where flowers bloom

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/34315378.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other
Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero
Academia
Relationship: Asui Tsuyu/Iida Tenya/Midoriya Izuku/Shinsou Hitoshi/Todoroki
Shouto/Uraraka Ochako, Poly Dekusquad - Relationship, Midoriya
Izuku & Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Midoriya Izuku & Sasaki Mirai | Sir
Nighteye, Midoriya Izuku & Toogata Mirio, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead
& Midoriya Izuku, Aoyama Yuuga & Midoriya Izuku, Eri & Izumi Kouta &
Midoriya Izuku, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Character: Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Inko, Bakugou Katsuki, Yagi Toshinori | All
Might, Sasaki Mirai | Sir Nighteye, Toogata Mirio, Uraraka Ochako, Iida
Tenya, Asui Tsuyu, Todoroki Shouto, Shinsou Hitoshi, Aizawa Shouta |
Eraserhead, Class 1-A (My Hero Academia), Izumi Kouta, Eri (My Hero
Academia), Tsukauchi Naomasa, League of Villains (My Hero
Academia), Sensei | All For One, Past One For All Users (My Hero
Academia), Original Male Character(s)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying
Marks, Romantic Soulmates, Platonic Soulmates, Parental Soulmates,
Familial Soulmates, Polyamory, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a
Happy Ending, Family Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Hurt Midoriya Izuku,
Midoriya Izuku is Not Okay, Midoriya Izuku is Bad at Feelings, BAMF
Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku Has One for All Quirk, Overpowered
Midoriya Izuku, he doesnt drink his bone breaking juice this time kids,
Parental Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Protective Yagi Toshinori | All Might,
Yagi Toshinori | All Might is a Good Teacher, Parental Sasaki Mirai | Sir
Nighteye, Sir Nighteye is a good person, Toogata Mirio is a Good
Friend, Toogata Mirio is a Dork, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead,
Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead is Bad at Feelings, Aizawa Shouta |
Eraserhead is a Good Teacher, Shinsou Hitoshi is in the Dekusquad,
Aoyama Yuuga is in the Dekusquad, Aldera Middle School Faces
Consequences (My Hero Academia), Bakugou Katsuki Redemption,
Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Collections: What could have been, Ongoing Fics, Ongoing Fics (bnha), jrmuffin's
favorites, good shit, McNanas' Recommends, BNHA TikTok Recs
That Were Actually Good, fics i can and will stay up to 3am to re-read,
Bnha fanfic who has my heart, Ashes' Library, Keep up with these
gems, Angst_and_fluff_and_everthing_in_between_MHA, These fics
emotionally wrecked me, I’m manly enough to admit I cried reading
these, Everything so far, My Favourite Bnha stories to read
Stats: Published: 2021-10-06 Updated: 2022-07-15 Chapters: 47/? Words:
218746

where flowers bloom

by daylightbreaks
Summary

"Where flowers bloom, so does hope." - Lady Bird Johnson

Soulmarks are miraculous things, little flowers representing one’s soulmates. And though
Midoriya Izuku is blessed enough to have been born with so many, he believes that none of
them could ever want him, a quirkless person, as their soulmate.

This is how the existence of soulmarks forever changes Izuku and the world around him.

[Updates on Fridays!]
[This fic now has a TV Tropes page!]

Notes

Welcome to my new fic, all! I told myself I'd wait a bit more before posting this, but... I
couldn't help myself. I love soulmate AUs, and this is my take on a long fic involving
soulmates! I hope you all enjoy this as much as I do. There's a lot of angst initially, but
there's plenty of fluff later on!

Please note that the warnings & rating may change to M in the future, if only because I am
unsure if I will include any graphic depictions of violence later on.

Otherwise, enjoy!
[This Fic is Beta'd by the wonderful Eclipse_at_Midnight!]

See the end of the work for more notes

 Prologue
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku hated flowers.

He didn’t always hate them, of course. In fact, one of his earliest happy memories was of flowers,
before they’d been tainted by his hatred of them. He remembered a conversation with his mother,
even before he’d been diagnosed quirkless.

“Mama,” He’d said, gently holding her hand, “You have a flower!”

“That’s right!” Inko had smiled, holding out her wrist for him to see. There, adorning what looked
like a tattoo of vines, was a vibrant freesia flower. Izuku didn’t know its name but Inko would tell
him one day. “That’s my special flower just for your papa!”

“Special flower?” Izuku asked, tilting his head. He was still little, just learning to speak in full
sentences. Inko just nodded, bopping his nose with her finger.

“That’s right! A special flower. You’ll get one too when you’re a little older, baby. Everybody has
one. These flowers mean you have a soulmate!” She said, a bright smile on her face. Izuku’s eyes
went wide with wonder, hearing his mother describe the concept of soulmates to him. He’d never
heard of such a thing before, and it was exciting.

Izuku learned that around the time quirks came in, people also developed two thin bands of tattoo-
like flower buds. On the left wrist, romantic flowers bloomed, and on the right, platonic and
familial. One bud represented each soulmate, and the bud would bloom when you met the person it
represented. Izuku thought that was nearly as cool as heroes.

Izuku’s mama just had one on her left wrist, a delicate white freesia flower that represented his
papa. And on his mama’s right wrist, she had an unbloomed bud and two fully-bloomed flowers,
one for Auntie Mitsuki and one for Uncle Masaru. No wonder she was best friends with them,
Izuku thought!

Izuku loved his mama’s flowers, and he looked at them longingly, wondering what his would be
like. He had hoped his flowers were as pretty as his mama’s. If only he knew he’d grow to hate
them in only a few years’ time.

Izuku’s soulmarks appeared in the middle of daycare. Kacchan’s had appeared only a few days
earlier, and the other boy had been parading them around proudly. Izuku thought they were so
cool! Just like everything Kacchan did, really. Kacchan had one little bud on his romantic side and
five on his platonic side! Izuku had never seen five before! That was so cool.

Kacchan said his soulmates would be the best, the coolest of the cool. Izuku agreed, of course,
because anybody around Kacchan would be cool by association.

Izuku had been coloring in an All Might coloring book, listening to Kacchan talk about one of his
flowers. Apparently his parents had taken him to a specialist, so now he knew what flower each of
his buds were. His romantic one was a peony, Kacchan had said. It was peaceful and routine,
talking to Kacchan like that, when suddenly Izuku’s wrists started itching.

He scratched absentmindedly at them, and then he realized the itching wasn’t going away. He
looked down, and his eyes went wide as saucers. Right before his eyes, his soulmarks were
appearing! He gasped as he watched the marks form.

It started out on his left wrist and then spread to his right, the vines slowly meandering their way
down his arms. The vines on his left circled once, but the vines on his right circled twice, wrapping
around like bracelets. He couldn’t believe it! By the time it was done, there were… there were so
many buds on them! He ran up to the teacher and tugged on her long skirt.

“Miss! Miss, look! My special flowers! I have lots of them!” He said, holding his arms out to see.
The teacher gently examined his wrists, gasping when she saw all of the buds that had appeared on
them.

“My goodness! You do have a lot! I’ve never seen so many! Well, Midoriya, that just means you’ll
have a lot of people who love you!” She smiled, patting his head. “Why don’t you go show your
friends?”

“Yeah!” Izuku’s eyes sparkled. He ran over to Kacchan quickly. “Kacchan, look, look! My flowers
came too! Lots of them!”

Immediately, the blond grabbed his wrists and studied them with the scrutinizing eyes only a child
could have. When he was done, he just huffed. “Hmph. Mine are cooler. Just cause you have more
doesn’t mean…” Kacchan stopped speaking in the middle of his sentence.

Izuku was about to ask what was wrong, but then he saw it.

One of the flowers on his right wrist was blooming already. Izuku’s eyes sparkled with awe,
especially when he saw a matching flower bloom on Kacchan’s wrist. A bright pink hollyhock
flower marked them both as platonic soulmates. Izuku was Kacchan’s soulmate.

Izuku was Kacchan’s soulmate! Izuku’s smile was like a million watts.

“Kacchan! We’re soulmates!” Izuku laughed happily, tugging the blond into a tight hug. Kacchan
just pushed him away roughly, but he was definitely smiling.

“Of course we are. I’m gonna be the number one and you’re gonna be my sidekick!” Kacchan
declared, looking perfectly assured of himself. Izuku just nodded fervently, completely in
agreement. That sounded awesome!

“Yeah, Kacchan! We’ll be the best heroes together!”

That sentiment didn’t even last a year.

“I’m sorry, but you should give it up.”

The callous words of a single doctor tore apart Izuku’s dream of heroics. In fact, it tore apart his
entire idea of any kind of a life. Because as he would learn growing up, the quirkless were less than
human in the eyes of everybody else. His own mother, though she loved him dearly, could only cry
and whisper that she was sorry when he asked if he could still be a hero.

It hurt more than Izuku could imagine, especially when he told Kacchan. Kacchan looked sad for
just a second before it turned to anger, and suddenly Izuku had found himself being pushed down.
The next day, his name had turned to Deku.

A week after that, nobody would play with him any more. The teachers sat him in the corner with
‘special work’ for him and told him it was too dangerous for him to play with the quirked kids.
The teacher looked like she was sad for him, nothing like the happiness she’d shown on the day
he’d gotten his soulmarks.

Izuku’s only solace were those little flowers. He would trace them with tiny fingers and whisper to
them, grateful they existed. He hoped his soulmates knew he loved them even from very far away.
Even if Kacchan didn’t seem to want his love…

But then one day, even the flowers failed him.

Izuku started to hate flowers in junior high school.

His bright pink hollyhock had been fading in color, looking increasingly as if it were in desperate
need of water. Izuku knew what it meant, and he didn’t want to think about it much. Instead, he put
it out of his mind and tried to be the best soulmate to Kacchan that he could be, even in his
quirkless state. Surely, that would get the flower back again!

He learned analysis so he could help Kacchan improve, but Kacchan said he didn’t need a deku’s
help. He tried to be quiet and dutiful, but Kacchan said that he’d be a bother so long as a quirkless
deku existed around him. Nothing he ever did seemed to be right. Moreover, it seemed as if even
being near Kacchan made the blond unhappy.

In his first year of junior high, the cruel words turned to physical cruelty for the first time.
“Nobody would want a quirkless soulmate, and I certainly don’t!” Kacchan had said. Then, he
popped a hot hand over Izuku’s shoulder, burning his uniform. “Get it through your head!”

Izuku felt a part of himself die, and by the time Kacchan had left, Izuku noticed that the hollyhock
flower had completely withered.

Kacchan had rejected the bond and killed the flower.

His flower died just like his dreams the day the doctor had told him he was quirkless. If even his
soulmates weren’t assured, then what did he have to look forward to? Kacchan was right. Nobody
could love or want a quirkless soulmate. All of his flowers would wither as quickly as they
bloomed once they learned he was quirkless. He should feel grateful Kacchan had stuck around for
even that long, really, shouldn’t he?

Izuku learned that day that he’d be all alone, a quirkless nobody.

But his heart couldn’t take it, so he foolishly clung to the hope that one day… one day, he’d be
able to become a hero. He had to believe in something, or he didn’t think he’d make it through to
 the end of even that one school year.

He had to be a hero, even if he couldn’t have soulmates. He had to.

Izuku hated flowers, so being a hero was all he had left.

Chapter End Notes

Whew! There's the prologue. I have ~50k written for this fic at the time of posting, so I
look forward to sharing it with you! I don't have a posting schedule decided yet, but
the next update should come fairly soon!

See you all in the next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Origins
Chapter Summary

Kacchan was right. None of his soulmates would want him.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku looked up to the train tracks above Tatooine station, eyes wide as he watched the villain
rampage. He had an awestruck look on his face as he sprinted forward, eager to catch a glimpse of
the hero fight he had no doubts would ensue.

“Wow! Such a huge villain!” He marvelled, hands clutched tight around his notebook. Musutafu
was a known hero hotspot, and he was always catching fights on his way to and from school. It let
him take notes on all kinds of fighting styles and heroes, and he felt knowledgeable on all the
heroes regular to the town, and plenty more that weren’t. Seeing their styles up-close always
allowed him a better advantage to analyzing them, though.

He watched as the villain broke an electric tower, and it toppled, nearly onto the crowd of
onlookers. Before it could hit anybody, however, Death Arms had swooped onto the scene to catch
it and Backdraft had arrived for crowd control.

“Death Arms! Backdraft! And is that… Kamui Woods arriving on-scene?!” It was a fanboy’s
dream, watching so many heroes at once. A man in the crowd with star-like growths on his head
heard his excited voice, laughing as he watched the fight alongside Izuku.

“I know that look! You’re a hero fanboy, huh?” The man asked. Izuku flushed, a little embarrassed
to have been paid attention to.

“Y-Yeah!” He nodded, flipping to a page in his notebook. He began to make notes after Mt. Lady
swooped in to take the credit and camera time, absolutely enthralled by a new hero. He began to
mutter to himself, his pen scribbling furiously across the page. The man beside him grinned.

“What’s that, taking notes? You want to be a hero, huh?” He asked. Izuku nodded again.

“More than anything else in the whole world!” Izuku said, almost a little breathless, talking about
his dream. It was all he had left, so he had to cling to it with all he had. The man seemed to take
note of Izuku’s hands, then - specifically, the bands around his wrists that peeked out from the long
sleeves of his gakuran.

“Wow! You sure have a bunch of soulmates! You know, they say that having a lot of soulmates is
a sign you’ll be somebody important one day. Of course, that could just be an old wive’s tale… but
I say go for it, kid! Who knows, maybe I’ll be your first fan when you hit the scene!” The man
laughed good-naturedly, and Izuku felt warmed by the statement.

Even if the other man didn’t know that he was quirkless, didn’t know that even if he had soulmates
they’d never want him, it was still a nice comment anyway. Maybe the man would be his first fan
some day, if he ever achieved his dream.
“Thank you,” Izuku said shyly, covering the withered flower on his right wrist shyly, hoping the
man hadn’t seen it. There was a stigma against withered soulflowers, but wearing a cover outside
of being a hero was as good as saying you had one anyway. “That means a lot, I hope you’re
right!”

Izuku went to school that morning feeling better than he had in a while. He’d gotten to see Mt.
Lady debut, he saw a cool hero fight, and he got some nice words of encouragement. He wished
every day could be that nice.

“So, it’s time to start seriously thinking about your futures aside from soulmates. I know everyone
wants to meet theirs, but you’ll just have to wait until those flowers bloom. You can take steps for
your careers, though. I could pass out those career aptitude tests…” Izuku’s teacher mused at the
front of the classroom, holding a pile of papers in his hands.

“But who cares about those, I know you all want to go down the hero track!” The man laughed,
throwing his head back. The class cheered with him, but Izuku just sunk his head lower, focusing
on his notes. Speaking up or standing out was bad. He couldn’t make himself known, attention
always brought awful things with it…

“Don’t lump me in with all of these extras, teach!” Kacchan - Bakugou, Izuku corrected his own
thoughts. Bakugou didn’t like being called Kacchan - barked at their teacher, his feet up lazily on
the desk. Izuku pursed his lips and made sure to avoid the blond’s gaze. “These losers will be
lucky to end up as sidekicks to some ancient D-List hero!”

“Of course, you’re aiming for U.A, aren’t you Bakugou?” Their teacher smiled, probably thinking
of how he could claim he was Bakugou’s teacher one day when the other boy made it big. The
teachers at Aldera praised him to no end, making sure he always got his way and never got
punished for a thing, lest they damage the record of somebody with a powerful quirk.

“I aced all the mock exams and I’m the only one with a chance in hell of getting in there! I’ll be
more popular than All Might himself, and it all starts with U.A High!” Bakugou grinned wolfishly,
palms flexing and smoking as he declared such a thing. Izuku watched the flowers peek out from
his sleeves as he did. Bakugou had no problems showing off his withered soulflower, as if he was
proud to cast Izuku out of his life...

“Oh… it looks like Midoriya wants to go to U.A as well.” The teacher’s expression turned sour,
like he’d drunk something rancid. The classroom went deadly silent as the eyes of everyone turned
on him in an instant. Izuku felt so small just then, especially when Bakugou’s apoplectic snarl
turned to stare him down. He swallowed thickly, the bundle of nerves in his throat preventing him
from speaking. He knew it would be better if he didn’t speak anyway.

“You?!” Bakugou growled, slamming his palms on Izuku’s desk and setting off small explosions
on it. What were two more scorch marks, anyway? It was already covered in them. “You’re even
worse than these extras, you fucking quirkless loser! You really think U.A would take somebody
whose soulmates don’t even want them, let alone a quirkless person, Deku?!”

Izuku had nothing to say to that. He couldn’t. He could feel the eyes on him, knowing that if he
said one thing out of line…
Well, it wouldn’t be pretty.

Elsewhere, a thin, blond man looked down at the bands on his wrists. He had them covered, but he
knew what was underneath them. His eyes moved down towards the grocery bags in his hands,
wondering what his soulmate would like for dinner. They hadn’t eaten together in a while, so it
would be nice to have a meal…

But his thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a villain made of sludge, carrying money in
his viscous body.

The blond man buffed up, tightened his grip on his grocery bags, and set a signature smile on his
face. He was here.

Izuku sat in the classroom, waiting as all of the other students filed out. He always had to be the
last one out. It made things easier in the long run, though more of a target at the same time, since
everyone knew he stayed behind… He was just finishing up some notes today, however, revision
some theories and observations about Mt. Lady.

As he finished up the last line and shut it, somebody grabbed the book from him. He looked up
with wide eyes, upset because that was a brand new notebook! It was the one he’d been fortunate
enough to see a hero’s debut with…

But Bakugou was the one holding it, he realized. Getting it back was impossible.

“Don’t tell me you’re taking notes on how to be a hero!” One of Bakugou’s followers, the one with
the stretchy fingers - Shigeru, Izuku thinks, he can’t quite remember - jeers at him. Another boy,
Ryo - Izuku still isn’t sure, his classmates refuse to let him call them by name anyways, so why
would he bother trying to remember - laughs alongside Fingers.

As par for the course, Bakugou blew the notebook up in his hands, and immediately tossed it out
the nearest window. All that work and those special notes… burnt to a crisp, landing who knows
where. He fought down the urge to cry.

“I see you still don’t get it, you damn nerd.” Bakugou’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I thought I
told you a billion times by now: you’re quirkless. All of your soulmates will wither their flowers
the second they realize it, just like me. U.A won’t take somebody like you, and you’re going to
ruin my perfect setup just by applying. So get it through your head already and don’t even think
about applying. You got that, Deku?”

Izuku felt a retort building, but he swallowed that down too. He couldn’t say that being a hero was
all he had because Bakugou had taken away his only other dream: having soulmates. Bakugou
proved firsthand that soulmates couldn’t be relied on, and he knew from his entire life that nobody
would want a quirkless soulmate.

But U.A had no rules against quirkless students. He could apply there. He could be a hero student
if he tried hard enough. It was physically possible for him. There were no restrictions on soulmates,
despite what Bakugou said, only societal taboos and stigmas.

What was one more stigma on top of quirklessness, anyway?

“You know, Deku, if you want to be a hero so bad, I have an idea.” Bakugou said, his voice laced
with sarcastic venom as he finally left. Seems he decided not to be so physical for once, and Izuku
was immensely grateful. But then he spoke again, and Izuku would wish for anything else.

“Pray for a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off of the roof. Maybe then you’ll actually
be somebody a soulmate would want.”

Izuku felt suddenly sick to his stomach. In fact, he was sure he dissociated, because the next thing
he realized he was standing outside of the koi pond outside the school. He could hardly process the
fact Bakugou had said that to him.

One of his soulmates - withered flower or not - would be okay with him being dead.

Bakugou didn’t care if he died. If he did, why the hell would he say that?

“Stupid fish. That’s not your food,” Izuku muttered, yanking his now waterlogged notebook from
the koi pond. He angrily scrubbed tears from his eyes as he began his trek home. Never in his life
did he think things would be like this.

He recalled his childhood then, trying to piece together a picture of his life in his mind.

“Mama, mama!” A young Izuku bounced up and down excitedly in his chair. He clutched an All
Might figure in one hand, waiting eagerly as his mother managed the website for him. “Video
please! Video please!”

“Goodness, you sure do love this video, huh? I think you must’ve added all these views yourself!
But it’s kind of scary for me…” His mother murmured, though Izuku paid no mind. When the video
loaded, he grinned, big and wide, just like All Might.

The hero’s debut played, and Izuku laughed alongside him. He held up the figure, his soulmarks
on proud display. “I’m gonna be a hero, mama! Just like All Might!”

“Oh?” Inko smiled, a little amused. “Just like All Might?”

“Yeah! Then I can be strong and hug all of my soulmates at once! I’m gonna be a hero and protect
them, mama! You’ll see!” He declared proudly, holding his wrists up as if to show the world. “I
love all of my soulmates, mama!”

“Well, I just know they’re going to love you too, Izuku. You’ll be able to hug them all some day, I
promise.”
Inko gently pushed the door to the computer room open. They’d just gotten home from that horrible
doctor’s visit… Izuku had taken the news that he was quirkless so hard, and then he’d just gone
and holed himself up in there. When she saw him, her heart lurched in her chest for her baby boy.
Was this her fault, she wondered?

He was swaddled in his favorite All Might blanket, clutching his favorite figure in shaky hands.
Izuku was clearly crying, hiccups and sniffles coming from the other side of the chair as the video
of All Might’s debut played on loop.

“Oh, Izuku…” She murmured, a hand to her mouth. The video paused, and the chair turned
around. Izuku’s eyes were red from crying, and he was still crying more.

“Mama… c-can I… can I still protect my s-soulmates? Can I still b-be a hero? Even if I’m q-
quirkless?” He asked, his little voice cracking. Inko let out a quiet sob and fell to her knees at her
son’s side. She felt like this was her fault. Her fault he’d been born without the one thing he so
desperately wanted to help fulfill his dream.

“I’m so sorry, Izuku. I’m so sorry… Your soulmates will still love you, no matter what, I
promise…” She said, clutching her little boy in her arms. “I promise…”

The day Izuku’s first soul flower withered, he was absolutely beside himself. He couldn’t hide it
from his mother, who was absolutely distraught. Her baby’s soul flower had withered. She had
never experienced a withering, but she’d heard it was one of the most emotionally painful
experiences somebody could go through, and her baby boy…

Izuku was in his room, trying to block out the sound of his mother’s yelling over the phone. He
didn’t want her to, it would just make Kacchan mad at him, but… he knew better than to try and
stop her when she was upset for him.

“Mitsuki, don’t even try to defend him! You know as well as I my baby wouldn’t have the heart to
wither a soulflower! Soulmates were all he’s ever wanted, and he just decided to reject the first
bond he ever made?! Don’t give me that!” Inko yelled into the phone in her hands. Izuku couldn’t
hear the other end of the conversation, but his mother sounded livid.

“No! You’re my platonic soulmate, Mitsuki, but if you can’t take this as seriously as it deserves,
then there might just be another withered soulflower in the Bakugou family!” There was silence.
Izuku couldn’t believe his mother had just said that. For his sake. A quirkless child… His mother
was the only one who loved him. And then, “Yes, I’m serious! My husband and my son are worth
the world to me. I’m sorry to say that if you can’t admit to your son’s part in this, then we have
nothing more to speak about!”

There was silence again, and then a few minutes later, his teary-eyed mother walked into the room.
She immediately went to hug Izuku tight, pressing her face into his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, baby. I
know you didn’t want to hear that. I just couldn’t stand the thought… I know Mitsuki doesn’t want
to think her son’s capable of something like that, but… we both know how the world’s treated you.
I’m so sorry.”

And Izuku did. He knew how painful life was for the quirkless and their families. But this hurt so
much more than being quirkless… the people that were supposed to love him no matter what
simply didn’t have to.

They could reject the bond.

And if Bakugou, the one who knew him from before he was quirkless, could reject him…? Then
how could he hope for any of his other soulmates to want him in their lives either?

At least he had his mother. And if he couldn’t have his soulmates, then… he had to live for
something. He couldn’t just stop dreaming. He’d be a hero for his mother, who would sacrifice so
much for him. His wonderful, kind, loving mother who would give up her own soulmates just for
him. He’d be a hero so she could smile again.

That day, Izuku swore to himself he’d keep trying, no matter how much it hurt.

Izuku sighed, gently airing out the waterlogged pages the best he could. It was no use to think back
on his life. He knew perfectly well how he got here. He was born quirkless, so… it was his lot in
life. After his mother had called the Bakugous, things only got far worse for him.

Bakugou hated his very existence. He’d told everyone that Izuku had been the one to break the
bond, because Izuku thought he was better than him… that Izuku thought Bakugou was so low
he’d need a quirkless person as a soulmate.

Everyone believed him, and the bullying got worse. It was taboo to break a soulbond, after all, so a
quirkless person breaking the bond because he thought he was too good for Bakugou? Nobody
could abide by that, so life got far, far worse. Auntie Mitsuki still hadn’t come around on the
thought that Bakugou had been the one to break the bond, either, so even his mom’s soul flower
had begun to wither. Uncle Masaru’s hadn’t, however - Inko had said that he quietly expressed
regret for their situation and that he’d tried to talk some sense into Mitsuki, but it hadn’t worked.

Izuku hated that he was causing a rift between his mother and Auntie Mitsuki, but at the same
time, he was grateful he had at least a single person on his side.

He refused to even think about what Bakugou had said. He had to be a hero for his mother. He had
to see her smile again. That wasn’t even an option for him, no matter how much he hurt knowing
that his life had no meaning to anybody but his mother.

That’s right, he reminded himself as he walked home, he had to stay strong.

He came under an underpass, wondering how much of the notebook he could salvage. He was so
focused on getting his mind off of the crushing defeat he felt that he didn’t even hear as a manhole
cover slid open, a thick, slimy sort of noise gurgling up from it.

Before he could react, he was being covered and his belongings were scattered across the ground.
A villain made of some viscous fluid that smelled and tasted horrid made its way down his nose
and throat, choking the air out of him.

“A nice meatsuit to hide in! Don’t worry, it’ll only hurt for about 45 seconds…thanks, kid. You’re
my hero, you know that?” The villain crowed, and Izuku felt some sick sense of irony. He was all
alone out here, being choked by a villain calling him a hero. Maybe Bakugou was right…maybe he
would be born with a quirk in his next life.

He couldn’t get a grip, and the man kept his vital organs like his eyes out of reaching distance from
him. His entire body, aside from his face and hands, was suspended inside that fluid. He couldn’t
do anything. He was stuck like this…was he really going to die?

And then Izuku heard his voice.

“Don’t be afraid, young man! Why?”

Izuku’s heart swelled with hope, even as he lost consciousness.

“Because I am here!”

When Izuku woke up, it was to a sharp smell and a gentle hand. He sat up with a lurch, gasping for
air he suddenly had again. The hand stilled him, and a gentle voice was the next to speak up. Izuku
swore he knew that voice…

“Are you alright there, young man? I need to do a field exam. Make sure you don’t need further
medical attention. Open your mouth for me. Can you breathe alright? Any discomfort?” The voice
asked. Izuku did as he was told, opening wide and squinting the light out of his eyes. When he saw
who the voice belonged to, he nearly yelped.

All Might! All Might was standing right in front of him! He’d saved his life from that awful sludge
villain, and now he was… shining a pen light in his mouth and eyes?

“Ah, looks a little irritated. You should try gargling some disinfecting mouthwash and keep an eye
out for infection, alright? You should also see a doctor, see if any of that fluid made it into your
lungs. Your pupils look good too, no concussion. Otherwise, you seem healthy.” All Might said
gently, offering a hand to help him stand up. Izuku took it, shaking with awe and disbelief.

“I-I can breathe okay,” he finally managed to choke out. “A-Ah, um, c-can I ask f-for an a-
autograph, sir?!”

“Ahaha, an All Might fan, are you? Not to worry, young man, I’ve left one in your notebook. I also
gathered your things. I’m very sorry to have gotten you caught up in this, I was chasing this villain,
and well, I took a wrong turn. I’m new to Musutafu, you see. But it’s alright now, because I was
here!” The man laughed, bright and beaming.

Izuku felt so safe and inspired. All Might had gone out of his way to gather his things for him?
Double-checked his health? Even given him an autograph? Izuku could see how he was the
number one even better now, he was so much cooler in person…

“Th-Thank you so much, sir!” Izuku said, a little breathless as he flipped open his notebook to see a
double-paged autograph. He’d treasure it for as long as he could! All Might nodded and began to
stretch his legs, taking a deep breath.

“Alright, then. I’ve got to go, so be safe, alright?” He said, giving a little wave. “I’m taking off, so
be sure to stand back!”
Izuku blinked owlishly. He was leaving already? But… but he couldn’t! All Might was right here!
This was his chance to ask about heroics! He had to ask… And before he knew it, Izuku had clung
to the man’s leg, driven by equal parts desperation and instinct.

“What in the-?!”All Might was startled, grabbing Izuku’s arm and hefting him up into a tighter and
safer grasp as they flew through the air. “Young man, that was incredibly dangerous! What if you
had fallen?! You should know better than to interfere with things like this!”

All Might landed on the roof of a nearby office building in downtown Musutafu, looking worried
and exasperated. Izuku let go with a look of shame, knowing it was wrong of him. But he just had
to ask…!

“I really do have to go now, young man. Do you need me to walk you downstairs or will you be
fine by yourself?” All Might asked, straightening his shirt. Izuku opened his mouth to answer
instinctively, but what came out was a question instead.

“How do I be a hero like you, All Might? I-I… I’m quirkless… but I… I just want to be a hero for
my mother… to make her smile again, just like you make everyone smile…” Izuku said, clutching
the hem of his shirt. “Please… do you even think it’s possible…?”

“Young man-” All Might was cut off by a wet cough and a plume of smoke dissipating from his
body. Izuku’s eyes went as wide as saucers, watching as All Might turned from the form he knew
to a thin, gaunt one. Izuku couldn’t even find it in him to scream, he was so surprised. He just stood
there in shock with his jaw dropped. “Shit. Ah, I’m sorry you had to see this, young man. You
cannot speak of this to anybody, alright?”

“A-Are you really All Might…?” Izuku finally managed to get out. The man sighed.

“Yes, I am All Might. This form is the one I take when I’m not actively using my quirk. It
enhances my form as well as my strength. You understand why you cannot speak about this, now?
This is my personal identity. You must keep this to yourself.” He said sternly. Izuku nodded
quickly, of course he would! Besides, it’s not like anybody would ever actually listen to him.

“Of course, sir…!”

“With that being said… look here, young man.” All Might gently lifted the hem of his shirt,
revealing a gnarled, flower-like scar that twisted itself across half of his abdomen. “See this? I got
this in an untelevised villain fight five years ago. It destroyed my stomach and one of my lungs. It’s
reduced my capacity to do hero work down to only three hours in a day, and I’ve just run out.”

Izuku felt like he’d lost one of his lungs just listening to the man say that. He knew All Might’s
appearances had been getting less and less frequent, but this…?

“These kinds of injuries are a risk for every hero, even ones as powerful as me.” He said, dropping
his shirt back down. “It’s a dangerous profession, hard enough for even those with quirks to get
into. I think it’s possible to make your mother smile in many ways… but perhaps being a hero
might not be the safest route. You should consider routes like the police or EMTs. They’re just as
valuable, unsung heroes of our profession.”

Izuku’s heart felt like it was breaking all over again, hurting just as bad as it had when Bakugou
had rejected their soulbond. He knew exactly what All Might was implying.

“So without a quirk, I think it’ll be hard for you. I’m sorry to say so, but that’s the plain reality of
the world we live in. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” All Might dipped his head and took his leave,
 heading down the stairs of the building they were on top of.

Izuku couldn’t hear a thing except for the wind rushing around his ears, the blood rushing in his
head. His idol… All Might had…

All Might had gently told him that being a hero wasn’t in his cards. He was nice about it, but…
Izuku knew from experience what platitudes like that meant. It felt like his chest was being torn in
two, and as he looked down, he saw that his hands were trembling, the skin itching along his right
wrist. With wet eyes, he looked at where it was itching and felt sick.

One of the flowers had bloomed. A cluster of tiny, blue blossoms making one flower… one of his
soulflowers. A choked sob left him, and he clutched a shaky hand over the flower. All Might
himself was one of his soulmates. Familial probably… When he was little, that would have been
his biggest dream, finding out that All Might had a spot as one of his flowers.

But now it just left a massive, painfully empty hole in his chest. Because one of his flowers would
bloom for All Might, and Kacchan was right. None of his soulmates would want him. All Might
had told him that it was simple reality.

And Izuku watched in real time as the flower began to wilt and wither, this time of his own accord.
He’d just wither it before All Might could, and get it over with.

At least this time, he’d have some control for once in his life.

Chapter End Notes

Aaaah poor Izuku!!! The whole soulmate thing has really twisted his view of things...
but don't worry, things'll get better for him! Also, just in case it wasn't clear, All Might
woke him up with smelling salts after he went unconscious. I wrote him to be a lot
more gentle than in canon here.

I hope you all like the story so far! I know it's just been entirely angsty for the first two
parts lol, but like I said things get better! Just wait and see :)

As far as upload schedules go, I've decided to update this fic on Fridays along with my
other big fic, what doesn't kill you! To lead up to that and kick off the start of this fic,
I'm going to upload a chapter every day until Friday, where I'll have a double update!
Afterwards, I'll have a regular update schedule of one chapter a week on Fridays!

See you all next chapter!

- dayligthbreaks
 Vervain
Chapter Summary

Toshinori knelt down beside him, using the most gentle voice he could. “Midoriya, you
can be a hero, too.”

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Yagi Toshinori considered himself a calm, gentle kind of man, but also a realistic one. The fight
with All for One had tempered his ego significantly, and his time with Naomasa as his soulmate
had made him far more easygoing and careful with how he dealt with others. It was a delicate
balance, but one he’d learned to walk every day.

It was Naomasa’s request that led him to refresh his first aid and hero field rescue license,
equipping him to do much of what EMTs were certified to do in a pinch. It wasn’t explicitly
necessary as a hero, but there were instances when heroes were the only ones available and he
wanted to be able to provide care in those cases.

It was what allowed him to help that boy after the sludge villain, after all. Naomasa had the right of
it when he suggested refreshing that license.

Soulmates had impacted his life a lot, all for the best - even if it hurt to look back on some of them.
Though his flowers were few, he treasured all of them with his entire heart. He had only one on his
romantic side - Naomasa’s flower, a delicate pink sweetbrier. And on his platonic, he had four -
two unbloomed and two bloomed. One was Nana’s, a familial mark of a pink carnation. The other
one was Mirai’s - a bundle of purple heliotrope, though it had faded and was slightly wilted thanks
to their fight years ago.

It hadn’t gone all the way withered, but it wasn’t the vibrant flower he’d seen bloom when he first
met the man. It hurt to look at, but he could never bring himself to reach out. He knew it was
cowardly, but… it was hard to reconcile differences.

Especially when he struggled just to let somebody down gently, like that boy on the roof. He had
been quirkless once, he knew firsthand how impossible it was to get into heroics. He had wanted
to, so badly, but he’d been turned down from high school after high school until Nana and One for
All. He knew it wouldn’t end well for the boy, and he just wanted to spare him the heartache, but
he felt like perhaps he hadn’t been gentle enough.

As he left the roof, making his way down the stairs, he felt an odd ache in his chest. He made it
onto the ground floor and nearly out the front door before he was then struck with the intense urge
to cry. What brought this on, he wondered?

He felt an intense itch on his wrist, and gently moved his wrist covers out of the way to scratch…
only to realize there was something blue peeking out from underneath. He had just stepped out of
the front door, but now he was frozen in place.

None of his flowers were blue, so…

He gently pulled off the cover, only to see a gorgeous blue flower bloomed on his wrist where one
of his buds had been. His mouth felt dry, and he could hardly believe what he was seeing. His
flower had bloomed right before his eyes. The only other person he’d actually met today was that
boy. The one he just left up there…

And then the mark began to wither right in front of him.

Toshinori’s eyes went impossibly wide, panicked as he swore he could feel the boy’s emotions
through the bond. It was said that emotions could be shared in times of great distress or
emergency, but this was something far more intense than he’d expected.

Heartbreak. Anger. Self-loathing.

Despair.

Before he could even process what he was doing, Toshinori had sprinted back inside and into the
stairwell, taking the steps two at a time. He’d just told a young child that his dream wasn’t realistic
and left him on a rooftop.

What the fuck is wrong with me?! Toshinori thought angrily. He’d been so caught up in trying not
to let the world of heroics let the boy down that he’d been the one to let him down instead.

His own soulmate, the flower nestled right next to Nana’s. Familial.

Toshinori could hardly believe himself. He just hoped he could fix it before the flower withered
entirely - he hadn’t meant for this to happen. This was the last thing he wanted. Oh god, Naomasa
was going to kill him for this if he ever found out. With a cough into a clean handkerchief, he
sprinted faster than he thought he had in him.

But when he reached the rooftop, the boy was nowhere to be found.

He frantically searched, even peering over the edges with a sick feeling in his gut. But there was
nothing there, and he couldn’t see the boy’s head in the crowd. Toshinori felt like he might actually
cry. He needed to go to Naomasa, ask him for a favor. He couldn’t leave this unresolved. He had to
apologize.

Reluctantly, after he finally admitted he wasn’t going to be able to find the boy, he made his way
back downstairs. He couldn’t do anything without any information. All he knew was that the boy
had been a junior high schooler judging by his uniform, and that he was studying to become a hero,
if the burnt notebook cover and his question earlier were to be believed.

That, and that the boy had apparently been quirkless… just like him.

God, Toshinori felt like he was going to have a heart attack, sucking in breaths. With a resigned
feeling, he finally looked down at the cover he’d put back on his wrist. Was the flower gone now?
Had he ruined one of his soulflowers before he even had a chance to apologize?

As he stepped out of that front door again, he heard faint explosions in the distance. Another villain
attack? But he couldn’t entirely focus, he had to know. He peeled back the cover again and let out
a shaky, relieved sob.

It wasn’t entirely wilted.

There was still just the tiniest bit of life left to it, and it could be salvaged.
Toshinori thanked the heavens that it wasn’t entirely wilted, but he felt lost now that the adrenaline
was out of his system. He unconsciously made his way in the direction of the explosions; his
heroic instinct could never be curbed even at the best of times.

He could ask Naomasa for a favor, but that would mean explaining the situation, which he was
dreading having to do. And the boy, would the boy consider looking him up to be an invasion of
privacy? Would that just make things worse after everything Toshinori had said? He wasn’t sure
and he was almost nervous to find out.

Toshinori soon arrived on the scene of what did, in fact, seem to be another villain attack. It was
only a street or two away from the building. He lamented his lost time thanks to his injury… he
would have done something if he could.

As he looked down the alley the attack was taking place in, however, he saw that the villain in
question… was the one he’d stopped not too long before. With wide eyes, he realized the bottles
were gone. They must have fallen out when the boy had grabbed onto his leg, he thought!

Toshinori clutched a hand to his side, the scar aching with phantom pains.

Somebody… somebody will do something, he thought helplessly, watching as the heroes on-scene
just stood by. They could be doing something, anything, but they stood there waiting for somebody
with a ‘suitable quirk.’ Toshinori would be chastising them for their inaction, but… he was in the
same boat, thanks to his time limit.

I’m worthless, Toshinori thought to himself, gritting his teeth as he felt the bond flare up again. He
felt that bitter note of self-hatred through the bond again, apologizing like a prayer in his head. He
was sorry. So sorry. I’m sorry I’m so pathetic.

I’m not a real hero. Just standing by, doing nothing, he lamented, watching as the boy encased in
the sludge - a blond kid this time, not the same one he’d rescued, not his soulmate - looked terrified
for just a moment.

That moment of fear brought a wave of cries from the heroes.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!” “Stop! You’re going to get yourself killed!” “You idiot,
stay back! Get back here!”

Toshinori watched as none other than the boy he’d saved earlier burst through the crowd control
line, backpack in hand as he surged forward. He looked just as terrified as the boy in the sludge, if
not more so - yet he was the only one doing something. He slung his backpack from his shoulder
and launched it at the villain with everything in his power, managing to hit him directly in the eye.
It was enough to give the blond boy a few seconds of precious air.

Toshinori, on the other hand, felt like he’d had the wind knocked out of him.

The terrified quirkless boy who’d just had his dreams crushed - who’d been let down by the
number one hero, his own soulmate - he had been the only one to do something. And then he heard
the boy speak as he dug furiously through the sludge. Getting himself sucked in in the process. “I
don’t know why my legs moved, but I couldn’t just watch you die!”
Toshinori felt his heart swell with bittersweet pride and fear for the boy, and he couldn’t take it any
more. He had to do something too.

Damn the consequences to his body, he was All Might, for god’s sakes.

With every ounce of power he could manage, he forced his body to swell and strengthen. Just as
the villain reached out to use the blond’s rather volatile explosion quirk, he was his hero self again.
He was All Might, and with a grim look on his usually smiling face, he flew forward with only a
single thought in his head:

You won’t lay a hand on that boy.

When the resulting explosion cleared, All Might was standing there, fist outstretched in order to
stop the sludge villain. The boy looked to be in shock, just barely stuttering out “A-All Might…?
But how…?”

“You see, my boy, I really am pathetic. I didn’t even live up to the advice I spouted!” Toshinori
ground out, flinging the monster’s viscous arm off of him with a single swing of his own. “Pros are
always risking their lives! That’s the true test of a hero, nothing else!”

The look in the boy’s eyes was something indescribable, and he was seconds away from crying.
The villain charged again, but All Might wasn’t having any of it. With a single wound up punch,
even as blood spewed from his mouth and his side felt like it was on fire, he ended the fight.
“DETROIT... SMASH!”

The villain dissipated, and with it, the weather changed as well. An updraft formed, and then rain
began to fall. Toshinori swayed on his feet, his body screaming at him to stop when he was already
pushing it. But he couldn’t just stop now… not in front of everyone.

Immediately the other pros rushed in, and they began to secure the scene. The media was next to
swarm in, zooming in on both him and the boy who’d run in at first. Death Arms and Slugger
surrounded the boy, scolding him on live television for running into a situation like that without
thinking. The mark on Toshinori’s wrist ached, and he felt shame run hot through it.

Just how awful was the boy feeling that he was able to feel his emotions this strongly? He had only
felt Naomasa’s feelings a handful of times in his life, and never this strongly. He couldn’t watch
the poor kid get scolded like this any more.

“Now, now,” He stepped away from the interviewers and towards the other heroes, and suddenly
all eyes were on him. “While I have to admit what the boy did was reckless, dangerous and ill
advised…”

The soulmark burned.

“He was still the only one of you that did anything until I had arrived. Tell me, were none of you
capable of doing what he did? Many heroes use whatever is at their disposal. It was only a shame a
child could think of that before the pros. Perhaps you all should think about that. This boy may
have just saved the others’ life, and here you are treating him like he’s a villain. It’s unnecessary.
Just an explanation of what he did wrong would have sufficed.” Toshinori said seriously.

The burning ceased.

In fact, he felt blessedly quiet for the first time since that rooftop. No more emotions could be felt,
it was just himself again, and he hoped that meant the boy was at peace. But before he could think
about it too much, the reporters had swarmed him again and he was separated from the boy once
more. He tried to work his way through the crowd, but they were relentless.

Toshinori saw the boy’s head of green hair disappear into the crowd, and he began to panic. No!
This was his chance to speak to him! He had to go!

With practice and ease only the Number One Hero had, he managed to weave his way through the
crowd of media spectators by carefully answering questions and refusing others, managing to get
some of them out of his way. The boy had already turned down a street or two by the time
Toshinori had gotten free, but he was easily able to follow.

He made his way quickly down towards a residential area where the boy was headed, only to spot
the blond his soulmate had helped. Toshinori stayed hidden for now, not wanting to interrupt
whatever was about to be said with his presence.

“Damn you, Deku!” The blond barked, and Toshinori frowned. Deku? What kind of a name was
Deku? “I didn’t need your help, you understand me?! If I’ve told you once I’ve told you a million
fucking times! I don’t want you near me, and no bullshit like that will help!”

“I know, Kacchan. I-I’m sorry.” The boy said hoarsely, hanging his head. “I j-just want to go
home. Please.”

“Whatever, you damn nerd. Don’t pull that shit again! I’m not thanking you!” The blond stormed
off angrily, leaving a confused and mildly concerned Toshinori. That interaction didn’t seem
friendly at all, and clearly the two knew each other. Wasn’t the blond the least bit grateful for
having his life saved?

But that wasn’t what was important right now.

As soon as the blond was out of sight and earshot, Toshinori made himself known. He’d deflated
into his thin form to make it easier to go unnoticed, but the boy recognized him, of course. He
froze up, looking up at him with wide, almost fearful eyes.

“A-A-All Might…” He said, and Toshinori stepped forward.

“Listen, young man. What is your name?” He asked gently. He wanted to know the name of one of
his soulmates more than anything.

“M… Midoriya Izuku, s-sir.” The boy - Midoriya - swallowed, as if very afraid all of a sudden. Did
he think Toshinori was going to scold him, too?

“My name… is Yagi Toshinori. And I saw what you did today, at the villain fight.” He began, tone
gentle. “Your legs… they moved before you had a chance to think, didn’t they?”

“H-How did you know?” Midoriya asked, breathless with wide eyes. Toshinori managed a small
smile, removing one of his wrist covers - the one with that blue flower that bound them together.
He extended that hand out towards the boy, who looked too nervous to take it.

“Because many of the best heroes start out with a similar story when they’re young. Their bodies
move before their brain can react to what they’re doing.” Toshinori began. Midoriya’s face twisted
up in some grief-stricken expression, tears immediately in his eyes. “I was wrong to tell you what I
did before, my boy. There are plenty of heroes who do just fine without power like mine. What
matters is their spirit… a spirit that you have.”

Midoriya fell to his knees in the middle of the street, tears openly streaming down his cheeks.
Toshinori knelt down beside him, using the most gentle voice he could. “Midoriya, you can be a
hero, too.”

The broken wail that tore itself from Midoriya’s throat was a sound that would stick with Toshinori
forever. He wept, fists clenched so hard around his backpack that his knuckles turned white.
Toshinori put a hand on his shoulder, holding the other one - that same hand - out to him still. “I
want to help you become a hero, and if you’ll let me, I’d like to try and repair the flower between
us. What do you say?”

“The-the flower…?” Midoriya’s head snapped up, suddenly looking fearful again. “You - You
don’t - you want to…?”

“Yes. I’d like to get to know the heroic boy fate has decided to bind me to.” Toshinori said, and
that seemed to finally get the boy to reach out a hand. Slowly, nervously, Midoriya put his smaller
hand in Toshinori’s larger one.

“You don’t want to - to break the bond…?” Midoriya asked, his lip wobbling. Toshinori looked
appalled at the very idea.

“No! Of course not! Soul bonds are special things, treasures! They’re hard to manage as a hero, but
they shouldn’t be discarded. After what I said, I understand if you would like to… and I won’t stop
you if that’s your choice. But I’d like the chance to make up for that awful mistake, Young
Midoriya.” He said, helping the boy stand.

Midoriya wiped at his eyes, though he looked like he might begin crying again at any moment. He
also looked… incredibly suspicious.

“Y-You don’t… you don’t have to tell me what you think I want to hear for the sake o-of
appearances, sir. I-I know… I know somebody as amazing as you could never want somebody like
me as a soulmate…” He muttered, shrinking in on himself.

“I promise you, I’m not just saying so. You don’t have to believe me right now, I know I haven’t
exactly gotten off on the right foot with… everything. Let me help you become a hero, and we’ll
work on the soulflower as we go. Does that sound like a better idea?” Toshinori asked. At that,
Midoriya seemed to perk up again.

“You… you really want to help me become a hero?” He said, eyes wide with just the tiniest spark
of hope in them. It was a wavering spark, the kind that could easily be snuffed out… so Toshinori
just had to keep it safe. Midoriya deserved hope after a display like today’s.

“Of course I do. Today just proved it. Even after I said such a thing to you on that roof, you still
were the only one to do something. Though you were timid and quirkless, you were the only one
out of a group of pros to try and save that boy’s life. I meant what I said in front of the cameras
earlier.” Toshinori smiled wearily. “You’ve proven me wrong spectacularly, my boy, and if you
can prove me wrong then you can prove everyone else wrong, too. I’m sure I wasn’t the first one to
suggest a course other than heroics for you.”

The floodgates of the boy’s tears opened again, and Toshinori found himself being unexpectedly
hugged. He patted the boy’s head, and he noticed the soulflower on his wrist had gained
significantly more life to it. It wasn’t perfect… but it was getting there. It wasn’t near death any
more. He felt himself relax at the sight.

“O-Okay… I-I’d be stupid to turn down your help, sir!” Midoriya sniffled, separating from him
and wiping at his eyes with his sleeves. He bowed in front of Toshinori, bent at a near perfect 90-
degree angle. “Please help me become a hero!”
“I thought you might accept that fast!” Toshinori chuckled. “But not so fast. I have a choice for
you, and it’s one I want you to think seriously about. I’ll give you my phone number. I don’t want
you to make this decision tonight, understand?”

Midoriya nodded though he looked a little confused, but Toshinori knew what he wanted to ask.
He’d found his successor. He wanted it to be Midoriya’s choice to accept the quirk, of course, but
he’d still help him even if he was turned down. Still, every past user of One for All had been
bound by a soulflower. Some platonic, some familial, and he thought one was romantic near the
beginning of the quirk but he wasn’t sure.

But Midoriya was a heroic, kind boy. Toshinori could tell that much just from the way he cried
when he was told he could be a hero. Who else hung onto a hero’s leg for dear life just to ask if
they could be a hero, too?

“Let me say that no matter what you decide, I’ll still help you become a hero. This choice will only
impact what kind of hero you become, understand? That’s why I want you to think very seriously
about it.” Toshinori began. Midoriya seemed to understand the gravity of whatever he was being
asked, so he nodded and stood a little straighter.

“You see, I have been looking for a successor. And I think that you’re worthy of becoming that
successor. What that entails is being the one to inherit something very special… my quirk.”
Toshinori said. Midoriya’s eyes went wide, his mouth opening to speak, but Toshinori held up a
hand. “My quirk is a special kind. Many people have asked in interviews, but I always skirt the
question. My quirk is called One for All, and it is the ability to stockpile power and pass it down to
another person. It’s been held by seven people before me… I’m the eighth. I would like you,
Young Midoriya, to be the ninth.”

Midoriya looked shell-shocked by the revelation. “You… you really think I’m… I’m worthy of
something like that…?” He said, and Toshinori nodded.

“I do. But as I said, you’re capable of being a hero with or without it. I’ll let it be your choice.
Here, let us exchange phone numbers. You can text or call whenever you decide.” Toshinori said
gently. Midoriya scrambled for his phone, and the two quickly entered each others’ numbers.
“Would you like me to walk you home, my boy?”

“W-Walk me home?” Midoriya squeaked, looking a little shy all of a sudden. Toshinori laughed
and nodded, patting his head again.

“Yes! I’m sure your parents must be worried sick after being so late. I can explain what happened a
little easier, I’m sure.” He suggested. Midoriya chewed on his lip, eyebrows scrunched up in
thought. Finally, he nodded.

“P-Please. Um, just don’t… come in. O-Or tell my mom about the hero thing until I-I’ve made a
decision… please?” He asked, looking a little bit like a kicked puppy. It hit Toshinori right in the
heart, he wasn’t sure the boy even knew what he was doing.

“Of course not, young man. I’ll let that stay between us for now.” He nodded, and he let the boy
lead the way home. The walk was filled with soft mutterings, and shy questions about All Might,
all of which Toshinori was more than happy to answer. Earlier in the day, he felt like he was going
to have a heart attack seeing the near-withered flower, but now… he felt right with the world,
walking side-by-side with the boy.

His successor, he hoped. But whatever Midoriya’s decision turned out to be, Toshinori would
support him - and he was sure the future would look bright.
Chapter End Notes

Vervain: a blue/purple flower meaning "pray for me" or "protection against

evil."

Yaaaaay dad might to the rescue!! I'm such a sucker for dad might... i think like nearly
all of my stories have him lol. And the flower isn't dead!! Yes!! I also altered some
stuff from canon, because I always felt like All Might should have offered him the
choice if he really felt like Izuku could be a hero, even if he did believe in him & want
him to have his quirk!

And there will be many more big changes from canon to come! The 10-month training
period arc takes a BIG chunk of this story, and it's not glossed over here. A lot of stuff
happens, so we won't be getting to U.A for quite some time. Hope you all look forward
to it!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Choices
Chapter Summary

“Ah, my boy, you won’t regret this! I promise, I’ll help you become a hero who can
make anybody smile!”

Chapter Notes

DOUBLE UPDATE! This is part one of a double update, so be sure to stick around for
part two!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Izuku felt a bit like he was lost at sea.

He wasn’t sure how to feel about anything that happened, really, it all felt like one awful,
wonderful, terrible, amazing dream. The start of the day had been probably the worst in his life.
He’d been told how much his life was worth by a soulmate who didn’t want him… And then told
about ‘simple reality’ by All Might himself. And then on top of that, he’d found out that All Might
was one of his soulmates on the platonic and familial side.

He thought All Might would reject the bond, that another withered soulflower was an inevitability.
And so he’d tried to wither it himself, but… Izuku couldn’t bring himself to finish the job. He just
couldn’t bear to do it, he had some wretchedly awful dream of a loving soulmate buried deep down
where he repressed the things quirkless people couldn’t have.

So Izuku had left the rooftop with a near-withered soulflower and a crushed heart, and he’d
wandered right into the scene of… of Kacchan being attacked by the villain that had nearly killed
him before All Might got there.

Izuku had stood and watched, his soulmark burning with thoughts both his own and not his own.
I’m worthless, Izuku thought, getting in All Might’s way. It’s my fault you’re stuck in there,
Kacchan… I’m sorry… so sorry.

But Kacchan’s burning red eyes, the ones that had stared him down as he rejected their soulbond
and looked him in the eye as he burned him, had looked so scared.

They reminded Izuku of his own eyes. Terrified for what was outside of his control.

And before he knew it, he’d sprinted out there. He recalled notes from Kamui Woods’ fight that
morning, attacking from a distance. He flung his bag of school supplies and dove for the sludge
and tried his best to dig him out.

For the first instance in his life, he felt like he’d done something right. Like… like he’d done
something heroic, even.
Of course, he’d gotten scolded for it. On television, even. He knew his classmates would have a
field day with that, relentlessly hounding him about it for the rest of the school year. It would be
absolutely awful listening to them turning the only heroic moment in his life sour. He could defend
people from bullies all he wanted, but this had been something else entirely.

But of all things… of all the possible things, All Might had stood up for him! Had told the other
heroes that he’d saved Kacchan’s life! It felt beyond gratifying, even if it was just platitudes for the
camera. He felt so warmed by the thought of the man standing up for him even after everything
he’d said before.

He’d walked home, feeling somewhere between resignation and pride. Pride because he’d done
something he never thought possible and got praised by All Might, and resignation because he
knew that he’d never get to do much else with his life. Kacchan had been right, even All Might
said so. So instead, he would just… accept it.

But then… but then!

All Might had appeared! He was here.

And he told Izuku the only thing he’d ever wanted to hear in his entire life. That he could be a hero.
He wanted to help Izuku become a hero. All Might had even offered him his power! His quirk! The
strongest quirk in existence, and it would only get stronger!

So yeah, Izuku felt a little punch drunk from all the curveballs the day had thrown at him. He went
home that night and felt so out of it he barely even acknowledged his mother. It wasn’t until he
showered, sat down for dinner, and his mother had asked him how his day went that it all finally
began to hit him and he started to cry into his food.

“I-Izuku?!” Inko cried, looking worried and anxious. Izuku wiped his face, but the tears wouldn’t
stop coming. Happy tears, as a matter of fact, because he looked up to his mother with the dopiest
grin he’d had in a long time.

“I-I’m so h-happy, mom,” He hiccuped, his voice cracking. Inko looked a little relieved then,
knowing that it was out of happiness. “S-So much happened today but I’m just… s-so happy. I… I-
I met one of my soulmates today, mom.”

He held out his hand to her, showing her the bundle of blue flowers that made up All Might’s
soulflower. His mother gasped, seeing how it was slightly withered - but she didn’t know it had
almost been completely withered earlier that day, and that this was a marked improvement. Izuku
put his other hand over his mother’s gently, almost reverently.

“H-He wants to stay soulmates, mom. I was so scared… I was so scared he wouldn’t want to… but
he did. He did. He said… he said I could be a hero, mom.” Izuku said, sniffling. Inko’s expression
softened then, realizing the withering was probably her son’s fear of being rejected. But knowing
that the person wanted to stay in Izuku’s life, she was a lot happier.

“Oh, baby, I’m so happy for you. You see? I told you your soulmates would love you no matter
what. I don’t… I don’t know what got into Katsuki, but he’s the one missing out, I promise. You’ll
have plenty of people who love you just fine.”

“He- My soulmate is-” Izuku’s mouth twisted up, not sure how much he could or should reveal. He
decided to leave it vague for now, but the thought of his mother being left in the dark unsettled
him. He’d think about that more later. “He’s a hero. He wants - he wants to help me be a hero too,
mom. Would you… would you be okay with me trying? I know you worry…”
“Izuku…” Inko murmured, eyebrows drawn up with anxiousness.

“I want to be a hero for you, mama.” Izuku said, softly. He hadn’t called her mama in years, and
Inko felt her heart melt at the declaration. “I want to be a hero so you can smile again. So you don’t
ever have to worry about me again. I’ll be strong… and you can be friends with Auntie Mitsuki
again. It has to hurt… looking at the flower. It… it hurts to look at mine.”

The admission hurt more than Inko would’ve liked to admit, but she understood. And the fact that
he wanted to be a hero for her… well, she could hardly say no to that. As much as it would worry
her, and as much as she’d just as well keep him safe, she knew she needed to support him.

The time for ‘I’m sorry’ had passed, and now she needed to say ‘yes, you can.’

“If that’s your dream… then you pursue that dream with all of your heart, baby. I’ll be strong for
you, too. Even heroes need moms, sweetie, so just tell me when things get too hard. I’ll always be
on your side. Alright?” She said, giving Izuku a kiss on the cheek.

“Of course, mama!” Izuku’s smile was nearly blinding, and she knew she’d said the right thing.
The thing she should have said when he was younger.

“Now eat your food, sweetie, it’s going to get cold.”

Izuku, surprisingly, wasn’t dreading the next day. It was going to take all of his willpower to go to
school not because of what he knew would await him, but because he couldn’t focus on school at
all. He was still thinking seriously about All Might’s offer, just like the man asked. It was
admittedly a harder decision than he thought, and he understood now why the man had asked him
not to give an answer right away. It did require extensive thinking.

On one hand, he’d always wanted to be a hero all on his own, proving to the world that quirkless
people could be heroes too. To be strong enough to protect his soulmates, even despite what the
world saw as lacking. That thought was still appealing, of course - he would love nothing more
than to prove himself to everyone who had said he couldn’t.

On the other hand, the allure of a quirk - the one thing that he’d always wanted, that would make
him an equal in the eyes of his peers - was almost too much to bear. It would let him be everything
they were and more, and yet nothing like them at all. With a powerful quirk, he could be gentle to
others where his classmates hurt and belittled.

And his mother, well, his mother wouldn’t have to worry about her little boy getting hurt any more.
And with a powerful quirk, people would take him seriously, they’d listen when he spoke. If
somebody as powerful as All Might vocally and consistently advocated for the quirkless, then
perhaps… perhaps he could still prove them wrong.

Those were the thoughts on his mind as he walked into school, though Aldera Jr. High and its
looming presence took the thought right out of him. He had to be on guard at all times, or else,
well, the result of a distracted Izuku wouldn’t be pretty.

That day, though, it was… eerily calm. Like, too calm. It made him physically uncomfortable how
easy it was for him to walk into the school. People whispered and talked, but nobody stopped him.
There were no active jeers and taunts. It made his skin crawl, and he actually almost preferred the
insults since he was so used to them.

And when he walked into the classroom that day, it hit him. He knew why they were so quiet. The
reason was there, sitting on his desk, waiting for him.

A bouquet of vibrantly red spider lilies.

Izuku’s mouth felt dry and the room suddenly felt too small. Somebody - probably one of
Bakugou’s followers, if he dared to fathom a guess - had put them on his desk. He forgot that it
was always like this… everyone followed Bakugou, being the strongest student in the school.

Once Bakugou had told him to kill himself, it was like declaring open season on him. Now that
Bakugou had done it, it was okay for them to do it, too. They probably thought they were cool, that
they’d get on Bakugou’s good side for pulling a stunt like this. Izuku felt sick to his stomach,
walking stiffly to his desk. He picked up the lilies with a carefully crafted mask, walked them to
the trash can, and then went to go and sit back down. He’d long since learned that giving them a
reaction always made it worse.

“What, you didn’t like the gift, Deku?” One boy in the back jeered, a horrible, curling smile on his
face. “They were picked out just for you, all nice and stuff. It’s a real shame you couldn’t have put
them to use yesterday and just kicked the bucket in that villain attack.”

“Yeah, that was pretty lame, huh?” Another girl snickered to herself. “The quirkless loser was so
desperate to prove himself that he just threw himself in the way of hero work. Or maybe he just
wanted to die where other people could see?”

“Midoriya, get in your seat already, would you?” Their teacher snapped, and he felt a hand hit the
back of his head. Probably the teacher’s hand stretched across the room from his quirk. “I should
write you up for distracting class as often as you do. Sit down.”

“... Yes, Fujisaki-sensei.”

Izuku’s brain turned to TV static. He couldn’t listen any more. How could they say those things?
He’d heard them implied all his life, but to say it to his face… that one gesture of acceptance and
kindness from All Might made him temporarily forget that quirkless people were less than human.
All Might was the exception to the rule because, well, he was All Might.

He shouldn’t have gotten his hopes up. All Might was the paragon of virtue he’d grown up
admiring, but his other soulmates… they’d all still hate him, wouldn’t they? He needed to not get
his hopes up. He knew better than that, the last 14 years of his life had taught him a painful lesson
he could never forget. He shouldn’t have gotten complacent.

Soulmates for somebody like him just weren't possible. But being a hero… letting his mom smile
again… that was possible.

But the flowers had given him valuable food for thought, as much as they hurt.

People could never accept a quirkless hero. Even if he made it to graduation, even if he got his
hero license, he’d never be taken seriously. He’d always just be ‘that quirkless person who got in
the way of the real heroes.’ He’d be laughed at, an outcast even among the heroes. If nobody
could see his actions as heroic besides the number one, then he had no hope of being seen as heroic
by anybody else.

But with a quirk… with All Might’s power, with One for All…
He could change the way things were with his own two hands.

Izuku couldn’t stop thinking about it all morning, all the way until lunch. It was probably the only
thing keeping him from breaking down crying thinking about that morning. He slipped away
quietly, to a janitor’s closet the other kids hadn’t discovered he ate in yet. The janitor, a kindly
older man named Inoue, was one of the only people in the school Izuku liked.

He set up a little folding table for Izuku in the closet and always made sure the other kids didn’t
look there for him when he was eating his lunch. He was quirkless too, one of the older generation,
so he understood how Izuku felt. He was lucky to get the position of janitor before jobs became all
but inaccessible to the quirkless. The staff couldn’t fire him either, he said, because he was the best
janitor they had.

“Eating in the closet again, Midoriya?” Inoue asked when he entered quietly, already sitting in the
back with the folding table ready. It seemed like he was playing solitaire in here, probably on his
break.

“Yeah. They weren’t, um, in the chasing mood today I guess…” Izuku muttered, taking a seat
across from the man. He pulled out the bento his mother made him, and Inoue’s eyebrows rose as
he stared down at Izuku’s wrists.

“You found one of your soulmates, kiddo? Good for you!” He smiled. “That calls for a celebration.
I tell you what, I’ve got a secret stash of cookies in here. Don’t tell anybody, but I’ll share one with
you.” He laughed a little, reaching into his personal bag to pull out a box from a local bakery
loaded with miscellaneous cookies. “Take whichever one you want.”

Izuku took a frosted one from the box with a small smile on his face, happily munching on it.
When he was done, he looked down at the blue soulflower and back up to Inoue.

“Inoue-san, do you like heroes?” He asked softly. The man hummed thoughtfully, a hand to his
stubbly chin. Finally he nodded.

“I suppose so. They’re good for citizens for the most part. Why do you ask? I mean, I know you
love heroes judging by those notebooks of yours, but why ask me?” Inoue asked, watching Izuku
curiously.

“Oh, well… the soulmate I met told me he thinks I could be a hero. I was just thinking… would it
be better to be a quirkless hero or a flashy one? I mean, I just find it hard to think that people would
take a quirkless hero seriously… even though it’s all I’ve ever wanted.” Izuku sighed morosely.
Even though he knew taking the quirk would probably be better, he still couldn’t help but wish that
his quirkless self could compete.

“That’s a tough one, kiddo. I know that I, for one, would kill to see a quirkless hero. But I also
know that realistically, quirkless people like us just kind of fade into the background when there’s
so many quirks out there. I feel like it’d end up being mostly the same. No matter how much good
you do, you’d still be quirkless before everything else.” Inoue said, sounding genuinely upset at the
thought.

“But,” Inoue started again, sitting up straight with a serious look on his face. “If you think it’s what
you want to do, you shouldn’t let other people’s opinions hold you back. You just have to think
about it seriously. Would you be okay with being a hero that always fell behind the others, so long
as you can do some good?”

Izuku’s eyes widened; he hadn’t thought of it like that. Would he be okay with that?

And when he thought about it… no, he wouldn’t.

He wanted to be a hero that could make even his worrywart mom feel safe, that made everyone
feel like they could make something of themselves. He couldn’t do that if he was always
overshadowed by the quirked people. He…

He wanted to be like All Might. He wanted to save people with a smile.

“Oh… thank you so much for the advice, Inoue-san!” Izuku said, scrambling to pull out his phone.
He had a text to make. Inoue just patted Izuku’s head, happy his advice had helped.

[To: Yagi-san; 12:11pm]

Yagi-san, can I talk to you after school today? I think I’ve made my decision.

Toshinori had been filling out some paperwork when Midoriya’s text came in. He hoped it meant
that Midoriya had decided to become his successor, but he was going to temper his eagerness in
case the boy decided otherwise. He and Midoriya decided to meet up outside his school, as
apparently he had something to ask before he gave his answer.

So now, Toshinori was standing nervously outside the gates in his skinny form, trying not to look
too out of place. When he spotted Midoriya, the boy was sprinting out of the gates with some
people hot on his heels. He ran into Toshinori with an ‘oof!’ but luckily didn’t knock them both
over. He looked up, frightened, but then relaxed when he saw who it was he’d run into.

The boys who had been running after him gave a suspicious look to Midoriya after they saw him,
however, and turned and left. One of them, the blond boy he’d saved yesterday, muttered out a
string of curses. What was his problem, anyway, Toshinori wondered?

“Are you quite alright, my boy?” He settled on asking. Midoriya let out a long, slow breath.

“Y-Yeah! I’m okay, thank you.” He said, finally settling his nerves. “S-So, Yagi-san, I… think I
know what I’d like to do. But… I have a question to ask you first, like I said. I-It’s… important to
me.”

“Of course, ask away. Anything important to you is important to me.” Toshinori nodded.

“My mom. I-I told you I wanted to be a hero so she could smile again, didn’t I?” Midoriya asked,
tilting his head. Toshinori nodded again, he did recall that. “Well, I… I don’t feel comfortable
hiding anything from her. She’s done so much for me… even if I choose to take your, um, offer,”
he said quietly, trying to be discreet, “Would you let me tell her?”

“Your mother…” Toshinori hummed in thought, looking up at the bright blue sky. “I suppose it
would be good for you to have somebody to confide in aside from me. I believe that if you’d like to
tell her, I don’t mind at all.”
“R-Really?!” Midoriya brightened, a big smile on his face. “Oh, thank you so much, Yagi-san!
Then I have to say… I’d like to accept your offer!”

“Really?!” Toshinori asked, mirroring Izuku’s giant grin. “Ah, my boy, you won’t regret this! I
promise, I’ll help you become a hero who can make anybody smile!”

“Thank you! I’ll be in your care.” Midoriya bowed deeply. “S-So then… would you be willing to
come over for dinner tonight, Yagi-san? I think she’d love to meet you. We can talk about
everything over a meal…”

“Ah, I don’t see why not. I’ve used up most of my time for today anyway. Should you give her a
call and ask if it’s alright with her?” Toshinori gestured to his bag. Midoriya’s eyes went wide and
he nodded quickly, pulling out his phone. The boy dialed somebody and it rang a few times before
presumably his mom picked up.

“H-Hi mom! I was wondering if you would be okay with me bringing somebody over for dinner…
N-No, not a friend, um, that soulmate I met yesterday that I told you about… Yes, he’s very nice
mom, I promise!... okay, I can do that… Alright, mom, thank you so much. I love you. Bye!” He
said happily, and he ended the conversation. “She said it’s okay, we just have to pick up some
groceries on the way home… I hope it’s not too much of a bother.”

“Not at all, lead the way.” Toshinori chuckled.

It was a quiet trip to the local market; apparently, Midoriya lived in Musutafu all his life and knew
his way around well. There were only a few markets in town where quirkless people were even
permitted to shop, he explained, and everyone knew his face. Toshinori frowned at the thought; he
didn’t remember that being an issue for the quirkless when he was younger.

But they got the things Midoriya’s mother had requested without issue, and they made their way to
the residential district afterwards. Midoriya lived in a quiet, quaint apartment building tucked into
the farthest end of the district, a bit of a walk but very peaceful. Midoriya showed him to the door
and went inside, calling out to his mother.

“Mom! We’re here! We got your groceries!” He called. Toshinori heard a woman’s voice in the
back of the apartment, the smell of food already wafting towards the front. Toshinori swore his
stomach would rumble if he still had one, he hadn’t eaten a home-cooked meal in so long.

“Oh, Izuku, baby, set your shoes in the doorway and come on in! I’ve got to mind the food for a
minute. I made tea, though, would you pour our guest a cup?” She called. Midoriya waved him
inside, and Toshinori took off his shoes in the entryway. The house seemed lived-in, well taken
care of and very homey. As they went further in, he noticed plenty of photos, though no recent ones
included a father figure and none included Midoriya himself past middle school. There were no
academic achievements or school assignments on display, either.

Otherwise, it seemed like a happy home, and Midoriya clearly valued and loved his mother a lot.
He was doing this in large part for her, he’d said as much after all. Midoriya sat him down on the
couch and disappeared into the kitchen, reappearing with a tray of tea. Toshinori sipped on his cup
gratefully, suddenly very nervous.

If Midoriya valued his mother’s trust so much, what if she said no? What would he do if she
decided she didn’t like the idea of her son inheriting his quirk? A dozen scenarios like that ran
through his head, and all of them set him on edge. He wanted to train Midoriya! He wanted the boy
as his successor! He hoped Mrs. Midoriya understood.
 Finally, after what felt like a million years, a woman came round the corner into the living room.
She was short and very round, and practically a carbon-copy of Midoriya, although her hair was
straight and she had no freckles. She wiped her hands on her apron, and before Toshinori could
process much more, he felt a sharp pulling sensation on his bangs.

“You might be my son’s soulmate, but I want you to tell me what your intentions are with him right
this instant.” She said without warning, her hand in the air.

“Ow!” Toshinori winced, feeling his hair being pulled in her general direction. Was that her quirk?
“M-Midoriya-san, I assure you, I mean no harm to your son. I was inspired by him and I would like
to see him achieve his dreams, and he’s asked that you be included in that process, of course! I
agreed completely, you are his mother, after all.”

“You’re certain? Because I won’t tolerate you stringing him along. My baby boy’s already been
hurt enough, you hear me? And hair isn’t the only thing I can pull on.” Mrs. Midoriya glared at
him. Midoriya yelped and called for his mom, incredibly embarrassed.

“M-Mom, please stop! I promise he won't do anything bad!” He said quickly, and his mother
sighed. She let go of Toshinori’s bangs and he rubbed tenderly at his scalp.

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry. I just can’t stand the thought of somebody hurting you. I wanted him to
understand that, sweetie.” She said, coming further into the living room to sit across from
Toshinori. “Let me start over. I’m Midoriya Inko.”

“Yagi Toshinori, ma’am. And if you’d be willing, I’d like to talk to you about helping your son
become a hero and everything that entails.”

Chapter End Notes

Mama Inko doesn't play games when it comes to her son! She'll kick anybody's butt,
even All Might's!

Also, what do you guys think of Inoue? Originally, I had him just as a small character
for a couple of scenes... but I ended up liking him so much I added him in for some
more stuff. He's not a main character, but he'll appear here and there! So I hope you
guys like him as much as I do!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Anthurium
Chapter Summary

He’d just have to get his old sidekick to understand just how good Izuku was, convince
him to meet with the boy. If he saw Izuku in person, surely Mirai would understand.

Chapter Notes

DOUBLE UPDATE! This is part two of a double update. If you haven't read the last
chapter, please go back and do so!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Yagi Toshinori, ma’am.” Toshinori introduced himself, holding out a hand for Midoriya’s mother
to shake. “And if you’d be willing, I’d like to talk to you about helping your son become a hero and
everything that entails.”

“My son told me as much. Call me Inko, by the way, it’ll get confusing if we’re both Midoriya.
Izuku also said that you were a hero, but he didn’t say which one…” She said, cautiously taking
Toshinori’s hand and shaking it. Toshinori chuckled sheepishly, but he nodded in confirmation.

“Yes, I am. I’ll show you and explain everything.” He said, and with a puff of smoke he’d turned
into All Might. Inko nearly fell out of her chair in surprise at the large man now sitting on her
couch, the number one hero in Japan just casually visiting her apartment.

Toshinori went on to explain everything, however - from how he met her son to the offer he’d
made. He was honest with her, even when the explanation of the roof incident got him another tug
on his bangs. (“Number One Hero or not, that’s my baby boy!” she said.) And once Inko had heard
the full story, she sat in thought for a good while.

“So, you’d like to pass on this quirk of yours to Izuku…” She murmured, face scrunched up in
worry. Midoriya seemed like he recognized the look. “I suppose it would allow me a little less
worry. I’d still worry simply because he’s my son, of course but… what were your thoughts on all
of this, Izuku?”

“Um, well… I-I’d like to take his offer, mom. I thought about it all day today.” Midoriya muttered,
picking at the hem of his shirt nervously. “I think in order to be the kind of hero I want to be… I’d
like to accept his quirk.”

“Ah… I see.” Inko smiled softly, almost knowingly. But behind the smile, there was a bone-deep
sort of weariness. Toshinori knew it because he felt it every day, but he wondered what could have
caused that in a mother’s smile. “And what exactly are the risks of the quirk, Yagi-san? You
haven’t talked a lot about the training plan or the quirk itself.”

“My apologies!” Toshinori coughed awkwardly, not realizing he’d glossed over that bit. “So, the
quirk itself… As far as I know, there shouldn’t be a tremendous amount of blowback so long as
he’s adequately prepared. However, if he’s not prepared, it could damage his limbs to the point of
unusability, or even blow them clean off. That’s what my master told me, anyway. So! That is why
I propose a specifically-tailored strength-training program, one designed to help him bulk up and
put on the muscle necessary to manage the quirk without danger.”

“Blow them clean off…?” Inko looked horrified to say the least. “And you still want to give this
quirk to a child?”

“It was given to me at the same age! I promise you, so long as he’s fit, it won’t cause trouble. I’m
aware of the risks, and if I think he’s unprepared, I absolutely will not give it to him.” Toshinori
said seriously. “If you have a pen and paper, I can give you exact numbers. The amount of muscle
mass he needs to put on, the diet somebody his age and body type would need to follow, anything
you’d like. I promise, I know what I’m doing when it comes to this quirk.”

“... Alright, but only because I know how important this is to Izuku. I’d like to supervise when I
can though, and if I feel like something is unsafe, I want your promise you’ll listen to me.” She
said, her eyes like steel.

“You have yourself a promise, Inko-san. I’ll do my best as All Might to help your son become the
best hero he can be.” He held out his hand to shake again, and she gave it a firmer one this time.
Midoriya looked supremely relieved, letting out a big sigh as he slouched into the couch.
Toshinori, however, felt his wrist itch and he moved his cover to scratch again.

“Oh my,” He heard Inko laugh a little, and he looked up to see her admiring her own wrist.
Toshinori’s eyes went wide and he pulled down the cover fully, revealing a strangely-shaped red
flower where his last unbloomed bud had been. “It seems we’re platonic soulmates as well, Yagi-
san! What an interesting flower.”

“Mom!” Midoriya perked up to get a look at the flower. “You too? Oh my gosh! We’re all
connected! I can’t believe it, that’s so cool…”

“Well, I certainly have an interesting story to tell my husband! He actually works for your
merchandise company, you know? He’s in the American distribution branch. He works so hard to
provide for our baby, but we have calls every other day and he visits every holiday.” Inko smiled,
looking particularly smitten when she talked about her husband.

Toshinori just chuckled, he felt the same when he spoke about Naomasa. “Well, I’d like to keep my
identity under wraps as much as possible, but you’re welcome to tell him what you’d like outside of
my hero persona and my quirk, of course.”

“Oh, of course! And Izuku, this must be so exciting for you. You can study All Might’s quirk! The
one you’ve always wanted to study!” Inko said, a gleam in her eye. “It might help you prepare for
the quirk itself too, sweetie.”

“Study?” Toshinori asked curiously. Midoriya grinned so brightly it was like a small sun was in
the room all of a sudden. He sprinted off without warning down a separate hallway, and when he
returned, he was clutching a notebook in his hands. He was practically shaking with excitement,
bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

“I like to do quirk analysis! I thought it might help me become a hero before I met you, actually…”
Midoriya said shyly, holding out the notebook towards him. Toshinori looked at the cover,
noticing that it was similar to the one he’d gathered up the day before yesterday, when he’d saved
Midoriya. The other one was significantly more burnt and waterlogged, but it was definitely the
same notebook brand.
The cover of this one read ‘Hero Analysis for the Future, no.14,’ and Toshinori’s eyebrows rose.
This was the 14th installment? Midoriya must have really enjoyed analysis, then. He wondered
how long the boy had been writing these. When he opened up the book, however, Toshinori wasn’t
prepared for what awaited him inside.

The first entry was a full-page diagram of Edgeshot and his costume, and a highly detailed
breakdown of all its pieces and intricacies. On the pages that followed, it was a complete dissection
of the man’s quirk, fighting style, and psychological profile. Even after that, there were more pages
on his stats, his standing with the public, and how his personality and appearances affected public
perception of heroes as a whole. Toshinori felt a little flabbergasted.

This was… a lot. In a good way, of course! But suddenly, Toshinori felt very intellectually
outmatched. He knew what his strong suits were, and none of them lied in analysis or careful
thought like this. He was good with people, good with fighting, good with heroism, and good with
training others physically. This was… a little beyond him, if he was honest. But it spoke volumes
of the boy who’d written it, and he knew he needed to encourage this.

“How long does it usually take you to make these entries? There’s already quite a few,” Toshinori
mused, seeing more entries on Gang Orca and Ryukyu inside.

“Well, I usually have a bunch of thoughts on them all at once, but they’re a little disorganized, so I
write them on scrap paper first… then I make diagrams and everything to go along with those
thoughts, and then write them all in proper order in my notebooks!” Midoriya explained, grinning.
“W-Would you be willing to let me analyze One for All? Properly, now that I know more about
it?”

“I suppose you could,” Toshinori said, nodding sagely. It would be a good exercise for him to
understand the quirk before he received it, anyway. But how could he help? If he wanted Midoriya
to be the best hero he could be, he needed somebody who could speak to Midoriya’s intellectual
side. Unfortunately, that wasn’t him.

And the only people he did know who were able to think on this level… one was Principal Nedzu,
but the thought of Principal Nedzu getting his paws on somebody as smart as Midoriya scared the
hell out of him. Mostly because Toshinori felt like Nedzu would swipe his successor right out from
underneath him…

The only other person he knew interested in hero analysis was Sir Nighteye. It had been years
since he spoke to the man, the platonic soulflower linking them having slightly withered after their
fight. But… maybe it was time to reach out again.

Mirai was a good man, intelligent and able to keep up with somebody like Midoriya. And having a
similar body type, he’d be able to help fine-tune Midoriya’s training and assist with smaller details
he had trouble with. And besides, Mirai already knew about One for All and that he was planning
on looking for a successor anyway.

Toshinori had actually gotten an email from Mirai about a potential candidate only last week, as a
matter of fact. He would have to explain the situation surrounding Midoriya, but Toshinori was
sure Mirai would come to love the boy.

Now he just had to gather the courage to reach out. But for now, he could start Midoriya’s training
regimen and have Inko’s support while they got started.
“A… trash beach? Why are we here?” Midoriya’s nose wrinkled at the sheer, intense smell of
rotting garbage and rusted metal combined with the natural smell of the sea. They were at Dagobah
Beach, a small, local beach that had become a repository for all sorts of unsavory items. It started
out with the natural currents in the waters washing trash ashore, but eventually it got so bad that
people began to use it as a dumping ground and it was left to rot ever since.

Toshinori had come here with Nana many times when he was Izuku’s age. He remembered taking
a break with her, just walking along the sand with his shoes off one day. It made him incredibly
sad to see the beach in such a state, so he decided to continue the tradition of having it be a sacred
place. This was going to be the start of Midoriya’s training regimen.

“Yes, my boy, we’re at a trash beach!” Toshinori laughed raucously. “This is Dagobah Beach, an
illegal landfill. Can you guess why I’ve brought you here?”

“Hmm… you said we were going to start training today… so does it have anything to do with
training? Are we going to clean up some of this trash?” Midoriya asked, tilting his head.

“Close! Not just some of this trash, though, Young Midoriya - this entire stretch of beach between
the two piers! I want you to clean this whole part during the ten months before the entrance exam.
The different objects will target all of your muscle groups, and combined with the diet your mother
has agreed to help with, it will allow you to pack on muscle both fast and safely!” Toshinori
explained. From a folder he’d brought with him, he handed Midoriya a sheet of paper.

“This here is going to be your training schedule. Even when I’m not able to supervise, I need you
to keep up with it. Don’t slack, but also don’t go overboard. I’m serious, I know you want to get
better, but doing too much work actually harms your body in the long run. You need to follow this
exactly. Understand?” He said. He knew Midoriya wanted to be a hero more than anything, but
now was not the time to go Plus Ultra.

“R-Right!” Midoriya nodded curtly. He seemed to gather the importance of the situation. “I
promise I’ll stick to this plan faithfully.”

“Good! Any equipment listed there that you don’t have, I’m happy to get for you or lend you. And
if you have any questions, please feel free to ask, either in person or by call or text. It’ll be intense,
getting you into shape before the U.A exam… but I believe in you. I know you can do it.”
Toshinori said, ruffling the boy’s hair.

“Yes, sir! I won’t let you down, you’ll see!” Midoriya gave that beaming grin again, and Toshinori
was so grateful to have found him the day he did. He couldn’t have asked for a better, more
dedicated successor.

“So with that being said, let’s get started! I’ve brought along my truck, as you can see,” Toshinori
gestured to it, parked along the seawall. “And you can load large appliances into it. I’ll haul them
off to a scrap and recycling center. I’ll also leave it here on the days I’m not here, and I’ll come
pick it up when I return. I’ve also brought trash bags and protective gloves for the smaller trash,
the last thing I want is for you to injure yourself!”

“Right! You can count on me! I suppose we could even sort the trash as we go… if I get the glass
and plastics and metals… Hmm, I bet I could take them to a recycling center and get an allowance
for them… I could…” Midoriya devolved into a muttering storm, something Toshinori had noticed
he did. He’d have to work on keeping his observations internal…
“But there is one more thing I want you to think about, my boy. One more reason why I’ve
selected this as the biggest part of your training regimen, and not, say, a gym. Can you guess?”
Toshinori asked as he got the gloves and garbage bags from the back of his truck. Midoriya looked
up from his thoughts, looking thoughtful.

“Hmm… It has to be something to do with the beach itself, right? Because it’s being used illegally,
it would be the right thing to do to clean it?” He asked.

“Almost, yes! Essentially, community service used to be the backbone of heroics. Heroes used to
be nothing more than civilians doing the right thing simply because it was the right thing, no
questions asked. It’s important to keep that in mind as you become a hero. Doing the right thing
shouldn’t come with the intent of repayment or reward. That’s part of what it means to be a hero.”
Toshinori explained as Midoriya pulled the gloves on. “Reward and payment is fine if you happen
into it, and heroes should get paid like anybody else with a job, but heroics shouldn’t be a self-
interested profession overall. Does that make sense?”

“Yes!” Midoriya’s eyes sparkled with awe, as if Toshinori had imparted some higher knowledge
upon him. “That’s so inspiring! I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. I never thought of heroics as being
self-interested before, but I suppose it could easily turn into that…”

“Yes! It’s a good aspect to be aware of. If left unchecked, self-interest eventually leads to things
like the sludge villain incident the other day. The heroes were too worried about themselves that
they forgot the number one rule of villain attacks: prioritize the civilians first. Heroes exist to
protect civilians, after all - it was unacceptable for them to be standing around as they did.”
Toshinori nodded.

“Wow! I’m learning so much already…” Midoriya whispered excitedly, climbing atop the trash.
“I’m going to start up here, Yagi-san! I’ll hand you the bigger stuff on top and just toss the smaller
stuff onto the ground to pick up after, okay?”

“Sounds good, my boy!” Toshinori nodded, pulling out his own pair of gloves to be used when the
situation called for it. “Just be careful, some of these piles look a bit unstable.”

“You’ve got it, sir! I wouldn’t want to worry my mom, anyway.” Midoriya laughed. Toshinori just
smiled and pulled out his phone. While Midoriya was working on that, he wanted to write an email
to Mirai. He needed to reach out and get him to agree to a meeting.

Dear Sir,

Toshinori shook his head and backspaced that out. Too formal, made him sound like another hero
reaching out for assistance, not like old friends and platonic soulmates…

Dear Mirai,

How have you been? I’m grateful that you reached out to me a couple of weeks ago regarding my
interest in a successor. I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to meet with you in person and talk, but I
ended up being quite busy myself. You see, I have found the boy I wish to make my successor. He is
an incredibly bright child, and much like Nana and I were, we are familial soulmates. I am
incredibly honored to be able to know him.

I’m reaching back out to you to ask for your assistance in training him, as a matter of fact. I know
where my strengths lie, and unfortunately, they do not lie where his do. He is massively intelligent,
and very interested in hero and quirk analysis. I have a feeling you would be much better suited to
training him in those areas than I.
He and his mother have already been informed of the plans I have to train him physically, but he
could use somebody on his side mentally. Would you be willing to lend a hand? I regret our fight
years ago, and I hope you will forgive my foolhardy nature. I’ve learned a lot in the years since,
thanks to Naomasa being in my life.

If you are willing, please let me know. I am certain you will see the same spark of a hero in him
that I have, and you will understand just why I chose him. If you have any questions, please feel
free to ask. I await your response.

Sincerely,

Yagi Toshinori.

The next week passed by smoothly. Midoriya had settled easily into the workout routine Toshinori
had set for him, and Inko seemed to be happy when she joined them that weekend. Midoriya was
focused on cleaning the trash, with Toshinori and Inko helping out here and there. Right now,
however, they were talking among themselves.

“Thank you so much for everything you’re doing, Yagi-san.” Inko said gently, that weary smile
returning to her face as she looked at her son. It was that same smile she had the first time they
met, the one Toshinori wondered about. “You have no idea just how much this means to him.
Honestly, this is the happiest I’ve seen him in years.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Toshnori asked, a mildly concerned expression on his face. Inko sighed,
a hand to her cheek in remembrance.

“He was always… so sad, growing up. Being quirkless and surrounded by people who had quirks,
well, it’s not like our generations. You had just debuted when I was in junior high, and back then,
being quirkless wasn’t as big of a stigma. But these days, well… it’s so much more of a brand of
shame. People often insinuated I should just give up Izuku for adoption, try for a quirked baby.”

“You’re kidding,” Toshinori said, looking a little faint. He could hardly imagine that! Just how bad
had things gotten for the quirkless? He remembered it not being that big of a deal when he was
growing up. It was a shame, since he wanted to be a hero, but he was still able to get by just fine.
Nobody had ever insinuated he didn’t deserve a family just for being quirkless!

“No, I’m not. It hurt to hear those things, but it hurt him so much more than it did me. I’m sure that
even now, my baby’s hiding a lot of pain he doesn’t talk about.” Inko said, pressing her lips into a
fine line as she thought. But then she looked up to Toshinori with a smile. “But you’ve made him
happier than he’s been in so long. He has hope in his eyes again. This is everything to him. So…
thank you so, so much. I’m glad my son has you as a soulmate.”

Toshinori looked shocked at the declaration, but then his expression softened into something
indescribably gentle, a smile on his face as he looked atop the pile of trash at Midoriya. The boy
was humming some tune to himself, completely lost in the workout.

“Of course, Inko-san. I’m just as grateful to be able to help him achieve his dreams. He’s a good
kid at heart, I saw it the day I saved him.”

Soon after, Toshinori felt his phone buzz in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see that he’d gotten
 an email response from Mirai. His eyes went a little wider, and he quickly opened the app. What
did Mirai say, he wondered? Was he still upset with Toshinori after all this time?

Toshinori,

I am glad you reached out to me. However, I will have to decline your request for my assistance to
train this ‘successor’ you have picked out.

If you would like to meet with me, however, I am still more than willing. I believe the candidate I
mentioned in my last email to be the perfect fit for your quirk and legacy. I would not mind
discussing his potential, should you be interested in meeting him as well.

Familial soulmates or not, you should be careful who you give such privileges to. Consider: is he
truly the best choice, or are you more enamored with the fact that you share a soulflower? Keep
this in mind before you make any final decisions. I will be here if you change your mind.

Sasaki Mirai.

Toshinori could hardly believe what he read. Mirai was dismissing Izuku without even knowing
more about him? This would just not do at all. Izuku needed another mentor, one that would
understand his intelligence, and he was still certain Mirai was the best fit. He’d just have to get his
old sidekick to understand just how good Izuku was, convince him to meet with the boy. If he saw
Izuku in person, surely Mirai would understand.

Toshinori had a new mission in mind: getting Izuku a meeting with Sir Nighteye.

Chapter End Notes

Anthurium: a red flower meaning hospitality & happiness.

Yes!!! Get your son a teacher Toshinori, you can do it!!!

I'm excited for you guys to see Nighteye in the fic. He's better here, though I know it
doesn't seem like it from the email... well, you guys will see. Hope you enjoyed this
double update! We'll now have regular, weekly updates on fridays. Perhaps if the
backlog gets big enough I'll start updating twice a week! I just know how that went for
me with my other fics so I'm starting with one a week updates lol.

See you all next chapter, next Friday!

- daylightbreaks
 Self-Respect
Chapter Summary

“That reminds me… I hope you forgive me for asking such a blunt question, but when
we first met, why did you assume I’d wither the soulflower?”

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Toshinori continued to work with Midoriya, all the while staying in correspondence with Mirai. It
would take some convincing, but he had explained to Inko what he was trying to do and she agreed.
Though it did make her supremely nervous to try setting up a meeting with somebody who wasn’t
at all initially interested in meeting her son…

As far as the physical side of things had been going, Midoriya was doing very well with his
training. Inko was making sure he stuck to his regimen carefully when Toshinori wasn’t there,
which was a huge weight off of the man’s shoulders. He was very worried about Midoriya trying
to overdo it, but with another person watching over him it was just fine.

When it was only him and Midoriya, however, he noticed things sometimes got tense. Not in the
traditional sense, but in the sense that Midoriya was often… incredibly hard on himself. He also
tended to expect the worst at any given time, as if Toshinori would just turn around and drop him
like he’d never wanted anything to do with him.

Toshinori had no idea how the boy could think half the things he muttered about himself. He
probably assumed Toshinori couldn’t hear, but he heard everything the boy muttered under his
breath. He quite frequently called himself ‘stupid deku,’ which made his mentor frown intensely.

Wasn’t that the name that blond boy had called Izuku before?

It painted a picture Toshinori didn’t like, and one he wanted to fix. Aside from the physical
workouts and trying to set up a meeting with Mirai, Toshinori also had one more goal: improve
Midoriya’s self-confidence and self-esteem as a whole. He was a good kid, he deserved a better
view of himself!

Unfortunately, Toshinori wasn’t good at that sort of thing either.

What he could do, however, was do some research. His time limit, while it hindered his hero work,
afforded him much more personal time than he’d ever had before. It was why he had time to
actually be a partner to Naomasa, help train Midoriya, all sorts of things. Actually, now that he
thought about it, perhaps asking Naomasa for advice wouldn’t be so bad.

That day, he decided to ask his partner what he thought the best course of action was to help
Midoriya. He returned to their shared apartment with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Hey, Toshi. How was your day at work?” Naomasa asked. Toshinori’s head perked up, surprised
to see him home so early. At his shocked expression, Naomasa laughed a little. “I got off early
today. Boss said I’ve put in too many hours, but they’d call if they need me.”
“Well, I won’t say no to that.” Toshinori chuckled, leaning down to give the man a peck on the
cheek. “I had something to ask you about, anyway. It’s better now, while I’m thinking about it.”

“Well, let’s talk, then!” Naomasa smiled, returning to the kitchen. Now that Toshinori was more
aware of himself, he realized it smelled like something was cooking. “Thought I’d try my hand at
dinner. Nothing special, but I haven’t cooked in a while. Hope you don’t mind that I keep an eye on
it while we talk, yeah?”

“Not at all, Nao.” Toshinori smiled, a little weary but grateful for such a kind partner like
Naomasa. He never thought he’d end up with somebody like Naomasa - honestly, at first the other
man said he didn’t have time for a relationship. But their friendship easily turned into a domestic
romance, easygoing and simple. Just like the sweetbrier on their wrists that signified simplicity.

“I wanted to ask you about Midoriya. He has such a self-confidence problem, but I’m not sure how
to go about helping him with it. I mean, I have no experience with teenagers, really. I thought you
might have a bit more expertise in that area.” Toshinori admitted, rubbing the back of his head
awkwardly. It stung a bit, not being able to help the boy with whatever, but he could put his pride
aside for Midoriya’s sake.

Naomasa, however, just looked confused. “Midoriya? Who’s Midoriya?” He asked with a tilt of
his head. Toshinori blinked, and then blanched as he had a realization.

He hadn’t actually told Naomasa about Midoriya yet.

“Ah, shit.” He said softly, putting his head in his hands. Naomasa raised an eyebrow, crossed his
arms over his chest, and gave Toshinori an expectant look. “I never told you about Midoriya, did
I?”

“No, I don’t think so. I take it this isn’t something I’m going to like based on your reaction, then?”
Naomasa asked, though he sounded more amused than anything. Toshinori was often forgetful in
the wake of hero work, but so was he with his job, so he understood.

“Er… no. Not particularly. But it’s good overall, I promise!” Toshinori said, holding up his hands
in defense. It was then that Naomasa got a good look at them, and his eyes went wide. He could see
the new flowers, the striking blossoms of vervain and anthurium against Toshinori’s thin, pale
wrists.

“Your soulmarks! The last two bloomed!” He gasped, taking his wrist in hand to examine them
closely. “When did this happen?”

“Ah, recently. This one,” He pointed to the blue vervain, “that’s Midoriya. A young boy. I saved
him from a villain… that sludge villain incident.” Toshinori explained, his tone soft and regretful.
Naomasa ran his thumb over the mark curiously.

“And the other one? This one?” He asked, tracing the red one.

“Midoriya’s mother. A kind woman, very serious about her son.” He chuckled, remembering how
she hadn’t been afraid to tug on his hair despite being the number one hero. “But yes, that’s what I
meant to tell you about. I met the two these flowers belong to.”

“Tell me about them,” Naomasa said, turning back to the stove to mind the food, draping an apron
over himself. Toshinori sighed, leaning his head on his hand. Where to start? He supposed he
should just get the hard part over with.

“The sludge villain incident, the one I mentioned? That wasn’t when I met Midoriya. I actually
met him just before that. I… made a mistake.” Toshinori grimaced. That was putting it lightly, to
be sure. Naomasa just listened patiently, however, stirring whatever was cooking on the stove.
“The boy, he’d been attacked by that same villain not even an hour before the incident that was
televised. I saved him then as well, that’s when I met him.”

“So? Where’s the mistake in saving a boy?” Naomasa asked, throwing him a look over his
shoulder. Toshinori pursed his lips.

“It happened after. I was… well, I’d almost run out of time, so I was in a bit of a hurry to get going.
I checked him over and made sure he was alright, of course. I advised him to seek further medical
care and everything. But he grabbed my leg, and he just held on for dear life as I leapt into the air!
About scared me out of my wits.” Toshinori grumbled.

“Talk about a fanboy,” Naomasa chuckled dryly, stirring the pot of what smelled like curry. It
would be nice to eat with Naomasa after so long working separately, though he suspected it
wouldn’t stay peaceful after he got to the next part of the story.

“Yes… I landed on a roof nearby, and he ended up seeing my thin form because I ran out of time.
Not a problem, by the way, I’ll explain why when I get there.” Toshinori said. Naomasa nodded
understandingly. “But the boy, he asked me… god, I should have paid more attention. I was so
focused on my own secret getting out that I didn’t truly listen to him. He asked if it was possible
for him to be a hero even though he’s quirkless.”

“Toshinori,” Naomasa said slowly, turning towards him with an indescribable look on his face.
“What did you say to that boy?”

“I told him that without a quirk… it would be difficult for him to be a hero. That it was simple
reality, and perhaps he should consider a different profession like the police or an EMT. I didn’t
want him to go through the same heartache I had when I tried to go to high school before I met
Nana.” Toshinori sighed, shaking his head. “And then I left. I didn’t walk him downstairs or
anything. I feel like such an idiot in hindsight.”

“Yes. That was certainly the dumbest thing I’ve heard from you in a while, Toshinori.” Naomasa
said, his eyes narrowed. “Leaving him on a roof?”

“I know! I promise, I know. I beat myself up about it just fine. And then I saw the soulflower had
bloomed, and I thought I would have a heart attack, because it was withering and it just wouldn’t
stop… I thought I was going to lose his bond. I ran back up to get him, but he was gone.” Toshinori
said, his head in his hands.

“Gone?” Naomasa choked out, looking pale.

“No! God, no, not like that! He’d left, gone downstairs and I missed him! He didn’t… the flower
would’ve gone grey if he had.” Toshinori winced at the thought. “But I saw him again, at the
sludge villain incident. He was the boy who’d run in to save the other one. Got chewed out on live
television by the ones that stood around and didn’t do anything.”

“And you stopped them. Yeah, I remember watching the interview.” Naomasa sighed. “I just don’t
get how you could do that, Toshi. You were quirkless once!”

“I know! That’s exactly why I said what I did. I was afraid of him suffering the same heartbreak.
But I told him afterwards that I was wrong. There were plenty of people without power like mine
who get along fine, and that he could be a hero quirkless if he wanted to.” Toshinori explained, and
that finally seemed to relieve Naomasa somewhat. “I had my head in the past. He needed to hear
that it was possible. But…”

“But what?”

“But I offered him a choice. I offered him my quirk. He thought about it for a while, and he
accepted the offer on the condition that his mother be allowed to know. I told him that was fine.
You should have seen him, Nao. That boy was more heroic than anybody there that day… even
me. And all the users of One for All have been bound by a soulflower. I knew as soon as I saw that
he was the one destined for the quirk.”

“Oh,” Naomasa murmured, a thoughtful look on his face. “Your successor. So then… you’ll be
retiring in a few years. When he debuts, I suppose?”

“Yes, that’s the goal.” Toshinori chuckled. “He’s a wonderful boy, Naomasa. I regret that first
impression more than anything.”

“As you should!” Naomasa huffed. “And you need to introduce me to him some time. And we’ve
gotten so far off track! What was the thing you wanted to ask me about originally, anyway? His
self-confidence?”

“Ah, yes! He’s… very hard on himself. Calls himself names. I don’t understand. He’s a good kid, I
don’t know why he has such a poor view of himself. I was hoping you might be able to give me
some advice on how to help improve that confidence of his.” Toshinori nodded.

“Well, that depends on where his self-confidence issues stem from. Yours stemmed from your body
image issues after your injury.” Naomasa ‘tsk’ed. “Don’t know why, you look just fine to me.
Anyway, after you figure out where it’s coming from you can address the issues. Don’t push it,
though… it’ll push him away from you.”

“Ah… thank you so much. I knew you’d have some words of wisdom for me!” Toshinori gave
Naomasa a smile. The man just huffed and rolled his eyes.

“Don’t think that smile can get you out of everything, Toshi. I might just make you sleep on the
couch tonight, still.” Naomasa said playfully. Toshinori spluttered, but the other man just laughed.
“Relax, I know you feel awful about it. I could see that in the way you talked about it. Just don’t let
it happen again and do your best to support that boy.”

“Of course, Nao. You don’t even have to ask. I’m going to do my absolute best to guide him into a
future he can be proud of.”

The next time Toshinori met up with Midoriya, the boy was surprisingly quiet. He seemed to have
something on his mind as he was sitting on top of one of the piles of trash, staring at something in
his hands. Toshinori approached him quietly, looking over his shoulder to see him holding onto
some sort of flower.

“Hello, Young Midoriya,” he said gently, though Midoriya still just about jumped out of his skin.
He quickly stuffed the flower into his pocket before Toshinori could get a good look at it, so he
wasn’t quite sure what kind it was. He took the surprise in stride though, moving on so he wouldn’t
embarrass the boy. “How are you doing today? You looked quite thoughtful up there.”
“A-Ah, yes! I was just… thinking, yeah. About something that happened at school today, n-no big
deal, really.” Midoriya said awkwardly. It was clear he was trying to get Toshinori to move on, so
the man relented. Like Naomasa said, he couldn’t push it… he had to address these things
naturally. “So, what’s on the menu for today’s training?”

“Today is a break day, as a matter of fact! It’s just as important to give your body time to rest.
We’ll be going for a walk, but not much else. I simply thought I’d join you. Is that alright?”
Toshinori asked with a warm smile. Midoriya seemed surprised again, but quickly recovered and
nodded, a smile creeping onto his face.

“That sounds fine, sir!” He said. He gathered his things, and the two set off down the beach.

“So, what did you do at school today, my boy?” Toshinori asked, and Midoriya chewed on his lip
for a moment before answering.

“Er, not much… j-just the usual stuff, really.” He sighed, his eyes downcast. Toshinori frowned, he
could clearly see in his body language he wasn’t happy talking about it.

“Do you not enjoy school? I know I always found it a bit boring before I joined the heroics course
in high school, myself.” Toshinori said. Midoriya just shrugged.

“It’s… fine. I guess. It is what it is, really. School is…” he trailed off, looking pointedly at the
ground. “It’s school. I don’t have much else to say about it.”

“Well,” Toshinori cleared his throat, patting the boy on the head, “You’re always welcome to talk
to me about whatever you’d like, even if it’s something boring like homework. That’s what a
mentor is for, you know. I’m here for you in more aspects than just strength training, so I hope
you’ll come to trust me with more than a workout.”

“O-Of course I trust you!” Midoriya immediately blurted out, then covered his mouth in
embarrassment. “I-I mean… I trust you. I do. You’re the first person to tell me that I could be a
hero… and you said you want to keep our soulflower. That’s… how could I not trust you?” He said
softly, kicking a rock along as they walked.

“Trust and respect are two very different things, Young Midoriya. What you’re talking about is
just respect. I suspect I don’t quite have your trust yet, but that’s alright, even if you don’t realize
it. I’ll just have to work hard to earn it, that’s all. Now! How about an easier topic? Are you
hungry?” Toshinori asked. Midoriya blinked owlishly, like he hadn’t thought about the concept of
respect vs trust before. He seemed to chew on it for a moment before finally nodding.

“Yeah… I misplaced my lunch today, so I’m kind of hungry.” He admitted. Toshinori smiled
widely and laughed raucously to try and lift the boy’s spirits.

“Well then, there’s no need to fear! Why? Because I am here… to take you to get some food! My
treat! You just pick the place.” Toshinori offered. Midoriya’s eyes were wide as he processed the
offer. Finally, he gave a small, shy smile.

“Um… how about ramen? I know a good place by my apartment building…” Midoriya said,
pointing in a direction. Toshinori nodded firmly.

“Sounds perfect to me! Ramen it is. By the way… would you be willing to have somebody join us?
My partner, I told him about you. He’d like to meet you. I-If that’s alright with you, of course!”
Toshinori clarified. “He’s a good man, I promise.”

“Your… partner?” Midoriya looked a bit confused, tilting his head. “But you don’t have a
sidekick, do you? Oh, did you recently hire one?”

“Er, no, I mean my, ah, romantic partner. We aren’t married, so I just call him my partner. That’s
all.” Toshinori held up the wrist that Naomasa’s sweetbrier was on, and the boy’s face lit up with
understanding.

“O-Oh, of course! If that’s okay, then I don’t mind! I’m sure you don’t get many chances to eat
together… pro heroes must be so busy…” Midoriya murmured. “Ah! And let me give you the
address so you can send it to him.”

Toshinori copied it down and sent it to Naomasa, who replied with a thumbs up. As they kept
walking to their destination, Midoriya began to talk about an appearance Toshinori made as All
Might the other day, remarking on the things he noticed about the quirk and how Toshinori used it.
He couldn’t keep up with a lot of what he explained, a bunch of technical terms thrown in
Toshinori had no idea the meaning of, but he listened anyway.

“Ah, here it is!” Izuku finally said, interrupting his own train of thought. They’d been walking for
longer than Toshinori thought, or perhaps Midoriya’s enthusiastic observations made the time pass
faster. When they got there, Toshinori already saw Naomasa waiting for them.

“Ah, Nao!” Toshinori said pleasantly. His partner stood and went in for a hug, and when he
separated Naomasa turned his attention to Izuku.

“Hi, you must be Midoriya! I’m Tsukauchi Naomasa. Toshi’s told me all about you. I think it’s
nice he’d finally picked somebody to train. You’re a good influence on him, you know? He’s
finally eating properly since he started training you.” Naomasa said happily. At that, both
Toshinori and Midoriya flushed red - though Toshinori from embarrassment and Midoriya from the
praise.

“W-Well, I’m glad I could help!” Midoriya said, his voice wavering a little. He was still quite shy
when meeting new people, but Toshinori was proud of him for trying his best anyway. “It’s nice to
meet you, Tsukauchi-san.”

They each took a seat at the small stall and ordered their food, chattering among themselves for a
few minutes. Midoriya was asking Naomasa all sorts of questions about what it was like being a
detective, how he’d met Toshinori, all sorts of things. His partner answered each of them
gracefully, ever the picture of a people-person. Naomasa said he often had to brush up on his
people skills in the detective business.

“I want to apologize for Toshi’s first impression, by the way,” Naomasa said suddenly, after the
conversation had died down slightly. “He said he apologized, but still, I’ll apologize for him as
well. I can only guess how hard it must’ve been to hear that from a soulmate.”

“Ah…” Midoriya’s face fell, but he didn’t say anything at first. Then, “Well, it… was still better
than what I expected, so I-I suppose I can’t complain…”

Toshinori frowned at that. Midoriya had some awful preconceptions about soulmates, it seemed.
He decided to ask a question that had been on his mind for a while - since they first met, in fact. It
was a bit of a personal question, but he felt like it would be able to shed some light on the source of
a few of Midoriya’s self-esteem problems.

“That reminds me… I hope you forgive me for asking such a blunt question, but when we first
met, why did you assume I’d wither the soulflower?” He asked gently. Midoriya seemed to freeze
up at the question, his face going a bit pale. Naomasa’s eyes widened - he hadn’t heard that bit
about their meeting.

“You thought Toshi would wither the flower…?” He asked, almost incredulous and disbelieving
that somebody could think that of a soulmate. Midoriya looked incredibly uncomfortable, but he
finally turned to Toshinori with a nervous expression and held his wrist out.

Toshinori’s eyes widened. He had so many soulmates on the platonic side! There was their vervain
flower that he could see, of course… but at the very top, the first flower bud had bloomed… only it
was entirely withered, the petals fallen off. Toshinori couldn’t even tell what flower it used to be
because it was long dead.

Both he and Naomasa sucked in a sharp breath at the sight.

Suddenly, it made a lot more sense. He’d never paid much attention to Midoriya’s other
soulflowers before, but now that he had a good look at them, his heart sank. He only had two
bloomed flowers - Toshinori’s and the withered one. And if, presumably, the withering happened
before they met, well… his very first soulmate was no longer bonded to him.

“M-My first soulmate… was my childhood friend.” Midoriya began, his voice soft like it hurt to
even speak about. “He knew me from before I was quirkless, and he… didn’t like me after his
quirk came in and mine… didn’t. He broke off the bond in middle school. H-He said… that
nobody would want a quirkless person as a soulmate.”

“What?” Naomasa asked, in that tone Toshinori had come to recognize. Somebody had told him a
brutal truth, and he was shocked. If Naomasa’s quirk told him it was the truth, then…

“I-It’s just - it’s true, isn’t it?” Midoriya’s eyes watered and he curled in on himself. “Everyone’s
always said that. It’s nothing new now, so when we met… I guess I forgot you were, well, you for
a moment… Of course All Might wouldn’t wither a soul flower, but…”

Toshinori felt like he’d been sucker-punched. What in the world…? How could anybody say that to
somebody, especially their own soulmate?! The thought could hardly even process for Toshinori,
who treasured each of his - even Nighteye, whose flower had withered a bit after their fight. He
still wanted to make up with the man, he wouldn’t just wither it.

“I am so sorry, my boy. But you should know that that is blatantly untrue. I don’t know who could
say such a thing, but everyone is worthy of soulmates, no matter what their quirk is or isn’t, or even
if you have no quirk at all. That includes you.” He said gently. Midoriya’s face twisted up into
some awful expression Toshinori couldn’t describe.

“If you say so, Yagi-san.” He finally settled on. Toshinori could tell that he hadn’t changed
Midoriya’s opinion, but he at least got an answer to his question. If Midoriya’s first soulmate had
made him think he wasn’t worthy, he’d just have to make the boy see that he was. It would take
some hard work, but he was up to the challenge.

Midoriya deserved that much, at least.

“Toshi’s right. And anybody who says that, well… I don’t even know what to say. People should
know better than to talk about another person’s soulmates.” Naomasa said, as if the thought left a
bad taste in his mouth. Toshinori agreed. “If you hear somebody say that to you again, just
remember they’re wrong, Midoriya. Being quirkless has nothing to do with soulmates.”

Soon enough, their food came out, keeping them from talking about heavy subjects for much
longer. They began to eat, and Naomasa talked to the boy about other subjects to try and get his
mind off of things. As they did, Toshinori’s email notification went off from his phone in his
pocket. He pulled it out and opened it, seeing that Nighteye had responded to one of his many
emails. They’d continued communication since that first email - Toshinori wasn’t one to give up.

Toshinori,

I can see that this is a matter of some importance to you. I still disagree with your choice, but I can
see I will not change your mind. I will set up a meeting for next week. I will meet with this boy if
you’d like, see him for myself. In return, I’d like you to meet the one I’ve been training - the boy I
picked out as the ideal candidate for your legacy.

If you’re amenable to such a meeting, I’ll keep an open mind to your choice of successor as well. I
do not want the rift between us to grow - I do at least find some relief in the fact that you’re finally
looking into retirement.

Let me know whether this is something you’re interested in at your earliest convenience.

Mirai.

“Ah! This is great news!” Toshinori grinned. “Young Midoriya, how would you like to meet Sir
Nighteye, my old sidekick?”

“Oh! Did Mirai finally agree to a meeting?” Naomasa asked, perking up.

“Yes, he did! I knew I could get through to him eventually. So, what do you say, my boy?”
Toshinori grinned, a complete 180 from the somber atmosphere from earlier. He’d have to address
the whole ‘soulmate’ conundrum at a later time.

“W-Wait, Sir Nighteye?!” Midoriya gasped, nearly choking on his food in his excitement. “Oh my
gosh! Are you serious, Yagi-san?! I’d love to meet him! Why do you ask?”

“Because, my boy, he’s agreed to meet with you! I won’t lie, he knows about my offer and
everything that comes with it. He was one of my closest confidantes. I asked him to meet with you
because I believe you should have training that I’m unable to provide - analysis training, fighting
style for somebody of your body type, that sort of thing. However, there is a small… problem.”
Toshinori said, looking a little pained to admit so.

“What do you mean…?” Midoriya asked, looking a little nervous now to match. Naomasa’s
expression was annoyed, because he knew exactly how stubborn Mirai could be at times.

“Well, you see, when I met you I was already looking for a successor. I knew you were the one I
wanted to train when I met you though, and I told you as much,” Toshinori explained. Midoriya
nodded, he was following so far. “Nighteye was aware I was looking for a successor and picked
one he thought was suitable. He believes you aren’t the best option even though he hasn’t met you.
But he’s agreed to meet you and see you for himself, to try and see what I see in you.”

“O-Oh.” Midoriya looked significantly more uncomfortable with that knowledge. “I-I don’t
know… if he thinks I’m not the right option… do you, um… do you think he might be right…?”

Toshinori and Naomasa’s hearts both melted at the small tone of voice the boy used, like he was
expecting some inevitable rejection.

“Not at all!” Toshinori reassured him quickly. “I promise you, you’re the successor I’ve been
looking for. I’ve been emailing Nighteye to try and get him to understand that. I simply want him
to understand that, because there is a lot he could teach you if he’s willing to put aside this
 ridiculous notion of another person being the one to carry the torch.”

“It isn’t even his decision anyway,” Naomasa added in, “It’s Toshi’s, so don’t let Nighteye get to
you, Midoriya. Trust me, all Toshi can talk about at home is how happy he is to train you these
days. He wouldn’t pick anybody else.”

“Y-You really mean that? You don’t… you’re arguing with him for my sake?” Midoriya asked,
suddenly looking emotional. Toshinori nodded with a gentle expression on his face. Naomasa’s
expression matched his, a small smile on his face.

“Of course I do, my boy. I’ve told you plenty of times already, but I’ll tell you as many times as it
takes. You are the only one I want to train. You’re a good kid, and a heroic one to boot. Trust me
when I say I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Midoriya looked like he was seconds away from crying, but he finally nodded. “Y-Yagi-san… can
I… um… can I hug you?”

“Of course you can, Midoriya.” He said, and suddenly he had an armful of the boy, holding him
close and patting him on the head. Naomasa looked like he was restraining himself from taking a
picture of the downright fatherly display. “I promise you, my boy, you’re more than what you
think of yourself.”

And when he looked down and saw his own wrist, he saw that Midoriya’s flower had returned to
full health from that first meeting. Perhaps Toshinori had more trust than he originally thought…
and it warmed his heart to see.

Chapter End Notes

Toshinori knows!! And their soulflower is better for it! Dad Might is on the case, he’s
gonna improve that confidence >:3c I loved writing this chapter, esp introducing
Naomasa :D

Next chapter we meet Nighteye! How do y’all think that’s gonna go? (insert thinking
emoji here)

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Goldenrod & Bluebell
Chapter Summary

It almost felt like too much too soon. “I feel a little lost,” he finally admitted.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku was incredibly nervous. He had been for the last hour and a half, despite the time he’d spent
reassuring his mom beforehand that he’d be just fine. He wondered what it said about him that he
was so good at keeping her from worrying at this point…

But the fact remained that he was nervous, jittery even, his leg bouncing up and down. He was on
the train, on his way to the meeting with Sir Nighteye, after he had agreed to it over ramen with
Yagi last week. The man had been so kind, and almost reminded him of his mother in a way. He
was parental and looked out for him, and Izuku was beyond grateful to have him as a soulmate.

The only thing he disagreed with the man on was soulmates in general. He didn’t understand what
it was like for quirkless people. He was so strong and perfect, the number one hero and a paragon
of virtue - of course he’d see it like it was for him, anybody would kill to have him as their
soulmate. But for Izuku, he was just lucky enough to have one of the only people alive who’d
tolerate a quirkless soulmate. How could he expect anybody else to be as wonderful as All Might
himself, really?

But he hadn’t said that much. He didn’t think the man wanted to hear a pity party while they were
trying to enjoy their food. But for the one soulmate who did want him, he’d agreed to the meeting
with Nighteye. Even if nobody else tolerated him, he could try his best to prove himself to the man
Yagi seemed to value.

Yagi had told him outright that no matter what Nighteye said or decided in the end, however, Izuku
would still be his successor, no ifs, ands, or buts. That allowed him some semblance of relief -
because as much as it was embarrassing to admit, he had come to love the man deeply in the short
month or so they’d known each other. He thought his heart might break if Yagi changed his mind
about him, especially after he’d allowed himself to hope again.

Hope that he could finally be something in the eyes of those around him.

Hope that he could be a hero like All Might, save everyone with a smile, and make those around
him smile in turn.

Hope that he could finally be worthy of at least one soulmate’s love - one more than he ever
thought he’d have. Izuku thought he could die happy knowing at least one soulmate would want
him, even if all the others withered one day. The stark blue vervain was a symbol of Izuku’s
resolve to be somebody All Might - Yagi - could be proud of.

Yagi was sitting next to him, as a matter of fact, sensing his nerves. “It’ll be just fine, my boy.
We’re almost there. Actually, I think this is our stop,” He gestured to the doors, where the train
was slowing down. The announcement came for the streets they needed, so the two of them
departed. The streets were bustling, busy with people going to and fro. Yagi weaved through them
expertly, but Izuku had little experience with streets like this so he was forced to hold onto the
man’s arm for dear life in some of the thicker crowds.

When they reached the Nigheye Agency, however, it was blessedly quiet. The two of them made
their way inside, where a few sidekicks were milling about in the lobby. Izuku recognized
Centipeder, for one, and his fanboy side yearned to come out so he could analyze them all. But he
was here for a purpose, and one he wanted to fulfill well, so he kept himself in check.

“Hello, there. I’m Yagi Toshinori and this is Midoriya Izuku. Here for a meeting with Sir
Nighteye?” Yagi said easily, giving the receptionist a smile. She nodded and went through her files
on her computer before pulling up what she needed.

“Ah, here you are. And ten minutes early! Just like Sir likes. Here are your passes, Togata-kun will
escort you to his office.” She said, handing them two guest badges. “Togata-kun! Yagi-san and
Midoriya-san are here for their meeting!”

A tall, blond boy stood up quickly from one of the couches, in a U.A uniform with a lapel denoting
he was a second-year. Izuku knew Nighteye wanted Yagi to meet with his candidate for the man’s
successorship - was this the boy? The blond bounded over, energetic and grinning widely. “Hello
there! I’m Togata Mirio; it’s a pleasure to meet you both!”

Yagi shook the hand that was offered to him, and then Izuku. “N-Nice to meet you too, Togata-
senpai.” Izuku bowed. He was still in his own school uniform, since Yagi had to pick him up from
school to get to the meeting on time.

“Ooh, a kouhai!” Togata laughed, still just as energetic as ever. “What’re you meeting with Sir for?
I admit I’m curious, but he wouldn’t tell me! I’m one of his interns, you see, I’m here on work-
study, but I was surprised to be called in last-minute for a meeting!”

“A-Ah, I’m not sure I should be discussing it…” Izuku said awkwardly, shrinking in on himself in
embarrassment. Togata seemed to be cool and confident, larger than life, almost like All Might. It
made him incredibly self-conscious, especially when he knew that there was a strong possibility
that this was who Nighteye might be endorsing…

“No worries, no worries! I get secrecy. Well, right this way!” He said, directing them up a set of
stairs and down a hallway. Izuku’s wrist began to itch relentlessly as they made their way towards
what he guessed was Nighteye’s office, and when he moved his sleeve out of the way to scratch, he
felt his mouth go dry.

Another flower was blooming.

“My boy? Why did you st-” Yagi stopped, his own eyes going wide when he saw the flower
blossom as well. “Well! This is rather unexpected.”

“What’s up?” Togata said, turning around to see what the fuss was about. He was absentmindedly
scratching his own wrist, and then he realized. He looked down, and back up, and then back down
again, before finally… “Wow! I’ve got a cool kouhai as one of my platonic soulmates! That’s so
awesome!”

Togata cheered, giving a big grin and scooping up Izuku in a big hug without warning. Izuku felt
his face flush red with shame and embarrassment - he didn’t want to be the one to burst his
bubble… why did this happen now of all times? Why when he was trying to keep his cool before
an important meeting?!
Izuku felt the familiar sting of tears in his eyes. He didn’t want to watch a flower wither before he
had to try and make a case for why he was strong enough to carry on All Might’s legacy! That
would be absolutely mortifying!

“Oh! Oh no, I didn’t mean to upset you!” Togata said quickly, realizing Izuku was upset. “I’m
sorry, I should have asked before hugging you!”

“Ah, it’s not that, young man.” Yagi said gently, turning his attention to Izuku. “Remember what I
told you the other day? You are worthy. It won’t always be like that first flower, I promise you. Go
ahead, just… try talking to him.”

“I-I…” Izuku swallowed the lump of nerves in his throat and wiped at his eyes. If Yagi asked him
to try… well, he’d at least try. He was All Might’s successor, damn it! He could handle something
he’d been expecting his entire life! “I’m Midoriya Izuku… um. I want to become a hero. I hope you
don’t think less of me, but, um, I’m quirkless!” Izuku said, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching
his fists in anticipation. There, he said it! He was ready for the rejection, but at least he’d been
brave enough to say it.

It was silent for several seconds, and Izuku couldn’t take it any more, so he opened his eyes. But
all he saw was Togata standing there, looking rather confused. “Uh… okay? Why would I think
less of you for being quirkless? You’re one of my soulmates, aren’t you?”

Izuku blinked. Now it was his turn to be confused. “Be… Because I’m quirkless? You don’t…?
Um… You’re okay with quirkless people…?” He’d never encountered somebody so close to his
age that didn’t have a problem with quirkless people before! At the very least, people his age
always gave him that look of pity, like he needed to be protected.

“Of course I’m okay with quirkless people! Sir Nighteye only uses his quirk once a day, he’s
quirkless for the other 23 hours, why is that any different?” Togata scratched his head, almost
bewildered by the question. Izuku felt his throat get tight with emotion, a smile fighting its way
onto his face at the statement.

“O-Oh,” was all he could get out, though. He looked at the yellow flower on his wrist and he felt
so warmed at the notion of somebody who could compare him to a hero like Sir Nighteye. Sir
Nighteye! His heart felt full just thinking about it.

“See? What did I tell you, my boy,” Yagi gestured with a smile, then gave Izuku a soft pat on the
back. “Why don’t you two exchange phone numbers after the meeting with Sir Nighteye?”

“Right! The meeting!” Togata jumped a little, hurrying them along down the hall. “I almost forgot,
we don’t want to be late or Sir will get mad! But that’s a great idea, we’ll totally exchange
numbers, okay Midoriya? Here, Sir’s office is right down this way!”

Izuku collected himself with a few calming breaths. He’d deal with the emotional bombshell
Togata just dropped on him when he wasn’t presented with a meeting that Yagi was depending on
him to bring home. He was still determined to make the man proud, so he’d package the emotions
away to process afterwards.

“Sir? Yagi-san and Midoriya-kun are here to see you!” Togata called, knocking on the door. From
the other side, they heard a stern voice.

“Send Midoriya inside. You’ll be meeting with Yagi-san, Togata. He worked with heroes for a
long time, there’s advice you can learn from him.” The voice said. Izuku could only assume that
was Nighteye, and he gulped. He even sounded intimidating. Sir Nighteye was known for being
one of the most demanding heroes in the business, Izuku knew, and that just made his anxiety even
worse since he was trying to prove to the man he was worthy of One for All…

“Go on in,” Togata gestured to the now-open door, though he leaned down and whispered to Izuku,
“By the way, Sir really values humor. If you can make him laugh, he’ll like you for sure!”

“R-Right…” Izuku said nervously. “I guess I’ll see you in a bit, Yagi-san…”

“Just remember, my boy, nothing will change after this meeting.” Yagi said gently, ruffling his
hair. Izuku nodded, giving him the best smile he could manage.

“Right. Nothing will change.” Izuku repeated under his breath, and then he finally took a step
inside. The first thing he noticed was the sheer wall-to-wall All Might merch, almost like his own
room, but laid out in a tasteful manner befitting of an office. The rarity of some of the pieces he
saw nearly made his jaw drop - he would have killed for some of these pieces for his own
collection at home!

Like that poster, he was sure that was a limited-run print from his silver age costume - and oh my
god, on closer inspection, it was the highly-sought-after misprint that had his cape as the wrong
color shade! Izuku thought he might pass out at the sight, that one went for hundreds of thousands
of yen! And that, there, that was a Young Age debut figure!!! From when All Might had just
broken into the top 50 heroes and was still rising!

“You have a decent eye for hero merchandise, at least,” came a disgruntled tone, and Izuku made
an ‘eep’ noise as he realized he’d been muttering. Yagi had been trying to get him to break that
habit but he just couldn’t seem to get it down…

“S-Sorry, sir! I was just admiring your collection! You have some of the rarest pieces I’ve seen! I
have a few, but nothing as impressive as this!” Izuku said, almost in awe. Sir Nighteye raised a
skeptical eyebrow.

“Oh? What are the rarest pieces you own?” He asked. Izuku blinked, surprised by the question, as
he expected the man to get right down to business, but…

“Um… well, I have the Bronze Age caped alarm clock that sold out within ten minutes - my mom
was very kind and helped me get it since I was too young. It’s still in the box and everything! And
I have the limited edition stationary set, and I have the whole Life of All Might DVD documentary
series boxed set with the poster and minifigure, I never opened those!” Izuku said excitedly - he
could always talk All Might merch without a problem.

“Which stationary set? There were multiple limited editions.” Nighteye said, folding his hands in
front of his face seriously.

“Oh! The second edition young age misprint! You know, with the smile that’s off-center?” Izuku
said. There was a gleam in Nighteye’s eye that Izuku couldn’t place when he said that, though it
didn’t seem too bad.

“I see. Well then, go ahead and take a seat.” He gestured to the chair in front of his desk, and
suddenly all of Izuku’s nerves came rushing back as he remembered what he was there for. He
quickly did as he was asked, clutching his bag and taking a seat in the chair that was offered to
him. “So. You’re All Might’s choice of protege.”

“Y-Yes, sir.” Izuku nodded. “I’m incredibly honored. And if I’m being honest, surprised, but…
grateful as well.”
“And All Might believes you capable of carrying on a legacy he has shouldered for many years. A
legacy that would crush most people. Do you believe yourself capable of such a thing, Midoriya?”
Nighteye asked.

“Well, I don’t know. I won’t know for certain until I get there… but I-I’m more than willing to try.
There’s nothing I’ve ever wanted more than to help people smile… to help my mother smile again.
If I’m strong, if I’m worthy of being a hero, then I know my mother can smile.” Izuku said,
clutching his backpack so tight his knuckles turned white.

“Then why not become the first quirkless hero? You’re certainly capable of becoming a hero
without the burden of his legacy. If he was simply mentoring you, I’d have no problems. But he
wants to pass down eight generations of a burden onto a child who hasn’t proven himself in the
slightest. I don’t agree with that assessment.” Nighteye said seriously.

“H-How... how do you know I haven’t proven myself, sir?” Izuku said, swallowing the bundle of
nerves in his throat from the withering glare he received from the man. “You’ve only just met me.
Y-You don’t know a thing about me.”

“I know you share a soulflower, and I believe that connection has blinded All Might to other
possibilities. He wants to do what his mentor did, even though it may not be the best option.”
Nighteye said, his mouth drawn into a thin line.

“Maybe I’m not the best option,” Izuku admitted, his own mouth turning to a frown. He actually
felt himself getting mad at the insinuation that Yagi didn’t know what he was doing. Yagi was the
kindest person he’d met in a long time and he was the number one for a reason. There was no way
he’d pick Izuku without reason. “Maybe there are more suitable options. But I’m Yagi-san’s
option. It’s his choice in the end,” Izuku said, remembering what Tsukauchi had said the other day
at their meeting. “Not yours.”

“Perhaps it isn’t my choice,” Nighteye narrowed his eyes, “But I still know a bad idea when I see
one, and I know he respects my council. He’s making a mistake, because Togata is clearly the
superior choice. He’s everything All Might could ask for and more. Who are you to oppose that?”

Who are you to oppose that?

The words echoed in his head, almost sounding like Bakugou and the others in his class. You’re
useless. Quirkless. Nobody would want a quirkless soulmate, you shitty Deku.

Izuku could almost swear he saw red, then. He didn’t know what caused it - maybe it was years of
repressed anger and emotions, but he popped like a balloon ready to burst. He couldn’t stand the
idea of somebody Yagi treasured - a soulmate - thinking so badly of his decisions. Perhaps it was
because he knew how badly it hurt when Bakugou put him down, but the thought of Sir Nighteye
not trusting Yagi’s decisions hurt, and it all came pouring out.

“I’d like to think that there was something he saw in me beyond a soulflower, because he says
there was.” Izuku snapped, standing up from his chair sharply. His voice was raising and there
were tears in his eyes, but this time not because of anything other than anger. “And if you can’t
trust his decisions, then why do you trust him as the number one hero? Do you have so little faith
in the man you worked for?”

“I’d suggest that you watch what you imply, M-”

“Because I know I’d trust Yagi-san with my life, All Might or not.” Izuku interrupted, getting
louder. “If I can trust him with my life, I can trust him to make the right choice of who to pass his
quirk onto, whether or not that’s me. It just so happens that I am that choice, whether or not you
agree with it! If you don’t like it, then you don’t have to teach me! I already know you didn’t want
to from the start! But Yagi-san does and he says you won’t change his mind! You don’t have the
right to say anybody is the superior choice when the choice has already been made!”

“My boy, what’s going on?” They heard Yagi’s voice as the man peeked into the doorway. “We
heard yelling, are you alright…?” Izuku sniffled angrily and let out a huff, turning from the desk to
go and walk towards Yagi. When the man saw how upset he was again, he gave a gentle look to
him and a stern one to Nighteye. “What happened?”

“I…” Izuku sucked in a breath, scratching at his itchy wrist again, and he had a sinking feeling in
his gut. He pulled back his sleeve, and another flower had bloomed. He’d been so focused on his
impassioned argument that he hadn’t even noticed. A delicate blue flower sat on his soulmark,
right next to Togata’s golden one.

“I told you, Yagi-san,” Izuku’s voice cracked as he watched the flower wither partly. “I told you
nobody wanted somebody like me as a soulmate. Y-You’re the only one who- who believes in me -
a-and I couldn’t - I couldn’t even make a-a good impression on the person you c-cared for!” He
broke down into sobs when he realized what he’d done. What would happen? Another soulflower,
gone, because he couldn’t keep himself in check. Because he was so useless.

Yagi brought him into a hug, looking over at Nighteye with a look that he couldn’t quite place.
Nighteye, however, looked like he was in shock, still processing the words Midoriya had told him
a moment ago. “What did you say to him, Mirai? You said you would keep an open mind! This
hardly seems that way to me!”

“Toshinori-” Nighteye sucked in a breath, and then he sighed. He pushed up his glasses and turned
away from the two. “You’re right. I didn’t keep an open mind. But Midoriya… made some good
points. I should have more faith in your choices.”

Izuku wiped his eyes and finally pulled away from Yagi’s hug, standing up straight. He gave a firm
nod. That was the thing that upset him the most, really - the fact that he could disrespect Yagi and
have so little trust in the man. But what’s done was done - he’d just have to go without a teacher for
those areas Yagi mentioned he had wanted to work on.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Midoriya. Would you…” Nighteye looked like it pained him to
even continue, but he spoke anyway. “Would you be willing to let me see what Toshinori has
pointed out to me? He’s said you’re quite intelligent and good with analysis. Perhaps I should
know a bit about you before I make a judgement.”

“You don’t have to apologize.” Izuku said bitterly. The moments of kindness from Yagi and
Togata had once again blinded him, and he chastised himself for getting so complacent. Above all,
he had to remember why he wanted to be a hero.

Because quirkless people didn’t get soulmates, because a hero was all he could hope to be. So his
mother could smile again and have her own soulmates back. So he could be useful, so he could
save people and make them smile too. So nobody would have to feel like he did. So that he could
make future quirkless kids believe that they could be heroes, too.

“If you still want to be friends with Yagi-san, like you said, who am I to oppose that?” Izuku said,
the words like poison in his mouth when he spoke them. “But you don’t have to pretend to be nice
for his sake. I know I’m not a soulmate people want. I got so lucky just to have Yagi-san in my life.
I don’t want to hear platitudes. Just tell me the truth and get it over with… please.” Izuku hunched
over on himself, glaring at the ground.
 “Get what over with? I don’t understand.” Nighteye looked thoroughly confused. Yagi sighed and
pointed to his arm.

“Check your wrist, Mirai.” He said, sounding angry in his own way. Nighteye pulled up his sleeve
and his own eyes went wide. It seemed as if he hadn’t noticed either.

“Oh.” He said, looking between the flower that had bloomed there and Izuku with a strained
expression. “Midoriya-”

“Please!” Izuku snapped, squeezing his eyes shut. “I knew this was coming a long time ago! Just…
wither it if you want to, already! You’ve already made it perfectly clear how you feel about me,
you don’t need to humiliate me too!”

“I am not trying to humiliate you, if you’d do me the decency of letting me speak,” Nighteye said
firmly, a harsh look in his direction. Izuku snapped his mouth shut, still staring directly at the floor.
“I was quick to judge. I was being hypocritical. I accused Toshinori of being blinded by a
soulflower, but I’ve only done the same. Togata and I share one as well. As his mentor, I am
incredibly proud of him and how far he has come. What I failed to see through my own pride was
the pride Toshinori clearly holds for you. But you have shown me humility.”

Izuku looked up with shock as Nighteye kept speaking. “You are correct. I should trust somebody I
want to call a friend. And I would like to repair that trust by giving you a fair chance, Midoriya.
Please. Whether we are soulmates or not has nothing to do with it, and I don’t wish to wither
another soulflower. Not now, and not ever. The one I have gives me enough regret. I… am sorry.
Would you allow me to start over, please?”

“I…” Izuku wasn't emotionally prepared for all of this to happen today. He felt wrung out, if he
was being honest. He never hated his tendency to cry more than times like these - it always made
things harder. Kacchan always called him a crybaby, but he couldn’t help it! He got it from his
mom, after all. He never expected to meet two soulmates on the same day.

It almost felt like too much too soon. And of those soulmates, for one to not care that he was
quirkless and the other to immediately dislike him and then apologize felt a little bit like whiplash.
“I feel a little lost,” he finally admitted.

“Why don’t we take a break for a little bit, then? You can leave one of your notebooks for
Nighteye to look over while you go and get some water.” Yagi suggested. “That is, if you’re still
up for it. We can always shelf the meeting for another time, or… discontinue it.”

Izuku could tell he didn’t really want to leave Sir Nighteye like this, but he was offering it for
Izuku’s sake. Izuku just shook his head. He fished his hero analysis notebook out of his bag and set
it on Nighteye’s desk. “No… W-We can just take a break. I’ll… here, I’ll leave this with you. It’s,
um, some analysis of mine. I did one of you as well, Sir.”

“Alright. Why don’t you and Togata go get that water and exchange numbers? I’ll talk with
Nighteye for now, okay?” Yagi said, a gentle hand on his head. Izuku nodded. He could do that.

He was pretty sure he needed to rehydrate after all the crying he’d done today, anyway.

Chapter End Notes

Goldenrod: a fluffy, golden flower meaning encouragement.
Bluebell: A long, blue/purple flower meaning humility, loyalty, constancy, and
gratitude.

——

Whew… kind of a rough first meeting. But don’t worry! Nighteye knows he messed
up. Being yelled (correctly) at by a 14-year-old kind of does that to you. And big bro
Mirio! Heck yeah! I love fics where he’s like a big brother to Izuku and I just had to
have that here too. Next chapter, we’ll see the results of the meeting!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Duality
Chapter Summary

It made him wonder… were Yagi and his mom right? Were not all soulmates like
Bakugou?

