Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This day could have ended much better. Izuku Midoriya thought, lying in his bed trying to sleep. In the darkness of his room and with the piercing gaze of various figures and posters of his idol All Might, the young wielder of One For All remembered the events of the day while wondering if he could have done something different, whether for better or worse.

If Uraraka hadn't come back at that moment, I don't know what would have happened. The worst thing was that I made Mom and All Might worry about me again, and I also didn't manage to find out what AFO's plan is. The young hero thought sadly as he let out a sigh of resignation. If only I had gotten some information…

At that moment, a kind of portal appeared on one of the walls of his room. The young man quickly got out of bed, activating his quirk, feeling scared at the thought that the league had found out where he lived. However, he noticed that this portal was a light blue circle, very different from the mist that Kurogiri used.

Being alert, he saw that two “people” emerged from it. One of them was a kind of scientist or perhaps a pharmacist? He was wearing a white lab coat, a tie, black trousers and boots. He also wore safety glasses around his neck and in his right hand he held a pocket watch. Next to him was a small familiar figure. Is it a dog? No, is it a bear? No, it’s too small. Is it a mouse? No, wait…

“It seems to have taken you a long time to realize who I am, young Midoriya. It's me, Principal Nezu in person." The Chimera Professor said cheerfully, as the portal behind them closed and the boy deactivated his power.

“D-Director Nezu, what are you doing here? And who is he?” The boy looked at both individuals quite confused.

“I came here with Professor Paradox and we both want to invite you to come with us.”

“Izuku Midoriya, it’s good to finally meet a great hero like you. As the director already mentioned, I’m Professor Paradox.” The scientist stretched out his hand. The young man, in order not to be rude, shook it tightly while scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. “You’ll have to forgive our late arrival.” The green-haired man simply shook his head. He assumed it must have been an emergency for the director and an acquaintance of his to show up in the middle of the night. “That said, you should know that we won’t take you by force, but if you come with us, you’ll be able to acquire great knowledge that will serve you in your future.”

“Where will we go? Will we be gone for a long time? I don’t want to worry Mom again. Is it related to Shigaraki’s attack today? Why does the director trust him so much? Does he know something about One…”

“Ahh, this is young Midoriya's famous mumbling.” The man exclaimed in fascination, as if it wasn’t the first time he saw the boy do this. “Don't worry, when we meet with the others everything will be clarified, and I promise you that we will return in the shortest possible time. Of course, if you agree to come.”

“T-the others?”

“Yes, your classmates from 1-A, some UA professors, and a few more who are waiting for us.”

The boy had many doubts about it, especially about when he would return, but seeing that the director trusted him and that several of his friends and acquaintances had already accepted, he decided to go with them.

Good, I knew Midoriya would agree. He was easier to convince than some of them. Nezu thought as he remembered that several of them were hesitant to come until Paradox made promises to each of them in private.

A portal appeared again in the same place as the previous one and the three proceeded to cross it. On the other side was a kind of movie theater, with long rows of chairs, each with its respective cup holders and in front of them was a large stage with lights, microphones and a movie screen. At the back of the place was a door and in front of it was a large crowd surrounding two people who were trying to open it without much success.

As he got closer, he saw that most of the people present were wearing comfortable clothes or pajamas, and just as Paradox said, all his classmates from Class 1-A were there. Also present were Monoma, Kendo, and Tetsutetsu from Class 1-B, Hatsume and Shinso were there too, along with Eraser Head, Present Mic, Midnight, Gran Torino, All Might in his skeletal form, Detective Tsukauchi, Hawks, Sir Nighteye? And... Endeavor?!

Adding to this strange gathering of characters were three people standing outside the crowd that Midoriya couldn't recognize, two men and a woman. One of them is muscular, wearing a tattered green jacket, holding a metal crutch in his right hand and wearing a black mask. The other is younger, or at least that's the impression given off by his purple visor covering most of his face, and his hero suit is dark blue with beige armor covering his shoulders and matching his gloves. Midoriya thought he'd seen this hero somewhere before; he just couldn't remember where. The woman has pink hair, wears glasses, a medical patch over her left eye, and is wearing pink pajamas.

The three of them stared at the larger group while murmuring amongst themselves, it was almost as if they didn't want to be near several of those present, especially Tsukauchi who didn't take his eyes off them or Endeavor who looked at them angrily, as if just seeing them gave him ulcers. On the other hand, Midnight and Mic looked happy and he could even swear that he saw Aizawa with a slight smile. Distracted in his observations, the green-haired boy didn't notice how Mirai watched him thoughtfully.

“It’s useless, Professor. The door won’t open, even Shoji and I’s combined strength couldn’t open it.” Sugarman complained, drawing the attention of those present. “Maybe you can do something, Midoriya.”

“Sorry to lock you all in, but the outside isn’t finished yet. I know you’d like to go out and explore, but let’s leave that for later.” Paradox replied, getting the would-be heroes to leave the door alone.

“So Midoriya was the last one, I guess we can finally start. Or am I wrong Paradox? I would like to get back to my night patrol soon.” Aizawa, who was also dressed in his hero costume growled.

“Of course, take a seat and I will explain why I have gathered you all here.”

“Deku! Over here!” A young brunette shouts, happy to see her friend safe and sound. Her face went from relief to concern. “You’re not hurt, right? The police told me you were okay, but…”

“Hey Uraraka.” The boy smiled at his friend trying to ease her worry. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks to you.” The boy wanted to say something else but Tsuyu, Shoto and Iida just happened to join the conversation. “Good night, guys.”

Iida looked his friend up and down quickly but seeing no injuries he let out a sigh of relief. “Hello Midoriya, I’m glad to see you’re okay. Go find a seat and save one for me. I’ll join you once all the 1-A members have sat down.” With that, the representative left at high speed, not realizing that he almost took Asui and Shoto with him.

“Looks like Iida was in a hurry, kero.”

“Yes, but that shouldn’t surprise us.” The two-colored haired boy said calmly. “Uraraka, Midoriya, we should get moving before Iida comes back.”

“You’re right, Todoroki. Guys, do any of you know why we were gathered?” Uraraka asked.

“No idea. Paradox and the principal showed up at my house out of nowhere. They just said that this would be a good opportunity to learn, kero.” Asui replied.

“Yes, they told me something similar. I just didn’t expect them to bring my father.” Shoto added quietly. The green-haired boy glanced at Endeavor and then at his friend. Shoto noticed and shook his head, implying that he shouldn’t give the matter any importance.

Little by little they settled into the different rows amidst whispers, murmurs and greetings between those who knew each other. In the first row, sat the group of Tsuyu, Uraraka, Midoriya, Iida and Todoroki, behind them, were Momo, Jiro, Mina, Toru and Aoyama. They were followed by Sato, Koda, Tokoyami, Shoji and Ojiro. In the fourth row were Sero, Kirishima, Bakugo, Kaminari and Mineta. In the fifth row sat Hatsume, Tetsutetsu, Kendo, Monoma and Shinso. Followed by Nezu, Mic, Aizawa, Nemuri, Kazuho, ​​Koichi and Iwao. And in the last row were Enji, Hawks, Sir, Torino, Yagi and Tsukauchi.

Paradox stepped onto the stage and greeted his small audience. “Good evening, everyone, as you may know I am Professor Paradox and I have gathered you all together to give you a chance to learn about your past, present and future, and if you so wish, change what fate holds for you.”

At the direct words of their host, those present were stunned. Some wondered if that was even possible, others believed they were still dreaming, and some even thought they had been convinced to come by a madman who seemed to know them very well. Yagi glanced at Sir and was surprised to see him so calm. Doubts continued to accumulate until the class 1-A representative was the first to verbalize his concerns. “Sir, with all due respect, how do you plan to do that? I understand that your Quirk allows you to make portals, not see the future or the past. And although I don’t like to say it, you haven’t given us reason to fully trust you.”

“A very reasonable fear, young Iida.” The time traveler responded calmly, taking the microphone with his right hand, separating it from the base and starting to walk across the stage. “And I fear that answering your question will make you even more distrustful. Well, to begin with, my power is not limited to opening portals in space, I can also travel in time and even between universes. In fact, we are in a space between universes, which as I said before, still lacks some details, so no, young Iida, my power is not a Quirk.”

Murmurs and gestures of astonishment and disbelief could be seen in the audience as the professor explained. “I know how difficult it is to understand this, but for now assume that it is true.” The scientist continued with his explanation. “Well, thanks to this power I have found a universe where partial information from other worlds arrives in the form of stories such as television series, movies, books, among many others. From there I have some information about everyone present. In your case, most of the story is shown in two television series and…”

“So, you expect us to watch these ‘series’ of our lives and believe that it’s true?” Enji interrupted him in disbelief. “I assume you have proof that whatever we see is real, right?”

“Of course, seeing is believing, isn’t it? And it’s quite simple, since our story will begin with events that have already happened. You just must ask one of those who appear if it’s real and you’ll know. Also, I let Director Nezu see a little preview.” He answered with great confidence.

“That’s true, the fragment of what I saw revealed information that only the UA teachers and Detective Tsukauchi know.” The director replied.

“And speaking of him, if I'm not mistaken his Quirk allows him to know if someone is lying.”

At this point, everyone's gaze turned to the detective, waiting for confirmation. He sighed and replied: “He obviously knows a lot about us. Yes, since he began his presentation, I have been using my Lie Detector on him, and he has never lied to us.”

Murmurs of amazement could be heard from every seat, but none loud enough to ask why a stranger from another world would give them such an opportunity.

“HEYYYYYY!!!” Mic shouted. “Please listeners, let’s let Paradox finish to make a decision.”

“Thank you, young Yamada. Well, all that remains for me to say is that we will be watching two series and some movies, so you would be in this alternate world for quite a while. But you don’t have to worry, as you will return to your home world right when you left it.”

Midoriya and much of the audience sighed in relief as their family and friends would not worry about their absence. However, not everyone was happy with what they had heard so far.

“So, Mr. Paradox, what would you gain by helping us? Why do it now? Why not a few months before the invasion of UA happened or before the incident with Stain, the hero killer? And why only us? If the future is going to be as difficult as I imagine, we would need many more heroes than we are currently in.” The winged hero said, doubting the good, and apparently gratuitous, intentions of his host.

Yes, if he had appeared earlier, my brother wouldn't be… No, he wants to help us. There must be a reason why he chose this specific date. The young man with glasses thought, trying to calm himself down and not make a mistake like the one he made in the Hosu incident. Still…

Koichi glanced at his former adventure partner, seeing her medical patch and thinking if Paradox had appeared earlier Pop wouldn't have been hurt... And he would still be alive.

Knuckleduster thought something similar, clenching his fists in anger, but he understood that it was the consequences of his actions that led to his family suffering 5 years ago. Letting out a sigh of resignation, he focused his attention on the time traveler.

Many people thought about those they lost and the things they would like to change, but they also wondered if they would be where they are if they had not lived through those sad moments.

“Excellent question, you see, in my home world I used to support a certain group of ‘heroes’ when there were serious problems in the universe.” Paradox replied with nostalgic air. “Once I learned about this world and the future that awaits it, I wanted to do something similar without directly intervening. That is why I have prepared this place with all the information that these stories can provide you. As for why on this date, I will not tell you specifically, but it has to do with the ties that have been forged so far, both yours and the other side’s. As you progress through the story, you may understand what I mean.”

“Which brings me to the last question.” He said in a more serious tone. “You see, all of you here are very important in the events to come or were in past events, so if you decide to accept you will see things you regret, things you are not proud of, things that others may judge you for, things that will be difficult and painful to see and remember.” Paradox took a moment to observe the thoughtful faces of several of those present before continuing with his explanation. “But this will also allow you to save countless lives and even improve your own. That said, any of you can refuse if you wish. But that will not prevent your secrets from being revealed to those who decide to stay. If nothing else, I will leave you alone for a while and when you decide just say my name.”

And as he said this last sentence, the man in the lab coat left the place through one of its portals, leaving the entire audience immersed in their own thoughts.

Before long, a young green-haired man, a blond skeleton, and a veteran hero were sneaking off to talk alone, moving as far away from the chairs in the auditorium as possible. Only two people noticed or gave any importance to this fact, at least at that moment. Both men decided to follow the group.

“Toshinori, it seems that All For One is planning something huge. And if we want to stop him, this could be our best chance.” The eldest of the two exclaimed with his arms crossed. Izuku looked at him nervously but nodded, not getting used to seeing his other master without his hero suit.

“You are right, master.” Yagi replied thoughtfully. “What happened today shows that things are getting more and more dangerous, especially for…” Toshinori was unable to finish his sentence as he saw Mirai and Tsukauchi approaching to join in their little secret chat. “Mirai…”

“All Might, I know we’ve had our differences over the past few years.” The bespectacled man replied. “But if we want to extract the maximum potential from the situation, we’re in, it’s only right that we put it aside for now.”

Yagi didn’t know what to think. When Paradox brought Mirai to the theater he knew things would be tense for a while, even more so when Paradox told them they would see the future, so he didn’t expect him to be the one to propose a truce. At least not so soon. Clearing his throat, he exclaimed as he stretched out his right hand, “Sounds good to me, old friend.”

Nighteye took the peace symbol's hand and gave it a firm squeeze. Once he let go of the blond's hand, he turned his gaze towards the green-haired boy. "You must be Midoriya." The green-haired boy tried to greet All Might's former teammate, but Nighteye's penetrating gaze had paralyzed him, it was as if he was trying to analyze him in depth with that look.

Nighteye finally shook his head, almost as if he had just dismissed an idea. “It’s nice to meet you. All Might once told me about you, I know you’re his successor and I wanted to meet you in person.” This isn’t the time to start hostilities, especially when I have nothing personal against him. Besides, this is a good chance to see what made All Might notice this boy…

“T-the pleasure is mine, Sir Nighteye.” The green-haired boy replied, somewhat dismayed by the obvious change of mood and the fact that he seems to know about OFA. “Damn, if I had brought my notebook I would have asked for his autograph.”

“Did you say something, Midoriya?”

The boy emphatically denied it; he had started mumbling again without realizing it. Tsukauchi, Torino and Yagi shared a look, something was clearly not right but they would let it go for now.

Tsukauchi cleared his throat, drawing the group's attention. "Well, now that Sasaki has joined this group, it would be best for him to know the information that the general public doesn't know about the incidents Hawks mentioned." Everyone nodded in agreement. "And why do these imply that AFO has returned."

The green-haired hero couldn't help but widen his eyes in horror and bewilderment when he saw that even Midoriya knew about that monster and its return. “A-are you sure about that?”

Torino nodded and seeing that there was movement in the other group decided to get straight to the point. “I assume you know about the nomus and that they are related to the league of villains.” Mirai nodded. “Well, when analyzing their DNA, the police discovered several things, among them that they all had multiple Quirks.”

Torino's direct statement chilled the blood of the green-haired hero, who had been left speechless.

“Not to mention that Midoriya had a meeting with the ‘alleged’ leader of the league today.” Tsukauchi added, alarming Torino and Mirai who began to inspect the green-haired boy with their eyes looking for wounds or any signs of a fight that they had overlooked. "Don't worry, as you can see, Midoriya is physically fine and thanks to his actions, no one was hurt."

“I understand that you would like to know more about it and that we still have a lot to discuss, but we must return to our seats if we do not want to attract the attention of others.” Yagi advised, ending the meeting, however, the young green-haired boy had something else to say.

“All Might, what will we do if the truth of One... I mean, my quirk is revealed?” The boy corrected himself, remembering that among those present were people with superhuman hearing.

The adults looked at the boy in surprise, none of them had considered that possibility. Seeing that none of them said anything and noticing that Endeavor was beginning to observe them, the boy continued speaking:

“I mean, if revealing the truth allows us to save a lot of people, it would be a small price to pay. But…”

“I understand, young Midoriya.” The blond interrupted. “It would be best if we didn’t reveal it unless it was absolutely necessary.” Everyone nodded and ended the meeting.

On the way to the seats, Torino noticed how Sir looked thoughtfully at the young green-haired boy and let him know:

“He wasn’t what you expected, Mirai?” Torino didn’t receive any answer, Mirai was too focused on his thoughts. On the one hand, the boy was willing to save as many people as he could, but on the other, sharing such an important secret with so many people…

Meanwhile, the adults who remained in their seats began to discuss their current situation.

“Director Nezu, Paradox showed you the meeting we had after the USJ incident. Am I wrong?”

“Perceptive as ever, Aizawa, yes and a small part of the immediate future. I don’t have all the details, but I know it’s something that will happen during the summer break.” The director explained, recalling the destruction he saw in the 10 seconds he was able to see and the frightened faces of several of the students present.

“I understand why us pro-heroes are here, but why does our fellow homeless man’s entire class have to be here?” Midnight said, as she looked mockingly at her coworker. Earning an annoyed look from Aizawa.

"Not to mention three of the boys from Vlad's class, the girl who blows up everything she touches from the support department, and Shota's long-lost son." Mic added, earning an elbow to the ribs from his coworker.

“Good question, Shoto is quite capable of facing all kinds of problems and will be the future number one hero in the future. But if problems are going to happen soon, I know he is not ready and let alone the rest.” The hero of flames said annoyingly.

“Yes, it would be better if a large group of current heroes were here to solve this problem. Not waiting 3 years for them to become professionals. Assuming we have 3 years.” The feathered hero replied.

“I just wonder, why didn’t he wait until the next day to gather us all?” Said an angry Yamada for not having his usual hairstyle.

“That part is my fault.” The chimera replied. “As soon as I understood the magnitude of the situation, I asked Paradox to act immediately.”

“As for your question, Midnight.” The detective replied, joining the conversation as he resumed his seat. “They might be here because, in every activity of the League of Villains, they have been present. The USJ, Hosu, and today’s incident at the mall.”

“Are you implying that the league is related to what will happen?” Aizawa asked. I don’t like where this is going…

“Perhaps, the league has proven to be problematic. The two members who led both attacks have proven to be a threat on their own. And of course there are the nomus as well, one of them was in the USJ, three in Hosu, and thankfully, none today.” The detective summarized.

“What was that last incident?” Endeavor asked, raising an eyebrow in intrigue. After all, only the heroes of the area and some UA teachers knew what had happened today.

“We are still gathering information on this, but we can summarize what we know so far.” Yagi replied.

“Thank you, sir…?” Hawks asked, although for some reason he had the impression that he already knew that blond skeleton.

“Oh, yes of course, Yagi Toshinori, I am All Might's assistant, and I help him with his classes.” The blond replied as he handed both heroes his business card.

“So that’s why the #1 hero isn’t with us, he left someone else in his place.” Endeavor grumbled as he burned the card without bothering to read the contents. “Say Yagi, what was it you all were talking about so far away from the rest?”

Looking between surprised and offended, the blond hesitated, not having an adequate response: “W-well…”

“Endeavor, we all met who are involved with the investigation of the League of Villains. Tsukauchi and Yagi were simply updating us on the latest developments and deciding how much information we can share with you.” Sir lied in defense of All Might.

“That’s right.” Torino joined the conversation. “That’s why Midoriya joined in too, we wanted to hear his side of the story again.”

Midoriya? That boy again… Enji thought, glancing at the green-haired boy.

“I see. In that case, Yagi, please tell us what happened today.” The winged hero asked.

And while Yagi and Tsukauchi recounted the events, the students remained lost in their thoughts. They all had memories that they didn't want the others to see; they were teenagers after all. They all had secrets, and some of them were too important to be easily divulged. None of them wanted to invade the privacy of the others, but the curiosity of knowing about the future that awaited them was something very tempting. They were so focused on their thoughts that very few had noticed the absence and subsequent return of a certain green-haired boy.

“Guys!” A certain redhead shouted. “I know we all have things we don’t want others to know. But if we accept them, we can be better heroes.”

“Kirishima is right,” The electric boy said in support. “And it’s not like anyone has anything really important to hide.”

I do have a lot to hide. A certain fire and ice user thought. But before I could object, Aoyama voiced his concerns.

“How are you sure about that, mon ami?”

“¿E-ehhh?”

“Yes YammingWey, we didn’t know anything about the others before entering UA.” Kyoka said as she hit the electric idiot with her earphones. “Only Mina and Kirishima knew each other before.”

“And let’s not forget Midoriya and Bakugo.” Sero exclaimed, looking at the serious faces of both boys. “But I get the point, you shouldn’t assume that your secrets are the same type as everyone else’s.”

“Correct, there are things that are better left in the dark.” Tokoyami said in support.

“I understand what everyone is saying.” Momo interceded in a conciliatory tone. “Sharing certain secrets can be very hard, not to mention the consequences that may come with them. And I think it is only fair that everyone takes their time before deciding.”

“Well, well, class 1-A, what’s going on? Are you afraid that a few secrets will be revealed?” A certain blond boy mocked, earning looks of annoyance and boredom from the rest. “If the rest of class 1-B were here, we would all have decided already. Don’t you think the same, Tetsu…” His attempt at mockery was interrupted by a light Karate blow from the orange-haired girl that sent him straight to the ground.

“This is not the time to continue your childish rivalry, Monoma,” Kendo scolded as she helped him sit back down in his chair.

“He has a point, though.” The grey-haired man interceded, earning a threatening look from his representative. “I-I mean, why are there only us from class 1-B?”

Kendo looked perplexed at the boy with iron powers, since that was a good question for which she had no answer.

“I can only think that the rest of your class isn’t that involved in what’s coming and that’s why you three are the only ones I brought along,” Shinso concluded with a shrug. “I mean, I’m not even in a hero class and I’m here.” And paradoxically, this gives me hope that I might be able to be part of one of them in the future…

“That’s actually a good point.” Ojiro exclaimed, glancing sideways at the purple-haired boy.

“I guess the same applies to Hatsume.” Iida said thoughtfully.

“Of course.” Mei replied, drawing the attention of those present. “Paradox promised me that this would be a great opportunity to come up with new ideas for my babies. And it seems that it will be so. Seeing the past will give me many ideas and seeing the future will allow me to know what babies the heroes will need.”

Is this really the same girl who tricked me in our duel? Iida thought as he saw the girl focused on helping them.

“Also, when you and the other heroes give interviews about how you solved future crises, you will give long speeches about me and my babies allowing the Hatsume Corporation to emerge.” The girl added with a triumphant smile, leaving those present stunned.

Aaaaaand, she went back to normal. The blue-haired man thought, somewhat disappointed but not surprised.

“I think we’ve gotten off topic,” Kendo interjected. “Yaoyorozu is right, since we don’t know what will show up, we don’t know what to expect. It all comes down to whether we trust those here enough.”

At the karate girl's words, everyone was once again lost in their thoughts. While many didn't have much to hide, those who did needed to think carefully, especially Midoriya who was still thinking about what he should do.

It is thanks to this power that I have been able to fulfill my dream and become All Might's successor. And it is thanks to him that my life has changed, after a long time I have friends, and I don't want... No, I must trust them. We have been through a lot, and I know I can trust them and the pro heroes. And I will have to take a risk with Endeavor and those I have never seen before.

“I think we should accept.” The green-haired young man said, surprising everyone. “I know it’s asking a lot of you all, but thanks to this we will be able to save many lives and prepare for whatever comes next. Everyone here has a reason to be heroes, and we want to give our best effort. I doubt we can pass up an opportunity like this.”

