Mischief

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/38095063.

Rating: Mature
Archive Warning: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: F/M
Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero
Academia, Marvel, Thor (Movies)
Relationship: Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako, Loki (Marvel) & Midoriya Izuku,
Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochako, Iida Tenya & Midoriya Izuku,
Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto, Kaminari Denki & Midoriya Izuku,
Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Class 1-A & Midoriya Izuku, Aizawa
Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku, Minor or Background
Relationship(s), Midoriya Izuku & Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko
Character: Midoriya Izuku, Loki (Marvel), Uraraka Ochako, Iida Tenya, Todoroki
Shouto, Kaminari Denki, Thor (Marvel), Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead,
Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Class 1-A (My Hero Academia), Sensei | All
For One, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko
Additional Tags: Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Loki Powers, Midoriya Izuku is Loki’s Son,
Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku is a
Little Shit, Sassy Midoriya Izuku, Prankster Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya
Izuku Needs A Hug, Midoriya Izuku is Bad at Feelings, Midoriya Izuku
is a Dork, Protective Uraraka Ochako, Uraraka Ochako is a Good
Friend, Supportive Class 1-A (My Hero Academia), Protective Class 1-A
(My Hero Academia), Marvel characters are based on MCU versions,
But are not exactly the same, Will update tags as story progresses,
Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead is So Done, Alternate Universe - Canon
Divergence, Humor, Attempt at Humor, Midoriya Izuku is a Problem
Child, Chaotic Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku Has a Knife, A lot of
knives, Mischievous Midoriya Izuku, Careful for SPOILERS, Aizawa
Shouta | Eraserhead Adopts Eri, Eri Has a Knife, Aizawa Shouta |
Eraserhead Needs a Vacation, Midoriya Izuku is a Fluffy-Haired
Gremlin
Language: English
Collections: Banco Fic, The IzuOcha Fic Collection, my hero academia: a medley,
Jaded Discord Server Recommendations, Stalker’s Amongst Stalker’s,
Behold the Sacred Texts, SakurAlpha's Fic Rec of Pure how did you
create this you amazing bean
Stats: Published: 2022-04-01 Updated: 2022-09-27 Chapters: 24/? Words:
153030

Mischief
by KageNekem

Summary

“So…” The villain scratches his nose. “What exactly are you supposed to be?”

Izuku Midori-no. There’s no one watching. No one here to see. He smirks.

 “I am Izuku Lokison. Prince of Mischief.” He spreads his arms out in front of him, a dagger
appearing in each hand with a soft green glow. “And I am burdened with glorious purpose.”

OR

Izuku is the son of the mischievous god Loki. What he lacks in a quirk, he more than makes
up with his illusions, decoys, and just so many tricks. So join him! As he fulfills his own
glorious purpose of being a hero!

Notes

See the end of the work for notes

 Where’s the Fun in That?
Chapter Notes

What’s up guys! So a while back I was reading Worthy by IslandStorm, a fun fic
where Midoriya is Thor’s son and I thought…that’s cool…but what if he was Loki’s
son instead?! I mean they’re both green. And well, a flood of ideas later that wouldn’t
leave my head and here we are.

Been working on the story for a bit now but wasn’t sure when/if I wanted to post it.
But when I realized April Fools Day was coming up, I knew I had no choice. I mean,
there’s literally no better day to start a story about a trickster/prankster. My hands were
tied so here you go.

Midgard and Terra = Earth

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“I am Loki, of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose.”

“Right ok sir, so how many are in your party again?”

Five-year-old Izuku Lokison couldn’t help but giggle as his father sputters at the restaurant
hostess’ words. His mother has the decency to at least try to hide her laughter behind her hand. It
wasn’t working.

After confirming it was just the three of them, the hostess led them through the restaurant. Izuku
followed behind his father while his mother stayed behind him. The boy couldn’t help but look
around as they went. It wasn’t often they went out to eat as a whole family. Only for real special
occasions. And his parents let him pick out whatever he wanted to wear! So of course he was proud
of his tan cargo shorts and lime green shirt that read ‘pants’.

They were led to a booth where the hostess put down their menus and told them their server would
be there soon. His parents thanked her and slid into the booth on one side. His father first, wearing
one of his favorite outfits, a full black suit. Jacket, shirt, tie, and pants, everything black. But it
went well with his slightly pale skin, comb-backed greasy black hair, and green eyes. His mother,
Inko, flattened her blue skirt and slid in next to his father with her white undershirt and peach-
colored cover-up. Izuku sat across from them.

“Honey, you don’t need to announce yourself every time we go somewhere,” his mom lightly
teased.
His father gave a small sigh. “Well yes, I know. But how else will these people know who graces
them with his presence?”

Mom rubs his arm. “You know you don’t have to be the God of Mischief everywhere we go? You
can just be my husband and Izuku’s father.”

“No!” Izuku decides to chime into the conversation. “I like dad’s mischief! More mischief!”

Dad gives Mom a little smirk. “See? At least someone appreciates my work.” He shrugs a little
before turning back to Izuku. “What do you say? Want to liven up tonight? Maybe I'll make a few
snakes appear on some people's plates?”

“Yes!”

“Loki, no!” Mom chastises him while lightly swatting his shoulder. “Besides, I have a feeling there
will be plenty of time for that after what happened last night.”

Izuku rewound the video on the computer again and hit play. It was the same one he always
watched. All Might’s debut video. Where he saved over a hundred lives, all while smiling. That’s
who Izuku wanted to be. A hero who saved everybody with a smile. But no.

“Sorry kid, it’s not gonna happen.”

The doctor's words rang in his head over and over again. He didn’t have a quirk. None at all. Even
with a weak quirk, he could’ve made it work! But no, instead, he had none. Could he even still…

He spun around in his chair, tears falling from his eyes to face his parents who watched him from
the doorway. He pointed at All Might’s smile. “Do you think…I could be a hero too?”

His mother dropped to her knees and hugged him while crying, apologizing over and over.
“Sorry kid, it’s not gonna happen.”

Izuku hugged his mother back. Dad watched from the doorway. Seemingly lost for words. His
world was crumbling. There was only one thing he wanted to hear.

“Sorry kid, it’s not gonna happen.”

And it wasn’t that! Just again and again in his head. That’s all he can see. The doctor in his chair
looking bored as he casually crushed his dreams. Just those words! Forever on repeat!

“Sorry kid, it’s not gonna happen.”

He heard his dad’s breathing hitch. Izuku looked up and wiped his tears to properly look at him.
But when he did, his father wasn’t looking at him. Instead, he was staring off at something to the
side of him. He wasn’t moving. Wasn’t blinking. Izuku turned his head to see what was there-

And promptly screamed, falling off his chair.

Mom whipped her head, screaming as she moved in front of Izuku. All three are now gazing at the
new, fourth occupant of the room. It was the doctor. Plain as day. He sat on his chair, head
leaning on his hand just as he did earlier.

“Sorry kid, it’s not gonna happen.”

He just continued to look bored. Waiting a minute before repeating the phrase, giving no
acknowledgment to anyone else.

“Izuku!”

Both mother and son jumped as dad rushed over kneeling beside them, grinning ear to ear.

“Do you know what this is? Do you know what you’ve done?” He asked. He sounded more excited
than Izuku had ever heard in his life. He looked over to mom for help but she looked just as lost as
he did. Probably wondering why he was asking Izuku for answers instead of demanding them from
the teleporting doctor.

Izuku shook his head, still holding onto mom.

Dad held his hands out. “No no, it’s ok. Really, it’s ok! Come here, let me show you.”

Slowly, Izuku detached and let himself be led over to the doctor. His father’s grin never left his
face. “Go ahead,” He said, gesturing to the doctor, “touch it.”

Izuku began to reach out before pulling back, looking one last time into his dad’s own green eyes
to be sure it was ok. With a nod, Izuku reached out again and touched the newcomer.

Only to yelp and snatch his hand back when instead of feeling the man’s lab coat or just anything
solid, his hand went straight through creating a small green glow and what looked like tv static
where his hand was.

The green-haired boy stared at his hand, looking back and forth between it and the apparently
static doctor. His dad got his attention again, his grin somehow getting wider. “Izuku, that’s an
illusion.”

Understanding dawned on the greenette. “Oh! It’s like one of your mischiefs!”

Dad chucked a bit. “Yes, Izuku. I make illusions. They’re essentially pictures and movies I can
bring to life anywhere. But as you saw, it’s not real.”

Izuku tilted his head in confusion, some might say he looked like a cute puppy as he did so. “So
why did you make this one?”

Dad put his hand on his shoulder. “I didn’t.”

That just confused the boy more! “Well, then who did?!” His father just continued to stare at him,
Izuku could swear he was vibrating. Which is great and all but doesn’t answer his question.
Ok, Izuku, let’s analyze! There are three alive people in this room since the doctor is basically a
hologram. (so cool!) Dad says he didn’t make it, and dad doesn’t lie. So that leaves his mom. But
wait, her quirk just attracts small things. Like pencils, erasers, utensils. Wait, what exactly is a
small thing? How does the quirk determine that? Is it weight-based? That would make sense.
Because while Izuku wouldn’t consider himself too small, to someone like dad or Uncle Thor, he
was positively tiny. But he guesses the quirk doesn’t count that. But what about the small things
attached to Izuku? Like in that movie dad let him watch the other night while mom slept, the villain
cut the one hero’s eye out! But the eye is tiny, or small. So could his mom use her quirk to grab
people’s eyes while they’re still attached? Or would they have to be cut out first? Dad said he cut
out an eye once. Did he let mom try out her quirk at that time? And what about the other body pa-

A light squeeze on his shoulder brought him back. He looked up to see his father with a look of
amusement on his face. Oh. He had been muttering, hadn’t he? Alright! Focus! The static doctor
now. Asking dad about eyeballs he’s cut out later. So no, it couldn’t have been mom. And there
can’t be any invisible people in the room. Dad can always tell. So that just leaves…

“Me?” Izuku asked, pointing to himself in disbelief.

“Yes!!” Dad cheered while shaking him a little. “Yes! Yes, you Izuku! You created that illusion!
Do you know what that means?!” Mom gasped behind them, putting a hand over her mouth. “It
means you have my powers!”

“I…I…” Izuku’s brain had shut off and the rebooting process was taking a while.

His father laughed at his stunned face. “You may not have a quirk son. But you got something even
better. My magic.”

“Y-your magic? Y-you mean I can do mischiefs? Like you?” The boy asked, tears starting to fall
again.

“You’re going to be able to do so much Izuku!” Dad cheered. “You’ll be able to create illusions,
hide yourself, conjure things, so much! And look at the illusion you just created by accident? At
such a young age too, I think your illusions might even be better than mine!”

The tears were in free fall now and there was no stopping them. “Does…does that mean…” Izuku
sniffled. “Does that mean I can become a hero?”
For the first time, his dad’s smile faltered, but only for a moment before returning. “O-of course
Izuku.” He clears his throat before continuing, his voice firm. “Izuku, you’ll have the power to be
anything you want. To do anything you want. And if being a hero is what you want? Then ok. You
can be a hero.”

Loki felt his breath leave him as a tiny green blur slammed into his chest clinging to him like a
lifeline. None of them were sure how much time had passed while Izuku sobbed, but it didn’t
matter. The doctor faded away at some point.

Izuku eventually pulled away, trying and failing to wipe away the last of his tears. He didn’t get
very far before being pulled into his mother's embrace. Both greenette’s crying while Inko told her
son over and over what a great hero he would be and how she’d support him every step of the way.

A clap brought their attention back to Loki, who was running his hands together. “Well this calls
for a celebration, don’t you think? How about we go out to eat tomorrow night?” Izuku nodded so
fast, his tears began to splash both parents. “Great then! And after that, we can begin training!”

Izuku’s tears finally stopped, staring wide-eyed. “T-training? You mean, you’re going to teach
me?…”

“Well of course! Unless you happen to know any other sorcerers-“

“YES!” Izuku cried, getting on his feet. “Yes, yes! I wanna learn from you! That’s ok, right mom?”

Inko looked at her husband for a few moments. “I’m ok with it. But nothing too intense right away.
And…” she paused for another moment. “And where will you be training him, Loki? I don’t want
to have to replace furniture or dig knives out of the wall after you two are done every time.”

“Oh, Inko, you know we have more than enough in our finances to replace anything that might
break.” The glare from his wife made him reconsider for a moment. “Uh, but! But, I do know a
secluded place we could practice.”

After a nod of approval from his mom, Izuku jumped into the air clapping. “Yay!! Can we start
now?!”
Both parents laughed before Loki responded. “Not tonight, how about we go out to eat tomorrow
and the next day, we start?”

“Ok!” Izuku pumped his fists in the air. “I’m gonna be a hero!”

Inko pumped her own fists in the air with her son, cheering with him. Loki watched on, only a
small smile on his face now. “Yes, Izuku. You’re going to do great things.”

The waitress walks over to their table smiling. “Hey guys, I’ll be your server. Can I get you any
drinks or anything to get started?”

“Katsudon!” Izuku helpfully provides.

Inko laughed. “We order our drinks, then our food sweety.” Izuku pouts but relented.

After they were done eating and the meal was paid for, the family began to make their way back
towards the front of the restaurant but before they could reach the doors, a scream pierces its way
through the air. Everyone turns as a woman practically launches herself out of her seat.

“Snake!” She screeches. Before anyone could react, another man halfway across the building, also
throws himself out of his booth. More and more people began to scream as small blue snakes
slithered on the ground, snapping at people’s feet.

Inko grabbed her son as people rush past them, pushing their way out of the building. She could
only sigh. “Loki…” the aforementioned man not so subtly holds his hand out to his son, who
giggles and gives him a high five.

“Really Inko darling, it was just a good bit of fun.”

“Yeah, Mom! It was a funny joke!”

The family was walking back home, wanting to enjoy the crisp night air. Inko had just finished
admonishing Loki for his ‘prank.’ “Is that so Izuku? A funny joke? Were those people laughing?
Even after the snakes disappeared?”

“Well…no…” They still look pretty scared. Why? They were never in any real danger.

“And tell me this, what would have happened if while everyone ran, someone tripped and fell?”

The boy stares down at his feet while they were walking. He hadn’t thought about that. “They
could’ve gotten hurt…”

“That’s right, and a hero doesn’t hurt people, do they?”

Izuku has a horrified expression looking back up. “No! No never! A hero saves everybody no
matter what!” He always loved his father's pranks and jokes. He thought since nothing his father
made was real, no one could ever get hurt but mom was right. He chewed his bottom lip. Can
pranks go too far? No, dad had never said anything about that being possible? So it wasn’t right?
Unless…

“Izuku…” he hadn’t even noticed when his mother had kneeled in front of him. “Pranks can be ok.
I’m just asking you to think about it a little bit before pulling them, ok?” Yeah, yeah ok that made
sense. After repeating it out loud for his mother, she stood up and looked her husband in the eye.
“And I expect that lesson to be reinforced during his training as well? Are we clear?”

“They were all going to live uninteresting lives anyway, the least I could do was give them
something to remember,” Dad tries. Now Izuku had never seen his father get cold before, but even
he shivers from how icy the look he got became. “Very well,” he concedes.

They continue for a few minutes before being stopped by some noise coming from inside an alley
they were passing. Izuku and his mom instinctively moved behind Dad. For a few seconds, there
was nothing. But before any of them could assume it was a wild animal or something, a young
woman, probably early to mid-twenties, was thrown from the darkness, screaming until she hit the
ground and went still.

“Oh dear. Is she dead?” Loki asks. After a beat, he shrugs before beginning to walk away.
“Izuku! Wait!” Inko cries but it’s too late. Her grip had relaxed due to shock and at that moment
Izuku had moved. He was nearly at the woman by the time his brain caught up with him. ‘How did
I get here?!’ Well, he could worry about that later. This lady needs help.

He crouches by her. “Miss? Are you ok?” ‘Dumb question Izuku! She’s bleeding from the head!
She’s clearly not ok, stop being a Deku!’ Before his thoughts could continue, a new voice
interrupted.

“Well, this is annoying.” Izuku’s head snapped up to see three figures approaching from the alley.
The one on the left was big with some type of bull mutation. The middle one was fairly plain
looking with brown hair. The only notable feature is his slightly pointy ears. And the one on the
right he couldn’t tell at all as he wore snow pants, a winter coat with a scarf, a hat, and a ski mask
on his face. The only body parts visible were his hands.

It was the bull who had spoken in a deep baritone. He continues, “Listen, folks, there’s nothing to
see here. We’re just collecting some money owed to us and we’ll be on our way.”

Izuku vaguely hears his mother on the phone as dad walks up beside him. “Come now, Izuku.”

That got his attention. “What?! Dad, no! She’s hurt! We have to help!”

“Izuku, we don’t have to do any-“

“Heroes help people!” Izuku retorts. “They save everybody! No matter what! Please!!” He couldn’t
understand why Dad didn’t want to do anything?! He was way more powerful than these villains!
If you have the power to help, then you should!

Loki sighs deeply before looking back at the three villains. “Well, I suppose there is something we
could get from this.” He looks back down at Izuku. “How about an impromptu first lesson on some
of your powers?” Izuku nods rapidly. Anything to get Dad to help. He nods, walking forward.

“I am Loki, of Asgard!” He announces, spreading his arms in front of him as a dagger appears in
each hand seemingly from nowhere. “God of Mischief. You all will be helping me give my son
some important lessons so do try not to embarrass yourselves.” He turned his head slightly to
address his son. “It’s always good to add a bit of flourish, Izuku. Let those you face know they are
beneath you.”
Pointy Ears laughs, jabbing his thumb at the self-proclaimed god. “Yo, what the fuck even is this
guy?” He asks in a high-pitched voice.

The Bull-Man began scraping one leg on the ground, getting ready to charge. Loki took a few steps
to the side so he was in front of a wall. “I don’t care what he thinks he is. He’s gonna be a puddle
in a second!” He roars charging at Loki.

However, instead of turning him into a red mist as the Bull-Man expected, he runs through him
like nothing’s there, crashing into the wall. The bull cries out in pain, collapsing to the ground
grabbing his head. Loki appeared from thin air in a green light next to his counterpart, which
promptly fades from existence. He half-turned to Izuku.

“What I just did Izuku, was use two techniques at the same time. I created an illusion of myself
while at the same time hiding my presence. This will be one of the most important things for you to
learn.” He turns to fully face the stunned muggers. “And honestly? Attacking one at a time? I
asked you not to embarrass yourselves. How is my son supposed to learn?”

The two villains, broken from their stupor, yell and charge in at the same time as requested. Pointy
Ears turns one of his arms into a full-length sword while the winter coat villain’s hands become
blue. Loki lazily raises his dagger and blocks the oncoming sword while lifting his other forearm.
The blue hand villain grabs it and cheers. “Got you!” He yells, though his voice was somewhat
muffled from his mask.

“You see, Izuku.” Loki continues. “Analysis, like your hobby, is very important as well.” The
villains growl in frustration. Pointy Ears tries a few more slashes but are all easily blocked while
the other villain’s hand seems to glow a bit brighter on Loki’s arm. “I could tell immediately from
his stance that this gentleman has absolutely no form or skill with his sword. (“Hey!”) And the
other is wrapped up warmly with glowing blue hands. Clearly, something to do with the cold.” He
turns to look at the winter coat villain. “Which I’m sorry to say, does not affect me.”

With that, Loki throws the winter villain off him. He hit the wall with a very audible crack and
goes down. A swift kick to Pointy Ears and he was sent back down the alley. The Bull-Man was
back on his feet and charging once again. Loki merely stood there again and, like before, the Bull-
Man went through an illusion and smacks his head into the wall.

Loki appears again from nowhere, dismissing his double. “Really?” He asks the bull writhing on
the ground. “Two times? Really? It’s almost like you don’t want to help my son.”
“I’ll help him grow up without a dad!” The winter villain was slowly getting to his feet.

“Ah! Wonderful!” Loki calls out before fully turning to face Izuku. “You won’t be just limited to
one copy of yourself. You can make plenty!” To demonstrate, a dozen copies of his father littered
the alley. “The perfect technique for confusion and distraction. Obviously, it’s best if you use this
before you’re seen but if you are, just hide your presence.” He disappears in another green light to
make his point.

One of the Loki’s went to stab the winter villain but he dodges and thrusts his palm in it’s face…
only for it to go straight through. He dances around a few more clones, his attacks going through
all of them. “Stop hiding!” He yells in frustration.

“Okay!” The villain screams in pain as a dagger stabs him in between his ribs from behind. He
went down to one knee. Loki quickly grabs his arms and slashes both of his palms. The villain
screams more before a final slap from the Asgardian renders him unconscious.

In another flash of green light, the God was gone again, just before Pointy Ears ran back into the
fray, only to be descended upon by just under a dozen clones. “What the hell?!” He squeals,
dodging their attacks.

Loki appears crouching next to his son gesturing to the arm swordsman. “See? Distraction.” The
Bull-Man was rising again. Eyes zoning in on them. Izuku could swear he saw actual smoke
coming from his nostrils.

“There are many ways you’ll be able to use your illusion, decoys, clones, whatever you want to call
them in battle. That was merely a small taste.”

The Bull-Man began to ready his charge.

“Umm…Dad?”

“As you saw I slashed his palms. That was to nullify his abilities just in case. Of course, the better
way would be to simply cut his hands off or just kill him.”

The Bull-Man lowers himself.

Ok, going back to that later. But right now…”Ok, uh, Dad?”

“But I know that can look bad here on Midgard. But knowing how to disable people brings us back
to your analysis. Izuku? Are you getting all of this?”

The Bull-Man charged.

“Dad!”

Loki exhales, standing up. With a quick flick of his wrist, two throwing knives fly and bury
themselves into the bull’s legs. He screeches in pain and falls to the ground, sliding to a stop in
front of them. “Along with daggers, throwing knives will probably be your most used weapon.”
Loki lectures, “I’ll make sure you’re an expert with both but don’t worry, we’ll look at other
weapons too.” A kick to the face and the Bull-Man was out.

“Hey!” The two magic users look to see a very disheveled Pointy Ears glaring at them while
panting. It seems he had run out of illusions. “What the hell was that?!”

“As you can see Izuku,” Loki began, ignoring the last villain’s comments. “Letting enemies fight
your decoys can also mess with their head, as well as drain stamina.” The God of Mischief saunters
over to the man, making sure to literally walk on the Bull-Man. Sirens began to sound nearby.
“Any questions, Izuku?”

The boy shook his head, still trying to process all the new information. His dad nods. Pointy Ears
attempts to thrust his blade into Loki’s stomach but a simple sidestep reveals the man had severely
overextended. Loki kicks the back of his knee’s sending Pointy Ears to the ground and with a quick
hit to the head with the handle of the dagger, he’s knocked out.

Loki picks up Pointy Ears, followed by the winter villain, and dumps them over the bull. Izuku tilts
his head as his dad places a hand on two of the villain's foreheads and emits a green glow. “Dad,
what are you doing?” He asks.

“A simple enchantment,” was the reply as a hand was moved to the last forehead. “I’m going to
make them forget the last few minutes.”
“You can do that?!” Izuku yells incredulously. He remembers his dad mentioning he had powers
that could affect people’s minds but he never thought it’d be something so in-depth! He also called
it ‘simple.’ Which had to mean there were more complicated versions. How much memory could
he erase? Could he make someone forget who they were completely? Could he erase certain
memories or did he have to go back chronologically? What about the inverse? Could he make
people remember things they had forgotten? Oh my god. He’s thinking so narrowly. Could this be
expanded? Even to the point of brainwashing? False memories? The possibilities we-

The ruffling of his hair brought Izuku back. Looking up, he saw his dad smiling down at him. “As
much as I love your tangents my boy, we should get going.” He was right. The sirens were pretty
loud by this point. Loki reaches out and grabs Mom’s hand next to him (when did she get there?)
and gently led her and Izuku away.

“W-wait! Dad…” When the attention of his parents was on him, he turns to look at the woman still
lying on the ground. “I just…I just want to make sure she’ll be ok…”

Another sigh from Loki. “Very well. We’ve already gone this far.” He stands in between mother
and son, holding Izuku’s hand and Inko’s shoulder. Another soft green glow emerges but nothing
changes. They just stand there, staring at the woman. The emergency vehicles were coming down
the street, only seconds away.

“Uhh, Dad? Shouldn’t we?…”

“It’s quite alright. I’m hiding all of our presences right now.”

It’s official. His Dad is gonna make his brain explode tonight. Thinking about the number of
notebooks he’ll need for himself and Dad alone filled him with as much dread as it did excitement.
“You can hide the presence of multiple people?!” He whisper shouts.

Loki chuckles. “Yes, I can Izuku. And no need to lower your voice. We cannot be heard like this.”
The childish part of his brain told him to scream and test that theory. He held it in. For now.
“However,” Dad continues. “Hiding your own presence will be difficult enough with everything I
want to teach you. So I’m sorry but it will probably be a few decades before you’ll be able to hide
multiple people.”

Izuku was ready to refute that but the ambulances and police cars stopping on the street took his
attention. He feels his shoulders sag seeing the paramedics start to work on the woman while the
police work on securing the villains.
“Better?” His Dad asks. Izuku can only nod his head. Now that the victim was safe, his brain had
gone back to trying to process everything he had seen and was told. “C’mon. There’s nothing else
for us here.” Loki leads his family away.

“Daaaaaad. I wanna learn about my powers but can’t the sun at least be fully up first!” Izuku
whines before going into a long, drawn-out yawn. It was true. The sky was still dark, with only a
little light peeking over the horizon. Izuku himself wore a loose-fitting All Might shirt and black
basketball shorts. Maybe, maybe he could deal with being awake earlier than should be legal, but
combine all of that with the smell? Noooo thank you. Why did they have to come to the trash-
covered beach anyway?

“Sorry Izuku, but we have a lot to cover and only ten years before you enter that hero school,
correct?” Dad turns around from facing the ocean, looking down at him while they stand in the
sand between the trash mounds. He wore his usual suit. “So I’ve brought you to Dagobah-“

“Dagobah? Dad, I think the beach is called Takoba?…”

“No. I prefer Dagobah. Moving on.” Loki takes a granola bar from his pocket and begins to eat it.
“This is where we’ll train Izuku. This spot is secluded so we will not be disturbed while we
practice magic, analysis, and combat. The trash should help you stay fit and build muscle.
Truthfully, I’m not sure if you have my enhanced physical capabilities as of yet, so better to be
safe.”

Izuku’s eyes widen while he looks at the trash that towers over him. “W-well I guess that makes
sense? I think I saw a car in here? And plenty of fridges. So I’ll definitely build muscle…oh! And
I’ll be picking up trash! It’ll be like I’m doing something good for the community! Like All Might
always talks about!”

Izuku whirls back to face his father in excitement, right as the man froze, throwing his granola
wrapper into the nearest mound. “…Right, that too. Now before we start. I’m going to give you
some fundamental lessons that you should always remember.” Loki crouches down in front of his
son. “Ready?”

Izuku nods in even more excitement.

“Your fights will not rely on pure combat ability. You have your illusions and mind. Those are
what will decide most conflicts. Your ability to study your opponent and deduce their strengths and
weaknesses will decide many contests before the first blow can be struck. You must always,
always, be two steps ahead. Make your opponent think they’ve figured out your trick, then strike.
Understand so far?”

“Yes, father.” Izuku replies.

“You have to understand Izuku that you will not fight like All Might. Or like most heroes. You will
have to use trickery and deceit. If an opponent is stronger, that is no excuse to lose. You will have
to be able to mentally manipulate them if you must. Make them see what you want them to see. Be
in control of every situation. Is that something you think you can do?”

Izuku looks down for a minute thinking it over. He always wanted to be a hero like All Might,
saving people with a smile. It didn’t sound like that would be exactly what he would be doing. But
in the end, saving people and making sure they were safe is what mattered right? Besides, after
they were safe, he could always make them laugh with some pranks.

Izuku looks back up at his father, determination burning in his eyes. “I can do it.”

“Good!” Loki breathes out. “There is one more thing.” Izuku dips his head slightly. “Due to the
nature of your abilities and how you’ll fight Izuku, you must never allow anyone to see through
them. If someone can see through your illusions and tricks, you lose control. Then, you and the
people you are trying to save, die.”

“H-how do I make sure no one can see through them?”

“You can never let anyone get too close to you. You, Izuku, have to become an illusion yourself to
others. Again, make them see only what you want them to see. No living being is perfect. If you
allow others to get close, they may be able to start to notice the difference between you and your
illusions. They may even predict how you move when you erase your presence. Understand?”

Izuku shrugs and nods. Not like that would ever be hard. Since his quirk was late, Kacchan had
made sure he was isolated at school and everywhere else. Whatever it takes to save people.

“Alright!” Dad hit his knees standing back up. “Shall we begin, my young Prince of Mischief?”
Loki Laufeyson opens his eyes with a gasp. Then immediately closes them, wincing in pain from
the throbbing in his head. Right. Astral projecting himself so far in the universe always took a toll
on him. He stands up and looks around the usual meeting spot. A comet floating listlessly in space.
The terrain was hard and jagged. The stars above him, endless. He looks down to see, as he
wanted, he’s in his green and gold armor. A dark green cape behind him and a gold helmet with
curved horns sticking out.

“Asgardian.” An annoyingly familiar and somewhat nasally voice says from behind him.

Loki turns to meet the other occupant of this lovely rock. His gray skin was wrinkled with white
hair coming from the back of his head. He stands with his hands behind the back of his grey and
gold armor. Loki mirrors his posture. “I was expecting to finally meet him tonight,” Loki began,
only hiding his frustration a little.

“He will meet with you when he declares you are worth meeting. For his judgment is absolute.”

“Right,” Loki responds, only years of practice stopping him from rolling his eyes. “Well I thought
since I am not only preparing Asgard for your forces, but Midgard as well, he might wish to speak
with me in person. Or, as close as this is.”

“Terra is merely a bonus as of now.” His conversation partner drawls on. “Now that it’s people
have had time to settle with their new abilities, they could make excellent conscripts for our forces.
A nice bonus, but not required. Not nearly as important as the item Odin protects.”

“And you shall have it. So long as I also have what I desire. Now, why did you call upon me?”

The master of wrinkles took his time in answering. “Terra is unimportant as of now. However,
there have been, shall we say stirrings? The piece Odin protects may not be the only one left.”

“I beg your pardon?” Ok, that threw Loki for a loop. And he should know. He made his entire life
on throwing people for loops. “What do you mean not the only one? The rest were destroyed
centuries ago, there are no more.”

“Perhaps. Still. If even one other remains, it must be found. Only he is mighty enough to wield
them. And with Terra being left to it’s own devices for quite some time now, it may be there. We
 will need you to confirm this.”

Loki clenches his fist behind him. “I will do what I can.”

“Very well.” Taking the dismissal for what it was, Loki turns around and begins to let his
projection go, but before he could, the other spoke up again. “Curious.” Loki turns halfway to look
back. “I am curious. We do not have much information on Terra. How do you plan to prepare
mankind for our arrival? Tell me.”

The God of Mischief merely smiles.

“Now where’s the fun in that?”

Chapter End Notes

Hey thanks for reading! This chapter actually ended up being way longer then I
thought it would be. I just knew everything I wanted to cover in this first chapter. Was
hoping to give you guys a good feel for what kind of story this is going to be and some
things to expect.

As well, Loki and any other Marvel characters that may appear will, themselves and
their powers, be based off their MCU counterparts. But no this doesn’t take place in
the MCU, so they will be slightly different from them as you could probably already
tell.

Anyways, questions? Comments? Concerns? Need to make it seem like you’re doing
something on your phone to avoid actual human interaction? Use the comment section
below and thanks again!

EDIT: 5/13/22 - Just did some editing to the chapter. Cleaned it up a little and made it
match up grammatically and spacing wise with the other chapters
 What is my life…
Chapter Summary

Just a (sort of) typical day in the life of our now 13 year old Izuku

Chapter Notes

Wow wow wow! I was hoping for a positive response but I got way more then I
could’ve hoped for! Thanks to everyone who commented, left kudos, bookmarked,
subscribed, you know! All the stuff! Really made my day! Not much else to say to
away we go!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

It occurs to Izuku after the eleventh? No, the twelfth time he lands face first into sand that morning,
that if he never saw a beach again after today, he’d be perfectly ok with that. Seriously. He knows
everyone makes fun of that pre-quirk movie for saying it but it’s true…he really hates sand. And it
literally does get everywhere! Where is the lie?! For the last eight years, there hasn't been a single
day he hasn’t felt sand on him.

“Well! I think that’s enough combat practice this morning. Unless you want another bout of
course.”

Izuku lets out a loud groan at his tormen-ahem. Dad’s words. He rolls onto his side, clutching his
stomach. The greenette uses the hand not supporting himself to wipe some sand off his face before
opening his eyes to look up at his father’s smug look. “You said we weren’t using magic for those
spars.” He tries to make his tone accusatory but the pain and aches make it more of a whimper.

“Is that what I said?” He retorts raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah!” Izuku shouts, getting himself into a sitting position and leaning back on his hands. “And I
had you! Dagger to your throat and everything! But then you cheated and hit me with an energy
blast!”

“Right, so what did you learn?” Dad asks while putting his hands behind his back.
“Tch, not to trust you.”

His father has the gall to laugh, closing his eyes and bending forward a bit. Wait, he’s distracted!
Izuku conjures a throwing knife into his hand, a green glow appearing briefly as with everything he
conjures or vanishes. He whips it at Loki’s shoulder, only for the god to catch it midair, his eyes
still closed and not even a break in the laughter.

Dad takes a deep breath before straightening up. “Oh Izuku, not trusting me should’ve been one of
the first things you learned.” He looks down at the knife before vanishing it. “That was
underhanded… you make me more proud every day.” That earns another groan as Izuku lets
himself fall into his back. “Let me try another question. What did I say before we started
sparring?”

“You said no magic, just regular sparring.” Izuku immediately replies, grateful to have a few
minutes to fill his lungs.

“No. Try again.”

Izuku scrunches up his face in thought, thinking back. That is what he said right? Well, technically
not. What he actually said was… “You said I wasn’t supposed to use magic…” Izuku facepalms.
“But you never said you weren’t allowed to use it! Ugh…”

Izuku feels himself being picked up into the air. “That’s right Izuku. Tricksters like us live and
breathe in technicalities. It’s how we keep ourselves from getting into too much trouble.”

Izuku looks at his father to see his hands still behind his back. He blinks before looking at himself,
floating, held up by seemingly nothing. The teen narrowed his eyes on his dad. “Really? First the
energy blast and now telekinesis? Is it ‘let’s rub it in Izuku’s face with what powers he can’t use’
hour? You wanna come over here and brainwash me while we’re at it?”

Izuku was lowered onto his wobbly legs, thankfully still able to stand before Loki answers. “Izuku,
the best brainwashers can do it without the use of any powers.” The younger magic user rolls his
eyes. He had to get to school soon and the tangents on manipulation could go on for hours. “And
those are powers you can’t use yet. I know you’ll get there one day. Besides, brainwashing only
works on the weak-minded. Which, you are most certainly not.” It will never cease to infuriate
Izuku how quickly he could go from wanting to stab his father to preening at his praise.
Now, let’s see how much your magic has progressed since my last visit.” Loki continues. Izuku
stands straight and nods. “Show me how you hide your pre-“ Loki quickly turns to block the slash
from the real Izuku behind him. Their daggers make a loud clang as they collide. They separate
and Loki looks behind him at the decoy that had stood in front of him, it gives a simple wave
before fading. “Very good Izuku! I say you’ve mastered both hiding your presence and leaving a
decoy to take your place. Now show me multiple decoys.”

Izuku complies, taking a step back. Nine perfect copies of himself appear surrounding both of
them. “So ten of you in total? Remember I want a dozen before high school.”

“Right, I’m still working on it, father.” The Izuku decoy nearest Loki says.

The man nods. “Now, transformations.” The decoys fade leaving a single Izuku. Notably, he is not
standing where he initially started. “Oh? You’ve started switching places with your decoys when
you make copies? We haven’t gotten to that yet.”

Izuku shrugs. “Honestly, it wasn't that hard. I didn’t want an opponent faster than me being able to
rush me.”

“That’s my boy. Always thinking ahead. Now shapeshift.”

Izuku nods again and lets multiple glowing green lines appear and travel across his body. In a
second, where Izuku stood before, All Might now appears in his current costume. “HAVE NO
FEAR! WHY? BECAUSE I AM HERE!!” He shouts proudly in a perfect imitation of the hero’s
voice.

Loki can only give a deadpan stare. “Izuku. I deal with enough blundering blonde buffoons in
Asgard, I don’t need them here either.”

The All Might copy lets out a thunderous laugh before resorting back to Izuku. “Ah dad, don’t be
like that. Besides, you make a great Uncle Thor!” In a green flash, Loki is gone. Standing there
now, a muscular man wearing silver-plated armor from his chest down to his legs. A red cape
behind him. Golden hair on his head and equally golden short trimmed beard on his face. Blue
eyes narrowed dangerously.

“While I’m happy your transformation of others is going well.” The Thor copy starts with Loki’s
voice. “If you don’t turn me back rig-“
“Wait!” Izuku interrupts the threat. With a wave of his hand, a large silver hammer with a leather
grip appears in Thor’s hand. “Sorry about that dad. Now it’s done. And look! You can finally lift
Mjolnir!” Thor’s eye twitches and Izuku just smiles innocently.

The subsequent energy blast and his thirteenth landing in the sand were totally worth it.

After getting home and showering, Izuku toweled off and looked in the mirror to see his hair was
already starting to regain it’s poof, he was pretty sure he couldn’t control it even with magic.

Yellow glowing lines danced across his body for a moment before leaving him wearing his middle
school uniform. When was the last time he physically changed his clothes? He couldn’t remember.
He could still do it though, honest. Everyone knows you put your pants on two legs at a time,
simple.

Making sure he had everything he needed for school, Izuku quickly vanishes his backpack and
makes his way to the train station. He really wished his dad could explain his conjuring power
better. He made his notebook appear from thin air and started to write his thoughts, even as he got
on the train.

He knew he could conjure and vanish anything in his possession. The first part was simple, he
could do anything on his body. For example, his phone. If it was in his pocket, he could conjure it
right to his hand, check hero forums, and then vanish it right back into his pocket. And he could do
that with anything on his person.

The problem was the other stuff. To put it simply, he didn’t know where his backpack was right
now. Apparently, dad never got a straightforward answer from his mom before she died, but they
can also conjure and vanish items too…somewhere…as long as they aren’t too big. Running theory
is they each have access to their own small pocket dimension. He’s been able to keep school
supplies, notebooks, extra daggers, and knives there. So far the biggest thing he’s been able to
vanish is a microwave, will his pocket dimension, or whatever it is, grow with time? He’s not sure,
all he knows is he can vanish stuff there and then conjure them right back to his hands whenever he
wants.

The train slows to a stop and Izuku gets off walking to Aldera, probably getting a few weird looks
for obviously being a student but having no supplies apart from a notebook. A key part of being an
illusionist is the element of surprise, so even if he’s attacked, something as simple as having a
backpack that no one knew was there, could be enough to throw his assailants off. Plus it keeps
people on their toes around him. Every little bit helps.

A few more minutes and Izuku is walking through the front gate. He stares up at the ominous
building as he walks in. Without fail every time, he feels like a prisoner marching toward his
execution here. After just figuring out astral projection, he wants to use it so bad. Sure he could
only use it on a single decoy right now and he’d have to be within a few blocks of the school while
he worked on expanding the distance, but it’s still doable! To be able to perceive the world around
him and communicate with people through a decoy would make things so much easier! He
wouldn’t have to be in the building and no one would know! As long as no one touches him…or
explodes him…actually it might not work.

Walking through the halls to homeroom went about as expected. The usual jeers for his ‘weak’ or
‘villainous’ quirk were called out to him. Of course, he had only shown them barely a fraction of
what his powers could do, and really? Would using tricks to beat a villain really be that bad? At
least he only had two more years of middle school and then he’d be off to U.A. where things…
would probably be more or less the same…

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Izuku opens the door to his classroom to more familiar
sights. His teacher resting his head on an arm while lazily scrolling through his phone. Everyone
else talking in their social groups, letting Izuku slip by to his desk in the back corner ignored. Well
mostly ignored. He pointedly did not acknowledge the glaring red eyes that followed him since he
entered.

The teenage illusionist plops down on his chair and conjures his backpack before going through
and pulling out the supplies he’d need. “No quirk use in class Midoriya.” His teacher calls out
without looking up.

“It’s not a quirk sensei!” He calls back. Those red eyes somehow glare harder.

The man just hums in response. Obviously not paid enough to respond. Not like Aldera enforced
their no quirk use policies anyway. Which may sound like a dream at first, but in actuality was a
go-ahead for the kids with ‘stronger’ quirks to do whatever they wanted. Well not if Izuku had
anything to say about it.

The school day passes by uneventfully. Well, except for having to pull two kids out of Kacchan’s
way and some rats just appearing out of nowhere on a girl's head while she berated another girl.
But that was all pretty normal so yeah, uneventful.
Vanishing his backpack and hiding his presence was second nature at this point when the final bell
rang. In a few minutes, he had slipped off of school grounds unnoticed and was on his way to the
grocery store. Mom was working late again so he offered to get some things for dinner on his way
home. It would be easier if he could just use the Bifrost to teleport everywhere he wanted to go, but
Heimdall said he couldn’t. Izuku’s pretty sure the man was just jealous he didn’t think of it first.

Letting his powers change his clothes into something more casual before entering some busier
sidewalks, Izuku began making his way toward the store.

Sure, while teleporting everywhere with the Bifrost was a good idea, of course it was, he would
miss out on his walks where things would go conveniently right for people. Old man having
trouble crossing the street? Oh would you look at that, it looks like all the lights turned red,
stopping the cars and allowing the man to cross.

A purse snatcher running down the street thinking he’s got away with it, only when he thinks his
foot is about to step on a manhole cover, said cover fades away causing him to fall in, almost as if
the cover was never there. He must’ve been seeing things.

“Dude, alligators aren’t that scary!”

Izuku stops at the edge of a park, listening to a few boys from a different middle school.

“I know right, with those stubby legs and shit!” Says a second boy.

“All you have to do is step up on something a couple of meters high and the thing can’t do
anything to you.” A third agrees.

Izuku sighs. He doesn’t have a choice, does he? The greenette steps behind a tree and a few
seconds later, as the boys pass, their laughter dies to a low growl. They spin around to see an
alligator charging them like the still living dinosaur it is.

The three boys scream, two immediately bolting while the first boy trips on his own feet and falls.
Does he have a make everything like it’s a horror movie quirk or something? Still, he started the
slight on the gators so he must pay.
Gator Izuku bites on the boy’s pant leg, careful to use the tip of his mouth and not get any skin
while shaking the leg a bit. The boy screams more, starting to yell he was sorry over and over. He
gets it. Izuku lets go and the boy scrambles away. After making sure the coast was clear, Izuku
allows his transformation to fall, rolling on the ground cackling.

What? He can’t use his powers to solely help every time.

Also, it’s not illegal quirk usage if it’s not a quirk.

The trickster gets composed before making himself scarce, he didn’t want to be around just in case
anyone came around looking for a loose gator, so taking a shortcut through the park it was.

“Ewww, look. It’s the demon girl!”

Or at least that was the plan for the last few minutes. Izuku stopped to see what looked like five
elementary school-aged girls under the shade of one of the bigger trees in the park. Four of the girls
had the smallest one backed against the tree. In between the other girls, he could see the one on the
tree had small horns on her head, red hair, black leathery wings on her back, and a long sharp tail
she was wrapping around herself.

Izuku’s instincts go off in the back of his head. He’s being watched. And he knows exactly who.
But the half Asgardian doesn’t care. He’s got something to take care of first.

“Don’t get too close, or she’ll drag you to hell!” Another girl berates.

“You’re right, we need something to throw! Ooooh, see how many rocks you can find?”

“Hey!”

The four girls look up to see a police officer looking down at them, scowling. “Is there a problem
here?”

The girl who had suggested finding rocks looks down. “No sir.” She says through gritted teeth.
“I hope not.” The officer replies. “Assaulting anyone, in school or not, can get you in a lot of
trouble no matter your age.” The guilty girls still. “Maybe we should find your parents…”

“No!” The lead girl cries looking up. “We won’t do anything like this again, we swear! Right?!”
The other girls are quick to agree.

The officer begins to swing a pair of handcuffs on a finger. “Are you sure? Maybe you’d like to see
what a cell looks like, just in case…”

The girls all bow. “We’ll be good! Promise!”

The man cocks his head to the side once the girls look up. “Get outta here.” And they do. You’d
think they were the ones being chased by a gator. He bends down to look over the still trembling
girl. After waiting for a few seconds, he smiles, putting his finger to his lips, letting green lines
trace over his body to reveal Izuku. “Are you ok?”

Instead of answering, the little girl asks, “w-why would you help me?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Izuku counters.

“B-because I’m a demon…”

“Now why would you say that?” The little girl gestures to her wings and flaps to emphasize. Izuku
hums, putting a finger under his chin. “What’s your name?”

“H-hiromi Yoshinaga.”

“Well, Yoshinaga. Do you act like a demon?”

“What?” The girl seemed so stunned by the question, that it took away her stutter.
“Are you a nice person?” Izuku amends a bit.

“A-always! I like it when everyone is happy!”

“That’s great!” Izuku smiled at her. Not his million watt or whatever his mom calls it. But a
smaller one. “So does a demon like when everybody is happy?”

“No! Demons want everyone to be sad!”

“That’s right. So if a demon wants everyone to be sad, but you want everyone to be happy, then
how are you a demon?”

Yoshinaga opens her mouth and closes it a few times, trying to think of a response before lamely
gesturing to her wings again. Izuku chuckles a bit. “It’s not the quirk that makes the person, it’s
how you act. And with you wanting to make everyone happy, I’d say that makes you more of an
angel! Right?”

The girl’s breath gets caught in her throat and stares at Izuku for a full minute slack-jawed. It
almost gets to the point where the boy wants to pull out a mirror to make sure there’s nothing on
his face before tears decorate her face.

The red haired girl charges Izuku, sobbing into his chest, thanking him over and over. Izuku can’t
stop a few tears of his own while wrapping the girl into a hug, letting her cry it out.

After five minutes, Izuku can feel his watcher getting impatient, and Yoshinaga definitely doesn’t
need to be anywhere near here when that goes off. Thankfully, the girl lets him go, but not without
a few more thank yous. “You’re gonna do great things,” Izuku tells her. “Why don’t you head
home and get cleaned up, maybe start on some homework? Oh and how about we keep me
transforming into that police officer our little secret ok?”

The little girl giggles a bit through the last of her tears, wings flapping, probably involuntary. She
nods and Izuku stands up, giving her one more hug before she runs off, waving him goodbye.
Izuku waves back, waiting until she is clear out of sight before dropping his hands into his pockets
and sighing.

“Come on out Kacchan before you set the park on fire.”

Katsuki Bakugo stomps out from a shaded area, smoke rising from his tightly clenched fists. Izuku
swears he can hear his teeth grinding from where he is. “ Deku.” Kacchan spits the name out like it
disgusts him. Wait, it does.

Izuku smiles, knowing it’ll just irritate him more. “Hey, Kacchan! Did you enjoy the show? Listen,
if you wanna lecture me on quirk use, we both know my old scars say you have no problem with
that.” Unfortunately, it took a good few years for Izuku to learn how to do anything worthwhile
with his magic so that left him helpless to Kacchan and everyone else. One of the first things he
ever learned was how to use illusions to cover up his bruises and burns. Dad is rarely physically
home to see through it and it fooled mom well enough.

The blonde boy, who might as well have steam coming out of his ears, stomps up until he’s just
under a meter away from the other. “ Where. Do you get off?” He asks through barely controlled
rage.

Izuku tilts his head a bit. “Huh?”

“Where. The fuck . Do you get off Deku ?”

Izuku shrugs. “Usually in the shower. Uh, I guess it’d be rude not to ask so…how about you?”

Kacchan’s anger seems to leave him for a few seconds as he processes Izuku’s response. “In the
shower? What the fuck are yo-“ he stops and Izuku smirks, seeing a light blush of embarrassment
on the other boy’s face. It’s quickly replaced by his old anger multiplied tenfold.

Kacchan yells, lunging forward to grab Izuku…only for his hands to go through a decoy. Izuku
reappears in front of the tree Yoshinaga was backed up against, hands still in his pockets.

“That wasn’t very nice, Kacchan. I thought we were having a simple conversation?”

The explosion quirk user trudges forward, thrusting a finger in Izuku’s face. “Where the fuck do
you get off saving some random extra Deku?!”

Now Izuku feels genuinely confused. “She needed help? That’s pretty much all there was to it?…”
Kacchan does not relent. “I know you knew I was watching you, shitty nerd! What? You think I
couldn’t save her?! You think you could ever do a better job than me?!!”

“Well no but I figured unless there was some big villain there, the almighty ‘King Explosion
Murder’ wouldn’t dare waste his time wi-“ The called out explosion murder god doesn’t let him
finish, whirling an explosion ridden fist at his face. Only for, again, the fist to go through the decoy
and hit the tree.

The Pomeranian howls in pain, grabbing his hand. Izuku appeared to the side of him, looking
disappointed. “Are you ever not going to fall for that?”

Kacchan seemed to think better about attacking, at least for now. “Listen here Deku, no one needs
help from a worthless shit like you! All your quirk will ever be good for, is party tricks at some
snot nosed kid’s birthday party! Stop trying to be a hero!” He raised his good hand and let loose a
few small explosions in warning.

“Kacchan…” Izuku warned. “Don’t make me have to bring out your weakness…” Red eyes
widened as Izuku waved his hand and an object appeared. “That’s right…a small cup of water!”

Izuku was always taught to do things logically. On his list of things to do that day were to annoy
Kacchan and go out for a run. No reason he couldn’t combine those.

Izuku arrived home to find his apartment as he usually did, empty. Setting the groceries down on
the counter, he got to work preparing dinner for himself and mom. He’d just leave her portion in
the fridge. Heating the pans and starting to slice the vegetables was a nice distraction but didn’t last
very long. Mom had taken another shift at the hospital again. He understood her reasoning. As in,
he understood why it made sense to her, but not him.

Dad had enough wealth that they could live off of their entire lives without either needing a job,
and he readily offered it. But mom wouldn’t have it. Sure if he needed something like a new laptop
or some hero merch he really wanted, she’d dip for it, but other than that, mom wanted to be able to
provide for them herself. Probably something to do with her pride. And he got that from her
perspective, he just wished she was home more.
Still, she was home more than dad at least. Though he has good reasons, Izuku hopes anyway.
After their first year of training, dad always said he had Asgardian stuff to take care of. He told
Izuku how to do things and expected him to practice while he was away. Every now and then he’d
check in as an Astral Projection, but physically he only came home for a week every five to six
months.

‘At least it makes the cover story of Hisashi Midoriya working abroad more accurate.’ Izuku
thinks bitterly. But when his dad came home, it always came with the added bonus that he takes
Izuku to see his uncle and grandfather in Asgard for a couple of days, so that was something. They
were set to leave tomorrow morning, he couldn’t wait to show what he’d learned to Uncle Thor!

“Oh, that smells gooooood.” Izuku groans looking over to see a decoy of himself sitting on the
counter, sniffing the air.

“You can’t smell,” Izuku explains, very much letting the irritation bleed into his voice.

“Izuku! It’s like you’re trying to hurt us!” The decoy says, clutching his chest in mock hurt.

The real Izuku stirs the food on the stove. “Hey Two. I don’t remember calling you.”

“And why do we need to be called to spend time with our best bud! and he’s right. The food is
looking D.E.Licuous my man.” Decoy Four says, sliding next to him. “Also, Six is raiding your
fridge.”

“I’m thirsty!!”

“You can’t drink, you’re not real!”

“I can dream Izuku!”

“No! You literally can’t!”

“And who’s to say who the real one is?” Izuku let his head hit the counter, hoping it would knock
him out. No luck it seems. He turns to see Five standing on the coffee table. “For all we know. I
 am the real Izuku and you’re all MY duplicates!” A flying chopstick that goes through Five seems
to disprove his point. Izuku taps another chopstick on his head showing he’s solid. Five folds his
arm and pouts. “One day, I’ll get you guys…”

“What is my life…” Izuku whines.

“Well, it seems you’ve taken talking to yourself to an extreme, seeing as you don’t have anyone
real to talk to, you needed some sort of outlet before you went crazy.” Decoy Three says a bit
quickly, appearing next to Two.

Izuku wraps up his mom’s portion for the fridge and brings his plate to the living room, sitting
down and turning on the tv. “Right. Talking to five copies of myself because I have no friends is
the definition of mentally stable.”

“Well actually the definition is-“

“Not what I was asking for, Three!”

Izuku stops flipping the channels at the local news, the headline catching his eye. “Just to repeat.
All residents are urged to be on the lookout for what has been reported as a loose alligator. If
spotted, do not approach. Please inform the nearest officer or hero. It is said to be highly
dangerous.”

Izuku can’t help but laugh along with his decoys, all sitting in the living room with him. Yup, just
another day.

Chapter End Notes

Hey guys, thanks for reading. Just trying to give you guys a feel for who Izuku is, as
well as more explanations on his diverse (and not very well explained, thanks
MCU…) powers.

Anyways, won’t be long now, we’ll be hitting canon in chapter 4 after meeting some
relatives, and definitely not playing more pranks, in chapter 3.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Suggestions? Let me know! Until next time!

 Welcome Back to Asgard
Chapter Summary

We go along with Izuku as he visits with some…distant relatives

Chapter Notes

Hey everyone! I just continue to be blown away, passing over 100 kudos and
subscribers after last chapter?! Good to know there’s so many people as crazy as me
so, thank you! Anyways, for this chapter…I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE HELL
HAPPENED!

I want my average chapters to be 4k words and going into this one, I was worried I
didn’t have enough material but somehow it ended up being twice as long?! I don’t
know what I’m doing lol. Sorry it’s kinda long but behold…the chapter

See the end of the chapter for more notes

While the need for secrecy was not lost on Izuku, it still made him no less bitter while he trudged
through the forest that was a ways away from home. A low tree branch slapped his shin, causing
the teen to yelp and grab his leg, hopping on one foot. ‘That’s it. I don’t care what they say. I am
finding a way to get a dagger that can summon the Bifrost or I’m stealing Stormbreaker from the
vault.’

“Unlikely.” Izuku turns to the side as he begins walking again to see Decoy Three walking beside
him. Unlike his physical counterpart, he was unperturbed by his surroundings. “The chances of
you being able to sneak into Odin’s vault, grab Stormbreaker, and sneak out without being seen are
approximately 3,720 to 1.”

Izuku chucked at his doppelgänger. “Never tell me the odds.”

“And that’s not even factoring you trying to leave Asgard wi-“

“Wait! Once I have Stormbreaker, couldn’t I just call on the Bifrost while inside the vault to get
out?” Izuku asks himself because yes, this is what he’s had to resort too to have any semblance of a
normal conversation with someone.
Three put his hand to his chin. “That’s true. As far as we know, there are no limits on
Stormbreaker’s ability to call the Bifrost from anywhere. This is of course, all hypothetical in the
case we are actually able to lift the weapon without our body crumbling and our mind collapsing
into madness.”

“Bold of you to assume my mind hasn’t already collapsed.” The completely sane teenager snarks.

“Then we must not be doing our jobs right!” Izuku had long since run out of sighs for the day, so
he did nothing as Two appeared, sitting on his shoulders. He could take at least a little comfort in
the knowledge that his decoys, not being real, didn’t weigh anything. However little comfort it
gave.

Two continues, “He can still make jokes! His will to live carries on!”

“Yeah, dude! We knew you could do it!” Four encourages while hopping from tree branch to tree
branch above. “And I’m not just saying that cuz without you, we’d cease to exist!”

“You should be fine Izuku. Ectoplasm is a fine hero and he can make clones as well. A lot more
than you I might add.” Three says.

“Actually, I was thinking about Ectoplasm the other day,” Izuku starts. “So to make his clones he
needs to produce that weird ectoplasm from his mouth right? He’s not like you guys that can just
annoyingly appear from anywhere.”

Two nods. “Hurtful, but true.”

“So while I wouldn’t want him to ever get hurt, what happens if a villain just stops his ability to
open his mouth? No more clones right?”

It’s silent for a beat before Two and Four burst out laughing. The latter so much so, he falls out of
the tree he’s in.

“Oh my god bro, his weakness is duct tape!” Four shrieks from his curled-up position on the
ground.
Izuku giggles along until Three begins to speak, bringing them all back to earth. Not literally in the
case of Four this time. “While entertaining of an idea it is, Ectoplasm exceeds in close quarters
combat situations.”

“We’re no slouch up close either.” Two interjects.

“Also true.” Three agrees. “But even assuming we are a match. We would have to fight while
trying to stick tape across the hero’s mouth. Keep in mind it has to cover the whole thing
completely as any ectoplasm that leaks leads to clones. All of this while contending with possibly
already created copies. And if after all of that we somehow get the tape on his mouth…what stops
him from simply taking it off?”

Izuku’s hands race across his conjured notebook. “What about a sneak attack?” He asks, tapping
his pencil on his cheek. “It’s kind of our bread and butter.”

Four finally catches up with them. “You guys are just gonna leave a brother behind like that?!”

Three ignores him. “A sneak attack would solve the problem of already created clones. And though
the tape may only stay on a few seconds, that should be all we need. We can easily overwhelm and
confuse him with our own clones and given how his fighting style only uses his legs, our daggers
are more than capable of removing them.”

“Wait wait, removing his legs?! Isn’t that a bit much?” Izuku asks, both of his arms flailing in front
of him.

“Not necessarily in Ectoplasm’s case.” Three continues, completely ignoring Izuku’s internal crisis
of subconsciously knowing he is the one to have thought that. “While I would understand your
hesitance in say, removing Thirteen’s hands to incapacitate her.” Izuku whines. “Ectoplasm’s legs
are prosthetic.”

Izuku takes a deep breath before giving a nervous chuckle. “Well, I guess some of dad’s lessons
stuck with me better than I thought.” Thinking back on his notebooks, it’s what he had always
done. Studied heroes, figured out the places they were weakest, and then came up with ways to
mitigate those weaknesses. But now that he thought about it…

“Hey yo, you guys realize that it would be bad if our notebooks ended up in the wrong hands
right?” It was Four to voice his thoughts.
“Well then, coding them is the obvious answer.”

“Or we just write them in Asgardian,” Izuku suggests. ”Translate the old ones and write the new
ones in it. No one on Earth should speak the language.”

Three takes a moment before answering. “That should be enough. Between the language and the
fact that our notebooks spend most of their time vanished, we shouldn’t have to worry. What an
excellent brainstorm we just had! New security measures and how to beat Ectoplasm!”

“You sound pretty confident. Weren’t you just the one saying we shouldn’t underestimate a pro?”
While Izuku can’t see it, he can just hear the cocky smile on Two’s face as he says that.

Three gives his own small smile. “I’m just confident in our analysis and abilities.”

“Let’s gooooooo we’re gonna take down Ectoplasm!”

Izuku quickly snaps his notebook shut at Four’s exclamation, letting the book vanish as he does.
“No no. No. We’re just practicing our analysis and you know…maybe if they’re good enough one
day…we can show our entries to heroes like Ectoplasm if we get into UA…”

“Hey, none of that.” Two bends forward so the decoy and Izuku can look at each other face to face.
“ When we get into UA young man. C’mon, you’ll be out of the Aldera system. Just think of the
tricks we can pull on people who have no idea what’s coming…”

Izuku laughs before a look of horror spreads across his face. “Oh my god…I’m gonna get expelled
from UA…” All four of them break out into laughter after that one.

Three shakes his head, calming down a bit. “Just don’t go too far Izuku. We still wanna be a hero
right? Can’t do that if we get expelled.”

“Pfff, you act like I’m not totally ready to go vigilante.”

“Izuku! That’s illegal!”

“Actually…”

“Don’t you dare…”

“Vigilantism is defined as someone using their quirk illegally and since we don’t have a quirk…”

“That only works if everyone knows it’s not a quirk and no one will believe you!”

“Fine. Then it’s only illegal if we get caught. And I can be in multiple places at once and can turn
invisible soooooo…”

Two and Four cheer, sharing a high-five while Three has a look of exasperation Izuku hopes he can
achieve one day. The group walks in silence for a few minutes before the maybe one day vigilante
speaks up. His voice carrying a much more serious tone. “I’m gonna be a hero. The right way,” he
says out loud. They all know he’s not saying it to anyone in particular, but making more of a
declaration. “I want to save people. I want to make them laugh on their worst days and help them
see it’s going to be alright.” He clenches his fist so hard his nails start to dig into his palm. “And no
law is ever going to stop me from saving someone’s life.”

Three gives a reassuring nod. “I know, Izuku.”

“Alright! Enough with all the serious stuff!” Two exclaims, throwing his hands up. “We figured
out how to beat Ectoplasm with duct tape, now let’s do another hero we like! What about
Eraserhead?”

“Oh, Eraserhead is easy. All I’d have to do is shapeshift into a cat and he’d be putty in my hands.”
Izuku says with probably too much cheer.

Two finally decides to slide off Izuku’s shoulders and walk next to him. “Wait, he likes cats that
much? How do you know?”

Izuku has a different notebook appear in his hand and flips through it before finding the page he
wants. “It’s just a hypothesis based on this cat cafe he frequents.”

Two continues to stare. “Uh-huh. Ok. That makes sense. Follow-up question. How do we know the
elusive underground hero visits a cat cafe a lot?”

Izuku flips to another page in his notebook. “Just some periodic checks through the city’s camera
system.”

“And exactly WHY can we-“

“Their password was password! It’s not my fault! And it’s never for anything bad! Usually just for
different angles on hero fights I didn’t see in person!”

Before the conversation could devolve into the usual shouting, Three’s voice cut through. “And
we are here.” Izuku nearly trips before looking straight to see the line of trees that borders the
clearing he uses.

“W-when did we?…” Izuku questions.

Four slaps his back. Izuku doesn’t feel it but the sentiment is there. “You know we’re useful for
more than helping you with your mumbling right man?”

“The mumble squad is here to help you pass the time when you need it!” Two pumps his fists into
the air.

“That name is still pending.” Three says with a fond smile on his face that suggests he’s more ok
with it then he’s letting on.

“You guys are ridiculous,” Izuku says, letting the notebook in his hands fade. But try as he might,
he can’t stop the edges of his mouth from curling up. “I’ll see you later.” The teenager gives a
wave as he moves between the trees in front of him. His decoys vanish behind him.

After a few seconds, Izuku emerges into the familiar clearing he uses to go visit his family. A line
of trees encircles the entire thing, short grass blows in the wind. The clearing itself, while not
exactly big, wasn’t very small either. If Izuku had to guess, twenty or so people could probably fit.
And in the middle, pattern-like markings lay scorched into the grass.

Izuku walks into the middle of the markings, taking a deep breath.

“I’m ready, Heimdall.”

For a moment, nothing. Then, a rainbow light seems to take over the sky. The wind around him
starts to move at a furious pace as a tornado of rainbow light crashes into the spot Izuku is standing
in. It stays that way for only seconds before the light disappears completely. The wind dies down.
You would never know anything was amiss. It’s as if the light was never there. The only evidence
is freshly scorched markings on the grass. Izuku is gone.

Light. That’s all Izuku can see. Multi-colored lights danced around him, forming a tube. Outside
the lights of the Bifrost, the colors of the universe soar past him at alarming speeds. He sees the
black of space, the twinkling of the stars, and the different colors of the many, many galaxies he
races past. It feels as if he’s flying through space, being carried up to a bright white light above. He
briefly wonders if death is anything like this. If it was, he could see why people would have to be
begged to not go towards the light because the ride there is exhilarating. But all too soon, it ends.
He knows it’s only been seconds, but could never tell.

Izuku takes an extra step to stay on his feet as he lands and looks up to see a familiar circular room.
The walls of the room were colored golden with gears surrounding him. Behind him, a hole in the
wall overlooks space and it’s stars. In the center of the room, steps were raised to a heightened
platform with some sort of control mechanism that had a sword that was bigger than it had any
right to be inserted into it. Lightning poured from the sword and mechanism.

Of course, that sword had nothing on the man who stood behind it. He was tall, with black skin
and golden eyes that seemed to see much more than what was in front of him. He wore full body
golden armor with a helmet whose sides curved upward in a ‘U’ shape. Like many in Asgard,
including his uncle, he had a short trimmed beard on his face with black hair.

Unbothered by the lightning or the weight the sword must possess, the man, Heimdall, the one
who can see and hear nearly all in the nine realms, removed the sword from it’s mechanism. The
lightning abruptly disappearing as he did so. He places the tip of the sword on the ground, grasping
the hilt with both hands before looking down at his visitor with a warm smile on his face.
“Welcome back to Asgard, Izuku.”
The green-haired boy couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. “Heimdall!” He runs
forward, taking the steps two at a time up to the platform before crashing into the gatekeeper,
hugging him from the side.

To credit the man, the force of Izuku’s affection doesn’t move him at all physically. He has the
decency to at least grunt at impact before putting one of his arms around the boy, keeping his other
hand on the sword. “It’s always good to see you.”

Izuku unlatches, looking up, still with that grin on his face. “It’s good to see you too! Now, have
you given any thought to my proposal?”

Heimdall hums and thinks for a moment, pretending he has no idea what Izuku is talking about but
they both know he does. “Your proposal, you say? What was it…ah. I remember. I believe you
wanted the Bifrost to be your personal…what did you call it again? To be your own personal fast
travel?”

Izuku’s grin nearly turns manic. “Yeah! To be able to be anywhere in the world in seconds?! Do
you know how much I could do with that?!” He could get himself to any villain attack instantly to
help. Not to mention all the different HeroCon’s around the world he could visit. He’d need new
notebooks just for the potential signatures!

Heimdall gives a very brief chuckle. “I know enough to keep that power away from a child.”

“I’m not a child! I’m thirteen!!”

For some reason, this doesn’t seem to convince Heimdall. “Compelling. Even so, you know this
would violate our king’s law and cannot be done.”

“Well not with that attitude.”

Heimdall snorts just a bit. “I have seen from my watch that your father has taught you many
things.” Izuku beams. “But it seems you still have a long way to go in developing your silver
tongue.”
Izuku’s face falls dangerously close to a pout. “I can be convincing when I want to be…”

“Perhaps I’ll come by later then?” The new voice sends a jolt of excitement through Izuku. The
young Asgardian looks down at the entrance of the room behind Heimdall to see his Uncle Thor
smiling up at him. His hair is cut short and instead of his usual armor, he wears a thinner, dark-
colored armor with gold accents on the front. A black cloak covers his shoulders and most of his
front. Mjöllnir hangs on his side.

Izuku straight jumps off the platform and barrels into the God of Thunder. “Hi, Uncle.”

Thor hugs his excitable nephew back before separating, keeping both of his hands on the other’s
shoulders. “You are well, Izuku? Safe? How is-“ Thor stops when he notices what’s written on the
green long-sleeved shirt the boy wears. ‘Battle Armor.’ The blonde man chuckles. “We’re going to
have to get you your own armor soon aren’t we?”

Izuku shrugs a single shoulder. “As soon as I finish designing it, yeah. And I’m fine Uncle. Being
safe.” Heimdall makes some sort of sound but quickly covers it with a cough. Ok so maybe some
of Izuku’s online contacts aren’t exactly what you’d call, law-abiding citizens, but they weren’t bad
people! They were useful for getting info on heroes for his notebooks. He’s just using the
information gathering methods his dad taught him, nothing wrong with that.

Thor doesn’t seem to notice Heimdall’s cover-up. “Very well.” He takes his hands off Izuku’s
shoulders. “Come. We have a feast prepared for your arrival. Your father awaits us in the banquet
hall.”

Thor turns to begin walking before Izuku stops him. “Wait, Uncle! You see, I had such a long walk
to get to where Heimdall opens the Bifrost...can I please have a piggyback ride?”

Thor turns around to begin protesting but when he does, Izuku isn’t there. Instead, a small puppy
looks up at Thor giving him the most pitiful eyes. A whine escapes from the dog’s mouth. “Oh
fine” Thor turns around and kneels.

Izuku shifts back into himself cheering. He jumps on his uncle’s back before turning his head and
sticking his tongue out at Heimdall. “How’s that for convincing?”

Thor stands back up but Heimdall calls out to them. “One last thing before you go.” Izuku hums.
“Next time, when you are planning a heist of your grandfather’s vault, maybe do not do so in a way
that allows me to hear you.” Izuku squeaks, pressing himself closer to Thor for protection. Both
men chuckle before Thor waves and they walk out onto the Rainbow Bridge.

The large circular building they left behind sat at the edge of a waterfall that seemed to fall to
nothing, only connected to the rest of Asgard by the bridge they walked across now. The Rainbow
Bridge itself appeared to be a large diamond lit up with a myriad of different colors, hence, it’s
name. Each step Thor took lit up the bridge more.

And at the other end of the bridge, Asgard. The city was hard to describe in words, if one were to
try, marvelous might be a word used. The buildings, all ranging in size from large to small and
even some that were floating, were made of gold. The light made it as though they were to glow if
hit right. Nature intertwined itself effortlessly in between the structures. And in the middle, a large
castle that despite being the same color as the other buildings, seemed to somehow glow brighter
than all else.

“You’ve gotten heavier since last we’ve seen each other.” Thor comments on their walk.

“Woooooow, Uncle. Tell me you think I’m fat without saying it.”

Thor chuckles lightly. “You know what I mean, cheeky boy. You’ve gained even more muscle
since last time. I’m proud. But you are still pretty lean.”

“Well, the muscles are pretty important to my fighting but not at the top of my priority list. Not
everyone needs an eight pack to fight.”

“You insult me. Only an eight pack.” Izuku giggles. “So what was it you were planning on stealing
from father’s vault?”

The would-be thief squirms a bit before muttering, “Stormbreaker…”

“Ah, a fine choice. Finally taking after me are you?”

“If I say yes, will you help me?!” Izuku smiles and his uncle has to turn his head to shield his eyes.
“I shall think on it.” Thor finally says. “Possibly if you let me use it as well. It never sat well with
me that such a great weapon was forced to sit in a vault.”

Izuku feels like he should be excited, but while he’s not entirely sure how sincere Thor is being,
how he said his answer bothers him. “Why did grandfather forbid you from using it anymore
anyway?”

“It all comes back to his wishes to keep us separate from the other nine realms. Didn’t want the
weapon that could teleport anyone anywhere out of his reach.” Thor let an easygoing smile spread
across his face. “But that is a conversation for later. How is your mother? Is she safe as well?”

Izuku let the change in topic go for now. He can always get answers from the source later. “She’s
good, safe. You know, just working a lot so the usual.”

Thor snorts. “It shouldn’t surprise me that Loki would marry a woman just as stubborn as he.”

“Uncle…I’m pretty sure your head is thicker than some rocks…”

“And don’t you forget it. Now.” Thor reaches to the side and grabs Mjöllnir, beginning to spin the
hammer rapidly. “I assume your love of flight has not changed?”

The hammer isn’t the only thing vibrating as Izuku does all he can to contain himself. It’s not
working. “YES! Oh my god yes! I love my powers, I really do, but I wish they included being able
to fly!”

Thor looks confused. “Couldn’t you just…shapeshift into a bird?”

Izuku slumps against the man. “Shifting into a new animal takes a lot of work. And no matter how
hard I try, I just can’t seem to get a bird down. Plus, it’s not the same as flying in my regular
body…”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll get the transformation eventually. Now, are you ready?” Izuku tightens his
hold and nods rapidly. He really did love flying. The feeling is just so freeing. Thor nods once
himself and throws the hammer forward, keeping his grip on it and the two are launched toward
the castle.
Thunderous laughter erupts from the banquet hall as Uncle Thor slams his mug on the table trying
to keep himself from spitting out his drink. He only partially succeeds. Once he has better control,
he asks, “you really did that?”

Izuku looks back and forth from Thor sitting next to him to his father, wearing a lighter version of
his armor with no horns, who sits across from him at the large table. Loki has his head in his
hands.

Again, Izuku looks back and forth between the men. “I don’t see what the problem is? It’s like,
how could that guy trash talk Hawks, and just not expect me to be under his bed when he got
home?”

Thor’s laughter begins again while Loki stares at the potato on his plate, probably wondering if it
could choke him if he swallowed it. The room they were in was large. The table was a long one,
with a wide assortment of food, only half of which Izuku could name off the top of his head.
Around them were pillars and lit torches. Staff walked in and out of the room refilling the drinks of
the three and constantly switching food around.

“So, Izuku.” Thor starts. “You mentioned when we first entered you finally mastered a new ability
since last we spoke?”

Izuku finishes chewing on some steak before answering. “Yeah! I did! I finally figured out how to
hide the presence of other objects!”

“I apologize but I thought you’ve been able to do that for a while?”

“Oh, no no. I’ve been able to vanish things for a while, but not hide their presence. Here, let me
show you.” Izuku conjures a blue marble and holds it out for his uncle to see. He vanishes the
marble before making it appear in his other hand. Now that Izuku thinks about it, he’d make a
killing in street magic. How hadn’t he thought of this before? Food for thought later. “See, that’s
vanishing right?” Thor nods, prompting him to continue. Izuku places the marble in a groove on the
table to keep it from rolling away before hiding it’s presence. After a few seconds, he lets it
reappear, still sitting in the same place.

“Vanishing and conjuring let me move the items around. I can’t move around an item whose
presence is hidden.”

“I see,” Thor says. “But would it not be better to just vanish all your items then?”

“Most items I can vanish are relatively small while I can turn much larger items invisible.” With a
wave of his hand, a nearby pillar disappears to illustrate his point.

“Impressive nephew. But what if the item can move on it’s own. Loki, can’t you turn other people
invisible too?”

Thor’s brother nods but Izuku shakes his head. “No, I can’t yet. People are so much harder.” Izuku
looks crestfallen while taking back his marble. “It’s hard enough to do it on myself, and I can’t
even do it very long. Doing another person seems impossible right now.”

Thor gives the boy a reassuring shoulder squeeze. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You are still very
young. Practically still a baby to other Asgardians.” Izuku can’t help the small smile on his face.
“For you to have mastered the abilities you did, is nothing short of miraculous. Izuku turns his head
to wipe away his rapidly forming tears. For all the magic he got from his dad, nothing could stop
the tears he got from his mom.

Thor straightens in his seat and looks at Loki. “Still, it must bring you some relief that Izuku can’t
turn other people invisible yet brother. You don’t have to worry about him sneaking any girls into
his room anytime soon.” Loki chokes on his drink and Izuku buries his head into his hands, turning
very red, very fast.

“Uuuuuuuuuncle.” That’s it, he was jumping off the rainbow bridge. Nobody can stop him.

Thor tilts his head at the rapidly forming strawberry next to him. “What’s wrong Izuku? What did
I-“ Thor’s eyes widen. “O-oh! I am so sorry my boy, how insensitive of me. Of course, I have no
problem if it’s boys you wish to sneak into your room.”

Loki has to hold his stomach to keep his laughter in check at his son’s distress while Thor pats his
nephew’s back. “I know humanity only started accepting this part of themselves recently but Izuku.
You have my support.” The oblivious god says sincerely.

“Thor!” Loki is just barely able to get out through gasps of air. “Human’s accepted that centuries
ago.”

“Well yes but to us, that’s a very small amount of time.”

“You have to remember it’s not for humans, or for those who live among them.”

Thor nods, looking back at Izuku who is devising the best method to melt through the floor and fall
back to Earth. The blue-eyed man frowns at his nephew. “Izuku? Are you going to be ok?” He
looks back up at Loki. “He has had the talk hasn’t he?”

Izuku’s bid for escape is cut short, Thor’s grip is too much. He debates cutting his uncle’s hand to
get away. No no Izuku, that’s too much. At least for now.

Loki can’t hold back his laughter this time. “Please brother, be my guest.” If Izuku thought it was
remotely possible to lift his head from his hands, he’d be sending his father the worst glare he
could. But at the rate things were going, he may never see anything again.

Thor turns in his seat to fully face Izuku and clears his throat. Izuku figures there are worse ways to
go. He can’t think of any right now but he’s sure they’re out there. “So, Izuku. You see, when a
person loves another person very much…or when two or more people have had too much ale…or
it happens to be a particularly boring day-“

“I’ve had the talk! I’ve had the talk! I’ve had the talk! I’ve had the talk!!!” Izuku cries, shaking his
head.

“Oh.” Thor sounds relieved. He’s not the only one to feel that way. “Excellent.”

At this point, Loki has his arm and head laying on the table, he can’t breathe. A look of realization
comes across Thor’s face. “So you are in a gaming mood brother? Very well. Izuku.” Despite what
all logic and reason tell him, he looks up. “Did your father ever tell you about the time he
transformed into a horse and-“

Two hands slamming on the table bring the other’s attention to a furious Loki on his feet. “You
dare!!”
“Oh, I do dare brother.”

Izuku tunes out the rest to calm himself down. Some of the red had already receded, just a couple
of more deep breaths and he should be good. Just gotta calm down. Not like he’d ever have
anybody like that to sneak in if he could. Izuku shakes his head before the downward spiral can
continue. Looking down, he sees Mjöllnir sitting on the ground between him and his uncle.

A glance shows the other two still arguing. Could he risk it? He had always wanted to see if he
could lift the hammer, who wouldn’t, but his father had always said no. He was told it was better if
he never tried because once that question was answered, it could never be unanswered. Honestly,
he’d rather live with the disappointment than the constant question of if he could. Biting his lip,
Izuku reaches for the hammer. It feels like he’s in water and has to get his hand through the
currents to reach it but he’s just about there. Izuku goes to close his hand around the handle and-

“Izuku!”

The called-out boy snatches his hand back so fast he nearly falls out of his chair. He looks around
to see his father eyeing him warily. “Come on. Your grandfather is ready to see us now.”

Walking the halls of the palace wasn’t anything new to Izuku. After all, it’s where he spent most of
his time while visiting anyway. But there was another part that stayed constant no matter how
much he tried not to think about it.

“Do they always have to kneel?” Izuku asks, referring to the staff who bent down for a moment as
they walked by. It’s not that he hated it, oh wait no, he hated it.

“We are royalty Izuku. It’s expected.” Loki responds matter of factly.

“Can’t say I’m the biggest fan either,” Thor responds while Izuku tries not to show his relief that
he’s not the only one to feel that way. “It’s a waste of time and I feel it degrades those who serve
us. But I’m surprised. I thought the ‘Prince’ of Mischief would be all for the kneeling?” Thor says,
not bothering to hide his smirk.

Izuku rolls his eyes. “Well, I wanted to be the ‘something’ of mischief. Being the god is taken and
demi-god doesn’t sound right so prince it is.” Izuku takes another look around. “I have to say
though. Aren’t there usually more guards?”

“Yes, that would be Loki’s doing.” Thor praises his brother. “Because we have been in such an
unprecedented time of peace, centuries since Asgard’s army was called to arms, for years your
father has been getting new laws passed. Laws that allow a great number of our military to retire,
spend time with their families, and live their lives in leisure.”

“Wow, really?” Izuku asks. “But wait, what happens if the army is needed?”

Thor laughs, ruffling Izuku’s hair. He’ll never admit how much he likes it when people do that.
“Even in it’s smaller stature, Asgard’s army remains mighty. Even if for some reason, Heimdall
didn’t give us advance warning, it would take a truly terrifying force to lay siege.”

Izuku turned to look up at his father, who simply smiled at him before saying, “I just want what’s
best for Asgard.”

Any further conversation ended as the three reached a pair of massive doors. They all took a
moment to gather themselves before the guards opened the doors for them. Inside was a massive
room that put the banquet hall to shame. The room was multi-floored. With small sets of stairs
leading to balconies. Pillars and torches lined the walls, and at the far end of the room, was the
throne. A large flight of stairs led to the massive royal seat. Like everything else, it too was gold.
Massive wings came out of the side turning upward to form a sort of ‘U’ shape, not dissimilar to
Heimdall’s helmet.

And on this throne, sat Odin himself. King of Asgard and protector of the Nine Realms. He was an
old man now, with smooth white hair and a beard that matched in color. An eye patch covered his
right eye. The armor he wore was similar to the one Thor currently wore. Dark-colored, with
accents of brown and gold on the front. A long, red cape behind him and in his right hand, a sleek
golden lance.

The three Asgardians walked to the base of the stairs where the throne sat. In a practiced maneuver
they had each done numerous times, they pressed their right fists to their left shoulders and
kneeled. “My King.” They say in unison.

“Rise, my children.” Slowly, they all do. The Allfather continues. “It always brings me great joy to
see you all together. Izuku, you look well.”
“Thank you, grandfather.” Izuku loves the man but gosh darn it if he’s not intimidated by him. Yes
technically no one here is an actual god but Odin sure feels close. He can’t even look the man in
the eye. Just glances from the floor.

“And what of Midgard. Are we still part of man’s myths and legends?”

“You are. You haven’t been erased since you asked six months ago, grandfather.”

Odin smiles. “No, and it seems that time has not erased your father’s dry humor from you either.”

Izuku looks up and smiles back, feeling more relaxed. “Never.”

Odin himself stands. “If you don’t mind, I would like to take a walk with my grandson, alone.”

Thor and Loki nod, the former heads back the way they came while the latter takes a moment.
“Meet me in the usual spot after.” Izuku nods in confirmation and goes to walk alongside Odin to a
different exit while Loki follows his brother. Odin waves off the guards that attempt to follow and
they leave.

Thor Odinson leans back against the doors to the throne room and takes a shaky breath. Loki puts a
firm hand on his shoulder. “Brother…”

“It always brings me great relief to see Izuku safe brother, you know this.” Thor begins. “I just…I
can’t help…you know…”

Loki gives a reassuring squeeze. “It just makes you think of what could’ve been.”

He had asked his brother numerous times if one of his abilities included mind reading. And despite
the many reassurances he had received, it was moments like these that made him question it.

Loki’s hand begins to glow, an indication he was hiding them from Heimdall. “It’s not too late you
know.” Loki resumes. “You could go right now. I could help you. You know I have countless
ways off Asgard that the gatekeeper doesn’t know about-“

“Your offer for help is always appreciated brother, truly. But the decision was mine and I must live
with it.”

“Thor…” Loki says, frustration beginning to take hold. “That logic doesn’t make sense here
because you were not the only one affected by your choice. Just…I know this troubles you deeply.
Promise me you’ll consider my offer.”

He used to be able to say no without much of a thought. But now, each passing year and every visit
from his nephew made that harder. Finally, Thor relents. “Very well…I will consider.”

Izuku and Odin exited the throne room and walked in what he thought was a random direction in
silence for a minute before the king spoke. “So. I hear you plan to relieve me of Stormbreaker.”

Izuku looks away, flushing in embarrassment. “I know you can hear me, Heimdall. We have a
saying on Earth…snitches get stitches.”

Odin laughs quietly. “There is no need for threats, Izuku. Just on the scale of the schemes your
father has concocted, it’s not very high on the list.” Odin laughs once more as his little prince
crosses his arms and sulks.

“Out of the treasures in my vault, why that weapon in particular?” Odin questions.

Izuku tilts his head side to side for a few seconds before answering. He debates lying but decides
against it. “For the Bifrost.”

“Yes, I thought so. Izuku, do you know why I locked Stormbreaker away in the first place?”

Izuku’s not sure where this is going because he’s pretty sure his grandfather knows that he knows
why, but he’ll go along with it. “In your words, for peace. After the last great war between the Nine
Realms ended, you enacted laws that forbade travel between the different realms, especially for
those in Asgard. Obviously, Stormbreaker offers an easy way to travel so you took it.”
“Mostly correct.” Odin states. “You must understand Izuku, that Asgard has a very bloody history.
There are still many who see us as nothing more than conquerors. By removing the fear of invasion
from the other realms, they have been allowed to flourish under their own direction. Of course, the
laws state we are allowed to intervene if an outside force threatens the planet as a whole, but
nothing close to that has ever occurred.”

Odin gives a half-smile to the look on Izuku’s face. “You don’t agree.” It’s not a question.

“I…no. Sorry grandfather, I don’t.”

“That’s quite alright. I know your father and uncle don’t agree with it either. I swear, the only time
those boys can agree on anything is if it’s against me.”

“It’s just…” How should he word this? Odin typically has a lot more patience with him than others
but still, he’d rather not push it. “I just feel that your plan is good grandfather, but only in the short
term. Which is weird to say since, in this instance, the short term is in centuries.” Odin nods but
says nothing, allowing him to continue. “The realms can’t survive forever on their own. Resources
on planets are finite. Eventually, they’re going to have to reach out to others for help. Also, by not
letting people from the different realms interact, it could cause people to foster negative feelings
about the others. People on Vanaheim can assume the worse of the people on Jotunheim and vice
versa, and through the centuries, more and more people will believe until one day, when the people
meet again, it could lead to violence and more wars. There’s more but those are some of the
reasons that stick out to me.” Izuku takes a deep breath, he hadn’t realized he had started
mumbling. Not that it mattered to Odin since he always seems to understand him anyway. One of
his favorite parts about the man.

“Thank you for speaking honestly with me, Izuku. But there’s also another reason for the isolation
I’ve called for.” Odin says, waving his hand at two guards who unlock a set of doors near them.
The Allfather beckons Izuku to follow down the stairs past the door. At the bottom, Odin unlocks
another door himself and they end up in a dimly lit corridor, several objects lie on stands down the
hallway and at the end of the hall, instead of a wall, sits a bright white light with numerous bars in
front of it.

Izuku’s breath hitches. ‘Oh my god! This is his vault! I’ve never seen it before, this is so cool! ’
Izuku walks down the hall next to Odin, trying to take in everything he can. Some sort of blue
glowing casket, a large golden glove, a giant crown of some sort, a white, blue, and red shield with
a star in the middle, a red cloak draped over some kind of mannequin, and Stormbreaker!!

Odin leads him past the treasures to a normal looking wall at the far end of the vault.
“Grandfather?” Odin just gestures to the wall. Izuku is still confused but obliges. He puts his hand
on the wall and…he can’t describe it. Every one of his senses is overwhelmed at once. He can’t
see. He can’t hear. Nothing. It’s like when a surge of power is too much and a light bulb goes out,
except in this case, Izuku is the lightbulb. He feels nothing and everything at the same time. After
who knows how long, Izuku can see again. He’s on his hands and knees panting. Sweat and tears
drip off his face. His body burns like he just finished the hardest workout of his life multiplied by
infinity.

After regaining some semblance of control, which isn’t saying much, he looks up to see Odin
watching him. “W-wha…w-what was that?” Izuku asks, barely holding back bile.

“Before I answer Izuku, let me ask you this. How does man think they developed their abilities?”

More tears stream down Izuku’s face. He doesn’t want to play twenty questions. He just wants to
know what the hell that was and then go to sleep for a year! Odin gently lifts his grandson up from
under his armpits and takes him to another side of the vault and leans his back against the wall.
Izuku flinches but the wall is normal. Odin sits beside him, seemingly content on waiting.

After what could be hours, or minutes, Izuku feels his trembling hands start to still, and he’s able to
draw on deeper breaths. After a couple of more minutes, he finally answers. “Honestly…we don’t
really know? The biggest theory is that quirks are some sort of disease that was transferred from
rats to humans but there’s no actual evidence for it. The other theory is the quirk singularity theory
but that has even less evidence somehow.”

“Fascinating.” Odin laments. “And I will never quite get over the word humanity chose…quirks…
such a silly word.” Odin gets lost in thought for a few moments. “Let me tell you my theory.”

Izuku turns a bit to give his full attention.

“Centuries ago, there existed, let’s call them items. These items contained power that had been
around since the dawn of the universe itself. Each item possessed an immense and unique ability.
One of them could grant a vast array of wishes, even those against the laws of nature itself. On it’s
own, it was powerful indeed, but still limited in it’s reach and scale. However, when combined
with another one of the items, it could easily affect change on say, a global scale. Put all the items
together, and the scale is universal.”

Izuku tries to digest everything he’s listening too. His mind is running so fast that for once, his
mouth can’t keep up to mumble. He finally settles on, “s-so you’re saying this…item, with the help
of the others, is what gave people their quirks?…”
“I was not there to witness it myself, but I believe most likely, yes.”

That’s…Izuku swallows, yeah that’s a lot. Until today, he still saw the threshold of power in
people like All Might or his Uncle Thor but this…this was something on a completely different
scale. “These…items…are they still?…”

“No. We were able to convince an ancient race known as Celestials that the power these items
contained could no longer be allowed to exist. So they were taken and destroyed.” Izuku can’t even
get his sign of relief out before Odin says, “well. Most of them.”

Izuku goes cold. The connection is obvious. He stares at the wall he was previously at. Odin
follows his gaze. “Yes, Izuku. One could not be destroyed. So I volunteered to keep it hidden. It’s
prison is made of it’s own power, so only another item would be capable of breaking through.”

“And since the other items were destroyed…”

“Then it should never see the light of day again. But I still rather not take chances. This
isolationism makes the chances of anyone learning of the item, as minimal as can be. And so
hopefully, it can stay locked away, forever. Izuku, you merely touched the wall that surrounds the
prison the item is locked in. That was not even a taste of the devastation it could bring.”

Izuku can only nod. He definitely should’ve let his body recover more before learning all of that !
Right now, he can’t even form proper thoughts on the situation. Well, that’s wrong actually. He
can form one thought. And that’s to get as far away from this vault as possible.

Izuku stumbles onto the balcony near the top of the palace. Still reeling from the talk with Odin.
Loki stands by the railing, hands behind his back as usual, watching the setting sun. He turns but
freezes when he sees the state of his son. Loki rushes over and helps Izuku to the railing so he can
lean on it for support. “Izuku, what’s wrong?”

The boy says nothing, opting to lean against his dad instead, no longer holding back his tears.
Every time he closes his eyes, he feels the phantom touch of the item. How small and insignificant
it made him feel. He felt powerless and for once, not in control. And he knew nothing he did would
ever be able to tame…whatever it was.
Loki sighs, running his fingers through Izuku’s hair while he leans into his side. “Father told you
what was in the vault, didn’t he?” He asks softly.

Izuku stiffens before relaxing again and nodding. Loki takes a deep breath. “Don’t worry, your
uncle and I are aware. As well as a few select others. You can always talk to us about it.” Another
nod.

They stand in mostly comfortable silence for a while before the older trickster begins anew.
“Izuku, did I ever tell you why, when announcing myself, I declare that I am burdened with
glorious purpose?”

Izuku’s mind is finally taken off the item for a moment. Had he thought about it? He hadn’t. In his
head, it was just something his father always said but he never really put too much thought into the
words themselves. Izuku shakes his head.

“It’s because, for the longest time, I didn’t know what my purpose was.”

Izuku is taken so off guard by the statement that his head whips up to look at Loki before he can
think. In his father’s green eyes, he sees more emotion than he thinks he’s ever seen.

“I spent a long time just going from goal to goal. Purpose to purpose. Each time I thought, this is it.
This time I truly found what I was meant to do. Only to be left disappointed and disheartened after
each attempt. You know, part of me is ashamed to admit I was a bit envious of you Izuku.”

“Of me?” Izuku’s voice is hoarse.

Loki hums. “From the moment you could comprehend the world around you, you knew what you
wanted to be. What your purpose was. To be a hero. I was envious, but also proud that you had
figured out what had taken me so many years too.”

“So what is your purpose dad?”

Loki gives a sad smile. “That is something that’ll have to wait for the right time.”
 “I don’t understand?”

“I know, son. But you will in time. All you need to know is that change is coming.”

“A good change?” Izuku leans further into his father.

“Yes, Izuku. A good change is coming. Because no matter how people attempt to stall or run from
it, change always comes.” Loki watches the last of the sun’s rays disappear over the horizon. “It is
inevitable.”

Chapter End Notes

So who ordered the world building with a massive helping of foreshadowing? Some
subtle, some not so subtle. Oh, no one? Well it’s on the house, have it anyway.

Again, sorry for the length as this is pretty much double the length I want chapters to
be. I wanted to split this into 2 parts but there wasn’t really anywhere I liked to cut the
chapter besides where Loki says it’s time to see Odin. But I thought everything before
that wasn’t interesting enough to be it’s own chapter so here we are.

Hope you guys enjoyed. I also wanted to establish that Izuku does have a relationship
with his relatives in Asgard. Next chapter, we say hello to canon.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Suggestions? Let me know. Until next time

 It’s A Promise
Chapter Summary

We hit canon!…as in, at some point this chapter, it will be 10 months until the
entrance exams.

Chapter Notes

What’s up everyone! Excited to bring you a new chapter. Just a quick reminder as we
get into canon to read the tags. I’m keeping super spoilery stuff off until we get there
but I have put some things on there so you guys know what to expect and what not too.
Anyways, enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Shota Aizawa was having a good day. Well, good is a strong word. He was having a somewhat
tolerable day. Keyword, was. He had gotten a full three hours of sleep during the day. His favorite
cat cafe had a freshly brewed pot of coffee just finished when he walked in during the evening.
Even the cats seemed extra affectionate today. Although he could’ve done without Purresent Mic
meowing in his ear constantly, but it’s not like that was much different from the man himself.

Patrol had started off fine as well that night. A couple of muggings, a bar fight, and a drug deal.
Nothing he couldn’t deal with or had to strain his eyes too badly for. No, it wasn’t until he was
stopping a trigger deal in some alley that it all went wrong.

Four assailants. Two were buying, and the other two were selling. As soon as he confirmed the
money and trigger, he jumped down. He had the two sellers down almost immediately, landing on
one and putting the other down with a well-placed elbow to the face. Predictably, the other two
froze and freaked out when their quirks wouldn’t come to them. In the few seconds he took to
descend on them was when he noticed a fifth assailant. Apparently, one of the parties had someone
waiting in the wings just in case things went bad. The man had some sort of chameleon mutation
and quirk that had allowed him to blend into his surroundings.

That seemed to be all he was good for though, because he ran once he registered Shota was there.
The criminal rounded the corner as Eraserhead was finishing with the men in the alley and was
about to go after him when he heard a scream and a thud from the street. He tore out of the alley,
quirk activated and capture weapon ready when he met what would ultimately ruin his night.
A child stood on the sidewalk, beaming at him so brightly Shota was glad he was wearing his
goggles. The criminal lays on the ground in front of him, unconscious.

“Eraserhead!” The kid screams before pulling a notebook out from…somewhere. “Can I have your
autograph?!”

He takes note of their surroundings to make sure they aren’t in any danger before looking the kid
up and down, checking for injuries. Once he’s satisfied, he answers, “what happened?” He
gestured to the unconscious man. “Did you do this?”

The kid pulls the notebook back and looks down. “O-oh, uh, him? No, he um, tripped. I think I
must’ve scared him when he was running from you? Because he saw me and tripped.”

Shota raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “He tripped?”

The kid nods rapidly. His wild green hair flopping everywhere with his head movements. “Yeah!
Tripped!”

Shota glances back down. “So.” His headache is making itself known. “He saw you. Tripped. And
that caused the cut on his thigh, and his head to hit the wall hard enough to cause cracks in it?”

“Wow! You’re as good as they say!”

Shota takes a long, very long breath through his nose before exhaling. He hears in his earpiece that
police and medical are minutes away. He wraps the villain in his scarf and picks him up to take
him back into the alley. “Go home kid.” He could still salvage the night. “And don’t let me catch
you out here again.” The kid is clearly a fan, hopefully, his word will be enough to get the kid to
stop whatever it is he was planning.

The underground hero carries the last trigger dealer into the alley and sets him by the others.
Relieved the kid didn’t follow, Shota applies basic first aid to the man’s head and checks the
injuries on the others before the ambulance and police arrive. He gives a quick statement before
using his capture weapon to repel himself back to the top of the building to watch the police finish
up and leave.

Shota sighs, crouching down and slipping a jelly packet out of his pocket to sip on. He watches the
city in thought. Well, that kid was a minor setback but overall, not the worst day. He’s not sure
how a, ten? Eleven? Year-old kid found him. Maybe quirk related? Ah well, it’s done now so he
can focus on his new class he’s gotta teach in two days and-

“So about that autograph?”

Shota does not jump. No. That would imply he was scared, or gotten scared. Which he didn’t.
What he is, however, is confused. He turns his head to see the kid, the same kid from before,
practically vibrating with excitement next to him. Notebook held out again. Shota narrows his eyes,
no one had been able to sneak up on him in years. It’d be impressive in almost any other situation.

“What did I just tell you, kid?” He drawls.

“Not to let you catch me out here again!” The kid actually jumps up and down a little while
answering. Yeah, his night was ruined.

“Right, so what are you still doing here?” Shota has been told his lack of patience is easily
identifiable in his voice. He’s hoping the kid gets it.

