Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The dog stood, it's wounds numerous, blood soaked and caked into its fur as it stood on shaky paws. The chain that tied it to the tree thick and heavy around its neck.

Is this what you want? Nature asked. The dogs wounds ached and screamed, as if coming alive to tear through its flesh.

'No.' the dog responded. 'But I will bear this weight regardless. These are my wounds to suffer.'

And if there was another way? A way to heal those sores that scream, to stop the mangling of your flesh from the scars and infection?

The dog paused. The wind howled, it's wounds cried, and the chain grew heavier.

I can show you a way, Nature said. I can show you how to rid yourself of that chain, how to heal you. How to make this right.

Izuku could barely contain his excitement. For the longest time, He'd always had two favorite heroes. All Might was his most obvious, his room was covered head to toe in All Might merch, he had several notebooks worth of notes and logs of his fights (which is actually quantifiable. He ended up typing up all his previous notes from his old notebooks and found that he was able to fill enough pages on All Might to fill a whole notebook and a half) and, he was Izuku's mentor.

Izuku did, however, also have another favorite hero. While he wasn't the most popular per-se, he was still in the top 20 charts, both world-wide and in Japan.

Fullmetal, the Century Hero. Despite his popularity, he never did interviews, and rarely allowed commercialized merchandise. All the Fullmetal merchandise Izuku had were made by hand and sold out of small businesses. There was one line of commercialized shirts that Fullmetal had allowed, and it was a gimmick shirt that had a cartoon version of Fullmetal on the front with a big thumbs up that read "I CONDONE GOVERNMENTAL DECONSTRUCTION" and on the back read "KICK ME!"

That line of shirts was shut down after 2 days. Izuku would pay an arm and a leg for one of those shirts, which is about as much as they cost now.

Truthfully, the only reason why Fullmetal didn't get in trouble was because he was immune to it due to his status- he was born before most government facilities were rebuilt after the quirk war, and his help with saving civilians and rebuilding- practically everywhere- made him the symbol of the people, and there had been riots in the past when people had found out that he was charged for quirk misconducts while helping save a family. After that, he was granted a hero license, but more than that, He was the hero of the people. He wasn't the symbol of peace- not like All Might, but he was known not for his massive feats of strength (of which he had many) but instead for his civilian work.

He was known to help hunt down simple purse snatchers, help animals out of trees, help find missing persons, assist people with anything they needed help with. he reportedly ran errands for people, helped transport goods between businesses, and made a point to only promote small businesses on his platforms. He didn't post anything else- well, that wasn't true. He also posted pictures of stray cats he happened upon.

No one knew where he lived- many suspected Germany, as he spoke the language and had a fairly notable german accent, but his time in the country was about as even as it was everywhere else. He was a wanderer, most people not knowing where he'll show up next. One day he could be in China, the next in Mexico. Due to this nature he was dubbed "the wandering hero" along with his many other titles.

All of this to say, he was not expecting two people to walk into the room for their first Heroics class.

"I AM COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!!!" All Might exclaimed, bursting into the room like an explosion of beaming light that instantly awed the kids in class- including Izuku.

All Might was their heroics teacher! Holy shit! Izuku wanted to faint. Toshinori told him that he would still be able to teach and help Izuku with his quirk, but he wasn't expecting it to happen like this!

Quickly following behind All Might was a teenager, shorter than some of the kids in class and was around Izuku's height, though he immediately spotted the inch tall soles on the kid's shoes, which meant that he was probably about Uraraka's height. He wore a button up shirt with a black vest and slacks, with some rather informal high soled shoes. He had bright golden hair pulled back into a braid with curtain bangs that framed his face, and matching golden eyes that pierced through his bangs easily. His skin was tanned, making the sunlight that shimmered in through the window make him look all the more radiant. Despite the frown etched on his face, he looked young- about as young as the rest of the class.

Iida raised his hand upon seeing the boy at All Might's side. All Might, who had just finished his initial speech about the heroics course, pointed to Iida and asked what his question was.

"All Might sensei, I was not under the impression we were receiving a transfer student so early in the year- and he isn't wearing his uniform!" Iida pointed out. The kid next to All Might scowled further, about to snap when All Might beat him to it.

"I was just getting to that, young Iida!" He sounded almost- upset? It was hidden well under his usual mask of enthusiasm, but Izuku had been around the guy for nearly a whole year, he could tell that he sounded upset about something. "This is your second heroics teacher, Fullmetal!" He announced, and there was a certain enthusiasm to the way he introduced the boy that left Izuku slack-jawed.

For more than one reason.

"THAT'S FULLMETAL!?" The entire class burst into hysterics, gawking and screaming at the absurdity of it all. The boy, Fullmetal- holy shit it was THE Fullmetal- looked at All Might and raised an eyebrow in irritation.

"Can't even let me introduce myself?" He asked, a slight sarcastic tone in his voice, and All Might scratched the back of his neck in a display of embarrassment. The class hit another wave of sheer insanity.

"Sorry…" All Might said quietly, and Fullmetal rolled his bright gold eyes, before stepping forward.

"All right, SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN!" he barked loudly. It was the kind of voice that made everyone snap to attention and sit still- almost like a military commander, Izuku noted dully. He was practically shaking in excitement. Fullmetal huffed, and a smirk crossed his face.

"This class is joint run by me and To-" Izuku's heart leapt to his throat in fear, and Fullmetal seemed to catch himself quickly. "All Might. He will mostly be focusing on training your quirks in combat situations, while I will be helping you train your bodies." There was a few groans and whines throughout the student body, but Fullmetal huffed. "Your quirks aren't the only thing you have at your disposal! To train the mind, one also must train the body, and the same goes for your quirks! If you're hit with or stuck with something that nullifies your quirk, and you don't have any other fighting style to fall back on, you'll die on the field before you can even hit your thirties!" He practically growled that last bit, and quickly shut the quiet complaints up.

All Might looked like he wanted to interrupt Fullmetal, or advise him to be a little nicer, but he kept his mouth shut. It was such a strange sight- the symbol of peace, the number one hero, shutting up and letting some foul mouthed kid run his class.

Except, it wasn't just 'Some foul mouthed kid', it was Fullmetal, the hero whose been alive for nearly 300 years. It made his head reel. Izuku felt like he was going to faint.

"Alright no more dilly-dallying, get your hero clothes on and get to Gym Gamma!" He barked orders again, and everyone scrambled to the far wall to grab their costumes.

Stepping into gym Gamma was surreal. Fullmetal had changed from his more 'casual' attire and into his hero outfit. It was black chunky combat boots with leather pants, a black undershirt, a leather jacket, and a red overcoat with a strange symbol on the back. His head was completely covered by a helmet, which looked like some gothic mix between a biker and old knight armour. His gauntlets had a fabric lining the inside, though it looked more rough and uncomfortable than he had expected from photos and videos.

This was how he had kept himself from the public eye for so long. He didn't give them any hints. This fact was only accentuated by the fact that his mask had a voice changer.

"I can tell you brats have a lot of questions. I'll let you all ask me a few, but we have to get started with our class soon- and I have the right to skip over questions or not answer." He said, and everyone in class raised their hand. Fullmetal sighed and ran his hands down the front of his helmet. He pointed randomly at a student.

"What's your quirk!" Mina asked, and Fullmetal huffed.

"I have two. One of them is manipulation of matter, the other is immortality- as you can guess." He said curtly, and whispers immediately broke out. He pointed to another kid.

"How do your quirks work? How come you have 2 quirks?" Sero asked, and Fullmetal grumbled.

"That's two questions." He stated, before moving on, leaving Sero downfallen.

"Why don't you ever do interviews?" Kaminari asked, and Fullmetal shrugged.

"I'd like to keep my personal and professional life separate. Plus, that way I don't have to worry about public image if I accidentally say something without thinking. I also find the fact that heroes are regarded as celebrities kind of stupid, and misses the entire point of being a hero in the first place." Several people's hands shot down, and whispers broke out again. Momo's hand shot up again.

"You with the ponytail."

"May you elaborate on what you mean by 'missing the point of being a hero?'" she asked, and he nodded.

"I will- however, I'll do it after the questions, cause it leads into what we'll be doing today." He said, and she nodded and lowered her hand.

Next up was Mineta. "Do you have a girlfriend?" He asked, and Fullmetal paused. Izuku could almost feel the incredulous look Fullmetal was giving from under his helmet.

"Kid, I'm stuck looking like I'm 16, and I'm nearly 300 years old. Dating anyone who looks like they're my age would be gross, and anyone that would want to date ME would have to deal with the fact that I look like a teenager. I want you to take a wild guess." There was a collective, sympathetic cringe at the idea, and Fullmetal Huffed. "Yeah, I thought so."

"Why don't you sell any merchandise?" Hagakure asked, and Fullmetal chuckled.

"Well, I did at one point, but the hero commission didn't like it and had it taken down. Other than that, I mostly just let small businesses make merchandise for me. I don't like the idea of letting big companies mooch off my image, so if I can help out family businesses, I will." There was a mixed reaction to the information, some a little confused or frustrated, and others (including Izuku) found it more charming.

"Alright that's enough questions! Honestly I'm surprised none of you asked All Might any." He grumbled, and All Might Shrugged.

"It's because he does interviews and you don't." Someone in the back explained, and Fullmetal huffed.

"Well maybe that's the reason why! ANYWAYS! All Might," he prompted, and All Might straightened himself and cleared his throat.

He began to explain the premise of their class work today- mock simulations in city environments. Everyone will be split in teams of 2, the villain team will have a hostage bomb, and the heroes need to touch the bomb or capture the villains.

All Might paused at the end of his speech, nodding towards Fullmetal, who stepped forward again. "Both to start you all off and to answer Momo's question, the whole point of today is to cause as little damage to the city as possible. As a hero, your job isn't to be famous, isn't to look good, nor is it to be the best. Your job is to help people- save people- and that's the only reason why your job exists in the first place." He explained, before speaking something in an unrecognizable language. "That is a quote that my teacher drilled into my head when I started working under her. 'Hero, Be Thou For The People.'

"You are being given the power to use your quirks as you'd like, which isn't a privilege most of the people around you have. Because of this, your services and quirk should be used to help the people around you- regardless of how 'glorifying' it is. The amount of times I've helped repair roofs, doors, windows, sidewalks, or helped people carry home groceries, retrieve keys from cars, or walked people home at night far outweighs the amount of villains I've fought.

"That is the essence of being a hero. How many people would have had to move, or would have gotten sick from the weather had I not repaired their homes? How many people would have been targeted had I not been able to walk them home at night? It doesn't matter how fancy or public it is, helping people is your job. That should be all that matters as a Hero." He lectured, and the class was completely enraptured. All Might was practically beaming at the speech, and it suddenly occurred to Izuku that- because of how long Fullmetal has been around, there's a very likely chance that All Might was inspired by him.

"So," he started again. "As a reiteration of your job in class today, you will be doing mock battles in a city-scape while trying not to destroy the city. There are people inside these buildings going about their lives, and you must be conscious of the fact that many people could get hurt by the destruction of property- or could even become a casualty. While there aren't any actual people here, keep the idea that there are in your head. Are we clear?" He said, and the class gave an affirmative 'yes'.

Edward watched the current fight closely. It was the first matchup- Uraraka and Midoriya against Iida and Bakugou. One was a team made in heaven- Uraraka and Midoriya easily being able to work together and strategise, and the other was made in hell, mostly on Bakugou's part.

'He's got some serious anger issues, Ed.' Alphonse said, his voice loud and clear in Edward's mind.

'Yeah, I can see that.' Ed responded, watching Bakugou stalk through the building angrily. This was going to end up a disaster.

'Ironic, considering you used to stalk around my office with that same ugly scowl on your face.' Mustang chuckled, and Ed had to keep a tight control on the muscles in his face to not start mimicking the student on screen.

'SHUT UP! I was never THIS bad!'

'My point proven exactly.' Edward proceeded to block out the noise in his head as he watched the screen. Hearing any more of the Colonels voice would give him irreparable brain damage.

The kid was a strange mix of sloppy and experienced. It was clear he worked out and kept up on his physical fighting, but any time he tracked down and tried to fight Midoriya, it was as if he kept expecting the boy to just stand there and take it. A perfect example of why proper sparring is so important.

'the great Edward Elric, a true teacher at heart. To think that you've changed so much from just a day of work! If only the years in the office instilled the habit of doing paperwork in you.' he heard Riza affectionately tease, and his eye twitched.

'You guys are insufferable.' he grumbled internally, watching the monitor closely.

Things seemed to be coming to a very violent head with a lot of shouting, Bakugou very clearly hunting down Midoriya, and very aggressively at that. They both seemed exhausted, but as soon as Bakugou's hands went towards his larger gauntlet, Edward knew something was wrong.

"My gauntlets store the extra sweat I secrete from my gloves!" Bakugou's voice crackled through the earpiece, and Edward shot a look at All Might, who seemed frozen and unsure. "As soon as I pull this pin, it'll let loose everything that's been building up!" The poor camera quality of the monitor obstructed the view a little, but Edward could clearly see the manic grin on the student's face.

Panic welled inside him like a tsunami, so many voices crying out in worry- too many things were going to go wrong, the building could destabilize! The kid would surely get burned to a crisp! There's no way it wouldn't affect Bakugou, either!- Edward gripped his gloves tightly as he scowled, thankful his helmet kept his face obscured.

"BAKUGOU!" He yelled through the earpiece, and judging by the flinches from the other kids, it was louder than he had hoped. "Do NOT pull that trigger! Your gauntlets count as LETHAL FORCE against an enemy, something that is STRICTLY PROHIBITED DURING THIS CLASS! not only that but you will end up destabilizing the building and likely CRUSHING you and your peers!" He attempted to stress, and Bakugou seemed to hesitate, before leaning into his stance.

"If I don't hit him he won't die." He growled, before pulling the trigger.

Edward had to keep himself from doubling over as the screams in his head tripled, watching the explosion shake all of the cameras in the building, and seeing it blow a hole through the wall. He could feel his heart rate spike from the fear and adrenaline suddenly coursing through him. He tried to quiet the voices, shutting his eyes and listing the elements to block them out.

To say he was pissed was an understatement. As soon as the voices quieted and their fear wasn't overriding his senses, anger rose through him, boiling his blood as his teeth clenched. He had half a mind to go down to the training station and drag the kid out by his hair.

All Might shot him a look, and he straightened his back, and took a deep breath. He had to hold in his anger just a little longer. All Might gestured to the screen, and Edward watched as Midoriya used his quirk, not only forcing Bakugou into an incapacitated state, but allowing for Uraraka to acquire the bomb.

Once it was declared that the heroes won, Edward turned and stalked through the building halls and out onto the mock street, towards the building.

He followed behind the nursing bots, looking at the damages up close. The building was- no doubt- close to destabilizing. It seemed that most of the internal structures were still sound, but there was also massive holes in the walls and the ceiling caved in. The souls seemed to roll in displeasure and worry, some more angry- like him- and others more worried and scared. He looked down at the group outside the building, Midoriya being taken away by the stretcher as Uraraka and Iida talked.

