Broken Stars - BeesBeesDragons, yinyangprophecy - 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia (2024)

Chapter 1: Prologue: I Know About Whispers

Chapter Text

August 3, 2014

“Nerd!”

Izuku crashed to the ground as her classmates ran off to play. Every inch of her was sore, including her heart. Quietly, she picked herself up and made her way to the corner of the play yard, clutching a notebook to her chest. Darting her eyes around, she made sure no one was nearby before opening her notebook.

Flipping through the pages, she glanced at the countless stories that filled it, looking for one in particular. She flipped past stories of being saved by hero after hero, and a fair number of herself as one. After going through over half of the stories, she landed on the current one: her being a member of the Batfamily, where her code name was Wren.

Her hands flew as the story flowed from her brain to the page with hardly a second in between thought and word. As the story grew in length, her awareness of the outside world fell away, leaving her only with Gotham.

A shadow falling over the notebook was her only warning before it was ripped out of her hands. Her eyes snapped up to see Kohaku, Rikuto, and Yoshie looking at her stories, all three cackling as they read.

Izuku tried to get on her feet, but was shoved down by Rikuto, causing them to laugh even harder. Her heart seemed to stop as Rikuto pinned her down with his foot, and Kohaku started to rip out pages, “She thinks that she could be a hero’s sidekick!”

As each page was ripped out, Kohaku passed them to Yoshie, when ripped them up even further, also laughing, “Or she wants them to save him like some damsel in distress!”

To Izuku’s horror, a breeze started to pick up across the courtyard, picking up the pieces of Izuku’s heart, and scattering them even farther. Her stories were spread all over the open area, moving farther and farther away from her as the bullies continued.

Finally, the half-empty notebook was mercilessly dropped to the ground, and the foot finally came off her chest as the bullies moved on to a new target. Rushing around, Izuku gathered her torn pages, shoving them into her pockets, trying to find every piece.

While collecting some of the notebook pieces near an open window, she overheard the teachers’ voices drifting out.
“I doubt that her parents were married, you know that, if her father was actually married to her mother, that her grandparents would be helping them out. She has to be a bastard.”

“But I actually knew Midoriya Hiro. He was a major part of their lives until he passed away. I feel sorry for his mother, being abandoned by both families. It can’t be easy to raise a child on your own. She could have just as easily given her up. I think that Hiro’s family abandoned them because Inko’s family wasn’t wealthy.”

Taking a deep breath, Izuku pushed aside the gossip (and the tears) as she picked up the last of the pages. Once her pockets were full of the scraps that she could find, she slipped back inside with her ruined notebook on a mission to find a roll of clear tape.

“Tadaima, mom!”

“Okaeri, sweetheart!” Inko called out as she came around the corner.

Izuku’s eyes landed on the extra pair of shoes next to the door while taking her own off, “Mom? Is someone else here?”

She watched her mom as Inko braced herself, “Remember how I said I’ve been dating someone? He wanted to meet you if that’s okay.”

“Oh! Uh, yeah, sure!”

Clutching her backpack tightly to her chest, Izuku followed her mom into the living room, where a man in a suit waited on the couch. Standing up, he walked over and knelt in front of Izuku, holding out a Captain America figure, “It’s nice to finally meet you, Izuku. Your mom has been telling me all kinds of wonderful things about you. My name is Shigaraki Hisashi.”

Gently taking the figure from Shigaraki, Izuku bowed, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Shiagaraki-san.”

“Since I’m dating your mom, I’m giving you permission to call me Hisashi.”

Chapter 2: The World Turned Upside Down

Chapter Text

February 2, 2020

Two pairs of eyes watched Inko rush around the apartment, while she triple checked every room. While waiting for her to stop, Izuku moved one of the final boxes next to the front door. She called over her shoulder, “Mom, we got everything. Even Dad’s shrine."

From his position against the wall, Hisashi shook his head, “Her anxiety is going on high speed right now because of everything going horribly. But I have an idea. Inko! Take a picture of each room! That way you know you got everything, so we don’t have to come back and check!”

“Good idea, Hisashi!”

Izuku glanced over to him, “Where did you get that idea?”

Hisashi smiled at her, “I read it in an article. I was looking for ways to deal with my own anxiety about Yoichi.”

Inko rounded the corner with phone in hand, “Okay. I think I’m ready. I just wish that we were moving in together under better circ*mstances.”

Pulling her into a hug, Hisashi nodded, “I understand, Little Bird. Having this pandemic cancel the wedding is not what either of us wanted. But at the very least we can all live together and have more company than if we were forced to live in two separate houses during lockdown.”

“I’m just worried that you’ll hate having to live with us. We haven’t even spent the night together, and now we’re all living in one house. How does Yoichi feel about this?”

Adjusting his facial mask, Hisashi smiled, “I think he’s secretly glad to have someone besides me around. Apparently, I can be overbearing.”

Izuku and Hisashi lifted up the final two boxes, leaving Inko’s hands free to lock up the apartment that she had lived in for nearly 20 years. On their way out, Inko left the keys in the dropbox as the landlord had requested.

The boxes were put in the back of the moving truck, which Hisashi closed and locked, then he took the wheel, carefully navigating away from Mustasfu. Izuku watched her home fly by, and slowly fell asleep to the gentle hum of the engine, along with the chatter of the adults.

“Okay! Welcome to your new home!”

Izuku startled awake, glancing around to see a two story house that would completely have filled the courtyard of her elementary school with room to spare. Numbly, she climbed out of the car, barely noticing a man wearing a face mask approaching them, “Hey there, Robin, Inko!”

“Hi, Yoichi! We tried to distract him as long as we could!”

Hisashi walked past, carrying a box, “I’m offended. All of you, conspiring against me!”

Inko lifted a smaller box from the back of the truck, “It’s good to see you again, Yoichi. Do you feel up to helping us carry stuff in?”

Chuckling, Yoichi joined her at the back, “Hisashi might have all of our heads, but sure. I’ll find something I can carry.”

Rushing to the two of them, Izuku found a box, “This is just my superhero figures, so it’s pretty light.”

Hefting it up, Yoichi led the two ladies inside, into a massive entrance hall. Hisashi looked up from where he was placing his box, “Yoichi-”

“-It’s Izuku’s action figures. It weighs like 2 kilos at most.”

Inko walked right up to Hisashi, “I know you’re worried about him, but we’re being careful. He could either carry boxes in, or he could start unpacking them.”

While the couple discussed, Yoichi and Izuku quietly placed their boxes down and headed back outside. Izuku reached into the back of the truck, finding the lightest box that she could grab, “Alright, here’s another one for you!”

Yoichi smiled at her as he took it from her hands, “I think it’s just finally occurring to me how things are going to change. For once, I don’t have to have a fight with my brother over everything. I’m glad that he has someone who isn’t afraid to keep him in check.”

Izuku grabbed her own box, and hopped out, “I’m glad that Mom’s not alone anymore. She was always sad. Now she smiles all the time, and she doesn’t worry about money as much.”

By the time the two of them returned to the others, Hisashi was running his hand through his hair, “I guess you have a point, Inko.”

He turned to the two younger members of the household, “But Yoichi, please don’t push yourself.”

February 23, 2020

The kitchen was filled with amazing smells as the two cooks watched the latest episode of Izuku’s favorite anime. Izuku was carefully slicing up onions while Inko cooked the pork. Hisashi poked his head in, “Have either of you seen my laptop’s charging cord? I swear I left it in the dining room, but it’s not there anymore.”

Inko looked up, “Not that I can recall. Have you looked-”

“Breaking news!”

All three of them looked at the TV, which was now showing shaky camera footage of a hospital. Hisashi rolled his eyes, “More hospital news?”

Izuku read the banner under the video just as the reporter spoke, “Earlier today in China, a child was born glowing! The child is currently undergoing testing, so at this time, it is unclear if the glow has anything to do with COVID-19, but we will keep you up to date with the latest news as we hear it. Now back to your regular programming.”

Moving robotically, Izuku went over to the TV, shutting it off. Silence fell over the kitchen as both Izuku and Hisashi pulled out their phones to search for more information. While the two of them went through one article after another that delivered no new information, Inko stared at the blank TV screen, still as a statue.

A deafening rendition of the Imperial March blared through the kitchen, making all three people jump out of their skin. Inko quickly reached for her phone, knocking a knife off the edge of the counter, “No!”

Izuku’s heart stopped as the knife did.

It floated up gently, placing itself in her mom’s hand like nothing happened. No one moved an inch for several seconds, until Hisashi moved forward. He took the knife from Inko’s hands, placing it in the sink, before pulling her into a hug, “Take a deep breath. You’re okay, we’re okay. It’s been a crazy day, and if you need to take a break and sit down, I’ll help Izuku finish the katsudon.”

Nodding, Inko moved out of the kitchen, and Hisashi took over the pork, “I hope that it didn’t get overcooked.”

“She just put it on there when the news alert happened, so I think it should be okay?”

Yoichi drifted into the kitchen, looking over his shoulder, “Is Inko okay? She’s crying on the couch.”

Hisashi stuck a meat thermometer into the pork, “Did you hear about the glowing baby in China?”

“I don’t think there’s anyone in the world who HASN’T. Why do you ask?”

“Apparently random people are manifesting powers out of the blue. The baby was the first one that the media is aware of, but who knows how many more of them there are. Inko just manifested a telekinetic power. She stopped a knife from falling, and it kinda freaked her out.”

Nodding, Yoichi walked over to the sink and washed his hands, “Then I’ll help as much as I can. She deserves a break after something like that.”

Together, the three worked hard to make katsudon from the help of the recipe, and Izuku’s memory of the mild changes that Inko typically made.

As they neared the end, Yoichi set the table then went to retrieve Inko. None of them spoke about the glowing baby, or the floating knife.

March 18, 2020

Yells broke Izuku out of her deep sleep, leaving her blinking her eyes rapidly, “Hisashi! You need to figure out how to give it back RIGHT NOW!”

“I’m trying, Inko. I’m not sure exactly what I did!”

A gentle knock came from her door, and Yoichi poked his head into Izuku’s room, “Let’s go to the back yard. Hisashi just developed a power, and this might take a bit to settle.”

Izuku climbed out of bed, while Yoichi grabbed a mask. Both quietly slipped out of the back door, being careful to not draw the attention of the arguing couple. As they settled down on the cold, wet, grass, Izuku did her best to untangle her bed head, “So, what’s Hisashi’s power?”

“Not entirely sure, but when they woke up this morning, he had your mom’s power, and she didn’t. It freaked her out, and that’s when the fight started.”

Giving up on her hair (at least without a brush), she looked over, “Do you want one, Yoichi?”

He lied down on the ground, “Nah. It’s not like I would be able to do much with it, really.”

Izuku flopped on her stomach, pulling up grass, “But what about if it was something like instant healing?”

“Healing powers always have a nasty drawback. What about you?”

“I’d love to fly or have super strength. But if the rest of you got powers and I didn’t, then I could just become a real-life Robin!”

A giant smile spread across Yoichi’s face, “That definitely sounds like you.”

While the two of them waited for the fight to be over, they watched countless TikToks.

Nearly an hour later, Inko leaned out of the kitchen window, “Our fight is over, you two can come back in.”

When the two of them entered the house, Inko was making breakfast, and Hisashi was staring at his hands, which now had small holes in the center of his palms. Izuku rushed over to him, “Is that where the powers go in? How does it feel to take it?”

Before she could ask any more questions, Hisashi poked her in the stomach, “It feels like I’m hungry all the time, and taking these powers is the only way to stop it. So...it’s as if I were a vampire, just instead of needing blood, I need to get these powers. And as for the holes, I believe that they are where the powers go in and out.”

Izuku darted to her mom’s side, “How do you feel? Did it hurt?”

She pulled her into a hug, “It didn’t hurt, it just felt like I was completely empty. Otherwise I think I wouldn’t have noticed.”

Hisashi and Yoichi stood at the doorway, and the former spoke, “I’m going to see if gloves stop it. If not, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

With that, he swept off to another part of the house. Yoichi shifted from one foot to another, “Inko, is there any way I can help with breakfast?”

“Could you two set the table?”

“Sure thing, Mom!”

“Of course.”

Together, they set the table, finishing about the time Hisashi returned with gloves on.

April 10, 2020

Gloves turned out to stop Hisashi’s power, so he didn’t have to sleep on the couch. Which helped everyone deal with the stress of schools opening again.

Inko was nervous about Izuku making friends at school.

Hisashi was nervous about someone potentially bringing COVID to school.

Yoichi was nervous about someone using their powers accidentally.

And Izuku? She was nervous about going to a new school.

She adjusted her school uniform, looking at the sailor collar, “Hisashi? Why does this school still have a sailor uniform?”

“They have a high school that’s right next door, so the two have a deal that the high school uses blazers, while the middle school has the sailor uniform. If you want, you can go to the high school next year, instead of having to change school locations again.”

Picking up her backpack, Izuku walked over to where he was waiting, “Depends on how the school year goes. I’m just trying to get through today.”

Izuku quietly watched her classmates talking to each other, most of them knowing each other from previous years. A few of them had looked at her, but none had spoken to her. The morning bell rang, causing all of the kids to rush to their seats as the teacher entered. In stepped a beautiful woman who stopped in the front of the classroom, “Good morning class!”

Most of the class spoke in unison, “Good morning, Karame-sensei!”

“Now, we are still trying to figure out everything, and the best way to keep everyone safe. So, today the principal asked each of us teachers to keep you in the classroom except for using the restrooms. None of the other teachers are coming in, so I figured that we could just watch a documentary.”

The class cheered as she set up the TV, “We are going to be watching an American Astronomy documentary which was translated into Japanese. It’s called “Cosmos”, and it is about the history of the universe. Please take notes.”

Everyone pulled out their notebooks, and Izuku barely managed to stop herself from bouncing as the TV lit up. She became entranced as the calm voice of the narrator spoke, explaining how stars were made:

“All stars are created out of an incredibly hot gas. It is mostly made out of hydrogen and helium, which are the two lightest elements. Stars shine by burning hydrogen into helium in their cores, and later in their lives create heavier elements. Most stars have small amounts of heavier elements like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and iron, which were created by stars that existed before them. After a star runs out of fuel, it ejects much of its material back into space. New stars are formed from this material. So the material in stars is recycled-”

Blinding light filled the classroom, along with a massive wave of heat.Izuku temporarily was blinded by the bright light, barely able to follow the screams of her new classmates out of the classroom while clutching her bag and notebook to her chest.

As she went out the door, she glanced back to see a miniature sun floating in the classroom. Right next to her desk.

Inko paced back and forth as she listened to someone on the phone, occasionally making noises of affirmation. On the couch, Izuku held Hisashi’s hand, feeling cold and empty. He opened his eyes, “You indeed do have one. So, you made a miniature sun?”

“I-I think so. We were watching a documentary about stars, and next thing I know, one of them is right next to me.”

Yoichi sat next to her, “It’s strange to see which powers everyone gets. I noticed that your powers are like you. Inko pulls people to her, but it’s a slow pull. Hisashi, you take your emotions and hide them deep inside of yourself, only letting them out when it’s convenient for you. And Robin, you have a big bright personality, and make everything around you bright. If one shows up for me, it’s probably going to be related to my stubbornness.”

Warmth spread through Izuku, and the empty feeling going away as Hisashi let go of her hand, “Remember to be careful Izuku. People have gotten attacked for using their powers.”

She wrapped her arms around him, “I promise.”

Inko came over to join them, “That was the school. Since they don’t know which student created the sun, they’ve moved school online for the time being. But I’m not complaining, since I’m relieved that no one knows that it was you.”

Sighing, Izuku gave her mom a hug, “I’m glad too, I’m just a little bummed that I’m stuck in the house again."

Chapter 3: Like Silence, But Not Really Silent

Chapter Text

July 12, 2020

Inko’s voice echoed through the house, “Izuku! It’s almost time for the court hearing!”

Shoving a final bobby pin into the rat’s nest of her hair, Izuku raced downstairs to Hisashi’s office, where the video call was being set up. She slipped inside, closing the door behind her as Yoichi sent a smile her way.

Izuku sat down next to her mom, taking a deep breath as the family waited for the video call to connect. Without looking at each other, the two women grabbed each other’s hands.

The screen lit up, revealing a judge on the other end, “Midoriya Inko?”

“Present.”

“Midoriya Izuku?”

Izuku copied her mom, raising her hand, “Present!”

“Shigaraki Hisashi?”

Hisashi raised his hand too, “Present.”

Clearing his throat, the judge moved some papers around in front of him, “It is my understanding that this hearing is for making Shigaraki Hisashi a primary guardian alongside Midoriya Inko. Is that correct?”

Inko bowed her head, “Yes, that is correct.”

“What is the purpose behind this adoption?”

Taking a deep breath, Inko squeezed Izuku’s hand, “Hisashi and I were planning on getting married this year, but it was postponed due to the current situation. The wedding itself is very important to us, so we aren’t going to get married yet, but we wanted my daughter to have both of us as guardians. That way, if something happens to either of us, our family won’t be separated.”

Nodding as he listened, the judge took notes, “I understand. Midoriya Izuku, how do you feel about this?”

Sitting upright, Izuku looked right at the camera, “I’ve seen how happy he makes my mom and Uncle Yoichi. He always puts other people before himself, so I’m happy that he wants to be my dad, not just by marriage, but also by adoption.”

A smile spread across the face of the judge, “Then, by the power invested in me by the Country of Japan, I declare that Shigaraki Hisashi is one of the legal guardians for Midoriya Izuku.”

September 18, 2020

Scrolling through discord, Izuku rolled her eyes as she read the chaos.

VaultBreaker01
Anyone else sick of being stuck inside all the time?

I liked it at first because I could catch up on games, but now I’m bored.

^Fozzb4ll^

i no wht u mean, im so bord

VaultBreaker01

YOU ARE THE ONE WHO GREW UP SPEAKING ENGLISH, USE FULL WORDS!

HisRoyalNerdiness

I have to agree with him, it’s hard for us to understand what you are saying if you use shortened words

^Fozzb4ll^

fine, im so bored that im going crazy

butterflybitch

we got two weeks free of lockdown and then went back in lol

didn’t even do anything, my uni just stayed with doing online classes and like three of my coworkers are positive so I’m isolating

Jooglethis

Fs in the chat for our Aussie sister

Metafrog

f

no_scope_wizard

F

legitgamer

f

Blastermaster85429

F

epicshots

F

Ghostcreek

F

Xx_daisychaining_xx

f

superdupernova

f

VulcanNightwing

f

1337

f

G4meboyHindrd

f

^Fozzb4ll^

F

BoomGang

f

LoserLizard

f

Bbuubbbblleess

f

Rawrosaur

F

Singleg-mo

F

superdupernova

There’s a bet at our house on how long helicopter brother can go before he gives himself an ulcer from worrying about everything that could go wrong

HisRoyalNerdiness

Nova thinks that he might make it another month, i say he’s going to get one any day now

“Izuku! Could you go get the groceries? I was going to go, but I have an online meeting in five minutes.”

Looking up from her computer, Izuku glanced over at her mom, “Sure. Is everything on the list?”

superdupernova

Gtg, guys. I need to do the shopping

“It should be. Boys! Make sure anything you need is on the list! Izuku is about to make the run to the store!”

Yoichi’s voice drifted from upstairs, “Robin! Put juice on the list for me, would you?”

She laughed as she walked over to the list, “Sure thing, Uncle Yoichi!”

Hisashi poked his head out of his office as Izuku walked past, “Could you stop by the pharmacy and pick up some pain cream for Yoichi? I don’t think he noticed that he’s out yet.”

“Yeah, no problem. I’ll get that on my way back.”

Izuku put her shoes on, grabbing her wallet, “See you guys in a bit! I’ll be back as soon as I get everything!”

Putting on her headphones and mask, Izuku walked down the street to the nearest grocery store. The streets were eerily silent and empty, leaving Izuku often the only one on the street. After a ten minute walk, Izuku entered the store, had her temperature taken, and grabbed a basket. Looking at the list, she smiled:

• Aloe Juice
• Cumin
• Green Onions
• Eggs
• Ice cream
• Coffee - canned or powder
• Cookies
• Loaf of bread
• Almond Milk
• Vitamins
• Yoichi’s pain cream

Heading to the spice section first, Izuku found her mom’s favorite brand of cumin, crossing it off the list. Next was coffee powder (she loved Hisashi, but she wasn’t going to carry as many cans as she knew he wanted) and Yoichi’s favorite cookies. Aloe juice was next, then the bread and onions. She grabbed eggs on her way to the dairy section, carefully placing them in the basket. Finally, she grabbed the milk and ice cream before heading to the front of the store.

There was thankfully not a line, so Izuku was able to check out very quickly. She shifted the bags in her hands, she walked a few streets over to the pharmacy, where she once again had her temperature taken before she could enter the store. Weaving through the isles, she grabbed the cream and vitamins.

Once again, there wasn’t a line, so the entire trip in the pharmacy only took five minutes.

Five minutes too long.

Izuku stepped out of the store, turning left without looking up. She slid the bags in her right hand up to her elbow so she could switch songs.

Mom will be so glad that my trip-

Hisashi clutched the phone to his ear as he walked down the street from the grocery store to the pharmacy. The ring tone kept going, then went to voicemail for the eighth time since Izuku left the house.

It’s not like her to not pick up. What happened?

Once again, he dialed her phone, but this time he could hear it ring.

With his own ears.

Ahead of him.

He took off running, finding several grocery bags on the ground just past the pharmacy. Izuku’s phone lay on the ground next to them, the screen cracked. Her bright green headphones were broken a few feet away, crushed by something.

Rage filled his chest as he grabbed her things, I’ll find you, Izuku. Even if it’s the last thing I do.

Chapter 4: Let This Moment Be The First Chapter

Chapter Text

March 21, 2020

“Hey, Robin. What’s making you laugh so hard?”

Izuku looked up at Yoichi, and showed her phone, “Have you heard of Tik Tok?”

Confusion filled his face, “Isn’t that, like, your generations’ version of Vine?”

Pausing, Izuku thought for a second, Well, it’s kinda like that. But not really?

“Tik Tok started out as an app for making lip-syncing videos, but people started to use it to make other videos. A lot of cosplay artists use it to make videos of them acting like who they are dressed as. The person I’m watching is having an argument with themself as four different characters from the Justice League about the best way to stop a meteor.”

A smile spread across Yoichi’s face as he sat next to Izuku, “Let me guess, Superman wants to deal with it by himself?”

“Yeah, he offered to push the earth out of the way, and Batman is so DONE with him.”

Izuku held out an earbud, and played the video again, letting Yoichi laugh alongside her as they watched the video.

January 11th, 2221

Shoto looked at the large music box in the corner of his sitting room, Yet another wonderful birthday.

He twisted the crank on the side, watching it activate. Two doors gently swung open, revealing a porcelain doll who slowly spun in circles. She wore a sailor’s uniform, which helped her green hair and eyes stand out.

The soothing tune calmed him down, reminding him of the happier times he spent with his mother. It was often the only thing that would calm her down.

Needless to say, it was played at least once a day.

“Shoto! Why are you not training?”

Doing his best to focus on the music and his homework, Shoto ignored his father’s lack of manners, “I did the training assigned to me today. I was not aware of any further training today.”

“You didn’t do all of the training. The training included using your fire, which you CLEARLY did not use.”

Rising to his feet, Shoto stared down his father, “Then I will never be done with the training, because I will not use my fire side.”

Endeavor marched forward, stopping directly in front of Shoto, “You will. It is your duty to surpass All Might.”

Fury flooded Shoto, and the words fell out of his mouth before he could stop himself, “I’m not gonna be like you and hurt my mother, II’m not gonna let Natsuo or Fuyumi end up like Touya, either!”

The beard on Endeavor’s face billowed with fury, and his voice filled with ice, “Clearly, she has damaged you more than I previously thought. Allowing you to keep some of her possessions was a mistake on my part.”

He marched over to the music box, picking it up with a single arm. Shoto scrambled to his feet, rushing towards the last item of his mother’s that he owned. But before he could catch up to his father, the music box was launched over the railing towards the courtyard floor.

A deafening crash echoed through the grounds of the house, and Shoto pulled to a stop next to the railing, freezing as his eyes locked on the carnage beneath.

Pieces of the music box were scattered around the cobblestones, but lying in the middle was a life-sized version of the porcelain doll. Her eyes were closed, and, except for breathing, she was lying completely still.

Silence reigned as the stunned family looked on in horror; Fuyumi from the kitchen window, the fire wielders from the second floor, and Natsuo from a doorway. There they stood frozen for a solid 5 minutes before Endeavor pulled out his cell phone, dialing a number while not taking his eyes off of the limp body, “This is Endeavor. I have a non-emergency at my house.”

Izuku felt like her body weighed 100 tons, and it was refusing to move like she wanted. As she drew closer to awareness, she heard a steady beep coming from her side. Her eyes cracked open, revealing a bright hospital room.

What happened? Did I get attacked?

Shifting to get more comfortable, Izuku’s eyes locked on the covered window, I wonder why the window has the curtains pulled over it. Is it because of the pandemic?

Twisting her neck to look at the heart monitor, something green caught her attention. Reaching up, she grabbed it, and felt it pull on her head.

Her heart monitor sped up as she stared at her now-green hair in horror. Breaths started to be shallow as her brain threatened to shut down.

A click drew her attention to the opening door, and a masked doctor entered the room, “Hello there. We’re glad that you are finally awake. You’ve been unconscious for a few days.”

“Does my mom know that I’m here?”

He shook his head as he removed the pulse monitor on her hand, “Unfortunately, you didn’t have an ID or a phone on you, so we had no way to contact anyone. My name is Dr Sano, what’s your name?”

“Midoriya Izuku. What hospital am I in?”

A pad of paper was placed on her lap, along with a pencil, “You are in Shizuoka General Hospital. Could you write down how you write your name in kanji and romaji? I want to make sure that we put it correctly into the system.”

Picking up the pencil, Izuku quickly wrote down both forms of her name, “My mom has got to be panicking, can I call her?”

Gently taking the paper away, Dr Sano smiled at her, “I wish I could let you, but considering how you were found, the police need to speak with you. Even before that, I need to give you a quick neurological exam.”

“Okay?”

He nodded, “Alright, the first part is answering questions. Just answer as best as you can remember. What is your birthdate?”

“July 15, 2005.”

“What is the last date you remember?”

“September 18, 2020.”

“Who is the Prime Minister?”

“It just changed. The one who just left office is Shinzō Abe, and I can’t remember the new one. His name is something close to Yoshida?”

“Who is the Emperor?”

“Naruhito.”

“What is 19 plus 3?”

“Um, 22?”

Dr Sano smiled brightly at her, “Alright! That’s the end of the questions. Now we’re going to test your muscles. I want you to stare at that point on the wall, and tell me when you can see my finger, and when it disappears.”

Izuku was given so many other strange tasks: squeezing the hands of the doctor, pushing her legs forward, walking one foot in front of another, not to mention so many others.

Once the final test was over, he smiled at her, “I understand that you want to see your family again, Midoriya-chan. Do you want to speak with the detectives?”

“Yes, please.”

He bowed to her, “I’ll call them right away.”

After a few minutes, the doctor came back in with two men in suits wearing masks, “Midoriya-chan, these are the police detectives that I mentioned earlier. They’re just going to ask you a couple questions. I’m going to be here the whole time.”

Izuku nodded, wringing her hands as the two of them sat down. One of them smiled at her, “Hello, Midoriya-chan. My name is Tanuma Eizo, and this is Tsukauchi Naomasa. We heard that there is a chance that you were attacked, so we just want you to tell us the last day that you remember.”

Tsukauchi spoke up, “Start by saying the full date that you remember, and then walk us through what happened that day.”

“So, I think the date was September 18, 2020. My mom woke me up around 7 AM, and I ate breakfast with my family. Then I got online for my history class, where our teacher was talking about the Cold War. After that, I did homework for an hour until it was time for my science class. In science we were working on inertia and potential energy.

“Once that was over I had lunch with my mom and Uncle Yoichi. I got online and chatted with some friends before Mom asked me to run to the store, since she had a meeting online that typically ran a couple hours. So I grabbed the shopping list, added a couple last minute things to it, then went to the nearest grocery store. I think I was maybe in the building for 15-20 minutes. After that, I went to the pharmacy to get some things that Uncle Yoichi needed. I was only in there for 5-ish minutes. I left the pharmacy...then I think I switched songs on my phone. Beyond that, nothing.”

Both detectives leaned back in their chairs, and Tanuma spoke up, “Midoriya-chan, this will seem like a strange question. How long ago did the baby show up?”

“The glowing one in China?”

“Yes. When did they show up?”

Dread filled Izuku’s mind as she spoke, “I think it wasn’t long after quarantine happened. So maybe January or February? Can I ask you guys a question?”

She watched the two detectives look over at the doctor, who nodded. Tsukauchi smiled at her, “Go ahead.”

“If I got Capsicled, you can just tell me, y’know. It’s not like I’m gonna run into Shibuya Crossing or anything.”

Confusion filled all of their faces, and Izuku’s mouth raced as fast as her brain tried to process, “You know? From the Avengers? He was frozen for decades, and woke up in the current day completely confused? The way you guys are acting is the way SHIELD treated him.”

Dr Sano walked over to her side, “Midoriya-chan, please take a deep breath.”

Tears flooded down Izuku’s face as she curled up on the bed, “Why won’t anyone answer me? I just want to go home!”

All of them patiently waited for her tears to slow, before Tsukauchi sat on her bed, holding out his phone, “I’ll let you look at the date for yourself.”

She took it from his hands, freezing when her eyes locked on the date on the home screen: January 17th, 2221.

“I’m two hundred years in the future? Oh, this is worse than Captain America. So much worse.”

Chapter 5: Death Doesn’t Discriminate (Between The Sinners and The Saints)

Chapter Text

March 11, 2020

Inko and Izuku sat at the coffee table, quietly working on the crafts that had taken up nearly the entire living room. Hisashi walked in, freezing in the doorway, “Are those the centerpieces?”

Both women looked up at him, and Inko smiled as she lifted one, “Yes! These were the reason I was happy that the wedding was postponed. Trying to make them has been a pain. The general outline of the trees are easy to make, it’s just been hard to figure out how to spread out the roots so they stay upright on their own.”

Izuku piped up, “If all else fails, we can just put some pretty rocks around the bottom to pin them down!”

Hisashi smiled as he sat down next to them, “Can I be a part of this tech crew?”

“Of course. Izuku, could you help him?”

“Sure thing, Mom!”

Turning to her adoptive father, Izuku held out a group of wires, “So, you start by twisting these around each other to create the trunk.”

Both of them carefully worked, while Inko kept trying to get her tree to balance upright. After a while, Izuku held up her group of wires, “Now you start spreading them out. It’s better to do the roots first, just so you can have a semi-stable base when you start doing the branches.”

A hiss slipped out of Hisashi’s mouth as he cut his hand on one of the wires, “Do either of you have a band-aid?”

Two hands held out band-aid boxes, as Inko chuckled, “We learned pretty quickly that we needed them around with how much we kept getting cut.”

He put one on while the women kept working on their respective trees.

Izuku giggled as Hisashi muttered under his breath, “We could just pay for someone to do this for us. There’s no need for us to get injured doing it.”

January 18th, 2221

Izuku peeked out of the window, watching the strange city around her. So much looked familiar to her, but enough was off to make her uneasy. Occasionally, she would see brightly colored people moving along the rooftops in different directions, Those must be the heroes that Dr Sano mentioned. It’s so bizarre to think that they are actually real.

A knock came from the door, bringing her back to reality, “Come in.”

Dr Sano poked his head in, “Do you have the energy for a visitor?”

“I guess.”

Behind him came a man in a suit, wearing a very colorful face mask with kabuki designs on it, “Hello, Midoriya-san, my name is Miyajima Hanzo. I’m a lawyer who specializes in talking to the media in place of someone who’s case has become a media frenzy. I was assigned to deal with the media for you, so you can live as normal of a life as you can with everything that’s happened.”

Cringing, Izuku rubbed the back of her neck, “The media knows about me?”

“Yes, they do. At the current moment, however, all they know is that a minor was put into a form of stasis for 200 years. You get to decide if they know anything more about you. Your name will never be released, as it is not on any record connected to your situation. They don’t even know your gender.”

Switching from rubbing her neck to rubbing her arms, Izuku sat down, “Do they know I’m awake?”

“I was just about to head to the press conference where that would be announced. I’m going to run through a list of details, and you just say yes or no to your comfort of it being announced to all of Japan. First, are you comfortable with them knowing your gender?”

“Not really.”

“That’s perfectly fine. Are you comfortable with us telling the month and year in which you were put into stasis?”

“I guess.”

“I’ll make a note of that. Whether or not you have a quirk?”

“What’s a quirk?”

Miyajima froze, “Um, they are the abilities that were showing up just before you were put in stasis. Did you call them something else?”

“My family just called them powers. And I don’t want anyone to know about mine.”

“Perfectly fine. Are you comfortable with us telling everyone that you are perfectly healthy, with all things considered?”

“Sure.”

Making a final note, Miyajima smiled at her, “So, all I’m telling them is that you are awake, you were put in stasis in September of 2020, and that you are healthy despite being stuck for so long. Anything else?”

Izuku shrugged, “I don’t know. This is all new to me.”

January 24th, 2221

Izuku flipped through one of the random books that Dr Sano had brought her. He was doing his best to find reprints of stuff before superpowers, no, quirks showed up.

Whomever called it quirks instead of LITERALLY anything else was ridiculous. QUIRK? That makes it sound so stupid! I hate everything about this time. I want to go home. I want mom-

Tears slid down her face as she did her best to stay calm. She heard footsteps approaching her room, and wiped the moisture off her face frantically.

A gentle knock came from the door, and one of the nurses came in with a lady and a massive guy, along with Detective Tsukauchi. The nurse smiled at Izuku (who could not remember her name for the life of her), while Tsukauchi and the woman took seats. The giant leaned against the wall as Tsukauchi spoke, “Do you remember how we said that we were going to find you a place to stay?”

“Yeah.”

Leaning forward, the woman adjusted her face mask, “My name is Kayama Nemuri. I’m a history teacher at a school who teaches people how to use their abilities in a safe way. If you want, we can become your guardians.”

Sitting upright a bit more, Izuku looked at her, “Is your school one of the “hero schools” that Dr Sano told me about?”

“It is. It’s called UA. It’s the one I graduated from.”

Izuku’s eyes went wide, “Wait, you’re a hero?”

Kayama laughed as she gestured to the giant, “Both myself and Enji here are. My codename is Midnight, and his is Endeavor.”

Blurting out before she could stop herself, Izuku’s whole face lit up, “What are your superpowers? Do you guys wear costumes like the heroes in the comic books do? How does being a hero work?”

More laughter came from Kayama, “It’s a little complicated. The reason Enji is here is if you go with our plan, you’ll stay with him until the entrance exam. I’d swing by to catch you up on history every evening. When you were a porcelain doll, you were in his house.”

“Out of everything I’ve found out about me being in a different time, that’s the weirdest part. I still can’t believe that I was stuck as a doll.”

For the first time, Enji spoke up, “It was quite the shock to us as well.”

Clutching the blanket in her hand, Izuku took a couple deep breaths, “Is it okay for me to know my options?”

Detective Tsukauchi smiled at her, “Of course! There’s the option we just mentioned, where you will be taken care of by UA and its staff. We could try to find your closest relative, and see if they would like to take care of you. The top ranked hero, All Might, offered to take you in if you didn’t want to be around a lot of people-”

Out of the corner of her eye, Izuku noticed how Enji bristled a little bit at the mention of All Might as Tsukauchi continued, “-The hero commission, the people who certify heroes, offered to take you in. And there are a lot of researchers who would love to talk to you about when everything happened.”

Enji spoke up, “My children also insisted that I offer you a place with us.”

The nurse spoke up, “Your half hour is up. We have to give time for Midoriya-chan to think everything over.”

As the three of them stood up, Kayama pulled something out of her pocket, “Dr Sano gave us permission to give you a phone. Is it close to the ones you used to use?”

Izuku took it gently, “Yeah. I think I can figure it out.”

“Good to hear. My number is programmed in, along with Tsukauchi’s. When you make your decision, you can either contact us, or you can ask Dr Sano to let us know.”

Bowing as much as she could from her position, Izuku held back tears, “Thank you. I’ve been going insane from just being allowed books.”

Kayama smiled as she saluted, “As one of my crazy friends would say, it’s no problem, little listener.”

The three of them walked out, leaving Izuku with a phone and charger. She looked up at the nurse, “Since none of you know what COVID is, why do you always cover your faces around me?”

“Some of the illnesses you have had are completely extinct, and we aren’t sure if they are contagious. The pathology lab is doing some tests to see.”

After taking a couple of deep breaths, Izuku nodded, “Okay, that makes sense.”

Not going to ask which ones are extinct. Not going to ask which ones are extinct.

Before she left, the nurse put a notebook on Izuku’s bed, along with several pens, “Dr Sano asked me to give these to you. A psychologist friend of his suggested that you write down any concerns or things that confuse you, and we can talk about them.”

“Thank you.”

Izuku watched the nurse leave, and opened up the notebook, using her brand new phone to do research as she went. After a while, the silence started to drive her insane. Navigating to the app store, she searched for Spotify.

When the familiar green circle showed up, some tension left her shoulders. Tapping her leg as it downloaded, she mentally chanted, Please let my account still exist. Please, let me have my music back.

Finally, she typed in her login information, and a smile spread across her face as her library came into view. Her eyes darted over to the space where the ‘sign up for premium’ normally was, but it wasn’t there, Maybe they got rid of premium?

Tapping her musicals playlist, Izuku dived into her research, looking up these unfamiliar people and organizations, jotting down notes as she did so.

By the time she was finished, her hand was killing her, as was her head as she stared at the list in front of her.

My Living Options

• UA - maybe? Leading option
• Pros
• Around other people my age
• Heroes will be around to keep me safe
• Get a real education
• Will feel most normal
• Cons
• I’m going to have to keep up with new stuff constantly
• So many questions
• Find closest relative - no
• Pros
• Family
• Cons
• Feel like a burden
• Remind me of mom
• All Might? - maybe?
• Pros
• Extremely safe (apparently number one hero?)
• Seems very nice and calm
• Cons
• No idea why he’s offering
• Not around much
• Hero Commission - absolutely not
• Pros
• Be very safe???
• More access to stuff
• Cons
• No idea if any of them can raise kids
• Might try to ‘child soldier’ me
• Could be real-life hydra
• Researchers - not going to be a guinea pig
• Pros
• I don’t have to worry about current trends
• Cons
• I’d constantly be answering questions
• May not have much privacy
• No idea if I’d be safe
• Enji - maybe?
• Pros
• Be around a few people my age?
• Privacy
• Safe
• Cons
• Has a short temper
• Not around a lot

Tossing the notebook to the bedside table, Izuku picked up her phone again, and went back to the app store. Her fingers tapped out the app she had lived on during quarantine, Might as well use it while in THIS quarantine. Man, I miss fresh air.

A black and white logo appeared in the results, and Izuku quickly downloaded it. The second it had finished downloading, she logged in. Chills went up her spine as she reached out for her notebook and wrote down:

All of my old accounts that’s I’ve tried are all still active. Why were they not closed? Was it because I was a missing person, or did something else happen?

Ruffling her hair caused some green strands to slip free of the braid. Undoing the whole thing, Izuku braided her hair back again to conceal her new green hair from sight.

She got up, looking out the window to the city around her, I can do this. I am going to make my family proud. I will not let this stop me.

January 27th, 2221

Kayama sat on a chair next to Izuku’s bed, “So, we just heard that you’re going to be released. Are you sure you want to apply to UA?”

“Yeah. I bounced around all of the ideas, and it was the only one that felt right.”

“Alright, so that means that we need to get you some clothes, since we only have the stuff that you were found in. What kind of stuff do you like?”

Pausing for a minute, Izuku pulled out her notebook, “So, I’m going to write it all down, just so I can get my thoughts in a line.”

Writing as she spoke, she carefully made her list, “So, I love anything to do with science, especially science puns. Uhh, I love anything with stars on it. That was even before my power showed up, my family thought it was really strange that I could make them after being obsessed for so long-”

“-If you could wear anything, what would you wear?”

Silence reigned for a few seconds before Izuku pulled her notebook to her, “I always loved seeing Lolitas walking around. Their clothes were so pretty. Even the rare guy Lolitas I saw were awesome.”

A smile spread across Kayama’s face, ”I get it, normal clothes can be soboring. I’ll see what I can find with my friend’s help.”

Her back popped as she got off her chair, “Well, I better head out. Did you write on the list certain things that would be better for a fellow lady to pick up for you?”

Izuku’s face went red as she scribbled something else on the paper, “Now I have. I also added my shampoo and stuff.”

Kayama gently took it, ruffling Izuku’s hair, “I’ll be back in a day or two with everything. Then we can take you over to Endeavor’s place until the exam.”

Chapter 6: It’s Either Blazing Hot or Freezing Cold

Chapter Text

June 4th, 2020

Yoichi looked over Izuku’s shoulder in amazement, “Did she MAKE that costume?”

“Yeah! I’ve been watching her videos on how she did it, and it’s helping my English!”

Both nerds watched in awe as an Australian woman showed her method of Iron Man’s armor, which was so detailed that it moved exactly how the movie version did. The entire time, she spoke rapidly in English, leaving the two Japanese people heavily reliant on the closed captioning that appeared on screen.

Video after video was consumed as the progress on the armor continued, until they caught up to the present day.

Piece by piece, they saw her form the exoskeleton, wire each piece, along with each and every test of the equipment. It was thrilling to watch every success along with every failure, due to the positive attitude of the creator.

After an hour, Hisashi poked his head into the room, “Yoichi, have you taken your medicine?”

Both Yoichi and Izuku jumped, and Yoichi got to his feet, “Not yet, but thank you for reminding me to do so.”

Hisashi let a smile onto his face, “And what, pray tell, distracted the two of you for so long? It’s not like you two to spend hours silently in one room.”

Izuku held up her phone, “We found someone on TikTok who made a working replica of Iron Man’s suit from the second movie. She filmed her entire process, so we were watching that.”

With that, Izuku had also dragged Hiashi into the watch party.

January 30th, 2221

Izuku adjusted her dress for the millionth time as she watched the door. Finally, a knock came from it, and Kayama poked her head in, “Do you have your bags?”

“Yeah!”

Quickly, Izuku collected her few belongings. Kayama picked up one of the two suitcases, “Endeavor knows to expect us, so we can head right over, or if you want, we can stop for some food before we go there. What do you want?”

“I haven’t been to a restaurant in forever. Could we please go?”

Dr Sano came in with a folder, “As long as you keep your mask on in crowded areas, you should be fine. Kayama-san, here is her paperwork.”

Bowing slightly, Kayama took the folder, “And I’m free to take her?”

“Yes. Just as long as you and Todoroki-san remember that she needs to limit how many people she’s around until she gets the last of her shots.”

A smile filled Kayama’s face as she turned to Izuku, “Then let’s go!”

Several stops later, Kayama’s car pulled to a stop outside of one of the most traditional buildings that Izuku had seen in her life. Even Hisashi’s wasn’t nearly as old fashioned.

She slid out of the back seat, pulling a backpack with her as Kayama pulled the suitcases out of the trunk, “Remember what I warned you about his temper.”

“I know, he’s hot-headed in every possible way. Do you know anything about his kids?”

As she pulled the suitcases onto the sidewalk, Kayama shook her head, “No. The most any of us know is that he has some, and that the youngest is the one he’s most proud of. It was the youngest who was with him when you were found.”

The words had barely left her mouth when the front door opened, and Endeavor came out, “Is that all of her belongings?”

“At the moment. If she needs anything else, I told her to just text me and I could bring it with me when I come by.”

Izuku adjusted her backpack and picked up one of the suitcases before facing the massive man, “Thank you for letting me stay.”

He marched towards them, scooping up the remaining suitcase, “What time exactly will you be coming everyday?”

“I should be here anytime between 4 and 5, and I’m planning on my lessons being only an hour long, since we’re only going over the necessary information.”

Finally, his eyes looked at Izuku, “What is your quirk?”

“My...oh, right! That’s what you guys call powers, I need to remember that. Uh, my power, no, quirk is I can create stars? I’ve only used it once, so I don’t really know how it works.”

His voice was deeper than anyone that she had ever met, “You believe that you can create stars?”

