Midoriya-senpai!

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/21251159.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: Gen
Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero
Academia
Relationship: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & 2-B,
Midoriya Izuku & 2-F, Class 1-A & Midoriya Izuku, Basically the whole
school and teachers tbh, Midoriya Inko & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku
& 2-I, ima think abt the romance later huehue
Character: Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Inko, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Yamada
Hizashi | Present Mic, Ectoplasm (My Hero Academia), Kayama Nemuri
| Midnight, Class 1-A (My Hero Academia), Other Character Tags to Be
Added, Pro Heroes (My Hero Academia), Class 2-B & Class 2-F &
Class 2-I, Eri (My Hero Academia), Original Characters
Additional Tags: Quirkless Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All
Quirk, 1 Year older Izuku, Fluff, Angst, Izuku is a mess but we love him,
All the teachers kind of love him tbh, Bullying, Anyone: Haha its that
quirkless kid, Aizawa: ExPeLLeD, inspired by another work, Other
Additional Tags to Be Added, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead,
Hurt/Comfort, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku is So Done, Older
Midoriya Izuku, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate
Universe, Humor, Good Parent Midoriya Inko, Midoriya Izuku Tries His
Best, Anxiety, Big Brother Midoriya Izuku
Language: English
Collections: My Hero Academia, Astral_Phoenix108's Library, Deaged and Aged-Up
Midoriya Izuku, Best Fics From Across The Multiverse, Got 99 problems
but these ain't one, The Collection From the Clouds, Read it and weep,
private collection (do not access please), ✰ <100k Fav Fics Bnha ✰,
No_ofa_roundhurrr, Scratch's pile of fanfics that they recommend to
every stranger like the gospel, blasphemi’s bnha fics, I ADORE AAAAA,
Great Fics i Want To Re Read, Wolfis MyHeroAcademia Library,
Ongoing Fics (bnha), jrmuffin's favorites, S.T.I.L.L., Worth It BNHA
Fanfics Reading List - Ongoing, My_hero_academia_works, lil bubs the
cat (oreo) likes these fics (and so do I) (10/10) (would recommend),
Don't forget, Amazing fics :D, izuku's the love of my life my baby my
angel, .⭒°.•*.↫ ♡♡↬.*•.°⭒., bnha fics (mostly),
Creative Chaos Discord Recs, Boku no hero academia, All kinds:
BNHA's Fics version, fics i would download again and again
Stats: Published: 2019-10-31 Updated: 2021-05-22 Words: 36,687 Chapters:
8/?

Midoriya-senpai!
by Definitely_an_Alien_pewpew

Summary
 Midoriya Izuku was a boy with dreams that weren't going to die anytime soon. By doing all
that he could, he aims to be the first quirkless hero! Unfortunately, it seems that his
supposed classmates kind of just.. um, got expelled?

Aka, Midoriya is born one year early and everything changes. Being the only student of 1-
A is going to be quite the adventure.

Notes

I have another book that I haven't updated in a year.

Me: Lets start another one and leave it to the same fate.

Also Me: nO

Lets see where this goes and hope my inspiration doesn't die on me :>

The only thing you need to know here is that Izuku has mini panic-attacks throughout the
day until Aizawa tells him he's ayt.

Oh yeah his whole class is expelled too. That's fun.

Inspired by 365 - Izuku on the Rise by ThrillShockSuspense

 I'm Fine, Totally Fine. Obviously.
Chapter Notes

Edited 04/06/2021

ALSO!! I've had a few requests for this- so just in case yall have any desire to
translate, podifc, etc. or want to share fanart of my work, please email me at
Alien_pewpew@protonmail.com so that I can link yall! (I do not have tumblr/twitter
:"D). Thank you so much!

To dream to be the first quirkless hero, you'd have to have a large ego, be a little delusional, and be
diagnosed with some kind of disorder.

To actually try it, you'd have to be downright insane.

Izuku guesses he couldn't argue with that as he continued through the testing grounds with a
handmade bat-pole thing, a taser, and his own dose of stupidity, recklessness, and determination.

From behind the screens, Aizawa Shouta couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the student
whacking and tazing robots left and right. From the digital files he pulled up, the student was
named Midoriya Izuku. A plain looking normal boy raised by a single mother who gained a pretty
damn good score in the written portion of the exam.

The real kicker here was that there was a single dash under the Quirk portion of the file, which was
a universal indicator for being Quirkless.

As he continued to watch the boy quite literally smash his way through the exam while helping out
fellow test takers, the underground hero couldn't help but have his interest piqued.

This year is going to be interesting. He thought as he continued to grade the hero wannabees.

Izuku didn't ever think his quirkless self was going to stand in front of Yuuei as a goddamn student
wearing the actual gray uniform and the actual red tie that he didn't know how to tie and the gray
pants and the freaking I.D--

Well, to summarize it bluntly, he was kind of in shock. And if he didn't want to be late for his first
day, he reaaally needed to start moving.

Taking a deep breath, he squares his shoulders and walked into the huge, very large building like
wow, it was humongous.

Riiiiing
Right, first day, first impressions. He's got this, everything is going to be okay! This wasn't Aldera
Middle school where literally everyone thought he was weird and freaky and useless-

Taking a deep breath, he slaps both of his cheeks in order to focus, startling someone who was
running past him to get to their classroom. He could've sworn he heard them say "literally fucking
same" as they disappeared around the corner.

Blinking, he shook himself out of his anxiety ridden brain and determinedly ran towards the
towering door of 1-A. Not taking a moment to hesitate in case the anxiety came back, he threw the
door open and let his eyes wander. This was going to be his new class, afterall!

His class who was.. is that girl straddling the guy with a centaur mutation? Were those
inappropriate magazines on one of the guys desks?? Is that girl on the ceiling what the hell--

Someone seemed to agree with his sentiments as he heard a very bluntly said 'what the fuck' from
behind him.

Well, not just anyone apparently, because as Izuku turned around his eyes landed on a man with
messy black hair, a black jumpsuit, and a very eye catching white scarf.

Aka Eraserhead. The Eraserhead. As in the underground Pro-hero Eraserhead. As in his literal
idol.

He was cool. Totally. Obviously.

"You gonna keep staring, kid?"

Jumping, Izuku felt a blush furiously fester on his cheeks. "A-ah I'm so sorry, Eraserhead-san! Um-
-" God he was sweating buckets what the hell is he supposed to do this would be the time for the
ground to swallow him whole or an asteroid oh heck--

Raising an eyebrow, Shouta couldn't help but feel slightly amused and a little impressed. Not many
could recognize him.

However, not even the clearly anxiety-ridden teen could stop him from angrily placing his
attention back on the two brats getting it on in his classroom, the group of girls gossiping about an
american idol, the creepy teen reading porn magazines, and the fucking spider student crawling on
his damn ceiling. Clenching his jaw, he already felt a headache forcing its way into his head.

He had a very big feeling he was going to be putting a lot of yen into the 'expel-jar' the moment he
went back to the lounge during lunch. He was not looking forward to it.

Izuku was in kind of a doozy. They were only half way through the day and eight of his
classmates-- er, ex-classmates have been expelled. First were the two who were um,
inappropriately touching each other. Eraser-- sorry, Aizawa-sensei (ohmygod he was his
homeroom teacher, that is so freaking cool ) made it clear from the get go that he didn’t tolerate
this kind of behaviour.

The next five people to go were kicked out after the quirk-apprehension test. The whole thing went
off not-so-good from the start because he didn't show any signs of quirk, which led to some of his
classmates complaining about the ‘kid who wasn’t even trying’.

He wasn’t hurt, not really. He kind of expected this to be honest. Izuku had assumed that sensei
would just ignore the jabs, but he was shocked when he felt a steady presence by his shoulder.

“If all of you must know” He had said, “Midoriya Izuku is quirkless, and so far, he is the only one
i'm getting even a lick of heroic potential from.”

After that, the murmurs toned down slightly. Although what sensei said did nothing to stop the
dirty looks being sent his way, his heart felt warm after the praise and defense. No teacher has ever
done that before, not even when the bullying got really bad and he was sent to the hospital that one
time in middle school. He always had to be the one to dig himself out, which is why he took up
multiple extra-curriculars (ie. Dance and Arnis martial arts) in an effort to do more than just dream.
His mother was confused the first time he asked of course, but immediately agreed after she saw
how happy it made him.

And as he ended up being the last one standing, or well- pushing in the push-up assessment, he felt
the fruition of those many years of torture with Diwa-sensei and her painful, horrible, no good crab
hold that almost choked him to death every time she decided he was being sloppy--

Happy thoughts, Izuku, happy thoughts.

So far, although Yuuei was turning out to be filled with a lot of surprises, he didn’t fully take in
how cut-throat and serious the institution was until Aizawa-sensei called out the names of five of
his classmates like a death sentence.

“Fukumoto, Arima, Hiraoka, Yasada, Yamamura” He had announced, “All of you took this test
with the seriousness of a five year old and didn’t give me any kind of indicator of the hero that
you’re trying to be. This is not a game, its better you learn this now than never. You’re all expelled,
go get your bags and head to the principal's office for any other questions. The rest of you passed,
but don’t assume you’re in the clear just yet. That’s all, dismissed.”

And then from eighteen, they became thirteen.

I think I'm gonna faint, He thought as he imagined every single situation where he could’ve messed
up and gone home with empty, broken dreams.

After that eventful and harrowing experience came the, thankfully, normal classes with his teachers
who were also pro-heroes (which was freaking awesome).

I can’t believe Ectoplasm is teaching me math, He thought to himself as he listened to his pro-hero
teacher explain the equation of a line. Y = mx + b will be in my brain forever.

Everything was going pretty well, and it even felt like there were going to be no more heart-attack
inducing threats of expulsion, until Ectoplasm finished his discussion and called on one of his
classmates with a dark expression on his face.

“Enomoto-kun, I hope you realise we have zero-tolerance for the misbehavior and harassment of
our students. If you could please keep your eyes on the board and refrain from using your quirk to
spy under your classmates skirts, you can grab your things and head straight to the principal's office
where I will be sending Aizawa-sensei to decide your punishment.” He said, deep voice placing the
fear of god into the perverted boy.

A little cockroach then revealed itself crawling down from the chair leg of one of the ah, more
gifted girls in the class, Hattori-san, and then promptly keeled over and died before Enomoto-san
practically ran out of the classroom with his tail between his legs.

Izuku couldn’t help but feel slightly satisfied when he ran. Acting like that was just downright
disgusting, and if anyone ever did that with his mother, not even All Might could stop him from
sucker punching a guy like that in the face.

So, for the first time today, Izuku felt his subconscious say good-riddance.

This kind of pattern continues on throughout the week until there were literally only three students
left in class 1-A. Izuku couldn’t help but feel like they were being picked off one by one as if they
were in some kind of horror movie. Every single time Aizawa-sensei or some other teacher had that
look in their eyes, what one of his fellow survivors- Chiba-kun deemed as the expel stare, he felt
dread course through his veins and started praying to the gods in hopes of surviving another day.

“Yo, Midoriya-kun” His classmate called out to him, the other survivor- Fujita-chan. “Do you have
an extra pen?”

A little surprised she was addressing him directly, he stammered out a yes and quickly gave her a
pen. Although the class shrunk down to only him, Chiba-kun, and Fujita-chan, the two were still
slightly stand-offish to him because of his quirkless status. They didn't seem to really care for him
at the beginning, but with every expulsion that didn't include him, the two naturally became more
and more incredulous and prejudiced against him. In fact, he's caught them laughing about him
behind his back more than a few times during English class with Present-mic, since the blonde
haired hero had a tendency to ramble and lose himself in the lesson. Izuku didn’t mind it at all
since it proved he was really passionate about teaching, but the other two just often used it as an
opportunity to talk about him during the rare times they weren’t being watched.

“Thanks!” she said, smiling. He nervously smiled back and went back to his work wondering what
the hell just happened.

....Which is exactly when he realised there was a caterpillar in front of the class. Wait a second, is
that..?

Izuku sweat dropped.

“S-sensei? Are you okay?” He stammered out, still kind of in shock as his teacher kept drinking
from the juicebox he wasn’t even holding.

“Mm”

Izuku felt himself just.. ignoring it. He was going to ignore this and go back to his Modern art
history assignment that he had to give to Kayama-sensei tomorrow. He was going to just roll with
it. He had to, or else he was never going to come out of Yuuei sane and alive.

Three more years haha… He thought, considering I even make it to three years.

By dismissal time, Izuku was just about ready to expel himself in order to stop wasting time.

“Chiba, Fujita, get your things and head to the principal's office. You’re expelled on the account of
framing another student for vandalism, as well as verbal bullying according to Present-mic”
Aizawa-sensei drawls out, almost bored. The other two students widen their eyes and try to refuse
the accusation, but sensei looks like he’s not even listening.

As the two walk out with scowls, their eyes flit over to him for a second and he practically feels the
hatred coming from their combined glares. Looking down at his desk, Izuku wills himself to push
back the shadow of tears in his eyes before taking a deep breath and standing up with his backpack
in hand.

Turning towards his now only student, Shouta wonders what he’s trying to pull as he comes
towards him. “Sensei” He starts, “If you’re going to expel me too, just do it now please. I don't
think I can take anymore” He almost begs.

Frowning, the underground hero sighs. It seems that his only student (who was also quirkless) had
a case of low self-esteem, which really isn't all that shocking now that he really ponders on it. Oh
well, he was paid to kick his students' asses into shape (which he was good at), but he was also
paid to help them out in some ways emotionally (which he was not good at). With another sigh, the
haggard teacher steps out of his sleeping bag and properly faces his student.

“Midoriya” He starts, “From the start, I already knew that the class was going to be rough, but after
the assessment I knew it was much more than that. To be quite frank, this was the worst batch of
kids I ever had to handle since I started teaching. Although its only been a week, I could already
tell that none of them had what it took to become a hero”.

Izuku flinches as if he was burned, and the tears slowly start to fester. This was it, he was going to
get expelled.

(Aizawa mentally grimaces at the same time. Didn't he say he wasn't good at this?)

“However, I never, not even once, felt that way about you. And all your other teachers seem to
agree with me ” Wide eyed, Izuku looks up to see the smirking face of his sensei, his eyes a little
softer than usual. “Even though you're quirkless, a supposed ‘disability’, you never once backed
down from a challenge according to your practical heroics teacher, and in every single class, you
never fail to pay attention and learn. In that assessment, ill be honest, I wasn’t really expecting
much. However, your raw potential blew me away. Izuku Midoriya, as long as you continue to
have this attitude, one that desires to learn and improve in order to be the best hero they can be,
then I guarantee that you will not be getting expelled any time soon”

Trembling, Izuku finally lets the tears he’s been holding back fall silently down his face. Never in
his life did he have a teacher, much less an authority figure, that had even this much faith in him
(And Izuku's shielded heart opens one of the many locks on the door). “T-thank you, sensei.” He
says, smiling brightly even as tears and snot covered his childish baby face.

He's going to be a Problem Child, isn't he? Shouta thinks, a little resigned.

“Yeah yeah. You’re dismissed early since I assume you already finished your homework for
Midnights class?” Izuku nods. “Alright, you can retire for the day, Midoriya. My last homework
for the day is for you to stop doubting yourself. It's long term so make sure to keep working on it.
Now scram”

“H-hai, sensei! Thank you!” He says, standing a little straighter, a little more confident, a little
more purposeful.

Aizawa secretly smirks to himself as the boy practically dashes out of the room.
Like he said, this year was going to be interesting.
 Izuku's slow descent into insanity and progress
Chapter Summary

Izuku already made peace with the fact that he was going to be working ten times
harder than the others because of his lack of quirk, even before entering Yuuei.

All he has to do now is to make sure he doesn't die in the process.

Chapter Notes

HI UR COMMENTS CLEAR MY SKIN, WATER MY CROPS, AND MAKE ME

BELIEVE IM NOT GOING TO FAIL PRE-CALCULUS SO THANK U BITCHES.

Take this chapter and do with it what u will. Personally dont know how to feel abt the
quality but oh wHALE ENJOY MWA MWA.

In case yall have any desire to translate, make fanart, etc. for my work, please email
me at Alien_pewpew@protonmail.com Thank you so much!

Being the only student of a class had prompted a lot of changes, especially in his curriculum. Since
he had no other classmates, there were a lot of slots in his timetable where he would be having
some one-on-one tutoring with his teachers. In others, he would be joining 1-B, 1-F, and even 1-I
on certain days. Since he was quirkless, Aizawa-sensei reasoned that he needed to be as prepared as
possible.

Because of that, the next three years were positively going to be hell. He was going to be switching
from fighting mock villains to creating support items to how to make sure the media doesn't eat
you alive. It was a tasking schedule, but it was one Izuku was ready to take on in order to be a hero.
Izuku already made peace with the fact that he was going to be working ten times harder than the
others because of his lack of quirk, even before entering Yuuei.

All he has to do now is to make sure he doesn't die in the process.

Easy, he thinks as he tries to make sense of what Maijima-sensei was doing with an electric gun
and some scraps of leather.

Easy.

Izuku is glad to say that 1-B is almost nothing like his previous classmates. After Ishayama-sensei,
the homeroom teacher of 1-B, announced his presence in their class during Mondays and
Thursdays, the class took to Izuku like fish in water. Even after hearing about his quirkless status,
most of the class still talked to him with genuine smiles.

Most, being the keyword. There were a few in class who immediately changed their attitude
towards him after they heard, but Izuku didn't pay them any mind because wow he was actually
making friends!

The same happened in 1-F, since most of the kids there cared more about their machines than their
quirks. 1-I took his status as a challenge and an opportunity to practice their marketing pitches.
After all, he was practically aiming to be the first quirkless hero. The business students took that
challenge with smiles that eerily reminded him of Aizawa-sensei...

With that, a friendship, or in business terms a partnership, was established between the single
hero-in-training with the entirety of class 1-I.

Fun.

"What are you working on, Midoriya?" Shouta asked his sole student. They were in the remodeled
classroom of 1-A, one that had two chairs and desks instead of twenty. The extra space was
dedicated to planting shelves of books, cabinets of support items, and practice worksheets.
Sometimes, the classroom was treated like a second teachers lounge, all of the pro-hero educators
quickly becoming familiar and even fond of the anxiety-ridden teen through the one-on-one
tutoring.

"Ah, it's kind of childish to be honest" The freckled boy said, sheepishly. He thought that the
analysis notebooks would be put on hold the moment he entered Yuuei, but if anything, he was just
itching to write in it more. All the quirks and personalities of the pro-heroes and the students were
so interesting, after all!

"Humor me" Shouta said.

"Okay um, ever since I was young I loved heroes and quirks, s-so I started talking about them in a
series of notebooks I called 'Quirk Analysis for the Future'" He explained, showing his idol turned
teacher the cover of his notebook.

The pro-hero hummed when he saw the tiny writing below the bold title. "Volume 14?"

"Y-yeah, it's become a hobby of sorts, I guess. Whenever there's a hero fight, im usually on the
front lines writing down everything I see. I analyze the situation and the quirk as much as I can and
provide improvements of my own. Just like last week when Best Jeanist came to Musutafu to assist
in the takedown of a villian and used his quirk to use the fur on the villains body as a weapon
which really makes me think that the term 'fabric' is kind of vague
becauseitimpliesthathecanjustuseanytypeofmaterialthat--"

"Midoriya" Shouta interrupts, slightly exasperated yet amused. One thing he's learned as a teacher
to this single student, is that the green haired boy tends to ramble when he's particularly passionate
about something. It was endearing once you got used to it.

"S-sorry, sensei. I'm still working to keep that in check" He says, blushing as he scratches his
cheek.

"It's fine" Shouta amends, "If it's alright with you, can I see the notebook?"

"Oh, s-sure!" Izuku exclaims, handing over the notebook almost gently. "While you read i'll just
finish the hero management homework due tomorrow. I'm pretty sure Adachi-kun is going to raid
my bag tomorrow for it so that the whole class can compare and teach me the proper way to do it
in the most scary way possible.." He says, voice gradually getting softer as he thinks about another
day of hell in 1-I.

Snorting softly at his student's ramblings and misery, Shouta opened the stained, lovingly worn
notebook and started reading from the very beginning.

"Aizawa-kun, I hope this will be a pleasant appointment. I certainly hope you're not about to expel
your only student left" Nedzu gently teased, comfortably sipping his tea.

Sighing, Shouta simply placed down a single notebook on the principal's desk.

"On the contrary, I don't think I could expel that kid even if I tried. This is just one more reason to
add to the pile." He says, smirking. "I think you'll have some fun reading that one"

The hybrid animal tilted his head, and Shouta could have sworn his beady eyes gleamed.

"I'll let you know then Aizawa-kun, and if what you're implying is true, I'll return this notebook to
Midoriya-kun himself with a little change in his time table."

Finishing his tea, Nedzu let himself smile.

"it's time I have some of my own one-on-one interaction with our special student." He cheerfully
says, causing a shiver to go down Shouta's spine. The pro-hero can do nothing else but say a small
prayer for his only student, hoping that he comes out of this somewhat sane.

Midoriya Inko loved her son. She really did.

“H-honey?”

But it was times like these where she wondered if she accidentally dropped him as a child.

“Mom I swear this will make sense in like, an hour” He says, chicken feathers all over his body.
His room was filled with small little items and machinery parts, and if she looked close enough,
she could almost swear she saw a bowling ball with a night light attached to it.

“O-kay, sweetie. I’ll be making dinner in the kitchen, just… come out in an hour and you can show
me what's going on, alright?” She said, causing him to give her a greasy thumbs up.

As she walks out of her son’s room, she can't help but wonder what Yuuei was doing to her only
child.

Laughing to herself in bewilderment, she forced herself to trudge on into the kitchen. Even with all
of Izuku’s little quirks and.. whatever that was, she was still so very proud of her little boy.

Smiling, she let herself fall into her usual routine of dancing around the kitchen. The house was
warm as she listened to the sounds of building coming from Izuku’s room, anticipation building up
in her heart. She couldn’t wait to see what he made.

“I call this hope and pain” Izuku deadpans.

Flashing his presentation to the image of scared hostages, he turns to Asano-kun from 1-B who
could turn his legs to a composition as hard as diamond. On his chest was a paper with the word
‘Villain’ written in fat black strokes.

Without wasting a second, Izuku rolls the bowling ball, changes the scared hostages presentation to
happy ones when the light turns on in nice colors, and lets the bowling ball promptly hit Asano-
kun.

Leaning down, Asano-kun tries to pick up the ball when it suddenly opens and sprays him with
chicken feathers with a hidden chemical compound, rendering him unconscious.

Maijima-sensei blinks.

“Thank you.”

Izuku sits back down as the other support students clap, discussing how they could make a mini
version of the newly named ‘chicken pop’.

Maijima-sensei sighs, deeply.

Izuku wonders if his martial arts training was all for naught as his eyes meet the beautiful, green
grass for the umpteenth time that day.

"Kill me now"

"Sorry kid, but killing children isn't in my paygrade"

"I can do it myself"

"Then I won't get paid"

"Sensei, you are my literal idol but I want to be as far away from you as possible right now"

Aizawa-sensei can only grin scarily.

"Perfect "

If there was a permanent imprint of his face now on Yuuei grounds with the expression of pain and
suffering, Izuku wouldn't know what to tell you.

And if Shouta felt his heart warm from hearing the word 'idol', nobody needed to know.