“Actually,” the kid starts. The headache pounds harder. “You never said I had to leave. You said I
just had to make sure you didn’t catch me!”

Shota looks over the edge of the building. No, this fall wouldn’t be enough to kill him. Shame.

“Wrong kid. The first thing I told you to do is go home. Now go, before I drag you to the nearest
police station.”

“But Eraser!” The kid whines. He. Is. Whining. “Home is such a subjective term! It can mean any
number of places!”

Instead of answering, Shota whips his scarf at the kid, the police should let him off with a warning
and he’ll learn his lesson. Wrapping the scarf around his mouth will just be a bonus. But in a feat
the veteran hero hasn’t seen done by many, the kid moves, dodging the scarf, and standing up
straight up again, holding out the notebook.
“You dodged.” Shota states. Standing up and rolling his scarf back up around his neck. He
pretends not to feel his knees popping as he does so.

Somehow, the kid’s smile grows. “Well, I did say I wouldn’t let you catch me.”

Shota wants to be more upset than he is. “I don’t give autographs. So just head back to wherever
you live.”

This burgeoning problem child has the audacity to pout. Thank god Nemuri wasn’t here. She’d be
putty in his hands. “But it took so long to find you…”

Another sigh. A rapidly common occurrence tonight. At least, more than usual. “Do you have a
pen?” A happy gasp and the kid looks at his pocket and when he does, it was Shota’s turn to move.
He gets right in front of the kid before he even has a chance to look up and by the time he does,
he’s wrapped up with his feet off the ground. “Your reflexes are well beyond your age. But never
take your eyes off a potential enemy.”

While Eraserhead had been expecting some form of disappointment or begging, instead, the almost
confirmed problem child was somehow even happier. “Oh my god, I’m wrapped up in the
Eraserhead’s capture weapon! This is one of the greatest days of my life! Wow, it’s so light but
strong! Carbon Fiber right? I heard there’s some metal woven into the material to make it very hard
to cut, is that true? Although, I’m sure the knife you have hidden on you can probably cut it right?”
How does he know about that? “Would it be too much to ask you to take a picture of me like this?
Or, no! Can we find someone else to take a picture of me like this with you?! Yeah, and can you
have that exact scowl on your face that you have now? Please!”

The gremlin descends into a mumble storm as Shota carefully navigates their way back down to the
sidewalk. He’s not sure if the kid takes a breath in that time but the pro hero is making sure the
scarf isn’t too tight so it’s probably fine.

“Enough,” Shota says once they’re back on the ground. It’s simple, but enough to break the kid out
of, whatever the hell that was. “I gave you the chance to leave, kid, now if you behave on the way
to the station, they’ll probably let you off light, but only if you behave? Got it?” Thankfully,
mercifully, he gets a nod and they begin their walk. Well, Shota’s walking while the kid just sort of
dangles. It’s peaceful.

“So what do I have to do to get that autograph?”

It was peaceful. Was is becoming an important word tonight. “Stay out of trouble and next time, do
what I, or any pro hero, tell you to do.”

“Then I’ll get it?!”

“No.”

The human-sized broccoli groans. “C’mon Eraserhead. There’s gotta be some way. What if I can
get out of this? Can I get it then?”

“I don’t know what your quirk is. It would be illogical to take that bet.”

“I can create illusions. And anyway you can just keep your quirk on me until we get there. I
couldn’t see when you’d blink. Also, does your quirk work through any glass, or are your goggles
made from something special? Your scarf and hair float when you use your quirk, obviously to
move anything blocking your sight, so does that mean it has some sort of minor anti-gravity quirk
built into it? That would be such a cool quirk on it’s own. But your stuff floating is a big tell.
Couldn’t you cut your hair and wear your scarf somewhere else so the villains aren’t tipped off?
How much weight can your quirk’s side effect move? Like, how about a tennis ball or something?
Would that float around your face? What about red-colored contacts? So nobody could tell when
your quirk is activated with or without the goggles. Oh! What about-“ a small shake breaks the
kid’s concentration.

It’s doing nothing for Shota’s full-blown migraine.

“If I give you an autograph, will you shut up and head home? Your actual home, and stay there?”

“Yes!!” Now he’s practically dancing in the weapon, wonderful. “Oh yes yes yes! I promise!
Thank youuuuu!” Are those tears? Whatever. Shota looks up and down the street to make sure
they’re alone when he feels the weight the capture weapon is holding disappear. He turns around,
lowering himself into a fighting stance only to see, again, the kid holding out his notebook and pen
with the biggest smile on his face.

“I thought you said your quirk was illusion creation.”

“I said I could create illusions. I never said it was my quirk.”

Yeah. Shota needs to end this. He can feel his grip on reality slipping. He takes the notebook from
the kid and sees a- god dammit, a good drawing of himself on one page and words written on the
other page. At least he assumes their words.

“What language is this?” Shota asks, squinting.

The kid picks at his fingernails nervously. “It’s uh, code. I like to analyze heroes but I don’t want
just anyone to be able to read my notes. So I code everything.”

‘ Potential.’ Shota’s traitorous brain provides. But if even half the questions he could make out
from the kid were accurate, maybe it wasn’t that far off. He signs his name under the picture and
hands it back.

The kid’s hands tremble as he takes the book back. “Th-thank you. Thank you so much!” He
sniffles and oh god here come the tears again.

Shota waves him off, rubbing his irritated eyes. “Yeah yeah, kid. Just make sure-“ he opens his
eyes and the kid is gone. What was he saying before? His grip on reality was slipping? That kid
was real right? He doesn’t even know if he’s hopeful about that or not. But he does know one
thing. He needs more coffee.

Mirai Sasaki dodges back just as his intern, Mirio Togata, shoots up from the ground. The two take
a moment to steady themselves before Mirio charges forward. Mirai takes another step back,
pretending to lose his footing, and throws two of his super density stamp seals in ‘panic.’

Mirio activates his permeation, letting the seals pass through him. “I got you now, Sir!” He yells,
aiming a fist at his mentor’s face.

“Tunnel vision,” Mirai says simply. Mirio has just enough time for his face to form one of
confusion before Mirai’s knee catches him in the gut. The UA student falls to his knees, wheezing.
“You continue to improve.” Mirai continues while he straightens his suit and glasses. “However,
when you feel victory is assured, you gain tunnel vision in regards to your opponent. You don’t
consider what ways your enemy can counter you. Or, how they may be tricking you.” He holds his
hand out and Mirio takes it, pulling himself up and smiling.
“I’ll be sure to work on it through this year, Sir!” Mirio proudly declares, pumping his fist in the
air. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to be known for tunneling during a fight, then people might say I’m
boring !”

Mirai stares at his student for a few seconds before snorting. “Take the rest of the day off. Make
sure to turn your costume in before you leave for any last-minute alterations.”

“Oh, I’m good to go again if you want.”

“No, you start classes tomorrow and should be well-rested. You did good work. I look forward to
your sports festival this year.”

Mirio’s bright smile returns full force before he bows. “Thank you Sir!” The almost UA second
year wave as he leaves. Mirai allows himself a small smile before returning to his office.

Slumping in his seat, All Might’s former sidekick lets out a relieved sigh. It was almost time. He
would use this year to continue to develop Mirio. The work studies after the boy obtained his
provisional license would be a massive help. And at the end, Mirio will be more than ready for
One for All. Toshinori will pass on the quirk, the country will have it’s new Symbol of Peace for
decades to come, and his old friend can finally retire and be safe.

Still, it helps to be prepared. Mirai picks up his phone and dials a number he hadn’t in a long time.
Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t take long for him to get an answer. “Yeah?”

“Torino, it’s Mirai.”

“Heh, should’ve figured you’d have the guts to call before the oaf. What do you want?”

“I want you to meet my chosen successor to All Might. And I want you to help me convince
Toshinori to meet him as well. The sooner the better.”

“You know. Typically, the user picks their successor.”

“We both know that Toshinori will wait until the last possible moment to even think about finding
a successor. And by then it will be too late. Your help with convincing him and in training the boy
would be appreciated.”

“Yeah, I don’t know Mirai…I just got a new microwave and the trains are so crowded these days,
damn young people don’t even offer their seats to us old folk anymore…”

Mirai pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation. And the old man wonders why they don’t call
anymore. “I’ll send a company car to pick you up and you can have as much Taiyaki as you can
eat.”

“…I’ll see you tomorrow.” The line goes dead.

Mission accomplished he supposes. All the pieces are in place. Sir Nighteye thinks back to last
year's sports festival. To that embarrassed Mirio who lost his clothes on live television. He knows
many wrote him off. But he was not one of many. Mirai knew then he had found him. Despite his
poor performance at the festival, his future intern never stopped smiling.

With that smile and positive attitude, Mirai knew there was no other choice. He offered the boy an
internship because of it. He would be the ninth user of One for All. Sure, if for some reason Mirio
did not receive the quirk, he couldn’t fathom why, then yes, he would still make an excellent hero.

Tomorrow will be an interesting day. Hopefully, he can even convince Toshinori to come so he and
Mirio can start to get to know each other. No, it was all gonna work. All that would be left is for
Mirio to accept.

“Why bother? I know you all want to go to the Hero track!”

Katsuki Bakugo scoffed as all the extras in the room cheered and showed off their worthless
quirks. First day of his last year in middle school and he couldn’t be more ready to leave. Stupid
fucking extras. Most of their quirks couldn’t be used for heroics, and the few that maybe could
have worked, aren’t going to now. They hadn’t put any work into it. Unlike him.

He had been training his ass off since he could remember. Keeping his body in peak condition,
studying to keep his mind sharp, and learning to use his quirk in different ways. Deku had actually
been useful for quirk training when they were younger, he could really see how much damage
different size explosions did to a person, at least before the fucker started to be able to pull his little
disappearing act. Fucking coward.

Katsuki side-eyed the nerd in the back corner of the room. There he was, just scribbling away in
one of his stalker books. Whatever. At least he had the good sense not to pretend he had a chance
like the rest of these losers. Oh good, Sensei is finally starting to get back whatever little control he
has over the class. Time to set the record straight.

He propped his feet on the desk. “Hey Teach.” The class went silent. Good. They should hang off
every word of the future number one. “Don’t lump me in with the rest of these extras. I’m the real
deal, but they’ll all be lucky to get into the gen ed courses of any hero school.”

He laughs as the class protests before Sensei mentions he’s trying for UA. That shuts them all up.
Finally. “I’ll be doing more than trying out. Once they see me, UA is gonna be begging me to join
their hero course!” The blonde steps up on top of his desk. “I’ve aced every mock test. I have the
perfect quirk. I’m the only one here with any chance to get in. And after, I’m gonna be richer and
more popular than even All Might!”

The class stares at him in awe. Good. They should get used to looking up at him, and you know
what? He can’t say he minds looking down at them. That’s right. All of them, especially Deku , are
just stones. No, not even stones. They’re pebbles on his path to glory. And nothing’s gonna-

“Oh yeah, Midoriya, don’t you wanna go to UA too?”

Katsuki’s thoughts come to a screeching halt. ‘What?’ He wouldn’t seriously even think about
applying to UA right? He knows Katsuki’s going, and he has to be the only one from this shitty
school to make it in. Why is Deku trying to ruin his perfect backstory? Does he think he’s that
much better than him?!

He drills his eyes into Deku, who’s leaning his face into his hand, looking resigned to what’s about
to happen.

Katsuki’s thoughts can’t go any further before the class breaks out into laughter.

“Deku? Seriously?!”
“Nothing you make is real, how is that gonna help?”

“Card tricks can’t beat villains, Deku.”

“Hey, maybe he could pull Miruko from a hat and she can beat the villains for him!”

The class laughs more while Deku just sighs, tapping his pencil against his notebook. Oh,
Katsuki’s body can finally move. He rushes forward and slams his hand on Deku’s desk, causing a
small explosion. The shitty nerd doesn’t move for a second before tilting his head up but leaving it
in his hand. Deku gives him a small nauseating smile. “Hey, Kacchan. Here to wish me luck?”

You know, there’s a small, very small part of Katsuki that wants Deku to get into the hero course.
So he can have permission to kick his ass every day and explode that smirk right off his face. But
the nerd not getting anywhere near UA is still preferred.

For now, he just settles on growling. “Listen up, Deku. You’re just some wannabe birthday clown
who’ll run from the first villain he sees. You really think they’d let someone like you in when they
could have me?”

“I’m sorry Kacchan but are you confused?”

“ What did you just ask-“

“Are you confused? Because you know UA doesn’t have to choose between us right? We don’t
have to compete against each other in that way. It’s not like they can only accept one kid from each
middle school, we can both go. I thought you said you’d been studying?” Deku throws him an even
wider smile.

He’s a dead man.

With a roar, Katsuki throws his fist back, ready to swing, but before he could, “that’s enough
Bakugo! Return to your seat.” Sensei calls out. Thankfully, his training had awarded him with
plenty of willpower. Since it was taking every last of it right now to hold back. He couldn’t risk
anything appearing on his record to hurt his chances at UA. So he’ll play nice for now. At least
while Sensei is here. The explosion quirk user stomps back to his desk and let the rest of the day
pass him by.
Not soon enough, the day ends. Katsuki waits for the rest of the extras and Sensei to leave before
storming back to Deku’s desk. There he was. Smiling at some stupid shit on his phone while
writing in his notebook. “Oi, Deku! We weren’t done!” Katsuki goes to snatch the dweeb’s
notebook…only for his hand to go through an illusion of said book.

Deku stands up, his bag disappearing in a green light, and this motherfucker has the balls to sigh at
him! “Your whole thing is being loud, Kacchan. I knew you were coming. Did you think I’d just
let you take my book?”

Katsuki flings the desk in between them out of the way and across the room. Some extra comes up
behind him. Oh, it’s Long-Fingers.

“H-hey Bakugo, man. Maybe we should…”

“Shut the fuck up!” He glares back at Deku, but he wasn’t even looking at him! The idiot was
staring at where his desk was!

“Huh…maybe next time I should create a decoy of the desk too? But how far would Kacchan be
willing to go in property damage? Should I create decoys of everyone’s desks?…yeah I know they
never respected mine but being a hero is about being the bigger person…no no the windows
should be fine, Kacchan wouldn’t let that big of an explosion inside the school…no! I’m not
willing to see how far I’d have to push him to do it!…”

What. The. Fuck. Deku and his stupid fucking mumble storms that no one understands. No wonder
he didn’t have any friends.

“Deku!”

“W-what? Oh! Sorry, Kacchan!” He pointedly ignores the apologetic smile Deku gives him.
“What were we talking about?”

He doesn’t remember?! Katsuki is the future number one! Deku should be honored just to talk to
him! “All you’re good at is running away, Deku. You’ll die at the entrance exams, and I’m gonna
prove it.” Katsuki’s hand starts to heat up and smoke. He went to put his hand on Deku’s shoulder.
“Now run away and leave your little clone.”
Before his hand could touch him, Katsuki felt something press against his wrist. His eyes widen at
the sight of a knife that was not there before.

“How’s that for running away?” Katsuki clenches his fist harder, making a sound similar to a rabid
dog. “Don’t worry Kacchan. You’ll get the fight you want when I get into UA.”

“Is that a threat?” Katsuki spat.

“It’s a promise.”

Red eyes met green for a few tense seconds before Katsuki pulled his hand away. The knife was
already gone. He scoffs, stuffing his hands into his pockets before making his way to the door.

No. He would not let that nerd get the last word. Time to put him in his place once and for all.
Katsuki stops at the door. “You know, there is a way you could be a hero.” He pauses. “Just pray
that you’ll be born with a better quirk in your next life, and take a swan dive off the roof of the
building.”

Deku actually takes a step back, his face falling. Good. He gets it. Katsuki leaves without another
word.

He did it. The nerd seemed to finally understand. No way he applies to UA now. He should feel
satisfied with his victory.

So why didn’t he?

‘ Why would he say that?’ Izuku Midoriya shakes his head while walking home. Why would
Kacchan go that far? Was this his fault? Had he pushed his old friend too far? He knew he could be
annoying at even the best times but still…did he really want him to die?

Izuku’s way home takes him through a tunnel. No no he couldn’t have actually wanted him to
jump off a building. Sure, he and Kacchan hadn’t exactly gotten along for years but this was
different. Did he not want him to go to UA that bad? Why? He wasn’t that irritating right? It
couldn’t be that Kacchan…actually saw him as a threat, right? Ha, no. That’d be ridiculous. So,
what-

“Get back here!”

Izuku’s train of thought is derailed by a shout from outside the tunnel. The teen looks up to see
someone small running at him from the other end. A child, he realizes. A girl. She stops in front of
him and for the second time that day, Izuku’s green eyes meet another person’s red. But while
Kacchan’s were full of anger, hers show nothing but fear.

Izuku raises his hands, trying to show her that he means no harm. Giving his best smile, he says,
“are you-“

“Hey!”

The girl squeals in terror, flinging herself onto him, clinging tightly. She’s trembling. Izuku looks
up to see, what he assumes is a man from his build, standing at the end of the tunnel. Most of his
body is covered by a black cloak and he wears some sort of plague doctor mask over his face. Well
if that doesn’t scream bad guy.

“Thanks for finding my boss’ kid.” The man says. “We’ll be taking her back now.”

‘We?’

“Yeah, give her to one of us and you’re free to go kid.” The voice comes from behind him. Izuku
turns his head to see another man, dressed the same way as the first, blocking the other end of the
tunnel. The man behind him looks down. “Oh shit, look at his shoes! He’s a quirkless!” The man
laughs a little. “You can understand us, right?”

The first man laughs too. “Oh right! I heard most of them can’t even talk! Good point!”

Izuku gently places his hands around the girl. “I can understand you. Just. Fine.” Izuku says, his
voice low.
 “Whatever you say.” The first man replies, still laughing a little. “Well, the deal still stands. Give
her up and you can leave. Though I almost feel bad for letting you go, a worthless life sounds like
hell to me.”

Izuku’s mind quickly flashed through his early years, back before he could use any of his powers.
How just him suggesting he could be a hero while everyone thought he was quirkless got him
beaten up, got him secluded, got him burned.

He wouldn’t trade his powers for anything but dang it, he knows he could’ve been a hero without
them. Sure, no one believed in him and it had never been done before, but he could have! At least
he’s pretty sure…

Izuku opens his mouth to respond but a soft, broken voice stops him. “Please…” Izuku looks
down. The girl is somehow holding him even tighter. “Please…don’t go…”

Izuku takes a second to get a good look at her. Raggedy clothes. Bluish, off-white hair. A small
horn on her forehead. And, oh god, bandages on her arms and legs. She couldn’t be older than
five.

Determination courses through his body as Izuku takes a breath. “I’m not going anywhere.” He
says to her. “I promise.”

A nearby manhole cover began to stir.

Chapter End Notes

Sooooooo…that happened. Heh heh, I kind of took, “reality can be whatever I want”
and just ran with it lol.

So what do you guys think? Questions? Concerns? Suggestions? Let me know below!
I really appreciate it.

Until next time!

 Control
Chapter Summary

Saving a unicorn! And a few important conversations

Chapter Notes

Hello again! As per usual, here’s the new chapter that took way more words then I
thought to cover everything I wanted too. Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Toshinori Yagi really was pathetic, wasn’t he? Here he was, the Symbol of Peace, Japan’s hope as
the number one hero, and he had to go ahead and lose a villain in the sewers. Sure, if he had just
lost the villain, it wouldn’t be so bad. In his powered-up state, he could probably catch back up in
less than thirty seconds, give or take.

No, the problem was, he had run out of time! The day had been a bit strange, he’ll admit. It seemed
like everyone needed help today. Not that he’s complaining! He would never! He lives to help
those in need! But today, the moment he finished getting a cat out of a tree, or helping someone
move their furniture, another person was calling out to him.

And while he was always happy to help, it came at the detriment of his three hour time limit. When
he thought he finally had a moment, he deflated and took a trip to the grocery store, only for this
villain to rob a bank! He had hoped to catch up to the, mud? Slime? To the villain quickly and
secure him, but it was not to be. He had gotten away and that left Toshinori to where he was now.
Running around the sewers in his emancipated form like a fool, trying to get Tsukauchi on the
phone.

‘What a great hero you are.’ He thinks to himself while coughing blood into his hand. Toshinori
took another deep breath and tried to call on One for All again. If he could just get something,
anything, he knows he could end this quickly. He willed his quirk to work!…and nothing again.

What a disgrace. The old hero gripped his grocery bag tighter and pushed himself to keep running.
His lungs were burning, the pain from his injury was white hot, and his mouth filled with more and
more blood but he kept going. He would see this through to the end. He just had to hope no one got
hurt before he did.
Izuku would be the first to admit that this situation wasn’t exactly ideal.

“We ain’t got all day kid.”

It could be better.

The gears in Izuku’s head spun. The easiest solution would be to turn the girl invisible and get
them both out of there, but slight problem. He hadn’t learned how to do that yet. So that’s out. He
could change her appearance and make her look completely different, but that wouldn’t help either.
They’d see it and if not, anyone traveling with him would obviously be her.

Then there were his opponents themselves. He couldn’t get a read on what their quirks were. No
physical part of their bodies was visible to analyze. He’d like to say they didn’t have ranged quirks
or else they would’ve used them but at the same time, they may not want to hurt the girl.

He has multiple daggers and knives physically on him now, plus he could conjure more if he
needed, but they could be risky too because these villains, they’re hurting this girl so villains, they
could have skin or be wearing armor that’s knife proof!

Could…could Kacchan have been right? Were his powers only good for tricks? Was he really
usele-

No! Stop! You’re letting what he said get to you. Relax. Breathe. You’re the Prince of Mischief.
Act like it! No situation is out of your control. They don’t have you trapped. You have them.

Alright. Good. Save the girl now. Deal with what Kacchan said later. And possibly stab him for it.
No, wait. Definitely stab him. But like, a light stab.

Izuku only takes seconds to process all those thoughts before feeling for his knives under his
sleeves, getting ready to test how knife proof the villains were, before the manhole cover close to
him began to shake violently.
Oh, what fresh hell was this?

The horned girl buries her face against him as some green liquid substance came out through the
holes in the cover. Sludge if he had to guess. His only solace is the two men yelling in surprise,
meaning whatever this was, wasn’t with them.

The sludge twisted around for a second before forming what looked like arms and a face, complete
with eyes and mouth. Izuku’s hopes, albeit they were very slim, of the newcomer helping them
were dashed when the sludge man looked down at him. His face was the one of a predator, and it
looked like he had found his prey.

“Well, it looks like I got my choice of skin suit today.” The sludge man says in a distorted voice.

Izuku doesn’t know if there is a way to use ‘skin suit’ in a good context but this was not it. Let’s
see, the sludge around him is liquid, so most likely no pain receptors. He doesn’t know about the
teeth but those eyes make nice, big targets.

“Hey! Freak!” The sludge villain turns to look at the man calling him from the tunnel’s entrance.
“Do whatever you want with the boy, but the girl is ours!”

“Who the hell do you think you are?!” He calls back. This is Izuku’s chance. The girl gives a small
squeal as he picks her up, putting his left arm under her while she wraps her own arms around his
neck.

Izuku can’t make her invisible. But he can make more.

He creates ten decoys of himself around the sludge villain. But only five of them look like him. At
the same time, he turns five of the decoys into copies of the girl. When the sludge villain looks
back, there are six total pairs of kids, each looking the exact same as the originals.

“What the fuck is this?!” The villain roars. His eyes desperately scanning over them.

“Watch your mouth!” All six Izuku say together before laughing and taking off in different
directions. Three pairs toward the exit of the tunnel and the other three toward the entrance.
“I don’t have time for this!!” The sludge villain extends both of his arms and swipes at both groups
of retreating kids. Several dodge but he’s still able to hit a pair of decoys on each side. One of the
pairs running toward the entrance trips and falls. “Found you!” He lunges in their direction.

The real Izuku smirks as he runs toward the exit. That’ll buy a little time. Now for…he adjusts his
free arm and conjures two knives before throwing them at the last villain blocking their exit. He
has his clone do the same so the goon thinks four knives are flying toward him. Each one aimed at
one of his legs or shoulders.

“Shit!” The man creates what looks like mini shields in his hands, each the size of a palm and goes
to block two of the knives. He guesses right on the one aimed for his shoulder. He does not on the
legs. The knife skewers him in the right leg and he shrieks in pain, hunching over and putting both
of his hands on either side of the injured leg.

“Pardon me!” Izuku jumps and drives his heel into the man’s chest, using his momentum to take
him to the ground before continuing his run. The sun had never looked so good. His victory is
short-lived before Izuku’s instincts go wild. He hugs his passenger with both hands and sends them
rolling on the ground just in time for a sludge appendage to go sailing above them.

The teen looks up just in time to see the sludge villain barreling down on them. “You’re mine!”
Izuku doesn’t even think. His arm moves in a slashing motion, the dagger being conjured mid-
swing. His aim is true. Izuku slashes the villain across the eye, causing him to reel back in pain.
Unfortunately, he backs up right into the path Izuku was running in. Even being outside the tunnel,
the path they’re on is a narrow one. With high walls lining the sides.

The half Asgardian has no choice but to try to turn around but when he does, his downed villain is
ripping the knife out of his leg, and getting back on his feet. His partner running up to his side,
pulling him the rest of the way up.

“You’re gonna want to hang on,” Izuku whispers to the girl, moving her to his back. She doesn’t
have to be told twice and wraps her legs around his back and her arms around his neck. It’s a little
too tight but he won’t complain.

“Good try, kid! But we’ll be taking Eri back now.” The uninjured cloaked villain tells him.

‘Eri, huh?’
“Like hell, you will!” Oh good, Mr. Sludge has recovered. “I still need a suit to hide in before he
gets here!” Izuku turns his back to one of the walls so he can keep an eye on both sets of villains.

“We told you! We just want the girl! You can have the other one!”

The sludge villain growls. “So I get the boy and you get the girl? Fine, whatever!”

“Uh, guys?” The villains all turn to look at Izuku. “As wanted as all of this is making me feel. You
have a slight problem.” He lifts his hand and in a flash of green light, Izuku is gone. In his place,
now stand a dozen terrified looking girls.

“Which one..”

“Is…”

“Eri?” Three different girls say.

“I have never wanted to kill a kid…more than I have today…” the injured villain grits out.

“Doesn’t matter!” The sludge villain calls out. “I’ll just attack them all!”

“You can’t! We need the girl!” The uninjured villain forms a gun with his hand and shoots a bullet
of compressed air in front of the advancing sludge villain. Unknown to any of them, a new person,
panting at the mouth of the tunnel, begins to watch.

He turns his murderous glare from the dozen girls to the mask-wearing villains. “I don’t give a-!”

“You’re running out of time.” One of the Eri’s says.

“He’ll be here before you know it.” Says another.

“And they keep getting in your way.”

The sludge villain bellows in frustration. “I’m done with this! I’m getting a skin suit, one way or
another!” He jumps at the other two villains, both of them barely jumping out of the way in time.
The goon with the injured leg stays on the ground, clutching his leg in pain. The sludge villain
takes advantage, descending upon the man, ripping his mask off, and forcing his way down his
throat.

The dozen Eri’s take advantage. One girl grabs another and they all run back toward the tunnel. “I
don’t think so!” The villain not currently being possessed by the sludge from hell starts shooting
air bullets at the Eri’s, knowing it wouldn’t kill her.

Several decoys are taken out before Izuku ends the illusion, throwing two more knives at the
villain that he ultimately shoots out of the air. He points two finger guns at the pair while Eri hides
behind Izuku. The villain tries to fire several shots at them but they’re blocked by a pair of daggers.
The two take a moment to stare each other down.

“You must be so relieved, kid. To have gotten a quirk. Means when I kill you, someone might
actually care!” The man blasts a shot of compressed air from his foot, launching himself at the
kids. He switches from a gun to an ‘air sword’ in his dominant hand and brings it down onto
Izuku’s head. He crosses his daggers in front of him, blocking the attack. The villain aims the air
gun in his left hand at the boy’s gut.

Before he can fire, Izuku twists, using the air sword caught in his daggers to drag the man with
him, while at the same, using his leg to keep Eri out of the way. Izuku pushes the man off of him
and throws another knife before the twist is done, feeling satisfied when it pierces the man’s gun
hand.

“Ah! You little shit!”

Izuku can’t help the smile on his face. “And you wanna know the best part? I just did all of that
without any powers!” The man snarls, raising his air sword, but another knife stabs that hand too.
As the man stumbles, Izuku picks Eri back up, holding her close. “I didn’t even need them to beat
you! Because guess what?! Quirk or no quirk, nothing was going to stop me from saving Eri!”

A very loud stomp comes from behind Izuku. “Very well said, young man.”
Izuku turns and was pretty sure if it wasn’t for the adrenaline pumping through him, he would’ve
fainted right there. “A-a-a-a-a-a-“

“You’ve done well. But let a pro handle it from here!!”

Shit! No! I wasn’t ready!” The sludge villain yells, abandoning his prey and lunging in a desperate
attack.

“TEXAS…” All Might grabs Izuku and Eri with his other hand, positioning them behind him.
“SMASH!!!!” All Might punches right as the sludge villain attacks, creating a torrent of wind.
Izuku holds Eri close to him while the wind roars around them.

“Damn youuuuuuuu!” The sludge villain is blown apart by the mighty punch, the other two villains
being blasted away with him.

Once the wind dies down, the sound of sirens could be heard approaching. Izuku loosens his grip
on the red-eyed girl a little. “Are you ok, Eri?”

She nods. “Y-yes. T-thank you s-sir.”

Izuku makes a face. “Oh please don’t call me that. My name’s Midoriya.”

“Midor-Midori-Mi-Midoriri-“

Izuku smiles. “How about you just call me Mido?” The girl answers by burying her face into his
chest again.

“So, did this all go according to plan?”

Loki smirks from his spot on top of the building, watching the scene below them. “Oh, yes.”
His companion rubs his chin with his wrinkled fingers. “You helped the girl escape her captors so
your son could rescue her?”

“Correct.”

“And this is part of your…grand plan for Terra?…”

“You were the one who demanded an update.” Loki knows his smirk is infuriating the other so he
keeps it up.

“Then answer me this. Why spend so much time delaying the buffoon beforehand, ensuring his
power would run out? He would have saved the girl much quicker.”

“It needed to be Izuku who rescued the girl. So they would grow attached.”

The alien hums a bit before answering. “I still fail to see the point of this.”

“The point is the same as it has always been.” Green eyes zone in on Izuku, holding the girl close
to him while talking excitedly with the hero. “Control.”

“Ah yes, they’re in room 318. Just head through those doors, and take the elevator at the end of the
hall. It'll be the first one on your left.”

Naomasa Tsukauchi tips his hat at the receptionist and makes his way toward the double doors he
was directed towards.

“Tsukauchi.” The police detective turns at the sound of his name to see Shota Aizawa walking to
him.

“He’s with me,” Naomasa tells the receptionist who nods and buzzes the door for the two men.
They walk in step down the hallway. Aizawa waits for the doors to close behind them before
staring. “So, what was so urgent you couldn’t give me any details over the phone?”

“Kidnapping case. We got a little girl. Name, Eri. Age is between four to five. No birth certificate
and no missing report cases match her.” Naomasa lists off.

“Strange. But not as out of the ordinary as you implied over the phone.”

“She was being walked when she managed to get away from her guard, and then rescued by a
fourteen-year old. From what I’ve been told, he handled himself well.”

“Who told you that?”

“All Might. He arrived at the end and finished the villains off.”

Aizawa sighs. “Of course. He still here?”

Naomasa stops to press the button for the elevator. “No. He had other matters to attend too. He
gave his statement and left. His secretary is here in his place.” He looks over at Aizawa who gives
him a nod. He got the message, Toshinori ran out of time.

Aizawa starts again. “While this is all fascinating, you haven’t answered why you asked Nezu
specifically for me.”

“Officers haven’t been able to get much from the girl. But from what they tell me, every time they
brought up her quirk, she’d cry and tell them it was a ‘curse’ and to not get close or they would be
‘erased.’”

The elevator door opens and they step in. “So I’m here as a precaution?”

“Yes, and hopefully with you around, she’ll be comfortable enough to tell us more about her
kidnappers.”
“Fair enough. And the other kid? What’s his situation?”

“He admitted to using his quirk but considering the amount of villains present, there seems to be
sufficient evidence his life and the girls were in danger so we don’t plan on charging him.”

Aizawa’s grunt was his only response.

“Apparently Eri, that’s the girl’s name, refuses to leave Midoriya’s, the boy, side. So we’ll be
talking to them together.” The elevator stops and the doors open, depositing them onto the floor.

Naomasa heads to the first door on the left, nodding to the officers standing outside, he opens the
door and walks in.

The room was your standard hospital room, with two beds and curtains to separate for privacy. The
kids laid next to one another on Eri’s bed, probably not to disturb her IV drip. Eri had been
changed into a hospital gown and had had her bandages changed. While he did close his eyes for
her sake, apparently Midoriya was next to her the entire time. She wouldn’t allow anyone to come
near her without him according to the doctors.

When they entered, as he predicted, Eri scrunched up closer to Midoriya for protection. The boy
was wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a long-sleeved red shirt that read ‘unicorn’ on it. Wait,
shouldn’t he be wearing a gown too? When did he get a change of clothes? Ah well, it doesn't
matter.

Midoriya looks up at them and gives a polite smile before looking past the detective. His smile
becomes more genuine. “Eraser!”

Naomasa turns, intending to ask how Aizawa knows the kid, but the look of horror on the pro
hero's face stops him. Aizawa mutters something that suspiciously sounds like, “oh god, he’s real,”
before schooling his expression back to vague disinterest. He tilts his head at Midoriya. “Hello
again…Problem Child.”

Midoriya whispers a few things to Eri before getting up and walking toward him. “Hi! I’m Izuku
Midor-“ the boy is interrupted by his own tripping on his feet. The detective easily catches him
while he shakes his head. “Sorry about that, I can be a bit clumsy sometimes.”
Truth.

Naomasa smiles. “You’re alright, Midoriya.” The kid smiles, straightening up. “We don’t want to
take up too much of your time. You should know, your mom is on her way and should be here
soon. I’m just here to confirm some details with you about what happened. And I was hoping to
talk to Eri too.”

Midoriya’s easy-going nature seems to slip. It’s barely noticeable, Naomasa probably only can
because of his experience. The kid’s eyes narrow, looking him up and down before glancing at
Aizawa. Just as quick as it was gone, Midoriya’s relaxed nature returns. “Sure!”

Naomasa nods, pulling up a chair for both him and Aizawa. “We’ll start with you, Midoriya. If you
can just give me a recounting of everything that happened today with Eri. And I am obligated to
inform you that I have a lie detector quirk. I can’t turn it off. So I’ll be able to tell if you’re telling
the truth or not.”

Usually, when he tells someone about his quirk, they get nervous. No longer able to look him in
the eye. Their responses become very slow, like they’re thinking about every word they say, which
they probably are. Not with Midoriya though. It’s as if Christmas came early.

“Wow!” He hears a groan next to him from Aizawa. “That’s so cool! Does someone have to
directly respond to you for it to work? What about partial truths? Partial lies? Does it work over
the phone? What about-“

“Problem Child.” Naomasa doesn’t have to know Aizawa as well as he does to know the man is
contemplating several life choices right now. “You’ll be answering the questions today.”

And now Modoriya’s face is as if Aizawa burned his early Christmas present. The detective
chuckles a bit. “How about this? We’ll get to more of your questions later once we finish with you
and Eri. And no, my quirk doesn’t work over the phone.” The kid’s mood brightens a bit. “So,
what happened today?”

And so, Midoriya recounts what happened with Eri. How he was trapped in a tunnel, used decoys
and throwing knives to get out, stabbed a villain in the eye, got trapped again, used more tricks to
get the villains to fight each other, fought off the last one, and All Might finished them off.
Everything rang true.
“You seem to have a very fine tune control of your quirk,” Aizawa says once Midoriya is done.
“You teach yourself that?”

“Uh, no,” Midoriya says, scratching his cheek. “My dad taught me.”

Truth.

“Well, just know, you were extremely lucky today. And you should not keep pushing it. Practice
restraining yourself from using your quirk in public.” Aizawa warns.

“Sounds like a story?” Naomasa asks, raising an eyebrow and looking between the two.

Aizawa shrugs. “Kid used his quirk to get out of my capture weapon.”

Before he could get a response off, Midoriya quickly cut in, “I swear I did not use my quirk to get
out of your capture weapon.”

Truth.

“Huh, I got a truth.” Aizawa frowns.

Oh, he does not like the look on Midoriya’s face. “Of course, that’s assuming I was ever actually
tied up in your capture weapon in the first place, Eraser.”

“Tsukauchi,” Aizawa says in a strained voice. “Ask Eri your questions. Sooner, would be better.”

Midoriya nods happily. “I’ll let her know you guys are alright.” He walks back over to the girl,
who had been watching them apprehensively the entire time.

“Hey, Eri,” Midoriya says in a lighter voice. “Those men there want to ask you some questions, if
that’s ok?”
Eri shook her head violently. “N-no! My curse could hurt them! T-they can’t-“

“Shhhh.” Midoriya gently shushes her, patting her head. “You see the one with long hair and scarf?
That’s Eraserhead. He’s a hero who can turn off other people’s quirks.”

Eri’s wide eyes somehow became even wider. “He…he can turn off my curse?”

Midoriya bends down a bit to look her in the eye. “Your quirk Eri. Your quirk. There is nothing
wrong with you. Everything is because of the man who hurt you.” She shudders but continues to
look at him. “And, with a little practice, I just know you could learn to control your quirk! But
Eraserhead can stop any accidents. You can’t hurt anyone. Maybe he could show you?”

Midoriya looks at them for silent permission. Naomasa nods and Aizawa gets up and walks slowly
over, stopping in the middle of the room. Midoriya waves his hand and an exact copy of him
appears next to Aizawa, smiling and waving at Eri. “Hiya!” After a few seconds, Aizawa activates
his quirk on Midoriya and the clone disappears.

“See?” Midoriya asks while the little girl looks at Aizawa in awe.

“O-okay. He can stay.” Eri finally says.

“It’s nice to meet you, Eri. My name is Shota Aizawa.”

Midoriya looks like he’s about to combust; he's so excited. “OhmygodIknowEraserhead’sname!”

Aizawa clears his throat. “U-uh, I mean, g-great job Eri! You’re doing so well. And the other
man,” Midoriya pulls something from his pocket and opens it in front of her, “his name is
Naomasa Tsukauchi. And look. You see that? That’s his police badge. He’s a police officer who
also wants to help you. And if Eraserhead likes him, then I think we can trust him.” Midoriya
smiles more and- wait.

His police badge? That’s in his wallet which is…Naomasa gets up and feels around his pockets…
which is gone. He looks over to see Aizawa giving him a look that says, ‘see?’ And he can’t help
but agree.
Naomasa walks over slowly until Eri nods. Both he and Aizawa walk over to the side of the bed,
the detective raising an eyebrow and holding his hand out. The kid at least has the decency to look
a bit sheepish. “Sorry.” Midoriya apologizes while handing the wallet back. “I thought it would get
her to trust you.”

Naomasa sighs. “It’s…fine kid. Just don’t make a habit out of it.” He pauses. “Your dad teach you
that too?”

Midoriya’s smile returns. “Nope!”

Truth.

Alright, not enough time to deal with whatever that means. “Oh, Midoriya. Before I forget. Mr.
Yagi, All Might’s secretary, wanted to talk to you in the empty room down the hall once we’re
done here.” Midoriya gives him a confused look but nods. Aizawa gives him a look too, but
chooses not to comment. “Alright Eri, we’re gonna be asking you some questions about the men
who took you, ok?” She curls up against Midoriya who holds her close. Eri looks up, and after a
reassuring nod from her savior, Eri looks down and nods at the detective.

Toshinori is watching the slowly fading sunset from the empty hospital room he’s in when he
hears the door open behind him.

“U-um, hello, sir. You wanted to talk to me?” Toshinori turns around to see the young man he had
requested to see. He was shaking slightly, his eyes darting around the room. But whenever they
landed on him, he could tell they were studying him closely. “Ah, young Midoriya. Thank you for
seeing me. How is young Eri?”

“As good as she could be I guess.” Young Midoriya shrugs. “It’s an honor you want to talk to me
sir, but I only have a few minutes. Eri is with Mr. A-Aizawa and I told her I’d be back as quickly as
I could.”

The man gave a deep, short laugh and waved him off. “Of course of course. I wanted to ask you
something. But first…” and in a puff of smoke, Mr. Yagi was gone. And in his place…

“A-A-A-A-A-A-!” All Might quickly runs over and places his hand over the teen’s mouth, letting
him scream to his heart’s content.

“Heh, I probably could have done this better…”

After a minute of the boy's screaming being mixed with so many questions, Toshinori could never
hope to keep up, he let go of the hyperventilating boy, and deflated, coughing up a bit of blood.

“I-I-I literally have so many questions I don’t know where to start…”

“How about I start then, young man? Yes, I am All Might. And what you see is the result of a fight
with a villain from five years ago.”

“Five years? No way, Toxic Chainsaw did this?”

“You know your stuff. But no. This was a fight that was kept completely hidden from the media. I
defeated the villain, but it cost me most of my respiratory system, and my stomach. So now, I can
only do hero work three hours a day. And the rest of the day I’m…” he gestures to himself.

“W-wow…is that why you had to leave so fast after the police came?”

“That’s right, young man.” Young Midoriya’s eyes continue to scan over him, his hands are
twitching and moving, like he wants to write everything down.

“Wow…” the boy settles on again. Toshinori chuckles but before he could answer, the boy stops
shaking and frowns down at his shoes. His face scrunches up. He looks up and opens his mouth,
but no sound comes out. Young Midoriya goes back to frowning at his shoes.

“If you want to ask me a question, young man, go ahead. Just try to keep it to one at a time.”

Young Midoriya chuckles, but there’s no humor in it. “I have too many questions to count, but
there’s one I think I want to ask. I’ve wanted to ask you for a long time but now that you’re actually
here…”
Even though the teen is still looking down, Toshinori smiles. “Ask away.”

Young Midoriya takes a deep breath, still looking at his shoes. “So you’ve heard the story by now
about what happened?”

“I did. Detective Tsukauchi gave me the rundown. The use of your quirk was excellent.”

Toshinori was hoping the compliment would help calm the boy down, but instead, he flinches. “W-
well you see, the thing is, my, uh, quirk, came in a bit late. I actually thought I was going to be
quirkless. But still…I wanted to be a hero…to save people like you and someone else…” Young
Midoriya takes another breath and finally looks up at him. “Could I have been a hero without any
powers?”

Toshinori takes a moment. The silence in the room is somehow louder than anything. “I won’t lie
to you young man. If you had asked me that this morning, I don’t think you would have liked my
answer.” It’s almost amusing how much the boy deflating reminds him of himself. “However.”
The kid’s head snaps back up, eyes sparkling. “While the use of your quirk was impressive. What I
saw, was even more.”

“I saw a young boy, risking his life to protect an even younger girl. He fought the villain head-on,
with no hesitation. Tell me, young Midoriya, at any point, did your body move before you had a
chance to think?”

A nod.

“That’s what I thought. Do you know what a lot of stories about great heroes have in common?
Their bodies move before they can think.”

Young Midoriya’s body begins to tremble, tears falling from his eyes. Toshinori’s not even sure he
was aware of it.

“Today, you showed with or without your quirk, you could protect that girl. It’s what inspired me
to push past my own limits, and step in at the end!”

The boy falls to his knees, tears in full force now.

“Young man. Even without a quirk, you too, could become a hero.”

The boy sobs harder. Toshinori smiles, kneeling and placing his hands on his shoulders to act as an
anchor. He can hear a mixture of ‘thank you’s’ blended in with the crying.

After another minute of crying, young Midoriya finally gains enough control of himself to try and
stand. He was able to with Toshinori’s help.

“Are you ok, my boy?”

Young Midoriya chuckles, trying and failing to wipe the rest of his tears off. “What? No, yeah I’m
fine. Never better actually. Are you ok, All Might? It looked like you were getting a bit emotional
there for a second.”

The pro hero chuckles along. “Yes, I think I’ll manage.” He lets another few seconds pass between
them. “Tell me, young Midoriya, what do you know about my quirk?”

As he hoped it would, that seems to sober the boy right up. “That’s the thing, isn’t it! No one really
knows anything about it!”

“That’s right. And what if I told you I could give you my abilities?”

“What? Like a present? That doesn’t make any sense…”

“But it’s true!” Toshinori cuts in, hoping to stop a question storm before it starts. “I could give you
my awesome abilities. You see, my quirk is a sacred torch that is passed down from one person to
another. And you can be next.”

Young Midoriya looks like what he imagines a computer would look like if it was a person and
crashing. Maybe he should’ve waited a bit before dumping this on the kid? He’s had a long day.
But it still felt right to do this now.
Toshinori realizes while in his thoughts that young Midoriya’s mouth had started moving again.
There’s barely any sound but he probably couldn’t understand even if he could hear it. “Stop
nerding out!” That brings the boy back again. “You see, my quirk is a torch that is passed from
user to user. One person improves the power before handing it to the next and so on. It is called,
One for All.”

“One…for…All…”

“Yes. I still meant what I said earlier. Without mine or your quirk, you could still be a great hero.
But the truth is, I’ve been on the hunt for a new successor for a while now. And I think that person
is you. What do you say?”

Young Midoriya smiles, a bright one. He looks down at his shoes before looking back up. “It
means so much you’d give something like this to me. And I know if I was still truly quirkless I
would’ve said yes immediately. But…” Toshinori tilts his head in curiosity. “I have powers
already. And your quirk should go to someone who would need the help more than me. So thank
you All Might, but…” another deep breath where young Midoriya looks away. “But no…”

Toshinori smiles and waits for the boy to chance a glance at him. He does a few seconds later and
he’s satisfied to see the relief wash over the kid. “S-sorry. I thought you might be mad…”

“Nonsense Young Midoriya!” Toshinori reassures. “A noble reason to decline that only serves to
reaffirm me that you will make a great hero.” The tears start to form again. “But we may have to
work on the waterworks kid…”

Young Midoriya laughs. “Yeah I know, it’s- w-wait. We?”

All Might laughs, he’s never gonna get tired of seeing the kid’s shocked face. “Yes, we! Just
because I won’t be passing my quirk onto you doesn’t mean I don’t want to help you become the
best hero you could be!” The old pro smiles deviously, knowing what this will do. “We should
exchange numbers.”

As he thought, young Midoriya nearly falls over before nodding so fast, he’s a blur. He probably
can’t form words right now. After switching phones, in which the green-haired boy holds his as if
it’s some lost treasure, Toshinori looks away coughing a bit into his hand. “You know, young
Midoriya. When you were getting ready to ask me your question, I thought it’d be for a-“ Toshinori
looks back to see the boy nervously scratching the back of his neck holding a notebook and pen.
All Might smiles, taking the book.

Shota closes the hospital door behind him, sighing. He walks up to Tsukauchi as he is finishing a
conversation with one of his officers. “How’s it looking in there?” The detective asks him.

“Mother’s in there. Had to leave before I drowned.” The other man gives him a quizzical look but
doesn’t ask.

“Alright, next we should-“ the man is interrupted by his phone ringing. “Oh, excuse me.”
Tsukauchi answers and Shota doesn’t pay too close attention before the detective loudly exclaims,
“what?! When?!” A pause. “Who authorized that?!” Another pause. “Alright, I’m coming down
there.” Tsukauchi trots over to the elevator and pushes the button, waiting impatiently for it to
come.

“What happened?” Shota can’t help himself.

“Those two mask-wearing villains? Apparently their paperwork was pushed through immediately
and they were allowed to leave on bail.”

“Smells dirty,” Shota states the obvious.

“That’s what I’m gonna figure out.”

“Wait wait wait wait wai-!”

The man is cut off by his own body exploding, his blood joining his partners in painting the once
pristine wall. Overhaul pants. The blood on his hands not so much dripping off, more shaking off
due to his quivering rage. He had lost Eri. On top of that, having to soil his hands.

The yakuza boss is barely able to get his hands in the sink to wash them, while the ever loyal
 Chrono waits silently with towels.

“I want all of our contacts in the police force looking for Eri.” Overhaul says while scrubbing his
hands.

“Already done, sir.” Overhaul knows the man well enough to know he wants to say more so he
waits. “Sir, may I speak freely?”

Overhaul hums, taking the towels and wiping his arms. “Our businesses and reserves of Eri’s blood
won’t keep us going forever. We may have to consider…looking for beneficiaries to fund us.”

Overhaul knows this. Chrono does as well. But there’s no reason to pretend like the possibility isn’t
there. “We focus on Eri for now. When I believe we should look for others to help us monetarily,
we will. And not any sooner. Make sure everyone understands this.” Chrono agrees.

“As for right now.” He looks back over the blood splattered wall. “It appears I do not have as much
control as I had thought. Get someone to clean this up, and bring me Nemoto. Let’s see if any
others in our ranks…share their opinion on quirklessness.”

Chapter End Notes

Well that was a lot. But Eri is safe for now so that’s what matters.

As for All Might, as indicated in the tags, Izuku won’t get One for All from All Might.
And I love canon, if I didn’t I wouldn’t be here, but I just wish someone there would
Izuku he could’ve been a hero without a quirk. Maybe it’s implied when All Might
tells him? I don’t know, but I just wanted that here.

Also, in case anyone is as wondering, in the original version of this story, All Might
did reject Izuku leading to resentment and would later suspect him of being an agent of
All for One. I went with this for a while but ultimately decided to go a different way. It
just seemed to, negative I guess? Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good All Might
bashing but I mean, the story’s called ‘Mischief.’ So overall, wanted it to be more
positive. So sorry if that’s what you were hoping for.

Oh yea, some people commented they thought it was weird that quirkist guys would
be working for Overhaul. Well not to worry! They won’t be soon! I hear Overhaul has
a killer severance package.

Lastly, hoping to get the last of the pre-UA stuff done next chapter so we’ll hit
entrance exams in chapter 7! If not, then definitely chapter 8.
Hope you guys liked it. As always, comments are really appreciated! Until next time!
 The End Doesn’t Justify the Means
Chapter Summary

Training, a talk about the future, a second offer, and a commitment.

Chapter Notes

Well hello again! Nice of you to drop by. And look, I kept this chapter under 6k
words! Soooo, progress? Or me just not knowing what to say in these opening notes?
The world may never know! Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Ok, that’s good, but keep your knees bent a little. There you go, now spread your feet just a
smidge farther apart. Balance is important.”

“Like this?”

“Yes! You’re doing so well! Alright, now, just like we practiced, ready? Ok, lunge! Good. Lunge!
Make sure your feet are planted firmly on the ground. Lunge! Better, but make sure to extend your
arm as you’re moving forward.”

“Oh…what was I doing?”

“You’re lunging and then after you’re done, extending your arm. You have to do both at the same
time.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be! You’re getting it way faster than I did at your age! Keep learning this fast, and I might
have to start taking lessons from you.”

“Really?…”
“That’s right! So ready to try again?”

“Yes!”

“Ok, now, lunge! Again, lunge! See, you’re already nearly there!”

“Problem Child.”

“Lunge! Oh, hi Eraser! When’d you get here?”

A sigh. “Problem Child, do I really need to tell you what’s wrong here?”

Izuku tilts his head in confusion. What’s wrong here? What does he mean?

It had been two weeks since Eri had been rescued. Most of that time had been spent with the little
girl in the hospital, and subsequently, most of Izuku’s out-of-school time had been spent at that
hospital too.

Due to being attacked, Izuku was given an initial couple of days off of school. This had proved to
be important since Eri wouldn’t let any of the doctors near her, much less run any tests, without
Izuku by her side giving her reassurances. The hospital showed their gratitude by not saying
anything when the pair fell asleep next to each other for the first couple of nights.

They still didn’t know what her quirk was. The only thing they knew was that it could ‘erase you if
you got too close.’ There was also the problem of bringing up anything having to do with the girl’s
quirk that sent her spiraling so fast, that it sometimes took Izuku hours to bring her back. While the
quirk counselors were eager to have her demonstrate, given what little they knew about this
Overhaul guy, absolutely no one was forcing her to use it until she was ready. It was amazing how
fast adults can leave a room when you start to roll a knife through your fingers like it’s a poker
chip.

Eraser said he didn’t approve when Izuku did that. But the man had spent almost as much time in
the hospital room as he did, and never stopped him. The pro hero didn’t say much in that time, he
usually just sat in the corner, or sometimes laid in a yellow sleeping bag. What Izuku could learn
from him was that he patrolled at night, and apparently he was a teacher at UA (What?!!) but for
some reason didn’t have a class to teach right now so his days were free to keep an eye on them.

After some time, they couldn’t put off the discussion of where Eri was going to go after the
hospital any longer. Orphanage and foster care were off the table before they even sat down.
Eraser said it would be most logical if he used his emergency foster license and took her. He could
prevent any quirk accidents, and the principal of UA had offered to let the hero live on campus
with her, also meaning Eri would have protection from her kidnappers.

The principal had a teacher’s dorm begin construction the moment he heard about what happened.
Did he know what was going to happen? Izuku doesn’t like to think about it.

Eraserhead’s constant presence in the room, along with Izuku’s continuous praise of the man,
made Eri comfortable enough to agree to live with him. The hero’s ability to stop her quirk, yes
they finally got her to start calling it a quirk, probably played a part too. The only caveat was that
she still wanted to see Izuku a lot.

In another turn of events that Izuku didn’t want to think too much about either, UA’s Principal
Nezu had anticipated this and given Eraser a pass to get on campus to give to Izuku. And after a
couple of tries, he was able to get it out of the man’s hand.

And that leads to today. Where Izuku stands in Eri’s room with her, he wears a brown long-sleeved
shirt that says ‘variant’ in orange letters while Eri wears pink and light blue pajamas. A more tired
than usual Eraserhead stares at him from the doorway. Something was wrong here? At least
according to Eraser, what could it be? He looks around the room for anything wrong.

The toys were a mess on the ground, the bed wasn’t made, Eri holding one of his daggers, her
books were not put away on the shelf, or she hadn’t changed yet?

Izuku shrugs. Nope. He just can’t figure it out.

Eraser pinches the bridge of his nose. “The dagger, Midoriya. The dagger. Why is Eri holding a
weapon?”

“Oh!” Izuku still doesn’t see what’s wrong but at least he knows what the man is talking about
now. “We’re training!”
“Training?” Eraser deadpans.

“P-please don’t be mad, M-Mr. Aizawa,” Eri starts. Eraser knows that Izuku knows the man
softens when she speaks. They both also know Izuku would never call him out on it. “I-I want to
help people, j-just like M-Mr. Mido. So…” she trails off.

“So she asked me for help and that’s what I’m doing!” Izuku finishes with a bright smile on his
face.

Eraserhead shifts his gaze between them for a few seconds before fixing a softer look on Eri.
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be trained. But from now on, it should be done with an
actual ,” a quick glare at Izuku, “licensed hero present. And weapons should not be the first thing
you learn.”

“Oh, c’mon Eraser! I started learning at her age and look how great I turned out!”

Izuku’s attempts to defend himself don’t work out if the man’s blank stare is any indication. “I am
not going to even acknowledge that with a response,” Eraser says. “And kid, I told you to call me
Aizawa when I’m not on duty.” He waits for a nod before continuing. “Either way, All Might and
some of his friends are here. He’s waiting for you outside.”

“Ok ok.” Izuku raises his arms in surrender. “Just one last thing before I go? You’re here now so
we have a hero present like you wanted.”

Eras-Aizawa looks pained. “Fine. Make it quick.”

“Great!” Izuku picks a teddy bear off the ground and places it on the bed, holding it upright by it’s
head. “Ok, Eri, now combine everything we learned today.”

She nods, lowering herself into the stance Izuku showed her while narrowing her eyes and sticking
her tongue out of one side of her mouth in concentration.

“And…go!” Eri lunges, stabbing the toy bear through the chest. “Good! Now twist it! Twist the
dagger, Eri. There you go! That’ll cause maximum-“
“That’s enough.” Much like a certain dagger is doing to a bear right now, Aizawa’s voice cuts
through their lesson. He comes over and plucks the weapon out of the little girl’s grasp. “I’ll be
keeping this for the rest of the day. Say your goodbyes Problem Child and meet All Might
outside.” And with that, the two are alone again.

“I’m s-sorry I got you in t-trouble, Mr. Mido…” Eri says, looking down while her eyes begin to
water.

Izuku puts an arm around her and uses his other hand to pat her head. “Nah, I’m not in trouble. And
it’s just Mido.”

A pause. “I’ll stop saying Mister…when you call Mr. Aizawa by his name…”

“Ehhhh?!!” Izuku backs up a step to look at Eri. “Was…was that snark?!”

“I-I-I-I’m sorry!” Eri practically yells, shaking her head. “I was just-I’ve see you-and I thought-“

Izuku silences her with a hug, which she returns after getting over her shock. “Don’t be sorry. I’m
so proud of you.” The hug becomes tighter. The two stay like that until Izuku eventually forces
himself to let go. “Alright, I gotta go now. But I’ll see you soon, ok?”

The little unicorn keeps a hold of his sleeve. “Before you go…c-can you…one more time…”

Izuku smiles, knowing what she wants. He kneels in front of her and opens his palm. From it, a
mini fireworks display plays out in front of them. Eri’s eyes widen as the different colors explode
in the air between them. She leans closer, mouth agape, just like the first time he did it. And while
he hadn’t been able to get her to smile yet, seeing the corner of her mouth twitch just a little, Izuku
knew it was only a matter of time.

“Young Midoriya!” Izuku smiles, jumping down the stairs and running up to All Might in his small
form. He was wearing the same plain white shirt and green cargo pants he had been the day they
met. A favorite outfit of his apparently.
“All Might!” Izuku waves back, joining the man. The two began to walk through campus with All
Might leading the way. “So what’s going on? Aizawa said you came to campus today with some
other people?”

The veteran hero nods. “That’s right. Although, they arrived before me. My former sidekick is here
and-“

“Sir Nighteye is here?! Is it true-“

All Might chuckles, placing a gentle but firm hand on the boy’s head to cut him off. “Yes, Sir
Nighteye. He’s here with a pupil of his, a second-year student here at UA named Mirio Togata. I
plan on meeting with the boy to see…” he hesitates. “To see if I should give One for All to him.”
All Might doesn’t look at him.

“That’s so cool!” Izuku exclaims.

The hero should’ve gotten whiplash with how fast he turns his head. “You think so?”

“Well yeah!” Izuku says, nodding and waving his arms around him. “I mean it’s not every day you
get to see the next symbol of peace chosen. My only question is, why bring me along?”

Izuku has seen a lot of things he couldn’t believe, but seeing All Might somehow look sheepish
while rubbing the back of his neck, still somehow blows his mind. “To be honest my boy, if he
accepts, then chances are I’ll be helping to train you both together so I wanted to give you the
chance to meet. As well…” he rubs his hands together. “I wanted to be sure there would be no…ill
will…between the two of you…if you know what I mean…”

Izuku is not nearly as good at reading people as his dad is. But even he gets where this is going.
“Don’t worry, All Might.” Izuku smiles. “I said no so someone else would have the chance.
Wouldn’t make much sense for me to get upset over it.”

The number one hero smiles, visibly sagging his shoulders. “That’s a great relief to hear.” The two
idly chat for a few minutes longer while All Might leads them through several winding halls in the
main building of the school. Eventually, they come across two doors, side by side. All Might opens
the one on the right and holds it open for Izuku to enter.
To put it simply, it was an observation room. The entire room was empty and blank, except for the
left wall not being a wall, but instead, one big window to watch the next room over. The other
room, where presumably the left door led too, was much bigger, with the walls and floor padded.
Two figures stood in the other room, talking to each other.

One was a boy, Mirio Togata if Izuku had to guess, wearing a white, gold, and blue suit with a long
red cape. He had blonde hair and was built pretty well.

The other person was a much smaller, older man wearing a white and yellow suit complete with a
yellow cape and domino mask. He lifts his foot to scratch it and Izuku sees several holes on the
bottom of his boot. His notebook nearly conjures itself with all the questions Izuku is bursting
with.

“Ah, you’re here. And you brought a guest.” Izuku looks away from the people in front of him to
look at the only other occupant of the room. He was tall, wearing a plain white suit with a red
dotted tie. He wore triangular glasses and had dark green hair with three yellow streaks in it. It was
only the thought of embarrassing himself in front of All Might, and probably embarrassing the man
too, that kept Izuku from running up to the hero for an autograph. No, that can wait.

All Might places a hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “Yes, I am here just like you wanted. And this is
Izuku Midoriya. The boy I told you about over the phone.”

“Midoriya.” The man’s sharp eyes locked onto Izuku and he knew from experience when he was
being analyzed. The look was cold and calculating. The man might as well have yelled he didn’t
like him. Instinct told him to turn invisible and leave a clone, but he held the man’s gaze. If he
wanted to analyze him, then Izuku would return the favor. He wasn’t one to back down. Especially
from someone who was judging him without having even met him.

“Thank you for coming, All Might. I promise Togata is everything I said he is and more.” Nighteye
says without breaking eye contact with Izuku. “Would you mind if I spoke with Midoriya here
alone for a moment?”

“A-are you sure about that? I wouldn’t mind staying on this side of the glass…” something in All
Might’s voice made Izuku break the staring contest to look at his favorite hero, only to see him
slightly trembling as he watched the other pair through the glass. “You didn’t mention Torino-
sensei would be here…”

“Oh, I didn’t? Must have slipped my mind,” Nighteye says in a way that suggests it in fact, did not
slip his mind. “Well, this will give you the chance to become acquainted with Togata and Gran
says he’s been wanting to discuss your…lack of calls.”

All Might…whimpers? No, that can’t be right. Either way, after a brief coughing fit, the man
leaves to the other room, leaving Izuku and Nighteye alone.

“Izuku Midoriya.” The man starts, adjusting his glasses. “You are even more unimpressive to look
at than I thought you’d be.”

…huh? Wait, he must’ve misheard because…no, he heard right. Huh? Who just insults someone
like that to their face?

“Be that as it may,” Nighteye continues, choosing not to acknowledge what must’ve been a
bewildered look on Izuku’s face. “There must be, some intelligence in you to turn down the quirk.
Not many would know they were unworthy of it. So I thank you for allowing someone truly
deserving of the quirk like Togata to receive it. That is all.” And with that, Nighteye strolls past
him toward the door, completely unbothered by anything he just said.

“Wait.”

Mirai raises an eyebrow and turns to face the boy, his hand still on the doorknob. Midoriya’s head
was lowered, his hair covering his eyes and fists clenched. What could possibly be the problem?
He had already thanked the unremarkable boy, what more could there be?

“Who are you to decide…” the boy says quietly.

Mirai scoffs. “If you’re trying to have a conversation with someone, the least you can do is speak
loud enough to be heard.”

Midoriya looks up, anger set in the face Mirai didn’t think possible in someone so young. “I said,
who are you to decide who’s worthy of All Might’s quirk? It’s his quirk, not yours! The decision is
his and only his!”

Mirai only offers to narrow his eyes. “You are a child, with a very limited view of the world. You
shouldn’t talk about things you know nothing about.”

Midoriya’s glare doesn’t cease. “Did All Might tell you how exactly we met?”

The bi-spectacled man took his hand off the doorknob and fully turned around, crossing his arms.
He didn’t know where this was going but it didn’t seem like it would be done soon. “He told me he
met you after you rescued a little girl from her kidnappers.”

“Right. And do you want to know what I’ve been doing since?”

“Hopefully getting to the point,” Mirai replies dryly.

“I’ve been helping her recover!” Midoriya waves his arms in the air in frustration. “Because some
evil man kept her and used her for her quirk for years!”

“While that is horrible, I fail to see what that has to do with-“

“Because you’re doing the same thing!!” Midoriya yells, taking a step forward.

That causes Mirai to stop, his arms unfolding. “What?”

Midoriya takes a breath. Then another. His glare lessening. “I’m sorry. That’s too far. But the point
is, she was used for her quirk because the man who had her thought he could play god with it. And
it feels like you’re doing the same thing with Togata and All Might.”

Mirai’s mind races, trying to find any correlation and these accusations but before he can respond,
Midoriya continues. “The girl and her quirk were used to further that man’s goals, and it just feels
like to me you’re doing the same thing. You’re pulling the strings on both All Might and Togata so
his quirk goes where you want. Regardless of what’s best for anyone involved. Have you ever
considered that Togata might not even want the quirk?”

Had he? All of his plans had included when Mirio would accept the quirk. He hadn’t even
considered the possibility of his student not accepting. He saw it as a certainty, like his visions.
Midoriya continues to stare at him, glare almost completely gone. “I’m sorry again. You’re not as
bad as that man, and whatever your goals are for Togata getting the quirk I’m sure are noble. But
whatever you’re working toward, using and manipulating people to get there, will just taint it. The
end doesn't justify the means.”

The former sidekick stilled for a moment. Is that what he had been doing? He certainly didn’t see it
that way, but from a certain point of view…he had initially recruited Togata with the sole purpose
of preparing him for One for All…but it was all to save the life of his friend! And make sure
society still has a symbol to continue to look up too! Surely, these goals were worth him doing
whatever he had to…at least he thought so. He’d have to continue to think on this.

Nighteye walks up to Midoriya. “You have given me much to think about. I can see why All Might
took an interest in you. Your future is certain to be interesting.” He held out his hand. “Normally, I
wouldn’t ask, but after what you’ve said, I’d like to use my quirk to see into yours.”

Midoriya’s face forms one of confusion. “My future?”

Mirai nods. “Yes. But be warned. My visions are never wrong. Whatever I see will come to pass.”

Midoriya smiles, shaking his head. “You can look if you want, but I don’t want you to tell me
whatever it is.”

“No?”

“Yeah!” The smile somehow gets brighter. “The future’s whatever we make it to be. Nothing’s set
in stone. I don’t wanna know because even if it’s bad, I’ll twist that future!”

The hero chuckles a bit, holding his hand out further. “If that’s what you believe.” Midoriya nods
vigorously, taking his hand and Mirai looks him in the eye.

Fire. As far as can be seen, everything is on fire. Wherever they are, there’s no power so it’s dark.
The only light coming from the raging flames around them. Izuku Midoriya is on his hands and
knees, coughing on the ground. A dark green cloak with a hood is draped over him, covering the
rest of his body.

The fire moves, the heat increases and for a moment, so does the light. Midoriya’s face can be
seen. It’s covered in equal parts soot, bruises, and blood. His hair is drenched in sweat that flows
down his face and mixes with his tears. He coughs more.

Slow, methodical footsteps make their way toward the boy from the shadows. It’s a man. He wears
armor, has a cloak as well, and a horned helmet on his head. He stops next to the boy.

“I know. I know you won’t understand.” The man says. “But what I do, I do for the benefit of the
entire universe.”

“And…” Midoriya’s voice can barely be heard over the fire. It’s low and hoarse. “And all of the
people you’ve killed…”

“Necessary sacrifices for the greater good.” The man replies, matter of factly. “I know you can
see the logic in my actions. What has-.” The man stops. The fire illuminates a look of realization.
“Ah, it’s those friends of yours, isn’t it?”

Midoriya immediately tries, and fails, to get on his feet several times. The man doesn’t seem to
notice. “No, it makes sense. They’ve made you soft. Well, no matter.” The man looks back down at
Midoriya. “I’ll see to them myself.”

“Over my dead body!!” Midoriya shouts. The man suddenly turns, reaching his arm out to grab at
seemingly nothing, but that wasn’t the case. A second Midoriya appears behind the man trying to
stab him, but he’s stopped when his target grabs his wrist.

They struggle for a moment before the man tightens his grip on the wrist. Midoriya cries out in
pain, dropping his dagger. “I told you to always watch what you say.” The man says before
grabbing Midoriya by the throat with his left hand and lifting him effortlessly.

Midoriya kicks violently as he’s raised into the air. He grabs onto the man’s arms and thrashes
around as hard as he can, throwing his body in any direction he can. The only sounds now are the
crackling of the fires, and Midoriya’s choking.

The man looks at something in the distance before looking back. His face turns to anguish before
saying in a low voice, “Izuku, there was no other way.” Midoriya’s struggle begins to slow. His
legs and arms still and fall to his side. His face is blue, and his eyes bloodshot while he stares at
his killer. A loud crack, and the world fades.

Mirai backs up a step. His vision returns instantly but he gives his head a second to digest what he
saw before looking at the boy in front of him. No longer blue in the face and having the life
choked out of him, now he just stares at him with concern in his thankfully not bloodshot eyes.

“Midoriya…”

“That bad huh?” He says with a little too nonchalance for his liking. “Well still. Don’t tell me. I
don’t wanna know.” Midoriya gives him one more smile before leaving for the other room,
leaving Mirai alone with his thoughts.

Toshinori is probably a bit too relieved to see young Midoriya but still relieved nonetheless. “Come
here my boy for introductions!” He calls over. Midoriya has an unreadable expression on his face
when he first comes in but quickly transitions to his easy-going smile as he walks over to them.

The glass window of the observation room is tinted so people on this side can’t see past it, adding
in the fact the other room is soundproof and he has no idea what went on between Midoriya and
Mirai. He hopes it wasn’t anything too bad. He knows from his phone call that his old friend
was…not pleased to hear he offered One for All to somebody else.

At least things had been going alright on this side of the glass. He had already shown young Togata
his ‘small’ form, eliciting a scream from the young man. Not gonna lie, he was kind of hoping that
reaction was exclusive to Midoriya but he had never been very lucky. On a more positive note, he
had only been whacked by Gran three times so far.

Young Midoriya comes up to them and shakes the hands of the other two as they all introduce
themselves, Toshinori suppresses a chuckle at the young man’s grimace as he shakes Gran
Torino’s hand. They couldn’t get much farther however before Mirai walks into the room, looking
a bit more disheveled than he’s used to seeing the man.
“C’mon boy.” Gran growls to Midoriya. “Let’s give them some privacy for this part.”

“Ok!” Young Midoriya agrees easily, walking toward the door with the older man, notebook in
hand. “So I couldn’t help but notice the holes on the bottom of your shoes, so you shoot air out of
them? Can you control the velocity? How about selecting which holes the air comes out of, or is it
all or nothing? Are they anywhere else on your body? When did you-“

Toshinori knew the man liked to joke about dropping dead at any moment, but as the door closed
behind them, it looked like Gran wanted nothing more than to drop right at that moment.

All Might shakes his head in amusement before turning back to Togata and Mirai. It’s the young
man who speaks first. “It’s truly an honor to meet you All Might. Sir talks about you all the time!”
Huh, Toshinori didn’t know Mirai could look embarrassed, even if it’s only a little.

He gives the boy a warm smile. “I’m sure he does. But tell me, young Togata, what do you know
of my quirk?” And Toshinori tells him about One for All. Just like he did with Midoriya. That it’s a
powerful stockpiling quirk passed from generation to generation since the dawn of quirks. And
now he wanted him to be the next user.

Togata points at himself, blue eyes wide and disbelieving. “M-me? You want me to inherit
something so..so…me? The kid who lost all of his clothes on live television?”

Toshinori lets out a good natured laugh. “Yes, you! From what Mirai tells me, my own
conversation with you, and it seems even Gran Torino has taken a liking to you! And I must tell
you, that is no easy feat.” He calms down a bit before continuing. “I know this is a big decision
young man, so do not feel pressured to answer now or even say yes.” Mirai’s eyes flicker to him. “I
will not be upset either way.”

Young Togata looks back and forth between the two men for a minute before closing his eyes and
rocking his head side to side. He stops for a long breath before looking back up, staring the hero in
the eye. “I can never thank you enough for this opportunity All Might. But I’m sorry, I can’t
accept.”

Nighteye’s jaw drops but All Might gives a small nod, still smiling. “And that’s perfectly alright.”

“Mirio…” Nighteye sounds like the boy just refused his own quirk. “Why?…”
Togata looks his mentor in the eye as well. “I understand you wanted me to accept sir…it’s
probably why you chose me as an intern in the first place right?” Togata’s voice cracks a little
while his body sags. “But it just wouldn’t be right. I still have so much to learn with my quirk and
adding another on top of that would leave me stuck trying to master two quirks when I could be out
there saving lives.” Another deep breath. “I…I still think I can be Lemillion even with just my
Permeation. And One for All should go to someone who needs it. I understand if you don’t want to
mentor me anymore, Sir.”

Mirai has a contemplative look on his face while he looks at his student. Each second feels like an
hour as it drags by. Finally, the hero straightens up and bows at a full ninety degrees in front of
Togata.

“S-Sir?!”

“I apologize, Mirio. It is true I initially scouted you because I thought you would be a good vessel
for One for All. However, after watching you grow this past year and having a…different
perspective shown to me recently, I realize that it was wrong of me to use you in that way and I
apologize again. Even without One for All, you will make a great hero and I understand if you
don’t want me to mentor you any longer.”

Togata looks stunned. Toshinori can’t blame him, he feels the same. Finally, the blonde-haired boy
finds his words. “I-if you’re willing to be more open with me in the future Sir, then I’d be honored
to stay under your tutelage.” Mirai stands back up with a small smile on his face and agrees.

“Well!” Toshinori claps his hands. “I think this went well. Young Togata, if you could retrieve
Young Midoriya and Gran Torino for us?” The boy heartily agrees and runs over to the door. All
Might turns to his former sidekick. “So what did you and young Midoriya speak about?”

Mirai opens his mouth but before he can reply, Togata’s scream from the doorway interrupts him.
Toshinori quickly buffs up and speeds over to the door, ready for whatever danger, only to see
Togata on his knees, hands on his head. In front of him, Midoriya and Gran Torino lay in a pool of
blood. Several wounds decorate both their bodies, and entrails lay across them and the floor.
Hands, arms, legs, and other appendages are twisted in the wrong direction.

Toshinori connects the dots immediately and quickly lets his buff form go as Mirai joins him,
raising a questioning eyebrow at him.

“How could this happen?!” Togata yells. “We need to alert the school, there’s a villain on the
loose. All Might, can we-“
Toshinori places a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I think everything will be alright, Young
Togata.”

“Alright?! How can-“ he’s interrupted by Midoriya and Gran’s roaring laughter. The two hold their
respective stomachs, laughing and rolling on the ground. The blood and body parts do not seem to
bother them any. Togata looks like he’s going to be sick.

The two practical jokers finally sit up with Gran Torino giving Midoriya’s arm a good natured
slap. “I like this one too! With his quirk, I don’t have to waste any more food for my pranks! I’ll
take him!” Midoriya laughs beside him, waving his hand so the gory scene in front of them
disappears in a green glow.

“I-b-but-how? Wait-what? I-“

While Togata attempts to reclaim his thoughts, Toshinori laughs, pulling young Midoriya up while
Mirai does the same for Gran. “You should learn to take care of the ward you already have before
getting another one,” Mirai says without any heat behind it.

“Bah!”

Toshinori looks around their small group. Gran is still chuckling, Mirai handing him back his cane
while Midoriya attempts to explain his quirk to a Togata that was starting to question his reality. At
that moment, it felt like everything was going to be ok.

Thor stares down the dark cave apprehensively. The waves of the beach they’re next to crash
against the rocks. He tries to calm himself down with a few long breaths, salty air filling his lungs.
“You do realize,” Loki comments beside him, “that caves are unable to move on their own? You
must go in there yourself.”

Thor nods, letting the snide remark pass. “Yes, I realize…and you are sure there is no way you can
come with me?” Thor turns to his brother.

Loki gives a half-smile. “We both know this is something you have to do yourself.”
 Thor shakes his head. “Yes, yes I know you’re right. It’s just…what if they…”

“Thor,” Loki calls his brother with resolve. “This won’t be something you can fix overnight. It will
take time. A lot of it. And you will make mistakes. You’re going to have to take things slow and go
at their pace.” The God of Mischief smirks at his brother. “Not every problem can be solved by
throwing your hammer at it.”

Thor snickers. “The only ones who say such things, are the ones who have never thrown a magical
hammer at their problems.” Both brothers take a second to laugh together.

“You’ll be fine. It's all going to work, you’ll see.” Thor smiles at his brother for his words and the
two quickly hug before the Thunder God faces the tunnel again. He steels himself and walks in.
Rainbow lights, much like the Bifrost, begin to flash around him as he nears the end of the tunnel
and with one final bright light, he’s gone.

Chapter End Notes

Izuku will be nothing but a positive influence on Eri, I’m sure of it

And I like Nighteye. So I wanted to get his head out of his ass. He’s not all the way
there yet but he’s getting there.

And so Mirio also refuses One for All. Something I think he would’ve done in canon if
offered first. But now…what happens to All Might’s quirk? That…is a very good
question you’ll have to wait for!

Also, Gran and this Izuku are a perfect match for each other and I can’t wait for them
to interact more in the future.

Hope you guys liked it! Questions? Concerns? Suggestions? I love your comments so
let me know! And I’ll see you guys next time for the entrance exams!
 Good Luck Suffering
Chapter Summary

Entrance Exams!

Chapter Notes

I finally have something to say here! I realized I made a tiny mistake. While people
who live in the nine realms would refer to Earth as “Midgard,” all other aliens refer to
Earth as “Terra.” Oops.

Anyways, it doesn’t really apply to this chapter but yea going forward, if someone’s
talking about Midgard or Terra, it’s Earth. I’ve edited earlier chapters to reflect this.

But whatever, enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Wind rushes past Izuku’s face as he barely dodges one of Togata’s powerful punches. He goes to
grab the other boy’s wrist, to hold him while he would deliver a palm strike to his elbow.
Unfortunately, Togata’s quirk is the bane of his existence.

Izuku’s hand goes right through the blonde’s wrist before Togata launches his elbow out at his
face. The verdant is able to lean back just in time to dodge again while at the same time, attempting
to kick his opponent in the gut. Again, his attack is permeated.

Dang, that kind of move would’ve worked a couple of months ago.

Using his planted leg, Izuku kicks himself back, out of Togata’s range while the other boy does the
same, giving them both a moment to breathe.

They are both in the same padded training room they met all those months ago. Togata wears his
hero costume while Izuku wears athletic shorts and a long-sleeved lime green shirt that says ‘For
all time, always.’ They had offered him an official UA gym uniform but he didn’t want to wear it
until he was an actual student.

Without taking his eyes off Togata, Izuku catches a throwing knife that had been about to hit him
in his ribs, thrown from the side of the room. That’s probably not where it had been aimed but
she’s getting better.

He vanishes the knife and charges straight ahead. Togata smirks, running forward to meet his
charge straight on. They are about to meet in the middle when Togata stops and pivots to look
behind him. “You’re not gonna get me with that this time!”

The blue-eyed boy throws a punch directly behind him, at seemingly nothing, before a second
Izuku appears behind him, right in the fists path. Togata yells in victory, only for his fist to go
through the decoy’s face.

“Guessed wrong!” The first Izuku yells, smiling at his own victory. But much like Togata’s own,
it’s short-lived as his fist goes through his opponent.

“Made you look!” Before the future member of the big three can even think, a third Izuku appears
in the air above him. The first two having both been decoys. He drives his fist into Togata’s face,
feeling satisfied when his hit lands.

Satisfaction turns to nausea as a surprise punch from Togata lands squarely in Izuku’s gut. The boy
loses some spit as he’s thrown back and rolls across the floor of the mats. Togata himself hits the
mat hard from Izuku’s punch.

The illusionist rubs his tender stomach as he gets up slowly, Togata does the same with his face.
“Dang,” Izuku says. “I shouldn’t have gotten cocky. Jumping in the air cost me all my
maneuverability.”

“Well that’s why we’re practicing, right?” Togata says, sporting a smile despite his clearly hurting
cheek. “You did get me. I really thought that decoy behind me was the real you. The punch I
landed was from instinct and experience. You’ll get those soon.”

Another throwing knife thrown from the side is close to hitting Togata but goes through his arm
instead of stabbing him.

“Again?” Togata asks, a knowing smirk on his face while he lowers himself into a fighting stance.

“You’re on!” A door slamming interrupts round whatever it is. Izuku had lost count, he was having
so much fun.

Izuku turns around, while simultaneously dodging another throwing knife, to see a very ticked-off
Eraserhead glaring at him. He marches right up to Izuku, stopping in front of him. “Problem
Child… what do you think you’re doing?”

“Uh…sparring?”

“You very well know that’s not what I mean, Midoriya,” Aizawa says, gesturing behind him.

“Well, you’re always talking about training awareness, so that’s what Togata and I are doing!”
Izuku says excitedly. “We spar, while at the same time dodging Eri’s throwing knives!”

Said girl waves from her spot on the side of the ring. She’s wearing a white shirt and red overalls.
A neat pile of throwing knives lay next to her on a small table. Izuku continues, “and Eri gets
practice too! It’s a win-win for everybody.”

“And,” Aizawa closes his eyes for a moment and tries to take a calming breath. It doesn’t seem to
work. “And do you remember what I said about me being there when Eri is using weapons?”

“Actually…” Aizawa’s eye twitches. Izuku would give anything to be in the man’s class this year.
“You said we just need a licensed pro hero, not you specifically. And we have that!”

Izuku gestures to the side of the room opposite where Eri stands. Snipe casually leans against the
glass of the observation room. The cowboy hero tips his hat up a bit. “Howdy, Aizawa.”

It had been decided early on since Izuku would be taking the UA entrance exam, that he would
have contact with as few of the teachers as possible. It was to keep the teachers unbiased when
judging him for the exam.

Because of this, Izuku had only had contact with Aizawa and Snipe. Both of them, along with All
Might, would not judge him for the exam. The former helped him and Eri with hand-to-hand and
knife skills. And the latter handled projectiles like throwing knives. Though, Aizawa was still
usually there even when he wasn’t directly teaching them.
Apparently, Present Mic had tried on several occasions to meet him, always being thwarted by
Eraserhead. It still made Izuku giddy just thinking about a pro hero wanting to meet him of all
people. He was nothing special.

Aizawa turns his glare from Izuku to the other pro hero, who shrinks a little. “Explain to me in
what way you thought this was a good idea.”

Snipe gives a little shrug. “Girl needs the practice. Midoriya and Togata have dodged everything
she’s thrown anyway. Why you hazing me like I’m some Tenderfoot? My grandpapi had me at the
range the day my quirk manifested. Right at the tender age of four.”

“And what about injuries?” Aizawa counters. “What happens if they get hit in a bad spot and they
aren't ready?”

Snipe walks up to his co-worker, taking out his phone and tapping on it before showing it to the
other man. “Ain’t that why we all got Recovery Girl on speed dial?”

“You’re all going to need her when I get done with-“

“‘Zawa.” Eraser stops his threat, and everyone looks down to see Eri, who had manifested herself
next to Izuku. She rubs her hands nervously together while glancing from the floor up to the
teacher and back down again constantly.

“‘Zawa…please don’t be mad at Mido…it was my idea…so if you’re gonna be mad at anyone, be
mad at me.”

Aizawa takes a few seconds to inhale, before doing the same with the exhale. “No, Eri. I’m not
mad. I just want you all to be safe. No more weapons today. Besides, Midoriya, you should get
home and get some rest for your exam tomorrow.”

And with that, as well as some muttering about needing more coffee, he leaves. As soon as the
door closes behind him, Eri’s nervous energy evaporates, and she looks up at Izuku with a
mischievous smile he couldn’t be more proud of.

“How was that, Mido?”

Izuku laughs, rubbing her head affectionately. “Well done! I didn’t even have to tell you that time
to do anything! I think you’re ready to try your manipulation on new targets!”

Both kids turn toward Togata, eyes narrowing dangerously. The boy backs up slowly, hands raised
and slightly sweating. “N-now hold on a sec. We can talk about this…a little help Snipe-sense?”

The man’s phone has suddenly become the most interesting thing to him. “Oooooh, would you
look at that? Two for one sell on spurs.”

Togata looks back down to find a wide-eyed Eri staring up at him, tears beginning to well up in her
innocent red eyes. “Does…does that mean you don’t want to help me?…it’s ok if you don’t!…I’m
used to not getting help…”

“N-no! Well…I…you see…”

Does Izuku sometimes think he’s gone too far? Absolutely. Does that mean he regrets it?
Absolutely not.

The morning of the entrance exams finds Izuku in his room, hands balled tightly into fists while he
leans on his desk for support. He tries to get a hold of his breathing but he’s just too nervous!

“Izuku, slow breaths c’mon.” His mom wished him luck before leaving for work this morning, but
it did little to calm his nerves. And with his emotions all over the place, he couldn’t stop clones
from appearing. Which is what led to Two standing by him, looking worried.

“It’s just a test! And you’re a demigod! Honestly, no one should be more Confident than you going
into this thing. You’ve been trained by gods!” Two tries.

“Technically, they’re not gods,” Three says from the other side of him. “Even so, he is correct in
other ways. You have prepared to the best of your abilities, it’s Illogical to worry.”
“You’re both right, I know!” Izuku says, putting his face into his hands. “It’s just…ugh maybe
getting something to eat might help.”

Izuku walks out into the hallway and does his best not to groan when he sees Five waiting for him.
“Maybe it would go better if the real Izuku took the test.”

Izuku slaps his chest as he walks past him. “Solid, see? I’m real.”

Five joins him in step. “You may be solid, but we both know you’re an Imposter.”

A shake of his head is all Izuku manages because he is not going down that rabbit hole. He walks
into the kitchen and grabs some bread from the cabinet.

“I hate myself!”

Oh, man. He must be having a worse morning than he thought if those ones are coming out.

The greenette peers into the living room to see Nine laying face down on the couch, one arm
hanging off the side. “Why would UA want me? I’m worthless!”

Alright, he knows he’s losing control if Nine’s Depression is getting out.

“We’re gonna let everyone down…” oh, good. Izuku looks to see Eight nervously pacing around.
“I mean, Dad is the God of Mischief? How are we ever supposed to live up to that?!”

It’s getting worse, he’s starting to get a headache. “Two! Three! A little help with Nine! And Eight
is having his Anxiety attack!”

“Don’t worry! I’ll wash away their problems!” Izuku can’t hold back the groan when he sees Four
walking in with an overly sized bucket of water.

“No Pranks!”
Two and Three rush into the room and lead Eight to the living room with Nine and Four. He’s
finally able to put some bread in the toaster, despite his hands trembling. He can feel his mind
splitting as more clones appear, but he can’t reign them in.

Six stares at the toaster dreamily. Hoping to end his non-existent Hunger. Twelve stands in a
corner, notebook in hand while he Analyzes all the possibilities of the practical exam. Seven stands
next to him, unbothered. Too busy Fanboying over being able to finally meet the other pro heroes
UA has on staff.

Izuku’s head is swimming. He can’t focus. The boy leans himself over the sink just in case, breath
coming in short gasps. Too much. There was too much happening. His senses were becoming
overloaded.

He had lost control. Every thought and word that went through his decoys bounced around his
head. He tries to right the ship, but every time he pushes back, his head explodes in pain. Izuku
clutches it with both hands.

“Oh yeah, that’ll help.” Izuku turns just enough to see Ten glaring at him. “You’re so pathetic!
Maybe if you actually showed people like Bakugo how weak they are…” a dagger appears in
Ten’s hand. “Maybe then you wouldn’t be sitting here, crying like a baby!” He yells, Anger
radiating off him.

“Leave him alone!” Eleven stands between them. “That’s not gonna help and you know it!”

Ten holds the dagger up threateningly. “Maybe if he allowed himself to get mad…”

“So he can do what? Stab everyone?” Eleven asks incredulously.

“Better than that Self Sacrificial crap he gets from you!!”

Izuku is starting to feel colder. He thinks he hears his toast is done but he’s not sure. There’s
screaming, talking, and everything in between going on around him. The boy closes his eyes and
tries for a deep breath, but he just ends up coughing.
He can’t focus. He needs to, but he can’t. He has nothing to focus on. His hands constantly touch
different parts of his body to make sure he’s still there. Arms, legs. Torso. Face, oh, he was crying.
Head.

He tugs on his hair, feeling quick sharp tugs of pain. His senses dull just a little. Izuku tugs more,
focusing on the pain. He knows it’s bad but it’s giving him something to focus on. Something he
has control over.

Izuku continues for a few minutes, his headache fading and his breaths becoming deeper. Finally,
he raises his hand, feeling a pulse of magic running up it, and closes his fist and with it, all the
decoys vanish.

The mere fifteen-year-old collapses onto the ground, enjoying the large amounts of air and clear
mind. That can’t keep happening. He needs to do better. To be better.

A quick wash up in the bathroom later and Izuku is out the door, toast in his mouth and all.

It just feels different today. Despite being at UA many times before now, today just feels so
different. Izuku stares up at the H-shaped building, while usually comforted by the sight, today, it
was intimidating.

Messing with the straps of his backpack, because yes, he’s wearing his backpack today to not risk
getting in trouble for conjuring it later, Izuku walks through the open gate.

“Outta my way, Deku!!” What a way to start the day! Izuku slows, waiting for Kacchan to be right
on him, before stepping into his path and bumping into him.

“Oh, Kacchan! I am so sorry! I didn’t know you were there!” The taller boy gapes like a fish for a
second before the anger returns. Izuku thinks it’s best described like one of those old pre-quirk
cartoons where the character’s face would heat up in rage like a deranged tea kettle.

Izuku tilts his head to the side a little, gesturing to the UA teachers watching the students enter
from the entrance. “Something wrong, Kacchan?”
Red eyes shoot back and forth between Izuku and the teachers before he finally relents. Shoving
his hands into his pockets, Kacchan walks on, making sure to give him a nice shoulder check as he
does so. “Good luck!” He calls out sweetly.

After a few seconds of letting the other boy walk ahead, Izuku lets his smile drop. That was the
first time they had talked in almost a year. They hadn’t really since he told him to…well anyway,
he wasn’t exactly complaining but it was still weird.

The villain attack and Eri’s rescue had obviously been covered up. Izuku didn’t show up to school
for the rest of the week after and Aldera had said it was a “personal” matter. Izuku wasn’t sure
what to expect when he had gotten back, but the look on Kacchan’s face when he walked into the
classroom wasn’t it.

Glaring and hate he had been used too, but surprise? That wasn’t an emotion he can remember ever
seeing on Kacchan’s face. There was something else there too. His brain had provided it to him but
he tossed it away immediately.

He was pretty good at reading people, he had to be to do a lot of things he did with his powers. But
he still gets things wrong all the time. There was no way there was any relief on Kacchan’s face
when he got back.

Even so, his former friend had left him alone after that for the rest of the year. He didn’t go out of
his way to talk to him, and Izuku did the same.

Shaking his head, Izuku continues walking, letting his brain wander at all the possible different
quirks around him.

There was so much variety here! He sees two different girls with horns on their heads, one of them
was pink! Another boy who looked like a dinosaur, Izuku is pretty sure he could ask him questions
the rest of the day. Wait, floating clothes? Is that person invisible?! Is that on all the time? Oh!
And a boy with messy grayish-blue hair whose-

Izuku’s thoughts come to a screeching halt when his foot hits uneven pavement, tripping him.

‘Heimdall is never gonna let me live this down.’

Izuku got himself ready to roll when hit the ground…only to never hit it.

“Woooooooah!” Izuku yelps, his arms, and legs flailing. ‘I’m flying?! How?! What?!’

“Are you ok?”

Izuku turns his head to see a girl standing beside him. She is a brunette with her hair in a bob cut.
Two bangs frame her face with blush marks on her cheeks.

‘Cute.’

‘Wait, what?’

“I’m sorry I didn’t ask you first but I stopped you with my quirk,” she says with a nice smile on her
face while straightening him. “But I figured you wouldn’t mind me catching you.” She presses her
fingers together and Izuku feels the weight he didn’t realize was gone return.

A part of his brain was attempting to analyze that, but it wasn’t working for some reason.

“Isn’t this all, like, way nerve-wracking?” She continues.

“Um…y-yeah…” ‘What am I doing?!’

“Well, I guess I’ll see you inside. Bye!” She waves and walks away, her smile never leaving her
face.

‘Does…does that count as talking to a girl?…I’m gonna count it!’

The written portion of the exam was thankfully, not as hard as he thought it’d be. Resisting the
urge to ‘mooooo’ as the crowd was herded like cows into the auditorium, Izuku finds his seat next
to Kacchan, only receiving a glare as a greeting.

The lights dim and smoke fills the stage as Present Mic rises behind the podium. “What up UA
candidates?! I’m your master of ceremonies, Present Mic! Can I get a YEAH?!”

His dad taught him the power of showmanship and style. He respects it, and he’s sure not gonna
leave The Present Mic hanging. He stands up and pumps his fist. “YEAH!” No one joins him.
Izuku doesn’t care. This helps calm him down.

Present Mic shoots him finger guns ( oh my god!!), “that listener gets it! But keeping it mellow is
fine too!” The hero goes on to explain the practical exam while they’re handed cards with their test
sites on them, and Izuku holds his excited mumbles pretty well if he says so himself.

He’s only a little sad he’s not with Kacchan. What he would give to have a decoy just follow him
around the entire time annoying him.

After the pro is done explaining the three faux villains and how they can bring anything they want,
a tall blue-haired boy interrupts, standing up and raising his hand. “Excuse me! I have a question!”

“The stage is yours!”

“On the printout we were provided, it lists four faux villains, not three! If this is a mistake on the
part of UA, then I apologize but that is shameful of Japan’s most notable school! And you!” The
boy turns around, pointing right at him. “You have been muttering this entire time! It is very
distracting and if you can’t be bothered to take this seriously, then you should leave!”

A few people snicker. ‘Who does he think he is-‘

“Alright, alright.” Present Mic calls the attention back to him. “Great question Examinee 7111. The
fourth villain is worth zero points. Think of it as more of an obstacle. You can fight it if you want,
but there’d be no point. You dig?”

“Yes, thank you!” The boy sits down. Oh. They are not done. Izuku puts his hand under the table,
takes a second, and twists it. Let’s see how he likes a scorpion on his lap.
It only takes a second. “AHHHHH!” The boy screams, jumping up, brushing his lap furiously. Too
late, Izuku dismissed the illusion the second he jumped up.

It takes everything to keep the smile off his face. “Hey!” Izuku calls out. When he has the boy’s
attention he puts a finger to his lips. “Shh. You’re being very distracting!”

More people snicker and laugh, including a snort from right next to him. Izuku whips his head
around but Kacchan has a neutral expression on his face. Huh, must’ve imagined it.

The tall boy clears his throat and mutters an apology and sits down, but not before checking around
his seat carefully.

“Well, that’s all I got for you all!” Present Mic takes over again. “So I’ll leave you all with this, as
General Napoleon Bonaparte once laid down, a true hero is one who overcomes life's misfortunes.
Go beyond, Plus Ultra!” A few people call back, including Izuku. “Good luck suffering.”

The gates to the fake city loom over them while Izuku bounces in place trying to distract himself,
but it’s not working. He’s so excited! Robots! He’ll get to use his daggers and knives to his heart’s
content without fear of hurting someone!

That’s when he spots the nice girl who saved him from falling. He should probably thank her.
Izuku takes a step and then he feels it.

“Don’t touch me,” Izuku says without turning around.

“E-excuse me?” He turns and sees the tall boy again, hand raised. The blue-haired boy composes
himself, lowering his hand. “Why are you here? Were you sent by the staff to try and distract us
before the test?”

“What kind of-“

“START!!” Present Mic’s voice booms over them. Izuku doesn’t need to be told twice, sprinting
through the gates. “He’s got the right idea! There are no countdowns in real battles, little listeners!
Run, run, run!”

Nice! He’s got a sizable lead on the competition! Izuku runs in before three robots get in his path.
A couple of two-pointers and a one-pointer. “Hope this works!” Izuku conjures three throwing
knives and whisks them at the villains.

Each knife hits dead center and slices through with ease, each robot falling. “Yes!!” He’ll look
around for his knives later, for now, he turns down an alley, only for a three-pointer to block his
path.

“Target acquired! Prepare for judgment!” Izuku jumps onto the wall of the alley, using it to propel
himself over the robot, dodging it’s attack.

The trickster brings a conjured dagger down on the robot, slicing through it like butter. The three-
pointer collapses and explodes in front of him. Izuku laughs, gripping the dagger tighter. “Oh
yeah! I can get used to this!”

“I’d say this year's group looks promising. Would you all agree?” Nezu says, sipping a cup of tea
with the other teachers in the observation room.

There are agreements throughout the room until, “I can’t say I’m a fan.”

Nezu chuckles at Power Loader. “Oh, Maijima. Don’t be a child.”

“I’m not being a child!” Higari Maijima whines, thereby nullifying his point. “I’m just saying, at
least the explosion kid leaves some scraps behind for me to recycle. But that one kid at Battle
Center E leaves nothing behind!”