“I support you, Deku.” The girl on his left side said. “I have some things I wouldn’t want everyone to know about.” Memories of her childhood where she promised her parents to give them a better life came quickly to her mind. “But I don’t want that to stop me from helping as many people as I can.”

“Bravo, Uraraka, Bravo.” The delegate cheered happily while clapping his hands. “I agree with both of you.”

“Count me in guys. What do you think Bakugo?” Kirishima asked his blond friend, who had been silent for too long.

“Ahhh?! I have nothing to say, just say yes already!” He shouted quickly. However, his mind was not on the conversation. Of course he wanted to watch the damn series, after all, the pompous Paradox had promised him that by coming he would discover the truth he longed for. I will finally know what you are hiding, you damn Nerd.

“Prepare for whatever comes next? Midoriya, why are you saying it like something bad is going to happen?!” The smallest member of Class A said in alarm.

“I don’t think Paradox would bring us together if things went well in the future or if it didn’t cost the lives of many people in the process,” Shoji replied, clenching his fist, trying his best not to remember the bad times of his childhood. “For that reason, I agree with you.”

Todoroki glanced at Endeavor who was still arguing with the rest of the adults. He was certain that Endeavor would accept to get the answers that Paradox promised him, so if he decided to stay, he would have to endure him. Looking at his left hand, he thought about his family and the things that had happened so far. I still don't know exactly what to do with his, no, with my power. Clenching his fist in fury, the boy concluded. But I want people to see me and not associate me with him anymore, and this may be my best chance to learn how to do that. "The most logical thing is to accept if we want to improve everyone's future." The determined boy finally exclaimed.

Faced with these arguments, the others had little to object to. Therefore, everyone quickly decided to accept and hope that they were making the right decision.

“I see you guys have already made up your mind.” Aizawa grumbled as he saw that it had taken them quite a while. “I’m glad to see you made the most logical decision just like us seniors did.” Turning his gaze to his left, he looked at the helmeted hero. “Crawler, has your group made up its mind yet?” I still don’t know why they’re here. Only Crawler can be of help, legally speaking. Aizawa thought as he remembered that when Paradox brought him to this place, they were the first ones to be here.

“Vigilante scum.” Endeavor growled, glaring at them, drawing the attention of those who didn’t know them before, who saw the three of them surprised and worried to see that there were people committing such acts nowadays and questioned whether they could trust them.

Are things so bad in the future that we'll have to resort to vigilantes? The feathered hero thought worriedly.

“It seems we have a tough audience. But if it’s any consolation, the only one who remains vigilant is me.” The oldest of the three replied, drawing the attention of the rest. “I suppose we should introduce ourselves. I’m known as Knuckleduster and that’s all I’ll say about myself for now.”

“You sure don’t change, you grumpy old man. That doesn’t help them trust us.” The pink-haired girl scolded him, being ignored by the retired hero. Letting out a sigh of resignation, she added. “I am Kazuho Haneyama, and I work as an idol. Although many of you know me as Pop Step.”

Pop Step… That name sounds familiar. Kyoka thought.

“Calm down Pop, you should know what the master is like by now.” The now professional hero exclaimed, earning a murderous look from his former adventure partner. “My hero name is ‘The Skycrawler’ and I am currently Captain Celebrity's sidekick in New York.” The boy exclaimed as he lifted the visor of his helmet while smiling. “My name is Koichi Haimawari, nice to meet you.”

“Skycrawler?” Midoriya exclaimed excitedly, standing up from his seat to get a better look at the former vigilante. “You were the one who saved a plane from crashing a year ago by helping it make an emergency landing in a river.” Now I understand why that hero suit looked familiar to me.

Does Midoriya know about Crawler? Naomasa wondered in alarm. I can’t let him hang out with him too much…

Koichi scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment as he stood up to get a better look at the boy who recognized him. Finally, someone remembered that event for something other than the embarrassing press conference he gave that day. “I-I didn’t expect someone who isn’t from Naruhata or New York to know about me.”

“I like watching all kinds of heroes in action and I was surprised how you saved them all by yourself. Oh, and because you went live with All Might’s hoodie on.” The green-haired boy replied, regretting not having his notebook with him again. “Actually, I was wondering if you could answer me a couple of questions about your power.”

The brown-haired youth gaped. He hadn’t expected to meet a new fan in this place. Ignoring the ‘shut your mouth’ looks from Pop, Eraser, and Tsukauchi, Koichi replied: “Sure, huh, what did you say your name was?”

“I am Izuku…”

“Midoriya, this is not the time.” Aizawa scolded him, bringing him out of his Fanboy mode. “And you, Crawler. Stay away from him. Midoriya is already a problem child, I don’t need your bad influence making him worse.”

“Bad influence?” “Problem child?” Both boys muttered embarrassedly as they returned to their respective seats.

“Back to the topic, I have no problem seeing the past and the future.” Knuckleduster replied. In fact, there are certain things I would like to verify… “But to be honest, all I know about the League of Villains is what you guys have said and what the press and the internet say about them.” Pop and Koichi agreed with the eldest of the trio and accepted.

“We understand if you don’t trust us, but we assure you that we want to help in any way we can.” Pop exclaimed determinedly. Koichi looked at her in surprise but nodded beside her.

Tsukauchi let out a huff of annoyance. He didn't like where this was going, recent events had made him remember what happened 2 years ago in Naruhata and the fact that they were present only increased his fears. But he decided not to think about it too much, he needed proof that both events had a connection before assuming the worst.

“Okay, Pop, we appreciate your honesty.” Midnight exclaimed in support of the group. She extended her arm behind Mic and placed her hand on Aizawa’s shoulder. “The three of us know them and we assure you that they are trustworthy.” Mic nodded and Aizawa rolled his eyes but didn’t deny anything. Endeavor grunted in response but didn’t say anything else so as not to prolong the situation. The rest of those present felt relieved and didn’t object any further.

“Well, it seems we have reached an agreement.” Nezu exclaimed, happy that everyone agreed. “Paradox, we accept your proposal.”

Again, a portal appeared, and the scientist returned to the same place he was before.

“Very well, I see that you have reached a consensus and that everyone agrees to stay.” He said cheerfully. “Here is a final warning. As you know, each person is the protagonist of his or her life. But the stories need to focus on someone who is closely related to what will happen.” He exclaimed as he stared at the ninth OFA bearer.

I'M DOOMED!!!! Young Midoriya mentally shouted, trying not to let his panic show on his face.

"Although in our case, since they are two different series, we will have two." Paradox winked at Koichi, who didn't understand the gesture.

“I say this so you know why some of you will have more screen time than others.” He said as he looked at his pocket watch. “Because of the time you were brought here, you must be exhausted. But, so as not to leave you in suspense, I will let you watch two episodes today, then I will guide you to your rooms. And don’t worry, I have arranged for the video to pause when you are discussing what you are watching, this way you won’t miss any details.”

Pulling a remote control from his pocket, a projector at the back of the auditorium turned on and before pressing the button to start, Paradox exclaimed. “I hope you enjoy ‘My Hero Academia.’”

Chapter Text

The episode started on what seemed to be a typical summer day, where little Izuku trembling in fear protected another child from Bakugo and his two henchmen. The three of them made fun of the green-haired boy for defending someone despite not having any power.

Being so young, he already showed a very heroic heart. I am increasingly sure that I made the right decision. The symbol of peace thought happily, although a little worried about how things would end for his successor.

“Deku, it seems like you’ll be the protagonist.” Uravity exclaimed happily to a blushing Deku, who wanted to hide his face in the ground like an ostrich.

“It's a little premature to say that, kero.” The girl next to her responded. “But I wouldn’t mind if he was.”

Many agreed with this fact, except…

“Damn extras, I’m in there too!” Katsuki replied irritated. “What makes you think the Nerd should be the protagonist before me?!”

“Oh, I don’t know man, maybe the fact that Midoriya is the one acting like a hero here.” Jiro said as he pointed at the screen and the rest of the girls nodded. But before the discussion could get any longer…

“You’re all being so unreasonable.” A tired Aizawa growled as he glared at them, his Quirk activated to emphasize his point. “It doesn’t matter who the protagonist is, as long as the information we get is useful.” Still, out of everyone here, it had to be you, problem child.

“Hey Hawks.” Shoto said, changing the topic. “Is the winged boy related to you?”

Half of the audience looked at Todoroki as if he had grown a second head, while others giggled a little, including the one in question who responded: “First, no, it's not. And second, that's like assuming that anyone with a fire quirk is Endeavor's child.”

More laughter was heard from the audience as an offended Enji glared at Hawks who had a mocking smile on his face. Shoto looked at everyone curiously, he didn't understand what they saw as funny about his failed theory, well, without more conclusive evidence he had nothing to go on with.

“Looks like my fan will be important in this story.” Koichi murmured in Pop's ear.

“He only recognized you, that doesn't make him your fan.” The girl responded while giggling.

“Hey brats!” The masked man shouted. “Just to confirm. Did this really happen?”

Bakugo simply growled in response as the green-haired boy confirmed it, you rarely forget the first day you try to defend someone and the consequences of doing so.

The 3 bullies on the scene jumped on top of the poor boy, resulting in a poor Midoriya beaten on the ground. And in the background, an older Midoriya could be heard talking about the sad reality that we are not all the same. But that didn't stop him from moving forward.

“A hard lesson for someone so young.” Hizashi said to his row mates. Especially the way he learned it.

“It is, but it's still realistic,” Aizawa replied without taking his eyes off the screen, wondering if this was when the bad relationship between the two boys began.

“Bakugo, that behavior is not suitable for an aspiring hero.” Iida scolded, while several of the younger ones booed the explosive boy.

“So, you were a delinquent from such a young age, huh. Quite unexpected.” Sero sneered sarcastically, earning a growl from the blond as small explosions came out of his hands in warning mode, which was ignored.

“Three Quirk-equipped kids against a Quirkless one. I didn’t expect Bakugo to be one of those who can’t win his fights alone.” The blond from Class B exclaimed maliciously. “Especially one where you have the advantage from the start.”

Kirishima had to help Kaminari stop the explosive boy from attacking Monoma. Until Eraser looked menacingly at the boy, canceling his quirk.

“Bakugo, sit down.” Reluctantly, the boy shook off his friends' hands and returned to his seat. “Monoma, don’t provoke him.” Without Vlad here I guess the rest of us teachers will have to deal with him.

“How strange.” Momo wondered, ignoring what happened with Bakugo. “Why do they say Midoriya doesn’t have a quirk?”

“It must be because it hadn’t manifested yet.” Sato reasoned. “His quirk is very destructive, especially to his body, perhaps requiring him to be bigger and stronger to bear the burden.”

“Or maybe I hadn’t developed one yet.” Ojiro theorized, not knowing how old Midoriya was at the time.

For most of the heroes present, it seemed worrying, although small children usually have fights, they are not so violent. Especially when the Explosion Quirk is involved.

For their part, Torino, Sir and All Might share a worried look when they saw that Midoriya was the narrator. If the story continued like this, the OFA would no longer be a secret, as the boy feared.

The scene changes to show a 14-year-old Izuku running through the streets, until he reaches a large crowd watching a giant person causing chaos. Midoriya, amazed, only manages to say: "A great villain." The scene changes to begin the opening of the series.

“You were in a good mood that day, Midoriya, kero.” Tsuyu replied, relieved by the change of atmosphere.

“I bet it was because you saw a good opportunity to analyze quirks.” Ochako said as she approached the boy. The green-haired boy blushed like a strawberry. He still wasn’t used to Uraraka getting so close to him at unexpected moments.

“Y-you know me very well, Uraraka.”

Kaminari, Sero and Kirishima kept looking mockingly at a certain explosive blond whose patience had reached its limit.

“Stop staring at me like that you idiots!” He grunted. “I know you were right, the fact that the nerd is the narrator makes it pretty obvious.”

“Of course, All Might would be here at the opening.” Mina exclaimed happily. “Wait, why isn’t he here?”

Yagi and Izuku paled at Ashido's question. It made no sense that the symbol of peace wasn't here.

“That has its explanation, young Ashido.” Paradox interceded, who had sat to Yagi’s left. “Which I will not give.” Several people looked at him angrily for not giving a proper explanation. “I will only say that he will appear soon.”

Several people looked at each other, not knowing what the time traveler was referring to. Endeavor raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Apparently, Yagi was not All Might's replacement as he had assumed.

“Is it me or does it seem as if-”

“Midoriya wants to catch up with All Might? Yeah, I think so too.” Endeavor interrupted the winged hero. In a way he reminds me a little of me... Without noticing it, Enji clenched his fist in fury as he remembered the impossible goal he wanted to achieve.

“It makes sense, All Might has “inspired many to be heroes, including myself.” Sir exclaimed proudly.

“I agree, many of us dream of following in his footsteps and helping as many as he has done.” Crawler said as he remembered his days helping everyone while wearing his All Might hoodies.

“It’s us!” All the students of 1A shouted as they appeared on the screen in their hero costumes. At the same time, Monoma made a face of disgust when he saw that neither he nor any of his classmates appeared. Seeing him, Tetsutetsu simply patted him on the back trying to comfort him, although deep down the boy was also equally disappointed.

“Why does Midoriya look so sad?” Mineta asked.

“Not just him. Even the atmosphere looks sad.” Kendo commented thoughtfully trying to understand what the opening was trying to tell them.

“Yes.” Tsuyu said. “And why does her relationship with Bakugo seem to get worse over time…” But she didn’t have time to finish her sentence before she saw a horrible image she hadn’t seen since the USJ.

“SHIGARAKI!” Izuku exclaimed in fear, bringing his hands to the back of his neck trying to reach a non-existent hand, remembering his recent encounter with the villain. Tsuyu and Mineta's terrified faces went unnoticed by the rest of the room due to Midoriya's scream.

“Deku!” The brunette girl exclaimed, approaching her friend to reassure him. “Calm down, he’s not here, he can’t hurt you.”

The young man, feeling the worried gaze of those around him, especially that of his best friend, began to breathe slowly to calm down little by little.

“What’s wrong with Midoriya?” the young man with two-colored eyes asked, worried about his friend.

“I had forgotten, you and Bakugo were not present at the mall, I will explain it to you once the episode is over.” Denki responded.

“Kaminari, we’d like to know what happened too.” Shinso exclaimed as Hatsume nodded beside him. In turn, Monoma was silenced by Kendo’s giant hand covering his face before he could make any comment about 1-A taking up the spotlight again.

Kaminari ignored the blonde, looked at the purple haired boy and raised his thumb up. “No problem, you are welcome to my explanation.”

Whatever happened, it must have something to do with the league. Deku, did the psychopath with the hands escape right under your nose?

“Looks like we’ll be seeing what happened at the USJ again. Will you be okay with all this, Shota?” Midnight asked worriedly as she remembered the state she found him in that day.

“There’s nothing to worry about” He replied while shaking his head. “I’m grateful that I can see what happened that day again.” Especially what happened after the Nomu knocked me out.

“Wow Eraser, I always knew you were on another level, but this is too much.” Koichi exclaimed excitedly to see his friend in action, unintentionally ignoring Nemuri’s comment. Trying to ignore the strange creature with its brain in the open air, not knowing that someone was doing the opposite.

The person All Might is fighting reminds me of… The masked man thought, then shaking his head from side to side he turned his gaze to his ‘pupil’. It can’t be him. You told me that he exploded…

“Paradox, would it be possible for you to give us some notebooks?” The detective asked. “There is a lot of information I would like to write down for later analysis.”

“I see that none of you have checked under your seats.” Paradox replied calmly. “I apologize anyway; I should have said it sooner.” And indeed, a notebook, like the ones seen in the opening, was under his seat along with a pen.

Curious, the nerd and All Might attack at the same time as if they were one. The blond boy thought, as did many of the pro heroes were present.

The opening had come to an end. And Midoriya narrated how Quirks came to be all over the world, and over time, the profession of heroes.

“I thought everyone knew how the quirks appeared?” Kaminari asked confused.

Koda made a couple of signs with his hands that only Tokoyami could see clearly.

“That’s right, Koda, Paradox said that this series was watched by people from another universe. They would need to know some basic things about our world to understand the story.”

“It must be strange to live in a world without quirks.” Toru mused as she imagined herself in a world where she could look in a mirror.

“I agree, although it might be a rather boring world.” Ojiro replied as he looked at his tail and imagined his life without it.

While many shared that thought, others couldn't help but think of a world where you aren't judged by the physical appearance your Quirk gives you, by whether your Quirk looks like a hero or a villain, or by not having one.

The villain was causing havoc on the subway line and the heroes, Death Arms and Backdraft, were doing damage control, while people were complaining about what was happening. Until Kamui Woods appeared to confront the threat directly. At that point, the young green-haired boy managed to get to the front of the crowd to be able to watch the fight.

“That was a good catch, Death Arms.” Sato exclaimed, excited to see someone with a power like his in action.

As always, humans only see the quirks, not the people. The director thought bitterly.

Just because his power is to grow, does that already qualify as a heroic quirk? Predictable. Shinso thought, a little annoyed.

“Backdraft shouldn't be creating barriers to keep curious people away.” Enji growled.

“Yes, the police should be in charge of that, not just watching the fight,” Tsukauchi replied, taking note of the matter.

Hatsume, hearing the complaints of Endeavor and other heroes, began to take notes, a device that creates portable barriers could be useful in the future.

One day I'll have as many followers as Kamui. Mineta thought, imagining the multitude of followers that would follow him everywhere.

The man with stars on his head teased Deku about his admiration for heroes. Meanwhile, Kamui dodged the monstrous villain's attacks, while listing the villain's multiple crimes.

Some laughed at Midoriya's reaction to being called a Fanboy. The boy laughed with some embarrassment.

“I think Kamui exaggerates a bit.” Mic murmured. All the heroes nodded.

He has no idea what he's talking about. Sir thought, remembering the day he met the true supreme evil, the chill that ran down his spine intensified even more as he remembered the sad truth that all the sacrifice from 6 years ago was in vain.

Kamui was preparing his special attack to capture the villain, while Midoriya imitated him. But a certain gigantic woman stepped forward, leaving the villain unconscious and astonished everyone present. Mt Lady made her debut at that moment, while a large group of people immortalized the moment on their cell phones and cameras.

Several people laughed at the surprised expressions of Midoriya, the old man, and Kamui.

“Midoriya! Why didn’t you tell me that you witnessed Mt. Lady’s debut?” The little pervert said as he stood up from his seat in anger. “Tell me that you have a photo from that day.”

“Calm down Mineta.” Shoji said as he used his multiple arms to capture the pervert who refused to return to his seat.

“Yeah, man, as far as I remember you were traumatized when you were his intern.” Kaminari said trying to calm him down.

While the boys tried to calm Mineta down and the girls took notes on what not to do on their debut as heroes, a certain teacher was growling in rage. Which did not go unnoticed by her coworkers.

“Is there something you want to say, Nemuri?” Aizawa asked, hiding his smile with his capture weapon.

“You are the least likely to criticize her or I should remind you of your birthday suit.” Mic joined in with a smirk.

“First, you know it’s not the same thing, my Quirk requires my skin to be exposed. Second, Takeyama went overboard with the fanservice. And third, I still haven’t forgiven her for calling me an old lady.” She replied with a bit of pent-up anger.

Could it have something to do with that interview where they both ended up fighting? All Might wondered, afraid to say it out loud.

"I didn't know heroes had to do things like this to get more fame." Pop said to herself with bad luck that Oguro managed to hear her and looked at her with a mocking smile.

“Do you have something to say, old man?” The girl growled angrily, but the old man simply looked away back at the screen, earning a scolding from the pink-haired girl. Koichi started to laugh, he didn’t know why Pop was upset with his teacher, it was kind of nostalgic to see them like that again. He really missed spending time with his mentor and his… friend.

While Kamui complained about having all the credit stolen from him, the narrator Midoriya explained the work of heroes, their dependence on popularity and salary.

Mt. Lady's strange grimace was enough to rekindle Minoru's traumas, who simply stopped struggling, apologized to Midoriya and returned to his seat. Leaving all his classmates stunned and speechless.

“You see, Kendo. My complaints against Class 1-A are justified. They have had more opportunities to shine than we have.”

The girl simply rolled her eyes; she had to come up with a strategy to make Monoma stop complaining or the stay in this place would be long and tortuous.

The boy began to mutter everything he understood about ‘Gigantification’ at a high speed while writing everything down in his notebook. The man from before noticed him and gave him his support to be a great hero, making the young green-haired boy extremely happy. The scene changed giving way to the title of the episode:

Izuku Midoriya: Origin

How fast, and from what I understand, this is the first time Midoriya has seen Mt. Lady in action. His analytical skills are very good for someone of his age. Nezu thought. “Midoriya, when we get back, I would like to see that notebook and the ones before that if you still have it.”

The boy nodded without saying anything out loud. He didn't expect anyone to find his hobby interesting.

With some training he could be faster, and he might not even need the notebook at all. Hawks thought. This is something the HSPC might be interested in...

Great, now the rat is interested in him. This night couldn't get any better. Aizawa thought sarcastically. Although, I should take a look at those notebooks. Midoriya is one of the few to recognize me for my quirk.

An analytical mind that learns very quickly. Toshinori, it seems you made a good choice in your successor. Gran Torino thought as he recalled the boy's progress in the short time they spent together.

His classmates praised him for his analytical skills, and some asked him for advice to improve the poor young man who did not know how to react.

“Hey extras, can you do this later? It’s bad enough having to watch a Deku story without you guys dragging it out unnecessarily.” An annoyed Bakugo growled.

“K-kacchan…”

“Calm down, man.” Kaminari replied.

“Someone is jealous because he is not the center of attention.” Mina mocked.

“What did you say raccoon eyes?!!” The boy growled as small explosions appeared in his palms.

“Enough, while I don’t agree with the way he said it, Bakugo is right, it’s already quite late and there’s no need to drag this out any longer.” The class representative interfered. “On the other hand, it seems that this is your origin story as a hero, Midoriya. I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

The boy didn't answer anything, as he suddenly remembered that this was the worst, and at the same time, the best day of his life. Great, now they will not only know the truth about my quirk, but they will also see my life in Alder... Kacchan!! They will see what he said that day. That's not good...

Deku looks better when he smil… The brunette's mind was interrupted when she remembered Aoyama's words for the second time that day and began to blush little by little. N-NO, I wasn't thinking about it that way. She mentally scolded herself.

“By the way, young Midoriya was right about the damage to the city.” Paradox exclaimed as he pulled a badge with an hourglass symbol from his lab coat pocket. A hologram with information appeared from it, which Paradox read out loud: “Mt. Lady had to pay 20 million yen to the city for the damage in her debut.”

Uraraka felt her soul leave her body for a moment upon hearing this. It had never occurred to her that professional heroes could be charged for damage caused. A thought that many of her classmates shared.

Point for those of us who do not have flashy and destructive power. Shinso thought happily.

“Now you understand why we put so much emphasis on causing the least amount of damage possible.” Aizawa said looking at a certain explosive boy and a certain green-haired boy.

“I agree, that's why you should think, according to your abilities, what would be your ideal place to patrol.” The director exclaimed. “Thanks for the information, Paradox. But I thought you wouldn't give any information directly.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that there is some information that comes in the extra material of the series and movies. I will provide you with this extra information as we go along.”

