his wings well the kid didn’t really know what to do with them. “So, was he honest about everything?” The hero asked,

Tsukauchi nodded in response. “It’s certainly odd, I’ve heard of late bloomers before but the kid is 14. I’m pretty sure that’s a world record.” 

“Do we know what triggered his quirk?” Aizawa asked.

Tsukauchi hesitated for a moment before answering. “Well I thought it could’ve been due to the stress of the situation, you heard him when he said that villain attacked him first. Plus he seemed to personally know the other victim, stress manifesting is not that uncommon.”

Aizawa hummed in response. “But he mentioned something hitting him before he transformed didn’t he?” There was a lot of debris on the scene but the kid didn’t have a scratch on him so that couldn’t be it.

“… Well, the witnesses said the were blinded by a lightning bolt but the kid never mentioned that.” The detective pointed out.

Aizawa did not like the implication of that, people had all kinds of powers nowadays but they were still human, someone with the kid’s physique should’ve died if struck by lightning. “We should really get a paramedic to check his vitals, he may seem fine but he was really struck by lightning something could be wrong.”

They saw the kid get up only to sit down on the floor closer to the table in the room that had a few sheets of paper, color pencils and crayons. The kid hesitantly reached for a piece of paper and the black color pencil before he started to write something, they saw the kid look at his tail before going back to the paper, the same happened when he made a pause to stretch his wing taking a good look at it before turning his attention back to the paper. “What do you think he is doing?” Asked the hero while the kid kept looking at the new parts of himself before going back to writing.

“No clue.” Was Tsukauchi's response.

“Detective Tsukauchi, we have a problem, the press is here looking for the mystery hero that saved the kid.” The detective and the hero groaned at the mention of the press, neither of them liked dealing with them.

“I’m coming, Eraser could you keep an eye on the kid? Unless you would like to go deal with the press.” Tsukauchi said in a slightly playful manner.

Aizawa rolled his eyes. “I’ll deal with the kid, you can handle those vultures.” With that the detective left, Aizawa stared at the kid through the glass for a few more minutes before stepping in. “How are you feeling?” Eraser noticed how the kid’s tail curled around himself again now that he wasn’t alone.

“Uh fine? A bit nervous I guess? Mom must be really worried about me and my phone was in my backpack but I think I lost it with my uniform when um I was in that other form, so I can’t really tell her that I’m okay and uh yeah.” The kid mumbles a lot, he uses his new mutant aspects to have some sort of shield or comfort, Aizawa is picking up a few red flags from this child that he isn’t liking.

“What are you working on?” Aizawa tried to glance and the piece of paper, the kid quickly try to cover it.

“Oh it’s nothing important really, I just always like to analyze quirks since I never got mine but now that I got it I wanted to see what I could understand. I normally have a notebook for this but it got … ruined at school and I think the rain might’ve finished the job.”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow with mild interest. “Can I see?”

The kid seemed hesitant but eventually agreed. “Okay … it’s not much really and it’s all over the place, sometimes my mumbling passes onto my writing sorry if that’s annoying.” The kid handed him the piece of paper and now Aizawa looked actually impressed.

The kid has been conscious of his quirk 15 minutes at best and he already has a rundown of basic aspects of his quirk. First the kid tried to define what category his quirk was, mutation was noted considering his new features but he also added a note on transformation because what he deemed as ‘full form’ was no longer his human body with certain add-ons it was a completely different thing. There were sketches of his tail and wings, notes on how they were probably made to allow him to fly even under the rain, since the tissue would make it easier for the water to slip off of him rather than weight him down. There were notes of his throat being itchy and how a heroine mentioned ‘blast us’ which led him to believe he could breathe fire or shoot something explosive from his mouth, there were even questions about whether that ‘blast’ could be used in both forms or just in his full form.  The kid was right, his notes were all over the place but his notes weren’t wrong in his guesses at least.

“Not bad kid.” The teen perked up at that, his tail lightly thumping against the ground.

“You are a hero right? Your quirk is the one that helped me switch back.” He made a pause to look at his new appendages. “Mostly at least, can I ask what your quirk is?” The kids thumping slowed down at Eraserhead’s silence, his tail quickly curling around him again. “Never mind, you look like a pro hero that’s been working for a while but since I haven’t heard much of you then you must be an underground hero, of course you wouldn’t go around telling people what your quirk is.” The kid lowered his head to avoid eye contact.

Aizawa will forever deny he has a soft spot for children. “My quirk is called Erasure, I can erase anyone’s quirk if I look at them.”

Izuku raised his head slightly at that, he was unsure how much the hero was willing to go along with his questioning but well, he isn’t wasting a chance like this! “Can you use it on me again?” Aizawa raised and eyebrow but did as requested, he saw the kid moving his tail and wings, he looked very uncoordinated but that was to be expected. “Oh, it doesn’t work on mutations. But you did turn me back into a human which means my quirk falls into both categories then!” He took the paper with his quirk notes and started writing again

If you blinked you would miss Aizawa smirking for just a moment. “Clever.” The kid figured out one of the aspects of his quirk while also clearing out any doubts of his own, the kid is smart hopefully he will be smart enough not to run into a villain fight again, not without the proper training at least.

“Are those for your quirk?” The kid asked pointing at his googles.

“Yes.” He answered and decided not to elaborate much on it just to see what the kid could do without much information.

“They don’t look like they have glass, isn’t that counterproductive?” Aizawa raised an eyebrow, before signaling for him to continue. “Well, your quirk depends on sight. I assume the googles are so other people can’t tell where you are looking, but they won’t really protect you from dust, debris or even the wind which would make you blink and you know stop using your quirk. Glass may not be a better option since if it breaks the shards could get directly into your eyes, that’s assuming your quirk works through objects. But if that was the case and you could find a strong enough see through alloy it would offer you extra protection, plus a system could be added for them to fill up the googles once they are on with saline solution so your eyes don’t dry out. Although that might affect your perception or make your vision blurrier considering it’s still a liquid you would be trying to see through.”

That was a lot to process and if he doesn’t stop the kid he will keep going for a while, although his idea isn’t entirely bad, Aizawa may just upgrade his googles with something to protect him from dust. “I never mentioned I had dry eye.”

The kid shut up looking nervous. “O-oh … I just- It seemed logical? Not blinking for a while can dry the eye and since your quirk needs that I thought …”

Ah, the kid’s anxiety got worse. “Relax, you are right. You are smart kid, we could use more heroes like that out there.”

The kid looked at him as if he had just hung the moon. “… You think I can be a hero?” 

“You have the brain and the spirit, you need to develop a survival instinct but other than that yes, I think you can be a hero.” For a moment there was silence and then the kid began crying, fuck, Aizawa is not made to deal with crying children.

“Tha-Thank you.” Considering the kid was sobbing that’s not was the hero was expecting to hear. “No one told me I can be a hero before so, thank you.” Izuku said between sniffles, Aizawa looked at the kid with pity, he had grown up as someone quirkless of course no one told him he can become a hero.

By the time Izuku managed to calm down, the detective had returned with his mother. “This way miss Midoriya.” Is all he heard before the door opened and his mom came in, the woman wanted to hug him but she stopped dead in her tracks stunned by her son’s appearance. “Izuku, baby, what happened to you? They told me you were in a villain attack and now you look so … different.”

Izuku stood up, stumbling with his own tail while walking towards his mom. “I finally got my quirk mom.”

His mom reached a hand out to cup his cheek. “Are you sure? Are you okay? Does any of this hurt?”

Izuku shook his head slightly. “It’s okay mom nothing hurts! It’s a bit heavy but I can manage!” After the initial shock Inko finally pulled her boy into a hug.

“Don’t scare me like that ever again!” Izuku hugged her back,  his tail loudly thumping against the ground. “Sorry mom.”

His mom was asked to bring him some clothes considering his got shredded in the transformation, however, Izuku seemed upset at the realization that he would have to cut all of his All Might merchandise if he wanted to use it again, otherwise his wings would just break through it. “Well … I’ll find a way to make it work honey, I promise.” That was a little comforting but not enough, once he was done changing the detective gave him his backpack, the straps were broken.

“We found this at the scene but no one claimed it, we assumed it was yours.” Izuku opened the backpack, just like he thought his notebooks and school books were soaked, so was his phone but that could probably be fixed.

“It’s okay baby, I’m sure the school will understand considering what happened.” Aizawa did not miss the way the kid’s expression soured at the mention of his school being understanding.

“Miss Midoriya, before you leave we have two things we would like to discuss. First I suggest you take your son for a general check up, to be sure he is totally fine after the attack and to see if anything has changed with the manifestation of his quirk.” Inko was already planning on doing that, sure her Izuku says everything is alright but this was something serious. “Second we would like to discuss his quirk counseling, your son’s quirk was strong enough to protect a civilian and fight off a villain, but since we have no idea what triggered it, it could be unstable. On top of that he was unable to shift back at will from his other form and he has no memory of fighting the villain, this memory lapse happened when he was aggressive towards the villain that’s why we think he needs some more specialized counseling.” Inko seemed nervous at that, she did not have enough money for specialized counseling like that and she would have to modify or change her son’s whole wardrobe to fit his new form and that’s not taking into account if Izuku needs a different diet because of his mutations.

“Miss Midoriya, I would be happy to offer some support for your kid’s counseling. My quirk will help him turn back until he can figure it out and I do have experience as a teacher, I also happen to be a pro hero so in the case he suffers a violent outburst I’m more than equipped to get him under control.” Izuku seemed thrilled at the idea of having a pro hero as a teacher, especially a hero that didn’t complain about his rambling and called him smart for it.

“I … appreciate that but, I can’t afford all this special help he needs, specially the help of a pro hero.”  Inko knows they aren't poor by any means, but this sounds above their budget.

“No worries, I’ll do this free of charge. Call it an exchange for your kid giving me very helpful advice about improving my hero costume.” Tsukauchi was surprised by Aizawa’s words, he expected him to be more reluctant about this.

“I- Thank you so much mister?” Inko said hoping to get the hero's name.

“Aizawa.” The hero replied as monotonous as always.

“Right, thank you mister Aizawa.” She bowed and her son copied her soon after.

“We will keep in contact with you to help you both figure this out considering the unusual circumstances. Sansa, please escort them through the backdoor, the last thing they need is to be swarmed by the press.” The cat officer nodded and followed the order, being stopped by the hero.

“Forgetting something problem child?” Aizawa said with Izuku’s analysis sheet on hand.

“Oh! Right! Thanks Aizawa-san, I’ll um see you soon?” The hero simply nodded before letting Sansa guide the Midoriya’s away.

“You know Eraser, if I didn’t know you. I would say you actually like the kid.” Tsukauchi said.

Aizawa simply shrugged his shoulders. “The kid, despite his late start, has potential. You know I don’t let potential go to waste.” With that the hero left.

When he got home the first thing Izuku did was look at himself in the mirror, the first thing he noticed was the black nubs? Antenna? Sprouting from the side of his head where his ears used to be, well technically they still are they just look a little different. He noticed his canines were a bit sharper and longer, but he is a dragon now or so he thinks, so that checks. Then they were his eyes, they were still green  but his iris was gone instead his sclera was completely green and his pupils had gotten wider or maybe his iris was covering the entirety of the sclera like it happens with cats? He isn’t sure.

His wings were big, he was still making the conscious effort to keep his wings up rather than letting them flop behind him and they still managed to reach the floor … then again Izuku isn’t particularly tall so that could be playing a role too. He already had a good look at his tail a pair of wings or well more like fins at the start of his tail and another pair at the end, they are probably to help him change directions while he flies or if he can fly, that’s not something he can quite test yet. Seeing himself like this was odd but not bad, his quirk was finally here and it was strong, it already helped him defeat a villain.

He can and he will become a hero.

Chapter Text

Despite the police department’s best efforts Izuku’s name and relation to the sludge attack was released to the vultures, they still don’t know who leaked that information but the damage is already done. Articles started coming out one after the other about the late bloomer whose quirk manifested just at the right time to save a life, about the brave bystander who jumped into action despite the disadvantage only to prove more helpful than the heroes on the scene. Articles questioning whether or not this should be counted as an act of vigintalism considering the quirk’s sudden manifestation but mostly it was praise about how his actions may be the only reason the victim was still alive, the name of Izuku Midoriya was spreading like wildfire on the internet and that meant the vultures were fighting each other to get an exclusive interview with the man of the hour. The best way to achieve that? Well find his address and surround his house until the kid comes out of course!

“… Mom, why are there so many people out of our house?” He said looking through the window, quickly closing the blinds again once he started seeing flashes of cameras.

“Well, what happened made you a bit of a celebrity.” Izuku just stared at his mom for a while because what do you mean he is a celebrity??

“But, how? No one knew that was me until I was in the police station, we even got out through the back so nobody saw us!” Izuku said already sounding stressed about this situation.

His mom shrugged. “I don’t know baby, I’m just as confused about this as you are.” Izuku grabbed the remote to turn the TV on, the news was talking about the case that took the internet by storm, there was even a picture of him on the news, well a picture of him before he changed that is.

“This is Izuku Midoriya, according to our sources this young man was believed to be quirkless. Imagine everyone’s surprise when the kid ran into a villain attack and suddenly his quirk manifested! Turning out to be a perfect counter for the villain the other heroes were unable to deal with!” Footage appeared on screen that captured him running before the lightning bolt struck him, there was a commotion from all the bystanders by the sudden shock. The news reporter kept narrating all that had happened but Izuku was just stuck in his mind, lightning struck him and then his quirk manifested, the requirement for his quirk activation was getting struck by lightning? Would any electrical charge of that capacity be enough to make his quirk manifest or did it have to be specifically lightning? … Shouldn’t that have killed him? I mean if that was the requirement them maybe he had some resistance to electricity, but he didn’t seem affected by any of it at all. He wanted to believe his quirk had some similarity to the one of Ryukyu but his seemed to be completely different.

“If it weren’t for the actions of this young man it his likely that the hostage from the attack, Bakugou Katsuki, could’ve ended in a critical condition or even worse. The world is praising Midoriya for his actions, with a quirk that powerful and with a heart so courageous many believe we are witnessing the rise of the next number one hero!” After that the news moved on, but Izuku was starting to dread the reporters words. They painted Kacchan as a helpless victim he jumped in to save, they claimed his quirk was strong enough to become number one some day.

Kacchan is going to murder him on sight.

“Honey are you feeling okay? You look a bit pale.” His mom asked putting a hand on his shoulder bringing him back to reality.

“Ye-Yeah mom! This is just a lot you know? I’ve always just passed by and this just a lot of attention, don’t worry about it.” Izuku knew he had today off from school considering all that happened, how he needed to recover and get that check up done, but a day could only last so long and Kacchan was going to go straight for him when he actually showed up at aldera. The blonde already targeted him when he tried to stay out of his way, he doesn’t even want to imagine the rage he is accumulating for making him seem like a helpless victim on the news, Izuku just got his quirk he isn’t ready to die yet!

“If you say so, maybe you should rest a bit more before going to your check up. Hopefully they might be tired of waiting by then.” She said looking at the window, while she was so happy for her Izuku for getting his quirk and proud of how brave he was, she did not like the way this people thought it was okay to just camp out of their house just to see her son.

“Maybe … think my phone will be working now?” They decided to do the most basic of tricks, put the wet phone in rice and hope it would get all the humidity out. “You can check it out, but it’s been there all night I think it will be fine by now.”

To his surprise his phone was functional again, when he turned it on it was filled with messages from his classmates telling him just how cool he is, how glad they are to have him in class, how awesome it is for him to be on the news. Izuku should like this, this is what he always wanted after all, to have friends to hang with and people that appreciate him but … this is fake, he knows that and he can’t just ignore that to live in blissful ignorance. They didn’t suddenly have a change of heart and decided they should be friends, they either wanted their 15 minutes of fame or they just wanted the benefit of hanging around someone strong, just like they did with Kacchan.

Needless to say he didn’t reply to anyone, this people didn’t know him they just knew the version of him that was shown in the news and the version of him they could benefit from, Izuku won’t give himself false hope about having a normal school life, that ship sailed a while ago. “Mom, do you think they will go away if I talk to them?” He asked looking at the window again, those people wanted something from him and as soon as they got it they would leave, right?

“I’m not sure honey, reporters are never really satisfied.” Izuku took a deep breath heading towards the door, his hand lingering on the doorknob for just a moment before actually opening the door. He was immediately swarmed by cameras and microphones, all of them asking something different, his nubs flattened to the side of his head at the overload of noise.

“One at a time or I won’t answer anything!” He has no idea where the confidence for that little outburst came from but it was pretty effective. For once the press was quiet as if expecting something from him. “Um you first!” He said pointing at a random reporter.

“Yes! Midoriya, is it true that until yesterday you were quirkless?” The reporter asked shoving the mic a bit too close to his face.

“Yes that’s true, my quirk did not manifest until yesterday, so I was essentially quirkless.” After that he pointed to a different reporter.

“From Musutafu news! Will you be pursuing a hero career now that your quirk has manifested?” Well that reporter wasted his question. “I was going to pursue a hero career whether or not I got my quirk.” Before he could pick a different reporter the same one spoke up. “Could you elaborate on that? How would you become a hero if you didn’t have a quirk?”

Izuku didn’t really know, sure he was planning to apply to UA and use the general studies course as a fallback in case he didn’t pass the exam, but the question really wasn’t about what his plan was but more about how someone quirkless can even become a hero. He knows All Might, the number one hero and his idol agrees with that, quirkless people can’t be heroes, but Izuku disagrees. No matter how many people told him he couldn’t become a hero, he still kept trying. “Being a hero isn’t about having the strongest or flashiest quirk, it’s about doing what you can to save people. Anyone can do that if they try hard enough, quirk or not. Next!” The reporters seemed stunned by his answer but they recovered fast enough.

“Here from hero forms! Why did you jump into action when you didn’t have your quirk? Weren’t you scared?” Oh Izuku was terrified, he had no idea what he was going to do to save Kacchan or how he was going to do it, the only thing he knew is that he had to do something because no one else would.

“To be honest, I didn’t think before I rushed in.” He said rubbing his arm, whatever confident outburst he had was dying down. “My feet started moving before I could think and yes I was scared, very scared actually … I didn’t have a plan, I just saw someone that needed help and no one else willing to help.” After that the reporters began to swarm again, firing questions too fast for him to understand.

“I won’t be answering anything else, please clear my front door soon, I have an appointment I don’t want to be late for.” He turned around to get back in the house, many questions still being fired his way but only one made him stop from closing the door.

“Midoriya! Is there a message you would like to send to the people?”

Izuku thought about it for a moment, what message would he want to give to the world? The answer was simple, he would tell the world what he wished someone had told him. “It doesn’t matter what people think of your quirk or if you even have one at all, if you have the will to keep pushing forwards no matter how hard things get and the desire to help and make others feels safe. Then you can be a hero.” With that he closed the door, letting his back rest against it before sliding down until he was sitting on the floor, despite not answering that many questions he felt exhausted.

“Izuku are you okay?! Do you feel faint?! Can I-” Inko has always been overprotective of her son, specially after his quirk failed to appear. The world was cruel and she wanted to protect her helpless baby from it, although he isn’t as helpless anymore is he?

“I’m fine mom, that was just a bit overwhelming. I just need a minute.” Hopefully by the time he recovers the press will be gone.

The press was in fact not gone and tried to swarm him and his mom the moment they stepped outside, however, his massive wings proved to be very useful, creating an area that forced the press away while also protect his mom from the cameras. Some of them tried to follow them, but eventually they gave up the chase, at the very least they had useful footage of him, hopefully that would be enough for them to not bother him again.

Doctor Tsubasa wasn’t an option, the old man had retired the last Inko heard of him, so they had to go with a new doctor. Izuku and his mom sat down in the waiting room until the secretary finally called out his name. “Izuku Midoriya?” The Midoriya’s looked at the lady. “Doctor Ito will see you now.” He nodded standing up heading towards the doctor’s office, his mom close behind him.

When they entered they were greeted by a woman in her late twenties, her brown hair tied into a bun. “Hello Midoriya, please take a seat. Your mother informed me about why you are here, but I would like for you to tell me yourself. You are my patient after all plus there’s something she could’ve missed because she did not experience this change.”

Despite his recent talk with the press, Izuku was not good when it came to talking with new people. “Oh, um well I just got my quirk, I’m a bit of a late bloomer.” The doctor simply nodded. “And um, it made me develop some mutations and I don’t really know how they affect me so I would like to know that. There’s also a transformation aspect? But it’s a bit dangerous because I can’t control that, maybe that’s more for my quirk counseling instead of a check up.”

The doctor smiled softly at him. “It’s quite alright, any information can be useful, let’s start with some basics okay?”

The doctor measured his stature, to Izuku’s surprise he didn’t grow one bit despite his transformation being quite big. His blood pressure seemed to be fine, but his temperature was higher than it should be, for an average human that is. “Interesting, it seems your temperature has risen without affecting you, this normally happens with fire based quirks so you might want to bring that up at your quirk counseling.” Izuku nodded, he already suspected this considering the whole blast thing the full form can do, at least he has a way to confirm it.

The doctor also checked his reflexes, his human parts seemed to react normally, checking the reflexes of his tail and wings proved to be more difficult, the doctor had dealt with some bird like mutations in the past but his wings weren’t that similar to a bird’s. Ito prodded one particular spot that made Izuku smack her in the face with his wings, the dragonling immediately cocooned himself. “I’m so sorry! I swear I didn’t mean to do that!”

The doctor simply laughed it off. “It’s quite alright, you would be surprised how many times something like that happens.”

After that the doctor moved to check out his eyes, his teeth and his new ear like nubs. “I will be honest with you, I have never seen mutations like this on ears. Don’t worry, it’s not a bad thing, the change doesn’t seem to affect your hearing maybe it has even improved it, have you noticed any changes like that?” Izuku shook his head, he hadn’t really had a lot of time to test all the new things his body had, but he will take note of this for future reference. “Well, just keep that in mind alright? If your senses improve it’s very likely that sound, smell or light can overwhelm you until you get used to the change. Your teeth seem sharper, I do think you would benefit from a more carnivorous diet, but you shouldn’t have trouble eating fruits and vegetables whenever you want.” She typed all that information down on her tablet before continuing.

“Midoriya do me a favor, close your eyes please.” Izuku simply obliged, his hears moving slightly at the sound of a click. “You can open them again.” The room looked different, the lights were off but Izuku could still somewhat see without much issue. “Are you able to see anything?”

Izuku looked around, still being able to see his mom, the doctor and her desk among other things. “I think so yeah.” It’s not like the night vision goggles one can see in movies but he can still see.

“I suspected as much, close your eyes again. The sudden switch of light could give you a headache if I’m right about higher senses.” Midoriya simply obeyed her.

“Okay, I would like to get some blood tests done and maybe a few X-rays, if his wings allow him to fly it’s very likely that his bones are hollow now, the X-rays are just to confirm that.” She said sitting back at her desk typing more information into her tablet. “Well good news, despite the changes your son seems to be in perfect health miss Midoriya. We don’t have exact parameters for average for people like him, dragon like quirks are not very common. So I have to used other mutations as reference like birds, lizard and even cats, your son is something new so it’s very likely he will discover more things along the way but for now everything is okay.” Inko let out a breath of relief at that, her baby had changed a lot in so little time, but he was still her baby.

After getting the blood sample and the x-rays done they were finally allowed to leave, Izuku was already itching to write down more possibilities for his quirk on his notebook but that would have to wait for a quick stop at Aldera to get his new uniform, thankfully his mom dealt with that. Once he was finally home he went to his room and grabbed his brand new notebook to make more notes on his quirk, when he reached the notes of his full form he stopped, he didn’t know much about that. He knows it was meant to be quadrupedal and not bipedal considering how uncomfortable it was to walk on two feet, but beyond that he knew nothing about it, not even how he looked that way, maybe Aizawa would remember what he looked like or even better he will allow him to transform and take reference pictures for him.

He stopped his brainstorming when his mom called him for dinner, they ate in silence but it wasn’t very awkward Izuku knew just how worried his mom must be about a quirk so strange an unique manifesting but that’s okay, he will show her there’s nothing to worry about once he gets the hang of it.

Izuku did not sleep that night, he knew he had to got to school tomorrow and that meant facing a very angry Kacchan, he could try and avoid him sure. But that never really worked out for him did it?

In the morning he tried to hide his nervousness, hopefully his mother bought that. When he arrived to school he wanted to lay low, that was his best bet, however, it was hard to go unnoticed when you have a pair of massive wings beside you and a tail to match. “Hey! It’s Midoriya!” And just like that everyone swarmed him talking to him as if they were best friends, Izuku didn’t even know half of who this people were, he did his best to part his way through them claiming he didn’t want to be late for class, when he arrived to class Kacchan was already there glaring at him.

The blonde waited until Izuku sat down in his place before slamming a hand onto the desk. “What the fuck is this Deku?! You’ve been hiding this from me?! You think you are better than me because of this shitty new quirk you got?!”

Kacchan set off an explosion on his desk, that was nothing new to be honest, what was new was the teacher’s reaction. “Bakugou! You can’t harass your classmates and you can’t destroy school property! Sit down and don’t let it happen again or it will go on your record!”

Everyone stood in stunned silence, no one had ever scolded Bakugou for displaying his quirk or using it on others, no one had stopped him from harassing or bullying others because he was the great Bakugou Katsuki, who would there get in the way of the next number 1 hero? But that was the thing wasn’t it? Someone else had taken that place, Bakugou was still strong enough that staying in his good graces was worth it as long as he wasn’t picking a fight with the new favorite … oh this was going to end badly for him.

“Uh?! What did you just say?!” The teacher stood there with his arms crossed.

“You heard me, pull another stunt like that and it will be on your record!” Izuku did his best to sink into his chair, his wings huddling around him as if hiding him from sight will fix anything. “And stop calling Midoriya such an awful name! He saved your life you should be more thankful!” That just hammered the last nail in his coffin, if Kacchan didn’t have enough reasons to kill him before he has them now, all for implying he should be thankful about getting help.

Katsuki almost dug his nails on the nerd’s desk, if it wasn’t for the threat of his record getting stained he would’ve already blown that useless fucker up. “This isn’t over Deku.” He growled before heading back to his seat.

Bakugou tried to corner him alone during lunch, emphasis on try because the sea of extras just wouldn’t leave Deku’s side, endlessly talking about whatever bullshit they had in mind, it was annoying. Those extras are supposed to flock to him, be HIS followers because they know he is the best, no one has ever beat him and yet they were all trailing after Deku like lost fucking puppies.

Izuku knew Kacchan was trailing him after school and he made no attempt to lose him, mostly because his wings and tail still were a bit to heavy for him to handle without tripping. “Stop running Deku.” Against his better judgement he obeyed, the more he delays this the angrier Kacchan gets. “All this time you were hiding this powerful quirk from me uh? Pretending to be a quirkless useless Deku?”

He turned around to face the blond, his expression was murderous. “I-I wasn’t hiding anything Kacchan! You knew it was a dormant quirk factor-” Izuku shut up when his former best friend set up an explosion on his hand.

“Bullshit! No one does what you did with a new quirk! Was it fun Deku? Pretending to be weak only to make me look weak on tv?!” Izuku’s tail curled around his ankles, this wasn’t right, he never wanted to make Kacchan look weak.

“I wasn’t pretending! I didn’t want to make you look weak either Kacchan! I can’t make you look weak because you are the strongest!” His instinct acted faster than what his brain could register, his wings covering him before Kacchan’s explosion could reach him, he could feel the heat on his wings, but for the first time in his life the explosions didn’t burn him.

“Don’t be a coward an actually face me Deku! Stop hiding behind your stupid wings!” He felt the heat of another explosion push him back, but once again he didn’t feel burnt.

“Kacchan stop!” If someone saw this Kacchan could get in a lot of trouble.

“Not until you give me answers Deku! How did you hide this for so long?! Why wait until you could humiliate me with it?! Making fun of me behind my back knowing the quirk you had!” Another explosion hit him before he spread his wings smacking Kacchan away.

“WHY WON’T YOU FUCKING LISTEN?! I DIDN’T KNOW I HAD THIS QUIRK!” He didn’t mean to yell, he was pretty sure a more primal part of him wanted to roar as well. “Why can’t you understand that everything I do doesn’t revolve around you? Why is it so hard for you to believe that I’m telling the truth?” Izuku didn’t know his slit pupils were staring at Bakugou, his wings still spread open trying to make him look bigger.

“I wasn’t hiding anything! Do you think I would hide this when a quirk is everything I ever wanted?! When a quirk was the only thing that would stop people from hurting me everyday?!” He was tearing up, but still he did his best not to breakdown. “When I jumped in to save you I wasn’t thinking this is the perfect moment to humiliate the great Bakugou Katsuki! I jumped in because my best friend was dying and the heroes that were supposed to help were going to let you die!” He could not stop the tears from coming but he did wipe them away as fast as he could.

“I didn’t need the help from a fucking useless Deku like you.” Something in Izuku snapped.

“The only reason you are alive is because after everything you’ve done to me, the useless Deku decided to help you.” That was enough to struck a nerve because Katsuki threw another explosion at him, forcing Izuku to shield himself again.

“Shut up! I don’t fucking need help! Let alone from you Deku! Next time stay out of my way!” Finally Bakugou was walking away.

A part of Izuku wanted to believe that now that he got his quirk things could be like when they were kids, back when Kacchan would smile at him saying how they would become a hero duo that would be better than All Might. Izuku wanted desperately to believe that the Kacchan that used to be his friend was still buried under all that pride an anger, but for all he knows that Kacchan never existed, that Kacchan was nothing more than a figment of his imagination. “Fine! Next time you can drown for all I care!” Bakugou stood still when he heard that, he never expect Deku to say something like that.

Izuku didn’t wait to see his reaction he simply walked away trying to calm down his own anger, trying to smile by the time he got home, but his mom noticed something was amiss. “Baby are you okay? Did the reporters bother you again?”

Izuku shook his head. “No mom it’s …” He trailed off, he wanted to say it was nothing but this actually bothered him, all he did was help, he saved his life and Kacchan still antagonized him for it just like he did his whole life for every minor inconvenience. “Kacchan … Bakugou and I are no longer friends mom, that’s it.”

His mom seemed shocked, they had been best friends since they were born, there has to be a mistake. “I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding, let me call Mitsuki and we’ll have this figured out in no time.” Izuku held his mother’s arm gently to stop her.

“Don’t, this isn’t something you or auntie can fix mom … there’s a lot I haven’t told you.” It was finally time to have a talk that was long overdue.

Chapter Text

To say Inko was horrified about what she heard was an understatement, all this time she thought Katsuki had been the one protecting Izuku from the mean kids at school but in reality it was that boy who kept hurting her baby. She wasn’t blind, she noticed that her baby came home with bruises and at first she thought it was just kids playing rough at the park, but then Izuku came from school with bruises. She is well aware of the quirkless discrimination, she knew why and she just thought Izuku didn’t look worse because Katsuki defended him when in reality he was the reason her son got hurt.

“I’m telling Mitsuki about this and I’m suing that school for just allowing this! This happened right in front of their faces and they did nothing!” She failed as a mother thinking someone else would protect her son when that was her job, she had a lot to make up for.

“It’s okay mom, Ka- Bakugou will just get angrier because I snitched.” He said doing quote marks with his fingers on the word snitched. “Even if auntie tells him to apologize he won’t mean it.” Inko knew her son was right, but her best friend deserved to know what his son had been doing, that kind of behavior isn’t something she should hide. “And even if you try suing I’m sure they erased all the evidence, no videos, Kaccha- Bakugou’s record is clean, everyone will just lie about everything. It’s just my word against theirs.” Then again it wasn’t the word of a plain quirkless boy anymore, it would be the word of a current celebrity that people were looking up to against theirs.

“I know! It’s just … I haven’t done anything for so long, there must be something I can do for you now.” Izuku smiled softly at his mom before giving her a hug.

“You were there for me when no one else was mom, you’ve done enough.” Inko couldn’t help crying at her son’s words and Izuku ended up crying too mostly out of empathy.

After a much needed crying session, Inko suggested she could make Izuku’s favorite for dinner and even get some ice cream as compensation, that meant his mom had to go out to buy somethings and that left him with some time for himself, what he will do with that time? Well try to figure out his quirk of course! His quirk counseling should be happening soon, he wants to take as many notes as possible to his first session.

First he tried to figure out just how he ended up with a quirk like this, to his knowledge no one from his mom’s or dad’s side of the family has had mutation quirks, actually he is pretty sure transformation quirks aren’t that common in his family either, most are emitter quirks like his mom’s telekinesis or his dad’s fire breathing. Izuku didn’t really know much about his dad, he can barely remember the man and one day he stayed in America for work rather than coming back, he would like to say that he misses him but well, he can’t miss someone he never knew. His father’s quirk was the closest thing to his own since he can, allegedly, breathe fire too, but fire breathing evolving into full on dragon seems a bit of a stretch. Izuku was stuck for a while on that, there was no logical reason as to why he got the quirk he did, it was rare for quirks to mutate this far from his parent’s but it wasn’t exactly impossible, he decided to leave that train of thought for later.

The next thing he did was google about dragon quirks, the first thing to pop up was the hero Ryukyu that much was to be expected but the information online wasn’t very useful.

Both of their quirks were similar in the aspect that it allowed them to transform their bodies into dragons, but other than that not really. Ryukyu didn’t get any mutations once she stopped using her quirk, her strength, durability and stamina seemed to increase while transformed and Izuku thought that might apply to him, other than that their quirks were too different. The dragon hero was able to transform into a much bigger dragon than Izuku, she didn’t seem to be able to breathe fire like Izuku can nor does she have heightened senses like the doctor told him.

He found a few more articles about other dragon like quirks but none of them fit into his own either and just like the doctor told him those types of quirks were pretty rare so the information he found was either all the same, not very helpful or just didn’t apply to him. Since that was a dead end he settled for the next best thing, researching about dragons as mythical creatures rather than quirks, yeah maybe a lot of information won’t be that useful considering this are fantastical beings but in his defense quirks were also something fantastical in the past, so it’s worth taking a look.

A lot of cultures had their own version of dragons as well as how they are represented, Izuku ended up discovering his dragon form probably aligned more with occidental dragons rather than oriental dragons. So that eased up his research, after that he tried to focus on dragons that related to storms or lightning anything along those lines but he didn’t learn much from that either, most of it were really cool drawings or people arguing how these beasts would work along with the rules of reality. Since none of that was actually working he settled for looking into media about dragons, it may seem odd but a lot of quirk ideas started as media such as comics, cartoons and movies.

By the time he actually found something his mom had already returned and was making dinner. After reviewing a list of dragons in films and television he ended up stumbling onto the franchise of how to train your dragon. It was a trilogy of movies plus a few series from the pre-quirk era, to be honest he has never heard about those films before but people must have really loved it if the fan wikis were still up after so much time. The reason why this particular franchise stood out to him was because of the main mascot, the wings of that dragon looked a lot like his own and so did the tail although he didn’t have a red fin. Izuku looked up the videos shown on the news about him to compare his form and the mascot’s, the video was blurry and shaky considering it was taken by someone in the crowd so the shots weren’t the best for comparison.

“Izuku, dinner is ready!” Izuku saved the tab to favorites before heading out of his room.

“Coming mom!” His research can continue later, specially now that he actually has a lead.

Aizawa came to the logical conclusion that UA was the best equipped place to deal with a recently manifested quirk of a 14 year old, quirk that while powerful is also incredibly unstable. Their gyms and training grounds were designed to get wrecked with strong quirks, mainly by the first years who needed to test their limits. But to do that he has to convince the rat about it first, which is why he is in his office.

“Ah Aizawa, it’s always nice to see you. Would you like some tea?” Nezu offered.

Aizawa shook his head. “I would like to keep this brief.” Nezu hummed in response before drinking from his cup.

“Always straight to the point! I’m sure this is about booking the gym this weekend correct?” The teacher nodded. “I have no reason to deny this, but I’m curious. You aren’t one to train in school grounds and you don’t have a class to book this for, so I have to ask, what is this for?” Aizawa knew this was coming, it’s never a simple yes with the rat.

“I will be doing a quirk counseling session with a student.” Nezu’s nose twitched at that.

“Oh? But you don’t have any students this year, you expelled them all!” He said cheerfully.

Aizawa shrugged his shoulders. “He is my student not yours.”

That just seemed to increase the mammal’s interest. “Oh my, I never thought I’d see the day were Eraserhead played favorites.”

The hero glared. “I’m not playing favorites, I’m the only one that can assist him with a quirk that volatile and I agreed I would do it already. I just figured out here would be the safest place to do it.”

The principal took another sip of his drink, this was an unusual situation and saying he wasn’t curious about this whole ordeal would be a lie. “Very well, I suppose there is no harm on letting you use the facilities, you are a part of the staff after all.” That was too easy. “But, I will only allow it on one condition.” There it is. “I want to meet this mystery student of yours! If you found them interesting enough to bring them here then I would like to know just who managed such a feat!”

That could be worse, he just has to make sure the rat doesn’t see the kid’s analysis and everything should be fine. “Understood.”

Izuku never thought watching movies and tv shows would be part of his research and analysis, but now he understood why people liked this movies so much! In a way Hiccup reminded him of himself, someone expected to be strong and powerful that simply didn’t meet those expected standards forced on him. He never becomes what people thought he should be, he becomes someone even better based on his own strengths.

Hiccup wasn’t really strong physically but he was incredibly smart and in the end that’s what always makes him a hero in the movies. Instead of trying to fit in to the standard he stands out and uses those differences to his advantage, Izuku understands what that’s like. Then there was Toothless that filled in the fire power Hiccup lacked, but he was more than just brute strength, the dragon is also quite intelligent and a friend when Hiccup felt so lonely, they made each other better and maybe his quirk will do that for him too.

He filled pages of his notebook with the abilities described in the fan wiki before watching the movies and adding notes and theories of his own, he found the world of the movies so interesting and he wondered what it would be like for his quirk to resemble a different dragon from the show. The deadly nadder’s tail spikes would be useful for a long range attack! But considering the dragon’s anatomy Izuku is worried he would have wings instead of arms if his quirk manifested as that dragon, so maybe being a night fury is for the best.

He watched the main movies but he is still getting started on the shows and specials so his research isn’t over yet, however, the date for his quirk counseling is already here and he wouldn’t want to be late. He spent the train ride scribbling more theories and perfecting the sketches on his notebook, he was distracted enough not to think too much about the address he was heading towards, you can imagine how he short circuited when he realized he was standing in front of UA, Aizawa was waiting at the gate for him.

“Are you coming or not?” The hero asking raising an eyebrow, that was enough to make him snap back into reality.

“Sorry!” Izuku said while running to catch up with Aizawa. “I just thought the first time I would be crossing that gate would be when I took the entrance exam!” Aizawa could tell the kid was excited, whether it was about testing his quirk or being at UA he wasn’t sure.

Aizawa guided him until they reached the gym. “Alright, today we will be testing basics. Things like speed, stamina, strength as well as your control over those new mutations. If you feel up to it we could try your fire breathing, transformation will have to wait considering we still don’t know why you can’t remember the time you were aggressive, plus we still have the issue of your transformation breaking your clothes to work through. Is that clear?” Izuku nodded excitedly.

“There’s a few other things I would like to try if you let me! But before that I need to ask, do you remember how I looked as a dragon?” Aizawa gave a small nod. “Great! Did it look anything like this?” The kid showed him his analysis notebook, on it there was a drawing of a dragon and it was pretty spot on.

“Pretty much yes, why?” Aizawa saw how the teen’s wings fluttered excitedly at the reply.

“This dragon is actually from a pre-quirk era movies! I know it’s weird that a cartoon character manifested as my quirk but it did! So I think there’s a chance I have all the abilities this dragon does, one of which is summoning lightning which would also explain why I got struck by one during the sludge incident! I think getting struck by lightning was the requirement of my quirk! Well that and dying to it since the night fury is the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself! That much electricity should’ve killed me but maybe I kept enough energy in my body to kick start my heart again? I haven’t figured out that part yet.” Izuku stopped his rambling when Aizawa raised a hand signaling for him to stop, his wings quickly stopped flapping sticking to his sides, his tail curling around his ankles again, he must have annoyed the hero with his rambling.

“Midoriya I need you to slow down a bit, I couldn’t understand half of what you said. Did I hear you say dying to lightning was a requirement to activate your quirk?” Aizawa saw the kid cover himself with his wings, almost as if he was trying to hide himself.

“Never mind, it’s just a stupid theory anyways. We should just get started on the tests you mentioned.” Izuku’s excitement faded almost instantly at the slight chance of disappointing or annoying the only other adult and person in his life that was kind and willing to help him. This personality switch was noticed by Aizawa.

“Midoriya I will say this once so you better listen, your theory is not stupid and I am not dismissing your ideas nor your research. You know your quirk better than I can because you are the one experiencing it. If you think something is important or that it should be brought to my attention I will listen, but I need you to explain things a bit slower for me to understand what you need and for me to guide you safely into trying it. Understood?” The kids tension seemed to ease up a bit after his explanation, he still seemed to be on a fight or flight mode. He should really work on the kids insecurity as he goes along.

“I understand.” He didn’t go back to his previous excitement but he no longer seemed to see Aizawa as a threat or something to hide from, the hero will take that progress.

After that Izuku did explain everything he researched at a more understandable pace and Aizawa listened to him patiently. He had to give the kid credit for the effort he put into his analysis, while he took the information from a fictional scenario he did base it on the few things he could see about his new body and on the rules of the real world. There was a high chance he could summon lightning and that he just didn’t get struck by chance, considering his new heightened senses echolocation was a possibility as well, he wasn’t too sure about temporary invisibility through lightning but that’s not something we can test now.

“From your ideas we can add echolocation to today’s session, the rest still seems dangerous for a beginner so that will have to wait.” Izuku smiled at him just for acknowledging his ideas and actually be willing to implement them. “For now let’s start with the basics and move on from there.” Izuku nodded before following his instructions.

The teen’s strength and speed seemed to have increased with his mutations, his stamina not so much he will have to work on that. So far Izuku seemed to have a good control of his wings and tail, being able to move them on command although they would also move depending on some of his emotions, probably an instinctual reaction the kid could learn to control.

Aizawa even allowed him to take flight, well kind of, he told Midoriya to try to take off but maintain himself hovering over the ground for as long as he could. Midoriya lasted less than a minute, at first he seemed to have the hand of it but after a while his wings became uncoordinated and he was forced to stand on the ground again, he was reassure they would work on that in future sessions.

The fire breath or plasma shots if his research was correct was a lot harder to do, he did managed to do one shot but it took a lot of concentration and once again his throat was itchy after the shot. It was nice knowing that fire power was still there with him in his human form, but he needs to practice a lot if he wants to use it right.

Finally they did the echolocation where Izuku learned he could roar just as loudly in his human form as in his dragon form, he didn’t get the hang of this ability either since he couldn’t process the sound bouncing very well yet, he will work on it. Izuku didn’t think all of this would be that tiring, then again his stamina is very low.

“That would be all for today, take a break. Before you leave the principal would like to speak with you.” Izuku didn’t know how to react to that, the principal of UA wanted to talk with him??? HIM???

“O-Oh, sure I’ll do that.” There was a bit of silence for a moment, his tail swishing from side to side. “I got really excited with training and UA and all that I um forgot to tell you something. Mom says you are invited to dinner if you want, it’s her way of saying thank you for helping me even when she can’t pay for it.” He didn’t want to make Aizawa feel like he had to say yes. “Again! It’s only if you want to, you don’t have to be pressured into going or anything!”

Aizawa stared at him for a moment, sure he is not one for socials but to be fair neither is this kid and he is trying. “I would be glad join you and your mom for dinner Midoriya.” Besides this was just a one time thing.

Aizawa led the kid towards Nezu’s office and against his better judgement he let the kid walk in alone, mostly due to the rat’s orders, he wasn’t happy about it but that was still his boss. “Um, A-Aizawa-san said you wanted to see me?” Izuku said walking into the room, his nervousness only getting worse by the second, this was his first impression with the principal of UA! He can’t afford to ruin it.

“Ah you must be Aizawa’s mystery student! Please come in, take a seat! Would you like some tea?” Izuku followed the orders of the mammal and sat down, however, he quickly denied the tea.

“No, sorry. I have a theory that certain foods could react negatively with my new mutations, I would rather not try too many things without knowing if it’s safe.” He truly hoped he hadn’t offended the principal by refusing his tea, but Izuku discovered some plants were dangerous or toxic for dragons in the show, he could only wonder if there was an equivalent in his reality and for now he just couldn’t risk it.

The principal nodded. “I understand, I more than anyone appreciate someone smart enough to prevent accidents based on unknown factors.” After saying that the rat simply stared at him, that lasted long enough for Izuku’s tail to start swishing again, he didn’t understand why the principal wanted him here but now that he was wouldn’t talk to him.

“Did you, um, want to see me for something in particular?” He didn’t want to be rude but he couldn’t just sit there forever.

“Not really, I’m just trying to figure out what it is about you that caught Aizawa’s attention. Believe me when I say that is no easy feat Midoriya!” The principal said cheerfully, leaving the teen a little confused. He caught Aizawa’s attention? Wasn’t this whole counseling because his quirk is dangerous especially since he can’t control it yet? Besides he was just a teacher doing his work, what did that have to do with getting his attention?

“… I never told you my name.” That was not one of the questions in his mind, but the fact that the principal knew who he was when the mammal hadn’t bothered to introduce himself made him feel uncomfortable or vulnerable? Point is, his instincts do not like that.

“You didn’t have to! I know everything that happens in this school! Plus, you have been the only thing people have been talking about for the past week!” Ah, right, Izuku forgets he doesn’t really have privacy anymore and the world more or less knew everything about him.

“Right, that makes sense … what were you saying about me catching Aizawa’s attention?” He might as well get some answers while he is here.

“Yes! While Aizawa has been a teacher for many years he has never been one to pick personal students, but he picked you! I just would like to understand why that is.” He could understand Aizawa not picking personal students, in a way that would be like picking favorites and Aizawa didn’t seem like that kind of teachers, he would know he grew his whole life with teachers who had a favorite.

“Because there’s no one else who can teach me safely right now.” Izuku saw the mammal’s ears twitch before he signaled for him to continue. “My quirk manifested a week ago, I may be 14 but I have the control of a toddler. It is powerful, perfect for hero work according to a lot of articles. But, it’s also dangerous, I can’t remember anything from when I was aggressive which means if I have another outburst it’s very likely I could hurt someone because I have no control of myself. On top of that I can’t switch on command and Aizawa is the only one that can force me to switch back. Considering the lack of options it’s logical he would be the one to help me.”

Nezu hummed in response, considering the teen’s reply. “You would be correct, he would be the best suited to help with your counseling. But that still doesn’t explain why he offered to do so, especially when he isn’t gaining anything by doing it.” That confused Izuku, Aizawa did mention it was an exchange for the advice on his googles but that didn’t seem to be enough for the principal.

“Well he is a teacher right? Isn’t it some sort of instinct for him to want to help those who are willing to learn?” Izuku did not like the way the principal smiled at him, it was unsettling to say the least.

“Any normal teacher would have that instinct yes, but Aizawa isn’t like that. In fact he expelled his whole class this year because they lacked potential to be heroes! So we come back to the main question, what did he see in you that he didn’t see in a whole class of potential heroes?” Izuku was shocked to hear that Aizawa had expelled his whole class, those were 20 students that he deemed unworthy of the hero course and yet the man was taking the time of day to teach him and now he also had to question why that was.

He thought back at his first encounter with the man, they didn’t interact for a long time but it was enough to convince Aizawa that he could be a hero. Aizawa saw potential in him that he didn’t see in a whole class who managed to get into UA and that might just inflate his non existent ego. “He saw potential in me.” He said in a low voice, although the mammal had no trouble hearing him. “But he didn’t see potential in my quirk, he saw potential in me.”

That was exactly what Nezu wanted to hear. “Once again I remind you this is no easy feat, I just want to understand what aspect of you he deemed with potential. We both know it wasn’t your quirk, so what could it be?”

Izuku thought about it for a moment, his quirk or power wasn’t impressive, no what impressed or at least called Aizawa’s attention was his analysis of his own quirk and the hero’s support gear. “I think it was my analysis, it’s a bit messy and all over the place, I mumble a lot and that sometimes passes onto my notes. They aren’t perfect but they aren’t wrong.”

The principal smiled at him. “Do you happen to have some of this analysis on you? I would like to review it myself!” Izuku nodded giving him the notebook filled with possibilities about his own quirk, for some reason Aizawa felt goosebumps.

It took around 15 more minutes before both of them walked out of the office, he was surprised Midoriya was still in one piece. “I understand why you are so interested in him now Eraserhead! I hope to see more of Midoriya in the future! In fact I would appreciate if he was willing to join us in some of our classes to analyze the students.” Aizawa KNEW this was a bad idea, the brat was smart even if that got hindered by his insecurities, but now the rat knows the kid is smart, he won’t be letting go of Midoriya anytime soon.

“I appreciate the offer Nezu sir, but my analysis isn’t something impressive or exact. Most of it is speculation, I just happen to get somethings right.” If Nezu plays his cards right he will have someone that could help him take over the world in 10 months!

“If you say so, I would still be glad to have you for a few classes! I will also contact you as soon as possible to provide you with a training uniform that won’t get shredded by your transformation! You will need it for your future sessions with Aizawa after all.” Aizawa knows damn well the rat is just using the counseling excuse to make sure Midoriya will come back.

Midoriya bowed thanking the principal for his future help, after that Aizawa walked him back home. Inko was very happy to see that Aizawa had accepted her invitation for dinner.

Aizawa has never been one for socializing, but he has to admit that a warm homemade meal is a lot better than surviving off of coffee and jelly pouches. He wasn’t used to eating with people but he couldn’t say that the Midoriyas presence bothered him … he might not say it out loud, but it was nice not having to have dinner alone for once.

Chapter Text

A couple of weeks had passed since the sludge incident and that meant Deku’s popularity was dying down. An extra or two would still follow him around but Deku just didn’t have what it takes to actually maintain those followers. In fact Deku kept encouraging the extras to stay away from him, he would never tell them off but he didn’t put any effort into keeping them close by either.

Katsuki was glad that people were seeing Deku for what he is again and leaving him alone, however, the teachers still had him on a pedestal which meant Katsuki couldn’t confront him while someone was watching. Deku was their new favorite and that came with immunity, he could do literally anything he wanted and the teachers won’t say a thing.

Bakugou has tried everyday to corner Deku, to get some actual answers about the incident, to get a chance at reminding him that he wasn’t the best like everyone else is saying, he just got lucky and Katsuki wants him to know that. Yet the nerd simply walks past him anytime he tries to do so, using his wings to push him out of the way not even glancing at him and that was driving Katsuki insane, so once again he was tailing Deku so he could give him a piece of his mind. “Why do you avoid me Deku?! You think I’m so insignificant that I’m not worth a little bit of your so precious time?” He said in a mocking tone, for once Deku actually stopped and looked back at him.

“I don’t get you Bakugou, you want me to stay out of your way and yet you are the one following me around.” Katsuki glared at him, he wasn’t following Deku around! He just wanted to get answers and the nerd wouldn’t stop and give them to him! It was something so simple and it was Deku making it hard!

“I don’t follow anyone around! Let alone a useless Deku like you!” That nerd has the NERVE to roll his eyes at him before continuing on his way back home. “Oi! I’m not done talking to you!” Katsuki tried to grab his arm, emphasis in try because Deku quickly blocked him with his wings and used them to push him back.

“I am, we have nothing to talk about. You hate me, despite that I saved you, you still hate me and nothing I do will change that. No answer I give you will ever be enough for you so I won’t, think whatever you want I don’t care anymore Bakugou.” Oh how that just made his blood boil, because Katsuki couldn’t believe that the annoying fucking nerd who followed him like a lost puppy their whole lives suddenly didn’t care about him anymore. Everyone cared about him, because he was going to be someone important, that’s what everyone told him his whole life.

“Bullshit! You can’t just ignore me because you think you are a big shot now Deku!”  Katsuki was dying to pick a fight, although he really didn’t understand why he needed to pick a fight with the nerd of all people.

“Ignoring you is better than what you did to me, I haven’t forgotten about your quirk advice. I know auntie has been anxious about you getting home late after the attack, just go home Kacchan.” Once again Deku turned away, scolding himself under his breath for letting the nickname slip before walking away. That remark was enough to make Katsuki freeze for a moment, sure he did say that but he knew Deku wasn’t stupid enough to actually do it. By the time he got himself together Deku was gone and that’s why Katsuki is now standing in front of the Midoriya’s apartment door, because this is the one place Deku can’t avoid him.

Katsuki knocked on the door, as expected Inko opened it, the fact that the woman didn’t smile when she saw him should’ve been his first sign something was off. “Hi Auntie, is De- Izuku home?” Auntie let that nickname slide when they were kids because it was an accident, she didn’t love it when he used it now that he was older.

“Yes, he is a bit busy right now. Do you need anything?” The woman stood by the door, clearly blocking the way inside, Katsuki could even swear the woman was glaring at him.

“Yes Auntie, I actually need to talk to him about a school project. Can I come in?”  He tried to play nice, use one of the most basic excuses so Inko would let him in. To his surprise the short woman crossed her arms staring at him.

“No, you can’t come in. You should know better than lying to me Katsuki.” Inko was well aware there was no school project, she didn’t know why the teen thought it was a good idea to come harass her son in his own house, but she was not going to allow it. “I’m well aware about the situation between you and Izuku. So no, you can’t come in because you are no longer welcomed here.”

Katsuki was shocked, this was the first time his action had consequences after all, he didn’t think Deku would snitch. “Auntie please, I can explain-” Explain what? How he tormented Deku for following a dream? For getting in his way of becoming a hero? For using him as quirk practice?

“I don’t want to hear it!” Inko had never scolded him before. “All this time I knew Izuku had it rough because he didn’t have a quirk. But I thought maybe things weren’t so bad because his best friend had a strong quirk to protect him with.” He saw auntie tear up. “I’m so disappointed in you Katsuki, all this time I thought you were keeping him safe when you were the one hurting him and then you had the guts to visit me with your mom pretending like you weren’t burning my baby everyday!” Katsuki shrunk onto himself at his auntie’s words. “I don’t know what happened to the little boy that was best friends with Izuku, because I can’t see him in you anymore. Unless you are here to apologize for what you did to him, don’t come back.” With that Inko closed the door on his face, Katsuki didn’t really know how to process that but it was clear Inko wasn’t going to let him come inside, the only thing he could do for now was go home.

Izuku had never liked the teachers he met, all of them turned their back on him, graded him less than what he got because he “cheated” or blamed him for fights when he never landed a hit, even now that he was in his good graces he still didn’t like them, because that sudden care wasn’t real. But Aizawa sensei isn’t like that, sure he tells Izuku what he does wrong but he also tells him how to improve and acknowledges him when he  gets things right, it’s the first time he actually wants to impress a teacher and to do that he has to train on his own. His strength and speed got better due to his quirk, but his stamina is still as terrible as it was before so he began to go on runs to improve that, Aizawa encouraging him during his counseling after seeing his improvement.

During some of his runs he would pass by Takoba beach, what once was a beautiful place to relax was turned into a dumpster, every time Izuku ran past the beach he slowed down to look at it. It was kind of sad seeing what that place had turned into but it didn’t mean the beach was useless, the place was filled with all kind  of trash from cars and fridges to cans and other small litter and some of that trash would make a perfect target practice for his plasma shots. Izuku decided he would clean up what he could and create a training area there to practice before meeting Aizawa on the weekends, even with his new strength he couldn’t lift a fridge but his blast did help him turn that fridge into more manageable pieces. It was a win-win situation, in due time the beach could be a beach once again and he could practice without causing actual damage or disturbing people! … yeah his new senses did not enjoy the smell of trash but it was a needed sacrifice if he wants to get better!

Aizawa was ready to head over to UA for the problem child’s counseling session, however, a certain loud blond was standing in his way. “Come on Shou! We haven’t hung out in forever! I know you miss meeeeee!” Aizawa rolled his eyes at Yamada’s whining, while he does enjoy spending time with his best friend, he finds it much more enjoyable to have a student that actually listens for once … that and the benefits that comes with teaching said student.

“Sorry Hizashi, I have a class today.” He said walking past him, Yamada simply glared at him.

“You need to come up with a better excuse! I know for a fact you don’t have a class to teach! You have no students! And it’s a weekend! We don’t even teach on weekends!” Much to Hizashi’s dismay, Aizawa simply shrugged his shoulders and kept on walking,  Aizawa would eventually make it up to him but that would be on a day he didn’t have any plans. Hizashi on the other hand was going to let it slide for now, but if Aizawa kept brushing him off with the same excuse he was going to catch him red handed in his lie.

Once Aizawa arrived to the training grounds it didn’t take long for his problem child to show up, Nezu had granted Midoriya with a special ID, after all the kid wasn’t technically a UA student, not yet anyways. “Hello Sensei!” The kid’s wings were fluttering with excitement, Aizawa knew exactly just what that meant.

“Alright kid, what did you find out this time?”  The greenette opened his notebook showing him a new section labeled as plasma blasts, there were plenty of notes about intensity and blast radius as well as how he could control the heat of the blast to reduce damage.

“So I’ve been practicing with my blasts since that’s kind of the safest thing I can do without you having to be there, my throat itches less now that I can control just how hot the blast can be! It took a lot of time and theoretically I should be able to make a plasma like beam for a short amount of time but I haven’t been able to figure that out yet.”  The kid explained while bouncing in place, the teen always seems excited about sharing his new discoveries or maybe he is excited about someone wanting to listen to him, Aizawa prefers not to think to much about it.

“Right, to my knowledge your apartment isn’t very big Midoriya and your blasts can cause a bit of destruction. Where have you been practicing?” He knew for a fact Midoriya couldn’t be training at home, he wasn’t training at UA because Nezu would’ve told him about it and he can’t just practice in a park without getting told off for public quirk usage.

Izuku stopped bouncing, his wings sticking to his back. “Ah, well, I-I know I shouldn’t use my quirk in public and all but I’m really far behind compared to everyone else and I just need to catch up! I promise no one goes to Takoba beach so it’s safe to train there!” He did his best to argue, he needed the extra practice if he wanted to catch up with everyone else before the UA entrance exams, and that was the safest place to do it.

“Takoba? You mean the beach filled to the brim with trash?” Izuku nodded hesitantly and Aizawa could just wonder how this kid can be so smart and somehow so stupid at the same time. “Midoriya do you have any idea how dangerous that is?” Normally he wouldn’t scold the teenager but this time it seemed necessary. 

“I-I know I could get in trouble for using my quirk on public like that but what other option do I have? Everyone applying for UA will have years of practice while I only have 10 months at best! Plus I am using my quirk to clean up the beach too! That has to count for something, right?” His worry was justified and Aizawa could understand how stressful it was to feel so far behind especially when he was running against a timer.

“First, this isn’t about your public quirk usage but we’ll come back to that.” He said raising his hand, a sign Midoriya knew meant to keep quiet until his teacher was finished. “Second, I’m worried about the place you chose to train in, does your mother even know you go there?” Midoriya did a so-so gesture with his hand. “Then you are telling her tonight and I will be there to make sure you do.”

“But!” Aizawa’s glare was enough to make him shut up.

“Midoriya that place is filled with trash, there are plenty of illnesses you could catch just by being there and do not even get me started on all the rust that’s on that beach, one cut could lead to a very quick infection. It’s nice that you want to use your training to clean that beach, but you are going there unsupervised to do so. What happens when you try to carry something far heavier than you can manage and get hurt? What happens if someone bad comes to you on the beach and you don’t notice?” Midoriya lowered his head at that, his tail curling around his ankles in shame.

“I’m sorry sensei, I didn’t think about any of that … I didn’t really care about getting hurt, I have a high pain resistance because of … reasons and I have experience tending to my own injuries so if I got hurt I was just going to do what I always do.” Aizawa made a mental note to unpack that later, it’s good for heroes to know basic first aid but Midoriya didn’t make it sound like he learned for fun. “I won’t go there anymore, I promise.” Izuku didn’t want to meet Aizawa’s gaze, he didn’t want to see the disappointment in his eyes.

Aizawa sighed. “Midoriya I’m not telling you to stop going, the fact that you also want to clean the beach rather than just using it for quirk practice is a good thing. What I am telling you is that you can’t keep going there alone, you need someone to watch over you and someone that can help you if you get hurt.”

“You are going to watch over me?” He didn’t really expect that, Aizawa already does so much for him, asking even more of him specially when he was doing it for free felt wrong.

“Oh no, I won’t be the one babysitting you.” That term finally made the teen look at him with a hint of annoyance. “Midoriya I enjoy our sessions and your mother’s cooking, but I still have things to do apart from teaching you. As much as I would like to make sure the one student I do want in my class doesn’t get hurt, I don’t have the time to look after you. Nezu can find a suitable babysitter from one of the second or third years.” 

“I’m not a baby, I don’t need a babysitter!” Aizawa merely hummed at his complain, sure the hero knew Midoriya isn’t a baby but he does have the control of a baby when it comes to his quirk and that’s not taking into account how reckless the kid can be if he tries, so yes a babysitter seems fitting.

“Cry me a river about it after your session is done, for now we need to practice with your new range of shots and your flying ability.” Izuku nodded with a little huff, he could focus on his training for now and discuss about it later.

Aizawa took note of the different blasts Midoriya could use now, while all of them were still destructive, some of them could dent metal, other left burn marks and the stronger ones could just melt the metal, Midoriya also showed him the shock wave his blasts could cause if they never hit anything, Aizawa almost gets pushed down by one of them, good to know the problem child’s long range attacks can have an even longer range. His training sessions had also helped him a lot with his accuracy considering he didn’t fail any of his shots this session. For the flying section Nezu had set up plenty of safety nets on the training gym which meant that Midoriya could fly freely  without the fear of getting hurt if he fell, he did fall a few times when his wings stopped cooperating with him but at least he managed to stay longer on the air before his wings became uncoordinated all in all it was a good session.

“Midoriya please come to my office before you leave! I have already found a fitting babysitter for your little pass time!” The voice of the principal was heard through the speakers.

“How did he know to?” Aizawa simply shook his head at the kids question.

“When it comes to Nezu kid, it’s better not to question it, as long as you stay on his good side you have nothing to worry about.” Aizawa knew that rat had eyes and ears everywhere, he would tell that to Midoriya but what’s the fun in giving him a head start?

Chapter Text

Aizawa accompanied Izuku to the principal’s office, the mammal waved at them once they entered. “Welcome! Midoriya I’m so glad to see you again, I hope you’ve thought about my offer, but we can discuss that later! Please allow me to introduce you to Mirio Togata!” Nezu said pointing at a blond and tall teenager.

Before Mirio could introduce himself further Midoriya spoke up. “OH! I remember you! You are the kid from the sport festival that ended up naked after using your quirk!” Midoriya cringed at himself when he realized just how cheery he sounded saying that.

Mirio rubbed the back of his head looking a little ashamed. “Well there goes my first impression.” To be fair, Izuku didn’t give the best first impression either.

“I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have brought that up!” Midoriya said nervously, this is who Nezu deemed best to help him and he already messed it up.

To his surprise Mirio simply laughed it off. “Don’t worry about it, it’s good to know I’ve already left a mark!” Aizawa couldn’t help but groan at that, just because it made an impression it doesn’t mean it was a good one.

The principal cleared his throat. “While this conversation is amusing this is not why I called either of you here. Togata has a difficult quirk and while it isn’t like yours  I believe he could give you plenty of helpful advice while helping with your after school activities. Plus he isn’t the only one who has issues with his clothing because of his quirk, isn’t that right Midoriya?” Izuku gave the principal a small nod, that’s the only reason Aizawa hasn’t started testing his transformations during training. “Due to the nature of Togata’s quirk we had to design a hero costume as well as a few training uniforms based on his DNA, I believe the same could apply to you Midoriya.” 

Izuku has heard of suits and clothing like that before, although it only applies to certain quirks he can’t deny that it would be very useful but. “While I appreciate the offer Nezu-san I can’t agree, I know how expensive clothing like those are and right now I would have no way of paying for it.”  His mom already worked enough as it is and while his dad did send child support he just sent the bare minimum. They weren’t poor by any means but just a piece of clothing like that costs a fortune.

The mammal waved his paw dismissing his worry before drinking some of his tea. “Do not worry about that Midoriya, I will invest as much as I please in my personal projects!” Aizawa did not like his student being referred to as a personal project by the rat, he stood a bit closer to the greenette sending a small glare to the principal, there was a quiet understanding between them.

“Oh, um  thanks?” Izuku said sounding a bit confused about it.

“Midoriya, why don’t you go outside with Togata and tell him about your beach project?” Aizawa said, a hint of emotion in his normally monotone voice. Both kids knew that meant the adults had to talk.

“Uh, sure?” The kids obeyed, Izuku felt a bit less confident speaking on his own with Mirio, he doesn’t have the best track record with loud blondes but he could do this.

“Midoriya is not one of your personal projects.” Aizawa snapped as soon as the door closed behind them, he hasn’t known the kid for that long but he knows just Nezu and how insensitive he can be, that’s not something a kid like Midoriya needs right now.

“Aizawa, you more than anyone knows I can’t let such a brilliant mind go to waste! There is so much raw potential there, it’s not everyday I find a brilliant human whose intelligence isn’t related to a quirk.” Nezu is the principal and one of the most feared creatures on earth, there are very few people who would ever go against his desires.

“He is smart, but he is a person a kid at that, you can’t treat him just like an object because you find him interesting. I thought your experience would’ve taught you that.” Aizawa knew referencing Nezu’s experimenting was a low blow and something that could get him fired on the spot, but he was also very aware of how much Nezu could push if he was blinded by his curiosity.

The mammal’s characteristic smile disappeared for a moment, the cup in his paws cracking with the tightening of his hold. “That was very bold of you.” Not everyone is willing to go against him, even less to bring up such a sensitive topic, Nezu is surprised with just how attached Aizawa has gotten in so little time, even if the man himself hasn’t realized that yet. “Not many are willing to go that deep Aizawa, but I understand your point. I still plan on honing his abilities, if it’s my methods you are worried about I assure you I won’t do anything he isn’t ready for.”

Aizawa knows he can’t exactly stop Nezu from taking Midoriya under his wing, but he can affect the process. “Whatever schedule you have for him gets run through me first, like it or not you sometimes forget humans, especially that young can’t handle certain things. Any lessons that are too graphic or crude will have to wait until he is older.” Nezu’s method of teaching was effective, but it could be overwhelming specially for someone as emotional as Midoriya.

“That seems reasonable.” Nezu was more than willing to bring up and example of crudeness that would hit Aizawa the same way his experimenting did to him, but he bit his tongue, attacks like that won’t get them anywhere.

“Good.” For a moment the room stayed quiet, the tension could be felt in the air as they stared at each other. “… Why Togata of all people?” Hopefully a change in conversation could be helpful.

“Like I said Togata also has a difficult quirk and his advice would be helpful, plus we both know how his personality and relationship with Amajiki has helped him be more confident in his abilities. While he still has a long way to go, I believe Togata’s influence could do the same for Midoriya.” He explained calmly before adding. “Would that be all?” While he understands why Aizawa said what he said he would rather be alone for a while. Aizawa nodded and was quickly dismissed, Nezu has a lot to think about.

When he walked out of the office he saw the teens chatting, it looked like Midoriya had already warmed up to Togata.  “Aizawa sensei! Togata’s quirk is really cool! I knew he could phase through things but the actual range that gives him is very impressive! While he has to rely on close range attacks his quirk allows him to avoid practically any hit if he has quick enough reflexes!” Aizawa merely nodded, he already knew this he taught Mirio after all, but analyzing quirks is one of Midoriya’s favorite and safest hobbies, the least he can do is listen.

“I’m sure you will have plenty of pages filled with theories and advice by the next time you see him, for now I have to take you back home, we don’t want to keep your mom waiting for us. You can keep socializing when you meet him at the beach.” Izuku giggled at Aizawa’s disgust to the word socializing. The hero missed the way Mirio stared at him at the mention of taking Izuku home and about making his mom wait for them.

“Right! I’ll let you know when I’m planning to go to the beach senpai, see you then.” The teens said their respective goodbye’s and Aizawa got Midoriya back home for dinner.

Mirio couldn’t be there everyday with him now that he was going to start his internship with Sir Nighteye, Izuku would like to say he was excited Mirio could work with someone so close to All Might but his emotions about the number one hero had changed after their meeting, he didn’t hate him or anything but well he was no longer his favorite hero. Despite that they agreed on a schedule, Mirio could help him Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as the weekends with the heavier trash and during the rest of the days Izuku promised he would only clean up  the smaller pieces of trash.

Normally Mirio would meet him at the beach after school, but this time he showed up at Aldera. “There you are Midoriya!” The blond said waiving at him.

People began whispering about what a UA student was doing here but Midoriya didn’t really care. “Togata senpai! What are you doing here?” He rushed over with a smile on his face, Mirio was his first friend since Kacchan and Togata set a pretty high standard of what a good friendship should be.

“We got out earlier today so I thought we could walk to the beach together!” Many people were trying to dissimulate their glance, others were just openly staring at the interaction.

“Sure! I saw a really interesting hero fight on the way here! Mount lady was involved and she recognized me!” Izuku said pulling out his notebook from his side bag, while he loved his yellow backpack his wings didn’t really work out with it so a change to a side bag it was. Mirio put his arm around Midoriya’s shoulder as they walked away, paying attention to the greenette’s never ending rambling, he liked the enthusiasm. 

After that people began to whisper and create rumor’s about what all that was about, some said Midoriya somehow managed to charm the UA student and was dating him, a few said Midoriya was trying to get inside information for the entrance exam while others claimed UA was scouting Midoriya and that particular rumor reached the ears of a certain explosive boy.

It was a thursday when Bakugou decided to tail Deku again, this time he was trying to follow him without being noticed, Midoriya allowed that until they reached the beach. “I can hear you, you know? Enhanced senses and all that.” The only reason why Izuku allowed this to happen was because Bakugou hadn’t immediately attacked him the second no one was watching. 

“What’s this about you getting scouted by UA Deku?!” Katsuki made himself known walking closer, his hand remaining inside his pockets.

“A rumor, is that all?” Midoriya didn’t mind him much, working on picking up bottles and cans while Mirio got here, apparently he got held back due to an exercise.

“It’s no fucking rumor Deku! Everyone saw that UA student come pick you up from Aldera! Why else would someone from UA waste his time on you?!” The rather than me went unsaid, Izuku was well aware of why this bothered Katsuki so much.

“He is my friend.” It was that simple.

Bakugou scoffed. “As if, you don’t have any fucking friends Deku. No one would want to be around you.” His words have always affected Deku, making him lower his head or curl into himself, but not anymore.

“By the fact that you can’t spend more than a week before going after me, I would say you do.” Midoriya knew that would strike a nerve but he didn’t mind, he didn’t want to be that stuttering mess anymore, not in front of people who would humiliate him and take advantage of him for it.

“No I don’t you fucking nerd! My life would be better without you in it! But you just keep getting in the way!” Izuku heard the explosions pop, normally his first instinct was to hide behind his wings, but Aizawa’s reflex training was paying off because he immediately turned around to catch Katsuki’s wrist pushing it away from himself, the explosion dying in his hand surprised by what just happened.

“How? Tell me just how is it that I keep getting in your way? Because I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’ve been avoiding you! I stay away from you! I even try not to even look in your direction anymore!” His ear nubs were flat at the side of his head, his tail swaying quickly from side to side and his pupils were slitting, in other words cat language for back off before I make you.

“You keep trying to upstage me! You keep drawing everyone’s attention when it should be on me! And now you have the fucking attention from UA?! I’m supposed to be the only one from that fucking school to go there!” Bakugou lashed out pulling his arm away from Izuku’s grasp.

Izuku just stared at him for a moment. “You are unbelievable, you are still making this about you. I know this is hard for you to understand but my world doesn’t revolve around you! I don’t care where you go or what you do in your free time! I’m not trying to take the spotlight from you, believe me when I say I don’t want it!”

“If you don’t want it then why is UA so interested in you?! What do you have that I don’t you fucking Deku?! I want the truth!” Izuku’s wings opened behind him when another explosion was set off in Katsuki’s hand.

“You want the truth?! My quirk was considered dangerous and unstable! So much so that UA was the only place safe enough for me to get quirk counseling without hurting anyone in the process! Is that good enough for you?” It should’ve been, Bakugou got exactly what he asked for and yet he just wasn’t satisfied.

“You’ve been getting personal training from UA?” Of course Katsuki literally hadn’t listened to anything he said and the tone of his voice was putting Izuku’s instincts on edge.  

“No, I got counseling for my quirk.  There’s a difference.” Not to Katsuki, the only reason Midoriya dodged that incoming punch was because Katsuki always starts with a right hook.

“Stay still Deku! I’m going to fucking prove why I’m the one who should be getting special treatment from UA not you!” Midoriya didn’t want to fight specially not in a trash filled beach with plenty of sharp pieces of metal that could be turned into weapons.

“I don’t want to fight Kacchan! Just leave!” Midoriya was trying his best to dodge and reflect he didn’t want to engage and as of now Bakugou was the best fighter between them.

“To afraid to fight Deku? I knew a coward like you couldn’t be a hero!”  Katsuki managed to punch Deku’s nose and he couldn’t help but smile, Deku needed a reminder of where he belongs. Every instinct in Izuku was itching to blast the threat away he could even feel his throat heat up with a blast before he forced it down, he can’t let his instinct control him, he can’t risk becoming aggressive and do something much worse than a bloody nose.