“Oh, hush. We have more than enough funds for a few robots.”

“That’s not the point…” Maijima grumbles.

“We do have a good crop this year,” Ectoplasm says. “But something isn’t quite adding up. That
boy there, with the green hair. Izuku Midoriya. His file says his quirk is illusion creation. But I’ve
seen him create multiple knives and use them as if they were real.”

“It could be that his quirk description is not accurate. It is, unfortunately, very common.”
Cementoss theorizes.

“A theory to solve another day!” Nezu happily calls out. “But for now, the real test begins!” The
principal nods at Snipe who lifts a glass protector and pushes a big red button.

Izuku pants, his hands on his knees. If this test has shown him anything, it’s that he has a real lack
of mobility. Sure, turning into a dog helped a bit, but not that much. Maybe the next animal he
should work on is a cheetah? Since he still can’t get any birds to work.

But he still felt pretty good. If his math was right, he had 42 points right now. The robots had
become a lot more scarce after the first couple of minutes, add in his lack of mobility and it wasn’t
a good recipe. Thankfully, he had been able to astral project himself to the top of buildings to gain
vantage points and spot robots in the distance.

He had also created decoys to distract robots and help other kids a few times, at least when they
were too far out of range for a throwing knife. So that made him feel better about everything.

Izuku straightens up and is about to go look for more robots when the ground begins to shake
below him. ‘What the…’

A series of explosions ring around the testing center, before a massive robot appears, bigger than
any of the surrounding buildings. The behemoth crashes it’s fist into the ground, causing another
mini earthquake while obliterating anything near it.

The smoke is thick and screams fill the air as terrified kids run for their lives from the zero-pointer.
All Izuku can do is stare as the monster of a robot moves toward them all, crushing anything in it’s
path.

‘That’s…so…COOL!!! I want one!! Could the dwarves of Nidavellir build something like that?
Won’t hurt to ask…’
As much as Izuku would love to gawk at the robot all day, the test is probably almost over so he
should find more robots to-

“Ow…”

He stops dead in his tracks. The nice girl…

Izuku is running before he realizes it.

With a wave of his hand, several decoys appear around him, running beside him, but it doesn’t
matter, he’s more focused than ever. “Distract it!” They nod and run trying to get the attention of
the robot while Izuku runs up to the girl, who had her foot trapped under some rubble.

He stabs a dagger under the slab of concrete and pushes down on the handle to lift it up more.
Getting his hands under it, Izuku raises it a bit more. “I got it, go!” The girl nods and pulls her leg
free.

With an action that would mortify him later, Izuku picks up the girl, bridal carry, and starts to run.
His decoys weren’t good enough because the zero-pointer still chases them. Crap, he couldn’t
outrun it. He needed something bigger to get it’s attention.

He doesn’t know if his dad will be proud or angry at what he’s about to do.

Izuku deploys more decoys just to stop the robot for a couple of seconds while he puts the girl
down against the side of a building. “I’ll distract it long enough for you to get away! Go!”

“Wait-!” She starts but Izuku’s already climbing up a nearby fire escape. All the dust and debris on
the ground would hinder him. He gets to the roof just as the biggest faux villain is rolling past his
decoys.

Izuku steps up to the edge. They said to go plus ultra, right?

He recalls all decoys and holds his hands in front of him, bending his knees. Izuku pushes more
magic into his hands than he’s ever done. Green lines envelop his body before all congregating
onto his hands.

His body screams in protest. His arms shake worse than ever before. He starting to go numb
everywhere but the two appendages he’s focusing on.

He’s never felt more alive.

His hands erupt what looks like green flames around them, and light envelops him, finally getting
the attention of the zero-pointer. Izuku screams, releasing the magic and ignoring the blood
dripping from his nose.

Because next to the building he’s on, an exact replica of the zero-pointer appears next to him.
Izuku laughs, looking up at by far his biggest creation. “I DID IT!! Hahaha!” Every examinee has
stopped at the test site, staring wide-eyed as the two giants square off.

Nezu cackles maniacally, nearly falling off his chair while teachers leap to their feet in surprise.

All Might smiles. ‘Show them what you’re made of, young Midoriya.’

The real faux villain seems to growl at it’s challenger, rearing it’s fist back and trying to pummel
it’s new opponent through the face, only for it to go straight through.

Izuku grunts, nearly falling to one knee as he pumps magic he didn’t even know he had back into
his creation, rebuilding it. This wasn’t gonna work. He can’t hold it much longer.

Using whatever he has left, Izuku holds up his hands and pushes. His illusion responds, moving
away. And like he had hoped, the real one follows. Izuku holds. And holds. He keeps holding.
He’s on his knees at this point.
Sweat pours down his face. The blood is in free fall from his nose. It’s like his arms will tear
themselves from his sockets at any moment. But still, he keeps going.

Once both robots were a fair distance away, his decoy blinking in and out of existence, Izuku let’s
go.

The green flames around his hands extinguish themselves and with them, the rest of his energy.
Izuku wipes the blood off his face, he can’t hold himself up anymore. Oh, he just realized he’s
falling. That’s right, he was at the edge of the roof. Not exactly a swan dive but he wonders if
Kacchan would be happy with this? Wow, his brain goes to weird places when he’s about to die.

The ground quickly approaches and Izuku can’t even brace himself so he closes his eyes waiting
for-

SMACK!

Instead of the ground, he feels a stinging on his cheek. Izuku cracks his eyes open to see himself
floating above the ground, the nice girl had saved him, again. Wow, she’d make a great hero.

She barely gets her fingers together, whispering a quiet “release.” Izuku falls the last small distance
to the ground, as does she and the piece of robot she had been floating on. He doesn’t really feel
the impact, his body is still numb.

The greenette pushes himself up to thank her but turns away when he sees her throwing up. Hey,
even half-dead, manners are important.

“Are you ok?” He asks once she’s done.

“M-me?” She responds with a disbelieving giggle.

“TIME’S UP!” Present Mic’s voice travels through the city, followed by a horn.

“Thanks for saving me.” Izuku smiles, her blush marks going redder randomly. “But if you’ll
excuse me…” he slumps over, letting darkness overtake him.
Chapter End Notes

I wonder how he did? Lol

I actually wanted Mirio and Izuku to spar last chapter but couldn’t really fit it in, so it’s
at the beginning of this one, with an added Eri component!

Izuku grew up lonely, I think he’d flesh out his clones more then Loki. Each one
represents a different part of his personality

Hey, Izuku is not the one who gets pranked, HE is the one who Pranks!!

Had Izuku making a zero pointer in my head for a while, was satisfying to finally write
it!

Anyways, hope you guys liked it. Your comments are appreciated so much so thank
you again for those! I’ll see ya next time!
 Thank You for Your Cooperation
Chapter Summary

Will Izuku get into UA?!!

Yes

Chapter Notes

I hope you guys like dramatic irony as much as I do. Enjoy!

Edit: Following some advise, just warning you guys, there’s a scene in this chapter
that’s a bit darker then usual. Contains blood, murder, and inflicting bodily harm. It
starts after the first line break and ends at the next one. I’ll put a summary in the end
notes

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Izuku? Honey? Are you sure you’re going to be ok?”

The called-out teenager snaps out of his thoughts and looks at his mother from across the dinner
table. “O-oh. Sorry, mom.” Izuku tries to offer a weak smile to comfort her but it doesn’t work.

It had been a week since the entrance exams, at least that’s what the calendar says. According to
Izuku’s internal clock, it had been a whole year with how slow the time had gone! Was it normal to
consider breaking into UA just to look at exam results? No, that would probably dampen his
relationship with the staff.

But it’s also partly their fault! No one was answering his texts! All Might, Aizawa, Snipe. Not even
Nighteye or Gran Torino were answering. The only thing he got was a message from Aizawa
telling him he couldn’t come back on campus until he got his exam results and then everyone had
gone dark. He hopes Eri is doing alright at least.

Izuku picks at more of his food with his chopsticks. His shaking hands had already spilled some
stains on the white long-sleeved shirt he wore that said ‘what’s a fish?’ Forty two points would be
enough. It had to be. It’s not like his entire future was riding on this or anything.
“Izuku…” When had his mom gotten right next to him? “You can tell me when you’re nervous.”

“What makes you think I’m nervous?” Mom doesn’t answer him. Shaking her head fondly, she
turns his head to the living room…only to see Decoy Two slamming Eight to the ground on his
stomach and pinning him.

“Submit!!”

“No!”

“It’s stupid to worry like this!”

“Maybe to you!”

“Boys…” Inko calls out. She sounds a bit exasperated but there’s no actual heat behind it.

“Hi, mom!” Two waves. “Don’t mind us!”

“Mooom! Tell him to stop!”

“What did I tell you boys about wrestling?” Inko lightly scolds with a small smile on her face.
“One of you could get hurt.”

“We’re not even real!”

Inko’s voice gets a little more serious. “Are you talking back, young man?

Two pretty much leaps off Eight and both clones stand next to each other looking like, well,
looking like kids that are getting reprimanded.

“Sorry, mom…”
“Yeah, sorry…”

Izuku, feeling better from the antics, waves his hand letting the clones disappear

“Izuku…you know no matter what happens, I’m proud of you right?” His mother tells her real son
with a concerned look on her face, reaching down to take his hand.

With a bit of the weight lifted off his chest, Izuku smiles at her, a bit more genuine this time. “I
know, mom. And thank you. I just want this so bad.”

Inko gives his hand a gentle squeeze. “Well, your father and I will be here for you no matter what
happens.”

“Oh, right!” Izuku exclaims. “Shouldn’t dad have been here by now?”

Inko chuckles at Izuku looking like an excited puppy at the mention of his father. “He projected
here earlier to tell me he’d be here in a little bit. Just had some business to take care of.”

Loki conjures his phone to his left hand, the one that’s currently free, to check the time. “Damn.”
He didn’t have a lot of time left. “My son is finding out if he’s going to get into the high school of
his dreams tonight, and I couldn’t be more proud.”

He vanishes his phone. “Do you have kids?” Loki asks the U.S. soldier he’s currently holding in a
chokehold hold with his right arm. He lessens the pressure enough so the man can give a small
nod. “Ah, good. Then you’ll understand how, as parents, we’d do anything for them.”

A quick jerk of his arm breaks the man’s neck and he lets the body fall next to the others. “Thank
you for your cooperation.”

The lab he’s in isn’t the biggest one he’s ever been in but is still of decent size. The main power
was out, leaving emergency lights to blink continuously. The middle of the room had several
workbenches and desks, most of which had been thrown to their sides while the ground was littered
with the bodies of technicians and the soldiers who had attempted to protect them.

What an inconvenience. And to top everything off, the mortals had gone ahead and gotten blood all
over his armor. He tries to shake some of the excess fluid off his hand. How unsightly. One of the
few downsides of working with blades.

A whimper drew Loki back from his musings. Oh, he had almost forgotten. Back at the far side of
the lab was a giant computer terminal, complete with a keyboard and screen, probably for
presentations to the whole room.

An older heavyset man with balding white hair sat in front of the terminal on the ground, his left
hand pinned to the machine by the dagger that pierced it.

“You know, I’m impressed,” Loki says, beginning his walk over. He goes slow. Whenever the
lights went out, it cast the room in darkness for an entire second. The human wouldn’t know where
he was and that should terrify him. Hopefully, his babysitter was enjoying the show. “Yours is one
of the few governments who know of our existence.”

The man says nothing as Loki reaches him, opting to cry instead. “I am Loki, of Asgard. And I am
burdened with glorious purpose.”

“P-please…w-we have no quarrel with your people…”

“And an ant has no quarrel with a boot .” To demonstrate, Loki stomps on the man’s knee,
breaking it while a sickening crunch reverberated around the room. The trapped man shrieks in
pain louder than ever, grabbing his leg with his right hand, and openly sobbing now. Couldn’t they
be quieter while they suffer? He was working.

“Password?” Loki requests.

Through his blubbering, the man gets out, “Lehigh.” Fortunately for him, it works. The insect
continues to weep as Loki starts to sift through the files.

It only takes another minute for Loki to find what he’s looking for. “You continue to impress it
seems. While I never expected you to find the item I seek, you have several leads that will most
certainly help.” Loki looks down at his conversation partner. “You have my sincerest thanks.”

The man says something barely above a whisper but he can't understand him.

Loki kneels in front of him. “Shhhhh. It’s almost over.” The Asgardian uses the man’s face to get
some of the blood off his hands.

More tears. “I…I don’t want to die…”

Loki sighs. “Well I’m afraid…you will not be overly fond of what’s about to happen.”

“It’s here, Izuku! Your exam results!”

“Money is not my goa-“ Izuku quickly closes his laptop and races to the living room to find his
Mom holding a letter with UA’s stamp with trembling hands.

“I-it’s here…” Izuku barely manages, taking the envelope. It’s a lot heavier than he thought it’d be,
with what definitely doesn’t feel like a normal letter inside?

“I don’t think I’ll be able to wait for-“

The front door opens and both greenettes turn to see Loki walking in, wearing his usual black suit.
He closes the door behind him, “speak of the devil and he shall appear.”

“Dad!” “Honey!”

Mother and son crash into the Mischief god hugging him tightly while Izuku lets the excess stress
melt off while he gets his hair ruffled. “Oh, I missed you both so much. Did I make it on time?”

“Just in time!” Izuku says, not able to keep the smile off his face. “Also, really dad? The devil?…”
“Yes, the devil,” Loki laughs. “You know…because of…the horns…”

“That’s kinda lame.”

Loki gasps in dramatic fashion. “Inko, did you hear what your son just said to me?”

She giggles at her husband. “Well…”

“Not you too?!” More snickering. “You both wound me more than any dagger ever could!”

“Oh shush.” Inko separates and lightly slaps the man on his shoulder. “Stop being so dramatic. Did
you take care of whatever it was you had to do?”

Izuku looks up. “What did you have to do dad?”

Loki smiles down at his son. “Nothing too big. I just had to give a presentation of sorts to some
people.”

“Did it go well?”

“Oh, I killed it, son.”

The smaller Asgardian buries his face back into his father’s suit. “That’s good.”

“I’m glad you made it,” Inko begins. “But now that we’re all together, shouldn’t we…”

“The results!” Izuku unlatches and grabs the envelope again and after hesitating for just a second,
rips it open, a small black disk falling out. “Huh.” He places the disk on the dining table. “How do
you suppose we-“
“I am here! As a projection!”

Izuku squeals as a hologram erupts from the disk, revealing All Might in a yellow suit standing in
front of a red curtain.

“Baby! Are you ok?!”

“Gods don’t squeal Izuku…”

“Yes, it is I! All Might! Newest faculty member of UA High School! I know, quite the ‘All
Sight,’ wouldn’t you say?”

Izuku is so enthralled in the video, that he doesn’t notice Loki behind him, staring at his dagger
while debating on stabbing himself in the face or not.

“Showboating? What do you-wait? How many of these do I have to do?” All Might clears his
throat. “Now onto your results! You scored in the 94th percentile of the written exam, great
job!”

Both of his parents congratulate him as All Might continues. “As for the practical exam, you
scored 42 villain points. While not enough to get you in the top ten on its own, that by itself is
enough for entry into the hero course! But wait!” It’s as if All Might was watching the family,
stopping their celebrations before they could start. “There’s more!”

The camera pans to the side at All Might’s gesture to a tv beside him. The video starts cutting
through different instances of Izuku saving other applicants with his decoys or knives. “There’s
more to being a hero than beating the villain. How could a hero course not reward someone who
is so committed to saving others, no matter the consequences to himself?!”

“Izuku!!!” Inko crushes her son in a hug as the video switches to him saving the nice girl. Loki’s
dagger clatters on the ground when the video shows Izuku making an illusion of the zero-pointer.

“It is for that reason why we have rescue points!! A panel of judges watches and awards points
for heroic actions. And for your actions in the exam, you have been awarded 60 rescue points!”
A leaderboard appears, showing Izuku’s name clearly at the top with 102 points. He can only stare.
“Congratulations, Young Midoriya! And welcome to your Hero Academia!”

The hologram fades, not that Izuku notices as he’s currently fighting for his right to breathe from
his mother while Loki continues to stare at where the video used to be.

“IZUKUUUUU! You nearly gave me a heart attack! You have to be more careful!! Oh but I’m so
proud! You have to promise me you won’t get hurt like that again, promise me Izuku?!” Inko
releases her son, giving him just enough time to get a big gulp of air before she engulfs him again.
“I just love you so much!!”

After Izuku turns blue and it this time having nothing to do with his heritage, Inko lets her son go.
“We need more to celebrate! How does ice cream sound? I’ll run out and go get some. Loki!” The
man is broken out of whatever state he was in. “I’ll be right back. Make sure Izuku knows not to do
something like that again.”

“Of course, darling. I’ll let Izuku know what I think,” he says, turning toward his wife while using
telekinesis to bring the dagger on the ground back to his hand. Inko nods and leaves after giving
Izuku a kiss on the cheek.

After the oxygen has time to reach his brain again, Izuku’s thoughts finally catch up with him. He
had passed the exam!! He was going to UA! The same school that All Might had gone too! And on
top of all that, he had somehow gotten first place!

Sure, a part of him was worried about how Kacchan would react to second place but that’s for later
Izuku to worry about. Now, he can just be happy and let the excitement wash over him-

“So, Izuku.” Or his dad could kill him now and he’ll never make it to his first day. “About what
you did during the exam.”

“D-dad I-“

“That was amazing, son!”

“I know and I’m sorry! It was-EHHHHH?!!” Izuku stops and gapes at his father’s smiling face.
“You’re not mad?!”

Loki walks over as he talks, “mad? Izuku, you just created an illusion at a size I would have
difficulty with now! I couldn’t even attempt something like that for hundreds of years! And you
just did it! At fifteen!” He puts both of his hands on his shoulders. “I know I said your powers
would be stronger than mine when they manifested but not even I could have predicted you would
move this quickly. I’m so proud of you.”

Izuku is pulled into a luckily, much softer hug than with his mom. Getting into UA and hearing his
dad talk about how proud he was of him does the boy in and he can’t stop the tears as he hugs his
father back. Izuku thanks him over and over. Without his dad's training, he would have never
gotten this far.

“I wasn’t sure when to do this, but I think now is a good time,” Loki says after another minute of
hugging.

“Dad?”

Loki separates before conjuring his second dagger to his hand and holding both out. Izuku looks
down, the handles of the daggers are a glossy royal blue, and the blades themself are a nice silver
on the outer part, with the color becoming a more dark grey as it nears the middle. Three small
notches decorated each side of the blades.

“Are we going to do more training?”

Loki shakes his head smiling. “These are yours now.”

Izuku can’t even bring himself to look at the blades. “B-but dad, those are your daggers! I can’t
just…I mean…”

His dad can’t stop his laugh. “We both know I have plenty of extras.”

“But those are your favorite!”

“They are. So who better to have it than my favorite person.” Loki grabs Izuku’s hand and puts the
daggers in it. “I know you’ll keep making me proud.”

After another tear-filled hug, Izuku finally feels like he can stand on his own two feet. “I’m going
to be the best hero I can be!”

“I know you will,” Loki agrees, going over to the cabinet to pull out bowls. “And you already are.
You saved that young woman during your exam.” He smirks. “Did she give you a nice reward for
your efforts?”

“A reward? What could she have-“ Izuku’s eyes widen and his face glows. “N-n-n-n-no! It wasn’t
like that!!” Izuku defends while his hands blur around him. “I didn’t do it for that and nothing
happened!”

“Interesting,” Loki notes while putting the bowls on the table, “you never said you didn’t want it to
happen.”

Izuku’s face is in his hands. “Daaaaaaaaad.”

“I’m still not hearing a denial.” Izuku yells into his hands in frustration, making his father laugh.
“Alright, I’m done for now.” Loki begins to gather utensils. “But you have been a hero in other
ways too. What about that little girl you told me you saved? What was her name again?”

While the red isn’t completely gone from his cheeks, Izuku is able to look up at the mention of his
unofficial little sister. “Eri. And, well, she’s doing a lot better than when we first met. I’ve actually
been teaching her some of the things you taught me.”

“Is that so?” Loki puts the spoons by the bowls. “Well she sounds like an absolute treat and I would
love to meet her someday.”

“You should! You’d love her!” Izuku shouts in excitement. His previous embarrassment is all but
gone. “She’s really special.”

The God of Mischief gives a half-smile. “On that, I can believe. I think, in time, everyone will see
how special she is.”
Walking through the halls of UA on his first day, Izuku can’t believe it. He was here. He had made
it. He got to the school early to have breakfast with Eri and was now making his way toward
homeroom.

It was different, walking through the halls as an actual student. He hadn’t been in the main building
too many times before this, but now, walking through with his new uniform on, he felt like he
could conquer the world.

His Dad had sent him off that morning, checking his uniform over despite them both knowing the
magic would make it fit nearly perfect. But that’s just the way his father is.

To be honest, while a part of him was hoping he’d be proud of what he did at the entrance exam, he
knew with absolute certainty the man would be furious if he walked out of the house with a
crinkled uniform or a tie done wrong.

“Yeah, you and I, we gotta stick together.” Izuku looks to see two boys standing outside one of the
General Education rooms. Both have purple hair, one of them has it in the shape of balls and the
other has it in spikes, almost like it was defying gravity.

It was the smaller one that was speaking. “The babes in there are ripe for the picking so what do
you say purple brother, will you be my wingman?!” It sounds like the small one is trying to rally
the other for battle. It might be inspiring if the subject wasn’t gross.

Evidently, the taller one seems to agree with him. His answer is an eyebrow raise before walking
into the classroom. “Wait! So that’s a yes?!” The increasingly annoying midget follows behind,
closing the door. Well if that’s how the kids in the general course are, and the hero course kids are
supposed to be crazier, then it might not be solely up to him to be the entertainment this year.

Finally finding his classroom, Izuku cranes his neck to look at the huge door. ‘Wow. Are they
expecting Frost Giants as students?’

Alright, go time! Izuku pushes the door open and-

“Get your feet off that desk right now!!”

“You’re kidding me, right? You got a stick up your ass or something?”

In front of him, Kacchan has his feet up on his desk while he argues with the blue-haired boy from
the entrance exam.

‘Both Kacchan…and the tall boy are in my class…YEEEEEES!! I can’t believe my luck!! I have an
entire year to mess with BOTH of them!’

“Huh, it’s him.” And just like that, every student in the room is staring at him. It takes every ounce
of willpower not to turn invisible right then and there. “Good morning!” The tall boy is now
marching at him like he is on a mission. “I am Tenya Iida from Somei Private Academy!”

He’s still being stared at. Darn his instincts. “Hi! I’m Izuku Midoriya. You’re the one who jumped
out of his chair screaming in the auditorium, aren’t you?” Some snickers from his new classmates
and the attention lessens. There we go, deflect with humor.

The bespectacled boy falters. Wow, he’s not really good with the unexpected, is he? This year’s
gonna be better than he thought. After he gathers himself, Iida continues, “you realized there was
something more to the exam, didn’t you? As a student, you are far superior to me and I apologize
for my behavior!” Iida sinks down to a full ninety-degree bow.

Maybe he’s not as bad as he initially thought. Still gonna be fun to prank though.

“Hey, I recognize that messy hair!” Izuku turns to see the nice girl from the exam standing in the
doorway, beaming at him. “Distraction boy! Oh my goodness, I don’t even know how to describe
what you did but it was amazing!…”

‘Oh wow, it’s her!’ Izuku thinks while she gives a play-by-play of the exam. ‘Ok, I don’t know
what happened when we first met, maybe it was the nerves? But I’m feeling much better today.
Time to analyze! Aaaaand go!…She looks good in that uniform.’

…
…

‘WHAT THE F-‘

Izuku’s senses take over and his eyes travel downward to see a yellow caterpillar attempting to
worm its way into the classroom, the girl’s head follows his after a few seconds, gasping at the
sight. He’d know that grumpy insect anywhere. Could it be?!

“Aizawa? Is that you?!” His outburst attracts his classmates once again.

“Oh my god?!”

“Do you see that?!”

“What is that thing?!”

“Of course, you take this away from me too, Problem Child,” Aizawa complains, standing up and
shedding his cocoon to reveal the beautiful spite-filled butterfly that he is.

“No way!!” Izuku is practically bouncing. He gets to prank Kacchan and Iida all year, the nice girl
is in his class, and Aizawa is his teacher?! His luck is phenomenal today! “You’re our homeroom
teacher?!”

Aizawa lets out a long suffering sigh. “Despite my many protests and attempts at resignation,” he
looks up to address the whole class. “Yes. I’m Shota Aizawa, homeroom teacher of class 1A. Nice
to meet you.”

It then dawns on Izuku and the other students standing up front that their teacher is here and they
are not in their seats. Something they correct very quickly. Izuku rushes to sit behind Kacchan and
in front of a boy with off-blue hair.

Aizawa pulls a stack of uniforms from his sleeping bag, somehow, and drops it onto his desk. Is he
sure he’s the only one here who can conjure things? “Put these on and meet me outside at the P.E
grounds. Hurry up.” And with that introduction, their new teacher walks out of the room, sleeping
bag in hand, without any care.

It takes the class a few seconds to move, but eventually, some just shrug, take the uniforms, and go
look for the locker rooms. Izuku waits until everyone’s left before walking up and picking up his
gym uniform. Finally, he can let himself wear one.

He turns the uniform over in his hands a few times before being satisfied enough to vanish the
clothes to his pocket dimension. Yellow lines cover his body for a moment before his regular
uniform is replaced by the gym one.

He moves his arm and legs around but something feels off…oh! It’s a short-sleeve. More lines
cover Izuku’s arms until he’s wearing the long-sleeved version of the gym clothes. Much better.

Izuku runs to the grounds directly to find Aizawa standing there with a bag of equipment next to
him, tapping on a tablet in his hand. Unsurprisingly, Izuku is the first one out.

“That was quick,” Aizawa comments, a very faint hit of surprise in his voice.

“You said to hurry up,” Izuku answers, putting his hands into his pockets.

“I gave you all short-sleeve uniforms. Why are you wearing a long-sleeve?” Aizawa asks, though
he makes it sound like he couldn’t care less about the answer.

“When I use my throwing knives and daggers, I like to make it seem like they’re coming out of my
sleeves. Can’t do that if they’re short.” Izuku shrugs. A half-truth. But still a truth.

Aizawa lets his arm with the tablet drop to the side, giving his student his full attention. “Midoriya,
it is the first day. It’s bad enough you got Eri hooked on that stuff, are you really planning on
stabbing your new classmates?”

“Only if they ask for it. So probably Kac-Bakugo. But the rest should be safe,” Izuku answers
happily with a smile on his face. That should quell any fears his new teacher would have.

Aizawa shakes his head a little, like he’s trying to clear blurry vision. “I don’t even know where to
start. Where did you even get a long-sleeve uniform?”

“Magic.”

The pro hero says nothing, opting to type something on the tablet instead. After a moment, he
receives a notification. “Figures. Another resignation denied.”

The rest of his class trickles onto the field over the course of the next few minutes. A couple of the
guys give him weird looks, probably because he didn’t go to the locker rooms. Once they’re all
gathered, Aizawa speaks.

“Today, the twenty of you will be participating in a quirk apprehension test.”

“Won’t we miss orientation?” Someone asks.

“UA doesn’t adhere to a traditional teaching model. That means teachers can run classes as they see
fit, and that includes skipping waste of time orientations. You’ll be doing the eight standard
physical tests today, only this time, with your quirks. Bakugo.”

The blonde straightens as their teacher addresses him. “You got the most villain points on the
exam. What’s the farthest distance you got in the softball throw?”

“Sixty seven meters.”

“Good.” He tosses a ball with a metal ring around the middle to Kacchan who catches it one-
handed. “Go stand in that circle and throw it using your quirk. Anything goes as long as you stay in
the lines.”

Kacchan walks into the circle and rolls his shoulders. A dangerous smirk appears on his face.
“Umm…” Izuku intelligently says, getting most of the student’s attention. “If anyone has sensitive
hearing…you may want to cover your ears…”

Surprisingly, a purple-haired girl complies and a boy with multiple arms shifts the appendages that
had ears into something else. ‘I’ve found my first victi-I mean my first willing, yes willing, person
to answer my questions about their quirk.’

Kacchan cocks his arm back. “You asked for it. DIE!!” With a swing of his arm, Kacchan lets off a
terrifying explosion that sends the ball shooting into the atmosphere. Most of the rest of the kids
cover their ears.

Aizawa looks unfazed while he stares at his tablet. “This is the only rational way of finding your
capabilities.” He flips the tablet around to reveal a score of 705 meters.

“Are you kidding me?!”

“That looks so cool!”

“Not bad for a tutorial.”

“This is gonna be fun!!”

“ Fun?” Aizawa all but demands. Oh man, Aizawa looks worse than that time he taught Eri how to
climb the cabinets to get to the cookies. “You all think this is a game, huh? Fine. Whoever gets last
place will be deemed hopeless and immediately expelled.”

The class instantly begins to protest. “That’s not fair!” The nice girl shouts, her voice above the
others.

“Life’s not fair,” Aizawa says, still in a neutral tone. “Are Natural disasters, power-hungry villains,
or catastrophic accidents fair? We have three years here at UA to teach you how to combat that
unfairness. You will be pushed to your breaking point, thrown into one hardship after another. So
go beyond. Plus Ultra and all that.”

Oh that he can do. He says it’s not a game but to Izuku, almost everything can be made into a
game. He hopes Aizawa has a tight grip on the rules. If he doesn’t, Izuku plans on bending every
rule as far as he can. You don’t just challenge the Prince of Mischief. And if Aizawa really thinks
he’ll let him expel someone today, well it’s not just the students who will be learning an important
lesson today.
 Aizawa gives them a smile that’s anything but warm. “Welcome to UA’s Hero Course.”

Chapter End Notes

Now, I know what you’re all thinking! Loki…such a doting father, isn’t he folks? :D

When Izuku’s emotions wrestle with each other they literally…wrestle with each
other. Get it?!…this is why ‘attempt at humor’ is a tag. As for Izuku’s new daggers,
Loki uses several different ones through the MCU so I just combined a few to make
the ones he’s given. Mainly the daggers from Thor Ragnarok and the Loki series.

Was there anything about the class I should mention…nah that’s it. Hope you guys
liked the chapter, and as always, your comments are super appreciated! Until next
time!

Edit: the scene was about Loki breaking into an American government facility. Scene
starts with him there and almost everyone unalive. He “persuades” the last man to give
him computer codes to help him find an item he’s seeking.
 So…What Are The Rules?
Chapter Summary

Quirk (magic?) Apprehension Test!

Chapter Notes

Hey there!…nope, can’t think of anything else. Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Alright. Enough standing around. Let’s begin.”

Izuku walks with his new class to their first test in thought. Despite all the time he’s spent with Eri
over this past year, he hasn’t had that many one on one conversations with Aizawa. The man
usually preferred to brood in a corner.

Or sleep. Or both. Can someone brood while sleeping? He’s not sure but if anyone can, it's
Aizawa.

Either way, even with his limited interaction with the man, he knew some things. Firstly, these
tests were less about how far physically their quirks can be pushed, and more about how they
could creatively apply them.

Secondly, the threat of expulsion was very real. Izuku didn’t know why at first a UA teacher had so
much time on his hands during the school day, until he learned he expelled his entire class. Now
granted, expel was a bit harsh of a word.

Most were sent to general studies with only a few being kicked out of the school completely. After
the sports festival, Aizawa re-enrolled them back in along with adding a few general education
kids. Eri was watched by rotating staff throughout the school day who each carried a panic button
that went straight to Eraser if something went wrong.

But the point is, not everyone made it back in. And it wasn’t the first time. One day, someone had
carelessly left Aizawa’s teaching file on a desk. The lock of the cabinet it was in was picked.
Is that why he wasn’t allowed on campus while waiting for his entrance exam results? The
cameras clearly showed whoever picked the lock was a broad man, with a flaming beard. What
Endeavor was doing there was anyone’s guess.

Anyway, he walked into the lounge, and Aizawa’s file had just been left sitting out open to the
page of his expulsion record. It was extensive. And he couldn’t guarantee the hero would re-enroll
anyone in his class, so if he had to take matters into his own hands then so be it.

The first event was the fifty-meter dash. At the end of the track was a small robot with a camera
that was recording their times, so he had to physically be there and couldn’t just drop a decoy at the
end of the track. That’s fine…he’s got another idea.

Izuku watches several pairs be called up by Aizawa, his conjured notebook in hand. He hears a
whisper of ‘where was he keeping that?’ but ignores it.

Up first is Iida and a girl, Asui, with some sort of frog mutation? Pretty sure he had heard her croak
earlier. Next is the nice girl, Uraraka, and a boy with a tail, Ojiro. Ok, that’s awesome. He’s gotta
shapeshift into him at some point to see what that tails like.

Then, it’s a kid with a bird head, Tokoyami, and the boy with off-blue hair, Shim-oh, he’s faster
than he looks. After that, a blonde boy, oh he’s French judging by his muttering, walks away from
the track looking distraught.

“C'est d'accord. Tu as fait de ton mieux!” Izuku tells him with a thumbs up.

The boy looks at him in shock at first, before giving him what could only be described as a
dazzling smile. “Merci, ami de la culture.”

Izuku is called up next with Kacchan as his racing partner. Oh, it could not get any better.

“Let’s see your little tricks help you here.” Kacchan sneers, shoulder-checking him on his way to
the track.

Izuku doesn’t respond, instead, choosing to stop by their teacher. “So sensei…what are the rules?”
Aizawa’s look clearly conveys, ‘what now?’

“Rules? It’s a race, Problem Child. Go.”

Welp.

Izuku slips away invisible. Letting a decoy line up next to Kacchan. He knows from his experience
in the entrance exam that UA robots can’t see him while he’s invisible and now, standing in front
of the robot at the finish line, he’s relieved that it still holds.

By the looks of it, Kacchan is getting ready to blow him up the second the race starts. Even better!
The smoke will hide what he does.

Shota watches Midoriya very carefully. He knew a lot about the boy from the time he had spent
pretending to sleep around him. And one thing he knows is the kid is very particular about how he
words things.

Still, he couldn’t figure out why he wanted to know about the rules of a race? It should be self-
explanatory.

The robot begins it’s countdown. “On your mark…get set…go!”

“Explosive speed!” Katsuki Bakugo yells, throwing an explosion in Midoriya’s face for good
measure as he propels himself forward, both boys hidden for a moment in smoke. He sighs. Maybe
it wasn’t as obvious as he thought.

“No quirk usage on others,” he states. Bakugo huffs but says nothing. He clicks the tablet to
announce their results.

“Katsuki Bakugo! 4.13 seconds!” Maybe he should just have Midoriya run it again? Probably
would be better now than when he’s tired lat- “Izuku Midoriya! .02 seconds!”
Shota falters. He refreshes the tablet. And again. And again. The increasingly weary teacher looks
up to see Midoriya standing at the finish line with his arms crossed. There’s not a mark on him?
Giving Bakugo the biggest shit-eating grin he’s ever seen from the kid, he says, “something wrong,
Kacchan?”

“You!-you…youuu…” Bakugo’s teeth will probably shatter if he grinds them any harder.

“Woooooah!! Can you teleport?!” One of the kids says from the murmuring observers. Denki
Kaminari, his roster provides.

Midoriya vanishes in a green light and appears in front of Kaminari, causing the boy to let out a
high pitched-shriek, much to the enjoyment of his peers. “Not exactly,” Midoriya replies, a grin
still plastered on his face.

“Can you keep your screeching down a bit,” says, Shota glances at his tablet, says Kyoka Jiro,
rubbing her ears.

“Hey, I never get scared,” Kaminari lies, turning to face Jiro.

“But…he just scared you,” Jiro says in a deadpan voice that gives Shota hope for his new class.

“Ok but he’s never scared me twice!” Midoriya placing his hands over his ears from behind
Kaminari is all the warning Jiro gets before a second Problem Child appears in front of the other
boy.

“What was that?!”

“Ahhhhh!” Kaminari’s head swivels between the two Midoriyas. “How-“

“Enough.” Shota’s voice cuts through before, whatever this is, gets too out of control. “We don’t
have all day, Midoriya, traumatize your classmates later. Kirishima, Sato, you’re up.”
“Yes, sensei!” Shota just barely contains his groan at the third Midoriya standing beside him,
saluting. “But you didn’t say how much later!” And he’s gone.

It was going to be a long day.

The rest of the fifty-meter dash passes by without incident and Shota thanks however many gods
he can think of. Next up is the grip strength test. Straightforward. Simple. Like the race was
supposed to be…

“Anything we should know about-“

Shota thrusts the device into Midoriya’s hands. “Just. Squeeze.” Surely, Problem Child couldn’t
find a way to mess this one up.

He was wrong.

After giving the students a minute to complete the test, they line up to present to him their scores as
every device had a screen displaying their results. First up was Midoriya. The hero takes the
gadget and looks at the score. 99999kg. The max score.

“Wow! Guess I’m stronger than I look!” Midoriya smiles and tilts his head.

‘Eri loves him. Eri loves him. Eri loves him.’

Hanta Sero is up next and hands over his own device. 99999kg. Shota’s eye twitches while he
shows his student the number.

Sero gawks. “What? That’s not my-“

“Wow! What a great score!” Shota has no holy water to interrupt Midoriya as he walks up next to
the other boy. “You’re stronger than you look too, right?” Midoriya gives his classmate a look that
clearly says, ‘go with it.’
Realization dawns on Sero. Please god no. “O-oh, yeah! You’re right, man! Went really plus ultra
in that training! I’m glad it’s paying off!”

What did he do in a past life to deserve this?

One by one, every student goes, all of their devices showing the same score. Meanwhile, Midoriya
stands next to him trying and failing to hold his laugh.

Iida questions his score but quickly changes his tune when Midoriya asks him if he’s really
criticizing the equipment of the top hero school. Eraser quickly squashes any internal compliments
to the boy’s manipulation.

This continues until Bakugo hands his over. 1kg. Shota raises his eyebrow and shows the boy.

“WHAT?! That’s not what it said a second ago!! The stupid thing’s broken! Let me try again!”
Shota obliges out of morbid curiosity. Bakugo squeezes the device and the screen lights up green.

.05kg

“WHAT THE FUCK?!!” Bakugo takes another.

.04kg

“GIVE ME MY REAL SCORE YOU SHITTY MACHINE!!”

Shota watches as, without Bakugo doing anything, the screen changes.

No.

Shota is just quick enough to get the thing away from Bakugo before he smashes it in his scream-
filled temper tantrum. He tells the class it’s time for the next test. Midoriya clutches his stomach
on the ground.
The third test is the standing long jump. The kids attempt to jump as far as they can over a sandbox
while a robot identical to the one at the fifty-meter dash records them.

“Anything you’d like to say about this one, sensei?” The little green nightmare next to him asks.

“There are many things I’d like to say right now, Problem Child.”

Bakugo and Aoyama clear the sandbox with relative ease before Midoriya steps forward. Shota
braces himself. It seems his antics have started to be noticed by his classmates, many of them
leaning forward to watch.

Midoriya places a hand on his chin for a few seconds before nodding and smiling. Green lines
envelop the teenager and a second later, standing in his place, is a goddamn kangaroo.

‘What is happening’

The creature makes clearing the sandbox look like nothing before it reverts back to Midoriya,
smiling brightly.

“You can turn into animals.” It wasn’t a question. At least he’s pretty sure.

The kid has the audacity to shrug. “Some. Takes a lot of practice.”

“Why a kangaroo…” He both wants to know and doesn’t want to at the same time.

“My uncle lived in Australia for a while and told me about them. I thought they were cool.” How
does that answer the question and not at the same time?

Koji Koda shows an emotion that isn’t dread for the first time that day, walking up to Midoriya and
signing excitedly with his hands. Because of the angle he’s at, he can’t read what they’re saying
but he does see Problem Child smile and sign back.
In another green flash, Midoriya is replaced by a small dog, looking up at his classmates, and
wagging his tail. Several ‘awwws’ are made by both guys and girls as they surround the dog,
petting it. Do they even remember his threat anymore at this point?

The fourth test is the repeating side steps. Each student stands on top of three painted lines and
does as many side steps as possible within a minute while a robot watches their progress, eliciting a
small beep for each of their steps.

The underground hero raises a finger to his green-haired tormentor when he opens his mouth,
opting to just point him over to the test.

On his signal, they begin, every kid going as fast as they can. All except one.

Midoriya goes slow for the first few seconds, taking very deliberate steps. It looks like he’s
studying when the machine beeps. The kid brightens, which is ironic since his brightening darkens
Shota’s mood.

With a wave of his hand, the three lines under Midoriya disappear and he starts tapping both of his
feet anywhere on the ground, each one getting a beep from the machine. Without the lines, the
thing doesn’t know what to count so it’s just counting all of the steps now.

Another wave of his hand and most of everyone else’s lines disappear too. Almost immediately, the
rest of the class picks up on it and abandons the side steps for just tapping their feet as fast as
possible.

The exceptions are Bakugo, whose lines were still visible, and Iida, who continues to do his side
steps despite his lines no longer being there.

Yet another green flash. What could he possibly-oh for fucks sake. Midoriya had transformed
himself into a rabbit and was thumping the ground at breakneck speeds.

The fifth test had the class returning to finish the ball throw, with Uraraka impressing everyone,
himself included (not that he’d show it), with her score of infinity.

It was Problem Child’s turn and Shota is proud of himself for not wrapping the kid’s mouth in his
capture scarf when he opens it. “So what were we supposed to do in this one again?”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he replies, “you can do whatever you want as long as you stay in
that circle.”

“So what you’re saying is…” Remember, Eri will give you the sad eyes if you hurt him. “Is that
we can do whatever, as long as it appears we’re in the circle, correct?”

No. Not this time you little bastard.

“You have to physically be inside the circle, Midoriya.” It shouldn’t be this satisfying to see a
teenager's eyes widen. “You. Yourself. Your physical body must remain inside the circle or you
forfeit this round.”

Midoriya scrunches up his face for a moment in thought before it returns to it’s normal smiling
state. “Ok! I promise not to leave the circle!”

Alarm bells begin to immediately go off in Shota’s head but he can’t figure out what the kid’s
gonna do so he answers with a grunt before backing up.

Problem Child eyes the ball before dropping it on the ground and lifting his arms. Crossing his
hands in front of him and placing his wrists together, Midoriya’s hands emit a light green glow. He
takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.

At first, nothing happens but an awkward silence. But then, the circle around Midoriya disappears
and a bright green light surrounds them all. A weight in Shota’s stomach is getting heavier and
heavier until…

The light disappears and it’s confirmed. Almost the entire field they’re on now has a giant version
of the original circle surrounding them.

Midoriya exhales and looks way too satisfied with himself for his liking. He picks up the ball and
begins walking toward the rest of the class.

“Midoriya!” Iida calls out, his hand chopping vigorously in front of him. That’s not something he
normally does, is it? “You must cease your journey to us! Sensei clearly stated that you must
remain in the circle!”

“And I am,” Midoriya replies smoothly. “Look around Iida, the circle is surrounding us all now.
And sensei said I could do whatever I want in it.”

The hand ceases mid-chop. Iida whirls around, mouth open, it’s as if Midoriya told him he was an
alien or something and his whole worldview was shattered. He might as well get used to it, it’s not
the first time he’s seen someone react to Midoriya this way.

Speaking of the hellspa-oh apologies. He means…no he means hellspawn, it approaches the class
and walks up to Uraraka and something truly amazing happens.

The little shit’s smile disapears and he makes a very conscious effort to not look directly at her. “H-
hey, um, c-could you…I mean! W-would you help me out? L-like you did before…” Midoriya
rubs the back of his head with one hand and holds the ball out to her with the other.

Whatever she’s doing to reign in this creature, it’s working, probably some form of blood magic.

Wait.

They’re teenagers.

Oh, goddammit.

“Sure!” Uraraka replies smiling. “You’ve been helping us all day!” She’s either too nice to say
something or doesn’t notice but judging from the snickering from Ashido, Midoriya’s behavior
change could be seen.

She places all five fingers on the ball, a pink glow radiating from each finger. Midoriya’s smile
returns. “Thanks!!” He turns around and tosses the ball up and just like before, it sails away never
to be seen again. “That is so cool!”

Because his back is to her, Midoriya doesn’t notice the blush on the girl he just complimented.
Nemuri is going to have a field day with these two.

And he won’t lie, he feels bad. For Uraraka. Midoriya deserves everything coming to him.

Shota displays the infinity score and Midoriya’s cheer is interrupted by a shout.

“DEKU!!” Bakugo begins to charge at the greenette, hands smoking. What the hell does he think
he’s- “you think you can cheat all day and get away with it?! Die you!-“

Shota activates his quirk in the same instant his capture weapon wraps around Bakugo. The boy
struggles. “My quirk?! What the hell did you do to me?!”

“Shut up. You’re giving me dry eye.” Bakugo complies, barely. Shota looks over at Midoriya,
expecting to see the kid laughing at Bakugo but no, it’s something else.

Midoriya’s eyes are as wide as dinner plates. His face is full of emotions that Shota can barely
begin to place. But what’s most striking is the kid’s hand. His right hand is turned back and in it,
two knives that were ready to throw.

“Midoriya, put those away,” Shota seethes. Apparently, he should’ve taken the kid’s threat to stab
Bakugo a little more seriously. But that’s a bit of an extreme reaction to what he assumed is just a
petty rivalry.

“He’s the pro hero Eraserhead, Kacchan,” Midoriya tells the boy still on the ground, his usual
enthusiasm gone from his voice. “He can erase anyone’s quirk by just looking at them.”

Shota unwraps the still Bakugo. Usually, the fear this strikes in his class when they learn it is
pretty satisfying, but something is different this time.

“Midoriya.” Shota walks up to the boy and lowers his voice so only he can hear. “What happened?
You know I am more than capable of stopping any unprovoked attacks, why would you think I
wouldn’t stop Bakugo?”
The kid won’t look at him as he begins to fidget. “D-don’t get me wrong, Eraserhead. Y-you’re
great. But it’s just…I mean…” He can barely hear what he says next. “You’re still a teacher…”

Okay, he doesn’t like those implications. Despite the two knowing each other and Shota being a
fully licensed hero, he didn’t expect him to stop Bakugo just because he’s their teacher?

Another thing Shota knows about Midoriya is the kid is a talk first, stab second kind of person. So
for him to react violently to Bakugo was telling in on itself.

Normally, he doesn’t look at his student’s files but he may make an exception in this case.

“Well. Despite any past experiences you may have had, that won’t be the case here.” Midoriya
looks up. He doesn’t believe him. Definitely making that exception. Shota shifts his head to tell
him to get back in line. After a deep breath, a smile, though not as bright as before, returns to
Midorya’s face.

And after that whole debacle, Midoriya’s turn finally ends. Unfortunately, what doesn’t end is the
size of the circle. The rest of the class, again, take notice immediately.

Don’t get him wrong. Using every advantage you have is essential for hero work. And while he
could put an end to this by erasing Midoriya’s quirk, he’s curious about how his new students will
react.

After the next five students have Uraraka also give them scores of infinity, he calls it and they
move on.

The next two tests pass by without too much incident. Midoriya and Ashido do well in the seated
toe touch, Midoriya’s explanation being he has to be acrobatic for his fighting style, and after the
few spars they’ve had when the kid actually got him to do it, he’d have to agree.

The sit-ups were a different issue when Shota made the mistake of counting the students himself.
Every time he went to watch one of the kid’s sit-ups, a stupid copy of Midoriya appeared in front of
him, chattering aimlessly and blocking his view. Again, Bakugo was left out.

Lastly, mercifully, was the long-distance run. All they had to do was run around the track until they
couldn’t anymore. Most of the kids were done by the first hour. Midoriya, Iida, Todoroki, Bakugo,
and Yaoyorozu on a scooter were the only ones left.

By the second hour, it was just Midoriya, Iida, and Yaoyorozu.

The third hour had the scooter running out of gas leaving Iida and Midoriya.

“How much longer do you two have?” Shota tried not to let his annoyance bleed into the question.

“I probably have another hour in me, sensei!” Iida responds.

“As a friend of my uncle’s used to say, I can do this all day!” Midoriya says, his smile back in full
force by now.

“Alright, whatever. I’ll mark you two down with your answers. Now get over here.”

Iida stops and takes a long drink from his bottle while Midoriya vanishes and reappears in front of
him. “Great!”

It’s almost over. Your sleeping bag is only minutes away.

Shota gathers the class together. “There’s not enough time to go over all of you individually so just
check over the results.” He clicks a button on his tablet and a hologram of the results appears in a
green flash.

When the students start giving him weird looks, Shota turns around and very nearly slams the
tablet into his face.

1. Izuku Midoriya

1. Momo Yaoyorozu
1. Shoto Todoroki

1. Tenya Iida

Shota narrows his eyes and reloads the results. Nothing. All the way down, every name has the
number one next to it, until he reaches the bottom.

1. Kyoka Jiro

1. Toru Hagakure

1. Katsuki Bakugo

2. Shota Aizawa

What

“Well look at that guys! I guess we’re all winners!” Now he’s stopping himself from slamming the
tablet into something else.

Midoriya steps forward. “For the record sensei, I don’t think you’re hopeless.” It’s becoming more
difficult. “But it is with a heavy heart…” Is he really taking a dramatic breath right now?! “Yes,
sensei. I will accept your resignation.”

All the kids freeze behind him. Even Bakugo. Iida is swaying, he may pass out. “Give me a
second,” Shota is barely able to grit out before opening an app on the tablet.
 UA Teacher Chat

Eraserpillar: What was the policy on pummeling kids again?

Rattator: Not on school grounds.

Kneecaps Beware: NO! Not anywhere!!

Rattator: Oh, you are correct. I often get that rule and our body disposal system confused. My
apologies, Chiyo.

Kneecaps Beware: Thank you.

Kneecaps Beware: Wait, our what?

DJ Cockacool: Aww Sho! You wouldn’t beat your son, would you?!

Eraserpillar: For the last time, he’s not my son, Hizashi.

DJ Cockacool: He is! Ok, first. Eri is your daughter

Eraserpillar: She is not. I have not adopted her nor am I sure she would want that.

DJ Cockacool: But you do!

Eraserpillar:

DJ Cockacool: So, she IS your daughter. And Midoriya is pretty much her brother, we all know
it.
Eraserpillar: stop

DJ Cockacool: So since he’s Eri’s brother and you’re Eri’s dad, then LOGICALLY, that would
make him your…

Eraserpillar: I quit

Rattator: Denied :)

Shota drops the tablet on the ground. “I can’t expel myself, Problem Child. And the rat won’t let
me quit.”

“Oh! But everyone else tied? Well, I guess that means no one gets expelled then!” Midoriya says
with the brightest smile he’s seen on the kid all day.

Shota sticks his hands into his pockets and speaks in a dangerous voice, making sure everyone can
hear, “and what’s stopping me from expelling you?”

Midoriya’s smile turns sharp, mirroring Shota’s pose. “I did nothing wrong. You never said I
couldn’t do any of the things I did.”

“Technically true. But you ruined the whole point of the exercise,” Shota counters. “The point was
to find the upper limits of everyone’s quirks.”

“No, the point was to make sure we’d all try our hardest and find ways to creatively use our
abilities. I’d say we all did that. I used mine to support them and they took advantage, as heroes
should. Seems pretty logical to me.” The verdant’s smile turns sharper with a few teeth showing.

“Heh.” Shota hides a tiny smile inside his capture weapon before walking forward to address
everyone. “He is correct. I put you all in a situation where not all your quirks were useful and
wanted to see how you would adapt.”
He gives them a few seconds to whisper amongst themselves. “Learn to think rationally and keep
working on adapting to any situation. It’s what heroes do. Oh, and I was lying about the expulsion.
It was a logical ruse to make you all try your hardest.”

The class explodes in protest. A few of the kids even falling in relief.

“I thought it was obvious. I’m sorry, should I have said something?” Yaoyorozu asks looking
around, earning her a few glares.

“But what about that entire class you expelled last year, sensei?” Midoriya asks in a way too
innocent voice.

It is dead quiet. Yaoyorozu is as pale as a sheet.

Shota can’t hold back his dead smile. “Plus ultra. Now go get changed. Your syllabi are in the
classroom. You’re done for the day.”

Kids fall over each other trying to get off the field as fast as humanly possible. Once they’re all
gone and it’s just him and Midoriya, he asks, “you’re not gonna tell them about the re-
enrollment?”

“It’s better this way.”

Maybe this year won't be so bad after all.

After picking up a few things off the field and dismissing all of his illusions, Izuku picks up his
stuff from the classroom and makes his way toward the front gate.

He doesn’t get far before Tenya Iida is next to him. “Midoriya! I must be honest!” Is he always this
loud? “At first, I did not approve of the antics you pulled during our tests!”
It seems like he wants to continue so Izuku says nothing. Iida goes on. “However! After
considering Aizawa-sensei’s words, it seems your out-of-the-box thinking is what allows you to
achieve things like figuring out the secret of the entrance exams!”

“Yeah, about that-“

“So I will strive to learn from you if you’d allow me!” He sinks into a deep bow.

Izuku flails his arms. “Y-yes yes, that’s fine! Just please stop bowing to me!”

Iida straightens and looks down at him with a small smile on his face. The glare from the sun hits
his glasses, hiding his eyes. “Be that as it may, I still intend to make sure you don’t go too far in
your outlandish ideas.”

It just keeps getting better and better. He loves a challenge. Before he can respond, a new voice
interrupts them.

“Hey, you two! Wait up!” ‘It’s her?!’ “Are you going to the station?!”

“Ah, infinity girl.”

She catches up to them. “Yup! I’m Ochako Uraraka.” She looks at Iida. “You’re…Tenya Iida.”
She turns to him. “And you’re…Deku Midoriya, right?”

“Deku?!”

“Yeah! It’s what that scary blonde guy called you?”

Izuku scratches the back of his neck sheepishly. “Actually, that’s just a name Kacchan calls me to
make fun of me. My real name is Izuku…”

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Uraraka apologizes before pumping her fist. “It just sounded like the word for
‘you can do it!’ You know? Plus I thought it sounded kind of cute-“
 “Deku it is!”

“Midoriya?! You can’t accept that quickly!” Keeping his thoughts about it being like a Copernican
Revolution to himself and trying to will the heat in his face to go away, the three start their walk to
the station together.

“You’ve gotta tell me more about your quirk, Deku!” Uraraka smiles at him again. He tries to keep
eye contact with her, he really does.

He fails.

“Oh y-yea, sorry about that.” He laughs nervously. “I know it’s kinda weird…”

“Weird?!” Uraraka yells in disbelief, getting way too close to his face. Will it ever cool off?! “You
can do so many things! Anyone who thought it was weird didn’t know what they were talking
about!”

“True.” Iida bends forward putting his chin in his hand. “Your quirk looks to have a variety of
applications that would be useful for hero work.”

Izuku looks between them incredulously. No, it doesn't look like they’re joking. “U-uh, thanks
guys.” Huh.

‘What the heck is going on?’

Chapter End Notes

*people his own age are nice to him*

*Izuku does not compute*

Haha hope you guys liked it. I think I made it clear enough what Izuku was doing in
each test? Like for one thing, he can’t teleport. He would just turn invisible and
conjure decoys next to people to freak them out. Also, it was a decoy doing the last
event so it literally could’ve been all day.
But the first day is done and we are at UA! Finally! That took…way longer then I
originally planned so I thank you all for sticking with me for it.

Anyways, as always, I appreciate your comments! They make my day! Until next
time!
 This Is Getting Out of Hand Part 1
Chapter Summary

The people at UA continue to befuddle Izuku

Chapter Notes

So I’ll just explain why this is two parts in the end notes…sorry and I hope you guys
still like it

See the end of the chapter for more notes

With a wave of his hand, Izuku creates an illusion of a perfect-looking apple next to the real apple
core on the table. “There, that should help you visualize what you’re aiming for.”

Eri still looks unsure. “T-thanks Mido but…”

Izuku bends down to her level to look the little girl in the eye. “We’re here to help Eri, but
remember, no one’s forcing you here. We’ll only do this if you want to.”

Early in the morning before his second day at UA, found Izuku in Aizawa’s apartment on campus.
He had gotten a text from the man last night saying Eri was willing to try and use her quirk again
but only if he was there. Izuku happily agreed.

“I-I know…” Eri says while wringing her hands. “But what if I m-mess up again…”

Izuku smiles and stands up. “Watch this.” He holds his hand out to Eri, palm forward, and
concentrates. She watches curiously as his hands glow faintly. For a few seconds, nothing happens.
Another few seconds and nothing. A whole minute and still, nothing.

The green-haired boy finally drops his hand and leans on the table for support while panting. Eri
makes to hug him but stops, looking unsure what to do with her hands. “Mido, are you okay?!”
He wipes a bit of sweat from his brow and gets his breathing under control before responding.
“Yeah, I-yeah Eri, I’m fine. Do you know what I just tried to do?” The little girl shakes her head. “I
tried to turn you invisible.”

“Oh.” She looks down at herself, examining her arms. Izuku, as always, tries not to let her scars get
to him. “But you didn’t.”

Forcing a smile back on his face, he says, “that’s right, I didn’t. Are you mad at me that I
couldn’t?”

Izuku barely stops himself from chuckling at the offended look she gives him. “No! Why would I
be?!”

“And do you think I could do it with enough practice?”

“Yes!!”

He got her. “So don’t you think we feel the same way about you?”

Eri opens her mouth to respond but stops. She studies him before turning to look at Aizawa, who’s
been watching them both silently with his sleeping bag rolled up in his arm. And finally, she turns
to look at Recovery Girl, who would’ve preferred this done in her office but Eri’s comfortability
came first.

So instead, the doctor gave her a soft smile. Eri, seemingly satisfied, looks back at him. Taking a
deep breath, she nods. “Ok, I’m ready.”

Izuku takes a step back and Eri reaches forward, putting her hand on top of the apple core and
looking intently at the illusion Izuku had created.

The horn on Eri’s head begins to spark before the energy pours out in full force. Slowly, the apple
core rewinds itself to an uneaten apple. Eri screws up her eyes in concentration trying to stop her
quirk but it’s no use. The apple rewinds itself further.
“No!” Eri cries, tears streaming down her face. Aizawa is quick to erase her quirk and she’s just as
quick to wrap her arms around Izuku, blubbering apologies while he gives her reassurances.

“I think that’s it for today,” Aizawa tells Recovery Girl who marks the results on her clipboard.

“I agree,” she replies curtly. “We’ll talk more later.” And with that, she takes her leave.

Izuku lets Eri cry all she wants for however long she needs. It doesn’t matter, she needs it and he
can fix any wet spots on his clothes with his powers later. After five minutes, she’s mostly quiet,
though still clinging to him.

“And you promise you’re not mad?” It’s barely a whisper.

“Never.” Izuku leaves no room for doubt in his voice. “I’ll be here for you no matter how long it
takes. I can’t abandon the Princess of Mischief now can I?”

As he hoped, she giggles. She always did when he called her that. “No, you can’t. It’s the law
now.”

Izuku can’t stop his snickering. “A law huh?”

Eri looks up at him, her tears were mostly gone and a small smile had found its way on her face.
“Yes. A law. Also, the princess is allowed all the candy apples she wants.”

Izuku separates and bows dramatically. “If she demands, then I shall-“

“No, you won’t,” Aizawa so rudely cuts in, albeit with half his face covered by his scarf. “Candy
apples are a sometimes treat.”

“Traitor to the empire!”

Aizawa ignores him, looking down at Eri. “Feeling better?”

The little unicorn shuffles her feet a bit. “I am…and you’re not mad either?”

“No. And if I was, I’d just take it out on Midoriya.”

“So everything you’ve put me through has been you being nice?!”

Eri finally laughs and smiles. “Okay.”

“Stop ignoring me!” Izuku looks down at himself, touching several body parts. “I didn’t make
myself invisible by accident again, did I?”

Aizawa nods. “Good. Now class starts soon and I believe you had a new drawing you wanted to
show Midoriya before he left?”

Eri looks confused for a moment before a realization dawns on her. “Oh, right!”She turns to him,
giving him some of the most pleading eyes he’s ever seen. “Please don’t leave yet, Mido! I really
want to show you something!”

Can he ever say no to her? “Okay.” Eri nods with excitement and runs out of the room to
presumably her bedroom.

Aizawa stretches, creating a few popping noises before settling down on one of the chairs beside
the table. “Since it appears we have a few minutes, why don’t you and I have a conversation.”

Izuku groans, plopping unceremoniously onto his own chair. “Look, if this is about yesterday…”

His teacher shakes his head. “It was amusing Problem Child, but don’t expect to have too many
days like that. I’ve already warned All Might about you for your class today.”

Izuku can’t stop his smirk. “Is that a challenge, Eraserhead?”

Aizawa gives him a smile back that would send many pro heroes running. “It’s a promise.”

The two continue their staring contest until Izuku can’t hold anymore and he has to blink. What
was he thinking, the man makes a career out of not blinking, of course he’d never win that.

The older hero snorts before reaching into his sleeping bag. One day, Izuku will figure out what
magical properties it contains. From it, Aizawa pulls out two files. “No Midoriya, I wanted to talk
to you about Bakugo.”

Izuku is quick to school his expression to a neutral one. Most would’ve never noticed his flinch but
unfortunately, Eraser isn’t most.

“What is there to tell?” Izuku says conversationally. He leans back trying to keep his posture
casual. “We’ve known each other since we were babies and w-we’re r-rivals.” Dangit, even his
body knows that’s a lie.

“Rivals,” Aizawa parrots. He couldn’t make it clearer he doesn’t believe him. “The sad part is, I
think I might have actually believed that, if I didn’t know you.”

Izuku stands abruptly, his chair screeching against the floor. “Thank you for inviting me over
Aizawa-sensei, but I should be getting to class.”

“You’ve got plenty of time,” the man replies, his tone too light for Izuku’s liking. Aizawa raises
his voice. “Besides, you wouldn’t leave until Eri got to show you her new picture, would you?”

“Wait Mido, please!” Eri’s voice carries from somewhere down the hallway. “I’m still looking but
I’ll find it soon! Please don’t leave!”

Izuku’s glare does nothing to Aizawa’s victory smirk. “No, I’m not going anywhere, Eri.”

“Yay!”

Throwing himself back into his seat and crossing his arms, Izuku says, “so, you pulled our files?”
Aizawa hums, opening one. “After the, let’s call it an altercation, between you two yesterday, I felt
I should. Do you want to know what I found?”

Izuku shrugs, trying to feign disinterest in the files.

The older hero clears his throat. “A joy to have in class. Always willing to help others. A model
student. Well behaved. Compliments, one after another. Now, I know I’ve only had Bakugo in my
class for one day, but that doesn’t really sound like him, does it?”

“Like you said,” Izuku responds, keeping his voice as even as possible. “It’s only been a day. He
could’ve been stressed or worried and that’s why he was off.”

“Hm,” is all Aizawa offers before opening the other file. “Maybe. But then I read this. Poor
student. Doesn’t pay attention in class. Constantly starting fights. Picks on other students. A
constant disruption to the class. Now, I won’t lie, I somewhat believe that last one.” Izuku can’t
contain his snort. “But I’ve known you for what, a year now, and I can safely say the others aren’t
true.”

Izuku tries to hide how uncomfortable he is with a single sigh. “Is there a point to this?”

Aizawa copies Izuku’s posture, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. “The first point is
obvious. The administration at your middle school are fucking morons.”

He hates the smile that’s tugging on his lips. “And the next point?”

“For some reason, you’re willing to lie alongside them about Bakugo so he can have his place here
at UA. You do realize that hero candidates don’t usually attack each other unprovoked, don’t you?”

Shrugging seems like the only thing he can do for this conversation. “It wasn’t exactly
unprovoked. I kept messing up his scores in a test where expulsion was threatened.”

“Yes,” Aizawa agrees, “but instead of speaking to me about it as any rational person would, his
first choice was to cause you physical harm. In front of an adult no less. Almost as if it was
normal.”
What does Eraser expect him to do here? Just start crying about everything Bakugo did to him?
Give him some stupid sob story and tell him things like, the reason he only wears long sleeves is so
no one sees the burn scars on his arms. No, he’s not that selfish.

Doing his best to retain eye contact, Izuku actually says, “It’s fine, sensei. Sure, Kacchan and I
have…disagreed in the past. But he’s still gonna be an amazing hero who can save countless lives.
They deserve that.”

“Maybe so.” Eraserhead bores his gaze into him. “But what about what you deserve?”

Pfff. He’s already gotten into UA and his classmates don’t seem to openly hate him so frankly, he
has enough. If he can just keep making people laugh, he’ll be content. Probably not the best thing
to actually say though. But before Izuku could think of a proper response, a phone alarm goes off.

Aizawa exhales and checks his phone. Izuku sees the time, only fifteen minutes until class. “This is
not the end of our conversation, Midoriya. Eri! You can come back now.”

The called little girl walks back into the room, notably empty-handed, but her presence does cause
the mood to lighten.

Izuku tilts his head in confusion. “Hey, did you not find your picture?”

Oh, he is not liking the smile she’s giving him. “There is no picture.”

“What? What do you me-“ Izuku stops. A horrifying understanding begins to take hold.

Despite her sweet tone of voice, Eri is anything but innocent when she says, “you told me I had to
practice my manipulation on other people besides ‘Zawa…”

“You know I didn’t mean me!” Izuku yells, indignant. What has he created?

His blood turns cold at what she says next. “Well, Mido…you never said I couldn’t practice on
you.”

Izuku slumps back into his chair. “So that’s what that feels like.” He was under the belief that
whenever Aizawa smiled at something that truly made him happy, a puppy died. And looking at
the man’s face now, he can’t help but mourn for the thousands that were lost today.

After making sure they were all in their correct seats this time, which involved most of the people
on Izuku’s side moving back a seat, their first official day of classes began. And to be honest, he
could see some people finding it dull, but Izuku was having a blast!

C’mon, pro teachers stuck in classes with them, prime picking for questions and autographs, who
wouldn’t love it?! Sure, he and Yaoyorozu were stuck answering most of the questions in English,
and Cementoss can kind of drone on but he wouldn’t trade it for the world!

He even got to meet the hero Lunch Rush during, well, lunch! Funny thing was that was the second
craziest thing to happen during their eating period. The first being Iida and Uraraka actually
wanting to sit with him!

He’s embarrassed to admit how long it took her to get his attention because he just sort of assumed
she was calling out to someone else? But she wasn’t! This place is weird but he doesn’t mind.

After leaving the twilight zone-he means the lunchroom, Izuku finds himself with the rest of his
classmates waiting impatiently for their Hero Basic Training instructor to arrive.

While his classmates debated on who it could be, Izuku decided to switch to a more productive use
of his time. Annoying Kacchan. See, while he was still feeling out the others to see how far he
could push them, he was pretty aware of Kacchan’s limits.

So flicking some of the blue marbles he kept in his pocket dimension into the back of his head
wasn’t out of the question. By his calculations, All Might should show up before he explodes.

But man, if watching his shoulders rise with every flick wasn’t entertaining.
Before the second coming of the Big Bang could occur, the door swung open. “I am…” Phew, All
Might was cutting it close. “Coming through the door like a normal person!”

“It’s him!”

“So he really is a teacher?!”

“Is that his silver age costume?”

“It’s so retro!”

“Welcome to Hero Basic Training!” All Might announces once he’s at the podium. Was Izuku
secretly using his magic to make All Might’s cape billow despite there being no wind? Yes. Was it
worth the concentration? Also yes.

“This is the subject where you’ll learn all the different ways to be a hero! Or in other words,
your most important subject! So let’s hit the ground running!” All Might dramatically reveals
a card to them with the word ‘battle’ printed on it. “Your first lesson, Battle Training!”

The malicious aura coming from Kacchan could be cut with one of his daggers. But he won’t lie,
it’d be fun to fight something for once that wasn’t a robot. Or a god he had no chance of beating.

“But first, you’ll need these!” At the hero’s gesture, numbered suitcases slid out of the wall
beside him on some sort of mechanized system.

Their hero costumes. Well, his class’ costumes. His was more of a special case and didn’t need to
be carried around. His dad was adamant he didn’t wear anything that wasn’t the ‘finest Asgardian
leather.’ He didn’t mind, it was actually pretty comfortable.

“Now, go get changed and meet me at Ground Beta!”

“Yes, sir!”
Letting his class clamor all over themselves for their suitcases, Izuku waited until everyone had left
before getting up himself. Before he could leave, All Might got his attention. “Young Midoriya, if
I could trouble you for a small favor?…”

“They say clothes make the hero, ladies, and gentlemen! So from today on, you are all
heroes!” Toshinori says to most of his class gathered in front of him. “You all look great!”

And they did! Was it presumptuous of him to have a good feeling about the kids in front of him?
Maybe. It might possibly also have something to do with him teaching for the first time. Imparting
his years of knowledge on the next generation. Why was Torino-sensei grumpy all the time?

“Sir!” Ah, that must be Iida under that armor raising his hand, he’d recognize Ingenium’s brand
anywhere. “How will we be conducting our combat training?!”

“An excellent question, Young Iida! If you would just give me a moment-“

“All Might!” Toshinori did not jump when Young Midoriya appeared in front of him out of
nowhere in a flash of green light. Thank you very much. The boy, still in his uniform, lowers his
voice. “I got what you asked for.” He holds out his script so the hero can discreetly take it.

He had been such a fool to forget it in the teacher's lounge. Thankfully, Young Midoriya could be
discreet when he wanted to be.

“Thank you, my boy,” Toshinori whispers as quietly as he can. “Now, I’ve spoken to Aizawa.
There’s not gonna be any funny business today, is there?”

Midoriya smiles and whispers back, “no, sir. I will complete the exercise and not do anything you
say I can’t do.”

Well, that was easier than he thought. He has no idea what Aizawa was worried about.

Toshinori returns to his booming voice. “Now, go and be with your classmates!”
“Ok!” Midoriya gives him a thumbs up before walking back to the rest of the kids.

“Young Midoriya, aren’t you forgetting something?”

The greenette turns back. “What are you…“ he looks down at his uniform. “Oh!” He chuckles
nervously. “Sorry about that!”

All Might flips through his script as fast as he could, letting Izuku face his classmates again and
start his walk over to them. He looks down, trying to hide the smile on his face while the familiar
yellow lines envelop his body. He could make the transition almost instantly if he wanted to, but
style was a big part of his dad’s curriculum, so he’ll slow it down and show off a bit.

The lines glow brighter and finally, Izuku is wearing his hero costume. On his upper body, Izuku
wears dark green, almost black padded Asgardian leather with diagonal lines running down the
front. On his shoulders, though unseen as they are covered by a cloak, he wears royal blue armor
pads.

His arms are covered by green long sleeves, with extra armor running down his upper arms down
to his elbows. Izuku’s forearms also have extra protection provided by light yellow armored
gauntlets with a strap that loops around each of his thumbs.

On his lower body, he wears dark green pants with plenty of hidden pockets to take the place of the
utility belt he originally wanted to use. Black armor runs down each of his legs from the knee
down. And over his feet, modded red high-top shoes that yes, also had hidden compartments for
knives.

And finally, to complete the look as mentioned before, a long dark green cloak covered his
shoulders and went down his back with a hood that was currently covering his head.

Even with his protests, did his dad make him a horned helmet? Yes. Was he going to wear it? No.
Even he had his limits.

“No wonder we haven’t seen you in the locker rooms!” A red-haired boy with sharp teeth runs up
to him. Why is he so bad with names? “You can use your quirk to change! That’s manly as hell
dude!” Not…exactly the word he’d use but in this context he thinks it’s a compliment so he thanks
him.

“I’m happy to see someone else likes green as much as I do, ribbit.” Oh, frog girl! He did hear her
croak!

“Yeah, I guess it’s always been my color…n-not that it can’t be both our colors!” Izuku scratches
his cheek bashfully.

She gives him a blank look. “You’re kind of socially awkward, aren’t you?” Well ok then. ‘I mean,
it’s true but still!’

“It gratifies me to find another who shares an affinity for the robes of our ancestors.” Oh! That’s
Tokoyami! The bird head is kinda hard to forget. As to what he said…

Izuku’s confusion must’ve shown on his face because what appeared to be a bird made of shadow
made its way out of the boy, giving Izuku a thumbs up. “He means he likes your cloak!” It says in
a distorted voice.

“That is what I said, Dark Shadow!”

Izuku laughs, a bit more relaxed, and returns the thumbs up. “Thanks! Your cloak is awesome too!
And thank you for the help Dark Shadow.”

As Izuku walked away, he heard the creature whisper in awe, “he acknowledged me as an
individual…” note to self, make sure to keep doing that.

Changing into his hero costume in front of everyone seemed like fun at first, but with everyone
staring at him, Izuku makes his way as quickly as possible, without making it obvious, to the back
of the group, thanking and returning compliments to a few more people as he did.

“So you’re a rogue.”

It’s not a question. Izuku looks and sees the boy with off-blue hair staring at him. He’ll remember
names eventually he swears! The boy wears a black trench coat over a navy blue shirt, dark pants,
and hey! The same red shoes as him, what are the odds? But like his own, he could tell they were
modified but wasn’t sure how.

On the boy’s hands are mechanical gloves that only cover a few fingers, if he had to guess, it was
those gloves that can retract if you flex.

He also wore a black utility belt around his waist that even though he couldn’t see most of it
because of the trench coat, he could make out a mini grappling hook, first-aid, and he’s pretty sure
explosives.

“Hud,” the boy says. Izuku sees his right eye light up a bit with different colors. Was he wearing
contacts that gave him a heads up display?! WHERE can he get those?! “You carry a lot of
knives,” he comments.

Izuku’s head dips to the side. “Don’t most rogues?”

His red eyes narrow. Now, Izuku was used to having red eyes on him. Whether it was Eri’s
innocent ones or Kacchan’s many anger-derived emotions in his. But this was different. His eyes
were none of that, but also very familiar at the same time.

He was analyzing him. Like Izuku had done to so many others. “So if you’re a rogue, then how do
you know polymorph?”

Why could he turn into animals? Izuku thinks, how to answer this? Judging by the way he talks
then…”I multiclassed,” Izuku answers. “I took a lot of levels in sorcerer.”

The boy keeps his eyes on him for a few more seconds before very visibly relaxing. “FINALLY.
Someone here who speaks plain Japanese.”

Before Izuku could figure out what that meant, All Might was ready to start. “Alright you zygotes,
listen up!” All Might’s voice distracted him from seeing the boy’s flinch.

The premise of their combat training was simple. Two versus two battles. Heroes versus villains.
The villains would protect a bomb and could win by capturing the heroes or waiting the time out.
The heroes won by capturing the villains or touching the bomb. All Might then took them into a
monitoring room to show them where they’d all be watching the matches.

Afterward, they each went up and took a ball with a letter on it to decide their teams by lottery.
‘Team D huh? So who-‘

“Oh, Deku! Looks like we’re teammates!”

Oh, thank god. At least his partner was someone he knew. “Hey, Uraraka! I guess we-“

Wow, the ceiling of this room was really interesting, don’t you think?

That’s right, just keep looking up and do not look at Uraraka’s costume. Was it always so warm in
here? He hopes so. You know what, he could probably do this exercise without looking at his
partner.

“Your costumes looks so cool, Deku!” She laughs a little. “I should’ve been more specific about
what I wanted. I was going for the astronaut look, you know like Thirteen? But they made it
skintight instead…”

Was she trying to kill him?! He was well aware it was skintight ! Was it possible to die from-wait,
did she say Thirteen?

“You like Thirteen, the rescue hero?” Izuku asks, getting more excited while using all of his
demigod willpower to keep his eyes on her face.

“Well, yeah!” She says getting excited with him, her eyes sparkling. He found he liked it when
they did that. “I’ve been a fan of theirs for years! Ever since I was little, and on tv they were
showing this disaster relief, this building started to collapse-“

“Oh, OH! You’re talking about the Rilyth disaster! When-“

“Yes! They had that evacuation site but the building next to it became unstable and started to
collapse! And-“
“And it would’ve landed on the site killing everyone! But then Thirteen showed up! And they-“

“They used their quirk and sucked the whole building up! Saving everyone!” Uraraka finally
finishes.

“I’ve watched that video so many times on HeroTube…” Izuku recalls fondly.

“I bet not as many times as me!” Uraraka challenges.

Izuku puts his hands up in defeat. “Well, you made your costume after them so I’ll admit defeat on
this one…” Unfortunately, bringing up her costume made his eyes drift downward aaaand oh look
at that, he’s back to looking at the ceiling.

“Hey, are you ok?” Uraraka asks. “You’re looking kinda red.”

“Yup!” Izuku says in a voice that is a few octaves too high. He tries again. “Yup. Just a bit hot in
here…so very, very hot.”

All Might, being the hero he is, comes to Izuku’s rescue. ”Let’s start with our first matchup of
the day! Team A will be the heroes! Versus Team D, the villains! So we have Young Bakugo
and Kirishima versus Young Midoriya and Uraraka!”

Well, positives first. He figured out the red-haired kid’s name is Kirishima. Negatives, Bakugo
looked so hungry he was worried he might actually try to eat him. It was a valid concern, he was
drooling.

“Teams, follow me!”

He and Uraraka were led to the third story of a five-story building where a paper mache bomb was
kept and given maps of the building. “You’ll have five minutes to prepare once I leave this
room. You both still have your capture tape, correct? Good. Now, any questions?”
“I got one,” Izuku answers, trying to keep the eagerness out of his voice. “You said when
explaining the exercise we could use any resources we wanted to. What are the limits?”

All Might’s smile widens. “Great question, young man. You may use your quirks to the fullest
extent you can, provided you’re not destroying the building. Get into the mindset of a villain.
A good one wouldn’t want to destroy his base.”

“So as long as we’re not destroying the building, we can do whatever we want?”

“Yes, as long as you are not causing excessive harm to your opponents. I will stop the exercise
if any of you go too far, are we clear?”

“Yes, sir.” He and Uraraka say at the same time. Anything he wants huh? Apparently, All Might
wasn’t paying close enough attention to Aizawa.

Their Hero teacher nods and leaves the room, starting their timer. “So your quirk makes stuff
weightless, right?” Izuku asks, looking anywhere that’s not his partner.

“Yes! If I put all five of my fingers on an object, I can remove its weight, my limit is currently
three tons.”

‘Holy crap! Wait, if she removed the weight off Mjöllnir, could she lift it? Stop! Getting off track.’

“Can you use it on yourself?” Asking quirk questions surprisingly makes him more comfortable
with looking at her.

Uraraka makes a queasy face. “I can, but it makes me nauseous fast. I do have some pressure point
hitters built into my costume to relieve that though.”

Izuku nods. “That’s smart.” He looks at the bomb in thought for a second.

“T-thanks, Deku.”
Squinting his eyes, Izuku snaps his fingers. “Ok, I think I have an idea with the bomb.” He
explains what it is to her.

“Alright! They’ll never see that coming!” She says enthusiastically.

After Izuku is done doing what he wanted to do with the bomb, he sees Uraraka moving more
furniture and whatever else she can find into the room.

“I can make this stuff weightless and throw them around when we fight to keep the other team on
their toes. Darn, If we had more time, I could move more furniture in here…”

“Oh, that won’t be a problem.” Izuku gestures to the room. “After the exercise starts, I can give
you a little more time to get more ammo.”

“You sure?” Uraraka questions.

Izuku smiles. “Positive.” ‘He’s having a full-on conversation! Oh no, it’s starting to end…do
something!’ “After we blow this city up and somehow not die too, you wanna go rob some banks?”

To his immense relief, she laughs. “You’re taking what All Might said about becoming a villain
pretty seriously, aren’t you? Ok, I’m in. But we have to give some of what we steal to the poor.”

Izuku laughs too. “So we’d become the Robin Hood types? Fine with me, and with your quirk, we
can steal so much!”

“Yeah!” She’s really getting into this. “And with your quirk, you can make it seem like they were
never robbed in the first place!”

“W-wow, yeah!” People were usually too confused about his powers to think about what he can
do. It’s a bit surprising she figured that out.

After letting them both calm down a bit, Izuku put his hand to his chin before continuing, “so once
the exercise starts, I can go down and delay them and after, I’ll lead Kacchan, s-sorry, I mean
Bakugo, I can lead him away and distract him the whole time. And I know you can take Kirishima.
One touch and he’s done. That should be enough to win…”

He was surprised to see Uraraka giving him a confused look. “What’s wrong?”

“Sorry, I’m just confused?” She definitely looked it. “Aren’t we supposed to be fighting them
together?”

“W-well I mean…” Izuku so articulately puts together. “Kacchan is gonna come after me as soon
as he can so…”

She walks up to him, crossing her arms. “So what part of that means you have to fight him alone?”

He…does not have a good answer to that. Rubbing the back of his head, Izuku says, “I guess I’m
just…used to it being that way?”

Uraraka beams brightly at him. “Well, you better get unused to it! Because whether it’s robbing a
bank or launching those guys into space, you got a partner in crime now! And partners don’t leave
each other out to dry!”

She holds her hand out, pinky tucked in. “And partners, especially friends like us, don’t let the
other do dummy things on their own. So what do you say?”

‘Friends?’

Their comms crackle to life. “Alright Heroes and Villains! Ready or not, we’re about to
begin!”

Izuku won’t lie, this is way out of his comfort zone right now. Most of the things he knows how to
do, he was taught how to do alone. Now that he thinks about it, he doesn’t think his dad ever really
taught him how to work with a team. That was always more of Uncle Thor’s thing.

“5!”
 He guesses in retrospect, that makes sense. One of his biggest lessons was how to hide and be
independent. Literally how not to work with people. Any lessons he got about other people were
how to trick them into doing what he wanted without them knowing.

“4!”

But heroes work with others all the time? And he wanted to be the best hero he could be. But that
would also mean trusting another person. Something his dad was vehemently against.

“3!”

That's right. The lessons were always how to get people to trust him, not the other way around. His
dad told him all those years ago he’d have to be alone, but looking at Uraraka now and realizing
someone actually wanted to be his friend…

“2!”

Well, he wanted that too! He takes her hand, thankfully he was so caught up in the moment that the
blushing storm that would hit him for doing such a thing wouldn’t come until later in the night.

Izuku returns her smile. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s do this, partner.”

“1!”

They shake hands.

“Go!”

Chapter End Notes

I SWEAR the battle trials were supposed to be this chapter. But it was gonna have all
of this chapter, plus the battle trial, plus the aftermath, and plus a couple of more
scenes. And I realized once I got to 5k words and the exercise hadn’t even started yet
that I had a slight problem…

So yea, I decided to split the chapter, which is why it’s a 2 parter, since it was all
supposed to be 1 chapter. And unlike chapter 3, I actually felt like this half could
support its own chapter, at least I hope it did.

Anyways, Izuku got his costume! As you can see, it was inspired by the very many
costumes Loki has worn through the MCU, plus elements of All Might’s costume and
Izuku’s canon costume.

Yes, I think the horns are ridiculous. I love Loki but I’ve always thought that. Izuku
may wear them once or twice but it won’t be a regular thing.

But despite the split, I hope you guys still liked the chapter. Let me know what you
thought, I’m always excited to see comments, until next time!
 This Is Getting Out of Hand Part 2
Chapter Summary

It’s time for a Battle Triaaaaaaaaal!

Chapter Notes

Shout out to my past self who thought they could fit all the stuff in the last chapter and
this one into one! Clearly, I know what I’m doing. Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Katsuki flexes his hand again, yeah, these gloves were good. He wouldn’t expect anything less
from UA. Here he was, the future number one hero being taught at the best hero school by the
current number one hero. This shit was like destiny or something. It’s almost perfect.

Almost.

There was just one wrinkle in his origin story. One, green-haired, annoying, stupidly persistent
wrinkle. One that he finally had the chance to straighten out.

How Deku got in, he’ll never know. But maybe that’s why they got to battle so early? It let the
strong send the weak home crying so only those who actually deserved to be here got to stay.

Yeah, there was no other explanation. It’d be what Deku deserves after that shit he pulled last year.
Just disappearing like that after he said…what he said and not even bothering to tell him where he
went?!

Who the fuck did he think he was?

Well, he’s gonna let that nerd know exactly who he was today. A side character. No. Not even.
He’s one of those background characters that doesn’t even move or blink.
Today was going to be a good day, he gets to finally end Deku’s dream of ever thinking he could
stand in the same ring as him! And as a bonus, he’ll show the other extras who’s top dog and
impress All Might at the same time. That’s right, he can fucking multitask.

“Oh man, I’m so pumped!”

Oh, right. He had to carry this extra to the win with him. Whatever. Might as well get used to it
since he’ll be doing the same thing when he goes pro.

What was Shitty-Hair’s name again? Eh, fuck it. That’ll be his name.

“So,” Shitty-Hair starts while smiling way too brightly. “You got a game plan?”

Katsuki takes one look at the building's blueprints All Might gave him before throwing them away.
“Yeah. I’m gonna go in, kick Deku’s ass, and win.”

“That’s what I’m talking about!” His red-haired teammate says, hardening his arm and pumping it
at the same time. “A full frontal assault, that’s the manliest way to fight!”

“Whatever.” Katsuki jabs his finger into the other boy’s chest. “Just stay outta my way. Do what
you want but no matter what, Deku. Is. Mine.”

“No prob! You and Midoriya got some rivalry thing going, right?” Shitty-Hair punches his
shoulder. Why did he let him do that? “I respect that. Gotta prove you’re the best.”

“I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO PROVE! I’M ALREADY THE BEST!”

“That’s the spirit!”

God, his enthusiasm is exhausting. But not the worse thing in the world, so he’ll let it slide…for
now.

Their comms crackle to life. “Alright Heroes and Villains! Ready or not, we’re about to
begin!”

Fucking finally. ‘I hope you had fun while you were here, Deku. ‘Cuz this is the closest you’ll ever
come to being a hero.’

Deku is a pebble. He should be lucky Katsuki decided to grace him with his boot.

“5!”

He was the best, born to be a hero! Deku could never measure up to him!

“4!”

“Are you alright? Can you stand? It would’ve been bad if you hit your head.”

“3!”

No! He was the hero goddammit!

“2!”

“ You know, there is a way you could be a hero.”

“1!”

Right?

“Go!”
Toshinori watches the cameras carefully with the rest of class 1A in the monitoring room. Young
Bakugo and Kirishima charge into the building while Young Midoriya and Uraraka move furniture
and supplies into the bomb room.

“Pay close attention, students. Take note of what your classmates are doing, figure out why,
and then see how you can improve.” That book is working like a charm.

“It would appear the hero team plans to fight head-on,” Shoji comments.

“Wait, what’s going on with Midoriya?” Ashido asks, pointing at the screen. Indeed, she was right.
While the boy continued to help move things, his body was beginning to blur.

“What’s he-“

Kaminari is interrupted when, in a flash of green light, a second Midoriya appears in the
monitoring room with them, eliciting a few screams from some students and looks of confusion
from others.

“Hi, there!” The new Midoriya greets, waving excitedly at everyone.

Toshinori joins those with confused looks. He knew the boy couldn’t teleport, granted he didn’t
know much about how young Midoriya’s quirk worked. But one look at the screen showed
Midoriya, the real one, was still hard at work helping Uraraka.

“Young Midoriya, you sent a clone to the monitor room?” He knew the boy could make copies
of himself at least. His perplexity to use them to scare unsuspecting victims was well known to
those who knew him.

The verdant wags his finger at his teacher. “Not exactly. This is an astral projection. Unlike my
clones, it lets me perceive the world around me. Now then…”

Gran Torino had taught him many lessons through their years together. If he was being honest, he
thinks learning to take a punch was the biggest one. But another one was you could never be too
old to learn something new.
And that lesson was never more apparent to him, than when young Midoriya proceeded to spin on
his heel, cup his chin with his hand, and start studying the cameras.

Oh.

Oh.

This was what Aizawa had meant…

“Midoriya!” If he wasn’t still trying to get over the fact that his student had a copy of himself that
could study the monitors, All Might would have been impressed by Iida’s reaction. “You cannot
use the cameras to aid you! It’s against the rules!”

“Is it, Iida?” Midoriya counters, not taking his eyes off the screens. “All Might told us we could
use whatever resources our powers let us have, as long as it didn’t cause excessive damage. He
never said the cameras were off-limits. Oh! There they are!”

“It shouldn’t have to be said!” Iida tries, his arm chopping at an incredible rate. “It is implied!”

Midoriya turns his head back to give his classmate a smug smile. Was it always this chilly in this
room? “Are you gonna let ‘implied’ rules stop you from saving people?” Iida’s mouth hangs open
and Midoriya faces the screen again, raising his arms while each of his fingertips glows a dark
green.

“Besides! I’m not just using these to find them!”

The tablet Toshinori had sitting on the podium next to him dings.

Rattator: Aizawa requests a meeting with you as soon as your class ends :)

Well, it would seem the world will have to learn how to function without the Symbol of Peace a lot
sooner than he had suspected.
Katsuki and Shitty-Hair ran down the hall, sparing glances into each room as they barrel past. His
teammate was probably looking for the bomb, but he wanted Deku, who was probably shitting
himself in one of the rooms

“I can save you some time guys, I’m right here.”

The explosion user whips his head around to see Deku waving at them down the hall. When the
fuck did he get there? Whatever, doesn’t matter.

“Hey, Midoriya!” Shitty-Hair waves back like a dumbass. “Man I’d love to fight you but Bakugo
kinda called dibs so…”

“DIE!”

Tearing himself across the hall in moments, the blonde boy swings his right arm and creates an
explosion right in Deku’s smirking face. The idiot didn’t even try to dodge.

“He’s like a dog chasing a car, isn’t he?”

“Hey!! What the-“ Katsuki turns to see the still smirking nerd standing next to Shitty-Hair who had
jumped back in surprise. He recovers quickly though, throwing a hardened jab at the greenette’s
face, who dodged easily.

“What did I say, Shitty-Hair?!” Katsuki uses his explosions to launch himself at Deku again, only
for him to disappear right before he could make him pay.

“Can’t blame a guy for trying,” The redhead says while Katsuki skids to a stop next to him. Deku
reappears in front of them again. “Welp, I’ll go find Uraraka and the bomb! Good luck on your
rivalry, hope you win!”

“Of course, I’ll win!”

Shitty-Hair flashes him a grin, showcasing his sharp teeth. “I love your confidence bro!”

“Stop being so fucking positive!”

His partner laughs and runs back and around the corner, letting him focus everything on Deku.
“Nowhere to run now you sh-“

“Well, I guess it’s just you and me now,” Deku shrugs, interrupting him. “You gonna stand there
all day, or do you wanna waste some more time by attacking me?”

Fuck. Him.

With a yell that was more animalistic than human, Katsuki launches himself at Deku again and
again. Over and over. Each time just barely missing. And the whole time, the nerd just keeps
laughing and running from him, fueling his rage more.

“I always knew you were full of shit!!” Katsuki yells, his sweat being pretty much liquidized rage
at this point. “You talked such a big game about fighting me in middle school, but now-“

“Kacchan, I’m over here!” Deku interrupts him again. Standing at the end of the hall. Why does he
keep doing that?! It’s like he can’t fucking hear him! “Wow, what happened to beating all the
villains?”

He can’t run forever. Even Deku’s weird fucking quirk, like all others, is physical. He’s gonna
reach his limit, and because he’s nowhere near his own level, it’ll be way before he does. And he’ll
be there when it happens.

Deku waves and rounds the corner. “Don’t stop, Kacchan! You got so close last time!”

Finally, something he was more than happy to oblige with. Katsuki lunges around the corner, an
explosion already ready to go, and a feral smile on his face because this time. This time it was
gonna work. He could just feel it.
Time seems to slow down as Katsuki finally rounds the corner, thrusting his hand and explosion
forward. His face falls at what he sees. It’s Shitty-Hair, already in the process of throwing a punch.
In between them, two Deku’s watch them eagerly. It was a trap.

That was his last thought before a hardened fist impacts his chest, hard. At the same time, his
explosion hits Shitty-Hair’s face, who by the looks of it, hadn’t been expecting him either and
didn’t have time to harden that part of his body.

There’s a resounding boom as both boys are sent tumbling back by each other’s attack. Katsuki
rolls on the ground for a second before getting his bearings and landing back on his feet, clutching
his chest. Damn, that hurt.

The two shitty nerds give each other high-fives. “I can’t believe that worked!”

“I know right?!”

To put it simply, Izuku was having the time of his life. He twists his hands again, willing his
decoys to dodge out of the way of the two boy’s counterattacks.

He found a slight hiccup when he realized he couldn’t hear what the boys were saying so he
couldn’t have his clones talk to them properly, but given Kaminari’s hysterical laughter and Iida
flying through a UA manual he apparently kept on him, even when in costume, it was worth it.

“You…you…made them!…attack each other oh my god!” Kaminari is able to wheeze out in

between laughs.

“Assuming what Midoriya is doing right now is allowed, then it’s possible he could keep them
occupied the entire match,” Yaoyorozu says while narrowing her eyes at the screen.

“Seems a bit underhanded to me…” Tail boy says concerned. “But if no one gets hurt and the
villains are stopped then…”

“Technically I’m the villain right now!” Midoriya yells with a smile that doesn’t seem to make him
feel better. Huh, weird. “But I’m not gonna do this the whole match. If I did, then Uraraka
wouldn’t get to do anything! But we’re about done anyway so time to lead them to the bomb
room!”

“Isn’t the point to keep them away from the bomb?” Asui, as he has learned, asks while placing a
finger on her chin.

“This is getting out of hand,” Shoji vocalizes through a separate mouth.

Sero shakes his head, trying to contain his own laughter. “Are you kidding? If Midoriya wants to
make every class like this then I’m in”

Kaminari’s blue eyes light up with excitement. “You got something else planned, don’t you?!”

The blonde’s laughter was contagious, causing Izuku to laugh along. Nearby, All Might curses his
‘Teaching for Dummies’ book for not telling him what to do in this situation.

“I know,” Izuku laughs. He loves playing the villain so much. “I know the point is to keep them
away from the bomb.” The Prince of Mischief smirks. “But where’s the fun in that?”

The door to the bomb room is blown off its hinges and Kacchan bursts through, but you’d be
forgiven for thinking it was a rabid dog from the growling and the way his head whips around the
room. The red eyes zone in on their target.

Izuku can barely hold his laugh. He had known Kacchan his whole life and as such, had more
analysis on him than anyone. For example, when it came to Izuku, he had tunnel vision. Kacchan is
smart, more than most give him credit for, but when it comes to the shitty Deku, all of that goes out
the window and he becomes…exploitable.

The room, his partner, the furniture they have everywhere, or the three bombs sitting against the
back wall don’t matter. It’s just him.

“You couldn’t hide forever, Deku! Now die!!!” Kacchan blasts over, right arm ready to finally hit
his target, only for ‘Izuku’ to grab the arm mid-swing. And that’s when Kacchan realizes his
mistake. He can tell by his widening eyes.

‘Izuku’ touches Kacchan with all five fingers and they all glow pink. One of the first things he’s
analyzed, Kacchan always leads with his right arm, and he has no problem sharing that info.

The illusion flickers and Izuku fades, revealing Uraraka, grinning triumphantly. “Expecting
someone else?” Kacchan can’t respond before Uraraka heaves him over her shoulder and into the
wall.

“What the f-“ Kacchan isn’t able to finish his curse before a couch collides with his face. Fun fact,
Uraraka’s quirk doesn’t take away mass. She found out today.

“DEKU!” Kacchan roars from halfway up the wall, his nose bleeding. “There you go again,
running from the fight!!”

Izuku, who had turned into Uraraka to help fool Kacchan, shrugs. “Well if you didn’t make it so
easy to fool you…” Izuku says sweetly in Uraraka’s voice.

“What uh, what’s going on here?” Both Urarakas turn to see Kirishima panting at the door. “That
explosion must’ve been worse than I thought…I’m seeing double!”

The original Uraraka laughs, releasing her quirk on an unsuspecting Kacchan who fell to the floor
with the gracefulness of a rock. “No, you’re ok! I’m the original and she’s a copy.” The gravity girl
lowers herself into a fighting stance. “Let’s do this, Deku!”

Izuku shifts back into himself. “Ready!”

Uraraka runs at Kirishima who lowers himself and charges as well. “Just so you know, it wouldn’t
be manly of me to go easy on you!”

His teammate's response is to remove the gravity of two desks and smash them on either side of
Kirishima, who hardens just in time. The red-haired boy shakes himself off. “Oh, this is gonna be
awesome!”
Izuku could watch these two fight all day but…

“Deku.”

He’s got his own.

Izuku spins as Kacchan wipes his face and lets a few explosions go off in his hands. “You actually
gonna fight me this time, or was all that shit-talking you did in middle school fake?” Kacchan’s
voice is oddly calm but laced with venom.