The scene changed to an average school, with a typical third year class. Until the teacher talked about the future of his students as possible heroes, while everyone showed off their quirks. Well, not all. A certain young man looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but in class.

“That explains Bakugo's behavior on the first day.” Iida exclaimed, annoyed when he saw that the Aldera boys did not respect the desks and the rules of not using quirks in class.

“Why isn’t Midoriya showing his power?” Pop asked.

“Didn’t you see the sports festival, Pop?” Nemuri asked.

“I didn't see it in full, that day I had to meet with Miu to plan our next show.” The young woman answered thoughtfully. “I remember seeing that you were the referee and I watched until the end of the second act, but I don't remember the power of…”

“Oh, I remember now.” Oguro exclaimed, interrupting the girl and looking at the green-haired boy. “You are the boy with super strength who broke his arms and fingers when using your power.”

“W-well, I know how to fight without that happening, but that was me.” The green-haired man answered. What a good impression I gave to the world...

“I see, if Midoriya had used his power, he would have destroyed most of the place and ended up with a broken arm.” Hawks summed up thoughtfully. Is this one of those cases where your quirk isn't adapted to your body?

That doesn't explain why he didn't train his quirk before entering UA so it wouldn't happen so often. Aizawa thought.

Bakugo opened his eyes in surprise. I had never thought that. The explosive boy thought, looking at the green-haired boy's neck. But if it were like that, why lie? If he showed it once, I would have believed him...

Suddenly, a certain explosive boy began to insult his classmates, unleashing their anger. Because Bakugo was going to take the entrance exam to UA, he decided to boast about his perfect admission plan, being the only one in his school and managing to be the one who would surpass All Might.

As if that were such a simple, child. Endeavor thought.

“But Bakugo, Midoriya is here, so I guess your ego made you talk too much.” Kaminari mocked, increasing the blonde's anger.

“Shut up Pikachu, how was I supposed to know Deku had…!”

“Guys, stop bothering Kacchan, let’s get on with the story.” Deku interceded before things could go any further, earning an annoyed look from the explosive blonde.

The teacher mentioned that Midoriya had also signed up, which caused momentary shock and subsequent mockery from his classmates. Suddenly, an explosion on Midoriya's desk sent him flying backwards. The green-haired youth looked up to see his childhood friend yelling at him for not having a quirk and for believing that he had a chance. However, the scared youth didn't want to give up on his dreams no matter how scary they looked to others or how many insults they threw at him.

His companions went from astonishment to anger in a short time when they saw the poor treatment Midoriya was receiving.

“Bakugo, you’re an idiot. What gives you the right to treat Deku like that?!” Uraraka shouted angrily.

“I agree Uraraka, that's no way to treat a classmate.” Iida exclaimed, visibly upset.

“Shut up you damn extras!” The blonde defended himself. “I was just putting the nerd in his place.”

Of course, this response only made the situation worse. Shouts of ‘Who do you think you are?’, ‘Are you crazy?’ and similar resounded throughout the place. It was the teachers, visibly upset, who had to intervene.

“HEEEYYY!!” Mic shouted, getting everyone’s attention.

“Bakugo, I choose to believe that this and what happened when you were little were isolated incidents and that is why it will not go any further.” Eraser said, increasing the annoyance of the others. “However, I will make it clear that, in UA, this behavior will not be tolerated. Especially from an aspiring hero.” He added with his eyes red due to the activation of his Quirk. “I hope that is clear.”

The boy went from astonishment to rage in seconds, but when he saw that Eraser's expression didn't change at all, he growled under his breath and didn't say another word.

“Tsukauchi, do you think someone can conduct an inspection on Aldera. Just in case” The director said calmly, noticing an unpleasant pattern in what was happening on the screen.

“I think I know someone, though I would like to be on the inspection. An incident like this happening in front of a teacher and him not doing anything about it is something that cannot be allowed.” Tsukauchi replied angrily. I should have assumed that a boy without a quirk would have gone through something like this…

With things calming down a bit, a certain rich girl had another doubt she wanted to resolve.

“Midoriya, you may not be in the mood to answer. But why did everyone say you didn’t have a Quirk? Didn’t they know your quirk is Superpower?”

The young man wasn't paying attention; he was too moved by the support shown by others and at the same time worried about what was to come.

“I guess we’ll have our answer later.” Aoyama said without his usual glamour. “But even if Midoriya really didn’t have a quirk, it’s no excuse for him to be treated that way.”

Hearing that made Midoriya almost break down. But he had to be strong. Holding back his tears, he looked at the back row saying: “Aoyama… Thank you.”

“In case you were wondering.” Paradox said changing the subject. “Some things that seem strange, like the mob staring at young Midoriya, are just creative liberties to emphasize certain things or in some cases for comedic effect. Young Midoriya’s former classmates don’t look like that, clearly.”

Changing to another part of the city. At 12:02 PM a cry for help could be heard and a gigantic slimy mass fled the scene. Nearby, a skeletal figure was coming out of shopping when he saw the mud monster pass by. This figure swelled until it was a muscular being that astonished the crowd and disturbed the escape artist by heroically exclaiming: “BECAUSE I AM HERE.”

Seeing the sludge villain, Midoriya and Bakugo instinctively covered their mouths. And it was at that moment that Katsuki remembered what day it was. He was enraged as he realized that everyone would see him as weak and useless in front of that slime. However, he felt like he was forgetting something. Something important that happened that very day.

So that was that day. Kirishima thought. The day that boy risked himself to try and save Bakugo from the sludge villain.

As soon as they saw that some weakling had transformed into All Might, chaos broke out in the auditorium. Yagi stood completely still without saying a word so as not to attract the attention of the others, while enduring the annoyed gaze of his teacher and his former sidekick for transforming near so many people.

The teachers knew it would be useless to calm them down easily. After all, when they saw All Might's true form, it was hard for them to accept it. Yagi is very lucky that no one has noticed yet, the shadows helped a little. Midnight thought. The way the story is going, it won't be long before his identity is revealed. She smiled maliciously

“So much chaos and we're still in the first episode.” Hawks whispered although deep down he was as surprised as the rest.

For his part, Enji felt like the world had turned upside down, so many years trying to catch up with All Might and it turns out he had such an obvious weakness. He needed to know the truth of this! It seems Paradox wasn't lying when he said that if I came, I could find out what's stopping me from reaching All Might.

“N-no way. I-I didn’t know All Might’s Quirk allowed him to transform.” Koichi bellowed in shock. In his many years of being a fan of the #1 hero, he had never heard or seen anything like that.

Mic had to yell again to calm the children and some adults down, promising that the show would show the answer to All Might's strange situation.

Back in Aldera, the young man without a quirk was watching the news of the morning's incident and getting his things ready to go home. Until a wild Bakugo and his two lackeys got in his way. The three of them made fun of the green-haired boy's analysis notebook. Which was scorched and then thrown out the window.

Several people were relieved to see that the situation in Aldera had changed. Until Bakugo entered the scene… A certain inventor girl, imagining how she would feel if someone destroyed one of her babies for no reason, said angrily:

“Hey bomb boy, what right do you have to destroy the notebook of…” The girl stopped as she tried hard to remember the name of the 1-million-point boy.

“Midoriya” Kendo whispered when he saw that the girl didn't continue.

“…Yes, Midoriya. Thank you, Karate girl.” The girl continued, looking annoyed at Katsuki.

The other boys joined in and questioned the blond's attitude again. Sero, Kaminari and Kirishima remained silent now, although Bakugo always used aggressive language, he never treated them like he did Midoriya. So, they didn't know what to think or say about it. Bakugo didn't answer anything, he just continued looking at the screen, doing his best to ignore the others.

For his part, Midoriya stared at the screen without blinking, leaving aside the moment when he covered his mouth and the boy did not react, his mind decided to betray him and remind him of several of the worst moments of that distant time. This was a topic he had wanted to forget and never talk about again. Especially about what was coming next.

Unfortunately for him, his friends did notice. The four of them looked at each other and didn't know what to say or what to do exactly. Especially Iida and Uraraka, who remembered the talk the three of them had on the first day after leaving school. The girl remembered what Deku said about the notebook in her first class with All Might and a part of her felt upset for not seeing clearly that the predestined duel between two men had moments that passed for a healthy rivalry. On impulse the girl grabbed her friend's wrist. Iida did the same when he saw her, but the boy didn't react.

Yagi had a bad feeling; something told him that what happened in the notebook was nothing compared to what was to come.

The boy continued talking about his perfect future story as a better hero than All Might. He then threatened a terrified Deku while burning his shoulder. As they walked away, Bakugo decided to give some great advice: “If you want to be a hero so badly, there is a quick way to do it, you just have to pray that you have a quirk in your next life while you jump off the roof.” To the anger of the green-haired weakling, the blond once again threatened him with his quirk, leaving him dead with fear.

Those who were visibly upset when Bakugo burned the boy’s shoulder breathed a sigh of relief as the boy left. However, when the boy gave his ‘big advice’, the deathly silence that followed lasted long enough for Bakugo to merely mutter, “Oh, so I said that…” before chaos once again reigned throughout the auditorium.

In the front row, Izuku was still not reacting, until he felt the tightening of his wrists. Shoto and Tsuyu, now standing, were nearby worriedly, looking at him sadly. “G-guys, there’s nothing to worry about.” The boy answered, avoiding their gazes and in a dry and tired tone. “That’s in the past… I’m fine, there’s no need to say anything to Kacc-”

“It must have been really hard for you, Deku.” Ochako interrupted as she took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. The girl looked at her friend with teary eyes. She finally understood why someone as noble, determined and heroic as her friend was so insecure and nervous at first.

The boy wanted to deny but he couldn't just say that it was true, and that they would believe him. Those 10 years of growing up without anyone who wanted to be with him and be his friend, the loneliness of that time and how it affected him was not something he could ignore forever. He simply nodded, even without looking at them. “But everything will be okay, do you know why?” the girl asked, quoting her teacher.

“Because we're here for you, kero. For whatever you need.” Tsuyu exclaimed in support of her friend, continuing her attempt to cheer Izuku up.

The green-haired boy let out a bitter laugh but continued without looking at them and without knowing what to say.

“Midoriya, you don’t need to say anything.” Shoto replied with a calmness that was different than usual, it wasn’t cold, rather it was warm, or at least that was the impression it gave. The two-colored haired boy placed his right hand on his shoulder in a sign of support. “I…We understand that it is not an easy topic to discuss.”

The green-haired boy began to feel his eyes water at his friend's words and without realizing it he pressed Uraraka's hand in search of more support. He nodded again and was finally able to look at his friends again.

“We are glad to have you with us, Midoriya,” Iida assured, remembering everything the green-haired boy did in Hosu. “With or without your power.” And this finally broke the boy. Tears flowed down his face and between tears he thanked his friends.

The rest of the class was screaming and protesting about Bakugo's attitude and whether he really deserved to be part of the hero course. Even Monoma and Shinso, who had remained calm watching the events unfold were clearly annoyed with the explosive boy. Kirishima looked at his friend and didn't know what to think. He admired how determined and strong he was, even though he is very hot-tempered, a part of him wanted to believe that his friend was no longer like the boy on screen and maybe he is. But he couldn't defend his friend, not from this, not after Bakugo went so far. He glanced at Sero and Kaminari who looked almost as disappointed as him.

In the adult line, Yagi managed to get out of the trance in which young Bakugo's words had put him. He got up from his seat to go see his pupil, followed by Gran Torino. Upon arriving, he saw him a little calmer thanks to the affection expressed by his friends who had managed to give some comfort to the boy who was now wiping away his tears with a handkerchief that Iida gave him, still holding Uraraka's hand, which he let go when he saw his mentor arrive. Without hesitation, he rushed to hug his pupil, the surprised boy returned the gesture while his mentor spoke to him:

“Young Midoriya, I must apologize, I should have noticed that things were not right in Aldera. I trained you for 10 months and never noticed anything.” Clenching his fist in anger at himself, the hero continued. “Even at UA I overlooked the signs. Forgive me, I promise to be a better mentor from now on.” The skeletal blond sobbed softly.

For his part, Izuku cried again, but this time from happiness for the support of his friends, classmates and his mentor. He saw his friends smile kindly at him in support and if any of them thought it was strange that a certain unknown blond had approached, they didn't seem to care. He wanted to tell his childhood hero so many things, that nothing was his fault, that having met him had been the best thing that had happened in his life. For the moment, he concentrated on returning the hug with all his strength while saying:

“Thanks, All Mig…”

“Cough!” Torino faked a loud cough to divert the attention of those nearby. “Kid, I’ve only known you for a short time, but I’ve seen what you’re capable of. Don’t let the past haunt you, especially when you haven’t done anything wrong.”

The young man tearfully looked at his other teacher and thanked him, while still being hugged by All Might.

On the other hand, the rest of the adults were discussing what they had seen and how to proceed now.

“It would be good if the investigation started as soon as possible, Tsukauchi,” Nezu requested with a grimace of disgust. The detective nodded as he quickly wrote a report in his notebook.

“Great, not only have I misunderstood the relationship between two of my students, but I’ve paired a victim with his former bully in a fight against the number one hero.” Shota said bitterly.

“Don't be so hard on yourself Shota. We all saw the records; there was no reason to suspect something like that.” Mic exclaimed, trying to cheer up his friend. Tsukauchi looked at the hero intrigued and took note of the matter.

"Yes, Bakugo in general is aggressive with everyone, personally I thought he was more aggressive with Midoriya because of some old rivalry from his old school." Midnight added annoyed. “But the important thing now is what we will do with this new information.”

“That’s right. There will clearly be consequences for young Bakugo, which will depend on the results of the police investigation and also on the version given by both parties, especially Midoriya’s. But one thing is certain, both will have to see Inui when we return.” Nezu added as he wrote down the information. “Aizawa, you know young Bakugo better than the rest of the teachers, I would like to hear your opinion of him.”

“The boy has a very useful Quirk for combat, as well as a clear control of it in multiple fields and situations, and his ambition to achieve the best results is clear.” Eraser responded with a sigh and a side-long glance at his student, who was just looking at the floor. “However, he has a clear anger problem that can get him into trouble when dealing with civilians, the press, and as seen in the recent exam, in teamwork. Being extremists, he may even have complaints for excessive force.” Turning his attention back to the director, Shota continued speaking. “If the boy learns to control his temper, he can be a great hero. But I don’t think it’s appropriate that…”

“Thank you Aizawa.” Nezu interrupted. “But I prefer that we discuss tomorrow what will happen with young Bakugo, after speaking with both. I do not want us to make decisions without having all the information possible.” Aizawa nodded, while the director turned his gaze to his other two available teachers. “Hisashi and Kayama, I ask that you give your testimony to Tsukauchi tomorrow about any possible altercation that you have witnessed on Bakugo’s part, whether or not it is related to Midoriya. You too, Aizawa.” The director looked around for Yagi and seeing that he was with the green-haired young man, he added: “Afterwards I will speak with Yagi, and I will summon him for the same.”

“I agree.” Tsukauchi exclaimed, grateful to have Nezu’s support. “But I won’t lie, encouraging suicide is a horrible start to the investigation against Bakugo.” The teachers nodded and hoped they wouldn’t discover worse things in the relationship between the two boys.

Hawks, for his part, was taking note of what had happened. Incidents like this don't usually happen just once and the possibility that the teachers knew more about it was high and even that they incited this kind of events. If we get the names of the directors and teachers of Aldera I can investigate them in the HSPC database… The winged hero frowned; he was not amused that there were currently people following Destro's ideologies.

Endeavor and Sir remained in deep silence, lost in their thoughts. The former looked at the situation with annoyance. If it were up to him, they should simply expel the explosive boy and be done with it. Let another hero school deal with Bakugo. He just wanted them to continue so he could find out what was going on with All Might. The latter felt partly relieved for not saying anything that would be an extra burden on the boy's emotional state and partly like garbage for wanting Midoriya to give up his power... But he had to do it, Mirio was the ideal candidate, he just needed to make him understand... In due time...

The three of Naruhata, who remained apart from the rest of the elders, looked at each other, perplexed and a little annoyed.

“I've beaten up idiotic brats like him for lesser things than what he's done.” The oldest of the three exclaimed angrily as he cracked his knuckles. Living the last few years without his quirk had made him empathize more with those who were born without one. “Maybe I should…”

“Don’t even think about it, old man.” Pop growled at him, as Koichi stopped his master from trying to get up from his chair. “Violence won’t solve anything.” The girl looks at both sides before whispering. “Besides, with so many heroes here you’d never get far without a plan…”

“Pop?!!” The brown-haired boy exclaimed in surprise, receiving a mocking laugh from his friend in response.

“I’m just kidding, you fool. We’re not the ones to get into this situation. We don’t know anything about those two.” The boy just nodded and let go of his teacher once he gave up trying to forcefully organize the ideas in Bakugo's mind, but in his mind, he wondered if he could do something. He thought about Soga and how they managed to reach something less than a friendship but greater than being acquaintances who rarely see each other. Maybe...

Bakugo, for his part, was speechless, looking at the ground and with a strange feeling in his chest. For years he had put the nerd in his place, and no one had turned against him. UA had shown him from the beginning to be different than he expected and what was happening proved it even more. He wanted to defend himself and say that the nerd would never do it, that he was too stubborn to do something like that and the fact that he was here today proved it. But the way everyone talked about him and the looks of Shitty-Hair and the others in his row seemed to say otherwise.

“Bakugo, we’ll talk about this tomorrow, trust me, it won’t be a minor incident.” Aizawa said, silencing all the students. He looked at Izuku, who was already looking much better. “Midoriya, we’ll talk to you tomorrow too. And as for the others, I don’t want any more discussions with Bakugo about it, the older ones will take care of it, please return to your seats.”

Yagi got up and together with Sorahiko they walked back to their seats. On the way, he was unable to look at the young Bakugo with deep disappointment. Katsuki was still silently looking ahead, but for some reason he felt a pain in his chest from the way that blonde man was looking at him.

Outside the school, the green-haired boy was complaining about what would happen if he listened to Bakugo when he found his notebook being devoured by the fish.

“Deku, you-”

"No Uraraka, I never would have done it." The boy next to her interrupted her, calming those present.

I knew it. The blonde thought, even so, the strange feeling did not go away. Was it fear of future consequences or guilt for having gone too far? Whatever it was, he kept making him uncomfortable.

After retrieving his notebook, the scene changed to show a little Izuku jumping around while calling out to his mother. The little boy wanted to use the computer.

The female audience couldn't stop admiring how adorable the little one was. While the current Izuku couldn't stop blushing and covering himself with his hands.

“Midoriya! Your mom-” The little pervert was silenced by his friend, before he could say anything he would regret.

“Man, this is not a good time.” Kaminari said quietly.

“And even if it wasn’t, that would be very inappropriate,” Shoji said, listening to what they were saying. Two of his hands turned into a pair of eyes that looked at them accusingly.

“You guys are the worst.” Kyoka interceded as she glared at them angrily, pointing her quirk at them threateningly.

“Mineta, did you say something?” Izuku asked, trying to change the topic about how adorable his almost 4-year-old self-looked.

“E-eh yeah, t-that your past self is taking all our girls away.” An alarmed Mineta said.

“As if you and Kaminari ever stood a chance, kero.” Tsuyu taunted, thus dealing a low blow to both boys.

The excited little boy kept rocking in his chair waiting for his mother to put on the best video in the world. The day when in the middle of a disaster a man kept saving people and cheering them up. It was All Might's debut. The excited little boy dreamed of the day he would be a hero as cool as him.

“Aww, he’s too adorable.” Mina squealed.

“It's too sweet, at this rate it will give me diabetes.” The invisible girl exclaimed.

“I'm sorry Midoriya, but I'm sure I watched that video more times than you.” Ojiro hinted.

“Are you kidding? I think everyone here has seen that video more than once.” Sato assured. “But I don't think as many times as Midoriya.”

“Sorry guys, but I've almost certainly seen that video more times than you.” Crawler exclaimed proudly.

“Don't be so sure about that, Skycrawler. I’ve watched that video for more years than all of you combined.” Sir interceded, earning a look of disbelief from the American hero.

The symbol of Peace felt flattered by everything he heard. Being the inspiration of almost three generations of heroes filled him with pride. On the other hand, the hero number two felt a bit jealous and wondered if he would also inspire more people to be heroes.

“You should give up.” The doctor said directly, shattering the dreams of the youngest Midoriya. The mother wondered if her son had any problems. The doctor wanted to know what the quirks of both parents were, which were levitating small things and breathing fire.

“What right does Eggman have to say that Midoriya should give up?” Sero asked.

“I don't know, but I don't think that's the way to tell news like that to a child.” Kirishima replied.

It's true, the grandfather of the extra with the wings, was our doctor when we were children. Katsuki recalled. I never knew what happened to him…

“That combination of quirks doesn’t seem to have a relationship with Superpower.” Yaoyorozu reasoned, hoping that one of the parents had some kind of super strength.

“Maybe it’s a mutation?” Iida suggested.

Or maybe Mrs. Midoriya is lying because All Might is the father. Shoto thought. Midoriya denied it, but maybe they just don't want the secret to come out. But there's also the man from before, who hugged Midoriya as if they had known each other for a long time.

Although many were curious, no one dared to ask the green-haired boy, who was once again deeply silent as he remembered another of his worst moments.

The doctor explained how children inherit their parents' Quirks and how an ancient study determined that those with supernatural powers did not have a joint in their pinky. This being the reason why the little boy would never have a power.

"That doesn't make sense, everyone here has seen Midoriya's power." Shoji said. Several nodded, agreeing with the boy.

“Does anyone here know if that study is still valid?” Hawks asked. “This could be a case of malpractice.”

“It could be.” The detective responded as he wrote down in his notebook. “It's strange that he bases his judgment on a single old study.”

“It may have been a conclusive study and to date it has not been refuted,” Nezu replied, intrigued by another possible mystery. “It’s worth investigating when we return.”

“When we get back, we could consult with Chiyo, she may know more about it.” Torino said, looking at Yagi for answers.

Yagi just shook his head. It had been a long time since his diagnosis, and he didn't remember how he had been diagnosed as Quirkless. Maybe he could call David when they got back and check the information with Melissa. Yuga wasn't sure, his parents were the ones who told him the sad news, and he never asked anything related to the diagnosis…

Returning to Midoriya home, it was a rainy night and the video from before was playing again. Only this time, the little boy was crying and asking his mother if he could be a hero too. His mother threw herself into his arms as she asked for forgiveness. However, that was not what the little boy wanted to hear.

Several members of the audience were unable to hold back their tears when they saw the little boy's dreams shattered. Among them, a certain brunette who could not contain herself any longer and taking the boy's arm exclaimed:

“No matter what that doctor said Deku, you've already proven that you can be a hero.”

“Uraraka…”

“Ochako is right, kero.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Todoroki said as he recalled their conversation in the middle of the sports festival match.

“Guys, I…”

“Just accept what we say Midoriya.” Iida interfered.

“What our delegate says.” Mineta exclaimed, surprising the rest of the group. “Don’t you dare doubt it, Midoriya.”

The boy wiped away the stray tears that had come back to life. He nodded with a smile.

Returning to the present, the boy stood in front of a tunnel, remembering his decision to keep going no matter what the obstacle. As he walked laughing through the tunnel, a slimy substance appeared to attack him. The villain began to put his slime inside the boy's body to take over his body, killing him in the process.