“Are you happy now? Finally got it out of your system?” Izuku covered his nose trying to stop the bleeding. “I don’t understand why you want to become a hero when you act like this.” 

That just fueled Katsuki’s anger. “WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!” No one had ever questioned his potential to become a hero before, not even Deku.

“You heard me! Look at what you did just because you can’t handle the idea of UA being interested in someone who isn’t you! Heroes don’t hurt people because they get frustrated!” Izuku was glaring at Katsuki.

“Shut up! It’s not my fault you are a fucking weakling who can’t handle anything!” That has been Katsuki’s excuse his whole life, Deku was just to weak to handle him and that’s why he kept getting hurt.

“Are you kidding?! I’ve handled you my whole life! I handled every punch! Every kick! Every burn just to make sure you wouldn’t hurt anyone else!” He learned to heal himself, to protect others no matter the cost, to survive in a world that did everything to make his life harder.

“Please! I barely even hurt you!” Katsuki said trying to dismiss his complains.

“Do you have any idea how many of this I had?” Izuku lifted his shirt to reveal a starburst scar  on his side. “Most of them are from we were kids and you said it was an accident, that  you lost control, doctors made sure ten of them faded away completely. They weren’t accidents, you just happened to leave me with a scar every time I stopped you from hurting another kid that was begging you to leave him alone.” 

Katsuki looked away. “Liar.”

“Don’t look away now! I thought you enjoyed watching me get hurt!” Izuku had bottled up to many emotions it was about time to let go. “This one? You had a bad day and you needed to blow off some steam. The one in my leg? I managed to win a race against you once, I never tried to win again. What about the two on my back? When I ran away from a beating and you wanted to make sure I wouldn’t try that again!” Izuku stepped forwards, Katsuki stepped back.

“I didn’t scar you! You just-” If he had scarred Deku before then auntie would’ve found out about what happened earlier, this wasn’t him, he didn’t do it.

“You didn’t? Really?  Because there aren’t many people in my life that would leave perfect scars of explosions! You hurt me and the reason I’m the only one you kept hurting is because I stopped you from hurting anyone else!” Izuku was tearing up, but he refused to cry for Katsuki any longer. “If hurting others makes you so happy, if you enjoy it so much then why do you want to become a hero?!” Izuku screamed as loud as his lungs would allow.

“Because I’m going to prove to everyone that I’m the best the best! Because I’m going to be the next number one hero!” Katsuki screamed right back, he would never acknowledge that he was shaking slightly.

“NO! That’s your fucking excuse for getting away with whatever you want! I asked why you want to become a hero!” Izuku couldn’t help the angry growl that escaped him, they both stared each other down neither of them wanting to back down, but ultimately Katsuki didn’t have an answer.

“What’s going on over there? Did you bring a friend Mido-” Mirio’s words died on his tongue when he noticed the hostility between both teenagers and more importantly that Midoriya was hurt, Mirio’s happy demeanor banished instantly. “Midoriya are you alright? Who do you think you are to-!” He said getting in-between them, trying to shield the greenette.

Izuku simply put a hand on Mirio’s shoulder, the blonde’s sudden presence helping him calm down. “It’s fine senpai, Bakugou was just about to leave anyways.” Izuku spared him one last glare, Katsuki scoffed but walked away from the trash filled beach.

Mirio turned back to Izuku. “Stay still, let me see how bad it is.”  Mirio carefully cupped Izuku’s face gently touching his nose, Midoriya barely winced at that. “Are you okay? It seems bruised but it could be broken.” Togata was hoping it was just a bad bruising, he was expecting a stronger pain reaction if it was broken.

“I’m fine, it doesn’t even hurt that much. Trust me I’ve dealt with worse.” Izuku grew used to ignoring his injuries, mostly because he didn’t have another option, he didn’t quite understand that wasn’t normal.

Mirio grabbed him by the shoulders. “Midoriya you do understand that isn’t a good thing right? You shouldn’t have had to deal with something worse.” Izuku only stared at him before shrugging, he didn’t know what to say. Mirio took a deep breath. “Okay, we can deal with that later, come on I’ll get you to recovery girl she can fix you up in no time.”

Mirio started walking away but Midoriya didn’t. “But I have to clean the big parts of the beach today, I can’t just leave.” 

“Midoriya you are taking today off from cleaning, it’s not good to work when you are hurt.” Mirio’s heart shrunk at Midoriya’s confused look, Izuku was normally happy and chatty even if a bit nervous, why would a kid like that think he has to work even if hurt? He’ll bring that up to Aizawa next time he sees him. “You can afford to take one day off, even the strongest heroes need to rest after getting hurt. Come on it’s a long way to UA and the worse that nose gets the angrier recovery girl will get at me for not bringing you sooner.” At least the idea of getting Mirio in trouble got Midoriya in motion.

On the way to UA Mirio noticed the bruising spread under Midoriya’s eyes, definitely broken then. When they got to the school Mirio walked him to Recovery girl’s office. “Togata you left less than an hour ago! Why are you back?!” The old woman’s anger died down when she realized it wasn’t Mirio who got injured. “Oh dearie, I haven’t seen you before. Please sit down and tell me what happened.” Midoriya obeyed sitting on the hospital bed while the nurse checked his nose.

“I have a personal project, I’m trying to clean Takoba beach. Someone from school followed me there to talk about something … he didn’t really like what I had to say, he’s never been good with emotions and tends to lash out like this.”  He said pointing at his own nose, hissing when Recovery Girl added to much pressure.

“That’s not good, it seems broken. Don’t worry, it’s nothing I can’t fix, I just need to make sure it’s aligned correctly. You might feel a bit tired after this, so don’t try to stand up immediately after  okay?” After a small nod the nurse kissed his forehead, she wasn’t kidding when she said he would feel tired afterwards, Izuku was tempted to lay down on the bed for a few minutes and hope for the best. “You had less stamina than I thought, stay still while I apply some bandages to make sure your nose won’t move until it’s done healing. It may feel a bit weird or uncomfortable but you can’t move it okay?” The kid simply gave her a thumps up.

By the time Recovery Girl was done Aizawa walked into the infirmary. “Problem child I assigned you a babysitter so you wouldn’t get hurt on your project, tell me how did you break your nose when you are supposed to be picking up trash?”

How did he? A camera moving caught Izuku’s attention, right Nezu. He stared at Aizawa blinking slowly much like a cat would do. “In my defense, my beach project had nothing to do with this. It’s not my fault someone doesn’t know how to process his emotions and just lashes out at every minor inconvenience.” 

That didn’t really help Aizawa at all, so he turned to Mirio for answers. “I didn’t see it happen sensei, I thought it was a friend from Midoriya’s school before I saw he was hurt. I just know they were arguing before I got there, sorry for not being more helpful.”

That isn’t a lot. “Midoriya, does your mom know about this?”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah, he got away with this for a long time. Mom was not happy when she found out but she has done everything to keep him away. Can you believe he came to my own house looking for me? Mom shut the door on his face.” Aizawa nodded in understanding, he would’ve done the same with a few choice words added into the mix.

“Good.” There was a small pause. “Be prepared for your next counseling session, I will start training you on self defense.” Midoriya was tired but that seemed enough to bring his energy back, his tail thumping on the hospital bed.

“Really?!” The kid’s sparkle returning to his eyes.

“By now I thought you would know I don’t say anything I don’t mean.” Aizawa liked seeing the kid happy. “For now go home and rest, Togata make sure he doesn’t fall asleep on the way. I would do it myself, but I still have things to do here.”

Mirio did a military salute. “Of course sir! I’ll make sure Midoriya makes it back home safe and sound!” Togata knew not to disappoint Aizawa, specially now that he was hand picked to help and guard his son.

The two teenagers went back to Midoriya’s home, Inko was worried when she saw her baby hurt, anger appearing in her eyes after hearing what had happened. Despite that she was welcoming of  her son’s new friend, specially a friend that didn’t intend to hurt him, considering how tired Izuku was he didn’t stay for long but Inko invited him to visit at another time.

A month of cleaning and combat training went by before another incident happened. “Midoriya I’ve been meaning to ask this for a while, but I didn’t want to intrude. What’s Aizawa sensei like as a dad?”

Midoriya put the piece of a fridge on the truck, courtesy of Nezu, before heading for a microwave. “What do you mean?” He said sounding clearly confused.

“Well he’s always been pretty strict as a teacher, I just  kinda wanted to know if he was the same at home. Since he is your dad I thought you would know.” Needless to say Midoriya short circuited.

“He is my what?!” That moment of shock was enough to make him lose his grip on the microwave, causing him to drop it on his foot. “Fuck!” Mirio rushed to help taking the microwave off, praying Midoriya didn’t break anything because this time it would be his fault.

“Shoot you okay? Can you stand up?” Midoriya shook his head curling up to hold his hurt foot. “Okay, here let me help.” Mirio carefully picked him up before taking him to a part of the beach they had already cleared. “I’m so sorry, I know a lot of heroes keep their families secret for they safety. If I knew it made you this nervous I wouldn’t have asked!” Midoriya would very much like to clarify that’s not the case but he was a bit occupied at the moment.

“Not the best moment for apologies!” He didn’t mean to snap at Mirio, but this hurt more than the other injuries he’s had to deal with.

“Right! Sorry!” Midoriya texted Nezu on the way there, begging him not to tell Aizawa he was there this time, to his dismay he didn’t get a response. Recovery girl was NOT happy to see Midoriya again, the kid wasn’t even a student yet and he ended up in her office twice. “Please do not be mad at him recovery girl, it’s my fault! I shouldn’t have distracted him when he was lifting something heavy!” 

Mirio bowed to the old lady who whacked him on his head with her cane. “No you shouldn’t have! I need to take an X-ray before I heal you dearie, wouldn’t want anything to heal the wrong way.”  Well at least he wasn’t on her bad side yet. 

An X-ray, a kiss and a cast later Midoriya was resting with Mirio watching over him while Recovery Girl left to deal with something. “Again I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up, there must be a reason he kept it a secret for so long.”

Midoriya couldn’t help but groan. “He is not my dad! Where did you even get that from?!” Midoriya wasn’t mad that Mirio thought that, it just caught him by surprise.

“He isn’t? It’s just that he always seems a little softer and happier with you,  he seems to care more about you than he does with other students. There’s also how he always walks you home whenever you are here and he never wants to be late for dinner with your mom and he looks really fond of you … I just thought it made sense?” Mirio said, trying to explain his reasoning, Midoriya hated that his reasoning wasn’t wrong even if it wasn’t the case.

“That’s not- okay so those things may be true, not sure about the softer happier thing  but he does walk me home and he does have dinner whit us when he comes over but it isn’t like that! My mom just invites him to dinner as a way to be thankful for helping me with my quirk and everything else even when we aren’t paying him for it! That’s all there is to it!” He said nervously trying to explain why so many things aligned.

“I see, I shouldn’t have assumed … and I also shouldn’t have spread the rumor Aizawa’s son was going to join the next batch of first years.” Mirio said trying to sound apologetic.

“YOU DID WHAT?!” Midoriya’s face turned pink and Mirio couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m kidding, I didn’t do that I promise.” He was being honest, it was Nejire who spread that rumor not him.

“I can’t believe you thought that! … I mean I guess some things make sense but I never noticed because I never really had a dad before cuz mine kind of just left? But then again I guess Aizawa sensei is the closest thing I have to a dad? Since he is always there for me, he makes sure I’m safe, he helps me with anything I ask.” His pink face turned red, he quickly covered himself with his wings. “Why would you say that?! Now I can’t unsee it!” How is he supposed to go back to training and face Aizawa when all that is going through his head is hey that could be my dad! Someone already thought he was!

Mirio continued to giggle at his sudden realization. “It’s not so bad Midoriya, everyone has called a teacher dad or mom by accident this isn’t any different!”

If he wasn’t so busy covering himself in shame he would glare at Mirio. “Yeah when people are like five years old not fourteen!” He can handle this, he can pretend nothing happened, Aizawa doesn’t have to know he just has to make sure he won’t slip up and call him dad by accident seems easy enough.

It was in fact not easy enough but at least constantly being pinned against the training mat was good way not to say anything, he would be too tired to speak much afterwards. “Ready to go again Midoriya?” Aizawa was already moving before waiting for an answer.

“You didn’t give me time to reply!” Despite that Izuku was already on the defensive blocking Aizawa’s hits and trying to land some of his own.

“The most important lesson I can teach you kid? Villains won’t ask you when you are ready to fight, you will never get a warning before a fight starts.” The kid wasn’t close to being on his level, but his reaction time and form was improving with every sparring match, Midoriya wasn’t close to pining him down to the mat, but he was lasting longer every time he got back up.

“Got it sensei!” Midoriya knew his biggest problem was that he was trying to imitate Aizawa when that was never going to work, Aizawa’s fighting style was for a fully human body so most of the time Izuku’s wings or tail would just get in the way because he didn’t know how to use them, when he brought that problem up with Mirio his senpai had a great solution.

“Midoriya, meet my best friend Tamaki Amajiki!” Mirio said introducing a lanky teenager, despite being hunched he still seemed pretty tall. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Amajiki senpai!” Izuku said offering a hand shake, to his surprise Amajiki turned his back on him.

“Imagining him as a potato isn’t working, I want to go home.” Izuku just looked at Mirio hoping he could explain what he did wrong.

“It’s okay Midoriya, Tamaki can be a little shy that’s all, he is working on it. Please don’t leave yet Tamaki, Midoriya needs some help with his fighting style and you are just the person that can help!” Tamaki appreciates Mirio’s go lucky attitude most of the time because keeps attention away from him, which he isn’t doing right now.

“Why me?” Wasn’t someone more qualified to do this?

“Oh! It’s because Togata senpai told me about your quirk! You can manifest anything you eat throughout your body right?” Amajiki nodded. “Well mine isn’t anything like that but I do have this.” He said moving his tail and flapping his wings. “Togata mentioned you fight with the animal parts you manifest and I wondered if you could teach me how to fight with mine? … I don’t really know what to do with them when I fight so they just end up getting in the way. Could you help me with that? Please?” 

Tamaki didn’t really think he was the best to help, but when he turned around to say no  the kid was looking at him with big puppy eyes and as if that wasn’t bad enough Mirio decided to join him. “… I guess I could give you some advice.” He murmured, but it was loud enough for Midoriya to hear.

Izuku’s tail began to wag showing his happiness. “Thank you so much senpai! I promise I won’t disappoint you!” To be honest Amajiki thought it would be the other way around.

To his surprise Midoriya was extremely patient, calm and quiet when he chose to be, paying attention to every piece of advice given even writing it down before trying to apply it to himself. He thanked him every time he got something right but most importantly he somehow knew when Tamaki was getting overwhelmed and backed off asking for a break, he thought it was just a coincidence at first but it somehow kept happening. “How do you do that?”

Izuku looked at Tamaki seeming a little bit confused. “What do you mean?”

“Whenever things get too much you just walk away, ask for a break even if you don’t look tired … you don’t have to ask or anything, how do you do that?” Many people have noticed Tamaki’s discomfort or how tense he got but never really did anything to ease up that discomfort.

“I’m not entirely sure, but I do have a theory.” Izuku pulled his notebook on his own analysis, rather than showing Tamaki himself he handed him the notebook so he could do it on his own terms. “Ever since my quirk manifested I’ve noticed I tend to do more things on instinct like an animal would, like my tail moving, growling if I feel cornered or even my pupils slitting if angry. A lot of animals, especially pets, are able to understand the feelings coming from people and act accordingly. Despite being more or less a giant lizard with wings I do have a more cat like behavior when it comes to my instincts, I think that could be it.”

Mirio smiled before putting a hand on his shoulder. “You analysis never disappoints Midoriya! But I think that’s enough for the day, we can pick it up again at another time, right Tamaki?”

Tamaki was not very happy about having to be a guide or teacher again, but Midoriya did seem nice and he did like someone that could literally feel when things became too much and just stood back. “… Sure I guess.”

Izuku gave him a little smile before bowing. “Thank you so much  senpai, I’ll see you next time.” After his training sessions Midoriya didn’t win against Aizawa just yet, but their sparring matches started to end in draws since Izuku managed to hold his ground in the timer his sensei set.

As the months passed Izuku began to train his transformations with his new training uniform provided by Nezu. During the first few weeks he struggled with switching back, he managed to do it eventually but it wasn’t as instantaneous as when Aizawa used his quirk on him, his teacher reassured him that with practice transformation would become a second nature to him. Five months before the entrance exam Izuku had a grasp of his transformation time as well as transforming at will, despite not needing counseling anymore Aizawa still offered to train him in preparations for the exam alongside Nezu and Izuku was more than happy to agree.

During one of his transformation sessions Aizawa got a little curious, despite Izuku’s quirk being a dragon the creature reminded him a lot of his own cats and he just wanted to test if the kid would follow a laser pointer. Midoriya landed from one of his race courses to help him maneuver in this bigger form when the bright red dot caught his attention, his pupils were blown wide and he immediately pounced on it, grumbling in annoyance when the dot wasn’t under his paws.

“I can’t believe that actually worked.” Aizawa said moving the laser pointer somewhere else and watching the kid follow trying to catch it, growing frustrated when it didn’t work. It was odd, until now Midoriya’s mind still seemed fully human when transformed it was just now that he seemed more animalistic, Aizawa would’ve taken note of that if he wasn’t distracted, oh well that surely won’t backfire.

Izuku even tried to blast the red dot, but it was no use that little shiny thing was still moving around, avoiding him just mocking him. He seemed to come back to his senses when Aizawa laughed, it was the first time he had ever heard his teacher laugh and that would’ve been a nice moment if he wasn’t annoyed for being trick by a light. Midoriya walked to his teacher and swiped his tail under his legs making him fall. “Well that wasn’t very nice.” Despite not being able to talk Izuku still mocked him in growls gaining a glare from the hero. “Brat.”

The first time Izuku managed to pin Aizawa down during sparring was eventful to say the least, Izuku was doing his best to block but his teacher was faster and had more experience so what could he do? The unexpected. The second there was a space between them he blasted a plasma shot, it wasn’t bigger than a gumball it was simply meant to disorientate and hopefully blind Aizawa long enough. Midoriya didn’t waste any time rushing in now that he had taken Aizawa by surprise, putting a hand on the man’s shoulder, hooking a leg behind one of Aizawa’s knees and using the man’s height against him to bring him down. While unnecessary he did transform and just laid on top of him for good measure, this was going to be his first win.

Aizawa struggled trying to get off from under the dragon to no avail. “You know I can just use my quirk to turn things back in my favor right?” He only got a reply of little growls and grumbles. “Yes, not everyone has a nullifying quirk I see your point, fine kid you win, just remember you can’t do this every single time, you never know when distance with a villain will play in your favor or against you. Now get off.” Before Izuku could move they got a surprise visit in the gym.

“Alright Shouta! I’ve had it with your excuses! I wanna know what this training you’ve been ditching me for actually is!” Whatever Mic could’ve come up with could never compare to what was actually happening. “… Shou, what is that?” Mic did not dare come closer to the giant creature currently laying on top of his best friend.

Teacher and student looked at each other before Aizawa turned his head back to Mic. “It’s my emotional support cat.”  Listen normally Izuku would go all fanboy when meeting another hero, but Aizawa may have slipped one or two stories about Present Mic during dinner and well, the hero may not know him but Izuku does know him and his embarrassing moments, that kind of kills the moment.

Mic stared at his best friend in disbelief. “Your- That’s not a cat! Look at the size of that thing!” He said while doing some exaggerating motions with his hands.

Izuku got off Aizawa and laid down beside him while the hero sat up with his legs crossed. “He is a really big cat.” He put a hand on Izuku’s head and he let out a purr just to play along.

Both of them were pretty sure they saw one of Mic’s eyes had a nervous tic. “It doesn’t have any fur!”

Aizawa rolled his eyes. “Not all cats have fur and quit judging Midori.” Izuku lifted his head a bit to give his teacher an unimpressed stare, Midori? That’s really the best he could come up with?

“How do you explain the wings uh?!” This was not a cat, Mic refused to believe that was even a remote possibility.

“He’s a quirked cat.” Honestly Izuku didn’t think messing with a hero would be this funny but Mic’s expression was priceless and Aizawa was smiling, playing cat was worth it.

“Bullshit! Nu uh! You did not just find a quirked cat the size of a car and decide it to train it for months without anyone realizing!” Mic still kept his distance, the alleged cat seemed peaceful but that could be just an act.

“I didn’t find him, Nezu did and lower your voice his earing is sensitive.” Izuku did appreciate that, his quirk and loud sounds did not mash well.

“So if I went to ask Nezu right now about this, he would agree with you. Really?” Mic was refusing to believe that giant scaled creature was a cat, cats do not look like that.

A small red blinking light caught the attention of both Aizawa and Izuku, the rat was willing to join them. “Absolutely.” So they took the matter to Nezu, Izuku felt a bit odd walking through the halls of UA in his dragon form.

“It is true that I found Midori, quirked animals are uncommon and as a quirked animal myself I couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste!” The principal said as soon as they entered his office, Midoriya going to sit right beside him earning himself a few pats.

“But! If he is a cat aren’t you worried he will attack you? That’s still an animal that isn’t like you.” Mic’s concern was relatively valid, he had not seen Midori have the same level of sentience as Nezu.

“I wouldn’t worry, while Midori isn’t capable of speech he is very understanding of everything we say. He can easily follow directions and he has made an attempt to communicate with us despite his limitations.” To Izuku’s dismay Nezu brought out the laser pointer and he just couldn’t help himself. “While some of his instincts still remain, he is entirely harmless. As long as you don’t alter him of course.” Once the pointer was off Izuku returned to his senses, deciding to paw some paper’s off Nezu’s desk out of pure spite disguised as cat curiosity.

“… I can’t actually believe you of all people found a quirked cat, adopted it and somehow managed to keep it a secret. How did you do that?!” Mic could doubt Aizawa all he wanted, but he would never doubt Nezu. 

Aizawa just shrugged. “Just did, now please leave. My training with Midori isn’t over yet and your loudness stresses him.” Yamada did not want to leave, but Nezu did force him allowing Midoriya to switch back stifling a giggle.

“He actually believed that?” Izuku has never been one to play pranks, but he had to admit it was funny. 

“Sure did, you were a pretty convincing cat kid. Think you can keep it up until the entrance exam Midoriya?” Aizawa was more than willing to keep the prank for as long as possible, but he wouldn’t force the kid to play cat for his own entertainment.

“Seems easy enough.” It wasn’t often that he saw Aizawa smile or even show a slight amount of happiness, if playing cat to trick a friend did that then he would do it. 

Aizawa ruffled the kids hair. “Thanks kid.”

As the months went by the beach began to look cleaner, during that time Izuku got to meet Nejire the girl could fire as many questions as Izuku could, needless to say they got along well. Mirio still kept his babysitter duty, occasionally Amajiki or Nejire would join them and lend a hand, this were the first friends Izuku had since he was four and he thought himself to be lucky for having them now.

Two months before the entrance exam Izuku’s wings and tail became itchy, the itchiness became much worse when he was fully transformed as it spread all throughout his body. A quick visit to the doctor was able to tell him that he simply needed to shed his scales, it was something completely natural that would happen on it’s own between two or four times a year. He didn’t shed like most reptiles where most of the scales came off in one go, it was likely that since his scales were big they would fall individually. While annoying it wasn’t too bad since he could add them to his hero costume for further protection, but his scales got him thinking about something else and his brain wouldn’t shut up until he solved it.

“Amajiki senpai, can I ask you something about your quirk?” Izuku asked while picking up trash and putting it into bags, he had a personal goal of cleaning this place before the entrance exam and he was close to succeeding.

“Sure.” Amajiki still spoke in mumbles, Izuku’s hearing was good enough to hear him every time.

“Your quirk is named manifest, you can manifest whatever you eat in any part of your body right?” Amajiki nodded. “Do you think it’s possible that you could manifest someone else’s quirk?” The three older teenagers stopped in their tracks at the question, no one had even considered it.

“Wouldn’t he have to eat people to do that?” Nejire asked tilting her head to the side, Amajiki seemed terrified at the idea.

“Not necessarily, I’m pretty sure a blood sample would be enough to test it or in my case one of this.” He said showing one of his shed scales. “At first I thought if this would only apply to my quirk since it’s technically an animal, meaning you could in theory manifest my wings or even fully transform. If possible I think that would only work with transformation quirks since your body is already designed for that, maybe your body could read mutations as transformations but I can’t be sure. Emitter type quirks don’t always have a distinct aspect like the other two so I think that one is unlikely but not impossible.” 

Amajiki took a moment to process that information, the idea had never even crossed his mind but Midoriya did raise a good point as to how it could be possible. “Well there’s only one way to figure it out!” Mirio said excitedly, it was experimenting time.

Izuku had already some washed and dried scales at home to give this theory a go, they figured the best option would be to grind the scales into dust and add it to some drink so it was easier to consume after that they only had to wait. It was a surprise when Tamaki was in fact capable of manifesting a pair of wings just like Izuku’s. “It worked!” That meant Tamaki’s quirk was far more powerful than  initially thought, since they didn’t want to ruin Tamaki’s clothes they didn’t go for a full on transformation but he did give him more scales to try it at UA, a few days later Izuku was ecstatic to know Tamaki could in fact transform into a night fury like him, although that night fury seemed larger and had deep blue eyes, maybe the physical form depended on the user then not that he could test that.

One week before the entrance exam Izuku finished cleaning that beach, he pushed himself a little too much in that final session and he felt exhausted but watching the beach clean and beautiful was worth it. The first person he brought was his mom and she couldn’t be more proud of him. “Izuku this is beautiful.” She never got to see this beach in it’s prime and thanks to her little sunshine now she could. “What you did is amazing baby! You should tell all your friends to come over for dinner to celebrate!” Inko hadn’t seen Izuku’s new friends much, but she could see just how much happier he was now that he had them and for her that was enough.

Izuku nodded excitedly, he would show them the beach first and bring them home after. “Sure! I’ll text them real quick and I’ll help you make dinner.” He send a text to those three and he also extended an invitation to Aizawa, his friends all agreed to come but Aizawa didn’t reply he was probably busy and would come later if he could, if not there wouldn’t be any hard feelings. When the trio arrived they rushed to hug Midoriya to congratulate him or well Nejire and Mirio did, Amajiki wasn’t a big fan of physical touch and they all respected that, the four of them ran along the beach shore for a while before Inko asked for all of them to get together so she could take some pictures. 

Mirio stood behind Midoriya while Nejire and Amajiki stood to one side of Izuku each. Nejire did a peace sing with a small wink, Amajiki had a nervous smile on his face while both Mirio and Midoriya had bright smiles on their faces. Inko could almost cry at the difference of her baby now and just before he got his quirk, it felt like he had grown so much in so little time but most importantly he wasn’t alone anymore and she was extremely thankful for it. After the pictures were taken they all head to the Midoriya household, although late Aizawa did show up for dinner congratulating Midoriya after seeing the pictures of the cleaned beach.

The four teens stayed in the living room chatting while Aizawa helped Inko clean up the kitchen and the dishes. “You don’t have to do this.” She said, Inko was used to doing things like this on her own, Izuku helped when he could but she never really wanted to bother him with that.

“It’s the least I can do miss Midoriya.” That woman kept welcoming him into her home and offering him food for free, he can afford to wash some dishes, the pair stayed in silence for a moment.

“I’m happy Izuku can have someone in his life he can look up to.” That took Aizawa by surprise. “He has always looked up to heroes because there was never someone at home he could look up to. His dad was never really involved in his life and I well … I don’t do much. But having you in his life has changed him for the best, he is so much more confident now, he smiles more often and he has friends that care for him. I don’t think that would be the case if he hadn’t met you, so thank you for being there for him and taking the time to get to know him.”

Aizawa hummed in response. “You shouldn’t sell yourself so short miss Midoriya.” That got the woman’s attention. “You may not be a hero in the same sense as I am, but you are a hero to him. Despite everything you were there for him, supporting him, you care and raised him all on your own. Midoriya may not say it out loud, but I know he admires you more than anyone else because no matter how hard things got you stayed strong for him and taught him to do the same. He is the person he is today because of you, that’s something you should be proud of.” Aizawa stopped cleaning the dishes when he heard the woman sniffling, turning around  to see her tear up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

Inko dismissed his worry with her hand and a watery laugh. “No, no, it’s okay. I’ve always been very sentimental, you didn’t say anything wrong.” She wiped her teary eyes before her gazed turned to her little boy, who was still happily chatting with his friends. “In fact, I think I needed to hear that. Thank you Aizawa-san.” Despite her tears threatening to come out Inko was smiling.

Chapter Text

Izuku kept training during his last week before the entrance exam, while Aizawa didn’t have much time to spare considering he had to get ready for the new semester his new friends were more than happy to spar with him. To be honest, Izuku wasn’t very good when it came to sparring with quirks, Mirio did pack a hell of a punch plus Nejire and Amajiki were very skilled as well. However, when it came to quirkless sparring Izuku seemed to gain the upper hand always keeping in mind a rule Aizawa drilled into his brain, your quirk is not something you depend on it’s a tool you use to your advantage if you can win quirkless then nothing will stop you with your quirk.

Togata had insisted that Izuku should call him by his first name and upon hearing that Nejire requested the same thing, Amajiki wasn’t quite there yet and Izuku could respect that, despite that he did tell the three of them they could call him Izuku if they wanted to.

Nezu did offer him the opportunity to apply through recommendation since the rat would be recommending his star student himself but Izuku declined. He appreciated the opportunity very much but he was confident in his abilities, he could pass the regular entrance exam  with his own strength and the principal respected that, Izuku didn’t want any shortcuts into achieving his dream, he would prove to himself he could do it. 

Nezu’s teaching was truly something, the principal explained to him that every year every written exam was different from the past one, not only that but each sheet had random questions pulled from a pool of over five thousand possible questions making it harder for anyone who would try to copy. So there was no way Nezu could prepare him for a specific exam since even the mammal had no idea what combination he would get, so instead he taught him every possible topic those five thousand questions could cover it was exhausting to say the least but Izuku has always been eager to learn. Nezu also taught him the basics of hacking and coding, while Izuku didn’t really understand what he could use that for he still paid attention and did his best to meet the principal’s expectations, that’s one of the lessons he struggled the most with. 

Finally, one of the oddest things the mammal taught him was how to move around through the school’s vent system, they were surprisingly big it’s not like he could open his wings in there but they didn’t feel cramped either while he was human that is. Nezu said he designed the vents like a maze in case a intruder made it inside and tried to hide there, anyone would get lost of they didn’t know how to move in there, he also mentioned that it was a nice fresh place to hide in when people got too loud, perhaps that would be the use Izuku was going to give the vent system. He struggled a lot with moving through the vents quietly but he got the hang of it eventually, when he did Nezu proposed one more prank against Mic.

That’s how Izuku found himself squeezing through the vents as a dragon, it was a very thigh squeeze and he was surprised the vent didn’t give in under his weight, when he reached the vent connected to the teacher lounge he waited until he heard Present Mic’s voice before pawing at the vent and dropping down. Yamada accidentally screamed with his quirk on after that surprise forcing Izuku to try and cover his nubs with his paws as he whined in pain, his heightened  senses did not mix well with the loud hero.

“Holy shit! What are you doing here?! Does Shouta know you are here?!” Yamada said clutching a hand to his shirt where his heart would be, the ‘cat’ didn’t bother to look at him still whining and covering his ears, they were still ringing after all. “Wait what are you- shit did I hurt you?? Shou is going to kill me, here let me-” Yamada tried to reach out a hand towards Midori only to reel it back in when the animal hissed at him. “Right, angry at me, let me uh.” Before he could continue Kayama walked into the room stopping at the door.

“What are you screaming for this time?!” She complained before she realized who or more accurately what was in the room. “Hey Mic, what is that?” She asked pointing at the black animal that was curled up on itself, whining like a little puppy.

Mic turned to her still in a panic. “That’s Midori Aizawa’s new rescue cat and I may have hurt it by accident.” Mic had no idea how to fix whatever he had done he just knew he had to do it before Aizawa realized what happened and broke every single bone in his body for harming one of his cats.

“A cat? How is that a cat? You know what never mind, let me see what I can do before Aizawa chops your head off, I’m not in the mood to cover one of your classes again.” She approached the alleged cat and crouched down at a distance. “Hey buddy, was he mean to you?” The animal uncurled slightly peeking through his wings. “Don’t worry, I won’t let the bad man hurt you again okay?” That got her a complain from Mic but it seemed to be working.

Once again Izuku didn’t love being spoken to in a baby voice but if they thought he was a cat then that’s to be expected, he moved a little closer towards the heroine with a small growl as if he was answering that yes the mean man did hurt him. Kayama reached a hand to him and Izuku leaned closer, head pets were nice every once in a while specially as a dragon. “Aren’t you a cutie? I have no idea why Yamada would be so mean to you, what could you possibly do?” 

Yamada was left speechless when that thing was so aggressive or well defensive against him but warmed up to Nemuri instantly. “That’s not fair!” In response Midori pulled his head away from the heroine and growled at Mic making him give a few steps back.

“You know Mic, I don’t think Midori likes you.”  She sat down on the floor, the dragon placing his head on her lap and purring at the scratches. 

“Don’t you say.” He murmured looking at the interaction, watching the gigantic cat melt when Kayama reached under his chin.

“Yeah Mic you are the problem, look at how docile he is. Who is a good kitty? You are!” Eventually more staff members walked into the lounge, the only reason Izuku didn’t freak out was because his dragon mindset was more dominant at the moment and the dragon liked being pampered so far.

Eventually Aizawa made it to the lounge wanting nothing more than to have coffee or have a very long nap in his yellow sleeping bag, he did not expect his problem child to be laying on the floor surrounded by his curious coworkers. “How did you?” The camera light gave a few blinks making him sigh. “Of course, Midori playtime is over, get out.” The kid normally followed his orders, although this time he merely mocked him before leaning back into the petting hands around him. “Brat don’t make me say it again, get up and get back to Nezu.” He was very sure the kid growled in annoyance before actually obeying him, standing up and stretching arching his back before walking out of the teacher’s lounge, every other teacher staring at him. “What?”

“You get a new giant cuddle kitty, you don’t tell me and the only thing you have to say is what? Does our friendship mean nothing to you?!” Kayama said, complaining with a little whine because the giant purring warm cat was gone because of Aizawa.

“If or when I rescue another stray isn’t any of your business, anyone else?” There was no response. “Good, if Midori ends up in here again let me know immediately, he is still in training for a reason.” In reality he didn’t want the brat wandering around places he shouldn’t be, that and he didn’t want him winning the teacher’s over before he was officially enrolled, needless to say if Midori did show up again none of the teachers said anything, no one takes kitty time for granted.

The day of the exam was finally here and he was all nervous and jittery, he had nothing to worry about Nezu trained him to make sure no question would take him by surprise and his blasts could easily melt the robots of the practical exam, then again he has always been a bundle of nerves. He stood in front of the gates and took a deep breath, he has been in and out of this school for almost a year now but now this is the real deal, today he will prove whether or not he truly belongs into UA. 

A certain blonde bumped into him before he could walk inside. “You shouldn’t be here Deku.” 

Izuku took a deep breath. “Good morning to you too Bakugou, good luck on the exam.” Izuku tried to walk away but Bakugou grabbed his arm.

“I’m not letting you upstage me again Deku, I’m going to prove you aren’t better than me is that clear?” He asked with a snarl, Izuku didn’t look at him.

“I’m just a useless Deku right? Why would you have to prove anything to me.” He knows throwing fuel into the fire is not his brightest idea, but he is on UA grounds and Katsuki isn’t stupid enough to do anything that could jeopardize his chances of getting in.

Katsuki’s hold got a little tighter. “I’m not proving anything to you Deku! Stay out of my way!” That  being said he shoved Deku out of the way and got inside the building.

Izuku was about to flap his wings to stop himself from falling, when a small tap on his back did it for him, making him float instead. “Are you okay? What is that guy’s deal?” He heard a girl say before helping him back into a standing position.

“Don’t mind him, it’s not worth the stress.” That was Izuku’s only response before the girl touched the tips of her fingers.

“If you say so, also sorry for using my quirk on you. But falling before the exam would be a bad omen!” She said smiling at him, Izuku returned the kind smile.

“Thank you for that.” Izuku would love to introduce himself but they were running out of time. “We should get inside before the exams begin, wouldn’t want you to be late for helping me.” The girl nodded before the two of them walked inside the building, waving at each other goodbye before heading into their assigned rooms for the written part of the exam, his totally not father figure stopping him on the way.

“Nezu made sure I wouldn’t be the teacher looking over your classroom, but I still wanted to say something before the exam.” The kid looked at him with big hopeful eyes. “I would wish you good luck but you don’t need that. I know you are more than capable of passing, what I want you to do is to use everything I’ve taught you to show the rest of the teachers what you are made of during the practical exam.”

Izuku nodded eagerly at him. “I will sensei! I promise I won’t disappoint you!” That gained him a hair ruffle, he would complain at Aizawa for messing up his hair but his hair was always a mess anyways.

“I expect to see you in my class this year Midoriya.” With that being said, Aizawa let Izuku continue towards his classroom while going towards his own, if there was someone eavesdropping neither of them noticed.

Izuku would like to say he struggled with the written exam as much as everyone else did but that would be a lie, Nezu’s teaching paid off since he finished the multiple answers part faster than anyone else even having enough time to double check! He tried to take longer during the essay part but well, the topic was a free choice and Izuku has had a lot of experience with quirk analysis, you can imagine how that went. With a little bit of embarrassment he raised a hand so the teacher would come to his desk.

“Are you having any problems love?~” Miss Midnight asked, Izuku wasn’t a fan of the pet names that the heroine tends to use, but he does understand it’s kind of her brand.

“Not really, I um finished miss Midnight.” The heroine stared at him in disbelief.

“Are you sure hon? Don’t you want to double check?” They’ve had students with intelligence like quirks apply before, which was not the case for this student, but even they took longer to finish.

“I already did miss.” Izuku was starting to regret this, he should’ve just stayed quiet until someone else finished.

The heroine stared at him before paling a bit in realization. “You are the student Nezu has been bragging about.” Her flirty tone disappearing completely from her voice. “You may leave, you can pass by the cafeteria to get something while you wait, okay?” She said before picking up his exam and ushering him away, Izuku could feel everyone’s eyes on him, he was sure they were even muttering. “Eyes back on your exams!” Kayama exclaimed while cracking her whip against the air. “You aren’t done and you may not get time to spare, although I wouldn’t mind punishing whoever makes it to the retake~” She said regaining her own playful persona, Izuku just walked away faster.

There were plenty of tables in the cafeterias filled with snacks for all applicants, Izuku could see plenty of cups with fruit and some packages with melon bread as well as an abundance of water and juice bottles, he settled for a piece of bread and some water before sitting down in the empty cafeteria. He did consider eating his snack in the comfort of the vent and maybe even show up as Midori one last time in the teacher’s lounge but all the teachers were busy, since no one would be there it wasn’t worth it. Eventually more people began to fill in the cafeteria, but when he saw Katsuki he booked it going into a hallway and then into one of the vents, he waited there until the practical exams were going to begin, his luck be damned he had to sit next to Katsuki, great.

Izuku had some sort of comfort in the fact that Katsuki wouldn’t try anything in a room filled with so many people and a hero who was explaining the practical exams, the greenette already knew it would be Present Mic since Aizawa warned him about no one actually answering to his introduction, if it wasn’t for that warning Izuku would’ve screamed back yeah like the hero requested while the auditorium remained silent, thank you sensei for one less embarrassment to deal with.

During the end of the explanation an applicant stood up. “Excuse me! The pamphlet provided by UA says there are four robots but you only explained three of them! If this is a mistake on UA’s part it should be fixed immediately! Such a prestigious school shouldn’t be making errors like this!” Yikes, he just interrupted the hero to complain, Mic could’ve very well be about to explain that if he stayed quiet a few more minutes.

“Good observation examinee 7111!  That robot is a faux villain that will give you 0 points! It’s main purpose is to be an obstacle so I recommend you avoid it at all cost!” The hero answered, after that said examinee bowed apologizing for his interruption, Mic dismissed them to their respective exam grounds.

After changing into his special training uniform he joined the crowd waiting to start the exam, Izuku was still nervous, he glanced around to see if anyone shared that nervousness and to his surprise he found a familiar face, it was the girl from this morning! He walked towards her about to propose a team up, while Nezu made sure no one from the same school was together to avoid cooperation, working with another candidate wasn’t forbidden. Personally Izuku thinks this is part of the exam, on the field you don’t decide who you will team up with, you have to take what is given and do what you can. “Don’t you see that she is trying to concentrate?! Are you trying to sabotage her?!” The same guy from the auditorium said standing in his way.

Izuku’s nubs flattened to the side of his head, he did not like this person making assumptions and getting in the way, before he could voice his thoughts Mic spoke up. “BEGIN!” Examinee 7111 just saw the teen in front of him disappear in a black blur.

Izuku immediately took flight, who knew Aizawa’s advice was going to help him in the exam? Villains won’t ask you when you are ready to fight, you will never get a warning before a fight starts. “Gravity girl! Hands up and hold on!” The brunette turned to the voice, recognizing the boy from this morning that was coming at her fast with his hands extended towards her, she barely processed what he said before obeying on impulse. Midoriya grabbed tightly onto her wrists before lifting her up dashing towards the center of the fake city, he felt a bit sorry for making her scream like that, this was probably scary for someone who doesn’t fly often.

The rest of the examinees stood there in shock about what just happened. “Well what are you waiting for?! The test already started! You won’t get a warning in real life! Go! Go! Go!” The hero yelled setting the rest of the examinees in motion, but two students already had an advantage of time and terrain.

Izuku gently set the brunette down in the middle of the city, the place with the most influx of robots. “Thank you for choosing Night Fury Airlines! I hope your flight was pleasant!  If you need help just call out for me, I owe you that much. Good luck!” He winked at her with a smile before going to blast one of the incoming robots. Uraraka stood there in shock for a moment at what just happened, she quickly shook her head to focus, the boy had just given her an advantage and she had to use it. 

Izuku tried his best to keep the girl in sight and while it was just the two of them that was a relatively easy task, but when more examinees began to flood into their area he lost track of her, hopefully she would be alright. If he was keeping track of things correctly he should have about 50 points by now more or less, he knew that was enough to pass but that didn’t stop him from gliding above  the streets looking for more robots, landing when he saw someone trapped under the rubble and scrap from the robots. “Here let me-” His hand was smacked away the person pushing themselves from under the rubble muttering they didn’t need help, well that was just rude.

Before he could take flight again the five minute warning was blasted through the city and with the warning came the zero pointer, what was supposed to be an obstacle came in the form of a gigantic robot that was destroying everything in it’s wake. Panic spread like wild fire among the examinee’s and everyone booked it, pushing each other in an attempt to outrun the massive robot. Izuku couldn’t help but think how dangerous this was, not so much the robot but how everyone was running away, anyone could trip and get trampled by the crowd in the best case scenario the person would have broken bones and in the worst well … UA wouldn’t allow anyone to die right?

Izuku stood his ground closing his eyes and pushing his senses, someone could be in trouble and the panic wouldn’t let anyone else notice, that’s when he heard it. “Help! Please!” Even among the screams he could recognize her, gravity girl. He opened his eyes opening his wings to force people away before flying up trying to find her, she was directly on the robot’s path her leg stuck under the rubble. Izuku was fast and he could reach her before the robot, the question was if he could get the rubble off her and take her to a safer place before the robot crushed them, the answer was no so plan B it was, face that thing head on.

Izuku charged one of his strongest blast and fired, effectively making the robot stumble back, making it stop to look for the threat in this case him. “What did Nezu make that thing with?!” his strongest blasts were able to melt metal, that thing only got dented! He maneuvered himself in the air when one of the robot’s hands tried to hit him like a fly, however, his attack was enough to make him stop so gravity girl won’t be getting crushed now he has to make sure he won’t get crushed by those hands either!

Izuku was doing his best to be an annoying little pest to that robot, continuously blasting it hoping the time would run out, the robot realizing he would not be able to hit Izuku resumed it’s journey. “Hey tin can! I’m not done with you!” The robot ignored him, Izuku began to grow anxious and with that stress a swirl of black clouds began to form on the exam arena. Izuku didn’t know what to do, his mind was not in the right place to think so he allowed his more animalistic instincts to take over, his body fully transforming into the night fury, despite his rigorous training he never managed to summon lighting at will, but right now? His body could feel the static building up in the air, 

He flew around the robot before landing directly on it’s face using his claws to hold on as best as he could before letting out a deafening roar charging one of his blasts, spreading his wings as far as they could go and then he felt it, the static raising before a lighting bolt hit him, more bolts followed hitting his body and Izuku did all that he could to remain still working as a bridge between the robot and the electricity. The lighting bolts did exactly what he hoped, they overcharged the robot charring it’s insides, Izuku used the last of his strength to fire one last plasma shot making the robot fall backwards while he began to fall towards the ground.

The dragon was fading in and out of sight as he fell due to the electricity still in his body, he was falling with his back towards the ground. He knew he had to turn over, to fly off or to at least open his wings so they would work as a parachute but his body felt so heavy. By the time he managed to turn around the ground was too close, he tried to open his wings but he just couldn’t he over did it, he closed his eyes hoping the fall wouldn’t hurt so much when a hand managed to touch the side of his face and suddenly he wasn’t falling anymore. “Re-Release!” Izuku’s body slumped on the ground.

Aizawa almost had a heart attack from the watch room, why did his problem child had to be so reckless?!

Izuku was very close to fading in an out of consciousness but he pushed himself up, if gravity girl helped him while she was still trapped then he can help her no matter how tired he feels. He put  his head against the rubble on her leg before pushing it off, coming closer to her face to see if she was okay. “You know.” She said heaving. “When you said I could just call you for help I didn’t think you actually meant it.” After that she let out a small giggle and Izuku purred in response, look he would change back but he just doesn’t have the energy for it.

Mic informed them the exam was over and the girl tried to stand up,  only to stumble forwards  when she couldn’t step on one of her feet. Izuku rushed forwards letting her use his body as support. “Thanks.” Izuku nudged her leg before motioning his head towards his back, extending one wing to make it easier for her to climb up.  “What? … You want me to get up?” Izuku nodded, the girl clearly couldn’t walk but he could, even if a little too slowly. “Are you sure? You don’t look really good either.” He nodded before nudging her leg again, even trying to push her up a bit, despite being unsure she got the message and climbed on the dragon’s back. Honestly it was a relief not having to walk to the exit, she felt a little bad for accepting the ride when her helper wasn’t in the best condition either but he wouldn’t have offered if he couldn’t do it right?

Once she was safely and comfortably on his back he stood up, walking proudly with his head high towards the exit. Most examinees just watching in shock or awe at the person or well animal right now that single handedly beat the zero pointer, the only person to run towards danger when everyone else ran away in fear. When they reached the exit Recovery Girl was already there waiting. “You know Midoriya, I was hoping I wouldn’t be seeing you today but you spend too much time with Togata so I was expecting this.”  The dragon smiled at her before reaching his head down for pets which he got. “And I see you already made a friend, hopefully she isn’t as reckless as you.”  The heroine said looking at the girl on his back. “Alright dearie, what happened to you? I doubt Midoriya here is giving you a pony ride for the fun of it.” That got her a huff from the dragonling, he is not a pony!

“Some rubble fell on my leg and my ankle really hurts. I couldn’t really walk so he insisted on carrying me.” Recovery Girl hummed coming closer to check her ankle, that was too much purple and swelling for it to be just twisted. 

“That’s going to need more special treatment, let me heal the examinees with minor injuries and I will see you in the infirmary alright? Your  ride already knows how to get there.”  Midoriya may or may not have given the healing heroine a small bump with his wing for calling him a ride. “Don’t test me boy! Now shu! The sooner I finish with them the sooner I can help your new friend!” The dragon rolled his eyes but obeyed anyways, slowly but surely making his way to the infirmary, he could use a nap there to be fair. Mic was very confused when he saw Midori walk out of the exam grounds with a student on his back, where the hell does that cat keep coming from??

Izuku took the girl to the infirmary stopping right beside a bed, using his wing to tap it a couple of times. “Okay! Just give me a sec.” Honestly Izuku was surprised with how easily the girl understood him in dragon form, it was odd but also nice. Once the girl was on the bed Izuku just sat down on the floor and transformed again, he really wants to just knock himself out but he can still help. “Are you okay? You don’t look too good.” The brunette asked sounding worried.

“Yeah, just quirk exhaustion. I have never done that before I just need a minute.”  His body felt heavy and he was a little dizzy but overall he was fine, he waited a couple minutes before getting up, stumbling a bit before regaining his footing searching in the small fridge in the nurse’s office. “Here, this should help until Recovery Girl comes back.” He gently put the ice pack over her swollen ankle before sitting on a different bed, his wings flopping behind him.

“Thanks.” She said keeping the pack in place. “You seem to know your way around here.” Izuku nodded at that.

“My quirk manifested like really late and it’s really strong and powerful but I couldn’t really control it. Since I was too dangerous to be left alone UA offered to give me quirk counseling, so I know how to get around.” Izuku had no reason to lie to the nice girl.

The girl snapped her fingers. “Oh right! I remember you from the news like a year ago! I knew you seemed familiar but I was sure I hadn’t met you before.” Her memory was a bit vague, she didn’t remember it all that well but it was hard to forget that someone manifested their quirk at 14 … wait. “You only had your quirk for a year and you can do all that?!” 

Izuku shrunk onto himself at the outburst. “Ah, yeah that was actually a new development. My counselor is gonna want to know about that.” He probably already knows all things considered, but since Aizawa hasn’t burst into the infirmary to scold him he would like to believe he isn’t that mad.

“Even so it’s still pretty amazing!” The two kept up some small talk until Recovery Girl made it back. 

“Alright dearie, let me get an X-ray to see if that ankle is broken or fractured before I heal you.” The old lady noticed the ice pack. “Ah, I see Midoriya has decided to help already, he does that a lot.” The boy just smiled shyly at her.

“Oh right! I never asked your name, I’m Ochako Uraraka by the way!” She said while Recovery girl handed her some crutches so she could move to the X-ray room.

“Izuku Midoriya, it was very nice to meet you Uraraka-San, hopefully I’ll see you in class!”  Midoriya said waving goodbye at her, Uraraka thought that was a bit odd but maybe the boy would leave now that the nurse was here to treat her? To her surprise that wasn’t exactly why Izuku sounded like he was saying goodbye, it turned out Uraraka had fractured her ankle but the nurse was able to heal her almost all the way, they headed back to her office so Recovery Girl could give her a moonboot to wear for a few days before coming back to make sure she was fully healed. When they walked inside Midoriya was still there he was simply just passed out on the bed.

“Don’t look so worried girl, he is only tired. He pushed himself more than he ever has, a hearty meal and a good night of sleep will fix him. For now a nap will be enough to get him home.” The nurse explained before helping her put the moon boot on. “There you go, you should go home now. I’ll let Nezu know you are expected back in a few days.” 

Uraraka nodded before heading out, she was a little sad the boy fell asleep before she could get his number, he seemed really nice and she would’ve liked to talk to him a little more. But hey maybe he was right and they would see each other in class again!

By the time Izuku woke up there was a very angry Aizawa glaring at him. “Problem child I want you to know that if I had the authority to ground you for being so reckless I would.” Mister Aizawa sir, that is NOT helping the father allegations.

“In my defense, I had no clue I could do that or that I would be so out of it if I did.” He was being honest! The lightning summoning was a theory he couldn’t prove until now and the last time it happened he didn’t feel even close to fainting.

“Oh I’m aware, I’ve seen your progress for the last ten months. It was still reckless to run into the robot without a plan and don’t try to lie to me you didn’t have a plan other than stalling until the timer ran out.” Ah, Aizawa knows him far too well by now .

“… I mean you are right but can’t you pretend I did have a plan and looked very cool executing it?” Aizawa’s glare only got harder at that, it’s a no then. “It was worth the shot.” 

“I never want you to do something like that again Midoriya, there is a difference between being a hero and being careless! If that girl hadn’t helped you, you could’ve been really hurt instead than just tired. Acting before thinking is what gets you killed on the field, is that clear?” Aizawa had warned him about the dangers of being a hero before, but he was never this stern before.

Izuku lowered his head, any playfulness dying on the spot. “Yes sensei … I’m sorry.” Aizawa had never really scolded him before, not like this, Izuku knew that what could’ve happened must’ve been really serious if it got his sensei like this.

Aizawa sighed, he didn’t like seeing the kid sad specially because it looked like a sad kitten to him, but he has had more experience as a hero, he has seen things and lost people important to him when he was barely older than the kid, he doesn’t want history to repeat itself. “Alright I think that’s enough, go get your things so I can get you home. Your mom called me when it got late and you didn’t make it home or answer your phone, I told her you overused your quirk and needed to sleep for a while. Heavens knows that woman doesn’t need the heart attack of what actually happened.” 

Late? Izuku looked out the window to see it was almost night time, the last rays of sunshine fading away. “Right, I’ll hurry up.” He didn’t want to waste anymore of Aizawa’s time but he knew better than to say that out loud. The way back home was uncharacteristically quiet, Izuku blamed it on still being tired but in reality he didn’t want Aizawa to be even more annoyed at him for not keeping quiet, the man had never even gotten angry at him before, he must’ve really messed up for Aizawa to act the way he did. He will do better, that’s a promise. 

As usual Aizawa stayed for dinner and Izuku still remained quiet when the man expected him to talk excitedly about all the quirks he saw or maybe about the girl he saved, was he too tough when scolding the kid? Is nothing he wouldn’t have said to his students, but Midoriya struggled with connecting with adult figures because he was ignored or downright bullied by every adult he met. Aizawa was his first experience beside his mom that  didn’t diminish him or push him down just for existing, perhaps his disappointment specifically wasn’t something the kid wasn’t ready to handle, they would have to work on that. “Midoriya can I have a word with you before I leave?” The kid only nodded.

Inko gave them some space to talk. Izuku kept his head low. “Sensei I know you are disappointed by how I acted but I promise I won’t do anything like that again! I will do better! Just give me another chance to prove I’m still worth your time!” So that’s what the kid’s mind has been looping on, he thinks Aizawa is going to leave because he did something wrong.

“Kid calm down, I never said  that I was disappointed or that you weren’t worth my time. I was angry at what you did but I was also really scared that you were going to get hurt and I wasn’t going to be fast enough to reach you.” The kid looked up at him with watery eyes. “I’ve seen a lot during my career kid, but the worst one happened when I was just about your age … I lost someone very special to me and there was nothing I could do to change that. If I sound too strict it’s not because I’m disappointed or because I expect perfection from you, it’s because I don’t want you to face an experience like that specially at this age.” Aizawa took a deep breath, he didn’t speak about Shirakumo often for a reason but he needed to be honest with Izuku. “Something like that scars you forever kid, if I can prevent that from happening even if that means being too tough at times I will. I’m not acting like this to spite you for what you did, I’m acting like this because I care about you and I want to protect you from things you aren’t ready to deal with, okay?”

Izuku nodded rubbing his eyes, he didn’t want to cry in front of Aizawa but the mere idea of suddenly not being good enough for him, of Aizawa not wanting anything to do with him anymore over a mistake was too overwhelming. “O-Okay, I understand.” 

Aizawa has never been a fan of physical touch, but he can make an exception. “Alright brat, come here.” The hero opened his arms and Izuku didn’t waste a second before rushing to hug him, holding onto the man like a life line, Aizawa hugged him back although he didn’t have such a strong grip on the kid. Aizawa waited until the kid was ready to let go before saying his goodbye’s to the Midoriya family.

After that exhausting moment of emotional vulnerability and almost breakdown Izuku needed to sleep for the next 3 to 5 workdays, or at least he felt like it. It was comforting to know that he didn’t mess up badly enough for Aizawa to not consider him worthy anymore, that was never the case but considering Midoriya’s experience could you really blame him? At least things were okay now.

Aizawa didn’t contact him much while he waited for the results of his exam, he did however get a video from the hero from when they were reviewing his exam. It was on the part when he transformed to fight the robot, his review video got paused by Present Mic who screamed. “I KNEW IT WASN’T A FUCKING CAT!” Followed by Aizawa’s and Nezu’s laughter, Izuku laughed as well the jig is up but it was fun while it lasted … actually if Tamaki is willing to help they might just be able to keep the joke going.

After the long wait the letter was finally here delivered by Aizawa himself, he trained the kid and he was proud of that brat, plus he wanted to see his reaction. The Midoriya’s plus their guest sat in the living room, Izuku opened the letter and he found a disk inside, he set it on the table and a projection began.  “I AM HERE! AS A PROJECTION!” Aizawa did not miss the way the kid’s expression soured when All Might appeared, that kid got excited about any minor hero the reaction was odd. “You might be wondering why I am here? That’s because as UA’s new teacher I will be giving you your exam results!” Izuku deflated a bit when he heard new teacher, once again this didn’t go under the radar for Aizawa.

“You got a perfect grade on your written exam! Be proud of yourself young man because that is no easy task!” Inko hugged her baby at that, she knew he was smart but a perfect grade on such a difficult test was amazing! “Now onto the practical exam! By your own means you got 50 villain points and that would be enough to get into the hero course! But that’s not all we are grading!” Footage from how he helped Uraraka at the beginning of the exam appeared on the projection. “This is the first time we are granting teamwork points! While they have always been here no one had earned them before you and your new friend! Congrats!” His score raised from 50 to 60 because of that before the projection changed again, showing him fighting the zero pointer, thankfully omitting how he fell off. “While fighting villains is important a hero must also seek to help others, which is why we grant rescue points! This categories raise your score from 50 to 120! Congratulations young man! Welcome to your hero academia!” Midoriya stared in awe as the projection showed he got first place on the practical exam too, he got first on both exams he needed a moment to process that.

Inko hugged her baby even tighter almost crying at his success. “Oh Izuku I’m so proud of you! Look at all you’ve accomplished!” To think her son’s dream was about to become a reality was amazing.

Aizawa ruffled the kid’s hair. “Welcome to my class brat, don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you know me.” 

Izuku laughed at that. “I wouldn’t dream of it sensei!” Aizawa may like him but that man does not play favorites. Inko got up to get some cake from the kitchen, something she got in advance thanks to a certain teacher warning her of the results.

“You know Midoriya, I thought you would be more excited about All Might, of all people I thought you would be thrilled to have him as a teacher.” He was not leaving this conversation for later.

Midoriya sunk into the couch. “Ah, you noticed that. It’s nothing really, it’s just that I kind of already met him? And meeting your favorite hero only for him to tell you, you can’t be a hero isn’t a very fun experience.”

Aizawa flared up his quirk on accident. “He said what?” Somewhere in Japan Yagi Toshinori felt like he was suddenly in danger.

Izuku fidgeted with his hands. “Yeah, at the time I hadn’t manifested my quirk yet. I asked him if I could be a hero even without a quirk and he said no, so not the best first impression.”

Aizawa took a deep breath, they are celebrating the problem child getting into UA placing first on both exams, he can plan revenge at a later time. “That has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard.”  Izuku looked at him surprised. “Kid I’m practically a quirkless hero, the only thing my quirk does is make sure my opponent is quirkless too. With the right training even someone quirkless could be a hero, a quirk is just a tool remember?”

Izuku smiled at that, it was nice to think that even if his quirk didn’t manifest, Aizawa would’ve been willing to train him if he showed potential. “I know, I got my quirk but even if I didn’t I would’ve kept fighting to be a hero.” That’s exactly what Aizawa wanted to hear.

The plan to obliterate All Might for trying to destroy his problem child’s dream could wait, for now the small family can celebrate.

Chapter Text

The following days after the small family’s celebration, Inko got Izuku every single thing he could possibly need for school and his son was more than grateful. But what Izuku spent more time on was re-designing his hero costume, his initial design was done way before he got his quirk and that design was desperately trying to imitate All Might, something he didn’t feel very comfortable with anymore. 

To get some inspiration he went back to the source material of his quirk, the armor from the third movie was tempting as a costume design but some changes could be made. For starters the mask wasn’t something he adored and he didn’t see much use for it considering it would just make it harder to blast his plasma shots, maybe he could reintegrate it as a hood for additional head protection, he can figure that out later. Another thing that wouldn’t be useful for him were the gloves, while they protected Hiccup’s hands they wouldn’t work the same for him considering he has claws, maybe he could replace it for a pointed sleeve like the ones dancers use, that way his hands would still be mostly free, have some sort of protection and he would look pretty.

Then he had to actually consider how effective an armor would be, if it was too bulky it would just limit his movements or drag him down which would be a problem because his whole gimmick revolves around being fast. That meant the original armor was transformed into more of a full body leotard that would be covered with his scales to offer him that extra protection the armor would’ve offered, after all his scales were hard specially those he shed hopefully the hero costume company could portray his vision, he made an emphasis that the suit should be elastic and allow for easy movement as well as it having to be made based on his DNA. After thinking for a bit he decided to keep the night fury symbol on one of the shoulders, however, instead of red he would keep it green, that was more of his color anyways, he also made a note of protecting padding or shock absorption under or inside the leotard, one can never be protected enough. He got a little stuck at the shoes, there were no issues with the original boots, but since he changed the bulkiness of the whole fit maybe they wouldn’t look as good anymore, then again he would hopefully be flying most of the time so the shoes he uses wouldn’t be an issue, the company can figure that one out.

Finally he didn’t develop any support gear for now, he desperately wanted to add Hiccup’s flaming sword but in the end he decided not to. While it was such an exciting idea it wouldn’t work, sure his costume could have some sort of utility belt to carry it but it wouldn’t work when he went full fury, his dragon form wouldn’t be able to use it and honestly how many times would he use a flaming sword when he can blast anything? So that idea was kept away but not discarded. He thought of a box that could release a controlled shock since he couldn’t summon lightning at will just yet, but he came back to the first problem once he transforms there is no way for that box to stay attached to him, he will have to stay as basic as possible for now.

After that he sent his design along with the scales, he was a bit afraid those scales wouldn’t be enough to cover his whole suit and he couldn’t really give out more until he shed again so he will have to make do until then, in the worst case scenario he would stay transformed until danger went away.

With all that said and done he could only wait for the first day of classes to actually arrive, it was kind of funny that  he was nervous about starting classes at UA considering he has already been taking classes there with Aizawa as his teacher for 10 months, the only difference now would be that he wouldn’t be the only student. Izuku wondered if the nice girl from the exam, Uraraka he remembered, would be in his class, he would like to get to know her better since she was you know a decent human being to him before remembering he was the kid of the news, she seemed genuine. That train of thought led him to Bakugou, Izuku was no idiot he knew for a fact the blonde had made it in and considering how he was literally and metaphorically an explosive person, he was bound to end up in Aizawa’s class as well, at least he could find comfort in knowing his totally not father figure wouldn’t let him get away with hurting others anymore.

Before he knew it his first day of class was already here, he arrived extra early so he would be able to stop at the teacher’s lounge, hopefully while no one was there. See during his infiltration time as Midori he heard a complain or two about Aizawa only surviving off of jelly pouches and him being the reason for the teacher’s lounge never having coffee, normally he would think that they were exaggerating but he has spend long enough with that man to actually believe that, in fact Izuku is sure he has only seen him eat actual food when he comes for dinner. He told his mom about that and Inko was not happy, so she decided she would send Izuku to school with two lunches, one for himself and one for Aizawa the only thing the greenette had to do was deliver it, maybe she couldn’t afford to send the man lunches everyday, but she could manage doing so once or twice a week.

Izuku texted Nezu on when he crossed the school gates. “Could you turn off the cameras in the teacher’s lounge for a little bit?”

The mammal’s reply was instantaneous. “I can, but what for?”

Izuku smiled before replying. “Mischief.” 

Nezu smiled from his office, it’s the first day and his little star student already wants to cause some chaos, well how could he deny him that. “Very well, use the vents. I will get the teachers out for you.” Nezu is very happy to have a mischief buddy, he could only wonder what Midoriya is planning, but he would rather see it play out than just ask.

Izuku obeyed, moving through the vents until he reached his destination waiting for the teachers to get out before going down, smiling when the camera’s red light was off. He set the bento box on Aizawa’s  desk, before getting a green post it block from his backpack, writing a message and sticking it on the box for everyone to see before booking it. The message was simple enough for Aizawa to know who it was from but also vague enough for people to speculate without context. “You can turn the cameras on again, if you can stall Aizawa while the other teacher come in that would be great.” Look Izuku does not have the guts to tell Aizawa he sees him like a dad, but how funny would it be if everyone thought he was a dad and just managed to hide it this long? Hopefully, it would be hilarious.

With that set up he used the vent system to get to his class which thankfully was empty when he arrived. Some students arrived after him, a boy with dual colored hair entered but he didn’t even spare him a glance, not friendly then. A tall girl with a ponytail came in simply waving at him with a smile which he returned, he only spoke to the girl when he realized she sits a little bit behind me. “If my wings ever block your view just let me know, sometimes I move them without realizing.” The girl seemed a little relieved at that, she didn’t want to seem rude by telling someone with mutations how or when to control them so the offer was well received. 

Sadly the next person to arrive was Bakugou, he seemed specially infuriated that Deku was in the same class as him. “What are you doing here Deku?” Bakugou was already mad that he didn’t get first place in the exam despite getting 77 villain points, seeing Deku here was just making that worse.

“I’m waiting for class to start.” Izuku knew how Bakugou’s mind worked, he wanted to pick a fight so he could let out that anger but that wouldn’t be happening, not here. “Before you think about doing anything, you should know the principal has eyes and ears everywhere.” He said pointing at one of the cameras. “This isn’t Aldera anymore.” That last bit was said with spite, he didn’t said what he actually meant but Bakugou got the message, huffing before sitting at his desk, putting his legs on top of it. The dual haired boy seemed mildly interested in their interaction, but he said nothing.

The next student to enter was a boy with glasses and oh did Izuku remember this boy, it was the same guy who interrupted Present Mic and accused him of trying to sabotage Uraraka. Thankfully the boy’s attention went directly to Bakugou. “Get your feet of the desk! This is highly disrespectful for the manufacturers of the desk as well as the other’s who used it before you!” Izuku just tried to tune out that scolding, which is hard when you have enhanced hearing so he tried to distract himself with the newcomers a pink girl with horns, a guy with red spiky hair, a very short guy with balls for hair? This world is full of unique and odd quirks but this one is beyond him- is that someone with a bird head??

“Midoriya-kun! You made it!” Uraraka said happily when she crossed the door making a beeline for his desk. “I’m so happy we ended up in the same class, it’s nice to see a familiar face.” Before Izuku could reply, glasses decided to add himself into the conversation.

“My name is Iida Tenya! You are the boy from the entrance exam! You saw there was something more to the test! I deeply apologize for judging you!” He said with a bow, this was more than Izuku was expecting from a first day.

“Apology accepted?” He didn’t actually know what to say, people don’t tend to apologize to him  this is a new experience. Uraraka kept talking to him about nerves for the first day and Izuku happily listened, that was until his ear nubs began to move, slightly vibrating listening to movement, a familiar smell of black coffee reaching his nose. Aizawa is here.

“Uraraka-san, a piece of advice. You might want to sit down, now.” The girl looked a little confused and slightly hurt, taking that as his way of telling her to stop talking.

“Why? Did I say something wrong?” Before Izuku could be a little clearer about what he meant Aizawa made himself known.

“If you are here to make friends, you might as well just leave now.” At the presence of the man everyone who was standing up scattered to their desks. “It took you all 20 seconds to settle down, if you want to be heroes you have no time to waste. My name is Aizawa Shouta and I will be your homeroom teacher, now please put these on and meet me in the training ground.” He said while pulling a training uniform from his desk.

Everyone was a little stunned by something so sudden, but not Midoriya he was used to this so he got up ready to head out only stopping when his teacher called his name. “Midoriya, I don’t want you waiting for anyone after changing so you can guide them. They are training to be heroes, the sooner they learn there won’t always be someone holding their hand and telling them where to go the better.” Izuku nodded, Aizawa knew him well because that’s exactly what he was planning on doing ,oh well.

After that everyone else got the memo and got up to grab a training suit and head to the changing rooms, Midoriya minding his business and changing into his special uniform which caused Iida to complain or maybe scold him, he wasn’t sure. “Midoriya! That uniform does not align with the standard set by UA! I suggest you change immediately into the appropriate uniform.”

Izuku’s training uniform was the same as the rest but instead of blue and white he had black and green respectively. “Iida-kun, my quirk has a transformation aspect that breaks normal clothing, a special uniform was made for me using my own hair. Since it’s mostly black and green the school decided to keep it that way, since bleaching it would make the hair thinner and that could compromise the uniform’s integrity.” Nezu explained as much, Mirio didn’t face that same problem because his hair was blond and easier to dye.

“I see, I apologize for my intrusion!” Izuku has a feeling Iida will be doing that a lot, anyways he is changed and good to go.

“You might want to hurry up and not get lost, Aizawa sensei doesn’t tolerate tardiness!” He warned before getting out of there, he knew better than going against Aizawa’s orders, unless he was playing as Midori he could do whatever he wanted then.

As expected Izuku was the first to arrive, dual hair and ponytail followed shortly after, followed by some of the other students, eventually everyone made it. “It took most of you 10 minutes to get ready and find this place, I want you all to reduce that time in half by the end of the semester. Today we will be doing a quirk assessment test.” 

Once again Iida simply voiced his concerns instead of actually asking for a chance to talk. “Sensei, shouldn’t we be in orientation?”

Aizawa didn’t seem very interested in his question. “Here at UA teachers are free to give their class however they see fit, orientation is a waste of time and if you are hoping to be heroes that’s not something you can afford.” He explained before turning to his problem child. “Midoriya you placed first in the entrance exam correct?” 

If looks could kill Izuku would be six feet under with the way Bakugou is glaring at him. “Yes sensei.”

“Good, please stand in the circle.” Midoriya obeyed, his teacher throwing him a ball once he was in position. “Throw this ball as far as you can using your quirk however you want as long as you don’t leave the circle.”

Izuku pondered on it for a moment, his blasts were strong but it was likely the ball would get destroyed if hit by one of them, so he would have to work around it. He smiled before letting out a round of plasma shots each stronger than the last before throwing the ball, if he timed it correctly and he did, the  shock wave of each explosions should keep pushing it forward. He charged one last blast seeing how far the ball was before firing using that last blast to get the ball out of sight. “2,250 meters.” Aizawa announced showing the class the score, most let out sounds of surprise or excitement, Izuku just let his tail thump against the ground.

“This is going to be so fun!” He heard one of the girls said cheerfully and Izuku couldn’t help but cringe turning around to try and find that poor unfortunate soul.

“You really shouldn’t have said that.” Was the only thing Midoriya said before Aizawa took the reins of the situation.

“Fun? Is this how you are going to act for the next three years?” Aizawa said turning to the pink girl. “If you expect training to be a hero to be all fun and games you are severely mistaken, since none of you is taking this seriously I will have to raise up the stakes. Whoever gets the lower score will be expelled.” He was met by an outburst of complains from his new students.

“You the green one!” The pink girl said pointing at him. “You seem to know Aizawa sensei, he is joking right?”

Midoriya simply shook his head. “Not at all, in fact Aizawa sensei expelled his whole class last year.” There was a 50/50 chance Aizawa would actually expel the student who came in last, it depended how much potential said student showed. The class seemed to pale at his comment, realizing no one was safe.

“It’s our first day! This isn’t fair.” Oh Uraraka why did you have to speak up.

“Fair? Do you think tornados are fair? What about earthquakes or tsunamis? Life isn’t fair specially when you are a hero.” He knows that far too well. “Let’s stop wasting time complaining, the test begins now.”   

First it was the 50 meter dash, Izuku did particularly well on that test finishing in 2.85 seconds, he got a few weird looks when instead of positioning to run he began to fly in a small circle trying to give himself a bit more inertia. Then it was the grip strength, for this test Izuku did well but he did not claim first place that went to a guy with a lot of arms, Izuku found that quirk extremely intriguing but he could analyze at another time. The standing long jump wasn’t even a challenge since he can fly, but to be fair he did jump using his wings for extra impulse as well as gliding easily clearing the sandbox like many other students. 

The repeated side step was his most average, while he had much more control over his tail and wings every so often they would still get in the way, this being one of them tripping on his own tail. Izuku is sure he did well with the seated toe touch and sit ups, but some of his classmates seemed to have much more resistance than he did. During the distance run he tied with ponytail which he learned was named Yaoyorozu, the girl made a scooter that works with solar energy with her quirk while Izuku changed between running to flying and vice versa to let his legs or wings rest respectively.

Finally the other students had their turn at ball throw, something Izuku could sit out from. During the whole test he could hear Bakugou muttering about how ‘fucking Deku is cheating’ but Izuku’s attention was set on a different person, the small student with balls for hair. The whole test he has been making very uncomfortable and disgusting comments about the female classmates and their bodies, Izuku is not a violent person most of the time but this kid is pushing his limit, so when it was his turn to throw the ball he made him trip with his tail. “Sorry! I still have trouble controlling it sometimes!” The only reason he apologized was so Aizawa sensei wouldn’t call him out on it.

Ball kid just got up accepting his fake apology and he just smiled before turning at the girls giving them a small thumps up murmuring. “I won’t let him bother you.” Only the girl with earphones heard him, but she nodded and passed the message along. Izuku stood up to inform his teacher about the teen’s behavior, which Aizawa listened to carefully thinking his next course of action.

He displayed the scoreboard for everyone to see, Mineta Minoru had placed last and the teen was devastated and Izuku would feel slightly bad if he hadn’t said. “I can’t be expelled! How will I get the hot babes to come to me if I’m expelled?!” He truly hoped Aizawa sensei kept his word, but he did not.