Bakugou was standing closer to the building, with a strange, almost shell shocked look on his face. Edward took off his helmet, clenching it in one hand as he moved forward.

"BAKUGOU!" He roared, the anger that had been building inside him bursting as he neared the group. Uraraka and Iida jumped, and quickly moved out of the way. Bakugou just seemed surprised, eyes wide and mouth agape like a fish out of water.

"What the HELL were you thinking!?" He asked, and Bakugou seemed to just become more confused, if not a bit uneasy. "I told you not to use your weapons that deal LETHAL FORCE within a closed environment and you went DIRECTLY against my orders!" he stepped forward, and Bakugou leaned back.

"You are in the HERO COURSE." Edward emphasized, pointing a finger at Bakugou's chest. "You may have been playing the villain, but you are learning to be a hero. You are only as good as your will, and if you keep using your will to unrightfully maim your classmates I will fucking expel you." Edward growled out that last part, which seemed to shock Bakugou out of his stupor. He went pale, and while anger clearly flashed through him, he did well in keeping it under control. "Am I clear?"

"Yes sir." Bakugou ground out. Edward nodded, before turning to the building.

"Head back to the main control room, I need to fix this mess."

The rest of the class period went on rather uneventfully. Groups would go down, they'd fight, a team would win. The only notable incident after Bakugou and Midoriya was the fiasco with Yaoyorozu and Mineta.

As soon as they got down to ground floor, Mineta started acting weird and gross, and clung to the poor girl's leg. Edward felt nausea well in his stomach in time with the wave of discomfort and anger coming from the others. "Mineta, get your hands off of Yaoyorozu. Now." He ordered, and Mineta grumbled.

"But- but I'm scared! Momo's helping me!" He cried over the headset, and Edward wanted to drop kick him.

"If you're that fucking scared, I'm expelling you, cause clearly the hero course is not fit for you." And suddenly the kid popped off the girl's leg within an instant. He still felt gross even just watching the kid, especially when he moved to stand behind Yaoyorozu. "Mineta. You will lead into the building." He commanded.

"What!? You never gave anyone else orders like this!" He complained, and All Might rested a hand on Edward's shoulder. Good thing, too, cause otherwise Edward would have gone down there and beaten the kid black and blue.

"Maybe if you weren't a slimy little creep, I wouldn't have to order you around!" He snapped, and Mineta visibly deflated, before moving in front of Yaoyorozu, who seemed to relax.

Edward rubbed a hand down his uncovered face, silently hoping that he'll have enough strength to deal with this bullshit every day.

Shortly after heroics, the kids had Lunch. Edward was making his way through the halls with his own lunch in hand when he was stopped by Yaoyorozu and a few of the other girls.

"Mr. Fullmetal!" Edward turned around, watching the group of three catch up to him. Yaoyorozu bowed in from of him, before standing straight and looking down to meet his eyes. "I apologize for interrupting your lunch, but I wanted to thank you for earlier!" She said, and the girls next to her nodded.

"Yeah, Mineta is weird." Tsuyu croaked. Jirou nodded, quietly playing with her earlobe jacks.

Edward nodded, and gave them a smile. He could feel the souls roll around with a mix of emotions, some angry at the mention of the little twerp, some astonished they felt the need to apologize, and some more worried for the girls and how they were doing. "Don't worry about it. People like him piss me off, it's nice to be able to actually do something. If he bothers you guys more or does something out of line, tell me, alright?" He said, and the three nodded.

The three seemed to take that as dismissal, but Jirou hesitated, before turning back to Ed. "Um, about that sir, he was actually spying- or- attempting to spy on the other girls while we were changing. There's a hole in the wall between the locker rooms." She said, a bit quietly. The other girls paused and turned around, looking at Ed with a strange glint of hope.

Edward's blood boiled at the thought, the stone almost unanimously agreeing with him. He nodded gravely. "I'll see what I can do. I'll visit the boys locker room during my free hour and patch it over. Is that all you need?" He asked the last bit in a softer tone, trying to indicate that he wasn't angry at her.

"Actually, Mr. Fullmetal, I have a question." Tsuyu said, stepping closer. "What's your name? If you're comfortable telling us." She croaked, tilting her head to the side.

Edward paused. In the past, he didn't care much about telling the world his name. It didn't matter, he was still known mostly by "the Fullmetal alchemist" and his title proceeded him.

Now though, it meant getting targeted- even moreso than before. It would mean anyone he worked with or cared about would be at risk. This world was so much more different than his own. In Amestris, if you wanted to find someone you had to go through the excruciating process of finding their records in the first place. Here, though, you could pull out your phone and type a hero's full name into the search bar and find their home address within minutes.

It was terrifying, and he didn't want to deal with it. He sighed. "Well, what would I be getting out of telling you? Equivalent exchange and all that. A name for a pro hero can carry a lot of information and weight. I don't go throwing my name around for a reason." He explained, and the three girls considered this, before nodding.

"I see. I won't ask again, Mr. Fullmetal." She bowed, before smiling. "Thank you for helping us with Mineta."

Edward flashed her a grin. "Of course. I'm just doing what anyone should." He waved the three girls off, before turning to walk to the teachers lounge, food still in hand.

He was going to kill that stupid fucking kid.

The following day was extremely hectic. There was a massive mob of reporters outside the gates, blocking students from entering and even getting in the way of staff. Apparently, it had gotten out that All Might and Fullmetal were both working as teachers, and the press had gone mad.

Edward stared out the large glass window and sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. 'This is why I don't signal where I am.' he lamented.

'oh, don't be so full of yourself, Ed, you know that they aren't here JUST for you!' he heard Winry playfully scold in his head, and he couldn't help but scoff light-heartedly.

He continued to walk down the hall, coffee in one hand and the other in his pocket. He had a class to run soon, after all. God, what had his life come to- he was a teacher now…

He thought back to the offer Nedzu had sent him. How he got Edward's contact in the first place still eluded him, and the damn rat wouldn't tell him, but he trusted that the principal wouldn't leak it to anyone.

Edward, originally, didn't want to start working as a teacher. He didn't hate kids, some of them he couldn't stand, and high schoolers and middle schoolers tended to be the worst of the bunch, but he couldn't help but like them anyways. So many kids with bright ideas, so much energy and ambition, it was something too many adults lacked in their lives.

No, the reason he didn't want to teach was because of other things. While he didn't exactly look forward to having to wrangle squirrely teenagers, he mostly worried for his own inadequacy. He didn't know how to teach or coach, not really. There were plenty of people in the stone who did though, and while he would have been fine keeping his hands in the dirt, digging up as many underground villainous organizations as he could, many people in the stone wanted a change of pace.

He couldn't deny that it wasn't nice, being able to slow down for a little while. It had been a long, long time since he had a house of his own. Usually he just stayed at hotels or slept on trains like he used to in Amestris. He was moving around so often it wasn't worth it to own an apartment.

Now though, he had a job he had to plan around. He had a curriculum to make and follow- and while it wasn't as intensive as one for academics, he still needed to plan things ahead every night and figure out what areas to work on. Not only that, but he hasn't gotten to really work with the kids much one on one, yet. Their quirk studies were lead by All Might, after all, not him.

Today, though, he finally got to lead the class. He couldn't help but grin in anticipation.

Izuku already felt quite exhausted by the time their heroics period started up. He had gotten chosen for class rep, then there had been a breach in security during lunch (of which he almost got trampled over) but was able to get Iida to help direct everyone, and once they had gotten back from lunch he declared Iida as the new class rep.

Heroics period started up with a bang- literally. Fullmetal kicked the door open and barked at them to get their plain workout clothes and get to gym alpha. After scrambling to start, Izuku then had to deal with Mineta wailing incessantly about how the peephole in the changing rooms had been closed up.

He honestly looked forward to the physical training session. They finally got to work with Fullmetal! All Might was there was well, though he was off on the sidelines acting as supervision. Fullmetal stood in front of the class, arms crossed and stance wide, in full hero get up.

"ALRIGHT! Some rules for my portion of the class!" He started, voice booming from his helmet. 'Number 1! No quirk usage! If I see you using your quirk, I will dock you points and you will have to do double the amount of work you were ordered to do. Number 2! When I say do something, do it without question! Number 3! Keep your hands to yourself! The fact I even have to state this as a rule is utter-" he cursed in an unrecognizable language. "-And if I catch you either starting a fight or touching other students inappropriately, you have immediate detention! And finally, Number 4!" He paused, before letting out a deep, menacing chuckle that sent shivers down most of the kid's spines. "Be glad I'm legally not allowed to make the course worse than this."

The class went on with intense physical training, squats, pushups, jumping jacks, running, crunches, etc. it was a nonstop onslaught of physical labor. Izuku didn't find it particularly hard at first- All Might's 10 month training did wonders for him- but he got more and more exhausted as the training went on.

Then, about halfway through, Fullmetal started asking questions. At first it was simple math questions, but any student who didn't answer immediately had to drop and do 20 pushups. Then the questions started getting more and more strange, branching out into different topics- all of which were common knowledge, but still a bit strange. "Who is the number 13 hero in Japan?", "who is the current CEO of the Hero commission?", and "what was the recent biggest space shuttle launch" were some of the ones Izuku had to answer.

Some students struggled more than others, Kaminari, Mineta, and Tokoyami mostly, but there were others that excelled, like Todoroki, Bakugou, Iida, and Momo. As the questions went on, he found it easier and easier to clear his mind and answer, until around the 4/5th's mark of class, where he was starting to struggle from exhaustion.

"Full-" Kaminari huffed, running in place with the rest of the class. "Fullmetal Sensei, are the questions- are the questions really necessary?" He asked between puffs of labored breath.

Fullmetal paused in his stroll up and down the current line formation, before backing up a bit. "Would anyone like to guess as to why I would be drilling you questions during this exercise?" He asked, and Ojiro's hand went up. "Your name?"

"Mashirao Ojiro, sir. This is to help us train for thinking in battle, yes?" He answered, and Fullmetal nodded.

"Exactly correct. For the duration of this class and the following ones, I will be quizzing you on things- once we start getting into one on one sparring, you can send me a list of questions you might need help remembering for an upcoming exam, or questions from your homework. For class-wide exercises, I will be asking you more random, sporadic questions." He said, lazily pacing back and forth. "Additionally, as I will be asking sporadic questions, if you don't know the answer, say so. I will not punish you for not knowing the answer to something. This is to get you all to be quicker with your thought process, not punish you for lack of information. Is that clear?"

There was a resounding 'yes, Sensei!', and Fullmetal gave a small chuckle.

"Fullmetal Sensei-" Ashido huffed. "Shouldn't we have- I don't know- warmed up to uh- to this exercise?" She asked. She was one of the students that was doing better with the exercise, but it was clear that everyone- including Izuku and those that were excelling- were getting very tired.

Fullmetal tilted his head, as if pondering the question, before he laughed again. "Warm-up? You guys didn't complain about warming up yesterday, when we threw you into 2 v 2's! I need to get you all into top shape as quickly as possible, otherwise you're all going to really struggle from here on out. Just be glad you all don't have to deal with my old teacher." He let out a loud snort, shoulders shaking with laughter. "My quirk tutor threw me on an abandoned island with nothing but a knife at 8 years old and left me there for a month! After the month was up, I had to figure out her riddle, or otherwise she wouldn't even train me! Be glad I'm not allowed to follow in her footsteps!" He cackled, and Izuku and the rest of the class all looked at each other nervously. What the hell was this guy's problem… Even All Might, sitting on the bleachers of the gym, looked up at Fullmetal tensely, his smile seeming more like a grimace.

By the end of class, everyone was exhausted, thirsty, and thoroughly drenched in sweat. No one was happy, especially the less physically fit kids. "My bones feel like jello…" Kaminari whined, leaning against one of the lockers miserably.

"Oh, shut up. it wasn't that bad." Bakugou barked, though it was evident he was also tired, shown off in his obvious lack of aggression and low energy.

"I thought having Fullmetal as a teacher would be cool, and it is! But…" Kirishima winced, rubbing his shoulders. "Man, that was rough…"

"No kidding! AND we're going to have to do that every, what, 2 days?" Sero groaned, as did a few of the other boys.

The USJ field trip was something that, truthfully, Edward wasn't looking forward to. He had unceremoniously been placed in position to go as a replacement chaperone due to Toshinori's timer running up. He had been looking forward to being able to clock in to work and do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day except sit around, read in the library, and possibly check out the support classes. Unfortunately, god hates him with a passion.

'Could they be ANY louder?' Edward mused, a headache slowly creeping up on him from the mix of the rustling bus and the loud, rambunctious kids in the back.

"Mr. Fullmetal Sensei?" He felt a tap on his shoulder, which prompted him to look over the back of the bus seat. He was met with Uraraka's big brown eyes. He couldn't help but smile a little under his helmet, seeing the innocent wonder on her face. "Sorry to bother you, but I have a question."

"Yes?" He prompted, and she looked a bit nervous.

"Do you think you could um… help me with something?" She asked, and he nodded, prompting her further. "Uh- my hero outfit currently isn't really what I wanted, but I haven't been able to get in touch with the support classes. I don't know if they charge money for remaking suits, either." She looked embarrassed for asking for help, but Edward just shifted in his seat to face her better.

"What about it is bothering you in particular?" He asked.

"Well, it's really tight. I was originally going to have a looser jumpsuit- sort of like a space suit, or something that looks more like Midoriya's, but then they made it into a skin-tight suit. I was mostly fine with it- it's not what I want, but it's whatever- but then." She made a face, and got a bit quieter. "Mineta started looking at me weird." She said.

Edward nodded, anger rising in his chest like a vengeful wraith, but he kept himself calm when speaking aloud. "I'll see what I can do. For now, if he starts looking at you weird, just hide behind me." He said, and she nodded, smiling.

"Thank you Fullmetal Sensei!" She said, before turning back to her friends. Edward flipped out his phone, and began to text Aizawa furiously.

Aizawa's phone pinged, and he got it out quickly. He sent a raised eyebrow to Edward, before responding. 'no, you cannot harm a student. If he keeps this up, I'll expel him. I'm hoping that he has enough sense to stop.'

Edward nodded, before shoving his phone back into his pocket.

'I still think you should punt him out a window.' Winry spoke up, and Edward responded in kind.

'God, I wish I could.'

Edward's day kept getting worse and worse. After they got to the USJ, they were able to meet up with pro hero Thirteen. Unfortunately, not even 10 minutes into the explanation, the lights started to flicker, and something strange appeared in the middle of the building.

Edward glared at the flickering dark spot. "Thirteen, escort the kids out of the building." Edward demanded, turning towards the other two heroes as he talked. "Aizawa, you can either choose to help me fight, or help protect the kids, but choose now." He said. Aizawa nodded, turning to his students as he whistled for their attention.

"Everyone, get out of the building! There are unknown intruders inside, leave as quickly but as efficiently and safely as possible!" As he began to corral his students, Edward rushed forward, running down the steps two at a time to be able to reach the plaza quickly.