Even his mother's lack of support failed to completely demoralize him. This will be harder than… But the hero who sees the future's machinations were interrupted when a certain grayish liquid came out of the sewer.

“DEKU!!”

“MIDORIYA!!”

Everyone present was worried as they watched the villain attack the young Quirkless, even though the current Midoriya was safe and sound with them. No one expected things to get this bad.

I didn't know that the sludge villain had caught Midoriya too. Kirishima thought. Monoma thought something similar but preferred to stay quiet, as much as he hated class 1-A he knew that it was not a good time to mess with Midoriya. And the fact that I was worried about him had nothing to do with it.

 “Thank you, you are my hero.” The villain said mockingly.

“Oh please, it’s not enough that the villain tries to kill him, he also mocks him.” Mineta exclaimed angrily.

“And I thought this kid’s day couldn’t get any worse. How did this guy escape from All Might?!” Endeavor roared.

“Well, it was All Might's first time in Musutafu. "He still didn't know the streets or the possible hiding places in the area." Yagi defended himself as he scratched the back of his neck nervously. Much less the sewers.

“Calm down guys, I know this day has been horrible for me, but I promise you that things will get better.” Izuku said when he saw the worried faces of the others. Although deep down, he still remembered the fear he felt that day.

So, you'd already seen that monster. Was this where that quirk of yours appeared? Was that why you managed to save yourself from it? Damn nerd.

Deku, I know you're going to be okay, but I don't like seeing you like this. The brown-haired girl thought, as she unconsciously grabbed Izuku's hand in support, again.

The boy was slowly losing strength and when it seemed like the end, the symbol of peace appeared from the sewers along with an epic entrance melody. The villain tried in vain to defend himself but was sent flying by a single gust of wind, leaving the boy and the villain unconscious.

“ALL MIGHT!!! ALL MIGHT!!! “ALL MIGHT!!!” All the students shouted happily.

“Midoriya, I didn’t know you met All Might before going to UA, kero.”

“It seems that Deku is full of surprises.” Ochako replied with a small smile, as she let go of the boy’s hand.

A small blush appeared on the boy's cheeks as he realized that the girl had taken his hand.

Not bad Toshinori, not bad. Sorahiko thought. I didn't expect this to be how you would meet your successor.

This can't be all. Sir thought, remembering the call All Might made to him a year ago. There must be a reason why you deemed him worthy…

I'm starting to like that music that plays when I'm in action. Maybe Paradox will give me a copy that I can use when I go to the rescue.

Seeing the unconscious boy, the symbol of peace proceeded to tap him a few times to wake him up.

The students couldn't contain their laughter, while the adults couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Which is why Torino couldn't resist giving Toshinori a smack on the back of the head and muttering a scolding: "I thought I taught you first aid." The looks of disbelief from the other adults, especially those who didn't understand why the retired hero would attack Yagi because of All Might's mistake, were not long in coming.

The surprise of seeing his idol was unique for the young man and even more so when he saw that he apologized and thanked him for his help, showing the captured villain. The young man looked for his notebook so that his hero could sign it, which he had already done. Upon seeing it, the young man thanked him with all his soul.

All the students laughed at the reactions of the green-haired boy, who only wanted to hide from the embarrassment. But those who knew about the incident wondered how the villain had escaped.

How did All Might get that guy into the bottle? Koda thought.

Seeing that the boy was fine, Sir allowed himself to laugh a little and empathize. If he had met All Might the same way, he would have reacted the same way too.

All Might was preparing to leave and hand the villain over to the police, but the young man still had a lot to say. Taking a tremendous leap, the muscular blond said goodbye, only to realize that he was carrying extra weight. He tried to get the boy off, struggling a bit, until he realized that he had to land so that the young man would let go of him and not die in the process. Looking for a place to stop was when he began to cough up blood.

The audience's laughter had increased upon seeing the small discussion in the air, which quickly turned into confusion upon seeing All Might's state.

“Midoriya, that was very dangerous,” Iida scolded, who was able to remain serious.

“I know, but I couldn’t just leave things like that,” Izuku defended himself.

“Leaving that aside, what’s wrong with All Might?” Tetsutetsu asked. “Do you know anything, Midoriya?”

“Well… I guess you better see for yourself.” After all, it’s not my secret, at least not that part.

Already on top of a rooftop, the symbol of peace insisted on leaving due to lack of time. At that moment the boy remembered the words of those who did not believe him. But, even so, the boy gathered the courage to ask:

“Can someone without a Quirk be like you?”

Which managed to stop the number 1 hero, while the older Midoriya narrated how this encounter changed his destiny forever. Thus, ending the chapter and beginning the ending.

“No, it can’t end here!” Ashido shouted. “I need to know what All Might said to Midori.”

“Midori?” The green-haired boy asked.

“Relax, Young Ashido, we still have one more chapter for tonight.” Paradox reminded her.

“Ahhh, it’s little Midoriya playing with his All Might figure, he’s too adorable” The invisible girl exclaimed. All the girls nodded, making poor Izuku blush like a strawberry.

“Why is almost the entire ending just Midoriya running?” Kaminari asked.

“I guess it represents the fact of continuing to move forward to achieve your goals despite adversity.” Momo answered.

“Ohhh, that’s why he tripped.” Kirishima exclaimed with masculine tears in his eyes. “That’s so manly.”

“And that is why the dawn is breaking little by little.” Tokoyami added. “The dawn of a bright future rises before him who has overcome the darkness of the twilight of his past.”

“I never liked seeing little kids cry, and even less so when it’s a friend, kero.” Tsuyu complained watching Deku of different ages crying for unknown reasons.

“This concludes the episode. I’ll give you a 10-minute break, I guess you have some things to discuss.” The scientist exclaimed as a countdown was displayed on the screen.

Chapter Text

Taking advantage of the short break, most of those present got up from their seats and broke into various groups to discuss what they had seen so far. In the front row, Izuku's friends approached him, the worried looks they gave him not going unnoticed by the green-haired boy.

“Guys, I'm going to be okay. I just need a moment alone.” The boy exclaimed, visibly exhausted, both physically and emotionally, thinking about everything that would come next.

“Are you sure? We can stay here with you if you want.” Tenya exclaimed, worried to see his friend still so downcast.

The boy denied it without hesitation, noticing out of the corner of his eye a large group of his classmates gathered, several of them staring at them intently. “Yes, Iida, just…”

“No need, young Iida.” Yagi interrupted the freckled boy. “I’ll stay here with him. There are things I’d like to discuss with him alone.”

Surprised by the sudden interruption and appearance of the number one hero, the green-haired boy nodded quickly.

“If that’s what you want Midoriya, no problem… And you are?”

“Oh, my apologies, young Todoroki. My name is Toshinori Yagi. I work for All Might,” the blond replied, handing the boys his business card. “Several of you met me at the sports festival, but I didn’t get a chance to properly introduce myself.”

The kids looked curiously at the card identifying Yagi as a secondary administrative office employee. They could hardly say anything against it, after all, he was there when they broke the news that the green-haired boy would be operated on.

“All right, Deku, we’ll leave you two alone.” Ochako looked at the boy and smiled, seeing that the man cared so much about his friend and that her presence seemed to calm him. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Yagi.” The blond nodded, smiling at the girl. The four of them turned to leave, but before they started walking, the girl remembered something and turned back. She was slightly blushing and couldn’t look Izuku in the eyes. “Ahh, a-and s-sorry for holding your hand without your permission earlier.”

The boy simply smiled, staring at the girl, remembering the warm feeling of holding her hand and the softness of her palm. A light blush covered his cheeks. “No problem, Uraraka. I really needed it. Thanks for your support.” Remembering they weren’t alone, he shook his head slightly, shaking away the thought of a cute girl holding his hand. “And thank you guys too. It means a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome, Kero,” Asui exclaimed. The four of them walked away as Izuku and Toshinori sat down together.

“Are you ready for what’s next, young Midoriya?” The peace symbol whispered, looking around, making sure their conversation was as private as possible.

“I-I don’t know. I-I don’t think I’m ready for them to know that I was…” The boy stammered nervously and a little saddened. Yagi looked at his disciple closely, he could almost see the gears of his mind moving at great speed and even the moment when his eyes lit up as he remembered something. “But, Iida said that they’re glad to have me by their side… With or without a Quirk.” The boy looked at his teacher, his face visibly more relaxed and with a sparkle in his eyes that was only seen in him when he talked about Quirks or heroes. “I’m very blessed to have them. It might not be so bad that they know. But, as for the others, I’m not so sure…”

“I understand, you really do have some good friends.” Yagi exclaimed, visibly pleased, while the green-haired young man smiled gratefully. Sighing, Toshinori’s smile faded, giving way to a more serious expression. “I’m not ready for them to know who I really am either.” He looked at his skeletal hand and let out a resigned sigh. “But as heroes, sometimes some sacrifices are necessary for the greater good.” His gaze shifted to Tsukauchi, and he remembered the day they had first met. “Besides, they might be more understanding than we think.”

The boy nodded, looking at his friends once more, who were now gathered with most of their classmates. While he found it strange that so many of them were gathered together, he dismissed the matter, as he still had other questions to answer. Like the fact that All Might never told him that someone else knew the secret of the OFA. Although, it is not the first time that it happens.

"Young Midoriya." The boy snapped out of his thoughts and looked back at his mentor, whose face looked annoyed, and he could sense a hint of guilt in his gaze. "I want to apologize for what happened that day on the rooftop. I ignored how you felt back then and..."

“I-it’s okay, All Might, it’s in the past.” The boy said, downplaying the matter. “You were right. I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t accepted your proposal. I don’t think anyone could be as great a hero as you without a quirk.” The boy sounded somewhat resigned, however, when he remembered that he had already signed up for the UA entrance exam before that strange day that changed his life, it reminded him of his original desire. Back then, he didn’t have a concrete plan. Perhaps he could further polish his knowledge of quirks and train a little, although never at the level he had achieved in those ten hellish months. And maybe with a bit of luck, he would succeed. He had nothing to lose by trying and… Do your best… Curiously, this last fleeting thought didn’t sound like his own voice, but a more feminine and sweeter one that comforted his heart… Shaking his head, he shooed away that beautiful but fleeting thought. He thought again about the harsh reality of the exam and wondered, “What if there was a way to be a hero without powers?”

 “A way to be a hero without a quirk?” Izuku looked at his teacher in confusion, embarrassed, covering his mouth. Impossible. It was the first thing that came to All Might’s mind. The failures he made at fourteen taught him that. Even more so if someone wants to be a hero as great as him. But the world had changed after forty long years of career… “Maybe that someone won’t be the next symbol of peace… But if you and I think about it, maybe there’s a small chance. Don’t you think, young Midoriya?”

The sparkle of joy in his green eyes was immediate. The boy opened his notebook and began arguing with his teacher about how to make this crazy idea less of a far-fetched idea. He outlined various paths, from trying to get his license independently to finding ways to pass the UA exam without powers. All Might smiled as he tried to keep up with his pupil's murmurs, and while he didn't understand everything the boy was saying, he was happy to take his mind off his worries, even if only for a short while.

At the same time that All Might and his disciple's conversation had begun, Kaminari approached Shoto to fulfill their earlier agreement, and in turn signaled the boys in the back row to come closer. Kendo simply shook his head, pointing at the explosive boy who was approaching. Kaminari, noticing, took a step back, his face forming a grimace of disgust that didn't last long. Unfortunately, this didn't go unnoticed by Bakugo.

“Do you have a problem with me, Pikachu?!” He growled softly. His tone, while clearly aggressive, felt dispirited.

“Y-Yeah. I mean no. I mean I’m not sure.” Kaminari replied nervously.

“What the hell do you mean by that?” The boy growled, looking annoyed at the electric boy.

“Dude, I just saw you tell Midoriya to kill himself, how do you expect me to feel?” Kaminari responded, complaining nervously, leaving Katsuki speechless as he looked down at the ground.

“You can’t blame them. You can’t expect them to keep treating you the same, not after that.” Todoroki exclaimed, surprising both boys. Shoto stared at the explosive boy as if studying him and waiting for a reaction. Finding nothing conclusive, his gaze returned to the electric boy, who breathed a sigh of relief. “Even so, it’s best that we all know as much as possible about what has happened and what will happen.”

Kaminari looked at the boy with two-toned hair in amazement as he nodded. “You’re right.”

“How kind of you, half and half, to advocate for me for the greater good.” Bakugo said sarcastically. “But I don’t need your help getting Pikachu to share what he knows.”

“I’m not saying it just because of that.” Both boys looked at him in surprise. Shoto glanced at his friend and Yagi speaking animatedly. “Despite what you've done to him, Midoriya speaks well of you.” Bakugo grunted in response. “I don’t understand what your problem with him is, and I don’t think it’s my place to know. However, as his friend, I’ve decided to believe his judgment.” The young Todoroki hardened his gaze and glared at the explosive boy in annoyance. “Even so, that doesn’t mean I forgive what you’ve done to him or allow something like that to happen again.” Without noticing, Shoto had slightly lit the flames on the left side of his body as he spoke.

“Nice speech.” Bakugo mocked, quite irritated by the cursed Winmer’s words. He stared at the glowing flames in surprise. “It seems you want to prove your point with more than just words. Fine, come and give me the duel you denied me at the sports festival.”

“G-guys…”

“I don’t have to give you what you want or prove anything to you,” Shoto replied as he extinguished his flames. “I just hope that’s clear to you.”

“Coward, is it because Endeavor is present?” Bakugo replied as an explosion erupted from his hand, earning Shoto an icy glare.

Seeing that they were both approaching, the electric boy stood between them, his arms outstretched in an attempt to form a wall, while emitting a small flow of electricity through his body.

“Enough! If you want to know what happened to Midoriya, you better calm down.”

Taking a deep breath, Todoroki calmed himself. “You’re right, Kaminari. Sorry for getting you involved.”

Bakugo made a gesture of disgust but did not move from his position.

“No problem, Todoroki.” Denki replied, then turned around and glared at Bakugo. “Dude, I don’t think this is the time for you to pick fights.” The electric boy glanced at the adults, who seemed oblivious to what was happening.

“Fineeeeee.” Bakugo replied, regaining his composure. “But only because I want to know what mistake the nerd made this time.”

Sure, Bakugo, whatever you and your ego need to sleep better at night. Kaminari thought as he rolled his eyes.

And while they were learning about what had happened at the mall, the rest of the students were discussing what they had seen.

“How is Midoriya?” Aoyama asked, visibly worried.

“A little better, he’s alone with Mr. Yagi.” Ochako replied, frustrated. “I didn’t think he’d been through something like that. How could I not have noticed before?!”

“Ochako, don’t blame yourself for this.” Toru replied, placing her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “You couldn’t have known that grumpy Bakugo would be a bully.”

The brunette girl grumbled softly, since yes, to some extent she did know…

“I agree, his attitude was always aggressive toward everyone, but I didn't think he'd do something so horrible,” Sato commented, visibly annoyed, his arms crossed.

“Guys, I know we’re all upset with Bakugo’s behavior, but we have to deal with this with a cool head.” Momo exclaimed, trying to calm things down.

“A cool head? I don’t think that’s possible… Besides, there’s not much to say, that rabid Pomeranian doesn’t know how to treat others,” Mineta replied angrily.

Yes, because you're the best at talking about how to treat others. Kyoka thought sarcastically. But sadly, he has a point.

“I'm not entirely surprised.” Sero responded bluntly. “Or have you already forgotten his horrendous personality from the first week?” But is he still like that?

“I know his character is strong and often rude, but he’s not a bad person. He’s shown that he wants to be a good hero. II want to believe in him.” Kirishima said in defense of the blond, however, at that moment, images of when the bullies from his old school bothered his classmates flashed through his mind. The boy shook his head from side to side, pushing those memories away. “But I know that what he did to Midoriya is inexcusable.”

“I think we’re getting off track. What we should be concerned about is what we’re going to do with what we’ve seen today.” Tsuyu interjected, thoughtfully touching her left cheek with her index finger.

“Can we do something? I mean, this all happened in the past, I don’t see how we can do anything,” Ojiro exclaimed thoughtfully. “Besides, we’re not even supposed to be talking about this…”

Several felt uncomfortable remembering Aizawa's words, however, none of them mentioned it, not even the class president.

True, there's no proof this is still happening. Iida thought, crossing his arms. But Midoriya didn't report it sooner, or so I choose to believe. I doubt he would have done so here in UA. Maybe I'll have to talk to him later...

“C-could Bakugo have done something to someone other than Midoriya?” Koda muttered nervously.

“Guys, I think we're overreacting.” Kirishima replied.

“Kiri, I understand. He’s your friend. And I want to believe in him as much as you do.” Mina said, placing a supportive hand on the boy’s shoulder. “But we need to know how things are if we want to help.”

The boy didn't want to doubt his friend. They'd been through so much in such a short time that they'd bonded, or so he wanted to believe. The USJ, being a team together at the festival, even helped him study for the exams. But even though he still believed it was an exaggeration, he knew they'd hardly accept his point of view... He could only trust Mina; if anyone knows how to deal with these kinds of situations, it's her. Letting out a sigh of resignation, he allowed them to continue.

“Okay, you heard. Has Bakugo done anything to anyone?” Kyoka asked.

Everyone present immediately shook their heads.

“I guess it’s the same with Todoroki and Kaminari,” Tokoyami said. The boy could hardly see either of them being easily intimidated by Bakugo.

Sero and Kirishima quickly scanned the group and breathed a sigh of relief when Koda's assumption proved false. Sero noticed there were five unexpected people.

“Kendo, I thought you guys were talking to Kaminari.”

“W-well…”

“It’s simple. None of us feel comfortable being around Bakugo.” Shinso interrupted any possible excuse Itsuka could give, earning a murderous glare from the orange-haired girl and Tetsutetsu. This created an awkward silence. In the distance, the whispers of the adults could be heard, seemingly talking about investigating a place thoroughly. Suddenly the silence was broken by a loud, mocking laugh.

“There’s no point in denying it, Kendo. Shinso’s right. Who would have thought the idiot who won the sports festival was nothing more than a bully?” Monoma exclaimed mockingly, earning looks of annoyance and exhaustion from those present. “Too bad for you, Class A, you’ll have to deal with that. Of course, if he’s still at UA after this…”

A karate chop from the girl next to him was enough to silence the copycat boy as he apologized to Class A.

And I thought he would calm down with Class A now… Tetsutetsu thought as he shook his head.

“Well, I don’t know if this is better or worse.” Iida said, continuing their previous conversation.

“What do you mean?” Mineta asked, confused.

“On one hand, it means Bakugo isn’t a bully looking for weak people to pick on.” Tenya explained.

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Sero asked.

“Not entirely.” Uraraka replied, visibly uneasy. “It means he has something specific against Deku.” Maybe I'm right… The brunette mused, remembering that conversation she had with Bakugo a few days ago. Her mind still remembered Bakugo's face when she told him he feared Deku.

Or maybe he just has something against the Quirkless. Yuga thought, not daring to say it out loud.

“It makes sense, Bakugo was always very aggressive with Midoriya for no reason, Kero.” Tsuyu replied.

“So, we just have to keep the two of them away from each other and there won’t be any problems, right?” Toru exclaimed, trying to be optimistic.

“We can’t always be with Midoriya.” Ojiro replied. “And I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Well, the annoying boy from Class B has a point. What guarantees us that Bakugo will stay in UA or in the same class as you? He could even be demoted to the general class…” Mei exclaimed without looking up from her notebook, jotting down her ideas for the creation of her first baby in this strange place.

No, please, we don't deserve that. Complained Shinso, who didn't wish his classmates to have to deal with him.

“I agree with Yaoyorozu. We should be there for Midoriya when he needs it.” Shoji said with his arms crossed. Several people nodded in agreement with the masked boy. That's something I wish I had…

“In the meantime, I ask that you not provoke Bakugo or isolate him from the rest. Midoriya believes in him despite everything, and I believe we should respect that.” Iida exclaimed solemnly, ending the matter for the moment.

“Okay, that aside, does anyone know why a weakling became All Might?” Mineta asked, causing all the students to throw out multiple theories. The atmosphere seemed much less tense among the students… Or at least among most of them.

Meanwhile, the rest of the adults discussed some details about how to begin the investigation of Aldera. Nighteye and Hawks offered to help investigate the teachers and principals, if necessary. Afterward, Nezu took the opportunity to discuss the latest incident they saw in the episode.

“As you may have noticed, All Might has a serious health problem,” Nezu said, perched on Tsukauchi’s shoulder. “I won’t go into details, but everyone at the faculty has known since he joined the faculty.” The Chimera swept her gaze over Tsukauchi, Torino, and Sir. “As does everyone close to him.”

“Yeah, the sludge villain didn't touch him, but he was spitting blood. It's obvious he's suffering from some kind of illness.” Hawks exclaimed, somewhat uneasy. The HSPC didn't want to admit it openly, but they knew All Might would retire soon. He thought it would be in a couple of years, but given what they'd seen today, he doubted they had that much time.

“I hope it’s not something serious.” Endeavor muttered, surprising the director.

“I’m glad you’re concerned about All Might’s well-being.”

“You misunderstand me, Nezu. I’m just worried about having to take the place of number one hero because All Might has to retire.” Clenching his fist in anger, he continued. “I’d rather have it as a result of my own hard work.”

The awkward silence after that response lasted longer than expected for everyone present, as they heard the children's lively discussion in the background.

“Ehem, as we were saying, we’d like to ask you to keep All Might’s current condition a secret. We don’t want to cause panic among the civilians,” Tsukauchi said, doing his best to ignore Endeavor’s out-of-place comment.

Koichi felt devastated; he hadn't expected All Might to be so ill. He'd only been away from Japan for two years, and he felt as if everything had changed too quickly. For him, All Might would always be there, watching over everyone and saving them when all seemed lost, just as he witnessed at the time.

“No problem, but I feel like you’re hiding something from us,” Hawks replied, briefly considering sending his feathers all over the place in search of information. I’d better not rush things; we still have time for these mysteries to unravel at their own pace.

The winged boy is right. And if it's as serious as it seems, the public should know about it before things get worse. Oguro mused. Looks like your retirement is coming, huh, number one. I guess we all have our time.

“You’re right, Hawks. Don’t worry. You’ll find out in due time.” Nezu said. “Oh, we have less than a minute left. We’d better all return to our seats.”

“Hey, listen! Go back to your seats, we’re going to continue now.” Mic exclaimed, seeing that almost no one had noticed the time.

Everyone returned to their seats in record time. The timer reached zero, marking the beginning of the final episode of the night.

The episode began by showing Izuku's memory of watching All Might's debut, followed by the moment his dreams were shattered for not having a power. It continued with flashbacks to where his classmates mocked him and where no one trusted him. Still, the young man needed to know if, despite everything, someone without powers could be a hero.

“Why are we watching this again?” Koichi asked, confused. “I think it’s clear that Midoriya hasn’t had an easy life.”

“Usually, recaps serve to remind the audience what happened in the previous episode. This is useful in weekly series and/or those that run for seasons with long periods between episodes. It might be helpful for you if there's a detail you missed.” Paradox replied, which caught the attention of several people in the audience.

“Is there anything in these memories of Midoriya that might be useful?” Momo asked as she took notes on the recap.