“Like I said, I did it once. I still don’t know how to get the ball rolling, so to speak, but I know that’s what I can do.”

Kayama waved at Izuku, “Alright! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Bowing deeply, Izuku responded, “Thank you again, for everything.”

Endeavor cleared his throat as Kayama climbed in her car, “You’ll be staying in the same wing as my youngest, due to the other two constantly being around other people.”

“Okay.”

Why does the youngest live separately from their siblings? Are they like Yoichi with poor health? Or are my instincts right for calling this dude Ozai?

Izuku was barely in the door when her question was answered. She was taking off her shoes when a young man appeared. His hair was perfectly split in half (red and white), but that wasn’t what caught her attention.

What caught her attention was the massive burn scar on his face.

“Holy crap! You look like Zuko!”

Mismatched eyes narrowed, “Like who?”

Izuku’s mouth dropped open, “Are you kidding me? He’s only one of the most famous characters in a cartoon! He's a firebender and he has this burn scar on his face.”

She covered her mouth, paling considerably as her eyes widened in surprise, “Sorry! It’s been forever since I’ve been around other people my age! I didn’t mean to say something so rude! Please forgive me!”

For a couple seconds there was silence, before a young woman rounded the corner, “Hello! My name is Todoroki Fuyumi.”

“Nice to meet you!”

Fuyumi waved her hand, “I’ll show you where you are staying.”

Gathering her suitcases, Izuku followed the other woman through the building, finally arriving at a door overlooking a courtyard, “The doctors said I was found in a courtyard, is that the one?”

“Uh, um, yeah! It was really weird to see a doll turn into a teenager.”

Opening the door, Fuyumi revealed a dusty room, “This used to be our mom’s room, but she hasn’t lived here for a while. Father said that you can stay here so you have space from us.”

“Thank you.”

Before much else could be said, Fuyumi moved towards the door, “I’ll leave you be, so you can settle in. We left some food in that minifridge over there if you get hungry.”

With that, the door closed and Izuku took a deep breath, I wonder if I made the right choice of where to stay.

Yelling woke up Izuku, making her heart pound out of her chest. Frantically, she looked around the strange room that she was in, trying to process what was going on.

“YOU WILL USE YOUR FIRE!”

“I WILL NEVER!”

Rubbing her eyes, Izuku reached out for her phone to see that it was 6 AM. Flinching as more yells and slams came from the room next door, Izuku pulled up her chat log with Kayama.

Izuku : Did you buy me any headphones?

Kayama-san : I sure did, sweetie! They should be in the blue suitcase.

They’re sound cancelling.

Why are you asking?

Izuku : I woke up to an argument. If I can’t sleep, at least I can catch up on my work.

Kayama-san : Oof, I don’t blame you. Endeavor is hot tempered, I’m not shocked his kids are too.

Opening the blue suitcase, Izuku had to dig a bit before she found the aforementioned headphones. A smile filled her face as she ran her fingers over the pointed cat ears on the headband, “I’m glad that these still exist.”

Sliding on the headphones, Izuku paired them with her phone and turned on a random playlist as she opened all of her bags, If I’m going to be stuck here for a while, I might as well unpack my stuff.

Occasionally, a yell would slip past the powerful combination of loud music and sound dampening headphones, but overall Izuku barely heard anything as she found places to put her meager belongings.

Finally, when everything was freed from its containment, Izuku opened up her computer, Might as well start on my schoolwork.

February 6th, 2221

Izuku stared blankly at the computer screen in front of her, trying to tone out what shouts made it past her headset. Deep breathing was failing to calm down her temper, which finally snapped as she ripped her headphones off and marched over to the door. It slid open extremely easily, and Izuku poked her head out, glaring at the father-son pair, “I am THIS close to asking Kayama-san to move me out of here. Do you always yell like this?”

Her eyes locked on a bruise on Shoto’s chin, before moving towards Endeavor, “I don’t know about now, but in my day what you are doing is considered child abuse. I don’t want to move again, but if you are like this all the time, I’m turning you in.”

Ducking back inside her room, Izuku’s heart was pounding so loud she was sure the two men outside could hear it. She pulled out her phone as tears silently rolled down her face, typing out a message with shaky hands.

Izuku : If I can’t stay here for some reason, is there a backup place for me to stay?

Kayama-san : I’m sure we can find a place, why do you ask?

Izuku : I may have upset him. Like, really bad.

Kayama-san : I doubt that it was too bad. But if it is, just text me.

The door slightly shook as a massive fist knocked on it, and Izuku braced herself, calling out, “Yes?”

Sure enough, Endeavor’s voice drifted in, “You do not threaten me in my own house! You will respect your elders!”

Izuku felt something snap inside of her, and she marched to the door and flung it open, “First of all, I was born over 200 years ago, so if anyone is the elder here, it’s me. Second, I’m not an idiot. I have been forced to hear every argument that you two have had in the past week, and I have had it. I know what disrespect sounds like, I know what an argument caused by one person worrying about the other sounds like. Neither sounds like your arguments. Third, I am staying in what your daughter called your wife’s rooms, which is nowhere near where you are staying, meaning that you likely abused her too. If you threaten me, I have no problems providing all of this information to the authorities.”

Both of them stood in silence for what felt like years, glaring directly into each other’s eyes despite the extreme height difference.

Finally, Endeavor blinked, “You are on thin ice, child.”

“I have nothing to lose, so you don’t scare me.”

With that, she closed the door in his face, turning around and quietly walking to the bathroom, where she sat for the next couple hours, having a panic attack.

Chapter 7: Call Me Son One More Time

Chapter Text

June 10th, 2020

“Hisashi, are you sure that these are the only people that you want to invite?”

Izuku looked up from her computer, looking over to the piles of papers on the other side of the dining table.

Looking up from his own computer, Hisashi raised an eyebrow, “My only family is Yoichi, and my only social life is at work. Honestly, most of those people are Yoichi’s friends from school and online.”

“So, you’re telling me, that you are inviting your co-workers, and the friends of your brother, because you don’t have any friends?”

Yoichi picked up his computer and left the room, nodding for Izuku to follow him out. The two relocated to the living room, both flopping down at the coffee table, where there were still a few of the centerpieces scattered around.

She looked at Yoichi, who was chuckling while looking at his screen, “So, who are your friends that will be coming to the wedding?”

“Do you want to meet them? We were going to be playing Jackbox in a little bit.”

Rubbing the back of her head, Izuku smiled, “Are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother.”

February9th, 2221

“Midoriya-san, did you hear me?”

Jerking her head, Izuku shook her head, “I’m sorry, Miyajima-san, I zoned out for a second. What did you ask?”

He smiled gently at her, “I was asking you if you would be comfortable answering questions that the press had. My idea was that I would collect the questions, email them to you, and then you could answer whichever ones you were most comfortable with.”

“Sure.”

Miyajima stood up, bowing to both Izuku and Kayama-san, “I will see you later.”

Kayama waved as he left, then turned back to Izuku, “Alright, so, we were talking about the quirk riots. Do you remember how they solved it?”

“They picked some of the vigilantes, and gave them the title of Hero, right?”

Nodding, Kayam leaned back in her chair, “Right! Which country did it start in?”

Looking at the ground, Izuku started to mutter under her breath, “It has something to do with Superman? Which country was he from again? His costume was red and blue, that doesn’t narrow it down much. Wait! It wasn’t Superman, it was Captain America. What state was he from?”

She looked up at Kayama, “America! It happened near New York in America, right?”

“Right! It started in a state called Rhode Island. Today we are going to talk about the Quirk Rights Act, and the laws that followed it.”

February 12th, 2221

A very soft knock drew Izuku’s attention, and she walked over to the door. Cracking it open, she saw Shoto standing outside, “Hi. Can I help you?”

“On the news, I heard that you were accepting questions from reporters. Due to my exposure to the hero world, I am familiar with how heroes respond to questions from the press without causing any offense.”

Cracking the door open even further, Izuku let a smile on her face, “I could use the help. Come on in.”

Opening the door enough to let Shoto inside, she gestured to the paper covered coffee table, “They’re all written on those papers. It’s just overwhelming to look at all of them.”

Softly closing the door, she joined him at the table, “Sorry for what I said when I first met you. My brain is just on hyperdrive all of the time.”

“It’s far from the worst thing that I’ve heard.”

A harsh chuckle escaped Izuku’s mouth, “With that bastard around, I can only imagine.”

Her chuckle was very quietly copied by the other teen as he picked up a couple papers, “That would be one way to put it.”

“When I first met him, the only people I could mentally compare to him were all villains or just horrible people. I couldn’t think of a single hero from my time that I could compare him to.”

Glancing up from the papers, Shoto’s white eyebrow raised up, “Really?”

“Yeah. He’s a horrible father and husband like Ozai, he believes that he can do no wrong like Frollo, he thinks he has all of the answers like Thanos, there’s countless villains that I could compare him to without any issues. He has a superiority complex like literally every villain, like, ever.”

A smile started to crack onto Shoto’s face, “I wish I understood your references.”

Rapidly opening her laptop, Izuku let out a feral grin, “Oh, but you will by the time we’re done. My Netflix and Disney+ accounts are somehow still active, so buckle down, we’re watching this stuff.”

Shoto leaned back, staring at the television in shock, “No, what happened to Zuko? They can’t just end the season there!”

“Calm down! This show was finished when I was really little, so the next episode is about to play.”

Izuku bit back a laugh as Shoto leaned forward, eyes locked on the screen. All pretenses of going through the reporter’s questions had gone out the window by the sixth episode of Avatar. Now she watched her bicolored friend falling into the story, while she occasionally looked at the questions when she wasn’t watching his reactions.

Her entertainment didn’t end there, as she watched him go through the emotional journey of the second season. She nearly lost her hearing when Team Avatar lost their friend Appa, laughed with him at Zuko’s failed date, and smirked at his choice words about Azula.

But the piéce de résistance was his reaction to the end of season 2, when Shoto stood up suddenly, the cup in his hand going flying, shouting at the top of his lungs, “No! Aang can’t die there! Everyone needs him!”

She couldn’t handle the reaction, collapsing to the ground in laughter. It was only when she could not breathe due to her laughter when she finally was forced to stop. Shoto was still in front of the TV, watching as the third season began.

Hopping up, Izuku got back on the couch, gathered up her questions, and actually tried to sort through as her assistant stared blankly at the show, completely oblivious to the world around him. He stood there for the entirety of the final season, the only signs of his thoughts being his hands clenching and unclenching.

By the time Izuku made it through the questions, the closing scene was playing. Shoto seemed to break out of his trance, looking over his shoulder to Izuku, “I get the comparison now. Um, I have a question about this show.”

“Go for it.”

Shifting in place, he avoided looking at her, “Did they ever find Zuko’s mother?”

“In the comics that followed, yes. The group went out and found her, and she was a large part of Zuko’s life when he took up the Firelord duties.”

He nodded quietly, looking around the room with his traditionally blank face. Izuku mustered up her courage, and spoke in the softest voice she could, “Is your dad Ozai in more than one way?”

“You could say that.”

March 3rd, 2221

Light filled the courtyard, bright as the sun, as multiple people hissed in pain. Izuku cracked her eyes open ever so slightly, before they widened drastically. “I didn’t mean to make it that bright! I’ll try to turn it down!”

Slowly but surely, the heat and light died down, until a small orb with the brightness of a small fire floated innocently over the center of the courtyard, completely stationary, drawing everyone’s attention to it.

Endeavor blinked as he stared at it, “Is that all you are able to do?”

“I have no idea. This is only the second time I’ve gotten it to show up. All things considered, I wouldn’t be surprised if I could manipulate gravity or something like that.”

Chapter 8: You’re Gonna Drown, You Ain’t Gonna Float

Chapter Text

August 29th, 2020

Izuku smiled as a small green character ran down a spaceship hallway, before she jumped into a vent. While she hid there, she adjusted her headset. A loud alarm went off, and she was dragged into a meeting with the others.

Unmuting herself, she was instantly met with ‘VltBreaker’ yelling at the top of his lungs, “Who the f*ck-”

“My stream is PG, so cut the swearing,” spoke up ‘rawrosaur’, seeming almost cheerful as he said it.

A literal hiss came out as he spoke again, “Fine. Who the HECK was just in comms?”

One could almost hear the rolling of eyes when ‘bubblegum’ responded, “Since you just reported the body, I’m assuming that that’s where the body is. If that is the case, then literally no one is going to admit it.”

Fighting down a smile, Izuku spoke up, “Honestly, I’ve been trying to figure out how to do card swipe this whole round. I haven’t seen anyone in admin.”

RoyalNerd’s cough startled everyone, “Sorry, didn’t mean to do that. Anyway, I just walked into admin, and supernova wasn’t in there.”

“You probably weren’t in all the way. I was all the way in the corner to avoid getting sniped.”

“No, Robin. I walked all the way over to card swipe, and you weren’t there.”

Instantly, five votes were cast, and Izuku gritted her teeth, “I swear I was there. You must be lying. Maybe you were looking to cast doubt on someone so you wouldn’t be caught when no one has seen you in the past minute.”

Laughter came through the chat, and ‘babybubble’ giggled as she spoke, “That’s a good point, Zuzu!”

All votes were cast, with four on ‘supernova’ and two on ‘RoyalNerd’. Izuku flopped back in her chair as her character was sent out the airlock, and the loss screen came up.

BoomGang chuckled, “Sorry for getting caught so early, Zuzu! I kind of left you in a pickle there.”

“It’s okay, Jacob! This was my first round as an Imposter, so I wasn’t expecting to win. At least I had a lot of fun!”

March 8th, 2221

“Father is making me do the recommendation exam.”

Izuku tilted her head to one side, “I’m sorry, what’s that?”

Shoto paused before speaking, “UA has different entrance exams. There’s the general one that everyone has to take, which is the one you are preparing for, but there’s also three specialized tests: Hero Recommendation, Hero General, and Support. To take the Hero Recommendation exam, a hero must recommend you, and you compete for one of four spots in the hero course. The other 36 positions in the hero course are picked from the general hero exam scores.”

“Do you think I would have a chance in the general hero exam?”

He shrugged as he laid out his homework, “It depends on the quirks that the other applicants have, but I’d say that you have a decent chance. Are you thinking of applying?”

Flopping down next to him, Izuku pulled out her math assignment, “I don’t know if I would be allowed to apply to it. I’ll ask Kayama-san.”

She pulled out her phone, sending a text message while Shoto got started.

Izuku : I just heard about the different courses at UA. Is there any chance that I could apply for the Hero course?

Kayama-san : Great question! I’ll ask Nezu, and get back to you, okay?

Looking back up, Izuku smiled at Shoto, “Well, she said that she would ask Nezu if I could take it, then get back to me.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“With what?”

Moving so they could see each other eye to eye, Shoto calmly spoke, “Are you alright with letting other people making the decisions for you? You always tell me to take control, but you never do.”

Izuku leaned back on the couch, “I do argue with things that don’t make sense. But I get that they are all trying to give me privacy that I wouldn’t have if another group had custody of me. Also, with people using their quirks in the entrance exam, it makes sense to think over letting someone who has only had theirs for a couple of months take it. But yes, I do feel helpless a lot. It feels like I’m walking a tightrope. But enough of that, I need to finish my math homework.”

With that, the two started working on their respective assignments. After about an hour, Shoto’s phone started buzzing, and he checked it, “It’s father.”

“Remember the wisdom of Marie Kondo. If it does not bring you joy, you do not need it in your life.”

He placed his phone to the side, and they continued with their assignments. The phone rang several times, and at one point they both heard Shoto’s door get slammed open.

Both teens kept looking at Izuku’s door, which never moved a centimeter. As they heard Endeavor storm down the stairs, Shoto smiled, “I’ve never been able to just study in peace until you showed up.”

“Apparently you just needed the right threat. I accidentally found it for you.”

Shoto chuckled as he pulled out his literature homework, “Should we switch to Japanese?”

“We shall.”

March 21, 2221

Nerves filled Izuku’s chest as she boarded a train with Miyajima. He led her to a rare open seat, and stood in front of her as she sat down. As the train bounced down the track, Izuku pulled her phone out and sent a text to Shoto.

Izuku : We’re on the last train. I’m so nervous!

Shoto : Due to the quirk laws, the others likely haven’t had very much training.

You should not be terribly far behind them.

Izuku : Thanks. I just don’t like not knowing what the practical consists of.

She silenced her phone before putting it in her pocket. Miyajima smiled down at her, and she adjusted her face mask. She had been told that she didn’t have to wear it, now that she was caught up on her vaccinations, but it brought her the smallest amount of comfort, the most she could get in this situation.

After traveling for over 30 minutes, the train finally pulled to a stop at the bottom of a large tree-covered hill. Izuku followed Miyajima out of the train, and he walked all the way to a path with dozens of kids rushing up. Turning around, he held out a small envelope, “Here’s your temporary ID, a map of the school, and instructions of where to go. I have another press conference to get to, but I’ll come pick you up after the exam. Just wait near the entrance for me.”

“Sure thing, Miyajima-san.”

Taking it from his hands, she bowed, “Here I go!”

Following the crowd of teens up the hill, she watched as UA emerged from the trees to dominate the sky above her.

Izuku felt so small in the shadow of the towering building of UA, Is this really the institution that I agreed to the custody of? Please-

Tripping, Izuku braced herself for a collision with the ground, but instead she stopped falling mid-air, much like the day her mom’s quirk showed up. A girl with a bright smile appeared in her view, “I’m sorry for not asking before using my quirk!”

“Are, are you the person who made me stop falling?”

She eagerly nodded as she pushed Izuku back onto her feet, “Yeah! I figured that it would be bad to trip on such an important day! What’s your name?”

Blinking away her confusion, Izuku felt gravity return as the girl touched the tips of her fingers together, “Um, my name is Midoriya Izuku. And you are?”

“Uraraka Ochaco. Good luck!”

The girl ran off, and Izuku started slowly following the crowd into a massive auditorium. Glancing at the paper that she was holding, she navigated herself to a seat on the front row. The teens around her were all in their school uniforms, making her grateful that she was wearing a sailor outfit that Kayama had dropped off the night before. Everyone else was talking to each other nervously, while she sat down, tucking her bag under her seat.

There’s so many people here. I hope that I don’t get too distracted. And that I don’t fail the history part. That would be embarrassing.

While waiting, she got out her pencils and erasers, bouncing one foot up and down. Finally, a voice came over the loudspeakers, “Attention, prospective students! The test will begin in 5 minutes. You must be in your seats by then.”

All of the other students scrambled to their assigned seats, and Izuku took a deep breath as the countdown happened.

“The test begins in 5...4...3...2...1...Begin.”

Carefully ripping open the test, she started one of the most important tests of her life.

Why do you want to be a hero?

Thinking for a minute, Izuku finally wrote, “I come from a time when the heroes were the doctors and nurses who risked their lives to treat sick people. I want to provide people with that kind of hope, I want to make people know that as long as I’m there, I’ll do anything to make sure they’re safe; even if it risks my own life. Because that’s what a hero should be.”

“Please place your pencils down. The test is over.”

Izuku let go of the pencil, massaging her hand as she looked up at the stage. A man with shockingly blonde hair sauntered onto the stage, his hair going upwards and ending in a point. His face was filled with a smile brighter than his hair, “Welcome to the entrance exam, little listeners! Can I get an OH YEAH?!”

Little listeners? Is this person Kayama-san’s friend?

Dead silence filled the air, and after a second the man continued, “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Present Mic, the Voice Hero, and I’m here to explain the practical exam. In order to test your mettle, we’ll be running a ten-minute practice run in one of our many replica city-districts! You can take anything with you that you want, just make sure that you are at your designated meeting area after this presentation!

“At the testing grounds, we have sprinkled in robots that represent villains. Each different type of robot is worth different types of points: there are robots worth 1, 2, and 3 points. Using your quirks, you must destroy as many of these robots as you can to attain a high score. But if you attack one of the other test-takers, you will be instantly disqualified.”

A voice came from behind Izuku, and she turned around to see a taller guy standing with his hand raised, “Excuse me, may I ask a question? You have mentioned only three types of robots, but on the information sheets there are four types. Why would you neglect such crucial information?”

Present Mic waved his hand, “Thank you for you question, Examinee #7111! I was just about to explain.”

Waving his hand, an image appeared above him on the screen of four robots, “The fourth villain is the zero pointer. Let’s just call them ‘arena traps’. When there is a large crowd, it will rampage.”

Once the explanation was delivered, the dude who spoke up bowed sharply, speaking at the top of his lungs, “Thank you very much! I apologize for being rude and interrupting!”

Present Mic’s face was filled by a smile, “Welp, I’m sure you guys are all tired of hearing my voice! Let’s move onto the main event! Plus Ultra! And may you suffer gladly in the trials ahead!”

Izuku did her best to stretch her muscles as she and the other testees waited for the test to start. A familiar person walked over to her, “Hi again! It’s so cool that we’re at the same one!”

Standing up, Izuku held out her hand, “Yeah. Uraraka, wasn’t it?”

Her brown hair neatly framed her face, “Uh-huh! And yours was...Robin? Am I getting that right?”

Dropping her hand, Izuku stared at her, “What did you-”

“ALRIGHT LISTENERS! THE TEST IS ABOUT TO START, SO GET INTO POSITION!”

Before she could ask any questions, Uraraka moved into the crowd, leaving Izuku to make her way forward towards the gate. Pushing aside her confusion, Izuku crouched slightly, waiting for the signal to start.

“BEGIN!”

Izuku launched herself forward, passing the confused students as Present Mic’s voice spoke up, “You don’t get any forewarning in a real fight, so you don’t get any here!”

Regardless of her very minor amount of training, Izuku didn’t feel any fear when a robot rounded a corner. Letting her instinct guide her, she raised a hand up, creating a moderate sized star directly in the robot’s face. Then, using the training that Endeavor grudgingly gave her, she snapped, causing the star to rip apart, melting the robot’s upper half while severely charring the lower half as it fell to the ground.

Beside her, she heard someone yell in shock. Whipping around, she saw someone with their foot stuck under a chunk of cement as another robot neared them. She repeated her actions from before, this time standing between the robot and the other examinee to prevent them from being hit by debris.

Once the robot was on the ground, she moved the rubble out of the way, “Are you okay?”

“I didn’t need your help!”

Moving out of the way, Izuku rushed towards another robot that didn’t have anyone actively fighting it. Just as she got there, she saw another person on the ground, this time unconscious. Something seemed to bubble up inside of her, and this star was much bigger than the last two. Before she could even cause the explosion, the robot was already melted.

Izuku flopped over the top of the limp student as she triggered the blast, several pieces of boiling hot debris bouncing off her back.

Once the debris was no longer moving, Izuku moved the other examinee to the entrance. Placing them down gently, Izuku sprinted back into the fight zone. She found two robots right next to each other, making it very simple to use her attack to take them both down at the same time. They dropped like puppets with no strings to the ground.

Barely pausing to see them fall, Izuku ran around another corner to see a group of robots going after two examinees. Shouting at the top of her lungs, Izuku prepared for an attack, “Hey, Tin-Heads! Over here!”

Several of the robots turned to her, and Izuku created several stars at once, instantly feeling a little bit weak as she did so. Forcing the fatigue out of the way, she set off one supernova after another, breaking each of them in succession.

The world around her shook violently, and Izuku frantically looked around. Down the street she saw a building shatter, being replaced by a robot of equal size. Across its chest was a giant 0, and Izuku watched in horror as it moved, That’s the 0 pointer? They weren’t kidding when they called it an environmental hazard.

Movement caught her attention, and she saw some color being pinned down by rubble in the path of the robot. Without thinking, Izuku sprinted towards it, while everyone else fled. As she drew closer, she could see Uraraka pinned underneath chunks of cement, twisting to get free.

Her brain raced a million miles a second as her body moved, her hands locking on the edge of the chunk of cement, shifting it slightly. In the corner of her eye, she saw several other test-takers scrambling out of nearby rubble piles and ruined buildings.

Uraraka rolled out from underneath, smiling up at her, “Thanks!”

“This thing is going to cause a lot of damage if something doesn’t happen. Should we take it out so no one gets hurt?”

Nodding, the brown haired girl smiled, “Let’s do this!”

Moving together, as if they had always fought together. Izuku flicked her hand, causing another star glowing high above the robot. Focusing, she increased the power of it, watching as the robot leaned further towards the star the larger she made it. Meanwhile, Uraraka charged towards it, swinging her fist towards one of its legs. As she did so, blazing red energy crackled along her body, gathering along her arm.

As her arm connected with the robot’s leg, Izuku created yet another supernova. The two simultaneous attacks took out the head and leg of the massive robot, while also shattering the arm that Uraraka punched with.

Izuku helped her sit down just as Present Mic’s voice came over the speakers, “The test is over! If you are injured, please stay in place and our nurse will come to you.”

Fatigue filled her body as adrenaline filtered out, and Izuku’s eyes noticed a gentle glow coming from her veins.

The sound of shuffling feet drew her attention back to her surroundings as an elderly woman approached them. She gave a gentle kiss to Uraraka, who’s arm seemingly healed instantly. The woman looked at Izuku, “Dearie, is it normal for you to glow like that?”

“I’ve never pushed myself this far, so I have no idea.”

Nodding, she moved over to the next injured person as Izuku and Uraraka moved to the exit. After taking a quiet, but deep, breath, Izuku looked over at Uraraka, “Does your arm always break when you do a punch like that?”

“This was the first time that happened. I guess I just got too excited about everything.”

Dusting off her clothes, Izuku chuckled as she put her facial mask back on, “I get it. I mean, I’m glowing today. I think everyone gave it everything they had.”

Both of them climbed on the bus waiting for everyone. Slowly the others sat down covered in a mixture of sweat, grease, and dust. Once the bus started to head back to the entrance of UA, it was just as quiet as it was before the exam, just now out of exhaustion instead of nerves. A few teens fell asleep against the windows, their breath fogging them up.

Izuku herself was feeling tired by the time they pulled up. Everyone stumbled off, retrieved their bags from a locker room, where some showered and changed, and started to head down the road to the main gates. In the chaos, Izuku became separated from Uraraka, leaving her to walk down the path alone in a crowd of strangers.

Finally, she arrived at the bottom of the hill, where Miyajima stood against a familiar car, typing on his phone. He looked up as she approached, and smiled at her gently, “You look dead on your feet. Kayama-san let me borrow her car to take you home since she guessed that you would be tired.”

Weakly, Izuku nodded, “Yes please.”

He held the door open for her as she climbed in, then moved to the driver’s seat. She watched as the city moved quickly past, fighting sleep every second of the trip. Her body was starting to win the battle when they pulled up outside the Todoroki estate.

She hopped out of the car, dragging her bag behind her. Miyajima called out to her as she closed the door, “Make sure you get some rest, Midoriya-chan.”

“Will do.”

Rubbing her face in a weak attempt to wake herself up, she managed to get to the landing before running into any of the family. She was nearly to her door as Shoto’s opened, and he poked his head out, “I thought I heard someone.”

He paused, “Are you glowing?”

“Today, I found out that I glow when I overuse my quirk. I’m gonna go take a shower, and then sleep until your father inevitably wakes me up with his ego.”

Nodding, Shoto smiled, “Fair. You do smell.”

“Thanks.”

Sliding the door shut behind her, she did her best to rush through a shower despite her brain zoning out at every chance it got.

Finally, she flopped down on her bed, and the world was quiet.

Chapter 9: I’ma Get A Scholarship to King’s College

Chapter Text

April 3, 2020

Izuku scrolled through TikTok, smiling at the sheer number of videos with this one single hashtag. She heard noise from behind her, and she turned around to see Yoichi. Holding up her phone, she called out, “Yoichi! I found out that there’s a lot of people with your conditions on TikTok!”

“Really? How?”

“I just used hashtags that have the names of the conditions in them. Do you want to watch them with me?”

His face lit up, and he sat down next to her, “Of course I do!”

The two curled up and watched dozens of videos when Yoichi poked her, “Hey, Robin, what if we made a video of how we deal with it?”

“Would Hisashi tear us apart if we did that?”

Yoichi paused, “I don’t think so, and the worst he could insist is for us to take it down.”

Setting up her camera, Izuku went to grab the groceries from the kitchen. By the time she sat down at the coffee table, Yoichi was also there with a mask on and cleaning wipes. Izuku started the recording, “So, this is my uncle Yoichi! He has a few health problems, which I will list in the hashtags, so we have to be extra careful when going outside right now!”

Holding up the bag of groceries, she smiled at the camera, “We clean our perishables when we first get them, and leave the others on our back porch for a couple days. Then we clean them. We’re going to show you what we do!”

Together they cleaned and put away the groceries, all filmed on Izuku’s phone. Once she ended the video, she turned to Yoichi, “Will any of your followers recognize you?”

“I’ve never shown my face, or talked about what makes me sick. And considering that I didn’t talk during the video, they’d have to be stalker levels crazy to figure it out.”

March 26, 2221

The bright colors of Steven Universe filled Izuku’s room as she played Minecraft. Shoto looked over at her, “Izuku, what gender are the gems?”

Fighting off a Creeper, she didn’t even glance up, “Uh, they’re non-binary, but they all use she/her pronouns.”

Confusion spread over his face, “What is non-binary?”

Logging off of Minecraft, Izuku closed her computer, “You know how we talked about transgender people?”

Shoto nodded, and Izuku continued, “Some people have thought about transitioning, and realized that neither gender worked for them. Being considered a man or a woman just never felt right to them. Some still use gendered pronouns, because that’s how they feel comfortable, but some go by they/them.”

His attention went back to the show, and Izuku pulled up her game again, enjoying the peace of the room. The two of them continued with their respective activities for another hour before Shoto turned off the show.

Izuku logged off, feeling the weight in the room grow. She turned to Shoto, “Do you feel like you might be non-binary?”

“Yeah. I just didn’t know there was a word for it.”

Putting her computer to the side, she moved over to him, “Do you want to be called something different than he/him, or are you okay with that?”

Shifting, he pulled one leg close to him, “I don’t entirely hate being called by he/him, but when you mentioned they/them it felt right.”

“Then your pronouns are he/they, meaning that you are fine with either. Or if you like they more, then you could also say they/he.”

A faint smile spread across his their face, “Thanks, Izuku. You’re really patient with these type of questions.”

“What else are friends for?”

March 28, 2221

Shoto and Izuku were eating breakfast in her room when a soft knock came from the door, and Fuyumi poked her head in, “I caught them before Dad saw them.”

In her hand was two moderately thick envelopes. Both of the teens hopped up, and Shoto took them from her hand, “Thank you.”

He handed one to Izuku, and opened his. Out fell a strange round object, which he pressed the center of. A floating digital screen hovered over it, and a familiar face showed up in the center. Kayama beamed out at them, “Congratulations, Todoroki Shoto! You have made it into UA’s heroics department, and you have been assigned to class 1A. The rest of the information you need is in the packet. Also, if you do have any questions, just ask Izuku-chan to text me.”

The display vanished with that, and Izuku opened her envelope with shaking hands. Out fell another round object, which Izuku activated. Present Mic took up the screen this time, “Hello, little listener! I’ve heard a lot about you from Midnight, and so it makes me super excited to tell you that you’ve officially made it into UA’s hero course! I’m going to be one of the staff members who will be directly taking care of you, and I can’t wait to meet you in person!”

Someone spoke to him off-screen in a deep but quiet voice, and he jolted, “Right! So you passed the written test with flying colors! And the practical had a hidden component to it, in which you excelled! Rescue points, for helping out your fellow testees.”

A screen appeared behind him, showing a list of students, and their scores. Izuku’s heart skipped several beats when she read the results:

Bakugo Katsuki Villain: 77 Rescue: 0

Midoriya Izuku Villain: 29 Rescue: 48

Kirishima Eijiro Villain: 39 Rescue: 35

Present Mic beamed at the camera, “You tied for first place! Between your several rescues of others, who didn’t always accept your help, and how many villain robots you destroyed, you earned a total of 77 points. You will be in class 1A. All of the other information you need is in the envelope, or you can ask tomorrow!”

Turning to Shoto, Izuku smiled, “At least we’re in the same class. But I guess I should start packing.”

“I’ll help.”

March 29, 2221

Izuku sat on the front porch, watching cars go by. Shoto sat down next to her, leaning against one of her suitcases, “Do you know when Kayama-san is coming?”

“She said that she would be here as fast as traffic will allow. Her text said that she left UA about half an hour ago. I just don’t want to be around your father any more than I have to.”

Looking up at the sky, Shoto let a rare smile cross his face, “Why do you think that I am out here with you?”

Both went quiet, listening to the sounds of the street while they waited for the inevitable point in which they would be separated again. And it came quickly, announced by the honk of a car horn.

They collected the bags, heading to the gate of the property just as Kayama appeared, “Are you ready for the last move you have to do for a few years?”

“Yes. Completely.”

All three of them worked together to load up Izuku’s belongings into the car, finishing just as Endeavor walked out of the building, “Here are her medical files.”

Kayama sent a blinding smile to him, “Thank you! We’re glad that someone could teach her how to use her quirk while we were busy.”

Turning back towards Izuku, Kayama’s smile softened, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you for letting me stay here, Endeavor.”

Somehow, Endeavor managed to keep a neutral expression on his face, “You’re welcome.”

Holding her hand out, Izuku and Shoto shook hands before she followed Kayama-san to the car. She watched Shoto until her view of him was cut off, then turned her attention to her phone.

Izuku : I’ll wait for you on the first day of school so we can enter together!

Shoto : It’s a plan.

Izuku looked up from her phone as they pulled to a stop at an apartment building. Kayama was already climbing out, walking to the open trunk of the car, “Here we are!”

Hopping out, Izuku grabbed her messenger bag and one of the suitcases, while Kayama grabbed the other one and the duffel bag, closing and locking the car behind her, “So, only Present Mic is home right now, the other one, Eraserhead, will be back around dinner time. Since both of them work at UA, they’ll take you to school every morning. Eraserhead, the one who’s at work right now, is going to be your homeroom teacher, while Present Mic is the English teacher.”

“And you are the history teacher, right?”

Nodding, Kayama hit the button for the elevator, “I normally only teach the history of quirks and heroes, which made me a great tutor for you. So, some of the stuff we cover in class might be a repeat for you, but it’ll help in the long run to remember everything.”

The elevator took them up to the tenth floor, and Kayama confidently walked to the furthest door from the elevators, number 1069.

Izuku’s brain automatically whispered nice as Kayama pushed the doorbell. Surprisingly, no sounds came from inside until the door opened, releasing a loud barrage of music. A very familiar, skinny, blonde haired man stood in the doorway, smiling wide, “Welcome to our humble abode!”

Kayama’s hands moved in a strange way as she spoke, “Your music is too loud, again.”

Letting out a stream of profanity, Present Mic darted inside, and the music level dropped significantly. Kayama turned to Izuku, “He’s partially Deaf, so just let him know if things are too loud. When his hearing aids are out, he can’t tell.”

With that, she stepped inside, leaving Izuku to follow behind and close the door. The whole house was filled with music merch, filling her with a sense of nostalgia.

It was just like her mom’s apartment had mixed with Hisashi’s house.

Tears threatened to rise up inside of her, but she blinked them away, I’m not going to have a breakdown first thing in my temporary-permanent home.

She focused instead on following Kayama as they walked further in, and the man rejoined them, putting in hearing aids, “Sorry about that! My name is Yamada Hizashi! You can call me either my first or last name.”

Her inner urge to cry grew at his name , A breakdown may just happen. The universe hates me.

Bowing, Izuku did her best to force a smile onto her face, “Midoriya Izuku. Thank you for taking me into your home.”

His smile reminded her of her mom, “My husband and I have been wanting to take in someone long term for a while now. It just worked out for us time-wise.”

Izuku’s brain ran a mile a minute, “Wait. Did you just say husband ? Is gay marriage legal now? When did that happen?”

Kayama whipped out her phone, typing on the screen while Yamada stared at her, “It wasn’t legal back then?”

“No! They were in the middle of discussions about legalizing it. When I got hit by the power, the only thing that same-sex couples could do was adult adoption.”

Yamada looked over at Kayama, “Nemuri, when was it legalized?”

“About 180 years ago. So roughly 20 years after Izuku ended up in stasis.”

Both adults looked over at Izuku, who was leaning against the wall, “Maybe being yeeted into the future isn’t so bad. That’s probably the best news I’ve gotten since I woke up here.”

“What do you mean by ‘yeeted’? What does that mean?”

Izuku rubbed her temples, “I take it back. I can’t believe that meme died. Yeeted is the past tense of yeet, which means to throw with reckless abandon. How did THAT not make it? It’s one of the most iconic memes!”

Both adults exchanged glances, only to be distracted by the front door opening. In stepped a very tired looking man, wearing baggy black clothing and a gray scarf. He looked at everyone as he took his shoes off, letting out a deep sigh, “Right, that’s today.”

Yamada dramatically pointed at Izuku, “Here she is! Apparently gay marriage wasn’t legal when she got put in stasis, so she’s kinda in shock right now.”

Kayama moved behind Izuku, “Sho, aren’t you going to introduce yourself?”

The grumpy man walked towards them, and looked at her, “My name is Aizawa Shouta. Since I’m going to be your homeroom teacher, it might be a good idea for you to call me by my last name.”

Nodding, Izuku shrugged, “That was kinda my plan with you guys. Especially since Yamada-san’s name is basically my step-dad’s. I just wouldn’t feel right calling him by his first name.”

Aizawa tilted his head, “What was your step-dad’s name?”

“Shigaraki Hisashi. My mom and I had just moved in with him when everything happened. He was honestly the closest thing I had to a dad, since mine died when I was little. He was also the last family member I spoke to before I ended up here.”

Yamada suddenly spoke up very loudly, “We haven’t shown you your room yet!”

Izuku followed him down a small hallway, where he pointed out the different doors, “That one is ours, the one closest to the kitchen is the bathroom, and yours is the one near the end of the hall. It’s yours until you get your own place, so however you want to decorate it is fine with us. The final door is a spare room.”

The room is fairly simple, a bed on one side, a closet and dresser on the other. Kayama put her bags next to the dresser as Izuku placed down the one she was carrying onto the bed, “Thanks.”

Aizawa looked at her bags, “Did Kayama get you all of this?”

“Yeah. Though from what she said, Yamada-san helped her.”

She watched as he stared at his husband, “So that’s where your radio money went. You could have just told me.”

Kayama pushed both of them out of the door, “Take this argument to the kitchen while we unpack her stuff.”

Closing her door behind them, she smiled at Izuku, “Let’s get everything where it belongs, shall we?”

Chapter 10: We Dream Of A Brand New Start

Chapter Text

May 8, 2020

Haru laughed as Izuku sent him another TikTok, “I really like that one. I have something to teach you in return, Robin.”

“Really, what is it?”

A smile spread across his face, “If you are sick of a douchebag picking fights for no reason, just calmly speak to him and ask him why his only sense of self-esteem is through winning dick measuring contests. The ones with brains will stop right there, because they realize that they are being seen as juvenile. As an added bonus, say only someone who is scared of competition tries to scare them off. Someone who is confident doesn’t feel the need to be the biggest person in the room, because they know that they have worth outside of how others view them.”

“Does it really work?”

Shaking his head, Haru adjusted his headset, “Only for the ones with functioning brains, I’m afraid. The idiots don’t understand anything besides monosyllabic words.”

Yoichi laughed, “The number of times I’ve seen Haru shut down people with that are countless. The only person it didn’t work on was Hisashi, who did his classic ‘my brother can’t take care of himself’ thing.”

“And then I nearly hit him with my umbrella. No regrets.”

Both men started laughing, and Izuku joined in once she was sent an image of what Haru’s umbrella depicted. An upright middle finger.

March 31, 2221

Izuku stuck close to Aizawa’s side as they walked back up the hill to UA. She adjusted the strap of her messenger bag as they approached the gate, and entered the property. Entering the hallways was unnerving, because the tall ceilings reminded her of a museum or a government building more than a school. As they went up the stairs, she spoke up, “Uh, Aizawa? Why is everything so tall?”

He looked over his shoulder, “Because the height differences among adults can now vary from under a meter tall, to two and half meters tall.”

“Oh.”

Without warning, Aizawa turned around and held out a bracelet to her. One side was green, the other red. She looked up at him, and before she could speak, he did, “It was Hi-Yamada’s idea. If you have the red side facing up, it means you don’t want to be reminded of the past at that time. If it is green, you want to talk about how things have changed, or just remember your life before all of this.”

She took it from his hand, and put the green side up, “I’ve started calling everything pre-yeet and post-yeet.”

The sigh he let out brought a smile to her face, “Of course you do. I assume that has something to do with Yamada telling me that you referred to your stasis as ‘being yeeted into the future’.”

A giggle slipped out, and she moved to stand next to him, “Yup. Still bummed that of all memes, yeet didn’t make it to the future.”

Once again, he moved without warning, heading down the hallway. Izuku rushed to catch up to him, barely making it as he slid open a door and walked into the teacher’s lounge. She rounded the doorframe to see a bunch of adults in hero costumes, and froze. Over his shoulder, Aizawa called, “Midoriya, don’t just stand there, close the door.”

“Right!”

Sliding the door shut, she started following him when a familiar voice called out, “Izu-chan! What brings you here with Mr Grumpypants?”

Turning, Izuku saw Kayama, in a very unique outfit, “Kayama-san! I didn’t know that your um, costume? Looked like that.”

A white haired man in the corner called over, “Did you actually change before going to tutor her every time, Midnight? That’s more considerate than you are normally.”

Kayama laughed, “I figured that Izu-chan was going through enough without having to see a hero costume in person. Especially mine.”

Pretending to whisper in a conspiring tone to Izuku, Kayama smiled, “My hero name is Midnight: the Rated R Hero. I’m glad you got a chance to see me like this before the first day you had me.”

“Me too,” Izuku whispered, still not looking at Kayama.

Aizawa called from the other side of the room, “Midnight! Leave her alone. Anyone with a set of eyes can tell that she’s not comfortable with you dressed like that. Izuku, get over here.”

She went over to his desk, and was putting her stuff down, when from the corner of the room, a man spoke, and Izuku froze as she saw a sentient piece of cement smiling at her, “When did Eraserhead get a heart?”

Izuku sat down in the spare chair, keeping her eyes on the desk as Aizawa spoke, “Very funny. Now, could you all give her some space? This is the first time she’s been in public, minus the entrance exam, since she woke up.”

The white haired man from before caught Izuku’s eye, and smiled at her, “I’m guessing you haven’t seen many mutation quirks.”

“Not that I’ve noticed, but I was pretty distracted during the entrance exam.”

A thin man in a baggy yellow suit entered the faculty room, along with a literal bipedal rat, and Aizawa tapped Izuku’s head, “Aren’t you supposed to be doing your assignments?”

Ducking her head, she looked at the folder in front of her, “Right.”

One of the newcomers spoke, “How are you three doing, adjusting to each other?”

He shrugged, “Besides having to stop Hi-him from spending all of his money on stuff for her, and culture shock, pretty well.”

“Ah, that explains a lot."

Tiny footsteps moved over to her side, and a cup of tea was set next to the folder, “You are more than welcome to ask me anything.”

Looking to the side that the tea had come from revealed the bipedal rat, “Uh, do you have a name?”

It perked up, “Yes! My name is Nezu, and I am the principal of UA. I was looking forward to meeting you when I heard about your situation.”

“Okay…um, may I ask what pronouns you use?”

A massive smile split his face in half, “Typically, I go by he/him pronouns, but I am comfortable with they/them as well.”

With that, he padded over to the white haired man, “Vlad, I would like to speak to you about some of your incoming students. Shall we go to my office?”

Nodding, the man stood up, “Sure thing.”

During her entire strange conversation with Nezu, the man in the baggy suit had made his way to another desk, sitting down amongst a massive pile of paperwork. Izuku picked up her cup of tea, but couldn’t get the thin man out of her head. Something about him reminded her of Yoichi, but she couldn’t see any obvious connection besides his build, though he made Yoichi look like the epitome of health with HOW thin he was.

Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to her assignments, working in silence for over an hour before Aizawa got a text message. He looked over at her, “Nezu wants to talk to me. Stay here, I’ll come back.”

“Okay.”

Not long after Aizawa left, the Vlad guy came back, and walked over to the skinny man, “How’s the lesson planning going?”

“I’m just hoping that my first lesson goes well. If I can get through that, then I think that I will be able to use that to know what I will need to adjust in future lessons.”