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“I should have spoken to you in person first, Mirai. Before emailing you or anything. It wasn’t
right of me to go through… all of this,” Toshinori gestured broadly, “instead of just speaking with
you. I put that on Midoriya even though I knew he wasn’t emotionally ready for it. I’ve been trying
to help build up his self-confidence. It’s the one area he lacks in, really.”

“Perhaps, but we’ve both made mistakes. I said I would keep an open mind, and instead I insulted
the boy to an overbearing degree. I’d be surprised if he ever forgives me.” Mirai sighed, his head
in his hands. The two of them were seated around his desk this time, with coffee brought to them
by Bubble Girl, one of his sidekicks. Togata and Midoriya had gone out of the office and down the
hall to get something to drink while the two heroes talked.

“He’s more forgiving than you’d think, you’d be surprised. Perhaps he’s too forgiving. I’m still
trying to work out some of the things that make him, well, him. He’s a fantastic young man, heroic
and brave for the sake of others. Do you remember the sludge villain incident that I handled a little
over a month ago?” Toshinori asked.

“Yes, I saw it on the news. Why do you ask?” Mirai folded his hands in front of his mouth, leaning
on his desk.

“Because, the boy who ran in to save the other boy in the sludge was Midoriya. He was quirkless,
terrified - and even before that, he’d been attacked by the same villain and I said some… pretty
harsh things to him myself. And despite all of that, he had more courage than any of the heroes on-
scene to run in, all because the other boy looked scared.” Toshinori said, a wistful smile on his face
as he remembered the day.

“That was Midoriya?” Mirai asked, his eyebrows raised. Toshinori chuckled and nodded.

“Indeed. That was the first time I saw his potential. He wants to be a hero strong enough for people
to smile and feel safe knowing he’s there, to bring hope to the people who were told they couldn’t
be heroes. How much more noble can you get than with a dream like that? Every day, Midoriya
surprises me with just how far I can see him going. I truly believe he’ll bring about the next era of
peace if he’s the one to wield One for All.”

“... You feel very strongly about him.” Mirai said, though there was no undertone to it. It was a
simple statement of fact. “I can tell now that I talk to you that it’s not a soulflower bias speaking…
you genuinely believe in him that much.”

“I do,” Toshinori said softly, “And I’ve come to care for him a great deal. So I hope you’ll keep an
open mind from now on. I don’t want to have either of my soul flowers wither. I only just got his
back to full health.”

“I will try my best,” Mirai nodded. “I said as much in my email, but it’s greatly reassuring to me to
see you settling down to find a successor. It’s better for you in the long run. I’ll gladly accept any
benefits to your health. The world still needs All Might as long as possible.”

“Perhaps it does… perhaps it does.” Toshinori sighed, seeming to think on the words for a moment
before changing the subject. “Well, why don’t you go ahead and take a look at the notebook
Young Midoriya left you? I’m certain you’ll find it as interesting and remarkable as I did when he
first showed it to me.”

“Right, his analysis.” Mirai pushed his glasses up and looked over at the book. It was one of the
cheap notebooks from the 100-yen store, new but clearly well loved all the same. The cover read
‘Hero Analysis for the Future, no.14.’ This was the 14th installment, then - that surprised Mirai.
Clearly Midoriya dedicated himself to the craft if he was 14 notebooks deep.

Mirai opened the book, and he was face-to-face with some of the most impressive analysis he’d
ever seen. It was almost brutal, in a way - dissecting everything about a hero, even things heroes
themselves likely didn’t notice. There were even a few villains studied in the book - these notes
would undoubtedly be instrumental in their capture, if he was allowed to copy them. And a 14-
year-old boy had done all of this while quirkless?

Nighteye felt a little faint. Suddenly, he understood why Toshinori didn’t seek out Nedzu’s tutelage
for the boy instead. The combination of somebody who could make these notes and Nedzu… well,
if they were put together they would be unfathomably powerful.

And the boy that wrote these was the one Toshinori wanted to train as his successor. The one to
inherit One for All. If there was a hero with All Might’s strength and this boy’s brains… Mirai
didn’t think he’d be stoppable. He’d be even better than All Might was. As much as he loved the
man as the Symbol of Peace, All Might was one to punch first and ask questions later. The idea of
Midoriya Izuku as the next Symbol was a frighteningly powerful one.

He could probably run circles around any hero he wanted with his eyes closed once he got to his
prime. He’d be the greatest powerhouse the world had ever seen.

“Oh my god,” Mirai muttered, closing the notebook and putting his head in his hands. “Toshinori. I
don’t think you understand just who you’ve chosen as your successor.”

“What do you mean, Mirai?” He asked, tilting his head. Mirai took a deep breath and pushed the
notebook back across the desk with a faint look. Toshinori looked even more confused. “Is there
something wrong?”

“On the contrary,” Mirai said gently, adjusting his glasses, “I believe you’ve chosen somebody
perfect for your power, if he really did write these. Imagine somebody who could do analysis
nearly on level with Nedzu having your power.”

“Oh my god,” Toshinori looked pale himself, now. “Is it… is it truly that good? Analysis was
never my strong suit, so I-I knew it was good, but… Nedzu?”

“Yes. Nedzu.” He said plainly. Toshinori gulped. He understood the magnitude of what was
written in these notebooks, then. “I’d like him to bring in the rest of these books. In the hands of a
villain, these would do very serious damage. They need to be kept somewhere secure, no offense to
him or his family, but if these are ever discovered…”
“R-Right,” Toshinori nodded quickly, “I’ll have him bring these in as soon as possible. So you see
what I mean though, Mirai? He’s smart as a whip and heroic on top of it. I feel like he’s the best of
both worlds, somebody worthy of One for All.”

“I… believe you’re right. And I need to seriously apologize. If he’ll accept me, if he’s willing… I
think I would very much like to mentor him. He’ll be amazing one day, Toshinori. I hope he and
Togata become good friends. Both of them working side-by-side would be fantastic to see.” Mirai
said. Suddenly, there was a creak at the doorway.

“Um…” The two heroes were startled to see Midoriya standing there with a cup of water, not even
having heard him come in until the door had squeaked shut behind him. “I-I heard… well, the last
bit of the conversation… and um… if you’re serious, then I’ll accept your apology, sir. Though
you shouldn’t have to apologize to somebody like me…”

“If you mean one of the most intelligent minds I’ve ever met by ‘somebody like you,’ then yes, I
absolutely should. I would be honored to help mentor you as well, Midoriya. You have an
exceptional skill here, one that would make you an incredible hero in its own right. But paired with
One for All, well… there’s no telling what you could accomplish.” Mirai said seriously.

“Then you…?” Midoriya trailed off, his eyes suddenly very wide.

“I believe you are the right choice, Midoriya. You’ll make an amazing hero.” Mirai said, and
Midoriya broke into the most blinding grin the man had ever seen.

“Thank you, Sir! I won’t let you down, I promise!” He said, and Mirai felt a weary smile come to
his own face. The boy’s blinding happiness was infectious, and the smile put him at ease in a way
he didn’t know was possible. It almost reminded him of All Might’s signature smile, only… more
comforting, like coming home after a long day at work.

“If Toshinori is right about your levels of dedication, then I have no doubt, young man. We’ll start
first thing next week. I want you here on the weekends, and I’ll try and make time to visit you for
training on the weekdays, or you can train here at the agency after school. It’s entirely up to you.”
Mirai offered.

“Um, we’re already cleaning up Dagobah Beach for strength training…” Midoriya muttered, a
hand to his chin in thought. “What kind of training are we going to do, Sir?”

“Strength training is good, but you need some basic knowledge of fighting skills as well. You’ll
train with me to develop a fighting style for somebody with your body type. You’ll never be as
large as All Might, but that’s alright - you can develop a style more suitable for you and still do just
as well. We have similar body types, so it’ll be good if I train you.” Mirai explained, walking
around his desk with a notepad and pen, writing some things down. “There’s also the matter of
your analysis - I want you to be able to do this on the fly while under pressure. If you’re able to,
that alone will put you leagues ahead of every opponent or rival you could ever face.”

“You really think so? My analysis isn’t… you know… creepy?” Midoriya winced at the thought.
Mirai let out a laugh at that.

“It’s only creepy in the sense that somebody should be very afraid of the power you hold in your
head alone. Otherwise, it’s entirely remarkable. Nothing creepy about it.” He said, placing a hand
on the boy’s shoulder. As he did, Midoriya flinched back hard, and Mirai pulled his hand back in
surprise. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“N-N-No, that’s okay, um, m-my shoulder’s just a little sensitive right now.” Midoriya winced,
adjusting his uniform. “I was clumsy during gym and I fell on it, that’s all.”

“Well, don’t work yourself on an injury. I can have it looked at, if you’d like. For now, here’s my
number and the days and times I’d like you at the agency. Will you be able to fit this in alongside
your training schedule or will it be too much?” Mirai asked. Toshinori stood to look at it, and he
hummed in thought.

“I think we can adjust his training slightly to fit this in. What about Togata? Do you think it would
be good to spar with somebody closer to his own age? The boy also goes to U.A, doesn’t he?”
Toshinori remarked.

“Ah, that’s very true. Perhaps Togata would be interested in meeting with you on days when I’m
not available. That’s a good idea.” Mirai nodded. Suddenly, without warning, a face popped
through the wall of Mirai’s office.

“I’d love to hang out with my kouhai! I can pick you up from school and walk you to the agency
since I have my work-study here anyway!” Togata gave a thumbs-up with a disembodied hand
from the wall. Midoriya let out a yelp of surprise at his sudden appearance, but once he saw who it
was, he gave a wobbly smile. “Did you know we’re platonic soulmates, sir?! Isn’t that cool? I have
a cool kouhai and a platonic soulmate to train with now!”

“Y-Yeah!” Midoriya nodded quickly. “Togata-senpai is very cool! I have a lot to learn from him! I
can’t wait!”

“Ahaha!” Toshinori laughed and gave a thumbs up of his own. “I’m sure you can’t, my boy! But
for today, we’re just going to rest. Like Mirai said, no working on an injury! And Mirai, I’m
certain Inko-san will want to meet you soon. That’s Midoriya’s mother. She’s actually one of my
platonic soulmates, believe it or not!”

“Well, it’s certainly a small world.” Mirai chuckled. “Why don’t you two go on ahead then? I’d
like to talk to Togata for a while. But I’m glad to have gotten a second chance, Midoriya. My name
is Sasaki Mirai. I hope to teach you a lot. Perhaps if you do well you can even do a work-study
under me in the future as well, wouldn’t that be something?”

“Yeah! I’m gonna do my best, Sir!”

Izuku felt lighter than air when he went home that night, riding on a high of feeling accomplished
despite the setbacks that had presented themselves at first. He told his mom how the day went,
excitedly showing her his soulmarks with a dopey smile on his face. He could hardly believe he
had two more soulmates that didn’t hate him.

It made him wonder… were Yagi and his mom right? Were not all soulmates like Bakugou? It was
hard to imagine, considering that’s what everybody told him for most of his life… His mother had
been the only kind one for so long, and then Yagi came along and completely shattered his
worldview that all of his soulmates would want to wither their flowers with him.

It was… a lot to process. It still didn’t sway him from the thoughts that these three - Yagi,
Nighteye, and Togata - were perhaps the exceptions to the rule, not the other way around. He had
been so blessed with three soulmates who seemingly didn’t mind his quirklessness, but that didn’t
mean any of the others would be the same. It didn’t mean they’d keep being okay with him.
In the back of his mind, he always held a fear that they’d turn around and tell him it was a joke one
day. The only ones he really trusted were his mother and Inoue… and possibly Yagi. Nobody had
bothered to play a joke on him for this long, so… maybe it wasn’t a joke. That seed of hope for
Yagi’s honesty kept growing with each passing day. Maybe it would even bloom into trust. Yagi
was right… he didn’t trust him completely yet, but he knew at least that the man didn’t want to
wither the soulflower. It would’ve done so by now of its own accord to match Yagi’s true feelings
if he didn’t want Izuku as a soulmate.

Still, he had to be realistic. Life had never been fair, and not all men were created equal. He knew
that, he knew how the majority viewed the quirkless. Before them, there had only ever been scorn,
pity, hatred and discrimination.

He was reminded of the spider lily he still had tucked away in his bag from a few days prior. That
was how the majority of people viewed him, he reminded himself, and he needed to keep a realistic
head about himself or he’d just get hurt.

So when he went to school the next day, it was a lot easier to go from the kind dream of acceptance
to harsh reality. He had prepared himself for it. His shoulder hadn’t gotten injured in gym class, it
was because Bakugou had burned it. He was lucky enough to have a spare uniform on hand just for
occasions like that one. Or occasions when he got pushed into the koi pond, or had food dumped on
him, or had it torn by other students… any number of things, really.

Because of that, he’d also become an expert at self-treating injuries and sewing up damaged
clothes. He had no problems keeping himself safe. He knew how to be quiet and avoid people, but
he also knew that he’d be sought out.

Today just seemed to be one of those days. He was glad he’d reminded himself of where he stood,
realistically, or else he’d have probably been crushed again. Today, there was another bouquet of
spider lilies on his desk - only this time there were things written on his desk to accompany it.
‘Quirkless.’ ‘Loser.’ ‘Deku.’ ‘Witherer.’

“Midoriya! Defacing your desk again? You’ll have to have detention this week.” Their teacher
narrowed his eyes at him, speaking in front of the entire class. “And don’t think I haven’t noticed
you cheating, either, trying to get better grades. You’ll clean all the desks after school today. Clean
yours first.”

“... Yes, Fujisaki-sensei.” Izuku said quietly. He knew if he argued he’d just get more detention for
‘having an attitude’ with the teacher. And when he went to scrub them off, he noticed a paper
sticking out of his desk. There was an article about a quirkless girl two prefectures over who’d
jumped from a bridge. In a red marker, somebody had crossed out all of the girl’s information and
replaced it with his.

Izuku felt sick to his stomach just looking at it.

He crumpled up the paper and threw away the flowers again, pulling the wipes he kept in his desk
for when people wrote on it. He scrubbed at the words with silent anger and sorrow. He hated
coming to school with reminders of what he was really worth these days.

It had been fine when that was all his life consisted of… but now he had people besides Inoue who
were actually nice to him. Now it hurt to go from one to the other, because in his heart, buried
beneath all of the things quirkless people didn’t get to want, was the desire for a life like he had
with Yagi, but all the time. He wished everybody was capable of being as kind as him, but
realistically he knew better than to expect that.
When he went to throw the wipes away, he was tripped by Shigeru, the stretchy-fingered boy. He
fell and hit his wrist on the desk, letting out a sharp cry of pain as it hit right on the bone. Luckily it
didn’t feel like it had broken anything, he could still move it - but it would leave one hell of a
bruise. Still, even so, he returned to his desk without a word.

It was always better to not give them a reaction.

At lunch, he went and hid in Inoue’s janitorial closet again. He had to keep up his diet as best he
could, he couldn’t afford to skip meals if he could help it. So, the closet it was. Inoue was there
again today, chewing on a toothpick as he played solitaire again.

“Hey, kiddo. Took out the trash in your classroom again today. I’m sorry about the flowers. I’ve
tried reporting it, but… well, you know they don’t listen when it comes to us.” Inoue shook his
head. Izuku just shrugged.

Inoue was truly a kind man, Izuku knew. He was the one good thing about Aldera. He had greying
black hair and crows feet around his eyes with deep laugh lines to match. But at the same time, he
seemed to have a youthfulness about him, a spark in his cloudy blue eyes that said he still had
plenty of life left in him. He’d been working at Aldera all his life, watching students come and go -
and Inoue had told Izuku he was the one student who he’d met that treated him with basic kindness.
It was only natural he show kindness in turn, he said.

“It’s okay. Thanks for trying anyways, Inoue-san. Don’t worry, I’m not taking them seriously. I… I
met two more of my soulmates, actually.” Izuku said with a smile, holding out his uninjured wrist
for the man to see. “One is familial and the other is platonic, I think. Bluebell and goldenrod. I
looked them up! The other one is vervain. Did you know that soulflowers can have specific
meanings, Inoue-san?”

“Two more! Good for you, kid.” Inoue laughed and patted him on the back. “That calls for two
more cookies today. I knew they had meanings, but I never took any stock in them. I think if you
want them to have meaning, they can, but they don’t have to.”

Inoue dug out his box of bakery cookies for Izuku to rifle through again. Izuku picked two this
time, but before he started eating, he had to wrap his wrist. “Ah, Inoue-san, do you have anything
cold? I hurt my wrist today…”

“You hurt it?” Inoue raised an eyebrow, digging through his lunchbox. He pulled out a portable ice
pack and handed it to Izuku, who flushed red at being called out.

“Well, Shigeru-kun tripped me… but you know if I said something I’d get detention for bothering
him anyway.” Izuku muttered. Inoue sighed as he watched Izuku bind his wrist with bandages he
kept in his bag. It was a shame, the man thought, that he’d become so accustomed to such
treatment that bandages and ice packs were normal for him. Izuku put the ice pack on with a
relieved sigh, and he finally began to eat.

“I wish it weren’t like this, kid. I’m really sorry.” Inoue muttered. “If there’s ever anything I can do
for you, you just tell me. Us quirkless gotta stick together.”

“Right,” Izuku smiled. “Stick together. Um, actually, would you mind me keeping some things I
don’t want to lose here…? My familial soulmates are helping me train for the U.A entrance exam,
and well, I don’t want to lose the equipment they gave me because I was ‘clumsy,’ you know…”
He muttered, and Inoue got what he was implying.

“You got it, kid. Just stick whatever you need in one of my toolboxes. If you can, just put your
 name on it or let me know beforehand so I don’t mistake it for anything.” Inoue nodded, then
gestured to Izuku’s food. “Now be sure to eat up! I’m sure you’re trying to put on muscle and it
won’t help to skip lunch!”

“Right, of course!” Izuku laughed a little. “Thank you, Inoue-san.”

“You bet, Midoriya. I told you we gotta stick together and I meant it! There aren’t many quirkless
people left these days. I’ll be rooting for you to get into U.A. I know you need a school official to
write you a recommendation for the hero course… I’m technically a school official because I’m on
the payroll.” Inoue grinned cheekily. “So when it comes time to do your paperwork, you just come
to old Inoue. I’ll write you the best darn recommendation letter you’ve ever seen!” The man
laughed.

“Really?! You’d do that for me, Inoue-san?!” Izuku gasped, his eyes wide. He’d honestly forgotten
about that requirement, mostly because he dreaded having to ask his teachers for anything, but this
presented a perfect option for him. “Of course I will! I’ll come straight to you! Thank you so much,
this means so much to me!”

“Of course, kiddo. You’re the only one in this god awful school I’d write a recommendation for,
anyway. All the other kids are little shits. Don’t tell them I said that, though.” Inoue rolled his eyes.
Izuku nearly choked on his food at the man’s bluntness.

“O-Of course not, Inoue-san!” He wheezed, patting his chest. “I’ll be rooting for you if I end up at
U.A, too. I’ll miss our lunches together. I wish you could work there, too…”

“Ah, somebody’s got to keep this place running. You know it’d never get clean without me.” Inoue
waved a hand nonchalantly. “And it’s not if, it’s when. You’ll get in for sure, Midoriya. I just
know you will, so don’t think so negatively. You go on to your fancy school and show them kids
what-for. I’ll be your first fan, alright?”

“Right. You’ll be my first fan, Inoue-san.” Izuku laughed a little.

Despite everything, perhaps the day wasn’t so awful after all. He had lunch with Inoue-san, got
some good news from the man, and kept his head out of the clouds. He could get through the last
months at Aldera. He just had to keep going, keep his head in reality, and know what to expect.
This was life for him - it wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to.

He had a dream to accomplish, and nobody would get in his way any more.

Chapter End Notes

Ahhh more Inoue content, my favorite! I love writing his parts. And Mirai!! Yes, this
man apologizes early like Toshinori and does his best to make up for it. Now he has an
analysis teacher! Mirai is one of my favorite characters in this story so I hope you
enjoy him as much as I love writing him!

What do you think is going to change as a result of him being a part of Izuku’s 10
months of training?? I mean, I know what’s going to happen since I’ve already written
it lol (I have up to chapter 17 written as of posting this!) but I would love to know
what you guys think is coming!
See you all next chapter!
- daylightbreaks
 Mentorship
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku found that he liked working with Sir Nighteye a lot. After the first few lessons, the lingering
tension between them had eased away. Sir had told him to call him Sasaki-san, but Izuku was too
much of a fanboy to use anything but his hero name. The only reason he’d gotten comfortable
calling All Might ‘Yagi-san’ was because he had to keep his identity secret… That aside, Nighteye
was a surprisingly gentle and caring person once you got to know him, and Togata was ecstatic that
the two of them were getting along.

Though as Izuku knew, peace couldn’t have lasted forever. There was always something or other
going wrong for him. It started out as a normal day - the usual taunts and words on his desk, being
tripped, finding rotten food stuffed in his shoe locker - pretty standard. But then somebody else had
said something, he couldn’t even remember because he’d been too focused on his work to really
process it, and it brought attention to the fact that he had more soulmarks that had bloomed.

Izuku wasn’t sure how they saw - whether he had shifted his uniform sleeve just right, or
something else had happened - but suddenly his whole class wouldn’t stop talking about it. The
five on his romantic side remained buds, but the eight on his platonic and familial side had three
fully-bloomed flowers, all healthy. When Kacchan saw them, he gave the most hateful glare Izuku
had seen in a while.

After class, his teacher pulled him aside. “Listen, young man. I understand that you quirkless want
a lot of attention, but this isn’t the way to go about it, parading your soulmarks around.” The man
spat, grabbing Izuku’s wrist. Izuku winced at the tight grip. “Stop distracting your classmates.
You’re making it hard for them to learn, you hear me? I won’t tolerate you turning my classroom
into your personal show-off time. Detention again this week.”

“Y-Yes sir, Fujisaki-sensei, I-I-I’m sorry. It won’t h-happen again, I promise.” He said, and the
man simply scoffed, dropping his wrist as if it was suddenly diseased.

“Good. Maybe this time you’ll learn your lesson. Get out of the classroom.” He waved his hand
dismissively, and Izuku scurried off. He didn’t need to be told twice. When he got out of the
classroom, he was accosted as he expected to be, surrounded by Bakugou and his followers nearly
immediately. That same shoulder was grabbed again, and the almost-healed blisters were raw once
more when Bakugou used his quirk to pop hot embers onto his uniform. It smoked and the smell of
burnt cotton hit his nose.

“You damn Deku! I bet you didn’t tell your soulmates you were quirkless! You didn’t tell them
how fucking useless you were! You think you’re so good you can get away with lying to people
better than you?!” Bakugou growled out, his face twisted into a snarl.

“Th-They know I’m quirkless and they don’t care!” He said back. “Let me go, Kacchan, I have
somewhere to be!”

“What, the loser suddenly developed an attitude?” Shigeru laughed, stretching his fingers out and
pressing his knuckles into Izuku’s temples. “Maybe he really does think he’s better than us,
Bakugou. Isn’t that funny, the quirkless person thinking he could have soulmates who’d want
somebody like him! And after he withered his first soulflower, too!”
“Maybe we should remind you, Deku.” Bakugou glared at him, hauling him up by the scruff of his
shirt. “You’re quirkless. You should really drop the attitude before I get really pissed, you
understand? I know you’re still trying to get into U.A. I saw the application papers in your fucking
desk. If you try that shit, I’ll kill you, Deku. I’m the only one from this lame ass school who’s
going to get into U.A, understand?”

“Th-That doesn’t sound like something a hero student would say!” Izuku snapped back, then
slapped a hand over his mouth when he realized what he’d said. He could see the rage building in
Bakugou’s eyes, and he knew he’d made a big mistake.

But he couldn’t just let Bakugou hurt him… He had training to get to! If Sir Nighteye saw an
injury on him, he wouldn’t let him train for the day! Before he could register what his body was
doing, he had wrangled out of Bakugou’s hold using a self-defense technique Togata had taught
him before sprinting for his life, grabbing his things along the way.

He heard the furious yelling of Bakugou and the stomping of feet behind him, which meant the
other boys were giving chase. Also an unfortunate normal situation for him. But what changed this
day was that he’d forgotten that Togata had promised to come and pick him up from school before
they headed out to the Nighteye agency.

When he made it out of the school, he ran smack-first into Togata, who’d caught him with a laugh
and stood him up straight. “Whoa there, kouhai! What’re you in such a rush for? We’re gonna be
early, don’t worry!”

“DEKU!” He heard Kacchan yelling behind him, and Izuku felt a spike of fear go down his spine.
He didn’t want Togata to see how he was treated… he was almost ashamed of it, though he
considered it to be normal for him at the same time. Most of all, he didn’t want to see that pity he
always saw from others. The little quirkless kid, unable to protect himself. “Who the hell is this?!”

“Oh? And who are you?” Togata asked, still smiling as he always did. Though Izuku could tell his
smile was just a bit sharper than usual. As much as Togata put on a smiling, friendly disposition
and people thought he had more brawn than brains, he was far from dumb. He had incredibly good
people skills, which is why Izuku was dreading him being here right now.

“I asked you first, you cartoon-looking weirdo!” Bakugou barked, his hands popping.

“Now, is that any way to treat an upperclassman?” Togata ‘tsk’ed and shook his head. “Besides,
quirk use is illegal in public. Do you know him, Midoriya?”

“A-Ah, he’s a classmate of mine! R-Right, Kacchan?” He asked, his eyes pleading not to start a
fight. Bakugou just looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel in his neck with how much he
was straining.

“I thought I told you not to call me that! Now answer my question, would you?! Who is this?!”
Bakugou ordered, and Izuku tensed up. Mirio just set a steady hand on his good shoulder and gave
an even sharper grin.

“I’m Togata Mirio, a second-year at U.A high’s hero course! Midoriya here is my platonic
soulmate! We were just gonna hang out for a while, so if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be on our way!”
Togata said, in a tone of voice that said he really didn’t want to be tested. Unfortunately for
everyone involved, Bakugou had an intense dislike of being told what to do… and considered it an
affront to his massive ego. Izuku knew what was coming next: eruption.

“HAH?! You’re this nerd’s soulmate?! A U.A hero course student?! I bet he didn’t even tell you he
was quirkless, did he?!” Bakugou said, a sneer on his face as he looked at Izuku. Togata just
laughed without a care in the world.

“He did tell me, actually! I don’t see what that has to do with anything, though! Midoriya’s cool, so
we hang out! Quirks have nothing to do with friendship, you know. A shame if you think they do,
you’ll miss out on a lot of nice people that way. Now come on, Midoriya. We’re gonna be late to
our hangout spot!” Togata gently steered him in the other direction.

“I wasn’t done talking to you, cartoon fucker!” Bakugou said, and went to grab Togata’s sleeve.
Before he could even get within an inch or two of him, Togata had gracefully moved out of the
way and lifted up Bakugou by the back of his shirt in one fluid motion.

“I said that’s no way to treat your upperclassmen, you know.” Togata’s tone was like steel now, his
smile gone as he set Bakugou back down in the other direction. “You should go home. I don’t
think you’d like it if I reported this to one of the pro hero teachers at U.A, would you? It would go
on your permanent record.”

Bakugou, thankfully, had some semblance of sanity left amidst his rage, and only ground his teeth
together in response. He knew he couldn’t afford a black mark on his record - he’d never get into
U.A with one. “Whatever. You’re not even worth it. Probably have some useless damn quirk
anyway…” He forced out from behind his clenched teeth, angrily stalking away. The other boys
followed him, giving Izuku a look over their shoulders that said this wasn’t over.

“So,” Togata said gently once the boys were out of view, “Want to tell me what that was about?
Because that didn’t seem like how classmates normally interact with each other.”

“K-Kacchan and I are childhood friends!” Izuku rushed to explain. “We just got into a fight the
other day, h-he’s worried about me getting hurt in the entrance exam because I'm quirkless…!” He
made up on the spot, remembering the blond’s comment about how he’d probably die in the exam.
“Th-That’s all! He just gets a little mean when he’s in an argument with somebody, w-we’ll make
up eventually!”

He hated the taste of a lie in his mouth, but the thought of Togata finding out the truth was far, far
worse. If he could lie to his mother about where he got his injuries, he could lie to Togata too, even
if it hurt.

Togata looked like he didn’t believe him, but he didn’t argue. “If you say so, Midoriya. If he gives
you more trouble though, you can always tell me or Sir or Yagi-san, I’m sure.”

Izuku just nodded, he couldn’t say anything in response to that.

He just wanted to get Aldera over with already. He’d done his time at the school - he didn’t want
trouble right as he’d almost pushed through.

Training with Sir Nighteye that afternoon was subsequently very awkward. In the heat of
everything, Izuku had completely forgotten about his burnt uniform. That shoulder had been
burned so many times he hadn’t even felt it, really, but when they got to the agency it was pointed
out very quickly.

“Midoriya, your uniform is burned.” Nighteye mentioned the second he walked in the door. “Did
something happen on the way here?”

“A run-in with a classmate.” Togata answered for him. “I stopped it before things got out of hand. I
didn’t notice his uniform, though.”

“I see… Well, are you injured? Do you need to be looked at?” Nighteye asked. Izuku quickly
shook his head, shifting his shoulder just slightly so that the burn wasn’t visible.

“No, Sir! Really, I told Togata-senpai it was just an argument… My uniform was just because I
wasn’t paying attention and I ran into a classmate with a fire quirk, so I just need to be more
mindful. It just got my uniform, that’s all.” Izuku said, hoping it didn’t prompt any further
discussion. Nighteye’s eyes narrowed, as if assessing him for a moment.

“I’d still like you to get checked out. I’ll have Bubble Girl send you a change of clothes as well.
We’re working on analysis today, anyway, nothing physical. Your health is important to your
progress, Midoriya. Keep that in mind.” Nighteye said. “We’re going to go over an old case or two
of mine, and I’d like to see your takes on it. We’ve only worked on the physical side of things so
far, it’s time we work on the mental.”

“Yes, Sir.” Izuku bowed his head. “I’ll go and see your nurse.”

“Thank you, Midoriya. I’ll see you when you get back. Togata, while that’s being done, I’d like
you to get dressed for patrols. You and Centipeder are heading out today.” Nighteye directed.
Togata gave a salute and a grin, and he took off. Midoriya knew where Nighteye’s nurse’s office
was since he’d been there before once already, coincidentally for his shoulder as well on the first
day they’d met. Izuku really hoped Sir didn’t pick up on the pattern.

“Here again, Midoriya?” The nurse asked when he walked in. As he learned, most hero agencies
carried at least one nurse or doctor on-staff for daily injuries that occurred on patrol and such.
Nighteye’s nurse was a gentle man named Morishige, whose quirk allowed him to absorb the pain
from wounds and convert it into energy for himself.

“Yeah. My shoulder again… Sir wanted me to get it checked out this time… I swear it’s fine
though, it was an accident…” Izuku muttered, though he knew it was futile at this point.

“Well, let’s have a look. Go ahead and take a seat.” Morishige gestured to an open cot, and Izuku
sat there with a sigh. The man gently removed the part of his shirt that had been burned with a pair
of scissors, and when he removed it, he frowned deeply. “Midoriya. When you say it's fine, are you
not in a lot of pain right now?”

“Er… I don’t think so, no…” Izuku said. This wasn’t anything new, he’d treated burns at home
before and they all felt like this. He didn’t think that his shoulder felt any worse than usual, really.
“Is there something wrong?”

“This is a second-degree burn, Midoriya. This is serious. How did you get this?” Morishige asked
firmly. “And if you feel uncomfortable, just remember you’re not a part of this hero agency. By
law you’re reserved the same kind of doctor-patient confidentiality as anybody else. All I can tell
Sir Nighteye is whether or not you’re fit for training.”

“I was just careless. I already said so. It’s not a big deal.” Izuku muttered, looking down at the
ground with his brows scrunched up. He really didn’t want to have this conversation any more. He
much preferred it when people didn’t pay attention… He didn’t want anybody to have to worry
over him. There were more important people to worry about.
And besides, he didn’t have a good track record with nurses or doctors, either. Ever since he was
diagnosed quirkless, he’d been denied treatment from so many places that he eventually stopped
looking. Even his school nurse would just hand him a first aid kit and complain that he was
wasting the quirked kids’ time.

He was sure Morishige was only treating a quirkless person because Sir Nighteye had asked him
to. Otherwise, Izuku was fairly certain he’d have been turned away a while ago.

“Midoriya, this is a big deal. If it had been any worse, it could have done serious damage to your
shoulder. I want you to be more careful in the future. If it gets hurt like this again, I want you to
come see me right away.” The man said seriously. Izuku just nodded.

He cleaned the burn and took care of it, and while that was going on Bubble Girl dropped off a
clean shirt for him before heading back out. He asked to change in the bathroom, though - he didn’t
want Morishige seeing his other injuries. The man gave him a knowing look but let it go anyway,
and Izuku slunk off to the bathroom to change.

When he headed back out, now in a shirt that read ‘NIGHTEYE AGENCY’ in big letters,
Morishige gave him permission to do light work only until his shoulder was healed. Izuku sighed,
at least he was only doing analysis work today… Still, he’d worked with Yagi while his shoulder
was burned before and had no problems. He just wished he’d remembered to change his uniform
before he got there so Nighteye wouldn’t have seen it.

Oh well, nothing to do about it now. He headed up to Nighteye’s office, and the two of them got
set up to work on what Nighteye wanted him to learn.

“I hope it wasn’t anything serious, Midoriya. Burns are no joke.” Nighteye said gently. “If you’re
fit to work, we’ll get started.”

“Yes, Morishige-san said I could do light work today. It turns out I did have a bit of a burn, but I
didn’t really notice, so it must not have been that bad,” He fibbed. Nighteye seemed to accept that
answer, since for Izuku, it wasn’t really a lie. It might’ve been bad to Morishige, but to him it was
standard fare. Nothing serious.

“Very well. Just be more mindful in the future, alright? And tell your classmates to keep better
control of their quirks. They should know how to manage them just fine at their age.” Nighteye
huffed. “Regardless, here’s what you’ll be covering today.”

Nighteye pointed a remote at the wall, and a screen extended down from the ceiling. On it, there
was footage of a villain attack Izuku had heard of in passing a year ago - a series of bank robberies
had been stopped by Nighteye and his sidekicks. The footage seemed to be from the bank security
cameras, paused on one screen.

“From the look on your face, I’d say you knew this case. If you do, then you also know that very
little was publicized about it - especially the villain’s quirks. They were kept tightly under wraps,
as they were impressive quirks, but ones that could give the public a fear of them. Certain quirks
are discriminated against, and so we keep them out of the media to prevent further discrimination.
Does that make sense so far?” Nighteye asked.

“Yes, sir! I once heard somebody tell a girl in my class she’d be a good villain because of her
quirk… I think that’s just awful. No quirk makes a villain… people make themselves villains. You
could have the best quirk and be a villain, or the worst and be a hero… it just depends on the
person. A-At least, that’s how I see it, anyway. Sorry for getting off topic.” Izuku said awkwardly,
realizing he’d rambled.
“No, that’s exactly right. You have a better understanding on that subject than a lot of people do.
Unfortunately, quirk-based discrimination is a common problem. The quirkless, according to the
statistics, have it the worst.” Nighteye said, though it didn’t seem to be directed at him. It was just
a statement of fact, one Izuku knew well.

“So, why are you showing me this footage then, Sir?” Izuku asked.

“I’d like you to analyze the villain’s quirks. Write down exactly what you think they are. There are
four villains in total, I’ll let you take your time on the first as a warmup. After that, I’ll start
showing you less and less footage to base your analysis off of. Eventually, I want to work your way
up to doing analysis while sparring, to get used to thinking and fighting at the same time. Not today
of course; we’ll spend several training sessions just going over old untelevised cases.”

“I see!” Izuku said, nodding in understanding. “I’m ready whenever you are, Sir!”

“Well then, let’s begin.” Sir pushed a stack of blank paper in front of him along with a couple of
pencils. He pressed play on the video, and Izuku watched intently.

From the footage, he could see one man in a mask. He seemed to have a human body, but his head
was shaped differently and what skin he could see seemed to be covered in fur of some kind. A
mutation or transformation quirk, perhaps? The footage continued, and he seemed to grow in size,
his sleeves shredding as he got more muscular and furry and his hands changed to paws. His head
turned into that of a wolf, the mask no longer fitting on his face. A werewolf quirk, then?

Izuku wrote down all of his observations as he saw them, watching the footage intently, noting
things about the werewolf man - for instance, he had a slight limp in his right leg, a possible weak
spot. He favored his claws over his teeth, and he seemed to avoid bright lights. He had a strong
right hook when he swiped with said claws, but left himself open afterwards. He didn’t seem
instinct-driven like other werewolf quirks Izuku had seen, but rather intelligent and could still
speak coherently to the people behind the bank glass. That meant he would prove a harder
opponent overall than one who could be distracted with meat or pheromones.

“Interesting observations, Midoriya. I see what Toshinori means by the muttering, though. We’ll
work on that. You don’t want villains catching on to your plans. Although there are certain
instances in which psyching them out would work, most of the time it’s safer to keep your plans
close to the vest.” Nighteye explained. Izuku jumped in surprise.

“A-Ah! I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was muttering! I’ve been trying to work on it, but I just can’t
seem to break the habit…” He said sheepishly.

“No mind, I’ll help you work on it in the future. It’s interesting to see how fast your mind works in
such a short period of time, however. You’ve only seen a few minutes of footage. Most analysts
need a consistently larger sample to work from.” Nighteye hummed thoughtfully.

“R-Really?” Izuku asked, turning a little red from the praise. He always felt nice when Nighteye
paid him a compliment, since the man didn’t give them out easily. His mentor nodded.

“Yes, really. You’ve even noticed a few things that I didn’t notice. For example the limp and the
tendency to avoid the lights, nobody in my agency caught those. They’re very minute on footage
like this, but it’s often all heroes have to work with.” Nighteye explained. Izuku nodded, writing
the words down in his own notebook. He started keeping one for lessons with Nighteye and Yagi,
so that he could memorize the things they taught him about heroics.

“Really? All you had was the bank footage before you caught them, Sir?” Izuku asked, eyes wide.
“How did you know which bank they were going to hit? Did you use your quirk on one of them,
or…?”

“Believe it or not, Togata was the one who helped find them. He had just signed on for a work-
study under me. Most of the time, first-years aren’t allowed work-studies, but I specifically scouted
him at the sports festival. He happened to be patrolling in the area when he had a quirk mishap and
fell right into the hideout of the robbers.” Nighteye said, a fond expression on his face. Izuku
smiled, he could see Togata stumbling onto something like that.

“Wow, I had no idea Togata-senpai was the one who’d given you a break in the case!” Izuku said.
Nighteye nodded.

“Our analysts were never able to give us any concrete data beyond quirk info, and only for three
out of the four, so I’m curious to see what you think. Perhaps you’d be able to deduce something
they didn’t.” Nighteye said. “Moving on, here’s the next villain. I’ll only show you a minute’s
worth of footage this time.”

The screen switched to a different bank, and a different villain was in focus on the camera. This
one seemed to be a woman judging solely on body type, but they were wearing full-body gear so it
was impossible to know for sure. They seemed to be the leader, judging by how they gave out
orders to the others - Izuku could see the werewolf quirk man in the back doing as they said. They
watched everything carefully, making little movement compared to the others. They seemed to let
the others take care of the guards and handle tying up the civilians.

Then, without warning, they whipped around, pointing to one of the civilians on the other end of
the bank. The wolf man went over and duct-taped the civilian’s mouth, and that’s where Nighteye
stopped the footage. Izuku narrowed his eyes, chewing on his bottom lip as he thought. “Can I see
the last bit again?”

“Certainly,” Nighteye rewound it, and Izuku paid attention to the civilian this time. He realized
that the civilian had leaned over just slightly, the man’s mouth barely moving as he spoke to the
person next to him. Whispering, then?

“There’s no sound on the video… were there alarms going off or lots of other noise?” Izuku asked.
He had a good idea of what this villain’s quirk could be, but he wanted to be certain. Nighteye
nodded in confirmation.

“Yes, there were alarms. Not overly loud, but they were ringing. And there was lots of crying from
some of the civilians I assume, judging by their expressions.” He gestured to the screen. Izuku
hummed in thought, scribbling his notes down on paper.

“I think they probably have some kind of quirk that would allow them to hear a civilian whisper
from all the way on the other side of the bank, even with all that noise. That’s a wide range of
possibilities, but I don’t think it’s a regular hearing enhancement quirk. They don’t have earplugs
in, and all that noise would seriously hurt somebody with a hearing enhancing quirk.” Izuku
explained, and Nighteye’s eyebrows rose.

“Also, they seem to be the leader. The other villains listen to them, even ones that theoretically
could overpower them, like the wolf quirk. So either they’re intelligent enough to plan robberies
and people listen to them, or their quirk is more powerful than the wolf quirk and they command
respect that way, even though we can’t tell what the quirk is for certain in this footage.” Izuku
finished off, pushing his notes towards Nighteye.

“That’s… an astute observation. None of the analysts noticed the civilians whispering their first
 few passes over the footage. This one is the one we had trouble identifying the quirk of, but your
idea aligns with the same theory we had. We assumed they also had some kind of quirk related to
their hearing.” Nighteye explained.

They continued on through the rest of the footage, and even moved on to a few other untelevised
cases that day. Izuku was able to get his deduction times down to only twenty seconds, so long as
he had a decent view of the quirk. Non-visible quirks took him a bit longer, but Nighteye was still
impressed with his skills.

Izuku went home that night with a happy heart, feeling proud of himself and pleased with the
knowledge he’d gained from Nighteye. It was still almost too good to believe that he was working
with two pro heroes and a U.A student to train for U.A…

But he’d do his best. He’d take whatever he got and he’d go as far as he could.

Midoriya Izuku was determined to be a hero no matter what.

Chapter End Notes

Not much happened this chapter except for Mirio meeting ‘Kacchan,’ but it’s setting
up some stuff to come… and next chapter, stuff gets real >:)

Also! Thank you to fangarai for your comment on my last chapter, it made me realize
I actually never mentioned exactly how many soulflowers Izuku has! I added a
mention at the beginning of this chapter so it’s more clear, but just in case you missed
it: Izuku has five romantic soulflowers and eight platonic/familial, technically seven if
you don’t count Bakugou’s withered flower.

Hope that helps! I can’t wait for y’all to see next week’s chapter >:D I have so much
planned! I’ve planned all the way to the sports festival in my planning docs, and over
in my discord server I even decided on an ending for this fic!! It’ll be long but we’ll
get there eventually :P

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Pattern
Chapter Summary

“I wanted to ask you about Midoriya. I’ve noticed a rather… disturbing pattern, and
it’s only been getting worse.”

“The injuries?”

“So you’ve seen them too?”

Chapter Notes

TWs for this chapter in the end notes!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Izuku had been training with Sir Nighteye for a month and a half, and it had been three months
total since he’d met Yagi and started training overall. He had seven months to go until the entrance
exam, and a few weeks after that he’d be in high school.

He was going strong, and he’d been more diligent than ever about keeping his injuries hidden and
his school life separate from training. Bakugou always seemed to avoid him in the afternoons when
Togata picked him up from school to head to the agency, so luckily there had been no more
incidents like the one a month ago.

Even more surprising, Togata had introduced Izuku to his friend group - apparently, he had two
romantic soulmates and they both hung out all the time outside of school. Amajiki Tamaki and
Hado Nejire made up the big three of the second years along with Togata, and they were really
excited to meet Izuku the first time they did. Amajiki was very, very shy and anxiety ridden, which
Izuku related to a lot. The two of them got along well because of that. Hado was very outgoing and
bubbly, not normally who he’d hang out with, but she was very kind so he didn’t mind so much.

He was starting to see just what it was like to have actual friends, and it was… scary in its own
way. For the longest time, despite their withered soulflower and the harsh treatment he endured,
Izuku considered Bakugou his best friend anyway.

He had no other examples to go off of, so he assumed it was like this for quirkless kids. Even if
Bakugou didn’t want him around, well, he was the only one his age that Izuku ever had to look up
to. It was his ‘normal.’

It was hard to accept that friends could be so kind.

Because if kindness was possible for him, didn’t that mean… that Kacchan wasn’t acting kindly?
And if that wasn’t kindness from Kacchan, then… It was just cruelty. But Kacchan wasn’t cruel -
villains were cruel! And Kacchan was going to be an amazing hero! It was a fact of life he’d grown
up with since day one!
Izuku didn’t know what to think any more. In some ways, he respected Kacchan - he knew the
other boy was strong in more ways than just his quirk. He trained relentlessly and honed his quirk
into a precision-perfect skill. He was talented and strong, destined to reach the top ten heroes on
sheer power alone. He admired that he wasn’t all talk - the other boy really did put in the effort to
get into U.A and it showed.

But on the other hand… Izuku was starting to see that he wasn’t so kind.

How could he fairly save everyone if he didn’t see everyone as equal? Izuku knew what Kacchan
thought of the quirkless. If there was a quirkless person in trouble - Izuku himself or Inoue, perhaps
- would Kacchan prioritize their rescue?

The day Izuku had received the slightest amount of kindness from Yagi or anybody else, his world
had tilted on its axis and he suddenly felt like he was thrown into space.

All he could do to find his way back to earth was to simply keep moving forward. He would train
every day, and on rest days he’d simply train his mind. Dagobah beach was getting cleaner and
cleaner, and even Togata had shown up every once in a while to help him with the progress since a
lot of his time got taken up by training at the Nighteye agency.

But with increased focus and introspection came confidence.

Izuku found himself growing remarkably more confident in both himself and his decisions, seeing
his progress in only a few short months. He’d put on a few pounds of muscle, and he’d started to
lose the baby-fat face the Midoriya family was known for. And with all the thinking he’d been
doing lately, Izuku really should have expected the problems that would come from that.

Because he was more confident, well… he had some amount of self-respect, and he had started
talking back to Bakugou and the others. The first time it happened, he didn’t even realize what he’d
done until it was too late, and he’d gotten a burning palm grabbing his arm and a snarled
‘remember your place, Deku’ in return.

Yagi had noticed he favored his other arm that day, but thankfully didn’t say anything like
Nighteye had. It was only by the third incident that Izuku began to notice a pattern: he had a
problem with getting himself into trouble these days.

He just hoped it didn’t cause any problems with his training…

Toshinori had a problem.

For one thing, he knew Midoriya was struggling lately. He could see it - he hadn’t hit a plateau in
his development, but he was struggling all the same. Toshinori couldn’t see the cause, but he was
pretty sure the boy was hiding injuries from him. Some days he favored one arm over another, and
he always flinched when somebody touched his left shoulder.

It painted a picture Toshinori didn’t like at all.

But perhaps he was reading into it, he didn’t want to concern the boy unnecessarily, so he decided
to consult Mirai about his thoughts. He knew the other man was observant, so if he’d seen
something too he’d be able to confirm or deny his suspicions.
He met up with Mirai during one of Midoriya’s days at his agency, asking for a quiet meeting
between the two of them. Mirai agreed, and he asked Togata to take over his training for the day.
Midoriya had apparently progressed in his analysis studies well enough to begin sparring while he
did, so Togata would start him off light while he learned to mentally multitask.

It was a good time for the two of them to step out, so they went to Mirai’s office to have the talk.
Toshinori prayed it really was him just seeing things or overreacting - if Midoriya had been getting
hurt under his watch, he’d never forgive himself.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Mirai asked, taking a seat at his desk. Toshinori sighed and
shook his head.

“Nothing pleasant, I’m afraid. I wanted to ask you about Midoriya. I’ve noticed a rather…
disturbing pattern, and it’s only been getting worse.” He murmured. Mirai’s gaze darkened and he
leaned forward in his seat.

“The injuries?” He asked, and Toshinori sat up straight.

“So you’ve seen them too?” He asked quietly. “I had hoped… well, that I was jumping to
conclusions or reaching for things, but…”

“Yes… I’ve seen them. He’s been to see my nurse several times, and I’m certain there’s more he’s
hidden from me. He refuses to tell me what happened, though - it’s always some excuse of
clumsiness, and we all know…” Mirai trailed off. Toshinori grit his teeth.

“... Yeah. People who are abused often try to hide the truth from others.” he said bitterly. “Damn it,
I hate to think of something like this. I doubt it’s Inko-san, I’ve been over to the Midoriya house
plenty of times and she’s incredibly kind in a way that’s impossible to fake. She takes an interest in
her son’s well being and he’s never once seemed so much as uncomfortable around her.”

“I agree, but it’s still something we should look into just to be safe. I don’t want to assume
something and then have it turn out poorly, even if she is one of your platonic soulmates,
Toshinori.” Mirai said gently. Toshinori sighed again.

“You’re… you’re right. I should be careful dismissing her, just in case. But I still think we should
look into other options first. Do you have any idea where the injuries could be coming from?”
Toshinori asked, looking increasingly desperate. Mirai seemed to think for a moment.

“Perhaps school. Togata brought Midoriya in with a burn on his shoulder once, said he had a run-in
with one of his classmates. He brushed it off in front of Midoriya, but he came to me afterwards
and said he was worried. He said a blond boy had called Midoriya ‘Deku’ and had been chasing
after him. Midoriya claimed he was a childhood friend whom he had an argument with, and Togata
hasn’t seen the boy since, but we have no idea what goes on during the day.” Mirai explained.
Toshinori seemed to recognize that description.

Hadn’t the blond boy Midoriya rescued during the sludge villain incident called him ‘Deku’? And
hadn’t he seemed particularly aggressive for somebody whose life had just been saved? Was it the
same boy that Togata had seen?

“Perhaps… but even heroes need some kind of evidence to back up an investigation into a school.
All we know is that he’s getting injured. Without some proof that the injuries are coming from
somebody at his school, we can’t know for certain.” Toshinori grumbled.

“I could use my quirk on him, but Midoriya knows how it works and he’d be very wary of me
using it on him. I think if I did, I’d lose all of his trust.” Mirai seemed just as put-out.

“So what should we do, then? I don’t want to just keep seeing him get hurt. I suppose I could talk
to Inko-san, see if she knows anything about what’s going on, but if she’s the one behind this it’ll
make things worse…” Toshinori put his head in his hands. “This is a mess. Unless Midoriya says
something to us directly or we see something happen, there’s nothing we can do, is there? I hate
that thought…”

“But you’re right. We have no legal rights to investigate his school yet. Unless… there’s somebody
at the school that would be willing to talk to us. Do you think you could ask Midoriya if there’s
somebody at school he gets along with in casual conversation? We might be able to talk to them
outside of school hours.” Mirai suggested.

“Oh, what a good idea! I’ll speak with him about it the next chance I get and let you know. Would
you like me to be the one to speak with the person he names, if there is anybody? I figure Sir
Nighteye would be a bit conspicuous.” Toshinori chuckled.

“You’re right, we don’t want to alert anybody that we’re investigating. You should definitely be
the one to speak with whomever Midoriya mentions.” Mirai agreed. “I’m glad you spoke to me
about this, Toshinori. I was worried about the same thing you were. I didn’t want to assume the
worst and nose into his life where I wasn’t welcome, but if it’s bad enough for us both to have seen
it, then it’s really bad.”

“And that’s what I’m afraid of.” Toshinori pinched his nose. “How could I have missed this until
now, Mirai? I love that boy like a son. It’s only been a few months, but I’d do just about anything
for him. I feel awful that it’s escaped my notice for so long.”

“We’ll stop it, Toshinori. Whatever’s going on, we’ll make sure it never happens again.”

Toshinori invited Midoriya for ramen with both him and Naomasa again. He told his partner what
was going on, and Naomasa instantly asked to help - and he’d lead the investigation personally if
they found anything. So here they were, sitting at the ramen bar they ate at the first time, and
Midoriya was wolfing down food.

He looked perfectly content, unlike how nervous Toshinori was. Naomasa had agreed to verify all
of Midoriya’s statements for him quietly, planning on tapping his hand discretely whenever
Midoriya lied. He hated using his quirk like this, but Naomasa agreed it was in Midoriya’s best
interest if somebody really was hurting him.

“So, my boy! How has school been going lately?” Toshinori asked when a lull in the small talk
formed. “Have you been keeping your grades up for U.A?”

“Er… I’ve kept them up the best I can,” Midoriya mumbled, looking suddenly uncomfortable to
speak about school. He had the first time they went for ramen, too, Toshinori remembered - he’d
tried to ask about school, but Midoriya had quickly changed topics. That was a good sign they were
heading in the right direction, as much as Toshinori didn’t like to think so.

“That’s good! Is there a subject you like? I was never one for history, but I had a history teacher in
middle school that made the class fun. Do you have any teachers like that?” Toshinori asked with a
smile. Midoriya gave him a strange sort of look, but shook his head.
“No, not really. Classes are… just classes, really.” He muttered. Toshinori resisted the urge to sigh.
It was blatantly obvious how little Midoriya wished to speak about school, but he had to press on.
He had to get something to go off of.

“Really? There’s nothing you look forward to at school?” He asked, and Midoriya seemed to think
about that for a moment.

“Well… there is one thing.” Midoriya said, a small smile on his face. “I enjoy talking to Inoue-san.
Er, the school’s head janitor. He’s really nice, and he’s quirkless like me.”

“Oh? Well, it’s good that you have somebody to talk to.” Toshinori said, inwardly pleased that
he’d gotten some good information. Janitors tended to see a little bit of everything, unknown to the
students since they were overlooked often. He would be perfect to talk to, if they could find him.
Toshinori was on a mission. “Do you not talk to anybody your age?”

“Um… I mean, I talk to my classmates sometimes…” he muttered, poking at the ramen with his
chopsticks. Toshinori felt Naomasa tap his hand, and he pursed his lips a little.

“What about that boy you saved at the sludge villain incident? You were wearing the same
uniform, weren’t you? You seemed to know each other, anyway.” Toshinori commented. Midoriya
clenched his chopsticks tightly.

“K-Kacchan? Um, Kacchan…” Midoriya trailed off for a moment, “He… we do know each other.
I… we talk sometimes, I guess. He’s… fine.”

Another tap from Naomasa. Damn. Maybe Togata had been right to be worried.

“Well, enough talk about school, my boy.” Toshinori laughed a little, trying to ease the air.
Instantly, Midoriya relaxed. “How are you enjoying working with Mirai so far?”

“Oh, Sir? I-I’ve been really enjoying training under him!” It was like a whole other person came
out when Midoriya talked about training, the school talk completely forgotten in its wake. Seeing
him so enthusiastic was like night and day - and it made Toshinori all the more certain that
whatever was going on was likely happening at Midoriya’s school.

Looks like he was going to have a talk with the janitor, Inoue.

Inoue Kenshin was not a young man, but he considered himself pretty spry.

He had to be to keep up with everything at Aldera. The kids didn’t interfere with him because
despite his quirklessness, they would actually get in trouble for interrupting his work. He was
practically the only janitor in the school who actually worked, after all. The staff knew that if he
was interrupted, the school would never get clean, so they actually bothered to stop the kids who
tried to mess around with him. It didn’t stop the comments, but at least he wasn’t physically
harassed.

But there was one student in all of Aldera that Inoue looked out for: Midoriya Izuku.

Midoriya was quirkless, just like he was. Midoriya talked to him regularly, treated him with respect
because he knew what it was like to be quirkless in today’s day and age. Inoue knew the kid since
he was a first year, he’d met the kid one day when he found him sitting in the hallway after school,
sobbing his eyes out.

That was the day his first soulmate had rejected their bond, Inoue learned later. He’d helped the kid
up and gave him some tissues and some water, and just sat with him for a while that day. Ever
since, Inoue had his eye out for him, trying to do what he could to make his school life easier. As a
result, he became a bit protective of the boy.

So sue him, after nearly three years of watching over Midoriya, it was kind of like having another
kid, just at school. All of his actual kids were gone off to college or focused on work, so it was nice
to have somebody to watch over again.

That was why when he encountered a thin, blond man outside of school one day, asking after
Midoriya, he was instantly on guard. He knew how people treated the quirkless, and he wouldn’t
stand for somebody creeping around, asking after him.

He had just been leaving for the day, the sun setting by the time he finished his work. He was on
his way to his car, and then he saw a thin blond man standing around looking worried. Eventually,
when he spotted Inoue, he perked up and headed his way.

“Ah! Are you Inoue Kenshin?” He asked, and though he sounded pleasant, it was a little jarring for
a complete stranger to know his name.

“Who’s asking?” Inoue asked back, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“Ah, my name is Yagi Toshinori. Sorry to come to you like this, but you see, one of my familial
soulmates goes to this school. Midoriya Izuku. He mentioned he spoke to you often, so I was
hoping to ask you some things.” The blond man said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.
Inoue narrowed his eyes.

“Midoriya, huh? If you’re his soulmate, then what soulflower do you share?” He asked, now
crossing his arms over his chest. No way he was telling anybody squat about Midoriya without
good cause. The man looked a little startled by the defensiveness, but gently removed his soulmark
cover and extended his wrist.

“Blue vervain, as a matter of fact. Does that help?” He asked, putting the cover back on after Inoue
had taken a look. Inoue sighed.

“Sure. But I’m not telling you much unless Midoriya’s here to confirm. What do you want to know
about him, anyway?” Inoue asked, pulling a toothpick from the case in the chest pocket of his
jumpsuit. He chewed on it while he waited for Yagi to answer.

“Well, I’m worried about him. I believe he’s hiding injuries from me and his other soulmates. I
think they come from school. I would like to investigate if at all possible, my partner is a detective.
If something bad is happening to my boy at school, I’d like to know.” He explained, and Inoue’s
eyebrows shot up.

“You’re serious? You’d actually investigate Aldera?” The janitor asked, completely incredulous at
the statement. But then Inoue seriously thought about it for a moment and sighed. “Let’s say,
theoretically, that something was happening. Do you know how quirkless people are treated, Yagi-
san? How do I know that an investigation won’t just make things worse? It’s possible that the
investigators just won’t care, or that it’ll get swept under the rug once they see that the person
complaining is quirkless. Life would only get worse for Midoriya if it was already bad.”
“I promise, the investigators wouldn’t cover this up. Like I said, my partner is a detective. He cares
for Midoriya too. I just want him to be happy. Every day, I see him struggling with some new
injury. He’s been getting better, but he still struggles with confidence, too. He puts himself down
all the time. It’s so hard to bear, knowing what a good kid he is at heart.” Yagi sounded like he was
pleading with Inoue at that point.

“And that’s exactly why I can’t, in good conscience, say anything if there was something going on.
I’m telling you, you really don’t know what it’s like. Your partner is just one person. I’m not
risking Midoriya’s safety on somebody I don’t know, especially since I don’t know for certain you
really are soulmates. I’d like Midoriya’s say-so.” Inoue said, staring the man down relentlessly. He
wasn’t going to budge on this.

“Fine… I can’t make you tell me anything.” Yagi sighed. “But look, here’s my business card.
Please, if you change your mind, give me a call. I just want to help Midoriya. He shouldn’t have to
get hurt at a place that should be safe for him. And please… don’t tell him I was here. He already
has a hard enough time talking to me. If he found out I was looking into this, I think he’d lose his
trust in me.”

Inoue took the card and stuffed it into a pocket. “I’ll think about it. For now, I would get going.
The principal doesn’t like strangers loitering in the parking lot.”

“Right… Thank you for your time. Please do think about it.”

Everything came to a head a week later.

It started out like a normal day for Izuku - he woke up, had training at the beach with Yagi, and
came home to breakfast with his mother before he got ready for school. When he got to school, he
was in a decent enough mood - it was a Wednesday, which meant Bakugou would leave him alone
in the afternoon. Togata couldn’t actually be there that day, but Bakugou didn’t know that, so Izuku
would have the afternoon free and clear.

His mood significantly dropped when he opened his shoe locker to see that somebody had placed
trash inside his school shoes again. He’d gotten in the habit of checking them daily so he wouldn’t
step in anything unpleasant. He simply discarded the trash in the trashcan and moved on. Lingering
on it would just make it worse. It seemed shoe lockers were a favorite of the students at Aldera, as
Izuku had seen trash in more than just his own.

The rest of the day wasn’t as bad, surprisingly - he got through it with just a few words written on
his desk and another detention and a smack on the head from Mr. Fujisaki, but not much else. It
was… quiet, all things considered. He wondered if the talking about him hanging out with U.A
students had been spreading around, and that was why people were so quiet. But he knew better
than to let his guard down, so he kept an eye out just in case anything happened.

It was after school when something finally snapped.

Kacchan had gone home for the day, seeing as he now avoided Izuku on days when Togata was
there. Instead, as Izuku finished packing up his things and made his way out of the classroom,
Bakugou’s followers surrounded him near the stairwell.

“Hey there, Deku. I heard you paid some U.A kid to protect you, and that’s why Bakugou hasn’t
 been able to pay you many visits lately.” Shigeru sneered, pushing Izuku roughly in the chest.
“You’re sure getting a big head these days, you know. What, you think ‘cause you pay somebody,
suddenly you’re a big-shot?”

“N-No, that’s not it, honestly. Togata-senpai is m-my platonic soulmate-”

“Oh, shut it would you?!” Shigeru pushed him again with his stretchy fingers, and he was being
backed up against his will. “Nobody believes that! As if anybody with a quirk would ever willingly
spend time around you unless you paid them!”

“Togata-senpai does spend time around me!” Izuku bit back, eyebrows furrowing. “H-He’s nice,
unlike you, Shigeru!”

“I said shut it alr-!” Shigeru cut himself off when he pushed Izuku again, only this time, he didn’t
realize how close the other boy was to the stairs. Izuku backed up, only to find no floor underneath
him, and his whole body gave way as he tumbled down the stairs. He tried to stick his arms out to
brace himself, but it backfired.

There was a sickening crack, and his arm shot with blinding-hot pain. He rolled off the last step,
hitting his head against the corner, and he swore he could see stars. He was so in shock he couldn’t
even find it in himself to cry out in pain, despite the intense pain radiating from his arm. From the
top of the stairs, though he couldn’t see him through the spots in his vision, he heard Shigeru say
‘oh, shit’ over and over before sprinting away.

His head felt warm and sticky, probably with blood from where he’d hit his head. Izuku didn’t
know how long he laid there in the stairwell, barely processing what was going on. It felt like
forever, just fighting to stay awake. Finally, blessedly, he heard the familiar voice of Inoue.

“Midoriya?! Damn it, kid, hang on. You can hear me, can’t you?” He asked, feeling the man’s
hand on his shoulder. He mumbled out something, he wasn’t sure what, but the man breathed a
sigh of relief knowing he was conscious. “Hey, hey, you have a blond guy as one of your
soulmates, right? Yagi? Please tell me he is. Don’t pass out on me, kid.”

“Yagi-san… is so nice… like a dad…” He mumbled. It was getting harder to stay awake.

“You’d better stay awake, Midoriya, or I won’t share my cookies with you any more.” Inoue said,
though it was clear he was emotional. “This damn number had better work.”

Chapter End Notes

TW: Brief depiction of injury & blood.

————

Uh-oh. There are several people who are not going to like this at all. Aldera better get
ready for the hellstorm that is Midoriya’s Angry Father Figures when they find out
he’s been hurt…

And thank god for Inoue :’) Love that funky little janitor man.

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Truth
Chapter Summary

If Toshinori had his way, Midoriya would never set foot in that school ever again.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Toshinori was having an awful day. He had to send Midoriya off to school despite his worries
because he had no proof, his time limit had come when he was distracted and he hadn’t expected it
that morning, and he missed lunch with Naomasa because of said distraction.

It hadn’t started well, and it certainly didn’t end well. Especially when he got a certain call.

It was a little late in the afternoon, and Midoriya was running late for training. It wasn’t the first
time, but the boy usually texted ahead of time if he had some kind of a hold-up. He had been sitting
on the seawall of Dagobah, waiting for some kind of a message, when his phone rang. He excitedly
picked it up thinking it might’ve been Midoriya, but it turned out to be an unknown caller.

“Hello? Yagi Toshinori speaking, how can I help you?” He asked. Over the other end of the phone,
he heard somebody grunt with exertion.

“Hey, you’re Midoriya’s parental soulmate, right? This is Inoue, the janitor you talked to last
week,” the man said, and Toshinori’s eyes widened.

“Yes, have you changed your mind about speaking to me regarding Aldera?” He asked.

“I have, but you need to get here. Midoriya’s hurt badly. I don’t think I can take him out of the
school legally and the ambulances around here refuse rides to quirkless patients.” Toshinori had
sprinted from his seat the second he heard ‘Midoriya’s hurt.’ He got in his truck and started it with
a shout that he’d be there as soon as possible, hanging up and booking it towards Aldera.

Inko would have to be notified. He needed to call Mirai and Naomasa, too, if he was seriously hurt.
Damn. As he was speeding around a corner, he called Inko first. Thankfully he had all of them on
speed dial…

“Ah, Yagi-san! What can I do for you?” Inko said pleasantly. He hated to be the one to break the
news to her, but she was his mother. She needed to know.

“Inko-san, I’m sorry to tell you, but your son’s been hurt. I just found out and I’m almost there to
get him now. I called you first so you could meet me wherever I end up taking him.” He explained
quickly. There was a beat of silence on the other end of the phone before,

“I’ll be right there, Yagi-san. Thank you for telling me.” And then the call was over. Next was the
call to Mirai. It only rang twice before the man picked up.

“Toshinori, how can I help you?” Mirai’s voice came over the speaker.

“Mirai, Izuku’s been hurt. You should get down here. I’ve got to call Naomasa next.” He said, not
waiting to explain. He called and said as much to Naomasa, who promptly said he’d be there and
hung up even before Toshinori could. He pulled into the parking lot outside of Aldera Jr. High like
a man possessed, storming into the front office to see Inoue arguing with the receptionist.

“He needs a hospital! You can’t just ignore him!” The man yelled. The receptionist only sighed
and rolled her eyes.

“Inoue, you know he does things like this for attention. You should know better than to fall for it
just because you’re quirkless too.” She muttered. Toshinori saw red, slamming his hands on the
counter and startling them both.

“I’m here to pick up my boy, who I’ve been told by the janitor of all people that he’s been injured.
Care to tell me why neither I nor his mother were notified?” He said, his voice holding a low and
dangerous edge. He may have been known for saving people with a smile as All Might, but right
now, he was not smiling.

“E-Excuse me, who even are you?” The woman asked, looking rightly terrified. He still had the
presence of the number one hero, even in his thin form. He slapped his ID onto the counter.

“Yagi Toshinori, Midoriya Izuku’s parental soulmate and emergency contact. I’d like to go and get
him. Now.” He said, and the woman looked like she was about to start crying as she typed
something into her computer.

“A-Alright, sir, I see you on his file, but he’ll have to come to the office himself-”

“Don’t give me that load of crap!” Inoue yelled, startling her. “Midoriya has a head injury! I’ll take
you to him, come on, Yagi-san.”

Inoue led him into the school despite the receptionist saying they couldn’t do that. Toshinori was
going to raze this school to the ground when he was done with it, he swore it. It was a few hallways
before they came to a stairwell, and Toshinori’s blood went cold.

Propped up against the wall with a spare janitorial jumpsuit as a cushion for his head, Midoriya
was unconscious. Blood was smattered all the way down the side of his face from a head wound,
and his arm was broken too, from the looks of it. Toshinori instantly rushed to his side, and Inoue
would have sworn he felt the entire stairwell drop a few degrees just from how angry he looked.
Together, they both helped the boy up, one arm around each of their necks.

“What happened?” Toshinori asked, just barely keeping his voice together.

“I have no idea. I was doing my afternoon cleaning and he was just laying there for who knows
how long. I was just grateful I still had your card, lord knows the school wouldn’t have given me
any of his information.” Inoue grumbled angrily.

The two of them helped Midoriya out to Toshinori’s truck, and Inoue wished them good luck.
Toshinori promised to let him know where Izuku was going to be later, and Inoue promised he’d
give Toshinori a full interview when he could. Inoue didn’t think it would ever get this bad, he’d
said. Toshinori didn’t think it would have, either.

The closest place to get Midoriya treated was an emergency room, so he pulled in and forced his
body to go a little further. He carried Izuku inside on his back, and the boy was immediately rushed
into care. When they found Midoriya’s ID and realized he was quirkless, however, he encountered
resistance from the staff.

“I’m sorry, but somebody like him can’t be taking up other patients’ time,” a nurse said, with a
look that said she wasn’t sorry at all. “You should have told us about his… condition before we put
him in a bed. We can get to him once we’ve seen everybody else.”

“You’ll see my boy when he’s supposed to be seen, just like anybody else with a quirk would get
seen.” Toshinori put a business card on the waiting area’s counter, sliding it across to the nurse. It
had the label for Might Towers, All Might’s agency, and it read ‘Yagi Toshinori: Secretary to All
Might.’ It was how he covered his civilian identity. “Or else you’ll be sued for discrimination
before you can even blink.”

He’d still be suing them, but he needed to get Midoriya care first. The woman paled several shades
when she saw the business card and immediately rushed behind the double doors to the patient
area, presumably to speak with a doctor.

Toshinori thought it a wonder he hadn’t exploded yet. What in the hell was wrong with people?
How could they do this to him, all because of a lack of a quirk? When Inko had said people
insinuated things, that life for the quirkless had gotten worse since their generation, he had no idea
it was this bad. He’d seen the statistics like anybody else, but he didn’t want to think it applied to
Midoriya, the most selfless boy he’d ever met.

Had he faced more discrimination like this his entire life?

Was this why he had such trouble believing in himself? Because people had made him feel like he
wasn’t worth anything his entire life? Because people denied him basic rights? Because people told
him quirklessness was a condition?

“Yagi-san?” He heard a voice ask, and he turned to see a doctor holding his business card. The
man bowed at a completely 90-degree angle. “I’d like to apologize for my staff’s behavior. That
nurse has been fired. None of us hold the belief that treatment should come based on quirk status -
we’ve all taken our oath, but apparently she’s forgotten. My own mother was quirkess, I wouldn’t
wish that on her. Your son will get the best of care at our facility, I promise.”

“Surely you couldn’t have missed quirk discrimination in your own staff,” Toshinori scoffed, but
then he collected himself. Vitriol would get him nowhere right now. “Sorry. I appreciate the
apology. I… how is my boy?”

“We’re taking care of him right now. We’ll be able to let you know more about his condition once
we’ve done some more thorough exams. He’ll be just fine, Yagi-san. There’s some coffee over
there and some comfier chairs in the corner. Why don’t you rest?” The doctor, whose tag read ‘Dr.
Yamaguchi,’ suggested as he gestured to the waiting area.

“I can’t go back and see him?” Toshinori asked. The doctor shook his head.

“No, I’m afraid not yet. You can see him in a little bit, though, as soon as the tests are done and
he’s resting in a room. I promise you, we’ll come get you as soon as he’s awake.” The doctor said
gently. Toshinori sighed. Maybe he did need a cup of coffee. He certainly felt like he would before
the day was over. He took the man’s advice and got himself a cup, and sat in the chairs in the
corner. He had a perfect view of the doors there, too, so he could see when the doctor was coming
to let him know of Midoriya’s condition.

He took out his phone and texted everyone the hospital Midoriya was in. Inoue responded and said
he’d be there right away. He’d gotten a reprimanding from his boss for what he did, he mentioned,
and that he’d probably be fired… but at this point, he didn’t care. He was more concerned with
Midoriya’s wellbeing than his job. Toshinori was glad he had somebody like that looking out for
him, honestly - the last thing he wanted was Midoriya to have woken up and gone home with a
head wound like that and pretend it was okay.

Shortly after the conversation with Inoue ended, Toshinori looked up to see Inko entering the
waiting area, clutching her purse tightly in one hand and her phone in the other. Her eyes were red
like she’d been crying, but her expression was furious. She marched right up to Toshinori and held
out the phone to him. He didn’t know who was on the other end, but he took it from her gently
anyway, answering it neutrally. As he did, Inko turned around and left.

“Yagi Toshinori, to whom am I speaking?” He asked carefully.

“Midoriya Hisashi, Izuku’s father. Inko is… understandably upset right now. She wanted to wait
outside and get some air before coming back in, so I offered to take down information for her.
What happened exactly, Yagi-san? And who are you? My wife didn’t explain much, she was a little
too upset to be fully coherent.” The man on the other end explained.

“Ah, Young Midoriya’s father. As I said, I’m Yagi Toshinori. I’m one of Midoriya’s familial
soulmates. We met a few months ago. I’ve been helping him train for the U.A exam. I’m All
Might’s secretary, you can find my information on his website.” He explained. He didn’t feel like
explaining the entire All Might situation right now, and he didn’t know if Midoriya even wanted
his dad to know as well, anyway.

“A-All Might’s secretary? Izuku sure knows how to pick soulmates, huh…? He’s been the man’s
biggest fan for as long as I can remember.” The man said fondly, and Toshinori fought the urge to
puff out his chest with pride. He was flattered that Midoriya thought so highly of him. “So what
happened, Yagi-san? She said my son was injured.”

“Yes, he was. I’m not sure how badly, as they're checking him out now. It looked to me like a head
wound and a broken arm at the very least. There could have been more wrong that I didn’t see.
The… ah, school… Well, let me say I’ll be helping your wife have them investigated very
promptly. The janitor was the one to call and let me know. It’s… a very long story.” Toshinori
pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I see. Well, why don’t you wait for Inko to return and then explain things to both of us? In the
meantime, I’d like to get to know the man that has been around my son the last few months.”
Hisashi said, and Toshinori agreed. That was fair, he’d be worried about somebody he never met
being around Midoriya as well.

It was a fairly short conversation before Inko returned, and Toshinori explained what had
happened. He started with the injuries he’d observed during training - how he could excuse the
first one as a possible accident. But after the third, he knew something was wrong and how he’d
gone to Nighteye and their subsequent investigation went. It all culminated in today, how Inoue
had called him to let him know about Midoriya being hurt.

Inko said she’d be sending Inoue a gift basket. Toshinori said he’d help - and also look into getting
the man a new job, if he ended up needing one. Shortly after, Naomasa arrived, followed by Mirai
and Togata. They both looked worried out of their minds, likely having come fresh off of patrol
since they were still in their hero costumes.

“Toshinori! How is Midoriya?” Mirai asked, wringing his hands nervously. Toshinori shook his
head with a sigh.

“I don’t know yet, none of us do. We’re all waiting for the doctors to get out.” He grumbled. Inko
just sighed.
“Well, at least you took him here. I forgot to tell you, but this is the only hospital in town that
accepts quirkless patients. We’ve taken him here for just about everything.” She explained, that
angry look returning to her face at the thought.

“What? All medical facilities are required to give treatment regardless of status, aren’t they?”
Togata asked, looking worriedly at Inko.

“No. Not if you’re quirkless,” They heard another voice, turning again to see Inoue had joined
them as well. “Inoue Kenshin. I’m the one that found Midoriya. And no, there are laws that let
people deny the quirkless treatment, jobs, whatever they’d like. The Quirkless are second-class
citizens in the eyes of the law. Trust me, I’ve been through it all myself.”

“Ah… you’re quirkless, Inoue-san?” Inko asked, a gentle, knowing look in her eyes. Inoue nodded
and took a seat. “I’m glad he has you to look out for him. Thank you so much for calling Yagi-san
to come and get him.”

“Of course, Midoriya-san. I wouldn’t leave him like that.” He reassured her. By now, with such a
crowd in the waiting area, they were gathering quite a few strange looks from the other patrons,
whispering to each other, some with their phones out and recording because Sir Nighteye was
there. A doctor came over and reminded them that recording in a medical facility was illegal
because of patient privacy laws, thankfully - but Toshinori would keep a careful eye out in case any
of the videos made it online.

“Yagi-san…” They heard yet another voice, and the group turned to see the doctor from earlier
approaching them. “Ah, there’s more of you. I’m afraid he can’t have that many visitors at once,
and unless you’re on his file, I can’t disclose medical information.”

“I’m his mother, and that’s his parental soulmate. He’s on his file as an emergency contact,” Inko
explained, gesturing to Toshinori. The doctor nodded.

“The two of you can come with me, then. I’m afraid the rest of you will have to wait out here. I’ll
let visitors back in a little while.” He explained. Toshinori and Inko followed him back to where
Izuku was resting in a bed in one of the rooms. He was asleep, and he’d been cleaned up of all the
blood and changed into a hospital gown. His arm was now in a cast as well.

“So? What happened, doctor?” Inko asked, clutching her purse straps again.

“It looks like he took a nasty fall, but since there wasn’t much information to begin with, I can’t tell
you for certain. He broke his arm, and it seems like he’s hit his head on something with an edge.
He has a very serious concussion and the wound needed stitches. I believe him passing out was
likely a combination of blood loss and trauma response.” The doctor explained.

“When you say serious concussion, how serious?” Toshinori asked, feeling Inko go from clutching
her purse to now holding onto his arm as if she’d float away otherwise. He understood her feelings,
though - he was feeling a bit like that himself, right now.

“It was severe by concussion standards, but we’ve done a CT scan and there wasn’t evidence of a
serious brain injury. He’ll simply take a while longer to recover. But that’s not what I’m concerned
about.” The doctor said seriously. “What are your quirks, if I may ask?”

“I can pull small objects towards me,” Inko explained, looking confused. “Why?”

“And I’m quirkless,” Toshinori said plainly. Inko didn’t say anything, knowing about his cover. “I
have to agree, why do you ask?”
“Does anybody in the family have a fire-related quirk?” He asked next. Inko nodded.

“My husband has a fire-breathing quirk, but he’s gone for most of the year for work. We only see
him on holidays and birthdays.” Inko explained, still looking confused. “I don’t see what our quirks
have to do with his injuries. Were they caused by a quirk?”

“No, ma’am. When we admitted him, we had to check for other injuries. He has a fairly severe
burn wound along his shoulder. There are also other wounds along his legs, torso and arms as well.
They’re all in different stages of healing, along with some scars that are old - years old at this
point. I was asking because the burn on his shoulder stood out the most to me. It could only have
been caused by repeated burns to that area. I believe he’s being abused.” The doctor said bluntly,
and Inko broke into sobs. Toshinori curled in on himself a bit, his worst fears being confirmed.
Midoriya had been getting hurt, over and over, all under his watch.

“We - We were investigating that possibility.” Toshinori choked out. “My partner is - he’s a
detective. I saw his injuries, and I suspected something was going on, but - that many injuries?
Were they - were they bad?”

“Do you want the truth?” The doctor asked, his expression turning somewhat gentle. Inko shook
her head.

“I don’t think I can hear it right now, I’m sorry. Can I - can I go and sit with my son?” She asked,
wiping at her eyes and trying not to break down again. The doctor nodded softly, and Inko quietly
moved into Midoriya’s room without another word.

“I’d… like to know. Please.” Toshinori said, his voice quiet and strained.

“If I’m being honest, setting the burns aside, some of them looked like he had to have been in
extreme pain throughout the healing process. They were severe enough that they needed to be seen
by a medical professional, at least to have stitches. But the majority of them seem to have been
self-healed, which is why they’ve scarred to such a degree.” The doctor said. Toshinori felt like
he’d had the wind knocked out of him when he heard the news.

“Oh,” Was all he could get out. And then finally, “Midoriya, my boy… You couldn’t tell me about
this…? I would have helped you…”

“Many victims have reasons for hiding their abuse. I’d suggest counseling once you figure out the
situation.” The doctor suggested. “He needs to be here for a day or so for observation after he
wakes up. After that, I’ll discharge him and get you the papers for his care.”

“Would it help if - Well, I - I know Recovery Girl. Would it help if she came in and used her quirk
on him at all?” Toshinori asked. The doctor’s eyebrows rose.

“It certainly wouldn’t hurt. It would speed his recovery time significantly and he could get back to
school sooner, if you’re worried about that.” He said. Toshinori bit back an angry response; the
doctor didn’t know.

If Toshinori had his way, Midoriya would never set foot in that school ever again.

When Izuku woke up, he felt lightheaded and the light filtering in from wherever he was hurt his
eyes. He groaned, and when he moved he realized he was in a bed. But… that didn’t seem right.
Did it? No… he remembered being at school.

School! Shigeru had pushed him! He’d fallen down the stairs!

Suddenly, he felt wide awake, and he jostled in bed. Before he could sit up all the way, he felt a
strong hand push him back down gently onto the bed. “Careful there, kouhai, don’t hurt yourself!
You need rest. Just lay down for a while.”

“Togata-senpai…?” He asked, squinting out the light. Why was Togata here, he wondered? Where
was he, anyway? He blinked, the light finally dimming. He processed what was going on around
him, and he realized with growing horror that he was in a hospital room. And if Togata was here,
that meant somebody had seen him after he fell down the stairs.

And they’d told somebody about it. And now Togata knew, and that meant probably everybody
else did, too. His mouth felt dry and he felt suddenly uncomfortable just laying there. He felt the
increasing need to get out of the situation somehow. This was bad, he thought, this was very, very
bad. He never wanted Togata or anybody else to find out what Aldera was like.

This was a more extreme example, too. He was sure his mother was probably having a conniption
fit, wherever she was. “Um, Togata-senpai… what, uh… what happened…?”

“You don’t remember?” Togata asked, his mouth drawn into a worried frown. “Maybe I should get
the doctor… Ah! And let everyone know you’re awake! We were taking shifts to watch you. I
volunteered first, they’re all sleeping in the waiting room. Tamaki and Nejire wanted to join, but I
told them to visit when you wake up. I thought you might be a little overwhelmed with too many
people at once. And I’m getting off track again! I’ll be right back, alright? Just wait here.”

Togata left, and instantly Izuku wondered just how bad this was going to be. A few minutes later,
when his mom, Yagi, Nighteye and Tsukauchi came practically barrelling into the room, he had a
good idea of just how this was going to go.

“Izuku!” his mom cried, the first one to get to his bedside. She clutched his hand, sobbing as she
pressed it to her face. “Baby, why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Mom? Tell you what?” He asked, though he knew deep down exactly what she was referring to.

“Honey, please, don’t try to hide it any more. The doctor told us. The - the injuries, baby, who did
that to you?” She sniffled, and Izuku felt his heart drop. He didn’t want to talk about this. Not now,
not with all of his soulmates in the room. He felt sick.

“I-I don’t…” Izuku trailed off. He swallowed the nerves he had and just gave his mom the best
smile he could. “I don’t know what you mean, mom. I’m really clumsy. I always scraped my knees
as a kid and stuff, I’m sure it just carried over.”

“Kid, you don’t need to lie.” Tsukauchi spoke up, a gentle, sad look on his face. It wasn’t pity,
but… sympathy? Izuku had been expecting pity, but somehow this hurt a lot more.

“I-I’m not,” He said, and Tsukauchi sighed.

“My quirk is called Lie Detector, Midoriya. It tells me whether somebody’s statements are true or
false. And even if that wasn’t my quirk, the doctor told us the injuries he’s seen are consistent with
abuse. We’re opening an investigation into Aldera Jr high for child neglect at the very least. They
failed to notify your emergency contacts of your injury. We’ll uncover more as we go on. You
don’t need to hide anymore.” He explained.
 Izuku felt his entire world shift once more.

Aldera was being investigated for child neglect? Because of him? But it… wasn’t neglect, was it?
Adults had simply always been that way. Doctors, police, teachers, everyone - no matter who it
was, they’d all laughed him off because of his quirklessness. Was it really neglect if everyone
agreed that he didn’t matter?

“It is neglect, my boy,” Yagi spoke up next, brushing hair from his forehead, and with mortified
shame he realized he’d been muttering. “And whoever you tried to tell in the past needs to be
addressed too. I’m so sorry you thought you couldn’t trust me with this.”

“Yagi-san that-that’s not - I do trust you,” Izuku whispered, trying not to cry. “It’s - it’s always been
like this. I just - it was normal. I didn’t want to worry you… or disappoint you. I wanted to keep
training and just… m-move on.”

“My boy… you could never disappoint me, no matter how hard you tried,” Yagi said gently, and
Izuku saw that Yagi was crying too. Silent tears wet the man’s cheeks, and that was all the
prompting Izuku needed.

Everything came pouring out, all at once.

Chapter End Notes

Hey y’all! Stuff is happening! Next week, we see the investigation itself start to take
place. I hope you’re ready for it!

Also! I saw the new MHA movie last week, and it was SO GOOD. I’ve had Rody on
my mind since it came out, and some ppl have asked whether or not I’ll include him in
this story, so i decided to leave it up to you guys! Take the poll here! You can decide
whether or not Rody & the events of the 3rd movie will be included. It won’t be for a
while, though - there are many, many chapters before it’ll get to that point, so by then
it won’t really be spoilers.

The poll will remain open until Dec. 3rd (2 weeks), and I’ll ask about it again in next
week’s update as well! I love Rody (and I’ve been thinking about the rodydeku ship
nonstop as well lol) so I’m absolutely willing to include him if y’all want.

See you all in the next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Healing
Chapter Summary

Naomasa, Mirai and Toshinori showed up at Aldera not 10 minutes after school
began, all looking like the picture of righteous fury. They’d hurt Midoriya for the last
time.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku was only sure of one thing in his life: himself and his place in it.

He’d known since the day he was diagnosed quirkless, and he’d had it reminded to him day in and
day out. Every day was just a reminder of how little he mattered. It was simply the way things
were when you were quirkless. Inoue knew, he knew, the girl in the article his classmates had
stuffed into his desk knew.

Simple reality.

Even his soulmates weren’t guaranteed. He’d learned that with Kacchan. He fought tooth and nail
to be the best soulmate he could, and yet still… the flower withered. There was nothing Izuku
could do to change that. And so he’d come to expect as much from his other soulmates, because if
the one person who knew him from before his diagnosis abandoned him, why wouldn’t they?
Wasn’t it a simple reality?

That was just the way it was. Beatings and put downs were the best he could hope for. At least it
wasn’t pity. Izuku hated pity. He never had the heart to say he hated anybody, even Kacchan, hell,
even Shigeru after all of this - but pity? He loathed it.

He’d survived 14 years as a quirkless kid, he’d taken more injuries than most other people had in
their entire lives. He didn’t need to be pitied. But people did, because he was quirkless.

And then Yagi Toshinori - All Might - had Detroit Smashed his way into his life.

He suddenly had somebody other than his tired, overworked mother who thought he was worth
something. A soulmate. He could hardly fathom the idea, waiting for the inevitable day when the
man would give up on him and decide he wasn’t worth it any more.

It had been months now though, and he’d even discovered two more of his soulmates, a familial
and a platonic soulmate in Sir Nighteye and Togata. It gave him pause to reflect, and his head hurt
just thinking about it, really. He wasn’t sure he really deserved it. Because they made him feel like
he was worth something, if only to them, and didn’t that mean he should trust them more? But he
didn’t. He couldn’t. He was still afraid. The fear a quirkless person held in their heart lingered
every single day.

But despite that, he had gained confidence. Their belief in him inspired belief in himself, because
surely Sir Nighteye and All Might couldn’t be wrong! It was a clash of Izuku’s two universal
truths: he wasn’t worth anything, and heroes were the best of the best. One was saying one thing,
the other was saying another. It made his head hurt again.

The confidence, however, had an unintended effect: ‘attitude.’

He stood up for himself for the first time, and suddenly he was no longer toeing the line of the
delicate tightrope he’d walked his entire life. The people around him lashed out accordingly,
because people were afraid of things they didn’t know. A quirkless person speaking up for himself
made them question their universal truths.

His entire life story spilled out piece by heartbreaking piece, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room
by the time he was done. He was honestly surprised he managed to get through it all without
crying, himself. He was probably just so tired. Exhausted, even, and a little woozy from his head
injury as well.

But mostly, he was tired of hiding. He felt a new kind of hope in his heart when he saw Yagi cry:
that somebody really did care. That somebody would do something about it. All Might had cried
on his behalf. Maybe, just maybe, he thought… maybe the pain would finally end. Maybe he could
finally tell somebody and they would believe.

And so Izuku did.

Midoriya Izuku finally admitted the truth that had been haunting him since he was four years old,
and he felt lighter than he had in years, despite how hurt everyone looked. He hated that he was
hurting them like this - part of why he never wanted it to get out in the first place - but his heart
finally felt… unburdened. Like he could float away on a cloud.

“Thank you for telling us the truth, Midoriya,” Tsukachi was the first one to speak after Izuku had
finally finished telling them everything. “Would you be willing to give us the names of specific
people who’ve hurt you? And would you be willing to tell us what happened leading up to your
injury yesterday?”

“Yesterday?” He blinked. “I… I’ve been out for an entire day?”

“Yes. I think we got a little sidetracked, but you have a concussion, a laceration on your head that
needed stitches, and a broken arm. You passed out partially due to trauma response and partially
due to blood loss.” Tsukauchi explained. He was the most level-headed right now, given that he’d
dealt with victims a lot in his line of work.

“Oh… that’s…” He trailed off. He’d never been hurt that bad before. Well, except for that time in
second year when one of the boys had tripped him and he fractured his wrist on the gym bleachers.
He’d managed to fly that one under the radar as an accident, though…

“Which brings us back to my question. What happened today, Midoriya?” Tsukauchi asked gently.
“If you don’t feel comfortable talking to me about it right now, we can wait until you’re out of the
hospital. We’ll have to wait until you’re out to take an official statement anyway, but I want to at
least have a name to look into… if you’re willing to tell me.”

“I… Fell down the stairs,” He started, but seeing the look in Tsukauchi’s eyes, he backtracked,
“Well, I did, but not o-on accident… Well, sort of an accident? Um… I was pushed… but h-he
didn’t mean to push me down the stairs…”

“It doesn’t matter what the intent was, Midoriya. It’s still a serious offense. Can you tell me who
pushed you?” Tsukauchi asked again. Izuku looked away, towards Yagi. The man gave him a
reassuring look and squeezed his hand. He wasn’t going anywhere.
“I-I can’t remember his first name. My classmates, um, didn’t like me calling them by their names.
But his quirk, he can stretch his fingers. Shigeru-kun.” He said quietly. Tsukauchi breathed a sigh
of relief.

“Thank you so much, Midoriya. We’ll get looking into him immediately. Is there anybody else you
want to mention? I’m sure it’ll come up in the security tapes, but I just want to have it in my notes.
It’ll make things go faster if we know who to look for.” Tsukauchi said.

Izuku genuinely thought about it. There were a lot of people that he could mention, really, but one
stood out in his mind.

Kacchan.

Did he want to implicate Kacchan? He was his soulmate once upon a time. But he was also one of
the biggest contributors to everything. People in their class tended to follow what he did. If
Kacchan said hop, they jumped. He was pampered and praised because of his quirk. Nobody had
ever told him no or that he shouldn’t do something.

Was never being told no bad, in its own way? Kacchan should learn otherwise, but… Izuku didn’t
know if he had it in him to implicate the other boy. Izuku knew, realistically, that he should. He
had every right to. But there was just something holding him back, even if he couldn’t put his
finger on the problem. He needed more time to think about his feelings on the matter and decide
what to do after.

“I… don’t know. Not right now. Can I… talk about it more later, Tsukauchi-san?” Izuku asked,
looking up at the man. Tsukauchi nodded.

“Of course. I’m sure you’re tired. We can talk at another time.” He said gently. “I’d better get this
down to the station, though. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night. Does anybody want to
come with me?”

Yagi looked like he was torn between wanting to stay with Izuku and wanting to rip Aldera a new
one, so Izuku just smiled at him. “I’ll be okay, Yagi-san. You can go with him. My mom’s here.
And Togata-senpai said he was going to come back, maybe Amajiki-senpai and Hado-senpai could
come with him and visit.”

“Are - Are you sure?” He asked, clearly worried about the thought of leaving him for even a single
moment. Izuku’s heart felt full knowing he was there for him.

“I’m sure. I won’t be lonely, and if I need you, mom can call you. And you can come visit when
you’re not busy.” Izuku reassured him, and Yagi gently squeezed his hand again.

“Alright then, my boy. I’m going to make sure everything goes… smoothly.” He said, with a look
in his eye that meant he was really implying something else. Izuku just nodded. He was too tired to
worry about it right now.

“What time is it, anyway?” He asked. Tsukauchi checked his watch.

“7:15 am. Just before school starts. It’ll be good to catch them off guard, anyway.” He gave a wry
smirk to Yagi, who just nodded with a similar look.

“Go get them, Yagi-san.” Inko said, her voice like steel.

“You can count on it, Inko-san.”

With everything Tsukauchi had, it was laughably easy to get a warrant for Aldera. It was
practically child’s play - the judge was all too happy to sign off on a corrupt institution. It was
good publicity for the police system, who was often overshadowed by the heroes. If they could bag
a case like this one without a major help from heroes, the judge would sign all the warrants they
needed so long as they had evidence.

Naomasa, Mirai and Toshinori showed up at Aldera not 10 minutes after school began, all looking
like the picture of righteous fury with a few other police officers accompanying them. They’d hurt
Midoriya for the last time. Naomasa went straight inside with their warrants, accosting the
principal for their security tapes. Nighteye volunteered to take care of those with the help of a few
officers, while Naomasa and Toshinori took care of interviews and arrests.

At the very least, they were arresting Shigeru Asahi, the boy with the quirk that could stretch his
fingers. Naomasa had looked him up in the quirk database while they had been waiting on their
warrants. They wanted to interview the blond boy, too, but they suspected that one would be a bit
harder - and they’d need parental consent beyond questions directly related to Midoriya’s case,
which severely limited them in what they could ask.

But as they approached the classroom door, they realized they wouldn’t need to ask much. Just
from what they could see in the door alone, the kids were using their quirks without restraint.
Unless you were a hero school, quirk use unless in self defense was illegal on school property. Did
the school simply allow this sort of thing? Neither Toshinori nor Naomasa had seen a school that
let its students run wild with their quirks like this.

Naomasa slid the door open with a grim expression. The entire class immediately quieted down,
turning their attention to him. The teacher looked confused, staring at the two entering the room
with a bewildered expression.

“Can I help you?” He asked. Naomasa pulled out his badge and held it out to the man.

“I’m detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. Shigeru Asahi should be in this class, yes?” He asked calmly,
and the teacher paled but nodded and pointed to the boy anyway. “Thank you. Shigeru Asahi,
you’re under arrest for assault and battery.” He said with a blank face, and one of the other officers
that had been following him began to handcuff him and read him his rights. The class looked like
they’d had a bomb dropped on them, and even more so when Shigeru began to yell.

“Is this because of Deku?! It was an accident! I didn’t mean it! He’ll tell you! It was an accident, I
swear!” He cried, struggling against the officer.

The blond boy Toshinori recognized from the sludge villain incident, and likely the one Mirio had
seen as well, looked even more freaked out. “What - What the hell happened to D- Midoriya?” He
asked, though it looked as if saying Midoriya’s name was a struggle.

“Yesterday afternoon, Midoriya Izuku was pushed down half a flight of stairs by that boy. He’s
currently in the hospital receiving treatment.” Toshinori explained, a firm look on his face. “We’ve
got a few questions for you and your teacher as well. Would you both mind coming with my
associate into the hallway? The rest of you can remain here. We’ll speak with you in a moment.”

“R-Right,” the teacher swallowed nervously, but both he and the blond followed Naomasa into the
hallway. Toshinori took a moment to look around the classroom.

“Would one of you mind telling me where Midorya’s desk is, please?” He asked, and the students
all pointed to it shakily. When he went over to it, he felt his heart constrict in his chest. There was a
spider lily placed atop it, with awful words written on it. Worst of all, Toshinori could clearly see
the package of cleaning wipes in the desk, which meant this was a common occurrence. He wanted
to throw the flower away and clean the desk, but this was evidence now.

He gently turned to the class with an intense expression. “I don’t suppose you all would be willing
to tell me who put this here?”

Silence. He figured as much.

“No matter. Detective Tsukauchi will be here to interview you all soon.” His mouth pursed into a
fine line. He stepped out of the room and met back up with Naomasa, who was waiting for him.
The blond was at one end of the hallway, standing nervously and impatiently. Naomasa was
interviewing the teacher first, it seemed.

“Please state your name and profession for the record,” Naomasa asked, pulling out a recorder.
“You said you’d prefer to do this here instead of giving a statement at the station, so we’ll do it
here.”

“Fujisaki Ren. I’m a homeroom teacher at Aldera Junior High. Midoriya’s, specifically, since this
seems to be about him.” He said, looking increasingly unsettled.

“Right. For the record, I’m supposed to inform you of my quirk when giving statements. My quirk
is called Lie Detector. I can identify statements as truths or lies. Please be aware of that going
forward. Now, were you at school late yesterday? If yes, what time did you go home?” Naomasa
asked, holding the recorder out to hear the man better.

“Er, I did stay behind to finish some grading, yes. I stayed until around 4:30 that afternoon, but I
had to get home soon after due to some personal matters.” He said. Naomasa nodded and
confirmed it as the truth.

“Thank you. Did you at all pass by that stairwell,” Naomasa pointed to the stairs at the end of the
hall, the ones Midoriya had been pushed down, “after school let out yesterday?”

“Er… Pass by it? No, I didn’t.” Fujisaki said.

“Truth. Did you see Midoriya Izuku and/or Shigeru Asahi around that stairwell at all yesterday
afternoon?” Naomasa asked next. Fujisaki looked like he was sweating buckets.

“Ah, I did see them, yes. I left the classroom to go to the teacher's office.” He said, though he didn’t
elaborate. Naomasa raised an eyebrow.

“Truth. And did you happen to see them arguing or fighting?” He asked.

“Arguing? Hardly, Shigeru was being a little mocking, but nothing I’d consider a fight. Midoriya
provokes his classmates anyway, what with that attitude of his.” Fujisaki muttered. Toshinori
narrowed his eyes at him, an icy gaze that made the man shudder. Attitude? Midoriya had the
furthest thing from an attitude. He was anxiety-ridden and self-deprecating.

“... Truth.” Naomasa said darkly. “Although it doesn’t at all match with what we know so far.
Could you describe this ‘attitude’ of his?”
“Ah, certainly.” Fujisaki got a look on his face like he’d finally gotten into a topic he could talk
about, like he assumed they’d agree with him. “You know how quirkless kids are, of course.
Always trying to get attention and what have you, even if it’s negative attention. Midoriya always
made trouble in class, bothering his classmates and starting arguments. He was even bold-faced
enough to try lying to both my and the other teacher's faces multiple times. Always saying the
others picked on him in first year.” Fujisaki waved his hand dismissively.

“Picking on him, how?” Naomasa asked, though it was clear both he and Toshinori were not a fan
of this teacher at all. Fujisaki rolled his eyes, not reading the room one bit.

“Pushing him, hurting him, all kinds of things. Trying to slander good students' names, that’s all.
He’s quirkless, he’s clumsy and he bruises easily. He exaggerates.” Fujisaki said, almost boredly.
Naomasa narrowed his eyes and pulled a photograph of Midoriya’s arm from his folder of notes,
showing off the fresh burn on his wrist and the peppering of other scars along his skin.

“Please tell me, Fujisaki-san, how these are exaggerated. In fact, we have evidence of routine abuse
against Midoriya over the last couple of years. Would you happen to know anything about that?”
Naomasa asked accusingly. “Being his homeroom teacher and all, surely you would have seen
some of these injuries. They’d be hard to miss. I already interviewed his mother and I know she
wasn’t responsible, so they had to have come from somewhere in school.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Fujisaki pushed the photograph away with a sour look.
“He must have gotten those elsewhere. Nothing like that ever occurred in my classroom.”

“Lie. Have you forgotten my quirk, Fujisaki-san? I’d advise you to tell the truth. How did Midoriya
Izuku get these injuries? Do you know?” He asked. Fujisaki clammed up immediately, his body
going rigid.

“I don’t want to speak of this any more. How does this pertain to Shigeru’s arrest?” He asked,
trying to change the subject.

“We’re not just here to arrest Shigeru, although that was part of it. Aldera Junior High and its staff
are currently under investigation for child neglect, and judging on your reluctance to speak of this,
intentional neglect, possibly abuse, if you were involved with this. So I’ll ask you one more time,
Fujisaki-san, how did Midoriya Izuku get these injuries?” Naomasa said, his eyes narrowed to a
dangerous glare. Fujisaki swallowed.

“I have a right to speak with a lawyer if I’m being implicated in a crime.” He said weakly, and
Toshinori had to fight the urge to punch the man in his face right then and there. That basically was
as good as admitting he knowingly let Midoriya get injured, or even actively participated in the
treatment of the boy. He couldn’t stomach the thought of an adult raising their hand to his boy
when they were supposed to protect him, guide him.

No wonder Midoriya didn’t trust him when they first met, he thought bitterly.

It was a miracle Midoriya did now. He supposed it had something to do with being All Might, but
Toshinori was just happy Midoriya bothered to keep speaking to him at all, despite everything.
Toshinori decided then and there to keep working as hard as he could to deserve the trust of such a
wonderful boy. He’d be a person and a hero worthy of calling themselves one of Midoriya’s soul
parents.

“Then you’ll have to come down to the station. Officer Sansa, if you wouldn’t mind?” Tsukauchi
asked, breaking his line of thought. An officer with a cat’s head gave a salute, ushering the man
away. Once they were out of earshot, Tsukauchi swore. “Damn. Damn! Even his teacher? How bad
did it get?”

“We’ll find out, Naomasa. I’ll bring out All Might if I have to,” Toshinori said, his expression dark.
“That boy has been hurt for too long. Let’s see if this ‘childhood friend’ of his has any more
information for us, yes?”

“Right,” Naomasa sighed, “I’m sorry. These cases always get to me. I’m impressed with how calm
you are right now.”

“Trust me, it’s really only years of experience and restraint in the hero industry that kept me from
Texas Smashing him in the face.” Toshinori muttered. Naomasa gave a wry chuckle, and the two
of them made their way to the end of the hallway where the blond boy was waiting. He looked like
his whole world had been rocked, like he didn’t know what to think.

“Hello, young man. We have a few questions for you-” Toshinori began, but the boy cut him off
before he could get much father.

“Did he really get pushed down the stairs? How… how bad was it?” He asked, looking like it
pained him to even ask.

“Yes, he did. He broke an arm and got a concussion, and he needed stitches on his head. Not life-
threatening, but definitely seriously injured. Judging by how he hit his head, we’re quite lucky it
wasn’t any worse.” Naomasa said plainly. The blond didn’t have anything to say to that, stuffing
his hands in his pockets. “Do you mind if we ask a few questions? We’re investigating Aldera for
child neglect, and by all accounts you were the one closest to Midoriya at school.”

“Closest?” The blond’s mouth twisted up in some disgusted expression for just a second before
smoothing out. “Sure. Whatever. This school’s shit anyways.”

“Can you state your name, age, and grade level for the record?” Naomasa began after he started the
recorder again. The boy nodded.

“Bakugou Katsuki. 14. Third year at Aldera Junior High.” He grunted. Naomasa nodded.

“Thank you. And for the record, I am required to let you know that my quirk, Lie Detector, can
identify statements as true or false. So please, do your best to be truthful.” He explained. Bakugou
looked slightly more uncomfortable knowing that, but he nodded again anyway.

“Do you know if Midoriya regularly came to school with injuries, or if he got hurt a lot at school?”
Naomasa asked. The blond scoffed.

“Damn nerd was always getting hurt one way or another. He was a crybaby.” He kicked his shoe
along the floor, silent for a second or two before, “But he got back up again. He always did. He
kept on insisting he was gonna be a hero. Quirkless shit would’ve died in the entrance exam for
U.A alone. Pissed me off, him always looking down on me like that.”

“I don’t think Midoriya would intentionally look down on anybody,” Toshinori said, his lips
pursed into a fine line. “It perhaps isn’t the place of others to dismiss somebody else’s dream so
easily. I had to learn that one the hard way.”

“He was looking down on me!” Bakugou snapped, though he didn’t look them in the eyes as he
said so. “... Whatever. You’re not here to talk about that shit. Ask your other questions.”

“...Very well,” Naomasa cleared his throat, clearly taken off-guard. Bakugou and Midoriya clearly
knew each other, but their relationship seemed to be complicated. Togata did mention they’d gotten
in a fight recently… perhaps that’s where the bitterness was coming from? “So, the injuries. You
saw them. Do you know where they were coming from?”

“Tch. The other extras in the class loved to mess with him. Pushing, tripping, whatever.” Bakugou
crossed his arms over his chest.

“And you didn’t think to report that behavior to anybody?” Naomasa asked seriously. Toshinori
wanted to know, too, how somebody could be Midoriya’s ‘childhood friend’ and not do anything
about it.

“Deku tried that shit once in first year. All it did was make the teachers laugh at him.” Bakugou
rolled his eyes. “You think anybody would believe a quirkless person?”

“We do.” Naomasa said, his voice like steel. Bakugou’s head popped up as if he hadn’t been
expecting that. “All of the injuries came from your classmates, then?”

“Why are you even asking about all of this stuff, anyway? What’s this got to do with Fingers
pushing Deku down the stairs?” Bakugou grumbled.

“As I said, we’re investigating Aldera for child neglect at the least. We also have reason to believe
that somebody has been physically abusing Midoriya for at least a couple of years. Do you think
any of your classmates or teachers were capable of that?” Naomasa asked.

“Abusing?!” Bakugou yelled, looking like somebody had just told him a loved one had died.
“What the fuck?! Hell no! None of us abused Deku! The damn nerd just couldn’t understand his
place and he kept starting shit with other people!”

“And were you ever included in those ‘other people,’ Young Bakugou?” Toshinori asked. The
blond suddenly went very quiet, and that was telling enough.

“Sometimes I said shit I shouldn’t have. But I never fucking ‘abused’ Deku. That…” The blond grit
his teeth, and something like understanding flashed in his eyes. Like something somebody had said
finally made sense, and it was coming back to bite them in the ass. “... That’s something a villain
would do.”

“Indeed it is.” Naomasa said, his voice flat. He had a feeling there was more going on with the
blond than he was letting on. But his quirk wasn’t registering anything as lies, and they couldn’t
press him further without a parent present. This was supposed to be an interview, not an
interrogation. “Thank you for your time then, Bakugou. You can go back to class now.”

Bakugou took a few steps down the hall before he stopped again. “What’s… what’s going to
happen to Deku?”

“He’ll be taken care of. He has his mother and two parental soulmates looking out for him.”
Naomasa said, gentler this time. “What he chooses to do after the investigation is over is ultimately
up to him, though.”

“... Whatever.” Bakugou muttered and went down the hall, back into the classroom. Toshinori
wasn’t at all pleased with how those interviews went. They got some information, but not nearly
enough and not the kind they wanted.

“Well, I suppose we should start interviewing the other kids. Let’s-” But before Naomasa could
finish speaking, his phone was ringing. Toshinori glanced over and saw that it was Mirai. Naomasa
answered. “Mirai, what is it?”
 A dark look crossed Naomasa’s face. “We’ll be right there.”

Chapter End Notes

Ooooh here we go. It’s gonna get real, y’all. And before you worry about why
Bakugou wasn’t more involved in this, he is going to get consequences for his actions
- just maybe not the ones you think. You’ll see when it gets there - the ‘Bakugou
Katsuki redemption’ tag is still true but a bit different than the normal takes on it.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The investigation & aftermath takes
up a couple chapters but I think it’s worth it :D It was honestly one of my fav parts to
write, writing everyone’s feelings after learning the truth is so satisfying.

Also! Just a reminder, if you haven’t already, I have a poll going on whether Rody &
the events of the 3rd MHA movie should be included! Please feel free to take the poll
here! The voting ends in one week, and I’ll let you all know the results when I post
next week’s chapter!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Evidence
Chapter Summary

“Do you know of any specific instances of things being covered up at Aldera, Inoue-
san?” Nighteye asked, and Inoue grinned wolfishly.

“You bet your sweet ass I do.“

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Mirai split off from Toshinori and Naomasa to go and investigate the security tapes. They had the
warrants for the entire catalogue of the school’s cameras, though Mirai would start by looking
through the footage with Midoriya in it. It was a lot to comb through, but the school had their
computers set up to be able to digitally ‘scroll’ through all the footage. It would make things a lot
easier, and afterwards Mirai could take the footage as evidence.

They pulled the footage up, and with the help of the officers Naomasa had sent with him, they
were ready to view shortly. They started with yesterday's footage, focusing on the stairwell he’d
been pushed down. He wanted to doubly confirm they had the right boy, though judging by how
he’d been brought down crying how it was an accident, they had the right one regardless.

It hurt to watch, but they had the right boy, alright. The security camera clearly showed him
stretching his fingers out and jabbing Midoriya in the chest, which set him off-balance and he’d
fallen down the stairs after. What stood out to him after that, however, was how the Shigeru boy
had turned around and come face-to-face with a teacher… and the man had promptly turned
around and ignored it.

The man had watched Midoriya be pushed down the stairs and hadn’t batted an eye. The urge to
find the teacher and haul him up by the collar of his shirt was very strong, but Mirai took a deep
breath and calmed himself. He had a job to do.

That file went promptly into evidence, and Mirai got a sinking feeling he was going to have trouble
watching more. He’d come to care deeply for Midoriya, just like Toshinori had. Watching him get
hurt would hurt him in kind. But they loaded the next file despite Mirai’s uneasy stomach, logged
earlier in the same day. It showed Midoriya at the shoe lockers first thing in the morning, opening
his locker to find his school shoes filled with rotten garbage.

Midoriya didn’t even blink. His expression never once changed from a perfectly flat mask. It spoke
of dedicated practice to never giving a reaction… it spoke of expectation. He was used to this.

The day went on. They switched to footage from the classroom security camera, and it showed
Midoriya scrubbing off graffiti from his desk. It seemed to be offensive, whatever it was, as the
other students were laughing, but they couldn’t tell from the distance of the camera. The teacher
snapped at him for causing a scene and stretched his hand across the room to hit him on the head.
A teacher had raised his hand against Midoriya, just for cleaning off his desk.

Mirai had to stop watching for a minute after he saw that, furious at the treatment he’d seen in only
one day. No wonder Midoriya had expected the worst from him at first, he thought! If this was
what he’d been subjected to for presumably most of junior high, he’d expect the worst from his
authority figures, too.

If this was only the first day, he was going to need a strong drink to get through all of the footage.
He started the recordings for the day before that, and it was much of the same thing. An interesting
thing he noted on this day, however, were small bits of digital artifacting on some of the footage.
He asked the tech officers to run over it and see what it was, and so they used software he wasn’t
familiar with to go over it and figure out the reason behind it.

And when it was done processing, Mirai got news he wasn’t happy with at all. The footage had
been tampered with.

Pieces of it were cut out entirely or digitally altered. Only bits at a time, and it all seemed to be
when Midoriya was being accosted. That meant that the staff knew what they were doing, and now
they’d tried to cover it up. He hoped some of it would be recoverable, or else they couldn’t use it in
court. They didn’t know what specifically had been affected yet, and the defense could use that
against them.

After a solid few minutes of processing, they were able to fix the altered bits - though the pieces
that had been cut out entirely were unrecoverable. That was fine. They still had enough to
incriminate most of the staff at Aldera and have most of Midoriya’s classhave black marks put on
their records, at the very least. Some of them might possibly face misdemeanor charges for some of
the worse things, depending on how the police wanted to try them.

What broke Mirai’s heart the most were the flowers. So many spider lilies, day in and day out for
the last 3 months. It was a different student every time, it seemed like. Back on the day after he and
Midoriya had met, there was even a paper with it. Mirai couldn’t read what was written, but he saw
the nauseated look on Midoriya’s face when he read it. He’d thought he’d heard the worst, but as
they went further and further back, digging out all the tapes that had been altered in some way, he
found the worst one.

It took a bit of digital reconstruction, and even then they couldn’t get the entire thing back, but they
salvaged a distorted audio clip. They wouldn’t be able to use it in court and he couldn’t recognize a
voice properly with it, but Mirai knew it had been something Midoriya was forced to hear.

“Pray for a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off of the roof. Maybe then you’ll actually
be somebody a soulmate would want.”

Midoriya thought he would wither the flower because all the boy had ever heard his entire life was
how worthless he was.

Hearing his life story and seeing it were two different things. Midoriya had severely downplayed
the severity of some of the things that happened to him. Mirai couldn’t watch any more after that.
He called Naomasa and told him to get down to the security office because he’d need to see what
was on the tapes. He wasn’t going to like it, but it would tell him everything he needed to know for
his investigation.

Mirai was going to make sure this school burned.

Izuku wasn’t sure what to expect out of the investigation, really. Again, his two truths warred with
each other: he knew, at the very least, that everyone within Aldera didn’t care. Most people outside
of Aldera didn’t really care, either. But Yagi and Nighteye, they cared, and they wouldn’t stop until
they got answers.

Which truth would win out in the end? Izuku wasn’t sure, but he almost didn’t want his parental
soulmates to come out on top, as much as it felt like blasphemy to say so. It was just that… if
Aldera did get charged, wouldn’t that mean this wasn’t normal?

That it was villainous, even?

And so wouldn’t that mean that everything he’d faced over the last 14 years of his life… the
bullying, the injuries, the feeling of being worthless and useless, the withered soulflower…
wouldn’t that mean that it wasn’t for a reason?

If it wasn’t normal - if it was villainous, even when done to a quirkless person, did that mean that
everyone around them was turning a blind eye? That Izuku could have gotten out of the situation
sooner if he’d just met Yagi and Nighteye earlier? That he could have a normal view of himself
and his life if it weren’t for everything everyone around him did and said?

He couldn’t bear the thought of all that suffering being for no reason. That it was just blind pain
being heaped on him because it could be. Soon, his head was hurting from the emotional thinking
(and probably his head wound too), and his arm was starting to match, so the nurse came in and
gave him another round of painkillers.

Izuku must have been thinking for longer than he thought, though, because soon it was afternoon -
his mother had to go to work earlier that day, but Togata, Hado and Amajiki would be by later to
visit for a while after their training exercise let out. Apparently, the hero course often had to stay
later than the regular courses.

Right now, he was just by himself, keeping himself busy by writing in his notebook with his good
arm. Nighteye had brought the current one by, knowing he’d likely be bored out of his mind
without something to do. As he was writing, he heard the door to his room slide open. He assumed
it was his mother or possibly Togata, so he paid no mind until they spoke.

“Deku.” He heard a voice, and suddenly, his blood ran cold. He turned to see Bakugou, standing in
the doorway and scowling. Aldera must have let out for the day, but…

“K-Kacchan,” he gulped, confused - but the painkillers in his system kept him from being too
scared. In fact he’d almost say he felt more confident than usual, none of his typical anxiety
present. “Why are you here? How did you know I was here?”

“This is where Auntie Inko always took you. I figured you were here again.” Bakugou said, rolling
his eyes as if it should have been obvious. “Some detectives came by and arrested Fingers today.
He really pushed you down the stairs?”

“What does it matter to you?” Izuku asked, because Bakugou’s tone sounded almost… upset? But
why would Bakugou be upset?

“Because he pushed you down the stairs, you fucking moron!” Bakugou barked. “You could have
died!” There was another beat of silence for a moment, and Izuku’s face drew up into an angry
scowl. Bakugou had never seen that expression on him before, and it made him very nervous.
Izuku looked him dead in the eyes and asked,

“You didn’t care if I died when you told me to jump off the roof, Kacchan. You didn’t care when
people left spider lilies on my desk or changed articles about other quirkless kids to match me.
Why do you care now? Because your friend got in trouble?” He asked bluntly. Izuku didn’t sound
angry despite the scowl on his face, just… tired and confused.

“I…” Bakugou paled at the comment. “Because I…”

“Well? Spit it out, Kacchan,” Izuku drawled, spurred on by the medication. “You had no problem
telling me what you thought about me before. Why did you come here? Because I was happy? Do
you not want me to be happy, Kacchan? I have soulmates who want me. I didn’t even need to take
a swan dive to get them. Do you just not want me to have them any more? Well, too bad, because
Yagi-san said he wasn’t changing his mind.”

“Sh-Shut up, Deku.” Bakugou ground his teeth together in frustration, putting his head in his
hands. “I care because you were fucking right, okay?! You were right! It was some shit a villain
would do, but… but everyone else did it, too! Even the teachers! Even the adults! Who’s right,
huh?! I don’t even know any more! It’s fucking confusing!”

Izuku blinked. Bakugou was having the same internal conflict as him. His two truths were fighting
with each other. Villains hurt people… but everyone around them hurt Izuku. It was his ‘normal.’
Bakugou didn’t know which of his truths would come out on top either.

“... Okay.” Izuku said, simply laying his head back on his pillow and closing his eyes. He didn’t
have anything to say to that, because he understood Bakugou’s dilemma well enough. The blond
needed to come to his own conclusion, Izuku couldn’t decide for him.

“What? That’s all you have to say?!” Bakugou asked, looking frantic.

“What else can I say, Kacchan? I’m confused too. I thought it was normal, too. I don’t even know
if I want the investigation to succeed. Because it means that all the times you burned me were for
nothing. No reason. That you broke our soulbond and lied about it to everyone for no reason. It
hurts, Kacchan. It hurts less when you’re the one breaking it than having it broken. It hurt so much
when you withered the flower, Kacchan. Should I really think you did all of that for no reason at
all? It’s easier to think I deserved it.” Izuku said softly, his eyes still closed.

Bakugou looked like he’d been slapped by the confession.

“No - No reason?! I’ll tell you the reason, Deku! You were looking down on me,” Bakugou
choked out, “A quirkless person, looking down on me since we were little! I didn’t need your
help!”

“Kacchan,” Izuku huffed, rolling his head in the blond’s direction, his eyes opening to reveal an
intense gaze. “I know you didn’t need my help, but I offered it because you were my friend.
Because friends help each other, just because it’s the right thing to do. Togata-senpai taught me
that. I never looked down on you, Kacchan… I looked up to you. You’ve always been so strong…
I wanted to be like that, more than anything.”

“I…” Bakugou looked much like Izuku had during those times when Yagi and Togata and
Nighteye had destroyed his preconceptions of the world around him.

Bakugou’s world had tilted on its axis, too.

“Fuck,” Bakugou grunted, looking like he was going to be sick. “Fuck, I-I… I did that, didn’t I?
The… the ‘abuse.’ That damn detective… Fuck, shit! I’m a damn villain…”

Izuku’s gaze softened then, seeing how torn up Bakugou was about all of this. The medication had
made it possible for him to talk about these things, but it was all Izuku’s true feelings. He’d simply
have never have said any of this otherwise.

“Kacchan. I can’t say you didn’t do anything wrong. You hurt me… a lot. But Yagi-san said that
Aldera was wrong. That they... neglected me. Maybe they neglected you too. In a different way.
I…” Izuku took a deep breath, and let out a deep sigh. “I won’t tell Tsukauchi-san about you… so
long as you never hurt anybody like you did to me ever again.”

“You damn nerd…” Bakugou looked a little green, still nauseous and queasy. He had nothing
more to say to that, uneasily walking out of Izuku’s doorway. He’d never seen the blond like that
before. But Izuku had a feeling that this conversation… maybe it was necessary.

He didn’t know how Bakugou would take it, but it had needed to happen for a long time.
Realistically, he knew he should probably have been more mad than he was. He should be angry,
furious even. Bakugou had hurt him. Crushed his ability to trust people and his desire to wish for
soulmates for many years. He should want to turn the other boy in to Tsukauchi, shouldn’t he?

But… they used to be soulmates themselves. Izuku still looked up to him as a symbol of strength
and heroic ability, a goal to aspire to match physically, if not emotionally or mentally. Izuku’s
feelings on Bakugou were very complicated and he wasn’t sure he could really parse through them
on pain meds.

But he knew Bakugou seemed to be re-evaluating his own life, and he wanted to give the boy the
chance to change. Wasn’t that the heroic thing to do? Rehabilitate instead of throwing somebody to
the wolves? Izuku knew villains were made and not born, despite what they tried to make it sound
like on T.V. It would do Bakugou or himself no good to just get revenge in the moment.

So despite his own conflicted feelings on the matter, he decided to let sleeping dogs lie. He’d let
Bakugou go if he truly changed.

“Izuku?” He heard a soft, warbling voice and looked over to the doorway to see his mother, tears in
her eyes and clutching a hand to her mouth. Izuku paled several shades. Uh oh. How long had she
been standing there…?

“Uh… mom… how much did you hear?” He asked.

“I heard enough to know he hurt you!” She sobbed, coming up to his bedside and pressing her
cheek to his. “Why didn’t you tell me?! I would have talked to Mitsuki a long time ago and he
wouldn’t have hurt you again!”

“Mom, the last time you talked to Auntie Mitsuki made it worse,” He admitted, pursing his lips. “I
don’t blame you or anything! I just… that’s why I never said anything. Um, besides… you heard
what I said, didn’t you? I-I think… I think Aldera shaped him, too. Honestly, he, um, never got as
physical as my other classmates. He was mostly verbal.”

That was mostly true. Aside from his shoulder and a few other miscellaneous burns here and there
over the years, Bakugou never really tried to use him as quirkless target practice like the others did.
Maybe that was the effect of a soul bond, even a withered one.

“Oh, baby… That doesn’t matter. He hurt you. We need to tell somebody.” Inko said seriously,
pulling out her phone. Izuku grabbed her hand with his good one and stilled it.
“Tell Auntie this time. Have her put him in therapy or something. But… I just want to let it go,
mom. I know he hurt me… but I’m just so tired of thinking about him. About worrying what the
right thing to do is. If he doesn’t change, I’ll say something to Tsukauchi-san then, but… I’m just
tired, mom. Please.” He said softly.

“Okay… okay.” She whispered, her voice cracking as she brushed hair from his forehead. “But
only because you asked me like this. I’ll keep an eye on him, too. But please, baby, tell me in the
future. Please promise me. My heart can’t take all of this, Izuku.”

“I promise, mama.” He squeezed her hand. “I promise.”

After Mirai showed them exactly what he’d seen on the tapes, Toshinori looked like he was about
ready to go and punch somebody. Particularly that teacher they’d spoken to. Naomasa was going to
have a field day with his interrogation. Toshinori wanted to take part too, but Naomasa insisted he
was too emotional and attached to the case at this point.

Instead, he took satisfaction in watching from behind the two-way mirror for a while. He’d also
contacted Inoue after learning that the tapes had been tampered with, hoping the man would be
willing to give him a statement. So until Inoue came down to the station, he was able to watch
Naomasa take care of business.

“So, Fujisaki-san. It seems you weren’t honest with me at all. We have the security tapes from the
school. So we’ll have this conversation one more time, a bit more formally.” Naomasa said,
adjusting the tape recorder on the table. “Please, state your name, age and occupation for the
record.”

“Fujisaki Ren. 37. Homeroom teacher at Aldera Junior High.” The man muttered, looking furious
as he sat there. His fists were clenched on the cool metal table, a cup of coffee that had barely been
touched sitting in front of him. His lawyer sat next to him. According to Naomasa, they had
formally charged him with negligence and abuse, and they were simply drafting a confession.

“Let the record show that my quirk has identified those statements as true.” Naomasa spoke. “From
here on out, I’ll be taking note of everything you say. It’s better just to be honest, Fujisaki-san. We
have all the proof anyway.”

That was true, but a confession would be better for the court record.

“Fine,” the man ground out. Naomasa nodded and flipped to his notes.

“Very good. So, let’s get started. First things first… Midoriya Izuku. Were you aware of the fact
that he was regularly harassed, both physically and verbally?” Naomasa began. Fujisaki’s fists
clenched harder.

“It was just a reminder. The boy needed to learn. If he didn’t behave around the quirked students-”
He was cut off by a ‘stop’ motion from Naomasa.

“That wasn’t what I asked, Fujisaki-san. I asked if you were aware of the harassment, not your
opinion on it.” He said bluntly. “Were you or were you not aware that the other students in your
class regularly injured him and suicide baited him?”
“I…” The man looked like he was about to blow a gasket. “I was aware.”

“Truth. And you did nothing to stop them?” Naomasa asked. “You didn’t even bother telling them
so much as ‘knock it off’ even once?”

“... No.”

“Truth. And did you ever take part in any of the harassment, Fujisaki-san?” Naomasa asked next.
That seemed to catch the man off guard.

“What? No.” he scoffed, and Naomasa’s eyebrows rose.

“Truth. Let the record show that I cannot differentiate between different kinds of truths - factual
truths and statements that the subject believes to be true but are not both come up as true. Fujisaki-
san, let me rephrase the question. Did you ever hit or otherwise harm Midoriya Izuku?” He asked,
and Fujisaki paled.

“I…” He swallowed thickly, “Yes. When he was misbehaving, I occasionally disciplined him with
my hand.”

“Truth. And please tell me, according to your knowledge, is physical discipline legal in Japan?” He
asked. Fujisaki glowered.

“No. It’s not.”

“Truth.” Tsukauchi said flatly. “And yet you hit him anyway, yes?”

”Yes.”

”Right. And regarding the incident where Midoriya was pushed down the stairs… Can you tell me
the truth about what you saw that day? Because we clearly saw you watch Shigeru Asahi push
Midoriya Izuku down the stairs and do nothing about it.”

Toshinori had to step out of the room and take a few deep breaths after that. He commended
Naomasa’s ability to keep calm around that man. Before he could go back in to observe the rest of
the interrogation, however, he spotted Inoue arriving at the front of the police station. The
secretary checked him in and gave him a guest badge, and he waved to the man.

“Hey, Yagi-san. Are you assisting with the investigation or something? I didn’t know hero
secretaries were allowed to do that kinda stuff.” The man laughed. Toshinori laughed good-
naturedly at that and shook his head.

“No, I’m here with All Might. He’s assisting the investigation, as a matter of fact. Something about
it being a personal favor to me.” He lied. “Sir Nighteye will be doing your interview today, though.
I can join you if it makes you feel better.”

Naomasa said the judge was adamant about not having a big-name hero be seen with the
investigation to give more credit to the police, so Nighteye was taking care of a lot of the things he
would normally have helped with. As Yagi Toshinori, he unfortunately didn’t have the legal
standing to be doing witness interviews.

“Wow, Sir Nighteye?” Inoue whistled, sounding impressed. “Talk about the red carpet! All for
little old me, huh? Well, I’m honored. Why not, though? You can join if you’d like.”

“Thank you, Inoue-san.” Toshinori chuckled. The man waved his hand dismissively.
“Ah, call me Kenshin. After everything that happened with Midoriya, I trust you well enough.” He
insisted. Toshinori nodded.

“Then you can call me Toshinori. Here, I’ll show you where you’ll be talking with him. Thank you
for cooperating with us.” He said gently, leading the man to a cushy, breakroom-like area with
coffee and snacks. Mirai was already there, waiting on them.

“It’s no problem. It’s the least I could do for Midoriya. At this point, I don’t think it could get
worse. They fired me, y’know? Even after all that. I can’t keep an eye on Midoriya anymore, so I
might as well stick it to those assholes.” Inoue grumbled. “Don’t tell Midoriya I said that, would
you? He thinks I’m some kind of saint.”

“Ahaha, that won’t be a problem.” Toshinori chuckled. The two of them sat down across from
Mirai. “Ah, I hope you don’t mind, Sir Nighteye, but Inoue-s - er, Kenshin asked if I could be here.
Is that alright with you?”

“Just fine, Yagi-san,” Mirai said, a bit of amusement in his eyes at having to act as if he didn’t
know him that well. “So, you said you were willing to give an official witness statement regarding
whatever you saw at Aldera. You may even be called into court to speak as well. Are you still
willing? I have to ask for legal purposes.”

“Of course I am, it’s the least I can do for Midoriya.” Inoue nodded.

“Perfect, thank you. So, to begin, for the record - please give me your name, age, occupation, and
your relation to Midoriya Izuku.” Nighteye instructed. Inoue rubbed his chin in thought at the last
part.

“Inoue Kenshin, 67, former janitor at Aldera Junior High. I just got fired this morning. As far as my
relation to Midoriya… technically, I’m just the school janitor. But I guess you can say we have a
bond sorta like a mentor and student, but I don’t teach him anything.” Inoue shrugged. “I care
about him a lot.”

“And how did you first meet Midoriya?” Nighteye asked, resting his chin on his hand.

“Well, we met when he was a first year at Aldera. He was sitting in the middle of the hallway after
school, crying his eyes out. Poor kid was loud enough the whole hallway could hear. I saw him, so
I went to check on him so he didn’t get in trouble. I gave him some tissues, some water, y’know,
and he told me his first soulmate had just withered his soulflower because he was quirkless. Damn
near broke my heart. Ever since, I’ve tried to keep an eye on him.”

“I… see.” Nighteye muttered, clearly shocked at the thought. He wasn’t aware of the withering -
Toshinori had forgotten that he and Naomasa were the only ones Izuku had actually told about that.
“And how would you watch out for him?”

“At first, I saw he was getting picked on. Like, a lot. He was always getting hurt somehow or other
thanks to those bratty kids.” Inoue grumbled. “I tried telling the teachers and the vice principal, but
they just laughed and said he exaggerated because he was quirkless. Said I shouldn’t encourage his
lying just because I’m quirkless too.”

“So you were aware of the mistreatment of Midoriya, and you did try to tell people about it?”
Nighteye asked. “Were the staff the only ones you tried to tell?”

“Hell no! I tried to tell some police officers when it started getting real bad, but once they found out
I was quirkless they ignored me too. It’s been like that for quirkless people for many years. I just
 thought they’d take it more seriously if it was a kid in trouble… but, ah, I guess I shouldn’t have
gotten my hopes up. You are the only ones who’ve cared in a long while.” Inoue said quietly, a
distant look in his eyes like he was remembering something unpleasant.

“Did the staff at Aldera ever seem like they knew what was going on, or that they were trying to
cover up Midoriya’s mistreatment?” Nighteye asked next, and this was the biggest thing. If they
could prove an intentional coverup, they could slap on charges of criminal negligence.

“Oh, they knew damn well. I saw teachers watch and laugh when somebody tripped Midoriya or
made him cry. He tried to tell the principal in his second year, but he just got detention. That was
their favorite - giving him detention and loads of school work they knew he couldn’t reasonably
complete.” Inoue ‘tsk’ed. “Anyway, yeah, they covered it up. He’s quirkless, so they didn’t care.
They were concerned about their image, filtering out the strong quirks from the weak. I heard the
vice principal talking about how they were trying to craft an image of being a school heroes were
born at. People don’t even realize I’m there half the time, so they talk about all sorts of crap around
me. You’d be amazed at what I know.”

“Do you know of any specific instances of things being covered up at Aldera, Inoue-san?”
Nighteye asked, and Inoue grinned wolfishly.

“You bet your sweet ass I do. I was changing trash in the security office a couple of times and saw
the principal telling the guy that watches the monitors to make sure the tapes are cut at specific
times. They couldn’t catch everything, but they seemed to know when Midoriya was most at-risk,
so they made sure the cameras weren’t catching it at those times.” He explained, putting his hands
behind his head.

“Oh?” Nighteye had a dangerous gleam in his eyes as they got the info they needed. “Please, tell
me more, Inoue-san.”

Chapter End Notes

Alright, alright, don’t come after me! I’m sure some of you are confused and upset
about Izuku’s decision regarding Bakugou. Well, just to clear things up: Bakugou is
NOT leaving this without some consequences. But Izuku’s thoughts about Bakugou’s
involvement & his decision will be explained more in-detail later.

I hope that settles y’all for now, promise this isn’t a story where he gets off scot-free!
Just wanted to head that off at the pass as I’m sure many of you would wonder about
it.

In other news, the poll regarding Rody is now over! In the end, the vote ended up
deciding to include Rody as a romantic soulmate, so he’ll be joining the soulmate
poly! How is he going to be a soulmate as well, you ask, when I haven’t gone back and
retroactively changed anything? Well, that’s for me to know and you to find out when
we get to that plot point… >:)

Hope y’all are excited! See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Decision
Chapter Summary

If Izuku and his heart were too big to want to punish him, Inko would just as easily
take his place. Katsuki needed to learn his lesson.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

In only a week, nearly all of the higher staff at Aldera had been collectively named as involved
parties in the case for Midoriya Izuku.

And not only that, but almost a dozen other students from different classes had come forward as
well, saying that they were often treated harshly thanks to their quirks being perceived as somehow
lesser. Midoriya had always been the one to stand up for them… putting himself between the
bullies and the victims, even when the victims didn’t seem to appreciate his efforts.

The staff overlooked those instances as well, or in some cases even got Midoriya in trouble for
starting fights. The students who had actively participated in bullying got black marks on their
record, barring much of the desire for heroics in the process.

The only person they couldn’t find a single scrap of information on was Bakugou Katsuki, the
blond who Midoriya had claimed was his childhood friend. He seemed to be mysteriously absent
from the tapes, and none of the teachers or students would speak of him. Even Midoriya had said
he didn’t wish to speak about Bakugou.

Without evidence or testimony, they couldn’t even put a black mark on the boy’s record. They
clearly knew the relationship between the two was not at all what Midoriya claimed it was, but
there wasn’t much Toshinori or Mirai could legally do about it.

The higher-ups, Fujisaki Ren, and Shigeru Asahi had all tried to plead not guilty to their respective
crimes, but the evidence spoke volumes against them. In the end, they were all swiftly handed
guilty verdicts from the judiciary system, with each one getting appropriate punishments. Midoriya
had watched the court verdict from a separate room, and had cried when all was said and done. He
hugged Toshinori and his mother and thanked them for all they did for him.

Inko, however, had a different mission in mind. She needed to have a serious talk with Mitsuki, and
she wasn’t going to hear a word in opposition. She knew the truth - that Bakugou had been
involved beyond the withered flower, but it was only her son that kept her from saying a word
about it until now.

She was going there in person, no phone calls this time. But she wasn’t involving Izuku in this - so
the day after the court verdict, she said she was going out for the planned discussion with the
Bakugou family and put on her serious face. Hisashi always said she could be scary when she
wanted to.

She wasn’t the woman she was when Izuku was a boy. She was stronger now, more confident.
She’d seen her son suffer the greatest heartbreak a person could, having one of their bonds
withered - and found out he’d suffered even more afterwards. But the entire time, he’d kept going
strong.

If her son could be that strong, so could she. She’d been right alongside Izuku during this entire
process, and now she was going to step up and have a conversation she should have had a long time
ago. When she got there, she knocked on the door to the Bakugou home firmly, her face stony.
And when the door opened, it was none other than Katsuki.

As he saw her and realized how angry she looked, he looked a little pale in turn. “Auntie-” He
started, but Inko was having none of it.

“I need to speak to your parents.” She said coldly, not allowing him to say a word to the contrary of
what she knew. She wasn’t letting him tell Mitsuki just to have her defend him this time.
Soulflower be damned, he needed some kind of consequences. Something more. She’d been
thinking about it for a while.

If Izuku and his heart were too big to want to punish him, Inko would just as easily take his place.
Katsuki needed to learn his lesson.

The look on her face and the tone of her voice said this was not the time to test her, so he let her
inside the house and yelled for his parents. Inko hoped they listened. She knew that if they both
tried out for U.A in the future, they might end up in the same class again. If that happened, they
needed to be in separate classes. She didn’t want him around her son ever again, even if he
changed.

When the Bakugous both came downstairs, they were surprised to see Inko standing there. “Inko!
What are you doing here? We haven’t spoken in… god, months now, I think.” Mitsuki said, more
gentle than Inko was expecting. Perhaps some things had changed, but not enough. “Is something
the matter?”

“I’ll say. We need to have a very serious talk. Katsuki, too.” She said, and both Mitsuki and
Masaru looked genuinely surprised at her tone. They recognized how serious she was, though, so
they guided her to the couch and they all sat down.

“What’s on your mind, Inko?” Masaru asked, always the gentle one.

“My son and your son. I assume you know about the investigation that’s been taking place at
Aldera?” Inko asked. Mitsuki nodded.

“Of course! The school’s being restructured by the board right now. They let all the parents know
as soon as it opened up. It was a discrimination case, right? At least that’s what we were told, we
didn’t get many details since Katsuki wasn’t involved. A lot of stuff was censored for privacy on
T.V, too.” She said.

“Well, the one being discriminated against was my Izuku. He was pushed down half a flight of
stairs.” She said flatly, and Mitsuki and Masaru both gasped. “Not only that, but we found out
when he was admitted to the hospital that he was being abused at school. He had many injuries
he’s hidden, some serious enough to warrant medical attention, but he never came to me about
them.”

“Oh god, Izuku,” Mitsuki looked sick to her stomach. “And the teachers, they just let it happen?
Katsuki, did you know about this? You’re in his class!”