Paradox didn't say anything, just shrugged, implying that maybe so, maybe not. Suspicious… That's what many in the audience thought, but with no clues, they chose to continue staring at the screen.

“Recaps. Not even in a series about our world and our lives can we escape them.” Kaminari complained quietly, drawing a laugh from those within earshot.

“I hope something good comes out of this, I almost cried again for little Midori.” Mina said as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek.

“I agree, are you going to be okay Midoriya?” Tsuyu asked.

“Uhh, ah yes, Asui, I mean T-Tsuyu, no problem.” The young man answered, somewhat distracted, thinking about the big surprise that was coming.

All Might pondered the young man's question for a few seconds before beginning to complain of pain as steam began to emanate from his body. The boy continued talking about his longing and his problems, unaware of what was happening.

Sounds of astonishment and concern were heard from those present upon seeing All Might's condition. Endeavor began to feel chills run down his body, feeling like something shocking was about to happen. Whatever All Might has, it's serious. I've never seen someone who doesn't have a fire Quirk emit so much steam. Could this be some kind of wear and tear caused by the amount of strength he can use?

“Midoriya needs to stop getting so lost in his mind and look around a little more.” Mic exclaimed, worried.

“You’re right, and I have a feeling he’s not the only one. I’ll have to give them an extra lesson about that.” Eraser replied, jotting it down in his notebook.

“Can you blame him? The kid just wants someone to support him, especially if that someone is All Might.” Pop responded in the boy’s defense.

So, this is when Midoriya learned the truth from Yagi. Midnight thought, anticipating what was coming, looking at the number one hero with a mocking smile, imagining what was coming.

The boy finally looked forward again to find a skeletal man where his idol had once stood, causing the boy to let out a huge scream, thus beginning the opening.

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!” The collective shout of all the students and some adults almost surpassed the power of any of Mic’s average scream. Seeing the chaos that was beginning, Yagi, giving a huff of resignation, got up from his seat and transformed into his muscular form.

“HAHAHAHA. Hello youngsters, I’m here.” The symbol of peace exclaimed, drawing everyone’s attention and leaving them stunned and silent. “Sorry for being in my other form earlier, but from the way the story is going, this will be explained briefly. I know this is—”

All Might was abruptly interrupted by a furious Endeavor, who had flames burning all over his body, who had angrily gotten up from his seat, ran up to him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt to sleep.

“WHAT THE HELL DOES THIS MEAN?!!” He shouted as he started shaking Yagi. “WHAT’S WITH THAT PATHETIC FORM OF YOURS?!!” Did I sacrifice so much for this? Did I do everything I did for this? The number two hero thought, remembering the hellish training he put Shoto through, locking Rei in the hospital, and… Touya. Seeing that all the students and adults were staring at him as if he had gone crazy, he took a deep breath and let go of the man he had chased his entire life “Answer me, Yagi! If that’s your real name.”

Yagi didn't know how to react. Of all the possible reactions, He didn't expect one this angry or this personal. I'd better think about this later.

"Endeavor, calm down. As I was saying, history will explain later. And yes, Toshinori Yagi is my real name, which is not known to the press or the general public." the symbol of peace exclaimed as he adjusted his clothing. "That's why I ask you to be patient and please keep what you're about to witness a secret."

Toshinori returned to his skeletal form and sat back down. Endeavor stood there in shock, trying to process everything. Aizawa, seeing that he wasn't reacting and that his clothes were starting to burn, activated his Quirk, extinguishing the flames. "Endeavor, I don't know what your problem is, but this isn't setting a good example for my students."

“Not to mention it’s no way to treat another hero.” The detective growled, visibly annoyed.

“Endeavor, please return to your seat.” The director requested. Strangely, I assumed I would surprise him and demand answers, but never anything of this magnitude.

Angry, stunned, and seeing that he wouldn't get any answers, Enji slowly returned to his seat. The feathered hero hadn't expected that reaction; he was also confused, but not to the point of doing something like that. That anger went beyond any work-related conflict and became something much more personal. "Endeavor, are you okay?"

The flame hero simply grunted in response, having too much to think about and little to say. Hawks raised an eyebrow thoughtfully but said nothing more.

I should have imagined that reaction. Shoto thought, coming out of shock. Now my father will have a lot to think about. No one expected Mr. Yagi to be All Might… Wait…

“Midoriya, you lied to me.” Todoroki exclaimed seriously.

“Uhm, what do you mean?” Young Midoriya asked, somewhat confused by the change of subject.

“You clearly have a very close relationship with Mr. Yagi, and he happens to be All Might.” Seeing that Midoriya was still as confused as before, he decided to be direct. “It’s obvious, he’s your father.”

…

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!!!” Everyone present exclaimed except Todoroki.

“What the hell did you just say, half-and-half?! How dare you insinuate that nerd is All Might’s son?” Bakugo shouted, a nervous tic in his right eye was visible on his face. What the heck is going on today? It’s bad enough that the guy I admired for being indestructible and invincible has a weakness… And now this happens. The irascible blond thought, trying not to add the “consequences” Aizawa was talking about to the list of strange things.

“You’ve known him for a long time. Tell us, what does his father look like?”

“Ha, that's easy, he's…” But he couldn't continue. He hadn't seen Deku's father since he was four, and he didn't remember anything about him. He didn't know his height, his hair color, or if he had freckles. Nothing. His memory was blank, and the fact that he'd never been present in the nerd's life didn't help. Accepting defeat, he slammed his fist against the seat. “D-DAMN IT! I can't remember anything about him.” I refuse to believe he's…

“Well, that explains why their quirks are so similar. Or why I was present when Midoriya was going to have surgery.” Tsuyu said quietly, adding fuel to the fire. All the students looked accusingly at the green-haired boy.

“T-todoroki, I told you the truth. My father is Hisashi Midoriya, his quirk is Breath of Fire, and I haven't seen him in a long time because he works abroad.” Izuku defended himself, receiving incredulous looks from his classmates and friends.

It doesn't help that you don't describe him physically, Midoriya. Iida thought.

That would explain why when we returned to school after the USJ, he wanted to talk to him alone. He was worried about his son. Ochako thought, looking at her friend, who continued to deny Shoto's accusations.

And while his classmates looked at him accusingly, seeking more answers, Yagi suffered the same fate at the hands of his fellow inmates.

“I-I promise you that young Midoriya is not my son, if you follow the story, you will see why we are so close.” Yagi muttered with his hands outstretched defensively.

Torino just chuckled. That Todoroki kid has too much imagination. Besides… Changing his expression to a more serious one as a fleeting memory of hugging his friend while she cried inconsolably flashed through his mind… That would be a horrible coincidence.

“I don’t know, All Might. You’ve been paying too much attention to him. More than the rest of the class.” Aizawa added, staring at him, while Mic and Nemuri covered their mouths, holding back their laughter.

“Th-that has an explanation, I…”

“We'd better leave it at that.” The director exclaimed in defense of the blond. “Speculating won't get us anywhere, especially when the answers are on the screen. Besides, the opening is almost over.”

The opening that shows Midoriya and All Might fighting as one. The two-colored haired boy thought as he prepared to write down this new evidence, while Izuku looked perplexed as Todoroki had written an entire page about it in such a short time… Beside him, the rest of his friends laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

The three from Naruhata stared at each other, not knowing what to say. Everything seemed to agree with what the two-tone haired boy was saying. Koichi's mind whirled, going from thinking that All Might had a son to thinking that his childhood hero would soon retire. And Pop and he felt like they'd seen All Might in this other form before...

In the shopping district, in an alleyway, a criminal was found unconscious inside a plastic bottle.

“How did it end up there? All Might had it just a moment ago.” Mineta asked, confused.

Although many of them already suspected what had happened, no one wanted to say it out loud.

The villain woke up just as three students approached. Bakugo's two henchmen reproached him for going so far with Midoriya. Bakugo blamed the green-haired boy for getting in his way as he accidentally freed the villain.

“At least the other two know that Bakugo went too far.” Kaminari exclaimed, feeling a little relieved.

“Blaming the victim doesn’t help his case.” The detective exclaimed, jotting down notes in his notebook. “Wait, are those two in the back smoking?”

“It’s true.” Hawks confirmed. “This is getting better by the minute.” One child almost died, and now two are smoking. I hope this isn’t a common occurrence in this story.

“Oh, oh.” Pop said, imagining what was coming. “This won’t end well.”

So, the brat freed the villain. I'd say this is karma, but I think that would be going too far. Sorahiko thought.

Katsuki, filled with rage, blew up the can he was holding. He then yelled at his two henchmen for smoking near him. At that, the sludge villain pounced on the boy, looking for a body with a good quirk. The scene changed to show the episode title: “What It Takes to Be a Hero”

“Bakugo, you…”

“Relax, shitty hair, I'm here, nothing serious happened that day.” The blond exclaimed, annoyed, downplaying the matter.

That's true, but still... Several people in the audience thought, worried.

“Bakugo, you did the right thing by scolding your classmates for smoking,” Iida exclaimed, grateful that someone was enforcing the rules… Or at least trying to.

“Except for the fact that he only did it out of fear of it going on his record, Kero.” The frog girl replied, earning a grunt from the bomb boy.

“Monoma, this is what you teased him about at the sports festival, right?” Tetsutetsu whispered. The blond looked at him in confusion. “Tsuburaba told me. You almost got them beaten up that day.”

Monoma nodded silently. When he read the news, he just thought that some idiot with a strong power ended up as a hostage for playing the hero to get attention. But seeing it with his own eyes was a complete change of perspective.

Back on the rooftop, Midoriya was still screaming in shock at seeing his hero suddenly lose weight. He accused the thin man of being an imposter. Yagi confirmed his identity while spitting out a significant amount of blood.

“I can't blame you, Deku. If I didn't see him transform a little while ago, I wouldn't have believed it either.” Ochako said, giving him some support after seeing how the others mocked his reaction.

“Yagi, I know the blood is a result of what you’re going through, but it’s not normal for you to spit up so much.” Nemuri said, concerned for her coworker’s health.

“Don’t worry, Young Kayama, that only happens when I overexert my body.” The blond said reassuringly.

This can't be true. Endeavor lamented, slapping his forehead.

All Might compare himself to people who hide their stomachs when they go to the pool. This didn't quite convince the scared young man, who always saw All Might as a heroic man who saves everyone, fearlessly, with a big smile. For his part, the hero asked him to keep what he was about to show him a secret. Lifting his shirt, the hero revealed a horrible scar across much of his left torso.

The students were horrified to see the wound on the symbol of peace. They had always seen him as someone unbeatable, almost all-powerful, which sometimes made them forget that he was also a normal human being.

No, that can't be true. Who could have done that to All Might? Endeavor thought, genuinely amazed and somewhat worried.

It's not possible. He always wins without getting hurt. This can't be real. Katsuki thought, visibly worried.

I still remember the first time I saw his scar. Mic recalled, a shiver running down his spine.

Torino and Sir were among the few who didn't look away. Seeing the wound was nothing compared to seeing how it was created.

The hero explained that his injury occurred five years ago, destroying part of his respiratory system and stomach. Due to the effects of the surgeries, this is his current condition, where he can only be a hero for three hours a day.

“This all happened a year ago, right?” Pop asked, trying to make sense of what he was seeing on the screen.

No… It can't be. But the only important fight All Might had six years ago was Toxic Chainsaw. Koichi thought, not understanding what was happening. And I don't remember him getting hurt back then…

“H-how… How can he keep working after that?” Mineta squealed.

“Very simple, young Mineta. Because I still have much to do.” Replied the symbol of peace. And soon you will know what it is…

Aizawa raised an intrigued eyebrow. Why does he say that as if global security depended on him?

“Big guy, I think you’re exaggerating.” Mic said. “There are still plenty of capable heroes left in the field.”

“I know, young Yamada.” Yagi replied, shaking his head slowly. “But there are things only I can do.”

Sir let out a breath and glared at the symbol of peace. They hadn't spoken to each other in so many years, and he hadn't changed a bit. He had vain hope that now that he had a successor, he would try to slow down his workload and even rest more often... Although, given the circumstances... he couldn't blame him anymore... Or at least not as much.

“How did we never notice?” Yaoyorozu wondered. “All Might always left class in a hurry.”

“I always assumed he was going on patrol or doing paperwork.” Iida replied. “Though in retrospect it seemed like a rather vague excuse.”

“I assume the teachers help you keep your secret at UA.” Kendo joined the conversation. “Because I don’t remember seeing Mr. Yagi in his civilian form before.”

“That’s correct. The entire teaching staff knows about All Might’s condition.” Nezu replied, drawing the attention of everyone present. “I don’t think I need to mention the importance of keeping it a secret and not sharing it with anyone.”

They all nodded as they felt a chill run down their spines at the way the director looked at them.

For his part, Endeavor felt an overwhelming need to go train. He needed to vent all the anger that was slowly building with each new piece of information. His angry expression was ignored by everyone, even Hawks, who wondered if his bosses at the commission knew all this or if he should tell them as soon as he got home. Well, it's only episode two, so there's still time.

The boy asked if it was "Toxic Chainsaw" who did that to him. All Might denied it and told him that the fight was never made public at his own request; after all, the symbol of peace can't be intimidated by evil. That's why he always smiles, to hide his fear in the face of danger.

A fight unknown to the public. What the hell happened six years ago? Endeavor thought, frustrated at the constant pile-up of mysteries.

He hasn't told Midoriya anything he hasn't told us. Eraser thought. That's good; it wouldn't be good to give him all the details.

I hope no one asks what happened to the villain; this isn't the best time for them to find out about AFO. Tsukauchi thought, shaking his head from side to side, and deciding to focus on something more positive. On the other hand, I didn't expect this to be the first conversation between Toshi and his successor.

The commission definitely knows something; they couldn't have hidden this without their support. Keigo thought, not wanting to imagine what that battle had been like if All Might had ended up in that state.

You were always our secret weapon. The masked old man thought, remembering what happened in the underground fights many years ago. If you ended up like that, how did the other guy end up… He didn't know why, but the image of a certain man with no eyes or nose flashed through his mind, causing his blood to momentarily freeze. Why? Why did I just think of him? Shaking his head slightly, he dismissed the thought and continued watching the series.

WASN'T IT TOXIC CHAINSAW?!! Koichi thought, perplexed. While the young man didn't know every single incident in detail, unlike certain green-haired men, he knew the most important ones.

In short, All Might wanted to make clear the risks of being a hero, and that's why he simply couldn't say you can be a hero without a power. He recommended another job since it's not a bad thing to have a dream, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be realistic. Leaving the green-haired young man alone on the rooftop with his dreams shattered.

“A-All Might?”

“Sir, why…?”

"It's not fair."

Almost all the students were protesting at the symbol of peace's unexpected response, except for a certain explosive boy, who remained speechless. Part of him was glad All Might had agreed with him. But on the other hand... Why now? Why did someone else have to shatter the nerd's dreams on a rooftop the same day I did...?

You rejected him? Sir thought, his eyes wide as he glanced at Yagi. And yet you offered him One For All afterward. So, what did you see in him? What's so special about this boy? All Might's former teammate looked at the boy, increasingly intrigued.

“Toshinori, you shouldn't have left him alone on the rooftop, not after telling him that.” Torino scolded him. But I can't blame you; you know better than anyone that it's an impossible dream.

“I know, and I regret it.” Yagi said, his hand clenched in anger at himself. Looking at his successor, he looked back calmly, reminding him of what they had discussed a little while ago.

“Toshi, I’m flattered you’re letting us have Midoriya.” Tsukauchi said with a mocking smile. “Don’t worry, his analytical skills will be very useful to us in the police force.”

Letting out a small chuckle, Yagi inwardly thanked his friend for his attempt to lighten the mood. “Don’t think I’ll let go of my successor so easily.”

I'm usually optimistic, and I know that a quirk isn't everything to be a hero. But there are barriers that even the best training can't overcome. And being a hero like All Might without a power is one of them. Hawks thought. Even as far as I know, it's impossible to be a professional hero without powers.

“Guys, it’s okay, it’s in the past and you’ll see that something good will come from this.” Said the green-haired young man, calming his companions, who reluctantly accepted the boy’s request.

On the stairs, All Might realize he had lost the bottle. Just then, an explosion in the distance caught his attention, giving him a bad feeling. Izuku heard it too and started running to see the heroes in action, until All Might's words stopped him again.

Uraraka, seeing her friend's condition, takes the young man's wrist in a sign of support. "No matter what they say, I know that with or without a Quirk, you'll be a great hero." Feeling her grip, the boy shifted his gaze to his left side and, seeing his friend's determined eyes, returned the gesture with a determined smile, not before blushing a little at the proximity.

“A hard blow for Midoriya.” Tokoyami said.

“Yes, but if he's here with us, it's because his brilliance couldn't be extinguished so easily.” Aoyama replied confidently. However, there was something that kept bothering him. I hope they soon reveal that Midoriya's quirk was dormant, or else…

In the shopping district, there was chaos, fire everywhere, people fleeing, and many explosions. Death Arms arrived on the scene and saw the mud villain holding Bakugo hostage. The hero threw a punch at the monster to force him to release the boy. Unfortunately, the punch had no effect, and he received a blow in return that sent him flying away.

The worried looks from many of those present continued to bother the explosive boy. And seeing Kirishima sitting frustrated in his seat, glancing at him repeatedly, not knowing what to say, didn't help at all.

"Okay, extras, the situation isn't the best for me, but I'm here now. So, stop worrying and get back to watching the series."

“Who would have thought? Bakugo really cares about us.” Sero said mockingly.

“Shut up! I just want this to be over with. Some of us like to go to bed early.” Katsuki shouted, earning incredulous looks from all his classmates.

Yes, my friend, whatever you say… Kirishima thought.

“Uh, that had to hurt,” Shoji said, seeing the blow Death Arms received.

“Wait, that guy is a liquid, how can he grab people?” Toru asked.

“It’s simple. He can control the viscosity of his body. Being a liquid, he can enter people’s bodies, expand enough to capture someone, and make it very difficult to be captured. It seems like the only parts of his body that remain the same are his eyes and teeth, which raises questions about…” Midoriya was muttering rapidly as he scribbled notes about the villain in his notebook, until he was interrupted.

“Midoriya, please breathe. Not everyone can keep up when you’re muttering at that speed.” Iida said. “But I agree with you about the viscosity.”

“Oh, sorry, guys. I don’t think that answered your question, Hagakure.”

“Don’t worry, Midoriya. Yaomomo can explain it to me tomorrow, right?” The invisible girl looked at the rich girl, who smiled and nodded.

Bakugo tried to flee with all his might, using his explosions, which increased the danger and damage, earning the admiration of the villain who wanted to use his power to defeat All Might.

“I think that monster is overestimating Bakugo’s power.” Jiro said. When there was no immediate response from the explosive boy, several people looked at him out of the corner of their eyes, waiting for his explosive reaction.

“What? You expect me to say it’s a lie? I’m strong, but I know my year-ago self couldn’t even scratch All Might.” Bakugo growled, surprised at himself for admitting something like that. Not even my best current explosions managed to detain him for long. The young man thought as he remembered their confrontation in the exam.

Aizawa, intrigued, raised an eyebrow. Interesting, he's capable of recognizing his limits, but not of asking for help. He decided to take note of the matter.

Mt. Lady arrived as reinforcements, unfortunately there wasn't much room for her. Bakugo's henchmen were rescued by Kamui, while Backdraft took care of the fire. None of the heroes knew how to save Bakugo and just hoped someone with a better Quirk would come to help them and that the boy would hold out until then.

“Oh please, there must be something they can do,” Sato exclaimed in frustration.

“I agree, young Sato. The heroes present should find other, non-direct methods of action,” Nezu said. “In fact, this gave me an idea. I’ll give you a small task to do in groups made up of members from each line.”

The faces of suffering and sadness could be seen on many of the students, which did not go unnoticed by the teacher.

“Oh, don't worry, you'll have two days to turn it in. Anyway, your assignment is based on the scenario you see on screen, but we're going to change the heroes in the scene for you. You'll have to devise a strategy to save young Bakugo, and to make things easier for you, you can use one of the heroes present as reinforcements, except for All Might.”

“And to clarify, the idea is that these strategies cause the least damage possible and that you don't end up hurt.” Aizawa exclaimed, staring at Midoriya, who gulped nervously upon feeling that icy gaze on the back of his neck.

“Damn, I thought we wouldn’t have to deal with this here.” Kaminari lamented softly as Mineta patted his arm in support.

“Are you complaining?” Monoma complained. “Half of our team aren’t aspiring heroes.”

“Monoma!”

“Leave it Kendo, I understand why he underestimates me.” Shinso responded defiantly. “If I want a spot with the rest of you, I have to earn it.”

The copycat boy looked at the purple-haired girl intrigued. Interesting… Lost in his thoughts, he said nothing more.

“Also,” Tetsutetsu interjected, getting both boys’ attention. “Hatsume might have created a super vacuum to suck up all that guy’s mud.”

The aforementioned girl remained thoughtful for a moment as she recounted her creations to date. “Now that you mention it, not yet. But the idea isn't bad, Iron Boy.” Opening her notebook again, the girl began to make a list of the items she would need. “This could be our first baby together.”

Kaminari and Mineta glared at Tetsutetsu, who had blushed violently. Iida, meanwhile, demanded that Hatsume be careful how she phrased her sentences. Kendo frowned at the Iron Boy but didn't say anything.

For his part, Sir analyzed the situation. What I would do in his place would be… Unaware that Knuckleduster was also coming to the same conclusion. …attack his eyes. That would allow Kamui or the strongman to pull the boy out of the mud.

All Might managed to arrive at the scene and began blaming himself for losing the villain due to his time limit. Meanwhile, a very depressed Izuku stared at his notebook as he walked aimlessly, recalling all the discouraging words he had received. The boy knew he had ignored reality for too long.

The saddened atmosphere had rendered those present speechless; several looked at each other uncomfortably. Several, trying not to pay attention to the boy crying on screen about his broken dreams, tried to focus on anything else possible.

“I didn’t expect Midoriya to write “sexy” as a Mt. Lady quality.” Several people’s eyes widened at Kaminari’s words, others let out nervous laughs, but everyone stared at the electric boy. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did.” Dark Shadow mocked, as Tokoyami asked him to be quiet.

“Interesting, I wonder if he says something similar about us in his notebook.” Mina said with a mocking smile.

“I never expected that from you, Midoriya.” Toru said in the same playful tone.

Midoriya blushed furiously as he shook his head in denial. The brunette girl beside him felt a bit uncomfortable with that, but she didn't know why. Mina's words made her a little curious, though.

I can't blame him. The grape boy thought, though he was bothered by the fact that if he had said something similar, he would have already received a punch.

“No, no, he has a point.” Kayama said in defense of the boy.

“I don’t understand, Professor. What’s the point?” Momo said, intrigued.

“Well, it’s simple really. I understand that Midoriya lists in his notebooks the qualities each hero has, not just their quirks.” The green-haired man nodded, confirming what Midnight was saying. “For starters, being attractive gives you extra points for the rankings and for making yourself known to the public…”

“Midnight, that’s the least important thing to a hero,” Aizawa growled, interrupting her. “If people are in danger, they need someone capable of saving them. Not someone prepared for the press cameras.”

“That's what I was getting at. A girl in the right outfit can make the bad guys lose track of what's going on. Especially if it's a tight-fitting hero suit.” The heroine replied, her response catching almost all the students off guard, as they stared at her with their mouths wide open.