When Izuku walked into class 1-A expecting another day of studying, Aizawa-sensei gave him his
signature fear inducing smile and told him that he and some second years would be going on a field
trip instead.

“W-wait a minute, second years? Why not with class 1-B?” He asked.

“1-B is in the middle of a pop quiz right now. Remember Midoriya, your timetable is very different
compared to just about anyone else in the school. Unlike theirs, your’s is much more flexible and
easy to manipulate.” Shouta explained. “Now, the bus will be stationed outside the gate in five
minutes. In the meantime--”

Izuku could only gasp as his teacher pressed a button on the remote in his hand, a metal box
reminding him of a locker emerging from the wall opposite the door.

“--you can go and put on your costume. Usually we would've given it to you sooner, but because of
your situation we prioritized the others first. If anything’s wrong with it, tell me and ill send in a
complaint. I’ll be waiting at the bus. Don't make the second years wait for you kid.”

With that, Shouta ducks out of the classroom with a satisfied smirk on his face. Seeing the problem
child lose his head because of shock is never going to get old.

*-*-*-*

Looking into the mirror, Izuku couldn’t help but slightly tear up.

He and his mother had designed his hero costume together, and he still remembers the day that
they did it with clarity. It was when he broke down in front of her, spilling all of his insecurities
and doubts about his ability to be a hero. He remembers her soft, gentle hands as they cupped his
face, telling him what he yearned to hear that one day so long ago.

“Izuku” she whispered, smiling. “I realise now that- that what I said all those years ago was
wrong.” She breathed out shakily. “You’ve proven that to me when you took those classes, when
you stopped at nothing to help others, when you actually got into Yuuei. Izuku, I don't know anyone
else who deserves this more than you-”

At this point, tears ran freely down both mother and son’s faces.

“You’re going to be an amazing hero, Izuku!” She exclaims. “And ill always be there to support
you!”
Izuku launched himself at his mother with a wail, and they spent the rest of the day designing his
costume with bright eyes and wobbly smiles.

Dark green and black stared back at him, his hand playing with the mask covering his eyes and
half of his face. Dark, steel toed boots covered his feet while gray shoulder pads and knee pads
protected his costume and joints from damage. Escrima sticks were equipped at his back with the
ability to produce electricity and merge into one bo staff for long range attacks. Finally, a utility
belt sat full around his waist. A grappling hook and a new and improved version of the ‘chicken
pop’ being one of the many items included for support.

Smiling, Izuku couldn’t help but feel ready for anything .

*-*-*-*

At the end of the little field trip to USJ, Izuku was able to learn three things.

One, he needed to get thermal vision and night vision installed in his mask.

Two, he was a beast at rocky terrains because of his balance and agility. (Thank you, dance
classes)

And Three, Mirio-senpai, Tamaki-senpai, and Neijire-senpai were the coolest people he’s ever met
after Aizawa-sensei.

All in all, class 2-A was a lot of fun.

"Midoriya-kun"

Izuku said a small prayer in his head before tilting his head up to meet Tsukishima-kun's pointed
stare.

"Yes, Tsukishima-kun?"

The blonde rests his chin in his hand, using his middle finger to push up the middle of his glasses.
The lenses glint under the bright fluorescent lights, the intimidating vision reminding Izuku of an
anime character.

"Do you think Adachi-kun is correct in his assumptions about the homework?"

"Well" The hero-in-training starts, "considering i'm more of a quirk analyst than a profile analyst, I
think Adachi-kun is coming from the right place. I didn't even stop to consider how Emily-senpai's
ethnicity could be used as a driving force in making her image more appealing to the public. Like
he said, it could prove good or bad depending on how many people are more traditionalist and
close minded. Considering Japan is a high-context country, I wouldn't put it past people to
underestimate her ability to help Japanese people specifically. Especially when it comes to the
rescue and comfort portion of the job. However, at the same time, having a foreigner hero in Japan
also appeals to the youth. This could also bring other foreigners to Japan, increasing more hero
hopefuls willing to do good. I wouldn't say im wrong, but I can't say im completely right either.
After all, even though quirks come into playanddeterminehowwellshewilbelaccepted-"

"Midoriya-kun"

Izuku shut his mouth, flushing to the tips of his ears. He really needs to work on his mumbling
habit.

"B-basically" He stammers out, "what im trying to say is that Adachi-kun has the stronger
argument"

"I see" the blonde mutters, turning around.

He then promptly sinks into the floor.

"Eh?" The freckled boy's brain short circuits.

"Ehhhhh?!"

Izuku can do nothing but stare at puddle on the floor, brain trying to understand what the hell he
just witnessed.

The puddle on the floor only tells him one thing.

"I may or may not have failed this homework"

"W-why?!"

"Because both arguments are absent from my paper."

The puddle stares into his soul, and Izuku can do nothing but internally scream.

Izuku didn't know what he was more terrified of. His mother when she got disappointed, Aizawa-
sensei's smile, or Principal Nedzu's stare.

When the principal of Yuuei came knocking at his classroom after lunch a week prior, Izuku
expected he was there to talk to Yamada-sensei. He certainly didn't expect Principal Nedzu to
instead turn to him and inform him of his new schedule!

"Starting today, you will be having Analysis classes with me in your timetable! Please do bring the
rest of your analysis notebooks for our first session tomorrow, im quite eager to look over them for
our lesson. That's all, sorry for the interruption Yamada-kun"

After that- Nedzu-sensei, as he wanted to be called -worked him like there was no tomorrow.

Mind games, psychological tests, extreme analyzation; Nedzu-sensei was a nightmare dressed in
fur and mouse ears. His stare as he asked Izuku a question made the freckled boy wonder if the
Principal had a hidden truth quirk. He could never lie when faced with those twinkling, beady
eyes.

Even with all of these things however, Izuku was actually learning more and more every session.
Nedzu had explained to him that although quirk analysis was important, there were other factors
that played into a person as well. This was how his psychological analysis started.

"Being a quirkless hero, your mind will be your greatest weapon" The hybrid creature explained,
hands folded neatly on his desk.

"One especially important factor that makes a person human, is their emotions. By being able to
dissect and understand small details about their person, you may be able to manipulate them to
your will without needing to engage in violence. For example, there is a serial killer on the loose
who specifically murders recently divorced couples. By analyzing his pictures, you may be able to
spot a tan line on his ring finger, that can indicate that he may have been married once himself. By
using this information, you may be able to conjure a character profile. Obviously, the man may be
feeling some resentment towards his separated other, and is therefore taking his frustrations out
on these people. This analysis could be used against the killer when in confrontation, especially as
a way of distraction or stalling. In a way, you must learn to act like a detective. A 'sherlock' if you
will" He says, Izuku listening and hanging on to his every word.

"In your second year, I plan to bring you into the field to test your analysis. Now, however, we will
have to start from the basics and build your way up to analyzing old case files. If you are able to
master this by your third year, you will acquire a major advantage in the field as a hero. Are you
ready to start?"

Of course Izuku had said yes, no hesitation in the mix.

"Do you think you're ready kid?"

Izuku took a deep breath. He could feel the fabrics of Yuuei's gym uniform hugging his body from
all sides, the air of his own breath, the sounds of his own heartbeat. Even from here, he could hear
all the screams from the other end of the tunnel.

"It doesn't matter if I am, Sensei" He replies, his expression tired but with a glint of something in
his eyes. A glint that told Shouta more than enough. “All I know is that I’m going to give my very
best”

He could hear Snipe-sensei from the commentary box riling up the crowd into excitement. Izuku
let his eyes close as he coaxed his mind into calming down, letting the noise around him cancel out
into nothing but mumbles.

It was almost time.

"Good luck, kid. I'll be cheering you on"

Izuku smiled brightly, and Aizawa-sensei reaches over to ruffle his messy locks. He felt motivated.

When Snipe-sensei said his cue, Izuku started walking. His footsteps felt as though they got louder
every step he took. Facing forward, he could only see the light at the end of the tunnel. His first
step to proving to everyone--

It was time to prove to everyone--

That he--

Is--

Here.

"Welcome the only student of class 1-A, MIDORIYA IZUKU!"

The screams deafened his ears, and he let himself drown.

Time to win this. He thought, smirking. He was ready.

*-*-*-*

The sports festival was one of the most stressful, yet exciting events Izuku ever had the honor to
participate in. The three challenges dished out to him and his peers throughout the day were
nothing short of tasking and demanding.

The maze was the easiest task. He had figured his way out by climbing to the top and using the
advantageous height to spot the exit. It was only a few minutes too late that the others got the same
idea as him, as his foot was already just meters away from the exit. There were many attempts of
sabotage, but Izuku was nothing if not constantly alert because of Aizawa-sensei's training, his
body recognizing the signs of danger and sharply dodging before a hand could even be laid on him.
It was like this that he pressed the buzzer, signaling the winner of the first event.

The second challenge was a little more complicated as it was a team play. More specifically, they
were engaging in capture the flag. They had to come up with two teams to play the game, and as
the host of this years festival (Present Mic) had said, the losing team would immediately be
disqualified from the next round. It was complete chaos after that, but Izuku had a good head on his
shoulders and quickly tried to analyze the people around him, ⅓ of which he knew somewhat
personally.

He had a plan.

Recruiting the members was a surprisingly easy task, as most of the people he approached had
more or less the same reason for why they accepted. I trust your judgement, Midoriya-kun! Izuku
didn't know whether to be flattered or concerned, and in the end just decided to ponder on it later.
Eventually, the 10 minute prep time was up and it was time to play. Wearing the blue band of his
team around his bicep, his eyes were glued to the prize.

In the end, his teammates all cheered as he sat atop the pole holding the red teams flag, waving it
like a statement of victory to whoever was watching

And finally, the most awaited event of all, the one on one battles. This was the hardest obstacle of
all to get through because of the many diverse quirks. The other support sections and the gen ed.
course that he didn't have a chance to interact with all too much, aside from them being in his team,
gave him hell when they were in the stadium.

He couldn't ask for anything more.

After many bloody battles and five hundred reprimands from Recovery Girl, Izuku made it to the
finals and faced off against one of his good friends in class 1-B, a recommended student. The fight
was brutal and had everyone digging their fingers into their seats. Izuku had never felt more alive
and exhausted.

Sweat dripped down his face in waves, but he forced his muscles to keep going, to keep moving,
because Izuku was nothing less than a fighter, and hell if he was going to give up now.

"Had enough yet, Mido-kun!?" Iwata-chan yelled from the other end of the stadium, blood running
down her elbow and onto the floor. Her eyes were wild and sharp, a dangerous and challenging
smile on her face as she goaded him back into battle.

"Not even close!" He had yelled, flashing a toothy smile to his friend. Blood ran down his temple,
but the only thing in his mind at that moment was that he needed to win .

The two clashed in a flurry of punches and short range attacks, the crowd around them cheering so
loud they could be heard from outside the stadium. The recommended student with a strength
compiling quirk versus the quirkless student with endless determination. No one could see a clear
winner, and they ate it all up like dogs.

To summarize, his first sports festival was something he was never going to forget.

Even though he didn't win.

He guesses that second place isn't too bad either though. His mother hung the medal up like a
family heirloom when he came home to her tears and hugs. And when he came to class after the
holidays given to the students after the festival, Aizawa-sensei had greeted him with a hair ruffle
and a proud smile, his eyes soft and gleaming.

"Good job, kid"

Izuku could only beam at his favorite hero and teacher, warmth blooming in his chest.

His internship with Pro-hero Bungee could only be described as an experience and a half. If Izuku
had learned anything at all, it had to have been that stealth could make or break your mission

Also, pick up lines are a very effective way to distract a villain from a sneak attack.

"Midoriya, I didn't think you had it in you!" He said, laughing merrily. His feet constantly bounced
on the concrete floor, ignoring his interns alarming state

Izuku covered his masked face in his hands, whimpering and blushing the whole ride back to the
agency. The criminal at the back fared no better, avoiding eye contact with the cute boy in front
with the angelic smile and surprisingly good pick-up lines.

When Aizawa-sensei had asked about his experience when he came back, Izuku could only tell him
what came to his mind at that exact moment.

“I told a villain that I lost my phone number and asked her if I could have hers instead and now I
can never show my face to the outside world again”

Shouta could have sworn he heard Hizashi cackling at the back of his mind.
The summer camp Izuku shared with 3-B was nothing short of hell and chaos. Honestly, Tanaka-
senpai passed out on the ground with spikes holding him up like some kind of sacrifice was
probably the least crazy thing that happened.

"Why wasn't I allowed to go with 1-B, again?" Izuku asked later, eye twitching as he stood soaked
to the bone in a goo he couldn't name. He'd have to ask Maijima-sensei later.

"Because they need to place their attention there. Oddly enough, it feels like their performance is
affected by your presence." Aizawa-sensei replies, offhandedly.

"You just want to torture me"

"Mm"

Izuku sighs as Emily-senpai (he still couldn't believe how many foreigners were in the school)
dragged him away to act as the villain they needed to catch.

At least he knows how to run away in five different terrains now, right?

Izuku wills himself not to cry as Recovery Girl pulls out the urchin that got stuck to his foot.
Shouta watches by the sidelines, half-concerned and half-amused as hell.

"Is he okay yet?! We were thinking of doing one more test run!"

Izuku turns to Shouta with eyes as desperate as his when he needed his morning coffee.

Shouta sighs and walks out, telling everyone to politely fuck off.

Izuku kind of hates his teacher, but the love comes back full force in a matter of seconds.

"Sensei, we shall have a summer wedding"

"Shut up, problem child"

Inko couldn't help but worry about her baby as he spent the last few days studying for, and she
quotes, "The biggest test I'm ever going to take in my short, measly life". Honestly, if you told her
that her son would take up dark humor as a coping mechanism, she would laugh in your face and
then make you tea to apologize.

Now however…

Sighing, all she asks from the gods above is that her Izuku at least puts on his clothes the right way
this time. It was not fun trying to get his arms out of the jeans he used to wear when he was ten.
Ten!

A sudden crash startled her from her musings.

"OH MY GOD I FOUND THE SITE THE POP QUIZZES ARE BASED FROM OH MY GO--"

Inko smiles warily and slowly backs out of the hallway.

She can only pray.

 Problem Child is actually Problem Child ft. extra problem child
Chapter Summary

His small plastic bag fell out of his hand when a small body suddenly collided with
his.

Chapter Notes

hiyaaaaaaaa

ik its been like 284918 minutes since i posted but like here *throws chapter at yall's
feet*

enjoy!

fyi this was supposed to be the prac exam but then i was like why dont we fck with
canon again and this is the result. whoopsies

In case yall have any desire to translate, make fanart, etc. for my work, please email
me at Alien_pewpew@protonmail.com. Thank you so much!

Taking a test that was meant for three separate courses in a classroom alone with only your sadistic
teacher at the front, does absolutely nothing to help Izuku's mental health, but oh well, not like it
wasn't already shot to hell anyways.

Case in point, as time steadily passed by, his anxiety turned more into a mini Aizawa-sensei telling
him that he was being dumb and illogical.

He's not sure if that's supposed to be helpful, but honestly who gives a heck anymore. He certainly
didn't. He lost all of those the moment he got into a debate with Sahara-chan about why Yamada-
sensei would look better with Aizawa-sensei instead Kayama-sensei. And then right after that,
arguing about who would have better marketing if eithers wedding would be a thing.

Least to say, after pulling out statistics about gay rights, arguments about the appeal of polar
opposites, and the different style of the same job they were working, most of the management
course in 1-I had agreed with him and promptly started making plans to push the two together no
matter what it took.

So yeah, Izuku seriously does not give a heck right now.

Except if he fails, where if he does he's going to tear the whole school down with his quirkless
hands and no one was going to stop him because woo , he worked way too damn hard for this.

Stop thinking, problem child

"Shut up, sensei" he murmured, pouting. His real teacher could only glance at him with both
eyebrows raised in confusion and bewilderment.

After a few seconds though, Shouta shrugged and got back to reading. The Harry Potter series was
surprisingly nice to read.

Shouta didn't even glance at the doom and gloom coming from his only student just a few feet
away.

"Hey, Mido-kun! How's it going?" Lunch Rush asked as the green haired boy walked up to get
some soba. Izuku could only stare at him with soulless eyes.

"Fine"

Lunch rush sweat dropped as he watched him walk towards his friends in Class 1-B, and then
jumped in shock as the first year promptly passed out right on top of his soba noodles.

After that, there was a sudden spike in religiosity among the teachers, no one willing to admit their
prayers for the continued stability of their sweet, hardworking, on the verge of death, student.

Izuku was trying to make himself a grappling hook when Chihara-chan shoved a letter right into
his filthy face. Sputtering, the boy snatched the letter from her hand.

"Chi-chan!"

"Im sorry, Izukkun I was excited! They're your test results!! Come on open it! Open it! Open it!
Ope--"

"Chi-chan I will actually shove grease into your mouth and then my mouth because I think im
going to die any second now oh god what if I failed what if they kicked me out and this is the
notice what do I tell my mother-- "

Stop being illogical and open the damn letter, Midoriya

"Chill out, Izukkun! I'm sure you'll be fine. If it's anything bad, you just call me and i'll forge you a
letter in no time!" She exclaimed proudly.

With that, she steals the pack of doritos on his work bench and walks out the way she came from,
leaving him without comfort food.

Sighing as if he were an old man taking his last breath, he opens the letter with the gentleness of
holding a newborn baby. Gulping, he takes out the neatly folded letter and opens it until he can see
the entirety of his academic notice.
Midoriya Izuku- Hybrid Course.

Primary Course: Heroics

Overall Score: 195/200

General Knowledge/Academics: 50/50

Heroics: 50/50

Support: 48/50

Management: 47/50

Status: Passed

Level: Advanced

Please await for the practical assessment before asking for final grades. Plus Ultra!

Running out the support classrooms, bypassing Maijima-sensei, his friends, and Yuuei as a whole,
he steps on the grassy grounds where he had his first quirk assessment, and promptly screams.

Taking a deep breath, he starts to laugh even as tears stream down his cheeks in waves, his
happiness outshining any inner demon in his head. Heck, even mental sensei was smiling at him
from the back of his mind.

He did it. He passed. He passed with flying colors and with only five freaking mistakes! Letting
himself free fall onto the ground behind him, he smiles at the sun beating down on his face and lets
himself finally pass out.

Shouta couldn't help but smile proudly at his problem child, even if he thought screaming and
disturbing literally everyone on the second years side of the building was not a method of
celebration. Even so, he kept a steady hold on the exhausted boy in his arms, freckled hands
weakly clutching the test results as if it was going to disappear any moment into thin air.

After Shouta had set him down on an infirmary bed, he informed Chiyo-san of what happened and
left. God knows the boy deserves the sleep.

Stepping into the teachers lounge, more than a dozen eyes stared back at him as if waiting for
confirmation that the scream wasn't one of despair. Hizashi was practically on the verge of
crushing the stress ball in his hand, while Nemuri and Ken were subtly pacing back and forth in
worry. The rest of the teachers assigned to Midoriya fared the same way.
"Relax" He said, giving his fellow co-workers an amused smirk. "The kid practically passed out
from a mixture of happiness and exhaustion. A 195/200 is nothing to laugh at, don't you think?"

The whole teacher's lounge erupted into cheers and celebration.

Least to say, the first half of the school year was kind of-maybe-super-actually-very much torture.
To finally finish it off, there was only one last obstacle left.

The practical exam.

Izuku felt as prepared as a duck, but no turning back now!

When Aizawa-sensei got into position to perform his favourite move (a judo flip that was the cause
of his face tattoo on the ground), Izuku's tired muscles and brain didn't even think twice about
grabbing his arms to stop him, and sweeping the pro-heroes feet from right under him. When he
jumped, Izuku probably did the most stupid thing up to date. Smartest, mental sensei countered.

He headbutted Eraserhead. As in, gave a nose bleed to him in the process. As in he hurt his idol. As
in he should probably go die in a ditch somewhere right about now oh god.

His sensei, on the other hand, had a very different opinion on his dilemma if his scary smile was
anything to go by.

"Good, Midoriya. Now, try to dodge this "

And their dance continued. If Izuku knew any better, he would say that his exhaustion was the
cause of his good performance today.

Maybe, He thought. The key is not to think about what you're doing until you're in the process of
doing it.

Sensei then flips over him, using his shoulders as support as he practically slams him into the
ground.

Nope.

Yawning, Izuku rubbed his eyes as the gentle roaring of the train filled his ears. It was another
tiring day at Yuuei as the practical exams came closer. Usually, the major tests would be given
before summer camp, but since he was a special case, there wasn’t really any point in giving him
extra classes during the outing. Instead, they made it worse and subjected him to 3-A.

Izuku shudders, mental flashes of the traumatic time going through his head. He would say never
again, but Aizawa-sensei and Nedzu-sensei were the type of people to subject him to things even
worse than that just for their amusement. Phantom tears rolled down his face at the thought.
Even then, Izuku couldn’t help but smile tiredly. Although Yuuei was working him to the bone, he
could feel himself getting stronger every single day. His once impossible dream of being the first
quirkless hero was just getting that much more tangible as the days passed by. He’s truly come a
long way from who he used to be before.

A younger blonde crossed his mind for a brief moment before he shut it out. It was no use thinking
about could-have beens. He just hoped that Yuuei would knock some sense into him, since he
couldn’t.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a ding! from his phone. Pulling it out of his pocket,
Izuku opened up his message app.

Mom-might!

4:15 PM

I know you’re probably tired sweetheart, but if you could stop by the grocery store and get some
soy sauce on the way that would be wonderful!

As he finished reading, the train came to a stop and parked by the station. The area wasn’t really
that far from Yuuei, he mused. There was no harm in going to the nearest store and getting some
soy sauce.

Making up his mind, he texted his mother back saying that it was alright and stepped out of the
train, making his way to the nearest store. It was only when he stepped off that he realised that the
sun was going down and that the station was slightly deserted.

Focus, mental-sensei admonished.

Shaking his head, he quickly made his way to the small grocery store nearby and bought the food
item. Thanking the cashier, he made his way out and set his sights on the train station once again
when he suddenly heard running footsteps.

His small plastic bag fell out of his hand when a small body suddenly collided with his.

It was a fairly normal day, if you consider training super powered children into becoming heroes
normal that is, and Shouta found himself lounging on the floor of the teachers lounge in his
sleeping bag. The last time he tried the couch, it smelt like days worth of spilt coffee and Hizashi's
overbearing and loud personality, so excuse him if he thought the floor was a much better option.

The sky was on the verge of transitioning from a light, sunny blue to the pinks and oranges of
dawn when Shouta realised that he overslept and that Midoriya was probably dismissed. Grunting,
he sat up and pushed himself out of his little cocoon of safety and quiet. The soft small talk in the
lounge told him that most of the teachers had already left for their patrols or homes, and Shouta
couldn't help but look forward to the same after another tiring day of teaching.
Although technically the only real student he was handling is Midoriya, he was doing his best to
scout out the hero potential in the general education courses. If he could offer guidance to someone
who really wanted it like the problem child, he would give it.

What doesn't make it easy is trying to find the potential hidden behind their attitudes.

Sighing, the underground pro-hero packed up for the day and nodded goodbye to the few still in
the room. He knew Maijima was going to stay to look after the few geniuses in his support class.
He hopes he doesn't find gray hairs on him any time soon.