“I lied, no one is getting expelled. It was a logical ruse so you all gave it your best.” All of the girls seemed to deflate at that, they would have to deal with the creep for a little longer. “However, I was made aware that Mineta has made comments that have made plenty of students uncomfortable. Mineta you are on very thin ice, one more complain about this and consider yourself expelled. Is that clear?” The kid nodded looking angrily at Midoriya, murmuring snitch under his breath, not that Izuku cared about his opinion.

Bakugou saw his name on the scoreboard if being forth angered him, seeing Deku above him in third place made him livid. He turned to the greenette stomping towards him with explosions on his hands.  “How did you do it Deku?!” Once again that nerd that should be quirkless outshined him, it wasn’t fair! He was the best! The only reason Deku did better was because he got special treatment from UA, he had to have cheated somehow that’s the only possible explanation.

You know it’s kind of funny, Izuku has gotten used to the sound of explosions considering he has heard them his whole life and that his quirk can produce them. He has never flinched at one of his own explosions and yet despite his progress sometimes he would still find himself flinching at Bakugou’s explosions, this was one of those times. The reaction didn’t go unnoticed by his teacher and another student.

Aizawa threw his capture weapon at Bakugou before he could reach his problem child, activating his quirk to stop the explosions. “Attacking another student outside from training is forbidden, UA has a very strict bullying policy. I would recommend you don’t try something like that again, whatever issue you have solve it outside  of the school.” After that, he let the blonde go, he merely glared before scoffing and leaving him alone, he knows that teacher and Deku have some sort of relationship that’s the only reason he protected that useless nerd.

After that Aizawa dismissed them, telling them to go back into the changing rooms and to get their syllabus from the classroom before they could leave. While Izuku disliked Mineta’s comments he could kind of understand that it could be the doing of hormones considering their age and what not, but saying or thinking things about their classmates was very different from doing something to them. “Guys look! A gift from past students!” Everyone turned to the short boy, noticing how he found a peephole behind a poster. 

“Mineta get away from that! It would be highly disrespectful to violate our classmates privacy like that!” Iida said doing a chopping motion with his arm, for once Izuku agreed with him.

Mineta on the other hand seemed completely unfazed by his scolding. “I can’t wait to see Yaoyorozu’s boobs! Or Ashido’s slim waist! Or Uraraka’s fine body!” He made a reach for the peephole, Midoriya getting in his way spreading one of his wings to block the peephole from sight, wincing slightly when he felt something stab his wing, the girl with earphones he assumed. Despite that he did not move.

“What do you think you are doing?! Do you have no respect for any of the girls?!” It was rare for Izuku to become so hostile, but he was raised by hard working woman who taught him respect for everyone around him. People who simply view women as objects to lust after makes his blood boil, he wouldn’t let anyone slide making comments that would make his mom so uncomfortable, same goes for any other girl. “They are not something for you to ogle at! They are people who are very uncomfortable by this and believe me when I say they are not the only ones!” Mineta backed up when he noticed Midoriya’s pupil’s slit.

“What is wrong with you man?! Don’t you want to see some hot babes too?!” Mineta was clearly scared about Izuku’s sudden change in demeanor, good.

“No, I don’t.” He growled, making sure to show his sharp canines. “You were lucky Aizawa sensei didn’t expel you for your tasteless comments, but he warned you about not getting more complains and yet this is the first thing you decide to do after he said that!”

“So what?! Are you going to snitch on me again?!” He said as if that was a bad thing or that would somehow persuade the greenette from saying something.

“I am and even if I didn’t Aizawa was very clear, one more complain is all that it takes and I believe there are six more complains that will be reaching him besides mine.” He was sure all of the girls would speak out about this, he grabbed Mineta by the collar of his uniform and dragged him along. “If any of you try something like that, I will find out.” He said with one last snarl towards the rest of the boys in the changing rooms,  while no one had seemed to join Mineta in his desire to look at the girls, he just wanted to make sure no one would try while he dealt with Mineta. He dragged the boy around the corridors, following the scent of coffee before reaching Aizawa.

The man lifted an eyebrow at his brat, Midoriya’s eyes and ears were telling enough that the boy was angry and the student he was dragging behind him seemed enough of an answer, Mineta spoke out before Midoriya got the chance to. “He is the one that tried to peep on the girls sensei! He is just trying to blame me for it!” 

Aizawa knew that was just a desperate attempt, he knew Midoriya the kid wouldn’t do anything like that, he also knew Inko and he knee that woman would’ve never raised someone who behaved like Mineta. “Is that so?” The kid nodded eagerly, Midoriya said nothing, he didn’t really have to. “So if I were to ask any of the other students, they would back up your story?” Mineta paled at that, maybe some of the boys could see his point of view and back him up, but he doubted the girls would.

“The girls didn’t hear any of it!” Mineta said in an attempt to increase his chances of success, that didn’t work out for him.

“Really? Because Jiro has a quirk that enhances her hearing, I’m very sure at least she would’ve heard what happened.”  Aizawa said, watching the smallest teenager try to struggle against Midoriya’s hold, he wasn’t very successful. “Mineta go to the principal’s office and wait for me there, if you try to sneak away you won’t only be expelled, I will personally make sure no other hero school accepts you.” That seemed enough of a threat to make the boy follow his command, Izuku finally letting go of his uniform. “Midoriya, follow me please.” Izuku just nodded, following after his teacher.

“Deep breaths problem child, your anger is showing.” He said pointing at Izuku’s whipping tail.

Izuku huffed but tried to take deep breaths. “I know it’s just! How can he just say things like that about the girls?! They’re more than just a body or a pretty face! It’s not fair!” He knew some heroines embrace that as part of their image such as Midnight or Mount Lady, but just because some heroines did that doesn’t mean every girl wants to be seen that way.

“I know that and I agree kid, it isn’t fair. But being angry won’t solve the issue, you did the right thing by bringing this to my attention when you heard the comments Mineta made and I assume you also stepped in when he tried to spy on them.” Izuku nodded. “By the lack of injuries I can  guess you didn’t get physical to stop him, that’s a good thing because otherwise you would also be in trouble.” Izuku hadn’t even thought about getting in trouble himself.  “This situation will be dealt with and I’m sorry to say we can’t change people’s points of view no matter how against them we are, what you can do is step up just like you did today when those views can affect others negatively. I know it doesn’t feel like you did enough or that you could’ve done more, but you did the right thing and handled the situation to the best of your ability, don’t beat yourself about it.” Izuku took one last breath, his tail finally calming down and his eyes returning to normal.

“Understood sensei.” Izuku felt so conflicted because this hit too close to home, before his quirk failed to manifest his mom was a slim woman everyone called pretty but after he was considered quirkless she gained weight due to her own stress and all the comments about how pretty she was faded away. Everyone would comment on how she should take better care of herself, about how that was the reason Hisashi hadn’t come back to her or why he left, they were diminishing her value as a person simply because she wasn’t pretty enough for them anymore. The worst came from his own father during one of their video calls, Izuku never told his mom he heard when his so called father humiliated her for her appearance, saying how he regretted ever getting with someone like her when she was so disgusting now, how he would vomit at the thought of having sex with her again before effectively cutting himself from their lives. Izuku heard his mom cry that night, hating herself for her looks and in that moment he swore he would never let another girl feel like that again just because of how they looked, their looks or sex appeal should never be what defines a woman. Inko filed for a divorce shortly after.

Father and son, I mean, teacher and student waited outside the girl’s changing room until they came out. “Girls, Midoriya informed me about what happened in the changing rooms. Since all of you are affected I would like you all to accompany me to the principal’s office so you can tell your side of the story.” The girls seemed somewhat surprised that something would be done about this.

“Sensei I thank you for your involvement, but I don’t feel comfortable being the reason someone gets expelled.” Yaoyorozu said being the first of the girls to speak up.

“None of you are the reason why Mineta is getting expelled, the only reason is his harassment against other students, that is not something we allow here. Normally the cameras around the school are enough to catch someone red handed, however, for privacy reasons the changing rooms do not have those. That is the only reason I am asking you to come with me to explain what happened.”  Aizawa explained calmly, none of the girls were in trouble for what happened, after all they did nothing wrong. With that explanation the girls followed their teacher.

“Um, Aizawa sensei.” Uraraka said. “Why is Midoriya coming with us?”

“Because he was directly involved with stopping Mineta from watching you, that and Mineta accused him of being the one trying to peep.” The girls seemed outraged at that, while they didn’t have Jiro’s hearing they were able to hear Midoriya’s angry screaming through the wall, he had defended all of them. “I know he didn’t do that, but the accusation was made and it has to be dealt with. I take it all of you are vouching for him?”  All of the girls agreed with that.

When they reached Nezu’s office Mineta was already sitting inside. “And here I thought this would be the first year you wouldn’t be expelling someone. Then again, it’s some sort of tradition at this point.” The principal looked at all the kids in his office, so much trouble on the first day. “Mineta here claims Midoriya tried to peep into the girl’s changing room and is trying to blame him for it.” Mineta seemed a little smug despite the immense disadvantage, that was until the principal spoke again. “You know I find that extremely odd since I’ve personally taught Midoriya for the past ten months and I have never received such a complain against him or noticed any behavior even remotely close to that”  Mineta paled at that, he was not counting on the principal being connected to the snitch.

“Well he is lying!” Mina said loudly glaring at the purple pervert, the girl’s agreeing with her.

“I heard the whole thing.” Jiro said. “Mineta found the peephole and told the rest of the boys, only Iida said something about it. Mineta said … things about our bodies before he tried to peep, Midoriya stepped in to stop him. I know because I accidentally stabbed him with my jack instead of Mineta.” She quickly turned to Izuku after saying that. “Sorry about that by the way.” Midoriya just gave her a thumbs up. “Anyways, Midoriya stood up for us he even warmed the rest of the boys not to try that while he wasn’t there, none of them did.” All the other girls and Midoriya himself backed up that version of the story.

“They are lying! They are all just banding against me to get me kicked out!” That was too desperate, Izuku almost felt sorry … no yeah actually he didn’t feel sorry at all, in his opinion Mineta can act even more pathetic if he wants.

“I highly doubt that a group of students that have known each other for less than a day would team up together just to target you, someone they’ve also have met for less than a day.” Nezu said taking a sip from his tea. “Girls, Midoriya and Aizawa, thank you very much for bringing this to my attention, I assure you these actions will not go unpunished and I will immediately start the paperwork for Mineta to be expelled.” The small boy complained, nobody really cared. “If something like this happens again, whether it’s a student from your class or another course, do let me know. While we pride ourselves in our specialized teaching, we also hold the integrity of our students in high regard. You may all leave now, Mineta you will stay here until your parents come pick you up.” The students walked out from the principal’s office, Aizawa staying behind to help the mammal with said paperwork and to keep an eye on the ex-student.

Uraraka gave Izuku a hug. “Thank so much for defending us Midoriya-kun!” Izuku’s tail thumped against the ground.

“No problem Uraraka-san.” He happily hugged her back.

“Yeah Midori-kun! That was awesome!” Mina said while giving him a thumbs up.

“While I’m not happy about someone getting expelled, I do thank you for having our back, it was very thoughtful of you.” Yaoyorozu added, the other girls giving similar opinions.

“You don’t have to thank me, it’s what anyone should’ve  done.” It was the right thing to do.

Jiro shrugged. “True, but still you were the one to actually do something.” The girls will not forget that besides Iida, the rest of the boys said nothing about what happened.

The group got their syllabus from the classroom before heading out. “Oh Midoriya wait!” Uraraka said while pulling out her phone. “I wanted to ask for your number since the entrance exam, but you fell asleep before I could get it!” 

“Ooh! We should all exchange numbers!! I will even make a group chat!!” Mina said pulling her phone out too, eventually they all exchanged numbers before saying their goodbyes.

After dealing with Mineta Aizawa headed to the teacher’s lounge, he hadn’t been able to set food in that office the whole day since Nezu hold him up in the morning and by the time he dismissed him it was already class time. He was going to make a beeline for the coffee machine when a box in his desk grabbed his attention, he came closer to it noticing a note on it.

“Mom didn’t like hearing you only eat jelly pouches and coffee at school, so she sends you lunch! 

-Brat =^•w•^= ”

Aizawa let out a small snort when he read who signed the note, taking it off the box and saving it in one of his drawers, unaware of the way the other teachers were staring at him. He opened the bento box to find onigiri in the shape of cat heads, if you blinked you would’ve missed the amused smile that appeared on his face before hiding in his capture scarf. It was almost too cute to eat, but it would be rude to return the box to Miss Midoriya with the food still in it so he sat down to review files on his computer while having a snack.

The rest of the teachers present went back to minding their business, but they were curious about who ‘brat’ is and why his mom would be sending Aizawa lunch. At first they thought some idiot tried to pull a prank but by Aizawa’s reaction that didn’t seem to be the case. The teachers can be noisy so of course they read the note while he was away, but that just confused them even more, why would some student’s mom send Aizawa lunch? Why did that student sign with brat instead of their name?  Eventually Mic reached the conclusion that his best friend is either dating the mom of a student or somehow managed to get married and have a kid without anyone knowing and now that kid is a student at UA, deciding to stay anonymous for whatever reason. Curiosity is a powerful thing and now the teacher’s are hell-bent on figuring out who this mystery brat is.

This will be a fun year.

Chapter Text

Izuku went home feeling a little tired after his emotional outburst, but he was happy he made a lot of new friends, more than he’s ever had before! He made sure to text Mirio all about it knowing the older boy was always eager to hear how his day went. School has kept both of them busy so they haven’t seen each other lately, but they can probably meet at lunch tomorrow or something, so it wasn’t too bad.

“How was your day honey?” His mom asked from the living room.

“I think it went well, I made a lot of new friends!” He said heading to his room so he could leave his backpack and change before joining his mom in the living room, she was watching some sort of soap opera.

“Well I’m glad, you can invite them over anytime. Just let me know in advance so I can prepare something for them.” Inko enjoyed very much whenever Togata, Nejire and Amajiki visited. While they were a little older than her son they were very kind to him, considering the very few experiences Izuku had with making friend this was a great improvement.

“I’ll think about it mom, we just met. But even then it’s a bit of a bigger group I don’t think we could all fit here comfortably.” It was easier to bring over three friends than it would be to bring six. “We could still go to the beach though.” That was a big enough place for them to have fun.

“That sounds lovely.” Inko said smiling at her baby, he struggled too much throughout his life because of something he couldn’t control, that hearing how much things had improved for him made her so happy. “Do you think Aizawa enjoyed his lunch? I might have overdone it with the shapes.” His son had told her Aizawa liked and had cats, so she thought it would be her little special touch.

“Well I wasn’t there by the time he ate it but I think he did. He loves your cooking anyways mom, even when it isn’t shaped like cute little cats.” That got a giggle out of his mom. 

“Oh I guess you are right.” Mother and son spend the rest of their afternoon together, during that time Inko received a message from Aizawa thanking her for the lunch, for whatever reason that message made her feel sort of warm.

Just like the day before Midoriya arrived early although this time he didn’t have to sneak into the teacher’s lounge for a little bit of mischief, however, arriving early had it’s perks. “There you are little buddy!” 

Izuku gasped in excitement before running through the halls to hug his very first friend. “MIRIO SENPAI!” 

Mirio hugged him tight lifting him off the ground, Izuku only giggled at that. “It’s good to see you too Izuku! Have you gotten taller?” As if he could get taller in so little time.

“Sure did!” Izuku said flying slightly off the ground perking up his ear nubs to appear slightly taller than Mirio, getting a laugh out of his senpai.

“Sir Nighteye would adore you! I’ll make sure to recommend you when you get your license!” Perhaps Mirio liked Izuku so much because they both had the same energy, most of the time anyways.

“I don’t need a recommendation, I can impress him myself.” The greenette said proudly, Mirio ruffled his hair.

“That’s the spirit!” Mirio always found it cute when Izuku would thump or wag his tail whenever he got excited, this being one of those cases. “Well I’m glad to see that you are doing well, hope you have an amazing second day little buddy. I’ll try to see you at lunch okay?” After Izuku nodded they waved at each other goodbye going to their respective classrooms.

All the girls said hello to him when they arrived before going to do their own thing. The boy with spiky red hair approached his desk. “Hey man, what you did for the girls yesterday was very manly! I feel kind of bad for not stepping in myself but it looked like you had it handled.” 

Uh, good to know at least someone else in class has basic decency. “Oh, yeah I just reacted on instinct? People like that guy just push my buttons.” 

“Yeah, I understand. I don’t know how I would’ve reacted if someone talked about my moms like that.” He said scratching the back of his neck. “Anyways, I’m Kirishima, nice to meet you dude.” Izuku expected a handshake, instead he got a fist bump and he reciprocated it.

“Midoriya and likewise.” It was weird for people to actually just be friendly towards him, sure people were a lot nicer to him after his quirks manifested and the news painted him as the next number 1 hero. But that fame had blown over by now, this was people actually interested in him for once.

After that Aizawa came in to give them homeroom and the rest of the classes weren’t all that exciting since they were just normal classes, such as history, math, science and their last class before lunch, english. That subject was taught by none other than Present Mic who more often than not stared at him but he didn’t say anything, not until the class ended. “Midoriya could you stay for a minute?” Izuku nodded not sure what this was about, his friends decided to head to the cafeteria so they could get a table. “Little listener I don’t know how Shouta roped you into the whole Midori prank but I have to admit, you did fool me.”

Now Izuku knows Aizawa and Nezu more or less gave the prank away when they reviewed his entrance exam BUT who says the fun has to end. “What do you mean?” He said slightly tilting his head to the side.

Yamada blinked slowly staring at the kid. “The prank is over kid, you don’t have to pretend anymore.” Maybe Aizawa’s personality was rubbing off on him or maybe he enjoyed messing with Mic a little too much, who knows.

“What prank?” Izuku was well aware his teacher had probably figured things out, but it was likely he didn’t know about Amajiki and he will use that to his favor for the sake of his entertainment.

“The Midori prank! Where you stayed transformed and pretended to be Aizawa’s cat!” There was no way this kid was playing dumb about all of that.

“I … never did that? I’m sorry sensei I think you might be confused, I don’t know what you are talking about.” He did his  best to look confused and play dumb, he had to sell this.

Yamada took a deep breath. “How can you not? I saw you training like that fake cat, you sneaked into the teacher’s lounge multiple times! You hissed at me!” 

“I would never hiss to a teacher, that would be disrespectful.” Oh he was itching to tell Aizawa about this. “I’m sorry if you got confused sensei and I would really like to help but I have hero training next and I really wouldn’t like to miss lunch before that. I hope you can figure out whatever this is about tho, see you later sensei.” He gave a small bow before heading out of the classroom, quickly pulling his phone to send Amajiki a text ‘I need a favor.’ followed by a text to Aizawa ‘I know how to keep the Midori joke going.’ After that he put his phone back in his pocket running off to lunch.

All the girls sat at a table, making a spot for him and surprisingly Iida then again they were the only ones to actually say and do something yesterday so they earned their trust. They chatted about nothing in particular, there was a lot of noise in the cafeteria which Izuku wasn’t excited about, despite that there was one conversation that caught his attention. “Aww man, it’s only been a day and he already has all of the girls?! That’s not fair!” He heard someone whine, a voice relatively familiar because he heard it in class, he turned to see the blond bolt boy complaining, he simply turned to look at him willingly slitting his pupils.

“Dude shut up, I think he heard you.” A guy with black hair said, the one with the tape quirk if Izuku remembers correctly.

“Uh?” Was the only thing bolt boy said before looking around realizing Midoriya was looking at him menacingly, he immediately went back to his food, Izuku didn’t hear him complain after that.

Finally, the time for the heroics class arrived and the class was bubbling with excitement about what they would be doing today, everyone talking about something different until the door slid open . “I AM HERE!” Oh, Izuku forgot All Might would be a teacher. “COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!” While the class exploded in cheers, comments and questions Izuku simply shrunk onto his desk trying to hide himself with his wings, he was not ready to see All Might after he crushed his dreams. “TODAY WE WILL BE DOING BATTLE TRAINING!” Izuku frowned under his wings, that didn’t sound right for a first class. 

“FOR THAT YOU WILL NEED THESE!” The number one hero pointed at a wall that opened up, showing 19 briefcases. “THESE ARE YOUR HERO COSTUMES! PLEASE GO CHANGE INTO THEM, ONCE YOU ARE DONE HEAD TO GROUND GAMMA!” Everyone followed the hero’s instructions, hurrying to pick up their respective briefcase before heading towards the changing rooms.

Izuku’s costume was good enough, although he was right about his scales not being enough for now. His costume has scales mostly along his upper chest and shoulder and some along his hips and upper thighs, this will do until he sheds again. Despite that it was a very flexible costume which allowed him to move comfortably, the company did give him some boots although they weren’t very thick and they stuck to his skin more like socks, at least they had a strong base, maybe he could request shock absorption for them with the support department.

Before heading to the training grounds he sent one last text to Aizawa. ‘Are we supposed to have battle training today?’ It’s not that he didn’t trust All Might and all but this seemed … odd, they don’t know each other’s quirks all that well yet, what limits their quirks have or how they should limit their quirk usage when used against an opponent, this was basically going in blind to a fight with little to no limitations. He took a deep breath, maybe he is over thinking it and All Might will address all of this before the class begins.

“Midoriya-kun! Your costume looks really cool! Mine isn’t so bad, but it feels a little tight.” Uraraka said pulling a bit at her costume, just like Izuku’s her costume was designed to stick to her skin.

 “We can probably bring that up with the support department, I was actually going to go later today, you can come with me if you want.”  Izuku kept looking at her costume, considering her no gravity quirk the space aesthetic seemed fitting, the problem came when he reached her boots. “You might want to get rid of those heels though.”

Uraraka looked at her boots. “What? Why? I think they looked really cute.”

“And they are cute, but they aren’t very … efficient? I mean as a hero you will be running after villains or what if you are called to a natural disaster? Like an avalanche or an earthquake, it’s going to be filled with rubble and your cute heels are going to become a liability because you can’t move in that terrain. That’s not even taking into account how easily you could twist or even break an a ankle just by running around.” He said going onto a little ramble as he normally would.

“Oh, I guess I never really thought about that.” Uraraka said thinking about everything that Midoriya had pointed out, he wasn’t exactly wrong. Izuku began to look around, noticing the costumes of his classmates and god did he have complains.

Todoroki’s costume was just plain awful, was his left size just covered in ice?? Iida was just wearing an armor and while that’s good for protection it doesn’t really make sense with his quirk, he is a speedster why would he wear a costume that just weights him down? And it doesn’t even look aerodynamic enough to make up for that weight! He really hoped Jiro and Kaminari had some sort of protective padding under their costumes, if not that was just a cool outfit they were wearing. Yaoyorozu seemed very uncomfortable in her costume and she was also wearing heels, while they were a lot smaller than Uraraka’s they were still a hazard. His eyes finally landed on Hagakure or more accurately on her floating gloves … please someone tell him that she has a DNA costume like him and that she isn’t actually naked. Surely All Might is going to address all of this issues right?

“WEAR THOSE COSTUMES WITH PRIDE YOUNG HEROES!” Apparently fucking not. “Today you will be battling in teams of two!” He said handing out earpieces to every student.

As usual Iida spoke up without asking for permission. “Sensei! How will we be split in pairs when we are an uneven number?” All Might blinked looking at the class of 19, weren’t they supposed to be 20?

“Ah, one of your classmates seems to be missing. Did they get lost?” Izuku took a deep breath, the number one hero is their teacher and he wasn’t even aware that someone got expelled.

“He got expelled for bad behavior sensei” Iida told him, All Might just looked conflicted at that, how can a young heroling be expelled already?

“I see ... well it would be unfair to make a team of three vs a team of two. But it also wouldn’t be fair to have a team of two go against a single person, unless someone wants to volunteer for that?” All Might said looking at his students, he was put in a position he didn’t really know how to handle.

“I’ll do it!” Both Bakugou and Midoriya said at the same time, Katsuki didn’t look happy that the fucking nerd thought he was on the same level as him, as if he could fight two people on his own.

“Uh?! Fuck off Deku! I’ll be the one fighting alone! I don’t need anyone to win!” Izuku saw this coming, it made sense that Katsuki would want to prove how strong he is on his own.

On the other hand Izuku wasn’t confident he could win a 2v1 fight, he had a different reason for wanting to be the only fighter. “Sensei, I think I should go alone because it wouldn’t be fair if I had a partner.” All Might looked at him confused. “If I had a partner, I wouldn’t be able to communicate with them. The earpieces you gave us aren’t really made for me.” He said showing the earpiece, it was clearly designed for human ears, there was no way he could adjust them to his nubs.

“I see, I apologize for this young Midoriya. I’ll make sure you have a proper earpiece for our next class, but you make a valid point. Since it would be unfair for your partner since you wouldn’t be able to communicate with one another, I’ll let you be the single fighter.” Bakugou glared at him after hearing that, he should be the one picked to fight alone because he is strong enough to do it, not because some lousy designed earpiece.

With that resolved Iida spoke up again. “Sensei! How will we decide the teams?!” 

“Well with this of course!” The hero said pulling a drawing lot filled with balls marked with letters of the alphabet.

“Sensei! Is this really the best way to create our teams?” Iida spoke up once again, this time however it was Yaoyorozu who answered.

“I think this is the best way to create our teams actually, a lot of the time you won’t have the chance to design your team on the battlefield. It is more likely that you will have to team up with whoever is at the site.” She explained, Izuku nodding at her words since he agreed with her.

“That is correct young Yaoyorozu! Most of the time you will have to think on the fly and work with heroes that you may know nothing about! Adaptability is a skill all of you must hone!” That’s the first thing All Might has said that Izuku agrees with. After that was solved All Might drew all the lots and defined what teams would be fighting against each other, of course  he would be teamed up against Katsuki, why did he ever expect anything else?

“Alright! The teams are divided into villains and heroes! The villains will get into the building where they will be tasked with hiding and protecting a fake bomb! The heroes will have to get into the building and either detain the villains with the capture tape or win by touching the bomb! If the villains capture both heroes or the time runs out then the villain team wins!” The instructions seemed easy enough, Izuku was already planning on how to deal with his situation.

For one he knew he was faster than Iida and Katsuki, but that was in open spaces which means an inside battle will limit his range and mobility not great. He has the advantage of flight which means he can check out the building from outside and find the bomb that way, but Bakugou was smart and has known him for years, like it or not the blonde knows that’s exactly what Izuku would do so they would probably hide the bomb in a room without windows. That reduces his search places but it’s still a big building, however, he has one advantage over them he has echolocation he could use it to easily wipe each floor in under a minute to find the bomb. The real problem was Katsuki, he knows damn well he took Izuku trying to fight alone as a challenge and he was enraged about the greenette being chosen over him and that means being targeted as soon as he sets foot in that building, he’ll cross that bridge when he gets there.

At their teacher’s command the teams began to enter the building and prepare for their battles Izuku and Yaoyorozu serving as analysts after every match, pointing out what was done right, what was done wrong, how they could’ve done better and of course who was the MVP of each round, it was nice having someone on his level of analysis.

Finally it was turn for Izuku’s match and he was honestly nervous because Katsuki has never held back before, but now he has a permission to go all out. While the students made it into the building Aizawa finally had time to check his phone, curious about a couple messages from his problem child, normally the kid just comes find him if something is wrong so it was probably nothing to worry about. The first message was about continuing the Midori prank which was interesting on it’s own, however, it was the second message that caught his attention.

‘Are we supposed to have battle training today?’

Aizawa frowned at that, no they should absolutely not be having battle training in their first heroics class, he didn’t think All Might was the smartest person in the world but even he couldn’t think it was a good idea to set overpowered teenagers lose against each other with no limits to said powers, especially when All Might had never seen them use those powers against other people. Aizawa shouldn’t be worried about this, All Might had to bring this up with Nezu and the principal had to approve it for him to give the class like that, if Nezu thought it was fine then Aizawa shouldn’t get involved. Then again, he was worried about Midoriya specifically, the kid has made a lot of improvement with his quirk and he knows how to use it logically, he knows his limits and strengths as well as his weaknesses and how to go around them, he made sure to make up for years of training in just ten months. The problem with Midoriya’s quirk is that he can’t make up for years of emotional training in so little time, the kid’s quirk manifested in a very stressful situation making him entirely hostile until danger went away, he has never been put into such a situation again which means no one knows how he will react if that happens. If the villain Midoriya attacked during his quirk manifestation had been anything else instead of sludge, Aizawa is sure the villain would be dead.

Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to check up on All Might’s class, if anyone asks he wants to be sure his class is safe with a teacher without experience. Aizawa doesn’t have favorites.

“Bakugou! We should really come up with a plan against Midoriya! From his analysis he must be a very good strategist!” Iida said trying to get his partner to work with him, but that only seemed to anger the blonde.

“Deku isn’t a fucking strategist! He is just a fucking nerd that mumbles a lot of shit and writes on his stalker notebooks! You want a plan?! Don’t get in the way and let me show Deku where he belongs!” Bakugou snapped at his teammate before walking out of the bomb room, he was going to find Deku, blow him to pieces and win without any help.

“Young Midoriya, you can go into the building now.” All Might said through the speakers in the city, Izuku took a deep breath before entering the building closing his eyes and roaring loudly. 

“What is he doing? Why would he give away his position like that?” Yaoyorozu murmured to herself, Izuku had proved to be as smart as she is with his analysis of every match, she couldn’t understand why he would do something so foolish.

Izuku let his nubs move, feeling every vibration trying to get the layout of the first floor, there didn’t seem to be anything or anyone here, with that he walked out of the building confusing everyone in the watch room. Midoriya took flight to reach the next floor, blasting a window to get in before roaring again with his eyes closed.

“Could he have some sort of echolocation?” Momo said a little louder for the rest of the class to hear, Midoriya’s quirk wasn’t something she ever saw before, it was certainly interesting. He seemed to have some bat aspects if she had to guess because of his wings, but his tail and ears didn’t match any bat that she knew of. 

Izuku didn’t found anything on this floor either so he moved to the next, exiting through the window and blasting the next one to get inside, this time he didn’t get the chance to roar. “You aren’t going to run away and hide this time? You really think you can face me Deku?!” Izuku knew facing Katsuki was inevitable, but he was going to try anyways, he ran straight at him and Katsuki was ready to meet him halfway but Izuku just ran past him. “You are the same coward after all aren’t you?!” Izuku ignored him, he didn’t have to engage he just had to reach the bomb.

Izuku was fast on flight, but he couldn’t take flight in close spaces a problem that Katsuki didn’t have using his explosions to reach him and tackle him. The greenette immediately covered himself with his wings before one of Bakugou’s explosions could reach him, opening his wings to push the blond off and regain his footing. He can’t run, his only option is to fight him head on. “I’m the coward? Last time I checked you were the ones picking fights with people who couldn’t even defend themselves. Now that’s what I would call a coward.” That was enough to make Katsuki come at him again, Izuku dodged his right hook, grabbing onto his arm and turning him over his back slamming him on the ground. “I’m not scared of you anymore, Kacchan.” It was weird hearing the once childish nickname used with so much hatred.

“You should be Deku!” Any explosion Katsuki sent his way, Izuku would deflect with his wings. “All you know how to do is how to hide and cower! I can’t believe UA would be interested in someone like you!”  Bakugou was still enraged that Deku had gotten especial training over him! Deku didn’t deserve that! He had to have cheated somehow and he had an idea of how that happened. “You know I can’t help but notice you and that hobo teacher seem close.” He saw the nerd’s eyes slit, so he is right about something, or even better he hit a nerve.

“Don’t talk about Aizawa sensei like that!” Izuku growled managing to land a punch on Katsuki.

“So there is something between you and the hobo!” Katsuki smiled knowing he had finally broken the walls Izuku build around him. “You’ve always been weak Deku, you’ve always gotten in the way, I can’t understand why anyone would be interested in you when you have nothing to offer.” They kept exchanging blows and so far Katsuki seemed to have the upper hand.

“Don’t talk about things that you don’t know anything about!” Izuku knew better than to let his emotions overwhelm him, but Aizawa saw his potential when no one else did, called him a hero when everyone crushed his dreams, guided him when everyone else was willing to look away, he owed that man a lot and he would not let Katsuki slander him.

“Then again I guess there’s one thing you can offer!” Katsuki was about to cross a line and he knew it, but he didn’t really care as long as Deku understood just how lowly he thought of him. “There is only one way you could’ve gotten someone from UA to give you especial treatment! You got on your knees and did that hobo a favor!” Katsuki said pulling a fist near his face moving it up and down, pushing his tongue against his cheek to make it bulge, the innuendo was very clear. 

Izuku saw red, Bakugou can say whatever he wants about him he doesn’t care, but he isn’t going to  let him say something so vile and disgusting about Aizawa, his teacher would never do that he wasn’t like … Izuku slightly shook his head to get that thought out of his head, he wasn’t dealing with that now. He landed a punch on Katsuki’s face with enough strength to push him back. “Struck a nerve Deku?! Are you finally taking me ser-” The air was pushed out of Katsuki when Izuku slammed his tail against his abdomen, he didn’t let Bakugou rest for a moment pouncing on him trying to scratch him with his claws, he was aiming for the face.

Katsuki got exactly what he wanted, he pissed Deku enough to give him a real fight, the problem? He couldn’t hit back at the speed Deku was coming at him, using his wings to block and push, his tail to land hits and mess with his footing, his claws to scratch anything he could reach. Hate it as he will Deku was gaining the upper hand fast, for the first time in his life Katsuki wasn’t sure he could win and he hated that. In a moment of desperation he threw a big explosion at Deku with enough force to send him flying into a wall, he saw him stand up again on all fours growling like an animal, his pupils constantly slitting and rounding, scales appearing and disappearing on his hands.

“You know how my quirk works Deku, this gauntlets are designed to collect my sweat during our whole fight.” Deku stared at him, Katsuki hoped he was listening.  “What do you think will happen when I pull the pin?”  Bakugou knew he would make an explosion much stronger than he has ever done before, and he was dying to try it out.

“Bakugou! Do not set off that explosion! It will kill him!” All Might said through Bakugou’s earpiece, Izuku’s nubs moving when he heard a new voice, but he still remained frozen in place, fighting an inner battle to keep control over his own body.

“He’ll be fine, if he dodges.” Katsuki pulled the pin. 

In that moment Aizawa walked into the room, his eyes widening at the footage on screen running at the control panel.

Izuku had a split second to react, he didn’t have enough time to get out of the way, he didn’t have anywhere to run and the heat was coming, so he gave in to his animal instincts, letting the dragon take control and do whatever it takes to survive.

Bakugou’s crazed smile fazed when he realized Izuku didn’t dodge, that nerd always dodged his attacks, why didn’t he move when he could actually die?

A black figure cut through the fire, the night fury passed through the explosion cocooning himself to take the worst of the blast before tackling Katsuki, rolling on the ground until he stood on top of the blonde, stepping on his arms making him unable to move away. The dragon opened his mouth charging an explosion far too close to Bakugou’s face, it was a point blank shot.

“MIDORIYA DON’T!” Aizawa’s voice blasted through the speakers, the dragon reacted to his voice, his ears perking up, the light in his mouth dying down. “Step down! Now!” Izuku’s pupils rounded, a sign that his humanity was back in control.

“Listen to your master Deku.” Katsuki just didn’t know when to shut up. Izuku’s pupils slit again, charging the blast once more.

“MIDORIYA!” This time Aizawa’s voice was not enough to stop him, Izuku fired just besides Katsuki’s head, close enough to feel the heat but not enough to burn him. After that he pressed harder on the blonde before roaring loudly in his face, the noise bounced all throughout the building, his nubs moving he finally found the bomb. 

Izuku got off Katsuki flying out of the hole made by the blonde’s explosion, he quickly maneuvered himself onto the floor with the bomb blasting the wall opened and darting inside, landing on the bomb before Iida could realize what had happened. All Might announced his win.

Katsuki would’ve been infuriated by that if he wasn’t so distracted by the molten concrete at the side of his head. His own explosions broke concrete but Deku’s managed to melt it, if Aizawa hadn’t called out to him that could’ve been his head.

After that mess All Might called them all back to the watch room, Aizawa has some choice words for the number one hero but that can come later. Midoriya had yet to transform back and that told him the kid was incredibly unstable, he doesn’t know what happened but he is going to figure it out. “Not you Midoriya, I want you in Nezu’s office. Now.” He saw the dragon shake his head in the cameras but he obeyed nonetheless.

“Sensei is Midoriya in trouble?” Uraraka asked coming close to him.

“Are you going to expel him too?!” Mina said joining her friend.

Aizawa took a deep breath looking at his students. “That will depend on what happened, I also need to hear Bakugou’s side of the story and review the footage. But what happened today can’t happen again with any of you, when a teacher gives you an order, you are expected to follow it. Is that clear?” All his students said yes to his questions and with that Aizawa left, snarling when he passed by All Might. “I’m dealing with you later.”

Aizawa walked to the principal’s office, Midoriya arrived shortly after still as a dragon. “Midoriya I need you to transform.” The dragon paced around the office grumbling still angry, he seemed far too animalistic.

“Aizawa, use your quirk on him.” The principal ordered and the teacher obeyed, Midoriya was forcefully switched back, the kid collapsed on the ground holding his head,  it felt like it was about to explode.

“Midoriya!” Aizawa immediately came to his side to check up on him. “Kid what’s wrong? I need you too talk to me.” 

“Give him a moment Aizawa.” The principal said calmly, he had his own suspicions about what happened.

It took a few minutes for Izuku to come back to himself. “Are you okay?” Aizawa asked softly, his previous anger about what happened faded away.

“I think so … what happened? Why am I in Nezu’s office?” He said standing up. Aizawa remembers that the kid had  memory loss the first time his quirk manifested, did it happen again?

“Midoriya, could you tell me what is the last thing you remember?” Nezu asked looking at his star student.

“I was fighting against Bakugou, he said something very … disgusting about Aizawa.” His pupil’s slit for a moment, Aizawa squeezed the kid’s hand to keep him grounded. “And I just got so angry I couldn’t stop myself … things are getting blurry there, I know he said more things to me, I think I remember All Might saying something that could kill me and then I just … I don’t know what I did next I just knew I had to survive.” Izuku felt like his mind was foggy.

“Kid you can’t let anger over whelm you like this, if I hadn’t called you when I did. What do you think would’ve happened?” Midoriya didn’t have an answer, he didn’t remember what he was doing.

“Sensei you don’t understand, I wasn’t lashing out because I was angry. It was as if my body was just moving on it’s own, like I was aware but not? It felt like I was just, just.” Izuku didn’t know how to explain it.

“Like you were just an animal?” Nezu prompted, Izuku gave a small nod. “I suspected as much, many people with animal quirks tend to fall victim to their own instincts. Most are mutants and can reign them in, but you Midoriya can transform fully into said animal in that moment those instincts take priority.” He explained calmly. “I am an animal, I more than anyone would know how hard it is to control instincts. Especially when an animal’s strongest instinct is to survive or to protect what is theirs, I believe that happened with you Midoriya.”

Izuku took a moment to absorb that information, it made sense. “Is there any way we can test this?”

Nezu nodded, bringing out the laser pointer and turning it on, Izuku’s pupils dilated but he didn’t chase after the pointer. “Normally when you are transformed you simply chase after it, but right now you aren’t. Do you want to chase it?”

“Yes.” Izuku answered still staring at the moving dot. “But I shouldn’t, right? Isn’t that the point of this?” Nezu nodded turning it off.

“In this form your human mindset has priority, while you can react to your instincts, you can also put a stop to them. Normally when you are transformed your human mindset still seems in control, considering you still understand us and easily communicate with us. But when an instinct is triggered in that form they take priority, be it for silly things as being playful or much more serious things like surviving or eliminating what you consider a threat.” Nezu explained to him before taking a sip of tea.

Those word seemed too specific. “Is Bakugou okay? Did I … Did I eliminate him?” Izuku heard when whatever Bakugou would do could kill him, he couldn’t imagine a bigger threat than that.

“No problem child, he is fine. But you almost did.” Aizawa was never one to sugarcoat things.

“… I almost killed someone?” Midoriya looked sick at that idea, he wants to be a hero, he wants to help people. How can he be a hero if he almost killed someone because he got too angry?

“Midoriya stay with me, you need to breathe kid.” Aizawa said grounding his problem child, the last thing the kid needed after what happened was to go through a panic attack.

“Midoriya, while this new development can be troublesome it was also something I was expecting. I am the perfect person to teach you about these instincts that control you. For the time being it would be good for you to have a mantra that could keep you grounded whenever you feel this change happening.” Nezu continued to be extremely calm about this situation, which was odd considering two students almost killed each other.

Izuku didn’t understand why Nezu didn’t say anything before if he was expecting something like this, but he simply nodded he didn’t have the energy to deal with this.

“Kid, what did Bakugou say about me that triggered you so badly?” Aizawa asked hoping to get some answers, Izuku just looked at the ground.

“I can’t repeat it … I don’t want to either.” Aizawa sighed at the response, he could still review the footage and figure it out there, but the fact that Midoriya was this reluctant to talk about it was concerning.

“That bad?” Izuku nodded. “Okay, you don’t have to tell me, I have other ways to find out.” Aizawa decided not to push for answers, it wasn’t worth it if he ended up triggering another lash out.

“Now then, Midoriya this time you get a pass for what happened considering your quirk situation and that it was mostly out of your control. Don’t let it happen again.” Izuku nodded at the principal’s words. “For Bakugou I will have to wait after reviewing the footage and talking with him before making a decision. For now Midoriya you can leave, if that headache persists please make sure to go with Recovery Girl. Considering the peculiar situation, you can go home if you feel like you need to.” The kid nodded once more before heading out to change back in his uniform.

Aizawa stayed in the office. “I hope you do something about All Might as well, he should’ve never gave them battle training on a first class! How you allowed that is beyond me!” Nezu allowed his worker to scold him, he wasn’t wrong.

“I apologize for that, when he suggested battle training I assumed he meant letting the students spar against one another. I was not aware he would do something like this, I won’t let this happen again.” Aizawa seemed satisfied by his answer and left, he still had to get Bakugou in that office to understand what had happened and more accurately what he said about him.
 

Chapter Text

Bakugou was back in the watch room hearing ponytail and All Might discuss his battle, he was angry when he heard that glasses was the MVP of the match because he did made a plan even if he didn’t get to execute it, even worse was hearing Deku was the second pick for an MVP because of how he used his abilities before losing control, leaving him  as the final choice. By the time the review was finished, the hobo walked back into the room. “Bakugou, go to Nezu’s office.” 

Bakugou frowned at that. “Uh? Why?” He hadn’t done anything wrong, this battles were meant for give to go all out which he did, why the hell would he need to go to the principal’s office?

“You disregarded a direct order from a teacher that put yourself and your classmates in danger.” Aizawa said still waiting for him to get moving. “I also know you made comments about me that we also need to address.” Ah, that’s what this was, he wanted to cover up whatever it is Katsuki dug out. The blonde tsked before heading out of the room, he could hear the extras come to their teacher to ask about what happened with Deku. “What happened with Midoriya is between the school and him, if he wants to tell you he will but for now leave him alone. What I can tell you is that he is not expelled.” With that Aizawa walked Bakugou to Nezu’s office.

“Ah Bakugou please take a seat, would you like some tea?” Katsuki sat down with his arms crossed shaking his head, he shouldn’t be here, he didn’t do anything wrong. “Very well, first I want to address why you disregarded All Might’s order. He is your teacher and his job is to guide you, he can’t exactly do that if you ignore him.”

“Because we were meant to fight without holding back and that’s exactly what I did. Besides Deku can take it.” That seemed logical in his head, the fight was for them to prove their power and strength plus Deku has always been able to handle what he does, it shouldn’t be any different now.

“Here at UA we do push our students to do their best, but that’s not what happened in this case. You were ordered to stop because your attack was too dangerous and it could’ve been lethal.” Nezu explained staring blankly at the blonde, trying to understand how his brain works.

“It’s fine, I know Deku would dodge. He always does.” But he didn’t dodge, a small voice in his head said, Katsuki just tried to push it down.

Nezu typed on his keyboard before showing the footage, projecting it on one of the walls. “It doesn’t look to me like Midoriya dodged at all, he jumped through the explosion. Had that been any other student they would’ve been caught in the blast.” They would’ve died went unsaid.

“Well yeah, but I wouldn’t use it on any of those extras.” They weren’t actively competing against him like Deku was. 

“Why is that?” The mouse asked, this seemed odd. So far Bakugou refused to acknowledge Midoriya by his given name, preferring to use an insult. His confidence about Midoriya being able to take the blast or dodge was concerning, how did he know that would happen?

“Because they aren’t worth my time.” Deku wasn’t worth it either, but he was a thorn that kept sticking to his side and he was desperate to get rid of it.

“Right.” Nezu said taking notes in his computer about the teenager’s behavior. “Well, despite whatever your thoughts on your classmates are, this is not something you can do just because you feel entitled to or because you think you are above them.”

Bakugou stood up at that, a small pop coming to life in his hand. “I am above all of them!” Aizawa quickly used his quirk on him to get rid of the explosions.

“Bakugou I would recommend that you sit back down and watch your tone. I don’t know how your past schools handled you, but you won’t get to do whatever you please here, there are rules to follow and if you think they don’t apply to you then you can say goodbye to the hero course.” Bakugou froze at that.

“What?” The principal wouldn’t kick him from UA just because he proved how strong he is, that was the whole point of getting into UA! To prove he was the best! “You can’t!”

Nezu raised a paw prompting Katsuki to be quiet. “I am the principal and this is my school, I can do whatever I see fit.” This kid crossed a line, he shouldn’t have ignored that order and his mindset was incredibly toxic. But, Nezu believed in change and second chances, for now Bakugou can remain in UA but that fact being questioned will hopefully make him think twice before acting. “I recognize your strength, I see your potential but you can’t see everything as a competition.” 

That didn’t make any sense, being a hero was a competition. “But it is, the hero rankings are there for reason, to prove who is the best and it will be me!”

Nezu hummed in response. “Being the best is a nice goal, but that’s not what a hero is being about and even if it was you are far from being the best.” That got the student to glare at him, but he didn’t interrupt. “Your power and technique is good, impressive even, but that isn’t enough to be the best hero. A hero needs to communicate, to work in teams, to help others but most importantly a hero must know when to draw the line and limit themselves. You have not proved to master or even be good at any of this skills, if you can’t do that how can you call yourself the best?”

Bullshit, he didn’t need any of that to be the best hero. “I don’t need to communicate or a fucking team! I’m enough to fight and win!” Everyone told him he was the perfect future number one hero, why does this rat think he can question that?!

“Oh really?” The projection showed Katsuki pinned down by the dragon, clearly unable to move no matter how much he struggled. “Because I don’t see you being enough to fight and win right there.” The mouse said with a smile on his face.

Katsuki was shaking with anger, how could a fucking rat dare question his strength, his power to win just because Deku got lucky. “That doesn’t count I was taken off guard.” He had expected Deku to jump out of a window or something, he didn’t know the nerd would tackle him.

“As a hero you will face many unknown enemies, how can you be the best if being taken off guard is all that it takes to beat you?” See Nezu would do this to any student stepping out of line, but this particular student messed with his shining star and unlike Aizawa Nezu does have favorites. “I don’t see the best hero in front of me at all. The only thing I see is a student that will be easily taken down the second he sets foot onto the field, all because his weakness is being taken by surprise.”

Katsuki stood up smacking his hand against the principal’s desk. “SHUT UP!” The rat merely stared at him, that annoying smile still plastered on his face. Aizawa wrapped his capture scarf around the teen after his outburst.

“And yet you show me another weakness, making you lose your temper was far too easy. That’s all a villain needs to do to distract you while someone else attacks you from behind. You are still failing to prove how your actions are justified because you are the best.” Nezu said making air quotes at that last part, that just made Katsuki angrier.

“I am the best!” He has heard it long enough to believe it, if the principal hears it long enough he might believe it too.

“Saying something doesn’t make it a reality. No one is born being the best, that is something you earn through hard work and so far you have done nothing to gain that title. You are as average as everyone else and that won’t change no matter how loud you scream you are the best.” If Nezu had to break this teen’s mind and ego then so be it.

“How dare you?!” Katsuki snarled still struggling against his teacher’s scarf, no one can ever question he is the best because that’s who he is! “Give me another chance and I will prove I am the best, pair me against whoever you want and I will win!” Nezu could do that, let the boy be humbled by losing over and over again, but he will save that for later in case Katsuki doesn’t improve.

“No.” It was that simple. “You don’t get whatever you want just because you demand it, your behavior has told me enough about you and you will no longer keep getting what you want no matter how loud you scream for it.” Nezu took a sip from his cup. “From what I’ve seen today I am ordering you to have counseling sessions with Hound Dog on a weekly basis to deal with that temperament as well as your current mentality.” Katsuki opened his mouth to argue but Nezu didn’t let him. “If you don’t accept that you are expelled!” Katsuki shut his mouth. “And about ignoring a direct order that could’ve had lethal consequences, you are suspended for a day. Take that time to reflect on what you did and why it was wrong.”

Bullshit, this was a load of fucking bullshit. He didn’t need some fucking counseling for his temperament he was perfectly fine like this! But not going would mean getting expelled and he can’t afford that so he will have to suck it up. The suspension was fucking stupid. “So what? Is Deku fucking suspended too? Because he tried to blow my face off!”

“Midoriya has already been dealt with, whatever I decided for him is none of your business.” Nezu said before changing the footage once more, this time when he was talking about Aizawa. “With that out of the way I would also like to address this.” 

The video started playing and Aizawa finally understood why Midoriya didn’t want to repeat what Bakugou said, even the teacher felt sick at the implications. Not only of him in that scenario with a child but also the fact that Bakugou told Midoriya that was his only worth, the only reason anyone would be interested in him or willing to help him.

“What of it? I wanted to get under his skin and I did.” Aizawa glared at the teenager.

“Do you have any idea of how serious the accusation you made is?” Aizawa said maintaining his monotone voice despite the anger he was feeling. Bakugou just shrugged his shoulders like this wasn’t important, like he didn’t just accuse Aizawa of a very serious crime.

Nezu has known Aizawa for many years, he was a student of his after all and he knew those accusations were false. He had cameras everywhere that supervised Izuku’s training with his teacher, there was never anything inappropriate going on, however, he has a duty as the principal to investigate this claims. “Is there any particular reason you said this? Anything you heard or saw?” 

Bakugou just rolled his eyes. “The nerd is close to the hobo, I saw him ruffling Deku’s hair the day of the entrance exam.” That’s it? Some sort of familiarity is all that it took? “Deku got all that especial training that I know for a fact Auntie can’t afford, how else did he pay for it? Bet he did the same for that tin tin ‘friend’ he has.” Aizawa would never murder a child, but he was close.

“Midoriya did not pay for any special training, it was offered to him for free because he needed it and it was offered here at UA due to the dangerous and destructive nature of his quirk.” Bakugou scoffed at that.

“I have a dangerous and destructive quirk, how come I was never offered any especial training?” So this is what this whole thing was about, jealousy. Katsuki was been under the spotlight his whole life, when that was suddenly taken from him he felt attacked and like he needed to get it back, by any means necessary including such distasteful comments.

“For starters you’ve had your quirk your whole life, it grew with you, which means you had time and restricted power to train it as you grew. Midoriya didn’t, he manifested with a proper power for his age but with the control of a toddler. He needed those classes, you do not.” That didn’t seem to be enough for Katsuki. “This isn’t UA favoring Midoriya for his strong quirk, that’s ridiculous anyone who makes it to the hero course has strong quirks. This was about offering the guidance needed, something done for every student and you don’t need it.”  Katsuki still didn’t seem convinced. “Whatever I say will not be enough for you, your perception can not be changed. But I will be clear about something, if this happens again I will expel you no second chances, the same goes for making this accusations without any proof just because you felt like it. Fake accusations like that are a crime by the way, so next time you might want to watch your tongue.”

Bakugou growled but nodded regardless. “Anything else?”

“Yes.” Aizawa said. “I don’t know what history you and Midoriya have, but this is not the first time you’ve targeted him. UA has a very strict no bullying policy, I don’t care what problem it is you two have it ends here. Personal problems can never affect your performance as a hero, understood?” Bakugou just nodded. “Good, you can leave now.” 

The blonde left slamming the door, he couldn’t believe the school was picking that useless nerd’s side when he was clearly the better option and on top of that he got suspended! He was going to show that fucking rat that he is the best and that he has no right to question his worth.

“We should really talk with Midoriya about the things Bakugou said, things like that are sensitive and serious.” The principal said once they were alone.

“You can’t possibly think I would ever-” Aizawa stopped talking  when Nezu raised a paw.

“I’ve known you long enough to know that is not something you would do, besides I have cameras and microphones everywhere, if anything even remotely close to that were to happen in my school I would know and it would be dealt with immediately.” He said reassuring the teacher. “I’m saying we should bring this up with Midoriya because that attack seemed very specific, not only that but his reaction was concerning.” Nezu fidgeted with his paws for a moment. “I really don’t want to think that Bakugou, rough around the edges as he may be, would use someone’s trauma against them in such a way. But I would rather be sure, perhaps getting Hound Dog involved would be good.’”

Aizawa shook his head. “No, this needs to be handled by you or me. Midoriya has trouble connecting with people in general, Togata has helped a lot with that aspect but even then, like you said this is a sensitive topic if something did happen he won’t tell a stranger he doesn’t trust.”  Aizawa trusted the kid’s friends as well, but that’s not a conversation they should be having.

“I believe it should be you then, I’ve gotten very close to Midoriya but I believe he trusts you more than me, besides despite being the most intelligent creature in the world, emotional intelligence isn’t my forte.” The principal was good at a variety of things, emotions wasn’t it. Aizawa wasn’t much better than he is but the teacher has had more experience comforting his students, especially after something traumatic. Aizawa simply nodded, sending a message to see if he was still in school grounds.

After his talk with Nezu Izuku decided to walk around campus in an attempt  to clear his mind, Bakugou’s taunts brought back some unwanted memories. Did he know? Did anyone else? But Izuku had made sure no one found out about it because in the end nothing actually happened, he got away and he was fine, this shouldn’t be affecting him the way it is.

Izuku stopped under a tree, a hand resting on the trunk of the tree while the other was gripping his shirt tightly, breathing hurts. Come on Izuku you can’t let this affect you, others had a much worse experience and you barely faced anything. He closed his eyes trying to push the memories away, but it just seemed that the more he tried to keep the thoughts out of his mind, the more repetitive they became. 

The only thing Izuku could hear was his own heartbeat getting louder by the second, he wasn’t going to cry about this again. He shouldn’t be crying, that man was in jail and Izuku no longer was that defenseless quirkless boy, so why? Why did remembering hurt so much? He pretended nothing happened for years, why can’t he do the same now? Izuku got startled when he felt a had on his shoulder, immediately opening his eyes and backing up, noticing a student with purple hair trying to talk to him, but Izuku couldn’t hear him. “What?” In that moment Izuku went his mind going blank, his body relaxing, his wings flopping behind him.

“I said that you need to calm down, take deep breaths, slowly. Whatever you are thinking of, stop.” Shinsou knew better than to get involved with strangers, but he knows what a panic attack is like, they aren’t pretty. “Sit down while you are at it.”  As expected the winged boy obeyed him, sitting down below the tree, Shinsou kept his control on the boy until his breathing was even.

Midoriya came back to himself slowly, blinking a few times before becoming aware of his own body and surroundings again. “What happened?” One moment he couldn’t breathe the next he was calmly sitting under a tree.

“You were having a panic attack, I used my quirk to help you calm down.” The tired teen in front of him said. “Feeling better?”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah, thanks.” He tried to remember what happened before his mind went blank. “Do you have some sort of touch based emotional or empathic quirk?” That’s the first thing Izuku could think of, besides quirk analysis was the best thing to keep his brain from unwanted thoughts.

Shinsou was confused by the question, it was a very weird change of topic, but he understood wanting to keep your mind away from the things that caused the attack in the first place. “No? How did you even reach that conclusion?”

“You touched my shoulder before I calmed down, but you were also talking to me, is it response based?” Izuku watched the purple haired boy’s eyes open slightly in surprise. “So it is response based, odd emotional or empathic quirks don’t tend to work like that, then again all sorts of mutation are happening nowadays so it isn’t impossible.”

Shinsou didn’t know what he was expecting when he decided to step in and help this boy, he was definitely not expecting him to guess his quirk. “It’s not emotional or anything like that.” He doesn’t like talking about his quirk, but it does seem to be helping him stay grounded or maybe distracted, either way it’s working.

“No? Maybe manipulation? Persuasion? Brainwashing?” That last one got a reaction out of the other boy, it was very small a twitch of his eyebrows but a reaction nonetheless. “Oh, so it’s brainwashing, that’s pretty cool. Thank you for using it on me.” 

Shinsou has heard many things about his quirk, but not a single person has called it cool, let alone thanked him for using it on them. “Are you serious? Aren’t you mad or even bothered I just controlled you like that?”

Midoriya just shrugged. “Not really, you helped me with it. I don’t think I could’ve calmed down by myself, so yeah thanks for that.” Before their little conversation could continue, Izuku got a message. “Ah, sorry I have to go. It was nice meeting you, hopefully I’ll see you around. Thanks again for helping me, your quirk is awesome!” The teen who just had a panic attack now had a smile plastered on his face whether it was real or not, Shinsou couldn’t tell.

“Uh.” Was the only thing Shinsou could say, his quirk was called many things before, a curse, something evil, something villainous but never something cool or awesome. He didn’t get into UA to make friends, but  he hoped the boy was right about seeing each other around.

Izuku hurried to the teacher’s lounge when he read Aizawa’s message, taking deep breaths and hoping his eyes weren’t puffy or red for almost having a breakdown. “Sensei, I’m here.”

Aizawa looked at him standing from his desk. “Follow me.” Izuku did as he was told, following after his not father figure to a different classroom in UA or so he thought. When Aizawa opened the door he was met with a room that had different couches, some bean bags and a few tables with fidget toys on them. “This is Hound Dog’s office, he is the school counselor and therapist, if you ever feel like you need any of his services you can come here.” 

“Oh, uh, thanks sensei, I’ll keep it in mind.” Midoriya really hoped that was all but it really wasn’t, Aizawa closed the door once the two of them were in.

“Kid I need to talk to you about what Bakugou said.” He didn’t miss the way his problem child tensed at that, gripping the strap of his backpack. “But before I do I want you to know that if you don’t want to answer that’s okay, I won’t push you to. If you don’t want to be here or if at any point it feels too much, you just have to say it and you can leave through that door I won’t stop you. But most importantly, whatever you say here, if you say anything at all, will stay here.” 

Izuku nodded, he considered bolting through the door immediately but he stayed. He already knows what he is going to ask about, he will have this conversation sooner or later, maybe the best thing he can do is rip it off like a band aid. He turned to face his teacher, he couldn’t find it in himself to look him in the eye.

Aizawa didn’t want to have this conversation with his kid or any kid for that matter. “Midoriya, what Bakugou said to you was something very sensitive and Nezu believes it was also targeted to hurt you. So I have to ask, did you ever experience anything like what Bakugou implied?” For a good minute the kid stayed silent completely still and then Aizawa saw it, Izuku gave a slow and hesitant nod. Oh kid. “Do you want to talk about that?”

Izuku didn’t answer for a while, fidgeting with the strap of his backpack. “I don’t know.” He kept it a secret for so long and he was fine like that, but then Bakugou brought something up and then he wasn’t fine anymore. Izuku wasn’t sure if talking about it would fix it or just make things worse.

“It’s okay not to know, if you figure it out I will listen to you and if you don’t want to talk to me you can come to Hound Dog, he will help you.”  He was giving the kid space and options for when he felt ready to open up about what happened.

Izuku nodded again heading for the door wanting nothing more than to leave, get in to his bed and pretend the world didn’t actually exist for a while, but when his hand reached for the doorknob he hesitated. His mind was fighting itself on whether it was a good idea or not to speak up, so far Aizawa kept his word, he wasn’t pushing for answers, he was letting him leave because he wanted to leave, if all that is true then anything he says staying in the room must also be true. Izuku’s hand fell back to his side. “I was twelve.” 

Izuku didn’t feel ready, then again he was never going to feel ready was he? “I was still quirkless, at the time I used to get bad grades all the time because the teachers thought it was fun to pick on me. Some of them wanted money to give me a passing grade, others wanted me to run errands for them things like that. So when one of them asked me to stay after school I didn’t think much of it, that was the usual for me.”  Deep breaths in and out. “So I stayed, Mr. Kimoi waited until the school was empty before trying to do anything, he told me to come closer to his desk and I did.” Despite his best efforts to pretend that never happened, to forget that day existed, he remembered it all too well.

“All teachers had been mean to me, even him, but suddenly it was as if he cared about me, saying he knew just how smart I was, that it was a shame my grades were so low, but that he wanted to help me, all I had to do was do him a favor.” Izuku doesn’t know why he let out a bitter laugh. “I was twelve, I thought he meant getting him groceries, cleaning the classroom, maybe fetching a package for him. I didn’t understand what he was actually implying so I agreed.” Aizawa noticed the kid shaking, he knew Midoriya found comfort in hugs or holding onto someone, but he wasn’t sure if that would work right now.

“He got up from his desk and came closer to me, before I knew it I was cornered against his desk and … and he was on me.” Izuku tried not to think about the ghost feeling of hands over his body. “I didn’t like it, I wanted to push him away but I just froze, I was so scared and I just couldn’t move, he was happy about that.” He didn’t care about the tears falling from his eyes. “That’s the day I discovered that apparently, despite how much society hates us, there’s a fetish for quirkless people, because we were just so weak, fragile and easy to manhandle. He said that I was perfect for his fantasies and that he wanted to have me for the longest time, that as long as I obeyed him I would never fail his class.” Repeating what that man had told him left a bitter taste in his mouth, he also felt nauseous.

“He whispered in my ear that since I was being so good that he would be gentle, that all I had to do was get on my knees, open my pretty mouth and he would do the rest. That if I did a good enough job, we could do something  different next time.” He was sobbing now, rubbing his eyes to wipe the tears away. “When he tried to push me down it was like I was finally in control of myself again, I panicked. I managed to head-butt him right on the nose, I kneed him and I ran. He screamed something but I didn’t listen, I just had to get away and I did.”

“After that day I was the last to arrive to his class and the first one to leave, the days he would ask me to stay I would make Kacchan angry on purpose because I knew he would wait for me if only to get back at me. Whatever he could do to me was better than being alone with Mr. Kimoi again.” Izuku was trying to calm himself down, but he just couldn’t. “Two months later a girl a couple years older than me spoke up about a similar experience with him, many more followed and just like that the school finally did something. He was gone.”  Finally, he turned back to Aizawa, who still kept his distance, knowing it was better to give him space, Izuku still couldn’t look him in the eye.

“I heard the story of every single girl he went after, did you know all of them had minor quirks? One of them could change the color of her eyes at will, another had slightly better hearing than average, one could locate any object if she had seen it before in a room. Every single one of the girls he went after was the closest thing to a quirkless person he could find, until he found me.”  Midoriya said sniffling, feeling guilty about being so shaken by his experience.

“Kid, have you told this to anyone before?” In response the kid let out a loud yet bitter and watery laugh.

“Who would’ve listened?! I was just the quirkless kid desperate for attention! Being the only boy he went after didn’t help! No one would believe me! The only one that would was mom and she was already so overwhelmed with having to take care of me that I just couldn’t put more stress on her!” Aizawa wasn’t sure the kid was aware of how much he was raising his voice. “The worst part is that I was the lucky one! I’m the one that got away! I’m the one who wasn’t hurt! And I still feel so! So!” His tail wrapped around his legs, his wings trying to cover him, shield him when he felt so vulnerable. “Everyone else had it so much worse and I don’t … I don’t have the right to feel bad, to be so affected when nothing happened to me.”

“Midoriya can you look at me?” The teen didn’t move. “Izuku, please.” Midoriya still hesitated but finally managed to look him in the eye. “Just because someone experienced something worse, it doesn’t mean that your experience didn’t happen or that it isn’t valid. Something did happen to you, if nothing happened then you wouldn’t be dealing with all of those conflicted emotions.”  Izuku kept looking at him unsure of how to deal with all that he was suddenly feeling. “Someone tried to hurt you, the fact that they didn’t succeed doesn’t cancel out the fact that he tried to hurt you. It’s okay to feel scared or overwhelmed or insecure or any other emotion you are going through right now, because you went through something no one should ever go through.” With that the kid finally rushed into him, hugging him and seeking comfort not only because Aizawa meant safety, but because Aizawa had believed him and he didn’t judge how he felt.

Aizawa simply rubbed the kid’s back letting him cry it all out, Midoriya had kept his experience quiet for two years, he guilt tripped himself because he didn’t think he deserved to feel bad about what happened. This was the first time he had actually gotten a chance to process what happened to him and Aizawa wished it had been out of his own volition rather than triggered by one of his classmate’s words.

Midoriya eventually pulled away, rubbing his eyes. “Thank you … you know, for listening.” Izuku was ready to leave after all that, but there was one last thing. “Please don’t tell mom about this. I know this is serious and that she should know but, so much has changed, things have gotten better and she just looks so happy. I don’t want to ruin that for her.” 

Aizawa did agree Inko should know, but it is not his place to tell her. “Problem child when I said anything you said in here stays here I meant it. Unless you are in immediate danger I have no obligation to speak to your mother. Besides that’s not my story to tell.” Izuku felt relieved at that. “If you ever feel too overwhelmed again or if you want to speak of this again, Hound Dog will be more than happy to help. I know you trust me but I don’t have the skills needed to help you deal with this on the long run, he does.”

Izuku didn’t know how he felt about opening up again about it, to a stranger no less but if Aizawa said he could help he can at least consider it. “I’ll think about it sensei.”

“That’s good enough for me. You had a rough day kid, go home and take it easy would you?” Izuku nodded, a smile appearing back on his face, it wasn’t as bright as usual but it was better than nothing.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He gave a small bow before leaving. Aizawa watched the greenette leave before heading out of the office himself, he still had to rip All Might apart for doing something so idiotic and for doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING when things had clearly crossed a line. Besides he still had something to settle with the number one hero for crushing his brat’s dream.

Izuku pulled his phone to tell Uraraka he wouldn’t be able to accompany her to the support department today only to find himself in a new group chat called ‘GIRL POWER plus Midori’ in the group chat there were plenty of messages asking how his talk with Aizawa went or if he was okay, even if they could do something for him.

Izuku’s smile got a little wider at that, today had been awful because he was forced to remember something he would rather forget, for a moment he remembered how it felt to be that lonely quirkless boy. Then again, he isn’t that boy anymore, he has friends that care for him, people in his life that support him and now he has the power to defend himself from anything that tried to hurt him. 

He still has a long way to go but there is one thing he is certain about, he will use this power to make sure no one has to feel like that lonely little boy ever again.

Chapter Text

Aizawa waited until most students had left before heading into the teacher longue, he still had to give hell to the number one hero before he can call it a day. “I want everyone who isn’t All Might out of this room in the next 15 seconds.”

All the other teachers winced at that. “Jeez, I haven’t seen him that murderous in a while. What did you do?” Mic murmured before heading out like the rest of the teachers, they knew better than to stay and get caught in the crossfire.

“Aizawa, is this about my class?” Toshinori asked sounding a little nervous, he is the number one hero who looked death in the eye and survived, despite that he still feels in danger in Aizawa’s presence.

“Let’s get one thing straight. That is not your class it’s mine, you only happen to teach them for a period. How it took you an hour to fuck up to such a degree is beyond me!” Aizawa doesn’t know why Nezu allowed him to teach at UA when the moron doesn’t even have a teaching license.

“That seems a little harsh, it was my first class.” Toshinori said from his seat, he has never been a teacher before he was bound to make mistakes.

“You are right, it was your first class.” Aizawa said with fake sympathy. “Considering it was your first class, I want to understand how you reached the conclusion that making these super powered teenagers fight each other with no restrains was a good idea for a first class.”

“Well, that’s how I do things.” Aizawa raised an eyebrow expecting him to continue. “I always run headfirst to fight crime giving it my all! These students are training to be the next generation of heroes, they must be prepared to do what I do without hesitation!” Toshinori said proudly, even buffing up for a moment.

You can’t murder the number one hero, Japan needs him. “That decision almost ends up in two students murdering each other.” All Might deflated at that. “This decision is your first and I truly hope last mistake as a teacher, you can’t just teach them how to do things your way because none of them is the next All Might! And none of them have your quirk!” Yet Toshinori thought. “Your job as a teacher is to understand their quirks and guide them into becoming the best hero they can according to their abilities, not your own. Did you even know the student’s quirks before you started your lesson?”

Toshinori knew his answer was just going to make Aizawa even angrier. “Well I knew young Midoriya’s and um.” Yes he didn’t exactly look into anyone else, he was already interested in that boy ever since he witnessed his quirk awakening, he had the energy and the heart to be a hero, he might even be a worthy successor which is why he paid special attention to him.

Of course it was Midoriya, who else. “Just one?” This was unbelievable. “Why Midoriya? Is he familiar to you?” He was also going to take the chance to destroy him for crushing his kid’s dream, he just wanted to see if All Might at the very least remembered him and what he did.

“Yes, we’ve met before. He has great potential to become a great hero.” Apparently that was the wrong thing to say.

“Really? Because that’s not how he remembers it.” Toshinori tried to made sense of Aizawa’s words and it finally dawned on him, his coworker knew of his encounter with Midoriya.

“I did not know he spoke with you about that.” Toshinori found that odd, the students had only had classes for two days, he didn’t know why Midoriya would just tell a teacher he barely knows about an experience he had a year ago.

“Well he did, he told me about the time he met his favorite hero and asked him if he could be a hero even without a quirk. Mind reminding me what your answer was?” Toshinori had a feeling no matter what he said this was going to end badly for him.

“Look I understand telling him no and leaving him alone on that rooftop was a little cruel but-” Aizawa was angry before, but now? He was livid.

“YOU LEFT HIM WHERE?!” Aizawa’s scream could’ve rivaled Present Mic’s, his quirk flared on instinct glaring at the number one hero. “Let me get this straight, this quirkless kid who idolizes you asks if he can be a hero, you decide to crush all his hopes and dreams by telling him that he can’t be a hero and you just left him on top of a building?!” He asked pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I know how that looks but please let me explain. Young Midoriya was attacked by a villain that I saved him from, he needed to ask me something but I was running out of time and I couldn’t stay, and then he latched onto my leg as I took off!” Aizawa would really like to be surprised but that sounds exactly like something his brat would do. “I told him to get off but it was to dangerous to do so midair, so I landed on the closest building. He asked me about being a quirkless hero and by then I had ran out of time, so I explained him that he couldn’t be a hero and that he had to be more realistic, look at how I ended with a strong quirk, there was nothing he could do without one. After that I told him to ask for help with the people in the building before I left.” Once again Aizawa had to remind himself Japan needed the number one hero and that he couldn’t murder him on sight for being the most idiotic person he has ever come across.

“I’m still waiting for the part of the story where you take him to the police station to get his statement or even better get him medical attention after being attacked.” All Might’s silence was so loud. “Wait, a child got attacked by a villain and you didn’t take him to a hospital? Or even call for paramedics?!”

“He seemed fine and he didn’t seem hurt!” All Might said trying to defend himself, but honestly he didn’t have the time to get the kid proper help after an attack.

“He could’ve been in shock! Or the adrenaline could’ve blocked out the pain! You do not leave a victim alone and without medical help after a villain attack!” He knew the number one hero was known for his speed when dealing with Villains but that doesn’t justify his incompetence when dealing with victims, smiling and saying I am here doesn’t make everything magically okay.

“I know that! But I didn’t have the time to spare!” Toshinori knows protocol but he just couldn’t do that at the time. “Young Midoriya was fine, so fine in fact that he ended up fighting the same villain that attacked him later that day, which ended up manifesting his quirk! If anything I did him a favor!” His kid can’t ever catch a break can he?

Aizawa didn’t even know where to begin reprimanding the alleged adult he was forced to work with. “Let me recap this, first, you told a random teenager about your condition, which mind you is a national secret, and you didn’t think it was dangerous? What if that wasn’t Midoriya? What if it had been a villain? Or someone that didn’t care about keeping it secret!?” Toshinori wanted to defend himself, Aizawa didn’t let him. “Second, you knew this kid was quirkless and you didn’t care about crushing his one dream and then you left him alone on a rooftop. Do you have ANY idea of the discrimination quirkless people suffer? You could’ve been the last hope he had in this world! Did you even stop to think about what he could’ve done after you left him ON A ROOFTOP?!” Aizawa now knows that apart from getting his dreams crushed Izuku was also dealing with survivors guilt, if the kid wasn’t as strong as he is, he could’ve jumped. “And third! Someone quirkless can be a hero.”

“… I can understand why this upsets you, at the time I didn’t consider that but my point still remains, I do not believe someone quirkless can be a hero. They do not have a quirk to protect themselves with, they will die as soon as they set foot on the field.” Aizawa was very close to strangling Toshinori with his scarf.

“I’m a quirkless hero, I’ve been a hero for more than ten years and I’m still pretty much alive.” Toshinori frowned at that.

“You are not quirkless Aizawa.” He knew his coworker had a quirk that canceled other quirks, what was this nonsense about being a quirkless hero?