“Ah, I see where you’re going, Nemuri,” Mic replied. “Distraction. In a fight against a villain, any distraction that allows you to defeat or capture him can be crucial.”

“That's right, thanks, Mic. Obviously, this doesn't always apply, and sometimes it works without you expecting it. And of course, it's your decision to voluntarily use your beauty as a distraction,” Nemuri replied, seeing the worried faces of the female students. “And of course, the same can happen with male heroes.” Which made several of the boys blush violently.

If some idiot tries to make a pass at me, I'll punch him in the nuts. The rocker girl thought, along with all her classmates.

“On the other hand, those are very good drawings Midoriya, keep it up and you'll do very well in my class.” The R-18 heroine added, causing the green-haired boy to blush again, not being used to receiving praise so often.

The boy, disheartened, accidentally arrived at the disaster site and saw the villain. Putting the pieces together, he realized it was his fault the villain escaped. The crowd was beginning to complain that the situation was still not under control and demanded that All Might take charge. Unbeknownst to them, they were both blaming each other for what had happened.

“So that's why.” Koji muttered, confirming his initial suspicions.

“It’s my fault, if only-”

“No, young Midoriya, I am the professional hero. I was the one who was supposed to ensure the villain remained captured.” The symbol of peace interrupted him, trying, with little success, to assuage the young man’s guilt.

“But-”

“Stop blaming yourselves, both of you.” Torino interceded, seeing how stubborn his two charges were. “What's done is done. We just have to see how you resolve this.”

“Of course, I can resist more than you, Deku.” The explosive boy said, changing the subject. Although, in retrospect, everything I did only made things worse.

Midoriya finally saw the hostage's panicked face, and began to run, dodging the police barrier and alarming the heroes present.

DEKU?!!

MIDORIYA?!!

WHAAAT?!!!

“So, it was you. You were the boy who tried to save Bakugo.” Kirishima exclaimed in disbelief.

“Oh, you knew about that, Kirishima?” Izuku said. I thought the media had ignored that detail. “It was nothing, and I didn’t really do much.”

No, I don't think so. Shoto thought. It's your origin story as a hero, I doubt it wouldn't have had some impact.

For her part, Uraraka looked at Midoriya somewhat annoyed and upset.

“What are you saying, Deku? Of course you did something, don’t belittle what you did.”

“Uraraka, I-”

“Ochako’s right, Kero. Few people would try to save someone who treated them so badly. Though knowing you, you would have done it for anyone,” Asui responded in support of her friend. The boy opened his mouth to protest, but Asui’s steady gaze and Uraraka’s angry one stopped him immediately. Pop heard what both girls were saying and glanced at Koichi. Help even those who treated you badly?

I'll have to speak to the Musutafu police chief. There were two incidents, and in both, the local police support was insufficient. Tsukauchi thought, letting out a sigh of resignation at the thought of all the work ahead at the current pace. On the other hand, I think I know how this will all end.

The villain and his victim recognized the boy immediately. Meanwhile, the boy wondered why the hell he was running and what to do in this situation. Remembering what he'd written in his notebook, Izuku threw his backpack at the villain, hitting the monster's eye, allowing Bakugo to temporarily catch his breath.

“Good work, Midoriya.” The winged hero congratulated him. “Any second to catch his breath is vital for a drowning victim.”

Knuckleduster smirked. Not bad, kid.

“I knew it, you did something.” Uraraka exclaimed, proud of her best friend.

The rest of his classmates also congratulated him for coming up with a solution in such a short amount of time. So, the boy had no choice but to accept the praise, even though he didn't believe he'd done much.

“Hawks, don’t encourage the problem child.” Aizawa growled. “The boy acted recklessly, without any plan. I hope this isn’t a frequent occurrence, Midoriya.” He added, staring at the green-haired boy. “But I have to admit, he’s already done more for Bakugo than any of the other heroes present.”

Shota is right, but the background music clearly suggests otherwise. Mic reflected, enjoying the music, wondering if Paradox would give them a copy of the entire soundtrack.

So that's it, Toshinori. Torino thought, recalling his first conversation about Yagi with Nana. You saw yourself reflected in him. But in a different way…

Izuku tried to move the mud off Bakugo, while the blond asked why the Quirkless boy was there. Midoriya admitted that his legs moved on their own. After some thought, he tearfully replied:

 "You looked like you were crying for help."

Yagi looked at his disciple with pride. It's true that the boy acted without a plan and without the power to back it up. But his motivation was sound; that was why he decided to give him a chance, and despite the setbacks, he was proving to be a very good successor.

That's more courage than I would have shown a year ago. Kirishima thought, remembering the time he failed his classmates and Mina had to go out and help them. A growl next to him brought him out of his thoughts. He turned around and saw the explosive boy, more upset than usual.

“Bakugo, it’s okay to be afraid. That guy wanted to kill you, that’s just a natural reaction.” Kirishima exclaimed, placing his hand on the boy’s back.

The blond boy's face went from rage to confusion in milliseconds, then back again as he growled. "Who told you I was scared, Shitty hair?!" And noticing the hand on his back, he added, "And take your hand off my back." In response, he only got a look that seemed to say, ‘I knew it.’ which only worsened his mood.

Because of this, the symbol of peace managed to react and began to transform. The rest of the heroes, seeing that the villain was going to attack Midoriya, began to move. All Might arrived in time to stop the blow, while scolding himself for being a hypocrite, grabbed Bakugo by the wrist and using a powerful Detroit Smash created a large current of air. Resulting in the two boys unconscious, but safe, and the creation of rain clouds. Wiping the blood from his mouth, All Might get up somewhat unsteadily, but heroically. At the same time, he looked at the green-haired boy out of the corner of his eye.

“What power. Not only did he defeat the villain and save the kids, but he also put out the flames in the entire place with a single blow.” Endeavor muttered, looking at the scrawny Yagi. And he’s clearly not at his best. Is the gap between us really that big? .... I don’t even know why I’m surprised… Of course it is.

“That's right, but the amount of blood he loses from overexerting himself is worrying,” Hawks commented, taking notes. It would be best to prevent All Might from acting, and if he does, to do so for as little time as possible

“Are you sure your other self is okay, All Might?” Mic asked.

“As I said, Young Yamada, this isn’t something that happens every time.” Yagi said, calming those presents. “Just don’t tell Recovery Girl.” The skeletal man pleaded, his legs trembling slightly. He shook his head to clear away the mental images of the heroine hitting him with her cane.

Was that where you decided? Sir thought. The bespectacled man couldn't deny the boy's heroic act and partly understood that if he did that without any power backing him up, he'd be capable of doing much more with the OFA. Even so... I don't like this.

The scene cuts to the villain being captured in multiple garbage bags and handed over to the police. While All Might was being photographed by the press, Izuku was scolded by the heroes, and Katsuki was praised for his courage and his quirk. The boy, though, ignored the praise, glaring at the damn nerd.

“I-it must have been really hard to collect all the villain parts.” Koda muttered, imagining the amount of mud puddles scattered for several blocks around. Tokoyami nodded beside him.

“It’s not fair, Midoriya did everything that none of them were capable of doing.” Sato exclaimed angrily.

“That’s true, but to them, he was just another problem.” Ojiro said. “Even so, the contrast with the praise Bakugo receives doesn’t help much.”

“Even so, they shouldn’t be so harsh. Without him, All Might would never have acted.” Momo exclaimed, slightly annoyed.

I should have guessed that would be his reaction. The green-haired man thought somewhat resignedly, watching his past self fall victim to Kacchan's annoyed glare.

Once again, they're only focusing on the quirks, not the people and their actions. That's why the press ignored what Midoriya did. Nezu reflected, a little disappointed. However, Yaoyorozu's words gave him a bad feeling. "All Might, tell me what other heroes arrived on the scene."

Seeing the director's concern, All Might knew something was wrong, but he couldn't understand what. "W-well, I quickly left the scene, but no, I didn't see anyone else arrive."

“Nezu, you don’t mean that if it weren’t for Midoriya, Bakugo would be…” Aizawa said in horror after connecting the dots, while Nezu simply nodded, leaving all the adults present silent.

The explosive boy, who had been brooding, grumbling, and telling himself that the nerd hadn't made any difference that day, felt like he'd taken a punch in the gut upon hearing the adults' words. Of course, he hadn't known All Might's secret when everything happened, but now he understood the situation and didn't like it. He didn't want to owe someone anything, especially if that someone had considered him inferior his entire life...

“Wait, doesn’t what Midoriya did make him a vigilante?” Mineta asked, unknowingly causing Shoto and Iida to jump at the unexpected question.

“No, to be a vigilante, you must use your quirk to fight crime without government permission. Midoriya doesn't have one, or he wasn't using it at the time.” The detective explained, reassuring those present.

“So that’s why they never locked you up, old man.” Pop whispered, getting Koichi’s attention.

“So that’s why you used weapons and gadgets. So, you wouldn’t have to use your quirk.” Koichi exclaimed, never having stopped to think about what his master’s quirk was or whether he ever used it.

“Yeah, something like that.” Was the only response from the old man, who, despite Pop’s complaints that he explains what he meant specifically, said nothing more.

It was just getting dark, and televisions across the city were broadcasting news of what had happened on Tatooine. Returning to Midoriya, he was on his way home, lamenting over not apologizing to All Might and thinking about sending his apology to the #1 hero's website. Suddenly, Bakugo came running in search of the Quirkless boy.

Several of those present wondered if what Midoriya promised would not be shown in this episode or if the boy lied to avoid making them feel uncomfortable.

That explains why everyone in this damn town keeps reminding me of this damn incident. The boy grumbled inwardly; sometimes he understood his teacher's hatred of the press.

“I doubt you have time to see everything they write to you there, do you, Yagi?” Midnight asked, imagining the countless messages the hero received daily.

“W-well, I usually see some of them, but I rarely answer them.” The peace symbol said embarrassedly.

Maybe he's going to... Several of those present thought when they saw the explosive boy appear on the screen.

Bakugo, visibly annoyed, growled that he never needed help from a Quirkless like him to save himself and that Midoriya shouldn't dare look down on him. Then, he turned around and walked off as if nothing had happened, leaving the other boy perplexed.

Well, I don't know why I ever hoped for something different. Ashido thought, disappointed.

I didn't expect anything from you, and yet you still managed to disappoint me. The frog girl thought.

For his part, Midoriya felt like he'd just had a small epiphany that he hadn't noticed at the time because he was dealing with his broken dreams. Does he think that I... No, he's always been cooler and stronger than me, it wouldn't make sense for him to think that... Rejecting the idea, the boy returned his attention to the screen.

Nezu jotted down some information that Hound Dog might find useful. Possible inferiority and superiority complexes, together they're a dangerous combination...

“Seriously, Bakugo, is that all you have to say to Midoriya? You ran to find him just for that.” Sero exclaimed, visibly perplexed, earning a dirty look from the blond boy. You’re almost a lost cause.

Hawks chuckled as he saw Bakugo's posture as he walked away.

Izuku agreed with her and thanked her for giving him one more reason to think about a realistic future, until All Might stood in his way, having easily walked away from the reporters.

It pained Midoriya's friends to see the boy so depressed; seeing him give up on his dream bothered them. They even wondered if they would be here if it weren't for him, especially Asui and Tenya. But the atmosphere suddenly changed when they saw All Might suddenly transform, eliciting a small laugh from almost everyone present.

I don't know whether to be offended by the fact that this show is using my blood loss as a comedy. Yagi mused, a little indignantly.

All Might came to apologize to the boy and make him a proposition. Izuku replied that what happened was his fault and that he should never have interfered with the heroes' work. Yagi told him that if it weren't for him, he would never have acted and explained how the best heroes share stories where their bodies move without thinking.

“So, you changed your mind, All Might.” Shota exclaimed. “Honestly, I would have told him the same thing you initially told Midoriya.”

“I agree with Aizawa on this.” Nemuri said. “I know what Midoriya did was very admirable. But-”

“I understand, young Kayama.” Yagi interrupted. “Even so, I-”

“Now you’re going to tell us you had a plan for the boy?” Enji interrupted. “I mean, miraculously, the boy had a latent quirk. Or what were you planning to do? Fund him with some support items and teach him self-defense?”

“Not to mention the permits needed for its use and purchase…” Mic added thoughtfully.

“And as far as I know, UA is the only school that accepts Quirkless students for their hero entrance exam.” Hawks exclaimed, recalling that several members of the HPSC had complained about this at the time. “That severely limits your chances of getting into this career.”

“Clearly, it wouldn't be easy. Getting in is difficult, not to mention the risks.” Nezu summarized, trying to put the matter to rest. “But there might be a very small chance. Either here at UA or by trying to obtain a professional license on your own.”

Knuckleduster understood the thinking of all his former colleagues. Society and its rules would hardly allow someone without a Quirk to be a hero. And even if he managed to get the license, he would never be able to achieve the same feats as someone like All Might. Not to mention the risks. Of course, this only applies because Midoriya wants to be a professional hero as great as All Might, or at least it seems that way. You don't need any of the above if you simply want to bring justice to this world in small amounts and without state support; your fists and conviction are enough. Although I won't deny that asking any of that from someone without minimal training would be ridiculous... Besides, I wouldn't wish such a future on such a young boy.

At that moment, the boy remembered his mother's words, which made him start to cry, as he confirmed to All Might why he rushed to the rescue. Inspiring music played in the background, while the narrator said that what he always wanted to hear was... With the sunset in the background and the petals of the Sakura tree falling, the boy bowed down in tears before the symbol of peace, who said:

"Young man, you too can be a hero."

Most of the audience let out a cheer, a few stray tears falling from their eyes. In the front row, Izuku wept with happiness as he remembered the best moment of that fateful day, while his friends on either side of him smiled with genuine happiness.

“Great, now I need a tissue.” Nemuri sobbed as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Pop, beside her, nodded, searching her pockets for one.

“Not bad, Toshinori, not bad.” Torino said softly. “Now you know what Shimura felt all those years ago when he chose you.”

“Especially since you were the first person to believe in him.” Tsukauchi added, visibly pleased.

All Might opened his eyes, surprised by his friend's words. I guess I did something right at the end of the day. He thought, a small smile forming on his face.

The boy fell to his knees, crying with joy. The scene froze as the narrator said that dreams can come true; after all, this is the story of how he became the greatest hero of all. Thus, ending the episode and ushering in the ending.

“What me what?” The boy exclaimed incredulously, his eyes still watering, but relieved that his most important secret hadn’t been divulged yet.

“What you what?!!” Katsuki shouted, visibly annoyed. “Forget it, Nerd! I'll be the next number 1 in Japan and the world!” He exclaimed, pointing at himself with his thumb.

“Congratulations, Deku.” Uraraka exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear, ignoring the explosive boy. “If the you in this series can do it, I’m sure you can too.”

“Not bad, Midoriya.” Asui congratulated him, increasing the explosive boy's rage.

“Congratulations Midoriya, but you'll understand that I won't let you get that position easily.” Shoto added defiantly.

“Of course, Todoroki.” Izuku replied. Turning his gaze to the chairs behind him, he noticed his… classmate. “K-kacchan also accepts your challenge.”

“As if you have a chance, you damn nerd.” The explosive boy growled.

“Well, to be fair, I don’t think any of the three will succeed All Might directly. The most likely would-be Endeavor,” Momo said.

At least someone's taking me into account. Endeavor thought indignantly. But I know that Shoto will succeed me, it's his... destiny...

Sir's mouth felt open; he hadn't expected that ending. However, he was relieved to see that the OFA hadn't been revealed yet. He needed to think and see what the narrator Midoriya was referring to, and if that proved the boy would surpass even All Might...

“Well, that’s all for today. You must be exhausted.” Paradox exclaimed, looking at his plumber’s badge once more. “And my friend has finished fixing the outside, so I’ll show you to your rooms.”

Chapter Text

Paradox stood up from his seat and headed to the "impossible to open" door, followed by all his guests. The time traveler simply pushed open the door casually as if it had never been locked in the first place. Everyone left, little by little, unaware of what lay on the other side. Izuku was the last to leave and what he found on the other side was... The exit of any movie theater.

To his right was a soda fountain, where there were all kinds of candy, soft drinks, popcorn, among others. Directly ahead was the building's exit, and to his left were two doors, which, judging by the symbols on them, he assumed were the restrooms. At his feet was a red carpet that started at the door he'd just left and ended at the exit.

Seeing the disappointed faces of everyone present, Paradox let out a small chuckle. “Wasn’t this what you expected?”

“Paradox, you’re telling me you locked us in the movie theater just because your friend was supplying this place with snacks?” Mic exclaimed in disbelief.

“Not exactly.” He replied, taking out his plumber’s badge to reveal a hologram of a young man, close in age to the youngest members of the audience, wearing a strange watch on one of his wrists. “You see, my friend, young Tennyson, has a power that allows him to materialize anything out of thin air, including making exact copies of anything. As I told you, this place is located between universes, so before, everything other than the previous room didn’t exist. I suppose you can understand the reason for the delay.”

Everyone looked at the professor with their mouths open in amazement, no one dared to doubt that a being with such powers existed, not after having experienced all the oddities of that night.

“When you say he can replicate anything, does that mean that power has no limits?” Izuku muttered, writing down all the information he had received in his notebook.

“Perhaps.” Paradox replied, unwilling to elaborate. “Although, now that you mention it, maybe when you try certain foods they don’t taste exactly as expected. Don’t worry, it’s normal. It’s something young Tennyson often experiences.”

And with the matter concluded, Paradox headed toward the exit, followed again by everyone present. As they left, in front of them were two buildings, the larger of which had five floors separated into two wings. The sign above the main door identified the building as "MHA ALLIANCE," which caught the attention of the UA professors. The other building only had two floors, albeit quite spacious. Through the second-floor windows, treadmills, weights, stationary bikes, and other training equipment could be seen. Looking away from the buildings, all around them were several paths leading to other distant buildings, and trees surrounding the paths and buildings, which gave them a certain sense of familiarity.

“The ALLIANCE building will be your dormitory. Inside, I'll explain where each of you will sleep.” The scientist explained. “And the other building is a gym where you can train. It's open 24 hours a day if anyone wants to train in the middle of the night.”

“Paradox are we in a replica of UA?” The director asked.

“That would explain why the architecture of the buildings seemed familiar to me.” Nemuri said, acknowledging Cementoss’s work.

The scientist simply nodded. “That's right. I figured a familiar environment would appeal to you more. While it's not the entire school, only part of it, and several buildings here don't exist in the real school. In fact, if you go out to explore, you might run into an invisible barrier; it represents the boundary of this dimension.”

"Do you mean this place could have been anything, like a giant castle or a hotel?" Momo asked, imagining the many possibilities.

“Oh, I would have loved to be on a paradise island.” The pink-haired girl pouted, imagining herself relaxing in a beach chair while her classmates played in the sea and sand.

“Ashido, this is a unique opportunity to learn, not to play around and waste time.” The class representative scolded her while moving his arms with his usual robotic movements to emphasize his point.

Paradox simply shrugged and gave a mocking smile, almost as if what the girl had said sounded familiar. “Perhaps in another reality this is possible. Or perhaps you have to feel some pain to know the future.” Seeing the exhausted faces of several of the younger ones, he quickened his pace. “We’d better keep going.”

Once inside the building, Paradox began to take stock of the entire place while the others explored.

“As you can see, the first floor is the common area. There are sofas, tables, a television, and chairs. We also added a meeting room that might be useful. Of course, the kitchen is here, as are the bathrooms and laundry rooms.” Seeing the happy expression on Mineta’s face, he bent down to look the boy directly in the eye to emphasize the point. “Separated by gender, obviously.”

"Damn, I should have known." The grape-haired boy muttered, earning Kyoka's icy glare, though she managed to hear him.

“I see, there’s an elevator for each wing of the building.” Eraser said, looking around. “The place looks like it was designed by Cementoss.”

Eraser's words jogged the director's memory; he mentally scolded himself for not having identified the place from the outside. "Paradox, this building is a secret project. I don't even have complete blueprints of what the place would look like. How did you come up with this site?"

Several people looked intrigued at both the director and the scientist, awaiting answers.

“You’ll find out in due time.” Paradox replied, leaving them with another unsolved mystery. “The left wing is for men and the right for women; each wing has its own elevator and stairs. But as you can see, we have a male majority, so I gave the second and third floors to the men on the right wing.”

“Alright, now I’ll explain where each of your rooms is. But first, you might be interested to know that each of your rooms is a copy of your current room, along with your belongings. We only installed air conditioning and a toilet in the rooms that needed them.” Paradox exclaimed as he pulled a board from one of his portals indicating each person’s room. Several wondered how this was possible, but exhaustion and the emotions of the past hour silenced them.

“Let’s start with the left wing; Mineta, Midoriya, Aoyama, Tokoyami, and Haimawari will be located on the second floor.”

Tsukauchi and Aizawa exchanged a worried look.

“Eraser, I’ll take care of these four.” Koichi smiled, having removed his helmet and now carrying it in his right hand. “Count me in.”

“You say that as if we weren’t all going to be living under the same roof.” Aizawa replied curtly with a sigh. “Even so, I appreciate the gesture, Crawler.” Eraser was happy to see the hero of Naruhata, but he wouldn’t deny that his past actions weren’t the best example for future heroes, especially Midoriya. I hope these two years have served you well, Crawler.

“Mineta, don’t even think about corrupting Midoriya.” Toru exclaimed as she and the rest of the girls formed a sort of barrier between the two.

Girls, I think you're exaggerating. The green-haired young man thought, but remembering all the times Mineta had said something perverted in the past near him, he began to question why he had never done anything about it.

"Fumi, I don't want to sleep near Aoyama, that boy must have too many lights in his room." DarkShadow complained, crocodile tears streaming from his eyes.

“You know we need some light, so you don’t go berserk in the middle of the night. I’m grateful he’s our floormate.” Though I hope his room isn’t as dazzling as I imagine it. Tokoyami thought, horrified, picturing a room filled with spotlights and mirrors, visible from space.

“There’s nothing to thank me for, my friend. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to let me know.” Looking at Midoriya, the French boy approached him with his usual charm. “You too, Midoriya.”

The green-haired man nodded; he too was delighted to be sharing a floor with them. "Mr. Skycrawler, it's a pleasure to share a floor with you."

“Don’t call me ‘Mr. Skycrawler’ it makes me feel old.” The American hero scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Just call me Koichi.” Seeing the boys staring at him, puzzled, he remembered he was back with people from his homeland. “Or Haimawari, if you prefer.” He replied sheepishly.

“That’s fine, sir… I mean, Haimawari.”

Noooo, I wanted to be paired with Kaminari, now I have no one to talk to about girls. The little pervert sobbed internally.

“On the third floor there will be Koda, Kaminari, Iida, Ojiro and Tetsutetsu.”

"Great, I got stuck with the calmest ones in the group." Kaminari muttered resignedly as he stroked his floormate's tail.

“I hope you don’t count me in that group, Kaminari.” Tetsutetsu retorted sharply. The electric boy quickly shook his head. “Well, I don’t think there’s anyone more passionate in this group than me.” he added proudly. Kaminari gave him a thumbs-up with a fake smile while still internally fuming.

“I will make sure that the rules are properly followed on the third floor.” Exclaimed the class representative, as he stood perfectly straight.