He glared at the villains that came through the dark spot- a portal of some kind, no doubt. Perhaps a wormhole? It didn't matter at the moment, what mattered was the fact that there were villains infiltrating the school grounds.

"Fullmetal?" A scratchy, dry voice called out. Edward's eyes were drawn to the man in the middle of the group, with pale blue hair, dry and cracking skin, and severed hands clinging to him. "This wasn't the hero we were expecting…" his bright red eyes pierced through the distance, and Ed could see them narrow. The villain moved to start scratching at his neck. "No, no, this wasn't the fight we were supposed to be having just yet. We're under leveled…" he began to mutter, and Edward could just barely hear the last bit before his muttering got too quiet to parce out.

Edward waited, looking over the large group of villains that had come out of the shifting portal. Finally, it had been a while since he really got to fight. He could feel the itch of combat under his skin as he waited for the first attack.

With the final signal from blue hair (who he quickly clocked as their leader) the hoard of villains rushed forward.

While Aizawa and Thirteen struggled to get the doors to the USJ open, Izuku took this chance to watch Fullmetal fight. It was one thing to see it briefly on TV or to watch security footage of it posted online, and it was another to see it in person.

It seemed like Izuku could hear every clap of his hands resonating through the USJ, the crackling of electricity vibrating through the air from yards and yards away. It was entrancing, watching the way the ground moved to Fullmetal's whim, watching him dodge and weave each attack before returning the favor tenfold. There was a single instance where a villain caught up to him, and Izuku's heart lept to his throat, seeing the villain take off Fullmetal's left hand

But in a flash of red, crackling electricity, it was back, though now lacking the glove. It didn't seem to slow Fullmetal down even a little, as he kept plowing through the villains.

It felt as if something was calling him. He didn't know what it was, but even with the commotion going on behind him, he could feel the pull every time Fullmetal used his quirk, could feel that sting of electricity every time his hands connected with the ground, every time the ground moved and shifted to his will. Like a tunnel vision that seemed to pull harder and harder with each passing minute, curiosity and wonder guiding him along. It felt different than his usual quirk fixation, like seeing a tool that was being offered for him to use, not just look at and analyze. There was a flow, a push and pull to every move, the ground dipping and bending with each spike made, and he couldn't help but feel the need to know, to want to learn and understand.

"IZUKU!" His trance was broken with a cry of his name, right before he was enveloped in darkness, and began to fall.

After defeating the villains on the boat, Izuku, Tsuyu, and Mineta made their way towards the center of the USJ, which by this point was all misshapen rubble in the wake of Fullmetal's quirk usage.

Izuku kept his head down as he watched the ongoing fight. "Tsuyu, Mineta, do you guys think you could make it to the front by going around?" He asked quietly.

Mineta was already leaving by the time he finished, but Tsuyu stayed behind. "Midoriya, are you sure that you want to stay behind? Shouldn't we leave the fighting to Fullmetal?" She croaked out her question, and Izuku hesitated.

He, truthfully, wanted to get closer, wanted to see Fullmetal's quirk up close. Something about it was calling to him, something deep in his chest he couldn't place. Their current hiding spot, as shitty as it was, was a perfect spot to watch Fullmetal fight. However, he didn't really want to risk getting hurt just so that he can watch someone fight, and Fullmetal didn't even seem tired yet.

"I don't want to get involved, but what if something goes wrong? I don't have a lot of control over my quirk right now, but it's still powerful." He said quietly, attempting to justify his decision. Tsuyu gave him a flat look.

"You just want to watch him fight." She said, and Izuku flushed with embarrassment.

"Well- I mean- maybe a little, but-" she interrupted him, shaking her head.

"Midoriya, I don't think that this is a good idea, but…" she looked to the plaza, before looking back at Izuku. "I'll stick with you in case a villain spots us. I can get us away quickly." She said, and Izuku almost cried, gratefulness washing over him like a tsunami.

"Thank you Tsuyu!" He said, and she nodded, a small smile quirking her lips up.

They turned their attention to the plaza once more, watching the fight. It seemed to be nearing the end of the battle, as there were only a couple of villains left. Most of them looked beaten up already, and seemed shaky on their feet, so Izuku had to assume they had already gotten knocked down once or twice. Fullmetal was incredibly skilled in fighting, weaving around each of the villains with an ease only acquired after years of practice- and Midoriya wouldn't be surprised if his cumulated hours of training did amount to years.

As the final villain went down, thrown some ways away from the plaza in the process, Fullmetal turned to the ring leader of the villain group. They couldn't hear exactly what was being said, due to the distance, but it seemed to be a challenge, as Fullmetal had made a beckoning motion with his hand.

The villain leader was scratching furiously at his neck, and Izuku couldn't tell if he was agitated or afraid, though he would have to guess both by the defensive-yet-ready posture. That was, until he stopped scratching entirely. It was still for a few moments, before the ring leader slightly turned his head, and the fog villain drew closer. After a moment of talking, the fog spread open, clearly opening up another portal.

Izuku watched with baited breath as something stepped out of the portal. It looked horrifying, with an exposed brain and a beak full of razor sharp teeth, beady, wide eyes and a tall, muscular frame. It looked unnatural.

Fullmetal faltered, his confident pose broken by the few steps he took to back away, one hand gripping his helmet and the other gripping his chest, as if he were in pain. The ring leader motioned forwards, and in a blink the creature had dashed forward, punching Fullmetal.

Izuku couldn't see Fullmetal at the angle he was positioned in, but he felt his stomach drop at the large spray of blood, followed by flashes of red electricity.

Thankfully, blue light followed quickly after, and hands sprung up from the ground as they apprehended the large beast. Unfortunately, though, it only seemed to minorly deter the creature, as it quickly broke free. It seemed to have been enough time for Fullmetal to back away though. He could barely see it, but there was a snap with a spark, and electricity shot forward before exploding against the beast, engulfing it in flames.

"Wait," Tsuyu croaked. "Isn't his quirk matter Manipulation?" She asked quietly. Izuku sputtered, blinking as he watched the large beast burn.

"Well- I guess, air is also matter? You just have to condense oxygen around a target and then raise its temperature, Plus, did you see the spark? His gloves are super rough looking as well, they could contain a fiber mix of flint and steel to create an ignition?" He explained quietly, thinking back to a few similar quirks he'd seen before. She nodded.

"I suppose that makes sense, kero…" they both turned back to watch the fight. Surely, the creature would have been crisp, or at least singed, however as the flames disappeared, Izuku could see the creature's skin regrowing, could see it heal and stitch itself back together. 'A regeneration quirk? Then how did it move so fast?' Izuku watched intensely as Fullmetal attempted to dodge the incoming attacks, always just a hair's breadth away from getting hit.

"My, what do we have here?" A bone chilling voice spoke near Izuku, and he whipped his head to the side. He could feel his heart pulsing, roaring into a frenzy as those bright red, piercing eyes stared into his. "Some little brats hiding on the sidelines? How interesting. I wonder how your little teacher will feel having to watch you crumble to dust." He spoke with a dry hiss, and Izuku barely had enough time to register the villain's words as his hand darted forward, attempting to cover Izuku's face.

"NO!" A roar- a wail- a wave of anger and anguish filled Izuku's ears as he was thrust backwards. He felt disoriented for a moment, but when he finally focused back in front of him, he gasped.

Fullmetal's hair was loose and frenzied, draping over his back as he had his right arm held out in front of him, the man's hand grasping around it.

Before Izuku's eyes, he could see the fabric of Ed's cloak disintegrate, and underneath was a shiny, polished metal.

Fullmetal shoved the villain away, and the weakening of the metal plus the sudden force caused it to snap, and Fullmetal's right- metal- hand was left dangling from the wires and cords.

The villain stood back, staring with intrigue at Fullmetal, who was breathing heavy. "Interesting…" the villain said quietly.

"Mr. Fullmetal!" Izuku gasped, staring with horror at the dangling hand. Fullmetal turned a little to glance quickly at Izuku, nodding.

"I'm alright." He comforted, though his eyebrows were furrowed in anger and he was hunched over, staring at the villain with a fury in his eyes that burned bright enough to make Izuku's skin crawl.

"But- but your hand- won't you be unable to- to use your quirk?" Tsuyu stuttered out. Fullmetal huffed.

"Just get yourself and Midoriya up to the front- now." He growled.

"But-" Izuku tried to protest, and Fullmetal whipped around.

"GO! NOW!" He roared, his voice sounded strange, like the roar of a crowd- but it was so sudden that Izuku couldn't tell if he was making it up or not.

Quickly, Tsuyu wrapped her tongue around Midoriya's waist, and yanked him away, jumping as fast and as far as she could. "FULLMETAL!" He cried, watching his form get smaller and smaller as he was pulled away.

He could barely see the fight by the time it really started up again, with a roar of flames and bright red electricity.

The aftermath of the USJ was a messy affair- reporters and policemen swarmed the site as the paramedics arrived. Fullmetal was beaten and bruised by the fight, now down one arm as his hand dangled uselessly, still barely connected by fraying wires, and he was limping as his left leg seemed locked at the knee, but despite this he was still able to find the ability to corral the students away from the villains as soon as All Might showed up and took over. Thankfully, most of the students weren't hurt badly- there were a few low grade burns or a couple scratches -and there was the exception of Midoriya's quirk- but most of the students were relatively fine.

Aizawa, 13, Fullmetal, and All Might, on the other hand, were all beaten and bruised, with 13 and Aizawa needing to be put on stretchers. Fullmetal had very hastily stuck his hand back into place and hidden it under clothes- and of course, remade his helmet- before the press found him.

Midoriya couldn't help but watch Fullmetal try and avoid the peering eyes of the reporters and cameramen like they were some kind of deadly plague- seeming much more willing to talk to the actual detectives and police officers than anyone with anything resembling a camera in their hand- and it made sense, in a way, especially with what Fullmetal had told the class the past several days. He wasn't here to become a showstopping celebrity or for the glamour. This was his job, he was trying to help people, to save them and make sure things are safe.

He still looked a little bit ridiculous, hopping away as fast as he could on his good leg as a reporter begged for pictures and an interview. He heard Uraraka cover her mouth as she bit back her giggles at the strange situation Fullmetal had created for himself, barking at the reporters to go away very angrily and animatedly as he hopped surprisingly fast for someone on one leg. He had his right arm stuck at his side, only able to move at the shoulder, but it didn't stop him from nearly smacking a few of the press people who got a little too close for comfort.

Izuku looked away from his fuming teacher and instead looked over to Tsuyu, who was as making her way over. "Hi Uraraka, hi Midoriya, hi Iida." She greeted the three of them. Iida was sitting to Izuku's right, while Uraraka was on his left. The three of them were currently sitting on the edge of the curb.

"Hi Tsuyu!" Uraraka waved happily. "Are you doing ok? I know you and Midoriya were pretty close to the main fight by the end there…"

"I'm fine." She croaked. "We didn't get hurt, other than Midoriya's hand. Fullmetal was the one who took the hit for us. It's why his arm was all messed up like that." She said, looking over at Fullmetal, who was now arguing with a reporter who seemingly tried to interrupt a discussion between him and a detective.

"I noticed. Honestly I didn't even notice he had a prosthetic! The hand looked really intricate, too. It's a shame he covered it back up…" Uraraka sighed a bit.

"We know that Fullmetal would rather not reveal such things to the public! He is very secretive, I doubt he'd want his enemies to know of such a debilitating weakness!" Iida pointed out, authoritative and observant as ever. The three of them nodding along. Though, Izuku couldn't help but hum in thought.

"Tsuyu, you saw how his injuries got healed, right?" Izuku looked over at her. Tsuyu nodding a bit grimly, no doubt remembering the rather gruesome spray of blood he saw. Uraraka and Iida shot each other confused looks before looking over at Tsuyu, who moved to sit down.

"I did, kero. Whatever happened to his arm probably negated his quirk." She said. Izuku nodded along, before humming quietly.

"I wonder if he'll let me take a look at it…" Izuku mumbled. A reporter a bit away caught his eye, and upon meeting eye contact, they began to make their way closer. Izuku sent a look over to the girls before looking over at Iida, and they all silently agreed to not give any info on Fullmetal away if they could help it.

School had been closed for a couple of days after the USJ incident, which gave Izuku time to sit with his thoughts. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, his mind kept wandering back to Fullmetal's fight. He could still hear the sound of each clap echo in his mind like a sharp ringing, and the more he thought about it the more it seemed to call out to him, and his memories seemed to tunnel in on them.

It was strange, it was as if Fullmetal's quirk was calling out to him, but that didn't make any sense. Sure, some quirks- namely, One for all- could be passed around, but it didn't seem like Fullmetal's was like that. There was something so distinctly sharp and unnatural about Fullmetal's quirk that it made his head spin. No, not unnatural- unusual, Alien. His quirk was Natural in the way the moons pull on the tides was, as the shifting of the tectonic plates, and the magnetic field around the planet. Izuku could feel the power rushing through the earth every time Fullmetal had used his quirk, could feel the air grow thin and dry as he created fire, a strong, tangy chemical smell that he could only remember now, now that he wasn't hopped up on adrenaline.

These thoughts continued to wriggle their way deep, deep down into his mind as school started up again. He was walking through the halls, currently, on his way to the support room. He'd gotten a note to go pick up his new hero uniform, but that only gave him more time to dwell. Strange- Fullmetal was so, so very strange in so many ways. He was almost painfully bland looking ('just like me,' his mind supplied.) with golden blonde hair and eyes to match, but there was something about him that felt electric, that he was far, far more than he seemed. It would make sense, with how long he's been alive, that he carried enough secrets for multiple lifetimes, but even that seemed like the…. Wrong conclusion.

There was something about him that was- 'Otherworldly?' his mind supplied, and he pushed that thought down- unusual, down to his core. He didn't know if other people felt it, but he was only able to notice the strange oppressive feeling Fullmetal gave off after seeing him use his quirk, after seeing it roar to life before settling down once more. It felt so out of reach, but at the same time like a tempting meal, a power he could get his hands on if he simply dug in-

He opened the door to the support classroom with little fanfare, holding his piece of paper up as he turned to close the door. "Ah, I got a note saying I need to pick up-" Izuku paused as he looked up, body freezing up as he stared at Fullmetal.

Fullmetal, who was wearing nothing but shorts and missing two limbs, which were strewn about the work tables in a million pieces, with one pink haired girl laser focused on them. Despite Fullmetal being in such a vulnerable situation, Izuku could still feel that strange, world-bending force emanating from him, and Izuku could immediately feel that strange pull start up in his gut. Fullmetal only looked over when Izuku started talking, having been interrupted in his conversation with the support teacher, Power loader. Fullmetal waved at him, and Power loader sighed, turning to Izuku fully.

"You're Midoriya Izuku, yeah?" He asked, and Izuku hesitantly nodded, trying to focus on anywhere but his heroics teacher. "Hold on a moment, let me go grab your uniform." He said, turning around to move further into the workshop, grumbling about having to patch up his suit in the first few week of school. Fullmetal just chuckled, his right leg gently swaying as he sat on the table.