“Oh I’m aware, but I fight as a quirkless hero because I don’t have any enhancements like you. The only thing my quirk does is even out the playing field and that doesn’t even work on mutations, that has yet to stop me.” Aizawa snarled. “Or what about Sir Nighteye? He uses his intellect and strategies to fight, he does not use a quirk because his quirk is not equipped for fighting, but that hasn’t stopped him either has it? Are you going to tell him or me that we suddenly can’t be heroes? All because you think we aren’t capable?”

“No of course not! You are both very efficient heroes that have a quirk to aid them!” All Might still doesn’t understand why he is wrong.

“You are right, our quirk aids us we don’t depend on it like you. Someone quirkless may not have a quirk to aid them, but just like Sir Nighteye they can improve their strategic skills to stop a villain or they could get support gear like me to make it easier to fight.” Toshinori did not like that Aizawa was right, someone quirkless could do all of that.

“I am sorry if I offended you.” Was all that the hero could say.

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” Aizawa took a deep breath before continuing. “I don’t want what happened with my class today to happen ever again, your neglect as a teacher put them at risk and if that happens again so help me I’ll find a way to make Nezu fire you.” That being said Aizawa just left, someone should really pray for the villains that will cross Eraserhead during his patrol tonight because they are getting the wrath he didn’t unleash onto All Might.

Meanwhile at the Midoriya’s household, Izuku got home from school making the effort to smile for his mom and yet she knew something wasn’t right. “Izuku, baby, did something happen at school today?” That woman doesn’t miss a thing, she learned that not bringing things up in the past only hurt her son. She won’t make that mistake again.

“Yeah.” Izuku really doesn’t want to talk about this, he isn’t ready. “There was a problem with Bakugou, but don’t worry the school dealt with him. UA is nothing like Aldera, they don’t ignore things.” They addressed every red flag they saw, even if that ended up with him in a breakdown and opening up about something he was trying to forget.

“That’s good … would you like to talk about it?” Izuku knows he should tell his mom, that woman has done so much for him, she deserves to know and yet he also thinks his mom is better off without knowing.

“I’m not sure mom.” Inko wanted to help her son, she just isn’t sure how.

“I know you don’t want me to, but I can still talk with Mitsuki about this. I’m sure that if we explain everything, she will do something to stop or at the very least correct her son.” Her best friend would always listen.

“Thanks mom, but…” Izuku knows his mom hopes things could be like they used to, the time where their families were one, sometimes Izuku wishes that too. “If there is one thing I learned dealing with Katsuki, is that you can’t change someone who doesn’t think they’re broken. All you can do is leave.” Izuku tried for the longest time to reach out to the Kacchan he knew, but that’s not his job, if Katsuki wanted to change or if he even felt sorry then it’s his job to make up for what he’s done. “We could tell auntie but as long as Katsuki doesn’t recognize that he is wrong, nothing will ever change.”

Inko doesn’t know when her baby became so mature. “I understand that … is there anything I could do to make you feel better?” Izuku needs time to open up about whatever happened today and that’s okay, she can still help.

“A distraction would be nice.” Ever since Bakugou taunted him, his mind has been so loud. Talking with Aizawa sensei helped it quiet down a lot, but the annoying whispers were still there.

“That I can do, I think you deserve Katsudon after such a long day, wanna help me make it?” Inko smiled softly at her son.

“I’d like that mom.” There were a lot of bad things in Izuku’s life, but his mom is the one thing that will always be good.

The next morning came faster than expected, Izuku didn’t feel rested and considering the emotional wreck yesterday was that makes a lot of sense, despite that he still had to get up and ready for school. On his way to school a certain brunette caught up to him. “Midoriya-kun! I didn’t see you yesterday after All Might’s class, is everything alright?”

Izuku smiled at his friend. “Everything is fine, I just needed some alone time. Sorry for worrying you.”

Uraraka seemed relieved at that. “It’s okay, I’m glad everything turned out well in the end. Although I’m curious, what did Bakugou said that made you so angry? We couldn’t really listen to anything.” Izuku stopped death in his tracks, he got so overwhelmed about yesterday that he didn’t even consider the rest of the class hearing Bakugou’s taunts and sure they didn’t hear him, but they could see him and the innuendo he made. “Midoriya-kun?”

The girl calling out his name cause him to snap back into reality. “I … sorry Uraraka-san, but that’s not really something I want to talk about, Bakugou knew me before UA and he said something very personal.” A part of him still wants to confront Bakugou, ask if he knew about what happened in Aldera and at the same time he didn’t want to risk letting him know so he could use it against him again.

Uraraka looked embarrassed. “Sorry, I didn’t know!” She wouldn’t have asked if she knew it was something personal, so she quickly changed the topic. “How did you manage to look so scary as a dragon? The last time I saw you like that you looked so cute! Like a horse sized puppy.” Uh, puppy is a new one and a horse sounds kind of small compared to the dragon, then again Recovery girl did call him a pony at some point.

“Ah, my anger played into that I guess. I talked with Nezu about that actually, apparently when I’m transformed my brain can make me react more animalistic? Since I saw Bakugou as a threat I became defensive so I looked scary. But with you I wanted to make you feel safe so I looked cuter, like a puppy.” He really needs to figure out this whole animal mind thing, it’s still confusing and yet it makes a surprisingly amount of sense.

“Uh, do you think the same happens with Tokoyami? He does have a bird head.” A part of her really wanted to throw breadcrumbs on the ground to see if he would try to eat them, but it seemed a little mean.

“Maybe, depends on how deep the mutation affects him.” Before Izuku could get the chance to rant he noticed the mob of people in front of UA, he recognized them because this happened right outside his house, reporters or as Aizawa would call them vultures.

“More students are coming!” And just like that the mob was onto them, Midoriya instinctively stretched his wings to cover Uraraka and hopefully keep them back.

“Uraraka believe me when I say you don’t want to deal with them, do you want me to carry you inside?” Izuku offered trying to keep the sea of reporters away.

“Uh?” These people surrounded them way too fast, the amount of cameras, microphones and flashes were disorientating. “Yes?” She didn’t really hear Izuku but she knew he asked her something.

Izuku quickly carried her like a princess before pushing the press away and taking off quickly taking them to the other side of the barrier, Izuku could hear them yelling at them about having All Might as a teacher and wanting a statement, so that’s what this was about. He gently put Uraraka back down, she seemed a little dazed. “Are you alright? I know those flashes can get blinding.” Something he learned during his week as a celebrity.

“Yeah, yeah everything’s fine!” Uraraka was a little flustered about being carried like that so easily, that was way different from the way he carried her into the entrance exam or the ride he gave her on his back. “We should hurry up if we don’t want to be late!” With that he ran off leaving a confused Izuku behind.

Izuku didn’t really know why Uraraka ran off so suddenly, he didn’t think it was that late yet. “Okay?” He said mostly to himself before going after her, hopefully the staff will deal with the reporters soon.

When Izuku arrived to class he was welcomed by his new group of friends. “Midori! You are alive!” Mina said getting up from her desk to give him a hug, it was still weird for Izuku to have friends that would just hug him like this, then again he is incredibly touch starved so he isn’t complaining.

“Yup, you are still stuck with me!” That got a laugh out of the pink girl.

“That’s the spirit!” Uraraka arrived before Izuku, letting the other girls know not to bring up whatever Bakugou said during the exercise because it was personal, they didn’t need to be told twice.

All the girls seemed to be near Yaoyorozu’s desk chatting and of course he was dragged into it, they weren’t talking about anything particular and Izuku was happy to listen until Aizawa arrived to class, which he did later than usual.

Aizawa waited for everyone to be in their seats, it took them less time than yesterday. “I apologize for the delay, I had to keep the vultures away from the campus. With that out of the way I would also like to apologize for All Might’s class yesterday, you shouldn’t be facing each other head on so early, as you all saw fighting with no limits can become very dangerous very fast.” Everyone saw Bakugou trying to kill Midoriya and vice versa. “Today we will be selecting the class president.” Aizawa saw Kaminari raise his hand. “Yes?”

“Did Bakugou get expelled?” What? He was curious! He was pretty sure everyone else was asking themselves the same thing when they saw the empty desk.

Midoriya looked at the empty desk in front of him, he hadn’t even noticed Bakugou just wasn’t there and then he felt dread, did Bakugou get expelled because of him? Sure he is angry at what he did and said but he could still be an amazing hero if he got the right help, which he wouldn’t get if he was expelled.

“No he is not.” Aizawa replied. “He got suspended for his behavior, may this be a lesson to all of you that having a strong quirk doesn’t mean you can do whatever you please, there are rules that must be followed. Now hurry up and pick your class representative, we still have other things to do for homeroom.” With that Aizawa zipped himself into his sleeping bag and promptly laid on the ground, he will take a nap while these kids fight for power.

Izuku was relieved that Bakugou wasn’t expelled and then he felt confused about that, he did not want to deal with those feelings thankfully his loud classmates claiming they wanted to be president were enough to distract him.

“Everyone please cease this nonsensical screaming match! This is no way to pick a class president! I suggest we all vote for who we think would be the best option!” Iida said hoping to reign in the class.

“Wouldn’t everyone just vote for themselves?” Tsuyu pointed out.

“Then whoever gets most votes will prove to have earned our trust in such little time!” Everyone seemed to agree with Iida’s idea and soon enough everyone had written down the name of whoever they voted for in a piece of paper before handing it out to Iida.

Izuku was debating between voting for Iida or Yaoyorozu, on one hand Iida seemed strict and quickly managed to control the chaos of the class into something much more manageable, on the other hand Yaoyorozu proved to be very smart and strategic which would be nice for a class representative since she wouldn’t have much problem planning or scheduling things on the future. In the end he picked Yaoyorozu, mostly because she was a closer friend than Iida right now.

You could imagine Izuku’s surprise when he saw his name on the board with SIX votes, of course all the girls picked him, he did stand up for them and their privacy. Yaoyorozu ended up being his vice president with two votes and now the both of them were standing in the front of the class, Izuku couldn’t stop his tail from moving nervously from side to side. “Well that settles it, Midoriya is your new class president and Yaoyorozu his vice president.” Aizawa announced before dismissing them back to their seats.

 “Now that that’s taken care of, we will be doing what All Might should’ve done yesterday, costume critique.” Aizawa could hear his problem child murmur something along the lines of thank god. “You all got to experience working with your costumes, no one gets a perfect costume on the first try so I want you all to write down anything that felt wrong or uncomfortable or that you feel can be improved. Once you are finished the class representatives will take your notes to the support department so they can start working on those changes as soon as possible.”

Izuku had scribbled somethings on his notebook when Uraraka came to his desk. “Could you help me with my costume? It’s just I didn’t see anything wrong with the form I submitted but you realized something so fast! I just want to make sure I don’t miss anything this time.”

Izuku smiled at her. “Sure! I had actually thought about somethings for you!” He switched to a clean sheet on his notebook before he began scribbling and drawing. “I know your heels are part of your aesthetic but like I said they get in the way, however, we don’t exactly have to get rid of them. The support department can probably design a mechanism on your boots, which would make the heels retractable. If the terrain doesn’t fit them you can just make them disappear! But if you are on an event or anything like that they can be back with the press of a button.” While he had no idea how to build something like that, he did begin to sketch the heels. “I also think you can benefit from a support item like a jetpack or anything that can give you a speed boost really, you could make yourself weightless and fly around, without the normal weight you could move faster than the average hero. Maybe it could look like a spaceship to keep the whole astronaut idea going.” Midoriya finally quieted downed to realize no one else was talking and that everyone was looking at him, his face quickly turned red in embarrassment and his wings decided to cover him up.

“Dude.” Kirishima said. “That was awesome! Can you do that for me too?!”

Izuku was expecting his classmates to call him out on his muttering habit or call him weird for just going on like that, he did not expect this. “What?”

“That was so impressive bro! You just fixed her costume so fast! How did you even do that?” Kaminari said joining in the conversation, Izuku peeked out from his wings.

“I-I guess I just did? I’ve always done analysis for fun … it’s kind of a second nature for me?” Izuku has no idea how to react, sure Nezu praised him for his analysis but that’s Nezu, regular people just find it creepy or they used to at least.

“Man I wish I could do that.” Kaminari whined in complain.

“So dude, can you help me? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my costume but maybe you can figure something out.” Kirishima said gaining Izuku’s attention again.

“Sure, just let me finish with Uraraka first.” Apparently Kirishima wasn’t the only one who wanted help many others came to his desk and Izuku had some opinions of his own to hand out.

“Okay, so Kirishima there’s actually nothing wrong with your costume. I know it is mostly for aesthetics and I would complain about the lack of protection but your quirk already takes care of that. However, your quirk makes you a close ranged fighter and that on it’s own is fine, but you should really consider something for long range attacks. For example, Uraraka wouldn’t be able to get past your quirk, but a tap from her and you would be flying off into space.” Izuku didn’t know enough about long ranged weapons besides guns but he could probably investigate.

“Kaminari, Jiro. Both of your outfits are pretty cool, as long as you get some protective padding underneath it you should be good to go. Jiro already designed support gear, Kaminari you would benefit a lot from something that would lessen the discharge your body receives as well as something that helps you direct that energy. Actually we might be a good hero pair considering I can absorb electricity.” That is something he should consider, he is not sure he wants a hero partner but they are a good match up.

“Hagakure, Ashido. I think both of you would really benefit from a DNA based costume like mine.” Much to his dismay he did find out Hagakure’s costume was only a pair of gloves and a pair of sneakers. “Hagakure I understand that the less you wear the better it is for your quirk, but you are exposed to everything. If Todoroki’s used his ice on you, you could develop hypothermia and fast, that’s not even mentioning other external conditions, please think about it.” He turned to Mina. “Overall your costume is very nice and fun, I would worry about protection but your own acid could become an armor if you wanted it to. I’m actually worried your costume can be damaged by your acid on the long run, but if you get a DNA costume it’s very likely it will become as resistant to the acid as your skin. Considering your light pink hair, dying it any color you want wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Actually this might apply for your quirk as well Yaoyorozu, but I don’t know much about it to be sure.” Sure he knows she cam create things from her body, but what exactly does that entail? Does she need to picture the image in her head? Does she have to have touched whatever she creates before being able to create it? What exactly was her body using to create those objects?

“My quirk is called creation, I can create anything from the fat of my body as long as I know the atomic configuration of the object.” She explained hoping Midoriya could help her, she designed her costume to optimize the places she can create things from, but that left her very exposed and she isn’t as comfortable as she thought.

“Is that why you carry a book?” Yaoyorozu nodded. “Okay we could probably switch that to an holographic bracelet or something the like, it could be voice activated and designed only to register your specific voice so no one else can activate it mid battle. This will offer you easier and faster access to information without getting in the way. As for the costume mine is made with my hair so my quirk still recognizes it as my body, but your quirk requires specifically the body fat to create which your hair does not have, so it might end up breaking the costume anyways.” The girl seemed a little disappointed at that. “We could still add a zipper on the front, as well as create a full body costume with fabric from Midnight’s costume since it’s designed to rip if needed. Your heels are not too high so they aren’t that much of a problem but you should consider something else.” Before he could address anyone else the bell rang.

“Alright times up.” Aizawa said standing back up getting out of his sleeping bag. “Midoriya it is very nice of you to help your classmates by pointing out possible improvements, I know that’s kind of your specialty. But they also need to develop their critical thinking skills, next time they ask for help give them some basic ideas they can work on rather than a direct solution.”

Izuku bowed his head. “Yes sensei.” He was so excited that people actually liked his analysis he didn’t even think of why this started as an individual task.

“The rest of you, it is good to ask for help when you need it so I won’t scold you for that. However, there is a difference between asking for help and asking for an explicit solution. Next time, I expect you to at least try to think for yourselves rather than taking the easy way out, understood?” Aizawa was met by a chorus of yes sensei. “Good, Midoriya Yaoyorozu please take your classmates notes and adjustments to the support department, I will inform the next teacher of this so you won’t be marked as late. While they will be delivering the notes it is up to all you to check up on the progress the department has on your costumes.” Once again he was met with a chorus of yes sensei.

The pair left to deliver the notes. “Midoriya you pointed out a lot of things for us, but I don’t think I heard you say anything about your own updates.”

Yeah he might or might not have skipped that on purpose. “I didn’t really make any for myself … I know I would like to add something that would release electricity on command to help with my invisibility, but I can’t think of anything that wouldn’t break when I transform.”

“Maybe you could mention it to the support department? Surely they can think of something.” That’s what that department does after all.

“Yeah, I probably should mention it.” They stood in from of the support classroom and Izuku was about to knock the door when his ear nubs perked up, he immediately pushed Yaoyorozu away from the door before covering himself with his wings, not a second later an explosion went off in the classroom making the door break from it’s hinges, hitting Izuku and smashing him against a wall.

“Midoriya! Are you alright?!” Yaoyorozu quickly ran to his side to get the door off him, the voice of Power Loader could be heard in the background scolding someone called Hatsume.

“I’m fine!” He winced when he tried to move his wings, not broken probably bruised. “My wings are stronger than what they look like.”

Maijima walked out of his classroom. “I am so sorry for that, I was not expecting visitors this early, can you get up by yourself kid?” Midoriya nodded getting up, slowly flapping his wings with a pained face. “Make sure to stop by Recovery Girl’s office.” Hopefully the heroine won’t scold him. “Now what were you two doing here?”

“We were bringing some notes for class 1-A costume upgrades and potential support gear sir.” Yaoyorozu explained, the word support gear made a pink haired girl peek her head from the classroom. “You came to make babies with me?!” Needless to say both teens were incredibly confused.

“Context Hatsume!” The girl was unfazed by her teacher’s scolding. “She refers to her inventions as babies.” The teacher clarified for them.

“Okay?” Izuku said handing the notes to the teacher, however, Hatsume swiped them from his hands and began skim over them.

“I never got ideas with sketches before! I normally have to do them myself! Who made these?!” The girl looked overly excited looking at the two heroes in training.

“Um, I did?” Izuku answered, before he knew it the girl was dragging him into the class.

“I’m keeping you greenie! That brain belongs in the support department with me!” Izuku just looked for help with Power Loader, he has no idea what he is getting dragged to, Yaoyorozu was giggling at his situation rather than helping him, traitor.

“Hatsume you can’t keep a student just because you like his ideas, he has classes to get to.” Hatsume made a small pout but he did let go of Izuku.

“Fiiiiiiiiiine.” She whined. “But I call dibs on creating any ideas greenie has!” That was nice of her? I guess?

“Actually, there’s one idea that isn’t in my notes.” The girl turned excitedly at him. “I need something to release big amounts of electricity on command that sticks to my body but that isn’t too bulky? Maybe it could be attached to me as a choker necklace or something. The thing is that I can transform into a bigger thing and it would just cause the choker to break? My costume is made with my DNA and I thought I could do the same for the choker, but the electricity device would just fall off because it would have nothing to latch onto anymore.”

Hatsume scoffed. “That’s all? I can get a prototype in an hour greenie! Don’t worry about the rest of your babies, I’ll make them all in due time!”

“Thanks?” He was glad someone already had an idea to work around his whole transformation problem, maybe they were a bit too energetic, then again Izuku gets just as excited as her when it comes to analysis so who is he to judge?

“I’ll review your notes and see what updates can be done shortly, thank you for bringing them here and I apologize for your rough welcome.” Maijima sensei said to them, both teens accepted his apology before heading back to class. Well Izuku convinced Yaoyorozu to head back to class while he stopped by Recovery Girl’s office.

Izuku took a deep breath before opening the door. “…. Heeey Recovery Girl, how has your day been?” He heard the old woman take a sharp breath before turning to him, she did not look happy.

“Midoriya is barely past homeroom! Why are you here?!” This kid ended up in her office twice before he even got enrolled and now he is here when he hasn’t had a single class where he could’ve gotten injured.

“In my defense, it wasn’t my fault a door got blown off it’s hinges and I just happened to be in the way.” Now that he says it out loud it sound like a terribly thought out cover story. “It was the support department door if that helps my case. I’m mostly fine, but my wings took the worst of it and it hurts to move them, it doesn’t feel anything like when I broke my foot so I think it’s only bruised?” He said sounding a little unsure.

“I’ll be the judge of that, get in.” The heroine asked him to move his wings and flap them, while the movement was slower than usual nothing seemed out of place, there was also no swelling so the kid was probably right. “Alright I can heal these no problem, if you feel a bit too tired I can give you some energy gummies or you can take a nap in here during lunch.” After that she kissed his cheek making the pain fade away.

“I think I will take that nap offer.” He probably wouldn’t need to if he had actually rested last night, too bad.

“We’ll see about that during lunch, now go get back to class.” Izuku nodded and left for his normal classes, considering he was tired they seemed to last forever but finally nap time came around.

“Midoriya! The cafeteria is the other way.” Uraraka said when she noticed he wasn’t walking with them.

“I know but I got hurt while delivering the notes, Recovery girl said I could take a nap in her office during lunch and I do need it. I’ll join you all for lunch tomorrow don’t worry!” With that he waved his little friend group goodbye and went for his nap, the heroine made him eat a granola bar before actually letting him sleep, something along the lines of an empty stomach not helping his energy, whatever.

Izuku was having a very nice nap when suddenly a loud alarm went off waking him up, his pupil’s slit trying to find the danger, he woke up alone in the infirmary. “A level 3 alarm?” He said to himself, that could only mean someone had managed to break into UA. Izuku’s mind raced to his new friends, there was an intruder in UA and he wasn’t there to protect them.

Midoriya sprung from the bed ready to race out of the infirmary and reach the cafeteria but he stopped at the door, there was an intruder in UA that could be roaming the halls if Izuku walks out there he has a chance of running into the intruder and he has no way of knowing how hostile they may be. It’s a good thing Nezu taught him a way to move around the school undetected.

He climbed into the vents to move around the school hoping to reach the cafeteria before the intruder did, it was lunchtime all the students were gathered there it was a perfect moment to attack and get as many victims as possible. Izuku stopped moving through the vents when something black caught his eye, someone without a uniform was walking through the hallways but they weren’t heading for the cafeteria.

Izuku knows he should keep heading towards his friends to make sure they are okay, but the halls are empty no one knows that person is here, Nezu has his cameras but for all he knows the villain could be jamming them. He hesitated for a moment but made the decision to follow the intruder, see what he was doing, as long as he didn’t engage he wouldn’t get in trouble.

The villain entered the teacher’s lounge and Izuku could only pray no one was in there, he moved to get a better view from the entrance he used to deliver Aizawa’s lunch last time by the time he got there he could only hear the villain speak. “I have it, get me out of here.” Izuku’s pupil’s slit and his nubs began to vibrate as something purple appeared in the room, he could feel the air changing with the mist it was a little overwhelming. The villain walked through the mist and as soon as he arrived he was gone.

“What was that?” The feeling of that mist in the air made him feel incredibly uncomfortable, it had to be a quirk but he didn’t understand why that quirk was setting him off. Izuku shook his head trying to focus again, he needed to get to his friends but the danger was gone they should be okay, he needs to tell Nezu what he saw.

As soon as he reached the principal’s office he dropped from the vents. “Midoriya welcome, I’m afraid that if you are looking for answers about the alarm, I don’t have much to say, to my knowledge it was only the press.” Nezu was quickly typing on his computer finally regaining control of his cameras.

The press? Would they really go that far just to get a story on All Might? “I saw something.” That got the principal’s attention. “I was in the infirmary when the alarm went off, so I tried to use the vents to get there in case the intruder was roaming the halls, he was. I followed him to the teacher’s lounge, he wore all black with a hoodie I didn’t see his face but I saw his hair it was light blue maybe gray?” Izuku fidgeted with his hands. “He found something in the lounge but I didn’t see what it was, he got out with some purple mist, some teleporting quirk if I had to guess … it messed a lot with my senses.”

Nezu thought about that for a moment. “Thank you for telling me this Midoriya, right now you are the only information we have, whoever did this was able to take down my security.” That surprised the teen, Nezu had been teaching how to hack putting the UA security system as a final test for a reason. “I will make sure to inform the staff about this, check if anything is missing.” This was worrisome, but a kid shouldn’t be carrying with this worry, that was for the adults to do. “Please meet with your classmates back in class, your teachers will arrive shortly with my decision as to how to proceed.” Izuku nodded obeying the principal.

It took a while for Aizawa to come back to the classroom, he told them that because of what happened they were going to be sent home early for the day, giving the school enough time to repair any damages and do a proper investigation of what happened. Izuku sent a text to his mom explaining that he got out early and that he was okay before heading home, Inko normally handled cleaning the house on her own saying she didn’t want to bother her son, but since he got home early today he can handle that, his mom deserves a break after all.

Despite his suspension Katsuki wore his uniform today before heading out of the house, he would rather die than tell the old hag what actually happened. He spent his day just walking around cursing Deku under his breath, he had to be at fault for this, surely he convinced the school to do this to him somehow, he would very much like to confront that nerd about it but he won’t be able to do it at school and auntie won’t let him visit and then the universe decided to work in his favor. The news of UA being broken into spread like wildfire on the internet as well as the news of what the school will do to deal with what happened, the students were sent home for their safety, Deku was home alone.

Katsuki took his one chance to make Deku spill the truth about what he did, he headed towards the Midoriya’s household and knocked on the door. “Yes, how may I-” Izuku said opening the door before realizing who knocked. “I’m not dealing with you, go away.” Izuku tried to slam the door on his face but Katsuki stopped him forcing his way inside.

“I’m not leaving until I get answers!” He walked in as if it was his own home. “What did you say to them Deku?! How did you get them to suspend me!?” This was the only possible answer, everyone knew how impressive he was, how he is the best, no one would ever suspend the best.

“I can’t believe this, you are still blaming me for your mistakes?!” Izuku couldn’t understand why it was so hard for Katsuki to take accountability for his actions.

“I don’t make mistakes Deku!” Katsuki closed the door behind him, it was just him and Deku now, he was going to get answers one way or another.

“Trying to kill me with that ultimate explosion wasn’t a mistake?” In a way Izuku already knew the answer, Katsuki didn’t make a mistake because he fully meant what he was doing.

“Stop exaggerating! You are fine! I should be the one complaining! You almost blew my head off!” The image of the molten concrete was still very fresh in his mind.

“That was an accident! I literally could not control myself! It’s a side effect of my quirk that I wasn’t aware of until it happened!” He doesn’t owe Katsuki an explanation and yet here he is.

“As if!” Katsuki scoffed. “When I do it it’s with intention, but when you do it suddenly it’s an accident? It doesn’t make sense!”

“IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!” Izuku is on wrong terms with Katsuki, but even with that he doesn’t want him dead. “I may hate your guts! But if I could control myself I would’ve never taken it that far! I’m not like you!”

For some reason that last sentence bothered the blonde. “What do you mean by not like me?” While still hostile, Katsuki’s voice was toned down.

“You know exactly what I mean, no matter how much I hate the things you do or the way you act, I don’t want you to just die.” Izuku has come to terms with the facts that they will never be friends again, hell they don’t even have to like each other, they only have to get along, tolerating each other’s existence would be enough.

“I don’t want you dead.” That slipped from Katsuki’s mouth before he could stop it, Deku was a stone in his shoe but annoying as he may be, he couldn’t imagine a word were Deku was just dead.

“Right, because telling me to jump didn’t sell that idea.” To Izuku’s surprise Katsuki flinched at that, the blonde doesn’t really regret many things but even he can acknowledge he took it too far that day.

“I’m…” Sorry? Yes, but he just couldn’t bring himself to say that. “I didn’t mean that.” Hearing Katsuki murmur when he was normally so loud was strange to say the least.

“… You still said it.” If Izuku was a different person he might have taken that advice after All Might told him he couldn’t be a hero.

Bakugou stayed quiet, as much as he hated to admit it Deku was right, mean it or not he said it. “You came here to know what I said to get you suspended right? I didn’t say anything, whatever Nezu decided for you was based on the things you said and the things you did, I had no say in it. That’s the truth whether you believe it or not it isn’t my problem, leave.”

What he did and say uh? “We were fighting, I did what I had to win!” And yet he still lost. “And I said what I said so you would actually take me seriously instead of holding back! It’s not as if that actually happened.” That small moment of silence, of hesitation, the way Izuku’s face turned into a frown for just a second, the way his eyes looked away from him said far too much. “… Wait, did-”

“Get out.” He is not having this conversation again, specially not with Katsuki.

Katsuki’s mind was racing at the implication, sure he wanted to anger Deku that day and he use the Hobo because he knew the way Izuku reacted with the people he cared about, he said that so carelessly because he didn’t actually think it happened. “No! Is that hobo-”

Once again Izuku didn’t let him finish. “It wasn’t Aizawa Sensei! It was way before UA!” He let that last bit slip up.

Before UA? It had to be during Aldera then. “… It was that creepy biology teacher wasn’t it?” Katsuki couldn’t even remember that teacher’s name, he just remembered the scandal about him.

“Get out.” Izuku was shaking again.

“Deku I-” What could he even say?

“WHAT PART OF GET OUT DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?!” Katsuki flinched at how loud Deku screamed at him. “I don’t need your fake sympathy! I don’t want you pretending to care about me! I just want you to get out and leave me alone!” Much to Izuku’s surprise Katsuki actually listened to him, finally dropping the topic and heading towards the door.

Katsuki opened the door and walked out, stopping for just a moment. “ … I’m sorry.” Izuku couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “If I had known I wouldn’t have said something like that … I’m sorry.” With that Katsuki left, for the first time in his life he sounded sincere about something.

Izuku was left alone with his thoughts, trying to deal with what just happened … maybe he should take Aizawa’s offer about having a session with Hound dog.

Chapter Text

The teachers arrived to the lounge to find there was yet again a bento box on Aizawa’s desk with a green post it note on it. Being the noisy coworkers they are they decided to take a little look at the message.

“Mom forgot to ask what you want for dinner tonight, pls let her know before lunch!

-Brat =^•w•^= ”

Izuku once again wrote the note making it easy for Aizawa to understand and somewhat vague for the rest of the teachers. While they no longer had to thank Aizawa for teaching Izuku, their little dinners at the end of the week had become some sort of habit, most of the time Inko would cook whatever she wanted but sometimes she would ask for Aizawa’s preference this was normal for them. For the noisy friends? Not so much, it was hard to get Aizawa to hang out with them during the weekend or Fridays because those are the days the hero dedicates to either patrolling full time or getting sleep he desperately needs, but now a new question arises. Has Aizawa been meeting his secret family this whole time during the weekends and used the patrolling or sleeping as an excuse so others wouldn’t figure it out?

“I wonder who Shouta is dating.” Mic said after all of them had read the note, Aizawa always kept his private life well private, but Yamada is his best friend! At least he deserved to know!

“Or who he married.” Nemuri added. “No woman is this dedicated for just a boyfriend, I tell you that much.” Nemuri was dead set on Aizawa having a secret marriage and baby.

“Nem, for the last time he isn’t married. Someone would’ve known or he would be wearing a ring or something!” Mic was completely opposed to that theory.  “Besides even if that’s the case, the secret baby doesn’t add up! If it’s one of the new students that would mean Shouta was a dad at like 15!”

“I mean we did loose track of him after graduation, something could’ve happened in that time you know~” Nemuri also thought the secret baby theory was a bit too out of pocket, but arguing with Mic is always so fun. “He must have been so pent up with all he was doing on his own, I can think of something that could’ve helped him, loosen up~”

“Ew, Nemuri shut I don’t want that image in my head.” Midnight cackled at his reaction.

“I have to agree with Mic about this.” Snipe said. “I think it’s more likely for him to be dating the mom of one of the first years, especially because these started appearing after the new batch of first years.” He said pointing at the bento box.

“Sure, but that kid is stealthy because so far he has been able to leave these without anyone seeing him get in or out. I’m blaming Aizawa’s genes on that.” It wasn’t so much about proving she was right, but more about seeing how many people she could rope into her crazy idea.

“… I mean, Kayama has a point.” Maijima said.

“Aizawa could’ve trained the kid for stealth! It doesn’t have to be genetic!” Mic refused to believe that Aizawa managed to hide a marriage AND  a child for 15 years.

“I mean maybe, but do you really think Aizawa would train someone’s kid just to date their mom? That doesn’t sound like something he would do to me.” Aizawa wasn’t the type to do nice things just to get to someone, it’s a waste of time in his eyes.

“Well- yeah but! Maybe he liked the little listener? Or saw potential in them or something?” Mic tried to argue, while unusual that idea wasn’t exactly impossible.

“I guess that’s a possibility.” Kayama admitted. “Whatever the truth may be, I will keep an eye on the first years, if Aizawa does have a secret child and they managed to get into UA we are bound to notice some similarities.”

Before this little discussion could continue Vlad popped his head into the hallway before turning to his coworkers. “He is coming.” With that everyone returned to their desks to continue getting ready for the day or at least pretend that’s what they are doing.

Aizawa walked into the office and he could just tell something was off, despite that he didn’t have the energy to deal with whatever his coworkers were scheming. He simply grabbed his mug of coffee before heading to his desk finding the bento box. Everyone saw Aizawa read the note before saving it, putting it into one of his drawers, once again feeding Nemuri’s argument that he does care about the kid and it isn’t only about getting the mom. Shortly after they saw him bring out his phone to send a quick text message, they all assumed he did what the note told him to.

The teachers were divided on what theory was correct, both Midnight and Mic had valid points but no one could tell who was right, the solution? Betting on it. It was very entertaining watching them argue and considering just how noisy those two can be one is bound to find something out, some actual evidence for their theories.

The members of class 1-A were excited about today because they would be going on a field trip! No one really knew where they were going, even Izuku couldn’t get any answers out of his not dad. Before classes began Izuku made a stop by the support department to see if Mei had managed to design his choker and she did! It was very simple really, although it was more of a collar than a choker because of how thick it was. Hatsume explained the collar was made with a rubber and silver alloy, the rubber should allow it to expand and return to his original size after transforming while the silver was meant to help with the conductivity of the black box attached to it. 

Izuku put it on before pressing the black box at the side of his neck, he felt the shock of electricity run through him before he disappeared in front of Mei. The girl squealed in happiness at her success, well Izuku’s uniform was still there just floating but that wasn’t what she was trying to fix so it doesn’t matter, the only issue is that the necklace was still visible. “I did not take into account that the collar had to disappear as well, I can fix it!” She tried to take the collar but Izuku stepped back becoming visible again.

“I don’t think mixing my hair into this would be of any help.” Specially because he didn’t know how his body would react to absorbing something so foreign.

“Of course not greenie!” Mei pulled one of his wings. “This scales of yours could make some good cover paint, you might not absorb it when you transform but your quirk might register it as part of you just enough to make it invisible with you!” She … wasn’t wrong, and Izuku felt very stupid because that’s what Hiccup did for Toothless’s automatic tail in the last movie, how that went past him is beyond him.

“You are right actually, that would probably work.” the alloy was still too foreign to be absorbed but the paint coat would be familiar enough to react. “We have to wait until I shed, but that’s possible. You can even use the remaining paint for other inventions.” Mei had no clue what she would use the paint for yet but she was more than ready to experiment.

“You have a deal greenie!” For now this version of the collar would have to do.

Their teacher instructed them to wear their hero costumes or their training uniforms before heading towards the bus that would take them to their fieldtrip. “Midoriya! I know you are class president! But I have some suggestions  for the seat order in the bus!” Iida said approaching the greenette.

Izuku didn’t really think there was a need for assigned seats, it was very obvious friends would just sit together but well Iida had nice intentions. “Sure, let me see.” In the end Iida’s advice didn’t matter, because his assigned seats didn’t match the sort of bus they were traveling in.

Izuku ended up seating between Sato and Tsuyu. “I always says what comes to my mind, Midoriya your quirk is similar to Ryuku’s right?”

Midoriya shook his head. “I thought so too at first, but the dragons we become are very different.” At least to his knowledge Ryuku’s dragon didn’t come from a series of animated movies. “I’m not sure where my quirk comes from, my mom can attract small objects while my dad breathes fire. I guess I can attract lighting and in a way also breathe fire, not sure where the rest of the mutation manifested from.”

“I see.” Tsuyu replied.

“Well, however it is you got it! That’s a pretty flashy quirk dude!” Kirishima said joining the conversation. “My hardening it’s good in fighting but it isn’t very attractive.” He said hardening his arm. “Although if we are talking about flashy quirks, I think Bakugou’s and Todoroki’s stand out the most!”

“Bakugou is always mad though, I don’t think he will become very popular like that.” Tsuyu added sending Katsuki into a small fit of rage.

“What was that frog face?!”  Bakugou said from his seat, Izuku merely glared at him, he was not going to let it slide if he tried to hurt others.

“See what I mean?” She said pointing at the blond.

Eventually Aizawa told them to quiet down, he did not enjoy long trips with screaming children although this time it was one screaming teenager, not as bad but he would rather not deal with any of it at all.

“We are here, get  out.” Aizawa said before getting out of the bus himself, his students followed shortly after. Most of the students stared in awe at the inside of the USJ, the building was massive filled with all sort of natural disasters and possible accidents such as a shipwreck or an avalanche.

“It’s thirteen!” Uraraka said excitedly. “She is such a kind hearted hero that specializes in rescues! I wanna be just like her!” Izuku was happy to see he wasn’t the only hero nerd out there. 

Izuku’s ears perked up when he heard Aizawa talking to Thirteen. “Where is All Might?” That idiot was supposed to be part of this class and yet he was nowhere in sight.

“About that.” Thirteen  raised tree fingers. “Apparently he ran into some trouble this morning, Nezu decided it was better for him to take the day off.” To anyone listening it was a simple conversation, but Izuku knew about All Might’s condition and he knew about the hero running out of time, he overdid it.

“I can’t believe that irresponsible son of a-” Aizawa took a deep breath, he isn’t dealing with that moron again. For now he will focus on his class and their training, by the way All Might taught they wouldn’t be missing out on anything.

After that Thirteen took control of the class. “Alright kids! Before we begin there’s a few things I would like to go over!” The attention of the whole class turned to the hero. “For those who don’t already know my quirk is called Black hole! I can suck up anything and turn it into dust, while it is a very useful quirk for search and rescue it is also incredibly dangerous. One mistake is all that it takes to kill someone, the same could be said about all of your quirks.”

The hero went on about the importance of regulation or something like that, Katsuki simply tuned her out his attention was set on Deku. The blonde couldn’t help but think about their last interaction, where he found out about something he was never meant to know. He tried to think if there was ever any sign about something like that happening and there is just one thing that came to mind, the days that creep asked Deku to stay he would be overly annoying with him which made Katsuki stay to put Deku back in his place. 

Did Deku try to use him as a shield all this time and he never realized?

He really wanted more information about it, to talk with Deku about that … Katsuki wanted to be a hero, there was a victim right in front of him and he never helped, he never noticed. Before that train of thought could continue he noticed the greenette’s smile fade away, his ears moving and vibrating, his pupils slitting. “Deku?” He tried to reach out to him, but Deku simply walked away towards Aizawa.

Izuku could feel it, that same overwhelming sensation from the break in but it was so much bigger. He walked towards Aizawa ignoring anyone else calling out to him pulling his teacher’s sleeve. “Midoriya?” Aizawa had a small inner panic when he noticed the kid’s eyes, that was so far the only tell they had of Midoriya losing himself into his animal self. “Kid what’s wrong?”

“They’re back.” Izuku twitched his head a few times, the buzzing that mist made was getting louder and louder.

“Who?” Aizawa said putting his hands on Izuku’s shoulders hoping the contact would help him snap back into himself.

“The mist.” Nezu had given the staff a small meeting about what Midoriya saw during the break in, things they should be looking out for.

In that moment one of the students pointed towards the fountain. “Is that part of the exercise?” Aizawa turned to see the purple mist spreading in the middle of the plaza. 

“Thirteen protect the students! Get them out of here!” Before Aizawa could jump down his kid stepped forward sending out a blast before closing his eyes.

Izuku tried to understand what his echolocation was telling him but it was so unclear. “Sensei they are hundreds in one who is also none? I-I don’t understand.”

“It’s okay Midoriya don’t worry about it, stay with the class! Everyone stay back! These are real villains!” Most of the class seemed to freeze at that, they saw hundreds of villains pour into the USJ.

Aizawa jumped down to make sure the villains couldn’t reach his students. “We heard All Might would be here.” The blue haired villains covered in hands said. “I wonder if he’ll come out if we kill some kids?”

Izuku was torn between getting his class out or going after Aizawa, he shook his head turning to his friends, his dad is a hero and has been for more than a decade he can handle this on his own until back up arrives. “Everyone! We need to evacuate! Kaminari use your quirk to contact the school! Everyone else stick together!” He was class president, it was his job to guide them and keep them safe. Everyone ran to the doors and the Izuku heard the buzzing again loud LOUD LOUD. “FALL BACK NOW!” The class was quick to react backing away, not a second later the mist appeared blocking the exit.

“We are the League of villains and we are here to kill All Might.” The mist man said introducing himself. “To achieve that I’m afraid I can’t let you get out.” His voice was surprisingly nice and gentle, but he was still the enemy.

Before Izuku could stop them, Kirishima and Bakugou charged towards the villain in an attempt to incapacitate them, terrible mistake. “Wait!” Izuku tried to reach them before the portal could swallow them but he wasn’t fast enough. 

“I’m afraid I can’t let you get in the way.” Multiple portals opened and Izuku could tell where every single one of them would pop up, he flew, pushing as many people out of the way as he could, two of his classmates were taken away under his watch, he can’t lose any more. “Interesting, you can tell where I will open my portals. Not to worry I just have to get rid of you first.” Izuku tried to dodge he really did, but now that the focus was on him he ended up being cornered and swallowed by the black mist, he could hear his friends call out to him but he was gone.

Izuku fell into the water and for just a moment he didn’t move feeling some sort of relief at the sudden quiet after so much loud buzzing, it was as if his brain wanted to relax after being overstimulated but he didn’t have the time to relax, someone was coming. While the Night Fury wasn’t designed as a sea dragon, it wasn’t very hard to swim and get away but he wasn’t fast enough in the water as he is in the air, thankfully something grabbed onto his waist and pulled him out of the water.

“Midoriya! Are you okay?” Tsuyu asked.

Izuku coughed and gasped for air, how long was he down there? “I’m fine I just need a minute!” His head hurts so much, but he couldn’t let a mere headache stop him if he was going to be a hero, he pushed himself up from the floor looking towards the water, it was infested with villains.

“Why aren’t they moving?” Tsuyu asked looking at the water, the villains were watching them but none of them had made any attempt to come closer.

“I’m not sure.” Izuku thought about this, it was just Tsuyu and him here, but why was Tsuyu, someone whose quirk makes her thrive in the water, be sent to the shipwreck zone? “They don’t know our quirks, they aren’t attacking because they don’t know what we can do.”

They were too many villains to fight on their own. “I can probably jump to the shore and you can fly there, but how do we stop them?”

Izuku ran a hand over his collar, while he is meant to absorb energy it will still flow around if the material is conductive, water is highly conductive. “Tsu, can you make it to the shore without touching the water?”

“I’m not sure, I was hoping to land close to the shore and swim to land. Why?” She asked tilting her head to the side.

“Stay on the boat then, I’ll pick you up when I get out. No matter what, don’t get back in the water, things are about to get shocking.” After that Izuku ran off the boat and jumped into the water while pressing the black box, the effect was immediate. The water became electrified in the blink of an eye and none of the villains in the shipwreck zone were made to handle electricity.

Tsuyu watched all of the villains freeze up in the water, their bodies moving strangely against their will. Midoriya popped his head from the water, he swam towards the boat to pull himself out of the water shaking his head in an attempt to get rid of the excess water. “Midoriya?” Tsuyu could only see the floating necklace.

“Give it a minute.” Eventually Izuku became fully visible again. “The box can’t produce that much energy and it’s a big body of water, it won’t stop them forever but hopefully it will stun them long enough for us to get out of here.”  He explained offering Tsuyu a hand, the girl didn’t hesitate before taking his hand and Midoriya took off back to the entrance where the class was … at least he hoped they were still there.

Izuku flew them to the entrance to find four of his classmates still there, Sero, Todoroki, Uraraka and Mina, the mist guy had apparently left them alone. “Tsuyu! Midori! you are okay!” Mina said rushing to hug them both as soon as they landed.

“Do you know where everyone else is?!” Izuku was ready to take off and scout all the other areas to find his classmates, he was the only one that could freely move in the air, he was perfect for sky search and rescue.

“No but Iida got out! He is going to the school to get help!” Uraraka told him, that was somewhat reassuring but they aren’t safe until backup arrives, Izuku needs to find the rest.

“I need to scout the other areas to find everyone else! They might need help! All of you please stay here, I will try to fly everyone back to the entrance.” Izuku was ready for take off, but he hesitated when he saw Aizawa fighting in the plaza, he was doing well but he was getting tired and it showed and then the handy villain came running at him.

Aizawa had managed to land a punch but as soon as he blinked a hand on his elbow began disintegrating anything it touched. Hurt, dad is hurt, I have to protect dad. Izuku was frozen on the spot fighting the instinct to rush into the fight, Aizawa drilled into his head that he couldn’t keep being reckless he shouldn’t intervene, despite his injury Aizawa was still fighting, he can handle himself. That was until that bird monster stood behind him, before Eraserhead could even react it smashed his head into the ground and broke one of his arms faster than any of them could register. 

“DAD!” Izuku’s scream got mixed with a roar, he didn’t even try to fight his instincts transforming as he swooped down faster than he ever had before. He shot blasts into the ground raising a cloud of smoke to blind all the people at the scene. He landed on the monster’s back, digging his claws as hard as he could before biting down on the only visible weakness, the exposed brain.

The creature stood up from Aizawa screeching trying to shake Midoriya off of it, Tomura could only watch with certain curiosity the shadows of the beasts fighting in the dust cloud. The Nomu was sent rolling at his master’s feet with a blast,  twitching as the bitten off part of the brain was trying to regenerate. The looming shadow of the Night Fury stood protectively over Aizawa with his back arched, his wings wide open flapping them a few times to disperse the dust, the green slit eyes stared at Shigaraki before spitting out the chunk of brain he managed to rip off. Not only did he manage to throw off the Nomu, he also got a pretty cool entrance while doing so.

“They have their own Nomu?” Shigaraki asked to no one in particular, this beast was designed to kill All Might and yet another beast managed to temporarily take it down, it was logical that it had to be another Nomu.

Why couldn’t his brat stay away from danger? Was that so much to ask? “Kid no, leave.” Aizawa wished he could push the kid away or that he could speak louder but as it was he couldn’t move or do anything much really, the only thing he could do was try to use his quirk to help but that would risk Midoriya transforming and losing power. There was no other option, his kid had to fight.

“I didn’t think some place as prestigious as UA would experiment like us.” Shigaraki watched the beast growl and bare his blood stained teeth when his Nomu got back up. “To think you had a final boss besides All Might, that just seems like cheating to me.” The villains scratched his neck. “I guess I’ll just get the double of xp after I kill them both, Nomu.” Both creatures tensed at the name. “Kill the copy cat.”  Both creatures roared and screeched at each other before charging.

Izuku blasted the Nomu to give himself enough time to lift off, using the hot air of the blast to take off a little easier. The dragon knows that thing is fast on the ground, but the Night Fury is the king of the skies, he won’t lose.

Izuku began by doing diving bomb attacks, diving with his wings close to his side gaining speed  before releasing his plasma shot using the heat in the air to rise up again, he needs to remain in the air or that thing is going to have the advantage. The Nomu screeched every time he got shot, but didn’t look very hurt, it was able to follow the dragon’s speed on the ground with little to no issues. “You can try that all you want! My Nomu has shock absorption! You will never hurt it!”  

The dragon shook his head slightly, if Izuku was still in control of himself he would think about how shock absorption doesn’t equal shock nullification and plan around that small but useful piece of information, but as it was the dragon could only think of three things. 

Kill.

Protect.

Survive.

Izuku could hear the storm brewing outside, he was calling the lightning towards him and yet it couldn’t reach him, the roof of the USJ was in the way. Hopefully he could find a way to get around that.

As entertaining as it was to watch two Nomus fight each other without actually making any damage, Shigaraki was getting impatient. “Why haven’t you killed it?! I told you to kill it!” How hard could it be? Did UA somehow design a better Nomu? No, sensei only gave him the best, even UA couldn’t compare to his sensei.

Kurogiri finally made it back. “Master Tomura, I’m afraid one of the students managed to escape, it would be wise of us to leave.” 

Shigaraki groaned in annoyance. “If you weren’t our only way out, I would destroy you!” He scratched his neck again, watching the flying Nomu hit and run over and over again. “Before we leave make yourself useful, help our Nomu kill that one.” 

“As you wish master Tomura.” Kurogiri began to open portals for the Nomu to put his hands through in an attempt to grab the dragon, however, the Night Fury always managed to switch his direction before the portal even got a chance to open, it was getting annoying.

“Why is the UA Nomu so op?! Why can’t our Nomu even land a hit on it?! It’s not fair!” The villain screamed throwing a temper tantrum,  how is their Nomu going to kill All Might if it can’t even kill a different Nomu?! He is sure he even heard the flying lizard laughing at him! That thing wasn’t going to come close to the ground unless they gave it a reason to … his eyes turned to Eraserhead still on the ground. “Nomu stop!” The beast complied. “I’m bored of this game of tag, finish off Eraserhead and then you can keep playing with the UA Nomu.”

The Nomu screamed before charging at the fallen hero, as expected the Night Fury came down to try and stop him hoping to latch onto it’s back as it did before. “NOMU! TURN AROUND AND CATCH HIM NOW!” The beast obeyed and turned around to grab the dragon, Izuku was far too close to change his course again so he did the only thing he could, barrel into the Nomu. 

The Night Fury was coming at the Nomu with enough speed to easily tackle him sending both of them rolling on the ground, in the end the Nomu was stronger pinning the dragon down and breaking one of his wings with a sickening crunch. “Yes! I would like to see you fly away now you lesser copy!”

Aizawa could hear the dragon roar and wail in pain desperately trying to push the beast off of him, the hero was hoping back up arrived or that Izuku managed to get away somehow. “You can do it kid come on.” Aizawa can’t handle watching another kid die, specially not a kid that is his.

The dragon fired a shot completely missing the Nomu making Shigaraki laugh. “All this time you didn’t miss a single shot! And now that it’s right in front of you, you miss?!” Little did Shigaraki know, Izuku didn’t miss.

His blast made a part of the glass dome break, allowing the rain inside the building but more importantly giving the lighting an opportunity to reach the dragon. The Nomu grabbed one of Izuku’s front legs while the dragon was trying to scratch his face off squeezing it until it broke, in that moment the dome was filled with light as thunder roared in the sky, the lightning hit the Nomu paralyzing the beast as it screeched in pain. Izuku prepared a powerful blast that got extra charged due to the lightning before firing at the only weakness of the Nomu, the brain.

Shigaraki had to cover his eyes because of the blinding light, by the time he could look at the Nomus again his own was laying limply on top of the UA one. “Nomu? Get up! Now!” The Nomu moved, but it wasn’t because of his order, no it was the UA Nomu pushing it off of him. Shigaraki saw the winged lizard get up, it was injured and limping but it got up and his didn’t. “No! No! No! This isn’t fair! You should be the one dead!” The villain looked at his Nomu again, it no longer has a brain it was effectively blown off. That thing may have multiple quirks, but without a brain to carry the orders it was useless.

Izuku stood on top of the monster breathing heavily before looking at the villain, he spread his one good wing wide open while the other laid limply beside him before roaring as loud as he could against Shigaraki, glaring and baring his teeth at him. The dragon was challenging him to try anything else, after all he had proved he was stronger, the Night Fury had won.

“I may not get to kill All Might! But I will kill you!” The villain ran at the dragon with his hand wide open, Izuku began to charge another blast, before any of them could get a hit a gunshot rang throughout the facility.  Shigaraki was shot twice before the mist teleported him to safety, back up had arrived.

Izuku was still on high alert watching the spot where the villains used to be in until he no longer heard the mist buzzing. The dragon immediately turned around limping towards Aizawa, nudging the hero’s head with his own with a small purr, dad is okay, he has to be.

“I’m fine problem child.” See Aizawa says this but he can’t move, the only reason he wasn’t unconscious yet was because the adrenaline of seeing his child in deadly danger was keeping him awake.

Bakugou had managed to get back to the main plaza with Kirishima, the red head wanted to join in the fight to help Midoriya but it was Katsuki who held him back hiding in the bushes. Deku didn’t want to see him that day but that let Katsuki learn something important, the reason why that dragon attacked him so viciously is because he couldn’t control himself and right now Deku looked even more feral than he did during the battle trials. They could try to join the fight to help, but there was a very high chance Deku would recognize them as a threat rather than an ally. They watched the whole fight play out, Kirishima suggested getting Aizawa out of  there but Katsuki stopped him again, Deku was fighting for that man’s life, if they tried to move him all that anger was going to be on them.

“Midoriya!” Round cheeks was the first one to come down running, the teachers weren’t that far behind her. Katsuki saw Deku look at her before opening his mouth, the blonde eyes got wide in realization, the danger was gone but the dragon didn’t know that, he was going to shoot Round cheeks. 

Bakugou propelled himself with his explosions without a second thought tackling the girl out of the way just before the blast could reach her, it left a burn mark on the ground. Round cheeks held onto him, mostly because she was still in shock about her friend trying to hurt her. “Everyone stay back! Deku can’t tell us apart from the villains!” While he didn’t know much about Izuku’s quirk, he was right.

The heroes froze in place while the dragon watched them, Izuku couldn’t think at the moment, his vision was blurry he could see the figures but he couldn’t tell them apart. Mist was gone, hands was gone, beast was dead but hundreds of villains were here and he didn’t see them leave, danger is everywhere and his dad is still hurt he needs protection. Izuku spread his good wing again to make himself look bigger, maybe that will keep them away.

“Midnight, can you put him to sleep?” Nezu asked knowing that Bakugou was correct, Izuku was far too gone in his animalistic sense to understand they were here to help.

“Not without getting any closer and that’s not an option.” Nemuri couldn’t believe the sweet big cat Midori could be so aggressive and feral.

For a moment no one could make a move without risking setting Midoriya off, then Aizawa made the effort to move despite the agonizing pain, reaching the side of Midoriya’s face with his hand. “It’s okay, they’re gone.” Izuku’s eyes constantly went between the blurry figures and Aizawa, the dragon was still tense but at least he closed his mouth. “You did it kid, you won, you can relax now.” Izuku’s pupil’s became a little rounder, his vision became a little clearer. “Izuku the danger is gone, you are safe. I promise.” Finally the dragon closed his eyes leaning into the touch for a moment before transforming back into a human collapsing right beside his teacher.

Now that the adrenaline was dying down he could finally feel just how painful his broken bones were, how exhausted he actually felt, despite that he still spread his good wing over Aizawa, still trying to shield and protect him. “Sorry … for being … reckless  again … dad.”  Izuku said with a small smile between sharp breaths before falling unconscious. 

Aizawa could hear his coworkers and friends come to help them now that Midoriya was back under control, but he felt a little stunned at the kid’s words. Sure he thought he heard him scream dad before he came flying down to protect him but he wasn’t sure if that’s what he said because he was mostly roaring, but now he knew for a fact that’s what the kid had called him. However, we don’t have time to unpack all that, because this two need a hospital as soon as possible.

All students were checked over by paramedics since they had minor injuries while Eraserhead, Thirteen and Izuku were all rushed to the hospital to get treatment. 

Needless to say, the Midoriya family couldn’t have their weekly dinner that night.

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up in a place he didn’t recognize, everything felt … weird? Was that the word? He felt kind of floaty but that didn’t make sense, he doesn’t float he flies it’s different. He felt some pressure on his right hand, he moved his head to find another hand on his own and then to see that hand connected to his mother. “Mom?” Izuku’s throat felt raspy and dry.

“Hi baby, how are you feeling?” His mom asked with a low voice, Izuku noticed his mom was in uniform.

“Fuzzy?” He didn’t really know how else to explain it, he was here and awake but things just didn’t feel right.

“I imagined as much, you got really hurt Izuku. The doctors decided you needed really strong pain killers for your broken arm and wing.” Izuku looked down to see his left arm in a cast, the he looked to his wings the right one was tucked to his side with a splint, as you can imagine the first thing he tried to do was move it. “No Izuku, don’t do that. Your wing was very broken when you got here, you even went into surgery to heal it properly.  You need to stay still so it can heal.” 

Izuku trusted his mom, she is a nurse after all. “Oh, how did it break?” Izuku having one of his animalistic episodes was part of why he didn’t remember, then again he was also a little high on painkillers.

Inko bit her lip. “You were at school, you had a fieldtrip but something bad happened. Villains attacked you and your classmates, I still don’t know all the details but I know you kept them safe.” She knew to be careful with patients who just experienced traumatic situations, anything could be triggering when it was so fresh.

Izuku stared blankly at nothing in particular and just like that his memory finally decided to work, the USJ, the villains, the portal, falling in the water, Aizawa. “Dad! Is dad okay?! Where is he?!” A moment of clarity in his cloudy mind.

The monitor with Izuku’s heart rate began to speed up. “Honey you need to calm down, your body can’t handle stress right now.” She said squeezing his hand. “Your father hasn’t been here since you were four.” Inko knew he wasn’t referring to his biological father, but Izuku had to become coherent on his own.

“No, not him! I mean dad!” Why did his mom not understand who he was talking about? “Aizawa!  Dad! Dadzawa?” Inko let out a small giggle at that last bit, she already noticed how close those two had gotten it was a matter of time before he slipped and called him dad.

“He is okay love, one of his arms was very hurt too and he received a lot of hits on the head. He is still sleeping but he is recovering just like you.” That seemed to help his baby calm down.

“Can I see him?” He trusts his mom when she says Aizawa is okay, but he wants to see for himself!

“Well you can, but we have to wait until he wakes up okay? So he can tell you himself how okay he is.” That seemed to help Izuku calm down, mainly because he wasn’t told no just that he had to wait, he could wait.

“Okay, I can wait.” It made sense, Aizawa couldn’t tell him if he was okay if he was sleeping.

“You wanna know something funny?” Izuku looked at her with his big eyes. “The hospital had to call in a wild life veterinarian to help with your wing because they didn’t really know how to fix it.” That moment was completely terrifying for Inko, when the doctors had to call in someone from a completely different field to treat her son. But to Izuku’s brain right now?

Izuku let out a small laugh. “Silly hospital, veterinarians are for animals not people.” His head lolled to the side, he felt tired but that doesn’t make sense, he just woke up he shouldn’t be tired.

“You still need more rest Izuku, don’t worry I’ll stay here until you wake up.” She saw Izuku frown.

“But I just woke up.”  And he still has to wait until dad wakes up so he can see him.

“I know, but your body needs to rest.” Izuku was still pouting. “If you sleep now, I’ll make sure you have a big bowl of Katsudon when you wake up.” She was lying, Izuku would have to eat light foods when he woke up just to make sure the meds and sedatives used on him wouldn’t make him puke.

“I loooove Katsudon~” That’s his favorite food, he would like that right now, although he isn’t that hungry.

“I know, and you’ll have the biggest bowl after you get some rest okay?”  She said sounding as reassuringly as she could.

“Mmm’kay” Was Izuku’s only response before letting his tiredness overcome him again.

By the time Izuku woke up again his mind was much more clearer, however, that also meant he was aware of the pain in his body, it wasn’t unbearable but it was a lot better when his mind was all fuzzy and scrambled. He blinked a few times groaning, his body felt stiff he wanted to move and stretch but he can’t.

“Welcome back to earth Izuku.” His mom said still speaking softly.

“I liked it better when I was up in the clouds.” He may not have been fully aware of himself then but at least he didn’t feel any pain.

“I’ve heard that one a lot, but they can’t keep the strong painkillers forever.” Izuku knew that, they had to keep lowering the dose because it wasn’t healthy for him to be high at all times. “Don’t look so sad, some of your friends came by while you were asleep. They couldn’t come in since you weren’t awake, but they brought some gifts!” 

True to her word the room had a few small gift boxes with candy and some get well soon balloons. “One girl brought flowers, but I remember you mentioned that some plants could react badly because of your quirk, so I couldn’t bring them in.” 

Izuku smiled at the gifts, it was nice to know just how much his friends cared. “That’s nice of them … I wish I was awake to tell them I was okay.” 

“Don’t worry about it, it’s still early there’s plenty of time for them to visit again.” She said hoping that would make her son feel better.

“I’d like that.” For a moment there was silence. “Mom, how long was I asleep?” How much time has passed since the attack?

“A day more or less, it was mostly the sedatives. You were brought here yesterday during the afternoon and went directly into surgery. You were in and out of it during the night, you had a relatively lucid moment in the morning.” Yeah Izuku remembers that, he wasn’t exactly here but he sorts of gets it. “It’s around 1 pm now and you haven’t eaten anything in almost a day. Why don’t I tell one of the nurses to bring you some food?” Izuku nodded, he was hungry.

Inko adjusted Izuku’s bed to help him sit up without straining his wings while a nurse from the hospital brought him a bowl of chicken soup, a glass of water and a cup of jelly. “I remember someone promising me a big bowl of Katsudon.” Despite that he dug into his soup.

Inko giggled at that. “And you will have it once you are cleared to go home.” Izuku didn’t like that answer but there wasn’t much he can do about that.

“… Mom, do you have any news about Aizawa? Did he wake up?” Aizawa was a strong hero, he was probably okay but well he wanted to be extra sure.

“Not calling him dad anymore?” Izuku blushed at that. “He is fine last time I checked,  he is stable and healing well. He might get a scar but other than that everything went perfect with his treatment.” 

“That’s great, when can I see him?” Izuku did not like the look on his mother’s face.

“Well, you are bedridden right now because of your wing. It needs to remain in that position to heal and the doctors think it will be too straining for your muscles to carry that weight, until they say so you can’t get up.” Inko knows Izuku hates staying still, but there is no other choice. “At this point I think it’s more likely that Aizawa comes to see you  once he gets discharged.”

Well that’s not ideal but it could be worse, probably. “… Could you visit him for me? I-I know that’s probably asking too much and that you want to stay here with me but I just … you weren’t there mom, you didn’t see how that monster hurt him.”

Her baby just couldn’t help but worry about everyone but himself. “Alright, you win. I’ll give him a visit soon and tell him how much his son is worrying about him.”

Izuku’s face turned red. “MOM!” He whined.

Inko couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m just teasing you, you can have that conversation with him later. But I will check on him, alright?” Inko’s phone began ringing, Izuku could see it was Auntie Mitsuki. “She has been calling for updates ever since she heard what happened to you. I have to pick up okay? Be right back.” Inko walked out of the room to update his best friend about what happened, completely unaware that another spiky blonde was listening to their conversation.

After his conversation with Mitsuki Inko came back into the room, setting his bed back into a laying down position before getting Izuku’s phone out of her bag. “Here, you should tell your friends you are better now and that they are free to visit if they want.” When Izuku unlocked his phone the  group chat was filled with worried messages hoping he will recover soon.

“Mom, can you take a picture of me?” What’s the best way to make a come back after a traumatic experience that could’ve killed you? Referencing memes of course! Izuku did a peace sign for the picture adding  the caption ‘I lived bitch’ before sending it to the group chat, it took less than a minute for the girls to reply and soon enough one of them started a video call for all of them

“Midori you survived!!” Mina said perhaps a bit too loudly, Izuku was sure Uraraka and her were close to tears once they saw him.

“Yup! Villains need to try harder if they want to get rid of me!” Izuku will deal with his feelings of dread at another time, right now he needs to comfort his friends.

“I’m glad you are okay Kero.” Tsuyu said. “Although I wish you hadn’t jumped into the fight like that.”

Right, Tsuyu, Uraraka and Mina all saw him jump into the fight and they probably heard him call Aizawa dad as well … he’ll cross that bridge when he gets there. “Sorry, I-I really couldn’t control myself. When Aizawa got hurt I just, I had to protect him. But hey! Everything turned out well in the end!” That still didn’t erase the fear his friends felt when they saw him fight and get very injured.

“You have a broken arm.” Jiro pointed out.

“Mostly well!” Izuku said trying to lighten up the mood. “Anyhow, mom said- Oh right, this is my mom, say hi mom!” He said turning the phone towards his mom who simply slimed and waved, all the girls saying hi or hello miss Midoriya. “Anyways, mom  said I can have visitors now! So you guys can come if you want, you can uh tell the rest of the class too in case anyone wanted to see how I’m doing.” He didn’t think the rest of the class would care, maybe Kirishima or Iida would.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can Midoriya!” Uraraka said wanting to have a personal talk with her friend, letting him know there were no hard feelings about trying to attack her. Jiro and Tsuyu said they could visit as well, the other girls were busy at the moment but they said they would drop by later if they could.

“Alright I’ll see you soon!” With that the video ended and Izuku made sure to text Mirio, Nejire and Amajiki that he was all good now since they were also worried about him after hearing his class got attacked and that he was almost a casualty. Mirio decided to call him as well.

“Togata sweetheart, do you mind keeping Izuku company while I go check on Aizawa?” She said once Izuku picked up the call, she could go check up on Izuku’s teacher as long as Mirio kept her son distracted until his friends got here.

“Sure thing miss Midoriya!” The blond voice said cheerfully through the phone. 

Inko gave her son a forehead kiss before walking out of the room and heading towards Aizawa’s, she knocked on the door hearing a grunt from the other side. “Mic I don’t have the energy to deal with you right now.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not Mic.” She said coming into the room closing the door behind her.

“Miss Midoriya.” Aizawa’s annoyed tone faded instantly when he realized it wasn’t any of his noisy friends.

One of Aizawa’s arms was in a cast, the Nomu had shattered every bone he could reach. The right side of his face was bandaged, to Inko’s knowledge the man had also gotten into surgery since his orbital floor had been crushed by one of the villains, the reconstruction went well but so far they didn’t know if this injury would affect his quirk in the future only time would tell.

“Shouta, we’ve known each other for over a year, I welcome you into my house every week, you’ve been there for my son and did everything in your power so he could achieve his dream. I think we are past formalities and please just call me Inko.” She said sitting down beside him.

Aizawa is going to ignore that small flutter his heart made when Inko called him by his given name. “Right.” For the first time he felt awkward around her. “… I don’t want to come of as rude, I very much appreciate your company. But how are you here?” He was a hero normally other people who aren’t heroes aren’t allowed inside as visitors as a safety measure, he understood Inko being here because of Izuku since that’s her son, but why was she allowed to visit him?

Inko let out a small laugh. “I’m a nurse.” She normally didn’t work in the hero wing and tended to more normal injuries or sickness in the pediatric area, but considering the situation she was allowed to move freely through the hero wing, until Izuku gets discharged that is.

“Oh.” Aizawa had never really asked her what she does for a living before, it feels like he should know this.

“Izuku is really worried about you, but he can’t come visit himself yet. I’m pretty sure you’ll get discharged before he does.” Inko said sounding surprisingly calm.

“What?! Why?!” He said trying to get up, Inko put a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back down.

“You are still recovering, stay down.” Inko said using her commanding nurse voice. “He is alright and he will make a full recovery, however, one of his wings was broken, according to the vet the humerus and ulna got the worse of the break. Those bones are the ones mainly connected to his back, his body doesn’t have the strength to keep the wing in the right position to heal if he stands up, until he does he has to stay in bed.”

It was a relief to know that the kid was alright despite everything, he was hurt very much so but he was alive and hopefully wouldn’t get lasting damage from this. “Wait, what do you mean a vet?” 

Inko sighed. “Believe me I did not like that either, but Izuku’s wings resemble mostly the ones of a bat, none of the doctors knew how to fix it so they called in a specialist.” At least the vet did know how to fix the broken bones.

“That’s good I suppose.” Unorthodox sure, but the problem child got the help he needed so that was good enough. “I’m surprised you are taking this so calmly.” If Aizawa knew one thing about the Midoriya’s is that they were incredibly emotional.

“Oh no, believe me when I say I had a breakdown for around three hours after I got the news. Izuku went into emergency surgery, the doctors didn’t know what to do with him and then I found out you were also in emergency surgery.” Deep breaths Inko, both of them are fine it’s okay. “It was a lot but I’m better now … besides I know better than to overwhelm patients with my own emotions.” Referring to them as patients was helping her keep her cool.

“You were worried about me?” Aizawa lands in the hospital very often, normally needing stitches. Usually he just doesn’t tell anyone because people shouldn’t worry about him, he is a hero this is expected to happen.

“Of course I was worried about you!” Inko said before regaining her composure. “I don’t know when it happened but you became a very important person in my life and this isn’t only about supporting Izuku. In a way you support me as well, I know that you are a hero and I know getting hurt is part of your job but god I felt like my heart stopped when I realized you were the UA teacher that got severely injured.” Inko fought back any tears threatening to come out. “I know you did what you had to, I know this was the result of doing everything to protect those kids but please be more careful next time. You mean so much to me, I don’t want to lose you.” Shouta was one of the best things that happened to her after so much hardship, she can’t lose him.

Aizawa has always been good at masking his emotions and pretending he didn’t have them, but he is FEELING things right now and he isn’t very sure he can handle it at the moment. “I … I’m sorry for scaring you like that. I will do anything I can to stop this from happening again.” He didn’t make a promise, because he knows he wouldn’t be able to keep it.

Inko wiped the few tears that managed to escape away. “I guess that’s the best I’m going to get.” Until that moment, Shouta hadn’t realized how much he hated seeing Inko cry. Their conversation after that was a lot tamer, Inko decided to keep Shouta company until he got any visitors.

Meanwhile Izuku was waiting in his room for his friends to arrive, there was a knock on the door. “I think my friends are here Mirio senpai! I’ll talk to you soon!” He said before hanging up. “That was quick! I didn’t think you’d be here so … soon.” Izuku made a pause when the door opened, none of his friends were on the other side of the door.

Katsuki knows he shouldn’t be here and he knows he is pushing his luck by visiting Deku knowing damn well the nerd can’t get up and leave, but this is his only chance to actually talk about what happened. 

They stared at each other in awkward silence. “I didn’t think you would remember my favorite animal.” Izuku said referring to the green rabbit plushy in Katsuki’s hand.

“I don’t!” Katsuki only knows how to react by lashing out. “The hag told me to bring it!” 

“… Right.” Auntie Mitsuki had never gifted him stuffed animals, not even when he was a baby. “What are you doing here anyways?” Izuku’s hand was hovering over the button to call a nurse, Katsuki shouldn’t be here, Izuku didn’t want him here, his mom didn’t want him and yet Izuku hesitates, does Bakugou finally has something worth listening to?

“I want to talk about last time.”  Katsuki said, Izuku glared at him. 

“Funny, last time I very vividly remember screaming at you to get out of my house because I didn’t want to talk to you about that.” Despite that Izuku still didn’t press the button.

“Look I just-” Bakugou took a deep breath knowing he can’t really scream in a hospital without getting kicked out. “I want to know about the teacher that … that hurt you.” He knows he is walking on eggshells. 

“I don’t think you are entitled to that information and please just shut up about it before mom comes back.” Being attacked at UA was bad enough for her, she didn’t need more things to deal with.

“… Auntie doesn’t know?” Katsuki didn’t really expect that, the again Deku kept his mouth shut about their situation until very recently.

“Of course mom doesn’t know! And I’m planning to keep it that way!” Katsuki spent years trying to pretend Izuku didn’t exist and the one time Izuku wished he would keep doing that, he decided to get involved in something that doesn’t concerns him. “You came all this way just to pry information out of me? Well too bad! I don’t have to tell you anything, now leave.” Izuku didn’t really mean to snarl, but Katsuki was getting on his nerves.

“You should’ve told me! I would’ve-“ Katsuki went quiet when Izuku laughed at him, a loud and bitter laugh only for him to hear.

“You would’ve what? Helped me? Protected me?” Izuku said with resentment. “Maybe you forgot so I’ll refresh your memory, you made my life a living hell for 10 years! But sure, I was going to run to you and be like.” Izuku made his voice higher before continuing. “Kacchan, Kimoi sensei tried to hurt me! Please help me!” He scoffed. “As if.” 

“I would’ve done something!” Katsuki was particularly bothered by this new information because it happened right before his eyes and he never fucking noticed.

“If it makes you feel any better, you did something.” Maybe that would make him leave. “Every time he asked me to stay alone with him, I would piss you off on purpose because I knew you would wait right outside the door.” Izuku tapped his finger right beside the nurse button, he couldn’t bring himself to press it yet. “Whatever you would do to me was better than what he tried to do, I would take another starburst scar over spending a single minute alone with that creep.” Getting beat up was better than getting touched that way again.

Katsuki still refused to believe the starburst scars on Izuku were made by him, but the truth was no one else could’ve done it. “I would’ve helped Deku! I would’ve blown the bastard to pieces if you had said something!”

“And how was I supposed to know that?!” Back then he still tried to be Kacchan’s friend, but he didn’t trust him with anything anymore. “Every day I was screamed at, pushed around, punched, kicked and burned by you.  What reason did I have to believe you would help?! What reason did I have to believe you would care if someone hurt me or not?!”

Katsuki stayed quiet for a while after that . “You are a lot of things Deku, you are annoying, you are noisy and you have no sense of self-preservation.” Katsuki said. “But you aren’t a liar.” The blonde knows that also applies to the things Deku said about him, he just isn’t ready to think about that too much.

“… It doesn’t matter, it’s too late anyways, there’s nothing you can do about it now.” Maybe if he said something back then, Katsuki actually would’ve helped but they can’t go back in time to figure that out. “For a moment, I thought you knew.” Izuku took a deep breath, his mom said he can’t handle stress right now.  “What you said was all so fucking specific that for a moment I thought you heard or that you saw something.” Don’t cry Izuku. “You didn’t, I know that now … if it gives you some peace of mind, he didn’t get far. I managed to run, that’s the one thing I’ve always been good at right?”