“Don’t worry, Iida, I’m sure we’ll all behave properly.” Ojiro assured, holding back laughter at his companion’s seriousness.

Koda, for his part, was a little nervous about having to share a floor. "Young Koda, I forgot to mention that your rabbit is waiting in your room. I figured you'd need it." The grateful young man murmured a simple "thank you," a small smile forming on his face.

The girls approached, squealing with excitement, asking the nervous boy if they could see his rabbit the next day. The embarrassed boy nodded, hoping his poor pet could handle the level of affection that awaited it.

"Continuing with the fourth floor, this is where you'll find the rooms of Shoji, Kirishima, Bakugo, Monoma, and Aizawa."

"Great, we're paired together, Bakugo!" The redhead exclaimed happily. Receiving no response, he looked for Bakugo, who seemed distracted and tired. The blond boy nodded without saying anything else.

“I guess he wasn’t lying when he said he usually goes to bed early,” Shoji said. “I’m glad to share a floor with you, Kirishima.”

“Likewise, Shoji. I have a punching bag in my room if you want to train without having to leave the building.” Eijiro offered kindly, turning his gaze to the other blond with whom he shared a floor. “Monoma, you’re welcome too.”

The blond boy was momentarily surprised by Red Riot's kindness, but he shook his head slightly. "Sorry, 1-A, I didn't agree to come here to fraternize with you." Turning his gaze to the explosive boy, he continued his speech. "Especially with those of you with such a history..."

The blond boy couldn't continue, feeling the annoyed glare of the Class A teacher. "Monoma, I thought I made it clear that we wouldn't be discussing this further." Aizawa sighed, but at the same time, he was grateful to be on the same floor as the two most troublesome students in the group. "I hope you two will put an end to your hostility." He turned his gaze to Bakugo. "Is that clear?"

Both blond men gave a dry, reluctant nod.

"And finally, on the fifth floor are Sato, Todoroki Shoto, Sero, Yamada, and Shinso."

Thank goodness, I don't have to share floor with my father. Shoto sighed in relief, glancing sideways at his old man whose annoyed expression hadn't changed since the big revelation of the night.

Damn, I wanted Shota and me to be on the same floor. Mic sighed resignedly.

"Alright Todoroki, no hard feelings about what happened at the sports festival." Sero exclaimed as he extended his hand to the boy with two-toned hair.

“I already apologized for that,” Shoto exclaimed, giving the dark-haired man a squeeze. “I’m glad to share floor with you, Sato.”

“Likewise, Todoroki, I will teach you both how to make all kinds of desserts.” Sugarman said, visibly pleased.

Shinso watched the three of them, unsure how to integrate, or if it would be right to do so; however, Yamada came to his "rescue".

“That sounds like an excellent idea, Sato.” Placing his right hand on the boy’s left shoulder. “If you need music, count me in. Shinso will be my co-host, you hear?” The boy, with dark circles under his eyes, nodded reluctantly.

“Moving to the other wing, on the second floor will be Yagi, Torino, Nezu and Sir.”

The four looked at each other and nodded. This would be very useful, as it would allow those who knew about OFA and AFO to talk privately.

“On the third floor are Todoroki Enji, Hawks, Knuckleduster, and Tsukauchi.”

"Wow, I'm not the only one hiding his identity." The masked man looked curiously at the winged hero. “Or is Hawks your last name?”

Keigo calmly shook his head, anticipating that question. “Of course not. I asked the Hero Commission to keep my civilian name secret, just like Yagi.” But something tells me Paradox already knows.

“What’s strange here is that you want to keep your identity a mystery, Knuckleduster. It would be ideal if you followed Haimawari and Haneyama’s example and told us who you are.” The detective complained. Of the three of us from Naruhata, you remain the biggest mystery…

With a chuckle, the masked man removed his mask, drawing surprised looks from several of those present. “What? If we’re going to be here for a while, I’m not going to wear the mask the whole time.” Turning his gaze back to the detective, he looked at him defiantly with a mocking smile. “But as for my name, I’d rather not reveal it just yet. Sorry, Detective, you’ll have to wait until the show decides to reveal it.”

Naomasa stared at him intently, having a feeling that the man who trained Crawler was someone famous for his combat skills. But no, he didn't know who the man in front of him was; however, he had the impression that he'd heard his voice before…

Endeavor, for his part, wasn't paying much attention; he just wanted it all to be over so he could go to his room already. It was enough for him to know that his room was on the third floor.

"The fourth floor belongs to Jiro, Hagakure, Uraraka, Kendo, and Haneyama."

“Isn’t it great, girls? Now that we live under the same roof, we should have sleepovers!” The invisible girl exclaimed happily. The way her left sleeve was rolled up suggested she had her fist in the air. Uraraka nodded happily.

“A sleepover once in a while would be nice.” Kyoka commented, a slight blush rising to her cheeks. “Kendo, are you going to join us or are you going to do the same thing as Monoma?”

Giggling, the karate girl replied, "Nah, not everyone in Class B has trouble getting along with you guys. Count me in." Shifting her gaze to the brunette, she recalled something Yaoyorozu had said to her when they were both struggling in the entertainment world. "Uraraka, I heard you were with Gunhead. We can train together anytime."

The brunette girl's gaze filled with determination at the challenge of training with Kendo. "Of course. I'll show you what I've learned." She said with a defiant smile.

Pop watched the girls with a nostalgic smile, reminiscing about the days when the FeatherHATS girls would get together after a show. Midnight noticed and called her attention. "Reminiscing?" The pink-haired girl nodded quickly, earning a giggle from the heroine. "Just kidding." She turned her gaze back to the girls. "Keep an eye on them, okay? Maybe one of them needs some advice or wants to talk to someone in the future."

The young woman nodded. “Of course, I know that at that age I would have liked to have someone to talk to about…” The girl glanced sideways at Koichi, “…certain topics.” The gesture didn’t go unnoticed by Midnight, but before she could say anything, Toru and the rest of the girls approached. “Miss Pop. You’re welcome too, if you’d like.”

The young woman was surprised and smiled at the girls. “Of course. We’re going to have a great time.”

“And finally, on the fifth floor there will be Ashido, Yaoyorozu, Asui, Hatsume and Kayama.”

"Well, I hope you don't mind my company, girls," Midnight said, receiving a quick "no" in response from her floormates. I wonder if Paradox brought Sushi too.

“Great, we can have our get-togethers too!” Ashido exclaimed happily, approaching her two companions and hugging them so tightly she could whisper in their ears. “And talk about boys and romance.”

“I should have guessed, Kero. But it would be great to have a get-together and invite the other girls.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Tsuyu. Girls, we can all have tea together in my room tomorrow night.” All the girls immediately agreed to the tempting idea of ​​trying the exquisite tea that Momo had told them about a couple of times.

“A break from building my babies wouldn’t be so bad…” Hatsume murmured thoughtfully. Paradox hadn’t mentioned the existence of any workshop where she could build whatever ideas came to her. Well, I can always ask her to create one. “Girls, count me in.”

“Well, that’s all from me. Good night. If you need anything from me, just say my name and I’ll appear near you. Tomorrow I’ll give you a proper tour of the place.” With that, Paradox stored the board in one of his portals and left through the building’s door, leaving his exhausted guests alone, who decided to go and rest.

______________________________

One hour later.

Endeavor had been in the gym for about ten minutes; he had too much pent-up anger and frustration to even try to fall asleep. He had to accept that it would be impossible to sleep after tossing and turning thirty-five times, and feeling his family's gaze from the photographs in his room wasn't helping at all.

Upon arriving at the gym, he saw that Paradox was already there, almost as if he knew he would appear sooner or later. However, Paradox said nothing about it, simply showing him around and giving him a punching bag coated with fireproof material so that Hero #2 could train. He also advised him not to damage the place while training. Before leaving, he mentioned that he wasn't the first visitor to the gym, and seeing no one else on the first floor, he assumed he must be upstairs.

As he punched the boxing bag, he couldn't help but remember the moment everything started to go wrong…

______________________________

Ten years ago

It was a normal day on patrol for Todoroki Enji, who was walking alongside his Sidekicks, providing security for the people, even though most of them only moved out of their way as they passed and only a few greeted them and thanked them for their good work. Until he received a call from an unknown number.

“Hello?” Replied the hero of the flames who, after finishing his call, would leave the rest of the patrol in Burning's hands and run to the hospital where his youngest son was receiving medical attention.

Upon entering the hospital room where his son was, he found him asleep with bandages covering the left side of his face. To the right of his bed sat Rei in a chair, holding his son's hand, while the doctor treating him stood nearby.

“What the hell happened to Shoto?!!!” Endeavor roared furiously as flames appeared all over his face.

"Calm down, Mr. Todoroki." The doctor said. "Your son suffered an ice burn on the left side of his face. Mrs. Todoroki told me she applied ice because hot water had spilled on him. We're not sure about the condition of his eye, but we can confirm that this will leave a scar. We're waiting for the boy to regain consciousness and then we'll release him, but he'll need to return in the next few days for further tests." Enji grunted but reluctantly accepted what the doctor said. "On the other hand, your son is showing symptoms of fatigue and—"

“Doctor, would you spare us a moment alone? Please.” Enji exclaimed, staring intently at his wife, who didn't dare return his gaze. Sensing the tense atmosphere in the room, the doctor nodded and left with a sigh.

Five minutes passed and neither of them said anything. Rei still wouldn't look at her husband, only at her son, filled with deep remorse and pain.

"Could you tell me what the hell happened?" Enji demanded, visibly upset. Faced with this, Rei could no longer hold back her tears and recounted what had happened between sobs and regrets. She explained why she couldn't stand another minute in that house, how her son's left side reminded her of Enji at his worst, and how, in a moment of instability, she had thrown water from the kettle on her son. As soon as she realized what she'd done, she covered his face with ice while apologizing to the little boy who was crying in pain.

Endeavor, in a state of shock, was unable to process everything he heard; the rage continued to boil more and more inside him. In a last attempt to be "diplomatic," he was only able to stutter.

"W-why?... Why did you do that to my masterpiece?"

And that broke Rei, who couldn't take it anymore. Rising from her seat, she approached Enji—no, Endeavor—and, looking him straight in the eye, shouted. "IS THAT ALL YOU CARE ABOUT?! Your ridiculous rivalry with All Might. Is that all Shoto matters to you?"

“Do you think I’d be here if I didn’t care?” Enji replied, crossing his arms.

“Oh, of course I would, but tell me, would you do the same for Fuyumi or Natsu?” The woman exclaimed, looking directly at him as the fury inside her flowed freely. “You don’t even know if something happened to them. Or if they’re okay.”

“That doesn’t matter. I know Toya is taking care of his brothers, and if any of them were hurt, they’d be here. Right now, only the well-being of my successor matters.” Enji grunted.

"Of course, only your son with the best quirk matters!! You're so focused on Shoto that you haven't done anything to stop Toya from continuing his training at Sekoto Peak!!"

“I’ve already told him, but he won’t listen. Besides, that’s your responsibility. My job as a hero is to properly train Shoto.” Enji defended himself.

"You put the idea of ​​him being a hero in his head, and all he wants is to make you happy! He'll only listen to you if you go to where he trains." Rei sobbed.

“That doesn’t matter now!” Enji roared, startling Rei. “What matters is that you sent our son to the hospital. He might lose an eye, and now he’ll live with a horrible scar on his face because of you.” Endeavor emphasized every word of that last sentence, pointing an accusing finger at his wife.

“And where do you think he’ll end up if he keeps up that hellish training you’re subjecting him to every day?” Rei asked, tears streaming down her cheeks once more. “Are you only going to stop when his power starts hurting him like—”

“Enough!” Enji shouted, punching the wall. “Everything you say only proves what a terrible job you’ve done. And that you’re a danger to them and to yourself. I’m having you committed to a psychiatric hospital today.”

The white-haired woman's face shifted from anger and pain to fear. Fear of what might happen to her and her children. "Y-you can't do that. You can't take my children away from me." The woman with the power of ice whimpered.

“I can and I will. Don’t make me remind you of the terms of our marriage. Especially after what you’ve done today.” Endeavor replied firmly. His wife struggled to find the words to defend herself, to prevent him from being separated from his children, but she could only manage a few stammers that were drowned out by her sobs. “This isn’t up for discussion, Rei. Accept it; it’s for the best for everyone.”

Hours later, Rei was on her way to her new home, and Enji was returning home. His son was asleep again, exhausted from the day's stress and the fatigue of his rigorous training over the past few days. He wanted to put Shoto to bed and gather Rei's belongings that she would need. As he entered, a barrage of questions from his children about Shoto and Rei's health interrupted his plan. Seeing their brother asleep, they fell silent as Endeavor tucked him into bed.

Having done this, Endeavor explained what had happened and the decision he had made. He paid no attention to Fuyumi's worried and sad face, Natsu's annoyance, or Toya's displeasure. He simply finished his explanation by stating that he would take a couple of days off while things settled down at home and considered the matter closed. After packing his wife's things, he headed for the exit, where Toya was waiting for him.

“You should go and rest, Toya.”

“I know, I know.” Exclaimed the older Todoroki brother as he stood up. “But I wanted to know if now that you’re spending more time with us, you could…”

“Toya, no.” Endeavor stopped him abruptly, wiping the smile off his eldest son’s face. Walking past him and reaching the door, without looking at the little boy, he sighed. “You have to stop doing that. It’s best for everyone… and for you.”

______________________________

How wrong he was. After that, things only got worse, and remembering it only enraged him more, increasing the fury of his punches at the heavy bag. Shoto never treated him with respect again, nor did the rest of his children. Toya continued training alone in the forest, which resulted in his… death, further skewing his family. And that brought him to the present, where Natsuo was just waiting to graduate so he could leave and never return. Fuyumi… She continued desperately trying to bring them together. And Shoto refused to use even half his power, or at least he had before the sports festival.

This last thing caused the hero to increase the strength of his fists even more, and his fists began to burst into flames. With this and imagining that the punching bag was actually Toshinori's face while thinking from the depths of his heart, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!, he punched the bag with such force that it flew off and crashed into the first wall it encountered.

As he breathed heavily from the exertion, he couldn't help but have the fleeting thought that told him, Actually, It's your fault. A chill ran down his spine because the voice that whispered that cruel truth wasn't his own, but someone he hadn't heard in ten years… Unfortunately, he didn't have time to dwell on it, because the punching bag rose into the air and returned to its original position. Behind it, a pair of red wings appeared.

“Hawks, what are you doing here?” Asked Enji, who hadn't expected any company at this time. I suppose he was the one who arrived first.

“Good evening, #2. I figured you’d need this back. Good thing it’s fireproof, or it would have been reduced to ashes.” The feathered hero replied, who was now wearing training clothes just like him. “And I’m here because, like you, I can’t sleep. Everything I’ve learned from All Might has given me a lot to think about.” This earned him a snarl from Endeavor.

“Anyway, since we’re here, would you be interested in training together?” Hawks proposed, receiving in return a look of disbelief from Endeavor, who wasn’t used to heroes from other agencies spending time with him on anything other than work.

“Why are you doing this, Hawks?”

Raising the index finger of his right hand, Keigo replied. “First, I’d like to see how far my abilities compare to the number two hero in a fight without Quirks.” Raising his middle finger, Hawks continued. “And second, I’d have to be blind not to notice that the situation with Yagi affected you more than the others.” Endeavor glared at the winged man, who, unfazed, went to find a pair of boxing gloves. “Relax, I know you won’t say anything, and I don’t intend to force you, but I suppose a distraction might be useful.”

Endeavor opened his mouth to deny it, but remembering the scene he'd caused at the movie theater, coupled with the skeptical look the winged hero was giving him, he was left without an argument. And thinking about it, he really needed a distraction right now. Besides, it had been a long time since he'd trained with someone who could keep up with him. Approaching the feathered hero, he grabbed a pair of gloves and returned to the ring, while Hawks watched him expectantly.

"Alright #3, let's see what you're made of." The flame hero took a fighting stance.

And while the two heroes prepared to fight, a man listened to them from the stairs. The 'spy' came down when he heard the rumble Endeavor made, and seeing that the situation seemed under control, he slowly went back up, leaning on his trusty crutch.

Knuckleduster had been at the gym for over an hour. His body was used to patrolling the streets, searching for gang members who robbed in alleyways, petty thugs, and any other scum who crossed his path. Therefore, this was the time of day when he was most active. And instead of wasting time, he decided to train. If he wanted to continue watching over Naruhata, he needed to stay in shape and take care of his knee.

At first, he ignored the noises coming from downstairs, but as their intensity increased, along with the heat, he decided to investigate. He wasn't surprised to see who was causing it. All Might's revelation affected him. It almost felt personal… Shaking his head, he dismissed those thoughts; there was no point in dwelling on it without the full picture. Nevertheless, to avoid any misunderstandings, he decided to stay upstairs and train until both heroes left, making as little noise as possible.

______________________________

Returning to the dormitories, there were other people who also couldn't fall asleep.

Aoyama still had the lights on in his room. The blond young man held a photograph of himself with his parents. It had been taken the day they gave him his belly button belt. He remembered how happy he had been that day, the day he stopped being different from everyone else. Who would have imagined that such a beautiful memory would land him in this horrible situation, forced to be a spy? And what was worse, he didn't seem to be the only one.

Yuga still remembered when he first saw Izuku Midoriya, the terrified boy during the entrance exam. To be honest, he thought it would be the only time he'd see him, that is, until he destroyed the zero-point robot. Midoriya used so much power, only to have his body destroyed. Back then, Yuga couldn't understand how someone that age could have so little control over it, but now he understood why, or so he thought.

But at the same time, there was evidence to the contrary. For starters, the series portrayed Midoriya as the protagonist and future number one hero; someone who received a Quirk of AFO could hardly rebel in that way. And then there were his encounters with Shigaraki, where he had faced him and his life had been in danger. This last encounter, in particular, worried him the most and, in a way, brought him equal parts joy. Thanks to this, the summer camp could be canceled, and he wouldn't have to betray his friends again.

Frustrated, the boy put the photograph in his nightstand drawer, got out of bed, and went to the mini fridge in his room. He took out a piece of cheese and, while eating it, thought about what he should do. To begin with, it was very possible that eventually everyone would find out that he was a spy for the villains, and faced with this, he only had two options: Tell the adults the truth before the show revealed it and hope that they wouldn't be too hard on me and my parents, or not say anything and beg that the truth would never come out.

Unfortunately, this wasn't an easy decision. With a sigh, the boy began pacing his room, weighing the pros and cons of telling the truth. After doing this for about 20 minutes, he just got tired. Exhausted, he turned off his lights and went to bed. His last thought before falling asleep was related to his hero name. My light was born from the deepest darkness, but I don't want it to be extinguished again.

______________________________

Two floors away, Bakugo couldn't sleep either. As soon as he entered his room an hour and a half ago, he went straight to his bed, closed his eyes, and realized he wasn't sleepy anymore. Since then, he'd been doing several repetitions of sit-ups, squats, and push-ups, which, while exhausting, weren't enough.

His mind kept replaying the awful night he was having. He didn't care what all the extras thought; he knew that when he reached the top, hundreds of people would envy and even hate him in equal measure. But he never expected that the latter wouldn't be because of his achievements, but because of his past, and worse still, that it could forever rob him of his dream.

This possibility filled him with rage. Grabbing his pillow and covering his mouth, he let out a string of frustrated screams. This was all Deku's fault, and that lying Paradox's. He'd only agreed to watch this nonsense to learn the truth about the nerd's Quirk, and it had ended with him on the verge of being expelled from UA. And all for nothing. There wasn't a single clue as to how his power came about… Just then, he remembered what Deku had told him about his power having been given to him by someone else. Which was a stupid lie. No one can give away Quirks, much less one so similar to All Might's…

And at that moment, the kid finally connected all the dots. The nerd has All Might's power. He didn't know how, but he knew it was true, it had to be true. And from how the series was going, it seemed like the nerd and Yagi's relationship started that day, not at UA. Why him and not me? It's not that I need his power, but if he was going to give it to someone, why not the best candidate to be the number one hero? What does the nerd have that I don’t? Is it because I'm not a damn suicidal person willing to give my life for others like he would?

At this, the boy was startled to see how far his thoughts had gone. Yes, he hated the nerd; he had since the day he fell into the river when they were little. But that didn't mean he wanted him dead, and the fact that he'd suggested suicide as an escape made him angry with himself. Letting out a groan of resignation, he had no choice but to accept that he'd gone too far, and what was worse, he wasn't sure if it was the first time he'd done it. Maybe he deserved what was happening, and maybe that's why the world punished him by giving the power of his childhood idol to the boy who had always seen him as inferior, despite not having any power himself. Roundface's voice telling him he was afraid of the nerd, didn't help, and if he was honest, he wasn't sure if that was what had been happening for the last 10 years... NO, I refuse to admit she's right. That nerd only knew how to get in my way and think he was better than me. Clenching his fists in fury, the boy returned to his bed, doing his best not to think about what would happen to him tomorrow.

______________________________

2:23 am

In Midoriya's room, the boy slept restlessly in his bed. "S-Shigaraki," He exclaimed softly as his body tensed, and he turned over in his sleep. "She has nothing to do with this." It was clear the boy was the victim of a bad dream.

“No, no, no, Uraraka, get out of here! Uraraka!” And in the middle of that shout, the boy finally managed to wake up. Thank goodness, it was just a nightmare. The green-haired boy breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was in his room and not at the mall. He rubbed his eyes and, feeling his throat dry, decided to get a glass of water. Still drowsy, he looked in his room for a pair of sandals. What a night I've had. First, I dreamt that everyone was watching the worst/best day of my life at a movie theater, then I was back in my room after saying goodnight to Aoyama, Tokoyami, and Mineta, and now this. I just hope I didn't wake Mom up with my screaming.

Once he found them, the boy took out his cell phone to light his way and left his room, heading into the hallway. Walking towards his kitchen, he came face to face with an elevator. It was then that he realized it hadn't all been a dream. He was no longer home and didn't know when he would return. Great, by this time tomorrow everyone will know this power isn't even mine. The boy lamented as he stepped into the elevator.

Once on the first floor, he continued on to the kitchen, where he realized he wasn't the only one awake at that hour. There he found a brown-haired girl filling a glass with tap water. The boy remained silent so as not to frighten her; the kitchen lights were off, and the last thing he wanted was for her to scream at that hour. Not knowing what to do, he watched her movements.. There was something about the way she had to lift her pinky finger to hold the glass that amused and charmed him in equal measure.

The girl, having finished filling the glass, turned off the tap and stopped when she noticed a light piercing her in the darkness. Turning around, she came face to face with the boy she liked, her best friend, who was looking at her expectantly, a slight blush on his cheeks, a finger to his lips signaling her not to make a sound. The girl had to put her free hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp at the unexpected encounter.

“Deku, you almost scared me to death.” The girl scolded him in a low voice.

“I’m sorry, I came to get a glass of water and found you here. I didn’t want to say anything so as not to scare you,” The boy whispered. “What’s wrong, Uraraka? Can’t you sleep?” He asked, concerned.

The girl shook her head gently. “It’s not that, Deku, don’t worry.” Turning away, she placed the glass on the counter, took another glass from one of the drawers, and filled it with tap water. “A silly nightmare woke me up, that’s all.”