“He didn’t just know about it, Mitsuki. He was a part of it. But there’s no evidence against him
because the security footage was edited and nobody would speak about him. I believe it’s because
he was the one Aldera wanted to go to U.A more than anything, to make a name for themselves
with. He has a strong quirk.” Inko said, but when Mitsuki opened her mouth to say something, she
raised a hand to stop her from speaking.

“I don’t want to hear any arguments, Mitsuki. I heard your son admit it himself. He visited Izuku at
the hospital. I overheard part of their conversation. If you won’t believe me, ask your son.” She
said. Mitsuki realized just how serious she was being.

This was nothing like the phone call from the beginning of Junior High - this was a thinly veiled
threat. Inko did not take her son’s health lightly, and she wouldn’t hesitate to tell the police if they
didn’t listen to her.

“Katsuki. Is what she’s saying true? Did you… did you have a part in all of this? Did you hurt
Izuku?” Mitsuki asked, her voice low. Katsuki said nothing… he only turned his head from his
parents in shame. It was enough of an answer. “I can’t believe this. Katsuki, how - how could
you?”

“Did you wither the soulflower, too?” Masaru asked with a frown. “I suspected as much back then,
but I didn’t want to argue with your mother.”

Katsuki just gave a curt nod. Mitsuki let out an angry sob. “How could you do that, Katsuki?!
Soulflowers are… you’re supposed to care for them! And you lied to me?! You told me Izuku
broke it?! I can’t believe this…”

Inko spoke up, her expression softening now that she knew they were taking her seriously. “Izuku
has said that he was not nearly as physical as their other classmates. He has a rather nasty burn scar
on his shoulder… but it’s not much compared to the other ones.”

“Bakugou Katsuki,” Masaru’s voice was soft, but the tone set everyone on edge. He was not an
explosively angry person like Mitsuki or his son, but his anger was somehow far scarier. “You
used your quirk on him? On a boy who couldn’t defend himself? And you say you want to become
a hero?”

Katsuki still had nothing to say, but Inko did.

“Despite all of that, however,” Inko sighed, “Izuku did not wish to implicate him. Instead… he
would like to just let it go to the past. He suggested therapy, I’m suggesting anger management as
well. Aldera put a lot of nasty things in both of their heads. But even so, I do not believe there
shouldn’t be any kind of punishment. He hurt my son. I would like to know he’s learned his lesson,
and I don’t want him around my boy again.”

“What did you have in mind, Inko?” Mitsuki wiped her eyes with an angry sniffle. “I agree. If I had
my way, I’d have a black mark put on his record along with the others for this if nothing else.
Damn brat… I knew those teachers were just saying shit they thought we wanted to hear. He’s
always been temperamental at home, too.”

“Mom!” Katsuki finally spoke, eyes wide. Clearly, he was shocked that his mother wasn’t on his
side as she usually was. Mitsuki scowled deeply.

“Don’t you ‘mom’ me, Katsuki. You broke a soul bond and hurt an innocent person . You’ll have
to live with that for the rest of your life… I don’t think you understand just what you’ve done. You
don’t deserve to get into U.A.” She said sharply. “Not if you hurt innocent people. Frankly, I’m
wary about letting you try out for any hero school after this.”
Katsuki looked shell-shocked, pale and reeling from his mother’s bitter tone. He’d been preparing
to go to a hero school his entire life, and now the rug was being pulled out from under him. His
actions were catching up in spectacular fashion. Inko couldn’t even find it in her to feel sorry for
him. He hurt Izuku many times and made him believe he’d never be loved by his soulmates, not to
mention nearly crushed his dream of heroics.

This was only a fraction of the pain he caused Izuku over the years they grew up together. Maybe
now he’d finally understand the seriousness of what he did.

“But…” Mitsuki spoke up, her face still one of stone-cold anger. “If you take what you did
seriously, and you change for the better in the therapy you will be going to, I’ll reconsider letting
you take a hero school entrance exam when the time comes. I don’t know if it’ll be U.A, though.”

Katsuki grit his teeth. He knew his mother was serious, too. He wasn’t getting out of this one… no
teachers to cover for him, this time. And it seemed like he was genuinely trying to process what
was being said to him.

“I agree. And we should hear what Inko has in mind for a punishment as well.” Masaru nodded.
Mitsuki nodded as well, and they both turned their attention back to Inko.

“Since he has a problem with my son’s quirklessness and his desire to be a hero, I believe an
appropriate punishment would be serving a type of community service at a quirkless shelter.
Perhaps every weekend until high school. Also, you should look into heroes with non-offensive
quirks. Maybe write essays on them. Take Sir Nighteye or Mandalay, for example. They fight
without physical quirks to aid them. They’re virtually no different than my son.” Inko suggested.
Mitsuki nodded.

“I agree. As for the shelter, try volunteering every other day. And you’ll be on house arrest, too,
until I know for sure you’ve changed, Katsuki.” Mitsuki said sharply. Then, to Inko, much softer
this time, “I’m sorry, Inko. If I hadn’t been so damn stubborn back then, when you first told me
about their soulflower… Maybe ours wouldn’t have…”

“It’s alright, Mitsuki. I understand wanting to believe your child more than anything in the world.”
Inko smiled wearily. She really did - she always believed in Izuku. “I’ve got to get going, but…
thank you for taking the time to listen to me. I’m going to come by regularly to check on how
things are going, make sure he’s sticking with it, if it’s alright with you.”

“Of course, you have every right to check in.” Masaru patted Inko’s hand. “Thank you for telling
us. He’ll change, Inko. We’ll make sure of it.”

As summer break approached, it felt like the worst in Izuku’s life was now finally, blessedly over.

He’d been enrolled in therapy to start like the doctor suggested, so now they just had to figure out
what they were going to do for the rest of his school year. He couldn’t get into U.A missing an
entire half of a school year, but they were torn on what to do. They had to decide quickly to avoid
Midoriya missing too much, but what the boy had asked had shocked all of them.

“So, about school…” He began, one night over dinner. He was out of the hospital and already fully
healed, thanks to Toshinori calling in a favor from Recovery Girl. Inko had invited all of his
soulmates over for dinner to celebrate both his recovery and the beginning of summer, but Izuku
had been the one to bring up the topic of school. “When summer break is over, I-I’d like to just…
finish out my time at Aldera, I think.”

The entire table went silent at the statement, before it was broken by Toshinori nearly coughing up
his good lung in surprise.

“M-My boy? You - You what?” He stuttered.

“I want to finish out my school year at Aldera,” Midoriya repeated, more sure of himself this time,
though he found it hard to look them in the eye. “I know it sounds crazy, but I know Aldera. It’s
familiar. And all of the teachers and staff got overhauled, didn’t they? And I only have six and a
half months left until the entrance exam… It would be too hard for me to focus on training and a
new school after everything.”

“Are you sure that’s wise? Will the students not trouble you?” Mirai asked, a concerned expression
on his face. To most people, he just looked angry, but Midoriya had learned to differentiate
between his micro-expressions well. “I don’t think it’s a smart idea. That’s all.”

“I agree with Sir,” Togata nodded, looking worried as well. “It sounds like you’d be asking for
trouble. I’m sure some of the students would hold grudges. They got black marks on their records
for participating in bullying.”

“What other option is there, though? Anything else would be really overwhelming.” Izuku
murmured. Mirai hummed thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair.

“Well, I have a teaching license. I could teach you for the remainder of the school year. I had to
have one to mentor Mirio. Any pros who take on interns or personal students are required to get
their teaching licenses as well as quirk counseling licenses.” Mirai explained. Izuku blinked, eyes
comically wide, and then he was practically vibrating with excitement.

“Y-You mean I could learn from you all day, Sir?!” He asked, nearly choking on air. Mirai looked
a little surprised at just how excited he got, but he nodded. “Oh my gosh! Mom! I could go to
school with Sir!”

“Would you enjoy that?” Inko smiled, pleased to see her son so happy with some kind of
alternative to Aldera. The thought of that school and what had gone on under her nose made her
sick, and she absolutely didn’t want her boy going back there. “Would that be possible, Sasaki-
san?”

“Oh, certainly,” Mirai nodded. “He’d have to come to the agency every day, but it wouldn’t be an
issue at all. Most of my day is taken up with paperwork after patrols, but it’s nothing I couldn’t
delegate to my sidekicks. I’d likely even be able to do both at the same time - paperwork is
laughably easy if you know what you’re doing. I can get the transfer paperwork drawn up within
the day if that’s something you’d be interested in.”

“Please! I’d love to learn from you, Sir! I always have so much fun during our analysis lessons,
they’re so interesting! You’ve taught me so many new things and given me so much insight-”
Midoriya went on an entire tangent about how cool Mirai was, and the man flushed red from
embarrassment. He wasn’t used to this sort of reaction at all.

Most of the time, people found him scary, intimidating, or thought him incapable of having a good
time, despite his belief in a sense of humor. He didn’t have fans, per se, so much as people who
believed in his ability to get the job done. He wasn’t the type of hero who attracted a fanbase or
such enthusiastic talks about him. But Midoriya acted as if he was the coolest hero in the world,
somebody he aspired to, and it was a new feeling for him.

“W-Well,” he coughed and cleared his throat, “Thank you. I am… flattered you think so highly of
me. I admit I’ve never considered myself a people person, so I’m glad you feel so comfortable
around me.”

“Me too!” Togata laughed, a big grin stretching on his face. “I wanna learn from Sir too!”

“You already have an internship with me, Togata,” Mirai deadpanned, “And I’m pretty sure you
left one of your cape clasps undone during patrol yesterday. If you’re tired enough to forget that,
you need rest, not more lessons.”

“That was an accident!” Togata squawked, embarrassed at having it brought up. Midoriya giggled
to himself, and Togata just laughed it off with him, slinging an arm around his shoulder. Mirai
gave a small, fond smile at seeing how close the two were. He was glad the both of them got along
so well, being platonic soulmates, and he was glad to have them both as familial soulmates of his
own. He considered himself blessed.

And after all of this, too, Mirai had repaired his own soulflower with Toshinori. It was a huge relief
to him, knowing that even after their fight and all of this time apart, they could still be friends.
“Then if it’s settled, I can have the transfer paperwork settled by the end of the summer break,
Midoriya. You know, Toshinori, I never understood why you never got your teaching license,
considering you planned on having a successor.”

“Ah, well, that’s-” Toshinori paused mid-sentence, seeming to remember something. Mirai could
see the emotions flash across his face in real time: first he remembered something, then he
processed it, and then he looked very afraid. “Shit.”

“Toshinori?” Mirai asked, raising an eyebrow. “Is everything alright?”

“I… forgot to give Principal Nedzu my answer. We were in talks about accepting a position at U.A
to help me find said successor before I met Midoriya, but I didn’t think it was a good idea at the
time, and then I found Midoriya, and… oh, no.” Toshinori put his head in his hands. “First
Naomasa and now Nedzu. What is it with me and forgetting to tell people important things? I’m
probably forgetting something even bigger, knowing me.”

“Do you even want the teaching position? You said you didn’t think it was a good idea.” Mirai
asked. “You can just tell him no.”

“Yes, but I said I would consider it, since I needed help looking at the time, so he said he’d
consider it a yes until I said otherwise. And now it’s been well over three months, and I still
haven’t given him a concrete answer, and there probably isn’t enough time for them to find
somebody willing to fill in as a heroics teacher. Those talks take forever, normally - he was making
a special exception for me. Agh, I’m going to end up having to accept!” Toshinori groaned.

“Why would you being a teacher be bad, Yagi-san?” Midoriya looked absolutely bewildered by
the thought. “You’re All Might!”

“Ahh, my boy… There's a lot more that goes into heroics than just fighting. Unfortunately, fighting
is… my main strongsuit. I’m not a very good teacher outside of fighting and training, admittedly.
That’s why I asked for Mirai’s help with you - he’s a much more well-rounded and capable
teacher.” Toshinori explained with a sigh.

“Then why not have Sir take over!” Togata suggested with a grin. He’d been let into the secrets of
One for All and All Might a while back, given how much time he spent around them - it was
inevitable something would slip out, so they figured it best to explain pre-emptively. “If he’s
already going to be teaching Midoriya, it wouldn’t be that much of a transition to go from one
student to a class, right? It’s just heroics, anyway, not like homeroom or anything.”

“It would also let you keep a personal eye on Izuku’s progress!” Inko added on with an excited
gesture. “You said before you were worried about U.A not giving him the right guidance,
especially with a quirk as strong as One for All.”

“That’s certainly true. Midoriya will have barely any time with the quirk before U.A, it would be
beneficial to keep an eye on him. But an entire class is still a lot to balance on top of an agency. I’d
need some help,” Mirai rubbed his chin in thought. “I wouldn’t mind teaching at U.A. I’ve found
teaching Togata and Midoriya thus far quite enjoyable. Perhaps I’d be suited to it.”

“Then I could be your teacher’s aide!” Toshinori chuckled. “It would be easier for me to manage
and leave the big decisions in your hands. You could decide how the class should be run and I’d
help you manage it, that way you had plenty of free time left in the day for your agency.”

“You’d be like my sidekick, huh? How the tables have turned.” Mirai snorted. “Very well then. If
you’ll be my aide, I don’t mind taking over for that as well. Honestly, I’ve been meaning to look
into taking more interns or something along those lines simply because I found myself drawn to
teaching.”

“You’re good at it, too, Sir! I was really surprised that you were able to get my quirk under control
so fast! Now my teacher says I’m on the way to becoming one of the Big Three next year! It’s all
thanks to your help. I’m sure you could help other students with their quirks and teach them all
about being a hero too!” Togata beamed.

“Talk about an eventful night,” Inko giggled, “But don’t let your food get cold, boys! You’re here
for dinner, after all!”

“Oh, right!” Toshinori nodded, turning his attention back to the food. Togata and Midoriya
followed suit, digging into their meals.

Somehow, Mirai thought his life was about to get a lot more interesting.

Just as he was told, Izuku was able to start school again after summer break after having that
conversation with Nighteye. He was beyond excited to have the chance to have Sir Nighteye as a
teacher, the man was a big inspiration to him. He was so smart, and he was able to keep up with
Izuku’s crazy, rambling mutter-storms.

He didn’t have to wear a uniform, technically, but it felt strange to not wear one during the day - so
he repurposed his white undershirts and pants, but left off the Gakuran top marking him as a
student at Aldera. Instead, his mother threw that promptly in the garbage and took satisfaction in
watching it get crushed by the garbage truck when trash day came.

Nighteye set a rigorous but tailored schedule for him, interspersing breaks for ‘gym’ - spars and
other strength training - and lunch, as well as other small breaks when he needed them. It was the
first time Izuku had actually looked forward to learning.
And for the first time, he could actually excel in class. Nighteye had brought that up during their
first week together. He’d set a couple of worksheets in front of him, just simple things to gauge his
current knowledge. Izuku had blown through them without a hitch, and Nighteye had looked them
over with a curious eye. The next assignments and the ones after that kept going much the same,
and Izuku had been in school with Nighteye for all of two weeks before he had to have a talk with
the man.

“Midoriya,” Nighteye gestured for him to come over, peering over his glasses at the paper in his
hands. “I just have a few questions for you. You’re not in trouble.”

“Ah? Sir? What can I help you with?” Izuku asked, rolling his chair over. He’d been given a little
desk in Sir Nighteye’s office on the other side of the room, set up just the way he liked it, complete
with a rolling chair so he could slide between his desk and Sir’s easily.

“Well, I’ve been looking at your transcripts from Aldera. Your grades… they were consistently
middle of the pack. As in perfectly middle of the pack. But this doesn’t match with what you’re
capable of at all. You’ve consistently outperformed everything I’ve given you to match the level I
assumed you were at. That’s good, I’m happy you’re doing well, but it doesn’t make much sense. I
was hoping you’d be able to explain.” Nighteye asked gently.

“Well….” Izuku worried his bottom lip nervously. “At Aldera, the teachers… if I did too well, they
got mad and told me I was cheating, but if I failed it would be worse. So I had to make it so that I
could still pass but not stand out too much… sometimes they just graded me unfairly anyway,
but…”

“Of course I should have known better than to trust anything those awful excuses for teachers
wrote.” Nighteye growled, wadding up the copy of transcript and tossing it in the garbage. “Very
well then, I’ll try to increase the difficulty to match. You need a challenge, but nothing
insurmountable. Tomorrow I’ll give you a different type of work so I can see where you should
really be at in terms of school work.”

“I’m sorry for the trouble, Sir.” Izuku frowned, but Nighteye merely patted his head.

“Not to worry. There’s nothing for you to apologize for, Midoriya. This is squarely on the
shoulders of those teachers - if you’re smart, you’re smart. Wear it like a badge of honor, not a
brand of shame.” The man said gently, and Izuku’s frown melted away into a soft smile.

“Yes, Sir.” He said. “What should I do in the meantime, then?”

“Well… to be honest, I don’t have anything for you right now. All of my lesson plans have to be
adjusted. So, for now… I’m not quite sure.” Mirai sighed, trying to think of something. “I could
assign you analysis work, but I think we’ve about exhausted my backlog for those as well… unless
you’d like to work on something new. It’s a brand new case that has been brought to our attention.
If you’d like to join our meeting on an analyst basis, I’d allow it.”

“Really?! I could sit in on a real hero meeting?!” Izuku gasped excitedly. Nighteye nodded with a
chuckle.

“Yes. Just remember, this is confidential - you’ll have to fill out some forms saying you agree not
to speak of it since you’re a civilian. And this is purely on an analysis basis, you’re not legally
allowed to go and do things like patrols yet. Understand?” Nighteye asked. Izuku nodded
solemnly. He was heroic, not stupid - he knew he wasn’t in a position to go out and do that kind of
thing yet. He didn’t have nearly enough training under his belt anyway.
 “Yes, Sir. I’ll do analysis only.” he agreed, and Nighteye nodded back.

“Very well then, go ahead and work on what you’d like for now - analyzing a hero or whatnot. I’ll
be having that meeting in about an hour.” He explained.

“Right! You can count on me.”

Chapter End Notes

Well, there it is. I told you guys he wouldn’t leave without consequences. I know they
may not be what some of you hoped for, but I always planned for them to happen. As
for those of you that commented about their dissatisfaction regarding the Bakugou
redemption tag - I’ve said it before, but this is NOT a typical redemption, at least
compared to the ones I’ve read in fics myself.

It’s really disheartening to get several comments unhappy with the direction of the
story when the full direction hasn’t even been taken yet. Even this isn’t the full extent
of what I have planned for Bakugou. I hope those of you who weren’t happy still like
it after what I have planned DOES get talked about. I won’t stop writing this story,
though - it makes me too happy to stop!

Also, sorry for no dragged-out court scenes - I don’t know enough about the Japanese
court system to write a full chapter, and I didn’t want to bog down the story any more
than it already has been! There’s only a few more chapters until U.A, though, so I hope
y’all are excited for that!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks

PS: I’ll do my best to answer comments today, so if any of you have questions about
the story or whatnot, please feel free to ask! If it’s a big spoiler for the story, I’ll let
you know beforehand :D
 Letter
Chapter Summary

Another month passed, and it got colder as November marched on. Izuku was getting
ever stronger, the beach nearly complete.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

The meeting was held in one of their big conference rooms at the Nighteye agency, and it was very
serious as soon as Izuku walked in behind Togata. Bubble Girl had seen him a few times so she
recognized him, but the other sidekicks were looking at him strangely. Izuku gulped nervously; he
was a little anxious having all these pros staring at him.

“Sir? Who is this?” Centipeder was the first one to ask, and the other sidekicks all murmured in
curious agreement.

“This is Midoriya Izuku. He’s my personal student and a remarkable analyst. He’ll be observing
this case. Don’t worry - he’s signed all the NDAs. He’s just here to observe and give insight,
nothing more.” Nighteye explained. The sidekicks all accepted that, and they turned their attention
back to their boss.

“So, what’s the case you called us in to discuss? It must be big if you called us all in.” Bubble Girl
spoke up.

“Yes. We’ve noticed an increase in Trigger sales again. Though Trigger was thought to have been
dealt with several years ago, it’s making a resurgence. We have a possible source now: the
Yakuza.” Nighteye began, lowering the lights and turning on a projector. The image on screen was
that of a group of people in beak-like masks. “Specifically, the Shie Hassaikai.”

“Aren’t the Yakuza controlled mostly by the police these days, Sir?” Togata asked curiously.
Nighteye nodded.

“An excellent point, Lemillion. Indeed, the few remaining Yakuza families are heavily policed and
can’t so much as breathe without it being registered. But we have reason to believe that the head of
the family is no longer truly in charge - there’s every possibility that his successor, Chisaki Kai, is
making moves to assume control of the family. There’s nothing concrete yet, but we’ve received a
few tips that indicate their involvement in the Trigger dealings.”

“So we’re going to investigate and see if they’re truly involved?” Another sidekick asked. Nighteye
nodded seriously.

“Yes, since the lower members frequent this area. We won’t actively pursue them until we have
proof, so make sure to keep your heads low. We don’t need them catching on and breathing down
our necks about their rights when they’re already being monitored.” Nighteye added. “So with that
being said, we’ll go over the evidence we have for this case so far.”

Nighteye clicked a button on a remote, and the projector changed again. Much like in Izuku’s
analysis training, there was security camera footage. This time, outside of an apartment complex in
the area. Just in the shadows cast by one of the flights of stairs, three people could be seen making
some kind of deal. One person handed another a bag of cash, and the third person handed them a
briefcase which was inspected before they both walked away.

The two people who originally had the briefcase were wearing those bird masks, clearly a part of
the Hassaikai as that was their trademark. They were lower members, but still a part of the group
nonetheless. Izuku muttered to himself, noting down things he saw in the footage. Nothing besides
the deal itself particularly stood out, but he observed it carefully anyway.

The footage changed again, and this time it was only photographs of a busted Trigger lab in the
vicinity of the Hassaikai compound. It didn’t have any directly implicating evidence, but the fact
that it was close enough - and large enough - to be a main supplier to the compound was fairly
implicating. Crime scene analysis wasn’t really in his wheelhouse. Still, he took note of the things
that seemed important just in case.

But Nighteye changed the screen one more time, and this time there was video. It was a shaky cell
phone recording, but it seemed to be somebody recording the Yakuza in a public restaurant. Izuku
could only make out a few words among the shaking of the phone and the background noise -
‘boss,’ ‘sick,’ ‘girl,’ ‘quirk,’ and ‘strong.’ Nothing that would really speak of drug deals, but
curious anyway.

The most interesting thing, however, were the people observable. He could see one young man in a
thick, fur-lined coat and a black cloth mask. He had the most intense expression Izuku had seen,
and it seemed to stare right into him even from the camera. The person recording seemed to realize
they had been seen and the video promptly ended. But there was a clear view of the people there at
the end, and Izuku could identify several important characteristics.

“Sir, would you mind pausing there at the end of the video?” Izuku asked. Nighteye nodded,
rewound the video, and paused on that clear shot of the people.

“Do you notice something in particular?” He asked. Izuku nodded.

“The one on the left, his hair,” Izuku pointed to the one with the white hair, shaped into thick,
arrow-like strands. “That seems like the most obvious place to start with his quirk. I don’t know
what it does, but the strands move on their own several times in the video. He might just be able to
manipulate them, but their shape suggests some other aspect to his quirk…”

“Very good, thank you. And the others? Anything for them?” Nighteye asked, fighting the urge to
smirk when the sidekicks started muttering to themselves, wondering how a kid had caught that
and they didn’t. He knew Izuku was smart, and he had to admit he enjoyed showing off his student
just a little bit.

“The one on the right of the man in the fur jacket-” Izuku was cut off by one of the sidekicks who
interrupted him.

“There isn’t anybody on the right of him, what do you mean?” He asked. Izuku blinked, and
pointed to the backpack sitting in the chair. “The backpack? What about it?”

“They both clearly turned their attention to it and spoke to it several times. So either there’s a
communication device in there, or it’s somebody that has the ability to turn into inanimate objects.
I suspect a quirk, because I saw it jostle slightly on its own near the end before the video got cut
off. I don’t know which for certain, but at the very least there was a third person involved in the
conversation.” Izuku explained.
Nighteye blinked. Even he had missed that. “That’s a wonderful observation, Midoriya. These are
the current two highest members aside from the boss, Chisaki Kai and his right hand. We aren’t
sure who the man in white is, but we know he’s important. Perhaps we should look into the
possibility of a third high ranking member. Anything else?”

“Chisaki himself,” Izuku began, “seems to be afraid of germs. He’s wearing latex gloves and a face
mask even in a high-end restaurant like this, which are typically sanitized rigorously. He also
changed his gloves and specifically avoided being touched. And I don’t know if it’s important at
all, but…when he said the word ‘quirk’ he looked disgusted. I don’t think he’s a fan of quirks.”

“Anything helps. We’ll add that to the notes on the man. Thank you, Midoriya. And as a matter of
fact, that’s the only data we have on the Hassaikai as of now. So, take that how you will. We have
evidence of some kind of a deal, a busted Trigger lab in their territory that they should presumably
know about, and an observation of a meeting between the two highest members without the boss
present.”

“We sure have our work cut out for us, huh…” Bubble Girl sighed. Nighteye just nodded in
agreement.

“We certainly do, but we’ll manage. I also suggest wearing discrete body cams, that way we can
analyze the footage if you happen to come across any members of the Hassaikai. I’ll have a
support company develop them for us. And if you’d like and Midoriya’s willing, he’s free today to
give observations on your quirks.” Nighteye offered.

“I get to analyze in person?!” Izuku asked, looking starstruck. This day just kept getting better and
better! He couldn’t believe the opportunities he was getting today! And when Bubble Girl eagerly
bounded up to him to ask for his opinion, Izuku felt incredibly honored.

Most importantly, after all of this, he was finally feeling comfortable with himself. He hadn’t
stuttered at all today, even in front of all these Pros - and he hadn’t backed down even when
questioned about his observations.

He felt normal here, with Sir and the others.

It had been many months since the start of training - the seasons had changed once again, and now
the weather was getting cooler. It was partly into October when something happened to interrupt
his new routine of school at the agency. He’d been getting ready for school one morning, when
there had been a knock at the door. Izuku was the only one up right now - his mother had taken an
overnight shift and was passed out after work.

So then who could be at the door at this hour, he wondered?

When he went to open it, he was surprised to see none other than Sir Nighteye standing there,
wearing a scarf around his neck. “Oh, Sir! Come in, come in! I just got back from my morning
workout, and I’m still getting ready for the day. What are you doing here so early? Is something
the matter?”

“No, no, not at all, Midoriya.” Nighteye chuckled. “Actually, it’s the opposite. I was in Musutafu
this morning on business and I got good news, so I wanted to talk to you about it and I figured I’d
drive you to the agency.”
“Oh?” Izuku brightened, giving the man a smile. “Let me finish getting my things and we can go!
I’ll only be a minute. Do you want some toast or anything before we go?”

“Hm,” Nighteye seemed to seriously think about it for a moment, “Why not. I might look a bit like
the main character from the newest season of Preyure, though.”

Izuku let out a hysterical laugh at the mental image of the stoic, no-nonsense Nighteye dressed up
like a magical girl anime character, holding a piece of toast in his mouth as he was late to work.
Izuku doubled over in laughter, nearly in tears. “I forgot you like that show, Sir! Oh my god, oh my
god, I can’t…”

Mirai got a chuckle out of seeing Izuku that amused. “Well, it’s been the most popular kids show
even before quirks appeared. It would be hard to not at least watch one season of it. Don’t tell me
you haven’t seen any?”

“Oh, no, no! I used to watch Preyure every Sunday, right after hero news. I just wasn’t expecting
that.” Izuku wiped at his eyes. “I should actually finish getting ready, though. We don’t want to be
late!” Izuku shuffled into the kitchen to put toast in the toaster while he grabbed the rest of his
things. When he was fully ready to go, he straightened his shirt, handed out the toast, and followed
Sir out of the apartment, locking it up behind him.

When he turned to go down the stairs, however, he froze.

His Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru were there at the top of the stairs, looking just as surprised
to see him all of a sudden. Not to mention Sir was right behind him with a hand on his shoulder.
Without warning, Auntie was up in his face, a fierce expression on her own.

“What are you doing here, and why are you acting so familiar with my nephew? I don’t care if
you’re a hero, you’d better have a damn good explanation for this!” She said, pointing at him
accusingly. She rolled up her sleeves as if to prepare for a fight, and Masaru gently tugged her back
by her arm.

“Mitsuki, calm down! I’m sure there’s a reason, give the man some space!” He said, looking
mildly concerned. Mitsuki huffed and straightened out her shirt, but she didn’t stop glaring at him.
Nighteye looked more surprised than anything else, wondering where in the world they had come
from and why he was suddenly being accosted. Poor Izuku just looked embarrassed by his
Auntie’s protective display.

“Auntie Mitsuki, it’s okay, um, Sir Nighteye is, um, one of my parental soulmates.” He murmured,
pulling up his sleeve to show the bluebell mark that rested there. “So there’s no reason to worry,
really!”

“Indeed, I was just checking in on him this morning.” Nighteye agreed, pulling up his own sleeve
and removing his soulmarks cover to show them. “You are Midoriya’s aunt and uncle? I was
unaware Inko had any other family.”

“Ah, I’m sorry, my wife gets a little protective,” Masaru said amicably. He was always the
peacekeeper of the Bakugou family. “We’re aunt and uncle by platonic soulmarks. We’ve known
Inko since high school. Bakugou Masaru and Bakugou Mitsuki.”

“The Bakugou boy’s parents.” Nighteye narrowed his eyes, not exactly thrilled that the family of
one of Midoriya’s bullies was here. And even if Midoriya never said so, he wasn’t stupid - he
could clearly see the two’s relationship wasn’t actually good. He simply didn’t want to bring up
bad blood with Midoriya after things had finally gotten settled - and they had never found any
actual evidence, so he couldn’t go around accusing him, either.

“Yes, and you have every right to be suspicious of us being here,” Masaru said, holding up his
hands. “But I promise we’re just here to talk to Inko. We’re trying to fix things between us after
everything that happened.”

“Well, mom’s asleep right now. She took an overnight shift at work to cover for her coworker.
She’ll probably be asleep for a while longer.” Izuku explained. Mitsuki sighed and ran a hand
through her hair.

“Damn. We were going to ask her out to breakfast.” She muttered. “Well, since we’re here…
Would you be willing to talk to us, kiddo? I understand if you don’t want to, I won’t push it.”

“Um… I think I have a few minutes.” Izuku said, checking the time on his phone. “Sir, do you
mind if I talk to them, um, by myself for a little bit?”

“I suppose so, if you’re sure, Midoriya. I’ll just be in the car. Let me know if you need me.”
Nighteye said gently, patting Izuku’s head. He looked almost fatherly as he took his scarf off and
wrapped it around Izuku’s neck instead, making sure it was snug. “Make sure to stay warm while
you’re out here. And if you haven't eaten breakfast yet, we can grab something on our way to the
agency.”

Izuku turned red, burying his face into the man’s scarf to hide his embarrassment. He normally
wasn’t so openly parental with him… it felt nice. Mitsuki’s expression softened seeing how gentle
the man was, surprised at such a warm display from a normally cold hero.

“He almost reminds me of Hisashi,” Masaru chuckled. “A less excitable version of Hisashi, of
course. Your father certainly can be…”

“Expressive?” Mitsuki snorted. “Over the top? He always did see you and Inko as the best things
that ever happened to him.”

“I know. Dad’s always talking about me at work, or so he says.” Izuku smiled. “Anyway, what did
you want to talk about?”

“I just wanted to say sorry for not believing your mom… back when she told me about Katsuki
withering your flower. I should have listened the first time.” Mitsuki said gently. “If I had, a lot of
this could have been avoided. It was my job to be a responsible adult and look into things the right
way, but I didn’t do that. So I should say sorry to you too, although I don’t think sorry can do much
good now.”

Izuku blinked, surprised by the sudden statement. She was apologizing? “Um… I get where you’re
coming from, Auntie, and I appreciate it… but I never blamed you or anything. My mom would
have done the same thing for me. And even if I had told you, things wouldn’t have changed
without the help I have now.”

That was certainly true. Izuku was sure that the police wouldn’t have listened to the Bakugou
family either, even if they had openly admitted to their son’s wrongdoings. Tsukauchi had been the
first officer in a while that had taken a quirkless person’s words seriously. Inoue had gone to them
several times and been turned down. Even Izuku had explained an injury when he was asked once,
only to have the officer tell him to stop making stuff up once he found out he was quirkless.

“Still, it wasn’t right of me, kiddo.” Mitsuki said gently, pursing her lips. She knelt down by Izuku
and took his hands in hers. “I still want to be your Auntie if you want me to be. I care about you
too, even if I messed up. I can only imagine how hard it’s been with a withered soul flower, so if
there’s ever anything I can do…”

“You’ll always be my Auntie Mitsuki.” Izuku replied, his voice soft as he leaned in to hug her. “I
just want my mom to look at her flower and smile again. So make sure you take care of her, okay?
She needs her best friends back.”

“Of course, Izuku.” Mitsuki sniffled, squeezing him tight. When she let him go, Izuku went to hug
Masaru next.

“You too, Uncle. And make sure to give my dad a call. He misses your weekend talks.” Izuku said
with a smile. “I’ve got to go now, but… maybe come back for lunch? I’m sure my mom would
love to speak to you.”

“Alright. Stay safe, Izuku.” Masaru patted his head. As Izuku made his way down the steps of the
apartment building, the two of them waved. “And you don’t be afraid to call us either, okay?”

Izuku nodded and waved back. He forced back his own tears as he made his way to Sir’s car. That
was… a lot, but a good lot. He didn’t realize how much he missed seeing them. He remembered
family dinners from his childhood, before everything had turned sour. He loved those a lot, but it
had been years since they’d all been together. Izuku felt hopeful that Bakugou would change with
them focused on him now - Mitsuki was relentless when she put her mind to it.

As Izuku climbed into the car, Sir smiled in a gentle sort of way. “Did you have a good talk? You
look like you did.”

“A great one, actually. I haven’t really seen them in a while… but it was good to see them again.
Thanks, Sir.” Izuku said, setting his bag at his feet. He prepared to hand Nighteye’s scarf back, but
the man stopped him.

“Anytime, Midoriya. And keep the scarf… I haven’t seen you wear one, and I have plenty. It
wouldn’t do you any good to catch a cold,” he said, turning the key in the ignition. “And don’t
forget your seatbelt.”

“Ah! Of course,” Izuku chuckled, pulling the strap over himself and clicking it into place.
Nighteye was content knowing he was buckled in and finally pulled out of his parking spot. “So,
what good news did you get today, Sir?”

“Well, I was in Musutafu to have a meeting with Principal Nedzu. We’ve been speaking remotely
since summer, but we finally finalized my contract. I’m officially the Foundational Heroics teacher
for the upcoming school year, with Toshinori as my aide. He understood Toshinori’s concerns and
was happy I offered to take his place.” Nighteye explained with a smile. Izuku broke into a
beaming grin at that.

“Really?! That’s great, Sir! I know you’ll be an awesome teacher!” He said, happy the man got a
job he was interested in. Nighteye chuckled.

“That’s not all the good news, though. There’s one more thing, and this one’s for you.” He said,
and Izuku looked even more excited. “There’s only around four months left until the entrance
exam. You’ve made remarkable progress so far, and with help the beach is nearly clean. You’ll be
done two months ahead of schedule. So, to supplement, I’d like to start you on more than basic
sparring - I want to start working to develop a specific fighting style for you.”

“Yes!” Izuku cheered, mind now thoroughly taken off of the earlier upset from Bakugou. “I won’t
let you down, Sir! I’ll work really hard!”

“I have no doubts in my mind that you’ll do amazingly, Midoriya.” Nighteye said gently. “I had
some thoughts, if you’d like to hear them on the way to the agency?”

“Of course! Tell me all about it!” Izuku insisted, his full attention on the man.

“Well, I know you admire Toshinori as All Might, of course. I do too. But even though you’ll be
inheriting One for All from him, you shouldn’t use it the same way as him. Your body types are
completely different. He has a lot of power focused in his upper body, for punches and that sort of
thing. I think you’d be suited to a fighting style centered around your legs.” Nighteye suggested.
Izuku looked a little confused.

“My legs, Sir?”

“Yes - your body type is similar to mine. My fighting style doesn’t openly center around my legs,
but they are a big part of it. I have to have a lot of strength and balance to do what I do. I feel for
you, particularly, though, that you could benefit from something directly centered on the legs.
You’re fast, and you’ll be faster with One for All. There’s no need to emulate All Might - you
should be your own hero with your own style.”

“Hmm…” Izuku hummed thoughtfully, seeming to chew over the idea. “I suppose you’re right… it
wouldn’t make much sense to emulate his ‘smashes’ if I don’t have the muscle mass to support
them… But what about his non-direct smashes? The ones where he displaces air instead of directly
punching a villain? It’s what he did with the sludge villain.”

“You can certainly use your arms, of course, they simply wouldn’t be your main form of offense.
Air displacement techniques would be good for you to learn as well, though. Heroes always have
more than one technique to rely on. If all you learn is one way of fighting, the second anyone
identifies it you’d be in trouble.” Nighteye explained.

“Right! I can’t be a one-trick pony.” Izuku nodded in agreement. Nighteye snorted at that. “What’s
so funny, Sir?”

“Nothing… you just sounded like an Underground Hero I happen to know.”

Another month passed, and it got colder as November marched on. Izuku was getting ever stronger,
the beach nearly complete. He’d put on enough muscle that even his old clothes were having
trouble fitting, the sleeves snug against his arms and pants legs difficult to move in. He and
Nighteye had been focusing on leg exercises and tailoring his sparring to suit a leg-heavy fighting
style. Izuku learned how to throw proper punches, kicks, roundhouses, hi-kicks, leaps and all sorts
of other things that would help.

On top of that, they’d used the facilities of Nighteye’s agency to practice parkour - apparently,
Nighteye was an oft-sought teacher for these sorts of things, even before Togata. Other heroes who
had just debuted would come to him for tips. Now, Izuku knew how to land from high falls,
perform long-distance jumps, and scale walls with ease - all without the use of a quirk.

Now that training was progressing at a decent pace, however, Izuku once again had school-related
things to focus on as well. Yagi had pulled him aside after training on Dagobah one day to speak
with him and Inko, who had joined them during that day’s workout.

“So, my boy, you’re doing well! I’ve been thinking, and I wanted your opinion on something.”
Yagi said, handing him a towel from the truck to dry off his sweat. Izuku dabbed at his brows,
looking up at the man curiously.

“What is it, Yagi-san?” Izuku asked, running the towel over his hair next. He was surprised how
sweaty he could get even in the middle of November.

“The paper applications for U.A opened a month or two ago. I didn’t know how far along you were
in the admissions process, so I wanted to know if you were interested in taking the
recommendation exam. If a hero or somebody in the heroics industry recommends you to the hero
course, you can take that exam. Either Mirai or I would be happy to write you one, but I wanted
your opinion first, of course.” Yagi explained.

Izuku blinked owlishly, processing what he said for a second before he gasped. “I completely
forgot about admissions with everything going on! Oh my gosh, Yagi-san, I’m sorry! I can’t accept
that. It would be really cool, but I want to take the general entrance exam. I want to prove to myself
that I can do it… and I kind of already promised Inoue-san he could write me a recommendation
letter, but I guess he can’t since he got fired…”

“Inoue? Write your recommendation?” Yagi asked, a little confused at the notion. “No offense,
he’s a good man, but he’s a janitor. I don’t see why you’d ask him to write your entry
recommendation letter.”

“Well, technically it doesn’t need to be a teacher… the U.A entry requirements only state that it
needs to be a school staff member. He was technically staff… and before I met you, he was the
only one who was nice to me. He believed that I could get into U.A… and I knew none of my
teachers would ever write me one, so… I asked him a while back. Before he got fired, anyway...”
Izuku sighed, dejected at the thought.

“Ah!” Yagi perked up at the explanation from the boy. “Well, actually, Mirai and I helped him get
a position at U.A. He’s now a janitor there instead of Aldera. He gets paid better, too. But he’s still
technically a staff member of a school, so I don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to!”

“Really?! I didn’t know he worked at U.A now! I tried to go and say hi to him after summer break,
but then I found out he was fired… but that’s so cool! Do you think I could talk to him? Or would
U.A allow visitors?” Izuku asked.

“I don’t think you can go in without a pass, but I had tea with him at his wife’s bakery when we
helped him get the job. It’s right here in Musutafu. Perhaps you could go and visit? It’s called
Himari’s Bakery.” Yagi explained. Izuku looked like the man had given him a winning lottery
ticket with how excited he got.

“I’ve seen it before! Inoue-san gets all of his cookies there! I had no idea his wife ran it! Oh my
gosh, we’ve just got to go!” He said, practically shaking with eagerness. Inko giggled a bit at his
enthusiasm and patted his back.

“Well, I have been meaning to give Inoue-san that gift basket. Why don’t we go after we clean
up?” She suggested. Izuku nodded eagerly.

“Please!” He asked. There was a lot of paperwork involved in getting into a hero course - even if it
wasn’t a recommendation exam, he still needed his teacher or another school staff member to
recommend him for the course.
He also needed a certain level of grades, which Izuku delicately managed to balance out during his
time at Aldera. He knew they weren’t accurate, but they were what he had, and he couldn’t go back
and change his transcripts now even if he wanted to. And being Nighteye’s student wasn’t open
knowledge, either - the only thing written on his transcripts would be that he had a private teacher
for the second half of the school year.

Lastly, he needed a brag sheet and an entire slew of admissions essays to fill out. He’d had his
essays written for a while, and he’d filled out his brag sheet with volunteer hours at a shelter for
the quirkless and his efforts to clean up Dagobah Beach, so he felt confident enough in those. The
last piece of the puzzle was that tricky letter, but luckily he was able to take care of that.

“I’m proud of you though, my boy.” Yagi said, a smile on his face. His thoughts interrupted by the
praise, Izuku startled and looked at the man.

“For what?” He asked.

“For wanting to take the exam on your own merit, and sticking to a promise you made. That’s just
another thing that makes you a hero in the making. I see it more and more every day.” He ruffled
Izuku’s hair, and the boy squeaked and turned a bright red.

“Th-Thank you, Yagi-san! I won’t let you down…!”

A trip to the bakery was something Izuku didn’t know he needed. When he met up with Inoue-san
again after not seeing him for several months thanks to the entire situation with Aldera, the man
gave him the biggest hug and worried over him for nearly half an hour. His wife, Himari, was also
a kind woman - ecstatic to meet the boy her husband talked about so often.

After talking about what they were there for, however, Inoue said he’d still be honored to write
Izuku a letter of recommendation. The next week, there was a letter and a fresh cookie waiting for
him when he came by to visit.

Having Inoue write the letter after everything just felt right. And when he sat down to read it, Izuku
had never heard such kind things about him before. With tears in his eyes, he added the letter to his
admissions portfolio.

He would get into U.A with this letter, and he’d make sure everything Inoue said came true.

To the U.A Admissions Committee,

I highly recommend Midoriya Izuku for a position in the U.A Heroics Course. While I may not be a
teacher or counselor, I have had the honor of seeing Midoriya’s many strengths first-hand. He is
one of the most driven, intelligent, and compassionate students I have ever seen in my over thirty
years as a janitor.

I have witnessed Midoriya face hardship after hardship and come out on top, never once letting
 anything stand in the way of his dream of heroics. As you may know, Aldera Jr. High was under
investigation this past year due to quirk discrimination, child neglect, and criminal negligence. The
majority of the investigation centered around him, as a matter of fact - it often seemed as if the
entire school was against him. Despite this, he has stood strong. And it seems to me as though an
indomitable willpower to keep going would be an invaluable trait in a future hero.

Due to the school’s negligence, however, I cannot attest to his performance in class as much of it
was fabricated. What I can tell you, however, is that he is intelligent. Not only intelligent - he's
somebody others could come to with problems. I have witnessed many underclassmen ask for his
help before they joined the others in their quirkist views. He has also shown a remarkable level of
quirk knowledge to me and the other faculty, the kind that would be a good tool in a hero’s
‘toolbox.’

Finally, I can attest to Midoriya’s character outside of class. He is kind beyond reproach,
forgiving those who hurt him and moving on without so much as a single petty comment. He treats
everyone around him with respect and gentleness, even those like me in menial labor positions. He
has comforted lost children outside of Aldera and assisted teachers even when they viewed him as
lesser. He is one of the most selfless and understanding people I have ever met.

It is these qualities that allow me to say he is one of the best candidates you have to become a
future hero. If you need any further proof, ask the others who investigated Aldera over the summer
- they’ll all tell you the same. I hope you keep Midoriya in mind as you consider admissions,
because I can say that even if it isn’t U.A, he’ll find some way to become a hero - and he’ll be one
of the best heroes around.

Sincerely,
Inoue Kenshin
Janitor, U.A High School (Previously Aldera Jr. High)

Chapter End Notes

Ahh, man I loved writing Inoue’s letter. What do you guys think of this chapter?

Also, I couldn’t help but include the Preyure reference. When they made it in the
canon show I almost died of both laughter and happiness, considering the show it’s
referencing, Precure, is my favorite anime series of all time. I love magical girls so
much, lol. Maybe I’ll write a magical girl fic some time… hmm…

Anyway, things are moving along! Next week’s chapter is a Christmas special! It’s
still important to the plot, but it’s extra long - 6k words of Christmas cheer! I hope
everyone loves the fluffy, wholesome content in next chapter :D

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Christmas
Chapter Summary

Suddenly, the weight of what he was doing hit him. In the middle of a mall, by himself,
Midoriya Izuku was buying gifts for soulmates. And not just one, but three. He was
looking through cheesy soulmate trinkets to find Christmas gifts for them.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

With his admissions squared away, Izuku focused one hundred percent on his studies and training.
November changed to December, and snow fell regularly even on Dagobah Beach. It was harsh
and intense, but nothing he couldn’t handle - and Izuku prided himself on his ability to keep going
no matter the circumstances he found himself in, anyway.

With his nose in the books and his feet to the fire, so to speak, it was no surprise that holidays like
Christmas snuck up on him. The holidays were never big events in the Midoriya household
anyway - his father flew in from America for a few days, a week if he could swing it, and
celebrated with them. Afterwards, things went back to normal. There were no big celebrations or
festivities, just a family enjoying their time together.

But with so many people surrounding him these days, things were shaping up to be his first
exciting holiday in a while - not that he realized it at first. It started innocently, with one of his
hangout sessions with Togata and his soulmates, Hado and Amajiki.

“So, what’re you doing for Christmas, Midoriya?” Hado asked, stuffing a french fry in her mouth.
The four of them usually hung out at cafes or other places where they could get food, and despite
the other three being romantic soulmates, Izuku never once felt like a third (fourth?) wheel.

“Hm? Christmas?” He asked, not sure where the question came from. “I’m… not sure, really.
Mom, dad and I will probably just have dinner at home. My dad comes home at this time every
year. He wanted to come home for my birthday, but they were hit with a lot of overtime.”

“Your birthday? Wait, has your birthday already passed?” Togata asked, looking scandalized.
Izuku just nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me?! What day is it?! C’mon, kouhai, you should’ve said
something!”

“Well, it was kind of just after the investigation…” Izuku muttered, and that gave them all the
explanation they needed. “But it’s July 15th.”

“What?! We have the same birthday! No way!” Togata explained, throwing his hands up in the air.
“That’s it, we’re having a double birthday next year! No ifs, ands, or buts! And we’ll make
Christmas extra special!”

“Huh? Togata-senpai, that isn’t necessary, really!” Izuku exclaimed, looking embarrassed and
nervous at the thought. He wasn’t used to Christmas being a huge affair, really. Togata looked like
he wouldn’t take no for an answer, though.
“Y-You can’t change his mind once he’s set on s-something…” Amajiki mumbled, pushing his
fries around in ketchup. Somehow, the teen made even that look like an anxious activity. He was a
master at making everything look nerve-wracking.

“Ah…” Izuku sighed, finally relenting. He knew he’d never sway Togata from something like this.
“Well, you’d better talk to my mom… she used to get really excited to plan Christmas parties with
Auntie Mitsuki. I’m sure she’d help you.”

“Yes!” Togata cheered, pumping a fist in the air. “This’ll be the best Christmas party ever, just you
wait!”

“If you say so, senpai,” Izuku chuckled, a smile on his face anyway. “I’ll be looking forward to it!”

Inko let out a breath, watching the little clouds it made. It was freezing outside, and she’d much
rather be back home with her son, but she had a job to do. She promised herself she would be
checking in on the Bakugou family every once in a while, and over the holidays were no exception.
She wanted to make sure there was no slacking going on.

Today, she was dropping in unannounced on the quirkless shelter. She’d confirmed he was going
to therapy regularly, and things seemed to be more peaceful in their house - less yelling and
aggressiveness, certainly - but this was the most important part. She’d seen them drop him off at
the shelter for volunteer work before, but this was an unannounced visit, so she could see if he was
still doing it even when she wasn’t around to check up on them.

Today was one of the days he was supposed to be working, as according to Mitsuki and Masaru he
worked there every other day. She pushed the door open to the building, noting how run-down it
looked. A sad fact of life that this was all some quirkless people had. If she had been another
parent, or if Izuku’s soulmates had given up on him, her son may have ended up here one day too.

That thought was not a pleasant one. Maybe she’d talk to Yagi about making an appearance as All
Might advocating for the quirkless…

As Inko went inside, she noticed the sparse Christmas decorations; a string of lights here, a tiny,
scraggly tree there. Honestly, the tree looked like a sapling somebody had cut down from the
woods or something. They were still trying to celebrate despite their means.

“Are you here for food and/or shelter?” Somebody asked, startling her from her thoughts. She
turned to see a volunteer employee speaking to her, and she shook her head.

“No, I’m just looking for my son, he’s quirkless.” She lied. She didn’t want the employee walking
her up to Katsuki, she wanted to observe quietly. “He comes to these shelters to speak with other
quirkless people, but he never tells me which one he’s visiting.”

“Ah, I see. Well, go ahead and sign into our visitor’s log and let me know if you need anything.”
The employee gestured to the foldable table that served as the reception area. Inko nodded and
signed in, and she stepped further inside the shelter. There were tables and benches along one side
of the room, with a kitchen and soup line. On the other side, there were cots and sleeping bags set
up in neat rows.

She watched two young children sitting, curled up against what seemed to be their mother. Her
heart ached for them. She supposed Izuku had been one of the few quirkless kids blessed with a
family that wanted them and got to stay in a home despite her son’s status.

She turned away from the sleeping area and towards the kitchen, and behind the line was none
other then Katsuki, helping the people get their food. His expression was… surprisingly gentle.
When a younger teen dropped his food and began to cry, Katsuki cleaned the mess without a word
and got them a new plate. He put a gentle hand on the younger one’s shoulder and said something
Inko couldn’t hear and sent them off.

Inko couldn’t recall a time when Katsuki had ever been that gentle and soft-spoken with Izuku.
Perhaps… therapy had been helping more than she thought. If he could be that gentle with other
quirkless people, maybe he had really changed.

She didn’t think she ever wanted him around her son again, but it was good to know that the
Bakugous had kept their promise and that things were different now. She got a text as she was
standing there watching the scene unfold, so she broke away to check her phone.

It was a text from… Togata? She’d met the boy several times now, with him being one of Izuku’s
platonic soulmates and all, but why was he messaging her? As she read, her eyes widened. He
wanted to plan a Christmas party?

Well, that she could certainly do. Maybe she’d donate some decorations and children’s toys to the
shelter as well.

Though he and Togata had the conversation about Christmas, Izuku hadn’t actually paid the
thought much mind after they parted ways that day. He was just so ingrained with the ritual of a
quiet Christmas that the thought hadn’t stuck. But once Togata had gotten in contact with his mom,
it was all over but the crying.

The next two weeks were filled with more excitement from his mom than he’d seen in a long time.
He came home to decorations being put up slowly but surely, things being baked, and Togata and
various others being in and out of the Midoriya apartment regularly. It was a chaotic whirlwind,
but one Izuku found that he didn’t mind. He saw his mom smile more than she had in years.

He smiled whenever she smiled, because if he could see that smile every day then any amount of
struggle or pain or exhaustion would have been worth it.

Christmas itself snuck up on them however, and Izuku found it coming sooner than he realized.
And he still hadn’t gotten anybody gifts! He needed to go shopping! With that thought in mind, on
his next break day he put on his coat and braved the snow and crowds to get presents with the
promise to his mom that he’d be just fine. He knew how to defend himself now, and if he couldn’t,
well, he had two pro heroes on speed dial.

One of them being All Might himself. It still hadn’t really sunk in after all this time because he
spent more time around ‘Yagi-san’ than he did All Might.

He went out to the local mall, a bit on the smaller side, but the new super-mall that was being built
in Kiyashi Ward hadn’t quite finished. He made his way inside, letting out a relieved breath at the
warm air. The mall wasn’t overly crowded, considering how close it was to Christmas, so he was
thankful for that.
He wandered around for a while, not finding much, all things considered… he found he didn’t
actually know a lot about Togata, Sir or Yagi’s interests outside of hero work and all that. Izuku
frowned. How had he not bothered to learn that stuff by now? They all knew his interests - heroes,
quirk analysis and all that - but he didn’t know theirs? Izuku felt a twinge of guilt. He felt like he
wasn’t trying hard enough.

Soulmate relationships were difficult… and he still had so many to discover. All five of his
romantic ones remained unbloomed, and four familial and platonic ones were still just buds, too.
Izuku wasn’t sure how he was going to deal with them, especially the romantic ones… those made
him nervous in a way he didn’t want to think about. Romantic love was… well. He shoved the
negative thoughts aside for now.

He had to focus. He had to get gifts. There were only three days until Christmas, and he was
determined to not be going to the party empty-handed after all the effort Togata went through to
plan the day for him.

Finally, as if a beacon of light amidst a dreary backdrop of not-at-all-interesting gifts, Izuku saw it:
a pop-up stand advertising specialized Christmas gifts for soulmates of all kinds, not just romantic
(which tended to dominate the Christmas industry). He approached curiously, seeing what they
were.

The stand had jewelry and other trinkets, all customizable with different kinds of soulflowers,
names and words. Right next door was a flower stand, too, selling the most common soulflowers
around. That gave him another idea…

“Looking for something in particular?” The woman at the stand asked with a smile. Izuku shook
his head.

“Well, I want to get a Christmas gift for my soulmates… I have two familial and one platonic…
but I’m not sure what would be best for them.” He said. The woman nodded thoughtfully.

“I see! Well, that’ll take out a lot of the jewelry. Most of it is intended for romantic soulmates. But
we do have some other options, like lapels, cufflinks, phone charms, bracelets, whatever else you’d
like to choose from. Would you like to see a list with pictures of the things we carry?” She asked,
friendly as ever.

Izuku nodded. “Please, that would help a lot.” He asked. She handed him a pamphlet full of
pictures of different kinds of things, and a few stood out to him as stuff he might want to get.
Personalized items were cool, right? And especially soulmate-specific items…

Suddenly, the weight of what he was doing hit him. In the middle of a mall, by himself, Midoriya
Izuku was buying gifts for soulmates. And not just one, but three. He was looking through cheesy
soulmate trinkets to find Christmas gifts for them. He had never… he never dreamed that
something like that could ever be possible for him.

Izuku hadn’t even looked at soulmate-related things in years. Even this time last year, just reading
an article about soulmates left a bad taste in his mouth, and seeing soulmate couples made him
burn with shame that he would never be good enough for that.

But here he was, deciding gifts for them. Tears beaded in his eyes and he felt his breathing pick up,
and the woman working the stand looked a little panicked. “Kid? Are you okay? Uh - do you need
me to call somebody for you?”

Izuku felt his heart clench because even such a simple statement held meaning for him now. He
had people he could call. He could call Yagi, or Sir, or Togata, or heck, even Hado and Amajiki
said they’d be there for him if he needed them. He suddenly felt really overwhelmed with some
kind of entirely foreign, unbridled euphoria.

“N-No, I’m okay, thank you.” He was just so… he didn’t even know the word, but he was hit with
a cascade of feelings for the fact that he had soulmates he could do things like this for. His phone
went off in his pocket, and when he wiped his eyes to look at it, he realized all 3 of said soulmates
had messaged him.

[From: Yagi-san; 11:43am]

Are you alright, my boy? I felt a rather intense spike of emotion from you.

[From: Sir; 11:43am]

Midoriya, are you ok? The bond just spiked. Do you need help?

[From: Togata-senpai; 11:44am]

Hey Kouhai! You doing ok? I can come pick you up if you need!

Izuku smiled a big, dopey smile and messaged all of them back. Yeah, he thought, things weren’t
so bad. In fact, he’d even say they were pretty great. He stuffed his phone back in his pocket with a
reassurance that he was fine, and turned his attention back to the lady by the register. She looked
like she still didn’t really know what to do with herself.

“S-Sorry about that, it’s just… the whole soulmate thing is new to me. I just, um, realized I’m
actually getting them something.” He said softly, and the woman’s expression turned gentle.

“Oh, I see. Well, that’s a good thing. Soulbonds are special. Tell you what, since this seems really
important to you, I’ll even give you my employee discount. Go ahead and pick out what you were
looking for.” She stated.

“Are you sure?” He asked, eyes wide. The woman just laughed and waved her hand.

“Kid, I haven’t seen somebody cry for a soulmate like that in a long time. Whoever they are, they
must be really special to you. And you know what? That says Christmas to me more than anything
else. So take it, Merry Christmas, kid.” She said with a smile.

“Th-Thank you! Um, I have some more uncommon soulflowers… would it still be possible to get
them customized as well?” He asked. The woman waved him over to take a look, and he pulled
back his sleeve to show her the flowers. She flipped through her book and matched them all up.

“Got them all right here. You want ‘em done, no problem.” She grinned. Izuku found himself
grinning to match.

“Thank you! This’ll be perfect!”

When Christmas Day rolled around, Izuku woke up actually feeling nervous. He’d never been to
any kind of party before, even if it was just a small one between friends and family. His dad
wouldn’t be there until very late that evening thanks to his flight time, but they planned to enjoy
the rest of the day anyway and they’d have their normal, quiet Midoriya family Christmas in the
evening.

He woke up early so he’d have some time to himself before the party got started and went through
his morning workout routine, even getting some time in on Dagobah. Yagi had told him he didn’t
need to work on Christmas, but he found that workouts often helped burn off his nerves.

He sat on the beach for a while, watching the snow meander down slowly from the sky, and he felt
invigorated. He was feeling better and better these days, more confident and less self-deprecating.
He liked feeling that way.

When he got home he quietly slipped back inside the apartment, his mom still sleeping peacefully
as the sun rose. He took a shower, cleaned up his room, and did his holiday homework for a while.
By the time he was done, his mom had woken up and started on breakfast.

He gave her a kiss on the forehead and quietly helped her prepare the food, and they ate in
comfortable silence. This was the kind of holiday he was used to. It gave him some kind of peace to
know he could still have these moments with his mom. As much as he loved everyone, it was a
little nerve-wracking being around them sometimes. This was how he’d grown up until now, so this
was a nice reminder that some things didn’t change.

“Merry Christmas, baby.” His mom said, a gentle smile on her face. “I’m so happy you have so
many people to rely on.”

“Me too, mom. Merry Christmas.” He agreed easily. They cleaned up their breakfast mess after,
and double checked a few things before the party really got started. A little bit into the afternoon,
Togata was the first one to arrive with a knock on the door.

“Hey, hey!” He said happily, knocking on the door. “Santa-senpai comes bearing gifts!”

Izuku choked on his laughter when he answered the door, seeing Togata in a Santa shirt and hat.
“Please don’t ever call yourself Santa-senpai again. I think I’ll end up crying from laughing too
hard, Togata-senpai.”

“Well, that’s how I know I’ve done my job!” Togata laughed with him, bringing in some boxes and
what looked to be food. “Where can I set the food, Mrs. Midoriya?”

“Oh, the kitchen table is fine! And you can set the gifts underneath the tree!” Inko called from the
kitchen, to which Togata easily carried everything in one arm so he could give a salute. Izuku
helped him set everything down, and together they finished setting up the table for dinner as well.

At that time, there was another knock on the door, and Izuku went to answer it. It was Sir Nighteye
this time, only instead of his usual suit, he wore a red and white one with a tie that had Christmas-
themed All Mights on it. Izuku tried not to laugh seeing his clothes - he’d never seen the man
outside of his business suits.

“Hi, come on in, Sir! You’re a little early!” Izuku said. Sir adjusted his glasses with one hand, the
other being full of gifts.

“Just like I like,” Sir noted with a smile, depositing the pile of gifts at the base of the tree. Already
there was more than Izuku had seen in his life sitting there, and it almost made him nervous. Were
all these gifts a fire hazard or something?
Inko busied herself placing out food on the table, just snack-like things until dinner. They
conversed easily, enjoying the company on a holiday. Another person was at the door soon after
that, though this time Nighteye answered. It was Inoue and his wife, bringing cake and cookies
from their bakery.

“Sir Nighteye? What are you doing here?” Inoue blinked, clearly surprised to see the man after the
investigation. Izuku realized he never told him about them being familial soulmates…

“Ah, Midoriya is a familial soulmate of mine. Apologies I didn’t tell you sooner,” He said
gracefully, ever the composed man. Inoue just laughed and shook his head amusedly as he set
down the baked goods on the kitchen table.

“No worries. But man, kiddo! So many important soulmates! I told you you’d find ‘em one day.”
He ruffled Izuku’s hair. Izuku just grinned and nodded, though he was a little embarrassed at the
attention. Inoue’s wife and Inko seemed to get along well too, talking about recipes when the older
woman asked her what she was making. So far, Izuku was enjoying himself… he had to admit this
wasn’t so bad.

The next to arrive were Hado and Amajiki, though Amajiki looked a bit overwhelmed with all of
the people - so Izuku left the door too his room cracked and told him that he was welcome to go in
whenever he needed a break from everyone. He’d never seen the boy look so grateful before, but
he had a feeling he did something right.

The only one not there yet was Yagi, though as time went on they were wondering where the man
could be. He was supposed to be bringing dinner for everyone, at least according to the plan
Togata and his mom had come up with, anyway. Nighteye checked his phone but there was
nothing there. He seemed a little annoyed, but then again he always seemed exasperated whenever
Yagi got up to his usual antics.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, there was a knock on the door. Izuku scrambled to go and
open it, and on the other side was Yagi and Tsukauchi, both covered in snow and holding a bunch
of gifts and their chicken dinner.

“Um… is there a story behind this, Yagi-san?” Izuku asked curiously, watching as his mom fretted
over the tall man and his partner, helping them get rid of the snow. Togata and Hado took their
things, setting them where they were supposed to go in the meantime.

“Yeah, if you call this one running into his usual trouble a story,” Tsukauchi rolled his eyes
playfully. “Thanks for the invitation though! It’s our first Christmas out of the house in a couple of
years.”

“Ah, his usual trouble, huh?” Izuku snorted with understanding; he’d probably end up seeing an
article about All Might performing a sudden act of Christmas heroism on the news, then. He
usually rushed off to do his hero thing without thinking.

“Don’t call it trouble!” Yagi said, sounding suspiciously like a whine. Izuku fought the urge to
laugh at hearing the number one hero talk like that. “So mean to me, Naomasa. You only say that
because I almost got snow on the chicken.”

“Exactly! Could you imagine cold chicken on Christmas? It would be a travesty.” Tsukauchi
laughed, hanging up his hat and coat on the rack. They both took their shoes off and finally made
their way inside with all of the snow cleared off. They moved further into the warm house, and
despite all the people, Izuku wasn’t uncomfortable at all. It still felt a lot like home, more than he
thought it would.
As they got ready for dinner, Yagi took the time to scoop Izuku up in a tight bear hug. “Ah, I’m so
happy to be here! Merry Christmas, my boy!” He laughed, and during that, none of them heard the
door open behind them. Suddenly, there was a cough from behind them.

“Your boy? Who are you and why are you holding my son?” And Izuku gasped, because he knew
that voice! Yagi let Izuku go, and he scrambled to hug the person at the door.

“Dad!” He cried, and the whole apartment full of people turned to see Izuku hugging a man. If they
thought Izuku looked like his mom before, it was nothing compared to the resemblance he bore to
his father - the man had dark black hair, the same mop of curls as Izuku and matching freckles. His
eyes were dark, however, and he wore a large pair of glasses on top of a much stronger nose.

“Hisashi!” Inko was the next to speak, hurrying over to give him a kiss on the cheek. “You said
your flight wasn’t coming in until this evening!”

“Well, there was an issue and they got me on an earlier one, actually. But Inko, who are all these
people? Who was hugging Izuku?” He asked, completely bewildered and a little defensive. Yagi
looked sheepish, an embarrassed flush on his cheeks. Nighteye looked wary, since he hadn’t heard
much about Izuku’s dad - he wasn’t sure what to expect.

“Oh, my goodness! Izuku, you haven’t told your dad about Yagi-san?” Inko asked, looking
surprised. Izuku shook his head.

“No, I did! Dad, this is Yagi-san, one of my familial soulmates, you talked to him on the phone in
the hospital! And that’s his partner, Tsukauchi-san!” He gestured to the thin man, who waved
awkwardly.

“Ah, I’m Yagi Toshinori. It’s good to officially meet you, although I expected it to be later this
week.” Yagi said, rubbing the back of his neck. Izuku tugged on his dad’s hand, pulling him into
the apartment to meet everyone before he had a chance to reply.

“This is Sir Nighteye, he’s another one of my familial soulmates!”

“I’ve told you before you’re welcome to call me by my name, Midoriya.” Nighteye said gently,
turning to his father. “Sasaki Mirai. Good to meet you.”

“Midoriya Hisashi,” His father said, looking a little lost seeing Sir Nighteye in his home. “Good to
meet you as well.”

“And this is Togata-senpai, one of my platonic soulmates, and this is Hado-senpai and Amajiki-
senpai! They’re Togata-senpai’s soulmates but they’re my friends too,” He said, eagerly
introducing his dad to everyone. Togata gave a grin.

“Togata Mirio! Nice to meet you, Mr. Midoriya!” He said, as personable as ever.

“And this is Inoue-san and his wife!” Izuku introduced the last of their guests with a big smile.
“Inoue-san isn’t a familial soulmate or anything but he’s really nice. I told you about him, right
dad?”

“Er… yes, you did. I’m sorry, I was just surprised! My goodness, it’s been so long since we’ve had
this many people in the apartment, or even had this many Christmas decorations up, really!” He
marveled, looking around with a hand to his head in surprise. “It is nice to meet all of you though.
My wife did mention she wanted me to meet you all while I was in town, so I suppose now is better
than nothing!”
Inko just giggled and gave her husband a kiss before turning back to finish setting the table up for
dinner. Izuku joined her, but kept an ear out in case his dad didn’t get along with one of the guests.
He didn’t think it would be an issue, since his dad was nice, but Izuku’s worrying nature never left.

It seemed as though he had nothing to worry about, however, because in the short amount of time it
took to finish setting the table, his dad had already pulled out a few of Izuku’s baby photos from
his wallet and began showing them around.

“Wasn’t he just the cutest kid!” Hisashi crowed. Yagi looked like he was about to melt, seeing a
toddler Izuku in an All Might onesie. Izuku’s entire face combusted into red, feeling like he was on
fire as he tried to snatch the photo from his dad.

“Dad, that’s so embarrassing!” He whined, but to no avail. Even Sir had seen it by that point, and it
was obvious he was trying to hide how cute he thought it was.

“C’mon, superstar, you gotta let me be a dad! It’s not often I get to talk about how great my kid is
with people who understand!” He said, sounding just as desperate. Talk about ‘like father like
son’… Yagi tilted his head curiously.

“Superstar?” He asked, and Hisashi nodded. Inko laughed from the other room.

“Hisashi always said his freckles looked like constellations, but that Izuku was a star in his own
right. So he calls him Superstar. Izuku can’t get him to stop, though.” She explained. Izuku was
mortified by all of the embarrassing childhood talk, so he called for dinner the second it was
available.

The meal was pleasant despite the topic often drifting to even more childhood stories, and Izuku
was relieved his dad got along with everyone. Dinner wound down without much more surprise or
fanfare, and they ended the night by exchanging presents.

It was an exciting thing, exchanging presents with everyone - and seeing their reactions to
everything was a bit anxiety-inducing, but overall a good experience. He got Amajiki a pair of
noise-cancelling headphones and a stress ball for when he was anxious, and the boy seemed to
appreciate it. He got Hado a makeup palette the girl hadn’t stopped talking about, and she’d
pinched his cheeks and called him the best kouhai ever for it.

For Tsukauchi, he got him more of a gag gift - a kid’s detective set, complete with a notebook that
had All Might on the cover, which made him laugh really hard. Izuku was proud of himself for
finding it and glad the man found it funny. For Inoue, he gifted the man a deck of nice cards to
play solitaire with, his old ones worn after many games in Aldera’s janitorial closet. There was also
a little notepad that had a broom and dustpan design in the gift bag, to which the man cracked a big
smile in return.

There were a few more exchanged gifts, and eventually his dad pulled out a wrapped package from
his travel bag. It was handed to him and it had his name on it, so Izuku opened it curiously. Inside,
there was a factory-sealed All Might trading card, a limited run and the first in its series. Izuku
gasped, looking at it.

“Dad! How did you get this?! These editions haven’t even hit the shelves yet!” He said, practically
shaking. Hisashi ruffled Izuku’s hair.

“I got a promotion! And besides, the boss and everyone at work saw the whole investigation on
TV. They wanted to pitch in and get you something cool for when I came home since I couldn’t be
here sooner.” He said gently. “If anything like that happens again, you’ll tell me next time, won’t
you, superstar?”

“Of course, dad,” Izuku said softly. The room was quiet for a moment, so to lighten the mood, he
added, “Although you might have to fight Yagi-san to be first.”

“Ahah!” Hisashi snorted, flexing an arm. “I can take him!”

“Are you sure about that, dear?” Inko asked, looking like she knew something he didn’t. Which,
well, she did. Hisashi didn’t know about Yagi being All Might, unfortunately. Hisashi just nodded,
and the others let him have his moment. No need to scare the man.

Finally, as the gift-giving drew to a close and everyone began to say goodnight and head home,
Izuku went to get the last gifts - the ones he’d spent forever picking out at the mall. He had these
hidden for a reason, because they were personal and he wanted to save them for when there
weren’t as many people around.

Finally, it was just him, his parents, Yagi, Tsukauchi, Nighteye and Togata. That was perfect, so he
went to present them. First up was Togata’s, and the boy seemed surprised when he was handed a
present. On the top, there was a fresh goldenrod blossom instead of a bow. When he realized it was
their soulflower, his expression was something so gentle and kind.

“Midoriya…” he began, but whatever he was going to say, he didn’t. Instead, he opened up the
small box to find a silver lapel pin, one with a goldenrod blossom and the character for ‘first’
engraved on it. Togata looked at it, awed by such a personal gift but confused by the ‘first.’ “What
does it mean?”

“Oh, um…” Izuku was a little embarrassed talking about it now, but carried on, “Well, you said
your goal is to save one million people some day… but you hadn’t saved anybody yet, so you were
disappointed. But that’s not true, because you, um… you helped save me. So I’m the first.” He
admitted softly.

Before he could think about anything else, Togata had practically tackled him in a hug. The blond’s
grip was tight, but Izuku felt safe. Izuku hugged the boy back, shocked to see tears in his eyes when
the hug ended.

“I’m so proud to be your friend, Midoriya.” He sniffled. “I hope you know this is going on my hero
costume.”

“Ah, i-it was meant to go with your school uniform or a suit, but if you really want to put it
there…!” Izuku said. Inko thought it was precious, and managed to snap a picture of the two
together, though Izuku was red and Togata still had tears.

Next was Sir Nighteye’s gift. Similarly to Togata’s, it was also presented with a flower in place of
a bow, a fresh bloom of a bluebell flower. When Nighteye opened it, his was a pair of gold
cufflinks to go on his business suits. The cufflinks were shaped like bluebell blossoms, simple but
elegant.

The man looked like he’d never gotten something like this before, taken aback by the thoughtful
and personal gift. Soulflower-related gifts were often reserved to those who had known each other
for a long time, or for those who’d made a significant impact on their soulmate in some way. While
they were commonplace these days, they still held significant meaning and weren’t given out
lightly. Clearly, Nighteye hadn’t expected one.

“Midoriya, this is…” He seemed at a loss for words, so instead Izuku stepped closer and gave the
 man a hug. He’d never hugged Nighteye before, so the man was still surprised - but only for a
moment before he hugged Izuku back. Izuku felt the bond spike on his end, and he was overcome
with the feeling of tender, paternal gratitude.

This time it was Izuku’s turn to try not to cry. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Sir.
It means so much.”

“Of course, Midoriya,” Nighteye sounded suspiciously emotional, and he was pretty sure the man
had tears beading in the corners of his eyes. “You deserve the chance to shine. You’ll show the
world what you can do one day.”

Once the hug broke off, it was time for the last gift. This time it was Yagi’s gift, and following the
other two, it had a vervain blossom serving as the bow. It had been hard to get, as vervain wasn’t a
very common flower, but Izuku had persevered.

When the man opened the gift itself, he found two things - one, a metal phone charm with vervain
engraved onto it. The other was an embroidered handkerchief, something he’d worked on with his
mom. The handkerchief had the soulmate vines on it, and on the bottom there were two things
embroidered: “You can be a hero, too.” followed by the character for ‘nine.’ Yagi understood its
meaning immediately.

“My boy…” Izuku almost jolted at the man’s tone. He sounded so hoarse and emotional, covering
his eyes with a hand. “This is… I-” he cut himself off, coughing into the brand new handkerchief
already.

“Y-Yagi-san? Are you okay?” He asked, immediately worried. The blond man nodded quickly,
wiping at the corners of his mouth.

“I hadn’t intended to use it so soon, but I… well, I just want you to know I… I love you very much,
my boy. This is… one of the most special things I’ve gotten in a long time, and it just made me
think of how grateful I am to have met you.” He said, and Izuku immediately brought him in for a
hug next.

“I-I love you too, Yagi-san. Thank you for… for not giving up on me.” He said. The blond set a
warm, protective hand on his head and promised himself he’d make sure nobody ever so much as
made his boy cry ever again.

“I could never give up on such a heroic spirit, Young Midoriya. Never.” He said, with the same
tone of voice he promised civilians they’d be okay. That same voice that made everyone know
they were safe because he was here, that voice reassured him that he’d never give up on him.
Izuku’s heart felt full.

And for the first time since the day Bakugou withered their flower, Izuku had nothing but complete
trust in his soulmates. He knew that they were there for him, no matter what curveball life threw
their way.

Izuku couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas gift.

Chapter End Notes

Well, Merry Christmas/Christmas Eve depending on where in the world y’all live, and
happy holiday season to those that don’t celebrate! I hope you all liked this Christmas
special chapter!! Honestly, I wrote it like a month or two ago, and I was laughing
really hard when I realized the Christmas chapter would come out on Christmas Eve
for me.

Y’all got feels for Christmas from me, enjoy :)

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks

P.S: Sincerely, have a good holiday season no matter what you celebrate. If you had a
bad holiday or you don’t have anybody to celebrate with or anything else, just know
I’m sending out Christmas vibes to you. I’m celebrating with you/for you even from
afar. Happy holidays and thanks to my readers for making this year more bearable.
Y’all mean the world to me and I can say with confidence I’d be a very different
person without y’all.
 One for All
Chapter Summary

“You see, All for One and One for All… well, they’re very closely intertwined…” He
explained. And Yagi began a tale of two brothers and the quirk that bound them.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Christmas passed and the remaining months of training went with them. Dagobah Beach was
officially clean… and three weeks early at that. Nighteye, Yagi, Inko and Izuku were all on the
beach, celebrating it being clean. But Nighteye seemed to have something on his mind, distracted
as the rest of them marveled at the clean sand and sparkling water.

“Sir? Is everything okay?” Izuku asked, seeing the thoughtful expression on the man’s face.
Nighteye startled out of his thoughts and nodded.

“Yes, everything’s alright, thank you.” He said adjusting his glasses. “I was just thinking about
your progress. The entrance exam is in three weeks, and Toshinori’s original plan had you getting
the quirk the day of. I don’t think that’s a good idea. I think you should have some more time to
adjust to the quirk.”

“Ah, I was thinking the same thing, actually… I’m glad I wasn’t the only one.” Inko nodded in
agreement.

“It shouldn’t be an issue, like I said. He’s at the level he needs to be, and I adjusted to the quirk
right away. It should come naturally,” Yagi reassured them. Nighteye leveled him a deadpan look,
exasperated as ever.

“Should. That’s not a guarantee. Did Nana have it come naturally?” He asked. Yagi had a pained
look on his face at the question.

“I… I don’t know.” He said softly. “I never got the chance to ask.”

“Nana?” Izuku tilted his head, confused at the interaction. Nighteye blinked, surprised, and then
looked between Izuku and Toshinori.

“You never told him about Nana?” He asked. Yagi shook his head.

“Ah, no. Shimura Nana was my mentor, my boy. She passed One for All to me, just as I’m passing
it to you. She was a good woman. I… didn’t get to spend as much time with her as I wished, but I
loved her very much.” He said gently.

“Did she pass away?” Izuku asked softly. Yagi sighed.

“Yes… she was killed. By All for One, the same as the other predecessors.” He explained, and
Izuku looked even more confused.

“All for One? That sounds like One for All.” He said. Yagi paled, and Nighteye gave him the most
egregious look he’d ever seen the man give.

“Toshinori. Please tell me you haven’t gone this entire time without mentioning All for One even
once. You want him as your successor. Surely you’ve told him of All for One.” Nighteye said
flatly.

“I… don’t think I have. I knew I was forgetting something… oh dear.” Yagi muttered. Nighteye
pressed his hands together in front of his face, taking a deep breath and trying to stay calm.

“Midoriya-san,” Nighteye started, directed to Inko, “I would like to sincerely apologize on

Toshinori’s behalf. I was under the impression he had told you about the history of the quirk before
you accepted it. I think we need to have a serious talk.”

“… Is this something that will be hard to hear?” Inko asked gently. Nighteye gave a nod. She
sighed, “Alright then… let me get the tea. I brought a blanket and tea to celebrate the beach being
clean. Tea makes these kinds of things easier for me to digest, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. Midoriya, I’d like to apologize to you as well.” Nighteye said, a gentle hand on his
shoulder. “This is something you should have known before we started training you for the quirk.
It should have factored into your decision.”

“It’s okay, Sir. I know Yagi-san didn’t mean it, really.” Izuku said gently, looking over to the
blond. Poor Yagi was looking absolutely beside himself, regretful for whatever he had done. Izuku
couldn’t bring himself to be mad when he looked so sorry. “Whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll still want
to be the ninth.”

“Oh, my boy, I don’t deserve such a wonderful successor…!” Yagi said dramatically. “I really am
sorry, Young Midoriya. I should have told you this earlier but it completely slipped my mind.”

“It’s okay, I said so, Yagi-san.” Izuku said, and Inko returned with a huff.

“I’ll be the judge of that, Izuku.” Inko said, her tone soft but stern. She spread out her blanket on
the sand and placed the thermoses of tea on it. “Come, sit. We’ll talk about whatever this ‘All for
One’ is.”

“Whoever,” Yagi gently corrected, taking a seat with all of them. Inko poured them all cups of tea,
and Yagi stared down into his. “And he was a villain. The strongest villain in the world, I believe.”

“The strongest… then is he the one who…?” Izuku gestured to his side, looking a little faint. Yagi
just nodded.

“Yes, he is the one who gave me my injury. You see, All for One and One for All… well, they’re
very closely intertwined…” He explained. And Yagi began a tale of two brothers and the quirk that
bound them. The quirk that got passed down to eight people and the villain that hunted all of them.

“But five years ago, All for One and I… we fought. It was a battle that took everything I had, but in
the end… I killed him.” Yagi said, sounding bitter. Izuku gasped. All Might had… he’d never
killed anybody in his entire career. It was one of the things he prided himself on as the Number
One.

“I did not enjoy doing such a thing. But he gave me no choice. And that is the story of All for One.
One for All was born from him, made to defeat him. But I ended it, so now the quirk will simply
be yours to make your own story with, my boy.” Yagi finished. “The legacy of One for All is a
dark one… but I hope you can bring it some much-needed light. That is, if you still wish to have
it.”
“Well…” Inko began slowly. “I do wish you had told us this sooner. But if All for One is dead, I
suppose it doesn’t matter much in the end beyond our feelings on the matter. I told you I’d support
you, and I meant that, so I think it should still be your choice, Izuku. Do you want a quirk with that
history?”

“I… still want the quirk.” Izuku said gently. Yagi looked beyond happy, but then he saw the look
on Izuku’s face and waited for him to finish speaking. “But please be honest with me about
something first, Yagi-san.”

“Of course, my boy. Whatever questions you have, I’ll answer.” Yagi replied.

“All for One… Well, he’s dead. But is there any other way me having this quirk could put my
mom in danger somehow? Any other thing I should know about?” Izuku asked. Yagi seemed to
very seriously think about his question, giving it due consideration.

“Hmm… Tied to the quirk itself like All for One was, I don’t believe so.” Yagi shook his head.
“There’s always the danger of people coming after the quirk if they knew about it, hence the
secrecy. But aside from that, I don’t know of any other dangers related to One for All. Does that
answer your question?”

“I think so,” Izuku nodded, “I’m just worried about All for One. If he could give and take quirks…
Do you think he could have some kind of quirk that let him fake his death? Something that would
throw you off his trail so you wouldn’t come after him?”

Yagi grew very pale, as if he had never considered that possibility before. “I… don’t know. When
we battled, I… to put it bluntly, I caved in his head with a single punch. I find it hard to believe that
anybody could have survived that, quirk or otherwise. But I suppose I must concede that there is
always that chance.”

“I see…” Izuku trailed off, thinking deeply.

If All for One was dead, there wasn’t a problem. If All for One was alive, it meant he’d faked his
death or otherwise survived - but he clearly didn’t want to be found if five years without so much
as a peep was to be believed. Which meant he was likely avoiding All Might, or at least quietly
keeping tabs from a distance.

It was possible he knew about Izuku, then. If he was alive, then he could already know that he and
his mom were close with Yagi. And at that point, his choice wouldn’t really matter. But what
would help was having One for All. With it, he could at least rest easy knowing he wielded the
only quirk capable of protecting his mom from the villain.

So then nothing had changed. He’d still take the quirk. But he at least knew of the villain’s
existence, and he could keep an eye open for anything suspicious that gave him the idea of the man
being alive.

“I’ll still inherit the power, Yagi-san. Thank you for telling me.” He said surely, a fire in his eyes.
He wouldn’t let his mom get hurt, no matter what.

He was still determined to be a hero for his mom.

His mom, who had stuck by him since the day he was born. Who’d cried for him, supported him,
fed him, shushed him to sleep after nightmares, and everything in between. His mom, who had
yelled at Auntie Mitsuki, withered her own soulflower, all for his sake. His mom, who would stop
at nothing if it helped her son.
If some ancient supervillain so much as looked at her wrong, he’d make sure they knew she was
off limits. Forcefully. Nobody hurt his mom.

“Of course, my boy.” Yagi said, seeing the fire burn bright in him. The heroic spirit he’d seen on
the day of the sludge villain had never wavered. “So with all of that taken care of… Mirai, what
did you want to do about the quirk?”

“Right, that’s what started all of this.” Nighteye sighed, relieved that the tense conversation was
finally over. “I was simply saying that you have no idea if it came naturally for all the users before
you, or if you were an anomaly. It would be safer to give Midoriya the most time possible to adjust
before the exam.”

“Ah, I see. That makes sense. It certainly couldn’t hurt, anyway - he’s ahead of schedule and right
where he needs to be to get the quirk.” Yagi nodded.

“That would make me feel better, too. Sending Izuku straight into an exam with a quirk he’s never
used before would make me far too nervous.” Inko said, shaking her head as if to ward off the
thought. “So then when would he get it?”

“Well, why not today? That is, if you’re ready for it, Young Midoriya.” Yagi suggested with a
smile. Izuku blinked, taken aback by the sudden proposition.

“Today? Are you - Are you sure?” He asked. Yagi only laughed.

“I already said you were right where you needed to be, my boy! It’s simply a matter of you being
ready and willing.” His laughter died down. Izuku found himself smiling then and he gave a firm
nod.

“Then I’m ready, Yagi-san! I’ll never understand how I got so lucky… but I’m glad I did. Really,
really glad.”

Yagi reached up to his head, plucked a single strand of hair, and held it out to Izuku with a soft
smile. “Let me tell you this, my boy. Nana, my mentor, once told me that there’s a difference
between being lucky and deserving. One’s an accident, and the other’s a reward. You earned this
with all of your hard work and willpower, nothing less. Luck had nothing to do with it, Young
Midoriya.”

“Yagi-san…” Izuku looked emotional again, but kept himself in check. He was trying harder not to
cry as much as he usually did these days.

“So with that being said…” Yagi pushed the hair in his hand closer to Izuku, his smile getting even
bigger. “Eat this!”

All the tension and emotion popped like a balloon.

“HUH?!” Izuku looked between Yagi and the hair like he was crazy. The man burst into laughter,
while Nighteye looked exasperated all over again.

“Seriously, Toshinori?” The man muttered. “Childish as ever. The quirk is transferred through
DNA ingestion. Eating hair is how it was passed to him.”

“Oh!” Izuku let out a sigh of relief. “I was so confused! I mean, I never thought I’d willingly eat
somebody else’s hair in my life…” Izuku’s face wrinkled in distaste as he plucked the hair from
Yagi’s hand. “But here goes nothing, I guess.”
Izuku put the hair in his mouth and swallowed it with a shudder. Inko and Nighteye’s faces
scrunched up in sympathy. Eating hair sounded entirely unpleasant. As Izuku sat there for a
moment, he didn’t feel anything different.

“Nothing’s happening,” he noted with a worried expression.

“Give it about an hour, it needs time to digest and reach your bloodstream.” Yagi explained. “Ah!
And another note about the quirk - the passing on has to be intentional. You can’t accidentally give
somebody the quirk, nor can it be taken from you. The only way you can pass it on is if you
specifically intend for it to be passed on and consent to it, so to speak. So you don’t have to worry
about it being stolen.”

“That’s good to know!” Inko looked a little more relaxed knowing that.

They spent the remainder of the hour on the blanket on the beach, watching the clouds and the
waves. It was a peaceful sort of celebration, one Izuku enjoyed. He didn’t know what U.A might
hold, or if he’d even get in for sure, but he was looking forward to his future as the successor of
One for All nonetheless.

“So,” Izuku was the first one to speak once the hour was up, stretching his limbs as he stood,
“What now? How do I use it?”

“When I use it, it’s mostly a feeling. I simply call on that feeling when I want to use it. The only
advice I can really give is to clench your butt and yell smash!” The man laughed as he and the
others stood up as well, and poor Nighteye looked like he was going to have a conniption fit.

“Seriously?! That’s your advice?! My god, I am so glad you aren’t teaching heroics. You are a
wonderful hero and an awful teacher.” Nighteye groaned. Yagi looked sheepish.

“Ahh, sorry! You’re right, but that’s why I called you in for help back then! I knew I wasn’t the
right fit for this sort of thing. Er, I suppose if I were to try and describe it a bit… Using the quirk
feels a bit like clenching a muscle? You know how you can feel the tension and power when you
wind up a punch? It’s like that.”

“Well, that’s better than ‘clench your butt and yell smash.’” Nighteye sighed. “Midoriya, why
don’t you try just feeling it for now? Don’t do anything with it, just see if you can feel what he’s
talking about.”

“Right,” Izuku looked rather determined, “I can do that.”

The green-haired boy clenched a fist as if winding up an actual punch, like Yagi suggested.
Nothing happened at first, so he released it and tried again. This time as he clenched, he thought
about what it meant to ‘yell smash’ - and he thought of all the times All Might had saved
somebody. He thought of protecting his mom, or trying his hardest, of standing up for himself - of
using all the power in his body.

This time, his arm became wreathed in lightning, dancing across his skin like a storm. He thought
about punching, just to see what happened, but Nighteye had said not to. So instead he just focused
on the feeling of it, and he found that it actually hurt. It felt like his bones were creaking
underneath the strain of it, so he let his fist relax.

“It… um, it kinda hurts.” He admitted, rubbing his arm. “I think if I punched with all of that I
might break something… I felt my bones do something weird.”

“See? Caution has served us well.” Nighteye gestured to Izuku, but it was directed at Toshinori.
“Why don’t you try using less power? Or perhaps spreading it out. Think of it like Togata’s quirk -
he can turn parts of his body intangible but he can also turn the whole thing intangible. If you were
to spread out that energy everywhere and in smaller amounts, it might be easier to manage.”

“Oh, that makes sense!” Izuku brightened up. Sir Nighteye always made things really easy for him
to understand. He tried clenching a fist this time, but instead of concentrating it in his arm, he used
his entire body. Though at full power it still felt like all of his bones were just barely holding it
together, so he thought about using less power - relaxing the ‘muscle’ that was the quirk.

The lightning tightened around his skin, and he felt the pressure come off of his bones. He could
move like this, with just a small sliver of the power active, though it still felt difficult to do much
like normal. “This is better, but still hard. It doesn’t hurt like this, though… I might just have to get
used to it.”

“Perfect, then we’ll spend the three weeks before the exam practicing with this amount of power.
You can work your way up to bigger amounts later.” Nighteye said. Izuku nodded and let the
lightning dissipate.

“That was so incredible, Izuku!” Inko cried, smothering him in a sudden hug. “Oh, my baby boy,
I’m so proud of you!”

“Mom!” Izuku laughed, a little embarrassed by the display. “Thank you! I’ll work really hard with
the quirk, promise! You’ll see me get strong in no time!”

“Oh, you’re already so much stronger than you were, honey.” Inko smiled, patting his cheek. “You
make me so proud to be your mom. U.A won’t know what hit them.”

Izuku found himself grinning widely, the thought of U.A’s entrance exam no longer such a
terrifying one. “I sure hope so,” he said, and then he looked to Yagi, “I’m gonna do my best, Yagi-
san. I’m going to say ‘I am here!’ on my own!”

“I believe in you, my boy. Now all that’s left is to practice with the quirk until you’re confident
with it! Go beyond!”

The three weeks passed in what felt like no time at all, and Izuku developed a technique combining
the low-power portion of One for All and Sir Nighteye’s leg-centered parkour training, a form he
called Full Cowling. Full Cowling gave him speed and power greater than he’d ever felt before,
though he made the unfortunate discovery that if he used more power than he was ready for, it hurt
his body.

He realized that by performing a punch just a bit too hard and giving himself contusions all along
his arm muscles. Luckily he didn’t break it, or he’d have been in a world of trouble. Nothing a visit
to somebody with a healing quirk couldn’t fix, but he was careful to strictly regulate his output after
that.

The day before the exam, Izuku’s nerves returned despite his confidence to use Full Cowling
reasonably well. To be fair, U.A was the best of the best - it was his dream school, and he wanted
to go there more than anything. It made sense to be a little nervous after all.

The most surprising thing, however, was the knock on the apartment’s front door that night. Izuku
looked a little confused, and so did Inko, since neither of them had been expecting guests. Izuku
had just been reviewing his study material in the living room one last time when the knocking
broke his concentration.

He decided to answer the door, opening it with a curious “Hello?”

“Hey.” A gruff voice on the other side replied, and Izuku opened the door fully to see his Auntie
Mitsuki and Bakugou standing there, looking surprisingly… not angry, just… Well, Izuku wasn’t
quite sure. But it was the least angry he’d seen the blond in years, and Izuku wondered what he was
doing here again.

“Kacch-” Izuku stopped himself. He really needed to stop calling him that. It gave the wrong idea
that he was still caught up on everything. After so much time with soulmates who cared, Izuku
found that he just didn’t care about the blond anymore. “Bakugou. What are you doing here?” He
asked, stepping outside and shutting the door behind him. He had a feeling that whatever the other
boy wanted to talk about, he probably didn’t want his mom hearing any of it lest she give him a
piece of her mind.

“Sorry to bother you, kiddo. Would you be willing to hear him out?” Mitsuki asked, her eyes
pleading. “His therapist said it would probably be okay at this point so long as you were okay with
it, but it should be your choice, of course. You’re not obligated to listen. I texted Inko so you
wouldn’t be the one to open the door, but I guess she didn’t see it…”

That was true. If she’d seen the text, his mother would have flat-out refused to allow Bakugou
within visual distance of him.

“I’ve been thinking. About what you said in the hospital.” Bakugou said, stuffing his hands in his
pockets. “So I just wanted to say something and get it off my chest. Just… Please listen. If you’re
willing to. I don’t blame you if you aren’t… Hell, I wouldn’t blame you if you never wanted to see
me again.”

Somehow, the tone of Bakugou’s voice convinced him. That, and the fact that he’d actually said
‘please.’

“Okay… go ahead, then.” He said, leaning against the door. He didn’t know what it was, but
somehow he felt like listening to this was important. Bakugou paced around for a moment or two
before sighing.

“I… You told me you didn’t look down on me. In the hospital. Pretty sure you were high out of
your mind on painkillers, ‘cause you barely even stuttered when you talked to me.” Bakugou rolled
his eyes. “But anyway, you said some shit like maybe Aldera had neglected me too.”

“I said that…? I mean, I remember thinking that about Aldera, but…” Izuku blinked, looking
confused because he barely remembered his stay in the hospital other than pieces of the talk with
his mother. The painkillers were pretty strong…

“Yeah. You did. But… Aw, hell, this shit isn’t my thing, Deku. After your mom came and told my
parents about the shit that went on, my mom put me in therapy. Anger management and shit.”
Bakugou admitted. Izuku looked even more surprised, because never in a million years did he
think therapy would be in Bakugou’s vocabulary, ever. He’d certainly knew that Bakugou was
going since his mom had told him as much, but hearing it out of the blond’s mouth was far
different.

“Therapy?” Izuku repeated. “Has it… been helping you?”

“Yeah. It did. Still is. And I won’t try to apologize unless you want me to or something, god knows
a shitty apology won’t mean a damn thing after everything I did…” he muttered, burying his face
in his scarf. It was still cold out, being late February, almost March.

“Okay… where are you going with this, Bakugou?” Izuku asked, feeling very lost during this
whole exchange. Bakugou’s demeanor was a foreign element to him now, something entirely
unreadable.

“I just wanted you to know, I… I have changed, at least a little. I still… have trouble thinking about
quirks and shit sometimes. Sometimes I act like I did before… but I’m trying to work on it. I just…
you said in the hospital you wouldn’t tell anybody so long as I never hurt anybody.” Bakugou
muttered.

“But I just wanted to say that I have changed. Or at least that I’m trying to. And I’m trying out for
U.A, my mom’s letting me, so… if we somehow end up in the same class… I’ll tell somebody
myself. That I was a shithead, y’know, so you don’t have to be in a class with me again. Fucking
hell, this shit sucks. I hate talking about this.” He pulled his hands out of his pockets and wrung
them together.

“… Okay. I understand.” Izuku said gently. And that much he did: he could clearly see the change
Bakugou was trying to make. He’d never admit this kind of thing before. Maybe he really was
getting better, and that’s what he’d wanted this entire time. For Bakugou to get better.

“So… that’s it. That’s what I wanted to say. It was going to keep bothering me until I told you. I
don’t want to be distracted for the exam tomorrow.” He muttered again, looking more and more
frustrated by this whole conversation. He looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. “I mean, I
know now what I did was really fucked up, okay? I won’t apologize, ‘cause you said you didn’t
want to hear it, but I know I was an abusive asshole. I hurt you. I can’t take it back or change it.
But I can change myself. Hell, I’m rambling now.” He turned to leave, frustrated by his own
inability to properly communicate. But Izuku stopped him with a hand on his sleeve, and Bakugou
turned to see him looking thoughtful.

“Bakugou. I… don’t know if I’ll ever be able to accept an apology from you. Maybe one day. We
won’t ever be friends again, and we certainly won’t be soulmates. It shouldn’t be on me to be the
one who acknowledges your change all the time just because you feel bad about it.” Izuku
muttered. As much as he appreciated the effort to change, he really just wanted nothing to do with
the other boy any more.

“You hurt me and withered our soulflower. But I am willing to acknowledge your change… even
this much is really different from Aldera.” Izuku said, staring at the ground. He couldn’t meet the
other boy’s eyes. “I don’t know how to feel about all of it. But… I can see you’re different. So…
do what you want with that. And maybe don’t talk to me again until I’m ready to speak to you first,
if ever.”

“… Thanks.” Bakugou grunted. To most it would sound completely dismissive, but Izuku knew
that tone: he’d said something he really needed to hear. “Anyway, I’m gonna go. I won’t bug you
again unless you come to me first. I know you’re persistent as hell, so you’re probably also going
to take the U.A exam tomorrow anyway. Don’t get yourself hurt.”

As Bakugou retreated down the steps, Izuku felt surprisingly light. It could never bring back the
bond they had when they were kids, and it wouldn’t change everything Bakugou had done, but
something in Izuku’s chest felt eased by the fact that the boy had been working to change himself.
He’d taken Izuku’s words seriously.
 He’d told Izuku not to get hurt.

And if that didn’t speak volumes, well, Izuku didn’t know what would. His words to Bakugou were
still true, he didn’t know quite what to feel about the talk - but he knew that overall, he felt like it
had been something important.

“Thanks, kiddo. I told him he should call first or something, but he refused. He said he had to do it
in person. I know it couldn’t have been easy to speak with him again, so I appreciate it.” Mitsuki
said. Izuku just nodded.

Now, he thought he could finally stomach looking at the withered soulflower, because he knew at
least some kind of good change had come from it.

Chapter End Notes

Izuku: What’s ‘All for One’?

Nighteye & Inko: . . .
Toshinori: *chuckles* I’m in danger.

Also, I know you all weren’t expecting that Bakugou talk… but trust me, it’s an
important setup for stuff to come. If you caught the line about being in the same class,
well…

See you all next chapter! Next week, we get the entrance exam!!
- daylightbreaks
 Lily of the Valley & Black-Eyed Susan
Chapter Summary

U.A was… kind of intimidating. He’d seen the building before on his daily walks, but
only ever from a distance. Up close like this, he was slightly terrified.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku woke up for the exam an hour early because he was anxious. He ran through his daily
workout routine on Dagobah despite it being clean, practiced a few jumps with Full Cowling to get
the nerves out, and made his way back home.

He ate breakfast with his mom, got ready for the day, and got good luck texts from everyone in his
contacts. When he was done responding to them he got dressed, packed a bag of clothes to change
into for the practical exam, and gave his mom a hug before he left to go and take the exam. She
squeezed him tight and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“I’m proud of you no matter what, baby. You’ve got this.” She said softly. Izuku smiled at her and
gently squeezed her hand.

“Thanks, mom. I love you.” He said, and then he turned to slip on his shoes. “I’ll tell you how it
went as soon as I’m home, okay?”

“Of course, baby. Now go, or you’ll be late!” She shooed him out the door, though it was clear she
was trying to hide the tears in her eyes. He laughed to ease the emotion in his chest and nodded.

“I’m going, I’m going! See you when I get back!” He smiled, looking over everyone’s good luck
texts one more time just to remind himself he was really doing this.

[From: Yagi-san; 6:45am]

You’ve got this, my boy. I know you’ll do fantastically!
Do you want me to walk you home after the exam?
[To: Yagi-san; 6:47am]
Thank you! I’m feeling good about everything.
If you want to walk me home I wouldn’t turn it down! :)

[From: Sir; 6:32am]

Good morning, Midoriya. I’m not supposed to show bias, so I will simply say to do your best.
[To: Sir; 6:36am]
Thank you, Sir! I’m going to try my hardest!

[From: Togata-senpai; 6:50am]

Hey kouhai! Good morning! You’d better pass so we can eat lunch together at school!
I want to show off my cool kouhai to all my classmates!
[To: Togata-senpai; 6:52am]
That would be so embarrassing! >_<
I would love to eat lunch with you though! I’ll try my best today!

U.A was… kind of intimidating.

He’d seen the building before on his daily walks, but only ever from a distance. Up close like this,
he was slightly terrified. He could hardly even focus on walking up to the entrance, what with the
building captivating his attention. He was so focused, in fact, that he didn’t see one of the stairs and
he managed to trip over them, nearly face-planting before he could get there.

But something hit him on the back before he could and he felt himself float. A pair of strong hands
stood him back upright and then he heard a girl’s voice say ‘release!’ before he was freed from the
floaty feeling.

Once he was set down, Izuku whirled around to see that a girl with short brown hair was the one
who helped him. She was smiling sheepishly at him, as if she was embarrassed for doing so.
“Sorry for using my quirk on you without asking, but I thought it would be bad luck if you fell
right before the exam!”

“O-Oh, that’s alright, I don’t mind at all! I would’ve hated to have fallen over.” Izuku said quickly,
a little red because such a cute girl had helped him. “So thank you! Are you here to take the hero
course exam, too?”

“Yeah!” The girl smiled more easily this time and stuck a hand out for him to shake, one pinky
raised, “I’m Uraraka Ochako. It’s nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you too, I’m Midoriya Izuku!” He said, shaking her hand. Thank god for Sir
Nighteye and Yagi helping him get over his fear of talking to strangers, or he probably wouldn’t
have been able to say a thing. “Good luck on the exam, I bet you’ll do great!”

“Oh, you think so?” She said, scratching her wrist a little absentmindedly. “I was worried about my
quirk not being flashy enough, actually.”

Izuku shook his head, scratching where his own wrist began to itch. “It’s cool! You can make
things float, right? If I had to guess, it happens when you use all of your fingers. But that’s a good
quirk! Good for immobilizing opponents or taking out really strong ones if you drop them from
high enough.” He looked down, his wrist wouldn’t quit itching!

And then he realized. He was scratching his left wrist.

Where a string of tiny, white flowers had just bloomed among his soulmarks.

This girl was one of his… his… romantic soulmates…

His entire face combusted into a bright red blush, all the way to the tips of his ears. The girl looked
a little startled at his sudden change, but then she looked down at her own wrist. She processed it
for a moment and then seemed to realize what was going on, and she broke into a massive grin.
She was blushing too, though not nearly as badly as Izuku.

“Oh my gosh, no way! You’re one of my soulmates, Midoriya-kun!” She said, looking a little shy
now that she actually said it out loud. “Th-That’s so cool! I never thought I’d meet one so soon!”
“U-Um, m-me either, Uraraka-chan…!” He squeaked out. Ochako just laughed and punched his
arm playfully.

“No need to be so embarrassed about it! Why don’t we walk inside together?” She offered, pulling
him by the arm. “Listen, my mom and pop always told me that romantic soulmates don’t have to
be romantic right away. We can just be friends first! Besides, things are gonna be a bit crazy with
school anyway.”

“O-Oh! Okay, that’s true.” Izuku seemed to breathe a little easier at the suggestion. The thought of
romantic soulmates was way too overwhelming to think about right before an exam. As he walked
and talked with Uraraka, he felt himself easing back down. She was really down to earth, and her
not making a big deal made it a little easier on him.

They parted ways with their exchanged phone numbers on the way to their respective testing areas,
and Izuku felt wobbly and light with the thought that he’d met another one of his soulmates… and
she’d been so nice. And cute.

But he’d never say that out loud, or he might actually combust.

The auditorium where they took their tests was also a bit nerve-wracking. He sat in the back, where
the other kids who had private teachers sat since they were organized by school. They all looked a
lot more put-together than he did, with his beat-up old backpack covered in All Might stickers and
keychains. They probably had the fancy, expensive kind of private teachers, which wasn’t the case
for Izuku. Although he doubted many people could boast having one of the most intelligent Pro
Heroes as their middle school teacher…

He did spot Bakugou’s familiar head of spiky blond hair towards the middle of the auditorium
during his written exam, though he didn’t pay him much mind. He was too focused on the essay
questions.

Some of them were really interesting, actually. By the time the test was done, he had so much fun
on the essays he’d used up all of his extra paper. He turned it in with a satisfied smile on his face,
hoping he got a good grade. The proctor - who was Present Mic, of all people!! - seemed surprised
at the thickness of his test due to the extra essay sheets.

Izuku almost considered apologizing for the inconvenience, but Nighteye’s words popped up in his
mind. If you’re smart, you’re smart. Wear it like a badge of honor, not a brand of shame. So
instead, he fixed up his smile and simply told the hero ‘thank you for watching over us’ and went
back to his seat.

Once all the tests were done, Present Mic stood on stage to go over the rules for the practical exam.
“Alright, listeners!” He called for their attention, and all of the students faced him. “Everybody
say: HEY!”

Izuku nearly died and went to heaven. That was his call and response on his radio show! Izuku
listened to it every day! He just couldn’t help himself, and he yelled back “HEY!” with his arms in
the air.

Even though he was the only one in the audience that did so. He shrunk a little in his seat at the
strange looks he got, but the absolutely over-the-moon expression on Present Mic’s face made it
worth it. It was like the man did that a lot, but almost never got a reply… and now he was happy to
finally have one.

“YEAH! That’s what I’m talking about, listeners!” He grinned, shooting finger guns at Izuku. The
green-haired boy was practically vibrating in his seat with hero nerd enthusiasm. Present Mic had
acknowledged him…!

(Never mind the fact that he’d had the near-exclusive attention of All Might himself for the last ten
months. He was still a hero nerd at heart.)

The rest of the explanation went by smoothly, although he did get another call out for muttering by
a tall, fit boy with glasses and blue hair. That was embarrassing. But when Present Mic wrapped it
up with the school’s motto, the embarrassment flew away without a second thought to it.

He was going to go Plus Ultra today.

Elsewhere in U.A, the teachers and staff watched multiple testing areas from a dark room filled
with monitors. The students were arriving at their testing areas by bus, and they were all watching
curiously. Nobody stood out yet, though some students looked far more calm and prepared than
others.

“So, Sir Nighteye,” A chipper voice drew everyone’s attention, including Mirai and Toshinori’s,
who were watching alongside the others. It was the Principal, sipping a cup of tea as he watched
the monitors. “As the newest addition to our staff, do you think we’ll have any interesting students
this year? Any standouts yet?”

“Interesting students?” Mirai hummed thoughtfully. Nedzu didn’t know about Midoriya being his
student, and in fact he didn’t even know that Toshinori’s successor would be trying out for U.A.
Midoriya wanted to be judged on his own merit, and so they’d left him out of their discussions.
“Perhaps. We’ll just have to see when the kids prove themselves.”

“Finally somebody logical,” another voice huffed, and Mirai glanced over his shoulder to see a
man he’d worked with before: Eraserhead. “Not like Nemuri who keeps trying to make betting
pools on the students every year.”

“Hey! Somebody’s got to liven things up around here!” A woman Mirai recognized as Midnight
said, sounding affronted. Before Eraserhead could say anything else in response, a timer beeped on
one of the screens.

“Eyes up front, everyone,” Nedzu got their attention easily, “Group B is about to begin their exam.
Keep an eye out.”

Mirai stood up straighter. That was Midoriya’s group.

Time to see just what the boy could do in a real test.

Izuku stepped off the bus, looking around at the massive testing arena with an awestruck
expression. It was big and intimidating, just like everything else seemed to be at U.A. He looked
around for a minute, and then spotted Uraraka, who was looking really nervous and a little sick,
even.

He wanted to go and say something reassuring to her, but a large hand on his shoulder stopped him
in his tracks. He almost let out an embarrassing yelp, his entire body freezing up with muscle
memory from Bakugou using his quirk there. A cold chill ran down his spine. Was this Bakugou?
Had he been faking his change?

“Excuse me, but are you going to try and distract that girl before the exam begins? That is most
unbecoming of somebody trying to become a hero!” The voice said, and Izuku recognized it as the
boy who’d called him out during the exam. Upon realizing it wasn’t actually Bakugou, Izuku
quickly pulled his shoulder away, schooling his face into a calm expression. He could handle this.

“No, she’s my soulmate. She looked nervous, so I-I was going to try and reassure her before the
exam.” He said, willing himself not to stumble over his words.

“Ah!” The boy’s eyebrows rose, and he bowed deeply. “My apologies then! I shouldn’t have
assumed. I hope you can forgive me.”

“O-Oh, it’s okay, really!” Izuku quickly reassured him, still not used to people apologizing to him.
He flushed a little bit; having such a respectable-looking boy apologizing to him made him feel all
weird. “You’re forgiven. Um, good luck on the exam!”

“Good luck to you as well, of course! Thank you for being so understanding.” The glasses-wearing
boy nodded. He reached down to scratch his wrist, and Izuku blinked. He had a feeling he knew
what was about to happen, and he felt a little faint.

And… there it was. His left wrist began to itch again. His mouth felt dry as he looked down, and
indeed, another flower had bloomed. This time it was a yellow flower with a black center, standing
starkly compared to the white one that represented Uraraka. The other boy took notice, his eyes
going wide as he examined his own wrist. He opened his mouth to say something but was promptly
interrupted by the sound of a giant metal door opening.

“BEGIN!” Present Mic’s quirk-boosted voice called without warning, and Izuku startled. Right!
The exam! He was in the middle of an exam! He couldn’t worry about having a soulmate crisis
right now!

Before the other boy could say something, Izuku was leaping away, surrounded by green lightning.
He felt a little bad for leaving him like that, but he had to focus! He heard Present Mic say
something about countdowns and real life, but he didn’t pay much attention.

He had points to get!

Mirai watched Izuku get ahead of the pack with ease, followed by the blue haired boy with engines
in his legs that he’d been talking to. A son of the Iida family, if he had to guess by the resemblance.
He looked like a younger, more uptight version of Ingenium.

The faux villain robots began to pour into the mock city with haste, going after students one by
one. Mirai found he didn’t like the practical portion of the exam due to the clear bias towards
physical quirks, but it was what it was. He’d only just started working here, he could bring it up to
Principal Nedzu another time.

When Midoriya encountered his first mock villain, Mirai had to admit he was both impressed and
proud. He watched the boy encounter a 1-pointer and not even flinch while in its presence. With an
arc of green lightning, he brought his leg down on its operations panel in an axe-kick, destroying
its internal computer and shutting it down.

All in the span of thirty seconds, he’d encountered it, determined its weak point, and taken it down.
This is the sort of thing he’d envisioned when he first saw the boy’s notebooks all those months
ago. The type of successor Toshinori had unwittingly chosen.

A scarily intelligent fighter with the strength of All Might behind him.

Mirai could see it now… the world was in for both a wild ride and a new era of peace when he
became a pro. He couldn’t wait to see the boy’s eventual debut.

Izuku sprinted through the city-like arena, looking for more faux villains to take down. So far, he’d
only been reliably able to take down one-pointers and two-pointers with the safe amount of Full
Cowling. He moved on, he needed more points.

He encountered a two- and three-pointer about to attack a sparkly blond boy from behind, so he
quickly scaled the side of a building to spot the machine’s weak points. The three-pointers were
massive and heavily armored, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to do much to hurt it with the level
of Full Cowling he was capable of. But he couldn’t break his legs or arms, or he’d fail the exam!

So in an impulsive, split-second decision, he decided to do something Sir would probably chew

him out for later. But he couldn’t just let them ambush the other boy! Izuku poured all of One for
All into his finger and blasted the three-pointer with only a flick. He’d break the thing, but at least
it wouldn’t put him out of commission.

The blast it produced caved in the robot and shattered the glass of the two-pointer nearby, and
Izuku nearly startled at how strong it was.

All that was just from a flick…?

But he grit his teeth and kept going. He didn’t have time to think about it. He ignored the throbbing
pain in his hand and sprinted away, hearing the sparkling boy’s ‘thank you!’ in the distance. He
was doing okay, but the three-pointers were dangerous. He didn’t think it was a good idea to try
and attack them head-on again.

He found another group of robots, taking out their access panels with a series of swift kicks. In the
distance, he saw another three-pointer. He could use the points, but how to approach it without
breaking another finger?

He saw his opportunity when another two-pointer rounded the corner.

“Was it just me, or did that boy’s quirk seem to hurt him?” Midnight asked, pointing to a monitor
that showed Midoriya. “His finger looks suspiciously purple.”

“Hm?” Nedzu turned his attention to the monitor she was pointing to. “So it is… But he seems
otherwise unimpeded. He’s doing well aside from that injury. As a matter of fact… How curious.
Look at his strategy.”

The teachers all turned. If Nedzu said something was curious, then they were all intrigued. He
never gave out compliments, and coming from him, ‘curious’ was definitely a compliment. They
watched as the boy encountered another three-pointer, the kind that he’d hurt himself against
moments before. How would he deal with it this time, they wondered? Injure another finger with
that crazy-powerful flick?

But instead, a two-pointer rounded the corner. The boy yelled and waved, grabbing its attention.
He let the two-pointer attack him with its tail before ducking between the two robots with an
impressively fast leap. The two-pointer didn’t have time to stop its attack, and instead its stinger
speared right through the three-pointer in place of Midoriya. He quickly finished off the two-
pointer afterwards.

“Using the faux villains against each other. Interesting strategy… And you predicted he’d do that?”
Vlad King asked, looking over at Nedzu. The principal only nodded and sipped on his tea. “He
saved that blond boy earlier as well. Do you think he’d take the bait?”

Present Mic called for only two minutes remaining, and Nedzu grinned wolfishly. He set down his
teacup and hovered his paw over a big, red button. “Well, why don’t we find out for ourselves,
Vlad?”

Izuku heard Present Mic call for only two minutes remaining, and he tallied up his points in his
head. Not enough to pass! He needed more! He had spent time helping that blond boy, and he
didn’t regret it, but now he needed to catch up!

He was about to go look for more robots, when suddenly the entire arena rumbled and shook as if
an earthquake was happening. There was a massive explosion in the middle of the city, and dust,
smoke and debris went raining down across the arena. He yelped and had to dodge a few of the
larger pieces himself, and he wondered what was going on.

And then he saw it.

He recalled the zero-pointer being mentioned during Present Mic’s explanation of the exam, but
this was ridiculous! Wasn’t it supposed to just be an obstacle?! It was bigger than the buildings,
towering over everything! It was terrifying!

“Isn’t this a bit much?!” He cried, jumping out of the way of more flying rocks. He was about to
head back to the entrance to look for straggling robots, seeing as the zero-pointer was blocking the
way anyway. But before he’d turned all the way around, he heard a voice.

“Ow, my leg…!”
Izuku turned back around as the smoke cleared, seeing none other than Uraraka trapped under the
rubble. His eyes went wide. She was trapped, and she sounded like she was in pain! She looked up
and met his eyes, and he saw the fear in them for just a moment. Uraraka was scared of getting
hurt.

Izuku was reminded of all the times he put himself between a bully and another kid. Reminded of
all the times he wished somebody had saved him. Reminded of the sludge villain incident, of the
fear in Bakugou’s eyes. Izuku felt his legs move before his brain even registered what he was doing
all over again.

That was his soulmate!

That stupid robot wasn’t going to lay a hand on her!

Izuku boosted Full Cowling, giving as much as his body could handle without hurting himself. He
shot forward like a green rocket, jumping high into the air. He kicked off the side of a building and
landed on the robot’s outstretched hand, sprinting up its arm to make his way towards its head.

There was no way he could get out of this without taking serious damage, but he had to stop it
before it hurt her. A broken arm was nothing if it meant saving her. He wound up a punch just like
that first day on the beach, and with every ounce of One for All he could muster, he slammed his
fist into its face with a cry of ‘SMASH!’

The robot’s head caved in just like the three-pointer from before, and a series of internal explosions
rocked the machine, obliterating the entire top half. His arm flailed about uselessly behind him
now, broken in multiple places.

But then Izuku realized he was falling, and he couldn’t see where anything was besides the ground
below. The smoke and fire from the robot clouded his vision. He had no idea how to land like this!

Think! Think! Think!

“Uraraka!” Izuku cried out to the girl still pinned below him. She looked up, wincing in pain. “Hit
me with your quirk!”

Her eyes went wide as she realized he was falling too, and just before he hit the ground, she
reached as far as she could and slapped him across the face. It stung, but the weightless feeling of
her quirk surrounded him and he never touched down. He heaved a few breaths, relief flooding his
system.

“Release…!” Uraraka groaned, and Izuku now only hit the ground with a soft ‘thump.’ He
immediately went over to aid her. “Midoriya-kun, your arm…!”

But she couldn’t get out any more before she got sick all over the ground, and Izuku hoped it was
just a quirk side-effect. He powered up Full Cowling again despite his mangled right arm, and used
his left to lift the heavy slab of concrete off of her leg. He crouched down in front of her. “Here,
Uraraka-chan, I’ll carry you to the front. Your leg’s hurt, right?”

Uraraka wiped sick from her mouth and nodded weakly, climbing onto his back the best she could.
She hugged her arms around Izuku’s neck, holding on tight. He quickly carried her to the front, in
the process running past the glasses boy from earlier. The boy quickly followed behind, his mouth
hanging open in shock at what Izuku had done.

“Hey! She’s hurt!” He called out, hoping a teacher heard them. “Her leg got hurt by that giant
robot!”
“Your arm’s hurt too!” The blue-haired boy said, still looking between his battered arm and the
mangled carcass of the zero-pointer. He adjusted his glasses and just looked even more lost when
Izuku only smiled.

“I didn’t mind my arm so long as I got to her in time!” Izuku said, though he was trying not to let
his voice warble with the pain of a broken arm. “Sorry I didn’t introduce myself before. I’m
Midoriya Izuku!”

“I… Iida Tenya,” the glasses-wearing boy said weakly, looking like he was in awe of the words
Izuku just said. Before he could say much else, however, an elderly woman broke through the
crowd of students, handing out bags of gummies.

“Ah, so you two are injured, hmm? Well, here, have some gummies and let me see you.” She said
kindly. Then when the nurse reached them, she seemed to recognize Izuku. “Ah, you’re the young
man Toshinori called me in for a while back. Aside from re-breaking your arm, have you been
well?”

She stretched out her lips and pressed a kiss to Uraraka’s forehead as Izuku nodded. “Recovery
Girl! Yes, I’m much better, thank you! I’m sorry about my arm, I’ll try not to let it happen again,
really. It was an accident. Well, not really. But kind of. Sorry, I’m not making much sense…”

“Not to worry, dearie. I understand just what you mean. I’m Toshinori’s doctor, after all.” She gave
him a knowing wink. Oh, so she knew about One for All, then? That would make things a lot
easier. “Just be careful in the future, okay?”

This time it was Izuku’s turn for a head kiss from Recovery Girl, his broken arm mending itself in
only moments as if it never happened. He suddenly felt very tired, but nodded in response to her
request. He set Uraraka down, who was also very tired from being healed by the nurse’s quirk.

“Thanks for helping me, Midoriya-kun…” Uraraka yawned.

“Oh, no problem…” he yawned back as if it were contagious. Recovery Girl just chuckled at the
interaction.

“You there, boy,” She gestured to Iida and handed him a bag of gummies as well. “Would you
walk those two out? My quirk makes people very tired because it uses their stamina. I’d hate for
them to get hurt in their sleepy state.”

“O-Of course!” Iida snapped to attention under an order from an authority figure. He gently let
Uraraka and Izuku lean on either of his shoulders. As they walked to the front, Uraraka let out
another sleepy yawn.

“Oh, look, Iida-kun… We’re soulmates too…” She mumbled, and the said boy jolted in surprise,
nearly tripping them.

“We’re all connected, Uraraka-chan!” Izuku said, showing off his soulmarks without thinking. He
was always less anxious when he was tired. “You, me and Iida-kun, we’re all soulmates! Isn’t that
cool?”

“Yeah! We gotta exchange numbers too, Iida-kun.” Uraraka insisted. The poor boy looked like he
was about to combust, as red in the face as Izuku had been earlier when he first met Uraraka.

“I-If you two wish, I would not mind doing so!”

Chapter End Notes

Lily of the Valley: a white flower with hanging buds meaning sweetness, humility
& trust
Black-Eyed Susan: a yellow flower with a black center meaning justice &
motivation

Yes!! Our kiddo’s got two more of his soulmates! Some of y’all expected him to get
Uraraka’s flower during the exam, what about Iida’s? Was it a bit of a surprise? :P

I hope you all liked this chapter! And don’t worry too much about his arm-breaking…
Sir Nighteye’s gonna get that ironed out real quick lol. He only used that much power
because he couldn’t destroy the zero-pointer without it, but he doesn’t intend to make
it a habit. We have one more chapter until the official first day at U.A! And then we
get to meet the grumpy underground hero everyone’s been waiting for >:D

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Talk
Chapter Summary

His mother had scrambled into his doorway with an excited and nervous shriek of
“Izuku! Izuku, it’s here!” and he instantly knew what she meant. He looked at the
pristine white letter with a bit of reverence and awe.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku went home after the entrance exam still tired, completely forgetting about Yagi’s offer to
walk him home in his desire to do nothing more than face-plant in his bed. He only sleepily
acknowledged his mom, the side-effects of Recovery Girl’s quirk making him sleep all the way
through dinner and into the next morning.

When he woke up to his alarm and two new phone numbers in his phone, he nearly fell out of his
bed in surprise. He’d completely forgotten that he’d met two of his romantic soulmates! He didn’t
even tell his mom!

“M-Mom! Mom! You’ll never believe what happened!” He cried, scrambling out of bed to change
out of his tracksuit that he’d fallen asleep in. He felt gross, so he did the speedrun equivalent of his
morning routine, practically throwing himself out into the living room to go and show her his new
soulflowers.

Instead, what he saw was Sir Nighteye and his mom, both sitting on the couch and looking
concerned. Izuku immediately slowed his roll. Did something happen, he wondered?

“Sir? Mom? Is everything okay?” He asked gently. Nighteye’s head perked up hearing him in the
room, and he nodded.

“Ah, yes. Everything is alright. I was simply telling your mother about the exam. And how you
broke your arm, despite us telling you you should be careful with One for All’s output.” He said.
His tone was firm, but it wasn’t unkind - he was just gently reminding him of his limits. “It has a
toll on your body, as we feared. You really must be more careful.”

“But - but Uraraka was going to be hurt,” he said, feeling like he’d somehow disappointed Sir
somehow. “I couldn’t let her get hurt.”

“I know, I know. Selflessly heroic, as is All Might. I don’t begrudge your decision, you did the
heroic thing. All I ask is that you consider yourself as well. If you break your arm every time you
have a problem, you could do lasting damage. We’ll simply work on it until that isn’t an issue any
more.” Nighteye said.

“Oh,” Izuku let out a sigh of relief. He was worried his teacher was upset with him. “I’m sorry for
worrying you, Sir. I wouldn’t have done that if I thought there was another option. A flick
wouldn’t work on a robot that big.”

“Let’s set that depressing talk aside for later.” Inko said, setting down her morning cup of tea with
a tired smile. “You sounded excited when you woke up. Why don’t you tell me about the exam?
Do you think you did well, honey?”

“Oh…” Izuku rubbed the back of his neck with a grimace. “I don’t think I got enough points to
pass, actually. Just shy of the requirement. But that - that’s okay! I can take the Shiketsu and
Ketsubutsu exams as well!”

It was clear it actually bothered him a lot, since going to U.A was one of his biggest goals - he
wanted to go to the same school as All Might. Still, he plastered on a smile anyway to make his
mom feel better.

“Well, don’t discount yourself. You’ll never know for sure until you see your results, dear.” Inko
reassured him. “But then what made you so excited?”

“M-My flowers!” Izuku said suddenly, remembering what he’d come out there to tell her. “I -
Uraraka-chan was in danger - and Iida-kun looked so red - and she said we could be friends - and
the phone numbers - and-and…. Agh!”

He tripped over his own words spectacularly, but he had the biggest grin on his face, the tips of his
ears covered in pink. Inko didn’t follow at all, but she chuckled and patted his arm anyway.

“Well, I’m glad you’re happy, dear.” She giggled. “Now, slow down and tell me what’s got you in
such a good mood properly.”

Izuku held out his left wrist to her, showing off the white and yellow flowers there that represented
Uraraka and Iida. His mom’s eyes widened, and she broke into a grin, herself, when she saw them.
She clasped Izuku’s hands in her own, and she had a suspiciously devious look in her eyes he
couldn’t place.

“Oh my goodness, you met two of your romantic soulmates yesterday! So when’s the wedding,
hmm?” She teased, and Izuku’s entire face went red again.

“M-MOM!” He shrieked, covering his face in his arms. “Don’t say things like that! W-We only
just met, a-a-and Uraraka-chan just wants to be friends for a while and everything of course, a-and I
haven’t even talked to Iida-kun for more than two full sentences and-!”

“Relax, breathe, Izuku! I’m just teasing you!” Inko laughed, pressing her hands to his face. Poor
Izuku looked like he was about to melt into a puddle from his mom’s teasing, but he nodded stiffly
and finally sat down next to her.

“You know, I’ve never really looked at them, but you have quite a few soulflowers, Midoriya.
Growing up, people always said that having a lot of them meant you were going to be somebody
important one day.” Nighteye hummed thoughtfully, and Izuku felt like he was going to die. He
forgot his teacher had been there for that entire exchange. “But you know, I just think that means
you have a big heart. You have a lot of love to go around.”

“Oh, y-you think so?” Izuku said bashfully. Nighteye nodded.

“I only have three soulflowers, myself. Yours, Togata’s, and Toshinori’s. No romantic ones, but I
was glad for that. I was never interested in relationships.” Nighteye waved his hand at the thought.
“Toshinori himself only has five; one romantic and four platonic and familial. But you? You
have… how many?”

“F-Five romantic and eight platonic and familial,” he ducked his head, though he caught sight of
the withered one and pursed his lips. “Well… seven platonic and familial, technically. But… yeah.
I have a lot…”

“As I said, a big heart.” Nighteye smiled gently. “But the fact remains that we have to work on
your quirk some more. With that being said, shall we get going to the agency? Don’t forget that
you still have classes until spring break.”

“R-Right! Let me grab my things!”

[From: Uraraka Ochako; 3:03pm]

Hi Midoriya-kun! Are you busy this weekend?

Izuku blinked in surprise, not used to getting texts in the afternoon. He stayed well until the
evening at Nighteye’s agency even when school hours were over since he had training anyway,
and his mom always sent her usual check-in text around four or five. Who was texting him, he
wondered?

When he checked and saw that it was Uraraka, he was startled, not expecting her to actually text
him. Let alone text him first!

[To: Uraraka Ochako; 3:08pm]

Hello!! I have training until noon on Sundays but I’m not busy afterwards! :)

[From: Uraraka Ochako; 3:10pm]

Oh, training? Like extra lessons? Do you have cram school?

[To: Uraraka Ochako; 3:12pm]

No, physical training and stuff like that. Is that ok?

[From: Uraraka Ochako; 3:13pm]

That’s fine! Would you like to get food and hang out with me and Iida after? I already asked him to
join :P

Izuku stared at the screen, his brain doing a hard reboot. His cool soulmates wanted to hang out?
With him? It felt different from hanging out with Mirio since they were his age - nobody his age
had ever asked him to hang out before. His senpai was one thing, but these were his peers.

And his soulmates, too.

Honestly, it was kind of terrifying. Izuku still struggled with his self-worth at the best of times, and
this was no exception. His soulmates were so cool. And he was just… himself. Quirkless (sort of)
Midoriya Izuku. They didn’t know he used to be quirkless, but if they found any of the stuff about
the court case and Aldera, they’d know he was until the entrance exam.

He had a cover story for that if he was asked - the whole ‘bone breaking’ thing delaying its
manifestation until he was old enough to handle it - but still.
He still feared a repeat of Bakugou. He feared that he wasn’t good enough. He feared a lot of
things, really. But Yagi-san had told him once that his smiles were to cover up his fear and push
through it. He could do that too, couldn’t he?

[To: Uraraka Ochako; 3:18pm]

Sure! I’d be happy to join you both!

He smiled and put his phone in his pocket. Yeah, he could do that. He’d be just fine. The more he
thought about it, the less it felt like fear when it came to Uraraka and Iida anyway. It was more like
nervousness and anxiety mixed with excitement. He wanted to hang out with them. He wanted to
get to know them, and he wanted them to feel the same about him.

It was the first time in many years he felt comfortable wanting anything to do with soulmates. It
used to be something he had to bury beneath all the other things quirkless people didn’t get to
want, but now things were different.

He could want to his heart’s content.

In the time waiting for his results from the exam, he had many more lunch visits with Iida and
Uraraka. He liked their company a lot - they were easy to get along with and they were incredibly
kind. Iida was a bit intense, but once they got to know each other a bit, Izuku realized it was mostly
just passion. Uraraka was the same way, very passionate about her goal of heroics.

Izuku could relate, of course. When they asked how he trained and what he did, he told them of his
cleanup of Dagobah beach with his senpai - he left out the part about Nighteye and All Might.
Nighteye wasn’t supposed to show favoritism, after all, although Izuku doubted they’d be able to
hide their soulbond forever.

The day the results came, however, was nerve-wracking. Izuku had gotten home from the day’s
training and had just finished his shower, now taking his time to work on the assignments Nighteye
had left him over spring break. They weren’t for grades, just to keep him busy, but Izuku relished
an intellectual challenge.

His mother had scrambled into his doorway with an excited and nervous shriek of “Izuku! Izuku,
it’s here!” and he instantly knew what she meant. He looked at the pristine white letter with a bit of
reverence and awe. It had U.A’s logo stamped on it, and even if it was a rejection, he’d still keep it
as a cool piece of memorabilia.

He’d taken the Shiketsu and Ketsubutsu tests as a precaution anyway, and Nighteye assured him
he’d be able to get into at least one of them if not all.

Izuku set the letter down, torn between opening it now or waiting to open it with Yagi-san and
Nighteye. Eventually, he decided to open it now. If it was a rejection, it would be easier for him to
let them down than for them to try and comfort him as it happened. He expected as much anyway,
since he hadn’t gotten enough points during the physical portion of the exam to pass.
He gently opened the letter, and inside was a letter and a metal disc about the size of a hockey
puck. More intrigued by the disc, he set aside the letter to read after. There was a button on the
side of it, and when he pressed it, a little hologram appeared from the center of the object.

“Oh, a video! U.A is so high tech… do you want to watch too, mom?” Izuku asked. Inko nodded
quickly, hovering over his shoulder. It seemed she was just as nervous as he was. Izuku let it play,
and…

Sir Nighteye appeared?

“Hello, applicant. I am here… to announce two things. One, the results of your exams.” Nighteye
said seriously, pushing up his glasses. Izuku stifled a laugh at such a serious rendition of All
Might’s tagline. “As for the other… As you may or may not know, I am Sir Nighteye. I have been
hired as this year’s teacher of Foundational Heroics. If you were accepted into the hero course,
you will be seeing me when the school year begins.”

Izuku smiled. The other examinees were probably internally panicking at Sir’s serious face, but
Izuku knew that just meant that he was looking forward to whatever he was going to work on. In
this case, being a teacher.

“Now, as for the results. Midoriya Izuku, these are yours.” Nighteye began. Izuku gulped. So the
man already knew his results? Why hadn’t he said anything? Did he want to give Izuku the chance
to accept his failure in peace, maybe?

“As for the written exam… you scored a solid 84% on the multiple choice portion, and an
unprecedented 97.5% on the essay portion. Congratulations. You passed the written exams.”
Nighteye had the barest hint of a smile on his face, and he felt his chest ease. His mentor was
proud of him.

“And on the practical exams, you scored 25 villain points. This is not enough to pass.” Nighteye
said, and Izuku sighed. He expected as much, but then the man kept speaking. “However, villain
points are not the only aspect of the practical exam. Please, watch the following clips.”

The screen showed footage from a drone that had captured his assist of the blond boy and his
defeat of the zero-pointer in order to save Uraraka. It even showed him carrying her to the front of
the exam area despite his broken arm.

“A hero school does not focus solely on combat ability. In fact a large part of our grading merits
are not spoken about: rescue points. Doing the things that heroes are known for and saving those
around you even if - and especially when - it does not behoove you to do so is the mark of a heroic
individual. This is why we do not tell the examinees about these points until after the exam.
Midoriya, for your selfless efforts in assisting fellow examinees Aoyama Yuga and Uraraka
Ochako, you have earned 75 rescue points.”

Izuku’s eyes went wide, staring at the screen as a scoreboard came up. His eyes scanned it from
bottom to top, and sitting at the number one spot… was his name. He… he got first place in the
exam.

“Congratulations, Midoriya Izuku. Your total score for the practical exam is 100 points, just shy of
All Might’s record of 115. You have taken first place in the practical exam, and paired with your
written exam scores, you have become the highest-ranking overall entrance exam scorer in U.A
history.”

Izuku felt his breath hitch in his chest.

That was really him. His name at the top, right above… above Bakugou’s. He’d beaten even the
blond who had gotten 77 points in villains alone. If he’d saved anybody, the blond would have
won, but…

Maybe he still had a few lessons to learn.

“Oh, Izuku, I’m so proud of you! You set a record! Look at that!” His mom said excitedly, tears in
her eyes as she smiled and hugged her son. Izuku felt a laugh build up in his throat, unbelieving and
overjoyed. He really passed the exam and got first place of all things.

“I… I’ve gotta tell Yagi-san! And Sir! A-And Togata-senpai!” Izuku said, scrambling to pull out
his phone. But his mom put a hand over his and stopped him with a smile.

“We should go out to dinner! We can tell them the results then! How about that? It’ll be a
celebration! Since Sir already knows, I suspect he’ll know why we invited him out.” Inko
chuckled. “And why don’t you invite those two soulmates of yours to hang out! You can find out
their results too!”

“I think Uraraka-chan mentioned getting an apartment out here if she passed! Maybe I can ask
ahead of time and see if she’s in town!” Izuku said, brightening up at the prospect of seeing his
soulmates. “And I know Iida-kun mentioned being in town because his family was at a hero
function… yeah, I think I could!”

He quickly picked up the phone to call everyone, and Inko smiled. She was grateful her son had
met his soulmates and changed so much… She remembered bandaging his scraped knees and
shushing him to sleep as a child, helping him move past the cruel words other people gave to
quirkless people.

Seeing him like this was like night and day, and she was beyond happy he could smile and talk
about soulmates so easily.

Izuku chose a quiet, out of the way restaurant to have dinner at, one he and his mom had gone to
plenty of times before. With him was his mother of course, but also Nighteye, Yagi, Togata, and
even Inoue. He had met up with Iida and Uraraka earlier in the day to talk about their results, and
he’d been ecstatic to learn they both got in as well.

He invited them to dinner as well, but he and Sir wanted to keep their soulflower relatively quiet so
he made sure to tell them not to mention it at school. At the beginning of the year he wanted to be
sure nobody thought Sir was favoring him. Thankfully the two of them understood and agreed not
to bring it up.

“So, kouhai! Why’d you call everyone out to dinner tonight, anyway?” Togata asked curiously,
interrupting his thoughts. They were still waiting on their food, so Izuku thought it was a good time
to show them. Inko pulled the letter out from her purse and showed it off proudly.

“I got accepted to U.A! I’m gonna be a hero course student!” He said excitedly. Togata let out a
cheer, and Yagi smiled proudly. Even Sir, who almost never smiled, had a gentle look of fatherly
pride on his face with his lips quirked up in a tiny smile. Izuku felt their happiness and pride rush
through the soulbond for a moment, and he felt so warm and loved.
“I am wondering, though, you have Sir Nighteye as your trainer - why did you not take the
recommendation exam?” Iida asked curiously.

“Well, I had somebody else I had already asked to write my recommendation letter, and so I kept to
that.” Izuku smiled, remembering the overjoyed look on Inoue’s face when he came back to ask for
a recommendation letter. Inoue, on the other end of the table, had an embarrassed smile on his face
though he didn’t say anything. Iida’s eyebrows rose at the explanation.

“Well, it must have been somebody quite incredible to turn down the recommendation exam for.
I’m certain you would have passed it with no problems. I took it myself, but just barely missed the
mark. The other candidates were quite skilled.” Iida said thoughtfully. Inoue looked a little more
embarrassed, but Izuku just laughed a little bit.

“Yeah, the person who wrote my letter is really great. They’re important to me.” Izuku grinned.
Then he seemed to register what Iida had actually said. “Wait, you took the recommendation
exam? Who do you know in the hero industry?”