Katsuki didn’t really know what to say.

“Are you happy now? Are you done? Got what you wanted like you always do?” Izuku kept taking deep breaths to stop himself from crying, once again he gave in to what Katsuki wanted, some habits are hard to break.

“No I … look, I know I shouldn’t be here.” He is pretty sure Inko would strangle him if she saw him here. “But I just … I wanted to make things right I guess, I want to be a hero I should’ve protected you.” 

And oh how that stings. “We both know you could’ve protected me at any moment, you are the one who chose not to.” They were supposed to be best friends, brothers even and yet Katsuki turned on him for something out of his control.

Katsuki knew Deku wasn’t talking about the incident with that teacher, the nerd’s words still ring in his ears. ‘If hurting others makes you so happy, if you enjoy it so much then why do you want to become a hero?!’  … Why does he want to be a hero? To be the best? To be number one? No, those are just benefits from being a hero, not a reason to become one. “Deku I-”

Before he could say anything, round cheeks opened the door. “Midoriya! I tried to bring you flowers before but I was told you were allergic, so I brought mochi this time!” Uraraka said cheerfully as she walked in, her smile fading  when she saw her friend with teary eyes, the only person in that room with him was Bakugou. “What did you do?!” She believed Bakugou couldn’t be all that bad considering he saved her and all, but she still won’t let him make Izuku cry.

Izuku answered for him. “It’s nothing Uraraka, Kacchan was leaving anyways.” He didn’t mean to use that nickname but he can’t take it back.

It looked like Katsuki wanted to argue. “Whatever.” He threw the green rabbit at Deku before walking out of the room. The plushy was surprisingly soft, it had floppy ears and it seemed to be sitting down, it also had a red ribbon around it’s neck, since it’s a gift it makes sense.

“Seriously what is his deal? He is always mad at you, I remember him pushing you before the entrance exam and that whole thing he did during the battle trials.” Besides the whole USJ rampage, Midoriya seemed to be such a genuinely nice boy, why would anyone be mean to him?

“It’s … It’s complicated.” It really was, from best friends to abuser and victim, to whatever is going on between them now, they really need to figure that out.

The gears in Ochako’s head began to turn with the information she knew, Bakugou and Midoriya knew each other before UA, while she may never know what Bakugou said during the battle trials she did see what he did, when she asked Midoriya about it he said it was personal and now this.  They were alone in the room and Midoriya immediately dismissed the blonde when someone came in and calls whatever was going on complicated.

Did … Did Bakugou and Midoriya had a situationship? But how does a guy as brash as Bakugou swoon someone as sweet as Midoriya? Well Midoriya can match his aggressiveness if needed but still, even if that was the case why was Midoriya almost crying … could they be exes?

“Uraraka-san?”  Izuku called out to her for the fifth time and finally she seemed to react. “Are you okay? You kind of spaced out for a moment.”

“Yes! Sorry I just got lost in thought!” She so desperately wanted to ask if she was right but this didn’t seem like a good time to do so, maybe she could get some insight from the other girls. “Anyways, how are you feeling?” She said sitting down and giving him the mochi box.

“I’ve been better, not the first time I broke a bone but I remember it hurting a lot less.” Yep, he would take his broken foot by microwave at any moment instead of this, at least then he could walk with crutches.

“I’ve never broken a bone before, you probably saved me from that by telling me about the heels.” She could be noisy about private relationships later, she had to talk about this before Tsuyu or Jiro arrive. “I know it was probably an accident or maybe you were under too much stress but I had to ask, why did you attack me at the USJ?”

“I attacked you?!” Izuku sat up before immediately falling back again with a pained cry, his mom wasn’t lying when she said it would be too straining to carry the weight of his wings, it was only a few seconds and the part where his wings and back connect are on fire. Izuku pressed the nurse button as hard as he could.

“Midoriya what’s wrong?!” Before she could get an answer a nurse came in noticing the distressed state of her patient. 

“What happened?” The nurse asked her while injecting something into his IV bag.

“He just sat up!” Was her friend in that much pain just from sitting up?

“His body can’t handle the weight of his wings because of the broken bones, just sitting up could pull his muscles.” So that’s why he feels like he is on fire.

“Can I help? My quirk makes me make things weightless.” If the problem was the weight then she could fix that.

“That actually would be pretty helpful to readjust him with minimal pain.” After that the nurse allowed her to use her quirk, she asked Uraraka to turn him on his side before the nurse adjusted the wing to the right position, helping her patient lay back down properly. “You can turn your quirk off now.” 

Uraraka followed her command, Midoriya seemed much more relaxed now. “Young man, I thought your mom told you about not getting up!”

Izuku was feeling slightly fuzzy again. “It was an accident, I’m sorry.” It really was.

“Then let’s make sure no more accidents happen alright? I’ll go find your mom.” With that the nurse left them.

“I’m so sorry Midoriya!” She came to visit and she somehow hurt him?

“It wasn’t your fault Uraraka, It was just the shock I guess.” Yup the nurse gave him another those of the strong painkillers directly into his IV, that was gonna hit soon. “I attacked you? I’m so sorry but I really don’t remember that, I also wasn’t in control of myself otherwise I wouldn’t have tried that.” The brunette seemed confused. “Remember what I told you after the battle trials? That I can become more animalistic?” She nodded. “Well so far when I go too animalistic I lose my memory of that time, I truly don’t remember attacking you, but I’m still sorry I did it.”

She was not expecting that, but so far the only thing Midoriya has done is help and protect her, he was probably telling the truth. “Well if you were out of control and you can’t even remember it, I guess I can’t really blame you for it … it was scary to see you like that actually, you went wild against Bakugou but that was something else.”

Izuku blinked a few times, he can’t let his brain become fuzzy yet. “I-I know … it’s just Aizawa could’ve died and I just … I don’t know, I felt like I had to do whatever I had too to stop that and then … I remember thinking of keeping him safe and keeping danger away.” His memory was blurry and those painkillers weren’t helping him remember. “Maybe I thought you were dangerous? I know you are not but, animal brain works differently.” 

“Bakugou told us to stay back, that you couldn’t tell us apart from the villains.”  She didn’t fully understand what Izuku was telling her, but despite not remembering he seemed genuinely sorry.

“I hate to admit it, but he was probably right.”  Bakugou of all people learning to read his quirk is annoying but it makes sense, quirk or not the blonde has known Izuku the longest. 

“Well I just wanted to get that cleared up.” It didn’t exactly happen considering her friend doesn’t remember but well, it was better than nothing. “Hey, are you okay?” Izuku’s pupils were becoming very round.

“Oh yeah, the nurse gave me the strong painkillers again I think. I’m going to be high again.” Uraraka couldn’t help but snort at how blunt Midoriya was about this.

“High? Really?” That’s unexpected.

“Uh hu, not like the weed high you see in movies I don’t think. More like getting distracted easily and um maybe not thinking very well? I was high the first time I woke up, it was like I was floating but not, it’s weird.” He really doesn’t know how to explain that.

“Okay then.” She was actually curious to see how Izuku would act like high.

The nurse walked into Aizawa’s room. “Inko we need you back with Izuku the kid sat up by accident, I gave him another dose as well as muscle relaxers.”

Inko sighed. “Why am I not surprised? I’ll be there in a moment.” She said standing up. “I may not be officially on duty right now, but if you need anything don’t hesitate to call me.”

“Will do Miss Mi- Inko, will do Inko.” Well the woman did ask him to call her by that, he just needs to get used to it.

“Good.” Inko didn’t think much before leaning in and kissing Aizawa on the cheek. “Get well soon, Izuku wants to see you.” With that she walked out leaving a very stunned Shouta behind, what was that?!

Shortly after his so called friends arrived into the room. “Eraser! I was so worried about youuuuuu!” Mic didn’t waste a second rushing to his bed. “Why is your face red? The doctors said you were fine by now.”

“It’s a fever, now leave so I can rest.”  Aizawa said trying to push Yamada away, he did not need to deal with him while also dealing with whatever the fuck just happened and how that made him feel butterflies in his stomach, he will not acknowledge any of it yet.

Nemuri watched the two bicker back and forth about them just getting here and Aizawa already trying to kick them out. She squinted her eyes at Aizawa, he was trying to keep his monotonous tone but she could tell he was nervous … son of a bitch, the mystery mom was here and they might as well just missed her.

The nurse let out a whistle as they walked away. “My oh my Inko, I didn’t know you had it in you!”

“Me neither.” Inko was very flustered herself, she had no idea what came over her to do that, then again she didn’t regret it.

“It was about time you found a real dad for your boy and a hero at that, bet he will treat you right unlike the other lowly excuse of a man.” The nurse said with a hint of spite at the end, all of her friends at the hospital were aware of Hisashi Midoriya, none of them met the man but all of them hated him with passion.

“It’s unfair to use Hisashi as comparison, that man failed to do the bare minimum, anyone can do better than that.” Hisashi hurt her that much is true, but she moved on and honestly she didn’t even miss him.

“You can say that again sister.” After saying that both of them walked into Izuku’s room. Uraraka was giggling watching Izuku try to eat a mochi only to look like a dog trying to eat peanut butter.

“Hi mommyyy!” He said with his mouthful, Inko only sighed.

“Honey you can’t eat laying down, here let me help you.” She once again readjusted the hospital bed. “Better.” Inko noticed the plushy on his son’s bed, she assumed his friend got it for him. 

“I’m Ochako Uraraka! It’s a pleasure to meet you miss Midoriya!” The brunette said standing up offering a handshake which Inko gladly took.

“It’s nice to meet you as well, you probably haven’t been here for a long time but considering Izuku’s state it might be best for you to leave.” She didn’t really want to kick out her son’s friend but it was the best option.

“Nooooooo.” Izuku whined. “Rara just got hereee, don’t make her leave yet!” Uraraka parroted the nickname sounding a little confused.

“But-” Inko didn’t get a chance to argue.

“I promise I’ll be on my best behavior! And my quirk is useful to move Midori if he needs it!” The girl was giving her puppy eyes and soon enough her son copied her.

Inko gave in. “Alright, but if he falls asleep I want you to leave okay? It won’t be very fun to stay after that anyways.” Uraraka just nodded excitedly before going back to talking with Izuku, a while later two other friends arrived and Inko allowed them to say on the same condition. Eventually the girls had to leave, Inko was glad her son kept making more friends that cared about him this much.

Inko was convinced by her coworkers to go home for the night, they would take care of Izuku and if anything happened they would call her immediately. So she went home, she took a shower and finally got the sleep she needed after so much stress.

The next morning Aizawa finally visited Izuku, the nurse had just left with what was left of his breakfast, leaving Izuku’s bed in a sit up position. “Hey problem child, I was told you wanted to see me.”

The kid’s tail began to thump against the bed. “Aizawa sensei! You are okay!” He believed his mom but he was just so relieved now that he could see it for himself. “… Are you allowed to be up?” Izuku probably got the worst of it, but Shouta didn’t look much better than him.

“Probably not.” That has never stopped him before.

“Don’t let mom catch you like that, she can be scary if she wants to.” Inko rarely scolds him, but the few times she did? Yeah, he learned his lesson.

“Really?” The kid only nodded, Aizawa couldn’t picture the lovely and caring Inko as someone scary. “Anything in particular you wanted to tell me? Or did you just want to make sure I lived?” Aizawa did want to bring up the whole dad situation, but maybe it was better for the kid to do it.

“Both really.” His tail stopped moving. “I wanted to apologize.” Thats a good place to start. “You told me to stop being reckless and I didn’t, the second I saw you were in trouble I lost control of myself. I jumped into a battle without thinking again! I had no plan and I know I was lucky to get off with just some broken bones, I know that I could’ve died but I just! I just couldn’t stand and watch you die!”

Aizawa noticed Izuku’s heart monitor speeding up. “Kid.”

“And I was so scared that I wouldn’t be fast enough! That you were already dead by the time I got there! That letting myself get blinded by my anger could’ve gotten you killed because I didn’t allow the backup to come close to you!” Izuku is spiraling.

“Problem child.” Aizawa said trying to call out to him again.

“And then I called you dad!” He thought this would be more embarrassing less panicky. “I swear I didn’t mean to! Well I did mean to! You are always watching over me! You never mind when I start mumbling! You always help me with every little thing I ask!  You always support me even when I do things wrong! And you are home so often that I couldn’t help seeing you as my dad! But I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable by calling you dad I swear! I-I just! If that was my last chance to say it then-!”

Aizawa put a hand on his shoulder. “Izuku, breathe.” Finally the kid listened, trying to take deep an even breaths. “I don’t mind that you called me dad.” He made a little pause before grinning. “Son.” 

That made Izuku snort, it sounded weird but he didn’t mind it. “Really? You don’t?”

“Not really.” To be honest, in all his years of teaching not a single student had called him dad by accident, he didn’t even think it was a possibility and yet here they are. “Besides, that actually gives me the authority to ground you for being reckless.” Aizawa said ruffling the greenette’s hair making him laugh a little. “Between us, I’m glad it was my favorite brat who ended up calling me dad.”

Izuku really thought the whole dad situation was going to make things awkward between the two of them. “I thought you didn’t have favorites.”

“Normally I don’t, but I think I can make an exception.”  Izuku had been his favorite for a while considering Aizawa actually wanted him in his class and all, with the effort that kid put up he deserves to be the favorite. “Don’t think that being my favorite means I will go easy on you.”

Izuku’s characteristic smile was finally back on his face. “I wouldn’t dream of it dad.” 

Father and son have no idea that relationship is going to become more official than what they initially thought in the future, who knows the Midoriya’s might become the Aizawa’s someday.

Chapter Text

The school had given some extra days off for their students after the attack on the USJ, they sure needed it giving both Izuku and Aizawa enough time to get discharged. Recovery girl had visited them both to accelerate the healing process, Izuku requested that the hero focused on healing his wings rather than his arm, he really hated having to stay still for this long. His wing would still need more sessions but as long as he didn’t try to move it he could stand and walk around, the old hero threatened him to take it easy or he would be forced back in bed.

During his hospital stay Izuku was also visited by the new big three of UA, he hasn’t been able to hang out with them as much lately and he really wish it would be on better terms but here they are. He truly missed how energetic Mirio and Hadō are, Tamaki is still as shy as ever but that’s nothing new, however, he made the mistake of saying he wished there was something they could do to make him feel better.  “Actually, there is something.”

That’s how Tamaki found himself using Midoriya’s quirk as a fully transformed dragon, sure he was bigger than the greenette and the eye color was different but they were hoping Yamada would be too shocked to realize that. He was nervous, sure Midoriya reassured him that all he had to do was pretend to be a cat which was odd to say the least but not too difficult, that he could just ignore everyone if he wanted and that he just had to let Midoriya pet him, which again weird but not bad at least Izuku warned him beforehand about the petting which was very much appreciated.

“You better not be trying to sneak off to patrol Shou! Recovery Girl was clear about you still needing rest!” Mic said blocking the way out of the teacher’s longue. 

“I’m not, I’m meeting with Midoriya in Hound Dog’s office. After the USJ that kid needs help with recovering, plus it’s a good opportunity to test if Midori’s training as an emotional support animal is working.” Aizawa was well aware of what his kid was planning and he was down the moment he even suggested the idea, he was even willing to gaslight Mic into believing he was color blind if he noticed the different eye color.

“What do you even mean? Midoriya is Midori!” He saw the exam footage, Aizawa and Nezu laughed at his outburst.

“No he is  not.” Aizawa said with a straight face.

“Midori is just Midoriya shortened! How dumb do you think I am?!” No, Aizawa may have tricked him the first time but he was not going to fall for it again.

Shouta shrugged. “You can come if you want, I don’t really care as long as you are quiet.” With that he started walking away, this plan was particularly genius because Midoriya couldn’t transform until he was fully healed, there was no way his kid could be blamed for being Midori when he can’t physically change.

As expected Yamada followed right behind him to call on his bullshit, Midoriya was waiting right outside Hound Dog’s office. “Hi sensei!” Izuku did want to have an actual session with Hound dog in the near future, to tackle the USJ as well as other things but for today they can be silly.

“Good to see you are doing better Midoriya.” Aizawa said nodding in acknowledgment. “Before you go in I have to tell you, Midori doesn’t look like your average cat because he is quirked. Actually he has an uncanny resemblance to your own quirk, but I assure you he is completely friendly and harmless unless provoked.” 

Izuku nodded, hearing Mic murmur bullshit under his breath. With that Aizawa opened the door and to Yamada’s surprise Midori was in fact in there just waiting, he turned to the student then back to the cat. “What the actual fuck.” This isn’t real, nu uh.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding, it looks exactly like my quirk.” Midoriya said approaching slowly. “Hi Midori, I’m Izuku.” Amajiki very much regrets agreeing to do this, but he can’t exactly back down now. “Can I pet you?” 

Amajiki would love to be able to disappear right now, despite that he nodded and Izuku gently patted his head before he moved to scratch below his chin … oh, that actually feels really nice.

“I need to sit down, this isn’t- this can’t be-” Oh but it was, he was seeing it right before his eyes. “How did you pull this off Shou?! It makes no sense!” As soon as he raised his voice ‘Midori’ growled at him, an instruction he was given by both Aizawa and Izuku.  “… That’s Midori alright.” The cat always hated him for being so loud.

Aizawa was doing his best not to laugh, it was a shame they would have video footage from this but no audio due to the privacy rules. “Told you so.” 

“It’s just! What are the odds a wild cat you found and a student have the exact same quirk!” It had to be a very small percentage and yet here he was witnessing it.

“I wouldn’t say we have the same quirk sensei.” Izuku said while still petting the best spots he knew for relaxation. “Mine is a transformation with some mutational aspects, Midori’s seems to be a full on mutation. Are we sure he is like a house cat? For him to have gotten so big I think he must’ve been a panther or something, maybe Midori’s litter was also quirked and we haven’t found them yet.” Yes he was absolutely going to pull that off once he could transform again.

Yamada took a deep breath. “You are suggesting, there are more cats like Midori out there and we just haven’t found them?”

Aizawa nodded in agreement. “It is a possibility, quirked animals are rare and Midori’s case is a very extreme mutation, is likely that his litter also experienced some sort of quirk effect. Nezu probably knows more about this than I do.” Whatever that brat is planning, he is gonna let him cook.

“There could be more of them.” Yamada breathed out like it was the end of the world. “I- No, I’m not dealing with you and your quirked cats.” Mic was about to walk out, yet he stopped and took a picture of Midori and Midoriya. “Nem will never believe me if I don’t bring evidence.” With that he left, father and son waited a few minutes just to be sure before laughing, Mic fell for it hook, line and sinker.

“It worked! Tamaki senpai thank you so much for agreeing to this!” With that Tamaki finally switched back, getting rid of the dragon mutations as well.

“It wasn’t that bad I guess.” It was weird sure but he really didn’t have to do much, the fact that he didn’t even need to talk was also really nice. “Besides it was a one time thing right?” Amajiki did not like the way teacher and student looked at each other.

“It’s a really big maybe on that Senpai, but I will always let you know in advance if we need to do this again so that you can mentally prepare!” Izuku did appreciate Tamaki doing this for him, which meant he also was taking into account how his senpai felt.

“That’s alright I guess.”  Even if he said no, Mirio would probably find a way to convince him anyway, besides being a dragon meant he didn’t have talk at all which made the interaction all the more bearable.

“You are free to leave Tamaki.” Aizawa said, the teen got out of there immediately. “Well done brat, for someone that looks so innocent you know how to plan your pranks. How did you even figure the thing with Tamaki?” 

Izuku smiled at his dad. “It was a quirk theory, considering Tamaki can manifest anything that he eats it was likely that he could manifest another transformation quirk, we tested it and it worked! There’s a chance mutation quirks can be manifested as well, I think emitters are a possibility but it would be harder to achieve.”

“No wonder Nezu likes you.” Amajiki was already a third year student and none of them have thought about the possibility, maybe Nezu did but he never brought it up.

“While I’m here, I would like to show you the notes from my own quirk! I’ve updated it a lot since, you know, almost getting arrested.”  His friends were going to flip when they found out about that part of his lore.

“Alright.” With that Aizawa took the notebook, considering he was Izuku’s quirk counselor and teacher it is only logical he checks up on any updates.

‘Quirk: Night Fury.

Type: Transformation, partial mutation.

Description: The user is able to transform into the dragon species known as “Night Fury” from a pre-quirk era franchise called “How to train your dragon.”  The quirk required for the user to be hit by lightning to activate. 

Appearance: The user gains bat like wings that allow for flight, ears become nub like appendages (very sensitive), nails become dark claws, eyes are cat like, user gets a tail with fins at the beginning and end of it they are used for flying as well (losing fins will make the user unable to fly without a prosthesis)’

The section of appearance was accompanied by drawings of each aspect mentioned.

‘Abilities
Flight: The users wings, tail and fins allows them to fly, the spikes along their back can split to make sharp turns easier. The user’s bones became hollow to facilitate flight. 

Plasma shots: User can fire plasma shots that will explode on impact, the strength of the shot depends on the user’s ability it can go from denting metal to melting it. If the shots fail to hit anything they will explode mid air making a shock wave, strength of the shock wave depends on the blast. A plasma beam should be possible, not achieved yet. The franchise mentions a six shot limit for most dragons, the quirk has not shown this limitation.

Lightning summoning: As the name implies, the user is able to summon lightning and use it to give himself momentary invisibility. Sometimes a storm is created for the lightning to appear. This ability has only been used under high amounts of stress.

Echolocation: The nubs allow for the user to be more perceptive to sound, they can use echolocation by either hearing the sound of his roars bounce on the wall or by using the shock wave of his blasts.

Cloaking: As it was mentioned before, the user can use lightning to turn himself invisible for  short periods of time. This can be replicated with an electroshock support device.’

The next part also had drawings, each according to the description given to each aspect.

'Known forms

Mid-Fury: The user is mostly human with some mutations (possibly to facilitate transformation.) User has wings, tail and fins, ear nubs, sharp teeth, claws and cat like eyes. The user still has control over the animalistic instincts and is capable of thinking logically. Easiest form to handle.

Full Fury (neutral): The user transforms completely into a dragon, which makes it easier for him to be swayed by their animalistic instincts as well as having a much more animal mindset. If focused enough the user can still control those instincts. Difficult to control, but manageable.

Full Fury  (Survivor): The user has lost control of themselves and is fully relying on their animalistic instincts to survive, it  will react incredibly aggressive towards anything perceived as “dangerous” and it will not hesitate to attack anything that is perceived as a threat. This form has only been achieved under emotionally stressful situations. DO NOT approach until it is back into it’s neutral or mid-fury form. Can not be controlled (yet).

Extras!

• The user’s clothes will break upon transformation, DNA base clothing is highly recommended.
• User can not remember anything that happened during a survivor outburst, reason is still unknown.
• In theory, the survivor form can be regressed by someone the user will never perceived as a threat. (So far mom and dad.)
• Possible allergy to this worlds equivalent to “dragon root” and “blue oleander”, equivalents still unknown.
• The user can’t eat eels,  it would make them sick and hostile, their vision would get blurry and he would be very disoriented, hallucinations are also possible.
• User can be probably affected by catnip. (Yet to be tested.)’

Aizawa raised an eyebrow at the survivor form, noticing how the kid stopped referring to himself with him in his notes and started using it. “Kid, you can’t refer to your survivor form as an it.” 

“Why? It’s a mindless animal that only attacks and hurts.” Izuku didn’t like thinking about that form as a part of him, he would never want to actually hurt someone so badly.

“If you keep calling that part of you a wild animal, you will act like a wild animal. Like it or not that is a part of you and your quirk, creating this barrier in your mind will only reinforce that idea and make that part of yourself harder to control.” The kid glared at the floor, Aizawa was right and he didn’t like that. “I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, specially with a quirk so rare like yours. But you aren’t helping yourself by separating yourself from your quirk, you are still learning kid and mistakes are part of learning. For now, fix that part of your notes and work of seeing even the bad parts of your quirk as part of you.”

Izuku sighed. “Yes sensei.”

“Also, your extra fact of catnip is staying as a theory.” He was not going to let his kid close to the cat equivalent of weed. 

“Yeah, I figured as much.” He wasn’t going to actually test it, but dragonip was a thing so it was possible. “While I’m here, how do I schedule a session with Hound Dog? I want to talk about the USJ and … well, you know.”

Aizawa gave a small nod. “I’ll handle that for you brat, I’ll let you know when he can make some room for you. After that you can talk with him for follow up sessions.”

“Thanks.” He was still unsure about talking about that experience, so he was planning to build some trust with the whole USJ situation and work from there.

Eventually classes were back in session, while Izuku was out of commission Yaoyorozu made a class group chat to facilitate communication, which is how the whole class was informed that both Izuku and Aizawa were discharged from the hospital and attending school with them.

“Midoriya bro, are you sure you should be here?” Kirishima asked pointing at Izuku’s arm still casted and in a sling, his wing was still in a splint as well to make sure it wouldn’t move too much.

“Yup! As long as I take it easy I will be fine. Besides, my mom is a nurse, if she says I can be here then I believe it.” Izuku said with his characteristic smile.

“I want everyone in their seats in the next ten seconds.” Aizawa said walking into the room, making any students that were standing up scramble back to their desks. “Good, now that everyone is settled in we need to talk about something very important.” He made a small pause just to be dramatic. “The sports festival.”

The class exploded at that. “Sensei! Is it a good idea to continue the sports festival after the break in?!” Iida said standing from his desk, Izuku would’ve joined him but he knew Nezu, this seems like something he would do.

“The principal believes this is the best way to show UA is still standing strong and that we were not intimidated by the villain attack.” Aizawa did believe it was a mistake to put 1-A under the spotlight after something so stressful, then again most of the students came out of it unharmed. “However, any of you are free to withdraw from the event this year considering what you went through, the decision is up to you.” As he expected, no one decided to withdraw.   “You have two weeks to get ready, remember that this event is your first impression with the public as well as hero agencies. You will want to give it your all to gain the hero’s attention for an internship.” The class began to talk among themselves about how cool internships would be and getting each other hyped up for the event.

Izuku stood up clearing his throat to call everyone’s attention. “I would also like to remind everyone that UA counts with a therapist and counselor in case you need it, considering the USJ I would recommend that everyone has at least one session with Hound Dog to asses how that experience affected you.” Izuku sat back down feeling a little nervous now that everyone was actually staring at him. “You aren’t forced to go, but it could be helpful. That’s all.” As class president he felt responsible for letting his class know about this.

“Midoriya is correct, while it isn’t obligatory you should go to at least one therapy session. The health of your mind is as important as the health of your body.” Aizawa added.

After that they had their usual lessons, during english Yamada refused to even look in Midoriya’s direction, other than that everything was normal, that is until lunch time arrived. When the class tried to leave their classroom they were met by a wall of people. “What are they doing?” Sero asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Bakugou said walking towards the crowd. “They are scouting the competition,  remember this I will win! Now move out of the way extras!” Bakugou said before shoving people out of the way so he could get out of the classroom.

“Bakugou! You can’t call other students extras! It is highly inappropriate!” Iida’s scolding fell on deaf ears.

“Dude you can’t say that!” Kaminari complained, but well Bakugou was never known for caring about what others said.

“This is the best UA has to offer?” A purple haired boy from the crowd made himself known, Izuku recognized him. “You all got lucky being born with perfect quirks to pass the entrance exam, but that is not the only way to enter the hero course. If one does well enough during the sports festival you can be transferred into the hero course, meaning someone will have to be kicked out to make room, so don’t get too comfortable. This is a declaration of war.” After saying that the purple boy turned around and walked away.

Did he just threaten his class? Yes. Was that going to stop Izuku from going after that boy? Absolutely not.  Izuku pushed his way past the crowd to chase after him. “Purple guy! Wait!” He jogged lightly to catch up to him standing right in his way. “You are the one that helped me during my panic attack!”

Oh, Hitoshi remembered the dragon kid that said his quirk was cool, it kind of made sense he was in the hero course he just didn’t think much about that. “I would like to say you look better, but you kind of look worse.” 

Izuku sighed, he wasn’t wrong. “Yeah, that happens when you fight for your life. But that’s beyond the point, I think I forgot to introduce myself last time, Midoriya Izuku nice to meet you!” Izuku held out a hand that Shinsou shook.

“Shinsou Hitoshi.” Normally he would’ve acted a lot colder to someone blessed from the hero course, but he saw Midoriya at his worst and he was still nice, this wasn’t an act.

“Well Shinsou Hitoshi, If you want to get into the hero course, then I’ll help you achieve that!” Izuku had already decided this guy was going to be his new friend.

Shinsou raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Well, you helped me when I was in trouble, that already makes you a hero in the making! Plus we do have an empty spot in class you could take.” See the thing is Izuku isn’t asking if Hitoshi wants help, he will help him into the hero course.

“You have a spot?” That immediately spiked Hitoshi’s interest.

“Yup, bastard got expelled on the first day for harassment.” Izuku said popping the p. “You want to make UA look at you during the sports festival so you can transfer right?  I’ll help you train so you can do it!”

“What makes you think I can’t do that myself?” He has always been underestimated, even by nice people like Midoriya.

“Don’t twist my words, I didn’t say you couldn’t do it yourself, I said I will help you train for the sports festival, see it as improving your chances of success!” Izuku made a small pause. “Also don’t take this in a bad way, your quirk is super useful for hero work but depending on your quirk to succeed is the greatest mistake you could make. You also need to be fit and no offense but you are built like a twig.” Spending so much time with Aizawa made him bolder.

Well that was blunt. “So, you think you can make me gain some muscle in two weeks?”

“More or less, actually I think you should train more for endurance, stamina and stealth but if you want muscle I can help with that. Are you in?” Izuku was always excited to experiment with new quirks.

“I guess … since I helped you, it’s only fair you help me too.”  To  Izuku that was getting a green light.

“Cool! Are you free after school today?” Shinsou gave a hesitant nod. “Perfect!” Hitoshi saw the greenette walk towards a camera with a red blinking light. “Nezu-san! Is there any gym we could have for a couple hours every day until the sports festival?”

“What are you?” Hitoshi went quiet when he heard the principal’s voice through the speakers.

“Sure thing Midoriya! What about gym beta from 3 to 5?” Izuku looked at Hitoshi waiting for an answer, the teen nodded looking clearly confused. “Wonderful! I’ll write down your schedule to prevent any inconveniences!”

“Thank you Nezu!” Izuku said still talking to the cameras, only looking away when the red light stopped blinking.

Hitoshi was dumbfounded. “How did you do that? No scratch that, why do you talk to the principal so casually?”

Izuku simply smiled at him. “Perks of being the principal’s favorite.” 

Why does it feel like he just made a deal with the devil?

Izuku and Hitoshi walked to the cafeteria, the greenette going on about  the exercises Hitoshi could do during those two weeks, however, before the seemingly one sided conversation could continue, Todoroki made himself known. “Midoriya can I talk to you?”  The heterochromatic teen stared at Hitoshi. “In private.” 

“Oh, um, sure.” Izuku turned to Hitoshi. “I’ll see you after school okay?” After a nod of acknowledgement Izuku walked away with Todoroki. They walked until they were alone, were no one else could hear.

“Midoriya, I heard you call Aizawa dad during the USJ. Are you by chance his secret love child?” Todoroki said in all seriousness.

Izuku didn’t know what he was expecting when someone as stoic as Todoroki asked to talk in private, but it wasn’t this. “You could say that.” Aizawa may not be biologically his dad, but Midoriya did set up the secret love child thing amongst the teachers.

“Then you must also know what it’s like to be raised by a hero.” Todoroki said with spite. “You know how it’s like to be trained until you can’t get up, to get pushed beyond your limits, to fight until your nauseous but never getting a break because you can’t be anything less than perfect, to feel pain in every moment because he could never hold back, you would never learn if you didn’t get hurt.” The dual haired teenager glared at the ground. “If you know what that is like, why were you so willing to protect him from the USJ monster?”

Izuku had no idea what Todoroki was talking about. “Aizawa can be a bit strict with his training, I may have gotten the occasional bruise during sparring but he would always give me a break if I needed it. He pushed me to my limits but never if that would hurt me. why would you assume?” That’s when realization hit him, Todoroki was the son of Todoroki Enji more commonly known as Endeavor, Todoroki was talking from experience. “Is Endeavor hurting you? Are you safe?”

Todoroki blinked slowly at his sudden worry. “It seems I misunderstood, sorry for bothering you.” With that the teen tried to walk away, not that Izuku would let him after that.

“Todoroki wait!” He grabbed his classmate’s hand to stop him from getting away. “Aizawa isn’t like that, he would never hurt me willingly … but, I do know what having an Endeavor is like.” That made Todoroki look at him again. “I know it’s not the same  because the person that hurt me wasn’t my dad but, he was someone so strong and powerful that no one would stop him. Even if someone tried, they aren’t the sort of person to  take no for an answer, right?” 

Todoroki nodded that did sound like Endeavor. “No, I suppose they’re not.”

“While it’s not the same, I know what it’s like to have someone in your life who was meant to love and protect you, but he never did. Instead he punched and kicked and burned and screamed for every minor inconvenience, because it was easier to let out his anger that way. Because hurting you made him feel so much bigger, sometimes it even felt like they enjoy hurting you, right?” This is the second time he has ever opened up about his situation with Bakugou, even if he wasn’t mentioning him by name.

The situation was different, but Todoroki couldn’t help but agree. No matter how painful it was for him, Endeavor enjoyed every second he spent molding his so called masterpiece.

“I … I don’t know how bad things with Endeavor are, but I do know that talking about it helped me and maybe it will help you too.” Izuku gave Todoroki’s hand a little squeeze. “If you don’t want to tell me I get it, I’m a stranger more or less but you should tell someone, especially someone that can help you out of that situation.” The moment Inko knew what was going on she set her foot down and put a stop to Katsuki.

“Midoriya he is the number two hero, who would go against him?” Who in their right mind would do that?

“I would.” He did not care. “I made the mistake of letting people like Endeavor walk all over me, I won’t make that mistake again. Plus I’m more or less fire proof, there’s not a lot he could do to me.” 

Todoroki did not understand why Midoriya was getting involved like this, no one had cared before, his mom thought that he was so unbearable that she burned half of his face, Fuyumi only took care of him after his dad’s tantrums she never tried to stop him, Natsuo just left. Why did his family turn a blind eye and yet his classmate, a stranger, was willing to go against the number two hero just to make things right? “… Midoriya, have you ever heard of quirk marriages?”

Todoroki began talking about his family and Midoriya listened. He listened about how Endeavor sought out specifically an ice quirk to counter his own weakness, he listened about how his mother was bought into the arranged marriage, he listened about Todoroki only being born as a tool to surpass All Might, he listened about the endless days of training until Todoroki collapsed, he listened about how in every memory of Todoroki’s mom she was crying, he listened how Todoroki’s mom broke under the pressure to the point of pouring boiling water on her son’s face. 

Izuku was horrified to say the least. He wasn’t sure Todoroki found comfort in the same way Izuku did, despite that he still gave him a hug. It was a little awkward considering he only had one working arm, not that it stopped him. “I’m sorry, I know that’s not a lot but I’m so sorry he did that to you. I’m sorry no one helped you before.” 

Todoroki didn’t know how to react, he hasn’t been hugged since his mom was taken away, he did eventually hug Midoriya back … it was nice to be hugged again.

Izuku pulled away after a while. “You probably don’t want me to tell this to anyone else right?”

“I would appreciate it if you kept this between us, yes.” Todoroki said.

“Okay.” Izuku pulled out his phone before he started typing. “I know it’s not a lot but that’s my address, if you ever feel like it’s too much or you just want to get away or if you feel unsafe, you can come. If you are hurt my mom’s a nurse so she can help, but if you don’t want to explain why you are hurt you can always come in through my window, I have experience with burns and bruises anyway.”

Todoroki blinked slowly at Midoriya. “Why are you offering this?” 

Izuku gave a small shrug. “When my Endeavor was hurting me, there wasn’t really a safe place I could go to. I just want to make sure you do have a safe place if you need it.”

Oh, Todoroki didn’t know a safe place was an option to begin with. “I’m not sure if I will use this but thank you.” Izuku gave him a weak smile.

Before they could go on the bell rang. “Ah, I think we just missed lunch. I know Recovery Girl keeps some snacks in her office, if we ask nicely enough she might give us some. Come on.” Izuku didn’t think twice before grabbing Todoroki’s hand and guiding him to the nurse’s office.

Todoroki let Midoriya guide him. Perhaps it was the fact that Todoroki was severely touch starved, but Midoriya’s hug felt so nice and warm … he would like to feel that warmth more often.

In the end Izuku’s puppy eyes and begging did get them some granola bars with chocolate chips, it wasn’t as filling as normal lunch but it would do until they were able to go home. Well Todoroki went home, Izuku went with his dad to ask for a jelly pouch before heading towards gym beta for his training with Shinsou.

“Are you sure you can train me like that?” Shinsou said pointing at Midoriya’s arm and wing.

“I can’t spar with you yet, but I can guide your training until I’m cleared for sparring. Now before we begin, what kind of hero do you want to be?”  Izuku asked enjoying his strawberry jelly pouch.

“Are you expecting some heartfelt story about why I want to become a hero? Because I’m mostly doing this out of spite.” Sure saving people is great and all but he actually wants to prove everyone that called him a villain wrong.

“Charming, but I actually meant if you were leaning more into a limelight hero or an underground hero. The sooner you start training for that the better.” The greenette said.

“Oh, uh, underground I guess? My quirk works better when people don’t know about it.” Shinsou said with a small shrug.

“Great! For now let’s start with your stamina, run some laps around the gym, stop when you feel like you can’t go on.” While Shinsou did that, Midoriya simply sat down to watch him with the occasional encouraging words.

The tired teenager followed Izuku’s instructions running around the gym and the small workout routine which Involved stretches, jumping jacks, sit ups and push ups, Shinsou may have failed in that last one but hey he was standing. “You said this was for beginners?” 

“Don’t worry, I was as bad as you when I started!” Izuku said cheerfully. “Besides the hardest part is done, now for your first hero lesson, I want you to punch me!”

Hitoshi blinked at him, the dragonling couldn’t be serious. “You are joking right?  You have a broken arm! I’m not punching you!” 

Izuku just rolled his eyes. “ I wouldn’t tell you to do it if I couldn’t take it! Come on, punch me!”

“Midoriya, I really don’t think this is the best idea.” He didn’t want to hurt someone who was already hurt.

Midoriya mocked him. “I’m the teacher right now, you just have to trust me alright?” Hitoshi hesitated but threw the punch anyway, despite his limitations Izuku easily dodged the hit walking past Shinsou, his tail wrapped around the teen’s ankle before pulling it making him fall. “Lesson number one to be a hero, never underestimate your opponent, you went easy and didn’t take it seriously because I’m injured. An injury won’t stop a villain from attacking you, in fact that might just make them fight twice as hard in desperation. We should also improve your situational awareness, you were focusing so much on where to hit me that you lost track of the rest of me.” Izuku offered him a hand. “Ready to try again?”

Hitoshi groaned from the ground, that warm up made him want to stay on the floor, but that wasn’t an option.  “That was a dirty trick.”

Izuku let out a small laugh. “Lesson two of being a hero, your enemy can and will play dirty. Use any tricks you have to your advantage.”  Hitoshi groaned again but he did get up this time. “Good, now actually try this time, I want to see your stance.”

For the rest of that training Izuku kept correcting his position, giving small bumps with his tail or wing to fix Shinsou’s stance like straightening his back or correcting his footing. Overall it was tiring and this was just the beginning.

“Not bad, you still have a lot of catching up to do but you sure have the spirit for it, catch!” Izuku said throwing Shinsou a water bottle.

Hitoshi caught it, the coolness of the bottle felt nice. “Thanks? It’s more than I thought it would be, but it’s not so bad.” Hitoshi DID NOT like the way Izuku was smirking.

“Oh Shinsou, it only gets worse from here on out.” The greenette said patting his shoulder. “But hey you survived day one! Get as much rest as you can, believe me you’ll need it. See you tomorrow!” With that Izuku left, Hitoshi standing up trying to go after him. 

“Midoriya what do you mean worse?! Midoriya!” 

Izuku could only giggle as he got away, Nezu was really rubbing off on him.

Chapter Text

Izuku was very excited when Recovery girl cleared his wing on Thursday of the first training week. “Hold your horses Midoriya, your wings may be healed but you aren’t allowed to fly yet. You need to do a lot of stretching and flapping without actually lifting off the ground, your wing needs to regain their strength after a break like that.”

Izuku let out a little huff. “I thought your quirk would help with that.” He was itching to fly in the sky again.

“I make it quicker but I don’t make miracles boy, there are some parts of recovery that need to be done naturally. If you do as I say you will be fine for flight on Monday.” The nurse explained. “I can get started on your arm tomorrow, you should be fine to compete in the sports festival.” As if a broken arm would’ve stopped him

“Fiiiiiiiine.” Izuku whined, he would have to wait just a little bit longer to soar the clouds again. 

Izuku got out of her office and headed back to class, today’s classes just seemed particularly boring to him after the news, he needed something to spice things up and he finally had an idea during hero training. Izuku wasn’t allowed to participate until he no longer had a cast and normally spent that session with Nezu, but not today. “Yaoyorozu-san, could you make me something? It’s a get well gift for Aizawa sensei.” Time to terrorize the teacher’s again.

“Oh! Sure thing! What do you need me to make?” Being in her hero costume just made things easier.

“It’s something very simple really!” Izuku told her what he wanted and Momo nodded in agreement, it was something relatively easy to make and considering the size it didn’t take too much energy out of her. 

Izuku got dressed in his special training uniform and put on his support collar before heading out to the teacher’s lounge with his little gift laying in his sling.

“I have a lead!” Nemuri said with a file in hand. “I’ve checked on all the first years students and I have a match for Shouta’s secret baby!” As expected everyone came to her desk to check on the file, Shinsou Hitoshi. “First year in general education that is seeking to switch into the hero course through the sports festival, just like Shouta did!”

“Nemuri I don’t think Shou’s eye bags are genetic.” Yamada said still completely against the secret family theory.

“Oh shut it! That face is exactly the same as Shouta’s when he was studying here! You can’t tell me I’m wrong on that!” Midnight did not have evidence beyond the similar appearance but that was enough for her.

“I kind of see the resemblance.” Maijima said taking a closer look at the picture on the file.

“Do not encourage her! That’s just a tired student that can’t be nearly enough to claim he is Shou’s secret baby!” Hizashi was not going to be gaslighted into believing his best friend hid a whole family from him for 15 years.

“Plus the quirk doesn’t really make sense considering Aizawa’s.” Snipe pointed out, brainwashing wasn’t even remotely close to erasure.

“He could’ve gotten the quirk from the mom’s side of the family.” Nemuri said dead set on her theory. “The sports festival will let us see how he fights! I’m willing to bet he will fight just like Aizawa does!” If only they were aware of the dragonling eavesdropping on them, he has a few ideas now.

“Nemuri, any student that doesn’t sleep a lot would look like Shouta! This means nothing!” Their bickering went on for a few minutes before Vlad pointed at Aizawa’s desk.

“Does anyone know where that came from? Because it wasn’t there when Kayama came in.” All of the teacher’s turned around to find the plushy of a black cat laying on Aizawa’s desk,  it even had a small capture scarf to match and of course the green post it note that keeps mocking them.

“Hope you are feeling better dad! 

-Brat =^•w•^=”

Nemuri smiled widely at the note, she finally had confirmation that it was in fact Aizawa’s son. “I KNEW IT!” As crazy as her idea was, she was the only one with proof.

“Absolutely not! Whoever keeps writing these is messing with us!” For once Yamada was right. “And whoever left it did it without any of us noticing! It had to be someone invisible or something! It can’t be Shinsou.” Once again Yamada was absolutely right, not that anyone cared.

“But it can!” Nemuri said excitedly. “This kid could easily brainwash us into forgetting he was even here!”

“You have no proof that’s how his quirk works!” Yamada yelled.

“You have no proof that’s not how his quirk works!” Kayama yelled back. 

Izuku would LOVE to stay and listen how that ends, but he does have classes with Nezu to attend to, he has been working extra hard to get his hacking right before the weekend. 

The greenette entered Nezu’s office, the rat allowed him to be a little late since his little chaos was incredibly entertaining to watch. “I must say Midoriya, using your invisibility to leave another note right under their noses was brilliant! Using your wings so they didn’t notice the flying collar was also very clever.”

“Thank you Nezu-san.” Izuku pulled out his laptop before he began working on his hacking once more, he was nowhere near Nezu’s level but he was getting better. “Nezu-san, If I hypothetically asked you for Todoroki’s address just so I can prank the number two hero. Would you give it to me?” He had to try.

Nezu hummed drinking his tea. “Well that depends, do you have a good hypothetical reason for this?” The rat has never quite liked Endeavor, his methods while effective where also careless and dangerous.

“Yes.” Midoriya said still typing away in his computer, trying to get past UA’s security is a hard task, especially after the improvements but hey, Izuku has always liked a good challenge.

“Can I know this hypothetical reason?” Nezu inquired.

Izuku hesitated for a moment, he knows Todoroki needs help but he can’t afford to break his trust, especially if Todoroki is truly considering going to him if he needs somewhere safe to stay. “No, I’m afraid not.” Nezu could help Todoroki more than Izuku can, but even he would struggle with bringing the number two hero to his knees, mostly because of the hero commission’s doing.

“Ah, I see.” Nezu took another sip from his tea. “Does this have to do with your private conversation with him?” Izuku tensed. “Do not worry, while I like to be informed about everything that happens in my school, I do respect my students privacy when they need it.” All Nezu would have to do is review that footage, but he hasn’t.

“In that case  yes, it has to do with that conversation. But no, I can’t tell you what it was.” The only way to start helping a victim of abuse is to give them a safe place to open up, a safe place to realize things can get better.

“I see … well, I doubt you would bring this hypothetical scenario if you didn’t have a good enough reason.” Nezu knows Izuku’s heart is always in the right place, perhaps a bit mischievous at times but always in the right place. “Even if I didn’t give it to you, you would use your new trick to get his file from the teacher’s lounge.” Izuku nodded in agreement, he was going to get what he wanted but he wanted to be nice about it first. “Very well, I will give you the address as long as you promise for the prank to be harmless.” 

Izuku huffed at that but agreed nonetheless. “Fine, no harmful pranks … for now.” Nezu smiled, that’s his student alright.

It was Saturday in the afternoon when Todoroki finally collapsed on his futon with a groan, his dad has been particularly insufferable lately, training him for the sports festival and trying to get him to use his fire. As usual Todoroki refuses to use his fire and is determined to win with only his mother’s ice, Endeavor doesn’t really likes it when he does that so he goes extra hard on his ‘training’. 

His father has finally left for patrol which means he can finally rest, then he heard a tap on his window. Todoroki thought a bird probably just bumped into it but after a few seconds he heard the tap again. He turned around to see what it was, oh it was just Midoriya flying outside his window … wait. “Midoriya?!” Todoroki got up and opened the window.

The greenette smiled at him. “Hey! Think I can come in? I really shouldn’t be flying but your room is on a second floor so.”

Todoroki had no idea how to react. “What are you doing here?! How did you get past security?!” He whispered yelled hoping Fuyumi wouldn’t hear him.

“Well I decided to make your dad’s life more annoying out of pettiness with this!” He said looking down and the bags he was carrying. “About your security I may or may not have hacked it and put the cameras on loop.”

“Are you crazy? What if my father sees you?” That man had no problem beating up his own son, he would do much worse to an intruder.

“Oh you don’t have to worry about that! I made sure to check his patrolling schedule, I know he won’t be here for a while. Plus I may have someone making his patrol a little harder to give us more time!” Midoriya fell a bit when his wings failed him before recovering. “I would really like to come in though, I wasn’t lying when I said I shouldn’t be flying yet.”

Todoroki was still flabbergasted about this whole situation. “Fine, just stay quiet.” Fuyumi wouldn’t tell dad about this but well Shoto wasn’t exactly allowed to bring people over anyways.

Izuku handed him the bags before grabbing onto the edge of the window to get inside, his wings did not like the window size but he made it work. “Great, do you happen to know what color your dad hates the most?”

Todoroki blinked at him, Midoriya was odd. “No.” He only knows that old man hates that he refuses to use his fire.

Izuku clicked his tongue. “Shame, guess we’ll have to do all the colors then, maybe go full rainbow. Endeavor seems like the kind of person to hate pride.”

Todoroki tilted his head to the side. “Endeavor doesn’t hate pride, he is too prideful to do that.”

Midoriya shook his head. “Not that kind of pride Todoroki.”

The dual haired teen stared at the dragonling. “… You mean like a lion pride? What does that have to do with colors or rainbows?”

Izuku took a deep breath, it actually sort of made sense that Endeavor never taught Todoroki about this, it depended on the hero’s definition of perfect. “No, I mean pride as in pride month?” Todoroki still looked confused, oh boy. “Okay so um, there are some boys who love boys and some girls that love girls? Like in a romantic way? And like that was looked down upon before, kind of still is by some people but it’s gotten better. Anyhow, pride month is a whole month where they celebrate being who they are and loving who they love. Does that make sense?” Izuku is trying his best to explain this in the simplest of terms, there was a lot he was skipping but he felt like baby steps was the best approach.

Todoroki was processing that information, in his life he only saw a relationship between mom and his bastard of a father and that was bad, he heard Fuyumi say Natsuo had a girlfriend before, all he’s ever known is a girl with a boy. “… being with a boy is an option?” He has never had any interest in romance considering the only example he ever had of a relationship, this information was new and confusing.

Midoriya did a so-so gesture with his hand. “I mean it’s not exactly something you choose as an option, is more something that you just feel?” Izuku also has no experience with a healthy relationship. “But yeah sometimes two boys want to be together, sometimes two girls want to be together as in dating and during pride they celebrate that love.” 

Todoroki just gave a small nod. “I see.” He didn’t fully understand this yet, the mere idea of celebrating love was so foreign to him but maybe with time he will understand. “My father has never spoken of this, I suppose that means he doesn’t think it’s important.” Todoroki did a small pause. “What does this pride has to do with colors and rainbows?”

“They use the rainbow as a symbol.” At least that was easier to explain. “Anyways, where is your dad’s room? I’m going to mess with his hero costumes!” He was excited about this, the vultures were going to love Endeavor’s new fashion style.

The idea was incredibly tempting. “What are you going to do?”

Midoriya had a mischievous grin on his face. “Come with me and find out.”   

Todoroki always behaved at home mostly out of fear or because he couldn’t do anything about it, the only thing rebellious he ever did was refusing to use his fire and that shouldn’t count. “Okay.” He deserves to mess with his dad for once.

Both teens got out of Todoroki’s room and scurried into Endeavor’s. “Do you have any buckets? If not we can probably do this in the shower, a bucket seems easier though.”

“Yes, I could go get some.” After Midoriya gave him a thumbs up Todoroki went out to get the buckets, thankfully Fuyumi didn’t notice him or if she did then she didn’t ask any questions, by the time he came back Midoriya had laid out some containers with some sort of powder in them and some bottles with lighter fluid. “What is that for?”

“I could tell you but It would be easier to show you.” Izuku poured a bit of the lighter fluid in one of the buckets before adding one of the powders and mixing it. “There now just dip a finger in there, from your left hand.”

Todoroki hesitated. “Why?” Midoriya was specifically asking for his left side, he didn’t like that.

“Well If I want to show you what this does, I need you to use your fire.” Look Midoriya is very aware why Todoroki doesn’t use his fire but maybe this can help him.

“No, Midoriya I explained to you why I can’t! Did my father set you up to do this?!” Todoroki had trust issues, why would someone want him to use his fire? Only Endeavor or someone he sent would want that.

“No, of course not! I would never work with someone like Endeavor!” Todoroki still looked betrayed in a way. “… Look, I know why you don’t want to use your fire, I understand it even but I’m not asking for a jet of fire. You only have to do a candle light on one of your fingers, you can turn it off as soon as you see what it does.” Todoroki seemed to consider it. “You trusted me to keep this a secret Todoroki, I promise you can trust me on this too and if it helps, it won’t look anything like his fire.” 

Todoroki was reluctant but he eventually gave in dipping a finger before setting it ablaze, instead of being met with an angry orange flame he was met with a beautiful purple one, it was almost entrancing. “… You were right, it looks nothing like his fire.”  Midoriya could swear he saw Todoroki’s lip twitch into a smile for a moment.

Todoroki and Izuku spend their time soaking Endeavor’s costumes on different color igniters although they had to paint by hand one to be a rainbow when the hero used it, despite how long that took Shoto seemed to have fun and for Izuku that was enough. The dragonling left before Endeavor returned home, none the wiser of what was to come in the following days.

At that same time on a cafe far away from the two boys, the girls of class 1-A were gathered upon the call of Uraraka, all to discuss about their very dear friend. “I know this may sound crazy, but hear me out. I think Bakugou and Midori are exes and Bakugou is trying to get him back.” Needless to say all the girls were stunned at her statement.

“Wait girl back it up a little bit!” Mina said taking a sip or her frappe. “Where is this coming from? If you are going to spill the tea then you have to do it right!”

“Right! So we all know how Midori and Bakugou know each other from before UA.” The girls nodded, it was Izuku himself who clarified that when they asked why Bakugou was so mean to him. “And that on it’s own shouldn’t imply anything BUT we all saw what Bakugou did during the battle trials!”

Yaoyorozu grimaced at that. “Yes … that was pretty distasteful on his part.” No one had context for the taunt but well, they didn’t need much to get it.

“Super trashy on Bakugou’s part yes, when I asked about it Midoriya said it was personal and wouldn’t elaborate on it. That leads me to believe this wasn’t just something personal but also something private Bakugou used against him.” When you put it like that it does make sense.

“Aren’t you overthinking this kero?” Tsuyu asked. “I mean it does look suspicious, but don’t teenage boys joke around like that? I’m pretty sure I heard Kaminari say something with a double meaning a few times.”

“Yes, but that’s not all! Back when Midori was still in the hospital, Bakugou visited him.” All eyes were on Ochako, the story just keeps getting interesting. “And let me tell you those two were alone in there for who knows how long, miss Midoriya was nowhere in sight. Everyone gifted Midori some sort of candy or balloons, but do you know what Bakugou got him? A green stuffed rabbit with a pretty red bow.”

Hagakure grabbed a bite of her cookie. “That’s actually kind of a cute gift.”

“I know!” Uraraka said. “But does Bakugou strike you as the kind of guys that gives out cutesy gifts? A gift that mind you was for the same guy he screams at and calls Deku all the time.” All girls shook their heads, sure maybe he was a thug guy with a soft side but that just supports her point, why would he be soft with Midori? “And that’s not all, when I arrived Midori was at the brink of tears and when I tried to ask Bakugou what he did it was Midori who stepped in a just told him to go! Bakugou didn’t even try to argue! He just left! But hear this, he didn’t call him Bakugou, he called him Kacchan.”

Mina gasped, why does Bakugou get a cutesy nickname after being such a dick and she doesn’t have one yet! “Kacchan? Really? But Midori never calls him that in class!”

“That’s exactly my point! Why did he only call him Kacchan after whatever it is they said in there? And that’s not even the best part yet!” All the girls were eagerly waiting for her to continue, gossip is a wonderful thing. “When I tried to ask what his deal with Bakugou was, do you know what he said? It’s complicated.”

“No way!” Mina and Hagakure said at the same time.

“Yes way!” Uraraka said right back.

“Well if that is the case, we can’t let them get back together.” Jiro said, she has never been one for romance but this could be her friend making a terrible mistake. “I’m just saying, Midoriya is nice, too nice. If Bakugou tries to get back with him enough times I’m very sure Midoriya will just eventually give in.”

Yaoyorozu nodded. “I wouldn’t want to impose on someone’s personal relationships and decisions. But they broke up for a reason and with the way they act around each other I don’t believe it would be healthy for them to give it another chance.”

“Also like, Midori is super cute, he could literally get any other boy in class that he wants!” Mina said excitedly, she was ready to play cupid. 

All the girls seemed to agree on that. “Well I don’t know if Midoriya has a crush on anyone right now, but we as his friends need to make sure he doesn’t make the terrible mistake of getting back together with Bakugou.”  Izuku backed them up when Mineta was bothering them, it’s their turn to return the favor. They have nice intentions even if they completely misunderstood the situation.

By the time Monday came Izuku’s arm was doing a lot better considering it wasn’t as shattered as his wing Recovery Girl had an easier time healing it, he was told to take it easy but other than that he was allowed to participate in hero training as well as transforming. Izuku had a blast during that class but he was even more excited with his training with Shinsou that day, he was finally going to be able to spar with him and that meant teaching him how to move like Aizawa does. 

Izuku was looking at his phone while he waited for Shinsou to arrive, he smiled at the screen. There were so many articles talking about Endeavor’s new looks, the pink fire really made his anger stand out, but the best one was the rainbow fire because that led the vultures to speculate and create fake news.

‘Rainbow Endeavor? Is there something he is trying to tell us?’
‘Could this be the number 2 hero’s way of coming out?’
‘Endeavor shows his support as an ally to the LGBT+ community!’

But his personal favorite had to be this one.

‘EndeMight is one step closer to becoming real! Endeavor using rainbow fire is a sign!’ 

To be fair that one didn’t come from a famous or even a real magazine or report site, it was simply a stan account on twitter and it was the funniest thing he could’ve found.

Shinsou came into the gym to a cackling Midoriya. “Please tell me you aren’t laughing about whatever hell training you are going to put me through today.” The training was more than Shinsou has done in his whole life, but he couldn’t deny it was working.

“Nah don’t worry, it’s about a different victim.” Izuku turned his phone off before looking at Shinsou, his smile disappearing when he saw the bruise on Shinsou’s cheek. “Who did that?”  Izuku didn’t mean to sound that serious, but Night Furies are extremely loyal, whoever messed with Shinsou is messing with him as well.

“It’s nothing don’t worry about it.” That only set off the alarms in Izuku’s head.

“Is someone bothering you because of your quirk? Because if they are I can tell Nezu about it, UA doesn’t tolerate any type of bullying.” The animal instincts were speaking, someone hurt his friend, that someone deserves hell.

“It wasn’t at UA … just drop it.” Shinsou said, this wasn’t something he wanted to talk about with Midoriya or anyone really.

Izuku didn’t like the idea of dropping the topic, this isn’t something he can ignore but he won’t be able to force any answers out of him either.  “… Fine.” He said reluctantly, he will leave it be for now. “Is there any other bruise I should know of before we start?”

“No … why does that matter? You trained me with a broken wing and an arm.” Shinsou couldn’t help  but be defensive, he knows Midoriya means well but this is a sore topic.

“That was different because I didn’t use that arm or wing during training and it matters because we are sparring today, if I worsen an injury we won’t be able to keep training before the sports festival. I don’t think you want that right?” Recovery Girl has scolded him enough times for him to replicate it.

“No, like I said I’m fine that’s the only important one.” That wording was enough for Izuku to speculate that there were in fact more bruises.

“If you say so, go on get in position, we are sparring until you are too tired to get up!” Izuku said trying to bring back his cheery persona.

“Joy.” Shinsou said with a hint of sarcasm before getting into position, as soon as he did that Midoriya lunged at him. “What was that?!” Shinsou only managed to dodge on reflex.

“This is your next hero lesson! Villains won’t give you a warning before attacking! Now show me what you can do hero!” Needless to say Shinsou became very familiar with the taste of the training mat, but hey at least he managed to take Midoriya down once, even if he had to use his quirk for it.

“Hey! You got me down well done!” Midoriya said getting up.

“Aren’t you mad I used my quirk? It’s just you weren’t using yours while sparring and-” Shinsou shut up after receiving a small bap from Midoriya’s wings.

“I have a mutation Shinsou, I’m always using my quirk. But you are training to be a hero, that means using anything you can to your advantage, if that’s your quirk then so be it.” Izuku did hold back from using his wings as shields or his tail to trip Shinsou, it was his first serious sparring he deserved a bit of an advantage.

“Right.” Shinsou isn’t used to someone not being bothered by him using his quirk, it’s still strange.

“Think you can go for another round?” Izuku could, he survived Aizawa’s training after all.

“No.” Beating Midoriya once was good enough for today.

“Fair enough, we will keep sparring during Tuesday and Wednesday. I have something special planned for you on Thursday and Friday.” Shinsou did not like the sound of that.

Sparring went as good as you would imagine, Shinsou did get a good hit every once in a while or an opportunity to use his quirk, but in the end Midoriya was more experienced than him, the dragonling reassured him he would get better with time. The dreaded Thursday arrived and the gym looked different, there were plenty of cement blocks all of different heights, they were thick. That on it’s own was worrying, but the tightrope above the gym that had a net under it was worse. “Midoriya explain, now.”

“This two remaining days we will be working on your balance, stealth and movement! This is more for your future as an underground hero than the festival, but everything you can learn is useful! You’ll get this weekend off so you are fully rested for the festival!” Izuku was so excited for this, mostly because he was finally going to show Shinsou his full form.

“You expect me to cross that rope?!” He was going to fall two steps in. “I know there’s a net but what if I break it or something as I fall!”

“Oh don’t worry Shinsou, I would never let you get hurt. If you fall I will catch you, now get up and start crossing the rope, we are on a timer.” Right, they only have two hours.

They got up to the rope and Shinsou was not very confident. “Midoriya I’m not sure how helpful this can actually be.”

“If you can cross the whole rope without falling there won’t be much out there that will seem challenging to you! Now go on!” Izuku jumped down before opening his wings like a parachute. “I used this net all the time while learning to fly! It never failed me! Come on Shinsou you can do it.”

Shinsou took a deep breath before trying to step onto the rope, he managed about three steps before he was already falling. Just as promised Midoriya caught him by the arms flying him back to the start, this happened over and over again, although it was different when Shinsou managed to cross a quarter of the rope before falling. Instead of being caught by the arms, he fell onto something warm smooth. “What the?” Whatever that was flew him back to the start, when he got off he saw a big lizard that ended up transforming into Midoriya, the greenette is full of surprises. “Mind telling me what that was?”

“My quirk!” Shinsou stared at him.

“What do you mean your quirk? I thought your quirk was a mutation not that!” He was just startled that’s all.

“Ah, no it’s a transformation quirk with mutational aspects. I know it looks big and maybe a little scary, think of it as an oversized cat, I actually convinced Present Mic I’m an actual cat.” Shinsou snorted at that last bit.

“How did he ever believe you were a cat?” He didn’t get a good look at Midoriya while he was transformed but he was sure that did not look like a cat.

“I’m a very convincing actor, I also can purr so that helps me sell it. By the way, if Yamada sensei happens to see me with you while I’m transformed, I’m Midori the therapy cat not Midoriya the student.” Shinsou let out a small laugh at that.

“Midori? You didn’t even try to change your name.” Izuku was happy that Shinsou was a lot more relaxed around him.

“He still believes it, he even saw me and Midori at the same time but that’s a story for another day. Now try to cross that rope!”  Izuku jumped off again transforming in the air, ready to keep catching Shinsou as many times as he needed.

Hitoshi didn’t manage to cross the whole rope that day, but he did enjoy getting rides on Midoriya’s back, being able to fly was somewhat liberating. The big concrete blocks was for him to practice parkour at a safer height, Shinsou was fairly decent at that but the part Midoriya was the most excited about was the stealth.  “For your last lesson all you have to do is sneak around the gym without me catching you!” With that being said Izuku transformed, chasing people as Midori was a lot more fun. 

Was this fair? No, not at all. Midoriya had enhanced senses which means he could hear and even sniff where Shinsou was. As if that wasn’t enough he could use echolocation to find him and if Shinsou somehow managed to turn the lights off he had night vision. It sounds like an impossible task and it sort of is but the point of the exercise isn’t only to test Shinsou’s stealth, Izuku is also testing how he will react when he is faced with a disadvantage, if Shinsou wants to win he needs to outsmart him. 

Shinsou got a 30 second head start before the dragon came after him, for now he tried to move between the cement blocks since the dragon was too big to follow him on foot. That was no problem for Izuku, he simply kept hopping from the top of the cement blocks. “How am I supposed to lose that thing?!” As if things weren’t hard enough as it was, Izuku decided to blast some of the cement blocks blocking off escape paths. “Really Midoriya?!” He was sure he heard the dragon laugh.

Shinsou knew he was going to be forced out of the cement blocks or he was going to end up trapped inside them. He had to think of something, Midoriya’s methods were unconventional but they were designed so Shinsou would succeed eventually, the teenager looked at the tightrope above him … the only rule was that Midoriya couldn’t catch him, right?

Izuku could hear Shinsou taking a deep breath before darting out of his safe spot, he waited to see what he was going to do before jumping down and running after him. The rope? Why would Shinsou go for the rope? He didn’t even manage to fully cross it today.

Shinsou climbed up as fast as he could, Midoriya observed him from below before taking flight. Shinsou didn’t hesitate before walking on the rope, just as he expected Midoriya was flying below him, waiting for him to fall and catch him. The teen stood still taking a deep breath, carefully looking at the dragon that kept circling below him and when Midoriya least expected him to, he jumped. Izuku let out a surprised roar when Shinsou fell on his back grabbing onto his longest ear nubs.  “You said I couldn’t let you catch me, but you didn’t say anything about me catching you!” 

Izuku tried to get Shinsou off of him, but that only made the teen pull harder on his nubs trying not to fall, eventually Izuku landed just for his friend to get off. Midoriya transformed rubbing his ears. “Smart, please don’t do that ever again, that hurt.” It wasn’t so much the grabbing but the pulling that hurt.

“Sorry.” In his defense, he didn’t have anything else to hold on to.

“You didn’t know it’s fine, we will be doing this again tomorrow. But I’ll give the sneaking a different approach, wonder if I can convince Nezu of making a maze for you.”  Izuku went onto a small ramble about the possible use of the maze. Shinsou didn’t think too much about it at the time, but he truly enjoyed flying on that dragon.

When Friday came Izuku didn’t think much of it after all it was supposed to be a normal day, that was until All Might approached him asking to have lunch with him in private. That made a few warning bells go off in his head, but he quieted them down, Hound Dog told him it was normal to feel more on edge about situations that reminded him of his trauma, especially with how it recently resurfaced taking a toll on him. Besides this was All Might he wouldn’t try anything like that … despite that he sent a message to Aizawa about where he was and a message to Nezu to keep the cams on him.

“Young Midoriya please take a seat.” All Might said  letting him into his office, Izuku tensed when he heard the lock click, his eyes darted looking for the camera, he found comfort in the red blinking light. “First of all, I should apologize for our encounter about a year ago. It has come to my attention that I handled that rather poorly, not only our conversation, but your well being as well. I was stressed over my time limit and revealing my identity to a civilian that I forgot to make sure you were safe after the attack.”

Oh, so this is what it was all about, Izuku felt relief at that. “Oh that … yeah it was not the best day of my life and with what I’ve learned about being a hero yeah, you kind of messed up. That sludge villain could’ve left an infection in my lungs or could’ve ruptured my throat, you really should’ve taken me to a hospital but I guess I can understand why you didn’t have the time to do so.” An instruction of what to do would’ve been nice, but he didn’t even get that.

“Yes, again my boy I am deeply sorry for that. But not everything that came out of that day was bad, while my actions were not the most heroic, me not taking action eventually led into you getting your quirk!” All Might said with a smile sitting in front of him, Izuku appreciates the distance between them.

“… I’m sorry, what?” Was, was All Might taking credit for his quirk manifesting?

“Well my boy, you latching onto me led to the villain escaping! Our conversation gave it enough time to attack someone else! And my words while harsh eventually led you to that villain scene and to your quirk manifesting!” All Might still failed to see that what he said was wrong.

“Don’t call me ‘my boy’ I don’t like that.” Izuku said flattening his nubs against his head, they weren’t close All Might didn’t get to be buddies with him. “And my quirk didn’t manifest because of that, I was struck by lightning, that was my activation requirement.” His quirk was always there ready to call upon the bolts, he just didn’t know that.

“Still that series of events wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t met each other.” Toshinori said. “In that moment you felt like your feet where moving on their own right?” Izuku nodded in response. “That’s how the story of every great hero begins! Since that moment I’ve kept an eye on you my boy!”

“I told you not to call me that- wait, what do you mean by that?” He was truly hoping All Might was talking about his case on the news.

“I saw all your efforts to grow! You always help others around you! You even returned that beach to it’s old glory! A noble act done out of the kindness of your heart!” All Might knew this boy deserved to be the next holder of one for all.

“You saw that?” Whatever calm he had banished, All Might spied on him this whole time and he didn’t notice?

“I did and let me tell you what a wonderful job you did, you even inspired others to help! Young Midoriya you have the heart of a true hero and I believe you are worthy of inheriting my quirk.” Toshinori said with a smile on his face.

“I’m sorry, I think I didn’t hear you right. Inheriting your quirk?” Izuku has no idea what’s happening but  he would like to leave.

“Yes, my quirk is called One for all it’s a sacred torch that has been passed down for generations, stockpiling the strength of every past user and I believe you should be the next hero to hold this torch. Not only is your heart in the right place, but you already display so much strength  … I wanted to hold on for a bit before I made this offer, but I couldn’t help but think that perhaps if I had offered you this before the USJ, you wouldn’t have been so hurt by those villains.” All Might explained.

Izuku needed a moment to take all of that in, the Izuku from a year ago would’ve gotten on his knees and cried at the chance of inheriting the quirk of the number one hero, cried for being considered worthy of something so grand and don’t get him wrong he is honored but he is not the same boy from a year ago. “If my quirk hadn’t manifested that day, would you still be making this offer?” Izuku said looking at All Might with no expression on his face.

“I’m not sure I understand your question my boy.” Toshinori said a little confused, shrinking a bit when Izuku spread his wings.

“For the third time don’t call me that.” He doesn’t get to step on his dreams and then come back with this offer as if nothing had happened. “Now let me be clearer. If I still was the quirkless kid from a year ago, the one you told he couldn’t be a hero, would you still be making this offer?” Toshinori hesitated for a second and that was enough for Midoriya. “Figures.”

Izuku stood up to leave. “Young Midoriya wait, the question just took me by surprise! Of course I still would’ve made this offer, it was still the quirkless Midoriya that ran to save someone wasn’t it?”

“You don’t mean that, you just don’t want me to refuse.” Izuku isn’t stupid, All Might was set on his decision he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“But I do mean it, I myself was quirkless before my master passed this quirk onto me.” And that was the wrong thing to say.

Izuku turned to the skeleton of a man with slit angry pupils and teary eyes. “You were quirkless? And you still had the guts to destroy my dreams?! You still looked at that broken child, knowing how it fucking feels to be less than nothing to the world and decided hey I will shatter any hope he has left?!” It was one thing for the strongest person in the world to turn him down because it was dangerous, but someone that was just like him? Someone that was supposed to understand? Oh how that stung.

“I was being honest! I needed this quirk to become the hero I am today! Otherwise it wouldn’t have happened!” Toshinori tried to argue.

“Or maybe you just didn’t try hard enough!” Izuku snarled. “That kid didn’t ask you if he could become the next All Might! He asked if he could be a hero without a quirk and let me tell you something All Might! If my quirk hadn’t manifested that wouldn’t have stopped me from trying! It wouldn’t have stopped me from giving it my all to prove someone with nothing could become somebody!” Izuku needed a moment to recover his breath. “It’s not my fault you didn’t have the courage to even try.”

“Being that rude is uncalled for, young Midoriya.” Toshinori didn’t like being called a coward even if it was indirectly.

“Oh I think I have every right to be rude! Because apparently you know what it’s like to be quirkless! To be bullied every waking moment! To be called defective or unevolved! To be worth less than nothing! And yet you got to become the number one hero! But I was chasing after an impossible dream?!” He was so unbelievably angry at Toshinori, to think this used to be his favorite hero, the person he looked up to. “I didn’t need your quirk to act like a hero back then and I sure as hell don’t need it now.” Izuku couldn’t help but sound spiteful. “Thank you for your offer sensei, but I must refuse. Have a good day.” 

Midoriya tried to leave again, but Toshinori grabbed him by the wrist. “Young Midoriya wait, this got out of hand, but I request that you please reconsider this decision.”

Izuku pulled his arm away from the hero. “If you had asked this to the Midoriya that looked up to you, he would’ve accepted in a heartbeat. It’s a shame that Midoriya doesn’t exist anymore.” He can still respect the number one hero and everything that he did for society, but he no longer holds that man in a pedestal.

“My bo-” Izuku’s glare made him backtrack. “Young Midoriya, I understand where this anger is coming from. I admit I made a mistake in the way I acted, I should have never said those things to you but I can not erase my past actions.” For once Izuku agreed with him. “I do want to make up for them and hopefully in due time I will, but I truly need you to reconsider inheriting my quirk. I’m running out of time, I’m afraid the quirk that brought peace to the world might die with me, I need a successor.”

“Find a different one, I don’t want your quirk. It’s already hard enough to control mine, I don’t even want to imagine how much harder it will become to control TWO overpowered quirks.” That was actually a very good reason to refuse.

“If anyone could manage it’s you!” His encouraging words had no effect. “I truly believe there is no one more worthy than you to inherit my quirk, I see in you what my master saw in me.” 

“All Might I can’t, you need to find someone else.” Izuku was worried, one for all is a stockpiling quirk, one that has been in use for generations capable of giving someone quirkless the strength to change the weather with a single punch. While he couldn’t prove it, the quirk could power not only his body but his quirk as well, what would happen if he goes into survivor mode powered by one for all? Would he even be able to come back from that?

“But-” That’s enough.

“How many times do I have to say no before you get it? I don’t want to accept your quirk! I don’t need it either!” His own strength was enough to achieve his goal. 