Just as he was making his way out of the imposing gates of Yuuei, his work phone starts to ring.

Odd. He thought, If anyone needed me, why didn't they stop me before going out?

Reaching into his pocket, he unsheathes his phone and blinks in surprise at the caller.

Problem Child?

Shouta had given his work number to the kid in case of any emergencies. In the past half year of
his stay in Yuuei, he didn't get a single call from the kid, knowing he took his warning to heart and
didn't bother him with things he could deal with on his own.

Knowing this, Shouta couldn't help but feel his chest coil in slight dread.

Answering the call, he put his phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"S-sensei? Can you hear me?"

Frowning, the hero felt the coil start to tighten. The tone he was using immediately flared up his
ingrained training and brought him to full alertness.

"It's me kid, what's going on?"

"u-um" He stuttered , "I'm kind of hiding in an alley uh, I-I found this girl and she was crying and
asking for my help and I couldn't just leave her alone and now there's this guy in a plague mask
that's following us showing no signs of his quirkandIdontknowhattodo--"

"Midoriya" He interrupted, "What's the first step to dealing with panic?"

The only sounds he heard for a few seconds were Midoriya's uneven breaths before he finally
replied in a much calmer voice.

"Clear your h-head, and think about your priorities. F-find something to focus on."

"Good. I want you to focus on my voice, okay? Can you tell me where you are specifically? Any
landmarks or signs that can clue me in to where you might be?" He asked, already running towards
his parked car.

"I- I saw a coffee shop nearby before Eri and I hid in the alley um- I think it was Mura's Cafe.
There's also a traffic light nearby, if that helps. Um, We're in the shadier parts of town, there was a
grocery store and mom asked me to buy soy sauce and so I just went until I met Eri. We're a few
blocks away from there I think" He takes a deep breath. "Sensei.. something's wrong. The man
trying to follow us, he gives me a bad feeling."
Shouta was already making his way towards the station, the phone perched on the cup holder when
he registered the fearful tone of his student. God, he was just a first year.

"Its okay, just remember what we discussed alright? Keep a level head and--"

"--never keep your guard down. Survey your surroundings and think of possible escape routes. And
always be ready for an attack. I remember"

The confidence in his voice, though warranting a little pride, did nothing to settle the coil in his
chest.

"Good, that's good. I'll be nearby Mura's cafe in about fifteen minutes. You think you can make
your way there without being seen?"

A pause.

"I, I think so. You think you can do it, Eri?" Shouta faintly heard the telltale sounds of mumbling in
the background before his student got back to him.

"We have to be careful, according to Eri the guy is dangerous and has a 'scary quirk'. I- I dont
know where he is right now but I'm going to stick close to the shadows and try to get us there."

Clutching the steering wheel tight, Shouta willed the car to go faster, the station already in his
sight. The more he was hearing about the potential villain, the more fearful he was getting.

"If there is any risk of danger, abandon going to Mura's and hide. Keep the location feature on your
phone open, I have an app that can disclose your location to me if it ever comes to that. I don't want
to risk barging in now just in case the villain tries anything to harm the two of you while im unable
to help. Keep your phone on you at all times and be safe, understand Izuku?"

He could feel the shock from the use of his first name even through the phone, but it apparently did
the trick as the kid replied with a full, serious voice.

"I understand, sensei. If all goes well, expect me at the cafe in twenty minutes. If not, i'll text you"

"Alright. Go quietly and carefully. If there's a chance that you can't make it to the cafe, try to find a
small space to hide in, or a way to a rooftop and I'll come find you"

"Yes, Sensei. I- I'm going to cut the call now"

Swallowing uncomfortably, Shouta clenched his jaw and agreed before a small sound indicated the
end of the call. His brain was racing with case files and information regarding anything close to
what Midoriya had described. A plague mask is hard to miss, considering it's beak-like structure.
However, no matter how hard he tried to remember, nothing about it rang familiar to him.

God, he hopes the kid is going to be okay.

*_*_*_*

Izuku was kind of freaking out right now. There was a small, scared girl clinging to his back as he
tiptoed around the sides and corners of alleyways trying to avoid the attention of a supposed
yakuza member/villain who was also probably torturing this girl which is not okay and now he's
here because he's trying to be a hero who smiles in the face of danger and he's really trying but it's
so hard when he's absolutely terrified right now and--

Focus, mental sensei says. The moment you lose your head, you're as good as useless.

"Okay" He whispers to himself. "Okay, everything's going to be okay"

It's been about five minutes since the call with Aizawa-sensei and he's steadily getting closer to the
cafe. As long as he kept up this game of zig zag and 'notice me not' with his plain face and the dark
shadows, Izuku is hoping and praying that they'll be able to make it without getting caught.

Just in case though, his phone is always in reach and opened to his sensei's dial screen. So even if
he doesn't look, all he needs to do is open his phone and click the call button.

It's going to be okay, He repeats again and again.

"I-Izuku-san?"

He pauses, Eri hasn't said one word to him since they started moving. He experiences a foreboding
feeling overcome his body.

"Yeah, Eri?" Still, he smiles. He smiles bright and toothy, getting rid of some of the girl's anxiety.

"I think he's coming. I can feel it here" she says, pointing to her gut. Izuku almost has half a mind
to laugh, but can't help but take her warning seriously.

They were so close.

Gritting his teeth, he dives behind a large dumpster and makes him and Eri as small as possible,
taking Aizawa-sensei's advice. He holds Eri close to his chest as he draws his knees up as much as
he can. Thank god he's more lean than bulky.

Just as he made them comfortable, he hears the unmistakable sound of footsteps entering the alley.
Izuku holds his breath and clutches Eri tighter. The child is trembling but absolutely quiet

"Eri, time to go now. You don’t want anything to happen to your new friend now, do you?” He
drawls out, loud footsteps getting closer and closer to the dumpster. Now that Izuku actually
thought about it though, why were there no people through these alleyways? He would have
thought that there would be a few odd folk scattered around the area, but it was quiet. Too quiet.

Izuku held his breath as he spotted the man’s shadow from under the dumpster.

Sweat rolled down Izuku’s head as he waited, his breath uneven but quiet, the panic looking over
his shoulder, but not yet touching. He had to keep it together, he had to , what kind of hero would
he be otherwise? His mind was in overdrive when he heard footsteps once again getting louder and
approaching the dumpster, last minute plans overlapping in his head as he thought of the worst
case scenarios. Was he really ready to fight a villain if it came down to it? Would he be able to
save Eri?

Suddenly, White overcame his vision as Eri buried her head further into his neck. He almost smiled
as the tickle of her hair against his nose grounded him, clearing his mind and driving away his
anxiety, if only for a moment. The severity of the situation returned however, when he heard the
villains footsteps come to a stop.

The tense atmosphere thickened and approached a crescendo when he spotted the shoes of their
villain right behind their hiding spot, the object in between them being the only separator from
disaster.

His phone sat snugly in his back pocket, Izuku was sure that the deadline he appointed for himself
was over. If only he could reach for his phone, if only--

BANG

Widening his eyes, Izuku barely swallows a whimper, hands trembling. Eri was no better as he
could feel a slowly growing wet spot on his neck, she was terrified. Her small body held too many
scars, and her eyes too many fears. How could someone do this to her? Why? What had driven her
to this level of fear from a single man?

Even though Izuku felt his own fear trying to make a home in his head, he took a big breath and
willed his hands to stabilize and hold on to her solidly, trying to tell her that he was here. He wasn’t
going anywhere without her, no matter what happened.

“Ahh, this is really annoying. You brats really need to know your place” He said. An irritated sigh
left his mouth as another bang resounded throughout the alley, the dumpster shifting from the
direct impact. If it moved even a little more, him and Eri would be exposed.

Just as Izuku thought of making a run for it, another blessedly familiar voice entered his ears.
Izuku almost sobbed from the realization, they were going to be okay.

“Is there a problem here?” said the voice of one Aizawa Shouta, aka underground pro-hero
Eraserhead, tense and particularly unforgiving at the mental image of his student in danger.

A few more words were exchanged between the two before he heard the villain say something
about ‘losing his way’ and apologizing, his retreating footsteps causing an overwhelming amount
of relief that extended to both children.

After a few more tense moments of complete silence, Shouta couldn’t help but call out. “Kid?
Izuku?”

A few seconds later, Izuku shakily got up and stumbled into the alleyway, clutching Eri almost
desperately in his grasp.

"S-sensei--"

Shouta could only feel pure relief at the sight of his kid, terrified but okay, standing in front of him.
Rushing to the teenager, the pro-hero couldn't help but place a hand on his head to pull him to his
chest.

Two seconds later, Shouta felt a hand come up to clutch his uniform while the other held on to the
small child. Finally sated, he took a few deep breaths and pulled away from the almost-hug in order
to look at the white haired child in his student's arms. 'Eri' he had said?

Both of them had a lot of explaining to do.

“I’m home, Mom!” Izuku yelled, placing his shoes by the door. Inko hurriedly rushed to the door,
concern and worry in her eyes as she pulled her son into a hug.

Relaxing into his mother’s arms, Izuku finally let all of the stress and fear of the day bleed out of
him.

“Oh hell, is Izukkun okay?!” A voice exclaimed from down the hall. A sigh of relief came not long
after. “Come ‘ere you, when Inko got the call from your homeroom teach, she was nearly out of her
mind with worry!”

Pulling out from his mother's embrace, he turned his head to meet eyes with his Aunt Mitsuki. He
nearly forgot that today was “girls day”. In a few short seconds, he was pulled into the embrace of
his aunt before she painfully rubbed her knuckles into his head.

“Ow, ow, ow!” “That’s what ya get, brat! The hell were ya thinking, going off like that hah?!
Couldn’t you have waited to get in our area to get the damn soy sauce?!”

Izuku looked pleadingly towards his mother, but the short woman just raised an eyebrow
unsympathetically. She’s right, you know, She seemed to be saying.

She managed to keep her facade up for two more seconds before the tears started rolling down her
face.

This in turn triggered Izuku’s own tears, rushing to embrace his mother again and apologizing for
worrying her until they were both sobbing messes. Mitsuki could only watch the two fondly before
dragging them to the couch and putting on a soap opera.

Later in the night, when Mitsuki left and Izuku was asleep in her arms on the couch, Inko placed a
gentle kiss on his head.

I know that with this path… there’s going to be a lot of danger that will be present in his life. She
thought, glancing down at his peaceful face. but please Kami, keep him safe until he’s truly ready.
Keep him happy and fulfilled before the time comes that I won't be able to protect him and hold
him like this.

With those thoughts in her head, Inko dozed off with her son on their old couch. The questions
could come tomorrow.

As long as he was safe, nothing else mattered.

 Izuku Midoriya, Secret Quirk: Trouble Magnet
Chapter Summary

Izuku cries, questions his life, wants to cry again, and bumps into bad memories. All in
all a pretty normal day for a resident PC who has enabled their secret quirk.

#GiveMamadoriyaADrink2k20

Chapter Notes

*Jumps out of a box*

Ha, Im alive fuckers. Whats cracka-lackin.

*Notices fic was last updated like 2 months ago*

Ah, shit--

(THX FOR 1000+ KUDOS BTW U BEAUTIFUL BITCHES I BLESS YALL WITH
MOMO INTELLIGENCE)

In case yall have any desire to translate, make fanart, etc. for my work, please email
me at Alien_pewpew@protonmail.com. Thank you so much!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“I am going to be very frank with you, Midoriya-kun. What you did today was reckless and could
have risked both Eri-chan and your safety” Nedzu said, eyes steadily resting on the hunched figure
of the student across from him. Aizawa lingered at the back of the room, the girl asleep in his arms.

“According to my sources in the police force, the man you almost encountered is the leader of a
yakuza called Shie Hassaikai, a group suspected to be engaging in suspicious business from behind
the scenes. Although I cannot disclose the specifics of the investigation, it was enough to warrant
the attention of All-Might’s former sidekick, Nighteye. There were too many things that could have
gone wrong today. If not for Aizawa-kun coming at the right time, you might not even be here in
front of me right now”

Izuku clenched his jaw and kept his eyes on the floor as tears threatened to breach his poorly made
defenses. He knew that what he did was foolish and reckless, but no matter how much he tried to
regret it and feel sorry, he couldn’t. Every time he remembered Eri’s face, fearful and frowning
and haunted, he could never bring himself to regret what he did to save her.

“To be quite honest, this is enough reason to suspend you, or even worse, get expelled.”

Izuku held his breath and squeezed his eyes closed, hands curled tightly into fists.

Sighing, Nedzu blinked at the tense aura radiating off of Midoriya before continuing.
“However, at the end of the day, you saved someone. And although it was reckless, you never
engaged in unnecessary combat, called your teacher when you felt that this was something you
couldn’t handle on your own, remained mostly calm throughout the whole ordeal, and managed to
save Eri from whatever she was afraid of.”

Snapping his head up in shock, Izuku could only look at the principal in bewilderment.

“Although you will still receive punishment for this, I cannot deny the good work you’ve done. Just
don’t make it a habit until you get your provisional license, understand?”

Izuku could only nod feverishly, a few tears leaking out from his eyes. “H-hai!”

Izuku could only wince at the reminder of his teacher almost two weeks ago, once again caught in
the midst of a mugging.

So much for being a normal day.

Ever since he had rescued Eri from the yakuza leader, it was like some kind of invisible barrier was
broken that was hiding him from the magnetic attraction of trouble. It was like there was a bright,
neon sign stuck to his forehead saying ‘looking for danger and expulsion!’ flashing in alternating
colors. This was the fourth mugging he stumbled upon just this week alone, and Aizawa-sensei
was steadily losing his mind. He could tell. He could tell because he was losing his mind too.

“Please stop before I call the police” He says, sighing. Two weeks ago, he would have been scared
and lost on what to do in this type of situation. Now, he just wanted coffee.

Tsukauchi is rubbing off on you, mental-sensei says. He shrugs in response, the detective had good
taste, and considering that the past two weeks have been nothing but making the police station his
second home, he had to pick up something from him eventually.

“If ya know what's good for ya, ya won't do it sonny” The mugger says, holding a knife to the
woman’s neck. His ugly mug was stretched into a hateful scowl.

Izuku knows that he can’t use a quirk to attack unless it's for self defense, it's just his luck that he
doesn’t have one to use.

Narrowing his eyes, he moves fast and hits a soft point on the muggers right side, making the
muscles in the arm holding the knife go limp. The woman takes this chance and frees herself from
the man’s weak hold on her. The man tries to do something with his eyes, probably his quirk, but
Izuku is too fast and sweeps his legs from under him. Without a second to spare, Izuku knocks his
elbow on his head and renders him unconscious.

“T-thank you, thank you so much!” The woman cries.

“A-ah, it’s okay! It was nothing really, the important thing is that you’re safe! And um, i'm going
to call the police now, okay?” He stammers out, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Why was knocking out criminals easier than social interaction!?

Shaking his head, he scrolls through his contacts and dials the number with the name ‘ Favourite
Detective ’. The phone in his hand rings once, twice, thri--

“Midoriya”

“Tsukauchi-san”

“Brawl?”

“Ah- no”

“Assault?”

“N-no um”

A sigh. “Mugging?”

“Ding ding ding” He says, weakly.

“This is the fourth one this week”

“I know”

“Is the perp awake?”

“Unconscious”

“Where?”

“The mall district, alley behind the arcade. I just wanted ice cream and the quickest way there was
through the back.”

“I might as well employ you as an officer at this point”

“Yeah, and I can be your criminal magnet. Being a detective has never been so easy”

A snort. “I'm coming, kid. You know the drill”

“See you, Tsukauchi-san”

“See you, Midoriya. There better be only one this time.”

Midoriya flashes back to last Sunday, when he called the detective for one perp, only for him to
arrive with an extra two behind him. They bumped into him with knives and profanities, what else
was he supposed to do?

“H-hai..”

The phone call ends, and Izuku wonders what the fuck his life has become.

When he arrives at school the next day, Aizawa-sensei greets him with a sigh.

“I was informed you bumped into a gang fight today” He deadpans. Who the fuck just bumps into
a gang fight .

“A kid lost his kitten, I chased after it until I crashed into someone with guns for hands. They told
me I was a part of the fight now, I just wanted the kitten. The two gang’s made me choose sides,
when I wouldn’t, they attacked me. I just wanted the kitten. ” He says, green eyes staring into his
soul.

Midnight passes by the classroom, humming in sympathy. The infamous teacher-student duo both
sigh in defeat.

“Wear your gym clothes”

“Yes, sensei”

“Why are we here again, mom?” He asks, contemplating jumping out the window as an escape
route. He’s sure that if he times it right, he could slide it open and push through with little fanfare.
It would raise alarm of course, and the building was three stories high but he’s had worse
honestly, he would find a way. Maybe he should ask Chi-chan for sticky gloves, or power loader,
or--

“Because” She says, interrupting his wonderful and productive train of thought. “We have to check
for your quirk”

“Mom, I don’t have a quirk”

“Tell that to all the people you put in jail and the gray hair I found today. Also, I see you looking at
that window, don’t think i'm going to let you get out of this again. I still can't believe how you
crawled through the vents last ti-- IZUKU! ”

Inko can only put her face in her hands as she hears an echoing “Oops, I slipped” steadily getting
softer from the window.

“Midoriya Izuku-kun?” The poor doctor asks, opening the door. Inko wonders if it’s still too early
for a drink.

Since the very unprofessional and lucky rescue, Eri has become a ward of Yuuei. According to the
police officers in charge of the investigation, until they apprehended Chisaki and gathered enough
evidence to be granted a warrant, leading to the take down of the organization, Eri wouldn’t be
safe in the foster system. Not to mention that the 5-year old girl apparently had no control over her
quirk. The bigger problem revealed itself in the fact that no one knew exactly what her quirk was.
It was obvious enough that it had something to do with the horn on her head, but no one has been
able to coax any information out of Eri about the mysteries clouding her powers. The general quirk
registrations also proved fruitless in providing any insight because it was sorely vague and
untelling of her full power.
The only time they were given even a lick of an idea to Eri’s quirk was during one of Izuku’s tri-
weekly visits. After the decision to have Eri as a ward of Yuuei, Cementoss wasted no time in
creating a small, dorm-like area in Yuuei for the girl to reside in. Nannie’s were hired in order to
take care of her needs, and Recovery Girl came in to visit Eri often in order to kick start Eri’s
healing process. It was after his classes that Izuku visited the white-haired girl, excited to meet and
check up on her well-being.

The visit went as it always did, with Izuku doing most of the talking while Eri listened and on rare
occasions, contributed to the conversation. The girl wore some cute, unicorn themed clothing that
day, and although she was still unable to smile, her eyes sparkled as she listened to her hero ramble
about his classes and his mother’s cooking.

The conversation only took a turn when Izuku started delving into his quirk analysis on a recent
rookie hero. The freckled teen immediately knew something was wrong when the light in the girl’s
eyes dimmed for a few seconds after he mentioned their ‘amazing quirk’.

“Eri-chan, are you okay?” He had asked, concerned. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder in re-
assurance.

The lower lip of the young girl slightly trembled in response, and she curled into herself by
burrowing her body deeply into the soft cushions of the couch. Izuku startled and furrowed his
eyebrows in confusion and worry.

“Eri-chan?” he said softly.

“My quirk..” She whispered, not meeting her hero’s eyes as if she were ashamed. As if she were
repulsed by something that was a part of her very being.

“My quirk… is cursed.”

And nothing more was ever said after that.

Izuku remembered leaving for the train station that day with a heavy heart and the prickling feel of
tears behind his eyes.

Riiinnngggg

Sighing, Izuku reaches down to pack up his things and get ready to go home. He thinks he’s had
enough of Midnight trying to explain abstract art. Honestly, the woman was just a bucket-full of
innuendos. He was just a little impressed, and embarrassed.

“Oh- haha! Midoriya-kun, please don’t faint on me- hahahaha! Oh god it's so fun to tease you, kid
hahaha! ”

Okay, maybe very embarrassed.

“You’re a tomato! Hahahahaha! ”

The blush burns from the tips of his ears to his chest and can you really blame him? Can you?

“And this hard edge most likely represented his desire for the love of his life who he quite
enthusiastically talked about in his journals. Truly, whenever they were together, that hard edge
was present in his thoughts. I'm sure he made his love very, very happy. Especially in their own
home, where he had that hard edge present the most in his paintings.”

Kami, Izuku could really use some air right now, away from his r-rated teacher who made it her
life mission to tease him till’ he was dead or something.

Heh , mental-sensei chuckles. Izuku glares at him in his head, and then feels like kicking himself
because he’s laughing and glaring at himself.

Maybe mom can take me to a therapist instead of a quirk doctor this week , he thinks and shakes
his head. Today is not the day you will crumble, Izuku. Not today.

Just as he finished packing up, Aizawa-sensei suddenly entered the room, startling both Kayama-
sensei and himself.

“Aizawa-sensei?” “Shouta?”

Blinking tiredly, the underground hero whispers something to the woman which brings an
understanding look in her eyes. Flashing a thumbs up to her student, she exits the classroom and
calls out a “see you tomorrow, Bunny!” as she walks down the hall. Izuku feels himself start to
blush again .

“Bunny?” Aizawa-sensei asked, an eyebrow raised in inquiry.

“Don’t, please” He almost begs, looking like a freshly picked strawberry.

Aizawa-sensei stares at him for a solid five seconds more before sighing his ‘I'm too tired for this
shit ’ sigh and sits down on his chair.

“Before you leave, I just wanted to discuss the provisional license exam with you.” He started.
“Usually, we would wait until your second year to get you tested for your license, but with your
recent circumstances-- ”

Izuku winces.

“--the Yuuei staff has decided to let the first year’s try out for the exam. We were anticipating this
to happen eventually, though we didn’t expect to have to do it for at least another three years. That
being said, the exam will take place in around two weeks time, during those two weeks I’m going
to be amping up our training sessions.”

Izuku felt his soul momentarily leave his body at the thought, but quickly grounded himself with a
pinch to his skin. This is why he came to Yuuei, to get stronger, strong enough to become a hero
even without a quirk. The first tangible step to reaching those dreams was his provisional license,
and hell if he wasn’t going to get it because he was underprepared.

“Haha! Look at useless Deku, he can’t even protect his younger brother!”

Izuku sobbed as the wounds on his body burned and ached. Katsuki stood behind him, growling at
the bullies. There was something different in his eyes though, something that was never there
before when he looked at his ‘Zu-nii’. Perhaps this was the start, because Izuku was never
prepared, never ready, never enough .

Steeling his resolve, he looked his sensei in the eye and smiled with teeth. “Bring it on, sensei!”

“I see” Nezu says over the phone, holding his cup of warm tea. The weather was exceptionally
great today.

On the other line, All Might sighs.

“Day by day, I am getting weaker. I believe it is finally time for me to accept your offer to teach at
Yuuei and look for a successor. Next year, I will be ready” He says .

“If I may, All Might. I believe there is someone you might like to see as a possible candidate. He is
a student of mine, actually. By the time you arrive, he will be in his second year.” Nedzu calmly
states, taking a sip of his chamomile tea.

“Thank you for the offer, Principal! Truly! but I would like to hand pick my successor myself as
much as possible. Nighteye has already been pushing for me to consider a student he took in for
internships and I’m afraid that if I cannot find a worthy successor myself, I will have to listen to his
suggestions.”