“Ah… my older brother is actually a pro hero,” Iida said, a look of pride on his face when he
talked about him. It clicked in Izuku’s head instantly.

“Wait, the engines! Is your brother Ingenium?” Izuku asked, eyes wide. Iida nodded.

“Yes! That is him! I hope to carry on the Ingenium name one day. I am honored to have him as my
older brother and role model. In fact, we even share a familial soulflower.” Iida said, showing off
his wrist happily.

“Wow!” Ochako marveled at it. “I had no idea family members could be soulmates too! That’s
really cool!”

“Apparently, they’re quite rare among blood family members.” Yagi spoke up. “You must have an
incredibly unique or strong bond with your brother to have one. Ingenium is a wonderful hero
though, I’m certain you’ll make him proud.”

“Thank you!” Iida smiled, and then their food arrived. It was Ochako who spoke up next, holding
up her bowl of food with a big grin.

“To getting into U.A! And to Midoriya making first in the exam!” She toasted. The others did the
same and they all dug in. Izuku felt so content surrounded by all of these people who actually cared
about him.

He’d made it into his dream school, he had soulmates… he wished he could show his younger self
and reassure him that one day, he would be loved. That he could tell himself from even just a
couple of years ago that Bakugou withering their soulflower wouldn’t be the end of the world. He
had people who cared. He would be just fine if he kept going strong, he’d tell that younger Izuku.

After dinner, he parted ways with Inoue, Togata, Uraraka and Iida. It was just his mom, Nighteye
and Yagi left with him. He did have a question for his teacher before he left, though…

“Um, sir? Before you go home, can I ask you something?” Izuku asked, looking up at the tall man.
Nighteye adjusted his glasses and nodded.

“Of course, Midoriya. What seems to be on your mind?” He asked in return.

“Once I start going to U.A, will I still have training with you? We’ll already be doing training and
stuff every day, and I won’t have a work study…” Izuku frowned. These past ten months had felt
like so much longer; they’d felt like an enormous part of his life that had become the standard. It
would feel… strange, like a piece of him was missing if he didn’t have his daily training with Yagi
or Nighteye.

“Well, I can’t give hero course students training as a pro hero outside of work studies, as you said.
But there’s nothing saying I can’t help you develop a training regimen that suits you as your
teacher. I can supervise workouts and give you tips as a teacher, but I can’t instruct you on hero
procedures outside of class. Does that make sense?” Nighteye explained. “Oh, and you won’t be
allowed to train at the agency without a work study any more, unfortunately.”

“Oh, I see.” Izuku frowned. He’d miss the agency, but at least he didn’t have to quit training with
Nighteye entirely. “Well, that’s okay. You can still join Yagi-san and I for training on Sundays!
I’ll keep up my workout schedule through the week on my own, I suppose.”

“You’ll be fine, baby.” Inko pinched his cheek with a smile. “I’ll still work out with you. I’ve lost a
bit of weight since I started helping you when I could! I don’t think I’ll get back to my old figure,
but I’m feeling a lot healthier.”

“You’re just fine the way you are, mom.” Izuku reassured her. “But seriously, thank you guys…
for everything you’ve done for me. I’ve said it a bunch, but, um, it really means everything to me.
Without you guys… I don’t know where I’d be right now. I actually… changed my reason for
being a hero just a little bit because of you both.”

“Oh?” Yagi asked curiously, perking up. “And what would your new reason be? Something good, I
hope!”

“Of course it is, Toshinori.” Nighteye rolled his eyes with a fond smile. “It’s Midoriya we’re
talking about, after all.”

“Well, originally, I wanted to be a hero for my mom… after my soulflower withered, she was the
only one there for me. She did so much for me… she even fought with Auntie Mitsuki for my sake,
her own platonic soulmate. So I wanted to be a hero so she could smile again… be happy knowing
I was better than I was before.” Izuku explained with a weary smile.

“Oh, my baby…” Inko murmured. “I smile just having you as my son every day. You don’t have to
worry about me.”

“Well, that’s the thing… I’ve seen how happy you are these days, mom.” Izuku smiled a bit more
easily now, though he was red in the face talking about this. “So I want to be a hero so you can
keep smiling… and so that other people can smile too, knowing that I’m there for them no matter
who they are… just like you all were there for me. Because you all made me smile again.”

“My boy…” Yagi looked emotional at his words, a wobbly smile of his own on his face. “I’m so
glad we’ve impacted you so much. You deserve the world and then some. I have no doubts in my
mind that you’ll be able to make anybody smile when you become a pro. You’re already making
all of your soulmates smile as it is.”

“I agree completely. You truly are the embodiment of what One for All stands for. Toshinori
picked a wonderful successor, and I’m proud to call you my student.” Nighteye said gently. Izuku
hugged the man tightly, and Nighteye hugged him back. Yagi joined the hug next, and then Inko,
all squishing Izuku between them.

There was nowhere in the world Izuku would rather be.

Chapter End Notes

This was the last chapter before we’re officially in U.A!! Next chapter, we get to see
how the green bean fares in school and see who his other soulmates are! Are you all
excited?? I know I am! I can’t wait for you guys to see what I have in store.

On a similar note, what things are you guys looking forward to seeing happen in this
story? I’m curious to know where you guys think it’s going!

There are a lot of big plot points coming up, some that have more effect than others.
And I already decided the ending to this fic a long time ago, y’all just gotta wait and
see how we get there eventually… y’all ready for the ride? :P

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Nerves
Chapter Summary

“Sir, um, did you read my file at all…?” Izuku trailed off, shame burning hot on his
cheeks. “I’m supposed to be set up with late bloomer quirk training…”

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

The first day at U.A came faster than Izuku expected. It seemed like after that dinner, the last few
days of spring break just breezed past, and now it was time to don his uniform and ID and get
ready for his first day of class. He’d agreed to meet up early in front of the gates with Iida and
Uraraka to compare their classes and see which one they got into, hopefully in the same class.

He buttoned up his uniform, looking spiffy and fresh. He could hardly believe he was a real
student at U.A high. He’d seen other students wearing the uniform in town his entire life, but it had
been a long time since he imagined himself in one of them. Now it was a dream come true.

He adjusted the cuffs and ran his hands over his soulmarks for good luck, then finished packing his
backpack. He still used the beat-up old yellow one covered in ancient stickers, he was just too
emotionally attached to it. He slung the familiar pack over his shoulders and took a deep breath.

Today was the first day of the rest of his life.

Today was the first day he stood on the official path of being a hero.

“You look fantastic, sweetie,” his mom cooed from the doorway, and Izuku beamed a grin at her.
“Is it alright if I take a picture for my scrapbook? I haven’t gotten a photo of you in a school
uniform in years… I guess I know why now, but… well, U.A will be different. And if it isn’t, I
know Yagi-san and Sasaki-san will take care of things.”

“I know it’ll be different, mama. It’s already different, after all,” he said gently. Then, to ease the
somber mood away, “And of course you can take a picture! I’m sure dad wants to show everyone
at his work that I got into U.A too.”

“Oh, Hisashi does love to brag about you!” Inko giggled. Izuku did a pose like All Might, hands on
his hips and grinning brightly. The gentle morning light filtered in from the window behind him,
haloing him and making him look like something out of one of those ‘heroes at work’ candid photo
books.

He looked like a real hero already.

Inko smiled and wiped motherly tears from her eyes as she snapped the photo and promptly sent it
to the group chat she labeled as ‘Izuku’s Parents’ which had her, Hisashi, Yagi and Nighteye in it.

Izuku didn’t know about it, but that was their little secret.

“I’m so proud of you, sweetie. You’ll knock them all out on day one, I’m sure of it.” She kissed his
forehead. “Now get going or you’ll be late to meet your friends on the first day!”
Izuku stared up at the U.A building in awe. It was different now that he was a student. Intimidating
in a different way, too.

“Hey! Midoriya-kun!” Uraraka’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. He looked to see her waving.
Iida was already there when he got there, ten minutes early. He seemed to be the punctual, rule-
following type.

“Uraraka-chan!” Izuku waved back with a smile. All three of them had a talk before the school
year started and decided to just not worry about romantic soulmate stuff right now, and focus on
being friends and students first. It took a lot of the pressure off and made it a lot easier for him to
be around them. He was sure he’d grow into the romantic stuff later.

“Thanks for agreeing to walk in with me on the first day!” She said sheepishly. “I was really
nervous about everything.”

“It is no problem, of course!” Iida said, pushing up his glasses. He was still a bit stiff around them,
but Uraraka was convinced she could get him to loosen up a little by the end of the semester. “So!
Class starts soon, we should head inside if we wish to be early! What homeroom are you both in?”

“I’m in 1-A!” Uraraka showed off her schedule with a grin.

“Oh, me too! I’m in 1-A!” Izuku said excitedly. Iida smiled and nodded.

“Me as well. It seems we’re all in the same class. How fortunate!” He said happily. Izuku grinned.
He had both of his soulmates in his class and Sir and Yagi as teachers? This was going to be the
best year ever!

“Well we’d better get going then, like Iida-kun said!” Izuku tugged them both by the arms, eager to
see the inside of the school and its classrooms. The two of them followed along easily, and after a
while of getting a little lost in the labyrinthine school, they finally found the massive door marked
‘1-A.’

Maybe it was for students with mutant or transformative quirks that made their bodies larger? U.A
was an all-inclusive school, so it made sense, Izuku supposed. Iida was the first to go inside, and as
soon as he did Izuku immediately heard him lecturing somebody about putting their feet on the
desks.

Izuku snorted and stepped inside, eyes scanning the room curiously. His gaze landed on a very
familiar head of blond, spiky hair that he’d recognize anywhere. Bakugou was here, in his class.

They were in the same class again.

Izuku’s mouth went dry, memories of Aldera’s classrooms flashing behind his eyelids when he
squeezed them shut. He felt Uraraka’s hand on his arm, a gentle touch that grounded him for a
moment and reminded him he wasn’t at Aldera any more. This was U.A, and Bakugou had been in
therapy since the case against their middle school took place. Bakugou was different.

“Midoriya? You alright?” Uraraka asked gently. “You look like you saw a ghost for a second
there.”
“O-Oh! I’m fine, thank you. Sorry, just remembered something, I’m good now though.” He said,
taking a deep breath to steady himself. Bakugou’s head snapped to him when he heard Izuku’s
voice, eyes practically bugging out of his head. Clearly he hadn’t been paying much attention to the
scoreboard in their videos, or he’d know Izuku had gotten first in the exam.

“De- Midoriya? You… actually got in? How?” He asked, clearly taken aback. But… there was
none of the usual vitriol in his tone, it was just pure, genuine confusion. He still thought Izuku was
quirkless.

“Same as anybody else, Bakugou, I took the exam,” He said softly, giving him a look that said he
didn’t want to talk about it.

“Right. I won’t talk to you.” Bakugou grumbled. “I’ll talk to somebody about being moved when I
can. I meant what I said back then.” Beside him, Uraraka frowned a little, bewildered by the tense
interaction.

“Do you two know each other, Midoriya?” She asked.

“Er, yeah. We’ve known each other since we were kids, but we don’t talk any more.” Izuku
frowned, rubbing his wrist where the withered soulflower remained. He thanked everything that
neither Yagi nor Nighteye or Tsukauchi figured out that Bakugou was the same childhood friend
who’d withered the soulflower, or there would have been a reckoning, he was sure.

“Does it bother you? You don’t sound too excited about it.” Uraraka asked. Bakugou shot her a
glare.

“What do you care for, round face? It’s none of your business.” He said, crossing his arms across
his chest. Now that was something Izuku could not stand. Their history was one thing, but
Uraraka? He wouldn’t stand for Bakugou calling her names at all. He placed his hands on
Bakugou’s desk eerily similar to how Bakugou himself used to do back in middle school.

“Kacchan.” He said, his gaze narrow and heated. Bakugou nearly flinched, hearing the old
nickname being said like that. “Her name is Uraraka, and she’s one of my soulmates. Don’t call her
names. Now if you’ll excuse me, our teacher should be here any moment now.”

“Midoriya-kun, it’s okay, it didn’t bother me.” Uraraka gave him an easy smile. Izuku sighed
reluctantly and stepped away from the blond’s desk. Bakugou looked like he’d just had his world
rocked, clearly not expecting him to be so confident. He hadn’t even stuttered or broke his
sentences..

“Okay. Let me know if he calls you anything rude again, Uraraka-chan.” Without so much as
another word, Izuku went to the front of the class to check the seating chart. He was sitting in seat
14, right in front of a boy with red and white hair. Separating him from Bakugou was a boy with
purple balls for hair, and then the seat directly to his left, a boy with a bird’s head. To his right was
a boy with a rocky head, and in front of him was a boy with wide elbows.

“Hi, I’m Midoriya Izuku,” he introduced himself to the ones around his seat. He wanted to get off
on a good note with his seat neighbors, at least. “Sorry if I seemed upset for a moment, Bakugou
and I know each other. But it’s alright! I’m much more pleasant than that, I promise.”

“Nice to meet you, Midoriya!” The boy with wide elbows grinned and waved. “Sero Hanta. Hope
we can get along.”

“Tokoyami Fumikage. Good to meet you as well.” The bird-headed boy gave a polite nod and
nothing more. No worries, Izuku could deal with polite distance. The boy with the rocky head
waved shyly, but didn’t say anything. Izuku wondered if he was just shy or nonverbal? He knew a
little JSL, thinking Bakugou might need it as he got older, but it turned out he had reinforced
eardrums to protect against his own explosions. Nature worked in mysterious ways.

“Hi, I’m Midoriya Izuku,” he signed, “I know a little sign. Do you sign?”

“Yes!” The other boy signed back with wide eyes, looking surprised. “My name is Koda Koji. It’s
nice to meet you. Thank you for signing to me.”

Izuku nodded with a smile. He didn’t mind signing at all. His last seat neighbor, the boy with the
dual-colored hair, was staring at him intensely but said nothing. It made Izuku a little nervous. Had
he done something wrong? When he got no response to his introduction, he just decided to get into
his seat.

Maybe he was just antisocial or something…

“Go somewhere else if you want to play at being friends,” They heard a voice grumble from the
doorway. Izuku felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up like he was being appraised; he often
felt the same feeling from Sir Nighteye when he was taking a test. “This is the hero course. You’re
here to learn, not socialize.”

Their teacher was here.

In a… yellow sleeping bag? Slurping a jelly packet on the floor?

Some of the class kept talking, whispering to themselves and wondering who that was. The man
stood and unzipped the sleeping bag, stepping out to reveal a black jumpsuit and scarf-like object
around his neck. He looked a little scruffy, almost like a homeless person except for the fact that
he carried himself like a pro. Izuku only recognized the look because Sir had introduced him to a
couple of other underground heroes who were good at hiding themselves in plain sight.

But this underground hero, Izuku knew. This was Eraserhead… Sir had brought him up several
times as a good example of somebody who made ample use of their physical prowess, and as an
example of why one should never over-rely on their quirk. Izuku’s eyes went wide when he
realized…

Eraserhead would be their teacher. The man seemed to catch the look, giving him the barest of
curious looks himself, like he was surprised to be recognized.

“I’m Aizawa Shouta, your homeroom teacher. Nice to meet you.” He said lazily, though his eyes
spoke volumes. He was appraising all of them. It was definitely the same look Izuku got from Sir.
“You kids aren’t logical enough. It took you nearly ten seconds to get quiet.”

“I know it’s kind of sudden, but… Put these on and meet me out on the field.” Aizawa sighed and
pulled something out of his sleeping bag: a stack of freshly-pressed gym uniforms. “The locker
rooms are on the maps you got with your first-day packets. Let’s go, no time to waste.”

Well, Izuku didn’t need any more prompting. He knew when Sir said jump, he said how high, and
he figured Eraserhead would be as much of a serious teacher. Izuku wasn’t stupid enough to make
him mad by questioning him.
The students, all a bit confused about the sudden activity, gathered on the field and milled around
curiously. Uraraka was standing next to Iida, though Izuku ended up near the front of the group,
separated from them. Their teacher stood in front of them, that hidden look of appraisal still on his
face.

What was he even judging them on, Izuku wondered?

“I’ll be having you take a quirk assessment test.” Aizawa explained. The class exploded in a flurry
of questions and he held up his hand to shush them. The class fell quiet, but Uraraka raised her
hand. He nodded to her to speak.

“Sir? What about orientation or talking to our counselors?” She asked.

“A future hero doesn’t have time for events like those. I have only three years to make you into
pros. U.A prides itself on unrestricted school traditions, and that extends to teaching styles as well.
I can teach you however I see fit.” He explained with a grunt. Izuku paused at that.

That didn’t sound right. Nighteye said he’d be set up with late bloomer quirk counseling to help
him with One for All when they couldn’t be there - it was one of his mom’s stipulations she added
on to him having the quirk in the first place. Wasn’t quirk counseling at all schools set up on the
first day? He raised his hand, and Aizawa gestured to him next.

“Isn’t setting up students with their required counselors mandatory by law though, sir? Will we still
be speaking with them at some point today?” He asked.

“I’ve already registered you all with Hound Dog, the school’s guidance counselor. As I said,
there’s no time for stuff like that.” Aizawa gave him a scrutinizing look. Izuku pursed his lips.
Hound Dog wasn’t a quirk counselor, though…

“What about quirk counselors, sir?” He asked next, and Aizawa rolled his eyes. Izuku felt his
stomach churn. It felt like middle school all over again, being put down just for asking basic
questions.

“Please enlighten me, Midoriya, why you of all people would want a quirk counselor. You got first
on the exam, did you not?” He asked boredly.

“Huh?!” He heard Bakugou talk to himself as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “How in
the hell did Midoriya get first on the exam?!”

“Sir, um, did you read my file at all…?” Izuku trailed off, shame burning hot on his cheeks. “I’m
supposed to be set up with late bloomer quirk training…”

Bakugou fell silent, but the incredulous, wild-eyed look on his face said it all. The other kids
looked curious, talking to themselves. Aizawa’s eyes narrowed at that, and he crossed his arms
over his chest with a stern look. Izuku felt sick. He hated teachers looking at him like that. His
anxiety was skyrocketing. It felt like he was back in the Aldera principal’s office, just waiting for a
lecture about not bothering the other students and to stop making things up.

“Explain.” Aizawa said sternly.

“I only got my quirk three weeks before the entrance exam, sir.” He explained, and it was suddenly
so quiet that Izuku swore he could hear a pin drop. “My quirk requires muscle mass to activate
safely, but I was really skinny for most of my life… but when I started working out to help me get
into U.A, I finally put on just enough to allow me to activate it for the first time. Y-You saw me
break my arm, right? It still hurts me if I use too much power. If I’d used all of that power with
even less muscle, well, um… I would’ve just blown my limbs clean off. That's why I never
discovered it until recently.”

He trailed off, and the rock of embarrassment sunk low into his gut. It was a practiced response,
the explanation he’d planned with Sir many times before. But it hung low like an accusation in the
air, and for a moment Izuku wondered if it was going to be middle school all over again.

But then, one of the other boys in the class broke the silence. “That’s so manly! And you still got
first in the exam with only three weeks worth of quirk experience?! Man! Talk about super cool!”

The other students all exploded with similar sentiments, more amazed and impressed than
disgusted. Izuku felt all of the anxiety leave him in an instant, instead replaced with the happy kind
of embarrassment. He was so glad they didn’t think bad of him. He gave a shy smile to his
classmates before Aizawa quieted them down.

“The homeroom teachers at U.A are all certified quirk counselors. You’ll have extra lessons with
me if you want them.” Aizawa said, though his expression had changed in a way Izuku couldn’t
identify. It didn’t seem bad, but Izuku didn’t know Aizawa well enough to really tell. He was hard
to read.

“O-Okay… thank you, sir…” Izuku mumbled. “That’s all I wanted to ask, um, we can keep going
now…”

“Right.” Aizawa pursed his lips into a thin line. “You all have been doing physical fitness tests
since you were in junior high. Those averages don’t include quirks, which is completely illogical
for a hero school. This time, I want to give you those fitness tests but with quirks allowed.”

Oh.

Izuku clenched his fists at his side. Eraserhead thought quirks were intrinsic to heroes too, then?
But… didn’t he fight essentially quirkless? Why would he say something like that? It didn’t make
sense. Maybe there was some hidden meaning in it? Maybe he wanted to see how the students
reacted?

Izuku hoped that was the case, at least. Even if he had a quirk now, Izuku couldn’t stomach the
thought of a hero he admired for fighting quirkless simultaneously looking down on those without
quirks.

“Midoriya. It seems like you at least have some control over your quirk. Tell me, without it, what
was your farthest softball throw in junior high?” Aizawa asked.

“43 meters, sir.” He answered.

“Painfully average, then.” Aizawa muttered. He pulled a softball laced with machinery around its
middle out of his jumpsuit pocket and tossed it to Izuku. “This time, step into the circle and throw
it with your quirk. You can do whatever you want to the ball to get it to go as far as possible.”

Izuku nodded, stepping into the circle drawn in the dirt. He thought about how he’d like to get the
ball the farthest. After tossing up a few options in his head, he readied himself the throw. The class
whispered excitedly, wondering just what kind of quirk he developed to get first on the exam.

With a deep breath, Izuku tossed the ball straight up into the air. He poured One for All into his
legs and jumped, twisting his body mid-air to perform a roundhouse kick on the softball. Since he
had more power in his legs than his arms, the Full Cowling-powered kick launched it farther than
the field even went, past the fence and into the residential area nearby. He’d have to remember to
thank Sir Nighteye for the suggestion to focus on his legs, or else he’d probably have just imitated
All Might’s punches the entire time, Izuku thought.

Aizawa held out a small device that beeped out a score. He held it out for the class to see, and their
jaws dropped.

“943 meters?!” An invisible girl cried. “Talk about a quirk! No wonder you needed muscle mass!”

“Man! I watched you destroy the zero-pointer, but you’re still so cool, Midoriya!” Uraraka smiled
brightly, and Izuku felt a small spark of awe through the bond. His cheeks were red from the
praise, and the others were all looking at him with incredulous expressions.

“You were the one that destroyed that zero pointer? Très impressionnant!” Izuku recognized the
blond boy he’d helped during the exam as the one who’d spoken.

“And that is why taking a fitness test without quirks is illogical for a hero school. So, you all will
be doing the same. Understood?” He said, almost sounding bored. The other students all chattered
excitedly.

“This sounds fun!” A girl with pink skin and hair cheered, and Aizawa’s eyes narrowed. Uh oh,
Izuku recognized that look. It was the same kind of look Sir gave Yagi when he said something he
thought was ridiculous.

“Fun? Heroics isn’t about fun. That isn’t the attitude you should have. How about this, then: I
expect you to take this seriously, so the student who comes in last on the tests will be expelled.” He
said flatly, and the class went dead silent again.

“That’s not fair!” One of the girls whined, though Izuku couldn’t tell who. And at that, Izuku
couldn’t help but snort and choke back a wry laugh. Aizawa raised an unamused eyebrow at him,
turning his attention to Izuku.

“Something funny, Midoriya?” He asked.

“Er, no sir, not really. Just… somebody said it wasn’t fair and I just…” He trailed off, rubbing the
back of his head awkwardly. He remembered his life before he met Yagi-san, so hearing somebody
say this, of all things, wasn’t fair?

“Just what? If you’re going to laugh, I’d like an explanation.” He said seriously. Izuku sighed.

“I just thought that life isn’t fair in the slightest. Villain attacks, natural disasters, discrimination…
it all exists. But that’s why heroes exist. So we can make life fair for people who have it rough.
That’s all,” He murmured, his gaze like fire.

He thought of the goal he’d told Nighteye and Yagi about at dinner the other night. To make
people smile when he showed up, because they’d know he was there for them. No matter who they
were, what their quirk was or anything else.

“Hm.” Aizawa hummed thoughtfully. “It seems one of you at least has some common sense. He’s
exactly right. In the future, though, do try not to laugh at your classmates, Midoriya.”

“Yes, sir. Sorry to whoever said that, I wasn’t really laughing at you, just the statement.” Izuku
muttered. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Aizawa. On one hand, he was his teacher and a pro
hero who fought quirkless. On the other hand, he seemed to be intent on calling him out in front of
 the class. He was also kind of off-putting, distant and stern in a different way than Sir was.

“Well, with that being said, regarding the expulsion… in the hero course, teachers are free to do
what they’d like regarding the circumstances of their students, in accordance with U.A’s loose
teaching restrictions. Keep that in mind, and welcome to the hero course.” Aizawa pulled out
another of the softballs with the sensor strip on it, tossing it to the next student. Whatever, Izuku
thought to himself, I’ll get over it. At least he isn’t as bad as the teachers at Aldera.

And with that thought in mind, he resolved himself to simply ace the test as best he could. He
wouldn’t get expelled on the first day.

Chapter End Notes

Aw man, our green bean has it rough everywhere he goes :( Don’t worry though, it’s
just a misunderstanding!!! You’ll get more from Aizawa’s POV next week!

I hope you all liked this chapter. A lot of stuff is about to happen and it’s gonna be
interesting… I hope you’re all ready!!

I liked a lot of your thoughts on where the story was gonna go that I asked about next
chapter. In fact, I liked one of the ideas so much that even though it wasn’t originally
going to be in the story, I’m seriously considering adding it in. I won’t tell you which
comment piqued my interest though… it’ll be a surprise!!!

Some of you even predicted some future stuff and I can’t wait for you all to see that
too :P For now though, we’ll get through the U.A beginnings!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks

EDIT: Thank you to the comments correcting Aoyama’s French, I fixed it lol.
Unfortunately online translations aren’t always correct
 Cherry Blossom
Chapter Summary

Shouta swore at himself again for getting off on such a godawful wrong foot with the
boy. He’d have to fix this.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Aizawa Shouta was a logical man, one who valued rational thinking and an unemotional approach
to heroics. It was why he disliked heroes like All Might and what made him look at things from a
different perspective from most other heroes in the business, save underground ones who’d been on
the scene as long as he had.

He’d seen one of his romantic soulmates killed right in front of him during his second year at U.A.
He knew firsthand how brutal the industry truly was. Oboro’s death made Shouta regard every
student he came across as a potential death on his hands if they didn’t take it seriously or show
potential.

It was why he expelled students and then re-enrolled them - to make them understand just how
seriously he expected them to take the hero course. He’d make them into effective, strong heroes,
not necessarily flashy ones. That would be the other teachers’ jobs.

But that logical, unemotional approach sometimes caused mistakes. Shouta looked at the students
first, not their files, beyond the obvious red flags a homeroom teacher was required to look into.

When he looked at Midoriya Izuku, Shouta saw a student with a strong, flashy quirk and little to no
regard for personal safety - the same kind of personality as All Might. A death waiting to happen.
And when he was emailed a flag on Midoriya’s file before the year began and he saw a sealed
court record regarding quirk discrimination, he’d taken one look at it and assumed it had been
Midoriya doing the discriminating. People with strong quirks often did things like that
unintentionally. The record was sealed after all, so Shouta assumed it had likely been quietly
covered up to protect the image of a future hero student.

Well, he’d only been partially right.

It had been sealed to protect Midoriya, but not in the way he thought. When Shouta heard Midoriya
ask about quirk counselors, he’d rolled his eyes because really, he was quoting the law to a hero?
He had some nerve, coming in with a quirk like that, asking about counselors.

But then Midoriya told him he had only gotten his quirk three weeks prior to the entrance exam.
That changed things drastically, and in the completely opposite direction. He knew instantly that
the court case regarding quirk discrimination was likely the other way around - prior to February of
that year, he’d been quirkless, so it was probably Midoriya being discriminated against.

Shouta had cursed himself out mentally for not reading more into the court file. Instead he’d forced
the boy to out himself in front of the entire class as being previously quirkless. He was just grateful
the class took it well or he’d never let himself live it down.
He’d heard of strength enhancement quirks like Midoriya’s that relied on muscle mass, and if he
really was skinny until recently, it made sense his body would have a natural failsafe mechanism to
keep him from hurting himself. Most quirks had features like that, after all. Hizashi’s quirk came
with reinforced eardrums and Nemuri was immune to her own gas, for example.

And then he’d gone and stuck his foot in his mouth again by asking him if something was funny.
Of course somebody who was assumed to be quirkless wouldn’t think life was fair. He was on a
roll today, it seemed.

Even if he didn’t show it, he was genuinely sorry about forcing Midoriya into that situation. For
somebody with only around a month of experience, he was remarkably skilled. In fact, Shouta
thought as he watched the boy launch the ball with a roundhouse kick, almost too skilled.

He was remarkably proficient in combat, and to get a newly-manifested quirk as powerful as his
under control in just three weeks, he had to have a trainer. And not just any trainer, but a pro hero.
Likely one who had experience in underground heroics. Midoriya clearly recognized him, and he
seemed to take Aizawa seriously.

Watching him go through the other tests drove home the thought that a pro had trained him.
Todoroki, Yaoyorozu and Iida all made sense, coming from powerful families with hero
connections. Two of the three were recommended into the hero course, even if Iida had to take the
general exam later.

But if Midoriya was trained by a pro, why didn’t he take the recommendation exam? Shouta
believed he would have easily crushed his competitors with even this much skill and power,
perhaps aside from Todoroki. The only reason Yaoyorozu was in first right now was her quirk’s
versatility. In terms of raw power as the students were now, Todoroki and Midoriya had her beat
without a sweat.

Midoriya was an enigma to him - one Shouta needed to figure out if he wanted to teach him
properly. He admitted Midoriya did have some potential, but the mystery needed to be addressed
first.

When the quirk apprehension tests finished, Midoriya landed solidly in third place, with
Yaoyorozu in first and Todoroki in second. Bakugou was in fourth, clearly bewildered and almost a
little angry. That was another thing that needed to be addressed. What was the deal with his
attitude? Clearly they had history, and if Midoriya was quirkless until just a month ago…

Yeah, Midoriya Izuku was shaping up to be Shouta’s biggest problem child yet, he could feel it in
his bones. He called the students over, and the one in last place, Mineta, was clearly trying not to
break down in tears.

“So, about the expulsion… that was a logical ruse. Nobody’s getting expelled,” He sighed, holding
up the results. “I just wanted you to try your hardest during the exam.”

And, as if to add more mystery, Midoriya had this look in his eyes when he revealed his logical
ruse. He could tell he was lying, that he knew Shouta really would’ve expelled somebody today
without a second thought if he deemed it necessary. But Midoriya’s look was also very serious,
almost judgemental.

“Also, Midoriya, stay back for a minute. The rest of you can go ahead to the locker rooms.” He
waved his hand nonchalantly. Uraraka and Iida looked concerned for him, but Midoriya plastered
on a smile eerily similar to All Might’s and assured them he’d be just fine. When it was just the
two of them, that look returned.
“Is something wrong, Aizawa-sensei?” He asked, stiff and distant. That was when Shouta realized
exactly what that look was.

Distrust.

Midoriya didn’t trust him. Was it because he was a teacher? Somebody in a position of authority,
Shouta wondered? Was the case of discrimination something to do with that? Shouta swore at
himself again for getting off on such a godawful wrong foot with the boy. He’d have to fix this.

“No, nothing’s wrong. You did fine. I just wanted to apologize for putting you on the spot like that
in front of the class. That was personal information, and you shouldn’t have had to share it. I don’t
read the student files until after the assessment I give every year in order to judge their abilities
without bias, and that was the result. It’s entirely on me, so I apologize. I also have a question for
you, if you’re willing to answer me.” Shouta said plainly. He didn’t sugarcoat, but he wasn’t so
cold as to not apologize when it was deserved.

“Oh,” Midoriya said, lightly kicking at the dirt. “Um, it’s alright. Apology accepted. You can ask
me whatever you want, sensei.”

“Who trained you? You’re skilled in combat, you recognized me, and you got your quirk under
remarkable control in less than a month of having it. That’s indicative of training. I’d like to know
who trained you and how long you’ve been training with them. And why didn't you take the
recommendation exam?”

“Training?” Midoriya asked, and a sort of veil fell over his face. The kind people used when telling
lies. Shouta internally sighed. He should have expected as much. “I have a senpai who’s my
platonic soulmate here at U.A who sparred with me sometimes, sensei. Togata Mirio.”

Well, that was true, Shouta could tell - but it wasn’t the whole truth. Him being platonic soulmates
with Togata Mirio was terrifying in its own way, though. Togata was his own sort of problem child.

“Okay, and my other question? Why didn’t you take the recommendation exam?” Shouta asked.
He wouldn’t push on the training thing right now. Besides, he was sure he could identify the style
of the person who trained him if he watched Midoriya long enough. Most pros had tells.

“Oh, that? I promised somebody important to me that he could write my recommendation letter. I
wanted him to be the one to write it, even though he isn’t a pro.” Midoriya said that much easier,
and Shouta nodded. That much was the whole truth, at least. Maybe he could read the boy’s
recommendation letter.

“Well, that’s all I needed. Thank you Midoriya. And if you do want those late bloomer lessons, I
am serious about giving them. It’s not a bother, it’s part of my job, and I want all of my students to
get the same chance, alright?” Shouta stuck out his hand to shake as a show of genuineness.

Midoriya seemed to appraise him for a moment, almost as seriously as Shouta had appraised the
students in the classroom, before finally nodding. He shook hands, and Shouta couldn’t help but
notice the dual bands of flowers wrapped around his wrists. He had a lot of soulmates - eight
platonic and five romantic, it looked like.

Not quite as impressive as Shouta’s collection of platonic and familial soulmates, though - Shouta
actually held the record for highest soulmate count among the current pro heroes; 3 on his
romantic side and a whopping 22 on his platonic and familial side. How and why in the world did
he get saddled with that many, he wondered?
Brushing thoughts of his own flowers aside, the thing that stood out the most to Shouta was that on
the inside of Midoriya’s wrist, standing stark compared to the three healthy soulflowers he saw,
was one that was completely withered.

How did somebody Midoriya’s age have a withered soulflower? Most teenagers were head over
heels for the concept of soulmates. Yet another mystery. But that was one Shouta would not touch
- soulflowers were deeply personal things, not for him to go nosing into.

And when their hands separated, Shouta’s arm began to itch. He pulled back his sleeve to scratch,
and on his right forearm, one of his many familial soulflowers was blooming. A bright pink cherry
blossom. A matching one blossomed on Midoriya’s wrist, and Shouta resisted the urge to sigh.

Of course, the problem child would be the first familial soulmate he met in years. His only other
bloomed soulflower on that side was Emi’s platonic flower, and he’d met her way back when he
was just getting started at his first agency.

“Sensei,” Midoriya croaked out, eyes wide at the sight of a shared soulflower between them.
Shouta was silent for a moment, debating what he should say. Midoriya already had trouble
trusting him. Being dismissive of the soulflower wouldn’t help at all, but he didn’t want to show
favoritism or anything either.

Because as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he treasured each and every one of his soulflowers.
He wanted to keep all of them, protect who they belonged to with everything he had. So, he
decided to be diplomatic but honest about it for now.

“I see it, Midoriya. I can’t show favoritism, but it’s fine by me that we share one. Make of it what
you want, but if you need me for anything, I’m here.” He said. Hizashi would have gotten onto him
for being a softie if he heard him say that. Contrary to popular belief, Oboro’s death didn’t push
him away from soulmates - if anything, it pushed him towards them. He was even more protective
of those who were bound to him.

“Oh,” Midoriya blinked, as if surprised that Shouta had accepted. “Okay… Thank you, sensei. Um,
I-I definitely want to set up those extra lessons. I want to use all of my power without breaking
anything, but I don’t know how.”

“Then we’ll get you there, Midoriya. Go ahead and get changed and back to class.” Shouta waved
in the locker rooms’ general direction.

“Um, can I ask you something first, sensei? It might come across as rude but I promise I don’t
mean it that way.” Midoriya asked. Shouta nodded, that was fair after the whole quirk assessment
debacle. “Well, you said it was illogical for a hero school to do fitness exams without quirks…
does that mean you think people can’t be heroes without quirks?”

“Not at all. I fight quirkless, anybody else can, too.” Shouta shook his head. He could definitely see
where that statement came across that way, though. “I said that because the vast majority of hero
students have physical quirks, but it wasn’t intended to put down those without physical quirks or
without quirks at all. In fact, I’d say that a lot of the time, those that fight quirkless often have an
advantage over the quirked fighters. They tend to over-rely on quirks and underestimate their
opponents.”

“I see! Thank you, sensei!” Midoriya’s entire demeanor brightened considerably, and a smile snuck
its way to his face. Shouta was relieved to see it.

“If that’s everything, then you really should be getting back to class now.” Shouta said. Midoriya
nodded quickly, practically sprinting to get back to the others. Shouta looked down at the cherry
blossom on his arm for a moment, wondering if any more of his students would share a parental
flower with him.

(Back in the school building, a bunch of students sneezed. Somebody must have been thinking
about them.)

Later that day, Shouta decided to look into Midoriya Izuku’s file more closely. While the students
met their other teachers, Shouta went to the teacher offices to pull up what he needed. He sat at his
desk and pulled up the student file system, only to have Sir Nighteye enter the room with a sour
expression.

“Aizawa. How did your homeroom go? I heard you performed a test instead of taking the class to
the opening ceremonies.” He asked, voice suspiciously tense. What in the world warranted such a
reaction on the first day of school? Did he suddenly realize he hated kids or something?

“Yes I did. The class went fine,” Shouta said flatly. “Although I will have to look into a student.
Perhaps you’ve met him before the school year started. Midoriya Izuku, he’s platonic soulmates
with your intern.”

“Midoriya? Yes, I’ve seen him around Togata before. He’s friends with the other two members of
the Big Three as well, if I remember correctly.” Nighteye said, though his tone shifted from tense
to… almost defensive, it sounded like. “Why are you looking into him?”

“He’s a late bloomer. I need to know what I can about him to help train him properly. The
homeroom teachers double as the quirk counselors.” Aizawa said, raising an eyebrow. What was
Nighteye’s defensiveness about?

“Ah, I see.” Nighteye schooled his features into a calm, collected expression. “I know he has a
recently-developed strength quirk, yes. I don’t know all the details, but from what Togata
mentioned, it seems as if it hurt him at first. The entrance exam was proof enough of that. I’m
afraid I don’t know much else.”

“And do you know who trained him?” Aizawa asked. “Getting a quirk as strong as that under
control and developing fighting techniques to use with it in only three weeks indicates a high level
of training.”

“I don’t, unfortunately. I only know what I heard through Togata.” Nighteye said. “I can ask him
for more information if you’d like.”

“That’s alright, I can ask him another time. What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be
introducing yourself to the class? Or has that already happened?” Aizawa asked in return.

“Oh, I don’t meet 1-A for another fifteen minutes. I came to get my syllabi to pass out. I left them
on my desk.” He picked up the said stack of papers and gave a curt nod in Shouta’s direction. “Let
me know if you need anything else, Aizawa.”

“Of course.” Shouta nodded back. Nighteye took his stack of papers and left, and suddenly he had
another mystery to unravel. Nighteye was logical and approached heroics as seriously as he did, so
they tended to get along well when they worked together. But that conversation was… strange.
A problem for future Shouta to worry about, though - it was only the first day of school. He’d get
to know everyone better with time.

He pulled up Midoriya’s file now that he wasn’t distracted by Nighteye and scrolled through it.
First things first, his quirk registration. Midoriya’s quirk was listed as ‘superpower’ and, as
Midoriya had said, it was amended three weeks prior to the entrance exam. His previous
registration had been quirkless.

That was definitely remarkable, then, that he’d gone his whole life until that point without a quirk
and still managed to get it under control even with training. Three weeks wasn’t even enough time
for those born with their quirks to learn them. Midoriya had either incredible natural skill or an
incredible trainer. Shouta was determined to find out which was the case.

He looked further into his file at his school records. Curiously, his grades were also painfully
average until the last half of his third year in junior high. Suddenly, he began to excel, making
nearly perfect grades across the board. That was more in line with the grades he got on the written
and essay portions of the exams.

What happened in his third year to suddenly cause his grades to skyrocket like that? When he
looked further into the files, it seemed like Midoriya went from a public junior high to a private
teacher. Perhaps this mysterious private teacher was also his trainer? But the records regarding his
last months of junior high were sealed by court authority, and Shouta couldn’t even see which
school he’d been at before that. He could only see those records with permission from Midoriya or
his mother. Strange… he’d never seen a school record sealed from a hero course before. Normally,
Nedzu got access to everything. Who had more influence than Nedzu?

Then, there was the court case that had been flagged. Also sealed by court authority, but released to
hero schools for safety reasons of accepting applicants. Much of it had been redacted - he could
only see the basic details. A quirkless student had been discriminated against by their peers and
teachers, and the main perpetrators were all found guilty.

That quirkless student was likely Midoriya, then.

Damn. Shouta felt his blood boil when he read that.

But he still felt like he was missing a big chunk of the puzzle that was Midoriya. If he wanted to
get off on the right foot this time and help his student, Shouta needed all the information he could
get. He remembered Midoriya saying something about somebody important to him writing his
recommendation letter, somebody he chose over taking the recommendation exam.

His recommendation letter at least hadn’t been redacted to hell and back. He could still read that, if
nothing else. Shouta pulled it up and began to read, hoping it would shed some light on Midoriya
Izuku’s confusing situation.

To the U.A Admissions Committee,

I highly recommend Midoriya Izuku for a position in the U.A Heroics Course. While I may not be a
teacher or counselor, I have had the honor of seeing Midoriya’s many strengths first-hand. He is
one of the most driven, intelligent, and compassionate students I have ever seen in my over thirty
years as a janitor.

Shouta blinked and re-read that, not sure he was seeing things correctly. A janitor? Midoriya chose
a janitor to write his recommendation letter? What the hell? Why would he turn down the
recommendation exam for a janitor, Shouta wondered? He kept reading, hoping to find an answer.
I have witnessed Midoriya face hardship after hardship and come out on top, never once letting
anything stand in the way of his dream of heroics. As you may know, Aldera Jr. High was under
investigation this past year due to quirk discrimination, child neglect, and criminal negligence.

Shouta resisted the urge to frown. Was that Midoriya’s previous school before he switched to that
private teacher? He wasn’t assigned to reading the recommendation letters when they came in, or
else he would have looked into this sooner. He kept reading.

The majority of the investigation centered around him, as a matter of fact - it often seemed as if the
entire school was against him. Despite this, he has stood strong. And it seems to me as though an
indomitable willpower to keep going would be an invaluable trait in a future hero.

Well, that cemented it. Shouta needed to look into the case against Aldera Junior High. Perhaps it
would shed some light on things. Whoever wrote this letter wasn’t wrong, though - the will to keep
going was a talent all on its own and it was damn near invaluable for heroes.

Due to the school’s negligence, however, I cannot attest to his performance in class as much of it
was fabricated.

Shouta sighed; that explained the grades suddenly jumping up as well. They probably couldn’t get
them retroactively changed in the middle of a school year once they were on his permanent record.

What I can tell you, however, is that he is intelligent. Not only intelligent, however, but he's
somebody others could come to with problems - I have witnessed many underclassmen ask for his
help before they joined the others in their quirkist views. He has also shown a remarkable level of
quirk knowledge to me and the other faculty, the kind that would be a good tool in a hero’s
‘toolbox.’

That also made sense. He was the only student to get such a high score on the exam essays. That
meant even Nedzu was impressed by them, as he graded all of the essays personally in order to
‘satisfy his curiosity,’ whatever the hell that meant. Shouta didn’t want to know.

The rest of the letter was just praise for Midoriya’s personality, but Shouta would judge that for
himself. He knew people could sometimes exaggerate for the sake of getting into a hero school.
Interestingly, however, the letter was dated before he’d gotten his quirk - which meant this kind of
praise was being put on a presumed quirkless student. Maybe there was more merit to it than he
thought.

The most curious thing, however, was the signature at the end of the letter.

Sincerely,

Inoue Kenshin
Janitor, U.A High School (Previously Aldera Jr. High)

The janitor who’d written Midoriya’s letter now worked at U.A. Shouta hummed thoughtfully -
that opened avenues for him. If he wasn’t able to get any concrete information on Aldera on his
own, he could go straight to the source without even having to leave the building.

He didn’t want Midoriya to think he was nosing into his life, though, so he’d start by doing
research. He pulled up the internet and logged into a protected hero network for case files. There,
heroes could request information even on sealed records provided they had a good reason and the
person in charge of the file granted it.

He searched Midoriya’s name and found… two records? One of which hadn’t come up in the U.A
flagging system. Shouta frowned, especially when he saw it was an assault and battery case. Why
the hell hadn’t that come up?

He put in a request for both of the files with the reason being that he was Midoriya’s hero course
teacher, looking to learn more about his student in order to teach him properly. Hero course
teachers were often granted more leeway than others when it came to their students. Within a few
minutes, his requests had been granted.

Shouta took a deep breath and prepared to read whatever was in the files with impartiality. He
would read the facts as they were written and not be biased by his soulflower or the fact that he
knew what it was like to be discriminated against for quirk reasons firsthand.

That thought didn’t prepare Shouta for the contents of the court cases at all.

He started with the assault case, and immediately Shouta saw red. A boy had pushed Midoriya
down the stairs, breaking his arm and giving him a head injury that was very luckily not fatal.
Afterwards, school officials had tried to tell his emergency contact that he wasn’t actually injured,
and the janitor had to be the one to call him.

He took another deep breath and moved on to the next court case. If he wasn’t angry before, he
was certainly angry now. Nedzu knew he didn’t read student files beforehand, so he always
brought important things to Shouta’s attention before the school year began. And yet the principal
didn’t tell him about this? One of his students had been abused. That had to mean it was sealed
even from Nedzu, but there were very few that had the authority to pull that off.

The pictures of Midoriya’s scars in the evidence folder and screenshots from security footage in
the school stared him in the face. That was abuse, plain and clear, and it had all occurred at that
school while the teachers stood by and watched. And in the case of Fujisaki Ren, some of the
teachers even participated in it. The janitor had been instrumental with his testimony against them.

Shouta understood the distrust perfectly, now. And even though Bakugou wasn’t listed among
those who’d participated in the bullying, Shouta knew he had gone to Aldera as well. The blond’s
strange attitude towards Midoriya suddenly made a lot more sense, too. He didn’t need any more
explanation. He closed the files and logged out of the system, staring at the ceiling for a long while
to calm down. Before he realized it, a gentle hand was on his shoulder and the mild scent of
lavender hit his nose. Nemuri.

“Sho? You alright?” She asked gently. He hadn’t even heard her come in. “You got angry enough
that Zashi and I could feel it through the bond. I was free so I came to check on you. Did
something happen?”

“No. Yes? Not now. In the past. Something that wasn’t brought to my attention prior to the school
year but it sure as hell should have been. One of the hero course students isn’t going to trust most
of the teachers here. Hell, I don’t think he’ll trust me, even though…” Shouta pinched the bridge of
his nose.

“Even though what? Why wouldn’t he trust us?” Nemuri asked, snatching the rolling chair from
the desk next to Shouta’s and sidling up next to him.

“Even though we share a soulflower,” Shouta explained, tugging up his sleeve to reveal the cherry
blossom that had bloomed. “Because until 7 months ago, he’d been in an abusive school
environment with teachers who let it happen or even hit him as well.”

“You’re kidding,” Nemuri blanched, “Why the hell wasn’t that caught by our flagging system?
 When we have students like that we’re supposed to know about it.”

“I don’t know. It was redacted and sealed even from Principal Nedzu, but for some reason the
person in charge of the case file allowed me access. Jesus, Nem, the poor kid… it wasn’t even that
bad for me. I can’t disclose everything, just… be patient with Midoriya Izuku when you work with
him, alright?” He said gently. Nemuri just smiled gently and nodded, pressing a kiss to his temple.

“You’ve got it. I’ll let Zashi know, too. You should talk to Nedzu about it if he doesn’t already
know, see about letting the other teachers know.” Nemuri suggested. Shouta nodded in agreement.
He was grateful to have Hizashi and Nemuri as romantic soulmates - he felt like he’d go crazy
without them.

But he swore on the cherry blossom that stood stark on his arm that he’d make sure U.A was the
best damn school experience Midoriya ever had. Alright, maybe Hizashi was right. He was turning
into a softie.

He’d never show it to anybody else, though.

Chapter End Notes

Cherry Blossom: a small pink flower that signifies kindness and a good
education.

Yeahhh Mr Aizawa’s on the case now!! Next chapter, we’ll get to see Izuku’s
thoughts on Aizawa and why Nighteye and Izuku were being so secretive about
everything… Sorry not a lot happened this chapter, but it’s SUPER important for stuff
to come.

And yeah, poor Aizawa has 25 total soulmates, lol. (I’m sure most of you can guess
who the majority of the parental roles he fills belong to lmao) Can you imagine how
that must have gone when he was a kid??

4 year old Aizawa: chilling and coloring in a book or smth

His 25 soulflowers: *veggietales “let us introduce ourselves” meme*

Anyway, I can’t wait for y’all to see what’s to come. I’m so excited to write some of
the later parts of this story and get into the meat of the mysteries & changes from
canon I have planned. Hope y’all stick around!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Secrets
Chapter Summary

“So, with all that being laid out, it’s your choice,” Mirai said. “Do you want to tell
them? It’s better we tell them sooner rather than later if you decide to, or I suspect
they’ll begin to look into your situation in a different light.”

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku had been… well, jarred by Aizawa. He seemed to be kind of cold and uncaring, even rough
at first, but then he apologized and Izuku found out they shared a soulflower. What in the world
was with his parental soulmates all starting out rough and then apologizing? First Yagi, then Sir,
now Aizawa.

Well, at least Aizawa had kind of made sense. He appreciated wanting an unbiased approach. If
he’d found out he was quirkless first, he might have treated him with kid gloves, which was the last
thing Izuku wanted. He couldn’t begrudge his teacher for that. And it turned out well, anyway - the
class had all been really supportive about it and some even remarked on how cool they thought he
was for it.

Iida even said he was ‘honored to call somebody so remarkable his soulmate’ after they went back
to class and Ochako immediately agreed with him, which made Izuku turn into a tomato on the
spot.

But the more he thought about the whole situation, the more he actually respected Aizawa. The
man had been honest, to the point, and kind through all of their conversation. It was his genuine
feelings on the matter and nothing more. And he’d given Izuku free reign to decide how he felt
about the soulflower without pressure - make of it what you will, but if you need me for anything,
I’m here.

It was refreshing. Aizawa didn’t treat him like a piece of fine china; he trusted Midoriya with his
own decisions right off the bat. Nothing more, nothing less.

Izuku thought that maybe Aizawa wasn’t such a scary teacher after all.

The rest of the teacher's introductions went well, though Izuku was curious when Midnight and
Present Mic both gave him this look he couldn’t identify. It wasn’t bad, just… cautious? Like they
were being careful - but not in the way people were ‘careful’ with quirkless people. He wasn’t sure
what to make of those looks.

Either way, the first day of classes had gone well. And he got a kick out of the class meeting
Nighteye and Yagi, especially considering nobody knew Yagi was actually All Might himself.
Foundational Heroics was the last class of the day as it took up the largest block of time, so they
took quite some time getting to know the teachers. It started with Nighteye walking in, a stack of
papers in his hands and a serious look on his face. Yagi followed behind with a smile and a wave.

“Huh? Two teachers?” Sero wondered aloud curiously. “I know Sir Nighteye from our acceptance
videos, but who’s the blond guy?” Even Ochako and Iida looked confused at Yagi’s appearance -
they’d met him as well, but they had no idea he’d be at U.A.

“Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Sasaki Mirai, or Sir Nighteye. You may call me Sasaki-
sensei or my hero name, whichever you prefer.” The man adjusted his glasses, and the class
collectively gulped from his intimidating presence. Aside from Iida, Uraraka and Izuku, who’d all
seen the man drop food on the cufflinks that Izuku had gotten him at dinner and got really
emotional…

Nighteye had a sensitive side when it came to certain things, but he could definitely be intimidating
when he wanted to be. Izuku had trained with the man personally and he knew how demanding he
could be.

“With that being said, I’ll pass out my syllabus. Things may shift slightly depending on the pacing
you all need as a class, but for the most part I intend to stick to these lessons for your first year.”
He placed a stack on each row of desks and the papers were passed back. “Take your time to look
over it, and if you have any questions, please ask. I want things to be as smooth as possible.”

The class looked over the sheet, and it seemed to be what they’d expect from a hero course.
Fighting techniques, rescue techniques, how to deal with civilians, how to manage different
situations, combat awareness, all things that they’d need to know.

“There are a few things I will note. I am very particular about time. I expect things to be turned in
on time, and I expect you to be punctual in other areas of the class as well. If you have a reason for
being late, I will accept it, but otherwise do your best to be on time in everything. Also - your
appearance and how you handle yourself is important. I will not be your parent, I expect you to
follow the rules of your own accord and will not tolerate them being broken without reason.”

Nighteye sure was going hard on the first day… well, Izuku had come to expect this from him.
He’d gone through pretty much the same talk when he first started training with the man. The class
would get used to it - he could be a kind man when he wanted to, and training was challenging but
doable so long as you listened to him. They’d be fine later on, Izuku thought.

“Now, are there any questions?” He asked, and the first one to raise their hand was Yaoyorozu. He
gestured to her with a nod.

“Sir, who is the man with you? Is he a part of the class as well?”

“Yes. Go ahead and introduce yourself, Yagi-san.” Nighteye suggested. Izuku supposed he wasn’t
calling him by his first name to maintain professionalism. Yagi stepped forward with a smile and a
wave again, and Izuku resisted the urge to wave back excitedly. He was supposed to be impartial!

“Hi there, everyone! My name is Yagi Toshinori. Feel free to just call me Yagi-san, no need for
‘sensei.’ I’m Nighteye’s teaching assistant this year - he needed some help balancing the agency
and class at the same time since this is his first year teaching, so here I am.” He explained easily.
“Please feel free to ask me whatever questions you might have.”

Yagi’s friendly disposition made it a lot easier for people to ask him questions, as instantly several
hands shot up. He called on a blond boy with a streak of black in his hair, Kaminari, if Izuku
remembered correctly.

“What’s your quirk? Are you a pro, too?” He asked. The class murmured in agreement, it seemed
they were all curious about that as well. Yagi chuckled good-naturedly and shook his head.
“Ah, I’m quirkless, as a matter of fact!” He said, his smile not faltering for a second. The class all
looked surprised, but then he continued, “And while I wasn’t a pro, I had the honor of being All
Might’s personal secretary for the longest time. I’m retiring that position due to health reasons, as
it can be quite high-stress at times. But because of that, I know a lot about the inner workings of
the hero industry, and Sir thought it would be a good idea to offer me a position as his teaching
assistant.”

Izuku had heard the pre-prepared explanation many times before, but him saying he was quirkless
was a surprise. Why had he gone with quirkless and not some minor, invisible quirk that nobody
would question?

“Wow! All Might’s personal secretary?!” Kaminari yelled excitedly. “What was he like?! Is he
really as tall as he looks on TV?! I bet he was a crazy boss to work for! Did you ever get caught up
in his heroics?!”

Izuku repressed a snort, and Nighteye was clearly trying not to laugh up front as well. Getting
asked questions about yourself was certainly interesting.

“Er, well… He is taller than most people, yes. I’m tall myself, though, so it wasn’t ever too much
of a difference for me…” He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “He was… well,
interesting to work for. We can talk about my work experiences another time, though! Does
anybody else have questions for Sir Nighteye? He’s your heroics teacher, after all, I am just here to
help.”

The class had a few more questions, but everything seemed to go smoothly after that. The rest of
the day was rather uneventful, though Izuku did get to walk with Uraraka and Iida to the train
station on the way home, so he was happy about that. Bakugou also kept giving him this
incredulous look the entire time, like he wasn’t sure whether or not he should approach him.
Probably something to do with the sudden appearance of his quirk, if Izuku had to fathom a
guess…

He wasn’t looking forward to that conversation. He figured it was inevitable, but he was putting it
off as long as possible by taking the easy way out and not initiating it himself.

When he got home and told his mom about the interesting first day at U.A and the new soulflower
that had bloomed, she said she was proud of him for not backing down. Although she looked a
little upset that she wouldn’t be getting photos of him at the opening ceremonies and immediately
went to text somebody about it…

Still, it wasn’t such a bad first day, all things considered. He’d certainly had worse at Aldera and
even in elementary school.

Shouta took a deep breath. The second that the students had cleared out of the building, he went
straight to Nedzu about what he’d found. He needed to know if the principal actually knew about
what had gone on or not. If he didn’t, then they needed to have a serious talk with Midoriya about
who had been able to hide his case from Nedzu. And if the rat knew about it and didn’t say
anything, he was going to strangle his boss then and there.

“Come in, Aizawa-kun!” He heard Nedzu’s chipper tone just as he was about to knock on his
office door, and the said door swung open. Damn principal always knew when he was there.

“Nedzu. I need to talk with you.” He said, taking a seat.

“Clearly!” The principal chuckled, pushing a cup of tea across the desk to his employee. “What
seems to be bothering you, Aizawa-kun?”

“Midoriya Izuku.” He said firmly, staring the principal down intensely.

“Oh? Already expelling the top scorer just like last year, are we?” Nedzu asked curiously, taking a
sip of his tea. “If you think it’s necessary, I’ll start drafting the paperwork now.”

“No, the opposite. There were things that you should have seen and didn’t get flagged in his files,
but either you saw it and elected not to tell me, or it was hidden even from you. I don’t like either
possibility, but for very different reasons, as you can imagine.” He said, and at that Nedzu stilled.

“Things that weren’t flagged? No, I wasn’t aware. This is concerning. What did you find out?”
Nedzu asked, setting down his tea cup. His chipper tone left, and that made Aizawa very, very
nervous. If not even Nedzu knew about Midoriya, then Midoriya had connections to some very
powerful people.

“Midoriya Izuku was effectively quirkless until three weeks prior to the entrance exam. His quirk
only recently manifested due to gaining the required muscle mass to use it. Not only that, but he
was involved in two separate court cases that should have been brought to our attention. The school
he was in previously was an abusive environment, and both he and Bakugou Katsuki came from it,
though in different ways.” Shouta explained stiffly.

He was still angry, remembering the pictures from the evidence folder. Some of those burns looked
like ones that might’ve come from an explosion quirk - he wasn’t blind. But they had no direct
evidence against him, so nothing had happened. He’d have to keep a careful eye on Bakugou.

“That isn’t good at all,” Nedzu hummed, though Shouta could practically feel the anger radiating
off of the principal. Nedzu was not happy this information was kept from him. He pulled up
Midoriya’s files on his computer. “I didn’t know about the court cases or his quirk registration. It
won’t let me in even now. How did you get access to the files, Aizawa-kun?”

“I asked for it. You’re telling me that whoever’s in charge of the files let me in but not you?” He
asked incredulously. “That’s a first.”

“Yes, my thoughts exactly.” Nedzu narrowed his eyes. “Please, if you’d do me the kindness of
opening the files from your account so I may view them?”

“Of course.” Shouta agreed, leaning over the desk to input his information. “Although until we
know more about the situation, I think we should hold off on telling the other teachers about this. I
told Nemuri and Hizashi because they felt me get angry, but if you really didn’t know, this could
be something serious.”

“I agree completely. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Aizawa-kun.” Nedzu nodded,
looking through the files Shouta had looked at earlier that day. “Oh my. This absolutely should
have been brought to my attention. He should have completed a psych evaluation before being
allowed into the hero course.”

“Right. And if he was approved, we still needed to know so we could accommodate him in our
classes if it’s necessary.” Shouta sighed.
“I’ll look into this. I might have an idea as to the source of some of these. In the meantime,
continue teaching as you were.” Nedzu assured him. Shouta nodded. He could trust the principal to
get to the bottom of this.

“Right. Thank you, Principal Nedzu.”

Toshinori frowned at his phone. He’d gotten the notification that Aizawa had requested access to
Midoriya’s files, and both he and Nighteye had decided to allow it in order to dispel the
assumptions he’d made about the boy. They would likely have to let him in on the secret of One
for All at some point, however, as Aizawa was both his homeroom teacher and the quirk counselor
for 1-A.

Not to mention he’d probably gone to Nedzu about all of this as soon as school was out. They kept
his status as All Might’s successor quiet from Nedzu due to Midoriya wanting to take the exam
without any bias, but there was no reason to keep it from the Principal any more now that exams
were over.

He needed to have a talk with Midoriya and his mother about all of this, though. If either of them
didn’t want to reveal the relationship between them, then he would honor that wish. But it was
better to get things out in the open sooner rather than later to avoid any incorrect assumptions or
suspicions.

Hence why he and Mirai went straight to the Midoriya apartment after the teachers left for the day.
When they knocked on the door and Midoriya answered, he beamed a grin at them and waved
them inside. They could smell dinner cooking, too.

“Hey, Yagi-san, Sir! I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon! What brings you over right after
school?” He asked. “Oh, are you coming over for dinner again tonight? Mom’ll be happy if you
are!”

“I suppose we can stay for dinner, but that’s unfortunately not while we’re here. We have to
discuss something about One for All.” Nighteye sighed. “Something’s come up, and we wanted
both of your inputs on the matter.”

“Oh, of course!” Midoriya’s eyes went wide and he nodded. “Let me go get mom so we can talk.
I’ll be right back.”

He disappeared into the kitchen, and while they were waiting, Toshinori and Mirai took a seat on
the couch. When Midoriya returned, Inko was in tow, and they carried in the things for tea and
cookies. Inko always did love her tea when they had serious talks, and Toshinori had to admit it
made them easier. Everyone got a cup, and when they were all settled, Inko smiled.

“So! What did you need to talk about? Izuku said it had to do with One for All,” She said gently.
Toshinori nodded.

“Midoriya’s homeroom teacher requested information about the court case files this afternoon. We
allowed it in order to prevent another incident like the test this morning Midoriya told us about. I
assume he told you as well, Inko?” Mirai asked, pushing up his glasses. Inko nodded, though she
didn’t look pleased about her son’s late bloomer status being outed.
“So with that being said, we want to know your thoughts about letting both Aizawa and Principal
Nedzu know about One for All. Nedzu already knows the quirk exists, but he doesn’t know
Midoriya has it, as we discussed before the year began. It’s up to you, though.” Toshinori
explained.

“Hmm… Well, Aizawa-sensei is my quirk counselor too. He needs to know the truth if he’s going
to be effective at helping me. It’ll be hard to learn from him if I have to dance around the truth of
the quirk all the time.” Midoriya said, rubbing his chin in thought. “I don’t mind Aizawa-sensei as
a person. He’s not so bad once I actually spoke to him. Do you trust him to know about One for
All, Yagi-san?”

“I don’t get along with him in personal interactions, myself, but he’s a good hero and an honorable
man. I would trust him to do what’s right and keep the secret, even if I wouldn’t invite him out for
drinks, necessarily.” Toshinori nodded.

“I agree. He’s a bit intense, but he has nothing but respect for heroics and teaching. He’s
trustworthy.” Mirai agreed. Inko and Izuku seemed to take in that knowledge and think about it for
a moment. Inko spoke up next.

“What about Nedzu? I don’t know anything about him beyond him being the principal. You said
he already knows about One for All, but I’d want to know more about him before he knows my
son has it.” Inko said gently. Toshinori nodded, that was entirely fair. Sometimes, he forgot that not
everybody around him was involved in heroics. Even Naomasa only really interacted with heroes
on a case-by-case basis.

“He’s a good person. He tends to dislike most humans on principle since he’s the product of illegal
experimentation… but he has the students’ best interests at heart. He wants to raise the next
generation of heroes to not allow a repeat of what happened to him. That’s why he pushed so hard
to work in a hero school.” Toshinori explained. “Despite his appearance, I’d say he’s just as human
as the rest of us.”

“Kind of like me!” Midoriya said, with an understanding look in his eyes. “Like how I want to be a
hero for people like me… he wanted to help people like him. I can respect that.”

“So, with all that being laid out, it’s your choice,” Mirai said. “Do you want to tell them? It’s better
we tell them sooner rather than later if you decide to, or I suspect they’ll begin to look into your
situation in a different light.”

“I’m okay with it. What about you, mom? If you say no I’ll go with you.” Midoriya said gently,
holding his mother’s hand. Inko just chuckled and patted his hand in return.

“Oh, I’m okay with telling them too, sweetie. I’d like to be there for the conversation, though. Is it
possible to have it tomorrow morning or another time I’d be able to join?” She asked. Toshinori
nodded.

“That’s entirely reasonable. I’ll set it up. Thank you both for being so understanding about this.”
He smiled at them.

“It just comes with the territory of national secrets, I assume.” Inko laughed. “Although I am
surprised at just how many people know about something that’s supposed to be the most well-
guarded secret in Japan.”

“Well, to be fair, I was never as close with people as Midoriya is with his friends and family. I
personally might not have told Togata, but he came by necessity since he’s around us so often.”
Toshinori shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s not that big of an issue, though. He’s a good young man,
very trustworthy.”

“Yagi-san,” Izuku said suddenly, “You know you don’t have to keep calling me Midoriya, right? I
mean, not outside of class, you don’t. You can call me Izuku. I-I think we’re close enough for that
by now, anyway.”

“O-Oh!” Toshinori flushed from embarrassment. He hadn’t expected such an offer now of all
times. Inko just giggled behind her hand. “Well, in that case, you can call me Toshinori… I
suppose?”

“That feels too casual for me since you’re more like my dad, Yagi-san.” Izuku’s nose wrinkled at
the thought of calling him by his first name. Then, his face went slack when he realized what he
admitted to. “I-I mean, um, uh-!”

“Oh my!” Inko laughed, pinching her son’s cheek. “That’s too cute! Hisashi told me he wouldn’t
mind if you started calling Yagi-san dad as well, you know. He understands very well that parental
soulmates are what they are. That is, if it’s alright with you, Yagi-san…?”

“Er… No, I don’t mind at all…” Toshinori’s face was entirely red, and Mirai was trying not to
laugh on the side. “What about Mirai, then?”

“Of course Sir’s like my other… third?… dad. That means he can call me Izuku too.” Izuku said
from where he was hiding behind his hands. When he said so, Mirai froze and looked like his brain
was doing a hard reboot. “B-But I already call him Sir! I don’t know what else I’d call him, s-
so…!”

Inko couldn’t help herself, and through her fit of giggles, she asked, “What about papa?”

“MOM!” Izuku shrieked, now thoroughly embarrassed. Mirai was also now red in the face and it
was Toshinori’s turn to laugh. “I-I’m sticking with Sir!”

“Please,” Mirai coughed, “I don’t think my heart could handle anything else for now. I appreciate
the gesture, though… Izuku.”

“All jokes aside,” Inko wiped tears of laughter from her eyes, “That does beg the question of
whether or not you want to bring up soulflowers as well. Aizawa-san might wonder why you three
are so close aside from One for All.”

“Oh! Well, that won’t be a problem.” Izuku smiled and pulled back his sleeve. “Aizawa-sensei and
I share a parental flower too!”

“He what? You two share a - a flower?” Toshinori spluttered, dabbing his handkerchief in the
corner of his mouth. Izuku nodded enthusiastically. “How many parental figures does somebody
need, exactly?”

“What, are you jealous, Toshinori?” Mirai raised an eyebrow. “It’s rather unbecoming of the
number one hero, you know.”

“I-I am not jealous! Just… curious, that’s all!” Toshinori shied away from the question, but Izuku
just laughed.

“Don’t worry, you don’t have anything to be jealous of. You’re the only person besides my
biological dad that I’ll call dad, Yagi-san.” He grinned, and Toshinori spluttered even more.
The teasing from the Midoriya family would be the death of him one day.

The last thing Shouta was expecting to wake up to the next morning was a phone call from Nedzu.
He rolled over in bed and grumbled something under his breath, reaching across Nemuri to grab it
off of his nightstand. He, Hizashi and Nemuri had shared an apartment since they all became
teachers at U.A, so this was an unfortunately common occurrence for them.

“Why is the principal calling so early?” Hizashi groaned from his other side. Shouta rubbed sleep
out of his eyes. Not having enough sleep was also unfortunately common for underground heroes,
so that made this a lot easier on him than his partners.

“Hell if I know,” He grumbled back, answering the phone. “Aizawa.”

“Ah, Shouta, good to know you answered. You asked me about Midoriya Izuku after school
yesterday, correct? Well, I believe he’s giving you answers himself. He and his mother have
requested to meet with you and I, as well as Sir Nighteye and Yagi, regarding the questions you
asked.” Nedzu explained, somehow sounding as pleasant as ever despite the time of the morning.

“What the hell?” Shouta responded. “When is the meeting?”

“Why, first thing before school, of course! Why else would I be calling you at this hour, Aizawa-
san? I’m not unnecessarily cruel, I know you need your sleep, but I figured it better to get this
mystery over with sooner rather than later.” He laughed, and Shouta cursed under his breath.

“Alright, alright. I’ll be there in an hour. And you’d better have coffee for me, not tea. I can’t stand
tea in the morning.” He grumbled. Nedzu just laughed and hung up the phone. Damn principal.

“What’s goin’ on, Shou?” Hizashi mumbled sleepily. “What did he want?”

“Midoriya and his mother want a meeting with me first thing in the morning. I’m apparently
getting my answers on why I wasn’t told about his previous school.” Aizawa sighed. Hizashi
rubbed at his own eyes and yawned.

“You want us to come in with you? We don’t mind.” He offered. Nemuri, just waking up to the
conversation, nodded her head and agreed without even knowing what she was agreeing to.

“Yeah, we don’t mind, Shou,” She slurred, still clearly half-asleep as she stretched. Shouta just
huffed, amused at her.

“It’s fine. You can if you want, but it isn’t necessary. I doubt I’ll be able to tell you what’s going on
even after I find out. Confidentiality laws and all that. I technically broke them by even telling you
what I did yesterday, so… no more of that.” Shouta waved his hand, pulling on one of his clean
hero outfits. He had multiple, since they were fairly cheap and his tended to get scuffed up more
than the average hero costume, being underground and all.

“Ah, we’ll come in, why not.” Hizashi yawned again. “C’mon, Nem, time to wake up and get
ready for work.”

“Mmm, don’t wanna.” She rolled over. “Ten more minutes.”

 “Nope, time to get up…” Shouta didn’t hear the rest of what was said as he stepped into the living
room of their shared apartment to feed the cats and grab his scarf before heading out.

He had a feeling it was going to be a long morning.

Chapter End Notes

Time for the big reveal! Aizawa and Nedzu are being brought in on the secrets :) So
now you know why they were being so secretive at first!

They were preventing bias on the exams - they didn’t want Nedzu to favor him for
being Toshinori’s successor or anybody else to look at him poorly for his late bloomer
status. Now that exams are all over and things are more open anyway, there’s no
reason not to share. Yay for early transparency! And yay for quirk counseling, good
lord canon Izuku needed quirk counseling from the get-go XD

Anyway, some good stuff coming up! I can’t wait for y’all to get to the interesting bits
- the plot really starts rolling in the next few chapters >:)

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Heroics
Chapter Summary

The students cheered excitedly, happy they passed Nighteye’s first ‘test.’ Izuku just
chuckled in the back - if they thought this was a test, he felt bad for when they actually
got to one of Sir’s tests.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“So let me get this straight,” Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long, slow breath.
He pointed to Yagi in the chair across from his almost accusingly. “You’re All Might. Not his
secretary, but All Might himself, passing himself off as a quirkless secretary as your civilian
disguise.”

“That is correct, yes.” Yagi said sheepishly. Izuku felt bad for the poor man, being grilled by
Aizawa-sensei didn’t look fun at all, really.

“And you gave your quirk… the most powerful quirk in Japan, possibly the world… to a teenager.
Three weeks before the entrance exam.” He grit out. Yagi nodded again, still just as sheepish. Inko
just huffed and rolled her eyes.

“You’re making it out to be far worse than it is, Aizawa-san. My son had a fully informed choice
and my permission before anything happened. I supervised his training as well, and we also had Sir
Nighteye training him. It wasn’t as if Yagi-san was trying to keep it hidden from those around him
and not tell anybody. If he had, Izuku would probably have hurt himself a lot more by now.” Inko
said gently. “He’s a responsible man, asking for help with my son’s future. I trust him.”

“That’s not the point, Midoriya-san.” Aizawa muttered. “I just question whether it was even a good
idea to give it to a teenager in the first place. But… that choice is beyond me now, so I’ll let that
matter lie. Midoriya, if you’ll answer me, I want to know a few things about you and your time
before U.A.”

“You mean the court cases, right?” Izuku asked softly. Aizawa nodded. “What about them, sir?”

“Did you receive therapy after the investigation? Normally, we’d ask those involved in incidents to
take psych evals before entering the hero course. I don’t doubt your intentions, but the fact remains
that it’s standard procedure to see if they’re fit for the hero course.” Aizawa explained. Izuku
appreciated the honesty, though the other adults in the room had sour expressions at the statement.

He supposed they were a little defensive at the underlying implication that he might not have been
fit for heroics after everything. Izuku could tell Aizawa didn’t mean it like that.

“Yes, sir, I had regular sessions every week. It’s down to twice a month now that I’m in U.A,
though. My therapist cleared me for the hero course before I applied, which is why it never came
up.” Izuku explained. It was true - a very kind woman named Kaori was his therapist, just a street
over from Sir Nighteye’s office.
“Very well, then. And what about Bakugou Katsuki? What was your relationship with him? And I
don’t want to hear anything but the truth, I saw the evidence folders and I know what his quirk is.”
Aizawa said seriously. “U.A has a strict policy about not letting in bullies or those involved in
violent acts.”

Inko was pointedly silent. She knew how Izuku felt about the matter, even if she knew the truth.
This was his decision. If he wanted to say something about the truth of the situation, he could, but
otherwise she was staying out of this part of the conversation. Izuku pursed his lips into a thin line.

“The truth is that we used to be childhood friends and platonic soulmates before he withered our
flower and broke the bond, sensei.” Izuku said gently, and both Yagi and Nighteye looked like
they’d been sucker-punched by the revelation. They had never pieced together that Bakugou was
the same ‘childhood friend’ that had withered his flower. The one that made Izuku doubt that his
soulmates would ever want him…

“And?” Aizawa asked, expecting more to his answer than that. Izuku looked him dead in the eyes
and stared his teacher down.

“And anything else is between me and Bakugou, sensei. He’s been in therapy since the
investigation just like I have. He’s… not the same person any more. I’ve spoken with him. Aldera
and the people around us put awful things in his head, just… the opposite of what they put in mine.
He’s unlearning those things just like I am. I don’t want to be his friend again, I don’t even really
want to talk to him… but I can respect the effort he’s putting in to change himself.” Izuku admitted.

It felt like a weight had lifted off of his chest, admitting that. He didn’t want to be Bakugou’s
friend any more, not like he used to. But at the same time, he wouldn’t deny the boy the chance to
improve and grow, to become the hero Izuku had always thought he could be when they were
younger.

It didn’t hurt like it used to, thinking about their relationship, their flower. Things had changed.
Izuku had changed. And while Bakugou had hurt him physically, it was never the injuries or ruined
notebooks that hurt the most. It was always the soulflower. He was not forgiving - he was far from
forgiving. He’d never forgive Bakugou’s treatment.

But for both of their sakes, he could move on like Bakugou was trying to do. He wouldn’t hold the
blond’s future in his hands like some vindictive puppet master. It wasn’t in his nature. He didn’t
have it in him to truly hate anybody, even Bakugou.

And apparently, those thoughts must have been transmitted into his expression or something,
because Aizawa accepted his answer. “Alright. Fine. But if you have any more problems, I want to
hear about it. Understand? We don’t tolerate discrimination here at U.A.”

“Indeed, I would be very cross if I found out it was going on in my school. U.A is my pride and
joy, and I expect the students to reflect its values.” Nedzu said seriously. Izuku nodded. He already
told the blond as much in the hospital, but he would still keep an eye out for if Bakugou - or
anybody else for that matter - acted like the kids at Aldera.

“Of course, sir. I don’t want to go through that again, and I’m more than willing to stand up for
myself this time.” Izuku said seriously. Aizawa relaxed a tiny bit hearing the genuineness in
Izuku’s tone. He knew that he was serious about it.

“I just have a couple more questions for you, if you’ll indulge me,” Aizawa asked, turning his
attention to Nighteye and Yagi this time. Both of the men sat up a little straighter. “What exactly is
your relationship with Midoriya, anyway? Beyond him being your successor. You all seem closer
than a teacher and a student would be.”

“Oh! They’re my parental soulmates, just like you, Aizawa-sensei. Yagi-san and I found out when
we first met, and then I met Sir and Togata-senpai later on the same day. That’s why we’re so
close.” Izuku smiled brightly. He was proud to call them his parental soulmates.

“Fair enough. Just don’t be biased. I expect all the students to be graded fairly,” Aizawa narrowed
his eyes at Yagi, specifically. The blond man sweated nervously, to which Nighteye chuckled.

“That was why I took over his position as teacher. Originally, he was going to be the Foundational
Heroics teacher. He believed it wasn’t a good fit for him, so I offered to switch so long as he was
my assistant,” Nighteye explained. At that, Aizawa groaned.

“Thank god. I think a year with All Might as the heroics teacher would have been actual hell for
me,” he grumbled. Inko just laughed from her seat. She’d been mostly quiet during the meeting,
letting it be between the teachers unless she felt the need to step in.

“Well, I can see that my son is in good hands. Is there anything else you need from us this morning,
Aizawa-san?” Inko asked curiously. Aizawa shook his head.

“No, now that I’ve got everything cleared up, I’m prepared to give Midoriya the instruction he
needs. I’ll help you work out the rest of your quirk, problem child. Thank you for being
forthcoming about all of this. I know it can’t have been easy,” Aizawa said gently. Izuku didn’t
think Aizawa was even capable of sounding that gentle, but there he was. “Oh, and Midoriya, are
you comfortable with me telling the other teachers about your middle school background? It will
just let them know to be more patient with you in certain areas, if you feel like you need it.”

Izuku shook his head. He was better now, and he didn’t want to be treated differently than his
classmates. “No, sir. Therapy and my soul parents have really helped me a lot. I think I’m prepared
to tackle U.A with everything I have, but if anything changes, I’ll let you know.”

“Alright, then that’s all I can ask of you. I think we can call this meeting over. Class will start soon,
so go ahead and get to the classroom, Midoriya,” Aizawa waved him out of the room. He nodded
and gathered his things, and so did the others in the room.

He was glad the meeting went well… if Aizawa-sensei hadn’t approved or demanded more from
him, Izuku didn’t know what he’d do! But the man was kind, despite the rough exterior he
presented to other people.

Before Izuku could leave the room, however, there was a knock at the door. Nedzu buzzed
whoever it was at the door in, and everyone was shocked to see Bakugou himself standing there.
He looked a little like he’d seen a ghost, seeing everybody meeting with the principal like this.

“Can I help you with anything, Bakugou-kun?” Nedzu asked, paying no mind to the looks that
briefly crossed Yagi and Nighteye’s faces at the sight of the boy.

“Yeah, I want to transfer to 1-B,” Bakugou muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Midoriya
said he didn’t want to talk to me unless he spoke to me first. I promised him if we ended up in the
same class that I’d ask to transfer. I used to be kind of, uh… an asshole, long story short.”

“Yes, we just got through discussing that exact thing. How curious… and rather mature of you,
Bakugou-kun.” Nedzu hummed thoughtfully. “Very well, you can spend the day with 1-A and
we’ll have you swapped out with another student tomorrow. Aizawa, you and Vlad can discuss
who you’d like to have in his place.”
“Understood,” Aizawa nodded. “For now, head back to class. Like Nedzu said, you’ll swap out
with somebody tomorrow.”

“Right. That’s… fine, then. Thanks,” Bakugou turned and left, and Izuku was left standing there in
surprise.

“He said he’d tell somebody what he used to be like if we ended up in the same class, but… I
didn’t actually expect him to go through with it,” Izuku murmured. “I knew he changed, but I guess
I’m constantly surprised how much in such a short time…”

“Still, it isn’t your job to have to acknowledge that change, Midoriya,” Aizawa said gently. “He can
change completely separate from you. You have every right to distance yourself and nobody would
blame you.”

“Indeed, my boy,” Yagi ruffled his hair. “We want your school experience to be a pleasant one.”

Izuku had the feeling that his school year would be a bit different than what they had in mind, but
he’d try his best to make it pleasant too.

When he got to the classroom, he was a little later than he usually was but still earlier than the bell.
Iida and Uraraka fretted over him since they didn’t meet at the gate like they usually did, but he
reassured them he was alright, just in a meeting with the teachers.

“Midoriya,” Bakugou grunted, and Izuku turned in his seat to see the blond approaching his desk.
What did he want now, Izuku wondered?

“Yes?” He asked shortly. Bakugou gave him a look that Izuku couldn’t place, but then he stuffed
his hands in his pockets and jerked his head in the direction of the door. “What, you want to talk in
the hall?”

“Yeah. I have a question for you. Before and I leave and all that,” he said. Izuku narrowed his eyes.
He had a feeling he knew what this was about, but still.

“I don’t really feel like being alone in the hallway with you. What’s your question?” He asked. If it
was about his quirk, like he thought, he already had a prepared answer. He wasn’t worried about
anybody overhearing.

“You… the x-rays. The toe joint. How do you have…?” He trailed off. Izuku resisted the urge to
sigh. There it was.

“The x-ray is just one test. The doctor I went to when I was little never did the other ones. He saw
the joint and assumed he was right. I never got the blood test or the DNA sequencing test until
recently,” He lied. The first doctor only ever performed the x-ray, that was true - but his mother
had taken him to another doctor to get the other tests done only a few weeks after the x-rays.
Bakugou didn’t know that, though. He only remembered their mothers talking about the foot x-
rays.

“Seriously? So then everything before U.A didn’t even…” Bakugou grit his teeth. Izuku shook his
head with a stern expression.
“I was still… well, it wouldn’t have made any difference back then. Like I said yesterday, I didn’t
have the muscle mass for it. I don’t want to talk about it any more, Bakugou. It’s really none of
your business anyway,” Izuku said firmly. The blond nodded and turned away from him, back to
his desk. Izuku blinked.

That was… the first time Bakugou had just… listened to him. Without any argument at all, or even
a sign of frustration. Therapy and anger management had really mellowed him out, it seemed…
well, Izuku still didn’t want much to do with him even still. He just wanted to go his separate way
as much as possible. Starting tomorrow, when he was in a different class, Izuku would do his best
not to think about him.

“Good morning, class,” Nighteye’s voice interrupted his thoughts as the man himself walked into
the class. He was the first teacher in the door that morning, alongside Yagi and Aizawa. Nighteye
and Yagi’s gazes drifted to Bakugou, strained expressions flashing for only a moment before they
both collected themselves. Izuku doubted anybody but him had even seen it.

“We’re having our first Foundational Heroics block today. Aizawa will also accompany me, so
we’ll be taking up the homeroom block as well. If you’ll all change into your gym uniforms and
follow me, please, I would appreciate it.” Nighteye explained flatly, finally tearing his eyes away
from Bakugou.

“I hope we’re doing something exciting for our first class!” The girl with the pink skin and hair
grinned. Ashido Mina, if Izuku remembered her name correctly. He hadn’t had a lot of time to get
to know his classmates yet.

“Well, that depends on your definition of exciting, Ashido,” Nighteye said, pushing up his glasses.
“You’ll see when we get there. Chop, chop, you’re all wasting time.”

The class, after changing, found themselves following Nighteye into one of the many gyms in the
building. They were looking around the facility in awe, surprised by the state-of-the-art tech in
each and every part of the building. Nighteye ordered them to pull out mats and do a series of
warm-up exercises, which they all did without question.

Izuku knew that routine very well - they were warming up to spar. Once they were all ready,
Nighteye gathered them in the middle of the gym to discuss the training plans for the day. The
students were all eager to know and curious what kind of class they’d have to start.

“So, to begin, I’d like to do some simple sparring exercises to see where you all are in terms of
ability. That way I can set the bar as a class for where you all should be, and I can adjust it as you
improve,” Nighteye explained, and instantly a few students groaned. He raised a curious and
unamused eyebrow at the complaints. “Is there a problem?”

“It’s just… sparring, sir? It seems kinda… underwhelming, that’s all,” A blond boy with a streak of
black through his bangs said sheepishly. His name was Kaminari, Izuku was pretty sure. “I thought
we’d be doing something more exciting than just sparring. Like battles!”

“Yeah! Sparring’s kind of boring, you know? I mean, we’re gonna be heroes, right? We all passed
the entrance exam, doesn’t that show we can fight?” Mina agreed.

“Hardly,” Nighteye said flatly. “In fact, it only shows that you’re able to use your quirks to disable
or defeat robots, in the case of those who took the general exam. Tell me, how many of you have
had training without quirks? Actual, professional training with those who know how to fight - not
just practicing your quirk or working out at a gym.”
The only ones who raised their hands were Izuku, Iida, a boy with a tail Izuku couldn’t remember
the name of, and the two recommendation students. Five out of twenty.

“Alright, you five, step forward, please.” He waved them up. They did as they were asked and
joined him in front of the class. “Introduce yourselves. Just names are fine.”

“Ojiro Mashirao,” the boy with the tail bowed.

“Yaoyorozu Momo,” one of the recommendation students next,

“Iida Tenya,” Iida said, punctuated with a hand chop.

“Todoroki Shouto,” the other student who’d been recommended answered flatly.

“Midoriya Izuku,” Izuku answered last.

“Right, thank you.” Nighteye said next, bringing them in closer so that the other students couldn’t
hear. “So, you five have had training. Let me ask you something.”

The others looked around curiously, wondering what Nighteye was doing. Up with the five who’d
trained before, Nighteye discussed something in hushed tones. Whatever it was, the five of them
seemed to pick up understanding easily. When they were done discussing whatever it was, they all
turned back to face the class.

“I would like to show you all something,” Nighteye said to them. “All of you who have not had
training, without using your quirks, please fight these five.”

“Five against fifteen?!” Sero, the boy with tape elbows Izuku recognized, gawked. “Dude! They’re
going to get beat up!”

“Yeah! I’d feel bad if all of us just ganged up on them!” A redhead boy frowned, worried for their
safety. “It’s not manly!”

“Then I will make this a graded assignment. Those of you who do not participate will receive a
failing grade. Am I understood?” Nighteye gave them a stern look. The class looked uneasy, but
got into fighting positions nonetheless. None of them wanted to fail this early in the year. “Now,
remember. Quirk use is not allowed. You will also receive a failing grade for using your quirk.
With that being said, please, begin at your leisure.”

The class began to attack, but they were no match for the five who’d had actual training for
situations like this. Even without their quirks, they were faster and more skilled, able to read
clearly telegraphed moves and take down the other students one by one. When the short-lived fight
was over, Nighteye observed them all with an expression that said this was about what he had
expected from them.

“And this, students, is what training affords you. It is not to be taken lightly. Especially when you
imagine them pairing their skills with their quirks - these five become even more powerful. This is
why training is important. You need to know how to handle yourselves in a fight, quirks or no
quirks and in any other situation.” Nighteye said. The class responded with a groaned ‘yes, sir’ and
all stood back up.

“Man, I can’t believe five of them beat us all! Although Shoji and Bakugou held out for a while…”
Kaminari mused. “So did Tokoyami, now that I think about it.”

“Yeah. I never imagined there’d be that big of a gap between us,” Sero nodded in agreement. “I
guess that proved Sir Nighteye’s point, huh?”

“No kidding,” Mina whined, rubbing a sore spot from the fight. To be fair though, Izuku hadn't
expected such a large gap between them either. Perhaps Sir’s training paid off more than he
thought it had…

“So, now that you all have had a taste of what training does, perhaps you will take me a bit more
seriously.” Nighteye sighed. “I want to see where all of you are at so I can train you accordingly,
not just throw you into the deep end. Unfortunately, fighting is a rather large part of villain
apprehension, so you must learn how to manage yourself in all kinds of environments and against
all kinds of opponents. We will add in specialized techniques and tactics as time goes on.”

“Yes, sir!” The class answered. Nighteye looked a bit more satisfied that they were listening now,
and so he gestured to the mats.

“With that being said, I will have the five who’ve had training spar against the rest of you
individually. It will give me an idea of where each of you are and where to start. First sparring
pairs, let’s see… Kirishima and Todoroki, Jiro and Yaoyorozu, Koda and Midoriya, Bakugou and
Iida, and Sero and Ojiro. Please pair up. First one with their body on the mat or who goes off the
mat entirely loses the spar. No quirks, same as before.”

The pairs did as they were instructed, and eventually each member of the class was paired off one
by one to fight against one of the five with training. One-on-one, it was evident that those who
lasted longer in the initial fight were good fighters, just not refined in the way training made the
others. Bakugou had actually managed to beat out Iida individually, and Tokoyami and Shoji both
lasted much longer in their initial fights. Kirishima and Asui also lasted longer in the individual
spars than in the initial fight, too.

Nighteye appraised them all carefully, and when all was said and done, he marked some notes
down on a clipboard thoughtfully and went over each of the students. “You all are better than I
initially expected. I think with training, you all will be much more formidable. You may even be
surprised to find yourself out matching those you wouldn’t have expected if you use your training
in conjunction with your quirks in creative ways.”

“So… we passed?” Kaminari asked nervously. Nighteye nodded and sighed at the same time.

“Yes, Kaminari, you passed. You all did fine. I’ll be able to refine your movements quite easily.
And I will try to have some guest teachers come in for those whose fighting styles do not align
with the way either Aizawa or I teach.” Nighteye explained.

The students cheered excitedly, happy they passed Nighteye’s first ‘test.’ Izuku just chuckled in
the back - if they thought this was a test, he felt bad for when they actually got to one of Sir’s tests.
He tailored his teaching to each student, so the tests were very challenging but passable for each
one. Izuku remembered many late-night cram sessions with his mom from the last six months
before U.A.

“And by the way!” Yagi spoke up, surprising the class - many had forgotten he was even there as
he was very quiet. “If you would like to get excited, we have our first off-campus exercise
scheduled for this Friday if you all do well in your first week. It will be your initial introduction to
rescue exercises!”

“Sweet!” Mina cheered. “Now that sounds like fun, sensei!”

In another part of Japan, a girl with sharp teeth and blonde hair in messy buns was meeting with
somebody. She hummed a tune to herself and hugged her sweater closer to herself, her school
uniform not providing much warmth while it was still cold. She’d been going from shelter to
shelter for a while now, but this was her first real opportunity to do something serious.

“Hiya!” She grinned, flashing her teeth. “You’re Giran, right? The info broker? I’m supposed to
meet you.”

“That’d be me, little miss.” Giran inhaled the last puff from his cigarette and turned to her. They
were meeting in an alleyway, quiet and out of the way so they couldn’t be overheard. “And you’re
Toga? The one on the run for murder?”

“Aw, Saito-kun died?” She pouted. “I guess I drank too much. That’s a shame, he was so cute.
Anyway, yeah! That’s me!”

“Well, what can I do for you, Toga-chan?” Giran grinned, putting out the butt of his cigarette under
his heel.

“Well, you see, I’m looking for two things: work and a place to stay for somebody like me! I
wanna meet my soulmates and see if they’re cute like Saito-kun, so I thought I’d better be proactive
about it and go looking!” Toga giggled. “But to do that, I gotta have something even though I’m on
the run, y’know?”

“Ahh, I understand. Actually, I think I have a good place for you. There’s somebody I work for
who’s recruiting a lot of criminals, but you in particular he might have an interest in. You’ve got an
interesting quirk, from what I hear.” Giran chuckled. “Are you interested in meeting with my other
customer?”

“Of course! Other criminals are perfect. Maybe I’ll meet some cute ones? Well, either way, I’ll get
to live life my way. I think that’ll be just fine,” Toga grinned again. “Lead the way, mister.”

“Well, wouldn’t you know it, but we’re right outside the meeting place right now, as a matter of
fact. It’s this bar behind me, here,” Giran patted the wall of the building he’d been leaning on.
“We’ll go in the back door.”

He led her inside, the sound of glasses clinking together on the inside being heard from the small
back storeroom. She followed him into the main bar area, where there was a man made of mist
tending to the glasses and the bottles, and a younger man with light blue hair and a haggard
appearance was sitting on a stool.

“Shigaraki. I brought the girl who I said you’d be interested in,” Giran said, pulling out another
cigarette. He gestured to the man on the stool with it. “That’s your contact, little miss.”

“I’m Toga Himiko! It’s nice to meet you! I heard you’re looking for somebody like me. If I do
what you ask, can I stay here? Pretty please?” She fluttered her eyelashes playfully at him. “I’m
real tired of living in shelters.”

“What’s your quirk? Giran said you had one that would appeal to me,” the young man grumbled,
scratching at his neck. “Your attitude is lacking, though.”

“Well… I can turn into other people when I drink their blood, down to the DNA and everything!
I’m also a really good actor so nobody will know the difference,” she said easily, her teeth still on
 display. The blue-haired young man hummed thoughtfully for a moment.

“That is pretty useful. Maybe Giran wasn’t all talk this time,” he huffed. Then, without warning, he
pulled up his right sleeve, showing off his arm. It was a little ashy, and his soulflowers looked dry
and cracked like the rest of his skin, though the marks themselves were fine. There were nine
flowers there, three bloomed and six unbloomed, Toga observed curiously. (One of the bloomed
ones, she noticed, was greyed out. She didn’t ask.)

“I want you to prove it,” he grumbled. “Here. Turn into me.”

“What, you just want me to chomp down on your arm? I have a knife, that would be easier,” Toga
snorted. The man just huffed and thrust his hand forward. She pulled a knife from her sweater and
took his hand in hers, making a small cut on his palm. She licked the blood from her knife, and she
swiftly transformed into him, clothes and all - though her own clothes stuck through the
transformation awkwardly.

“What the hell’s up with that?” He asked, gesturing to where her clothes merged. The
transformation melted away and Toga laughed.

“I usually have to be naked to copy clothes properly, or mine stick through like that. Otherwise, it’s
a perfect copy.” She explained, reaching down to scratch at her wrist which was itching like crazy.
“So? What do you think?”

“It would be useful for a villain NPC,” he grunted, scratching at his own wrist. Hers was still
itching, too, so she looked down to see what was causing it, and… her eyes went wide. There, on
her own right wrist, a bundle of Queen Anne’s Lace was blooming. Her grin returned, even wider
this time, almost manic. The man stared at her with narrowed eyes.“What? Why are you smiling
like that?”

“We’re soulmates!” She laughed, shoving her wrist forward for him to see. “Look! Platonic! You
and me! You’ve gotta hire me now, right?!”

“What? You…” The man’s eyes also went wide, scrutinizing his wrist carefully. “Sensei always
said… I have to keep them close…”

“Perhaps you should properly introduce yourself then,” The misty man at the bar finally spoke up,
his voice soft but strong.

“I’m Shigaraki Tomura,” the young man finally gave his name, extending his hand for her to shake
with one pinky raised. “And you’re going to be one of the first to properly join the League of
Villains. You’ll be my right hand.”

Chapter End Notes

Oooh, you had to see it coming eventually, right? The heroes aren’t the only ones with
soulmates, and soulmates change things for more than just Izuku >:) As the plot
progresses, you’ll be seeing more and more from the villains!

And Bakugou willingly goes to 1-B! A lot of you wondered if that would actually
happen or not, well, here’s your answer!
One thing before I go, as of posting this, I’ve written to just past the sports festival.
However, I have a small problem. The sports festival kind of… ended up being
monstrous. Like, five chapters long just by itself, not including the prep & post-festival
stuff. So I’m torn whether or not I want to keep it as five whole chapters or smush it
into 2 very long chapters with an ‘intermission’ chapter in the middle of them.

Either way they’d still be posted weekly, one chapter at a time, but… there’s literally
so much important content in the sports festival that I’m worried some of it would get
lost in two very long chapters. So instead, I’m leaving this decision to you guys!

Please vote here as to what you think I should do with the sports festival. And if you
don’t want to vote in the poll, just a comment is fine too! Honestly, I really can’t
decide. Thanks a bunch! The poll will stay open for two weeks, til the 25th.

Anyway, that’s enough from me. Thanks for reading! See you all next chapter!
- daylightbreaks
 Diphylleia
Chapter Summary

U.A was certainly shaping up to be an interesting experience, that was for sure. In the
first two days, he’d met two more soulmates, gotten his first class away from Bakugou,
and been outed as previously quirkless.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku arrived at school the next day with pep in his step, eager to meet up with Uraraka and Iida
again. It was quickly becoming his favorite part of the day, followed closely by heroics and
homeroom. He had a love of learning, especially when he could learn without a problematic school
environment.

But today, instead of the normal gate meetup he was expecting, there were a few reporters milling
about. Not a huge crowd, but there were enough to make Izuku wonder what was going on. When
they saw him, a U.A student, they all crowded around him and pushed microphones into his face.

“Can you give us a comment on Nighteye’s sudden appearance as a teacher at All Might’s alma
mater? Is this a sign they could be getting back together as hero and sidekick?” One of the reporters
asked. Izuku’s eyebrows furrowed. Where in the world did they get that idea from? Sir had never
expressed any desire to return to sidekick work since he started his own agency, even if they had
rekindled their friendship.

“I’m sorry, it’s not my place to comment on a teacher’s personal life. It’s rather rude to ask that sort
of thing,” Izuku said sternly. “If you’d like to know, you can always ask him yourself. He is a pro,
just call his agency.”

“What about his teaching style? What’s it like learning at U.A?” Another reporter asked,
undeterred by Izuku’s admonishments.

“Well, again, if you want to know, just go and ask Principal Nedzu. The school has a media
relations phone number. You should ask him instead of interviewing minors without their parents’
consent,” he said sharply, tired of the questions. The law being thrown in their face made them
clam up instantly, and they gave him a wide berth.

“Wow! Talk about giving them an earful!” He heard Uraraka laugh from behind him, and he
turned to see her jogging up to him. “Iida texted, he’s already inside. The teachers don’t want kids
lingering with those reporters outside.”

“Oh, alright. Thanks for letting me know,” he smiled, walking side by side with her now as they
made their way inside. When they got to their class, it was quiet with some of the students catering
among themselves. Iida came up to them both, looking a little worried.

“Those reporters didn’t bother you, did they?” He asked. Uraraka shook her head with a smile.

“Nah, Midoriya-kun told them what-for! They parted like the Red Sea,” she giggled. Iida blinked
in surprise.

“What on earth did you tell them, Midoriya-kun?!” Iida asked. “Nothing unbecoming of a hero
school, I hope!”

“No, no, nothing like that!” Izuku reassured him, waving his hands. “I just told them they shouldn’t
interview minors without their parents’ consent! It’s illegal, so if they air any footage of you
without permission, you can sue the pants off of their news company.”

Uraraka’s eyes shone with some kind of intensity. “Sue? Oh, I hope they got a shot of me. I’ll take
them for all they’re worth!”

“Er, I don’t think you have to worry about that now that I’ve said something… Sorry, Uraraka-
chan,” Izuku said sheepishly. Uraraka sighed overdramatically, putting her hand on her forehead
and pretending to faint.

“No! All my lawsuit money! Down the drain! Thwarted by Midoriya-kun’s law-abiding nature!”
She pretended to weep, and Izuku and Iida laughed at her display. It felt like such a natural thing,
laughing with his friends. It was… really nice.

“Alright, everyone, get in your seats,” Aizawa’s voice came through the doorway next, and all of
the students scrambled to be seated immediately. “Good. Your timing has improved. Anyway, I
have something planned for today. Before that, I have a few announcements to make.”

The class murmured curiously among themselves, wondering what he had to say. “As you all likely
noticed, Bakugou Katsuki is not present. As of today, he is being swapped to Class 1-B due to a
paperwork mixup. He was supposed to have been put there at the beginning of the year, and we’ll
have a 1-B student in his place.”

Izuku figured that he was covering up the truth of his transfer to protect both his and Bakugou’s
dignity. Also to prevent a fight - he was pretty sure if Uraraka found out the truth, she wouldn’t
hesitate to punch Bakugou in the face. Uraraka was kind of intense, but Izuku didn’t mind so much.

“What?! But sensei!” Kaminari cried back, and Aizawa raised an eyebrow.

“But what, Kaminari?” He asked in return.

“Bakugou is my platonic soulmate!” Kaminari said, and a couple other students murmured their
agreement. Mina and Sero said the same, and Izuku pursed his lips and said nothing. When had
that happened, he wondered? Bakugou got three platonic soulmates and none of them ever had to
worry about a thing when it came to their flower. Izuku lowered his head and scribbled in his
notebooks.

He didn’t want to think about it. It wasn’t their fault.

“You’ll still see him here and there, but unfortunately there’s not much I can do. Nedzu decides the
classes, not me,” Aizawa said sternly. “I expect the matter to be dropped. If I hear more arguing
about it, I’ll give you detention.”

Some of the class murmured unhappily, but there was no more discussion about it afterwards.
Izuku let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, and Aizawa gave him a gentle look when
he caught it. Izuku was… grateful to not be in Bakugou’s class for the first time in his life.

“In return, this student from 1-B will be joining us. Come in and introduce yourself,” Aizawa
waved to the window in the door, and it slid open. In walked a girl with white hair and a gentle sort
of expression. She waved to everyone softly as she entered.

“My name is Yanagi Reiko, it is an honor to meet you all. I hope my addition to your class is not
unwelcome, I will do my best to get along,” she smiled. A few of them waved and smiled back,
though some still looked disconcerted about Bakugou’s sudden departure.

“You can take the empty seat, Yanagi. And as for my plans for homeroom today…” Yanagi
walked to her seat as Aizawa turned towards the board. The class looked surprised when he wrote
‘Class Representatives’ at the top. Once that was done, he climbed into his sleeping bag and
yawned. “I don’t care how you do it, just pick your reps before the end of homeroom, alright?”

And with that, he was out like a light. Izuku blinked, looking at him in awe. How in the world did
somebody fall asleep so quickly? He knew for sure he’d never be able to just fall asleep on
command like that. But the class promptly burst into chaotic chatter about who should be
representative, with each of them exclaiming reasons why they should be picked.

“Hey, how about we vote!” Kirishima spoke up, and the class all looked at him. “What? It’s
traditional, isn’t it? And it would be the easiest route! I know it sucks that Bakugou had to leave so
suddenly, but I’m sure we’ve all gotten to know each other well enough to vote fairly!”

Speak for yourself, Izuku thought. It certainly felt strange now that he wasn’t there, but Izuku
wouldn’t be shedding any tears over it, that was for sure.

“I guess so,” Mina agreed, “but it should still be anonymous!”

“Yeah! Let’s do that!” Kaminari agreed next, nodding enthusiastically. Iida stood up and took it
upon himself to pass out papers to everyone, and Yaoyorozu made a box for everyone to put them
in. Each person wrote down their vote at their own pace. Izuku himself had to think about it for a
minute, not sure who he should vote for.

Uraraka would be a friendly rep, but it seemed like she wasn’t interested in the position since she
didn’t have much to say. There was always Iida… he looked like he was practically vibrating with
eager intensity, probably excited at the thought of being a Rep. He seemed like he’d be the type to
enjoy it, being a stickler for the rules and their image. Nighteye would definitely appreciate having
him as a Rep.

That settled it for him; Izuku wrote down Iida’s name on his paper and turned it in. Once all the
votes were collected, Iida took the box to the front and began to tally them on the board. Izuku
watched as the marks were collected, but when he was done, the result was entirely unexpected.
Somehow, unbelievably, Todoroki and himself had been selected?!

“Ah… then I suppose… Midoriya-kun is the class rep, with Todoroki-kun as the vice rep,
according to the votes,” Iida said, looking like it pained him to admit.

“No thank you,” Todoroki muttered from behind him. Izuku was startled as it was the first time
he’d really heard the boy speak. “Not interested.”

“Ah… I think I’d have to turn it down as well, unfortunately,” Izuku said, a little shy, “I just don’t
think I’m the right fit for it. Iida-kun seems like a good fit though, don’t you think? He was the
first to organize the votes and all that.”

“Hmm… I guess so!” Sero agreed with a sage nod. “He seems like the type, glasses and
everything! I kind of voted for Todoroki because of how strong he was during the first hero class,
but I could see Iida in the role too.”
“Same for me, but with Midoriya,” Jiro chuckled, “but Iida’s pretty good with the rules, so I’m
cool with it.”

“So, then… Everyone in favor of electing Iida-kun for Class President, raise your hand,” Izuku
said, and most of the class raised their hands. “Well, that’s certainly the majority, so Iida, the role
falls to you now! Should we re-vote for Vice Rep?”

“I nominate Yaoyorozu,” Jiro spoke up again, “She’s really calm and mature. I think she’d be a
good choice. Plus it would be good to have somebody the girls can go to. No offense, Iida.”

“None taken,” Iida said, adjusting his glasses. “I agree, anyway. All for Yaoyorozu-chan as vice
rep?” The majority of the class raised their hands again, so it was decided.

“Alright then,” Aizawa grumbled from his place on the floor, scaring the living daylights out of the
class as they thought he’d been asleep. “With that out of the way, we’ll be discussing the off-
campus trip for rescue training that we’ll have at the end of the week. You’ve all been passed out
the forms, so make sure to have them signed by your parents before you show up that day. We’ll be
spending the day out there, so your normal classes will be put by the wayside. Understand?”

“Yes, sir,” the class responded. Aizawa nodded.

“Good. We’ll move on to regular lessons now…”

The lunch bell rang, and Izuku stretched in his seat. He’d been really enjoying the lessons today,
but now it was time to break. He gathered his things and went to follow Uraraka and Iida to the
canteen. As he did, he noticed a group of students from the general education course surrounding
some 1-B students. One was a boy with blond hair and light blue eyes who seemed to be boasting
about something.

“That’s right! We’re going off-campus this Friday,” he said. Ah, Izuku understood now. He was
talking about their rescue training. “We get to learn at state-of-the-art facilities for training to be
heroes! Isn’t that incredible?”

“That’s really cool!” One of the Gen Ed students asked, grinning widely. Izuku looked at him;
something about the grin set him on edge. He couldn’t place it, but the boy’s smile wasn’t quite
right. “When are you going? Who’s gonna be there?”

“Well, the heroics teachers, of course, and I believe 1-A is going there first thing in the morning.
Our class gets the afternoon slot. We get to work on rescue training at some facility called the
U.S.J. I’m incredibly honored to be able to learn in such a place!” The blond boy laughed, and one
of the other general course students just rolled his eyes. He had wild purple hair and bags under his
eyes that rivaled Aizawa-sensei’s. He didn’t seem particularly fond of the hero students, though…

Izuku walked out of hearing range at that point, so he turned his attention back to his friends, who
were talking about something from the lessons as they made their way to the canteen. When they
got there, Izuku spotted one of their classmates sitting by himself. It was the sparkly boy he’d
rescued during the entrance exam.

“Hey, can we eat with him today, guys?” Izuku asked suddenly, pointing to Aoyama. “He looks
lonely. I don’t want him to be by himself.”
“Oh, sure! The more the merrier!” Uraraka smiled. Izuku grinned back as Iida nodded his
agreement.

“Yes! It would be remiss of us to allow one of our classmates to feel isolated!” Iida said firmly.
They grabbed their lunches from the line and made their way over to his table, and the blond boy
looked up in surprise.

“Hi! You’re Aoyama, right? Do you mind if we sit with you?” Izuku smiled brightly. He looked
surprised for a moment before nodding.

“Of course you may! My sparkling self must have drawn you in, hm?” He asked, cracking a smile.
Izuku chuckled a little bit.

“Sort of. You looked a little lonely, so I didn’t want you to feel left out. You’re welcome to eat
with us any time! I know I introduced myself in that heroics lesson the other day, but I’m Midoriya
Izuku,” he said, extending a hand to shake. Aoyama’s smile softened to something more genuine
and he shook it.

“Well, thank you very much. It’s very appreciated. I’m Aoyama Yuga, in case you didn’t know,”
he said gently. As they dove into small talk and ate their food, Izuku’s right wrist began to itch like
crazy. He pulled up his sleeve to scratch it, and to his surprise, one of his flowers had bloomed. It
was a beautiful white flower, sitting near the end of the vine. He looked at it in surprise, and then
up to Aoyama. The blond seemed to take note, and then in shock, pulled up his own sleeve.

There on his wrist was the matching flower, and to Izuku’s surprise, the only bloomed flower he
had on that wrist. He’d never seen somebody with only two flowers on the platonic and familial
side before. Aoyama put a hand to his mouth in shock, looking rather emotional all of a sudden.
Izuku understood that feeling well; soulmates could do that to you.

“Well, look at that!” Izuku said easily, trying to make Aoyama more comfortable with the situation.
“It seems like we’re platonic soulmates, Aoyama-kun! I guess it was a good idea for us to come
and eat here!”

“Oh, how exciting!” Uraraka smiled brightly, also trying to ease the mood a little bit. “Midoriya-
kun’s really nice! You got a good one, Aoyama-kun.”

“Thank you,” Aoyama said, collecting himself. “I just… did not think I would ever meet you,
that’s all. I’m sorry for getting so emotional.”

“Hey, it’s no problem. I cried like a baby meeting my first few soulmates, so I can’t say anything,”
Izuku laughed a little. Aoyama blinked in surprise.

“Few?” He asked, and Izuku nodded. He pulled up his sleeves and showed his wrists to the other
boy, who took them and marveled at them. “My goodness… you have so many! I’ve never seen
that many before. You must be blessed. These two platonic and familial ones are all I have,
personally. No romantic ones.”

“Well, that just means you’re not tied down! You can pick whoever you want in the whole wide
world to fall in love with if you want!” Uraraka said easily. “Midoriya-kun and Iida-kun are my
romantic soulmates, but we’re just being friends right now. I’m too focused on being a hero to
worry about that stuff.”

“Same with me,” Iida nodded. “We’ll wait until we’re all ready. But you can decide for yourself
whenever you want, without expectations. If you’re even interested in romance, that is. I believe
there’s a certain freedom in that.”

“That’s… so kind of you to say. Most people I knew made fun of me for having so few soulmates,
growing up. They always said it meant I was unlikeable.” Aoyama said, looking pained as he said
so. Izuku felt a pang of empathy run through his heart.

“Me, too,” He said softly, patting Aoyama’s hand. “Even though I have a lot… I never thought
they’d like me. I told everyone that I didn’t get my quirk until recently… well, not a lot of people
like the quirkless. So… I know what you mean.”

“Ah… I do. My mother is quirkless, believe it or not!” Aoyama said, wiping discreetly at his eyes.
“I inherited my father’s quirk. So I understand just what you mean. Thank you for your kind words.
I suppose we should actually eat our lunch at some point though, hm?”

“Right!” Izuku laughed a little. “Don’t want this good food to get cold.”

He felt some warm feeling through the bond, and he could tell it was coming from Aoyama. It was
the feeling of coming home… of finding one’s place in the world. He was massively relieved to
have met Izuku, and Izuku felt the same about him. Another soulmate, and one who understood his
feelings well.

Izuku couldn’t have been more grateful.

After the school day ended, Izuku gathered his things and got ready to go home. Once the
classroom cleared out, it was only him as he was finishing up some extra notes from the heroics
lesson. Nighteye came to read over his shoulder curiously, nodding in approval at what he was
writing down.

“Very observant, Midoriya,” Sir said with a nod. Izuku smiled up at the tall man. “I am curious,
though, if you will allow me a question.”

“Sure! I have some time before Iida-kun and Uraraka-chan come looking for me,” he chuckled,
and Nighteye shook his head with amusement.

“I was wondering why you turned down the role of Class Representative. Aizawa told me about
how you said no. Why did you turn down the role?” Nighteye asked, genuinely curious. Izuku
chewed on his bottom lip in thought, wondering how he should phrase his feelings on the matter.

“Well… I just don’t think I’d be confident enough where it counts, you know? And on the other
end, I think I can be too confident sometimes. Like, um, when we first met and I kind of yelled at
you,” he said sheepishly. Nighteye’s eyebrows rose at the explanation.

“I see. Well, that’s very mature of you, Midoriya. I’m proud of you for making what you thought to
be the right call in that situation. In my opinion, though, I think you would have made a wonderful
class representative,” he said, giving a small smile. Izuku smiled back just a little.

“Thanks, Sir. I’ve got to get going, but I appreciate it, really,” Izuku said. Nighteye gently patted
his shoulder.

“Of course, Midoriya. And tell your mother I said hello when you get home, alright?” He said.
Izuku nodded as he put away his last notebook. At the same time that he stood up, the classroom
door slid open. To his surprise, in walked none other than Inoue, pushing a janitorial cart.

“Inoue-san!” Izuku said excitedly. The man’s head perked up, and when he spotted Midoriya, he
grinned and laughed.

“Hey, kid! You’re really in the heroics course!” He said, coming up to give Izuku a hug. “Man, I
knew if anybody could do it, it was you! You got that letter, but I didn’t see you at the opening
ceremonies on the first day, so I got really nervous! I’m so proud of you, Midoriya.”

“Aw, thanks, Inoue-san,” Izuku said through the squish of the hug. “It was your letter that got me
in, anyway! I should be thanking you, here.”

“No need to thank me. I would’ve written you a million letters if that’s what you needed. And
thank you too, Sir,” Inoue turned to Nighteye when the hug separated, “For helping me find this
job with U.A. It pays a lot better and I can have a lot more down time with my wife.”

“Of course, Inoue-san. It was the least I could do for your help with the investigation. Now, I
believe somebody here has some friends to meet,” Nighteye chuckled, gesturing to the door.
“Don’t want to make them come and look for you, do you Midoriya?”

Izuku’s eyes went wide - he’d almost forgotten about that! He slung his backpack over his
shoulders and waved as he made his way out of the classroom. “Right, thank you Sir! I’ll see you
tomorrow! Bye!”

“Bye, Midoriya. Stay safe on your way home.”

“Hey, Midoriya-kun! What took you so long?” Uraraka asked curiously, still standing around by
the gate. Izuku chuckled sheepishly.

“I just got caught up talking to Sir, that’s all. Plus I saw somebody I hadn’t seen in a while! So I
stopped to say hi. Sorry for taking so long,” Izuku answered. Then he noticed Aoyama there as
well, standing behind Iida. “Oh, Aoyama-kun! Are you walking with us? You know what, we
should all get ramen together at the little stall by the train station before we go home!”

“Ooh, that sounds good!” Uraraka said, practically drooling at the thought. “But I don’t have the
money to get any right now…”

“Don’t worry, mon ami, I will pay for you.” Aoyama said with a smile. “I would love to get food
with you all, if you’ll have me.”

“Of course! You are our friend now, aren’t you?” Iida asked, pushing his glasses up. Aoyama
looked genuinely surprised by the statement before his expression melted into a warm smile.

“Yes, I suppose we are. I admit, I didn’t really expect to make friends like this… but I can’t
complain,” he said softly. Uraraka threw her arm around his shoulder amicably.

“Well, you can’t get rid of us now! You’re stuck with us!” She laughed.

“I’m certain I could think of a worse fate,” Aoyama said, though it almost sounded a little forlorn
 as he said so. But then he perked right back up as if it never happened, smiling and happy as ever.
“Anyway, what ramen will you all be getting?”

Izuku didn’t call him out on that brief moment of sadness. He had seemed so distant… but Izuku
knew that people had many reasons for being sad. He wasn’t going to pry; he wouldn’t want
people prying into his own life, either.

Izuku drifted into his own thoughts as they walked. U.A was certainly shaping up to be an
interesting experience, that was for sure. In the first two days, he’d met two more soulmates, gotten
his first class away from Bakugou, and been outed as previously quirkless.

It was kind of crazy, but Izuku didn’t think he’d change any of it for a moment. He was happy here.
Really, he was. Izuku rubbed his soulmarks with a wistful smile as he looked up to the sky. He
wondered what crazy stuff his life would be throwing at him next.

Whatever it was, he’d face it head on with a smile, just like All Might.

Chapter End Notes

Diphylleia: a white flower that turns transparent in the rain, symbolizing honesty
or showing one’s true self.

Oh yeah guys, we got some Aoyama & Izuku friendship!! I absolutely adore the
thought of them being good friends. The cheese on the balcony scene in the anime
made me laugh so hard, and ever since, I’ve been sold on their friendship! (And yes, I
do know the manga spoilers, but don’t spoil in the comments for those that don’t
know! What I do with those spoilers will come with time!)

And we got a little Inoue cameo! I couldn’t just forget about him now that we’re out of
Aldera. He’ll pop up every now and again! And were you expecting Yanagi to be the
one to take Bakugou’s place? I didn’t want to go with the usual suspects for class
switches. It was actually between her, Tokage and Fukidashi when I was planning out
the story, but in the end I decided on her.

Next chapter… we go to the U.S.J >:) What will happen, I wonder? Guess you’ll have
to find out next week…

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks

(PS: Don’t forget to vote here About what you think I should do with the sports
festival if you haven’t already! It seems like y’all want the longer chapters so far, but it
could go any way depending on y’all!)
 U.S.J (Part One)
Chapter Summary

Izuku was about to turn around to face Nighteye, who was behind the group of
students, but something in the square caught his eye. While the class turned, he stared
down and squinted. It looked like… something was appearing down there?

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku woke up with a stretch and an excitement thrumming under his skin. Today was Friday, the
day of their rescue training. He’d been looking forward to it all week, especially because Uraraka
said she couldn’t wait for it either. She wanted to be a rescue hero, so she was prepared to learn as
much as she could. To be fair, he was also pretty excited for rescue training. It was one of his
favorite parts of heroics, even if it didn’t get quite as much limelight. He wanted to save people,
rescue them, make sure that everyone knew they’d be okay no matter who they were. And he
couldn’t do that without proper rescue techniques! So he was prepared to learn as much as he
possibly could and absorb all of that information.

He was also excited because today was the first day he would get to wear his costume. His mother
had gotten him a tracksuit, special just for him. He had insisted on using it as the base, though Sir
helped him tweak the design just a little bit. They changed from having only his favorite red shoes
to having a similar pair with leg reinforcements and steel soles to support his Full Cowling style.
He also had different gloves and a different mouth guard than he had originally come up with.

He was excited to see it in action, so he had a pep in his step as he made his way to school. When
he met up at the gates with his friends, they noticed his good mood right away.

“What’s got you so chipper, Midoriya?” Uraraka asked with a friendly giggle. Izuku grinned
widely.

“The training today! Aren’t you excited as well? Plus we get to see our costumes! I can’t wait to
see what everyone looks like!” He said eagerly. Aoyama, effervescent as ever, posed and sparkled
with a smile as well.

“I designed my costume to be as sparkly as moi! I hope you all enjoy its radiance!” He said, adding
a little twirl on at the end. Izuku chuckled a little bit.

“I’m sure it looks great, Aoyama-kun, your sparkles are always the brightest,” he replied. Aoyama
looked surprised for a moment before he broke into a beaming smile. He looked over the moon
that somebody had complimented his sparkles.

“Why, thank you! What about you, Iida? What is your costume like?” He asked. Iida pushed up his
glasses with a pleasant expression.

“I modeled my costume after the Ingenium line, of course! I plan on continuing the family tradition
for as long as I possibly can. It is different from my brother’s, as my engines are in my legs instead
of my arms, but overall you should be able to tell that I come from the Ingenium family when I’m
in costume,” he said proudly. Izuku nodded eagerly. He couldn’t wait to see Iida’s costume either.

“It’s so cool that you have a pro hero brother, Iida! You must have learned a lot about the industry
early on. Do you think you’ll go to his agency when you graduate or sidekick somebody else for a
while?” Izuku asked.

“I honestly hadn’t thought about that much. I was focused on the immediate future, in all honesty.
Getting into U.A, training my quirk and all that,” he admitted, looking a little bashful. “But I would
not be opposed to being my brother’s sidekick for a time. He is a wonderful hero, somebody I’d be
grateful to learn from.”

Their conversation continued easily until they reached the classroom, where they took their seats
and waited for classes to begin. Izuku looked over to Yanagi, who was chatting amicably with
Tokoyami in the seat behind her. He was glad to see that the sudden student change hadn’t been
entirely ill-received. He was just… tired of his progress and betterment being tied into Bakugou’s,
and if that meant him going to another class, then so be it.

Even if it admittedly did hurt to find out that several of his classmates got a flower with Bakugou
with no problems. They never had to worry about their flowers for a second. He… wouldn’t hold
that against them, though, it wasn’t their fault.

Shaking his head, he pushed the thoughts out of his mind. He wouldn’t think about it right now, he
was supposed to be in a good mood for training! When Sir, Aizawa and Yagi all walked in, his
smile returned and they were all he could focus on. They all stood at the front of the classroom, the
students giving them their undivided attention.

“Good morning, everyone!” Yagi said pleasantly. “As some of you have talked about this week,
today is your first lesson with rescue training! It’s only one of many - you’ll have plenty in the
future, but this will solidify the basics, so make sure to take it seriously, alright?”

“Yes, Yagi-san!” The class responded. Nighteye pulled out a little remote from his suit pocket.

“With that being said, we have your costumes. These are based on the designs you submitted, with
a few tweaks by the design and support courses based on the specifications of your quirks and
limitations.” Nighteye explained, pressing a button on the remote. A panel opened up along the
wall, revealing shiny, silver cases with numbers corresponding to their seat numbers on it. “Please
go ahead and take your cases. Go down to the changing rooms and change, and then we will meet
outside on the bus to go to the U.S.J. Iida, as the rep, you are responsible for getting everyone there
within the next fifteen minutes.”

“Understood, sensei!” Iida said firmly. “Everyone, please grab your cases and belongings and
make your way down to the locker rooms in an orderly fashion!”

Izuku stood, and with an awed expression, went to retrieve his costume along with the rest of the
class. His case had a shiny number ‘14’ on it, and he held it almost as if he were afraid to break the
thing. He followed his classmates down to the locker rooms, and as he unpacked his stuff, he
realized he’d have to change in front of everyone for the first time.

During the quirk apprehension test, he’d managed to sneak off to the bathroom, but he couldn’t
exactly do that squished in the crowd of boys. He was… still a little self-conscious of his scars, the
last remnants of his days at Aldera clinging to his skin. He didn’t think anybody would bring it up,
but he didn’t want anybody to stare, either. He must have been mumbling, though, because there
was a gentle hand on his shoulder all of a sudden.
“Midoriya, are you okay?” Iida asked, looking a little worried. “You seem bothered by
something.”

Izuku blinked and then he realized: he had people he could rely on. He tugged on Aoyama’s arm
and pulled him over as well, nervously looking between them. He muttered quietly enough for only
them to hear, hoping they’d say yes to his idea.“Um… would you both be willing to do me a
favor?”

“Of course, mon ami, you have but to ask,” Aoyama said softly, mirroring Iida’s worried
expression. Izuku’s shoulders hunched over, as if he were ashamed to even bring this up in front of
others.

“I, um… I don’t like changing around other people,” he whispered. There was also the fact that
changing time in gym class was one of his old bullies’ favorite opportunities to mess with him.
Stealing his clothes, shoving trash in his gym locker, you name it. “Would you two be okay with
me changing behind you?”

“Of course, Midoriya, that’s no problem,” Iida nodded, his expression relaxing. “Thank you for
trusting me enough to ask.”

“Me too,” Aoyama agreed with a smile. Izuku fought back a wobbly smile at their kindness. He
was so lucky to have them as friends.

Changing into his hero costume went well. Iida and Aoyama didn’t even spare a glance at him out
of respect, and Izuku felt warm with the knowledge that he really could trust them. They all met up
outside the bus, and Izuku was really excited to see everyone’s costumes for the first time.

“Oh, Midoriya, your costume is really cool!” He heard Uraraka’s voice and turned to see her
standing there in her own costume. She looked really cute in it, pink was definitely her color, he
thought. “I should’ve been more specific with mine, I guess… I didn’t exactly want something
skin-tight…”

“You can always put in a request to change it, this is only our first version, after all,” Iida said. His
costume consisted of a suit of armor, much like the one the current Ingenium wore.

“Yeah! Although the tightness might cradle your pressure points better, it’ll help relieve your
nausea. Kind of like an astronaut’s suit? You could always have a baggier top layer over it!” Izuku
suggested. Ochako perked up at the thought.

“That’s a good idea! I’ll put in to have a top layer of some kind added. Thanks, you two,” she
grinned. “Hey, where’s Aoyama? What’s his costume?”

“Right here!” Aoyama burst forth, his glittery purple cape sparkling along with the rest of him.
“What do you think? Very stylish, right?”

“Ooh, I like the glitter!” Uraraka nodded, picking up the cape to examine it closer. Aoyama
beamed, sparkling even more. He really was an effervescent personality, it was hard to feel down
around him. Izuku really liked that about him. “You and Iida both went for armor, too!”

“So we did!” Iida pushed up his glasses and looked at Aoyama’s armor. “Were you inspired by
Ingenium as well? Or perhaps Yoroi Musha?”

“Actually, a French hero called d’Artagnan,” Aoyama explained. “His quirk lets him summon
swords, and he dressed as a knight while he was active! He was quite the inspiration to me. He was
considered the closest hero to being quirkless in France, actually. He had no advantages other than
plain swords, all of his skill was entirely his own.”

“Oh, I love d’Artagnan!” Izuku said, his eyes going wide. He’d researched all the heroes who were
effectively close to quirkless across the hero community years ago, and he held them each close to
his heart. He had no idea one of them had inspired somebody as cool as Aoyama, though. “That’s
amazing, Aoyama-kun! I bet he’d be honored to know he inspired somebody like you!”

Something like a pained look crossed Aoyama’s features for a moment before he collected himself.
“I suppose so. Either way, I am far from my home country now, but I wanted something to
remember it by. I’m surprised you know d’Artagnan, though, Midoriya!”

“Well, I love all the heroes that fight as close to quirkless as possible. I mean… I did mention the
other day I grew up quirkless. I did a lot of research as a kid into quirkless heroes, even though I
could never find one that was actually quirkless. A shame, but… I found a lot of heroes I respect,”
Izuku explained a little sheepishly. Aoyama seemed to nod with understanding, and the
conversation flowed easily from there.

The class boarded the bus and Izuku wondered what sort of things they’d start out learning. Would
they learn actual rescue techniques, or how to calm civilians? He was very curious to find out.

The trip wasn’t that long, all things considered, as it wasn’t too far from campus. When they
arrived, the students were all in shock at the size of the giant building. U.A certainly didn’t do half-
measures, that much was for sure. The bus pulled up to a stop at the entrance, and the students
disembarked to see none other than the rescue hero, Thirteen, waiting for them in front of the
doors.

“Oh my gosh!” Izuku felt a heavy rush of excitement surge through the bond, and he turned to see
Uraraka nearly bouncing up and down eagerly. “It’s Thirteen! They’re like my favorite hero! I
can’t believe we get to work with them!”

“Thirteen is cool! They have a really high record for most saves across a career, I think! At least in
the top five!” Izuku nodded. Her excitement was quite literally contagious when he could feel it
like this, and even Iida was clearly struggling not to show the same excitement.

“Alright, kids, follow me inside please!” Thirteen called, waving them along. The class did as they
were told, with Yagi and Nighteye behind them and Aizawa in front. The giant, decorative doors
opened up and the kids were in awe.

There were multiple smaller areas inside, each with their own set of challenges, it looked like.
Izuku could hardly fathom the amount of money it must have taken to build all of this, let alone the
other facilities the school boasted. U.A really was the best of the best.

Thirteen stood at the top of the steps, holding their hands out wide. “Welcome to the Unforeseen
Simulation Joint, or U.S.J! I’m very happy to have you all here.”

The class murmured excitedly and took in the sights, itching to get started with the lesson. But
Thirteen had something to say, so they got everyone’s attention again. “Today, you’re going to
learn to use your minds, bodies and quirks to help people. There are many quirks that when used
carelessly can seriously hurt somebody, for example, my own Black Hole. But when applied
properly, and when used carefully, you can do tremendous good even with the most ‘dangerous’ of
quirks. That is what I hope to impart on you today.”

Izuku had a soft smile on his face. He was glad Thirteen was helping teach them today. They
clearly knew what they were talking about, and they were imparting the wisdom of not
discriminating based on quirks in a subtle way. He could appreciate that; he hoped everyone took it
to heart.

Even when he didn’t have one, it always hurt to see others with so-called ‘lesser’ or ‘villainous’
quirks get put down for them, when he would easily have done anything for a quirk like theirs.

“Remember: as heroes, your bottom line should be to use your knowledge and power in service of
others and to protect the peace.” Nighteye agreed, pushing up his glasses. Everyone seemed to take
in the information, thoughtful expressions on their face. “So, with that being said, I suppose we
should start discussing what we will be doing today.”

Izuku was about to turn around to face Nighteye, who was behind the group of students, but
something in the square caught his eye. While the class turned, he stared down and squinted. It
looked like… something was appearing down there? It was shimmering, misty and purple. It
started out small and then it grew to the size of the fountain. What in the world was it?

“Midoriya, are you paying attention?” Nighteye asked, and Izuku startled. He turned to look a little
sheepish, throwing just one last glance over his shoulder at the thing in front of the fountain. But
then, his eyes went wide as he realized something was stepping through the portal.

“Uh… sir?” He said nervously, pointing to it. There were dozens of people pouring through now,
and Izuku was sure he didn’t recall Nighteye bringing up other people as part of the exercise when
they talked about it the other night. “I think there’s… people breaking in.”

Aizawa quickly whipped around to see what he was talking about, and he grit his teeth. He pulled
down his goggles and his hair raised. “Villains. Yagi, Thirteen, get the kids to the bus. Nighteye
and I will handle them until you get reinforcements.”

Without so much as another word, Aizawa leapt into the fray where the villains were. The last
three people stepped out of the portal and it shut behind them, forming into a man that promptly
vanished. Before Nighteye could get to the stairs to join Aizawa, the man that had made the portal
reappeared in front of them.

“I am afraid you all will not be able to join him or leave. You have been invited to stay and watch
the show. We are the League of Villains. It may be presumptuous of us, but we have invited
ourselves into the home of the heroes in order to have the Symbol of Peace draw his last breath.”
The mist man explained.

“What?! But All Might isn’t even here!” Mineta cried, practically in tears already. Izuku looked at
Yagi with a fierce expression. If they knew who he was, that would be very, very bad - and he
couldn’t exactly out himself like this.

“No, he is not here, that is true,” the mist man spread his entire body around the group of them.
“But we have something in mind that should draw him out for us to kill him later.”

Thirteen stepped forward to raise a finger and use their quirk, but the mist man was faster. With a
yelp, Izuku felt the ground give out from underneath him - and so did most of the others. He
grabbed onto the closest person he could, but his entire class disappeared around him.
The last thing he heard was Ochako crying out for her classmates.

The next thing Izuku registered was blinding heat and the fact that he was being yanked hard to the
left by something. When he processed what was going on, he realized that everything around him
was on fire, and it was Asui who had pulled him out of the way of something with her tongue.

She looked extremely uncomfortable in the heat, like she was seconds away from keeling over. Her
quirk was essentially frog-like features, so he figured the heat was bad, as the massive amount of
fire was probably drying her out fast.

The next thing he realized was that Aoyama was next to her, assuming a fighting position. Izuku
looked around again and noticed they were surrounded by villains, and Asui had pulled him out of
the way of an attack. There were dozens of them, though none seemed to give off a particular aura
of being a serious threat. Still, the fact that they were there at all…

“We can’t use our quirks here, the buildings are unstable because of the fires and we could get
seriously hurt,” Izuku said, looking around at the buildings that were crumbling around them.
Aoyama and Asui nodded understandingly. “But Asui-san doesn’t look so good, we should get her
out of here…”

“Just call me Tsu,” she croaked weakly, stumbling. Izuku caught her, gently helping her back
upright. The villains were closing in, and he had to think of something fast.

“Here, piggy back on me, As - I mean, Tsu,” he offered, and the girl did as he said. She didn’t have
the strength to argue - the fire was really taking it out of her.

“We should fight quirkless!” Aoyama said suddenly, and Izuku was taken aback by the eager
suggestion. He’d never had anybody other than Sir suggest that before. “You could probably use a
small amount of your quirk as long as it’s not near buildings, but we should just do our best to get
out of here the old fashioned way!”

Izuku nodded, feeling invigorated by the suggestion. He could certainly do that. “Hold on tight,
Tsu. I’m gonna do some quick maneuvers and get you out of here.”

He felt Tsu’s limbs get tighter around him, and he powered up with a very low amount of One for
All. It allowed him to get around as if Tsu weighed nothing and didn’t slow him down, and when
the villains finally got close enough he could duck and weave like normal. A muscular man with a
mohawk rushed him, and Izuku ducked under his arms. When he was free to make a move, Izuku
twisted back around and performed a roundhouse kick to the back of his head, knocking him out.

Tsu had somehow managed to stay holding onto him the entire time, so he continued on his
mission to clear a path through the encroaching villains. It didn’t help that he had to dodge debris
from the building fires, but it was nothing compared to Togata’s blinding speed when they trained
together - he could easily maneuver around that, no problem.

While Izuku was busy fighting villains alongside Aoyama, his wrist had a familiar itch. He
suspected what it might be - there was only one reason an itch would stand out among everything
that was going on right now. He had no time to confirm, though - he’d worry about Tsu potentially
being one of his soulmates later, when they weren’t in very immediate danger.
It took them a while, but the villains clearly weren’t well-trained. He and Aoyama were more than
enough for them. The two were able to push their way through the crowd of them to the exit, with
Izuku only having to take care of a couple with One for All. Once they got out of the fire zone,
Izuku spotted the lake from the shipwreck zone in the distance.

“There! We’ve gotta rehydrate Tsu!” He said quickly. Aoyama nodded and they both ran for it.
They stayed low just to be safe, unsure of where any more villains might be.

Once they were on the shore of the lake, he could see people swimming around in the water - they
looked like villains, who thankfully hadn’t noticed them. He couldn’t see any of his classmates in
the water, so they were either on the ship or not there, but he couldn’t focus on that right now. Tsu
took priority.

He gently got Tsu off of his back and laid her down in the water. When she was covered by it, she
seemed to quickly recover her strength and sat up with a deep breath. She blinked and looked to
Izuku with a small smile.

“Thank you, Midoriya-kun,” she said. Izuku just nodded and took the chance to lift up his left
sleeve. Just as he thought… there was a pretty, purple flower blooming there among his romantic
soulmarks. He gave a weary smile and held it out to her.

“Would you look at that, I think we’re soulmates, Tsu,” he said. With a surprised expression, she
pulled back her own sleeve and found she had a matching flower on her wrist. “I’m really glad I
could help you. Are you feeling better now? Are you okay to keep going?”

“I’m okay, kero,” she said, looking as if the bloom didn’t phase her in the slightest. She seemed to
be a very calm person. “We should get out of here though. We can talk about the flower later.”

“Agreed, but…” Izuku trailed off, looking towards the plaza. His teacher seemed to still be
fighting the villains there, including one giant, monstrous one with a beak that was just standing
there as of now. “I want to go help Aizawa-sensei. I can’t see Sir Nighteye with him, so he must
have gotten teleported as well. Aizawa-sensei can’t face all those people on his own, he’s not
suited for battles like this.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Midoriya-kun? I mean, won’t we be getting in the way, kero?”
Tsu asked, tilting her head. Izuku shook his head in return.

“No, we’ll stay on the side. I can jump in if needed and you can throw villains out of the way with
your tongue. If you’re willing, of course. But if it looks like he’ll be okay without our help, we can
go find the others and see if they need help instead,” Izuku suggested, a determined fire burning in
his eyes.

“I find it hard to say no to that. You have me on your side, Midoriya,” Aoyama said, a serious face
on the normally smiling, sparkling teen. Tsu was silent for a moment more before finally nodding
in agreement.

“I’ll go with you as well. I’m actually worried about Aizawa sensei too, kero. I’d like to help if I
can,” she said. Izuku put his hand in the middle and the other two put their hands on top of his.
They could do this. They had to do this. He didn’t know where Yagi-san was, but clearly he wasn’t
able to change into All Might wherever he was or he’d already be in the plaza. Another thing to
worry about, but he didn’t feel any disturbance in the bond.

Izuku took a deep breath. “We’ll do this together. Thank you both.”
Chapter End Notes

Speedwell: a long, purple flower signifying kindness, loyalty and protection.