Izuku, despite trying to be polite, couldn't help but glance over at Fullmetal's missing limbs, both where their pieces were on the table, and also the- sockets that were in Fullmetal's body. Fullmetal caught sight of it very quickly, and sighed. "You can ask, y'know. Might not answer depending on the question, though." He said, Throwing poor Midoriya a bone.

"How do they work?" He blurted out immediately, and he couldn't help but flush a little in embarrassment. Fullmetal kicked his leg up onto the table, and he rested his elbow on his foot, chin in hand as he hummed.

"Well, do you want the long version or the short version? Short answer is that they connect directly to my nerves via these ports." He wiggles his right shoulder, and the rather short stump of his left leg. "The ports themselves are drilled and screwed into my bones for support, similar to how they do join replacements nowadays. The ports act as a sort of buffer and connector between the nerves and the wires, making it so that electrical mishaps don't go straight to my brain and fry me, but also it makes sure the nerves can connect to the wires without scaring and causing the nerves to become less active." He explained, and Izuku nodded along, his hand twitching with the need to write the information down.

"Wait, why'd you come to uh- to support? Was it to help repair your arm?" Izuku asked, and Fullmetal laughed.

"No, I can repair them completely on my own- I originally came here to get some info on how uniform requests are handled, but then that one-" he pointed to the pink haired girl. "Saw my hand and jumped on the opportunity to look at my prosthetics. They're pretty handy, and they've saved me a million times over. I've noticed that-" he hesitated for a moment, and Izuku only barely noticed the slight twitch in his hand. "- after the quirk war, a lot of prosthetic knowledge disappeared, and the prosthetics nowadays just aren't as good as the ones I've got are. Now, to be fair, mine are quite heavy- they're made of full metal-" he snickered "and that can be quite heavy for the average person to maintain, but with the right materials..." He trailed off, looking to the wall as he seemed to get lost in thought.

It gave Izuku a moment to let his eyes catch on the multitude of scars that covered Fullmetal's body, the gnarly scars that surrounded the Automail, as well as the ones that spoke of many fights. There was one on the left side of his stomach that looked particularly nasty, a strange I-like shape that was on its side, almost like a cross cut of a steel construction bar. He quickly looked back up to Fullmetal's face, trying to ignore the slight feeling of dread the rather gruesome scars gave him.

"You um-" Izuku started, trying to gather his thoughts. "You said that it was done medically, right? What was the surgery like?- if that's not too personal…" he quickly added onto the end, but he couldn't help but feel curious. His mom was a nurse, and he briefly looked into surgical schooling before meeting All might, and so while now he was on the path to be a hero, he very nearly missed becoming a surgeon, and there were still things he found fascinating and interesting about medical knowledge.

Fullmetal snapped back to reality, blinking once or twice, before chuckling. "Oh, it was hell on earth! I can barely remember it now, but it was like someone had set me on fire and dunked me into an arctic lake at the same time." He laughed, and Izuku couldn't help but feel even more mounting dread. "The procedure has to be done while the nerves are still active and awake, so numbing isn't an option, lest the doctor make a mistake and you end up losing function in your Automail. Hell, depending on where it is and what nerve they hit, you could end up becoming completely paralyzed in that area." He said it rather cheerfully, but Izuku didn't feel better in the slightest. "Not to mention, putting them back into the ports is like getting shot with all that pain all at once. It's not as intense, and it only lasts for a couple seconds, but it's always quite a bit nerve-wracking whenever they go back in." He smirked, and Izuku could only numbly think 'was that a fucking pun?'

"Any more questions?" Fullmetal prompted, and the gears in Izuku's mind started running again, glancing over at the intricate pieces of metal and wire.

"Who made your prosthetics?" He asked. "They're disassembled now, but." He trailed off a little, looking at each piece, and he could see the beautiful hand welding on several pieces, the small dents of a hammer, the wires gently worn down by hands that have worked on them over and over. He could see the gentle polish of each piece, and he could practically feel the love ingrained in them.

He turned back to Fullmetal, who was now looking at the table. There was a strange, far away look in his eyes, one that spoke of many loaded memories. He couldn't help but recognize the look- it was the same one his mom wore when she stopped to look at the pictures of his father. One of longing for a love that was out of reach.

It took a little while, but eventually he let out a soft sigh. "An old friend of mine made my Automail." He was quiet as he spoke, his golden eyes as soft as Izuku had ever seen them. "We grew up together. She was the one who maintained them for a long time." He explained. "I don't let anyone else touch them. I was the one who took them apart for her to look at, I'm helping her with the blueprints." He said the last bit a little louder, tearing his eyes away from the table after a long time.

Izuku looked back over at the pink haired girl, paying more attention to her- lo and behold, she didn't put a finger on any of the parts, not a screw or a bolt. One of her hands was behind her back, clutching the leather of her bag, while the other was up near her face, using a pair of magnifying goggles.

Power-loader came back a few moments later, holding the suitcase out for Izuku to take. After a quick thank-you and speedy exit, Izuku was left alone with his thoughts once again.

Fullmetal was very, very strange. Izuku couldn't help but think about his prosthetics more, though now focused on something else. How. How did he lose his limbs? He said that he got them from a childhood friend? So maybe from before his quirks kicked in? But why would they kick in so late anyways? There were so many questions he had, all of them far too personal to possibly just ask. Fullmetal was secretive, but at the same time such an open book. It was clear that he loved whoever made his automail- and loved them deeply, but who was she? What was her name, how did she act, everything he said was just so Vague and it made Izuku's head swim.

'Maybe later.' he told himself, re-entering his classroom. 'Maybe I can ask him about that stuff later. For now-' he ducked his head as a book went flying in his direction, followed with yelling from multiple people, including Present mic, yelling at Bakugou to stop throwing things. Izuku sighed internally. 'i need to just get my work done.'

'God, I hate rain.' Edward bemoaned internally, his ports screaming at him, joints creaking and groaning and the scar tissue burning hot to the touch. He sat down on a stool in the front of the classroom, cane propped against the lectern. It was early in the morning, before classes started, and he was sitting 1-A before homeroom started. There were a few kids scattered about in their seats, though most had questioned him when they came in. A simple 'I'm your sub today' was enough to quell most of the curiosity.

He was currently resting his chin on his hand, peering over the Lectern at the few kids currently in the front. Kaminari, Jirou, Kirishima, and Uraraka. The four of them had started working on Chemistry questions near the back, but he had told them to come up to the front when he heard the four of them start going in circles on a specific question. Momo was up at the blackboard, helping him write down the questions and giving her own input periodically.

Momo was quite nice to converse with, he found. Her quirk was incredibly interesting, and while not 1:1 with Alchemy, the basic principle was similar enough that he found himself getting excited when she started talking to him about chemistry and how her quirk worked.

Slowly, more and more kids started to file in. He could feel his ports crying out any time he moved around, so he tried to be as still as possible, though it was hard when he kept feeling the urge to get up and start lecturing the kids on their chemistry, especially as more students joined in. By the time Homeroom started, a large portion of the kids were out of their proper seats, huddled near the front as Ed explained and helped with their questions.

"Get to your seats." A gruff voice said from the doorway, and the entire class jumped to a scramble, Momo letting out an eep! Almost dropping the chalk before she rushed to her seat, and the other kids weren't much better.

Edward sighed, turning to the Doorway where Aizawa stood in his mummified glory. Ed would have laughed if it wasn't so frustrating. "Aizawa, why are you down here? You're supposed to be in the infirmary." He argued, scowl on his face.

Aizawa didn't respond at first, shuffling into the classroom and shutting the door. "This is my class." He said simply. "There's work to do."

Edward rolled his eyes, even as those in his chest poked and prodded at him, the word 'Hypocrite' rolling through him so loudly he was afraid for a moment that he'd said it aloud. "You're gonna piss Chiyo off."

"That's my problem, not yours." He glared at Edward, and Ed glared back. "Plus, I thought you were supposed to be at home today due to the storms." Ed's eye twitched, Aizawa hitting the nail on the head.

"I took some pain killers, I'll be fine." He grumbled out, and he could feel Alphonse mentally hitting him in the shoulder.

'As if! You forgot your meds today, too, dumbass!' Ed had purposefully not taken them, actually, cause he was feeling sick and he knew that he was just gonna end up throwing them up. They don't even work that well anyways! Yet another wave of outrage wracked through his brain, and he struggled to hear what Aizawa was saying.

"-dless, I'm here. I don't need a substitute." Aizawa said, and Edward rolled his eyes. There were several reason Ed was being so stubborn, one of them being that Aizawa clearly wasn't alright, still, and another being that he really, really didn't want to get up.

"You want me to move, then you're gonna have to pry me from the seat." He challenged. He and Aizawa glared at each other for a good minute or so, and Edward could see the class get antsy from the corner of his eye. He was not giving up his seat, not when his leg had finally settled down and he had a nice Lectern to rest his arm on.

Eventually, Aizawa just sighed sufferingly, and moved to the corner of the classroom, getting his sleeping bag out to rest. Ed couldn't help but feel prideful as he settled back down into his seat fully, a smirk gracing his lips. Aizawa was as stubborn as a mule, but Ed was far more stubborn.

"Alright, brats, now that I've got your attention," he started, and he could see a couple kids puff up and huff at his teasing. "There's some stuff we have to go over today. Including the event that's taking place in two weeks!" He grinned, and the class all began to get excited and look at each other.

Ojiro held his hand up, and Ed pointed to him. "The annual sports festival is happening soon, right?" He asked, and Ed shot him a finger gun.

"Bingo. While it might look flashy and fun from the big screen, there's a reason why U.A does it for the first years." He started off, enunciating his words with his left hand as he talked. "Not everyone who tries out for the hero course has a quirk meant for physical combat, some quirks that could be incredible for a hero aren't the most physically applicable. Additionally, some kids could have simply gotten unlucky with the test." He continued, and he watched the class look around at each other, silent but clearly wanting to gossip among each other. "Because of this, the Sports Festival is made so that the other students, those from courses like support, business, or general education, can get the chance to go up against their peers in the heroics course and fight for their spot." He grinned wide, slightly maniacal as he continued to speak. He could watch the kids go from excited to worried and anxious, but still buzzing with energy.

"Now, its a case by case basis. Some of you might not be able to make it through all the challenges, and that's fine, that doesn't automatically mean your spot will be taken- but it DOES mean that you'll be more likely to get booted." He clarified, and it helped calm some students, but others simply got more anxious.

Mineta raised his hand, and Edward mentally prepared himself to deal with the kid. "Yes?"

"Are we able to secure our spot in the course somehow?" He asked. It was probably the first thing Ed's heard from him that was actually reasonable.

Ed grinned, wide and menacing. "Well, the better you do, the more likely you'll be able to stay. My advice?" He paused for a second, watching the dread filled students look at him with a sudden glint of hope in their eyes. "Train yourself as much as you can the next two weeks." He said, and the hope was crushed in an instant. He couldn't help the maniacal glee he had seeing them all resign themselves to their fate of extra daily training.

'Edward, you're forgetting something.' Hawkeye chided, and he felt confused for a moment, trying not to let it show on his face. 'The recommendations?'

He jerked upright at the realization, making several other kids jump a little at the sudden movement. "Oh right! Another reason we do the sports festival!" He started, settling back in his seat. "It's to get your names out there, so that hero's will be able to see you. After the sports festival, the Curriculum states you'll all be doing hero internships. Heroes will see your performances and send in requests for you to shadow under them for a few week!" He explained, and the class got very excited about that.

"Before the sports festival, you'll all be choosin-" he started to explain, but was cut off by the door to the room slamming open.

"HERO NAMES!" Midnight walked in, in all her large puffy white jacket glory. She was wearing her hero suit underneath, he could tell by the way she wore her heels, her gloves, and her mask, but she wore a giant, near floor length white coat over top it all. He sighed as she sauntered over to his side.

The class was in an uproar immediately, and Edward had to close his eyes and try to tune out the kid's excitement. Their cries and squeals were enough to make his head throb and pulse, bringing his aching joints back to the front of his mind. This was going to be such a long day…

Thankfully, Midnight was able to wrangle the students quickly, and his growing headache dulled. He was able to mostly tune out what was going on, watching midnight as she passed whiteboard and dry erase markers around with only mild interest. Instead, he let himself daze off, the chatter in his head slowly drowning out the quiet muttering of his students.

Winry was gently reminding him that once his off hour starts, he needed to get some pain killers and go lie down, and while he was still feeling particularly stubborn, the idea of being able to lay down in the teachers lounge with a nice warm cup of coffee and some heat pads for his ports was becoming more and more enticing.

"-ullmetal, sir?" Ed's eyes opened, and he saw Toru's raised glove.

"Yeah?" He responded, gently lifting his head so he could see her better, and her glove seemed to go to her chin.

"How did you choose your hero name?" She asked. The entire class seemed to look up from their white boards. Some were more obviously interested- he even saw Kaminari put his board down, and Ed could see the multiple layers of erased smudges on it- while others, like Todoroki and Bakugou, seemed to just glance up and wait for an answer.

Edward sighed, putting his chin on his hand. How could he spin this to something believable… "I didn't come up with it myself." He started. "It was a coworker of mine who came up with it a long time ago. He kept calling me 'Fullmetal' as an inside joke between the two of us- mostly to poke fun at my prosthetics- but it ended up sticking." He shrugged. There were a few mutters and whispers, but it was Midoriya who spoke up eventually, nervous and hesitant, but there was a fire in his eyes, a glint of inspiration and light.

"Why would you stick with a demeaning nickname?" He asked. "Don't- don't get me wrong! It sounds really cool! But-" Midoriya bit his lip in hesitation. "How come you didn't come up with a separate hero name?" He asked finally.

Edward was curious about that look in Midoriya's eye, but didn't press about it. Instead he gently drummed his metal, gloved fingers against the lectern. "Well, I didn't hate the nickname, plus it was fun teasing between fri-" Ed felt a wave of discomfort and nausea roll over him. Oh god, he and Mustang were friends by now, weren't they. "Friends." He ground out, before shaking out his shudders, ignoring the incredulous looks from his students. "I called him a worthless bastard, and he called me Fullmetal. But more than that, my prosthetics, they're a part of me. They've helped me save many, many people." He settled into his seat more as he talked, slowly sinking into a more comfortable position. "They're what help me stand and walk, what help me protect and carry those that need it. Even with all the issues that come with being an amputee-" he gently knocked against his cane with his foot. "I couldn't be more grateful to have them." He couldn't help but smile, and he could feel Winry and Al in his chest, the two of them practically bursting with pride, making him feel warm and comfortable.

But, that wasn't all of it, he realized. He rarely had people to share his thoughts with outside of the stone, and now that he finally did, it felt like it was all pouring out. "Even more than that, I've turned it into a mindset, of a sorts." He began, eyes drifting to his gloved hand. "Life is full of so much pain and suffering. Equivalent Exchange- You can't gain anything without losing something first." He spoke, gently looking back over to the kids. The ones who had previously been half paying attention were now looking at him fully, and he couldn't help but smile. "But, being able to endure that pain, being able to walk away from it, and continue forward… You'll eventually find you finally the strength to overcome any obstacle…" he nearly trailed off, lost in his thoughts, looking out the window to the trees gently swaying. He could remember Nina so clearly, his mothers face, Maes Hughes and his wide smile, Nana in her flowing cape, so so many people he'd met and had to watch grow old before his eyes- "A Heart made Full Metal." He breathed out, looking back over and grazing across the class.