“I meant what I said, Kacchan.” He matches the other boy’s calm voice. “You’ll get your fight.
Did you mean everything you said in middle school?”

He…wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he said that. But hearing about things said in middle
school brought up feelings in him that he hoped were long buried and the retort just came out. To
confuse him even more, was the small flinch he got in response.

Kacchan shakes his head. “Whatever. I want a real fight this time, Deku! And none of your stupid
tricks or little knives, come at me!”

Izuku conjures two throwing knives in his hand. “Aww, but I like my knives. I mean, what can I
say, Kacchan? I just can’t seem to miss.”

He whisks the knives at the other boy, only for them to be easily blown out of the way. “Guess
there’s a first time for everything, Deku.”

He grins. “Made you look.”

Kacchan can’t do anything but scream when the real Izuku appears behind him, stabbing him
through his right shoulder with his dagger. Barely resisting the urge to twist his weapon, Izuku
roughly pulls the blade out of his opponent's shoulder and pushes the boy back.

“I promised myself I’d stab you after what you said to me,” Izuku says with a lot more confidence
than he feels, hiding his shaking hand behind his back.
His once friend places his left hand on his shoulder, wincing before taking it away and looking at
the blood. Izuku braces himself for the yelling and screaming and probable threats that were to
come, but none ever did.

Instead, his bully just inspects the wound. “You avoided the arteries,” Kacchan says in an almost
matter-of-fact kind of way but Izuku has known him long enough he can still hear the questioning
tone.

“I said I wanted to stab you, not make you bleed out.” Izuku crosses his arms but immediately
unfolds them. He’s not really sure what to do with them right now. “There were at least a dozen
places I could’ve stabbed you that would’ve ended this but…” he conjures his second dagger. “I
promised you a fight. And I keep my promises.”

Kacchan’s eyes move from him to his shoulder several times before finally settling back on him.
“That’s it…” Kacchan says it so quietly, Izuku’s unsure if he was meant to hear it. “Fine. You
want a fight!” He lowers himself, palms pointed behind him. “I’ll give you a fucking fight!”

Izuku does his best impression of what he thinks a feral grin would be, lowering himself and
flipping his daggers around to his preferred reverse grip hold.

For a second, nothing. Then Kacchan explodes toward him, faster than Izuku has ever seen him
move. In a blink of an eye, Kacchan’s left palm is in his face, ready to ignite. But Izuku has trained
with someone a lot faster.

He rolls under the boy, throwing a knife at his airborne opponent when he sits up, but Kacchan
uses an explosion to reorient himself, spinning in midair, kicking the knife as he does so.

Izuku has no time to get excited about the move because Kacchan is on him again. The magic-user
dives back, avoiding another explosion aimed at his face. Now, upside down, Izuku places his
hands on the ground to balance himself before bending his legs and kicking Kacchan in the chest
with both of his feet.

The blonde tumbles back but recovers quickly. “You’ll have to do better than that!!” He tears at
Izuku in another explosion but instead of dodging this time, the green-haired boy moves forward.

Kacchan isn't ready for the unexpected move and can’t dodge Izuku’s knee to his stomach. “How’s
that?!”

The explosion user wheezes but smirks. “Got you.” Izuku realizes too late that Kacchan’s left hand
is on his back and the explosion sends him flying. His costume’s protection works but it still hurts.

Izuku flips in the air and lands on his feet, standing back up, daggers raised. Kacchan was busy
staring at his hand before looking back at him. “Holy shit that was actually you.”

“I told you I’d give you a straight up fight.” Izuku raises the daggers a bit higher. “But you should
know I’m just waiting for Uraraka to tell me she’s done, then I’ll end this.”

The red-eyed boy sneers. “So what?! You’re saying you’re going easy on me?!”

Izuku may be enjoying this a bit too much, but it’s something he needs to hear. “Yeah, I am.”
Kacchan reels at the easy admission. “My grandfather always told me that I should never look for a
fight, but always be prepared for one. But I think this time, I’ll let myself look because Kacchan, I
want to be the one to finally show you you’re not the best!”

“You’ll never be better than me, Deku!” Kacchan launches again, only for his explosion-infused
fist to go through a decoy. Without a second thought, he whirls behind himself letting off a huge
explosion. Kacchan sees Izuku fly out of the smoke, burns littering his body, hitting the wall hard
and crumbling onto the ground.

“You really thought I’d fall for the same thing twice?” Kacchan leers, raising his palm.

Izuku barely gets his head up, chuckling. “Actually yes…it’s just not the trick you were
expecting.”

The real Izuku turns visible, grabbing the blonde’s wrist while the injured Izuku fades. Kacchan
tries to yank his hand back but before he can, Izuku gashes his palm with a deep cut from his
dagger.

“Fucking fuck!” Kacchan screams, backing up, cradling his injured left hand.
“Try making explosions now.” He tries his best, he really does, but he can’t keep the taunting tone
out of his voice. He is his father’s son after all.

“I still got my right hand you fuck! And that’s more than I need!” Kacchan lets more explosions
off in his uninjured hand to prove his point.

“Sorry, Kacchan. But it’s not. Uraraka! We’re ending this!” Izuku turns to his winded partner
who’s still facing down an equally tired Kirishima.

“Right, Deku!” She charges Kirishima and at first, the redhead is more than happy to meet her.
That is, until Izuku waves his hand and Kirishima is facing down ten Urarakas charging him.

“W-wait! Which one do I dodge?!” He backs up and tries valiantly to dodge through the number of
clones but it’s too much and the real Uraraka touches him with all five of her fingers, floating him.

“Aw crap.” Kirishima slouches in the air, not able to do anything and both Uraraka and Izuku turn
to face down the injured Kacchan, who bends over and laughs.

“You think you’ve won?!” He screeches, lifting his left arm and putting a finger through the pin on
his gauntlet. “Did you forget about these, you idiot?! I’ve built up enough sweat to blow you sky
high, Deku!”

“You know I can dodge it, Kacchan! There’s no point!” Izuku yells, knowing full well what was
about to happen.

“Yeah, I know I couldn’t hit you, nerd. But can you say the same about her?” Dread fills Izuku as
the gauntlet moves, now pointing at Uraraka. “Since you’re such a better hero than me, then save
her!”

“ Young Bakugo! Wait-“

“Take this!” Kacchan pulls the pin and squeezes the trigger. The blonde sees Izuku dive in front of
Uraraka as they are both engulfed by a blast that rocks the entire building, blowing a huge hole in
the opposite wall. “THAT’S RIGHT! I WIN SHITTY DEKU!”
“Piece of advice, Kacchan.” The explosion user looks like he’s swallowed a lemon when Izuku
reappears in front of him, holding a weightless couch. “Be more aware. Even though I couldn’t turn
Uraraka invisible, I knew you’d be so focused on me, you’d still never see her coming.”

Kacchan gasps as Uraraka grabs his arm, making him weightless. Izuku smiles genuinely. “Batter
up!” He swings the couch into the angry boy who flies into the nearest wall, creating cracks in it.
Uraraka releases her quirk and Kacchan lands on the ground in an unceremonious heap.

Izuku walks up and wraps the other boy’s wrists with the capture tape. “I win, Kacchan.”

The Pomeranian lifts his head up defiantly and glares. “You…you used help…it doesn’t…doesn’t
fucking count…”

“And it doesn’t matter anyway because we’re about to win!”

Uraraka and Izuku see Kirishima barreling toward the three bombs, his feet back on the ground
since Uraraka had released her quirk. “It’s gotta be the middle one!” Kirishima jumps, hands
outstretched to secure his team’s victory.

Thankfully, he was able to harden himself in time after going through the bomb and hitting the
ground.

“And that’s time in the round! Villain team, WINS!”

Izuku and Uraraka cheer, the former going stiff and red when the latter hugs him. Uraraka, after
realizing what she’s done, jumps back red as well. Huh, she must’ve exhausted herself more than
he realized. “G-good job, Deku.”

Izuku’s need to make sure others feel good about themselves temporarily takes over any other
embarrassing feelings he may be having. “S-same to you. You were right, w-we make a good
team.”

She giggles, still a little red. “Those banks don't stand a chance, huh?”
Izuku chuckles along, calming down a bit. “First the banks, then the world?”

She raises an eyebrow. “I think you’re letting your win as a villain get to you.”

He gives her a half-smile. “I didn’t hear a no?”

She smiles back. “I guess you didn’t.”

The two smile at each for another second before whatever was happening is interrupted by
Kirishima running over. “That was great, guys! You kicked our butts through and through! But I
gotta ask, which bomb is the real one?”

“About that…” Izuku twists his hand and all three bombs disapear. “None of them were!”

“WHAT?!” Kacchan is back on his feet, somehow, limping toward them. “The fuck do you mean,
none of them were real?!”

Izuku shrugs, unable to keep the smug smile off his face. “The real bomb was invisible and
upstairs the whole time. It was never here.”

Kirishima points to him and back at where the fake bombs were a couple of times. “So-so-so wait!
I thought you just made copies of the bomb!”

“Nope!” Izuku makes sure to look Kacchan in the eye. “The best way to trick someone, is to make
them think they solved the trick.”

“Wow! I couldn’t tell at all!” Kirishima exclaims. “How good are your illusions?”

“So good I can be talking to you and you’d never notice when I switched to a decoy,” Izuku says,
enjoying Kirishima’s confused face. Two more decoys appear around them.

“But now…”
“Which of us…”

“Is real!”

The three laugh while Kirishima stares intently trying to figure out this new puzzle before a new
voice cuts in. “None of you are.”

The three Izukus gape at Uraraka, whose head is tilted in thought. “It’s just like the bomb, isn’t it?
You’re making him think you copied yourself?”

The real Izuku emerges next to her, dispelling his three clones. How? His mind is racing. Besides
his dad, no one had ever guessed one of his tricks before? What happened?!

Was it because he did the same thing? He’s done that before and no one noticed? What was
different this time? How had he messed up? Ok, relax. Everything’s alright, you’re still in control.

“Everything alright, Deku?”

You know what? It’s probably okay. He’s sure this happened to dad when he was younger too. He
can ask him about it the next time he sees him. He’s alright. He’s safe.

“I’m fine.” Izuku gives her an easy smile. “C’mon, let’s get back!”

Back in the monitor room, Izuku, Uraraka, and Kirishima stood in front of their classmates.
Kacchan had been taken by bots to Recovery Girl’s office.

“To start things off…” All Might begins slowly. “I want to say you all performed adequately.
That being said…young Midoriya…”

“Yes, All Might? The very best hero instructor I’ve ever had?” Izuku asks sweetly, putting on his
best innocent smile.

“Wait, the best?”

“Sir!” Yaoyorozu, no. “I feel the need to inform you that you are also our only hero course
instructor so far!” His dad always told him that if he ever wanted someone’s life destroyed, all he’d
have to do is ask him. Something he never considered…until now.

“Ah, yes.” All Might clears his throat. “Thank you. As for you young Midoriya, we will be
having a discussion later on about what rules you are allowed to break.”

“I feel the need to clarify I didn’t break any of the rules you set, sir.” Izuku is trying to keep a
straight face but Kaminari’s laughter is not helping.

“We will continue this later, but for now. We move on with class! Now, who do we believe
was the MVP of the round?”

“It was Uraraka, Sensei,” Yaoyorozu states with the utmost certainty. “Bakugo never even
attempted to work with his partner or come up with a plan. Kirishima didn’t offer any ideas of his
own. And I can see why Midoriya would be in the running for most of you. His plan with the
cameras and the bomb was well executed, and he had control of his fight with Bakugo at all times,
however, he never took the exercise seriously. There were several points he could’ve ended the
match prematurely but did not because it was not ‘fun.’ Uraraka meanwhile, offered several ideas
to her team that were used, was instrumental in taking down their opponents, and never wavered
from the purpose of the exercise. That is why she is the MVP.”

The class stares at the heiress, dumbfounded. Even Izuku, who had a great deal of experience in
long-winded explanations, was caught off guard.

Seemingly unaware of the confoundment she brought upon her classmates, Yaoyorozu continued,
“I am, nevertheless, a bit confused about one thing. Midoriya, how exactly does your quirk work? I
have several theories but none of them seem to offer a complete explanation.”

“I am curious as well, Monsieur Midoriya,” Aoyama adds. “It’s almost as if, to say, you have
multiple quirks.” No one notices All Might flinch.
Seeing an opportunity to regain control of the situation, Izuku let his mischievous persona shine
through. “Sure, I’ll tell you!” He took a step forward and began to explain. “Well to start off, it’s
pretty much like two quirks in one.” He sees Todoroki, because he’d obviously remember the
name of the number two hero, in the back of the room actually move.

“It’s illusion-projection and duplication-casting. Illusion-projection involves depicting a detailed

image from outside oneself, which is perceptible in the external world, whereas duplication-casting
entails recreating an exact facsimile of one’s own body in its present circumstance, which acts as a
true holographic mirror of its molecular structure. Understand?” Izuku explains way too quickly on
purpose.

To his annoyance, Yaoyorozu nods. “That makes sense. Thank you for simplifying it, Midoriya.”
She will be the first to face his ire.

“You guys understood that?!” Kaminari whines.

Todoroki tilts his head toward him. “Made perfect sense to me.”

“Who cares about all that?!” Two floating gloves, Hagakure, he remembers, interjects. “What I
wanna know is, you can turn invisible?!”

Being complimented was the sure fire way to knock Izuku back because he can’t help but scratch
his cheek, a little embarrassed. “Um, well, yeah…”

“So you can choose to turn it on or off? That’s so unfair!” The invisible girl complains.

Darn his need to make sure others don’t feel bad about themselves. “W-well yes technically but it
takes a lot to do so I can’t do it very long! Plus there’s always a small green light when I do it so
it’s not the best for stealth like you and your ability to refract light has so many possibilities-“

“My what?” Izuku’s rambling is stopped by the girl’s confused tone.

Izuku returns her confusion. “Your ability to refract light? You should be able to, right? If you
couldn’t then you wouldn’t be able to see, light would just pass through you leaving you blind. But
since you can see, it means you’re blocking the light from passing through your eyes.”
Hagakure backs up, her gloves touching what he presumes is her head. “Oh my god…how did I
not…” did he say something wrong?

The pink girl who was skating on some sort of liquid yesterday, materializes in front of him.
“Oooh, ooh! Ms next! I can make acid, tell me something I don’t know about my quirk now!”

‘What is it with the girls in this school getting so close?’ “I-uh-well, you make acid?” She nods
eagerly. “Can you control the solubility?”

“Yes! And the viscosity! I knew that already! Try again!” Izuku doesn’t think he’s ever met
anyone in his life this enthusiastic. Well, except his Uncle Wade but he was excited about different
things.

“W-well I n-noticed during the apprehension tests your acid didn’t hurt you so you’re immune to
it?” Izuku asks hesitantly.

The pink girl’s smile has not lowered in the slightest. “To an extent! If I produce too much it starts
to hurt.”

It’s amazing what going into full quirk analysis mode does for a stutter. “I noticed you had no
problems skating on it, so have you ever tried increasing the viscosity to the point where you could
wear your acid like a protective suit? It could be both offensive and defensive! Any attacks against
you would be melted and you’ll be at a serious advantage if you have to fight hand to hand or just
get close to someone!”

Her smile disappears and she stares at him in awe. At least he hopes that’s what it is. “Oh. My.
God!” She somehow gets closer. “I’m coming to you for all my quirk questions from now on! You
can call me Mina!”

Analyzing a stranger's quirk, child’s play. Responding to someone being so nice? He’d rather just
find a hole to hide in.

Uraraka moves between them, lightly pushing the girl back. “Ok, Deku helped you with your
quirk, you can move back now!” ‘Is she upset? Why?’
Mina’s yellow eyes look between them before she gets an ‘oh’ face. “My bad! You don’t have to
worry about me, Uraraka!”

“No, it’s not like that!”

Dangit, just when he thought he was getting this social interaction thing down, he doesn’t know
what’s happening again.

The rest of the battle trials went on mostly without any problems. The only hiccup was Yaoyorozu
confirming they could use the monitor room if their quirks allowed and since he let Izuku do it, All
Might had no choice but to concede, but with the caveat, they’d be a lot more specific about what
they could do in the future, which calmed down Iida at least.

For the record, Yaoyorozu ended up making a drone with a camera and flying it to the monitor
room to watch the cameras, he begrudgingly admitted it was awesome.

After All Might had dismissed them for the day, Izuku finds himself at his desk packing up for the
day with Iida and Uraraka chatting idly next to him when a new voice surprises them.

“H-hey.” Oh, it’s the blue-haired boy, scratching his neck nervously and not looking at them
directly. “So…you guys are going to the station right?” Izuku nods. “I was just wondering if I
could join your party” he hurriedly glances at Uraraka and Iida. “I mean, your group…on the way
there.”

Iida and Uraraka’s smiles make the answer clear. “Okay!” Izuku answers. “You can join our party,
but we raid after school and usually during lunch if that’s cool?”

The boy smiles in relief, just like he did earlier. The message was clear. Izuku finishes putting his
supplies away. “Sorry but I’m really bad with names, what was yours again?”

“Tenko,” the now-named boy answers. “Tenko Shimura.”

Iida steps forward and holds out his hand. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Shimura! I am-“
“Tenko.”

Like engines can, Iida stalls. “I’m sorry?”

Tenko scratches his neck more. “Tenko. Just please call me Tenko, if that’s alright.”

The smile returns to Iida’s face. “If that is what you wish, Tenko. I am Tenya Iida.” The two shake
hands and Izuku realizes he’s wearing artist's gloves on both of his hands! Calm down, Izuku. Give
him at least a day before potentially scaring him away with your questions.

After getting properly introduced to everyone, Uraraka asks, “so Tenko, what do you like to do?”

He laughs a bit warily. “Do you guys like video games?”

“Did someone say video games?!” Even though Izuku knows he’s coming, he still lets Kaminari
wrap an arm around his shoulder. “Well hello like minded-people! Now, who said something about
video games?” He grins eagerly at all of them.

Tenko raises his hand sheepishly. “Me. Was just asking if anyone else here liked them.”

Kaminari jumps up and down, jostling Izuku in the process, raising his hand. “Me! I do! Pick me!”

Izuku can’t help but laugh at the boy’s energy. He raises his hand too. “Yeah, I like them too.”

Uraraka slamming her hands on the desk brought the three boys' attention to her, who was boring
into all of them with fire in her eyes. “I would destroy any of you in any fighting game! Just name
it.”

Her glare left no room for argument and they all backed down before they could even think of a
response.
Iida cleans his glasses on his shirt. “While we really should be focusing on our studies and hero
work, I will say that my brother was not a stranger to having me join him in a racing game.”

Izuku laughs. “Yeah, Ingenium liking racing games make sense.” He chokes before covering his
mouth. “Oh my god Iida, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to-“

“Not a problem, Midoriya.” Iida lifts his hand up to stop him and puts his glasses back on with the
other. “I didn’t want to advertise my relationship and receive special treatment but it was bound to
come out eventually.” Posing with his fists on his hips Iida declares, “yes! It is true, my older
brother is the hero, Ingenium!”

“Woah!”

“I knew you were a rich kid!”

“You’d be really good for ganking.”

“Anyone else here have any famous siblings?” Izuku half-jokes because he really wants to know.

“Sorry! I’m an only child,” Uraraka says.

Kaminari taps his chin. “I think my dad said I have a cousin around my age? Not sure, What about
you, man?” He asks Tenko.

The red-eyed boy seems to stare in the distance, his mind somewhere else for a few seconds before
swallowing.

“No.”

Kurogiri stares down at the newspaper reading the front-page story. Interesting. He opens the door
from the back room and enters the main bar area. Shigaraki lays on the couch, watching tv.
 “It would seem, All Might has found himself employment at UA,” the portal user says, holding the
paper so that it can be seen.

Shigaraki looks up.

Chapter End Notes

Since I feel like this question will come up, I’ll just answer it now. Shigaraki is a mha
character lol. Just wanna get that out of the way.

But yea, that’s the battle trial! Are things settles between our two Aldera boys? Not
even close! But did Bakugo think he deserved that stab? Possibly.

Oh All Might and Aizawa…Izuku is just a little green ball of mayhem that cannot be
contained. But you go ahead and try. Also, I think Izuku’s classmates are confusing
him as much as he’s confusing them soooo win-win?

And as you can see, Izuku’s group of friends, which isn’t done getting members btw, is
gonna look a bit different then usual. I was gonna write Dekusquad but then I realized,
as I write this note, that’s not gonna work anymore since Deku isn’t gonna be his hero
name.

Idk, I’ll come up with some mischief or Loki related pun to name it later, it’s been a
long week and I’m tired, I’ll get to it eventually I promise lol

But there you go, that’s the chapter! Hope you guys liked it. I get so excited when I
get an email that someone left a comment so don’t hesitate! Haha thanks again for all
the support! Until next time!
 The Time Is Now
Chapter Summary

A sort of transitional/set up chapter to what you guys know is coming

Chapter Notes

Haha you guys remember when I thought I could keep my chapters to 4k words?
Yea…

Oh and in case there’s any confusion, Tenko is de-aged, so he’s the same age as the
rest of 1A. But other than that, enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Slow down, Denki! The way you’re eating, you’d think your burger’s gonna walk off your plate at
any moment!”

Fourteen-year-old Denki Kaminari snickers at his mom, his mouth filled with way too much burger
meat. “Sorry, mom.” He takes his time chewing while his mom watches from her side of the dining
table with an amused smile.

After savoring all the juices he could, he finally swallows. “I can’t help it, gotta enjoy my cheat
meals while I can! My UA training is taking everything else away from me!” Denki can’t keep the
whine out of his voice.

His mom chuckles. “I get that, sweetie. Just don’t push yourself too far, okay?”

Denki takes a second to take a drink of his soda before replying. “I knoooooow, but I’ve got to get
my quirk under at least a little control before the entrance exams! It’s not like there’s any side
effects if I push too far anyway…”

The doorbell rings. “Still, a mother can’t help but worry.” The black-haired woman responds
pointedly while standing up. “Don’t make yourself sick.” And with that wise advice, she’s gone,
answering the door for whoever.
The teenager takes another purposeful too big bite of his burger, sticking his tongue out at the door
his mom just walked through, only to promptly begin to choke, making him have to take several
long sips of his drink to get everything down.

Once he’s done gasping for air, Denki continues to eat, at a much slower pace this time, while
scrolling his phone for news. Rumor was that All Might was caught up in some villain attack two
weeks ago but it was getting covered up hard.

There was footage, apparently from some shitty security camera high up on one of the buildings,
but whenever someone uploaded it, the video was almost immediately taken down.

Denki finishes his first burger and starts to work on a second. Deleted. Not available. Deleted.
404. Video can’t be found. Deleted. Dammit, what was so special about this one? Can’t a guy just
watch All Might kick some butt and enjoy his day?

After finishing his second burger is when he realizes his mom hadn’t come back from answering
the door. “Mom?” He calls out.

There’s a rustling in the living room before the door opens and his mom bursts through, looking
disheveled. “Oh, um, Denki. There’s…well you see…”

He lowers his phone, walking around the table. “Mom? What’s the matter?”

She’s looking everywhere that isn’t him, chewing on her lip. Finally, mom sighs in defeat. “I
don’t…I don’t really know how to tell you this…but your father is home.”

Denki’s phone clatters onto the ground. “W-what?” That’s when he registers the sound of heavy
footsteps coming from the living room. The door to the kitchen opens and-

“Wake up!!”

Denki shoots up, sitting up in bed, breathing heavily from the rude awakening. His mom, standing
above him, shakes her head in fond exasperation. “Do you plan on having me wake you up every
morning for the rest of your life?”

He can’t help but breathe out a laugh. “That depends, will it always come with your delicious
breakfast?”

She scowls at him but he knows she doesn’t mean it. “That’s beside the point. Now get up.”

She turns to leave but stops when Denki calls out to her in almost a whisper. “Is…is he…”

Her expression softens. “That dream again?” He nods. “Yes, honey. He’s still here. Eating
breakfast at the table.”

Denki relaxes. There’s always this part of him that’s afraid when he has that dream that that’s all it
was, a dream. And his dad had never really…but nope! It was real! Giving his mom a small smile,
he says, “thanks.”

She smiles back. “Anytime. Now, hurry up! You know how your father is, the food will be gone
before you know it.”

He can’t help but smile more. It’s such a small thing. Actually knowing something like that about
your dad. It might not seem like much but after going your entire life knowing almost nothing, it’s
more than enough, and that didn’t include all the other things he knew! Denki throws the blankets
off of him.

With one last grunt of exertion, Izuku slams the box of trash he’s carrying down on the ground. He
tries for a triumphant yell but it turns more into a groan of defeat as the half-Asgardian lets himself
slide back first into the sand.

Strength was pretty low on the list of the priorities for his training. Magic, manipulation,
combat/weapons, showmanship, academics, biology (had to know where best to stab people), etc.
and then strength. And boy did it show with how winded he got after moving all this trash around.

It’s days like these he wishes he got his dad’s enhanced strength and speed. Apparently, they think
he got his enhanced perception? That’s cool, he guesses.

But he was getting better! As evidenced by him finishing early today! And like more often than not,
he was alone. But that had its advantages.

Jumping straight back onto his feet, Izuku holds his hand out to conjure the weapon he wants to
practice with. His dad had given it to him years ago but he had to swear to be super careful with it
and keep it in his pocket dimension at all times. And only use it as a last, very last resort. He still
doesn’t totally understand why but dad usually knows best.

There’s a green glow around his hand and the weapon appears. His scepter.

It was smaller than his dad’s, sized for Izuku to use comfortably. It had a golden grip handle that
went all the way up the weapon, with two platinum blades at the end. An elongated blade on top
with a shortened one below it, and between them, the glowing red power source.

He didn’t know what it was about it, but just holding the scepter made him feel safe. It resonates
power and warmth that spreads through his body, and while he carries it, he feels like he can do
anything.

Taking up a stance, Izuku jabs the weapon before pivoting and bringing it down behind him. He
does this for a few minutes, practicing different techniques, but making sure to add some flair here
and there, like a few behind-the-back twirls.

Feeling the power in the scepter, Izuku stops and thrusts forward with a yell, firing a red energy
blast at a pile of trash and destroying a chunk of it. He laughs, that feeling of being able to do
anything overwhelming him, he fires off more blasts, destroying more garbage effortlessly.

Is this why dad was so happy all the time? He twirls the scepter a few more times before firing off
another blast, the power within feeling like it was beginning to seep into his bones. Is this what it
felt like to be a god?

He fired off more blasts, laughing hysterically as he did so, even adding flips and firing off more
energy while in the air. The scepter was no longer a weapon to him, it was like an extension of his
body.
Wanting more, Izuku places both hands on the scepter and slams it onto the ground. Red explodes
from it, the blast eviscerating anything near him.

He lifts the scepter to eye level. Why didn’t he use this more again? Think of all the people he could
save? The villains he could capture? He could remake the world the way he wanted it to be! With
it, he could bring peace, freedom, justice, and security to all! Finally, he’d be a hero that could
take away all their worries!

“Izuku!”

He grumbles under his breath, what now? His vision is a bit hazy but he sees…himself standing in
front of him? How in the-oh right, clones.

“What do you want, Two?”

He had never seen his clone look so desperate. “For you to snap out of it!”

He laughs. The greenette can’t help it, everything just seems so great right now. “Out of what? I’m
fine.”

“No! Izuku!” To his surprise, Two grabs him roughly and pulls him forward, slapping the scepter
out of his hand. “This isn’t you!” He shoves a piece of a mirror up to his face and Izuku screams at
his blood-red eyes…

“Ah!” Izuku falls out of bed, dragging his covers with him. His hair is damp from sweat. Pressing
his head to the cool hardwood floor, he pants, trying to calm down his beating heart. He’s ok. He’s
fine.

“If that were true, you wouldn’t be on the floor.” The glare he sends to Two who is kneeling beside
him has no heat behind it, but it makes Izuku feel better all the same. Three stands by the door
watching them.

“That dream again, huh?” Two asks, but they both know he knows. Just like they both know it’s
not a dream. But a memory. One that he couldn’t erase no matter how hard he tried to enchant
himself.

He had been twelve then, just fooling around. But after…but after what happened, he had learned
his lesson and hadn’t touched the scepter since. Now it just stayed in his pocket dimension, and
would probably collect dust if it was possible.

He didn’t know what happened. Still doesn’t. His dad was usually pretty open with him but with
his scepter, he got virtually nothing.

All he basically knew was that he had one, and dad had his own. He wouldn’t tell him anything
else, always just saying, ‘I’ll tell you when you’re older.’ If he wasn’t so scared of the scepter, he
might try to stab his dad with it.

And finally, the last thing he couldn’t figure out was how Two was able to touch him? It was so
surreal how his clone could physically grab him. It hadn’t happened again since, and that wasn’t
from lack of trying.

But their lack of success led him to the only conclusion it could, it was because of the scepter, but
he was not willing to test it.

Well, none of that matters anyway. It was going to stay tucked away until his dad finally told him
how to use it exactly. Once his breathing could be controlled, Izuku sits up.

“You back with us? Because I can only keep Five from taking your place for so long,” Two jokes,
helping Izuku’s mood. “I mean, if you want, you can stay here, and I’ll go to school in your place!”

“I can think of thirty-seven reasons off the top of my head why that wouldn’t work,” Izuku
deadpans back.

“No no, it’ll be great!” Two exclaims, holding his hands out. “I can socialize, and meet all your
friends! Especially Uraraka. I’d love to meet the girl you’ve been having such… interesting
thoughts about lately.”

“Gah!” Izuku’s blanket of death would not release him. “I’m getting up!”
Where were the heroes? Why weren’t they saving him? In front of him, he just sees people. Normal
people, going about their day, pretending not to notice him. One old lady actually did stop, but
once she saw the blood on his hands, she was gone.

But she had said the heroes would come, so where were they? He makes his way into an alley and
sits up against a wall. On TV, the heroes always came. They rescued those in need, so why not
him? He needed saving, why wasn’t anyone helping?!

He looks at his bloody hands again. Was it because of what he did? Were the heroes avoiding him
too and he just hadn’t noticed? Maybe…maybe he wasn’t worth saving? He closes his eyes, but the
memories return with no mercy, so he forces them open again.

That was it, wasn’t it? Some people just can’t be saved, shouldn’t be saved, and he was one of
them. No one was going to-

A rush of air catches his attention before he sees someone slam down from seemingly nowhere on
top of a dumpster near him. He’s an old man, tiny, with a yellow and white suit complete with a
cape and domino mask. Was…was that a…

“Toshinori,” the old man says gruffly into his ear. “Your informant was right, he’s here.”

He has no time to think before someone crash lands in front of him. This man needed no
introduction with how many times he had been on tv.

All Might places a surprisingly gentle hand on his shoulder for a man his size. When had he
started trembling? His signature smile is gone, replaced by a worried frown. “I am so sorry young
man, no one should have to go through what you did.”

The hero takes a shuddering breath. “But it’s ok now, why?” He can’t stop his tears. Did he really
deserve this? “Because we are here.”
It’s the Mario theme song that wakes Tenko Shimura. He groans, rubbing the crust out of his eyes.
He could’ve sworn he set the Halo theme last night for his alarm, Ah whatever. It works.

He gets up, blanket wrapped around his shoulders, and immediately sits at his desk, turning on his
desktop computer. While he waits for various games to load, the coffee machine that shares his
desk beeps, thank god for setting timers.

Setting a cup of the freshly brewed drink next to him, Tenko sets up his auto farming on a few of
his games like he normally does before reaching beside his chair and pulling out an energy drink
from a mini-fridge and pouring it into his coffee.

He takes a drink and sighs, feeling his body reinvigorate itself. There was no better way to live.
Feeling satisfied that everything was running smoothly, he began to pack his bag with everything
he’d need for school.

Laptop, mouse, extra chargers, portable WiFi hotspot, Nintendo Switch, headphones, external hard
drive, oh, and a notebook for class. All the essentials.

The picture frame on his nightstand catches his attention, even though he was trying his best not to
look at it. Suddenly, his dream comes rushing back and he clutches his head. The memory is still as
fresh as if it had happened yesterday.

His rescue. He shakes his head at the bitter tone and finishes packing his bag. He knows there’s a
part of him that even after all these years and therapy, that still thinks he should be rotting in jail.

And the picture doesn’t help, why he keeps that damn collectible he doesn't know, but there it was.
His old family. His grandparents, the useless NPC’s that let his father get away with whatever he
wanted. No, stop Tenko. Don’t think of them like that.

Ignoring his dad completely, he allows himself a small smile for his mother before finally looking
down at the two kids in the photo. He, and the girl next to him with pigtails and blue-green shirt.

His sister…

The computer beeps, letting him know that all his farming is done for now, so he logs into his
other games to collect his log-in rewards.
Flashes of the memory fly through his head once again. It was only later he found out his
grandmother, the hero, was the person who trained All Might. How the number one hero could
stand the sight of him after what he did he’ll never know.

He takes another sip of his energy coffee. It sucked that after all these years of avoiding him, UA
was forcing them together. He didn’t need a reminder of his K/D ratio staring him in the face in
almost every heroics class. Seriously, can someone tell him what RNG let this happen?

“Tenko! Where are you?! This breakfast isn’t gonna make itself!” Gran Torino calls from
downstairs.

“Make it yourself, you old geezer!” Tenko half shouts, half growls back.

“I would, but I’m just so old! I could whither away at any moment!”

Tenko can’t stop a huff of laughter. “The bruise on my back from our last spar disagrees!”

There’s the sound of chairs screeching. “Maybe if you’d get off your phone every once and a
while…”

The blue-haired boy picks up his stuff and his uniform to go finish getting ready in the bathroom
but before he does, Tenko yanks his door open and yells, “say that to my face! Oh wait, you can’t!
You’re not even a meter tall!”

“I’m 1.2 meters tall you shit! And another thing!…”

The first thing that hits their senses is the smell of sterile lab equipment, like a hospital. But the
bounds on their arms and legs tell them, that’s probably not where they are.

Opening their eyes, they almost close them immediately. All they see is a bright orange light. But
slowly, their eyes adjust and the orange glow begins to die down.
And from it, they see a figure standing over them. The gleam emanates from something they’re
holding. They can’t make out much else in the dark room, only piercing green eyes that seem to be
almost looking into their soul…

Shigaraki’s eyes snap open, gone is the mystery man from their memories. Now, they’re back in
their dusty, damp room above a bar. Not the best living accommodations, but better than where
they grew up.

Their blood boils at the thought of their family. The things their father was allowed to get away
with. A mother who didn’t try enough. And…

Their brother…

The Demon Lord’s protégé runs a hand angrily through their black hair, trying to calm down.
Lashing out now wouldn’t do any good, they had to wait. But it wouldn’t be long now.

“Shigaraki.” Kurogiri stands at the door, letting some light into the room. “If you wish for your
plans to proceed, the time is now.”

‘You’re gonna see whose side I’m on now, brother.’

“All Might is not here today. Now go away and stop harassing my students,” Shota tells the flock
of stupid vulture birds in front of him while he stands in front of UA.

“Give us All Might!” One of them squawks, holding up a microphone in his direction while the
jackal behind it points its camera at him.

“Are you even a hero?” Another dares to chirp at him. His hold tightens on his sleeping bag.
“You’re so scruffy! Don’t you care about your appearance?” A third clucks out.

“If we don’t get rid of them soon…” Hizashi whispers to him while snickering. “They’re gonna
leave shit all over the street.”

How did the man always know what to say to calm him down? “Yeah but if we give them any
crumbs, they’ll keep coming back,” Shota whispers back.

Before he can figure out how to bribe the rat to activate the turrets that he won’t confirm exists, All
Might himself lands harshly on the street before the reporters, wearing his hero costume and giving
his usual nauseating laugh.

Shota finds this peculiar as he just left the man back at the teacher’s lounge.

“HELLO!” All Might booms. “IF YOU WOULD LIKE A STATEMENT, I WILL BE AT THE
ENDEAVOR AGENCY TODAY! COME ON BY AND STICK AROUND OUTSIDE, WE WILL
HOLD A CONFERENCE SOON! AND REMEMBER, DO NOT LET THEM KICK YOU OUT,
NO MATTER WHAT!”

And with whatever that was, All Might jumps away, the pack of hyenas scurrying after him,
leaving the remaining students to scramble into the safety of the grounds and inside until finally,
there was only one left, walking up the steps. Midoriya.

The erasure hero stands in his way. “That was pretty lucky, All Might appearing from nowhere and
saving you all. You know anything about that?”

The kid gives him an innocent head tilt. “What could I know about that, sensei?”

Midoriya’s eyes should be brown with how full of shit he is. “I’m not sure, would you like to hear
what I know?” Shota asks.

The teen’s innocent smile gains a sharp edge. “Of course! Tell me what you think you know,
sensei!
Shota matches his smile. “I know that All Might landed pretty rough on that street and when he
does, the pavement breaks.” Midoriya’s smile drops. “Tell me, how does the street look?”

Green eyes take a quick glance out to the road. “It looks…normal…”

This is waking him up better than any coffee. “You’re good, Problem Child, but you’re not
perfect.” Midoriya slumps. “But considering the only ones to see it were some animals, I think I
can let it slide…this time…”

His student lights up. “I knew you appreciated my work!”

Midoriya runs up the stairs and Hizashi elbows him, giving him a look. Shota narrows his eyes at
him, trying to convey that no, he does not have a soft spot for that fluffy-haired gremlin.

“And don’t make me regret it!” Shota calls to him before he can get fully inside the school.

“Oh, I probably will!” Midoriya snarks back before disappearing inside.

Hizashi let’s out a full-blown laugh, slapping his knee. Traitor. “At least he’s honest!”

Tenya Iida sits up straight at his desk. His supplies sit immaculately placed on his desk. All but one
of class 1A have already arrived, and the day was looking up if he says so himself.

With the help of Kirishima, he was able to remove Bakugo’s feet from his desk, and through a fair
amount of coaxing, he was finally able to stop Tenko from playing his mobile gaming device.
Now, almost everyone sat in their seats and was ready to begin! And with five minutes to spare he
might add.

Still, not everything was in order. Tenya’s eyes travel toward the only empty desk in the room,
behind Bakugo.

To say he had never met someone like Midoriya, would be accurate. The boy would be selflessly
saving a future classmate in the entrance exams one minute, and making a mockery of the rules the
next!

Things had been so simple before. Go to UA, follow the rules and do everything he was told,
become a hero, and continue his family legacy. It was straightforward and easy to follow. But then
Midoriya comes along and he has already thrown not just a wrench, but an entire toolbox into his
plans!

In just two days times, his classmate had broken several rules and in his unfiltered opinion, made
UA out to be a joke. Tenya knows he should want Midoriya to face some sort of punishment for
his actions.

But this is where that toolbox comes in. Another part of him disagrees. Because even with the other
boy’s rule-breaking, in that time, he had shown him his heroic spirit. Whether it was saving
Uraraka, helping those who would accept during the apprehension test, or even the battle trials!

Midoriya admitted to their group on the walk home yesterday one of the reasons he refused to end
his match prematurely was so the others could have a starting point to improve upon and use to
become better heroes.

And Tenya just doesn’t know what to do with that?! Heroes are supposed to follow the rules and
yet, how is one of the more heroic people he has ever met so comfortable with breaking any rule he
can and hiding behind loopholes?!

“Are you gonna let ‘implied’ rules stop you from saving people?”

What Midoriya said to him yesterday had not left his mind. And, not knowing how to proceed, he
did what he always did. He asked his brother for advice, explaining to him everything Midoriya
had done.

And…after waiting several long minutes for Tensei to stop laughing, he told him that he’d help
him…after swearing he would bring Midoriya over to meet him one day soon. He’s not sure if he
should be worried or not.

But that was when Tensei told him that the world isn’t simple. It’s not, follow the rules and you’re
good, and don’t follow them you’re bad. His brother proved this by admitting he had no problem
with working with some vigilantes on cases.
This is a challenging concept for him to grasp, he won’t lie. It would probably be best to directly
confront Midoriya and hear his opinions on the matter.

The door to the classroom opens and, as if summoned by Tenya’s thoughts, Midoriya walks in, and
gives both him and Uraraka a very animated wave. Uraraka waves back with the same amount of
enthusiasm. Tenya gives him a friendly nod and a reminder to get to his seat before class begins.

Which he does, but not before Kaminari whines about not getting waved at so Midoriya placates
him with an, from what he could tell, awkward fist bump. After saying something to Tenko,
Midoriya finally finds his seat seconds before Aizawa enters the room with the bell.

“Good. You’re all improving.” Tenya brightens at his teacher’s compliment. “Due to several
factors, we’ll have to wait until next week to go over your battle trials so for now, we will
complete a task that will decide your futures.”

Tenya braces himself, UA has already proven ready and willing to throw anything at him, he has to
be ready.

“You all need to pick a class representative.”

He deflated just a little at their new assignment. At least it’s not another test. Tenya can’t help but
agree with the few students who shouted how normal it was, but it was still important nonetheless.

“I don’t care how you do it,” their teacher says, already slipping into his sleeping bag. “Just get it
done.” And with a slump onto the ground, he was done.

“Pick me or die!!”

“No way, I got this!”

“Me!”
The class has erupted into chaos with everyone throwing their candidacy into the ring. While
expected, what surprises him most is who wasn’t. Midoriya hadn’t moved, he just stared at his
desk absent-mindedly.

And even Kaminari wasn’t trying. He looked as if he was at first, but stopped himself. Strange.

When it became clear they weren’t getting anywhere, Tenya’s suggestion of a vote was accepted,
despite Asui’s hesitance given how long they’ve known each other. So they would vote for who
they thought could serve the class best.

Everyone wrote their votes on scrap paper and passed them up to be counted. Tenya was torn.
While he very much wished to be the class representative, given the mixed state he was in over the
actions and words of both his brother and Midoriya, he decided against voting for himself.

And in a surprising move that even he couldn’t believe, he voted for Midoriya. Yes, his actions
were confusing but he had proven to be both heroic, and have his classmate’s best interest at heart.
Plus, it was possible that if he received the role, he might straighten up his act a bit.

After the voting was complete, Tenya volunteers to tally the votes and write them on the board.
The results were both surprising and not.

Izuku Midoriya: 10

Momo Yaoyorozu: 5

Katsuki Bakugo: 2

Mashirao Ojiro: 1

Rikido Sato: 1

Tenya Iida: 1
Bakugo’s yelling about who voted for Midoriya was drowned out as Tenya stares at the board.
Someone had voted for him? One of his peers really thought he had what it took to lead…it turned
out Bakugo’s shouting was a great distraction for him to discreetly wipe a tear.

“Alright, fess up, extras! Who the fuck voted for Deku?!” He yells while pointing an accusatory
finger at the green-haired boy, who looked like he was about to succumb to cardiac arrest.

“I did!” The seemingly fearless Ashido yelled. “He helped me figure out new stuff about my quirk
in like, a minute! Imagine what he can do in a year!”

“Oh! Oh!” Hagakure raises her hand too, though Tenya can only see her sleeve. “That’s why I
voted for him too!” She and Ashido do an air high five from across the room.

“Yeah!”

“Anyone who acknowledges Dark Shadow as a separate being to me is fit to lead in my eyes,”
Tokoyami says from his seat.

“Is that what Dark Shadow prefers?” Asui asks.

Tokoyami’s quirk burst out of him, answering before he could. “YES! Please! You know, growing
up, none of Fumi’s friends would even let me have my own character when we played Dungeons
&-“

The quirk is pushed back down by Tokoyami. “Enough!” He turns back to Asui. “What she meant
was, yes, we would appreciate that. Thank you.”

“Ribbit.”

“Monsieur Midoriya’s ability to speak my native tongue won my vote easily. Il est merveilleux!”
Aoyama adds as well. Tenya’s attempt to lecture him on the cheese he’s eating falls on deaf ears.

Koda raises his hand shyly in the back of the room but lowers it quickly and says nothing.
“Y-you guys seriously think I’d make a good class rep?” Midoriya’s confusion bewilders Tenya.
How did the boy seem to have all the confidence in the world one second, only for it to evaporate
the next? With his charisma, surely this isn’t the first time this has happened? Something for him to
ponder.

“Enough.” Aizawa at some point had shed his sleeping bag and was standing, sucking on a juice
pouch. “Clearly they do Midoriya or they wouldn’t have voted for you. Now all of you stop
wasting time. Midoriya and Yaoyorozu are your class rep and vice-rep. Get up here.”

As the two newly elected officials stand, Uraraka calls out, “sensei is right, Deku! You got this!”

Tenya is relieved to see the boy relax greatly and moves to go back to his seat but a yellow flash
catches his eye and he turns back around. “M-Midoriya!”

He had used his quirk to change out of his uniform into an unbuttoned dark suit with a white dress
shirt covered by a green vest with a dark green tie and gold tie clip. He also wore a button that said,
‘Izuku for Representative.’

“C’mon,” Midoriya, who now stands next to Yaoyorozu in front of the class, says while pulling
down on his jacket and straightening it. “What did you expect?”

“I expect you to take your position seriously!” Tenya hand chops at him.

“I am!” Midoriya replies. “Look at me, I literally don’t think I could dress more for the job if I
tried!”

Sero chuckles behind them. “Actually, stuff like this is exactly why I voted for Midoriya in the
first place.”

Kaminari nods sagely. “Same, bro. Same.”

“Well, either way,” Yaoyorozu slowly begins. “I look forward to working with you Midoriya,” she
says to the shorter boy. “But be aware I will be holding you to a high standard.”
“High standard?” Midoriya questions, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Yaoyorozu responds without missing a beat. “While representing all of us, I expect you to
tone down your antics.”

Tenya can’t quite place the smile Midoriya has on his face. “And…what if I don’t? Are you gonna
stop them?”

She nods. “I will do what I must.”

Midoriya giggles as he raises a closed fist that’s glowing green. “You will try.”

He opens his fist and in a flash of green, the classroom becomes a dark swamp, each desk and chair
submerged a few centimeters in murky water. Before Tenya can wrap his head around what he’s
seeing, Bakugo’s yell takes his attention.

“What the shit!” An alligator had emerged from the water and was snapping its jaws at him,
causing the teen to stand on his desk. “You think I’m scared of you, you overgrown purse!”

“Bakugo, wait!!” To Tenya’s immense surprise, the explosive teen stops his upcoming attack at
Yaoyorozu’s command, albeit barely and with a glare, but she was busy narrowing her dark eyes at
Midoriya. “This is cute, but as you have said multiple times, these are merely illusions. As good as
it looks, the only thing real, is you.” She promptly ignores the snake hissing at her from the
podium she stands by.

Midoriya’s smile becomes dominating. “True. But one small problem…” Tenya’s eyes widen as
the Midoriya they are speaking to flickers, like static on an old tv. “Where am I?”

The snake jumps at Yaoyorozu and in a green light, Midoriya reappears. “Boo!” The black-haired
girl screams and jumps back while Midoriya doubles over laughing.

Aizawa, who has had his head in his hands for who knows how long, interjects. “Alright Problem
Child, you made your point, now end it.”
Midoriya waves him off but still snaps his fingers and everything’s gone in an instant, he’s even
back in his uniform to Tenya’s relief.

Aizawa looks up. “You think you can handle this?” He asks Yaoyorozu.

She looks down at Midoriya who is smirking confidently at her before returning her gaze to sensei.
“Well, I will admit, these were not things I had expected to deal with while attending this school.
But this is UA so…” she returns Midoriya’s smirk right back at him. “Plus Ultra.” The creation
user walks back to her desk with her head held high.

“This year is gonna be AWESOME!” Ashido cries before nearly bum rushing into Midoriya. “Can
you make our classroom look like anything?! Like, say, the inside of the ship from the movie
Alien?! Oh my god, can you transform into a Xenomorph?!”

“Sit down Ashido, you’re giving me a headache.” Aizawa drones. But while the girl pouts back at
her desk, he sends a wicked smile to Midoriya. “Looks like you couldn’t scare that one,” he says in
a low voice, eyeing Yaoyorozu.

“Oh please.” Midoriya sounds insulted. “You know that was really tame by my standards, I can do
so much worse. Heck, if it was my dad pranking her, he would’ve stabbed her after scaring her.”

“He would’ve what?”

Tenya is the last in the classroom after everyone heads to lunch. He just likes to make sure there is
absolutely nothing else his teacher needs done before he goes.

The rest of the period was mostly uneventful. That was, until his classmates started to ask Midoriya
to transform the room into different settings. A dojo for Ojiro, a bakery for Sato. He even made it
appear as if they were underwater for Asui, who insists they all call her Tsu.

The air around them shimmered as if water, coral around the desks moved in simulated currents,
and even illusions of fish swam by their heads. He fears for their education if this keeps up.
Tenya is taken out of his thoughts on the way to the lunchroom by Aoyama standing in front of the
door to the teacher’s lounge, all by himself.

“Is everything alright, Aoyama?”

The French boy seems startled for a moment before regaining his flamboyant composure. “Ah,
Monsieur Iida! I thank you for your concern but I am simply waiting for one of our teachers to ask
a few questions.”

“A wonderful use of your time,” Tenya compliments. “But it may be for not. I believe all our
teachers have lunch duty or class at this time.” Tenya takes another step closer. “Perhaps you’d like
to join me down to the lunchroom?”

Aoyama moves closer to the door. “Merci my friend, but I am more than happy to wai-“ there’s a
chime from his pocket and he pulls out an older generation smartphone and looks at it. “Vous savez
quoi, I think I will join you to the lunchroom. You will allow me to dine on my cheese, oui?”

Following his walk with Aoyama, the two separate at the lunchroom, allowing Tenya to grab his
lunch and sit with Midorya, Uraraka, Kaminari, and Tenko. “Apologies for being a little tardier
than I’d usually be, what did I miss?”

Kaminari laughs and points his thumb at Midoriya, who is staring at his Katsudon as if it has given
him a particularly hard math problem to solve. “Nah, you’re good man. Midoriya here is still a bit
freaked out about so many people voting for him. Which I don’t get! Hey, Tenko, you voted for
him too, right? Why?”

Tenko, who has one hand feeding himself and another on a laptop, doesn’t look up. “Because he’s
clearly smurfing but if I can get some free XP and loot from my clan leader then I will.” He
continues after a few moments of silence. “Also because he’s the only one who can understand
me…”

“…alright, well what about you Uraraka?” Kaminari recovers.

“W-well…” it’s like she’s trying to hide behind her food. How odd. “It’s just really inspiring how,
no matter what, y-you do everything you can to help everyone.” She is positively red and
scratching the back of her head as she says it, looking at none of them. Is she embarrassed? Her
assessment was correct.

“T-thank you.” Midoriya is eventually able to stutter out. He is doing a fantastic job at matching
Uraraka’s shade of red. “B-but like you said, I can’t do everything by myself, and I want to try, um,
you know, getting help? And Yaoyorozu seems like she’s dead set on stopping my pranks so…
wanna help me with that?”

Uraraka looks up, a smile growing on her face. “She won’t know what hit her.”

“Aw, you dog!” Kaminari grins. “I didn’t think I had much of a chance but now I know I got no
hope. Not with the amount of game you’ve got!”

Tenko looks up for a moment, but it’s the wrong type of game.

“W-w-wait, what?!”

“Kaminari!” Tenya lectures. “Midoriya is not currently a dog, he is a human and you will refer to
him as such! And Uraraka! We are not meant to practice our quirks until heroics class! Come back
down this instant!” He commands the girl currently floating to the ceiling.

“So, everything is set for the USJ tomorrow?” Shota asks his boss. Both he and All Might were
having a short meeting with Nezu in his office to finalize any details before the field trip.

“Yes!” He answers happily. “Thirteen is set to accompany the both of you and all the zones have
been reset and are ready for use!”

“Good. So long as somebody,” He glares at All Might who whimpers and looks away. Good.
“Remembers what I told them about keeping control of his class, we shouldn’t have any
problems.”

“You claim to have control over your class Aizawa,” Nezu says, his ever-present smile still visible.
“And by class, we know you mean Midoriya. You claim to have control of him but he was able to
get away with quite a lot this morning alone, was he not?”
 Aizawa meets the principal head-on. Probably a poor choice but that’s just his life. “I know the kid
well enough to know he won’t take things too far. If not, I can shut down anything he makes in an
instant. And letting Yaoyorozu see firsthand what he can do will help prepare her to deal with him
when I am not there.”

“Always the one to have multiple reasons for everything he does, aren’t you?” Nezu chuckles,
taking a sip of tea.

“It’s only logical,” Aizawa retorts as he stands. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a trip to the USJ I
have to prepare to sleep through.”

Chapter End Notes

Sooo let’s talk about some things. First off, yes, Denki likes burgers. It’s his favorite
food, I looked it up lol.

Second, to Izuku. I’ve tried showing you guys through this fic that even with how
smart and powerful Izuku is, he’s not unbeatable, nor untouchable. And he has his
blind spots on top of that.

Eri is one. Uraraka’s spot keeps getting bigger. But the most glaring one is his blind
spot for his dad, Loki. He trusts him pretty much explicitly so he doesn’t see some
possibly evil scepter, he just sees a weapon he hasn’t been property taught to use yet.

Oh and for him asking for help, he’s trying. But there’s a big difference between
asking for help with pranks and asking for it when lives are on the line.

Sorry I just felt like I needed to go a little more in depth with that one.

As for Tenko, he knows Nana trained All Might, he doesn’t know about One for All.

Anyways:

Momo: you can’t prank

Izuku: and I took that personally

There. I summed up their relationship for the time being lol.

But I don’t think I have anything else to say? So hope you guys liked this one. Please
let me know in your comments and I’ll see you next time for what is sure to be, just a
chapter of Aizawa finding the best spot in the USJ to sleep.

(I’d personally go for one of the buildings in the downpour zone, I love sleeping while
it’s pouring rain for some reason)
 Did You Want to Surrender Now Or?…
Chapter Summary

It’s time for a very uneventful field trip! :D

Chapter Notes

Just wanted to give you a all a huge thanks for the all the support! Hope you enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

UA Teacher Chat

Eraserpillar: Alright, I got all the heathens changing into their hero costumes now. We should be
on our way to the USJ soon. Everything ready to go, Thirteen?

Apollo: Yes! All of the attractions have been reset and are ready for use. I am waiting here now
for you all.

Eraserpillar: Good to hear, and All Might, you’re there too, right?

All Shite:

Eraserpillar: All Might?

All Shite: Well…you see…

Rattator: In a foolish move, All Might, with no regard for his students, used up all of his time this
morning performing tasks that could have been easily accomplished by other heroes. He will join
your class toward the end of the lesson.
All Shite: I…I’m not sure I would word it exactly like that but yes, that’s what happened…also can
I change my name now…

Eraserpillar: No

Rattator: That’s quite alright, you may explain to me how you would ‘word it’ over some tea
when we have a discussion about this later.

All Shite: Actually sir, after classes, I had several errands and other things to do today

Rattator: That won’t be a problem, rest assured Yagi, I can find you no matter where you go :)

Rattator: Now then, switching bases for a moment. Aizawa, I have finished coding the
encryptions and your students are free to download the chat app as soon as this afternoon.

Eraserpillar: Slight problem. I have observed one of my students, Uraraka, has a flip phone. She
wouldn’t be able to download the app.

Rattator: Not a problem, I’m sure there’s room in the budget for a phone

Eraserpillar: She doesn’t seem like the type to take a handout

Rattator:

Rattator: You humans will never cease to amaze me. Refusing help for pride? It makes no sense
to me.

Rattator: I’m sure if we tell her it’s a requirement for the course, she will accept. Majima, if
you’re not too busy repairing your lab…again…we require a phone

Mei Makes Me Drink: No

Mei Makes Me Drink: Not until you have sat in at least one…

Mei Makes Me Drink: ONE class with Mei Hatsume do you get to make snide remarks about my
lab

Rattator: I fail to see the problem. She seems like a very bright young woman

Mei Makes Me Drink: Yeah, she is. As bright as the goddamn explosions she sets off all day! My
ears haven’t stopped ringing for days!

Kneecaps Beware: If that’s true, then WHY have you not come by for a checkup?

Mei Makes Me Drink: Oh, sorry. I was just exaggerating a bit

Kneecaps Beware: I’ll see you at 11.

Mei Makes Me Drink: Yes, ma’am. But, back to Hatsume, did you know she found the mines we
were planning to use at the festival?

#ChangeAllMightsName: Why was one of your mines just sitting out to be found?…

Mei Makes Me Drink: Not the point, Ishiyama. The point is, she upgraded it! Now, if someone
walks by it without setting it off, the damn thing follows them until it explodes!

#ChangeAllMightsName: Oh…

Rattator: That is certainly…unexpected…

Mei Makes Me Drink: Thank you! Do you understand what I’m dealing with now?!
Rattator: I certainly do. How many do you think she could upgrade before the festival?

Eraserpillar: Nezu, no.

DJ Cockacool: Nezu, YEEEEEEEEEEA

Eraserpillar: Shut up. You just want more ridiculousness at the festival to make yourself look
better while you announce it.

DJ Cockacool: *Finger guns.*

Mandalorian: Dagnabbit, every time.

Rattator: Your class has a meeting with the support department next Monday Aizawa, this sounds
like the perfect opportunity to test our new mines.

Mei Makes Me Drink: Our?!

Eraserpillar: No thanks. You really want me to put the girl who makes heat-seeking land mines
next to the green-haired demon who could make them invisible?

Rattator: Aizawa, if that was your attempt to dissuade me then I’m sorry to tell you but it’s having
quite the opposite effect.

Karaoke Master: If we could continue this topic at a later date, I was hoping to revisit what we
spoke about during the entrance exams. I have taken a bit of an interest in Midoriya due to our
shared ability to clone ourselves, but I am still confused on how he created those knives during the
exam.

Rattator: Well, to begin, Mr. Midoriya’s quirk registration is indeed, in very much need of an
update.
Karaoke Master: So we don’t know?

Rattator: Well, the boy’s father has the same quirk registered and I had hoped to speak to him
about it but I have found finding him a bit more… difficult than I had anticipated.

All Shite: That’s surprising considering how intelligent you are

Rattator: Your attempts to compliment me to lessen the severity of our forthcoming conversation
will not work, but it is appreciated.

All Shite: help

Rattator: But yes, all I could find so far on Hisashi Midoriya was his name, quirk registry, and his
workplace listed to be a company called the TVA, which I have been unable to verify.

Karaoke Master: Aizawa, you’ve spent the most time with him, any ideas?

Eraserpillar: Every time I ask the kid about his quirk, he just says it’s magic.

Rattator: How interesting…

#ChangeAllMightsName: I’d just like to say, I haven’t seen any of what you’re referring to with
Midoriya, Aizawa. Are you sure you’re not exaggerating?

Eraserpillar: This morning, I walked into homeroom to find my class freaking out over Midoriya
floating aimlessly in the air

#ChangeAllMightsName: Ok?…

Eraserpillar: Apparently, Uraraka had floated him but was having trouble deactivating her quirk. I
witnessed her try several times to no avail

All Shite: Oh my goodness! Is he ok?!

Eraserpillar: He’s fine.

All Shite: So you got him down?

Eraserpillar: You know Midoriya can’t turn other people invisible, correct? But what he can do is
turn their clothes invisible.

Karaoke Master: I just walked past Nezu’s office, why is he laughing so much…

All Shite: I fail to see where you’re going with this Aizawa…that doesn’t sound very useful

Eraserpillar: It would be at concealing weapons but that’s beside the point. Just turning
someone’s regular clothes invisible wouldn’t be very useful…on most people

All Shite: ???

Eraserpillar: Hagakure

DJ Cockacool: Oh my god

Eraserpillar: He made her completely invisible and she carried him around the class while he
shrieked about dying in space

DJ Cockacool: Bahahahaha

Kneecaps Beware: She carried him?…

Eraserpillar: She’s stronger than she looks and he doesn’t weigh much

Eraserpillar: So I am told

#ChangeAllMightsName: Nezu just sent me the video…I see…

Rattator: It warms my heart to see students finding such creative ways to use their quirks!

Ochako Uraraka takes a deep breath. It’s ok, it’s alright. It’s not a big deal. They’re just gonna be
spending the afternoon doing rescue training of all things!

She, along with most of the rest of the class, stands outside by their bus wearing their hero
costumes. It was optional but Aizawa told them it was a good idea to see how they would perform
in different rescue conditions so they had all opted to wear them.

She can barely keep still, resorting to spinning her helmet in her hands to give her something to do.
But can you blame her? This is what she wanted to do! This was her first step to becoming a
successful rescue hero and taking care of her parents!

At least she hopes so. Obviously, they all knew UA was gonna be different but she had no way of
knowing how different!

One of them was almost expelled on the first day! All Might, the All Might , the only hero who got
even close to Thirteen in her mind, was one of their teachers!

And then they had to fight on their second day! Thankfully, she got Deku as a partner and they
kicked butt together!

She was pretty nervous at first, Deku was the person who saved her before they even knew each
other! Ochako was trying to figure out how she could impress him, but all those fears went away
when he started joking about them being villains together.
It turned out the gravity user had nothing to worry about. Deku ended up being pretty easy to talk
to after that, especially after she stopped him from being a dummy about wanting to fight alone,
they were literally partners, how did that make any sense?

But even with all the curve Mochi balls UA has thrown at her, she can’t help but feel proud of how
she’s done. The brown-haired girl had won her first ever exercise, made a bunch of new friends,
and was about to learn what being a rescue hero was all about! Ochako felt like she could take on
anything right now!

“Yaoyorozu!” Oh, that was Iida. That just meant Deku was the last person to not come out of the
locker rooms yet, which was weird? He didn’t need them before?

“Yes, Iida? How can I help you?” Their Vice Representative answers Iida politely who, like her,
carries his helmet by his side.

Ochako giggles when Iida begins to chop his hands. “Midoriya is running an errand for a teacher
so I believe it is up to you to prepare us for our upcoming trip!” He pauses, looking at his hands
unsurely, before switching his chopping hand. “If I may suggest lining us up by class number to
get on the bus!”

While Yaoyorozu agreed and began to line the class up, something nags at the back of Ochako’s
mind. She had never seen Iida switch hands before while chopping his hands?

Now that she thought about it, and the more she stares, the more wrong it looks. Iida usually stood
perfectly straight but now his posture was more relaxed. More carefree? Iida always had an air of
strictness to him, but now, it’s as if he’s someone you can laugh with and tell a joke to-

Her eyes widen.

‘That’s Deku!’

Just as the class finishes lining up, his eyes find hers. She doesn’t know what face she’s making
but she can plainly see a look of shock flash across his face before he schools it. He knows that she
knows.
It was almost the same look he made during the battle trials after she guessed his trick then too.
Ochako was good at reading people’s faces, at least she thinks so. A side effect of her parents
always trying to reassure her everything was alright with smiles when she knew it wasn’t.

Or from the times she’d look at the crowds around her during villain attacks, she’d see how scared
the people were, their worry about what would happen next. That’s why it made it so much better
when the hero showed up! Watching those faces go from scared to genuinely happy was one of the
greatest things she’s ever seen.

Especially when she saw it on her parent’s faces.

So, why did he look so scared just now?

To hopefully reassure him, and because she hates when he looks like that, Ochako gives him a
small smile and makes a motion as if she’s zipping her mouth shut.

He stares at her for two more seconds before relaxing and smiling back. No matter what disguise
he wears, she can tell who that smile belongs to.

Shaking her head out of whatever weird thought that was, Ochako lines up with the rest of the class
to play her part.

“Oh no, the bus is an open concept!” Izuku says with as much fake shock as he can muster to a
fuming Yaoyorozu next to him.

After taking the time to line up everyone correctly, she had led them onto the bus, only to discover
the bus’ layout didn’t match the way she had organized everyone. Izuku had used the time to
change back into himself in his hero costume.

“I mean, spending all that time,” Izuku continues, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Just for it to
all go to waste. Might make some people feel pretty foolish.”

A few of his classmates snicker while Yaoyorozu’s frown deepens. “Was this really a productive
use of your time?” She asks.

“You’re embarrassed so yes,” Izuku replies easily with a grin, finally looking up to meet his fellow
officer’s gaze. “Did you want to surrender now or?…”

Her eyes narrow. “You should know that the element of surprise will only carry you so far. And I
have overcome every challenge presented to me.”

Izuku tilts his head slightly. “But I bet none of them involved a mischievous scamp like me.”

Yaoyorozu actually takes a moment to think. “Indeed.” She looks up at the crowd of students
getting settled into their seats. “Where is-“

“Apologies for being late!” Iida announces, climbing into the bus. “Midoriya, I had hoped to point
out the grammatical error you say you found in the student handbook to the principal but I was
unable to locate it. Could you be more specific as to its location?”

Izuku barely contains his laugh. He has to look down and hold his breath to keep it in, and even
then it only barely works if his shaking body is any indicator. To his credit, Iida catches on
quickly.

“Another prank, Midoriya?!” Iida raises his arms, here we go. “As Class Representative, you have
a responsibility to-“

“Finally!” Iida makes a bewildered expression at Izuku’s interruption while the green-haired boy
raises his own hands to mirror Iida’s. “Can you hand chop slower? I just can’t seem to get it right.”

“W-what?” Iida squeaks.

While chopping his hands in slow motion, Izuku says, “it’s a lot harder than it looks. Is there a
specific technique for this? What about chop speed? Is it chops per second or chops per minute?
Oh! Or do the chops coincide with what you’re saying? I guess then, it would be chops per word or
chops per syllable? I need to know so I can initiate it when I shapeshift into you.”
His bespectacled classmate is only able to latch onto the last part. “Sh-shapeshift into me? As in
impersonation?! Midoriya! Identity theft is highly uncouth for a hero!”

Izuku is too busy following Iida’s hands with his eyes and trying to copy the movements with his
own to see what expression the other boy is making. “I don’t stay you, Iida. It’s more identity
borrowing.”

“The terminology is not what is upsetting!”

“Midoriya?”

The called-out boy looks up from his notebook. “Yes, Asui?” The frog girl sits to his left with Iida
to his right to ‘prevent any more shenanigans.’ Kaminari sits on Asui’s other side and across from
them was Ashido, Uraraka, Hagakure, and Sato.

“Call me Tsu, ribbit.” Two people want him to call them by their first names in the first week? Did
he jump universes right before school started and not know it? “I always speak what’s on my
mind.”

Well, he was well aware of that . “O-okay?…” oh good. Just the thought of her calling out his
social awkwardness again is getting him nervous.

“Your quirk still makes no sense to me.” How does he respond to that?! Is she joking? Does she
want another explanation? Her face is giving him nothing!

Welp, when in doubt, default to humor. He laughs a little, trying to ignore how it feels like Asui’s
expressionless stare is boring into his soul. “It’s not supposed to. It’s magic.”

“Uuuuuuugh, not this shit again!” Kacchan yells from his spot in the back of the bus next to
Kirishima. “It’s easy frog, anything the nerd does to himself is real, anything else isn’t.”

Huh, maybe Kacchan had been paying closer attention than he thought.
“Wait wait wait,” Kaminari interjects, waving his hands in front of him and leaning forward to look
at him. “So when you turn into someone, you physically become them?! The animals too?!”

“W-well…” Izuku scratches his head, not making eye contact with anyone. This is why it was
easier to never actually explain his powers. The few times he did the response was…

“Yeah, he does!” Kacchan stands up, slamming his hands on the railing in front of him as he does.
“And it’s fucking freaky is what it is! It’s like he’s wearing your skin or some shit!”

That about sums it up. A freak. He sinks lower into his seat, hoping it might swallow him whole.
Once people find out he actually becomes them, and it’s not just an illusion, it’s over.

A lesson that took him a bit longer to figure out than it should have. Considering the first time he
showed Kacchan on the playground, the boy he thought was his best friend showed his
appreciation with no less than a dozen explosions.

Or later when his teacher told him he was banned from using the power in any school sanctioned
quirk events. The other kids thought he was taking away what made them special. That one hit
hard. It took dad months to convince him to use the power again.

Would anyone notice if he just turned invisible right here? At least then, he might be able-

“It’s not freaky!” Uraraka’s voice cuts through his head like one of his knives, he almost winces.
“It’s really useful! And if I remember right, it helped us kick your sorry butt in the battle trial!” She
ends her defense by sticking her tongue out.

“You wanna run that by me again, Round Face?” Kacchan snarls, his hands smoking.

“Wooooah man, it’s alright.” Kirishima comes to the rescue, holding his friend back with a firm
hand on the shoulder.

“You gotta show us! Turn into me! Turn into me!” Kaminari is nearly bouncing off his seat in
excitement.
Izuku glances around at everyone staring at him, trying to gauge their reactions. He doesn’t see any
open disgust, besides Kacchan. Well, if they end up hating him, might as well find out now.

In a flash of green light, Izuku is gone, replaced by Kaminari, hero suit and all. “Uh…hi?”

Kaminari leaps up and gets right in his face, touching different parts of it. “You weren’t kidding…
and you got it all right! It’s like we could be brothers or something!” Izuku can’t help but laugh.
The blonde boy’s energy can be infectious sometimes.

Jiro shakes her head from her spot next to Yaoyorozu. “Alright, we get it, it’s legit. Can you stop
touching yourself in front of all of us now?”

Izuku snorts along with most of the others while Kaminari yelps and blushes, practically throwing
himself back into his seat.

Ashido leans forward. “Ok but he’s so basic looking-“

“Hurtful!”

“So what about me?” Ashido finishes.

Letting a small smile slip onto his face, in another quick flash of green, Mina Ashido replaces
Kaminari.

“So cool!” The real Ashido squeals. She reaches over to touch one of the horns but stops right
before, giving the class a deadpan look. “Yes, I’m going to touch myself in front of all of you.
You’re welcome to watch.”

Ashido unashamedly runs her hand over Izuku’s horns while some people laugh, some people
blush, or some do both.

“You even got the texture right. This is crazy…” Ashido compliments in somewhat awe. “Can you
use our quirks too?” She asks after letting go and sitting back.

The new Ashido shakes her head. “No,” Izuku says in a perfect recreation of Ashido’s voice. “But I
can make it look like I am.”

Izuku puts her arm forward, yellow lines traveling up the arm until acid drops from the hand, but
vanishing when it hits the ground.

Kacchan scoffs. “So still useless, what a surprise.”

After turning back into himself, Izuku grins. Kacchan is getting to him, so to humor again! “Oh, it
has its uses.” He snaps his fingers. Kirishima gasps.

Somehow combining anger and confusion, Kacchan growls out, “what? What the hell is everyone
looking at?!”

“Oh Kacchan,” Izuku jokes, barely repressing his laugh with everyone else. “You look ravishing.”

“The fuck do you-“ his voice abruptly cuts off when Kacchan looks down and realizes Izuku
turned him into Mt. Lady. “Da hell?!!!” Kacchan’s voice cracking does everyone in, laughter
erupting from most of them. Kaminari even falls out of his seat.

“I’m gonna make sure this hurts, Deku!!” Kacchan screeches before Kirishima tackles him back to
the seat.

“It’s just a joke, man! He didn’t mean anything!”

“I’m gonna tear his fucking head off!”

After letting out a few breathy croaks, Asui puts a finger to her mouth. “He still sounds like
Bakugo? Because that’s an illusion, right?”

“Y-yeah.” Izuku says between laughs. “It is. I-I can make you look like other people, but not sound
like them.”

She nods. “Thank you for clearing that up.”

Mostly regaining control of himself, Izuku responds, “no problem, Asu-“

“Ribbit.”

“U-uh, um, no problem, T-Tsu.”

“Ribbit.”

“Soooo.” Kaminari climbs back onto his seat. “How long can you keep him like that cuz I think he
looks better this way.”

“You and Deku can share a grave!!”

Kirishima tightens his grip. “Hey, if it helps man, I think you looked better before.”

“Awwwww!” Ashido and Hagakure cooed together. “Kiri! I had no idea you were such a sweet
talker!”

The red-haired boy blushes, his grip loosening momentarily. “W-wha, no no, that um, w-well-“
Kirishima’s stutter is interrupted by Kacchan breaking free, making the hardening user have to
tackle the other boy into the walkway.

Unknown to Izuku during the next round of laughter, Jiro sighs. “Does Bakugo only have two
settings? Loud and louder?”

Yaoyorozu hums, creating a pair of noise-canceling headphones and handing it to the other girl.
“Perhaps, these will help?”
The punk girl nods in relief. “Thanks, what do I owe ya?”

The creation user shakes her head. “Nothing monetary. But your quirk allows for enhanced
hearing, correct?”

“Yeah?”

“It feels…unethical” Yaoyorozu looks down and twists her hands on her legs. “But if you’d be able
to, I mean willing! Of course, you’d be able to! But willing to inform me if any future pranks on
the class are coming-“

“I’m in.”

Yaoyorozu’s head whips up in surprise. “Wait, r-really?”

“Yeah.” Jiro shrugs nonchalantly. “Midoriya’s getting help, only fair you do too. I don’t need
much of an excuse to help the rep I voted for.”

The heiress beams. “Thank you!”

“It’s Thirteeeeeeeeeen!!!”

Truthfully, Izuku wants to be excited about seeing the pro hero Thirteen too, but it’s a little hard
with the way Uraraka is shaking him.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe we are getting taught by the Thirteen! The hero with more rescues than
any other! Ohmygoodnessthiscantbe-“

“Hello!” Thirteen waves to the class from where they stand in front of a large domed building. “It’s
great to know I have fans out there! But maybe we shouldn’t shake our fellow heroes in training?”
“Yes! Of course, sorry!” Uraraka actually salutes the space hero. Unfortunately, in her excitement,
it seems she forgot to not touch Izuku with all five of her fingers, since he was currently floating up
above everyone else.

“Uhh,” Izuku intelligently says. “Help? Anyone?…no?…” He pouts. “Guess I’ll just die…”

“Don’t be dramatic,” an indignant Tenko says before firing his grappling hook and securing it on
Izuku’s foot, and reeling him down.

“S-sorry, Deku! Release.”

“You know me.” Izuku says to Tenko while working the grapple off his foot. “Put a ton of skill
points in performance.”

Tenko secures the device back onto his belt. “Should’ve put them in survival,” he jeers.

Izuku chuckles while Thirteen leads them inside.

Inside the USJ the class stands at the top of a huge staircase, below them, is a central plaza that
leads to the six different zones. Thirteen begins their lecture and Uraraka vibrates adorably in
anticipation next to him.

Wait, no. Just vibrates in anticipation. Where is your brain going, Izuku?

Their speech isn’t anything he hasn’t heard before. It’s mostly about them keeping control of their
quirks, or magic in his case, because of how easily they could kill.

He’s had very similar conversations with his dad several times but he was always a bit more…
encouraging on the killing part. But that’s neither here nor there.

“Well, that’s all from me!” Thirteen cheers. “Are you ready, Aizawa?”

Their teacher takes a few seconds to answer. “Hm? Oh, yeah.” He tears his longing eyes away
from the Conflagration Zone. “Okay. Let’s start with-“

He’s interrupted by the sound of electricity crackling around them before the lights go out, only for
them to come back on a second later.

Izuku exhales through his nose. ‘What, did UA forget to pay the electric bill or-‘

He makes a strangled noise, clutching his head. It hurts. It’s his perception! It usually gives him a
little tap that someone’s coming but right now, it feels like a lot of someones are coming.

His classmates call out to him but he ignores them, instead choosing to wrench his eyes open and
find his teacher. “E-Eraser, something’s wrong!”

“What’s that?”

Izuku doesn’t know who asks but it doesn’t matter because he sees it. Down at the central plaza, a
black mist was spewing people out of it. No, not just people…

‘Villains!’

Aizawa yells at them to not move but Izuku can’t take his eyes off a giant man who walks through
the mist. His skin was like tar, covering his huge muscular body that was littered with scars. An
exposed brain sat on top of his head with his beak-like mouth and sharp teeth.

Monster would be a better description.

Izuku loses all the air out of his lungs when another villain walks around to stand next to the
monster.

‘That’s…that’s impossible!’

He had only ever seen them in the history books his father and uncle had showed him. Heard of
them from their tales of battle. Even grandfather spoke cautiously about them. But that’s all they
should’ve been! History!

But he can see it clear as day. The black and gold plated armor. The expressionless mask over its
face with two black ominous eye holes. The plasma energy rifle in its hands.

‘It’s a Dark Elf! H-how is that possible?! They went extinct centuries ago! How is one here?!’

The villains all stand in front of the mist staring up at them. There are too many mutations for
Izuku to keep track of. A few part to the side to let one last figure emerge from the shadows. The
mist takes the vague shape of a man with yellow eyes behind them.

By the way the other villains let them pass, Izuku assumes this is the leader.

It’s a girl. She couldn’t have been more than a couple of years older than him. She wears a blue-
green textured bodysuit that covers her arms and legs with yellow boots over her feet, and a red
belt hangs loosely on her hips.

Black hair went down her back with two shoulder-length strands that frame her face and short
bangs that cover part of her forehead and part of the thick black domino mask over her eyes.

And finally, a white cape flaps in the wind behind her.

“All Might’s not here,” she observes almost casually to the mist man who walks up beside her.

His yellow eyes study them as well. “So it would seem.” Their voices carry extremely well. “I
apologize, Hirona Shigaraki, but it appears the schedule we obtained was wrong.”

The now-named Shigaraki searches through their class before zoning in on something. “I’m sure
All Might not being here will somehow be my fault, so let’s kill some brats before we go.”

There’s a light buzzing in the back of Izuku’s head. He hears the distant voices of those around
him but he can’t make out what they’re saying. All he knows right now is ten minutes ago, he was
laughing with his classmates on the bus and now their lives were in danger.
And he was going to protect them.

“Midoriya!” Eraserhead’s shout stops him after only a single step. The man readies his capture
weapon and puts his goggles on next to him. “Go with Thirteen and lead the others out of here
class rep.”

Izuku hesitates. “There are dozens of villains out there! And your style is better for sneak attacks,
Eraser! You-“

“Kid.” The pro hero says it with a finality Izuku has rarely heard from him. “My job is to protect all
of you, no matter what. And besides.” Eraser bends his knees. “You of all people show know. You
can’t be a hero with just one trick.” Aizawa leaps down the staircase before Izuku can respond.

Why do you have to be so cool, Eraserhead?

But just because he can’t be with him doesn’t mean he can’t help! With all of his fingertips
glowing, Izuku waves both of his hands, and Aizawa is joined by a dozen duplicates of himself
before he hits the ground.

“Which one is he?!”

“Where do I shoot?!”

“How is he doing this?!”

“Ahhhhh!”

Satisfied with the screaming and confusion of the villains, Izuku turns back and runs with his
classmates back to the doors.
Kurogiri and Shigaraki calmly watch as Eraserhead dismantles grunt after grunt, his clones causing
the others to panic and fire their quirks off recklessly, hitting each other most of the time.

“Duplicates,” Kurogiri muses. “This could present a problem.”

“They won’t be for long.” Shigaraki holds her hand up, her quirk starting to build up on the inside.
“You’re ready to move after I hit him?”

“Yes,” he answers dutifully.

Shigaraki’s gaze hardens on her companion. “And you know who to send down here, right?”

“It will be done.”

“Good.” And with that, Shigaraki fires off her quirk.

Halfway to the doors, a pained scream stops Izuku in his tracks. “Sensei!” He cries. Aizawa is
scrunched up in the air holding a bloody left arm, there are no clones in sight. That’s all Izuku can
observe before a circle of black mist engulfs him.

“Greetings.” Izuku spins around, the black mist man is in front of them all now. “We, the League
of Villains, have invited ourselves to this mockery of a school to rid the world of the Symbol of
Peace. But alas, he is not here. Was there a change to the schedule?”

Izuku squints. ‘I can’t tell anything about this man. Thinking about it, those circles of mists have to
be portals, that’s how he got everyone in here. But nothing about his mist looks physical! There’s
nowhere to stab! It’s just like the sludge villain all over again! Except I can’t even go for this guy’s
eyes! And even if there was somewhere to stab, the villain can easily redirect any of my throwing
knives wherever he wants!’

“DIE!” Before he can do anything, Kacchan and Kirishima are leaping at the mist villain.
“Pedestrian,” he comments simply before creating a portal in front of the two boys that they fall
into.

“No!” Izuku flings six knives at the villain's face, all fake, to distract him for just a second so he
could create multiple copies of each of his classmates. If he’s planning to portal them all, he’s
gonna have to find them!

“Astute. But I suppose you are the best of the best for a reason, no?” He seems to grow in size
before what looks like pure darkness surrounds them. “But it matters not how many of you there
are! Now be scattered and die!”

Izuku covers his eyes with his arm as a wave of blackness crashes over all of them. He can’t see a
thing! But when he does, his body moves before his brain can catch up.

He lunges forward, pushing Tenko out of the way of the singular portal forming beneath him
before the darkness swallows him whole.

Katsuki cracks his knuckles. The dirt beneath his feet shifts with his boots. It hadn’t been the best
day. Some dumbass villains were attacking them and thinking they had any chance against All
Might. And now he’s stuck in the Ruins Zone with Shitty Hair and Elbows, both of them standing
on either side of him.

And to top it off, he couldn’t kick Deku‘s ass for that shit he pulled on the bus. Ah well.

His grin becomes manic. This group of villains advancing on them would have to do.

Shoto Todoroki is quick to make a slide of ice to ease his descent into the Landslide Zone. After
securing his feet onto solid ground, he’s hard-pressed to miss the hoard of villains surrounding
him.

“Ow!”
He’s surprised to see a pair of gloves and boots slide down his slide as well. Hagakure, he
believes.

“Todoroki!” She gets up and runs to him before gasping. He can’t see her but he assumes she’s
noticing their predicament. “O-oh my god!”

This was not favorable. What they needed was information. “Apologies but please stay where you
are.” His right side begins to frost. “I would prefer not to freeze you.”

Tenko rolls on the ground. He rolls again. And again. The four-armed villain will not let up!

After landing in the Mountain Zone with Jiro and Yaoyorozu, the three were immediately jumped
by some stupid spawn-camping villains. And-

His thoughts are interrupted as the red-eyed boy has to dodge a few more punches. He’s starting to
get separated from the others, crap.

Waiting for his opponent to punch again, Tenko weaves through and uses his speed to get in front
of the villain and place his mechanized glove on the man’s chest.

With a shout, he hits him with a concussive blast, sending the man sprawling back and disoriented.
Using that to his advantage, Tenko quickly fires his grappling hook onto one of the man’s arms.

Well, you only live once.

“Get over here!” is the last thing the villain hears before Tenko hits the retract button and
clotheslines him.

Shota pants, his sweaty hands not making it any easier to wrap a piece of his scarf around the gash
in his left arm.

He’s still not sure what happened. He had blinked for only a moment and in an instant, all of
Midoorya’s clones were gone and his arm was erupting in pain and before he knew it, he was in
the Conflagration Zone.

And the worst part, he wasn’t alone anymore.

“Sensei!” Shota finishes tying his makeshift bandage on his wound and looks up to see Ojiro has
finished getting Asui on his back. “I got a good grip but she’s drying up fast!”

He nods. “Alright, good. Let’s-“

“Found you!” Shota spins around into a crouched fighting stance. A group of villains yells in
excitement down the street and charges.

All he wanted was a nap.

Tenya’s glasses slide off his face when he meets the water of the Flood Zone. Shaking his head and
opening his eyes underwater, he barely has any time to take in his surroundings before a dot in the
distance begins to make its way toward him at an alarming speed.

Oh, that would be a shark.

His yell is muffled by the water as Tenya frantically begins to kick in the opposite direction, but he
knows it's hopeless. So instead, he positions his leg behind him and hopes his quirk can give him
some kind of boost of power. It doesn’t have the best track record of working well underwater.

The shark, which he realizes is a man with a mutation, will be on him any second, he has to time
this right-

The blue-haired boy shouts when, right before the villain can reach him, a dark bird-like creature
slams into him, sending the shark spinning. “Hey Iida, need a lift?” Dark Shadow laughs at her
own joke before gently picking him up under the armpits and lifting him out of the water.

Tenya gasps when the air hits his lungs, barely noticing as he’s lowered onto the deck of a ship
before falling to his knees coughing.

“Are you alright?”

He takes a couple of deep breaths before finally looking up at Tokoyami who watches him warily.
Dark Shadow must have already retreated back underneath his cloak. “Y-yes. I believe so. Thank
you to you both.”

“Think nothing of it.” The shorter boy helps him stand so he can lean on a railing but both boy’s
eyes widen at the sight of villains watching them from the water not too far away. “Iida, you
wouldn’t happen to possess the ability to run on water, would you?”

“I do not.”

Tokoyami looks solemnly out towards their waiting enemies. “That is…unfortunate.”

Denki puts a grounding hand on Koda’s shoulder, and another hand on the building they’re leaning
against. The wind and rain of the Downpour Zone whips his face and hair without mercy. “It’s
gonna be alright, man!” He shouts over the storm. “Ain’t no way a little water is gonna beat us!”

While hunched over slightly with his eyes closed, Koda’s shaking doesn’t stop. But he is able to
put up a trembling thumbs up.

“Come out little heroes! Come out, come out wherever you are!” Denki’s not sure where it’s
coming from, he can barely see anything in front of him, but they’re not alone.

Pfff, some of his classmates would probably make fun of him for stating the obvious. But cut him
some slack, he’s a little stressed at the moment!
“Don’t worry, heroes!” He hears the villain yell over the storm again. “It’s only going to hurt a
lot!”

Taking a deep breath to try and calm himself, which only works a little, Denki unhooks the silver
mace he carries from his side. Tightening his grip on the blunt weapon, he looks at Koda and
knows what he has to do.

“Stay behind me!” Ochako, Ashido, Sato, and Shoji group closer together at Thirteen’s command.

The teleporter laughs at them, deep and sinister. “I couldn’t get all of the golden eggs?
Unfortunate, but I am well adept at improvising.”

What happened today?! How did it all go from normal, at least UA normal, to this?! They were just
supposed to be doing rescue training! And now…

Ochako turns her head slightly to see the worried faces of her classmates. No! She can’t worry
about that! She came here to save people, not be the one who needs saving!

She hardens her resolve while Thirteen lifts her arm, pointing their uncapped finger at the villain.

This morning, she felt like she could take on anything, and nothing has changed.

With his persistence in learning how to fly, Izuku was used to falling from distances that weren’t
exactly normal. This plays into his favor when he hits the hard ground in a perfect roll and springs
back up, his hood sliding off his head.

Unfortunately, that seemed to be the only thing working for him since he doesn’t really count
being surrounded by villains as a good thing.
“Kurogiri, you moron!!” Shigaraki kicks the ground beneath her in frustration. “How hard is it to
get one person where I want them!”

She groans, letting her hands fall to her sides and, looks up at the sky. “I can already see how
tonight’s gonna go. Another lecture about how Tomura would’ve done this all better.”

She slumps, before sighing and looking back up at him with a bored expression. “Can-can someone
just please kill this kid? Can we do something right for a second?”

“He’s mine!” A villain wearing a blue sleeveless gi rushes him from the side. He was short with a
bald head and eyes spaced outward connected by stalks. His hands were metal with four large
claws on each.

‘He’s rushing me head-on so he’s clearly underestimating me. His outfit offers no protection and I
can’t tell what kind of metal that is but him dragging them close to the floor tells me it’s heavy.
And heavy means his balance will be off. He’s perfect for a little intimidation roll.’

As expected, the villain lifts his claw at the last second and leaps at him. Izuku sidesteps him with
ease, grabs his wrist, and twists. The man cries out in pain as an audible crack is heard. He doesn’t
let him dwell on it though, before shoving the man’s claw downwards and making him stab
himself in the leg.

Barely any sound can escape the villain’s mouth before Izuku sweeps his legs out from under him
and stomps his head into the ground, knocking him out cold.

Izuku looks up from his downed opponent. “And I was actually worried about you guys for a
second.”

Fights are more mental than most people think. Making his enemies doubt themselves even a little
can make all the difference, while at the same time making himself seem untouchable. It can make
people hesitate, second guess themselves, and be emotional. All things he can capitalize on.

Shigaraki facepalms. “What even is happening right now…” she gestures to him without looking
up. “Someone, anyone!”

A couple of the villains look at each other nervously before readying their various weapons and
 quirks.

What’s happening? What’s happening is that they’re attacking his friends and made the mistake of
putting him by himself. No Eri to protect. No Kacchan to teach a lesson too. Just them and him.

And he’s going to make them regret the day they messed with a demigod.

A man with a mutation that gave him the head of an elephant lightly laughs. “Very cute, kid.
Really.” He steps forward.

“So…” The villain scratches his nose. “What exactly are you supposed to be?”

Izuku Midori-no. There’s no one watching. No one here to see. He smirks.

“I am Izuku Lokison. Prince of Mischief.” He spreads his arms out in front of him, a dagger
appearing in each hand with a soft green glow. “And I am burdened with glorious purpose.”

Chapter End Notes

YEEEEEEEES I’ve been wanting to finally get here for so long!! And it feels
soooooo good!

Also, this chapter was weird. I knew what I wanted to happen and how I wanted it to
end, but not how to start it? I realized that when I don’t know how to start a chapter, I
auto default to cute Eri ideas and I can’t start EVERY chapter with that haha…can I?

But hope you guys liked it. Got more pranks. And our Shigaraki reveal! Think most of
you knew or suspected by this point but we did it lol. What Izuku did to that one
villain was a little taste of what’s to come, Loki didn’t teach him to be gentle.

Anyways, thanks for reading and if you wanna leave a comment, I’d appreciate it.
Until next time!
 Now There Are Two of Them Part 1
Chapter Summary

The party in the USJ is in full swing! Only problem is, it’s featuring a lot of swinging
blades

Chapter Notes

The most shocking part about this chapter? I actually planned this two parter! *Le
Gasp*

Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

A portal opens to a dark, and messy room. Machines line the walls with cords and tubes sprawled
throughout the floor. The only light is a green gleam that comes from numerous screens at the far
end where a man sits. Two Nomus stand by either wall.

From the portal, two figures enter the space before Kurogiri reforms himself. “The attack on the
USJ will begin momentarily. Would either of you require refreshments?”

Loki turns to his alien companion. “Drink? I assure you, Kurogiri can make a wide variety.” He
smirks. “I’m sure we can find one to eliminate some of those wrinkles.”

The grey-skinned alien scowls. “That will not be necessary. Let us begin as soon as possible.”

Loki sighs in disappointment before turning back to Kurogiri. “I apologize on the behalf of my
uncivilized partner. I’ll just have some tea.”

“What kind?”

The Asgardian takes a second to think before waving his hand absentmindedly. “Surprise me. I
trust your judgment.” The portal user nods before disappearing.
“You waste our time.” His partner, or what should be called his babysitter, grows more irritated by
the second.

“Good manners are never a waste.” Loki happily informs him, which only seems to worsen the
other’s mood.

The two carefully make their way over to the man who sits on the other side of the room.

“Loki,” The man says without turning around. His voice speaks with authority and confidence
heard by few others. It’s a bit satisfying when the alien beside him straightens up at the sound.
“The self-proclaimed God of Mischief.”

The trickster can’t help but smile. He always loves their little games. “All for One. The Quasi-
Symbol of Evil. It’s been a long time.”

The man finally turns, allowing Loki to see the scarred upper half of his face. “Yes, it has. When
was the last time we met in person?”

He knows when it was. The human is just testing him to see if he’ll accidentally reveal one of the
times he was spying on him. Should he be insulted? Instead, Loki matches his casual tone. “About
a decade I believe.” Oh, how he wishes he could help himself with what he’s about to say…not
really. “Although, I think it has been a while since you’ve been able to, see, anything, yes?”

The air seems to still and grow heavy, but it only lasts a moment before All for One grins, relieving
any tension. “I never considered this, but it is actually…refreshing to have someone speak to me
that way. Not that I tire of the graveling of my subjects, of course.”

Loki crosses his arms behind his back. “Well, what can I say? Gods fear no man.”

That elicits a chuckle from All for One. “You misunderstand. It is refreshing because most cower
to my presence alone. To actually be presented with a challenge is exciting in a way. And
besides…” The air grows even heavier than before. “Whoever said I was a mere man?”

The Mischief God can barely contain his excitement. “Throughout mankind’s history, men have
always kneeled to gods. You will learn this lesson too.”

The two continue to stare each other down, matching grins on their faces, before the third person in
the room clears his throat. “Ah,” Loki acknowledges. “Forgot you were there.” He steps back and
waves his hand at his companion. “Introductions are in order.”

The alien steps forward and puts his hand forward. Loki can’t stop his eyes from rolling. ‘Here we
go.’

“Hear me and rejoice, Terran. For today, you have the opportunity to be a part in the saving of the
universe. For there is nothing better than the privilege you have obtained, to serve the Great Titan.
I, am Ebony Maw. General Commander of the Chitauri, Outrider, and Dark Elf forces. Leader of
the Black Order. And child of-“

“I would like to apologize to you, Loki.” All for One interrupts, the sneer never more present on
his face.

Maw gapes at the intrusion and Loki puts a fist over his mouth to cover his snort. It doesn’t work.
“And…”Loki swallows to control himself. “And what would that be for?”

“When we first met,” All for One reminisces, “I thought you pretentious as you spoke of being
‘burdened with glorious purpose.’ Now, however,” he looks at Maw. “I realize how much worse it
could have been, so I apologize.”

The Maw snarls. “After we-“

Loki puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Now, now. We are all friends here. No need to
squabble amongst ourselves, lest our enemies use that to our advantage.”

Kurogiri reappears, holding his drink. “Your tea, Loki.”

“Kurogiri, your timing is impeccable as always!” Loki takes the cup and takes a sip, smacking his
lips. “Hmmm. I’m getting…spiced apple chai, sour apple, and…” he raises an eyebrow. “Candy
apple?” He takes another sip. “And you have accented it with cinnamon chips, well done.”
He faces Kurogiri who just stares at him for a few seconds before shaking his misty head. “Thank
you. And please, never hesitate to stop by the bar for tea anytime. I have many different blends for
you to try and that we could discuss-“

All for One chuckles again. “Enough, Kurogiri. Isn’t it time for the attack to begin?”

The nomu clears his…throat? So many questions, before saying, “my apologies, master. We will
begin at once.” And with that, he’s gone.

The two off-worlders stand behind All for One waiting for the feed to the USJ to begin, but their
host turns to him before it could. “Interesting news I heard this morning. Greece has officially
pulled out of the WHA. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

Loki feigns sorrow. “Is that so? Too bad. I can’t say I’m surprised though. Why, apparently their
heroes have gone rogue and begun murdering random people in broad daylight, in full view of
large crowds.”

He twirls a bloody dagger in between his fingers. “It’s strange. All the heroes claim innocence
despite the many witnesses and for some reason,” he vanishes the dagger. “They can never find the
murder weapons.”

“How odd,” All for One acts ignorant alongside him. “Greece, among the others. How truly
strange.”

The screens in front of them flicker before changing to several different angles of the USJ.
Kurogiri’s warp appears to bring in the league for the assault.

“Little Hana does well?” Loki asks as the girl in question walks through the portal last.

“She is acceptable for the time being,” All for One states with no inflection in his voice. “And the
girl once known as Hana Shimura is gone. Only Hirona Shigaraki remains.” Loki nods before
continuing to watch the screen.

“So this is why you wanted a Dark Elf,” Maw observes, putting his hand up to his chin.
“A little insurance can go a long way.” Loki eyes the Nomus that watch them. “Does the girl
know?”

All for One hums. “I have elected to keep your involvement on a need-to-know basis. And at this
time, she does not. As far as Hirona is aware, he is another street thug, same as the rest.”

The self-named demon lord shifts in his chair a bit. “I will admit, you surprised me, Loki.” He says
nothing so the other man will continue. “Most would request for a no-kill order to be placed on
their kin, but you asked for no such thing for your son.”

Loki scoffs. “And insult Izuku’s abilities that way? What kind of father do you take me for?”

“I am Izuku Lokison. Prince of Mischief.” Loki’s eyes snap back to the screen after hearing his
son’s voice. Watching Izuku declare his name and stand tall against his enemies, pride envelops
him.

“And I am burdened with glorious purpose.”

The God of Mischief cannot escape the wide grin that crosses his face. Lightning shoots through
his veins while the adrenaline and exhilaration almost overwhelm him at hearing his son say those
words.

‘That’s my boy.’

It’s silent. A little too silent with so many people if you were to ask Izuku. Huh, maybe his little
display worked better than he-

“Asgardian!!!”

Or maybe not.

Izuku drops to his knees as the Dark Elf raises his gun, quickly switching one of his daggers for a
throwing knife, he whisks it at the creature's gun, knocking it out of his hands before he can fire.
And like that, the spell is broken.

With a thunderous yell, the villains surrounding him charge. Izuku quickly takes stock and notices
a shirtless man with holes at his fingertips, charging up bolts of electricity to fire at him.