Another soulmate in quick succession! It was bound to happen since most of them are
in close proximity to each other :P Also, in case you were wondering, Izuku’s costume
is basically the one he gets with Gran Torino in canon but the suit has the coloring of
the original his mom got him.

And Shigaraki & the League attack the U.S.J here too! What is his plan, I wonder?
How will things go this time? Guess we’ll have to wait until next time to find out! The
more major changes from canon don’t start taking place until around the sports
festival, but the U.S.J is different in some regards - y’all will see :)

And speaking of the sports festival! Y’all voted for two long chapters plus an
intermission. So I will do just that - the sports festival chapters will be very long, with
an intermission chapter between them. Seriously, the long chapters ended up being
nearly 10k each… rip my hands bc I somehow wrote that in just under 2 days.

Anyway, point is, they’re long, so you guys had better pay attention when the time
comes! Lots of important stuff to come. I’m so excited to get to it, one of my favorite
story beats happens in the sports festival!

I’ve just about rambled these end notes to death, so I’ll leave them be here. See you all
next chapter!
- daylightbreaks
 U.S.J (Part Two)
Chapter Summary

Suddenly, like a shot through his heart, he felt a spike of emotion through Aizawa-
sensei’s parental bond. It was shock and disbelief, tinged with long-buried pain… so
much pain.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

In another area of the U.S.J, Mirai appeared out of a purple portal, falling onto the top of the
landslide zone. He adjusted his glasses and immediately took in his surroundings, noting there
were villains currently climbing their way up the mountain of dirt and debris. He reached into his
coat pocket to pull out one of his favorite weighted stamps, but there was suddenly a hand stuck
out in front of him.

“Don’t worry, Sir. I can handle them just fine on my own,” a monotone voice said, and he glanced
over to see none other than Todoroki, fogged breath coming from his mouth. He looked cold with
one half of his body frozen over like that, with more frost and ice creeping out from under his right
foot.

“I’m the pro hero here, Todoroki, I will handle the villains. Protect yourself if necessary, but you
should be the one staying back,” Mirai raised an eyebrow, taking a step forward as if to test him.
Todoroki pursed his lips and stared up at him defiantly.

“I can take them all out in one move. I’ll just freeze them to the ground,” he said flatly. Mirai
looked back at him with a deadpan expression.

“You realize that would freeze me to the ground as well, yes? Just leave them to me, there’s no
trouble,” he replied, pulling the stamp from his jacket pocket and flinging it at one of the villains
who had gotten too close for comfort. The villain tumbled back down the landslide, presumably
knocked out cold.

“We can work together, then,” Todoroki muttered, and Mirai scoffed. He’d have to talk to the boy
about what to do in these kinds of situations, and how running into villains blindly was not the
appropriate response, nor was arguing with his teacher about it.

“Hey, I’m here too! Don’t accidentally freeze me either, please!” They heard Hagakure’s voice,
and they both spotted her gloves waving wildly about. Nighteye wondered what in the world she
was doing, giving away her position like that. If she was able to sneak away to safety, she should
have done so! Though when he thought about it, her gloves and boots had never turned off. Were
they different from her suit? Or… did she not have a suit? Another problem for later. If she didn’t
have one of the DNA-based suits like Mirio, he was fixing that immediately.

Todoroki didn’t acknowledge Hagakure’s presence behind them, simply turning his attention to the
villains, raising a frosty hand and shooting a sheet of ice out from it, freezing four villains to the
spot nearly instantly. Right… not the time to be thinking about hero suits. Todoroki looked at
Mirai as if to say ‘I told you so,’ but the man just rolled his eyes.
The rest of the villains were much the same way. They were not a threat at all, really. When they
got to the last one, Todoroki encased him in ice from head to toe and put his frosty hand in front of
the man’s face, the only part left uncovered.

“You know, if I left you like this, your cells would begin to die off. But instead, if you tell me why
you think you can defeat All Might, I’ll be nice. I’d rather not have to kill somebody,” he said
sharply. Mirai’s eyebrows rose. He could tell the boy didn’t mean it, but to the untrained ear it
sounded convincing. A tactic learned from his father, he wondered?

“The big thing with the beak, it’s supposed to be stronger than All Might! The blue-haired guy
called it the anti-Symbol of Peace! That’s all I know!” The villain said, sniveling and pleading.
Todoroki stared at him for a moment before shattering the thin ice around the man’s head.

“Very well then,” he turned back to Mirai with an intense expression. “We need to go to the plaza
and stop the thing they brought with them. If it’s truly strong enough to defeat All Might, we can’t
let it get away.”

“You’re a willfully stubborn child, you know that?” Mirai muttered. “I just told you students
should stay behind the teachers in situations like this, and you suggest going right back into
danger?”

“Am I wrong?” Todoroki continued to stare him down. Mirai grumbled under his breath. This kid
was even more stubborn than Toshinori and with more common sense. A dangerous combination,
to be sure.

“Todoroki-kun, we should be listening to Sir Nighteye! He’s the hero, like he said!” Hagakure
urged, looking incredibly nervous despite not even being able to see her.

“There’s just one problem. He’s not wrong,” Mirai sighed. Although that did raise the question of
if Toshinori was already there - had he managed to change without being seen, or had his identity
been compromised for the sake of the students? Or had he been transported too? There were a lot
of factors at play and Mirai needed to see them all before he could judge the situation properly.
“We’ll go. But you two stay behind me this time, and don’t do anything without my say-so. If you
don’t listen I’ll fail you for the next ten lessons straight.”

“Fine,” Todoroki stalked forward, though it was clear he was less than pleased by the thought of
being forced to the sidelines. “But I’m doing my part if I need to.”

Mirai groaned internally. He was starting to see why Aizawa called them problem children. Why
couldn’t everyone be as well-mannered as Mirio and Izuku?

Meanwhile in the mountain zone, Jiro and Yaoyorozu were busy quite literally beating off the
villains with sticks. Well, staffs made from her quirk, but still. Ojiro and Koda were with them, but
the mountains lacked many places for Ojiro to use his tail to his advantage and there were no live
animals in a simulated experience like this for Koda to use. It was up to them, their wits, and their
fighting skills.

Yaoyorozu and Ojiro were definitely their go-tos for this situation. They had all been trounced by
them during their first heroics lesson, but they couldn’t afford to lose now. They were looking to
the two for guidance, and they were stepping up to the task.
With the two leading them, they were easily taking care of opponents. It wasn’t fancy by any
means, but they got the job done and protected themselves. There was one villain that was giving
them a bit of trouble - a guy similar to Kaminari who could produce lightning - but a shock blanket
from Yaoyorozu handled his power easily.

They just had to make it through the rest or stand strong until help arrived.

Kaminari didn’t have any chance to process what had happened before he was falling through the
air and landing head-first into the water of the shipwreck zone. He floundered around for a
moment, trying to get his bearings without sucking water into his lungs. He could see the
fluorescent lights of the U.S.J piercing the water, so he began to swim towards them.

Then, without warning, he was yanked hard to the right by something. He realized a shark-like
villain had sped right through where he was and he would’ve been toast if it weren’t for that tug.
He looked to see Iida in the water with him, and they both reached the surface with a gasp.

“Kaminari-kun!” Iida coughed. “Are you alright?!”

“I’m fine!” Kaminari said, treading water as if his life depended on it. “What about you?! Where
are we going to go?!”

“You two! Up here, get to the boat!” They heard another voice yell, and they turned to see a
completely soaked Thirteen standing on the ship deck. “Quickly! There’s more villains!”

Iida and Kaminari swam as fast as they could, trying not to let the villains catch up to them in the
process. It was hard, as Iida’s engines couldn’t work while waterlogged like this and Kaminari
couldn’t shock the water with his friend inside it. Not to mention he’d end up drowning from his
shut down mode.

Finally, they reached the boat, where Thirteen helped them both climb over the edge and up to
safety. The villains stared up at Kaminari warily, and Thirteen sighed.

“I don’t know how, but they seem to know our quirks. They’re nervous about Kaminari’s
electricity and they dumped Iida and I where our quirks weren’t useful,” they grumbled, wringing
water out of their costume. “Not to mention I almost sank thanks to my suit. It’s not made for water
work.”

“How do they know our quirks?” Iida asked, blinking as he realized he was missing his glasses.
“Ah, my glasses… I can’t see. I’m nearsighted.”

“Great,” Kaminari groaned, “We’re trapped up here!”

“Yes, I’m afraid so. But the villains won’t risk coming after us up here, not with Kaminari and his
electricity,” Thirteen murmured. “The only way we’d be able to leave is if you were willing to go
down there and shock them all, but they might get over-electrocuted because of the water or even
drown, and, ah… I’m afraid I simply can’t authorize lethal force in good conscience.”

“Yeah, no thanks, I’m really not in the mood to have that on my hands,” Kaminari sighed and sat
down on the deck of the boat. “At least we’re okay up here… I hope the others are all okay too,
wherever they ended up.”
“I hope so too, Kaminari-kun.” Iida murmured, shaking water from his engines. He placed a gentle
hand over his soulflowers and quietly prayed. “I really hope so too.”

Tokoyami was not happy with this situation at all. He was grateful for Yanagi’s assistance - both
of them had ended up in the downpour zone. But it was dark and cold and wet, and he was having
trouble keeping control of Dark Shadow. Similarly, Yanagi was having trouble seeing where to
send stuff flying with the sheets of rain impeding her view.

The worst part, perhaps, was that one of their teachers, Yagi-san, had ended up with them - but the
thin man had seemingly hit his head on something on the tumble out of the portal, and he was out
cold. Now the two of them had to protect their unconscious teacher from the villains, and they were
worried about their positions.

They hoped reinforcements would get there soon, or that Aizawa and Nighteye took care of the
villains and came for them. Either way, they needed help.

“Stay close to me, Yanagi, it’s safer that way,” Tokoyami grunted, elbowing a villain in the ribs
and sending him tumbling to the ground.

“Of course, Tokoyami-kun. Let me know if I can help you,” she said, lifting a closer villain into
the air with her quirk and tossing him away like a ragdoll. She was only able to lift about one
person at a time due to the weight limits of her quirk, but it helped a lot. Then, she lifted a few
smaller pieces of debris and flung them towards the vague shapes of the villains through the rain.
She managed to hit one in the head and knock them out as well.

“I think we can get through them. As soon as we manage to get out of here, we need to get Yagi-
san to safety and get his head looked at,” he grunted, watching Dark Shadow screech and lunge at
a villain in the distance. “And get into the light where I can get him back under control. I’m terribly
sorry.”

“It’s no problem, Tokoyami-kun. We’ll get through this,” Yanagi reassured him, taking down
another villain by sending them flying with scrap. “And then we can get him help, just as you
said.”

Off to the side, Yagi groaned and turned. He wasn’t quite conscious yet, but it seemed like he was
getting that way. Tokoyami hoped they could protect him in the meantime.

Back at the steps near the entrance to the U.S.J, there were only a handful of students not
transported. Uraraka, Shoji, Sero, Ashido and Sato all remained after the man made of mist had
transported them, and they were left to stand alone against him. The villain looked irritated when
he saw there were still students there.

“Damn. I transported the wrong one. Those hero students got in the way…” he grumbled, and
Uraraka blinked. The wrong one? Was that what he was talking about when he said they had a plan
to lure All Might here?
Sir Nighteye was the only person she could think of that knew All Might. He had been his sidekick
in the past, and he was transported away too - were they planning on trying to use him as bait or
something? But she didn’t have much more time to think about it, because the mist man was on the
offensive again.

“Very well, I’ll just have to get him back!” The man said, aggressively spreading out his mist as if
to transport them again. Uraraka used her quirk to make everyone float and jumped out of the way
of the encroaching mist.

“Sero!” She called out, getting the boy’s attention. She was trying to think like Midoriya would.
What could she infer about the man from what she saw in front of her? “He’s wearing clothes, so
he has to have a solid body in there somewhere! See if you can get him out of the way!”

Sero nodded and shot his tape out from his floating vantage point, snaring it around the metal
collar the man wore. Uraraka released her classmates, allowing him to use his weight to his
advantage and sling it across the entrance, bringing the man with it and tossing him into the plaza.
The others cheered, and Uraraka high-fived them.

“Good job!” Sato said. “Now what do we do, though? Sensei looks like he’s struggling down
there…”

“Ashido, do you think your acid could melt through the door?” Uraraka asked. Mina put a hand to
her chin in thought.

“First, just call me Mina! Second, I don’t think so. It’s too thick. But if you could get me up to the
dome made of glass on the other hand… I could probably melt my way through that!” She said,
“You want me to run and get help, right?”

“If you’re running to get help, Sato and I could take care of the door,” Shoji spoke up. “The two of
us together could probably pull it open. Who could get there the fastest, though? Iida isn’t with us
right now…”

“I could swing there with my tape,” Sero offered. Uraraka nodded.

“That sounds fine to me, just be careful, okay? We don’t know if there’s anybody outside,” she
said, Sero nodded understandingly. The group approached the door, and Sato downed a sugar
packet. Together, he and Shoji made short work of the door and pulled it open with ease. Sero
slipped through the opening they made and took off running, slinging his tape out and pulling
himself along.

“Okay… what should the rest of us do? Wait here?” Mina asked, looking down to the plaza
nervously. “Sato was right, Sensei looks like he’s having trouble…”

“We should stay out of the way. Sensei told us to evacuate,” Shoji said. “I don’t like it any more
than you do, but we could cause more damage than help.”

“Yeah… we’re not pros yet…” Mina said. Uraraka looked down to the plaza and frowned. Her
hand instinctively went to the wrist with her soulmarks, and she wondered how her friends were
faring. Were they safe?

“Right. We’re not pros,” she agreed, even though it didn’t sit right. She didn’t think this was the
end of it… she just prayed the teachers got here fast.
Shouta grunted as he knocked a few villains’ heads together. He’d knocked out at least a dozen
villains already, and yet they didn’t seem like they were lessening at all. It was a problem,
especially when his blinks were starting to get more frequent. He wondered where the hell
Nighteye was, but when he saw his kids start appearing above the zones and falling, he had a
suspicion something had happened.

And then, of all things, one of the villains - the mist one that had gotten away during one of his
blinks - had flown over his head, tossed by his metal collar. He had some tape stuck to it, and
Shouta figured some of his students had defended themselves. Good.

The metal collar landed right in front of him, and when the mist was reforming, Shouta took the
opportunity to haul the man up by his arms and bind him up in his capture weapon, tossing him
again and using him to bowl over some more villains. As he did, there was an electric sort of pain
that ran through his arm, and he was distracted for just a moment - enough so that the one Shouta
assumed to be the boss stepped in.

“You’re so cool, Eraserhead,” the blue-haired man crowed, “But not as cool as my friends, you see.
It’s time you stepped aside.”

The blue-haired man rushed forward, much faster than the other villains. He clearly had some sort
of training at the very least, dodging and weaving around his hits easily. When Shouta got the
opportunity, he elbowed the man in the ribs. He heard a crack, meaning he’d clearly broken
something, but in return he felt a knife slash at his stomach and the blue-haired man’s hand
wrapped around his elbow.

It was his shirt sleeve first, and then the skin underneath that gave way, decaying into ash. He grit
his teeth and pulled back, seeing a little blonde girl standing next to the man. Where had she come
from, he wondered? She had the knife that had cut him, he saw, and he pressed the end of his
capture weapon to the wound to staunch the bleeding.

“Shiggy, Kurogiri messed up,” she pouted. “He sent the wrong person away.”

“What?” The boss growled, scratching furiously at his neck. “If he wasn’t our warp, I’d decay him
for that…”

“Aw, it’s okay, boss!” The girl gave a toothy grin and stopped him from scratching. “We’ve got
plenty of ammo right here! We’re in his alma mater, aren’t we? And it’ll sure hurt his honor if we
get a few students, right?”

“Hey… that’s not a bad idea,” his eyes glinted from behind the mummified hand he wore as a
mask. Shouta grit his teeth and pulled on his capture weapon again. No way in hell would he let
these creeps lay a hand on his students. “If we can’t kill Nighteye, we’ll just kill whoever we can.
Cause chaos… and All Might will still show up. It’s how heroes are.”

Shouta lurched forward to attack again, but the sight of his own wrist stopped him. The bottom half
of his left sleeve had fallen off when that elbow had decayed, exposing his romantic soulmarks. He
knew them well - Hizashi’s delphinium, Nemuri’s hibiscus, Oboro’s grayed out rose.

Except there was one problem.

Oboro’s rose wasn’t grayed out any more.

It was back to its vibrant blue, the same as it had been when they met in high school. Shouta froze
on the spot, a choked ‘what the fuck’ making it out. The villains’ boss took the opportunity to
simply laugh.

“Cat got your tongue, Eraserhead? That’s enough out of you, anyway. Nomu,” he pointed, and
before Shouta could react, he was slammed into the ground by a monster at least twice the size of
All Might. His arms were broken when they were twisted unnaturally behind his back. It was
followed immediately by his head hitting the pavement, and the next thing he knew he was out
cold. Shigaraki just laughed again.

“Too bad, hero.”

Kirishima had ended up in the ruins with Mineta. He wasn’t complaining, but he wished the other
boy would pull a little more weight. So far, he only seemed to be crying and throwing the purple
balls from his head haphazardly, making it a little difficult for him to maneuver. He grunted and
took another one out with a hardened chop.

“C’mon, Mineta, I think that’s all of them. We’ve gotta get out of here before more show up,” The
redhead grunted, hauling himself out of one of the windows and dropping a few floors, using his
quirk to prevent hurting himself in the fall. Mineta just sniffled and stuck the purple balls to the
wall outside, using them to climb down like handholds.

The rest of the ruins seemed thankfully quiet, and the two boys made their way to the exit. Mineta
stuck close the entire time. “What do you think they want, anyway? I mean, that guy said they
wanted to kill All Might, right? How could they possibly do that?”

“I don’t know, man, but I don’t wanna stay to find out. These guys are seriously trying to kill us,
we should evacuate like Aizawa-sensei said in the first place,” Kirishima said firmly. Mineta just
nodded furiously in agreement.

Once they made it to the exit, they could see the plaza in the distance, where their teacher was
fighting. They had to make their way around it to get out of here… “Let’s stay low and go around,
okay?”

“Okay,” Mineta got down near the ground with him, both of them attempting to stay out of sight.
Across the plaza, they saw none other than Izuku, Tsu and Aoyama who were also showing up to
the plaza at the same time. They noticed each other with relieved expressions, glad their classmates
were okay.

“Look,” Izuku said with a hushed voice, “It’s Kirishima and Mineta, over there!”

Tsu and Aoyama breathed easier, seeing them okay. But then the three of them turned their
attention to the fight in the plaza, and he saw his normally stoic teacher react to something.
Suddenly, like a shot through his heart, he felt a spike of emotion through Aizawa-sensei’s parental
bond. It was shock and disbelief, tinged with long-buried pain… so much pain. Izuku clutched at
his heart instinctively.

And then the boss ordered whatever that massive thing was to attack his teacher, and it promptly
broke his arms and knocked him out cold in one swift series of movements, their teacher’s blood
spilling out onto the ground.
Izuku felt anger bubble up inside him, and judging by the expressions on Tsu and Aoyama’s faces,
they were able to feel it too. Izuku couldn’t watch any more. He clenched a fist so tightly he could
feel his nails digging into his palms.

“Midoriya…” Tsu began, but whatever she was going to say, she abandoned. “Be careful,” she
settled on instead.

“We’ll be here for backup,” Aoyama said quietly, a deep scowl on his face as well. Izuku gave a
curt nod and got in a fighting position. But before Izuku could take off, the boss of the villains had
turned and pointed directly at them. They’d been spotted.

“Nomu,” the boss said, and the beaked thing took off like a shot. Izuku darted forward to match it,
ducking under its wide swing to flank it. He kicked with as much of One for All as he could
manage, but the thing acted as if his attacks were nothing more than an inconvenience. Just how
strong was this thing?!

“Heh… meet my bioengineered Nomu,” the boss laughed, “Super strength, shock absorption, and
even regeneration… it’s the best tank I could ask for.”

Izuku’s eyes went wide.

This thing had multiple quirks, according to the boss of the villains. And the only villain he knew
of that could put multiple quirks inside something like this… was All for One, the villain Yagi-san
had told him about.

That meant two things: one, All for One was alive.

And two, this boss was likely working for the villain who hurt All Might. And if they wanted to
draw him out and kill him…

Then this thing probably had quirks strong enough to do just that.

This situation was a lot worse than Izuku thought.

And then it only got even worse when the boss turned his attention away from Izuku’s fight with
the Nomu to face Kirishima and Mineta, grinning wildly behind the hands he wore. He scratched at
his neck for a moment before turning to the girl with him.

“Hey… you said killing a few kids would lower morale?” He laughed, to which the girl responded
with her own excited laughter. And then he lunged for his classmates, and Izuku had to get there
quick, he had to, he saw their lives flashing before his eyes-

Without warning, he powered up One for All in his legs, and with a precise jump, he used the
Nomu as a launching pad and broke one of his legs to get himself to the boss as quickly as possible.
A shockwave exploded from the impact and the power he put into it, enough to rock the entire
plaza and then some.

The same kind of force that was standard for All Might, which shocked Tsu and Aoyama. The two
watched him blur as he sped across the Plaza.

But Izuku was just a few seconds too late - the boss’ hands had reached out and touched both
Kirishima and Mineta. The two began to crumble where they were touched, just like their teacher’s
elbow had done - and then Izuku tackled the boss out of the way with the full force of One for All
behind him.
 Izuku looked up from where he ended up after the tackle, praying to everything that his classmates
were still there.

Chapter End Notes

Oh yeah. It’s getting real.

A lot of you were wondering about Aizawa’s flower - well, now you (sort of) know.
This is only the first reveal of many, and I can’t wait for y’all to get there. there will be
one more part of the USJ and then it’ll be over - is there anything you guys think will
happen next chapter?

Also, just a side note, I’m torn on whether to include the events of the first two
movies. I’m going to end up incorporating the third movie in a different way bc y’all
voted to have Rody join in the beginning of the story, but the first two are up in the
air. We’ll see :P

I’ll leave the end notes here so I don’t ramble again! See you all next chapter!
- daylightbreaks

—————
Bonus:

Nighteye, after the U.S.J: Students who don’t listen get detention, Todoroki.
Todoroki: Oh good, time away from home. I’ll completely ignore you then. Give me
as much detention as you want. *proceeds to unceasingly sass Nighteye*
Nighteye: Now I understand why Aizawa spikes his coffee.
 U.S.J (Part Three)
Chapter Summary

“It took All Might to bring that thing down. You couldn’t have matched that.”

“…I guess so,” Izuku conceded, though the thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. If
he had more control over his quirk, he’d be as strong as All Might and then some.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku looked up from where he had ended up after the tackle, praying to everything that his
classmates were still there.

He let out a choked sob of relief when he saw they were still alive.

They were bleeding and injured, and they needed medical attention immediately - the decaying
villain had managed to hit Kirishima on the chest and Mineta dangerously close to his neck. Still,
they were there and they weren’t dead and they weren’t ash. And then Izuku turned his attention
back to the boss with a snarl. He was clearly injured after a tackle powered by One for All, but
Izuku reared up a punch anyway.

Before he could hit the man however, the monster from before had gone after him again. It had
recovered from the force of Izuku’s kick, and this time it was Izuku’s turn to look on with wide
eyes. The world almost seemed to move in slow motion for a moment, the creature’s fist screaming
‘death’ as it came closer and closer to his face.

With a broken leg, he couldn’t get away from it - but as it turned out, he didn’t need to. With a
sound almost like that of thunder, a shockwave on par with Izuku’s, and rising smoke, the
monster’s fists had come to a grinding halt.

When the smoke cleared enough, Izuku recognized the form of none other than All Might, holding
back the monster’s fists.

“I’m sorry it took me so long, my boy,” he grunted, holding his ground against the thing that was
even bigger than he was. “But I am here, so just leave it to me.”

All Might had blood trickling down his head before he had even started fighting and he looked
unsteady on his feet, but he was there, and Izuku had never felt more relieved in his entire life to
see his dad appear. He hobbled the best he could on one leg over to his injured classmates and
picked them both up, one on each shoulder. He had to get away from the situation, but with his leg
like this…

He felt Tsu’s tongue wrap around his waist to steady him, and he took the chance to use Full
Cowling on his good leg and make some hops back over to them, where it was safe. It hurt, but he
couldn’t just leave them in the blast radius of All Might’s fight where they could get injured
further. After Kirishima and Mineta were safe with Tsu and Aoyama, he went back for Aizawa as
well. Izuku pulled him out of the danger zone, still hobbling about. When they were all safe, he
toppled over with a groan of pain.

All he could do now was watch as his father figure battled the thing - he was out of commission
now that the adrenaline was leaving him and his leg was pissed off even further than the break
itself. In the back, he could see the blond girl who’d been at the boss’s side attending to the villain,
trying to get him up and away from the fight as well.

The mist man who’d warped them was in the plaza too, but he was sitting on the ground and just…
staring at his arms. Izuku didn’t know what his problem was, but he was glad he wasn’t accosting
them for the time being. As he watched All Might fight the thing, he saw the man struggle, drops
of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. He must have been low on time when he came in
this morning…

“It has shock absorption!” Izuku yelled over the sounds of the fight. “It has to have a limit some
time! You can do it, All Might!!”

The man seemed to take in what he said and gave a nod as he fought. When he saw his chance, he
readied a punch. “Then I’ll simply have to go beyond… PLUS ULTRA!”

A Little Bit Earlier…

Toshinori awoke with a groan to see that he was being carried by Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow, and
his head was pounding furiously. He reached up and touched it, and found blood when he pulled
his hand away. Ouch. He definitely hit it on something when that man warped him, he figured. It
wasn’t his first head injury, but they were never pleasant.

When Dark Shadow realized he was awake, they set him down gently. Tokoyami and Yanagi both
turned to face him, checking if he was okay. “I’m alright, thank you both. What has happened? Do
you have any information?”

“The villains warped us, sir,” Tokoyami explained. “We two ended up in the downpour zone. We
got out, but we’ve been hanging back. There are still villains inside the U.S.J, especially around the
plaza. We didn’t want to run into any more villains with you unconscious like you were.”

“I see,” Toshinori murmured. He needed to become All Might. He had hesitated turning originally
because of his identity, and because Aizawa had instructed him to evacuate the students with
Thirteen. But that warper had shown up, and he’d ended up going unconscious because of that head
injury.

Well, he couldn’t afford to wait to turn into All Might any more.

“I’m going back in to check for other students that may have ended up inside,” he explained, noting
the door several feet away. “You two stay out here and out of sight. Don’t worry about me, All
Might taught me plenty of tricks while I worked for him!”

The two seemed uneasy about it, but didn’t argue with their teacher. He went back into the
downpour zone where it was dark, and there were no people around to see him. He swelled up to
his hero form, shucking the outer jacket and the tie of his suit so he wasn’t immediately
recognizable. Thank god he was wearing nondescript black pants and not one of his bright suits
today…
With quietness many never knew All Might had, he snuck back out past the students.

He was heading towards the plaza in an instant, where he remembered most of the action had been.
When he got there, he saw something out of a nightmare. Izuku had launched himself off of a giant
beast that took a kick from his full-powered One for All like it was nothing… in order to get to the
other side of the plaza in time.

His leg made a sickening snap as it broke when he leapt, the fear palpable in his eyes as he reached
for his classmates. But the villain had gotten there first, and had injured both Kirishima and
Mineta.

Izuku tackled the villain off of them, and was about to punch again, but the monster he had kicked
off was on him in an instant. He felt a white-hot bolt of fear strike through their bond, and
Toshinori jumped with everything he had.

He managed to get there in time… and he felt a rock of relief settle in his stomach that it hadn’t
hurt his boy. His son. The fight that ensued was nothing short of grueling. The monster was tough,
tougher than nearly every opponent he’d fought before. The only thing that topped it was… well, it
wouldn’t do him good to think of ghosts at a time like this.

“It has shock absorption!” He heard Izuku’s voice rise above the clamor. “It has to have a limit
some time! You can do it, All Might!!”

His boy believed in him. And if it was just another limit for him to overcome, then there was no
way he’d lose. He was All Might, damn it, and if he could defeat All for One, then he could protect
what was important. He’d do it, no matter what it took. He wound up a punch and grit his teeth.

“Then I’ll simply have to go beyond… PLUS ULTRA!” Toshinori yelled, and he rocked the
monster with a series of punches that would have made anybody else practically evaporate. In the
past, it would only have taken him a couple of punches…

He really had gotten weaker. And since he’d given Izuku One for All, he was losing the little bit he
had left. But… he would never regret that decision.

Izuku would be the future of heroics one day.

Finally, when he felt the monster start to give, he punched with everything he had one last time -
and it launched upward, all the way through the glass dome of the U.S.J. He heard Izuku and his
friends cheer, and he turned to them as if to say it was all okay now.

“It’s not fair… it’s not fair!” The villain that had injured his students yelled angrily, though he
sounded like it was a struggle to get the words out, likely injured from that tackle Izuku had hit him
with. He was furiously scratching at his neck from where he stood, though Toshinori hadn’t even
seen him get up. “That was supposed to be the strongest Nomu…! How are you even here?! We
didn’t even get to kill Nighteye yet!”

“C’mon, Shiggy,” a girl he hadn’t noticed appeared from behind him to help. “We gotta go. Some
hero students escaped. Reinforcements will be here soon. Kurogiri! We’re leaving!”

“Indeed. Shigaraki Tomura, do not despair. We will return another time,” the mist villain seemed
to have gotten over whatever stupor he’d been in in order to reassure the blue-haired one covered in
hands. He opened a portal and the girl tugged the villain through.

They disappeared without fanfare or warning, as quickly as they had come. Toshinori let out a
breath and turned his attention to the students who had been injured, as well the unconscious
Aizawa, now that he looked closely at the situation. This wasn’t good.

“I will leave and get help, Iz - young man,” he cut himself off from saying Izuku’s name, as they
weren’t supposed to know each other. “I’m glad Yagi-san called me here!”

Izuku seemed to get the hint and nodded furiously. “M-Me too! We’ll protect them until help
arrives, All Might!”

“No need!” They heard a quirk-powered yell, and they turned to see all of the teachers from U.A
lined up at the top of the stairs. It was Present Mic yelling at them. “We’re already here! You kids
just get down!”

Izuku, Asui and Aoyama all ducked down, and Toshinori covered the injured ones with his body.
Yamada let out a fierce yell, knocking back all of the villains still remaining in the plaza. Snipe let
off a few shots, guiding the bullets to different zones to take out enemies he could see even in the
far distance.

Nighteye and Todoroki seemed to arrive then as well, just getting to the plaza from the landslide
zone. They assisted the teachers, and within a few minutes, the situation seemed to be contained.
Toshinori breathed a sigh of relief that everyone was alright, and the teachers quickly helped
everyone out of the zones they’d been sent to. Recovery Girl also helped get the injured out and to
waiting EMTs, who had also been called to the scene.

Izuku and his two friends had stuck close to Toshinori’s side, not that he could blame them after
seeing what they did. Their friends and teacher were currently being loaded into ambulances.
Izuku, though his leg had broken, was allowed to stay and be seen by Recovery Girl instead of
going to the hospital.

“All Might, how did you get here before us?” Hound Dog asked, approaching him. “There weren't
any electronic signals getting through to the U.S.J.”

“Ah? No signal?” Toshinori blinked. He hadn’t known that. Before he could speak, Asui had
spoken up for him.

“He said Yagi-san called him, kero, but if there was no signal then I have no idea how…” She said,
tilting her head a little. Toshinori floundered for a response for a moment, but Izuku quickly
thought of something and discretely patted his wrist. Toshinori got the hint and made a mental note
to tell him thank you later.

“Ah, it wasn’t a traditional call! When I say ‘called,’ it was more of a feeling. We share a
soulflower, you see!” Toshinori lied. It was an easy enough lie, as nobody would ask somebody
something so personal as to inspect their soulflowers. Unless it was part of a criminal investigation,
soulflowers were left out of nearly everything out of respect.

“Oh, so you must have felt a spike or something,” Hound Dog nodded understandingly. “Where is
Yagi, anyway? We haven’t seen him come out yet.”

“He was with us, sir,” Yanagi spoke up from a distance away, having overheard the conversation.
“He went back into the fire zone to look for more students and told us to stay put. We thought he’d
come back out by now. He had a nasty head wound…”

“What?” Hound Dog looked upset by the news. He turned to a couple of the remaining teachers.
“I’ll go in and look for him. Thirteen, Nighteye, lend me a hand, would you? I know you just got
back out, but we can’t leave anybody behind.”
“I can go and help look for him as well!” Toshinori volunteered. He realized that hiding his
identity from the staff was causing more problems than he’d anticipated now, but it was safer this
way. If just having Nighteye around made the school a target, then he could only imagine how
having All Might would affect things.

Without waiting for an answer, Toshinori bounded away back into the building.

Izuku watched his mentor bound back into the building and wondered how difficult it was to
maintain a secret identity. Most heroes didn’t exactly hide themselves out of costume like he did.
He didn’t have much time to think about it, however, as Tsu had leaned over and laid her head on
his shoulder unceremoniously.

“I hope you don’t mind, kero,” she said, closing her eyes. “I’m tired.”

“O-Oh, no, it’s okay!” He answered easily. It was a bit new to him, but he wouldn’t push her away.
She was, apparently, one of his soulmates after all. He pulled back his sleeve and admired the blue-
purple flower. “Our flower is pretty.”

“Yeah, I like it. I think it’s speedwell, if I remember right. My parents took me to a specialist when
I was young but I can’t remember a lot of it…” Tsu trailed off. “Anyway, do you really want to talk
about this right now?”

“Ah, sorry, I wasn’t trying to push or anything!” Izuku replied quickly. “I just… I’m still sort of
new to soulmate stuff, that’s all. I don’t really know how to act.”

“Just be yourself, kero. I mean, the flowers decided that was perfect for me, so I’m sure that
however you are will be fine,” she said easily, as if it was that simple. Izuku thought that perhaps
she was a very honest, to-the-point person. It was… nice. He liked those sorts of personalities
because he never had to dance a dance of anxiety around them. Tsu seemed to be the same way -
she would be honest with him.

“Thanks, Asui-san,” he said, and she opened her eyes to look up at him. “I - I mean, Tsu. Sorry. I’ll
have to get used to that… How about you, Aoyama-kun? Are you feeling alright? You didn’t get
hurt too much or anything, did you?”

“No, not at all,” he smiled weakly. “Just taking it all in now, I suppose. It was, ah, trying. To come
face to face with real villains and such… destruction… in the first week of school. I am glad you
were with me.”

“Hey, I’m glad I could be there for you too,” Izuku gently took his hand and gave it a squeeze.
Aoyama seemed appreciative of the gesture, returning it with a slightly more relaxed smile. “I’ll be
there anytime you need me. You’re my friend.”

“Thank you, Midoriya. That means more than you know,” Aoyama said softly, mimicking Tsu and
laying his head on Izuku’s free shoulder. Izuku was content to take a deep breath and relax for just
a moment before he heard voices calling his name. His head shot up to find where they were
coming from.

“Midoriya-kun!”
He finally saw Iida and Uraraka parting through the students, and Izuku immediately sat up. He
couldn’t stand properly, as his leg had been casted until Recovery Girl could finish healing it later,
but he leaned forward to greet the two in tight hugs when they got close to him. It was Uraraka
who finally spoke first, looking fairly emotional.

“Man, you scared the crap outta me!” She sniffled, wiping at her eyes. “I saw you try and fight that
thing from the stairs, don’t you dare do that again! You nearly gave me a heart attack, I swear!”

“I’m sorry! I just couldn’t watch any more, and that guy with those hands all over his body…
Shigaraki, I think his name was, he… well, I’m sure you saw…” Izuku’s guilty, grief-stricken
expression said it all. He felt horrible he couldn’t have been just a bit faster. If he had, Kirishima
and Mineta wouldn’t have been on their way to the hospital.

“I can see the route you’re going down,” Iida interrupted his train of thought with a hand chop,
“but don’t. You aren’t at fault. You did everything you could and then some. I’d say you gave
them more of a chance than they had before, if what Uraraka said is correct. It took All Might to
bring that thing down. You couldn’t have matched that.”

“…I guess so,” Izuku conceded, though the thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. If he had more
control over his quirk, he’d be as strong as All Might and then some, as the power grew with every
new user. But he still broke his bones.

“No guessing, just knowing,” Aoyama interjected. “Iida is absolutely correct, you know. You were
incredible out there today, even if you broke your leg. You saved the lives of all three of them.
Don’t get yourself down, cher.”

“I’ll try not to.” Izuku leaned back against the ambulance that they were still sitting in. He hadn’t
been cleared to leave yet, so he was still there, and Tsu and Aoyama refused to leave him there by
himself. “By the way, um, I found another one of my romantic soulmates. Tsu, this is Uraraka and
Iida, my other romantic soulmates.”

“Nice to meet you, kero,” Tsu stuck out her hands for them to shake. “Officially, I mean. I don’t
talk a lot to others in class. Just call me Tsu, please.”

“You too, Tsu,” Uraraka smiled gently, shaking one of her hands while Iida shook the other.
“Thanks for having Midoriya-kun’s back. I was really worried about him.”

“Me too. I was stuck on that ship, wondering if you all were hurt, or…” Iida trailed off, letting
Tsu’s hand go to rub at the soulmarks on his wrist with misty eyes. Izuku gently took Iida’s hands
into his own.

“I’m not going anywhere, Iida. Our soulmark is proof of that. Promise,” he said, and Iida turned
bright red, turning his head away shyly. He was still pretty awkward when it came to soulmate
talk. It was peacefully quiet for a moment before Iida and Uraraka began to scratch at their wrists,
and then Uraraka looked down in surprise.

“Hey, look! Tsu and I are soulmates, too!” She said, sticking out her wrist for the others to see. Iida
looked down at his own wrist to see that one of his had bloomed as well, and he blinked in
surprise.

“Me as well! My, we’re all connected! I’ve never seen so many interconnected romantic soulmates
before. I believe my brother has a friend with two, but I’m not sure…” Iida said curiously, trailing
off when he looked at Tsu.
She had fallen asleep on Izuku’s shoulder, still holding close to him.

“We can talk about it later,” Izuku suggested. “I think she’s tired.”

“Right… I’m just glad everyone’s okay,” Uraraka murmured. Izuku nodded in agreement, but
inside he didn’t really feel that way. He was still eaten up by not being able to do anything more
for his teacher and classmates.

He’d visit them in the hospital, he decided, as soon as visitors were allowed.

“Thanks for taking me, Togata-senpai,” Izuku murmured, looking up at the tall blond. He had
crutches and his leg was still in a cast, and he would be for a few more days until he completed
Recovery Girl’s treatment. It sucked he couldn’t get it done all at once, but he understood the need
to not rush the healing procedure.

When Togata had found out that it was Izuku’s class that had been attacked, especially after the
spike of fear he’d felt through their bond, he had tried to go and assist the teachers but was told to
stand down. When he was able to go and see Izuku again, he had been beside himself and insisted
on helping him as much as he could while his leg was healing.

“I have to be a good senpai, don’t I?” he had said. If he was honest, Izuku kind of enjoyed the
attention from his first friend, not that he’d say it out loud.

“No problem, kouhai! I’m happy to help,” his senpai smiled and ruffled Izuku’s hair happily. He
was carrying Izuku’s bag for him. “And hey, you can call me Mirio, you know? We’re good
friends these days.”

“Okay, Mirio-senpai it is, then. And you can call me Izuku, yeah?” Izuku chuckled. Mirio just
made a face at him.

“That’s not what I meant, but I’ll take it,” he chuckled back, turning to leave. “I’ll be out in the
waiting area if you need anything, okay?”

“Right. I’ll come get you when I’m done saying hi,” Izuku nodded. He turned and looked at the
doors to the hospital room. It was Aizawa-sensei’s room. Their teacher had been the last to allow
visitors, as he had been the most injured, so Izuku waited until he could see all of them at once to
visit.

He took a deep breath and slipped inside the room quietly. He noticed the man already had two
visitors, surprisingly - Midnight and Present Mic, two of their other teachers. Izuku wondered if
perhaps they were friends.

“Um, sorry to interrupt… is it alright if I come in?” Izuku asked gently, though trying to close the
door quietly on crutches was a bit annoying.

“Oh, Midoriya,” Midnight’s expression was a bit gentle when she saw him there, a smile on her
face. “He’ll be happy to see you, please, come on in.”

“Midoriya’s here?” Aizawa asked, his voice a little rough. When Izuku looked closer, he realized
his teacher’s entire head was bandaged, including his eyes. In fact, he had bandages on his neck
and chest too, with thick casts all the way down his arms. Only his hands were exposed. Izuku
frowned a little, that familiar guilt churning in his stomach.

You should have been faster. You could have been faster, that little voice in his head whispered.
Izuku tried to put it out of his mind.

“Yeah, I’m here, sensei,” Izuku answered, taking the last free seat. He scooted up to the man’s
bedside, his knees brushing up against the mattress. He wanted to ask something, but he was
unsure of how it would be received. “Um… sensei… is it okay if I… oh, never mind, it’s probably
weird…”

“What is it, kid?” Aizawa asked, gently this time. “I won’t bite or anything.”

“I was just going to ask if I could…” Izuku mumbled, his entire face turning red with
embarrassment. “Hold your hand. It - It helped me when I was in the hospital last year, so I-I just
thought-”

“Yeah, you can hold my hand, kid,” Aizawa said, his head turning just so in Izuku’s direction. “It
does help.”

Izuku breathed a sigh of relief and gently took his teacher’s hand into his own. “I’m glad you’re
okay, sensei. I was so scared when everything happened, that big thing was…”

Izuku froze, his face going pale at the reminder of that thing with the beak that had hurt his
teacher. He had completely forgotten about it, but that boss had mentioned multiple quirks. He still
needed to talk to his dad and Sir about it. He’d do it as soon as he was done visiting with Aizawa
and his classmates.

“Midoriya, you okay?” Present Mic asked, a little worried. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost over
there.”

“F-Fine, sensei, sorry,” Izuku swallowed the bundle of nerves in his throat. “Just - I remembered
something I have to do later, that’s all. Anyway, um, I just wanted to say, I was scared, but also,
you know, I was really… honored.”

“Honored?” Aizawa sounded confused. Izuku nodded, though he remembered the other man
couldn’t see it.

“Yeah, honored, um, it’s just… I never had a teacher that, um, put themselves in harm’s way for
me. You just… jumped in to protect the whole class, and I felt like… I’m really blessed, having
somebody as cool as you as a parental soulmate, sensei. So, um. Yeah. That’s what I wanted to
say…”

Aizawa was very silent for a moment or two, but then he spoke again, and it almost sounded like
he might be crying. “Midoriya… that means a lot to me, kid. You’re a good kid. Just… temper the
heroics until you’re ready, okay? Nemuri - sorry, Midnight, she told me you broke your leg trying
to help. I’m glad you stopped that guy from hurting Kirishima and Mineta any more than he did,
but it shouldn’t have cost you a broken leg to do so. We’ll work on it together.”

“Yeah, together, sensei,” Izuku smiled, giving Aizawa’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I’d like that a lot.
Is it okay if I ask, are you friends with Midnight-sensei? You used her first name.”

“Yeah, something like that,” Aizawa snorted. Midnight huffed playfully.

“Something like that indeed, Shou, are you gonna tell your son over here the truth?” She asked.
 Aizawa made a choked sort of noise and the tips of his ears that stuck out of the bandages turned
red.

“He - he’s not my son, Nem,” He muttered, though Izuku could feel a little bit of emotion though
the bond. He didn’t hate Izuku being called his son, even if he denied it. Izuku just chuckled a little
bit and decided to mess with him as well.

“What do you mean, dad? Aren’t I?” Izuku asked in a perfectly normal voice. It was silent for a
moment before Izuku felt a blast of pure embarrassment through the bond and Midnight and
Present Mic busted out laughing.

“Fine then, if I’m your dad, you’re grounded, problem child,” Aizawa grumbled, and Izuku
laughed with the others. “To answer your question, they’re my romantic soulmates. Just don’t go
around advertising it.”

“Of course not, sensei. Your secret’s safe with me,” Izuku promised. He took the chance to stand,
letting his teacher’s hand go with a pat. “I’m going to go and visit Kirishima and Mineta now, but I
wanted to check in on you. Get better soon, sensei, or else I’ll be sad to miss your lessons. But only
if you’re well enough to come back in, I mean! Don’t come in early if you’re not up for it.”

“See?!” Present Mic said. “What he said! Don’t even think about going in early. Nem and I know
you too well.”

“Alright, alright, you win. I can’t put up a fight against all three of you,” Aizawa sighed
dramatically. “Go ahead and get going then, Midoriya. Stay safe. Don’t break another bone again
any time soon, okay?”

“You got it, sensei,” Izuku smiled, making his way back out of the door. “I’ll come visit again
soon, okay? You just get better. Bye!”

“Bye, kid.”

Chapter End Notes

Whew! The U.S.J is over! And now we begin the process of the aftermath. Izuku’s
deduced that All for One’s alive, people are injured, Oboro’s flower is back, all sorts
of things happened! This one event will set of a chain of events a mile long… and I
can’t wait for you all to see what they are!

We’ve got a few more chapters, and then we’ll get to the sports festival, which is
probably my favorite part of the story out of what I have written. My backlog is filling
up, and if I get to a point I feel I have too much written, I might switch to twice a week
updates. We’ll see!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks

EDIT: Also, forgot to add this, but some people were asking for an updated list of
Izuku’s soulmates, so I made one! He has 5 romantic and 8 platonic/familial total,
including his withered one.
The ones he has bloomed so far are:
Romantic: Uraraka (Lily of the Valley), Iida (Black-Eyed Susan), Tsu (Speedwell)
Platonic: Bakugou (Hollyhock - Withered), Togata (Goldenrod), Aoyama (Diphylleia)
Familial: All Might (Vervain), Sir Nighteye (Bluebell), Aizawa (Cherry Blossom)
 Visitor
Chapter Summary

“I suppose if he is alive… then we should begin to think of a plan for the future.
Because if this was part of his plan, then it will not be the last time he targets U.A with
us in it.”

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

As soon as Midoriya shut the door behind him, Shouta gave the hand the boy had left a squeeze.
Midoriya had said he felt honored to have somebody like him as a parental soulmate. It was both
heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure. Heartwarming, because holy shit, he really
didn’t think he was doing anything that special or making himself out to be all that great. He was
glad to know the kid thought so highly of him.

Heartbreaking, because he knew what Midoriya’s old teachers were like. He chose not to think
about it. Right now, he had to know if he had gone crazy, first of all. He remembered seeing
Oboro’s rose colored back in, meaning he’d be alive, somehow, after all these years.

But if it had been a trick, then he needed to let it go and he’d beat himself up about letting
something distract him from saving his kids students later.

“Nem, Zashi, I have to talk to you about something,” He said. He had planned to talk about it later,
but with it on his mind after bringing up romantic soulmates, he decided now was better than later.

“What’s up, Shou?” Nemuri asked, brushing his hair away from his face, though it didn’t really
matter since he was bandaged to hell and back.

“I need you to… to check something for me. The reason that thing got the better of me at the U.S.J
was because I was caught off guard. I don’t know if it was a quirk or what, but…” Shouta took a
deep breath. “Oboro’s rose, it turned blue again.”

“What?” Hizashi’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet, his voice hoarse. Oboro had been their
best friend in high school, the one who tied them together and got Shouta to open up originally. But
more than that, he was their soulmate too. It hadn’t been just him who lost a soulmate that day -
Hizashi and Nemuri had, too. But soulmarks couldn’t be changed by quirks, so unless it was
something that made him hallucinate…

“Like I said… it could have been a trick, somebody’s quirk making me see things. That’s why I
need you to check. See if it’s… still blue. I’m sorry to make you do this.” Shouta said softly. They
had buried Oboro a long time ago, and this was just ripping open an old wound. But if there was
somehow some minuscule chance of Oboro being alive, he needed to know. He needed to find him.

“I’ll do it,” Nemuri said gently. She always was the more collected of them when it came to grief.
Despite their exteriors, both Shouta and Hizashi were extremely emotional and sometimes
aggressive when it came to their feelings.
Nemuri gingerly pulled back the bandages that were covering his soulmarks, turning his arm so she
could see the inside of his wrist where Oboro’s blue rose was. She sucked in a breath when she saw
the mark, gently tracing it with her finger.

“Well?” Shouta asked, almost nervous to know the answer. Nemuri placed her hand in his and gave
a weak smile.

“It’s… it’s blue, Shouta. He’s alive,” she said, and Shouta let out a choked cry. Hizashi quickly
followed, breaking down into full-blown sobbing. “We’ll find him, Shouta, Hizashi. We will. I
promise. We’ll never stop looking.”

“I know,” Aizawa took in a deep breath, wishing he could wipe away the tears collecting on the
inside of his bandages. His nurses would kill him for aggravating his eyes while he was still
healing. “I know. We’ll find him.”

All he could do, knowing Oboro was somehow alive, was hold onto Nemuri’s hand and listen to
Hizashi’s sobs. They had a soulmate to find.

Izuku made his way down the hall to where Kirishima and Mineta’s room was. They had shared a
room after they got out of intensive care, and now that visitors were allowed, he felt the need to go
and see them.

He stopped outside the door, sliding it open and making his way inside. He wasn’t very good at
using crutches, much to his annoyance.

When Izuku made it all the way inside, he realized with surprise that… Bakugou was there? He
seemed to be visiting Kirishima, sitting by his bedside with a decidedly less angry expression than
usual. Izuku watched curiously for a moment or two - he’d never seen the blond with such a
relaxed expression before. Then he made himself known, clearing his throat. Instantly, all the
heads in the room snapped to attention, looking at him.

“Um, hey, sorry to bother you… I just wanted to come and say hi. Check and see how you two
were doing, you know? I-I just saw Aizawa-sensei, he’s healing up okay,” Izuku explained.
Kirishima smiled brightly at the sight of a classmate.

“Hey, Midoriya! Mineta’s asleep right now, but I’m really glad to see you, actually! I was just
telling Bakubro here how you saved us at the U.S.J! Come and sit!” He said eagerly. Izuku glanced
over at Bakugou, who was pointedly not looking at him, though he made no effort to get up and
leave. Izuku took the offered seat on Kirishima’s other side.

“It’s good to see you so energetic so soon, Kirishima-kun! How are you feeling? Hopefully you’re
not in a lot of pain,” Izuku said, looking at the redhead with a concerned expression. Kirishima
chuckled, but it seemed to hurt and he winced, touching his chest where the villain’s hand had
touched him.

“Well, my quirk actually saved me a world of hurt. It kept that guy’s decay quirk from going down
into my skin too far. I’ll have a gnarly scar, but since you got there in time, that’s pretty much it.
Seriously, thank you, Midoriya. You saved my life,” Kirishima said, his voice soft but tone firm.

“Of course, Kirishima-kun, I wouldn’t just leave you there. What about Mineta-kun? How is he
doing?” Izuku asked, looking over to where the curtain was drawn around the boy’s bed. It was
quiet, only the beeping of machines letting Izuku know he was there.

“Well… it got him a little bit worse since he didn’t have my quirk,” Kirishima said, looking upset.
“He’ll have a much longer recovery period. And, uh, his parents… I heard them talking. They’re
pulling him out of U.A. They don’t think it’s safe for him to stay in the hero course.”

“What? But… it’s not his fault he got hurt! Nobody could have expected…” Izuku trailed off when
he saw Kirishima shaking his head.

“Mineta agreed with them. It’s his decision. He’s asleep now, but he was pretty badly messed up
about it earlier. Emotionally, I mean. I don’t blame him. I mean, you saved his life too, but it was
still scary as hell, y’know?” Kirishima murmured. Izuku nodded in understanding, though it still
didn’t sit quite right with him. Mineta had only been in the class for a week. Even if he’d been a bit
on the unsavory side with his comments about their classmates, even he didn’t deserve this.

“Well… if that’s what he’s decided, then… I guess that’s it,” Izuku murmured, turning his
attention back to Kirishima. “I’m sorry for not being faster, by the way. If I had paid more
attention or just pushed myself a bit farther…”

“Dude, no, don’t say that!” Kirishima gasped. “You broke your leg to save us! That was really
manly! And seriously, all I’m gonna get out of it is a scar. Scars are cool, right? They show you
survived something, or you got through something tough, or… all kinds of things. They’re like
stories. I’m gonna be okay.”

“You think… scars are cool?” Izuku asked. He’d never met somebody who was so embracing of
their scars. Izuku was always embarrassed to show his scars, but Kirishima seemed to be a bit
proud of his.

“Yeah! I mean, sure, it hurt and it sucked and I was really freakin’ scared… I don’t think I’ll ever
forget that villain’s face… but the scar itself isn’t anything to be upset over. I don’t think so,
anyway,” Kirishima grinned. Izuku found his smile contagious, a matching one on his own face.

“You’re really cool, Kirishima-kun. Super manly, like you say. I just know you’ll be a really cool
hero one day,” Izuku said, and Kirishima turned the same shade of red as his hair.

“Gee, thanks, Midobro!” He laughed a little. “Bakubro said the same thing. Well, sort of. There
was a little more swearing, but the same sentiment, I think.”

“Oh come on, shitty hair, he doesn’t need to know our business,” Bakugou muttered, looking put-
out that he’d been brought into the conversation. Izuku watched the two curiously. They seemed to
be pretty close already.

“Are you two friends?” Izuku asked. “I never saw you interact much in class when Bakugou was
still in 1-A.”

“Oh, we met in the entrance exam! Bakubro here’s my romantic soulmate!” Kirishima said easily,
holding up his wrist to show a brilliant pink and white peony. Izuku blinked. He knew Bakugou
had a romantic soulmate, of course, but he hadn’t expected it to be Kirishima. They seemed to be
polar opposites.

“Well,” Izuku plastered a smile on his face anyway. “I’m happy for you. Maybe you’ll be a good
influence on him, Kirishima-kun.”

“Aw, Bakubro’s not so bad once you get past his crab routine!” Kirishima laughed a little. Izuku’s
smile grew a little more forced. Kirishima didn’t know… Bakugou presumably hadn’t told him.
Bakugou looked at Izuku with a pleading sort of expression, silently begging him not to say
anything.

Izuku took a deep breath. He wouldn’t be petty. Bakugou could tell Kirishima about what he’d
done on his own time. It wasn’t Kirishima’s fault he got Bakugou as a soulmate, and he wouldn’t
hold his past against him. He was changing, and Izuku would honor that. Besides, Kirishima was a
good person, and it wasn’t Izuku’s place to interfere in his relationships.

“Well, thanks for letting me stop by, Kirishima-kun. I’ve got to get going now, but I hope you feel
better soon. School starts back up soon, but don’t push yourself to be there, okay?” Izuku insisted,
standing up and putting his crutches back under his arms.

“You got it, Midobro! Recovery Girl’s coming to see us soon, so I’ll be right as rain in no time.
You take it easy too, okay? Give your bones a break!” Kirishima waved from the hospital bed.
Izuku’s smile was a bit more real this time.

“I’ll try my best. See you later,” he said, slipping back out the hospital door. He let out that deep
breath once the door was closed behind him, making his way back over to where Mirio was
waiting.

“Hey, Izuku! Are you doing okay? You don’t look so hot,” the blond said when he spotted him,
instantly at his side to support him. Izuku just nodded.

“I’m okay. Just…it was a lot. For different reasons. Um, could I ask for your help for a little
longer, Mirio-senpai? I need to go and talk to Sir and dad - um, I mean…” Izuku flushed with
embarrassment. He had started calling Yagi ‘dad’ outside of school, but he didn’t do it often
around other people. Mirio just chuckled.

“It’s okay, you can call him dad, I totally get it. I think I accidentally called Sir ‘dad’ a few times,
myself. Nearly gave him a heart attack,” Mirio snorted. Izuku smiled, he could easily picture that
flustering Sir to no end.

“Thanks. Um, so yeah, I need to talk to them. It’s really, really important. Like, so important it
can’t wait,” he said, the thought of that monster still fresh on his mind. If All for One was alive,
they needed to know.

“You got it, kouhai, I’ll call them both. Where should we meet?” He asked. Izuku thought about it
for a moment, and he figured somewhere secure would be the best bet for a talk of this magnitude.

“Sir’s agency, probably. It’s protected against, like, bugs and stuff like that, right? Nobody could
listen in?” Izuku asked nervously.

“Oh wow, it’s that serious, huh?” Mirio’s eyebrows rose, but he nodded anyway. “Yeah, it’s safe
for conversations that are a little more sensitive. I’ll let them know to meet us there.”

“And I need to call my mom… she should be there too…” he murmured. If All for One was alive,
it put her in danger. She deserved to decide for herself what she wanted to do. If she wanted to
leave the country to stay with his father for a while, he wouldn’t blame her - and he was pretty sure
Yagi and Tsukauchi would be willing to put him up for a while if that happened.

Well, Izuku’s day was about to get a lot longer.

Toshinori’s expression was serious.

When Togata had called and explained that Izuku needed to talk to both him and Sir immediately,
and in a secure environment no less, he had a bad feeling sitting in the remainder of his stomach
like a rock.

He was already in a touchy mood after everything that had happened with the U.S.J. He was eaten
up with guilt - how could he have not been there for his students sooner? Sure, he had hit his head,
but he’d had worse before. It was just a grim reminder of how weak he had gotten in the last few
years.

Naomasa and Mirai both scolded him and told him not to blame himself, though - they insisted he
couldn’t have controlled the fact that he’d gotten knocked out when he went through the portal.
The ‘All Might’ part of his mind disagreed. But… what’s done was done, and he couldn’t change
that fact.

He had been at home, actually able to relax with Naomasa for once, when he got the call from
Togata. He didn’t know what Izuku wanted to talk about, but it couldn’t have been good. He texted
his boy and asked if it was alright if Naomasa came along, and he had said it was probably better if
he did anyway.

Well, that didn’t make him feel any better.

The two of them arrived outside of Sir’s office as fast as they were able to get there, sure enough
seeing Togata and Izuku there. Izuku was still on his crutches, which made Toshinori’s heart
constrict. He hated seeing him hurt. It reminded him too much of the incident with Aldera.

“Hey, dad,” Izuku smiled up at him easily, and Toshinori ruffled his hair affectionately. Naomasa
smiled.

“Dad, huh? When were you gonna tell me you moved up to ‘dad’ status, Toshi? If we have a kid, I
should know about it, don’t you think?” Naomasa teased him. Toshinori turned bright red and
Izuku just giggled. It was nice to hear him be so lighthearted despite what they were there for.

“W-Well, I, uh…” Toshinori trailed off. Izuku stepped up to the plate, teasing Naomasa right back.

“I thought you already knew, pops. Don’t tell me you forgot you signed the adoption papers?”
Izuku asked, an expression of hurt on his face as he looked at the detective. Naomasa turned red
next, hiding his face behind the collar of his coat.

“Oh, gosh, don’t say that Midoriya, you’ll give me a heart attack,” he chuckled nervously.
“Alright, I won't tease Toshinori about it any more, don’t worry.”

“It’s okay, I got Aizawa-sensei with ‘dad’ while I was visiting him. I just thought I’d continue my
streak,” Izuku chuckled, and then his face returned to a more serious expression. “We’re just
waiting on my mom. Once she’s here, we can go inside and talk to Sir. Um… this is going to be a
very difficult conversation, I think.”

“What is it about, if you don’t mind me asking?” Naomasa wondered. Izuku just shook his head.

“We shouldn’t talk about it out here, really. Just trust me,” Izuku said, leaning a little bit on Togata.
“Man, these crutches suck… I can’t wait to see Recovery Girl again… After the next visit or two, I
should be back to normal.”
Their quiet conversation continued for a few minutes before Inko finally arrived, and the group of
them went inside. The receptionist urged them to Sir’s office, saying he’d cleared his schedule for
whatever it was they were meeting about. Toshinori didn’t doubt Izuku, but he wondered what
could possibly warrant all this?

They all arrived in Sir’s office shortly after, where chairs had been brought in for each of them.
They all sat down, and Izuku took a deep breath.

“Um, so, you’re probably wondering why I asked to meet so suddenly…it’s because I remembered
something important from the U.S.J attack. Nobody else heard it except for me, I don’t think, but
that villain with the hands…something he said made me extremely worried,” Izuku began.

“Dad, you said that villain… All for One… he could give and take quirks, right?” Izuku asked, his
expression nervous as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. Toshinori’s heart dropped to his
stomach. This had to do with All for One?

“Yes… that’s right, my boy,” He said gently, his hand unconsciously curling around the scar on
his abdomen. Naomasa laid a gentle hand over his, looking at him with a soft, worried expression.

“Well, the villain, he said something about that monster you fought. He said it was bioengineered.
But he also said it had strength enhancement, shock absorption, and regeneration. Three quirks.
But even if it was bioengineered, unless there’s some way to make DNA absorb multiple quirk
factors, the only thing I could think of that could give something like that monster three quirks is…
All for One.”

The whole room was silent for several moments, processing the information. Toshinori felt like
he’d been sucker-punched.

Izuku was right. All for One was the only person capable of making a monster with multiple
quirks. And if Izuku was right, then that meant…

All for One was alive.

The fight years ago, the parts of himself he’d sacrificed, the blood on his hands…

None of them had meant a damn thing.

Toshinori pressed his handkerchief to his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself not to
have a coughing fit right now. The handkerchief was just another reminder of how he’d failed. It
was Izuku’s Christmas gift, embroidered with the message he’d given as he’d passed on One for
All.

‘You can be a hero too - Nine’

Toshinori felt like a damn failure.

He’d shouldered his boy with a burden centuries in the making. He had made his precious boy and
his mother a target the size of Texas. How could he have failed so badly, he wondered? He was
supposed to guide and protect, and now here he was, weak and becoming a bygone relic of the
past.

But before he could have any more negative thoughts, there was a pair of hands on his cheeks,
holding his face tight.

It was Izuku, making him look him in the eyes. His expression was fire, it was determination, and it
was everything he knew Izuku could be and more. When he saw that look in his eyes, Toshinori
leaned forward, pressing his forehead to Izuku’s.

“Dad, don’t you dare think like that ever again,” Izuku whispered, in a tone he’d never heard from
the boy before.

Izuku was angry.

“You are the Number One Hero. You always will be. You ushered in an era of peace the likes of
which Japan had never seen before. You gave up everything to carry the same quirk you gave to
me. You are amazing, dad,” Izuku said, fierce and firm. Toshinori choked off a sob. It shouldn’t
have been Izuku comforting him, it should’ve been the other way around, but he didn’t have the
heart to say otherwise.

“I knew what I was accepting when I took the quirk, dad. I told you that the day you told me about
All for One. And if you ever… if you ever think you’re a failure for something out of your control
again, I… I couldn’t take the thought of you thinking of yourself like that,” Izuku’s mask of anger
finally broke when he held back his own tears.

“It was how I thought of myself, before you… before you found me. So don’t ever think you’re a
failure. We’ll… we’ll handle it together. That’s why we have this flower, right?” Izuku gently put
Toshinori’s hand around his wrist. “You and I, we’re bound by more than just One for All. You’re
my dad, and that’s not going to change.”

Toshinori clutched Izuku in a tight hug, almost afraid to let go. He was truly too blessed. He felt
like he didn’t deserve such an amazing, kind boy in his life. He felt like he didn’t deserve to be
called ‘dad.’

But, perhaps, it wasn’t his decision.

Izuku had said it flat out. ‘You’re my dad, and that’s not going to change.’ Strange, how things had
flipped this far. Now it was Izuku reassuring him that he was still good enough. Toshinori loved
him dearly for it.

“Thank you, my boy,” he said hoarsely, still holding him close. “Thank you. I will always be your
dad.”

When he finally got himself composed enough, he broke the hug with a gentle squeeze. Izuku
made doubly sure he was okay before taking his seat again, but not before scooting it all the way to
Toshinori’s other side. Toshinori didn’t have the heart to be embarrassed by the very open display
of affection; besides, this was a room full of his closest friends and soulmates. They all understood.

He’d probably been broadcasting his emotions loud and clear through the bond anyway, which is
presumably why Izuku had made his little speech.

“Well,” Toshinori cleared his throat and dabbed at his mouth with his handkerchief. “I suppose if
he is alive… then we should begin to think of a plan for the future. Because if this was part of his
plan, then it will not be the last time he targets U.A with us in it.”

“Right,” Nighteye nodded, smoothly transitioning away from the emotional display. Nobody said a
word about it - they all felt similarly to Izuku, after all. None of them wanted Toshinori to feel bad
about himself. They all knew how much that fight took from him. “A plan. Do we want to stay
with U.A or move out? There are always personal student programs. Principal Nedzu would
understand.”
“I’d like to stay as long as possible,” Izuku murmured, rubbing his wrist. “My soulmates… are at
U.A. I want to be there for them. But if leaving is the safest option, then I’ll do it, no questions
asked.”

“I’m with Izuku,” Inko agreed. “Besides, what’s safer than an entire school full of pro heroes and
hero students? He can get an education and still plan for the future until it’s not viable to stay any
more.”

“We’d have to bring the entire staff up to speed on the situation. That means One for All, my
identity, everything,” Toshinori said. “I’m certain Nedzu wouldn’t mind. But there’s something
bothering me. It almost seemed like they knew the students’ quirks, what with their zone
placement at the U.S.J. The students were all put in zones that would be ill-suited for their quirks.
That says they have inside information on the students. I don’t want to make accusations, but…”

“It’s an understandable worry, sir,” Togata nodded in agreement. “If somebody in the school can’t
be trusted, we need to find out who they are before we go around revealing big secrets like this.”

“Nedzu and Aizawa already know everything, so perhaps the two of them could lead quiet checks
on the staff. If the staff can all be trusted, then we know the leak has to come from the student
body. Nedzu has been thinking of upgrading the security measures regardless, and he even
mentioned a dorm system. If we implement these early, we can greatly reduce risk to the students
in the meantime,” Nighteye suggested. Izuku nodded.

“That sounds reasonable to me. And on my end, I’ll get better with One for All. I will… I have to.
I’ll make sure I’m strong enough to protect everyone,” Izuku said seriously, clenching a fist.
“We’ve just got to work on… me breaking my bones and all that, first.”

“It’s just an adjustment period. I’ve been meaning to suggest this, but perhaps try keeping a low
amount of One for All active throughout the day. After you build up your tolerance, you can raise
how much you’re using at a given time. It’ll give your body a chance to adjust,” Nighteye offered.

“Oh, that’s smart! I can start as soon as my leg’s healed. I’m sure that’ll improve my reaction time
with Full Cowling as well,” Izuku muttered to himself, fishing around in his bag for a notebook to
write it down. When he was done, however, he seemed to remember something. “Oh, um, mom?
What are… What are your thoughts on all this? Did you… want to go and stay with dad in the
States for a while? To be safe? I can always stay with somebody until we figure this out.”

Inko huffed and rolled her eyes. “Please, honey, you’d have to drag me from Musutafu kicking and
screaming. I’m not leaving your side. If my baby has to face down a supervillain, you can be sure
I’m going to be with him when it happens. I’d just love for him to try me, just you wait and see.”

“Mom!” Izuku sounded genuinely surprised, laughing a little bit at her threat to All for One. Then,
his surprise melted into genuine warmth and love. “I’m sure you’d give him a run for his money.
Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned, I think.”

“You’re exactly right!” Inko smiled, ruffling his hair. “Now, you leave the planning to us adults for
just a little while, okay? We won’t keep you out of the loop, I just want you to have the chance to
focus on school. So you and Togata-kun focus on your studies, and we’ll talk to the principal about
everything. Okay?”

“Okay, mom. I trust you,” Izuku said, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek.

Toshinori took a deep breath, and found that despite the revelation that All for One was alive, he
had never breathed easier.
 He had a family in all of the beautiful, wonderful people around him, and he wouldn’t change that
for the world. Power or no power, whether he was All Might or not, Izuku was right in what he had
said earlier.

The two of them were bound by far more than One for All, and All for One would have one hell of
a time trying to get through that.

Chapter End Notes

Whew, and with this, we’re at the official ‘end’ of the USJ arc - now onto the rest of
the story! And especially onto the sports festival. Only two more chapters before the
sports festival starts!!!! You guys have no idea how excited I am to share it.

Also, sorry not a lot happened this chapter, but it was still important :D And it had lots
of wholesome dad content, so that’s always a plus!!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Plans
Chapter Summary

“Thank you… that makes me feel a lot better. Together, right? We’ve got this,” Izuku
said, extending a hand out to Mirio. Mirio took the hand into his own, squeezing it
tight.

“Together, Izuku. That means all of us.”

Chapter Notes

SURPRISE DOUBLE UPDATE TODAY!! Make sure to stay tuned for another
chapter shortly!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Tomura paced around the bar, muttering to himself and scratching incessantly at his neck. The plan
at the U.S.J had been a massive failure.

He had been given a beast worthy of killing All Might, and his plan had only been to kill Nighteye
and lure him out there. Once the heroes saw how strong his Nomu was, with the kids as hostages
and everything, they would have backed off and waited for All Might to show up. It would have
been lights out for the number one. It was foolproof. Heroes always protected their own self
interests.

Even when the plan had gone slightly awry and Kurogiri had transported Nighteye instead of a
student in his place, he was confident it should have worked. Toga had been right, even killing
some kids should have done the trick!

But that damn hero brat… that brat had stopped him.

He had been so… so selfless. It was almost disgusting. It was such a pure display of heroics it
made Tomura want to gag. It shouldn’t have happened. The brat shouldn’t have been able to get
anywhere near him. But what had he done? He’d broken his own leg in order to stop him from
killing the other two brats. Tomura could have heard his leg snap from a mile away, but the impact
force…

He’d broken three of Tomura’s ribs and bruised a couple of organs, though thankfully it wasn’t
anything Sensei couldn’t fix with a few healing quirks and a trip to Doctor Garaki.

Not to mention All Might had somehow, inexplicably, shown up anyway. Tomura didn’t know
how, and it angered him to think about it for too long. His scratching got worse. Before he knew it,
Toga had come up to him and taken him by the wrist.

“Hey, Shiggy, don’t scratch so hard. You’ll make yourself bleed again,” she frowned. Tomura
almost wanted to lash out and say something, but he held his tongue. He knew he shouldn’t speak
to his soulmate that way. She was just trying to be… kind, he supposed.

Were villains who killed people supposed to be kind? He didn’t know.

What he did know was that Sensei had told him he was good to have found one of his platonic
soulmates. Sensei said that soulmates accepted you no matter who you were, and that you should
hold on tight to them and never let go. Soulmates made people powerful. Apparently, underground
legend was that it was unwise to go after those with a lot of soulmates. They had a lot more to lose,
and thus fought that much harder.

Sensei had been the last person Tomura expected to advocate for soulmates, but the man had told
him he paid the price a long time ago for being blind to soulflowers. He said it would be stupid of
him to let Tomura make the same mistake.

Sensei was so smart.

Tomura wondered if the rest of his soulmates were villains like him. It would be easier that way.
They could be members of his League, his vanguards and arms into the world. They would be a
force to be reckoned with, and they could make a world where everything was destroyed together.
It would just be him and them.

“I can’t stop thinking about what a failure everything was,” he finally muttered, getting away from
his thoughts and returning his attention to Toga. The blonde just huffed and sat him down at the
bar, taking the seat across from him.

“Listen, Shiggy. Sometimes, we mess up. That’s okay. We’ll get it right next time. We’ve just
gotta find the right people. All those guys were super lame, not cute at all! If we get way better
members, they can’t stop us, right? We’ll make it so we can live life our way! We’ve just gotta
keep trying!” She grinned, twirling her knife in her free hand.

“Right. We’ll just grind so we can beat the next dungeon. Add some better players to our party.
You can gather way better intel, and we’ll really figure out a way to get All Might to come to us.
Even he can’t stop my decay,” Tomura grinned, splaying out his gloved hands. Toga grinned right
back at him, nodding enthusiastically.

“Exactly! We’ll get him, Shiggy. We should see Giran about getting better people,” she suggested.
“Make a plan. A foolproof plan!”

“Yeah… the perfect plan.”

Nedzu hummed thoughtfully, eyes drifting between the people in his room.

If what they said was correct, then U.A was faced with a great dilemma. Midoriya Izuku and his
mother, as well as Sir Nighteye and Yagi, would be massive targets. Midoriya’s mother, Yagi and
Nighteye had all come to him to explain the situation - about All for One’s suspected return from
the dead and everything that came with it.

It put him between a rock and a hard place.

On one hand, he wanted to claim confidence in U.A - it was the jewel of Heroics, no other school
in the country was like it, and in fact it outrivalled even many other countries’ hero schools. He
wanted to implement the measures he had talked about with Nighteye and welcome the troubles,
face them head-on.

On the other, more realistic hand, he knew that villains had already broken in once. They had
seriously hurt a teacher and two students, if not for a third student’s timely intervention. And that
was without All for One being there. All for One was not some villain to be trifled with, Nedzu
knew that well. He was not stupid enough to think U.A could tackle All for One without some
serious losses on their side.

It was a difficult road to cross, especially with so little information. Right now, they just had the
suspicion of All for One being alive, given the monster’s supposed multiple quirks, which were
being looked into.

But he also had to consider One for All and its current wielder, Midoriya Izuku.

Midoriya was progressing well with One for All, considering he’d only had the quirk for around a
month by this point and it didn’t even come naturally to him. Nedzu was certain U.A was the only
school that could properly foster the boy’s heroic capacity. And not to mention, they could keep a
careful eye on him here. If Midoriya, and by extension, One for All, were to fall into the wrong
hands…

Well, Nedzu supposed he wouldn’t have to worry much about U.A, because the whole world
would be in danger if that happened.

With everything in mind, he supposed he had no choice but to do the smart thing - implement the
dorms and extra security early, and keep the Midoriya family close. Midoriya could keep going to
school normally while they monitored the situation. And, should the situation call for it, Midoriya
could take leave from U.A by moving to a personal student program with All Might.

Nedzu signed off on the upgrades with a sigh, and hoped he was making the right decision by
keeping the boy here. If not…well, he’d pay for it later. But Nedzu was always one for a challenge,
and this, he supposed, was the greatest challenge U.A would ever face.

Now he just had to get Aizawa to work with him on the teacher checks when he returned to work.
If there was a leak in his staff, he would deal with it swiftly and harshly.

The weekend was almost over, but Izuku had one more stop to make.

The U.S.J had been on Friday, and he had visited with everyone on Saturday morning, with the
meeting about All for One extending into the afternoon. He was exhausted, but school was coming
up, and he had something he needed to do before he had to get back in the groove of class. Luckily
for him, Nedzu had given the students and some of the staff an extra day off to recover on Monday,
so he had plenty of time.

He’d spent all of Sunday thinking about what happened and how he wanted to move into the future
with All for One possibly being alive. He couldn’t help but overthink in situations like this. It was
like his strong suit or something. But that overthinking led to him considering the darker paths of
what might happen with All for One looming over them.

Izuku took a deep breath and shifted his crutches under his arms. The reminder of his cast brought
him out of his thoughts. He’d only need the crutches for one more day, thankfully. Recovery Girl
was going to do her last treatment the next day and he’d be back to normal. For now, though, he
was stuck with them.

He pushed open the door to the bakery, the smell of fresh-baked goods hitting his nose. It was
mouth-watering, maybe he’d have a snack while he was here. It wasn’t the original plan, but hey,
even the most well-laid plans never survived the smell of fresh-baked cookies. He was stopping by
the bakery that Inoue’s wife ran - he was meeting Mirio there for a talk of his own.

As much as he didn’t want to have this talk, he knew it needed to happen. He just didn’t want the
adults to hear it, because he knew exactly how they’d feel about it. After thinking all day
yesterday, he knew it needed to happen.

Mirio would probably balk at the talk as well, but he still needed to hear it, too.

“Hey, kouhai, over here!” Mirio waved. Izuku looked over to see Mirio already in a seat, munching
on what looked to be a muffin. Izuku made his way over and took the seat across from him easily,
smiling as he did.

“Hi, Mirio-senpai. Thanks for agreeing to meet with me even though we were just together on
Saturday. I was just thinking about some things last night, and, well… I thought I’d talk to you
about them,” Izuku explained.

“Of course, you can talk to me any time,” Mirio nodded, picking up on his serious tone. He leaned
forward to listen intently.

“Well, all that talk about… well, you know…” Izuku avoided saying stuff like that in public, but
Mirio got the hint. “It got me thinking. What he’s after is what I have… right? Which means I’m a
target. A pretty big one, too.”

“Yeah… what about it?” Mirio asked nervously, not liking the direction the conversation was
taking. Izuku chewed on his bottom lip, his eyebrows scrunched together in thought. He had
already come to this decision on his own, but he really hoped Mirio understood where he came
from.

“If something were to happen to me-” Izuku began, but Mirio cut him off immediately.

“It wouldn’t happen, Izuku. We’ve got your back. You know we wouldn’t let anything happen to
you,” he said firmly. His normally chipper expression was entirely gone, replaced with stone-cold
seriousness.

“You don’t know that for certain,” Izuku said softly, folding his hands in his lap. His expression
was somber. “I was thinking about it, you know? Anything’s possible. I’m not good enough with
my quirk to guarantee anything. If he could hurt dad that badly… Anything could happen if he’s
involved. That’s why I wanted to talk to you about it.”

“Izuku…” Mirio trailed off. “You shouldn’t think like that. You have so many people rooting for
you, who care for you.”

“That’s exactly it, though, Mirio-senpai. I know I do. I have so many people who are important to
me now. Just last year, I never thought it would be possible,” Izuku said, a wistful smile on his
face. “You know… I used to hate flowers. I despised them. I didn’t like when mom put them up in
the house, I hated seeing bouquet advertisements, I hated everything to do with them.”

Mirio was silent, looking at Izuku with a searching expression.

“But… you all changed that for me,” Izuku smiled, putting his wrists out on the table for Mirio to
see. “I love my flowers now. All of them. They don’t hurt to look at any more. Which is why… I
have to start thinking about the future. I have to start thinking seriously about what might happen in
order to protect each and every one of these flowers, senpai. That’s why I need to talk to you about
this.”

“Okay… okay,” Mirio finally relented, though he didn’t look entirely comfortable with the thought
line Izuku was taking. “What did you need from me?”

“If something were to happen to me, for any reason… I want you to be the one to take my quirk.
You’re strong, inspiring and capable, and I trust you to protect my flowers if I can’t, Mirio-senpai.
So… if for any reason I can’t use this power, I want you to have it,” he said softly, almost too quiet
to be heard over the din of the bakery.

“I couldn’t!” Mirio looked taken aback by the very thought. “It’s yours, Izuku, you earned it! I
could never take it from you!”

“I’m asking you, Mirio,” Izuku said, pleading with him. The dropped honorific got Mirio’s full
attention, surprising him. “As my senpai, as my platonic soulmate, and as my first friend, please
take it if there’s no other choice. I trust you to do the right thing with it. And it’s only a
contingency plan, anyway - like you said, I don’t know that anything will even happen! But if it
does, if worse comes to worst… then I’m asking you to use it.”

“Izuku… Kouhai…” Mirio put his head in his hands. “I’ll agree to it if you agree to terms of my
own. Will you listen?”

“Of course I’ll listen,” Izuku nodded.

“Okay. Then… you’ve got to stop thinking of the worst case scenarios. Please. For the sake of my
heart, if nothing else. I can’t take all this, kouhai, it kinda hurts to know you have to think about
this stuff!” Mirio sighed, leaning back in his chair. He looked genuinely upset by the entire
conversation.

“And second, if you really trust me and all of your other soulmates… then you have to trust us.
We’re going to do everything in our power to be sure you get to become a hero one day, even if
that means fighting… him. We’re all here for you, Izuku! We’re all a part of this. You’re not
alone, and you don’t have to shoulder this like Atlas’ burden or something. So there’s no need to go
sneaking around the others to ask me this stuff, okay? We’re in this together, so just breathe and act
like a normal U.A student for a while.”

“Mirio-senpai…” Izuku pursed his lips, but finally nodded. “Okay. I’ll do my best. I’m just so used
to handing things on my own, I guess. Sometimes I forget I have people, even though I know I have
people… you know?”

“I get it, really,” Mirio nodded. “When Sir first started mentoring me, I felt the same way. But
you’d better learn it quick, kouhai. You’re part of a team now! So don’t make me get Sir to lecture
you, okay? But… I’ll take the quirk if it comes to that. Only if it comes to that.”

“Thank you… that makes me feel a lot better. Together, right? We’ve got this,” Izuku said,
extending a hand out to Mirio. Mirio took the hand into his own, squeezing it tight.

“Together, Izuku. That means all of us.”

When school returned the next day, Izuku felt… light.

Despite everything they’d talked about, and despite the prospects of him possibly being targeted by
an ancient supervillain, he wasn’t as burdened as he thought he’d be. Mirio had helped with that.
Together. That means all of us.

Izuku believed him. They’d do everything together.

In the meantime, Nedzu had approved the extra security measures and told their little group to be
patient. He’d also told Izuku to focus on his schooling and leave the serious stuff to them for the
time being, just like his mom had. He agreed - honestly, Izuku wanted a little time with his
soulmates.

So here he was before class, having met up with Uraraka, Iida, Aoyama and Tsu. The latter had fit
into their dynamic seamlessly, and Izuku was ecstatic to learn she was also romantic soulmates
with Iida and Uraraka.

He looked at his last two unbloomed romantic buds, wondering who they belonged to. He noticed
his other romantic soulmates also had five buds, just like he did. Did they all share the same
romantic soulmates? Were they all one big romantic group? He didn’t know how that was
supposed to work, but his mother said she’d talk to him about poly relationships when he was
ready.

Apparently, they’d become more common and accepted since soulmates came into existence.
Izuku wondered if soulmates began to exist before quirks, or after… a curious thought to study
later, maybe…

“Midoriya, class is going to start soon,” Iida pointed out, noticing he was drifting off while
standing in the middle of the classroom. Izuku startled out of his thoughts with an embarrassed
flush.

“O-Oh, sorry! I just had my mind on stuff!” He said, laughing nervously. He decided to switch the
topic before anybody asked what he’d been thinking about. “I wonder who’s going to be subbing
for Aizawa-sensei in the meantime?”

“That is a good question,” Iida mused, rubbing a hand to his chin in thought. “You mentioned
Aizawa-sensei saying he’d stay to recover like he should, which is the right thing to do! But it
makes me wonder…”

As everyone got into their seats, they wondered the same thing. Class was close to starting, but no
teacher had shown up yet. Most of the other teachers liked to be early. Aizawa sensei was always
on time at the very least, but he was never consistent when he showed up.

Finally, after what felt like forever, they heard arguing in the hallway.

“Zashi- come on, please, I just want to be here-”

“Don’t you ‘Zashi’ me, you know better! You said you wouldn’t do this! Don’t make me get
Midoriya-”

The door slid open suddenly, showing Aizawa standing there, both of his arms in a cast and his
head still bandaged. He was doing a rather impressive mummy impression. Present Mic was
following behind, exasperated and annoyed. Izuku choked on the air a little bit when he realized
that’s why he heard ‘don’t make me get Midoriya.’ Mic thought he could get Aizawa to go back
and rest.

All at once, the students exploded with exclamations of worry, completely ignoring what the
teachers had said in the hallway. Several stood from their seats and surrounded Aizawa, worrying
over him. He was their teacher, and he’d thrown himself into the line of fire for them. He should
have been resting!

“Isn’t it a little early for you to be back, sensei?!” Kirishima cried. “I just barely felt good enough
to come back to class today!”

“I’m just here to be here. Present Mic is running my classes today,” Aizawa said, patently ignoring
the death glare Present Mic was currently shooting at him. Izuku was sure he could feel it through
the bandages with how intense it was. “We have some important announcements I wanted to be
here for. Don’t worry about me, I’m taking it easy.”

“You’d better, sensei!” Mina huffed, crossing her arms over her chest after she’d adjusted one of
his bandages. “You’re, like, a really cool teacher! And we care about you! So be careful!”

“Thank you, Ashido,” his voice was genuinely gentle at her statement. The class finally settled
down for a moment, everyone returning to their seats. Those who had interacted with Aizawa
directly began scratching at their wrists, and a few of them looked down and exclaimed in surprise.

“Hey!” Kirishima was the first one to say something, his mouth hanging open in surprise. “One of
my familial flowers! Aw, sensei, that’s so manly!”

“Me too! I’ve got a familial flower with sensei, too!” Mina said excitedly, an expression of glee on
her face.

“Me too!” Uraraka said with a big grin, showing off the flower that had just bloomed. Several of
the other students looked around, wondering how many of them shared flowers with their teacher.
Izuku couldn’t help but grin and stifle laughter; he knew Mic and Midnight would probably tease
the life out of him later.

“Alright, alright, settle down,” Aizawa grumbled, “My damn arm itches like hell now and I can’t
scratch it. I thought this might happen one day… If you all share a flower with me, don’t expect
me to be biased, alright? I’m happy to have you, and you’re all important to me as my students. But
as a teacher, I will not let soulflowers dictate grading or how I view your progress, understand?”

“Yes, sensei!” The class replied easily. It was quiet for a moment before Mina whispered loudly to
Tsu behind her.

“I wonder if the whole class shares one with him?” She asked. Tsu shrugged.

“I do, kero. I found out at the U.S.J. I just figured I’d talk about it when he felt better,” she said,
Izuku blinked, he hadn’t known she had another flower bloom during all of that. Up front, Aizawa
sighed.

“You’re all problem children, I swear. If the whole class ends up sharing flowers with me, then that
just puts us back at square one. I guess we’d better get this over with now so nobody asks about it
while we’re doing announcements… if you want to check if you share a soulflower with me now,
go ahead and do so.”

Instantly, most of the class stood and went up to him, curious and a bit excited. At the teacher’s
podium, Mic was shaking his head with a fond sigh. He muttered something that sounded
suspiciously like ‘taking it easy, my ass.’ Izuku kind of agreed. As he looked around, he noticed a
few didn’t get up.

The ones who already knew, of course, like himself, Tsu, and the ones who just found out stayed
seated. But aside from that, Todoroki remained in his spot, not bothering to pay attention. In fact,
he almost looked… bothered by it all. Izuku couldn’t decipher in what way he was bothered,
though…

Hagakure also stayed seated, though she wriggled in her seat as if she wanted to get up and go.
Aoyama also sat there, rubbing his soulmarks nervously. He’d mentioned that he was self
conscious about his… Izuku shot him an encouraging look from across the room, and the blond
smiled at him. Then, he took a deep breath and stood. He wanted to know too.

“Sensei! It would appear that we share a familial soulflower!” Iida remarked, pushing up his
glasses in surprise, marveling at the flower that bloomed.

“Tensei will get a kick out of that,” Aizawa snorted. Iida smiled and nodded in agreement. “Good
to know, Iida. Let me know if you need anything.”

It continued student by student, much the same way, until it was revealed that, yes, nearly
everyone shared a soulflower with him. The only ones who hadn’t checked were Hagakure and
Todoroki. Hagakure finally broke her silence. She was quiet, her tone of voice almost ashamed.
“Um, sensei… I want to check, but… I… I can’t see my soulflowers.”

Everyone was quiet. They knew she was invisible all the time, but they never thought about what
that might come with. They never realized she’d never gotten to see any of her own soulmarks.

“I tell you what, Hagakure. Come find me when I get my casts off, and I’ll let you check then,
okay? If we do share one, you can see the flower for yourself,” he offered. She agreed, sounding
happy and a little emotional. Once that was done, Aizawa shifted his attention. “Todoroki, were
you planning on checking?”

“No, sir,” Todoroki said flatly. “You can continue with the announcements if you’d like.”

“… Alright,” Aizawa said, his tone just a bit curious. “In that case, now that everyone else has
checked… it’s good to have found you all. In case it wasn’t already clear, yes, I have a lot of
familial soulmates. It’s your choice how you’d like to define our flowers, but I’m here for each of
you. That being said… Don’t expect me to go any easier on you kids. Now, we should move on to
announcements.”

“Yes, sensei!” The class said, settling into each other’s presences with a newfound sort of strength
and ease.

Aizawa was there for each of them, a figure in each of their lives - a familial soulmate - who had
been willing and ready to fight an army of villains for them. Even Yanagi, who hadn’t been there
on day one, was a part of them. Aizawa bound the whole class together, and they felt that much
closer because of it.

To Aizawa, as he said, they could define the flowers how they wanted - if they wanted him to
remain purely a guiding mentor figure, that was fine by him. Or if he was to become parental
figures to any of them, he wouldn’t mind that so much either. All he knew was that this was his
class.

These were his kids, and he’d make them into the best damn heroes the world had seen. He was
 certain of it.

Chapter End Notes

Oooh one more chapter until the sports festival!! I can’t wait. Which is why I decided
to do a double update today! Next week, we start the sports festival!!! Make sure to
check out the chapter after this one, it’ll be posted shortly if it hasn’t been already!

This one was mostly filler with some important bits sprinkled in, but I hope you
enjoyed it anyway!! I loved writing Mirio here. I’m going to try to make him more
present in Izuku’s U.A life instead of just shuffling him off to the land of few
appearances.

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Preparations
Chapter Summary

“Consider this my declaration of war. If you all aren’t careful, we’ll take your hero
spots right out from under you. Those of us that didn’t make it into the hero course the
first time, we’re strong too. Don’t look down on us.”

Chapter Notes

DOUBLE UPDATE TODAY!! Make sure to read the chapter before this if you
haven’t already!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“So, as I said, moving onto announcements,” Aizawa said, taking a seat at the teacher’s desk.
“Mic, can I at least make the announcements? Or is that too much?”

“Oh, don’t start with me,” Mic rolled his eyes and huffed, but Izuku noted that it was playful and
affectionate. “You can make announcements, but for the rest of the day you need to either stay
down or I’m telling Recovery Girl you snuck out.”

“Alright, alright,” Aizawa conceded. “So, announcements. First things first… as I’m sure you’ve
noticed by now, Mineta is not in class with us today.”

The class murmured amongst themselves. They had noticed that he wasn’t there, but most had
assumed it was simply because he was still recovering in the hospital. Izuku and Kirishima,
however, knew the truth. Their expressions turned pensive as they realized what Aizawa was going
to announce.

“I’m sorry to say that after the U.S. J, Mineta’s parents have decided to withdraw him from U.A’s
hero course. They believe it to be in his best interest after such a serious injury occurred. He will
recover, but he will not be joining us again. Instead, he will be transferring to another hero school
when he recovers.”

Everyone was stunned silent by the admission. Even the girls, who had been extremely
uncomfortable with him from the start, knew he didn’t deserve what happened to him. They hadn’t
expected his parents to withdraw him from U.A. The two who knew about it, however, were even
more surprised - Kirishima had heard that he was withdrawing from the hero course entirely.

Hearing that he was deciding to transfer to another school instead was somewhat of a comfort. He
still deserved the chance to be a hero after all that, but they understood if he didn’t want it to be
with U.A. Maybe whatever school he went to would get his attitude about girls into shape, too.

“With that being said,” Aizawa began again, getting everyone’s attention, “There is a vacant spot
in our class. But, to fill that spot, we have a yearly tradition that’s coming up: the sports festival.”
The class broke into chatter, some excited and some worried. Kirishima rubbed the spot on his
chest where his fresh scar was.

“Is it safe to hold a sports festival so soon after a villain attack, sir?” He asked, clearly nervous. “I
mean… what if they try something else?”

“We’ll have five times the security than we have in previous years. Not to mention there are
always numerous pro heroes in the stands for scouting purposes. It’d be incredibly stupid for them
to try anything at an event like this,” Aizawa said, and that fact seemed to ease the class. “We have
to continue showing the public that we aren’t intimidated by the villains by sticking to the status
quo. We managed to deflect a lot of the media presence surrounding the attack, so we got lucky.”

“There’s also a big plus to the sports festivals, listeners!” Mic took the chance to slide into the
conversation. “Internships! Many heroes scout out students for potential one-week internships
during the sports festivals. If you have a good showing, you could get picked! It opens up a lot of
doors for you in the future. It’s a once a year chance, so you have three chances total to get an
internship. No future hero can afford to miss this event.”

The students all seemed to chatter among themselves excitedly, eager at the prospect of internships
with real pro heroes. Uraraka in particular looked particularly excited, beyond pumped up for the
event now.

“In addition,” Aizawa got the class’ attention again, “the sports festivals are the chance for other
courses to show their stuff. Many people who wished to get into the hero course but couldn’t end
up in other courses. Most years, if a student from another course shows enough merit, we’d
consider transferring them to the hero course the next semester. This year, since we have a seat
open right now… the sports festival is an immediate scouting expedition. Somebody who wishes to
get transferred may end up your classmate by the time internships are over.”

“Wow, that’s pretty cool!” Sero said, nodding in understanding. “I hadn’t thought about it like that,
but I guess other courses might want a shot at the spotlight too! Guess we’d better be on our A-
game.”

“With all that out of the way, listeners, you have two weeks until the sports festival! Your hero
course classes will be shifted towards training for that event, and you will be allowed after-school
use of the school’s facilities with permission. Use your time wisely and don’t slack off! Now, let’s
get learning for the day!”

When the class got to go for lunch, Izuku was already eagerly waiting for his friends by the door.
He wanted to talk to them about the sports festival as soon as possible! He had so many ideas! But
when he finally got the chance, instead, Toshinori had pulled him to the side and asked to speak
with him during lunch.

The others playfully teased him for being in trouble with Mr. Yagi, and he laughed it off with a
smile. He took his lunch with him, and they ate together in the teacher’s lounge.

“So, my boy! The sports festival! Are you excited for it?” Toshinori asked, smiling as he ate his
own lunch. Izuku nodded excitedly.

“Yeah! I can’t wait. I want to talk to my friends about maybe working together. There’s usually a
team event at every festival, and I’d love to come up with team moves with them! If I combined
Uraraka’s zero gravity with…” Izuku trailed off when he realized he was about to start a mutter
storm, and he chuckled nervously. “Heh, sorry, it just kind of slips out sometimes…”

“No worries, my boy, I’m happy you’re so excited. That’s exactly why I wanted to talk to you,
actually. Despite everything going on in the background, I want you to take the opportunity to
think about your future career in heroics. The sports festival is a fantastic opportunity for you to
broaden your horizons, get scouted by somebody who can show you something new!”

“You think so?” Izuku asked, a little sheepish. “I don’t know if I’ll stand out all that much, my
classmates are all really cool!”

“Well, that’s the thing. I think the sports festival can be your chance to shine. Your chance to go
Plus Ultra! And, if you’d be willing to indulge me… your chance to tell the world ‘I am Here!’”
Toshinori grinned cheekily. “Whatever kind of hero you choose to be - symbol or not - should still
be big enough to encompass your goals. Telling the world ‘I am here’ will show everyone you
mean business.”

“I am here…” Izuku murmured, gently touching where Toshinori’s parental soulmark sat on his
wrist. He remembered watching the video of his debut as a child, how cool and larger than life All
Might seemed. How Izuku dreamed fantastically of being a hero like him, of protecting all his
soulmates easily.

Izuku still wanted that childlike dream, even though he knew his specific goal was to be the kind of
hero that everyone could count on, no matter who they were. Perhaps, to show that everyone could
rely on him, he did have to prove it.

If he didn’t at least try to focus on his heroics, then it wouldn’t matter if there were villains after
him or not! He couldn’t afford to lose the chance he’d worked so hard for in the first place. U.A
was his dream school. He would just have to go Plus Ultra and do his best.

“Okay! I’ll tell the world ‘I am here’ and make an impression at the sports festival!” Izuku grinned
brightly. “You can count on me, dad. I’ll show you and everyone the best side of me!”

“Wonderful, my boy!” Toshinori ruffled his hair. “If there’s anything you need from me, please let
me know. I’m happy to help.”

At the end of the day, when Izuku was gearing up to leave and go to his last appointment with
Recovery Girl so he could get his cast off, something interesting happened.

Izuku had again been the first one to the door, only this time when he opened it up, there was a
massive crowd of students in front of him. He stepped back in surprise, not expecting there to have
been so many people all of a sudden. What were they all doing here, he wondered?

“Is something wrong?” Iida stepped up, always ready to take his Class Representative role
seriously. “Do you all need something?”

“I think they’re here because of the villain incident,” Yanagi said, peaceful as ever. “They likely
see us as their biggest competition for the festival because of it. They’re doing some scouting of
their own, if I had to guess.”
“Man, I wish the media had never covered that at all…” Kaminari muttered. Izuku silently agreed.
He didn’t like the insinuation that came with the thought that the others were here because they’d
been attacked. “I just wanna go home…”

“So, this is the big, bad Class 1-A, huh?” A lazy sort of drawl came from the crowd, and a tall,
purple-haired boy made his presence known. His eye bags could honestly have rivaled Aizawa’s.
Izuku recalled seeing him before, when he was listening to that 1-B boy discuss their training.
“Doesn’t look like much to me.”

“Hey, there’s no need to be rude!” Mina huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Sato and
Kirishima nodded in agreement.

“I’m just calling it like I see it,” the boy said, his expression shifting from blank to mildly annoyed.
“Consider this my declaration of war. If you all aren’t careful, we’ll take your hero spots right out
from under you. Those of us that didn’t make it into the hero course the first time, we’re strong too.
Don’t look down on us.”

“Nobody ever said you weren’t,” Izuku finally found himself speaking, his eyebrows knitted in
confusion. “In fact, nobody from my class ever said anything to anybody that should make you
think we’re looking down on you, at least that I know of.”

“Are you kidding?” The blond 1-B student was back, laughing maniacally in the doorway. “All
that spotlight hogging after the U.S.J? You’ve got some nerve!”

“Excuse me?” Izuku said, his expression shifting. It felt as if the temperature in the room had
dropped several degrees. The blond froze, not expecting to have elicited that sort of reaction. The
other students backed up a bit, watching to see what would happen next. “What did you say?”

“Y-You heard me!” The blond continued, hand to his chest as if for dramatic flair. “1-A must think
they’re so superior, flaunting that they’ve beaten villains!”

“Midobro,” Kirishima started, already seeing where this was going. Izuku simply held up his hand
to stop him.

“It’s alright, Kirishima. I’m not going to start anything,” Izuku said flatly, and at that, the redhead
let out a breath of relief. “Instead, what I will say is this: I have no idea where you got the idea we
were flaunting anything. I broke my leg fighting. Our teacher and two of my classmates got put in
the hospital. If you really think we’d go around flaunting that, then you should reevaluate what
you think heroics is. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go see Recovery Girl to get my cast off.”

The crowd, stunned silent by the revelation, parted like the Red Sea. Izuku slung his bag over his
shoulders, sidled up his crutches, and made his way out into the hallway. The purple-haired boy
who’d made his ‘declaration of war’ stared at Izuku’s retreating form with a curious expression.

Izuku, though, was merely stewing.

Some people really got on his nerves, but he wasn’t a silent, scared kid any more. Behind him,
Kirishima was standing in surprise. Finally he spoke up with a determined expression, throwing a
fist in the air.

“Yeah, what Midobro said! So don’t look down on us like that, either! We’re all gonna do our best
here, so let’s meet at the sports festival!”
The two weeks’ training period came and went faster than Izuku had expected, and entirely
uneventfully, too.

Everyone went off and did their own thing, for the most part. Unfortunately, Uraraka and Iida had
already made training plans beforehand, and so had Tsu and Aoyama. So Izuku was on his own for
training, and he went back to one of his favorite places: Dagobah Beach.

For two weeks, he went to the beach every day after school. It felt almost like his old Junior High
days, back when he was still training to receive One for All. Mirio had even shown up a couple of
times to help him with sparring. His blinding speed with his Permeation quirk helped Izuku
improve his reaction times with One for All a significant amount, especially since he was
beginning to use it all day in low amounts, like Sir Nighteye had suggested.

All in all, Izuku felt like he’d boosted his proficiency by a high amount.

He needed to work on his leg-based fighting style a little more, and he needed to develop some
more specific moves based around it, but that could come with time. For now, at the level he was
at, Izuku thought he’d be able to say ‘I am here’ for sure.

When it was time for the actual sports festival itself, he still found himself ending up really
nervous.

His mother worried over him at the doorway, double-checking his uniform and trying to pat down
stray curls of his hair. She knew of the request Toshinori had made of him, and she understood
where he was coming from. Unfortunately, the Midoriya family was nervous by trade, so she was
nervous for him by extension.

“You’ve got everything you need for the day?” She asked, pulling on her own shoes next and
putting her purse over her shoulders. She’d gotten the day off and got tickets for the event to see it
in person. “Your snacks? A change of clothes?”

“Everything, mom, I triple checked,” he smiled at her. Inko just stood up on her tip-toes to kiss him
on the forehead.

“Then we’re good to go for the day. I have it recording on the DVR, and your father’s got the day
off as well, so he’ll be watching too. Oh, Izuku, I’m so proud of you,” she said, tears gathering in
her eyes. “You’ve grown so big, and you’re so strong now, and, oh… being a mom is so difficult
sometimes. I know you’ll do fantastic today, sweetie.”

“Mom, you’re gonna make me cry,” Izuku responded, trying to fight back tears himself. “Thank
you so much for supporting me. I love you.”

“I love you too, honey. Now let’s get going before we’re late, hm?” She said, taking his hand. It
felt strange, walking to school with his mother, but the event started nearly first thing in the
morning and she wanted to be there early. She didn’t get out often, so she planned on visiting the
stalls and doing everything the event had to offer. Izuku was just glad his mother was able to take a
moment for herself and have fun.

Their walk was peaceful, and Izuku made small talk about the lessons he’d had and the training
he’d done. When they got to the school gates, Izuku waved bye to her. She waved back, taking the
other way towards the event stadiums. He still had no idea how U.A. afforded the stuff it did.

When he got inside, the teachers took roll call and all of the students were directed to the locker
rooms to change immediately. Izuku had nervous excitement thrumming under his skin, almost like
when he used One for All.

“What’s gotten into you?” Aoyama chuckled, looking over at him. “You look like a rabbit, waiting
to bounce from place to place.”

“I’m going to do my best today,” Izuku said, tugging his gym uniform shirt over himself. His arms
were a little more exposed than he liked, but he supposed that couldn’t be helped. If he had to show
his scars on TV, then so be it. At least it wasn’t the burn on his shoulder, he didn’t think he’d be
comfortable showing that one for a good, long while.

“Oh, are you nervous?” Iida asked, tugging on soulmark covers. “You shouldn’t be, you’re very
skilled! I’m certain you’ll do wonderfully.”

“Thanks,” Izuku blushed, a little embarrassed by the praise. He tugged on his own soulmark
covers, finding it a little weird to be wearing them. Even with his withered soulflower, he never
really wore them. But since this was a televised event, and they were hero students, they were
required to keep their soulflowers covered like Pros did.

They made their way out of the locker rooms quickly after they were done changing, eager to get
going. When the rest of their class met back up, Ochako and Tsu joined them and talked easily.
Izuku thought he should probably branch out and talk to more of his class than just his soulmates,
but he was too nervous to start up a random conversation right now.

While they were all sitting around talking, Todoroki of all people came up to him to talk. His voice
was distant and tense as he said, “Midoriya.”

“Hm? Todoroki-kun, what’s up?” Izuku asked, surprised the boy was talking to him. Todoroki had
barely spoken their entire time in class thus far, sticking to simple, effective answers or nothing at
all. Even though he sat right in front of Todoroki, and he’d tried reaching out several times, Izuku
could never seem to get through the cold shell he put up.

“Objectively… I believe I am stronger than you,” he said flatly, his head tilting just a little as if to
look down on him. “Your quirk, it’s similar to All Might’s… you just use your legs instead of your
fists.”

Izuku didn’t know where he was going with this, in front of the whole class and everything. One
thing was for sure though, he didn’t want anybody suspicious of his relationship to All Might.
“Well, it’s a strength enhancement quirk. It’s bound to be similar, isn’t it?”

“You know what I mean,” Todoroki narrowed his eyes and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I’m
simply stating the fact that it’s similar. And that gives me all the more reason to beat you today. I
will beat you.”

Izuku almost wanted to frown, but… he didn’t want to be rude to his classmate. He didn’t know if
Todoroki was just a competitive person or something… “Then I look forward to facing you,
Todoroki-kun. Just remember, everyone - not just 1-A - is looking to rise to the top… so make sure
not to discount them, okay?”

He remembered the look in the purple-haired boy’s eyes. He had been deadly serious. Like Izuku
had been… when he told Nighteye back in junior high that he shouldn’t doubt Yagi. It felt like he
had been making an important declaration, so Izuku hadn’t gotten mad at him like he had with the
1-B student.
He didn’t want Todoroki doing him the disservice of discounting that important declaration. Other
students really would be trying their hardest.

“I suppose, but you are who I am going to beat,” he repeated, finally turning away. Izuku just
blinked, staring at the back of his head as he went back to his seat. What a strange interaction… he
honestly didn’t know how to interpret it.

“Declarations of war, huh?” Kirishima looked a little uncomfortable by the interaction, probably
reminded of the one from their classroom two weeks ago. “Let’s just try to get along, alright,
guys?”

“I’m not here to play around at making friends,” Todoroki muttered. He scowled, unconsciously
rubbing at where his soulmarks would be.

Izuku wondered if he struggled with his soulmarks, too.

While the students of U.A were preparing for that day’s sports festival, the villains were making
moves of their own.

Giran had brought them two new potential recruits, more powerful and skilled people that could
make them an actual force to be reckoned with. Toga had been correct, Tomura decided, when she
said they needed more than those loser NPCs that had joined their party temporarily at the U.S.J.
The two standing in front of them now couldn’t be more different, and he wondered if they’d be
any good.

But Toga deserved to have some input too - she was his platonic soulmate, after all. His right hand.
He looked to his right, where a student in a U.A Gen Ed uniform melted away to reveal her true
form, and Tomura angrily threw clothes Kurogiri had prepared at her. She knew better than to de-
transform in front of other people, dammit!

She just laughed and tugged them on while the others looked away out of respect. Also because
they didn’t want to piss off Tomura, who looked like he’d decay them if they so much as looked at
her wrong. When she was done, she slumped back down into her chair at the bar, pulling a knife
from god knows where.

“Hmm…” she hummed, tapping the tip of her knife to her chin. Suddenly, she gestured broadly
with the weapon, grinning widely. “I think you’re both cute! So now it’s up to Shiggy. What do
you think, boss?”

“Hmm… Introduce yourselves,” Shigaraki muttered, scratching at his neck. Toga pouted and
pulled his hand away. She kept telling him to stop, but he couldn’t always help it.

“You can call me Magne, dear,” one of them introduced. She was a tall, muscular woman in
sunglasses with what seemed to be a weapon on her back. She seemed friendly enough. “My quirk
is called Magnetism. I can polarize people and pull them towards each other. I’m on the run, you
see, but I was told you’re not very picky with who you hire.”

“Magnetism, huh…” Tomura muttered. “Why’re you on the run?”

“Well, people are fairly vocal about disliking me,” She said, her expression shifting to one of
 annoyance before changing to a wolfish grin. “And I’m fairly physical about not liking them back.
If they don’t like me, I make it their problem. All I want is a world where people like me can live
comfortably… and so be it if I have to make it that way myself.”

“Interesting,” Tomura lit up a little bit when he heard her motivations. She’d be a good asset, and
her way of thinking aligned with his. “I think we’ll keep you. You can shape the world however
you want after I destroy it.”

“Glad to be here then, boss!” She said easily, taking a seat at the bar now that Tomura had given
his okay.

“What about you, staple-face?” Tomura asked, leaning back in his chair. The other person Giran
had brought them was a guy with spiky, black hair who was covered head to toe in purple scar
tissue, stapled to the remaining untouched skin.

“Dabi. My quirk is Cremation,” he said, a blue flame flickering to life in his hand. Tomura
suddenly became very interested. That would be an insanely valuable quirk to have on his side.
“And my reasons are my own. I’ll just say for now… I wanna kill a few fake heroes.”

“You following that new villain Stain or something?” Tomura snorted. “Whatever, I don’t care.
You can certainly kill a few heroes. You’re in.”

“Just like that? No more looking into me? What if I said I wanna kill you and take your little gang
for myself?” Dabi seemed to smirk.

“She’d stab you before you got the chance,” Tomura rolled his eyes, throwing a thumb over his
shoulder to Toga, who was spinning her knife on the bar with a manic glint in her eyes. “And if she
didn’t finish the job, I would. But you don’t want to, do you? You want a place to stay, you want to
make a name for yourself and kill heroes. You can do that here, so you won’t.”

Tomura wasn’t an idiot. Nobody did the sign-up quests just to attack the guild they wanted to join.
That was fucking stupid.

“Huh, guess you’re not as much of a moron as I thought you were, crusty,” Dabi snarked, probably
a return for his staple-face comment. Tomura just sighed.

“Of course not, I was trained by my Sensei,” He said, as if that answered everything. He sat back
down at the bar with his drink and kept sipping it. “The rooms are upstairs. I don’t care which one
you take. The third floor room at the end of the hall is mine, don’t touch it or I’ll decay you so fast
you can’t even blink.”

“Oh, Shiggy!” Toga suddenly exclaimed, looking at her phone. “It’s almost time for the sports
festival to start! You wanted to watch those hero students and learn about their quirks for next time,
right?”

Tomura’s eyes glinted as he turned on the TV in the corner of the bar.

“Yeah. Time to get some intel.”

Chapter End Notes

Ooooh we’ve got more League members!! Are you excited?? Cause I’m excited >:D
And we also get our first real interaction between Todoroki and Izuku!! I hope you
guys are ready for that, too. Man, so much stuff is gonna happen!! I’m practically
about to burst at the seams! You have no idea how often I want to just spoil stuff when
I reply to comments lol.

Let me know what you guys think is gonna happen or what you’re excited to see
happen!! Next week, sports festival part one!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Flower Festival (Part One)
Chapter Summary

“A great man once told me that all that matters is your spirit. So let’s all have a
heroic spirit and have fun today, no matter what course you’re in!”

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“Alright, everyone! Lemme hear you say YEAH!”

The crowd roared as Present Mic came on the loudspeakers, his voice ringing loud and clear
through the entire stadium. This year, he and Sir Nighteye were going to be the announcers. Mic
had bribed Izuku with an All Might keychain and got him to use his best puppy-dog eyes on
Aizawa and convince him to relax in the teacher section, otherwise he would have been in there
with him.

“That’s right! It’s time to start the tradition everyone’s been waiting for, this year’s annual U.A
Sports Festival!” He announced eagerly. The crowd was going nuts. In the entrance to the field,
that long stretch of concrete hallway, the students waited to be summoned onto the pitch. “Are you
ready, everyone?! It’s time for the first-years to set this stage today, making their first marks in
the world!”

Izuku took a deep, steadying breath. He remembered what his dad had asked of him. It was time to
tell the world ‘I am here!’ all on his own.

In the stadium, families of the students sat with bated breath, eager to see their loved ones perform.
Inko sat on the edge of her seat, all by herself in the sea of parents, but nonetheless ready to cheer
for her baby boy. Further down the stands, Inoue kept the floors as clean as he could, but his
attention was on the field. He wanted to see the kid he’d known since Aldera perform today.

In the teacher and pro hero section of the stands, Toshinori watched just as eagerly as Inko. But no
matter how Izuku did, he’d be proud. And Aizawa watched for his students, too, not that he’d ever
admit to cheering for them in his head. A blue-haired man clambored for the seat next to him, and
Aizawa looked over.

“Oh, Tensei, you’re here?” He asked. The man grinned.

“Of course! You think I’d miss my precious little brother’s first sports festival? I couldn’t bear to
feel him be disappointed while I was on patrol, it would be a distraction,” Tensei tapped the
soulflower on his wrist. “Luckily, our father offered to cover for me just for today’s patrol since he
understood. He’s still got his license, even if he isn’t really active these days.”

“Ah, makes sense,” Aizawa nodded. “I bet Iida will be happy to see you here. I also bet he’s talked
your ear off about his soulmates, too.”

“You have no idea!” Tensei laughed, a fond smile on his face. “But I’m happy for him, he’s
growing into a confident person. You should have seen the look on his face when his soulflowers
came in for the first time. It was kinda priceless.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Aizawa snorted.

Elsewhere in the hero section of the stands, a fiery presence stood and sneered down at the field.
None of the other students would compare to his creation, he thought. None of them were Shouto.

Even in other parts of Japan and outside of it, people held their breath excitedly to see their loved
ones on the field. Izuku’s father, all the way in America, watching the festival on television so he
could brag about his son later to his coworkers. Uraraka’s parents, taking a break to watch their
daughter perform. The Bakugous, waiting to see their son and how he’d truly do now that he was in
U.A - they wanted to see his attitude change really take hold, because they knew how angrily
competitive he used to be.

And in a quiet, dark bar, villains watched curiously.

“That’s right! It’s the U.A Sports Festival, a huge battle where heroes in training can show off
their skills once a year!” Izuku bounced his weight from foot to foot nervously. A gentle hand on
his arm from Uraraka helped him breathe a little easier, his nerves slipping away. “These guys are
new in town, but no less impressive, the new first-years of U.A!”

It was time. Izuku took a deep breath. He was going to be on live television on an event he had
watched every year growing up… no big deal. He only had to make a splash worthy of saying ‘I
am here…’ no big deal.

“Let’s kick this event off with a bang! Please welcome the class that stood their ground against
real villains, Class 1-A!” (He knew Present Mic had to say that stuff for the media, but Izuku
wished he didn’t.) The crowd went nuts again, and 1-A marched onto the field and into the light.

The jumbotron showed their faces, the camera rolling over each of them. It showed shots of all the
students, and Izuku did his best to put on a confident smile.

“Next, please welcome the hero course Class 1-B! These guys haven’t gotten as much airtime,
but they’re still just chock-full of talent!” Mic’s announcement was followed by the class
marching onto the field to join them, that blond boy who’d made the comment about their class
leading them and grinning almost manically. Bakugou’s familiar spiky head of hair was there too.
Izuku just kept smiling anyway.

“Next, general courses C, D, and E join us on the field! Will any of these guys be looking to
steal some hero course spotlight?! Will one of them overthrow the mighty hero course crown?!
Let’s find out!” The Gen Ed classes came out next. Some of them looked completely disinterested,
but some looked eager.

Izuku spotted that purple-haired boy and gave him a supportive nod. He would do his best today,
too. The boy just scoffed and turned away.

The other classes were announced in similar fashion, and Izuku found himself eager for what was
to come. He could do this. He could! He could and he would. He still had some of that restless
energy, but now it was channeling into determination. The students all stood in front of a large
stage in the middle of the field, where none other than Midnight stood, in hero costume and
everything.

Midnight didn’t actually wear her hero costume around the school, as much as people assumed she
did. She just wore suits and pretty clothes when she taught, though she always kept her mask on.
Joining her seemed to be an interpreter for anybody who was hard of hearing or deaf, signing in
JSL along with her.

“Welcome, everyone, to the first-year stage! I’m your referee, Midnight - and today, we’ll start out
with a speech from our first-year representative, the highest-scoring examiner from our entrance
exam! Please welcome Midoriya Izuku!” She waved him up to the stage, and Izuku almost balked
for a moment.

Nobody had told him he’d have to give a speech! Did Nedzu purposefully not tell him to cause
chaos? Or perhaps as a simple revenge for the One for All confusion? (Little did he know, Nedzu
had purposefully not told him, but only because he wanted to see the quick brain Nighteye had
bragged about his student having. Sue him, he was curious.)

Still, Izuku walked up onto the stage anyway, standing behind the mic. He took a deep breath,
repeating ‘I am here’ to himself in his head. Finally, he spoke.

“Hello, everyone! I’ll say it again, welcome to the sports festival! I’m honored to be the one
representing my fellow first-years. Today, I hope we can all have the chance to shine. And just
remember… anybody can be a hero. No matter what quirk you have, or even if you have no quirk
at all, anybody can be strong!” Izuku smiled, continuing even among the shocked muttering when
he mentioned the quirkless. In the stands, Inoue already had tears in his eyes. “A great man once
told me that all that matters is your spirit. So let’s all have a heroic spirit and have fun today, no
matter what course you’re in!”

The crowd cheered and clapped, and Izuku smiled and waved as he climbed down from the stage.
In the teacher section, Toshinori was also fighting back tears. Izuku had used his words in his
speech. He was so proud of his boy for sending such a positive message. Even Aizawa had a small
smile on his face, though nobody could see it under his bandages.

Midnight smiled and continued once the crowd had died down. “Well, thank you for your kind
words, Midoriya! Without further ado, we’ll choose the first game! Each year, the events are
chosen at random. Let’s find out what you all are going to do this year!”

She gestured to a giant screen behind her, and it scrolled through events like a giant, virtual wheel.
Eventually, it slowed to a stop on one of the choices. The text grew to fill the screen, the giant,
blocky kanji flashing brightly.

‘RED LIGHT / GREEN LIGHT’

The students all murmured eagerly. Izuku, however, looked a little pensive. He remembered
playing red light, green light as a kid, but… it wasn’t really his thing. The other kids liked to trip
and push him. Still, he could stop on a dime fairly well - he was used to running and making sharp
turns and stops even in Aldera. He didn’t know how he could say ‘I am here’ during this game, but
he’d just try his best.

“Alright, students! Please, make your way to the other end of the field where we will explain the
rules of the game! Line up evenly, nobody standing behind another person!”

The first-years did as they were told, all going to stand on one end of the field. On the other end, a
‘finish line’ had been made up, complete with a ribbon. The stage and screen had been moved
behind it. Midnight stood there, a microphone in her hands, speaking into it so the kids could hear
her.
“Here come the rules! When I say ‘green light,’ the screen above me will turn green! You may
move however you like during this period, and I will have my back to you! However, hindering
your opponents with your quirks is strictly prohibited! If you do, you will be disqualified!” She
explained.

Immediately, the gears were turning in Izuku’s head. Hindering with quirks wasn’t allowed, but
that didn’t mean you couldn’t use other ways. It seemed that a few others had picked up on that
loophole as well, judging by the looks on their faces.

“When I say ‘red light,’” Midnight continued, “the screen will turn red, and I will turn around! If
you haven’t stopped moving by the time I turn around, you will be eliminated! Please note, your
quirks may count as part of your body, so be careful to make those stop as well! And in case you’re
thinking about being sneaky… we have motion detectors and other sensors that will be able to tell,
so don’t even think about it! And don’t worry, you can still breathe and make unconscious
movements like that - we couldn’t disqualify you for that!”

The students had a collective sigh of relief. When they heard motion detectors, some had worried
about not even being able to have so much as their chest rise and fall, or perhaps their face might
twitch, or something else small.

“Lastly, the first 42 to cross the finish line, or the last 42 standing, whichever comes first - those
students will be declared the winners! Are you ready? Let’s find out who will come first in the first
event of the day!” Midnight called, and the crowd cheered once more.

The students all got into running positions. Izuku gave a glance to his soulmates further down the
line. They all gave each other supportive smiles. No matter who won, they’d still support each
other.

Midnight turned around and began counting down.

“Three… two… one…”

“Green light!”

All of the students took off at once, with a few clearly gaining a significant lead over the others.
Todoroki had torpedoed himself forward with a wave of ice from his foot, leaving a trail behind
him. Sero had shot his tape forward across the stadium, latching it onto the stage Midnight was
standing on. Iida was speeding forward thanks to his engines, and Bakugou had propelled himself
forward with his explosions.

A girl from 1-B had divided herself into parts and some of them flew forward of their own accord.
Izuku himself had poured One for All into his legs, taking leaps forward. He had taken inspiration
from Tsu for that, seeing how she had hopped great distances during some of their hero lessons.

“What an explosive start! The students are clearly eager, with a few clear leaders from the get-
go!” Mic’s voice called out, announcing the race. The students were all moving forward as fast as
they could. Currently, Todoroki led the pack, with Izuku right behind and Sero behind him.
Bakugou would have been further, but he was being careful to manage his explosions so he could
still stop on a dime when the light changed.

“Indeed,” Sir’s voice came next, “But some students may sneak up on them. It’s anyone’s race.”
Then Izuku heard a motor rev, and his jaw dropped when he saw that Yaoyorozu had created a
dirtbike of all things. She sped forward, catching up quickly.
“Red light!”

Every student in the stadium ground to a halt, stopping as quickly as they could. Midnight turned
around, but many students hadn’t reacted in time and stumbled over themselves. Izuku, luckily, had
managed to stop. Surprisingly enough, even Yaoyorozu’s dirt bike had been able to stop in time.
Perhaps because she hadn’t gotten up to full speed yet?

The students that had been eliminated had their names read out by Midnight, and they ventured off
to the sidelines. The rest of them, however, stood like statues.

While they were still, Izuku thought to himself. He needed to make one big leap or push forward to
overcome Todoroki, but he wanted to save it. Likely, to do what he had in mind, he’d end up
breaking something again. Possibly, he thought, he could do what he had done with his fingers -
maybe he could put power into his toes and push off of them?

He’d save that as a surprise at the end, but only if he needed to.

“Hey! I think he has a crush on you!” Izuku heard somebody - he was pretty sure it was Mina -
yell. What in the world? Was she trying to make them look or something? He refused, steadfastly
keeping his head in the same spot. It appeared not everyone had the sense to ignore it though, as
Midnight read a few more names out. Not Mina’s, though, so she must have done it without
moving her mouth.

“Ahh, sabotage! It looks like somebody’s figured out a loophole in the rules! What could happen
next?!” Mic sounded eager, whereas Nighteye was the calm voice of logic. Izuku was sure Aizawa
appreciated it.

“It makes sense to take every advantage you can get in a race. Fights are much the same way -
any advantage is a good advantage.”

“Green light!”

Midnight turned back around, and the crowd of students had begun to sprint again. By this point,
many had ventured away from their starting positions, taking the spaces the eliminated students
left. Some, however, began to venture closer to Izuku than he’d like. With a leap, he jumped over a
few students and into a wider space.

That move had cost him a little time, however, and he fell behind. With a mutter to himself, he
burst forward again. Izuku tried to channel Iida as he ran, remembering the boy’s blinding speed
from their training.

“Ooh, and just like that, have the tables turned?!”

“Or perhaps it was the turns that tabled.”

“That makes no sense, man!”

Izuku held back his laughter at Sir’s awful joke and kept his face serious. If he laughed he’d be
distracted and lose even more ground.

Todoroki spared a glance behind himself, seeing the fierce expression on Izuku’s face as he caught
up on his lost ground. The way the lightning shadowed his face almost made him seem
intimidating, though Todoroki wasn’t scared of pretty much anything. He certainly didn’t seem
like he was, anyway.
Yaoyorozu had overtaken Sero for third place, however, and had already passed Izuku on his lost
ground. The other students were still just as fervent, practically climbing over each other to get to
the end.

“Red light!”

Izuku stopped, and a boy next to him tripped. Instinctively, Izuku shot out a hand and grabbed him
by the back of his shirt, keeping him from falling all the way to the ground as Midnight had
already turned around. His heroic instincts reared up even during a festival, it seemed…

“Stay still,” Izuku grunted, though he didn’t move his mouth to say so. The boy gave him an
extremely grateful look through the corner of his eye. Midnight smirked when she saw Izuku
holding up the boy, a precarious position indeed.

“Oh, my! It seems like Midoriya Izuku of the hero course has stopped to save a fellow student!
Can he keep holding him up for the entire red light?! Will his heroic effort be worth it, or will
they both be eliminated?!”

“Some people can’t help themselves when it comes to saving others. It’s one of the most defining
traits of a hero.”

Izuku struggled not to jolt from the surprise of Sir suddenly saying what sounded suspiciously like
a compliment to him in disguise. Sir almost never complimented anybody during school hours!
Much less in public!

Now wasn’t the time to be surprised, though, not with the boy in his hands!

Midnight called out the names of those who had still been moving, and the boy looked up at Izuku
with wide eyes, unbelieving that he could hold onto him for so long. Izuku wanted to smile
reassuringly at him - he was nothing compared to the weight of pulling a rusty fridge with All
Might on top of it - but he didn’t know if smiling would count so he kept his mouth the same.

“Green light!”

Izuku hefted the boy up and realized he was a student from 1-B. He’d have to ask his name later.
Izuku took off running again, pouring as much of One for All into his legs as his body could
physically handle. He felt his bones creak a little under the strain, pushed to their limit. He wasn’t
strong enough to tap into more without breaking something.

He had passed up several students, however, and was about to catch up to Yaoyorozu’s dirt bike.
Todoroki was already three-fourths of the way across the stadium, with Yaoyorozu, Sero, and now
Tokoyami and Iida also close behind.

Izuku pushed off of the ground, making a leap over Sero and landing right beside Yaoyorozu,
breaking into another sprint the second his feet hit the ground. He wasn’t going to lose, damn it! I
had to say ‘I am here’ today!

“Red light!”

Izuku yelped and stopped, his arms spread out to steady him. He hadn’t expected another Red
Light so soon. His muscles were clenched, and with One for All still powered in his legs at max
capacity, it was starting to hurt. But he had to stay still.

“It looks like some students are struggling down there! Will we see some more eliminations?!”
“Surely for some students, struggling to succeed so soon is second nature.”

“Dude! Was that alliteration on purpose? That was terrible!”

In the stands, Toshinori could see how badly Izuku was straining to keep still in his state, and his
eyebrows furrowed worriedly. He leaned forward, on the edge of his seat. He worried Izuku would
get eliminated in the first round, or worse, hurt himself like that. He had asked his boy to make a
mark today, but he hadn’t meant at the expense of his health.

Midnight read the names of the students who hadn’t stopped in time. They were down to half of
the original competitors now, with a lot of the ones who’d been eliminated watching on the
sidelines. Izuku glanced over and saw, curiously, a pink-haired girl from the support course was
doing really well. She had done the same thing as Sero, only with what looked like a grappling belt.
Curious, indeed. Everyone really was trying their best.

“Green light!”

Izuku gasped in a breath, his muscles unclenching and One for All releasing. He definitely couldn’t
do that again. But he was over halfway across the stadium now, and he was sure he could do
something eye-catching if he used that final burst of energy. He also had to consider if it was worth
it to get chewed out for breaking his toes after, though.

It really wasn’t. Winning would feel awful if he had to endure Sir’s disappointed look afterwards.
He knew he couldn’t break anything.

Yaoyorozu, Sero, Tokoyami and Iida were catching up to Todoroki though, and Izuku was running
out of time to get past them. He had an idea, however, when he saw that Yanagi was in a straight
line behind him in the pack of students. Maybe she’d be willing to help him out? Well, it was
worth a shot!

“Yanagi! Would you be willing to throw me forward with your quirk?!” He yelled back to her as he
kept running. She looked surprised.

“But the rules-”

“Are only against hindering! I’m asking for your help! If you’re willing to give it, I mean! You can
say no, I totally get it!” He said, and Yanagi nodded. She really was a nice person.

“You helped our classmates at the U.S.J, so I’ll help you now!” She said, and he felt himself be
lifted into the air. Suddenly, as if being tossed like a ragdoll, his body flew forward without
prompting. Izuku tucked himself into a roll when her quirk dropped him, popping up and thanking
everything that Midnight hadn’t called Red Light while he was in the air.

“Red light!”

Speak of the devil.

“Yet another display of heroic efforts from a 1-A student, this time Yanagi Reiko has helped
Midoriya get even closer to the finish line! Unbelievable!”

He stopped, and when he took in his surroundings, he realized he’d passed Yaoyorozu thanks to
that throw, and now he was mere feet from Todoroki. But it still wasn’t quite enough - if he didn’t
have one more burst, he’d still lose to Todoroki. One for All, at the percentage he could use it,
wasn’t enough on its own to catch up to his ice at the speed he was going.
Well, the more he thought about it… if the blast from putting 100% into his toes ended up
knocking somebody over, it could be considered hindering an opponent. He needed something
else. He needed… a launchpad!

An immovable wall, like that monster from the USJ! It would block the blast from reaching the
others! In fact… it might even keep him from breaking his bones, if the push-off at his max
percentage was enough. But where would he get something like that now?!

“Green light!”

“Midoriya, behind you!” The 1-B boy he’d helped before called out to him, and his eyes went
wide. As if on cue, a large, shimmering disc appeared behind him when the boy breathed, almost
akin to a pane of glass.

This must have been his quirk! Had he realized what Izuku needed? Well, Izuku wouldn’t look a
gift horse in the mouth!

He powered up One for All and jumped into the air. In midair, he braced his left foot - the one he
hadn’t broken at the U.S.J - against the pane and forced all of the power he could manage into it. It
was that bone-creaking level of power, just teetering on the edge of too much. He prayed to
everything he knew that it didn’t break anything and was enough to propel him to first place.

When he pushed, he took off like a rocket. The blast shattered the disc, and the wind force from it
shot out to his left and his right, knocking over students all the way over on the sidelines - but not
his opponents, so it was still a legal move. It had been a significant amount of power, but, Izuku
realized with excitement, not enough to break anything in his foot.

His training to keep One for All powered up all day had significantly improved how much more he
could use in short bursts.

“Wow! Just how many kids are gonna help their enemies down there?!”

And then the crowd went absolutely insane with cheers.

Izuku’s name appeared on the scoreboard, the first one. Todoroki’s name appeared shortly after.
An unbelieving laugh bubbled up in Izuku’s throat, and he clutched at his heart where it was
beating wildly in his chest. The laugh turned into a whooping cheer of excitement, jumping up and
down and waving wildly to Sir in the announcer’s booth. He’d done it!

And he’d done it all without breaking a bone!

He felt pride blossom in his chest, thrumming through each and every one of his soulflowers. All of
them were proud of him… they were all happy for him. He felt happy tears come to his eyes, but
held them back. His dad was always telling him not to cry so much, though he suspected happy
tears would be okay. Still… he wanted to provide an image of reassurance.

So he just smiled even wider and waved to his dad next. Izuku hoped he could make even more of
an impact during the festival. It was just his first mark, and by the end of the festival, he was sure
he could say ‘I am here!’

Izuku didn’t even hear the remaining ‘red lights’ or ‘green lights’ over the excitement and
adrenaline in his veins.

However, when the 1-B boy who’d helped him crossed the line, Izuku broke out of his happy
stupor and immediately went to thank him without a second thought. The boy laughed and patted
him on the back. “Thank you, seriously, thank you so much!” Izuku said happily. “How did you
know I needed that?!”

“Well, your friend over there suggested it,” he gestured to Aoyama, who was waving at them from
his own spot over the finish line. “And I figured since you helped me, well, it was the right thing to
do, returning the favor and all. But that’s one hell of a power you’ve got! You’re gonna be an
awesome hero some day, man.”

“Thank you! I’m Midoriya Izuku, but I think you already knew that,” he said, suddenly a little
sheepish now that he was coming down from the adrenaline high. Still, he was polite and gave him
a hand to shake. The boy shook it easily.

“Tsuburaba Kosei! Man, Monoma always trash-talks 1-A, but anybody who helps their opponents
can’t be that bad. Thanks to you, I still managed to get across the line in time,” Tsuburaba said, a
pleased smile on his face. “We should train together some time! I bet you could help me make my
air walls stronger.”

“Oh, is that what it was?! Your quirk was so cool-!” Izuku was cut off from a quirk mumble storm
when Midnight’s voice came over the speakers.

“There you have it, folks! These forty-two students will be moving onto the next round!” She
announced, gesturing to the giant screen behind her again. The students’ names were up there,
bright and bold. When he looked up, he saw that all of his friends were up there. None of them had
been eliminated!

He wondered how Mirio was doing on the third-year stage, too. Was he winning? He had watched
his senpai’s sports festival last year, though he hadn’t met him at the time. He hoped Mirio was
doing just as well.

The crowd cheered for the students who had gone on, and Izuku took a deep breath. Now he
needed a water break before the next event!

When the students who went on to the next round had finished their 10 minute break for water and
rest, they all gathered back around the stage. Midnight was back up, whip dangling over her
shoulder in one hand and microphone in the other. The students awaited the next event eagerly.

“Are you ready, everyone? It’s time for our next event! We’ll decide at random again… this time
from our list of team games!” She cracked her whip and the wheel on the screen began to spin.

It spun and spun and spun until it landed on a title that filled the screen.

‘PAINTBALL’

Izuku immediately perked up. Paintball? He’d heard other kids at school talk about it when he was
younger. They always said it was like laser tag, but he’d never been to the arcade before, so by
extension he’d never played that before either. Maybe he’d invite one of his friends to the arcade
some time?

“Oh my, a fun game if I’ve ever seen it! We’ll go over the rules here, and then go and get your
gear for the game!” Midnight said, and all the students looked abuzz with excitement. Paintball
was such a fun event! And for a sports festival no less?!

“So, let’s begin! First of all - this is a team event! You will have 10 minutes to make teams of 2 to
4 people and come up with a game plan! After that, you will head out to the game area to collect
your gear and start the match!” She explained. Immediately, Izuku was thinking of who he’d like
on a team with him.

“Next, the rules of the game! You will wear sensor pads! They must be worn, uncovered, on the
chest and back. You can block hits, of course… but covering the sensor pads with clothes, quirks,
and other items isn’t allowed!”

That made sense, Izuku thought. Midnight continued.

“To score points, you must hit an opponent on one of the two sensor pads - anywhere else doesn’t
count! Each successful hit will give you a point. Banned areas are the face and head - if you
purposefully hit somebody in those areas, you will disqualify yourself! In addition, if you are hit
correctly, our high-tech sensor pads will send a signal that disables your weapon for ten seconds.
Once every member of your team has been hit at least once, your team is out of the game!”

Izuku nodded along with each of the rules so far. That all sounded reasonable. Midnight’s
expression changed to an almost sadistic smirk, however, so he knew it wouldn’t stay reasonable
for much longer…

“Also, the team with the first place student from last time will be at a disadvantage… Any shots
landed on their team members will be worth five points each!” She laughed, and Izuku gulped.

All at once, the students turned to look at him like he was a prey animal. Well… that wasn’t good
at all…

“Finally, this game will last fifteen minutes! At the end of fifteen minutes, the top four scoring
teams will be moving on to the final round! Now go, kids, and pick your teams! Your ten minutes
starts now!”

Instantly, everyone parted around Izuku. Nobody wanted to be on a team that would put a
ginormous target on their backs! He sighed - he supposed he could understand. He’d just have to
go and ask to convince people himself! And actually, he already had an idea of who he wanted to
join him…

“Tsuburaba-kun!” He called, waving to the boy who’d gotten him first place in the last event. The
boy turned, surprised to hear his name, and even more surprised to see that it was Izuku calling to
him. “Hey! Would you be willing to be on a team with me? I know it puts you at a disadvantage,
but…”

“Y’know what? I think I will!” Tsuburaba laughed. “It’ll be a good chance for me to show off. And
besides, I owe you a little more than one boost.”

“No, no, you don’t owe me anything, really! I appreciate you joining me, though. You’ll be a big
help! Your quirk is absolutely perfect for playing defense!” Izuku said excitedly, stars practically
in his eyes at a quirk as cool as Tsuburaba’s.

“Hey! Tsuburaba, tell me you’re not seriously going to join a 1-A student like this!” Izuku heard
that blond boy - Monoma, according to Tsuburaba - call out to them. Izuku fought the urge to
twitch an eyelid.

“Hey, man, cool it, he’s cool!” Tsuburaba said easily. “He helped me out, and he seems pretty
nice. I dunno man, I think you’ve got the wrong idea. You’d do great on our team, actually. Why
don’t you join us?”

Izuku wasn’t eager to have Monoma on his team after what happened, but… Tsuburaba knew him
better, and if he would be good, he’d shut up and deal with it. “What’s your quirk, Monoma-kun?”

“My quirk?” Monoma narrowed his eyes. “It’s a copy quirk. I’m certain you’d find it distasteful.”

“What? Distasteful?!” Izuku’s eyes went impossibly wide. “That’s not true! That’s such a cool
quirk! You could do anything with that! The possibilities are endless, I mean, wow! Sorry, I-I’m
rambling, but… your quirk is awesome!”

Monoma stared at him, before very flatly, he said, “… You’re serious.”