Midoriya practically had stars in his eyes. He was glowing, but there was also the slight mist of tears in his eyes, and he seemed to quickly pull himself together.

Midnight was smiling wide, a fond look in her eye as she rested a hand on her hip. The others were all in various states of awestruck, some far more than others. He could see Bakugou from the corner of his eye, gently shrinking in on himself.

"Beautiful speech, Fullmetal." Midnight praised, and Ed couldn't help but chuckle.

"Honestly I was more just rambling." He shrugged, but Midnight waved him off, turning back to the class.

"Fullmetal provided the perfect example as to the thought process you can take to a Hero name. Something inspiring and true to yourself- it doesn't matter how it might start, but choose something catchy, inspiring, and memorable!" She encouraged, and the class seemed to get back to work with a new wave of invigoration.

Ed couldn't help but chuckle a bit as he watched the kids work. There was a weird feeling in his chest- raw, but also happy. Being able to see the direct effect he had on the students, being able to see how much they looked up to him- it hurt, a bit. It hurt because he knew that he wasn't perfect, he wasn't this monolith of heroism they thought he was, they didn't know the atrocities he's committed, the monster he is-

'Don't call yourself that, Ed…' Winry whispered to him gently, and his heart squeezed.

-but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of pride and joy, being able to bring light and inspiration to people so directly, to be able to influence their actions and to see how they seemed to flock to him. It was scary, but also heartwarming. Not for the first time did his mind wander to a similar vein of thought- the thought of being able to grow up and have kids of his own, see them flock to him, see them become inspired and taken after him- but he shut that thought process down quickly. He had other things to worry about, and he couldn't let that overwhelming hope get crushed. That was for him, and only him, at the moment.

Edward walked through the halls of the police station, following behind Tsukauchi. He had personally called in to check up on the Nomu, having been previously at the scene. they were (albeit reluctantly) willing to let him come into the station and check on the Nomu firsthand.

Tsukauchi had briefed him on what they'd found so far, about how the DNA matched to a man who'd gone missing several months prior, and how they'd found genetic traces of other people, specifically the genes that make up one's quirks.

Just hearing the debrief made Edward sick to his stomach, but coming face to face with the Nomu again was harder.

It sat against the back wall, not moving an inch from its spot even as people passed by. Ed could feel that same oppressive force the homonuculi exuded, could feel the anguish rolling off it in waves, could feel it's pain from behind the bars.

'it feels just like central…' Ed could hear May's soft little voice chime in the back of his head, and he could feel his stomach roll in discomfort.

"Can I go in?" Ed turned to Tsukauchi and asked. The detective paused, muttering something into his walkie-talkie, before waiting for an answer. After a few moments, he nodded. Ed turned back to the prison door, and took a deep breath. He watched Tsukauchi unlock the door, and he pushed himself forward and through.

The Nomu didn't respond at first, but once Ed got close enough, it's eyes snapped to watch him. Ed suppressed the shiver that ran down his spine, and instead moved forward to crouch in front of the Nomu.

He took a deep breath, glancing at its sawed, sharp beak, pulsing and exposed brain, and it's wide beady eyes. He shivered again and closed his eyes, letting the darkness wash over his vision as he leaned forward to press his hand to the Nomu's chest.

Immediately wails flooded his ears, and he could almost see the bright blood red light in its chest, spreading out in a cacophony of anguish. There were people in there, stuck to the body without a way out. Edward swallowed hard, eyebrows knitting as he searched more with his alchemy, spreading his search through its veins.

He could feel the static necrosis in its muscles- this was a dead body no doubt, stuck in time and being regenerated over and over by the poor souls trapped inside their cage of flesh. Edward could feel the heat in his cheeks and the tears welling up in his eyes, but he pushed forward.

He began to count. More and more the souls piled up, there was about 12 different people stuffed inside the body, all broken and shattered and not entirely whole anymore, clinging to each other in an amalgamation to try- desperately- to reform into something living, something whole. Someone's eyes, stitched to another leg, stitched to someone's torso. All it was was stitched to the man laying beneath it all, tortured and wailing and trapped.

Edward wanted to help, to set the souls free, to return them to their owners, to somehow give them hope. He searched, for some way to tear them from this web of stitched flesh and bone. He called out, to see if any were willing or able to hear him.

'Kill me.' it cried back, and Edward couldn't help the sob that wracked through his chest. Ed felt horrifically useless, powerless for the first time in so long. His mind flashed back to Nina, so full of life and joy, before being killed, stitched to her own pet like some sort of toy. Attempting to unstitch them would kill all the souls bound to the Nomu.

'Though.' Hohenheim echoed gently. 'That may be for the best, my son.' he spoke quietly, gently pressing forward, as if attempting to pull Edward into a hug. Edward wouldn't admit to it, but the tears that ran down his face picked up in frequency, and he gripped his jacket tightly.

He pressed forward. There has to be something, Anything to help him, some remnant that he can follow. He filtered past the cries, and focused on the souls themselves, trying to identify any trace of who had done this.

There was something that seemed to emanate from the stitched parts, an electricity, an energy that seemed so quiet under the agony. He pressed forward, trying to make sense of it. The underlying body wasn't covered in the energy entirely, just the hands were. 'More.' he urged, and with effort pressed further and further, head aching and hands trembling as he pressed closer.

The energy echoed against his alchemy, and rang back with its own chimes. It felt familiar, so unnervingly familiar that he pressed onward, past the chemical processes flying through his mind, telling him how to use the energy, how to direct it differently for each limb, until finally he reached out and touched it.

His mind flashed with knowledge that unlocked from the back of his mind, and a splitting headache took over. The gate. He suddenly felt like he was drowning. He could practically see it- their gates were what allowed them to use their quirks, each one woven into the person's soul, engraved into their bodies. Their souls- their gates- now woven and tangled in an amalgamation that couldn't move on, that couldn't rest.

He could feel the energy that was stitching them together, a distant echo of a soul that seemed to howl with emptiness, sticking like a thick molasses to the gates. 'i found it.' he realized. He found the trace he needed to hunt down the man who'd done this.

He eventually pulled away from the Nomu, Shaking and shuddering with tears soaking his face and making his eyes itch and burn, his head aching like someone had split it. He gently opened his eyes, hoping, praying for some sort of expression, for some sort of sign of thought. Instead, he was met with an empty husk, just as he had seen when he'd closed his eyes.

He shakily stood up, thankful that his helmet covered his expression as he walked out of the cell, and had to face Tsukauchi once more.

"May I ask what you were doing?" He asked, and Edward cleared his throat.

"I was testing your theory- about the DNA traces, and yeah. There's about 12 people that were used to make it." He said. Tsukauchi's face was perfectly blank as he wrote something down. He paused, before looking up again.

"Do you mind answering some questions for me, so that we can figure out more about what happened with the Nomu? It will be about your quirk, and how you were able to get the information, additionally anything else you found would be helpful." He said, and Edward sighed. He was so exhausted, he just wanted to go back to his apartment already.

"Sure. Hit me with em." He said, rather unenthusiastically. He was very glad for his microphone, as otherwise Tsukauchi would be able to easily hear how Horace his voice was.

"How were you able to get a number for how many people were used for the Nomu?"

"My quirk, Immortality. That's what I have it listed as, but its a lot more complicated then just living forever. It draws from the energy of the soul, and because of that, I can use it to feel for the soul in other people and animals." He explained. It wasn't entirely the truth, and he could tell that Tsukauchi's quirk was picking up on a few things, but it was vaguely true enough that it seemed that Tsukauchi wasn't bothered about it much.

"I see. Can you elaborate more?"

"On my quirk, or on the Nomu."

"The Nomu - how the souls relate to what we were able to find in the DNA." He explained, and Edward nodded, calming a bit more.

"Your quirk is ingrained into your soul. Just like how every soul is unique and different, so is every quirk. I was able to differentiate how many people were in there because I could feel their different quirks and souls." He explained, and Tsukauchi nodded along. "However, it also allowed me to find something strange." Edward started, And Tsukauchi looked up, nodding for him to continue.

"There was traces of someone else in the body. It was faint enough I struggled to find it, but it was- essentially - the glue that held the souls together. I could feel that it was someone else's quirk that was combining them." He said glumly, and Tsukauchi nodding, a look of strange recognition on his face.

"Was there anything else you found?" He asked, and Ed shook his head.

"Not anything you all haven't already figured out." Ed said, and Tsukauchi sighed. After some pleasantries and another walk through the building, Ed was led outside, where the cold, night-time spring air washed over him, chilling him for a few moments.

He began to walk to his apartment, taking alleys and roofs to avoid the gawking eyes of the public, while also vaguely being on the lookout for any villains. Mostly, though, he was stuck in his own mind.

It was so long ago, so, so very long ago when he was dropped into this world. 'All for One.' the name was still burned in the back of his mind, the man who he was sent to stop, sent to hunt down and track. Truth didn't tell him how long it would take, just that it would take however long it had to. 'Bastard could have warned me it would take over 300 fucking years.' he thought bitterly.

'it'll be ok, Ed.' Alphonse comforted, and Ed could practically feel his little brother's head on his shoulder. 'he won't be able to evade us anymore. We'll be able to find him, now that we have a lead.' he soothed, and Ed tried to cheer up. They were going to do it, they were going to make it home. Just a little bit longer.

Thankfully, no one in the stone bothered him as he collapsed onto his apartment bed, and began to sob himself to sleep, wails of agony and nightmares of fleshy amalgamations burned into his mind.

It felt like Edward had blinked, and suddenly the Sports Festival had started. He walked into the school the morning of, just to find it practically buzzing with excitement. He'd completely forgotten about the event until he saw kids running out of the main building with money in hand and talking about snacks and betting. Hawkeye and Alphonse had berated him for forgetting, and had told him several times that they tried to remind him, but he had ignored them and tuned them out every time. Yeah, that was on him, but he was feeling particularly sluggish and tired today, so he felt it was excusable.

Thankfully, he didn't exactly have anything to do today. He wasn't an announcer or one of the staff working on the actual event, so he didn't have to worry about appearances. He could vaguely patrol the building and pretend to be the school librarian or something. No one had to know he was Fullmetal today. It was a refreshing change of pace.

So, he happily roamed the halls, watching bits and pieces of the sports festival from the TV's stationed around. He happily bought himself snacks and drinks from the vendors outside, blending in with the crowd as best he could. He might have gotten one or two weird looks at the amount of food he had in his arms, but he paid them little mind, happily munching on some fried calamari kebabs as he took his mountain of food back inside the building to sit down and enjoy the festival.

Even with the numerous thick walls and floors separating him from the crowd, he could still hear their distant roars whenever something interesting happened on the TV, and he couldn't blame them. He, himself, was having fun watching the kids as they raced around. He was able to catch the tail-end of the race, settling down in one of the staff lounges as Midoriya, Bakugou, and Todoroki got through the finish line, Midoriya just a hairs breadth in front of the other two.

He'd seen many a sports festival since U.A's founding, though not all the way through. He was never one for sports, but he enjoyed being able to see people use their quirks in interesting ways, and be able to see all the different games and challenges that were presented each year. He never sent in any applications for internships, but there were a few times where he was tempted to.

The first one was a rather scrawny kid that had just barely made it to third place during his year. He had a metal manipulation quirk that was fascinating to watch, almost shockingly similar to Alchemy in its processes. Watching him fight had been a blast.

The second was a stocky kid that had only made it about halfway through the finals, who had a quirk that allowed her to create and move shadows around. It off put him at first, and the only reason he hadn't sent in the offer was because he chickened out at the last minute, Pride's eyes haunting him.

Then, finally, Nana. He had the forum filled out for her, had nearly sent it in, but he had been pulled away from sending it in by a lead for All For One. It had turned out to be a dud, but it made him lose the deadline on sending in the application.

He ended up slowly losing interest in the sports festival past that, still watching but not nearly as invested. No one had particularly caught his eye, and there were very few kids this year that did so. It was mostly the kids already in the hero course that stuck out to him, both in 1-A and 1-B.

Except- Edward narrowed his eyes. There was one kid on the field who had just barely made it into the top 90, who he noted hadn't used his quirk at all so far.

'Quirkless?' May asked, and Ed shrugged, stuffing another dessert into his mouth.

'No clue.' he shrugged. The kid looked vaguely familiar, with Purple hair that loved to stick up and out of the way of his face with bushy eyebrows to match. He didn't look all that remarkable on his own, but Ed couldn't help but narrow his eyes. Where had he seen that kid?

He tried to wrack his brain for an answer as Midnight explained the next game. 'I know he isn't in the hero courses, maybe he was in support?' he tried to reason.

'he's the kid you gave your lunch to a while ago!' Alphonse exclaimed in a moment of realization, and Ed nearly choked on his food, swallowing painfully.

It was a few weeks ago now, but he had been wandering the campus outside. It had been a nice, rather warm day for spring, and he had ended up coming across the kid sitting outside under the shade. Ed had asked the kid where his lunch was, and he had responded that he already ate it, which was bullshit cause the lunch bell has barely rung by then and he would bet on his left arm that the line was still long.

'shit, you're right!' he paid closer attention to the TV now, watching as the purple haired kid went around asking for partners. The people he talked to seemed to agree quickly, and shuffled behind him afterwards. he ended up picking Ojiro first. Ed didn't spot anything wrong with his behavior until Shinsou went up to Aoyama. The usually very eccentric kid seemed to immediately dull and mellow out, instead of walking haughtily behind the kid, he seemed to shuffle behind him.

Ed leaned forward in his seat. That was new. It was also fascinating and strange- something pinged in the back of his mind as not quite right, and he leaned into the feeling.

The team event was…. Interesting, to say the least. Ed found the whole set up quite hilarious, but considering it was a team event, he couldn't exactly argue with its rules and set up. It certainly was effective at getting people to work together. Midoriya's team was hilariously effective at evading, though there were a lot more people that turned on him than Ed thought there would.

The most shocking thing was how Iida had instead teamed up with Todoroki, though Momo and Kaminari weren't too much of a surprise. Momo seemed to work well with Kaminari, who in turn liked to drag her and Jirou around. Iida and Momo got along well enough, but Todoroki was such a wildcard that Ed had a hard time really placing him anywhere. Bakugou's team made sense, it consisted of his friends- despite his refusal to call them that- and they were pretty well-rounded as a team.

Crazy gear lady ended up pairing with Midoriya, and Ed couldn't help but feel kind of bad for the kid. She was a lot to deal with.

After the fifteen minutes were up, the round started, and Chaos erupted. Most of the teams immediately started going after Midoriya, but his team was able to evade most of them well enough that the offenders quickly turned on each other, attempting to rack up points and take out the other teams for a better chance at winning. It was hilarious to watch, seeing the kids practically pile up on top of each other, but Ed kept his gaze on the background, watching for that distinctive plume of purple hair.