“That is quite alright. I only suggested him because he was the first one who came to mind, though
to be honest, I think he would have said no if you offered your power to him regardless” Nedzu
smiles.

“He’s already on the way to becoming quite the hero.”

“Izuku?”

Looking up from his homework, he turns to his mother standing at his doorway.

“Yeah, mom?”

“Have you seen your other school tie? I could have sworn we bought you three pairs during the
start of the school year” She says, frowning in thought.

“Hmm, I don't think so. Let me check my room real quick!” He says, abandoning his desk.
 *_*_*_*

After the Underground hero left, Chisaki Kai walks back and pushes the dumpster away with
irritation. He almost had them, he could practically feel how close he was. He almost had them .

Growling he shoves the dumpster again, revealing a brief flash of red on the floor. Pausing, he
bends down and picks up a red fabric with his gloved hands, examining what looked to be a poorly
knotted tie.

A school tie, with a small tag at the back branding the fabric with the logo of U.A.

Crushing the tie in his fist, a crazed, yet calm gleam settled in his eyes.

Eri was his, and if he got to dispose of the brat who got in his way in the process, even better.

As Izuku walks to school the next day, his feet unconsciously take him to a route he hasn’t walked
on for a while now. As he continues his walk, he passes by the park he used to play in when he was
younger and smiles at the silence coating the grounds at the early hour. If he closed his eyes, he
could almost hear the laughter and delighted screams that covered the playground so long ago.

Breathing in the cold air, he continues his trek to the station.

Perhaps it was because of the weather, or his daydream-like state, but Izuku didn’t realise there
was someone in front of him until he was right there.

Situational awareness, problem child; mental-sensei says.

Izuku was about to apologize when he caught a flash of ash blonde hair and ruby red eyes.
Bumping shoulders, the two don't look back and continue on their way without saying a single
word.

Perhaps one day, they would apologize and restore what they had before it went so wrong.

Izuku walks on, ignoring the sudden pin prick pain in his heart.

Unbeknownst to him, Katsuki Bakugou does the same.

Chapter End Notes

No permanent update sched im sorry guys but I promise ill update before 2 months
this time HAHAHAH.
 A Very Manly weekend
Chapter Summary

Izuku thinks about the type of hero he wants to be, spends time with problem child
mini, and runs into a raven haired middle schooler.

Chapter Notes

Me: Im definitely gonna post before 2 months!

Me now: *sweats*

Mental note: do not promise things because u suck

I'm sorry for the long wait guys here ya gooooo

In case yall have any desire to translate, make fanart, etc. for my work, please email
me at Alien_pewpew@protonmail.com. Thank you so much!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“The first thing you need, if you want to make it as a quirkless hero, is resilience.” Aizawa-sensei
says, hands in the pockets of his black jumpsuit. Izuku stands across from him. standing on the
field that he was quickly going to be acquainted with in the near future. Naïve, unassuming, and
blissfully unaware of the struggle he was about to face. “Without the will, you won’t make it in the
hero world for less than a day, let alone make it out of Yuuei.”

The wind ruffles through Izuku’s curly head of green hair as his teacher calmly looks at him. He
takes a silent breath.

“The second thing you need is intelligence.” Sensei continues. “Especially under your current
predicament, you need to make up for the lack of quirk with something that some brute heroes
don't really use today. Logic. Smarts. Analysis. The ability to notice the small details, and exploit
them without thinking twice.”

Izuku nods his head in silent understanding. Given his disadvantage, he knew from the beginning
that he was going to work in the shadows as an underground hero. With that in mind, he can’t
afford to hesitate or falter when faced with an opportunity that could appear as less than savoury.
He needed to improve his ability to spot weaknesses… and his resolve to use that against someone.

“Lastly, you need to be unpredictable.” Sensei says, breaking Izuku out of his train of thought. “I
understand you have some prior knowledge on fighting, which is good. However, sticking to one
style your whole life can make you very predictable and open to those who have experienced the
way you fight before. I’m not saying to discard whatever you learned, because discipline and
awareness is definitely needed here. What I’m saying is to make your own style of fighting, which
can have a mixture of multiple disciplines, katas, and forms.”
“Now, with all of that out of the way-” Izuku can’t help but feel nervous as Aizawa-sensei smiles at
him with teeth, looking more like a predator assessing his prey. “We can get to putting it into
practice”

As Izuku lays in bed, three days before his provisional license exam, that specific session with
Aizawa-sensei plays on a loop over and over in his head.

Resilience. Smarts. Unpredictability.

It played again and again and again until it was properly ingrained into his very being. As he
cycled the lesson in his mind, however, he couldn’t help but feel like something important was
missing. Something else that would complete the little mantra playing in his head.

Resilience. Smarts. Unpredictability.

A shiver suddenly wracks his body as the cold night air makes it through his window. Getting up
from his bed, he tiredly makes his way to the flowing curtains and locks the window shut until
silence blankets his room.

Resilience. Smarts. Unpredictability.

Sighing, Izuku rubs his eyes and ignores the clock in his room that pointed to it being 2:25 A.M. It
was just one of those days, he would go to sleep eventually. Or not.

Resilience. Smarts. Unpredictability.

Stretching his arms behind his back, Izuku accidentally bumps into one of the shelves holding one
of his many collector item action figures. Wincing at the sound it made as it hit the floor with a
‘thump’ , he leans down to pick it up.

It was his All Might action figure.

Izuku stares at the smile of one of his favourite heroes, thinks about his mother's eyes, and then
Eri’s haunted face.

He thinks about him.

And then he thinks about himself.

He knows now, what was missing

Resilience. Smarts. Unpredictability.

Heart.

The next day, Izuku can’t help but to go visit Eri, even though it wasn’t his usual visiting hours,
for some reason he just felt compelled to go visit her today. When Eri eventually spots the curly
green head of her hero, her eyes immediately brighten and sparkle.

“Midori” She whispers from the couch, still unable to smile. The nickname caught on as Eri
literally identified Izuku with the color green, not to mention the word being integrated in his last
name. It became so much of a thing that even some of his teachers took to calling him ‘Midori’, or
as Yamada-sensei liked to call him, ‘green-bean’. He still doesn’t know what that’s supposed to
say about him, and whenever he asks someone, they give him an amused but pitiful smile that for
some reason he thinks is telling him ‘Oh you poor, oblivious child’.

As you can probably tell, he’s thought about this, a lot. Nedzu-sensei is still chuckling into his tea
about it he swears.

Waving away his straying thoughts, he approaches the little girl and offers her a bright smile.
“Hey, Eri-chan! How have you been?” He says, sitting by her on the couch. The small T.V. in the
room was currently playing an anime that was about some kind of host club with a cross-dressing
protagonist. Izuku was going to ignore that, thank you very much.

“I’m okay” She replies softly. “Nana Nurse gave me gummy bears” She adds on after a moment,
reaching into her pocket and bringing out a ziplock bag with the colorful treats. She shows it to
Izuku with expressive eyes, as if she was looking for his approval or praise.

“That’s great!” Izuku says, cheerfully. “My day probably wasn’t as eventful as yours I’m sure!”

With that, Izuku goes on his usual rambling spree with Eri attentively listening. The freckled boy
was probably rambling for much longer than he thought though, because after a while a gentle
weight settled against his shoulder. Twitching in shock, he abruptly cuts himself off to look over to
his side, finding Eri adorably sleeping whilst leaning against his arm.

“Ah, geez…” He mumbles, unable to keep his lips from curling into a fond smile at the girls quiet
snores. After a few minutes of staying still in order to not wake the girl ( who do you think he is, a
monster??? ), he was interrupted in his internal debate on how long he was going to have to sit
before A.) dying of boredom or restlessness; B.) falling asleep; or C.) Aizawa-sensei sending a
police search party that will most definitely include Tsukauchi-san and even more terrifyingly, his
mother, before the door to the small dorm room opened.

Izuku was shocked to find Hound Dog, the school’s counselor, and Tsukauchi-san-- what if sensei
actually sent a search party oh god he was so dead --at the front door.

“H-hound dog-sensei! Tsukauchi-san!” He squeaked out, blushing when their eyes settled on the
young girl using the greenette as a convenient pillow. “Um, I can explain?” He said, sheepishly
rubbing the back of his neck.

Holding the bridge of his nose between two fingers, Tsukauchi sighed, deeply.

Deciding to ignore the sudden awkward tension in the room, Hound Dog huffs and sits on the
couch opposite to Izuku, crossing his arms. Tsukauchi followed after him and sat next to the
intimidating hero.

“Well” Tsukauchi drawled out after a few seconds, “At least I know where Aizawa’s problem child
is now.”

Izuku laughs awkwardly in response, and the detective decides to ignore the fact that he should
have been out of school an hour ago. Shaking his head, he sighs and makes a decision.
“We were here to supposedly talk to Eri about her quirk, but since you’re here you might as well
know. I’m aware that Eri holds you in high regard, so you might be able to help her through this”

Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, he nods to let the officer know he was listening.

“Eri’s quirk, as you know, has been a huge mystery to everyone involved except for the suspected
Yakuza group that had her” He starts, face carefully kept neutral. “In order to find anything that
may help us find out more about her quirk, aside from the incredibly vague quirk registry
documents that said ‘Rewind’ and nothing else except the detail of the growth of her horn relating
to her power, we had to use other means to gather anything we can to gauge if her quirk would be
potentially dangerous or not.”

Izuku suddenly remembers that day a few days ago, when Eri confessed to believing her quirk was
cursed, and frowned.

“If it’s any help, It doesn’t seem like Eri-chan likes her quirk very much” He says, sadly. “That
might imply that the Yakuza used her quirk in some way that made her believe that, so I think it
might be a powerful quirk since they would resort to scarring a six-year-old for whatever reason
they had just to use it” He said almost angrily, catching his lower lip in order to calm down.

“Yeah, that’s what we were generally assuming as well” He says, softening his features.
“Anyways, I was going to speak to Eri with the help of Hound Dog since Eri’s warmed up to him,
but I think this will go a lot smoother with you here. You up for it, Midoriya-kun?”

Looking back at Tsukauchi-san with determined and almost protective eyes, he nods and smiles.
“Of course” he says, as he regrettably proceeds to wake up Eri from her peaceful slumber.

*-*-*-*

Walking home, Izuku can’t help but think that Eri starting to cry in the middle of a question
regarding her quirk, burying her face in his chest, and staying completely silent wasn’t exactly
what Tsukauchi-san hoped for. Before finally postponing the questioning, he remembers the
officers words before he left, Hound Dog comforting the crying girl on the couch who was
apologizing again and again for something they didn’t understand or know about.

“I’m really sorry about this, I guess I didn’t realise just how uncomfortable she was to talk about
her own quirk” He had said, sighing tiredly. “I understand if this is a bit much, but Midoriya, if
you can help her open up a bit more about her situation, that would be immensely helpful in
ensuring her safety and furthering the investigation.”

“Of course, Tsukauchi-san!” He had said, taking a moment to look back at the sniffling girl on the
couch. “I just really want her to be okay” He added, whispering sadly. At that, the detective put a
steadying hand on his shoulder and shot him a reassuring smile. “That’s what we’re all working
towards, Midoriya. All you need to do to help us achieve that is by being yourself and making Eri
feel safe and happy.”

Sighing, he continues on his way home, thoughts of the white haired girl lingering in his mind.
“Izuku honey, we have to leave! The train won’t wait for us!” Inko calls from the living room,
bustling around to make sure their things were all in order. The short woman just recently got a job
in another district, and her client was generous enough to provide her a living space for the
weekend with the only payment being to do her job to the best of her ability. Thankfully, the place
she was provided had enough room for Izuku to stay in, which is why she was bringing her son
with her. For once, she was grateful that she was a highly sought out lawyer.

“Coming, mom!” Izuku hollered from his room, stuffing as many notebooks as he could into his
backpack. The provisional license exam was on Monday, so sue him for being extra paranoid! He
was going to have to go to Yuuei for his friday classes anyways, so no he was definitely not
overpacking.

By the time Inko locked up their apartment and got on the train, it was already dawn.

*-*-*-*

As Friday rolled around, it took no less than 20 minutes after coming back from school-- which
was a record by the way-- to be shoved out of the house by his sweet and loving mother to go “do
something else” while she outlined her battle plan to absolutely decimate the poor sod going
against her. Seems like the living accommodations provided to her by her client fired her up. Izuku
could understand, considering there was a hot tub in their, and there’s really no other way to say it,
luxury apartment. He still couldn’t get the image of his mother almost falling into the hot tub in
shock out of his mind, mostly because he did that too, when he found out there was a fucking
outdoor swimming pool on the roof.

His mother was well off, and they lived comfortably, but god damn .

Shaking his head, Izuku decides to use this time being banished from their probably overpriced
temporary apartment by going on a light jog. Placing his earbuds into his ears, Izuku played an
upbeat song and took note of the street he was in before making his way down the road, enjoying
the cool breeze on his skin. As he made his way further down, he realised he was nearby some
kind of middle school as evident by the many students chatting and walking down the sidewalk.
He smiled a bit at the teens laughing and joking around with their friends, before getting back on
track and turning a corner.

What happened next would make Tsukauchi-san ground him-- probably for forever if he had a say
in it.

A huge, towering figure over two middle school girls, asking for directions to a specific place. A
boy with black hair rushing in to help but suddenly stopping in fear. A pink skinned girl sliding in
to give the obviously shady looking man some directions as she trembled in her shoes. Izuku’s
instincts going haywire and responding to danger like it ran in his blood.

He ripped off his earbuds, tapped the man on his back, and made him turn so that the three girls
behind him could safely make their way out. With that out of the way, he smiled innocently at the
man towering over his small figure and confidently led the conversation even as his heart was
beating hard and fast in fear.

“I heard you needed directions, sir! I couldn’t help but listen in, and I know exactly where you need
to go!”

Pulling out his phone, he secretly turned on his microphone and opened up google maps as he
made up some bullshit about the shortcuts to get to the address he restated to him. Following in the
pink skinned girl’s lead, he simply gave him directions to the nearest police station and let him go,
eyeing his back in suspicion. Turning off the recording, he immediately sent the voice message to
Tsukauchi-san, hoping the police officer could convince some heroes in the district to check out
the address the shady man gave him just in case.

Letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, he turned to the three girls he saw earlier, all of
which were trembling and holding on to each other on the floor. Jogging up to them, he crouched
down to their level and looked at them with concerned eyes. “Are you guys okay?” He asked.

“Th-thank you, *hic* so much!” The brunette sobbed out, “T-to both of you! Mina-chan, you w-
were so brave!” she exclaimed. The other girl beside her nodded her head furiously in agreement.

The pink skinned girl, who he assumed was Mina, just shook her head and gave her friends a
wobbly smile. “N-no need to thank me! Isn’t that what heroes are supposed to do?” She laughed,
and even though it sounded shaky, the tension in the air suddenly cleared as the other civilians and
middle schoolers surrounding them broke out into laughs of their own and praises for the Mina girl.

“T-thank you, too! Um..”

“Oh!” Izuku smiled sheepishly, “M-Midoriya Izuku! What you did was really brave, Mina-chan.
You did good!”

“Right back at ya’! I really thought he was gonna see through me, it was all thanks to you that he
finally left!” She exclaimed.

Smiling, he took her thanks, checked on the three girls again to make sure they weren’t hurt, and
bid them goodbye before continuing on his jog.

As he turned, he failed to notice the defeated expression on a black haired boy’s face standing just
a few meters away from them.

After the incident on Friday, which he was exasperatedly scolded for by both his mother and
Aizawa-sensei (seriously, at this point you would think Sensei was acting like a fath-- nope , no we
are not going there-- ), Saturday went by peacefully and with no further surprises. As Sunday
came, Izuku was woefully counting down the seconds until they had to leave their gem of an
apartment and return back home for his Provisional License Exam.

Sighing dejectedly, he leaves the apartment an hour before dawn and goes on his daily jog, opting
not to listen to his mother’s client singing praises about her as if they were honestly preparing to
propose. Yeah, no thanks, his mom could handle that problem.

As he continues his peaceful jog, his feet take him by the same middle school he saw just two days
ago, only to find a black haired boy sitting on a bench nearby the grounds. His eyes squint a bit and
suddenly he remembers a boy looking exactly like him freezing in fear whilst Mina tried to
misdirect the villain. Frowning, he gradually slows down his pace until he’s only a few meters
away from the bench.

The boy clearly hasn’t noticed him yet. His inky black hair hung in front of his face as he slouched
over and looked at the ground, his fists looking painfully clenched on top of his knees. Sighing,
Izuku walks towards the boy and quietly sits on the opposite end of the bench. Damn his bleeding
heart, but Izuku was not going to turn away if he had the power to stay.

The moment he sat down, the student startled and looked as if he suddenly just realised where he
was. Looking to his left, he found Izuku sitting at the opposite end, giving him a friendly smile.

“Um.., hey!” The freckled boy started, and then felt like pushing his face under ground for. Real
eloquent Izuku, ten out of ten.

“I mean..” Izuku sighs, “Sorry, I just had the feeling you needed someone to talk to, but if you don't
want to then I can just leave! I just.. I mean, you just looked really stressed out about something
and I know you don't know me but if somethings bothering you this much
Ireallythinkyoushouldtalktosomeoneanditdoesn’thavetobemebut---”

“Woah, dude! Relax!” The boy said, raising both palms facing outwards as if to placate him.
Although his eyes were wide in confusion and shock, his face was no longer holding an expression
of self-loathing (a face that Izuku was more than familiar with) which was a win in his book.

“Heh.. Sorry. I just.. you really seemed like something was troubling you, and I couldn’t help but
want to hear you out” He finally ends up saying, putting on an awkward smile. God, he hoped
social interaction was a course in Yuuei. He needed it, desperately .

It was quiet for a few more seconds before the boy next to him put down his hands and slumped
his shoulders, looking defeated.

“I want to be a hero.” He says, first and foremost. His scarlet eyes held a determined gaze even as
his voice slightly shook and his vision once again pointed downwards to the floor.

“That’s really admirable.” he says softly. The boy looks up for a second to shoot him a small smile.

“Heh, thanks” he replies. He looks back to the ground. “I want to be a hero, a hero like Crimson
Riot. I want people to look at me and think I’m dependable. Some people tease me for it
sometimes, but I want to be manly just like him! Even though my quirk isn’t really all that flashy, I
do my best to stop bullies and stuff from doing bad things in school” He continues, fiddling with
his fingers. He pauses to reach up and tuck some of his shoulder length black hair behind his ear,
and Izuku is met with the face of a dejected boy. His heart goes out to him, especially because he’s
seen that face stare back at him more than once in his own bathroom mirror.

“I don’t see what’s wrong with that. Crimson Riot is a really awesome hero! He’s really chivalrous
and isn’t afraid to speak his mind and talk about his own feelings. Even though he’s a bit of an
older hero, I’ve always admired him for his strength. Plus, it seems like you’re already on your
way to becoming a hero! Protecting those who can’t protect themselves is one of the main
requirements of being a hero, and it looks like you’ve got that down pat” Izuku rambles, hoping to
comfort the boy.

Looking mildly surprised, the ravenette opens and closes his mouth a few times before giving
Izuku a genuine smile, a little bit of fire that wasn’t present before suddenly flickering in his red
eyes. “Y-yeah! Crimson Riot is super manly! I’ve always admired him as a kid and I told everyone
from a young age that I’d be just like him!” He excitedly responds. His words suddenly get stuck
as he finishes, however, making Izuku frown.

“But.. I’m never going to be as manly as him. When the time came that I had to act, I just.. I just
froze ” He says, frustrated. “When It really mattered, my feet stayed stuck to the floor while my
classmates had a chance to be seriously injured. I mean, out of everyone, I would be the least likely
to get hurt because of my hardening quirk, but I just.. I couldn’t move!” He suddenly shouts, eyes
suspiciously wet.

“I just stood there like an idiot while Mina slid in and tried to get him to go away! All those times I
said I was going to be a hero, and the one time it really mattered, I didn’t do anything . Forget
being a hero, I’m not even a man!” He sobs out, his arms going around to hold himself from
breaking into pieces in front of a complete stranger.

“A-and then, another guy entered and f-finally got that guy to go away. I didn’t even see who they
were because I couldn’t believe myself. How can I be a hero when I can’t even save the people in
front of me?” He finishes, chin wobbling as he desperately tries to hold back his tears.

The birds chirped overhead as the sun slowly started to set. The skies were filled with an
assortment of pink, oranges, and blues when Kirishima Eijirou was gently hit on the head by the
stranger beside him. “Baka” Izuku says, smiling sadly.

“You want to know something, stranger-kun?” He asks, face steadily locked on the wet-eyed face
of bewilderment beside him. “I’m currently a first year at Yuuei, and when I was faced with my
first potential villain, I was so terrified that all I could do was call my teacher and try to hide.” He
says, chuckling dryly.

“The only thing that kept me from completely losing to the fear was the fact that there was a little
girl in my arms I was trying to save. I didn’t fight, or did anything flashy to be heroic at all. I was
just scared and frankly a little helpless” Izuku continues. “If my teacher didn’t come in time, things
probably would have gotten really messy really quick, but thankfully both me and her are okay”

Still teary eyed, Eijirou opens his mouth. “W-why are you telling me this?” He asks.

“Because” He says, “Being afraid doesn’t automatically make you unheroic, you know? The best
heroes out there are usually always afraid when faced with a dangerous situation. Trust me, I
would know. I'm in a school filled to the brim with pro-heroes” he says, smiling. Eijirou can't help
but to give a soundless chuckle. “What matters most, even though it's cheesy, is this” Izuku says,
fist bumping Eijirou’s chest gently, right over his heart.

“It was hard for me to learn this too, but my teacher once told me that being afraid is good. That
experiencing fear means that we’re human.” He says gently, ignoring his own beating heart as the
teen in front of him absorbed every word coming from his mouth. “Being afraid is good, because it
gives you more reason to erase the fear from everyone else around you. Fear is good, because it’s
what can drive you to strive to be better ” He continues, his sensei’s words echoing in his mind.

“You know, Crimson Riot himself once said in an interview that what mattered most was the state
of one’s heart. For him, being chivalrous was living a life without any regrets” Pulling his hand
away, Izuku smiles.

“Are you going to let this stop you from becoming the hero you weren’t able to be during that
moment?”

Eyes widening, Eijirou’s breath stopped short as the words registered in his mind. His eyes were
suddenly once again filled with tears, something that he didn’t realize was dead suddenly stirring
back to life inside of him.

“No” he sobbed, “No”

Eijiriou couldn’t help but latch on to the warm body suddenly embracing him as he sobbed his
heart out, letting all the fear, anger, and disappointment locked inside him since two days ago out .

When he finally calmed down, he hastily pulled back and rubbed his eyes harshly. “I-I’m so sorry
dude, I don't know what came over me. Aw man, I totally ruined your shirt didn’t I! Im so--!"

“It’s fine!” Izuku interrupts, laughing. “I’m honestly just glad you’re feeling better now, or at least
I hope you are” He says, raising an eyebrow jokingly.

Eijirou laughs, and he feels free when his chest doesn’t constrict in guilt. The two boys end up
talking all the way until the sun finally sets and the older teen’s phone starts to buzz in his pocket,
his mother reminding him that they were due to leave for the station in an hour.

Just as Izuku was getting ready to leave, Eijirou stops him.