A female villain with silvery wispy hair nears him first. He jumps in front of her as the shirtless
man fires… only for his quirk to go through his decoy and hit the woman dead on, knocking her
out.

“Wha-“ Is all the man can say before he screams as Izuku stabs him through his hand.

“Mind if I borrow you for a second?” Izuku smiles before using his dagger still in the man’s hand
to aim. A villain spinning a bola runs at them. With a twitch of the blade, the man screams and
involuntarily activates his quirk, firing and hitting the other villain.

“Oh, good,” Izuku tells the glaring man. “Between you and me, I wasn’t sure if that was gonna
work.”

“You little-“ he is interrupted again by Izuku twisting his hand and firing on another villain.

After taking down a third villain, a putty-like substance hits the villain he’s borrowing, clogging up
the holes in his fingers. The henchman responsible jumps at them both, hardening the same
substance around his hands.

“Thank you!” Izuku says sincerely before grabbing the shirtless man’s wrist and flipping him over
his shoulder right onto the other villain’s head, laying them both out.

Pulling his blade free, Izuku goes invisible and dodges right as a man who looks like a life-size
origami paper fires some razor-sharp paper at him.

Several Izuku’s appear around the plaza, dodging and twisting around villains. The origami villain
has no time to react before the real Izuku materializes next to him and kicks him into the plaza’s
fountain, causing him to shrivel up.
“Quirks are weird…” Izuku squeals as the elephant-headed man grabs him from behind with his
trunk and squeezes hard.

“You got jokes, huh kid?! What do ya have to say now?!” The elephant man keeps the pressure
tightly around him.

Izuku tries to wheeze his answer.

“What was that?! I couldn’t hear you over your dying?!”

“I-I said…” he wheezes more. “H-harder.”

“W-what?!” The elephant man ironically squeaks like a mouse.

Fun fact, distracting opponents is a lot easier than most people make it seem. Exhibit A, saying
something completely out of left field to not only keep their attention on you, but also keep them
standing in the same spot.

Double fun fact, a Bull Man is charging after an Izuku who changed his costume's color scheme to
red. Their path is on a direct collision course with them. And he has yet to notice.

In his momentary lapse of thought, the elephant man loosens his grip, and Izuku wiggles out,
vanishing his red decoy at the same time. He jumps off the elephant villain’s head just in time for
both he and the Bull to notice each other…and promptly collide, sending each other sprawling into
the water fountain.

Back flipping onto the ground, Izuku changes into a light green Bullfighter outfit and swings a
large red cape around his head. “¡Olé!”

Giving the appearance that you’re not taking a fight seriously works wonders. It can cause enemies
to constantly underestimate you, and in turn, lure them into traps.

Like the poor female villain who jumps at him from behind with her hands spinning rapidly, only
for Izuku to dodge her while at the same moment, wrapping the red cape around her head and
throwing her at another villain.

Changing back into his hero costume, Izuku rolls his shoulder before throwing a knife behind him
without looking. The scream tells him he successfully impaled the camouflaged villain trying to
sneak up on him in the shoulder.

Izuku turns around and groans. “How many of you are there?!” He whines to another large group
of villains gathering.

Instead of answering (rude), the villains charge him, a bigger man completely covered by a large
green coat wearing a black helmet with horns leads the ensemble.

Switching his daggers to reverse grip, and unknowingly having a grin that matches his father’s
current one, Izuku runs forward to meet them head-on.

The green coat villain laughs. “You crazy, kid?!”

“Possibly!” He can’t see the man’s face but he likes to imagine the look of surprise on it when all
of his clones appear next to him.

Izuku and the man he was talking to meet first. Right before they reach each other, Izuku stops and
jumps into a backflip. In a flash of green light, he turns into a kangaroo. All the villain has the time
to do is gasp before Izuku kicks him with his new powerful legs, firing him back into the line of
enemies behind him and taking a few more out.

The shapeshifter completes his backflip, turning back into a human before landing on the ground.
He runs in behind his clones who have already started to cause chaos.

A large villain in overalls turns a stick in his hand into a giant mallet and tries to bring it down on
his head. Too slow. Using his momentum, Izuku slides in between his legs, slicing both of his
ankles as he does so. The man roars but the little hero kicks him in the back, easily sending him to
the ground.

He has no time to celebrate though, already having to duck under the arm of a villain with spikes
protruding from it.
“Woah!” Izuku exclaims, dodging another swing. “Can you do that on both arms? Do they hurt
every time they come out? What are they made of? Oh, can you make them projectiles? Do you
have some sort of healing factor to heal your arm after? Because I have an uncle who-“

“Shut up!!” The man yells for some reason. What’s got him so annoyed?

The villain swings his arm erratically while Izuku dodges. “Not cool, bub!” He spins to get behind
his opponent and stabs him in the back of the shoulder. With practiced ease, Izuku kicks the back
of his leg bringing the man down to his knees before thumping him solidly in the head with the
handle of his other dagger.

Izuku barely has enough time to pull his weapon and raise the blade to block two hand sickles
coming down on top of him. The villain laughs in a high-pitched voice. It seems to match his
pointed nose, teeth, and ears.

It also seems to match the features of his twin brother, who chooses then to attack Izuku, also with
two hand sickles. The greenette drops himself to the ground and rolls out from beneath the two
before the attack can land.

Bolting back up onto his feet, Izuku raises his dagger at the ready. The two villains laugh and
attack, one of them going high and the other low.

Unfortunately for them, they’re aiming for someone Izuku sized, so when he turns into a bunny
and jumps between their blades, they’re not ready. Quickly shifting back into himself, Izuku kicks
the brother who’s lower to the ground in the face, momentarily blinding him, and that’s all he
needs.

In a flash, Izuku turns himself into one of the brothers, complete with weapons, while making the
one he didn’t kick look like him. The sickle villain on the ground stands up and rubs his face
before looking at Izuku and then his brother, who have switched places.

“C’mon! Let’s get him!” The villain yells at Izuku. He charges his brother, who steps back in
confusion before looking down at himself.

“Wait! No no-“ Izuku doesn’t give him time to explain, attacking with his new temporary ally.
They quickly overpower him, with Izuku slicing him in his leg and elbowing him in the face to put
him down.

Making sure to keep the other villain looking like him even as he falls or the ground, Izuku raises
his hand to his ‘brother.’ “We got him! High five!” The man smiles and goes to reciprocate, only
for Izuku to punch him in the face.

Dropping his new form, the trickster leans slightly to the left, moving out of the way of a giant fist
that was about to collide with the back of his head. “Missed me!” Izuku grabs the tree trunk of an
arm and pulls down on it hard over his shoulder.

The man behind him howls in pain when the arm makes a very audible snap.

“Little bastard!” A villain with horns on his head and red claws for hands rushes him from the
front.

‘Oh, perfect!’

Izuku shoves himself away from the giant man behind him and jumps at the horned villain, who
grunts when he plants his feet on his shoulders. Using the shorter villain as a launch pad, Izuku
jumps to the top of the taller villain.

He spins around the man’s shoulders before wrapping his legs around the man’s neck and letting
himself fall. Using gravity and a little extra force, Izuku flips the massive villain onto the smaller
one, who screams as his companion lands on top of him in a heavy thud.

Starting to pant a little while kneeling on the ground because even his slightly enhanced stamina is
starting to feel it, Izuku rolls under another villain, slicing her thigh as he does so. The verdant pays
her no mind while he throws two knives at another villain's legs, sending him tumbling onto the
ground.

Finally, the green-haired boy flips himself back up, kicking the woman he sliced as he did so.

“Izuku!” Two runs up to him. “We got them going nuts for now but some of them are starting to
catch on, and I swear!” He points an accusatory finger at him. “If you let me die here, I will kill
you!”
Despite everything, Izuku can’t help but giggle while gesturing to the next group of villains
approaching them. “Evidently, there will be a line.”

The first villain to reach them, a muscular man in a tight green shirt and bandana, tries to swallow
him in a bear hug but Izuku the Kangaroo jumps high up into the air before he can.

The man looks up. “Oh, you’ve got to be sh-“ is all he can get out before Izuku the Alligator lands
on his face.

Tenko looks up from the villain he just clotheslined, Yaoyorozu and Jiro stand back to back
fighting thugs off, with a few villains running at them with weapons. Well not if he can help it.

Pulling back his sleeve a little, he pushes a button on the screen attached to his arm and holds his
gloves out. His hands shudder and at the same time, so do the weapons the villains hold.

He almost laughs at the look of bewilderment on the NPC’s faces when the magnet in his gloves
activates, ripping their weapons from their hands. At the same time, Tenko flexes his fingers.

With a mechanized whirl, the gloves unravel letting his fingertips loose and he catches the various
weapons, decaying them all to dust as he does so. After his hands are safely covered again, he
bends forward and his modified shoes activate.

With a burst of power, the repulsors in his feet blast him toward the villains in almost an instant; he
knees the first villain while they all lag.

‘They’ve all got minor mutation quirks. Nothing good for PvP, that’s why they had to rely on
weapons. Makes sense. They probably kept the higher levels in the plaza and sent the weaker
villains after us.’

To prove his point, one of the villains tries to punch him head-on, Tenko easily avoids it by rolling
away and leaving a present behind. “Huh?” The thug stupidly says before the little explosive goes
off, blasting him away.
‘Awesome. Just like Samus.’ Tenko congratulates himself, his HUD keeping track of all the
equipment he has left, how many charges of each weapon his gloves have, and how much power
his shoes have left before he would have to stop and let them recharge.

‘Three enemies left for me. Should go for AoE.’ Tenko thrusts his hand forward and in a brief white
flash, all of the men are blinded. His HUD lenses automatically darkened to protect his eyes.

He marks all of the villains as targets in his HUD before tossing a small triangular object in
between them. It beeps before three black cords whip out from the device, ensnaring all the villains
and dragging them all together. A brief shot of electricity later and they’re all knocked out.

Just then, his HUD goes red with an arrow pointing left, causing Tenko to jump right, barely
avoiding the metal pipe being brought down on him. His software calls it Hyper-Velocity Impact.
Kind of a pretentious name if you ask him, they’re just sensors for danger.

Tenko ducks under the man’s next swing and drives his fist into his gut, and after channeling just
the smallest amount of repulsor force from his shoes into his hand, the man is blown away.

Using his grappling hook to drag a villain off Jiro, he finally rejoins the girls. It’s so much work
every time he has to use the grapple, should he attach it to his wrist or arm? Thought for later.

“I think I can make something to help, but I need time!” Yaoyorozu yells, bashing a villain with her
shield.

He doesn’t wait, Tenko throws down a pellet from his belt, creating a large smokescreen around
them. With his HUD allowing him to see through it, he grabs the two girls and leads them away to
regroup.

All Might wasn’t kidding when he said he would help him become a hero no matter what. Gran
told him he had to use a lot of money and pull a ton of strings to get this stuff for him from some
American company.

What was it called again? Stark? Stank Industries? Whatever, he’ll thank them later.
Can snakes laugh? Izuku isn’t too sure but if they could, he certainly would be. How could he not
while, as a snake, he’s got his body wrapped partly wrapped around a villain's neck while the other
part wraps around his wrist and he makes the man punch himself in the face over and over.

‘Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself. Darn, I wish I could talk as an
animal!’

Finally, much to his disappointment, the man knocks himself out. The greenette gets up,
transforming back into himself, and is about to go find his next villain when he hears it.

“Asgardian.” A voice hisses from his side. If he could talk like a snake, it’d probably sound like
that. Izuku faces the Dark Elf who, despite the mask, he knows is glaring at him. Actually, he just
realized the elf isn’t speaking Japanese, but Shiväisith. Thank god Asgardians have Allspeak.

“What’s wrong?” Izuku responds in the creature’s natural tongue. “To much light and hope in the
universe for your liking?”

The elf draws one of his two swords from his back, a light sheen emitting from the blade.
“Hypocrite! Odin built his empire on the blood and tears of the innocent!”

Izuku has no time to respond, not that he had any, before the elf slashes at him. Izuku jumps over
the attack and uses the elf’s shoulders to vault behind him, grabbing his other sword as he does so.

Izuku lands on the ground and whirls around, holding the sword like his daggers with a reverse
grip. The Dark Elf is on him in an instant, growling in frustration.

The elf thrusts right but Izuku parry’s, the blades sparking when they clash, before countering with
his own slash, causing the creature to jump back.

His opponent tries stabbing at his head but Izuku blocks before going to cut at his stomach. The elf
backs up but Izuku, still spinning after his last attack, drops to his knees and tries to cut his
opponent’s kneecaps out from under him. Again, the elf backs up more.

Izuku stands and lunges forward, trying a diagonal overhead slash but the elf ducks, unknowingly
taking a step forward which lets Izuku elbow him in the chest hard.

He tries to press his attack, slicing again, which is avoided, before the elf ducks his next attack and
tries a counter of his own aimed at Izuku’s chest. The green-haired boy blocks the stab and uses
his free hand to jab the elf in the face.

Yelling in frustrating, the Dark Elf lets loose a wild swing. Izuku twirls around the attack, gashing
the creature’s leg. The elf cries out in pain, before letting out an even harsher cry when Izuku kicks
the wound he just made, causing the Dark Elf to drop his weapon and fall to his knees. Izuku
finishes the twirl with the sword resting by the elf’s neck.

“Admit you are beaten,” Izuku commands.

The Dark Elf gasps for air for a few seconds before responding. “Never.” He leans more toward
the sword. “Make your ancestors proud.”

Izuku eyes the sword, unaware of his father leaning very close to a screen right now. “I can’t
change the past, but I can work toward a better future.” Izuku removes the sword from his neck
and backhands the elf, leaving him to groan on the ground.

Slow clapping catches his attention. It’s Shigaraki, walking slowly up to him. “I’m not gonna lie,
you are entertaining as hell to watch. Watching you thrash these idiots around, I thought you kids
were just going to crap your pants the whole time.”

Letting the smirk back onto his face, Izuku says, “thanks. How about you fight me and I give you a
real show.”

She sucks in a breath. “That is so tempting but I’m kinda waiting for someone else right now.
Maybe if you’re still alive once I’m done with him? Though I doubt it…” She smiles wickedly.
“Nomu.”

Izuku can’t even blink before something appears behind him, grabbing his ankle in a crushing grip
and lifting him upside down off the ground. He yelps in pain dropping the sword.

She laughs, holding up her hand and putting two fingers close together. “Sorry, kid. But you’re
gonna feel a slight pressure. Oh, Nomu…”
There’s no time to think before the Nomu slams him down onto the ground, creating a small crater.
Izuku can’t even let out a full groan before the Nomu swings him again by his ankle, beating him
on the ground two more times before letting go.

Ok, wow. That hurts. At least when he got stabbed, the pain was in a single area but this. There
wasn’t a part of his body not screaming at him right now. He tries to turn his head or move his leg
but whimpers when both actions shoot pure agony through him.

He vaguely hears the Dark Elf laughing nearby. “Puny god.”

It doesn’t last too long, however. Already, he can feel the worse parts of his body getting colder,
dulling the aches a little. A sign his scantly enhanced regeneration was working.

“He’s still alive? Nomu, pick him up.” The regen takes a while to work so unfortunately, he still
can’t move and is helpless when the Nomu picks him up by the ankle again. “He is! Bring him to
me.”

With his vision still hazy, Izuku can barely make out Shigaraki in front of him after the Nomu
stomps over to her. The blood dripping down his forehead probably doesn’t help either. “How?”

Izuku tries to laugh but it turns into a cough instead. “Ligh-lightly…enhanced…d-durability.” He

coughs more. “Y-you mad…uh…sorry. My head hurts a lot. Wha-what’s the girl version of bro?”

She stares at him before breaking out into a laugh. “I hope watching you die is just as much fun as
watching you fight.”

Izuku wheezes. “I-I don’t know…I can probably double whatever you’re paying Diet Hulk here.”

“Nice try.” Shigaraki taunts. “Nomu here is engineered to listen to me and only me.”

Her smile vanishes at Izuku’s toothy grin. “That’s all I needed to know.” He disappears in a green
light.
“It has to be you!”

Mina looks up from Thirteen’s crumpled body, tears in her eyes. “B-but I can’t-“

Uraraka puts her hands on her shoulders, pinkies up. “It’s like Thirteen said! Use your quirk to help
people! You’re the only one fast enough! Please!”

Shaking her head and getting every thought telling her not to out of her head, Mina bursts forward
sliding on her acid. “I’m sorry! And I’ll be back!”

“As if I’ll let you!”

Mina screams but is still able to use her acid to change direction and avoid the portal that opens in
front of her, continuing onto the doors.

“It will not be that easy!” Her eyes widen as the black mist descends on her from above. She can’t
avoid it! Did she already fail?

The mist man grunts and suddenly, he’s lifted up. Mina glances behind her to see Uraraka
throwing something metal into the air. “Go, Mina!” Shoji and Sato jump in the air after the object
and with great heaves, they punch it at the same time, sending the villain flying.

Mina gets to the doors and uses her acid to help get her fingers in between the gap before prying
them open and skating through.

‘Just hang on everyone! I won’t let you down!’

Shigaraki stares dumbly at…herself, being held by the Nomu. Izuku waves at her cheerfully.
“Nomu, put me down, carefully,” she says in Shigaraki’s voice.
The villain’s face turns to horror as the Nomu complies. “Wha-“

Izuku points at her, copying Shigaraki’s wicked smile from when she called the Nomu originally.
“Nomu…get her.”

The monster blurs until it's in front of its former master, raising its fist. All Shigaraki can do is raise
her hands as Nomu brings his fist down. Izuku has to close her eyes to the explosion of debris, not
being able to see what happens. The injuries from before still keep her from moving.

Once the dust clears, Izuku sees Shigaraki in her own crater in the ground. She’s got some scrapes
but doesn’t look bad at all. “Keep going, Nomu!” Izuku yells, enjoying her new toy a little too
much.

The Nomu roars, bringing both of its fists down on the villain leader, who only jumps out of the
way just in time. “Nomu, stop!” The creature halts immediately at her command. “That was cute
kid but-“

“Nomu, go!”

Shigaraki loses all dignity and ‘eeps’ raising her hands as the Nomu attacks again, causing another
explosion. Izuku can feel her legs starts to twitch and her arms almost feel good enough to push up
on.

Looking up, Izuku can finally see how Shigaraki has been blocking the attacks. Kneeling in another
crater, a light blue barrier surrounds the villain, where the Nomu’s fist makes contact against the
shield, it turns red.

“Stupid creature!” She snarls before a pulse of energy from the shield blows the Nomu back. “Now
sto-“

“Attack, Nomu!”

“No, stop!”
“Yes!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“N-“ Shigaraki stops to dodge a throwing knife. Unfortunately, she didn’t finish her command.
The Nomu tries to bring both of his fists down on her again. “ENOUGH!”

The barrier around Shigaraki splits into two shields, both beginning to spin deadly fast. She
launches the two discs at the Nomu and Izuku can only watch as they cut through the Nomu’s arms
like they’re nothing, slicing them clean off.

The monster roars before Shigaraki waves her hands and the discs change direction mid-air and
slice off its legs, the Nomu howls as the stump it has now become falls to the ground. “There.
That’ll buy us a couple of seconds.”

Izuku shapeshifts back into normal and staggers back onto his feet just in time. Shigaraki squeezes
her hand and the two shield discs break apart into a bunch of smaller pieces, all of which she
launches at him.

He barely gets his daggers out in time, ducking and dodging discs while bating others away with
his blades. He feels one cut his leg. Another his arm. ‘I can’t do this forever!’ He sees the Nomu
almost fully regenerated already. ‘And I shouldn’t have to!’

Shigaraki follows his line of sight as Kurogiri reappears. “I apologize but-“

“I don’t care! Get that kid outta here now!!” She roars.

Izuku backsteps a few discs before he sees a portal overtake him and everything goes dark again.

Hirona puts her hands on her knees, sucking up as much air as she can. “Nomu…stay…still…” the
mindless thing stands and does nothing. Finally.

“Will you be alright?” Kurogiri asks her.

“Why?” She snaps, standing up straight. “So you can tell Sensei and he have something else to
hold over me?”

“Apologies, but I am tasked with your protection,” the portal user replies.

“Whatever. You!” She points at the limping villain coming up to them, Sensei called him an elf.
“You can understand me, right?” He nods. “I was told I could rely on you. Go where Kurogiri sent
that kid and make sure he doesn’t come back. He can’t come back, understood?”

The elf gives a more energetic nod. “Good, and Kurogiri.” She turns back to her second in
command. “After you tell him where you sent the kid, you are gonna do what you should’ve done
in the first place. Find him and bring him to me.”

When Izuku falls out of the portal, he expects light to hurt his eyes, but he’s confused when it’s still
dark. He becomes much less confused when he’s almost immediately soaked.

Pushing himself up to his hands and knees, he looks around the dark urban city while rain drenches
everything. The downpour zone?

“Hey! There’s a new one!” Can’t he catch a break? Izuku sees a purple villain with sharp teeth
rushing him from a nearby alley. Slowly getting to his feet, Izuku readies his dagger to defend
himself and-

But before he can do anything, something crashes into the villain, knocking him back into the
alley. Izuku squints his eyes and immediately his brain gives him ‘Mjöllnir!’ But that isn’t right.

Sure it was silver with a leathery handle, but it was smaller. One side of it was blunt and flat like a
hammer while the other was more like a wedge. But like Uncle Thor’s hammer, it floats in the air
after hitting its target. Izuku tracks the weapon as it flies back to where it came from…
As it flies back into Kaminari’s outstretched hand.

‘No way…’

“Midoriya!” He cries, attaching his weapon to his side and running up to him. “Don’t worry, I
gotcha buddy!”

“I-you!-“

Kaminari puts his arm around his shoulder and starts leading him away. “Hold on a sec, let’s get
out of the rain.”

“Uhhhh…”

“Here we go.” Kaminari brings him inside one of the buildings into a room that looks like it had
been designed to be some sort of office break room, complete with a fridge, cooking appliances,
and tables. One of which has an unconscious Koda laying on it.

His classmate gently places him in one of the chairs before going to check the window. “I was
studying this map to look for an exit,” he taps a paper on the table next to him, “when I saw your
portal open up. Can you walk?”

Izuku nods. “Yea-yeah. I just need a minute. Is Koda alright?”

“Oh, yeah.” Kaminari scratches the back of his head. “He was using himself as bait so I could mess
up some bad guys but one of them got past me and…well he’s just got a bump on the head so I
think he’ll be alright…”

“Good, good…” Izuku can’t stop himself. “Where’d you get that?” He points at Kaminari’s
weapon.

“Oh, this?” He lifts it up. “Like it? It’s called Thunderstrike. And it’s nothing big, just something
my dad gave me.”

“Really?” Izuku stands, using the table for support. “Must be some good tech. The way it was
flying around…” he narrows his eyes. “It’s almost like it was magic.”

Kaminari gives him a very forced laugh. “W-what? Magic? C’mon man, be serious.” He is taking
great care to look at anything that isn’t Izuku.

‘So we’re both terrible liars, good to know.’

Izuku shakes his head, his vision still not completely clear. “Ok, we don’t have time for this.” He
waves his hand, creating an illusion of Thor next to him. “Is this your dad?”

Kaminari’s blue eyes look back and forth between him and the decoy over and over until finally…
he nods.

“So just to clarify.” He points at Thor. “This is your dad?”

A nod.

“THIS person here, is definitely your dad?”

Another nod

“Uncle Thor is your dad?!” You would’ve thought Izuku finally learned how to turn into a bird
with how he screeched.

“Yes!!” Kaminari finally found his voice. “Yes, that’s my-wait! Wait wait wait…UNCLE?!” Oh
good, Kaminari has completed his transition to bird too.

“Yes, uncle!” Izuku creates an illusion of Loki next to Thor. “Do you know who that is?!”
“Uncle Loki?!”

Izuku rubs his head. “Hearing him called that is so weird…but yes! Loki! That’s MY dad!”

Kaminari points at the decoy of his dad. “That’s your dad?!”

Izuku nods.

“That guy in green, you’re sure he’s your dad?!”

Izuku nods again.

“And you’re positive-“

“WE JUST DID THIS KAMINARI!”

At this point, both boys are rubbing their heads. “Y-you’ve seen me use my magic,” Izuku starts,
“how did you not realize I was related to Loki?!”

“I’ve never actually met him!” Kaminari defends. “I haven’t even been to Asgard yet!”

“How have you not been yet?!” At this point, his voice may never be quiet again.

“I only met dad like, a year ago!” Kaminari’s hands are waving in random directions now while he
talks. “And you know, most of that time was-was everyone getting used to each other, and then
training once we did!” He points a finger at Izuku. “How did YOU not know?! You’ve clearly met
my dad, how did you not recognize it during the battle trial?!”

Izuku’s traitorous mind gives him an image of Uraraka in her hero costume, causing him to go red
and look down. “T-that’s n-not important…”
Both boys stand in silence for almost a full minute before Kaminari breaks it. “So…uh. So-well-“
Izuku tilts his head. “Uh, well, my mom is human. Like, fully human. Is your mom…”

“O-oh.” Izuku nods rapidly. “Y-yeah, she is…”

“G-good to know.” Kaminari claps his hands before the two fall back into another silence.

Eventually, he blurts out, “are we aliens?”

“W-what?” If Izuku wasn’t asking if he was dreaming before…

Kaminari waves his hands in front of himself frantically. “S-sorry! I was always too scared to ask
dad and-oh man, is alien an offensive term for us? Oh geez I’m such an idiot-“

“No!” Izuku stops him. “N-no you’re fine, I promise.” When Kaminari relaxes, he continues. “As
for aliens…technically, yes? It’s more based on location? Like here on Earth we’re aliens, but on
Asgard, we wouldn’t be.”

“Thanks, that makes sense…” In spite of himself, a small smile breaks out on Kaminari’s face.
“Ashido can never find out about us.”

Izuku snorts, hiccups, and then snorts again before both boys look at each other and burst out
laughing. “Ok ok,” Izuku says trying to control himself while holding his stomach. “We uh, we
need to talk about this more but…” he looks at Koda. “It’s not exactly the best time…”

Kaminari walks up beside him. “Yeah…we’ll talk more when we get out of here.” Izuku nods in
agreement. “But you know…” the blonde starts hesitantly. “Your dad is my dad’s brother and vice
versa so… that makes us cousins, doesn’t it?”

“Y-yeah?” Was Kaminari upset? Did he not want to be related to him? He’d understand if-

“I-um.” His newly discovered cousin was staring very intently at Koda. “I’ve never really had any
family outside my mom…a-and now dad so to get a cousin? It-it’s pretty cool…”
Izuku scratches his nose, also making a point to not look at the other boy. “I h-haven’t had much
family either…and they weren’t around a lot…s-so to get a cousin is pretty cool to me too…”

Taking a deep breath, Izuku can feel his body is mostly healed. Enough to move around and fight
moderately well at least. “Okay…” he looks at Kaminari who stares back. “The villains have some
sort of monster but I can control it. If we can get out of here and I can get to that thing, I think I can
use it to drive them out of here.”

Kaminari laughs a little. “Better than any plan I had…which was none. So how do you-“

“Asgardian!!”

Thor’s son furrows his brow. “That…wasn’t Japanese…was it?”

Izuku shakes his head. “No, stay here!” Without waiting for an answer, he jogs out into the street,
becoming soaked again immediately, to find the Dark Elf waiting for him.

Walking out onto the street and facing him, Izuku calls out, “didn’t I already beat you?!”

It doesn’t move. “This time…will be different.”

Shaking himself a bit, Izuku answers, “yeah, it will! ‘Cuz after, I’m gonna drag you back to Asgard
myself!” The elf elects to say nothing, just tilting his head.

“Midoriya!” Izuku sighs. What did he say?!

“It’s just one villain Kaminari, I got him,” Izuku tells the other boy who’s running up to him with
Thunderstrike already in hand.

“He’s not from around here, is he?” The blonde questions.

“Dark Elf, ancient enemy of Asgardians.” Izuku summarizes as quickly as he can.

“Oh, yes!” Izuku jolts as the elf practically purrs at them. “Now there are two of them. More blood
for me to spill.”

Izuku’s quip dies on his tongue as the elf takes something out from his belt.

He loses the ability to breathe.

The Dark Elf was holding a black stone with red etchings on it.

“No!” Izuku flings two knives at his hand hoping to knock away the rock but it was too late.

The Dark Elf laughs and crushes the rock in his hand, the two knives bouncing off his body like
they’re nothing. Immediately, the creature is covered in lines of what could be described as lava, as
it literally melts its old body away. Black smoke expunges from its body while the elf cries out in
pain, falling to its hands and knees.

“M-Midoriya!” Kaminari takes a step back. “What’s going on?!”

“I-i-i-i-i”

“Midoriya!”

“It’s a Kurse!” Izuku finally gets out, unable to take his eyes off the horrible sight in front of him.
“Dark Elf super soldier!”

“O-ok. But you beat him before right? And there’s two of us now!” Kaminari tries.

“Kaminari!” Izuku grabs his friends and points at the Kurse. “That thing is physically stronger than
Uncle Thor and can take hits from Mjöllnir like their nothing! Our two dads, our two god dads,
barely beat one of those things centuries ago!! And it’s only because they got really lucky!”
A roar rips through the air. Not one that would belong to any living creature, not even a monster,
but a roar that would sound at home coming from a demon.

Izuku’s hand drops when the Kurse stands up, little wisps of black smoke still leaking from it. The
former Dark Elf had gotten bigger in every way. It was taller, muscles now barely contained by
armor that had layered itself and expanded to cover the greater area. Several spikes jut out from
various points on its body to complete the look.

“W-what do we do?” Kaminari looks back and forth between him and the Kurse.

He’s not sure about a lot of things right now, but there is one thing he knows. “We can’t let that
thing get to our classmates…”

Kaminari understands immediately, taking a deep breath at the same time as him. “So it’s up to
us?” His voice is almost monotone. It sounds strange coming from him.

“I guess so…” Izuku conjures his daggers. “You know, my dad always said he and Uncle Thor
make a great team.”

“Heh, my dad said the same thing.” Kaminari spun his mace a few times. “Guess it’s time to see
for ourselves.”

Izuku lowers himself into a combat stance while Kaminari mirrors him. “You ready for this, Prince
of Thunder?”

Kaminari laughs under his breath. “How long have you had that one?”

“About two seconds after you caught Thunderstrike.”

“Well…” Kaminari lets some lightning travel up and down his body. “Hope I can live up to the
name.”
 Izuku flips his daggers around. “Let’s make our dads proud!”

Tenko rubs his head. What the hell happened? One second, Yaoyorozu, Jiro, and he were beating
the crap out of some villain who tried to sneak up on them from the ground, which his HUD
warned him about, and now he’s…

He looks around. A broken fountain? So he’s in the central plaza? When did he-

“Finally.” Tenko looks up to see the Shigaraki girl peering down at him. Why is she looking at
him like he’s some rare item she’s been searching forever for? “Shimura.”

He flinches at the name but pushes it aside to hoist himself up while using his HUD to check over
his inventory and make sure all of his stuff is working. “Do I know you?”

If he thought she looked a little unhinged before, it’s nothing compared to now.

All for One leans forward in his seat, clasping his hands together. His teeth are showing in a
malevolent smile. “The two of them, together at last.”

Chapter End Notes

A lot happened so kinda long end notes, sorry.

First, the alien Loki is with, Ebony Maw, is actually a character from the MCU. I say
this cuz his name is only mentioned super briefly. And he’s the same alien Loki was
talking too in chapters 1 and 5.

Yes, Stark Industries is still around. No, Tony is long gone, sorry. Also no, Tenko’s
not getting a full Iron Man suit, just some gadgets.

I wanted to keep Shigaraki’s quirk under wraps until next chapter…but that didn’t
work out so there you go. You’ll see more applications of it next time.

And now onto Kami…in a surprise twist that absolutely none of you saw coming!…he
is Thor’s son lol. And like Izuku, he has his dad’s magic powers. Sorry Aizawa.
Just because Kami is Thor’s son doesn’t automatically mean he can lift Mjöllnir. And
even if he could, Thor’s still the current God of Thunder so the hammer is his so that’s
why Kami has his own weapon.

Also, didn’t want to make up Kami’s weapon. Thunderstrike is from the comics. I’ve
linked its wiki if you wanna see what it looks like and read about it a bit more. No,
I’m not giving him all those powers listed lol. Basically, it’s a diet Mjöllnir that you
don’t have to be worthy to use.

Phew, is that everything? I think so but probably not. Questions? Concerns? I love
your comments so let me know! Until next time!
 Now There Are Two of Them Part 2
Chapter Summary

One family reunion down! One to go…

Chapter Notes

Well I’m sure with how well the Asgardian family reunion went that the Shimura
reunion will go just as smoothly! Haha am I right?…right?!

Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Do I know you?”

Tenko crosses his hands in front of him and starts to tap a few commands on the screen attached to
his forearm without looking. No, he will not be thanking Gran for making sure he knows most of
them by heart.

Shigaraki’s maddening grin spreads more and more across her face before finally, she slumps, her
smile falling to a frown while giving him an almost casual shrug. “No…I guess after all these
years, we really wouldn’t know each other, would we?”

He shakes his head. “Pretty sure you’re having your cutscene with the wrong player.” He looks
around. A few scattered villains keep their distance. Misty guy and bird man watch on but do
nothing.

Something’s wrong. You don’t ever just skip to the final boss like this. Usually, when the boss
confronts someone like this, it’s to intimidate the player and kill one of their party mem-

Nope, not even gonna entertain that. He’s not some NPC that’s just gonna get thrown aside during
his first raid. But he can’t tell anything about her quirk!

No mutations or costume hints to give him anything. But something about her outfit nags at the
back of his head…

“Don’t worry.” Shigaraki’s voice pulls him back. She’s angling her head back at her minions.
“They’re not gonna do anything.” She smiles but there’s no happiness behind it. “I wanted to keep
this in the family, you know?”

“I know you made intelligence your dump stat,” Tenko spats back.

Shigaraki actually laughs. “See? That right there! That’s video game stuff, right? When’d you get
so obsessed with those?” She stretches one of her arms across her body, hooking her other arm just
under the elbow. “I’m more of a movie gal myself. You see the new hero movie from America?”

Tenko makes sure his HUD sensors are calibrated. They are. “You’re stalling.”

She wags her finger at him. “Not a bad assumption but nope! C’mon, I’m trying to get to know
you! Did you see the movie? It wasn’t bad but there were too many jokes and they totally wasted
the villain.”

The decay user just barely stops himself from agreeing. God, she’s annoying.

Shigaraki inhales deeply. “Sorry, just been looking forward to seeing you again,” she says in a low
voice before clapping her hands. “Alright, let’s do this! I’ll even let you make the first move.” She
gestures at him.

Part of him wants to question her but Tenko wasn’t about to let her foregoing initiative go to waste.
Without waiting any longer, he drops a pellet on the ground, blanketing them both in a
smokescreen.

“So you’re not a frontal attack kinda guy,” he hears her call from somewhere in the smoke. “I
respect that. Oh, I’m learning so much about you!”

Tenko doesn’t have the best dexterity so his stealth stat suffers from it before the cover of smoke
really helps. His HUD automatically adapts letting him see through the cover right where Shigaraki
is. She hadn’t moved, she was just standing there waving her arms back and forth with a smile on
her face.
Hopefully, he won’t ever have to find out what her quirk is. He turns up the tasing function on his
gloves a little higher than they normally go while getting behind her. ‘Gotta make sure this knocks
her out.’

He waits for her to turn her head the other way before lunging at her back, hands outstretched-

Only to collide with a blue barrier surrounding Shigaraki. Tenko lets the electricity surge, gritting
his teeth while he tries to push through, but nothing.

For her part, Shigaraki giggles while turning around. “You like my quirk? I wanted to make sure no
one, especially you, could ever attack me from behind again.”

The barrier creates a surge of its own and it blasts Tenko back, the repulsors on his shoes the only
thing keeping him from falling. He looks up as Shigaraki leisurely walks out of the smoke.

She smirks at him, raising her arm and creating a fast spinning disk made of energy that was
slightly bigger than her hand. With a flick of her wrist, the disk is flung at him and Tenko doesn’t
need his HUD to tell him to dodge.

“Good!” She sounds excited. “I would’ve been really disappointed if that hit you.”

His sensors scream at him and Tenko barely dives to the ground in time before the disc goes
soaring over him like the world's most dangerous boomerang. Shigaraki returns the disk to herself
and with a wave of her hand, it vanishes.

“Hey! What about Godzillo’s last movie? You know, when they had that new version of Mecha-
Godzillo? Is that something you’d like?” She tilts her head and if she wasn’t trying to kill them all,
he’d think she was genuinely interested.

“Shut up!” Tenko’s shoes launch him at Shigaraki and he lands on one knee in front of her, one
hand on the ground while he drives his fist to her midsection-

Only to be met by another barrier.

“Aren’t video games supposed to make people more creative?” She taunts.

To her surprise, he returns her taunting smile. “They do.” She follows his eyes to his hand on the
ground. The glove had retracted, freeing his fingers and decaying the ground around her.

He lifts his hand and Shigaraki stumbles, the ground around her crumbling and making her lose her
footing. Her shield falls.

‘She failed her concentration check!’ Tenko opens his punching hand and channels the power from
his shoes into his glove. Shigaraki only has time to widen her eyes before a blast of repulsor energy
from Tenko’s glove throws her a few meters back, sending her sprawling on the ground.

He doesn’t waste any time, switching configurations and chasing after Shigaraki, Tenko sprays her
down with instant hardening foam hoping to seal her to the ground.

Before he can finish, Shigaraki laughs and her foam prison explodes causing Tenko to back up,
wiping debris from his eyes. “I underestimated you!” She doesn’t have to sound so damn happy
about it.

She creates a disc about half the size of her body and with a leap, she hurls it at him, the projectile
now even faster than the last one.

Tenko doesn’t even think, closing his fist, he creates a small shield made out of the same tech as
his gloves and shoes. He barely gets it up in time before the disc collides with him, knocking the
wind out of him and pushing the boy back a few centimeters.

With a yell, Tenko shoves the disc away, only to have to spin to the side before Shigaraki can bring
a second equally sized disc attached to her hand down on top of him. “Oh, you’re fast!”

Seeing the barrier protecting her backside, he gets an idea. Jumping at her, he retracts both sets of
gloves and slams all ten fingers on her shield.

Immediately, the shield reacts violently. Constantly fizzing out before coming back, only to
reconstruct itself again. Shigaraki’s smile that she had worn throughout the fight morphs into a
snarl as she raises both of her hands. In the corner of his vision, Tenko notices both the discs that
had been attacking him disappear.

“You can only focus on so many things at once, can’t you?” Tenko analyzes.

“Should’ve figured you’d think you’re so smart after being pampered by the heroes your whole
life.” She snaps. “What’s wrong? Haven’t decayed enough little girls in your life?!”

Tenko jumps back as if he’d been burned, memories racing through his mind.

“Wait, don’t go!”

Five-year-old Tenko chased after his big sister, Hana. He doesn’t know what’s happening! What
villain was attacking them?! “Help me!” is the last thing he said to his sister before he grabbed
her and she decayed away in his hands…

Shigaraki punching him in the face and toppling onto the ground rips Tenko from his flashback.
“H-h-how…how do you know about that?…” the blue-haired boy rubs his jaw with his left hand
and he doesn’t even know when his right hand started to scratch his neck.

The villain looks herself over. “I know I look a bit more put together than the last time you saw me
but…” she switches to a more innocent voice. “Don’t you recognize me, little brother?”

Tenko’s mind goes blank before a charge of disbelief restarts him. “Liar!” He’s charging back at
her shield instantly, fingers outstretched to decay it before suddenly, the shield drops. On instinct,
Tenko covers his hand with his glove again and tries to stop himself, tripping on his own feet in
the process.

Shigaraki moves out of the way and he feels a fist collide with the back of his head, sending him
face first back into the ground.

“Don’t be dumb, Shimura.” Tenko involuntarily flinches while getting to his hands and knees.
Shigaraki stops right next to him. “You don’t like being called Shimura?”
“No…” he tries to shake away the memories threatening to burst. “I don’t deserve it.”

Tenko looks up, expecting some fury of emotions but is surprised when instead, Shigaraki’s face is
subdued, almost pensive. For an attack, it’s eerily silent around them, the only sound being
Shigaraki’s cape flapping in the wind. “You…care about what you did?”

He can’t respond before Shigaraki yells in frustration, crashing the flat side of one of her discs
against his face. He grunts in pain but can’t fall before Shigaraki grabs his collar and sits him up on
his knees.

“NO! You don’t get to pretend! ” She shrieks in his face. “To-to pretend to care now that I’m a
threat!” She backs up, breathing heavily.

“I…I don’t know you…” Tenko wheezes.

“That’s hurtful,” Shigaraki says. Some of her playful tone and a small smile returning. “All I ever
wanted to do was cheer you on, Tenko.”

Dammit, another flashback.

His father’s study. A picture of a hero. It was supposed to be a secret but they had found it. Their
grandma was a hero! And he was going to be one too! And Hana would be next to him…

“I’m cheering you on, Tenko!”

Tenko’s eyes bulge. “No…t-that’s…t-t-that’s…” he can’t get enough air in his lungs to get the
words out. That’s impossible! Hana is dead! He saw it happen! Hana was-no! IS! Hana IS dead.

But then…how does she know things only Hana would…

“You’re starting to accept it,” Ha- Shigaraki states it as a fact. “Don’t worry Shimura, I’ll protect
you like a big sister should.” She holds her hand out and one of her barriers encircles him
completely.
“I want to show you a neat trick,” she answers the confused look on his face. “I have a lot of
control over these.”

Tenko ignores the twist of her hand. ‘Alright, she’s just trying to use confusion on me and I will not
be hurting myself in my confusion! Just gotta take a breath and-‘

Wait…

He takes a breath…but then he doesn’t. There’s no air filling his lungs. He can’t breathe. She
made her barrier dense enough to not let air through?! He’s choking!

In a panic, Tenko looks around frantically while his hands clutch his throat, which is still trying to
take in air in vain.

“Your pain.” Han-Shigaraki relishes the word. “Is only just starting…”

Tears start to well up in his eyes, his throat is burning. Tenko isn’t sure how much more he can
take. His body keeps trying to involuntarily bring air into his lungs but every time, it fails and it
hurts.

But, he isn’t even sure it’s real at first, he sucks in a breath and it works! Air had never tasted so
good. His lungs fill with oxygen, clearing Tenko’s head.

He realizes her barrier is gone and is only able to get a glimpse of Hana’s shocked face before a
very familiar scarf wraps her up and a fist collides with her face, making her go limp.

“Aizawa!” Tenko exclaims. It’s then he realizes his sensei’s quirk is active and he has both
Shigaraki and Kurogiri in his sight, explaining how he could breathe.

“Get up the stairs with the others, Tenko, now,” his teacher tells him, not taking his eyes off the
villains. The blue-haired boy didn’t need to be told twice! He scurries up to his feet. It was ok now.
Aizawa was here which means combat was over and they can get their epilogue cutscene.
At least he thought so until Hana starts to laugh.

“Hey, Midoriya?”

“Yeah, Kaminari?”

“Do you think our dads are proud?”

He’s probably asking since the Kurse had just finished yeeting them both through the second floor
of an office building and now they laid on top of broken supplies and debris.

“Hey, Kaminari?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

His new-found cousin can’t stop himself from breaking into giggles and darn it, it’s infectious
because Izuku does too.

“Alright alright.” Kaminari groans, getting back on his feet before holding his hand out. “Here.”

“You regen faster than me?” Izuku asks, eyeing Kaminari’s injuries before letting the other boy
pull him up. “That’s not fair.”

“Yup. Got a little enhanced strength and speed from my dad too. Not to mention his dashing good
looks.” Kaminari dramatically flips his hair back for effect.

“I can literally turn into anyone,” Izuku deadpans, balancing himself on his own two feet.
Kaminari hums. “Okay, that is really cool,” he concedes. “Your clones are still distracting it?”

Izuku shakes his head. “Not for long. And I checked, he doesn’t have a black hole grenade on him.
That’s how our dads beat the one they fought.”

“…shit.”

Izuku can’t help but agree.

The roar from down on the street catches both of their attention. “We’re almost out of time,” Izuku
says urgently. ”How’s your storm manipulation?”

“It’s scary how much you know about my powers.” Kaminari tries to lighten the situation. “And I
got the basics down.”

“Okay, well…” Izuku looks back and forth between the hole in the wall they flew through and
Kaminari. “We don’t have to beat it, just keep it busy until help comes…hopefully…make some
storms and batter it around. I’ll keep the decoys up.”

Kaminari nods, spinning Thunderstrike in his hand while the boys run to the hole in the wall and
look down, seeing the Kurse destroying another clone. “Cowards!!” It shrieks.

The Kurse holds its hands up to its face when the wind picks up, starting to slowly push it back.
Random lightning strikes the creature, pushing him back further.

Izuku sends another batch of clones of himself and Kaminari and like he hoped, every time the
Kurse attempts to swipe at one of his illusions, it throws off the center of balance of the creature,
pushing him back even more.

“We keep this up and maybe we can-“

“There you are!” Izuku is interrupted by the Kurse looking up and right at them. Against the
storm, it roars and digs its hands into the street, ripping up a huge slab of concrete and before either
boy can do anything, the Kurse chucks it right at them.

“And we are out of time!” Kaminari grabs him and jumps out of the hole right before the slab hits
them.

They both hit the street rolling hard. The slab impacts the building creating a dust cloud as it did
so. “I’ll stall him and then you hit him with some supercharged lightning, got it?” Izuku hisses to
his companion, who gives him an affirmative.

Before the dust settles, glowing green lines cover Izuku and when they fade, a Dark Elf kneels in
his place. But the elf Izuku had turned himself into was different, only one he had seen in his
grandfather’s book. His armor was more decorated with symbols and he had no mask, giving a
clear view of his pale pointed face, ears, and bald head. He had turned himself into Malekith,
leader of the Dark Elves.

“Start charging,” Izuku says in the deep, almost distorted voice of the elf king before walking out.

The Kurse roars in anticipation but stops when he sees who walks out of the dust. “My lord?” It’s
almost funny to see something so big walk up to him with so much hesitance. “It is you?”

Trying to remember everything he was told, Izuku keeps it simple. “Kneel.”

And the Kurse does, he kneels, head down, with no hesitance. Oh, his dad would probably be
ecstatic if he saw that.

“Did you see that?! He got him to kneel to him!” Loki points at the screen, laughing happily. “He’s
taking after me more and more! That’s my Izuku!”

“You are embarrassing us,” Maw says, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Loki turns to him, a giant orange foam finger that says ‘Izuku #1’ on his hand. “I don’t know what
you could possibly mean.”
He sees Kaminari sneaking up on the side but he can’t let this chance go. “I have been away a long
time. Are you the last?”

“No, my lord! No!” Izuku has to swallow his fears. The Kurse sounds so happy. “We gather our
strength! The Mad Titan allows us to spread our darkness to half the people of every planet we
invade!”

It takes everything he has to remain neutral, almost uncaring as he thinks Malekith would act. “And
where do our forces lie?”

The Kurse nods eagerly. “We have set base on Lamentis-1.” He looks up. “To think you have-“ he
stops, eyes narrowing. “My king…” The creature slowly stands. “How did you heal the face
wound the Thunder God gave you?”

Oh…OH! Well, Uncle Thor never mentioned that little detail when talking about the dark elves.
Guess it’s now or never.

“Now!” Izuku yells, turning back into himself. Kaminari shouts and drives Thunderstrike forward,
casting a huge bolt of lightning that strikes the Kurse in the chest. It yells in surprise, bringing its
arms up to try and shield itself.

Izuku stores the information he learned for later, he’s gotta make sure to let his dad know but right
now, it’s time to take advantage.

The greenette slides by the Kurse’s leg, grabbing it to stop and bring himself to his knees. They’re
never gonna be able to actually stop this thing, but hopefully, they can slow it down!

Conjuring his daggers, Izuku stabs the creature several times in the back of his legs. The ankles,
shins, back of the knees, he slashes anywhere he can think to stop it from walking.

A low growl catches his attention and he looks up to see the elf glaring at him. His stabbing hadn't
affected it at all…
“You dared to impersonate my king!” The Kurse slams his foot into Izuku’s chest hard, causing
the boy to cry out. He feels something crack inside him before being sent flying down the street.

“Midoriya!” The Dark Elf is on Kaminari before he can do anything else, the blonde just barely
dodges a swipe before hitting his opponent in the stomach as hard as he could with Thunderstrike,
letting loose a miniature shockwave.

But to his horror, the Kurse just cackles at his attempt. “Feeble.” As if to prove his point,
Kaminari is swat away like he was a bug, landing close to Izuku.

“Your corpses will make excellent decorations.” Kaminari looks up, blood leaking from his mouth,
eyes not completely in focus. The elf chuckles and raises his fist but stops when Izuku, mustering
up some of his leftover strength, jumps onto the Kurse’s shoulders from behind. The creature just
now realizing the Izuku next to Kaminari was a decoy.

“Don’t touch him!” Izuku brings his dagger down as hard as he can through the eyehole of the elf’s
mask, a sickening squelch reaching all their ears. But again, the Kurse doesn’t react.

“You are entertaining at the very least.” He reaches up and grabs Izuku’s arm, a sharp crack
making the green-haired howl in pain once more, but is quickly cut off when he’s slammed onto
the street.

“N-!” Kaminari can’t even finish his exclamation before Izuku is thrown into him and both boys
are sent flying again. He doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to admit how thankful he was for
Kaminari hugging him close in the air and taking the brunt of their landing.

As quickly as he could, Izuku creates a dozen copies of his friend to distract the Kurse for even a
minute so they could breathe.

“I..” Kaminari is panting. “I think…we need a bit more practice on this-on this team part.” He tries
to laugh but groans holding his side.

“You should go,” Izuku says, lifting himself on his good arm. “Get Koda and get out of here. I can
keep it busy with my clones and stuff while you make sure everyone gets out of here.”
“No way, man,” Kaminari says with a lot more certainty than he was speaking with before. “I’m
not leaving you with that thing.”

“Just listen-“

“ Dude.” Izuku promptly loses his retort. Kaminari’s reply and it being in Asgardian no less, take
him off guard.

“You’re as hard-headed as your dad…” judging by the smile, he took that as a compliment. Is this
why his dad stabbed Uncle Thor all the time? He’s starting to see the appeal. “But I’m not sure
what we can do against…”

“I know right?! We need someone like All Might to even put a dent in him!” Kaminari moans.

“Yeah someone like…” Izuku jolts. “I think I got it! I know what we can do!! How’s your
flying?!”

Kaminari glances between him and Thunderstrike, looking unsure. “Um…define flying?”

“It’ll be just like flying!”

“Your attempts to reassure me are welcoming, Dark Shadow, but I do believe we have different
definitions of flight!” Tenya chops his arms as best he could on top of the sinking boat.

“Perhaps we can table this discussion for a later date?” Tokoyami’s usual stoic voice has a sense of
insistence in it while he secures himself to Tenya’s back.

“Of course, if you are ready, Tokoyami?” Iida stands on one side of the boat, lowering himself into
a runner’s stance.

“The villains make that mute.” As if to emphasize his point, the boat rocks again from another
attack.
Iida takes a breath while his engines roar to life. ‘I had hoped to save this until the sports festival
but that doesn’t matter when lives are at stake!’ The engines explode as Tenya screams,
“Reciproburst!”

Before Tokoyami can process anything, Tenya is across the ship, planting his feet on the railing
and jumping as hard as he can.

The two teenagers are launched into the air, sailing over the water. “Now!” Dark Shadow
intertwines herself around Tenya’s leg and he spins midair for only a couple of seconds before
catapulting Tokoyami and Dark Shadow even further ahead.

“Go, Dark Shadow!” Tokoyami calls out.

“I got this!” The quirk races back over and grabs Tenya and drags him back just in time for the
two to land at the edge of the Flood Zone. “Wow! If we’re being honest, I didn’t think that would
work.”

Both panting boys only have time to throw her a glare before a splash interrupts them. “You didn’t
think it’d be that easy, did you!” One of the villains had already made his way to where they were
and had jumped out of the water at them. “Nice t-urk!”

A grey scarf tugs the man out of the air and into the waiting fist of Aizawa-sensei who downs him
instantly. “All of you get back up to the main entrance, now!” Two more villains yelp as Aizawa
rips them from the water with his capture weapon and batters them together.

Tenya looks around his teacher to see Ojiro kneeling next to Asui who had mostly submerged
herself in the water, along with Yaoyorozu and Jiro who stood behind him on land, and looked
worried.

“We got out of the Conflagration Zone at the same time they were leaving the Mountain Zone.”
Ojiro gestures to the girls. “We saw you guys land and came over.”

“Thank you for everything, Ojiro. Ribbit,” Asui says, getting back on her shaky feet.
“It was nothing.”

“Sensei!” Aizawa spins around after sending another villain flying to see where Jiro is pointing.
Tenya gasps at the sight in the central plaza. Shimura is on his knees in front of Shigaraki, and it
doesn’t look good.

After making sure the rest of the water villains were still a far way off, Aizawa sprints toward the
main villains. “Yaoyorozu! You’re in charge! Get everyone back to the main entrance!” He calls
out behind him.

All the teenagers look toward their vice-representative who looks uncertain for a moment, looking
out over the facility before making a decision and hardening her resolve. “We are going to do what
Aizawa-sensei wants us to do!…however, with a slight detour.”

“With all due respect!” Tenya chops. “Aizawa-sensei told us to head back to the entrance!”

“I think…” Yaoyorozu looks even more hesitant than before. “I believe if our class rep was here,
he would say something to the effect of, sensei never said we had to head there first…”

Tenya’s mouth can’t decide if it wants to zip shut or hang open so it alternates.

She points to the area across from them. “We have everyone from the mountain, conflagration, and
flood zones. We’ll go across and stop at the landslide and ruins zones, picking up our classmates,
before making our way back to the main entrance. We will drop off any injured and the rest will
proceed and help whosoever is in the downpour zone. Any objections?”

“Shouldn’t we split up so we can get to the people in the downpour zone faster?” Asui asks,
putting a finger to her mouth.

Yaoyorozu shakes her head. “We are a small group and I am afraid if we split, even in half, we will
not have the numbers necessary to help any of our classmates in their respective zones. I believe
this way, we can proceed the fastest. Are we agreed?”

“Yes!!”
Shigaraki’s laugh is high and shrill, her whole body shakes inside the capture weapon. “You think
you’re gonna get away that easy, Shimura! Nomu!” It happens in a blink. Hana is free and the
monster has Aizawa up in the air before slamming him face first into the ground.

The man tries to free himself but it only results in the Nomu slamming him down again.

“Well? You were the one the heroes chose to save? What are you gonna do?” Shigaraki taunts.
“Surely, they gave you some lessons while they babied and coddled you. I bet they told you things
like it wasn’t your fault and you shouldn’t blame yourself!”

She raises her hand. “Well news flash, Shimura!” Her voice gets low and laced with venom. “I
blame you. For all of it!” Hana drops her arm and with a stomach curling-crunch, Nomu twists
Aizawa’s arm, breaking it and causing a muffled scream to erupt from the man.

“Stop!” Hana looks at him curiously. “P-please just stop…Hana…”

To his surprise, she flinches but recovers quickly. “So you believe me?”

“I’m not sure…” Tenko says hesitantly. “But if somehow it really is you…I don’t know how
you've respawned…but if it’s worth anything…I’m sorry. For killing you. For mom and everyone,
I’m sorry Hana so please…don’t hurt sensei ‘cuz you’re mad at me.”

Hana’s face switches to disgust. “My name is Hirona now. And you think you can fix everything
with a sorry? Killing me? Everything he did to me over the years?!”

She actually laughs a little. “No, you can’t. And how noble of you, I bet you want me to hurt you
instead, hm? Well, no worries there little brother. We’re gonna fight, I’m gonna hurt you and when
I feel better, then I’m going to kill you.”

She makes a disc that’s almost as big as her. “Shall we begin?” Tenko quickly types the command
into his system. He’s got another surprise for her and hopefully, it’ll give him an advantage in the
fight.
Hana hurls the weapon and Tenko jumps, the repulsors in his shoes activating to give him enough
lift to get over the blade but this time, he doesn’t come down.

He uses a few short repulsor bursts from his hands to orient himself but after, he’s left high in the
air above everyone else, held up by the repulsors in his feet.

“So you can fly now too?” Hana asks incredulously.

“The old guy I live with prefers to call it floating!” The bruises on his shins won’t let him call it
anything else.

The look of excitement on his maybe sister’s face does little to help his confidence. “Well sorry,
but you’re not the only one who can float!” Her disc returns to her and hovers just off the ground in
front of her. Hana makes sure to give him another egotistical look before stepping onto the disc
like it was a platform and like she said, using it to float up to his level.

“Looks like you got nowhere else to run?” She says in a fake ‘I’m feeling sorry for you’ voice.
“Don’t feel too bad! It’s just like one of your video games! Except now, it’s game over.”

A loud BANG from the entrance startles both of them and they look down to see the facility's
entrance doors fly off their hinges. “It’s fine now. Why?” Tenko nearly falls in relief when he
sees All Might step through the doorway, ripping off his tie. “Because I AM HERE!”

“It looks like…” Tenko can’t help himself. “We’re getting a continue.”

Toshinori is angry. No, he’s downright furious. Both at himself and the villains for allowing this to
happen. But he’ll have time to dwell on it and kick himself later. Now? Now he has a job to do.

He moves . In a flash, every villain on the ground in the central plaza is knocked out and he’s
brought Aizawa back up the stairs. “I’m sorry, Aizawa. I should have been here.”

“Just shut up and save the kids.” After leaving Aizawa with Uraraka, he looks up to see two figures
in the sky. One was young Tenko, making good use of the tech he was given. So the other must be
the leader young Ashido described-

Toshinori stops when he gets a good look at her. The hair, the bodysuit, the yellow boots, that
white cape…for a brief moment, his mind plays a trick on him and he swears he sees his old master
up in the air once again. But it's not…

But then something else happens. Something he’s never experienced before. He looks back and
forth between young Tenko and the villain when suddenly, One for All pulses inside him.

It’s like a ripple that originates from his core and spreads throughout his entire body. And it is
cascading with emotions.

He didn’t know how, but he knew it had something to do with seeing the two teenagers floating
above him. He feels waves of anger, nausea, and even happiness before it is all consumed by
despair. One for All ripples again. Don’t ask him how, but it’s like his quirk is sobbing at the sight
before him.

“What’s wrong, All Might?” The villain questions, taking a step forward on her platform. “Do I…
remind you of someone you know?” Her smile widens. “Or maybe…someone you used to know?”

More images of his dead master clutter his mind, this time he knows where the sadness he feels
comes from. The girl above him continues to flash between her and Nana.

The hero doesn’t know what’s going on, but he knows he’s heard enough. With a mighty leap, All
Might lunges for the villain, attempting to grab her, but the platform she’s on vanishes, causing her
to fall and subsequently, dodge his grapple.

Toshinori looks down to see the girl creating small platforms under her feet letting her run down to
the ground in a weird sort of ‘air walk.’ With a flick, he’s on the villain again, but a hulking black
mass blocks his way.

No matter, the veteran hero winds up and punches the bird man, intending to send him flying (pun
most definitely intended) but to his shock, the man doesn’t move. Instead, he returns the punch All
Might just threw at him, forcing the hero to dodge.

“All Might, meet Nomu! He’ll be the one kicking your ass today!” As if spurred by his leader’s
words, Nomu throws a flurry of punches at him, putting Toshinori on his back foot as he moves to
block them.

He jumps back and the Nomu roars, getting set for round 2. But an explosion from the downpour
zone grabs everyone’s attention as a figure soars out of the zone and to them.

‘Wait…’ Toshinori realizes. ‘That’s two figures…’

“You call this control!!”

“You can criticize my flying when you learn it yourself!”

Izuku won’t take that jab lying down. Even if technically he was laying on Kaminari’s back with
his good arm around the other boy’s neck while the blonde hung onto Thunderstrike with both
hands.

It was all he could do while the mace flew them through the air. “Alright, next time, I’ll throw
Thunderstrike!”

“No way! Get your own magical flying item!”

“But yours is right there!”

“Hey! It’s still following us right?!” Kaminari looks around, blatantly ignoring his intelligent
argument. Besides, the Kurse roaring and blasting the doors to the downpour zone open seems to
be answer enough.

“Aim for Shigaraki!” Izuku tries to point at the villain leader but winces, his arm isn’t there yet.

Kaminari leans and sets them on a collision course but a portal appears in front of them, threatening
their plan. “I don’t think I can avoid it!” Kaminari screams.
Before Izuku can think of anything, a loud clap from the plaza surprises both boys, a clap from All
Might who had created a strong rush of air with it aimed right at Kurogiri. The portal man cries out
before being blown away, his portal disappearing.

“Kaminari, use Thunderstrike!”

“I’m not a Pokémon!” Kaminari straightens his body when they are near the ground next to
Shigaraki. Izuku tightens his hold but his friend shows no discomfort as he swings his weapon at
the villain who had put up a shield.

With a loud CRACK! He strikes her shield. Shigaraki screams just as the attack hits and she’s sent
hurling away.

“Midoriya, use hypnosis!” Oh yeah, he totally gets why his dad stabbed his brother all the time
now. But that’s for later. For now…

Izuku lets go of Kaminari, trying to stand on his wobbly feet when another green light overtakes
him, transforming him into Shigaraki again. “Nomu, to me!” The monster listens, standing in front
of her in an instant.

“Young Mido-“

“Nomu!” Izuku ignores the hero, creating an illusion of her normal self next to her. “From now on
you will listen to this boy, Izuku Midoriya, and no one else!”

“You brat!” Shigaraki was back. “Kill that kid, Nomu! Kill him now!”

Izuku’s not sure when he was moved, it caught him so off guard he had turned back into himself,
but one second the Nomu was in front of him, and the next he was standing by All Might.

But to all their astonishment, the Nomu hadn’t moved. It just stood there, looking blank as ever.
“Nomu! Didn’t you hear me?! Kill the green-haired kid!” Shigaraki orders again.
All Might tenses but nothing happens. The confusion is pierced by the shriek of the Kurse who,
unlike Nomu, seems to have no qualms about killing Izuku as he comes close for a strike.

A strike that never lands thanks to All Might grabbing the elf’s arm. “I am afraid I cannot allow
that!” The number one hero ducks the next attack and lands a solid blow to the Kurse’s face and
finally, even if only a little, the monster staggers.

Of course, that just makes him angrier. After being hit with two more punches, the alien gets ahold
of All Might’s arm and heaves him away.

Well, All Might could probably use some help, couldn’t he? Izuku smirks before speaking.

“Nomu.”

The creature turns to him.

Izuku points at the Kurse.

“Smash.”

If Nomu could smile, he thinks it just did. With an elated roar, Nomu streaks toward the Kurse,
rearing its fist back. At the same time, All Might charges as well, both powerful warriors’ fists
colliding with the elf’s chest at the same time.

The ferocious hit blows Izuku’s hair back while the Dark Elf screeches from the impact, which
sends it flying away. All Might lands next to the Nomu, eyeing it warily.

“It’s ok!” Izuku calls out. “He’s on our side now!” For his part, the Nomu ignores All Might and
jumps after the Kurse to continue its assault.

“I suppose stranger things have happened!” All Might jumps to continue the fight as well.
“What…” Izuku turns back to Shigaraki, who looks gobsmacked. The sound of fighting now in the
background “is happening…”

Izuku chuckles, coughing up a little blood. “What’s wrong? Can’t handle a little mischief?”

Kurogiri appears next to his boss. “Shigaraki, perhaps we should-“

But she’s having none of that. “If it’s the last thing I do, kid! I swear-“

“DIE!!” An explosion Izuku never thought he’d ever be relieved to hear sounds near them before
Kacchan tackles Kurogiri by his metal plate.

“Wha-“ Shigaraki can’t finish before a tongue wraps around her and throws her to the side and a
cascade of ice encases her up to her shoulders.

Kacchan lets off a few small explosions against Kurogiri threateningly. “Move and you die!”

“That’s, uh, manly.” Kirishima laughs nervously, running up to his friend. “But maybe we should
try something a little more heroic?”

“Move and you’ll die quickly!” To be honest, that’s actually a bit of an improvement in Izuku’s
opinion.

“Kaminari, I think we’re good. You should get Koda.” The other magic user nods at him and takes
off back to the downpour zone.

Izuku looks up to see most of his classmates now gathered in the plaza with Yaoyorozu walking up
to him. “You’re hurt.” Her quirk is already beginning to glow.

Oh, right. He was still covered in scrapes, had a bloody head, messed up arm, and a leg he couldn’t
fully stand on. Meh, could’ve been worse. Izuku shakes his head. “I’m fine. We should-“

“You think this is over!!” The ice around Shigaraki explodes with over a dozen flying discs soaring
away. Todoroki protects himself and others with walls of ice. Kacchan lets off a few explosions to
destroy a few of them but they’re too small and fast and he’s forced to jump off Kurogiri.

Shigaraki sends a noticeably bigger disc at Tsu, faster than anyone can react. Well, almost anyone.
A large blast from the air is heard and Tenko tackles the girl out of the way just in time, the blue-
haired boy looking around after as if confused about how he got there.

“Shigaraki, I insist on a tactical retreat.” The villain looks livid at her subordinate.

“But I still haven’t-“ she gasps, barely turning her head to the side to avoid Izuku’s throwing knife,
which is still able to leave a shallow cut on her cheek, drawing blood.

She glares at him, summoning more discs and Izuku gives her a smug look in return, conjuring
more knives. Shigaraki bares her teeth and glances around. Most of his classmates were getting
their bearings. All Might had just thrown the Kurse to an airborne Nomu who punched the elf back
into the ground.

Dark brown eyes find their way back to Izuku, filled with hate. “You’ll pay for today. Kurogiri,
let's go. We’re done.” She’s covered in a purple mist and like that, they’re both gone.

Izuku releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding. That was it then. It was almost over. All
that was left was…

The Nomu screeches as it hits the ground next to them, the Kurse on top of the prone monster
drilling it with as many punches as he could. The Nomu catches one of its hands in its beak and
squeezes down hard, causing several cracks.

The Kurse roars, standing up and lifting the bird creature from where it had clasped itself. The elf
tries to pry the Nomu’s mouth open but a body slam by All Might sends him tumbling instead.

All Might and the Nomu stand together, staring down the Kurse. “You are all beneath me!” It
screams before charging.

The Kurse charges All Might, throwing a wild punch which the hero ducks and retaliates with a hit
to his ribs. The elf stumbles toward the Nomu who begins with a powerful backhand to its face.
Stumbling back further, All Might tries to take advantage, going for another punch, but the Kurse
catches the fist and hits the hero back hard in the face. Nomu nearly catches him off guard, but the
Kurse blocks its next punch with his arm.

While his attention is on the Nomu, All Might is able to land a crushing blow to the elf’s back,
throwing him off balance, letting Nomu jump in the air and deliver a devastating blow to the
Kurse’s head, but the alien persists, punching Nomu in the stomach hard enough to send it flying.

Now turning all of its attention to All Might, the Kurse is relentless. Blocking a punch, he rips and
gashes at All Might with one hand while continuously punching him back with the other. The
number one hero grunts, but holds true even as he spits up blood.

“Fear not…” All Might sets his feet. “For a hero…can always break out of a tough spot!” He
puts his arms together and spreads them apart, hitting both of the Kurse’s arms, breaking his
attack.

All Might doesn’t wait, launching a fury of punches so fast that Izuku can’t keep up, all he knows
is every hit was generating a torrent of wind around them both.

The Kurse roars and tries to set his own feet but before he can, the Nomu returns and mirrors All
Might, launching its own plethora of punches too fast to see at the elf’s back, the wind has gotten
so intense it was knocking students off their feet, but no one can seem to take their eyes off the
spectacle.

“I hope you understand these words, villain!” All Might pulls his fist back, as does the Nomu,
the air quivers around the hero from the sheer power he’s cultivating. “Go Beyond! PLUS
ULTRA!”

All Might drives his fist into the Kurse’s face at the same time the Nomu roars, driving its own fist
into the elf’s lower back. There is an explosion of dust and wind and anyone left standing falls and
covers their eyes.

When Izuku opens them, All Might stands triumphant. The Nomu holds its hand out and screeches
in victory to the sky. The Kurse lay seemingly unconscious on the ground, black smoke leaking
from its body.
 “We have arrived!” Izuku and the rest of the class turn in time to see Principal Nezu with what
looks like the rest of the UA staff behind him. “Create a perimeter around the students and clear
the facility of any remaining villains!”

“Yes, sir!”

Izuku hops to his feet in excitement, nearly forgetting his injuries. But they don’t forget him. He
whimpers and feels like he’s gonna fall again when a surprisingly giant but gentle hand stops him.

He looks up to see it was the Nomu, looking down at him. Finally, Izuku lets himself relax a little.
They were going to be ok.

Chapter End Notes

Welp, there you have it! The USJ is done. What’d you guys think? I guess technically
the Shimura family reunion could’ve gone worse?…I mean Tenko’s alive so that’s a
plus.

And so are the alien bros! Even though no, they didn’t have even a fraction of a
chance in beating a Kurse. And I’m sorry the green bean had to get hurt so badly, but
at least Aizawa was less hurt a little so…yay?

Also, Kaminari’s enhanced durability, stamina, and regen is all just a little better then
Izuku’s. While also having a little bit of his dad’s strength and speed. He’s more of the
physical fighter, like Thor is to Loki.

Anyways, hope you guys liked the chapter. Some people have to have some important
conversations after all this. And not just heroes. But questions? Concerns? Love your
comments as always so let me know! Until next time!
 Nothing I Can’t Handle
Chapter Summary

USJ aftermath. Also Izuku being bonked for several different reasons

Chapter Notes

So…I couldn’t tell, did you guys like the Nomu or not? Haha anyways, I regret
everything and nothing.

Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“You are embarrassing us,” Maw says, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Loki turns to him, a giant orange foam finger that says ‘Izuku #1’ on his hand. “I don’t know what
you could possibly mean.”

“I apologize for the interruption,” All for One says, not sounding sorry at all. “But you may wish
to turn your attention back to the screen.”

Maw pales. “He’s learned where the Dark Elf forces are?!” He looks positively livid when Loki
starts to laugh even harder. “You find the threatening of our entire operation humorous?!”

Loki uses the foam finger to wipe a tear. “If I said yes, how upset would you be?” The God
continues before Maw can yell more. It was rude to fight when you are someone’s guest. “Oh, do
relax. Our operation is in no danger.”

All for One rubs his chin. “It is thoughtful that your boy knew to gather information on his enemy
in a time like this.”

“Of course he does.” Loki crosses his arms, the giant orange finger sticking out. “I taught Izuku the
importance of intelligence gathering. He knows you can’t win a war unless you have contacts on
both sides.”
“And now he uses your lessons against us,” Maw seethes.

The Mischief God winces when his son is thrown by the Kurse. He’s been there. “You
continuously insult me. I’ve made sure Izuku has complete trust in me and no others. He will give
me the information.”

The boys on the screen get ready to fly but All for One turns to the Asgardian. “Is there any reason
as to why you never told us you had a nephew?”

Loki holds back his usual sneer. “You never asked.”

All for One seems to mull over the response before turning back around. “Indeed.”

“They are flying back to the plaza,” Maw observes, his hand stroking his chin. “It would seem they
are going to fight again over the Nomu.”

Loki gasps. “Wait…is he…”

“Why does the creature no longer listen to your protege? Has it malfunctioned?” Maw demands.

“Pffff” Loki loses his footing as he erupts in laughter, falling against the wall. Maw straightens and
even All for One takes his attention off the Shimura siblings. “Brilliant Izuku! Brilliant!”

Maw can’t seem to find words. “Did he just…”

“My son made your Nomu his pet!” Loki screams in glee through his laughter.

“And now he uses it to defeat our Dark Elf?!” Maw’s words fall on deaf ears while Loki can’t
breathe. “This is funny to you?!”

“I am so proud!” Loki ignores him. “And you!” He points his foam finger at Maw…threateningly.
“That will teach you to doubt my boy again!”

Maw scoffs. “If you wish to intimidate me, perhaps you should use an actual weapon.”

Loki cackles. “This foam finger in my hands is more dangerous than any weapon in yours.”

The alien squawks but All for One waves his hand for their attention. “Gentlemen. As entertaining
as this has been. I believe the attack has ended.”

He was right. Hirona was back at the bar looking crestfallen and the Kurse had been defeated. Loki
lifts the finger away from Maw only to point it at him one more time, narrowing his eyes. The
Maw rolls his eyes and Loki chuckles, vanishing the item.

“Well, I must say, this was a very enlightening experience,” Loki says cheerfully.

Maw looks less pleased. “The Nomu will be far less useful to us if your son can control them.”

“Not to worry.” All for One easily dismisses his concerns. Messages and plans are already being
filtered through a few of the screens. “I am already working on solutions to implement on all
current and future Nomu so this does not occur again.”

Loki reads in between the lines. “You have more Nomu than the ones we’ve seen.” It’s not a
question. “You didn’t tell us this?”

All for One leans back in his chair. “You never asked.”

Oh, this was not over.

“It is time we took our leave.” Maw takes over the conversation.

“Of course,” The mortal answers while Kurogiri appears next to him. “I assume we are moving
forward?”
“We are,” Maw confirms. “In fact. We are moving the timeframe forward.”

Loki whips his head around. “How much forward?”

“This year.” It takes everything to retain his composure. “In his absolute wisdom, it has been
decided we will lay waste to Asgard sooner than expected. And once he claims the prize in Odin’s
vault, we invade Terra.” Maw faces All for One. “We do this if you are ready or not.”

They could be deciding plans for lunch with how All for One responds. “Not to worry. You’ll find
I’m ready for any change of plans.”

“Then this partnership is solidified.” Maw turns back to him. “And when the time comes, your son
will turn and serve us, correct?”

Loki makes sure to maintain eye contact. “When the time comes, Izuku will make the right
decision.”

Maw doesn’t react. “Good, for you know if he should not, it is your job to dispose of the boy. Your
plans can be moved to fit our new schedule?”

While the alien turns to retrieve something in his pocket, Loki answers, “they will all have to be
accelerated, but there is no issue.” For a man with no eyes, it is very interesting how he can still
feel All for One staring at him intensely.

“Good.” The alien doesn’t notice anything amiss. He holds out a communicator to All for One.
“This will let you contact us should we be off planet.” Kurogiri takes the device for his master.

“Thank you for your hospitality.” Loki gives a flourished bow.

“Think nothing of it.” All for One inclines his head to Kurogiri who opens a portal for them to
depart. “I look forward to seeing how well a demon and a god work together.”
Loki smiles before following Maw through the portal. “As do I.”

Hirona can’t breathe. That’s to say, she can breathe, technically, but it doesn’t feel like any air is
getting in her lungs. She stands at the bar, hands on the surface holding her up with her head down.
Her domino mask lay on the ground next to her, ripped off as soon as she got back while Kurogiri
fucked off to who knows where.

She tries to take another breath but feels nothing. What happened? She had it, she finally had it.
Shimura suffering under her feet, All Might questioning everything, where did it go wrong?!

“What’s the matter? Can’t handle a little mischief?”

That kid…that stupid green-haired kid! It was his fault! He…he ruined everything!

Her nails start to dig into the wood. If it wasn’t for him, she would’ve done it! Why was everything
always working against her?! She was the victim here! She was the one who lost her family and
was killed! She was the one All Might thought he was above saving, instead choosing to help her
oh-so-precious brother! Why couldn’t things go her way?!

No, if it wasn’t for that stupid green brat then it would have! Shimura would be screaming in pain
right now. All Might would be dead. And sensei…sensei would finally be…

She hates him. Hirona is shaking now. Stupid kid, taking her Nomu and making a fool out of her,
she hates him! Hate, hate, hate! It won’t be as slow as Shimura’s but she’s gonna make sure he dies
painfully. And when-

“Hirona.”

Air feels like it hits her chest so fast it hurts. The black-haired girl chokes a little, grabbing her
chest and backing up, trying to regain control. “S-s-sensei.”

The tv screen in the room remains silent. “Sensei…I…” she doesn't know what to say.
“Tell me, what do you believe your successes were today, my child?”

She hesitates, her shaking only getting worse. Hirona knows where this is going, but if she doesn’t
give him something as a positive, it’ll only be worse. “We-“ she swallows her anticipation of what
will happen. “We successfully infiltrated the UA campus, sensei.”

“That you did, Hirona, that you did.” He sounds amused. Like when a child gives their parents a
crude drawing for the fridge. “And I commend you. But now let’s refocus.”

Her head drops as sensei continues. “All Might is still living. Young Tomura is relatively
unscathed. His classmates as well. All of your thugs have been arrested and now the enemy has
control of one of our Nomu. Does that about cover it?”

Hirona sniffles. “Yes, sensei.”

“And how would you summarize these events?”

Her stomach churns and her legs barely hold her up anymore. “Failure, sensei.”

“Yes, you have failed me again.” Her face scrunches. Oh no, how- “not to worry.” He interrupts
her spiraling thoughts. “I am not mad, Hirona. Merely disappointed.”

She wipes her face and even though she can’t see him through it, Hirona won’t face the screen. “Of
course, I can’t put the blame entirely on you. You are, after all, the backup.”

The girl’s fear is quickly turning back to hate. “Oh, how I can only imagine Tomura would have
fared if given the same opportunities as you. But alas, I suppose I must work with what I have.”

Oh, she was used to that. All her life, just hearing how sensei’s precious Tomura would have been
better and how she could just never live up to his potential.

“Take time to recover and draw new plans, Hirona. Focus on your failures and how next time, you
may do better.” The screen flickers off and finally, she’s allowed to slam her fist into the bar.

Stupid, stupid Shimura. She knows it so well. How Tenko was supposed to become Tomura but
somehow, the heroes had found him and now sensei was stuck with her.

She heard it every time she failed. Every time she couldn’t perform to his expectations or messed
up an application of her quirk. Every. Damn. Time. Just how much better Tomura would have
been.

She hates Shimura so much! Sensei’s gonna see. She’ll kill him and he’ll finally see that she really
is worthy! Then maybe…

A clink of glass near Hirona startles her. She looks up to see Kurogiri had placed a cup of tea near
her. “It is Chrysanthemum. You were looking pale so this should help.”

She lifts the cup and takes a small sip. It’s light, a little sweet, and already she can feel herself
relaxing a bit. Kurogiri nods and goes back to cleaning a glass but a whisper from Hirona catches
his attention. “I’m sorry.”

“Shigaraki?” The man asks confusedly.

“At the USJ,” she continues, still in a whisper, looking down at her tea. “I snapped at you when
you were just asking if I was ok so…sorry…”

He doesn’t say anything for a few seconds before going back to his glass. “That is quite alright,
young master.”

Hirona nods, turning her face away so she could pretend Kurogiri couldn’t see her wiping her
tears.

If you had told Izuku he’d end his day at the USJ by being held up by a creature called a Nomu
after having fought off a villain attack in only his first week of school, he’d have believed you.
What? He’s seen weirder.
“You doing alright, partner?” On instinct, Izuku uses his powers to cover up his injuries before
turning around with Nomu’s help. Snipe slowly approaches him while being flanked by police
officers, all with their guns raised. Other officers surround his worried-looking classmates and lead
them outside.

Nomu growls, hugging the boy closer to him and covering him with his arms. Officers slowly
surround the two while Snipe remains up front. Izuku looks around and sees a wall of cement
blocking off part of the facility.

‘All Might must have run out of time, crap!’

“Can’t you just put a bullet in this thing's head?” A cop next to Snipe asks.

“Too risky,” Present Mic answers from Izuku’s left. “We don’t know if that’ll be enough and if it’s
not, it could hurt the little listener.” Nomu snaps its jaws in his direction causing a few officers to
jump back but Mic holds his ground.

Ectoplasm approaches from his right, his clones running around the USJ while a few stay behind to
help. “Does it understand us? Perhaps it can be reasoned with?”

One of the cops gets too close and Nomu lets out a small screech in warning. “Shit! Sarge, give me
the order!”

“Wait!” Izuku tries to hold his hands out but Nomu still has them under him. “He listens to me!
Just-“

“Back away from the kid or I’m putting you in the ground!” The officer points at Izuku and Nomu
screeches again, tensing a little.

“He’s getting ready to attack, weapons ready!” Another two officers approach.

“No-“ Izuku tries.

“Hands behind your, uh, head!” An officer with a slightly more decorated uniform than the others
yelled. Probably the one in charge. “If you do not comply, we will open fire!”

“Hey!!” Finally, the cop’s attention turns to him. “Stop! Please! He listens to me but he thinks
you’re gonna hurt me so please, if you back up, Nomu will relax!”

Mic and Ectoplasm share looks. Snipe tilts his head, and very slowly lowers one of his guns a little
in Izuku’s general direction, making sure to never actually point the weapon at the boy.

Nomu snaps his attention to Snipe and gives him a warning growl. The hero repositions himself,
and Nomu directs its attention back to the officers.

“Sergeant,” the cowboy hero says. “To de-escalate this situation, perhaps we should-“

“No offense, but you’re not in command here,” The officer barks back. “I’m not risking my guys
over-“

“ENOUGH!” All talking ceases when Detective Tsukauchi runs up. “What the hell is going on
here?!”

The sergeant points at them. “That monster has-“

“This is Nomu and he listens to me!” Izuku cuts the man off. “But he thinks they’re gonna hurt me
and will defend us unless they back off!” Izuku just got the coolest pet in the universe and he is not
losing it.

Tsukauchi sighs. Deeply. “Truth. Only you, Midoriya. Lower your weapons.” Snipe gives him a
thumbs up and Tsukauchi nods so the hero puts down his guns.

“B-but detective-“

“That’s an order.” Izuku lets the satisfaction show on his face when the officers comply. Almost
immediately, Nomu chirps, freaking chirps, and stands up straight, releasing Izuku.
Tsukauchi sends some of the officers away to help with the arrests before walking up to Izuku,
eyeing Nomu the whole time. “I’m going to need a more thorough explanation of…all of this.” He
gestures to Nomu. “And a demonstration.”

“Nomu, hop on one foot five times and then do a handstand.” While it listens to what he said,
Izuku goes to cross his arms but a shooting pain in his arm stops him so he just settles for a smug
look by itself at the police detective.

“So…can I keep it?”

That jolts Tsukauchi out of whatever’s on his mind. “W-what?”

Izuku does his best to make himself look innocent. “Well you know he listens to me because of
your quirk sooooo…can I keep him? I’ll take good care of him, pleeeeease? Nomu, look less
threatening.”

To achieve this, Nomu turns around and falls straight on its back, scrunching up its arms and legs.
Essentially, Nomu made himself look like a dog presenting its belly to the detective, who did not
look prepared at all for what just happened.

“Woah!” Izuku exclaims. “Wait, can I rub your belly?” Using his good hand, Izuku scratches the
Nomu’s stomach, the creature chirping happily as he did so. “Awww, you like that? Yes, you do.
Yes, you do!”

Izuku looks up, a satisfied grin plastered on his face. “Did you need any more proof he’s not
dangerous or?…”

Tsukauchi is looking at his radio dumbfounded. “I don’t even know who to call…ok Midoriya,
whether or not you can keep, Nomu, right? Whether you can keep it or not doesn’t matter. Either
way, we need to take him in for testing.”

He narrows his green eyes, standing up and signaling Nomu to do the same. “You’re not gonna
hurt him, are you?”
The detective shakes his head. “No, we’re gonna take some blood to figure out what…exactly he is
and see if he can answer some questions but we won’t hurt him.”

“And I get to keep him after?” Izuku asks hopefully.

Tsukauchi says something to someone over the radio and a few officers come over carrying a large
harness meant to contain Nomu. “Lets…see what he is first and then go from there.”

The officers approach the creature, opening the harness. Nomu backs up a step and looks at Izuku,
a small whine escaping its mouth. He looks at Tsukauchi for one final confrontation that Nomu
would be alright.

When he confirms, Izuku looks up at his new friend. “It’ll be okay. They’re not gonna hurt you.
Just do what they say and I’ll see you as soon as I can.”

After taking another moment to look at Izuku, Nomu makes a clicking noise before taking a step
towards the officers. After a little hesitation, they secure the harness around Nomu and lead him
away back to a police van. Izuku hopes that isn’t the last time he sees him.

“I can’t believe this is my life.” Izuku isn’t sure if he was supposed to hear that from Tsukauchi.
“Anyways.” He looks him up and down, Izuku’s powers still making him look unscathed. “At least
it looks like you got by without getting injured.”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” Izuku says easily. “I don’t know if this helps but…” he points to one of
his throwing knives on the ground. “I cut Shigaraki with that. It should have her blood on it.”

Tsukauchi finally seems to calm down after whatever existential crisis Nomu gave him and gives
him a reassuring look. “That will help a lot, thank you. Now go wait outside with your friends.”

With a practiced smile, Izuku thanks the man but stops before he can take more than a few steps
when a glint of something catches his eye. Looking down, Izuku picks up one of the swords the
Dark Elf was using.

Almost the entire thing was black. From the textured handle to the blade itself which was only a
tad lighter with both sides ending on a curve. However, when you swing the blade, a light blue,
almost white sheen would emit from it.
Izuku takes a few experimental swings, the light coming off the blade is such a contrast compared
to its natural color. And while its size isn’t perfect for him, it’s close. He looks around. Well…
would anyone really notice?

He vanishes the sword to his pocket dimension before picking up the second one and doing the
same. It would help if he could constantly practice, plus if he ever happens to run into a villain or
two who use swords as their primary weapons, he’d be ready.

He knows, what are the odds of that happening? But it never hurts to be prepared.

Speaking of being prepared…he can’t think of any situation where he’d use but…Izuku quickly
takes the elf’s plasma rifle too.

After letting a paramedic look him over quickly, he’s escorted outside. He walks slowly and
pretends to look over the state of the USJ while they walk, but really it’s so his limp doesn’t show.

Izuku has some enhanced regeneration and stamina but unfortunately, they’re tied together.
Without his stamina, which he currently has very little of, his regen works slower.

So he’s just gotta make it until he can get home and get to bed. By tomorrow night, he should be
healed up for the most part and good to go. No reason to waste any paramedic’s time or supplies on
injuries that will heal themselves eventually. His classmates need them more than him. Yeah, it
hurts but he’ll deal.

“Deku!” Thankfully, for his commitment to dealing with it, Uraraka crashes into his good side.
“You’re ok!”

He laughs. It works at covering up that the impact still hurts a little and helps him control the part
of him that is freaking out over a girl hugging him. “I’m fine, Uraraka. Are you ok?”

She looks up at him. “Yeah, better now.”

Izuku nods along. “That’s-wait, why are you better?”

He might as well have caught fire with how fast she let go of him. Wait, did he? It would explain
her red face. “Well-uh, you see, what I meant was-um-“

“Midoriya! I’m glad to see you are alright!” Iida interrupts, marching to them.

“Oh look! Iida is here, it’s Iida!” Uraraka yells a bit too loudly. He can’t blame her. It’s been a
crazy day, they're probably all a bit off.

“As class rep, I’m sure you’d like an update on our classmates!” Nothing can throw off his hand
swipes, can it? “Everyone is accounted for and expected to be alright! Mostly scrapes and bruises
with the exception of Ashido, Shimura, Koda, and Yaoyorozu. But I have been informed that none
of their injuries are too severe and only require Recovery Girl’s assistance! Thirteen and Aizawa
have been transported to the hospital but I was assured they would recover fully as well!”

“Appreciate that, Iida.” Izuku really did. It was one thing to hope they would all be ok but to
actually hear it was something else.

“It was no problem, my friend! We are expected to be loaded onto the bus in just a few minutes.”
Iida puts his hand on his shoulder and starts to direct him. “If you wanted to-“

Izuku’s bad arm burns at the touch and when he’s forced to take a step, his leg nearly gives away,
causing the boy to stumble and hiss a bit.

“Midoriya, are you alright?” Izuku has already schooled his expression by the time Iida looks at
him.

“Oh? Yeah, I’m fine.” He forces a laugh. “Tripped on my own feet for a second, I can be a bit
clumsy at times.”

Iida looks hesitant. “If you are sure…”

“Yeah no, I’m fine Iida, thanks. Can you go see if we can get on the bus yet?” Izuku redirects his
attention.
“Ah, of course, you’re right!” Iida brings his fist down onto his open palm. “We are all here now,
no reason to delay any longer! I’ll be back in just a moment!” And in a puff of smoke, Iida is speed
walking back to the officers by the bus.

Well, he thinks that went alright. Iida didn’t seem to notice anything before he left. Right, he
should portably check in on the others before they-

“Deku…”

Izuku freezes. Wait, how long had she been there again?

Izuku turns to Uraraka who’s watching him a little too close for his comfort. Concern is written all
over her face. “Y-yes, Uraraka?” Why does he feel like he was just caught with his hand in a
cookie jar?

He doesn’t like the way her eyes trail over him before going back up to his face. She lightly grabs
his good arm. “Are you ok?”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” Izuku repeats with the same smile, just like he said to get around
Tsukauchi’s quirk.

She doesn’t waver. “Are you sure? Your hand is trembling.”

What does she- oh, dang it. Has it been doing that this entire time? Nope, not gonna focus on that.
“I mean, look at me Uraraka. I’ll be fine. It’s nothing compared to what happened to Thirteen I
heard.”

Unfortunately, bringing up her favorite hero doesn’t distract her like he had hoped. Instead,
Uraraka scrunches up her face like she’s trying to solve some algebra problem.

A few seconds pass and Izuku is ready to ask what she’s doing when a look of realization dawns on
her. “You can change the way you look…” she whispers.
Izuku wants to say something but she keeps going, still whispering. “You’re obviously hurt but it
doesn’t look like it, but that’s it, isn’t it?” She stares at him straight in his eyes. “It just looks like
you aren’t hurt, because you can change yourself.”

“I…” what does he say? What can he say? Crap, him not saying anything is just as bad! “C-c’mon
Uraraka, you really think I’d do that?” Where is Iida?!

The unimpressed look she gives him makes him feel sufficiently cowed. “You’re really going to
ask me that after what you did at the entrance exams? And after you tried to fight the other team by
yourself at the battle trial?”

Izuku promptly ignores the laughter from his clones inside his head but he still can’t think of
anything to say, opting to look down instead. Every instinct is telling him to get away, turn
invisible, leave a clone behind, something! But he can’t! She’s still physically touching his arm.

If he can get her to let go for just a moment, he can replace himself with a decoy. Izuku, slowly so
he hopes she doesn’t realize he’s doing it, starts to pull his arm away. His breath hitches when her
grip tightens.

“Uraraka…”

“I’m not letting go until you show me, Deku.” Her tone leaves no room for argument before it
turns a little more playful. “Or, if you want to continue being a dummy, I can just lower my pinky
and drag you to the medics like a balloon.”

That gets him to look back at her. “You wouldn’t?!”

It’s scary how much her smile reminds him of Eri’s when she’s being mischievous. “Try me.”

Izuku slumps. “That’s unfair…” Every part of his dad’s lessons is still yelling at him to find a way
out of this but there’s another part…a part of him that just…doesn’t want to.

No one has ever looked close enough at him to figure out any of the things Uraraka had. And while
he expected to be scared, for some reason, he wasn’t? Actually, now that he thought about it, it felt
kind of nice? Why had dad always told him this was the worst thing that could happen?
Taking another breath, Izuku lets go of the illusion. Yellow lines trace up his body and when they
disappear, it’s all visible. Every cut, scrape, bruise, the gash on his head, all of it.

He won’t look at Uraraka, at least until she tugs on him softly. When he does, her eyes are wet and
shining. “I’ll help you to a paramedic, ok?”

A refusal dies on his lips. Maybe, just this once, it was ok to accept the help.

Tenko chucks his controller onto his bed, his rage quit had him seething but fortunately, he aimed
for the bed instead of the ground…this time. He used to have a habit of disintegrating them when
he got mad but Gran more or less beat that out of him.

He still can’t help but shiver a little when he sees the old man hit someone else with his cane.

And sure, the way he died that last round was utter bullshit but he knew that wasn’t the real reason
he was so upset. It had been hours since the USJ, hours since they were interviewed over and over
by the police and let go. It was nearing evening now, but every single second of his fight with
Shigaraki played on repeat in his head.

He didn’t know what to think. What to feel. And it’s because he just didn’t know if what she said
was true. It couldn’t be, real life didn’t have resurrection spells. But the things she said…

Some childish part of his brain just kept blaming her for his shitty play in the last couple of games
he was in and it sounds stupid, but it was probably the only thing keeping him from spiraling down
the rabbit hole.

There’s a knock on his door. “Go away, Gran!” Weird, he was more of a barge-in kind of guy.

There’s a cough and Tenko feels like a cold bucket of water is dropped on his head. “It’s uh, it’s
not Torino. May I come in, young Tenko?”
He wants to tell him no but since when did he earn that right? Tenko opens his door to the skinny
form of All Might. He won’t even pretend to understand however the fuck his quirk works, he just
knows it’s weird.

Tenko doesn’t look at him. He just leaves his door open and goes rummaging through his desk for
nothing. He just needs something to do.

All Might closes the door behind him. “How are you doing?”

“Fine.” Now’s a good time as ever to start untangling some of these cords he has.

“Good, that’s…good.” They sit in awkward silence for a minute, Tenko keeping his eyes down on
the things he’s pulling from his drawers. All Might eventually speaks again. “I learned some
information and I thought it would be best if you heard it from me.”

Tenko hums but says nothing. Why couldn’t real life have those dialogue boxes you could choose
from?

“At the USJ, Detective Tsukauchi was given a knife with Shigaraki’s blood on it and he ran a DNA
test.” Tenko inhales. All Might takes a deep breath. “And he got a hit. We have confirmed that
Shigaraki really is Hana Shimura.”

“…How?” Tenko croaks out.

He’s still not looking at the hero so he can’t see his expression but he can hear the way he falters in
his words. “We are…unsure. I-I have a meeting with Tsukauchi and the rest of the UA staff
tomorrow to discuss all of this but…I thought you deserved to know.”

Seconds stretch into minutes, how many Tenko can’t be sure. But he’s got his answer. And he
knows how he feels. And he hates himself for it.

“Am I a terrible person?” He asks. His artist's gloves luckily prevent him from decaying the desk
that’s holding him up.
All Might sighs. “I know this must have brought terrible memories back to you-“

“This isn’t!-“ Tenko stops his shout, getting ahold of himself before continuing much softer, “this
isn’t about what happened…back then. This is for now.”

“For now? How are you a terrible person now?” He hears the symbol of peace take a step toward
him.

“Because I am,” Tenko replies as if it’s obvious. “My damn sister that I killed ten years ago
somehow comes back as a villain and I…I have the nerve to be happy about it.”

“Young Tenko-“

He finally spins around to face the hero. “I mean, how fucked up is that? Hana comes back and all
I can think about is how happy I am that she's alive! How finally, finally I can make up for what I
did, to at least one of them…I just…how is this happening? Was she really dead all this time? And
if she was, why was she AFK for so long? And-“

All Might’s hand on his shoulder stops him. Wow, Tenko must really be lagging because he
doesn’t know when the hero closed the distance between them.

“My boy, you’ve been given something most people spend their lives dreaming of. A second
chance. There’s nothing wrong with being happy about that. All that matters is what you are going
to do with it.”

That wasn’t a question. “I’m gonna get her back.”

All Might gives him a much more confident smile. “I thought you might say something like that.”
He checks his watch. “Well I’ve taken enough of your time, I should get going.”

He was right. It was almost dark now. This might be the longest conversation they’ve ever had.
“Alright, I’ll see you at school I guess.”

Tenko loads up a new game on his desktop while All Might stops at the door. “For what it’s worth,
I thought you handled yourself very well today. Especially with…well everything. In particular
when you saved young Asui’s life.”

The boy shrugs, typing ‘adc’ into the chat of his new team. “I shouldn’t be given an achievement
for that.”

“Why not?”

The decay user sits, slipping his headphones on. “‘Cuz I didn’t know I did it until after.”

Izuku yawns, opening the door to his apartment. Recovery Girl had healed him right up when he
got back to UA but she wasn’t kidding about that stamina drain. She let him rest there for a while
at least.

He feels a little bad for being surprised when he came out to see Iida and Uraraka waiting for him.
Should he be shocked anymore? He probably shouldn’t be but old habits die hard.

After downloading a school app Present Mic told them about that had all their contact info on it,
Izuku walked with his friends to the station before separating. He spent the rest of the train ride
home talking with his mom on the phone.