Kayama moved over to Aizawa’s empty chair, “I just realized that no one has been introduced to you. So, here at school, we all go by our hero names except for Aizawa. So, I go by Midnight here. Vlad, do you want to introduce yourself?”

The white haired guy smiled at her, “I’m Vlad King, one of the first year homeroom teachers.”

“Did you name yourself after a serial killer that was so brutal that all vampires were based on him?”

He laughed, revealing a pair of fangs, “Yeah, my quirk is blood based, so I figured that leaning into the stereotype as much as possible would be kinda fun.”

Mr Living Cement raised one hand, “My hero name is Cementoss, and I can control cement. Pretty straightforward. I teach modern literature.”

From a corner desk, a man in a full bodysuit with a cloak over it spoke, “I’m Ectoplasm. I can breathe out a mist that turns into clones of me. I am the math teacher.”

All of them looked at toothpick man, who didn’t seem to notice until Midnight cleared her throat. He jumped, and paused for a minute, “My hero name is All Might. When I activate my quirk, my body gets much larger and I have enhanced speed and strength. I will be teaching heroics in the upcoming year.”

“Oh, so that’s why your clothes are massive on you.”

Laughter came from all of the teachers, and All Might smiled at her, “I’m assuming that you don’t know much about the heroes right now.”

Shaking her head, Izuku finished one of the papers, and slid it in the “Finished” side, “Despite staying with Endeavor, I don’t know much. I was putting all of my focus on catching up on school stuff, and figuring out how my powers work. How can you tell?”

Vlad King laughed, “All Might has been the number one hero for longer than some of us have been alive. It’s rare that someone hasn’t heard of him.”

All Might chuckled, “Which is why I’m looking into retirement ideas.”

The more All Might spoke, the more he reminded her of Yoichi, and the more comfortable she felt around him. He glanced over at her, “So, young Midoriya, what assignments are you working on?”

“Just finishing the last of the stuff I missed. I got hit in September, and didn’t start doing work again until I was at Endeavor’s place. So all I have left is a few math reviews, and a report that Kayama assigned me.”

Ectoplasm moved closer, “If you need any help, just ask.”

Smiling, Izuku nodded, “I will, thank you for offering. Shoto was helping me when I was there, and when I asked Yamada for help I just got more confused.”

With that, he moved closer, standing next to her, “What is giving you problems?”

April 2, 2221

After a long day, Izuku started looking for any video games that she knew that stood the test of time (and a pandemic, and a massive political upheaval). Pulling up the new big search engine, she typed in the first game that she thought of: Among Us.

Near the top of the results was an interesting page that caught her attention, ‘Pre-Quirk Popular Games’ . Clicking it, she saw so many games that made her heart ache. All of her favorite games were all in the same place. Then she noticed something that made her blood chill.

Every single game on there was one that she and Yoichi would play with his friends. Jackbox, Among Us, Minecraft, every single one. There wasn’t a single one on the list that she hadn’t played. Fortnite, the most popular game she knew of in her age group? Not there.

Switching to a new tab, she searched for every game that she knew of that she didn’t play, and not a single one was still around. Izuku pulled out her notebook that now was labeled “Strange things about 2221”. Flipping through, she found the page she was looking for:

“Things That Should Have Changed, But Haven’t”

• Spotify
• Tiktok
• Disney+
• Only games that I’ve played are still around

Morbid curiosity filled her, and she looked up all of her favorite apps, Since my favorite games are still around, are my favorite apps still around?

Five minutes later, she picked up her phone and sent a text message to the only person who she knew would listen to her.

Izuku : I don’t know why, but I just found out that all of my favorite apps and video games are still around, but none that I didn’t like. Am I crazy for thinking this is strange?

Shoto : No, anyone would be suspicious.

Letting out a sigh, she added more bullet points to her notebook.

• All of my games still around
• Tumblr is still around, but it could survive a nuclear bomb
• Instagram

Her phone buzzed again, and she glanced at it.

Shoto : Is your bank account still active?

Izuku : I’d have to go in person to find out. I’ll go ask Yamada if he can take me.

Giving up on her project, she went out to the living room, where Yamada was working on a laptop. He looked up as she grew close, “Hey, Izuku-chan. Do you need something?”

She rubbed her arm, “I noticed that my old bank was still around, and I was wondering if we could see if my account was still active?”

“Yeah, of course we can. We have all of the documentation about your situation, and we can go tomorrow since I don’t have to work then. Sounds good?”

Nodding, Izuku let a small smile onto her face, “Thanks. It’s just that literally everything else I’ve used is still around, which is weird, so I was wondering about that.”

He put his computer to the side, “What do you mean, everything is still around?”

“I just spent the past hour and a half looking for the games and apps I used to use, and every single one was still around. But finding anything that I didn’t use to use was nearly impossible.”

Yamada pulled out his phone, “I’ll mention that to the Detective in charge of your case, but it likely could be a coincidence.”

April 3, 2221

Yamada and Izuku entered the bank, and Yamada spoke to one of the tellers, “I’m so sorry to bother you guys, but is any of the managers available? My foster daughter has a complicated situation with her bank account, and we just want to know some information.”

“Of course.”

Within minutes, the two of them were sitting in an office, and Yamada held out her file, “My foster daughter is the Stasis Kid, and this was the bank that she used to have her account in. She’s just wondering if her account was still around, and active.”

“Of course, we can look that up right away.”

Izuku sunk down in her seat, bouncing her leg as he typed on the computer for several minutes. Finally, he looked up, “It appears that Midoriya-san’s account was never closed, and steady amounts of money has been deposited from another account once a week.”

Sitting up, Izuku spoke in a soft voice, “How much?”

“It looks like 2000 yen every week, starting in the month of February 2020.”

Curling up on her chair, she looked to Yamada, “That was the allowance my step-dad gave me every week.”

He smiled at her, “It’s nice that he believed that you would come back.”

The manager slid some paperwork back across the desk, “If you want to have a credit card, Midoriya-san, here’s the paperwork to fill out.”

Pulling it towards her, she noticed Yamada giving a piece of paper to the manager, “Due to her circ*mstances, I would feel better if you signed a NDA.”

Fighting down the urge to roll her eyes, she filled out the paperwork, nearly messing up the current year every time it came up. Once it was finished, she slid it across the desk, “Here!”

Both adults smiled at her, and the manager took it and picked it up, “I will go process this, and bring back your card.”

Chapter 11: ‘Cause Your Life As You Know It Is Ancient History

Chapter Text

July 30, 2020

Yoichi let out a laugh as Haru fought to put up a tent with the help of Koji. Izuku did her best to fight down her own laughter as she laid out the rain tarp on the side. The two men fought the tent for half an hour before it was finally standing, and then they helped her put the rain cover on, latching it in place.

Each of them gathered together their stuff, and filled the tent with piles of soft items. Koji chuckled as he sank into a corner, “I’m glad we all got to hang out in person again. Being stuck inside non-stop was amazing at first, but it’s driving me crazy now.”

Izuku held a stuffed animal to her chest, “Same here. I’m so bored doing school online.”

Zipping up the exit, Haru crawled over all of the stuff inside, flopping down next to Yoichi, “I’m just glad that we finally wore down the worry wart enough to let us have this.”

Chuckling, Yoichi started to play with Haru’s hair, “And I thought he was bad BEFORE all of this. We might actually have to marry behind his back, like we always joked about.”

Koji muffled his laughter by putting his face in a stuffed neko, while Haru ripped his head away from Yoichi, fixing his hair, “I’ve just been waiting for you to say that. I don’t give a f*ck about how your brother feels about our relationship.”

Pulling his face out of the neko, Koji smiled, “And I’ll be there in case he does something stupid, like literally locking you in the house like he always threatens.”

“If that bastard even TRIES to do that, I will bust you the f*ck out, and then make it so he never sees you again.”

Leaning against Haru, Yoichi chuckled, “I don’t doubt it.”

April 6, 2221

Izuku leaned against the wall, tapping her foot as she scanned the faces of the other UA students. After a half hour, she saw a very familiar head of hair walking towards her. She launched towards Shoto, wrapping him in a hug, “I’m so glad to see you again! And we’re in the same class!”

A smile broke across his face, “It’s good to see you too, Izuku.”

Linking her arm with him, Izuku pulled him through the building, “I’ve been here a couple times, so I kinda know where I’m going. All of the classroom doors are massive!”

Her mouth continued to move as their feet did, finally having them end up outside of the giant door that was nearly covered in a large 1-A. Izuku pushed the door open, only to let out the sounds of an argument.

“You should not put your feet on the desk! That is being disrespectful to all of the students who have come before us!”

Another voice sneered at the loud speaker, “Does it look like I f*cking care, Four-Eyes?”

The two friends entered the room to see a tall guy with blue hair staring down at another guy, whose blonde hair was ignoring the laws of gravity.

A blonde who looked nearly identical to Haru.

Mr Blue Hair nearly chopped Angry Blonde in the head as he spoke, “It is our duty to keep the classroom in good condition! Also, it is highly improper to sit in such a manner!”

“f*ck off, does it look like I give a damn about ‘what’s proper’?”

Izuku looked briefly at Shoto, before heading to their seats. As they walked past, Angry Blonde glared at Shoto, “What are you looking at, Half-N-Half?”

Snapping her head to the side, Izuku spoke up, “Are you really spending the first day of school having a dick measuring contest? Geez, how insecure can you get?”

“What did you say to me, Spearmint?”

Doing her best to channel a pissed off Aizawa mixed with Haru, she stared him directly in the eye, “I said that only someone who is scared of competition tries to scare them off. Someone who is confident doesn’t feel the need to be the biggest person in the room, because they know that they have worth outside of how others view them. By challenging everyone in the room, you are showing that you are scared that you aren’t the best.”

A lot of her new classmates stared at her in shock as she and Shoto moved over to their row. She moved down the aisle to her seat for the foreseeable future, and sat down, pulling out two notebooks. Shoto dropped his bag off at his seat, and then stood next to her, “Are your foster parents treating you well?”

“Yeah. They talked with me about what I’m comfortable with, and what I’m not.”

Suddenly the class went quiet, and Izuku looked around Shoto to see Aizawa standing in the doorway, wrapped up in his sleeping bag. He shucked it like a cocoon, then moved behind the desk, Shoto drifting to his own seat as he did so. Black eyes scanned the class, “It took you 30 seconds to be quiet. I expect you to be in your seats, silent, when the bell rings. I am Aizawa Shota, your homeroom teacher.”

He dropped a pile of red, white, and blue uniforms on his desk, “These are your gym uniforms. Get dressed in them and meet me on the practice field in 15 minutes.”

Movement on the front row drew Izuku’s attention to a familiar face, Uraraka, “Um, Sensei? What about orientation?”

Even Izuku leaned back from the glare he sent her, “This is the hero course, we don’t have time for frivolities. 15 minutes. Go.”

As one, the class stood up and collected their uniforms, which had a tag with their names on them. All of them rushed to the bottom floor, where the locker room was. Izuku unlocked hers to find a spare gym uniform in it, and she stuck her bag in there. As she got changed, an errant thought crossed her mind, I forgot how awkward changing into gym clothes was. One bonus for COVID, I didn’t have to do this.

Putting her school uniform on a hanger that was inside the locker, she closed it and started walking out. Footsteps rushed to her side, and Uraraka smiled at her, “Hi again! I’m glad that we are in the same class!”

“Me too, but can I ask you a question?”

She nodded, and Izuku tilted her head, “Why did you call me Robin?”

Confusion spread over Uraraka’s face, “That’s not your name?”

“No, my first name is Izuku. I haven’t been called Robin in a very long time. My uncle and his partner were the last people to call me that, and I haven’t seen them in forever.”

Uraraka thought for a minute, “I have no idea then. But I have a hunch, I just need to talk to someone about it first.”

With that, she grew quiet, allowing Izuku to hear someone mutter in English behind her in a familiar accent, “Oh my god, this uniform is so f*cking stupid, it’s like we’re f*ckin’ dolls to be collected, not students, my f*cking god.”

Twisting around, Izuku saw a gaijin walking behind them. Izuku smiled at her, switching to English, “Are you from Australia?”

Brown eyes locked onto Izuku’s, “Yeah. How fluent are you?”

“Moderately? I used to have a friend from Australia that I played video games with.”

A smirk spread over her face, “I’m Val…wait, you guys go last name first, right?”

Izuku nodded, “Yes, my name is Midoriya Izuku.”

“Then I’m Adeline Valkyrie. But I’ll probably take a minute to respond to my last name. Anyway, what games do you play?”

Readjusting her uniform shirt, Izuku shrugged, “I liked playing with my friends, so any games where you could work together.”

Finally, they arrived at the training grounds, where Shoto was waiting. Izuku moved to his side, while Adeline stood nearby, looking around at the area.

When everyone arrived at the training grounds, Izuku noticed that the guys were roughly gathered in several small groups, while the girls were standing very close to each other as one. She was one of the ones on the edge between the rough collective of guys and the tight group of the girls, standing in between Shoto and Adeline.

Aizawa looked at his watch, then back up at the class, “Next time, when I say 15 minutes, I expect you to meet that time limit. A single second late could cost an innocent bystander their life. We are going to start this year by doing a Quirk Assessment Test. Bakugo! You got the most villain points in the entrance test, so come here.”

Angry blonde stomped forward and Aizawa held out a baseball, “I want you to stand in that circle over there.”

His anger simmered down a bit as he did so with a confused face, standing in the middle of the circle, looking at Aizawa. With a deadpan expression on his face he held up a small item, “How far could you throw a ball in middle school?”

“67 meters.”

“See how far you can throw it using your quirk.”

Everyone watched in shock as an explosion went off just as the ball left his hand, sending it soaring through the air. When it finally landed, Aizawa held up a small device that said: 705.2 m. Murmurs filled the air until he cleared his throat, “Softball pitch, standing long jump, 50 meter dash, endurance running, grip strength test, sustained sideways jumps, upper body exercises, seated toe touch, these are all exercises you know from middle school, where you were banned from using your quirk. Despite quirks being around for 200 years, the government hasn’t figured out a way to standardize physical tests with them accounted for. Today, you will be using your quirks to improve on your scores from middle school, which I have right here.”

Voices spoke around her, all seeming to be in accord.

“That’s so cool!”

“Awesome! That looks like fun!”

“We can use our quirks here? That makes it so much easier!”

A chill went through the air as Aizawa glared at all of them, his hair floating above him. When he spoke, his voice sounded like a villain from an anime, “Fun? Easy? If that is what you think hero work will be like, then spare us our time and leave now. Hero work is brutal, it pushes you to your breaking point, and then past that. If you were planning on coming here to have fun for three years, then you are sorely mistaken. Whoever comes in last in this test, well, let’s just say that the outcome will not be to their liking.”

He held up the folder in his hand, “Fair warning. The teachers here at UA have full freedom to do what they wish with their homeroom class, up to expelling any students without potential. Welcome, to the Department of Heroics, where the stakes are just as high as they are in the real world of heroes.”

From Izuku’s right, she heard Uraraka-chan’s voice, “Expulsion? But it’s the first day!”

“The world is filled with unreasonable people and items now, which every hero will face on the daily. It’s up to us to restore reason, don’t expect us to go easy on you. You are the ones who signed up for the most rigorous hero program in the world. Be prepared for hardships. This is Plus Ultra.”

With that, Aizawa walked over to the 50 meter dash, “Up first: Aoyama and Adeline, line up, and you have 1 minute to figure out how you will use your quirk to improve.”

Izuku bit her lip to avoid muttering as she looked at the duo lined up. Aoyama had something strange around his waist and Adeline was pulling ribbons off her hair and off her arms. Her mouth fell open as she watched them both use their strange powers. Aoyama turned around, and a glittering lazar sent him flying towards the goal. Adeline used the ribbons to grab a post beyond the finish line, pulling herself across in seconds.

Without missing a beat, Aizawa turned to the others, “Ashido and Asui. You two will only have 30 seconds to plan, and after this, each pair will not have time to do so, since I expect you to already have a plan when you get up here.”

Her shock remained as she watched the next two do the run. Asui was crouched, her tongue hanging out of her mouth, while Ashido bounced next to her, a bright fluorescent pink. Ashido skated across on some liquid that came from her skin, while Asui moved with giant leaps, only landing three times before finishing.

Uraraka looked so plain compared to the others, tapping her clothes and shoes with all five of her fingers, especially next to Iida who had some strange holes on the back of his legs. The difference in appearance was only increased by their runs, where she ran normally. Iida, on the other hand, made Izuku’s brain short circuit when she realized that the holes were exhaust valves for engines that were inside of his legs.

After that, the others blew past. Ojiro and his tail, Kaminari generating electricity, and Kirishima leaping the last few feet while turning to stone were all impressive but barely registering. Koda summoned a few birds to lighten him as he ran, and Jiro, who had strange things dangling from her ears also didn’t get much of a reaction. Tokoyami’s sentient shadow did bring her back, along with a comment she didn’t keep inside, “That is the most goth power ever.”

He looked over at her, nodding his head slightly, “One must embrace the darkness to understand the light.”

“Too true.”

Aizawa’s voice drifted over them, “Sero and Sato.”

One of the guys shotgunned candy like it was water, then slightly beefed up, while the other copied Adeline, but shot tape out of his elbows. He flew across in a very similar way to Spiderman, which brought up memories of Yoichi.

Biting back tears, Izuku flipped her bracelet to reveal the red side as the next two were called up. One had six arms, who Izuku immediately called Machamp in her head. The other was Shoto. Machamp ran on all fours (all eight?) like a dog, while Shoto skated across on ice. Within seconds of them finishing, an invisible person was called forward by herself. The girl raced as fast as she could, but received one of the lowest scores out of everyone.

“Bakugo and Yaoyorozu!”

While the two of them approached the line, a lot of students glanced over at Izuku, who stood alone until Shoto returned to her side. Yaoyorozu pulled a pole out of her arm, and used it to throw herself across the area, while Bakugo sent himself flying forward by holding his arms in position for a Naruto run, then letting off explosions from them.

As the two of them had their results recorded, Izuku moved to the starting line without Aizawa saying a word. He didn’t look up at all, merely saying in a loud voice, “If you want to keep your vision, I would suggest you look away.”

Many of the other students obeyed, and Izuku held out her left hand. At the finish line, a star appeared, and she increased the gravity of it as much as she could. Aizawa called out, “Begin!”

She raced forward, the gravity of the star starting to pull her faster and faster until she crossed the line and released it. The slightest suggestion of a smile crossed Aizawa’s face, “4.5 seconds.”

2 hours later, the whole class sat on the ground as Aizawa stood in front of them, “Again, you were judged on how much you could improve on your previous scores, and how you used your quirk in doing so.”

A chart appeared besides him:

1. Yaoyorozu Momo
2. Todoroki Shoto
3. Bakugo Katsuki
4. Iida Tenya
5. Tokoyami Fumikage
6. Midoriya Izuku
7. Shoji Mezo
8. Ojiro Mashirao
9. Kirishima Eijiro
10. Adeline Valkyrie
11. Ashido Mina
12. Uraraka Ochako
13. Koda Koji
14. Sato Rikido
15. Asui Tsuyu
16. Aoyama Yuga
17. Sero Hanta
18. Kaminari Denki
19. Jiro Kyoka
20. Hagakure Toru

Everyone went quiet as they read the results, and Aizawa popped his neck, “Many of you will be curious if I am expelling anyone. And my answer is, not yet. You have all put in more effort than many of my past classes, and you have taken this seriously. If you take this program seriously, and put in all of your effort, I will not expel you. However, if you think this will be easy, or if your actions lead me to believe that you will not survive as a hero, then you will be removed. Do I make myself clear?”

The class all nodded like flowers in a light breeze, and Aizawa waved his hand, “Get changed and head to lunch. Midoriya, come here.”

Walking over to him as the others (minus Shoto) left, he looked at her, “You’re glowing again, though not as bright as the entrance exam. To make sure that there is nothing more serious going on, I need you to go to Recovery Girl.”

“Can I take Shoto with me?”

Nodding, he gathered up his things, “Yes, but make sure he doesn’t get too close, because we are worried that the glow might be radiation.”

Her whole body went cold as she processed that, “Okay. I’ll go right now.”

Shoto remained next to the entrance to the school, and Izuku walked over to him, “They’re worried that my glow might be radiation, so instead of changing and going to lunch, I have to go to the nurse to make sure. You can come if you want, but he wants you to stay out of arm’s reach.”

“That makes sense.”

Following the mental map she had made over the past few days of spending days at UA, finally arriving at the door to the infirmary. Sliding the door open, she saw Recovery Girl look up from her desk, “Ah, Midoriya. You started glowing again. Come here so I can test you.”

As she moved into the room, Shoto stayed by the door. Recovery Girl held up a device, which started making noise as it got close to her. Letting out a sigh, she put it down, “You are indeed slightly radioactive. It’s not enough to be a problem for others, but we are going to have to add lead lining to your hero costume. Here.”

Izuku barely managed to get a hold of the strange watch shoved in her hands, “Um, what’s this for?”

The stare that Recovery Girl sent her could have stopped Thanos in his tracks, “It’s a portable Geiger counter. If you become too radioactive for others to be safe around you, it will start making noise. We’ll prep one of the long-term rooms for you to quarantine in that case.”

“Great.”

Chapter 12: Guess What's Bound to Hit the Fan?

Chapter Text

May 19, 2020

“Hey, Yoichi?”

A hum came out of his mouth as he measured out his medicine, and Izuku hopped onto the counter, “With everything that service dogs can do, why haven’t you got one yet?”

With a quick gesture, Yoichi took his medication, then sighed, “Short story? Hisashi “is allergic” to them and says that they are too messy. Long story? I’m pretty sure that Hisashi wants to be the only one I rely on, and your mom is the rare exception to this rule. If I could get a service animal, I completely would. But since I live with Hisashi, I’m stuck. It’s in my plans to get one the second I move out with Haru. He’s even looking for one actively, so that once COVID is over, I can move in with him and have everything that I need.”

“I’m glad that Haru is doing stuff like that for you. It’s also a little creepy that Hisashi’s so controlling over you. At least he’s not like that with mom, probably because he’s never experienced her being helpless.”

Yoichi put away his medicine as she spoke, nodding to himself, “Psychologically, that does make sense. I guess you don’t give off those vibes.”

“Or he just doesn’t view me as someone that is his job to protect, or because I already had a caregiver, there’s a lot of things that it could be. Frankly, I don’t want to dive in to all of that. As long as mom is happy, I’m willing to put up with him and his weird ticks.”

Ruffling her hair, Yoichi chuckled, “Maybe once Haru and I have our place all sorted out, you could spend some time with us, so you can also get a break from him. Heaven knows we all need a break from each other once this panini is over.”

Both of them laughed as they headed to Yoichi’s room to start his stream, Izuku grabbing her own laptop so she could join in on the fun.

April 6, 2221 (Still)

Izuku leaned against a statue near the entrance as she waited for Aizawa and Yamada to take her home. Uraraka raced over to her, “Hey, again!”

“Hello, Uraraka-chan. Are you heading home?”

As she nodded, her whole body bounced, “Yeah, what about you?”

“I’m waiting for my foster parents. They’re overprotective, so I’m not allowed to go home without one of them with me.”

Uraraka tilted her head as she adjusted her bag, “I’m sorry. When was the last time you were with your bio parents?”

“I haven’t seen them in a very long time. But I don’t want to talk about that right now.”

Behind her, Izuku saw Bakugo scoff as he walked past, “And you’re just going to listen to someone telling you that you can’t go home alone? What are you, 5?”

Shoving down a bubble of rage, Izuku made her tone like ice, “First of all, it’s none of your business. And second of all, I’m listening to them because they have a very good reason to make that rule. Now get lost.”

His hands sparked as he took several steps towards her, “You think you are better than me because you got more of those stupid rescue points?”

“No. I just don’t have the energy to deal with your drama. If you want to measure your dick with someone, go find someone who cares.”

“Bakugo! What are you doing?”

All three teens turned to look at a very dead looking Aizawa, whose eyes were locked on the loud blonde. Barely changing the hostility in which he spoke, Bakugo glared at their teacher, “What?”

Sipping from a thermos, Aizawa let out a sigh, “UA has a deal with Midoriya’s guardians to keep an eye on her until they pick her up. If you attack her after school hours, you will be expelled. Do I make myself clear?”

The minor explosions extinguished themselves, and his hands went into his pockets, “Yeah, whatever.”

With that, he stormed down the path. Uraraka smiled at her, “I better go too, so I don’t miss my bus!”

“Bye!”

Izuku waited until both were out of sight down the hill before looking over, “Are you or Yamada taking me home today?”

“He is. I just got called into work because of an intel meeting. He’ll be out in a minute.”

“Okay. See you later.”

With that, he unraveled his scarf and started swinging away from the school, not dropping his thermos as he soared.

A sigh drew her attention to Yamada, who was walking out of the building in his casual clothes, “One day he’s going to accidentally inhale his coffee and crash to the ground. You ready to head out, Izuku?”

“Yeah.”

By the time they got back to the apartment, Izuku’s brain was completely dead. Dropping her bag down next to the door, she popped her back, “Yamada, is it okay for me to just play video games tonight?”

“Sure, I should have dinner ready in an hour. Do you want to eat in your room?”

Rubbing the back of her neck as she moved further in, she nodded, “If that’s okay. I just don’t feel like being around people right now.”

Closing her door behind her, she flopped into her computer chair. Looking through her video games, she finally pulled up one of the games that triggered the least pain. Within minutes, she loaded up her favorite character, and put her focus on the world of Tamriel. For hours, she let all of her frustrations out on digital enemies. At one point, she found herself with another player, Thanatos, in a massive horde of enemies. Together, they crushed the opposition, and Thanatos turned to her, <<Not bad. How long have you been playing?>>

<<I’ve played for a few years, but due to a few family circ*mstances, I haven’t played for a long time, so I’m a little rusty.>>

<<That explains why you’re such a high level, but move like a noob.>>

<<I’m flattered.>>

<<Do you want to take on that dungeon over there?>>

<<Let’s do it.>>

When Yamada brought in her food, Izuku was stunned at the passing of time, because it felt like a few minutes, not an hour and a half later.

Thanatos was amazing at playing, and was a massive distraction from the stress of the day. Nearly four hours later, Izuku noticed the time.

<<I gotta get off, I have school tomorrow.>>

<<School is a waste of time. I made it this far without it.>>

<<Funny, but after missing school for over a year, I miss it. Good night!>>

<<Yeah, yeah.>>

Logging off, Izuku shut the computer down and took her dishes out to the kitchen. Aizawa was sitting at the counter, drinking a calming tea as he looked at paperwork. Glancing up as she entered, he nodded, “Yamada told me that you had a rough day. Your bracelet is still red, so I’m guessing you don’t want to talk right now.”

“Maybe in the morning,” Izuku set everything down in the sink, “But right now I just want to go to sleep.”

He stretched, audible pops coming from his back as he did so, “By the way, your lawyer mentioned a good idea to me when he saw me earlier. We’ll talk about it in the morning, but it might help with the dysphoria and panic attacks.”

Placing her dishes in the sink, she gave a weak nod and returned to her room. Quickly changing into a pair of pajamas, and flopped into bed. Despite the distractions of the day, as she lay in bed everything came back. By the time Izuku fell asleep, her pillow was soaked with tears.

April 7, 2221

The next morning, Izuku crawled out of bed, stumbling into the kitchen where Yamada was cooking breakfast, while Aizawa was dead to the world on the island, not moving an inch when Yamada greeted her loudly, “Good morning, Izuku!”

“Morning. Last night Aizawa mentioned something that Miyajima-san suggested?”

If it was possible, Yamada lit up even more, “RIGHT! He said that with your mental health, that having an emotional support animal might help, so on Sunday we are going to head to a local shelter and get a cat.”

Every inch of her body froze as she processed the sentence, “I get a cat?”

Aizawa’s muffled voice came from the black lump, “Unless you want a dog, but a cat would be better due to the size of the apartment.”

“I could really get a pet? I always wanted one, but mom couldn’t afford it, and Hisashi didn’t like animals.”

Sitting up, Aizawa rubbed his eyes, “Only a horrible person hates animals. And yes, you are getting a support animal. Which do you want: a cat or a dog?”

“Cat.”

Both of them smiled, though with Aizawa being exhausted, his looked very pained. Within an hour, the group gathered up their stuff and headed out to the first full day of school.

“Who can tell me what grammatical mistake is in this sentence?”

Izuku wrote notes down as Yamada beamed at the class, idly wondering if he was speaking in English by accident, or if he was trying to fully immerse the students to aid in their learning.

“Midoriya.”

Jumping a bit, she looked at the electronic board behind Yamada: We has a dozen oranges.

Tapping her notebook with her pencil, she thought for a second when the answer came to her, “Has isn’t the right version to use. If I remember right, you should say ‘We have a dozen oranges.’ Is that right?”

Nodding, Yamada grinned, “Correct! And with that, I believe it’s lunch time. I’ll see you all tomorrow!”

Everyone got to their feet, and rushed out the door, while Izuku packed up her stuff with Shoto waiting by her side. Uraraka maneuvered over to them, and bounced up and down on her feet, “Are you excited to see what our hero lesson will be today?”

Slinging her messenger bag over a shoulder, Izuku walked with them down to the cafeteria, “Yeah. I have no idea what a ‘heroes course’ could include. Hopefully at some point we get taught all of the rules of heroics, because they can’t possibly expect us to come in knowing everything.”

Bouncing along as they headed downstairs, Uraraka nodded, “My thoughts are that if it wasn’t on the entrance exam, it should be something that they teach us before we go into the field. What do you think, Todoroki-kun?”

“It seems like the most logical decision for them to make. If they did not, then their graduates would have grounding to sue them when they make a mistake that no one told them was a poor idea.”

Finally, the three of them entered the cafeteria, and joined the line of countless students. Izuku could hear some whispered comments as yet another strange being served food.

“OMG, is that Lunchrush?”

“I guess he retired to be a cook full time.”

“I hear he’s an amazing chef.”

“We’re so lucky.”

While waiting in line, Izuku pulled out her ‘Time Traveler’ notebook, writing a small note in it: Look up famous heroes so I’m not confused when one is mentioned.

Putting it back in her bag, she grabbed a tray and some food, then navigated through the extremely crowded room. Near one of the windows were some of her classmates, so she sat down, followed by Shoto and Uraraka. One of the classmates was the one who pulled stuff out of her skin, and she smiled at them, “My name is Yaoyorozu Momo, what are your names?”

“Uraraka Ochaco.”

Taking her bag off, Izuku smiled back at Yaoyorozu, “I’m Midoriya Izuku.”

Shoto sat directly next to her, and took a sip of his soba before speaking, “I’m Shoto. My last name doesn’t exist right now.”

A loud clatter drew everyone’s attention to Adeline, who flopped down, “Finally, some good f*cking food! It’s not all white people sh*t!”

Without changing his deadpan expression, Shoto looked over at her, “What a strange thing to say. Obviously it isn’t white people food since you are in Japan.”

One by one, the other girls in the class moved to the table, and Izuku learned all of their names (though she also gave nicknames to each). Yaoyorozu became God Herself after she mentioned that her quirk was turning lipids into other non-living things. Jiro became Earbuds because her quirk gave her an aux cord directly connected to her ears. Hagakure was Invisigirl, Asui became Tsu at her request, Adeline requested to be called Val, and Ashido made a similar request to be called Mina.

Everyone talked without restraint about what they were hoping to experience in the first heroics lessons (minus Shoto, who just calmly ate his soba). Their conversation only stopped when the ten minute warning bell went off, sending everyone into a cleaning flurry, and they raced back to the classroom to see who was going to teach the next lesson.

Their question was answered the second the final bell rang, as the door shot open and a booming voice called out, “I AM HERE! AND I AM COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!”

With that exclamation, All Might’s buff form entered the room, though he was leaning in, and holding onto the doorframe. Letting go, he marched to the front of the room as the other students all stared at him with wide eyes.

“I can’t believe it, All Might is teaching us!”

“How lucky can we be?”

“He’s wearing his silver age costume!”

All Might held up one of his hands, and the voices petered out, “Today, you are having your very first heroics lesson, and what better way to start out the year than to have a mock battle?”

Once again, the room exploded with noise, until All Might had them calm down again, “As part of this, you will be testing out your very first version of your hero costumes. Please make note of anything that you wish for the costume designers to adjust during this exercise, because every hero has changed theirs dozens of times to fit different requirements.”

Pressing a button, he gestured to the far wall as it opened, revealing silver briefcases with numbers on it, “I will call you up by row to collect your uniform, then head to the locker rooms, change, and meet me in Testing Grounds Beta.”

He pointed to the first row, “Would seats 1-5 come up first?”

The A’s and Iida grabbed the cases that had their seat numbers on it, then rushed out the door like they were on fire. As the last of them were at the door, All Might spoke again, “Seats 6-10 next.”

Uraraka, TailGuy, Pikachu, Rock Boi, and Animal Whisperer copied what the first row did, and they were just about out the door as the next row were called. Earbuds, Goth Bird, Tape Elbows, Candy Shotgun, and Machamp moved with just as much speed as everyone else, leaving the final row.

All Might didn’t even have a chance to say anything, as the final row (Invisigirl, Shoto, Pomeranian, Izuku, and God Herself) neatly lined up right behind the row before them. Izuku grabbed her costume, rushing to the locker room as fast as she could.

Besides Yaoyarozu, all of the other girls were there when Izuku arrived. Everyone was attempting (with varying degrees of success) to put on their costumes. Tsu, Mina, and Uraraka were fighting to get on tight bodysuits, while Jiro looked like she was going to go to a My Chemical Romance concert. Hagakure seemed to have vanished, except for a pair of gloves and shoes. Adeline looked like she was cosplaying Laura Croft, just with a massive scarf and ribbons everywhere.

Izuku opened her case, and saw the beautiful cloth inside. She first pulled out the blouse that made her nearly drool, a fancy shirt with a cravat and poofy pirate sleeves that ended at the elbows (for extra mobility). Sliding it on, she looked for the skirt that she had ordered. It was a dark lavender color, and the pleats on it reminded her of old-time cheerleader skirts. Once the two were on, she pulled on bike shorts underneath, then pulled out the vest, which was a light lavender. She laced it up in front, pulled on the socks and saddle shoes, and finally, pulled out the last piece of clothing. The short round cape was perfect. It ended at her elbows like the shirt, and the outside was white with silver stars, and the inside was a purple galaxy print.

Once she had that on, she noticed that Jiro and Hagakure were helping the girls with bodysuits as Izuku took down her hair, then braided it up in an Elsa coronation look, finishing it off with a small diadem with a moon on it. With the final FINAL touch done, Izuku stored away her suitcase, and went over to Uraraka who had gotten most of her costume on, but was having issues with the accessories.

Picking one up, Izuku examined it, until she found a small button that opened the gauntlet enough to slide Uraraka’s wrist in. Once that was secured, she got the other one and helped her put it on. Then, she crouched down and helped figure out the boots. The boots were similar to the gauntlets, and she held them up, “See this button here? It opens your stuff just enough to get inside. Also, did you ask for high heels?”

“Not really. I asked for shoes with shock absorption, so that when I come down from floating, I don’t have to worry as much about getting hurt.”

Yaoyarozu walked over, “Are you able to walk in heels?”

Uraraka rubbed the back of her head, “No. I’ve never worn them before.”

“Then that should be a note you make to the costume maker.”

Izuku looked up at Yaoyorozu, and her brain bluescreened for a hard minute. Finally blinking away the bi panic, Izuku cleared her throat, “Did you ask for that much skin to be seen?”

She crossed her arms over her chest, “Not exactly. I asked for large spaces for me to create items out of, but I’m not quite comfortable with how it is in the front.”

Adeline moved over, wrapping ribbons around her wrists, “I’ve seen bloody bikini models with more clothes on. They did you f*cking dirty.”

Trying to distract herself, Izuku glanced over at the floating pair of gloves, and she regretted her question as she asked, “Hagakure, please tell me that you are wearing something more than the gloves and shoes, or else we are going to riot.”

“Uhh, it’s just this.”

Multiple audible groans echoed through the room, and Izuku stood up, “We’ll make notes of this later. But I personally don’t want to live up to the stereotype of girls always being the late ones. Shall we go?”

As if one being, all of the girls got to their feet and headed out, joining about half of the guys who were wearing the oddest assortment of clothes ever. All Might stood at the front of the class behind a table with two boxes on it, his hands on his waist the whole time. He didn’t move an inch, just standing with a smile on his face as the rest of the class trickled in. As the last person entered (Iida in a SUIT OF ARMOR), All Might spoke, “For this Battle Trial, everyone will be randomly assigned a partner, then set against another team. One team will play the heroes, and the other will play the villains-”

Iida’s hand went up, “All Might sensei, why would we, as hero students, play as villains? That seems very questionable. We all came here to become heroes.”

Despite the interruption, All Might continued speaking in a calm tone, “Yes, however, part of being a great hero is being able to put yourself in the mindset of your opponent. Which is why you will be put against your classmates. The concept is very straightforward, the villains have a “nuclear bomb” with a 10 minute timer before it launches. Each of them will be given 15 minutes to hide in one of the mock buildings behind us, and the hero team has to touch the fake bomb within those 10 minutes, or else they fail. To simulate being able to capture each other, everyone will be given a piece of “capture tape”, and if it is put around one of your hands, you are effectively captured. Now, we will have the pairs get randomly assigned!”

A massive electronic screen appeared in the air behind him, and ten teams were revealed on it.

Team A - Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochaco

Team B - Shoji Mezo & Todoroki Shoto

Team C - Adeline Valkyrie & Yaoyorozu Momo

Team D - Iida Tenya & Bakugo Katsuki

Team E - Aoyama Yuga & Ashido Mina

Team F - Koda Koji & Sato Rikido

Team G - Kaminari Denki & Jiro Kyoka

Team H - Asui Tsuyu & Tokoyami Fumikage

Team I - Ojiro Mashirao & Hagakure Toru

Team J - Kirishima Eijiro & Sero Hanta

Uraraka gave Izuku a high-five, and then Izuku whispered to her, “I feel sorry for whoever has to go against Val and Yaoyorozu.”

“Same.”

All Might then lifted up one of the boxes on the table, “There is a ball for each of the teams in these boxes. I will draw two out at a time, and those will be the teams. Whichever team comes out of the black box will be the villains, while the ones who come out of the white box will be the hero team. Time for the first matchup!”

He pulled out the balls, and Izuku felt dread creep into her bones.Team A were the heroes, and Team D were the villains.

She had to deal with the Angry Pomeranian. Great.

Chapter 13: Stand Proud and Tall, We Will Never Grow Tired

Chapter Text

August 6, 2020

The whir of the sewing machine and the Avenger’s theme were the only sounds in the living room. Izuku kept her entire focus on the pale piece of fabric that she was dealing with as it was fed past the needle. As the final few centimeters were attached together, she let out a breath and checked it over.

“How is it going so far, Zuzu?”

Proudly, she held up the shirt that she had just finished, “Look! I still need to trim all of the loose strings, but so far it’s turning out!”

Inko gently took it from her, and inspected the seams, “I’m really proud of you! You’re going to be a great cosplayer at this rate. Let’s try it on and see if there are any alterations that you need to make.”

Taking back the shirt from her mom, Izuku closed the living room door, while her mom closed the curtains. Once no one could see her, Izuku changed into her new shirt and used safety pins to hold the front closed.

Her mom walked over to her, and gently pulled on the shirt, “It looks like you got the fit right, which is always nice. How does it feel? Are there any spots that are too tight?”

Going through a series of stretches, Izuku smiled, “It fits pretty good, maybe a little bit stiff around the shoulders, but that’s pretty common for the time period. Now I just have to get all of the buttons on, and Peggy Carter’s shirt will be done!”

Inko sat at the sewing machine, “Here’s how to do button holes on this machine. We’re going to have to test different sizes, and see which ones will be big enough for your buttons, but small enough that they won’t slide out the first time they experience a pull.”

Switching back to her normal shirt, Izuku pulled up a chair next to her mom, and they started the process.

April 7, 2221 (Still)

All Might beamed at the class, “While the two teams get ready, everyone else move to the observation room over there.”

Bakugo and Iida stood a significant distance away from each other, while Izuku and Uraraka started whispering to each other, “So, Midoriya, do you have a plan on how to beat them?”

Leaning over to her ear, Izuku whispered, “Blondie seems to have issues with me. When we start, I’ll try to draw his attention, and you try to get the weapon.”

All Might walked over to the other two, and gave them some things to each. He spoke to them in a surprisingly soft voice, making it impossible for Izuku and Uraraka to overhear anything. After a minute or two, the two of them vanished into the nearest mock building, putting in wireless communicators as they went.

While they walked away, All Might moved over to the two girls, also giving them wireless communicators, along with capture tape, “Alright Uraraka-chan and Midoriya-chan, I will just go over the rules again, just to make sure no mistakes happen. You have ten minutes to either capture both Bakugo-kun and Iida-kun, or for one of you to place a single hand on the “nuclear bomb”. However, if they capture both of you, or the time runs out, they win. Does that make sense?”

Uraraka nodded so energetically that her hair bobbed up and down, and Izuku spoke up, “Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. We’ll just work on our plan and get ready.”

He beamed at the two of them, “Great!

With that, he walked to the observation room, leaving the two girls alone to talk. Uraraka stretched as she smiled at Izuku, “So, do we have a plan beyond you distracting Bakugo?”

“It’s going to be risky, but since his power is a chemical reaction, I might be able to use the energy from it to fuel one of my stars. If I can use the gravity from that star to pin him, I can put capture tape on him, and then catch up to you.”

Both of them waited for the time to be over, and Izuku also stretched to warm up for the activity. Uraraka took a couple deep breaths, “I’ll do my best to handle Iida by myself, because if we have to pretend that this is a real bomb, you shouldn’t use your quirk around it.”

“Fair point. If I do get up there, I’ll play distraction.”

All Might’s voice echoed through the air, “One minute left, will the hero team get into place?”

Moving as one person, the two girls moved to the doorway, prepared for the signal. Within seconds, a loud beep filled the air, and the two slipped inside. Izuku took the lead, doing her best to step quietly, while listening for any sign of movement. A small slide of broken cement drew her attention, and she pushed Uraraka out of the way as Bakugo flew at them, sparks dancing along his palms.

Bracing herself for the reaction that would inevitably follow, Izuku yelled at him, “Hey, Egomaniac! You suck at sneak attacks!”

A completely primal scream exploded from him as he lunged directly at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Uraraka slip by, while Izuku braced for an explosion. She held both hands up, and felt a wave of heat wash over her. Something inside of her clicked, and she watched as the explosion condensed right in front of Bakugo.

He froze mid punch, allowing Izuku to increase the gravity in her rapidly forming star.

Bakugo was yanked off his feet, and she met him midair with the capture tape. As it wrapped around his arm, she canceled out her star, letting him crash to the ground with a shockingly loud bang.

Despite the tape on his arm, he tried to lunge at her, only to stop when All Might’s voice came through some nearby speakers, “Bakugo-kun, if you continue to fight after being caught, you will instantly cause your team to fail this assignment.”

Izuku shrugged as he glared at her, If looks could kill, I would be dead right now.

“Time to go back up Uraraka.”

Running up the stairs, Izuku touched her comm, “I got him down, though it was hard. Have you found Iida?”

“Yup. Brace yourself.”

As those words registered in her brain, Izuku was sent to the floor as the whole building shook. Flashbacks of the entrance exam flashed in her mind’s eye, and she raced up to the floor where the most damage was. Uraraka was in the rapidly crumbling hallway, unconscious while there was a suspiciously human shaped whole in the wall next to her. Izuku ran forward, checking the pulse of Uraraka before searching for the fake bomb.

It was only a couple rooms down the hallway, and was shockingly unbroken. Quickly checking the whole room over for a suit of armor, Izuku ran over to the rocket shaped bomb and laid her palm on the side of it.

“HERO TEAM WINS!”

Coughing through the dust, Izuku watched as two robots came to get Uraraka, hauling her away on a stretcher. After watching her teammate get hauled out, she headed downstairs and to the observation room. In there stood a very pissed off Bakugo, and a heavily dented Iida. She watched as Iida took off his armor, revealing multiple bruises as he did so.

All Might turned to the three of them, and smiled, “Had the two teams both used the same amount of teamwork, it would have been a closer match. Out of everyone in this match, Midoriya-chan and Iida-kun showed the best strategies. Can anyone explain why?”