“Of course I am! You heard what I said at the beginning, right? I really meant that. It doesn’t
matter what quirk you have or don’t have, you can be strong,” Izuku said. Monoma seemed to
almost draw into himself self-consciously. Izuku processed the interactions they’d had in his head
again. If this was how he got when somebody asked about his quirk and said something nice… He
had probably been bullied for having a ‘villainous’ quirk if he had to guess - nobody liked others
‘taking’ their quirks.

He was probably putting up the ‘I hate 1-A’ act to shield the fact that he was self-conscious about
his quirk. Izuku had the same reaction in junior high, only he had been the quiet doormat in the
hopes people would overlook his quirklessness.

Izuku’s expression turned gentle. He and Monoma were probably more alike than he cared to
think. Maybe he had judged him too harshly at first.

“Well, then,” Monoma cleared his throat, gaining back some of his confidence. “I suppose, as
Tsuburaba said… it would be a good chance for me to show off. Everyone’s eyes will be on us.”

“Exactly!” A new voice joined the mix, and all three of them startled. They turned to see the pink-
haired girl from the Support Course he’d seen during Red Light, Green Light. She seemed almost
manic with excitement. “That’s why I’m joining your team!”

“Huh?” Tsuburaba seemed taken aback by the suddenness of her declaration, and so did Monoma
and Izuku.

“You see, Mr. First Place, I’m the one and only Hatsume Mei of Hatsume Industries, from the
support course!” She said, pulling her goggles up onto her forehead. “And I need every tech
developer scout in the stadium to be looking at me! I make the most beautiful babies you’ve ever
seen!”

“B-Babies…?” Tsuburaba asked, his entire face red.

“Yes!” She didn’t seem to notice his awkward expression. Instead, she pulled out a trunk from
seemingly nowhere and opened it up to reveal dozens of support items inside. “Just look! Aren’t
they magnificent?”

“Oh, her babies are her inventions…” Izuku breathed an unconscious sigh of relief. So did the
other two.

“Plus, my quirk is called zoom! It enhances my eyesight. If I concentrate, I can see up to five
kilometers away with perfect accuracy! Useful for a paintball game, huh?” She grinned. “We can
use lots of my babies to help us out! Support students are allowed to use any inventions we make
ourselves because we get scouted by tech companies during the festival!”

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Izuku perked up, his brain going a mile a minute. “If Monoma-
kun copied Tsuburaba-kun’s quirk, then they could be the defense. And if you have some
inventions to help me with accuracy, and maybe a couple more defensive items, we’d be like an
impenetrable wall!”

Hatsume’s resulting grin was positively feral. Monoma seemed to agree, as he sported a matching
grin, while Tsuburaba just seemed pumped up. Izuku put his hand in the middle of all of them.

“So, are we all a team, then?” He asked excitedly. They all put their hands on his and nodded.
“Awesome! I’ll go register and get our gear!”

(He didn’t even notice his soulmates off to the side, shaking their heads fondly. Nobody could
resist Izuku’s friendliness. They didn’t even mind having to find different teams - they enjoyed just
watching Izuku win people over.)

Once the students had gotten their gear and all teams had been decided, they were ushered out to
the playing field.

Which, as it turned out, was a massive, forested area.

Drones circled ahead and through the forest, giving the people back in the stadium a view of the
game on the Jumbotron. The students lined up around the edge of the forest in groups, each team
having their own designated entry point far from each other. They were now just waiting for the
go-ahead.

In the stands, Inko was cheering for her son excitedly. She was so proud of him for having won the
first round! Though she had to admit, the ‘disadvantage’ made her really nervous about him
moving forward…

“Alright! Now, it’s time for our second event - a fierce paintball battle!” Present Mic’s voice
could be heard on the speakers even all the way out here. “Which four teams will come out on
top?! And who will take advantage of Team Midoriya’s five-point disadvantage?!”

“I suppose we should be thankful it isn’t a five-finger disadvantage,” was Nighteye’s deadpan

response.

“Seriously, what does that even mean?! That’s not how the saying goes! Your jokes are weird!”

Izuku just snorted. Sir’s sense of humor was really weird, he admitted. Izuku had grown used to
and even fond of it during his time learning from the man, however, so it didn’t bother him in the
least. Honestly, hearing his awful jokes made him a bit more relaxed.

“Alright, students, get ready!” Midnight’s voice was heard next, this time over a megaphone.
“When I say go, you may enter the forest!”

“Three!”

Tsuburaba handed Monoma a few hairs from his head, which Monoma would use to stay copying
his quirk for the duration of the event. Other teams were also readying themselves, though Izuku
and his team could not see them.

“Two!”

Izuku clutched his paintball gun a little tighter in his hands. Hatsume steadied the inventions on
her. They were as ready as they could be.

“One!”

Izuku took a deep breath. Tsuburaba and Monoma followed suit.

“GO!”

Izuku and Monoma broke off from Hatsume and Tsuburaba, who went the opposite direction. They
had discussed plans thoroughly, and the two of them decided that splitting up was the best decision
to get the most points - Tsuburaba would be Hatsume’s guard, and Monoma would be Izuku’s,
while the two non-guards would focus entirely on getting points.

They did have a secret, though - they had hidden communicators developed by Hatsume, so they
could ask each other for help if they needed it. She really had a little bit of everything in that trunk
of hers.

Instantly, Izuku spotted a good place - higher elevation, with rocks and other places to duck
behind, close to their side of the forest. Other students would likely be heading there too though, so
they had to be fast and careful to claim the ground for themselves.

The closer he and Monoma got, the more activity they heard. The two of them ducked down, with
Monoma watching Izuku’s back. Izuku peered his paintball gun around the corner, looking through
the scoped goggles Hatsume had graciously given him. He spotted another student moving through
the other side of the brush.

“Monoma, ahead of me. Be ready,” he whispered, and the blond nodded, on guard. Izuku lined up
the shot with the very exposed sensor pad on the girl’s back. It seemed to be a girl from 1-B he
didn’t recognize. He held his breath, and then he pulled the trigger.

The bright, neon-green paintball splattered on her, and she whirled around. Instantly, two other
students were at her side. One was another 1-B student and one was Koda. Monoma had already
lined up another shot by the time they appeared and the girl had a matching paintball on her front
sensor as well.

Her team members raised their own paintball guns, but Izuku ducked and Monoma blew a breath of
strong air that formed a protective disc - Tsuburaba’s quirk. The paintballs they fired hit the solid
air wall, and Izuku fired from underneath the barrier, up at Koda. It hit the bottom of his sensor
pad but it still counted.

Monoma and Izuku decided to hedge their bets and find another route to the perfect spot, so
Monoma made more barriers and they sprinted for the cover of trees. The other team ran after
them, and unfortunately they got one shot off and managed to hit Monoma.

Izuku grumbled and let his teammates know he’d been hit. If the other 3 also got hit, their team
would be out. He wondered how everyone else was doing…
The other teams, as it turned out, were in a fierce brawl to find Izuku’s team. A few didn’t seem to
think about the fact that they were getting plenty of points from hitting other members as it stood,
nor the fact that they were putting themselves in more danger by competing to get to Izuku first.

On the other hand, a few teams were quiet and careful, taking their points as they could and
making sure nobody could hit them. Those were teams like the one Todoroki led. But Todoroki, he
had a bone to pick with Izuku from round one - he was going to get Izuku, he’d make sure of it.

Left and right, teams went down. Todoroki was not playing around.

Izuku and Monoma had defended themselves pretty well, and they felt like they were able to get a
decent amount of shots in.

Together, the two of them had around 23 points, and Hatsume and Tsuburaba had nearly 30 on
theirs. Apparently, as they learned, you could shoot somebody multiple times and each shot
counted. They’d started shooting double where they could after that. Unfortunately for them,
Hatsume and Izuku were their last unhit team members. Both Tsuburaba and Monoma had been hit
defending them.

But then, their communicators came in handy. There was only about five minutes left in the round
when they heard Hatsume’s voice. “Hey, around the tallest tree to the north! We’re surrounded by
Todoroki’s ice! We need help!”

They needed no more prompting and made their way to their teammates’ location. Over the
speakers from the stadium, they heard Present Mic again.

“Team Midoriya is close to being eliminated, with only four and a half minutes left! How will
this turn out?! Are we about to see a fierce battle between two strong teams?!”

Along the way, they managed to score a few more shots while defending themselves from other
teams. Hey, any port in a storm.

They eventually spotted the massive tree Hatsume had directed them to, however, and there was
Todoroki as she had said. Todoroki had made a wall of ice surrounding them, cutting them off
from everything and everyone else, and Tsuburaba was getting exhausted from helping to defend
her against all the paintballs he was shooting.

Izuku carried Monoma on his back, using One for All to quietly jump into a tree so they could get
a better view of the situation. They each took a spot on a thick branch, surveying the area below
them. Todoroki and his team were slowly closing in on their teammates. He had Iida and
Tokoyami with him, it seemed. Why hadn’t he just pinned Tsuburaba and Hatsume down with his
ice, though?

Izuku thought of all the times Sir had ground in about reading opponents on the fly. Todoroki
wanted to beat him, he’d said. This was an attack on him, to get him to come out of the
woodworks. “Monoma-kun, help Tsuburaba-kun defend. I’ll handle Todoroki’s team.”

“Understood,” Monoma nodded. He knew now was really not the time to argue about things. If
Izuku had a plan, he’d follow. Monoma leapt down, sliding down the ice wall with an air wall in
front of him. When he joined their two teammates, Tsuburaba looked like he could fall over with
relief. Izuku jumped through the tree line, avoiding being seen or heard by the others.

Sir had impressed plenty of stealth training into him. He was never going to be All Might,
Nighteye always said - but that was okay. He didn’t need to be All Might, he could be his own kind
of hero. And that meant he was a hell of a lot quieter than All Might, even if Todoroki said their
quirks were similar.

(They were the same, actually, just used differently. Not that he knew, though.)

When Izuku saw his opportunity, he shot Iida in the chest with a paintball and kicked a strong blast
of wind from one of his legs. It was kind of like All Might’s air displacing Texas Smash, only with
his leg, and well, less powerful. But it was enough - it hit Tokoyami, one of Todoroki’s other team
members. His paintball gun flew from his hands.

Instantly, Todoroki whirled around to face him. He was the first to move, sending out a spike of
ice in Izuku’s direction. Izuku leapt onto the closest tree branch, climbing higher. With Todoroki’s
attention on him, he could see his sensors properly. It seemed like he and Tokoyami had somehow
managed to not get hit thus far.

Izuku got a shot off and it just managed to eke past Dark Shadow, pelting Tokoyami’s back in neon
green paint. That just left Todoroki. Izuku shouted to his teammates, “You guys! Fire on Todoroki
at will!”

They seemed to understand, and every paintball gun from his team was trained on Todoroki in
seconds. Then it was his turn to defend with his ice, unable to pay attention to Izuku any longer.
Instantly, Izuku saw an opening. A single, brief moment where Todoroki’s left side was left
entirely open. He could throw him off and take a shot, and it would be over.

Izuku was launching himself from the tree before he even realized it, slipping right past Dark
Shadow who had tried to grab him.

Todoroki turned almost as if in slow motion, his eyes going wide as he saw Izuku coming for him
full-force. An unstoppable object, haloed in green lightning.

And for the first time Izuku had seen, Todoroki’s left side flickered in flame for a single moment
before it stopped, ice taking its place - it slammed Izuku out of the way and sent him tumbling to
the ground. Izuku groaned, that would definitely bruise later.

Todoroki was about to get a shot off at Izuku, but the buzzer sounded that ended the event.

“That’s it, everyone! Just an incredible match there at the end between Team Midoriya and
Todoroki - I didn’t even know Todoroki could use fire! And man, Midoriya’s team worked great
together, their planning was impeccable! They only got hit three times the entire game!” Present
Mic said excitedly.

“Indeed, splitting up to get more points was a solid strategy. There’s something to be said for
brute force, though - Todoroki’s team powered through much of this event with it,” Nighteye
said amicably.

Izuku wasn’t focused on the play-by-play, though. The look on Todoroki’s face was downright
apoplectic. He was furious. What the hell? Izuku didn’t understand - what had made him so angry?
What had he done? They were just competing, weren’t they? Was Todoroki that bent out of shape
about losing?

But before he could say anything, Todoroki was stalking off back through the forest angrily,
completely leaving behind his teammates.

“Hey, are you alright?” Iida asked, helping him up from where he had fallen. “Todoroki’s ice hit
you pretty hard, there.”

“Aw, I’ll be fine,” Izuku winced, his ribs a little tender where he’d been hit. Iida frowned but didn’t
say anything. “I’ll just go see Recovery Girl before the last event. I’m really hungry, too. Can’t
wait for lunch.”

“Man, that was crazy!” Tsuburaba laughed, a hand to his forehead in disbelief. “I can’t believe you
just charged at Todoroki like a missile! Totally insane, Midoriya! You’re something else!”

“Indeed, that was a rather impressive display,” Monoma said, a pleased smile on his face. “Still, I
think we managed well. Using Tsuburaba’s quirk like that was a wonderful idea. I believe we’ve
shown off Class B’s strengths quite well! And… I suppose 1-A isn’t all bad. I’m sorry for what I
said when we first met.”

“Thanks! Apology totally accepted, Monoma-kun,” Izuku smiled, and Monoma covered his eyes.

“Oh, god. Too bright, I regret opening my mouth,” he muttered. Tokoyami nodded in agreement.

“His very presence repels the darkness inside us all,” he muttered back. Izuku just blinked in
confusion. What did that even mean?

“Thanks for letting me show off some of my babies, Mr. First Place!” Hatsume cackled. “I’ll let
you test some more of them some time! Maybe they won’t even explode if you’re lucky!”

Izuku just chuckled. He’d pass on that offer, but he appreciated it anyway. “It was good working
with you too, Hatsume-chan! I’ll come to you if I can think of any support gear ideas.”

“Oh, I have plenty of stuff in mind for you already!” She said, her eyes glinting with excitement.
“But we’ve gotta get out of this forest and back to the stadium to see our scores first! I want to see
who won!”

Izuku and the others all turned in their gear outside the entrance to the stadium. That was actually
pretty fun - he’d never played paintball before, but he enjoyed that a lot. It wasn’t really a chance to
show off or anything, but he would definitely call it a success. He felt like his team got a decent
amount of points, so even if they didn’t win, he’d be happy.

Monoma, Tsuburaba and Hatsume all followed him into the stadium. When they entered, they
were met with cheers from the crowd. Izuku smiled and turned a little red. He still wasn’t used to
all this attention.

They stood in front of the stage, where Midnight was grinning and standing in front of the screen.
Once all the students were gathered around it, the teams were all lined up on it. Each team’s
section had photos of them in it, but the scores were empty. Were they going to show them now?
 “Alright, everyone! And now for the score reveal! Let’s see who’ll be our top four scorers that will
be going onto the final event of the day!” She said eagerly, gesturing to the screen. All at once,
numbers scrolled up under each team’s score card, totaling all the points they got.

Several teams groaned when they saw they hadn’t made the top four. But Izuku’s team cheered
excitedly.

They’d made third place! It wasn’t bad, all things considered!

Todoroki’s team had gotten first, of course - they’d heard from Iida on the way back that Todoroki
had frozen several opponents in place and simply shot at their sensor pads repeatedly to get points.
Iida said he didn’t exactly feel like they had earned first place, but he supposed there wasn’t much
he could do now.

Izuku just reassured him that he could prove himself in the final round, which had historically
always been some kind of bracket-style tournament round.

Second place had been Bakugou’s team, also rather unsurprisingly. He may be in 1-B now, but he
was still a powerhouse of his own. Izuku knew better than to discount his skill and drive to
succeed, to be number one. He looked a little bit like a bull in a china shop with how mad he was
about losing to Todoroki, though.

Some things never changed. Bakugou would probably always hate losing. At least his anger over it
was far less explosive than it used to be. Now, he was just pacing around and yelling a lot.

In fourth place, curiously enough, was that purple-haired boy Izuku had seen. Team Shinsou, the
board read. Ochako, Aoyama and a 1-B student had joined his team, Izuku noted. Maybe they were
getting along? Izuku was happy he’d done well, though - he remembered the boy seemed adamant
that he’d get a place in the sports festival spotlight.

“There you have it, folks! Team Todoroki, Team Bakugou, Team Midoriya and Team Shinsou will
be going on to the third and final event of the sports festival today! But first, we’ll have a lunch
break and time for supplemental games for those who’ve been knocked out! Enjoy!”

Midnight waved to the students and they all excitedly made their way back to the inside of the
stadium. There was a lunch area for students and their families, so parents could come eat with
their kids if they wished. Izuku was excited to eat with his mom and introduce her to the soulmates
he’d met at school so far, Tsu and Aoyama. He was sure she’d like them.

Before he could even get past the tunnel that led to the inside, however, Todoroki had pulled him
by the arm.

“I need to speak with you.”

Chapter End Notes

I hope y’all enjoyed this 9k word chapter, holy crap. The sports festival is finally here!
This chapter sets up some future stuff to come, even if it’s not immediately obvious. I
hope it was fun to read, I enjoyed changing around the events!!

Next chapter, we get Izuku & Todoroki’s talk… we’ll see how that goes >:3c
See you all next chapter!
- daylightbreaks

P.S: It’s April Fools Day as of uploading this chapter… I thought about doing a little
trolling, but decided against it, lol. Instead, I’ll link Never Gonna Give You Up and let
you guys rick roll yourselves. Enjoy! Have fun today!
 Flower Festival (Interlude)
Chapter Summary

He’d smile for Todoroki until he could figure out how to help him.

He’d make sure Todoroki could smile too.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“I need to speak with you,” Todoroki said, his tone cold. He had returned to that distant
indifference, and Izuku frowned. His friends looked at them, some nervous and some looking like
they were ready to step in between them.

“About what?” He asked. Todoroki didn’t say anything, just stared at him as if he expected him to
go along. Izuku sighed and turned to his friends. “Alright. I’ll be okay guys, just go ahead without
me.”

“Are you sure?” Uraraka asked, but Izuku nodded.

“I’m sure, just let my mom know I’ll be a little late, okay? And she brought food for everyone, so
we’ll share!” He said reassuringly. Uraraka still looked worried about the whole thing, but she
nodded anyway. She pulled Iida, Aoyama and Tsu along, and his new friends Tsuburaba and
Monoma watched them carefully as they continued along.

When they were the only ones left in the hall and they had some privacy, Todoroki leaned against
the wall and simply stared at Izuku. Izuku didn’t really know how he was supposed to react to this
situation, though his wrist was pretty itchy. He scratched at it underneath the soulflower cover,
waiting patiently for Todoroki to say something to him.

When it looked like Todoroki wasn’t going to say anything, Izuku took the opportunity to look at
his wrist, wondering why the hell it was itching so much right now. He looked down, and…

A gentle sprig of lavender had bloomed among his romantic soulmates. It hadn’t done it earlier, so
it couldn’t have been Monoma or Tsuburaba. So then who…? Was it Todoroki?

Ah, it was Todoroki. He had grabbed Izuku by the arm. Izuku realized it was the first time
Todoroki had actually touched him since school began. He usually kept his distance from
everyone, even during sparring matches, and Izuku had never partnered up with him for those.

So that meant Todoroki was one of his romantic soulmates…

When he looked back up, it seemed Todoroki had noticed too, his eyes impossibly wide. It was the
most emotion Izuku had ever seen him show before, besides that one moment of rage in the forest
earlier.

“You…” he breathed. Izuku nodded.

“Looks like it, huh?” Izuku said gently, offering him a smile. He didn’t know how to interpret
Todoroki very well yet, but the flower hadn’t withered at all since opening, so… he had to assume
Todoroki didn’t hate the idea of being soulmates.

“That isn’t what I came to speak about,” Todoroki schooled his emotions again, covering his wrist
with his hand. He didn’t need to, since he was already wearing a cover, but it seemed instinctual.

“I know,” Izuku said gently. He remembered Tsu saying ‘we’ll talk about it later.’ He figured now
was the time to adopt that attitude. “It just happens on its own. We can talk about it later. Um, what
did you want to talk about right now, Todoroki-kun…?”

“You made me break my promise to myself,” he said sharply, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
“A promise I made a long time ago. I swore I’d never use his power, not ever.”

“His power…?” Izuku murmured, understanding beginning to fire up in his brain. Now, Todoroki
looked angry again. It wasn’t the same level of rage from earlier, just a small contortion of his face
to show he wasn’t happy talking about this. But Izuku was beginning to understand. If this made
him angry, and in the forest he’d been angry…

He was talking about his fire. His left side. Todoroki would have refused to use it, even if it gave
him an advantage, which meant the use of his fire had meant he was running purely on instinct
then.

That thought made Izuku nervous, his stomach churning. ‘His power.’ Something about the way he
said that unsettled him.

“Iida, Tokoyami, your teammates… none of them felt what I did. When you were coming at me…”
Todoroki murmured. “You didn’t see us, but at the U.S.J, Sir Nighteye and I had just gotten out of
the landslide area when you broke your leg jumping off of that thing. We were still too far away to
get to you in time, but thankfully, All Might had shown up.”

Izuku listened quietly. He wondered where Todoroki was going with this.

“All Might… when he fought the Nomu that the villain had brought, his power… it felt a lot like
when you kicked off the Nomu, too. And just now, in the forest… your power felt so much like
his. I was the only one who felt it,” Todoroki explained, his gaze intense as he stared Izuku down.

“Like I said… we both have strength enhancement quirks. I don’t think I could rival All Might
though, that’s a bit of a stretch,” Izuku said softly. This was dangerous territory. If Todoroki pried
into things too much…

“No, but that’s not the only thing I noticed. Your battle plans. Your skill, your fighting style. It
reminds me of Sir Nighteye. And even if the others in class don’t see it because he doesn’t act
biased, Sir obviously thinks highly of you. So I have to ask, Midoriya, are you…” he paused,
seeming to choose his words. Izuku wondered what he was going to ask. “Are you All Might and
Nighteye’s secret love child or something? You even have green hair…”

Izuku choked on air.

“HUH?!” He cried, completely taken aback. “What in the-?! No! That’s not even physically
possible, Todoroki-kun! Besides, it’s not like that!”

“It’s not like that, huh?” Todoroki mused. “Then that means you and Sir do have some kind of
connection you can’t talk about. I figured as much. He looked very worried for you at the U.S.J…
but that’s neither here nor there.”
Sir had been worried for him? He had seemed so composed at the time…

“I’m sure by now you know that Endeavor’s my old man. It’s all anybody ever talks about when
they meet me,” Todoroki continued, rolling his eyes. “He’s been stuck as the number two hero
for… forever, it feels like. If you have any kind of connection to the number one hero, through Sir
Nighteye or anywhere else, then I have even more reason to beat you.”

“Todoroki-kun…” Izuku murmured.

“My old man has a strong desire to rise in the world, and since he’s never been able to pass All
Might… he moved onto his next plan,” Todoroki said bitterly. Izuku really didn’t like where this
was going. Though he almost didn’t want to know, Izuku spoke.

“What are you trying to tell me?” He asked. Todoroki pursed his lips.

“…You’ve heard of quirk marriages, yes?”

Izuku’s heart sank to his stomach.

In another part of the stadium, Inoue was panicking.

He had seen the first two rounds. Midoriya had used a quirk.

The quirkless boy he’d known since Aldera had used a quirk so powerful it could be felt in the
stands during the first game, and had forced that one boy to bash him into the ground with ice. But
Midoriya would never lie to him, and he knew the boy wouldn’t have gone through everything he
had at Aldera with a quirk like that.

So Inoue only had one thought in mind, and he was desperately trying to find Midoriya so he could
get some answers. He prayed his thought wasn’t right.

He prayed Midoriya hadn’t seen the quirk boogeyman.

If he had, well… Inoue supposed he would understand. Even he had considered seeking out the
boogeyman in every quirkless person’s closet. At least the man had been in quirkless people’s
periphery during his generation - he didn’t even think the quirk boogeyman was talked about any
more, but if Midoriya had done something reckless…

Inoue would set him right. He’d take him back to the boogeyman somehow, and he’d make him
give the quirk back. Inoue had no idea how he’d do that, but he wouldn’t let that sweet boy sell his
soul to the devil.

He’d watched over him too long to let him make that mistake.

Elsewhere, Mirai and Toshinori were eating lunch together.

“Mirio is winning his stage in a landslide. Izuku’s also doing well so far,” Mirai said, though his
expression didn’t match his words. He was looking suspiciously at Toshinori, who was avoiding
eye contact because of the withering glare being sent his way. “In fact, he seemed remarkably
determined to win the first round. Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

“Er, ah…” Toshinori mumbled something under his breath.

“Speak up, Toshinori,” Mirai said flatly. Toshinori coughed into his handkerchief.

“We had a discussion, he and I, about two weeks ago when Aizawa told them about the sports
festival…” Toshinori began, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “Well, I asked if he’d
focus on his future a bit more. I suggested making a splash at the festival, a way to really say ‘I am
here,’ you know?”

“I should have known,” Mirai muttered. “Well, I’m rather glad I talked to Nedzu about not
announcing the students’ quirks this year. Did you not stop to think that if All for One is alive,
he’ll likely be watching? Having Izuku show off his power is basically putting ‘the next user of
One for All’ above him on a giant, neon sign.”

“I… did not stop to think about that, no,” Toshinori paled several shades. “I just wanted him to put
himself out there as a future hero, but… I suppose I got ahead of myself…”

“Yes, well… what’s done is done. Like I said, be grateful we didn’t announce the quirks this year.
You should also be grateful I changed his quirk registration before you sent it in. I mean, come on
Toshinori, ‘superpower’? What were you thinking? Since he manifests that lightning when he uses
it, I changed it to ‘Energy Enhancement.’ He converts the energy in the environment around him
into power,” Mirai explained. “He knows this as well.”

“That is a much better explanation, yes… and one that throws off the trail of One for All better…”
Toshinori conceded. Mirai shook his head. Sometimes he wondered how All Might became the
number one hero even with his strength. Still, he was just glad he was there to help. Otherwise,
Izuku would have been in a world of trouble when it came to broken bones and problems.

“I’m also worried about Todoroki, however,” Mirai admitted. “Not using his fire is like atrophying
a muscle. If he doesn’t use it, he may lose the ability completely. It’s a liability. Not to mention his
attitude at the U.S.J was… interesting. I think we should have a talk with him some time.”

“I agree,” Toshinori frowned, thinking about Endeavor. “His father always rubbed me the wrong
way… it’s why I never worked with him unless I absolutely had to.”

“Same here. I’ve had to provide analysis assistance on a mission with him before. He’s not just
unapproachable, he’s hot-tempered and occasionally uncaring about his surroundings or the people
involved. It makes me wonder how he is at home. I won’t assume anything, of course, but…”
Mirai sighed. Toshinori just nodded in understanding.

“It makes things complicated,” he supplied. Mirai nodded.

“I only hope it isn’t so complicated for Todoroki…”

“… You’ve heard of quirk marriages, yes? That thing that became a problem for the early
generations of heroes?” Todoroki asked.

Unfortunately, Izuku had heard of them before. Much of his research into earlier heroes had
required some level of knowledge about quirk marriages. A lot of early heroes were made through
them.

“I have,” Izuku said, his tone sorrowful. “Todoroki-kun…”

“My old man has power and money in spades. He bought off my mother’s hand in marriage and
got his hands on her quirk with it,” Todoroki was practically glaring holes in the ground, talking
about this. Izuku didn’t blame him at all. From everything Izuku understood about quirk marriages,
very few of them ended well.

And for a hero like Endeavor, who was known for his less than friendly disposition… It painted an
ugly picture. Izuku felt sick.

“He wants to use me to further his own goals. He wants me to become the number one in his place.
Well… I won’t become a tool for scum like him,” Todoroki shook with anger, his hand encircling
his right wrist. “The bastard who drove my big brother to his death. In my memories… Touya-nii
was always crying for me.”

Izuku felt like he’d been punched in the gut. Endeavor had driven one of his kids to… to do
something like that…?

“Touya-nii was the only one there for me when my mother poured boiling water over my face,”
Todoroki spat angrily, his hand moving to cover the scar on his face. “My mother only saw my
father in me. ‘Your left side is unsightly,’ she said. Touya-nii said it wasn’t… but Touya-nii is
gone now.”

Izuku swallowed thickly, his tongue feeling like lead in his mouth. What could he say to that? The
life Todoroki had led… it was unfathomably painful. He had been through so much that nobody
should have to go through.

“So that is why I’m going to indisputably reject him by winning first place without his fire,”
Todoroki said, letting out a deep breath. “I don’t care if you can’t tell me what your connection to
All Might really is or isn’t, because all that matters is beating you… with only my mother’s ice.”

Izuku thought of his days at Aldera. He thought of Todoroki’s words about his brother crying for
him, and it made him think of his own mother, crying when he came home with burned uniforms
and scraped knees all the way back in elementary school. He thought of Toshinori crying for him
in the hospital.

Izuku’s fists shook with anger when he clenched them. He remembered his own words from when
he was a child.

“I can be strong and hug all of my soulmates at once! I’m gonna be a hero and protect them,
mama! You’ll see!”

“You’re angry,” Todoroki said flatly, gesturing his head down towards his trembling fists. “Why?”

“Why?” Izuku asked in disbelief. “Todoroki-kun, I’m angry for you. Because you shouldn’t have
had to grow up with that. I… I know nobody should. It - It hurts when somebody who should care
for you hurts you.”

“How would you know?” He asked, though it wasn’t accusing. It was asked like a genuine
question. Todoroki watched as Izuku reached for the neck of his gym uniform, pulling down the
zipper. He lowered the shoulder of the top and revealed the tank top he wore underneath, which
showed the massive burn scar on his shoulder.

“Because I was hurt too, growing up,” Izuku said, barely holding it together. “And I swore I’d get
strong enough to protect everyone I cared about. I swore I’d become a hero so that everyone could
feel safe no matter who they were. And - and I’m angry because I don’t know how to make you
feel safe.”

Todoroki said nothing, staring down at the burn scar on his shoulder. He reached a hand out for a
moment, but then drew it back.

“It’s - it’s okay, Todoroki-kun. You can touch it. I won’t be mad or anything,” Izuku said, finally
getting a hold on his emotions. Todoroki reached out and gently touched the gnarled skin there.

“It’s different from mine,” he murmured, fingers ghosting across it. “It’s a fire burn. Not an ice
burn. May I ask… how you got it?”

“My soulmate did it,” Izuku mumbled, and Todoroki’s eyes went wide. “He… remember how I
said my quirk came in really late? He was my platonic soulmate back when we were kids. And,
um… he didn’t like that I was quirkless.”

“I… see,” Todoroki said, and despite the simple phrase, it looked like he genuinely understood
where Izuku was coming from. “So you are angry that somebody hurt me like you were hurt.”

“Exactly,” Izuku put his gym uniform top back on. “I hope you don’t think I’m being
presumptuous or trying to make it about me… I was showing you this because I can empathize.”

“Not at all,” Todoroki murmured. “It reminds me of Touya-nii. He was always angry on my behalf
as well. Anyway… that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’m sorry to have wasted your lunch
time.”

“It’s okay, Todoroki-kun. It didn’t bother me at all,” Izuku reassured him. “To be honest… even
despite that, I’ve been supported by my mother, and more recently, my soulmates. So I understand
your desire to win. They motivate me to win, too. So because I want to win, to be a hero that can
make everyone feel safe… I’m going to return your declaration of war from earlier. And I know
you’re trying to beat me and all… but would you like to eat lunch with me and my mom anyway?
And my friends? I-I’d like to eat with you even though we’re rivals now, but you don’t have to, of
course, I won’t push it…”

“I could. Being rivals does not exclude us from being soulmates, I suppose,” Todoroki said, cutting
off the approaching mumble storm. “I did not bring anything with me, though. I will have to go and
get lunch from the cafeteria.”

“It’s okay!” Izuku brightened up immediately on hearing that Todoroki would eat with them. “My
mom made plenty of food! We can share. Do you like cold soba? She happened to make some
today.”

“It’s my favorite,” Todoroki brightened up in kind, though it was only a small change of his
expression that let Izuku know. Izuku grinned and put on a strong face for him. All Might smiled to
make people feel better. To tell them ‘I am here.’ So he’d smile for Todoroki until he could figure
out how to help him.

He’d make sure Todoroki could smile too.

Izuku had been eating lunch with everyone, pleasantly noting that Todoroki was happy with his
mother’s soba, when something happened.

Inoue had spotted him and came running over, looking out of breath and panicked. Izuku
immediately looked around, wondering what in the world had happened. “Inoue-san! I didn’t know
you’d be here today! I-Is everything okay?”

“Midoriya? You know the janitor?” Uraraka asked curiously.

“Oh, yes! Remember I said the other day I saw somebody I hadn’t in a while? That was Inoue-san!
He was the janitor at my old school. He’s really nice!” Izuku smiled. “Inoue-san, these are my
friends and my soulmates!”

“It’s nice to meet you kids, but I need to talk with Midoriya. Can we talk somewhere privately? It’s
important,” he said seriously. Izuku nodded.

“I guess I’ll finish eating later. I’m glad those supplemental games come after lunch, that’ll give
me more time to eat later if I can’t finish… Sorry, mom, I’ll be back in a minute,” he said, looking
forlornly at his soba. Well, at least it was already cold. He didn’t have to worry about it getting
cold again. He had looked forward to eating with his mom, though.

“It’s no problem, honey, go ahead,” Inko smiled. Izuku stood from the table and followed Inoue to
one of the janitorial closets.

It reminded him a lot of Aldera, although that was one memory he didn’t mind so much. Lunch
with Inoue in the janitor’s closet was his favorite part of the day back then. Now, though… he
wondered what Inoue had to say.

“Alright, kid, I’m gonna come right out and say it,” Inoue said, shutting the door behind him. He
leaned in, his voice quiet. “Please, please tell me you didn’t see the quirk boogeyman. I’m really
hoping you didn’t, Midoriya.”

“The - the what now? Inoue-san, what are you talking about?” Izuku asked, his eyebrows
furrowing. What in the world was the ‘quirk boogeyman?’

“You should know, Midoriya, you’re quirkless!” Inoue hissed through his teeth. “But you used a
quirk out there today! I’m begging you, please tell me you didn’t go see him! The man that can
give and take quirks… every quirkless person knows him. He’s every parent’s worst nightmare
when you have a quirkless kid.”

Izuku’s eyes went impossibly wide. ‘The man that can give and take quirks.’

He meant All for One.

“Inoue-san,” Izuku said, his tone grave, “I swear to you on everything I hold dear I did not go see
the quirk boogeyman. I would never.”

He meant it, too. Even before he’d met All Might, he would never have even considered taking a
quirk from somebody like All for One. A villain. He was sure it would come with a price he
couldn’t comprehend.
 “Oh thank god,” Inoue nearly sobbed, looking as if he’d keel over. “I was so worried, kid! Getting
a quirk from him, it’s like making a deal with the devil! But… but if you didn’t see him, what was
that out there?”

Izuku chewed on his bottom lip. He’d forgotten to tell Inoue about his quirk, but the man knew he
was well and truly quirkless. It wasn’t like Bakugou, who didn’t know the difference. Inoue knew
because he was quirkless, too. He knew that the toe joint was enough on its own, and he knew that
Midoriya was medically quirkless. So he couldn’t just lie and say he’d had a late-blooming quirk.

“I can’t talk about it… it’s something very serious. I told everyone else I had a late-blooming quirk,
but I can’t lie to you because you know the truth. But I promise you it’s not from the quirk
boogeyman. Do you trust me, Inoue-san?” Izuku said softly. It gave no indication that he’d gotten
a quirk from somebody, or if he had, no indication of whom he’d gotten it from.

Still, he’d have to talk to Sir and Toshinori about it soon.

“Of course I trust you, kid, you’re a good person. As long as you didn’t see that man, I won’t push
you about it,” Inoue reassured him, a gentle hand on his head. “You just made me worried sick.
But as long as you’re okay…”

“I’m okay, Inoue-san,” Izuku smiled, “better than okay! I promise. Thank you for checking on me.
Um, do you mind me asking, though… how do you know about the quirk boogeyman? Did you
ever, you know… see him?”

“God, no!” Inoue put a hand to his forehead. “I only heard stories about him. Every quirkless
person did, when I was your age. He’s not talked about so much these days, but it used to be that
everyone knew him. Now only people my age or older really know about him. I hope that means
he’s well and truly dead. Bastard killed lots of quirkless people with quirks that hurt their bodies.”

“Yeah…” Izuku murmured, looking incredibly sad. “I hope he’s dead too.”

“Well, no sense dwelling on the past, kid. Let’s get out of this broom closet and back to your lunch
table, okay? Make sure you have your energy for the rest of the sports festival. I’m rooting for
you!” Inoue reassured him, opening the door and leading him out. Izuku just nodded, lost in his
own thoughts.

If every quirkless person around Inoue's age knew about him… Izuku wondered if they could ask
quirkless people if he was still alive. They might even be able to check records for quirkless people
who suddenly changed their records to having a quirk later in life than usual.

It was something to think about, that was for sure.

Chapter End Notes

Ahhh yes!! Todoroki and Izuku’s flower blooms! Inoue reveals something interesting!
And the sports festival continues on!! Man, I’ve never been so excited just to release
chapters of my fic before lmao. I hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I am!

Next week, we get the final round of the sports festival! It has the most interesting
reveals imo, and it’s chapter I’m most looking forward to y’all seeing. A lot of stuff
will happen and I’m practically shaking with excitement just thinking about it!!!
See you all next chapter!
- daylightbreaks
 Flower Festival (Part Two)
Chapter Summary

He thought, much like he had this time last year when he had still been in Aldera, that
perhaps he had gotten too complacent.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Once lunch was over, it was time to announce the last round of the sports festival and have the
supplemental events.

Izuku had to force all the thoughts about the Quirk Boogeyman out of his head. It would just be a
huge distraction on the day he was determined to tell everyone ‘I am here.’ He had All Might’s
legacy to look up to, after all. Instead, as he stood on the field around the stage with all of the other
students who had moved on, he focused intently on the screen.

“Alright, everybody! Are you all ready for the last event?! This last round is gonna be a
tournament! Let’s go down to our referee, Midnight, to see what kind it’s gonna be!” Present
Mic’s familiar voice came back over the speakers.

“For those who don’t know, it’s traditionally always been a tournament in the past years of the
Sports Festival - it simply remains to be seen what kind, as my co-announcer says. I wonder if it
will be-” Nighteye was cut off by Present Mic.

“I see the look on your face, man, I know you wanna tell a joke! Don’t do it! Think of the
listeners!”

Izuku snorted down on the field. Somehow, hearing other people cringe at Sir’s idea of jokes
always made him feel better. His nerves were a little better after hearing that. A couple other
people were snickering at poor Present Mic’s suffering too, it seemed.

“Are you students ready to see what the last event is?” Midnight grinned and got everyone’s
attention. “Let’s find out!”

The wheel on the screen spun and spun. Eventually, it landed on…

‘ONE ON ONE BATTLES’

The crowd cheered loudly. Izuku was a little surprised - the sports festivals hadn’t done one on one
battles for a few years now. He supposed it was random, though, so it made sense that it would
come around again.

“Oh my, looks like it’s one on one battles! That should be interesting!” Midnight grinned. “With
that being announced, let’s move on to drawing lots for our brackets! Once the brackets have been
determined, we’ll have our supplemental recreational games! The sixteen who moved on can
decide if they’d like to participate in those or not, as I’m sure many of you would like to save your
energy or prepare!”
The crowd quieted down to a murmur as Midnight drew lots and arranged them on the podium in
front of her as they came out. Once she was done, the same names appeared on the giant screen.

“And here’s your bracket, everyone! Learn it well, and those who are participating, feel free to
spend the time between now and then as you wish, just don’t get into too much trouble!” Midnight
said with a cheeky smile.

Izuku looked up at the screen curiously. So these were the brackets…

Hatsume Mei vs Iida Tenya

Bakugou Katsuki vs Yanagi Reiko

Shinsou Hitoshi vs Monoma Neito

Kirishima Eijirou vs Uraraka Ochako

Midoriya Izuku vs Tsuburaba Kosei

Todoroki Shouto vs Shiozaki Ibara

Yaoyorozu Momo vs Aoyama Yuga

Tokoyami Fumikage vs Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

Izuku noted with some curiosity that if both he and Todoroki won their respective rounds, then
they’d be facing each other in the second. Perhaps it was fate. They were rivals now, after all -
what better time to face each other than in a tournament? Although if he could somehow help
Todoroki at the same time…

That was definitely something to consider.

Just before the recreational games ended, Uraraka came to see Izuku in his waiting room. She
entered quietly and sat with him for a little bit, looking a little pensive. She seemed worried about
something.

“Is everything okay, Uraraka-chan?” He asked softly. She shook her head.

“I’m… not sure if I should go on,” she said, almost like a confession. “I want to, more than
anything. I want… to make a name for myself. It’ll help me support my family in the future if I can
do that now.”

Izuku nodded, she had told him and Iida her reasons for wanting to be a hero. “So why wouldn’t
you?” He asked.

“Because… Well, honestly, I can’t remember what happened during the paintball match. Neither
can Aoyama-kun. Tetsutetsu-kun from 1-B said we did great, and he says we just followed
Shinsou-kun’s direction, but… why can’t I remember?” She murmured, hands clasped in front of
her.

“Can’t remember? That’s so strange…” Izuku put a hand to his chin in thought. “Tetsutetsu-kun’s
quirk is kind of like Kirishima-kun’s, isn’t it? So it can’t be him. Maybe it has something to do
with Shinsou-kun’s quirk? But there’s a lot of leeway in that, a lot of different quirks can cause you
not to remember things… It could be a mental quirk, or even a temporary amnesia quirk, or any
number of things-”

“There’s the muttering that Sir always tells you to stop!” Uraraka put on a shaky smile. “But it’s
okay. I’m just worried I didn’t earn my place in the third round, that’s all. I mean, who’s to say I
actually did anything?”

“Then you can prove you deserve to be there by winning,” Izuku said fiercely. “I believe in you,
Uraraka-chan. You’ll be able to show off your strong points in these battles for sure! I know you
can do it.”

“You really think so?” Uraraka’s smile grew brighter, more sure this time. “Thanks, Midoriya! I
guess you’re right. I just gotta show them I mean business!”

“Exactly!” He said excitedly. Uraraka stood to leave, but before she did, she leaned over and gave
Izuku a tiny kiss on the forehead.

“Thanks for the pep talk, Midoriya!” She giggled, watching as Izuku turned into a tomato on the
spot. His entire face was practically aglow with how red it was, and he squeaked and hid his face in
his hands.

“U-U-U-Uraraka, please! Y-You gotta warn me before you do that…!” He said with a whine,
sliding down in his chair. That just made her laugh even more.

“Well, at least I know how to beat you if we get to face each other! Just give you a kiss, huh?” She
said, putting her hands on her hips. “Who knew you’d be so strong but lose to your soulmate?”

“I-I can’t take the teasing!” He was practically on the floor. He regretted teasing Aizawa and
Tsukauchi about being dads the other day. This was surely his karma coming for him. “Please
spare me, Uraraka-chan!”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry!” She chuckled, helping him up. Her own face was a little red too. “I
couldn’t help myself! You’re just really cute when you’re fired up, y’know?”

Izuku promptly fell back over.

“Okay, I’m going now, sorry!”

The first few matches of the tournament were… interesting.

The recreational games came and went, the rules of the tournament had been explained - everyone
was ready. Even the crowd was excited! But things still got off to a really… strange start. It wasn’t
exactly as hot-blooded as people had hoped for, which confused even Present Mic.

To start, the first match was between Iida and Hatsume. To be fair, Izuku could kind of tell how
that one was going to go from a mile away. After working with Hatsume in the second event, he
knew she cared more about advertising than actually winning, though she helped them win to boost
her own business.
He’d tried to tell Iida, but Iida had said he wanted to win all on his own. Fair enough, Izuku
supposed, but… he couldn’t help but stifle a small snort when Iida came out covered head to toe in
support gear.

The match turned into an advertisement in and of itself, and it went for the entire allotted time
before Hatsume promptly conceded by walking out of bounds.

Iida came back to the stands a little miffed, so Izuku just patted his shoulder consolingly. He’d
tried to warn him…

The second match was between Bakugou and Yanagi. Izuku rooted for Yanagi since she was his
classmate, but he knew how it would likely end up. She did try to use her quirk to immediately lift
him and throw him out of bounds, but Bakugou’s explosions let him repel her force in kind. He
proceeded to propel himself down like a missile and tackle her out of bounds.

Another match that ended without much of an actual fight, much to the crowd’s disappointment.
Still, she had shown what her quirk could do, and she didn’t seem too upset about it when she
returned to the stands. Izuku gave her a supportive thumbs-up, and she smiled and gave one in
return.

The third match had the crowd wondering what was going on between Shinsou and Monoma.

Izuku had been eager to try and figure out what the boy’s quirk was. If he did, he could perhaps
figure out what was going on and warn Uraraka against it. Though, the more he thought about it,
that would ruin Shinsou’s chances. He had an advantage in that they didn’t know his quirk, and
Izuku wouldn’t be giving him a fair shot if he told Uraraka. He decided to keep anything he
discovered to himself.

It didn’t really affect much though, since he ended up not being able to figure it out anyway. The
match started, Monoma and Shinsou both walked onto the field, and then… nothing. Nothing at all
happened.

It seemed as if they said something to each other, but then Monoma proceeded to turn around and
walk completely out of bounds. Izuku was left bewildered by the entire match. Why had he
forfeited like that?

Either way, the match came to an end, so there wasn’t much he could do. Maybe next round he’d
understand. At least Shinsou had moved up - he was happy the boy was getting a chance to shine.
The next match was Kirishima against Uraraka. When the two came onto the field, Izuku cheered
as loud as he could.

“Go! You can do it, Uraraka-chan!” He yelled. Apparently he was loud enough to be heard on the
field, because she giggled and waved at him up in the stands. His classmates chuckled at his
enthusiasm.

“Cheering for your soulmate, Midoriya?” Mina asked with a cheeky grin. Izuku turned red again,
but he nodded anyway. He was supposed to be down in his waiting room, but he wanted to cheer
for her at least once.

“I-Isn’t it natural?” He asked back. “Anyway, I’ve gotta get down to the waiting room for my
match. I just wanted to cheer for her a little bit.”

He went down to his waiting room after, listening to the play-by-play by Present Mic and Sir
Nighteye. The match was more like what the crowd was expecting this time, judging by their
cheers.

And, to Izuku’s pleasant surprise, Uraraka won her first round! She had apparently gotten close
enough to use her quirk on Kirishima, and when he began to float she simply pushed him out of
bounds easily. Izuku figured he should have seen that one coming, since they were both close-
combat fighters.

He took a deep breath. Now, it was time for his own match. He was friends with Tsuburaba now,
and they had worked well together during the last event, but he wouldn’t be going easy on him
now.

As he walked out to his tunnel just before he was ready to be announced onto the field, he heard
somebody call out to him.

“Hey, Izuku!” Toshinori’s familiar voice made him turn around.

“Dad!” He grinned, running to give him a hug. “What’re you doing down here?”

“Just came to wish you good luck on your match. And say I’m proud of you for using your power
without breaking anything! You’re really starting to make it your own, you know?” He said with a
gentle smile. Izuku felt like a lightbulb had come on over his head when he heard him say that.

“Oh my gosh, that’s it!” He exclaimed, slapping a hand to his forehead. “It’s his power! He’s not
looking at it like his own!”

“Um… who are we talking about?” Toshinori looked a little lost.

“You’re so smart, dad! Thank you! I know what to do for him now!” Izuku hugged him again,
tighter this time, not even noticing the man’s confusion. “And thanks for the good luck! I’m gonna
do my best, you’ll see!”

“Er, alright!” Toshinori just laughed; he’d ask about it later. He patted Izuku on the back. “As long
as you’re pumped up, I suppose that’s all that matters!”

Izuku nodded happily. He knew how he could help Todoroki, now. When he turned around to go
onto the field, it was with a renewed vigor. He apologized to Tsuburaba in his head, because he
wanted to end this as quickly as possible. He needed to face off against Todoroki as soon as
possible.

“Alright, folks! We’ve got one of the powerhouses of 1-A coming out here, Midoriya Izuku! First
place in the first event, and a strong showing in the second! What’ll he come out with next?!”
Present Mic announced, and Izuku stepped into the light of the field. The crowd was roaring, and
he held a determined expression.

“And on the other side of the field, there is Tsuburaba Kosei. He has a versatile quirk, and with
an up-close viewing of Midoriya’s fighting style, it’s anybody’s match. Please welcome him onto
the field,” Nighteye announced, and the crowd cheered for him too.

Tsuburaba and Izuku met in the middle of the ring before the match began. Tsuburaba grinned and
stuck out his hand.

“Let’s have a good match, yeah?” He asked. Izuku smiled back and shook it firmly.

“Same to you, Tsuburaba-kun!” He said. They returned to their respective sides of the ring, and the
crowd seemed upbeat by the interaction.
“What a display of sportsmanship! And without further ado, Midnight will commence the
match!”

“Alright, you two! Remember, the first one who’s immobilized or goes out of bounds is the loser!
Ready…” She raised her whip, and then brought it down with a harsh crack. “Begin!”

Izuku took off immediately, One for All flooding into his legs. Tsuburaba responded with a firm
air wall, but a single roundhouse kick from One for All shattered it instantly. Speaking in
percentages, Izuku and Sir had determined him capable of outputting eight to ten percent of One
for All safely and continuously during a fight. In the more powerful bursts, he could handle about
fifteen percent, up to twenty-five percent in extreme cases though that much tended to bruise his
muscles to hell and back, if not outright break his bones.

He meant no offense to Tsuburaba, but Izuku was sure he could handle this fight with just ten.

As soon as the air wall had shattered, Tsuburaba put up another one, but it was smaller since he
didn’t have enough time. Izuku reared back a punch and launched it, shattering it again. And with
grace and speed, he picked up Tsuburaba by the waist and tossed him like a sack of potatoes.

“Tsuburaba is out of bounds!” Midnight called, raising her hand. “Midoriya Izuku continues on!”

Shouto took a deep breath.

What Midoriya said had been sitting with him since their talk.

“I’m angry because I don’t know how to make you feel safe.”

It had been years since he’d felt safe. Not since Touya ‘died.’ With a frown, he lifted the cover on
his right wrist. He looked at the flower that sat there, Touya’s familial flower, the little Star of
Bethlehem. It was greyed out, but… he knew it wasn’t supposed to be. After his father had come
home and announced Touya had died in a training accident, Shouto had checked his flowers.

Touya’s flower was still alive. He hadn’t died.

But Natsuo and Fuyumi had said that perhaps it was better for Touya if their father thought he was
dead, and they helped him cover up its color every day with makeup. His old man never knew the
difference.

Shouto had been so sad he couldn’t see his big brother, but he understood. He remembered Touya’s
words from years ago.

“I’m going to leave, Shouto. I don’t think you can come with me. Thank you for hiding this from
the old man… I’ll always protect you even when I’m far away. Make sure you treasure your
flowers, Shouto. They’re the one thing the old man can never touch.”

Shouto would keep it that way. If Endeavor knew his big brother was alive… he didn’t know what
his old man would do.

But Midoriya… had said such a thing, just as brazenly as Touya had. Perhaps Touya was right -
perhaps he should treasure his flowers. Midoriya was different than he expected. He was… a good
person. A kind person, like Touya. That was why he had decided to eat lunch with him, even if he
sat in silence the entire time.

Now, though, Midoriya’s kindness was a distraction. He still had to win. He had to win and prove
his father wrong. He had to win and prove that he didn’t need his father at all. He left his waiting
room when they announced Midoriya’s win, shaking off the memories of Touya in his head.

As he turned the corner, he came face to face with none other than Endeavor. The man was
scowling down at him, angry as ever.

“You’re in my way,” Shouto spat, in no mood to deal with him right now. He didn’t even know
how he got down into the student areas, anyway. They were supposed to be closed off to everyone
except teachers and staff.

“You’re behaving disgracefully, Shouto,” Endeavor grunted, his arms crossed over his chest.
Shouto’s face turned to his own angry scowl. “If you had used your left side during the other two
events, you would have won indisputably. Stop this childish rebellion already, you have a duty to
surpass All Might. Do you understand? You’re different from your siblings - the perfect
masterpiece!”

“Touya-nii was perfect too, you bastard,” Shouto muttered through his teeth. He was reminded
why he had refused to use his left side so long ago. “And look where that got him. I’m going to win
with only mom’s power.”

When he walked out onto the field, his face was set into that enraged expression he’d held in the
forest.

The match was over with one massive, frozen swoop.

Izuku had felt the spike of rage from Todoroki and saw the massive glacier that had come out of
his match. Something must have happened, he figured - but he wasn’t going to press. It wasn’t his
place, not after he’d already told him so much today. Instead, when Todoroki came to sit next to
him after the match, he just gently placed a hand on his cold, trembling arm.

Todoroki said nothing, but the rage in his chest had subsided somewhat, so Izuku counted it as a
win.

In the next two matches, Aoyama had lost to Yaoyorozu, though he gave it his best shot. When
they returned to the stands, Izuku just smiled and told him good job. Aoyama had sparkled in return
and said that surely somebody would see his brilliance, even if he didn’t continue onto the next
rounds.

Tokoyami’s match against Tetsutetsu had ended similarly to Uraraka and Kirishima’s. Tetsutetsu
was a close-range fighter, so Tokoyami simply had Dark Shadow grow in size, grab the other boy,
and chuck him over the boundary line. A short but effective solution, and Tokoyami continued on.

The first rounds were now over, and the bracket on the screen updated to match. The second-round
matches would be interesting to see, Izuku was sure.
Bakugou Katsuki vs. Iida Tenya
Shinsou Hitoshi vs. Uraraka Ochako

Midoriya Izuku vs. Todoroki Shouto

Yaoyorozu Momo vs. Tokoyami Fumikage

Izuku was particularly interested in how Iida’s match would turn out. They were both incredibly
skilled fighters, and Iida had the speed advantage over Bakugou, whereas Bakugou had the
mobility and versatility advantage. It would be a tense match, that much was certain.

Present Mic announced the fighters and both boys entered the ring. On the left from where Izuku
was sitting, Bakugou came out. On the right, Iida. They met in the middle though Bakugou didn’t
return Iida’s attempt at a handshake. They returned to their respective sides, and both got into
fighting positions. When Midnight brought down her whip and started the match, all bets were off.

Iida immediately sped ahead to try and push Bakugou out of the ring, but the blond flipped over
him with a precise series of explosions, blasting one into his back. Iida stumbled, and Bakugou saw
his opening. He rocked Iida with an explosion powered punch, pushing Iida so he was just barely
toeing the line.

But Iida held up - he was nothing if not a tall wall of muscle - and pushed back with what looked
like a pained expression. That punch had to hurt. Iida turned his engines back on, revving them up
and managing to push Bakugou back even further. It gave him some room to work, though
Bakugou was quick to take him and flip him, a judo throw if Izuku had ever seen one before. A
good move - Izuku tucked that one away for later.

(Even if he didn’t like Bakugou, Izuku had to admit he was a good fighter. Refusing to learn from
his moves would just be stupid.)

Iida clearly lost his breath from being flipped like that, and honestly looked surprised Bakugou
could even throw him like that in the first place. When the blond tried to grab him, however, Iida
turned his engines back on and kicked out, sweeping his legs. Bakugou came tumbling down with
him, giving him the time to get up. Bakugou quickly followed, but an engine-powered roundhouse
kick to his ribs sent him sprawling back to the ground.

Bakugou, clearly in immense pain, could not get up though he tried. That kick had been
devastating, and Izuku would not be surprised to learn it had broken a rib or two. For his health and
safety, Midnight called the end of the match. Clearly it had done more damage than he thought if
she was ending it early.

Izuku blinked, processed it for a moment, and then realized that meant Iida had beaten Bakugou.
Not only that… Iida had used a roundhouse kick. He knew that Iida didn’t know how to use a
roundhouse kick before, because he’d asked Izuku how he did it. Had Iida been… inspired by him
somehow? Izuku broke into a blinding grin and cheered for his soulmate. The crowd was roaring
alongside him, clearly thrilled by the exciting match.

The next one, however, was Shinsou against Uraraka.

Izuku was nervous. What would come from this match? Monoma had conceded the first one, and
Uraraka couldn’t remember a single thing about her time teamed up with Shinsou. He was rooting
for Shinsou, being the underdog, but he was also rooting for Uraraka. He knew how much the
sports festival meant to her.
“Next up, folks, we have Uraraka Ochako, who made short work of her first fight, coming out
onto the field on this end!” Present Mic announced, and there she was. She seemed to be smiling
and waving, though Izuku could see the lines of nervousness on her face when the Jumbotron
showed a closeup. “Will she win this one, too?! Let’s find out!”

“And on the other end, we have another round one winner - Shinsou Hitoshi, who hasn’t shown
much yet. Rather, his first opponent simply walked right out of bounds. What will happen this
time, I wonder?” Nighteye asked, and Shinsou shortly followed.

Izuku wondered the same. What would happen?

The two met in the middle, but Shinsou refused to shake her hand, a scowl on his face. He looked
like that a lot, apparently. The two returned to their sides of the ring, and Midnight raised her whip.
It cracked in the air, and the match began.

Just like last time, however… It seemed as if the two exchanged words, and then Uraraka simply
turned around and walked right out of bounds.

Izuku’s heart sank. He knew how much this meant to her.

The same thing happening twice couldn’t have been a coincidence. It had to have been Shinsou’s
quirk, and it happened whenever they talked, so Izuku swore he wouldn’t speak if the two faced off
against each other.

“What’s this?! Another match ended like this?! Could it be a quirk at work here?!”

“It could be,” Sir hummed noncommittally, “Or perhaps there is something else at play. We
don’t know for sure. But some quirks slip through the cracks of the heroics exam - if he’s
aiming for a hero course spot, now could be his chance.”

Izuku pursed his lips. Sure, now was his chance - but now was everyone else’s chance, too. He
didn’t know how to feel… part of him felt torn because he wanted to support both of them, though
one wasn’t even in his class. But that thought, too, made him think of Todoroki. He made his way
back down to the arena entrance. Their match would be starting shortly, and he was supposed to
have been down there by now.

Todoroki was fighting with only half of his power, while everyone else was trying their hardest to
get to the top. They were fighting and clawing with everything they had to make it, each for their
own reasons. Todoroki may have had his own reasons, but it wasn’t fair to half-ass his
performance while everybody else brought their blood, sweat and tears to the field. He’d just have
to show him during their match.

Before he could find his way to the entrance, however, he ran into the last person he wanted to see
right now.

Endeavor.

The man seemed surprised to see him, so it likely wasn’t on purpose, but that didn’t change the fact
that seeing him made a scowl completely unlike him appear on Izuku’s face. “Oh, it’s you,” the
man grunted, “the boy with the quirk that resembles All Might’s. Hm. You might give my son a
good match. Don’t disappoint, he needs the publicity.”

Izuku couldn’t take it, he had to say something, but what came out of his mouth was far more than
what he intended.
“I am not All Might,” Izuku snarled, raising a finger and nearly jabbing it at the man, “And
Todoroki is not you, nor is he something you can make into you. Understand? He’s a kid, just like
me. He’s not your PR stunt or your trophy, and you should probably learn that some time soon,
number two.”

The expression on Endeavor’s face was downright murderous, but Izuku simply turned heel and
left. In his head, he was screaming at himself for going too far and pissing off the number two
hero, but also sort of cheering that he’d stood up to him. It almost reminded him of his first
meeting with Sir, only he wouldn’t apologize this time.

(And though Izuku didn’t know it, he’d not been the only one in that hall. He’d gone to the wrong
hallway, and had to backtrack to find the right one. But in the hallway he’d come from, Todoroki
had been listening from around the corner, shell-shocked that somebody had spoken to his father
that way.)

Shouto breathed deeply as he stepped onto the field.

Midoriya was…

He didn’t know the right words to describe him, but he was beginning to suspect that one of his
soulflowers had been with him for a reason. He had heard every word Midoriya had spoken to his
father, and he felt a little like when somebody got in a hit that he wasn’t expecting during a spar.

“Todoroki is not you, nor is he something you can make into you.”

He was sure Endeavor was off blacklisting Midoriya from hero internships as he thought, but
Shouto also suspected Midoriya probably wouldn’t care. Somehow, that thought reassured him
even more.

“It’s time for a fight I know everyone’s excited for! It’s two of 1-A’s powerhouses, the agile and
strong Midoriya Izuku, versus the overwhelming force of Todoroki Shouto! What will happen
this time?! Will it be another shut-out match with a glacier, or will Midoriya be too fast for the
ice prince?! Let’s find out!”

The look in Midoriya’s eyes when they shook hands in the middle was also something Shouto had
no idea how to put words to. But he felt it through their bond, just for a moment. Determination.
Drive. Care. Safe-haven.

Shouto was reminded of his brother’s words.

“I… hurt myself. But you? You could be real strong one day. A real hero. Teach our old man what-
for, Shouto.”

He would. He would do it for Touya. He wondered if Touya was watching, wherever he was in the
world. He hoped so.

“Are you two ready?” Midnight raised her whip when they got into position on either side of the
ring. She brought it back down in one swift crack. “Begin!”

Immediately, Shouto shot off a blast of ice. He needed to know how much power Midoriya was
planning on using. Was he planning on giving it his all, breaking a limb like he had against the
Nomu? Or would he use that smaller amount of power, the one he’d used against the 1-B student?

When Midoriya appeared above the ice, haloed in green lightning, he had his answer. He was
trying not to break anything. In that case, Shouto supposed, he could go all-out instead. He sent a
single, massive glacier of ice in Midoriya’s direction, just like he had against Shiozaki. He would
end the match here and now.

He shuddered, frost creeping along his arm and neck. He couldn’t do that again - it already made
his limbs stiff. If he tried something like that again, it would put him out of commission. Midnight
raised her whip again. “Midoriya Izuku is unable to-!”

Midnight was cut off by a massive explosion that rocked the entire arena, blowing out the side of
the glacier and raining minuscule pellets of ice over the crowd. They were so small that they didn’t
even hurt anybody. And out of the iceberg, Midoriya appeared, two red and swollen fingers on
him.

Shouto’s eyes widened. He didn’t know Midoriya could force his power into something so small
as a finger! But before he had even finished that thought, with a massive blast of freezing air,
Midoriya had leapt towards him at full speed. Shouto had good enough reflexes to just block him
with a thin sheet of ice, wracking his entire body with shudders.

Midoriya shattered it with a single kick, and he stood there, huffing and clutching his broken
fingers. Shouto grit his teeth. “Why?” he asked, shivering. “Why would you break your fingers like
that? Just to win?

“I told you before the entire event started in the first place, Todoroki-kun!” Midoriya yelled, his
voice thick with emotion. “You shouldn’t discount any of us!”

“What are you-”

“Only facing us with half of your power?!” Midoriya yelled, gesturing wildly with his hands.
“Stop playing around! Stop giving us only half of your best when everyone else is trying so hard to
win! Uraraka, Shinsou, all of us have our reasons, and you’re acting like you can get through this
with just half!”

Shouto clenched his fists and sent out as much ice as he could manage without giving himself
hypothermia. It evidently wasn’t enough, because Midoriya shattered it with just a kick, sweeping
off the entire top half of the ice with his leg.

“You can try so much harder, Todoroki-kun! Do you know why?!” Midoriya yelled, stomping
down the rest of the ice. Shouto was wracked with shudders now - he couldn’t make any more ice.
He was at his limit, but he couldn’t help but listen to Midoriya. Hearing him speak to his father like
that earlier… Shouto took him seriously. His words held weight.

“Why, Midoriya?” Shouto grunted. Midoriya gave a practically manic grin.

“Because it’s your fire, not his!” Midoriya said, as if he had never been more sure of anything in
his entire life. “Take it back, make it yours! Don’t ever let somebody like him define it for you,
Todoroki-kun!”

Shouto’s eyes widened, and he… thought of Touya vividly, for the first time in a very long time.
A young Shouto sniffled and cried into his brother’s shoulder. Touya shushed him and held him,
paying no mind to the wetness on his shirt. “It’s okay, little bro. You’ll be okay, I promise.”

“T-Touya-nii, I-I don’t wanna be like dad! I don’t wanna h-hurt you or mom or-or-” Shouto
hiccuped and was cut off by Touya shaking his head adamantly, his red and white bangs falling
around his eyes. He gently held Shouto’s hand in his and pressed their soulflowers together.

“You feel that, Shouto? That’s our flower. It means I’m your big brother. You know, when you
were born… I was scared everyone was gonna forget about me. That I’d have nobody. That you’d
be the most important. When you first came home from the hospital after you were born, I tried
to… I almost…"

Shouto, even as young as he was, recognized that look. Guilt. Regret. It was an expression worn
often in the Todoroki household, but he never wanted Touya to look like that. Not when talking
about him.

“Touya-nii,” Shouto whispered, burying his head in the older boy’s shoulder, "it's okay."

"You're right," Touya let out a shaky breath. “It's okay now. Back then, it was stupid. I was stupid.
But our flower opened up and proved me wrong. You’re important, Shouto. You’re my little
brother, nothing else, understand? That’s the most important thing. That’s the only thing that
matters, that you’re my little brother. Not mom, not the old man, just… us. And you know just what
I think, little brother?”

“Wh-What’s that, Touya-nii?” Shouto asked, his tears finally slowing.

“I think you could make a pretty cool hero one day… if that’s what you wanted. I wanted to be one
too.” Touya said softly. Shouto sniffled, looking up at him with wide eyes.

“Wh-Why not any more?” He asked.

“My quirk,” Touya sighed. “I… hurt myself. But you? You could be real strong one day. A real
hero. Teach our old man what-for, Shouto. Do you know why?”

“Why?” Shouto asked again, his eyes going even wider. Touya grinned expressively, wild-eyed as
he raised their hands together.

“Because the fire we have isn’t his… it’s ours. We’re not bound by our blood, we’re bound by our
flowers. One day, you and I can do anything we want, be anything we want… anything in the whole
world. And I want you to be free.”

Shouto’s left side bloomed into brilliant crimson, heat filling the stadium as a blast of fire massive
enough for the flames to nearly reach the stands erupted from him. Tears filled his eyes as he
recalled Touya’s words to him, only months before he had been declared dead.

I want you to be free.

Midoriya’s powerful declarations rang between his ears too.

“Todoroki is not you, nor is he something you can make into you.”

“It’s your fire, not his!”

“Midoriya…” Shouto sucked in a breath. “Helping an enemy at a time like this… is this really the
smart play?”

“It might not be smart, but it’s a hero’s job, isn’t it?!” Midoriya grinned, backing away from the
fire. He watched as the frost began to melt away from Shouto’s skin. “A hero’s job is to meddle
where we aren’t wanted!”

In the stands, another roar was heard.

“SHOUTO!” His father’s voice boomed through the stadium. “Finally! You’ve abandoned your
childish rebellion! Now, you can truly begin to fulfill my desire! With my blood-!”

“Don’t listen to him, Todoroki-kun!” Midoriya said, his expression ferally angry. “All that matters
is right here, right now! Make it your own!”

“You asked for it, Midoriya,” Shouto replied, though it was hard to sound threatening through the
smile creeping onto his face. Touya was right. He felt so free when he used it, like he could just
forget all about his father for just a moment or two. All that mattered right here, right now was this
one fight.

Shouto sent out another massive wave of ice, though not as big as the glacier this time. And,
backed by the heat from his fire, steam formed all around him. He heard his ice shatter though he
didn’t see it, and suddenly there was a massive gust of wind blowing steam and ice chunks back at
him. He reared up his fire again to clear it out, but by the time his vision had cleared, Midoriya was
on him.

He dove through the fire in one swift move, sending a quirk-powered kick into Shouto’s stomach.
The force alone sent Shouto flying, spiraling through the air like a frisbee. He tried to catch himself
with his own ice, but he was going so fast he simply smashed right through it and found himself
landing on the grass.

Ow. Everything hurt.

“Todoroki Shouto is out of bounds! Midoriya Izuku continues on!”

When Shouto looked up, he saw Midoriya rolling around on the ground like a crazy person, trying
to put out the fire on his pants. And though he had lost, and he was in a lot of pain, he smiled. He
let his head drop back down to the grass.

He didn’t mind losing to Midoriya so much.

Izuku had gone to Recovery Girl in a daze, grinning stupidly the entire time.

He had felt the freedom Todoroki had, pushed through the bond in exponential levels. He had
helped, he had, and he was so proud of himself. He had broken some bones, but… two fingers were
small in the scheme of things. Even if Sir came to chew him out later, he wouldn’t apologize for it
this time. This was important.

“Sorry for making you heal me again so soon,” He said to the nurse when he got to her station. He
would apologize to Recovery Girl, though, because he didn’t want to be whacked by her cane any
time soon.

“Well, at least you didn’t go any farther than your fingers. I can fix them up right now,” she
muttered, stretching out a kiss to his swollen fingers. They healed instantly, and he swayed a little,
tired out from the healing.

He spent the next match resting in the nurse’s station so he wouldn’t be so tired when he went to
the semi-finals. He’d have to face whoever won Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu’s match, next. He did
listen to Present Mic and Sir’s play by play, however, interested to know who won. According to
them, Yaoyorozu had won, though it was a rather close match.

Apparently, Yaoyorozu had noticed something during the second event - she had been on
Bakugou’s team, and she had noticed that Dark Shadow reacted poorly to the light from his
explosions. She made a flashlight that had a record amount of lumens, making Dark Shadow
screech and recoil, and nearly blinding Tokoyami in the process. After that, it had been easier to
get in close, though Tokoyami made it difficult for her. In the end, though, she’d won out in pure
combat ability. Like Sir had said, there was a gap to bridge when it came to training.

So, he’d face Yaoyorozu for a spot in the finals.

Izuku felt more awake and aware after the rest, so he decided to go to his waiting room while the
semi-finals began. It would be Iida versus Shinsou for the first match.

But before he could get there, something happened.

All of a sudden, Izuku felt a spike from Iida’s bond. Shock, horror, panic, confusion - it felt like a
chaotic nightmare of swirling emotions, and he was seconds away from having a panic attack by
extension. Izuku leaned against the wall and breathed heavily, trying his best to reassure Iida
through the bond if he could.

When it finally died down, Izuku heaved a breath in and out. He was shaken by the extreme
emotions. Where in the world did they come from? What happened? But he wouldn’t get an
answer, as Present Mic announced Iida would be withdrawing due to an out-of-school situation,
and that he’d receive third place while Shinsou would move on by default.

Izuku wanted to go and find him, but he couldn’t. Iida leaving meant he’d immediately be going
out to face Yaoyorozu. Steadying himself, he made his way to his designated area. He would have
to call Iida later. He needed to focus on winning more than anything else right now.

If he beat Yaoyorozu, it would be him against Shinsou in the finals.

The fight against Yaoyorozu had been longer than the one against Tsuburaba, but not by much.

She had tried to create something to take him out straight away, but he’d been too fast. After a few
short punches and kicks, she’d fallen down. It was easy enough to pick her up and throw her out of
bounds from there. He felt bad for ending it so quickly, but he had been so tense and upset after the
spike from Iida he had just wanted to get it over with.

So… that left only the finals.

It would be him versus Shinsou, the boy from the Gen Ed department. He would take Shinsou as
seriously as he took Todoroki and give him a fair fight. Whatever had happened in Shinsou’s first
two fights, he had still been giving it his all.

Still, something was thrumming under his skin - nerves, fear, he didn’t know. It felt strangely akin
to One for All, but he didn’t even have it active right now…

Uraraka came to his waiting room before the match began, a serious expression on her face. She
had her fists balled up intensely looking like she was ready to throw down in his place. “Listen,
Midoriya, I have to tell you something about Shinsou!”

“About his quirk, right?” Izuku asked, tilting his head. Uraraka nodded. “I guessed it has something
to do with you talking to him. That was the only common factor between his two fights, so I just
decided I wouldn’t talk at all the whole time!”

“Wow! You already guessed it, huh?” Uraraka’s posture relaxed and she chuckled sheepishly.
“Should’ve known with that big brain of yours. Well, good luck, okay? I’m rooting for you! I
know you’ll do awesomely!”

“Thanks, Uraraka-chan! I’m sure some pros noticed you too, so I hope you’re not too down about
your fight with Shinsou,” he said. Uraraka waved her hand nonchalantly.

“Nah, it’s okay! I figure he’s just doing what he has to do, y’know? He’s using every advantage he
can get. I don’t blame him. We’re all trying our best, so there’s no hard feelings!” She said, and
Izuku grinned widely.

“Right, I thought the same thing!” He said, but then Present Mic called for the finalists to report to
the field. He took a deep breath. “See you on the other side!”

He made his way out towards the arena entrance with a determination in him.

He was going to say ‘I am here.’

“Everybody say HEY! It’s time for our final matchup of the day!” Present Mic’s voice filled the
arena, followed by the cheers of the crowd. “The winner of this match will win the sports festival,
taking first place and all the bragging rights!”

“On this side, we have Midoriya Izuku - as Present Mic has said, a powerhouse of 1-A. He’s
shown great things in his matches thus far, both strength and skill in spades. Now, it’s time to
see whether his match lives up to the ones we’ve seen from Shinsou.”

“Right! On the other side, the dark horse from General Education, Shinsou Hitoshi! Amazingly,
he’s gotten to the finals without so much as lifting a finger! Will we see another heel-turning
display from him, or will it be an action-packed fight?!”
As both students walked onto the field and into the ring, the whole crowd seemed to be waiting
with bated breath. They wanted to see if it would be another boring match or if Izuku would be
different. Well, Izuku was determined to be different.

They met in the middle, but just like with Ochako, he refused to shake hands. Izuku took it in
stride.

“Time for the final match, boys!” Midnight called, raising her whip again. She brought it down
with a crack. “Begin!”

“All that talk to that fire and ice kid about not messing around, and yet look at yourself,” Shinsou
began, looking at him. “You’re coasting through this pretty easy, yourself. Aren’t you being
hypocritical?”

Izuku paid no mind and charged at him, forgoing One for All. He swung a punch, but Shinsou
side-stepped it easily. He was faster than Izuku thought he would be. Shinsou just rolled his eyes.

“That round-faced girl must have told you about my quirk. But this is what I’m talking about,
you’re not even using your quirk. It’s ridiculous, don’t you think?”

Izuku bit back an instinctive ‘her name is Uraraka’ and grabbed Shinsou by his shirt, tossing him
to the ground. The wind was knocked out of the purple-haired boy, and he gasped for air. Izuku
went to toss him again, out of the ring this time, but his wrist had a familiar itching sensation that
made him freeze.

That small window was enough for Shinsou to get his bearings back and roll out of the way,
standing back up and heaving his breaths in and out. He scowled angrily, scratching at his own
wrist. Izuku knew it. Pulling back his soulmark cover, Izuku spotted a blue tulip peeking up where
his last unbloomed bud had been.

Shinsou was… one of his romantic soulmates.

Shinsou seemed to process it himself, eyes slowly trailing down to his own wrist. He peeked under
his own cover before promptly scowling and slapping it back down. “You’ve got to be kidding
me.”

Izuku didn’t say anything, though it stung a little to hear him talk like that after discovering they
were soulmates. Izuku charged again, with Shinsou smoothly dodging out of the way just like last
time. The expression on his face was something… Izuku couldn’t even describe. It was something
between anger and sadness.

“Someone like you… someone like you could never understand!” Shinsou yelled angrily, clearly
fighting back tears as they fought. “Someone like you who was blessed from birth! The perfect
quirk, all that power, and all you do is look down on me! You must just be too good to use your
quirk on me!”

Izuku squeezed his fists and got in a punch to Shinsou’s face, wishing desperately he could refute
what he was saying. But he was determined not to speak, so he wouldn’t. Shinsou looked moments
away from crying.

“Damnit!” He yelled, his voice cracking. “I hate people like you! Why’d I have to get stuck with
some stupid hero course brat like you for a soulmate of all people?!”

Izuku felt like he’d been slapped. Bakugou’s words all the way back from Aldera rang through his
head, echoing around like the tolling of an ancient, forbidden bell.
“Nobody would want a quirkless soulmate, and I certainly don’t! Get it through your head!” “All
of your soulmates will wither their flowers the second they realize it, just like me.” “You damn
Deku! I bet you didn’t tell your soulmates you were quirkless! You didn’t tell them how fucking
useless you were!”

Shinsou… didn’t want to be soulmates with him.

Izuku felt like he was going to be sick.

(In the stands, his soulmates looked visibly nauseous with the emotions they’d felt from Izuku in
that moment. Toshinori, who’d been sitting close enough to hear what had been said, understood
why he felt that way instantly. He desperately wished he could hug his boy, reassure him that he
was still loved. No matter how many of his soulmates rejected him, he would still be loved by so
many other people.)

“Shinsou-kun-”

That was all that escaped him before his whole body went slack, and his world went fuzzy and
dark. In the stands, the crowd went silent.

(Toshinori put a hand to his mouth, steadying himself. He wouldn’t hold it against Shinsou - the
boy had no idea how badly Izuku would react to that kind of statement. He didn’t know where
Izuku had come from, how hard he’d worked just to love again.)

“Turn around and walk out of bounds,” Shinsou ordered, angrily wiping tears from his eyes. It was
clear he was just as upset as Izuku, though for different reasons.

Though Izuku fought, thrashed desperately for his body to move, he just couldn’t do it. Against his
will, his body turned around, and his legs began to move. He was walking farther and farther,
closer and closer to losing.

He would lose the fight and he’d lose a soulmate.

“Despite Shinsou’s statement, I don’t think Midoriya approached the battle looking down on
Shinsou, do you, Sir Nighteye?” He heard Present Mic’s voice cutting through the soupy fog that
was his brain right now.

“Not at all. I think Midoriya was trying to do right by Shinsou, giving him an equal shot at the
title. I feel like making something as important as this an even fight takes a great amount of
respect. He could have ended it in seconds, but he chose to fight instead.”

“Exactly what I was thinking. Now, we just have to see if Midoriya breaks out of this trance he’s
in, huh?” Izuku didn’t think it was going to happen. As much as he might thrash and fight, he just
couldn’t get a grip on his body. He was coming closer and closer to the edge of the ring.

Suddenly, however, he felt a burst of power flooding into him.

He didn’t know what was happening, but the next thing he knew, he was looking up towards the
entrance he’d walked onto the field from.

There, in the doorway, were eight shadowy figures with glowing eyes.

He recognized one’s familiar shape as All Might, and the shape of another almost resembled the
photo Toshinori had shown him of his mentor, Shimura Nana. He realized, then, that these must
somehow be visions of the past users of One for All. He didn’t know how or why, but it seemed as
if they were all there just for him.

When he realized that, their shapes cleared up instantly. The further back they got, the fuzzier they
were, but he could very clearly see a wispy, glowing version of All Might - not quite there yet -
alongside his mentor, Nana. Beside her was a man in a high collar, and beside him was a bald man.
He couldn’t see the others, though, they were too faded and far away.

He tried to speak, to say Nana’s name, but he couldn’t. Instead, it looked as if she was yelling to
him, though it sounded only like a whisper beside his ears.

“You’re ours, now. We’ve accepted you. You’ve altered our fate, our destiny… and we’ve altered
yours. You are our Ninth, bound to us through the unbreakable.”

The next thing he knew, Izuku had come out of Shinsou’s quirk, and he was crying out in pain. It
felt as if his arms were on fire.

He watched in pained disbelief as the vines that belonged to his soulflower marks crept up,
forward, past the soulmark covering on his right arm. It hurt so bad, he didn’t even notice the
cameras zooming in on him on the jumbotron.

“What the-?! Am I seeing that right?!” Present Mic yelled, completely in shock. “Is Midoriya
suddenly gaining more soulflowers?! How is that physically possible?! Not even quirks can
affect soulbonds! Yikes, that looks painful!”

When it finished, he gasped, tears pricking his eyes. He was so grateful that it was finally over. He
didn’t know what had happened, but eight new buds had suddenly appeared on his right forearm,
and he felt like something had changed on his romantic side too, though he couldn’t see it. When
he turned around, he remembered where he was.

He was in the middle of a battle with Shinsou, who now looked completely taken aback, just like
everyone else in the stadium.

Izuku’s expression was so sad. But he refused to use One for All even still, because it was like Sir
said - he was just trying to give him an equal chance. It was different from the fight with Todoroki.
If Shinsou managed to beat him with or without quirks, then so be it. And though the blow from
Shinsou’s words was massive, he felt reassured.

The past users, if that was really them, or whoever they were… ‘You’re ours, now. We’ve accepted
you.’ Their words reassured him, reminded him he wasn’t alone.

Izuku decked Shinsou in the face so hard he was pretty sure he broke his nose, if the crack and the
blood were any indication. Shinsou reeled back, and Izuku shoved him out of bounds with both
hands. Midnight raised her whip into the air. Before the words had even left her mouth, Izuku
turned tail and left the ring.

“Shinsou Hitoshi is out of bounds! Midoriya Izuku wins!”

Izuku stood on the first place podium, but he couldn’t bring himself to smile.
 He looked down and saw Shinsou on the second place podium and Yaoyorozu on the third. Iida
should have been on the third with her, but he had left for whatever had made him so upset.
Shinsou wouldn’t even look him in the eye.

Even when Sir Nighteye came down to deliver the medals, he still couldn’t manage to get back that
spark he’d had before the match.

This wasn’t how he wanted to say ‘I am here.’ Everyone was talking about his soulflowers and
what had happened, but nobody spoke of his skill or his power outside of the few comments from
Sir and Present Mic during the play-by-play. And, of course, the elephant in the room: Shinsou’s
dismissal of their soulflower.

He thought, much like he had this time last year when he had still been in Aldera, that perhaps he
had gotten too complacent. Even if Soulflowers had changed who he was, had shaped him, had
given him the opportunity he’d been given, he had to remember where he came from.

He had just been a quirkless nobody with a withered flower.

Perhaps it was just as well. Maybe Shinsou was right.

Sir draped the first-place medal around his neck, and with a gentle hand on his shoulder, he spoke.
“Midoriya, you performed wonderfully. You made your mark today… and I think anybody would
be proud to have put on the performance you did. Just remember that.”

Izuku only nodded.

As he stared down at his new soulmarks, though they had made him feel reassured before, he
didn’t really feel like he’d won.

Chapter End Notes

… :’D

Well. This is the chapter I’ve been waiting so long to post!! It’s finally here!!! Please
feel free to yell at me in the comments, I want to know what you all think! I was so
excited to see everyone’s reactions to this chapter LOL. So much happened in it.

Also, just realized I forgot to give a description of Shouto & Izuku’s soulflower
yesterday, so I’ll add it here!

Lavender: a purple flower symbolizing happiness, love, devotion & peace (Shouto
& Izuku)
Star of Bethlehem: a tiny, white flower symbolizing atonement & reconciliation
(Shouto & Touya)
Blue Tulip: A blue flower symbolizing respect, tranquility & trust (Hitoshi &
Izuku)

Next chapter is the beginning of the aftermath of everything that happened in the
sports festival! Are y’all ready?! >:D

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Aftermath
Chapter Summary

“Yeah, well, I know Midoriya, and I’m telling you, you fucked up. Trust me, I’ve been
there, done that.”

Chapter Notes

Have a bonus update! Something really good happened irl and I wanted to celebrate by
sharing another chapter. Friday’s update will still happen as usual, so be sure to come
back then!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

In a different part of the world, a different country entirely, a boy had been working on scrubbing
dishes in a shady bar. The owner yelled from the front of the bar for him to hurry up, since U.A’s
sports festival was on in Japan and people were going to want to watch. They needed those clean
dishes ASAP.

The boy brought a stack to the cooks who gave him a grateful look, and the boy went out to the
front to help with bartending. Sure, he was underage and not supposed to be serving alcohol, but
the owner didn’t care and neither did the customers. Besides, he had two siblings to feed. Tips
from drunk customers helped put food on the table.

Looking up at the TV in the corner as he poured the drinks, he saw the tail end of the sports festival
was going on. There was a green-haired boy facing off against a purple-haired boy. He wondered
what the match was going to be like.

The entire bar fell silent in anticipation when the green-haired boy stopped and turned around, and
they jeered and called for a more entertaining fight.

But then, out of nowhere, the green-haired boy cried out in pain. On-screen, it zoomed in to show
he was suddenly gaining more soulmarks. The bar once again fell silent. The boy who’d been
bartending cried out in shock, feeling as if his wrist had suddenly been burned. He spilled a drink
all over himself, apologizing profusely to the customer and the owner for making such a mess.

When it was cleaned up, he looked down, and he nearly dropped the towel he’d been holding in
shock. His left wrist - his romantic side - had been bare for most of his life. But there, all of a
sudden, a bud that had never been there before decorated the inside of his wrist, right over his
pulse.

“What the hell?” He whispered. Was he… connected to that boy who’d gained soulmarks on TV?
That… that was the only explanation he could think of, but…

“Rody! Get back to work!” The bar owner yelled. “I’m not paying you to stand around, you know!”
“Yes, boss,” the boy sighed. He couldn’t think about that right now, as much as he wanted to. As
he scrubbed down the bar counter, he stared at the brand new bud.

Somehow… it made him feel just a little better. He had somebody. Even if it was totally
unconventional, what part of his life wasn’t? This just meant he’d have somebody who would love
him one day. Whoever it was, whether it was that green-haired boy or not, the thought that there
was somebody out there for him…

He hoped whoever it was would love his siblings too.

Hitoshi had been through a lot of things.

Shitty foster parents, bullying, being shut out for a fact of life he could not control - you name it,
he’d probably experienced it. His life kind of sucked in his opinion. But that was why he was trying
so hard.

He was going to be a hero, damnit, and he was going to prove everyone else wrong. Everyone else
who had ever doubted him would eat their words. He wasn’t some villainous kid with a villainous
quirk, he was a good kid who just wanted to put some good back into the world. (Fueled by
caffeine and a dash of spite, thank you very much.)

The sports festival had been his opportunity! Hell, he’d even made it to the final round! He was so
close, so freaking close he could practically taste it - but that hero course kid had come through
and screwed everything up for him.

That guy had everything he didn’t. A powerful quirk, lots of friends, teachers who complimented
him and a parent who was there for him. (Hitoshi had seen his mother, when he was on his way to
get his own lunch.)

And fate, of all things, decided that that guy, the one who had everything and didn’t understand
shit about his life, was one of the ones to pair him with? To bind to him through a soulflower?
Hitoshi scoffed to himself. Yeah, right. The guy was just so perfect, somehow, that he managed to
get out of his quirk by manifesting eight new soulmates on live television.

Honestly, from the bottom of Hitoshi’s heart, what the fuck.

Hitoshi had… well, five romantic ones. He honestly didn’t know how, considering most people
just told him to get bent once they figured out his quirk, but they were there anyway. And on his
other wrist, he had four platonic/familial flowers. He wouldn’t know what each flower was until he
met who they belonged to, but still.

He struggled enough with his. How would they ever love or even tolerate him when they finally
met? And somebody like Midoriya just up and gets eight more people who’ll just automatically
love somebody as heroic as him?

Life must just hate me or something, Hitoshi thought to himself. He was just sitting in Recovery
Girl’s office, a splint in his broken nose, contemplating his life choices. What else could he do? He
was alone with his thoughts until Recovery Girl cleared him to go home.

The second place medal hung heavy around his neck.

What would happen now?

As it turned out, he’d get his answers sooner than he thought. The door opened to the nurse’s
office, and in walked the last person he expected to see. It was Eraserhead - 1-A’s homeroom
teacher, and his personal hero. Hitoshi nearly choked on the air, he was in no way, shape or form
ready to meet Eraserhead!

Behind him, Sir Nighteye walked in - and he was the heroics teacher, wasn’t he? What was he
doing here too? Hitoshi sat up, mentally preparing himself for whatever the hell they could
possibly want him for.

“Shinsou Hitoshi,” Eraserhead muttered through thick bandages on his face. Hitoshi swallowed the
nerves in his throat. Were those injuries from the U.S.J? Had it really been that bad? He almost
thought Midoriya had been lying to get the other students to back off back when he first saw him,
but…

“Yes, sir,” he responded, and Eraserhead seemed to be appraising him for just a moment before
speaking again.

“Your quirk is Brainwashing. You used it to get all the way to the final rounds. Good on you for
making use of your advantages,” he said, and Hitoshi blinked, taken aback. He hadn’t been
expecting that. He’d given him a compliment of all things. “It says here you applied for the heroics
course but didn’t pass the entrance exam, yes?”

“That’s right,” Hitoshi nodded, “Brainwashing isn’t much good against robots. It is what it is. The
heroics industry likes flash.”

“That it does,” Sir Nighteye sighed, adjusting his glasses with an annoyed expression. “And not
always to its benefit. But that is what we’ve come to speak to you about, now that the festival is
over. Are you feeling up to talking to us?”

“Of course, I’m free,” Hitoshi nodded again. It wasn’t like he really wanted to go home right now
anyway. If they had something better to take up his time with, he’d happily take it. (His foster
parents would probably punish him for being late, but he didn’t care.)

“Well, I’ll just say it, then,” Eraserhead leaned back in his chair, “I want you in my class. We have
an open seat. One of the students got seriously injured during the U.S.J incident, and his parents
withdrew him after he got out of the hospital. We were looking for somebody to fill his spot at the
festival. I think you’re the one who should fill that spot.”

“S-Sir?” Hitoshi asked, startled. They… they were serious? They wanted him to move up to
heroics? “I… But I got second?”

“And?” Sir Nighteye raised an eyebrow. “Second place is still impressive for somebody who has
no training whatsoever. It looks like you haven’t even put on any muscle or worked out. Second
place is a landslide victory in your case.”

“Is that why… he didn’t use his quirk on me?” Hitoshi clenched a fist. “He pitied the weak Gen Ed
kid?”

“Not at all,” Sir Nighteye said coolly. He almost seemed slightly angry, but maybe that was just
his face, Hitoshi didn’t know. “In fact, he was rather impressed by you before the festival started.
He told his classmates at the beginning of the event not to look down on any of you, because you
all were trying your hardest.”
“He - he what?”

“And besides, even without his quirk, it wouldn’t have mattered. He still would have won,”
Eraserhead interjected, also sounding a little sour behind his bandages. “You might call him a hero
course brat, but he’s worked incredibly hard to get where he’s at today.”

Sir Nighteye nodded. “He put on all of his muscle and natural strength in a matter of only ten
months before the entrance exam. He started out about where you’re at, actually. That’s the kind of
effort you’ll need to put in if you want to succeed in the hero course.”

“In only ten months…? Why didn’t he just use his quirk? He’s got the perfect one for heroics, he’s
literally a poster child!” Hitoshi couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Midoriya decided to work
when he could have just coasted?

“His quirk choices are not our information to disclose. If you’d like to know more about him, you
should ask him yourself,” Eraserhead said, staring Hitoshi down. “You’re soulmates, aren’t you?
Despite what you think of people when you first meet them, most soulmates are good for you. You
and Midoriya might have more in common than you think.”

Hitoshi bit back a scoff. As if he’d have shit in common with that guy.

“Well,” Sir Nighteye cleared his throat, “we aren’t here to speak about Midoriya. To get back to
our original offer, we would like you to join the hero course. However, given how far behind you
are, you’d have to take supplemental lessons with Eraserhead and I. All of your time both before
and after school will be taken up with training, and you’ll also have to keep up in all of the normal
classes. We can get you into shape, but it’ll be grueling and hellish, and we won’t take it easy on
you.”

“I’ll do it,” Hitoshi said instantly. He didn’t even need to think about it. “Whatever it takes. Please,
I want to be a hero.”

“You can be a hero, too, Shinsou,” Eraserhead said. “Now you just have to put your money where
your mouth is and prove you can handle it.”

“I’ll do it,” Hitoshi repeated. He took a deep breath, his eyes like steel. “Whatever it takes.”

“Good,” Eraserhead nodded. “We’ll meet with you tomorrow to discuss the details. Be here at the
school at 9 am. We’ll see you there. Now, I’m going to go take a nap, I’m tired and I’m sure Sir
wants to go back to his agency…”

Eraserhead grumbled something under his breath as he made his way back out of the office. Sir
Nighteye spared him a sideways glance before following suit, and then it was quiet again. Hitoshi
was about to let out a sigh, but then, of all things, a student in another bed rolled over and was
practically staring holes in the back of his head.

“Hey, eyebags. Over here,” he grunted. Hitoshi turned to see the blond guy that had been beaten by
the engines guy, the one with the explosion quirk. He must still have been recovering from his
match. “I saw your match with Midoriya.”

“Yeah? And?” Hitoshi raised an eyebrow, a frosty wall raised between him and a hero student. The
blond huffed and pressed a hand to his ribs, wincing as he sat up.

“You fucked up,” the blond said flatly. Hitoshi was about to open his mouth to retort, but the other
boy beat him to it. “And I’m not talking about the match. I’m talkin’ about what you said. You
said he didn’t understand shit. All that shit about being stuck with him as a soulmate… you really
fucked up.”

“And what would you know?” Hitoshi glared. “It’s not your place to comment on other people’s
relationships. I don’t even know you.”

“Yeah, well, I know Midoriya, and I’m telling you, you fucked up. Trust me, I’ve been there, done
that,” he scowled, gripping at his wrist. “Just… go easy on him with all the soulmate shit, alright? I
don’t give a shit what you think about him, just… lay off the soulmate talk. If I have to see that
look on his face again…”

“What are you, his guard dog?” Hitoshi crossed his arms over his chest. The blond got a far away
look in his eyes, like he was remembering something unpleasant.

“No. I don’t know what the fuck I am to him any more. Whatever, listen to me, don’t listen to me.
I don’t give a shit. It probably isn’t my place anyway. All I know is that if you don’t change your
tune, you’ll regret it one day down the line… even if you don’t see it right away. It’s your fuckin’
choice, eyebags. I’m taking a nap,” he grumbled, rolling back over.

Hitoshi didn’t know what to think about that interaction… but both Eraserhead and this guy had
tried to tell him he was wrong about Midoriya. Something wasn’t right here, Hitoshi thought. But
with the thought of being in the hero course so close, he didn’t have the luxury of time to think
about it.

After the sports festival had ended, Izuku went straight to change and went home. He didn’t even
have it in him to see anybody after that last match.

He simply met up with his mother and walked back home. The entire time, she held his hand,
stroking it gently with her thumb. “I’m sorry, baby,” she said. It was different from the sorry she’d
given him as a child.

This was the ‘I’m sorry’ of a mother who knew how badly her child was hurting… but there was
nothing she could do about it.

“It’s okay, mama,” he said, just as soft as her, “I knew some of them wouldn’t like me. I mean, I-I
always knew, I had just forgotten… because everyone was so nice. That’s all. I should’ve, I don’t
know… I should’ve known better. I got my hopes up too high. You always said I have a heart too
big for my body.”

“Honey, that big heart is an important part of you. If you didn’t have such a big heart, you might
never have met Toshinori, you know?” Inko said, reaching up to tuck some hair behind his ear.
“It’s not your fault that boy couldn’t see it.”

“I know, mom,” he said, his voice finally cracking. He felt hot tears in his eyes and forced them
back. He wouldn’t cry. He wouldn’t. “It just h-hurts, ‘cause I thought things would be different, but
I’m still j-just… a u-use-”

“Don’t you dare finish that thought, young man,” Inko said sharply, her hands cupping his cheeks.
“You are perfect, honey. You are fine just the way you are. You’ve become so strong. Anybody
who can’t see that is just a fool.”
“Thank you, mom,” Izuku hugged her, pressing his face into the top of her head. He wondered
where he would be without his mother… nowhere good, probably. “I love you so much. I’m sorry
I’m such a mess.”

“I love you, too. And I also know you love your soulmates, so I called Toshinori and Togata. You
shouldn’t hide from them, honey. I know how much better you feel after you talk to them. You
always came home in a good mood after training,” she said, and Izuku’s expression melted into a
wobbly smile. She really was too kind.

“Izuku!” The two of them heard Toshinori’s voice, and they turned to see him rushing to catch up,
handkerchief pressed to his mouth. Mirio was right behind him as well, looking distraught. Speak
of the devil.

“Dad,” was all he got out before Toshinori nearly crashed into him with a hug. Mirio hugged him
shortly after as well, protective and warm. Feeling how tightly they clutched onto Izuku was the
straw that broke the camel’s back. Izuku couldn’t help the tears any more, and he broke down
crying into Toshinori’s shoulder.

It really did feel like middle school all over again.

“I felt your feelings during that fight, and… I saw the end of your festival,” Mirio said gently,
sounding almost grief-stricken. He knew how much Izuku was hurting. “I’m so sorry… We’re all
here for you, I promise. You’re not alone.”

“It’s just - I just-” Izuku hiccuped, trying to get his feelings together. “I d-didn’t… I should have
known… y-you’re exceptions t-to the rule. Quirkless people… we don’t…”

“Oh, my sweet boy,” Toshinori choked out, holding him as close as he could. “I’m so sorry. I’m so,
so sorry. It’s not true, you know it’s not. You’re loved, I promise. Soulmates shouldn’t… you’re
not the one in the wrong, Izuku. You can cry as much as you’d like.”

And so Izuku did. In the middle of an empty residential street, Izuku sobbed into Toshinori’s
shoulder and let everything out. It hadn’t just been Shinsou’s rejection, though that was the largest
part of it - he was so overwhelmed with just… everything. The U.S.J, All for One, having to decide
who to pass One for All to in case of an emergency, whatever the hell had happened to Iida - it had
all piled up.

He honestly felt a little childish for crying when his soulmates hugged him, but he really needed it.
It felt like coming home after a long day, like he could just exist and life wouldn’t kick him in the
ass for it. He would always be grateful to them.

And all that without even beginning to process whatever the hell had happened in that vision
during his match against Shinsou. He knew he needed to talk to Toshinori about it, but right now
wasn’t the time. Right now, he just wanted to be with his dad and his first friend.

Tenya sat in the thin hospital chair, shaking with anger and grief.

His father… his father had…

During the sports festival, just before his fight with Shinsou was supposed to have taken place,
Tensei came to find him. When his older brother came to him with an expression unlike anything
he’d ever seen, Tenya knew something had happened. And, as it turned out, it was even worse than
he thought.

Their father had taken over Tensei’s patrol for him so he could be there that day, to support him,
and he had been attacked.

The Hero Killer thought he was the newest Ingenium, thought he was Tensei, and he targeted him.
It was supposed to have been a routine patrol. Nobody had expected the Hero Killer to show up in
Hosu of all places, and on Tensei’s patrol route too. Thinking he was Tensei from afar, he attacked.
When he got up close and realized it wasn’t the Ingenium he was looking for, he had raved about
something - the lone witness didn’t know what - before continuing his attack.

His father ended up in a medically induced coma due to his injuries. He had been hit in critical
places, and the doctors didn’t know if he’d ever be the same. Not just walking - he had apparently
struggled, and in the process Stain had severed the nerve that ran to the engines in both his legs and
his back.

He’d never be able to use his quirk again, even if he regained the ability to walk after all of his
surgeries. And at his age, the surgeries they needed to perform were dangerous. They could kill
him, if he was unlucky.

Tenya was awash in grief, a greasy mess as he hadn’t been home long enough to shower since he’d
been put in the hospital. He couldn’t bring himself to tear away from his side. Tensei was there
with him the entire time, holding his hand.

And while he’d been sitting there, the tail end of the sports festival on a muted television in the
corner, he felt absolutely overcome with grief and old wounds that he knew didn’t belong to him. It
had been Izuku’s pain, and he couldn’t even be there to comfort his friend and soulmate. Izuku’s
emotions on top of his were too much, and he had to excuse himself from the room for the time
being.

He couldn’t handle it all.

When he went outside, he turned into the alley behind the hospital and let out fitful, angry cries
where nobody could hear him. He screamed, he raged, and he was ashamed to admit he lost control
enough to damage somebody else’s property, leveling a quirk-powered kick to one of the hospital
dumpsters. It caved in and trash went everywhere.

And when he was done, his breath coming in and out in heavy gasps, he sank to his knees and
cried. Tensei had found him like that, and simply sat beside him on the dirty ground, holding his
brother close and letting him cry it out.

Everything hurt, Tenya thought. Every part of him hurt.

He wanted to hurt something in return.

Tomura had been interested in watching the sports festival for a couple of reasons. One, because he
wanted to study the quirks of those hero brats. It would be useful information in case he needed
anything to do with them again. Two, because he was admittedly curious about the brat that had
almost beaten him.

Interestingly enough, watching the sports festival had also shed light on some other things that he
hadn’t even anticipated.

Like Dabi, for one.

When he’d watched the fight between the hero brat Tomura wanted to keep an eye on and the fire-
and-ice student, he’d burst into blue flames without warning. Kurogiri had to put him out with a
fire extinguisher, and Tomura wasn't happy. But despite his growing rage, he’d asked what the hell
his problem was instead of just decaying him for nearly torching their bar.

“That one,” Dabi had hissed, pointing to the fire-and-ice kid on the screen, “is off limits. You
attacked his class during the U.S.J, didn’t you? Well, if you want me to join, that’s my condition.
He’s off limits. Don’t touch him.”

Tomura had gotten even more curious after that. Dabi’s wild-eyed, almost desperate expression
said that it was personal, whatever his reasons were. But Tomura could work around that
condition, providing Dabi stayed beneficial to the League. “Alright,” he conceded, “he’s off limits.
What’s your deal with him?”

“None of your fucking business, crusty,” had been his response. Figures. He wouldn’t pry right
now - he could learn his reasons later.

The other curious thing had been the last fight of the festival, the hero brat against the Gen Ed
student. Something about the purple haired kid’s comment about soulmates had seriously set the
hero brat off. Whatever it was, the look on the brat’s face almost reminded him of… of how Hana
had looked before she died.

He scratched at his neck angrily, grateful he’d decided to put his gloves on today. He didn’t need to
think about her right now. Toga had just gently taken his hand away from his neck and held it
instead. Disgusting. (He didn’t tell her to stop.)

The most interesting part of that match, however, had been when the hero brat had been taken in by
the other kid’s quirk - a good quirk, too. Some sort of control quirk, maybe one Sensei might even
want some day. Somehow, the hero brat had broken free of the quirk by manifesting more
soulmates out of thin air.

And of all the damn things to happen, his right wrist burned like hell when it happened. He looked
down, and with angry, wide eyes, he’d noted an entirely new bud had appeared amongst his
platonic flowers. Looking around, it seemed as if nobody else had noticed his dilemma, thankfully.
He gripped his own wrist tight and hid it, internally panicking. What the hell did this mean?

“Sensei,” he choked out, staring at the screen. “How is that possible?”

The screen switched to a video call with no video. “I do not know, Tomura. I have never seen a
case of more soulmates appearing after the initial ones form. He is a curious specimen… but one I
would avoid for now.”

“Huh? Avoid?!” Tomura yelled, clenching his hand back around Toga’s to resist the urge to
scratch. “Why?! He’s the one that messed up my plan! I want to decay him for that.”

“Those with as many soulmates as him, Tomura… they are dangerous people. They have a lot
more to lose… and they are not afraid to fight for it. I know this from experience,” Sensei spoke,
his tone serious. “I may have beaten them all, but that does not mean they are any less dangerous.
He isn’t somebody you’re ready for.”

Tomura paused to take that in. He looked down at his own soulmarks. He had a decent amount
more than other people did, he knew that much. He had nine flowers on his platonic and familial
side, no romantic flowers. (He didn’t mind that so much, romance was gross and not the genre he
was into.)

Nine, even without any romantic ones, was a far sight more than most people had. (Now ten - but
he didn’t want to think about the implications behind the new bud’s appearance. He wasn’t bound
to a damn hero student. He wasn’t. He put it out of his mind - if he didn’t think about the flower
that had appeared, it didn’t exist.)

One belonged to his sister once upon a time, though her flower had long since greyed out. One
familial flower belonged to Kurogiri, strangely enough. He would have understood Sensei having
one, but… they didn’t. Kurogiri did, though. He’d always been there for him. Another was Toga’s,
as he’d discovered, and hilariously he had one with Giran which was why the man was the only
broker he could stand using. That left five more flowers yet to bloom for him. (Six. He still wasn’t
counting the new one.)

Did that make him formidable, too? He believed Sensei. Soulflowers were important. They made
him stronger. He wasn’t afraid of shit when Toga was with him - uncaring that they were in public,
he had decayed some asshole for trying to grope her the other day. Even the thought of getting
caught was less important than her right in that moment. But…

“I can be dangerous too, Sensei. I almost had that brat at the U.S.J. If I had a bit more time and
planning, I could take him down without a problem. Toga would be a great help,” he said, but
Sensei cut him off abruptly.

“No, Tomura. The answer is no. I’m ordering you to stay away from him until I have more
information on him,” He said sharply. Tomura grit his teeth angrily.

“I understand, Sensei,” he said, taking a deep breath. Sensei just didn’t understand yet. He was
treating him like a baby. If that brat could be dangerous because of his soulflowers, so could he -
but now wasn’t the time to argue with him about it. “I’ll avoid him for now.”

“Good,” Sensei said. “See that you do.”

The TV changed back to the viewing of the sports festival, which had since moved on to the
awards ceremony. Nobody else in the room was focused on it, however - they were focused on
Tomura.

“Who the hell was that?” Dabi asked, suddenly defensive. Magne looked equally uncomfortable,
and Toga looked right there with her. Tomura had no idea why, though. It was just Sensei. What
was there to be uncomfortable with?

“My Sensei,” Tomura explained. “He taught me everything. Raised me. He’s funding the League
of Villains. He gives me my Nomu.”

“He didn’t sound very much like a sensei,” Dabi said, his eyes narrowing at the screen. He put a
hand on Tomura’s shoulder. “Sounded like an asshole, actually. You let him boss you around like
that all the time?”

“Sensei knows what he’s talking about. It’ll just give us more time to plan,” Tomura said, trying
to brush off the subject. “It’s fine.”
 “I’m sure it is,” Magne nudged Tomura with her elbow, trying to ease the tension in the room.
Tomura still didn’t understand why Sensei bothered them so much - they’d just been talking, right?
“Speaking of plans, why don’t we talk about ours? We came here looking for work since Giran
asked us nicely, so what’s our objective, boss? What’s the League’s goal?”

“Giran? Asking nicely?” Tomura snorted, and that got a chuckle out of Magne and Dabi, finally
easing the tension that had built. Tomura scratched absentmindedly at his wrist as it began to itch.
“I can hardly imagine it.”

“I’ll have you know I’m extremely nice to my soulmates, thanks,” Giran rolled his eyes. The man
had stayed for a drink and ended up getting caught up in watching the sports festival with them.
Tomura’s eyebrows rose.

“You? Soulmates with these two?” He asked. Giran just laughed.

“Yeah, and with the little miss over there. Although the one I share with her is parental, I’m pretty
sure. Gotta make sure she doesn’t get into too much trouble. Anyway, yeah, I gave the best job
offers to them. No other villains get free room and board, after all,” he said cheekily. Tomura
seemed surprised. Toga was Giran’s familial soulmate? That certainly made things easier for him.

“Shiggy, look!” Toga squealed, interrupting his train of thought immediately. He blinked and
looked at his wrists where she was pointing, where two flowers had bloomed. He hadn’t even
processed it, he just thought it was one of his random itches.

“Oh? So we’re connected, huh?” Magne drummed her fingers with a grin, staring down at her own
flower. “Guess that makes this easier.”

“You’ve gotta be shitting me,” Dabi muttered, scratching at his own wrist, carefully so as not to
pull at his staples or hurt anything. “I accidentally burned the fucking things off and I can still feel
them itch. I hate this.”

“Do you want to see the flower?” Tomura asked, sticking his wrist out. If Dabi couldn’t see his
own any more, then it was only fair to let him look. Dabi seemed genuinely surprised by the offer,
giving Tomura a strange sort of look. Finally, with great reluctance, he took the offered wrist. “It’s
the third one. The one next to it is Toga’s.”

Dabi touched it lightly, as if afraid he would hurt the flowers. Before he could say anything,
however, Toga interrupted the moment.

“Me next! Let’s see if we’re connected!” She asked excitedly. Tomura just rolled his eyes. She was
always like that, he’d gotten used to her by now. But the group of them being connected by soul
flowers would be good for the League.

They’d be his other hands, his vanguard. They’d made a formidable force.

“By the way, Magne, you asked about plans?” Tomura finally spoke, turning his attention to her.
“Actually, I do have one. That upcoming villain, Stain, the hero killer? I want to recruit him.”

Chapter End Notes

Yay bonus update! Happy belated Easter to those that celebrate!

And the aftermath begins! There’s a lot of further-reaching stuff that happens, but this
is the immediate aftermath… the exciting bits :D I hope you all liked this chapter!!
Did you see the Tomura twist coming? Was it a surprise?

Also! A bunch of you have started asking abt Izuku’s soulmates, so I’m gonna start
adding a list to the end notes of every chapter. I hope it helps y’all keep track of
things! I sometimes forget that y’all are reading this without my giant notes document,
lol.

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks

—————

Izuku’s Bloomed Soulflowers

Romantic [5/6]: Uraraka (Lily of the Valley), Iida (Black-Eyed Susan), Tsu
(Speedwell), Todoroki (Lavender), Hitoshi (Blue Tulip)

Platonic & Familial [6/16]: Bakugou (Hollyhock - Withered), Togata (Goldenrod),

Aoyama (Diphylleia), All Might (Vervain), Sir Nighteye (Bluebell), Aizawa (Cherry
Blossom)
 Vestiges
Chapter Summary

“They’re real, or it wouldn’t have bloomed. They’re… alive inside One for All,
somehow.”

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku was fairly certain he had to be dreaming right now. That was the only explanation for where
he found himself.

He’d gone to bed that night after the sports festival, and instead of the usual sleep, he felt…
strangely ‘corporeal.’ Almost like he could still touch things around him, though he knew he had to
have been dreaming.

Smoke and shade flitted in and out of his view, almost reminding him of Kurogiri’s mist, the way it
looked. When he realized he could feel solid ground underneath his feet, he looked down, and
suddenly there was a floor. It was made of crumbling stone, old and worn and covered in moss and
dirt.

When he looked back up, there was an entire room in front of him. Made of the same stone, it too
looked old and worn. In fact, it looked blown to bits, the ceiling gone entirely and the walls
crumbling away. In the center of the room, there were eight chairs, all empty. They felt important,
somehow.

And before he even realized it, he was turning around.

He hadn’t even done anything, really, his body hadn’t even moved. It was as if he was just
suddenly turned around, no indication he had ever faced the other way in the first place. Izuku felt
really disoriented.

This direction held an endless, shifting void of that mist, and Izuku realized he was covered in it.
He couldn’t move in it, and when he tried to speak, his mouth was covered by it. He couldn’t get a
single sound out.

This felt like… the sports festival, when Shinsou had used his quirk, but not quite. This was its
own experience, intrinsically different somehow.

When he looked to his right, there were people there. The ones who he had seen before, during the
festival, were standing there next to him. This time, they were more clear, though the two in the far
back were still very fuzzy, covered in the same mist he was. He was right next to Nana,
Toshinori’s mentor. His eyes went wide. Was he dreaming of them? Why did it feel so real?

Nana smiled at him and pointed forward. He turned his head back to face forward, and in front of
him was a man with long, white hair. Just like before, it looked as if he was speaking normally,
though it sounded like whispers to Izuku despite only being a foot in front of him.

“You’re here a little early, Ninth,” he chuckled, his voice sounding as if it were everywhere at
once. “You’ve done well with One for All. Your body is adjusting faster and faster. You’ll outpace
yourself soon.”

Outpace myself? He wanted to ask, but his mouth still didn’t work.

“I’m surprised you recognized us so easily. Eighth must have told you about us. That’s good,” the
man said. Izuku didn’t recognize him. Who was this? Presumably, he was one of the past users,
but… which one? “You keep getting better faster because we’ve accepted you. Second and Third
finally came around. And because we’ve accepted you, the quirk has begun to truly settle and grow
inside you.”

The two misty figures turned to face him, their glowing eyes seeming to bore into his very soul.
Their stares were harsh but approving.

Why didn’t they accept me before? he wanted to ask. The man seemed to understand anyway, even
if he didn’t speak.

“They thought you were too soft-hearted. You cried too much, doubted yourself too much. But
with how seriously you took the news that All for One may be alive… You were one of us. You
focused where you needed to and got done what needed to be done. You didn’t let your emotions
take precedence when you found out about All for One’s possible threat. You understood, and they
finally accepted you then.”

The man smiled a tired sort of smile, and lifted Izuku’s right hand from the mist. He held it gently,
watching as one of the new flowers on Izuku’s wrist bloomed, resting beside the other familial
ones he already had.

“You see? We accept you. You’re not alone. You are our ninth, bound to us.”

Izuku woke straight up in bed with wide eyes, a cold sweat running down the side of his face.
What in the hell was that? A dream? It felt so real, but at the same time, not real at all. What was
going on?

He threw himself out of bed, barely even noting that it was just past four in the morning. He
needed to talk to Toshinori as soon as possible. He couldn’t put it off any more. Whatever that
dream had been, it was…

Izuku got ready to shower and realized with shock that the flower that had opened up in his dream
was still open on his arm.

It wasn’t a dream, then.

Whoever that white-haired man was, he was one of his soulmates. Familial, Izuku thought, that felt
right. Whether it was parental or otherwise remained to be seen. With that knowledge in mind, he
moved faster through his morning routine. By the time he had gotten out the door, he realized he
hadn’t even called Toshinori yet - he’d gotten ahead of himself.

He pulled out his phone and began the familiar walk to Dagobah beach. That would be a good
meeting spot, he thought.

“Hello? Izuku? Why are you calling at this hour?” Toshinori yawned on the other end of the
phone, and Izuku heard Tsukauchi mumbling something in the background. He felt bad for waking
them like this, but it was important.

“Um, sorry to wake you up so early, but I need to talk to you as soon as you’re able. Something
weird just happened. I’m going to Dagobah beach. I think I’ll just work out there for a while if you
want to meet me, but if not, um, just text me when we can talk, please?”

“Of course, my boy, I’ll be there, just let me get something to eat,” Toshinori sounded more
awake. “If it’s important to you, then it’s important to me. Does your mother know you’re out this
early? If not, you should leave her a message.”

“Ah, no, she doesn’t. I’ll text her. Thanks, dad,” Izuku said softly. “I’ll see you there, then. Bye.”

“Bye, Izuku. Call me if you need anything.” Click. Izuku let out a shaky breath, putting his phone
in his pocket. He picked up his pace into a jog, hoping the running would ease his nerves.

The dream had really unsettled him. It wasn’t a bad dream, necessarily, it was just that… if the
past users were behind the flowers that suddenly appeared, what did that mean? Weren’t they
dead? How could he possibly have soulflowers with people who were long dead before he’d even
been born?

And Izuku looked down at his left wrist, his romantic flowers. There was a new bud there too.
He’d checked after the sports festival. Where did that one fit in? Surely it didn’t belong to any of
the past users, that would be… gross. And weird. Izuku’s face scrunched up at the thought. No, it
had to be somebody else.

You’ve altered our fate, our destiny… and we’ve altered yours, Nana had said during the sports
festival.

Perhaps, because his destiny had been altered by them accepting him, he’d meet people he would
never have met otherwise? Maybe that was who the romantic flower represented - somebody
entirely new, somebody One for All allowed him to meet because his destiny had changed.

Izuku wondered what all of it meant. It kind of made his head spin.

When Toshinori had gotten the call from Izuku at four in the morning, he had been too tired to
really process the fact that the boy was calling so early. If he had, he probably would have instantly
assumed he was in danger or something.

As it was, having a talk was certainly a lot tamer than he’d been expecting and allowed him to get
up without a sense of impending doom for his boy.

Naomasa made his coffee and breakfast - his partner got up with him, despite the insistence he
didn’t need to on his day off. Naomasa had just shushed him and made him eat without arguing,
saying he’d tell Inko he wasn’t eating properly. He certainly knew how to get Toshinori to
cooperate - the last time Inko found out he skipped a meal, the woman had practically marched
herself to him and handed him a lunch and insisted that her platonic soulmate (and one of Izuku’s
father figures) needed to take better care of himself.

He was sure she was in cahoots with Naomasa when it came to his health, but Toshinori couldn’t
bring himself to argue with her. She was kind of scary sometimes.

He finished his food quickly, trying not to keep Izuku waiting. He said that he was going to train,
but he didn’t want to let his boy stew in his own thoughts. He could be a prince of nonsense
sometimes, overthinking things too hard. And especially after he’d broken down so hard after the
sports festival… Toshinori worried for him. (Naomasa insisted it was his fatherly instincts kicking
in.)

Once he was ready for the day, Toshinori made his way out the door and took his truck to
Dagobah. It felt a lot like when they had been cleaning the beach together, just the two of them.

When he got there, he saw Izuku working up a sweat in his workout clothes, jogging up and down
the beach. Toshinori waved and called out to him, and the boy startled. He was surprised - Izuku
hadn’t startled so badly at him in a while. He must have been pretty deep in his thoughts after all.

Truly, his prince of nonsense.

“Good morning, my boy, how are you? You look like you haven’t had that much sleep,” Toshinori
said, frowning just a little as he inspected Izuku’s face. Izuku snorted softly and just nodded.

“I didn’t sleep very well, no. Um, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. At the sports festival,
during the fight with Shinsou…” Izuku sat down with him on the beach wall, his legs kicking back
and forth along the edge. Finally, with what seemed like great reluctance, he held out his arms for
Toshinori to see.

He knew Izuku had gotten more soulmates - it had been broadcast on live television of all things,
and though Nedzu had tried desperately to get it removed, it had already circulated too many times
on the internet. Poor Izuku’s new soulmarks were out there for the world to see, though thankfully
they weren’t bloomed.

The one plus was that Izuku and Shinsou’s soulmate problems hadn’t been broadcast on TV. The
news stations had all filtered out that on their airings, and most of the people in the stadium hadn’t
been sitting close enough to hear. It was an easy enough situation to contain, since most knew that
talking about another’s soulmates was taboo.

Seeing Izuku’s new flowers up close, though, was a different matter. There were so many,
practically his entire right forearm taken up with the tattoo-like vines and flowers. Toshinori had
never seen anybody with this many aside from Aizawa, the poor man.

The thing Toshinori noticed, with great pain in his chest, was that Shinsou’s flower - the blue tulip
that marked the two as soulmates - was mostly withered. It wasn’t dead, so it could be revived,
but… he knew how much it probably ate at Izuku, seeing yet another withering flower among his
marks.

“What about them, my boy?” He asked gently, removing himself from his own thoughts. He was
going to let Izuku talk about it on his own terms. None of his soulmates had wanted to pressure
him into talking about what happened with his soulmarks, seeing how delicate a topic soulflowers
were for most people, even among other soulmates.

“Shinsou’s quirk, I don’t know what it is exactly, but it’s a mental quirk of some kind. When I
responded to him, I was caught in this… like, limbo, almost? It felt like I was dreaming, and my
body did what he ordered me to. That’s why everyone turned and walked away - it was his quirk,”
Izuku explained. Toshinori knew that much from Mirai and Aizawa.

“Okay… and what does that have to do with your new flowers?”

“When I was in that limbo, I didn’t break myself out of it. I had some… help, I think. I saw… these
shadows, with glowing eyes. Eight of them,” he said, and Toshinori’s eyes went wide. Eight
shadows with glowing eyes? That sounded like- “I think they were the past users of One for All.
One looked like you but not quite… there yet? Another looked like Shimura-san, from the photo
you showed me of her…”

“They probably were,” Toshinori smiled wistfully, remembering his mentor. “I saw them myself,
once upon a time. Back when I was first learning to use One for All, they appeared once or twice.
They didn’t do much besides just… be there. I didn’t think it was much to worry about, One for
All is a strange quirk.”

“Well, now it’s probably something to worry about,” Izuku muttered, picking at the skin around
his nails. Toshinori gently stopped him, directing him to pick at stray fibers in his shirt if he had to
pick at something. “Um, the past users… during the sports festival, they got clearer when I
realized who they were, and Shimura-san… she spoke to me.”

Toshinori promptly coughed up a spray of blood.

He took out his handkerchief and cleaned himself up with wide eyes, looking at Izuku
incredulously. Nana had… she had spoken to him? He didn’t even know those shadows were
capable of speaking, let alone directly and (presumably) coherently to somebody. Izuku took a
deep breath and continued.

“She said, um, ‘you’re ours, now.’ That they accepted me or something, and that both of our
destinies were altered? And she said… I was their ninth, and I’m bound to them. That’s when these
new flowers appeared,” Izuku explained. Holding them out to see again.

“Oh, my boy…” Toshinori murmured. “Of course they would accept you. I’ve told you a million
times about how you were the only one I wanted to inherit the quirk. Even the quirk knows it
now.”

“I guess so,” Izuku said, a little smile on his face for just a moment before it fell. “But then I had a
weird dream. I… I dreamed of the past users again.”

“Again? I wonder why so soon…” Toshinori thought aloud.

“One of them told me why,” Izuku explained. “I’m not sure who it was, though… I’m not sure
which user was talking to me. He had long, white hair and green eyes. He looked… skinny like
me, before I started training?”

“White hair… That sounds like it might be the first user,” Toshinori hummed. “All for One had
white hair. It could be his brother, the one to start One for All.”

“Oh!” Izuku brightened. “He was very nice! He explained things to me. Um, because they accepted
me, the quirk has settled and begun to grow, like how it grows with every One for All user. He
said that I’m getting better faster and faster… and that I’ll probably outpace myself soon. I guess
I’ll have to train more.”

“That makes sense,” Toshinori nodded, “It always felt ‘settled’ when I first got it. The past users
must have ‘accepted’ me right away, I suppose… but are you sure this wasn’t just a dream? I
mean… the past users talking to you directly…”

“I know, I was shocked too. But I think it’s more than just dreams, or-or some wisps of the past,
because… look,” Izuku pointed out one of the new flowers, and Toshinori realized with some
shock that it had bloomed into a beautiful white flower he didn’t recognize. “He - the first user, he
held my hand, and it bloomed. They’re real, or it wouldn’t have bloomed. They’re… alive inside
One for All, somehow.”

Toshinori’s eyes went wide when he processed the implications of that. The past users… were in
there somewhere. They were there, an intrinsic part of One for All. Nana and everyone before her
were there with Izuku. And if he said one looked like him but wasn’t quite there yet… then
presumably, he’d be a part of One for All alongside them some day.

The thought actually brought him comfort. He’d always be there for his boy. You’ll always be my
dad, Izuku had said. How literal it had become. But the thought… it didn’t bother him as much as
he thought it was. In all honesty, being in a quirk where he could see Nana again and still watch
over Izuku didn’t sound like that bad of an end, whenever his time came. He made no plans to rush
into it, of course, but… he supposed he wouldn’t fear or worry about his passing as he had when he
first got his injury.

“And if the first user said I’m going to outpace myself soon, I think we should be prepared for
some surprises with the quirk,” Izuku said, a little embarrassed. “I can’t even use full power
without breaking a bone, and then this happens… I hope I get things under control soon. I can only
imagine how much longer it would have taken me to figure this out without you and Sir guiding
me.”

“Credit where credit is due, my boy, it’s mostly been Mirai,” Toshinori chuckled. “My advice has
been quite awful, I’m afraid. But… thank you for telling me all of this, Izuku. If you have any
more dreams like this, please keep me updated. I’ll let Mirai and Aizawa know about the
developments with One for All, you just go home and take the day to rest. That’s why Nedzu gave
the students a day off after the festival, after all!”

“Right,” Izuku smiled, more genuine and relaxed this time. “I’m sure mom’s gonna worry over me
for leaving so early, she’ll send me right back to bed. Oh, I should probably tell her about all of this
as well…”

“I’ll tell her,” Toshinori insisted, “You need the rest. Why don’t I walk you home? I’ll just talk to
her then.”

“Okay, that sounds nice,” Izuku smiled wider, dusting himself off as they stood. They watched the
sun begin to peek over the horizon of the beach, glittering along the water. It was a beautiful day.

Though things were strange and ever-changing, Toshinori had no doubts that his boy could face
everything head-on.

Mirai tapped his pen against his chin in thought. He, Aizawa and Toshinori had met up at the
school, and Toshinori had told them both of what Izuku told him. The past users accepted him… It
was a strange thought, but Mirai supposed quirks were strange in and of themselves.

It wasn’t the users that worried him, though, it was the comment Izuku had said the first user
made. About how he’d outpace himself soon.

If the quirk got more powerful somehow, they might need a new training method to deal with it
eventually. Something more versatile, suited to One for All’s speed and power. As much as
Aizawa and he might try, they were both very physical fighters. Neither used their quirks, and now
it was time for Izuku to train with a quirked fighting style.
“Toshinori,” Mirai finally spoke up, after practically staring holes in his paper, “I think we should
contact Gran Torino.”

“Wh-What?!” Toshinori coughed, his handkerchief to his mouth. He looked several shades paler,
shaking even. For the number one hero and somebody who was seven feet tall, he certainly could
make himself look small. “Why him?!”

“I feel like he’d be able to assist Izuku with his training. Get him used to fighting with a quirk,
rather than just quirkless. Neither Aizawa nor I fight with a quirk, but Gran does, and he already
knows about One for All. There’s no mess to explain everything, and he’d be able to train
Midoriya well,” Mirai explained.

“Gran Torino?” Aizawa asked, raising an eyebrow. He was probably confused. Mirai didn’t blame
him; Torino had unofficially retired years ago and he hadn’t been remarkably popular even before
that. He was Nana’s hero partner, though, and her closest friend. Not to mention he’d already
trained one One for All user, what was one more?

“An older hero. All Might’s homeroom teacher and personal trainer. He was Shimura-san’s closest
friend and platonic soulmate, thus he already knows everything about One for All,” Mirai
explained. “His quirk lets him shoot air from his feet, powering his jumps, kicks, you name it.
He’d be a good match with Izuku’s already kick-centered fighting style.”

“Then I say do it. That sounds like the most logical course of action,” Aizawa nodded. Toshinori
just continued shaking in his seat.

“Are… are you sure Gran will be good for him, though?” Toshinori said sheepishly. “He’s so…
Er… well, mean, quite frankly… he’s terrifying… his training is hell…”

“Now I want to meet him even more,” Aizawa snorted, “Maybe I can get homeroom tips from him.
I could make it my extra special hell classes.”

“You look way too excited to say that, Aizawa,” Toshinori muttered. “You and Gran would get
along way too well. Good lord… but I have to admit you’re right, Mirai… it would be better for
Izuku if Gran helped train him, even if his teaching style is… difficult. What about internships,
though…?”

“He can join Shinsou and I,” Mirai said easily. “I was already planning on having Shinsou spend
the internship period with Mirio and I to get a feel for what his training will be like, since Aizawa
typically is not permitted to have interns as a homeroom teacher. It would be no trouble to have
Izuku with us as well. We’ll just invite Gran to stay at my agency for a while, I’m sure he’ll agree
to it.”

At the mention of Shinsou, Toshinori straightened up. “Now that I must object to. You can’t
seriously think putting Shinsou and Izuku together after the sports festival is a good idea, Mirai.
You know how devastated he was.”

“It was a fundamental misunderstanding,” Aizawa interjected. “If they spend more time around
each other, things will work themselves out. Shinsou has some very negative preconceptions of
himself and his quirk, and I feel like Midoriya would understand, even if Shinsou doesn’t think so.
They’d work well together if they would just talk.”

“Fine…” Toshinori pursed his lips. “But if you sense anything off with the situation, Mirai, you
hand Izuku’s internship over to me. He and Gran can come to Might Tower for the duration of the
internship instead.”
“I can agree to that,” Mirai conceded. “That’s reasonable. Now, who will have the honor of
contacting Gran? Toshinori, would you like to volunteer?”

[From: Iida Tenya; 4:45pm]

I am sorry I worried you all during the sports festival. As you may have heard via the news, my
father is currently in the hospital. I will be honest; while he is alive, the news is… not good. I am
doing my best to come to terms with it.

Izuku put a hand to his mouth. The afternoon before they were due to return to school, Iida had
finally talked to them about what happened. He hadn’t heard, as a matter of fact - Izuku had been
too focused on resting to watch the news.

A quick search confirmed the worst - Iida’s father had indeed been attacked by the Hero Killer,
Stain.

What could he say to that?

Their little group chat was awash with condolences, and of course everyone offered to be there if
he ever needed anything. Iida just insisted he was fine. Izuku didn’t believe him - that spike of
emotions during and after the sports festival said otherwise. But Izuku wouldn’t argue that point -
he remembered telling many people he was fine just so they wouldn’t worry.

Instead, when they returned to school the next day, Izuku just met him quietly at the gates as he
always did. And though he didn’t say anything, Izuku gently took his hand, threading their fingers
together. The gentle touch had Iida’s tense, small posture relax, and he looked like he was grateful.

Tsu took his other hand, and Uraraka gently chatted about nothing, the random things she’d done
on their days off. They continued like that the entire way to the classroom, paying no mind to
anybody else around them. Izuku was honestly surprised Iida wasn’t saying anything about the
hand-holding being PDA - but he supposed that was how off-kilter he really felt. ‘I’m fine’ could
only be believable for so long, especially when your emotions clearly didn’t match.

They finally let go of his hands just outside the classroom door, early as always. When they went
inside, some students were already there. Yanagi, always early as well, along with Yaoyorozu,
Todoroki and Ojiro.

“Midoriya,” Todoroki said, his eyes just slightly lighting up when he saw the other boy. “Good
morning.”

“Good morning, Todoroki-kun,” Izuku smiled at him, and Todoroki nodded back. That was the
first time Todoroki had actually spoken to him in class. Izuku was beyond happy to know that
Todoroki wanted to keep talking to him - it was a welcome relief after the whole debacle with
Shinsou. The others noticed that as well, surprised to hear him speak up.

“You two ended up friends after that crazy sports festival match, huh?” Ojiro chuckled. “Figures.
Glad to see you warming up, Todoroki.”

“Thank you,” Todoroki bobbed his head in Ojiro’s direction though he didn’t say much else. It
would take some practice before he learned the ins and outs of high school social cues. Izuku took
 his seat while more students filtered in, wondering what the day would have in store for him.

Eventually, when everyone was in the classroom, Aizawa finally made his way in. This time,
however, he was without bandages. He sported a fresh scar under his eye, and Izuku suspected he’d
have one on his elbow where it had decayed, but the man otherwise looked perfectly healthy.

The entire class breathed a collective sigh of relief when they saw him, and all of them pretended
not to see the tiny smile the man hid in his scarf when they did. They knew better than to tease
him, lest they get more homework.

“Alright, everyone,” Aizawa said, bringing the attention to him more seriously. “I said before the
festival that we’d be looking for a student to fill Mineta’s spot now that he’s gone. Well, Sir
Nighteye and I have picked the student. He’ll be joining us for the first time today.”

The class got a little excited, curious as to who their new classmate would be. Izuku had a sinking
suspicion he knew exactly who it was.

And when Shinsou Hitoshi walked into the classroom, wearing a hero course uniform this time,
Izuku somehow felt both relieved and anxious. Relieved, because Shinsou had so desperately
wanted to be here. Anxious, because of the partly withered flower on his wrist.

He just hoped it didn’t end up like Bakugou’s flower.

Chapter End Notes

Snowdrop: a white flower symbolizing sympathy and hope.

—————

oooh Shinsou’s a part of the class!! What will happen on his first day there, I
wonder??

And the vestiges!!! Izuku gets a flower with Yoichi! Was so excited to write their
parts. More questions about the vestiges and izuku’s extra flowers will be answered in
later chapters, so y’all will just have to wait until we get there :P

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks

—————

Izuku’s Bloomed Soulflowers

Romantic [5/6]: Uraraka (Lily of the Valley), Iida (Black-Eyed Susan), Tsu
(Speedwell), Todoroki (Lavender), Hitoshi (Blue Tulip)

Platonic & Familial [7/16]: Bakugou (Hollyhock - Withered), Togata (Goldenrod),

Aoyama (Diphylleia), All Might (Vervain), Sir Nighteye (Bluebell), Aizawa (Cherry
Blossom), Yoichi/First (Snowdrop)
 Names
Chapter Summary

Hitoshi felt like the world’s biggest asshole. Scratch that - the biggest asshole in the
damn Milky Way.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“Go ahead and introduce yourself properly,” Aizawa said, gesturing to the class. Shinsou had his
bag lazily draped over his shoulder, almost looking bored. When his gaze ran over Izuku, however,
it grew distant for a moment before moving on.

“I’m Shinsou Hitoshi. It’s good to be here. I’ll be in your care,” he said, though the class
murmured uncomfortably. Izuku frowned - why were they being so distant back to him? Was it
because of the same things people had been saying on the news - speculations and condemnations
on his behavior? Uraraka looked between Izuku and Shinsou nervously.

“Um, well, it’s good to have you here too, Shinsou-kun!” She said, trying to ease some of the
tension in the air. Iida nodded.

“Indeed! As class rep, I will do my best to make your transition as easy as possible! Please let me
know if you need anything, Shinsou-kun!” He said, pushing up his glasses. Shinsou only nodded.
Aizawa pointed to the empty seat in front of Tokoyami, the one that had once been Mineta’s.

“That’ll be your seat, Shinsou. If you need to move, let me know,” he said. Shinsou nodded again,
taking his seat without another word.

Izuku bit his lip nervously. He had a feeling things would be tense for a while longer… Hopefully,
he thought, everyone would manage to get over their uncomfortable feelings soon. Despite their
flower, Izuku didn’t wish for Shinsou’s time in the hero course to be bad. That would just make
him feel even worse about everything.

He'd talked with his therapist for a good, long while after everything was said and done. He had
come to grips with the fact that Shinsou's reaction had been out of his control. It wasn't his fault,
and he wasn't suddenly unlovable, no matter how much his mind wanted to tell him he was. What
he could control were how things went moving forward, and how he reacted to them. He would be
the bigger person and keep that control.

He’d told his soulmates as much as well, which was why they were doing their best to be friendly
despite their strained emotions. After the festival itself, they all had been furious, wanting to go
and give Shinsou a piece of their minds themselves - but Izuku had stopped them. Thankfully, they
understood his feelings once he himself had sorted through them and had agreed to let him handle
things.

He just… had yet to decide how he wanted to handle them. That would take time.

“So, with that being said…” Aizawa brought everyone’s attention to the front of the classroom
again. “We’ll be having a special hero informatics class today.”

Instantly, the students wondered what kind of hellish test they’d have to go through. Aizawa
resisted the urge to smirk up at the front of the classroom. He let them stew for just a moment or
two longer before finally deciding to say something.

“Code names. Today, you kids will be choosing your hero names.”

The class promptly cheered, excited to do something fun for class instead of Aizawa’s usual
grueling coursework. He was a good teacher, though - and to his credit, most of the work was
manageable if challenging, just like Nighteye’s. The two’s teaching styles blended really well,
though the kids did often wish for more flashy or exciting lessons.

“But, since I’m terrible with names, Midnight is going to be helping you today,” Aizawa grumbled,
climbing into his sleeping bag and promptly laying down on the floor. Midnight walked in as if on
cue, dressed spiffily in a pantsuit. She seemed plenty eager to be helping them pick out their
names.

“Not even going to tell them the details, I see,” she rolled her eyes fondly at Aizawa. “Well then, I
suppose I’ll do it! So, normally we’d have you kids choose your names in third, maybe second
year. But since your class has gotten the spotlight, a lot of agencies are interested in taking on first-
year interns for the first time. Thus, you need to choose your hero names, and I’m here to help you
do that!”

“By the way,” Aizawa spoke up from his sleeping bag on the floor, “even if you didn’t get any
offers, you all will still be going on internships with a pro. U.A has contracted pros who always
take on the interns without offers.”

“Even me, sir?” Shinsou raised his hand. “I just got here.”

“Yes, even you, Shinsou. Unfortunately, you don’t get a choice - you’ll be spending your
internship with Sir Nighteye catching up on the basics, since he has nothing to teach while all the
hero students are away on internships. Be prepared to stay with him at his agency,” Aizawa
explained. Shinsou nodded, looking a little surprised he was even getting an internship in the first
place.

“With that being said, please take your names seriously!” Midnight said. “They should reflect who
you are as a hero, reflecting the image of yourself you want to give off in the future. Often, student
names end up becoming professional names because they stick in the eyes of the public. Take your
own teacher there, for example - he just went with the first thing Present Mic suggested!”