It was mostly reassurances he was ok and she didn’t need to get off work early for him, which he
eventually got her to agree to.

Walking in, he drops his bag and switches his shoes for slippers before turning on the light.

After he got off the train, his dad called him, and Izuku told him everything. About the fights, the
Dark Elf, and the information he learned. His heart was still pumping from how excited he sounded
when Izuku told him about taking control of the Nomu.

But after, Izuku was assured that the info he gave him would be put to good use, which was a
weight off his shoulders. Dad always knew what to do.
Most of the time. His laughing when Izuku questioned him about not telling him he had a cousin
was not appreciated. But then he told him he was proud of him, so yeah, perfect end to the day.

Izuku looks around his empty apartment. Well, almost perfect. But what else was new. Mom didn’t
need to come rushing home, he was fine and, well, dad’s always got important stuff going on.
Katsudon would hit just right for dinner. Then it’s just a matter of finding whichever documentary-

A heavy knock on his door pulls Izuku from his thoughts. Who could that be? Holding a knife
behind his back, he pulls open his door and screams.

“Uncle Thor?!”

Sure enough, the God of Thunder stands at his door, smiling down at him. He wears a casual gray
jean jacket with a shirt underneath, jeans, and is holding an ‘umbrella.’

“Izuku, it’s good to see you.”

From behind his uncle, he hears, “Midoriya!”

“What? Kami-ack!” Izuku has no time to react before Kaminari tackles him in a hug that lifts him
off his feet, making him drop his knife.

Thor chuckles, shutting the apartment door and picking up the knife. “So much like your father.”

Once Izuku can breathe and he’s back on his own two feet, he finds his words. “What are you guys
doing here?!”

“Your mother called me,” Thor informs him. “She was hysterical about you being alone tonight so
I happily agreed to retrieve you to spend the night at our home.”

Kaminari giggles. “She actually called my mom since dad still won’t get a phone for some
reason.”
“I don’t see the problem with a perfectly good raven.”

“Plus! It’ll let us talk more about what happened today!” Kaminari ignores his dad. “Because I
mean…” he gestures between them. “Dude.”

Izuku laughs. “I know.”

“Dude!”

“I know!”

“DUDE!”

“I KNOW!”

“Alright boys,” Thor gets in between them, holding his own laughter in. “Go get ready.”

Izuku leads Kaminari into his room before starting to gather his bag and some clothes. “Do the
stores buy their hero merch from you?” Kaminari snickers.

“You’re just jealous.” Izuku jokes back.

Kaminari hums. “Maybe a little. Anyway, this works out. We can talk about everything tonight and
get that all squared away before everyone comes over tomorrow.”

“Huh?” Izuku gives him a confused look to match.

“Didn’t you check your phone?” Kaminari takes his own out. “I made a group chat for our friends
with that app Mic made us get. Asked everyone to come over to my place tomorrow to hang out.
Still waiting on some responses though…”
Izuku checks his phone. “I was on the phone with my parents…and you named it Mischief
Squad?”

The other boy nods. “Yeah. What you said to Shigaraki about not being able to handle your
mischief kinda stuck with me. Seemed right.”

Unable to contain his snort, Izuku asks, “really? You set your name to ‘Yellow Raijin.’ You don’t
see me naming myself Susanoo.”

“Okay, first off, I’m yellow and that’s the Japanese God of Thunder, it’s perfect!” Kaminari
defends. “And Susanoo is the God of Storms!”

“He’s also a trickster! He’s the closest thing Japan has to a God of Mischief!” Izuku’s phone
vibrates.

Mischief Squad

Tenya Iida: I thank you for the invitation, Kaminari! While I was hesitant to accept as I believe
we should use this time to reflect and get a head start on future studies, my brother has explained to
me the importance of ‘R&R.’ A humorous approximation for the phrase Rest and Relaxation. So if
you would send your address and other relative information, I would be honored to attend.

Tenko Shimura has changed his name to NoobMaster69

NoobMaster69: Yea, I can be there

NoobMaster69: ggez

NoobMaster69: my b
NoobMaster69: wrong chat

Tenya Iida: One should always strive for correct punctuation!

NoobMaster69: What items do you use to reduce cooldown Iida

Tenya Iida: What?

NoobMaster69: 1 sec

NoobMaster69 has added Tsuyu Asui to the chat

Tsuyu Asui has changed her name to Dat Grl

Dat Grl: Hello. I was messaging Tenko about the possibility of sitting with you all at lunch and he
invited me to your chat. I hope that’s ok.

Yellow Raijin: Of course it is!

Yellow Raijin: And you’re more than welcome to come over tomorrow too!

Dat Grl: Thank you. I’m getting time with my siblings tonight so I’d love to hang out tomorrow.
Ribbit.

Yellow Raijin: Awesome!

Yellow Raijin: Hey, I hope this doesn’t come off as weird…but did you just type ‘ribbit?’

Dat Grl: Yes. Ribbit.

Yellow Raijin: Okay…I get why you say it irl but over text?…

Dat Grl: Force of habit

Yellow Raijin: But you don’t need to!

Dat Grl: I have a new reason

Yellow Raijin: What?

Dat Grl: To annoy you

Dat Grl: …

Yellow Raijin: Don’t you dare…

Dat Grl: Ribbit

Yellow Raijin: IFOSKSKSMAP

Ochako Uraraka has changed her name to Mochiroid

Mochiroid: Hi everyone!

Mochiroid: How do they make so many apps?!

Mochiroid: And keyboards are literally the greatest thing ever added to phones
Mochiroid: Anyway, I wanna come out tomorrow but not sure if I can…

Yellow Raijin: That’s too bad. I’m with Midoriya right now actually and neither of his parents are
here so I didn't want him to be lonely tomorrow…

Mochiroid: I’ll be there

Yellow Raijin: Yay

Dat Grl: Subtle

Dat Grl: Ribbit

Yellow Raijin: Listen here you little shit

Tenya Iida: Language!

“W-wait!” Izuku looks up. “What does she mean by subtle?”

Kaminari ruffles his hair. “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

“Tell who what when they’re older?” Both boys see Thor leaning against the doorframe.

“Nothing dad!” Kaminari laughs. “Just teasing Midoriya over this girl he definitely has a thing for
in class.”

“W-what?! N-n-no! No no no! You got it wrong!” Izuku yelps, his hands flailing all over while his
face heats up.

“Ah, so it is girls,” Uncle Thor says like he’s made a great discovery. “Just, human girls?”

“What does that mean?!!!”

“Well…” the Thunder God scratches the back of his neck. “I figured I would just ask. Izuku, your
father can turn into a great many animals and he has been known to sometimes-“

“NOOOOOOO! Nope! No! None of that here!” Izuku shuts off that topic of conversation as
quickly as he can. He doesn’t even want to think about it.

Kaminari laughs harder, bumping his shoulder. “Hey, no judgments here bro. Totally get it if
you’re into, like, cat girls or something.”

“That may not be too far off.” Uncle Thor, what are you doing? “Your father told me about the
time he found that Wild, Wild Pussycats magazine hidden in your room, Izuku.”

“Oh my god, he looks like a strawberry!” Kaminari yells, his laugh taking him to the floor.

“I-it wasn’t like that!” Izuku tries while his face is hidden in his hands. “T-there was s-some really
good a-articles and…” Kaminari just laughs harder.

“Oh, you find that amusing, Denki?”

Kaminari sobers up very quickly at his father’s words. “D-dad, wait!”

Izuku is pretty sure if he were to ask his uncle if he was having the time of his life, he would say
yes. “Well, perhaps Izuku would like to know about the articles of Mt. Lady I found on your
desk.”

It was Izuku’s turn, despite still being red, to laugh with Thor while Kaminari sputtered. “Y-you
got it wrong!”
 While Thor still laughs, Izuku whispers, “Mt. lady? The holiday spread?”

His cousin nods, not looking at him. “Special December edition.”

“Cabin at night?”

“Yup, with snow outside.”

“Oh. Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

Thor claps to get their attention. “That was humorous. Should we get going?”

“Yeah!” Kaminari jumps up. “You coming, man?”

Even though there was still a small part of him telling him to refuse so he wouldn’t bother them, it
had been a tiring day. And he was tired of being alone.

Izuku smiles, getting up and lifting his bag. “Yeah, I’m coming.”

Chapter End Notes

Welp, there we go. bad guys on the move and…I swear I didn’t start this fic with the
intention of bad dads being a running theme but…here we are. It’s fine, we got plenty
of good dads to help.

Anyways, I think this chapter mostly speaks for itself so not much to elaborate on but
if you have any questions, don’t be afraid to let me know!

Next time we get our kids hanging out, a teacher meeting, a tiny bit more villain talks
and yes, I know you guys are wondering. You’ll get the answer on what’s gonna
happen with Nomu lol.
But that’s it from me, love getting your comments as always, so until next time!
 When Do We Start?
Chapter Summary

Just some teenagers hanging out. With absolutely no other important information
whatsoever.

Chapter Notes

Holy crap! When did we get over 100k words?! That’s insane…but thanks to you all
for sticking with me! Now, to the chapter!

Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

This time, Izuku is able to stifle his yawn before he finishes sending the email and vanishes his
second phone. He was exhausted but he was on a warpath to get answers from everybody tonight!

Leaning up in his seat, Izuku asks, “I can’t wait any longer, why exactly did you wait so long to see
Kaminari?” Usually, he wouldn’t be so direct but between the villain attack and Recovery Girl
healing session, he was tired.

Kaminari shifts in the seat next to him in the back of the car they sit in while Uncle Thor sits up
front driving. “Well, as you know Izuku, through my time as both the God of Thunder and an
Avenger, I’ve made a lot of enemies. So-“

Izuku groans, falling back in his seat. “Uncle Thor…if you tell me it was to protect them I will stab
you through your seat.”

“Uncle Thor?”

“Just so you know, these seats are made of some pretty thick materials.”
Izuku facepalms, letting his face sit in his hands. “Just so you know,” he muffles out. “I’m only not
stabbing you because mom would kill me for messing up your seats.”

“We wouldn’t have to worry about seats if we had just flown here, dad!” Kaminari puts in his own
two cents while leaning back in his own seat, arms crossed and looking out the dark window.

“Oh how I do miss those days,” Thor recalls fondly. “But Midgard has changed. And the hero
license I received only allows me such uses in America.”

“Laws only say you can’t use your quirk in public. And we all use magic…” Izuku mumbles
bitterly.

“Yes, yes, you and my brother with your technicalities.” Thor glances back at him. “But I respect
the laws of this world and you boys should do the same.”

Kaminari narrows his eyes from his seat. “Is this a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ kind of lesson?”

Izuku snickers. “He’s right. This is coming from the same man who had his license suspended by
the WHA after flying to Latveria without permission.”

Giving a mock salute, Kaminari says, “don’t worry, dad. We’re just following your example.”

“Hey!” Uncle Thor is trying to be stern. It doesn’t work. “I’ll have you know I won the appeal to
shorten that suspension.”

Izuku raises an eyebrow. “You won that appeal? Or Bruce won that appeal?”

“Technically Bruce but I helped…” Thor grumbles. “And besides, why would I not accept his
help? His name carries a lot of weight.”

“Makes sense,” Izuku agrees. “His work in the field of gamma radiation is unparalleled.”
“I’m a fan of how he can turn into a giant green rage monster!” Izuku can’t help but laugh at
Kaminari’s admission.

“Even so,” Thor interjects, trying to take back control. “I don’t want to see either of you arrested so
quirk or not, there will be no public magic use.”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know how dad taught me how to break out of several different jail
cells,” Izuku deadpans.

Kaminari shrugs. “The quirk canceling cuffs wouldn’t work on me so I can probably just fly out.”

Izuku’s face lights up. “I know! Kaminari! Let’s get ourselves arrested!”

Thor nearly swerves into oncoming traffic but Kaminari just gives him a curious look so Izuku
continues. “Yeah! We can get ourselves arrested in different places and prank all the jails by easily
breaking out!”

“But wouldn’t we get in trouble?” Kaminari asks a fair question.

“Not a bad response but the correct answer was ‘no,’ Denki,” Thor tries. He is promptly ignored
again.

Izuku waves off his concern. “I can change the way we both look so they’d never know it was us!”

Finally, Kaminari’s face lights up like his. “That would be EPIC!”

The greenette feeds off the other’s excitement. “And we don’t have to break out immediately! We
can use our powers to make the guards and prisoners think the jail is haunted or something! You
can make thunderstorms and lightning to set the mood and I can make them think they’re seeing
ghosts!”

“When do we start?!”
“No! No no! No!” Thor bellows, finally getting their attention. “Denki, my brother used to pull me
into stunts like these all the time when we were young and they never ended well.”

Kaminari tilts his head. “What do you mean they never ended well?”

Thor breathes a sigh of relief. “We would always end up having to talk or fight our way out of
whatever situation Loki pulled us into. I never knew which prank would be our last.”

The car sits in solemn silence for a minute before a grin breaks out on Izuku’s face. “I don’t know
about you…but I’m even more excited now.”

The blonde next to him rubs his hands so fast in excitement, that a few strands of lightning begin to
appear. “It wouldn’t be fun without a challenge!”

“I have just discovered a grave secret.” Thor’s solemn words stop them for just a second. “I had
always believed the Odinsleep to be a way for my father to recharge his immense power, however,
I now believe he just needed time away from his kids.”

Izuku and Kaminari look at each other before they burst out laughing.

“So answer me this.” Izuku takes his shoes off at Kaminari’s door. “Why did you finally decide
to…you know?”

The entrance hallway led to a more open concept home, with the living room on the right and the
kitchen to the left, and a dining room straight ahead. Two more hallways were placed behind the
kitchen and living room leading to more rooms.

Thor walks into the kitchen, behind an island table, uses his umbrella to flick the cap off a beer
from the fridge, and takes a long drink before answering. “If we were to be honest, it was you,
Izuku.”

Kaminari shoots up from where he was putting on his slippers. Izuku points to himself. “Me?!”
Thor nods, taking another swig. “Yes, you. Every time you would come to visit Asgard over the
years, I would see how well you were doing, would see you growing up safe and sound despite
your father being in your life and it would remind me of what I was missing.”

He sighs, putting the beer down, and slowly swinging his umbrella around in his hands. “That, plus
my brother’s constant reminding of how, in his words, utterly stupid and disdainful my reason for
leaving was, drove me to come back. At least partly.”

The god looks down. “The biggest reason was a bit more simple. I just missed my family.”

“Awww, dad!” Kaminari jumps up on his father, hugging his arm and wrapping his legs around
him to stay clung on.

Izuku slowly approaches, making a show of him rolling a knife between his fingers. “I guess I can
delay your stabbing for now, Uncle…”

Thor smiles. “You truly are a merciful god, Izuku. Thank you.”

Kaminari slides off, going to the fridge himself. “Speaking of merciful gods, where’s mom?”

“I’d imagine in bed after how much she cried holding you earlier.” He reaches over his frowning
son to pull another beer from the fridge.

“Uuuuuuugh.” Kaminari goes to slam the fridge but seems to remember his sleeping mother so he
stops and closes it lightly instead. “And to top off today, we’re out of soda.”

Thor shrugs. “Take a beer. It’s tradition to get your fill of ale after a day of battle.”

Kaminari laughs, turning to Izuku. “That would be something, right? Survive the USJ only to die to
my mom when she finds out I was drinking.”

Izuku joins in on the laughter, taking one of the sodas out of his bag he brought from home and
tossing it to Kaminari. “Saving my life again?” The blonde jokes, cracking the can open and taking
a drink.

“Repaying the favor,” Izuku jokes, opening his own soda.

Kaminari hums in approval at his drink, looking at the can. “This is good. Josta? How come I’ve
never heard of this brand before?”

Izuku just winks, taking another sip.

“Either way.” Uncle Thor goes in for his thi-wait, that’s his fourth beer. When did he drink the
third? “It brings me great relief that you are both safe and will be staying under my roof tonight.
Especially with the revelation that you two engaged in combat with a Dark Elf today.”

The mood in the room drops a little. “Dad told you already?” Izuku asks quietly.

“Your father was quick to act,” Thor commends. “Asgard already gathers a force to send to
Lamentis-1 to eradicate the elves. Loki and I will join them tomorrow to see the mission carried
out.”

Kaminari takes a small sip. “You guys are gonna be ok, right? Because that thing we fought
today…”

Thor gives his son a reassuring smile. He flashes it to Izuku as well when he sees the worried look
on his face. “Do not worry, little princes. This is something we have done many times. We’ll both
be home before you know it.”

“Look at it this way,” Thor continues, trying to lighten the mood. “With your mother at work
tomorrow, you and your friends will have the house to yourselves. I expect at least some of it to
still be standing when she returns.” He says sternly to the boys.

“Wouldn’t you…I mean.” Izuku looks at Kaminari who looks just as confused. “Wouldn’t you
want the whole house standing?”
The Thunder God doesn’t answer at first, as he takes a whole new case of beer from the cabinet
and puts it in the fridge. “It would be hypocritical of me to hold you to higher standards than I had
when I was your age.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that…” Izuku laughs uneasily.

“As a responsible father, it is my job to worry,” Thor says proudly. “Now, should that case of
alcohol I just put in the fridge not be there when I return, I will pretend not to notice. And if any
extra merriment should happen, the spare bedroom is down this hall-“

“And I think it’s time for bed!” Kaminari yanks Izuku out of the kitchen who only barely has the
time to grab his bag.

After what admittedly became a restless night, Izuku gets out of bed early the next morning. The
sun's rays barely shone over the horizon and into the windows of the spare bedroom he stayed in.

Unable to sleep, he makes his way out back to the living room to find his Uncle Thor downing a
whole pot of coffee, wearing traveling clothes. He finishes and wipes his mouth, noticing his
nephew. “Ah, Izuku. Good. I wanted to talk to you before I left.”

He fishes in his coat until he finds what he’s looking for and hands it to Izuku. It’s a book. A small,
very worn, and very old book. The cover had long faded, making the title illegible. “I have been
meaning to give this to you for some time.”

“What is this?” He questions.

“That,” he points at the book. “Is something that rightfully belongs to you.”

Izuku is just more confused now, and he should know since he’s usually the one doing the
confusing. “Rightfully mine? If it was, wouldn’t dad have given it to me?”

Thor grimaces. “You have to understand, Izuku, your father has some…reservations about what
this book contains and he felt you were better off not learning anything from it. So he kept it at his
private library on Asgard.”

“You stole it?!” Izuku asks incredulously.

“Loki has stolen a great many things of mine, I felt a little payback might be in order.” Thor laughs,
causing Izuku to snicker with him.

“So, why didn’t dad want me to have this?”

Before Thor can answer, Kaminari’s annoyed yell cuts him off. “Dad!! I gotta go and you left
Mjöllnir on the toilet! AGAIN!”

Izuku snorts while his uncle has the decency to at least look a little sheepish. “I put it there to wash
my hands and sometimes forget to bring it back out with me,” he whispers.

“Why are you bringing it into the bathroom with you in the first place?” Izuku giggles back.

Thor opens his mouth but can’t seem to come up with an answer so instead, he yells back to
Kaminari, “I’m sorry, son! I’ll take care of it!” He holds his hand out.

“Wait wait wait!-“

A loud crash reverberates through the house causing all Asgardians to flinch when the umbrella
returns to Thor’s hand. They all fall silent before Thor awkwardly clears his throat. “The bathroom
door was closed, wasn’t it?…”

There’s a few seconds of silence before Kaminari answers. “Mom’s gonna be maaaaaaad…”

“Thank the gods she left already…” Thor mutters before turning back to Izuku. “Well, my, uh, very
important mission that may now take a few extra days calls so why don’t I explain this book to you
so I can take my leave?”

Izuku laughs harder but agrees.

Uncle Thor leaves giving Izuku a lot to think about but that’s for later. He vanishes the book just as
Kaminari comes out, still wearing his pajamas like Izuku.

“Hey,” Izuku greets. ”I wanted to go out and get some soda for everyone before they got here. Iida
might have an aneurysm if we start drinking.”

“All the more reason to do it!” Kaminari jokes. “But you’re right, we also need some snacks, and
we can probably order a pizza or five.”

“Cool.” Izuku conjures his wallet. “I got my dad’s emergency credit card, we can just put it on
that.”

Kaminari makes a show of waving his hand but nothing happens. “Yeah, I can’t do that whole
conjuring thing. But I got my dad’s emergency card in my room too. We can just split?”

Izuku nods. “Sure.” In a yellow flash, Izuku is in street clothes. Brown cargo shorts with a long-
sleeve blue shirt that reads, ‘I vary from moment to moment.’ “C’mon, get changed. Let’s go.”

He points his thumb behind him, down the hall. “Yeah, I have to actually go to my room and
stuff.”

Izuku guffaws. “You haven’t learned how to use your powers to change yet?!”

“Well there is a lot to learn and it didn’t seem high on the important list!” Kaminari throws his
hands up in the air.

The green-haired boy copies him. “Of course it’s important! It means you can get into armor at any
moment! Plus it looks cool!”
‘Alright Izuku…stay calm…you need a clear head…and go!’ His hands fly across the controller.
His character, Sub-Zero, on the screen matches his movements as he tries to outmaneuver Tenko’s
Scorpion.

He couldn’t lose this time! He had already lost in the finals to Tenko at Hero Smash…and after a
hard fought win over Iida in Mario Kart he lost to Tenko in the finals again! Now here he was…
about to lose again and it wasn’t even the final match!

His senses go up a notch, screaming danger behind him. He knows what it is. Uraraka is watching
them like a hawk. Winner faces her in the finals and she had kind of a scary face right now.
Apparently, she spent a lot of time playing fighting games over at friends’ houses when she was
younger but now wasn’t allowed to anymore.

He had laughed when she first told him but now…

Oh crap! He let his concentration slip! Tenko’s got him in a combo! No, no!

“Phew, I thought I might have to try there for a second,” Tenko casually remarks after winning,
taking a bite of his pizza.

Izuku moans, tilting his head back on the couch. He gives himself a second before handing the
controller to Uraraka’s increasingly impatient hand and moves for her.

The living room was a simple design. A three-person couch sat in the middle directly facing the tv
while a two-person loveseat couch sat on either side. A coffee table in the middle of all the sofas
holds various boxes of pizza, candy, and soda.

“Don’t take it too badly, bro!” Kaminari says from his spot next to Iida. “At least you’re not stuck
in semi-final hell like I am!”

“You all just need to git gud.” Tenko wins the first round of the game, earning him a hard glare
from the gravity girl next to him.

“Yeah, yeah,” Izuku dismisses Tenko, picking up one of the mochi balls Uraraka had brought over
and taking a bite. Oh, green tea, his favorite.
He plops down next to A-Tsu on the couch opposite Kaminari. “Are you having a good time? Is
there anything I can get you?”

Tsu’s unreadable expression will never not throw him off. “You don’t need to try so hard, I’m
having a good time, thank you. Ribbit.” She types something on her phone and all their phones
ping.

“Tsu!” Kaminari complains. “I can hear it! You don’t need to type all of your ribbits in the chat!”

“Are you sure…ribbit.”

Ping!

“Dammit!”

“No!” Uraraka’s scream postpones Kaminari’s ribbit torture for now. Her on-screen character is
ripped apart by a fatality while Tenko leans back, his air of superiority not lost on anyone. “You
got lucky! That’s what it was! Just plain old stupid luck!”

“The gratuitous violence of this game is deplorable!” Kaminari barely avoids getting chopped by
Iida’s hand. “What if a child were to attempt to emulate what they saw here!”

Izuku looks back and forth between him and the screen. “You know what, you’re right Iida.” He
conjures a dagger. “I’m an impressionable child, come here! I wanna try!”

“Midoriya! No weapons outside of hero classes!”

Izuku smirks but vanishes the blade anyway. “Oh, you’re just mad you lost to me!”

Iida stands. “It would be immature to be upset at a loss at a video game!…and we both know you
waiting for me to obtain first place before using your blue turtle shell was completely unethical!”
“How about we take a break and watch a movie,” Tsu suggests before Izuku can kindly tell Iida
where he’d like to shove a blue turtle shell. She gets up and walks over, asking Uraraka to switch
with her so she can turn on a streaming service.

The brunette agrees, walking over but stopping when her eyes meet Izuku’s. “Uh, i-is it ok if I sit
here?”

It takes him a little too long to realize she asked a question. “O-oh! Yeah, of course!” He moves
over, practically squishing himself against the sofa arm so she can sit. When she does, she’s far on
her side as well, keeping her eyes glued to the tv.

Should he say something? Even pressed against the arm, the couch was small enough to have them
pretty close to each other, but why did it feel awkward? It was just a loveseat-

Okaaaaaay! Feeling his cheeks warm, Izuku stops all thought and just goes for something simple.
“T-thank you, for the mochi,” he squeaks out.

“H-huh?” She turns back to him, cheeks also a little red. It did look like that final round was pretty
intense.

“The mochi.” He holds up his half-eaten treat. “Thanks, they’re really good. And you got my
favorite!”

Uraraka seems to relax a bit. “Well, I couldn’t come over empty-handed. And that one’s my
favorite too! I’m probably gonna need another one after that last bull crap loss to Tenko!” She
sticks her tongue out at the game champion who promptly responds with a middle finger, causing
Iida to restart his chopping.

Izuku snickers. “I’m sorry for your loss? Well, that loss. I’m not sorry for beating you in Hero
Smash.”

She puffs her cheeks adorably. “Don’t you start with me, Deku! That’s how someone gets floated
into the sun!”

“You mean like how I sent your character flyi-Woah!!” Izuku barely gets out of the way of her
outstretched hand, dodging her anti-gravity punishment.
She laughs, lunging again causing Izuku to dive over the back of the couch to get away. Uraraka
looks over to the laughing Izuku on the ground. “You did the crime, now you gotta do the time!”

“While I applaud the extra quirk training that could be had, please do try not to hurt yourselves!”
Iida calls out.

Izuku raises his arms up while still on the ground. “Yeah, he’s right, everyone’s trying to watch a
movie. Besides, you could never catch me anyway.”

Uraraka narrows her eyes dangerously. Izuku finds he kind of likes that. “Is that so?” She asks in a
low voice.

He meets her dangerous look with a smirk. “Yes, it is.”

An exasperated groan cuts through their moment. It’s Tenko in the kitchen grabbing a new bag of
chips. “Listen, can you two craft your future relationship on your own time?”

Izuku shoots up, red in the face and arms flailing. Uraraka does the same.

“Wh-wha-“

“T-that’s n-not!-“

“Leave them alone, Tenko,” Tsu says calmly, though there is a light chuckle in her voice. “They’ll
figure it out in their own time. Ribbit.”

Ping!

“Tsu!!”

Izuku scratches the back of his head, not much of the red having receded yet. “You’re not gonna
float me if I sit back down, are you?”

Uraraka giggles, also still a bit red. “How about you bring me some more mochi and we call it
even?”

“Deal!”

Once everyone is seated back down, Tsu turns the tv back on, letting the news play in the
background while they decide on a movie.

“Hello, welcome back to Channel 3 News, bringing you updates on today’s latest news-“

“So what kind of movies does everyone like?” Tsu asks.

“Action! Adventure! Comedy! All of the above!” Kaminari immediately answers.

Iida puts a hand to his chin. “I find a nice educational documentary does the trick for me.”

“Horror.” Tenko’s answer makes both Izuku and Uraraka shiver, unconsciously moving closer to
each other. “If not, romantic comedy.”

Tsu looks at him. “Those are pretty much polar opposites.”

“Moving on. We now bring you the latest news on the recent reappearance of the Hero Killer
Stain-“

Tenko shrugs. “I like what I like.”

The frog girl appraises him. “That’s fair. I can pretty much watch anything but I like happy
endings.”
“I like hero documentaries,” Izuku happily answers. “Also like action/adventure.” Kaminari gives
him a thumbs up. “But nothing too serious, you know?”

Kaminari leans forward. “I figured you’d like those reality prank stuff.”

Izuku scrunches up his face in disgust. “No way, stuff is so fake. Besides, I’d rather do the
pranking myself anyways.”

“As you can see, this viral CCTV footage has pretty much confirmed the rumors that have been
circulating for months now. Stain does indeed, have a partner-“

“I love comedies!” Uraraka raises her hand like she’s in class, making a few of them laugh under
their breaths. “Real life has enough hardships, you know. It’s nice to just turn your brain off and
laugh for a couple of hours.”

Everyone agrees but Izuku feels something else. Call it a feeling, but the way she said it sounded
more like she was talking from experience than anything. Izuku reminds himself to find a way to
bring it up later.

“We’re never gonna find a movie this way, just load up one of the services and start scrolling,”
Tenko suggests.

“It appears as though Stain’s partner is male, and like the hero killer, uses a sword as his primary
weapon. He’s been physically described as-“

Tsu switches the input of the tv and Izuku relaxes into the couch, feeling content despite the
arguments over movies being scrolled past.

He can positively say that no one had had a crazier first week of school than his class, but they had
gotten past it. They had persevered. And right now, Izuku felt like he could handle anything the
universe could throw at him.

“Onto the last subject of today’s meeting, the creature known as Nomu.” Principle Nezu puts down
his second finished cup of tea, looking around the room at all of UA’s staff present, minus Thirteen
and Aizawa along with Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi.

Vlad King stiffens. “We are not even going to finish discussing that not only have we identified the
possibility of a traitor, but we also have the most likely suspect among us-“

Nezu raises his paw. “Your opinion has been noted but to continue this topic would be a waste of
time without any evidence.”

“Evidence?” Vlad asks in bewilderment. “What more could we need? The kid has no respect for
the rules, can make people see what he wants, be in multiple places at once, he can turn invisible at
will for gods sake! I’m not saying we expel Izuku Midoriya immediately, but surely keeping tabs
on the kid isn’t out of the quest-“

All Might slams his hands on the table, standing as he does so. Despite being in his skinny form,
the gravitas of being the number one hero still carries throughout the room. “Why don’t you go ask
Eri what she thinks of young Midoriya for five minutes and then come back here and seriously
suggest he could be the traitor.”

Vlad looks around the room for support but when he doesn’t find any, he concedes weakly, “this
isn’t over…”

“Of course. Now!” Nezu claps his paws happily. “Back to the Nomu! Detective Tsukauchi, what
can you tell us?”

“Not too much,” The detective responds, passing out packets of papers with their findings around
the table. “It was cooperative, did everything it was told, and showed no aggression to any of my
officers. We took a lot of blood but have no conclusive results.” His eyes flash to Nezu and the
principal understands. There is something to talk about in a more private setting.

“But it gave you no answers, did it?” Midnight rests her head on her hand, completely forgoing her
hero persona.

The detective shakes his head. “We had hoped that after the other creature died that we might get
something from the still living Nomu, but no.”
Tsukauchi sighs before continuing. “Truthfully, the only other thing we know is that it obeys all
commands given to it by Izuku Midoriya, who seems to have stolen control of the creature since
the attack. I witnessed him command it myself and confirmed it with my quirk.”

“Why are you making that last bit of information more relevant than anything else?” Ectoplasm
inquires.

“Because we have an idea!” Nezu announces in a way that lowers the temperature in the room. “It
would be such a waste to have a creature such as that just sit in a jail cell, just waiting to possibly be
scooped up by some government agency to be tested on.”

Even Tsukauchi takes a step back at how predatory Nezu’s smile becomes for a moment before it
shifts back to his normal cheery one. “We are proposing we move Nomu’s place of stay to here at
UA!”

Silence. Every teacher gapes at Nezu as if he just said he wants to build Shigaraki a house on UA
grounds to live at. “You’re gonna…you’re gonna have to walk us through that one a little more
boss…” Snipe finally says.

“It’s quite simple really!” Nezu continues unperturbed, to the horror of all. “Nomu can be used for
a variety of tasks around the school whether it be quirk practice or something another. Assuming
Mr. Midoriya doesn’t acquire the creature for some other means of entertainment. I’d imagine
using it to protect the child Eri may be high on his priority list.”

“Wow, you’re, uh, serious.” Mic swallows. “Okay, obvious question here. We gotta have more
safety guards on the thing besides Midoriya controlling it?”

Vlad is fuming. “We can’t be seriously entertaining this! A creature that from all accounts of those
present, a villain, as strong as All Might living on our campus controlled by a boy that could very
much be a villain himself! This is ridiculous!”

Nezu doesn’t falter. “A boy that most of our staff seems to have their faith in. And we have
multiple safeguards in place! Do not forget we will have the actual All Might still on campus with
us! And he has learned his lesson on prioritizing our students I assume?”

All Might shrinks in his seat at the glint in the principle’s eye before the animal goes on. “The
creature will be fitted with quirk canceling bracers on each of its wrists as well as hyper-
compressed weights on its arms and legs to tone down its strength. Every staff member, as well as
Mr. Midoriya since he controls it, will be given a device that can remotely release the weights
and/or cuffs should we need to.”

“And finally,” Nezu gestures to a picture of the Nomu in their packets. “I think it should be fairly
obvious that the creature's weak point is the exposed brain. Tsukauchi, was the process
complete?”

The plain man nods. “Several miniature bombs were implanted into the Nomu’s brain. The devices
you will all be given will have the power to detonate those bombs should you feel Midoriya has
lost control.”

“So you have already agreed to these terms.” It’s less of a question from Cementoss, and more of
an observation.

It’s almost as if Tsukauchi ages just a little in front of them. “Principle Nezu makes a very…
compelling argument.”

The rat(?) only seems to get more excited. “If there are no more objections, we will have a small
proof of concept tomorrow morning. Meeting adjourned!”

In Nezu’s office after the meeting, it’s just Toshinori, Tsukauchi, and the principle himself who’s
just handed the two men cups of tea. “It would appear you had more to say, detective?”

Tsukauchi reluctantly agrees. “I do. What we found in Nomu’s blood goes from bad to much, much
worse.”

The other men don’t say anything, letting him continue. “We found human DNA in Nomu's blood
but that’s not all. We found not only DNA from four different people, but even that of two quirked
animals. A dog and a bird. Our best guess is that they had minor intelligence quirks.”

“That is…not what I was expecting but the animal quirks would certainly explain some of Nomu’s
behavior that you reported,” Nezu says after a moment. “That would equate Nomu to more of a…
pet wouldn’t it?”
Toshinori has to use his seat as support. “A pet…Nomu?…is young Midoriya ok with this?
Because if we’re being honest, a pet Nomu doesn’t sound like something anyone would want.”

“The kid’s been blowing up my phone asking for updates all day, trust me, he wants it,” Tsukauchi
blankly says.

“You implied you had more news.” Nezu plows on.

Tsukauchi looks at them both gravely. “The reason for the multiple splices of DNA and Nomu’s
appearance is because…it has multiple quirks.”

Toshinori nearly drops his tea while even Nezu stops midsip. “You are insinuating…”

“I don’t know.” Tsukauchi rubs a hand through his hair. “But with the evidence we have…”

All Might is having several different emotions pummel him right now, it’s all happening so fast
that all he can feel is the weight of the world strain harder on his shoulders causing the old hero to
crumple into his chair.

“It all makes sense…” he says in a horrified whisper. “Young Hana Shimura’s resurrection, and
now a creature with multiple quirks specifically designed for me? What else could it be…”

Tsukauchi shifts uncomfortably where he stands and Nezu fixes him a look. “You have more to
say.”

The detective looks like he wants to throw up and say no more but he talks anyways. “I agree that
with the Nomu, all signs point to…well to him. But something’s telling me that young Shimura’s
revival may be…something else.”

All Might raises his head from his hands. “Wha-what are you saying?”

“Toshi…” Tsukauchi starts uneasily. “Because of that tip, we were both there that night when it
happened. We saw her remains…I don’t know what it is. Call it a gut feeling but I don’t think any
combination of quirks could have brought her back.”

Nezu tilts his head curiously at what the detective is exactly implying here but All Might is the one
to speak. “How could it not be…Tsukauchi, if not All for One, then who?”

Loki stands atop a large hill watching the last of the Dark Elf forces prepare for battle below him.
The polluted air and unnatural purple tint of Lamentis-1 barely registering to him. The crunch of
the dirt behind him signals Ebony Maw coming to stand with him, but Loki knew he was there
long before.

“How many will remain?” The God of Mischief questions the alien next to him without looking.

“One hundred,” Maw answers. “Enough to appear as a threatening force, but not so much that their
loss will hurt us. The rest are already off-world, proceeding to the secondary location.”

“And the Kurse stones?”

“Also off-planet. We have not many left, they will not be wasted,” Maw informs him.

Loki hums. “Asgard’s forces will be taking their leave soon. I have to be there.”

“Obviously,” Maw drawls. “I will inform the Great One of the plan’s status.” With nothing else, he
walks away, leaving Loki to observe the elves for a few more minutes.

It was all coming together, wasn’t it? The decades of planning. The sacrifices he had to make. The
people he’s hurt. The people he will hurt…

Shaking an image of his son from his mind, he strengthens his resolve. They will not understand
why he did what he did. Why he will do the things he will do. But they will.

Because despite it all. It was working. The universe was heading toward becoming a safe,
prospering place. For his family. For Izuku.

A green light shines in his hand and Loki looks down at his scepter. Izuku’s was made to look
exactly like his, the obvious difference being size.

But that wasn’t the only thing that was different. From between the elongated blades, an orange
light reflects off Loki’s piercing green eyes, the scepter humming with power, making him think of
all the souls in the universe.

In the early morning before school, Izuku and Kaminari study his own scepter, which leans against
a couch. The eerie red glow filling out the dark home.

“So this is what you were telling me about?” The blonde gets a little closer.

“Don’t touch it,” Izuku says sternly. “But yeah, this is it. I think…I think it could really help me,
but I can’t do it alone. Will you help me?”

Kaminari beams at him. “Of course, man!”

He shakes his head, laughing a little. “You had me scared there at first Midoriya, the way you
were describing this thing, I thought I was going to have to start questioning my own reality!”

Izuku laughs along. “No, nothing like that.”

“Shigaraki, do you believe this is truly worth the risk?” Kurogiri questions his master inside their
bar.

Hirona rolls her eyes. “What’s the point of having someone who can make portals through space if
you don’t do stuff like this every now and then? Now let’s go!”

The portal user relents and after waiting for her to raise her hand, he opens a small portal. Hirona
immediately reaches through, feeling around before grabbing what she hopes is it and pulling it
through.

Kurogiri closes the portal and she cheers. “Jackpot! New hero movie! Straight from the store
shelf!” Hirona’s thanks are almost missed while she rushes over to the tv.

Hitoshi Shinso scowls at the back of the hero students while he walks to school. Look how happy
they were, it was probably easy to be when life hands you an easy quirk that let you cruise by.

Whatever. He’ll work harder than any of them. He’ll sharpen his mind to the point they won’t be
able to breathe in his direction without him taking control. Hitoshi will show them. He will be a
hero.

“I literally don’t know how much more proof you need?” Izuku says to the gathered teachers on
the P.E. grounds.

“Mido! What else can he do?!” Eri cheers happily from her spot on the ground while she plays
Patty Cake with Nomu, who looks just as happy.

“Whatever you want!” Izuku tells her, the little girl letting out a happy squeal in response. Izuku
can’t help but smile genuinely. Seeing Eri have the time of her life was better than any prank.

Odin, King of Asgard, stands in his vault. Call it an old man’s senseless musings, but he just had to
be sure. He approaches a seemingly normal wall in the back of the room and waves his hand.

On command, the wall begins to fold in on itself. The light from the dark room beyond nearly
blinds him but his eye adjusts. The various defense systems he has in place ready themselves but he
need not proceed any further.
 He just wanted, no, needed a visual confirmation it was still there. Odin doesn’t know where this
feeling of foreboding is coming from, but his anxieties are quelled a little by seeing it still remains.

But seeing it only strengthens his resolution. Giving the purple stone one last look, he waves his
hand again to reseal the fortress that surrounds it. For he knows this power can never be released
back into the universe again.

‘I hope everyone is ready…’

Loki spins on the spot, walking away with a flourish. A green glow slowly starts to envelop the
smirking god. One last thought permeates him before he vanishes.

‘Because we’re just getting started.’

Chapter End Notes

Me: Okay…I can do this…just a slice of life chapter with just a pinch of
foreshadowing *drops bucket into chapter* oh no…

Sooooo yeaaa I put in a lot more in this chapter then I thought I would but kinda feels
right I guess. This is sorta of a transitional chapter into the bigger universe that awaits
everyone and the high stakes that come with it, as evidenced by the ending. Another
scene that I had planned even before the first chapter.

Kurse stones give whoever uses them so much power because it kills them shortly
after, hence the name lol. So yes, the Kurse from the USJ died in police custody
before it could wake up.

Yes…Izuku has a pet Nomu. What have I done.

But anyways, hope you guys liked it! Please don’t afraid to drop any questions or
comments you have below, you know I’ll respond! Until next time!
 But Why Stop at Him?
Chapter Summary

Back to school with Sports Festival prep!…that’s all I can say without any spoilers.

Chapter Notes

Hey! So I told some of you that I was keeping some doors closed until after the USJ,
so why don’t we open a few of those, shall we?

Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

If you asked her, Eri would tell you she was having one of the best days of her life! She couldn’t
quite say it was best because that will always be the day Mido saved her, but it’s still up there!

It probably also helped that it came after one of the worst days of her life. Eri had been doing what
she usually does in the morning, watching cartoons, playing with toys, practicing her stabbing
technique, and drawing.

Mr. Zashi, Mic wouldn’t let her call him anything else, had said she couldn’t practice with her
knives until da- Mr. Aizawa came home. That was fine! She just did what Mido taught her. Smile
sweetly, say okay, and then go grab one of the knives they had hidden in her room.

A little while later, when she was playing with some blue marbles Mido had given her, Mr. Zashi
came to her door to tell her he had to go somewhere and Mr. Lunch Rush was coming to watch
her.

That’s when Eri got a feeling she hadn’t had in a long time. She wasn’t very good with words so
she didn’t know which one to use. But she could describe it.

It was like when Overhaul would send one of the bird-men to her door. She’d get cold and shaky
and Eri just knew something bad was coming. The horned girl got that same feeling when Mr.
Zashi came to her door. He was trying to smile but even with her limited experience in smiling, she
could tell it wasn’t real.
Lunch Rush later told her that some bad men had attacked Mido’s class and both he and dad were
hurt! It was times like that she wished she was bigger so she could get past the hero and stab all
those bad guys! Mido would be so proud and then he would be better!

Mr. Zashi came back later looking tired. He told her dad was in the hospital and she couldn’t see
him but he’d be okay! She wouldn’t feel totally better until she got to hug him but it was a start.

But Mido was going to be okay too and he was at the nurse’s office so she could visit him! He was
even more tired than Mr. Zashi when she got there but he still hugged her tight telling her he was
fine.

He was doing that because she was crying on him but she had done that around him a lot so it
didn’t bother her as much anymore.

Mido tried pretending he wasn’t tired and kept talking to her but Eri wasn’t stupid! Mido hides a
lot. She wished he wouldn’t.

To tell him it was alright, the little girl had curled up in his lap and pretended to sleep until Mido
got the message he could sleep too. It didn’t take long until he was snoring softly.

Looking up at the older boy, Eri had made a promise. She would protect him. No one would hurt
Mido while she was around! She’d keep practicing with her knives and quirk so even if Mido did
get hurt, she could just make it go away!

He’s done so much for her, it was the least she could do.

Eri spent most of the next day clinging onto Mr. Aizawa’s leg after he got home. He told her to get
off but she could tell he didn’t mean it. Dad always tried to act mean but it didn’t work on her
anymore.

Speaking of dad…she was so happy to see him she accidentally called him that when he got home!
Eri couldn’t see his face through his bandages but Mr. Aizawa said it was okay…she’s still not
sure if she can call him that. She hopes she can.
She couldn’t tell what dad was feeling, but Mr. Zashi was so happy when it happened, he
screamed! And then dad said words to him that Eri was told she wasn’t allowed to repeat.

But that led to today! Mido was back at school and he was looking so much better! And he gave
her a new friend! Nomu!

At first, Eri was a little scared when Mido explained that Nomu would have a beak like the bird-
men, but like her, they had rescued Nomu from the bad guys who were hurting him!

Eri met Nomu out in the woods with Mido and all of the teachers. She didn’t like the way Mr. Vlad
was looking at Mido but then he introduced Nomu! Eri could only stare in awe…and a little
sadness.

She could see the scars and cuts that Nomu’s bad men had left on him, it reminded Eri of her’s.
Well, she wanted to be like Mido so this is how she’d start! By taking care of Nomu like Mido
took care of her! Besides, you can’t have too many friends!

Mido said that Nomu would protect her and do some things she said, but not all! He gave her a
stern warning that Nomu wouldn’t help her get any more candy apples than she was allowed or
anything like that!

The young girl feels like she should be mad that Mido thinks she would do that! Besides, Mido
said Nomu wouldn’t get the apples for her, but would he help her get the apples for herself? Eri
would have to test this, like Mido says, always look for loopholes in instructions!

After, her big brother, Mido made it clear a long time ago that she could call him that, tells her to
just play with Nomu in front of the teachers. Eri’s not sure why but Mido says grown-ups can be
weird sometimes so she trusts him.

She decides on a game of Patty Cake! Nomu’s hands are rough but his touch is soft with her, and
her new friend picks up the game quickly! And once they’re done, she cheers for him and Nomu
chirps for her with a small smile on his face.

Eri is happy he can smile already. It took a long time for her to remember how but she was glad she
could. It was one of the few times she’d seen Mido cry but he explained they were happy tears!
Yes, today was a good day. Mido was okay. Dad was still a little hurt but back with her. She had
her new friend, Nomu! And best yet! Everyone was busy today so no one could stay with her.

She tried to argue that Nomu could but nobody would leave her alone with him. Doo doo heads.
But because of that, she had to stick with dad today which Mido told her means she’s gonna meet
his class!

Mido says they’re really nice. Eri of course believes him. But just in case…

She’s in her room now, changing into a long-sleeved UA gym uniform made just for her. And with
it, she puts on a present Mido gave her.

Two brown bracers she attaches to her arms and are easily hidden by the sleeves of her uniform.
After getting ready, she flicks her wrists, and hidden blades underneath her bracers spring out.

It’s something Mido says he got from where he’s from. She doesn’t have, she forgot what it’s
called her brother has, but she doesn’t have what he does to keep his knives hidden so they had to
figure out something different for her.

Until she’s older, she won’t exactly be allowed to carry knives around with her. Mido says when he
did it at her age, it would freak people out. They both laughed a lot about that.

Mido says his classmates are nice to him. Eri retracts the blades. She’ll be the judge of that.

“So, is everyone clear on the plan?” Deku whispers.

Ochako nods eagerly from where they talk around her desk before homeroom. Kaminari and Mina
both give a goofy thumbs up.

Deku’s grin widens. He always looks so excited when they’re planning pranks. “Great, Ashido,
you can-“
“Mina!” The pink girl whines.

“S-sorry,” Deku stumbles on his words, looking unsure. “Anyway, you should-“

“Thank you for your help, Ojiro.” Yaoyorozu’s voice interrupts them and they turn to see the vice
rep handing the normal-looking boy a stack of mats. “Rubber insulation mats for everyone’s
desks,” she informs the class, giving their group a small smirk. “Just in case.”

“How?…” Deku looks around, as does Ochako, until all their eyes land on Jiro, who’s twirling one
of her earphone jacks in her hand and failing very badly at hiding her own smirk.

“So that’s how it’s gonna be,” Deku says darkly to a very satisfied looking Yaoyorozu.

“That’s how it is,” she replies simply.

The two continue their stare off for a few more seconds before the classroom door being roughly
opened scares everyone back to their seats on instinct.

‘The Sports Festival…’ Ochako thought while walking with the rest of the girls from the locker
room to Gym Gamma in their gym uniforms.

After the class had gotten over the shock of their teacher actually, you know, being there, even if
he was wrapped in bandages, sensei had announced that in two weeks they’d all be participating in
the Sports Festival.

There was some talk about having the event so soon after villains had attacked them but with the
promise of extra security, Ochako felt like she could relax a little and focus on what mattered.
Placing high in the festival, getting her hero career jump started, and taking care of her parents.
Sounded easy when she put it like that…

“Ochako…earth to Ochako!”
The brunette jumps, thankfully she didn’t put her hand on herself or it would’ve turned into a very
high jump.

Toru was waving her arm in front of her face, trying to get her attention. At least she assumes so
from the way the invisible girl’s sleeve moves back and forth. “Are you in there, Ochako?”

Her and Mina went on what they called a crusade in the locker room arguing that it was okay for
them all to call each other by their first names after what happened at the USJ.

Honestly, she didn’t mind. It felt like a good bonding moment. The only one unsure was
Yaoyorozu who said she hadn’t had anyone who wasn’t family call her by her first name before.
So they settled on Yaomomo until she felt more comfortable.

“I don’t know why you guys chose the invisible girl to try and get someone’s attention,” Toru
giggles.

“Oh! Sorry! Just lost in my thoughts!” Ochako apologizes, flailing her arms and blushing in
embarrassment.

“Don’t sweat it, girl.” Mina leans in closer and Ochako does not like the way she wiggles her
eyebrows at her. “So, what’s got you so distracted?…or better, who’s got you so distracted?”

“Ha! I was thinking about the Sports Festival, not Deku!” Ochako triumphantly counters.

Her victorious feeling evaporates when Mina somehow moves closer. “I never said you were
thinking about Midoriya.”

While Ochako’s reason for blushing changes, Tsu throws her a line. She’ll be a great aquatic hero
someday. “That’s enough, Mina. Ribbit.”

“No wonder you’re a frog with how cold-blooded you are,” Mina mutters, crossing her arms while
the rest laugh softly.

Yaomomo walks up beside her. “We were just curious about what your thoughts were on what our
upcoming exercise could be.”

Ochako shakes her head. “No, I don't have a clue.”

“Knowing Aizawa, we’ll never guess,” Jiro says ruefully.

The gravity user can’t help but agree when they step into the open cement room of Gym Gamma.
The boys are already there waiting for them so Ochako takes a spot next to Deku and Iida, sharing
a smile with the green-haired boy before looking forward and seeing…not what she expected.

Sure, Aizawa was there, that was a given, standing next to a couple of stacks of gym mats.
Ectoplasm stood next to him, a little unusual but not bad since that’s whose class they should’ve
been in right now. But standing in between them, for some reason, was a little girl. She was
wearing a child-sized UA gym uniform and had off-white hair, a horn, and red eyes that looked at
them in wonder.

Ochako could hear Toru and Mina squealing behind her while even a few of the guys remarked on
her. Deku snorts and shakes his head.

Before she could question him, Aizawa steps forward. “Because of circumstances, there’s been a
change of plans for today. But let’s get something out of the way first. Don’t freak out. Midoriya.”

Why was he- “Come out, slowly!“ Deku calls out and yeah, Ochako realizes why Aizawa said not
to freak out now when the freaking Nomu from the USJ walks out from behind a stone pillar
towards them and stops behind the heroes.

“Due to a series of events that I cannot hope to repeat to you or fully understand,” Aizawa starts,
sounding particularly exasperated. “The creature known as Nomu listens to any command given to
it by Midoriya. It is here to act as an extra security measure for students.”

Bakugo makes a noise of disbelief. “We’re really supposed to trust Deku of all people with that
thing.” He turns around and jabs a finger into her friend’s chest. “Why wo-“

There’s a gust of wind and before Ochako realizes it, Nomu was standing in between them all,
holding Bakugo up by the back of his shirt collar like he was a misbehaving dog. “H-hey!” The
blonde screeches. “What the hell?! Put me down you shit!”
He directs an explosion at Nomu’s face but it just continues to stare at him as if nothing happened.

Aizawa sighs. “Why do you still have Nomu protecting you, problem child?”

“I-I don’t!” Deku defends. “I think he’s just automatically set to do that!”

Bakugo wrestles with Nomu’s fist behind his head but its grip holds. “If you don’t have this thing,
put me down right now…”

“Do you have faith in me now, Kacchan?” Deku asks, she can tell he’s trying really hard to keep
his smile down. “I could have Nomu here throw you into space if I wanted.”

Ochako leans over. “I could remove his weight and it’d be a lot easier,” she stage-whispers so
everyone can hear.

“Yeah, but you charge in Mochi,” he ‘whispers’ back.

She glances at Bakugo. “Nah, for him it’d be free.”

“Midoriya. Uraraka.” Aizawa’s stern voice makes them still. “No conspiring to throw anyone into
space.” He looks at Ectoplasm. “Why do I live in a world where that has to be said?”

Deku hums. “So if not space then sensei, then how high up in the atmosphere can we-“

“Midoriya…” Aizawa warns.

“Okay, okay, I’m done.” Deku puts his hands up in defeat. “Nomu, drop him.”

“Wha-“ Bakugo can do nothing else before Nomu lets him go sending him crashing back down
onto the ground. He springs back onto his feet fast, whirling around. “You did that on purpose
you-“ A warning growl from Nomu cuts him off.
Bakugo grits his teeth. “That thing won’t always be around,” he threatens in a low voice.

Immediately, Ochako moves closer to Deku’s side. At the same time, so does Kaminari and Iida
stands behind them with Tsu and Tenko appearing out of nowhere behind Bakugo. She pretends
not to notice the surprised look on Deku’s face.

Bakugo looks around him, eyes settling on Nomu. “Tsk.” He turns back to Deku. “You. Me. Sports
Festival.” He pushes Tenko out of the way to get back to Kirishima.

“If you’re all done, we have a lesson to get to.” Aizawa gets the attention back on him.

At Deku’s order, the Nomu goes back to the teachers and while she thinks Aizawa is staring at
them, she can’t help but notice the way the little girl is positively beaming at her.

Once things have settled down, their teacher gestures to their other suprise guest. “This is Eri. A
ward of UA. She’ll be joining us for today’s lesson on quirkless sparring.”

Kirishima barely catches a charging Mina. “You are SO adorable!” She squeals.

Eri bashfully looks down, rubbing her hands together and twisting her leg. “Thank you…” she says
softly, eliciting more ‘Aww’s’ from the class. Again, Deku stifles a laugh.

“Today, you’ll all be using Ectoplasm’s clones to practice quirkless fighting techniques which we
will demonstrate.”

Eri raises her hand before sensei could continue and Ochako can’t help her own overwhelming
need to go cover the girl in a hug.

“Yes, Eri?”

“Can I go first?” She shyly asks. Ochako isn’t sure if her heart can melt anymore.
Ectoplasm doesn’t wait for Aizawa’s response, apparently, he was also enraptured with the little
girl because he makes a clone almost immediately, to which Eri cheers. Kirishima tightens his grip
on Mina while Ojiro has his tail securely around Toru.

Eri walks up to the clone and gives it a light punch. “How was that?” She excitedly asks Aizawa.

He tries to cross his arms but his broken one prevents it so Aizawa settles for letting his good hand
pinch his nose. “I know you’re up to something Eri so whatever it is, get it over with.”

What did that mean?!

She gives him a thumbs up. “Mido, can you turn it into the blonde angry yap yap boy please?”

Ochako and several others try and fail to contain their laughter while Bakugo seethes. At least even
he was above charging a little girl.

It takes her a few too many seconds to realize that Eri called Deku by a nickname. Do they know
each other? The greenette in question waves his hand while laughing, turning the Ectoplasm clone
into a copy of Bakugo, complete with a scowl.

Eri steps forward, a full smile on her face. Before anyone can react, several students gasp when the
girl produces a blade from under her left sleeve. She slices the clone's leg and kicks it.

Before ‘Bakugo’ can fall to his knee, Eri stabs the clone's arm and twists it behind its back, turning
the clone around so that when it landed on its knees, its back was to Eri and it was facing the class.

The horned girl retracts her blade and places her left hand on the duplicate’s head while her right
arm goes for its neck, springing its own blade. In one swift motion, her left hand twists the head to
the left while the right arm slices the neck in the other direction.

The clone explodes in ectoplasm covering the young girl and two teachers. The class stares in
silence at what they have just witnessed.

Eri smiles sweetly at Bakugo. “It’s not Nomu you have to worry about.”
After what turned out to be a very interesting lesson, Ochako had learned some things. Deku had
known Eri for a year, they couldn’t tell her how exactly they met, but as someone who had been
rescued by Deku herself, she had a pretty good idea.

The next thing she learned was that it was Deku who taught Eri everything she knew, Ochako is
not even sure why that surprises her.

And the third thing she learned? She is absolutely terrible at fighting. Her whole strategy basically
consisted of running at her opponent and hoping to touch them. True if she actually does touch
someone, it would end most fights.

But that was the problem. Pretty much anyone with even the smallest amount of training could
avoid and outmaneuver her. While she had always wanted to focus primarily on rescue, seeing
what happened to Thirteen at the USJ…she didn’t want to end up like that. Luckily, even if it
makes her heart beat faster, she’s got an idea of what to do about that.

And lastly, she learned she has the best friends ever! On the way to lunch, the topic of why they
wanted to become heroes came up and she ended up confessing the situation about her parent’s
construction company and how she grew up.

She thought about not saying anything but after telling Deku off for hiding stuff after the USJ, it’d
be pretty hypocritical of her.

And her friends, her wonderful friends, accepted her! Iida told her there was nothing wrong with
going after a better life and after Deku was done having a face that looked like he was connecting
dots which still kind of makes her nervous, he told her she could’ve made a ton of money doing a
lot of things but she chose to do it by being a hero so how could it be bad?

The resulting hug she gave him left her red but she didn’t care, she was just so happy! She hopes
Deku is okay though, she might’ve made him accidentally activate his quirk with how red he got.

But now the day was over and she could-

“Okay, that one was lame! How about this?” Kaminari’s loud voice from where he leans over
Jiro’s desk is heard by everyone. “You know Thor, God of Thunder right?”

Jiro rolls her eyes. “Duh.”

Kaminari gets excited. “Alright, who are his favorite characters in the Super Mario video game?”

The punk girl looks around but when it’s clear no one is getting her out of this, she answers. “…
who.”

The blonde smiles brighter. “The Hammer Bros!”

It’s almost as silent as when Eri destroyed that clone earlier. Kaminari looks around. “You know,
hammer bros? Like the turtles who throw hammers? And Thor has a hammer too…” his voice
trails off.

“Welp!” Deku slams his hands on his desk and gets up. “You’ve had this one coming.”

A knife appears from nowhere in Deku’s hand and he stabs Kaminari in the side, causing the other
teen to yelp in pain.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Jiro says flatly. “We all know it’s an illusion.”

Right, right. Ochako knew that. Illusion. Yup.

“Huh?” Deku asks. He pulls the knife away and that’s when they see it. The knife is red and
Kaminari is bleeding.

“Oh my god!” Jiro yells.

Yaomomo is over to them instantly, rolling her sleeve and making medical supplies. “Midoriya,
what did you do?!”
Most of the class is now around the pair, yelling similar shouts of disbelief. It’s Iida who’s heard
over them. “Midoriya, how could you possibly think stabbing a student could ever be warranted?!”

Deku looks even more confused, pointing between himself and Kaminari. “Did you guys not hear
his joke?…”

“I’m with Midoriya.” Tenko shrugs. “It was a pretty bad joke.” Deku puts his fist out which Tenko
happily bumps with his own.

“I don’t think a bad joke is worth being stabbed over…” Sato points out.

Deku groans. “What’s the big deal? My dad used to do this to his dad all the time.”

Todoroki perks up in the back of the group but it’s Shoji who asks the obvious question. “What
does that have to do with anything?”

Her continuously frustrated friend looks at them as if the answer is the most obvious thing in the
world before a look of realization dawns on his face. “Ohhhhhh. Kaminari?”

“What’s up, bro?” Kaminari, who was flattening the bandages Yaomomo had put on him, answers
with maybe too much enthusiasm for someone who was just stabbed.

“Did we ever tell them we’re related?” Deku questions as if it doesn’t make her mind stop for a
second.

Kaminari puts a hand to his chin. “I could’ve sworn we mentioned it…”

The rest of the class finally catches up.

“What?!!”
“Oh, yeah.” Deku laughs way too casually. “Me and Kaminari are related. Our dads are brothers.
We’re cousins.”

Everyone still stares. While it’s crazy to find out they’re cousins, it still didn’t exactly explain the
stabbing…

“Guys, seriously. I’m fine.” Kaminari raises his hands in a placating manner. “I’m a fast healer.
Trust me. This is normal for our crazy family.”

Slowly, everyone starts to relax. “You don’t look much alike.” Tsu points out.

“Well technically…” Kaminari puts an arm over Deku’s shoulder. “This guy’s dad is adopted but
hey, family is family.” Deku looks fondly annoyed.

“Well…” Ochako’s not sure she’s ever seen Iida look more unsure. “Even if this is how your
family believes they can act, may I request you keep your stabbings outside of school?”

Deku takes his time mulling it over before looking at Kaminari. “Tell better jokes.”

He laughs, backing off. “Or just tell the same jokes when you’re not around?”

“Trust me, I’ll know.”

“ Pardon,” Aoyama and his sparkles insert themselves. “But the rest of us do not have to worry
about being stabbed, avec un peu de chance? ”

Deku gives a playful shrug. “No, not unless any of you are villains or something. It’s a family
thing.” Aoyama does not look reassured.

“Great, the nerd stabbed someone, big deal. I’m out of here.” Kirishima catches up with his
questionable choice of a friend while Ochako joins Deku and everyone starts to make their way to
the door to leave…only to be met by a crowd of students blocking their way.
“W-what is the meaning of this?!” Iida marches forward. “You all cannot crowd a doorway, it is a
fire hazard!”

Tenko is a bit more nonchalant. “Guess we’re getting raided.” He bumps Deku. “Can I get one of
those swords you looted from the USJ?”

Yaomomo gives them a look so Deku loudly says, “what?! Tenko, no! How could you even think
about doing something like that to other students?” When she looks away, he adds under his
breath, “yeah, I got you.”

Ochako will just chalk that up to them kidding.

After a few more protests from classmates, Bakugo speaks up. “Isn’t it obvious? We’re the class
that survived a real villain attack, they’re checking out the completion for the Sports Festival. Take
a picture, extras!”

“Bakugo! You cannot call those you do not know extras!”

“You can’t tell me what to do, extra!”

“How do you not know me, I am your classmate!!”

“So this is the famous class 1-A?” A tired voice from the back stops Iida and Bakugo’s fight. A
boy pushes his way up front. He has wild purple hair and eye bags that would make Aizawa
proud.

“We heard you all were supposed to be the best of the best,” he drawls on. “But it looks like we
were misinformed. Just some kids born with powerful quirks that let it get to their heads.”

Bakugo’s threat to murder him after doesn’t help. Neither does her classmate’s yelling at him that
he’s making the whole school hate them. But that’s when the purple-haired boy drops a bomb.
They were gunning for the hero course, and they could get in by the festival. But since they could,
that meant any one of them could lose their spot.
The tired boy smiles darkly. “None of you are safe. Consider this my declaration of war.” And just
like that, he’s gone through the crowd. Kirishima whispers ‘manly exit’ as he leaves.

“Don’t walk away from me, extra!” Bakugo shoves his way through next, Kirishima chasing after
him to prevent the death of their school-mate.

“Let’s see…” a new annoyingly smug voice says. A blond boy makes his way through next but
unlike the others, sees no problem with walking into the classroom itself.

“Ah! Freckles, green hair, and abysmally plain looking, you must be class 1-A’s class rep Izuku
Midoriya, yes?” The new boy is in front of them now and in Ochako’s professional opinion, Izuku
stabbed the wrong blonde today.

He puts a hand on his chest. “Neito Monoma, the pleasure is yours I assure you.” Screw it, Ochako
is about to take one of Deku’s knives and do it herself. “Member of Class 1-B, I’m here to let you
know that you shouldn’t enjoy your unearned time in the spotlight, it’ll be over soon.”

He leans over and whispers so only they can hear. His smile morphs into a snarl. “We are not
allowed to make this public, but our sensei told us the truth. We know you’re a traitor and working
with villains and believe me, we in 1-B will make sure you leave UA, one way or another.”

Deku actually looks off-guard and taken aback by that. “I didn’t know it was happening!” He
whisper-shouts. “And I didn’t talk to any villains about the USJ!” Something nags at the back of
Ochako’s mind but she ignores it in favor of glaring at Monoma.

The smug boy straightens up, a fake smile back on his face. “In time, people will know who the
superior hero class is. Goodbye for now, 1-A.”

“You’re right.” Deku is back to his normal smile. “It is goodbye.” Ochako sees a faint glow from
his hands before she hears…some sort of animals…honking? She can’t tell what that sound is from
the hallway.

All she knows is that it makes all the kids in the hall scream and run as if their lives depended on it
and when the animals appear at the doorway, Ochako can’t say she blames them.

Because a few seconds later, with the rest of the crowd gone and only Monoma in their room, two
velociraptors make their way through the door, growling right at the member of their sister class.

“P-please.” Monoma tugs his collar a bit. “We k-know you make illusions. These aren’t real…” the
raptors keep their approach slow, lowering themselves to the ground.

“Would you really like to test that with them?” Ochako can’t help but match Deku’s smile at his
words. After all the nasty things Monoma just said, he had this coming.

One of the raptors snaps its jaws right in Monoma’s face and he yells jumping back. “I can even
smell them…f-fine! This isn’t over!” He slowly steps around the dinosaurs before taking off when
he reaches the doorway.

Deku disappears while everyone leaves the classroom. Ochako will admit, she hates how good he
is at that. But he mentioned at lunch he was going back to Gym Gamma after school so she had a
lead to talk to him.

Opening the door to the gym, she finds him standing on a mat in the middle of the room talking to
Eri. Nomu stands about two meters away from them, tilting its head at her as she walks in. Eri
smiles at her. It’s not the threatening sweet one she gave Bakugo, more genuine, so she’ll take that
as a win. Snipe lays on a pillar on his phone not too far away.

Deku looks at her with befuddled eyes. “Uraraka? What are you doing here?”

“What are you guys doing?” She answers his question with a question.

“I stay back sometimes and spar with Eri.” He points his thumb at said girl.

Ochako reaches them and awkwardly swings her arms back and forth. “That’s good. Yeah, right,
makes sense…”

“Are you okay?” Oh, Deku, don’t look at her like that, she has no resistance to his concerned
puppy face.
“I saw during training today…you know how to fight…” The pair say nothing and continue to look
at her. You can do this, Ochako! Think of your parents! You owe it to them to be the best hero you
can be! “Deku I was wondering if you could teach me!” She finally blurts out.

“Eh?!”

“I-I mean,” Ochako stammers. “To fight. Can you teach me to fight?” Her voice grows more sure.
“I don’t want what happened to Thirteen to happen to me, please?”

“I-well-I”

“He’d love to!” Eri basically teleports in between them. “Mido is a great teacher! You can meet
with us after school, I don’t mind! That’s okay, right Mido?”

Deku shakes his head a bit. “R-right! Fight. Yes. Me. Are you sure you’d want to learn from me?
My fighting style isn’t exactly traditional and…well…” his voice dies off looking away.

Ochako takes a step closer. “Well, traditional isn’t really working for me so why not?” She laughs
a little and gives him a small smile and he does the same looking back at her.

The two look at each other for a couple of more seconds, Ochako completely forgetting where she
is before Eri taps Deku on the side. “Shouldn’t you be getting her a mat?” She snickers.

“What? A-oh, yeah!” He laughs awkwardly, jogging out of the room. “Be right back!” Ochako
watches him go, leaving her alone with Eri.

Ochako isn’t sure what to say to the girl but thankfully, Eri doesn’t have the same problem. “I
approve.”

“Approve? Of him teaching me?” Ochako questions.

Eri gives her a mischievous smile. “I approve.” Before Ochako can question her further, Nomu
takes a step toward them. “Oh! It’s okay Nomy, she helped protect Mido earlier.”

‘Nomy?’

Nomu chirps in, approval? Before falling on its butt, seemingly relaxed now.

“Thank you,” Eri says to her sincerely. “For what you did for Mido earlier.”

Ochako smiles back. “Believe me, it was no problem. I swear, I can’t look away before a new
blonde jerk is going after him, I can’t wait to help Deku prank this new guy.”

Eri giggles. It’s a sweet sound. “Mido has the best pranks, doesn’t he? It’s so much fun to help
him!” She gains a thoughtful look. “Hey, why don’t we prank that guy together, as a surprise for
Mido!”

Ochako hums, pretending to think it over. “Okay…but why stop at him?”

Eri gets even more excited. “I knew I liked you!”

The brunette gets excited with her but stops when she remembers one of their teachers is in the
room. “Oh crap. Snipe-sensei. He probably won’t-“

The little girl in front of her blows a raspberry. “You don’t have to worry about anything. He’s
been letting me do whatever I want the longest out of all the teachers. Right, sensei?”

The hero doesn’t move or take his eyes off his phone. “I ain’t hear nothing.”

“See?” Eri asks, descending into more giggles. Yeah, Ochako knew she liked Eri too.

A couple of days later, It’s late when Ochako gets home that evening, she’s sore and tired, but
she’s never felt better about being a hero. But that’s not what has her attention right now.

It’s the fact that she’s home. With her parents. Who had abruptly sent her train tickets home and
promised they would explain everything when she got there.

She can hear their voices coming from the dining room, along with a third man’s voice she doesn’t
recognize.

She walks into the room her parents are in. From the doorway, the man has her back to her and her
parents face her. “Hello?”

“Ochako!” Her mother gets up and envelops her daughter in a crushing hug. “Baby, we’ve missed
you!”

She returns the hug but can’t help herself. “What’s going on?”

“Do we need an excuse to want to see you?” Her father laughs, rubbing her head and messing up
her hair. He laughs at the matching pouts he gets from his wife and daughter.

“No but it’s expensive…” she mumbles.

“Well that’s what we wanted to tell you, baby girl! We got a big job!” Her father proudly tells her.

Ochako is thankful her mother is holding onto her because she might’ve fallen. “What?! When-
how?!”

“That would be me,” the stranger says, standing up from his seat and facing her. His Japanese has a
slight accent she can’t identify, obviously foreign, she wanted to say American but that didn’t seem
right.

He smiles kindly at her. He’s wrinkled but Ochako couldn’t tell you his age. The older man wears
a dark blue, almost black opened jacket with a white undershirt and black pants. He sports a full
mostly gray beard that still has traces of black in it with short wild hair on top of his head that
matches in color.
 “It’s nice to meet you, young lady. Your parents spoke very highly of you.” Her face heats up at
what her parents could’ve said about her.

“You see,” he continues. “I run a hero team in America and for the last few years, we’ve had a
branch operating here in Japan but they’ve had no place to call home here so I thought it was time
to change that.”

He lifts his arm to her parents. “My nephew knew what I was up to and highly recommended your
parent’s construction company and I agreed.”

Ochako can feel tears filling her eyes. “T-thank you, sir!” She bows. “I promise my parents won’t
let you down, Mr-er…”

“Oh!” He laughs at himself. “Where are my manners? My name is James Howlett.” He holds his
hand out to her. “But you can call me Logan.”

Chapter End Notes

I regret nothing. My new slogan apparently lol. But I did it! I wrote a chapter with
minimal foreshadowing! Yay! Sure I had to literally cut 2 scenes that were all
foreshadowing to do it but you’ll get those later anyway.

You guys didn’t think Izuku skipped lessons when teaching Eri, did you? And yes, she
is aware she has pretty much all the teachers but one (fuck you Vlad) wrapped around
her finger and she knows it. Probably a bad thing but what are you gonna do.

Just to be clear, not all of 1-B think Izuku is the traitor or will be gunning for him at
the festival. But still, at least a few will.

Yes, Izuku could probably give Ochako’s family enough money that they’d never
have to work again but he knows they wouldn’t want it like that. So he killed 2 birds
with 1 stone as they say lol.

Anyway, I think that’s all from me. Hope you guys liked it and as always, questions?
Comments? Leave them below, you know I love them! Until next time!

Edit: Just so there’s no confusion, when Izuku refers to his “Uncle Logan” or “Uncle
Wade,” those are just honorary or symbolic titles. They’re not actually related by
blood
 What a Fortunate Turn of Events
Chapter Summary

The sports festival nears, as does training and drama! There’s more but again, spoilers.
I don’t know how to do these things…

Chapter Notes

WE REACHED 1000 KUDOS WHAT THE FKCUROTMFMSKFKDLSLAL

But seriously, this is awesome, thank you all so much. (I definitely didn’t sit there
reloading the page until I hit it last night.)

But onto the chapter, enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Izuku! You’re going to be late for school if you don’t get up soon!”

He loves his mom. He really does. But waking him and making him get out of his nice cozy bed
was pushing it. Even if he won’t do anything about it. He’s learned his lesson since the time he
tried to turn his mom into a frog…

Ugh. He was having the best dream too. He was flying over the ocean! It was so cool!

“Izuku! Don’t make me come in there!”

This was not.

Grabbing a book off his desk, Izuku trudges into the dining room where his mother sets his
breakfast down for him. “Izuku you just got up…” Inko says, eyeing the book in his hand.

“There’s less than a week until the Sports Festival mom, I gotta learn as much as I can,” Izuku
dismisses her concerns and sits down, taking a bite of his toast and conjuring a pencil to add a few
new notes he thought of last night.
Inko sighs, getting up to make her own plate. “I know honey but I don’t want you to burn out.
Didn’t you train enough this past weekend at…where did Heimdall send you again?”

Izuku taps the pencil’s eraser on his cheek thinking. “Sorry mom, what did you sa-oh! I went to
Antarctica.”

His mom makes a face. “What kind of training did you-“ her phone rings, causing Inko to lose her
train of thought when she picks it up from the counter.

The teen looks back down at his book to continue his note adding before Inko’s curt voice distracts
him. “What do you want?”

That takes all of Izuku’s attention immediately. She never talks to anyone like that. Well…no one
except-

“Izuku.” He gulps at her stern voice while she hands him the phone. “You have to leave soon.
Make this quick.”

Inko’s attitude has him thrown for such a loop, Izuku doesn’t think when he puts the phone to his
ear and absentmindedly says, “hello.”

He comes back to his senses when he has to yank the phone away from the loud voice on the other
end. “Okay, okay! Sorry!” Izuku placates the other caller, switching to English. He takes
advantage of the man’s rambling to finish a few pieces of toast.

“Yes…yes I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking!” Izuku is groaning but he can’t keep the small smile off his
face. “And by the way, it’s called Japanese. Not ‘ching-chong,’ Uncle Wade.”

Izuku shakes his head fondly while his uncle continues to yell, walking to the kitchen to put his
plate in the sink. “Yes, I called Uncle Logan to help my friend...well for starters, he was already in
Japan.”

After vanishing the book Uncle Thor gave him, Izuku listens more while walking back to his room.
“Are you even allowed to get on a plane?” He pauses for the answer. “The last time you said
you’d find a way, you stole an entire jet.”

Izuku can’t help but laugh as he reaches his room. “Fine, technically we stole it. My mom’s still
mad at you for talking me into that.” Another pause. “No, I didn’t say I regretted it…”

Was this what his mom was talking about when she said Uncle Wade was a bad influence on him?
…nah.

He goes over to his desk and starts to pull out school supplies from the drawers. “Yes, I told mom
why we needed it! That taco place you like on the west coast of the US was closing soon and we
needed to get there fast.” Izuku listens. “No, it wasn’t good enough for her.”

The greenette starts to pack his bag. “You wouldn’t have been able to help anyway. My friend’s
parents own a construction company and needed work.”

Izuku shivers. “I don’t know what you would’ve used their equipment for and please don’t tell
me…yes you’ve told me the story with the Zamboni a million times.”

Finishing with his bag, Izuku vanishes it before organizing and putting his notebooks back on the
shelf. “My birthday? Haven’t really thought abiut it, why?…no Uncle Wade you can’t bring me a
gun.”

“What?” Izuku checks his phone on his desk and opens the text messages. “Oh, yup, here are all
the pictures of guns. It doesn’t matter anyway, guns are illegal here…yes I could keep it in my
pocket dimension but I couldn’t use it…don’t tell me ‘not with that attitude!’

Izuku can’t stop himself from laughing at the whining coming from the other end of the call. He
puts his phone in his pocket before checking the emails on his second phone and vanishing it.

“Sure, if you actually make it here then I’ll at least look at whatever gun you got me, okay?” Izuku
holds the phone away from his ear again because of the loud cheer of victory.

“Alright it’s been good talking to you but I gotta-huh?” Izuku stops, unsure. “Say hi to the readers
for you? Sure, whatever you say…bye Uncle Wade.”
He hangs up his mother’s phone still bewildered. His uncle’s great but he can be so confusing
sometimes.

Straightening his tie and making himself oh so comfortable on Aizawa’s shoulder, Nezu smiles as a
car pulls up to the front gate of UA.

“How do you even get up there without me knowing…” Aizawa groans.

“Physics,” Nezu answers vaguely. It was so much fun to keep humans guessing. And judging by
the slight shiver he felt from the man, it was working. Aizawa was the one that had to go ahead and
wear the most comfortable scarf in the world around his shoulders, it should not take an
intelligence quirk to figure out why Nezu likes his shoulder so much.

But enough of that. He could go on and on about his indentured servants but he has two guests to
campus today walking up to the gate! “Am I a mouse? A dog? A bear? My real identity is…the
Principal of UA, Nezu!” He cheers happily, ignoring Aizawa’s pained sigh.

Logan laughs a little. “Nice meet you in person, Principal Nezu, your reputation precedes you.”

“As does yours.” When the man tilts his head a little, Nezu continues. “Come now, even we in
Japan have heard the tales of the Wolverine.”

“Well hopefully you haven’t heard too much,” the older hero remarks, putting a hand on the
shoulder of his companion.

“Ah, yes. You did mention you were bringing someone else.” Nezu looks down at Logan’s
companion, a young girl. Still at least a few years off from the age necessary to attend UA.

If Nezu had to guess, and he was good at guessing, the girl is of Mexican descent, with straight
black hair that came to her shoulders. She wore jeans, and a gray shirt with a horse and rainbow on
it covered by a jean jacket. Perched on her head was a pair of pink and blue sunglasses.

“Does she speak Japanese?” Nezu inquires.

“No.” Logan shakes his head, sighing a little. “Just English and Spanish. Little brat is as stubborn
as a mule when trying to teach her shit.”

Nezu hums, looking back down at the girl. “ Hello,” he says in Spanish. “I’m Principal Nezu.
What’s your name?”

The girl narrows her eyes at him before looking at Logan, who gives her a reaffirming nod. She
looks back at him for a few more seconds before simply replying, “Laura.”

The principal claps his paws excitedly. “Wonderful!” Aizawa clears his throat with not so much
subtlety. “Oh, very well Aizawa. Mr. Howlett, if I may?” Nezu gestures from one man to the other
and the foreign hero understands immediately.

“Just Logan,” he says, leaning forward so Nezu could climb onto his shoulder from Aizawa’s.
Wordlessly, the Erasure hero hands the two guests visitor badges and walks away. Nezu knows it’s
to try and get a nap in before homeroom…where the man will nap as well.

“Shall we begin?” Nezu moves himself to be more comfortable while they begin their walk around
the school.

“I gotta say, I was surprised when I received an invitation to tour the campus of Japan’s most
prestigious hero school. Most places are a bit too…intimidated for that.” Logan looks around the
campus, eyeing their surroundings. Nezu notices that Laura keeps a close eye on any passing
students.

“Well when both the leader of one of America’s two biggest hero teams and a fellow educator
comes to my country, how could I possibly resist?” Nezu purrs.

“Temporary educator,” Logan corrects. “I’m only Headmaster of the school until they find
someone better. A lot of bullshit politics that come with the job I’m not cut out for.”

“Don’t be so modest.” Nezu chuckles. “From what I’ve gathered, you have been ‘temporary’
headmaster of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters for years now.”
“And I’ll never fucking understand why…” Nezu will never claim to be an expert on human
emotion, something whose intricacies will more than likely forever elude him. But he has a feeling
the hero doesn’t mind the position he holds as much as he lets on.

“I’m sure the experience of the longevity aspect of your quirk has allowed you to have is a valuable
learning tool for your students as well,” Nezu says.

Logan laughs, his face softening. “It is. Hoping for those kids to not make any of the same dumb
fucking mistakes I did.” He looks fondly at Laura for a moment. “Even if I will never get used to it
being called a quirk.”

“Even after the term’s common usage the past couple of centuries?” Nezu asks curiously.

“Well after being called a mutant for the first couple of centuries, it’s hard to let go. Especially
since we’re still referred to as such in certain parts of America,” Logan informs him.

“I can imagine the country's high rate of late bloomers contributes to that.” Humans always finding
ways to discriminate against one another astounds him.

“A lot of kids don’t get their powers until around 13 in America,” Logan confirms. “Because of
that, they don't have nearly as much control of their abilities as other kids do, that’s usually when
they come to Xavier’s school.”

“Well, giving those children a safe haven must be rewarding in itself,” Nezu says in still a cheery
tone but one that’s a bit softer than his usual. The chimera points Logan in which direction to go.

“It is,” Logan says quietly, pulling Laura just a bit closer to him. “Speaking of students, couldn’t
help but overhear about the USJ incident. If there’s anything we can do to make sure those
bastards pay, let me know.”

“That is very much appreciated.” Nezu checks the status on his phone. “But we are following
every lead we have at the moment. And despite my best efforts, a program another faculty member
and I built has not been able to revive the camera footage lost during the attack.”

They stop in front of a door and Nezu pats the man to let him down. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a
quick phone call to make and we can continue the tour after but I believe Ms. Laura will enjoy
herself through here until then.”

“You know you still haven’t told me why I’m here,” Logan says in a humorous tone.

Oh, Nezu does love it when humans aren’t dumb. “Well if the X-Men are wanting to bring heroes
to Japan, I thought they would need a place to earn their Japanese hero licenses.”

“Funny.” Logan looks off in the distance. “I was supposed to meet with your Hero Commission
today to discuss that but they had to cancel on me at the last minute. And that’s when you called.”

“Well!” Nezu can’t help his giddy feeling. “What a fortunate turn of events for me!”

Logan raises an eyebrow. “And unfortunate for them, right?” Oh Nezu does like this human. He
hopes he gets to meet more.

At the sound of the door opening, Izuku turns away from where Eri is using Nomu as stabbing
practice to the entrance of Gym Gamma. “Uncle Logan? What are you doing here?”

“Your principal invited me,” he says looking around the gym. “You know I didn’t quite believe
you when you told me about this place…”

“Says the man who has a jet that comes out from under his basketball court,” Izuku deadpans.

Wolverine smirks at him. “You would know, wouldn’t you? Considering you and Wade stole it.”

Izuku groans while Logan laughs. Neither noticing Laura walk away to the middle of the gym.
“I’m never gonna live that down, am I? We were just borrowing it! And we were gonna come back
with food for everyone!”

Loki’s son crosses his arms. “I don’t know why you guys are always coming after me, Uncle Wade
was the adult in that situation…”
Logan snorts. “You’re lucky it can be controlled remotely. By the way, I never found out, how’d
your parents take that little stunt?”

The green-haired boy shrugs. “Dad gave me a new gaming system.” At Logan’s look, he adds,
“but mom grounded me so I couldn’t use it for a while!”

The old hero looks like he wants to say more but then, “L-L-Laura?” Izuku hears Eri try. The two
look over to see Eri and Laura looking at each curiously. “Laura?” Eri says hesitantly again.

The other girl nods vigorously before making a face like she swallowed a lemon. “Eri?” The
unicorn beside her jumps up and down cheering.

“That’s Laura, huh?” Izuku doesn’t take his eyes off the girls while they sound out different words
in each other’s languages. He takes out his phone and sends a text. “Clone/daughter? I thought my
life was crazy.”

“And I guess that's Eri then. You were right, way cuter than you could describe.” Izuku pouts.
“And believe me, kid, the world is a much more fucked up place than you can imagine.” He points
at Nomu. “Like that, right there, whatever he is. Doesn’t even faze me.”

Izuku snickers. “Good to know. How’s the Uraraka Construction Company working out?”

Logan crossed his arms, also continuing to watch the girls teach other words. “I know you’re
asking how I behaved when I went over to their house and I was fucking gentlemen, Izuku.”

“There’s a first time for everything…”

“Ignoring that. We’ve only just started the actual construction but you were right. They’re hard
workers and eager. Your girlfriend’s parents are everything you thought they’d be.”

Feeling his cheeks warm up, Izuku replies, “s-she’s n-not my-well, you know…”
Logan glances at him. “She’s not? That why you didn’t want me to tell her it was you who
recommended them? But you do like her, don’t you?”

He can feel himself getting redder. “I-I’m not s-sure…m-maybe?”

“Izuku.” At Logan’s serious tone, he looks up at him. “Take it from someone who’s lived a very
long while. The one thing you can never get back is time. When you figure out your feelings for
this girl, don’t wait too long, got it?”

“O-okay,” Izuku manages to get out. “It’s just…i-if I ever did want something like that with her…”
Izuku’s voice becomes more firm. “I’d want her to know about me before…about who I really
am.”

“Probably a good decision,” Logan comments.

The two stand in silence for a minute before Izuku speaks up, wanting to change the previous
subject, “are you guys gonna be in Japan long?”

Logan doesn’t comment on the abrupt change. “Just a couple of months until the new mansion is
built for the X-Men team here. Speaking of which, offer is still open…”

Izuku relaxes, getting back to more familiar territory for him. “Sorry, but Uncle Thor upped his
offer again and he’s ahead.”

The mutant runs a hand through his hair. “Do I even wanna know who he got this time?”

Izuku can barely contain his excitement. “He said he got Miguel to agree to sign something for
me!!”

The laugh that escapes him when Logan slaps a hand to his face almost knocks him over. “I was
afraid of that…how am I supposed to compete with goddamn Spider-Man…” Logan grumbles.

“Looks like if I ever leave Japan I’m becoming an Avenger,” Izuku sings.
“Midoriya?” Izuku’s gloating has to wait because that’s when Kaminari decides to come into the
gym. “Hey, I got your text and brought it, what’s up?”

“I almost forgot, Thor said something about having a son now.” Logan says to their new arrival.

“Who are…” the blonde’s face lights up. “You’re Wolverine!” He runs up to them so fast, that
traces of lightning streak over him. “My dad told me about-“ he stops. “Wait, Midoriya, does he
know about…you know what?” Kaminari whispers as if the man right next to them can’t hear.

“Yeah, about as subtle as the hammer his dad uses. Of course I fucking know about that stuff,”
Logan laughs.

Relief washes over Kaminari’s face. “Oh, phew! Anyway, my dad said you’re awesome! The way
you could tear through villains like they’re nothing!”

His uncle looks a little too proud for Izuku’s liking. “Well thank you, I-“

“He’s also a really good singer!” Izuku interrupts, taking the wind out of Logan’s sails. His uncle
gives him a dirty look. “That’s for the jet.”

Kaminari looks like Christmas came early.

“Anyway, you got it?” Izuku asks his cousin, who gives him a confused ‘yes’ before handing over
Thunderstrike to him.

“What’d you need it for?” Kaminari questions.

“Thunderstrike gives whosoever is holding it All Speak.” He holds the weapon out to Eri and
Laura and gestures to them to hold onto it. “And these two need a little help.”

Both girls grab onto the hilt and look at each other, waiting for something to happen. “Go ahead.”
Izuku’s voice causes them both to jump. “You can understand each other now.”
“We can?” Laura gapes at Eri.

“You can understand me,” the older girl states.

“Y-yeah,” Eri says, more nervous now. “Hi…”

Laura stares at her for a few uncomfortable seconds. “You’re like me.”

“Huh?”

Slowly, Laura reaches over with her free hand and pulls Eri’s sleeve up. Izuku sees the bracers he
gave her, along with her scars. “Bad men hurt you like they hurt me.”

Eri’s eyes widen. “They hurt you too? Are your bad men still chasing you also?”

Laura shakes her head, giving Eri a viciously proud smile. “No…” she makes a fist with her free
hand and two adamantium claws shoot out of her knuckles. “I stabbed them!”

“That’s an understatement…” Izuku hears Logan mumble.

“Wow…” Eri looks enthralled with the blades. She reaches for them and looks at Laura for
permission but she shakes her head, Stopping Eri from touching them. “When they come out, does
it hurt?”

“Every time,” Laura responds.

Eri looks back and forth between the claws and herself before seemingly coming to a decision. “I
wanna stab the bad men who hurt me too!” She flicks her wrist on her own free hand, causing her
hidden blade to spring out.

Chucking, Izuku pats her head. “I’ll give you a turn once I have a few rounds, sound good?” Eri
agrees excitedly. Both her and Laura now admiring each other’s blades.

At least, they were until the two lock eyes, having a silent conversation despite the magical item
that could let them talk between them. Izuku realizes what’s happening a few seconds later.

“Nomu, don’t interfere,” Izuku commands, backing up. The girls step back from each other as well
after putting Thunderstrike down, never taking their eyes off each other.

Laura clenches her other fist, her second set of claws jutting out. Eri bends her knees, placing a
hand by the belt she wears over her UA uniform.

“Eri doesn’t have a healing factor!” Izuku quickly makes sure to point out just in case. Laura
probably spars with Uncle Logan a lot so…

Neither of the girls acknowledges him. Yeah, it’s probably gonna be alright.

“Some of the things you’ve told me about Laura…” Izuku starts.

“Even when we’re practicing, we don’t go for kill shots. I’m not a fucking animal, Izuku.” The
look he gives his uncle is enough to tell him he doesn’t believe him on the animal part. Look at his
name!

There’s no warning when it starts. Laura charges at Eri with a yell. The horned girl responding
with two throwing knives flicked at her opponent but Laura slides on her knees under them.

Eri runs and jumps over the sliding Laura, flipping in the air and avoiding a swipe from the other
girl. Laura gets up and is on Eri instantly, who’s barely able to duck Laura’s first swipe before
jumping back from the second.

Laura lunges forward again looking to stab Eri in the shoulder, but she backs away again, this time
unsheathing her second blade and stabbing at Laura’s arm, the Wolverine clone blocks her with her
other set of claws, a clang! rings through the room as the blades collide.

Eri tries to stab Laura with her other arm but is blocked again. With their arms taken, Laura lets
loose a yell of rage before a blade pokes its way out of her shoe, surprising everyone but her
father.

Again, Eri jumps away just as Laura kicks her foot forward but she doesn’t let up, jumping high in
the air and twisting to try and stab Eri in the arm. Seeing an opportunity, this time, Eri spins
toward Laura getting ready to slash her leg mid-air-

But the older girl is too experienced for that, spreading her arm out to punch Eri in the face before
she could get the chance. Eri only has a second on the ground before she has to roll away, Laura’s
foot claw impaling the ground where Eri’s leg was just moments ago. Laura yells again in rage,
yanking her foot out of the ground, sending cement flying.

Izuku leans over to Logan. “Did uh…did you teach her that?”

Logan scratches his nose. “No, she…she came like that.”

Laura screams, trying to bring her claw down but Eri blocks the blow, going for a counterattack
instantly forcing Laura to dodge for the first time.

Sidestepping a thrust from Laura, Eri hits her claw, sending it skyward before trying two quick
slashes at Laura’s midsection, the other girl dodging both. Eri stabs downward at Laura’s leg and
she responds by trying to stab Eri’s hand with her foot claw.

But it looks like this is what the unicorn was waiting for, parrying the blade with her own and
disrupting Laura’s balance for only a second but that’s all Eri needs. She slashes upward and Laura
tries to turn her head but it was too late.

Laura backs up feeling her cheek and wincing. A small cut leaks blood onto her fingers. Eri smiles
victoriously but it quickly vanishes with the hungry smile Laura answers her with.

The little mutant wipes her cheek and jumps at Eri, who rolls underneath her. The rewind user
spins around and rises up on one knee raising her arm to attack, but Laura takes her own
advantage.

She uses Eri’s knee as a boost to get herself up and wrap her legs around the white-haired girl’s
shoulder, spinning them both to the ground and slamming Eri on her back hard.
By the time her red eyes find focus again, there are two claws centimeters from her eyes. With it
clearly decided, she relaxes and retracts her blades, surrendering.

Laura nods, and gets up while helping Eri up at the same time, both girls giggling.

“Wow!” Kaminari claps. “Today I found out I could have my ass handed to me by either one of
them!”

“Well, I think it’s pretty clear who the better teacher is,” Logan says smugly, taking out a cigar but
stopping when Izuku shakes his head. “Really? No? Fuck.”

Izuku laughs. “At least they’re not taking it hard.” He refers to Eri trying to copy the spinning mid-
air kick Laura did but falling on the ground in an undignified heap instead. But she gets up giggling
more and Laura tries to show her how to do right.

“I think Eri did good, especially considering I’ve only been training her for a year,” Izuku
observes. “You know, since I’m poised to be an Avenger…” he takes great satisfaction at the face
Logan makes. “Maybe I should avenge Eri’s loss…”

Logan’s smile takes a much sharper tone, his hand dropping and forming a fist. “You sure you
wanna do this, bub? You know I’m the best at what I do…and what I do isn’t very nice…”

Izuku conjures a knife. The excitement in him building. He never gets an opponent he can freely
cut with no consequences! “Everyone thinks you’re immortal Uncle Logan…should we test that?”

The two stare each down waiting for someone to make the first move-

But a warning bell goes off, signaling homeroom beginning in just a couple of minutes, Snipe
entering just as it does.

“Midoriya. Kaminari. “Ya’ll better get a move on or you’ll be late. And knowing Aizawa, he’ll
blame me.”
Taking a breath, Izuku vanishes the knife. “Next time.”

Logan nods. “See you around, kid.”

“Again, I’m so sorry about Monoma and I promise to try and keep my class in line.” Class 1-B‘s
Itsuka Kendo stands from her bow. Her vice rep, Nirengeki Shoda does the same next to her.

Izuku…wasn’t sure what to say. When the reps of their sister class asked to see him and Yaomomo
in between classes, he didn’t know what would happen but this was honestly one of the last things
he expected.

Thankfully, while Izuku does a great impression of a fish, Yaomomo is there to pick up his slack.
“We thank you for your dedication, Kendo. I do not know why our class rep didn’t inform anyone
of this.” Oh, he just got a look. “But any help is very much appreciated.”

Kendo looks relieved. “That’s great to hear. I also wanted to let you know, Midoriya, that not
everyone believes Vlad-sensei. Just Monoma and some idiots he’s riled up.”

Realizing he is in fact, not a fish and has the ability to speak on land, Izuku replies with, “thanks,
Kendo. I really thought I was going to have all twenty of you jumping me at the festival…”

She laughs. “No no. Well, I’m glad we could sort that out. It was great to meet both of you!” They
exchange goodbyes and begin to walk away but the orange-haired girl calls out one last time before
they do. “Oh!” Kendo starts, trying to contain more laughter. “I’m obligated to ask, you don’t
actually talk to villains right?”

Izuku laughs with her. “I’m not the traitor, Kendo. And I haven’t given any info about UA or any
students to any villains!”

Sometimes, weird sentences pop into Toshinori’s head. One’s that he knows he can’t repeat out
loud because they’ll sound weird, especially if he does it while he’s buffed up. Sentences like, he’s
looking forward to seeing the creative ways teenagers beat each other up for the Sports Festival.
Is that a weird thing to say? Probably. But considering the millions who watch the festival every
year, he’s not the only one.

“All Might?” Speaking of teens, a certain one’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts.

“I apologize, young Tenko. What did you say?” The two were currently standing alone in one of
UA’s many workout rooms after school.

“Nothing, just that I finished that last set of weights. Was there anything else you wanted me to
do?”

He smiles at the young man. “No you’ve done plenty today, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Tenko nods,
going over to a bench to pack his bag and switch shoes.

To be honest, he wasn’t sure how he expected the boy to react when he approached him about
helping him train for the festival but Tenko agreed so quickly, it looked like he himself was
surprised!

Whether that was because Tenko was finally willing to talk to him or he thought All Might’s
training would be easier than anything Gran would put him through was anyone’s guess.

Reaching the door, Tenko stops, scratching his neck. “Hey…” Toshinori says nothing, letting him
take a few minutes to collect his thoughts. When Tenko speaks again, it’s low and his voice cracks
a little. “I don’t understand why…”

All Might relaxes a little. “It’s pretty simple, my boy! I want to see you do your best at the-“

“I don’t understand why…” Toshinori’s voice dies as Tenko’s voice grows harsher, the boy still
won’t face him. “You should hate me.”

Feeling his heart crack a little, he immediately replies, “I never did.”

The two stand in silence again for a few minutes, young Tenko playing with the doorknob. “I want
to believe you…so bad but…”

“I’ll say it as many times and for however long you need. I never hated you, nor did I ever blame
you for what happened,” Toshinori says firmly.

Truthfully, at the time, there were too many emotions going through Toshinori for him to figure
out how he felt. Hearing from Tsukauchi that some informant had told them it was a quirk accident
and the boy was running, all he could focus on was finding Nana’s last blood relative before
something bad happened.