“Please just think about it … in the meantime I will try to look for another successor.” At least Midoriya seemed satisfied with that. “But if the time comes where the ambers are about to burn out and I haven’t found another successor, would you take the quirk then if only to keep the symbol of peace alive?”  

Izuku wasn’t gonna let himself get  guilt-tripped into accepting something he didn’t want. “Maybe the world needs a symbol of change instead of a symbol of peace.”  

Their argument would’ve continued if it wasn’t for the sound of the doorknob. “Why is the door locked All Might?” His dad was here. The only reason Aizawa showed up was because Izuku didn’t reply when he asked if everything was alright.

Izuku opened the door. “He wanted to talk in private, I’m done talking.” 

Aizawa took in the appearance of his kid, teary eyes, slit pupils, ears pulled back, tense wings, swiping tail. His kid was stressed, overwhelmed and angry and he wanted to know why. “Explain what you talked about, now.” Aizawa said glaring at Toshinori with his quirk on.

“It doesn’t matter dad, I was very clear that I don’t care about his proposal.” Despite everything, he was still willing to keep All Might’s secrets.  “I need to be alone for a bit dad, see you at dinner.” Izuku left as fast as his legs would allow, he needed to calm down.

No matter how much Aizawa wanted to run after his kid, he didn’t. He knew when to give Izuku space. He glared at Toshinori one last time  before going away, Eraser may be angry about whatever happened but he knows the rat is going to be livid at Toshinori for upsetting his favorite student to that level and that was a better punishment than anything he could scream at the number one hero.

Izuku walked around campus taking deep breaths to keep himself from actually crying his heart out, keeping his emotions in check has always been hard but this just hurt in a way he couldn’t explain. All Might of all people should’ve known how difficult the life of a quirkless is, he should’ve given him hope that things could get better but instead he crushed his dreams. The worse of all was being recognized as having the heart of a hero now that he had a quirk, despite everything his heart hadn’t changed, he has always been like this but only now he is worth it? Izuku had spoken out of spite but maybe the world did need a symbol of change after all.

“Midoriya, are you alright?” Todoroki’s voice took him by surprise.

“Yes! I didn’t hear you coming Todoroki! What are you doing here?” Izuku wiped his tears away, trying to put a smile on his face, it didn’t really fool his friend.

“I wanted to sit with you at lunch, but you never came. So I decided to look for you.” Todoroki liked Midoriya despite how odd he was, after all he was the first person that actually understood him. “You don’t look well, would you like to talk about it?” 

“Not really.” Izuku didn’t bother trying to keep up his fake smile.

Todoroki nodded, he opened his arms looking at him. “When you hugged me it made me feel better, would that make you feel better too?”

His friend looked a little awkward  with his arms opened like that, but he appreciated the sentiment. “I think so.” Izuku hugged Todoroki and the dual haired teen hugged him back, it was still awkward but also comforting in a way. “It’s working … thanks.”

In the end they had to stop by Recovery Girl’s office for some granola bars again after the bell rang, but at least Izuku didn’t feel as overwhelmed anymore and for now that was enough to get him through the rest of the day.

Chapter Text

The day of the sports festival had finally arrived, everyone seemed to be very excited and pumped up about it, well Aizawa wasn’t considering he had to be on announcer duty which he didn’t adore but he could probably just offer some insightful comment every so often and let Mic do the job.

“I take it you are excited kid?” His brat told him to meet before the festival, apparently there was something important he wanted to ask.

“You bet!” Izuku just couldn’t stop his wings from flapping he was SO ready for today. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk about! I wanted you to keep an eye on someone today!”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. “I take this someone is the project Nezu keeps telling me you have but refuses to elaborate on.”

“Wouldn’t call him a project but yes! His name is Shinsou Hitoshi and he is hoping to transfer into the hero course. He worked super hard to do his best today, show the world what he can do!” He knew Shinsou was going to do amazing, he was already hoping to face him in the finals.

“I was already going to, Vlad and I are requested to see the progress of any kids wanting to transfer.” Aizawa tends to wait until the second round to pay any attention, very few of the transfer solicitants actually make it past the first round. “You know I won’t go easy on him if he manages to impress me just because you like him right?”

“Yup!” Izuku said popping the p. “If anything you will just make his training harder for that, which I tried to prepare him for.” Izuku was harsh on his training and that was a water downed version of Aizawa’s.

“Good.” Aizawa allowed himself a little smirk before continuing. “There is also someone you should keep an eye out for kid, he might be able to help with that scheme we have against mic.”

Izuku’s pupils got rounder. “Who is it and what’s their quirk?” Finding people whose quirks could be useful for the whole ‘Midori’s litter’ thing was hard.

“Neito Monoma, you’ll have to figure out the quirk yourself kid.” There is no fun in telling him what to look for now is there?

Izuku stuck his tongue out. “Fiiiiine.” This is just an extra challenge for the games, he can deal with that. “I should get to the prep rooms, I’ll see you at dinner after I win first place!” With that the dragonling rushed away, Aizawa had no doubt in his mind his kid would accomplish first place if that’s what he wants. Now he gas to head to the announcer booth and hope he will survive Mic’s screaming for the rest of the day.

Every student was getting ready in their respective rooms, Izuku was allowed to wear his special gym uniform since the school didn’t really want to deal with another naked teenager in national TV. “Deku!” Bakugou said approaching the greenette, Izuku flared up his wings on instinct. “I don’t care how much fame got to your head after your miracle manifestation! But I’m still better than you and I will get first place today! Maybe then you’ll remember you belong beneath me!” Was that comment misinterpreted by the girls playing cupid? Yes, yes it was.

“Hey man, there is no need to pick a fight! We are all friends here!” Kirishima said getting in-between them hoping to defuse the situation.

“No, we are not.” Katsuki is not his friend, maybe at some point before he got his quirk he was, but not anymore. “Fight with me all you want, but I’m not wasting my time on you anymore.”

That just made Katsuki’s blood boil, how could he be a waste of time? “You better pray you don’t get to the finals because I will destroy you!” The blonde set off an explosion, for some reason that made icyhot come closer to Deku, the teen was clearly glaring at him in his own emotionless way.

“Back off Bakugou.” Todoroki understood rivalries, Midoriya is a strong opponent and therefore a worthy opponent for this festival, but something about Bakugou’s way of acting was concerningly familiar, after all he is the only person that has managed to make Midoriya flinch multiple times.

“Mind your business icyhot!” Bakugou said before walking away. Today he had to prove he was the best, he had to win the first place. Everything he has ever done was because he is the best and the next top hero, but if he keeps failing, if he can’t match those expectations then everything he has ever done just make him look like a vi- Katsuki shook his head in an attempt to get rid of that train of thought, he isn’t a villain, he just did what he was entitled to and that couldn’t be wrong because if it was someone would’ve stopped him right?

Deku did his traitorous mind provided, Deku always stopped you. Katsuki couldn’t help but think back on the day he followed Deku to that trash beach, that day he saw all the scars he left and found out about those that faded, he didn’t want to believe it but the truth was right in front of him, he did that and for what? To push Deku to the bottom of the food chain? But he wasn’t quirkless Deku anymore so what excuse did he have now? … If he didn’t do anything wrong why is he worried about auntie telling his mom about everything? Katsuki groaned in frustration, none of that should matter, he will win today and then everything he has done will be justified, right?

After that tense moment in the prep rooms all the classes were called for the opening of the sports festival, where Midnight called Midoriya to the stand for the opening speech, Izuku took a deep breath approaching the podium.

“Many of you may recognize me from a year ago, the kid with the miraculous quirk manifestation at 14 years old, that immediately used said quirk to defeat a villain.” A lot of things came after that day, some good like Aizawa or his new friends and some bad like the lack of privacy or the people who discriminate mutants. “After that day a lot of expectations were put on my shoulders, even the news called me the next number one hero and I’m flattered, but there’s always more than meets the eye.” He got lucky, blessed with a strong quirk and with mutations that still made him look mostly human, but not everyone gets that lucky. “Being quirkless taught me a lot, especially that a strong quirk isn’t everything.” The crowd gasped at his words, how couldn’t a strong quirk be it all? All Might is the symbol of peace because of his strong quirk. “I know how crazy that must sound, but think for just a moment about the hidden potential inside every single one of you that you never got a chance to explore, because someone told you that you can’t or that you won’t succeed! Well I say to hell with that! You can do it no matter how impossible it may seem as long as you have the drive to keep trying!” He glanced at Shinsou with a small smile, everyone told him he could only be a villain and today he was going to prove everyone wrong. “I’m in the hero course of course I want you to see what I’m made of, but I would advice that you keep your eyes peeled for the other courses. Because I assure you that today every single UA student is about to go beyond! PLUS ULTRA!” Izuku screamed while raising a fist into the sky, the crowd cheered with him, even the other courses seemed pumped up by his speech. “Thank you for your time, please enjoy the festival.” Izuku said with a bow before leaving the podium, his friends welcomed him back with cheers of their own.

“Midori that was awesome!” Mina said hugging his arm.

“Yeah man! Giving the spotlight to everyone is so manly of you!” Kirishima said wiping a tear away.

“I think you are the first student to actually do that kero.” Tsuyu pointed out.

Izuku gave a small nod. “I know, it was risky since I couldn’t really predict how the crowd would react. But it was time for a change don’t you think?” All Might made a society where everyone is complacent, were the strong step over the weak with little to no repercussion at all, Izuku knows that far too well. His words may not change the world today, but it’s a great place to start.

All the students were gathered in an open area that connected to a tunnel before Mic announced the first game. “Our first game is an obstacle course! The course has three different obstacles the students must overcome before reaching the finish line! Only 42 students will pass to the next round!” Everyone stood in anticipation, waiting for the hero to give them the signal. Izuku took flight knowing he was safer in the sky, the area they were waiting in was wide, the tunnel they had to go through not so much. It was a bottle neck and of course their first obstacle. “Uraraka-san, want to do a redo of the entrance exam?” Sure, he would LOVE to help all of his new friends but there’s only so much he can carry, besides Uraraka may or may not be his favorite from his friend group.

The brunette grinned. “You betcha!” Uraraka wanted to prove herself, but she and Izuku work well together, plus who doesn’t like a little head start?

“Ready?! Set! GO!!” Mic said with his quirk on, although that died pretty quickly, probably his dad’s doing.

Uraraka made herself weightless before raising her hands making it a lot easier for Midoriya to carry her. Just as Izuku expected people began to cramp in the tunnel, a problem he and Uraraka didn’t have since they were flying above it all and to make things worse Todoroki froze a lot of people to the ground. “Thank you for the help Midoriya!” She said as the dragonling set her down just outside the tunnel.

“No problem! But you are on your own for the rest of the race! See you on the other side!” With that Izuku took off to the first actual obstacle.

“Welcome to the robo-inferno!” Mic announced from the booth.

Izuku actually couldn’t believe the robots of the entrance exam were here, which wouldn’t be too bad if there wasn’t a zero pointer again. “Target detected.” The robot said trying to swat the dragonling like a fly, Izuku swirled in the air to avoid getting hit, it took multiple lightning bolts to bring that thing down and that put him out of commission! He can’t do that again! Thankfully he didn’t have to, Todoroki froze the robot before running past it, although he didn’t do anyone a favor since he froze it when the robot was unbalanced causing it to fall. Izuku’s heart stopped for a moment when he saw the gigantic robot fall on someone, to his relief it was only Kirishima and apparently another guy with a hardening quirk, they were going to be okay, he had to keep going.

Shinsou was a bit stressed when the race got announced, particularly because only 42 students were going to be able to pass and sure he wasn’t expecting to get first place or anything but he was more or less sure 40 of those 42 students were going to be from both hero classes, well no 39 actually since Midoriya’s class was missing a student but that still meant that realistically there were only 3 spots for non hero students and that just made this race harder than it already was. Shinsou took a deep breath before running as soon as Mic told them too, he took back anything he said about Midoriya’s training back when those reflexes allowed him to use the other students as his pathway which also let him to avoid that ice attack.

Okay that was dealt with he is out of the crowd and moving forwards, then the robots that made him fail the practical exam were here and he knew he couldn’t fight them … then again he didn’t have to. Was using other students as bait for the robots a dirty trick? Yes, absolutely but hey he was told to use anything he has to his advantage. He didn’t pay any attention to the bots, so many students were already so far ahead of him, he refused to be left behind, he isn’t losing the first game. The next obstacle genuinely surprised him, it was tight rope that connected between small platforms to reach the other side. Either Midoriya managed to get insider information from Nezu or Midoriya thought exactly like Nezu, Shinsou wasn’t really sure which option was scarier. He didn’t get to practice much with the rope in training, but the distances were short enough for him to cross confidently, he will never question Midoriya’s crazy methods ever again. Speaking of Midoriya, he saw the black blur falling down near the end of the tight rope pit, Shinsou should focus on his own victory sure but that’s like his only friend. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah! Just remember how I broke my wing?” Izuku said trying to stretch his wing but it was hard to move. “I’m technically still in recovery so sometimes it cramps? Actually it hurts a lot.” His wing only cramped a few times before and it never hurt like this, probably because he could feel the pressure but he refused to stop until it was too late.

Shinsou could keep running, he should, but he is trying to become a hero right? “How do we fix it?” People were heading ahead of them, but no one had crossed the finished line, he was sure someone with explosions screamed fuck you Deku as he flew past them.

“Stretch it by force until you hear it pop.” Was that safe? Probably not, but he has a race to win. “Don’t stop even if it sounds like I’m in pain, it’s like ripping a band aid.” All in one go.

“Okay, yeah I can do that sure.” Shinsou held the cramped part of the wing. “One, two, three.” He pulled hearing the pop. Soon after Mic began speaking of how two students from class 1-A were taking the lead in the minefield, why the hell is there a minefield in a school festival?!

Izuku flapped his wing. “Son of a-” No it’s fine it feels better, Izuku stayed on the ground. “When I transform I want you to get on my back, and when we reach the spiky blond and the boy with red and white hair try to brainwash them.” He could match those two in speed, but they would try to get him off the air and he couldn’t have that.

“ … You are carrying me to the finish line?” This felt like cheating, he wanted to prove what he could do as a hero, then again he didn’t really know how to get past that minefield.

“You helped me I help you, besides You are the only one that might be able to stop them, now get on before they make it to the finish line!” Izuku said before transforming letting his wing down for Shinsou to climb on.

The purple haired teenager didn’t question Midoriya, getting on the back of the dragon and holding onto dear life when he took off and fast. “Bakugou and Todoroki are head to head for first place! But look at that! A new threat approaches! Could Midoriya and, is that someone on his back? Can Midoriya dethrone the two powerhouses of class 1-A?!”

Izuku had no problem gaining on those two, the problem was Kacchan trying to blow him back to the ground or Todoroki trying to hit him with an ice spike despite their friendship, this was still a competition after all. “How does defeat taste?!” Shinsou screamed, something simple enough anyone would fall for.

Todoroki didn’t reply but Bakugou just couldn’t help himself. “What was that you fucking extra?!” Suddenly Katsuki felt numb.

“Blow up your and his path!” Shinsou let out the command as fast as he could, he was lucky he spoke faster than Katsuki falling onto the ground, the blonde obeyed blowing their path, the mines made both of them fly back and pushed Izuku a big higher into the sky. The mines were enough to break Shinsou’s control, this little trick gained them a few seconds of advantage, and that was just enough.

Midoriya and Shinsou crossed the tunnel with Bakugou and Todoroki close behind. “Here we go people! The winner for first place is!” Mic announced from the booth, the dark blur crossed the finish line landing on the ground. “Midoriya Izuku from class 1-A and Shinsou Hitoshi from class 1-C! Is it a tie?!” In the end Shinsou got second place since Izuku’s head crossed the line first, but holy shit he got second place.

Izuku let Shinsou get off before transforming and flopping onto the ground, adrenaline had done it’s job and now he actually felt the soreness from the cramped wing and forcing the cramp away, but hey he had time to rest while the others finished the race. “Midoriya, are you alright?” Todoroki said approaching them, Izuku didn’t get a chance to answer.

“What did you and your trolls doll friend do Deku?!” Bakugou said coming with an explosion, to everyone’s surprise Todoroki froze his feet to the ground.

“You didn’t get first, deal with it.” Bakugou’s temper tantrums reminded him too much of his own father and he did seem to know Midoriya from before, he is just assuming but the explosive boy may be Midoriya’s Endeavor. Izuku offered him a safe place if he needed it, he can make sure UA is a safe place for him too.

“Now, now boys!” Midnight said approaching them. “There’s no need for this animosity, remember we are all here to have fun!” That and they are all being recorded on live television, a fight breaking outside the 1v1 matches would give them a bad reputation.

With a teacher intervening Bakugou was forced to back off, he goth fourth. He didn’t make it in the best top 3, he understood Deku and Icyhot to some extend they were heavy hitters, but that purple troll just hitched a ride on Deku’s back! That should count as cheating or something! But no they announced him as second place when he did nothing to earn that! The blonde had to take a deep breath trying to remain calm but his mind wasn’t helping.

He failed again, he couldn’t beat Deku at this race, he couldn’t beat him on the quirk apprehension test, he couldn’t beat him on the entrance exam, hell! He couldn’t even save himself from that sludge monster! Deku had to jump in and save him that time too! For just a second, Katsuki felt like he was drowning again, choking on that slime desperately trying to breathe. He had always been the golden child, always so smart, always top of his class, blessed with such a perfect quirk, so many people told him he was born for greatness and he believed them, why wouldn’t he? But now he is failing to meet those expectations and he doesn’t understand why, he is working as hard as he always does, he trains and studies but that’s just not enough anymore … he is not enough anymore.

“Bakubro, you okay there?” Bakugou was so lost in thought that he didn’t even notice Kirishima approaching, if the red hair hadn’t put a hand on his shoulder he probably wouldn’t have even heard him.

“I’m fine shitty hair.” Was everything Katsuki had to say, in any other situation he would’ve pushed Kirishima’s hand away, but right now that touch was the only thing grounding him.

Eventually more students finished the race, with all the 42 students passing onto the second round The next game was announced by Midnight. “Listen up everyone! Our next game is!” She raised her whip into the air pointing to the screen. “A cavalry battle! The students must make teams of 3 to 4 members, 3 of the students will work as a horse while one will become the rider! The rider will have a band wrapped around their heads that matches the points of the team!” Midnight smiled with a hint of malice. “The points are decided from your rank on the race! Last place got five, next has ten and so on! But it works a little differently for first place!” Of course it does. “First place is worth ten million points!!”

Izuku could feel the blood lust coming from everyone around him, ten million is a big bargain, everyone is going to come after him.

“You have five minutes to form your teams everyone!” The hero said.

“Shinsou, would you like to team up?” Izuku has an idea.

“Sorry Midoriya.” That is not the answer Izuku was expecting. “I appreciate the help really, but I’m trying to prove myself and I can do that if you keep carrying me … literally.” That and Izuku has the biggest target on his back, second place is good enough to have an easy game but not enough to be hunted down.

“Ah, I understand.” Okay, he needs to come up with a plan. “See you in the finals Shinsou.” Izuku wouldn’t take that rejection to heart, even if he wanted help this is something Shinsou needed to do on his own, he respects that.

“Midoriya! Let’s team up!” Uraraka said coming to his side. “No gravity and flight make a great team!” She knows Midoriya always has a plan, if someone can make them win it’s him.

“Really? Sure! We just need to get two more-” Someone barreled into him.

“Greenie! Can’t believe you got ten million points! You are going to give my babies so much visibility!” Hatsume isn’t going to bother asking, she is a part of the team and she is not accepting any other answer.

“Babies?” Uraraka said sounding confused.

“That’s what she calls her inventions, don’t mind it. Okay you, Hatsume, we need one more.” Uraraka’s zero gravity will be useful for takeoff, Hatsume’s inventions can keep other’s away, he just needs someone that can keep those two in place for this to work, his eyes landed on a certain bird. “Tokoyami-kun!” He can make this work.

Izuku ended up being the head of the horse, Hatsume and Tokoyami were the back while Uraraka was their rider. Hatsume was wearing a jet pack while Tokoyami wore a pair of hover boots, their plan? To dominate the skies. “Begin!” Midnight said, as expected all teams were trying to get their band.

“Now!” At Izuku’s command Uraraka used her quirk on Tokoyami, Hatsume and herself before lifting onto the sky, Izuku flew up transforming just as the ground softened beneath him like quick sand, someone’s quirk he assumes. See the rules never really forbid the team from having multiple riders, he was quick to catch all of them, Hatsume at the front having the best angle to use her inventions, Uraraka in the middle to be protected and Tokoyami last. As soon as the three of them were on his back Dark Shadow came out, quickly wrapping her arms around the three of them before wrapping them around Izuku’s chest, it wasn’t a saddle but it guaranteed none of them would fall no matter the spins or sharp turns the dragon had to take. Sure the three of them were a tight fit and Izuku really should consider how he is going to keep this up once Uraraka releases her quirk, he’ll cross that bridge when he gets there.

In a bar far away from UA Shigaraki sat watching the tv with anger, the glass in his hand disintegrating. “Sensei! UA is parading their stupid Nomu again!” Shigaraki was still convinced that student was a Nomu of UA’s design, him being a teen boy was just a cover up for their experimentation.

“Is that so?” All for one had heard plenty of complains from his protégée about this so called Nomu, the black scaly beast that managed to beat his own creation, a creation made to kill All Might. He found this Nomu very interesting. “Kurogiri, please describe this Nomu to me in more detail.”

“As you wish master.” Despite All for one being unable to see him, Kurogiri still gave a small bow. “The Nomu is completely black with green eyes, it has a bat like pair of wings. In my opinion he looks like a dragon of sorts, he also possesses a tail with fins. From what I remember he was also incredibly fast.” A loud boom came from the tv, Izuku had used his shockwaves to push teams away. “This Nomu also breathes some kind of fire, but not quite. Normal fire doesn’t explode mid air, the flames are somewhat purple and blue if that helps master.”

All for one hummed, he remembered something like this from the early days of his reign, but without his eyes he couldn’t be sure. “I understand. Tomura, this sounds familiar to me, I will talk with the doctor and if I’m right about this, I might have a way for UA’s Nomu to become ours.” If his idea was right, his own Nomu’s might just get an upgrade to deal with this.

“Why make it ours when we can kill it?! I don’t want it to be mine! I want to kill it like it killed my Nomu!” It wasn’t unusual for Shigaraki to throw tantrums when he didn’t get what he wanted.

“Patience is a virtue Tomura.” All for one said. “I know you are angry, but you need to understand the importance of gaining assets. All Might’s strength could be an asset to us, but since he would never join us he must die. This Nomu however, could be swayed and controlled, his strength could become ours.” If his theory proved wrong then he wouldn’t stop Tomura from killing the creature.

Tomura groaned in annoyance but didn’t talk back. “If you think that’s best sensei, I will follow your orders.” He didn’t want to, but Sensei was always right.

With that discussion solved let’s come back to the games! As Izuku planned no one had been able to take them down from the skies, Hatsume’s net gun even managed to make some riders fall from their horses. The only thing surprising about this event was that Katsuki didn’t come after him like he expected, instead the blonde had focused on taking down other teams and gaining points … that was odd, but Izuku isn’t complaining.

“The game is over! Let’s see the final scores!” Midnight pointed at the board with her whip. “Team Uraraka remains on first place! What a show that was! For second place we have Team Todoroki! Well done! For Third we have team Bakugou! Such an explosive performance! Finally we have team Shinsou! Everyone get ready because you will be fighting in the finals after this lunch break!” The crowd cheered with excitement.

Izuku was very excited about this, not only because he got first twice, but because Shinsou did make it to the finals! He was really proving his worth to the world today! All that training paid off! Since they got a break they were all heading to the cafeteria, that was until Katsuki pulled him aside. “We need to talk.” With that being said he began dragging him away, Izuku flapping his wings in protest.

The girls were about to interrupt what they thought was another attempt at getting back together, that was until someone else decided to get involved. “I’ll go.” Todoroki said trailing after those two at a distance, he had his suspicions about Bakugou and maybe this would give him the answers he wanted.

Sure the girls had noticed Todoroki being relatively friendlier lately, in his own way, but none of them expect him to intervene in this. “Do you guys think?” Uraraka asked.

“Todoroki has been more social around Midoriya lately.” Tsuyu said.

Mina just let out a wolf whistle. “Man, Midori has a thing for pretty boys.” Todoroki could be a prince and Bakugou may have a nasty attitude, but no one can deny that he is pretty.

“Same though.” Hagakure added. For now the girls decided to stay out of it and let the possible suitor save Midori, Todoroki seems like a nice guy if a little dense and he is in the clear for toxic behavior so far, cupid girls will keep an eye on them from now on.

“You know Bakugou, I’m getting real tired of you wanting to talk, me being incredibly clear about not wanting to and you doing it anyways!” Izuku said struggling to get his arm away from Bakugou, the blonde had a strong grip on him, dragging him into an empty tunnel.

Katsuki knew he was pushing it, over and over again he acted against what Izuku wanted and in the end he got what he wanted, yet another bad thing about him. “Deku, do you think what I did was bad?” His own actions keep looping in his head after every failure, he did all of that under the idea that he had to and that he could because he was the best, he hasn’t felt like the best in a while.

“… What?” Izuku was stunned at the question, he was expecting Bakugou to scream at him for winning first twice in a row or throw a tantrum, yet the blonde sounded far too calm for his liking, it was unnerving.

“What I did to you, do you think it was bad?” Katsuki already knew the answer, he hurt Deku and despite that Deku never hurt him in return. He still trailed after him like a loyal dog, he tried to talk to him about improving his quirk or offer help, Katsuki just felt offended at the time that Deku thought he knew more about his quirk when he didn’t have one or that someone quirkless could somehow be helpful. Katsuki had thought about this for a while, so much so that he was growing far too familiar with the feeling of guilt in his gut, but that on it’s own was confusing, everyone told him what he was doing was right, they encouraged him even, but if that was right them why did he feel so much guilt?

“… Bad is an understatement.” Izuku said rubbing his own arm, he tried not to think about his past with Katsuki too much. “I showed you my scars, I think that was pretty telling.”

“Then why haven’t you said anything?” He burned and beat Deku for years until he couldn’t get up, he called him names and insults everyday. If all that was as bad as his consciousness is making it out to be then why hasn’t Deku said anything?

“I told mom.” And Todoroki … kind of, he was very vague with him actually.

“You know that’s not what I mean!” Katsuki said. “You could tell that hobo teacher that likes you so much about me and you would never have to deal with me again!” Aizawa would expel him on the spot for the things he did and for the things he said.

“He wouldn’t-” Izuku didn’t get to finish.

“He trusted your word when you got the purple creep expelled on the first day. If you told him something about me he wouldn’t doubt you!” Especially because Deku, despite his many flaws, isn’t a liar. “I just … I don’t understand why you haven’t told him or anyone else.”

Izuku didn’t know how to respond. “I don’t want to get you in trouble.” That didn’t feel quite right.

“Bullshit.” There was absolutely no way Deku was only doing this to protect him. “Do you enjoy having that power over me? Knowing a single word from you would be enough to ruin me?!”

“Of course not!” For Izuku it was never about having power or getting revenge, he just wanted to move on, why was that so difficult?

“Then why?! You told me yourself! I made your life hell! I littered you with scars!” Finally admitting to his actions didn’t make him feel any better. “Why protect someone that told you to take a swan dive-?!” To Katsuki’s surprise Izuku covered his mouth with his hand to stop him from talking.

“Shut up before someone hears that!” Izuku looked at the cameras, there was no flashing red light. “Are you crazy?! That could get you expelled!”

Katsuki pushed him away. “What does that matter to you?! You should be happy that I could get expelled! Why the fuck are you still trying to protect me when I told you to jump!?” That was the first time Katsuki actually regretted saying something to Deku.

“BECAUSE I STILL WANT MY KACCHAN BACK!” His ears flattened to his head. “I know after all the shit you put me through I shouldn’t care about you! That I should take my first chance to get rid of you!” Izuku’s hands turned to fists at his sides. “I hate the person you turned into! But is it so wrong of me to hope my Kacchan is still in there?! Is it so bad to hope that maybe! Just maybe! I have a chance to get my best friend back!?” He misses Kacchan, the person in front of him is just Bakugou. “I haven’t outed you because I’m hoping maybe this is what you need to be better!” Besides he knows what being robbed of your dreams feels like, it hurts so much and he would never do that to anyone else no matter how much they deserve it.

Bakugou was well aware of Deku no longer referring to him as Kacchan, he just hadn’t realized how meaningful that was to Izuku. “I …” What could he say? Even after everything, Deku was still choosing to believe there was good in him, despite the bruises and burns, the scars and the hurtful words, Izuku still believed in him.

“For so long I tried to fix you.” Izuku was tearing up. “I tried to act like everything was alright, like you were still my friend and you just needed a nudge in the right direction.” Izuku did as much as he could, but with the world feeding Katsuki’s ego the way it did, there wasn’t much he could do. “But it was never enough and after the sludge villain I just couldn’t do it anymore! You need help and you need fixing! But it’s not my job to make things right!” It was never his job to fix Katsuki, but no one else realized just how broken he was.

For a while the two of them stayed in silence, neither of them quite sure of how to continue, Izuku was about to leave when he heard it. “I’m sorry.” Katsuki had only apologized once, after striking a nerve with something so sensitive.

“… Sorry doesn’t fix it.” Izuku was glad that Katsuki was actually questioning his actions, realizing the mistakes he made, feeling regret but he did so much that sorry just isn’t enough.

It looked like Katsuki wanted to say something, but he just couldn’t find the words, in the end Katsuki left without saying anything else.

“I know you are there, I can hear you.” Izuku was well aware of someone eavesdropping on their conversation.

“Bakugou is your Endeavor.” Todoroki said coming from the darkness of the tunnel.

“Yeah.” Izuku said wiping his eyes. “He is.” Endeavor was much worse considering his track record, but someone being worse doesn’t make you better.

“I had my suspicions, you tend to flinch with his explosions but never with your own.” It was like Todoroki’s relationship with fire, on itself it didn’t scare him but when it came to his father’s fire he was always on edge.

“Ah, you noticed that.” Izuku couldn’t really help his instincts, it was a learned behavior.

“It’s easy when you know where to look.” He noticed it since the first day, but at the time he didn’t know what it meant.

“I know.” He had noticed certain things about Shinsou, but he didn’t know how to bring up that conversation without crossing his boundaries.

“Would you like a hug?” Todoroki offered with his arms open in the same awkward way as last time.

“No, but thank you.” Izuku said taking a deep breath to calm himself, Todoroki simply nodded quietly waiting for him to calm down. Izuku blessed his dragon eyes because at least when he cried they didn’t look red anymore, although they did look a bit puffy. “We were family once you know? Our moms are close friends, we basically grew up like brothers.” Bakugou hurt him so much and yet he stilled missed Kacchan, the energetic kid that promised they would become a hero team when they grew up, the wonder duo. “But then we turned four he got his quirk, I didn’t. Things just went downhill from there.” It wasn’t fully Bakugou’s fault, the people around him never helped guide him, they just kept feeding the never ending hunger for praise.

“… You said something about scars.” Todoroki maybe shouldn’t be prying on this, then again it was Midoriya who told him talking about this helps.

“I did.” Izuku lifted his shirt a little showing the scar on his side. “Most of them faded, but well even doctors can’t make miracles.” Izuku never tried to hide his scars in the changing rooms, but no one had connected the dots yet.

Todoroki stared at the pink starburst until Midoriya let go of his shirt. “I’m sorry.” Todoroki had gotten plenty of burns with Endeavor, but none of them scarred, the only burn that did wasn’t even from his father.

“Don’t be, it’s in the past and I’ve moved on. He may be the same but I’m not, I got better and for now that’s enough." One last deep breath, things are okay.

“Do you think he will ever get better? That he can actually change?” They both knew that question wasn’t about Bakugou.

“I don’t know.” That was the real answer. “I hope he can be better, I hope my friend is still in there somewhere. But I don’t think he can change until he actually understands why he needs changing, I guess it depends on whether or not he wants to change.”

“I see.” Was the only thing Todoroki could say.

After a while Izuku took Todoroki’s hand seeking a bit of comfort, Todoroki didn’t seem to mind. “Come on, we tend to miss lunch with talks like this, I don’t think granola bars will cut it today if we want to win.”

Todoroki followed along, he wasn’t very familiar with soft and careful touch, but he liked it. Thankfully this lunch period was very long considering there were also games to play for the fun of it to entertain the public. By the time they reached the table with Midoriya’s friends, there was a new girl there. “I’m so sorry for Monoma’s behavior! I really do my best to keep him in line!” That perked Izuku’s interest, that’s the student Aizawa mentioned but apparently he did something that required an apology not the greatest start.

“What happened?” Izuku asked setting his food on the table.

Mina groaned. “Some guy from 1-B came to gloat about his class and about how we shouldn’t get too comfortable because they will beat us in the finals? I don’t know I tuned him out as much as I could.”

Ah, another egocentric, great. “I know Monoma can be a lot, again I’m so sorry he really shouldn’t have bothered you guys like that.” The new redhead said.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.” Izuku said, if this girl can keep Monoma in line then she absolutely has information about him.

“Right! Itsuka Kendo, president from class 1-B!” The red head said with a smile offering Izuku a hand which he gladly took.

“Izuku Midoriya, president from class 1-A!” He said matching her energy. “Could you tell me more about Monoma? I’m sure we can work something out so this doesn’t happen again.” Izuku has learned a lot dealing with a self centered person his whole life.

“Monoma can be a bit full of himself, it doesn’t really help that Vlad sensei keeps feeding this rivalry between both hero classes. He wants everyone to see that 1-B is better than 1-A, he is proud of us in his own way I guess.” She answered.

Well at least this is about 1-B as a whole, not only about himself. “Anything you can tell me about his quirk? Sometimes quirks can influence someone’s personality, I know mine does.”

“I’m not sure his quirk has any effect on his personality, he can copy the quirk of anyone he touches for a few minutes.” So that’s why Aizawa said he could be useful, now he just has to figure out how to get Monoma on his side.

Okay based touched quirk, self centered somewhat egocentric personality, some desire or need to prove himself and his class above the others, it’s not a lot to work with but he can manage. “Could you introduce me to Monoma when I’m done with my lunch? I think I have an idea on how to tame him.” Izuku is going to do his best suck up act yet.

“Really? Uh, sure. Just so you know he may not listen to you? You seem like a really nice guy but Monoma isn’t taking it well that you have remained first the whole event and he thought your opening speech was just to win public points? I really don’t understand how his brain works.” Kendo explained, look she is all in for someone managing to leash Monoma truly she is, but she isn’t sure Midoriya is the right person for it.

“I wouldn’t worry about that too much, I have my ways of charming people.” Never underestimate the power of puppy dog eyes.

After lunch Kendo took him with Monoma as well as other students from her class. “Monoma this is-” She didn’t get to finish.

“Midoriya Izuku, the shining star from class 1-A that just can’t stop winning! Are you here to gloat about your victory? Mmh? Or perhaps you just want to scout the competition? What, are you afraid 1-A is not up to the test? Because I can assure you! Class 1-B will-!” Izuku knows he tends to ramble but my god he doesn’t shut up.

Izuku clasped one of Monoma’s hands with his own, initiating the contact the blonde would need if he wanted to copy his quirk, a sign of trust if you will. “You are perfect!” Look Izuku knows feeding someone’s ego can be counter productive, but he does need Monoma to lower his guard. Plus it’s very likely this one sided rivalry originates from the need of attention and proving himself, with a quirk like his Izuku can only imagine the things people said to him.

Monoma was completely dumbfounded. “Uh?” This clearly took him by surprise, and by the look of everyone around him, he wasn’t the only one.

“Sorry if I’m intruding! But I heard about your quirk and I just can’t help but think about how amazing it is!” At least this wasn’t an act, the ability to copy any quirk even if it was for a short amount of time was so interesting. “You are a jack of all trades! The hero with unlimited potential!” Izuku made his tail thump against the ground, make his excitement more believable. “Just imagine the endless possibilities of the quirk combinations you could make! I wish I had that versatility! Gosh it’s such a shame that you didn’t end in class 1-A! What I wouldn’t give to have you as a classmate just to get a better look into such a useful ability!” And now he let’s the excitement die, his tail curling around his ankles, his wings wrapping slightly around him in an attempt to shield him and finally letting go of Monoma’s hand. “So-Sorry, I’ve been told that I tend to ramble a lot. I-I didn’t mean to bother you or anything with what I said, i-it’s just I always found quirks so interesting and yours is just so amazing a-and unique.” The shy stuttering act has yet to fail him, a big initial interest before withdrawing in fear of having said something wrong despite knowing he said exactly what Monoma wanted to hear. What can he say, Nezu taught him well how to read and react to people to get what he wants.

Monoma blushed slightly at his words, so far he has spent his time riling up class 1-A in an attempt to prove they aren’t perfect and will easily fall for his taunts, when he did all of that he wasn’t expecting this … then again he isn’t complaining about getting praise from who seems to be the best in that class. The blonde cleared his throat. “Well, I suppose even someone from class 1-A can recognize greatness when it’s standing right in front of him!”

Class 1-B watched attentively since none of them had seen Monoma get flustered so easily before, Kendo was this close from just laughing because there was no way it was this simple, Midoriya really has a charm.

“How can I not? Not only do you have such a cool quirk, you are also so confident too.” Izuku said still hiding behind his wings, only peaking slightly making sure his pupils looked round just to give himself a few cute points. “Co-Could I ask more about it? Only if you want of course!” Come on Monoma, you already fell for the bait.

Monoma seemed to think about it. “I don’t know, I wouldn’t want the competition to know too much about me yet, I’m still full of surprises~” He absolutely wants to say yes, he is just playing hard to get.

Izuku knows that so he won’t play along, no instead he let his wings down, did the best sad face he could and just to add salt to injury he imitated the sound of a kicked puppy, a sad whine if you will. “I-I understand, I probably came off too strong right? Sorry for bothering you Monoma-san.” He even bowed before turning to leave, he fought a smirk from showing on his face, he gave exactly what he wanted so much so that he is unlikely to let it go.

“Wait!” Monoma’s classmates kept watching this was too entertaining not to. “Since you asked so nicely I supposed I can answer some of your questions, but not all of them I still need to have some tricks up my sleeve you know?” A middle ground compromise, perfect.

Izuku turned around with a hopeful smile, he even flapped his wings a few times. “Really?! Oh! Thank you so, so much!” He once again clasped Monoma’s hand. “I tend to write about interesting quirks in my notebook, can I write about you? I could make a whole notebook just about you!” He actually wanted to add copy to his notes but he also wanted to get Monoma away because Kendo looked this close from actually losing it.

If Monoma blushed again at the hands holding his or the interest in just him, no one will mention it to his face. “Well if you really are this eager to know me I don’t see why I should refuse your kind request~” With that greenlight Izuku took Monoma away to go get his notebook, Midoriya has always been perceived more as cute than intimidating, many people would see that as a flaw in a male hero but Nezu taught him there is no such thing as flaws, they are just tools you haven’t learned to use in your favor.

Izuku guided Monoma away even adding a hop to his step as they walked away, finally when they were out of sight Kendo broke down letting out a loud wheeze followed by her own laughter. “I can’t believe that’s what it took!” Watching Monoma simply let himself be taken away by someone he allegedly couldn’t stand five minutes ago, looking like Midoriya just hung up the moon for him was too good. Once she calmed down she actually explained to the class what happened and why, besides it wasn’t like Izuku tricked Monoma or anything, his interest was genuine! He just added a bit more razzle dazzle to his delivery and it worked!

After the impromptu QnA, students were called back to the main field to announce the 1v1 fights, to Shinsou’s dismay he got paired with Izuku for the first round. He knew damn well Midoriya was better at hand to hand than him and he had the advantage of knowing exactly how his quirk works, it would be hard if not impossible to get him to reply … unless he played his cards right, he would need to pull a dirty trick but Midoriya did encourage him to do that in training. He sighed coming close to his friend. “Midoriya I know I can’t beat you but I won’t withdraw from the fight either, would you grant me a quirkless fight just to show what I’ve learned?”

Midoriya was about to agree, but someone put a hand around his mouth. “Don’t answer to that Midoriya.” Ojiro said sending a small glare to Shinsou who shrunk in his place, he was one of the people he brainwashed for the last event.

Izuku got the hand off his mouth before turning to his classmate. “Is this about Shinsou’s quirk? Because I already know how it works.”

“You do? But if you know then why were you going to reply to him!? Aren’t you afraid he will control you?” Ojiro still gave a side eye to Shinsou.

“No, I’m not and you want to know why? Because Shinsou is my friend and I trust him, even if he were to mind control me I know he wouldn’t do anything bad to me.” Izuku’s pupil’s slit. “I really hope you aren’t assuming he will just control me anytime I talk to him because of his quirk, I don’t take it nicely to people talking bad about my friends.” A silent threat to back off or face the consequences.

Ojiro did step back. “I was just trying to warn you!”

And that just pissed Izuku off a little more. “Would you warn the students from class 1-B about my quirk if I face them? Or is it just Shinsou you are worried about?” Ojiro didn’t respond. “Figured as much.” He turned back to Shinsou with a friendly smile on his face. “I would be more than happy to have a quirkless fight with you Shinsou-kun.”

Well now Shinsou feels like a dick because Midoriya defended him and trusts him and he does want to use his quirk during their fight because that’s like his only way of moving forwards in the battles. Midoriya is his only friend, is the spot in the hero course worth making his only friend hate him? But it’s Midoriya! He would probably understand why he did it! But what if he doesn’t? What if he doesn’t want to talk to him again? Shinsou came back to reality when Midoriya put his hands on his shoulders, the dragonling had made a cocoon around him with his wings.

“Hey, are you okay? You were getting a bit agitated. If this about what Ojiro said, don’t worry about it. A lot of people think like him but today you showed them there’s so much more to you than that.” Why does he have to be the literal embodiment of sunshine?!

“Ye-yes, I’m fine. Just took me a little bit off guard that’s all.” He truly hoped Midoriya would forgive him for this.

To make things worse they were the opening fight, great, he is about to betray his one and only friend on national television and on top of that they are the first impression for this matches, fucking fantastic.

“Ladies and gentleman! Give it up for the dragon that can’t be tamed! The student who keeps claiming first place during this festival! IZUKU MIDORIYA!” Mic announced from the booth and Midoriya entered the arena waving at the crowd. “On the other hand, we have an underdog! The mysterious and resourceful SHINSOU HITOSHI!!” Hitoshi walked into the arena looking a lot more awkward and nervous than Midoriya did, Izuku simply gave him a smile and a thumbs-up, why does he keep making it harder than it needs to be?

“Listen up boys! You can win by pushing your opponent out of bounds! By pinning them down and making them unable to move! Or by knocking them out! Although we don’t encourage that last one.” Midnight said murmuring the last part. “Ready! Set! Go!”

Shinsou swallowed hard getting into a sparring stance, guilt already making itself known as the words left his mouth. “Ready to give them a show Midoriya?!”

“Of course!” In that moment Izuku’s mind went blank.

“I’m really sorry Midoriya! I truly hope you can forgive me for this! But I really need to make it past the first round if I want to be noticed! So please! Walk out of bounds for me!” Shinsou saw Midoriya turn around and follow his command.

Well that was sneaky, lowering his guard to make sure he would fall under his quirk, does abusing his trust hurt? Yeah, stings a little bit, then again he did tell Shinsou to use any tricks he had to win, but Shinsou is not the only one with tricks under his sleeve. His body may not answer to his call anymore, but the sky does. The sky became full with dark clouds in the blink of an eye, and just as Izuku was about to cross the limit’s lightning struck him, what a better thing to jolt you awake than electricity itself?

Everyone covered their eyes at the sudden light, by the time they recovered only Shinsou was in the ring. “What’s that?! Midoriya seems to have disappeared!” Mic announced from the booth, the crowd watching expectantly since the match hadn’t been called off yet.

Shinsou was on edge, he had no idea Midoriya could fucking do that! He felt the connection break instantly and now he had no idea where he was. Shinsou felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. “Oh Shinsou-kun.” He turned around when he heard Midoriya’s voice, but there was nothing there, then Midoriya seemed to appear out of thin air with a smile on his face, electricity still crackling around him. “You should’ve told me to run!” Izuku his spun on his heels to hit Shinsou’s abdomen with his tail sending him flying a couple feet into the middle of the arena. “Now, I think you owe me a quirkless sparring!”

He is dead, he is so dead, Midoriya is going to kill him for the stunt he tried to pull. Shinsou barely managed to block Midoriya’s attack, he doesn’t really understand why Midoriya is still giving him the chance to spar after that but he should probably accept this mercy before he decides to take it back. After betraying Midoriya he expected the dragonling to end the fight right there and then, instead Midoriya fought just like he would do in their training sessions even delivering the occasional tap with his wings or tail to correct his posture, why is he still trying to help him?

“Focus Shinsou! We both know you can do better than this!” Trick or not Shinsou still had something to prove today and Izuku wasn’t about to let him forget it. “Don’t you want to be a hero!? Then show me all you’ve got!”

Right, he is trying to show why he deserves a spot on the hero course, he bettered his stance on his own, he will be a hero depending on opportunity and sneak attacks, waiting for the right moment to STRIKE, he landed a punch on Midoriya’s cheek, he immediately regretted it. “Sorry!” why is he smiling?

“That’s more like it!” He just wanted Shinsou to play into his own strength and that’s exactly what he did.

The crowd was confused at the drawn out fight, movements so calculated it could almost be a dance. Midnight smirked at the announcer booth when Shinsou’s movements began reminding her of Aizawa, another point for the secret baby theory. Mic could only groan in frustration. Eventually it was Midoriya who pinned Shinsou down with an arm pulled behind his back and a knee on his back. “Shinsou! Can you move?” Midnight asked.

Shinsou struggled despite knowing he wasn’t going to be able to free himself. “Any chance of you falling for my quirk again?” He asked turning his face in an attempt to look at Midoriya, Izuku just shook his head with a little smirk. “No, I can’t move.”

Midnight raised her whip into the air. “Midoriya Izuku is the winner of the fight!” The crowd cheered at the expected victory.

As soon as his victory was announced Izuku got up offering Shinsou a hand to help him up. “Come on, we need to go with recovery girl after every fight, school protocol.”

Shinsou did accept his help. “Oh what wonderful sportsmanship!” Midnight said with glee, after that both of them walked into the tunnels, Shinsou was nervous about how Midoriya would act now that the cameras weren’t on them.

“Not bad for your first real fight, you’ll catch up to the class in no time.” Izuku was sure Shinsou would get into the hero course, Aizawa must have seen some potential in the fight.

“… You aren’t mad?” He was expecting Izuku to act colder, maybe not talk to him at all or call their friendship off, but he didn’t.

“What for?” There was nothing he should be mad about.

“What for? I lied to you! I betrayed your trust! I tricked you into a false sense of security so I could use my quirk on you! When the only thing you’ve done so far for me is train and defend me!” It seemed very logical to him.

“Ah, I’m a little heart broken about that but I think I’ll live.” He said lightly bumping into Shinsou’s shoulder in a playful way, his friend didn’t seem convinced. “I trained you to use anything to your advantage, in this case it was my trust in you, how can I be mad when you did exactly what I taught you? Extra points for doing something I couldn’t predict.”

“It really doesn’t bother you? That I betrayed you like a two faced vill-” Shinsou was interrupted by a wing smacking him in the face.

“I’m going to stop you right there, you did not act like a villain. You had a sound strategy and you put it to use like any hero would do, it even would’ve worked if you would’ve ordered me to run instead of walking. You thought about the safest and fastest option to win with minimal damage, you did everything right.” From what Izuku can gather, Shinsou has been called a villain most of his life because of his quirk, much like Izuku was called useless for his lack of a quirk. “I know it’s hard to see yourself as anything different from how the world has always perceived you, but do you want to know how I see you? I see you as the friend that refuses to give up, filled with determination to spite everyone who told you that you couldn’t do it, the hard worker that pushed beyond his limits because he wouldn’t let anyone stand in the way of his goal.”

Shinsou smiled before faking a gag. “God, when did you become so corny?”

Izuku couldn’t help but laugh shoving his friend playfully. “I open my heart to you and this is how you repay me? I’m wounded!” He said in an overly dramatic voice.

“You’ll live, get over it.” Shinsou stuck his tongue out at him, how could he ever think Midoriya would turn his back on him for this? Both of them arrived to recovery girl’s office where she quickly healed their bruises.

In the nurses office there was a TV showing the event, a way for the nurse to prepare herself for the incoming students, she was very glad Midoriya didn’t break something on the first fight. Izuku wanted to get back to the stadium to see Todoroki fight but he didn’t even get a chance to do so, Todoroki immediately released a gigantic iceberg freezing Sero and a quarter of the stadium. “I’m actually glad I didn’t beat you because I have no idea how I would beat that, talk about raw power.”

Izuku stared worriedly at the screen. “That’s not raw power, Todoroki has a perfect control over his ice, this is raw emotion.” Something must have happened for him to lash out like that. “Shinsou I really wanted to go back to the stands with you and introduce you to the class but I just, I need to make sure he is okay.”

Shinsou wonders where Midoriya gets the energy to help everyone around him. “Go, you can introduce me when I’m accepted into the hero course.”

Izuku gave a small nod before running away from the nurse’s office to reach Todoroki as soon as he entered the tunnels, it took him a bit longer than expected but eventually he did find him. “Todoroki I saw what you did, are you … okay?” Izuku had to make a pause when he felt the overwhelming wave of anger coming from Todoroki, his emphatic abilities were normally under control but this was another level.

“I’m fine.” His voice was cold, he didn’t even bother looking at Izuku.

“Don’t lie to me, I can feel your anger Todoroki.” It was honestly making him feel uneasy, his wings stuck to his sides, his tail moving from side to side. Todoroki didn’t answer, Izuku took his hand looking at him with pleading eyes. “I don’t know why you are this angry, but I’m here for you when you are ready.”

Todoroki squeezed his hand slightly, Midoriya’s warmth was always grounding. “… I shouldn’t have let him get to me, my father he-”

Speaking of the devil. “SHOTO! What was that!? Not only do you refuse to use my fire! But you use that much ice just to spite me?!” Endeavor was surprised to find that his son wasn’t alone, he was with another boy, his Shoto shouldn’t be holding hands with other boys.

Izuku could feel the drastic change from anger to stress with a hint of fear, he quickly let go of Shoto’s hand standing in front of him to face his father, spreading his wings to make himself look bigger as well as shield Todoroki from sight. “Perhaps you weren’t aware Endeavor, but this tunnels are for UA staff and students use only. I suggest that you leave.” He said with a small snarl.

Endeavor raised an eyebrow at the teen’s boldness, no one talks to him like that. “I’m a hero and Shoto’s father, I can go wherever I please. Now move.” Not on Izuku’s watch you can’t .

“Well I am Todoroki’s friend and right now he doesn’t want to see you, leave.” Izuku would absolutely love to destroy Endeavor right there and then, but he needs to keep his cool for now, this is an opportunity.

Some people should really teach their kids how to behave, maybe he should do it himself. “Shoto is my masterpiece! He wants whatever I see fit! Now move before I make you brat!”

“I said no, I’m not moving.” Izuku could feel Todoroki’s fear spike every time he denied something to Endeavor.

“Listen you insolent child, I saw your performance and you might have a future. Unless you want me to destroy your career before it even begins, I suggest that you move.” That would’ve gotten many scrambling away, begging for his mercy but not Izuku.

Izuku suppressed a smirk when he heard the hero talk, oh Endeavor that fall is going to hurt. “Threatening a child? That’s low.” His eyes shined with a hint of mischief. “Then again what can I expect from a second place.” He really shouldn’t be poking the fire bear with a stick, but who is gonna stop him?

Endeavor’s fire burned hotter. “Mind repeating that?” Someone hit a nerve.

“Gladly, I said what can I expect from a second place.” He looked at Endeavor directly in the eye. “You want to know something number two hero? The reason why you are stuck in All Might’s shadow isn’t because of your strength but because of your attitude, who would want someone who threatens children as the number one? The only one to blame for being stuck where you are, is yourself.”

Endeavor was not going to let some nobody talk to him like that. “I’ll show you some attitude!” Enji grabbed Izuku’s wrist with a bruising grip before lifting him into the air effortlessly, immediately Izuku struggled and flapped his wings to no avail.

“Midoriya!” Todoroki Immediately sprung into action to try and get Izuku away from his father.

Endeavor ended up grabbing him by the arm with the same amount of strength. “Shoto! I was very clear about you having friends! You are my masterpiece! You have no time for such distractions! Especially distractions like him.” His Shoto was perfect, he would not be tainted by one of those queers. Todoroki was also struggling against him, not that any of the teens could actually do anything against him. “Perhaps you needed this lesson Shoto, if you start getting distracted I’ll just have to get rid of your distractions.”

Todoroki was shoved harshly onto the ground, hearing Midoriya scream in pain, smoke was coming from his father’s hand. “Father stop!” He saw Midoriya dig his claws into his father’s arm in an attempt to free himself, but Endeavor had faced worse pain before.

Endeavor kept burning Izuku’s arm until he was satisfied with the teen’s desperation before carelessly throwing him onto the ground, Izuku curled up as soon as he reached the floor letting out pained whines. “Anything else to say?” Endeavor stepped forwards while Midoriya backed away by kicking his legs, his burnt arm cradled to his chest. “That’s what I thought, all bark and no bite.”

“You don’t deserve to be called a hero.” Izuku was shaking, that burn hurt so much, a second degree if he is lucky.

“You still have some fight in you after all.” Endeavor set his hand ablaze mostly as intimidation, Izuku immediately covered himself with his wings for protection but that wasn’t necessary.

“Leave him alone!” Todoroki said standing in front of Izuku. “I’m not letting you hurt Midoriya anymore!” Izuku was nice to him, he listened, he kept his secrets, he got hurt trying to protect him, Endeavor took a lot of things from him but he isn’t taking Midoriya.

“The boy did that to himself.” He needed to be taught how to behave. Todoroki still stared at him with anger, refusing to move away from the boy. “I hope you learned your lesson Shoto, focus on winning or else.” Endeavor might have just found the thing to make sure his son falls back in line. With that he left.

Once his father was out of sight Todoroki kneeled besides Izuku. “Midoriya it’s okay, he is gone. Please let me see.” Izuku complied uncurling his wings and letting Shoto see his arm, there was a blistering red mark of Endeavor’s hand printed on his skin. “It’s okay, it looks a little bad but I’m sure recovery girl can fix this.” Todoroki helped him up, deciding to escort him to the nurse’s office just in case his dad tried anything. “You knew what he is like, what were you thinking?!”

Izuku smiled despite his pain. “Todoroki, would you like to know something about Nezu? He hates humans who abuse their power.” Izuku nodded his head to the side, Todoroki followed the direction to find one of the security cameras with a blinking red light. “Endeavor can try to ruin my hero career, but I have him on camera attacking me and threatening both of us.” He has blackmail.

“You did it on purpose.” Todoroki said as the realization set in.

“Making him snap? Yeah it wasn’t that hard. But I would’ve defended you even if there wasn’t a camera recording, that’s what friends are for.” Izuku’s hand twitched making him hiss in pain. “We can talk about this later, we should really get to recovery girl before this gets worse.” Todoroki couldn’t agree more, both of them rushing to the infirmary.

“Heeey Recovery Girl.” He is about to get whacked with that cane for this.

“Midoriya you haven’t even had another round, what are you doing back here?” The nurse turn around with a frown on her face. “Oh my, that doesn’t look good, what happened?” She asked urging him to sit down on one of the beds, Todoroki refused to leave his side.

“I believe I can answer that.” Nezu said walking into the infirmary. “Endeavor was trespassing to talk with Todoroki, Midoriya informed him of what he was doing and asked him to leave. Endeavor refused and insisted that he was allowed to be there, Midoriya kept refusing to let him talk with Todoroki until Endeavor lashed out threatening and harming him. I have all of that on camera.” They have concrete evidence which means they can start a case against Endeavor. “Midoriya I know that burn must be painful, but you do know the importance of photographic evidence correct?”

“I do.” They need pictures of different angles for the burn considering there isn’t a very good look on it on the recording, they would probably also need measurements of the burn to prove it matched Endeavor’s hand.

“You are going to wait to heal it?” Todoroki sounded worried.

“I assure you Todoroki, he will not wait for long and recovering this evidence is crucial if we have any chance of making Endeavor actually face consequences for this and anything else that might be discovered upon investigation.” Nezu was itching to get his paws on the number 2 hero for attacking two of his students. “Midoriya since you are a minor I do have to inform your mother about this, however, it is up to you whether I tell her now or after the festival.”

“Do it after, mom tends to worry a lot, if we tell her now she won’t even enjoy the festival.” Normally Inko couldn’t afford a ticket to the event so she watched at home from her TV, this year however, Izuku talked to Nezu about getting a ticket for his mom. The principal expected that, what he did not expect was Aizawa coming to ask if he could pay for miss Midoriya’s ticket, now that was interesting but he has bigger fish to fry.

“Very well, I will inform Aizawa about this shortly. As long as you are in UA grounds we are responsible for your well being, and since he is your teacher he is consider the primary caretaker. For now I will up security to make sure no one else tries trespassing, rest assured Endeavor will not bother you again today.” After getting the evidence needed Nezu left to let Recovery girl do her job.

Izuku’s skin was still pink and irritated at his own request, he didn’t want to risk being too tired for future matches. His burn was now bandaged properly to prevent it from getting dirty in-between fights.

Todoroki wasn’t very pleased with that decision, but he had no say in it. “Do you understand why I can’t use his fire now Midoriya? The only thing it does is hurt and destroy, that’s not something I want.” He asked as they walked away from the infirmary.

Izuku frowned, he has been trying to make Todoroki more comfortable with his fire, making the fire a different color helped with separating it from Endeavor’s flames, but it still wasn’t enough and this situation clearly didn’t help either. Izuku took Todoroki’s left hand intertwining his fingers with it. “Use your quirk on me.”

“What? No!” Todoroki tried to pull himself away from him, but Midoriya refused to let go. “You just got healed! I’m not going to burn you again!”

“I know, that’s why I’m asking you to do it.” Fire can be harmful yes, but that depends on the wielder. “Use your fire on me.” Perhaps he was pushing too much, but he had something to prove.

“Midoriya I can’t do it, I won’t hurt you.” Todoroki just couldn’t understand why Midoriya would ask for such a thing, why does he want to be burned?

“I know you won’t hurt me, that’s why I’m telling you to use your quirk.” That was the difference between Endeavor and Todoroki, the hero was careless and would hurt anyone who got in his way, the student was worried about causing unnecessary pain. “You’ve trusted me before, I need you to trust me now.” Todoroki still seemed so terrified at the mere idea of his fire hurting someone. “Have I been wrong before?”

“No.” Midoriya was odd and had some of the strangest ideas he has ever heard, but he was rarely wrong. Todoroki closed his eyes and looked away before letting flames come to life in his hand.

The flames licked at Izuku’s hand, it was warm and comforting, despite being in direct contact with his hand he wasn’t burning. “Fire is destructive, that much is true. It can burn and destroy everything in it’s wake when you can’t control it. But when you know how to tame it, fire offers warmth and light, it gives us life.” Izuku smiled. “Quirks are a funny thing Todoroki, a tool for us that is so connected to us that it reacts to our emotions. You are afraid of hurting me, your quirk knows that and stops you from doing it. Endeavor’s fire is wild and savage, but this fire? Your fire Todoroki, will never harm anyone as long as you don’t want it to.”

Todoroki hesitantly opened his eyes at Midoriya’s words to see it for himself, his friend wasn’t crying or screaming in pain, there was no smoke coming from burned skin, Izuku’s hand was in direct contact with the fire and he didn’t even flinch. “But his fire it should be-”

“Endeavor’s fire burned me, not yours.” Izuku finally let go of his hand to show Todoroki it was completely fine. “Endeavor says your fire is his, but he can’t use the fire from your quirk, only you can do that. I know you don’t want to and I understand why, Endeavor’s fire has hurt a lot of people, you are scared of becoming like him. But that fear already makes you nothing like him, he wouldn’t care about who he hurts or what he destroys as long as he gets the job done, you don’t because you care about the people around you. You will become a better hero than Endeavor someday, not because of a quirk Todoroki, because you are a better person than he will ever be.” Todoroki is more caring than he lets on. “This is your quirk, I can’t tell you what to do with it. But just know that this fire is yours to use however you see fit, not Endeavor’s.”

Todoroki stared at the flame on his palm processing Midoriya’s words, this fire was his merely because he was creating it and that on it’s own seemed logical but with his father’s constant reminder of who that fire belongs to, it was hard to see it as his own. Todoroki closed his hand snuffing out the flame. “… You have a very unique way of seeing the world Midoriya.” Todoroki would take time to reflex about the greenette’s words … he is unsure about using his fire at all on this matches, but maybe he should see if there’s any of that color powder Midoriya used at his house, if he does end up using his fire at least it will be in a way Endeavor will hate.

With everything that happened they missed a few matches, Izuku didn’t get to see how Hatsume used Iida to promote her every product which is a shame because that sounds very funny. Kirishima’s fight was so incredibly long that it left him with enough time to see Uraraka’s and Bakugou’s fight, he was really hoping Uraraka would win and she did put up an amazing fight but in the end Bakugou was the winner. With that the next batch of matches could begin.

Izuku ended up fighting against Iida which was a battle of speed and to Iida’s dismay Izuku was faster on the air than he was on land, the greenette won that match by pushing Iida out of bounds, Iida seemed bothered by his defeat but he wasn’t bitter about it. Todoroki went up against a girl from 1-B with a vine quirk, she didn’t stand a chance against his ice. The rest of the fights ended as you remember, which allows us to enter de semi finals Midoriya vs Todoroki.

Both of them entered the arena. “For this match we have Todoroki Shoto and Izuku Midoriya! Both of them are some of the strongest power houses from the new batch of first years! But only one can become the winner of this round!” Mic announced from the booth, he no longer had a co-host since Aizawa needed to deal with a situation. Let’s just say Toshinori is now second on Aizawa’s hit list.

“Okay boys! Both of you know the rules! Begin!” As soon as Midnight told them to start Todoroki let out a stream of ice that Midoriya was able to break with a blast.

“You are going to need more than that to win!” He needs Todoroki to lose the fear of using his power, he will never reach his full potential until he does.

“I’ll manage.” Todoroki released another wave of ice but it was blown away as well.

Izuku flew to the sky knowing it would get harder for Todoroki to hit him from that distance, that wasn’t stopping him from just making bigger ice bergs that Izuku was forced to dodge or blast the tips away. “Keep that up and you’ll trap yourself!”

Todoroki stepped hard on the ground making an ice pillar that pushed him into the air to try and reach Midoriya, while he had a way to get up he did not have a way to get down safely but Todoroki was counting on it. Izuku has a bleeding heart, he quickly caught Todoroki by the armpits before he could get hurt. “Thank you Midoriya.” Being this close allowed Todoroki to use his ice directly on the dragon, letting it spread across one of Izuku’s arms and reaching his right wing.

In that moment both of them were in free fall, Izuku quickly blasted the ice out of their way before transforming and wrapping Todoroki with his wing hoping that would be enough to protect him, thankfully the full fury has an easier time handling hits, it still hurts though. Izuku let go of Todoroki standing up and turning back into a human. “Are you okay?”

Todoroki was also getting up. “I’m fine.”

“Oh great!” The next think Todoroki knew is that Midoriya slapped him. “That’s for being an idiot! What was your plan if I didn’t catch you?! Get impaled by your own ice?!”

Todoroki didn’t really expect that, but he was relying on Midoriya to catch him. “I-”

Before he could reply Izuku kicked him on the side. “And that’s for getting my weaker wing!” Izuku said blasting the ice off his wing before giving a few flaps with it, no more flying until recovery girl gives that a check. “Now, I still have to win!” He may not be able to fly for the time being, but that’s fine he can still give one hell of a fight on the ground.

Todoroki was stunned by Midoriya’s aggressiveness but was able to recover quickly enough to match Izuku’s blows, he still tried to create ice to make some distance but Izuku just kept blasting it away. Izuku was incredibly kind and tender in all of the time they spent together, this new face of his friend was surprising and exciting in a way.

“You are trembling Todoroki-kun.” Punch, kick, blast, block. “You either use your full power or lose to your own quirk!”

“I really don’t understand you Midoriya.” Todoroki knew he was right, his right side was frosting and while Midoriya seemed tired he was still able to give a good fight.

“You wouldn’t be the first!” He has been called weird his whole life and he embraces it. “I know you want to be a great hero Todoroki-kun! The only way to do that is to embrace all your power!” Izuku had to blast another wall of ice away, his throat was starting to itch. “It’s yours! Your quirk not his!”

Only one person believed he could be his own hero before Midoriya did, his own mother, he could almost hear her soft voice telling him she believed in him.

Izuku smiled when he saw the colorful fire tornado come to life. “That’s more like it!”

Endeavor would’ve been over the moon to see Todoroki fight with his fire, the problem were the colors in that fire, it was his Shoto who messed with his costume and got the media to make those disgusting assumptions about him.

“You really know no limits Midoriya! You know this will make you lose right?!” He could feel his fire even out his frost.

Izuku let out a laugh. “Have more faith in me!” Izuku could see the glacier Todoroki was preparing, he ran at Todoroki transforming into the full fury to increase his odd of success. Izuku jumped over the iceberg using it’s claws to climb and run on top of it, Todoroki was gathering too much of his rainbow fire for one last attack and Midoriya did the same opening his mouth to prepare a blast, his normal strength would not be enough he needed to make this extra charged.

Once again the sky was filled with dark clouds, thunder roaring before going to the dragon calling them. Izuku’s extra charged blast plus Todoroki’s sudden change in temperature was strong enough to create an incredibly powerful explosion. Cementos raised a wall between both attacks, both teens were sent back flying due to the strong shock wave. Izuku dug his claws on the ground as soon as he landed huddling his wings as close to him as possible to stop the shock wave from flying him away, he managed to stop just before he crossed the border, Todoroki on the other side used his ice to stop himself from crossing the border as well.

Both of them were exhausted but someone had to win. Izuku stood up running at Todoroki, the dual haired teen ready to meet him half way or more accurately a quarter of the way since the dragon was a lot faster. Izuku tackled him ignoring the ice growing on his scales, he rolled with Todoroki before kicking him off releasing one last blast hoping the shockwave was enough to push him out of bounds. Todoroki rolled on the ground before standing up again. “Todoroki is out of bounds! Midoriya is the winner!” Midnight announced. Todoroki looked down to find one of his feet out of bounds, the match was over.

Izuku transformed back trying to catch his breath, he made it, he is going to the finals. He approached Todoroki holding his frozen arm. “Do you mind?” Night furies can handle the cold to some degree, but they are not made for it.

“Right.” Todoroki melted the ice before heading into the tunnels with Midoriya.

“That’s a lot better, now I can do this.” A little hug just for them. “You did great, I’m proud of you.” Todoroki wasn’t sure when was the last time he heard that. “Let’s go, I need recovery girl to check my wing.” That added weight from the ice did not do him any favors.

Todoroki was sure he would never get tired of Midoriya’s warmth.

After a quick visit to Recovery Girl later and he was good to go, the nurse recommended to avoid flying if possible since the weight of that ice chunk was close to pulling a muscle, he could still fly if needed, it was up to him. The last fight was between Tokoyami and Bakugou, Dark Shadow did the best that she could but with her weakness to light it was a matter of time before explosions weakened her. That meant the finals would be between him and Bakugou, great.

Izuku was in his prep room when he got a visit from Uraraka. “Feeling nervous about the fight Midoriya?” In the brunette’s mind this was sweet Izuku fighting against his bitter ex, plus they don’t have the best track record with one on one battles.

“A little.” He was actually worried about entering survivor mode mid fight, especially since everyone would be watching, maybe Aizawa should be with Midnight as referee for the final fight just in case.

“Well, just know all of us are cheering for you.” His personal little cheer squad. “Midori, can you do me a favor when you fight Bakugou?” Izuku gave a small nod. “Kick his ass for me.”

That got a little snort out of the dragonling. “I’ll do my best to avenge you Rara.” The brunette smiled at the nickname. After that small moment of peace before the storm the moment finally came, Katsuki versus Izuku.

“We have the finalists from this years sports festival! On one hand we have the internet sensation Izuku Midoriya!” Mic announced as Midoriya entered the stadium. “On the other hand, we have Katsuki Bakugou! The explosive boy that keeps on giving!” Bakugou entered the stadium as well with his introduction.

Izuku was nervous about this, but Bakugou? He was scared. This is the one place where he is allowed to hurt Deku, it’s expected even and yet he can’t help but worry about doing too much again, about crossing the limit, about accidentally bringing up another traumatic experience he shouldn’t know about in the first place. His mind is his own enemy, he could beat Deku here and prove once and for all that he is the number one, that he is in fact the best, but what if he hurts him more than necessary? What if he leaves him with another scar? Would they stop the fight? This is all being broadcasted live across all of Japan, everyone will be judging him from their homes, will they think he is a monster?

“Begin!” Izuku rushed forwards when Midnight gave them the signal, Bakugou seemed to register that a second later. Odd, Bakugou is always focused especially on competitions, he has been for the whole festival but right now he seems distracted.

Bakugou was ready to use his explosions and then he hesitated, how much is too much? But Deku’s quirk makes him more heat resistant and yet he still bares the scars he gave him. Katsuki shook his head deciding to rely on hand to hand combat and use his explosions to maneuver himself across the field.

Izuku was quick to match his abilities, having extra body parts sure made it easier to land more hits or block incoming attacks. Izuku was weirded out by the way Bakugou was fighting, he used his explosions on everyone today, but not him, something isn’t right. “What are you doing?!”

“Winning! Isn’t it obvious?!” He desperately needed to keep up that snarky attitude, he wasn’t really sure who he was without it.

“Oh really? By half-assing it?!” Bakugou had given it his all in previous fights but not with this one, with so many years of first hand experience he could tell Katsuki was holding back.

“I’m not half-assing it nerd!” He wasn’t, he was just trying to fight and give it his all without worsening what he had done to Deku in the past.

“Oh please! I know you better than anyone! I can tell when you are holding back!” Izuku spun on his heel to smack his tail against Katsuki’s abdomen making the blonde bend over for a moment before recovering.

Katsuki was shaking, a part of him itching to go off on the nerd and another one afraid of making whatever they had right now even worse. “Shut up!” Katsuki raised his hands to fire an explosion, Izuku crossed his arms in front of his face before his wings did the same and for a second Katsuki froze. For just one moment he swears he saw Deku in their middle school uniforms trying to cover himself from his explosions. Bakugou snapped back into reality when Izuku tried to tackle him, using his explosions to fly over him.

Something felt so wrong about this whole battle, Izuku just knew something was up but he had no idea what it was. “Seriously what is up with you?!”

“Nothing!” Bakugou was getting angry not only at Deku for realizing so quickly something was up with him, but at his own mind for betraying him in the moment that could validate the decisions he took his whole life. He needed to give it his all to win, because he never does anything half way, especially not victories.

Izuku covered himself with his wings again, finally feeling the heat of the explosions through his scales. Izuku used his wings to push Katsuki back before lunging for him, landing more hits than he thought he would.

Katsuki wanted to win, he needed to win and yet a traitorous voice in his mind whispered he didn’t deserve any victory that he got, it was all handed to him because they feared him. “Shut.” He whispered to himself using his explosions to get away from Deku, the teen followed him to the sky, this just turned into an air battle.

Izuku noticed that Bakugou was getting distracted, he just didn’t know by what. The dragonling knows he can’t spend much time in the air before his wing decides to stop being helpful. “What are you playing at?!” Could Katsuki be faking it? But, that doesn’t seem like something he would do, he has always had a very head on approach to well everything.

“Mind your fucking business Deku!” It was bad to have his own mind play against him, he didn’t need Deku meddling in as well.

Izuku wouldn’t be able to tell you why he still tried to help Bakugou. “Fine!” Izuku transformed, he has no idea why Bakugou isn’t giving it his all, but he will.

Katsuki felt a lot safer throwing explosions at the dragon knowing it survived the explosion from his gauntlets. Katsuki did his best to keep the dragon away, using the heat from his explosions to throw off his balance, that trick didn’t last for long.

Izuku let out a round of blasts, none of them hit Katsuki but the shockwaves did forcing Bakugou to focus on not falling and not crossing the boundaries even from so high up which finally gave Deku the opportunity to tackle him down.

Bakugou felt the air knocked out of his body as he hit the ground, the dragon’s weight was fully on him making him mostly unable to move. He struggled and set off explosions with the hope of making the dragon lift off with the heat, but he couldn’t do it.

Midnight did give him a chance to try and get up, but it would be cruel to just let him struggle when clearly it was useless. “Midoriya is the winner of this year’s sport festival!” The crowd cheered at that, Izuku got off Katsuki before transforming to greet the crowd with a big smile.

Katsuki sat on the ground watching, hearing the cheers that should’ve been for him not Deku. Deku had his back turned on him, he was in the bliss of winning he wouldn’t even notice him attack from behind. Katsuki looked at his trembling hands, Deku won fairly, it was he who was distracted and who decided to hold back, that was his decision not Deku’s. Izuku didn’t do anything wrong and yet Katsuki still feels the need to hurt him or push him down as if Deku deserved that just for doing better than him … Why does he think like that? What is wrong with him? The longer he stayed here the worse those thoughts became, he stood up and left.