“Wait!” He exclaims, “Aghh, I totally forgot to ask for your name, that’s super unmanly!” He
groans. Izuku flushes when he realizes he didn’t ask for the stranger's name either.

“Oh my god” He says, and suddenly they’re both laughing at their stupidity. Smiling, the freckled
boy put his hand out. “My name is Midoriya Izuku! Thank you for letting me help you” He says.

Eijirou reaches his own hand out to clasp the elder’s hand firmly. “Kirishima Eijirou, and I swear
that I will become a hero! I’ll see you soon enough, Senpai!”

For one, Izuku is really happy that Kirishima-kun feels a whole lot better. On the other hand, he
was 0% prepared to be called Senpai, resulting in him combusting in front of the younger on the
spot. This is a pretty sad death, honestly. He would have the worst tombstone heading in the world,
‘death by being called Senpai’. It’s sad, It’s really, really sad.

“S-senpai!?”

It was almost 10:30 PM when they got back home to their modest apartment (which he admittedly
missed, a lot ) that Izuku heard the telltale notification sound of a text message on his phone.

Pulling out the device, he smiled at the message staring at him and walked inside his home, getting
ready for bed. He had a crucial exam tomorrow after all!

Kirishima-kun

10:32 PM
 Good luck for your test tomorrow, Senpai! And thank you for today, I’ll be cheering you on!!! :D

Izuku fell asleep with a smile, relaxed and ready for tomorrow.

Chapter End Notes

OK HEAR ME OUT, im not really sure when Kirishima's incident takes place and I
didn't really check if the time period matched up since I really wanted this to happen,
so if anyone wants to nitpick then my answer will be this:

My WoRlD, mY RuLes.

THANKS FOR READING YOU BEAUTIFUL DUCKLINGS.

 Izuku And His Panther Buddy (and the provisional license, that too)
Chapter Summary

The teachers start betting pools, Izuku does some badass and becomes a celebrity, and
Shouta protects his so- *CouGh* student.

Honestly, can't Izuku do anything normally at this point.

Chapter Notes

Okay this is gonna be a lot one sec lemme just write this down ayt...

1.) The fuck. No, actually what the fuck. I'm serious, can you see my serious face right
now? I'm deadly serious. Like all the serious. What the actual fuck guys.

3000+ kudos? WHaT???? I JUST DID THIS ON A WHIM FOR FUN, I'M NOT
EVEN THAT GOOD IN WRITING. I DON'T EVEN HAVE A BETA READER
WTF GUYS SERIOUSLY WHAT????1!!/!?

Y'all really playing with me jfc y'all naSTY.

Thank you anyways you absolute beautiful amazing bitches. I can't believe ur doing
this to me what the actual h e c k.

2.) Update schedule? What update schedule? Thanks for bearing with me anyways :")
All the comments are really supportive and believe me when i say I read all of them
HAHAHAH. Thank y'all so much for being weird and liking this lmao

3.) EAT BITCH. DRINK SOME WATER. SLEEP. U CAN READ THIS LATER.
GADDAMN. U NEED 100 HEALTH TO PROCEED Y'HEAR ME. (this is ur
mandatory self-care checkpoint. If all of this is complied with, you may proceed.)

4.) I did a three hour marathon writing this shit so if there's anything wrong WHELP.
(I did my best for u guys tho cause i lov u)

ayt enuf on to the story bye.

In case yall have any desire to translate, make fanart, etc. for my work, please email
me at Alien_pewpew@protonmail.com. Thank you so much!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

When Izuku wakes up the next morning, the birds are chirping happily in the distance, the sun is
shining warmly to create the perfect weather, and his bedroom is near silent because he woke up
before his alarm.
Getting up groggily, he blinks once, takes a deep breath, squints at the calendar on his wall with his
mouth slightly open, blinks again, and promptly buries his face into his pillow to let out a god
awful scream.

“aaaaAAAAHHHHHH”

The birds fly away, a thunk is heard from the adjacent bedroom, and suddenly his alarm goes off
playing the All Might theme song.

I am Here, to save the day. Doing it the All Might-y way!! Evil will not escape my sight, all these
villains will quiver in fright! Join me on my que--

His door is then ripped open by a heaving Midoriya Inko, stray hairs curling around her face and a
very threatening rolling pin in her hand.

“IZUKU! Where are they! No one touches my baby!!” She shrieks, still half asleep and swatting
the rolling pin around like a woman aiming to break a skull or two.

“Moooooooom!” Izuku wails, flailing his own arms with wet eyes. “License! Pro-provi-!! Hero
card ! LICENSE! TODAY!!! ”

Somewhere else in the city, Shouta feels a migraine start to descend upon him.

On his way to the classroom, Izuku is given pats on the back by his 1-B friends who were going to
take their provisional license exams in another testing facility. He really doesn’t understand why
he’s being separated from them again, but either way, today is the day he’s going to prove his
conviction to be a hero. To his teachers, to Eri, to his mother, and most importantly, to himself.

Filled with a surge of confidence, Izuku tightens his hold on the straps of his backpack, straightens
his back, marches to the door of his classroom, and promptly trips over thin air.

It was fun while it lasted , he thinks as he prepares to faceplant on the ground.

His downward descent into pain and embarrassment suddenly halted when he felt tug on his
backpack.

"It's the start of the day" Aizawa-sensei says tiredly, pulling him up to stand straight. "We're not
even in the classroom yet, Problem Child"

"Good morning to you too, sensei!" He says cheerfully, ignoring everything that happened 30
seconds prior.

Sensei stares at him for a solid 15 seconds more before he raises a hand and drags it down his
face.

"Just go inside, Midoriya"

"Yes, sensei"
Since Izuku was the only one of his class, the principal took the initiative to forgo a bus and instead
had a Yuuei approved vehicle take both him and Aizawa-sensei to the testing facility. Izuku was a
mess of nerves the whole ride there, nervously clutching onto the suitcase with his costume inside.
The only thought that was looping through his brain during those moments was that he couldn’t
fail now, not now when he’s come this far with such an impossible dream.

Employing some breathing techniques to try and calm himself down, Shouta notices the kid and
lets out a small sigh. Raising his hand, he gently places it on top of the mess of curly green hair and
lets it stay there until Izuku is blinking in confusion at the gentle weight on his head.

“Sensei?” He asks, the heavy feeling in his chest momentarily disappearing.

“Midoriya, I don’t waste time on students who I don’t think can succeed.” He says matter-of-
factly, retracting his hand. Smirking, he faces the front of the small car they were in and settled
comfortably against the leather seats. “At this point, I’m more worried about how you’re going to
get to that point of success. Maybe try not to discover a criminal in the midst of the test? Or
fracture a bone in the process? Or do some heart-attack inducing stunts?”

Gaping, an embarrassed flush rose up until a gentle dusting of red was visible on his cheeks. “Wh-
It’s not like I do it on purpose !”

The rest of the ride went by with Izuku feeling oddly reassured, even as their driver let out a few
amused chuckles. Damn it, sensei.

With the absence of both Cementoss and Aizawa, arguably the two most straightforward and
intolerant to gossip of all the educators, the teacher’s lounge was an… interesting place to be in.

Once Hizashi finally made it into the lounge as the last of the teachers to arrive (“You’re late,
Mic!” “Michimiya-kun accidentally got himself stuck to the ceiling, what else was I supposed to
do?!”), the slumber party-esq ‘girl talk’ started.

Lunch break was forty minutes long. The eccentric pro-hero teachers of the esteemed Yuuei
academy could do a lot in forty minutes.

“So” Midnight started, letting the letters roll off her tongue in an almost mischievous manner.
“What are our bets?”

Power loader came forward first, betting two days worth of paperwork whenever they needed it. “I
bet that Midoriya will come back with a provisional license and a ruined costume that I will have to
redo. Again .”

“Pfft, that’s way too easy for our green-bean. He almost always comes back with a ruined costume
during this type of stuff” Hizashi exclaims. The rest of the teachers agree.

“I also bet” He continues, a dangerous twinkle in his eyes. “That he will come back with at least 5
new cell phone numbers from other hero students”

The lounge is stunned until they come back to themselves, laughing and smirking.
“My turn” says Vlad King, equipped with a damning bet of his own.

Nedzu watches this all through his cameras, cackling in delight and amusement.

Somewhere else in another district, Eijirou scrolls through his phone and suddenly jumps up in
shock, stubbing his toe on the corner of his bed frame in the process.

“YEOW! Wait, what the heck!? Midoriya’s that quirkless second placer!? That’s so manly!” He
cries while jumping on one foot, pained tears in his eyes.

“EIJI STOP YELLING!”

“Midoriya”

“Yes, sensei?”

“You’ve got this. Remember the first homework i gave you?”

“To stop doubting myself”

“Mhm. I’m asking for the return right now. Go do your thing”

Izuku smiles. “Yes, sensei”

*-*-*-*

Izuku breathes in, then out.

He’s got this. He hasn’t been training for so long, and so hard for nothing. This is his moment of
truth. This is the first major checkpoint of his race. There is no more going back.

Shaking his limbs to loosen them up a bit, he glances around to see the many faces of other
aspiring hero students around him. Most of them were second years while others were third years.
It’s a little obvious that Izuku’s one of the only first years in the building. Taking in another deep
breath, he focuses and recalls the instructions given to them by the.. Tired is probably the best way
to put it- man just a few moments prior.

“Ahh.. I really need some coffee. Uhn, Anyways, the first stage of the exam is pretty cut and dry.
It’s pretty much like an altered game of cops and robbers, except you’re all superpowered children
fighting for a license. Heh. *Ahem* In the simplest terms, students will be randomly picked to be
cops or robbers. The cops can be identified through a blue armband, while the robbers are
identified through red armbands. There’s a jail area in the center of the arena where the caught
robbers are placed, and there’s a ‘safehouse’ at the edge of the arena for kidnapped or
incapacitated cops. Both sides will be given two plastic balls with a receptor attached on their
chests. If you are hit on that area, you will be carted to your respective prisons. However, you get
one chance to be saved by someone from your team. Which means if you get caught twice, you’re
out.”

The man yawns once before sighing. “Just as we have done every year, only 50% of you will be
passing. Considering that there are 1, 521 students present right now, that means only 760
students will be going home with a license today. You will be given 5 minutes to discuss with your
groups, and 15 minutes to complete this stage. Good luck”

That was a few minutes ago, and now here he was with his fellow robbers, a red armband around
his bicep.

“ALLLLRIGHT! Let’s do this guys, robbers unite!!” An enthusiastic yell came from one side of
the room. From what he gathered, it looked like a Ketsubutsu student. The boy had his blue hair up
in a high ponytail on top of his head, his fist raised enthusiastically in the air.

“Ugh, I already hate this” A mutter came from nearby. Looking to his right, he sees a tall girl with
short, shaggy auburn hair in two pigtails at the base of her neck. Although she was in her hero
costume, he thought that he spotted her by the Seijin High students during orientation (he could tell
because of some of their.. oddly ninja like costumes?). She was currently wearing loose pants
tucked into dark boots, along with a black long sleeved cropped shirt with bits of white, and what
looked to be two long metal bracelets on her wrists.

“Done staring, short stack?”

“Ah!” He jumps, finding the girl’s piercing, almost feline-like magenta eyes looking at him.
Raising his hands, he waves it in front of his face. “S-sorry I didn’t mean to make you
uncomfortable or anything! It’s just that you said something and I--!”

The girl keeps up a cool facade for a few more seconds before she snickers and smirks. “Chill
dude, I was just kidding around with ya’”

Izuku flushes. “O-oh… haha”

Rolling her eyes, the girl raises an eyebrow. “So, what school are ya from, greenie?”

Greenie?? , he thinks before banishing the thought for later. “Ah.. I’m from Yuuei” He says
nervously. He can only hope that she hasn’t seen the sports festival.

From her shocked expression, he can now confirm he has shit luck.

“No way! You’re that crazy quirkless kid who crawled his way up to second place in the sports
festival!” She whisper-shouts, a little amazed. “I usually hate flamboyant assholes, but when I saw
you on T.V., I couldn’t help but to join everyone else and root for you.” She admits, crossing her
arms in front of her chest.

“Oh! Uh, thanks I guess..?” He says, rubbing the back of his neck, keenly aware of her calculating
gaze.
“Say, do you wanna partner up? It’ll be better if you have someone to watch your back. To be
honest, you kinda inspired me a small bit. My quirks’s pretty basic, but seeing you accomplish
what you did with what you had was pretty damn amazing” She says, her gaze softening a little bit.

“W-wait, really? Me? I was just- I was just doing my best! Anyone could have done what I did with
enough training and--”

“Oh Kami, you’re one of those people” She says, sighing. Her smile still stays firmly in place
though, so Izuku tries not to worry about her ominous statement. “No matter, just means I gotta
beat it into you that you’re pretty cool. Anyways, as much as I’m enjoying this conversation mister
quirkless wonder, d’you wanna team up or not?”

Blinking a few times just to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating, the grenette finally huffs and
smiles nervously back. “I’d love to, uh.. What’s your name again?”

The girl smirks toothily, revealing sharp fangs. “The name’s Hirano Aia, greenie. Let’s win this”

Izuku couldn’t say he knew what expectations he had from this test, but it certainly wasn’t this .

“Hooooly crap” Hirano says beside him, gaping at the suddenly expanded space they were in,
emulating what seemed to be a foggy city. The smog was extremely disadvantageous to those
without sight-enhancing or terrain specific quirks.

They were just outside of the ‘safehouse’, and were one of the many robbers assigned to catch the
cops. Behind them were the four heavy hitters in their group, three of the students possessing
mutant quirks while the last one had some type of sense quirk, which was excellent for weeding
out cops wanting to break into the safehouse. The four students were assigned to guard the area,
whilst the rest brought back as many cops as they could.

“With this smog, I think our best bet for getting around is through the rooftops” He says to Hirano.
“There will be less smog there, and it’ll give us a greater vantage point. We can get down later
once we’ve gotten a proper idea of the layout”

“Sounds like a plan, greenie” She replies, cracking her knuckles. “Alright, howzabout a free ride to
the nearest rooftop?” She asks, rolling her neck and getting on all fours. Suddenly, the metal
bracelets she was wearing extended into full gauntlets protecting her palms.

“It’s better that you save your energy” Izuku counters, taking out his own transportation. “Besides,
I’ve got my own ride” He says, smirking.

With a small phluck, his grappling gun latches onto the nearest rooftop and pulls him to the top.
Laughing, Hirano grinds her heavy duty boots into the ground-- the lining around her soles lighting
up a neon purple --and follows, climbing up the side of the building with incredible speed, just like
a panther on the prowl.

It’s begun.
Shouta looks over the arena in the stands with Ms. Joke, eyes straining to spot a head of green
under all the fog. He could have sworn he just saw what looked like an extended chord shooting
over something, he could only hope that it was Midoriya using his grappling gun, which also
implied he had a plan. Hopefully.

“Ahh take a chill pill, Eraser! Your kid’s gonna do fine. By the way, being a single parent must be
hard, yeah? Why don’t we get married to fix that! Hahahahahaha!”

Inwardly groaning, Shouta decides to passively observe. Even though most of what Joke said was
annoying, she was right in that he had nothing to worry about. Midoriya has proved to him time
and time again that he was capable in every sense.

It’s just… Midoriya’s the only kid he’s got left. It was obvious from the start that he would get a
little attached. He couldn’t help but want the kid he’s spent so much time teaching and worrying
and fussing over to succeed.

Kami, I sound like a parent… He thinks, scrunching his face up into a small grimace. I need a
drink with my idiot friends after this.

Hirano and Izuku peer over the ledges, mapping out the routes multiple ‘cops’ were taking and
laying out plans to catch some of them by surprise. Since both of their abilities weren’t all that
great for an all out confrontation, stealth was going to be their best friend. Thankfully, the smog
was already helping them out in that regard.

“Alright, if we can maintain this sense of calm and catch them by surprise without alerting anyone,
we’ll have the advantage for a pretty long time. All we need to do is quietly get their receptors with
our ammo. We also have to make sure we can retreat immediately after the deed is done so that we
can avoid extended confrontation as long as possible” Izuku rapidly explains. “So as long as we
don't disrupt their sense of security, we’ll be fine. If you need help, I’ve got a lot of stuff that can
help out. Actually, maybe it’s a good idea if I give you some of them just in case uh..” The grenette
immediately shuts up when he realizes he’s rambling. This was really not the time for this!

Instead of stopping him though, Hirano is listening with rapt attention. Upon realizing he wasn’t
going to continue, she grins. “Hey, don’t psych yourself out, greenie. We got this.” She says
simply, playfully punching his shoulder. Feeling warm, he sets his shoulders and nods back. “All
right, let's do this. Remember, carefully and quie--”

BOOM

“-- etly? ” He squeaks, gaping a little at the explosion that just came from the center area. There
were bits of debris flying around and multiple blue and red lights that were barely visible in the
smog, revealing those caught and hit by both sides.

“Well, that’s one way of doing it I guess” Hirano says dryly, rolling her eyes.

Snorting shakily, Izuku shakes his head and ignores the commotion, letting his eyes focus on the
cops distracted by the explosion a few blocks away.
“On the bright side” He says. “We don't really need a proper distraction anymore”

“Awesome” Hirano replies, licking over her fangs and smirking widely. “snack time~!”

*-*-*-*

Satoshi just wanted to pass this test. Being in a school like Shiketsu academy meant that there were
a lot of expectations placed upon their shoulders. It was mostly understandable, y’know, seeing as
they were the school currently rivalling the Yuuei academy. Eitherway, he was not going to fail
this test, not with three of his classmates standing by him!

Sakura huffs in annoyance, leaving the rear of their formation to talk to Bozo in front. The two
students were some of the best in their class, which was why Satoshi felt pretty confident in their
success. Sakura had a quirk that paralyzed someone if they kept eye contact with her for at least
three seconds. The longer they remain in eye contact, the longer the other is paralyzed for. Bozo on
the other hand had a versatile reptile mutation. He could camouflage like a chameleon, climb walls
like a lizard, and had pretty tough skin, making him an all rounder.

Daichi, their other teammate, could produce charged energy blasts from his mouth. Satoshi
however, had a more subtle quirk. He had the ability to increase the sensitivity of someone’s
senses. Overloading into one sense can be really detrimental to one’s focus and perception, which
was why he was in the group. The back-up so to speak.

Sighing, he waits for the girl ahead of him to fall back into formation. He was currently the only
one guarding the rear now.

Behind him, poisonous magenta and radioactive green cut through the fog and drop down silently
behind the group. The second year girl then approached with impressive agility, imitating a cat.
She slowly curled up behind Satoshi before finally catching him around the mouth and throat,
pulling him back into the shadows with her slightly enhanced strength, his teammates none the
wiser.

“Mmph!”

Izuku used this opportunity to get in front of their first victim, holding one of the plastic balls he
had in his hand. “Thanks for being our warm up, shiketsu-kun~” Hirano whispered into the boy’s
ear before the ball was touched to his receptor and he only saw blue.

The next thing he registers once the light disappears is the rest of his classmates getting caught up
in a strange goop that was deployed by the green haired boy. In no less than a few seconds, the boy
takes care of Sakura and Bozo with what looked like escrima sticks, putting down the two toppers
with brutal hits to their soft spots and touching their receptors like it was nothing. His companion
on the other hand, purred in glee as she danced and toyed around with Daichi, easily avoiding all
the small energy blasts coming from his mouth. Eventually, she grows bored and swipes at the
short boy with her extended nails (claws?) before finally swinging over him using the bar attached
to the wall above them, shooting her ammo perfectly into his receptor after somersaulting.

“Show off” the green haired boy huffs, smiling. However, before he could move, Sakura widened
her eyes and locked onto the boy’s green gaze.

“A little payback for getting us” She sneered, wincing in pain as she tried to get out of the green
goop holding her and Bozo in place. The reptilian student on the other hand, was still in disbelief
over what just happened.

It took 30 seconds of the grenette’s companion shaking him by the shoulders before he finally
broke out of his paralysis, blinking in shock. After breaking out of it, the boy sent both his
companion and their group an apologetic smile before whipping out a grappling gun and taking off.

The last thing he remembered before he was sent to the robber’s safehouse with the rest of his
classmates was realizing that the boy grappling away with green hair was the only student he saw
wearing a Yuuei uniform during orientation.

What the hell was Yuuei doing with their students!? Isn’t he supposed to be quirkless or
something!?

“I can’t believe we got dunked on by a quirkless motherfucker!” Sakura whines, still trying to pick
out the green goop that remained stuck to her costume. Daichi, Bozo, and Satoshi trailed behind
her, shoulders slumped in disbelief and shock.

It was more or less absolute chaos in the arena. Izuku doesn’t remember how many people he and
Hirano have caught and sent to the safehouse. At this point, he can safely say they were beyond
fifteen at least . There were definitely a few close calls, especially when Hirano got caught by one
of the Ketsubutsu students and was sent to the center arena. The area was practically no man’s
land, with how many students- robbers and cops alike -were stationed there.

Luckily, Izuku didn’t get this far without being stubborn. After getting the Ketsubutsu student, he
took one look at the girl’s dismay as she was carted away and decided he was gonna get her out
even though it was practically suicide. He had one chance, he sure as hell was gonna use it.

There were three minutes left on the clock when he dropped a device he’s been working on to the
ground. He engineered it to release a low level voltage that covered seven feet of ground. With
many of the cops stunned, he channeled his inner spiderman and swung into the jail area, reaching
his hand out to Hirano.

“Hirano!”

Eyes wide, the girl smiles in amazement.

“You’re fucking crazy, greenie!” She exclaims, cackling as she held on to his hand. Before anyone
could do anything about the lost prisoner, the two of them were already hidden by the smog,
agitated yells echoing behind them.

By the time they both made a rough landing into one of the buildings by crashing through the
window, a loud buzzer was heard declaring the end of stage 1.

“Holy crap” Izuku breathes out, staring up at the ceiling in a starfish position.

“You’re actually stupid crazy. You could’ve gotten caught!” Hirano yells, trying to be mad even
with a smile forcing itself on her face.

“Yeah, I get that a lot” He replies, laughing. The two of them look at each other with matching
smiles, and something clicks into place.

“Kami, now that you’ve technically risked your hide to save me, I guess there’s no other choice but
to stay friends, huh?” She asks, slowly getting up. Dusting the glass shards off of her costume, she
then reaches out her hand to the boy, smiling gratefully.

“Heh, yeah, I-I guess so” He says, smiling shyly. He clasps on to her arm and they both get up,
walking back to the main grounds.

Stage 2 of the exam was a rescue simulation, something that to his knowledge happened every
year without fail. The only thing that changes is the terrain, but otherwise the same organization
was employed to teach the heroes in training exactly how important it is to communicate with your
fellow heroes, and the very base fundamentals of what makes a hero. Unlike stage 1 of the exam,
Izuku was less nervous and jittery with Hirano by his side. With his new found confidence, the rest
of the test went by without a hitch. Hirano joked at one point that he was practically made for this
part of the test. He was nurturing and caring by nature, so he was a natural choice for comforting
the victims while others stabilized structures and distracted the villain (who was Gang Orca, so
cool!).

He does have some regrets though, namely the burnt sleeve of his costume, and the rips on his
pants, and the soot and ash on his back, and…

Yeah, Maijima-sensei was not going to be happy with him.

Least to say, by the end of stage 2, Izuku was utterly exhausted. The only thing left keeping him
awake were the results. Those numbers were going to determine if he was going to get his
provisional license or not. He had to be alert for this.