Yaoyorozu rose her hand, “Midoriya-san made a plan before entering the building, and stuck to her side of the plan while communicating with her partner. Iida-san was prepared for Uraraka’s ability to remove gravity from objects, and was in constant contact with his partner. There is also the fact that Midoriya-san checked her partner’s pulse before securing the target, and was on the lookout for her opponent, even when she had every right to assume that the area had been cleared by her partner.”

Izuku felt sorry for the students who were next to All Might as he boomed at her, “Correct! This exercise is to test your teamwork, and ability to think critically. Despite how little control she has over one part of her quirk, Uraraka-chan was aware that they had to treat the prop bomb as if it were a real thing. First of all, she was the one who suggested that Midoriya-chan should not use her quirk near the bomb, due to the nature of stars. In addition, when she fought Iida-kun, she intentionally aimed her attack away from it, as to not compromise it.”

All Might pulled out his two boxes again, and drew out two more balls, “Up next is Team E - Aoyama Yuga and Ashido Mina as the heroes, and Team J - Kirishima Eijiro and Sero Hanta as the villains. Your fight will take place in mock building 6, since 4 and 5 were damaged in the last hero/villain fight. Team J, take your places. Team E, go wait on the street until the timer goes off.”

The four of them left, and Izuku moved to Shoto’s side, “So, what happened between Uraraka and Iida?”

“She got his attention, went into the hall, he followed, she punched him through a wall.”

Adeline Val leaned against the wall nearby, “She f*cking laughed at the stupid way he was walking around the bomb room, so he noticed her. When she realized that, she ran out into the hallway, and he followed her, the bloody idiot. Once they were both in the hallway, Uraraka muttered something into the comms, and then let out a punch that could level a f*cking emu. Ripped the hallway into goddam pieces, and I'm honestly impressed with Iida's armor to just f*cking keep him alive.”

Izuku had to take a minute to decipher the waterfall of English that had just been dumped on her, before she responded in English, “I’m pretty sure that our hero uniforms are supposed to help us survive. But I am also impressed with the armor, because I saw the destruction firsthand.”

The three of them looked over at the person in question, who was holding an ice pack on his back. Izuku walked over to him, sitting down next to him, “From what everyone said, you did great. Sorry that you were on the receiving end of one of her punches. She took out one of the 0 pointers with it, so I’m happy that you aren’t in the infirmary with her.”

“She did what?”

Nodding, Izuku leaned against the wall, “She and I got some of our rescue points taking it out. I held it in place while she hit it, and that’s when I decided to not ever upset her.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Izuku could make out Bakugo against another wall, completely alone. Part of her wanted to talk to him, but could tell from body language alone that it would not be welcomed.

Rather than get an explosion to the face, Izuku turned to look at the many screens on the wall, watching Kirishima and Sero setting up their fake bomb. Sero was making large amounts of tape that he was stringing up around the room to trap anyone who would come in. Kirishima went around the room, turning his arm into stone to chip away at walls, and then take the pieces to make obstacles in random places.

When the timer went off, Aoyama strutted into the building, while Mina skated in on the acid that she created. She jumped in excitement, splashing some onto Aoyama, who started to freak out about his cape. Val scoffed, and spoke in Japanese, “They sure as hell aren’t good partners. It’ll be a f*cking miracle if they succeed.”

Jiro looked over at Izuku, “Hey, Midoriya, can I ask you a question?”

“Go for it.”

“Why is your watch making a crackling noise?”

Lifting up her watch to her ear, Izuku could just make out the noise in question, “Forgot about that. The louder the crackle is, the more radioactive I am. That’s the side effect of my quirk, which is why I wasn’t going to use my quirk anywhere near the fake bomb.”

Everyone stared at her, and Iida moved away from her, “Right now I’m about as radioactive as you would be if you ate 50 bananas in an hour. Recovery Girl made me read a pamphlet about how to read a Geiger counter.”

Momo moved over to her, crouching next to her as the hero team continued to search the building, “Is that why you were held back after the quirk assessment yesterday?”

“Yeah, Aizawa sent me to get this watch. Oh, looks like a showdown is about to happen.”

Everyone looked up to see Mina and Aoyama enter the room with the bomb. Kirishima instantly turned to stone, and Mina led the way into the room, using her acid to melt anything that her skin came in contact with. A blinding light came from Aoyama’s stomach, crashing into Sero, sending him flying out of the window. Meanwhile, Aoyama was sent crashing into the wall behind himself from the movementum.

Kirishima jumped forward, attempting to grab Mina, but his hands and the capture tape kept slipping off the acid on her arms. As he struggled to catch her, she raced to the bomb, and managed to get one hand on it just as Sero re-entered the room through the window that he had been sent out of.

All Might smiled as he activated the microphone, “Hero team wins!”

Mina jumped up and down, cheering as she rushed back to the observation room with the guys trailing behind her. When they entered the room, All Might smiled at them, “Well done! We will go over your performance while the next groups get ready. For the hero team, we have Team B - Shoji Mezo and Todoroki Shoto! And for the villains, we have Team I - Ojiro Mashirao and Hagakure Toru. Team I, you can set up your bomb in mock building 7. Team B, get ready just outside of the observation room.”

Everyone watched Team I set up, and Izuku cringed when she saw Hagakure’s gloves and shoes hit the floor. About five minutes into them getting ready, Uraraka stumbled in with her right arm in a sling and cast. She sat next to Izuku, sending a tired smile to her, “Just woke up. Who went after us?”

“Mina and Aoyama as the heroes, and Kirishima with Sero as the villains. The hero team won. Now it’s Ojiro and Hagakure versus the two you passed. I’m just currently very uncomfortable because Hagakure removed what little of a costume she has. Poor Ojiro who has to deal with that knowledge.”

All Might turned to the four who had just done their run, “Overall, you all put thought into this activity, but out of all four of you, Kirishima-kun was the one who stood out the most. He knew that Ashido-chan was going to be skating on her acid, so he made extra defenses that would make it harder for her to progress. He also attempted to put the capture tape on her while she ran past him, although it just melted due to the acid. Sero-kun, your preparations would have worked against many of your classmates, but you forgot that Ashido-chan made acid, which melted right through all of your tape. Aoyama-kun, while you did take out one of the villains, it essentially took you out of action. You need to find a way to take out a villain without ending up in the wall yourself. Ashido-chan, you made it possible for your team to win, however, you were not being very serious as you did so. You were treating it as if it were a game, which could have cost people their lives, since your opponents could hear you coming. If this were real, they would have set off the bomb early.”

Both members of the hero team seemed to wilt from the critique, and All Might smiled at them, “It’s not your fault. The entire purpose of this class is for you to learn from your mistakes when civilian lives are not in danger, so that you make less of them when people are relying on you for more than a grade!”

The timer went off, and everyone watched as Shoji sprouted extra ears, and spoke to Shoto. After receiving the information, Shoto made a gesture as he spoke in return. Shoji backed far away from the building, and Shoto touched it with one hand. Specifically, his right hand.

Ice shot up the building, changing it from a regular multi-story business, to something that strangely resembled Elsa’s castle. Cameras inside the building revealed a similar view, though many were also covered up. Once the entire building was covered in ice or frost, Shoto calmly walked inside to where the bomb waited. He walked directly past Ojiro to place his hand on the bomb, “Hero team wins!”

Steam filled the room as Shoto created fire on his left side, melting Ojiro from the ice that held him. Then he went to find Hagakure’s foot imprints, and melted her out as well. As they came back, All Might drew two more balls out, “For the hero team, we have Team H - Asui Tsuyu and Tokoyami Fumikage. The villain team going against them is Team C - Adeline Valkyrie and Yaoyorozu Momo. Team C, go ahead and set up your bomb in mock building 8.”

As the two girls went out, Izuku called out to the remaining team, “I hope you two have a good plan. Yaoyorozu got first on the assessment yesterday, and Adeline grew up dealing with very deadly wildlife. I would be shocked if beating them is easy.”

Tsu smiled at her, “Thanks Midoriya. We’ll go work on a plan right now.”

Both of them slipped out of the observation room just as the other four got back. Izuku pulled off her cloak and handed it to Hagakure, “You’ve got to be freezing after that.”

Her cloak was wrapped around thin shoulders, “Thanks. I wasn’t prepared for that. Honestly, I thought he could only freeze small sections at a time.”

“We’ve known each other for a while, and ice is the side he can control better. Only someone who can create heat would have stood a chance against him.”

All Might turned around to look at them, “I am very proud of all of you. Each of you used the information that you had at your disposal, and prepared as much as you could. Ojiro-kun, the only improvement I can think of is that you should have made an obstacle or two, and then hidden yourself rather than wait in the open. Shoji-kun, you used your skill set to analyze the situation, and listened to your teammate when they said that they had a plan. You did amazing. Todoroki-kun, you communicated clearly with your teammate, imprisoned both of the enemies, and even neutralized the bomb with your ice. Very well thought out. Hagakure-chan, you should not shed any parts of your costume. If you feel like that part of your costume does not work, you need to communicate that with support-”

Izuku spoke up, “All Might-sensei? The gloves and shoes are all they gave her. Isn’t that breaking some kind of law with costumes?”

He completely froze, “Is this true?”

“Yes, sensei.”

Pausing for a second, he gave a slight nod, “Until you get a new costume, please do not take any of it off. You could have gotten stuck in the ice long enough to get frostbite if they hadn’t found you. Also, you could have gotten hit by accident since none of your classmates were aware of where you were. I will send a message to Powerloader right after class today to see if they can get you a replacement, or just a basic outfit until a proper one gets done. For now, please keep Midoriya-chan’s cloak on just so you have cover.”

The timer went off, and everyone’s attention went back to the screens. Tapping her foot restlessly, Izuku watched as Tsu and Tokoyami (who she secretly called the animal pals) entered the building. Tsu entered on the ceiling, while Tokoyami walked like a normal person. Both were moving remarkably smoothly, which Izuku knew translated to silence very well.

As they got to the stairs, both of them got wrapped up in dozens of small cords. By the end of it, they looked like Kuzco and Pacha from Emperor’s New Groove. Val descended down the cords like she was doing acrobatic silks, stopping right in front of them with a mischievous smile. With ease, she wrapped capture tape around both of them, resulting in a deafening, “Villain team wins!”

Val gently freed both of them, letting them fall to the ground as Yaoyorozu walked down the stairs, taking down the elaborate trap while she did so. Leaving the group to deal with that, All Might smiled at the rest of the class, “Time for the last group! Our hero team will be Team G Kaminari Denki and Jiro Kyoka, making the villain team Team F - Koda Koji and Sato Rikido. By now I hope that you know what to do.”

Both teams left, with the hero team waiting just outside the observation room, and the villain team going to mock building 9. They had their bomb set up and was working on traps when the other four got back. All Might beamed at them, “Well done! I think that Tokoyami-kun and Asui-chan have learned to check for traps due to that experience. Adeline-chan, do you have experience in aerial silks?”

“Yeah, been doing it since I was little.”

“It’s very apparent. You two worked very well together, making it nearly impossible for anyone to get to the bomb. You put traps in the door to the room, and you also trapped the room itself. There isn’t much feedback I can give to either of you at this point.”

He turned his attention mostly back to the screens, but Izuku could see him glance towards the clock multiple times before the timer went off. The building was filled with animals, while the two ‘villains’ were staying with the bomb. Jiro and Kaminari entered the building, and she stuck one of her earphones into the wall. Suddenly the building shook rapidly, sending all of the animals on a mad dash to the nearest entrance.

While that happened, Jiro and Kaminari raced up the stairs. Then Jiro led the way to the room with the other two inside. Sato dumped candy into his mouth, and barely had time to swallow it before Kaminari hit him with a bolt of electricity. Koda jumped a mile in the air, and Jiro rushed past both to touch the bomb.

“Hero team wins!”

All four of them headed back, Jiro dragging a zapped out Kaminari behind. When they arrived Izuku noticed that All Might was glancing towards the clock more than before. Despite him being tense, he still kept a smile on his face, “Very well done! Koda-kun, it was a brilliant idea to use your connection with animals to make it harder for Jiro-chan to find you using her hearing. And Jiro-chan, that was a great counter to his plan. Sato-kun, you should have eaten your candy when all of the animals fled, and then hid somewhere Kaminari-kun wouldn’t be able to see you right away. And finally, Kaminari-kun, I hope that you can figure out a way to use your quirk more often without affecting your mental state.”

With that, he gave the whole class a blinding smile, “You all did very well for your very first time. I will go over all of the footage and give more detailed feedback next class. For now, go change, shower, and then you are free to head home for the afternoon. I will see you next class!”

He left very quickly, leaving everyone confused. The class started to trickle back to the locker rooms, and the girls peeled off their costumes, dumping them into the suitcases. Izuku flopped on the floor while she waited for her turn to shower, “That was a lot more than I was expecting. Anyone really hate their costume?”

“Mine kept sliding around,” Yaoyorozu called from the shower.

Uraraka did her best to take off a boot by herself with one hand, “I think I rolled an ankle before Recovery Girl healed me.”

Mina pulled the boot off for her, and then helped take off the other accessories, “I probably need straps, because every time I jumped, it slipped down a little.”

Adeline hollered from the shower, “I’m going to need to practice getting in mine. Other than how complicated it is to get into, it worked really well.”

Hagakure’s shower turned off, and a towel moved towards them, “Sitting down was really weird, so I hope I get something soon.”

“I probably need more padding or body armor in mine. It just feels like I’m wearing another set of clothes,” chimed in Jiro.

Tsu perked up, “I probably need some too, along with a way to stabilize my internal temperature. If Todoroki’s power hit me, I would be completely asleep right now.”

Everyone stared at her in shock, and Izuku ventured to ask what everyone else was likely thinking, “Do you go into hibernation when you are cold?”

“My whole family does. We don’t go out much during the winter.”

Yaoyorozu stepped out, “It makes sense. Your quirk is a mutation. Is it more frog or toad?”

“Mine is frog. My dad is more toad though, so it’s hard to say.”

One by one, the girls trickled out, until Izuku and Uraraka were the last ones cleaning themselves off. Uraraka looked around and then whispered, “Remember how I said that I would ask to see if my idea of why I call you Robin is right?”

“Yeah?”

“In a week or two the person who can answer better is free. Then you’ll get the answer.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Chapter 14: Who Am I If I Don't Feel Like The Me From Yesterday?

Chapter Text

April 24, 2020

Hisashi watched as Izuku came out of the dressing room in a dress, “That looks pretty good. Do you like it, or should we try to find something else?”

“It’s fine. But I was wondering if it was possible to try on a suit?”

Without hesitation, Hisashi turned to a nearby store worker, “Do you have any suits that would fit her?”

“Yes. I’ll go get one now.”

A smile spread across Izuku’s face, and she bounced on her feet, “Really? I don’t have to wear a dress?”

One of his massive hands ruffled her hair, “Women wearing dresses and men wearing pants is largely Western nonsense. Before the white people came, we all wore robes, so why would I stop you from wearing a suit? It’s not like this wedding is going to be anyone’s kind of traditional.”

“Fair point.”

The store worker returned with three suits on her arm, hanging them all up in the dressing room, “These are the ones that are around your size and would fit the wedding colors.”

Bowing, Izuku went back into the changing room, then changed into a soft lavender suit. Looking in the mirror, she fixed how it was sitting on her. Once she liked how it looked, she walked out to show Hisashi. He smiled as she walked out, “That looks much more like you. Should we send a picture to your mom to see how she feels?”

“Yes. I like this a lot better than the dress.”

Hisashi held up his phone, and Izuku posed with her hands in the suit pockets. After he sent the picture, he smiled at her, “Try the other two just to see if you like them better.”

Nodding, Izuku headed to the dressing room again, this time trying on the plain black suit. This time, looking in the mirror wasn’t as affirming. No amount of tugging made it look any better, so she gave up and headed out to Hisashi. He glanced up from his phone as she walked out, and shook his head, “I don’t think any amount of tailoring can save that one. Do you want to ask your mom for her opinion, or do you want to just pretend that this one doesn’t exist?”

“Let’s pretend that it doesn’t exist.”

Spinning around on her heel, Izuku once again returned to the dressing room, and changed into the soft gray suit. A smile came back to Izuku’s face, and she came out to Hisashi, “I like this one better than the last one. Could you send a picture of it to Mom?”

With a nod, he raised up his phone to take a picture, “Of course. You seem much more comfortable in this one. Which one do you like better: the purple or the gray?”

“The purple one. It’s Mom’s favorite color.”

April 11, 2221

“Izuku, are you ready to head out?”

She skidded out of her room, nearly crashing into the counter, “Coming! I couldn’t find my mask!”

Yamada laughed as he held her shoes out, “I guess you’re really excited about this. Let’s go to the rescue shelter!”

Aizawa rolled his eyes as he grabbed a coat, “You have too much energy for this early.”

Wrapping an arm around his husband, Yamada kept laughing, “And you don’t have enough, especially considering that you didn’t even have to work last night.”

Together, the trio headed downstairs, and Yamada called for a taxi. One pulled up, and Aizawa led the way into the backseat, where Izuku was pinned in the middle. The ride was relatively quiet, with Izuku doing her best to not tap her foot or start mumbling. Finally, they pulled up at the shelter, and Yamada led the way inside.

Stepping inside was overwhelming, as the sudden barrage of noise from the countless animals hit her ears. Aizawa slouched over to the front desk, “Hello. We would like to look at the cats under your care.”

One of the workers behind the desk lit up, “Of course! Follow me!”

The three of them followed the employee through the shelter, and Yamada chatted a mile a minute to the poor person. Finally, they entered the cattery, and Izuku’s eyes darted around like a hummingbird. Distantly, she was aware that the adults were all standing together as she looked at each cat.

Each tiny meow hurt her heart as she read the descriptions on each, until her eyes landed on a cage with two pictures on it. The sign on the front of said cage said:

Shadow and Pumpkin

Siblings taken from unsafe environment

Quiet, litterbox trained, Very social

Must go together

Looking at the employee, Izuku gestured to the cage, “Why do they have to go together?”

“When we’ve adopted them out alone, they both stop eating. So they are now a package deal, because nothing anyone has done will stop that.”

Yamada was prepared for her to look their way by examining a poster on the wall. Aizawa, on the other hand, shrugged, “It says they are quiet, so if you want both of them, so be it.”

“Really?”

He placed a hand on her shoulder, “Yes. I don’t lie.”

Another hand ruffled her hair, and Yamada crouched in front of her, “We have the space for them, no one else has been able to take both of them, so why not? I’ll get all of the paperwork filled out, you can stay here.”

The worker left with Yamada, and Izuku stuck her fingers through the bars. Shadow crept forward, sniffing her fingers before rubbing against them. As she did her best to pet Shadow, Pumpkin moved towards her, and she placed her other hand through the bars. Like her brother, Pumpkin rubbed against her hand, and she petted both of them as she waited for Yamada to return.

Glancing at his watch, Aizawa sighed, “I hope he’s not talking pointlessly. Stay here, I’ll go see what he’s doing.”

“Okay.”

Humming to herself, Izuku kept petting the cats. The door opened, and she glanced over to see a teenage version of Aizawa. He froze in place, “Uh, hi. Are you a volunteer or adopting?”

“Adopting. Just waiting for my guardians to get back with the paperwork.”

Instead of walking in like a normal person, he stayed at the door. Izuku rolled her eyes and looked at him, “I’m guessing you are a volunteer, since you are here alone?”

“Yeah, I do this every weekend. Kinda was hoping it might be a good record on my transcript to get into the hero course at UA.”

Smiling, Izuku took her hands away from disappointed cats, “It does sound like a good idea. I wish that stuff like that was put in more consideration, along with weighing the rescue points over the villain points. It is heavily biased to physical powers, which is entirely stupid. There’s a guy in my class who DEFINITELY shouldn’t have passed, but because of the metrics, he did. Constantly keeps threatening everyone.”

“You’re in the hero course?”

Nodding Izuku scratched Pumpkin’s nose, “Yeah. A friend’s dad taught me how to use my power enough to fight, but I got most of my points by saving people. I tied with the one dude who didn’t get a single rescue point. Did you apply for any other courses at UA?”

“General Studies. I’m hoping to transfer because of Sports Festival results. By the way, my name is Shinso Hitoshi.”

“Midoriya Izuku. By the way, please don’t tell anyone who my guardians are. It’s a complicated situation, and I don’t have the energy to explain to my class why I live with the people that I do.”

His eyebrows rose, “I guess? But why would you-”

Yamada poked his head in, “Izuku, we got all of the paperwork!”

Turning to the door, Izuku smiled, “Thank you, Yamada-san. Do we grab the cats, or do we wait for the staff member to come back?”

“Aizawa is coming with a carrier for the two, so we should probably wait for him to get here before opening it.”

Shinso stood as still as a statue, watching the interaction. Aizawa came in, carrying a cat carrier in one hand and a shopping bag in the other, “Got everything else we will need. Izuku, put the cats in the carrier.”

“Will do!”

Moving past Shinso, she grabbed it, and then went back to the cats. As she loaded them up, Yamada noticed the extra person in the room, “Hello there, Shinso-kun. You mentioned that you volunteered at a shelter. Is this the one?”

Blinking himself out of his stunned state, he nodded, “Yes. I wasn’t aware that you had a foster kid.”

“It’s a complicated story. But we need to get on the move, so we can get home on time.”

Holding the carrier to her chest, Izuku moved to Aizawa’s side, “I’ve got them.”

Aizawa held the door open for her, “Let’s go, Hizashi.”

Together, all of them left the shelter, getting into another taxi. Izuku kept the cats in her lap the entire drive back to the apartment. Traffic seemed to be crawling, as opposed to the ride to the shelter, where she felt like they got there at the speed of light. As the car inched along, Izuku peered into the front of the carrier to see if the two of them were alright, as neither had made a peep since the group had left the shelter.

Shadow was watching everything happen with wide eyes while Pumpkin slept as if the world wasn’t shifting around her. Poking her finger through the bars, she started to pet Shadow again, which seemed to calm him down enough for him to lie on top of his sister. Despite that, his eyes were still watching the outside world, as if he was merely pretending to calm down.

Finally, they pulled up at the apartment building, and Izuku carried the cats inside while Yamada got the doors and Aizawa carried everything else. When they entered the apartment, Yamada closed the door then went into the kitchen, while Aizawa set up the litter box.

Izuku placed the carrier on the ground, kneeling beside it as she let the two cats out. Pumpkin crawled into her lap while Shadow darted underneath a nearby chair. Once everything from the bag was unloaded, Aizawa turned to her, “Do you want to change their names?”

“Kinda? How far can I go with the names?”

He scratched one of Pumpkin’s ears, “As long as they aren’t inappropriate, I say go crazy. Do you have ideas?”

Curling closer around Pumpkin, she spoke quietly, “I want to call them Chat Noir and Mariposa. It’s from a show I liked to watch. Chat Noir was a hero, and Mariposa reminds me of the other hero, while connecting it to Pumpkin’s giant eyes and orange color.”

“Fair enough, there’s no guarantee that they know the names that the shelter called them, so we can call them those names. Do you want to play video games while we cook lunch?”

Standing up while still holding Mariposa, she nodded, “Sounds like a good idea. Do you know how long it will take?”

“About an hour.”

Once Izuku was in her room, she put Mariposa down on the bed, who started sniffing the new environment, and she flopped down on her computer chair. She pulled up Minecraft, logged in, and noticed a friend request from a familiar name: Thanatos. Accepting it, she started up her creative world, and started building. Ten minutes in, she received a notification that Thanatos was online, and sent him an invitation to her world. Within a minute, he was in her world, with a zombie skin on.

Thanatos: wanna vc?

Starcatcher: Over what system?

Thanatos: I uz discord, hbu?

Starcatcher: I can hop on that, is your username the same there?

Thanatos: yup

Pulling up Discord, she searched up Thanatos, and it was easy to find him because he had the same profile pic (a severed hand) that he had on the retro game site, That’s really creepy. Letting out a sigh, she sent him a message, <<Do you want to start the call, or should I?>>

Instantly, Discord started to put a call through from Thanatos, and Izuku answered, “Hi.”

The voice that came through made Izuku cringe with how raspy his voice was, “Do you only play old games? The only reason I even play these ones is my Sensei runs the servers, so I get free access.”

Her heart rate skyrocketed as she quickly thought of a reasonable answer, “I used to play these games with my uncle, but I stopped after he died. I’ve only recently started playing games again.”

“Eh, whatever. Let’s play.”

Returning to the build that she was working on last time she played, she pulled out redstone and torches and got to work on the mechanisms for her fortress. Thanatos started running around wildly using a sword on any living creature he saw. He would come back when his inventory was full, cook the meat, store the wool and leather, and make arrows with the feathers.

A knock on her door drew her attention away from the game, and she muted her mic, “Is lunch ready?”

“Yeah, so wash your hands and join us.”

Quickly turning her mic back on, she spoke, “I have to log off. Talk to you later!”

“We’ve barely played anything!”

“I know, but it’s time for lunch, so I have to go.”

She exited the voice chat, logged off minecraft, and went to the bathroom to wash her hands. Once she joined the other two at the table, she noticed both cats hovering underneath. Aizawa spoke without looking up, “Don’t feed them human food.”

“Fine.”

All three put their hands together, “Itadakimasu!”

Both of them kept glancing over at her, until she put her chopsticks down, “Is something wrong?”

Yamada spoke up, “We’ve noticed that you’ve had your bracelet on red for most of this past week. Are you willing to talk about why?”

“Before everything happened, I was in quarantine for nine months with just my family. I only had one day of school that whole time before it was shut down because my power, quirk, manifested in the middle of class. Right now I’m trying to adjust to being so close to strangers again, and adjusting to mutant quirks. It’s one thing to know they exist, but, I still freak out a little bit every time I see one. And every time I feel awful.”

He got up from his chair and knelt next to her, “There are still people who were born and raised in this era that react like that. What matters is that you don’t want to judge people by their appearance, and you are actively trying to change a thousand things at once. Let’s pick one goal to focus on right now to be your focus. Do you want to work on being more comfortable around mutation quirks, or on being around crowds?”

“Mutation quirks. I want people to know I won’t judge them.”

Aizawa spoke up, “If you ever need a break, just ask the teacher if you can go to the bathroom. I’ll tell the staff that you can go into the teacher’s lounge to take breaks from crowds. Sounds like a deal?”

“Thank you so much.”

Chapter 15: No Life Can Escape Being Blown Around

Chapter Text

February 13, 2020

Izuku was organizing her things into her new room when Yoichi poked his head inside, “Hey, do you want to hang out with me while I stream with my friends?”

“Can I?”

He laughed, “I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t serious. Just letting you know, though, online I go by Nerd. Do you want to be Robin, or something else?”

She followed him into his room, flopping down on his spare chair. He handed her a headset, and put his own on, then hit a button. Suddenly an army of voices hit her ears, and Yoichi spoke up, “Everyone? Meet my niece, Robin.”

“Hi!”

Many voices chimed back, all saying some form of greeting:

“Hallo!”

“Hello, Robin!”

“Sup.”

“AAAAAYYYYY, the mysterious Robin!”

“Bonjour!”

Clearing his throat, Yoichi spoke again, “She’s going to watch and comment today.”

He muted his mic, and turned to Izuku, “We’re playing Project Winter today, I invited you to watch because sometimes we don’t have enough players, and it’d be fun for us to play together. So this is a way for you to learn about the game without having to flounder in the deep end your first time around.”

“Okay, that makes sense,” Izuku settled in as the game kicked off. Yoichi was one of the traitors right off the bat, and he smiled at Izuku, “Do you want to pretend that I ran to the bathroom? You do all of the talking, and I’ll play.”

A grin spread over her face, “That sounds hilarious.”

She watched as Yoichi ran around without any rhyme or reason, and Haru spoke up, “Hey, nerd? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

Izuku leaned forward as Yoichi unmuted, “He had to run to the bathroom, so he told me to make sure his character doesn’t die. What does it mean if the bar next to the fire is red?”

Haru let out the most exhausted sigh ever, “Go back to the main cabin and stand next to the fire. You are freezing his character to death.”

“Okay!”

Yoichi turned his character around, and stumbled back to the cabin, where another person by the name bubblegumbitch was doing something, “Are you okay, RoyalNerd?”

“RoyalNerd had to run to the bathroom, so he’s letting me play. I almost froze to death. I think I see a hunger bar, how do I get food?”

Bubblegumbitch blew some air out of her mouth, her Australian accent growing stronger, “I’m making some now. I’ll give it to you.”

Izuku almost felt bad for the deception when Yoichi won, but the screams of outrage made her laugh so hard that the guilt was no room to inch in.

April 13, 2221

The fresh morning air helped to ground Izuku as she found a spot to sit near the front doors of UA. After about an hour, she heard voices coming from the front gate, and saw Aizawa and Yamada both speed walk in the direction as students trickled in. Getting up from her spot, she started scanning the crowd for her friends, before giving up and leaning against a pillar.

Pulling out her phone, she logged into TikTok and started to watch videos. Rather than her For You Page being filled with the bright colors of cosplay, it was now full of hero clips. Like she did often since arriving, she switched to her following page, and watched some of the videos that she missed in stasis.

“Hi Izuku!”

Looking up, she smiled at Uraraka, “Good morning, Uraraka. How is your morning going?”

“Pretty good! I spent the weekend talking with my parents, and I got all of my homework done, so I feel like there’s nothing on my shoulders.”

Without any warning, Shoto was right next to both of them, “I’m ready for the school day to begin. Are we waiting outside for a reason?”

Izuku pocketed her phone, and adjusted the strap of her messenger bag, “Initially, I was just waiting out here because I’ve been stuck inside all weekend. But then I saw Anger Management Issues go inside, and I’d rather not deal with him this early in the morning, so I stayed out here.”

Both of them spoke in perfect unison, “Fair.”

Uraraka checked her watch, “At the very least we should start walking over, just so we are there when the bell rings.”

Together, they drifted towards the classroom, and as they got close there was a distant sound of Bakugo’s voice being raised at someone. All three rolled their eyes and nearly ran into Val who was leaning against the wall across the hall. She smiled at them, “You also avoiding the loud bastard?”

“Yeah. None of us have the energy to deal with him today.”

A minute before the bell rang, all four of them rushed in and took their seats, barely making it before the bell exploded out, and the entire class slammed themselves into their seats. As the bell’s ring ended, Aizawa entered the room. He stared at all of them, and moved over to the desk. Taking a deep breath, he stared at all of them, “Today we are doing something that is very important-”

Dozens of voices started to murmur throughout the room:

“Oh no, please not another simulation.”

“Even worse, it could be another assessment.”

His hair rose into the air, and his eyes shone red, silencing all of the students, “Now, if you’ll let me finish. Today you will be picking your class representatives.”

There was a collective sigh of relief, and then the room exploded into action. Everyone lost it, and only stopped yelling when Aizawa activated his quirk again. He glared openly at everyone in the room, “Now, I could pick the two representatives, but that’s not my style. Instead, we’re going to have a vote. Everyone pull up the email I sent to all of you, fill it out with the name of the person you want to be the class rep, and then we will look at the results. Start.”

Digging out her cell phone, Izuku pulled up the email, and stared at the single opening for a name. Looking around the room, her eyes landed on a figure in the back of the classroom, and she typed in one of the longest names in the class: Yaoyorozu Momo.

After about ten minutes, Aizawa touched the screen of his tablet, and the results showed up on the board on the front.

Yaoyorozu Momo: 4

Iida Tenya: 3

Midoriya Izuku: 3

Bakugo Katsuki: 2

Izuku looked at her three friends, and each one sent a smile her way. Uraraka’s was embarrassed, Shoto’s was faint, and Val’s was extremely co*cky. Letting out a very weary sigh, Aizawa glanced at the clock, “Homeroom is almost over. Yaoyorozu will be the Class Representative, and we will decide on the Vice Representative after lunch.”

At lunch, Izuku had her head on her arms while her friends talked. Finally, Uraraka poked her in the side, “Are you alright?”

“Why did you vote for me? I want nothing to do with being in charge.”

Shoto spoke in a nearly silent voice, “Because you put your whole energy into the things you care about, and you have a good support system in case you need help. You are also not afraid of standing up to authority figures if they are in the wrong.”

Val stabbed her food with a bit too much force, “The reason I voted for you was you notice the people on the edge of the class and try to involve them.”

Tugging on some of her hair, Uraraka shrugged, “You seem more put together than the rest of us.”

Groaning into her folded arms, Izuku glanced up, “I promise that I’m one minor inconvenience away from a complete and utter mental breakdown, the likes which haven’t been seen since Achilles lost his lover.”

Pointing her fork, Val smirked, “Or like that one dude who lost the election. The uh - he did loads of advertising and completely lost. I’m pretty sure he’s an American, that’s probably why.”

Lights and sirens ended the conversation right there, and a robotic voice spoke over the intercoms, “Notice, there is a break-in. All students evacuate to the bunkers. Repeat. There is a break-in. All students evacuate to the bunkers.”

All of them scrambled to their feet, grabbing their bags just before the rush of the crowd swept them away from the cafeteria. The screams and yells of the countless students made it impossible to hear anything over the din, and Izuku felt pressure rise from her stomach up to her throat as she was ripped away from her friends. Forcing herself to breathe evenly, she fought off a panic attack while fighting to keep her footing.

Suddenly the deep voice of Iida rang out over everything, “There is no need for panic! The reporters from this morning entered the premises, and have caused all of this!”

Everyone froze, and Iida spoke again, hands chopping as he did so, “Again! The reporters that we all passed this morning are the ones causing this madness. You are welcome to verify it yourself through the windows.”

Izuku’s hands shook as she staggered to the wall opposite the windows, and wiped away tears. Shoto forced his way to her side, and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Are you okay, or do you need your guardians?”

A sob slipped out as she spoke, “Need them. Teacher’s lounge.”

Iida showed up next to them, “Is Midoriya-chan alright? She appears to be very pale?”

“She’s on the brink of a panic attack, so I’m taking her to the teacher’s lounge so she can calm down in a quiet environment.”

Both of them walked on either side of her as they made their way through the school, finally arriving at the door to the teacher’s lounge. Izuku gave them both a faint smile, and spoke as loud as her fluttering heart and tight throat would allow, “Thanks. If Aizawa-sensei asks, tell him where I am.”

With a sharp nod, Shoto grabbed Iida’s arm, pulling him away, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Trying to get her hands to stop shaking, she pushed the door open, slid inside, and closed it behind her, leaving her alone in the room. Taking a few steps away from the door, her legs gave out and she curled up against the wall, finally letting the tears out.

How long she sat there crying was a mystery, but finally a hand landed on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Hound Dog crouching in front of her, “What’s wrong?”

“Just-too many people. I was doing okay until everyone freaked out, but I just can’t handle crowds right now.”

“And those fuc-FREAKING reporters didn’t help.”

Nodding, Izuku wiped her face off, “I’ll be fine in a little bit. I just need to be away from the crowds and I’ll be fine.”

A piano arrangement of Defying Gravity interrupted the conversation, and Izuku glanced down at the message that came through.

Uraraka: We made Iida the vice-representative after the cafeteria stunt.

Is that cool with you?

Izuku: Yeah. Like I said, I don’t want to be in charge of anything besides my grades.

Uraraka: See you tomorrow! Feel better!

Izuku: Thanks. Hopefully I’ll make it tomorrow.

April 14, 2221

Izuku flopped down in her chair as a shouting match between Val and Bakugo happened on the other side of the classroom. Shoto glanced over at them, “Do you think this is going to be a regular thing?”

“No idea, but if she is willing to evoke his wrath every day so none of us have to deal with it, I will support her all the way.”

The bell rang out, and everyone slammed themselves into their seats as Aizawa stumbled in, shedding his sleeping bag like a cocoon. After he popped his back, he stood at the front of the classroom, glaring at the entire class, “Today, we are going to a simulation center for practical training. You have half an hour to get in your costumes and meet at the front of the school. Hagakure, your costume is still underway, so you will be wearing your gym uniform.”

“Yes, sensei.”

Everyone scrambled to get changed, racing down to the locker rooms at top speed. Each girl got into their basic layers, and then paired up to handle the extras. Jiro helped Yaoyorozu get the massive belt on, and readjust what they could to make it more comfortable. Hagakure helped Tsuyu to get her goggles and gloves on, while nearby Mina helped Uraraka into her gauntlets and boots. Izuku and Val stood near each other, helping to adjust straps and clasps whenever the other needed.

By working together, the ladies were all dressed within 20 minutes, and headed to the front entrance. Only a couple of the guys were there, namely those with simple uniforms: Ojiro, Kaminari, Shoji, Tokoyami, and Shoto.

The girls spread out, flopping down on any surface possible. Most sat, but Tsu lay sunbathing in the middle of the sidewalk with a blissful smile on her face. They all waited in silence until the loud guys started to trickle in, giving Kaminari someone to talk to.

At the half hour mark, Aizawa moved next to the waiting bus, and gave a quick glance at the whole class, “For once, you are all on time. Good. Class reps, get them on.”

With that he turned around and walked onto the bus without looking over his shoulder. Iida stood up, his arms flailing around like a mad man, and spoke, “Everyone line up in two lines! Seat numbers 1-10 in the first group, and seat numbers 11-20 in the second group.”

Izuku wished she was surprised with how slow everyone got into line, but she rolled her eyes and pulled up Spotify and connected wired earphones while the first half of the class filed in. Finally, she flopped down on a seat behind Uraraka and Val, while Shoto sat by her side. Aizawa lurked at the front of the bus, and they set off.

Kaminari spoke up, “It’s been ages since I went on a field trip, what about everyone else?”

“I’ve been to an aquarium.”

“We were dragged to a pre-quirk history museum last year because all of us failed that section, and our teacher wanted us to learn something.”

Shoto tapped her shoulder, “What kinds of field trips did you do?”

Pausing for a minute, Izuku struggled to remember a field trip, before snapping her fingers, “We did a community service project once where we cleaned the beach near our school. But that’s before I transferred to a Tokyo school when I moved in with my step-dad.”

Bakugo leaned back in his chair, “Hey, Mint. When did your quirk show up?”

“Last year. Why do you ask?”

One of his eyebrows went up, “Knew it. You’re the stasis whatever, aren’t you?”

Chills went up Izuku’s body, “Um, what?”

“Quirks show up when you’re a toddler, you got yours as a teenager. You keep calling them powers, which is what they were called when they first emerged. Even though you hide it, quirks freak you out. Your guardians worked out a deal with UA that you’re on campus when they are at work. Everything points to you being the stasis bitch. The other f*ckers in our class haven’t figured it out because they’re all extras just focused on their own sh*t.”

Something in Izuku cracked, and she leaned towards him, “Funny how you keep calling people ‘extras’ when you’re barely a side character. Let’s face it, in any high school anime, the main character is either bubbly and ditsy, or the quiet loner. You fit every stereotype of the side character that starts as a bully or a rival and turns into a begrudging ally. The people here with the most ‘main character energy’ are Shoto, who has the tragic backstory locked down. Or Uraraka, who is the very kind, outgoing person who could ‘friendship is magic’ her way out of a tsunami.”

Both of them stared at her in shock, and she let out a puff of air, “What, it’s true.”

Aizawa’s voice drifted in from the front of the bus, “Midoriya is not allowed to talk about her living arrangements without you signing a NDA. Do not ask.”

Kirishima leaned over the seat in front of him, “Can we ask her about pre-quirk stuff?”

“Only if the band on her wrist is showing the green side. If it is on red, then you cannot ask her any questions that involve any years besides this one.”

Every single eye in the bus (besides the lone two adults) locked onto Izuku’s wristband which had the green side facing up. Bracing herself, she took a deep breath as the first question came-

-From Shoji. He moved so everyone else could not see her, minus her friends, and spoke in a quiet voice, “Do you want to be asked questions right now, or would you prefer to be left alone?”

“I can answer a question or two, I think?”

Without turning around, he spoke again, “Until you can tell me a firm yes or no, I will not move.”

Biting her lip, Izuku smiled, “Thanks, Shoji.”

The bus slowed down, and they pulled up outside of one of the largest buildings that Izuku had ever seen in her life. Everyone climbed out, and Izuku muttered to Shoto, “This looks like an indoor stadium, but I doubt it is.”

Aizawa called over his shoulder as the group gathered next to the bus, “We don’t have all day. Let’s get inside and get started.”

Together, the class went inside, and the air was filled with shouts and gasps as everyone took in their surroundings. Izuku’s mouth was open as she looked around at the massive areas, each with a different simulated climate inside. One of the guys muttered under their breath, “This is like Universal Studios Japan!”

He went to stand next to Thirteen, who was wearing her whole suit. The two of them whispered for a second before he turned to look at them, “Today we will be practicing search and rescue, which is Thirteen’s area of expertise. Take it away.”

“Right! Welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or the USJ for short! This is where you will do all of your search and rescue training for the next three years.”

The same guy spoke a little louder, allowing Izuku to recognize his voice as Sero’s, “It really is Universal Studios Japan!”

She continued without pause, “Thanks to Aizawa, you know how to use your quirks to amplify your physical abilities, and with All Might, you learned how to use your powers offensively. Now, you need to learn how to use your powers without harming someone. For example, my quirk is Black Hole, which allows me to replicate a black hole suction effect from my fingertips. The suction is very powerful and not even light can escape it. It’s very useful for cleaning up areas where there was mass destruction, but anything sucked into the black hole will be disintegrated into dust. I have to be careful that no person is on the end of my quirk, because I can easily kill. I am going to pause right now, so you have a chance to think about how your power can go horribly wrong and cause harm to another.”

Not hard for me to figure out. Radiation, pulling them high in the sky and then letting them fall, supernovas, the real question is how to NOT hurt people. Bakugo is in a similar boat as me.

After pausing for a minute or two, Thirteen started talking again, “So our primary purpose today is to cause the least damage to our testing dummies, each other, or the surrounding environments. You will be split into groups, and sent to one of the areas: the Ruins Zone, the Landslide Zone, the Mountain Zone, the Conflagration Zone, the Flood Zone, or the Downpour Zone.”

Suddenly both teachers turned around sharply, drawing everyone’s attention to the bottom of the stairs. Every hair on Izuku’s body rose as a giant galaxy colored portal appeared in the open area in the center plaza. She could faintly hear Kaminari’s voice come from behind her, “Is this part of the exercise?”

More portals appeared, and scores of people started to flow out, all looking like bandits and thugs from anime. Her eyes darted over to Aizawa, who was unwrapping the scarf from around his neck, “Thirteen, protect the kids. Kids, get out the second you get the chance.”

Uraraka shouted at him, “Sensei, you can’t take on that many!”

He popped his neck, “Never underestimate a pro hero.”

With that, he launched himself from the top of the stairs, and Naruto ran down with his scarf flying behind him. Thirteen whipped around to look at the class, “Get to the door, NOW!”

Everyone sprinted towards the door, skidding to a stop as another portal appeared in the way, revealing a giant being made out of smoke. Izuku retreated from the figure, grabbing Val’s arm as they watched Bakugo and Kirishima charge the smoky figure. The darkness popped up randomly throughout the area, and Izuku’s vision went black as her body suddenly became weightless.

Chapter 16: I Breaking Down to Ash and Dust

Chapter Text

September 1, 2020

Izuku stuck close to Hisashi’s side as they entered the store, and one of the employees looked up, “Hello, how can I help you?”

“We are here to pick up three suits under the name Shigaraki. The alterations were supposedly finished yesterday.”

She typed into the computer, and nodded, “Yes. Do you want to try them on, or just take them and leave?”

Hisashi let out a sigh, “Normally I would try them on, but with how society is plummeting downhill, I don’t think that the fit of the suits are my highest priority right now.”

“I completely get it. Most of the time I don’t even want to come to work. Give me a moment to go get them.”

Both of them waited in complete silence as she darted off towards alterations. Within a couple minutes, she came back carrying three suit bags. She placed them on the counter, and typed into the computer, “Alright, you’ve already paid for everything, so I’m just going to type in that you’ve picked up all three, and you’re good to go.”

Hisashi scooped up all three bags, and bowed slightly, “Thank you for your help. Come on, Izuku.”

They walked towards the door, and Izuku held it open for him, then once he was past it, she rushed to the car door and opened it for him too. He laid the bags in the back seat of the car, and Izuku hopped into the front passenger seat. Once he was in the driver seat, Hisashi took off his mask, “At this rate the wedding is going to be in the backyard with every guest being virtual.”