Katsuki just wanted to go home and find a way to make his mind shut up, he couldn’t handle it anymore so when they told him he had to stand on the medal podium he refused, but refusing wasn’t an option. As usual he threw a fit about it saying there was nothing they could do to force him on that stage, apparently the best solution they could come up with was tying him to the stand, unable to move his hands or say anything, his shaking got worse, he can’t move no matter how hard he tries, his explosions are useless with the way he is chained, he needs to get out PLEASE someone just get him out.

Izuku and Todoroki were also called to the podium that Cementos was meant to rise once they were all in place and that’s were they found Bakugou, Izuku physically recoiled from the fear emanating from the blonde. “Bakugou?” No reaction.

Katsuki was staring into nothingness shaking like a leaf, he couldn’t move again, he was choking and no one was helping him. Why was no one helping him? Why are they letting him drown?

“Kacchan?” Izuku tried hesitantly but there was still no reaction, Katsuki’s chest was moving up and down faster than it should, he is hyperventilating but why? Izuku has seen his tantrums and it doesn’t look like this so why? … The last time Katsuki was completely restrained was during the sludge incident. “Bakugou can you hear me?” He waved a hand in front of his face, still no reaction it was like he wasn’t even here … shit. “He is having an episode!” Izuku started taking off Katsuki’s restrains asking Todoroki to help him. “HELP! WE NEED HOUND DOG HERE!”

Why they left Katsuki tied up unsupervised is beyond him, the heroes were supposed to be the responsible adults in this! Apparently it did start as a tantrum that evolved into a full on panic after being tied, chained and muzzled but apparently no one realized that. Aizawa and Hound Dog both arrived at the same time.

Katsuki fell to his knees as soon as the belts holding him to the concrete wall were gone, still no reaction. He was trying to breathe but his lungs were on fire, he couldn’t get any air in them because he is drowning and no one is stopping that disgusting monster from doing it, despite the muzzle coming off he still couldn’t breathe.

“What happened?!” Aizawa asked the other 2 while Hound Dog was trying his best to bring Katsuki back to reality.

“We came here like the teachers told us to and Bakugou was completely tied up to the podium but he didn’t even notice us.” Todoroki said.

Izuku tried to explain to the best of his ability. “I can feel the fear coming off of him it’s suffocating, I tried to get him to respond but it’s like he is not even here. Dad Bakugou was the victim from the sludge incident, He was completely unable to move and that thing tried to get inside him through his mouth, he couldn’t ask for help and he was probably choking. When the teachers restrained him and put the muzzle on.”

“It triggered an episode, he was sent back to that same moment.” Hound Dog said finally getting the chains off Katsuki and moving the kid so he could be laying on the ground. “Bakugou, I know it’s very hard for you to hear me right now. But you are not trapped by a villain, you are at UA where it’s safe.” His voice was gentle trying to get Katsuki to react, the blonde blinked a few times but he still seemed trapped in another place.

Bakugou was finally aware that he could move his hands, they immediately tried to move to his face to rip off something that wasn’t there, Hound Dog stopped him before he could scratch his own face. “Bakugou there is nothing there, you aren’t trapped anymore, you are safe.” Katsuki could barely hear him, it all sounded like static to him, it was muffled.

The medal ceremony was delayed until they could get Bakugou back to reality, helping him sit up once he seemed more aware of his surroundings. “Bakugou can you tell me where you are?” Aizawa asked softly.

Katsuki stared at the ground, he hated feeling so vulnerable, he was supposed to be strong and unbreaking and yet that incident tormented him with nightmares, this was the first time he had a nightmare while being awake. “… UA.” This is so stupid, how could he forget that? The sludge villain is imprisoned even if he wasn’t, he was at UA there was no way he could be trapped again.

“Good, do you understand what happened to you?” Aizawa has seen his fair share of heroes with PTSD, he just hoped his students wouldn’t develop it so young.

“I was weak and stupid.” How could he react like that? Nothing had happened, he was fine and yet he just freaked out over nothing.

“No, you were triggered by being unable to move, it caused an episode where you remembered when you were attacked. Has this happened to you before?” Katsuki just shook his head, Hound Dog was taking note of everything, he already had weekly sessions for Bakugou’s temperament, he could bring this up in those sessions to help. “Okay, we still have to give out the medals, but considering what just happened we understand if you don’t want to be in front of so many people. You don’t have to go out there if you don’t want to.”

But he was restrained in the first place because he had to be there, but now he has a choice apparently. Katsuki looked at Izuku, the nerd looks so worried about him and Bakugou just couldn’t understand why, after everything he did why does he still care so much? No one noticed something was wrong, if he hadn’t alerted anyone the ceremony would be over by now, but Deku is the reason he got help in the first place. “I can do it.” Aizawa was really hoping Bakugou would take the time he actually needed to rest. “Let’s just get this over with.” Any previous bite Katsuki may have had, died.

After that the ceremony wasn’t anything too grand, All Might was the one to give each of them their medals with some words of encouragement or approval, Todoroki and Tokoyami were tied for third a small battle later Todoroki won, Katsuki was second and Izuku was first.

The camera focused on each of the winners, when it reached Izuku he gave a bright smile while raising a fist into the sky, the crowd cheering for their beloved winner. Far away a teenage girl was watching the ceremony on TV, mesmerized by the way everyone was celebrating someone with a smile as sharp as her own, perhaps someday people will cheer for her smile too.

After the ceremony Inko and Izuku went to Nezu’s office to let her know what had happened, that woman was ready to end the number two hero for laying a hand on her baby. For now Nezu settled a date to continue this talk at a later time, especially if miss Midoriya wanted to press charges for assault, which she would. The principal assured them that he would personally oversee this situation but that for today they should go home and celebrate Izuku’s victory, it is a happy day after all.

Katsuki went home with his parents holding the medal in his hands the whole time, he didn’t want this medal, he didn’t deserve it. He is pretty sure his parents were asking him what he wanted for dinner to celebrate or something, he just agreed to whatever it is they said, he wasn’t truly listening. When they finally got home Katsuki set the medal on the dinning room’s table. “Do whatever you want with it mom, I don’t want it.”

Masaru sighed. “Katsuki don’t be like that, I know you were aiming for first place, but second place isn’t that bad. You did your best out there, you earned this.”

Katsuki looked at the medal again, yes he earned that but would he even be in UA if the world knew the things he has done? Would he even had the chance to fight for first place if Deku hadn’t kept his mouth shut? “I don’t deserve it.” He has felt so much today, it was overwhelming and stressful and he was barely holding himself together after that episode, how can he make his mind shut up? He just wants his conscience to stop to tormenting him, then again he deserves it.

Mitsuki groaned. “Don’t be a brat Katsuki, you fought and gained that medal! Even if it isn’t the one you wanted!”

Normally Katsuki would’ve snapped right back calling her a hag, but he didn’t. “… It’s not because it isn’t the medal I wanted mom, it’s because someone like me doesn’t deserve a medal in the first place.” He was so used to just driving himself by anger that feeling other emotions was too much for him to handle.

It was immediately clear to Mitsuki that something was wrong, she gently put a hand on her son’s shoulder. “Katsuki what’s wrong?”

Katsuki turned to his mom with teary eyes. “I’m a bad person mom.” He said with a broken voice. “I’m a monster.” After that Katsuki finally broke down.

Mitsuki hugged her son, feeling how he latched onto her before looking at her husband trying to see if he knew what this was about, he was as lost as she was. “Katsuki, I know you are stubborn, a little too loud and a bit sharp around the edges, but that doesn’t make you a bad person.”

Katsuki shook his head, feeling a knot on his throat. “You don’t know the things I’ve done.” He so desperately wanted to scream and get rid of this emotions that he wasn’t ready to process, but he just couldn’t.

Mitsuki rubbed her son’s back. “Katsuki we all make mistakes, especially at your age, that make it seem like it’s the end of the world. I’m sure this feels like a bigger deal than it actually is.”

If only his mother knew the things he has done, the things he has said. “If you knew, you wouldn’t even want to look at me again.” His parents would hate him, everyone would, hell even he is starting to hate himself.

“I think I’ll be the judge of that. I know we don’t talk often Katsuki, but when something is important to you, if something is making you feel this badly, I will always listen.” Something really bad must have happened for her son to get like this.

Katsuki took a deep breath before facing his parents, he has to come clean about everything.

Things on the Midoriya household were a lot less angsty, the small family had gotten take out from Izuku’s favorite place since Inko didn’t have the time to cook her son’s favorite meal, not that Izuku seemed to mind. He was so proud of his win and of the friends he managed to help today, his mom and unofficial dad were so proud of him as well.

While they had weekly dinners this one just felt a little different maybe all the more special because of his win, Izuku is a bit dense and oblivious when it comes to love in the air, not that Aizawa was fairing any better with his whole ‘emotionless’ situation that was no longer the case. He hasn’t been in love since high school and that was a bitter end, besides he works as a hero, he doesn’t have time for love stories … in reality he is just terrified that his work will put either of them in danger.

Inko on the other hand was more aware of what she wanted, Shouta is a handsome man sure but that’s not enough to win a girl’s heart, no what won her is how he treats both her and Izuku. Someone that shouldn’t have been involved with them at all chose to step in and be there for them even outside of the job, he genuinely cared for them in a way no stranger would’ve done. Inko has never been very straight forwards when it comes to chasing after love, not like Mitsuki did, but she is very aware of the warmth she feels around Shouta or how delighted she feels in his presence. She may not know if Aizawa thinks of her that way, but she is willing to find out besides the worse thing that could happen if Shouta doesn’t like her that way is that she stays single.

Eventually Izuku decided to have an early night, take a shower and go to sleep leaving the two adults in the living room. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to thank you enough for all the things you do for us Shouta.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for.” He did what everyone would’ve done, well now he is just lying to himself.

“At first it was just about helping Izuku with his quirk, just a job but you did much more than that. Not many would take the time to be with a family they barely know.” Inko smiled at him. “I know you have this rough hero exterior all the time, but it’s good to know there’s more to you than that.” Inko reached for his hand giving it a gentle squeeze.

Aizawa will ignore the way his heart skipped a beat. “I just don’t find the need to be on edge around you that’s all.”

That’s not exactly what she is looking for but for now that seems like the best she is gonna get. “That’s good to know.” This can be a safe place for all of them. “I know you only come when we invite you, but just know you are welcome at any time, consider yourself a part of the family.” And if she has her way, it will be in an official sense.

Aizawa was unfamiliar with a family, he never got along very well with his parents, he had no siblings, the closest he had to a family were Hizashi, Nemuri and Oboro … it was nice to have more than that.

Izuku took a warm shower, put on the most comfortable pajamas he owned and flopped on his bed as soon as he had the chance, today was a physically and emotionally exhausting day, he was ready to go to sleep and not wake up until tomorrow in the afternoon, but little did he know his day wasn’t over yet. He was happily hugging one of his pillows before he heard a tap on his window, he normally didn’t think much about it considering his window connected to the fire escape stairs, some neighbors like to smoke or climb up to have reunions on the roof, he only looked when the tapping refused to stop, there was someone on the other side of the window.

Izuku sat up squinting his eyes wondering who that was and then it clicked, there is only one person Izuku specifically gave his address to and told him that he could enter through his window. “Todoroki.” He got up as quickly as he could to open the window and let him in, Todoroki was not in great shape. His right eye was swollen and completely shut, bruises and burns were scattered across his skin, he was pretty sure there was dried blood coming from his nose. “Don’t worry, I’m not a nurse but I do have an emergency first aid kid in here, just sit down and I-” Izuku didn’t get to finish, Todoroki hugged him, holding onto him like his life depended on it.

Izuku was a bit shocked, it was always him who started hugs or Todoroki would ask first but he hugged him back. He could feel the dual haired teen shaking, he heard a hiccup … oh, he is crying, Todoroki is crying. Izuku carefully wrapped his wings around them just to offer an extra layer of comfort, that first aid kit will have to wait until Todoroki is ready and despite how tired Izuku feels, he is willing to wait.

Chapter Text

Izuku waited until Todoroki was ready to let go, letting the taller boy sit on his bed so he could calm down. “Todoroki I need you to turn off your phone and take the battery out, I don’t want to risk him tracking you.” He wanted to tend to his injuries, but he needed to make sure Todoroki was 100% safe here.

“I didn’t bring it, I just got out of there as fast as I could.” He didn’t bring anything with him, as soon as Endeavor dismissed him he went to his room and jumped out of his window using his ice to slide down before running and not looking back.

“Okay, good to know.” Izuku pulled his emergency med kit from one of his drawers. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” Izuku already has a good idea how Todoroki got this hurt, but he would rather have some details if only to make sure he doesn’t miss any injury.

“Endeavor didn’t like that his masterpiece couldn’t even get second place. He figured out it was me who messed with his costumes, he wasn’t happy about that either. ” Todoroki made a pause. “He got mad about the color fire … really mad, he said no son of his is going to be a fag. I don’t know what that means.”

“I do.” He was right about Endeavor hating pride. “You remember when I explained to you what pride was.” Todoroki nodded. “Fag is an insult for those people.”

Todoroki was even more confused now. “But why did he say that to me?” Todoroki doesn’t know if he likes boys or girls yet, he hasn’t liked anyone at all in the first place.

“Some people just like to misinterpret things, they want an excuse to hate things or in this case hurt others.” Maybe Endeavor misinterpreted when he was holding Todoroki’s hand or took the rainbow fire as Todoroki coming out to all of Japan, it’s hard to say.

Izuku was going to start cleaning up the cuts he could see before Todoroki stopped him. “Don’t you have to take pictures? Like Nezu did.”

Izuku hesitated for a moment, that’s not a bad idea this is evidence but only he would have them unless Todoroki wanted someone else involved. “Do you want me to?” Todoroki nodded and Izuku complied, all of it looked very painful, to the greenette’s dismay Todoroki took his shirt off, hand shape burns adorned his back, big reddish purple bruises where on his chest and abdomen, if Izuku had to guess they were from getting kicked repeatedly.

“He doesn’t go this far most of the time, he tries to make sure it doesn’t leave a mark.” Make sure there is as little evidence against him as possible, he can’t ruin his masterpiece after all.

“Todoroki it would be easier to patch you up if you showered to clean, well, everything.” Izuku bit his lip. “But that would mean telling my mom you are here and Aizawa too … I can clean everything individually it will just take longer, your call.” Getting adults involved in this would be very good for Todoroki’s safety, but if he chose the window it’s because he didn’t want anyone to know.

“… I don’t have the best track record with moms.” He couldn’t help his hand reaching to cover his scar. “I don’t want to bother them.” Adults in his life had never been helpful, Enji hurts him, his mom is locked away, Fuyumi only helps with his injuries sometimes, Natsuo left and Touya never got to be an adult.

“It wouldn’t bother them, but if that’s what you want I’ll keep this between us.” Todoroki came to him for help, he felt he was safe enough to do so, he can’t break that trust by pushing for what Izuku thinks is best. Izuku only has to keep Todoroki hidden until his mom’s morning shift, he can do that.

Todoroki flinched every so often, he had a high pain tolerance but right now everything felt like too much. Izuku worked in silence with the occasional sorry, not once did he bring up telling his parents again. “Do you actually think it could help? … You know telling them.” Midoriya hasn’t been wrong before, if he thinks this is the best option he is probably right.

“My mom is a trained nurse, she could probably treat you better than I can and you know Aizawa, he can be really serious but he does care, he could probably find a way to make your home safer or find a better place for you to stay.” He didn’t give a yes or no answer, just put the benefits of involving more people out there.

Todoroki thought about it for a moment before pulling away the arm Midoriya was treating. “… If I change my mind, would they leave me alone?” He wasn’t sure about any of this.

“My mom? Probably yes once she is done with your injuries, knowing her she would ask me to keep tabs on you. But I can’t say the same about Aizawa, you are his student and you are badly hurt, I’m not sure he will stay out of this once he knows no matter how much you ask him to.” The last thing Todoroki needs is the one person he trusts lying to him, Izuku will be honest even if that forces him to keep this a secret.

“Do it.” Todoroki is really unsure of how helpful they can be, but Midoriya said things got better for him after speaking up about it.

“Are you sure?” He got the yes he should be talking with his parents immediately but Todoroki looks so nervous, he doesn’t want him to regret this and close off again.

“Yes.” Todoroki took a deep breath. “You can tell them.”

Izuku gave Todoroki’s hand a small squeeze. “Do you want to come with me or do you want them to come here?”

Todoroki eyed the window, he could tell Midoriya to go and book it … but that wouldn’t be fair to Izuku would it? To come unannounced, to put this weight on his shoulders and just leave like that. “I’ll go with you.”

Izuku was hoping that’s what he would say. “Okay.” He said as softly as possible before helping Todoroki up, the teen trailed behind him. Izuku peaked his head into the living room, Inko and Shouta were still there chatting with one another- is that wine they are drinking? Focus Izuku you have more important matters at hand. “Mom, dad?”

Shouta gave a small jump when his kid called for both of them, he is always on alert and the one time he lowers his guard the brat gets him.

“Izuku baby, I thought you were asleep. Is something wrong?” Inko knew something was up, call it a motherly instinct.

“Uh, yeah, there’s …” Izuku looked behind him to where his room would be. “A situation.” Izuku motioned for something to come closer.

Todoroki stepped closer until he was in sight, he quickly lowered his head when he heard Inko’s worried gasp, maybe this was a mistake. “Oh love.” Inko has seen many cases of abuse during her time as a nurse, it never really gets easier. “It’s okay, I’ll get you patched up in no time.”

Aizawa could not believe his eyes, yes Nezu showed him the footage of Endeavor hurting Izuku and that on it’s own made him want to rip the hero’s head off his shoulders. But to attack his own son to such a degree? He will personally make sure Enji rots in jail. “Todoroki was this the doing of your father?”

Todoroki looked at Izuku seeking some sort of answer from him, but this is his story to tell. “… Yes.”

Aizawa needs to make sure Todoroki doesn’t set foot in that house again. “I need to inform Nezu about this to start a ward protocol.” No one understood what he was talking about. “UA’s ward protocol allows the school to temporarily gain custody of a student if there is sufficient evidence that their home is not a safe place, I would call this more than sufficient.”

“It won’t work.” Todoroki said. “He will hire lawyers to delay this as much as possible, he will create false evidence, he can just say to the public I wandered out at night and got attacked by a villain to explain why I’m like this and no one would doubt him … we can’t win against him, he has too much power.” No one stopped him for more than 20 years, why would they do it now?

“We have a way to get rid of that power.” Izuku knows the idea is risky but it might just work. “No one doubts the number two hero’s word because they don’t know what happened behind the scenes, but we have the video where he attacks me if we were to leak that, he would lose credibility. He also hurt you in that video, which makes this more believable.” Izuku bit his lip. “But doing this means the whole world will be watching you and your family Todoroki, it’s very likely that everything you’ve lived through would come to light.”

Todoroki didn’t know if he was ready for everyone to know about this, he could barely handle 3 people knowing and then there was the whole ward protocol, would it be worth it? For how long would that keep him safe? “I…”

“That’s enough!” Inko said raising her voice slightly. “While we do need a solution, right now we need to focus on his well being!” She scolded Izuku and Shouta. “Now sweetheart, you have a lot of cuts there. Why don’t you take a shower to make sure all of that is clean before I patch you up? I’ll get a towel for you and I’m pretty sure I still have some of Hisashi’s clothes to lend you.” She said in a much calm and sweeter tone.

Todoroki turned to Izuku. “Who is Hisashi?”

“I’ll tell you later, come on I’ll take you to the bathroom.” The sooner his mom can get on healing Todoroki the better, Izuku would’ve lent some of his oversized pajamas to Todoroki but well they were designed to adjust to his mutations, that wouldn’t be very comfortable for him.

Inko threw away or sold most of Hisashi’s belongings that were still in the apartment, but she kept the pajamas, you would be surprised how much more comfortable male pajamas are compared to female ones. She eventually outgrew them but she kept them in hopes that they might fit her again someday. A bath later Todoroki was wearing a pair of those pajama’s, sitting on the couch holding Midoriya’s hand for emotional support while Inko was checking every single injury, that eye was really worrying her. “Todoroki, if at some point you feel overwhelmed or you need a break you just have to tell me. I don’t need you to be brave and just withstand the pain.”

“Understood Miss Midoriya.” He wouldn’t interrupt her at all.

“Good, Izuku be a dear and get the ice pack please.” Izuku did try to go but Todoroki wouldn’t let go of him. “Ah, I understand. Shouta if you could? It’s in the freezer, wrap one of the kitchen cloths around it to prevent direct contact.” Aizawa followed the command getting the ice pack for Todoroki’s eye while Inko finished bandaging the biggest burns and putting colorful band aids on a few cuts, it wasn’t necessary but this kid looks like he needs some cheering up. “You can put the shirt on now, and hold that ice pack against your eye it will help with the swelling.” Todoroki just nodded following the order. “Now dear this is a very important question, did you have dinner?”

“No … after my performance today Endeavor said I didn’t earn it.” Inko is going to strangle that man herself.

“Nonsense, dinner is not something you earn. Stay here while I make something quick for you okay?” She would like to offer something more filling than a sandwich and some tea, but it’ll do for now.

“Miss Midoriya I can’t accept that, you’ve wasted too much time on me already.” He couldn’t understand how a complete stranger could treat him so kindly, then again she is Izuku’s mom.

“Honey.” Inko tried to cup Todoroki’s face making him flinch, what have they done to this kid? “I am not wasting my time on you, if this was something I didn’t want to do I wouldn’t have offered to. Right now you are a guest in my house, which means it’s my responsibility to make sure you are well and comfortable. Besides your body needs energy to heal all this and skipping dinner won’t help you very much.” She explained softly. “Now do you have any allergies I should be aware of?” Todoroki just shook his head, Aizawa kept them company while Inko worked in the kitchen.

In the end Todoroki ended up eating that sandwich with chamomile tea which apparently was supposed to help with the pain. “Thank you for your hospitality Midoriya-san.” He wasn’t expecting this when he ran to Izuku for help but it wasn’t too bad.

“It’s Inko, you are Izuku’s friend there is no need for formalities. Now it seems like it’s been a very long day for both of you, it’s time for you two to go to sleep.” Izuku was tired from the sports festival and now this, Inko could only imagine how exhausted Todoroki is after the sports festival only to get home and be harmed like that.

“… You are letting me stay?” He thought that after being healed he would be told to go back, he came for help and he got it.

“Of course, it’s not safe for you to go home and I’m assuming you have nowhere else to go, so you are staying here. You can sleep in Izuku’s room, it will be like a last minute sleep over.” Inko said hoping to lighten up the situation.

Todoroki looked at her confused. “What’s a sleep over?”

Inko’s heart aches for this child. “I’m sure Izuku can explain that, but I suppose that can wait for tomorrow, both of you go to sleep.”

“Come on Todoroki, my bed is big enough for both of us.” Izuku said with a yawn, after his mutations came the greenette and his mom moved the guest room bed to his room so he would have enough room to sleep comfortably with his wings and tail, in other words it’s just two beds stuck together.

Izuku got an extra blanket for Todoroki, before getting in bed, this was not the end of the day he was expecting but things would be fine. “Good night Todoroki.”

“Good night Midoriya.” Todoroki replied quietly.

Inko took a deep breath now that the kids were away. “Shouta I know you need to follow school protocol but can you wait to do it until tomorrow? This kid needs time to process what happened, he was here during everything but it wouldn’t surprise me if he has a dissociative episode, it depends on how long the abuse has been going for. Plus he is right, his father has a lot of influence to burry everything under the rug, if we want to have any chance of getting him out of there we need to be careful.”

Shouta would like not to wait but Inko is right, Todoroki needs the time to understand and decide how to proceed. “Fine, I have some friends in the police force that could handle this quietly but that’s assuming Todoroki wants to take this to the police.” As his teacher he is required to bring this to the police’s attention, but this situation is more delicate than other cases, right now Todoroki is their only evidence but if he retracts they don’t have a lot to work with. “Let him rest as much as he can, call me when he wakes up to speak further about what to do next.”

“I will, good night Shouta.” Inko could only hope that Aizawa made it back home safely. By the time Inko decided to check in with the boys they were fast asleep, one of Izuku’s wings covering Todoroki as a blanket. She smiled quietly closing the door before going to get some sleep herself.

Not so far away the Bakugous sat in silence in their living room after hearing what their son had done without them even noticing. Neither of his parents could believe what they heard. “Katsuki! How could you do something like that?! To Izuku no less! I did not raise you like this!” Mitsuki was the first one to react.

Katsuki simply kept his head low listening to his mother scream at him, he expected this. “Mitsuki please calm down.” Masaru wasn’t about to excuse his son’s actions, but lashing out like this wasn’t a solution.

“Don’t tell me to calm down! Did you not hear what he did?! How are we supposed to explain this to Inko!” Mitsuki knew she should be comforting her son, but he attacked someone who was family for years right under their noses. Her anger was blinding her.

“She knows.” Katsuki said softly.

“What?” Mitsuki asked sounding confused.

“Auntie knows De- Izuku told her.” Katsuki corrected himself as quickly as he could, calling his former friend by an insult would only make his mother angrier at him.

“Since when?!” How could Inko know and not tell her.

“A few weeks after the sludge villain.” Inko may have been angry at him but somehow her anger seemed less harsh than Mitsuki’s.

“That was a year ago! Why didn’t she tell me anything?! Did you keep her quiet too?!” Mitsuki regretted her words as soon as she saw Katsuki flinch at the accusation. “Katsuki, I didn’t mean that.”

Did his mom believing he would be capable of hurting auntie into keeping the secret hurt? Yes, but with everything he has done it was a valid assumption. “… I knew you would hate me too.” He stood up and went straight to his room locking himself inside, despite his parents calling out for him. Katsuki leaned with his back against the door before sliding down until he was seating on the ground.

“Kats, things just got out of hand. Open the door please.” Masaru said knocking gently on the door, he is well aware of his wife’s and son’s temperament, Mitsuki needed to calm down to handle this like she should, he was actually surprised of how quiet Katsuki was being.

“Leave me alone dad, please.” He didn’t want to look at his dad right now, he expected the anger from his mother that’s just how they are, but his dad wouldn’t be angry he would be so disappointed in him and everything he did and to be honest he can’t handle that right now, his mom believing he would hurt auntie to stop her from talking is bad enough.

Masaru tried knocking a few more times, asking to be let in but he gave up when Katsuki stopped answering.

The blonde hugged his knees feeling too much and nothing at all, it was all so confusing. He really couldn’t remember the last time he had actually cried like this, probably when he was a kid throwing a tantrum over something stupid. He did a lot of wrongs he understands that, he wants to fix it but he just doesn’t know how he can do that because Deku was right, sorry doesn’t fix anything that he did or said, but what would? Can he even fix it at this point? There’s not a lot that could fix telling your childhood friend to kill himself just because he was quirkless.

And that’s an entirely different problem on it’s own, his whole life he has been angry at Deku, but why? Sure the greenette’s muttering could get very annoying at times but being annoyed is very different from being angry and to be honest it feels like that’s the only emotion Katsuki felt his whole life. But that isn’t entirely true is it? He was happy watching All Might’s movies and getting that ultra rare card, he enjoyed hanging out with his friends which at the time had included Deku, he wasn’t angry then so what happened? What changed?

He would like to keep blaming Deku for every minor inconvenience, that was always the easy way out but that’s exactly why he feels so bad now, because blaming Deku and punishing him for everything is wrong. Deku didn’t change, Katsuki did.

He doesn’t know why or how but he changed, he became meaner, angrier, more aggressive, it was like a snowball that just kept rolling and at times it felt like people were pushing that snowball just to be sure he wouldn’t stop, but in the end it’s his fault it started rolling in the first place. No one told him to hit Deku the first time, he did that himself the people around him may have encouraged him, but he is the monster who started everything, he could’ve stopped at any time but he never did. The constant praise was addictive, being told he was right felt so good so he kept repeating every action that made him ‘good’ and he would like to say they were the problem but that was a lie. When Deku’s quirk came in he received just as much praise and privilege, but still Deku didn’t change like Katsuki did.

The only reasonable explanation, at least in his head, is that HE is the problem. He is the monster who just hurts and takes, he is an unforgiving wildfire that will destroy anything in it’s wake, he is a dangerous hazard for everyone around him.

That train of thought was finally broken by Katsuki’s own hiss of pain, he had accidentally burned the side of his leg with his own quirk. He hadn’t had an accident like this since his quirk came in, it was a minor burn it barely stings and yet that’s the only thing he can focus on now. Deku dealt with the heat of his explosions his whole life, he has the scars to prove it.

Katsuki put his hand on his leg again, letting the heat of his explosions build up against his skin, if he let the contact last long enough to burn him again, no one had to know.

He can’t make things right, but he can make them even.

Morning came, Inko had to ask for the day off to make sure both boys would be okay, said boys didn’t wake up until 12 pm but she had expected as much. To her surprise it was Todoroki who woke up first, considering his injuries she thought he would stay much longer in bed, Izuku woke up soon after. “Todoroki dear, are you feeling any better?”

“Yes, miss Midoriya. Thank you for your concern.” The kid was too stiff in her opinion.

“Good to hear, but I still need to check you again in case something worsened. Some fresh bandages would be good as well.” No kid should ever look this confused about someone being concerned about him. Inko sat him on the couch just like last night to do her check up. “I would offer you breakfast but it’s a bit late for that, would you like anything in particular to eat?”

“Anything you do will be fine miss Midoriya.” Todoroki knows not to bite more than he can chew, especially after last night.

“If you say so, Izuku? Any suggestions?” As usual her darling boy wanted Katsudon. “Is that okay for you too Todoroki?” The teen simply nodded, still not very keen on talking. She did promise Aizawa to call him when the boys woke up, but waiting until they are done eating won’t harm anyone.

While Inko cooked the boys chatted in the living room, Todoroki seemed much more at ease when he just talked to Midoriya, perhaps he just finds it hard to trust adults, with everything he has been through it wouldn’t surprise her.

Izuku went over what a sleepover was and how usually it was a lot more fun with snacks and movies, promising to do a proper sleepover with him in the future, then Todoroki asked about who Hisashi was. “Oh, he is my dad.”

Todoroki blinked at him slowly. “I thought Aizawa was your dad?” Inko did her best to stifle a giggle, she knew Izuku called Aizawa dad, she just didn’t know other people knew that too.

“He is but like not by blood if that makes sense. Hisashi is my biological dad, Aizawa just kind of filled that spot since Hisashi was never really here.” Izuku explained to the best of his ability, it was hard to explain how they formed that relationship, it just kind of happened, if you don’t count Mirio’s meddling that is.

Todoroki just thought about it for a moment. “ … I could’ve gotten a new dad this whole time?” He can just choose someone else to be his dad?

Inko sighed, with how he looks she can understand why he would want a new dad. “It’s not that easy, you will meet a lot of people in your life Todoroki and you will form different relationships with every single one of them. Some may be your friends, you may see some as family, some may just remain as a classmate or a coworker. For Izuku and Shouta they just saw each other as family after a while, that’s what clicked with them.” Todoroki looked sad that he just couldn’t get a new dad, a good one. “I know that’s not the answer you were hoping for, but give yourself sometime, those important to you, even those you haven’t met, will find their way to you.”

Todoroki eyed Izuku for a moment, those important to him will find him, maybe one of those already has. Once the food was ready everyone sat down, he heard Izuku and his mom talk about yesterday, about Izuku winning and the heroes he met and even took pictures with before leaving. Todoroki poked at the rice with his chopsticks, wondering if he and his mom would ever be able to chat as casually as the Midoriya’s do.

“Did you not like it?” Inko said noticing Todoroki stopped eating.

“It’s not that miss Midoriya, you are a very good cook. I was just thinking about my mom … I wanted to go see her today, but I’m not sure if I want her to see me like this.” Would seeing him this hurt change anything? Would she no longer hate him? Would she feel pity? Or would she just refuse to see him?

“Well, I may not know your mother, but I do know one thing. We mothers aren’t perfect, we make a lot of mistakes along the way and we learn from them, we can overlook a lot of things even when our instinct tells us something is wrong.” She looked at Izuku, her son kept his pain quiet for so long. “And sometimes we need a wake up call to stop ignoring those instincts, to actually act on them and make a change. Maybe seeing you like this is the wake up call she needs, but that’s just my opinion.”

Todoroki stayed quiet for a while thinking about Inko’s words, would seeing him like this really help? Would it change anything at all? It all depends on whether his mom still hates him or not … all things considered this might be a risk worth taking. “I think I want to try.” He has made a lot of changes in the last 24 hours, what’s one more?

“If that’s what you want, I’ll see if Shouta can get a car from UA to take us there.” That seemed to confuse both boys.

“Why can’t we just take the train?” Izuku asked.

“What do you mean take us?” Todoroki asked at the same time, why would the Midoriya’s visit his mom?

“Izuku, both of you landed the podium during the sports festival, people are going to recognize you in public for a while and I know this whole situation needs to be kept a secret. You already know how noisy the media can be, what do you think will happen if they catch a glimpse of Todoroki?” Everyone would start asking questions long before Todoroki was ready to answer them. “And Todoroki, we are coming with you. You will see your mom on your own, but after that we have to go to UA and get all of this sorted out. I know this is stressful and telling us was hard enough, but believe me the longer we delay this the harder it will be.” She wants the kid to feel safe and comfortable, but she also needs to get him the help he needs.

“Oh … I was really hoping this could just stay between us.” He was okay with Izuku knowing, his mom was okay as well so far, Aizawa was probably the main issue, although Izuku did warn him their teacher wouldn’t let this go so easily.

“I know, but the best thing we can do is help you and that won’t happen if we turn a blind eye.” Inko knows abuse victims tend to keep quiet be it out of fear for themselves or others they love, it’s a vicious cycle that can rarely be broken by the victim themselves.

Todoroki still seemed unsure about all of this, but Izuku has only helped him so far just like he said he would. “… Okay.”

Inko waited until both boys had finished eating before calling Shouta to explain what Todoroki needed to do before heading to UA, while Aizawa was more keen on going directly to the school he agreed to take Todoroki with his mother first. Inko made sure to give Todoroki one of her son’s oversized hoodies that seemed to fit him alright despite the holes in the back meant for wings, she also gave him a pair of sunglasses just in case, she didn’t want anyone to bother him or recognize him while he visited his mom and they also had to hide that black eye. When Todoroki mentioned visiting his mom, she imagined that the woman was divorced and lived away, clearly unable to get custody of her kids, she did not expect her to be in a psychiatric ward … she couldn’t help but wonder if she had actually done something to deserve being locked away or if her husband had claimed hysteria and used his power to get her away from the kids, she will keep those questions to herself for now.

Todoroki got off the car, Aizawa telling him that he could take as much time as he needed, they would be waiting for him until then. The receptionist was very nice to him, letting him know where to go after he explained he wanted to visit his mom and soon he was standing right outside that door, hesitating to knock, his mom didn’t send letters or ask to see him before, maybe he shouldn’t be here. Then again he was this close already, backing down now would just become a waste of time for Aizawa and the Midoriya’s, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

“Come in.” It had been so long since he heard his mom’s voice that he almost forgot how it sounded.

Todoroki opened the door. “Hi mom.”

Rei could not believe her eyes, normally a knock on the door would be a nurse checking up on her, but now her youngest son stood at the door. She stood up approaching him slowly, afraid that if she rushed he would disappear, when she was close enough she gently cupped one of his cheeks, this time Shoto didn’t flinch. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”

That was all Shoto needed before hugging her, it was a soft and gentle hug, afraid of being rejected if he squeezed her to hard. His mother hugged him back just as gently and Todoroki felt like crying again, it’s been ten years since he has been able to hug his mom, he was going to enjoy every second of it. “I’ve missed you too mom.”

His mom asked him to sit down, telling him about how she watched his performance during the sports festival, congratulating him for getting third place, telling him how proud she was of him and how much he has grown, Todoroki really needed to hear someone being proud of him like that. For a moment everything seemed fine, despite the situation for just a second everything felt normal and then his mom made a pause. “… Shoto, do you wear those often to hide what I did to you?” She asked referring to the sunglasses.

“No … I don’t wear them because of you.” Todoroki took the glasses off, his mother looking horrified at his black eye. “I know you are proud of me for getting third but Endeavor wasn’t.”

Rei couldn’t help but tear up, moving to hug her son again as if that could fix all the pain that man had put him through. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to protect you!” She is a mother, her one and only job is to make sure her kids are happy and safe, and she failed every single one of them.

“It’s okay mom, we know he would’ve hurt you too.” He remembers shortly after his quirk manifested, when his father would force him to train until he threw up, his mom tried to defend him so many times and that only ended with her being punched or slapped, he didn’t want that to happen again.

“I don’t care!” Endeavor can do what he wants with her, but she should’ve never let him lay a single hand on her children, he did this to Shoto for doing less than perfect. What has he done to Natsuo and Fuyumi while she was locked away?

“I do, I don’t want to see him hurt you ever again.” He wished his mom had done more, that she had took them and ran but he also understood why she didn’t, how can you escape a monster that owns you?

“You shouldn’t be the one trying to protect me Shoto, that’s my job.” She hoped Shoto could understand, but she knows her son was forced to grow up too fast, becoming independent faster than he should have.

“I’m going to be a hero mom, so it’s kind of my job to.” He couldn’t defeat Endeavor on his own, he knows that, then again he isn’t alone anymore. “Maybe we can try to protect each other.”

“Maybe … but I can’t protect you very well in here can I?” She couldn’t even protect him before, she is the reason her son will forever carry a mark of her failure on his face.

“I guess so, but that’s okay mom.” One day she won’t be stuck in this place anymore. “I don’t know how long it will take me but I promise that one day you will get out of here and that when that day comes, we won’t have to worry about him anymore.” And wasn’t that such a lovely dream?

If anything else was said in that room it was for only mother and son to know, and hour later Shoto left with the promise of visiting her next week. When his friend saw him he could see a difference, it was like a weight was lift from Todoroki’s shoulders. Todoroki got back in the car sitting next to Izuku. “How do you feel?” The dragonling asked.

Todoroki looked at him with the smallest hint of a smile. “Better.”

After that they headed to UA so they could discuss how to proceed, Todoroki was still unsure of letting more people get involved , but if that meant that his mom gets to be free again then he has to try. Once they arrived Aizawa led all of them into Nezu’s office, the rat was already inside his nose twitching when he got a glimpse of Todoroki’s face. “I was informed of an incident, however, I wasn’t told the extent of it.” He glanced at Aizawa, sure the teacher told him something happened to Todoroki but refused to be specific trusting Inko’s judgement that it was better for Todoroki to take it slow. “Anyhow, I believe this is proof enough that currently your household is not a safe place, which means UA can activate the ward protocol to get you away from your father as well as a temporary restraining order until we can settle this.”

Todoroki frowned slightly. “What about the internships?”

That took everyone by surprise. “After what happened, you still want to intern with him?” Nezu asked calmly.

“I need to learn to control my fire … I don’t like it but I don’t have another choice, if it’s not him it will be one of his sidekicks all the well trained fire heroes are in his agency.” That was actually very valid, one way or another he would end up near Endeavor. “Besides, if you do get me away then Fuyumi will be left alone with him.” To his knowledge his dad had never laid a hand on his sister, but what would happen when there was no one else at home to blow off some steam? “She isn’t a UA student, you can’t protect her.” Staying would mean his sister’s safety.

“I see.” Todoroki didn’t want to risk a lower opportunity of learning and he was right about Endeavor’s reach with fire quirked heroes. “Then we just need a way to make sure Endeavor won’t do anything like this while you are with him.” The hero has a lot of reach, but that can always be a double edge weapon, the public opinion can be brutal.

“How?” Aizawa asked. “Endeavor is the number two hero, very few people would doubt his word unless they saw just what he is capable of.” And Todoroki had been very clear he wasn’t ready to take that step yet. “The only person they would believe over him is All Might, and frankly I don’t trust him not to go after Endeavor himself if he gets wind of this.” Heaven knows Aizawa wanted to curve stomp the fire hero himself, but he can restrain himself, for now.

“That may be true, but that’s the funny thing about public popularity. It can grow and change unexpectedly and right now that plays in our favor, we have a wild card.” Nezu looked at Midoriya, the dragonling had no idea what that was all about.

“Me? Why me?” I mean he won the sports festival so yeah that would get him some popularity points, but they couldn’t possibly be enough to rival Endeavor.

“Well Midoriya, you had a head start when it comes to media compared to your classmates.” His quirk awakening made the news, he was seen as selfless and heroic especially after admitting that he was terrified when he ran into the villain, but that didn’t stop him from helping someone in need. “While that spark settled down after a few weeks, your impact got rekindled during the sports festival not only due to your skill but because you stopped to help others.” Nezu turned around his computer to show twitter where he was apparently currently trending, oh god why is he trending????

There was a gif of when he flew Uraraka through the tunnel before setting her down with the caption “This is actually so sweet? Like it’s a free for all race but he still chose to help her?” That post specifically gained traction when someone quoted it. “Dude I took the entrance exam with him and I’m pretty sure he did the same thing with the same girl. Idk what’s up between them but tbh? Goals.” Which just led to more speculation as to why he helped Uraraka, hopefully they wouldn’t pester her about it.

There where a few pictures of when he gave Shinsou a ride or his performance during the cavalry battles with comments along the lines of “wish that were me.” or “They living my dream fr fr.” Which was kind of funny actually, he did have to admit flying was one of his favorite things so yeah he can understand why they would want that.

Then there was a couple of videos of him covering Shinsou after Ojiro talked with them as well as the end of their battle when he offers Shinsou a hand to get back up with the caption. “No seriously, is this guy genuinely just that nice or is this an act from the cameras?? Like his smile is so pure I can’t actually tell.” And that just let to a completely different wave of quotes about the people he had helped before he even got into UA.

“He is! He helped my cat down from a tree while he was on a jog and like my cat just purred so loudly when he grabbed it and refused to be let go? Idk about you, but I trust the kitty judgement!” That day he discovered cats really like cuddling on warm things.

“I remember him! I was getting groceries with my grandma and he offered to carry her bags when he thought she was alone. He still carried them for us despite knowing about me, he also refused to get paid for his help saying and I quote ‘helping someone in need is payment enough.’” He remembers that day! The nice old lady insisted on at least giving him one of her homemade cookies.

“I’m pretty sure this is the same guy that cleaned the trash beach? Like I thought whoever that was, was insane but he actually made it.” There was a picture with a very blurry Izuku silhouette, his wings were the easiest thing to make out and the trash filled beach as well as a picture of the cleaned up beach. Uh, he had no idea someone took at picture of him there when he was just beginning.

“He is an absolute sweetheart! My little brother got lost at the park and ran to him for help because he saw him on the news and thought he was a hero! This guy just sat down with him and calmed him down until we came looking for him!” This post was followed by a picture of Izuku with said lost boy, the kid had insisted he wanted a picture with his hero and how could he say no to that? Izuku looked so nervous in that picture.

The stories just kept going, small acts of kindness that he didn’t have to do but did anyways because it was the right thing to do and he had the time to spare and that is all without taking into account the people that recognized his dragon and are crying over having a real life toothless or the previous articles made about him that were gaining traction again. “And that is not all Midoriya! You already got the endorsing of one hero!”

It was a tweet from Mount Lady’s account, a picture of both of them smiling doing a peace sign, Izuku perking his nubs in an attempt to imitate her horns. “Let it be known that when this kid makes it big, I supported him first!” While she wasn’t a top hero she was very popular, if she liked him then everyone who followed her liked him too.

“I … I don’t know what to say.” He expected to get back some popularity after the sports festival, that’s usually how it goes but he didn’t expect it to this scale. “I get that I’m popular again and people like me but, how does this help us?” Sure he can be popular, but that wouldn’t make his word weight more that Endeavor’s.

“Well Midoriya, you just happen to be becoming Japan’s little sweetheart and we just so happen to have a video of Endeavor hurting you. How do you think the internet will react to their new object of adoration being burned and threatened?” Oh, they were going to skin Endeavor alive for something like that yeah, the PR team would have nightmares about that.

Todoroki would like to understand how this can have such an impact but he doesn’t really understand social media all that much. “How does this stops him from trying to hurt me again during the internships?”

“Well, if this video were to be leaked just as the internships began, it would put Endeavor in the middle of a mediatic storm. Everyone will be looking at him waiting for him to slip up, which means he will be forced on his best behavior.” Nezu made a pause. “However, the vultures can be ruthless. In that video he also attacks you Todoroki, they will look for answers you might not be ready to give. We will only proceed with this plan if you agree.”

Todoroki had to think about this and at the same time he didn’t have a lot of time to do so. “What do we do if I don’t agree?”

“Well I will just leak the information of Endeavor being charged for assault with very convincing evidence, identities would remain anonymous. This would still cause some chaos but I do admit it won’t be as impactful.” Nezu explained, he liked the first plan better it was a lot more fun for him, but he also had to consider how Todoroki felt after all of this and the consequences it could have in his life.

Todoroki looked at the ground thinking, he didn’t like the idea of everyone watching his every move, of everyone finding out the hell it was to live with Endeavor and at the same time he wanted to break free from his control. On one hand his life would be exposed for anyone to see and on the other his mom could finally be free again, Fuyumi wouldn’t need to walk on eggshells around her own home afraid of setting their father off, Natsuo might even come back home if his father is gone. He is scared of how things will end, but the benefits out weights the consequences. The dual haired teen met the mammal’s eyes. “Let’s ruin my father’s reputation.” He won’t let anyone live in fear of that man anymore.

Nezu smiled, oh this would be fun! “Very well. I’m aware Miss Midoriya tended to your injuries but perhaps it will be best for Recovery Girl to take a look at you. I should let you know we will be taking pictures of everything before healing you just like we did with Midoriya.”

The teenagers shared a look before Midoriya spoke up bringing out his phone. “We um, have them already. I’m not sure if they are professional enough but, I took them right after everything.”

Nezu hummed. “I’ll take a look, see if any are useful or if we need to take more. In the mean time we do have to call a guardian or a family member, anyone in particular you would like?”

Fuyumi must be worried sick about him just disappearing after last night but he can’t be sure Endeavor won’t be there eavesdropping. “My brother Natsuo, he isn’t very fond of my dad either and he doesn’t live in the same house as me.” He was safe and he wouldn’t let Endeavor know anything.

Nezu nodded, letting them go to Recovery Girl’s office to be dealt with. Some of the pictures Izuku took were good, others not so much so more pictures it was, Todoroki didn’t appreciate other people looking at him like this but he understood why they had to do so. Once that was over and Recovery girl healed most of his bruises Todoroki flocked back to Izuku’s side and Inko could understand perfectly why, this is an abused child that has had no support his whole life, it wasn’t surprising that he latched on to the first thing that gave him comfort and made him feel safe, in this case her son and for now she would allow it, but the second she saw the start of an unhealthy codependency she would put limits.

The Midoriya’s and Aizawa stayed with him until his brother arrived, Natsuo was incredibly confused as to why he was called to UA regarding his brother. “Hey Sho, I’m not exactly sure what I got called here for? They said it was important and urgent but if that’s the case I’m not sure why they got me instead of him.” He said with a hint of disgust, if this was an emergency his sperm donor or hell even Fuyumi should’ve been called here, not him.

Todoroki just assumed Nezu would’ve explained the reason, did he have to do it again? “Everything will be explained once the police come.” Aizawa said.

“The police?! What the hell happened?!” Natsuo said very clearly freaked out, Todoroki just needed a moment to load that, it felt surreal that police was getting involved, after all this years finally someone did something, he can’t actually believe Endeavor will face consequences for well, everything.

Soon enough the police or more accurately the detective arrive and Izuku remembered him. “Detective Tsukauchi!” That’s the man that almost arrested him but was actually really nice when he found out it was a quirk manifestation and that he didn’t mean to break the law.

“Good to see you are doing well and haven’t done any vigintalism again Midoriya.” Tsukauchi may or may not have gotten updates about the dragonling from Aizawa. “While I’m not here for you today I do need to take your statement about this, just for the record.” The detective also ended up taking Izuku’s statement over Endeavor’s attack during the sports festival, once he was done he dismissed them, Todoroki wasn’t on board with that idea.

“Why do they have to leave?” His brain was very quickly making the connection that the Midoriya’s meant safe, why does the detective want to take the safe away from him?

“They are no longer needed.” It was a direct and logical answer. “Right now I want to focus on you and everything that happened at home after the festival.”

And that was the thing, he felt comfortable telling Midoriya because he trusted him, this detective was just some stranger, for all he knows Endeavor will buy his silence for the right price. Izuku sat right beside him using his wing to hug him from the side. “It’s okay, we don’t actually have to leave. I’ll stay with you until you are done.” This is what friends are for after all.

Todoroki started retelling how last night went, at some point holding Midoriya’s hand subconsciously seeking comfort, needless to say everyone in the room was horrified although it was mostly Natsuo who showed any emotion he knew things were bad but he still left, could he have changed anything had he stayed? God, he should’ve been the one to offer Shoto to stay at his place if things got too bad, instead his classmate, just another kid had to be the one to do so. The other three adults were better at controlling themselves, mostly because of the things they’ve seen or heard at their jobs.

By the time Todoroki was done his eyes stung, his body wasn’t in pain anymore but his soul was crushed for years and this is the first time he can actually let himself feel and process all of it, despite that he didn’t cry again no matter how much he wanted to. The detective reassured him all of this would be handled privately and that Endeavor wouldn’t know what hit him before it was too late which was comforting in a way. For now he will stay with Natsuo, he will have to go home eventually but he isn’t ready just yet.

“Everything will work out Todoroki I’m sure of it!” Izuku said with a small smile. “I’ll see you in class okay?” Todoroki merely nodded finally letting go of his hand.

After that the Midoriya’s were driven home, on the way Izuku couldn’t stop scratching his wings some of his scales falling on the car seat. Really? His body decided NOW was the best time to shed? It was either that or the stress of this whole situation, knowing him probably both. Aizawa dropped them off since he couldn’t really stay, he had hero stuff to do and by hero stuff he means making a certain trash fire’s patrol as annoying as possible, he could probably convince Zashi to join him no questions asked.

When they got inside Izuku went to the kitchen to get some water. “Izuku I know this was a very dire situation, but we really need to talk about you sneaking shirtless boys into your room in the middle of the night without me knowing.”

Izuku choked. “Mom?!” His face turned pink, sure it wasn’t anything like that but the implication was there and he really wasn’t expecting that.

“Look, I understand that you are at an age where hormones are all over the place and that means you are going to want to explore and try different things.” Inko couldn’t help the snort that escaped her when her son’s face turned completely red.

Izuku quickly hid himself with his wings. “Mom! I really don’t need the talk okay?! It wasn’t anything like that!”

“I know.” Inko said calmly. “But I also know that little head of yours loves to overthink things, you needed a distraction and I would say that worked.” Was embarrassing him like this a bit much? Maybe, but it was effective.

“Point taken mom!” He knows very well she is right, but couldn’t she have picked ANYTHING ELSE to distract him? “Please don’t do this to me ever again.”

“Oh don’t be so dramatic, it could’ve been worse, I could’ve done this in front of Shouta.” The thought did cross her mind but decided against it, for now that is.

“Mom I would literally die of embarrassment.” And his mom just laughed at him for that. Despite how by surprise this took him by, it was nice to see his mom be more lively, playful and confident, he just wished she wouldn’t do it at his expense thank you very much.

After that mess Izuku did take the time to shed his scales, separating a pile for his costume, another for Amajiki, another for Hatsume and a single scale for Monoma, the boy already seems pleased by Izuku’s attention but this little trick might just seal the deal for them. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there! Time for school!

Usually there were a few students that made it earlier to class than the rest, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu and Iida, Izuku had tried to beat them to it but his blankets just felt so warm and fuzzy in the mornings he just didn’t want to get up, but today he found the strength to do so. He got up and got to school earlier than normal, as soon as he opened the door he was forced to step back, his eyes stung with unshed tears of anger and grief that wasn’t his … being emotional as he is added to his intuitive empathy could get really annoying sometimes. Izuku took a deep breath before walking in, his eyes scanning the students in the room, it wasn’t hard to tell those feelings were coming from Iida. “Are you okay?” He asked coming closer to his desk.

Iida tightened his lips for a moment before answering. “Despite my brother’s incident I assure you I’m fine Midoriya, thank you for your concern.” His reply was cold and he was avoiding eye contact.

“Something happened to your brother?” Izuku was genuinely confused, between the sport festival, Todoroki, his shedding and avoiding social media like the plague because he was embarrassed that his name was trending, he had been a little behind on hero news.

Iida looked at him surprised. “You … You don’t know?” Izuku shook his head. “But, if you don’t know why did you ask?”

“My animal instincts, I can sort of feel other’s emotions, especially when they are strong and you are just so … angry and sad and in pain.” It was a little overwhelming to be honest, although Iida’s sudden confusion seemed to lower those emotions, for the moment at least.

“I see … I apologize Midoriya, I did not know of this aspect of your quirk, I will do my best to control my emotions so they may not bother you.” Izuku wanted to tell him that wasn’t the problem, but Iida didn’t let him. “Once again I do appreciate your concern, even when you lacked context, but I would rather not speak of it at all during school time.”

Izuku didn’t like the bad feeling growing in his gut. “… Okay, but if you change your mind I’m willing to listen.” Izuku hesitated before going to his desk. “You might want to talk with Hound Dog about how you feel … keeping that anger and guilt inside you will end up destroying you, believe me when I say you don’t want to reach that point Iida-kun.” With that he went to his desk and started looking up the most recent news about Ingenium.

Homeroom started and his dad said they had to pick hero names, but since his dad wasn’t very good at names Midnight would be the one helping them! Everyone seemed a bit unsure about going first, well Aoyama took the first step and his name didn’t inspire them to step up as well. However everything changed when Tsuyu presented her name, Froppy, it was cute, simple and easy to remember, Izuku might just call it perfect. After that others stepped up, Uraraka’s Uravity was pretty cool and creative! And sure not everyone had the best ideas after all Todoroki chose his given name as a hero name since he didn’t quite know what to pick yet.

Izuku knew what he wanted his hero name to be but he wasn’t so sure about the title, he had thought about the lightning rod hero considering his ability to call lightning but it sounded well bland so he went with his second choice, a bit on the nose perhaps but it works. “I’m the Lightning Dragon hero: Night Fury! And don’t worry miss Midnight, it’s not copyrighted I checked!” With that he got the heroine’s approval.

Going with the name of his quirk was a choice all things considered but it felt right, sure he considered the name ‘shadow storm’ referencing how he disappears in the darkness and how he calls the storms but felt too edgy. He also considered plenty of ‘Drako’ variations but it still didn’t feel quite right, he is a Night Fury, the only one of his kind and he is going to embrace that.

After that they were asked to select their internships, they had by the end of the week to decide and submit their forms. Yaoyorozu suggested that everyone gave them their forms and as class representatives they would deliver it to the teachers, everyone seemed to be okay with that.

“Who did you get offers from Midori?” Uraraka asked looking at his list of offers, Izuku hadn’t even looked at it.

“I dunno, I already have someone I want to intern with.” He was going to intern with his dad! He already knows the basics so they can skip that and go directly into patrolling and investigating and all that stuff, besides it’s not like Aizawa is going to tell him no.

“Not happening brat.” Aizawa said looking through some of the papers on his desk, the teacher’s lounge was empty at the time, beside the two of them of course.

“What? Why not?” Izuku was comfortable around Aizawa, he liked learning from him, it was easy to follow his lead.

“Kid believe me when I say I enjoy teaching you, but there’s only so much I can teach you. The point of this internships is for you to experience new things, that won’t happen if you stick with me, this is for your own good.” The kids ear’s flattened to the side of his head, he wasn’t happy about it but he wasn’t going to argue. “Plus, I already have an intern and he is going to need all of my attention if he wants to be ready to join the class at the end of the internships.”

Izuku needed a minute to load … oh! OH! “He made it?! Does he know?! Can I tell him?!” His tail was thumping loudly against the ground.

Aizawa smiled slightly. “Haven’t told him yet, why don’t you go fetch him so we can give him the news? I’m pretty sure Zashi should be teaching him right now.”

Izuku didn’t need more to run out of the teacher’s lounge straight to the 1-C classroom, he did his best to tone down his excitement before knocking on the door. “Yamada-sensei, Could I borrow Shinsou for a few minutes? Aizawa-sensei would like to speak with him.” He is trying so hard to keep a calm voice.

“Sure thing little listener!” Mic was well aware of Shinsou’s transfer into the hero course. “Go on Shinsou.”

The purpled haired teenager stood up and got out of class without a word, walking with Midoriya through the halls. “Please tell me this isn’t some surprise hell training of yours.”

“It’s not! Promise!” He was so, so happy but he didn’t want to spoil the surprise.

When they arrived to the teacher’s lounge Shinsou’s back straightened instantly. “Eraserhead.” Of all hero’s teaching at this school it was his favorite that decided to talk with him, he didn’t even know Eraserhead was a teacher at UA!

“Not many recognize me.” The magic of being underground. “Do you know why you are here?” Should he sound so serious? Probably not, but he has never been known for being too friendly.

“No sir.” Oh god did he do something wrong? Is he going to get scolded? Is he getting detention or something?

“I want to talk to you about your performance at the sports festival.” Oh this was it. “Your fighting skills are sloppy, you leave too much room for others to attack and you hesitate.” Izuku did his best to train him but it was just two weeks, of course that wasn’t enough to make it. Shinsou lowered his head he should’ve never gotten his hopes up. “Despite that, you made it into the final round, the only one from general students to achieve that in years.” Transferring like that is always possible, but not many make it. “If you want to be at the level of the hero course when you join them in a few weeks you are going to need a lot of training, which is why I’m offering you an internship.”

Shinsou quickly shot his head up. “What?” Did he hear that right?

“You need a lot of catching up to do, you depend on your quirk too much, but you do have potential which is something I always welcome in my class. While you aren’t quite ready to join them yet, you did earn this, welcome to the hero course.” Aizawa said in his usual monotone voice.

Shinsou blinked a few times in surprise, he actually made it? “Congratulation Shinsou! You will be in class 1-A with me! Isn’t that great?!” Izuku really wanted to hug Shinsou, but his friend wasn’t so fond of physical touch so self control it is.

“I-” Please give him a minute. “I won’t disappoint you Sensei! Thank you for this opportunity!” Shinsou said with a bow, oh my god not only did he get into the hero course but Eraserhead will be his teacher! He is going to intern with Eraserhead!!

“Make sure that you won’t, I will give you the specifics about your internships later. You may go back to class now.” With that both teenagers walked out of the room.

Shinsou felt faint, did this actually happened? “Midoriya did it never cross your mind to tell me that Eraserhead, my favorite hero, is your homeroom teacher?!” His heart is going to pop out of his chest any minute now.

“Surprise?” Okay listen, he was really focused on training him for the festival that he just kind of forgot? “… Is this a bad time to mention Eraserhead is my dad?”

Shinsou grabbed him by the shoulders before shaking him in a pretty comical way. “HE IS YOUR WHAT?!” That was for sure a day Shinsou was never going to forget.

Since Izuku couldn’t intern with his dad he actually had to check the internships offered to him, since he got first at the sports festival he got A LOT of them. There was one from Mount Lady which he kind of expected, he isn’t sure why the heroine took a liking to him ever since the sludge incident, the puppy effect probably. There was also an offer from Ryuku which he considered a lot, what better way to learn to be a dragon than from a dragon herself? However, she only became a dragon physically not mentally so there wasn’t much more she could help him with. There were plenty of offers from electric base heroes as well as heroes with animal mutations, but none of them could actually compete with Izuku’s final choice, the number 3 hero Hawks.

Izuku chose the winged hero because it felt like the best match up to what he wanted to learn, sure there wouldn’t be much the hero could teach him about his instincts but he was a winged flyer and a faster one at that. Hawks could teach him how to improve his speed, the best air routes he knows of, how to use his wings in tight spaces where he would be at a disadvantage, he was 90% sure the hero’s feathers worked similarly to his echolocation, all things considered this is his best offer. He was happy to know he wouldn’t be going there alone since Tokoyami also got an offer from the winged hero.

At some point Monoma had returned to their class, something about gloating about how the hero names of class 1-B were superior to 1-A’s, Kendo was close by hoping to see Izuku do his magic again. Uraraka groaned from her desk. “Midori I thought you dealt with him so he wouldn’t do this anymore?” Well he did, but it’s not a one time solution.

Izuku spared her as well as the rest of his friend group a small smile. “Watch.” The dragonling put the sweetest smile on his face before making it to the door, opening his wings gently pushing Kaminari and Sero away while making sure the focus remained only on him. “Monoma-san! It’s so good to see you again! What brings you here?” Izuku bounced on his heels. “Did you come to see me?~” He said playfully.

Monoma smiled confidently at Izuku’s sudden presence. “Well it would be unfair to keep my number one fan waiting for too long.~” The blonde winked at him.

Izuku only giggled at that deciding to play along. “Well what can I say, it’s hard to stay away from someone so charming!”

Kendo just watched this happen as amused as last time. “Then I’ll make sure to visit more often star shine.~” The nickname was new, but Izuku will take it.

“Speaking of, I would love to have some one on one training with you!” His wings gave a small flutter. “My quirk is a bit complicated and I think watching someone else use it would really help me understand it better. Could you do that for me?” Did, did Midori seriously just bat his eyelashes???

“Well, how could I ever refuse you when you keep asking for things so nicely? Name a time and date and I’ll be there for you.” Monoma said leaning against the door frame, probably trying to look a bit cooler.

“Well I’ll be busy with the whole internships thing, would it be okay to do it after that?” Monoma nodded. “Thanks! You are the best~ I’ll see you then!”

“Until then my little star shine.” Monoma took that as his cue to leave, Kendo may or may not have recorded the whole interaction, watching Monoma bend so easily is gold.

Midoriya waved him goodbye before turning to his friends, Uraraka’s jaw was slacked. “We all just watched that right? What was that?!” Oooooh right, none of them saw the first Monoma interaction, this is new to them.

“That was me keeping him under control.” Well he wasn’t lying, his methods were unconventional but they did work.

“That is not what she means and you know it Midoriya.” Jiro said fidgeting with her jacks. “Since when do you flirt?” Team cupid really needs to make sure Midori doesn’t end up with another egotistical blonde … although Monoma seems more controllable, regardless they are still cheering for Todoroki so far he is the best option in their eyes.

“Oh that, I took inspiration from Midnight.” Kayama would be so proud of him, she is definitely claiming him as her favorite nephew as soon as she gets auntie status. “I have a round face, big shiny eyes, I’m short, I have freckles and so on, I’m very aware of people thinking I’m cute. I just used that in my favor.” In that moment the girls realized just how much of a menace their friend could be, whether that was a good or bad thing they weren’t quite sure yet.

The week before the internship start was interesting all things considered because Izuku as always noticed things, Iida’s emotions were still very easy to feel and they had not changed in the slightest, that only increased his worry after reviewing his internship choice, Manual a hero in Hosu, the city the hero killer was in, he could only hope someone as rational as Iida wouldn’t go there and do something stupid.

The second thing he noticed was Katsuki, if there is one thing he was known for it was for being loud at all times and he had been quiet ever since classes started again, unnervingly so. Team cupid had assumed that whatever Todoroki said to him at the sports festival was enough to make Bakugou give up on getting Midori back, which was a win for them, that is until Mina overhead Izuku talking with Kirishima.

“Kirishima! You are trying to befriend Bakugou right?” Izuku couldn’t help but care about someone who was important to him in the past, they are on bad terms and Izuku doesn’t feel right asking what’s wrong, because he knows for a fact something is wrong. But maybe he can make sure someone else checks up on him.

“Yeah, it’s a bit hard, it seems like he doesn’t really want any friends but he looks like he could use some!” There was something about Bakugou that drew Kirishima in, although he didn’t know what it was.

“He can be a little rough I know, but I promise there’s some good in him, he just has a hard time showing that … look Katsuki and I are not on the best terms but I’ve known him since I was born and I just know something is wrong with him. It’s not really my place to ask him about it, so I was wondering if you could try and figure out what is going on?” Izuku made a pause. “I just want to know he is okay.”

Kirishima was a bit surprised, it was clear those two knew each other but with how they behaved he wouldn’t have guessed they care about each other. “Sure thing Midobro! I’ll let you know if I figure it out yeah?”

Izuku sighed with relief. “Yeah, thanks.” Mina is gonna have to call a meeting with team cupid because this whole time they had thought this was some sort of one sided situation where Midori had moved on and Bakugou still wanted to get back with him, but apparently the greenette still cares about him as well, this could be troublesome.

The internship was a few days away and Izuku was a bit nervous, this would be his first time actually doing hero stuff, legally at least and he would be doing it under the number 3 hero too! What if he didn’t impress him? What if he wasn’t up to his standard? What if he regretted it last minute and decided to only keep Tokoyami? His head was being annoying so he did the best thing he could, train with the newly named UA’s big 3 to clear his mind. “Mirio, do you have any advice for internships?” Izuku asked while sparring, it was more to practice his movements than to win the match.

“You are nervous aren’t you little buddy?” Mirio said with a small laugh. “Well first internships can be messy and many first years regret them, but that’s kind of the point, it’s your first experience you are meant to make mistakes.” He made a small pause to correct Izuku’s stance while kicking to maintain balance better. “Who did you end up going with anyways?”

“Hawks.” Izuku said kicking again trying to get it right.

Amajiki shuddered. “Why would you choose someone in the spotlight?”

 “Because he was my best option in hero ranking as well as flying teacher.” That and Nezu needed him to be in the spotlight for the Endeavor takedown so yeah.

“I heard Hawks is a cannibal.” Nejire said while working with her quirk. “Which is dumb, he is a Hawk of course he would eat chicken! Do you think he has a favorite brand? Or maybe he prefers it home made? Does he has instincts like you and has to resist the urge to hunt? Or are his wings not related to an animal at all? I don’t know of any hawks that can use feathers like he does!”

Izuku smiled, what he would’ve given to meet Nejire when he was still an outcast, she is truly the only one that can match his question speed and range. “I’m not sure, but I’ll ask for you.”

“You are the best Izu! Now it’s dodging time!” That was the only warning Izuku got before her shiny spirals came at him, he quickly took flight doing his best to dodge them. Her range was wide which left him with little room to spin and dodge, but he managed, for most of the time anyways. He was forced to land after he got hit. “I’m okay!”

“Take a break Izuku.” Mirio said knowing the dragonling loved to push himself while injured, something he learned plenty of times when he got cut during the beach clean up and just refused to bring it up. “Why don’t you help me with my weightlifting?” That was always fun, see Mirio liked training by carrying actual people, before Izuku his friends were more than glad to help but after their newest addition Amajiki was happy to give him his place.

The blonde flexed both of his arms, Izuku comfortably sitting on one while Nejire did the same on the other, the wonder of being tall and having broad shoulders, after that Mirio would walk or squat around the gym for as long as he could, if he will save one million people he must be able to carry them. As always Izuku and Nejire had a fire round of questions about anything really, from the current topic Hawks, to their own quirks or about the newest hero debut, even about simpler stuff such as favorite colors, candy or heroes.

By the end of their training session Izuku was smiling and he felt a lot lighter, he was worrying about nothing really. This internships will probably be about hero paperwork and getting an understanding of patrolling schedules and areas, plus he is interning with the number 3 hero which means he will be pretty much protected at all times.

What could possibly go wrong?

Chapter Text

Izuku had to do two things before going away for his internships, first it was a stop at the support department where he provided his scales to be added to his costume, he also gave Hatsume some scales to make the paint to cover his collar. Speaking of he also filed an upgrade for the collar, Izuku realized that he can’t really carry his phone with him in his hero suit, so he wanted to add a voice activated code that would send his current location as well as an emergency message in case he needed back up or he was in trouble. He also requested an earpiece or even earphones that would adjust to his nubs, hopefully Hatsume could figure something out, she was thrilled by the challenge at least.

The second thing was to make his official social media account, this was a recommendation of Nezu considering their plan. Izuku never really made many social media accounts, growing up as a quirkless kid meant you didn’t have a social life so he never really found a use for them, he did have an All Might stan account but well he doesn’t really use it anymore, so creating a new one it was. He decided this could also work as his future hero account so it was easy to make the account @NightFuryOfficial, considering how crazy the internet had gone on him for some reason, he expected that to be taken but it wasn’t, good for him.

Once the account was done, he uploaded a video to prove it was him. “Um hi! I’m the dragon kid from UA’s sport festival Midoriya Izuku, but I would prefer if you called me by my hero name Night Fury! I saw a lot of people asking if I had any social media and I actually didn’t because I never needed it before, but here it is!” He may have gotten more confident over the last year but sometimes his nerves still showed. “I’m not sure how often I’ll use the account or what I’m even going to post on it but I’ll give it a try, that’s all I guess. See you later.” He ended the video with a small finger salute. Shortly after the UA official account followed him and retweeted the video, you can imagine what happened after.

All of the class was gathered at UA before taking off to their internship, there was a lot of excitement from everyone, yet Izuku still felt the same anger and guilt coming from Iida, if anything it felt stronger. They aren’t that close, but they are friends, he just really hopes he won’t do something stupid.

Shinsou was there too since his internship would be happening at UA for the most part, although most of the class didn’t seem to notice he was there, but Izuku did. “How do you feel?”

The purple haired teenager was this close to achieving his dream of getting into the hero course, on top of that he would be interning under THE Eraserhead, he was a nervous wreck. “Eh, nothing special.” Bullshit.

“Riiiiiight.” Izuku didn’t believe that for a moment. “Well, I just want you to know that if you thought my training was hellish, you are about to face something ten times worse with dad.” Izuku looked at his phone. “Would you look at that, I should leave if I want to make it to Hawks in time. Let me know if you survive the first day! Byeeee!” He said before running off to Tokoyami.

“Wh- Hey! You can’t just leave after that!” Aizawa hid an amused smile in his scarf, that was his son alright. “He must be joking right?” Shinsou murmured to himself, sure it was Eraserhead and he had a reputation but SURELY he wouldn’t go that hard on him, plus he survived two weeks of Midoriya’s shenanigans, he can manage one week with Eraserhead, right?

Izuku and Tokoyami took the train to Hawks agency, they were the only ones in class 1-A to share an internship, although he was pretty sure Yaoyorozu and Kendo would be interning together too.

‘Nervous about my first internship.’ Izuku posted on his account, he was well aware that Nezu would be releasing the video the second they arrived with Hawks. This post was merely to stop the vultures from camping out of his house waiting for him, again. Instead, they would focus on finding who he was interning with and considering Hawks’s internet presence they wouldn’t take too long to figure it out. “I wonder what working with Hawks will be like.” Izuku said to Tokoyami, the two of them weren’t exactly friends but maybe this could change that.

The crow hummed. “To my knowledge he is a free spirit, but I’m sure he will take this seriously.” The winged hero was a few years older than them, so maybe that would make it easier to connect with him?

Izuku kept bouncing on his heels doing his best to control his wings from fluttering in excitement, while Tokoyami seemed to be completely calm, truly two ends of the spectrum. Both of them stared in awe at Hawks agency, it was huge! But what else could they expect from the number three hero? They entered the building going to the receptionist who kindly told them Hawks would meet them in a minute.

“Hello fledglings! Welcome to the nest!” Hawks said swooping down from who knows where, if Izuku had to guess a lot of the building windows were made to be easily accessible by the hero. “Come along, let me show you where you will be staying so you can get settled!” Hawks was as peppy as he always was on camera, both teens followed him. Once the teens were under Hawks’s supervision, it was time for the fun to begin, let’s leak that video onto the internet.

Dabi normally didn’t keep up with the news, there was nothing interesting for him there, until today that is. “Breaking news! A video of the number 2 hero Endeavor attacking children has gone viral!” That made him stop in front of the convenience store. “The children attacked in the video have been identified as Izuku Midoriya, the current internet sensation and Todoroki Shoto, the hero’s own son! Many believe the video is staged but take a look and judge for yourself!” Dabi knows firsthand how reckless his excuse of a father is, he would eventually slip up but this? This was better than he could’ve imagined. He threatened, pushed and burned a kid and it was all caught on camera, Dabi may have wanted to expose the truth about his father, but this wasn’t half bad, if anything it made a good foundation for releasing everything else, he has covered up.

As it usually happened the internet was divided, the Endeavor stans assured the video was fake while the rest tried to find further evidence to prove the video was real and wouldn’t you know it the sports festival was enough evidence.

“Guys look! I think I found proof for the Endeavor incident in the sports festival recording!” The post showed a video recording of Izuku’s match with Hitoshi. “Look at his injuries! None of them are on the arm Endeavor burned but look at him when he comes out for his next fight!” A photo of Izuku before his match with Iida was shown, his wrist was bandaged. “None of the injuries he got in the previous fight match! Even if it did Recovery Girl healed everything else, why would that remain unless it was after getting healed already?” The post seemed convincing enough because it was gaining traction, also people could check it themselves with the recordings of the event.

Endeavor was talking to Shoto and his son was doing his best to ignore what he was hearing, something something embrace your fire, something something my legacy, who cares. “Excuse me Endeavor sir, we need your presence with the PR team.” One of his seemingly infinite assistants said.

“I thought I told everyone not to bother me while Shoto is here!” Now that his son had used his fire and learned to stay in line, he needed to step up his training so he could be ready for his debut.

“I know sir, but this is really important!” The PR team was struggling to cover up what had happened, the fact that the leaked video had audio WAS NOT helping.

“I don’t care! Tell them to figure it out! That’s what I hired them for!” Endeavor said making his way past the assistant. “Now Shoto, come with me, I’ll show you the ropes of patrolling, so you are ready to take on Hosu.” Todoroki stood beside his father knowing the sea of reporters that would be swarming them as soon as those doors opened, better let them get a good look at him in case his dad has another temper tantrum.