Scrambling to find his footing among the crowd, Hirano catches him before he trips into someone
else. He smiles sheepishly in thanks. “Ugh, I hate crowds” She grumbles, wincing as someone
steps on her foot.

Finally, the huge screen in front of them lit up, displaying all 760 students who passed stage 1, with
a few of the 760 being highlighted in red. Izuku quickly deduces that the red colored names were
those of the 50% who didn’t pass.

Gulping, Izuku strains his green eyes to search for his name among the many others displayed on
the screen. He could feel Hirano doing the same beside him, the hand she placed on his shoulder to
keep him from tripping clutching a little more tightly than it was before. Their nervous energy
seemed to bounce off of each other until he heard a gasp from Hirano. Startled, he turned towards
her only to see a bright smile on her face.

“I’m number 84. Holy shit . Greenie, im number 84 out of 760 fucking people!” Her hand is now
shaking his shoulder in excitement and glee, and Izuku reciprocates her excitement by laughing
with her. “That’s so amazing oh gosh! Do you know how rare it is to break the top 100 in a
provisional license exam!? You’re so cool, Hirano!”

The girl smirks and catches him into a headlock all of a sudden, rubbing her knuckles onto his
head. “Stop being so modest, you crazy kid. I only achieved that cause of your help.” She says as
he squawks and tries to pull away, whining.
Finally, once the short haired girl lets him go, he turns back to the screen only to be held by the
shoulders once again by Hirano. “Midoriya, holy crap, I found your name..” She whispers, eyes
wide.

“Wha- where!?” He cries, turning his head in all directions before Hirano is slapping his head in
urgency. “Freaking, look at the top 50!” She screeches.

Letting his eyes wander, Izuku’s breath escapes him when he sees his name as number 48 on the
scoreboard.

“Oh my god…” He whispers, rubbing his eyes twice just to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating.
“You’re kidding, you have to be kidding me..”

As Izuku goes through his mental breakdown, Hirano can only smirk and ruffle the kid’s hair
proudly. She’s known him for only a few hours, but she could somehow already tell that they were
going to be good friends.

“Hey, Midoriya Izuku!!” Someone yells within the crowd.

“Wha-?” Izuku mumbles, suddenly snapped out of his internal screaming. His eyes go wide when
he processes that every eye in the room is now looking at him. The one who called his attention
was the blue haired kid he saw at the start of the initial portion of the exam. The ponytailed boy
was now looking at him with awe in his eyes, practically vibrating in excitement.

“Are you that quirkless Yuuei student!?”

Thus began the chaos.

Shouta barely managed to get the kid out of the swarm of hero students burying him under their
questions and enthusiasm. It was a good thing that he got him out when he did too, because as soon
as he ushered the overwhelmed boy shakily clutching his phone and letter out of the building, his
keen ears caught the tail end of some student’s comments.

“Damn, can’t believe the dude managed to break the top 50. You guys think he paid his way in or
something?”

“I can’t believe some of these people actually think he’s good or whatever. I’m sure he cheated his
way into being that high in the scoreboard. He’s quirkless!”

“I don’t wanna be mean but like.. He’s quirkless. Doesn’t it seem weird to you guys??”

“He doesn’t look like much to me. Some of these people are dumbasses if they think a powerless
loser like him actually made it on his own.”

“There’s gotta be some conspiracy to this! No way this just happened!”

“You think Yuuei is doing some kinda charity work or something?”

 Hizashi’s voice echoed in his head, reminding him to keep his cool. He was so incredibly proud of
his student, but hearing those comments made him extremely bitter. Didn’t his kid prove himself
enough?

Shaking his head, he guides his student towards the private vehicle waiting for them by the buses
when they’re suddenly stopped by a yell.

“Hey, greenie, wait up!” a girl yells. Shouta observes Midoriya relax in mild shock, watching as his
student turns around to smile at the tall brunette.

“Hirano, H-hey!” Midoriya answers. The grenette then looks at his teacher a little sheepishly,
darting his eyes towards the car. Blinking, Shouta sighs and nods his head. “Five minutes, kid” He
says, squeezing his shoulder before turning around to walk towards the car.

Izuku looks back to the auburn haired girl, yelping when he was suddenly brought into a brief side
hug. The next thing he knows, the girl snatches his phone from his hands and enters in her contact
details, setting her name to ‘ I can kit a bitch’ before finally handing the device back to him.

“There, now we can stay in touch!” She says, grinning. Izuku smiles back even through the haze of
embarrassment, letting out a few huffs of laughter when she shoves her own phone towards him.
After putting in his own contact info, she looks at him one more time before ruffling his hair.

“I’m glad I didn’t let other people’s opinions keep me from getting to know you, Midoriya” She
finally says. She then flashes her fangs and winks at him. “Screw the haters, right?”

Beaming, the grenette nods in utter gratefulness, feeling the telltale sting of tears behind his eyes.
He was wondering when it was all going to settle in.

Sniffing, Izuku responds in kind. “Screw the haters” He says, joyfully waving goodbye to Hirano
as she walks back towards her class.

He clutches the letter containing his provisional license close to his heart, discreetly trying to wipe
away his tears before getting into the car.

He couldn’t wait to tell his mother everything that happened.

Chapter End Notes

I went to the fandom wiki about the license exam to make sure all my deets on the
exam were derived from somewhere. Although im not sure if the rescue portion was
specific only in canon's first year, I made it mandatory in my A.U cause i think its p
important :)

Also eyyy Hirano, how do ya'll like her. Hopefully ya'll don't mind a little sprinkle of
actual present big sis OC that will b in Izuku's life hehe.

Anyways, thanks all of you, so SO much for reading. I get more grateful for ya'll
every single day <3
 Izuku can just never catch a break
Chapter Summary

Izuku talks to a Pomeranian, meets three cool people, gives inko gray hairs, makes a
reality tv show with nighteye, and acquires a purple kouhai.

Are you even surprised anymore.

Chapter Notes

Yall: Ah Author updated in June so next update will be 2 months later

Me: *smirkity smirk smork* yoU THOUGHT--

*ahem* so yeah, here. surprise.

this is a hot mess and a half but there's beauty in everything ykw i mean.

Also thank u guys sm for 3500+ kudos im still trying to convince myself this isn't just
me having bad eyesight but im getting there :D

also woop woop longest chapter. remember when i said hot mess.

ayt lets just get to this shit hfksjgfak

In case yall have any desire to translate, make fanart, etc. for my work, please email
me at Alien_pewpew@protonmail.com. Thank you so much!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The house was quiet when he finally finished his homework, his back finally being able to relax
against his chair. Huffing, he sits there for a few more minutes just staring at the pictures above his
desk before getting up and heading outside.

He’s on his way to enter the living room when his mother’s voice stops him in his tracks. It sounds
like she was on the phone.

Staying hidden behind the wall, he listens.

“So, what’s the verdict, Ko-chan?”

There’s only silence for a few seconds before suddenly her mouth opens to release a hearty laugh.
He could almost picture her red eyes glowing in happiness and pride.

“Fucking of course Izu-kun did it! Have you seen the balls on that kid? Ah, we should celebrate!
Maybe go eat out or something! Maybe this can finally get the brat out of his room for onc--”
A pause.

His mother sighs. “Yeah, I know. Ever since Izu-kun got into Yuuei he’s been.. quiet. You would
think the brat would lose his rockers over finding out Izuku got into that damn hero school, but..
nothing. No anger, no happiness, no disbelief, just a whole lotta nothing.”

Another pause.

“Yeah well, even if i can’t bring my stubborn kid, I will make sure we celebrate this. It’s not easy
breaking into the top 50 of a provisional license exam, ya know? I did my damn research!”

The two mothers exchange a few more words before finally cutting the call and sending their house
back into the silence it was once in.

Sighing, the blonde woman pockets her phone and walks inside the kitchen. She still needed to
finish dinner.

Behind the wall, Katsuki’s eyes look to the ground, conflicting feelings creating a war in his head
and heart.

He hated him. He admired him . He’s useless. He’s everything you’re not . He’s going to get
himself killed. He won second place . He never wants to see him again. I miss him. He never
protected you. He never ran away . He’s never going to be a hero. He already is .

Clenching his jaw, Katsuki walks back to his room, refusing to come out even when the old hag
called him down for dinner.

When the blonde finally falls asleep, his dreams are about piggybacking on his shoulders and
declaring the opening of their hero agency to the rest of their schoolmates.

Izuku tiredly walked down the street after his long, long day. After he got his provisional license, it
was back to business as usual being a Yuuei student. What that meant for him was gruelling
training, a lot of studying, going to different classes, visiting Eri-chan, restraining a mugger on the
way home because of course , and finally, finally heading home.

Do you just not have the ability to be normal, problem child? Mental-sensei asks, imitating that
exasperated way of talking that sensei had when it came to him.

“Shut up, sensei” he grumbled under his breath. Sighing, he continues his walk when he suddenly
spots a head of blonde hair sitting on the sidewalk.

Faltering in his steps, Izuku couldn't help but to stop and let his eyes run over Katsuki’s form. It
was an old habit he had when they were children, where Izuku wanted to make sure he was okay,
that his bullies never turned to his little brother instead of him.

After he was sure that the boy was fine, Izuku started fidgeting. Does he just.. leave?
Even after the literal lifetime we’ve spent together, I still don’t know how to act around you. He
thinks sadly, slumping his shoulders.

“Are you just gonna keep staring, nerd?”

Startling out of his thoughts, Izuku widens his eyes in shock.

He.. spoke to me. He thinks, dumbly. Shaking his head, he opens his mouth to reply only to come
up empty. He tries multiple times to come up with something until finally he just settles for-

“Kacchan” He says, softly.

The younger boy tenses and then stares at him for a few more seconds, piercing ruby eyes looking
over him. He was sitting with his elbows on his knees and his calloused hands holding up his face.
He was clearly thinking about something before Izuku arrived.

“I heard you got your damn license” He finally says, turning his head until he was no longer
looking at him. Biting his lip, Izuku took a deep breath and then sighed. He wasn’t weak, helpless
Deku anymore. He was stronger and more aware of his abilities. He’s no longer the person Katsuki
thinks he is. He has to prove that to him.

“I did” He says confidently, squaring his shoulders. “We’re going to be discussing internships next
week” He adds.

Silence falls over them both at that, like a tiny bubble keeping them separate from the rest of the
world. Izuku stood there and waited, watching as the light from the setting sun shone over Katsuki
and him both.

“When I get into Yuuei” He finally says, breaking the quiet. “I’m gonna kick your ass, and you
better prove that you deserved that second place. You better fucking prove that this all isn’t just
some fluke. You better prove that you aren’t what that two-bit extra said you were. Cause if you
don't..”

Briefly shutting his eyes close, Izuku nods.

“I know, Kacchan” He whispers. Smiling, Izuku hesitantly adds- “Don’t you think Deku sounds a
lot like Dekiru?”

The blonde snorts. “Sounds like something dumb only you would come up with”

Izuku hummed in response, and then started walking once again. Just before he left, he tilted his
head to the side and locked his gaze with Katsuki.

“I’ll see you around, Kacchan”

A million different emotions ran through Katsuki’s eyes before he finally huffed and looked away.
“Whatever”

When Izuku finally enters his house, he takes off his blazer, loosens his tie, passes by the mirror,
and feels hopeful.

As he gets ready to eat dinner, he runs a hand over the provisional license that sits neatly on his
desk, an image of his smiling face and the name ‘Dekiru’ printed boldly on the front.
Inko has lived with her son for sixteen years now, and up to now, she has never heard her son’s
phone buzz with notifications this much in one single day.

As they both sat at the dinner table to eat, Izuku skillfully ignored the buzzing from his phone like
a man on a mission.

“Izuku, honey, are you not going to.. answer that?” She finally asks, worriedly alternating glances
between her son and his phone.

“Mom” He says very, very calmly. “Fourteen people forced their numbers into my phone from the
day of the provisional license exam. It hasn’t stopped buzzing since I got home from that day. I’ve
tried muting it, but I always feel terrible afterwards. I’ve tried replying, but it just makes them more
enthusiastic to text back.” He says smiling at her with deadpan eyes.

“A-all of them?” She asks warily, the both of them looking at the buzzing phone like it was going
to grow legs and suffocate them in their sleep.

Izuku pauses. “No, mostly just Yukihira-kun. He’s very.. enthusiastic” He finally says, thinking
back to the blue-haired boy from all those days ago.

“I.. see” The both of them stare at the buzzing phone for a moment longer before Inko speaks up
once again.

“Maybe mute it for the moment?”

“Yeah, probably a good idea”

“Izukuuuuu!” Chihara exclaims happily, running towards the green haired boy the moment he
stepped through the support classroom.

Izuku still remembers the first time the eccentric girl did this. The first time had the freckled boy
blushing and stuttering and practically combusting on the spot. Not very good for Izuku’s mental
health, no sir.

Now, Izuku just braces himself for impact and lets the dark-skinned, purple haired girl barrel into
him like a bull on a rampage. Steadying the both of them so that they don’t fall into whatever hell-
borne invention Fukomoto was crafting with his metal vomit, he lets the girl squeeze him in her
surprisingly strong grip until she finally lets go.

“It was so boring without you” She whined, as she stepped back. “Right, Mo-kun!?” She yells to
her best friend, who was sitting at his station nonchalantly wielding a flamethrower.

“Super boring” The ash blonde says, as he activates the flamethrower.

Perhaps the Izuku of then would stare incredulously at the very, very dangerous and not-boring
weapon, but the Izuku of now only stares at the machine in interest.

“Normal flamethrowers?” He asks, eyebrows raised. “Wow, you really are bored.”
“Exactly!” Chihara whines. Abruptly, the bright eyed girl goes to stare at him with a mischievous
smile on her face.

Good luck getting out of this one, kid . mental-sensei says and dryly laughs at him.

“Which is why..” She draws out playfully. “Mo-kun and I were thinking, since Maijima-sensei said
he was going to be a little late to class today..”

I hope this doesn’t get me expelled , is the only thing that Izuku can think as he is pulled into
whatever the hell kind of experiment they were about to perform. He’s pretty sure that if they were
to do this outside of Yuuei, they would be arrested or something.

Welp, if you can’t stop em, join em.

Ten minutes later, Maijima-sensei stands outside of the burnt classroom in utter shock and
incredulity.

“Et tu, Midoriya?” He says weakly, turning to the green haired boy with ash in his hair. He was
just about to enter the classroom with the thought in mind that he was going to spare the boy some
slack, seeing as he had won his bet from two days prior.

“You can only resist them for so long, sensei” He says as a reply, Chihara and Morita hanging
behind him with innocent, angelic smiles on their faces.

Innocent, angelic smiles covered in ash and soot and- were Chihara’s overall’s still burning!?

Maijima ponders the pros and cons of quitting all of his jobs and becoming a hermit. Oh the sweet,
tension-free bliss.

It was almost the end of the school day by the time Cementoss finally finished their lesson. Once
the bell finally rang, everyone slowly started to groan and stretch out their backs in relief.
Unfortunately for some of the 1-B students though, their day was only going to begin as they had to
take extra lessons to prepare for the license exam in the coming six months.

Luckily for the greenette, he had no such need for those lessons. Yawning, Izuku picks up his bag
and waves goodbye to his 1-B friends before re-entering his own classroom to wait for Aizawa-
sensei’s final class. His teacher did say he had something special planned before the day ended, he
wonders what it was?

Dropping his bag on the floor by his chair, he tiredly falls into his seat and waits.

He didn’t have to wait long.

“Midoriya-chan! My favourite first-year!” A blonde haired girl exclaimed, entering his classroom
with a bang. Izuku could only flinch and gape as flashbacks of his hellish summer camp flickered
through his head.

“E-Emily-senpai..” He greets, silently saying a prayer in his head.

It’s then that Aizawa-sensei enters the classroom, his eye twitching in annoyance. “Emily, I didn’t
even debrief him yet. Stand outside with the others” He says curtly. Emily-senpai pouts and huffs,
but complies after winking at the concerned greenette still reeling in his seat. As the door finally
shuts behind her, Aizawa-sensei turns to Izuku only to see the kid look at him with utter betrayal on
his face.

“Sensei, why ” He asks, traumatized eyes staring into his very soul.

“I know, kid. I know. But she’s a part of the big three for a reason . Anyways, now that you have
your license, there are going to be internships coming up pretty soon. Who better than to brief you
on that other than the current Big Three?” Sensei says, sighing in that long suffering way of his.

“Anyhow, even though they’re.. Interesting characters, you’ll find that they do have a lot of
experience and knowledge under their belt when it comes to this stuff. So, for the next hour, listen
and learn to what they have to say, okay kid?”

At the mention of ‘Internships’, Izuku sat up a little straighter. Sensei was right, the big three were
the best students in heroics of the whole school. If anyone had good advice on this matter, it would
be them.

Steeling himself, he smiled determinedly and nodded his head. “Yes, sensei!”

Shouta couldn’t help but grin back. Seeing the resolve in his student’s eyes always reminded him
that Izuku Midoriya was here for a reason, and it wasn’t due to mere luck.

“Alright” He says. “With that, let me introduce you to our Big Three. Dazai Emily, Makoto
Raiden, and Kiyoko Yori”

At his cue, three third-year students enter the classroom with varying levels of enthusiasm. The
first, Emily-senpai, was obviously the most enthusiastic of the bunch. Her blonde hair bounced in a
ponytail behind her as she smiled widely at Izuku.

The next one, Makoto-senpai, had ink black hair and calm, ocean blue eyes. The boy was tall and
easily towered over his blonde companion. Although he wasn’t as enthusiastic as her, he still sent
Izuku a calm, pleasant smile.

Finally, a girl with brown eyes and ginger hair entered the classroom. It was apparent from her
whole demeanor that she was bored and very not into the whole teaching shtick. As she ran a hand
through her pixie cut, she still sent a tired smile Izuku’s way.

“You three know the drill. If you need me, I’ll be sleeping in the corner. Make sure it’s for
emergencies only” He says, and then promptly zips himself up into his yellow sleeping bag before
settling against the corner of the room.

The four students are suspended in awkward silence for about two and a half seconds before
Emily-senpai bounces in place and sends an excited smile Izuku’s way.

“Now that sensei’s passed out in the corner, I can finally continue! How’s my favourite first
year?!” She asks, Makoto-senpai calmly holding on to the back of her collar to keep her from
pouncing on the poor boy.

“F-fine, senpai..” He says, sending a grateful look the ravenette’s way. The questions continue to
come until the bouncy blonde finally calms down. Crossing her arms, she sighs.

“Okay, since we’re supposed to be actually teaching you stuff, why don’t we start by telling you
our quirks? Knowing where your abilities lie is the first step to choosing the right person to intern
with!” She says. At this, Makoto-senpai nods in agreement. “Alright, if we’re going that route, I
guess I can go first” Kiyoko-senpai says, stepping forward.

“Alright kiddo, I think that from the three of us, I’m going to be able to help you out the most.
After hearing that you were quirkless, it was kind of a given that you would be getting into
underground heroics, which is what I’m aiming for too” She says. Suddenly, she starts to approach
him until she’s right beside him, her hand reaching out to ruffle his hair.

“I- wha?” Izuku says, in mild shock. Kiyoko-senpai snorts at his expression.

“Just wanted to see if it was as fluffy as it looked” She smirks. “And hey, quick question, did you
ever fracture your right arm? Oh, and did you by any chance bruise your ribs multiple times
recently?” She asks, tilting her head knowingly. Emily can only giggle at the dumbfounded
expression on the first year's face.

“H-how..?” Izuku asks, gaping. Kiyoko-senpai just smirks wider. “My quirk, kid, is called ‘Pin-
Point’. Although I did want to ruffle your hair, it was also for a demonstration. If I’m able to touch
somebody anywhere on their body, I can see and ‘pin point’ all of their weak or vulnerable spots.
Although it’s not a combative quirk, It’s super helpful for the type of heroics I’m aiming to get
into”

Izuku’s eyes sparkle and his hands immediately dive for his notebook. “That’s- That’s so cool!
Does prolonged contact affect its effectiveness? Do you really see weak spots, or are they just
areas that are more vulnerable than normal? Does this work on mutations too? Is there a limit to
how many people you can use your quirk on? How do you determine a weak spot? Is it like a
color? Or words? Or a feeling? Or--”

“Jesus, kid. Breath for a second, will ya?” Kiyoko-senpai says, both eyebrows raised in shock.

Izuku flushes. “A-ah, sorry. It’s a habit I'm s-still trying to break, haha..” He says, smiling
embarrassedly. Kiyoko-senpai sighs in response. “Don’t worry about it, kid. People in the hero
course and the support course usually have a special.. something about them that makes them
different from the others, trust me on that” She says dryly.

“Anyways, why don’t you go next, Rai-kun?” The ginger says, looking to the ravenette. The boy
simply nods before stepping forward.

“My quirk is ‘Magno-Telekinesis” He says calmly. “I am able to control matter and bend it to my
will through magnetism. Although I have a weight limit to how much I can carry, I have honed it
enough to be able to stop a train in its tracks” He says, nonchalantly.

A train!? Izuku screeches in his head, dumbfounded.

“Aside from that, with enough focus, I can bring metal up from the ground. Though it’s not easy,
I’ve trained my quirk enough to be able to do it without passing out.” A pause. “I also installed a
metal tooth at the back of my mouth in case of emergencies” He thoughtfully added.

That’s.. actually really cool. Izuku thinks. He has a lot more questions, but learning from Kiyoko-
senpai, he decides to save them for later.

“Finally, my turn!” Emily-senpai exclaims happily. “As you could have guessed from the last time
we met, my quirk is ‘Elastic Limbs’!”

In a second, Emily-senpai’s right arm suddenly stretched out to pat Izuku on the head, all the way
from the front of the classroom. Izuku can only blush in embarrassment and slight awe.
Retracting her arm back, the blonde continues. “Even though it’s a pretty generic power, It’s really
helpful for heroics! The length to which I can stretch my limbs depends on how many body parts
I’m using. For example, If I just channel my quirk into my right arm, I could probably wrap it
around you five times over!” She happily says. “On the other hand, If I were to use my quirk in
both my arms, the length would get slightly limited. That goes for how many body parts I’m trying
to stretch at once” She finishes.

Clapping her hands together, Emily-senpai smiles widely. “Alright, with that done and over with,
let’s discuss all the juicy stuff you need to know about the Internships!”

“She means important” Kiyoko-senpai inserts dryly.

“Yes, yes, same thing!” The blonde says, waving her hand dismissively. “Let’s start!”

Least to say, it was probably the longest hour of his whole life.

Even so, as he tiredly made his way back home, he felt a little more calm when thinking about the
internships. Although he still had to find someone who would be willing to take him in, he felt a
little more sure on his feet and not so much like a headless chicken not knowing what the hell they
were doing.

Releasing a little sigh, he ran a hand through his hair. Even though I’m grateful.. I still hope I’m
never stuck in a room with Emily-senpai for a whole hour ever again. He thinks exasperatedly.

Izuku is on the way to the classroom with his lunch tray in hand, wanting just one blissful hour of
peace when he’s suddenly stopped by a yell at the end of the hallway.

“Yo, Midoriya!” Mirio-senpai cheerfully calls out, waving his hand enthusiastically.