The camera never focused on him, and so it was hard to see what was entirely going on with his team, but it seemed surprisingly effective. His team hovered just below the passing point, not particularly fighting over lost points, but also happily sneaking by and snatching some whenever possible. Edward was fascinated by the strategy. 'He's staying right below relevancy to avoid any big fights- but if this keeps up he isn't going to be able to pass.' he drummed his fingers on the table, watching the score board like a hawk.

'the smart thing to do would be to stay stealthy, and swoop into last- viable- place right at the end. Don't put a target on your back, but secure that last spot by being invisible.' Hawkeye provided, and Ed nodded on instinct. He quickly glanced around to see if anyone saw his slip up, but thankfully the staff room was empty.

'Look at his teammates though.' Ed could hear Ling, and could almost imagine the other boy leaning over his shoulder. 'There's something off about them, they're working perfectly- too perfectly.' Ling observed, and Ed leaned further forward, trying to catch glimpses whenever he could.

Ling was right- the kid directed them with an ease almost uncanny, their footsteps almost mechanical with their placement, following his orders with a strange, single minded focus. It was fascinating, but disturbing at the same time.

Eventually, the cavalry battle came to an end, and with the sudden chaos in the last minute, the purple haired boy- Shinsou Hitoshi, the board read- and his team ended up placing third, just behind Bakugou's team. The slow, steady, and silent approach worked well for his team, who, now that the game was over, seemed confused and a little stranded.

After all the points were laid out, and the final few teams were set in stone, Midnight went on to announce the random 1 V 1 battles. After some dramatic flair and stage talk, she revealed each pairing and the order they'd go in.

He couldn't tell if it was cosmic humor or something similar, but the first battle was Shinsou and Midoriya. After a short discussion on the rules, the kids were sent off on an hour break for food and preparation.

Edward took this time to finish up his mountain of food, throwing the leftover trash away as he walked out of the staff room and began to roam the halls.

Hitoshi just wanted to eat his lunch. He could feel the glares from the kids on his cavalry team boring into him, and he just wanted to get away from it all. He didn't exactly have anyone to sit with at lunch, anyways, so he ended up heading outside, where the overwhelming noise and glares couldn't reach him, where he could be invisible in peace, where being invisible didn't mean taking up space. (Where being invisible wasn't such a painful reminder of how alone he was.)

He sat down against the wall, slowly picking at his food. He couldn't help his racing thoughts. He was going up against Midoriya, who- while he hadn't used his quirk so far, just from the stories he was, frankly, nervous. The kid had enough power stored in him to shatter his bones, he'd heard. Wether that was true or not was up for debate, but even then he knew there was likely a nugget of truth in that. He had a powerful, body enhancing quirk, and Hitoshi didn't have that.

He, very suddenly, felt very under-prepared. He kept trying to remind himself that it was fine, that he just needed to get the kid to talk, and he'd be fine, he could get the opponents to just walk off stage, he could win and get into the hero course.

But even then, what if something happened? What if, because he didn't fight, he got disqualified. They said you could use your quirk freely, but what if they changed the rules because of him? Because they saw it as an invasion of privacy, as an act of cowardice, instead of a display of potential?

He was suddenly cut from his thoughts as he heard someone approach. He immediately went on guard, expecting to be faced with Ojiro, that class 1-A boy who seemed angry and suspicious of him.

Instead, he was met by someone more familiar, but also more mysterious. It was that boy again. He sported the exact same look, almost unnervingly one to one with his last appearance. He had golden blonde bangs, framing his sun-tanned skin and those unnervingly sharp golden eyes. He wore the same button-up and vest combo, the same dress pants and silver chain- connected to something in his pocket (a watch?)- and the same, black chunky boots. His hair was styles the same as well, the wide, slightly loose ponytail that draped down his back.

He'd only ever seen the kid once before, at least properly. He'd given Hitoshi his lunch, which was his only saving grace from Hitoshi's suspicion of a school ghost.

The mystery kid sat across from him, in an almost childish pose. He crossed his arms over his knees, which were pulled to his chest. He rested his chin on his arms, and Hitoshi could see the strange lack of give in his right arm. The pose made him look much younger than he was, especially paired with his long hair, shorter stature, and softer cheeks.

Hitoshi couldn't help but feel strange- the kid wasn't doing anything but staring at him with those strange eyes- ones far too sharp and knowing, ones that have seen far too much for ones age. Ones that looked calculating, as if he could see into Hitoshi's soul and pick him apart. It made him feel strange and nervous, and he couldn't help the urge to raise to the defense.

"What do you want?" He asked. He, frankly, didn't want to do anything right now, and the kid wasn't doing anything but looking at him. He'd much rather just be alone than be gawked at.

The kid shrugged at his question, jerking a lazy thumb down the hall, where the echoes of voices still lingered. "It's loud in there, wanted somewhere I could rest." He explained. Hitoshi narrowed his eyes, but didn't press. He couldn't exactly argue with that, he left for a similar reason, but he couldn't help but still feel unnerved.

He tried to go back to eating, tried to ignore those bright golden eyes staring at him. He tried to focus on the taste of the food, but his nerves and fear made the food taste sour and rotten in his mouth. He swallowed anyways, he paid for his lunch, he was going to eat it. After a couple moments, the kid spoke up again.

"Why do you want to be a hero?" The question nearly knocked the air out of him, and he forced his bite to go down the right tube, lest he choke. It was a question he'd heard a million times, with sneers and mocking tones, with incredulousness and fake, malicious interest. It was always followed up with vicious laughter, always followed up with rolls of the eyes and promises of a miserable future.

Hitoshi hadn't heard anyone ask him that question in just a genuine voice, such a mild and gentle, but still interested tone. It made him feel all the more defensive, anger and nausea rolling through him at the sick attempt to lower his guard. "Why the hell do you want to know? It's none of your business." He spat. Maybe he was being an asshole, maybe he was overreacting to a perceived threat, but it was every time- every, single time. He knew where this would lead.

The kid tilted his head, not budging in his position, nor looking elsewhere. The tilt of his head allowed his hair to gently fall on his cheeks. It made him look all the more younger, but also all the more disturbing. "You're not in the hero courses." How the hell did he- "but you've fought to get to the halfway point, forced yourself to be put in the spotlight all the same. You want to get into the hero course- otherwise you wouldn't be fighting for it." Hitoshi felt appalled, he knew the cameras never really focused on him, someone without a flashy quirk, who could easily blend into the background. How- why did this kid care so much? Why did they notice him at all?

"So, tell me. Why do you want to be a hero- when you already failed once, when you've already been told by the staff- fully fledged pro's- that you aren't good enough." There was a look in those eyes, cutting, sharp, dangerous. Hitoshi could tell the kid was trying to rile him up, but he couldn't help but rise to it anyways.

He fought tooth and nail to get into the hero course, and it wasn't enough. It was never enough. He had tried and tried to train, find places that would let him use proper gym equipment, tried to find places that would let him grow stronger, but nothing was enough. He didn't have enough money, he didn't have enough qualifications, he didn't have good enough grades, it was all never, never enough.

Villain. It was practically his nickname, by now. Over and over and over again, mocked and ridiculed and told he would be a villain, told that he would use his power for evil, people always wanted to tell him what to do, when he never used his quirk on others, not without reason. He could feel the acrid taste of bile in the back of his throat as he thought about the kids he used for the cavalry- but he knew they wouldn't join his team otherwise. It made him feel sick, but at the same time he couldn't waste the opportunity.

He was sick and tired of being called a villain, sick and tired of being forced into a box he never wanted to even be near. He wanted to be a hero- he wanted to prove them wrong, so, so badly. He wanted to prove them all wrong, he wanted to prove that, despite his quirk, despite the monstrous words and bullying and fear mongering, he was still worthy of being a hero.

Hitoshi growled, glaring down at the kid. "Because I know I can." He ground out, teeth clenched. "Because I can show them that they're wrong, that I'm not-" he caught himself. This kid knew nothing about him, didn't know anything about his life, his troubles, his quirk. Why would he give him that vulnerability, why should he tell him anything?

"That you're not what?" The kid goaded, shifting in his position. One of his legs fell away as the respective arm went to support him. He was glaring back at Hitoshi now, a fire in his eyes that spoke of competition, of challenge. "That you're not weak? That you're not fit for this?"

"That I'm not a Villain." He hissed out, hackles raising. There was something raw and burning and hot in his chest, and this kid- this asshole- kept goading it on, and he just wanted him to leave him alone. "Everyone keeps saying that my quirk is villainous, that it's evil, that I'm some- some parasite that harbors nothing but cruelty- when all I've wanted was to be a hero, to help people. I want to show them they're wrong, that my quirk isn't evil, that I'm not a villain!"

"And what is it?" He challenged again, raising more to Hitoshi's outburst. "Your quirk? The power you swear isn't cruel, isn't evil." The way he said it grated on Hitoshi's nerves, questioning the biases pouring from Hitoshi's tongue.

Hitoshi felt nearly nauseous at the idea of telling this kid his quirk, but at this point he couldn't give a shit. The little asshole kept pressing his buttons over and over again, and he was sick of it. "Mind control." He spat. He expected the usual, the gasp and glares, the affrontment, the change in stare, from curious and confused to scared and hateful.

Instead, the kid continued to glare in challenge for a few moments, searching Hitoshi's eyes for something more, something Hitoshi didn't know he had. Only after a couple of beats did his expression change- but not in the way Hitoshi expected.

Suddenly, his bright gold eyes were filled with mirth, and his face split into a grin, as he began to chuckle. Then, his eyes closed as he started to shake with hearty belly laughs. They weren't cruel or mocking, but instead they were filled with joy and excitement, as if hearing the funniest joke.

Hitoshi couldn't help the sudden embarrassment that flashed through him, and he sneered. "What the hell are you laughing about." He grumbled, at a loss for words as the kid continued to laugh.

"Ah- sorry-" he snickered, fist going up to his mouth to try and quell his laughter. "Sorry- it's not you, I promise-" he held up his other hand in surrender, trying to reassure Hitoshi, though it didn't work very well. "Its just- you had the funniest opportunity to use your quirk on me, and you didn't, and it caught me off guard, is all." He settled down, his laughter turning into soft chuckles as he grinned, wide and beaming.

Hitoshi felt like his brain had stopped working. What? What? What the fuck? He felt completely shocked and appalled. What the hell was this kid's problem? But, at the same time- the laughter, the genuine smile, the acceptance rather than exclusion, it made his chest squeeze and twist.

The kid settled down fully, a soft but genuine smile gracing his face. "Not everyone's quirks are built for physical combat, but that drive, that passion you have- Its something not a lot of people have nowadays." He said, slowly getting up from his spot sitting on the ground. He walked forward, towards Hitoshi and towering over him- but it didn't feel intimidating. It wasn't a display of power. "You've got the power to do something fantastic, kid. With that passion, with your story, and your quirk, you could inspire so many people." He spoke gently, encouragingly, and while it felt weird being called kid by someone who looked younger than him, he couldn't muster the anger to bite back.

Suddenly, there was a gloved hand in his hair, ruffling it, and he couldn't help but shake his head and gawk a little, watching as the braided mystery kid turned, and began to walk away. "Give them hell, kid!" He turned briefly to grin at Hitoshi, before finally walking away, his braid trailing after him, and the sound of his boots fading as he disappeared from view.

Hitoshi sat in silence for a while after that, trying to process what had just happened. The kid-? Man? Person?- was just as mysterious and confusing as before, if not moreso. He never even got his name- but…

Hitoshi couldn't help but repeat his words in his head. It made him start to reminisce, to think. How many kids were like him- forced into the role of villain without their permission, forced into being a monster for something they couldn't control?

He gripped his food tray. Maybe- maybe it wasn't just about him. Maybe he was just one of the few brave enough to be loud about it.

He swallowed the tears threatening to burn his throat, and stood up. He needed to get ready for the battle.

Edward stepped into the teacher lounge, bringing with him an unassuming manila folder. Many of the teachers were currently spread about, working on checking through requests, planning out the week's lessons, and changing student placements post-sports festival. There weren't many students getting shuffled around, there were a few that were in class 1-B that got moved, and a few of the kids in the general department got shuffled around the classes, but mostly things stayed the same.

Edward approached Aizawa, who was sitting on the couch, looking over specific paperwork. Edward didn't pay it much of a glance, instead dropping the manila folder on top of the paper pile.

Aizawa stopped, stared at the folder for a moment, before looking up at Edward incredulously. "I'm in the middle of filing paperwork, what the hell-"

"I want Shinsou Hitoshi to move into class 1-A." Edward interrupted him. There was no point in being coy about it, or dancing around the subject. Shinsou wasn't in the original roster list for kids getting shuffled around, however Edward had a very strong case to make against that, especially one that would appeal to Aizawa. Many other heroics teachers would look at quirks or physical prowess- but Ed knew that Aizawa looked for potential, for drive, for passion.

Aizawa paused for a moment, looking between Ed and the folder, before sighing and picking it up, opening it to look through the student file. "He's currently in the general studies course, 1-C. He went up against Midoriya in the sports festival, and his quirk is Mind Control." Ed summarized. Aizawa continued to flip through the folder, looking mostly at grades and behavioral notes.

Edward took a seat on the couch next to Aizawa, looking down at the half-filled paperwork still on the table. Expulsion papers- with Mineta's name smack dab on the front. He ended up picking them up and reading through them, looking over the behavioral notes and the inciting reason for Expulsion. Apparently during the festival he ended up physically harassing some upper class-men. Edward couldn't help but grin at the expulsion papers. Finally.

Ed lowered the papers, instead looking at Aizawa. "I know your class is run more on potential than it is power. The kid doesn't have much in the way of physical training, but that can be rectified." Ed started. "He's got good grades, decent behavior, his quirk is unique and powerful-"

"Get to the point." Aizawa cut Ed off, who huffed. He set the papers on the table, leaning forward into his seat as he stared at Aizawa intensely. He watched as the other sat a bit straighter, noticing the severe look on Ed's face.

"I got to talk to the kid firsthand. He didn't know who I was without my mask, but I got him talking anyways. The kid's obviously been bullied and ridiculed, his quirk isn't exactly what people would call 'Heroic', despite that being bullshit. When I asked him why he wanted to be a hero, he said that it was to show off that he and his quirk weren't villainous, that it didn't matter what his quirk was, that he wanted to use it to help people." Ed explained, and he could watch the gears in Aizawa's head turn and click as he explained.

"Imagine how many kids there are out there, who have been tortured for simply having the 'wrong' quirk, for having a quirk people think is ugly or dangerous. Imagine being one of those kids and growing up with a hero who had a similar story- a hero with a quirk not traditionally flashy, a hero with a 'villainous' quirk, like you." That was the point where something seemed to click for Aizawa, and he looked through the file once more with a new look in his eye, less critical and more analytical.