The girl offered Izuku the glass. "Thanks, Uraraka." The boy murmured as he accepted it. "So, you too." He exclaimed before taking a sip of water.

“You too?” Ochako said, also taking a sip of water.

“Yeah.” The boy replied, leaving them in an awkward silence where neither of them knew what to say. “Should I ask what her nightmare was about? Should I tell her about mine? Would that even help? I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable or pressured to answer me. And I don’t want her to feel obligated to listen to my—”

"Deku, you're muttering." Uraraka said with a teasing little smile, waving her free hand in front of his face to get his attention. The boy had to cover his mouth, stifling a small gasp.

"I'm sorry." Izuku murmured, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he scratched the back of his neck. "Forget what I was saying, it was a terrible idea."

"It's okay, Deku," Ochako said, scratching the back of her neck. “Actually, it’s a good idea.”

"Oh really?"

"Y-yes, maybe talking to someone about it will allow us to sleep more peacefully, don't you think?"

“You’re right.” Izuku replied, nodding. The girl looked just as nervous as he did. “Do you want me to start?”

The girl thought for a moment; this day had been an emotional rollercoaster: happiness, embarrassment, panic, annoyance, and guilt. And to be honest, she didn't want to appear vulnerable in front of her… friend. “You start, Deku.” The green-haired boy nodded. The two of them put their glasses in the sink, left the kitchen, and sat down on one of the sofas in the common room to talk more comfortably, leaving the lights off and illuminating themselves only by the light from Midoriya's cell phone and the streetlights outside.

“W-well, to sum it up, the nightmare was almost the same as what happened today at the mall.” Deku said as Uraraka stared at him, her eyes wide. “Shigaraki was holding me hostage, and he didn’t like it at all when you found out what was going on. So, he decided it would be best if he took both of us.” Without realizing it, the green-haired boy’s eyes began to water, and his voice started to break. “I-I begged him to leave you out of this, that I was enough. At one point, his grip loosened, and I managed to break free, but at the same time… h-he ran toward you and…”

The green-haired boy was unable to continue; tears streamed down his freckled cheeks. He sometimes hated being so sensitive and emotional, because he knew there was no point in crying over something that hadn't even happened, but he couldn't stop the tears. He started wiping them away with his hands when he felt the warm presence of his friend hugging him, leaving him bewildered and rather embarrassed. Oh, God, a girl is hugging me…

"It's okay, Deku. You don't have to worry, that didn't happen." The girl exclaimed as she hugged him tighter. "I'm here, nothing bad happened."

“I-I know, but I put you and everyone else in the mall in danger. I-if only…”

“None of that, you dummy. Shigaraki was the one who put us in danger.” Stepping away from the boy and looking him in the eyes, she continued. “You were the one who prevented things from getting worse. You don’t have to blame yourself for anything.”

“I-I…” The boy wanted to protest, but the girl’s determined gaze silenced him once again. “Y-you might be right. I’m sorry, I think I soaked your shirt.” Uraraka giggled, dismissing the matter. The boy finished wiping away his tears and thanked his friend with a smile. Both of them finally realized how close they were to each other, blushed furiously, and were unable to look at each other directly as they quickly separated.

“I-I’m sorry for hugging you without permission.”

Still smiling, the green-haired boy simply shook his head. "It was nothing, Uraraka. I really needed it." He exclaimed, staring intently at his friend. "I guess it's your turn now."

"Huh? Ah, yeah, my turn..."

"Only if you're sure..."

“…D-don’t worry, Deku, it’s not a big deal.” The girl looked away at the boy’s phone screen. “Look at the time. We should probably go back to sleep; tomorrow’s the first day of watching the series.” The girl replied, clearly nervous.

She's doing it again. The green-haired boy thought, remembering what had happened at the sports festival. Under other circumstances, something would have interrupted them, or the boy, not wanting to upset his first friend, would have let it go. But not this time, not when their perception of him would change forever tomorrow.

“Uraraka, it’s okay, you can tell me. You just did the same for me. That’s what friends are for, right? To support each other when we need it.”

The girl let out a nervous giggle. “Seriously Deku, it’s not nece…” But she met the boy’s green eyes full of determination and support. A look that confirmed what Izuku was telling her; she rarely saw him so determined. It was almost as if he knew she was lying. This, plus the accumulated fatigue of the day, was enough for the girl to give in for once.

“Okay.” The girl said, her shoulders tensing. “The nightmare started just like yours. Shigaraki had you hostage, and you kept telling me he was your friend and to stay away, but it seems being discovered upset him. He told me to back off, but I was afraid he’d take you with him, so I didn’t want to move. Then he… w-w-lowered his pinky finger and…”

Now it was her turn to cry, the guilt of having left him alone once again tormenting her. Between sobs and sniffles, the girl managed to stammer. “…I’m sorry. It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have…”

And at that moment the girl let out a gasp of astonishment as she felt Deku's right hand take her left hand, while the boy's other hand hugged her tightly.

“Deku!?”

“Uraraka, you’re not to blame for any of this.” The boy said firmly. “Listen to your own advice. Shigaraki is solely responsible for what happened.”

The girl looked away as she began to calm down. “E-Even so, I shouldn’t have left you alone so suddenly just because I… w-wanted to get some bug spray.”

So that's what it was... "That doesn't matter." The boy said, slightly relieved that the girl didn't consider him an insect. "Besides, you came back for me. If you hadn't, he might have kidnapped me or worse..."

The girl nodded and finished drying her tears with her free hand. In a better mood, she looked at her friend's damp shirt. "Looks like I soaked your clothes too."

The boy chuckled. "A small price to pay for helping you." He said, resuming his previous position on the sofa but still holding his... friend's hand. "Oh god, sorry Uraraka, I shouldn't have hugged you without your permission." Exclaimed the boy, his face as red as a strawberry.

The girl smiled, a slight blush rising to her cheeks, and quickly shook her head. “It’s no problem. Besides, I did the same. But Deku… you’re still holding my hand.”

The boy immediately let go of the girl's hand as if it were burning him, while apologizing to the girl again, earning in response the laughter of the girl, which he liked hearing more and more.

“I guess we’re both dummies for blaming each other for things beyond our control.” The girl said after controlling her laughter.

“Yes, perhaps that’s something we should work on.” The boy replied, visibly pleased and more relaxed.

They both remained silent, although they felt much better after venting their frustrations, they still had several things to ask each other.

“So…” “Uraraka, you…”

They looked at each other and laughed again at the absurdity of the situation.

“Uraraka, you speak first, please.”

“Well… I was wondering, after what happened today, why do you still admire someone like Bakugo?” The brown eyes watched as the boy’s green eyes widened at the question. “I remember what you told me during our first team assignment, and I think I understand what’s going on, but still… I’d like to know… He was so cruel to you, and yet you…”

The green-haired boy remained silent, trying to organize his thoughts. He figured this wouldn't be the only time he'd have to answer that question, and he wanted to answer it as best he could. When Uraraka didn't get a response, she assumed she'd messed up.

“I’m sorry, Deku. I guess I shouldn’t have asked something so personal…”

“N-no, it’s okay, Uraraka. Actually, I understand your point of view.” The green-haired boy interrupted the girl. “You see, he and I…”

______________________________

At the same time, outside the building, two young people were chatting happily. An hour earlier they had been talking on their cell phones, but seeing that neither of them wanted to sleep, they decided to meet outside.

The boy was no longer wearing his hero costume; instead, he wore a Silver Age All Might jacket and black pants. Beside him stood Pop, listening to his latest adventure in the United States.

“Cap and I followed a pickpocket the other day. Apparently, his Quirk lets him increase the speed at which he moves any part of his body, and he was using it to steal.” The boy narrated excitedly. “The guy ran into an alley to try and escape us. However, we split up to surround him, and then…”

They were both happy to see each other again. Although they made arrangements to talk on the phone or video chat every week, nothing compared to being together in person. And that's why they were grateful for this opportunity to reconnect and, of course, to talk again with old friends and acquaintances.

______________________________

A few hours earlier

“I’m glad that what I saw was enough to convince you, Director Nezu.” The time traveler exclaimed as he and his companion stepped out of the portal that had transported them to the theater.

“I appreciate you agreeing to bring everyone involved here as soon as possible.” The chimera glanced around the place. “Then, this is where we’ll see what awaits us.”

“Correct, Director. Very well, let’s begin.” Paradox exclaimed, checking his pocket watch. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll start with the three special cases.”

Having said this, Paradox suddenly disappeared, only to return a few seconds later with Koichi from America.

“Wow, I didn’t think the trip would be instantaneous.” Murmured the American hero.

“I’m more surprised that you accepted so readily.” Paradox replied with a smile. “Anyway, I’d like to introduce you to the principal of UA, Nezu.” He turned his gaze to the chimera. “Nezu, this is Koichi Haimawari, also known as Skycrawler, a hero in America.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. It’s a pleasure to have heroes from abroad.” However, this worried the director; he hadn’t expected that the threat they were about to face would force them to ask for outside help.

“Likewise, director.” Exclaimed the boy

As they greeted each other, Paradox brought in the next person summoned. “Welcome, Miss Haneyama. This is the place…”

“Koichi?!” “Pop?!” Both shouted, interrupting the time traveler as they both ran towards each other to greet each other.

“I’m so glad to see you again, Pop” The young man exclaimed, smiling, and threw his arms around the girl.

“Likewise, silly.” She murmured, her cheeks slightly flushed. She hadn't expected to see the boy who had stolen her heart so long ago again. Much less receive such a sudden hug. “…Koichi”

"Huh? Oh, sorry." The boy whispered, letting go of her immediately. He looked at her face again and felt a pang of pain when he saw the medical bandage she was wearing, somewhat similar to when he looked in the mirror and saw the scar on his face.

While the lovebirds greeted each other, without taking their eyes off one another, Paradox made the proper introductions to the director, who didn't quite understand how a civilian who clearly knew Haimawari could be of any help.

They finally parted ways, just in time for another portal to open. Paradox returned with another guest, who did not go unnoticed by either of them.

"Master?" “Old man?”

“Koichi? Pop?” The masked man said, genuinely surprised to see them both. “So, this was the surprise, Paradox.”

“You have to admit, that was a pleasant surprise.” The time traveler replied as the two boys approached to formally greet the eldest member of their former group. “Principal Nezu, I’d like to introduce you to…” The old man cleared his throat. "...Knuckleduster. Vigilante in Naruhata."

"So, you're the director of UA? You'll have to excuse me for not revealing my name, but I prefer to keep it secret for personal reasons."

“I understand.” Although that secret may not last long…

“Master, are you still doing vigilante work?” The worried young man exclaimed. His master was a tough nut to crack, but since the injury to his leg, he was clearly not in his best shape to continue.

“Yes, old man, why didn’t you tell us anything? I know we hardly ever talk, but this is something you should have told us.” The girl growled, arms crossed.

"You're worried about me, huh? No need, I take my precautions."

“I’m sorry to interrupt your meeting, but the director and I will begin bringing in the rest of the guests. You already know several of them, and I know that at least one of them won’t be very happy to see you. So, I understand if you want to keep your distance…” Turning his gaze to the director, he continued. “Let’s begin…”

______________________________

As the boy finished telling his story, the wind blew fiercely near them. The girl instinctively hugged herself, shivering with cold, which did not go unnoticed by Koichi. Without saying a word, the boy took off his jacket and placed it over the girl's shoulders.

The pink-haired girl thanked him; she'd never tell the boy, but she'd always found All Might's jackets quite comfortable. Although this one in particular seemed familiar…

“Wait… This is the one I gave you at the hospital, right?” The girl said, quite surprised.

The boy blushed slightly and scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Yes, that's it. I just thought it would be appropriate to use the last gift you gave me..."

Of course, this idiot would do something like that. The young woman complained, feeling her heart race. It had been a long time since I'd felt like this, two years to be exact…

“I didn’t think you’d keep it…”

“Of course, it’s the only memory I have of my time in Naruhata…” The boy replied, still blushing. “…And of you.”

Before either of them could analyze what the other had said, they heard screams coming from the residences.

“Maybe we should check if something happened?” Pop asked, grateful that something interrupted… whatever was going on here.

“You’re right. I don’t remember the lights being on before.” The boy got up from the grass and offered her his hand to help her up.

______________________________

“…And I think that would be all.” The green-haired boy finished explaining. He felt strange after talking for so long about something he didn't fully understand, but at the same time, he felt some relief at talking about it with someone for the first time in his life.

“I see.” The girl exclaimed thoughtfully. “It’s exactly what I imagined, at least on your part. But none of that justifies everything he’s done to you all this time.” The girl was becoming more and more certain of why things between them had ended this way, but she wasn’t sure if she should be the one to tell her friend or if it would be better for him to figure it out for himself…

“I can’t deny that… But I don’t like to think about it; I prefer to leave it in the past.” The boy replied, pulling her from her thoughts. “Our relationship is… strange.”

“Yes, almost as much as your relationship with Mr. Yagi.” The girl smiled mockingly, causing the boy to jump and shake his head as hard as he could.

“I-it’s not what you think, Uraraka.” The boy stammered, waving his hands in denial. “He and I are…” The girl’s laughter interrupted him again. The intrusive thought that he liked hearing her laugh more and more crossed his mind, increasing his nervousness and making him blush slightly.

“I’m sorry.” The girl replied, laughing softly. “I just wanted to distract you. I didn’t think talking about All Might would make you more nervous. Relax, Deku, if you say he’s not your father, I believe you.” The girl winked in complicity as the boy let out a low grunt, making the girl laugh, and that he even finds the situation funny..

Todoroki. You and your theories…

The girl finally stopped laughing; exhaustion was evident on both their faces, but honestly, they both wanted to talk a little longer, they just didn't know what about, until the brunette remembered something. "Well, you wanted to say something too. Didn't you, Deku?"

“Oh, yeah, that…” The boy sighed. He really didn’t want to ask her, mainly because it was silly to doubt the girl who had supported him since the day he met her. But the part of him that grew up without friends needed to know the truth.

“Uraraka… would you still be my friend even if I didn’t have a Quirk?” The boy murmured.

The girl gasped in surprise. She didn't have time to ask the boy why he was asking because the lights in the room suddenly turned on, forcing both of them to close their eyes because of the change in lighting.

“I know it’s been a tough day for everyone, especially for you two, but that’s no excuse for being up at this hour.” A voice growled in front of them, startling them in the process. This time, neither of them could stifle the scream they both let out when they met Eraserhead’s annoyed glare. The hero carried a book in his left hand and his iconic sleeping bag in his right.

“P-professor, what are you doing up at this hour?” Ochako asked nervously.

"Have you been here in the room for long?" Deku asked, equally nervous.

"I'm usually on patrol at this time; it's when I'm most awake. And no, I just got here. But don't change the subject; you need to go and rest immediately."

“Yes, Professor.” They both said at the same time. Izuku grabbed the girl’s hand and began to quickly lead her toward the elevator. Or at least he would have if the building’s main door hadn’t burst open and two people hadn’t rushed in.

“Is everyone alright?” The hero of Naruhata asked.

“We heard screams.” Pop said, looking perplexed at the two of them holding hands, while Eraser glared at them with annoyance.

Great, now this… “It’s nothing. I just found two students from my class awake at this hour.” Approaching Naruhata’s pair, he covered his mouth to hide the mocking smile that formed as he thought of a way to annoy the former vigilantes. “Probably doing the same thing as you.” Pop blushed furiously and covered her cheeks with both hands in an effort to keep everyone from noticing, while Koichi remained confused and chose to say nothing. Turning his gaze back to his students, he continued his scolding. “You’re both heading to your rooms to sleep now, right?”

They both nodded sheepishly, turned around, and started walking.

“Midoriya!” The dark-haired man exclaimed, immediately stopping the couple. “While your chivalry in escorting Uraraka safely to her dorm is admirable, I want you back in ten minutes or less.”

This caused them both to let go of each other, their faces flushing furiously. Without looking at each other, they wished each other goodnight and went to their respective elevators.

“W-we’re going to sleep too.” Pop stuttered as an excuse, giving Koichi a ‘gentle’ nudge in the ribs to make sure he got the message.

“Yes, that’s it. Rest, Eraser.” The young man mumbled as he caught his breath.

Eraser glanced at them as each headed to their respective wing and noticed something interesting. Nemuri will love this…

“Haneyama… I thought Crawler was the only one who wore those jackets.” He said with a mocking smile. “I didn’t know you were an All Might fan.”

They both blushed, but neither stopped and they continued on their way. Great, now I have to deal with lovestruck teenagers and young adults. Shota thought as he placed his sleeping bag on the sofa recently occupied by the 'future Midoriya couple,' got inside, and settled down to read for a while, hoping to fall asleep soon.

______________________________

09:00 am

The light streaming through the window was starting to bother Midoriya. He pulled his blanket over himself so he could go back to sleep. It seemed like he would manage it, until someone knocked on his door. The green-haired boy rubbed his eyes and got up to open the door, finding the class representative there.

"Good morning, Midoriya, sorry to wake you up, but Paradox has finished making breakfast and asked me to bring in everyone who wasn't awake yet."

The green-eyed boy yawned as he rubbed his eyes. "G-good morning, Iida. I'll be right there." With that, his friend headed for the elevator. Izuku closed the door and quickly got ready for the curious day ahead. Once downstairs, he saw that he was the last one to arrive.

“Good morning, young Midoriya.” Paradox greeted him from the large table where the adults were sitting. “I left your breakfast on the table in the back. Your friends are waiting for you.”

The boy thanked him and, as he headed towards the table where Iida and Shoto were sitting, briefly greeted everyone at the other tables. Paradox tapped his glass with a spoon, drawing everyone's attention.

“Now that we’re all here, I want to let you know what the schedule will be like while you’re here. We’ll watch three episodes each morning and another three each afternoon, for a total of six episodes a day. This way, you’ll have time to analyze and rest properly between episodes. However, there may be changes if the situation warrants it.” Seeing that no one objected, he decided to continue. “That said, the rest of the time is yours to train, rest, explore the place, or do the activities your teachers have suggested. I hope you enjoy breakfast. When everyone has finished, we’ll meet in front of the theater to begin the tour.”

Despite Paradox's words, the atmosphere at the adult table was tense. The hateful glares Endeavor directed at Yagi and the secrecy surrounding Yagi, Tsukauchi, Torino, and Sir didn't help matters. Even Naruhata's trio preferred to sit at another table to avoid being under the watchful eye of the number two hero.

“Is it just me, or does the atmosphere feel a little heavy?” Mic whispered, earning himself an elbow from Aizawa.

“Mic, this situation is already weird enough. You don’t need to state the obvious.” Shota replied with a sigh. “I’ll have enough to deal with just the talk we’re going to have later with Bakugo and Midoriya.”

______________________________

Later, as they finished breakfast, each of them carried their plates and glasses to the kitchen. Deku and Ochako bumped into each other on the way there. They smiled happily and continued on their way, until they realized that Aizawa and Mic were behind them. Leaving everything in the kitchen, they quickly left, a slight blush forming on their cheeks, which did not go unnoticed by the two teachers.

“Why did they get nervous when they saw you?” Mic asked.

Rolling his eyes, Aizawa summarized what had happened in the early morning.

"That explains why I found you sleeping in the living room. Damn, now I owe Thirteen, Midnight, and Yagi money."

"What do you mean?"

“Very simple.” Nemuri replied from behind them, having listened for quite some time. “Mic bet that the first couple of the first years would be from Vlad’s group.”

“Do you use my students and Vlad’s students to gamble?” Aizawa asked, genuinely perplexed; he had never heard of his colleagues doing that.

“Not just the hero course students. It’s all the first-year students.” Nemuri clarified. “We never included you because you’d say it’s silly to bet on something as illogical as teenage love.” Nemuri replied with a mocking little smile.

“And I lose every year.” Mic replied dejectedly. “I think Thirteen is cheating.”

“How could she cheat? It’s illogical.” Shota grumbled.

"The betting starts after the first exams. That way we can get to know them better and have an idea of ​​which group to bet on. And Kurose told me something he overheard during Aoyama and Uraraka's exam."

“See, Sho, it is possible to cheat!” Mic shouted. “So, is it certain that both listeners are…”

“Perhaps.” Nemuri said, offering no further explanation. “And thank you for the information about the other couple you found early this morning, Aizawa. I’ll put that information to good use tonight.” The mischievous smile that spread across Nemuri’s face was beginning to worry both teachers.

Forgive me Haneyama, I think I've set you up.

Meanwhile, Bakugo and Kirishima, who had been alone at the table the whole time, watched as Izuku and Ochako fled at high speed. The furious glare the blond boy gave the green-haired boy as he left the kitchen did not go unnoticed by Eijiro.

"All good?"

"Damn, I wanted to ask the nerd something! But as long as he's with Roundface or someone else, I won't be able to talk to him."

“After what happened yesterday, I doubt they’ll give you the chance to be alone with him. And I think that’s for the best; there’s less chance of things getting worse for you.” Kirishima replied, worried about his friend’s situation.

“I don’t need you to tell me what to do.” Seeing that the redhead was struggling to say something, he added. “And I know I went too far with the nerd. I don’t need you to remind me.”

Surprised, the boy nodded. There's hope he'll get better. "So, what you really want to ask about is his power, right?"

Bakugo's surprised expression made Eijiro chuckle. The explosive boy sighed and nodded in agreement.

"Well, perhaps it's best to wait. Hopefully, we'll learn the truth in the next chapters."

For once, Spiky Hair is right. Bakugo sighed in defeat.

“Are you going to tell me your theory?” Seeing the explosive boy’s annoyed face, he hesitated about whether to press him, but curiosity won out. “Don’t worry, if it turns out to be wrong, I won’t tell anyone.”

He won't leave me alone until I tell him. "Fineeeee." Katsuki grumbled. "But don't tell anyone, because if I'm right, the matter is more delicate than it seems." The redhead rolled his eyes at his friend's exaggeration but listened attentively to what he was saying.

______________________________

With 10 minutes to go before the agreed-upon time, everyone was already inside the movie theater. At the soda fountain, a couple of robots, very similar to those from UA, acted as employees of the place, delivering popcorn, sodas, hot dogs and other food that the others requested.

“Guys, form an orderly line.” Requested the class representative, who was wearing his UA uniform.

“Iida, it wasn’t necessary to come in uniform. This isn’t a school activity.” Aizawa said.

In line, everyone was talking about the places they'd seen on the tour, like the bookstore full of books that told stories of other worlds, the arcade packed with retro video games and consoles they could take to their dorms. There were the swimming pool and the courts for soccer, volleyball, basketball, and other sports. And the gym, which few had ever been to before, could be adapted for different workouts on the first floor, and the second floor had all kinds of machines.

Izuku, for his part, was very nervous. Making friends was the best thing that had happened to him since coming to his dream school, and he still had this silly fear of losing them when they found out the truth about his power. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice when his mentor approached and placed a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of support. It almost seemed as if he were reading his mind.

"Young Midoriya, I doubt that what we see today will change anything about your friends. But know that no matter what happens, I'll be by your side."

The boy almost burst into tears, overwhelmed by the immense support his mentor was giving him. In response, the boy nodded energetically and thanked him.

Once inside, everyone sat in their ‘assigned seats’, waiting for what would come next.

“Alright, let’s begin with chapter three.” Paradox announced, kicking off the morning’s round of chapters.