Izuku scrunches his face up into an ugly expression as he tries to prevent his tears from spilling
into his miso soup. Lunch Rush didn’t deserve getting his meals destroyed by despair.

*-*-*-*

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Mirio-senpai asks for the nth time, a comforting hand on his back.
His face is stuck in a worried expression as they both enter his classroom.

“Yeah, totally! Sorry about that..” Izuku said, wiping his face and laughing sheepishly.

“Well, if you’re sure..” The blonde’s face brightens up into a smile. “I guess I can finally tell you
why I’m here! Okay, so I’m not sure if you remember but, the organization that Eri was involved
with was actually something that the Nighteye agency was looking into.” He starts.

“Oh yeah! I remember Nedzu-sensei mentioning that while he was heh, reprimanding me..” Izuku
trails off, remembering the scary encounter.

“Yep!” Mirio-senpai says, ignoring Izuku’s flashback moment. “Now, you might not know this but
I’m actually an intern at Nighteye’s agency and--”

“ What!? ” Izuku shrieks, his jaw practically on the floor. “Mirio-senpai, you’re interning with All
Might’s only sidekick and one of the most well known hero agencies in Japan!? That’s so cool!
What is Nighteye actually like? Do you know the full extent of his quirk? Have you ever--!?”

“Woah, woah relax Midoriya-kun! Haha!” Mirio-senpai says, placing his hands on his shoulder.
Although he looked a little flustered, he was still smiling brightly.

“A-ah. sorry, senpai! I’m working on it, I promise..” Izuku says, wanting to bash his head against
something very solid.

“It’s no problem, Midoriya-kun! We need that kind of enthusiasm nowadays!” He says, winking
and giving him a thumbs up.

I’m not sure if you’re just trying to be nice or you actually think this isn’t weird.. Izuku thinks,
sweat dropping.

“Anyways, as I was saying, I came here to inform you that Nighteye-san actually wanted you to
take an interview for an internship at his agency!” He says cheerfully.

Silence.

“Uh.. Midoriya-kun..?”

Toogata can only look on in worry as his underclassmen went totally catatonic in front of his very
eyes.

Aia was having a great day. She went to school, kicked everyone’s asses during practical lessons,
ate her homemade bento, visited her father in the hospital, scared away some bullies troubling a
little kid, and was now on the way home from the grocery store after buying some ice cream
because she deserved one cheat day dammit. Absolutely nothing could destroy her good mood.

As she released a big yawn, the buzzing of her phone in her pocket alerted her that someone was
trying to reach her. Checking the dial screen, she smirked as she saw the name of the greenette she
constantly talked to. The kid was good company, and she valued his friendship a lot.

Accepting the call, she put the phone to her ear and opened her mouth. “What’s up, greenie--”

“HIRANO,IJUSTGOTANINVITETONIGHTEYE’SAGENCYOHMYGOD--!?!” Midoriya yelled,

shrieking like a banshee.

“Fuck!” She said under her breath, almost dropping her ice cream in shock. She stands in the
middle of the road gaping, her phone placed away from her ear for one hot second before--

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU GOT AN INVITE TO NIGHTEYE’S AGENCY!?”

Yeah, her day just got that much better.

Moving almost robotically alongside Mirio-senpai, Izuku had to remind himself multiple times that
he had everything with him. His internship form? Check. His rehearsed speech? Check. His
confidence? Debatable. His moral support?

An image of his friends, Hirano, Aizawa-sensei, and his mom flash through his head.

Check.

He can totally do this. He was going to smash this interview!

“We’re here!” Mirio-senpai exclaims happily, standing outside Nighteye’s office.

Never mind, I can’t do this.

Gulping, he tightens his hold on the straps of his backpack and takes a deep breath. “R-right..” He
says, staring at the looming door.

It’s just a door, problem child. You just twist the doorknob and go inside , mental-sensei says
matter-of-factly.

Ignoring his weird conscience, he looks to Mirio-senpai for a little encouragement.

Seeing the nervousness on his friend’s face, he smiles comfortingly. “Don’t worry about it,
Midoriya, you’ve got this! And hey, here’s some advice, try your best to make Nighteye laugh.
The guy always loves some good humor!” The blonde says, sending the greenette two thumbs up.

“R-right..” He says in response, eyes shifting once more back to the door.

Well, here goes nothing!

*-*-*-*

Toogata was.. just a teensy tiny bit worried.

Nighteye doesn’t just call anyone in for the fun of it, despite how much the man loved good
humor. He was a serious pro-hero when it came to his agency and those who worked under it, and
the fact that Midoriya Izuku kind of inserted himself in a situation that was being looked into by
his agency may have left a little bit of a bitter taste in the hero’s mouth. Though Toogata was
immensely grateful that little Eri was safe and sound with Yuuei (he had visited a few times with
Tamaki and Neijire), it still meant that whatever leads that they had on the Yakuza group was now
flushed down the toilet as they were now laying low.

Even with that going against Midoriya a tiny bit, Toogata was still positive he would make a good
enough impression on Nighteye. Although he’s only hung out with the first year a few times, he
knew that that the quirkless boy had a heart of gold and a hard working spirit, which is exactly
what the Nighteye agency needs. Those were the qualities that got him accepted into the agency in
the first place, so he’s sure that if the hero could look past what the greenette has already done, he
would be glad to welcome him too!

Even so.. It's been a while since he left Midoriya in Nighteye’s office. Probably 30 minutes or
more. Did his interview take that long?

“What’s got you looking so worried, Mirio?” A voice asks from behind him. Turning around, he
smiles as the face of Bubble Girl enters his vision.

“Ah, nothing really! Just being a concerned senpai!” He says, hands on his hips and his signature
smile in place.

“Oh! Is someone from your school here for an internship?” The sidekick asks curiously.

“Yeah, actually! It’s just.. It’s been more than thirty minutes and--”

“What?!”

The adult and teenager hanging out in the hallway jump at the sudden screech, and immediately
bolt it to Nighteye’s office fearing the worst.

However, as the sidekick opens the door with her quirk ready to attack, her alert stature abruptly
falters as she registers what exactly is going on. Toogata looks over her shoulder in equal
dumfoundment.

“What do you mean the rebooted version of ‘ All Might’s Mighty Adventures’ was better than the
original?! That’s so- so--!”

“And how can you think that All Might’s feature in ‘Hero Daily’ was better than his feature on
‘Today and Now’?”

The two shocked figures in the doorway could only look on in shock as the interviewee proceeded
to argue his points to Nighteye in what frankly seemed like a ‘who was the superior All Might fan’
Part I out III book series, with a movie that will soon be available near you.

Bubble Girl blinks slowly and then retreats out of the office with even steps. Toogata follows her
willingly. The two All Might fans don't even notice .

As the sidekick finally shut the door behind her, the two indulge in a moment of silence before
Toogata opens his mouth to speak.

“Does... that mean he’s in?”

“I- I don't even know..”

When Izuku returns home with a stamped internship form in hand, Inko is obviously in complete
awe and happiness. She’s just about to ask her son what happened and how everything went when
the boy abruptly plops himself down on the couch and.. for a lack of better words, starts to sulk .

Inko has to remind herself multiple times that the stamp she saw on his internship form was
definitely real before she went over to Izuku and sat by him.

“Honey? What’s wrong?” She asked, taking his hand into her own in worry.

“I’m so jealous of Nighteye, mom. He has like, every single limited edition All Might poster and
then he has the gall to say that All Might’s interview in Osaka was better than than his Interview in
Poland a few years ago when obviously he was--”

Inko lets Izuku ramble for a few more seconds before she deliberately clears her throat to catch his
attention once more.

“That’s um.. unfortunate, but you did get the internship didn’t you?” She asks, very very patiently.

“Huh? Oh yeah! I managed to make Nighteye laugh, in like, the first few seconds because I tripped
but then landed in a weird position because I didn’t wanna fall over his limited edition Silver Age
All Might action figure and then the interview stuff happened, but mom he literally said that All
Might’s best work was going against a really strong villain five years ago which was Toxic
Chainsaw but that was so not true and then I showed him my favorite video of All Might saving all
those people from a burning building in his debut and--”

Oh , Inko thinks wearily. So my son found another one .

Inko wonders if she should start looking into religion more seriously, she’s been praying a lot more
lately since Izuku entered Yuuei.

Pouting, Izuku accompanies Mirio-senpai as they begin their patrol around the area.

“You okay, Midoriya-kun?” Mirio-senpai asks, one eyebrow raised as they pass by a park.

“One of these days..” Izuku mumbles mostly to himself. “One of these days I’m going to make
Nighteye-san see it my way. Toxic Chainsaw? Really ? Ridiculous!”

Ah, so it’s just another one of their daily episodes . Toogata thinks exasperatedly, though
admittedly pretty amused.

It’s been a few days since Izuku officially became an intern under the Nighteye Agency, and it was
quickly becoming a usual occurrence for the pro-hero and the first year to be seen debating All
Might’s best moments back and forth. Even though people were slightly concerned at first, it
quickly became apparent that it was just their form of bonding.

God forbid anyone to try to interrupt or insert their own opinions though, the last time it happened
honestly had Toogata thinking the poor guy was about to get decimated.

“Fine, but you can’t deny that All Might had way more impact with the public during that era of
his hero work--”

“I can, but you fail to see that things start to slowly sink in during after his prime and after that one
animal shelter rescue in 20XX” The pro hero counters, his pointer finger pushing his glasses up
the bridge of his nose.

The greenette is just about to reply to the hero when a sidekick suddenly made themselves present.

“Huh, I actually think All Might’s bronze age had the most impact on the publi--”

Both intern and hero’s head immediately snap towards the poor sidekick with a gleaming mania in
their eyes.
Almost in sync, they both open their mouths to say just one thing.

“How can you dare to even say that-!?”

Least to say, the poor guy was almost in tears by the time the duo was finished with him. Everyone
else in the agency just watched by the sidelines, some snacking on candy and sandwiches in
intrigue while others looked about ready to spare the guy some slack and bring him out of firing
range.

“I hope I never find myself getting in between those two” Centipeder murmurs somewhere,
shivering at the mere thought.

Toogata couldn’t help but silently agree.

Even though it was kind of like watching reality T.V. live.

Shaking himself out of the memory, the blonde gets his head back on track and stops at their usual
crossroads.

“Alright, I’ll be patrolling my usual route from here. I’ll see you back at this street in an hour,
Midoriya-kun!” Toogata says cheerfully, waving goodbye to the curly haired boy.

Half-heartedly giving his own wave of goodbye, Izuku continues his patrol in the opposite
direction until the atmosphere of the beautiful day gets him smiling once again. As he continued to
walk his route, he was stopped multiple times by a few adults and their kids asking him if he was ‘
that quirkless wonder in the Sports Festival! ’ to which he replied yes, which then led to a few
wanting photos and autographs. Izuku had never felt more unsure, overwhelmed, yet strangely..
giddy in a while.

Laughing a little to himself, Izuku continues to patrol until his one hour comes to a close. Sighing,
Izuku let’s the warm weather wash over him as he makes his walk back to meet up with Mirio-
senpai. The greenette is just about to pass by an alley on the way there when he suddenly hears
sounds of jeering and cruel laughter.

Suddenly alert, Izuku pauses and then quietly ventures into the alley, keeping an ear out for any
more information he can glean out of the scuffle that was happening. Although it didn’t sound too
serious, one could never be too sure as Aizawa-sensei liked to say.

Creeping a little bit closer, he could finally make out what was happening before his eyes.

Two middle school students with cruel smiles, laughing and mocking a crumpled student at the end
of the alleyway. Punches and kicks being aimed at the shaking kid crouched on the floor, insulting
and hurtful words being forced into the kid’s ears. A repeated chant of “villains quirk” aimed at
the shaking boy trying his best to just endure .

Izuku saw red.

“Get off of him!” He yelled, his heart beating fast in his chest. This hit too close to home, too close
.

“Huh? Who the hell d’you think you are?” One of the student’s says, attention redirected to the
hero-in-training before them.

“Someone who can get you in trouble pretty damn fast since I’m currently interning with
Nighteye’s agency” Izuku counters back, frowning deeply. A strange kind of anger was
shimmering lightly in his gut, and he really didn’t want to find out what would happen if it came to
a boiling point.

At the mention of the pro-hero’s agency, the two middle schoolers immediately pale and balk
when they start to register the hero costume that Izuku was wearing.

“Crap, Nero we need to leave, we can’t have this shit on our record!” One of the bullies hissed to
the other, who just hurriedly agreed and proceeded to vault over the chain fence at the end of the
alleyway.

Izuku could have given chase if he really wanted to, his anger was still present and steady after all,
but he refrained when he set his eyes on the purple haired boy trembling in pain on the grimy floor.

Softening his eyes, Izuku sighed heavily before kneeling in front of the injured boy.

“Hey” He said softly. “They’re gone now, and I swear they won't be coming back anytime soon.
Can you stand?” He asks, deliberately making exaggerated moves to show that he wasn’t hostile.

Tired purple eyes peeked up at him from his crouched position, wariness and unease circling
through the boy’s gaze before he finally gulped and nodded.

“Here” Izuku says, extending his hand. The boy stares at him for a few seconds, simply assessing
him, before hesitantly placing his hand in his own.

The two slowly stagger out of the alleyway, the purple haired boy grunting and hissing in pain the
whole time, before finally reaching a relatively deserted park. Helping the boy sit down on a park
bench, Izuku immediately gets his phone and sends a quick text to Mirio-senpai saying that he
would be delayed for a while. With that done, Izuku then reaches for whatever first aid he had on
his person before treating the boy as much as he could.

“I’m not the best at this stuff” Izuku says, grinning sadly. “But hopefully this will be enough until
we can get you home and treated properly”

The boy doesn’t reply to Izuku’s small talk, but the greenette continues anyway. There was a
certain ache in his heart that just wouldn’t go away after what he saw, and he couldn’t help but
want to talk to the boy more. Leaving him after witnessing something like that just.. didn’t sit right
with him.

Finishing up, Izuku cleaned the last scrape that was visible on the boy’s body before gathering all
the dirty tissues and dumping them in the trashcan nearby. Heading back, he worriedly looked over
the hunched figure of the silent boy, before finally steeling his resolve and sitting next to him.

Struggling to find a way to address what just happened, Izuku was taken off guard when the purple
haired boy decided to speak first.

“Sorry for all of this” He said softly but bitterly, eyes to the ground.

The air between them is quiet for a moment before Izuku releases a deep sigh.

“Helping people is what my job is going to entail in the future, you know? This wasn’t any trouble
at all” Izuku replies, smiling sadly. “What they did to you.. it was wrong and cruel. If you want to,
you can give me the names of those boys and I can file a complaint against them” Izuku offered,
even though he knew deep in his heart that the purple eyed boy was going to refuse. It’s what he
would have done, anyways.
“If I did that, I would just be more of a target” He says, looking away from Izuku. “I just want to
get to the end of the year in one piece even with my ‘Villains Quirk’” He continues, spitting out the
last two words like poison.

Frowning, Izuku remembered the chanting of the two boys in the alleyway and immediately
understood the issue.

“If it’s any consolation, I don’t think you have a villain's quirk, whatever it could be” Izuku says.
“No one’s quirk is inherently evil. It’s what you do with it that determines what it’s seen as. Even
the most heroic of quirks could be turned into something evil with the wrong intent”

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew what it was” He replies, tense and defeated. “People always
go back on their words once they hear what my quirk is” He sighs.

“Try me” Izuku declares instead of backing off, bright eyes trained on the boy before him. “I bet
that I can come up with five different heroic uses of your quirk, whatever it is.”

The middle school student looks at the curly haired boy (who was definitely not that much older
than himself) sitting by him before plastering a bitter smile on his face.

“My quirk” He says, “Is Brainwashing. If someone replies or answers to anything I say, I can take
control of them and make them do whatever I want them to”

There’s only silence for a few seconds before--

“That’s such a cool quirk!” The greenette cries out, smiling giddily with stars in his eyes. The
purple haired boy is clearly taken aback at his response, his eyes wide and disbelieving.

“Do you know how many things you can do with a power like that? Ah, I wish I had my notebook
for this.. Anyways, first of all, you would be an absolute godsend during hostage situations. Do you
understand how many casualties and how much wasted time would be saved with you on the scene
incapacitating the villain with just a few words?” Izuku practically exclaims, excitement running
through his veins at the many possibilities being presented before him.

“Or how easy it would be to get someone out of a panic attack? Or how useful it would be in an
interrogation? Or how you can use your power for recon and information gathering? Or how easily
you could use it to de-escalate high stress situations? Do you understand the multitude of
opportunities that this quirk could be used for? That’s- It’s incredible ”

Izuku continues to go on his tangent, not noticing the tears building up in the boy’s eyes until he
pauses to look at him. Startling at the state of the boy, Izuku fusses over the boy and lets his hands
hover over his shoulders worriedly. “O-oh gosh, did I say something wrong? I’m so-!”

“No, I-” The boy pauses to swallow a sob, smiling shakily. “It’s just.. t-that’s the first time anyone
has ever..”

Without him finishing, Izuku understands.

With that, ignoring all social cues and his own anxiety, Izuku goes with his instincts and puts his
hands on the boy's shoulders, bringing him into a gentle hug.

The boy continues to tremble and shake against his shoulder, small gasping sobs escaping his
mouth at the unexpected source of comfort. His body, heart, and mind was battered beyond belief,
but the words of this boy suddenly reminded him of everything he was fighting for.
 The two stay like that for a while, neither of them paying much attention to the time, before the
boy finally pulls back, his cheeks dusted a light pink in embarrassment.

“T-thanks” He says a little awkwardly, sniffling and rubbing his eyes at his unexpected
breakdown.

“It’s no problem..”

“Shinsou. Shinsou Hitoshi.”

“Shinsou-kun, then” Izuku says, smiling. The grenette then reaches out to grab the boys hand,
squeezing it comfortingly.

“If there’s one thing I can say for sure, Shinsou-kun.. It’s that I’m sure you’ll be great at whatever
you decide to do in the future.” Izuku says cheerfully, smiling wide.

“Though, maybe being a villain is off the table seeing as I now know who you are” He teases
gently, garnering a wet chuckle from the purple haired boy beside him.

Yeah, he was going to be alright.

Unbeknownst to the kids on the park bench, two glinting eyes watched them from afar hidden by
the shadows. The figure silently took note of the one in the hero costume, and then disappeared.

Time to report back to the boss.

Chapter End Notes

me: Midoriya you can't just have a heart-to-heart with everyone u save--

Midoriya: Bet

---

me: Midoriya you cant just argue with the person who's literally going to accept or
deny your internship just because of All Might--

Midoriya: bET

---

Friendly reminder that all might is mido's 2nd favorite hero after aizawa, and that since
aizawa doesn't have a lot of merch or sightings izuku's otaku-ness gets poured all into
all might. rip.
 Interlude: The Bystanders
Chapter Summary

A deeper look into everyone's feelings about one Midoriya Izuku

Chapter Notes

*calmly sips tea with serene smile on face* hi yall lmao

lets just leave it at school covid and college applications shall we

anyways my update sched will still be fucked but rest assured that I won't be dropping
this fic :>

Aside from that... uh guys, holy fuck. 7000+ kudos? jsus CHRIST. Thank you guys so
much for ur support and love :")

All your comments give me the life blood I need to keep writing, and as an apology for
the almost-year long wait, I have resolved myself to answering every single comment
in this chapter and in this chapter alone even after I post new chapters after this. So
have at it friends. Go wild.

Love yall and hope you enjoy <3

In case yall have any desire to translate, make fanart, etc. for my work, please email
me at Alien_pewpew@protonmail.com. Thank you so much!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Midoriya Izuku was completely unassuming at first glance. To be completely honest, Mirai would
have looked right over him if it weren’t for his frankly baffling dream to be the first quirkless
hero.

Although it may be a small bit… hypocritical coming from him, seeing as how limited his quirk
was in the grand scheme of things, Mirai will still be the first one to admit that he wouldn’t have
gotten the respect, recognition, and assistance he needed to thrive in the hero community without
the presence of his rare quirk. It was one of the factors that led to Toshi-- to All Might accepting
him as a sidekick, no matter how much the selfless man tried to deny it. He was the primary brains
of the duo for a reason, after all.

Even then, with all of this foreknowledge and experience and hindsight, Midoriya Izuku still took
him by surprise and reminded him that in a world like theirs, where villains and superheroes and
quirks with powers beyond the normal imagination existed, anything was possible.

At first, he was simply a boy that could match his wits. A good intern, sure- one that followed
instructions and did what needed to be done without complaint- but his spirit was what made him
stand out to the infamous Nighteye. He thought that that was all it would be, but he was wrong.

Mirio, of course, will always be his pride and joy. He nurtured him and mentored him to be a hero
that will be able to stand next to the likes of All Might (even if one day, he might have to stand in
his shoes instead), and he will be forever proud of his potential to be the brightness that this world
desperately needs (sometimes, knowing the future was more of a curse than a blessing. He would
know more than anyone else.)

Midoriya, though, was different in a way that reminded him of himself- and that is what makes him
keep his eyes on the boy. Not his quirklessness, or his performance as an intern, or their daily
banters, but the fact that he had a darkness inside him that most people overlooked. That the reason
why he clung so much to kindness, was so that he could push away the grit and gravel trying to
claw its way into his very soul.

Nighteye doesn’t know much about Midoriya’s history, and he doesn’t know if he will ever be
privy to that part of the boy’s life, but what he does know is that his intern has taken something
that was looked to be a burden, and made it his strength. He knows that he has faced enough in his
short life that his eyes immediately sharpen when faced with a threat that is not even fully there. He
knows that the boy possesses enough darkness in his being that can engulf him whole, but filters it
out with the good that he still believes exists in the world.

Nighteye knows, that just like him, Midoriya will be the type to make the hard decisions when
nobody else will. He will do his best of course, he will fight and claw and break himself over and
over before it ever gets to a point where he will have to make that decision, but when the time
comes where he needs to do it, he will not hesitate.

Perhaps, that is why he stays close. Perhaps, that is why he keeps him in his sight, and goes a little
harder on him than anyone else.

Midoriya reminds him so much of himself in fact, that he can’t even bear to think about him
making the same mistakes he once made. So he works him hard, spits out cold and scathing words,
and then soothes it afterwards with banter that will have his eyes lighting up in excitement.
Nighteye can’t help but stare sometimes, at the burning viridian that has the potential to comfort
and destroy at the flick of a switch, and then realises much too late that he has taken the
unassuming boy under his wing.

Mirai, although slightly dumbfounded, finds himself accepting this fact faster than he would like to
admit. Midoriya is.. good. He is good in a way that most people take for granted.

Nighteye will make sure that goodness stays right where it is meant to be.

Being best friends with the ‘Number One Hero’ in the world gets you clued in on a lot of top secret
information, believe it or not. In fact, he was one of the first to ever know about Toshinori’s
previous condition and astounding quirk- not to mention his knowledge about people like All for
One and other such high ranking, hush-hush villains.

However, what the general public don’t speculate about too often, is that he gets treated to a lot of
personal information, too. When it comes to All Might- to Toshinori, a man who more often than
not likens himself to Atlas with the world on his back, Naomasa sees and hears more about his
mundane struggles rather than the ones that eat him out from the inside.

As his closest friend, it was his job to figure these issues out without having been explicitly told
them. Unfortunately for him, all that the man knew how to do was smile, and it was only on
particularly bad days where his distress would be made obvious.