Endeavor was blinded by the flashes of cameras before multiple microphones were shoved into his face.

“Endeavor san! Is the video real?”

“What can you say in your defense?”

“In the video you threaten to end his career before it begins! Is this something you normally do?”

“What will you do to amend this?”

“Why would you burn a child?”

“How many more incidents have you shoved under the rug?”

Endeavor turned back to the assistant that had trailed behind them. “What is the meaning of this?” What were these people talking about?

The assistant looked extremely nervous. “This is why the PR team needed you for, sir.”

Endeavor frowned, pulling his son back inside ordering some of his sidekicks to keep the press away, they hesitated for a moment considering the news but obeyed anyways, they were getting paid after all. The PR team of his agency informed him about what was happening and showed him the video. It started with that green haired brat checking up on his son after his battle asking if he was okay, it ended when his son offered to take that pest to the nurse’s office to fix that burn, both teens walking out of sight.

Enji could feel his flames burn hotter. “Did you know of this Shoto?” His tone was flat, but Todoroki could feel the anger he was trying to hide.

“No.” Was his only response

Endeavor turned to him. “Do not lie to me Shoto!” He had no idea when his masterpiece and that disgrace could’ve come up with this, but they had to be behind this.

“I’m not lying father.” Todoroki was feeling a bit confident, he let the press see him, if he walked out with a single scratch after being completely fine minutes earlier this situation would only get worse for his father, there was nothing Endeavor could do to him.

“Sir we need to get a statement out to the press about this, something that can fix this or lower the impact!” There was no doubt this would lower Endeavor’s hero ranking; the public wouldn’t trust him near their children anymore.

“There is no need.” This was a scandal, there was a new one every week, people would eventually forget when something greater happened. “I will continue with my plans for the following weeks, capturing the hero killer will be enough to make everyone forget about this.” Some little lizard wasn’t going to take everything he had built and turn it into dust.

Todoroki did his best not to frown, his father thought he could just leave this behind him, he was so wrong.

“Sir this is beyond any past scandal you’ve ever dealt with! This isn’t people concerned about the destruction your fights cause! Or fans being mad for being dismissed! This is far more serious!” The director of the team said trying to be reasonable.

“And I already decided how to manage it, do your job and delete that video off the internet! Shoto we are leaving!” Oh you fool, once something reaches the internet, it will always remain on the internet.

Back with Hawks both teenagers had settled in the rooms they were offered; they were asked to put on their hero suits before meeting with the hero again. “Well, both of you look charming!” He really had to pick the two kids that went full black on their costumes and had simple designs as well. “Your first task is to catch up!” and with that Hawks was flying out of a window taking both teens by surprise, but Izuku liked a challenge.

“Tokoyami, Dark Shadow, hold onto me like you did on the sports festival.” Izuku said before transforming, he should really consider getting some sort of saddle if he is going to keep giving his friends rides this often. Once they were secured on his back Izuku took off, Hawks was fast, but the dragon was sure he could be faster, with some more practice at least, but he should be good enough to catch up.

Hawks had picked Tokoyami because the kid was a fellow bird and the hero was sure there was some potential there that could be polished, Midoriya was also a good choice someone that could soar the skies the same way Hawks did and the hero would appreciate having a sky buddy that could match his speed one day, but that dragonling wasn’t exactly his choice. The commission had their eyes on that kid ever since his quirk manifested in such a grand and heroic way, they saw a future asset, but they had learned their lesson with Lady Nagant, the kid was simply too old to be trained properly without chances of him turning against them, plus UA got their hands on him first so they needed a different approach for him and that approach was Hawks himself. They were hoping the kid would grow attached to the hero or that he would be blinded by the opportunities given to him in order to mold him into the next obedient perfect little soldier, society in general but specially children tended to blindly trust in heroes, Hawks had direct orders to make Midoriya aware of the opportunity the commission wanted to offer him but the hero would never clip someone else’s wings like they did to him.

Hawks looked behind him hoping to see at least the dragonling catching up to him but there was no one there, for a moment he felt relief. If the kid doesn’t show as much promise during the internship, then maybe the commission will drop the topic. That relief was short lived, because suddenly the hero was covered from the sun by a looming shadow, he looked up to be met with Midoriya who grumbled at him, the hero painted a smile on his face, he has to keep up appearances. “Well done, fledglings! But this is just the beginning! You managed to catch up now let’s see if you can keep up!” Sure, Hawks wasn’t going at his fullest speed, but he was going fast, and the kid was managing to keep up despite having only a year of training with his quirk, the commission would only become more interested in getting their hands on him.

Hawks did his best to make following him a harder task, by taking unnecessary spins and dives while patrolling the area, the dragon was still following him and hell he seemed to be enjoying those random twists and dives like he was made for them, eventually he did slow down mostly because Tokoyami wasn’t taking those twists as well as his classmate was, but that didn’t help the case, Midoriya didn’t reel back because of a lack of ability but because his friend wasn’t doing too hot. “Well, that was fun! What do you kids say we get some lunch? I’m in the mood for some fried chicken.” He still has to keep up a cheery act after all.

Izuku nodded and Tokoyami… well, the raven headed boy felt a little sick, hopefully he would be better by the time they arrived for their meal for the raven’s sake they walked to the place, now some people had caught a glimpse of the speedsters on the sky but those were blurry pictures at best, now that they were on the ground? People stared in awe stopping the hero to take pictures and to Hawks’s surprise they were stopping Midoriya as well although the kid tried to hide behind him acting shyly. Izuku had already practiced what to say to the cameras about the video, but he would rather wait until more vultures start circling him. Thankfully Hawks request was more than enough to make the people back off and give them some space, the group could enjoy their lunch in peace.

Hawks was a bit surprised to the media surrounding his agency, he hasn’t really done anything for them to be here plus the commission usually keeps them at bay, so they don’t figure out what happens behind closed doors, to his surprise the reporters didn’t go to him, no instead they swarmed one of his interns effectively pushing him and Tokoyami away from the dragonling. The reporters pointed the camera at Izuku, all of them asking anything they could about the video, time to put on a show.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been busy with my internship the whole day. I’m not sure what video you are talking about.” Step one, play dumb. People have labeled him as sweet and innocent, let’s use that in our favor.

“The video where Endeavor burned you! Is it real? Can you tell us more about what lead to that situation?” A reporter said getting in front of the crowd.

“The video where… but the police said the video would be private until the trial was over.” Izuku immediately opened his eyes in surprised and covered his mouth with both hands as if he wasn’t supposed to say that. Step two, indirectly confirm the video as well as let some extra information slip out, they are crumbs really but that’s often enough.

“Trial?! Were you going to sue Endeavor?! What was your plan?!” Many of the reporters said in an uproar.

“I-I’m sorry, I’m not sure I can answer that.” The dragonling tried to hide behind his own wings, he needed to look like he actually messed up by revealing something the public wasn’t meant to know.

“Midoriya please! You have to tell us more! What is your relationship with the young Todoroki? Why did you seek him out after his fight!?” That’s one of the things everyone wanted to know, Izuku didn’t really have a reason to be there other than being a worried friend, he didn’t have the right to step between father and son, but he did anyway. He has always gotten involved in things that don’t concern him, he can’t help it that’s just how Izuku is.

“Todoroki is my friend.” Shoto wasn’t ready for the truth about his home life to come out, so they prepared in advance for a question like this. “I know him pretty well, so when I saw that giant glacier in the first round, I got worried about him. Todoroki has an amazing control over his quirk! But that glacier wasn’t a show of strength, he was overwhelmed to the point of losing control.” Izuku peeked further from his wings, not feeling the need to hide through this part of the story. “I wanted to make sure that he was okay, this is the first time the world will see his power, being the son of the number two hero put him under a lot of pressure from the public and from Endeavor as well, that’s why I stepped in when Endeavor showed up.” A simple white lie, nothing more than a friend being worried, believable enough to appease the people as well as keeping up his image of pure goodness. “I know I was a little mean with him and I am sorry about that, but Todoroki being stressed enough to lose control of his quirk could end up with him hurting others or himself. Endeavor going in-between matches to keep giving the same talk about having to be the best was making things worse.” For now they will keep this version, Enji being a worried yet strict father that was putting too much pressure on his son in hopes of making him succeed, it wasn’t the best cover up but Todoroki did agree to this version. “I know my choice of words with Endeavor wasn’t the best, but he is an adult and a hero, I had no idea he would react like that.” He lowered his nubs looking a little sad even rubbing his hand over the wrist Enji burned knowing how the media would paint this. He is just a poor teenager that was checking up on his friend and sure he said things he shouldn’t have, but that’s the thing. He is just a kid, they can excuse him for saying things like that in the heat of the moment because he didn’t know any better, the same cannot be said about Endeavor especially now that Izuku pointed out he was the adult in the situation, the adult that should’ve known better than to lash out like that.

Before the vultures could keep getting their meal, they were dragged away by Hawk’s feathers. “All right that’s enough!” The hero had no clue what this whole ordeal with Endeavor was all about. “I think you would all know better than to harass a minor, especially one under my watch. Midoriya, get inside.” He used his feathers to pull the reporters away making a path for him, the kid nodded following the order without arguing, he already said everything that he needed to.

The reporters began complaining, asking if Hawks was covering up for Endeavor and that’s why he wanted to keep the kid quiet, they wanted his opinion in the situation considering it was known how much the winged hero admired the flame hero. Izuku ignored this questions, they didn’t concern him anymore, but one of them got his attention making his nubs perk up. “Midoriya! This situation was only between Endeavor and his son! What gave you the right to get in-between them!? Wouldn’t we have avoided this whole mess if you just minded your business?!” An Endeavor supporter he assumes.

Izuku’s head snapped back at the camera. “Kid don’t say anything else! Inside! Now!” Hawks ordered, he may not know the full story but he knows how easily reporters can squeeze information out of you.

As expected, Izuku didn’t listen, he may have had to bite his tongue to stop himself from spilling too much, but he would not stay silent. “Meddling when you don’t need to is the essence of being a hero.” He made a pause making sure to look directly at the camera. “My friend needed help, what kind of hero would it make me if I had chosen to turn away?” With that being said he stepped into the nest, security will stop them from following.

“Midoriya, I need you to explain what all of that was, now.” This could be bad and Hawks knows this, his Endeavor bias aside, something happened involving this kid that put the number two hero on an awful light, the commission is not going to like this and their interest in the dragonling may not be enough to keep him safe.

“It’s kind of a long story.” Quite frankly showing the video would be a lot easier to explain what happened.

Hawks looked at the now closed doors being camped by the media. “Well, we have the time now.” Sure, he can still leave through the windows, but it seems Tokoyami had enough flying for today and if Midoriya sets foot outside the reporters are just going to try an chase them around, staying inside for now is the best option they have.

They moved onto a more private place for Izuku to explain, obviously he only explained the video using the story crafted for the reporters, the truth stays between him Todoroki and Nezu.

Hawks could not believe what he just saw, Endeavor, the hero he looked up to, the reason he wanted to become a hero too just attacked a kid over a minor argument. Don’t get him wrong, Keigo’s hands aren’t clean by any means but all he has done were direct orders from the commission to maintain the peace, but this? Even he couldn’t excuse this. “I just… I can’t believe this, he is a hero! Why would he do that?” Hawks knows how much of a hypocrite he sounds like, for he is also a hero who has done awful things but at least he has never hurt children just because he could.

“I’m not sure.” Izuku did know why, Endeavor much like Katsuki was a man that was never told no, he went through life thinking he could do anything he wanted because no one put a stop to it before, it was about time someone did. “I guess not all heroes are good people.”

That simple sentence hit Keigo a lot harder than it should have. He is a good hero, he has saved and will continue to save thousands of lives, but he can’t call himself a good person after all the things he has done, no matter how much he washes his hands the stains will forever remain. “Well, I think we can call it a day for now.” Hawks said stretching his wings, trying to return to his hero persona. “I didn’t account for the media to be here or for that surprise interview, you two fledglings go get some rest while I deal with them.” The hero winked at them before leaving.

Izuku stared at the hero as he left, something felt off but he couldn’t tell what it was. “Are you alright Midoriya?” Tokoyami asked, he was still taking everything in but it was probably a lot more overwhelming for his classmate.

“I’m fine, it’s not the first time they corner me like that.” At least this time they weren’t camping outside his house, small victories.

“Do not worry friend! I won’t let them corner you again!” Dark Shadow said coming out from under Tokoyami’s costume, rubbing her head against Midoriya’s.

Izuku giggled at that scratching her chin. “Thanks Dark Shadow.”

Like the hero said they didn’t do much more for the rest of the day, they were free to use the training rooms however they pleased while Hawks was busy, hopefully tomorrow would be a calmer day. With his free time Izuku decided to check up on Iida to see how he was doing, the dragonling was still worried he would do something stupid like seeking revenge… Iida is a very logical person but he is angry about what happened, Izuku more than anyone knows just how blindly emotions can make you act. After a while of not getting a reply he settled for texting with Todoroki, heaven knows they don’t want Endeavor catching them on a call. “How is everything on your end?”

“He has been on edge all day but unable to explode without making everything worse.” There was a small pause between the messages, Todoroki smirked. “It’s great.”

Izuku smiled at that, there is no greater joy than watching someone you dislike have an awful day. “Good. Did you see my interview? Did I look convincing?” He did rehearse most of it with Nezu but still, he wanted feedback.

“Very convincing, yes.” Sure the excuse of Endeavor being strict was a bit of a stretch to cover Todoroki not being allowed to have friends or distractions, but people had no reason to doubt Izuku’s word especially when the video painted Enji as the villain in that scenario. “Are you okay with being in the spotlight like that?” Shoto has learned a lot about Midoriya, he knows how nervous and overwhelmed he can get when the facade falls away and no one else is looking, as confident as he may seem on camera, he knows Izuku’s mind is a mess on the inside.

“I’m getting used to it.” It was weird, going from being a nobody to becoming an internet sensation twice, he has never had this much attention in his whole life, even the concept of having this many friends that actually care is odd to him. “Remember what to say if the vultures get to you?”

They knew the chances of Todoroki being interviewed as well were low with Endeavor in the way, but they had prepared just in case. “Yes, back up what you said.” Shoto can be a bit blunt and he needed a bit more practice than Izuku but they managed.

Their conversation was cut short by an incoming call. “Shinsou is calling, ttyl.” After that he picked up the call, leaving Todoroki a little confused, he isn’t well acquainted with text slang yet. “To what do I owe the honor?” He could only hear a groan on the other end of the line, Izuku winced. “Ooh, that bad?”

“Parts of me I didn’t even know I had ache.” Hitoshi complained over the phone, Eraserhead’s training was truly something, there were parts of his body that he was sure were completely numb, but he won’t give up when he is this close to achieving his dream. “I am so sorry for ever complaining about your training I won’t do it ever again, please come save me.”

Izuku laughed at that. “Not sure I can do much to save you, plus the harder dad goes on you the more he likes you. If he is pushing you this hard then it means he knows you can take it.”

“Midoriya, I didn’t call you to get a pep talk.” He didn’t need to know Eraser believed in him, something he is still trying to get the grasp on by the way, he just wanted to whine about today.

“I mean, you know how I’m like, it’s kind of a package deal, you get a friend and a cheerleader.” That is what little Izuku would’ve wanted in a friend anyways, someone that believed in him against all odds.

“I don’t remember this being in our friendship contract.” Shinsou said in a playful way, he liked having someone he could be snarky with that wouldn’t take it to heart.

“That’s on you for not reading the fine print, it’s also a lifetime deal that you can’t cancel, you are stuck with me forever.” He heard a chuckle at the other end of the line, it was rare to hear Shinsou laugh. “… The contract also says that if you ever want to talk about anything, no matter what it is I’ll listen, you know that right?” Izuku kept tiptoeing around the topic, he knew something was wrong with Shinsou outside the school but he was scared about pushing too much and making Shinsou close off again.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a while, Izuku almost regretted saying it. “... I know.” Shinsou finally said in a soft voice, Midoriya seemed like a trustworthy enough person, but he has dealt with this for so long it just feels useless to talk about it, no one has cared before anyways. Plus in a few years he will be an adult, he will be out of the system and he will be able to work as a hero and live on his own, he won’t have to worry about foster parents anymore.

“Good.” He really wishes Shinsou could just open up to him like Todoroki did, because that way he would be able to help somehow, but even in Todoroki’s case he had to reach his limit before actually asking for help, he can only hope Shinsou won’t need a similar wake up call. “Want some advice to deal with Eraser?”

“Yes please.” Anything to switch the conversation as well as surviving the rest of the internships.

Eventually their conversation had to come to an end, both of them needed rest if they wanted to do well tomorrow and believe it or not it’s Izuku who will be needing this rest more than Shinsou does.

When morning came both teens got up and in costume to continue their internships. “Both of you are early risers I see!” Hawks said as peppy as usual, making the media back off was an experience but nothing he can’t manage.

“Well you know how the saying goes, the early bird gets the worm!” Izuku said with a wink, causing Tokoyami to sigh as well as making their mentor chuckle.

“I couldn’t have said it better, it surprised me that you two managed to catch up with me yesterday. So, today I’ll be taking suggestions about what to do, anything in particular you two would like to focus on?” The students didn’t even get a chance to reply, for the nest was receiving a surprise visit.

“I’m afraid those request will have to wait for another time.” A feminine voice said.

Keigo’s back straightened at the sound of those heels clicking against the floor. “Madam, I didn’t know you were coming.” Any playfulness in Hawk’s voice had died in a matter of seconds.

The president of the hero commission smiled. “How could I not? It’s rare for high-ranking heroes to pick interns in their first year of school.” Sure they are exceptions, normally when the hero has a prior relationship with the intern like in the Todorokis case or kids with extremely powerful quirks like Midoriya or Bakugou. “And not only that but you picked two! I just wish to know what grabbed your attention, that is all.”

Hawks knew that was a load of bullshit, if he just had Tokoyami the president wouldn’t have come here, this was about Midoriya. The commission already had their eyes on the kid, but after yesterday’s fiasco they needed to do damage control, they needed to decide if Midoriya has enough potential to be worth the stress or if they had to back up Endeavor and destroy the threat Midoriya could become, tarnishing the image of the number two hero wouldn’t come without consequence. “Of course Madam.” There was nothing Hawks could do about this, this was the woman who raised him after his mom sold him off, she quite literally owned him and dictated what he could and couldn’t do, he can’t protect the kids from her.

She came closer to both teens offering each a handshake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both, you must be something special if you made hawks interested!” She had a smile on her face, but something was off about it. “Today we will transport you to the commission’s facility for some special training.” She said staring directly at Izuku.

The dragonling did not like the vibe of this woman, something was wrong with her and that’s without taking into account Hawks personality switch in her presence. “You mean us, right? you will be transporting both of us.” Something about the way she looked at him was unsettling, like predator waiting for the right moment to strike.

“But of course! Now come along, we have a busy day ahead of us!” She said urging both boys towards the door. “Come along Keigo, your assistance will be needed.”

Hawks hated it when she called him by his name, it was a bad omen. “I’m right behind you.” He can only pray to whatever god that is willing to listen that things will turn out well.

The blonde woman led them into a protected car, it was easy to assume the president needed to be protected at all times, especially after the departure of the previous president. Not much was made public about that particular case, they said a villain had managed to get into the building and murdered the previous president, for someone so important it always striked him as odd that the culprit was never found. The ride to the commission’s facility was tense, while the president presented herself as friendly there was just something about her that made both teenagers feel on edge, Hawks smile being replaced by a serious expression wasn’t very helpful either.

As soon as they arrived, they were taken inside, an assistant handing the president a file. “Please follow me Midoriya, we have prepared some exercises for you to do based on your quirk file.”

Izuku stood beside Tokoyami. “Where is Tokoyami’s file?” He expects some special training now that they are at a hero commission facility, but Hawks has two interns, both of them should get whatever they have in store.

“Oh don’t worry about your friend, we have designed some exercises for him as well catered to his quirk. But we would like to address you first that is all.” That was a lie, there was nothing planned for Tokoyami. They were hoping that Izuku’s training would take all day, that way they could just apologize for not having enough time to train the other one and claim they were too busy to continue tomorrow. “Now if we want to get everything done today, we need to get started. Tokoyami until we are done you are free to enjoy everything the facilities have to offer, if you need anything you just have to ask for it and it will be yours!”

Izuku still hesitated not wanting to leave Tokoyami or Dark Shadow. “It’s alright Midoriya, my time will come to prove myself.” He just has to wait for now, they will recover him for his tests eventually.

“… If, you are sure.” Izuku followed the president, Keigo coming along at her command. Izuku was left alone in a giant training room, an observation room could be seen above.

“Very well Midoriya, we would like to start with something simple. We would like to measure your speed both as a human and transformed, all you have to do is fly from the start to the finish line.” The president’s voice boomed from the speakers. “Begin.” Izuku didn’t hesitate before taking flight, Aizawa’s lesson of not getting a warning before a fight starts was ingrained into his brain by now.

The president smiled at the quick reaction writing down a note in her notebook. Hawks stood beside her with a straight face hoping Midoriya would fail, hoping the kid wouldn’t meet her expectations because if he did then he would become as caged as he is. That’s a fate he wouldn’t wish on anyone.

“Very well Midoriya, we will continue with your speed but this time we will add an obstacle course. You simply have to complete it as quickly as you can.” With a press of a button, the room began to change, hoops came out of the ceiling, walls began to rise for him to climb, zig-zag sections appearing for him to follow. “Begin!” Izuku darted.

This continued for hours on end, the same test of speed changing slightly, then came the test of accuracy, from still targets to moving ones, then to him moving to hit still and moving targets, then the targets combined with the obstacle course, he kept hitting bull’s-eye.

The president couldn’t keep the grin off her face, she was comparing the dragon’s time with the ones on record for Hawks at his age, sure Midoriya wasn’t quite there yet but for someone that only had that quirk for a year those results were promising. Sure trying to get a hold of Midoriya at this age was a risk, they could be dealing with another Lady Nagant but, their studies on the kid’s life had shown that for a long time he lacked any support and that he is being supported by a single mother, some nice words, promises and money could do wonders to sway people into the right direction. But a few more tests are still in order before making her decision.

“You’ve done well Midoriya, your skills are very impressive for someone your age!” She will settle for praise right now. “I see in your file that a part of your quirk revolves around echolocation, we would like to test that next if that’s okay with you.” As if the kid had a choice, if he is going to become a proper asset some tiredness can’t get in the way.

Izuku swallowed saliva, his throat hasn’t been this itchy since his fight with Todoroki at the sports festival. “I’m ready.” Echolocation was a skill that still needed polishing, he was hoping to ask Hawks about the functioning of his feathers, guess this will have to do.

“Good, Hawks will assist you during this exercise.” The president gave a small nod towards the door, Hawks signal to get down there with Midoriya. “Alright Midoriya, Hawks here will send his feathers after you, I want you to use your echolocation to dodge.”

Izuku took a deep breath closing his eyes, he is ready. Izuku roared loudly every time he tried to use the sound to see, hopping and flying across the room. He could feel the tickling of the feathers grazing him every so often, he really needed to get better at dodging based on sound.

“Stop!” The voice of the president said through the speakers. “Midoriya, making this much noise is not something you’ll be able to do in real life, it’s inefficient. You need to use your echolocation more quietly.” Izuku frowned at that, doing it quieter seemed counterproductive since it would give him a smaller range, then again, the president is right, in a real-life scenario this would give away his location. “Let’s try this again, make sure to sharpen those feathers this time Hawks.” The hero looked up towards the observation room, he didn’t want the kids getting hurt. “Do as you are told Keigo, some real danger may help him dodge.”

Izuku did not like that idea, sure he got the occasional bruise training with dad but a bruise because he was unprepared was very different from getting cut if he failed to dodge, not that the president is giving him a choice. The training of his senses started again and Izuku was starting to get frustrated, loud roars made it easier to see but he was told not to, he was told to find another way, the many cuts decorating his skin were not helping him focus. Come on Izuku think, you are smarter than this, what do you know about echolocation? Sound is emitted, it bounces in the surrounding area to give a layout of where things are… it relies more on vibration than sound itself. The dragonling tried to focus a little harder on all the vibrations in the room, every step he gave made vibrations far smaller than his roars would provide, but vibrations nonetheless.

Hawks’s feathers created vibrations everywhere they went, the way they cut through the air could be heard if he focused hard enough, he has to try to see the moving object instead of the layout, he can do that, the closer the feathers the clearer they become.

The president was pleased when Midoriya was able to start dodging in complete silence, sure he wasn’t perfect at it just yet but he was making improvements in record time. Such raw potential wouldn’t be wasted on her hands, she could already see him and Hawks as a flying duo the people could adore while doing what was necessary behind the scenes, and if he starts to get a bit off the rails Hawks could easily drag him back in line if she plays her cards right, for now she will keep pushing to see just how far that kid will go. “Halt.” Hawks stopped at her command. “Midoriya, you are doing better than expected, I can see why Hawks was so interested in you. I think you are ready to handle something a bit more challenging, please meet me in training room beta.”

Hawks knew that room, he hated it. “I hope you don’t have claustrophobia fledgling.” He said before walking away, motioning for Midoriya to follow.

Izuku’s head tilted slightly in confusion as he fought the instinct to quite literally lick his wounds. “I don’t think I do.” Small spaces only bothered him if he was trapped with someone untrustworthy, the president unnerved him sure but he couldn’t recognize her as a threat.

Izuku was led into a much smaller room. “Okay Midoriya, this room was used to help Hawks train in close spaces, we think you could benefit from this as well.” The president snapped her fingers and the walls in the room began to move. “This room is designed to get smaller and smaller, you just have to keep dodging even with the decrease in space. Easy right?”

This was going to be difficult, Izuku knew closed or small spaces were a weakness for him, something he did want to deal with during his internship. “I can do it.” He isn’t trying to prove himself to the president, he doesn’t need to, he is confident in his abilities but this is a chance he can’t waste, even if he is feeling on the brink of exhaustion he has to try.

“Lovely to hear, Hawks will continue chasing you with his feathers.” If he can perfection dodging in such small spaces, then doing it out in the field will be a piece of cake.

And so his test began, flying wasn’t really an option, transforming would just make him a bigger target, the room getting narrower by the minute left him with even less room to dodge, he was left in a position where none of his tricks would work, that just means he has to make some new ones. It took him a few tries before thinking of jumping in-between the walls, even using his blasts and wings to push him upwards if needed or flapping his wings to help with redirecting himself, he hit the wall having to restart more than once but he was getting the grasp of it.

“It took you longer to figure this out Keigo.” The president said and sure the hero was barely ten at the time, but the commission had high standards for their workers and especially for their personal projects. “Alright Midoriya I want you to keep dodging to the best of your ability, but I also need you to shoot down the feathers chasing you. Once you do it, we will be done.”

What the president failed to mention was that he also had to remain untouched by the feathers in order for the exercise to end, it took him hours before he managed to do so. He stood in the room slightly hunched over trying to catch his breath, he would really like to sleep for 12 hours straight.

The president walked into the room. “That was incredibly impressive!” The madam had made up her mind, while there were plenty of cons about this decision they were outweighed by the pros, sure Endeavor is an incredible asset but Midoriya is more promising and more liked by the public at such a young age. “So much so, that I would like to extend you an offer. But it has gotten quite late and I’m sure you must be hungry after everything, why don’t we discuss this over dinner?”

It's late? He spent the whole day here? “What time is it? Is there still time for Tokoyami’s turn?” Did he waste his classmate’s time? Has he done nothing today? Did he just waste a day of Tokoyami’s internship?

“Don’t burden yourself with that dear, your internships are far from over, if we don’t have time today I’m sure we can schedule him at a different time.” The president put a hand on Midoriya’s back, slightly pushing him forwards. “Come now, let’s get those cuts fixed before we continue our talk.”

The president walked him to their medical wing, Hawks kept walking a little behind them, his face didn’t show any emotion but Izuku could feel the spiking uneasiness, something wasn’t right. His cuts got treated fairly quickly, the madam leading them into a fancy dinner room, the table was far too big for just the three of them… wait. “Won’t Tokoyami be joining us?” Why isn’t he here?

“He can join us after we are done talking, it would be mean to give you a special offer in front of him, don’t you think?” Her voice was sweet and yet something felt off.

“I guess that would be rude.” Izuku wasn’t very sure what this offer would be, but if Tokoyami wasn’t going to receive anything similar then it wouldn’t be right for him to be here.

“Right!” The president also sees Izuku as someone naïve, someone the world can take advantage of and with some luck she will be the first one to do it properly. “Now, today you did and outstanding performance during your training. I was measuring your scores with Hawks at your age and I was very impressed to see how close you were, especially considering your late start.” The woman showed him the scores compared to Hawks. “This sort of raw talent is rare and here we believe people as unique as you deserve the proper help to unleash all of their potential.” She smiled sweetly. “Midoriya, the hero public safety commission is extending an offer to make you our protégé, we would offer your personal training just like we did today as well as financial aid for your family if needed. We will help you push beyond your limits and turn you into the best hero you could possibly be, by the time your classmates graduate you could already be in the top ten.”

Hawks could only watch, there was nothing he could say to stop him from agreeing. It was a well-known fact that this kid’s one and only dream was to become a hero even when he was still quirkless, now achieving that dream was offered to him on a silver platter. He was about to get a roommate in his glided cage.

Izuku was surprised about the offer and if life had treated him in a kinder way he would’ve agreed immediately, but hardships had made him wiser, it made him more cautious, not only about things that seem to good to be true, but about the way people talked to him. Her words were laced with sweet poison, it may sound nice but it was also condescending in a way, for better or worse Izuku was familiar with that tone. That’s the same tone people used with him when they found out about his quirklessness and tried to be nice about it, treating him like he was too dumb to understand things, it was fake kindness because they didn’t see him as an equal.

Izuku stood up from the table, his dinner remained untouched. “It would be an honor Madam.”

Hawks face remained still, but internally he was already mourning another bird with clipped wings. The president seemed pleased, although her glee was short lived.

Izuku bowed. “But I must decline your offer.” Something about this woman has been setting him off ever since he met her, Hawks spiking uneasiness just sealed the deal that whatever was being offered, wasn’t worth the risk. “I understand the benefits and advantages I’m turning down, but-”

“I don’t believe you actually understand what you are throwing away Midoriya.” The president said standing up from her seat, her voice no longer sweet or kind, but firm and slightly angered. “This is a once in a lifetime offer, do you have any idea what others would give for an opportunity like this?”

There it is, once he challenges the view people have of him, their fake kindness fades away. “I know what you are offering me, I understand how unique this opportunity is and I understand how easily you could help me achieve my dream. But my dream wasn’t only about becoming a hero, it was about getting into UA by my own merit, it was about proving how capable I am and most importantly, it was about proving the world was wrong to give up on me before even giving me a chance to try.” Izuku stopped bowing, meeting the president’s glare. “Besides, I already have a mentor and nothing you can offer me would make me leave him.” Nezu while he had his quirks, was an incredible mentor, Aizawa still offered him advice but with their more familial bond it was the principal who has mainly taken him under his wing and Izuku wouldn’t have it any other way.

The president didn’t seem pleased with that answer. “Who is this mentor Midoriya, who could possibly be making you a better offer than me!” How could he just refuse everything?! It made no sense!

Izuku doesn’t know the full story behind the HPSC and Nezu, he may never know the full story but he does know they are the reason for the rat’s hatred of humans who abuse their power. Being honest about his mentor would only put a target on his back, is a good thing Nezu taught him how to lie. “All Might! I know you could offer me so much miss president! But I can’t say no to the number one hero! My favorite hero!” Switching back into his fanboy persona wasn’t that hard. “Having him as a teacher was one thing, but studying personally under him is amazing! It means the world to me!” Who knew All Might’s offer would come in handy, sure he refused it but no one here knows that and by the time they figure it out he would be out of reach.

All Might, of course the number 1 hero got to him first now that he was working at UA, she should’ve gone after this child as soon as his quirk manifested. “…Of course, I understand why you turned me down, but you should reconsider this. Your mentor must not believe in you as much as you think if you aren’t interning with him, I assure you that would never happen here.”

That would’ve hurt if he still held the number one hero on a pedestal. “Not interning with him was my decision, I believed Hawks could teach me more about the things I wanted to learn at the time than All Might could.”

“That is exactly my point, we could teach you much more here. Hawks would always be on call if needed, you can learn more with us here than with All Might.” The president didn’t want to let him go, she didn’t want to give up so quickly on a second Hawks to control.

“I am grateful for your thoughtfulness, but my answer is still no.” He likes how things are right now, nothing she could say could change that. “It’s been a long day madam, I would like to go back to Hawks agency and rest.”

“We have rooms to spare here, you could spend the night here, think this through.” She was so convinced Midoriya would agree immediately, that she didn’t know how to handle the rejection.

“All of my things are back at the nest and I have nothing to think through, I’m happy with my choice.” Midoriya matched her glare. “Besides you will be busy with Tokoyami tomorrow, like you said our internships aren’t finished and he deserves training too.”

“I’m not sure if we can accommodate him tomorrow, we tend to be very busy here. But if you reconsider, we might make some space for him.” There must be a way to make this work, once she gets Midoriya in line he can condition him to obey like Hawks.

Blackmail? That’s the route she wants to go down? Fine, he can work with that. “I see… I didn’t know the commission was quirkist against mutants, I can’t imagine how people will react to the news.”

The madam was taken aback, Hawks was suppressing a smile. “Excuse me? Midoriya that doesn’t even make sense! You-”

“I have mutations that still make me look mostly human, the same applies to Hawks. It just feels targeted that you are refusing to show the same amount of support and opportunities to someone with stronger mutations.” Was this the case? No, but he sure can make it look like it.

“That is ridiculous, many of our heroes have strong mutations.” A child is not going to step toe to toe with her.

“Sure, remind me how many of them receive your direct support? How many of them do you praise as you do with non-mutants? How many of those mutants have historically made it into the top 10 hero ranking? I can answer that one, just Gang Orca and he barely made it. One could even make the argument you are keeping them off the charts on purpose.” Aizawa worked with him on his self-esteem so he could stand up for himself, Nezu taught him how to bite back if needed, great lessons in Izuku’s opinion. That is not to say he isn’t incredibly nervous trying to pull off this stunt on his own, but those lessons do help him hide his nerves a lot better.

“That is completely outrageous! Even if you say it, you can’t prove it!” There is no way some nobody kid is threatening her like this.

“And you can’t disprove it.” A lot of things aligned, he could be right or it could be a coincidence. “This added to Endeavor attacking a mutant child and you saying nothing about it doesn’t really help your case madam.”

Hawks found this somewhat amusing, no one corners the president like this because she normally has some level of control over them, but she doesn’t have that over Midoriya.

“Even if you were to say it, why would they believe you?” He is just a kid, he can’t have that much power.

“Because people trust me.” Izuku smiled, as sweetly as the president did before. “This can end in two ways, one you agree to give Tokoyami the training he deserves and we avoid a scandal or you refuse, I say this and you are peer pressured into treating him fairly. Either way you lose.” Nezu would be proud of him.

The president did her best not to grind her teeth because like it or not the dragonling was right, she can’t handle another big scandal while they try to fix Endeavor’s, a scandal that Midoriya is directly involved with because he is the victim which makes him all the more likely to be believed. “I’ll try to schedule some instructors for tomorrow.”

“That’s great to hear, thank you for your time today, madam. The exercises you prepared helped me a lot.” He said with a bow before walking out of the room back to his friend.

“Leave Hawks, I need some time alone.” Her soldier obeyed, those kids where his responsibility until the internships are over. As soon as she was alone the president pushed Midoriya’s plate off the table making it crash against the wall, she can’t believe a fucking asset played her like this. But this isn’t the end of the story, treating her like this won’t come without consequences.

On the trip back to the nest Hawks remained quiet, watching the teenagers chat, Izuku reassuring the raven headed boy that he would get his training chance tomorrow, exclaiming he would do great. When they arrived Izuku urged Tokoyami to go in their sleeping quarters, saying he would catch up in a minute. When he left, the dragonling turned to Keigo. “Hawks, can I ask you something?”

“Sure thing fledgling.” Hawks assumed this would be about the madam’s offer, hopefully it wouldn’t be about reconsidering it.

“Why are you so afraid of the president?” He felt it, while it was mostly uneasiness there were moments were Hawks’s fear spiked in the same way Todoroki’s did, it was less often and much more controlled but still strong enough for him to notice.

Keigo was taken aback by the question, he was very sure his expression never betrayed him, the commission trained him to remain serious no matter the circumstances, there was no way for Midoriya to know. “I’m not sure what you mean.” He lied as he often does.

Izuku didn’t buy it, but he isn’t friends with Hawks, he can’t push even if he wants to… besides this isn’t like the Todoroki case, even if he was right there wouldn’t be much he can do, not yet anyways. “I tend to look too deep into things, sorry for the misunderstanding. I’ll head to bed now, see you tomorrow, Hawks.” After a nod from the hero Izuku went to get his well-deserved rest, making sure to check in with his friends before falling asleep. Iida still hadn’t replied.

When morning came Izuku still felt exhausted, his muscles haven’t been this sore since his dad started training him past the quirk counselling. He sat up on the bed yawning and stretching his wings until he heard them pop, before reaching for his phone only to realize it was a little late for him to be just waking up. “Shoot!” He ignored his soreness in favor of quickly getting ready and meeting with his mentor and classmate. “I’m so sorry! I was sure I set up an alarm to wake up!” He was tired from yesterday but that wouldn’t stop him.

“Midoriya relax, I turned it off before it woke you up.” Hawks explained. “You had some real tough training yesterday, you needed the extra rest. Besides, today it’s Tokoyami’s day so just take it easy for now alright?” Hawks didn’t like leaving Midoriya out much like he didn’t like leaving Tokoyami out yesterday, but after his little stunt against the president he was under orders to keep watch on the kid as well as to not train him any further, like it or not he always followed orders.

“Oh, I guess that’s fair.” Yesterday was focused only on him so it made sense to focus on Tokoyami for now, he wasn’t sure what to do with the free time. “Is it okay to ask your sidekicks how to get the paperwork done? I know it’s not the most exciting part of being a hero but I’ll have to do it at some point, right?”

Hawks smiled, this was the best possible thing the kid could’ve offered to do with his free time. “Sure thing fledgling, as long as you stay inside the nest everything is on the table.” This made it easier to keep an eye on him while focusing on Tokoyami until he needed to be transported back to the HPSC headquarters.

Izuku did his best to busy himself while also trying to rest like he was supposed to, but doing paperwork was in fact very boring and while the sidekicks were very nice and kind when instructing him what to do, Izuku couldn’t help but think that this would be a lot more fun to learn if he was with Nezu. It didn’t take long for him to get back on his phone trying to get updates about his friend’s internships.

Shinsou didn’t reply, which wasn’t surprising, dad didn’t allow distractions during training time, the only way he could reply is if someone was dying or an emergency along those lines. Yaoyorozu was a bit sad that her internship hadn’t taught her anything important so far, she was just posing for some commercials. Uraraka on the other hand was extremely happy with her progress with hand-to-hand combat, Izuku made a mental note of inviting her to a sparring session sometime. He was also receiving updates on Monoma, he didn’t really ask but the teen was more than happy to share his experiences while asking Midoriya about his own, he is odd but endearing if you know him long enough. Finally there was Iida who still hadn’t replied to him, Izuku couldn’t help but be worried about his friend.

Iida was someone straight forward, the fact that he kept avoiding him or anyone for that matter wasn’t a good sign, Izuku understood why he was so hurt and angry, his brother was severely injured by a villain to the point he won’t be able to be a hero again. Someone he loves very deeply almost died and the person responsible is still out there, Izuku understands wanting to avenge him and honestly in his shoes he would probably be thinking the same thing, but this is the hero killer we are talking about going after him is a suicidal mission and Izuku wants to believe Iida is too smart to do something like that, but rage can be blinding and it can lead us to take horrible decisions.

“What’s that frown for fledgling?” Hawks asked peeking over his shoulder.

“Just worried about a friend.” Izuku said looking up from his phone noticing the raven headed boy was missing. “Where’s Tokoyami?”

“The president retrieved him a little while ago for his training.” Hawks was actually surprised the madam had kept her word on training Tokoyami rather than ruining Midoriya’s life somehow so she wouldn’t have to face anything that the boy threatened to do, things must be really bad with Endeavor’s scandal if she put up this little of a fight.

“That’s good.” Izuku returned his eyes to the screen, refreshing Iida’s chat one more time, yet again nothing had changed his previous messages were left on read while the newest ones weren’t even checked.

“Any particular reason for you to be so worried about this friend?” The madam may not want him to befriend the kid any longer, but she doesn’t need to know, plus he is still under his guardianship and ignoring him would look bad.

“I’m afraid he is going to do something stupid.” Izuku knows Iida went with the hero Manual and he knows for a fact there’s not a lot Iida could learn from him, that’s not to say that Manual is a bad hero or anything, but he just isn’t compatible with someone like Iida. Their quirks make no sense, Manual has a water type quirk while Iida has a speed boost mutation, Manual is not even a fast hero and often relies on the water around him while Iida depends on his own speed and movement to save people, it makes no sense. He has no proof, but he knows for a fact Iida went to Manual because he is in Hosu, exactly where the hero killer is and according to his killing pattern where he will remain until he claims his third victim.

“Well, you are teenagers, you are kinda meant to be doing stupid things.” That got a giggle out of his intern, but he was still frowning. “How stupid are we talking about? Preparing to cheat for an exam? About to blow his chance with a pretty girl?” That’s what Hawks has seen in movies, he didn’t really have a normal teenage experience to compare it to.

Izuku bit his lip before answering. “Trying to hunt down the hero killer to avenge his brother stupid.”

Hawks couldn’t help but mirror the frown on his intern’s face. “It’s a dangerous kind of stupid.”

Izuku gave a small nod in response. “Iida is really smart and not one to act without thinking twice but, this is too personal. I just hope I’m overthinking it and he won’t actually try going after him.”

Hawks gave a small hum in acknowledgement. “Why don’t we give this friend of yours a visit then? Just to be sure.”

“Really? I mean, I do want to but, shouldn’t we be here for when Tokoyami comes back?” He just didn’t like the idea of the raven headed boy coming back and being alone… I mean considering his aesthetic he probably wouldn’t mind all that much but still.

“He just left and if it’s anything like your training he will be busy for a while, besides you’ve been cooped in here all day, it will do you some good to stretch your wings.” He said while stretching his own. “We fly over there, make sure he is fine and come back it will be a quick trip.” He is still following orders, keeping an eye on the kid and not continuing his training, taking him to visit a friend is the farthest thing from training he could come up with. “Besides, me being there might scare the hero killer away, it’s a win win for everyone.”

“Okay.” That sounded like a good plan, just a quick check up in person to make sure he is doing well and come back. “Can I go put my hero suit on? I know it’s just a visit but you never know.” With his luck, yeah this was a smart move.

“I don’t see why not.” It didn’t really make a difference to the hero, but if the suit made the kid feel more comfortable, he can wear it.

Once the kid what ready they took flight, taking their time to get to Hosu, flying in comfortable silence. “…Kid the way you spoke to the president, they way you threatened her was a stupid thing to do. She is not an enemy you want to make.” Hawks said keeping his gaze forward knowing up here it was only the two of them, no one else could hear them. Midoriya flattened his nubs against his head, he didn’t need to be told that what he did was wrong. “Pulling a stunt like that was incredibly reckless… but between you and me, you made the right choice back then.”

Izuku looked at the hero surprised, he didn’t expect Hawks to tell him that going against the president of the hero commission was a good thing, refusing to meet his eyes, he couldn’t help but wonder why he would say something like that. “You know, I was really stressed saying that to her, like about to vomit kind of stressed.”

That made Keigo snort. “Really? With the way you spoke I never would’ve guessed.”

“You know what they say, fake it till you make it.” Hawks hummed in acknowledgement, he more than anyone knows just how true that saying is.

The pair flew in comfortable silence until they arrived to Manual’s agency, to Izuku’s dismay Iida wasn’t there, apparently the hero had taken Iida patrolling for the evening. “It’s alright fledgling, we can wait for a while until they get back.” The sun would set soon and that would probably end patrolling for the day, it shouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary.

As soon as the sun disappeared on the horizon, hell was set loose on Hosu. A villain attack is what Hawks assumed was happening. Keigo saw the kid’s nubs perking up, moving like they were sensing something, trying to listen through the chaos outside. “Midoriya?”

The dragonling’s pupils slit. “Nomu.” He breathed out, fighting for every ounce of control he had, this was the first time his instincts tried to take over while he wasn’t transformed, the response of hearing a Nomu showed just how severe the interaction he had affected him. He knew how dangerous those things were, he knew there was no other option to stop them but to kill, his throat was itching with the need to fire.

Hawks walked outside the door with the kid by his side, watching the panic of people running around the streets, seeking shelter wherever they could find. “Midoriya.” Hawks wasn’t sure what command to give, on one hand the commission gave him the order to stop training Midoriya he couldn’t take him even just as support, on the other hand the chaos that was erupting would only get worse, they were going to need as many hands as they could get. “Stick close to me, we are going to give as much air support as we can.” The people that needed saving overruled the orders given to him, whatever punishment they decided he’ll deal with, they need to save as many lives as possible.

“Yes sir!” Midoriya said taking off right after Hawks, the two of them flying through the dark sky. “The Nomu are dangerous, incredibly strong and fast, they regenerate quickly.” He was told as much after they reviewed what happened during the USJ. “They don’t think for themselves, from what I know they only follow orders. The brain is exposed, that’s their only weakness.” Or the only weakness he found while fighting that thing off. “The only way to stop that thing, is to kill.” Izuku didn’t like being that violent, he would very much prefer to stop the fight before it gets a chance to escalate, but you can’t reason with a Nomu.

Hawks didn’t like knowing the kid was ready to kill, someone that young shouldn’t even be considering that. “Stick to support and evacuation, if we face a Nomu leave it to me.” He was informed about the USJ, of course he was, the fact that Midoriya hadn’t hesitated to kill was one of the things that drew in the commission’s attention. “Stay close, I would assume the league of villains is pretty mad about you for their loss at the USJ and that means.”

“That they will target me if they know I’m here.” Izuku finished, it was logical, the dragon was a key factor to their downfall during that attack, getting rid of him would increase their chances of success in future attacks.

Izuku did as told, trailing after Hawks, evacuating as many people as possible, his heat-resistant scales proving to be very useful with getting people out of burning buildings. His nubs were unable to stop moving, overstimulated with the crackling of fire, some cars exploding, the people screaming and running, alert in case a Nomu was close, being that hyper aware allowed him to hear a familiar name being yelled out. “Tenya?! Tenya where are you?!” Izuku froze head turning to the source of the voice, Manual was there, alone.

Tenya wasn’t with his mentor, he was apparently missing in the chaos that had taken over Hosu, he had run off because tracking him would be difficult in such a mess, it was the perfect chance to get revenge. “Hawks! My friend is missing! I think he went after the hero killer! I need to find him!”

Hawks cursed under his breath, a black Nomu screeching down the street, flipping off cars, sending his feathers to try and pin it down. “Stay put fledgling!”

“Hawks please!” Midoriya pleaded, the hero killer is quick, every second matters, he wants the hero’s support but if he doesn’t get it, he is going alone they can try to charge him with vigintalism again, he won’t let Iida die tonight.

Keigo saw the heroes at the scene struggling, he couldn’t leave he was needed here but a child somewhere in the city could die to the merciless hero killer if he doesn’t go, Midoriya is just a child himself that is a fight he won’t win. Izuku darted off before Hawks could say anything the hero quick to catch up and get in his way. “I told you to stay put!”

“I’m not letting my friend die if I can do something about it!” He has never been one to stand to the side and let things happen.

Hawks had a choice to make, the heroes here can’t contain the Nomu on their own, Midoriya is going to chase after a serial killer whether he allows it or not. “Night Fury.” Izuku’s nubs perked when he was referred to by his hero name, Hawks tone serious rather than playful for once. “Your orders are to scout and rescue, you have permission to engage only if absolutely necessary. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir!” They shared a nod before flying off in opposite directions, one of Hawks feathers stuck to the back of his hero suit, as soon as he is done with the Nomu, Keigo is going to go after that kid.

He hero killer stood over Iida, his sword ready to stab him and rid this world of another fake hero, a sharp whistling sound was all the warning he got before a blast forced him back, his sword broken by the strength, the lower half cluttering on the ground. Izuku stood between them, snarling at the hero killer, looking back slightly to asses the situation, Iida was on the floor bleeding, another hero laid against the wall also looking injured.

“Midoriya? How?” Iida breathed out.

“Don’t worry Iida! I’m here to save you!” He said getting into a defensive position, he was here to rescue and if it was just Iida, he could carry him to safety blasting the hero killer away, but there was a second victim even as the full fury he wouldn’t be able to get them out before the hero killer got him too.

“You found him too? But how?!” Iida asked, there was no one else supposed to be here, Midoriya shouldn’t have been here.

“I did my research just in case you tried something like this!” He said in a scolding tone. “Most if not all victims were found in secluded and less populated places, all I had to do was look in alleyways away from the panic.” His eyes were stuck to the hero killer who had yet to move. “Get up, we need to get out of here.” If just one of the victims can move on their own, he might be able to get out of here without a fight, but that doesn’t seem likely.

“I can’t move my body!” Iida said. “It must be his quirk, since he cut me, I’ve been paralyzed.” Izuku figured as much, no one knew the hero killer’s quirk but paralysis was speculated on internet forums. “Midoriya please don’t get involved! This doesn’t concern you!” Iida pleaded, but Izuku stayed right where he was, the only thing between Stain and his sacred duty of cleansing this world.

“You came here to save your friend, you even made quite the entrance.” The hero killer said finally acknowledging him. “But I have a duty to kill him and that so called pro hero, your friend chose to fight me knowing the loser would be culled, what will you do little hero?” Stain was intrigued by this particular wanna be, Shigaraki hated him for defeating him, the world treated this child like an angel many even claimed he could be the next All Might which was ridiculous, there was no one who could replace the one true hero, but this child had yet to prove he was rotten and deserved to die.

“Stand down! Run away!” Iida commanded. “I already told you this has nothing to do with you!”

Izuku’s eyes stayed glued to the enemy, knowing that looking away would be a mistake. “I’m not going anywhere, a hero isn’t just someone who saves people, it’s someone that steps in no matter what because their help is needed!” He has some choice words for Iida’s stupidity but they will have to wait, right now he needs to call for back up and stall for time. Stain’s philosophy revolves around All Might being the one true perfect hero, Izuku can use that. “My name is Night Fury! I’m the hero that will bring people hope! I’m the nightlight that will remind them there’s nothing in the dark they should fear! For I am here!” His collar let out a small beep when it heard the code word.

Stain chuckled quickly turning into maniacal laughter. “You think you are worth using his words?!” Izuku knew that would piss him off, which was kind of the idea, now the focus would be on him. “Very well little hero, show me what you are made of, prove you are worth keeping alive!” With that Stain darted to attack, Izuku using the walls of the alley to dodge and blast, he doesn’t need to win he just needs to stall enough time.

His collar had worked, his emergency S.O.S was sent, however, Mei didn’t program it properly, his call for help was supposed to reach his emergency contacts only, instead every single one of his contacts got his message and location.

Shinsou got the message when he was patrolling with Aizawa, he was just supposed to shadow the hero, get used to the routes he would use once he became a real hero, get a grip of how underground heroes worked. “Shinsou unless someone is dying, I want you off that phone, you are still getting the grip of parkour, I don’t want any accidents.”

Despite the warning he still opened the chat, so far Midoriya has checked in with him every day, always some story to tell, sometimes just whatever was on his mind but his friend had never sent his location just because. “Sensei, Midoriya sent an S.O.S.”

Aizawa pulled out his own phone when he heard that, noticing he got the same call for help, Inko’s frantic messages about what was going on also popped up on his screen. The hero didn’t wait, running to get to Hosu as fast as possible, Shinsou trailing right behind him. “Go back!” He barked out the order but Shinsou didn’t stop.

“I can’t!” Not when his only friend had called out for help. “My quirk is useful! It can help with whatever is going on!”

Aizawa kept on moving, with Midoriya’s luck this could be very serious. “I said stay back! Whatever is going on is dangerous! You are not ready!”

“I have to go!” Shinsou can not believe he is arguing with his favorite hero. “If it was me who sent that message I know Midoriya wouldn’t hesitate to jump out of a window if that’s what it took to come and get me! I need to go!”

Aizawa knows the teen is right about that, Midoriya doesn’t know limits when it comes to saving others. They are too far from UA because of the patrol, no one will pick up Shinsou in time, the teenager is still hot on his tail, they are doing this. “Do not engage no matter what you see! Stick to me at all times! Whatever order I give you follow! Disobey and you are never getting into the hero course! Is that clear?!”

“Yes sensei!” The threat of never making it into class 1-A should’ve made him halt on the spot and yet he couldn’t get his legs to stop moving.

Aizawa dialed the detective’s number. “What is going on in Hosu?” The hero cursed under his breath when he heard the league of villains was attacking, of course his brat had somehow gotten stuck in-between another attack from the league, the worst part is knowing no matter how fast he runs he won’t get there in time. According to what Tsukauchi is saying Hosu is in a complete panic right now, transportation is completely frozen until everything is dealt with and it is deemed safe, Aizawa knows he is not going to reach Midoriya quick enough to help, the only thing he will be capable of doing is dealing with the aftermath.

Izuku jumped in-between the walls of the alley just like he did when training with the commission, who knew it would come in handy so soon? The greenette had tried to use his invisibility to throw off the hero killer, however, Hawks tracking feather had given his location away. Izuku avoided his dragon form knowing that would only make him a bigger target and dodging was already hard as it is, he had tried to lure the hero killer into the rooftops where he would have the advantage but the killer was quick to notice, going back to his potential victims forcing Izuku back into the alley as well just to protect them.

Training with Hawks had taught him that his wings and tail were the biggest target on his body, he had learned fast but he wasn’t perfect, focusing on those spots left the rest of his body vulnerable, Izuku felt the burn of the cut on his calf as he prepared to jump again, his body getting paralyzed when Stain brought the dagger to his mouth. Izuku slumped mid jump falling in an uncomfortable position, it wasn’t the cut that caused the paralysis Izuku realized, it’s the blood.

“There are countless heroes who are all talk, but your strategy was good even if it wasn’t perfect. I think you are worth keeping alive for now.” Stain said looking at the dragon, before turning back to the victims. “You are different from these two.”

The killer approached his victims and Izuku could only watch, his mouth could still move, he could still fire but he was at an angle where his blast would be useless. “Wait! Get away from them!” Izuku screamed in a last attempt of keeping them safe, the hero killer was close when a jet of fire forced him back, the greenette couldn’t help the smile on his face when he saw who had arrived. “Todoroki!”

“I got your message Midoriya, don’t worry help is on the way!” Todoroki had abandoned his father as soon as he saw the message, telling his father to send back up to that location. “You won’t be taking more lives tonight!” Todoroki said using his quirk to keep the hero killer away.

“Don’t let him drink your blood Todoroki! That’s how he paralyses you!” Stain frowned at the correct analysis, that little dragon is full of surprises.

Todoroki nodded. “All I have to do is keep my distance!” A knife grazed his cheek when he said that, the killer suddenly in his face, Todoroki using his ice to push him back.

“You have good friends Ingenium.” The hero killer said trying to get past Todoroki’s defenses.

“Stop it! His fight is with me!” Iida screamed. “I inherited my brother’s name! I’m the one that should stop him! The hero killer is mine!”

“So you are Ingenium now? Strange.” Todoroki said still focused in keeping the hero killer away. “The Ingenium I knew never had that look on his face.”

Izuku felt his finger twitch as the hero killer got two knives stuck in Todoroki’s left arm, Izuku got up and against his better judgement he blasted the hero killer before pouncing, his blast had to be extremely controlled not to kill which is why he was avoiding blasting the villain directly until now. The greenette was harshly hit on his back making them both fall, rolling to the side on instinct at Todoroki’s scream to dodge, ignoring the burn on his leg running back to Todoroki’s side. “I was the last to get paralyzed but the first to get out of it, I have three guesses at how his quirk works. The quirk is less effective the more people he uses it on. It depends on the amount of blood or it depends on the blood type.” Native provided he was type B while Iida is type A, Izuku himself is type O.

“You figured it out, congrats.” The killer was somewhat impressed the dragonling figured it out so fast.

Knowing how the quirk worked wasn’t all that useful but at least Izuku wasn’t fighting alone, the killer was too fast for them to carry both victims out without getting caught, Shoto was losing too much blood to fight properly. “Todoroki, cover me.” The dual hair teen nodded and Izuku was back into the fray, both of them had long ranged protection but staying still even just defending wasn’t helping, the hero killer would get them both if they stayed like sitting ducks. The hero killer despite the struggle was managing to dodge them both, Izuku was losing speed, the wound on his leg was wearing him down which just gave stain an easy hit to paralyze him again. This time the killer grazed one of his wings, making him slump against a wall as he landed.

“Midoriya!” He could hear the concern in Todoroki’s voice, if he came closer they were done for.

“He won’t kill me! Focus!” Izuku was sure of that, the killer had deemed him worthy for now, he would live no matter how things ended tonight.

“Just run!” Iida pleaded once more.

“You wanna make your brother proud?! Then get up and be Ingenium! Become the hero he wanted you to be!” Todoroki understands being blinded by resentment, but he has also learned drowning in it won’t let you do anything truly useful. The dual haired teen almost loses an arm, they were lucky Iida got up and attacked before that happened.

“I am Ingenium! And I will defeat you! That is a promise!” He said with renewed energy, the fight wasn’t over just yet.

Iida’s arms got injured while protecting Todoroki, asking him to freeze his engines. Izuku started to regain his mobility just as Iida charged to finish it off, if that kick didn’t finish him off then Izuku’s tackle pressing his shock collar sealed the deal. Izuku and Iida slid down Todoroki’s ice, the hero killer stuck in it seemingly unconscious, they had won.

The trio looked in the alleyway for things to tie up the villain, Native finally got out of his paralysis to help assessing just how bad they were doing saying that he would take them to the hospital. Todoroki’s left arm was injured, both of Iida’s arms were badly hurt and Izuku was limping but he felt good enough for flying once he caught his breath.

Finally the awaited back up arrived all of them surprised at the hero killer’s capture, Izuku heard the flapping of wings before he heard the warning. “WATCH OUT!” Hawks yelled.

Of all people, the flying Nomu had to snatch Izuku, the dragon’s growl died in his throat when a talon stabbed his abdomen injecting something into him, his body went limp, his mind turned all fuzzy it was like Shinsou’s quirk but worse. At least with Shinsou’s quirk he could think, but right now his mind was blank waiting for something, he just didn’t know what.

In the end it was the hero killer who jumped to his rescue, killing the Nomu and laying him on the ground, Izuku still didn’t move. Everyone was paralyzed by Stain’s aura as he gave his speech about the fake hero’s, about how the only one that gets to kill him is the one true hero All Might. Everyone’s stare was fixated on the villain, but Todoroki’s eyes were on Midoriya, his face was blank, his pupils slit, vibrant green eyes now looked pale and the thing that made Todoroki snap out of the fear induced by Stain, was the blood puddle slowly growing near Midoriya’s stomach. “Come! Try and get me you fakes!” Stain screamed and Todoroki moved.

Todoroki ran directly at the killer barely hearing people scream his name, falling to his knees to dodge the incoming blade letting the ice slide him to Midoriya, freezing the hero killer’s feet in the process. “Midoriya are you okay? Can you hear me?” He asked pressing the wound with his right hand, Midoriya didn’t answer, he barely registered he was there. “You are going to be okay, just-” He cut himself off turning his head back to the heroes. “Why are you just standing there?! Do something!”

Stain couldn’t help but think that maybe not all hope was lost for the next generation of heroes before losing consciousness.

The heroes moved now that Stain wasn’t a danger, Todoroki still pressing at the wound when his father stepped closer. “Not you.” He hissed. “You stay away from him.” His father wasn’t stupid enough to finish the job here in the open, still Todoroki didn’t want that man near Izuku, especially now that his friend was so unresponsive. The heroes guided them into the ambulances so all the kids could be transported to the hospital and treated. Todoroki sat on the stretcher, paramedics treating his left arm on the way to the hospital, the dual haired teen stared at his right hand stained in Midoriya’s blood, but there was something else staining his hand, something purple denser mixed in Izuku’s blood. The paramedics took a sample when he pointed it out before continuing to heal him to the best of their ability.

The three teenagers were left in the same room to recover, Iida’s arms were heavily bandaged and he needed to wear slings until he was healed, Todoroki had a patch on his face and a bandage around his arm, Izuku’s leg was bandaged, the cut on his wing disinfected but not big enough to need further treatment, his abdomen had a patch to cover the stitches for the stab wound, he was still fully unresponsive hooked up to the machines to test his vitals which were still completely normal.

“How is he doing?” Todoroki asked to the nurse currently checking the dragonling.

“He is doing fine, don’t worry about your friend.” The nurse said in a sweet and gentle tone hoping to ease the teenager’s worry, but the truth was they had no idea why Midoriya wasn’t responding. “Why don’t you try and get some rest? It’s been a long night dear.” She insisted hoping the teen would drop the topic, there was nothing in his vitals that could explain the greenette’s current status and even if there was this was information only a family member would get.

Todoroki stared at Midoriya, the face that usually offered a gentle smile, now being completely blank was unsettling. “… Okay.” He said to give the overworked nurse some peace of mind, Todoroki didn’t rest that night.

It was still dark when he heard voices outside the door, someone familiar. “What do you mean you have no idea what’s wrong with him?!” Aizawa whispered yelled at the doctor stopping him from seeing his son.

“Sir please calm down. Midoriya’s injuries have all been treated well, he was unresponsive when they brought him in and has remained that way since.” The doctor tried to explain as calmly as possible. “The boy that made pressure on the stab wound noticed something unusual in Midoriya’s blood, some thick purple substance. We sent it to the lab but it’s not any form of medicine, drug or poison we have registered, our best guess it’s something entirely new created by a quirk.”

Something entirely new? Every quirk had some scientific basis, the chances of something being new are low but by the look of it not impossible. “And what are you planning to do about it? What treatment can you give him?”

“Nothing.” The doctor replied a little hesitant. “We don’t know what this substance is, or how it can react against the medicine. We can only hope Midoriya’s own body can push it out of his system.” There was nothing else they could do. “You can go see him, but just be aware he might not even notice you are there.” The doctor let Aizawa who claimed to be the kid’s father inside as well as Shinsou who he assumed was Midoriya’s brother mostly because his resemblance to the hero.

Aizawa walked in quietly not wanting to wake up the other students, Shinsou still shadowing him, seeming uncomfortable to see Midoriya so empty. “Hey kid, I got your message, I’m sorry I couldn't get here sooner.” He tried, but it was physically impossible for him to make it. “Whatever this is, wake up from it soon, your mom is really worried.” Aizawa said taking Izuku’s hand hoping to get a little squeeze back, any sign that Izuku could hear him, the dragonling nubs moved at his voice the tiniest hint of recognition, yet his mind was still hazy that strange substance keeping him like that.

“He was fine until the Nomu attacked him.” Todoroki said sitting on his bed. “We won, we were mostly fine, the backup arrived and suddenly this flying Nomu came out of nowhere and grabbed him.” And he didn’t do anything, the hero killer, a criminal and crazy murder was the only reason Midoriya was saved from that thing. “I froze.” They all did, the aura from the hero killer keeping them all rooted in place. “I froze.” Todoroki repeated his voice cracking, Midoriya had done everything he could to protect him and when the time came to return the favor he froze, he failed.

Aizawa left his son’s side for a moment to comfort Todoroki, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You did everything you could in that moment, you were tired, injured and scared.” These kids may be training to be heroes but at the end of the day they are just that, kids. “I don’t blame you for this, I’m sure Izuku wouldn’t blame you either. So please, don’t blame yourself either.” Aizawa could hear Todoroki sniffling trying to suppress his cries, offering him comfort until he calmed down before going back to Izuku’s side.

Iida felt a knot in his stomach as he heard Todoroki, someone usually stoic and collected, cry. This was his fault, they were injured because he had chased after the hero killer wanting revenge, if he had stayed with Manual, Midoriya wouldn’t have come to rescue him, he wouldn’t have been in the perfect spot for that Nomu to grab him. He doesn’t know how he’ll do it yet, but he is going to make it up to them.

Aizawa kept Inko updated, promising to stay there until Izuku got better or until she could come herself which considering the wreckage of Hosu seemed impossible, the hero had only gotten here as fast as he did because of his connections, getting Inko here the same way would be a little difficult. Shinsou was convinced to rest on the fourth bed of the room while Eraserhead kept guard, he didn’t really sleep but the teacher’s current priority was the well-being of his students.

It was morning when the fuzziness in Izuku’s brain faded away, he blinked a couple of times, the vibrant green of his eyes returning, his pupils rounding, his blurry vision finally clearing up, he could think again. He took in his surroundings feeling disoriented. “Dad?” He said sounding a little groggy, his tongue felt heavy.

Aizawa was relieved to hear Izuku speak. “Hey Izuku, how are you feeling?”

“Tired.” His body felt heavy, despite that he tried to sit up, the sharp pain on his abdomen making him stay down. “What happened?”

Aizawa had already pressed the button to call in a doctor. “What do you remember?” He asked hoping Izuku’s memories weren’t affected by this.

“We fought the hero killer, we beat him, we were heading out of the alleyway when the backup arrived, this Nomu grabbed me and then… nothing.” From that point forward that was a blur, literally, his memories are blurry shapes and colors. “Did I go into survivor mode again? Is that why you are here?” Did they bring Aizawa just to transform him back?

“Not quite problem child.” Whatever was injected by the Nomu caused memory loss, good to know.

The doctors came in to see Midoriya which to them had made a miraculous recovery from the unknown substance, it was like after his system has filtered it out, he was completely unaffected. With the doctors clearing him his friends finally came closer.

Todoroki was the first to come to his side now that he was allowed, he would very much like to offer one of his awkward hugs but neither of them are in shape to do so. “I’m glad you are better Midoriya, watching you like that was scary.” Izuku had become one of his few forms of comfort, watching him completely void of emotion was off putting, it was so utterly wrong. “I apologize for not reacting sooner.” If he had, maybe Midoriya wouldn’t have had to be in such a state.

“It’s fine Todoroki, you did what you could. That fight was intense and you lost a lot of blood, you weren’t in your right mind.” Izuku said and yet Todoroki still seemed uneasy, guilty. “You have nothing to apologize for.” Todoroki still didn’t seem convinced, despite that he gave a small nod.

“I’m glad you are okay.” Shinsou said finally making himself known. “I’m not sure why you sent me an S.O.S, but I’m glad you did, I realized before sensei and we got here as fast as we could.”

Izuku stopped to think for a moment, why did Shinsou get the emergency message? In the heat of the moment he hadn’t even questioned how Todoroki had gotten the message either, that emergency feature was supposed to reach only selected contacts which he knew Todoroki and Shinsou weren’t a part of, then how? “Damn it Hatsume.” He murmured realizing that he didn’t test that feature beforehand and gifted as Hatsume was, she was still bound to make mistakes… which in retrospect saved them but he should get that fixed.

“Midoriya, Todoroki.” Iida said getting off the bed before bowing as much as he could in his circumstances. “I deeply apologize for putting you both in danger, my actions were reckless all in the name of revenge, my rage blinded me and that almost cost all of us our lives. I do not deserve your forgiveness yet, but I will do anything in my power to earn it.”

Before Izuku could reply the door to the room opened, Hawks and Manual walking inside. “Good to see you are all awake.” The bird of prey said with a smile. “There’s a lot to discuss, but you have a visitor.”

With that being said a tall man with strong dog mutations walked into the room, it was Hosu’s chief of police. Shinsou was asked to step outside before the chief started talking. “You must be the UA students who brought down the hero killer, right?” All of them nodded. “The hero killer has been arrested, he had some severe injuries going from burns to broken bones and is now receiving treatment under heavy surveillance.” He said updating them on the case. “As hero students you know that the laws were set in place to maintain order and to allow powered individuals to use their quirks as heroes. To use quirks without a license, without specific instructions from your guardians or their supervision, is illegal. You three, as well as the pro heroes Endeavor, Manual and Hawks must receive strict punishment.”

Todoroki stepped forward, clearly upset. “Wait a minute! If Iida hadn’t approached Native would be dead! If Midoriya hadn’t come both of them would’ve been killed! No one realized the hero killer was there! And you tell us we should’ve followed the rules and let people die?!”

“Are you saying that as long as everything turns out alright, it’s okay to bend the rules?” The hound retorted.

“Isn’t it a hero’s job to save people?!” Todoroki insisted.

“This is why you aren’t a full-fledged hero yet.” The chief said somewhat disappointed. “What are you being taught by UA and Endeavor?” He asked clearly not actually expecting and answer.

That question just set Shoto off. “You damn mutt!” He snarled approaching, being stopped by Aizawa

“Todoroki!” Izuku scolded, wings flaring slightly, he didn’t like his friend talking to a mutant like that, it was probably Endeavor’s influence, he really needs to discuss that with him later.

“That was the police’s opinion, but punishment would only need to happen if this were all to become public. If this is made public you would be praised by the masses but you wouldn’t be able to escape punishment.” The chief explained. “However, if this is not made public, we can attribute the burns to Endeavor and claim he was the one to take the killer down and it would all end there, with so few witnesses this would be easy to cover up. I would hate to be responsible for crushing such promising futures for one big mistake.”

Like hell, if it was any other hero Izuku would’ve quietly agreed, he had enough spotlight as it is but Endeavor won’t get credit for what they did and wash his hands from the mediatic fiasco. “As you said chief, it would be illegal if we didn’t have direct orders from our guardians. But we did have them.”

The chief seemed interested at that. “Please, elaborate.”

Izuku smiled, the kind of way Nezu would. “I had direct orders from Hawks to scout and rescue, I was to engage if it was absolutely necessary. I didn’t have enough strength to carry both Iida and Native away from such a fast enemy, if I did nothing they would die, engaging was necessary, so I did, stalling for time until the backup I called for arrived.” His eyes turned to Todoroki. “Endeavor was already in the city trying to hunt down the hero killer taking Todoroki with him, it would be right to assume his father has expected him to aid with capturing him. It’s a shame that he didn’t make it in time, but the son he had prepared and was planning to take into a fight with the hero killer did, he just followed orders.” His eyes landed on Iida and that’s where things got tricky, he knows why Iida was there. “Manual did you at any point ask Iida to help with evacuating victims?”

“Well yes, I wanted him to stay close by and help civilians get to safety.” Orders Iida had ignored in order to chase after a murderer.

“That does it, Iida was supposed to help with evacuation. But you saw the mess the city was in chief, wouldn’t it be normal for someone to get lost amidst the chaos?” Izuku asked trying to make his point as believable as possible. “It just so happens that Iida found Native and continued his orders to help with evacuation. It was an accident that he stumbled upon the hero killer and became a casualty of it, you could even make the argument Native gave his permission for us to fight while he remained paralyzed just to give us poor students a chance to survive.”

The hound seemed to consider it. “That are some interesting hypotheticals, certainly a possibility, but can you be sure every other hero will follow along?”

Izuku’s eyes glinted. “They were already on board with your version to bend the rules just to protect us, why is this any different?” If they were going to lie already, then why not paint them in a better light. “On my behalf I did have those direct orders from Hawks, I’m sure Endeavor would love to get all the credit but he wouldn’t risk his son’s future and as you heard Iida did have instructions to follow, I’m sure Native will be on board with this story is the least he could do after he was unable to help us in that fight.” He was laying out a solid story, after all a good lie needs to hold some truth in it.

The chief stayed quiet for a moment. “This feels like a reward for breaking the law and even if that story were to be released, we run the risk of people being inspired by your actions, trying to get their own justice with the hope a hero might give them their permission in the middle of a fight.” The last thing they needed was a rise in vigilantes.

“Then make our story scary to the public.” Izuku said with ease. “We aren’t some perfect hero trio that single handedly took down the hero killer without breaking a sweat. We are teenagers that barely escaped death facing such a dangerous enemy, emphasize the reason we are alive is because we got lucky, elaborate on the severity of our injuries and that was three of us fighting, a single person would’ve most certainly died. It’s all a matter of phrasing Chief.” Izuku is not going to let Endeavor take credit for this.

“Considering the new information, I will call for a meeting where we will decide the most optimal solution. I will keep you informed, until then please rest, I wish you all an optimal recovery.” With that being said the hound walked out of the room, Izuku’s version of the events were structured well enough they could get away with it if everyone else involved agreed to this version. Hawks wasn’t all that worried about the commission stopping him from backing up Midoriya on this, his orders were to stop training him, however, the president was still eager to get her hands on Midoriya, if he were to be penalized for this he wouldn’t be able to become a hero and that would be a problem.

“I see you’ve learned a lot from your personal lessons with Nezu.” Aizawa said to his kid who looked proud after hearing that. “But that silver tongue has no effect on me, you are grounded for this.”

Izuku sighed. “Yeah, that’s fair.” He did go to fight a crazy serial killer in the middle of a league of villains attack, he was well aware that the only reason he wasn’t getting scolded more strictly was because Aizawa was still shaken by his unresponsive episode.

The internships for this three were cut short, all of them being sent back home for recovery once the hospital discharged him. Izuku speaking with his mom on the way back, letting her fuzz over him apologizing for worrying her, finally introducing her to Shinsou which had accompanied him since he was still under Aizawa’s guardianship and it was his dad who brought him home. Let’s just say the usual Midoriya family dinners had one more member that night.