"You need a new student to fill that 20'th spot-" he tapped the expulsion papers with the back of his fingers. "Fill it with Shinsou. He has a whole lot more drive and passion than the majority of pro's nowadays." He reasoned. There was a part of Edward that was nervous, that feared Aizawa would say no and leave the kid in the dust, but he kept a straight face, watching as the muscles in Aizawa's face shifted and twitched slightly.

"Go grab Cementos. I'll discuss it with him." Aizawa said finally, closing up the folder and setting it to the side, picking his pen back up to continue filling the papers. Ed couldn't help the wide, near manic grin that spread across his face. He happily shot up from his seat, and went to go find Cementos.

Adding Shinsou to class 1-A was hectic, at least at first. There was a weird tension that Ed could feel whenever he walked in to teach. It would quickly disappear as the kids were worked to the bone, and therefore were too tired to care, but he could tell that there was a strange grating tension.

Some welcomed Shinsou in just fine- Kaminari, heartbroken over the expulsion of his previous friend, quickly rushed to fill that gap with Shinsou, who seemed less than enthused. He and Jirou seemed to get along at least- more or less. Kirishima and Ashido seemed to welcome him with just as much enthusiasm as Kaminari, though most of the others seemed mostly pleasant at baseline. Midoriya had this weird air to him that felt like he was both being repelled by Shinsou, but also really wanted to talk to him more, while Ojiro seemed to want to avoid him entirely.

It was fascinating to watch, but mostly he just wanted to check in on Shinsou, who, at first didn't seem like there was much change. He was still quiet and liked to keep to himself, but even just after a week or so, Ed could see the difference. Simply being in the hero course, being around people who welcomed him into class every day, had Shinsou standing straighter. He looked better rested, if only a little, and he seemed to have more energy and presence than before.

Ed couldn't help but think back to his first time walking into class after the switch, seeing Shinsou's eyebrows go up in question, before becoming increasingly confused and panicked as the rest of the class greeted him by his hero name. He had attempted to play it cool, and not freak out, but Ed knew the kid kept glancing over at him nervously.

He, also, couldn't help but laugh his ass off seeing Shinsou numbly point to his recommendation sheet, which hosted only one name. 'Fullmetal.'

Now though, 2 weeks after the sports festival, internships started up. Ed and Shinsou were currently running around building tops- though, at the speed Shinsou was moving, it felt more like a leisurely stroll.

Shinsou was struggling to keep up, his experience in parkour not nearly as vast as Ed's, and so he was having to help teach the kid the basics. "F-Fullmetal-" Shinsou huffed, placing his hands on his knees as the two of them stopped. He was breathing heavy, clearly exhausted and sweaty. "Why- why do we have to- to be walking on the roofs?" Shinsou asked.

Ed couldn't show his face through his visor, so instead he tilted his head. "You want the actual reason or my personal reason?" He asked, and Shinsou looked up at him incredulously.

"Actual reason." Shinsou said, and Ed couldn't help but grin.

"Fun and exercise." He responded, and Shinsou's eye twitched.

"I asked for the actual reason, not your personal one." He scowled, and Ed laughed.

"That is the actual reason! My personal reason, is that I find it a lot easier to find villains- but truthfully it doesn't make much of a difference. It does, however, give me a surprise advantage, and I get to avoid the crowds!" He said, and Shinsou huffed, rolling his eyes, muttering quietly about ridiculousness, and going 'Senile.'

Ed's eye twitched, and he growled. "Hey! Don't call me senile, brat!" He barked, and Shinsou's lips twitched into a slight smile.

Shinsou ended up sitting down, still looking rather exhausted. Ed couldn't help but frown, suddenly worrying about overexerting the kid. He glanced at the skyline, and saw the sun had already fallen below the horizon. It was getting late, and they had spent most of the day just wandering around with Ed periodically lecturing him.

He felt nervous. There was a sudden feeling of not being quite good enough. He didn't have a personal dojo or agency, he didn't have any of the proper intern equipment, nor- anything fancy, really. It was always just him, his suitcase, and the road, and it had been like that ever since he left resembool. Al didn't need anything extra- extra clothes or food or bedding- and so now that he had to actually care for another kid, even if only briefly, it felt jarring.

Was he pushing the kid too hard too fast? He was giving Shinsou a bit more slack than the others in class, and even then, they were allowed to sit down if it was too much, but was this still too much? It felt so strange slowing down so much- was this a bad idea? Teaching in a classroom and having a shadow while he worked was so different, and even then he didn't exactly feel like the best teacher.

'Ed, you're doing fine.' he could hear Winry try and calm him, and it helped- though only a little. He couldn't help but fiddle with the silver chain in his watch. What if this wasn't good enough, what if Shinsou hated working with him? Should he see about transferring the kid to a new internship?

'Brat.' he heard Teacher snap in his mind, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. He knew his arm jerked, and he hoped Shinsou didn't see. 'Shut the hell up. Your overthinking is going to make you lose your edge, and cower out of this.' she scolded, and Ed couldn't help but tense up and scowl. 'you're doing fine- as fine as you can be. Teaching is hard, trust me. You need to let yourself calm down and go with the flow. If you're that worried about his needs not being met, just ask him.' Teacher gently encouraged, and Ed's fists balled in his coat pockets. How was he supposed to ask, though? How was he-

"Why did you chose me to be your intern?" Ed's thoughts came to a screeching halt as he turned to stare at Shinsou, who was hunched over. Instead of saying something stupid like 'what?' without thinking, Ed moved to sit down next to the kid.

He thought for a second, before a small smile appeared on his face. "You want the actual reason or my personal reason?" He asked, and gave a small chuckle.

Shinsou, However, didn't laugh or smile. Instead he just looked over at Ed. There was this look in his eyes, one that made Ed's heart ache a bit. He looked sad and quiet, though it seemed like he was trying to keep it under the guise of his monotony. "Personal."

Ed sighed, sitting criss-crossed and resting his hands in his lap. "Truthfully, part of why I wanted to intern you was because of your quirk." He said, and Shinsou's eyes widened, looking at him in confusion. "Our powers aren't exactly similar, but it was something else that inspired me." He turned to look at the skyline, memories popping up as he continued.

Memories of people he's caught, villains who used their quirks to help their families, helping kids who were getting picked on outside of campuses, seeing a barista who seemed so happy and cheerful, get ridiculed and pushed to villainy- "I've known a lot of people in my life- met even more, and a lot of them have had undesirable quirks- as stupid as that term is.

"I've watched people struggle because of it, watched how over time the station of 'Hero' became more and more of a point of ridicule for those without flashy quirks. It makes me feel sick even thinking about it, but it just keeps getting worse." He sighed, moving to rest his chin on his hand, propped up by his knee. "It's always been baffling to me, how someone with- say, a strength quirk- gets encouraged and given the opportunities to become a hero, while someone who has the same quirk, but with something more- perhaps a physical aspect to it that makes them look unnerving and scary- gets denied those same opportunities and encouragement." He couldn't help but feel frustrated and angry the longer he talked- it was so unfair.

"Hell- that kid with the flashy quirk could be some raging asshole, but still be treated like they're up on a pedestal! Hell, I've done-" his breath hitched, and he could taste bile sear the back of his throat as memories of the body- the corpse in their basement- came to mind suddenly. He clammed up, and he realized very suddenly that he was doing it again- rambling to the nearest ear possible, even if they shouldn't be hearing it.

"Fullmetal?" Shinsou's voice cut through his ears like a hot knife. He was quiet, confused, and sounded a little worried. Ed let out a shaky sigh, his eyes fixated on the concrete of the roof.

"I've done things I'm not proud of." He said, forcing the words out of his mouth- to simply finish that thought so it wouldn't haunt him.

"You- Shinsou- your drive and your passion and your quirk- you have the ability to do something really, really special." He spoke much quieter now, that anger and frustration leaving a cold pit in his stomach, but he tried to push it aside, tried to not leave this on such a bitter note. He turned to look at Shinsou, who stared at Ed with wide eyes and a slightly furrowed brow. "You can give people hope, someone to look up to- someone they can relate to." He couldn't help but reach over and set a hand on the kid's head, watching his hair get ruffled and flattened. "Nobody else was seeing your potential- or at the very least, wasn't giving you the chance to shine. I wanted to give you that opportunity."

Shinsou gently smacked Ed's hand away, and Ed chuckled. Shinsou's eyes were glassy, but tears didn't fully start to form. He had a tightly drawn frown, but he didn't scowl. He seemed thoughtful, looking away from Ed to stare at the horizon.

The Alleyway went quiet. Izuku looked up at Stain, towering over Iida, so close and yet so far away. If he could just get a little closer, if he could just move his legs, maybe he could stop it, but his muscles tensed and locked up, cold washing over him like icy water being poured into his bloodstream.

He could barely move his eyes, much less his throat and tongue to scream for help, so instead he had to watch with fear and dread as Stain raised his sword into the air, and watch Iida as he closed his eyes.

Then, a ringing. Izuku couldn't turn his head towards the noise, but he could see the flash of blue lightning before the ground rushed forward. Stain was barely able to dodge out of the way in time, as where he had been standing was now a pillar of brick and concrete.

Izuku heard his footsteps before he could see him, but eventually Fullmetal's cloak came into view, his helmet glinting in the moonlight. Stain lowered himself to the ground more, ready to flee or fight at a moments notice.

"Fullmetal." He said, voice both reverent and cautious.

"Stain." Fullmetal echoed, his helmet made it hard to hear his voice clearly, but there was an underlying tone that Izuku couldn't quite parce. It sounded angry, but sad and disappointed at the same time.

Stain huffed, looking between Iida, Native, and Fullmetal. Before he could speak though, Fullmetal beat him to it. "Y'know, I knew we'd eventually meet, but I wasn't expecting it to be like this, with two of my class idiots around." He said, and Izuku couldn't help but feel the urge to laugh bubble in his stomach. It was such a teasing tone that he couldn't help but feel appalled.

"You were expecting this?" Stain asked, grip on his swords tightening. Fullmetal sighed.

"Partly, yes. I've been doing less direct hero work, but that doesn't mean I'm not doing any." He spoke almost casually, hands in his pockets as he spoke. Izuku could feel the coldness in his blood fade, but he stayed still regardless, unsure of what to do or if he should even alert Stain to the fact he can move again. Fullmetal stood straighter after a moment, and Izuku could feel the air get tenser. "What is your goal here, Stain. What possible reason could you have for killing hero's - for attempting to kill Children."

Stain growled. "The Heroes of today are fakes. They're nothing but gloating celebrities that want money and power, you know that better than anyone." He ground out. "The one in Armour hunted me down, and attempted to kill me. I was simply returning the favor." He said, and Fullmetal stood there still for a few moments.

The tension in the air was thick and oppressive, and Izuku couldn't help but look over at Iida, who seemed just as nervous and confused. Izuku startled when Fullmetal began to talk again. "You know, Stain. You remind me of someone from a long time ago." Stain seemed curious, but stayed quiet, keeping his eyes on Fullmetal. "Back in my day, those with quirks were often recruited by the military. It was only a small portion of the populace, but their power was immense." He started, pulling out a silver pocket watch. It glinted in the moonlight, making the shimmery dragon on it stand out.

"A while after I was recruited, many military quirk users were dying mysteriously, and gruesomely. I found out who was causing their deaths first hand. I was suddenly attacked and nearly killed by a man I'd never seen before." He reminisced, looking down at his pocket watch, before looking up at Stain. "He was a survivor of a recent genocide, carried out by my military a while before I'd joined. I was very young when it happened, so I have no recount of the backlash firsthand, but the man who was killing military men, Scar, had every right to be angry and vengeful." He said quietly, before shoving his pocket watch back into his coat.

"After a long, long set of circumstances, I was forced to work hand in hand with him. He was spiteful, vengeful, and angry, but it wasn't good for him. Revenge and hate is a gruesome cycle, one that doesn't end without interference." He ended up reaching towards his helmet, and slowly took it off, allowing his braid to fall down his back. From Izuku's angle, he couldn't see Fullmetal's eyes, but he could see the way Stain flinched. "In the end, he was able to work through that anger and hatred, and was able to turn that grief, that loneliness and spite into something constructive, working with other refugees, civilians, and the new regime to help rebuild his homeland."

"And why are you telling me this, huh? I'm not going back to being a hero, not with all those sick, selfish freaks!" Stain ground out, gripping his swords hard enough to turn white. Fullmetal took a few steps forward.

"I'm not saying you should, or that you even can. I'm telling you this because I know for a fact that you can reform, that you can use the power and influence you can have over others to do good, instead of festering more hate and fear and violence." He said, holding out his hand- his left, flesh and bone hand. "The system is fucked, people are forced into villainy and crime for simply existing wrong, and it's disgusting. I've been trying to change this, but I need more people, I need others to see this and understand it as well." He said.

The others in the alley- including Izuku himself, were stunned. Stain was wide eyed, staring at Fullmetal's hand, before flicking his eyes up to Fullmetal's face. Iida stared at Fullmetal with this strange look, of both confusion, anger, and guilt.

"How-" Iida choked out. "How can you- how can you ally with him- he killed so many people- my brother is maimed and was almost killed by him, how could you-"

Fullmetal turned to glare at Iida. "And you think that trying to hunt him down and kill him in return is a good thing?" Fullmetal snapped, voice forceful. Iida flinched. "I understand your anger, Iida. I do- trust me, I really, really do, but life is sacred, regardless of who's it is. That is something I've been trying to teach you kids for weeks now. Every life is sacred and valuable, and once you start making exceptions about who's is and isn't, then you start going down very, very dark roads." He said, and Iida hung his head, staring at the stone glumly.

Fullmetal sighed and tsk'ed, and while Izuku couldn't see his face, Izuku could imagine the disappointment on his face. "Look up, Iida. Stop hanging your head, you made a mistake, and that's fine. Everyone does. That doesn't mean you're devoid of consequences, but it also doesn't mean you're irredeemable." He said, before turning once more to Stain.

Stain was standing now, swords hung loosely in his hands. He was still staring wide eyed at Fullmetal, but he didn't say anything. His face was screwed into this tense frown, and he seemed stunned. Fullmetal took a few steps forward. "Stain. I know you want to do good. But this isn't the way to do it. Go home, and lay down your swords. I will give you this one chance to run, to hide from enforcements, and change, but I will not give you the same mercy next time I catch you raising your blades." He said, and Izuku's jaw dropped.

Stain nodded stiffly, and within moments he was gone, a flicker in the night as he ran away. Fullmetal sighed, pulling his braid up and putting his helmet back on, before turning back to the small group. Izuku slowly stood up, trying to process everything he'd just seen. Fullmetal let him go?

"You-" Iida stood, though he was off balance and clung to the wall. "You let him go!?" Iida asked, incredulous. "He needs to face justice! Even if not killed he still- he-"

"Iida." Fullmetal snapped, and Iida scowled. "I know my decision seems stupid, I know it seems rash, but I wouldn't just let him get away if I didn't have a means to watch over him. I said what I meant, I'm giving him a chance to change now, before martial law comes for him and tears any ounce of freedom he has left away from him. Prison, especially Tartarus, is a horrific place." Fullmetal said, and Iida looked away, still very much not happy.