(He still remembers the days when the blonde hero would fail in some way or another and sit in
front of his mentor’s grave for hours on end, staring blankly at the isolated tombstone of a woman
who escaped from his childlike grasp far too soon. Sometimes, Naomasa couldn’t help but hate her
for the burden that she put on his friend’s shoulders. Sometimes, Naomasa wishes she were still
alive to keep him from breaking, because clearly he wasn’t enough to keep this too-good of a man
together.

Sometimes, Noamasa sits himself in front of her grave next to Toshinori, and talks about the days
where the burden wasn’t as glaring. On these days, the tall man lets himself lean on him, letting the
tightly held leash on his emotions loosen for even just a second.

It’s in those rare moments of vulnerability where he thanks her instead.)

With these thoughts floating around in his head, Naomasa presses the green button on his phone
and puts the device up to his ear, an easy smile on his usually haggard face.

The conversation leaves him slightly speechless to be honest. By the time he ends the call, an hour
has passed, and the light shining in from his small window is more blue than yellow.

Midoriya Izuku… the boy has left him speechless since day one, and frankly stressed on the others,
though he can see where his feelings about him shifted from ‘problematic’ to ‘good and bright and
good’. His precinct came around to the boy faster than he did, seeing as how he was coddled and
congratulated from the moment they all realised this was more than a one time gig. Naomasa was
much more wary though, and didn’t let himself get too close until a conversation with the Yuuei
student made him pause.

“Why do you want to become a hero, Midoriya?” He had asked one day, after taking a petty
mugger out of his hands and buying him ice cream at Naomasa’s insistence.

“Oh! Well... I guess I just want to save people.” Midoriya had said simply, staring at his vanilla
ice cream. He pauses- “and… and I want to prove to people that I can- even without a quirk.
Saving people, helping people, caring for people- anyone can do it if they try. My mom always said
that intent was what mattered most, and to me, that just meant anyone can save people if only they
wanted to do so”

Midoriya adopts a sure expression on his face, as though he had thought of this many times before.
“W-what I’m trying to say is that, I want to be a hero because I can . Don’t we owe it to the people
who can’t defend themselves to try? No matter how underqualified we may be? I.. I believe that we
all have that responsibility, being human beings, being quirked human beings.” He says, eyes
burning and shining with purpose.

“But.. I understand that there are laws, which is why- which is why people like me just have that
much more responsibility, don’t you think? Seeing as quirkless people are barely intertwined into
law?”

He smiles brightly at Naomasa then, and the officer couldn’t help but feel a little breathless.
“Besides, I love helping people. Why wouldn’t I want to become a hero?”

Naomasa remembered seeing someone else in Midoriya’s place for a single second (blonde hair,
weary smile, bright blue eyes) before blinking and smiling back. He had unconsciously raised his
hand and placed it on his green mess of hair by the time he realized what he was doing, and he
couldn’t help the surge of protectiveness that welled up in his heart.

Aizawa may be his mentor, but the kid’s smile reminded him more of Toshinori with each passing
day. He doesn’t know if he should be happy, or terrified.

According to Toshi, Nezu had recommended Midoriya Izuku as a potential candidate to be his
successor. He had denied, of course. The man had expressed on more than one occasion that he
wanted his protege to be hand picked by him, just like his mentor had done Toshinori, but time was
running out, and the experienced hero reluctantly admitted that he couldn’t afford to waste any
more time standing around. That was when Nighteye stepped in and put out his faulty olive branch
(Naomasa is still a little pissed at the former sidekick, sue him), detailing how he had a potential
successor in mind that would fit Toshinori’s standards.

With no other choice (and frankly hopeful from this one piece of contact from his former sidekick),
Toshinori had accepted his offer on the condition that if he managed to find a successor before he
was introduced to this mystery student, he would leave them alone. Nighteye had readily agreed,
and that was that.

Even with this inside knowledge, Naomasa couldn’t help but think about a universe in which
Midoriya Izuku was the successor of All Might, instead of the first quirkless hero. He wonders how
it would have gone. Would he be as reckless as Toshi? Would he grasp the power of One for All
the same way that Toshi did? Would he thrive under the pressure instead of crumble?

(Would he grow up to be as broken as Toshinori had?)

Selfishly, Naomasa is glad that he never has to know

Chisaki never understood the purpose of looking at the smaller picture. Ever since he was taken in
by the kind man who saw something more than a threat, he had always loathed the small steps he
took that seemed to go nowhere. The yakuza clan that he so cared for became a ghost story by the
time quirks had dominated society, and Chisaki, wanting nothing more than to prove that they were
just as much of a threat as the damn villains and heroes, had yelled at the old man questioning
everything he was taught.

All that the man had done in response to his outburst was place a hand in his hair (the only one
who was allowed to) and hum.

Perhaps that was the beginning of his spiral and obsession. Maybe it was something else, he didn’t
exactly remember- or care for that matter.

No- all that mattered now was proving that the bigger picture he had willed into his mind would
come to fruition, and for that, he needed his most important chess piece. He needed Eri, and he
needed her power.
Everything was going to plan. It was going so well in fact, that by the time New Years Eve rolled
around, he would have his first fully fledged sample of the quirk erasing substance. Their formula
was in its initial testing stage, and Chisaki was fully confident that they were going to accomplish
his dream when-

The chair he was resting his hand on shook just the slightest bit, his anger rising.

It was all coming together, until a brat got themselves involved. In response to this tremendous
loss, Chisaki had immediately sent out his subordinates to spy on every Yuuei student under
“Eraserhead”, the pro-hero who almost caught him that day in the alley. According to Chrono, the
man’s patrol route was nowhere near that area, and his pro-hero job usually commenced late into
the night. What this meant was that he was summoned, most likely by the same child who stole
Eri.

A child, who according to one of his subordinates, now had a name.

Midoriya Izuku. Male, 16 years old, 166 cm.

Quirkless.

A quirkless boy… wanting to become a hero?

A quirkless boy sullying themselves by bending to the whims of this society? An uninfected
specimen walking right into the fray of the infected?

Chisaki could only see red.

He was not wrong. He could not be wrong. Without these quirks, society would become cleansed
once again. Things would go back to the way it was meant to be.

So why.. why does this boy threaten to go against all of his beliefs?

Taking a deep breath, Chisaki shuts his eyes and calms his heart. He has no time for anger when
there is so much to do. He needed to play smart and get Eri back as soon as possible. There is no
other option.

After a few seconds of simply breathing in filtered, clean air, Chisaki opens his eyes.

A calm storm brews behind his molten gaze.

Midoriya Izuku is a dangerous mutation in this already infected world. The best course of action to
take now is to simply kill him off before he can become even more of a threat.

If he has to sully himself the slightest bit for it to happen, then so be it.

It wouldn’t be the first time he had to sacrifice something in order to reach his goal.

(A heart monitor beep-beep-beeps in the back of his head, but he’s already too far gone to pay it
any mind.)

Eijirou liked Midoriya Izuku.

The older boy, although clearly a little shy and jittery, was inspiring and manly to a fault. He’d
have to be, since he was the first ever quirkless student to participate in the Yuuei Sports Festival.
Not to mention the fact that he got second place.

But, that isn’t the point here, is it? The real point here is that he liked Midoriya, not because of
what he achieved (though that’s definitely a reason to!), but because of what he did that day for
Eijirou, when he was at his lowest. The ravenette often thinks back to that day when watching
some of Crimson Riot’s old interviews. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the kit, but if there was one
thing he understood, it was feelings.

He felt safe and heard with Midoriya. He also felt like his worries were the size of a peanut when
Midoriya put it into perspective. The warm gaze was unbiased and bright- and the days after of
sometimes texting Midoriya in order to keep in touch left him feeling grounded when he felt
buzzed with energy and restlessness. Whenever he was unsure, he could always count on Midoriya
to reassure him in his choices.

That was how he finally convinced himself to buy the red hair dye he was eyeing through a salon’s
window for some time now. Unthinkingly, Eijirou takes a picture of the dye with his phone and
sends it to his older friend, biting his lip in a small anxious moment.

Kirishima-kun

5:26 PM

I finally bought it!!!

<image attached>

Midobro-Senpai

5:27 PM

About time!! :D

Shoulders relaxing, Eijirou absentmindedly thinks to himself that this would be what having an
older brother was like. Someone who listened, and encouraged you, and made you feel safe in your
own skin. Blushing a little at his own thoughts, he shook his head and smiled instead.

He could think about this more if he- no, when he got into Yuuei. Once he did, he would have way
more time to spend with his senpai, and this whole ‘brother’ thing can.... n-nevermind.

Slapping his cheeks, he refocuses. For now, he needed to look up some youtube videos on how to
successfully bleach and dye his pitch black hair. This was going to take a while..

Clenching his fist, he brought it up to his face and closed his eyes with pure determination coursing
through his veins. Plus Ultra , he thought before opening the first video.

Hitoshi never really had that hero obsession phase that most kids seemed to have.

Ever since he was a young child, he had already been introduced to some pretty hard truths about
the world, being in foster care and all. Fortunately, after a couple of hit or misses, he didn’t have to
stay for much longer thanks to his now-family. He had fond memories of when he was eight years
old and newly introduced to his odd ball parents. It was one of the most terrifying yet rewarding
memories he had, since it was the first time hope was ever introduced into his bleak life.

His parents were also freak adopters, which meant he had too many siblings.

Alright, he had six, but that was still a lot.

Anyways, heroes. He didn’t get the hype at first, but then there was an accident on the way to
school, and a cloaked figure in purple got in front of the bus and let out this cool mist thingy that
shielded the bus from damage and--

So yeah, call it a sudden bout of inspiration, but after that real-time save, he had wanted nothing
more than to be a hero. Getting invested into the hero scene made him realize that he wanted to be
that momentary hope, be that brief source of comfort to those children waiting for their own chance
at a new life, just like a lot of Hitoshi’s peers were when he was still in foster care.

But then again, he was also a child who had been introduced to some pretty hard truths about the
world, and because of that, he knew exactly why it took a couple of ‘hit or misses’ for him to get a
loving family to take care of him.

Daytime heroes have amazing quirks and get glorified everyday of their lives. Their quirks are
cool, functional, and not something that can take away your consent to do things.

His quirk, on the other hand, does exactly that.

His parents are great, and he loves them, but ever since he had expressed his desire to be a hero, he
couldn’t deny and ignore their change in behavior. Nothing.. bad, of course. They were just a lot
more worried, he guesses. They knew about the stigma surrounding his quirk, and they wanted
him to live a simple and good life, but with the career-choice he had in mind, that kind of wishful
thinking would go straight out the window.

He wasn’t lying that day, when he had (embarrassingly) cried into Dekiru’s arms and told him he
had never heard anyone say he could be a hero. His parents more or less responded to his desire
with an “oh.. are you- sure, honey?”, his siblings were too young to understand the implications
and offer real support, and his classmates- well… they found it more funny than serious.

That day, when he laid in that alleyway taking kick after punch after insult, he knew in his heart
that he was on the brink of giving up. The bitterness and contempt that filled his heart was almost
enough to force himself to throw the whole thought of becoming a hero away.

But then, Dekiru came and told him to his face that his ‘villain quirk’ could just as easily be
thought of as a hero’s quirk, and suddenly everything that he’d been fighting for came back to him.
How could he have thought for even a moment that it would be easier to give up? He was doing
what he did because he wanted to prove everyone wrong, because he wanted to be a source of light
and hope, and he knows that it’s possible, he knows because the fucking hero-in-training that had
saved him that very day was, in fact, quirkless.

The first year’s sports festival was permanently downloaded into his phone a week after their
encounter, all three hours, thirty-seven minutes, and six seconds of it. His favourite part of the
festival was probably the moment when Dekiru had incapacitated two mutant quirk users guarding
the flag, climbed up the pole, and then waved the opposite team’s flag with a feral grin on his
face.

.....

Alright, so watching those two seemingly ‘advantaged’ students getting their asses handed to them
by a quirkless person had brought him immense joy and satisfaction, sue him. He bets that Dekiru
had felt the same, anyways.

After their short encounter, Hitoshi’s resolve hardened to the point of pure determination. He was
still bitter, sleep-deprived, and a (little) lonely, but now he had even more reason to prove everyone
wrong. After all, if the bottom of the food chain could claw their way up to the top, why couldn’t
he?

….He also wanted to see Dekiru again. Hopefully. That would be nice.

(he tries very hard to avoid idolizing a boy a year older than him. he fails miserably- but no one
needs to know that. absolutely no one. shut up.)

Eri’s earliest memory was of laughter. She didn’t know where it came from, or who was laughing,
or why they were laughing- all she knew was that it made her feel warm. It made her feel- a word
that rarely came to her- loved.

Her next memory is of her quirk going out of control and making her father disappear. Ever since
then, Eri has not felt anything but fear, pain, or sadness.

The day’s blurred together like this- in a haze of loneliness and self-hatred. She had never known
pure love. She had never known gentle affection. At some point, she had also forgotten how to
smile- even though she didn’t understand or know it. She always held this quiet hope in her chest,
that maybe one day Chisaki would soften his eyes as he looked at her. That maybe one day, he
would hold her in his arms with no purpose of bringing her to the bad chair.

Her hopes were snuffed out quickly from a young age, as she could only watch as that molten gaze
looked through her very being. Figuratively and literally, as she was taken apart and put back
together again and again and again and again and again.

But she deserved it, didn’t she? After all, her quirk was a curse. She was a curse. She deserved
every bit of pain, every moment of uncertainty and fear, every moment of isolation. Even her own
mother walked out on her. If not even she could love someone like her, who would?

“Eri-chan!” A voice called out, and her head lifted to see the smiling face of her hero. Her saviour.
Her first friend.
“Are you ready to go? The cultural festival is about to begin in half an hour! Oh- Eri you look so
pretty too!” He laughs, walking towards her, smile never falling from his face. Mido (as she
coined in her five-year-old brain) bends down slightly to her level and fixes the creases on her
strawberry dress. She can only look on in slight wonder.

“Ready to go?” He asks, putting his arms out, green gaze bright and warm. For so long, that gesture
was used as a command. It meant that she had to “come here”- it meant that she had to be brought
somewhere secluded, or somewhere bad. It always meant restriction and helplessness.

But now-

Now, it slowly meant safe.

“Mm” She replied, and walked into strong and steady arms. Arms that held her when she was
scared and crying. Arms that protected her from the bad things around her. Arms that she was not
afraid of.

As the green haired boy lifted her up, Eri let herself rest her head on his shoulder, absorbing the
affection and smell of mint and apples.

Slowly, she was learning what it felt like to be something other than scared, or pained, or sad.

If she only had one wish.. it would be for her to learn them alongside her hero.

Shouta, after being a hero, was a teacher. With that profession came a certain amount of
professionalism. He knew that people like Hizashi, who lived to please and be loud and be close,
had no qualms with being a little more attached to his students. To the blonde, it was natural to
want to know and involve himself in some small way or another to every kid he taught. Although it
wasn’t to the point of unprofessionalism, it did certainly poke at the boundaries of what Shouta
considered appropriate.

He taught and went through class after class with this mindset in his head, which made it all the
more easy to expel students who weren’t serious. Other teachers had called it harsh in the
beginning; Shouta called it thinking objectively and being practical. There was no room for pity
and second chances in the world of heroics- and besides, it was rare that he would come into
contact with his former students as most were above ground, anyways. He cared in his own way, of
course, but it never went any deeper than what a teacher would feel for their student.

That was how it was, at first- with Midoriya he means. There was a natural wall put up between
them due to circumstances. Teacher and Student. Hero and (technically) Civilian. Adult and
Teenager. Shouta had no plans of changing his mindset, even after he had expelled the whole class
and was left with only a single student.

Evidently, somewhere along the way he had fucked up, because his house keys currently held
charms of a stern black and playful green cat. The unexpected “early birthday gift” ("I-its also to
show my appreciation for t-teaching me! s-so..") had him so choked up he could only grunt out a
thanks and pat the boy's head before turning away. There was also that time he taught the boy how
to properly do his tie after being graced with that horrible excuse of a knot for months. And also
the other time when he berated him for skipping meals when he felt dizzy once during training.
Not to mention the absurd amount of gray hairs and headaches that he’s been providing him since
day one.

Seriously, this was way beyond unprofessional at this point. God, he taught his student how to
properly do his tie. What the fuck.

And Kami, don’t even get him started with the Parent-Teacher meetings. Instead of having a
professional conversation with Inko Midoriya, they somehow ended up spending one whole hour
lamenting over the green haired menace. She even invited him to have a drink sometime with a
dead look in her eyes that eerily resembled his own. How utterly terrifying.

“Sensei?” Midoriya called, eyebrows furrowed. The Problem Child™ was looking up at him with
Eri in his arms, his head tilted slightly to the side in concern. Well, hm- that’s logically valid. He
was more or less staring at a tree as if he was looking for the answers to the universe.

Actually, now that he focuses, there were two students sitting on a tree branch, sitting strangely
close together-

.....

Ah, fuck.

“S-sensei…?”

Shouta goes up to the two, pats Eri’s head gently (she hums), pats Midoriya’s head (“Ack! Sensei
p-painful! That’s painful--!) and unwinds his capture tape.

“Watch, children” He says ominously. “This is how you protect the chastity of the innocent”

The couple in the tree making out passionately separate as a sudden chill rolls up their spine. What
was this bad feeling..?

I hope you guys find each other in the next life, Midoriya thinks mournfully. Eri sneezes.

Let it be known that Katsuki protested every fucking step of the way.

“Katsuki Bakugou, if you don’t haul ass right now ” His mother says semi-calmy, a storm brewing
in her eyes. The old man and Auntie Inko scroll through their phones, paying no mind to what was
probably their 50th argument during the mere 30 minute ride from their house to Yuuei. The
goddamn traitors.

“I have my own damn cultural festival, you know?” He grits out, eyebrows furrowed. His palms
were fucking itchy.

“You weren’t participating anyway!” The old hag yells. “You were given a choice by your teacher
to participate or not, and you said no you goddamn brat! Now, instead of mulling around in that
damn school, we can at least accept Inko’s invitation to accompany her to Yuuei’s cultural
festival!”

“I could’ve stayed home!” He yells back.

“And sneak out of the house to go to the damn arcade?! You think I didn’t notice, you brat?!”
“Fuck off, hag! It’s better than just laying around! I can get a good workout in, too!”

“This is also a good time for us to spend time as a family, dammit! You still want to bail!?”

“For fucks sake, I don’t want to--!”

“Katsuki” A stern voice suddenly cuts through, causing both mother and son to clamp their mouths
shut. Clenching his jaw, he reluctantly turns his head towards Auntie Inko and hunches his
shoulders.

She looked fucking tired.

“Katsuki” she starts. “You don’t have to meet or even look at Izuku, okay?” She says. At that,
Masaru and Mitsuki flinch and direct their attention towards the short woman.

“Inko!” “Wait, Inko--”

Katsuki stays still.

“I invited you here because this is going to be your school in the future” she continues. “I wanted to
give you a chance to witness Yuuei with your own eyes and assess the level here, you
understand?”

Katsuki stays silent.

“Sweetheart” she starts tiredly. “I believe in you, you know that. However, I also need you to
understand that Yuuei is different from Aldera” She says sternly. “Even though I’m not directly
involved, I’ve seen and felt the atmosphere here through my son, incident after incident after
incident. If you go here, understand that you’re no longer the big fish in the pond. It’s good to be
confident, but too much of it can cripple you” She finishes.

Unclenching his jaw, his palms slowly settle as his gaze becomes less murderous.

“I got it, Auntie” He grunts.

“Good” She says, and places a gentle hand on his head before heading to the gates.

The air settles slightly around the Bakugou family as the short woman confidently walks ahead of
them, the two adults sighing.

“Haa, seriously. If only I had Inko’s powers of taming you” The old hag laments, causing Katsuki
to snort sarcastically.

“Keep dreaming, Hag- and she’s not fucking taming me.” He grumbles, following his Aunt
towards Yuuei’s gates.

As he looked up at the shining building under the sunlight, his thoughts briefly drift towards the
quirkless boy attending the school. It hasn’t been long since he last saw him, and yet it still felt like
several months had gone by since they last spoke.

Izuku.. (Deku- he reminds himself. He was always a Deku, you were just tricked--) did the
impossible getting into this school, seeing as how he was a quirkless loser. He’s sure he still is, no
matter how literally everyone he gives two-shits about likes to tell him otherwise.

Once he gets into Yuuei, he’ll personally be the one to prove otherwise. No matter what Izuku
(Deku Deku Deku) said.
He refuses to fall for his bullshit a second time. Hero’s win- and even when they falter, they keep
winning.

But as far as Katsuki was concerned, all Izuku Midoriya ever did was lose.

(and yet to him, he still made it seem like he won in the end, huh? How pathetic.)

Clenching his fist, the blonde’s fiery red eyes look over his future academia with a single thought in
mind.

I’m going to crush him and be number 1.

I Can Kit a Bitch

3:18 PM

are you tired yet cause I am

Greenie

3:29 PM

Slr was meeting with my mom

Hirano since I didn’t wanna do a whole concept on my own Principal Nedzu told me to participate
in every first year activity to make up for it. I’m dead.

I Can Kit a Bitch

3:30 PM

Yikes x 5

Greenie

3:30 PM

my friends in support are making a thing specialized for me and im fearing for my life rn

is this the end of my short life i wonder

I Can Kit a Bitch

3:31 PM

lol what do you want me to play at ur funeral

Greenie

3:31 PM

my heart will go on but the flute rendition pls

it would be a send off i’d approve of

I Can Kit a Bitch

3:31 PM

a man with taste I approve.

in all seriousness tho i honestly didn’t think you’d know meme music

Greenie

3:32 PM

.....

so how am i gonna explain all the pro-hero fanfiction i’ve read until now uhhhh

I Can Kit a Bitch

3:32 PM

I-

You fucking sinnamon roll DGFSDHASG

 Greenie

3:32 PM

*slaps self* this bad boy can keep a lot of hidden sides to em

I Can Kit a Bitch

3:32 PM

fuck im not even tired anymore life is great

have u read that one Mt. Lady x Kamui woods fanfic called Giant Steps to ur heart

Greenie

3:32 PM

*inhales sharply* DUDE

Aia doesn’t remember the last time she felt so excited to talk to someone since her father’s
accident, but now that she’s had a taste, her shoulders relax and settle- releasing the lingering
tension that’s always been present since she was young.

Even if it’s only for a moment, she’ll savour this feeling for as long as she can. Opening up herself
to others is hard, but with greenie.. it just feels easier.

Haa, seriously. This damn quirkless kid, what a menace. She thinks with a smirk.

(everyone who has met/interacted/lived with said quirkless menace all get the chills at the same
time. somehow, they all instinctively get it.)

Chapter End Notes

everyone: god damn it this fucking kid istg trouble magnet quirkless menACE--

also everyone: *hugging izuku* what A GOOD B O Y

Works inspired by this Aizawa’s

one Survivors by Rocky1160, A Hero(-To-Be) Arrives by Imshookandbi,
 he took solace in the rise and fall of his chestby Imshookandbi, Izuku
Midoriya in: All Might's T.A. by LonestWolfe, The Crimson Files: File 0924-
1118 (Re-Write in Progress) by DreamerInTheDark, The One Who Survived
Aizawa Sensei's Purge by Anaffeine

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