Buckling herself in, Izuku sighed as she removed her own mask, “Unless everything magically fixes itself. But that’s as likely as pigs flying.”

“I wouldn’t count anything out with how many superpowers have shown up.”

April 14, 2221 (Still)

The crash of body versus water knocked the air out of Izuku, and she started flailing, trying to find the surface. As she panicked, water came in instead of air, causing her to choke. Something wrapped around her waist, and she was yanked free of the water.

She was dropped on a hard surface, and coughed up the water in her lungs as a hand rubbed her back. Finally, she rolled onto her back to see Val and Tsu standing over her, and Tsu smiled at her, “Sorry I couldn’t get you out of there sooner.”

Val was looking over to the side, and Izuku realized that they were on a boat, “Are we still inside the USJ?”

Tsu poked her head above the railing, “Yeah, I can just make out where Sensei is fighting all of those villains. But we have another problem to worry about.”

Popping her neck, Val didn’t stop looking at the water, “We’re surrounded. I think I counted 20 brutes in the water down there. It’s only a matter of time before we get attacked by them or something.”

Izuku got onto her hands and knees, then poked her head over the railing to see dozens of (mostly mutant) people in the water, all leering up at them. Dropping back down to the floor, she looked at the two girls with her, “My mind is currently moving too fast for me to think. What are the limits of your powers?”

Val tugged on the cords of her costume as she sat down, “If it's thin and flexible, I can make it do nearly anything I want. The more thread-like the object is, the better I can control it.”

Tsu crouched down to Izuku’s level, “I can jump really high, my tongue can extend to about 20 feet, I can eject my stomach so I can clean it, which currently isn’t useful, and if I get cold, I go into hibernation.”

As she started to think of an idea, Izuku’s left hand started to play with her wrist band, “Val, could you find some rope or thread somewhere on here? I think I have a plan on how to get away, but we need a way to stop them from following us.”

She slipped away, and Izuku turned to Tsu, “Here’s your part of the plan. While Val and I do our things, you grab me with your tongue, and Val is going to hold on to you. Then, you will jump us to safety while we make sure they don’t follow us.”

“And how in the blazes are we going to do that?”

Both girls looked over to Val, who had an absurd amount of rope surrounding her. Izuku spoke quickly and softly, “I’m going to use one of my stars to suck them all into one place. Then you use the rope to keep them all there. Go as nuts as you want.”

The look that spread over Val’s face could make Thanos freeze in his tracks, and Izuku took a couple deep breaths. Something hit the side of the boat, making it rock side to side, and Izuku switched to a crouch, “I think that they are about to attack, so let’s beat them to it.”

Val scooped up all of the rope, and Izuku stood upright, creating a massive star in the middle of the villains. Before any of them could react, she sent the gravitational force as high as she could, sucking them all in. Tsu’s tongue wrapped around her waist as Val sent all of the rope down, entangling them like earbuds in a backpack.

With one mighty leap, Tsu sent the trio sky high, and Izuku let the star go as they neared the shoreline. Tsu’s jump was a little bit short, so they crashed into the water about 20 feet from the edge. Val and Tsu started to swim over to the edge with ease, as Izuku did her best to remember the swimming lessons she had as a kid. By the time Izuku made it to the shore, both of the others were already crouched and well hidden.

Getting her breath back, she froze as she saw Aizawa pinned down by a horrifying giant black thing with an exposed brain. A man stood between her and him, covered in hands. He spoke in a familiar scratchy voice, “There’s no point in fighting Nomu, Eraserhead. He was created to defeat All Might, and your quirk doesn’t work on mutations. But there’s a minor issue I have to deal with first…”

Izuku saw the hand moving towards them, and reached towards him in return, letting off one of her brightest stars ever. The hand-man screeched in pain as she grabbed Tsu, and raced further down the shore away from the villain. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the creature lift up Aizawa’s head, and her hand reached out towards him.

Everyone’s vision grew spotty as the plaza was filled with blinding light as a massive star appeared over the creature. Izuku increased the gravity until the thing started to float off the ground. Keeping her eyes on the two enemies, Izuku called out, “Tsu! Get Aizawa-sensei away from that thing!”

Tsu’s tongue reached out, and pulled him across the ground as the guy with hands managed to push his way past the star, moving towards the girls. Val’s cords shot toward him, and started wrapping around him, but then he grabbed one and it dissolved on contact. In a panic, Izuku created another star in front of him, raising the gravity in that one as well.

Her heart skipped a beat when her watch started to crackle. Without taking her eyes off of her stars, Izuku spoke, “You guys need to get to Thirteen. I’m starting to get radioactive, I don’t want you guys to get sick.”

Val nodded, and wrapped one of Aizawa’s arms around her shoulders while Tsu did the same on the other side. In sync, the two hauled him towards the stairs, and Izuku started to slowly back away from the villain. He started to push his way past the star, staring at her intently, “You’ll pay for that.”

The familiar line in a familiar voice locked in who she was facing, and she created another star with heavy gravity, “Maybe you should go play Minecraft and kill all of the wildlife there instead of attacking students. Just a suggestion.”

“You never mentioned that you were a hero student,” he spat out, venom filling his voice as he continued to struggle past the two stars.

Continuing to back up, Izuku glanced over at the strange creature that was still suspended in the air. She cranked the gravity up in that one even more, then looked back at Thanatos, “I assumed that you were not part of mainstream society, but I never thought that you were a villain.”

She kept looking between Thanatos and the strange creature, making sure that neither of them broke free of the stars. He spat at her, “All heroes are corrupt! They help no one but themselves.”

“Then please explain what I’m doing in a selfish way. I’m literally making myself f*cking radioactive to protect my teacher and classmates.”

“It’s so you can have all of the glory!”

Her brows furrowed, “What glory? If help doesn’t show up soon, I know I will die here. The only good thing about that is that I will be with my mom.”

A freezing cold breeze swept across the area, and Shoto rushed toward her, skidding to a stop when he heard the Geiger counter. He looked at her, “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

“Very long story summarized is this guy is the one I was playing online with. He seems to be the one in charge here, and that thing over there was trying to kill Aizawa. I’m doing my best to keep both at bay.”

Besides Thanatos one of the dark portals appeared, and the smoky figure exited it, “Shigaraki Tomura, one of the students managed to escape. Reinforcements are inevitable.”

Izuku froze completely, unsure if it was because of the cold from Shoto, or the incredibly familiar name. Shoto glanced at her, speaking in the softest voice that he could muster, “Isn’t Shigaraki the last name of your step-dad?”

Taking deep breaths, Izuku responded in a similar voice, “Yeah. Don’t have time to freak out, I need you to stop either smoke or giant.”

He stared at her, “Why not the one with hands?”

“Because he disintegrates stuff. Half of your quirk wouldn’t work on him. Get the other two!”

Ice shot out towards the shadow figure, and it dodged away from Shoto….only to get hit in the back by Bakugo, who had appeared out of nowhere. He fell to the floor with the angry Pomeranian on top of him, whose hands were crackling as he held onto a piece of metal, “Knew that you had to have a body in there somewhere, ya freak!”

Meanwhile, the ice continued over to the strange creature, completely trapping it in a glacier. Izuku turned her focus fully to the now-furious Thanatos, and created another star. He tried to force his way past the stars, but froze when a deafening boom echoed through the entire structure. Over every other noise happening, a clear voice called out, “Have no fear, why? Because I am here!”

Thanatos’ face contorted, “Kurogiri, do something about All Might!”

Bakugo continued to have his hands crackle over the metal, and ice was starting to creep up the metal as well, thoroughly pinning him to the ground.

Kurogiri’s smokey eyes looked over, “I cannot move.”

A deafening cry came from Thanatos, who screamed at the top of his lungs, “NOMU! KILL ALL MIGHT!”

Shoto’s ice cracked, and the creature broke free. It turned to where All Might was running down the stairs, and charged him. Izuku steeled herself, “Shoto! Help All Might! I’ll keep the one with hands everywhere busy!”

“On it.”

He skated slightly closer to the monster, and kept sending out ice to slow down the creature. Meanwhile, All Might was slapping it around like a pinata, but it wasn’t slowing down at all. Izuku turned her head to follow one of the most spectacular hits by All Might and her vision started going fuzzy.

Panic filled her mind as she glanced over to Thanatos, who was still fighting against the stars, and canceled one of them. He jolted, and she backed up even more away from him as her vision started to dip and sway. While backing up, she tripped over something and crashed to the ground, and felt her stars go out. She could hear voices crying out, Uraraka yelling something from the stairs, Bakugo grunting in pain, Shoto calling out to someone, and then a rope wrapped around her waist and rapidly pulled her up the stairs.

With every bump on the stairs, she could feel bruises forming. Val called out to her, “Midoriya, what’s wrong?”

“My eyes aren’t working! I think I overdid it.”

Val’s voice got a little closer, “Are you still radioactive?”

Pausing for a second, Izuku could hear the crackle of her watch, “Yup, the Geiger counter is still going nuts. Please don’t come close. What’s going on?”

She spoke just loud enough for Izuku to hear her, “All Might is beating up that thing, and the other two are being attacked by Todoroki, Bakugo, and Uraraka.”

A deafening crash made Izuku flinch, “Val? What in the hell was that?”

The awe in Val’s voice made it nearly impossible to hear, “All Might just punched the freaky thing through the f*cking ceiling.”

Pieces of Izuku’s vision started to trickle back as Val gasped, “Oh sh*t, he doesn’t look too good. Is he supposed to lean over panting after an attack?”

“I don’t think so. What about the villains?”

Val hummed for a second, “It looks like the trio is holding them off, but they all look worn out. I think Uraraka broke her hand.”

“Again? She already broke it during the entrance exam!”

Behind them, the doors to the USJ burst open, and several footsteps rushed in at the same time. Yamada’s voice called out to Izuku, “Are you okay?”

Without a second’s pause, Val called out, “She’s radioactive and she says her vision isn’t working right. But we’re more worried about the ones down there fighting the two villains.”

Izuku made out a click and a bang, and from below she heard a yelp come from Thanatos. A couple more rang out, each having the same response from him. Val chuckled, “Snipe just nailed the decaying bastard in the hand. And now he’s being dragged into a portal by the smokey thing - OH sh*t!”

The rope yanked on Izuku again as something dark nearly filled her vision, and Val’s voice hollered over the chaos, “Not today, motherf*cker!”

Finally, the blackness faded away, and Yamada’s voice drew nearer, “I’ll go get a radiation-proof suit we brought just in case, and I’ll help you get to one of the cars.”

Gently, the rope removed itself from Izuku’s waist, and Val let out a sigh, “That was too close for comfort.”

“Tell me about it.”

As she lay on the steps, her vision very slowly started to return to her, until she could start making out shapes as Yamada approached her, scooping her up like she was just a little child. He wrapped her in a metallic blanket, then a very heavy one that reminded her of the bibs that she wore when she visited the dentist.

He carried her out to a car, placing her on the backseat. Then he got in front and started the drive to her inevitable second quarantine.

Chapter 17: Courage Can Not Erase Our Fear

Chapter Text

June 17, 2020

Izuku next to Yoichi as the opening ‘credits’ of the trivia game started up, nervously bouncing her foot as a hotel corridor showed up on screen with a row of voodoo dolls on the top. Today’s flavor of chaos was: babybubbles, VltBreaker, RoyalNerd, supernova, bubblegum, ghostcreek, legitgamer, and singleg-mo. She adjusted her headphones as the first question popped up: Which of these major city names is NOT outdated?

Scanning the answers on her phone, she bit her lip and clicked ‘Mumbai’, before speaking, “This really is a test of the American school system if I can get it right but you guys can’t.”

Legitgamer sighed, “If all of the non-Americans get this, and not a single one of us do, then we are going to be in for a world of hurt.”

Mumbai filled the screen, and ghostcreek cheered so loud Izuku’s ears rang as a check mark appeared below just her and him. Their dolls were pulled out of the line up, while the others were ‘dragged’ into a punishment.

All of the adults groaned as a card announced that they were playing ‘Mind Meld’, and they were all asked: List one of the first 10 elements on the periodic table of elements.

Izuku averted her eyes from Yoichi’s phone as he typed in an answer, and giggled, “I just had my chemistry class before this, so I’m curious how well you guys are going to do.”

Within seconds, Izuku’s answer was submitted, and a little bit after her ghostcreek also submitted his, muttering just loud enough to be heard, “I hope that’s one.”

One by one, the others submitted their answers, until VltBreaker was the only one left without an answer on the board. As the time ran out, he swore, “f*ck! I couldn’t remember any in English!”

His doll exploded, and then everyone else’s answer was revealed:

babybubble: helium

RoyalNerd: oxygen

bubblegum: helium

legitgamer: helium

singleg-mo: lithium

ghostcreek: neon

supernova: hydrogen

All three of the helium answers turned red, and all three of their dolls were destroyed. When the end of the level scoreboard showed up, it now had four ghost dolls. Each of those who didn’t answer correctly had no money, while Izuku and ghoscreek both had $1000.

The next question popped up: Which is the main ingredient in rum?

Everyone submitted their answers, and Izuku clicked hesitantly on the one she assumed was the answer. A chorus of groans filled Izuku’s ears as “molasses” filled a good portion of the screen, and she bit back laughter. Haru’s voice filled her ears as he yelled, “How the f*ck is Robin the only one out of us who knows what RUM is made of? She’s a f*cking MINOR!”

Every cute little doll (besides Izuku’s) was lined up at the top of the screen as a card saying “fingers” popped up. A couple people in the chat let out sighs, while another couple let out loud groans as the voiceover explained the rules. Everyone selected a different finger, and Izuku watched the end of the level scoreboard, with most people having $33, ghostcreek with $1033, and Izuku having $2000.

Izuku was so disappointed when Yoichi ended up being the winner at the end, but at least she got the highest amount of cash.

April 14, 2221 (Yes, still)

“Well, you’ve gone and truly made yourself radioactive, young lady. We will just have to see how long it takes for you to be stable again. I will get a spare phone and laptop for you to use whenever you become radioactive, so we don’t have to wait for your belongings to stabilize as well as yourself.”

Izuku tugged at the hem of the hospital robe, “Do you have any ideas of how long this is going to take, or are we just waiting to see?”

Recovery Girl flipped through a book, and shrugged, “With quirks, everything that was known about human anatomy has changed. As far as any of my research has found, you are the only one who gets radioactive to this level. So, we will just have to wait and see. However, I think that no matter what you are going to be in there for a week just to be safe.”

“Great.”

Flopping down on the bed, Izuku watched through the thick window as Recovery Girl walked away. Letting out a sigh, Izuku rubbed her face, At least my vision is back. That was terrifying, not being able to see a villain attack.

Through the window, Izuku could hear high heels clicking against the floor, and Kayama appeared holding a bag, “Hi-Yamada is at the hospital while Aizawa is getting checked out, so I brought some stuff that Recovery Girl said that you could have since they can be easily replaced. If you don’t want something being replaced, just place it in a corner and we’ll check it when you are done.”

She slid the bag through a decontamination slot, and Izuku gathered it. Thoughts rushed through her head, and she spoke without thinking, “Hey, Kayama?”

“Yeah, Izuku-chan?”

Izuku rubbed her arms, “Was it hard to find anything that I wrote on the shopping list when I was in the hospital?”

She paused, “Now that I think about it, no. Everything was really easy to find.”

Looking at the ground, Izuku spoke, “All of my accounts are still active, and a couple of them are now upgraded, which I definitely didn’t do. And none of the stuff I used is out of production. I could brush off some of it, but a lot of these accounts require regular payments, and my family should be dead.”

“Well, f*ck. That’s not concerning at all. Either you’ve got a stalker or your stepdad is immortal, and I don’t know which one I’d prefer. Possibly the immortal stepdad, because then at least he could possibly be alive purely out of spite.”

Izuku let out a sigh, “With the stuff I’ve put together, it’s more likely my step-dad, since his power was taking other peoples. We never tested how long he could keep them.”

Kayama leaned against the wall opposite the window, and Izuku started unpacking the stuff inside the bag. It was mostly basic stuff; hygiene supplies, a couple magazines, and a set of spare clothes. She put everything away on some open shelves in the corner, and then returned to the window, “Is Aizawa okay? Or do we not know yet?”

“He had to get a couple x-rays, and Yamada is waiting for those to get back to know for sure. But so far he’s responsive and conscious, so the doctors aren’t extremely worried.”

Flopping down on the bed, Izuku let out a sigh, “Thank goodness. I saw that thing slam his head down and I was really worried.”

Through the window, Kayama smiled, “Yamada said that he’ll be by tomorrow with everything else, so he’ll be able to update you then.”

She blew a kiss through the window, and started heading out, “I’ll drop by every day just so you aren’t alone all day.”

“Thanks!”

April 16, 2221

The loaner computer struggled to load YouTube videos. Yamada slid the rest of her ‘decontamination survival equipment’ in as he spoke a mile a minute, “The doctors put him on bedrest so his head can heal, and he’s also on some pretty heavy anti-inflammatory drugs to tell his brain to calm down. But he should be back to work really soon. I just hope that you can be up and about as well, because the sports festival is coming up.”

“I’m not amazing at any sports.”

He paused in the middle of dropping off her phone to stare at her, “It’s not a contest of sports, it's an all out fight to prove who is the best in your grade. It’s broadcasted live across the country. It’s the most popular sporting event in the world.”

Both of her eyebrows narrowed, “What about the Olympics? Did that stop?”

Starting to move again, Yamada spoke, “It’s still on-going, however it lost most of its appeal because quirks are banned, leaving it in the proverbial dust of events like the UA Sports Festival that allow quirk usage.”

“You’re telling me that the literal only thing that promoted multi-national unity for countless generations, was pushed to the side because of superpowers? That’s so stupid. Do you know the lengths that countries went through just to be the HOST of the Olympics? I missed the Japanese one because of COVID, which reminds me, I need to look up if they even happened.”

Forcing the poor computer to load a new page, Izuku looked up “2020 Olympics” as Yamada closed the slot door, “Aizawa and I will be the narrators. By the way, we transferred your sim card into the temporary phone, so your friends will still be able to contact you.”

“Thanks. Go be with your husband. Knowing him, he’s probably going insane because he doesn’t like to be sedentary from what I can tell.”

A faint smile crossed his face, “You nailed it on the head, but are you going to be alright?”

Putting on a brave face, Izuku smiled at him, “I’ll be fine. At least this time around I have friends I can text.”

“Midoriya-chan? Do you mind if an old geezer talks with you?”

Looking up from her temphone, she looked at All Might who looked, more than ever, like one strong breeze could knock him over. Shifting, she gave him a smile, “I guess so. What about?”

“Uraraka-chan mentioned that she kept unconsciously calling you Robin, and asked me if I could think of a reason why. My friend Tsukauchi is the detective over your case, so I asked him if you ever mentioned the quirks of any family members. Is it true that your step-dad could…borrow? Quirks?”

Setting aside her phone, Izuku hung one leg off the bed, “Yeah. He could only do it if his hands, the palms of his hands, made direct connection to your skin, so he wore gloves most of the time. When he activated his power, small holes appeared right in the middle of his palms.”

All Might braced himself before asking another question, “Did he have a younger brother that he was very overprotective over?”

Chills filled Izuku as her brain processed information, “I…never told Detective Tsukauchi that. But yes, he was paranoid about Yoichi’s health, even more than Yoichi himself was. How did you know that?”

Taking another deep breath, All Might spoke slowly, “It’s a very long story, and it may be an emotional one for you, are you sure you are ready?”

“Yes.”

He sat on a chair outside the room, and leaned forward, “I only know pieces of the story, so I don’t know how everything went downhill, but where I hear the story beginning is that a man who could take quirks at will and give them to others created an empire of underlings who obeyed him out of fear and respect. He had a younger brother with poor health and no quirk, so he locked that brother inside of a vault, then forced a stockpiling quirk on him. Both of their names were lost to the generations, but the elder was referred to by the title All For One, and the younger eventually was known by his quirk’s name, One For All. The younger brother was broken out of the vault by two others, and discovered that the quirk he was given by his brother had merged with a nearly invisible quirk that he had. His innate quirk was an inheritance quirk, which allowed him to pass his quirk on at will, meaning that it couldn’t be stolen, only given, which was the perfect counter to his brother’s quirk.”

“The younger brother attempted to defeat his brother, but failed, and passed on his power to one of the people who freed him. Since that time, the wielders of One For All have been fighting the elder brother. I am the eighth user of One For All, and Uraraka-chan is the ninth. We believe that the reason she called you Robin is because of your connection to the first user. Did he call you Robin?”

Biting back tears, Izuku nodded, “He and his boyfriend called me that. It was a codename so I could play online with them without my real name being broadcasted to thousands of viewers. If I could guess anything, it would be that Haru, the boyfriend, was one of the two to break him out. He always joked about getting Yoichi away from Hisashi by any means necessary, so it would make sense that he actually did that.”

Wiping away the stray tears that had escaped, Izuku took a deep breath, “I was suspicious before this that Hisashi was still alive, because everything that I enjoy is still around, and my accounts are still active. Not only that, but someone keeps putting money in my banking account, and the amount is the allowance I used to get every month.”

“What do you mean ‘everything you enjoy is still around’? Are you talking about foods, games, music?”

Izuku grabbed her notebook, and flipped to the page in question, “Shampoo, soap, deodorant, ‘monthly products’, snacks, music apps, social media sites, movie streaming services, every single video game that I played with Yoichi, every single thing that I can think of from my past, I found. Not only that, but now there’s a freak out there with Hisashi’s last name who grew up playing the same video games who said that his sensei owned the site I downloaded them from.”

All Might stood up, “That aligns with the information that we’ve gathered. The creature that was at the USJ is called a ‘Nomu’, which apparently composed of one person who was forcefully given multiple quirks. That can only be done by one person.”

“Hisashi. Or, as you call him, All For One. There’s just too many coincidences for it to be anyone besides him.”

“I have to agree. Are you alright if I mention this to the rest of the staff, just so they all know to keep an eye on you?”

Shifting, Izuku thought for a minute before responding, “Could we just say that my step-dad used his quirk to live for a long time, and that he became a villain? I’m fine with him being listed as the villain behind the USJ, I just don’t want to talk about everything.”

A very faint smile crossed his face, and he nodded, “I completely understand. I have one final question, just about your step-dad’s personality. Was he incredibly dramatic before everything happened?”

“Yeah, he literally only worked so he could afford to make realistic costumes and go to conventions. My mom would tell him to tone it down all the time.”

“That explains why he seems incapable of fighting without doing a monologue.”

Izuku dissolved into a puddle of laughter, and nodded, “That would be him. He never knew when to shut up.”

April 17, 2221

UA Heroics Course A - Class of 2224 Group Chat

Aizawa-sensei : I have made this group chat for all of you to communicate on.

Here are the rules:

• You must stay in this chat, muting it is allowed.

• Do not use this chat during class hours.

• Absolutely not profanity, especially Bakugo and Adeline.

• Only talk about school subjects.

• This will be moderated by myself and the two class representatives.

Ashido Mina : AWESOME!

Bakugo Katsuki : Why the f*ck are we not allowed to swear?

Aizawa-sensei : In order to teach you that official communication lines must be kept professional.

From now on, any profanity will result in losing a point from the next assignment.

Also, this is a reminder that the Sports Festival will be occurring on Saturday.

Uraraka Ochaco : Will Midoriya-chan be better by then?

Midoriya Izuku : Recovery Girl says that I will be in quarantine for a week, so I can’t be part of that. I’ll have to watch it on TV like everyone else.

Several people are typing…

Ashido Mina : That sucks!

Uraraka Ochaco : But are you okay?

Adeline Valkyrie : I’m not surprised, with how bright you were glowing.

Asui Tsuyu : Do you have enough to do while you wait?

Hagakure Toru : Are we allowed to bring you snacks?

Jiro Kyoka : Please tell me that you are allowed entertainment.

Yaoyorozu Momo : Do we need to collect your assignments?

Aizawa-sensei : Midoriya will be given all assignments via email from the teachers.

Iida Tenya : Is it permissible for us to communicate with Midoriya-chan during the Sports Festival?

Aizawa-sensei: Yes. Also, you may notice at this point that you are unable to change your chat name. This was a deliberate choice by the staff.

Kaminari Denki: Dang it.

Bakugo Katsuki: Thank God.

The quiet sound of shuffling feet approached Izuku’s window, and Aizawa came into sight with bandages around the top of his head, “What you did was completely and utterly reckless. You could have died doing that, you do understand, right?”

“If I had done nothing, both you and Tsu would have died. I knew that Val would help me, and so I wasn’t completely alone. I have no regrets, except maybe making myself radioactive.”

He let out a deep sigh, and sat down on the chair, “Well, due to everything that has been revealed by this attack, we have to implement new rules with you. First of all, Todoroki said that you encountered the decay villain while playing online, is that correct?”

Nodding, Izuku moved over to a chair on the inside of the window, “Yeah. He was one of the few people who played the games that I missed.”

Being careful to only rub where there wasn’t bruising, Aizawa let out yet another sigh, “Okay, we’re going to have to ban you from playing with anyone who isn’t UA staff or student. Also, just for your safety, we decided that you need to put all of your social media accounts on private. But we do have some good news for you to make up for all of the bad.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Thirteen saw how levelheaded and focused you were during the attack, so they are willing to take you on as an apprentice for the student experiences coming up after the sports festival. The rest of class will decide on their initial hero names before you get back, so you are welcome to brainstorm in the group chat once the others bring it up.”

He opened the slot and dropped something in, “Thirteen asked me to drop this off. It’s the schedule for your learning experience and a list of tasks that you can expect to go through. I was also asked to remind you that you have their phone number, and to text if you have any questions.”

She grabbed the packet and smiled at him, “How are the cats?”

“I got ambushed by them when I got back. According to Yamada, they walked around the apartment looking for us. They’ll be excited when you return.”

Dumping the packet with a pile of other papers, she chuckled, “I can’t wait to see them again.”

Chapter 18: You Are Here At The Start Of A Moment

Chapter Text

September 5, 2020

Izuku slipped into the garage, and grabbed several collapsed boxes. Before heading back inside, she paused at the door and listened for any movement, then proceeded to slip up the stairs as quietly as possible. Passing by her room, she tapped on Yoichi’s door twice before going in. Inside was a scene of organized chaos.

Piles of Yoichi’s belongings were randomly placed around the room, and Izuku placed a box next to each pile, “Thank goodness we didn’t get rid of any boxes, or else we would have a hard time doing this. Do you want me to pack anything, or stay on Hisashi watch?”

“He would know something is up if you are loitering downstairs during my normal stream time. One side effect of allowing you to join the games. Could you pack up my XBOX 360 and its games?”

Flopping down on the ground, Izuku made the box 3D again and started to carefully pack the gaming console and corresponding games, using bubble wrap smuggled in by Haru. Yoichi moved quietly around the room, packing up different categories in individual boxes. She watched as his childhood memorabilia was packed up, along with his winter clothes, spare computer, and his cosplay collection.

After everything was secured in the boxes, Izuku carried each down while Yoichi distracted Hisashi. She placed each box on the front porch as she heard the two brothers arguing over when Haru could come over next. On her way back up after the second box, she nearly collided with her mom, “Izuku, what are you doing?”

Glancing towards the kitchen, she spoke quietly, “Yoichi wants to move in with Haru, so we’re sneaking out what we can right now, so when he finally does it he can just leave.”

“I’ll go distract Hisashi.”

The two women went their separate ways, and Izuku quickly got the rest of the boxes out just in time for Haru to pull up in front. Koji hopped out of the passenger seat and grabbed one of the boxes as Haru opened the back. He gave a brief smile and nod to her as she closed the door and joined her family in the kitchen.

April 17, 2221 (Afternoon)

UA Heroics Course A - Class of 2224 Group Chat

Aizawa-sensei : You are welcome to brainstorm your temporary hero names in the chat. Do not get off task.

Ashido Mina : I wanna be Alien Queen!

Midoriya Izuku: It would be fitting. But are you comfortable being associated with a monster from a horror movie?

Ashido Mina : I wanna be cute and scary at the same time. That’s why I picked it.

Aoyama Yuga : My name shall be I Cannot Stop Sparkling.

Bakugo Katsuki: Lord Explosion Murder!

Midoriya Izuku : You know what, Mina? Go for it. Your’s is the most reasonable so far.

Bakugo Katsuki: What do you mean by that, Spearmint?

Midoriya Izuku : You’re already likely to be called a violent person just by how you act, do you really want to give people less reasons to trust you? Do you want to make Endeavor’s temper look mild?

Bakugo Katsuki: I don’t need your opinion.

Adeline Valkyrie : He just tried presenting it, and Midnight basically said the same thing.

Aizawa-sensei changed Mina Ashido to Alien Queen

Kirishima Eijiro : Who’s going to tell Midnight that sensei approved of this?

Midoriya Izuku: Wait, Midnight didn’t support it?

Tokoyami Fumikage : She apparently found it ‘creepy’ and rejected it for that. Aizawa-sensei apparently has no such reservations.

Aizawa-sensei changed Aoyama Yuga to Can’t Stop Sparkling

Midoriya Izuku: Wait, that’s actually going to be his name?

Uraraka Ochako: Yeah, Midnight-sensei approved it with the changes.

Midoriya Izuku : So she wouldn’t approve Alien Queen, but she accepted THAT? Also, @Todoroki Shoto , could you present my hero name as Nyx?

Todoroki Shoto: I could, but she’s likely to ask for a title since your name is so short.

Midoriya Izuku: If she insists on that then ‘The Supernova Hero” or something like that.

Aizawa-sensei changed Asui Tsuyu to Froppy

Aizawa-sensei changed Midoriya Izuku to Nyx

Nyx: Froppy? That’s just so cute! I love it, Tsu!

Froppy: Thanks! I’ve had it in mind since I decided to become a hero.

Yaoyorozu Momo: I’m going to head up and present my name. Wish me luck.

Aizawa-sensei changed Yaoyorozu Momo to Creatie

Hagakure Toru: Hey, Midoriya, you grew up watching hero movies, right?

Nyx: Yeah. Why?

Hagakure Toru: I wanted to bounce ideas off of you. I can’t think of anything more than Invisible Girl. Any suggestions?

Adeline Valkyrie : You could contract it to Invisigirl.

Creatie: You could go with Mirage, because your quirk is more than invisibility.

Nyx: All I can think of is a Greek mythological story where someone became invisible, and called himself Nobody in order to confuse his opponent.

Hagakure Toru: 👀

Aizawa-sensei changed Kirishima Eijiro to Red Riot

Jiro Kyoka: Just letting you know, Midoriya, that everyone is rushing up now, so the name changes are going to happen really fast.

Aizawa-sensei changed Uraraka Ochako to Uravity

Nyx: That’s another really cool name! Also, why Red Riot?

Red Riot: I really looked up to Crimson Riot growing up, and I want to continue his legacy.

Aizawa-sensei changed Adeline Valkyrie to Trichia

Trichia: The reason I picked this name means relating to hair in Latin, so it makes sense to me.

Aizawa-sensei changed Tokoyami Fumikage to Tsukuyami

Aizawa-sensei changed Kaminari Denki to Chargebolt

Aizawa-sensei changed Ojiro Mashirao to Tailman

Sato Rikido: Should I go with Candy Man or Sugar Rush?

Aizawa-sensei changed Sero Hanta to Cellophane

Trichia: Sugar Rush

Aizawa-sensei changed Jiro Kyoka to Earphone Jack

Aizawa-sensei changed Koda Koji to Anima

Shoji Mezo: I also think Sugar Rush. And I’m currently debating between Tentacle or Duplicate.

Aizawa-sensei changed Sato Rikido to Sugar Rush

Nyx: Make it cooler and write it Duplic8. I like it better because it connects to your eight limbs and also that you make copies of other body parts.

Aizawa-sensei changed Hagakure Toru to Nobody

Aizawa-sensei changed Shoji Mezo to Duplic8

Todoroki Shoto: Izuku, I can’t think of a name. Make one for me.

Bakugo Katsuki: I give up. This witch keeps rejecting all of my ideas.

Iida Tenya: I also have no ideas.

Nyx: Iida, there are a lot of speed related heroes out there, like Flash or Sonic. And Shoto, I pick Frostburn for you. It encapsulates both sides of your quirk.

Red Riot: Hey, Baku-bro, I think your name should be Ground Zero. It’s like, you destroy stuff, and ground zero is used to describe where a bunch of destruction happened, right?

Aizawa-sensei changed Todoroki Shoto to Frostburn

Iida Tenya: Thank you for the suggestion, Midoriya-chan. I’m going to use one of those.

Aizawa-sensei changed Iida Tenya to Flash

Bakugo Katsuki: The witch better not reject this one.

Aizawa-sensei changed Bakugo Katsuki to Ground Zero

Ground Zero: Freaking finally.

Aizawa-sensei: Remember, during the Sports Festival, along with your experiences, these are the names that you are going by. Practice referring to each other by such as much as possible.

Nyx: Good luck tomorrow, everyone! I’ll be rooting for most of you. Everyone kick Ground Zero’s butt into next century so we don’t have to deal with his ego.

Ground Zero: I am going to win, and no one can stand in my way.

Nyx : Sure, Jan.

April 18, 2221

Izuku stared at the TV screen that the teachers had set up just outside of the window, listening to Yamada blathering along, “Welcome back to yet another amazing UA SPORTS FESTIVAL! I am the ever charismatic Present Mic, and sitting with me today is Eraserhead, one of the first year heroics homeroom teachers. In just a minute, we will have our First Years emerge! In the heroics department, we have 19 members of Class 1A, and 20 members of class 1B. In the generals department, we have all students of classes C, D, and E. From our support course, we have 30 students from classes F, G, and H. And this year, all business students have elected to remain off the field selling concessions.

“Our referee for this year is the R Rated Hero: Midnight! As you can see, she is calling up Ground Zero, one of two students who tied for first place in the practical exam for the hero course. He is going to make a speech to start off our event.”

Bakugo looked like he was going to rip everyone into pieces, and moved to the microphone, “I’m just up here to let everyone know that I’m going to win.”

With that, he walked off stage to the boos and heckles of the crowd, and Yamada spoke, “Well, Eraserhead, is this normal for Zero-kun?”

“Very. We will see if he can back up his words with his actions.”

Mic laughed, “It’s a shame the other person couldn’t give a speech.”

Izuku blushed from the compliment, as Midnight moved to the microphone, and Izuku looked away from the screen, deciding that sending a message that she knew none of them would see before the next break was better than seeing Kayama’s costume.

Nyx: Someone please slap Bakugo across the back of his head for me. That was the fastest way to get the entire school mad at us.

“The first round of the Sports Festival is an Obstacle Course. Here are the rules! You must stay within the boundaries set for the course, which run out of the arena, around the exterior, and then back in here. You are allowed to inconvenience other students, but not outright stop them. Of course, you are allowed to use your quirk to your heart’s content. However, only the first 42 students to make it back will move onto the next round, so fight to get back first. When I say go, it’s an all out brawl to finish first. So, go.”

Over 100 teenagers made a break for the narrow entrance to the arena, instantly clogging it up. The screen split into multiple angles, showing Shoto rushing down a path away from the clog. Not far behind them was Bakugo, Iida, Uraraka, Val, Momo, and Kirishima. As they all ran down the path, something moved, and the giant robots from the entrance exam emerged.

“Look at that! While most of the students got stuck in the entrance, Frostburn has an early lead, while some of his classmates are doing their best to catch up. Ground Zero, Flash, Uravity, Trichia, Creatie, and Red Riot are all roughly in second place at the moment.”

Without a second of hesitation, Shoto sent up a massive wave of ice, completely encasing the closest one to him, continuing to sprint along the path. Behind him, the robot toppled over, freeing it from the ice just in time to fight the upcoming students. Bakugo launched himself forward, sending a massive blast directly at it. As he did so, Val sent out a couple ribbons that were around her arms, using them to rapidly pull herself past everything.

“Frostburn is still in the lead, but Trichia is catching up rapidly, choosing to slip back the robots instead of fighting, meaning that the others will all be busy fighting, allowing the two of them to make massive headway!”

Izuku moved to the edge of the bed as she watched Val pushing herself to catch up to Shoto as he reached the edge of a breathtakingly large void in the earth. Several tightropes connected a network of columns, and Shoto started to cross, pacing himself so he was making steady progress while not moving too fast. He was so focused on his footing that he didn’t even notice as Val got closer.

That was, until Val crouched down, and touched one of the ropes. It unraveled, connecting together into one long cord. She flicked it, making it connect to the other side, and then Val went flying over the canyon. Shoto paused for a millisecond before pushing himself after her.

“And there goes Trichia using her quirk and the environment to take the lead! Her quirk allows her to control any rope or cord as if it was an extra limb. Compared to Frostburn’s half hot-half cold quirk, she has the advantage in this obstacle. While the two of them keep going, now with Trichia in first place and Frostburn in second, the leaders of the remainder are now entering the pillar obstacle.”

Izuku watched as others went over the canyon. Bakugo and someone from support with pink hair both launched themselves over the space, while Tsu jumped over, Iida used his quirk to speed across the ropes from landing to landing, and Momo used a pole to throw herself across.

While they were crossing the canyon, Val and Shoto had arrived at the next obstacle: a giant mine field. Val didn’t hesitate for a millisecond, and started walking between the obvious craters. Shoto started going after her, being very cautious compared to her. As they maneuvered through the field, Val continued gaining ground as she moved without any fear.

“Our final obstacle is a minefield. Now, for those of you at home, the mines in question are not deadly, rather they are just strong enough to stun our participants for a couple seconds. Our leading lady has chosen to use her acrobatic training to navigate, while Frostburn is doing his best to keep up.”

Shoto walked carefully through the minefield, trying to catch up to Val. As he drew closer to her, both turned around to look at Bakugo who arrived on the scene. Instantly, Val started doing cartwheels through the field, gently landing each time. Shoto started moving as fast as he dared, still watching where he put each step. Bakugo froze as he investigated the scene, and started making his way over the field.

“Trichia and Frostburn have picked up the pace as Ground Zero has appeared on the scene! He is using his quirk Explosion to catch up, but Trichia has a massive lead, and Frostburn is gaining on her.”

Val got out of the field first, and sprinted for the finish line as fast as she could, causing Shoto to start freezing himself a path over the mines. With that, he managed to stay ahead of Bakugo. Skating along the ice path, he got to the main path and created a wall of ice behind him to slow down Bakugo.

By the time he was halfway down the path, Bakugo was breaking through the ice, and Val entered the stadium, flopping down on the ground panting. Shoto arrived not long after, leaning on his knees as he also got his breath back. By the time Val’s breaths evened out, Bakugo arrived covered in sweat. He did his best to maintain his ‘tough image’ by putting his hands on his hips and taking several deep breaths.

“We have our top three! Trichia in first place, Frostburn in second, and Ground Zero in third! And here come the next wave of kids.”

Other students started to cross the line, and Izuku watched carefully, counting each member of her class as they finished. Tokoyami, Tsu and Kirishima were pretty close to the leaders, while Kaminari, Jiro, Hagakure, and Aoyama were pretty slow and barely made it back. Taking a deep breath, she sent another text message to the group chat.

Nyx : Way to go everyone! Also, Val, that trick at the canyon-thing was awesome!

As the final student crossed the finish line, Midnight got back on stage, “Congrats, everyone! However, only 42 of you could make it to the next round, so here are the results of the obstacle course!”

Moving On:

1st place: Trichia - 1A

2nd place: Frostburn - 1A

3rd place: Ground Zero - 1A

4th place: Vine - 1B

5th place: Mudman - 1B

6th place: Flash - 1A

7th place: Tsukuyomi - 1A

8th place: Cellophane - 1A

9th place: Red Riot - 1A

10th place: Real Steel - 1B

11th place: Tailman - 1A

12th place: Welder - 1B

13th place: Froppy - 1A

14th place: Duplic8 - 1A

15th place: Sugar Rush - 1A

16th place: Uravity - 1A

17th place: Creatie - 1A

18th place: Black Widow - 1E

19th place: Alien Queen - 1A

20th place: Anima - 1A

21st place: Earphone Jack - 1A

22nd place Spiral - 1B

23rd place: Tsuburaba - 1B

24th place: Chargebolt - 1A

25th place: Plamo - 1B

26th place: Emily - 1B

27th place: Mindjack - 1C

28th place: Battle Fist - 1B

29th place: Gevaudan - 1B

30th place: Vantablack - 1B

31st place: Rule - 1B

32nd place: Long Weizi - 1B

33rd place: Mines - 1B

34th place: Shemage - 1B

35th place: Jack Mantis - 1B

36th place: Phantom Thief - 1B

37th place: Rocketti - 1B

38th place: Nobody - 1A

39th place: Lizardy - 1B

40th place: Comicman - 1B

41st place: High Gear - 1H

42nd place: Can’t Stop Sparkling - 1A

Midnight smiled at the students as two people unveiled a giant spinning wheel. She smiled at the crowd, “Now it’s time to pick our second event! While those of you who didn’t make it go up to the stands, I am going to spin this wheel, which will pick from a number of fun activities to build teamwork!”

Almost all of the students moved to the stairs, and the 42 lucky ones moved right next to the stage as Midnight spun the wheel. After several rotations, it stopped on “Calvary Battle”. The smile on her face became more unnerving, and she spoke again, “Alrighty my little heroes, here’s how the next round is going to go. You will make teams of 2-4 fellow students, and you will pick one rider who will be in charge. Depending on what place you took in the first challenge, you will be assigned a number of points. Your team will be given a headband with the total number of points each of you got. The goal of this challenge is to steal each other’s headbands, and collect them around your neck. Any members of the team can grab a headband, but only the rider can hold onto them. Quirks are allowed, as long as it doesn’t leave lasting effects on your classmates. The rider must remain upright, or else you are disqualified.

“Now about the point system. The person who came in number 42, Can’t Stop Sparkling, has 5 points, and each person above gets 5 more points than the one below them, meaning that the person in second place, Frostburn, has 205 points. And you may now be wondering, shouldn’t I be mentioning first place? Well, our lucky lady in first place, Trichia, has 10 million points. We will now give you 15 minutes to make your teams.”

By giving the person in first a million points, it’s made Val a MASSIVE target. I hope she finds someone to team up with.

While that happened, Mic spoke up again, “The second round is always randomly selected, so that even the most prepared student has no idea what will be happening. Hopefully for young Trichia, she can find a team who is really willing to have a target on their backs, or else she will be out of the festival.”

Izuku watched as the students milled about, only able to pick out certain people. Shoji and Tsu were with someone with a spider mutation quirk, she could see Mina’s pink hair next to Kirishima’s red hair, along with a blonde haired person (likely Bakugo) and a black haired person (probably Sero). Shoto was with Kaminari, along with probably Iida, and maybe Momo. The other pink haired person was with two brown haired people, and they moved over and collected Tokoyami right before the time ended.

Once again, Midnight strolled onto the stage, and called out, “Alright, gather into your teams on the edge of the field, and wait for your headbands to be handed out. While you do that, we’ll present the teams on the board for the viewers.”

Half of the screen showed the students moving to the edge, and the other side showed a massive list of names.

Team Trichia: Trichia, Uravity, Tsukoyami, High Gear: 10,000,325

Team Real Steel: Real Steel, Vine, Mudman, Welder: 705

Team Ground Zero: Ground Zero, Cellophane, Red Riot, Alien Queen: 665

Team Frostburn: Frostburn, Flash, Creatie, Chargebolt: 615

Team Black Widow: Black Widow, Froppy, Duplic8: 420

Team Nobody: Nobody, Sugar Rush, Anima, Earphone Jack: 390

Team Phantom Thief: Phantom Thief, Spiral, Tsuburaba, Vantablack: 305

Team Mindjack: Mindjack, Tailman, Mines, Can’t Stop Sparkling: 295

Team Battlefist: Battlefist, Emily, Shemage, Lizardy: 225

Team Rule: Rule, Plamo, Comicman: 165

Team Long Weizi: Long Weizi, Gevaudan: 125

Team Rocketti: Rocketti, Jack Mantis: 70

Midnight’s voice rang out, “Ready? You have 30 minutes to get as many points as possible. Even if you lose your headband, you can keep going until the time limit is up. START!”

Over half of the teams instantly made a break for Val’s team, but when the rope she stole started moving around, people backed up. The rope kept lashing out at anyone who came close, slapping some people in the face, while attempting to grab other headbands.