“Sensei, you let Present Mic pick your hero name?” Mina laughed. “No wonder it’s so… uh…
unique! I was wondering where Eraserhead came from…”

“Thanks for throwing me under the bus, Midnight,” Aizawa muttered, rolling over so he was
facing away from the class. The students just giggled to themselves. Midnight began passing out
boards to write their names on, and Izuku stared at the blank board when it was in front of him. He
had thought about hero names a lot as a kid, but…

All of them were super embarrassing All Might rip-offs.

No way he could use those!

Instead, he focused on his image as a hero, like Midnight said. What kind of hero did he want to
be? What kind of name would suit Midoriya Izuku of the future? He thought about where he had
come from, and the goal he wanted to achieve. He thought about what he had told Toshinori and
Sir when they had dinner after the entrance exam results, and he thought about the past users of
One for All he carried with him.

You are our Ninth, the first user had smiled as their flower bloomed, bound to us.

He thought of his dreams, his goals.

I want to be a hero so that other people can smile, knowing that I’m there for them no matter who
they are, just like you all were there for me. Because you all made me smile again.

He thought of how important his soulmates were.

Soul bonds are special things, treasures! They’re hard to manage as a hero, but they shouldn’t be
discarded.

And he thought of how far he’d come.

Midoriya, you can be a hero too.

With a gentle smile blooming on his face, Izuku knew what his name should be. He knew what
kind of image he wanted to reflect, and how he should move forward as a hero. Despite the weight
of All Might’s legacy and One for All on his shoulders, he still ultimately had his own goals, ones
he wanted to meet head-on.

As he looked around, he saw Tenya on the other side of the room, struggling to write something on
the board he was given. The marker in his hand almost looked as if it were trembling, and Izuku’s
heart lurched for him.

Quietly, he went to stand next to his desk, crouching to be on a more even level with him. Iida
looked over, and Izuku gently put a hand on his arm, thanking everything that Midnight wasn’t
getting onto him about being out of his seat. When he glanced over at her, it looked as if she
understood. She gave him a small nod of approval.

“Iida-kun, you look like you’re having a tough time. Um, do you want to talk about your name?
Maybe you could bounce ideas off of me?” He suggested. Iida set his marker down with a reluctant
sigh.

“My brother… asked me to take on the name Ingenium,” he admitted, and Izuku’s eyes widened.
“He’s stepping down from his role for an indefinite period of time to help take care of our father.
But I… feel as if I cannot take it.”

Iida’s voice was so quiet Izuku almost didn’t hear him. It must have been a struggle just to get that
out, but Izuku was grateful he was talking to him nonetheless. (He didn’t know, but Iida could feel
the worry and care palpable through their bond. It made it a little easier to talk, knowing how
genuinely Izuku wanted to help.)

“Why not?” Izuku asked softly. Iida looked pained, deciding whether or not to say.

“I… feel as if it would be stealing it from my brother. He is a good hero who many admire, but
now, it may be months or even years before he returns to work, if at all. Is it not wrong of me to
take his name so soon after he’s stepped down? And how could I, when the one who… did this to
my family… is still out there?”

“Iida-kun… can I speak openly?” Izuku asked, his voice still soft. He didn’t want to offend if Iida
wasn’t ready to hear this stuff yet, but Iida nodded anyway. “Your brother asked you to take it.
You’re not stealing it. Don’t you think he’s asking you because he believes you can keep the
Ingenium name going the way it deserves?”

Iida’s breath hitched, and his eyes went wide. He turned to look at Izuku, his face suddenly
twisting with emotion. “You… Do you believe I could carry on the name, Midoriya-kun? I… feel
so angry. I feel as though I simply… don’t deserve the name…”

“Iida-kun, everyone gets angry,” Izuku said, a weary smile on his face. “And I mean the kind of
anger you have. Even I felt like that. At the U.S.J, when I saw what the villain had done to Aizawa-
sensei, I felt like that. When somebody… I used to treasure… did something awful to me, I felt like
that too.”

“How did you get over it?” Iida asked hoarsely. Izuku squeezed his arm gently.

“I didn’t,” he admitted softly, surprising Iida, “not at first. But I had people who helped. They kept
me afloat until I could, so to speak. I think your brother wants to do that for you. He’s keeping you
afloat, giving you the name Ingenium to carry on.”

“Midoriya-kun…” Iida looked lighter, somehow, because of those words. He was still tired, but he
no longer seemed to carry such a heavy weight on his shoulders. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Izuku smiled, “that’s what soulmates are for, right? Uraraka, Tsu and I are all here for
you, Iida-kun. You can trust us when you feel like you can’t trust yourself.”

Hitoshi watched Midoriya talk with his friend, though he couldn’t hear what he was speaking
about. He wondered how many heroes would be throwing themselves at the boy’s feet for him to
intern with them with a sports festival showing like his.

Despite his second place, all anybody could talk about was Midoriya Izuku. His stupidly powerful
quirk and his stupidly high amount of soulmates. That, and they were lambasting him for being so
callous to a soulmate.

Hitoshi didn’t care.

Well, actually, he did. He cared a lot, but he would never admit it. He did at least regret their
meeting being public and how angry he'd been. Whatever Midoriya was, it wasn't as if he'd hurt
Hitoshi personally. That explosion guy had made him think about things, and he supposed he
should at least lay off of the soulmate thing like he said. Midoriya didn't ask to be bound to him,
either. He had just taken his anger out on Midoriya, and he could admit that hadn’t been fair. His
first bloomed soulflower hurt to look at, partly withered as it was.

Hitoshi focused on his hero name. Now wasn't the time. He still couldn’t believe they were letting
him pick his hero name with the class even though he hadn’t even been there for a full day yet. He
supposed that since he was going to be with Sir Nighteye, however, he needed a name in case he
was asked by somebody in the agency or somebody on the street.

The board sat in front of him, completely blank. He had nothing.

He’d spent so long trying to prove he could be a hero that he had no idea what to do once he was
presented with the possibility of it actually becoming his future. Eraserhead had picked the first
thing Present Mic said, but he doubted he could just ask one of the other students. They seemed not
to like him very much, judging from the extremely awkward introduction earlier.

But the blank space afforded him a great idea.

Blank.

Because his future was blank, he could make it into anything he wanted. And, ironically enough, it
fit with his quirk. He could make people draw a blank, so to speak. Most people didn’t remember
what happened after he brainwashed them, after all. It would work, and since he wanted to go
underground like Eraserhead - Aizawa - he could probably change it later without too much issue if
he decided he hated it.

“Alright! Does everybody have their names in mind?” Midnight smiled. “Who wants to present
theirs first?”

The whole class had the same thought: Present? We have to present these?

Of course, the sparkly kid who hung around Midoriya was the first one to go. He stood up at the
podium with a glimmer in his eye as he turned his board around to reveal his name. There was a
full sentence written up there.

“I cannot stop twinkling!” He announced, and Hitoshi almost rolled his eyes. Of course. “It means
you can’t stop my sparkle!”

But Midoriya was grinning unabashedly, giving him a thumbs up. (Hitoshi ignored the lurch in his
heart that said he kind of wanted a thumbs up. Even if Midoriya didn't understand, Hitoshi couldn't
help the feeling of wanting something so small, a gesture of acceptance from somebody who cared.
But his wanting came too little too late, Hitoshi supposed.)

“Hmm, it’s good, but a little long. Take out the ‘I’ and shorten the ‘cannot.’ Then you have ‘Can’t
Stop Twinkling,’ which is better!” Midnight said, and Aoyama beamed at her approval. He was
fine with that change, it seemed.

“Merci beaucoup, mademoiselle!” He said, returning to his seat happily. The next one to go up
was that girl with pink skin and hair, who Hitoshi had yet to learn the name of. Ashido, he thought,
wasn’t that it? He would have to get on memorizing names as soon as possible. He might not
intend to make friends with anybody, but he didn’t want to strain the class’ tentative acceptance of
him.

“Alien Queen!” She grinned excitedly as she showed her name. Midnight hummed thoughtfully.

“It’s a little scary for a daytime hero. You’re going for that thing with the acidic blood, right?” She
asked, and Ashido nodded. “If you want to be a daytime hero, you should pick something a little
more friendly. You can be tough on villains while still reassuring civilians.”

“Right…” Ashido nodded, though she looked pretty disappointed she couldn’t use it. She went
back to her seat to think of something else instead. The frog girl, another one of the people around
Midoriya, went up next.

“I’ve wanted to use this name since I was in elementary school,” she announced, a little bashful.
“The Rainy Season Hero: Froppy.”

The class was relieved to get back to somewhat normal names and cheered out ‘Froppy,’ and even
Hitoshi conceded that it was a relief to hear after ‘Can’t Stop Twinkling’ and ‘Alien Queen.’

The next few were all fairly normal. Red Riot, Earphone Jack, Tentacole, Cellophane, Tailman,
Sugarman, and Ashido’s revised name, Pinky. Hitoshi wondered if he was going to have to present
his name too… it wasn’t very heroic or flashy.

More students went, still with normal names. Chargebolt, Invisible Girl, Creati… then that crazy
fire-and-ice guy went, and his hero name was just his first name. Somehow, that being his hero
name made Midoriya look… somewhere between sad and angry. Hitoshi wondered why it was
such a big deal, but he wasn’t about to ask.

Still, the names continued.

Tsukuyomi, Anima, and interestingly, ‘Emily’ from Yanagi. Hitoshi thought it might’ve been a
reference to something, but he wasn’t sure. Then, Midnight asked if he’d be sharing his, and he just
shrugged. If she wanted him to share, he would. He took his board to the front of the class and
turned it around.

“The control hero, Blank,” he said flatly, and Midnight gave her okay. The class didn’t really react
to it one way or another, so Hitoshi counted it as a win and went back to his seat. The last three
who had yet to present were Midoriya and the two who were around him the most, that floating
girl and the class rep. The floating girl went first, presenting her name shyly, almost embarrassed
to say it.

“Um, this is what I came up with… Uravity!” She said, showing off her board. Midnight approved
it and said it was very cute, so she went back to her seat. The Class Rep went next, showing off his
board.

“I was torn on whether or not to choose this name, but… somebody reminded me that I don’t carry
it alone,” he smiled something soft at Midoriya, and Hitoshi pursed his lips. He wasn't such an
asshole as to think anything sarcastic about it - he’d seen the news, and he knew the rep’s father
had been hospitalized. It must have been incredibly difficult for him to make the decision. “I will
carry on the name Ingenium, for my father and my brother.”

“I’m sure they’re proud of you, Iida,” Midnight said softly. The class all murmured their support
for him, and he seemed far less tense than he had been when Hitoshi first walked in. The rep went
back to his seat, and Midnight called for Midoriya next.

“Um, I’m a little embarrassed to share mine…” Midoriya said, holding his board close. “I chose
this name because of what it means to me. It might not, um, fit my image, but… it’s important to
me.”

He turned his board around and everyone in the class seemed a little surprised.

Everyone’s Hero: Bloom.

“Bloom? That’s a strange hero name. Your quirk doesn’t have anything to do with plants. Why
would you choose something like that?” Midnight asked. Even Aizawa seemed curious, peeking
open an eye from his sleeping bag. Midoriya rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, clearly
uncomfortable talking about his reasons.

“Well, um… back during Aizawa-sensei’s quirk assessment on the first day, I told everyone about
how I was a really late bloomer… that I didn’t get my quirk until a few weeks before the entrance
exam. Before that, I was considered quirkless,” he said, a little shaky.
Hitoshi froze.

He was considered what? Until just before the entrance exam?

The magnitude of what he’d assumed Midoriya was practically smacked him upside the head in a
single sentence.

“Um, and if you didn’t know… people, um, don’t like the quirkless,” he murmured, shrinking in
on himself. “I was really surprised when everyone in class was okay with it. Anyway, my point in
telling you all that is that I chose this name because of my soulmates. When I was considered
quirkless… my first soulmate withered our flower because he didn’t like having a quirkless
soulmate.”

The class sucked in a collective sharp breath, taken aback by the statement. Hitoshi in particular
felt like he’d been sucker-punched. Midoriya… had been considered quirkless. ‘People don’t like
the quirkless’ was a fucking understatement. There was only one quirkless person in Hitoshi’s
entire junior high, and they’d been the butt of everyone’s anger. If there was one thing Hitoshi had
been grateful he never was, it was quirkless.

And Midoriya had… been quirkless until just before the entrance exam?

You and Midoriya might have more in common than you think, Aizawa had said.

You fucked up. If you don’t change your tune, you’ll regret it one day down the line, the blond guy
had told him. God, how right he was. If Midoriya was serious - and judging by the looks on
everyone's faces, he was, they clearly understood what he was talking about - then Hitoshi had
seriously fucked up. Possibly beyond repair.

“I used to hate flowers. But my second soulmate, he’s my parental soulmate, he told me I could be
a hero. And thanks to him, I met my other soulmates, who all encouraged me… and they helped
shape me into who I became today,” Midoriya managed a smile at that. “My flowers remind me
that I want to be a hero for everyone, no matter who they are, so I can help them, save them, make
them feel safe. I want to be everyone’s hero, Bloom, who makes people feel like my soulmates
helped me feel!”

Hitoshi felt like the world’s biggest asshole. Scratch that - the biggest asshole in the damn Milky
Way.

The pain and hurt in Midoriya’s expression when he asked why he’d gotten stuck with him as a
soulmate made way too much sense now. So did everything else. Everyone's words, why his
friends and classmates had given him such a miserable welcome. And even more than that…
Midoriya still wanted to be such a… a heroic person even after what he'd been through? A hero for
everyone? Such a grandiose, genuinely heroic goal…

The class clapped for Midoriya, enthused by such a genuine, heartfelt response, but Hitoshi… he
stared down at his wrist, at the blue tulip they shared, and wondered where he’d gone so wrong.
He had a soulmate who would understand, and he’d said those awful things to him. Hitoshi
wondered if Midoriya could ever forgive him, or if he’d already lost him.

The flower wasn't dead, but Hitoshi wouldn't blame Izuku if he wanted it to be. Who would want to
be soulmates with the guy who'd said something that hurtful?

“Then that name is perfect for you, Midoriya. I approve!” Midnight said, and Midoriya gave a
blinding grin. He returned to his seat, and those around him all talked to him about how cool his
name was and how awesome his heroic dream was.

Hitoshi thought he was cool, too. He just hoped beyond hope that he could repair what he’d broken
during the sports festival.

“So, now that hero names have been picked, I’ll pass out your choices for internships. They’ll last
an entire week. Consider them carefully, understand? Those who didn’t get any direct offers will
get to choose from forty agencies U.A has contracts with. This is an important choice that will let
you build on your future,” Aizawa explained.

When Izuku got his papers, he was shocked by all the offers he got. The only other one who
matched him in offers was Todoroki, who was scowling deeply at his paper. Izuku figured his
father probably had something to do with it.

Izuku skimmed his list, seeing bigger and bigger hero names the further he went. These heroes
really wanted him to join them?! There was both Mirko and Edgeshot on here! He couldn’t believe
either of them actually wanted him for an intern! But then, the further down he got, he also saw an
offer from Sir Nighteye’s agency.

The thought made him smile. He remembered Mirio saying once that maybe they’d do a work-
study together. He could definitely see himself going back to Sir’s agency, but… Hitoshi was going
to be there, and he didn’t want to make the other boy uncomfortable. It was clear Hitoshi didn’t
like him, and he didn’t want to push things and make an already tense situation even worse.
Perhaps he’d intern with Sir next year… although, Mirio would be graduating, so he wasn’t sure…

The classes continued normally until lunch, when everyone was able to talk freely about their
internships. Everyone was interested in who each other would pick. Uraraka was going with
Gunhead, explaining that the U.S.J made her realize she needed to know how to fight properly
even if she wanted to be a rescue hero - she would one day find herself in a situation where she
simply needed to fight, like it or not.

Iida had decided to go with Manual’s agency in Hosu. Izuku had nearly panicked, knowing that
was where his father had been attacked. He wasn’t stupid, he could put together that the Hero
Killer would likely remain in town there for a while. Iida insisted, though, that it was only because
Hosu was where his brother’s agency was. He couldn’t intern with his brother right now, but if he
wanted to carry on the Ingenium name, he wanted to do it where his brother would’ve been.

Izuku had practically felt the sincerity behind his tone, so he let out a sigh of relief and wished him
good luck. (And, quietly, reminded him that he’d be there to talk if things got to be too much for
him. Iida looked grateful.)

Todoroki… had almost gone with his father’s agency. Izuku asked why - his explanation made
sense, that his father was the one best suited to help him with his fire, like it or not. But it just
didn’t sit right with Izuku, knowing what he knew now about Endeavor.

“You know… you don’t have to go with him, necessarily,” Izuku said gently, turning around in his
seat to face him. He was grateful they sat close to each other so he could talk softly so others didn’t
hear them. “Your quirk is an emitter-type, right?”

Todoroki nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

 “Your quirk deals with temperature manipulation, doesn’t it? Your body is already structured to
deal with both ends of the spectrum of extreme temperatures, which is an intrinsic part of you. You
don’t have to learn how not to burn yourself, you just have to learn to put out and control flame,
which anybody with a similar emitter quirk could teach. Functionally, they work nearly the same -
for example, Wash puts out soapy water from his body. Fire and water are different, but the
emission principle is the same, and therefore could theoretically be taught despite their
differences…”

Izuku stopped when he realized he’d started a mutter storm about Todoroki’s quirk, his cheeks
flushing and ducking his head. When he looked back up, however, Todoroki’s eyes were wide,
almost in disbelief.

“I… had not thought about that,” Todoroki said, his voice sounding heavy with emotion. “I
actually… got an offer from Wash. If it’s truly possible for him to teach me, then… I would not
have to go with my father. The top ten are all incredibly skilled heroes who could all teach me
battle sense…”

“Exactly!” Izuku smiled, happy his mutter storm had managed to help. He was honestly a little
surprised Todoroki caught all of it. “So just think about it. I won’t stop you if you decide to go
with Endeavor, but just know there’s other options.”

“I don’t need to think about it,” Todoroki said quickly, scribbling down ‘Wash’ under his choice of
internship. “Thank you, Midoriya. That means a lot to me. You’ve helped me twice now… I will
have to repay you somehow.”

“How about eating lunch with us again today?” Izuku gestured with his head to Iida, Tsu, Aoyama
and Uraraka, who were all waiting patiently for him. Todoroki almost looked a little embarrassed,
but nodded his head.

“If that’s what you wish. I… would like to be friends.”

Chapter End Notes

Sorry for the late update today!! I’ve been super out of it and I literally just forgot it
was Friday. But here is the next chapter! Hero names, Hitoshi’s guilt, a whole slew of
stuff, oh my! I hope everyone likes this chapter.

And to answer a few comments from last chapter, a bunch of you mentioned feeling
weird that Aizawa and Nighteye want to put Izuku in an internship with Hitoshi - y’all
are definitely right! It’s not a great move lol, and the situation is addressed/explained
in a later chapter (the chapter after next, as a matter of fact). I honestly felt bad writing
that part lmao, I was like “man… i stay writing pain for izuku”

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Second Chances
Chapter Summary

Izuku found himself smiling. He really did love his soulmates. Maybe things really
were looking up.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

When Izuku went out into the hallway, ready to head to the canteen with his friends, he was
stopped by Shinsou, of all people.

“Can I… can I talk to you?” He said, looking incredibly uncomfortable. He looked like he’d rather
be anywhere else, but was pushing himself to be there instead. Izuku frowned a little bit, unsure
what Shinsou wanted.

“Um… okay,” he agreed, although reluctantly. Off to the side, his friends looked frustrated and
uncomfortable with the situation. They knew what had happened - Izuku had told them, and even if
he hadn’t, they’d all felt it - but they also knew he and Shinsou were soulmates, and that it would
be better for Izuku if they could possibly reconcile. That still didn't make it any easier on them.
“I’ll meet you guys in the cafeteria in a little bit.”

“Let us know if you need anything, kero,” Tsu said, her head tilted just slightly. Izuku smiled and
nodded at her. Todoroki hadn’t been filled in quite yet, since Izuku didn’t have his phone number,
but he still looked worried since he could gather something was wrong, especially after feeling
what had happened during the festival. (Well, his worried expression wasn’t very different from his
resting one, but Izuku could still tell.)

“Of course, I’ll let you know,” he said, and they finally let him go. He and Shinsou went down the
hall, out of the way where they wouldn’t be heard. Izuku took a deep breath. He reminded himself
of what he’d talked to his therapist about. He could only control himself. Shinsou’s reaction wasn’t
a slight on him. “Um, so, what did you need, Shinsou-kun?”

“In the classroom, when you were talking about your hero name,” he began, shifting his weight
and rubbing at his soulflowers awkwardly, “did you mean all that? I mean… did that really
happen? You being quirkless, and your soulflower being withered and… y’know.”

“Did I mean…?” Izuku trailed off, a little taken aback by the question. “Shinsou-kun, why would I
lie about something like that? Of course I meant it.”

“Fuck, I wasn’t, um, I wasn’t accusing you of lying,” Shinsou winced. “I was just… so surprised
that you had gone through all that. You seem… I don’t know, way different than what I would
expect. You don’t… act like somebody who’s gone through all that. It’s why I said all that stuff
about you not understanding.”

“I’ve been through a lot of therapy,” Izuku said stiffly, not sure how to approach this. He still
didn’t understand why Shinsou was talking about all of this. Was this just some attempt to remind
him he wasn’t wanted or something? “And I had a lot of people looking after me. They reminded
me that I wasn’t what I thought I was. I wasn’t always so comfortable just talking to people like
this.”

“Right…” Shinsou sighed, his whole body seemed to droop as if he was wilting. “Sorry. I keep
saying stupid shit and getting my foot stuck in my mouth. I was asking because I wanted to say I-
I’m sorry. I’ve been thinking about what happened non-stop these last few days, but knowing all
that about you puts it into… a different light. I was stupid. I assumed what you were like and I said
some really insensitive stuff, especially about soulmates. I should know better… I’ve always
wanted to meet my soulmates. You’re my, uh, first one, actually. I feel like shit for messing it up.”

“Oh,” Izuku said, and it was all he really could say. He was stunned by the honest apology from
Shinsou. Out of everything, especially in this situation, an apology was the last thing he expected.
It wouldn’t just suddenly smooth everything over, but… “You don’t mind having me as a
soulmate?”

“God, no, I don’t mind at all, I swear,” Shinsou said, anxiety and hope both in his eyes. “Even if
you were what I thought you were… I probably would’ve gotten over myself eventually. But I
would’ve hurt you more, and I just… This whole thing just kind of drop kicked me into
apologizing. Even if I don't deserve to talk to you after what I said… you deserve an apology at the
very least.”

“Well…” Izuku chewed on his bottom lip a little nervously. His brain wanted to tell him it wasn’t
true - that it was some trick Shinsou was playing on him so he could rub in their withered flower
later. It’s what would have happened in middle school. But now… he could feel the genuine regret
and desperation to fix things through their bond.

Izuku took a deep breath. He could control how things went, going forward. And what he wanted
more than anything… was to see the flower healthy again. He didn’t want another withered flower,
not now or ever again.

“Apology accepted, I guess. Um, it won’t fix what you said… it hurt. A lot. But we can start over,
maybe? Try to… work things out?"

“Please,” Shinsou breathed out, shaky. “I’d really like that.”

“Then… I’m Midoriya Izuku. It’s nice to meet you properly. I hope we can get along,” he managed
a small, tired smile. Shinsou looked more relieved than Izuku had ever seen anybody look before.

“Shinsou Hitoshi. It’s nice to meet you too, Midoriya. I hope we can get along too,” he said, and
Izuku bumped his elbow with his own.

“Would you like to eat with everyone today? It’ll make them feel better to know we're working on
things. I don’t know for certain why everyone was so uncomfortable with you this morning, but I
can fathom a guess. I am sorry about that, honestly. I hope things get a little easier in the next few
days,” Izuku murmured. Shinsou nodded.

“Me too. I mean, I’m used to having that kind of reaction after people learn about my quirk, but…
this time I kind of deserved the cold shoulder. Still, I guess I’d rather not deal with it for the next
three years,” he muttered. “Anyway, I’d… I’d like to eat with you, yeah.”

Izuku’s heart felt a little lighter when they went to the lunch table.

Said table was a little crowded with seven people all sitting together at it, but nobody seemed to
mind in the least. Once Izuku had explained the situation to them, they’d all been relieved that they
were trying to fix things between the two of them.

Still, that didn't mean it was entirely friendly.

“Just so you know, I'm happy you're working to fix things, and I can be friendly in class. But
between us, if you ever make Midoriya-kun feel like he did at the sports festival again, I will throw
you into the sun,” Uraraka said, her expression flat. The others at the table just nodded in
agreement. Even Iida didn't say anything about threats being un-hero like.

“U-Uraraka-chan!” Izuku said, a little embarrassed. “That's really not necessary!”

“Mon ami, do not downplay what happened. I believe we have the right to be worried," Aoyama
said softly. “You are my best friend. When you were hurting like that… it was painful in a way I
do not have words for.”

That statement… Izuku curled his hands in his lap. He wasn't used to people caring so much. He
didn't know if he ever really would be, honestly.

“It's entirely fair," Hitoshi interjected before Izuku could. “I don't expect you guys to like me or
even be friendly with me right away. I'm just… grateful for the chance to start over. So… Thanks,
for whatever that's worth.”

The table was quiet for a while as they focused back on their food instead of the elephant in the
room. Izuku really did hope things relaxed soon. It was… a bright spot, a comfort to know that this
soulflower might be saved.

Izuku took off his jacket. It was a little warm with all of them packed in, so he draped it over his
chair and rolled up his sleeves. His friends couldn’t help but stare a little at the line of vines and
flowers that now wrapped its way up his entire right forearm. If they didn’t know any better, they
would have assumed he’d gotten a tattoo or something.

“Midoriya,” Todoroki nodded his head to Izuku’s arm, “one of your new flowers bloomed. Did
you figure out what happened to cause that?”

“Oh!” Izuku was startled, not expecting the question. The others looked a little sheepish, like
they’d been thinking the same thing but they hadn’t had the guts to ask. Asking after somebody
else’s soulflowers was considered very rude unless you were close, but Izuku didn’t mind so much.
He knew Todoroki probably didn’t know any better, either. “Um, I did figure it out. But I… can’t
really talk about it.”

He felt bad for not being able to say anything to them. Mirio knowing about One for All was
already pushing it, and he figured reading in all of his soulmates on the details would make the
adults have a stroke or something. It was supposed to be a national secret for a reason, after all, that
reason being safety.

“Is everything okay?” Todoroki asked. “I asked my sister about what happened. She said there’d
never been a single case of soulflowers changing after they come in, because even quirks can’t
change flowers. I was worried it was something serious.”

Well, One for All was a strange quirk. Izuku didn’t think dead people were supposed to count
when it came to soulmates, but they’d changed his destiny or something after all. He wondered if
somebody else had gotten the quirk, would they have gotten the changed soulmarks, or were they
exclusive to him?

“Er, not exactly… I mean, it’s not bad for me. I know what caused it and it’s not going to hurt me
or anything. But like I said, I can’t exactly… talk about it. I’ve already had to turn down about a
dozen requests for medical studies,” Izuku muttered, stabbing at his food. He hated that reporters
had swarmed him after the festival, it was super annoying.

“Well, as long as you’re alright, I suppose that’s what matters,” Iida said, and Izuku smiled up at
him. The group continued eating their lunch in peace for a while, before something else happened.

“Uraraka, would you pass the fish sauce?” Shinsou asked, and Uraraka nodded, handing him the
bottle. Their hands brushed for a moment, and once Shinsou was done putting it on his food, he
began to scratch at his wrist. He looked down at it, and blinked, his eyes wide. He looked back up
at her, then back down at his wrist.

“Are you okay, Shinsou-kun?” She asked, tilting her head as she scratched at her own wrist. Izuku
resisted the urge to snort. He knew what was happening.

“Um,” Shinsou held out his wrist. “I think we’re, um. Soulmates.”

“Oh!” Uraraka looked down at her wrist where, sure enough, a flower was blooming. “Well… I
guess we'll work on fixing things together, then. You should see if you’re soulmates with everyone
else, too. We all have five romantic flowers, and so far we’ve all been connected, so we kind of
assumed the others would be too, y’know?”

Poor Shinsou looked a little faint at the idea. “Um, sure.”

Sure enough, he gently brushed hands with Iida and Tsu, and they were also romantic soulmates.
Shinsou’s entire face was red, either from embarrassment or awkwardness at the situation (or
both), and Izuku felt a little bad for him. He knew how overwhelming it was to meet soulmates for
the first time, and his situation could only have made it worse. Todoroki watched them curiously,
quietly, and glanced down at his own marks which were covered.

“May I… also check?” He asked, his voice soft. “Midoriya and I… found out we were soulmates
during the sports festival, actually.”

“Is that why you ate lunch with us that day, kero?” Tsu asked. Todoroki nodded. “Well, I don’t see
why not. It can’t hurt anything.”

Todoroki brushed Tsu’s hand first, then Uraraka, then Iida, and finally Shinsou. He removed his
soulmark cover and watched in fascination as his flowers bloomed before his very eyes. When all
was said and done, and their flowers had all come into their own, Uraraka was the first one to
speak. She looked super excited, throwing her hands into the air.

“This means we found everybody!” She said, more than a little eager at the thought. “We’re all
here!”

“Huh? But Midoriya has one more, it hasn't bloomed,” Shinsou said, gesturing to Izuku’s wrist.

“Oh, that one… also appeared around the same time as the others. I thought… maybe it would
appear on you guys as well… I guess not. Um, I hope it doesn’t bother you that I have one that’s
different…” Izuku trailed off.

“Why would it bother us?” Iida asked, looking confused. “It’s not as if it makes us stop being
soulmates or something. Just because we do not share every soulmate does not change our
relationship.”

“Yeah, what he said!” Uraraka said playfully. “Don’t worry about it, Midoriya-kun! That just
means we’ll have to make sure they’re good enough for you!” The others got a chuckle out of it,
except for Shinsou who looked to be nervously sweating at the side eye she gave him after. Still,
Izuku found himself smiling regardless.

He really did love his soulmates. Maybe things really were looking up.

Izuku wasn’t sure what to put down for his internship. Honestly, he could’ve put down any of them
and he’d be happy - his inner fanboy kind of got excited at the thought of learning from any hero,
no matter who they were. (Well, aside from Endeavor, he thought. He couldn’t stand that guy any
more.)

So, since he was torn on his decision, he decided to ask Toshinori for advice. He usually had good
enough advice when it came to other heroes, being in the industry as long as he had. Izuku gathered
his things and went to see him at the end of the day.

As it turned out, though, Toshinori had already come to see him about the very same thing,
appearing in the doorway as Izuku opened it.

“I am here… for Young Midoriya and Young Shinsou!” He said with a small wave. The kids
giggled - they all got a kick out of Mr. Yagi using All Might’s catchphrases. “Would you two mind
coming with me for a little while? Sir Nighteye and Aizawa want to speak with you both.”

“Oh, sure,” Izuku nodded, throwing his backpack over his shoulder. He turned to his soulmates and
waved to them. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow! I don’t know how long I’ll be, so go ahead without
me, okay?”

“Sure thing, Midoriya-kun!” Uraraka waved back. Aoyama waved as well, turning to walk out with
Uraraka, Iida and Tsu. He was glad Aoyama fit in so well. Todoroki had already left for the day,
but Izuku figured he’d need time to adjust to having so many friends.

“They need me, too?” Shinsou asked, coming up beside Izuku. Toshinori nodded.

“Yes! This is about internships. Would you mind?” He asked, gesturing out to the hall. Both of
them followed him to one of the teacher lounges, where Sir and Aizawa already had tea ready.
Well, coffee in Aizawa’s case. The man never seemed to drink much else. Izuku and Shinsou both
took a seat across from them.

“So, Shinsou,” Aizawa began, “you already know about your internship. You’ll be going with Sir
Nighteye. However, there’s something that’s come up, and we’re going to have Midoriya intern
with him as well - sort of. He’ll be technically interning with another hero, but they’ll be using his
agency as a home base. I need to know you’ll behave yourself and try to get along before I send
you anywhere with him.”

“Yeah,” Shinsou nodded, “we talked at lunch. We agreed to start over. I apologized for what I
did.”

“Good to hear. Then that’s all I needed from you for right now, Shinsou; would you mind waiting
in the hall for a few minutes? We need to discuss something with Midoriya,” Aizawa said, and
Shinsou nodded, though he looked a little curious. “Thank you. We’ll get to your training as soon
as we’re done.”
Once Shinsou was out of the room and the door clicked shut, Toshinori was the first to speak,
gentle and careful. “And what about you, Izuku? Do you also feel comfortable working around
him? Please, feel free to be honest. We can just as easily move you.”

“I think it’ll be okay, dad,” Izuku said softly. “He really did apologize. I want to give him a chance
to work things out.”

“I’m so glad,” Toshinori let out a relieved breath. “In all honesty, I was worried about having you
both with Nighteye, but I knew deep down a familiar setting would be better for you during your
time learning to manage your quirk. They promised me they’d ask you both if you were okay with
this before solidifying anything, though.”

Izuku gave him a soft smile, warm with the thought that he’d been looking out for him. “Thanks,
dad.”

“Now, I know this is sudden,” Nighteye said next, “but we’d like you to intern with somebody
specific, as Aizawa said. The three of us were speaking about the development of One for All -
specifically, how you said the first user told you you’d start outpacing yourself soon. We believe
there is somebody who would be able to uniquely help you.”

“Really?” Izuku brightened upon hearing that. To be honest, it had been worrying him. Having to
deal with more quirk changes when he couldn’t even handle the entire quirk yet was concerning, to
say the least. “Who?”

“My old teacher, Gran Torino,” Toshinori grumbled, almost looking queasy. “Regretfully, I have to
agree that he’d be the most qualified to help with One for All. We haven’t talked in years, but I
know he’d be willing to help. He was my master’s best friend and platonic soulmate, so he already
knows about One for All.”

“Not only that, but we believe he’s suited to help you because you’re already predisposed to a leg-
centered fighting style,” Aizawa explained. “I was told he has a similar style, although focused
around his quirk. You already use One for All to boost your quirkless fighting style - now, you
need to learn how to use it like a quirk. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, it makes a lot of sense, actually…” Izuku murmured, hand to his chin in thought. “I’ve
been thinking of One for All as a boost, a power-up, but I don’t use it at all like All Might does.
Dad uses ‘smashes,’ but I have nothing like that in my arsenal, aside from that flick I did during my
festival match with Todoroki-kun. It would make sense to develop an actual quirk-centered
fighting style now that I’m able to use a basic percentage of the quirk. It would give me a greater
versatility-”

“Problem child, you’re muttering,” Aizawa sighed.

Izuku slapped a hand over his mouth, turning red. “Aw man, twice in one day? I’m slipping up…”

“We’ll have to have Gran Torino help you work on that during your internship,” Nighteye smirked,
and Izuku paled.

“Oh god, please, Sir, I’m sorry! I’ll work on it! Please don’t make me do spars with Mirio-senpai
again!” He pleaded overdramatically. He remembered their early days of training when Sir would
have him do spars with Mirio while also analyzing, and he’d constantly have his butt handed to
him. Nighteye just chuckled.

“Don’t you worry, Izuku, you won’t be sparring with Mirio. You’ll be sparring with Gran Torino
instead,” he remarked. Over in his chair, Toshinori started shaking, his knees practically knocking
together.

Just how scary was this guy?!

Tomura stared down the man at the other end of the bar.

He wore a blood red scarf, strapped to the nines with knives. This must have been Stain, the villain
nobody could shut up about. Beside Tomura, Toga sat warily. And to his right, at a different table,
Dabi and Magne also watched him with curiosity and wariness. They were prepared for anything.

“So, you’re the leader of the League. The one that attacked those U.A students,” Stain said, leaning
against the wall of the bar. He sounded particularly unimpressed. “You asked for me. I came
because I was curious. Nobody pulls a stunt that big without a reason. What’s your goal? Do you
have one?”

“Right now, in the short term, I just want to kill All Might,” Tomura said, watching him quietly
from behind Father’s hand.

Stain’s red eyes narrowed to slits behind his mask, hand on one of his knives. “Figures. You’re
immature. I should’ve known better than to get my hopes up. Let me impart some valuable wisdom
on you, boy. You’ll be nothing without true conviction and desire. It’s necessary for everything.”

“What, my goal isn’t good enough for you?” Tomura scoffed, resting his chin on his hand. Stain
rolled his eyes.

“This society is overgrown with fake heroes to the point that the word ‘hero’ has lost its true
meaning. Fake heroes and criminals who wave their power around idly should all be purged. I had
hoped you might be worth something before I got rid of you… but I suppose right now will be fine.
Die.”

Stain moved so fast Tomura almost couldn’t follow. But before his blade could meet its target,
Toga had met him with her own knife, a manic sort of bloodlust in her eyes.

“You’re cute, Hero Killer,” she murmured, her fangs showing in a dangerous snarl, “but not cute
enough to cut up my soulmates. Back off, or you’ll regret it.”

Dabi and Magne were also now standing, ready to fight in an instant. Dabi’s hand was wreathed in
flame, and Magne had her magnet at the ready. Stain knew when to back off, so he moved to put
his knife away - but Tomura stopped him, removing his glove and grabbing the blade with all five
fingers. It crumbled under his touch.

“I’ll kill you, Stain. You sure talk a lot. Conviction? Desire? I don’t have anything so noble. If I
had to put a statement out there, I’d say… it’s still All Might. I want to destroy what I don’t like.
That includes the society that can worship trash like him.”

“So it seems our goals oppose each other,” Stain sneered, dropping the now bladeless handle. “But
we can agree on one thing - we both want to destroy the present.”

“Stop messing around. Go home. Die for all I care,” Tomura muttered, scratching at his neck. “I’m
the kind of person you hate the most, aren’t I?”

“I was testing your motives. People show their true colors when they’re on the verge of death. It
might be different from mine, but there is ‘desire’ in you, I suppose. A warped sprout of
conviction. How will you bloom? It might not be too late to wait until after I’ve seen that to dispose
of you,” Stain grinned.

“I thought crazy here told you to back off,” Dabi snarled, appearing on Tomura’s other side. “You
ain’t disposing of shit.”

“I don’t want a party member like you. Kurogiri, send him back,” Tomura scoffed.

“Good. Send me back to Hosu. I have business to finish there.”

Kurogiri warped the man away without question, seeing how hostile the others were towards him.
As much as he’d be an asset, Kurogiri knew better than to tempt an all out brawl in his bar by
letting him stay any longer. The second he was gone, Dabi sighed and slumped into the nearest bar
chair.

“Man, that guy fucking sucks in person,” he muttered. “I thought his message was good, but he’s
just nuts.”

“Toga, did you get what I asked for?” Tomura grinned, removing Father from his face. Toga’s face
split into a matching sly grin, nodding eagerly.

“Yeah! I got the tracker on him! He didn’t even notice!” She giggled. “I’m glad I thought of it! I
knew there was a chance we wouldn’t get along, and now we can go after him whenever we
want!”

“You’re also nuts, you know that?” Dabi glared at her. “Like a yandere from some video game or
something. There’s something seriously wrong with you.”

“Yeah, but you love me anyways!” She laughed, throwing her arms around him, much to Dabi’s
frustration. “That’s why we’re soulmates!”

“Get the hell off me! I don’t love you, you psycho!”

“Yes you do! Dabi loves me, guys!”

Shouta watched his students at the train station quietly. They were all talking excitedly to one
another, holding their cases with their costumes as they waited for their trains. Their internship
time had come, and now it was time to send them off.

He felt nervous to send off his class for the first time ever. Damn, he was getting soft.

“Alright, kids. Behave yourself on your internships. Set a good example for U.A and show the
heroes you work for why they were right to choose you,” he said seriously. “This is an important
time for you all. Make connections, make names for yourselves, learn things. I believe in you all.
And you’ve got your costume cases, right? You can’t wear them until you’re with your pros, so be
careful with your cases.”
 “Yes, sensei!” The class all acknowledged him.

“Alright, then. Go ahead, and be safe,” he sent them off. Before everyone departed, however…
“Actually, Hagakure, Yaoyorozu, before you go, can I speak with you?”

“Sensei? Is everything alright?” Yaoyorozu looked suddenly nervous.

“Yes, you’re fine. You’re not in trouble or anything. Nighteye put in costume requisitions for both
of you after the U.S.J. Your suits are now both DNA-infused suits, ones which work with your
quirks. So, Yaoyorozu, your suit should cover you more and your objects can phase through it just
like your skin. You don’t have to worry about it ripping or having costume malfunctions in the
field. He had them design it exactly like your original submission,” Shouta explained.

“Oh!” Yaoyorozu brightened considerably, looking relieved at the news. “Oh my goodness!
Please, tell him thank you so much! That was very kind of him to do so!”

“Of course. And Hagakure, the entire company who designed your costume has been blacklisted
from working with U.A in the future. I don’t know who okayed your ‘costume,’ if you can even
call it that. It’s not your fault, but it was entirely inappropriate, not to mention dangerous. You now
have a suit that will turn invisible with you. You didn’t give a design specification at the beginning
of the year, so Nighteye made something for you. If you don’t like it, please let either Sir or I
know and we’ll have it changed to your liking.”

“R-Really?” Hagakure sounded almost a little emotional. “Sir did that for me? Oh man, you guys
are the best teachers ever!”

Shouta suddenly found himself being hugged by Hagakure, and he gently patted her head. When
she pulled away, he felt his wrist itch and he smiled gently. “Hey, it looks like you got that flower
after all, Hagakure. Want to see it?”

“Please…!” Hagakure bounced up and down as the man rolled up his sleeve, revealing the giant
vine of flowers on his right arm. He noticed the new one, a sprig of baby’s breath flowers.

“It’s this one, right here,” he pointed it out to her. She seemed to stare at it for a few moments
before he heard sniffling, and Shouta internally panicked. He didn’t want to make her cry, what the
hell!

“It’s-It’s so cute!” She said, wiping at her eyes. Internally, he let out a sigh of relief that they were
happy tears. He didn’t want to be known as the teacher that made his kids cry. Hagakure hugged
him again, tighter this time. “I’m r-really happy we share a flower, sensei!”

“Me too, kid,” he ruffled her hair this time, and she finally seemed to collect herself. She gathered
her costume case, pressing it close to herself.

“I’ll see you after the internship, sensei! I’ve gotta catch my train, but, um, thanks for letting me
see it!” Hagakure ran off, waving as she did. Shouta just smiled a little bit, waving back to her.
Beside him, Yaoyorozu giggled a little, and he realized she’d seen him smile, and in fact witnessed
that entire exchange.

“Tell anybody I can be nice and you’re expelled,” he muttered.

She just smiled wider. “I wouldn’t dream of it, sensei!”

Chapter End Notes

Chapter End Notes

Whew, the road to making up starts now!! It’s not an instant thing, but this is a big step
:) I hope you like what’s coming up for internships!!

Also, just as an aside, I may take a week or two off of posting this series soon while I
fill out my backlog. It’s getting slim since I haven’t been able to really focus on
writing this for a bit. I’m more able to focus now, so a week or two and I should have
plenty more chapters in the backlog! I already have the next story arcs plotted out, I
just have to write them :D I’ll let you guys know when I plan to do that, probably after
the internships!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Ready
Chapter Summary

Torino laughed, slapping his hands on his knees. “That’s what I’m here for, you
zygote!”

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Toshinori, Aizawa and Inko all sat in Principal Nedzu’s office. They’d gotten a call from Naomasa
saying the DNA results from the Nomu was back - so they could know for certain whether or not it
truly had multiple quirks, or if Shigaraki had been bluffing.

Not just that, either - Aizawa and Nedzu had quietly conducted checks on all of the U.A staff after
the U.S.J. The results from that were back as well - the nerves were almost too much. Mirai
couldn’t be there due to internships, but Toshinori promised to try and fill him in later. (He really
didn’t want to be anywhere near Gran Torino, but… well, he couldn’t exactly help that.)

“So, what’s the verdict?” Inko asked, clutching her purse with a face of stone. She put on whatever
face she needed to for her son - she reminded Toshinori greatly of his master, Nana. Nana would
have loved her, he thought.

“First off, I will say that the Nomu was… functionally brain dead. It didn’t speak because it
couldn’t - it was likely programmed to take orders and nothing else,” Naomasa murmured, laying
down his files on the desk. He pointed to a picture of a man. “Not only that, but its base appears to
have been this man, here. A small-time criminal, nothing more, but he died in a street fight. His
body went missing some months ago. There is the presence of other DNA from bodies that have
gone missing in the Nomu, too - they were likely the ‘bioengineered’ aspect Shigaraki spoke of.”

The thought sickened everyone in the room. Especially Nedzu, whose fur bristled with the thought
that somebody was conducting illegal experimentation under the heroes’ noses. Naomasa
continued despite the atmosphere.

“And the thing you all wanted to know about… the Nomu’s quirk status. DNA testing confirmed it
- it has multiple quirks. And just like Midoriya suspected, there was no way to properly fuse its
DNA. It had to have been given the quirks from an outside source,” he explained, his face grim.
Toshinori clenched the arm of the chair he sat in hard enough that it splintered under his grip,
unconsciously using One for All.

“Shit,” he muttered, “Sorry. I just…”

“It’s alright, Yagi-san,” Nedzu said softly, his tone holding a dangerous edge. “Nobody can blame
you for that sort of reaction right now.”

“He’s right,” Aizawa nodded. “Even I know better than to chastise people for emotions when it
comes to stuff like this. You don’t have to apologize. You thought he was dead, and now…”

“Yeah,” Toshinori glared at the papers regarding the quirk data. “And now it’s going to put my boy
in danger. Are you sure you wish to stay with him, Inko?”

“Always,” Inko nodded, “I’m never going to stop supporting my son. I did it once, and I’m never
doing it again. If that All for One wants my baby, he’ll have to deal with me first, thank you very
much.”

“Well, hopefully it won’t come to that,” Naomasa murmured. “And what about your checks on the
staff, Aizawa? Is it safe to bring them into the fold?”

“It is. We conducted thorough checks on every member of the staff, including my partners, though
I didn’t want to,” Aizawa muttered. He knew he couldn’t afford to assume the best of people in a
situation like this, though, no matter how much he loved them. “They all came up clean. No
evidence of anything out of the ordinary. So that means the leak likely came from somewhere in
the student body, which is… even more concerning.”

“Indeed,” Nedzu sighed, shaking his head. “I truly hope there is a valid explanation for all of this. I
would hate to see a bright mind of the future put in prison for collaboration with villains of all
things.”

“Same here,” Naomasa nodded. Cases involving kids always got to him. “But it’s good to know we
can talk to the staff about prep for any incoming threats.”

“We’ll have a meeting with them later this week, as a matter of fact. Yagi-san, we can also tell Sir
Nighteye about everything at the meeting so you don’t have to make more trips than necessary,”
Nedzu suggested. Then he turned to Inko, “Would you like to attend that meeting as well,
Midoriya-san? This will involve safety precautions for you and your son, after all. The dorms are
almost completed, and we’ll be unveiling them after internships, but there is always more we could
do.”

“I’ll be there,” Inko nodded. “Thank you for keeping me up to date on everything. I never thought
I’d be here of all places, but if it’s for my boy… I can harden my heart as much as I need. He is
everything to me.”

“He is everything to us as well, Inko,” Toshinori gently patted her hand, a weary smile on his face.
“And we’ll do everything in our power to make sure he’s safe.”

Izuku grinned up at the Nighteye Agency’s familiar building, relaxed in its presence. He didn’t
realize just how much he missed it until he was back around, eager to see Centipeder, Bubble Girl
and the other sidekicks again. It had only been a couple of months since he’d been away, but it felt
like an eternity.

“Sir! Izuku! Hey!” They heard an excited voice, and Izuku looked back down to see Mirio running
towards them at full speed, in costume and everything.

“Mirio-senpai! It’s so good to see you!” Izuku laughed when Mirio scooped him up in a hug. His
senpai was beaming from ear to ear, clearly excited to see them as well. Off to the side, Shinsou
stood next to Sir Nighteye, a little confused as to the interaction.

“I told you we’d do a work-study together!” He gave Izuku a playful noogie, finally setting him
down. “Well, this is just an internship for you, but still! I’m so happy!”
“Me too! And I saw you won your sports festival, too, congrats! Your quirk is so versatile, and
you’ve gotten even faster since the last time we sparred!” Izuku said excitedly.

“Do you know him, Midoriya?” Shinsou asked curiously. Izuku grinned and nodded, spinning on
his heels to face Shinsou. He had to resist the urge to go on a rant about how awesome his senpai
was to him, instead reigning himself in.

“Yeah, this is our senpai, Togata Mirio! He’s a third-year student at U.A. We’re platonic
soulmates, we met last year when I first started my training! He helped me with a bunch of fighting
techniques. He’s on a long term work-study with Sir Nighteye, that’s why he’s here,” Izuku
explained, keeping the details down to a minimum. Shinsou hummed thoughtfully.

“Neat,” he settled on. “Nice to meet you. Shinsou Hitoshi. Please take care of me.”

“These two will be my interns for the week, Togata. I assume you already got your patrol duties
from Bubble Girl? I’m going to show them around the agency,” Nighteye explained. Mirio looked
shocked at the appearance of Shinsou for a moment, but then he eased into a smile. It was the same
kind of smile he’d worn when he first met Bakugou, Izuku recognized. Izuku realized he hadn’t
told Mirio that they were working on things, and he probably was in a ‘protective senpai’ mindset.
Izuku knew he needed to talk to his senpai about it when he had time so there weren’t any
problems.

“Of course, sir! We were about to head out, but I just had to say hi,” Mirio chuckled, amicable
despite the sharpness behind his gaze. “I’ve gotta go, but you two enjoy your first day of
internship, okay? Learn a bunch of stuff! And Sir, can I speak with you privately when I’m back
from patrol this afternoon?”

“Of course, Togata,” Nighteye raised a curious eyebrow, not sure why he wanted to talk, but
agreeing nonetheless. “Good hunting on your patrol today. Be careful as always.”

“Bye, Mirio-senpai!” Izuku waved.

“So, let’s go inside. Midoriya, you’ll be meeting with Gran Torino, the hero you’ll be interning
with. He should be here already,” Sir said, leading them both inside. The inside was the same as he
remembered, pristine as ever. If he didn’t know any better, Izuku would have said Sir was still
around all day to keep it up.

In the lobby, Izuku noticed one person he’d never met before - an old man, wearing a hero costume
with big, yellow boots and a yellow cape. He was kicking his legs back and forth without a care in
the world, staring off into space. Was this… Gran Torino…?

“Um, hello, sir, are you Gran Torino…?” Izuku asked, holding out his hand to shake. The man just
looked up at him with a vacant smile on his face.

“Toshinori?” He asked. Izuku blinked.

“Um, no sir, I’m not Yagi-san…” he muttered, looking back at Sir Nighteye. So this was Gran
Torino, but wasn’t he a little… out of it… to be teaching? But Sir just raised an eyebrow at him as
if to ask what the problem was, and Izuku looked back to see a much sharper expression on the
man’s face.

“So, you’re Toshinori’s brat, huh?” Gran Torino asked suddenly, a thoughtful expression on his
face. “You don’t look like much. Get your costume on, we’re going to spar.”

“H-Huh?!” Izuku asked, taken by surprise. “So suddenly?!”

“Got wax in your ears or something?!” He said, standing up with a huff. “I said we’re going to
spar! Come on!”

“That’s Gran Torino for you…” Sir sighed in the back. “Same as he ever was. Come on, Shinsou,
I’ll show you around the agency.”

“Somehow, I feel both scared for Midoriya and relieved it isn’t me…”

“Trust me, you should be relieved.”

Izuku changed into his costume, taking note that the form changes he had asked for were
implemented. He had reinforced gloves and different supports for his legs, including iron soles.
The design was pretty much the same - he didn’t want to change what his mother got him - but the
support gear on the inside would function differently.

When he was changed, he headed out to the familiar agency training rooms. Torino was already
there, grinning like a madman. Izuku wondered if Toshinori had been right to be afraid… suddenly,
he was regretting not taking a different internship…

“Fire up One for All. I saw you at the sports festival, you know. You use it too minimally. It can be
good as an enhancer, but you need versatility,” Torino said, stretching out his legs. Izuku nodded;
he was of the same opinion.

“Yeah, but I don’t know how to use it ‘flashily’ without hurting myself…” He muttered. Torino
laughed, slapping his hands on his knees.

“That’s what I’m here for, you zygote!” He grinned even wider, if it was possible. Within
moments, the man took off like a shot, ricocheting off the walls like a pinball in a machine. He was
almost too fast for Izuku to see, were it not for months of practice with Mirio and his speedy
techniques.

Izuku rolled out of the way of one of his attacks, raising One for All in his entire body like he’d
been training to do. He was still a little stiff with it going constantly, but he was getting better. He
and Torino went back and forth for a good while, though through experience Torino basically
wiped the floor with him.

“Not bad, kid, you’re using it more thoughtfully than Toshinori did when he was your age! He just
punched first and asked questions later. You’re not copying him, which is good, but think about
taking some inspiration from him, yeah? I might harp on the guy, but he did make One for All a
weapon in its own right. What’s something you can take away from his time with the quirk? Think
about that,” Torino explained, even as he was still standing over Izuku with his foot on the boy’s
chest.

“Urgh…” Izuku grunted, shoving the man's foot off of him. “I thought about it… Air displacement
would be good for me… Like his Texas Smash that pushes all the wind in front of him so he can
hit villains without hurting civilians…”

It was the technique All Might had used when he saved Izuku for the first time, all the way back
during the sludge villain incident. Izuku had never forgotten how it felt. He had used something
like it during the paintball match in the sports festival, but it needed a lot of refining to really be
practical.

“Alright, then stop thinking about it and start practicing!” Torino waved his walking stick around.
“You’ve gotta build up tolerance to One for All, right? That’s why Nighteye has you on that
training of keeping One for All active all day. So what better way to master some technically
flashy moves than practice? Think about how it would apply to you and just do it, kid, that’s all
there is to it!”

Torino was right, of course. Izuku had just been so focused on literally everything else going on in
his life that he hadn’t had the time to buckle down and practice stuff like he had during the ten
months before U.A.

“Yes, sir!” Izuku stood and took a deep breath. He thought about how it would apply to himself,
just like Torino said. Punching wouldn’t be good for him - it would never be as strong as it could
be, since he focused on his legs. His arms worked, of course, he didn’t skip working them out or
anything - his legs would simply always be more powerful, and he knew that. He thought about his
favored roundhouse kicks, the ones Sir had him practice day in and day out before U.A, and he
figured he could do something with that.

“I see it in your eyes, you got something in mind. Show me,” Torino gestured with his walking
stick. Izuku nodded.

He got into a stance, shifting the balance of One for All. It was still all throughout his body, but
with a higher percentage of it in his legs than everywhere else. He was channeling about eight or
nine percent, if he had to guess, about what he could continuously handle. He pushed it a bit more,
to fifteen percent, where he felt his muscles begin to protest. Any more and he might hurt himself,
so he left it there.

“Go ahead and hit me, kid. Only way to know if it works the way you want is to use it against an
opponent. Don’t worry about hurting me or nothing, I can handle it,” Torino waved nonchalantly.
Izuku nodded again.

With a leap and a twist, he performed a smooth roundhouse kick, focusing on the air around him
rather than a specific target. He directed his kick in Torino’s direction, and he felt the air give way
under the crackling force of One for All. It blasted forward with extreme force, toppling Torino and
sending him back a bit. It was nowhere near the force All Might had used to splatter the sludge
villain away from him, but it was a significant start.

A force like that could repel projectiles, force an opponent back, or even stagger them and give
him an opening.

“What do you think, sir?” Izuku asked, helping the man up. Torino just laughed, slapping Izuku on
the back.

“That’s what I’m talking about! Now, we just have to get you up to higher and higher percentages.
Once you can handle more of One for All, you could probably even use your arms to achieve the
same results. Think about it this way - does All Might use his ‘smashes’ in every fight?” Torino
asked, handing him some water from the sidelines. Izuku shook his head and then downed a few
gulps.

“No, sir, he does those against stronger opponents or to end fights quickly, when the situation calls
for it,” Izuku said. Torino nodded sagely.

“Exactly. Your base use of One for All is like how he fights without his smashes. Good, but it can
be better. Think of the ‘smashes’ and the air displacement as super moves - you can use those for
versatility when you’re able to,” Torino explained. Izuku pepped up, finally starting to understand.

“Oh, I get it! That makes a lot of sense! It is a strength enhancement quirk, first and foremost, but
different opponents might need different levels of strength, so I should come up with moves to
apply to those different levels! Like Todoroki-kun’s ice, I really could use some better moves for
that than just breaking my finger at him,” Izuku chuckled.

“There you go. I was gonna let you figure it out while we sparred, but Nighteye told me to go easy
on you and not be so cryptic,” Torino huffed and rolled his eyes. “Guy’s gone soft. Sucks the fun
out of everything.”

Izuku snorted. Sir wasn’t soft - he just believed that when one was teaching, there was no point in
letting the student suffer and try to figure things out themselves. The teacher could just as easily
explain it and have them progress faster. He’d done the same thing with Mirio and his quirk - he
told Mirio what he needed to do, and they simply practiced until he got it right. Izuku was glad
he’d asked Torino to do the same; he really didn’t enjoy the thought of stressing over trying to
manage One for All even more.

“So, are we going to keep training with that move, Gran Torino, sir?” Izuku asked, looking eager to
practice. Torino nodded.

“Yep. I’m going to take you out on patrol eventually, probably tomorrow night or the night after,
but I want to be sure you know what you’re doing first. And by the way, have you considered
using One for All to boost your mobility? You’re pretty slow for somebody with a strength
enhancement quirk, you know!” Torino commented, tapping the back of Izuku’s legs with his
stick.

“I hadn’t, actually!” Izuku put his hand to his forehead in disbelief. “I mean, Sir trained me to use it
in parkour, but I have no idea why I didn’t think to use it for speed!”

“Well, let’s practice that, too! C’mon, boy, we’ve got a lot to work on.”

Mirio sat in Sir Nighteye’s office with a scowl on his normally smiling face.

When the man finally came in, smoothing out the front of his suit, he seemed surprised to see such
an expression on the boy’s face. “Is everything alright, Mirio? You haven’t looked like this in a
while. You normally don’t formally ask for meetings, either.”

“I have concerns. Why is Shinsou here?” He asked, not beating around the bush. “I knew Izuku
was going to be here because you told me ahead of time, but not Shinsou. They shouldn’t be
around each other right now.”

“Ah, I see what your expression is about now,” Nighteye said, his own expression understanding
and sympathetic. “Izuku is interning with Gran Torino, who has no real agency. I’ve invited him to
work with Izuku here for the time being. Both Aizawa and myself considered the situation
carefully.”

“This is the result of your careful consideration?” Mirio blinked, clearly not understanding
Nighteye’s thought process.
“We didn’t want there to be lingering hostility between Shinsou and Izuku. Unfortunately, as a
teacher, I must remain impartial. U.A does not allow soulflowers to sway how we teach our
students,” Nighteye explained with a tired sigh. “Whether I like it or not, they will be in the same
class and eventually the same work field together, after all. I had petitioned for him to switch with
another 1-B student, but Vlad King refused as his class had already meshed, and Nedzu also agreed
as this was a soulflower problem and not a case of bullying like it was with Bakugou. Thus,
Aizawa and I have to work around the problem we’re presented with. Interning around each other
but not necessarily with each other would help Shinsou see Izuku in a different light.”

“But… sure, that’s class, but this is an internship you have control over! How could you think it’s a
good idea to force them together even outside of class? You felt how hurt Izuku was! We all did!
Are you seriously going to just overlook that?!” Mirio yelled.

“Absolutely not,” Nighteye’s expression turned dark. “Believe me, I wanted nothing more than to
explain in detail why he was wrong. Feeling Izuku’s pain was… trying in a way I haven’t felt in
many years. But it is not my place to step in on another person’s relationships without being asked.
Izuku wasn’t the only one hurt in the entire exchange; Shinsou is a young man with his own
feelings and problems. And as adults and both Shinsou and Izuku’s teachers, Aizawa and I had to
take the hard road in a tough situation.”

“So you’re going to better Shinsou at the expense of Izuku?” Mirio asked, almost in disbelief. He’d
never once thought he’d be in this situation. But as Izuku’s senpai and platonic soulmate, he felt a
duty to watch out for him, no matter what. “How does that help Izuku?”

“We asked both of them about this beforehand, Mirio. We didn’t do this without considering him.
If there was any hint that Izuku was uncomfortable with the idea, or any hint that Shinsou would
have been hostile, we had backup plans instead. This was simply the first and best option in a list
of many. Not only that, but the two of them have started working things out on their own accord,”
Nighteye explained. “Even before we asked them to intern here. I promise you, Mirio, every
consideration was given to the situation.”

“Okay… Okay,” the blond breathed in and out, deeply. He collected his thoughts for a moment,
and then spoke again. “Sorry for yelling. I don’t know how you were able to stay so calm… I don’t
think I could have made that tough of a call. I… I’m worried about Izuku. Really, really worried.
First there’s All for One, and now all of this mess…”

“Tough decisions will happen every day in a hero’s career,” Nighteye said gently. “It is how we
deal with them that makes or breaks us. The yelling is forgiven. Honestly, I don’t blame you for
thinking of Izuku first. Toshinori did, too. Right now, we should simply be there for him,
supporting him. And one day… you will also be able to make such a call even if it tests you to your
core.”

Mirio wondered if he’d really ever have to make a call that would test him so deeply. He certainly
didn’t envy Nighteye’s position of having to teach and mentor somebody who’d hurt his soulmate.
He supposed, though, that that was why Nighteye was such a good hero and teacher - he knew how
to balance the good in the bad in every path he walked.

With a deep breath, he accepted Nighteye’s words. If Shinsou and Izuku were working things out,
he’d trust Izuku to make his own decisions but be there for him regardless of how he felt about the
situation.

Mirio would just have to live up to his mentor’s example.

Hitoshi was exhausted - no, beyond exhausted, he was pretty sure he could just fall over right now
and not complain.

Aizawa and Sir Nighteye had not been kidding when they said training would be hellish. He felt
like one big bag of soreness, and he was ready to shower, eat, and then collapse in bed until
morning. That being said…

He was sure as hell glad he wasn’t Midoriya right now.

As tired as he was, Midoriya looked way worse off - he was bruised all to hell and back, dirty and
exhausted from whatever grueling training that old man had put him through that day. Still, Izuku
beamed a smile when he saw Hitoshi, and Hitoshi’s traitorous heart decided to beat harder in his
chest.

Hitoshi was really glad things were working out, even if he tried to play it cool. He looked down at
his wrist, admiring how the flower looked a little healthier already. It reassured him that he hadn’t
screwed things up permanently, that he could still be soulmates with Midoriya. And, as he had
learned, soulmates with most of the rest of his friend group as well. All of their flowers stood out
on his wrist, and he tried not to turn red thinking about it.

He really never thought he’d have soulmates who didn’t care about his quirk. He thought he’d
have to work at it, make his soulmates accept him through hard work and time. But no… they
accepted him easily, just the way he was.

It was almost kind of surreal, honestly.

And being in the hero course, getting an internship on top of everything? He was so grateful and
ready for the future it hurt. He could hardly believe that he was here, in a hero agency, in any other
capacity than as a visitor.

He and Midoriya both showered, changed, and headed to the agency bunks for the night. They
climbed into bed, and Midoriya was on his phone, texting the group chat with everyone in it.
Hitoshi had been added, but he’d been too nervous to actually message anybody in it. He looked at
the chat through his own phone, and realized it was Midoriya telling everyone how his day had
gone and telling them goodnight.

(Midoriya also sent a bunch of heart emojis, and everyone responded back with them, to which
Hitoshi’s heart definitely didn’t beat harder. Damn organ, rebelling against him.)

“Hey, Midoriya?” Hitoshi finally spoke, rolling around in his bed to look at Midoriya, in a bed
across the room. The boy put down his phone and did the same, rolling over to look at Hitoshi
curiously. “Um, I just wanted to say I’m sorry again. For, y’know, the sports festival and all that.”

“You don’t have to apologize again, Shinsou-kun, really,” Midoriya said softly, watching him from
across the room with an unreadable expression. Hitoshi shook his head.

“I know I don’t have to, it’s just… I wanted to. Before U.A, I, uh… I used to get bullied a lot too.
For having a ‘villainous’ quirk. It was always people with really strong quirks, suited for heroics
and all that, that picked on me. It was all I ever heard, how I’d be a villain one day. Even my
fost… well,” Hitoshi cleared his throat, realizing he’d been about to say something he didn’t mean
to talk about.
 “Anyway, I realized I’d basically just done what they did, put a stereotype on you like they put one
on me. I seriously feel really bad about it. So I just wanted to give a proper apology, you know, not
a rushed one like I did in the hallway. So… I’m sorry. For stereotyping you and assuming you had
it all nice and cushy. You never really know what somebody goes through until you meet them. It
won’t excuse anything, but I hope it explains things a little better.”

He felt like he’d never spoken so much in his entire life, but Midoriya’s expression shifted as he
talked. It was something very soft, shared just between the two of them, and Hitoshi had to look
away because his face felt warm.

“Thank you, Shinsou-kun,” Midoriya sounded like he was smiling over there, but Hitoshi still
couldn’t bring himself to look. “That means a lot to me. It hurt, thinking you didn’t want to be
soulmates with me at first, but… I’m glad we got to start over. And for whatever it’s worth, I don’t
think you have a villainous quirk. It’s really suited to heroics, especially underground heroics! You
could really do a lot of good with it. I’m lucky to have a soulmate like you.”

Hitoshi was pretty sure the noise that came out of him was somewhere between a dying cat and
somebody being choked.

“Th-Thanks,” he finally managed to get out, “that… that means a lot to me, too. Nobody’s ever…
Um, although, I’m pretty sure I should be the one saying that to you… especially after what I said.
I’m lucky to have you too, Midoriya. You’re pretty cool.”

That was kind of a massive understatement, but it was all Hitoshi could think to say at the moment.
Still, when he finally brought himself to look at Midoriya again, he’d never forget the smile the
boy gave him. He looked down at their flower for just a moment, and it seemed to be nearly back
to normal, bright and healthy.

Yeah, he was lucky to have Midoriya.

Chapter End Notes

We’re officially getting into Hosu now! Are y’all ready? I know I am :D

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I don’t have a lot to say this week so I’ll leave it
at that :P Have a wonderful day!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Hosu City (Part One)
Chapter Summary

“Alright, kid, now we’re gonna move to a practical application of what you’ve been
practicing. We’re gonna go on patrol tonight, over in Shibuya.”

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Tomura watched the little dot on the screen move around. He hummed to himself, drumming his
fingers on the bar as he watched it go back and forth along the screen, the numbers marking
coordinates changing.

“So? You wanna do something, boss?” Magne asked, looking over his shoulder at the device in his
hand. “Toga’s tracker idea was good, but we haven’t done anything with it. We should get him
while he’s still in Hosu if we’re going to.”

“I’m thinking about what we should do, exactly. I decided just killing him wouldn’t be any fun,”
Tomura explained. “I think we should take some of the public eye off of him, ruin his fun instead.
If we attack when he attacks, all eyes will be on us instead. We’ll start making an even bigger
name for our League of Villains.”

“Hey, that doesn’t sound half-bad,” Dabi grinned from where he was sitting, nursing a drink.
“When are we going? Tonight?”

“No… we’ll go when he does. Until then, we should be ready. Sensei,” Tomura turned to the TV
in the corner, much to the others’ displeasure. “Can you lend me some Nomu? Are there any
ready?”

“We’ve confirmed the behavior of six of them, yes,” the TV came to life of its own accord. “They
should be ready to send out.”

“You should give them to me, Sensei. I want to crush that guy, make our name bigger,” Tomura
said, grinning wolfishly. Behind the screen, his Sensei hummed thoughtfully.

“No,” he said finally, “You can have three. We’ll see if you gain a learning experience from this or
not. Do with them what you will, Tomura.”

The TV clicked off, and Dabi scoffed to himself. Toga, who was sitting with him, nodded in
agreement, though Tomura had no idea what she was agreeing with. They acted like this every
time he spoke to Sensei. What was wrong with Sensei?! He just didn’t get it! But none of them
would talk to him about why they didn’t like Sensei, frustrating Tomura to no end. He’d find out
eventually, he thought, mark his words.

“So,” Tomura turned back to them, putting the thoughts of Sensei and their discomfort out of his
mind. Instead, he asked, “What do you think? Do you all want to ruin Stain’s day with me?”

That got their attention, each of them grinning. Toga was the first one to speak.
“You just name the time and place, Shiggy!”

Shouto breathed deeply and listened to the advice he’d been given.

During his time so far with Wash, he’d done a lot of things: he’d gone on patrol, he’d helped
apprehend a purse-snatcher, he’d assisted in the takedown of a bank robbery, and he’d learned how
to do paperwork properly. His father went on patrol, certainly, but he often left smaller crimes to
his sidekicks, while bigger scenes like said bank robbery would have been a chance for him to hog
a spotlight. And paperwork? He only did it when it was mandatory. Otherwise, it was again left to
his sidekicks and secretary.

Wash, on the other hand, had been remarkably patient and friendly, and Shouto learned from him
easily. Now, he’d brought up his concerns about his fire - and Wash was more than happy to help
him learn how to manage it. The two of them were in the agency training area, which Wash
assured him was fireproof - and even if something caught fire, he could put it out. Wash directed
him in the necessary movements.

“Breathe deeply,” the man said, directing Shouto’s hands. “Feel the energy. You know what it
feels like best, since it’s your quirk. But focus on it, feel it like it’s a part of you and tell it where
you want it to go, just like a muscle!”

Shouto concentrated, welling up the fire he’d suppressed for so long. It flickered to life down his
arm, and he struggled with it for a moment. Wash stepped in front of him. “Breathe. You’re in
control of it, it’s not in control of you. Treat it like your ice - you know how to use that, so project
that confidence and tell the fire where you want it to go!”

Shouto let out the breath he’d sucked in, and the fire calmed down. Wash was right. Even his ice
grew giant when he was upset - he just had to focus. He focused on getting the fire over to the
target Wash had built for him. Treating it like his ice, he sent out a wave of it, and it arced out into
a lash of flame. It hit the target and dispersed, and Shouto felt a small smile come to his face. He’d
done it!

“See? It’s easy when you keep your cool and trust your own instincts! A lot of emitter quirks tend
to work on feeling like that. Good job, kid! Let’s try some more exercises, yeah? I’ll show you
have to control bigger amounts when you’re ready, sound good?” Wash asked, sounding pleased.
Shouto nodded.

“Yes, Wash-san. Thank you very much,” he bowed. He was grateful Izuku convinced him to go
with Wash for his internship. He was learning a lot, and without the pressure and frustration that
came with his overbearing father.

Now, he just needed to practice.

“How are you liking your internship, Ingenium?”

Manual’s voice brought Tenya out of his focus on the scene in front of him. He had just finished
helping a lost child to the nearest police station to call their parents. He looked up at the hero to see
him smiling, and Tenya smiled back. “I’m enjoying it quite well, sir. I’m learning a lot about the
city where my brother works. It’s very informative.”

“Good to hear! Honestly, I was worried that you only took my offer because of the Hero Killer… I
mean, I’m certain you had better offers… but after you explained what your reasons were for being
here, I was really glad. I’m happy to help you get used to the city. Your brother and I worked
together often,” Manual said, patting him on the shoulder.

“Well, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t still furious with the Hero Killer. I had no idea what to do
with my emotions for a while. But I was reminded that I do not bear these emotions alone, and I
realized I need to do something more productive than seeking vengeance, even if… I do want it,”
Tenya admitted softly, his head low out of shame.

“Hey, we’ve all been there. There’s always a case or two in a hero’s career that tests every single
moral bone in your body. It’s how you manage those feelings that is the mark of a true hero. Lucky
for you, I’m here to keep you on the straight and narrow!” Manual grinned.

“Right! I am lucky to learn from such an experienced hero!” Tenya smiled. He still felt somewhat
nervous, working in the same city as the Hero Killer. He was certain the man was still here. But
he’d control himself, and he’d honor his brother’s name.

He just hoped things would stay as calm as they had been thus far.

Izuku stretched. He’d taken a break after his daily workout and yet another day of spars with Gran
Torino, and now he was ready to get back to it. It was his third day of internships, and he was more
than ready to tackle what the man had in store.

So far, Gran Torino was… well, a lot at times, but he was also a little silly at other times and Izuku
found himself enjoying his internship anyway.

“Alright, kid, now we’re gonna move to a practical application of what you’ve been practicing.
We’re gonna go on patrol tonight, over in Shibuya,” he said, handing Izuku his costume case. “So,
get dressed and we’ll get ready to go. Hey, Nighteye!”

Sir looked up from what he was doing with Shinsou - he was drilling him on analysis and hero
tactics, and poor Shinsou looked like his head was about to start spinning. He was clearly frazzled
from all the stuff he was learning. That was Sir for you - the man never went easy, even on Izuku,
who enjoyed analysis.

“What is it, Torino?” He asked, adjusting his glasses. “Are you going out? Just be sure to register
your patrol on the in/out log.”

“I was gonna ask if the purple kid there wanted to join us. I know he doesn’t have a costume or
anything, but he can stay to the side if we end up dealing with anything serious. It’ll be good to get
at least some practical experience, or he’ll fall behind even more,” Torino suggested. Izuku’s
eyebrows rose - he hadn’t expected him to suggest bringing Shinsou along.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. He’s just barely begun learning combat basics, and he’s put on only
a minimal amount of muscle, if any. Plus, as you said, he doesn’t have a costume or any support
items. It would be as dangerous as asking a civilian to tag along,” Nighteye frowned, looking at
Torino more seriously this time.

“I get that, which is why I said he’d stay on the side. We aren’t gonna go chasing fights - we’re
going on patrol. Anything that comes up on a normal patrol should be easy enough for this brat and
I to handle,” Torino playfully punched Izuku’s arm. “He’s been getting on well in training. And
I’m seriously telling you, giving Purple there some insight into what he’s going to face will help
him understand how hard he needs to work. I’m treating him like a kid in the hero course. You
chose to move him up early, you chose to let him participate in internships, so let him learn.”

“I’ll stay out of the way,” Shinsou blurted suddenly, “I’ll leave everything to them, I won’t put
myself in danger, I promise. Please, can I go with them, Sir? I want to see as much as I can during
my internship.”

“… Fine,” Sir sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, “but I’m going with you, then. I don’t feel
comfortable just leaving Shinsou to you two, no offense. And you’d better keep that promise,
Shinsou. No stupid stunts until you’re ready. This is strictly an observation only patrol for you,
nothing more.”

“Of course, sir!” Shinsou brightened up considerably.

“Then go get changed into your gym uniform, I know you brought it with you. If we get involved
in something, people will at least know you’re a U.A student. And take some of our body armor,
would you? It’s thin and meant to be worn under clothes. We may or may not have some that
properly fits you, but it’ll be better than sending you out in plainclothes,” Nighteye pinched the
bridge of his nose as if he was already regretting his decision.

“Right, I can do that. Um, where would I get those…?” Shinsou asked, trailing off when he
realized he had no idea where to go. Izuku spared Sir Nighteye a further headache and decided to
answer for him.

“You can ask Bubble Girl for them, she usually keeps the spares in the employee lockers,” Izuku
said, a sheepish smile in Sir’s direction.

“How do you know that, Midoriya?” Shinsou blinked, surprised. Izuku forgot that Shinsou didn’t
know he knew Sir before U.A, since he was used to talking about it around Uraraka and Iida.

“Oh, um, he’s one of my parental soulmates,” Izuku said, scratching the back of his head. “But
don’t go around telling people, okay? I don’t want our classmates thinking he favors me or
something. He doesn’t treat me any differently than the others, honestly.”

“Alright, I’ll keep it between us. I’ll go get that stuff, be right back,” Shinsou said, taking off to go
and find Bubble Girl for his clothes.

Izuku had a feeling patrol would be interesting, that was for sure.

Tomura stepped out of Kurogiri’s portal silently, surveying the rooftops around him. He spotted
the one Stain was on a block away or so, the man’s scarf billowing in the wind. He seemed to be
watching something and Tomura followed his line of sight.
He was watching some small-time local hero and what looked to be Ingenium following him
around. Hadn’t he already gone after Ingenium? But, when Tomura thought about it, he
remembered the news mentioning it had been the older Ingenium, not the newer one. Maybe he’d
hit the wrong one and was going after the right one this time?

Whatever the case was, it was the League’s time to shine. They’d take all the spotlight off of his
attack and put it on them, making people fear them.

Toga, Dabi and Magne stepped out of Kurogiri’s portal behind him, followed by the Nomu. They
surveyed the city around them as well, taking in good spots to hit. Dabi was the first to speak. “So,
we’re sending the Nomu out to run wild, right? We’re not joining them?”

“Not unless you want to, but this place is ripe with heroes,” Tomura glared at the streets below.
“You’re just as likely to get in a fight, and with the Nomu running all over the place, it’s probably
not a good idea. They don’t know the difference between friend and foe without me there.”

“Right,” Magne grimaced, “Definitely not a good idea. Can we cause our own chaos wherever the
Nomu aren’t, then?”

“If you want,” Tomura grinned, his eyes glinting behind Father’s hand. “I certainly won’t stop you
from destroying things you don’t like. Just be careful, we haven’t gotten Giran’s new equipment
yet.”

“Hell yeah, that’s what I’m talking about,” Dabi grinned back, his eyes reflecting blue flames
when he fired them up. “Don’t have to tell me twice. I hear Endeavor’s patrolling around here
because of the Hero Killer. I’m gonna go annoy the shit out of him.”

“Hey, lemme come with you!” Toga grinned. “Maybe I can get some of his blood!”

“I’ll just stay with you, boss,” Magne said, taking a seat on the rooftop’s edge. “I’ll watch the
chaos unfold, as it were. And I’ll keep an eye on those two from up here so you can watch the
Nomu.”

“That sounds fine to me. Alright, Nomu… go. Run wild. Cause as much chaos as you want, make
sure the people know who to fear.”

Izuku sat on the train next to Shinsou, across from Gran Torino and Sir Nighteye. The ride was
quiet, with Izuku watching out of the window. The line was running over Hosu City, where Iida
was supposed to be doing his internships.

“I wonder how he’s doing…” Izuku murmured. He checked his phone to see that Iida had read his
message about going through Hosu, and had replied with ‘I hope you are learning a lot on your
internship!’ It made him feel better to know he was still up to talking, but the fact of the matter was
that Iida being anywhere near Hosu right now would still worry him.

“I’m sure he’s alright,” Shinsou reassured him, nudging him with his elbow. “That class rep seems
pretty tough. I mean, he beat that explosion guy in the sports festival, didn’t he? I thought that
explosion guy would be a shoo-in.”

“Yeah, I guess so… I just can’t help but worry, you know?” Izuku asked, gently rubbing his
soulflowers. Shinsou nodded, and their conversation died down. The ride was quiet for a while
longer before one of the other passengers gasped and pointed out of their window in shock.

“Oh my god! Look, that building just exploded!”

Instantly other passengers were clamoring to look, pressing their faces against the windows. Izuku
turned to face Nighteye and Torino. “Is something going on?”

Before either one could answer, the train attendant told them to brace themselves as they came to a
sudden stop. The train brakes screeched loudly in their ears, and Izuku put an arm in front of
Shinsou to keep him from flying out of his seat. All of a sudden, something crashed through the
side of the train, punching in the metal.

What looked like a local hero fell to the floor of the train before getting back up, and then promptly
got grabbed by a hand from the outside. What looked like a different, four-armed version of the
Nomu from the USJ shrieked, and Gran Torino was the first to leap into action, putting his boot
squarely in its face.

“You kids stay on the train!” He yelled, flying out of the train car to tackle the Nomu into the
streets below. Sir Nighteye was the next to stand, directing the terrified passengers.

“Everyone, please get to the car in front of us!” Sir yelled over the chaos, and the passengers
looked to him with terrified hope in their eyes. A hero was there to help them, to save them. Izuku
recognized the look well from his many days observing hero fights. He turned to Izuku and
Shinsou next. “You two, help direct the people calmly and safely!

“Yes, Sir!” Izuku said, helping a child by lifting them over the rubble caused by the Nomu.
Luckily, they were in the last car, so it was an easy enough task to help all the people out of the
damaged car. When they were done, Sir checked his phone.

“Gran Torino’s requesting backup. You two, stay here until you hear from one of us!” He ordered,
climbing out of the hole in the side of the train. Izuku watched him climb down onto the roof of the
building below, then down the fire escape and out of sight. What a way to start their first patrol.
Well, technically they hadn’t even started…

“What the hell was that thing?” Shinsou asked, looking a little pale. Izuku grimaced.

“That was a Nomu, the thing that attacked us back at the U.S.J. Well, this one seems smaller and
not as strong, but still…” Izuku muttered.

“This one’s smaller?!” Shinsou yelled. “What the hell!”

“I know, but we have to stay calm. Look,” Izuku nodded to the door, where the passengers were
watching them through the glass. “They know we’re with the heroes. They expect us to do the
right thing.”

“Right,” Shinsou took a deep breath. “Stay calm. Okay. Just stay calm.”

Then, of all things, both of them felt a spike from Iida’s bond. It was anger, fear and dread in equal
measure, and nearly choking them with how strong it was. Izuku put a hand to his chest and grit his
teeth. He could only think of one thing that would cause such a strong reaction in the midst of all
this chaos, and it seemed as if Shinsou put it together too.

“The Hero Killer,” he gasped out. Izuku nodded. “Fuck.”

“We have to help,” Izuku said, desperation clear in his face and voice. “I know Sir said to stay
here, but the Hero Killer attacks in back alleys, away from people! There’s probably nobody there
to help them! I can’t - I can’t let him hurt Iida-kun.”

“Shit,” Shinsou ran a panicked hand through his hair. “Oh, god. Alright, if you’re getting in
trouble, so am I. He’s my soulmate too, right? I’m going with you. I’ll stay out of the way, but just
let me come with you.”

Izuku nodded, opening up the train car door. “We’re hero interns! We’re going to assist the heroes,
please wait here and don’t panic!” Then, he shut the door and crouched down in front of the hole
the Nomu had punched into the side of the train. He held his hands out behind him, offering a
piggy-back ride. “Get on. I’m going to go as fast as I can to find him, so hold on tight.”

Shinsou swore under his breath, climbing onto Izuku’s back. Izuku picked him up, One for All
powering up under his skin. With a breath, he jumped from the train.

Tenya was in so much pain right now, and not just the physical kind.

He had been on a late patrol with Manual, about to head back to the office for the day. When the
fires and the attacks broke out, they took the quickest route to the scene - which meant through
back alleys and out of the way places.

Before they could reach their destination, they’d been attacked.

Tenya was on the ground before he realized it, and so was Manual. Neither of them could move,
stuck where they lay. The man who’d attacked them had cut them with swords, licking the blood
that was on it. It felt like a jolt had gone down his spine, locking him in place. And when Tenya
fully saw who it was, he shook with anger.

It was the Hero Killer, Stain.

“Out on patrol so soon after your own father is hospitalized, Ingenium? Don’t you have a heart for
your loved ones?” The man sneered, yanking his helmet off. When he saw who was underneath it,
however, his expression was furious. “Who the hell are you? Some child playing at being a hero?”

“I am the son of the man you put in the hospital, and Ingenium’s younger brother,” Tenya said
through gritted teeth. “The man you made stop his hero work. I am carrying on their name in their
place… I am Ingenium! And if you are here in front of me, I am honor-bound to stop you!”

“And how are you gonna do that, little hero?” Stain laughed, jamming his sword into Tenya’s
shoulder. He cried out in pain, feeling hot blood begin to seep through his costume. “Besides,
shouldn’t you be more worried about your friend over there?”

Tenya looked to see Manual, slumped over against the wall. He looked to have a wound in his
stomach, and it didn’t look good. He needed medical attention, quickly. Stain yanked his sword
back out, and the dull, jagged blade hurt even more.

“I will stop you…!” Tenya said, tears beading in his eyes. “I swore not to shoulder these emotions
alone, but right now, right in front of me…! I must stop you… for my father and brother…!”
“Hmph, another little hero seeking vengeance. Fine, then. I’ll kill you, too. Even children can face
my blade if they can’t learn their lesson,” Stain said, preparing to stab his sword down into Tenya’s
back. Before he could, however, a light and a voice cut him off.

“Full Cowling… Air Force!”

A gust of wind so powerful it flung Stain’s sword from his hands blasted through the alley they
were in, followed by a green blur kneeing Stain in the face. Tenya heard a sickening crack, and the
man stumbled backwards, grabbing at his cheek. Had that hit fractured his cheekbone? And when
the blur came into focus, Tenya saw none other than Midoriya standing there.

“What are you doing here?!” He asked, and Midoriya got into a fighting pose.

“Our train was attacked and we felt you spike,” he said softly, just to him. And then louder, with
more conviction, “I’m here to help you, of course! Let’s get out to a bigger street so we can call the
pros. Can you move?”

“I can’t move… And he got Manual, too… I think it’s his quirk, don’t let him cut you,” Tenya
grunted, trying his hardest to overcome the sudden paralysis that had befallen him. Midoriya
nodded firmly, taking that into account. With his hand behind his back, Tenya watched him pull
out his phone and begin to type something.

“Your little friend comes to save the day, what a great line,” Stain growled out. While he was
talking, Midoriya sent out whatever it was. “But I have to kill him. Out of the way.”

“Midoriya, run! Please! I won’t let anybody else get hurt by him…!” Tenya pleaded. What he
meant was clear. I won’t let any more people I love get hurt. Midoriya could hear that clear as day,
and yet…

“If I just ran, I wouldn’t be a hero!” Midoriya raised his fists though he was visibly trembling,
likely afraid. “All Might once said… the essence of being a hero is meddling where you aren’t
wanted!”

Somehow, this seemed to please Stain, and the man grinned wolfishly. He picked up his sword and
drew his knife, readying himself. In an instant, Midoriya had disappeared in a blur of green
lightning, charging Stain. At the last minute, however, Midoriya leapt into the air and smoothly
over the villain’s head, landing in a sort of handstand. In the same swift movement, Midoriya stuck
his legs out and spun like a top. The quirk-powered force of his kick launched Stain back several
feet, and Midoriya righted himself.

The villain had landed in a pile of garbage bags, swaying as he got up. Apparently, two hits to the
head from Midoriya’s level of strength wasn’t good for one’s brain. But he grinned again anyway,
lifting his knife to his mouth.

Tenya paled, and not because of his blood loss.

Midoriya had been grazed just enough to draw blood, and in an instant, he went down. He was
completely unable to move, taken in by the villain’s quirk. Stain grinned, putting his knife back in
its sheath.

“That wasn’t bad, hero. You closed the distance and hit me with the intent to take me down. But
you don’t have practical experience, and it shows. Still… you’re worth sparing. I’d like to see how
you grow. But him… he has to die,” Stain said, lifting his sword and once again approaching
Tenya.
Midoriya’s expression grew frenzied from where he lay, clearly trying to fight and struggle as hard
as he could against the quirk.

When Izuku watched as the Hero Killer loomed over Iida, he thrashed as hard as he could, but to no
avail. The villain’s quirk was keeping him solidly in place.

Izuku wanted to cry, he wanted to scream.

He wanted to stop Stain from killing Iida, no matter what he had to do.

“Stop…!” He got out, staring up at the villain with wide eyes. The man held his sword up, poised
to strike. “Stop it… stop… DON’T TOUCH HIM!”

With Izuku’s scream, something burst forth.

He was reminded of the first user’s words. You’re going to outpace yourself soon.

Inky black tendrils exploded from his arm, blasting his costume sleeve to shreds. Without any
input of his own, they rushed forth and grabbed the stunned villain, lashing out and ensnaring him.
The tendrils flailed wildly, in the process smashing Stain into the brick wall of the building next to
him. The man went unconscious, dropping limp like a ragdoll. The tendrils let go and he dropped
to the ground, but they still wouldn’t stop.

With Stain unconscious, it seemed as if Iida could move again. He gasped and was on his feet in a
flash, holding his injured shoulder in disbelief as he watched the tendrils fly wildly around him.
Izuku grunted, his arm feeling like it was on fire.

“Iida-kun… r-run… I can’t… I can’t stop it…!” He cried, his own body now free from the
paralysis it was under. The tendrils were controlling him more than anything, his body swaying
and flinging around violently with their movements.

“Wh-What the hell is that?!” Iida whirled around to see Shinsou standing at the mouth of the alley.
How long had he been there?!

“Iida-kun… take Shinsou-kun and r-run…! I can’t… it hurts…!” Izuku sobbed, clutching at his
arm desperately to make it stop. “It… it’s overflowing…!”

With a massive blast that could likely be seen for miles away, the tendrils exploded with power.
Izuku could only cry out in pain as they shredded his arm to hell and back, tossing him into the
same wall that they had Stain. Iida, however, did not run away. Instead, he ran towards Izuku,
holding tight onto him so the tendrils couldn’t fling him around.

“You saved me!” Iida grunted, digging his heels into the ground and holding firm despite the pain
in his shoulder. “Now let me do the same for you! Shinsou-kun, you must brainwash him! Get him
to stop this! Please!”

Shinsou’s eyes went wide as the tendrils grew too strong for Iida to hold on any more, starting to
lift them both up into the air. With a deep breath, he yelled the first thing that came to mind.
“Midoriya! I still think I’m the lucky one to have you as a soulmate… so come back down here
and convince me otherwise, would you?!”
 “O… Okay…!” Izuku sobbed, tears streaming down his face from the pain of trying to get his
power under control. And then, all of a sudden… the tendrils went taut before whipping back into
Izuku’s arm as he went limp in Iida’s hold. The both of them fell to the ground, Iida gently cradling
him.

But for Izuku, he was no longer seeing anything like the real world.

Instead, he was in that same strange, misty expanse he’d dreamed of just a few nights prior. He was
still covered in mist, his mouth covered and only his hands and wrists exposed. He looked around
wildly, wondering what was going on. Suddenly, a voice called out to him from across the expanse.
From a mass of red mist, somebody appeared.

“You… you’ve got it wrong!” A man yelled. It was that bald man Izuku had seen among the past
users, though he was much more clear now. He approached Izuku, getting in close with a fierce
expression. “We told you you’re not alone! Didn’t you listen to First?! You’re gonna outpace
yourself, kid!”

Izuku startled, though he couldn’t speak due to the mist over his mouth.

“This power isn’t something you can use without thinking any more! Work harder, do your best! If
you do those things, pretty much anything can work itself out!” He stared at Izuku, waiting for a
response for a moment before he realized Izuku couldn’t speak. “What, missing your mouth or
something?! Don’t worry about it!”

Izuku stared up at the man, who was wearing a bandolier over his bare chest, with a leather jacket
and gold goggles. He reminded Izuku of both Aizawa and All Might, somehow. The man looked
over his hand and sighed.

“It looks like my time’s running out, so listen up: the power you just used is my quirk!”

Chapter End Notes

Oooh part one of Hosu is now done! There’s only two parts, so don’t worry, it won’t
take forever :P What do you think about this development? I know some of you sort of
predicted this in the comments but I hope it was a fun reveal anyway :D

Next week, we’ll see the end of Hosu and its aftermath! Hope y’all are prepared >:)

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Hosu City (Part Two)
Chapter Summary

“I’m so glad you’re okay. You had me scared out of my wits. When that thing grabbed
you, I thought…”

“I was scared too,” Izuku admitted.

Chapter Notes

It’s my birthday today! To celebrate, have an extra update! Tomorrow’s update will
still come out like normal as well :)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Mirai flung another of his signature heavy stamps at the Nomu, knocking it back.

He and Torino had fought the thing for a while now, trying to wrestle it into submission. It wasn’t
working so well, since the thing was fast and powerful in equal measure. It was almost close to the
U.S.J one in terms of strength, though not quite.

At the same time, both Torino and he received a text message. Torino glanced at his phone, which
was laying on the ground with a cracked screen. His eyes went wide, and he swore loudly.
“Nighteye! Midoriya just sent us his location!”

“What?!” Mirai yelled. “Damn it! That boy is just like Toshinori! Go after him, you’re faster! I’ll
be fine handling this alone, Torino!”

“No problem! Just leave Midoriya to me - Endeavor’s around here, he should be here to assist you
any minute now!”

Two streets away, Endeavor yelled angrily as the Nomu he’d been facing got away. It got away
thanks to a burst of blue flame out of nowhere at an inopportune moment, making him miss his
throw. Instead, the fiery projectile he threw went through the thing’s eye instead of its brain, and it
continued flying away.

“Damn it!” He yelled, whirling around to see who had blocked his throw. But whoever it had been
was nowhere to be seen, only a girl’s giggling disappearing into the distance letting him know he
hadn’t been alone on the empty street.

Whatever, he couldn’t focus on that now, he had to get to the center of the crime. He made his way
to where there was one Nomu already down, a thin one that had been pummeled into the ground by
something. There were a load of heroes at the scene fighting the one that was left, including Sir
Nighteye of all people.

The battle didn’t last long, despite the thing’s strength.

A blast of fire so hot it carbonized its cells was enough to down the thing, sending it slumped to the
ground, sans its head. Endeavor let out a breath, taking stock of the situation around him. There
was fire and chaos, and now that the immediate threat was over, the heroes were focused on putting
out the fires. Manual would have been great right now, but he was nowhere to be found.

In the distance, when the heroes had just gotten used to the calm, another explosion went off.

This time, however, instead of fire, there was a writhing mass of tendrils, firing every which way.
Endeavor’s eyes went wide. Was it that Nomu which had gotten away, he wondered? He was going
to find out.

“I’m going to the scene of the explosion!” He called out. Sir Nighteye pushed up his glasses and
was at his side in an instance.

“I’m going with you,” he said, and Endeavor scowled. The man was All Might’s former sidekick,
he wanted nothing to do with him, but he was a hero and this was an active incident. He couldn’t
exactly tell him not to do his job, especially when a few of the others that could be spared joined
them too. “Damn it, Midoriya, you’d better be alright over there.”

Midoriya? Endeavor recognized that name. Wasn’t that the sports festival kid who’d beaten his
Shouto?

In the misty darkness, Izuku was still faced with that past user of One for All.

“It looks like my time’s running out, so listen up: the power you just used is my quirk!” He said,
explaining seriously. Izuku’s eyes went wide - that wasn’t just some strange manifestation of One
for All? It was his quirk? “Our quirk factors mixed in with the core of One for All - the core that’s
been a part since the very beginning, the power to pass on another quirk. Does that make sense?”

Izuku nodded. It did - the power to pass on a quirk absorbing the quirk of its user made sense,
because what was the point of passing down a quirk if there was no quirk to pass down? The past
user continued on.

“Think of the core like a tiny spot in the middle of a wildfire or a whirlpool. Right now, that core is
starting to move, to become larger inside of you. That you can see us - the glimpses you saw
between fluctuations - that’s a sign that One for All is growing.”

Why? He wanted to ask, what’s going to happen?

But his voice didn’t work, and Banjo didn’t understand him.

“You…” The man trailed off, looking surprisingly gentle, “Earlier, you thought, ‘I want to stop
him,’ right? You were desperate to stop that villain from hurting your friend. The quirk that works
best for that is my Blackwhip. I’m Banjo Daigoro, previously Pro Hero Lariat. You’re lucky my
quirk was the first one.”
Blackwhip extended easily from the man’s hand, as if it were child’s play. It bent to his will, not
the other way around.

“This is a good quirk. But you have to remember!” He said, pointing to Izuku seriously, “This
quirk now has the additional power that comes with One for All! It’s much stronger than when I
had it originally.”

Banjo flinched, looking down at his own form.

“Ah man, I’m going to disappear… Feels like I’m about to drift away or something if you’re
awake for these meetings. All that’s left of me is my spirit,” the man murmured, looking somehow
sad. “Listen… if you use your power in anger, the power will react in kind. What’s important is
controlling your heart, understand?”

Banjo gently extended his hand to poke Izuku in the chest, smiling wearily.

“It’s fine to get mad, anger is the source of power. But that’s why you have to control it very
carefully. After going through eight people, One for All has become insanely strong. Listen well,
kid,” he said, smiling as he moved his hand to pick up Izuku’s right hand instead. He held it out for
Izuku to see, watching as a spiky, pink flower bloomed just a few buds down from the first user’s
flower.

“You’ll have six quirks manifest in you - mine was just the first. Control your heart, and master
using all of us! Do your best, kid! We’re all with you!”

Izuku’s heart felt full, even as the mist began overtaking his vision. He couldn’t see him any more,
though he tried to reach out for the hand that had been holding his just a moment ago. He wasn’t
ready to let go. Banjo-san…!

“You’re the one that will complete One for All!”

Izuku woke up to a slap across the face.

He blinked, and it stung a little, but coming into his surroundings was more important. The last he
remembered, he had lost control of himself. Instead, as he processed his surroundings, he realized
Blackwhip - the quirk the man described - was gone now, and the street was empty save for Iida
and Shinsou who surrounded him.

Against the wall, Manual and Stain were both still unconscious.

“Thank god you’re okay!” Iida said, holding Izuku’s face in his hands. “I could feel how scared
you were when that thing came out…!”

“I… I don’t know what happened,” Izuku panted, taking stock of his arm. Blackwhip had seriously
injured it, but he could still move it and it wasn’t broken, thankfully. He did know what happened,
but he couldn’t talk about it with Iida or Shinsou, unfortunately. “My quirk, something just
happened and it went out of control. I think it reacted to my emotions… because I saw Stain about
to hurt you…”

“Oh, Midoriya,” Iida hugged him, paying no mind to the screaming pain in his shoulder where
he’d been stabbed. “I’m okay. You’re okay. We’re both okay.”

“I hate to break it to you guys, but the villain is still right there,” Shinsou said, looking at him
nervously. “Shouldn’t we tie him up or something? What if he wakes up?”
“Right,” Izuku swallowed his nerves down and nodded, when suddenly, a yellow boot came flying
out of nowhere and kicked him in the face. Not hard enough to really hurt him, but it scared the
crap out of him nonetheless.

“You stupid kid! What did Nighteye and I tell you?! Stay on the damn train!” It was Gran Torino,
and boy was he pissed. “What the hell was all that?!”

“I don’t know, it was my quirk. I lost control of it when Stain paralyzed me with his quirk, and my
emotions kind of just took over…” Izuku said, trying to come up with a decent explanation in front
of others. Gran Torino seemed to understand, at least, that it wasn’t something he could talk about
- so he left it alone. “I just couldn’t leave Iida, we felt his emotions, and we just knew it had to be
the Hero Killer, and there was nobody there to help him… please, don’t be mad, Gran Torino.”

“Mad?! I’m furious!” Torino yelled, taking stock of the situation. “But after that explosion, other
heroes are probably on their way, so I need you to listen carefully: shut up and let me do the
talking, understand? Any injuries the Hero Killer has, I did them. You didn’t do anything except
assist, and then you happened to get caught in the crossfire.”

“But you didn’t-” Shinsou was cut off by Torino’s angry glare.

“You could all get in trouble for vigilantism, you understand?! So shut up and let it go, or your
hero careers are over right now!” He hissed. Izuku and Shinsou promptly nodded and didn’t
question him further.

“Manual and I were attacked. We didn’t go after him, he can attest to that when we get him to a
hospital. Also, Midoriya hit him twice in the head and then threw the Hero Killer into a wall,” Iida
explained, hefting Manual up over his uninjured shoulder. “If that helps you explain things at all,
sir.”

“Good, that makes things easier,” Torino grumbled. Izuku and Shinsou found rope in the trash
nearby and strung up the Hero Killer, taking away all of his weapons. As if on cue, other heroes
came sprinting to the alley. Sir Nighteye and Endeavor were the ones leading them, and Izuku
resisted the urge to say something unsavory to the fiery hero again.

“Gran Torino! What happened?!” Nighteye was the first one to ask, looking between him and the
kids. Torino sighed, delving into his explanation.

“I sent the interns to help the civilians, but they got lost. That was when Midoriya sent his location,
and I showed up to find the Hero Killer attacking this kid and Manual. I fought him - got in a few
good blows to his head. It’s been a while since I fought, so I don’t have the best control… I went a
little too hard,” he grumbled.

“But what about that explosion? Those black things that were thrashing everywhere?” Endeavor
narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“The interns tried to assist, but Stain got Midoriya. The Hero Killer’s quirk paralyzed him, and
Midoriya lost control of his quirk. That was his quirk going everywhere,” Torino explained.
Nighteye’s eyes went wide, and Izuku silently tried to express that he’d explain later. Thankfully,
he seemed to get the message.

“He doesn’t have a quirk like that, though. I saw him at the sports festival. What’s really going on
here?” Endeavor asked, marching forward. Izuku was so grateful Sir had changed his quirk
registration before he sent it in, because he could actually come up with an explanation for what
happened with it.
“I do have a quirk like that, I’ve just never used it that way!” Izuku blurted out. Everyone stopped
to look at him, surprised by his sudden outburst. “My quirk is called Energy Enhancement, it lets
me convert energy around me into strength! I think what happened is that when he paralyzed me, I
couldn’t hold in all the energy I was converting and it just exploded out in that form. I should have
been more careful to hold in my quirk, and I’m sorry for any damage I caused with it.”

Izuku bowed deeply in apology. A local hero behind Endeavor sighed and scratched their head.
“Well, you can’t exactly blame the kid for losing control when he was going up against the Hero
Killer. He’s just a student, you know? How was he supposed to know his quirk would react like
that? It doesn’t look like there was too much damage anyway.”

Izuku made a mental note to send that hero a thank you card later. The other heroes took stock of
the area around them and agreed.

“Yeah,” one of them nodded, chuckling, “This is less than what you did, anyway, Endeavor.
They’re gonna have to repave that whole stretch of road you melted chasing that thing with the
wings.”

“Well,” Sir Nighteye interjected, “All’s well that ends well. I’m glad Gran Torino was there in
time. We should get Manual to a hospital and the Hero Killer to the police. I’m glad we got such a
vicious villain off the streets.”

“No kidding!” The hero who’d defended Izuku whistled as if impressed. “If I hadn’t seen him in
action, I never would have thought that old guy could take on the hero killer! You’re pretty strong,
old timer!”

The group of them finally made their way out of the alley, and Izuku could practically feel Sir
Nighteye’s judgemental stare on the back of his head.

It wasn’t the most pleasant experience, but… he’d take whatever punishment he got since he’d
been able to save Iida. Speaking of, somebody had taken Manual from him and called an
ambulance, and now Iida was by his side, gently leaning into it. Shinsou took up his other side,
though he was a little embarrassed to be so close.

While they were waiting to be taken to the hospital, Izuku checked his phone to see a bunch of
worried texts from their other soulmates. He explained that they were okay, and they’d gotten
involved in a villain incident but things had ended up alright in the end. They were relieved to hear
it, all sending messages of support.

Just as the ambulance arrived to check them all over, there was a sudden screech from the air, and
Izuku cried out in pain. He was flying again, this time not of his own accord.

The people below watched in shock and horror as the winged Nomu dug its claws into Izuku’s ribs
and lifted him into the air, about to fly away with him. It seemed injured though, blood leaking
from its eye. It was the one that had gotten away from Endeavor, the heroes realized. Izuku
thrashed around, but couldn’t reach to get a good hit in.

Suddenly, without warning, somebody leaped into the air after him.

It wasn’t one of the heroes. It wasn’t even Iida or Shinsou. Instead, it was the Hero Killer, having
woken up from unconsciousness. He licked some of the Nomu’s blood from one of the heroes it
had splattered on, and the winged thing began to nosedive towards the ground. In one swift move,
Stain cut through his bindings with a hidden knife and leapt after it, jamming the blade into the
Nomu’s brain and bracing Izuku to hit the ground.

When the dust settled and Stain could get back up, he looked uneasy on his feet, disoriented
almost. It was likely being hit so hard in the head so many times that was the cause of it. He
growled out, his mask slipping from his face and exposing the deformities underneath - his nose
was missing, scarring all around it.

The man’s expression was practically feral.

“This society is overgrown with fake heroes… and the villains who wave around their power
idly… should all be purged! This one kid was more truly heroic than all of you fakes!” He yelled,
pulling Izuku up by the hood of his costume. The bloodlust rolling off of the man was practically
palpable, and for once, no hero took action. Instead, they were all frozen in place. “This is all… to
create a more just world!”

Izuku instinctively flinched when the man’s gaze turned to him for just a moment. He clutched
where his ribs were bleeding thanks to the Nomu’s claws, praying the man didn’t decide to turn on
him again. He didn’t think he could bring out Blackwhip again so easily.

“Somebody must be dyed in blood! Come! Try and get me, you fakes!” Stain roared angrily. “The
only one I’ll let kill me is the true hero… All Might!”

The bloodthirsty aura grew tenfold, practically choking in its intensity, before all of a sudden… it
stopped. Stain swayed on his feet, and then dropped like a sack of flour to the ground. It seemed as
if his head injuries caught up with him again.

In an instant, the heroes ran over to finally and properly get Stain under control, and to help Izuku
to the ambulances that were now ready to be on their way. Iida needed care for his wounds too,
choosing to ride in the same ambulance as Izuku instead of with Manual. Shinsou rode in the back
with them, insisting they were soulmates and he wasn’t going to let them go by themselves. Izuku
was just grateful nobody had died.

Two major villain incidents, and they hadn’t even gotten out of their first semester. Izuku was so
tired already. And with the Nomu, he had to assume Stain and the League were working together -
providing a distraction so Stain could attack, perhaps?

Either way, Izuku was ready for nothing more than a long nap.

Tomura scratched at his neck. Dabi and Toga had come back to watch the chaos with him and
Magne, pleased with annoying the number two hero for now. They watched and watched, and
eventually spotted the Hero Killer amongst all the madness that was unfolding.

Something had happened, though - all of a sudden, that hero brat he didn’t like appeared in a flash,
stopping Stain from killing one of his fellow students, the kid in armor from the U.S.J. He groused
under his breath - why did that brat always have to ruin his fun?

And then, of all things, some kind of power practically exploded from him, somehow not damaging
the immediate area in its wild thrashing. It was massive, and the things that erupted could likely be
seen from anywhere in Hosu. What the hell was that? The brat flattened Stain with whatever that
power was, and then had to be stopped by two other kids.

Ugh, it made Tomura’s blood boil. Suddenly, all the attention was off of his Nomu and now on
Stain all over again. Especially when Stain ended up saving that hero brat’s life, and all the heroes
just watched.

It made him want to scratch.

With a sneer, he disappeared inside a portal Kurogiri had made for them. The other League
members followed behind, disappointed with the turnout. They had hoped the Nomu would do
more, but they supposed it couldn’t be helped.

They’d make their name some other way.

Izuku woke up in the hospital with a yawn.

Overall, his injuries hadn’t been as bad as they initially assumed. The claw wounds were shallow,
thankfully, not piercing anything vital even if it hurt like hell. And Blackwhip had done a number
on his arm, but it was mostly superficial wounds. He was still required to stay for overnight watch,
just in case there were any side effects from his quirk going haywire.

Iida had gotten some nerve damage from the stab wound in his shoulder, but it was a wound he
could still function with. He’d have tingling and numbness, sometimes pain - but he was
determined not to let it get him down. He was still going to be Ingenium.

They’d recounted their story to the Hosu city police chief, who took it in stride. Gran Torino took
both the credit for Stain’s arrest and the warning for excessive force. If he did it again, he’d have
his license revoked. Izuku felt awful - he had been the one to use excessive force, not Torino. But
the old man just waved him off, saying he didn’t care about his license. He was retired, he said,
and the only reason he came out of retirement was to help train Izuku.

When Izuku was released from the hospital the day after, however, all bets were off. Sir Nighteye
took him back to the agency, up to his office, shut the door, and proceeded to rip him a new one for
his recklessness. Izuku figured he had that one coming.

“What were you thinking?!” He yelled, his hands splayed out angrily on his desk. “You knew you
were going through quirk troubles right now, and you still decided not only to go after Iida instead
of sending one of us, but you brought Shinsou along with you?!”

Shinsou had actually asked to go, but Izuku figured now wasn’t the time to argue.

“I’m sorry, Sir. I don’t have an excuse for my actions,” he said softly, hanging his head in shame.
“I should have listened to you and stayed on the train.”

“You should have!” Sir nodded curtly, adjusting his tie and glasses. He took a deep breath and
finally seemed to calm down. “Listen, Izuku. I care for you deeply, and it both scares and reassures
me that you’re like Toshinori in that you have to go and save everyone. But right now, you’re not
ready. You have to listen to orders when you get them. In the world of heroics, when you’re
working under somebody, it’s not only punishable to disobey orders, it’s dangerous. Somebody
could have died out there, Izuku. You’re lucky things ended as well as they did, understand?”

“Yes, Sir,” Izuku nodded, picking at the hem of his shirt awkwardly. He knew this was coming,
and he didn’t regret saving Iida, but it didn’t make the verbal dressing-down any less embarrassing.
He didn’t like disappointing Sir… he wanted to make him proud, not mad.

“Now, with that being said,” Sir sighed, his shoulders finally relaxing from their tense position. He
rounded his desk and hugged Izuku as tight as he could without aggravating his injuries. “I’m so
glad you’re okay. You had me scared out of my wits. When that thing grabbed you, I thought…”

“I was scared too,” Izuku admitted, comforted by the hug. Hugs from Sir were few and far
between, so he just let himself linger there for a moment. “When Blackwhip erupted like that, I had
no idea… I thought I was going to hurt Iida and Shinsou. I would never have forgiven myself.”

“Blackwhip? You named whatever that was already?” Sir looked surprised, and Izuku realized he
hadn’t told Sir about what had happened yet. In the craziness after Hosu, he’d completely forgotten
that he hadn’t been able to talk about his vision at all. It would mean another meeting, which Izuku
hoped didn’t inconvenience anybody. It wasn’t like he was doing all this on purpose. Izuku
separated from the hug finally, trying to figure out the best way to explain what happened.

“Er, no, not exactly… I didn’t name it that, no,” Izuku admitted. “I think I should talk to dad and
Aizawa-sensei about this too, though. It’s another… weird quirk development,” Izuku sighed. That
was an understatement if he ever heard one. Sir took it in stride however, merely nodding.

“Alright, I’ll set up a meeting with everyone as soon as possible. I believe Toshinori had news for
us as well, so perhaps we can get two birds with one stone,” he hummed, pulling out his phone to
message the others.

“You’re not… annoyed by all of this? I feel like I’m inconveniencing everyone, having so many
things happen so soon. I’m sure it’s a nightmare to coordinate,” Izuku muttered, staring down at
the floor. Sir gave him a gentle look, and then put a reassuring hand on his head.

“Izuku, it was your choice to take on the quirk you thought One for All was. All of this? The
burden that came with it? That was never supposed to be yours. We adults ended up putting it on
you, so it’s only right that we do our best to fix it. It’s not an inconvenience in the slightest,” Sir
reassured him.

Izuku gave him a wobbly smile and nodded in return. He was grateful to have such caring people in
his life. With them supporting him, maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“Now, don’t think this means you aren’t in trouble for that stunt you pulled, young man,” Sir gave
him a flat look all of a sudden. “You’re on house arrest now, understand? You’re limited to training
at the agency for the rest of your internship. You don’t get patrols, which will put you behind your
peers.”

“I understand, Sir,” Izuku bowed, accepting his punishment in stride. It was the least he could do
for causing him and Gran Torino so much trouble.

All for One had lived for many, many years. Hundreds, as a matter of fact.
And in those years, he had learned a few things. One, quirks were not simply biological factors.
Quirks were biological, yes, but they were also an intrinsic part of a person, down to one’s very
‘soul,’ if he were to put a name to it. Soulmates and quirks - they were both part of one’s soul, and
they both stemmed from the same place. Neither one could be separated from a person entirely.

Which led to the second thing he had learned. Because quirks and souls could never truly be
separated, quirks always retained some of their original users when he took them, the level varying
depending on the person’s willpower. He could feel their souls burning inside constantly when he
used their quirks; the owners who he’d taken them from unwillingly were always quietly rebelling.

In the end, it was a matter of willpower. His will always won, and so it never mattered much in the
long run. He hadn’t paid much mind to their pointless struggles.

That was until today.

All for One had been watching (or his equivalent to watching, he supposed) the Hosu news when
things changed. Brief footage of a quirk he hadn’t seen in many years appeared on his screen. It
was described as an intern’s quirk that had gotten out of control, and though they hadn’t said the
name of who it belonged to, he knew exactly which one it belonged to.

According to Tomura, it had been the green-haired boy, Midoriya Izuku, whom he had a particular
distaste for after the U.S.J.

That was no intern’s quirk. That was Lariat’s Blackwhip, the quirk that belonged to one of the
previous holders of One for All. He remembered it vividly, because he had actually been
considering taking it before One for All had been passed to the annoying man.

All for One was somewhat pleased because All Might’s successor had just given himself away.
However, because of the intrinsic rules of souls he understood, this presented him with a very
serious problem. All Might probably didn’t even know what he did, picking the successor he did.

Midoriya, from all accounts, had a massive number of soulflowers rivaling Eraserhead’s, who held
the Japanese record for most soulmates. (There was a reason he’d stopped going after the man’s
quirk - he damn well knew better.)

This presented said problem, because as he knew, quirks and souls and soulflowers were all
connected. Those with soulflowers had more to lose. They were not afraid to do what they had to
do to protect those flowers, and their soulmates protected them in return. They made very difficult
and annoying enemies to try and go after. He had told Tomura as much.

And that star-spangled idiot had gone and given the only quirk capable of defying him to
somebody like Midoriya.

Now, he had an idea of where those extra soulmarks Midoriya had gained during the sports festival
had come from. Because if quirks held part of the person’s soul, their soul, the past users lived in
One for All, too. He’d suspected as much, but having it confirmed on live television was
something else.

And Midoriya Izuku was now connected to the past users of One for All, the essence of One for
All itself, through his own soul.

All Might had essentially made getting the quirk physically impossible without some way to
disconnect soulflowers from one’s soul, which he knew wasn’t possible. No quirk in the world was
capable of altering soulflowers. (Giving new ones, however, was apparently not off the table if said
 soulflowers belonged to the souls of the dead trapped inside their quirk.)

Thanks to All Might, One for All was now incapable of being removed from a user that wouldn’t
hesitate to put him down without a second thought if he so much as breathed wrong in his
soulmates’ directions - and vice versa, too; his soulmates would go after him if he tried to hurt
Midoriya. And All for One had already breathed wrong in their directions. The U.S.J and Hosu had
been proof enough, not to mention his fight with All Might years ago.

For the first time, All for One had a thought he’d never had before.

He had a serious hitch in his plans.

Chapter End Notes

Protea: also called sugarbushes. Spiky, pink flowers that mean daring,
resourcefulness, and transformation.

And Hosu draws to a close! Big changes from canon start happening from here on out
and a lot of things are either moved around or changed entirely. The real plot of where
flowers bloom thickens :D

And we see Banjo’s flower, plus some interesting revelations on soulflowers

themselves from All for One… hmm… so many things are happening haha, I
seriously can’t wait to get to some of the stuff I have planned after this!!!

—————

Izuku’s Bloomed Soulflowers

(Sorry for not putting this list on the last few chapters, I totally forgot, my bad!)

Romantic [5/6]: Uraraka (Lily of the Valley), Iida (Black-Eyed Susan), Tsu
(Speedwell), Todoroki (Lavender), Hitoshi (Blue Tulip)

Platonic & Familial [8/16]: Bakugou (Hollyhock - Withered), Togata (Goldenrod),

Aoyama (Diphylleia), All Might (Vervain), Sir Nighteye (Bluebell), Aizawa (Cherry
Blossom), Yoichi/First (Snowdrop), Banjo/Fifth (Protea)
 Musing
Chapter Summary

What had gone on at U.A while they were on internships, he wondered?

Chapter Notes

Now for our regular weekly update as well! In case you haven’t read it already, I did
an extra update yesterday for my birthday, so make sure to go back and read that if
you haven’t!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Tomura grumbled to himself, pacing back and forth in the bar.

That damn villain had gotten all the attention - him and that student, the hero brat he hated so
much, weird new soulflower or not. He wanted to scratch. He wanted to - to decay something! He
wanted to go after that hero brat, dammit!

“Sensei, I want to destroy that brat. Give me the other Nomu once we’ve come up with a solid plan
to deal with him,” Tomura turned suddenly towards the TV. It was silent for a few moments before
the TV crackled to life and changed to that blank video feed.

“I told you before, Tomura. No. Even more so now - you aren’t ready. When I understand him
better, perhaps you may, but from what I have just learned, you cannot. My answer will not
change,” Sensei said, and then the line went dead. Tomura resisted the urge to decay something out
of spite. He was the leader of the League of Villains, dammit, and leaders didn’t lose their
composure.

Around him, the other League members looked incredibly annoyed themselves. Toga was the first
one to speak.

“Hey, Shiggy, come with us, okay? We’re gonna go out for a little bit. We can discuss plans over
food or something. Nobody knows what we look like besides those U.A kids, so if we just keep our
heads down it should be fine,” she insisted, practically tugging him along.

He didn’t have the energy to argue. He was too frustrated with Sensei right now to worry about
much else. Dabi and Magne were also up on their feet, following the two of them out the door to
the bar.

“We’re also gonna go meet with Giran. Kurogiri, you’re fine staying here, yeah?” Dabi muttered,
sparing the misty man a glance over his shoulder. Kurogiri merely nodded, continuing to clean the
glasses at the bar like he always did.

They led Tomura a few streets over, to a smaller bar but one that served food. The group of them
slid in quietly, taking a place in a corner booth where Giran was already waiting for them. Tomura
was still stewing over Sensei’s statements. He’d never openly told him no like this before this brat
came along. He’d offer alternatives, or suggest a plan, or even let him fail on his own accord if he
thought Tomura’s plan was a bad idea.

But to so aggressively tell him no like this - did he really think so little of him? Wasn’t he a villain?
He was the only person to successfully break into U.A. He’d gotten the better of Eraserhead, one of
the most notorious underground heroes. He’d run rampant in Hosu, even if people didn’t pay
attention to them.

He was the leader of the League of Villains! So why did Sensei think he was incapable of acting
like it? Everything is for your sake, Sensei had once said, you can destroy anything you don’t like,
Tomura - anything that gets in your way.

“Finally got him to leave the bar for one of our meetings, huh?” Giran asked. Tomura looked up at
that. Had the others been meeting with Giran without him?

“What are you talking about?” He asked, trying not to scratch in front of Toga.

“We’ve been talking with Giran and Toga,” Magne started, her voice soft, “about that ‘Sensei’ of
yours. I have to be honest, Shigaraki, he sounds more like an overbearing parent than somebody
backing a villain group, and that’s just from the limited amount I’ve seen. Toga says he’s been like
this since before the U.S.J and Giran says even before that.”

“Yeah, he sounds like my fucking old man,” Dabi rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t show his anger as
much as my old man does, but to put it bluntly, you can still tell he doesn’t give two shits about
you. He sounds like he might be using you to get something he wants.”

“But Sensei said everything is for my sake,” Tomura growled, and he just couldn’t help himself.
He scratched at his neck with the blunt part of his nails, trying to process what they were saying. If
they weren’t his soulmates, he would have decayed them for speaking so badly about Sensei. “He
took me in. He did everything for me.”

“Which sounds a lot like he wants you to be what he wants you to be, Shiggy,” Toga frowned,
putting a hand over his. “My parents tried to do that with me. They thought my blood drinking was
gross, they made me stop, forced me to be ‘normal.’ Look where that got me! Now that I’ve been
drinking regularly for a while with you guys, I’m finally clear headed, and I can tell, Shiggy!”

“Yeah, no offense kid,” Giran put out the stub of the cigarette he’d been smoking, “but your Sensei
creeps me the hell out. I’ve known him for years, but the only reason I kept doing business with
him is because I was worried about you. You might not notice it, but he’s super shifty when you’re
not around. He talks about you like you’re an object.”

“What the hell?” Tomura’s scratching got worse, but Toga pulled his hands away before he drew
blood, just like she always did. “He said… everything is for my sake… Sensei wouldn’t lie…
Sensei’s smart, he’s the villain that nearly killed All Might. He wouldn’t…”

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that’s exactly it. He’s a villain, just like us,” Dabi crossed
his arms over his chest, “he doesn’t have the goody-two-shoes morals like heroes do. And if he’s
really as old as you say he is, I doubt he’s lived this long without some kind of plan. I’m sure he
could just as soon do whatever the hell he wants with all the power he probably has, but instead he
sits in the back and just lets you be his face? That doesn’t make sense at all.”

“Think about it like one of your games, boss,” Magne gestured to his secondhand hoodie with a
picture of a controller on it, “villains who don’t show themselves always come out after the one
you thought was the real boss gets defeated. It feels like he’s waiting for you to get defeated so he
can show himself.”

“We just want you to be a real leader, Shiggy,” Toga reassured him, “we’re soulmates, after all.
Even if we’re villains with you, we’re not heartless. If we weren’t soulmates, I probably wouldn’t
have said anything, but…”

“She’s right. I may act like an asshole, but I’m not gonna watch you get manipulated into shit.
Trust me, I know how much it sucks when everything finally comes crashing down around you,”
Dabi muttered, a dark look crossing his features.

Tomura sat in silence for several minutes, stewing over everything they said.

Sensei… was strong. He was extremely strong, he could probably beat All Might right now if he
wanted to, even in his weakened state. There were quirks out there that could fix his eyes, too - he
could easily go and get them. Plus, Sensei had Doctor Garaki to make him as many Nomu as he
wanted.

So why, with all that power, would a villain as old and powerful as Sensei… take in a defenseless,
weak child like him? What would Sensei possibly gain from it? Tomura knew there was no way he
would ever do something out of the goodness of his heart or some other stupid reason like that. He
would only do it if there was something for him to get out of the whole deal. He got the Nomu and
medical assistance out of Garaki, and a warper and go-between out of Kurogiri, but him…

What could Tomura give him that warranted taking him in?

His soulmates were right. He had been so blind to Sensei’s greatness, the fact that he had been
taken in, that he never bothered to ask why.

“You’re right,” he finally growled, “Sensei had no reason to do everything for my sake. He… he
has to have some motive for it. He has a motive for everything, he always does. What could he
possibly want with me…?”

It felt like his whole world had shifted on its head. His soulmates, on the other hand, looked
relieved - they looked like they understood.

“I don’t know, boss, but we’ll figure it out. We follow you, not him,” Magne said. “So you just
focus on what the next step of our plan is.”

“We’ll out-manipulate him,” Tomura said, his eyes glinting in the dim light of the bar. “Let him
think he still has me in his hands. If Sensei wants to use me… he’ll have to get through me first.
We’ll be the villains to fear, not him. We’ll destroy this society that worships All Might, I’ll
destroy it all, and you can make it into whatever you want when I’m done with it. The League of
Villains is going to make its mark… and its first mark will be making Sensei regret thinking he
could use me.”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Dabi grinned wolfishly, “let’s do it. If we can kill the guy
that almost killed All Might, well, people will definitely fear us then.”

“I’ve been looking into things in the hopes you’d break off from him one day,” Giran said, pushing
forward a file folder full of papers. “Places you could stay, lie low. And there’s more people
interested in joining the League. If we want to plan our moves away from your Sensei, we can do it
in one of these places.”

“Yeah,” Tomura grinned much like Dabi, “let’s do it.”

To say Izuku was nervous would be a massive understatement.

On the last day of internships, he, his mother, Gran Torino and Sir Nighteye had all been asked to
attend the meeting with the pro hero staff of U.A. According to Toshinori, Principal Nedzu had
completed background checks and was ready to bring the staff into the fold. They would not only
be revealing his identity as All Might, but the secret of One for All and everything that came with
it.

It was… a lot. He’d asked Toshinori if he was really okay with so many people knowing about
One for All, about their secrets, but he said it was necessary. He said he’d do whatever it took to
keep Izuku safe, and Izuku felt comforted by that thought. They left Shinsou to train with
Centipeder for the duration of the meeting, and the three made their way to U.A. So, yes, Izuku
was nervous.

When they finally got there, the school was quieter than it usually was. The students were all off
for the weekend, so it was only the staff - and they were already in the meeting room, waiting for
them to join the group. In the distance, Izuku could also see what looked like new buildings - at
least, he’d never seen them before.

What had gone on at U.A while they were on internships, he wondered?

The meeting room was adjacent to Nedzu’s office, soundproofed and without security cameras or
any electronics allowed. They had to give up their phones and other non-important objects before
entering the room. It was reserved for top-secret meetings only, to be opened at Nedzu’s discretion.
(Honestly, Izuku was both impressed and intimidated.)

“Oh, good, you four are here!” Nedzu said, watching as they entered. Most of the Pro Hero
teachers were there - Aizawa, Vlad King, Present Mic, Midnight, Snipe, Ectoplasm, Cementoss,
Power Loader, Hound Dog and Recovery Girl were all gathered. Toshinori and Tsukauchi were
both present as well, sitting up alongside Principal Nedzu.

“Yes, we’re here, principal. It seems we have a lot to talk about,” Nighteye murmured, taking a
seat near the end of the table next to Toshinori. Izuku and his mother decided to sit between Sir and
Toshinori, both of them a little embarrassed to be standouts in a room full of pro heroes.

“Why are Midoriya and his mother here, may I ask?” Cementoss asked, glancing over at them
curiously. Nedzu brought the attention up to him.

“They are a part of this discussion for a reason, I assure you. However, before we begin, I must
make a few things known. The information you are about to learn is top secret. So top secret and
dangerous, in fact, that if a word of it gets breathed out I will personally make sure you are
stripped of your hero license and left unable to get any work - that is, if the criminal charges
associated with being a traitor to hero society aren’t already enough. Do I make myself very clear?”
Nedzu said, his trademark smile gone.

The teachers all straightened up very quickly, realizing how serious this was. They all
acknowledged his warning and prepared themselves for whatever it was they were about to learn.
And on Izuku’s end, he prepared for everything to change.

He wanted a normal school year, but if villains were going to attack them at every turn and All for
One was going to come back from the dead, then secrets needed to be revealed. And if Toshinori,
Sir and Aizawa trusted Nedzu and the other teachers to know about everything, then he’d take the
changes in stride.

“So, what are we here to meet about, Principal Nedzu?” Present Mic was the first to speak. Nedzu
tapped a button on a tablet he had with him, and a screen rolled down behind him. A projector
could be heard whirring to life, with a blurry picture of a man with white hair in a suit with no tie
appearing on the screen. He almost resembled the first One for All user.

Was this… an old photo of All for One?

“We are here to talk about a threat to U.A and the rest of hero society. We cannot afford to assume
the best in the situation that has fallen into our lap - we must assume the worst and take steps to
prevent it. The expression ‘better safe than sorry’ has never been more apt than now,” Nedzu
murmured. “But this threat began a long time ago. Hundreds of years ago as a matter of fact, and
the one to tell you about it should be Yagi-san, here.”

“Yagi-san? No offense, but what does a quirkless secretary have to do with a threat to hero
society…?” Ectoplasm asked. Izuku frowned at the statement. He understood where Ectoplasm was
coming from, but he also felt strongly that quirkless people could be a threat if they wanted to be…
assumptions like that just got people hurt.

“The truth is, while my name is Yagi Toshinori as you know it, that is my civilian identity. I’ve
kept it quietly under wraps for as long as I can, but with everything that’s happened… it’s simply
not feasible,” he sighed, stretching and preparing to switch to his buff form. “I will tell you who I
really am: I am All Might.”

And thus began the long, long process of explaining the truth.

All Might, All for One, One for All, the Nomu… everything came out, detail by detail. And when
they realized the true scope of it all, the teachers were sobered with the reality that sat in front of
them. Right under their noses was a villain like none had ever encountered, and a simmering threat
that could come to a boil at any moment.

“What I want to know is what part Shigaraki plays in all of this,” Aizawa muttered, fingers tracing
along the scar on his cheekbone. “He was the one that spearheaded the attack at the U.S.J and he
was spotted on the roofs at Hosu, so we can assume he was involved there too. Is he really the
leader, or is All for One puppeteering him too?”

“That is a good question, and one I have been pondering myself,” Toshinori nodded in agreement.
He had also wondered the same thing - was Shigaraki something to worry about? Would he matter
in the scheme of things, or should they focus entirely on All for One? It was something to think
about, certainly.

“Speaking of Hosu, what was that thing that happened with your quirk?” Aizawa asked suddenly,
as if remembering it just now. “Nighteye said you had another development you wanted to bring
up. Better now than never.”

“Right,” Izuku nodded, “Um… so you know how One for All is a stockpiling quirk, right? It takes
on the power of the past users and passes it on?”

The teachers all nodded, they understood that much from the explanation.

“Well, there’s been… a development, in that it doesn’t just stockpile power,” Izuku said
awkwardly. He wasn’t sure how they would take this news. “During the sports festival, I got new
soulmarks. This was because while I was brainwashed by Shinsou’s quirk, I ended up seeing the
past users of One for All. The quirk… I think it stockpiles the consciousness of the past users as
well. I saw each of them, even All Might, but he wasn’t quite there yet.”

“What? How is that possible?” Midnight asked, her eyes wide.

“Didn’t some scientist theorize that soulflowers and quirks stemmed from the same place a long
time ago? People laughed him off, but what if they’re both part of the soul?” Present Mic asked. “If
they are, you couldn’t really remove quirks from souls, so it would make sense that it stored them
in One for All!”

“I have heard that theory, but nobody believed in it,” Nedzu hummed thoughtfully. “It’s widely
accepted that quirks are biological factors, having little to do with the soul. But perhaps there’s
something to that old theory after all…”

“So what does this have to do with what happened in Hosu?” Midnight asked, getting over her
shock. “I assume you mean to say that the past users ended up being part of your new soulmarks,
but that doesn’t explain the quirk mishap.”

“You’re right, they did end up as part of my soulmarks. The soulmarks happened now and not
when I first got the quirk because the past users finally accepted me as their ninth user, and so the
quirk is coming to me faster and faster. At least, that’s how they explained it to me. The other
night, I had a dream where the first user told me I’d outpace myself soon…” Izuku rubbed his
bandages, his arm still sore from where Blackwhip had torn into his skin.

“I assume Hosu was you ‘outpacing yourself?’” Snipe asked, sounding mildly horrified.

“Yeah. Um, so, what happened in Hosu… I got paralyzed by Stain’s quirk. And he was about to
kill Iida, and I just… I got so mad, I wanted to stop him no matter what, and that power just…
exploded out of me. I couldn’t stop it. Shinsou had to brainwash me again to get it to stop, so I
guess it worked out that he was there…” Izuku muttered, distinctly ignoring the side-eye he was
getting from Sir Nighteye.

“Anyway,” Izuku continued, “when Shinsou brainwashed me, I saw one of the past users again. He
was very clear… I could hear him, see him with no problem. He spoke right to me, he even
interacted with me. One of my soulmarks bloomed. And he explained that the power I used wasn’t
just something from One for All, it was his quirk, called Blackwhip.”

“What?!” Several teachers yelled out in surprise.

“One of the past user’s quirks?” Sir Nighteye had a hand to his chin in thought. “I suppose if One
for All started with a relative of All for One, it would make sense that their quirks function
similarly. His quirk was the ability to pass on other quirks to begin with - what use would it be
without a quirk to pass on? It must absorb the quirks of anybody it gets passed to, and then
continues passing those quirks on as well. The strength aspect must be purely from the stockpiling
quirk All for One added to his brother.”

“An astute observation, Sir Nighteye. It makes sense to me. So then, what happened with this new
quirk, Midoriya-kun? Did this past user tell you anything more about Blackwhip, or is it something
you have to figure out?” Nedzu asked.

“His name is Banjo Daigoro, and he said he used to be a Pro Hero named Lariat. That might help
us look into him later. And he said his quirk is a lot more powerful than when he had it because of
One for All. He said if I use my power in anger, the power will react in kind… so I assume
Blackwhip reacts to my emotions? That’s really all I have to go on right now. I couldn’t tell you
much else,” Izuku murmured, looking a little embarrassed to not have more information to give
them.

“Well, it’s a start,” Toshinori said, gently ruffling his hair. “We’ll help you get it figured out, no
problem.”

“There’s… just one more thing about that development, though,” Izuku chuckled nervously. “He
also said before he disappeared that, um… I’d get six more quirks. The ones that belonged to the
other users. So I think First was really serious about outpacing myself… I don’t know how I’m
going to deal with them all.”

“Six more quirks,” Aizawa groaned. “We’re barely managing your first. Well, it doesn’t matter.
I’ll just put you through my hell training, problem child, it’ll shape you up in no time.”

“Don’t bully him, Shouta!” Present Mic lightly smacked his arm. “But he’s right, Midoriya. We’ll
all help you figure out your quirk. Er, quirks.”

“With all that being explained, we’re left with the decision of how to continue. Do we wish for
Midoriya to remain in U.A with the danger of All for One, or should we seek a different route? We
want all the help we can get, of course…” Nighteye trailed off.

“But we understand if the decision comes out to seeking a different path,” Toshinori nodded
understandingly. “So we’d appreciate your inputs now that you all have the full picture. You’ve all
been cleared from Aizawa and Nedzu’s investigations, after all.”

“That’s one thing to consider, as a matter of fact,” Recovery Girl spoke up, “if there is a leak
somewhere in the school, wouldn’t they get suspicious if Midoriya suddenly pulls out of U.A in
the middle of the school year?”

“That’s very true,” Present Mic agreed, nodding along. “I think him staying here at U.A is the best
option. We’ve got the dorms now, and we’ve added family apartments for families that wish to live
closer to their kids so Midoriya’s mom coming to stay with us isn’t suspicious. Plus we’re adding
all those extra security measures, and now that we’re all in the know, we can all be on alert.”

“I agree with Present Mic,” Snipe seconded. “Besides, it’s better for Midoriya to stay at a school
that can handle his quirk and situation. No offense, but U.A is the only hero school the HPSC
doesn’t have their fingers in thanks to Nedzu. If he went to any other school, there’s every chance
the HPSC could learn about him, and that’s…”

“That’s something nobody wants,” Aizawa scowled. “The HPSC would try to make him into All
Might’s second coming and put him on a leash.”

“Indeed. I feel as though U.A may be the only place with enough security and influence to keep
people from prying,” Nedzu nodded. “So with all that being said, those in favor of keeping
Midoriya at U.A while we investigate the re-emergence of All for One?”

All of the teachers raised their hands. Everyone agreed on keeping Izuku there, and he let out a big
breath of relief. It was a massive comfort to know he could stay. And now that this part of the
conversation was done…

“Um, actually, while I’m here… I had a thought about how we might find some information about
All for One, if you’d like to hear? It might be a silly thought, but it could help, I think,” Izuku said.
 “Please, any port in a storm, Midoriya,” Tsukauchi nodded in his direction.

“Well, I was talking to Inoue-san at the sports festival. For those that don’t know him, he’s a
janitor who knew me before U.A. He’s quirkless like I was. Um, anyway, Inoue thought I was still
quirkless because I forgot to tell him about my ‘late bloomer’ status, so he was a little freaked out,”
Izuku explained.

“What does this have to do with All for One, my boy?” Toshinori asked, a little confused.

“Well, he was freaked out because he thought I had seen the ‘quirk boogeyman.’ Apparently, a lot
of quirkless people from his generation had heard stories about it as kids - somebody who would
give quirks to the quirkless, but it would be like making a deal with the devil,” Izuku explained.

“Whoa. You think that’s All for One?” Snipe asked, catching on.

“I think so, yeah,” Izuku nodded. “He was worried I had done something like try and find the quirk
boogeyman. To him it’s just a scary story quirkless kids heard, but that made me think. There
aren’t very many quirkless people in Japan these days, and even less my age. So if there was a
quirkless person - other than me, of course - who suddenly changed their quirk registration way
later in life, maybe they did meet the quirk boogeyman. It wouldn’t be hard because of how few of
us are left.”