And he did. All Might didn’t know how he’d feel when he actually found him but seeing that
crying boy covered in blood in that alleyway, his emotions became clear. He would protect him.

Tenko gives him a look over the shoulder, a quick nod, and disappears without another word.
Maybe it’s his endless optimism that Gran is always making fun of him about talking, but it feels
like progress.

Denki huffs before kicking off the tree. He hits the next one, pretty easy since he’s in a forest, and
pushes off again. Lightning covers his body, allowing him to move faster , but he can feel himself
draining even faster, still, he pushes himself. The festival is close!

His foot slips on the next tree and he yells out, hitting the ground and rolling for a couple of
meters, the lightning around his body dying out.

Instead of getting up, he lets himself have a second to catch his breath, which is in short supply
right now. The evening sun’s rays coming through the trees look beautiful…

“That was your longest time yet!” Thor’s voice hammers it’s way into his tranquility, his father’s
smiling face coming into view. Was Denki a little annoyed that his dad didn’t look winded at all
keeping up with him? Maybe.

“Thanks, dad.” He’s helped into a sitting position and given a bottle of water, which he drains half
of almost instantly.
“This Sports Festival is a blessing in disguise for us.” Thor sits beside him. “Learning to use your
powers without your weapon to channel them is important, and this festival gave us an excuse to
continue that training.” He laughs thunderously.

“So, I’m doing good?” Denki gets out between gasping breaths and water drinking.

“You’ve got a long way to go but your start is beyond anything I could have predicted. I have no
doubt you’ll go far in the festival. Which reminds me…”

He gets up, standing over his son. “There’s one more part of your training we have to get to before
your festival starts.”

“What’s that?”

The smile Thor gives him isn’t one he’s used to. In fact, that kind of look would probably be better
on Uncle L-

“I have no doubt that like you, Izuku will make it far into the festival, which means you two will
more than likely meet in combat.” Denki grimaces.

“Which is why…” Thor continues in a whisper before announcing loudly. “We are going to start
your lessons in ‘How to Beat a Loki 101!’”

Denki can’t help but laugh at his dad’s antics, standing up with him. “Isn’t that kind of unfair
though?”

“First lesson.” Thor holds up a finger. “Learn to think like a Loki. I have no doubt my brother has
given Izuku lessons on how to combat me which means…how to combat you. I have never lost to
my brother in a fight, and I expect you to keep up that tradition.”

He can tell his father isn’t completely serious but Denki gives him a determined nod anyway. “I’ll
do my best!”
“You should’ve seen her!” Izuku says excitedly from where he sits by his desk. “Her punches and
kicks are already so much faster than when we started!” Two and Twelve sit on the floor in front of
him listening.

“Then!” Izuku doesn’t stop. “I had to answer an email from my phone but she grabbed me and
slammed me into the mat when I looked away and reached for it!” His head starts to hurt a little.

Two laughs while Twelve does what he does and analyzes. “I’m assuming you’ve taught Uraraka
to take advantage of any opportunity the opponent gives? And you did not actually stop the fight
when you reached for your phone?”

Izuku shakes his head. “I just said to give me a second and she literally did!”

“All I’m hearing,” Four says, appearing next to him. “Is that someone liked it when Uraraka
slammed him into the mat.”

He looks away, his headache getting worse but his cheeks reddening. “Shut up…”

“Not a denial.” Three observes, materializing as well on his other side. “Of course, he could also
be proud that Uraraka is picking up his lessons with much enthusiasm and learning quickly.”

Izuku grabs his head, it’s starting to hurt even more. What’s going on? He knows what it feels like
when he’s about to have a clone-induced panic attack but he hasn’t had one of those since before
UA! But this is different…it’s familiar but he can’t quite place it…

Oh no.

He just remembered.

“Are you alright?” Two asks.

“It’s happening again.” Five states clearly, making himself visible. “It’s been a long time.”
“Wait, that? But what could it-“ Two doesn’t get to finish before Izuku grabs his head with both
hands and yells out. Green lines flash erratically on his body and the room disappears in a green
light, blinding everyone.

When it’s over, Izuku is gasping, hands on his knees. After getting control of his breathing, he
looks up. The rest of his decoys are all looking at the same spot. Right in front of him, a clone sits
on his bed looking at him curiously.

Izuku can tell his clones apart. That’s why they’re numbered. Two through Twelve. Each has a
different part of him. He recognizes any of them instantly. Which is why they’re all stunned.

None of them know this clone. It’s number Thirteen. But…what part of him does it-

Thirteen looks at everyone before taking a fond sigh and laying down in the bed. “Uraraka looks
really cute when she’s determined, doesn’t she?”

Izuku falls off his chair. Four looks more excited than he’s ever been. “No way! No way no way
no way!” He points at a stunned Izuku on the ground. “You can’t deny it anymore! To us or
yourself! Literally! Proof you have a crush on her!”

Sitting up suddenly, Thirteen puts a hand to his head. “Oh my god…my name is Thirteen…like her
favorite hero…”

“This…is the greatest day of my existence…” Four gets out before bursting out laughing, the other
clones joining him rolling on the ground. Even the logical Three couldn’t stop himself.

“I don’t…” Izuku tries weakly.

“The proof is laying on your bed!” Five yells, trying and failing to get control of himself.

“Hey.” Thirteen gets their attention. “If you don’t want to confess to her, I can do it for you.”
 “He’s gonna be a handful to control at the festival.” Two wipes a tear.

“Festival?…” Izuku asks, dreading at knowing what the answer could be.

“Well, yeah!” Four gives him a thumbs up. “When you make the third round, we’re all gonna be in
the stands cheering you on with your classmates!”

“We can’t wait to meet them.” Five whispers conspiratorially.

“Could this day get any worse?” Izuku moans, leading to another round of laughter.

Night has fallen on Japan by now. In an office, the owner has elected to keep the lights off, letting
the room be consumed by darkness, save for the light coming from the computer screen.

He rewinds the video and plays it again. His hearing is better than that of humans but even he is
unsure. Taking a sip of tea, he lets the video play again.

“I am Izuku Lokison. Prince of Mischief. And I am burdened by glorious purpose.”

He drags the video to the side and watches the boy get teleported to the Downpour Zone, where
he’s saved by Kaminari. His program was still reconstructing some of the footage from the attack
but he was able to get the Central Plaza footage from the USJ.

Opening the program, he searches, and ah, lucky him! It seems the recordings of the downpour
zone are ready to be viewed as well! And so he does. Taking in every word from a conversation
between a certain blonde and green-haired boy.

“Well,” Nezu rubs his paws together, looking at the paused image of ‘Midoriya’ and ‘Kaminari.’ “I
believe it’s time we sat down for a little chat.”

Chapter End Notes

What? Did you guys think Izuku could get away with using his real name with no
consequences? ;)

But anyways, yes, we have both Logan and Laura here. In this AU, Charles didn’t
murder the entirety of the X-Men so Logan isn’t so jaded and mean spirited as the
normal Old Man Logan was. And Izuku isn’t the only one who deserves a group of
friends, Eri does too :(

In case you couldn’t tell, we’re slow burning it a little but I’m not keeping those 2
dorks (you know the ones) apart forever.

Anyways, I can’t think of really anything else to say cuz I think the chapter covers it
but obviously, if somethings not clear and you have a question, or just a comment in
general, leave it below like usual, you know I love them! Until next time!

(P.S. Hey! I started a new story! Izuku Midoriya, Quirk: Phoenix. Raised by the HPSC
and his handler (big brother) Hawks. If that’s something you might be interested in,
then go check out Birds of a Feather)
 Don’t Keep Me in the Dark
Chapter Summary

It’s the day before the Sports Festival! Time for some rest, relaxation, and-wait. What
does Nezu want to talk about?

Chapter Notes

Last chapter before the Sports Festival! Let’s go!

Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“He should be here soon! Hide!”

“We’re already behind the tree…”

“Then keep hiding!”

“Do you think I’d just jump out and ruin the prank? I’m the closest thing you’ll ever get to a
professional.”

“I’ve never worked with you before, I had to be sure…”

“I think you’re confused… you’re the one getting tested right now for possible inclusion in future
pranks.”

“Just because I gave you some leeway for also having green hair does not mean-“

“I swear.” Kendo pinches the bridge of her nose. “If you two don’t shut up, I’ll pull the plug right
now.”
Izuku and Setsuna Tokage shoot her identical betrayed looks. “You wouldn’t…” he whispers.

“Yeah, Ken, you can’t! How am I supposed to test if Midoriya lives up to his reputation?” Tokage
pleads.

Izuku shakes his head to clear it of all the nonsense he just heard. “Hey, I’m the Prince of
Mischief, I am the one who pranks. You’re here to see if you live up to my standards.”

“Listen, dude, anyone can give themselves a stupid nickname-“

“It’s a title!” Izuku squeals in a way that does not fit the actual Prince that he is.

“Yeah, but did you-“

“Ow!” Izuku and Tokage both yell out, rubbing their heads.

Kendo returns her hands to normal size. “I knew putting you two together was a bad idea…”

“Be happy it was her,” Kaminari calls down from where he sits up in the tree. “I was about to
shock the both of you.”

“Do you wanna get stabbed?” Izuku asks. “Because that’s how you get stabbed.”

“Don’t make me come down there.” Kaminari threatens.

“Don’t make me come up there!” Izuku threatens right back.

“Wow,” Kendo deadpans. “I had a ton of respect for Yaoyorozu before but it’s just majorly gone
up.” She looks down the trail. “By the way, Monoma’s coming.”

“Hide!”
“Again Tokage, we’re already behind the tr-“

“Shut!”

Still, Izuku and Tokage press themselves up against the tree further while Kendo kneels down
behind a nearby bush and Kaminari makes sure the branches are covering him properly.

It’s early enough on UA’s campus that there aren’t many students walking around the courtyard
yet, making their plan easier. It being the day before the Sports Festival also meant everyone was
taking it easy so that helped too.

Izuku had been wanting to get a nice prank on Monoma ever since the mostly wrong things he said
to him in the 1-A classroom, but with training for the festival, he hadn’t had the chance so he was
mostly sticking to pranking his own classmates.

Actually, trying to prank his classmates was a better summary. Yaomomo had since recruited Ojiro
and Shoji along with Jiro to ruin his plans.

It was going great the other day! He had Toru, who like Mina, had insisted he call her by her first
name, what even were his classmates, anyway, Toru was trailing Jiro to make sure she was out of
the way.

Kaminari was distracting Ojiro by asking him very personal questions about his tail and playing
with the fluffy part at the end. Something he seemed to enjoy a bit too much if you asked Izuku.

But he was in the clear! Yaomomo wouldn’t be ruining his prank that day…until Shoji and his
many appendages gave her the advantage again and he was thwarted.

Was this because he interrogated him about his quirk on the first day? Whatever. He’s lost a step
but Izuku won’t let that keep him down! Especially coming back to today, when he can finally pay
Monoma back.

He needed to know where Monoma went in the morning which naturally led him to Kendo but she
didn’t know and that was when Tokage head-butted herself into their conversation. Literally. Her
head, by itself, forced its way into their conversation claiming she could lure Monoma to wherever
they wanted him to go.

So that brought them to now, with Kendo supervising to make sure they didn’t go too far. Izuku
tried to explain she was only delaying the inevitable stab he was going to give Monoma but she
wouldn’t budge so no knives…for now.

Eri was also disappointed.

Down the path, he spots Monoma walking proudly down as if he owns the nature around him.
Tokage got him here so that’s a good start. He gives a thumbs up to Uraraka who’s in the middle of
the path and very convincingly looking like she can’t pick up her costume case.

“Oh, hey!” She waves Monoma down, smiling sweetly. “Could you help me with this?” Uraraka
tugs again uselessly.

“What’s wrong?” Monoma asks with fake concern. “Finally realizing all of that unearned fame
can’t take the place of real training?” He scoffs, walking past.

“Well, no…” Uraraka starts, sounding defeated. “But with how many times you’ve said 1-B was
better, I thought you could handle a little suitcase…”

Monoma spins around on the spot. “Move aside.” He grabs the handle roughly and pulls, staring in
shock when the case doesn’t budge. He tries again and again but still, nothing. “What do you have
in here?!”

Izuku looks behind them to another tree on the other side of the path. Tenko peeks out while
Monoma is distracted and Izuku gives him a thumbs up as well. He nods and turns back to the
tree.

Just then, Eri comes streaking out from behind the tree, wearing her UA gym uniform as she does a
lot, running up to the teenagers. “Hi! Do you need help?”

Monoma scowls. “No offense, little girl, but if I can’t pick this up then you definitely can’t. Now
go find your parents or whoever.” He shoos her away.
Izuku barely resists the urge to conjure a throwing knife but Eri is a lot better at keeping her cool
than he is, opting for a bright smile. “I can try!” She flexes her arm. “I’m stronger than I look!”

“It’ll probably be easier if she just sees for herself.” Uraraka backs Monoma away, subtly touching
it with all five fingers. “Give it a shot.”

“Okay!” Eri grabs the handle with one hand and scrunches up her face in concentration before
pulling, and with its gravity removed, she easily lifts it over her head. “I did it!”

Monoma falters while Uraraka cheers. “Wow! You are strong.”

“That is ridiculous! Let me see that again!” Eri puts the suitcase down and Uraraka puts her fingers
together while Monoma tries and fails to lift the case again.

Izuku and the others can barely contain their laughter as Eri and Monoma switch off several times,
the blonde 1-B student growing more and more agitated every time the little girl lifts the case.

Kaminari nearly falls out of the tree when Eri asks, “did you want some help on getting stronger?”

“Hey! Careful, you almost fell on top of me!” Tokage says from below.

He fixes himself to be steady on the tree again. “Okay, I’m good. And sorry, you’re not getting that
lucky today.”

Izuku shakes his head at his cousin’s antics and watches Monoma finally yell out in frustration.
“What kind of trickery is this?!”

A ‘dog’ runs up from behind the same tree Eri came from, being finally released by Tenko, and
sits beside the horned girl. “I’d be careful mister, my dog here doesn’t like when people yell at
me.”

“You think you can humiliate me and get away with it because of some stupid do-“ Izuku snaps his
fingers and the dog vanishes in a green light to reveal Nomu standing above them, growling down
at the smug boy.

The high-pitched scream Monoma emits is finally too much for the group who fall over themselves
laughing. Izuku vaguely hears Monoma’s desperate yell of, “Vlad-sensei will hear about this!”
Before he runs off.

Izuku eventually gets control of himself, standing up to an annoyed-looking Tokage. “Fine…that

was pretty good I guess…you pass.”

The green-haired boy scoffs. “Again, you were the one being tested. And you got Monoma here.
Good start.”

“Details, details.” She waves her hands. “What was that trick you did with…Nomu?”

“I can turn myself or others into animals.” Izuku shrugs. “Takes a lot of practice but…um…” He
isn’t able to complete his thought because in the one second he had looked away, Tokage had
gotten very close to his face.

“You can turn into animals?! Like any animals?! Even prehistoric ones? Dinosaurs, I mean
dinosaurs! Can you turn into one? Oh my god, could you turn me into one?! Can we do it right
now?!”

Izuku is saved by hand pulling him by the back of his jacket. “Actually, Deku and the rest of us
have to start getting back to class after we drop Eri off,” Uraraka states shortly. What happened
with- oh! Izuku relaxes when he feels Eri wrap herself around one of his legs.

“How’d I do?” As if she even had to ask.

He rubs her head affectionately. “You did great.” He looks up at Uraraka. “You both did!” Both
girls light up at the praise and yeah, Izuku can’t hide how happy that makes him.

Tokage shakes her head good-naturedly. “Relax, honey,” she says to Uraraka. “I’m not trying to
steal your man.”
“W-we a-aren’t-um-“

“Y-yeah-h-he’s-“

Izuku does not like how sharp Tokage’s smile gets. “Oh?…so you’re saying you’re available?”

He’d like to credit Eri for being the one to keep him from passing out and-oh when did Uraraka
move closer to him?

“I’d stop if I were you.” Kaminari walks up beside the female greenette. “They have a teasing
quota and if you go past it, Midoriya will fall over and Uraraka will leave you on the ceiling for
way longer than you think she can…”

Tokage laughs. “Nah, that’s fine.” She bumps shoulders with Kaminari. “I felt more of a…spark
between us dude.” She laughs more before being roughly pulled away by the back of her collar.

“That’s enough out of you,” Kendo says exasperated.

Kaminari looks, pun fully intended, struck. “The flirt has been flirted,” he says in horror.

Tokage begins to smugly detach her body parts. Izuku didn’t know there was a way to do that.
“You can’t hold me!”

But Kaminari jumps at the opportunity. “That’s alright, girl.” He winks. “Chicks are always falling
to pieces around me.”

There’s a beat before the two laugh while Tokage uses her detached hand to give him a high five.

“You finish your speech yet?”

Izuku looks at Kaminari while the two walk alone down the hall, the rest of the student body at
lunch. “Mostly. Dad’s been helping me with it every now and then too so I hope it turns out
alright.”

“Is that where you’ve been going when you would disappear during random lunches these past
couple of weeks?” Kaminari wonders.

“No, it turns out UA has these really big walk-in freezers and Lunch Rush let me use one of the
empty ones every now and then for training,” Izuku casually tells him.

“What kind of training were you doing in-“

“So what do you think Nezu wants to talk to us about?” Izuku asks while the two continue to walk.

“I’m…I’m not sure…I’ve never been in trouble like this before?” Kaminari’s face fills with worry.

“I’m sure it’ll be okay,” Izuku reassures. “Why would we be in trouble?”

Kaminari can’t figure out what to do with his hands. “I mean…it’s us!” He whisper-shouts. “Do
you think he?…”

“No way,” Izuku laughs before stopping abruptly. “But just in case let me do the talking.”

“Why? I’m great with the words and the talking.” Kaminari does not help the point he’s trying to
make.

The two reach the door to the principal’s office but before Izuku can knock, it swings open by itself
to reveal Principal Nezu sitting behind a giant wooden desk. “Come in, gentlemen! Please!”

The office is big, but not overly so. With bookshelves lining both walls and a giant window behind
where Nezu sits. In front of him is a comfortable-looking three-person couch with nice armchairs
on either side and a coffee table in front of the furniture to complete the look.
“I do hope you had no trouble finding your way.” He opens one of the drawers of his desk and
pulls out four mugs and a kettle. “Tea?”

“N-no thank you.” Kaminari stumbles over his words and tries for a weak smile.

Izuku is a bit more put together. “Whatever you have is fine, thank you, sir.”

“Of course, now sit. We will be starting shortly.” The quirked animal ends up pouring both boys
tea, which they thank him for before sitting down on the couch together.

Nezu takes a sip of his own, relishing it. Afterward, he reaches down and pulls out a stack of
papers which he gently puts down in front of him.

The three say nothing in awkward silence, the only sound in the room being the drinking of tea. It’s
awkward for Izuku and Kaminari at least. Nezu looks as comfortable as ever.

“Sir?” The principal looks up at Izuku from preparing his second cup. “What are we waiting for?”

“We have just one minor matter of business to attend to before we-ah, there he is.” Nezu brightens
up looking at his computer screen. “Storming down the hall right on time.”

He must hit some hidden button because just like with them, the doors to the office open. “Nezu!”
Izuku and Kaminari jump at Aizawa’s harsh tone, their homeroom teacher seemingly not even
noticing them as he marches up to his boss’s desk.

“Hello, Aizawa!” Nezu responds cheerfully. “How may I help you today?” He definitely knows
why Aizawa is here and is fooling nobody. But Izuku is pretty sure he wasn’t trying.

“Why was I not informed that last week, Eri sparred with another girl using weapons?” Oh, no one
had told him? Whoops…

Nezu merely chuckles at the man whose aura exudes death. “If you’ll excuse my candor, why
should I inform you of such things?”
Was this why they were here? Nezu was hoping that maybe Aizawa wouldn’t strangle him if there
were children present? Izuku thinks Aizawa killing his boss and getting rid of the two witnesses
was more likely at this point.

“W-why?!” Aizawa sputters. This should be funny but for some reason, just makes Izuku more
afraid. “Why do you-“

“To be frank, Aizawa.” Nezu sips his tea calmly. “Eri is a ward of UA. Which means decisions
regarding her fall to me. I knew the fight was happening and saw no issue so allowed it to continue.
As you are not her father or legal guardian, I have no obligation to include you in such decision-
making processes.”

Aizawa is stunned. He opens his mouth several times to say something but nothing comes out.

“Of course…” Nezu pushes the papers he laid on his desk forward. “You could change that.”

Their teacher hesitantly picks up the stack, almost looking like he fears they’ll catch on fire. Once
he’s confirmed their safety, Aizawa’s dark eyes scan over the top page. “Adoption papers?”

“Already filled out. All that is required would be your signature,” Nezu informs him.

The underground hero looks back and forth between the papers and Nezu for a solid minute before
replying. “I would have to talk to Eri first. She deserves a choice after not being given one for so
long.”

Nezu doesn’t look surprised. “I imagined as much. But do keep in mind that she and Ms. Laura
seemed to get along quite well and I imagine her visits to the school will be becoming more
frequent.”

Aizawa gives him a curt nod before turning to leave, only to stop when he finally spots Izuku and
Kaminari on the couch. “What did you two do this time?” He asks with a sigh.

“Monoma did it!/We were framed!” Both boys say at the same time.
“It is nothing for you to worry about, Aizawa.” The stoat(?) gestures to them. “Just a simple
conversation between the cousins and me.”

“You’re cousins?” Somehow, Aizawa pales more.

“Yeah, we are?” Izuku questions confused before turning to Kaminari. “Was he not in the room
when we-“

“No, I-uh.” Kaminari screws up his face trying to remember. “That was after class so he had left by
then.”

“Huh.” Izuku turns back to his teacher. “Yup, our dads are brothers.”

Aizawa hums. “Thank you for informing me.” He turns stiffly to the window behind Nezu and
begins to look around it.

“There is no way to open the window from there, I’m afraid,” Nezu says.

“Thank you.” Aizawa briskly makes his way toward the door.

“The robots have also begun their cleaning session of the windows on the building,” Nezu calls
after him. “So they have all automatically locked themselves.” He takes another sip of his tea. “Is
it not counterproductive to adopting Eri after all this time only to immediately throw yourself out of
a window?”

“You’re wrong,” Aizawa states plainly. “I would never do that to Eri.” He points at the two boys
on the couch. “No, I planned to throw one or both of them out of the window.”

Izuku wants to laugh because even though Aizawa said it in a completely serious voice, he has to
be joking, right? Right?

“Aizawa I cannot allow you to throw these children out of a window-” Izuku breathes a sigh of
relief. “-While Recovery Girl is on campus. The caning she would deliver to us for such an act
would be dubious.”

“I-um” Izuku tries to speak in their defense.

“I understand,” Aizawa cuts him off. “I can wait.” And he’s gone, leaving them in silence once
again.

“Do not worry, boys.” Nezu chuckles at their probable bewildered faces. “It is very unlikely
Aizawa will actually throw you out of a window.” Izuku will take all of the reassurance he can get.
Even if it isn’t much.

“But now that that has been taken care of, it appears the other person I wanted for our conversation
is here.”

The doors open again and they turn around to see who it is. “Dad?!“ Kaminari cries.

Izuku’s hopes that this talk wouldn’t be about who they really were are quickly diminishing as a
smiling Thor walks in, wearing his usual jeans, shirt, and grey unzipped jacket over it. And
carrying his umbrella obviously.

“Denki! And Izuku…I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you both in here together.” He stops
behind the couch, placing a hand on each of their heads.

“Mr. Kaminari, a pleasure to meet you at last.” Nezu greets. “I apologize for using your wife to
contact you. I could not find a listed cell phone number for you.”

“He doesn’t have one,” Kaminari moans.

“Still don’t understand why I would need one.” Thor shrugs. “Anyone could send me an electronic
letter, you know? It’s called an email.”

Izuku giggles while Kaminari’s state of ‘I’m done with my father grows.’ “You don’t have a
computer, dad.”
“No, what for?”

“May I offer you some tea?” Nezu interrupts the family squabble much to Izuku’s disappointment.

“No, thank you.” Izuku is just thankful his uncle can use his manners when he needs to. “I don’t
drink tea.”

Nezu types a few commands into his computer. “Then what do you drink?”

“Not tea.”

“Pity.” Nezu hits one last command and the doors to the office close and very audibly lock. A giant
blind descends on the window behind him covering the whole thing. Dim automatic lights turn on
before the window is fully covered so the room wouldn’t be shrouded in darkness.

“I apologize Midoriya but I tried to reach your father but was unable to, I sent him an email, or an
electronic letter as you so affectionately put it Mr. Kaminari, so he knows I am speaking with you
all.” He turns the computer screen around and Izuku is sure it’s not his frost giant genes that cause
his blood to freeze.

“I’m sure you have a busy schedule so please allow me to skip through the rest of the
pleasantries.” He looks right at Thor. “Mr. Odinson.”

Oh. They had messed up. They had messed up bad. On the screen was him and Kaminari at the
Downpour Zone. Nezu plays a few seconds of the video to confirm that yes, it’s the conversation
they had about what they really were.

What does he do?! What happens now?! No one was supposed to know! Dad was gonna be so
disappointed in him, after all that training on hiding stuff and he fails like this?!

Who was Nezu going to tell? Would he expose their secret to everyone? Had he already? Was he
gonna turn on the news and have it broadcast all over the country? Oh man, his friends would find
out he had been lying to them! They probably wouldn’t want to be his friends anymore after that!
Not Iida, Tsu, Tenko. Not Uraraka…
And what about Kaminari? No, this was Izuku’s fault. He’s the one that started the conversation in
the first place. Kaminari shouldn’t get in trouble for this. If he had to, Izuku would happily leave
UA if it meant he got to keep his place in the hero course.

A steady hand finds its way on Izuku’s shoulder and he jumps a little. Looking up, he sees his
Uncle smiling at him. “You’re mumbling, Izuku. It’ll be alright.” He turns and Izuku realizes
Kaminari was also having an internal freakout. “You’re letting off small static shocks, son.
Relax.”

Sometimes, Izuku can take him for granted due to how goofy he can be, but his Uncle Thor is The
Thor. The God of Thunder from legend. Seeing him at least look like he’s not worried was calming
in itself. Kaminari seems to be having similar thoughts as he was starting to get control of his
breathing as well.

“So,” Thor says, looking up at Nezu, who had remained silent and let them digest what he knew.
“You know, what do you plan on doing with this information?”

Izuku’s perception spikes in his head as a new voice interrupts. “If I may interject…” he whips his
head to the back corner of the room where after a brief green light, Loki appears in his all-black
suit. His hands are behind his back and he does not look pleased. “I would like to know what he has
already done with this information.”

“Dad…” Izuku says in even more relief.

“Izuku.” His father gives him a small smile while he walks over to stand beside Uncle Thor.
“Denki, I had hoped to meet you under better circumstances.”

“Umm…same?” That’s about all Kaminari can get out.

“From what I saw in the video, I am correct in assuming that you are Loki, yes?” Nezu tilts his
head at the new arrival.

“Of Asgard. God of Mischief. But clearly you already know that,” Loki states as more of a fact.
“Indeed!” Nezu pulls out several books and puts them out on his desk. All of them having
something to do with Norse Mythology. “Forgive me the mess of reading material, I wanted to feel
prepared for this meeting.”

He picks up one of the books and flips through it. “So according to the nomenclature of your
people, your names would be…Izuku Lokison. Denki Thorson. Thor Odinson. And…” he looks up
at Loki. “My apologies but do you prefer Odinson or Laufeyson?”

Loki’s passive face morphs into a nasty glare. He clenches his fists as objects around the room
begin to shake and fall off their shelves.

“Brother…” Thor warns.

The Mischief God ignores him, speaking with so much venom, Izuku thinks he’s about to turn into
a snake. “Do not ever refer to me by that name again. My name is Loki Odinson. Do you
understand?”

“As you wish, Mr. Odinson,” Nezu agrees easily. His voice only loses a little cheer. Loki relaxes,
letting the grip he had with his telekinesis go so the room can go still again.

Nezu finds the page he’s looking for in his book and nods to himself, as if confirming something
before closing it. “Now normally, Mr. Odinson, I would offer you tea as well but your appearing in
this highly secured room that is several floors above the ground leads me to believe that you are
not actually here, correct? You are astral projecting if I have the naming down?”

Loki tilts his head right back at the principal. His previous animosity all but evaporated. “You are a
quick study.”

“It would be insulting to my students if I wasn’t!” Nezu says happily and proudly.

“But back to my previous question.” Loki inhales. “You have this information on what we are, so
what have you done with it, and what do you plan on doing with it?”

“Actually…” Thor and Kaminari begin at the same time before looking at each other.
“The second part was my question,” Thor says quietly to Loki.

“Dad asked the part about what he’s gonna do with…the…info…” Kaminari trails off.

Izuku and Loki stare back at both of them. Father and son not realizing they were both debating on
stabbing their counterpart at that very moment.

“To answer the first part of your question, Mr. Odinson…nothing!” Nezu cheers.

What was it called again? Right, an anime fall. If Izuku could do that, he would.

“You are seriously telling me that you learned one of the most highly guarded secrets on the planet
and you did nothing with the information,” Loki says flatly.

“Oh, Mr. Odinson, you act as if this is the first world shattering-secret I’ve learned.” He’s just
talking about One for All, right? Izuku will choose to believe so.

“So you learn this secret and just decide to…talk to us?” Thor questions the principal.

“Well, first I learned as much as I could about you and your culture.” He gestures to the books and
the computer. “I must say, whoever runs the Avengers cybersecurity is well-versed because not
even I was able to break through the top level of your security where I assume more information
lays of your origins.”

Thor laughs a bit under his breath. “Yes, that would be Vision. He’s pretty meticulous when it
comes to those things.”

“Well you have your information and you have us here.” Loki brings them back on track. “How
could you be so confident we wouldn’t simply kill you for finding out such a thing.”

If Nezu was bothered by the comment, he didn’t show it. “Several factors. Mr. Odinson here has a
long and very decorated record as a hero, I was certain he would at least let me speak. I have much
less information on you but I was sure your brother would stop you from attacking me, at least
immediately.”
Loki grumbles while Thor looks very proud.

“Furthermore.” Nezu pushes on. “After extensively reviewing security footage of them and despite
Lokison’s rambunctious behavior, I believe both he and Thorson’s wishes to be heroes to be
genuine and they mean no harm to their fellow students.”

Yeah, hearing someone call him by his real name was weird. Judging by Kaminari’s face, he
thought the same.

“So we’re here and not immediately attacking you, fine.” Izuku can hear the annoyance starting to
make its way into his father’s voice. “So what do you want?”

“To put it simply.” Nezu puts the book in his paws down. “I would like what the books and
internet can’t tell me. I want to know why you keep yourselves a secret.”

“And why do you deserve to know such information?” It’s surprisingly Thor who asks that.

“I am responsible for your boy’s education and training for the next few years,” Nezu replies.
“Any useful information I can receive to aid them would be appreciated. As well, it would help me
provide the proper protection for both them and their fellow student body if I am aware of threats
that may come that are not of this world. If you would allow it gentlemen, please don’t keep me in
the dark.”

“H-he has an intelligence quirk,” Izuku speaks up. ”If anyone can do it, it’s him.”

“Before we even consider telling you such things,” Loki says. “You never answered us on what
you plan to do with this information once this meeting concludes. Selling it to the highest bidder?
Blackmail?”

“Heavens, no.” Nezu laughs lightly. “I would not tell anyone without any of your expressed
permissions. I believe it would be disastrous if certain other parties learned of who you truly are.
As for what I get out of this arrangement besides knowledge that few others have? Well, as I am
helping your children, I would hope in the future that if I, in turn, require your help, you would
consider it.”
Nezu didn’t say it, but it was clear as day to Izuku, and to his dad as well judging by his expression.
He was basically saying that he was doing them a favor and in the future, he would want them to
reciprocate.

Thor looks at Loki, as does Izuku and Kaminari, which made sense as these types of deals were
more of his forte. This is why it surprised Izuku when his father looks down at him, silently asking
for his opinion.

Izuku had barely interacted with the principal before this. Nezu was a well-respected hero who,
like Thor, had a long decorated record, though not nearly as long. But there was something else he
knew about Nezu.

He had been the one to so readily open his school for Eri after he rescued her. Provided a place for
her to be taken care of in secret whilst simultaneously giving her some of the best protection in the
country.

And then there was One for All. Another piece of top secret information that so few knew about.
But it meant Nezu was trusted by All Might and had been so for years at this point. With those two
pieces of information among others, Izuku gave the rest of his family a nod.

“Very well.” Thor straightens, pointing above all their heads. “It would do well for Izuku and
Denki to learn this properly as well. Brother, if you please.”

Loki scoffs. “I am not your personal PowerPoint system.”

Thor shoots him a betrayed look. “First of all, I would never think of you like that. Second of all,
what is PowerPoint?”

Loki shakes his head looking frustrated but Izuku knows he doesn’t mean it. Even so, his father
waves his hand, and above them, an illusion of six…gems? Were those gems? No, they looked
more like stones. An illusion of six different colored stones appears.

“At the dawn of the universe, there was nothing,” Thor narrates. “Until the Big Bang. And with it,
six elemental crystals were sent to every corner of the universe. These are known as the Infinity
Stones. And they are some, if not the most, powerful artifacts in the known universe. They each
control an essential part of existence.”
That kind of power was awe-inspiring…but at the same time terrifying to Izuku.

His dad waves his hand and one by one, the stones light up, Thor introducing each.

The red one. “Reality. Allows one to alter reality to how they see fit, breaking the laws of physics
and logic. Because of this, any who attempt to use the stone without an understanding of its power
may fall victim to its parasitic nature, feeding off its host’s wants and desires.”

The blue one. “Space. Allows one to travel through space by the use of teleportation.”

The yellow one. “Mind. Increases users' brain functions and allows for complete control of
another’s mind.”

The green one. “Time. Let users bend time to their will. Stop, slow, fast forward, you name it.”

The purple one. “Power. Increases the user's strength and durability considerably, as well as
enhances any superhuman traits they may possess. Also increases the power of any stone it is used
in tandem with.”

And finally, the orange one. “Soul.” Thor stops to think, looking a bit confused.

“It’s alright, brother.” Loki takes over. “Not much was ever known about the soul stone. All we
knew was that the stone was sentient, and could choose when to use its power.”

“And, what was that power?” Nezu asks.

“If the stone allows it, you could theoretically attack the soul of your opponent,” Loki states in a
low voice. “It has even been rumored the stone can circumvent the forces of life and death
themselves.”

“Individually, these stones could cause incomprehensible damage. Together…” Thor frowns.
“Together they could be the end of every world in every universe.”
Nezu perks up while Kaminari straightens. “I’m sorry Mr, Odinson, but you have just implied that
there are multiple universes.”

“We’ll get to that in a moment. As to why we live in secrecy, it began at the dawn of quirks as you
call them.” Loki changes the illusion to a giant shadow covering the Earth. “A powerful being
known as the Beyonder had taken notice of Earth’s new developing abilities and had decided to
have what he called fun.”

Loki had the stones appear again. “He gathered almost all the stones and planned to use them to
make what he called a Battleworld. A planet where the most powerful heroes and villains would
fight to the death for his amusement to see who truly was better.”

“The problem was,” Loki started where Thor left off. “The Beyonder wanted champions from
multiple Earths, different realities, different universes. In order to achieve this, he was going to use
the stones to essentially bring these universes together by force.”

Izuku’s head hurts. Kaminari is shaking. Nezu seems calm on the outside at least. “Bringing
multiple realities together by force…sounds like it would lead to an immense loss of life.”

“Yes, we agree,” Thor says. “Thankfully, The Beyonder was missing a stone. Time. We, Earth's
first heroes, as well as others such as Titans, followed The Beyonder through multiple universes
and used the Time Stone to travel to the point of his incursion in every universe and stop him
before his plan even began.”

Loki lets the stones float around the room a bit. “After we had won, it was decided fairly quickly to
keep these wars a secret from the public, and the stones were deemed too powerful and set to be
destroyed.”

“Could such powerful relics even be destroyed?” Nezu inquires.

Thor laughs a little bitterly. “Yes, actually. We discovered we could use the stones to destroy the
stones…but we made a mistake.” He sighs. “We had already destroyed the Space, Time, and Mind
stones with the help of Celestials, but we found out the Power Stone couldn’t be destroyed by one
or two other stones. It would take the other five.”

“But you had already destroyed three of them,” Nezu says in realization.
Thor nods. “Correct. We gave the Soul and Reality stones to the Celestials to finish the job and it
was decided that Asgard would be able to best protect the Power Stone and keep it hidden away.”

“To achieve this, father, Odin, enacted new laws,” Loki says with clear disgust. “He began a
campaign of isolation. Cutting the nine realms off from each other. Each planet must survive on its
own and Asgard would not interfere unless the realm was facing an extinction-level invasion from
another realm.”

“Me and Loki have…voiced our oppositions of these laws to our father,” Thor says hesitantly. “But
he insists it is the best way to protect the Stone and keep its location hidden.”

Loki dispels his illusion. “The best way to protect the stone and our family would be if the realms
were united as one. Instead, we all quabble amongst ourselves, leaving us open to attack.”

“There is no changing father’s mind at this point,” Thor groans.

“I am aware,” Loki utters darkly before turning to Nezu. “But it is because of father’s laws that we
keep our true origins a secret.”

Nezu looks down and thinks for almost thirty seconds before speaking again. Which, considering
his quirk, was an extremely long time. “I thank you both for telling me this. I still have…much to
think on but rest assured, as I said, I will not tell anyone else what I have learned.”

He addresses Izuku and Kaminari. “Your enrollment at UA was never in question, but I thought
you may want to hear it from the rat’s mouth so to say.” Both boys fall back onto the couch in
relief.

This was…a lot to take in. Izuku already knew the multiverse existed, but to hear that it was
possible for universes to crash into each other?! And that there were these little objects that could
teleport you anywhere, tear reality apart, and control time! Izuku just thanks his usually crappy
luck that he’ll never have to worry about the Infinity Stones.

Loki can’t help his smirk when the apartment door opens. “Thanks again for letting me spend the
night before-“ Izuku stops, staring wide-eyed at his father. Denki and Thor look equally stunned
behind him. “Wait…”
Izuku walks up hesitantly and pokes him in the side. “You’re actually here!” Izuku cheers before
wrapping the god in a bone-crushing hug. Loki laughs, hugging him back.

“Are you sure you haven’t developed your enhanced strength, son?” Loki lets go, rubbing Izuku’s
head like he knows he likes.

“The apartment was locked, Loki…” Thor looks for damage to the door.

“You know I’m better than that, brother.” They all finish exchanging greetings, with Loki formally
introducing himself to his nephew, Denki, and Izuku promptly groaning when Loki speaks of his
glorious purpose.

“Does Inko know you’re here, Loki?” Thor asks, grabbing himself a beer from the fridge while
Izuku passes Josta sodas to himself and Denki. “She is on her way along with my wife. Apparently,
she is bringing a dish called Spaghetti.”

Loki waves off Thor’s offer of alcohol. “Yes, she is aware I’m here. While I trust your judgment
skills Izuku, I thought I would stick around for a little bit to make sure this, Nezu, keeps his word.
Oh!” He conjures four tickets to his hand. “Thor, I got us and our wives tickets to the Sports
Festival.”

Izuku spits out his drink. He taught him better than that. “How did you get tickets?! It’s
tomorrow!”

“Izuku,” Loki laughs. “Please.”

“I look forward to it, brother, thank you.” He looks down at the boys. “Now I believe the plan
called for you two to pick out some movies and snacks to hide before your mothers come home.
And just so you know, in Asgard, it was considered good luck to drink mightily on the eve of
battle-“

“Dad!” Denki yells out embarrassed, dragging Izuku to his room.

“Shame on you, Thor,” Loki chastises. “Offering the boys beer. A disgrace. Champaign would be
 the far better choice to offer-“

“Dad!!”

While the family gathers in the living room for a night of relaxation, they remain blissfully
unaware of a figure who watches them from several rooftops away, his eyes burning with disgust
that these pretenders who call themselves gods would have the nerve to be happy.

Still, a new opportunity has arisen. The little gods work to become what this world calls ‘heroes.’
For once, it appears he and Stain’s targets will align.

The grip on his sword increases, the blade as dark as the expanse of space. He feels the urge, the
need, to slay them all now. But no, he did not get this far by underestimating those that fail to
protect them.

He is patient. Their time will come, as it will for all gods. He takes a breath, and the darkness of
the shadows overtakes him.

Chapter End Notes

What was that at the end? I don’t know, probably nothing to worry about.

But there we go! A little more history on the world, what happened to the infinity
stones, and Nezu knooooooows! I’m sure giving him access to magic and demigods
will end up okay…why is the HPSC trembling so much?

Obviously, not everything that happened was covered in the story, we’re missing some
important details, but as always, those will come later :)

Hope that talk came out alright. It went waaay longer than I expected. But hope you
guys liked it! As always, I’ll answer any questions or comments you have below! Until
next time!
 You Are One of a Kind
Chapter Summary

It’s the day of the Sports Festival! That’s all you’re getting out of me.

Chapter Notes

Ah, me and a chapter being longer then I expected, name a more iconic duo. (Please
don’t, I’m kidding.)

But hey, it’s you guys who benefit from it sooooo

Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

It…was going to be a long day. Izuku had kind of expected that, it being the day of the Sports
Festival after all. But it becomes clear to him that he didn’t realize how long if the seething
Kacchan in front of him was any indication.

The day had started off well enough. Iida woke everyone up way too early with the group chat,
which led to a host of complaints, Izuku finding out Uraraka was not a morning person if her
creative threats were any indication, and Tenko going to bed for a couple of hours because he had
lost track of time gaming again.

After taking on the erroneous task of waking Kaminari up, something the blonde was very
ungrateful for, the two ate a light breakfast courtesy of their mothers and set off, having to be at
school early, but not before a foreboding promise from their fathers that they would be able to hear
them from the stands.

Izuku and Kaminari shuttered as they tore their way out of the apartment.

The two walked in mostly comfortable silence before Kaminari broke it. “Did you know my name
means thunder?”

Izuku put down his phone. “I hadn’t really thought about it…but yeah I guess it does. Why?”
“Well I just thought, it’s really on the nose isn’t it?” If they weren’t in public, Izuku might’ve
changed Kaminari’s clothes to that of a detective since he sounded like he was about to blow a case
wide open. Heck, he might do it anyway.

“Like, what are the odds that my last name is thunder when I’m literally the son of the God of
Thunder?” Kaminari begged the question.

“I bet Nezu could actually calculate that.” They both laughed at Izuku’s joke. “So what are you
getting at exactly?”

“C’mon man, isn’t it obvious?!” He waved his arms in the air like he was one of those inflatable
tube men. “We’re supposed to get our dad’s last names, and mine couldn’t put Thorson on his form
so…”

Realization hit Izuku like a truck. “Our dads made up our last names…” Izuku said in growing
horror. How hadn’t he ever thought about that?!

“Yes!!” Kaminari screams. He had solved his case. “They made them up! And my dad, in all of his
creativity, named me Thunder!”

Izuku facepalmed. “The first part of my last name means green…my dad loves that color…”

A silence fell over them as both boys thought about what other things their fathers could’ve made
up. After a while, Kaminari spoke again. “Are we gonna talk about what we learned yesterday?”

“Which part?” Izuku chuckled. “The magical stones that can do whatever they want and that
because of a dumb mistake, one of them still exists? How about the fact that our principal knows
who we are, or the multiple universes thing?”

“Okay, I was talking to my dad last night about that,” Kaminari said. “He told me they were going
to talk about which stones to destroy first but some guy they were working with took a couple of
stones to be destroyed before they could.” He wrinkled his brow. “Thermos? Thermometer?
Thanatos? I don’t remember his name but yeah.”
Before Izuku could respond, Kaminari pointed at him. “And that! Multiple realities! I mean, how
many Earths are there? How many me?! How many you?! Why aren’t you freaking out over
this?!”

Izuku shrugged. “I already knew about it.”

Kaminari’s finger started to shake while pointing at him. “You…you…” He sighed, putting it
down. “This is too much and I just don’t want to think about it right now…can’t I worry about
competing in one of the world’s biggest sporting events like a normal kid?!”

“The fake names don’t seem so bad now, do they?” Izuku joked.

“No, I guess not,” Kaminari conceded. “Do you ever think about what they would think?”

“Who?”

“I don’t know, everyone I guess?” He scratched the back of his head. “Like how they would react
if they knew what we were? You ever thought about telling anybody?”

Letting the image of Uraraka fade from his mind, Izuku settled with, “maybe…you think they’d
accept us?”

“I don’t know.”

Wanting to lighten the mood a bit, Izuku said, “but maybe we should wait a bit. I think I’d be
really weirded out if everyone started calling me Lokison like Nezu did yesterday.”

Kaminari laughed. “I know right? I didn’t even realize he was talking about me at first…you
know, talking about fake names and everything has got me thinking…”

Izuku looked at him curiously.

The other Asgardian was looking everywhere but him. “Knowing our names are fake, it’s kinda
weird to keep calling each other by them, and we’re family so…” he finally looked at him. “If you
wanted to call me Denki, I’d be cool with that.”

Izuku nearly tripped he was so surprised. “A-are you sure?”

Looking much more relaxed now that he had gotten what he wanted to say out, Kaminari
responded, “Yeah, man! Of course, I’m sure! I’ve-uh” Some of the trepidation returned. “I’ve
actually been wanting to ask for a little while now but wasn’t sure how you’d take it.”

With his, ‘my friend is feeling bad about himself’ alarm going off, Izuku is quick to reassure him.
“No! I don’t mind, I promise! Um, y-yeah, I’ll call you D-Denki if you don’t mind. And…” he
took a breath.

‘C’mon Izuku, you’ve dealt with villains and criminals, you can do this!…oh who am I kidding?’

“And you can call me Izuku,” he got out. Wow, no wonder Kaminari looked like he felt so much
better, that felt great!

Kam-Denki broke out a smile almost as bright as his lightning. “Thanks, Izuku!” Wow, letting
someone call him by his given name after Uraraka got to see his injuries? Probably the first time
his dad wouldn’t be proud and if he was being honest with himself, Izuku didn’t mind.

The two made it to the school gates at the same time another pair did. “Midoriya! Kaminari! Are
you guys as pumped as I am!” Kirishima enthusiastically yelled, walking up with an increasingly
sour-looking Kacchan.

“You know it, bro! We’ll still be cool after I whip your butt today, right?” Denki asked, giving
Kirishima a high five.

“Dropping the trash talk already? Manly!” Kirishima is so contagious that even Izuku was smiling.
“Bakugo, get in on this!”

“I never got to bury you both for that shit you said on the way to the USJ,” Kacchan said slowly.
“Your mothers won’t recognize you when I’m done.” It’s silent, with just Kacchan’s dead serious
voice and glare punctuating his statement.
“Awesome! Everyone’s gonna be giving it their all for sure!” Izuku had seen many shocking things
in just the past day, but Kacchan not blowing up Kirishima for slapping him on the back may be
one of the most surprising.

“Let’s go see who else-“

“Oi.” Kacchan cut Kirishima off, leveling his glare at Izuku. “You two shitheads leave. I gotta
have a talk with Deku here.”

Kirishima’s confusion cleared quickly. “Oh! You two have known each other a long time, yeah?
Got it.” He gave them a thumbs up and started to walk away but Denki stayed behind, looking
between them.

“Dude…”

“It’s cool, Denki.” Izuku gave him a reassuring smile. “Kacchan will wait until he has a crowd to
fight me.”

Denki didn’t look convinced but seemed to trust his word more so he left, bringing Izuku back to
the present and the probable start to a very long day. Kacchan stares at him, glare deepening, and
looking for something.

Then, without a word, he jerks his thumbs over his shoulder and walks off the path to a more
secluded part of the campus. Izuku was tempted to just walk away but it’s like that old saying,
curiosity killed the cat. But he wasn’t currently turned into a cat so he thinks he’ll be fine.

Izuku follows Kacchan past some bushes and by a few trees before the red-eyed boy whips around.
“Know this shitty nerd, I’m gonna be the one standing on top of that podium today.”

“Kacchan, if you dragged me over here just to tell me the same-“

“How long, Deku?” Izuku opens his mouth to reply but Kacchan doesn’t give him the chance.
“Was I always a joke to you?! We get to UA, and your quirk is suddenly good! You can do all
these things I didn’t fucking know about! And now you got this secret fucking cousin out of
fucking nowhere! How the hell could I not know that?!”

“Wait, are you mad that-“

“Then…” Kacchan gets right in his face and he hates his first instinct is to run. To make a clone
and hide. He feels the burn scars on his arms tingle as Kacchan’s hands get close to them.

“You had the fucking nerve to pull that shit you did in middle school,” Kacchan growls.

He stops so Izuku takes the bait. “What-“

“You fucking vanished!” Kacchan roars. “I tell you to…to…that! And then you just fucking
disappeared for a whole fucking week! No one heard anything, Deku! We thought you…” his face
dials back for a moment before becoming even angrier than before. “Then you fucking come back
as if nothing happened!! So, Deku , how long have I been a joke to you? Did you have fun
spending a week making me think you…you…”

“Kacchan…are you mad I stopped telling you things?!” There’s no way that can be it.

“I put up with your bullshit for years! And you seriously think you can just-just-just push ahead of
me out of nowhere! Your quirk that makes no fucking sense, all those little extras that pal around
you now, and then lying to me about going easy on me in the fucking battle trial-“

“I did!” Izuku can feel it. All the good feelings, the acceptance of his classmates, watching Eri heal
and grow, training to be an actual hero, he can feel it all being dragged down by Kacchan. He had a
taste and didn’t want to let go.

“I did!” Izuku repeats. “I did go easy on you! What’s really bothering you, Kacchan? Is it me
pulling ahead of you, or is it that little Deku is finally happy?! That there’s things in my life that
don’t revolve around you anymore!”

The angry blonde grabs his jacket roughly, a brief look of shock on his face. “I’m set to be the
best! This is my origin story! Not yours! I’m not some pathetic side character for you to move past
and forget about!”
“I tried for years to keep you a part of my life!” Izuku shoves him off and is only a little surprised
when the other boy actually lets go. “Kacchan, I only ever wanted to be your friend. To be heroes
together like we talked about when we were little.” Izuku scoffs. “And this is all I got.”

He roughly pulls back his sleeve to Bakugo, something he hadn’t done for anyone in years, to
show him the various burn marks that run up and down his arm. “This is how they both look,”

Izuku says quietly. “Back when I couldn’t run from you, this is what I got. You know, to this day I
still can’t wear short sleeves in front of anyone.”

Kacchan stares down at the arm, his face flickering through too many emotions for Izuku to keep
track before he pushes his arm back to him. “Is that all I am to you now, Deku? Some footnote in
your grand story to be number one? Well, do it then!”

He swipes his hands through the air, letting off small explosions in frustration. “Bitch and moan to
everyone about me! Get me kicked out for what I did! What the fuck have you been waiting for?!
Or are you still laughing at me?! Gonna make me think I’m safe before running to Aizawa! Fuck
you!! Just get it over with!”

“I’m not that selfish.” At Kacchan’s bewildered look, he continues. “You’re gonna help a lot of
people, either by saving them or by beating villains. And I’m not gonna let them get hurt just for
feeling a little bad.” He fixes his sleeves.

Both take a few breaths, letting the last few minutes sink in. “Is that your last prank then?”
Kacchan asks, his voice not exactly calm, more like accepting of what was going to happen.
“You’re gonna make me watch you become number one?”

Where is he going with this? “Kacchan, do you even want to be a hero if you can’t be number
one?”

“Of course I do!” He yells. “You think I would fucking let you or any other extra get it without
going through me?!” He takes a deep breath, calming down a little. “So that’s it then, you’re just
gonna let me get away with it? You’re not gonna do anything?”

He almost didn’t want to ask. “Do you…want me to do something?”

Both their phones go off at the same time. Izuku checks his and sees it’s a message from Iida
urging them to get to the classroom soon. When he looks up, Kacchan is already marching past
him, but stops when they’re side to side.

“If you won’t do anything then I will.” He’s almost whispering. “If we fight today, I win, you tell
me everything that’s going on. You win, and I swear to never bother you about anything again.”

‘He’s driving himself into a corner.’

Kacchan walks away without waiting for a response. “You better give it your all today, nerd.”

“You wanted to see me, Young Tenko?”

“Uh, yeah, thanks for coming, All Might.” The classes were on their way to their designated
waiting rooms before the festival started but Toshinori got a message from young Midoriya that
Tenko wanted to see him.

The young man closes the door to the private waiting room he was in and stares at him, clearly
with something to say but not knowing how. He wants to encourage him but It seems they both
didn’t know how to put what they wanted into words.

“So…” Could Tenko sense his awkwardness? “How can I help you?” He barely keeps himself
from wincing.

Tenko looks back at the door before turning back to the veteran hero. “Alright…” Toshinori thinks
he hears the boy say ‘fuck it’ under his breath but he doesn’t point it out. “I just wanted to say
thanks for the help you’ve given me these past couple of weeks…and I’ll do my best to place high
on the leaderboards for you.”

Now, Toshinori gets it. Because he had been helping him train for the festival, Tenko thought he
was expecting him to do well. No need to add any extra pressure on the boy. “That’s not
necessary.”

“Eh?” Tenko tilts his head.

“It never mattered to me how you did in the festival, my boy,” Toshinori clarifies.

He gets mild amusement out of the blue-haired boy's confusion. “W-what? But all that time you
helped me grind?…”

Toshinori chuckles, walking over to stand over Tenko. “That was just an old man wanting to help a
student. The only thing that matters to me, is that you try your hardest. You could be eliminated in
the first round but as long as you did everything you could, I’ll be happy. After all, that’s all
anyone can really ask of heroes.”

A small laugh escapes him before he can stop it at the look of amazement on Tenko’s face before
he schools it quickly. “F-fine.” He crosses his arms and looks away. “And sure you like retro
games but not super retro games.”

Toshinori…thinks he understands what he means.

But he clasps Tenko’s shoulders anyway. “I know you’ll do well either way! Just try not to think
about the millions of people watching you!” Oh, the look on Tenko’s face tells him that was the
wrong thing to say. Time to go before he makes it worse!

“I’ll see you out there, my boy!” Toshinori walks around him towards the door but stops when
Tenko speaks again.

“Hey. Do you think…she’ll be watching?” All Might had never heard him speak so softly before.

“There’s a good chance.” Toshinori matches his tone.

Tenko nods, voice hardening. “Good. Then she can see the hero who’s going to save her.” The
young man opens the door and walks back to his waiting room with renewed purpose. Toshinori
couldn’t be more proud.

“Looks like you guys had a good talk.” It’s only having known him for a year and the kid doing it
at every chance he got that prevents Toshinori from jumping outwardly when young Midoriya
appears next to him from thin air.
All Might sighs. “What did I tell you about listening in on people’s conversations?”

“It was part of Eraser’s training for me and you made it so easy with how loud you talk!” Midoriya
whines. “And I promise I didn’t listen to you guys! I was just waiting to see if everything would be
alright after!”

“Heh, so how’d I do?” All Might asks.

“By the looks of Tenko, really good,” Midoriya approves.

“I appreciate-what’s that look for?” Toshinori didn’t like the knowing look he was getting.

“So…” the greenette steps closer. “You talk to him about it yet?”

Of course, he figured it out. Toshinori shakes his head. “After the festival, I didn’t want to distract
him.”

“That’s fair…” All Might grunts when Midoriya crashes into his midsection, hugging him.

“I hope this means you aren’t replacing me…” young Midoriya pleads in his most fake pathetic
voice. It was nice to know the festival wasn’t affecting him too badly.

“Believe me when I say, you are one of a kind,” Toshinori compliments.

Midoriya hugs tighter. “You always know what to say, dad…”

“Present Mic made the joke one time, young Midoriya…” Toshinori grumbles half-heartedly.

The green-haired boy looks up at him with a wide smile. Yeah, a lot of people were gonna love
that smile when he becomes a hero. “You didn’t deny it! So I seized the opportunity!”
“I was in shock he said it!”

“Details.” Midooriya waves him off. “Would I really be that bad as a son?”

Toshinori sighs, ruffling the kid’s hair, something he discovered Midoriya liked and was sworn
under threat of stabbing not to tell anyone about. “Yeah, you’d be a great one.”

Maybe, he should take a page out of young Midoriya’s book. “So, my boy, you consider Eri to be
basically your sister, yes?”

“As long as she wants me?” Oh, he thinks there will ever be a time she won’t, that’s funny.

“And at the same time, Aizawa is essentially her father, also correct?”

“Yes?…” Young Midoriya was able to connect dots earlier but he’s confused now?

“So if Eri is your sister…and Aizawa is her dad…that makes Aizawa your?…” Toshinori spells
out.

Midoriya’s eyes light up. There it is. “You can find him in the announcer’s booth,” Toshinori
informs him.

“Thanks!” Midoriya is off so fast, that he’s surprised there isn’t a trail of smoke behind him. Ah
well, that’ll teach Aizawa to make his name ‘All Shite’ in the teacher’s chat.

Ochako taps her fingers nervously on the table in front of her. Two weeks ago, it felt like they had
years until the festival happened! Now, it was the day of and she can’t stop going over everything
she wanted to go over but didn’t.

Her parents told her that focusing on the negative would only bring her down and she needed to
look more at everything she’s accomplished, and they’re right, and she usually does that! But this
stupid festival was making it so much harder!

Sure, her family wasn’t having to rely on leftovers and turning one portion into two anymore
because of that amazing job their company got, but they didn’t get this far by blowing their money
on useless things.

With the bills paid and food taken care of, a lot of it was going into a savings account to be the
nice cushion they never had. But this job wouldn’t last forever, and neither would that money, they
had to be ready for life after it. Ochako was doing just that.

The waiting room most of Class 1-A is in is almost completely silent. Everyone sits in chairs or
around tables, lockers line the walls of the room. The only real sounds were the creaking of chairs
as people sat down, a few of them pacing, and the door opening every now and then for someone
to head to the bathroom, probably to throw up.

It’s a pretty solemn environment all things considered-

“Thanks, Koda!” A loud voice pierces the room like a nail into wood. Ochako looks up to see
Koda holding the door for Deku who walks in looking at them all, seemingly more excited than
ever. How does he do it?

“Hey, guys! Great to see you all!” Deku waves like he didn’t just see them all a few minutes ago?
Part of her wants to chalk it up to his nerves but something doesn’t feel right.

“Midoriya!” Iida stands at attention causing her to giggle a little. “I hope your errand went well!
There is nothing new to report on the status of the class!”

“Shouldn’t that be you?” Kyoka whispers to Yaomomo who sits right next to her.

“He’s not trying to do anything a class rep would, in addition, I think he needs it. We all have our
ways of calming ourselves,” Yaomomo responds quietly.

“Woooow!” Deku runs up to Iida staring at his hands. “They really do chop that fast!”
“Midoriya, what are you-“

“Oh, hi Uraraka!” Ochako squeaks when Deku is by her an instant later, throwing himself into the
chair next to her which doesn’t creak for some reason. “How are you feeling? Are you ready for
the festival? Did you want any last minute fight tips? Or any tips at all? I got tons! Anyways, the
second event is always a team-up event, did you wanna work together?”

Ochako’s face heats up very quickly because, with each question he asks, Deku gets closer and
closer to her face. “Well, you see, um, what was the first question again?”

Deku seems to realize what he’s doing and quickly back up. “Ah, sorry!” He apologizes while
waving his hands in front of him. Now, he seems normal again. “I just got so excited to be here!”

“I can understand that.” Ochako relaxes a little, even if some part of her, which is quickly drop
kicked, wishes he’d get that close again. “Sports Festival is a big deal, we’re lucky we get to be
here.”

She looks over and is startled at how Deku is staring at her. It’s as if she’s the only person in the
room with him, the only thing that matters, and Ochako very much does not think about what that’s
doing to her face and heart right now.

“Hm?” Deku comes back a little. “Oh, right. You meant the festival. Yeah, I m-meant t-that too.”
He leans back in his seat. “But that’s not really because of the festival. It’s exciting to be anywhere
as long as you’re there with me.”

Now the whole room is dead silent. No one is moving or making any sound, save for two squeals
that are growing steadily louder from a certain alien and invisible girl.

“D-D-D-Deku.” Ochako probably doesn’t have to throw people into the sun anymore with how hot
her face feels. She can’t even begin to imagine how red it could be. “W-w-what are you saying?
…”

He looks her right in the eye. “Uraraka, I-“ Ochako blinks once. Then twice. One more time. Yup.
She sees correctly. Deku was interrupted when a second Deku appeared from nowhere and tackled
him to the ground.
“That’s enough out of you! Did you think we wouldn’t know you left?!” The new Deku tries to
retrain the original. Ochako and the class can only watch.

“You can’t silence me forever, Two! The truth needs to come out! It sets you-“ Deku is cut off
again when new Deku, Two(?), puts a hand over his mouth.

“Not yet! Three, help me!”

“Not logical.” Ochako is stunned when a third Deku appears, arms crossed, watching the other two
wrestle on the ground. “I agree with Thirteen. Emotions only get in the way of making the right
choices, might as well get it out and over with.”

So, Ochako has questions. And looking around she’s far from the only one. Even aloof Todoroki
looks interested in what’s happening.

The first question besides ‘what was going on,’ is who are these people? But they know that
answer. They’ve all seen Deku do it a bunch of times. They were clones. Copies. But that led to the
next question, how was this happening?

Deku had made clones a bunch of times in front of them all, but they usually did what he said or
stood in place for him while he snuck off somewhere. Ochako is making it a point to learn when he
switches.

But back to whatever was going on in front of her. Deku had made clones sure, but they had never
been this…independent.

“We can discuss logic later!” Two yells. “Just get over here and grab ahold of his feet so we can-
hey! Don’t you lick my hand!”

“Also not logical.” The Deku called Three shrugs.

“What’s wrong, now ?!” Two asks in exasperation.

“He could kick me.”

A new but as of right now, very familiar voice stops their fight. “Don’t worry, everyone!” It was
another Deku! And he was standing on one of the tables! “I, the real Izuku Midoriya, in the flesh,
will stop this fight!”

“Five! Shut the hell up! Get over here and grab Thirteen’s legs so we can throw him off the roof of
the stadium or something!” Two’s very blunt statement seems to finally break the class out of
whatever state they’re in.

As usual, Iida is the fastest. “Now see here! What is-“

“If we’re throwing Midoriya’s off the stadium…” Ochako’s head wants to start hurting at the new
Deku’s appearance but instead, he looks so sad. She’s never seen a look like that on his face and
wants to do nothing more than run up and hug him.

“Nine, now is not the-“

“If we’re throwing Midoriya’s off the stadium,” Nine starts again, his voice sounds so broken.
“Can I be next in line?”

“I’m with him.” Okay, Ochako now has two Deku’s to hug when the Deku that appears next to
Nine looks sad too. Not as sad, more nervous than anything.

“Might as well,” the new Deku says in resignation. “They’ve all seen us now, they’re not gonna
wanna talk to Izuku anymore…”

By this time, Five has gone over and helped Two completely restrain Thirteen. Cool name if you
ask Ochako. “You both need to relaaaaax.” Yet another Deku materializes in between the two sad
ones. “Eight, Nine, you guys are always such downers. Think of all the amazing pranks we can pull
now that they know about us!”

“Oh my god Four, if you-“

“ENOUGH!” All of Deku’s clones go quiet, even Thirteen stops struggling, and the class stares at
the standing Iida who chops at the decoys with vigor. “We demand to know what is going on this
instant! Where is the real Midoriya?!”

—-

The door to the announcer’s room burst open.

“Dad!”

“What the fu-“

—-

“Uh, sorry.” Ochako has officially lost count of the Dekus. The one to just appear addresses the
class, scratching the back of his head. “We wanted to meet you all for a long time but weren’t sure
how to do it…Thirteen kind of forced our hand here.”

Yaomomo stands beside Iida. “And who are you exactly?”

The Deku looks at his copies behind him before shrugging. “We’re Izuku’s clones. I’m Eleven by
the way.” He gives a small wave. “I’m the self-sacrificial one, that's why I’m the one talking to
you all…”

“You’re all very self-sufficient,” Tsu is quick to point out.

“We had to be,” Eight responds, a slight quiver to his voice. “Izuku didn’t really have friends
growing up so-“ he smacks himself. “Idiot! Why would you say that?! If they didn’t hate Izuku
before they will now!”

Three walks over and stops Eight from tearing his hair out. “Don’t mind him. That’s Eight, he’s
anxious.” He faces the class. “Hello, I’m Three. Logic.”

“Boooooring!” Four puts an arm around the clone next to him. “You have no presentation Three.
What’s up 1-A! Four is my name and pranks are my game! Speaking of…” He points at Yaomomo
with a mock glare. “ You have been a huge thorn in my side! Just let us prank!”

“You each have a different style of speaking as well as unique word choices and tone. I am noting
them down so I will be able to tell the difference between one of you and Midoriya,” Yaomomo
states dryly.

Three turns to Four. “I will enjoy watching her thoroughly defeat you over and over.”

Four’s glare becomes real to his clone brother. “Careful, or you’re being dropped after Thirteen,
and that won’t be a prank!”

“What about-“

“Nope!” Four interrupts the clone he still has his arm around. “My life’s goal is to make you
happy, not throwing you off any ledges. This one here is Nine by the way. Depression.”

Nine looks away. “What’s the point of introducing ourselves? Not like anyone cares about us, they
probably think we’re annoying…”

“No!” Ochako cries before she can stop herself. “You’re not annoying, I promise.” Clone or not,
she couldn’t stand to hear a Deku talk about himself that way. And it hurt it didn’t look like he
believed her.

“You’re all introducing yourselves with numbers and different personality traits, why is that?”
Shoji observes and asks.

“The Numbers are just the easiest way to name us,” Eleven replies. “And we’re each of a different
part of Izuku.”

Ochako takes that in, she takes a little more in and realizes she doesn’t like what she’s hearing.
There was Eleven who was self-sacrifice and that was worrying but not even the worst part.

Eight and Nine. Anxiety and Depression. The way they talked, and what Eight said about Deku not
having friends, which didn’t sound possible in Ochako’s opinion with how likable he is, it all led
her to very bad conclusions.

She also starts taking mental notes about the clones and how they talk. Deku liked to disappear and
leave a clone behind, he liked to hide, and not just himself she realizes as Ochako remembers him
and his injuries after the USJ. Well, he’s not getting away with any of that anymore if she has a say
in it.

It seems she wasn’t the only one worried, a lot of heads are not very subtlety looking at Eight and
Nine.

“Anyway!” Eleven gets their attention once more. “The one trying to choke out Thirteen is Two.
Confidence. Kind of pseudo in charge when Izuku isn’t here.”

“Wait a-“

“Quiet, Five.” By the looks on all the clone’s faces, this wasn’t the first time they had to shut him
up. “He’s hard to explain…”

“Not really. He’s a personification of Izuku’s guilt for hiding himself all the time,” Three says like
he’s reading something from a textbook. Oh, Ochako is helping her friend asap.

Two sighs while keeping his grip on Thirteen. “Please don’t judge Izuku too harshly. Thirteen here
is new and doesn’t realize we’re not supposed to show our personalities without permission!” The
yelling and grunts from said clone are probably not ones of agreement.

“Okay.” It takes Ochako too long to realize she’s the one who spoke, but with everyone staring at
her, she finds her resolve. “I mean, okay. This isn’t a big deal, right? Deku is still the same person
even after this, why should this change anything?”

“I’m with her.” Ochako almost collapses from her chair in relief when Tenko speaks up. “I don’t
care. Personally, I wish I had a bunch of NPC’s that did whatever I wanted.”

“We don’t do whatever he wants!”

“I agree with O-Ochako,” Yaomomo speaks up. The gravity girl snickers a little, the heiress still
has trouble with their given names sometimes. “This doesn’t change anything about who Midoriya
is. Although…” Her gaze lingers on Eight and Nine. “It may be prudent to check on his mental and
emotional well-being every now and then.” Agreements are made throughout the class.

The door to the waiting room opens and the person they had all been waiting for runs in with Koda
behind him. “Hey, guys! Sorry, I’m a little late, I had to-“ Deku stops in his tracks cold, looking
between the class and his clones. Back and forth. Back and forth again. And one more time before
slapping his face into his hands. “How much did you hear?” His muffled voice asks.

“It’s Thirteen’s fault!” nearly all the decoys yell at the same time, pointing to the offender.

“The class knows who we are and introductions have been made,” Three informs Deku, who still
has his face in his hands. “I believe they were just in the process of accepting us.”

“What?!” That causes Deku to finally look back up at them in disbelief.

“Yes!” Iida speaks for the class. “And I apologize if we have given you the impression we would
not accept this part of your quirk, please do not feel the need to keep your clones hidden from us
any longer!”

“It doesn’t matter to me!” Aoyama puts a hand to his chest. “There could be a hundred Midoriyas
and none would shine as brightly as me so laissez-les venir!”

“It’s like we have new classmates!” Toru cheers happily.

“Oh, man. And we thought 1-B hated us before,” Sero laughs.

“It’s manly to show emotion!” Kirishima pumps his fist. What Ochako can only assume are manly
tears run down his cheeks.

“I knew you guys were cool!” Four runs up to Kaminari. “We can plan pranks so much easier now
that we can talk face to face, dude!”
Kaminari cracks a smile and points at him. “This one’s my favorite!”

“Mine too!” Mina dashes over. “They are so much fun! Can we keep them, Midoriya, please?!”

“Uhh…” Deku seems more lost than Ochako has ever seen him while he looks at everyone. “They
can be a handful…”

“Like we aren’t one big handful already!” Toru counters.

“What a mad banquet of darkness.”

Deku still doesn’t look very convinced. “If you’re sure and you’re not weirded out…”

The last person Ochako ever expected to walk over to Deku does, Todoroki. “Objectively
speaking, I’m stronger than you,” he says bluntly, much to everyone’s confusion. “And you
somehow have gained the favor of several teachers. But that doesn’t matter. You can make any
trick you want, or bring as many clones with you as you can, I’m still going to beat you.” And with
that, the scarred boy makes his way to the back of the room to sit.

“He needed a good prank yesterday.“ Four breaks the silence, eliciting laughter from several.

Jiro twirls one of her headphone jacks around her finger. “Aizawa is gonna flip when he meets
these guys.”

“He’s gonna be so much fun to mess with!” Two says excitedly. “And we’re not students so he
can’t expel us!”

“He can expel Midoriya though,” Ojiro retorts.

“True.” Tsu puts a finger to her mouth. “But we’ve seen the clones act on their own already, can
Midoriya really be blamed for their actions?”

While a class-wide debate begins on the subject, Ochako moves closer to Deku. “Are you ok?” She
whispers.

“Are you guys sure you’re ok with this?” He whispers back.

Ochako hums, giving him a reassuring nod, which relaxes Deku a little. She feels better at the sight
but then, another thought occurs to her. “Hey, what’s Thirteen’s personality?”

Deku freezes, face going red. Was it embarrassing? He looks between her and the again struggling
clone several times before exhaling. “I want to tell you…but there’s some other stuff I have to tell
you first. Are you okay with waiting?”

It was better than nothing! And she would hold him to it either way. Ochako tells him as much,
making him laugh, it’s a sweet sound. “One last thing?” Ochako brings up. She just has to ask
because she doesn’t think she’ll be able to forget about it until she does.

“What is it?”

“Your clones are a part of you, right?” Deku nods. “Thirteen said you’re excited to be anywhere if
it was with me, is that true?”

Before Deku can say anything, the speakers in the room came to life, telling the classes to get
ready to enter the field. Ochako frowns at not getting an answer while everyone gets up. She’s
about to move when Deku’s voice stops her.

“Yes.”

She whirls around but he’s already moving to the front of the class to lead everyone outside. That
was probably for the best anyway. It let Ochako look down and not have to worry about him
seeing the smile spreading on her red face.

“The classes are about to take the field, how many more ‘selfies’ could you possibly take?” Loki
asks exasperatedly at Thor taking what felt like his millionth picture with a fan in the lobby of the
stadium. He had stopped trying to keep track of the count.
“Okay, I’m going! How was I supposed to know I had so many fans in Japan?” Thor signs a few
more pieces of paper shoved at him.

A child tugs on Loki’s sleeve and he remembers what his mother taught him about not punting
small children. “What?”

“Can you take our picture?” He points at Thor and himself.

“Do you know who I am?” Loki is barely able to keep his voice restrained.

“Are you a hero too?!” The child gets even more excited at the prospect.

The question douses Loki’s anger as he tilts his head at the tiny human, thinking it over. “In my
own way.”

“I’m sorry! I really have to go! I’ll happily take more pictures between events!” Thor waves to his
crowd of supporters before walking back with Loki to their seats to join their wives.

They get there just in time as the announcer, Present Mic, his brain recalls sounding an awful lot
like Izuku, begins to name the classes as they march out.

“Now, you both are going to behave yourselves, aren’t you?” Inko turns to give her husband and
his brother a pointed look.

“You two are still on thin ice for offering the boys alcohol,” Mrs. Kaminari warns.

“Yes, dear.” The two gods say at the same time.

The four settle in while the hero Midnight calls on the student representative, Izuku.

“Is it time for the foam fingers yet?”

Loki shakes his head. “Not until the first event,” he tells his brother.

Izuku walks up to the stage, controlling his nervousness a lot better than his father was expecting
but he was proud. They were royalty after all and speeches come with the job so practice with the
mortals was a good thing.

“Hello everyone.” His son’s voice travels throughout the stadium. “I am Izuku Midoriya.” Loki
had insisted that Izuku let the world know of his glorious purpose but the boy persisted that it
sounded too conceited for the speech he wanted. Disappointing, he supposes, but he’ll respect his
son’s wishes.

“I should just address the elephant in the room.” An illusion of an elephant appears next to his son
on stage, trumpeting. “No, not you.” He snaps his fingers and the animal disappears, causing some
laughter through the crowd.

Midnight approaches Izuku. “Midoriya, you don’t need your quirk to-“

“Stand back, you mewling quim!” Izuku yells, holding his hand out.

“Wait, what did he just call me?”

Thor groans as Loki roars with laughter next to him. “Brother, what did you do?”

“I told him to say that if someone tried to stop him from using his powers!” Loki barely gets out
between laughs. He immediately sobers up when Inko gives him a stink eye. Dammit, he was
going to have a talk later he was not going to like.

Izuku goes on, creating various illusions of villains from the USJ, including Shigaraki and
Kurogiri. “You all have lined up in the sweltering heat for hours to see us, the class that survived
the villain attack. You want the untold story, the…unseen sights, your imaginations have been
running wild for weeks and you want more. I just have one question, where are the villains now?”

The stadium’s silence is answer enough. “Hiding! Because people like them, who aim to hurt,
don’t matter. Today isn’t about them. It’s about us, and I mean all of us! Hero Course, General
 Studies, Support Department, and Management!”

“It’s about all of us here at UA showing you how bright your future is! How those kinds of villains
will stay not mattering!“ Izuku dismissed his illusions. “Because us here at UA, everyone, are
going to show you just how hard we’re going to work, and give you a preview of how far we’ll
go!”

“Because this is UA, and everything here is…plus ultra!”

“Plus Ultra!” The stadium cheers, people clapping and whooping at Izuku's speech. Loki smiles
proudly and claps along. ‘It looks like my lessons in showmanship weren’t a lost cause after all.’
Not exactly the type of presentation he would have done, but Izuku is his own person at the end of
the day.

“My baby…” Inko begins to tear up. Loki sincerely hopes this venue has some sort of flooding
insurance.

Izuku runs off the stage to his screaming friends who look to congratulate him. Hopefully, he is
still heeding his warnings of letting anyone close. Midnight is eventually able to quiet the crowd
some with the help of Present Mic.

“Looks like you’re all as worked up as I am!” Midnight calls out suggestively to the crowd. “Let’s
get this thing started right away!” A holographic screen appears behind her, circulating through
different events. “This year's first event is…”

Chapter End Notes

Welp, there it is. Some more cousin bonding, Bakugo not knowing how to deal with
emotions, Dadmight, and Izuku being Izuku.

And the biggest part of the chapter, the clones. I hope the scene came out okay, I’ve
never had them take up as much of a chapter before.

Also, you’ll notice not all the clones appeared. The original scene I wrote actually had
all of them there and introducing themselves but it was getting soooo long and imo,
stale. So I cut it. The rest will appear as the festival goes on.

Anyways, I hope you guys still liked the chapter. As always, I’ll answer any comments
or questions below, until next time!
 What You See Is What You Get
Chapter Summary

First round of the Sports Festival!

Chapter Notes

Perhaps a huge audience and a stake into his future as a hero will stop Izuku from
being Izuku?

Oh, never mind.

Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“We don’t matter?!!!”

Kurogiri sighs, putting down his nearly polished glass. While of course, he agrees with Master’s
idea to have Shigaraki watch the Sports Festival to familiarize herself with her enemies more and
check on Tomura’s progression, there were…complications.

“Who does he think he is?!!”

With a practiced wave of his hand, he creates a portal to catch the bar stool before it hits the wall it
was sent hurtling toward. Kurogiri creates another portal to deposit the stool in front of him.

“I matter!!” In a scene he has seen more times than he can count, he stopped trying years ago,
Shigaraki slices the old computer they use clean in half with one of her discs.

They hadn’t even gotten to the first event.

But the green-haired hero boy had decided to specifically call out their organization in all but name
during his speech, claiming they were hiding and didn’t matter. Kurogiri was willing to concede he
was right about the first point but even he had issues with the second.
That put it lightly to how Shigaraki was taking the words if her pacing angrily around the room
was any indication. “I have to hear it from sensei almost every day, I am not taking that from some
little privileged hero brat!” She screeches.

Kurogiri hums in agreement, moving to a closet behind the bar and allowing Shigaraki to rant
more. “What gives him the right? Huh? He’s not the one who had to grow up being broken down
in every possible way by sensei? To do everything right and whatever he asked only to be
constantly told you’ll never get out of the shadow of your stupid brother!!”

A dozen small discs form around her body and shoot out around the room so fast, that most
wouldn’t know what was happening until it was over.

The discs are gone as fast as they appeared but their damage is not. Small cuts on almost every part
of the room and furniture seem to finally bring Shigaraki back a little. “Aw crap, not again…” she
slumps onto the couch. “Sorry, Kurogiri…

“Not to worry, young master.” Kurogiri opens a closet he is very familiar with to reveal a dozen
very similar computers to the one broken by Shigaraki. His quirk made them easy to obtain and it
never hurt to be prepared. “This could be an opportunity for you.”

While sensei’s successor gives him a questioning look, Kurogiri warps the old computer and
replaces it with a new one. He had learned long ago that his young master could get…very
involved in whatever tv show or movie she was watching.

There was never anything wrong with this in his eyes. The media often helped distract his charge
after a particularly rough day or calmed her down after say, a nightmare. As Kurogiri had no need
for sleep, he found the two of them watching tv in the middle of the night into the early hours of
the next morning a common occurrence.

He hadn’t had much interest in most of what Shigaraki watches, except perhaps the programs
where the protagonist would take care of a wounded animal, but stayed as it was his job to keep an
eye on her.

It was always when he least expected that Shigaraki would lash out, however. Either something not
going her way in the plot or a series ‘dragging out her OTP for no reason.’ Kurogiri finds it best to
just nod along at these moments he doesn’t understand.
“It is for reasons like this that the Master had insisted you watch the festival, Shigaraki,” Kurogiri
placates while setting up the new computer. “The boy has dug his own trap, all that is required
now is for you to seize the opportunity.”

After returning to the correct website and making sure he has Shigaraki’s undivided attention,
which he does, Kurogiri finishes, “the boy claimed you don’t matter and the people believed him.
Prove him wrong. Land a decisive blow to the heroes and the victory will be twofold. You have
your win, and you prove the boy wrong and make the public question both him and UA. Show
everyone you matter.”

To her credit, Shigaraki looks deep in thought for a minute. “You’re right…and I think I have a
couple of ideas.”

“This year's first event is…the obstacle race!” Midnight yells out to the approval of the crowd.

She goes on to explain how the race will be four kilometers around the stadium and they could do
whatever they wanted as long as they stayed on the track.

Not that it surprises Shoto. He was well-versed in UA’s approach to teaching and the freedom they
allowed. Still, he can’t help but feel a little satisfied despite himself. Having the ability to do
whatever he wanted and still not using his left side was sure to anger that man.

This first event benefited him in more ways the longer he thought about it. The greatest asset for a
race was mobility, something his mother’s ice gave him in spades.

And while Midoriya’s quirk was extremely versatile, no doubt thanks to who Shoto suspected as
his parent, he had never seen it aid the other boy too much in movability, usually relying on his
natural athleticism in class.

No, he wouldn’t have to worry about him this round. Shoto wasn’t naive enough to think the
verdant wouldn’t pass the round, but Midoriya would not be a threat to him for now.

One of the giant doors surrounding the field they stand in opens, prompting all eleven classes to
move in front of it and get ready. Immediately, Shoto notices a problem.

Despite most of the students around him posing no threat directly, he imagines the only ones he’d
have to worry about for this particular event are Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Bakugo, the hall to enter the
race is narrow. Too narrow.

On purpose, Shoto supposes. A first obstacle not even before they reach the starting line to catch
the unobservant off-guard. But that was not him. Feeling his right side already begin to chill, Shoto
tunes out the maddening squawking of Present Mic over the speakers and the crowd.

Endeavor was watching, he hopes to make him so proud today.

Midnight’s countdown shakes Shoto from his sarcastic thoughts. He raises his right leg, ready to
instantly freeze all the competition and push himself through the hall at once. From his
observations, some of his classmates will not be deterred too much, but he imagines that will not be
the same for anyone outside of his class.

“Ready…set…go!”

“Stop!”

It’s only Shoto’s training that allows him to stop his ice before it even starts. Still, even he was not
immune to stumbling a bit. Many other competitors outright fall on top of each other.

What happened? Had there been a malfunction of some kind? Heterochromatic eyes move to their
referee and Shoto blinks.

Because standing on the stage is not one, but two Midnights, glaring at each other. Present Mic
screeches for answers and confusion ripples its way through the crowds.

“Don’t listen to her! I said the race started, go!” One of the Midnights yells to them.

“This fake is lying to you!” The other accuses.

“What are you talking about?! You’re the one that’s not real!”

“No, you!!”

“Shut up!” Midnight swipes at her other self, revealing the clone and causing it to fade away. “It
wasn't real! Go!”

A clone? But that could only be…

Shoto whips his head forward and his suspicions are confirmed, Izuku Midoriya stands at the exit
to the narrow hall, smirking at him through a sea of students. With a wink, he’s gone.

“Atta boy, Izuku!!”

“Don’t fall for such putrid tricks already, Denki!!”

“How dare you call our tricks putrid?!”

“H-hey! Get your foam finger out of my eye!”

Cold fury tunes out the crowd again as Shoto stomps his foot down with more force than
necessary. In what is an instant for most, the tunnel is frosted and Shoto is firing himself through
the passageway.

“That had to be one of the CRAZIEST starts I’ve seen to an event!” Present Mic’s voice
booms through all their ears, the crowd roaring in response. “It seems Class 1-A’s Izuku
Midoriya created a copy of our referee to stop the race and give himself a lead!! Is that even
allowed?!”

Aizawa sighs into his microphone. “The rules state anything goes as long as you stay on the race
track. In this regard, Midoriya did not break any rules.”
“You hear that folks?! Anything can happen! Like Shoto Todoroki’s frosty greeting to his
fellow competitors by freezing most of them to the ground! Talk about not being chill with
your peeps!”

“Please stop.”

“But that hasn’t stopped anyone for long! Those kids are making that ice look like a single
traffic cone in their way! And it looks like most of them are from 1-A as well! Aizawa, what
are you teaching these kids?!”

Shoto lands on the ground and uses his ice to propel him forward, ignoring several of his
classmates calling out to him about the stunt he just pulled and Bakugo’s cursing of both him and
Midoriya.

It surprises him how many both in and out of his class were able to break through his ice so
quickly. Perhaps it wasn’t just Midoriya he should be wary of underestimating.

But that is thought for another time because he is gaining quick ground on Midoriya, who’s
running hard in front of him but it won’t be enough.

“That was pathetic, hero student!” Shoto looks behind him to see what he assumes is a general
education student flying through the air and heading right for him. He’s small with what looks like
purple balls on his head.

“Too bad I’ve outwitted you! Time for my special move!” The boy detaches one of the balls from
his head, another taking its place instantly. “Gra-“ Before Shoto can witness whatever this special
move is, a metal hand smacks the boy out of the air.

“It’s time for our first major obstacle!! That’s right ladies and gentlemen, it’s Robo
Inferno!!” Shoto’s eyes widen slightly at the sight ahead of him. The track opens to a large area
with three massive robots towering over them all, and dozens of smaller robots at their feet.
“Woah! Power Loader went a bit overboard this year, huh?”

Learning from the exclamation of other students that these were the robots from the entrance exam
doesn’t matter, what does, is that Midoriya is nowhere to be seen.
‘Dammit! He must’ve turned invisible so he could just run through!’

If the sounds of Iida’s engines and Bakugo’s explosions were any indication, they thought the
same. But before Shoto could take a step, he was surrounded by three robots, all aiming their
weapons at him. “I don’t have time for this.” He plants his foot on the ground, producing ice spikes
to easily take care of the machines.

Instead of the sound of crunching metal like he expected, Shoto hears…nothing. His ice travels
through the robots and they fade like they were never there… ’shit.’

“I don’t know when he did it, but it looks like 1-A’s Midoriya has created clones of the robots
to slow down the other runners!! How will they respond?!”

“Shitty clones don’t matter when you can just fly over them!! Where are you, Deku?!!” True to his
word, Bakugo’s uses his explosions to propel him over the battlefield where students fall to robots,
unable to identify which was real and which wasn’t.

For once, it seems like Bakugo has a point. And he meant it when he told Midoriya his illusions
won’t matter against him. And he’ll start proving that right here, right now.

Ice explodes out from Shoto’s body, uncaring if it encases person, clone, or robot. Not even the
famed zero pointer is safe. He gives himself just enough time to run under the behemoth before his
ice cracks and the bot falls. Again, he cares not for the yelling afterward or what sounds like a
cannon being fired off. Yaoyorozu, he guesses.

“We don’t know where he went but Izuku Midoriya reappears, still in the lead! Followed
closely by Shoto Todoroki and Katsuki Bakugo!”

Again, Midoriya is still in front of him! And not looking tired in the slightest while Shoto gains on
him. Meanwhile, he can feel some frost already beginning to creep up his arm, but not nearly
enough to slow him down. He had been through much worse, and Shoto had something to prove.

“Our leaders have reached the second obstacle, the fall! Don’t look down!”
This time, he actually witnesses Midoriya disappear in a green light. It won’t be that easy. Shoto
runs up to the canyon and intends to skate across one of the lines of rope but his foot misses the
rope.

Correction. It goes through the rope.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’ The rope flickers like a hologram, as do several others while Shoto
regains his footing on even ground.

“Hey, Todoroki!” Shoto scowls at the sight of Midoriya standing alone on one of the pillars
scattered throughout the gorge, waving at him without a care in the world. “Not having trouble, are
you? Try the next one, maybe that’ll be it!”

“Maybe be a threat before declaring war, Icy Hot!!” Bakugo soars above him, flying over the
canyon. “You’ll have to do better than that Deku!”

A shadow above him catches his eye just in time to see Asui jumping over him intending to catch
one of the ropes…only to fall through an illusion. “Ribbit!” She desperately extends her tongue
back to the cliff but it looks like it’ll be just short.

Or it would’ve been if it wasn’t for Shimura reaching out and grabbing hold of the appendage,
allowing Asui safe passage back to land, or at least safe passage back to the boy she crashes into.

“Thanks, ribbit.”

“No problem…”

“When will the madman Midoriya be stopped?! Now he has turned the real ropes invisible
and created fake ones to lure his classmates to fall to their doom!!”

“Mic forgot to mention the obstacle is perfectly safe and any student who does fall will not be
injured,” Aizawa’s tired voice comes through the speakers.

Deciding to be done with the bullshit, Shoto spreads ice across the cliff face until it catches and
reveals a real rope. He’s on it in seconds, using his ice to simultaneously speed him across while at
the same time, making the rope unusable for anyone behind him.

“Sorry, Deku, but that doesn’t work on me either!” Uraraka smirks victoriously, jumping over the
ravine and using her quirk on herself to float to each pillar.

“Look at my babies all you companies out there, especially the big ones!” Shoto sees a manically
laughing pink-haired…person he assumes covered in tech using wires and propulsion to move
from rocky pillar to pillar.

A descendant of the American hero Iron Man perhaps? No! Shoto, focus. Humiliate Endeavor
now, your board later.

Kaminari looks on with others trying to locate the real ropes but spots Tokage beginning to float
across in pieces first. “Hey! Mind giving me a ride across!”

“At least take me out to dinner before asking for something like that!” The green-haired girl winks
back.

“Usually, I don’t gotta ask!”

Tokage’s snort turns into a laugh and her detached hand points down where one of her fingers had
seemingly found a rope and was strumming it like a guitar.

“You rock!” Kaminari lights up and streaks across the tightrope, Iida close behind being called out
for looking very uncool by Present Mic. An Indigo-haired boy seems popular as he has multiple
students testing ropes for him.

Shoto makes it to the other side and had enough boost to be just behind Bakugo again and runs
down the path to the final obstacle.

“It’s here! Our leaders are making their way to the last challenge! The great equalizer! The
minefield!! Make your way carefully through or face an explosion like no other!!”
“Mic…”

“The mines don’t actually hurt, they’re just loud, flashy and blah blah blah, are you happy
now?!”

“I’m never happy when I’m with you.”

“Oh, you and your banter! Now, normally, this minefield is meant to slow down our leaders
and give those in the back of the pack time to catch up, but what hasn’t stopped Izuku
Midoriya today? It wasn’t robots, the fall, and it certainly won’t be mines! How is he doing
that?!”

That’s what Shoto wants to know! The ground makes it pretty easy to spot where each mine lays
and unless you were as fast as Iida, (could he be descended from Quicksilver?-enough!) you
shouldn’t be able to run over them.

Midoriya was yet again, proving his theories wrong because there he was, running across the
mines without setting a single one off. Bakugo was literally hot on his trail, getting closer and
closer.

Damn! He wouldn’t mind slowing down but he had no choice! Shoto makes a path of ice to run
down and takes off after the two leaders. It would leave a trail for those behind him but he’s
smarter than that.

Iida and Yaoyorozu could take advantage too easily and steal a victory from underneath him, so
Shoto puts up several walls behind him to deter any followers.

Explosions batter his ears as Shoto makes his way closer and closer to Midoriya. Whether it was
from Bakugo, whose yelling was drowned out, or the numerous mines being set off behind him, he
couldn’t hear much.

But he didn’t need to hear to win this. He needed to see. And from what he was seeing right now,
Midoriya had run out of his little tricks. It was over.

The support student uses her wire’s to dig up mines and toss them at various students, blanketing
the field in pink smoke. Shimura is hit and blasted away but a tongue wraps around him and brings
him back down before he’s too far.

Kirishima and a steel boy power through. Dark Shadow tanks hits for Tokoyami but is slowly
getting smaller. Ashido and Hagakure help Jiro run. Sero uses his tape to redirect any mines sent
his way. Spider-Man’s webs look similar to his-that does it. He’s using the old man’s card to get
himself a portable whiteboard after the festival. After Endeavor is done yelling at him for winning
only using his ice, of course, that was very important and started now.

Shoto and Bakugo reach Midoriya at the same time, the greenette turning his head in shock. Time
to show him what Shoto thinks of his tricks once and for all. He stretches his right hand out just as
Bakugo does the same with his left. Shoto goes to grab his arm and freeze it when-

When he can’t.

No. The dual user can’t believe it when his hand goes through Midoriya, Bakugo is similarly
stunned. Midoriya responds to them by sticking his tongue out.

The Midoriya they had been chasing the entire race was an illusion.

“Expecting someone else?” The copy mocks them before laughing and vanishing. If this Midoriya
had been a decoy the entire time then where was-

“Seriously!” Shoto and Bakugo’s heads shoot up to the tunnel they’re running toward and lo and
behold, standing at the end, by the finish line, was Midoriya. “How many times can I get away
with that?” Neither can so much as push their quirks more before he takes a step over the line.

“We have OUR WINNER! In first place, Mr. blink and you’ll miss him, Izuku Midoriya!”
They almost couldn’t hear what he says next because the crowd was so loud. “In second place,
taking after his father is Shoto Todoroki!! Ow…Shota what was that for? Erm, and in third
place, Katsuki Bakugo!!”

The rest of the runners begin to fill in but Shoto pays them no mind. He just stares at Midoriya who
waves to the crowd with a big smile on his face, several of his friends coming up to congratulate
him as they cross the finish line.
A lesser man would take this loss as a sign of what’s to come, but not Shoto. Present Mic’s jab
about his father only strengthens what he has to prove. This also taught him he has a lot to learn.
Shoto underestimated Midoriya going into this race and it cost him. That won’t happen again.

In order to beat Midoriya, he needs to figure out how his mind works because blindly shooting ice
at him was not working. He can think of one place to start.

Begrudgingly, he walks over to Midoriya’s group who were talking excitedly about the race. “-
after that I-oh! Hi Todoroki! Good rac-“

“How?”

It’s ironic that social interaction seems to be the first and only way Shoto has gotten the best of
Midoriya today. “How what?”

“How did you obtain such a large lead?” Shoto clarifies. “If that was truly a decoy the entire race,
then presumably, you were even farther ahead, how?”

Midoriya looks stunned for a moment before rubbing the back of his head, his friends all give him
questioning looks. “Technically that was an astral projection and…Midnight said the only rule of
the race was you had to stay on the track and you could do anything you want so…” he shrugs.
“She never said we had to wait for her signal to go.”

Uraraka smacks her forehead, berating herself for not thinking of that, Kaminari looks jealous, Asui
seems thoughtful, and Shimura is covering the mouth of a screaming Iida. No one notices Monoma
running over to the judge’s table.

“Interesting.” Shoto files the knowledge away for later. Midoriya was very literal it seems. He
would have to take this into account.

“IZUKU!!!” A voice rises above the crowd catching everyone’s attention. It’s a man in the crowd
yelling through a bullhorn. Shoto did not realize patrons could bring those inside. Hopefully,
Endeavor was not aware.

The man is tall, and wears what looks like a version of the UA gym uniform but the front is
modified with the number one and ’Izuku Midoriya’ written across both the uniform a giant foam
finger on his hand.

“Oh no…” Shoto has never been adept at reading people’s emotions but he believes Midoriya’s
current state could be described as…terrified.

“Deku, do you know him? Is that your dad?” Uraraka asks.

“I have never met this man in my life.”

“You did so well, son!!” The man Shoto is almost positive about is his father yells down. It could
be, it didn’t ruin his parentage theory. “Your mother and I are so proud! You’ve come so far from
when your illusions used to scare you and send you crying into our room, do you remember?”

Midoriya freezes. The man lowers the bullhorn to a shorter green-haired woman next to him in
tears. “IZUUUUUUUUU!” seems to be all she can get out before crying against the man more.
Most would assume this was his mother but Shoto is unconvinced.

Kaminari is also in tears, however, this is from his laughter at Midoriya while pointing at him. It
would die very quickly, however.

“DENKI!!” A new blonde man yells through the bullhorn now. Ah, this was the hero, Thor. It
would be easy to assume this is Kaminari’s father. Shoto will take his wins where he can.

Thor is dressed almost exactly like Izuku’s father. Only his uniform has the number two on it with
Kaminari’s name, as well as his own foam finger. “You make us proud as well, son! You are
becoming quite the man! Your ancestors will sing songs of your battles for generations to come!”

“I’m so proud of you, my little spark plug!!” Kaminari’s mom yells next.

“Spark plug?” The green-haired girl from 1-B appears from seemingly nowhere, a toothy grin on
her face.

“I’m out of here before it gets worse.” Midoriya is gone in a flash of green light, leaving an incense
Kamianri.
“Get back here you coward!!”

What odd people.

Inko Midoriya couldn’t stop wiping her tears. Her son, her baby, just seeing him out there had her
so proud. Loki dutifully hands her another tissue like the great husband he is so she can dab her
eyes again.

He once joked to her that he couldn’t keep anything else in his pocket dimension because it was
filled with tissues for her to use. She laughed at the time but looking at herself now, maybe he
wasn’t kidding as much as she thought.