“Look at Trichia! She has managed to keep a hold of the rope from the second obstacle, and is now using it to defend herself! I feel sorry for anyone who got hit in the face by that!”

Another camera showed Bakugo as he attempted to fight his way over to where Val’s team was, but was stopped in his tracks by another team with a blonde haired guy on top. They went right for Bakugo, and Izuku couldn’t help but wonder, This is too specific of an attack to just be after the person in third. Somehow, some way, Bakugo completely pissed off this guy. It might be the opening speech, or it could be something else.

“Looks like Phantom Thief of 1B is going after Ground Zero!”

Bakugo swung at the blonde guy, but one of his teammates blew out a puff of air, which apparently solidified, because Bakugo’s fist crashed into something mid-air. As Bakugo recentered himself, the blonde lashed back at him, with the exact same attack . Izuku got to her feet in shock, and Bakugo seemed equally shocked, barely able to knock the attack to the side. But as he did so, the other blonde stole the headband right from Bakugo’s head.

“Team Phantom Thief has taken all of Team Ground Zero’s points! What do you have to add, Eraserhead?”

Aizawa gave a harsh chuckle, “Out of all of my students, Phantom Thief went after the one who will destroy him.”

With that victory, the team raced away from Bakugo’s group. Immediately, he pointed after the fleeing team, and his poor group raced after them. As the chase commenced, Izuku looked for Val’s team, which was facing off against Shoto’s. Val’s team was frozen to the ground, and Shoto was fleeing with the million point headband, when the rope shot out at the same time as Dark Shadow. The rope flew into Shoto’s face, and he shot fire at it, while Dark Shadow snatched one headband directly from his head, and multiple from his neck.

Meanwhile, Aizawa kept speaking about Bakugo, “Ground Zero is a person who always aims for the top, and will push himself to the breaking point to get there. By attacking him, and taking his points, Phantom Thief has effectively told Ground Zero to take all of his points. He may not have a lot of time left to do that, but he will get every single headband from Phantom Thief before the timer goes off.”

Her team activated some of the gadgets that they had, sending them flying away from their opponents. What remained of her rope lashed out at everyone who came close. Izuku noticed Bakugo ripping away two of the headbands from the other blonde guy. In a panic, the stranger made his team run as fast as they could, but they couldn’t escape the wrath of Bakugo. He pushed his team to chase after, Sero’s tape making them swerve towards a puddle of acid that Mina created. Bakugo launched himself towards them as they stumbled, and he ripped the final headband off just as the timer went off.

On the field, students inched to a stop, all looking towards Midnight as she got on the platform. She used her crop to point up at the screen, “Let’s see which teams made it to the final battle!”

Behind her, the screen lit up, and the TV showed the screen up close, revealing the top four teams:

Team Frostburn: Frostburn, Flash, Creatie, Chargebolt: 10,000,325

Team Ground Zero: Ground Zero, Cellophane, Red Riot, Alien Queen: 1360

Team Trichia: Trichia, Uravity, Tsukoyami, High Gear: 1220

Team Mindjack: Mindjack, Tailman, Mines, Can’t Stop Sparkling: 1125

She smiled at everyone, and spoke up, “The final round is a battle tournament, where you will go against another student 1 on 1. We’ll announce the matchups after we set up the battleground, and you guys have lunch.”

Mic’s voice rang out as the students left the field, “And that is the end of round 2 of the UA 1st Years Sports Festival! We will pick up in two hours after the students have had a chance to eat, stretch, and recover from the grueling morning. Check back in to see who wins this year’s festival!”

Chapter 19: I Am Flame And I Am Fire, I Am Destruction, Decay, And Desire

Chapter Text

July 15, 2020

Yoichi braced himself as he loaded up Skryim, and Izuku sat beside him with a smile on her face, “You ready for this?”

A grimace filled his face, “Not at all, but let’s do this.”

He started his stream up, and started to talk, “Hello everyone! Like the title says, this is a charity stream for the listed charities. If you wish for your money to go to one particular one, please mention that in your donation. We are going to be playing un-modded Skyrim, and your donations will cause havoc. If you donate $50 USD, I will have to hop the entire way to my next location. If you donate $100 USD, I am blocked from using fast travel until the next $100 USD donation. If you donate $1000 USD, I am blocked from using any healing until the next $1000 USD donation. And finally, if you donate $5000 USD, Robin and I have to switch, and until the next matching donation happens, she is in charge. If someone is crazy enough to donate $100,000 USD, we have to completely restart the game, and that person gets to pick which race we play as.”

Leaning forward, Izuku spoke, “Hello! I’m looking forward to this a lot more than he is, but we are both excited to see how chaotic this is going to be.”

Yoichi loaded up a game, and within a minute donations started flowing in, and Izuku’s job became keeping track of the donations, including what Yoichi was allowed to do versus what he couldn’t do. An alert drew her attention, and a smile grew on her face, “Time to switch.”

“Mid-fight?”

She took the controller as he moved, “That’s what we agreed on.”

Rather than continue to use the sword that Yoichi picked up, Izuku switched to magic and blasted the bandits with fire. Beside her, Yoichi took over the role of donation monitor. It felt like every time they entire a boss fight, the large donations came flooding in, making the duo play hot potato with the controller until the madness ended.

After fighting a draugr lord, Izuku and Yoichi were laughing so hard neither of them could catch their breath. Finally, Izuku started to breathe normally, picked up the controller, and started looting the cave.

April 18, 2221 (Still)

The TV turned to commercials, and Izuku spoke up, “TV, turn off.”

It shut down, and Izuku turned her attention to the group chat, which was starting to wake up. She smiled as the messages rolled in.

UA Heroics Course A - Class of 2224 Group Chat

Trichia : He has received a punch from me from that bloody stupid opening speech.

Nyx : Thank you.

Ground Zero: I’m going to kill both of you.

Nyx : I do hope you remember that my guardian is one of the moderators of this chat.

Aizawa-sensei : Bakugo, you have lost ten points on the next assignment.

Ground Zero: What?

Aizawa-sensei : I thought it went without saying that threatening fellow heroes-in-training would have severe consequences.

Flash: Midoriya, how is your health? Are you hydrating properly?

Nyx : Yeah, I’m just bored. Recovery Girl says that my body is recovering pretty quick, so I might be non-radioactive in a couple days. At the current moment, I’m about the same level as an X-ray. Still going insane from being alone 24/7 for the second time this year, but surviving.

Creatie : Now that it will only be two people at a time, we can chat with you.

A loud noise drew her attention up, and Hound Dog nodded to her as he slid lunch through the slot, “You doing good Midoriya?”

“I’m bored, but the Sport’s Festival is fixing that. And now 1A is sending me a million messages. I’m just ready to go back to class.”

Nyx : Gotta go, you guys, my lunch was just dropped off and I have a couple assignments that I have to do before I get out of quarantine.

Flash : Do not forget to properly hydrate!

Tossing her phone onto the bed, Izuku picked up her food and sat at her table for one. The food was amazing, as everything by Lunch Rush was, but eating alone was starting to take its toll. She picked at her food, eating what she could and dumping the rest in the waste disposal. Once that was done, she pulled out her journal, and started to work on her ‘assignment’.

Izuku made a list of accounts that she had, and started to go through and change each password. As she did so, she wrote the new password next to the account. After changing her old email and online banking, she moved to Discord. After changing the password, it asked the usual question of ‘do you want to log out of all devices?’ like it always does, but Izuku froze.

Her Discord was logged into 6 devices.

Two were expected: her temporary and schoolwork computers.

She knew her new phone had been logged out when the sim card was moved.

Who was looking at the other 4 devices?

In a panic, Izuku checked her Spotify, and stared at the same 6 devices logged in. Rapidly, she changed the password and logged out of all accounts for both. She raced through all of her accounts, and quickly logged out of each as she changed the passwords. Her TokTok was logged into the mystery 4 devices, which unnerved her even more than the Spotify or Discord accounts. Finally, she got to her Twitch account, and she stared at the SAME FOUR ACCOUNTS, logged onto her account. She got them off, and noticed that there were two videos on Yoichi’s account that she hadn’t watched.

Meaning that they occurred after she went missing.

She opened his page, and looked up the two videos. One was titled “Why I Haven’t Been Streaming Lately”, and the second was titled “Good-bye From HisRoyalNerdiness”.

She opened the streaming one first, and it showed an online drawing pad where Yoichi was doing an abstract piece of art. His voice made her smile as he spoke, “So, many people have asked me why I haven’t streamed lately, I’m here to explain that. My last stream ended early when I was told my niece, who many of you know as Robin or superdupernova, went missing. She was attacked by a person while she went to the store, and we have no idea where she is or how she is doing. I’ve tried several times to stream with my friends, but I couldn’t focus on anything for more than ten minutes. Until we get information, I’m not going to stream again. I understand that a lot of you will be upset with that, but my family comes first.”

Tears filled the corner of her eyes as she clicked the second video. This time, the screen was only the background that Yoichi typically put behind his streams. His voice was quiet, and he spoke so fast Izuku could barely keep up, “Hey guys, I wish I could stream again, but it’s not going to happen. I’m making this video more for history than anything else. In case history glosses over this, there are good and evil on both sides of the metahumans and the regular humans. There is no black and white in this fight. And, if by some stroke of luck, Robin, you see this, do everything in your power to stay away from my brother.”

Leaning back, Izuku wiped away tears as her brain processed what she heard, Yoichi must have made that after getting out of the vault. I wish he was the one still around. But this basically confirms everything I already know. I should text All Might.

Pulling out her phone, Izuku looked up All Might’s number.

Izuku : I found a video left behind by Yoichi. He specifically said that if I ever found it, to avoid his brother as much as humanly possible. Also, several of my accounts were logged in on four devices that I don’t know. Before everything happened, I only had them on my phone and computer, so those MIGHT be two of them, but I have no idea what the other two are.

All Might: That’s concerning. Have you logged out of those devices?

Izuku : Yes, I’ve gone through every account, changed the passwords and logged out of all devices on each. But it really unnerves me that there were that many devices logged in.

All Might : As well you should be. I will pass this information to Nezu and your guardians, so that your full focus can be on your friends.

Glancing up, Izuku noticed the time, and spoke, “TV, turn on.”

It lit up once again, and she heard Yamada’s voice blathering on, “While we have all been taking a break, the staff of UA has been busy setting up a battle arena. Here, our remaining students will fight to the top of the bracket. Right now the students are being randomly assigned their opponents…and two students from 1A and 1B have stepped down due to personal reasons, meaning that two members of the fifth place team will be participating! Now have the order for the tournament! Our matches are as follows: Trichia vs Mindjack, Flash vs High Gear, Frostburn vs Cellophane, Chargebolt vs Vine, Can’t Stop Sparkling vs Alien Queen, Tsukuyomi vs Creatie, Real Steel vs Red Riot, and Uravity vs Ground Zero.

“While everyone heads back to their seats, Trichia and Mindjack will go prepare in quiet rooms. Each pair goes into those quiet rooms to prepare before each match, so they will miss the one directly before theirs. Since the two of them already had a very long break, their turn in the quiet room will only be for 5 minutes. In the meantime, we’ll update the status of the other two years.”

UA Heroics Course A - Class of 2224 Group Chat

Tailman : Fair warning @Trichia, that guy can use his quirk to make you do what he wants.

Trichia : Thanks for the heads up. But with Japanese being my second language, I can tune it out.

Nyx : He can what?

Tailman : I remember him asking me a question, and the next thing I remember is bumping against another team. It has something to do with his quirk.

Nyx : That’s a pretty cool quirk. Imagine how many villains he could catch without having to fight.

Tailman : I’d probably like it a lot more if he had asked for permission first. It’s not a great feeling.

Nyx : Uravity, how you feeling?

Uravity : Nervous, but determined.

“Alright! Here come our first combatants! On the north side, we have Trichia, our Australian Exchange Student in 1A! On the south side, we have Mindjack from class 1C, our only student from the general courses to make it this far!”

Val had what remained of her rope braided around her waist, along with a very long ribbon tying her hair out of her face, giving her two weapons to Mindjack’s zero. But the screen was taken over by closer photos of both, giving a much better view of Mindjack to Izuku, who recognized him as Shinso Hitoshi, the kid who volunteered at the animal shelter.

The screen went back to an overhead view of both, and a bell went off, setting both of them at each other. Val charged forward, swinging punches at him as his mouth moved. While that happened, Yamada spoke, “And they’re off! Trichia is not holding back with her punches, and Mindjack is doing his best to stop her with his quirk, which has been disclosed to all pro-heroes in the audience.”

Duplic8 : I really hope that Adeline has no idea what’s being said to her, or else that guy isn’t going to survive.

Nyx : Do I want to know?

Earphone Jack : Basically just saying that no respectable family would raise such a disrespectful person. He’s just saying stuff to get a rise out of her.

Val kept silently swinging punches at him, and about ¾ of the way across the field, Shinso also started swinging punches, but even Izuku could see how little he followed through on his swings. As they got closer to the edge, Val started to grab his arms when he swung at her, and swing him farther towards the edge.

When Shinso realized how close they were getting to the line, he started fighting back more and more with every swing, but could not keep up with her rapid movements. On one such swing, Val caught his arm and flung him towards the line, letting him crash just over the it. Midnight raised her hand, and Yamada spoke, “And the match has been settled! Trichia will be moving on to the second round, while Mindjack will join his classmates in the stands! Up next is Flash versus High Gear!”

Iida entered the arena on one side, while a bubblegum haired girl entered on the other side. Both of them had a form of support gear on them, Iida’s looked like a jet pack, while the girl had several smaller devices. The pictures of them filled the screen, and the girl’s looked like she was insane.

The image faded, and Yamada started speaking, “Apparently High Gear loaned one of the devices she created to Flash. We will see how well that turns out.”

Almost the millisecond that the fight started, the strange device on Iida’s back started swinging him around like an inflatable wiggly dude that were all over movies that were set in America. While he kept being tossed around, High Gear seemed to be speaking to the audience, but Izuku couldn’t hear what was being said over Yamada’s snorts. Izuku couldn’t contain her own laughter, and started to roar with it so hard that her sides were aching after a minute.

By the time Izuku was struggling to breathe, the machine dropped Iida to the ground and the girl stepped out of the ring with her hands in the air. Yamada managed to calm himself down, and spoke in barely contained mirth, “That was quite the fight. Anyways, up next is Frostburn versus Cellophane!”

Izuku leaned forward, trying to make out the expression on Shoto’s face. Before she could get a good look, the screen once again showed a picture of both of them with their codenames.

When it finally faded, revealing them both in position. Shoto’s face was completely emotionless, while Sero looked extremely excited, bouncing on the balls on his feet. The bell went off, and ice flooded the camera’s view.

Another camera took up streaming, and showed half of the arena filled with ice, with poor Sero trapped inside. Yamada did his best to hide the nerves in his voice as he spoke, “Frostburn has won this round, and while he helps to free his opponent, we are going to go to commercial.”

Izuku whipped out her phone, and sent a text to Shoto:

Izuku : You okay? You don’t normally lose control like that.

While waiting for him to text her back, she checked the group chat.

Trichia : He said WHAT about my family?

Nyx : Is someone holding her back?

Creatie : Shoji has her, after Iida decided to explain to her what was said.

Flash : What he said was very unbecoming of a student of UA! Is no one else concerned?

Froppy : He was just trying to upset her long enough to use his quirk. He likely didn’t mean it.

Nyx : I’ve met him before, it's more likely that he wanted a rise out of her than actually meaning what he was saying.

Aizawa-sensei : Adeline, if you attempt to harm another UA student outside of the battle arena, not only will you be disqualified, but you will also instantly fail your next assignment and not be allowed to do the training experience.

Izuku’s phone started ringing, and Shoto’s name appeared over the top. Tapping the answer call button, she spoke, “Hey. Do you want to talk about it, or just be distracted?”

“Father approached me before the fight, and told me that no child of his would take any place besides first. I wasn’t in a great mindset for it.”

Sitting cross legged on the bed, Izuku thought for a second, “Okay, you have to decide one of two things. One is to be yourself and to use your entire quirk to win, or you can choose to shun your father’s legacy and only use your ice, which will cost you the win.”

On the other end of the call, Shoto was quiet. After several moments, he firmly replied, “At the next sports festival, I will put my full effort into the fights. But today, I’m just going to use ice and see how far that gets me.”

The commercial ended suddenly, and revealed a very wet stadium, which Kaminari and a girl with green hair were entering as Yamada spoke, “Sorry about that, folks! Anyway, here’s match three! On the north side we have Chargebolt of 1A, and on the south side we have Vine of 1B!”

Yet again, the screen was filled by the close up pictures of both competitors, and Izuku realized that the girl’s hair were a bunch of vines. As it faded away, Kaminari was bouncing on his feet. The second the alarm went off, the girl turned around and sent her hair into the ground, wrapping around her like a shield. Kaminari showed his lack of knowledge of what’s conductive by sending a wave of electricity at her. Once he was all short circuited from his attack, one of her vines wrapped around him and flung him out.

“Vine has won this round! She will go against Frostburn in the next round! While young Chargebolt recovers from his quirk’s kickback, we’ll move on to the next match, which is two members of 1A! On our north side is Can’t Stop Sparkling, and on the south side is Alien Queen.”

Rolling her eyes, Izuku scoffed at Aoyama’s picture, where he was posing very dramatically. Ashido was very simple in comparison, doing double peace signs. As the alarm went off, Mina charged Aoyama, sending acid flying off her hands. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he spun to protect his belt, leaving the perfect chance for her to punch him directly in the face. Before he could properly recover, Mina grabbed his arm and threw him completely out of the area.

Midnight raised her arm as Yamada yelled, “Alien Queen wins! She will move on to the next round, while Can’t Stop Sparkling will return to his classmates. Up next is Tsukuyomi versus Creatie, also both from 1A!”

Down on the field, Momo and Tokoyami appeared on either side, and their pictures appeared on-screen, both incredibly normal. When the bell went off, Momo was under attack by Dark Shadow. He slammed into her again and again, barely leaving her enough time to create a shield. A few hits later, however, and the shield went flying. Dark Shadow grabbed her and threw her out of the arena.

“Tsukuyomi has won this round! In the next round he will go against Alien Queen. Up next is the penultimate fight of the first round: Real Steel versus Red Riot! These two young men are like two peas in a pod without ever having met. Who will win?”

Looking at both when they entered the arena, and then at their larger images, Izuku could see exactly what Yamada meant, they were posed the exact same way. Real Steel seemed to be a gray copy of Kirishima. While both of them waited for the buzzer to go off, they were in the exact same position. Both launched at each other as the buzzer went off. The punches flew so fast that Izuku could not keep up with it. She could just barely make out the fact that Kirishima had turned his skin to rock, and that his opponent was metallic.

Two peas in a pod indeed. They’re totally going to befriend each other after this.

A shockingly loud noise echoed from the fighting arena, and both guys fell down completely limp. Izuku giggled as Midnight started a count, It’s just like the Sakura versus Ino fight in Naruto, just less brains involved.

Yamada laughed as he spoke, “Well, we will have to figure out another way to settle that battle once they both wake up. While Recovery Girl deals with them, we will move onto the final battle of the primary round! Please give it up for Uravity and Ground Zero!”

The familiar pattern of them entering made Izuku excited for what was coming next. Uraraka’s picture was her smiling with her head tilted, while Bakugo was letting off small explosions. The pictures faded, revealing them both in position. Uraraka looked eeriely calm, while Bakugo looked murderous, or, exactly the same as always. Once again, the buzzer went off, and shockingly Uraraka was the first to move. She charged right at him, barely dodging a blast. The rubble from the blast floated up as she charged again.

Izuku watched in shock and amazement as she kept doing it, causing more and more rubble to float above him. She was knocked out of her reverie by a familiar raspy voice muttering, “Oh for f*ck’s sake.”

Yamada spoke with some noise in the background, “One of the crowd members is insulting Ground Zero for fighting a girl in a ‘harsh way’ so at the moment, Eraserhead is currently chewing him out. But on the other hand, look at young Uravity’s plan. I highly doubt that Ground Zero even noticed it.”

Bakugo’s head turned towards the person who was yelling, and all of the rubble fell at once. His head jerked up, and he barely managed to let off a blast to destroy the rubble as it fell towards him, sending pieces flying everywhere.

He was not expecting for her to punch him in the back with her other quirk just afterwards. A loud yell came out from him as he shot off the arena, crashing into the grass below. Meanwhile, Uraraka collapsed onto the ground, clutching her arm. Midnight waved her whip as Yamada spoke, “That was a rough win for Uravity, but no one here can say that she didn’t deserve it. She’s going to be escorted to Recovering Girl, and we’re going to go to commercial break again while we wait for Cementoss to repair the arena.

The chat lit up.

Trichia : Finally, another girl made it to the bloody second round! And not only that, but she took down the biggest jerk in the entire class while doing so!

Ground Zero : I can read, bitch.

Aizawa-sensei: Ten points off next assignment, Bakugo.

Chargebolt : Points are dropping like flies today. Also, how did that girl’s hair block my attack?

Creatie : Putting it simply, almost all plants do not conduct electricity very well.

Chargebolt : Huh?

Nyx : Plants ignore lightning attacks.

Chargebolt : Oh, okay. Like pokemon.

Nyx : Yup, that being said, NEVER use your quirk close to Tsu.

Froppy : I’d really appreciate not being cooked alive.

Chargebolt : Yes, maam.

The commercials came to another end, and the camera focused on Kirishima and his gray twin with their elbows on a short pillar of cement with Cementoss standing over them. Yamada spoke up, “It has been decided that whichever young man wins the arm wrestling match will move on to the next round.”

Cementoss lowered his hand, and the two of them both activated their quirks as they attempted to win. Slowly, Kirishima started to push back his opponent’s arm, finally slamming it down on the pillar.

“Red Riot will be moving to the next round!”

Chapter 20: The Future Can Change The Past, Make Every Second Last

Chapter Text

August 9, 2020

“So how do I play this game?”

Yoichi smiled, “We each take turns giving clues about what words we were assigned as a team. The round goes until one team finds all of their clues, or until one team hits the ‘bomb’ word, which gives the win to the other team. Right now we are waiting for the other team to get their clue.”

The clue ‘fragrance - 3’ popped up, and the other team started debating which clues they liked. With the confidence that only a man could have, Haru loudly called out, “I’m clicking lightning, because rain has the best smell ever.”

Izuku dissolved into laughter as the screen turned blue, and the card that Haru clicked turned out to be black. He screamed into his mike so loud that Izuku lifted her headphones off of her ears, “Dammit! I was so sure of that!”

Bubblegumbitch laughed, “Great job, genius. We’re all so bloody proud of you.”

“Oh, shut your mouth, you overgrown kangaroo.”

Yoichi spoke up, “Please, let’s just move to the next round. We’ll do the same teams just to give you guys a second chance.”

He started the next round, and both teams had the same spymasters chosen. This time, Koji was going first. After a minute, he sent the clue ‘circle - 3’. Izuku clicked ‘sun’, and it revealed an orange card, “I figured that if it wasn’t sun, then he clearly didn’t read the board.”

“Fair enough. I’m going to click ‘eye’, mostly because of the same reasoning.”

It flipped over to also reveal an orange card, and Yoichi started marking the ones that he was trying to decide between, “It would be a bit of a stretch to be ‘fan’ or ‘drink’, but I could see either of those. But I’m leaning towards ‘tape’ because it always comes in a roll.”

Nodding, Izuku hovered her mouse over them, “I’m just going to click one, so the blue team can have a turn.”

She clicked ‘tape’, and it showed up as orange, so Izuku clicked ‘end guessing’. Almost immediately, bbuubbbblleess sent her first clue as ‘Japan - 2’. Within seconds, the two names started appearing on cards without any communication between the two, and Nobue sent a message to Izuku: Save me from these two.

Izuku spoke up, “You guys? Nobue sent me a message that gives off the essence of her banging her head against the wall. Could you at least talk to each other to pick?”

Rachel sighed, “Fine. I was thinking ‘food’, because you guys have amazing food up there. What about you?”

“Yeah, makes sense. I was also looking at ‘machine’, because we have the most vending machines per person.”

“Ooo, that’s a good one. Should we just click them?”

Haru grunted, “Let’s each click our own.”

Rachel clicked ‘food’, which turned blue, and Haru clicked ‘machine’...which turned out black. Nobue cried out, “Oh, come on! That’s the second time!”

Both Izuku and Yoichi dissolved into laughter, while the other team tore each other apart. Finally, every calmed down enough for Yoichi to ask, “Do you guys want another try?”

Haru’s volume once again required Izuku to take off her headphones, “Yes! We can do it on a third try!”

Nobue groaned, “I’m only going to do it one more time. After that, I’m begging all of you to let me switch teams.”

“Deal.”

“I’m in agreement. I can’t be on the same team as VaultBreaker anymore. We’re too much alike, and it’s dragging our poor teammate down.”

Once again, the cards were put out, and everyone waited for Nobue’s first clue. Finally, out came the clue ‘cheerful - 2’. Haru spoke as he narrowed down which ones he thought it was, “I think some good options are ‘candy’, ‘sun’, and ‘chocolate’. They seem to be pretty safe options.”

“I dunno,” Rachel muttered as she clicked hers, “I kinda like ‘king’, because everyone who is the complete boss will always be happy.”

Haru’s tone sent the image of rolling eyes into Izuku’s brain, “Yeah, but they would be the only ones happy in that situation. The ones I picked are traditionally considered things that make people happy.”

“YOLO!”

“DON’T!”

King was a black card.

Everyone got the notification that Haru left the game, and he got off the Discord call at the same time. Through Discord, everyone could see him pull up Borderlands, and Yoichi spoke, “Congrats, BGB, you just made him ragequit for the first time in 14 months. He’s not coming back. Robin and I are going to play Stardew to recover from that trainwreck of a game. Bye guys!”

Both of them logged off, and then proceeded to laugh for another ten minutes, neither quite believing what they had just witnessed.

April 18, 2221 (Still)

“Now that we know who is moving on, it’s time to move on to Round 2! Up first is Flash versus Trichia!”

Once again, their pictures emerged on screen, and faded away to show the two of them standing in place. Yamada spoke up, “Just as a little reminder, on the north side we have Trichia, and on the south side we have Flash. Both of them are from 1A, which is the class that dealt with the recent villain attack. Let us see who wins this one!”

The bell went off, and Iida shot forward as Val made her way towards the center. In the blink of an eye, she jumped out of his way and he tripped over her rope. Before he could get back on his feet, the rope ensnared his legs entirely. Val grabbed him by the ropes and pulled him to the edge as he flailed, trying to free himself.

As they got closer to the end, Iida started to heat up his engines, and received a chop from Val that knocked him out for just enough seconds to get him over the line. Midnight laughed as she raised her crop, and Yamada yelled out, “Trichia wins!”

She retrieved her rope from around his legs, and exited while Iida came back around and did his best to regain his dignity. Yamada kept speaking while Iida exited, “We have gotten a few questions from the public about Trichia’s rope, and whether she is allowed to have it. We have discussed it as a staff, and decided that since it was not brought in by her, but rather by the staff who didn’t think before making that obstacle, that she is allowed to keep it.”

His voice changed as he continued, “Now that that is settled, it’s time for the second match of the round: Frostburn versus Vine! Vine is our last contender who is not from 1A. Let us see how far she makes it!”

Pictures showed up, then faded back to the two of them in position, Shoto on the south side, and Vine on the north. Izuku braced herself to the brutal fight that was about to happen. As soon as the bell went off, Shoto sent a wave of ice directly at her. She attempted to shield herself with her vines, but the ice went around them and surrounded her. A vine shot out of the ground towards Shoto, but he froze it also before it got to him.

Midnight called out, “Frostburn wins!”

Once again, Shoto created a flame and melted the ice to free her and her hair, and she returned to her cheering classmates. He followed her out and the next pair entered, “Match three is Tsukuyomi versus Alien Queen! The most bubbly student of 1A against the most grim student of 1A, how will this match end?”

Their pictures showed up with their hero names again, and faded to show, “On the north side we have Tsukuyomi, and on the south side we have Alien Queen.”

Mina launched forward as soon as the bell went off, while Tokoyami just barely moved from the starting position, sending Dark Shadow forward. Mina did her best to dodge him so she could get to Tokoyami, but Dark Shadow was much faster than her. It only took Dark Shadow about a minute to grapple her, and drop her out of the area as she flailed around like a wet noodle in a tornado.

“It looks like Tsukoyomi will be moving on to the next round! We also received an update on Uravity’s condition. She is still unconscious after overusing her quirk earlier, so by default Red Riot will be moving on! We are going to have another commercial break, then come back for the semi-finals!”

UA Heroics Course A - Class of 2224 Group Chat

Red Riot: I hope she’s okay. I’m glad I’m moving on, but not at the cost of someone else.

Chargebolt: I’m also worried about Bakugo, he’s still in Recovery Girl’s office.

Nyx: He’s not back yet? I hope she didn’t hit him too hard.

Ground Zero: The old hag is making me stay here because she thinks I burned my arms with my quirk.

Aizawa-sensei: I challenge you to call her that to her face.

Creatie: Sensei, do you know how Uraraka is doing?

Aizawa-sensei: According to Recovery Girl, she is going to need a cast for a couple weeks, but she’s mostly just sleeping off quirk exhaustion. She should wake up fairly soon.

Froppy: Sensei, could we change the name of the chat to something shorter?

Aizawa-sensei: To what, exactly?

Froppy: Well, you always call us ‘Trouble Class’, that would be a good name.

Aizawa-sensei changed the group name to Problem Class 1A

The commercials gave way to UA’s logo, and Yamada’s voice rang out, “Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome back to UA’s Sport’s Competition for the First Years! Our Semi-finalists are: Trichia, Frostburn, Red Riot, and Tsukuyomi! Up first is Trichia versus Frostburn! Both have had training for years from relatives, so we will see which one of these powerhouses will win this match up!”

Shoto was on the north side, and Val was on the south side once the pictures of them faded away. Val seemed extremely calm as she waited for the bell, while Shoto shifted subtly between feet. Both of them were blurs as soon as the bell went off. Val rushed directly towards Shoto, barely managing to pivot away from the giant wall of ice that shot towards her. She attempted to charge towards his left side, almost getting hit with ice a second time.

At that point, she crouched low to the ground while unwrapping the rope from her waist. It started to slither towards the end of the second ice path, and she freed her hair ribbons, moving herself towards the other ice path. She charged directly towards him on his right side, sending her hair ribbons towards him. Her reward was a third ice path.

This time, her ankle did get caught by the ice, and she fought to get free, which drew Shoto’s attention towards her. He didn’t notice the rope until it yanked his ankle. He kept making giant patches of ice to use as hand holds, but the rope kept pulling him, cutting the palms of his hands. In his attempts to free himself, he froze the rope to his ankle, which just made it easier for her to drag him out of bounds.

“Trichia wins, and will take part in the final round! She will go wait in the preparation room, while our next fight takes place between Red Riot and Tsukuyomi! Their fight will be the penultimate one, with only a single match left after, the finale!”

Kirishima stood at the north side, while Tokoyami was over at the south side. Both were completely focused on each other, and an errant thought passed through Izuku’s mind, I feel bad for Kirishima, pure happenstance is the reason he’s made it this far. I hope he doesn’t get upset about that, or assume that he couldn’t have gotten this far on his own.

As soon as the bell went off, both rushed forward. Tokoyami once again stopped a quarter of the way across the field, while Dark Shadow rushed forward the rest of the way. Kirishima started swinging punches at Dark Shadow’s ‘torso’, who barely reacted to them at all. Within a couple seconds, Dark Shadow had him in a bear hug, and dragged him kicking and fighting to the edge of the ring and throw him out.

“Our final match will be Trichia versus Tsukoyomi! Meanwhile, third place will be shared between Red Riot and Frostburn! We’re going to let Trichia and Tsukoyomi take a quick break while we recap each of their trips to the champion match!”

Images and video of the earlier Sports Festival events showed up as Yamada started to narrate, “Trichia proved to be a strong contender right from the start of the obstacle course, where she was in second place for the first half of the race, and then took first and held it for the rest of the race. Her physical capabilities have helped her keep ahead, along with her quirk. Tsukuyomi has used his quirk to stay in the middle of the pack, both as a source of movement, and as a weapon. They were on the same team during the chariot race, where they worked well together to keep their opponents at bay while also collecting headbands.”

“Now we will see which one will win. Will it be Trichia? Who’s quirk and intellect has kept her ahead of the pack? Or will it be Tsukoyomi, the one with the impenetrable defense? We will see! Here they come!”

For the final time, thank goodness, the pictures appeared onscreen and faded to show the two on the stage. Val looked nervous but anxious, while Tokoyami looked like…himself. When the bell rang, both moved slightly forward before using their quirks to attack each other. Val’s rope rushed forward almost as fast as Dark Shadow. Tokoyami was yelling at Dark Shadow about something, but it just ignored him and grabbed Val, who immediately started punching it directly in the eyes. Meanwhile, Tokoyami was doing his best to dodge Val’s rope, which ensnared his leg.

Dark Shadow got distracted by a mixture of Tokyami getting tangled as well as the punches to the eyes, and Val almost managed to escape before it noticed. Despite her being held captive, her rope was dragging Tokoyami to the edge. Dark Shadow started to drag Val towards the edge while she continued to punch repeatedly. Every so often, its grip on her would slip just long enough for her to scramble to the middle of the arena.

Finally, Midnight held up her whip, and the camera zoomed in on Tokoyami who had his foot just outside of the line. Val was barely inside the line herself, and panting heavily. Yamada’s voice rang out, “Trichia is our winner!”

Cementoss came around onto the ring, creating three platforms like the Olympics medals ceremony. And Yamada spoke, “We will now award the medals for the First Years Sport Festival! In third place, we have Red Riot and Frostburn!”

The two of them stood awkwardly together on a podium that had a slightly larger diameter than the other two. Both of them did their best to not touch each other.

“In second place, we have Tsukoyomi!”

He stood on the second tallest platform with his arms folded over his chest, still looking slightly ruffled and out of breath.

“And this year’s champion, Trichia!”

She rubbed her shoulder as she stood on the top podium, completely zoned out.

Until All Might fell from the sky, yelling so loud that the broadcast could pick his voice up clearly, “I AM HERE TO HAND OUT THE MEDALS!”

Every single one of them jumped, and All Might beamed as Midnight handed him the medals. As he placed a medal on each person’s neck, he spoke to them individually before moving to the next person. When he got to Val, she took the medal and just held it at her side instead of putting it on.

Then he stepped back as first, the UA theme played, then the Japanese national anthem. While Tokoyami, Kirishima, Shoto, and the adults all stood at attention for the national anthem, Val just spent the time looking at her medal instead, regardless of the murmurs in the crowd.

Finally, the songs were over, and UA’s logo filled the screen, “Thank you for your viewership of this year's UA First Year Sports Festival! The VODs for the First, Second, and Third years will be uploaded to UA’s official YouTube channel later today for your viewing pleasure! If you are a pro-hero, and wish to take any student you saw here today for an internship, please send the application to UA’s principal, Nezu!”

“TV, turn off.”

The screen went black, and Izuku flopped down on her back, staring at the ceiling.

Her phone gave off a notification, and she glanced over to see a private message through Discord, from Thanatos.

She lay flat for a long time before picking up her phone and opening it.

Thanatos: You weren’t in it.

Izuku unfriended him, then blocked him before she dropped her phone back on the bed, “It’s days like this that I feel like I was dropped into an anime, and not into the future.”

Chapter 21: Everything is Easier When You're Home

Chapter Text

May 21, 2020

Izuku was curled up on the couch, working on some homework when Hisashi poked his head into the living room with a smile on his face, “Hey, Robin, I have a surprise for you in the backyard! Come see what it is!”

Putting her computer to the side, Izuku stood up while tilting her head to the side, “Really? What is it?”

His face was nearly split in half by his massive smile, “If you really want to know, then you have to come and see for yourself.”

She trailed after him into the kitchen, where he turned around, bouncing with giddiness, “Close your eyes, I want to film your reaction.”

Rolling her eyes, Izuku put both of her hands on her face. She could hear as Hisashi opened the curtain and the door, and then put his hand on her back to guide her out. After a few steps, he removed his hand, and Izuku could just make out the sounds of him moving slightly to the front of her. Finally, he spoke, “Alright, you can look.”

As her eyes fluttered open, Izuku saw a gorgeous purple galaxy patterned telescope. Her mouth dropped open, and she looked over at Hisashi, “Did you get this for me?”

“Yes. The pollution is going down due to everyone staying home, so I figured that you might like to look at the stars since we can’t go camping like I promised.”

Izuku fought down the tears that were threatening to spill over, but lost the fight. Hisashi stopped recording on his phone and rushed over to her side, “Do you not like it? Should I get a different one?”

She wiped away the tears, barely managed to get her next words out, “No, I love it, I was just not expecting it. Thank you so much.”

He brightened up, “After dinner, should we test it out?”

“Absolutely.”

The minute the sun set, the two of them rushed outside with light jackets on, while Yoichi trailed behind wearing one of his countless masks. Hisashi followed the directions in the instruction manual to ensure that everything was perfectly aligned while Izuku leaned towards Yoichi, “How bad do you think he is going to be about pretending that he knows what we are going to see through it?”

“Oh, he’s totally going to be insufferable. We might have to get Inko to intervene at some point, if he is anything close to how he was when I started streaming.”

Finally, he stepped back, “It should work now.”

Izuku rushed forward, instantly looking through at the stars glittering above. She pulled out her night sky map app, and figured out which angle she needed to point to see Mars. Beside her, Hisashi rapidly flipped through an astronomy textbook, “According to this, we should be able to see-”

Rolling her eyes, Izuku butted in, “Hisashi, I have an app for navigating the night sky. I don’t need a textbook.”

He closed the textbook most of the way, only leaving his pointer finger inside as a bookmark, “But apps can malfunction, so I would rather rely on a textbook.”

“You sound like a Boomer. And isn’t it also true that the writers of textbooks can manipulate the information to suit their needs? Especially since that is one published in America.”

The book was flipped open as Hisashi checked the printing location, “Fair, I didn’t realize that this was American.”

Yoichi walked towards them, “Have you found anything yet?”

Bouncing up and down, Izuku smiled, “Yeah! If you look through and see a small red dot, that’s Mars!”

He very carefully leaned forward, looking through the telescope, “That’s pretty cool.”

April 19, 2221

“This will come as great news for you, Midoriya, but your radiation levels are back to normal, so you get to go home as soon as Yamada gets here. I’ll scan all of your stuff with the Geiger counter to see what is safe for you to take with you.”

Izuku glanced up at Recovery Girl just outside of the window, “Really?”

“Yes. Whatever you want to keep, just place it on the bed and I’ll scan it to make sure it isn’t a danger to other people.”

Hopping to her feet, she rushed around the room gathering her stuff. She put the computer and spare phone on the desk in case there was going to be another radioactive period, only taking the sim card from the temp phone. Once everything was on the bed, Recovery Girl started to scan each item with a Geiger counter. As things were cleared, Izuku packed them away into a duffel bag.

Yamada swung his upper half into the room with a blinding smile on his face, “Are you ready to blow this joint?”

Recovery Girl handed over the last item, and Izuku swung her bag over her shoulder, “I can’t wait to see the cats.”

“What about us?”

Izuku laughed as he pretended to be offended, “And you guys too. But I’ve heard your voices and seen you guys since I ended up here. I can’t say the same thing for the cats.”

He gently ruffled her hair, “Fair point.”

Together, they navigated the halls on their way out of the school, while Yamada spoke a mile a minute, “Aizawa is getting one more check up at the hospital, and then he will be back at 100%. So it’s like both of you recovered at the same time. Also, young Shinso stayed late after the festival to make sure you were okay. I told him that you weren’t there because we wanted to keep you out of the limelight.”

“Oh, okay. I’m surprised he did that, since we only met once.”

Yamada pushed open a door for her, “I guess whatever you two spoke about really stood out to him.”

She shrugged as a breeze coasted across her face for the first time in a long time, “I just spoke about how it’s not entirely fair that students with anger management problems like Bakugo can get in, but students who do volunteer work don’t just because their quirk isn’t meant for combat. At the very least, the rescue points should be worth more than villain points.”

“Again, fair point, but this is the way things have been done for so long that change isn’t going to happen overnight.”

The two of them arrived at the road, where Kayama’s familiar car was waiting. She rolled down the windows, and called out to them, “How does it feel to be outside again?”

Hopping into the back seat, Izuku rolled the window down, “I really missed the fresh air. But honestly the hardest part was being alone again.”

Kayama smiled over the seat, “At least you won’t be alone at all today, between the two dorks and your adorable cats.”

A smile spread across her face, “Fair. Especially with Yamada, who doesn’t know what personal space is.”

“I do know what personal space is, thank you very much.”

Fighting down laughter, Izuku tilted her head, “Okay, but do you know how to be quiet?”

He smirked at her, “I can be quiet as long as you can go without referencing memes.”

“Touche.”

As they flew through the city, Izuku leaned against the door so the fresh air (as fresh as it could be in a city) blew in her face. Even with the smell of gas and oil, it still was leagues better than the sterile air of the quarantine room. It seemed like no time at all before they pulled up outside of the apartment.

Izuku scrambled out of the car, waiting for Yamada to join her on the sidewalk. He smiled at her, “Somebody is excited to be home.”

“Do you blame me? This is the first time that I am going to be around other people in several days.”

Both of them waved goodbye to Kayama as she drove off, and they headed inside. One elevator ride later, they were standing in front of the apartment door. Yamada unlocked the door, and Izuku walked in only to get two cats meowing at her at the top of their lungs. Kneeling down, Izuku picked both of them up and gently held them to her as Yamada closed the door behind them.

After a minute, Mariposa wormed her way out of Izuku’s arms, and started sniffing her duffel bag while Chat Noir just purred in her arms. Footsteps approached, and Aizawa rounded the corner, “Now I can finally rest, and not have to deal with them bothering me.”

Izuku smiled up at him, “You know you liked having their full attention.”

He carefully sat down next to her while Yamada moved around, picking up her bag and carrying it off, “At first I did, but they literally wouldn’t leave me alone. Now I am more than willing to share their affection.”

Claws dug into Izuku’s back as Mariposa climbed up and perched on her shoulder, meowing directly into her ear. Reaching up, Izuku plucked her off and carried both of them into her room, where her bag was already waiting. She put both cats on her bed, and unpacked all of her stuff. Her phone was sitting on the bedside table, so she put the sim card back in, grateful that her conversations and contacts were actually transferred with the card, instead of having to pull everything up, Occasionally new stuff is nice. This is one change I can happily accept.

Flopping down next to the two cats, she pulled up the group chat and sent a message.

Problem Class 1A

Nyx: Guess who’s back at her foster home?

Uravity: Yay!

Trichia: So you’ll be in class on Monday.

Alien Queen: Way to go, Midoriya!

Aizawa-sensei: Midoriya will be joining the class starting on Monday. Remember, if her wristband is red, do not ask her questions about pre-quirk life or the rise of quirks.

Alien Queen: Yessir!

Creatie: We understand, Sensei.

Izuku was gently petting Mariposa’s head when she received a direct text from Val.

Val: While you were in quarantine, we pestered Shoto for your favorite video games, and he said that you like Minecraft?

Izuku: Yes, why?

Val: Well, we all downloaded it, and have been practicing playing it so once you were out we could play with you. He said that you were banned from playing unless it was with UA people.

Izuku: Really?

Val: Yup, and Shoto even bought Uraraka a computer and a router so she could play. We’re all ready whenever you are.

Izuku: Give me ten minutes.

Val: It might take me that long to get the others logged on.

Izuku: Alright! We can do voice chats on an app called Discord.

Val: I’ll pass that message on to the others.

Izuku managed to get up from the bed without dislodging the cats, and poked her head out of her room, “I’m going to be playing Minecraft with some 1A kids. The ones I know will be joining are Shoto, Val, and Uraraka.”

Aizawa nodded, “Thank you for letting us know.”

She went over to her computer, starting it up and immediately opening Discord. She shoved all of her old servers into a file that she named ‘Pre-Yeet’, and created a brand new server that she labeled ‘1A Video Game Gang’. Then she created an invite and sent the code to Val via text.

Izuku’s name was still superdupernova, so she decided to change that to Starcatcher before any of her friends joined. One by one, other names appeared in the server. The first to join was purely-aussie, then zerogravity, ZukoElsa and then Froggo.