“That’s not a bad thought, Midoriya,” Tsukauchi nodded. “It would be pretty easy to run a check
on late-altered registration. That’s a good idea, thank you.”

“Glad I could help,” Izuku gave a little smile. “Especially after this week. I still feel bad about
Hosu. I’m sorry, Sir.”

“I told you how I felt about it back at my office, Izuku. There’s no need to apologize again,” Sir
Nighteye said softly. “I think that’s everything we needed to mention. Is there anything any of you
can think of that you'd like to ask us?”

“I think that’s everything for now,” Nedzu shook his head. “This has been a lot of information for
everyone to absorb. If we need to call another meeting, we can do so then. In the meantime, keep
an eye out for any moves made against Midoriya and/or his mother. We’ll investigate the League
and treat them like an appropriate threat.”

“Understood,” the teachers all agreed. Izuku smiled - it went well, all things considered. Now, they
had more people in the know who were on their side and could help handle the threat.

Things might get rough, but Izuku felt a lot more confident about the future with all of U.A on his
side.

Chapter End Notes

Not a whole lot actually happened this chapter, but a lot of stuff begins right here, right
now >:D The staff knows, and the League takes a pivot… where will we go from
here? Only time will tell!!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Dorms
Chapter Summary

Some, however, looked uncomfortable with the idea of dorms - particularly Shinsou,
Izuku noticed.

Chapter Notes

This fic will be taking a two week-long break from updates, so we wont have an
update next Friday - instead, the next update will be in 2 weeks, the Friday after next!
(The 17th, to be specific)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

When everyone returned from internships, the dorm system was announced.

Nedzu called an assembly, and the students all gathered - even 1-A, when usually Aizawa avoided
assemblies like the plague. He hated Nedzu’s speeches with a passion, but this wasn’t something
they could afford to skip out on. First thing in the morning, when the class had all gathered and
Aizawa had taken roll, he announced the assembly.

“Alright everyone, line up and follow Iida to the assembly field. Nedzu has a few announcements
to make, and we need to be there,” Aizawa grumbled. The class looked surprised, but Iida took the
initiative and directed the class as needed.

The assembly field was the courtyard in the center of the H-cube shaped building. It was pretty,
and honestly bigger than Izuku thought it would be. He figured it would have to be fairly big in
order to accommodate all of the classes from first through third years, after all. The classes all
gathered there, standing in straight lines.

He saw the third years, and he smiled and waved to Mirio. Mirio waved excitedly back, pointing to
him and talking to his classmates. They all smiled fondly and waved at Izuku as well, to which
Izuku blushed embarrassedly. Did Mirio talk about him a lot? He knew Amajiki and Hado knew
him, but for his whole class to wave?

“Whoa, are you friends with the third years?! So manly, Midobro!” Kirishima said with a grin. “I
didn’t know you knew them!”

“Oh, um, I don’t know all of them,” Izuku chuckled, “One of them is my platonic soulmate and I
think he talked about me a lot.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet!” Hagakure giggled. “A doting senpai, huh?”

“I guess so,” Izuku rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Still, he didn’t mind so much. It was
really flattering, knowing his senpai was so open about being his friend. He didn’t try to hide it
around his classmates or anything.
“Welcome, everyone!” Nedzu clapped, bringing everyone’s attention to the podium up at the front
of the crowd. “I suppose you’re all wondering why I’ve called a last minute assembly. Well, now
that the hero course students are back from their internships, I can announce what we have been
working on for the last week. U.A will be implementing a dorm system this year!”

A ripple of hushed murmurs went through the crowd of students, all talking about the sudden
development. Nedzu shushed them however, and continued with his explanation.

“Some of you may wonder why now, in the middle of the school year. Due to the attack on
campus, as well as increased media presence surrounding our students, we here at U.A decided to
implement the dorm system. We were going to introduce this next year, however as I said,
extenuating circumstances forced us to do this early.”

That seemed to sate most of the curiosity - the students all understood the need for student privacy
and other things as well.

“In addition, we will also be implementing a family system. For families that wish to stay close to
their children and are able to move, there will be apartments on campus as well. There are only so
many, however, so we will take applications for the family apartments. We will be sending home
packets with the full information today, and we will have the teachers get permission from each of
your families during a home check. If your parents approve your moving into the dorms, then
move-in day will be this upcoming weekend.”

Nedzu finished his statement, and there was a definite air of curiosity among the students. Some
wondered whether their family would move in with them, some wondered what the dorm system
would be like. Some, however, looked uncomfortable with the idea of dorms - particularly
Shinsou, Izuku noticed.

He’d ask what was wrong later at lunch, when they could be more private.

“That was our largest announcement to make. As for our other ones, I will leave that to Sir
Nighteye,” Nedzu said, stepping down from the podium. Sir Nighteye took his place, going over
announcements regarding the newly implemented security measures.

All in all, it wasn’t a huge announcement, only taking up their homeroom period. The students
returned to their classrooms after with an excited air about them.

Izuku wondered what dorm life was going to be like.

At lunch, Izuku’s friend group all gathered to eat together again.

“Hey, Shinsou-kun?” Izuku asked, looking over at the purple-haired boy who still had a pensive
expression on his face even now. “Is something wrong? You’ve been really bothered since the
dorm announcement. Do you not want to be in the dorms?”

“It’s not that,” Shinsou shook his head. He seemed hesitant to talk about whatever was bothering
him, but seeing worried looks from everyone reassured him. “It’s just… I think my foster parents
would want to get into the family apartments. They’ll… want to live in some nice, cushy U.A
apartment but that would mean I’d have to stay with them still… if I was in the dorms, I’d want to
stay in the actual dorms, not with them.”
“Are they not nice to you, Shinsou-kun?” Uraraka asked, looking worried. Shinsou scowled and
just gave an angry sort of shrug, stabbing at his lunch.

“They’re… fine in the scheme of things, I guess. Better than some of the other families I’ve stayed
with. It’s just that they don’t like it when I talk at home. They think I’m gonna brainwash them all
the time and they make me keep quiet. It just sucks, that’s all,” he muttered, seeming to draw into
himself. There was something unsaid there, and the way Shinsou rubbed at his jaw almost
instinctively made Izuku extremely uncomfortable. Something about this didn’t sit right with him.

“Shinsou-kun, that’s…” Izuku trailed off, his expression drawing up. “I wouldn’t want you staying
with them either.”

“Well, what choice do I have? The only foster families that take in kids with quirks like mine all
fucking suck,” Shinsou said bitterly. “I’d rather stay with these guys than any of the others.
Anyway, you asked, that’s why I’ve been annoyed all day.”

“Do you have a parental soulmate?” Izuku asked. “If you do, you could probably get them to take
guardianship over you. The courts grant it all the time to kids who need it.”

“I… I do,” Shinsou said, blinking in surprise. “Aizawa-sensei and I share a flower. I didn’t know
that he could, um, take custody of me. Do you really think he’d be willing to do that for me? I
wouldn’t want to impose on him or anything…”

“That’s what he’s here for, kero,” Tsu said, her own expression actually worried for once. She
normally wasn’t very expressive, but this was a concerning situation. As much as they were still
getting past things, none of them liked the idea of Shinsou feeling unsafe at home. “He wouldn’t
want you with a family you’re uncomfortable with either. He cares about us even if he pretends not
to.”

“I… I guess so…” Shinsou mumbled. “I haven’t known him as long as you have, so it just feels
different, I think…”

“We’ve only known him for a few weeks more than you. Trust me, he cares about us, Shinsou-
kun,” Izuku reassured him. “If you talk to him, he can help you.”

“Do you think it would be possible for him to help me as well? I don’t know if we share a flower,
but I can check,” Todoroki spoke up suddenly. “I doubt my father will be happy to hear that I’m
going to the dorms. He’ll probably try and dictate my terms of staying somehow, and I just…”

“Of course, Todoroki-kun!” Izuku reassured him. Todoroki didn’t talk about himself much at all,
so Izuku had almost forgotten about Endeavor for a moment there. He wanted to figure something
out, but if this worked out well, he wouldn’t have to.

“Wouldn’t it be a little weird for us to share a guardian? We’re romantic soulmates,” Shinsou said,
a bewildered expression on his face.

“Well, you’d probably be wards of U.A under Aizawa’s care,” Izuku explained. He’d looked into
guardianship rules after finding out about All for One, thinking his mother would have wanted to
stay with his father during this mess. She’d proved him wrong on that front, though, so his research
was only just now coming in handy. “U.A would be in charge of you legally, and he would be the
one to take care of you. It wouldn’t be like he was adopting you. It would get weird if it was
adoption, yeah.”

“Oh,” Shinsou seemed like the weight of the world had been lifted off of his shoulders at the idea.
“If you go with me, Todoroki, I think I could do it.”

“Then we’ll go together. Do you… want to go this afternoon?” Todoroki asked, peeking through
his bangs. He seemed vulnerable, nervous talking about his situation like this. It was so far
removed from his normally cold and distant demeanor that Izuku was honestly a little unnerved by
it. Shinsou nodded.

“Do you want us to go with you? For, y’know, emotional support?” Uraraka asked. Shinsou
seemed even more surprised at that.

“You’d all go with us for this?” He asked.

“Of course we would!” Iida chopped a hand. “Even setting aside the fact that we’re soulmates, I’d
feel awful letting a friend face that sort of thing by himself when I could just as easily offer my
presence. I’m sure we all feel that way.”

“Yeah, what Iida said,” Tsu nodded.

“I’d like it if you all came,” Todoroki admitted, his voice small. “I’d feel much safer.”

“You guys… think I’m your friend?” Shinsou asked, suddenly choking up. “Even after… You’d
really still call me a friend?”

“Of course, Shinsou-kun. You’ve worked really hard to be better. We all know you have. And if
Midoriya forgives you, then so can I, kero,” Tsu said easily. Uraraka and Iida nodded in agreement.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that you care about us after Hosu, Shinsou-kun,” Iida said gently,
pushing up his glasses. “You both came to save me, not just Midoriya. I’ll forever be thankful to
both of you for that.”

Shinsou put his head in his hands, looking somewhere between relieved and seconds away from
having a breakdown. “I’m… so grateful to be friends with you all. Please… I’d like you to come
with us as well.”

Izuku set a gentle hand on Shinsou’s shoulder and smiled softly. “Then we’ll be there for you,
Shinsou-kun. No questions asked.”

That afternoon, they all stood together in their classroom nervously while the others went home for
the day. Poor Shinsou looked like he was about to be sick, and Todoroki wasn’t far behind. Izuku
understood the feeling, though - opening up about this sort of thing was really, really hard. He
knew from experience. But Iida was standing by Shinsou steadfastly, a gentle hand on his shoulder,
and Tsu was holding Todoroki’s hand. They were all there for each other, reassuring them that
things would be okay soon enough.

“Okay, I think I’m ready,” Shinsou swallowed thickly. “Well, not really, but if I don’t do it now
I’ll lose my nerve.”

“Same here,” Todoroki nodded. Izuku took the initiative for them and approached Aizawa, who’d
just finished their hero ethics lesson for the day. He’d been watching them curiously, probably
wondering what in the world was going on.
“Aizawa-sensei,” Izuku started, “Todoroki-kun and Shinsou-kun need to talk to you, please. Um,
it’s really important. And private.”

“Alright,” Aizawa nodded, gesturing for them to follow. “We can speak in one of the teacher’s
lounges. I assume you all want to be there, too. Come on, kids.”

The group followed him quietly through the hallways. Ochako was gently rubbing Shinsou’s back
now, and Izuku was doing the same for Todoroki. It seemed to help only minimally, but they
appreciated it nonetheless. When they made it to the teacher’s lounge, they all crammed together
onto one couch, while Aizawa took the other. Shinsou seemed to appreciate the contact, though,
leaning into his friends for comfort.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Aizawa leaned forward in his own seat, elbows on his
knees with his hands clasped in front of his mouth. It seemed like he was taking this seriously,
given how hard this clearly was for them to talk about.

It was quiet for a moment before Todoroki was the first one to break the silence. “I wish to stay in
the dorms… but I do not think my father will allow it.”

“Okay. I can talk to him about it personally if you’d like, Todoroki,” Aizawa suggested. Todoroki
shook his head.

“He would not listen to you, sensei. It is… I don’t know how to say it,” Todoroki looked to Izuku
desperately, the only person who he’d fully spilled all of his life's details to. Izuku patted his arm
gently.

“Do you want me to say it, Todoroki-kun? It would be better if he heard it from you, but… I
understand it can be hard to talk about,” Izuku said softly. Then, leaning into Todoroki’s ear so
Aizawa wouldn’t hear him, “He’ll believe you, Todoroki-kun. He will. Your father’s money and
status won’t sway him.”

Todoroki took a deep breath and nodded. “Right. Aizawa-sensei… My father is not… a kind man.
He is cruel and unforgiving. He hides our family’s problems behind his power, and I am… so
tired. I was hoping to find out if we also shared a soulflower… I do not want him to have control
over my life any more.”

Aizawa’s face shifted into a deep scowl at his words. Finally, he extended a hand for Todoroki to
take. “Even if we don’t share one, Todoroki, I’ll make sure you never have to go back to him if
you don’t want to.”

Todoroki looked impossibly relieved at his words, sagging with a sort of bone-deep weariness that
Izuku knew well. It was the strings of tension finally being cut away - of somebody finally
believing you and reaching out a tender hand. For Izuku, it had been Toshinori’s, that day after the
sludge villain incident. Todoroki gently reached out his own hand and brushed against his
teacher’s, and when he saw one of his familial flowers open up afterwards, he buried his face in his
hands.

“I wish Touya-nii could see me be free now,” he said hoarsely, too soft for anybody but Izuku to
hear since they were right next to each other. Izuku’s expression grew indescribably sad, knowing
he was thinking of his brother who’d passed away.

“He knows, Todoroki-kun. He knows you’re free,” Izuku said, just as soft. Todoroki said nothing,
just leaning back against the couch and staring up at the ceiling as if he were coming to terms with
what he just admitted to.
“I’m in the same boat,” Shinsou finally spoke up, a matching scowl to Aizawa’s on his face. He
was much more blunt, however. “My foster parents… they suck. And I don’t mean in the ‘mom
took away my video games and I’m mad now’ kind of way. They really… don’t like me. And I
don’t like them much.”

“Then you won’t ever have to go back, either,” Aizawa said firmly. “I’ll have to get more detailed
statements from both of you, and I’ll have to file reports. But Nedzu will back them, and I promise
you, Nedzu has more power than anybody in Japan. If you two don’t feel safe in your homes, I’ll
make sure you’re safe myself.”

“I can ask Detective Tsukauchi-san to help, if you want,” Izuku offered. He had the detective’s
number from back in Junior High, glad it was coming in handy now. Aizawa shook his head
gently.

“I’ll call him. It’ll get into official procedure territory now. I think he’ll be willing to let you kids
stay if Shinsou and Todoroki still want you here for this part of it, though,” Aizawa compromised,
pulling out his phone to dial the detective’s number.

“It’s up to you two, kero,” Tsu said, looking between the two boys. “Do you still want us here?”

“No offense… I don’t want a lot of people knowing about this stuff,” Shinsou muttered, looking
away as if he was ashamed to say so. “I’ll be fine from here on out I think. Sorry… but thanks for
being here for me. It… means a lot.”

“It’s okay, Shinsou-kun,” Izuku said easily, “There’s things not everyone wants to talk about, even
around people they trust. It doesn’t make you a bad person or anything. If you need us, we’ll be
there. It’s that simple.”

“What Midoriya-kun said!” Uraraka agreed, smiling brightly. “We all care about you guys a lot.”

“I’d like you all to stay for me, if that’s okay,” Todoroki murmured. “I’ve… told all of this to
Midoriya before. Well, mostly. It’ll just be easier if you all were here. I want to be… open with all
of you. My first friends.”

“Okay, we’ll stay,” Izuku nodded, patting his hand. “I’ll stay as long as you want.”

By the time the kids had settled back against the couch, Shouta had finished his phone call. When
he was done, he put the device on silent with a message to Hizashi and Nemuri that he’d likely be
busy all night. He knelt by the boys that had been strong enough to come to him, more grateful
than ever to have familial flowers with each one of his students.

He suspected that was a large part of why they came to him about this - if they didn’t share one, he
doubted either one would have trusted him enough to open up about their home lives. It seemed as
if it was already a struggle to get this far, requiring the emotional support of their soulmates.

Midoriya had gone to get them some water, stepping out of the room to give them a bit of space
until Tsukauchi arrived. Shouta took a deep breath.

“Just to be explicitly clear for the sake of legality - you two are telling me you both live in unsafe
home conditions, yes? Abusive or otherwise?” He asked gently. He hated asking so bluntly, but
especially in the case of Todoroki, legality was a huge issue. If they made one wrong step,
Endeavor’s lawyers would rip them a new one.

“Yes, sir,” Shinsou nodded, his expression dark as he refused to meet his look head-on. Todoroki
nodded next.

“Yes… although he wouldn’t call it that,” Todoroki muttered. “Touya-nii called it abuse. He calls
it training.”

“Oh, kid…” Shouta squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to let his rage get the better of him.
Otherwise, the kids would feel it, and they didn’t need that right now. Instead, he opted to reach
out and ruffle Todoroki’s hair gently. “A detective you two can trust will be here soon. He helped
with Midoriya’s case in middle school, he can help you too.”

“Midoriya’s case?” Todoroki asked, his eyebrows furrowing. Shinsou and the others shared an
equally confused look with him, and Shouta bit his tongue. Damn, he hadn’t meant to out the
problem child again - he assumed Midoriya had talked to them about his circumstances to help
them open up about their own. It seemed like assumptions were hitting Midoriya all the time
lately.

“Sorry, I assumed he’d talked to you about it. It’s not my place to discuss his past without his
permission,” Shouta said. They looked like they understood, but also like they were going to ask
about it another time. He hoped Midoriya wouldn’t be too upset… and also he made a mental note
to apologize later.

Midoriya returned shortly after, and he sat with them for a while longer, quietly supporting them.
Finally, Tsukauchi arrived, taking off his hat as he entered the teacher’s lounge. “Sorry it took me
so long, traffic was a nightmare. Hey, kids. I’m Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa, it’s nice to meet
you.”

“Hi,” Shinsou mumbled, looking at the plain man curiously. Tsukauchi took a seat next to Shouta,
taking off his coat and draping it over the back of the couch.

“So, Aizawa’s brought me up to speed so far. Are you two both comfortable giving me full
statements? Just so you know, my quirk is called Lie Detector. I know when people are telling the
truth or lying. I’m required to tell you that ahead of time for legal reasons. And if you’d like, we
can stay in here while we talk if it would be more comfortable for you.”

“I’ll give you a statement. And I’d rather it be here,” Todoroki murmured. Shinsou nodded along.

“Alright. Who wants to go first? And do you want to stay together for this?” Tsukauchi asked next.
“I’m fine with letting the others stay while giving your statements, so it’s your choice.”

“I’d rather be by myself for this part,” Shinsou mumbled.

“I can go first, then,” Todoroki said. “I don’t mind them being here. I think you all would
understand.”

“Of course we would,” Uraraka smiled at him. Tsukauchi nodded and pulled out a few items. First,
a voice recorder which he placed on the table in front of them, and started it up. Next was a paper
pad and pencil, which he got ready to write with.

“Alright. Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa, on record taking the statement of Todoroki Shouto
regarding a report of an unsafe home environment,” he began. “Also in attendance are underground
Pro Hero Eraserhead, his parental soulmate, and all five of his romantic soulmates for emotional
support. He has given consent for them all to be here for this. To start, Todoroki, please give me
your name, age, and school year, followed by a lie. This just sets a baseline for my quirk.”

“Todoroki Shouto, 15. I’m a first year student in U.A’s hero course. A lie… I don’t like learning
from Aizawa-sensei,” he murmured. Shouta hid his face in his scarf. Damn kids, making him feel
parental things.

“Truth, truth, truth, lie. Okay, thank you,” Tsukauchi smiled gently. “So, Aizawa told me you said
your father was cruel to you. You’re speaking of Endeavor, yes?”

“Yes, I am speaking of Endeavor,” Todoroki was practically glaring holes in the table at the
mention of the man’s name. Tsukauchi nodded.

“Okay. Why don’t you feel safe at home with him, Todoroki?” Tsukauchi asked, his pencil ready
to take notes. Todoroki picked at his fingers and pursed his lips, quiet for a moment before finally
speaking.

“It started when I was little,” Todoroki began, “Before I was even born. He bought my mother like
an object. A quirk marriage. He had three kids before me, my older siblings. I had the quirk he
wanted. He couldn’t become number one, so… he had me.”

Todoroki told them a tale of a family twisted by Endeavor’s lust for power - his abused wife was
driven to the point of harming her own child, throwing boiling water on his face. A child had been
forced to ‘train’ until he threw up, Endeavor not going easy even on his four year old son. He
would come out of his ‘training’ with bruises and burns. His eldest sibling, the one person who had
cared for Todoroki, protecting him, had been driven to a training accident that caused his death.

Each detail was more horrifying than the last, and Shouta felt sick with the knowledge that money
and power had allowed Endeavor to get away with this for the last twenty years. One detail
however, didn’t sit right with Tsukauchi.

“Thank you for being so brave and telling me all of this, Todoroki,” Tsukauchi said, his own
expression just as tight with emotion. “But one thing came up as a lie - your brother’s death. Do
you mind clarifying that for me?”

“Touya-nii…” Todoroki rubbed at his soulmark. “He’s legally dead. But… not physically. We
share a familial soulflower, and it never went grey. He survived the accident somehow, but…
Natsuo-nii and Fuyumi-nee help me cover up the mark so father doesn’t know. We don’t want him
to find Touya-nii again.”

Shouta wondered what his brother was doing now. If he knew how Endeavor treated his kids, why
had he never come back for Todoroki? Had he developed amnesia or something? Or perhaps he
just couldn’t bring himself to return, even with his younger brother at risk? Whatever the case, his
eldest brother was long out of the picture. It clearly pained Todoroki, but there wasn’t much they
could do in that regard.

“Okay, thank you for clearing that up for me,” Tsukauchi murmured. “Well… this is going to be
one hell of a high-level case, but I think we can do it, Todoroki. Especially with your siblings’
testimonies, if they’re willing to give them.”

Todoroki simply nodded, tucking himself into Midoriya’s side. The green-haired boy looked
beside himself, having heard all of that about one of his soulmates. Shouta felt for him; he
remembered Oboro, Hizashi and Nemuri having that same look when he had confessed to them
about how people had treated him for his quirk, growing up.
“Right. Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa, ending this recording here,” Tsukauchi stopped the
recorder and turned to face Shinsou. “Do you need a little time, or are you okay to go ahead?”

Shinsou looked like he was still processing everything he’d heard about Todoroki, honestly.
Shouta didn’t blame him in the slightest, so was he. (He was also plotting the best way to kick
Endeavor in the nuts and not have it ruin his chances at getting guardianship over Todoroki. Or just
murdering the man outright, but that wasn’t very ‘heroic.’)

“I’m - I’m okay to go now. I just - fuck,” Shinsou ran a hand through his hair, “I feel like my shit’s
tiny in comparison.”

“Don’t,” Todoroki said firmly, voicing what all of them were thinking. “Please, don’t. You deserve
this just as much as I do. I would not have said anything if it weren’t for you speaking up at lunch
today.”

“Thanks, Todoroki,” Shinsou said, a soft look crossing his face. “Then… I’m ready. And I
changed my mind… I guess everyone can stay, too.”

Todoroki and the others all looked at him with reassuring looks, or as much as they could manage.
Todoroki still looked a bit like he struggled with outward displays of emotion. Tsukauchi had set
everything up, however, and it was time to continue.

“Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa, on record taking the statement of Shinsou Hitoshi regarding a
report of an unsafe home environment. Also in attendance are underground Pro Hero Eraserhead,
his parental soulmate, and all five of his romantic soulmates. He has given consent for them all to
be here for this. To start, Shinsou, please give me your name, age, and school year, followed by a
lie.”

“Shinsou Hitoshi. 15. First year student in U.A’s hero course. I hate cats,” Shinsou said, seeming to
finally gain back some confidence in his own words. He looked a bit like Todoroki had earlier,
coming to terms with what he was doing. Shouta was so proud of him for being strong enough to
come to him about this.

“Truth, truth, truth, lie. Perfect, thank you,” Tsukauchi readied his pencil and paper again. “Aizawa
said you also had problems with your home life. Would you mind telling me about them,
Shinsou?”

“Uh… well, I grew up in the foster system,” Shinsou wrung his hands together in his lap. “Never
knew my birth parents. But the foster system doesn’t like ‘villainous’ quirks like mine. Neither
does anybody else, really…”

“Are you mistreated at home because of your quirk?” Tsukauchi asked. Shinsou shrugged almost
angrily.

“Yeah. I guess it’s because of that. None of the families I’ve lived with ever liked me much. The
one I’m with is better by comparison, but… I don’t want to go back,” he admitted, his angry mask
falling away to vulnerability and fear. “They don’t like when I speak. If I talk too much,
sometimes…”

“Sometimes what, Shinsou?” Tsukauchi said, his voice incredibly gentle. Todoroki laid a gentle
hand over Shinsou’s, a silent sign of support. Shinsou squeezed the hand so tight his knuckles
turned white, but Todoroki didn’t seem to mind at all.

“I should be grateful,” Shinsou muttered, swallowing thickly. He seemed to be trembling, at war

with himself in his head. “They feed me, let me go into the hero course, all I have to do is shut up,
I don’t - I shouldn’t have said anything. I should be grateful.”

“Do they tell you you should be grateful, Shinsou?” Shouta asked, and the silence was enough of
an answer. Shouta knelt in front of him again, a serious look in his eyes. “That’s emotional
manipulation. It’s another form of abuse. You have a right to speak out about things you don’t like,
to express your opinions, especially if it hurts you. If they’re doing something to you, please, tell
us.”

“If I talk too much, they put a muzzle on me,” Shinsou finally blurted out, looking like he was
going to be sick as he said so. “They - They think I’m going to brainwash them, so I just - I just
have to shut up. That's all I have to do. It shouldn’t be that hard, I just…”

Shouta saw red, squeezing his eyes shut to keep his quirk from activating on instinct. It reminded
him of Hizashi, an incident from when they were in high school. Some kids thought he was too
loud and they’d muzzled him. He’d been stuck like that for hours before Shouta had found him and
got the thing cut off.

He simply leaned forward and brought Shinsou in for a tight hug, and there was a quiet hiccup
before he felt his shoulder get suspiciously wet. There was no sobbing, no noise at all, but Shinsou
cried into his shoulder anyway. He brought Todoroki in for the hug as well, both boys holding onto
him for dear life. Tsukauchi was quiet, though he could hear him murmuring into the recorder that
Shinsou had told the truth.

“You’re both strong kids,” he said, his voice gruff and emotional. “You’re both so strong. And
you’ll be great heroes, I promise you.”

“Thank you,” Shinsou sniffled, finally pulling himself away from the hug. Shouta let his hands
linger on their heads for just a second, ruffling their hair before pulling away.

“Is there any other mistreatment you want to let me know about, Shinsou?” Tsuakauchi asked.
“You did a great job, telling me all of this so far. I just have to be thorough, you understand.”

“Um,” Shinsou wiped quietly at his eyes, looking somehow like he hadn’t been crying at all. “I
don’t know. I mean, I have a bed and food and stuff. The other foster kids like to take my shit
sometimes, and I guess they can play rough sometimes, but…”

“Do they hurt you, Shinsou?” Tsukauchi asked. “If they know the other kids hurt you and do
nothing to stop it, it’s neglect at the very least.”

Midoriya had an uncomfortable expression of recognition flash across his face for a fraction of a
second, and Shouta was reminded that this had been him this time last year. He was more well-
adjusted because of his soulmates and therapy, but Midoriya had been there, too. It had taken him
getting pushed down half a flight of stairs to open up - Shouta was suddenly very grateful Midoriya
had encouraged them to open up.

Shouta would never have forgiven himself if he’d had to find out in a way like All Might and
Nighteye found out about Midoriya’s situation. Perhaps, he thought, All Might and Nighteye were
stronger than he gave them credit for if they got through Midoriya’s hospitalization.

“I mean, sometimes they knew,” Shinsou rubbed the back of his neck shamefully. “The other kids
would sometimes tighten the muzzle too far when I was sleeping, or they’d take my dinner or
whatever… It only happened a couple of times, though…”
 Now that Shouta was paying attention, he could see the thin, red lines near his hairline that
indicated freshly healed cuts. He took a deep breath again.

Screw heroism, he was kicking somebody’s ass today, whether it be Endeavor’s or Shinsou’s foster
parents, he didn’t give a shit. He was pissed off.

“It doesn’t matter how many times it happened - it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. I’m
sorry you had to go through all of that. I promise you, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure
neither of you will have to live like this any more.”

“Is that everything you can think of right now, Shinsou?” Tsukauchi asked. Shinsou nodded from
where he sat. “Okay, thank you so much. Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa, ending this recording
here.”

Chapter End Notes

Oooh more developments!! They finally come clean :D I won’t be getting into court
details or anything just like with Izuku’s case at the beginning of the story since I
don’t want to bog the fic down, but stuff will be explained, don’t worry :)

And just in case you didn’t read the note at the beginning, there won’t be an update
next week! I’m going to be busy in June and practically nonexistent online during July
during ArtFight, so I want to take that time to refill the backlog I’ve been thinking
about! That way, I can still update in July even if I’m not writing actively! So we’ll
return to normal updates on the 17th!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Never Alone
Chapter Summary

“Thanks,” Yoichi said softly, burying his head in Izuku’s shoulder. “You’re a good
kid. You’ll do good things with One for All.”

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku woke up in that strange, shifting space in his dreams again.

After a long, emotionally taxing afternoon, he’d gone straight to bed when he got home. The finer
details of Shinsou and Todoroki’s guardianship would be ironed out by Tsukauchi and Aizawa,
and Aizawa had enacted the pro hero ability to take care of a child in danger for both of them.
Apparently, Endeavor didn’t like that - but he’d have to get through Nedzu first, who’d been
listening to the entire conversation, because of course he was.

Even the best lawyers in Japan couldn’t get through Nedzu, Aizawa reassured them, though it
would be a dragged-out process before anything was official. Most tellingly, Shinsou’s foster
parents - under the impression it was Eraserhead taking him in for something villainous - had let
him go without a second thought. The charges they’d be facing shortly would let them know
otherwise.

But Izuku, who’d just been there for emotional support, was exhausted and cried out for the day, so
he went straight to bed. He knew Aizawa would have it well in hand.

And when he ‘woke up,’ it wasn’t in his room - it was that weird space he’d seen the past users in
before. He looked around curiously, inspecting himself in the mist. He realized that he was mostly
uncovered now, only a few wisps clinging to his body. His mouth was there this time, and he
moved it around, humming to himself.

Could he speak to the past users this time? What would he say? Would he stumble over his words
and make a fool of himself? How did he reassure them he was trying his best? What if they didn’t-

“You’re thinking too hard there, kid,” a familiar voice chuckled, and he whirled around to see that
the crumbling room with the eight chairs had reappeared. Shimura Nana was standing behind him,
a grin on her face. “Toshi sure picked a chatterbox, huh?”

Izuku’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. “Shimura-san-”

“Aw, heck, just call me Nana!” She grinned, surprisingly lighthearted. “That was my hero name
too, anyway, so you’re not being rude, I promise.”

“Right, um, Nana-san,” Izuku realized how tall she was now, standing in front of her like this. She
was nearly as tall as Sir, who was a tall man himself, so it was kind of impressive honestly. And a
little intimidating, paired with how muscular she was. “It’s nice to meet you for real this time!”

“Always with the formalities,” Nana shook her head fondly. “It’s good to meet you too! Nice to
know Toshi told you about me. C’mon, there’s some people that wanna meet you. I’m sure you
want to meet them too, yeah?”

“Yes!” Izuku nodded eagerly. He was keen to get to know the other past users. He’d learned
Banjo’s name and he knew of Nana from Toshinori, but the others he had no idea about. But he
was curious - “Why am I here so soon after Hosu, though?”

“Save the questions for later,” Nana tutted, “it’s not every day we actually get time to speak to you.
You’re pretty deep in sleep right now, so we have lots of time. We’ll explain everything, though, so
just let us introduce ourselves first, okay?”

“Sure,” Izuku chuckled. He supposed being trapped in a quirk as long as they had would make
them a little stir-crazy to talk to somebody new. Now that he was thinking about it, were they
conscious in this space when he was awake? Did they just hang out and talk to each other all day or
something? A question for later, certainly.

Nana led him towards the chairs, which were all mostly taken. The second and third chairs were
empty, their owners opting to stand against the wall. They watched Izuku curiously, their posture
relaxed. In fact, all of the past users seemed to be in a relatively good mood for some reason. Was
it just because he could talk to them now?

“So, just for formality’s sake,” Nana grinned, taking her seat near the end of the row, “I’ll
introduce myself. I’m Shimura Nana, the seventh user of One for All. Also known as Pro Hero
Nana, during my time.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Nana-san,” Izuku said again, a small bow in her direction. The next person
in the line of chairs was a young-looking man with a high collar that covered his mouth. He was
sitting with his legs up close to his chest, though he seemed comfortable.

“I’m En,” he said, his voice quiet. “The sixth user, also a pro hero. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, En-s-” He was cut off by a waving of the man’s hand.

“Seriously, you don’t need to be so formal with us, Midoriya. We’re all connected through One for
All, plus we’re dead, so it’s not like a lack of honorifics is going to offend us,” he said. Izuku
nodded, a little sheepish. “Daigoro is next, but you already met him. He has a really funky
personality, doesn’t he?”

“Hey!” Banjo objected with a huff, “Our meeting wasn’t exactly conventional! I’ll introduce
myself again anyway, thank you very much. I’m Banjo Daigoro, the fifth user, pro hero Lariat!”

“It’s good to see you again, Banjo-san!” Izuku said excitedly. “Er, sorry, I’ll have to get used to not
using honorifics… Anyway, I wanted to say thank you but I couldn’t last time, so thank you so
much!”

“Huh? For what, kid?” Banjo’s head tilted almost like a dog.

“Because your quirk helped me save Iida-kun! And you really made me feel like I wasn’t alone
during all of that mess. I appreciated it a lot, so… thanks,” Izuku said, smiling genuinely. Banjo
looked embarrassed, hiding his face behind the collar of his leather jacket. For such a tough
looking guy, he was strangely gentle in his demeanor.

“Geez, kid, warn a guy before you go full mushy!” He muttered. “But… you’re welcome. It’s only
natural. Hikage! You go next already!”

“Of course, Daigoro,” the next man said, a small smile on his face. He had two long scars down
the left side of his face that crinkled when his expression changed. “I am Shinomori Hikage, the
fourth user. I was not a hero like the ones that came after me.”

“Yeah, he was a weirdo who preferred to spend all his time alone,” Banjo rolled his eyes. Izuku
snorted a little; it seemed like the two were good friends even before being stuck in a quirk like
this.

“Says the one that made his pro hero costume shirtless without a defensive quirk,” Shinomori
retorted easily, his expression not even changing. Banjo gasped in mock offense.

“I look cool! I have a bandolier!” He argued.

“Well, those two will be going at it for a while,” one of the two against the wall grunted, pushing
off of it and walking forward. He had his hair in a high ponytail with a bandana around it. “I’m the
third user.”

“Second and Third don’t tell people their names ‘cause they try to be cool and mysterious,” Nana
snorted. “The rest of us just call them Second and Third because of that.”

“Seriously, Shimura?” The second user grumbled. He was still leaning against the wall with his
arms crossed, looking grumpy.

“And I’m Shigaraki Yoichi,” the first user smiled. “The first user of One for All. Please, just call
me Yoichi. It’s good to see you again, Midoriya. I was happy to learn that fate has decided to bind
us together through a platonic soulflower.”

“Wait, Shigaraki?” Izuku blinked, taken aback. “That’s not - was that his name, too?”

“Whose name?” Yoichi seemed to think and then he understood. “You mean All for One? Yes, his
last name was also Shigaraki. Why? You seem like you recognize it.”

“Okay, hold on,” Izuku paused to gather his thoughts. “If you don’t know, then… do you guys
know everything I do? Do you, like, see at all? You seem to have some knowledge of what goes on
outside, but…”

“Sort of,” Yoichi hummed thoughtfully, “We share certain memories with you for now.
Essentially, strong memories or things you dream about, we can recall. Small details, not so much.
One for All hasn’t quite melded enough with you for us to share your experiences.”

“Because the guy who’s been attacking our class, the face for the League of Villains, his name is
Shigaraki Tomura,” Izuku explained, his eyes wide with racing thoughts. “If he’s called
Shigaraki… is he All for One’s son or something?”

“Tomura?” Yoichi’s name scrunched up in thought. “The name doesn’t ring a bell. Did any of you
guys ever have any indication that he had a son?”

“I never had any hints drop into my lap during my time looking for him that he did, but he could
have been hiding them somewhere, or perhaps he was born after I died,” Nana replied. The others
seemed to agree. “Maybe ask Toshi when you wake up. And if not, then there’s every chance he
could have taken in some kid and groomed him. I wouldn’t put it past him, in all honesty.”

“Yeah, me either…” Yoichi mumbled. “He had some really twisted ideas about family, so really,
anything’s possible. It’s interesting he gave the guy our last name, though.”

“Something to look into later, I guess,” Izuku mumbled, his mind going a mile a minute with
possibilities. “But… it’s good to finally meet all of you! I’m sure you already know this, but I’m
Midoriya Izuku. I hope to do some good with One for All. I do wonder, though… Do we all share
soulflowers?”

“Probably,” Nana grinned, waving him over. When he got to her chair, she picked up his arm and
held it up, watching as a flower bloomed. It was a pink orchid, pretty and bright. “See? Look at
that. If we’ve told you once, we’ve told you a million times by now, you’re our Ninth.”

“It’s just crazy, I didn’t think it would be physically possible to alter soulflowers. I mean, did this
happen to you guys? I don’t think it happened to dad…” Izuku began to mumble again, and Nana
just ruffled his hair affectionately.

“Hikage could probably explain better,” Banjo interjected, “he studied the quirk and strengthened it
instead of trying to fight All for One. He’s probably the most knowledgeable about the finer points
of One for All.”

“I believe the soulflowers manifested because One for All has likely reached the end of its lifespan.
Quirk singularity, if you ascribe to that theory. You were lucky you had teachers to help you adjust
to the quirk - it could have hurt you a lot more than it has thus far. If you gave it to somebody else
now, it would likely just kill them,” Shinomori began seriously. That thought was dark, and Izuku
took in that fact quietly. Shinomori continued his explanation of the quirk.

“So, to tie off the end of the quirk, so to speak, it tied itself to your soul through the flowers, and
also to us. I believe it was able to do so because our souls finally woke up in here. We’ve always
been a part of One for All, but it’s only now that we’re really conscious. Now, you’re incapable of
passing it on to anybody except for short bursts. You can’t remove soulflowers from a person, and
we’re tied to you through flowers now. I think if you tried to transfer it to somebody else, it would
just transfer immediately back to you. You are… probably the last user of One for All.”

“So if I died… and I wasn’t able to defeat All for One… the power to defeat him dies with me?”
Izuku asked, the realization of the situation he was in hitting him. “Then that just… that just gives
him full reason to kill me. He wouldn’t even bother coming after me, he’d just swat me down like
a bug.”

“No, I don’t think so. I know him better than anybody. He wanted One for All desperately. And
also, he… I think he genuinely regretted killing me, at least somewhere in whatever he has left of
his heart,” Yoichi sighed. “He wouldn’t stop looking for some way to get it from you, and if he
ever realized he couldn’t, he wouldn’t be able to kill me a second time… so to speak. But that
wouldn’t stop him from getting you off the playing field some other way, so be careful.”

“Oh,” Izuku breathed a deep sigh of relief. “Okay… I think I can deal with that. Yeah, I’ll figure
something out if I find myself in that position.”

“While you’re still here, though, kiddo, you mentioned you had questions?” Nana spoke up again.
“Feel free to ask us whatever you like while you’re here.”

“Um, yeah, how come I’m dreaming so soon after Hosu?” He repeated his earlier question. “I
mean, I went a while between the sports festival and Hosu where I saw Banjo-san - I mean, Banjo.
Is there a reason, or is it random?”

“It’s more random than anything, but you have a much easier time slipping into this space than we
ever did thanks to the soulflowers,” Shinomori explained. “At least, that’s my hypothesis. As the
quirk grows and melds with you, you’ll likely come here more and more often. You’ll also
probably get our quirks faster than we anticipated thanks to the bonds as well. We certainly didn’t
expect you to manifest Blackwhip so soon.”

“And… All for One?” Izuku asked, tilting his head. “What’s his goal in all this? What could he
possibly gain from doing all of this, besides One for All?”

“That’s… far more complicated,” Yoichi murmured. “Even we’re not entirely sure. I can fathom a
guess, but… nothing concrete. At first, when I found out he was a villain, I… just turned a blind
eye. I mean, he was my big brother, he took care of me. I tried to remain apathetic to what he was
doing, but eventually I just couldn’t. That was when he locked me away, and, well, I had no idea
what he was doing until I was rescued.”

“What’s your best guess? I mean, knowing anything I can about him will really help… Knowing
he can’t get One for All because of our soulflowers is already helping, but I need every edge I can
get in a battle against somebody like him,” Izuku asked. He hated making Yoichi dig up old
memories, but this was important.

“If I had to guess… he just wants power and fear,” Yoichi sighed. “I’m sure he has some kind of a
plan, but he’s always been the type to want to lord himself over others. I’m sorry I couldn’t offer
you more insight, but…”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Izuku shook his head. “Thank you for your input.”

“Here, I have an idea. If you want to get a better idea of what All for One is really like…” Yoichi
mumbled, and the space shifted without him doing a thing. Just like it had during his first visit, he
turned and twisted without lifting a muscle. Suddenly, when he turned around, Yoichi was there
alongside a taller, broad-shouldered man who also had white hair. His eyes were red instead of
green like Yoichi’s, however.

The man began to speak, and called Yoichi ‘little brother.’ Was this… Yoichi’s memories? Was he
witnessing some event from the past? When Yoichi refused to join the other man, he locked him
away. Eventually, when Yoichi even began to stop eating in protest, All for One grabbed him by
the face and told him he would change his fate - that he had a meta power ‘even his weak body’
could handle.

When the red light began to envelop his body, Yoichi yelled and begged him to stop, crying out,
“Please, brother!”

Izuku reached for him, but the memory faded away. When he turned back around to face the room
full of chairs again, Yoichi was right in front of him. He was about to say something, but Izuku
instead hugged him tightly. The man looked like he didn’t know what to do for a moment, but
eventually shaky arms returned the gesture.

“Thanks,” Yoichi said softly, burying his head in Izuku’s shoulder. “You’re a good kid. You’ll do
good things with One for All. Just be careful when learning the new quirks, okay? We all believe in
you… and we’ll always be by your side. You’ll never be alone.”

“I’ll make sure I defeat him, Yoichi,” Izuku mumbled. “I promise. You’ll never be alone again,
either.”

And then, he woke up.

Izuku panted, wiping sweat from his brow.

After that intense and emotional dream, he’d woken up with a lot of energy and aggression and
nowhere to put it, so he decided to go work out on Dagobah before school again. He had brought a
heavy-duty hacky-sack with him - an interesting item Toshinori had brought over from the states,
something made to stand up to strength quirks.

He bounced around in the sand, keeping the hacky-sack aloft with quirk powered kicks. It allowed
him to have a target to practice his kicks on even out here on the beach like this. Eventually, he
remembered that horrible cry of ‘please, brother!’ and his emotions got the better of him. He
launched a roundhouse kick on the poor hacky-sack, booting it nearly a foot deep into the sand and
splitting it at the seams.

One for All was a bit too strong for it, it seemed.

Izuku huffed, annoyed and frustrated. He wanted to do more for Yoichi. The man was a hero in his
own right - by title, not by profession. He did everything in his power to defeat his brother, and yet
he was completely forgotten to history, relegated to spending his afterlife stuck inside a quirk.
Nobody knew how much he’d done to stop the worst villain in Japan’s history, and nobody besides
the One for All users knew he’d even existed.

The whole idea just… didn’t sit right with him.

And not to mention, he still hadn’t had time to sit down and figure out Blackwhip with everything
going on after Hosu. Stuff was piling up, and it was beginning to stress him out. But… if Banjo
was right, and controlling his anger was the key to using Blackwhip… Izuku narrowed his eyes in
thought, mumbling to himself as he paced on the beach.

He eyed his backpack sitting on the steps and decided to try something. He picked it up and placed
it in the sand, and then stood a good distance away from it. He held out the arm that Blackwhip had
come out of, now basically entirely healed. He channeled his anger and frustration about Yoichi’s
situation, his anger about Todoroki and Shinsou’s situations, and he focused on the feeling he had
at Hosu.

How had Blackwhip felt when it came pouring out? It felt, well, exactly like that - an overflowing
cup being tossed rather violently. But if he could just pour the overflow instead of tossing it… A
single tendril of the quirk came out of his arm, thrashing and angry as it had been. Izuku took a
deep breath and focused. He controlled his anger into a simmer instead of a boil, thinking of the
tendril as an extension of himself.

He was able to direct it like he would one of his arms, and he had it grasp tightly around his
backpack. He was able to move his backpack just a few feet before his arm began to hurt again and
the tendril disappeared. Izuku rubbed the angry spot on his arm with a wince. He’d have to get used
to using it some more…

But then the realization hit him. He’d used Blackwhip! Successfully, without it going wild! He
grinned brightly and let out a whoop of excitement, then focused himself. How far could he take
Blackwhip right now without hurting himself? He had to get concrete limits.

Izuku recalled the feeling and shot out another tendril, and then a second, but two of them were
more difficult to control and hurt more. That was probably his limit for the amount of whips he
could call up right now. But as far as time limits went… He took a deep breath and focused the
whips towards his backpack again.
It picked it up, and then like before, it began to hurt and disappeared. The spots where Blackwhip
appeared were becoming tingly and numb, like when one sat on their legs for a while and got up
with pins and needles. If he lost feeling in his arms, that wouldn’t be very good… he’d have to be
careful. He switched to his other arm, and found they could come out of that one just fine as well.
This time, he focused on trying to split his attention - one whip he directed to his backpack, and the
the other he tried to direct towards the hacky-sack in the sand. It was a little difficult to multi-task,
and required more focus.

But eventually, he got it, and then the whips vanished again. He let out a deep breath and rubbed
the tingly spots on his arms to try and get some feeling back into them. It was a promising start, at
the very least.

He could do this. He’d be able to master Blackwhip if he could just practice even harder. He hoped
Yoichi could feel the reassurance he was trying to send his way… he was going to stop All for One
and make sure he was never alone.

And he had to text Sir Nighteye! Surely, Sir would be proud of him once he learned he’d gotten
control of the quirk all on his own!

With a quick text shot off to his teachers in their group chat and a sling of his backpack over his
shoulder, Izuku bounded back home with a smile on his face. Yeah… things would get better, he
was sure of it.

The move-in day for dorms had finally come.

The week had passed by sooner than Izuku had expected - and with everything as hectic as it was
in the background, he hadn’t even had any time to check in and see how Todoroki and Shinsou
were doing. Between working on Blackwhip, going in and out of dreams with the past users, and
worrying about All for One, moving into the dorms had been the last thing on his mind.

Well, he supposed it was on his mind now. The students were all moving into the dorms, and
Izuku’s mother was taking an apartment in the family apartments. Unsurprisingly, not a lot of other
people took the offer of family apartments.

It was a lot to just decide to move in less than a week, especially when their families likely had
jobs and livelihoods wherever they were living currently. But other than his mother, there were at
least a few takers - Kirishima’s mothers had both moved, and so had Jiro and Sero’s parents.
Monoma’s mother from 1-B also moved, and a few of the parents of kids from other years did too,
but otherwise, there weren’t many people in the family apartments. They were all hero course kids’
parents, too.

Still, it was a decent amount of families, and it let Inko blend in as just another parent wanting to
stay near their kid and not somebody under U.A’s protection.

Now, Izuku could check in on Todoroki and Shinsou, and he could also finally sit down and talk
with Toshinori privately about the revelation of One for All. He… deserved to know that the quirk
would end with him. He just wasn’t sure how his mentor would take the news, and he was almost
afraid to bring it up.

No use in hiding if they were going to live so close to each other, though.
 Izuku packed the last of the boxes away into the back of the moving vehicle with his mom, and he
smiled at her. They were still keeping their old apartment, of course - Inko planned to move back
as soon as everything involving All for One was resolved. “You ready to move into U.A, mom?”

“Ready, honey,” she smiled, giving his hand a squeeze. “Let’s go show them what the Midoriya
family’s all about!”

Chapter End Notes

Pink Orchid: a pink flower that symbolizes grace, gentleness, happiness, and
playfulness.

-------

And we're back! Hope the two-week break wasn't unbearable for you guys. I didn't get
as much writing done for this story as I'd like, but I got something done, at least. So
we're back, and hopefully I'll get more writing done soon to beef up the backlog even
more! And what do you think about the developments in this chapter? Izuku fully
meets the vestiges, learns about All for One & One for All, works on Blackwhip and
begins the moving process... a lot happened now that I think about it lol. Next chapter
we get move-in day!

Glad to be back, and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! See you all in the next one!
- daylightbreaks

----------

Izuku’s Bloomed Soulflowers

Romantic [5/6]: Uraraka (Lily of the Valley), Iida (Black-Eyed Susan), Tsu
(Speedwell), Todoroki (Lavender), Hitoshi (Blue Tulip)

Platonic & Familial [9/16]: Bakugou (Hollyhock - Withered), Togata (Goldenrod),

Aoyama (Diphylleia), All Might (Vervain), Sir Nighteye (Bluebell), Aizawa (Cherry
Blossom), Yoichi/First (Snowdrop), Banjo/Fifth (Protea), Nana/Seventh (Pink Orchid)
 Back to Normal
Chapter Summary

Izuku was, quite honestly, both grateful and speechless to have such understanding
and accepting classmates.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku hauled his boxes into the dorms, setting them down and looking around.

The family apartments had movers to assist them with unloading the boxes, so Izuku focused on
moving his stuff into his dorm room. He loved his mom, of course, but he wanted to be in the
dorms with the others. She understood and just pinched his cheek and told him to enjoy the dorm
life as long as he stayed with her on the weekends. That was an easy enough compromise to make;
he planned on doing that anyway.

As Izuku found his way to the commons area of the dorms, Aizawa called all the students into the
center for a meeting.

“Alright, everyone, listen up. I need you all to pay serious attention to me, I’m going over the dorm
rules. Anybody who doesn’t follow them will get my extra hell classes, then detention, and if you
have to be told a third time not to break the rules, you’ll be sent to Principal Nedzu, and trust me,
you don’t want that.”

The class collectively shuddered. The threat of his hell classes alone was enough to dissuade them
from breaking the rules, to be fair. As they all sidled up to pay attention, Aizawa continued his
explanation.

“So, first off. These are the dorms. Each building will have a general area on the first floor - the
commons, the kitchen, the baths and the laundry are all down here. The baths and laundry are
separated by boys and girls. If you aren’t sure which side you should use, or you believe you’ve
been assigned to the wrong side to begin with, come talk to me and I’ll help you sort it out,”
Aizawa said easily. Izuku was pleasantly surprised by the kind statement for those that might not
be sure of their identity.

“How inclusive!” Iida murmured. A couple of others nodded in agreement. “As expected of such a
prestigious school. Nobody gets left out.”

“Next,” Aizawa continued on without paying much mind to the students, “the dorms themselves.
They’re separated into boys on the left and girls on the right. There are four floors on each side.
Your room assignments are posted on the commons board, which you can all use to leave messages
or post whatever you want on, so long as it’s within school rules. Make sure to keep it clean for
when teachers might need to post announcements.”

“Yes, sir,” Yaoyorozu nodded. “We’ll be sure to do so.”

“The rooms you’ll be staying in are fairly spacious. They each come with a bed, desk, toilet, closet,
and individual AC. Set your rooms up how you like and feel free to move stuff around. Just be
aware that every so often, a teacher will have to perform room checks to make sure you haven’t
punched holes in the walls or whatever,” Aizawa yawned.

“Would you like some help when that time comes, Aizawa-sensei?” Iida asked. “As Class Rep, I’d
be more than happy to assist.”

“I won’t turn you down, sure,” he shrugged. Iida looked overjoyed to be assisting in class duties,
which made Izuku smile. He was kind of a dork, but Izuku liked that about him. (Besides, he
couldn’t say much, he was also a dork in his own way.)

“And lastly, this is the most important set of rules, so listen close. This is the rule that I’ll be
enforcing the most strictly, understand?” Aizawa said, a hard look at each of the students. Everyone
nodded understandingly. “Romantic soulmates will not be allowed in the same dorm room with the
door shut. You must leave it open. You’ll be required to let the teachers know who your romantic
soulmates are, if you happen to have any in U.A. If you want to shut the door with your romantic
soulmates in the room, you must have at least two other people who aren’t romantic soulmates
with you or permission from a teacher.”

Several students turned beet red at that sort of a rule, but it was understandable. Co-ed dorms were
like that a lot. It just sucked for Izuku, because even if he understood the rule, he just wanted to
hang out with his friends sometimes. And it just so happened that the majority of his friends were
his romantic soulmates… Oh well. They could just hang out in the commons, or invite some other
classmates to hang out.

“We will be certain to adhere to the dorm rules, sensei!” Iida chopped his hand. “How should we
go about telling you about our soulmates?”

“You can tell me whenever, I don’t care,” Aizawa shrugged. “Some people are private about them,
so it’s up to you. Talk to them before you just blurt it out, though.”

“Right!” Iida nodded, a little embarrassed. They hadn’t really talked about being public with their
soulmates, to be fair - everyone just knew that their group hung out every day. Iida gave them a
curious look out of the corner of his eye, and Uraraka gave a thumbs up. Izuku did the same - he
didn’t mind people knowing they were soulmates. Tsu just shrugged, she didn’t care either way,
and Todoroki followed suit. Last was Shinsou, who also just shrugged after thinking about it for a
moment.

“Well, as class rep, I’ll go first! I think it will help everyone be open,” Iida said. Mina looked
surprised, leaning in as if she were about to hear some juicy gossip.

“You have a romantic soulmate in U.A, class rep?!” She asked excitedly. Iida nodded.

“I have five, as a matter of fact,” he said, turning a little red again. Actually talking about being
soulmates always got to the poor guy. The class, however, exploded.

“Five?! That’s so manly!” Kirishima yelled. “You have so many romantic soulmates!”

“C’mon, spill the beans, Iida! We have to know!” Kaminari shouted after. The class all murmured
some sort of similar sentiment, all getting rowdy with curiosity over his soulmates. Iida just sighed.

“I was already going to tell you, since I’m telling Aizawa-sensei in front of you all,” he said flatly.
The class looked collectively sheepish, letting him continue. “Uraraka, Midoriya, Tsu, Todoroki,
Shinsou and I are all romantic soulmates.”
“Aww, no wonder you guys are always hanging out!” Hagakure giggled. “That’s so sweet! I’m
happy you guys all found each other! It’s crazy you’re all connected, though. I didn’t know you
could all be soulmates with each other!”

“It’s not as common, but it happens,” Izuku smiled. He’d done tons of research as a kid about this
stuff when he got his soulmarks, though his mother was careful to monitor where he went to look
stuff up. “Polyamorous relationships are more widely accepted these days because of soulflowers.”

“Is everything… okay, though?” Ojiro asked, glancing at Shinsou. Izuku’s eyebrows furrowed. “I
mean, after the sports festival and all…”

“I thought that was why everyone was so cold to Shinsou-kun at first,” Izuku muttered. Back in
junior high, when Bakugou told everyone that he’d withered their soulflower, his situation got way
worse. It was the same for Shinsou - saying something negative about their soulflower must have
shifted the class’ opinion of him from the start.

“I mean… what he said wasn’t cool,” Sero murmured. “About you, especially.”

“It wasn’t like he knew any better,” Izuku said, his expression scrunching up into one of almost
anger. “He didn’t know me at all. It’s our problem, we’ve started to get along, and it isn’t even
your soulflower.”

“Midoriya, it’s okay,” Shinsou said gently. Izuku bit the inside of his lip, trying not to say
something untoward. It just… it reminded him too much of junior high again, when Bakugou had
accused him of withering it and everyone’s attitude had turned practically arctic afterwards. The
bullying had gotten a lot worse. Had that been Shinsou’s experience? Everyone turning on him
after he’d proclaimed what he did at the sports festival? Now that they were working on things, the
thought of that just… didn’t sit right with Izuku at all.

“Sorry, I know you all were looking out for me, I just…” he trailed off, ducking his head. “Things
worked out, so I guess I shouldn’t complain. I think I’m just… going to go unpack my things, if
that’s everything, sensei.”

“That’s it, Midoriya. You can go.” Aizawa said. “In the future, you all should know better than to
ask after another person’s relationships without permission, especially soulbonds, and especially in
public.”

Izuku ducked out of the group, not even bothering to spare a glance at the others. He just grabbed
his stuff and went to the board at the other end of the commons, noted his room, and began the trek
up to the next floor. He didn’t want to dissect all of those feelings right now. Soulflowers were
very charged topics - they could swing very rapidly from positive to negative depending on the
person and what aspect of them was being discussed.

Izuku loved his flowers with all of his heart - but he hated the societal stigma that came with them.
People were more than just their flowers. It might’ve been contradictory to his entire image as a
hero, calling himself Bloom and everything, but after having lived through a withered soulflower
he knew firsthand how much it hurt.

And that wasn’t even counting people who withered their flowers for other reasons - sometimes, it
was personal safety. Loved ones, even if you love them, could just as easily be bad for you. Some
withered their flowers to get out of unhealthy relationships.

But society didn’t usually see that part of withered flowers. They saw the witherer as some kind of
monster and not much else.
He tucked away into his assigned room and set down his boxes on his desk and floor. When the
door clicked shut, he let out a deep sigh and sat on the edge of the bare mattress. He hadn’t meant
to cause a scene like this. He pulled out his phone and texted an apology to Shinsou, because at the
very least he shouldn’t have spoken on Shinsou’s behalf - he was perfectly capable. Shinsou texted
back that he didn’t mind at all - that it had been nice to have somebody stand up for him so openly.

Izuku closed his phone and stood up from the bed with a groan. Some start to dorm life that turned
out to be. He hoped the others weren’t too mad at him… he’d address it later. Just… not right now.

He began to open the boxes and unpack everything carefully and meticulously. He had brought
almost all of his All Might merch with him, though he left the more important and rare pieces with
his mother, as he didn’t know what shenanigans might happen in a dorm full of hero students.
Instead, he had photos he had taken during Junior High in their place. Working out with Mirio-
senpai, cleaning the beach with Toshinori, and a photo of one of Sir Nighteye’s rare smiles when
he proudly held up Izuku’s U.A acceptance letter.

They were all really sentimental, though he’d have to hide them when other people who didn’t
know about their bond visited his room. Though, now that he looked at it, he decided he needed a
picture with Aizawa-sensei and a picture with all of his other soulmates at some point. It wouldn’t
feel complete without them.

Once everything was the way he liked it, the bed made up and everything, he sighed and flopped
back down onto said bed. It was an exhausting day thus far. He opened his phone again, having
patently ignored it for the most part during his time unpacking, and opened it to see several text
messages to him.

[From: Ojiro Mashirao; 1:05pm]

Hey, this is Ojiro. I got your number from Iida. I’m sorry about saying stuff like that in front of the
class.

Izuku felt bad; he shouldn’t have had to apologize, really. In the end, he was just worried about
somebody who had, at the time, seriously hurt Izuku in a way that almost ended up in another
withered flower. He was just worried and trying to be kind. It wasn’t like he really knew Izuku’s
feelings on the matter. Healing was simply never straightforward or easy.

[To: Ojiro Mashirao; 1:45pm]

Hi Ojiro-kun. I forgive you, and I’m sorry for snapping at you guys as well. I was planning on
talking to everybody later about it. I just have a lot of complicated feelings about soulflowers, but it
wasn’t a reason to be so rude to you. Thanks for texting me.

[From: Ojiro Mashirao; 1:47pm]

Of course! Apology accepted.

There was a knock on the door, and Izuku startled before he could respond. He went to open it, and
outside were Tsu and Aoyama. He flushed, a little embarrassed because of all the All Might merch
in his room, but opened the door to let them in. When they trailed inside, the door open per the
rules, Izuku laid down all the photos the others weren’t supposed to see.

“Hey, guys,” he smiled. Aoyama flashed a brilliant smile at him and took a seat on his bed without
warning.

“So, this is your room, hm? Somebody’s an All Might fan. Did you get to talk to him after the
U.S.J? I imagine meeting your hero must have been quite exhilarating, even given the
circumstances,” Aoyama hummed.
“Oh, uh, I guess so,” Izuku said sheepishly, taking a seat at his desk. He had no idea how to say he
talked to All Might literally on a daily basis, since it was supposed to be a secret… “I hope you
guys aren’t mad at me, by the way. I didn’t mean to cause a scene.”

“I’m fine. Honestly, I kind of thought it wasn’t right to ask that stuff so openly, even if I did get
where they were coming from, kero,” Tsu said easily, the levelheaded one as always. “I just came
to check on you and so did Aoyama.”

“I’m doing okay,” Izuku sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “I feel bad for being so rude to
everyone and talking for Shinsou-kun like that. But Shinsou-kun said it was okay and I apologized
to Ojiro-kun, so I guess everything’s okay. I still need to apologize to the others, though. I’ll feel
bad until I do.”

“I’ll go with you when you do,” another voice popped up in the doorway, and Izuku turned to see
none other than Shinsou himself standing there. “Turns out our rooms are right next to each other,
so I kind of overheard, sorry.”

“That’s okay, Shinsou-kun,” Izuku smiled brightly, happy to see him. “How have things been
going for you, by the way? I haven’t been able to catch up with you all week.”

“Surprisingly well,” Shinsou shrugged. “At least better than I thought it would be, anyway. My
foster parents got slapped with charges really fast, and they didn’t contest them, so… Here I am.
I’m officially a ward of U.A. Also, Aizawa has me meeting with Hound Dog for therapy or
whatever.”

“Congrats, Shinsou-kun!” Izuku leapt from his spot and hugged Shinsou, who seemed surprised.
Then he turned red for a moment before finally accepting the hug and gently hugging Izuku back.
Izuku smiled up at him. “I’m really happy for you. Do you know anything about how Todoroki-
kun’s doing?”

“It’s a little more iffy, from what I understand… Endeavor’s really putting up a fight,” Shinsou
muttered, glaring holes in the ground as the hug broke apart. It was clear he didn’t like the thought
of Endeavor any more than Izuku did. “You’d have to ask him for more details, but he’s still here
and he goes to meetings with Hound Dog just like I do, so I assume Nedzu managed to get
something done at least.”

“Right,” Izuku nodded understandingly. “I’ll ask him later. I think I’m gonna head downstairs to
talk to everyone. Are you up for going now?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

Much to Izuku’s surprise, the others took his apology in stride. Several of them admitted that they
shouldn’t have made assumptions about Shinsou either as that had been the cause of everything in
the first place. Others were glad he felt comfortable enough to talk to them about his feelings. He
had left out the specifics about his experience with withered flowers, but they still got the gist of
the situation nonetheless.

Izuku was, quite honestly, both grateful and speechless to have such understanding and accepting
classmates. It was a complete 180 from how he’d been treated at Aldera that it was still sometimes
a surprise. Izuku even got a pat on the back from Ojiro’s tail after the fact, to which he smiled
brightly in return.

After the miscommunication had been cleared up, though, Aizawa seemed to manifest out of thin
air. Nobody had any idea how he got there - weren’t the teacher apartments, like, three buildings
down?

“Good, you’re already all here,” he muttered, scaring the wits out of everyone. He continued on
without missing a beat, as if several students hadn’t just cried out in shock. “I have another
announcement to make. I could make this in class tomorrow, but I want time to nap… Anyway,
finals are coming up.”

“Finals?” Yaoyorozu asked, perking her head up curiously from the group. “What about them,
sensei?”

“You’ll have written and physical portions. Feel free to ask whoever you want about them, kids do
every year, but good luck getting your upperclassmen to tell you anything. Anyway, your finals
will be in two weeks from now. Just like before the sports festivals, you can use the school
facilities after hours if you ask. Just be prepared for your exams,” Aizawa muttered, looking like he
wanted to be napping.

“Is there anything else we should know?” Iida asked. Aizawa seemed to think for a moment before
he nodded.

“Yeah, we’re gonna have a summer training camp. If you want to go, you have to pass your finals
to attend. So do your best, or you can’t come to camp with everyone. That’s all I can think of right
now, so I’m out of here,” he explained, slinking back out the door.

“Aw, man! I’m so not ready!” Mina wailed. “I was so focused on everything else, like internships
and stuff! We only just got back and now we’ve moved into the dorms!”

“Me too!” Kaminari sniffled, “I’m totally gonna fail unless I cram, but I’m so bad at studying!”

“Studying?” Yaoyorozu smiled. “Why don’t we all have group study sessions since we’re living
together, then? It’ll be a good bonding activity! And I can help you all with whatever you’re
struggling with.”

“That’s a fantastic idea!” Iida nodded in agreement, pushing up his glasses. Izuku perked up at the
thought of a group study session.

“Could we invite 1-B, too?” He asked. Even if Bakugou would be there, he didn’t necessarily have
to work with him. “I’d really like to see Tsuburaba-kun and Monoma-kun again, and maybe they
could show us new ways to look at things!”

“Oh yeah!” Kirishima grinned brightly. “I’d love to see Bakubro some more!”

“Yeah, that’d be great!” Mina agreed. “Plus, I wanna ask Kendo about her skin routine! I mean,
we’ll be studying of course… but I don’t get the chance to talk to the 1-B girls much, so it’ll be
great!”

“It’s decided, then!” Iida said, pleased to see the classes getting along. “Yaoyorozu and I will
organize study times and we’ll post them here on the commons boards. If you’d like to join the
group study days, make sure to check the times!”

Everyone began talking excitedly among themselves about how they’d prepare for finals. Izuku
took that opportunity to break away from the group and make his way over to Todoroki, who
seemed to be deep in thought. With a gentle nudge, the red and white haired boy looked up at him
curiously.

“Hello, Midoriya,” he said gently. He seemed to gravitate closer to Izuku’s side, almost pressing
against it. “I’ve missed speaking to you all week.”

“Me too,” Izuku agreed. “How is everything going with you, by the way? I heard Endeavor’s
putting up a fight.”

“Mm, sort of,” Todoroki shrugged. “He’s trying, but Nedzu’s better. Also, Natsuo-nii really hates
our old man’s guts, so he’s pretty vocal about testifying against him. That’s helping a lot. In the
meantime, I was told that U.A was the best place for me to stay until everything is decided. Nedzu
says he’s confident we’ll get a verdict by summer break.”

“That’s good,” Izuku said softly. “But you still seemed pensive just a second ago.”

“Oh, not really,” Todoroki murmured. “I was just deep in thought. I was thinking to myself that
without you, none of this would have been possible for me. I think your ability to inspire is
remarkable. You reminded me that there were more important things to consider than the hate that
clouded my judgement… like our soulflower.”

“T-Todoroki-kun!” Izuku wheezed, his entire face going red. Nobody had ever said something like
that about him before. And it was almost… romantic? Izuku wondered if this was like some scene
out of those old soulmate-themed manga. “That’s - that’s so nice of you to say! Thank you!”

“You’re welcome,” Todoroki said, his tone still quiet. “I think because of you, even with hiccups
like earlier today, things are finally starting to get back to normal for me. I feel… peaceful. I’m
glad fate put us together. Touya-nii would have really liked you.”

His soulmates saying such touching things was going to be the death of him one day, Izuku was
sure of it. But… he didn’t mind so much. Even thinking back to when Uraraka gave him a kiss on
the forehead during the sports festival, it was kind of nice.

Maybe he’d talk to them about actual romantic soulmate type stuff soon…

The first study session between 1-A and 1-B was rather subdued, all things considered. It was a
few days after Izuku’s initial suggestion, held in the 1-B dorms. There were a lot of potential spots
for chaos, but the reps of each class managed to keep everyone in check long enough to get some
actual learning done. That wasn’t to say there wasn’t any chaos at all - just that compared to how it
could have gone, most thought it went well.

There was one moment that nearly made Izuku pass out from embarrassment; he was still heavily
unused to lots of attention on him. Tsuburaba remarked on how smart Izuku was, to which his
soulmates responded similarly. Izuku was a little embarrassed, but then of everything, Uraraka
commented on his entrance exam score.

“Of course he’s smart! He set a record for the highest overall score in U.A’s entrance exam
history!” She smiled brightly, patting him firmly on the back. “He’s super cool, huh?”

“You set a record?!” Kaminari yelled in surprise. Much of the table clamored with similar
 responses, wondering how in the world he’d done so.

“You don’t really make yourself stand out in class at all,” Jiro commented, twirling one of her
jacks around her finger. “So it’s hard to imagine you as some super genius.”

“I-I’m not a super genius!” Izuku whined, burying his face in his hands awkwardly. “I just studied
a lot of analysis and hero ethics, which helped on my exam! Plus, I think Nedzu liked my essays or
something? I don’t know, I write a lot about quirks and stuff, so…”

“Analysis? Like what?” Monoma asked curiously, leaning on the table to listen intently. “Business
analysis or something?”

“Um, quirk analysis, actually,” Izuku explained.

“Whoa, quirk analysis? I heard third-years do that stuff,” Sero whistled, impressed. “It’s really
hard. You really are smart, Midoriya.”

“Hey, that reminds me!” Kirishima stood up suddenly. “Midobro, don’t you have a platonic
soulmate who’s a third year? You mentioned it back at the dorm assembly! Do you think you
could ask him about what the final exams are like?! Aizawa said we could ask, so it’s not against
the rules! Nobody will talk to us, but I’m sure he’ll answer you!”

Everyone’s attention was back on Izuku again, this time looking eager. Kirishima was right, though
- everyone had spent the last few days desperately trying to get the second and third years to tell
them anything about the exams, but they always refused.

“I don’t know, Mirio-senpai may or may not tell me… it depends on the exam, I think. If there’s a
benefit to it being a surprise, he’d definitely keep it a secret,” Izuku said. Still, everyone eagerly
began to badger him to ask, and before he knew it he was texting Mirio about it under tons of peer
pressure.

Eventually, Mirio responded with ‘The exam is different every year, I think! Who knows what
you’ll have? Mine was against those entrance exam robots! I permeated through my clothes and
failed while naked, so embarrassing!’

The class collectively groaned. If it was different every year, that means they weren’t going to
have any idea what they’d be up against until they got to it.

But Mirio texted him again, this time with a selfie of him with Hado and Amajiki, and a message
that said they were rooting for the first years. (There was also a message just for him saying they
should all go out for fries again some time like they did last year, but Izuku didn’t share that part.)

The class seemed bolstered by encouragement from their senpais, and they got back to studying.
Izuku smiled - things got chaotic sometimes, but he enjoyed every moment of it. His classmates
and peers were just that - peers.

Here at U.A, he was an equal, and so were Todoroki and Shinsou now that they were out of their
awful home environments. Things really were finally getting back to normal.

Chapter End Notes

Happy Friday! Not much to say about this chapter, honestly it’s not my favorite and I
waffled on whether to include the momentary miscommunication plot, but here it is
lol. Next chapter though, I’m stoked for everyone to see it and it introduces one of my
fav upcoming aspects!! You guys will just have to wait and see :D

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Final(ly Getting Serious)
Chapter Summary

It seemed like so far, summer was shaping up to be really fun.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

When finals, well, finally came, Izuku and the rest of the first-year heroics students felt more than
prepared to face any challenges they could possibly face. They’d been training and studying
practically non-stop with each other for the last two weeks, and now they were feeling more
confident than ever.

On Izuku’s end, he’d been practicing with Blackwhip nearly nonstop. He’d done so away from
everyone - Iida had offered to assist him, having seen it firsthand and believing it to be a new form
of his ‘strength enhancement’ quirk like he’d told everyone during Hosu. But Izuku remembered
that feeling of losing control when Blackwhip first came out, and the last thing he wanted was
another accident. Even if it had been against a villain, against Stain, he didn’t want to use his quirk
like that ever again if he could help it.

And thanks to his rigorous training and careful use of Blackwhip during said training, he was now
able to reliably control it for a few moments at a time. He still had problems with tingling
numbness whenever he used it, so he had to be careful not to overdo it, but he didn’t have to worry
too much about it taking him over again.

Still, through another dream, Banjo had said that if he practiced the numbness would eventually go
away. It simply took regular use of the quirk to let the body adjust.

The written finals passed easily enough. Mina, Kaminari and the few others who were worried
about struggling academically had professed that they didn’t feel nearly as stressed during this test
because of all the prep, and Yaoyorozu had been happy that the study sessions paid off. Izuku was
happy too, of course - he really wanted to go to the summer training camp with all of his friends
and classmates.

The physical finals were a different matter. The physicals consisted of two students paired off
against a teacher, and they had to either get a pair of cuffs on the teacher or ‘run and get help.’ The
matchups, from what Izuku could tell, were also formulated to be at the student’s disadvantage.

First was Kirishima and Sato against Sir Nighteye. Izuku guessed they’d been paired against
Nighteye because the two were both very ‘punch first, ask questions later’ type fighters, and
against an opponent who could read their every move, they wore themselves out quickly. Even
when they had pivoted halfway through the match and tried to use the ‘run for help’ option,
Nighteye had been able to effectively block them off with nothing more than his signature heavy
stamps and a few well-placed strikes.

The students had no idea Nighteye even fought so well, as they’d never seen him do so before
except to instruct them in class. Suffice to say, they all had a new appreciation for their teacher
afterwards. Kirishima and Sato had been dejected, but the class supported them anyway, promising
to get them stuff on the camping trip if they could.

Next was Tsu and Tokoyami against Ectoplasm. Though close combat wasn’t Tokoyami’s
specialty, the two pulled through okay and passed. The same happened with Iida and Ojiro against
Power Loader - the two struggled due to their mobility being negated by Power Loader’s traps, but
still managed to pull through.

Todoroki and Yaoyorozu had been paired off against Aizawa. Todoroki was heavily reliant on his
quirk even though Nighteye tried to impress the necessity of quirkless fighting, and being stripped
of it by Aizawa was rough for him. He also had trouble working with others - not that he didn’t
want to, he just didn’t communicate well. Paired with Yaoyorozu who also had trouble speaking up
and believing in her own abilities, the two struggled for the majority of their test together.

At the end, though Izuku had initially been worried, the two managed to pull through. Yaoyorozu
laid out a solid plan and Todoroki followed it, catching their homeroom teacher off-guard and
passing their test.

Then, came Izuku’s test.

He and Aoyama had been paired off against Thirteen. That was really bad for both of them -
Thirteen’s quirk basically made it impossible for him to get in close, and Black Hole would take
advantage of Aoyama’s heavy nausea problems from Navel Laser.

The two had still come up with the best plan they could before their exam began, however.
Aoyama had been the first to suggest an idea. “How about we try something more like
underground heroes? We could be sneaky, non?”

“Oh, you mean go around them? I think that could work. If one of us gets to the exit, we could still
pass. You’re good with long-range, so if you could distract them from a distance and keep their
attention on you, I might be able to sneak past them,” Izuku nodded. Aoyama smiled brightly.

“Exactement! You read my mind. I’ll do my best,” Aoyama said, sticking out his hand. Izuku
shook it with an equally bright smile.

They had tried to do just that, anyway - his stealth training had fallen a little by the wayside in
wake of training Blackwhip, so Thirteen had caught Izuku. But, with a burst of Blackwhip, he was
able to wrap it around a firm handle and not get caught up in their quirk. Using Blackwhip like a
horizontal rope swing, he was able to land a kick on Thirteen without getting sucked into Black
Hole. Aoyama came up after him, slapping the cuffs on Thirteen while they were still stunned.

It was a little less graceful than the two of them had planned, but it granted Izuku enough time to
make it to the exit, allowing both of them to pass.

“I had no idea you could do that!” Aoyama exclaimed, looking at him in shock when they met
back up. Izuku smiled sheepishly.

“Oh, it’s a new technique I’ve been working on… it’s something I discovered during my
internship. I can only use it in small bursts or my arms go numb, though,” he explained, rubbing the
tingly spots where Blackwhip had come out.

“Well, it came in good use here…” Aoyama trailed off, watching him with a sort of expression
Izuku couldn’t identify. “Well, whatever the case, I’m glad I got paired with you.”

Izuku felt the same, and the two of them went back to the viewing room to watch the other exams.
After them was Mina and Kaminari against Nedzu. Unfortunately, the two of them ended up
caught up in Nedzu’s traps and ran out of time before they could get to either him or the exit. Just
like with Kirishima and Sato, however, both of them reassured the two when they returned. Still,
they were beside themselves for not being able to join in on the camping. Kirishima proclaimed
they could spend the summer together anyway, and the four failing students all got together to plan
what they’d do that summer.

Next came Jiro and Koda against Present Mic. Koda got over his fear of insects, at least somewhat,
and used his quirk to direct them to Present Mic. And, unknown to them, the man had an intense
phobia of insects - and it worked to their benefit, allowing the two to escape their testing arena.

Shoji and Hagakure went against Snipe and passed, their combined stealth skills being just what
they needed to overcome the obstacle he presented. The next matchup was interesting, however -
Shinsou and Sero were paired off against Midnight. Shinsou was still behind the others physically,
though he was catching up at an efficient pace. And Sero couldn’t get in close because of
Midnight’s Somnambulist, so they were in for a tough time.

There was, however, a plus side - Shinsou’s quirk. Though the teachers knew about it, if he was
able to somehow get Midnight to speak anyway, they’d have the exam in the bag. And, as it turned
out, he apparently did have it in the bag.

“So, Midnight-sensei,” Shinsou’s voice came in loud and clear over the speakers of the exam hall.
“Because I train with Aizawa-sensei, I know a lot of stuff about him. Embarrassing stuff he doesn’t
want said out loud. Also about you. Just know you have the power to stop this any time you want.”

Aizawa groaned and buried his face in his capture scarf. Midnight didn’t seem to understand at
first, but then Shinsou started speaking again. “So, I had to stop by Aizawa-Sensei’s apartment
once because he forgot his capture weapon at home before training. Did you know, while I was in
there, I saw a photo in his kitchen where you and Mic-sensei were-”

“Oh my god, stop!” Midnight yelled, her entire face red. The class was all in collective shock,
wondering what the hell was in the photo?!

(Aizawa just sighed because he knew the exact photo Shinsou was talking about. It was a photo he
took to mess with his romantic soulmates. During their early hero days, Nemuri and Hizashi had
both gotten blackout drunk and done some stupid things in public. His photo was the only proof of
it ever happening, thankfully for their careers.)

Midnight had gotten caught up in Shinsou’s quirk afterwards, and the two were easily able to make
it to the exit. The others begged to know what was in the photo, but Shinsou just grinned and
refused to elaborate for Midnight’s sake.

The last test was Yanagi and Uraraka against Cementoss, both of whom had trouble if they couldn’t
get close to their teacher… or find their way to the exit. Trapped in walls made of cement, it
seemed as if the two weren’t going to pass. But then, Uraraka had an idea - she took off her helmet
and wrist decorations, allowing Yanagi to use her quirk on them.

Yanagi slammed them through the cement at high speeds with her quirk, destroying the items but
breaking the two of them out. And with the rubble from the destroyed cement wall, they were
easily able to get the upper hand on Cementoss from a distance, allowing both of them to pass. The
class cheered for them, successfully getting out of a tight spot like that.

All in all, the class mostly passed. Kirishima, Sato, Mina and Kaminari would unfortunately have
to stay back, but everyone else had managed to pass. When the students were all changed back into
their uniforms and gathered in the class again, Aizawa made an impromptu announcement.
“So… four of you failed the physical. But I’ve gotten the scores back from the written exams, and
it seems like you all passed,” he said, gesturing to the stack of papers on his desk. “With that in
mind, I think I’ll let the four who failed the physical test still attend the camp.”

“Oh my god, yes!” Mina cheered, doing a little dance. “You’re the best, sensei!”

“But,” Aizawa interrupted, one of his signature manic grins on his face. “You’ll be attending my
extra-special remedial hell classes instead of doing some of the more fun activities. You’d best be
prepared.”

“What are hell classes?” Kaminari nervously whispered to Kirishima, who only shrugged. He still
looked just as nervous though, only able to guess what Aizawa could possibly have prepared for
them…

“With that being said, since the dorms are now in place, make sure to file with me by this weekend
whether you’ll be staying in the dorms or going home for summer, aside from the training camp.
The forms are on my desk. If you don’t have one filled out by this weekend, I’ll be doing a call-
home and you’ll also be stuck in hell classes with me,” Aizawa said. That was all the prompting
everyone needed to grab a form for themselves.

It seemed like so far, summer was shaping up to be really fun. Izuku was proud of himself for
passing, and now, he could relax for most of the summer.

Maybe he could do something with his soulmates before camp?

In the end, half the class opted to leave for the summer and half the class stayed. The ones leaving
were Iida, Tsu, Ojiro, Koda, Sato, Shoji, Jiro, Sero, Hagakure and Yaoyorozu. Everyone else
stayed in the dorms, wondering how they should spend their summers.

Izuku, for one, had an idea - he was nervous about it, but he wanted to try doing something more…
date-like with his romantic soulmates. He wasn’t ready to officially say he was dating, but this
would be like a stepping stone! The only problem was, he had no idea what to do. But thankfully
for him, he had a senpai who was already in a poly relationship and would be more than happy to
help him.

With that in mind, he went over to the third-year dorms, thankful that Mirio was staying for the
summer. He still had his work-study with Sir Nighteye like normal, but Izuku knew he came back
in the late afternoons, so he made sure to go at a time he knew his senpai would be back. He
knocked on the door and it opened, showing Mirio in casual clothes. He must have gotten back
early to have already changed and everything.

“Hey, hey, kouhai! How are you doing?” Mirio grinned, ruffling his hair. Then, he looked at his
phone and perked up. “Perfect timing, actually! Are you busy right now?”

“Oh, no I’m not busy! I came to ask you about something, but I don’t have anything else planned,”
Izuku shook his head. “Why do you ask?”

“Cause Tamaki, Nejire and I were going to get some food! You should tag along!” He said. Izuku
rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
“I wouldn’t want to intrude on your date or anything, Mirio-senpai, I can come back another time!
It’s not really super pressing, anyway. Just some advice I’d be too awkward to ask my parents
about, that’s all…”

“Oh ho!” Mirio grinned, and all of a sudden he was on a tangent. “Well then, you should definitely
come with us! Trust me, you’re not intruding. This isn’t a date, really - we like to hang out even if
it’s not necessarily romantic, y’know? You should always be able to be friends with your partners,
kouhai, that’s a tip from me to you! If you don’t like being friends, then you probably won’t like
being partners. Just ‘cause you have a soulflower doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily get along, but…
you know that already.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Izuku smiled genuinely. He hadn’t thought about it in those terms before,
but he supposed that made sense. Luckily for him, he got along great with all of his romantic
soulmates, even Shinsou, who he’d gotten off to a rocky start with. “That’s sort of what I wanted to
ask you about, anyway. You’re the only other person I really know who has more than one
romantic soulmate, so…”

“Aw, my kouhai’s getting ready to date! He’s growing up so fast!” Mirio pretended to sob
overdramatically and Izuku laughed a little, punching his arm.

“C’mon, Mirio-senpai, you’re making a scene!” He joked, gesturing to the empty hallway. “But
I’m happy to go with you to get food if you’re all okay with me being there.”

“Great!” Mirio perked right up, slinging an arm over Izuku’s shoulders. “I’ve already cleared it
with them since I was going to invite you anyway, so we’re good to go! C’mon, we’re going to that
chicken place that Tamaki really likes today.”

“Oh, you mean the one where Hado-senpai ordered hers extra crispy and it came out burnt? I
remember that place!”

After the three met up and got their food, Mirio finally settled enough to return to Izuku’s original
purpose for visiting.

“So, you said you wanted advice about having more than one romantic soulmate, huh?” Mirio
grinned. Immediately, Hado squealed and leaned in excitedly, her elbows on the table and her chin
in her hands.

“Oh my gosh, our kouhai wants dating advice! So cute, so cute! Tell us what’s up!” She said
eagerly. Izuku chuckled nervously, a little embarrassed to be talking about this with anybody, but a
little less so since it was just Mirio, Hado and Amajiki. He was comfortable around them.

“Well, I want to try something a little more date-like, I think? We all kind of agreed to wait until
we were ready to think about romantic stuff, and I was going to ask if they wanted to maybe go
somewhere with me…” Izuku trailed off, his face getting more and more red as he spoke. “This is
really embarrassing to talk about now that I’m doing it…”

“It’s okay, Midoriya… I totally understand…” Amajiki nodded slowly in solemn understanding.
“It’s hard to talk about, after all.”

“Well, you’re on the right track to start with, so don’t worry so much!” Mirio reassured him.
“Communication is one of the most important parts of relationships, especially when there’s a lot
of people. Being open and honest, especially about feelings, is another. So talk to them first, find
out if they’re ready, but be accepting if they aren’t.”

“Of course! I’d never want to pressure them!” Izuku shook his head firmly. “But that’s good to
keep in mind. Thanks, Mirio-senpai. Um, do you have any ideas about where I should go for this
kind of thing…?”

“A first date?” Hado asked excitedly. Izuku nodded. “You could go to the arcade!”

“Well, if they like those kinds of places. It was a little bit overwhelming for poor ‘Maki over here,”
Mirio chuckled. “Try and pick something that everyone would like to do, if possible. You can
always ask them what they like.”

“You could have a movie night at home…” Amajiki suggested. “Or in the dorms, since we live
there now.”

“Those both might not be a bad idea,” Izuku hummed thoughtfully, “I’ve never been to an arcade
before, and I don’t think Todoroki-kun has either… I don’t know about Shinsou-kun or Uraraka-
chan… and Iida-kun and Tsu-chan are home for the summer, so…”

“Whoa, how many soulmates do you have?!” Hado asked. Izuku pulled up his sleeve to bashfully
reveal the six flowers there. “Six?! Man, your dating life is gonna be kind of crazy, I can tell you
that much!”

“Aha, yeah, a lot of people told me that growing up…” Izuku chuckled. “But seriously, thanks for
the advice. I feel a lot better after talking to you guys. I think I know how I’ll approach things a
little better now.”

“Go get ‘em, kouhai!”

The next day, when summer vacation was in full swing and the students who were left hung around
the dorms lazily, Izuku decided to talk to everyone. He’d already spoken to Iida and Tsu over the
phone about what he wanted to do, and they both said they were fine with it and they’d meet up
with them wherever he decided to go.

(Iida had also been stunned silent for several moments when Izuku said that he was ready to
consider going on a casual date, and Izuku honestly thought he might just combust. Luckily he
didn’t; instead, Iida said he had been thinking about it as well. Tsu was the same, only without the
stunned silence and a much more straightforward answer.)

When he had worked up the confidence to talk to the others about it as well, he met them in the
commons kitchen in the morning. He was supposed to be staying with his mom in the family
apartments right now, but he had asked for a few days more in the dorms to really spend time with
everyone. She had agreed, thankfully.

“Good morning, Todoroki-kun,” Izuku smiled. Todoroki was always one of the earliest up, beaten
only by Iida and Shinsou - one through dedication and the other through insomnia. Speaking of…
“Where’s Shinsou-kun?”
“Still asleep. Hound Dog apparently had him talk to Recovery Girl about melatonin gummies. He
tried them last night, so I assume they’re working,” Todoroki hummed, preparing his breakfast.

“Well, when he and Uraraka-chan are awake, I gotta talk to you guys,” he said, moving smoothly
around him to grab his own food. “It’s not super serious, so don’t worry! I just want to ask you
about something.”

“Of course,” Todoroki nodded. “I’ll be there.”

Izuku smiled and finished preparing his breakfast and waited til he spotted Uraraka and Shinsou
both coming down from the dorm rooms. Sleepily, they both prepared cereal in some dead-tired
display of solidarity before joining Izuku and Todoroki at their little table.

“Good morning Midoriya-kun,” Uraraka yawned, then stretched her arms widely. She draped
herself over Shinsou sleepily, lazily feeding herself cereal. Izuku snorted at the sight - neither of
them were morning people, it seemed. He could wait until they were a little more awake. Once
they’d each finished their food, they seemed to be a little more aware, so Izuku chose that moment
to strike, so to speak.

“Hey, guys? Can I ask you about something?” He asked. Todoroki, Shinsou and Uraraka all gave
him their undivided attention. Flustered now that he was actually doing it, he couldn’t look them in
the eyes. “Well, um, I was thinking… would you guys, um… be interested in doing something with
me today? Sort of, y’know… date-like?”

It was quiet for a moment before he heard a squeak from Uraraka and saw that she was entirely red
in the face. Shinsou wasn’t far off, and Todoroki looked like he had blue-screened, staring blankly
at him.

“I-I’d love to, Midoriya-kun!” Uraraka was the first to manage a coherent answer. “I’ve been
thinking about it too, but I was too nervous to ask…!”

“I already talked about it with Iida-kun and Tsu, and they said they’re okay with it if you guys are.
They’ll meet up with us wherever we go. I didn’t want to leave anybody out, so…” Izuku trailed
off. Then, to Shinsou and Todoroki, “I-If you two don’t want to, it’s okay! No pressure!”

“I didn’t think you’d… want to do that stuff with me yet,” Shinsou began, quiet. “I mean, I’m
not… we only recently got past all that stuff, so…”

“Exactly, we’ve moved past it. I like spending time with you, Shinsou-kun,” Izuku smiled. Shinsou
just got more red in the face at that. “This is more like testing the water anyway! Seeing if
everyone’s, y’know, okay with this kind of stuff! I don’t want to rush anybody… I’m happy to
wait, of course! I just thought… I really like being around you guys. I wanted to try something
more like an actual date.”

“I’d like to go as well,” Todoroki finally spoke up, ducking his head. “I don’t know about a lot, so
I hope you all don’t mind being patient with me… but I would enjoy going places with you all and
spending time with you.”

“Then I have a fun idea!” Izuku smiled. “Why don’t we go out to that new mall, the one that was
just finished? Kiyashi Ward mall? They have an arcade and stuff, and I’m certain we can find
something everybody likes there. That is, if you guys are okay with crowds! If not, I have an
alternate idea.”

“I’ve never been to an arcade,” Todoroki said, looking curious. “I wonder what it’s like. My old
 man would never let me go anywhere.”

“Same here,” Shinsou mumbled. “I’ve never been either.”

“Me either!” Izuku chuckled. “My mom always offered to take me out to places when I was
younger, but I never really went since people my age… Well, we didn’t get along.”

“I couldn’t go because we couldn’t afford day trips or leisure time,” Uraraka said, looking a little
bashful. “So it’ll be a first for all of us! We can all experience it together, that’ll be fun! And if
we’re overwhelmed or something we can pick something else! I don’t have a lot of money, but I’m
sure I could swing something…”

“No worries, it’s my treat!” Izuku reassured them. “I’ve been saving up my allowance for a while,
so it’s fine! I’m fine paying for you guys if you want. It’s no problem, really. I just want everyone
to have fun!”

(He didn’t mention he’d also told Toshinori about how he was going on a date and the man had
cried about how fast he was growing up and offered him some spending money to use. Apparently,
being the number one hero for so long gave them different preconceptions of spending money.
Izuku felt like the wad of cash was burning a hole in his wallet right now.)

“Oh, I’m so excited!” Uraraka cheered, still a light blush on her cheeks. “I’ve got to go pick out a
cute outfit! When did you want to go, Midoriya-kun?”

“I was thinking in an hour or two? That way we could beat the crowds and have some time to play
while it’s still quiet. It’ll get busy later, but a little quiet time will be nice, right?” Izuku suggested.
She and the others nodded.

“An hour and a half, then?” Shinsou asked, looking at the time on his phone. “We’ll meet back
down here in the dorms.”

“That sounds good. I am excited as well,” Todoroki agreed, a rare, small smile on his face. Izuku
broke into a blinding grin at the sight. He hadn’t seen Todoroki smile like that before… it warmed
his heart. Today would be his first real date - he was nervous, but he also felt ready. He enjoyed
being around his soulmates… this was just another form of that. He texted Iida and Tsu where they
were meeting up, and they both responded with thumbs up.

Now he just had to put together a decent outfit…

Chapter End Notes

Sorry for the late upload, omg!! I got so caught up in drawing for the first day of
artfight that I honestly just forgot ;w;

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter anyway!! The finals were fun to write and I was
so excited to get to the mushy stuff lol. It won’t be in every chapter but the ship stuff
will be more prominent from here on out! There were also a few little hints as to future
events in this chapter… can you guess what they are??

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
 Date
Chapter Summary

Izuku let out a deep, relaxed sigh. He hadn’t had this much fun in so long.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku spent way longer agonizing over his outfit than he should have. It was hard when half of
what he owned was from thrift stores or bargain bins because that was where quirkless people were
allowed to shop - higher-end retailers wouldn’t let him in the store, let alone near the checkout
counter. Maybe things would be different now that he had a quirk, but he hadn’t had time since
getting into U.A to consider clothes shopping of all things.

So he put together the best outfit he had - a button-down short sleeves shirt over a solid color tee, a
pair of jeans, his favorite and only pair of red shoes (damn toe joint - though he’d gotten
sentimentally attached to his red shoes, he found), and whatever he could manage to do with his
hair. He stared down at his soulmarks, unsure if he wanted to go out with covers on. Normally,
he’d display them happily, no question, but…

After the sports festival, he had a lot of attention he didn’t want, with people asking to see the
freak-of-nature soulflowers that had appeared on his arm or just outright staring. And that was
without the reporters and requests for medical studies.

With a deep breath, he shook his head. No, he wouldn’t worry so much about it. He wouldn’t
compromise how he held himself just because people had no manners. And besides, him being
with other people would probably curb most of the interjections. With that thought in mind, he left
the covers where they were and stepped out of his room.

He had his wallet, check, school ID and dorm keycard, check… Everything seemed in order, so he
went down to the commons to meet up with his friends. Shinsou was the first one there, wearing a
cat t-shirt and a comfortable looking pair of pants. Izuku joined up with him, waiting for the others.
Shortly after, Todoroki and Uraraka came down. Todoroki was wearing a dress shirt and khakis,
looking remarkably put-together. Uraraka was wearing a pretty, ruffled sundress and strappy
sandals.

The group of them looked like a mishmash of all different types of people, but they clearly couldn’t
be happier together. Even Todoroki was smiling - he boldly held Uraraka and Shinsou’s hands on
either side of him. “Ready to get going?”

“Ready!” Izuku smiled, stealing Uraraka’s free hand. Today was going to be interesting, that was
for sure.

The mall was surprisingly quiet today, Izuku thought. They saw Iida and Tsu waiting for them by
the entrance to the arcade, and Izuku waved excitedly.

Iida looked almost nervous, clearly red in the face because Tsu was holding his hand. Izuku forgot
how unused to PDA he was. At least they weren’t at school, the poor guy would probably have just
passed out trying to hold hands where their classmates could see them. But they looked nice, Izuku
thought. Much like Todoroki, Iida was wearing a button-down with the sleeves rolled up and dress
pants, complete with nice shoes. Tsu was wearing a pretty blouse with shorts and sandals.

“I feel underdressed somehow,” Shinsou mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. Izuku just nodded
alongside him, understanding.

“Me too, but I don’t own a lot of ‘nice’ clothes, so…”

“Me either,” Shinsou agreed. Uraraka nudged both of them with her elbows, rolling her eyes
fondly.

“You both look fine! C’mon, you guys,” she chuckled, tugging them along. “Hey Iida-kun, Tsu-
chan! We’re here!”

The group of them met up, chatting among each other as they entered the arcade. Izuku paid for
himself, Shinsou, Uraraka and Todoroki. Iida and Tsu insisted on paying for themselves, though
Izuku did try. They got a bucketload of arcade tokens and went around looking at all the different
machines.

Izuku had never been in a place with so much neon before. It was almost a little much, but he
enjoyed the awestruck look on Todoroki’s face too much to be unhappy. He clearly hadn’t been
somewhere like this either.

“We should try ski ball!” Uraraka pointed to the machines. They all played a few rounds, playfully
arguing about ball techniques and who was the better player, even when Tsu managed to beat them
all hands down.

They tried a bunch of games, claw machines, and even did the photo booth. It was nearly
impossible to cram all of them in the booth, so Iida and Shinsou stood on the outside and stuck
their heads in. Izuku found himself laughing when Todoroki attempted to make a silly face with
everyone and ended up looking closer to anguished.

They’d been to nearly every game in the arcade, it felt like, before Iida spotted something that
made him light up. “Oh! I love this game!”

The others turned to see a Dance Dance Revolution machine. Izuku was surprised - he’d seen them
before, but he’d never actually played on one before. He couldn’t believe Iida liked this game,
though, it didn’t seem like it would be his kind of game. “You like this game, Iida-kun? Is it fun?”
He asked.

“Yes!” Iida smiled, excitedly approaching the bright and loud game. “My older brother would take
me to the arcade next to our house to play it often. He said it was good for building dexterity with
my legs! I’d like to think I got fairly good at it.”

“We should totally play,” Shinsou grinned wolfishly. “This I have to see. It’s hard to imagine you
going hard at Dance Dance revolution.”

“I was gonna say the same thing,” Uraraka stifled a giggle. “I’ll dance with you, Iida-kun! It looks
fun! You’ll just have to show me how to play, okay?”
What followed was nothing short of a beat down.

Iida absolutely destroyed each of them at the game, his enthusiastic dancing punctured with his
signature chops. It was certainly a sight to see, and he even garnered a small crowd of other people
around him when he decided to attempt the hardest song in the game. Izuku and his other
soulmates cheered him on in the back. Watching him blow every other high score out of the water
was something else.

When he was done, he had a sheen of sweat on his forehead and he was laughing, airy and relaxed
in a way none of them had ever seen from him before.

“Thank you all so much for indulging me!” He said, putting an arm around Izuku and Uraraka’s
shoulders. “I don’t think I’ve had so much fun in a long time. Ah, I can’t believe I still had in me,
honestly!”

“That was scary impressive, Iida,” Tsu said with a smile. “It was nice to see you let loose like that.
I’m kind of hungry now, though… what about you guys?”

“Oh definitely,” Shinsou snorted. “I got hungry just watching him do all that work.”

“Why don’t we turn in all of our tickets and then go get something to eat?” Izuku suggested,
holding up the massive pile of tickets they’d accumulated. Uraraka nodded eagerly.

“Yeah, let’s see what prizes we can get!” She grinned. The group of them approached the counter,
and when the poor teen working behind it saw how many tickets they were holding he looked like
he’d rather be anywhere else. Still, he took them and fed them into the automatic ticket counter
behind him and sat down on a stool.

In the meantime, while the machine was reeling in the tickets, they took the chance to look at the
various prizes.

Tsu found a cute set of erasers that had frogs in them, and she decided she really wanted that.
Shinsou was looking at a squishy cat plush with wide eyes, and Izuku knew they just had to get it
for him. Iida didn’t seem particularly interested in any of the prizes, just happy he got to play DDR
again. Uraraka saw what looked like a Newton's cradle but themed after the planets, and she
seemed excited about it. Todoroki was interested in one of the little handheld versions of one of the
games they’d played and he ended up enjoying.

Izuku, however, spotted the most egregious piece of All Might merch he’d ever seen. It was a
knockoff All Might figure, complete with the wrong proportions and the wrong colors on top of a
crappy paint job. He broke down laughing when he saw it, wheezing when he really took it in. He
pointed out the figure to the others, who also snorted when they saw it.

“It’s so… it’s so ugly!” Izuku cackled. “I have to have it!”

(He wanted to sneak it into Sir Nighteye’s office and catch him off guard, too.)

“Sorry, you don’t have enough tickets for it,” the ticket taker said, looking incredibly unphased. “If
you want to get all the other stuff you picked plus the figure, you need two hundred more tickets.”

“Well, I have a couple tokens left… Does anything have a big jackpot?” Izuku asked curiously.
The ticket taker pointed to the punching bag game in the corner.

“The strength game does, but nobody’s been able to get it,” he shrugged. “The jackpot is set to a
stupidly high strength level. You’ve gotta get over, like, 750.”
“I could try that!” Izuku perked up. His legs were stronger than his arms overall since he fought
with them, but his punches were still pretty strong, he thought. Squeezing the last couple of tokens
in his hand, he nodded. “I’ll do that real quick! Sorry to ask, but can you hold our tickets for us?”

“Sure, good luck,” the ticket taker snorted, watching him with a bored expression. He clearly didn’t
think Izuku would score very high. While it was true that Izuku was smaller than most of the guys
in his class, he was still strong, quirk or not. He didn’t haul garbage for those ten months for
nothing, after all!

Izuku put the tokens in, and his friends circled around him curiously. The machine lit up, and he let
out a breath. Taking a stance, he wound up a jab and launched it at the poor machine. It rattled the
entire thing, not just the bag, and the number representing strength on the screen skyrocketed until
it maxed out at 999.

“Midoriya-kun, you shouldn’t use your quirk to win the jackpot!” Iida-kun scolded. Izuku blinked,
confused for a moment.

“But I didn’t use my quirk?” He said, tilting his head. “If I used my quirk, you’d see the lightning,
remember? I just punched it.”

They were quiet for a moment before they all paled, realizing that was just how hard he’d hit the
thing. The machine finally finished spitting out the gigantic pile of tickets and Izuku picked them
all up happily, not even noticing the looks on his friends faces.

“That’s terrifying,” Shinsou muttered. “If you punched me that hard I think I’d just cease to exist at
the moment of impact.”

“Oh, that’s not true!” Izuku laughed, a little embarrassed. “I didn’t even use all of my strength that
time! You wouldn’t die, promise!”

The sound that left Uraraka was unholy. “That wasn’t even your hardest punch?! How strong are
you?!”

“Umm… I think the heaviest I’ve lifted was around 370 kilos?” He mused, a finger to his chin,
remembering the time he’d picked up a fridge with All Might on top of it. “I’ve never tried
anything more, but I’m sure I could go a little higher.”

Uraraka pretended to faint comically, falling back into Tsu’s arms. “Something is wrong with our
soulmate! He’s freakishly strong!”

“You must give me your workout routine!” Iida chopped a hand. Todoroki nodded in agreement.
Izuku chuckled.

“Um, just lift garbage, I guess? I just cleaned a bunch of large trash for ten months before U.A, if
you guys know about Dagobah beach? I was actually super skinny before that! I could barely lift a
heavy box when I first started,” he chuckled, remembering how hellish the first few months had
been. It was nice to think about now, though, even if he’d been miserable at the time. He’d also
worked while injured a lot back then, which didn’t help matters much.

“I read about that,” Tsu nodded. “It was said to be the biggest act of community service in the
prefecture in the last few years and nobody knew who’d done it. Only you would do something so
crazy as a workout routine, Midoriya.”

They returned to the prize counter, where the poor guy blanched upon seeing that he’d won the
jackpot. “Uh… how many of those figures did you want?”
“Three, please!” He said happily. The poor attendant got them each of the prizes they’d asked for.
Izuku was going to give the other two ugly All Might figures to Toshinori and Sir. Toshinori would
get a kick out of it, and he had a feeling Sir would probably have an existential crisis over the
awful thing.

They all left the arcade happy with their prizes, and then they headed to the food court. Todoroki
looked around at the food options, all of the greasy mall chow, with a curious, almost worried
expression.

“I’ve never been allowed to eat this sort of stuff before,” he murmured. “My old man always said it
was unhealthy and unbefitting. Do you all have any… recommendations?”

Uraraka scowled darkly at the mention of Endeavor, like she wanted to go off and fight the man
personally. They all did, to be fair. But thankfully Tsu, diplomatic as ever, stepped in. “Well, what
kinds of food do you like? American? Japanese?”

“I’ve never tried American food. Can we?” He asked, and they all nodded. They decided to try
food from a fast food place that sold burgers and fries. When they’d each gotten their tray and sat
down, Izuku let out a deep, relaxed sigh. He hadn’t had this much fun in so long. He’d never hung
out with a group of people his own age like this before.

The food was good, their time at the arcade had been exciting, and best of all, he’d gotten to be
with his soulmates all day so far. Izuku leaned against Todoroki with a soft smile. “I’m glad you
guys decided to come with me today. I really love spending time with you. You’re the best, guys.”

“Aww, Midoriya!” Uraraka smiled brightly, though her cheeks were red. “We love spending time
with you, too! I’m happy you asked us. I, um, wouldn’t mind going on another date some time,
actually!”

“Me too, kero,” Tsu said, a rare smile on her face. “We should do this again soon.”

“Count me in as well,” Iida said with a gentle look. “And, ah, if it’s not too soon… I would like to
say that you all can call me Tenya.”

“Then you guys can call me Ochako too!”

“You guys already call me Tsu, so…”

“Uh… Hitoshi’s fine for me too, I guess.”

“Please, call me Shouto.”

“And Izuku for me!” Izuku smiled. The group of them smiled and laughed among themselves, just
enjoying each other’s company. They finished their food and sat around chatting about school
work, heroics lessons, or anything else that came to mind. It was so peaceful.

“Did you guys want to look around while we’re here? There’s so many shops I wouldn’t know
where to start, but I’m having such a good time that I don’t want to go back to the dorms yet,”
Izuku chuckled sheepishly.

“Well, earlier you said you didn’t have any nice clothes, right? Why don’t we go look at some of
the clothes shops? If you like clothes shopping, that is, kero,” Tsu suggested. Izuku perked up -
that wasn’t a bad idea, if everyone was on board with it. He could probably swing some stuff for
Hitoshi, too, since he mentioned not having nice clothes either. (Toshinori’s spending money was
still burning a hole in his wallet. He still felt bad that the man had given him so much.)
“That’s a good idea!” Tenya nodded, beginning to clear off their trash. The others helped, their
table just as clean as they’d left it. It was the heroic thing to do, of course! “I would not mind
looking around while we’re here, either.”

“I’m fine with that! I like window shopping!” Ochako smiled.

“If there’s something you really want, please tell me, Ochako-chan!” Izuku insisted. “I don’t mind,
really!”

“Aw, geez…” she rubbed the back of her head shyly as they made their way down towards the
other end of the food court. “Alright, but only if you look at shoes while we’re here! You never
seem to wear anything but those red ones, I’m wondering if you even have any others!”

Izuku glanced down at his shoes and chuckled nervously. It seemed as if they didn’t know about
quirkless shoes, thankfully. Almost nobody except the quirkless themselves and the shoe
companies who made them actually knew. Because of the shape their feet took due to the extra toe
joint, quirkless people had to wear special shoes. And the only color they came in was fire engine
red, an old way to subtly out people as quirkless.

“Well-” he’d been about to answer, but somebody cut him off before he could. A man at a small
stall near the edge of the food court had stepped forward with a large smile that didn’t reach his
eyes.

“Red shoes, you say? I believe your friend’s shoes here are a special case, as a matter of fact,” The
man was holding out a pamphlet to Izuku. “Hi, I’m from a sanctuary called Humarise. Have you
considered joining us here at our Japanese branch, young man?”

“Humarise?” Izuku choked, his eyes going wide. Now that he took in the man’s outfit, he was
definitely wearing the Humarise logo. “What the - Are you even allowed to pawn this stuff on
people in private owned places like this? Do you have a permit? You know what, I don’t care, let’s
go guys.”

“Now, hold on a moment!” The man stepped in front of Izuku as he tried to maneuver around him.
“I assure you, wherever you are now, Humarise can make you much more comfortable. We offer
plans for your whole family and your friends-”

“I’m not interested! I’m happy where I am!” Izuku snapped. The man stepped back, seeing the
genuine anger in Izuku’s face. “Please let me pass.”

“Please just keep Humarise in mind!” The man continued to smile even as he stepped aside. Izuku
scoffed to himself, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He couldn’t believe his amazing day had to go
and be interrupted by Humarise of all things.

“Um… what was that about?” Ochako asked softly, a worried expression on her face as their group
walked away. “Do you know that guy or something? What was he talking about when he
mentioned your shoes?”

“It’s… it’s nothing,” Izuku muttered. “Their group used to harass my mom a lot when I was little. I
had no idea they were handing out pamphlets in public now. They must be desperate for members
or something…”

Humarise had somehow found out about him being quirkless soon after the diagnosis. They
probably had people everywhere, and also a quirkless kid being born in Japan in his generation was
incredibly rare. It wouldn’t have been hard to single him out. He just hoped his friends didn’t dig
into the matter any more…

Humarise was a group opposite to most people’s views - they loved the quirkless, practically
worshiped them. But they were closer to a cult than a sanctuary, and many quirkless people who
joined them simply never got seen or heard from again. And those with quirks who were members
viewed themselves as cursed, needing to be cleansed of their impurities. The whole place just made
Izuku’s skin crawl.

When he was little, his mom had taken him for a tour of the Japanese branch once and only once
just to see what it was like. It only took that one visit to know that the offer of ‘sanctuary’ was a lie
- they’d tried to separate him from his mom and flat out kidnap him when she wasn’t responding to
their offers. They harassed her with mail and flyers nearly all the time after, until she’d told Auntie
Mitsuki who’d called and threatened to… well, very unpleasantly make the branch leader leave
them alone.

He hadn’t seen hide nor hair from Humarise in years, and he’d hoped it would’ve stayed that way,
but now…

“You guys know how I said I got my quirk late, right?” Izuku muttered. He figured it would be
better to at least give them something than let them go on wondering what that was about and
looking stuff up later that could cause problems.

“Yeah, of course,” Tsu nodded. “What about it?”

“Well, I also said I was considered quirkless before because of that. Humarise is a… group
dedicated to ‘preserving’ the quirkless. They used to harass my mom all the time to try and get her
to give me over to them. They’re… really gross. Whatever they tell quirkless people to get them to
join, it isn’t true,” Izuku muttered. “Or at least it’s not the sunshine and rainbows they paint it to
be.”

“That’s awful!” Tenya exclaimed. “Should we report that man?”

“No, it wouldn’t do any good,” Izuku sighed. “It’s alright, it just shook me up. I haven’t thought
about Humarise in a while. My Auntie got them to leave us alone, so that was the first time since I
was… like, eight or nine, I think. Let’s just go back to having fun, okay? I won’t let that guy ruin
my day.”

“Right,” Hitoshi gently nudged him with his elbow. “Today’s our day. Forget that guy, huh? Let’s
go find you some cool clothes. And for the record, I like your shoes.”

“Thanks,” Izuku smiled wearily, “I like them, too.”

The shopping went surprisingly well. They moved past the strange interaction with the Humarise
recruiter fairly easily, instead focusing on making their day great again. Nobody brought up his
shoes again thankfully, and instead they spent the entire rest of the afternoon trying on more and
more ridiculous clothes.

It was hilarious seeing Tenya dress… well, like an edgelord, honestly - he came out in some outfit
Hitoshi had grabbed and the entire group had to try not to laugh. When he started laughing too,
though, they all broke down into a fit of giggles.
 In the end they found some good clothes, and Izuku bought Hitoshi and Ochako some stuff as well.
Not to mention they grabbed some clothes for camp as well - Izuku’s workout clothes were a bit
raggedy since they were the ones he’d worn since meeting Toshinori for the first time. By the time
they were done, they left the mall with their hands full and their hearts happy. That was what really
mattered.

The incident with the Humarise recruiter had been mostly put to the back of his mind, though it had
been concerning seeing them operate so openly.

When they left to return to the dorms, Izuku gave a hug to Iida and Tsu as they parted ways. When
the rest of them got back to the dorms themselves, he gave hugs to each of the others and went to
his room to put up his new stuff. He set the ugly All Might figure right next to the photo of him and
Toshinori and hung up his new clothes. Once everything was settled, he took the extra two figures
he’d won and grinned to himself. He’d never managed to break Sir Nighteye’s calm and collected
veneer before, but he totally wanted to.

He texted his dad - ‘Can you ask Nedzu if I can come into the school building? I want to prank
Sir!’ - and got an ‘absolutely’ in return. A few moments later, Nedzu himself had messaged him,
saying his ID would work to open the doors for an hour or two. Izuku set back out of the dorms
towards the school.

He asked Toshinori to distract Sir for a little bit, since the man was actually in the building at the
moment. Going along with it, Toshinori pulled him out of the teacher's offices so Izuku could sneak
in. He put the horrible figure on Sir’s desk and snuck back out.

The offended yelling that came from the offices when Sir went back in was totally worth it. He
called the figure an offense to the man’s legacy, and Izuku had never laughed as hard as he had
seeing Nighteye get so worked up over a figure. When Toshinori told him it matched one Izuku
owned, the quiet stewing that followed was even better. He clearly didn’t know whether to be
happy he had something matching with Izuku or upset that such an ugly knockoff figure existed.

Izuku grinned to himself as he headed back to the residence buildings to spend some time with his
mom. Best day ever, Humarise or not.

Chapter End Notes

The date went well!! Well, mostly well, lol... I know a lot of you guys were expecting
it to go off the rails for another reason, but there were no League members in sight...
hmm... I wonder why? Maybe we'll find out soon! I hope everyone liked this chapter
tho!! I had tons of fun writing it, and I can't wait til the summer camp next chapter >:D
you guys might just be surprised by what I have planned... At least I hope you will be!

Also, I don't say this enough, but thank you guys so much for reading this story! My
fics are all stuff I do for fun and to know so many people read & support that makes
me genuinely happy. There are so many times I think about how different a person I
would be if I didn't start posting fics here and meet all the people I have thanks to that.
So from the bottom of my heart, thanks so much for reading this & supporting me!

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks
(PS: Thanks to another fic for inspiring the whole knockoff All Might figure thing. I
remember reading a fic with a bit like that and I really loved it so I wanted to write my
take on it lol. I'm just sad I can't remember the fic's name any more!)
 Summer Time
Chapter Summary

He hoped it was fun! He’d never been to summer camp before.

Well, the only way to know was to find out.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

The summer camp came faster than Izuku had expected it to.

There were two weeks of summer, a week of training camp, and then another week of summer
before they had to get back to school. The two weeks before felt like they’d practically breezed by.
He spent most of it with his mom, keeping up with his workout routine, or hanging out with his
friends that were still in the dorms.

His and Mirio’s joint birthday had come up, though the two of them decided to celebrate it after the
training camp when both of their friends would be more available. Izuku wanted to invite his
classmates as well, since he’d never been able to before, and Mirio wholeheartedly supported the
idea, saying they could celebrate in the dorms when the camp was over.

When the time came to get ready for camp itself, Izuku had already packed everything he needed.
Some of the others in the class needed last minute stuff, though, so they went back out to Kiyashi
Ward Mall again. It was more for a purpose than just to have fun this time, and they didn’t really
need anything, but Izuku and his friends still went again just to hang out with the class.

It was a productive trip, and Izuku got to hold hands with Tsu and Tenya while they walked around,
so he was happy. Mina of course teased them about it, but they didn’t mind so much. Now that
they’d gotten the initial awkwardness out of the way, it was easier for them to be more affectionate
with each other. (Well, Todoroki and Shinsou had a bit of trouble with it - but they were all patient
with them. They all understood.)

The trip went fine, and the whole class returned to the dorms to await the trip out to the summer
camp the very next day. Izuku wondered what it was going to be like… he hoped it was fun! He’d
never been to summer camp before.

Well, the only way to know was to find out.

Aizawa woke the class at an ungodly hour. They were practically dead on their feet as they
gathered their suitcases to head down to the bus - the sun hadn’t even risen yet!

Tsu leaned on Hitoshi, still really sleepy. He was the only one among them that seemed to be
mostly awake, though whether it was from insomnia or what, Izuku didn’t know. Izuku himself
hadn’t gotten up so early to do something since Dagobah.

“Hah! Class 1-A, you look so tired! Are you not ready for this training camp?” They heard
Monoma’s loud voice come from behind them, followed by an equally loud yawn. When they
turned to look, 1-B was arriving, also exhausted. The only one who wasn’t was Bakugou, lurking
around the back of the group. He gave a curious expression when he saw Hitoshi with Izuku and
the others, a look that faded into quiet contemplation.

“Ha ha, Monoma-kun,” Izuku snorted, rolling his eyes. He didn’t know what to think about that
look Bakugou had, so he put it out of mind for now. “You’re just as tired as we are, you don’t fool
me!”

“You tell him, Midoriya!” Tsuburaba laughed. “He needs an ego check sometimes.”

The classes laughed a little among themselves, sleepy as they were. Aizawa seemed to hide a smile
in his scarf - clearly, he was happy the two classes were getting along. The teachers were with
them, too, though they were more awake than the students. Aizawa, Vlad King, Midnight and ‘Mr.
Yagi’ were all going on the trip, though Sir Nighteye had been told to stay back as he’d been a
target previously. It was a great trade off for them, having All Might secretly with them in
exchange for a lesser target.

Apparently, Aizawa had also changed the summer camp location last-minute for extra safety, and
only the teachers who were going knew the new location.

“Alright, everyone, listen up,” Aizawa got their attention, “1-A will be riding bus 102 and 1-B will
be riding 105. Please behave yourselves, we’ll be on this trip for a few hours and I don’t want to
have to make it longer by stopping to yell at you.”

The class chuckled, knowing he absolutely would.

“That being said, please go ahead and put your luggage on the bus and begin boarding. We’ll
discuss the actual camp when we’re closer to it,” Aizawa gestured to the buses. The students did as
they were asked, and when they boarded and everyone was settled, they got moving. Izuku was
sitting with Ochako and Aoyama now, both of them chatting amicably since they were more
awake.

“Are you looking forward to this excursion?” Aoyama asked, smiling. Izuku nodded
enthusiastically.

“Yeah! I’ve never been to a summer camp before! I’m super excited,” he said, grinning widely.
“Plus, I get to hang out with my friends some more! I’m always happy to be with the class.”

“Aww, so sweet, Midoriya!” Mina crowed. “We like hanging out with you, too!”

“Yeah! Everybody likes Midobro, he’s so nice!” Kirishima laughed good-naturedly. “Seriously, I
don’t know how you got so manly!”

“Uhh, just born with it… I think?” Izuku said sheepishly. “I just don’t have it in my heart to be
mean or angry most of the time… I don’t even think about it, really.”

“Truly an example of something to look up to! I’m honored to be your soulmate!” Tenya declared,
and Izuku’s entire face went red. The class teased him about his reaction and his soulmates joined
in. It was such a lighthearted interaction, and Izuku was happy he could trust them to tease him in a
fun way, not a mean one. Every once in a while he wondered what life at U.A would have been like
if his class had been like the one from Aldera, but he honestly couldn’t imagine them being mean
or cruel.

Aside from the couple of misunderstandings they’d had, they were as close as a class full of hero
students could be, really.

The trip was peaceful even with the class horsing around a bit, and before they knew it, the
environment turned into a mountainous and forested area around them. Izuku looked out the
window with a wide-eyed expression. He’d never been out this far before! He’d honestly never left
his prefecture aside from going to and from Sir’s agency in junior high. (And Hosu, but he didn’t
count that, since it was… well, not very fun.)

After nearly two hours riding, with the morning sun in the sky now, the buses pulled over. The two
classes let out onto a picturesque cliffside, and Izuku decided to stretch. Sitting in the same spot for
two hours made his legs hurt.

The classes mingled together with the teachers watching over them. Off to the side, Midnight spoke
quietly to Aizawa. “Where are our guests? Shouldn’t they be here?”

“They had trouble with their kid, apparently. They’ll be here soon, don’t worry,” he explained with
a wave of his hand. As if on cue, a car pulled up alongside the bus. The class turned to see who it
was curiously, and out popped none other than two pro heroes Izuku knew well.

“The Wild, Wild Pussycats!” He gasped, nearly shaking with excitement. “I’ve gotta ask them to
sign my notebook when I get the chance…!”

“You brought your notebooks with you to camp?” Tsuburaba asked with a small laugh. Izuku
grinned and nodded.

“Of course! You never know when you might need to take notes, especially when you’re learning
from new heroes! Isn’t this exciting, you guys? That’s Mandalay and Pixie-Bob! They’re so cool!”

“Well, I see some of the kittens know us!” Pixie-Bob laughed. “Good to see you’re all ready to go
so early in the morning.”

“Long time no see, huh, Eraser?” Mandalay smiled. Aizawa gave her a nod. He liked working with
Mandalay - she was a good person, got her work done well, and was friendly with everyone while
not being overbearing. Getting everyone’s attention with a clap, Mandalay had all eyes on her. “As
you can see, there’s a lot of land around here! We own everything in this valley, as a matter of fact.
You kittens will be staying down there!”

She pointed to a large campsite at the far end of the forest, tiny with how far away they were.
Tsuburaba scratched the back of his head, a little confused. “Uh… if we’re staying all the way
down there, then why’d we stop here? It can’t be much farther of a drive. We could’ve just kept
going.”

“Hey, yeah! We’re ready to get camping, why did we stop? We already stopped like thirty minutes
ago for a restroom break,” Mina asked next.

Izuku blinked, his knowledge of both Aizawa and Sir Nighteye’s training running through his head
in an instant. He gulped. “Uh oh.”

“Uh oh?” Monoma raised an eyebrow, “What are you saying uh oh for?”

Aizawa grinned that frightening grin he had when he got one of his ‘logical ruses’ over on the
class. Pixie-Bob gave a remarkably similar grin. “It’s 9:30 now. If you’re fast, you might make it
by noon? Kittens who don’t make it by 12:30 won’t get lunch!”

Kirishima gulped. “Guys, we should get back to the bus…”

The students, catching onto what was actually going on, all turned tail to head back to the bus. But
before they could, Pixie-Bob had already leapt into action, crumbling the earth underneath their
feet with her quirk. The entire cliffside crumbled away, depositing the two classes in the valley
below before she reformed it.

“You all have three hours to get to camp on the other side of the forest! You have permission to
use your quirks here so long as you don’t set the forest on fire!” Mandalay called from the top of
the cliff, waving cheekily at them. The classes huffed and dusted themselves off, dirty from the fall
down. Well, less of a fall and more of a slide thanks to Pixie-Bob’s quirk, but still.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do except try our best to get there by lunch!” Tenya said, adjusting
his glasses. “We are heroes in training, after all!”

“Dude, we’ll be lucky to get there by sundown…” Kaminari fake sobbed overdramatically,
trudging ahead. Bakugou just huffed and clapped him on the shoulder, and Izuku was reminded
that they were platonic soulmates. He’d forgotten about it, but now Izuku wondered how much
time they spent together outside of class.

“Don’t complain, sparky, just do your best like glasses over there said or whatever,” he huffed, and
Kirishima grinned alongside him.

“That’s right! Let’s do our best, everyone!” Kirishima cheered as well.

“Bakugou-kun being friendly with somebody? I thought I’d never see the day,” Tsuburaba laughed
a little bit. “He’s so… aggressive with everyone in class most of the time.”

“Hey! I’m capable of being friendly, you extras!” Bakugou barked back. Izuku sighed. Some
things really did never change… like his volume. Still, at least he was being friendly towards some
people, like Tsuburaba said.

As the two classes made their way into the forest, however, a great rumbling stopped them in their
tracks. Monsters made of dirt and grass rose from the earth, lumbering and angry. The class
collectively groaned. This must have been Pixie-Bob’s quirk again. Mina whined. “More
obstacles?! I’m already starving, c’mon!”

Izuku took a deep breath and launched a branch of Blackwhip through one of the monsters at high
speed, destroying its top half. Bakugou and several other members of 1-B, never having seen that
from him before, gawked with open mouths. “They’re only as strong as actual dirt, guys, we can do
this!”

That seemed to invigorate everyone as they got to work. A girl with horns from 1-B agreed
excitedly. “Yeah! Let’s do this!”

By the time they made it to camp, both classes were exhausted, dirty, and beaten up. While their
durability might have been that of actual dirt, they certainly still could pack one hell of a punch.
Most of the class was ready for a long, hot shower and a bed right about then, not to mention a
good, hot meal.

“Good going, everyone!” They saw Mandalay waving to them innocently, clean and not exhausted.
The students grumbled to themselves under their breaths. “That wasn’t bad for your first time! To
be fair, the three hour estimate was how long it would’ve taken us to get through, so…”

The student gave a collective, drawn-out ‘uuuuuuugh.’

“Hey, now! No pouting!” A new voice joined the mix, a woman with blue hair and a yellow outfit
- another member of the Pussycats, Ragdoll. Beside her was Tiger, the last member of the group.
“Seriously, you all did great! A lot of you showed quick reaction time to the monsters, so good job
to you!”

The students glowed a little under the praise. To be honest, a lot of it thanks to Sir Nighteye’s
insistence on reaction speed, timeliness, and quirkless combat and they knew it. Still, their skills
had grown, and they took the compliment gracefully. Izuku, on the other hand, was curious about
something else…

“Um… whose kid is that, by the way?” He asked, pointing to a little boy who’d been standing in
the back. He had an angry expression and a hat with golden spikes on it. “I saw him when we were
coming into camp, so I was curious…”

“Oh! That’s my nephew, Kota!” Mandalay smiled. “Kota, why don’t you introduce yourselves to
them?”

The kid just huffed and crossed his arms. Izuku wasn’t put off, though - he smiled and went up to
him anyway, holding out an open hand. “Hi! I’m Midoriya Izuku. I’m from U.A. It’s nice to meet-”

He was cut off by a swift punch to his crotch, which had Izuku doubled over in pain instantly.
Tenya was beside him to catch him, thankfully, upset on his behalf. “What in the world was that
for?! He was just introducing himself to you!”

“I don’t intend to be friendly with hero wannabes,” Kota growled out, marching off. As he did, he
was scratching at his right wrist, and Izuku felt his itch too. He was still trying to get over the pain
of being punched where the sun didn’t shine, though - even if it was by a little kid, it still hurt like
hell.

“What the - Izuku, your flower!” Tenya said softly. Sure enough, a strange, fuzzy-looking flower
had bloomed on his wrist. Izuku stood on shaky legs with a groan, and Mandalay came over as
well.

“I’m so sorry! That was entirely uncalled for. I’ll speak to him about that,” she said. Izuku shook
his head with a soft huff.

“It’s fine,” he mumbled. “He sounded angry for a reason… seems he doesn’t like hero students. I
won’t make the same mistake twice…” he glanced down at his soulflower, and then briefly over at
Hitoshi. He wasn’t going to suffer another withered flower because of a bad first meeting. (Most of
his soulflowers seemed to have bad first meetings, for some reason. He wondered if he was cursed
or something.)

“The same mistake?” Mandalay asked, confused. Izuku raised the arm filled with flowers, pointing
to the new familial one that had bloomed.

“We share a soulflower!” Izuku said. As he looked at it, he wondered what he would be in relation
to Kota. A sibling figure? A parental figure? (He thought he was a little young to be a parental
figure for Kota, but far be it from him to argue with a soulflower.) It was a familial flower, but
those took many forms. “I won’t let this first impression color my judgement of him… that’s all I
meant. So, if he wants to hear it, tell him I’m here for him, please? I’ll… be patient.”

“Oh!” Mandalay’s eyes went wide, clearly not expecting her nephew to share a flower with a
student. Still, her expression was gentle at the sight of the new familial flower that bloomed.
“Well… I’m glad he’ll have somebody watching out for him. I’ll let him know.”

“Alright, enough chit-chat,” Aizawa interrupted, appearing from inside the campgrounds. It
seemed as if he didn’t realize he was interrupting an important conversation, judging from
Mandalay’s rolling of her eyes. “Everyone, get your stuff inside. We’ll have dinner, followed by
baths, and then bed for the night. We have a packed schedule, and we need to stick to it. You’ll be
getting up early in the morning for a special routine co-developed by Sir Nighteye and I.”

“Sir Nighteye helped develop the training?” Sero asked, curious. Aizawa nodded.

“Of course. Even if he couldn’t be here, he is still the hero course teacher. He deserved input,
especially for some of your routines,” Aizawa explained, glancing at Izuku. Instantly, he
understood. He needed more training with One for All. Well, he felt the same, of course. He didn’t
want to be caught off guard by any more ‘sudden developments.’ “So with that being said, let’s get
moving.”

“Well, you go ahead, Midoriya-kun,” Mandalay said softly. “I’ll talk to Kota. I’m sorry again
about his attitude. You let me know if you need anything, alright?”

“It’s really okay, Mandalay-san. No worries. I just hope Kota-kun is alright.”

Dinner was a throwdown, with all of the starving hero students stuffing their faces with food. It
was delicious and filling, and everything they could’ve asked for. When everyone was done, they
were sated and ready to get out of their gross clothes so they could take a long, hot bath in the hot
springs.

Izuku was a little on the nervous side, though, since he couldn’t hide his scars in the hot spring.
Especially since both classes were sharing at the same time, and Bakugou would be there. But… he
trusted his class. He could do something like share a hot spring now that he’d gotten to know
everyone better. They would all be there. He’d been changing behind Tenya and Aoyama in the
locker room this whole time, but now he could be more open.

He gathered his things with a deep breath and headed to the changing rooms for the hot spring,
ready to relax and take a hot bath. He changed into his towel and headed into the main area with a
small smile at his classmates. They seemed surprised to see him, and as he thought, their eyes
lingered on his scars for a moment - especially the gnarled burn scar on his shoulder. But they went
away as soon as they’d come, smiling easily back at him.

“It’s good to see you,” Aoyama smiled, “I thought you might use the showers instead for a while,
but you decided to join us, hm?”

“Yeah,” Izuku chucked, “I did. I was nervous… but I trust everyone. So here I am!”

“See? Manly as ever,” Kirishima laughed good-naturedly. Izuku smiled sheepishly and dipped into
the water, feeling a stare burning on him. He looked over, and there was Bakugou, his gaze intense.
It seemed as if he’d never truly seen what he did until now. Looking at the patchwork of leathery
skin on his shoulder, it was apparently difficult to come to terms with the fact that he’d actually
done that to another person. Finally, Bakugou tore his eyes away with some sort of guilty,
thoughtful look, and Izuku sighed quietly.

He wasn’t going to rehash old wounds right now. Right now, he was going to relax. But then he
felt another stare on him, and as he sank into the water, he met Kota’s eyes at the top of the wall
dividing the girls and boys. When Kota realized he saw him, he scrambled back into the center area
so he wouldn’t be seen.

“What was that about?” Hitoshi asked, wading over to where he was. “That kid has been staring at
you all night. He was the one that punched you where the sun doesn’t shine…”

“Oh, it’s alright, go easy on him,” Izuku snorted. “He and I share a flower. I think he was just
shocked. He doesn’t seem to like hero students very much… sound familiar?”

Hitoshi’s face turned red from embarrassment. “Yeah, yeah. You gonna get through to him too?
It’s kind of what you do, from what I understand. Get through to people. You did it to both Shouto
and I, twice might I add.”

“You think I can?” Izuku hummed, sinking further into the water and sighing at the relief over his
sore muscles. He was quiet, that way Kota wouldn’t overhear them. He figured Kota was likely
there as a deterrent for any boys that wanted to play peeping tom. “I’ll try my best. I won’t let the
first impression color my judgement this time. I said the same thing to Mandalay-san earlier. Kota-
kun… he reminds me a lot of you, actually.”

“Hah, I don’t know if that’s a good thing,” Hitoshi snorted. He sank into the water beside Izuku,
eyes shutting as he relaxed. “Could prove troublesome. Guess we’ll see.”

“Yeah… guess we will,” Izuku agreed softly, also closing his eyes. The hot water was a godsend
right now. Before he could get fully relaxed, however, he heard Tenya’s voice.

“Make sure not to fall asleep in the water, you two, lest you accidentally drown!” He said. Izuku
peeked one eye open to see him chopping his hand and everything. Izuku smiled a little bit.

“We’ll be careful, Tenya, thanks for looking out for us,” he said softly. Tenya opened his mouth to
say something else, but he closed it with a smile. Instead, he just smiled and shook his head, taking
a seat by them. Todoroki and Aoyama also waded over to join them in their little corner of the hot
spring.

“You guys really do spend all your time together, it seems like,” Ojiro chuckled. “Every day at
lunch, during our group study sessions, even now. You’re really close, huh?”

“Of course!” Izuku smiled. “They’re my soulmates, after all. I love spending time with them. I
don’t think I could ever be bored or tired or being around them.”

“Same here,” Hitoshi chuckled. “I’m really grateful we worked through everything. I don’t know
what I’d have done without you guys.”

The rest of the bath was peaceful and quiet, at least until Kaminari decided to splash Kirishima,
and then Kirishima tried to get him back and hit Bakugou, and it devolved into some kind of splash
war. Kota yelled at them not to play with the hot spring like that, though, and they heard the girls
laughing on the other side of the wall.
 Once everything wound down and they were changed and headed back to the rooms to sleep, Izuku
saw Kota peeking around one of the hallway corners to watch him. He smiled and waved at him,
and Kota huffed and marched himself around the corner, standing in front of Izuku with his arms
crossed.

“What’s up, Kota-kun? Is something wrong?” Izuku asked. Kota’s eyes fell and he seemed to pull
into himself.

“S… Sorry for punching you. Auntie Mandalay made me come say sorry,” he said. Izuku patted
Kota’s head with a smile.

“It’s alright, I forgive you,” Izuku replied easily. Kota looked like he had something else to say,
however, and he stood there for a moment or two, debating on whether he should say it. Finally, he
made up his mind.

“You got hurt,” he mumbled. “I saw it. Did you get hurt in hero training?”

Izuku’s eyebrows rose. Hurt? Did he mean the scars he saw in the hot spring? Was Kota worried
about him? It didn’t seem like it came from the normal place of concern, though… there was
something in the way he asked the question that didn’t sit right with him. Still, he shook his head.

“No, I-” Izuku was cut off by Mandalay coming around the corner.

“Kota-kun, did you apologize yet? It’s time for bed,” she called. Kota tore his eyes away from
Izuku for a moment to face his aunt.

“Yes, Auntie, I said sorry,” he said. Mandalay smiled.

“Good. Come on, Kota,” she held out her hand. Kota turned back, clearly wanting to finish the
conversation but not wanting to disobey his aunt. Izuku smiled and gestured for him to go. They
could always talk again tomorrow.

“We can talk some more tomorrow if you want, Kota-kun. You can ask me as many questions as
you want, promise,” he said. Kota seemed to take that and nod quietly, heading back to his aunt.
He didn’t seem nearly as angry as he had that afternoon. Izuku was glad he could help at least a
little… well, assuming it was him that helped, anyway.

“Goodnight, Midoriya. You should head to your room before Aizawa gets mad at you, alright?”
Mandalay smiled at him. Izuku nodded.

Summer camp was certainly off to an interesting start.

Chapter End Notes

Edelweiss: a fuzzy, white flower meaning devotion & courage.

------

The summer camp is in full swing! Izuku got a familial flower with Kota, had fun with
his classmates... And next chapter, we'll get some more real interesting developments.
What do you think is coming up next? I'm so excited for everyone to see what's going
to happen in the story! Also, on an unrelated side note, I've been considering writing a
 crossover between Mass Effect & MHA, where several of the major decisions & story
paths are voted on by readers, so it'd be a semi-interactive story sort of like Mass
Effect itself! I'd have to iron out the details but I think it could be fun.

See you all next chapter!

- daylightbreaks

------

Izuku’s Bloomed Soulflowers

Romantic [5/6]: Uraraka (Lily of the Valley), Iida (Black-Eyed Susan), Tsu
(Speedwell), Todoroki (Lavender), Hitoshi (Blue Tulip)

Platonic & Familial [10/16]: Bakugou (Hollyhock - Withered), Togata (Goldenrod),

Aoyama (Diphylleia), All Might (Vervain), Sir Nighteye (Bluebell), Aizawa (Cherry
Blossom), Kota (Edelweiss) Yoichi/First (Snowdrop), Banjo/Fifth (Protea),
Nana/Seventh (Pink Orchid)

End Notes

If you’d like to get notifications when I update or talk to me about the story directly, feel
free to join my discord server! I write other fics as well, mostly long fics & one-shots, so
feel free to check those out as well!

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one Bound by HeadcaseKiller

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