Native groaned while on the ground still, and Fullmetal moved closer to help him stand up. "That's still a pretty-" he groaned. "Ballsy move. Still don't think you shoulda let him go." Native grumbled, his arm being thrown over Fullmetal's shoulders.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll take on any and all consequences that may happen past this point, but." Fullmetal paused for a few moments. "I really don't think we need to worry about him anymore." He said with confidence. The three of them slowly made their way out of the alley, and Fullmetal turned to Izuku and Iida.

"Alright, cover story. Stain attacked Native, and Iida was nearby and ended up trying to save him. Izuku, you got an SOS and rushed over to help, but lost grand Torino on the way over. I rushed over once I received the SOS, and was able to scare off Stain. He was able to slip away, and I focused on helping the three of you." He clarified, and Native made a face.

"Not much of a cover story." He grumbled, and Fullmetal groaned.

"Yeah, well, it's enough of a cover up that the two of them won't get into too much trouble, the police will make a full cover story when they get here, that's the cover up you tell the detectives when they ask, so that I don't get into deep shit and lose my teaching job and hero license, capiche?" He looked between Izuku and Iida. Izuku nodded a little numbly, while Iida nodded sharply.

Izuku couldn't help but feel a little stun-locked. He was trying to parce through the information Fullmetal had been telling Stain, and couldn't wrap his head around it. There were so many questions he had. He had been military? Who was the man he was talking about? Where did he even grow up? There were very few documentations from before the quirk war available to the public, so it isn't entirely out of the question that a genocide disappeared from records, but that was if Fullmetal was even telling the truth, why would he tell part of his story to Stain? A villain?

Snap!

Lightning shot through the air, and Izuku could feel the roar of Flames as something very large caught aflame, crashing into the sidewalk several feet behind him. Izuku startled, backing away as he heard the creature wail in agony. "Midoriya!" Izuku snapped his head to the side and saw Grand Torino coming his way quickly, Shinsou rounding the corner behind him. "Good god- have some more awareness, for goodness sake-!" He scolded, and Fullmetal chuckled from beside Izuku.

"It's alright, I got it handled." Fullmetal said, staring at the still burning creature. Izuku couldn't see his facial expression, but from his tense body language, it wasn't a pretty one.

Edward sat in the hospital room, watching Iida and Midoriya get cared for. He was currently supervising them on behalf of the detectives, which were talking with the other pro heroes that were on the scene. He knew he was going to get questioned soon, but he couldn't help but relax a bit as the nurses left, and he was left alone with the two kids.

Once he could hear the nurses leave, and everything went quiet, he fully let himself calm down, no longer hearing their soft footsteps and rolling equipment. He slowly took off his helmet, letting his hair fall down his back as he took a few deep breaths. Truthfully, he wanted to scream and shout and tell them what for. Going after Stain while not even fully trained!? They were going to get killed!

'Hypocrite.' he heard Winry snort in his head, and he had to bite his tongue. His experiences were different! He'd been trained and had military experience when he was hunting down scar! He had every right to be upset at these idiots! But he held his tongue, instead of exploding on them, he lowered the two with a deep, deep glare.

"What in God's name possessed you two, untrained, inexperienced, and young kids to go after a man that's been permanently maiming or straight up killing hero's who have had years and years of professional training?" He hissed out, and Iida and Midoriya looked properly scorned. Iida looked nearly on the verge of tears, while Midoriya mostly just looked sheepish and embarrassed.

"U-um… I mostly just went cause Iida was in trouble and- and I wanted to help make sure he was safe." Midoriya said, getting quieter and quieter as he talked. Iida, meanwhile, just gripped the bedsheets and looked away from the two of them. Edward sighed, pinching between his eyes. He took a moment to process, before turning to Iida.

"He hurt Tensei." Iida said, very very quietly, gripping the sheets tight enough for his knuckles to whiten.

"Iida." Ed started. He forced his tone to become softer, quieter. He tried to think and sympathize. What would he have done in Iida's situation? That's when he fully sighed, tired and deep and exhausted. No, he couldn't even argue with the kid about that. Edward knew, deep, deep in his soul, that if Alphonse were maimed, hurt by someone like Stain, he wouldn't be able to control himself. He wouldn't be able to quell his rage and anger and guilt.

"Iida." He said, much softer. "I understand." He said, looking up at him with the most earnest eyes he could. "I understand your anger, more than you would ever realize-" Iida opened his mouth to protest, but Edward shut him down quickly, holding a hand up. "No, Iida, I do. I had a younger brother-" his throat tempted to close up, and he could feel Alphonse gently attempting to soothe him. "I understand entirely. If I was in your situation, if he was hurt by someone, I would have been in the same situation as you. But If anything, he had to deal a whole lot more with the reverse." Edward explained. Iida and Midoriya both seemed surprised as he talked. There was a strange look that flashed across Iida's face, before he seemed to clam up a bit more. Midoriya mostly just looked curious, but also a bit sad.

"Al- he had to watch me throw myself into fights constantly. He had to watch me get hurt over and over again, and every time all I could think about was how much I wanted him to be safe, how glad I was that he wasn't the one hurt. Tensei, I imagine, feels similar. I can't imagine that he would be happy to hear you went after scar, that you got hurt, when he was the one trying to- even if it's inadvertent- protect you." Ed said, standing up. He moved to Iida's side, watching his shoulders shake and the tears that had been collecting finally escape. He gently put a hand on Iida's shoulder. "I understand. I do. I know your brother means the world to you. I also know he wouldn't want you hurting yourself like this." He bit his tongue after, holding back the words he knew would hurt the most, but that still echoed in his mind. 'your older brother wouldn't want to bury you.' Alphonse's face flashed in his mind, and he bit his tongue harder.

Iida sobbed quietly, not moving away from Edwards touch, but also not leaning into it. Ed knew he wasn't the one Iida wanted comfort from, and was fine with that. Eventually he let go, and went to sit in his seat again. Midoriya looked mostly just sad, curling in on himself a little, but it was Iida who still had tears in his eyes. Midoriya kept glancing at Iida, but seemed like he didn't know what to do, so Edward swooped in to take their minds off the heavy air of the room. "Midoriya." The boy squeaked, startling a little.

"Y-yes Fullmetal?" He looked very nervous being addressed again, and Edward raised an eyebrow.

"If you're gonna help your friend, get backup to come with you as well, or at least tell them where you are." He huffed, and Midoriya ducked his head in a nod. He fiddled with his thumbs, looking thoroughly sheepish.

"Of course sir…" he said quietly. Ed just rolled his eyes, still having not broken his kid's habits of calling him 'sir' and 'mister.'

'Your kids?' he could hear Al gently tease in his head. He could feel a wave of embarrassment wash over him, before retaliating internally.

'Hell yeah they are! Fuck you! I have to take care of those idiots, I can call them what I want!!!' he could hear the rolling laughter of several people, though could clearly pinpoint Teacher especially.

"Um-" Edward focused back into the room, looking at Midoriya expectantly. He rubbed the back of his neck, before continuing. "Earlier- the story you told Stain- was it true? The- well. The everything…" he trailed off quietly. Edward winced a little internally, but nodded.

"Most of it was." He said, shrugging. Midoriya tilted his head, confused.

"Most?" He asked, and Edward sighed. How was he going to explain this? He didn't have to explain it fully, it would be too much, but... He could bend the truth a little.

"Scar, the man I spoke of." He started, getting a bit quiet as he stared at the floor. "He ended up- those were his plans. But, he ended up dying before they could come to fruition." He said, and Midoriya looked saddened.

"Oh…" he said quietly. "Then, why…" he looked back up at Edward, who met his gaze.

"To give him hope. No one wants to hear a sad ending- at least, not when you're already struggling and ridden with guilt and anguish. It sounds crazy, but I've always believed that the ones who need hope and kindness the most, are villains." He shrugged. Iida looked up, and Midoriya tilted his head. "Very few people become villains because they had a happy life." He said, and the two of them seemed to accept that answer, Iida looking back down, and Midoriya nodding.

"Wait-" Midoriya blinked. "Does that mean the thing about- about being in the military was true?" He gawked. Edward couldn't help but laugh, and he reached into his pocket to throw his watch over. Midoriya yelped and fumbled to catch it, almost throwing it on the floor in his scramble, but he was able to clutch it to his chest. He pulled it up to his face to look at the engraving, curiosity blooming in his wide eyes.

"Yup! In my country, at the time at least, anyone with a quirk was recommended to join the military. Most people didn't have a good grip on their quirk until later in their life, but I had been training since I was real young. I ended up joining through a couple loopholes. I didn't exactly like the military, even before joining, but it gave me access to information I needed, as well as funding for said research." He explained, watching Iida gently lean over to glimpse at the watch as well. Midoriya seemed captured by the symbol on the front, meanwhile Iida turned back to Ed.

"Sir, how old were you when you joined? Surely it must have been after your immortality kicked in, yes? I can't imagine they'd let a child join the military!" Iida gently exclaimed. Edward couldn't help but grin mischievously, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms.

"Why do you think I needed the loophole?" He asked, and the two of them looked up in apallment.

"Wh- how old were you!?" Midoriya asked, and Edward shrugged.

"Oh, it's been so long, I can't remember exactly." He said dramatically, holding his chin to mimic thinking. "Oh, I think I was 14? No, no I remember now, I was 12!" He snapped a couple times for accentuation, pretending to have an 'aha!' moment (as if he could ever forget how old he was when he became a dog on a leash.)

Midoriya and Iida both looked deeply appalled and horrified, and Ed couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Ed walked into the hospital room, shutting the door behind him gently. He could- amusingly- hear Tensei turn off his phone as he walked further in. He rounded the medical curtain, and immediately he saw the resemblance. The man looked almost like a twin of his younger brother, with only slight differences that really set them apart.

Tensei had looked rather bored and a bit miserable at first, but that quickly turned into surprise and panic as he recognized Ed's hero costume. "Fullmetal-!?" He gasped, before attempting to bow his head. "Ah- I wasn't- I didn't think you-" he stuttered through the shock, and Ed chuckled.

"Calm down, I wanted to come in and talk to you for a little bit is all." Ed attempted to calm him down, moving towards the window booth to sit down. The man looked a little nervous, but also a little awestruck, and simply nodded. "How have you been?" He asked, as gentle as he could make the mask sound. "I don't want to hear any pleasantries- I came here to actually, properly check in on you. I want to know how you're actually feeling." Ed tagged on quickly. Tensei's face fell, frowning as he looked down. He seemed thoughtful, not entirely unhappy, but there was a tenseness, a slight hollow look to his eyes.

"Well, being bedridden isn't exactly what I call fun." Tensei weakly chuckled, though it didn't last long. "Being forced into retirement… it's rough." He said, clasping his hands together. "It feels like I've failed. There's so much I could have done, so much I could still be doing, but." He sighed, hands tightening. "It doesn't matter now." He shrugged.

Ed frowned beneath his mask. Tensei looked hollow and tired, broken down and exhausted. It was clear that even with him opening up a bit, there was a lot more hurt and misery under the surface.

"How's Tenya?" Tensei asked suddenly, and Ed blinked. "I- I saw he was apart of the recent stain attack, and I know you've been helping teach him- is he ok?" Tensei looked tense, worry wringing him tight like a wire, and Ed couldn't help but feel like he was suddenly looking in a mirror. The worry and care he had for Tenya made him smile, though his helmet hit it.

"He's recovering well." Ed nodded, and some of the tension released from Tensei. "He wasn't gravely injured, there were some major cuts, but currently they're just watching his blood levels and checking for lasting bruising." Ed could watch as Tensei relaxed, though he still seemed nervous- as if he wanted to get up and go check on Tenya personally, go up and help, but he was unable to.

"I see. Thank you for saving him." Tensei bowed once more, and Ed waved him off.

"Of course- that's my job after all- though, that's not what I came here to talk about." Ed had a burning question in his mind, one that got more and more pressing as he talked with Tensei. The man raised his head once more, curiosity on his face. "While Tenya is a wonderful student, I wanted to ask you about something else." He continued, and Tensei seemed to get more confused and curious.

Ed took a moment to plan out how he was going to handle this. He had a plan originally, but now that he was actually here, he couldn't remember a damn thing, and he felt nervous about it. He couldn't just keep sitting here like a dumbass though, so he ended up just going with the first thing he could think of. "Do you still want to be a hero?" He asked, and he nearly smacked himself for his own carelessness.

Tensei stiffened, face falling before curling into a weak smile. "Of course I do. I can't do much like this, though." He said. His tone was genuine, but it was also miserable and almost pained. Ed took a deep breath, steeling his nerves for a couple moments as he tried to think of how to phrase his next few questions.

In the end, he got frustrated with himself. Nothing seemed to get across what he wanted, and so, instead, he did what he knew best- blunt honesty.

Ed leaned down, grabbing at the hem of his left pant leg and pulling it up and over his knee. He quickly moved to roll up his right sleeve as well, pulling off his glove after. He let Tensei stare, awestruck at the prosthetics for a good couple seconds. "There's an old kind of prosthetic that ended up getting lost after the quirk war- Automail." He started, moving to stand up and come over to the bed, holding his arm out for Tensei to see. "They're traditionally very heavy, made out of pure metal, but with the technology nowadays, I bet they could make it incredibly light." He wiggles his fingers, twisting his wrist and bending his arm- showing off the fluidity and range of motion.

"The prosthetics are built into the body- wired to the nerves to allow for full articulation. However, the medical procedure is incredibly painful. The ports drill into the bones and flesh- but it would allow you to walk again- walk like before, walk and run with full motion- you'd be able to do hero work again." He explained. As he talked he watched as Tensei's eyes darted over his prosthetic, watching it move with growing intensity.

"You said that its- a lost practice though, right?" He said, hope just barely peeking into his tone. His eyes, though- they were bright and intense, a look of desperation in them. Edward nodded, and that fire dimmed quickly.

"It is- but, I've been working with the support department at U.A" Ed watched as Tensei perked up again. "Recovery Girl will be bringing in some colleagues soon. With the help of some doctors and the support department, I'm hoping to bring the practice back- hopefully with more comfort-ability, but considering the process, it's unlikely." He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. That look of hope on Tensei's face came back tenfold with each word that came out of Ed's mouth.

"Again, the procedure is painful- agonizing. They can't use pain killers, and the recovery process is usually 3 years, if not longer. However- if done right, you would be able to work as a hero again. We haven't gotten everything set up just yet, but would you be willing to do this for us- be willing to help us bring Automail back?" He asked. Ed felt strange asking this, felt strange being at the forefront of this plan, but it was something he's wanted for a long time, seeing hero's and civilians alike struggle with the aftermath of villain attacks, however he's never had the free time until now- and even then, just barely enough.

He couldn't help but feel strangely emotional about it, though he tried to tamp that down a bit.

Tensei, though, had tears welling in his eyes. They didn't fall, but they threatened to. Tensei smiled. "Yes- yes of course- thank you. Thank you so much."