Starcatcher: Hey, guys!

zero gravity: Hey!

ZukoElsa: Hello.

purely-aussie: I also invited Momo and Iida, but haven’t heard back from either.

ZukoElsa: Iida is likely unavailable, due to his brother being in critical condition.

Starcatcher: What happened?

ZukoElsa: There’s been a person going after heroes and attempting to kill or maim them. His brother was the most recent victim.

purely-aussie: I’m worried about my uncle, who’s also a pro-hero.

Froggo: Which one?

purely-aussie: I wish I could tell you, but he doesn’t want me to tell anyone until I get my license, just in case his enemies go after me. But I can say that he is in the top 10.

ZukoElsa: I think I can figure it out, due to quirks. But since he asked you to not talk about it, I will not pass that information on.

purely-aussie: Ah, sh*t, I forgot how much contact you have with the top 10.

zero gravity: So, we gonna play Minecraft or not?

Starcatcher: Then let’s hop in the voice chat.

Izuku took 50 points of psychic damage while getting her friends onto the voice channel. Val figured it out pretty quick, admittedly by accident. Once she explained what to do, Tsu and Uraraka were able to join. Shoto needed screenshots in order to get on the voice channel, due to his lack of exposure to social media.

Finally, Izuku spoke, “Alright, do you guys want to play in a world I made eons ago, or do you want to make a world all together?”

Uraraka nearly blew out Izuku’s ears without her excitement, “I want to see your world! I’m tired of playing by myself.”

Shoto’s soft voice was like the ice that he created after Uraraka’s loud one, “I would also like to see your world. You have put a lot of time into it just since you arrived in our time. I am curious what years of work looks like.”

Playing with the four of her classmates was a completely different world than with Thanatos Tomura. Izuku could send a rough drawing of what she was planning to build to her friends, and she could put her entire focus on decorating and setting up redstone mechanics while they rushed ahead of her with the larger pieces. Her smile grew wider and wider as she taught her friends the tricks she had learned over years, and watched them explore the world that she had created from the ground up.

After an hour, Momo joined the Discord server with the name (classic of her) Yaoyorozu Momo. She joined the voice chat, and Izuku spoke up, asking the question that everyone was likely feeling, “Momo? I apologize if this is offensive, but have you been on social media sites just for fun before?”

“I have a couple accounts. Why do you ask?”

Uraraka spoke before any of the more caustic members could, “On personal social media accounts, it’s basically expected that you don’t go by your name, so that you can be anonymous. Think of it like having a hero name, rather than going by your legal name. It gives you a chance to relax, and to be the most honest version of yourself.”

“Ah, I understand, though I don’t know what I would call myself.”

Izuku smiled, “I have a few ideas, do you want a username that is more on the mature side, or one that is completely crazy? Either way, any suggestion I make is going to be silly.”

Momo paused for a moment before speaking, “I think I will start with a more mature name, and maybe change from there.”

“Alright! There was a popular song from pre-yeet society called God is a Woman, and I thought that combining that song title with the fact that your power can create an extraordinary amount of stuff, it would be fun to call you something like God Herself.”

When Momo spoke again, the confusion in her voice was undeniable, “What does ‘pre-yeet’ mean?”

Doing her best to not hit her head on the desk, Izuku groaned out, “It’s the term that I use to refer to my childhood. There was a popular meme where you would yell the word ‘yeet’ when you threw something as hard as you could. Since I got thrown through time, I started saying ‘pre-yeet’ to refer to everything before being a porcelain doll, and ‘post-yeet’ to refer to now.”

Uraraka’s voice was soft when she spoke next, “Is that the hardest thing to adjust to, besides quirks?”

“The fact that no one knows any of my references, and I don’t get theirs? Yes, it can be really irritating, since the only major differences so far are quirks and media. The technology hasn’t really changed all that much, the buildings look the same except for height, and the language is the same.”

Val grunted as her character walked right up to Izuku’s, “I get that. Maybe not as much, since I’m still from this time period, but I do get it.”

Momo piped up, “I like the name God Herself. How do I change it?”

“Right click on your name on the right, click on ‘change server profile’, and there it will be. If you want to change it on everything, go back to the main page and click the settings button next to your name.”

Within a couple of seconds, God Herself was suddenly a member of the server. In the background of her audio, one could make out typing as she spoke up again, “I’m assuming that the code in the written chat is the one for the Minecraft server?”

Uraraka’s pink character bounced up and down, “Yes, it is! Izuku made this entire world, and it’s so cute!”

Momo arrived wearing the base skin of Alex, and started walking around, “This is quite elaborate. Was this a project of yours from pre-yeet life?”

“It is! My uncle helped me with part of it, but beside him, I’ve built everything here."

A couple hours later, Shoto spoke up, “I have to go. It’s dinner time.”

“Ah! I forgot to start dinner!” Uraraka signed off within seconds of her realization, closely followed by Shoto.

Izuku sighed, “Mine is coming up soon. I can hear Aizawa setting the table.”

There was a pause before Momo spoke, “What’s it like living with him?”

While Izuku spoke, the three girls logged off Minecraft, “Pretty calm. He and Mic-sensei live together, so things are either insanely quiet, or music so loud that I have to have headphones on. But other than that, it’s the same every single day. Aizawa takes care of me at school, and Mic takes care of me at the apartment. And they fill in for each other when the other is on shift.”

Val spoke up, “What happens if they have to work at the same time?”

“Midnight-sensei comes over to keep an eye on me. Outside of work she actually dresses like a normal person, so the first time I saw her in costume it was a lot.”

Both of her friends laughed, and Val spoke first, “Considering how you reacted to Momo’s costume, I can only imagine what your reaction to Midnight was.”

“I nearly forgot about that. From your reaction, you likely either grew up in a very conservative home or you are just as straight as I am.”

Relief flooded Izuku, and she chuckled, “Everyone’s attractive, though I lean more to bisexual than pansexual.”

Momo laughed, “Ah, so I was mostly correct. I am simply lesbian. How about you, Val?”

“I am getting about half of what you are saying, but some of the words I don’t know. Do you know enough English to ask me?”

Rapid typing was heard from Momo’s end, and then she carefully spoke, “Izuku is bisexual, and I am lesbian. We were wondering if you are queer.”

Whenever Val spoke in English, her accent was even more noticeable, “Ah, that explains why I don’t know those words. My uncle hasn’t talked about that to me. I am pansexual, and according to online translators it’s pansexual in Japanese. Did I get that right?”

“Just to confirm,” Momo clarified, “Pansexual is the term for liking everyone, regardless of what parts they have.”

Val switched back to Japanese as well, “That’s the bitch.”

Izuku laughed, searching for a specific picture on the internet. Finally, she found it and posted it in the chat. When the other two saw it, they both dissolved into laughter. As they laughed, Val muted for a moment before coming back, “I have to go. See you tomorrow.”

“With that, I must also go. I will see both of you tomorrow.”

A faint smile was on Izuku’s face as she replied, “See you both tomorrow!”

Val and Momo logged off, leaving Izuku alone in her room. Picking up her phone, she looked up Iida’s brother. The reports made her blood chill, and she opened her texting app immediately and sent him a message.

Izuku: How can I help with everything that’s happening?

Iida-kun: Thank you for the offer, however, we are alright.

Izuku: Iida, it’s not easy. When your world gets thrown upside down, everything gets hard. I want to help. Even if it’s as simple as taking notes for you on Monday.

Iida-kun: I will be in class on Monday. But thank you for offering.

Leaning back, Izuku looked at her phone screen. Yamada called out from the kitchen, “Time for dinner!”

“Coming!”

She spun around in her chair, and headed into the kitchen, “I’m worried about Iida-kun. The way he’s texting right now isn’t like him.”

Aizawa looked up from his paperwork, “His brother is in critical condition. If he was texting like he typically does, that would be a reason to be concerned.”

“I know. But I’m getting a bad feeling about this.”

Chapter 22: Life Itself Suspended By A Thread

Chapter Text

March 7, 2020

Izuku pulled her favorite sweater down from the clothes line, folding it before dropping it in the basket. Her mom walked up beside her with a basket of wet clothes, “It’s nice to be outside again. Thanks for offering to help.”

Dropping another piece of folded clothing into the basket, Izuku smiled, “I kinda need a break from the two guys. I like them, but it’s just…”

“A lot different than living in an apartment of only us two ladies?”

“Yeah. I’m glad that Yoichi lives here, or I think it would be a little harder. It’s nice to have someone close to my age who I can play video games with.”

Inko’s smile was as soft as the shirt that Izuku was folding, “The two of you are as thick as thieves, and I’m grateful that he is allowing you to play with him and his friends. I was worried how you would feel about moving into a new place, especially with my fiance.”

“Hisashi’s okay. But I think he’s trying too hard to win me over. It’s not like I dislike him or anything, he’s one of the nicest adults I know. But I’m not comfortable with how many gifts he gives either of us.”

Once all of the dry clothes were folded, both women started to hang up the wet clothes, “That’s a fair point. I’ve talked with him about it, and he grew up having nothing, which is why material things are so important to him. But I’ve worked so hard to make sure we got what we needed, so for us material things are just material things. Unless they have sentimental value, we can go without. It’s just two different ways to view the world.”

“Like people who focus on minimalism, while others focus on surrounding themselves with the items that bring them joy, but you can do both.”

Izuku carried the basket of dry clothes inside, and nearly crashed into Hisashi as he was opening the door, “Sorry!”

He smiled at her, “It’s okay. I was the one who could see, so the blame is on me.”

The two passed each other, and Izuku went to put away her clothes.

April 20, 2221

When Izuku’s alarm went off, she sprung out of bed and got dressed as quick as she could. Her fingers flew as she braided her hair out of her face, while a small part of her was proud of how good she was getting at doing her hair without looking in a mirror. When she emerged from her room, Yamada was just finishing up breakfast, and smiled at her, “Someone’s excited.”

“I can’t wait to see my friends.”

A groan came from the hallway as Aizawa stumbled down and flopped onto his chair, “I can’t believe that I have to live with two morning birds.”

Yamada laughed as he brought the food to the table, which was already set, “But you love us, so you put up with it.”

Rubbing his eyes, Aizawa muttered back, “Right now I prefer the kid.”

It only took the three of them half an hour to be heading out the door. They rode the train to UA, and arrived at the gates exactly at 7 AM. As they approached the front doors, Izuku closed her eyes, enjoying the cool breeze rolling across the grounds. Near the doors, she stopped for a moment before Yamada spoke up, “We know that you want to wait for your friends outside, but all of us would feel better if you were inside.”

“Would it be okay for me to stay here in the genkan? That way I’m inside, but I still can feel the fresh air.”

The two men stared at each other for a minute before Aizawa spoke, “That will be fine, considering that Nezu has cameras literally everywhere. Once two of your friends show up, though, we do expect you to go up to the classroom.”

A smile spread across her face as she mock saluted, “Yes, sir!”

Both of them vanished further into the school, and she sat down to exchange her outside shoes for her school shoes, which had a slight layer of dust on them. While she placed her shoes into her locker, a sound came from behind her and her eardrums rang as a voice rang out, “Izu-chan!”

Turning around, she smiled at Mina, “Good morning, Mina. Why are you here so early?”

Mina chucked her outside shoes into her locker at mach speed, “Because Bakugo bet me that I would get to school after him. I woke up at 5 AM just so I could beat him here. I don’t care if it’s just for 500 yen, I’m winning on principle.”

“Jesus Christ, why?”

In unison, both girls turned to the front door to see said angry Pomeranian staring at the pink girl, “5 AM, how long do you take to get ready?”

She bristled, “Not everyone lives in this neighborhood, blondie. The train ride alone for me takes an hour and a half. Now give me my money.”

One of the loudest sighs that Izuku had ever heard came out of Bakugo’s mouth before he handed over the money, “Next time, just tell me that you live far away. There’s no point in you being a f*cking idiot just for money.”

They continued the argument as they headed up to the classroom, and Izuku only got peace for a couple minutes before Val walked in. Her face lit up as she noticed Izuku, and ran over, “I have something for you.”

“Really? What is it?”

A gold medal was freed from her backpack, then placed on Izuku’s lap, “I don’t care about having a medal. So I wanted to give it to you, since you didn’t even get to be there.”

Izuku picked up the heavy award, “Are you sure?”

She shrugged as she exchanged shoes, “I had the whole bloody weekend to think about it, so yes.”

Running her fingers along the edge of the medal, Izuku smiled, “Thank you.”

Val flopped down next to her, pushing her short brown hair out of her face, “Are you down here avoiding our angry classmate, or did I get you just before you headed upstairs?”

“I’m actually just waiting for you guys. According to Aizawa, I am allowed to wait down here until two of my friends get to school. I wanted to be able to feel a breeze on my face, and it’s easy down here because people are constantly coming in.”

“Fair. It’s kinda nice to have this whole set up, even though I just find it weird having two sets of shoes. I don’t get how my uncle handles it.”

Before Izuku could respond, Uraraka burst in, “Izuku!”

Standing up, Izuku received the hug that was launched her way, barely able to stay upright, “Hi, Uraraka.”

“Honestly, just call me Ochako. Are you okay with me calling you your old nickname?”

Pausing for a second, Izuku pondered the question, I do kinda miss being called Robin. And since Yoichi and Haru are inside of her, which is a strange thought to have, it makes sense to let her call me Robin.

By the time Izuku finished processing, Ura Ochaco had switched shoes. Taking a deep breath, Izuku nodded, “I’d like to be called Robin again. But only on green days. I don’t know how poorly I might react on my red days.”

Ochaco’s smile could blind villains, “That works for me!”

A ping came from Izuku’s phone, and with it a single message from Nezu: I do believe that you promised Eraserhead that you would head up to the classroom once two of your friends were present.

“That was from Nezu. I need to head up to the classroom now that two of my friends are here.”

Val stood up, “We’ll crack open the window when we get to the classroom so you can still feel the breezes. Sound good?”

“Yup. Though I am kinda nervous that people might ask me a lot of questions. This is the first time everyone’s seen me since they figured out that I am the ‘stasis kid’.”

Twirling a hair strand around her finger, Val spoke as they headed upstairs, “So, who came up with that f*cking ridiculous name, anyway?”

Izuku shrugged, “I have no idea. The lawyer in charge of my case says that the media came up with it because no one knew my name or anything about me.”

Ochaco pulled the door open, allowing the three to enter the classroom. Bakugo was angrily sweeping the floors while Mina was dusting. Val went over to open all of the windows, and Izuku grabbed a cleaning rag. Together the three girls cleaned the windows and chalkboard while other students came in.

Every student cheerfully greeted Izuku as they entered, minus Iida, who barely made it through the door in time for class. Once the bell went off, everyone slammed themselves down in their seats as Aizawa entered the room. He looked over the class, and then held up a stack of paper, “Hero agencies across Japan watched the Sport’s Festival, and were given the chance to request any students they saw that might fit in with their Agency. If you received less than 5 offers, then you will be given a list of approved Agencies who are accepting students, along with the Agencies that offered to take you in highlighted at the top. However, if you received 5 or more offers, you will only be given the list of those who made offers, and you MUST pick from that list.”

He put a stack on the front desks, and each student started passing the piles back, taking a packet from the pile as they did so. Izuku passed Momo’s back, and opened hers. On the front page was Thirteen’s information highlighted, followed by countless other agencies that meant little to nothing to her.

Aizawa spoke once everyone had their packet, “You have all week to submit your request, as they aren’t due until Friday afternoon. But for those of you picking someone who did not offer directly to you, it is first come, first serve. If you received multiple offers, I recommend that you use the entire week and think critically about your placement. These agencies may be the ones you stay with until graduation, unless a better offer comes along, so you shouldn’t pick them frivolously. Think about what area of heroics you wish to enter: underground, rescue, oceanic, or popular, and which will suit your quirk best. If you feel that discussing with other students will help inform your decision, then you are welcome to do so.”

The ladies of 1A gathered around one of the cafeteria tables (along with the honorary Shoto) looking at their lists. Izuku blew out a puff of air, “I think that I’m going with Thirteen, since I don’t really see myself going into the main heroics line, because I would always be worried about harming people with my quirk or the radiation. My quirk would be better for dealing with search and rescue.”

Ochaco smiled, “It’s so cool that you got an offer because of the USJ! I only got a couple offers since I didn’t make it very far, so I have to decide between my offers and the official list.”

Val flipped through her list, which was entirely in English, “I’m honestly just f*cking thankful for Aizawa making my list in my primary language, with the translations next to it instead of expecting me to process this much information in Japanese. I knew that I would get a lot of offers being in first place, but this is bloody ridiculous.”

On the end of the table, Shoto was slurping up his noodles while glaring at his list, “I get to decide between my old man, his friends, or agencies that he’s badmouthed for years.”

Tapping her chin, Momo looked over at him, “Do you want to intern with him, or would you rather go somewhere else?”

“He’s number 2 for a reason, so I could learn a lot from working with him, but our relationship is extremely strained. My mental health would do better if I went somewhere else.”

Mina piped up from her seat, “If any of the other top heroes picked you, I’d go with them. But otherwise, you know better than anyone how much you can put up with.”

Izuku looked over at Mina, “Do you know who you are going to pick?”

“Not yet, but I’m looking at the other female pros.”

Momo nodded, “Myself as well. They would be able to give some data on how to deal with the blatant sexism in the hero world.”

Jiro spun one of her ear jacks around a finger, “I’m going to do research, and look for teams that mostly do recon. I can always go with a woman on another placement, but for my first one I want to make sure I am going down the right path.”

Tsu came back from dropping off her dishes, “I am going with an ocean patrol hero, mostly because I feel like I will be best suited for that.”

Empty sleeves waved around as Hagakure piped up, “I’m going with one of the heroes who offered, because they specialize in stealth missions! It’ll be the perfect chance to test out my new costume!”

Looking at the long list of heroes in front of her, Izuku’s mouth started moving, “I only wish that I knew who any of these others were. Honestly, all these people are just names on a paper to me. I don’t know if any of them have quirks that are similar to me, or any of my friends. All I can offer is emotional support. I really need to brush up on heroes.”

A hand on her shoulder jolted her out of her train of thought, and Mina smiled at her, “We can describe the heroes, if that would help you out.”

“Honestly? I would love that. I only know the UA teachers, and the hero who hosted me until the exam. I’m really struggling to figure out everything.”

Hagakure bounced up and down, “That sounds amazing! Do we go down the list, or should we start with high ranking heroes?”

Shoto’s voice drifted from his end of the table, “It would probably be best to do it by rank, but start with the ones on the list. That way she can help anyone who is uncertain of where to go, pick an agency.”

They all looked at the list, and Ochaco pointed at a name, “I think that Mount Lady is the highest ranked one on the list at 25. Her quirk lets her grow massive, but she knocks a lot of stuff down when she works.”

Mina’s voice caused Izuku’s ears to ring, “The Wild Wild puss*cats are offering a position! I love them!”

“The who?”

Gently, Momo pushed Mina back into her seat, “Some heroes prefer to be a unit, and the Wild Wild puss*cats are part of that. They are a group of four rescue heroes who all have codenames based on cats, and wear cat costumes. Currently, they are in the 32nd position.”

“Really? That’s kinda like the Avengers from the comics that I used to read. In that, they were a group of heroes based in America that worked together to protect the world.”

While the girls talked, Shoto stood up and went to drop off his and Izuku’s dishes. Momo pointed to another name on the list, “I don’t remember his exact rank, but Fatgum is pretty high up. He’s either just barely in the top fifty, or just missed it, I can’t remember which. He stores fat on him, which allows him to take extreme amounts of force. Essentially, he’s a giant pillow.”

Izuku brightened up, “Momo! You should apply to go with him! He might teach you some tricks about how to bulk up quickly without risking your health.”

She could literally see a light bulb go off in Momo’s head, and she raced off immediately to go find Aizawa. Mina bounced up and down, “Maybe I won’t work with a female hero. I kinda like the idea of working with a hero on my quirk first.”

“It would make the most sense. Figuring out your quirk is something that makes the most sense to do at the beginning, before any bad habits form. That’s part of the reason that I’m going with Thirteen, because if anything goes wrong with my quirk, they can black hole the issue away, or get me to UA safely.”

Shoto walked up next to her, “We have ten minutes before class starts up again. We should head back so we do not get in trouble for being late.”

“Fair point,” Izuku said as she stood up, grabbing her things, “By the way, thanks for throwing away my trash for me.”

He shrugged as he picked up his own bag, “You would have done it for us.”

When they got back to the classroom, Izuku’s eyes locked on Iida, who was sitting expressionless at his desk. She stopped next to him, and put her hand on the desk, “Please be careful. I miss you bossing us all around.”

Chapter 23: Please Look Closely And Find Her Before She Fades Away

Chapter Text

January 27, 2020

Izuku looked at the towering pile of boxes next to the display case, I can do this for Mom. She already has to go through enough stuff and pack what we are keeping, this is one way I can help with the move.

With that thought, she sorted through the boxes, putting them in piles based on the shelf that the figure or doll was on inside the case. Once that was finished, she started putting the figures on the top shelf into their respective boxes. The ones on the top shelf were the smallest figurines, most of DC or Marvel characters, though there were a few Star Wars ones on the far left that belonged to her mom. Packing them was fairly easy, meaning that she was ready to move to the next one quickly.

Shelf Two was entirely anime figurines. From her mom’s Sailor Moon collection (with all Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask) to Izuku’s Hunter X Hunter collection, it took forever to put them away. There were some who had to be partially disassembled to fit, while others had weapons that were tricky to get in place.

After that was the most daunting collection: her mom’s collection of Nerdy Porcelain Dolls. A few years ago, her mom had started going to stores to buy porcelain dolls, then bring them home to alter them to look like her favorite characters. Izuku’s personal favorite was the one that was designed to look like General Leia.

Each doll had to be carefully packed in bubble wrap, then put in their original box. Some of them fit better into the boxes easily, while others, like Sailor Moon, were harder because of the additions her mom had given them.

Three hours after sorting the boxes, Izuku taped the past box shut. She walked into the kitchen where her mom was going through cabinets, “I finished!”

Her reward was a kiss on the forehead, “Thanks for dealing with that for me. Do you want to help me figure out what dishes to donate, and which ones will come with us to Hisashi’s house?”

“Sure!”

May 3, 2221

Problem Class 1A Chat

Aizawa-sensei:This is your final reminder. You must be present at the station before 10 AM to get your train ticket. If you are late, you will lose a percentage of your final grade per minute that you are late. Myself and Cementoss will be waiting next to a van with UAs logo on it with your hero costumes.

Izuku pocketed her phone and stood next to the door with her suitcase, taking a couple deep breaths while Aizawa collected his things. Yamada walked over to her, “Are you ready?”

Her mouth started moving before she even registered that she was talking, “No? I just got back in the swing of things and everything is changing again. I know that this is a standard part of the hero course, but I feel like I have to change where I live every time I get comfortable in a new place. I should have entered the general course. At least then i would be able to stay in one place for a longer time-”

A hand landed on her shoulder, causing her to cut off her ramble, “Look, it may be more stressful in the hero course, but you are doing amazing. Despite having much less experience in literally everything, you are keeping up like you have been doing this your whole life. It’s a testament to how well you adapt that it took over a week for your classmates to figure out that you were from a different era, and that was because one of them could connect several dots.”

“Thanks Aizawa.”

He looked at Yamada, “I’ll see you after work today.”

The two kissed while Izuku picked up her bag, and Yamada spoke, “Have fun loading your 20 kids onto nearly as many trains.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Izuku’s heart continued to pound as she climbed into Kayam’s car, her suitcase sitting next to her. Aizawa got in while he was on the phone with Cementoss, “I appreciate you bringing the uniform cases. Most of these kids I don’t yet trust to take them home and remember to bring them to the station.”

Kayama laughed, “Especially that Kaminari kid. He seems like he’d forget his head if it wasn’t attached.”

Once Aizawa hung up the phone, he turned to look at Izuku, “Are you willing to help me pass out suitcases?”

“Sure.”

A few minutes later, they pulled up next to Cementoss and the UA van. Momo and Tsu were already waiting there, talking to Cementoss.

When Izuku and Aizawa walked up, both girls smiled and waved at Izuku. Mom spoke up, “Are you going on a train too, Midoriya?”

“No. They are going to pick me up here. Nezu doesn’t want me traveling alone.”

Tsu shifted her bag, “That makes sense, kero. You might get lost if stations have moved, or if new ones were added.”

“That, and I’ve only ever used the transport in my old town, Oiso, which isn’t on the maps anymore.”

Aizawa’s eyebrow shifted upwards, “You never mentioned that to us. Does Nezu know?”

“I’m not sure, but Detective Tsukauchi know, and he couldn’t find it either.”

He paused for a moment, “Tell me physical characteristics and I will work with Nezu to find similar places.”

“It had a really pretty beach, and there were a couple rivers leading to the ocean. Just outside of town was a forest. It was south of Tokyo. The town that UA is in is pretty similar to it.”

Bakugo stormed over, collecting his uniform from Cementoss, “Hobo-sensei, why are we here so early? The next train to my destination doesn’t leave for another hour!”

“So that those who are chronically late are early. There’s more than one way to achieve a goal.”

Izuku hopped up into the van, and handed out uniform cases as her fellow classmates showed up. Aizawa would then hand them an information packet, while Cementoss took attendance, marking each one of them off on a list. Finally, all of 1A were there, and Izuku hopped down out of the van, “Do you need me to do anything else, Aizawa?”

“Just staying where I can see you until Thirteen gets here.”

“Okay.”

Watching her classmates starting to drift off to their assigned trains, Izuku’s eyes locked on Iida. Weaving through the others, she grabbed his arm, “Iida, please be safe and use your head.”

He nearly lept off the ground when she grabbed him, “Thank you for your concern, Midoriya-”

“-I’m going to punch your corpse back to life if you dare die on me doing something stupid.”

Iida froze, and Izuku stormed back to Aizawa’s side. Next to him was the familiar figure of Thirteen in their hero costume, who waved at her, “Are you ready to head out?”

“Yes. Let me grab my stuff.”

She scooped up her bags from the floor of the van, then followed Thirteen onto a bullet train. They rode to the west for an hour before getting off in a mountainous area. Thirteen led the way through the streets, “My office has an apartment building connected through an underground tunnel, so we’re going to go to the office first, meet a bunch of people, then head to my apartment.”

“Sounds good to me.”

The hero office looked like your average office building, with cement walls and fogged out windows. The two entered a lobby that reminded Izuku of a hot spring resort. Everything seemed to be decorated with wood, and there were countless incense burners scattered around the space, and a beautiful wooden sign with the names of all heroes who worked there burned onto it.

Izuku followed Thirteen through a door, and found herself in a cozy locker room that was somehow devoid of all smell besides wet wood. Thirteen took off their helmet, and smiled at Izuku, “We can leave your stuff here. I know it doesn’t seem secure, but this room only opens if you have a key card on you, and there is a security officer keeping an eye on the cameras in this room 24/7. Over there are the rooms that we actually get dressed in. I’m going to ask you to get into your costume, and then we can head upstairs when you are ready.”

Dropping off everything besides the uniform case, Izuku went into the changing room. It was far larger than she was expecting, closer to the size of a walk-in closet rather than a dressing room in a store. She changed quickly, then headed back out to Thirteen, adjusting the last few details, “Here it is!”

Thirteen smiled, “I love how you added small details about your quirk without making it obvious.”

“Thanks! I’ve always liked space, even before it showed up, so it was a pleasant surprise to find out that my power was related to space.”

Both of them stored Izuku’s clothes in Thirteen’s locker, and put her other bags in front of it before heading out. Thirteen led the way up the stairs, and they arrived at an office with kawaii stickers of Thirteen over the windows, “Is this your office?”

“It is! I like collecting whatever merchandise people make of me because it’s fairly rare.”

Thirteen unlocked the office, and the two of them went inside, “So in general, this office hosts rescue or clean up heroes. In other words, most of us go in after the villain is already dealt with to handle the aftermath. In fact, one of the most famous rescue crews has their official office here, though they prefer to do most of their work from their private property.”

Izuku looked around the room, “So, what do you want me to do?”

“Do you want to help me with-”

A phone on the desk rang, and Thirteen picked it up, “This is Thirteen. Yes, I’m currently on duty. Is it safe enough for me to bring a student hero with me? Okay, I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

They turned to Izuku as they put the phone down, “Massive villain battle that I need to clean up. They don’t want you there because not all of the villains are accounted for.”

“Then what do I do?”

“I’m going to call someone who isn’t on shift, and hope that they are in the building.”

Pulling out their personal phone, Thirteen dialed and put it to their ear, “Hey, Ryuko. This is Anan. I have a student hero that I’m taking care of, but I have an emergency site I have to go to that isn’t safe for her. Are you close to or in the office? Really? Do you want to come up, or should I drop her off when I head down? Okay. I’m heading out right now, but she’ll be in my office when you get here.”

Thirteen hung up and scooped up their helmet, “So my friend is going to be here very soon. She said that she’s going to take you back to her office until I get back.”

As Thirteen said that, the door burst open and a blonde haired woman swung in, making a beeline for Izuku. Putting her hands on Izuku’s cheeks, she purred, “Oh, she’s so cute!”

“Ryuko, she’s very shy, and doesn’t know anything about most heroes, so go easy on her. Izuku, it’s entirely up to you if you want to explain your situation. I’ll see you in a bit, okay?”

With that, Thirteen slipped out the door, leaving Izuku alone with the stranger who finally stopped touching her, “Uh, I’m Izuku, or Nyx if you use my hero name.”

The hero beamed at her, “I’m Ryuko, or Pixie-Bob. You are such an adorable kitten!”

Izuku felt her mind blue-screen for a second, before a comment about heroes came to mind, “Are you part of the cat group?”

“You know about us?”

Waving her hand back and forth, Izuku spoke, “Some of my classmates were talking about you. But the cat theme is about all I know. Oh! Also you work in search and rescue.”

“Right on the nose, kitten! Shall we head to my office?”

Standing up, Izuku adjusted her cape, “Okay.”

Izuku followed her down a flight of stairs, and into an office that was covered floor to ceiling in cat decorations, “You guys really like cats, don’t you?”

“We adore them.”

Several hours later, Thirteen came into the office, “Alright. I’m finished with work for today, so we can head to the apartment. Sound good to you?”

Izuku looked up from the comic that Pixie-Bob had given her, “Sure! Bye, Pixie-Bob!”

“Safe travels, kitten!”

Gathering up her stuff, she stuck close to Thirteen as they took the elevator back to the ground level. Once Thirteen opened the locker room door again, Izuku gathered her stuff and went to the changing room. When she was taking her tiara off, a small section of hair fell in front of her face. As quickly as possible, Izuku pulled out a headband to keep her hair out of her face while she finished changing.

Putting her costume back into the case, Izuku braided her hair back into its now customary French braid. Avoiding looking at the mirror, Izuku took her stuff back to Thirteen’s locker, where they were waiting, wearing civilian clothes. Izuku stored her case in the locker, and Thirteen locked it, then picked up one of the bags, “Let’s head out.”

Thirteen led the way to a wall in a nearby hallway, and stuck a key card into a gap between planks on the wall. The section of the wall cracked open, and Thirteen pulled it open, “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Okay, that’s probably the most amazing thing I’ve seen yet.”

Both of them headed down the passage, and arrived in a very standard apartment complex. Thirteen pressed a coupole buttons in the elevator, and it started to ascend. They arrived at the 13th floor, and entered the 4th apartment. Thirteen dropped off the bag they were carrying just inside the door, “Here we are!”

Izuku lowered her own bag to the ground, examining the cute apartment. Unlike what she was expecting, Thirteen’s apartment was filled with pastels, mostly pink and yellow. On one wall was the nonbinary pride flag, and Izuku smiled, “Glad that didn’t change in all the chaos.”

Thirteen laughed, “From what I’ve gathered, the things that survived the riots are very scattered. But most of them have a community behind them that clung to them through it. Anyway, did you have dinner with Ryuko?”

“Yeah. Maybe too much. She kept giving me food until I finally persuaded her that I was full. I don’t think I could eat anything else.”

Thirteen laughed, “That sounds like her. I just wanted to double check because I grabbed food on my way back and I was making sure we didn’t have to order fast food. Anyway, I luckily have a guest room that you can use.”

With that, Thirteen opened a door close to the front door. The guest room had a light blue color scheme throughout, including the blackout curtains. Thirteen pointed to a door across the entry hall, “There’s the bathroom for guests. I’m going to give you some time to get comfortable. Just come get me if you need anything.”

Izuku moved her stuff into the room and looked around, “I can do this.”

Chapter 24: Bring On The Real World

Chapter Text

July 23, 2020

Inko piled fabric onto the coffee table, “One of my friends mentioned that her family did this, and I figured that it was a good way to spend a day. We are all going to grab the fabric that we hate the most, and use clips, safety pins, and yarn to make the ugliest outfit possible.”

Yoichi smiled, “Is duct tape allowed?”

Pausing for a second, a smile spread across her face, “You know what? Absolutely. All of this fabric was going to be cosplays, but then I found a better material. I might need them again for another, which is why I would like for none of them to be cut up.”

Yoichi picked up something that looked like a Victorian couch pattern, bolting upstairs with his haul, laughing with more energy than Izuku had heard from him for the past week. Meanwhile, she grabbed a faux velvet green and black piece, hauling it to the corner where she did all of her cosplays. Inko grabbed her own piece, which looked like it might have been destined for a royal outfit at one point, and Hisashi grabbed the most shiny piece he could find in the pile. Hisashi went into his office, and Inko smiled at Izuku, “I’ll be in the bedroom if you need me.”

“Okay, Mom.”

After an hour and a half, Yoichi came downstairs wearing an eyesore of a shawl. Between half of the fabric facing the wrong way, half completed pleats, and leopard print duct tape holding everything together, he could make any fashion designer cry. Izuku raised her eyebrow as she put the final clip on her outfit, “Haru?”

“And Koji. Haru had a million ideas, but we quickly realized that I wasn’t dexterous enough to make them happen. So, he chose the simplest but most painful option, and this is it!”

Izuku picked up her own monstrosity, “I’m going to put this on. I’ll be right back.”

Her fabric had been transformed into a tea length dress, with the extra fabric pinned, tied, and taped under the skirt to give it volume. She had also used yarn to create multiple fringes anywhere she had space. Yoichi laughed as she came out, “Can I take a picture to send to Haru? He’ll hate it.”

“Sure!”

Posing, Izuku smiled as Yoichi took a picture and sent it. Within seconds, he was receiving a phone call. He answered, putting it on speaker phone, “Hello, Haru.”

“You better have Izuku show you how to f*cking pleat after this. Because even though her pleats look like sh*t, I can tell that she knows how to do them just by how they are done. Yours are obvious that you were just doing something that looked ugly, and had no skill to back it up.”

“Makes sense, since she’s been making her own cosplays for the past couple years.”

Izuku moved closer to the phone, “Thanks, Haru.”

On the other end of the call, she could hear him sigh, “Promise me that you’ll show him some life skills while the cranky bastard is busy with work.”

“I promise, Haru.”

Half an hour later, Hisashi came out. Luckily, he seemed to have forgotten the purpose of the competition, having turned his fabric into a backless dress that looked amazing. Izuku went to the bottom of the stairs, “Mom! The rest of us are done. What about you?”

“I’ll be done in a minute. I’m just trying to get the last couple clips to stay in place.”

She finally came downstairs, and Izuku’s mouth dropped open. Inko’s floor length dress had so many different designs held together by tape and binder clips. It had pleats, bows, and so many poor design connections that she looked like the remains of a chair refurbishing project.

Yoichi bowed to her, “We’re not worthy!”

Izuku giggled, “Congrats, Mom. You totally won this one.”

Hisashi put his hands on his hips, “What about my outfit?”

Shrugging, Yoichi took his shawl off, “The point was to make the WORST outfit, not the best one. If it was the best one then you would have won.”

Inko looked at Yoichi’s shawl, “I love yours. Did you come up with the idea by yourself?”

“No. Haru and Koji helped me through Zoom. Haru used to be a tailor, so he had some pretty good ideas, I just couldn’t implement them by myself.”

May 4, 2221

Izuku woke up to the smell of breakfast in progress. By the time she got to the kitchen Thirteen had a lot of different dishes prepared like miso soup, omelets, and rice. They turned to look at Izuku, “Morning! I got a message this morning about a landslide out in the middle of nowhere. Other heroes triple checked for survivors, so this morning you and I can go out and clean it up.”

“Really?”

Thirteen laughed as they served a plate of food, “Yes. I asked if it was safe enough for a student hero, and they said that as long as I keep an eye on you, they have no complaints.”

Izuku accepted the plate of food, and the pro hero sat next to her, “So, once we both have eaten, we’ll get our phones and stuff, then head to the office where we’ll change. A driver will take us as close as he can to the site, and we’ll have to walk the rest of the way.”

Finishing off some of her food, Izuku spoke up, “Is it normal for you to have to go back to the office?”

“Yeah. With search and rescue heroes, we take turns being on duty, and that’s who deals with emergencies. If one of us is needed for something non-urgent, then we show up first thing in the morning or evening, whenever our shift starts.”

When Thirteen finished eating, they put the dishes in the dishwasher, taking Izuku’s when she was also done. Izuku wiped down the counter while Thirteen started the dishwasher, and then they both gathered up their stuff.

Izuku looked around at the immense number of trees around, “I’ve never been this far from a town before. My step-dad once promised us that we would go camping, but then everything happened and we never got a chance.”

A smile spread across Thirteen’s face as they led the way to the destruction, “I have a feeling that you will get a camping experience soon.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I can’t explain more, but you will get a chance to camp.”

Both of them rounded a corner, and Izuku stopped for a second as her eyes landed on the complete destruction. The mud was waist high at its lower point, and well above All Might’s height (hair points included) at the high point.

Thirteen put their helmet on, “Alright, I’m ready. Are you ready to try clearing this mess?”

“I guess. Could you step back a bit? When I trigger the supernova, I’m not sure where everything is going to end up.”

Saluting, Thirteen backed up a decent distance. Concentrating, Izuku created a high gravity star, sucking up a large chunk of mud. Once she had an amount she was happy with, she triggered a supernova. Chunks of rock went flying across the area, just missing the two heroes. Wincing, Izuku turned to Thirteen, “I kinda forgot that my stars are hot. I guess it instantly baked the mud.”

Thirteen picked up a cooling piece of rock, “We both should have thought of that, but if you turn the mud into rocks and drop them, I can suck them up.”

Cracking her knuckles, Izuku nodded, “Let’s do this.”

Time passed in a blur as Izuku turned mud into rocks, and out of the corner of her eye she could see as the rocks were sucked up. After a long time, Thirteen tapped her shoulder, “I can take it from here. You go eat and take a break in the shade over there.”

“Okay.”

It wasn’t until Izuku sat down that she realized how exhausted she was. It took all of her remaining energy to eat the bento box that Thirteen had made for her, her entire body complaining about standing for that long with her arms outstretched.

The next thing she was aware of was being woken up by a gentle shake of her shoulder. As she blinked her way back to reality, Thirteen checked the geiger counter, “Well, you are safe enough to go back. We got enough that nature will be able to recover without further interventions from us. Let’s go see if our driver is at the meetup spot.”

The driver was pulling up just as the two of them got to the road, and Izuku took a nap during the drive back.

May 5, 2221

Izuku and Thirteen headed out of the restaurant, both laughing as Izuku spoke, “You were right. This restaurant was amazing! I can’t remember the last time that I had Italian food.”

Thirteen smiled back at her, “I’ve tried a number of Italian restaurants, and this one is the best one for making it authentic to Italy while making it appealing to the general Japanese public. I’ll send the address to Aizawa so that you can come back with the two of them.”

As Izuku opened her mouth, all hell broke loose. Several loud explosions rocked through the city, and something flew over their heads, too dark to make out clearly against the cloudy night sky.

Both of them rushed after the creature, Izuku quietly thinking to herself, I’m glad that I haven’t changed out of my costume yet. I have a feeling that we aren’t going to sleep for several hours.

They arrived in a central plaza of sorts, where several heroes were attempting to put ouf fires. One of them, a man in a blue costume, looked around and started yelling, “Flash! Where the hell are you? Flash!”

Izuku ran over to him, “I’m his classmate, is he missing?”

“Yeah, I’m Manual. He was right here before everything happened!”

One of Thirteen’s hands landed on her shoulder, “Nyx, you know him better than us. I’m giving you the order to go find him, and defend yourselves if you get attacked. But only fight as a last resort.”

“Right.”

Thoughts raced through her head as she ran from the scene, and she skidded to a stop when one hit her like a train, Iida’s brother was attacked by the Hero Killer here in Hosu. He might have gone looking for him in the chaos.

Her feet started racing down the street, only outmatched by her mouth, “Most serial killers back in the day would attack places with little to no security, or in remote parts of town. The farther I go from the center of town, the better chances I have of finding the Hero Killer, and thus, finding Iida.”

While continuing to run, she pulled up her phone, opening a group chat to all of her friends who were anywhere close to Hosu, preparing to send her location the millisecond that she found Iida, just in case.

A loud, familiar voice came from a nearby alleyway, and Izuku slowed down, creeping closer to the alley in question. Against one wall was a hero she didn’t know (which wasn’t mind blowing, she only could remember about a dozen non-teachers off the top of her head), who wasn’t moving, and on the ground was Iida sans helmet, yelling up at a man who could give Freddy Fazzbear a run for his money in the horror department.

She sent her location to the chat, muted it, and created a star directly in the man’s face. He yelled at the top of his lungs, and Izuku took the chance to create another star with enough gravity to suck the other two into the main street. The hero spoke up as she dismissed the star, “Thank you, but be careful! His quirk did this to us!”

Iida yelled at her as she turned to face the still partially blinded villain, “This isn’t your business! I-”

Thorns could have formed with the bite that was in Izuku’s voice, “If I managed to keep my head up and keep going after losing literally everyone in my life, along with everything that I held dear, then you can handle your brother getting injured. Grow up. Being a hero means that the people you love WILL get hurt or die.”

Stain moved towards her, “Brave words, for a child.”

“At least I’m not a knock-off of Jack the Ripper.”

He froze, staring at her, “Who is that?”

“Serial killer in Victorian England. He only targeted prostitutes because no one would miss them. Due to how gruesome the scenes were, historians believed that he was obsessed with causing pain to others.”

While he was confused, Izuku created a supernova right in his face. As he staggered back, she noticed a cord wrap around one of his swords, yanking to the top of a nearby building. To throw him off, her next supernova was behind his head. Three more weapons went to the roof, and Val peaked her head over.

The very angry murderer looked at Izuku, “You are breaking a lot of laws now, little hero.”

“That’s the joy of being from a different time. I can plead ignorance.”

His manic smile slightly dimmed after her comment, and he spoke in a mildly confused voice, “What could you possibly mean?”

“I’m the stasis kid. I come from a time without quirks, or professional heroes. I come from a time where regular people would go into burning buildings with only technology to keep them alive, and save as many lives as they could. The heroes of my time period were the healthcare professionals, who put their very lives on the line while a literal plague swept through the world, killing millions of people. When I was told about professional heroes upon coming to this world, I decided that it was the only thing I could do to make an impact on the world, because I also came from a time period where there were law enforcement who would harm civilians for their own gain. I know that systems can be corrupt. And I will do everything I can to make this time better than the one I was stolen from.”

During Izuku’s speech, she could see even more of the weapons vanish over the rooftop. He shifted his grip on the one that he was holding and took a step towards her, “If you thought they were corrupt, you wouldn’t join them.”

“By murdering people, all you are doing is making people hate you, and support the heroes more.”

Mid-step he was stopped when ice shot up his legs. Shoto rounded the corner, and stood next to Izuku, “Next time, give me more information. Do we know what his quirk is?”

“Considering how much he uses blades, and the fact that Iida and the hero are paralyzed, I’m guessing that he can paralyze someone who had bled. I don’t know if anything else needs to be done, so do everything you can to avoid getting cut.”

“Understood, and the heroes are on their way.”

Stain broke free of the ice, and a grin spread across his face, “I get the joy of killing Endeavor’s son.”

Izuku held up both of her hands, “Let’s do this.”

The alleyway was lit up with fire, and then Shoto sent out a wave of ice. Stain managed to dodge both, but got knocked off his feet by another supernova behind his knees. He reached to the holster that previously held a dagger, but came up empty, so he charged Shoto.