“Would you like some water, darling?” She opens her watery eyes to see soft green eyes studying
her. Loki’s attention always seemed to be on everything around them so she loves these moments
when all of his focus is on her.

The hero Midnight had announced the judges needed about twenty minutes to confer so they had
time before the next round.

“Yes, but I’m still not letting you get away with teaching our son what a ‘mewling quim’ is,” Inko
chuckles through her tears, sniffling.

The God of Mischief is immediately on the defensive. “I did not tell him what it means! Merely
that it would be funny.”

“I don’t think that makes it better, brother,” Thor teases next to him.

Seeing a familiar look in her husband’s eyes, Inko immediately intervenes. “I’ll go with you, dear!
Let’s get drinks. Did you two want anything?” She asks the couple they’re with. Good, Loki was
thoroughly distracted. Inko didn’t feel like trying to explain to stadium security why her husband
stabbed his brother.
“No need to trouble yourselves.” Thor smiles, standing up with his own wife. “We can obtain
drinks ourselves. We have to keep our voices fresh somehow.” The four separate and depart down
to concessions, getting in line with many others trying to get food before the second event starts.

Inko could already see the swarm of fans swallowing Thor as he tried to make his way through.
The man, always too nice for his own good, couldn’t say no to any autographs or pictures.

Is that what it was going to be like for Izuku when he became a famous hero? Maybe it was
perhaps conceited to think that way but what mother didn’t want best for their child? Not that it
mattered to her, number one or number one thousand in the rankings, as long as Izuku was happy,
she would be too.

Until then, Inko will happily enjoy the privacy she has now. Loki had never put in to become an
official hero himself, preferring to work behind the scenes when Thor asked him to. So the chances
of him being recognized were next to zero. Not that she minded, it was rare she had him all to
herself.

Inko wraps her hands around her husband’s arm and leans against him as the line moves forward,
sighing contently. “Darling?”

“I know today is about Izuku,” she starts, her eyes closed. “But if you don’t mind, I think I’ll
consider this a date. It has been a while since you’ve taken me on a proper one.” The green-haired
woman snickers in victory at feeling Loki stiffen at her words.

She wasn’t serious for the most part, and he knows that. Does Inko wish she could spend more
time with her husband? Yes, obviously. But she also knew what she was getting into when she
decided to marry a god. And with everything he’s done to help their son achieve his dreams, she
can hardly complain.

Buuut that doesn’t mean she won’t enjoy these moments either.

The two reach the front and Loki orders their waters with a few snacks. “Name for the order?” The
cashier asks.

“D.B. Cooper,” Loki replies, taking his card back. Inko scoffs and lightly hits him over the
shoulder for that while they move out of the way. “It’s not like anyone remembers anyway.” He
shrugs off her concerns.
Inko hums. “No alcohol for you, today?” Loki shakes his head. “That’s too bad. I was hoping we
could recreate how we met.”

Getting her husband to scowl will never get old to Inko. “What’s wrong, sweety?” She says in
between laughs.

“It was undignified and embarrassing,” Loki complains. “ Why Thor insisted on a Norse-themed
party I’ll never understand…”

“But you fit in with how much you two drank!” Inko nuzzles closer. Loki’s body temperature was
colder than other people’s but she liked him that way. “The bartender was so upset at the amount
of glasses you and your brother had smashed,” she lightly chastises.

“You can stop anytime…” Loki’s voice had a warning tone to it but the small smile on his face
gives her all the permission she needs.

“Hey, it’s not as if I was expecting to have to stop a drunk guy in a Loki costume from tripping and
falling.”

“Costume?!” Inko knows exactly what buttons to push and it was so much fun to see a man who
prided himself on how he presents himself, gape at her. “Costume? We both know what I wore was
the genuine article and better than any of those other fakes.”

Inko feels proud when she continues to stand strong at the smirk Loki gives her. “It doesn't matter.
When all was said and done, it was you who ended up falling for me after, was it not?”

Her stance falters as her face heats up. “D-do you always have to have the last word?!”

“Yes.”

“Well, stop it.”

“No.”

Inko and Loki stare at each other for a good few seconds before breaking out in laughter. That was
one of the things that her husband never failed at, making her laugh.

Inko knows she can come off as a party pooper to her son but if she’s being honest, Loki’s pranks
were one of the reasons why she fell for him. And she’s proud Izuku is taking so much from his
father. Unfortunately, that includes Loki’s tendency to take pranks too far at times but that’s why
Inko was here. To ‘politely’ remind her boys of such things.

“I miss this.” Inko almost misses Loki’s quiet words. He’s still holding her but looking off
somewhere in the distance. “I miss you.”

“Then stay…” Inko does her best to not make it sound like a beg.

He holds her tighter but not in a painful way, looking down at her and smiling sadly. “I want
nothing more. But for Izuku’s sake…”

“I know, Loki.” The couple transitions into a full-on hug and they stay that way for a minute, just
enjoying the contact they have before Loki will eventually have to leave again.

As one of the biggest sporting events in Japan, the stadium is crowded. So it was no surprise to
Inko when two people bump into her as they walk by. What was a surprise, was Loki swiftly
ending the hug and catching the two people by their arms before they could walk away.

“Just a moment.” Inko looks confused at her husband and his words to the other couple, nothing
seems out of the ordinary? The man was plain looking with curly brown hair wearing a dress shirt
and vest under a black trench coat. The woman was similarly plain looking but with pink hair and
an orange top that was buttoned up.

“Is something wrong?” Inko asks Loki but he continues to stare at the strangers he’s grabbed onto.
The woman looks more agitated by the second.

“Nothing is wrong, dear,” he responds to her before turning back. “You can keep the money if you
wish. I would like the wallet back, however. Some of the documents in there are a pain to replace.
I’m sure you understand.”
“We don’t know what you’re-“ the woman angrily begins before being cut off by a sharp grunt
from the man.

“There are places to begin fights and places to not. And I think we both know that in a place full of
heroes is not one.” She glares at him but doesn’t respond. “You saw?” The man has been mostly
calm during the interaction and that doesn’t change here.

“I did. You should be proud of her, not many others would have noticed. You just got unlucky, I’m
afraid.” Loki speaks just as casually.

The man hums. “So what happens now? We do not want to start a conflict but if you wish to hand
us over to a hero, you’ll find that to be problematic.”

“It’s as I said, you can keep the money. I just want the wallet back.” The thief or, the trainer Inko
supposes, takes a little time to decide before nodding at the woman.

She flowers but procures Inko’s wallet that she would’ve never known was missing and roughly
pushes it into Loki’s hands after taking all available yen out.

Loki grasps the wallet but doesn’t take his eyes off the woman. Normally, this might cause alarm
to most wives, but Inko knows Loki. He wasn’t looking at her in a romantic way, but instead, he
was studying her. “I must say, that’s impressive.”

For the first time, the woman’s face drops from a glare to surprise. “You can tell?”

The God of Mischief only offers her a nod. “Take care now, both of you.” The would-be thieves
look at each other before deciding not to question any further and walk away quickly.

With the trouble seemingly over, Inko goes back to holding Loki’s arm after the altercation. “No
matter what it is, you always give me stories to tell.”

“I have plenty.”
Inko sighs again into him. “When alone with me or out in public, you’re just never afraid to be
yourself. I always love that about you.”

Loki pulls her in close. “Sometimes, what you see is what you get.”

Shota leans back into his chair, he groans but it doesn’t feel like enough to convey both the
everything and nothing he feels right now.

In his favor, he just got off the phone with Howlett who’s keeping an eye on Eri with his own
daughter in the staff viewing room, she was doing great.

Not in his favor, Midoriya had cheated but not technically cheated again. Apparently, Monoma had
overheard him saying as much and went and told Midnight immediately, which led to an
emergency staff meeting in the middle of the festival. Wonderful.

He had told them over and over to not make the rules so vague going into the festival but when
does anyone ever listen to him? All Might tried to seem shocked but the man couldn't act. How
he’s maintained his lie about his weakened form, Shota will never know.

In the most unsurprising twist ever, Nezu admitted he had already thought of the possibility and
considered giving Midoriya a packet limiting what he could and couldn’t do at the festival but
decided against it because ‘it was more fun this way.’ Because why wouldn’t he?

What Midoriya did was ruled legal for the round but it was decided in the interest of fairness and
even though it went unsaid, public perception should they ever find out, Midnight is already
explaining to him he can’t do it again. Nezu gave her the right words to use so the boy wouldn’t
find another loophole.

Vlad was furious and marched out, saying something about having to talk to a few of his own
students or whatever.

What does Shota think about all this? One round to go out of three, that’s what he thinks. He would
hope Problem Child wouldn’t cause any more problems in that time but he hasn’t gotten as far as
he has by being stupid.
 “Coffee delivery!” Hizashi announces loudly coming back into the room. “Midnight’s gonna be
starting the next round any minute so get caffeinated up buddy!”

Shota takes an experimental sip. “Fine. You live for another event.”

“YEAAAAAH!”

How many rounds did he say he had left?

Chapter End Notes

First round done! Phew. I promise the rest of the festival won’t be looking as familiar
to canon as this did.

But that’s the chapter! Izuku should be careful about what he says, Shoto is on the
warpath but doesn’t realize he’s being assimilated, a little more insight into Loki and
Inko’s relationship, and Aizawa curing whatever deity brought Midoriya into his life.

Not realizing that deity is in the stadium.

But I don’t really have anything else to say so let me know your thoughts! Opinions,
questions, I’ll answer them all. Until next time!
 As A Team
Chapter Summary

Second round of the sports festival!

Chapter Notes

…How come none of you told me how hard it was to write the sports festival?! I’m
gonna go lie down…

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Rolling one of his blue marbles in his hand, Izuku can’t help but feel just a tad annoyed. Midnight
had a very long list of do’s and don'ts, mostly don’ts for him after the first event courtesy of Nezu.
It’s like, if you don’t want your rules taken advantage of, then why make it so easy?

No using astral projections to watch the broadcast during the event to get multiple angles. No
clone in the announcer’s booth to mess with Present Mic. No using illusions on the event selector
to alter whatever the event may be. How did Nezu know what he was planning?!

He stands in the middle of the field waiting for the next event to be announced along with
everybody else who advanced. As it is most years, the crowd is mostly made up of hero students.
The top forty were allowed to move on and he’s genuinely happy that all of class 1-A made it.

Two kids from 1-B didn’t make it, a girl who liked talking about mushrooms way too much, and a
boy…Izuku thinks he was a boy who was some sort of glue stick? Meh, who was he to judge,
people thought he was strange for years.

In their places was the general education student with crazy indigo hair and a girl from the support
course that with her energy, Izuku is pretty sure they’ll either end up hating each other or becoming
good friends. He is not sure which is better at this time. That doesn’t matter, however! Because
going back to the most important thing, his whole class was still in it.

After all, he can’t make a fool out of Todoroki anymore if the other boy is knocked out of the
competition. Izuku kind of wishes Kacchan wouldn’t have made it so he wouldn’t have to deal with
him anymore today after their lovely talk this morning, but the universe isn’t that kind.
Red eyes glaring at him from a few meters away let Izuku know what’s on Kacchan’s mind pretty
easily. He stands just a little closer to Uraraka who chats aimlessly with Tsu next to her. Her threats
to float Kacchan into orbit are always a comfort.

But what’s not a comfort? The second event. Ugh. Izuku’s not stupid, he’s watched plenty of
Sports Festivals and while there are different events every year, the types of events stay consistent.
And the second event is the team game.

To say it’s not his forte would be a bit of an understatement. His father’s teachings tended to focus
on self-reliance and making everyone around you believe what you wanted them to believe. This is
significantly more difficult with teammates.

Allies equal variables Izuku can’t control. Doesn’t like his environment? Use illusions to make it
whatever he wants. Need people to appear as teammates? Make clones and change them to what
you need. They do exactly what he wants, when he wants.

Izuku loves to present himself as chaotic to everyone around him, but much like everything else
about him, it’s a front. Truthfully, while he knows he can seem random at the best of times, most
of the pranks and tricks he pulls have actually had a lot of thought put into them, in both
presentation and possible consequences.

Pranks are great, but not if they would put his hero career in jeopardy. Not to say he isn’t above
taking risks, like when he confronted Eraserhead before his last year of middle school, but even
then he was fairly confident in what he could get away with.

Teammates on the other hand? Izuku has no control over their actions, and that’s a little terrifying.
And try as he might, enchanting someone’s mind is not as simple as dad makes it sound.

Izuku shutters thinking about all the lessons Loki gave him in defending oneself from mind control.
Having someone else in your head, even if it’s someone as trustworthy as his dad, is still not a good
feeling.

But that’s just it isn’t it? For teams to work well together, they’re needed to be some level of trust.
His education was vehemently against this. Something that Izuku was still unsure of after trusting
Uraraka in the battle trials and Denki at the USJ had actually gone well for him but he’s sure dad
has his reasons.
So, if he does have to make a team? Who does he choose? The green-haired boy knows he should
actually wait for the event to be announced and should choose teammates based on that but his
limited trust and even more limited social practice take precedence here.

Uraraka was an obvious choice, if she’d accept of course. Iida was as well, but the taller boy may
be unlikely to follow if Izuku comes up with something that may treat the rules more as guidelines.
Denki is a great choice for obvious reasons.

Maybe Tenko? He gravitated to Izuku pretty easily when school started and the shared nights of
playing MOBA’s together means they have at least some experience working together. Izuku being
the jungler to Tenko’s dps meant the two worked together often, it was a good match.

Unfortunately, not that many options. Would he be allowed to possibly bring in…

Izuku conjures his phone and quickly checks the list Nezu sent him. ’Darn it, he thought of that
too. I can’t use Eri.’

But the second event never had teams over four people so he had enough. Now, if they just did
what he said and let Izuku do what he needed to do, they should have this thing in the bag.

“For the record, we don’t do whatever you say.”

“I know you’re new here, but yeah, we kinda do.”

Izuku rolls his eyes. His nerves must be really acting up from the festival if his clone's voices are
coming through his head again.

“Just get with the program Thirteen, we’re here for Izuku.”

“That’s what I’m doing! And trust me, as soon as I get Green Tea sailing, I’ll fall in line.”

“As soon as-wait, what?! Green Tea?!”

“My ship name for Izuku and Uraraka. You like it?”

“Sounds stupid.”

“YOU’RE stupid!”

“Are we really alive? We can move around on our own but is that truly free will, or is that just
another illusion? Do we each share a piece of Izuku’s soul, do we each get our own?”

“Oh my gooooood, Eight is having another existential crisis, Three, can you handle this?”

“Sure. Eight, let’s discuss the Ship of Theseus.”

“How will that help him?!”

“Relax Thirteen, this happens all the time with certain clones. The problem will take his mind off
what it means for us to exist and if we’re really alive or not and what that entails for our place in
this world.”

“…I’m just gonna go back to trying to get Izuku to notice the obvious signs that Uraraka likes him
back.”

“Probably a good call.”

‘Have I ever told you all how much you scare me?’ Izuku thinks.

“Frequently, actually!”

Midnight’s whip cracking through the air is enough to pull Izuku away from the voices inside his
head, what a completely normal sentence. The referee gets the attention of the crowd and
competitors. “It’s time for the second event!”
“YEAAAAAAH, and we’re back rabid sports fans!” Present Mic booms to the crowd. “After
the treacherous obstacle course, only forty remain, but we’re not done yet! Only sixteen will
survive to the third and final event, who’s ready for a blood bath?!!”

Izuku feels he should be concerned about how much the crowd approves of that but he finds it best
to not think about it so much.

“I feel the need to point out again for concerned parents and our insurance company that we have a
full medical staff available and there is no risk of permanent injury,” Aizawa says through his own
microphone.

“Press X to doubt,” Denki snickers before yelping at one of Jiro’s headphone jacks stabbing him.

Izuku decides to take pity on his cousin and conjure a video game controller from his pocket
dimension so he can then…press X on it for everyone to see.

Denki bursts out laughing, holding out his fist and after taking a second to line up his own
hand(Odin help him if he were to miss), Izuku bumps fists with him.

“Why did you bring a controller with you to the festival?” Tsu tilts her head at him in curiosity.

“You never know when you might need a controller,” Tenko answers her sagely.

“And it’s because of our wonderful Recovery Girl and medics that our kids can go all out!
The best type of action is action with no consequences!! YEAAAH!!”

Izuku is pretty sure there was another sigh from Aizawa in there somewhere but the crowd is too
loud to hear it.

Another crack of Midnight’s whip. “Let’s see what kind of show our kiddies will put up for us
now!” Like before, the holographic screen appears behind the hero, cycling through events too fast
to see.
After a few seconds, it begins to slow. ‘Oh, looks like it’s going to be a Calv-‘ The machine spins
just a little more.

“King of the Hill!” Midnight announces to thunderous applause. “But this won’t be your standard
game, this is UA after all!”

Behind the R-rated hero, the screen flickers to show what looks like a normal suburban cul-de-sac,
at least at first glance. The street is much wider than any normal street. Five two-story houses sit at
the end of the street, each with its own huge backyard. In the middle of the street, multiple compact
cars were strewn randomly.

What was out of place though, was the six metal poles marked on the screen, one located in back
of each house and the last placed right in the middle of the street.

Midnight gestures dramatically to the picture. “Our forty competitors will split into ten teams of
four and battle it out here for control. Each metal pole is a ‘hill’ they will fight for! It’s simple, a
ring two meters in diameter surrounds each pole, stand in the circle and you will accumulate one
point per second for your team. And that’s for each team member! So if there’s two of you, you’ll
receive two points per second and so on!”

“But beware!” She wags her finger at them. “To get points, you and/or your teammates must be
alone in the circle! If there is an enemy in there with you, neither of you gets points until you push
one out!” She holds up a small circular device in her hand. “After you form your teams, you’ll all
come up and attach one of these to your person, it’ll help keep track of your points with the
cameras!”

“I bet you’re asking yourself, is that all? Of course not!” Huh, Present Mic wasn’t the only person
who knew how to play to the audience, Midnight clearly knows what she’s doing. “During the
twenty minute game, only certain ‘hills’ will award points at a time! There could be one active, or
two…or three so who knows! The hill will shine a bright beam of light into the sky when it’s active
and they will change randomly! So keep that in mind when picking your teams!”

Interesting. The constantly switching hills forces them to be more versatile when picking teams.
You can’t just choose a bunch of people with defensive quirks and sit on the hill. You need people
with mobility to get to the hill, offensive quirks to take it, and someone on defense to keep people
away. A little bit of everything.

“Oh…one more thing…” Izuku doesn’t need his perception to tell him he’s in danger. “Izuku’s
Midoriya’s team will get double points on whatever hill they’re on but…if anyone manages to
knock Midoriya or one of his teammates out of a circle, they and their team will receive five times
the points during their capture!”

When everyone turns to look at him, Izuku imagines this is what an animal sees before it’s taken to
be slaughtered. It’s not a great feeling.

“You have ten minutes to pick your teams, go!”

Some people are very quick to move away from Izuku, well he’s off to a great start. There’s
probably no point in asking Uraraka, he couldn’t put her through that-

“Hey Deku, let’s team up!”

‘Don’t cry because this amazing girl still wants to team up with you, don’t cry. Don’t cry! Don’t
cry! Don’t cry!’

‘Dangit.’

“You sure?…” Izuku questions the still beaming girl next to him. “You’re gonna be at a serious
disadvantage with me…”

“That doesn’t matter! You always come up with some crazy way to win anyway! Besides, it’s
better to team up with friends, you know?”

‘I knew I liked this girl for a reason.’

‘He admits it!’

‘Shut up, Thirteen!!’

“T-thanks,” Izuku mumbles, trying and failing to hide him wiping the rest of his tears while
Uraraka giggles and looks away to help him.
“Okay I guess we just need two more-“

“First place!!” The support girl manifests herself right in Izuku’s face out of nowhere! Uraraka on
the first day, Mina after that, now her?! What was with girls getting so close to him here?!

“I’ll be joining your team! Mei Hatsume! Future CEO of Hatsume Industries! All eyes will be on
you first place so with me on your team, all eyes will be on my babies!”

“Your wha-“

The pink-haired girl rambles on, unperturbed by Izuku taking a step back, only for her to step
forward with him. “Babies! I’ve made so many! And I’ll have anything you need! Hover boots,
nets, jet pack, sludge pills, tasers, death ray-oh darn, Power Loader took that one out- flash bangs,
smoke bombs, pretty much any bomb you can think of!”

Izuku stops his attempted backing up. “Did you say bombs?” Maybe she’s not so bad after all-

“Deku!” That was not Uraraka. Though, she did use Kacchan interrupting them to get in between
him and Hatsume for some reason. Can things slow down for just a second?

“Hey, Kacchan! Perfect! We needed a fourth teammate!” Izuku jokes, waving the boy over.

“Shut the fuck up.” Kacchan crosses his arms and glowers at him.

Izuku waits for whatever insults the angry boy is ready to throw while looking around for Denki. It
takes him too long to realize that Kacchan is still standing there, not saying anything. Izuku shares
a confused look with Uraraka while Hatsume is oblivious.

“Uh…” Izuku raises his hand like an idiot trying to get his sensei’s attention. “Kacchan, what are
you doing?”

The angry boy slaps a hand across his face, slowly dragging it down, and answers like it’s the most
obvious thing in the world. “What the hell do you think I’m doing? You idiots are joining my
team.”

Oh, well if that’s all then-

wait…

Wait…

WAIT…

“W-w-w-w-w-“

Kacchan stomps over, getting right in front of him. “Listen, Deku, because I ain’t repeating myself.
You owe me a goddamn rematch and an explanation after I win and I can’t have that if your
dumbass is knocked out of the festival by some no-name extras! So if I gotta carry you and
whoever else to the final round to get that, then I will!”

Izuku is…confused. Uraraka doesn’t look much better. Hatsume is again, unbothered and
apparently, has no fear as she examines Kacchan very closely, her eyes darting all over him and her
hands feeling all over his chest and arms.

“You’re explodey boy, right? Can you make them only from your hands or your feet too? What
about somewhere else on your body? Is every explosion exactly the same or can you control
different aspects of each one individually? Hmm…yes, very firm…”

“What the f-“

“So much potential here, yes!!” She takes off her goggles, getting impossibly closer to his face.
“You and I can make some great babies together.”

He is half-alien, part frost giant, and even part god, but not even Izuku can believe what he sees
when Kacchan backs up and barely squeaks out, “w-what?”
“Two minutes, kids! Better finalize those teams!”

“I guess…this is happening,” Izuku whispers to Uraraka the best he can.

“Are you ok with this?” She replies, clear objection to their new teammate all over her face.

“Not really.” Izuku grimaces. “But we don’t have time to really find someone else and at the very
least, I know he won’t sabotage us.” Uraraka opens her mouth to say more but it became her turn to
get bombarded by Hatsume and she was dragged away.

Well, it could technically be worse, he thinks? Looking around, Izuku gets a look at some of the
other teams, starting with Todoroki, who has Yaomomo, Iida, and Denki on his team. That was a
problem. Tokoyami stood silently with Dark Shadow, Kirishima, some green dinosaur-looking boy
from 1-B, and the general studies student. Interesting combination.

“Time's up! Get your sensors and let’s get this show on the road!”

Izuku and his teammates place the point trackers on themselves and proceed through another one
of the giant doors in the stadium, finding the cul-de-sac from the screen. This sensor was an
unfortunate problem as it meant Izuku couldn’t dump clones around the area and get free points but
he’ll work with what he can.

‘Team Bakugo’ as they are so affectionately called thanks to Kacchan’s insistence and none of
them having the energy to fight him, start in the middle of the road, the other nine teams spread out
among the houses and yards.

“So, what’s the plan?” Uraraka inquires.

“Stay out my way,” Kacchan growls.

“In a big confusing battle like this, I’ll be better on my own,” Izuku says. “Sneaking around and
attacking people and getting points while no one’s looking. Uraraka, there’s plenty of things for
you to use as weapons, starting with these cars, and Hatsume.” The inventor looks up from a piece
of tech she has a screwdriver too but that’s also currently smoking. “Nevermind.”
“Deku, that’s not-“

“Aaaaand BEGIN! You know the drill, no countdowns, so go! Attack, conquer, win!
Slaughter!!!”

Three of the six metal poles immediately light up, including the one right next to them and two
behind houses on either side of them. The four teenagers immediately take advantage and step
inside the circle for maximum points, but they wouldn’t go unchallenged very long.

Multiple teams quickly converge on their location. ‘Not even clones are useful now! I could make
copies of everyone but they know we have to stand in this small circle or no points! Dad was right,
I’m not meant for teams.’

To the surprise of no one, Kacchan is the first to respond. “DIE!” He puts his hands together and
lets loose a huge explosion on his side. Izuku is barely able to dodge a piece of tape and a tongue
aimed right at him but it doesn’t matter because Sero and Tsu are already reeling themselves in.

‘Sorry!’ Izuku conjures a knife and cuts both the tape and tongue, causing Tsu to cry out but let go.
“Fancy meeting you here, Midori!” Izuku twists just as Mina lobs a glob of acid at him. Only a few
droplets land on him but he still hisses at the sting. He’s thankful that at least Mina is keeping the
pain low for them.

Mina spins and turns, throwing more and more acid at him, and between all the people fighting
around him and the small circle he’s in, Izuku can barely dodge. Finally, deciding to sacrifice a few
points, he turns invisible and gets behind her, kicking the acid user into the incoming vines of
another girl in 1-B, who’s surprised at who she’s ensnared.

Izuku is quick to get back in the circle, only to have to use his daggers to deflect several flying
horns headed his way, and then immediately roll out of the way from a devastating punch by Sato.
The sensor attached to his uniform is constantly beeping to let them know when someone’s entered
their circle and when they’re getting points again, attacks are flying everywhere, people are yelling,
it’s chaos.

Or it is, until a horn sounds and the pole they’re guarding goes dark, three new poles light up and it
turns from chaos into a race. “You guys get the house on the right, I’ll go left!” He hears Uraraka
yell something after him but they don’t have time to debate, he works better on his own anyway.
Creating a dozen clones, Izuku runs around the side of the house, hops the fence, and sends them
into the fray of a new battlefield already started in the large grassy backyard. It’s the general
studies boy’s team who has control of the hill.

He stands in the back, hands in his pockets, smirking. Kirishima’s hardening and the 1-B’s
student’s quirk that seems to allow him to produce blades from his body (so cool) are enough to
handle most attacks thrown their way, and anything they can’t is decimated by Dark Shadow. No
one can seem to touch them.

Izuku is quick to distract the team with clones and plans to sneak up behind them while invisible,
maybe the purple-haired kid is giving them some sort of boost? Izuku will aim for him first. But
the moment he puts a foot in the circle-

Beep!

Crap! The sensor just gave away he’s here! It happens so fast that he can barely process it. Dark
Shadow destroys his clones in an instant and because the circle is again, so fricking small, the
shadow creature is able to cover the surface area of it quickly, too quickly.

Just because Izuku is invisible doesn’t mean he’s not there.

Dark Shadow knocks him back and turns him visible, landing with a hard grunt on the ground.
Izuku is quick to roll onto his feet and run back, daggers ready. Dino boy extends blades from his
forearms and moves to intercept him. That’s fine. From the little Izuku saw of him, he has little
actual form.

Izuku dodges two quick slices from his opponent and a precise elbow strike to the boy’s chest
stuns him momentarily, but that’s all Izuku needs. At least, usually. When he goes to slice the
boy’s arms, his blades are met by the hardened arms of Kirishima, protecting the other from
damage.

No! That’s not fair! Izuku would’ve won without Kirishima there! Another swipe from Dark
Shadow puts Izuku on the ground again, hard. He barely hears the horn sound off again, and the
people around him running to the next hill while he picks himself up to one knee, panting.

What was going on? None of his usual tricks or tactics were working! What did his dad teach him
to do against teams of people again? Think!! Right, use illusions and tricks to separate them and
pick them off one by one.

He can’t do that!! The teams are going to stick to their hills and they’re so close together, that
they’ll know if he tries to impersonate one of them or use a clone. Frontal attacks aren’t his style,
maybe there was some sort of animal that could help him? Alligators tend to scare people…stop!
Get back on track! He knows his dad must’ve taught him something for this, think!

Izuku tries to stand on his shaky legs but is surprised when both his legs sink into the grass like it’s
quicksand. He instinctively tries to pull himself out but that only causes him to sink more! What is-

“Look what we caught.” He doesn’t have time for this! Izuku looks up, not even trying to hide his
annoyance, at the smug face of Monoma, standing on a platform of air with another boy with
brown hair and oval eyes. “ A rat.”

“You’re too late,” Izuku taunts while still trying to free himself. “The hill’s already moved!”

Monoma’s face darkens. “And who said that’s why we’re here?” Izuku has all of about two
seconds to realize what was happening before the other boy jumps off his platform and thrusts his
hand forward, letting off…an explosion from his hand?!

There’s no time for him to question the other boy having the same quirk as Kacchan before heat,
smoke, and pain fill his face. Izuku is launched back, skidding painfully on the newly hardened
ground before coming to a rest, but as soon as he stops rolling, the ground softens again underneath
him.

Izuku looks around frantically to find a boy with a skeleton type face with a glowing hand on the
ground. That’s gotta be who’s trapping him. He sees Monoma being helped back onto his air
platform by the brown-haired boy.

Conjuring throwing knives, Izuku heaves them at the skeleton boy and for good measure, some at
Monoma too. His stomach twists painfully when another air shield protects the boy softening the
ground and Monoma only laughs while he uses a smaller explosion to deflect the projectiles.
“We’ve been studying you, traitor.” Monoma spits the last word out. “I was ready to take your
whole team out so please accept my humblest thank you for running off on your own and making it
so easy.”

“And Team Shimura is giving Team Ashido no leverage to take the hill they want! And
what’s this? Looks like some in 1-B have got a personal grudge to settle with 1-A’s Izuku
Midoriya! Oh! That explosion has got to hurt! Our first event winner is trying his best to
defend himself but the combination is too much! 1-B’s Kaibara has entered the fray and a
nasty hit from one of his drills puts Midoriya down again! What do you think of this,
Aizawa?…Aizawa?”

A pause.

“I apologize about that! My co-host left in a hurry, hey when nature calls, am I right? But
Midoriya can do nothing while Honenuki keeps him trapped, Tsuburaba’s air platforms
keep his teammates safe, and Monoma and Kaibara attack! But they gain nothing from any
of this, what’s the point?!”

Izuku ducks from another drill again but a nasty explosion on his back sends him tumbling forward
and Kaibara’s drill gets a clean hit on his arm. He yells in pain and tries to set his footing and think
but the other boys jump up and the ground softens again.

On cue, another explosion rattles the greenette and Izuku meets hard ground again. “It can end
whenever you want, just admit to the world you’re the traitor,” Monoma sneers.

The son of Loki, chuckles, standing back up, the ground softening to trap him again. “Sorry guys,”
Izuku says in between gasps of air. “I’m not the traitor, and ask anyone, I’m a terrible liar.” Izuku
feels a part of his cheek. “I think you missed a spot.”

Monoma looks furious and Izuku thinks he’s doing a good job at hiding his internal freakout but he
isn’t sure. He’s never been in a situation like this before. He’s always been able to pull on dad’s
training but it’s done nothing but hurt him this round. If he can’t rely on that, then what can he-

“HEY!!”

They all look up and Izuku has to check to make sure he didn’t make an illusion by accident…
because that was Kacchan descending on them all at a frightening speed.

“No one gets to beat the shit out of that nerd, but me!!” Tsuburaba inhales but Kacchan is there
faster than any of them expect, planting his boot in the boy’s face. Monoma has no time before
Kacchan raises both of his hands and eviscerates Monoma with a double explosion.

“When did he-“ Honenuki can’t finish before Uraraka is there, wearing what looks like Hatsume’s
hover boots, grabbing him and using her quirk to make him weightless. It makes his subsequent
flip over her shoulder onto the ground even harder. She’s really taken to those grapples he showed
her.

Kaibara yells in surprise when he’s wrapped up in a net and taken to the ground. “You think I can’t
get out of this stupid net?!”

“How dare you insult my baby?!” Hatsume yells indignantly from where she hovers with her
jetpack. She turns up a dial in her hand and Kaibara yells as the net shocks him into submission…
with probably more voltage than needed but Izuku is not going to be the one to point that out.

He also keeps silent on the many explosions Kacchan sends at Monoma while yelling something
about him being a useless copycat.

With the ground solidified, Izuku gets onto his steady feet for the first time in minutes. He goes to
smile at Uraraka but it quickly vanishes when he sees her face. To put it lightly…she is not
pleased.

“You… you…” she shakes a finger in his face and Izuku idly wonders which is more terrifying at
the moment, a pissed off Uraraka, or the Kurse from the USJ. “You…dummy!! We’re going to
have a talk about not abandoning teammates after this, do you understand me, mister?” Answer:
Uraraka.

Izuku can only nod so fast, putting his hands up in defeat. “Yes ma’am.”

“Did that feel good?!” Explosion. “Beating on someone like that?!” Explosion. “Made you feel
better, did it?!” Explosion. “How does this make you feel like a piece of shit!” Three more
explosions.
Monoma groans on the ground, his uniform smoking. When he tries to get up, another explosion
from Kacchan takes the rest of the fight out of him. “You got anything else you wanna say?! Keep
running your mouth, I dare you!!” Monoma answers with another groan. “That’ll teach you to gang
up on someone who can’t fight back, you blonde smug bastard!!”

When Kacchan does nothing else but stare down at the other boy, his fists clenched and shaking,
Izuku decides to speak up. “Uh…Kacchan…”

“Don’t look into this, Deku!” The much angrier blonde whips his head around. “I want no excuses
about why you lost when we fight! I’m gonna earn that victory! Now, c’mon!”

Kacchan blasts himself to the roof of the house and Mei follows with her jet pack. “Is that how you
convinced him to come here?” Izuku asks a calmer Uraraka.

To his surprise, she shakes her head. “We were helping him defend one of the hills, with him
yelling at us the whole time obviously, when we heard what Present Mic said was going on. I was
about to tell him we had to go but he made this…really weird face and blasted off on his own.”

“…huh.” Uraraka touches his shoulder with all five fingers, making him weightless, and uses the
hover boots from Hatsume to fly them both up to the roof of the house by where their teammates
kneel.

“About time. I thought you two were going to make out the entire fucking challenge.” Bakugo is
uncaring at the two now very red teenagers. “We got a good amount of points while you were
doing fuck-all Deku but it’s not enough so-“ several horn blasts cut him off.

“It’s time for the final push, kids!! In one minute, all hills are lighting up! Get your points
while you can! Oh and one last thing, the one in the middle is worth double points, go go go!”

From their vantage point, they can make out team Todoroki already overtaking the hill. “We need
those points,” Kacchan states.

“They’re all bunched together, none of my tricks will work as long as they can see each other,”
Izuku says, feeling utterly dejected, his only solace being he can feel his regen working on his
injuries.
“So, let’s make it so they can’t!” Hatsume looks equally confused at the bewildered looks the
others give her. “What?” She reaches into her bag and pulls out two canisters. “Flashbangs,
remember?”

“Okay, but we have to do this as a team ,” Uraraka stresses, giving a pointed look to both Izuku and
Bakugo.

Every instinct is telling him to go at this alone. Even though he can feel a plan forming in his mind
looming between his teammates and Todoroki’s, his brain is screaming at him that displaying so
many powers to his allies will make it easier for them to tell him from his clones, or easier in the
case of Uraraka.

No, he had already messed up this round. Making his team waste time they should be getting points
in order to save him. He’s a hero! He shouldn’t be the one being saved! No, he has to make it up to
them. “I have a plan.”

Uraraka looks relieved, Hatsume waves some sort of gun at him, probably hoping he’ll include it,
and Kacchan scoffs. “If you think I’m gonna go along with one of your stupid plans, then you got
another-“

“You wanna do something for me, right?” Izuku interrupts, shocking the other boy. “That’s what
you said this morning? Well, this would be a great place to start. Help us, and like you wanted, I’ll
give it my all next round.”

Kacchan grinds his teeth so hard, that it’s a miracle they don’t break. His arms shake with small
explosions popping in his hands and like Izuku, it looks like he’s also fighting every fiber of his
being telling him to do something, anything else. Eventually, he answers. “Fine.”

Dispatching another team of 1-B students is trivial for Shoto. He exhales, letting out some of the
frost that was building up inside him. It was almost over and looking at the scoreboard, his team
was securely in first, with Bakugo and Midoriya all the way down in sixth.

He will admit, he’s surprised they aren’t going to make it to the final round but if at the end of the
day, it makes it easier to displease Endeavor, he won’t complain. Winning the second event with
only his ice was a great start.
“And it begins! The beacons are lit! Your point totals call for aid! May the best team win!”

Shoto certainly plans to.

There’s a clanking on the ground around them. Shoto thinks he’s hearing things until first, he
realizes the rest of his team is looking around as well, and second, when a small green light shines
at his feet revealing two previously invisible canisters.

“Loo-“ Shoto can’t hear any more of Yaoyorozu’s warning before his world goes white. He
clutches his head, throwing an ice wall in front of his team in reaction. He can’t see, there’s a
ringing in his head, Shoto feels disoriented and can do nothing when he feels something wrap
around his waist and pull.

He hits the ground hard, nothing still moving right in his vision, the wire or whatever is starting to
make him feel numb, and just when it feels like it might be too much, it’s ripped away and Shoto
can feel himself being shaken.

“H…hey! …on…c-…le…” Finally, Shoto’s vision and hearing return to find Kaminari kneeling in
front of his prone body. “You good, buddy? Flashbangs and some electrified wires, got the rest of
you good but I’m a bit more resistant to that stuff.”

Shoto answers by pushing him away and with more effort than he’ll ever admit, forcing himself
back on his feet. “Where are they?” He snarls. The question is mostly rhetorical because Shoto
finds them easily, Midoriya’s team, who look as if they were caught in their own attack somehow,
getting off the ground. Amateurs.

But he will not allow himself to be humiliated by Midoriya again. Shoto glances behind him to see
Iida and Yaoyorozu walking up, good. Moving his right foot forward, he easily encases their entire
team in ice, signaling the others to move back to the hill and get their points, which Denki does but
for some reason, Iida and Yaoyorozu stay behind him.

Shoto leaves Midoriya’s team all with their heads free except for Bakugo who he traps all of except
for the front of his face, his explosions may be an issue. No matter, his team has retaken the hill
and-

“Todoroki! What is the meaning of this?!” Iida yells except…Iida is right next to him but said
nothing. It was his voice, there was no mistaking that, but why was it coming from Midoriya who
was trapped in ice?

Shoto’s anger burns as he realizes what is happening but again, he’s too late. Green light surrounds
the team trapped in ice to reveal a decoy and his three teammates. Yaoyorozu puts her hand on his
shoulder and Shoto sees a soft pink glow as his weight disappears. “Sorry about this.” Uraraka
apologizes.

With a twisted grin Shoto never thought he’d see on Iida’s face, the boy he now knows is Bakugo
raises his palm. “Dumbass.” Then, an explosion sends him flying.

“Spectacular!! With some nifty tricks, Team Bakugo tricked Todoroki into trapping his own
team in ice and sends their leader flying south for the winter, and now they have the lead hill
to themselves, getting those much needed points! Time’s almost up! Can they hold it?!”

“Release!” Uraraka puts her hands together so Todoroki won’t be sent flying out of the stadium,
just hopefully to the farthest house. Now all four of Izuku’s teammates are getting points and
they’re moving up the leaderboard fast. ‘6th…5th…c’mon almost there…’

An explosion of ice and electricity startles them and Denki emerges from the smoke, smirking and
looking like he’s having the time of his life. “You didn’t think that could really hold me, did you
Izuku?”

“It held you long enough to knock Todoroki out of the fight so yeah, I think it did what it needed to
do!” Izuku snarks back.

“We’re not out yet! Iida!”

Ingenium’s brother’s engines roar like Izuku has never seen before. “On it!…Recipro Burst!” And
he’s gone before Izuku can blink. Oh no…

Izuku conjures a few knives. “Make these weightless!” He puts them in Uraraka’s hands.
“Kacchan, I need you to-“ Izuku is cut off by the roar of Iida’s engine and just like that, Todoroki
is back. Oh, he looks mad. In an instant, he surrounds both teams by a wall of ice.
“This ends here. Nowhere to-“

And that’s when the ice began to crack. Izuku knows he asked already but seriously, could things
slow down for two seconds?! To their right, the ice crumbles to dust thanks to Tenko with a few 1-
B teammates behind him. “Gank, middle lane!” He moves for a boy with what looks like a comic
book page as a head.

“WHOOOOOOOSH!”

A strong gust of wind bowls over both teams, Izuku is barely able to grab onto the metal pole of
the hill and Uraraka before they’re sent flying. Hatsume digs two of her cables into the ground to
keep her stable and Kacchan forces explosion after explosion to keep him on the hill.

“For the record, Midoriya!” His eyes widen at the sight of Kendo coming at them with two
enlarged hands, using the wind to make her approach faster. “I’m gonna beat the crap out of those
guys who attacked you after this!”

Izuku pushes Uraraka away just before he’s hit. Kacchan cries out when Izuku barrels into him,
both forced out of the hill with the rest of their team.

“Vive la France!” Todoroki’s team doesn’t fare much better, with Yaoyorozu’s hastily made
shield already cracking from Aoyama’s attack while the rest of his team, Mina, Sero, and Tsu try to
get past to attack the hill, which is now controlled by Tenko, Kendo, Tokage, and the comic book
boy. How did that team happen, and why was Tenko dusting all the cars around them?

Oh, anytime anyone got close to the hill, Kendo clapped her giant hands and covered whoever
approached in dust, blinding them and making them cough up a lung so they couldn’t stop Tokage
from forcing them back.

“Deku!” Izuku thanks Uraraka for handing back his weightless knives just in time. They need to
take back the hill, he doesn’t have time to check the score so he has no idea where they are but they
need the hill back and not to worry about Todoroki at the same time. One look from Kacchan and
he knew they had the same thought.

“Keep everyone else off our backs!” Uraraka gives him a determined nod and Hatsume only
answers with a cackle while she launches herself at Denki who had just punched Shoji back. Izuku
is sure his scream and the pink smoke aren’t as bad as they sound.
Kacchan attacks Todoroki’s right side and when he predictably raises his hand to defend, Izuku
launches the weightless knives at a speed too fast for Todoroki to see. They pierce his arm,
stopping his defense and allowing him to take a shot from Bakugo.

Todoroki looks furious as the two boys jump him again, Kacchan on his right, and Izuku going for
the left. An ice wall stops Kacchan’s explosion and Izuku thinks he’s home free as he’s never seen
Todoroki produce ice from his left, and that’s when he feels it. Heat, unbearable heat.

For just a second, Todoroki’s arm bursts into flames and Izuku feels like he’s being stabbed by a
thousand knives causing him to jump back in pain. Todoroki looks at himself in shock before
Yaoyorozu appears, being carried by Iida, and she covers herself and her two teammates in a sheet.
“Kaminari, NOW!”

It feels like all the fight is knocked out of Izuku when the sound of Thunder rocks the stadium and
he’s hit by an electrical shock that knocks him and everyone else off their feet. The chaotic
battlefield, now eerily silent.

“Why…why didn’t we start with that?” Denki pants.

“We kept getting separated…” Yaomomo sounds pretty out of breath too, taking the sheet that
protected her and her team off themselves. “I couldn’t protect us all until just then.”

“Okay, let’s get that-“

“And that’s time!!” Everyone jumps at Present Mic’s announcement. Izuku looks over to see
Tenko and his team still have the hill. He groans in the realization that since they pushed his team
out, they actually got five times points on top of the double points from being there.

What a wild finish to the second event! Did ya like that?!” The crowd answers enthusiastically.
“I’ve got all the chills! Hey, Business course, those gift shops wouldn’t happen to sell winter
coats, would they? With so many shakeups at the end, let’s check that final scoreboard! And
with their daring strategy at the very end, it’s Team Kendo that wins the second event!”

Izuku gets up slowly. Did they do it? After all of that, did his team get enough?
“In second place, coming out of nowhere is Team Shinso! Wow!!” Kirishima, Tokoyami, and
the 1-B boy look confused coming over from wherever they were, while the aforementioned
Shinso walks away, seemingly pleased.

“In third place, Team Todoroki! Look at him folks, switching things up this time!” Todoroki
didn’t need to send any more ice Izuku’s way, the glare he was giving him was cold enough.

“And finally, our last qualifying team it’s…Team Bakugo!! Who sneak in by the skin of their
teeth!” Izuku is so happy that he doesn’t even freak out when Uraraka hugs him at the
announcement, laughing and cheering alongside her and Hatsume.

He had done it, it went against everything dad had taught him but he worked with people as a team
and succeeded! Maybe…maybe there was more for him to learn.

Kacchan stares at him from afar and Izuku gives him a small nod, a promise. Bakugo had held up
his end, so Izuku would hold up his as well next round.

“And now, for the list of our sixteen finalists!”

Izuku Midoriya

Ochako Uraraka

Katsuki Bakugo

Mei Hatsume

Tenya Iida

Momo Yaoyorozu

Denki Kaminari

Shoto Todoroki

Itsuka Kendo

Manga Fukidashi

Setsuna Tokage

Tenko Shimura
Hitoshi Shinso

Togaru Kamakiri

Eijiro Kirishima

Fumikage Tokoyami

“We’ll be back for the third and final event after a lunch break and some recreational games
for those who couldn’t make the cut! So until then, we’ll leave you with the bracket! Place
your bets now!!”

It’s easy to find his first opponent since Izuku is fighting in the first match and it’s certainly not
what he’s expecting and looking at everyone else on his side, it was going to be a tough climb to
the top.

“Aww maaaan, it feels so unmanly to fight in the third round when I don’t even remember doing
anything in the second!” Kirishima moans to his teammates.

“You can back out if you want, but I’m not losing out on this chance!” Dino boy declares before
walking away.

“And neither are you!” Kacchan marches right up to Kirishima and gives him the most threatening
finger point Izuku has ever seen.

“But, Bakubro-“

“Don’t call me that! And you wanna bitch and whine about making it to the end of the festival, or
do you wanna go out there and prove you earned your spot?! Because you sure as shit can’t do that
sitting on the sideline!!” That was…oddly inspiring.

Izuku was not the only one to think so. “Yeah…yeah you’re right! A man wouldn’t just wait
around feeling sorry for himself, he acts!!” Kirishima punches the inside of his palm before
pointing at Denki. “You hear that bro?! I’m coming at you with everything I got!”

“Alright, but no hard feelings when I win, yeah?!” Denki yells back.
“You mean when I win!” Kirishima puts his hand on Bakugo’s shoulder. “What about you, man?
Worried at all about your first match?”

“Hell no! I’m gonna destroy her!”

“Taking every opponent seriously! So manly!!”

“Um…Midoriya?” Izuku turns around to the pleading voice and can’t stop the laugh that escapes
him at the sight of Tenko being dragged away by the back of his uniform by Hatsume. “Help?”

“Hush, you!” Hatsume enthusiastically silences the poor boy she’s dragging away as if he weighs
nothing. “We have much to discuss before our match and I have so many babies that would be
perfect for you! Have you ever thought about gloves that could retract when you flex your fingers?
Baby #7714 has only chopped the fingers off three mannequins this week! A new record!!”

“S-seriously, Midoriya, help!”

Izuku can only wave back without a trace of guilt. “Don’t steal my win next time!.. Oh, real
mature! Might as well get some use out of that finger now, you might not have it much longer!”
Izuku laughs more when Tenko looks like he’s about to hurl.

Izuku shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was when he leaves Recovery Girl’s office to find
Todoroki waiting for him, also having been just patched up by the doctor. But he was surprised by
what happened next.

“EH?!”

“I’ve been watching you and picking up the signs.” Todoroki continues, unnoticing and
unperturbed by Izuku’s plight in the abandoned hallway they stand in. “Your obsession with All
Might and American heroes, your fluency in English, clear training, and a quirk that has many
different applications, just like one hero I know. Just admit you are Star and Stripe’s secret love
child.”
“Wooooah! As cool as that would be, that’s-that’s untrue! She’s an amazing hero but I have an
even more amazing mom I wouldn’t trade for anything! My quirk is mostly illusions that come
from my dad, he trained me, nope, that’s it! N-nothing else to it h-here!” Izuku covers his mouth to
stop his rambling.

“I see…” Todoroki looks down in thought. “So your father is a hero?”

Wanting to get off this topic as soon as possible Izuku does what he always does when people ask
about his parents. He tells the truth. “Nope. My dad’s Loki, the God of Mischief from myth.”

Silence. Phew. That’s better. Maybe now he can-

“From what I’ve read about Loki, your quirk would fall in line with his abilities.” Izuku
bluescreens.

“You don’t actually believe me, do you?!”

“No, I don’t believe you.” Izuku can’t even get his sigh of relief out before Todoroki presses on.
“But I also don’t disbelieve you either. This will require more research.”

“…WHAT?!”

“Shota, you need to calm down.”

“Hizashi, I am asking you for the last time, calmly, to get out of my way.” Present Mic found
himself in the middle of another emergency meeting after the second event in the staff room.
Currently, he was doing his best to keep his best friend from possibly choking his co-worker.

“Let him come!” Vlad yells from the other side of the room where Midnight keeps him pushed
back.

“That’s not helping!”

Nezu looks on between the madness.

“It’s probably not as bad as you think Shota,” Hizashi says, trying to defuse the situation, but he
wasn’t dumb. He knows what he saw.

“You watched the same drone footage as I did,” Shota fumes. “Monoma and his team attacked
Midoriya for being a traitor. You don’t need to be a P.I. to figure out what happened, Hizashi. Vlad
threw a fit like a child after no one took him seriously after the USJ and sicked his class on my
student.”

Vlad defends his actions. “It’s only fair to the students we are supposed to protect that they know
they’re in danger and who endangers them!”

“They’re not the ones in danger-“

“Enough.” Nezu doesn’t yell but his voice is still able to silence them all. “Despite your
misgivings on Mr. Midoriya, the contents of our meeting were highly confidential and you broke
that agreement. You are confined to the staff viewing room for the rest of the festival. Now go.
Nemuri, please make sure he gets there.”

The blood hero moves to disagree but is promptly shoved out the door by a despondent Midnight.
As soon as the door shuts, Shota rounds on Nezu. “You can’t be serious? All that shit he just pulled
and you’re letting him off with a goddamn timeout?!”

“Of course not,” Nezu responds curtly, typing away on his phone. “But Vlad is in an emotionally
unstable state, if I were to suspend or fire him now, he would surely lash out at both UA and maybe
even the student in question. Where is Mr. Midoriya at this moment?”

“You’ve heard of quirk marriages, right?”

This was a far from ideal situation for Nezu, especially on a day already as unforgiving as today.
But he had to play this carefully, both for the already dwindling reputation of UA and for the
emotions he knows the humans are dealing with.

“Letting Ectoplasm know to find him and get him with his friends, not telling him why yet.” Shota
sends a text on his phone. “So, what? You wait until after the festival to discipline him? Vultures
surely saw that and will want answers. Not to mention Midoriya’s parents.”

Nezu’s nose twitches. “Believe me, Midoriya’s father came to see me rather quickly after the
events unfolded to see who initiated the attack on his son.”

“And what did he say?” Hizashi decides to be the one to ask.

The principal thinks back.

“It is only because of Izuku and how highly he speaks of you that I am giving you and your school
one chance to handle this yourselves. If you do not, neither my brother nor Odin himself will stop
me from painting your office red with his blood.”

“He was…insistent that there be punishment involved,” Nezu decides to say instead. “And make
no mistake gentlemen, I do not take the purposeful endangerment of one of my students, by a staff
member no less, lightly. Vlad will answer for this crime.”

“And we’re back with the third round everyone! Can I get a YEAAAAAAAH?!”

“Yeaaaaaaaah!”

“You guys rock! What about you Eraserhead?! Give me the best you got!!…we’ll try again
later!! But it’s time for the part you’ve all been waiting for, the one-on-one fight!! First up,
it’s the master of illusions himself, Izuku Midoriya!!”

The crowd cheering him on helps a lot in pushing what Izuku had learned about Todoroki and his
home life out of his head. He needed to focus, if he was going to help Todoroki, he couldn’t be lost
 in his head.

Izuku takes his place on the risen platform, Midnight and Cementoss stand off to the side, waiting
to intervene if need be.

“And for his opponent! He’s the comic book come to life! Please welcome, Manga
Fukidashi!!”

Izuku faces down his opponent who comes out of his tunnel, waving to the crowd, little ‘gushes’
coming from where his mouth would be.

“The stage is set and our competitors ready!! I think it’s time to begin a third round like
none of you have seen before! Who’s with me?!”

Chapter End Notes

And there it is! The longest chapter of the fic by far and I felt aaaaall of that!

As several of you predicted, Izuku hasn’t exactly been taught the value of teamwork
and that came back to bite him here. Yes, Izuku, it’s time to expand your horizons a
bit. (Also time to learn that maybe possibly Loki isn’t right about everything.)

But Izuku knows about Todoroki and his flaming tash heap of a dad who will finally
make his appearance next chapter, consequences for Vlad are coming, and the third
round begins!

We’ll still have a little more fallout form round 2 next chapter as well. But how will
round 3 go? Would this be a good Loki fic if I didn’t keep you all guessing? ;)

Anyways, sincerely hope you all liked the chapter. The last 2 were especially draining
for me to write but it’s on to the tournament which I’m super excited for! Let me know
what you thought or ask whatever questions you want in the comments below! Until
next time!
 Rumble!
Chapter Summary

It’s the first round the Sports Festival and several people remember what they’re
fighting for.

Chapter Notes

Heyo! Sorry for not uploading last week, got pretty sick and couldn’t move out of bed,
much less write lol. But I’m better and we’re back!

Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Are you sure you can’t stay just a bit longer? I hardly think you ate enough.”

Iida smiles at his mother, always grateful, and fondly exasperated, with her making sure he eats
enough. He swears, he could eat an entire buffet and the woman would still be offering him a plate,
but he loves her all the same.

“If I keep eating, I won’t be able to run today. And with the festival and everything else going on,
that’s somewhat important.”

He might as well have been talking to a brick wall because no sooner is he done talking than she is
handing him a tupperware of food ‘just in case.’

“I have to get down to the agency early.” She gives him a quick kiss on the forehead. “Be careful
out there today.”

“When am I not?” She shoots him a disbelieving look before heading out the door. Okay, unfair.
Sure, he pulled some reckless stunts in school but Iida hardly believes that-

Oh! Jeez! The Sports Festival is starting soon! Tensei grabs his helmet and phone off the table,
setting up notifications to show him highlights as the events went on throughout the day.
Yeah, he very much wanted to watch live, hell, he wanted to be there. But…the good ole hero
killer had to choose today out of all days to be spotted around Hosu. It was dumb to think of it that
way, he knows. So since he can’t support his brother at the festival today, Tensei is going to do the
next best thing.

Ingenium is going to make sure the Hero Killer is off the streets far before his brother becomes a
hero so Tenya would never have to worry about him. So no one would have to worry about any of
their family members who happen to be heroes.

Tensei puts his helmet on and whisks the door open dramatically. “Gotta go fast!” Was there
anyone around to hear him? No. But that doesn’t stop him! Ingenium races out onto the street and
toward a new day. He thinks it’s going to be a good one.

“So we’re all in agreement that Izuku’s got this one in the bag right?” Denki asks the seventeen
other members of class 1-A sitting with him in the stands, the first 1v1 match of the festival set to
begin in just a few minutes. The only person missing besides Izuku was Bakugo, who was down in
the waiting rooms since his match was up next.

“Totally!” Toru waves her arms around dramatically. “Midoriya can turn invisible anytime he
wants! Guy is practically made for this event, it’s unfair!”

“Izuku, huh?” Mina is one of the most observant people in the class when it came to things that
usually didn’t matter, but don’t tell her that.

“Cousins,” Denki replies casually and shrugs before elbowing Uraraka next to him. “You know, I
bet he’d let you call him Izuku too if you asked.” The demigod doubles over with laughter with
how red the girl gets. Those two were too easy sometimes.

“I am unsure…” Yaomomo cups her chin in her hand. “We haven’t seen much of what Fukidashi is
capable of. And if the second event was anything to go by, being caught off guard by him could
have devastating results.”

“I agree with you full-heartedly!” Iida chops enthusiastically. Denki will never get over how much
he enjoys the sight. “However, in that same token, those in 1-B are also unaware of Midoriya’s
capabilities! Something that even I, his classmate, have not been able to fully grasp despite his
thorough explanation after the battle trials!”

Knowing that just remembering what Izuku said would cause him to short circuit, Denki doesn’t
even try, opting to listen in on more of his classmates’ opinions.

“You bring up a good point and I would still pick Midoriya to win, however, I do not believe it will
be as one-sided as Kaminari believes it to be,” Yaomomo responds elegantly.

“Please.” Tenko leans back in his seat and puts his foot up on the empty seat in front of him. “I’ve
played enough fighting games with Midoriya to know he’s got this in the bag. Once he figures out
your style, you’re done…unless it’s me. His Sub-Zero still ain’t got nothing on my Scorpion.”

“Maybe. But if Midoriya goes into this overconfident, he could lose because of it. Happens to even
the most experienced fighter.” Ojiro adds his two cents.

“I want Midoriya to win as much as the next guy.” Sero rubs the back of his head, almost looking
ashamed. “But what Fukidashi pulled in the second event was crazy! What’s stopping him from
just blowing Midoriya out of the ring as soon as the match starts?”

“Not sure, but that’s probably one of his best moves,” Shoji’s created mouth appendage or
whatever the hell it is says. “If he can survive that, he can probably take anything the guy can
throw.”

“There’s a lot more to him than that one move.”

“Huh, what else do you think there is Izuk-“ Denki coughs and sputters, as do many others, at the
sight of his cousin-no, his cousin’s clone, leaning against the railing scribbling quickly in a
notebook.

“When Fukidashi used his move, the actual word ‘Whoosh’ appeared before we were all blown
away. That suggests the word he used was special, but it remains to be seen, can he do this with any
word? Or a select few? Is there a limit to the amount of area he can affect? Because his voice is
directly involved, does the way he says a word affect what happens? What about pitch? Does the
mutation of his head have anything to do with it? It’s fascinating…”

The clone looks up at them all after his mutter spree, seemingly unfazed. “I apologize. I’ve been
told I can get carried away. You can call me Twelve. I am the analyst.”

“While it is always nice to meet another one of Midoriya’s clones,” Iida speaks for them all again.
“Is it alright for you all to be out here-“

“Relax!” Several more clones appear in front of them all and Denki can’t help but notice the one
whose hands and legs are tied and mouth gagged on the ground. “Don’t worry,” the lead clone
reassures them. “Me, Two, by the way, Three, and Eleven are used to babysitting duty. Now,
Three, help me…”

“I still don’t see the point of this,” Three grumbles while he grabs the tied-up clone’s shoulders and
lifts him up while Two grabs him by the legs.

“Quit your whining, you won’t be kicked this way, and it gives us a few minutes of peace.” And
before any of them can say or do anything, the two clones dump the third over the railing, letting
him fall to the ground below.

Iida is at a loss for words. “Di-did you just-“

“Clooooooones.” Two turns his hand back and forth as if that does anything. “We’re not real, it’s
fine. And Thirteen will be back in a few minutes anyway.” Despite what he just said, Two grabs
the back of the jacket of another clone starting to climb the railing. “Still not letting you jump,
Nine.”

“Awww.”

The clones are quick to move out of the way as Present Mic introduces Izuku and Fukidashi to the
arena, class 1-A getting extra loud for their president.

“IZUKUUUUUUUU! Show that mortal who’s boss and why you- excuse me?… What do you
mean I can’t have this bullhorn?… Do you know who I am?…well how about I introduce myself-

“Brother! No!”
“Get out of my way! With where I plan to put this bullhorn, I hope human throats expand like
snakes for his sake!”

Denki couldn’t facepalm any harder listening to his uncle and dad argue with stadium security.
Thankfully, it didn’t seem like anyone else had figured out who that was.

“Sorry about that small delay folks, but let’s get this rumble going!!” Present Mic being the
professional he is, is easily able to get the crowd hyped again. “Looks like our gladiators are
ready!”

“This is not to the death…” Aizawa is quick to point out.

“Force a ring out, knock your opponent out, or force them to surrender, that’s how you win
it here!! If our referee Midnight is ready, let’s start because we sure are!!”

Midnight raises her whip. “Midoriya, ready? Fukidashi, ready?…begin!!” And with the crack of
her whip, they were off and it was just like Sero said.

“Whoooooooosh!”

The wind is strong but Izuku was ready, conjuring two knives and stabbing them into the ground,
he’s pushed back a little bit but it becomes clear quickly he’s not going anywhere.

As soon as Fukidashi’s attack ends, Izuku’s charging at him, whipping two throwing knives at his
opponent.

“Boing!”

The word appears in front of Fukidashi, shielding him and bouncing the knives right back to the
sender, which Izuku deflects effortlessly with a dagger.

“Wow! And without missing a…beat…these two competitors are already trading blows!
Who will seize the advantage first?!”
“Beat…really…”

“Uh-oh, I hope I’m not in…treble…Shota…”

“Commercial break will be here soon.” The threat is clear.

Fukidashi tries to back up as Izuku continues his advance but he’s cut off when the 1-B student
suddenly finds himself surrounded by almost a dozen clones, all brandishing knives.

“And now it’s a guessing game! Which one is the real Midoriya?! Can Fukidashi find the
right one in time?!”

The Izuku clones close in quickly but before they can-

“Poof!”

“In an unexpected turn of events, Fukidashi has pulled a disappearing act, filling the whole
arena in smoke! I can’t see a thing! What’s happening?! This doesn’t make for good tv
kiddos!”

“Vroom!”

Fukidashi zooms out of the smoke at a speed even Iida was impressed by before putting his hand
on the ground.

“Rumble!”

It’s like an earthquake hits the ground when the word touches, shaking the ring and making all the
Izuku clones dissipate except the real one who lands unceremoniously on his butt.
“Rush!”

Izuku’s opponent, well, rushes at him, on top of his cousin who’s only barely on his feet.

“Pow!”

The green-haired boy raises up his arms just in turn to block the hit by the materialized word but
it’s clear it still hurts. But Fukidashi has a problem. Izuku has time to counterattack. At least Denki
thinks he does.

“Flutter! Flutter!”

Before everyone’s eyes, the two words shift into wings that aren’t dissimilar to Hawks’ and they
travel to Fukidashi’s back, flapping him out of harm's way. Izuku is quick to try more throwing
knives but Fukidashi is ready again.

“Slap!”

True to its name, the word slaps the knives out of the air, or it would have if the knives were real.
Fukidashi lets out a soft “whimper…” before the real Izuku reveals himself and the two real knives
pierce the two words giving his opponent flight while also impaling his opponent in the back of his
shoulder blades at the same time.

“Ouch!” Fukidashi drops to the ground like a rock, landing straight on his face. “Flop!” By the
time he rolls to his side, Izuku has his knee on him and a dagger aimed at the boy’s face.

“Gulp.” Denki doesn’t hear what he says next but it’s not hard to figure out.

“Manga Fukidashi has surrendered! Izuku Midoriya moves on to the next round!” Midnight cries
out to the crowd's delight.

“You go Izuku!!! Show them what tricksters can do!! Yes hahahaha!!” Well, Uncle Loki was
certainly happy, and judging by the wide smile on Izuku’s face, he heard his dad’s sentiments
before giving the crowd one last bow and walking off next to Fukidashi who was being carted off
by medical robots.

“What a thrilling first round!! And thank you to the ever reliable Cementoss for fixing our
ring! I talked to Nezu by the way, no raise in the works but he’s preparing you a lovely gift
basket. Now I think I speak for us when I say we’re ready for more, huh?!!”

“From class 1-A, he has an explosive temper and the quirk to match, it’s Katsuki Bakugo!!
And his opponent, the self-proclaimed queen of the reptiles, welcome Setsuna Tokage!!”

Setsuna takes a deep breath and walks up to the rings trying to pretend she isn’t being watched by
millions of people right now. She kinda wishes there was a way to turn off her ears when she
detaches them for moments like these but so far, no luck.

Mr. Scowls a lot or Bakugo as he’s better known, stands with his arms crossed at the other end of
the ring, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else but here. Setsuna knows that should be insulting
but it feels more like a challenge! Yeah! She’s gonna make sure he keeps feeling that way, but for
a whole different reason.

He isn’t even looking at her, just staring up at the stands at his class…where now that she follows
his gaze, Setsuna sees Midoriya just got back. Oh, she gets it now. Bakugo is already looking
ahead to his next opponent and completely skipping over her! Yeah, that’s not gonna slide.

Midnight brings down her whip and the match begins with Bakugo barely sparing a glance her way
before unleashing a massive explosion in her direction.

“Oh!!! Say it ain’t so! With just one move, Katsuki Bakugo detonates an explosion so big,
even I heard it! And folks I didn’t have my hearing aids in! Was one move enough to finish
it?!”

“Tsk.” Bakugo continues glaring at the stands. He slaps his arm as if a fly had bitten him, then he
slaps his other arm, then he slaps again. “Huh?”

Oops, should’ve been paying attention. Setsuna’s mouth grins as different parts of her body quickly
begin to overwhelm the explosion boy, pushing him slowly back to the line. Thank god they let her
wear her hero costume under her gym uniform.

Bakugo lets off as many small explosions as he can but the pieces are small and they are fast ,
meaning by the time he’s gotten an explosion off, Setsuna has moved the body part to safety.

“Bakugo unleashed a massive explosion, trying to go for a one hit KO!! Setsuna Tokage
challenged him back and Bakugo might as well have said, you and what army because it’s
this army here!”

The angry blonde roars in frustration, and points his hands to the ground in an effort to take flight
but Setsuna is faster, her pieces swirling around Bakugo and hitting him in different spots to throw
his trajectory off so bad, he ends up blasting himself even closer to the line, all the while being
whipped by Setsuna.

“Maybe next time, pay attention to your opponent!” Setsuna’s mouth teases a safe distance away.
She didn’t have all the time in the world before her body parts would stop moving but that didn’t
matter, he was almost out! She was going to do it! Just a little closer…

“That’s enough!!” Bakugo drags his hands across the ground and launches two explosions to the
other side of the ring. It doesn’t come anywhere near hitting the rest of Setsuna’s body but that’s
not the problem.

The problem is, she can’t see.

Bakugo’s explosions had covered everything in smoke and she was blind! Sure, she knew where all
her pieces were and was desperately scattering them around to find Bakugo but no luck. If he got to
her…

“Seriously?! That’s two matches in a row you kids have covered the cameras in smoke! We
couldn’t even get our close-up on Cementoss’ face after Bakugo destroyed his ring again!
Rude.”

“Rude that Cementoss has to repair the ring again or rude you couldn’t get his reaction?…”

“I think you know.”

If Bakugo got to her now, she’d be helpless! Setsuna starts to form herself back as quickly as she
can but the smoke moving in the corner of her eye tells her all she needs to know.

She sees him raise both of his hands before a bright flash blinds her and a wave of heat blasts her
onto the dirt and grass.

“Setsuna Tokage is out! Katsuki Bakugo is your winner!”

Dammit! She had been so close! Setsuna reforms herself on her hands and knees on the ground,
panting. Thankfully, only a few pieces are missing here and there so hopefully, a quick nap in
Recovery Girl’s office and she’d be back up. Just another time she wishes she could regenerate
herself without being completely exhausted after.

She wanted to be back up to fight the next round originally but it didn’t look like that was
happening. With a sigh, the dinosaur enthusiast pushes herself up to her feet, the noise of the
crowd only now registering in her mind, that and Bakugo standing with his hands in his pockets
watching her.

“Not bad.” Setsuna hadn't even fully registered what he said before he stalks off to wherever. She
waves off the medical bots and smiles and waves at her classmates who give her encouraging
cheers as she walks back into the tunnel.

The green-haired girl is able to turn the corner before collapsing against the wall and sliding onto
the ground. Maybe she shouldn’t have turned down those bots, but who wants to be carried off
after losing? What can she say? She’s lovably stubborn. Most of her peers wouldn’t use ‘lovably’
but that’s their loss.

Just a few minutes to catch her breath and she’d be on her way. Setsuna closes her eyes and focuses
on deep breaths. It would be really easy to fall asleep here she realizes, but would that be such a
bad thing?

Yeah, she lost in the first round and that really sucks but there had to be some positives here. Sure,
she just kind of floated through the first round, and despite what they said, she doesn’t feel like she
helped her team much in the second round, did she even earn her place in the-

Setsuna was so lost in her thoughts, she didn’t even realize another person was approaching her
before they slid down to sit right next to her. She cracks an eye open, a small grin forming on her
face. “What are you doing here?”

Kaminari matches her grin, leaning against the wall. “You know those scavenger hunts they had in
between the rounds? I got one and one of the things I have to do is find the hottest girl I can and sit
next to her.”

“Wow, that’s really what you’re going with?”

He nods. “Yeah. And I couldn’t find Mt. Lady, so here I am.”

It takes a second for her to realize what he said. “Jerk!” She laughs, giving him a light punch on the
arm.

“Ack! Oh, the pain…” he slumps fully onto the ground. “I can barely feel my arm…don’t know…
if I can compete…”

“And how do you expect to properly avenge my loss from down there?” Setsuna gets out between
her giggles. Yeah, he was being dumb but it was cute.

“Oh, trust me, avenging is in my blood.” Kaminari sits back up. “I’ll win my next round for you.”

“Next round? Babe, I deserve the whole tournament.”

Kaminari laughs. “Sure, I’ll win this whole thing for you.” He looks up at her, speaking more
somberly. “Are you okay?”

All she can manage is a shrug. “Yeah, man. It happens. I’m good.”

She tries to force a smile at him but he doesn’t smile back, looking around the hall instead before
replying in a softer voice. “No one’s around if you don’t want to be okay for a bit.”

Setsuna scoffs, looking down and trying to use it to cover a sniffle. “Wouldn’t wanna keep you
from Mt. Lady.”

“Nah.” Kaminari waves her off. “I’m out of her league anyway.” Setsuna snickers but leans a little
against him anyway, the two teenagers enjoying each other’s company.

“I…didn’t think this would be happening again so soon.” Do Izuku’s clones count as multiple
personalities? He probably has a disorder or several that are undiagnosed if the scene before him
was any indication.

He was back in the stands with his class but several of his clones had beaten him to it. Two and
Eleven waved at him from where they sat on top of a gagged Thirteen, the only explanation being
that they could only throw him over the ledge so many times.

Twelve sits next to Tsu, asking her question after question which she answers calmly, and Eight
rocks in a corner while Three consoles him. Izuku has everything under control. Yup. Nothing to
see.

He walks over sheepishly when Uraraka waves him over, offering several apologies as he goes.
“Don’t be sorry!” Uraraka chastises him when he sits next to her. “They’re funny, and it’s more of
you, how could that be a bad thing?”

Red explodes on both their faces, with Uraraka not realizing what she was saying before she said it,
and Izuku trying and failing to find a response. Neither notice Thirteen struggling harder in his
makeshift prison. Or Mina bumping Toru and pointing at the struggling clone with the face of
someone trying very hard to connect a few dots.

Everyone is saved by Present Mic.

“Thanks for waiting, everybody!! And for our third round, we have the heiress of 1-A, the
Princess of Creation, Momo Yaoyorozu!! Versus, the dark horse of General Studies, the
mysterious, Hitoshi Shinso!!”

“Who do you think is going to win, Deku?” Uraraka asks, thankful for the excuse to change the
subject, unknown to Izuku.
“It’s hard to say.” Izuku hums in thought. “Yaomomo has one of the most versatile quirks I’ve ever
seen, and the mind to use it. But Shinso-“

“And the match begins!”

“-is a complete wild card. He got people to work with him during both events so maybe some sort
of boost quirk for others? Or some kind of intelligence? I’m not sure, either could really help-“

“And just like that, it’s over!!” Izuku and Uraraka look up and down at the ring in confusion.
Shinso stood in the middle, hands in his pockets, and Yaomomo stood outside the ring looking
around. “Momo Yaoyorozu walks out of the ring on her own! Hitoshi Shinso is your winner!
Wow, what happened?!”

“Maybe if you had been paying closer attention…”

“I’m paying enough attention to see our first two matches had smoke covering them half the
time and this one ended in seconds…”

Thor leans over to his brother so he can hear him over the crowd. “I’m just spitballing here, but
considering the number of times I’ve witnessed you do it, was that-“

“Brainwashing,” Loki answers. Thor turns to look at his brother because the way he said that was
strange. His voice is airy, and he’s staring down at the purple-haired boy who makes his way out
of the ring, a smirk slowly forming on his face.

“Brother?”

“Brainwashing,” Loki repeats, chucking a little. “I can’t believe it…brainwashing…after all this
time-“

“Brother, is everything alright?”

Loki takes a sharp intake of breath, coming back to himself and shaking his head a bit. “Yes…yes,
I’m fine. I apologize, Thor.” He gives Inko’s hand a squeeze and a reassuring smile to his worried
wife before turning back to Thor. “Yes, everything’s better than ever actually. I just figured out the
solution to a little problem I’ve been having.”

Izuku falls back into his chair, trying to dissect whatever he just saw. Uraraka and several of the
other girls left to comfort Yaomomo who looked upset after the loss so Izuku was left to figure out
Shinso’s quirk.

It was strong, but subtle. A dangerous combination. But he thinks he might have a lead. Between
the members of his team who did everything they could to protect him, and seeing Shinso convince
others to potentially fall into a gorge for him, Izuku would have to guess his quirk was some sort of
persuasion.

Shinso wasn’t close to Yaomomo so it wasn’t touch based like his father, ‘or like me if I could
ever figure it out,’ Izuku grumbles bitterly in his mind. But if not that, then what?

“After what was probably Cementoss’ favorite match so far, we move on to our fourth brawl
of the day! This one promises to be a real clash of the titans! He likes bird watching and
browsing cloaks online, it’s Fumikage Tokoyami!!”

“And his quirk.”

“Right! And his partner in crime, Dark Shadow! Versus, the two-toned prodigal son, it’s
Shoto Todoroki!!”

The son of Endeavor walks into the ring, opposite Tokoyami, to much fanfare, but you couldn’t tell
by looking at his face, which holds a much deeper scowl than normal. Something was different.
Todoroki was usually blank and uncaring, but here, he was angry.

Izuku couldn’t tell why he was mad but the glorified flaming trash can watching closely from one
of the balconies nearby gives him some guesses.
Midnight cracks her whip and the temperature drops. A glacier that could’ve put some of the ones
Izuku saw in Antarctica to shame explodes from Todoroki, encasing Tokoyami and going nearly as
high as the stadium. Never had he been so happy to not feel cold.

The same couldn’t be said for his poor classmates, the ones left in the stands shivering. Thank
goodness Tsu left with the other girls to go see Yaomomo.

“W-w-well…that was certainly…something.” Iida is so cold, he can’t even chop his hands
properly as he talks. Truly, the darkest days are upon them.

“J-jeez, overkill much?” Sero’s teeth chatter while thumbing the glacier. “Could you i-imagine
getting caught in that?”

“W-what a chilling reception, Todoroki! But it looks like this one’s over before it even
began!”

The ice beginning to crack seems to disagree with Present Mic, before Dark Shadow bursts from
the ice, helping Tokoyami out. “You didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you?!”

Dark Shadow charges, a little bigger than normal Izuku notices, probably because of the shadows
caused by the ice. She raises a claw but Todoroki launches more ice at her to slow her down while
simultaneously creating more ice under his feet to run away.

Todoroki tries to impale the quirk with ice spikes but she dodges and barely slows down, causing
him to have to jump out of the way of her next attack.

“Dumbass.” Kacchan shakes his head. Izuku usually wasn’t in the business of agreeing with him,
but he couldn’t help but agree this time.

“Why would you say that, bro?” Kirishima asks the question on most of their minds.

“‘Cause IcyHot could’ve won already, but instead, he wants to be a dumbass, so, therefore, he is a
dumbass.” Izuku had never heard it put so eloquently before. What Katsuki Bakugo was truly
capable of will forever continue to elude Izuku.
But he was right. Todoroki would have won already if he just used his fire. Izuku and Dark
Shadow had a kinship in not being a fan of the substance. While campfires and torches around
Asgard didn’t bother him much, the fire Todoroki produces…even though he only felt it for a
moment, Izuku could tell it was powerful. His skin prickles just thinking about it.

The point is, Todoroki could’ve saved himself a lot of running around if he had just used his fire
already, now his best option is to-

As if reading his mind, Todoroki creates a wall of ice in front of Tokoyami and uses it to start to
push the other boy out of bounds. Dark Shadow tries to save her partner but Todoroki, knowing
which way the quirk was going, constantly impales her with ice spikes to keep her back until it is
too late.

“Sorry Tokoyami, this isn’t a Pokémon battle, the trainers can be attacked here! Shoto
Todoroki is the winner!!”

Izuku’s skin prickles again but this time, it’s real. He looks over to see the flames around Endeavor
growing exponentially. And as much fun as it was to see the man upset, Izuku has other things on
his mind with Todoroki.

Oh! Sidetrack, would Endeavor be upset if he walked into his office as All Might and said he was
retiring? Or maybe he could turn into Endeavor and go on a long rant to the media about the
greatness that is All Might. He could make illusions of tears! Dangit, Izuku, no, stop. Now is not
the time for pranks.

That comes later.

By now, all of the girls had returned minus Uraraka with Yaomomo who didn’t look great but was
still a bit better than how she initially looked after her fight.

“IcyHot’s lucky Poe never thought to train himself,” Kacchan scoffs.

“I’m up after Urarka’s fight so I should probably get down to the waiting rooms, wish me luck?”
Kirishima holds his fist out for Kacchan who just crosses his arms and looks away.

Kirishima doesn’t waver, slowly moving his fist closer and closer to the blonde while Sero did his
best to contain his laughs. Eventually, and predictably, Bakugo breaks.

“You don’t need luck, now get the fuck out of here!” Kacchan screams while Kirishima looks
genuinely touched.

“That’s so manly, I knew you believed in me, man! Thanks!” The redhead runs off before he could
have his head bitten off by a pissed-off pomeranian.

“Awww Bakugo, you’re so sweet!” Huh, Izuku didn’t know Mina had a death wish. “I knew you
were one of those guys. He acts like he’s all tough but really, on the inside, he’s all soft and
cuddly.”

“You know, that’s like little dogs.” Maybe Toru’s family can save money and have her buried with
Mina? “They bark and bark but really, all they want is attention. Is that what you want, huh
Bakugo? Well, you have our attention, yes you do, yes you do!”

It’s scary how calm Kacchan is when he turns around. He points at Mina. “I will drown you in
your own acid.” He moves his finger to Toru. “Your body will be unbelievably easy to hide.”

“Oh my god…” Toru gasps. “I think he just complimented my quirk! That’s the nicest thing you’ve
ever said to me! Awww, you did just want attention!” Izuku can’t stop the laugh that escapes
him…or the dread when those red eyes turn to him, so he just gives an innocent wave.

“Alright fans, it's time to move to the other side of the bracket! First up, she can make you
feel like you’re walking on the moon just about anywhere, Ochako Uraraka! Her opponent?
President of class 1-B and capable of giving you an entire ovation by herself, Itsuka Kendo!”

Izuku leans over the balcony to get a closer look, even Two and Eleven let Thirteen sit up to
watch.

“Begin!!”

Uraraka wastes no time, barreling straight ahead at her opponent and Kendo looks more than eager
to meet her, but just before they get to each other in the middle, Uraraka floats herself, jumping in
the air out of Kendo’s reach.
The brown-haired girl is quick to release her quirk, bringing herself down hard on Kendo. She
attempts to slam her heel into Kendo’s head but the other girl is quick to enlarge her hands and
block the attack. Uraraka follows it up with a hard kick to Kendo’s back, but she barely stumbles.

Instead, she grabs Uraraka with one of her enlarged hands and attempts to toss her out of the ring,
but Uraraka taps herself again, stopping her impromptu flight and landing back on the ground.

“Nice, she’s already using some of the stuff you taught her,” Thirteen observes, now gagless and
watching the fight with stars in his eyes. Izuku rolls his eyes at his clone’s antics but can’t help but
feel a little proud.

The two fighters run at each other again and this time they meet, exchanging blows, which mostly
consists of Uraraka dodging and blocking Kendo’s normal-sized fist.

“Hey hey, this is great and everything, but why isn’t Kendo using her quirk?

“Kendo knows she’s the more experienced fighter and can win that way without her quirk, whereas
if she did use it, she’d just be giving Uraraka more chances to touch her and remove her gravity.”

Uraraka regains her footing and tries for two punches at Kendo’s head but the more experienced
girl dodges easily and lands quick jab at Uraraka’s face but the anti-gravity user doesn’t let up, she
lets off punch after punch anywhere she can, but Kendo is able to dodge them all.

Finally, a punch by Uraraka gets away from her and Kendo ducks it, landing a solid blow to
Uraraka’s gut, when she bends over from the pain, Kendo slams her in the face again with her other
fist.

Again, despite being bruised and bleeding from the nose, Uraraka yells in defiance, getting up and
going for another swing at Kendo’s head. The orange-haired girl leans back and gets ready to
block. Izuku smiles.

This whole time, Uraraka had only been fighting with her fists, leading Kendo to believe that’s all
she knew how to fight with, but that was far from the truth. He’s been saying it this whole time,
fights are as mental as they are physical, and it made him warm seeing Uraraka take to his lessons
so quickly. He knows his fighting style is a bit unorthodox, to say the least.
Uraraka feints her punch and kicks Kendo’s leg out from under her. It’s honestly impressive that
Kendo is able to stay on her feet but her balance was off and that’s all that mattered. Uraraka grabs
Kendo’s right shoulder with all five fingers of her right hand, delivering a nice uppercut and elbow
strike with her left at the same time to make sure Kendo couldn’t stop her. And now with her
gravity removed, Kendo could do nothing as she was thrown out of the ring.

“Ochako Uraraka is your winner!! Better watch out 1-B, you only have one left!”

Izuku cheers louder than anyone else, well, he and Thirteen both. Uraraka smiles and waves to the
crowd before going to talk to Kendo, the cheers from the crowd getting louder as they walk out of
the ring tougher.

“That was awesome!” Thirteen yells in excitement!

“I know right?!” Izuku agrees. “The way she baited Kendo, wow!”

Thirteen sighs dreamily, looking back at the ring. “Yeah…she can kick my ass any day.”

He is then promptly returned to the ground and gagged again by Two and Eleven. “And that’s
enough out of you!”

Izuku decides to go with a few others, Tsu and Iida, to check on Uraraka at Recovery Girl’s office.
They use the various tv’s placed in the upper corners of the hallway to watch the next match as
they go.

It’s Kirishima versus Denki and don’t get him wrong, Izuku thinks Kirishima is great, but he’s got
faith in his cousin.

Denki starts with a lightning blast but in the few seconds it took him to use it, Kirishima hardens
his entire body and tanks the blast. Wow.

But mostly tank is probably a better description. He’s already panting a bit and his hardened skin is
black where the strike hit but Kirishima, much like the girls last match, runs in fists raised
anyway.
And it looks like Denki isn’t one to just sit back and shoot ranged attacks all day because the
blonde covers himself in lighting and moves to hit Kirishima head-on.

Unfortunately, Izuku can already tell Kirishima is pretty out-classed here. Denki’s already
enhanced speed and reflexes are increased even more when he does this and Kirishima is just too
slow to hit him, with Denki dodging and weaving through any blows his opponent tries.

Kirishima’s hardening quirk is keeping him in the fight though, especially since it’s absorbing most
of the brunt of Denki’s counters. He can tell Denki does not like punching his opponent so Izuku
wonders if he’ll do anything-

It is the day of people answering his thoughts because right then, Denki slides on his knees under
Kirishima’s punch and grabs him by the ankle.

In a move that makes Izuku very uncomfortable because it reminds him of what a certain Nomu did
to him, Denki swings Kirishima around like he’s a new hammer and slams him into the ground
over and over until finally, Kirishima’s hardening fades.

Denki stops and lets him go and try as he might, Kirishima can't get back on his feet. Midnight
runs over and confirms the victory for Denki. At least Kirishima would be on his way to the office
so they could all give him their best wishes.

And hopefully, Denki would come too so Izuku could tease him. It was pretty impossible to miss
the loud “DENKIIIIIII!” heard from the crowd after his win. Izuku giggles when a panning shot of
the audience shows a very annoyed looking Endeavor.

Izuku knocks on the door to Recovery Girl’s office, he gives his other two friends a thumbs up, and
opens the door.

“I’m surprised we could get both of these students in the ring today! Taking a break from
blowing up the support labs, it’s Mei Hatsume! And taking a break from blowing up people
in the latest video game, please welcome, Tenko Shimura!!”
Thinking of himself as a character in a fighting game is all that was able to help Tenko push
through his nervousness and walk out into the field. Well that, and knowing he was fighting for a
lot more than a medal here.

Hatsume had approached him, and by approached he means viciously dragged him, to talk about
their match and offer him a plethora of her gadgets he could use. But Tenko wasn’t dumb. He had
plenty of experience with NPC’s walking up to him in games and offering quests with obvious
ulterior motives.

And the support girl must not have that much experience with people because he saw right through
her. All it took was selecting the right dialogue prompt at the right time and in a few minutes, she
had admitted to what she was really up to.

Honestly, it was kind of funny. And he respects the grind, but Tenko wants an actual fight. He
needs to show his progress as a hero here. And not just to Gran, or All Might, or some scouts. He
feels like he needs to do this for himself and for her.

“Begin!!”

Tenko speeds at Hatsume as fast as he can, being in the support course, she probably doesn’t have
much fighting experience so if he can just get to her, he should be able to just push her out. But he
learns very quickly that getting to her is going to be a problem.

“Hero students sure are quick, aren’t they?”

Hatsume’s voice travels across the arena via a mic she wears on her head. It catches Tenko off
guard for a second but he keeps running at the pink-haired girl, who had yet to move.

“What?! Hey! This is my show, you can’t just butt in out of nowhere! She can’t do this!
Someone taze her or something,” Present Mic argues.

“I find myself enjoying this job a lot more now for some reason.”

“Eraserrrrrr, why do you hate me so?!”

Tenko reaches out and is about to grab Hatsume when she’s shot off the ground by a wire in her
backpack, happily cackling and explaining her ‘baby’ to the audience, or rather, the support
companies in the audience.

Just barely stopping himself from falling after tripping over the wire, Tenko whirls around and
goes back. If she thinks she’s still going to be able to use him in her advertisement, Hatsume’s got
another thing coming.

He wraps all five fingers around the wire and almost immediately, it begins to decay at his touch.
“Hey!” Hatsume detaches the cord from the rest of her backpack and uses three others to get
herself back to the ground.

He grins wickedly at her annoyed expression and runs at her again. “Some opponents can be
pesky or just downright rude!” She gestures at him as if it was needed. “Probably best to lay
them down!” With a quickness Tenko didn’t know she had, Hatsume fires a net gun at him, which
easily wraps him up and takes the yelping boy to the ground.

“How about that capture gun to use against villains?! And next we have-oh c’mon! That’s not
fair!” She was probably referring to Tenko disintegrating her net and standing back up. “How
dare you?! You think you can just turn all my babies to dust and get away with it?! ”

Tenko shrugs. “Yeah.”

“Not to worry ladies and gentlemen, I, Mei Hatsume, have just the tools to defeat this
villain!”

So, good news first. He was getting an actual fight. Bad news, judging by the look on her face, he
was getting a fight.

Hatsume’s boots pulse and rocket her into the air where she points gauntlets from her wrist at him.
“Decay these!” Two more wires shoot out at him and it only takes Tenko half a second to realize
they’re electrified. ‘Smart. I can’t touch them.’

But as fast as the electric cables are, they aren’t as fast as Gran Torino, of which Tenko has a lot of
practice in dodging. He moves out of the way of both cords, which instead of hitting him, land on
either side of him. Hatsume doesn’t miss a beat, cackling more as the wires reel her toward him at
an even faster rate, her boot ready to strike.
Tenko is just barely able to backflip out of the way before Hatsume’s foot cracks to the ground
beneath her. He’s forced to back up even more when the mad girl throws a bunch of little balls onto
the ground, each one expanding with spikes.

“In a car chase or chasing a villain?! Use baby 717 to cut off their escape! I give you the
Hatsume guarantee they’ll be turning themselves in if they step on one of these!”

She wasn’t kidding. He was trapped. Behind him was the line to the arena, in front of him are a
bunch of little spikes, so many he couldn’t move forward. And Tenko was stuck dodging
Hatsume’s electrified cords, which she kept firing at him before reeling them back in and trying
again.

“Now apologize for what you did to my babies, you monster!”

“What else was I supposed to do?!”

“Let me advertise everything I had and I would’ve stepped out and let you have the win!”

“I didn’t want to win like that! Besides, isn’t this all a great display of your inventions too!”

That actually got Hatsume to stop for a moment. “You’re right…it is…maybe you’re not so bad
after all. But you still deserve to be fried after what you did!” And the dodging commences.

Think, Tenko, think! This is no different than any level on any game, and there’s always a solution!
He watches Hatsume’s cords reel back to her before being shot at him again.

Oh, there was a solution…and he’s going to blame Midoriya for being a bad influence on him for
this. But being a hero was about going plus ultra, to stop the villains and save the people who
needed to be saved. And he would do it no matter what it takes!

‘Hope you’re watching Hana!’ Tenko sidesteps one of the cords but this time, he grabs onto it,
leaving his thumb extended so as to not decay it. Tenko sucks in a deep breath but can’t stop his
yell of pain but it works because before Hatsume can stop anything, the cord is reeling him over
the spikes and right back to her.

“Wha-“ She lets out an ‘oof!’ When Tenko uses the momentum to land a kick to her stomach. And
then with maybe just a bit of anger at the shocking he just got, he rips off her wrist gauntlets and
decays them. He puts Hatsume on her stomach, tearing her backpack off and decaying it as well
before pinning the pink-haired girl to the ground.

“Hatsume, can you move?” Midnight inquires.

She wiggles a bit before throwing him a glare over his shoulder. “This was probably a better
showing of my babies but you still owe me help at the lab for all the ones you destroyed.”

Tenko, not realizing the deal with a devil this was, agrees because yeah, he understood being
attached to electronics and feels a little bad.

“Tenko Shimura is your winner!”

“Tomura seems to be coming along quite well, wouldn’t you say?” Kurogiri asks a fuming
Shigaraki. The question is mostly to get her to speak and stop grinding her teeth so much.

“Yeah.” Kurogiri tenses as she stands, ready to save the computer of any furniture that may be
caught in her tantrum, but no, she merely stands with her back to him, watching the stream. “I’ve
seen this movie before.”

The portal user makes a questioning hum. Shigaraki finally turns to him. “I’ve seen this arc before
in shows. This is where the heroes get stronger and learn to work together to take down the nasty
villain who, through their own stupidity, thinks they can win on their own.”

“What are you saying?” Kurogiri can feel it, a breakthrough was happening.

Shigaraki narrows her eyes at him. “I am not some generic villain for the heroes to toss aside like I
don’t matter. I am a person who’s going to get back at the people who deserve it.” She moves over
to the computer and sits down, opening a new tab and starting to look a few things up.
“What are you doing?”

“The problem with so many of these villains in movies and shows is that they lose because they’re
arrogant and refuse to change.” She stops, looking down and sighing. “I already made that mistake
at the USJ.” She shakes her head and continues typing.

“I’m not going to do that again. And I’m not stupid enough to think I can beat Tenko, that green-
haired brat Midoriya, or all the heroes by myself so I’m gonna take a page out of their book.”

She turns around, revealing the picture of somebody Kurogiri hadn’t seen in a long time. “The
heroes want to work as a team? Fine. Then let’s start forming a team of our own.”

Tenya Iida walks proudly out of the dark hall to the announcement of his name. Kamakiri sneers at
him from across the ring. “Fighters! Ready?!” Midnight announces. Tenya bends low, his engines
revving. Kamakiri extends blades from each of his forearms, getting into a fighting position.

“One chance. Put your weapons down and surrender,” Tensei is tense, ready to explode and move
at a moment's notice, backup is on the way but it’s still going to be at least a couple of minutes.

“You’re quicker than I gave you credit for,” the hero killer Stain observes from across the dark
alley. “No matter, I knew purging this world of the filth people call heroes wouldn’t be easy, but I
will carry this burden.”

Midnight looks back and forth between the fighters.

Tensei bends low, the pipes in his arms barely containing his quirk. Stain gives him a wicked snarl,
unsheathing his sword in his right hand, and a massive dagger in his left, getting into a fighting
position.

“Begin!”

The ring cracks under Tenya’s feet as he practically soars at Kamakiri aiming a kick at the other
boy’s face, but it looks like he was ready because he rolls under Tenya, dodging the attack.
Tensei swears, jumping back just in time from where Stain had rolled under him and dodging a
double slash from the villain. But the hero killer might as well have a speed quirk of his own
because he’s on Tensei immediately.

Tenya maneuvers the best he can, remembering everything his brother taught him to avoid
Kamakiri’s blades. Tenya makes like he’s going to overcommit to his right and when Kamakiri
takes the bait, he switches and kicks his opponent as hard as he can in the ribs with his left leg.

Stain hits the wall violently, but the killer is back on his feet almost instantly. But Tensei wasn’t
giving him a second. He goes to pummel the villain back into the ground but Stain backflips over
him, planting a spike from his boot into his back.

Tenya cries out in pain, reacting instinctively, swinging his arm behind him and, though he would
never admit it, feeling satisfied when it connects solidly with the boy’s face.

Kamakiri is dangerous and Tenya knows he can’t let up, Tensei taught him better. The 1-B student
stumbles and Tenya has a devastating knee to his chest before he can recover.

His arm roars with power, and with his knee in Stain’s sternum, a powerful punch to the head is all
Tensei should need to end this. But he feels dread when he sees Stain smirk and a glint of metal.

“Recipro Burst!!” Tenya holds Kamakiri by the neck and before the dinosaur-looking boy can
blink, Tenya is at the edge of the ring throwing him out.

Tensei falls to the ground, his body cold and frozen. Try as he might, he can’t move.

Midnight raises her whip. “We have a winner!”

Stain’s sword might as well be the scythe of the grim reaper as it appears in Ingenium’s line of
sight. ‘Mom, dad…Tenya…I’m sorry.’

He can hear the sirens approaching and the shouts over the hero channel but Tensei knows they
won’t make it in time. He tries to move again but it’s in vain.

“You have…something, Ingenium. I will admit as much. Do not fret.” Stain raises his sword.
“Your days as a hero may be over, but you will live on to spread my legend and word.”

“Tenya Iida is your winner!”

Try as he might to fight, the pain in his back is becoming too much and darkness is quickly
 overtaking Tensei. All he can see is his blood and Stain’s boots walking away. That is, until a new
figure emerges from seemingly nowhere.

“Interesting, you’re letting him live,” the new man says in a breathy voice.

“It is necessary.”

“If you believe so,” the new man concedes, seemingly uncaring. “Come. The time has come for
you to fulfill your end of our bargain.” Tensei can hear no more before the darkness overtakes
him.

Tenya offers his hand to the downed Kamakiri. “You are a very skilled fighter.”

Kamakiri slaps his hand away, standing on his own. “Whatever.” He stomps away before Tenya
could try to say more.

He turns around, wondering what he said that could’ve angered the boy so much, but smiles when
he sees his friends and classmates cheering for him in the stands, Midoriya and Uraraka front and
center.

They both performed so admirably in their fights, Tenya just hopes they feel the same about him.
He holds a hand up to his class, causing them to cheer louder and Tenya to smile. It looks like they
did. He only hopes he made his brother proud as well.

Chapter End Notes

And that’s it for the first round! What’d you guys think? I feel obligated to apologize
for the longer then usual chapter again sooo yea, sorry.

And I know a lot of fics will skip over fights but I feel like that’s usually done with
fights that are the same as canon and I didn’t have that here, plus I didn’t want
someone to come into this hoping to see a character they like fight and be disappointed
when they didn’t so couldn’t really bring myself to skip over them but I hope you guys
enjoyed them all the same.

Also, while I’m not giving you guys the bracket cuz I think it would be to easy for to
 guess all the fights if you saw it, the fights are in correct order so if you’re bored, you
could use that to figure out future matches and make guesses.

Anyways, that’s all from me for now. Questions, comments, concerns? Let me know
below and you know I’ll answer! Again, hope you liked the chapter! Until next time!

End Notes

Hiya! I got myself a small author’s channel over on the Jaded Discord Server. So if you
wanna chill with some cool people, or yell at me because I’m taking too long with a
chapter, then come on over!

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