Behind them, Izuku could barely make out the sound of Iida yelling about something. However, she intentionally ignored him, keeping her attention on the murderer in front of her. Just as she was starting to doubt herself, Shoto chose to turn his head slightly, talking to Iida, “You inherited your brother’s name? That’s funny, because the Ingenium that I once saw never made a face like that.”

Stain took the opportunity to attack Shoto, but once again got hit by a supernova, this time to the side of his head. Shoto made a massive wall of ice, which Stain sliced apart in seconds with his serrated sword. The duo barely could keep track of him as he shot upwards, and Izuku created a high gravity star to yank him back to the ground before he could hit either of them.

He spun to his feet, his leg hitting Izuku in the ribs, which sent her skidding across the ground. Shoto moved to her side, covering her as she got up, “He seems to be in a hurry, so he’s either concerned about the heroes arriving, or his quirk has a time limit. I’m banking on the time limit, because he seems very confident in his abilities.”

A faint smile ghosted across Stain’s face, and Izuku felt a slight chill go down her back, “Out of every fake hero I have fought, you seem to have the brain that is most functional. It’s a shame you are going to die tonight.”

Before Izuku could stop herself, her rebellious mouth spoke, “Well, that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, considering that every family member of mine is dead.”

Shoto rolled his eyes, “Dying would get my dad off my back.”

Under her breath, Izuku whispered, “How much longer do you think the heroes will be?”

“It might be a minute, since they will be focusing on killing the Nomus.”

Stain charged, and pain shot up from where one of his knives cut Izuku’s leg. Thinking quickly, she used a supernova to send it flying away before he could consume any of it.

Iida’s broken voice came from behind them, “Please. Stop. I can’t-”

Shoto’s voice cut him off as he sent more fire at Stain, “If you want us to stop fighting him, then get up! Set your eyes on the man you want to be!”

Stain’s sword swung directly at Izuku’s face when he went flying sideways thanks to a kick from Iida, crashing into the back wall. She smiled and gave him a thumbs up, “Thanks!”

A faint smile crossed Shoto’s face, “Looks like the effects on Iida have finally faded.”

Iida’s eyes didn’t move from Stain, even when Iida spoke, “I deeply apologize for dragging the two of you into such a grave matter. I cannot let the two of you two continue to get injured. I am the one who made the mistake, and I am the one who must atone.”

The murderer started to strut towards the trio, “Trying to make me think you’ve had a change of heart is futile. No man’s true nature changes that quickly. You are nothing more than a fake who prioritizes his own selfish desires! You are the cancer of society, warping the word ‘hero’ and someone needs to correct that.”

Rolling his eyes, Shoto huffed, “Completely failing to consider that he was dealing with trauma, and you jumping to conclusions based on predetermined beliefs. Don’t listen to him, Iida.”

“No, he’s right. I’m not worthy of carrying the name Ingenium, or of being a hero. But I will not give up, for if I surrender, then Ingenium will die.”

Stain cracked his neck, then was immediately engulfed in flames. While Shoto continued to blast, the hero behind them called out, “You’re fools for staying here and fighting him. He’s only after me and the one in the armor!”

Izuku took the chance of staring at him, “Does it look like we have a chance to run? Right now he wants to kill all of us.”

“Todoroki, how well can you control your quirk?”

Shoto looked over at Iida while Izuku took a turn watching Stain, and blasting him with another supernova, “I am not good with my left side yet. Why?”

“Cool down my leg! But without blocking my exhaust pipes!”

All of them nearly missed the flying blade, and Iida barely managed to stop it from hitting Shoto in the chest. Though the only way he could stop it was with his arm. Stain grew furious, launching another, larger, blade while yelling, “You will stop eventually!”

The second blade was enough to drag Iida to the ground. As Shoto opened his mouth, Iida yelled, “Don’t worry about it, just freeze my leg!”

Izuku used one supernova after another, sending blades flying far enough away for Val to yank them away while the two others followed their plan through. The second Iida’s leg was suitably frozen, he yanked the larger blade out of his arm with his teeth.

Without letting up, Izuku kept creating supernovas, blinding Stain so he couldn’t see Iida’s upcoming attack. Shoto caught on, and sent ice to Stain’s feet, drawing his attention away from the flying hero in armor.

A supernova went off right before Iida got to him, sending Stain flying directly into a high powered kick. He hit the wall with a concerning thump, and went completely limp. Izuku looked up, “Val? Can you tie him up?”

“Oh, abso-f*cking-lutely.”

She descended using her aerial silks training, then sent the cords she used over to him to tie him up, while Shoto relieved him of what few weapons he had left, “We are going to get charged with vigilantism.”

Rubbing the back of her head, Izuku sighed, “Yeah, I think from here it would be better to avoid doing anything so we don’t get in any more trouble.”

The hero stood up stiffly, their legs unsteady, “Thanks for saving my life. I’ll move him to the street.”

Val rolled her shoulders, “Are you sure? I’m the only one unhurt, so I could do it.”

“You are the one who we can argue didn’t directly engage him. We don’t need more of you in trouble.”

He pulled the limp body to the entry of the alley, and he pulled out his phone, “Who are your mentors?”

“Thirteen.”

“Endeavor.”

“Manual.”

Val had barely opened her mouth when flashing lights approached. Three heroes got out of the lead vehicle, and one of them yelled, “What in the hell are you thinking?”

Out of the three, only two of which were ones that Izuku recognized. One was the walking dumpster fire who was looking past them all towards Stain. The other one she kinda knew was the one who had been shouting for Iida, who was now checking him over. The third one was the one who had yelled. He wore a white and yellow costume and looked like a strong breeze could knock him over.

His focus was on Izuku.

“Do I know you?”

He scoffed, “No. But I know about you, and you should have never been this far from your mentor. If something happened-”

Pressure wrapped around her waist, and she suddenly left the ground. Straining her neck, Izuku could just make out the badly misshapen form of a winged Nomu. The heroes launched themselves after her, but a blur also rushed towards her. The Nomu screeched, dropping to the ground, pinning Izuku under it.

A pair of legs came into Izuku’s view, and she froze as she recognized them. Stain stood in front of her, facing the heroes holding one of his swords.

“The phonies that have overrun society and the criminals who so aimlessly sprinkle around their “power”, those are the targets of my purge. All of this is for the sake of a just world!”

Endeavor primed himself to attack, and the yellow hero called out, “Wait, Todoroki!”

Stain looked at him, head tilted, “Another phony. The fake must be rectified…Someone, someone must stain himself in his own blood. The word “hero” must be restored! COME! Just try it, you pretenders! The only one allowed to kill me is All Might!”

The noise ended suddenly, and Izuku glanced up. Stain was frozen mid-step, not even breathing. Struggling, Izuku wiggled free of the dead body, racing over to her friends, hoping the entire time that Stain wouldn’t move again.

Iida used his good arm to pull her behind him, and she took several deep breaths. The hero in yellow rushed over to her, “This is exactly what I was talking about.”

Endeavor approached Stain, and helped the terrified officers handcuff him and load him into transport. Around this time, Thirteen arrived with an ambulance, and they rushed over to Izuku, “Are you hurt?”

“Just a couple of cuts, and mildly radioactive. According to my watch, I’m at a 10.”

They put a hand on her shoulder, “And what’s the number where you get quarantined?”

“75 or above.”

Yellow man turned to Thirteen, “One of those Nomu things nearly kidnapped her.”

Thirteen stiffened, “Is that true, Izuku?”

“Yes. Strangely, Stain was the one who saved me.”

An EMT approached them, “Are you injured, miss?”

“I have a couple of cuts, and a slight side effect of my quirk, but nothing else.”

Thirteen stepped forward, “I’m going to take her to a different doctor to get checked out, because her quirk can be dangerous for other people.”

“Of course.”

Izuku followed Thirteen away from the crowd, and they pulled out a phone, “Hey, Nezu. Yeah, we’re both safe. I was just about to bring her right back to UA. Todoroki and Iida are going to the hospital because they have injuries, but both are conscious and talking, so I consider that a positive. I’ll ask her.”

“Are you willing to tell Nezu and Aizawa what happened tonight, just so they know?”

Shrugging, Izuku let out a yawn, “Can it happen tomorrow? I’m really tired.”

“She said that she’s worn out after today. But if it’s alright with you two, she’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

Anxiously, Izuku waited for an answer, and Thirteen smiled at her, “Yeah. I’ll see you when we get to UA.”

Putting away their phone, Thirteen gave a thumbs up, “Nezu is okay with you waiting until tomorrow, and Present Mic will be waiting for us at the school with a change of clothes.”

The gates of UA had never been so comforting. As soon as the duo crossed the threshold, her eyes landed on a very panicked looking Yamada. He noticed them and raced over, pulling Izuku into a hug, “I’m so glad that you are safe! Nezu was even worried when he heard about it, though he’s better at hiding it than the rest of us.”

“I’m just glad I got there when I did. Stain was about to stab Iida.”

Giving her one more squeeze, Yamada finally freed her, “Let’s get you in civilian clothes, and Thirteen can bring the rest of your stuff tomorrow.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow, Thirteen.”

They smiled back at her, “Get some sleep, Izuku. You deserve it.”

Chapter 25: If You Can't See What's In Front Of You Then Look Some More

Chapter Text

June 4, 2016

Izuku was watching a rerun of Sailor Moon when her mom’s phone rang with a familiar song, “Hello, Hisashi. Why are you calling so early?”

Her face changed as she listened, “Are you sure?

“I’m sure Izuku would love to meet Yoichi. If you are comfortable with us having him spend the day here I don’t mind. No, I don’t mind keeping an eye on him on my day off. Honestly our plans today were for me to prepare for an upcoming case, and Izuku was going to be playing video games all day.”

She hung up and smiled at Izuku, “Looks like you finally get to meet Yoichi.”

“How old is he?”

Blowing out some air, Inko started gathering blankets, “I think that he’s around 18. He’s spending the day with us because his asthma is acting up, and Hisashi is having some cleaners working on the house today. Speaking of which, could you grab the hand vacuum and clean the couch so he’s not being bothered by all of our anime snacks that slipped through the cracks?”

“Sure!”

Izuku meticulously cleaned the couch, double checking it before declaring, “It’s clean, Mom! Do you need any help with the blankets?”

“No, I can handle it. Can you wait near the door, they should be almost here.”

By the time she got to the door, she could hear footsteps approaching. She swung the door open and saw Hisashi with a very pale man next to him, wearing a facial mask. Hisashi was holding a backpack and his briefcase, “Hello, Izuku.”

“Hi, Hisashi! Mom’s making sure the couch is ready. She asked me to get the door.”

The other man smiled, and Hisashi herded him into the apartment, “The couch is right ahead.”

Slight irritation filled Yoichi’s voice, “My eyes aren’t what’s bad. I can see it perfectly well. Hello, Inko. Thanks for letting me be here. I’d be with my boyfriend if someone actually trusted him.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust…whatever his name is. But as you revealed to me a couple days ago, he’s recovering from a surgery right now.”

Inko put the blankets on the arm of the couch, “Really? What surgery did Haru get?”

Yoichi waved his hand as he sat down, “Just getting rid of some unnecessary growths.”

Hisashi put the backpack down, “I’ll be back around 5. Thanks for this Inko, I owe you an amazing dinner.”

“As long as you aren’t the one cooking.”

Yoichi covered his mouth with his hand, and snickered while Hisashi kissed her and left. Soon as the door closed, Inko pointed at Izuku, “So, as you probably assumed, this is Izuku. Zuzu, meet Yoichi.”

He took off his mask, and held out a hand, “Nice to finally meet you.”

“Same! Who’s your favorite superhero?”

“I like Captain America. Even before he got injected with the serum, he was still willing to fight for what he believed. What about you?”

“Oracle. She never stopped fighting crime, even when she could no longer physically fight. She just pivoted and found a new way to fight.”

Inko handed him a blanket, “What surgery did Haru get, really?”

“He went abroad to get a top surgery, or as he jokes, Titty Be Gone. I don’t mention to Hisashi that he’s trans because sometimes Hisashi mixes up pronouns, and I do not want the two to get in a fight.”

Izuku looked between the two, “Mom, what’s a top surgery?”

“It means that his boyfriend was born with breasts, and he got them removed so he felt more like a boy.”

“Oh, that’d be annoying. Is he doing okay?”

Yoichi smiled big, “Yeah. He’s just having a hard time leaning down right now. It’s like having two scraped knees, but on your chest according to him.”

Inko ruffled Izuku’s hair, “You be good, and help Yoichi if he asks for it. I’ll be in my room going over my court documents.”

“I promise, Mom. Yoichi, do you want to watch anime with me?”

“Absolutely.”

May 6, 2221

Izuku was woken from her slumber by Aizawa yelling at the top of his lungs, “Who’s idea was it to release the pictures of our students? I’m going down to that police station and chewing out anyone who was involved. Because I know that Nezu wasn’t stupid enough to do that, and the mentors have heads on their shoulder, except for Endeavor, but I doubt even he is stupid enough to do that!”

Rolling out of bed, Izuku wrapped a blanket around her and went into the common area. Aizawa was pacing around with more energy than she had normally seen him with while Yamada was trying to get him to quiet down, “If you keep yelling like this, you’ll wake up…Good morning, Izuku.”

“What time is it?” she asked while rubbing her face.

Yamada walked over to her and patted her head, “Around Noon. But considering you didn’t get home until 3, you can go back to sleep.”

“No, I promised Nezu I’d tell him what happened in…was the town called Hosu?”

“Yes, the town you were in last night was called Hosu.”

Aizawa walked over to them, “I’m going to go deal with some publicity stuff and legal sh*t at the Hosu Police Department, Yamada is going to take you to UA.”

“Is that why you were yelling at the top of your lungs this morning?”

He paused while collecting his scarf, “Yes. Some members of the police force down there made some rookie mistakes, and now I am going to yell at them.”

Still trying to wake up, Izuku rubbed her face, “Okay, see you later.”

She went back to her room, and groggily changed into a nerdy T-shirt and nice looking sweatpants. By the time she came back out, Yamada had food ready for her. Breakfast, or rather lunch, passed in a blur as she spent a good amount of her energy just trying to keep the memories at bay until they arrived at UA.

When the food was cleaned up, Yamada gathered his things and led the way down to a taxi cab.

A room full of cozy armchairs of various sizes was not what Izuku was expecting when she entered Nezu’s office. The slightly dimmed lights were more of what she expected, considering that the few times she’d seen Nezu hide his light sensitivity behind smiles. The moment that the door closed she also noticed how quiet it became. Nezu smiled up at her as she stopped near the door, “Please take a seat, the tea is almost ready.”

Looking around at all of the options, Izuku chose an oversized beanbag near a window. Yamada sat on a nearby loveseat, and he gave her a thumbs up. As Nezu approached them with a tray of tea, he glanced over at Yamada, “Do you mind taking notes? That way Eraserhead won’t miss any details while he’s yelling at the police.”

“Am I allowed to know why he is yelling at them?”

Nezu handed her a cup of tea, and sat down across from her as Yamada grabbed his own cup, “Of course! Somehow the press got ahold of the school photos of all four students who were involved. So Aizawa and Miyajima are going there to explain exactly what the legal consequences of that are on the police station. Another reason is that the police are trying to figure out whether or not they have to charge any of you with vigilantism.”

Guilt started to bubble up in her chest, so she spoke up, “Would now be a good time to start explaining?”

His tiny eyes lit up, “Yes. Please do.”

Crossing her legs, Izuku pulled the tea closer to her chest, “Thirteen took me to get Italian food after a very long day, where I spent a lot of it with their friend, Ragdoll, because I wasn’t allowed at the site they were going to, again. We were literally just exiting the restaurant when the Nomus showed up. We followed one of them to the town square, where we saw a hero calling out Iida’s hero name. Since I knew him best, and wasn’t technically allowed to fight the Nomus, I was sent to go find him with the orders that I could defend us if we had no chance to run.

“Iida had been acting strange since his brother got hurt, so I figured the only place he would go would be to hunt down the killer. Most killers in my time would attack on the edge of town, so I ran away from where everyone was and found Iida right as Stain was about to stab him in the chest. I panicked, blinding him with one star and using another to drag Iida and the hero out of the alley. I started talking to distract him, and sent my location to my friends, hoping that some of them were close. While I spoke to him, he called me a child, and in return I called him a knock off Jack the Ripper. While he was processing that, I set off a supernova in his face, and then Val stole one of his weapons from the roof of a nearby building.

“To help Val steal more of his weapons, and to buy the two paralyzed people time, I would banter and set off supernovas. At some point Shoto showed up, and started helping me fend him off. Iida started yelling at us to not get involved, and during that Stain started going after us and not focusing on them anymore. He got closer and closer to hitting us, and when he came REALLY close to stabbing me, Iida forced his body back into motion and protected me. Iida went on a rant, Stain went on a rant, Stain attacked us again, and we worked together to fend him off. I would blind him, Shoto made the ground into an ice rink, and Iida kicked him at high speeds. When he collapsed, Val tied him up and we found as many weapons as we could.

“As we were tying Stain up, the hero who had been the initial target finally could move, so he moved Stain to the road so we wouldn’t get in more trouble. That’s when the other heroes showed up. Some dude in a yellow and white costume started yelling at me specifically for leaving my mentor, and I got grabbed by a Nomu. Stain killed the Nomu and started going on a rant about how only All Might could kill him. He suddenly stopped, and I ran back to everyone, and Thirteen showed up. I went with them, and that’s when you got the phone call. The end.”

Nezu nodded, and refilled her teacup, “You did quite good under the circ*mstances and the orders you were given. If the world were perfect, none of you would have had to go through that. But at least you are all safe and healthy.”

Reaching out, Yamada put a hand on Izuku’s shoulder, “You’re certainly a quick thinker under pressure. Every time you face villains, all of you do shockingly well. I don’t think we can claim any credit for all of you.”

With a bright smile on his face, Nezu spoke, “At this point in the year, we can safely say that nothing we’ve done is the reason you succeed. All we can claim is that we certainly picked the best of this year’s crop of students.”

Nezu put down his tea, then grasped his paws together, looking at Izuku, “You’ve been through so much already, so I’m giving Yamada and Aizawa my blessing to let you stay home for the rest of the week if that’s what you want. I also gave them permission to bring you here to train if you get stir crazy.”

“Will Thirteen get in trouble for me fighting Stain?”

He shook his head, “Thirteen may not be a hero who fights often, but even they were expected to deal with that situation. The only safe option was sending you to find you friend because at that point, none of you knew that he was in a fight with a murderer. The reason we are keeping you away from the public is a reporter got ahold of the pictures of all four of you, and published them. Val is working with an undercover hero, so the public won’t see her for the rest of the week, Shoto is with Endeavor, who no one approaches, and Iida will be in the hospital for several days to make sure his arm is healed, and then will be released back to his family to finish healing.”

Before she could speak again, Nezu raised his hand, “If you have a way to contact him, I would suggest you do so. I have knowledge about his health as his principal, but I can’t tell you anymore than I already have.”

An idea popped into her head as she agreed, “Okay. Yamada, do you have his phone number? I can lie and say that someone else gave it to me if he asks.”

Yamada laughed, “I don’t personally have it, but I know his family. I’ll give his parents your number and explain why you want to talk to him.”

Nezu picked up his own phone and dialed, then spoke in a soft but still chipper voice, “Hello, Iida-san. How are your sons recovering? That’s wonderful. One of the other students who was involved in the attack with Tenya was asking for his number so she could check in on him herself. Could I pass her number along to you? Oh! That would be lovely.”

He wrote something down and slid it over to her. One the paper was Iida’s name and a series of numbers. Izuku whipped out her phone and typed it in as Nezu kept talking, “I gave it to her. She’s a ward of UA due to family circ*mstances, so I was checking in on her after the attack. Are you sure? Of course!”

The phone was held out to her, “His mother wished to talk to you.”

Putting her own phone down, she took the phone from him, and put it to her ear, “Hello?”

Ms Iida’s voice was shockingly soft compared to her son’s, “Thank you so much. Tenya told us what happened, and how you were the primary one holding Stain back until the pros arrived. You are the reason we still have two sons. We don’t have the words to express our gratitude. If you ever need any help, please ask us.”

Fighting back tears, Izuku barely managed to speak, “You can ask your son what I mean by this, but I’ve lost so many people that I wasn’t about to lose another without a fight. I will defend all of my friends with my life. That’s why I became a hero.”

“Again, we can’t thank you enough. Please text our son, he’s been asking about you since he woke up.”

“I will.”

She handed the phone back to Nezu, and finally sent the text she had started before the conversation.

Izuku: Hey, Iida! This is Midoriya. Your mom gave me your phone number because she said you wanted to talk to me?

Iida: Midoriya! Are you alright?

Izuku: Yeah. I don’t think my brain has processed it all yet. What about you? Your arm got stabbed pretty bad.”

Iida: It’s going to take an intensive surgery to fix it entirely, but it should be mostly healed in a couple weeks. I won’t have the surgery until I know that I am the best hero that I can be. Until then, it will be a reminder that I can’t make impulsive choices when other people’s lives are on the line.

Izuku: Are you sure?

Iida: Yes. I’ve put a lot of thought into this, and talked it over with my parents.

Izuku: Then I support you. How’s Shoto? I haven’t had a chance to text him yet.

Iida: He is doing well, and is likely to be released later today. His injuries weren’t terrible.

Izuku: Tell him that I’ll call him later, once I get back to my apartment.

Iida: He says that he looks forward to it, but he’s requesting that it’s on something called discord, so he can watch shows with you?

Izuku: Discord’s the app we invited you to join. It allows video and audio calls, so if you are playing video games with friends, you can talk to each other. Once you get released, you and I can play an easy game. And tell Shoto that it’s a plan.

Iida: Ah, I nearly forgot about that. I’ll ask Shoto for his help while he is still here.

Izuku: Talk to you guys later❤️

Putting her phone away, Izuku smiled, “Iida and Shoto are in the same room for now, so they are keeping each other company.”

Yamada stretched, “Well, we should head back to the apartment.”

Hopping to her feet, Izuku bowed to Nezu, “Thank you for helping me get Iida’s phone number. I hope that the press isn’t as irritating as it normally is.”

Small black eyes shined back at her, “Thank you, Midoriya.”

May 10, 2221

Izuku changed shoes as other students filtered by. It was laughably easy to pick out the hero students versus the other courses. All of the hero students came in with bruises and smiles, while the other courses would send confused looks over to them. A few people looked over at her, and she almost forgot why before a strand of green hair crossed her eyes.

Yet again, she braided it out of her face, grabbed her backpack, and headed upstairs where she wouldn’t be left alone with her thoughts, flipping her wrist band to the red side as she moved. To her delight, Iida was straightening up the desks as much as he could with one arm in a sling, “Good morning, Iida. Do you need help with that?”

He turned around and smiled at her, “That would be nice, Midoriya. How are you feeling?”

The two of them started working together to put the desks where they belonged, “If I’m being honest, I’m completely fine physically. Emotionally, I’m all over the place. It’s been hard adjusting, because sometimes I wake up and I’m fine, I feel like I belong, I feel like Nyx, I don’t overreact, I’m comfortable. But sometimes, I feel like Robin, I feel like I don’t belong, I’m jumpy, I’m clingy, and I am utterly terrified of quirks.”

Iida gave a nod as they placed the final desk straight, “That makes sense.”

The door slid open, and Shoto entered with a very tired looking Val behind him. Shoto gave one of his classic faint smiles to the duo, while Val walked over to her desk and flopped down, “f*cking hell, my uncle really yelled at me for fighting the knife dude. Said way more profanity in our hour long conversation than he’s said since I’ve got here. Glad to finally have proof that he’s related to me.”

Shoto glanced over at her before grabbing one of the cleaning cloths, “Meanwhile my father was extremely proud. I think it’s the first time that he has ever praised me.”

Val winced, “Todoroki, you do know that what you just said is really sad, right?”

Iida opened his mouth as Shoto shrugged, “Izuku and I have had that conversation a lot. We refer to him using the name of a villain from a show that Izuku grew up watching.”

Watching Iida was like watching a glitching video, because his hand went up and down a couple of times before he cleared his throat, “Todoroki, you deserve more praise than-”

“KANGAROO, WHY THE HELL DID YOU GROW UP IN AUSTRALIA WHEN YOUR UNCLE IS THE NUMBER 4 HERO IN JAPAN?”

Val held up her middle finger toward Bakugo as he burst into the room, “It’s none of your business, Pomeranian.”

Iida’s head snapped to Val, “Your uncle is Best Jeanist?”

Izuku fought down a laugh as she noticed Bakugo’s new hairstyle, while a satisfied smile came to Shoto’s face, “Ah, my suspicion was correct.”

Holding up her hand, Izuku piped up, “Who is Best Jeanist?”

Everyone turned to look at Izuku, and Val sighed, “Best Jeanist is the number 4 ranked hero in Japan, and his quirk is that he can turn clothes into strings that he can manipulate at will. Basically, he got a stronger version of the quirk I have, but I can control very thin wires, while he can’t. Apparently cotton is the fabric that works best, which is why he wears jeans head to toes.”

Izuku rubbed her forehead, “You can’t just say that casually. There are so many memes from my time that come to mind.”

“I’m pretty sure that you can come up with a meme about literally anything.”

Shrugging, Izuku sat at her desk, “True. I’m guessing that you interned with her uncle then, Bakugo?”

“How else would I know about her f*cking uncle?”

Mina, Kirishima and Kaminari came in talking really loud, and the guys walked over to Bakugo. Kirishima smiled while looking at him, “Hey, Baku-bro, what’s up with the new hair?”

Bakugo snapped his attention to Kirishima and started yelling at him, “It got stuck like that because of the jerk I was interning with.”

Val snickered, and whispered to Izuku, “My uncle hates even a single hair out of place. I never thought he’d tame that bastard’s hair.”

“Is that why you didn’t intern with him?”

“Nah. I didn’t intern with him because I want to earn everything myself, and not get any handouts. Plus, I’m just planning on going back to Australia after this. Our only hero schools are colleges, so if I want a hero license I have to do it here, or do an internship with a hero for 5 years. I’d prefer the three years here.”

Other people trickled in, and Izuku spoke back to her, “That makes a lot of sense, but I think I like how the Australian system works.”

A smirk spread across her face, “Yeah, letting kids fight proper villains makes no bloody sense, but if it gets me my license faster, I’ll shut my trap.”

The bell rang, and 20 teenagers rushed to their chairs as Aizawa walked in and started another day of 1A.

Everyone sat down in their chairs, eagerly waiting for All Might’s arrival. The door swung open, and he stood in the doorway wearing another costume that Izuku did not recognize, “Hello, my fine students! Please put on your hero costumes and meet me at practice field Gamma!”

With that, he vanished, and everyone collected their costumes. Within twenty minutes, everyone was standing in the control room of Field Gamma, and All Might beamed at them, “Today’s hero lesson is very simple. I was planning on having a race to see how much you have all learned, but then I remembered that some of you were working with undercover heroes or rescue heroes. So I’ve changed it to a game of capture the flag.”

Everyone dissolved into excited whispers, and All Might held up his hand, cutting everyone off, “I know it's exciting, but please allow me to explain. I have split everyone into four groups with the help of Aizawa so that your skills are theoretically balanced between the teams. We will have two groups go at once, and it’s up to the teams to work together to make a plan. The rules are as follows: you cannot injure another student, you cannot damage a building, you must have a minimum of one guard with your team’s flag, and you have to win by collecting the other team's flag before the time limit is over. You will be given capture tape again, but each team member can only carry one piece. If you are on the other team’s side, you are only allowed to fight to defend yourself. Do I make myself clear?”

The class was a sea of bobbing heads, and All Might projected the rules on a nearby wall, “This is so you have no excuse. Mr Aizawa made it very clear that anyone who bends or breaks these rules will have to write an essay about each rule they broke, and if you injure another student, you have to have a conversation with Nezu.”

Several sets of eyes drifted to Bakugo, who bristled. But before he could say anything All Might gestured at another wall, “Here are our teams.”

Team 1: Adeline, Ashido, Uraraka, Sato, Hagakure

Team 2: Asui, Iida, Kaminari, Shoji, Yayaorozu

Team 3: Aoyama, Ojiro, Koda, Sero, Bakugo

Team 4: Jiro, Kirishima, Tokoyami, Todoroki, Midoriya

He continued, “We also took into mind who are friends, and split up large groups of friends so you have to learn to talk to other heroes. Each team go to a corner, and make your baseline plan now.”

Izuku joined her group in the farthest corner, where Tokoyami and Jiro were already talking to each other. Jiro stretched, which allowed Izuku to notice that it was bulkier than the last time that she’d seen it, “Did you finally get the padding?”

Her face lit up, “Yeah! All of my clothes are padded and bulletproof now, so I feel a lot safer than I did with the first version. By the way, are you two okay after what happened last week?”

Shoto stopped next to her, “We weren’t the ones who were severely injured. He was after Iida because he was narrow minded enough to think that he was the same person as his brother.”

It took everything in Izuku to hide the numerous feelings she had hearing Shoto’s lies, but she spoke up before he could get asked any more questions, “But the police don’t want us talking about what we went through until he gets a court date. Something about messing up the case, or close to that.”

Tokoyami solemnly nodded, “Only to be expected.”

Kirishima finally joined them, “So…what’s our plan?”

“Depends on who we go against. If we go against Team 2 I think our best plan would be rushing the flag, but if we went against another team we could pile three of our people at the flag and have one sneaky person go in with a strong fighter as backup. By the way, Jiro, how far can your earjacks go?”

She shook her head, “At most two meters, so whatever you’re planning it’s not likely that I can do it.”

Looking over to Tokoyami, he nodded, “Dark Shadow can go quite far from me, though it depends on the lighting around us.”

“Thanks. Alright, I have a couple plans of what we can do, but it really does depend on who we face.”

Jiro shrugged, “I don’t have any plans, so tell us what yours are.”

“My plan against Team 1 is to make Tokoyami our guard, and have him hide our flag in the darkest place that he can control Dark Shadow, and have Shoto put a mixture of ash and ice around it so if Hagakure approaches it can be seen. He also would be one of the only ones out of us who could defend against Uraraka’s crazy attacks. Knowing Val the way I do, she’ll probably be the guard, so myself and Jiro will go. Jiro will be able to hear any defenders, and I can play distraction or strength backup.”

Glazing over to make sure Shoji wasn’t listening, Izuku continued, “The plan for Team 2 is to put the flag on one of the cranes, specifically on one of the things hanging from them. That way only Tsuyu or Momo can get it. Jiro and Kirishima would be our defenders, while the other three of us would go from above because most of these guys are terrible at looking up.”

“Finally, Team 3. I’m expecting a lot of infighting to be going on in that group courtesy of Bakugo. With that team, my plan is Tokoyami and Jiro go for the flag, and the rest of us defend because Bakugo is obsessed with being in charge and being the one to deal the final blow.”

All Might spoke up, “It’s now time that we see the pair ups.”

Everyone turned to look at a screen, and Izuku smiled. They were against Team 1.

Chapter 26: What Makes a Monster and What Makes a Man?

Chapter Text

September 10, 2020

“I understand that you are worried about Yoichi, but you can’t put his life on hold just because you don’t trust anyone besides Mom. Haru has literally done everything to his house that you have to help Yoichi out, and he makes almost as much as you do. Give me one reason that isn’t about feelings why Haru shouldn’t have Yoichi move in.”

Hisashi didn’t look up from the costume armor that he was working on, “They’re too young. They have no experience running a house.”

Fighting the urge to overreact to his stubbornness, Izuku took the paint he was using, “So, the fact that Haru has been living on his own since he was 18, and paying for all of that on his own, along with the fact that Yoichi knows how to cook literally anything, and can budget better than the rest of us combined, all of that means nothing? Just because they’re both younger than you doesn’t mean that they are stupid or incompetent.”

“Why are you doing this? It is none of your business, Izuku. These are things that only adults need to worry about.”

Putting the paint out of his reach, Izuku stared him down, “It is my business because he’s my uncle. I love seeing how Haru treats him, and the only reason Yoichi hasn’t moved out is because he wants your blessing. Why are you so set on keeping your brother away from the thing that brought you the most joy? You’ve said it yourself, finding someone who runs on the same wavelength as you is the best feeling in the world. Haru and Yoichi have almost known each other as long as you and Mom have, the only difference is there’s no kids to worry about.”

Reaching out, Hisashi took back his paint, “We are not talking about this, Izuku.”

Folding her arms, Izuku glared at him, “Why? Because you refuse to think about things that don’t go your way? Or because you don’t want to admit that you don’t actually have a reason for fighting back against their partnership besides acknowledging it will mean that your baby brother is an adult?”

“That’s enough, Izuku! I will not discuss this any further!”

A chill went through her body, and she knocked over one of his pieces of armor as she swept out of the room and went to her Mom’s room.

Shouting was the soundtrack of the evening.

May 10, 2221

All Might smiled at them, “Up first is Team 1 and Team 4. Team 4 gets the south end of the area, while Team 1 gets the north end of the area. Both teams will get 15 minutes to place their flag, and then both teams will get 20 minutes to find and retrieve the other flag. If it is not achieved in the time limit, both teams fail.”

Izuku led her group to the south end, with Tokoyami carrying the flag. He pointed at a building, “That building is dark enough. Todoroki?”

Shoto sent a sheet of ice across the floor, then burned several pieces of wood. Everyone helped scatter the ashes, and Dark Shadow hung the flag from the ceiling. Tokoyami was carried into the building, and he took a position in the rafters, wrapping himself in his cloak to hide even better. Shoto went into a nearby building, sitting on the ground so he would be out of sight. Kirishima ducked into a third building, vanishing from sight as he crawled under a desk.

Jiro popped her back, “Should we head to the border?”

“We should hide near the border, and try to capture as many of them as we can before we go after the flag.”

Stretching her arms to the sky, a smirk spread across her face, “Lead the way, Nyx.”

Together, they crept through the cityscape, finally approaching the well defined line between the teams. A very short cement wall poked out from the ground, no more than 20 centimeters in height, but clearly split the area in half.

Jiro ducked inside of a building, and Izuku could make out her climbing inside of a cupboard. Izuku went into another building, and crawled underneath a coffee table, pulling the hood of her cloak over her hair to blend in better. A loud alarm went off, and All Might’s voice echoed through the environment, “Begin!”

Within a minute, Izuku heard footsteps rush past, and she waited until a voice whispered, “Nyx, you were right. I can hear Trichia and Sugar Rush further in. Nobody, Uravity, and Alien Queen all went further into our territory. Should we start moving?”

Pulling herself out, Izuku hopped to her feet, “Yeah. But we’ll stop every so often to make sure none of them are close to us.”

Izuku led the way through the streets, keeping her eyes peeled for any cords or ropes. As they grew closer, Jiro held up one hand, “Trichia is on top of that building over there, and Sugar Rush is inside that building over there. Which means that the flag should be near. What should we do?”

“How willing are you to trust me?”

Jiro shrugged while she kept looking around, “Pretty willing, but it depends on what you’re about to ask of me.”

Izuku made sure her voice was low,”Sugar Rush is really slow, and his quirk doesn’t last for very long. If you take advantage of that, and jump through stuff that he can’t fit through, you can distract him while I take down Trichia.”

Taking a deep breath, Jiro nodded, “I can do that. Be careful.”

“You too.”

Slipping inside of a building, Izuku rushed up the stairs. When she drew close to the door to the roof, she moved carefully, opening the door slowly while looking for Val. She finally noticed her friend crouched on another roof, looking down at the ground. Izuku crept up, moving slowly until she was just behind Val. Taking a silent but deep breath, Izuku lept over the gap, slapping capture tape onto Val’s arms.

Val slumped over, “Okay, I won’t throw a hissy fit like the Pomeranian. I’m out.”

Chuckling, Izuku glanced down at the ground, seeing Jiro hop through windows while Sato chased after her. Looking around, Izuku finally noticed the flag hanging between two buildings. She grabbed a nearby rope, lowering herself down to it. With one hand, she freed the flag, and then climbed back up. Once her feet were on the roof, she jumped back to the roof she came up onto, and raced down the stairs as fast as she could. When she came out of the bottom of the building, she saw Sato leaning on his knees, while Jiro was half hiding behind another building. She saw Izuku come out, and started running back to the line.

The two young heroes ran at full speed back to their side, the flag flying behind Izuku as she laughed. Finally, the line came into sight, and Izuku pushed herself even farther until she jumped over the line.

All Might’s voice echoed out, “Team 4 wins!”

Jiro caught up, collapsing onto the ground, holding up a single hand. Izuku high fived her and likewise flopped down. Once she caught her breath, Izuku groaned to her feet, pulled Jiro up, and the two of them made their way back to the command room. The rest of their team was already there, along with Hagakure, Uraraka and Mina.

Val and Sato came in after them, and All Might beamed at them, “That was amazing teamwork on both teams. The victory could have gone to either team, however, Team 4 likely won due to how they acted as a unit, as well as they were lucky to guess the basics of the opposing team’s plan. But, like I said, it could have gone either way, since both teams listened to each other, and trusted each other to do their determined role.”

He looked directly at Izuku, “Midoriya, despite being very new to quirks, you use your analysis skills to an impressive level. You have kept in mind what your classmates are like, and then used that information to figure out what plan they were likely to use. Well done. Adeline, you also had an impressive plan, you hid the flag in a location that put your opponents at a disadvantage. Had you been looking at all possible entrances instead of just the ground, you could have won.”

“Thank you.”

All Might turned to the rest of the class, “Teams 2 and 3, go set up.”

Everyone else rushed out of the room, and Izuku flopped down next to Val, “I’m glad I caught you before I looked for the flag, otherwise I would have had no chance at getting it.”

“Where did you guys hide yours?”

Izuku dusted off her cloak, “We put it in the darkest place that Tokoyami could control Dark Shadow, so that anyone who tried to get it had to go past the two of them. Then we had Shoto and Kirishima hide nearby, so that once anyone showed up they could swoop in. I chose to go with Jiro, because she could scout while I could counter or slow down any big hitters.”

“Damn, that’s a pretty solid plan. No wonder All Might complimented it. How bad do you think that Blondie is going to do now?”

Looking up at the screen, Izuku made note of Bakugo’s location in relation to his team, “I have a suspicion that he’s going to be a wildcard. I don’t know how he’s going to do, because he’s probably going to go after the opposing team on his own. It depends on how much the opposing team is aware of that.”

Both of them watched as he indeed charged in alone. Sero, Koda, and Aoyama stayed behind to guard, while Ojiro snuck behind, trying to use Bakugo as a distraction. Meanwhile on the other team, the defending group was Momo, Iida, Kaminari, and Shoji. Tsuyu was the only one of her team going for the flag, and she was going past Koji’s birds without disturbing them at all, likely due to her ability to move nearly silently.

The Pomeranian charged in all guns blazing, and got sprayed in the face with a fire extinguisher. Before he could properly recover, Shoji wrapped him up in capture tape. One of his mouths said something, and Iida shot to where Ojiro was hiding, where they started fighting. Ignoring the fight, Momo cleaned Bakugo’s face to get rid of the chemicals.

On a different screen, Tsuyu slipped up to the flag, taking it down while checking on the guards, two of which were shooting the breeze, while Koda was quietly whispering to one of his birds. She tied it around her waist, and slipped away. A minute later, Sero noticed the absent flag, and all three of them took off running towards the border, desperately looking down the streets.

Izuku suppressed a laugh as Aoyama ran right under Tsuyu, who had stopped when she heard him. When he vanished from sight, she continued her trip, getting over the line at the 12 minute mark. All Might activated the microphone, “Team 2 wins! Everyone, come back except for Bakugo and Kaminari. Kaminari, please go with Bakugo to Recovery Girl to make sure that he’s not going to have long term effects from that attack.”

Everyone trickled back in, and All Might received a message from someone, “Ah! Wonderful! Recovery Girl said that Yaoyorozu did an amazing job at cleaning Bakugo’s eyes, so she is just going to check on his lungs and then send him back to change. Everyone else, let us talk about that match. Ojiro, you did your best to hold your team together, and get them to work together. Hopefully this taught young Bakugo to work with others. Aoyama and Sero, you two were put on guard duty in case anyone got past the birds, and your lack of concern is what caused your team to completely fail. If you two had paid attention, you could have fought Asui, who was the only one of the other team to come get the flag. Young Koda, I’m assuming that you told the birds to look out for other people, correct?”

He nodded, and All Might continued, “It likely would have worked if the opponent wasn’t young Asui, who moved enough like an animal that she didn’t draw their attention. And speaking of which, Asui, you did amazing at making sure that not even the animals paid any attention to you. I imagine that you were nearly silent from how carefully you were moving.”

She smiled and bowed to him, “Thank you, Sensei.”

All Might looked at the clock, “With that, we are done with class today. I’m going to go check on young Bakugo, but the rest of you are free to clean up and go home.”

Just like always, All Might sprinted out of the room, and everyone trickled back to the locker rooms. The girl’s locker room flowed like a machine, and within ten minutes all of them were fully changed. As Izuku gathered her stuff from her locker, she noticed a notification on her phone: Alert. Attempted login from Tokyo Japan.

Dread filled her chest as she shoved it in her bag, “See you guys tomorrow?”

“Are you alright, kero? You look really pale?”

Letting out a deep breath, Izuku adjusted her bag, “I’m not sure if it’s something that I’m allowed to talk about with you guys.”

Momo tilted her head, “The only thing that we’re not allowed to ask about is your living situation, is it related to that?”

“No, but it has to do with something involving the LOV.”

At this point, Izuku was rubbing both sides of her neck, biting her lip to stop from muttering. The concerned looks burrowed into her, and finally she broke, “My step-dad had a power where he could collect others. The family name of the main villain of the LOV was the same as his. During Hosu, one of those strange creatures tried to kidnap me. The teachers think that he’s still alive, and someone just tried to log into my TikTok account using the password I just changed. I had the password written down on a paper on my desk before I went missing, so only someone I knew personally could have found it.”

Ochaco wrapped Izuku up in a hug, “Omigosh, that has to be hard! Knowing that if you have any family left, they are a villain.”

“Yeah, I’ve had a few panic attacks over that. But I have to go report this, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Be careful!”

“Do you want us to walk you there?”

Izuku shook her head, and rushed to find Aizawa and Yamada. She arrived at the staff lounge, slipping inside where she could see All Might panting at his desk red tissues in the trash next to him. Just past him was Aizawa, who was muttering as he typed on the computer and glared at papers next to him.

Walking over to his desk, Izuku pulled up her chair and showed him the alert on her phone. His eyes went wide, and he looked at her, “You better have changed all of your passwords.”

“Yeah. I specifically changed all of them to be something that my old self wouldn’t come up with. But I’m worried that he might have bought the company, and could use that to check what my new password is. The reason I’m worried about that is how every company I used the products of is still around.”

He let out the most weary sigh that Izuku had ever heard (besides from Yoichi), then picked up his own cell phone, “Nezu. Can myself and Izuku come up? Alright, see you in a minute.”

“Do I have to bring anything?”

Aizawa stood up, “Probably just your phone. If we need anything else, I’ll text Yamada.”

With no further warning, he led the way to Nezu’s office, which Izuku realized on her way up that she had been to more times than a store since she came to this time. When they finally got to the door, Aizawa walked directly inside without knocking, “Can you check who owns Izuku’s favorite apps? She just realized that her step-father might have bought them, which means that she isn’t safe.”

Nezu paused for only a couple seconds before he started typing on an adorably small keyboard, “Izuku, why do you believe this could be a possibility?”

Taking a deep breath, Izuku started her explanation, “Every app, hygiene product, snack food, and video game I liked is still around, while the ones that were popular are all gone. Second, some of those accounts required regular payments to get the ‘ideal’ or ‘best’ items, and someone has been paying that for me. In my brief conversations with the leader of the LOV, he mentioned that his sensei, aka my stepdad, owns all of my favorite games, which is why I started to think about him owning other stuff.”

His typing continued as he took in the information, “I’ll look into this. In the meantime, Midoriya, you should disable all permissions to those apps and avoid using them. Could you also write down everything else that is mysteriously still around, except for the video games, and I’ll look into those as well.”

“Yes, Nezu. I’ll go through all of that tonight.”

Aizawa motioned to the door with his head, and Izuku followed him, trying to fight down the feeling of dread that was rising inside of her.

Chapter 27: Write Day And Night Like You’re Running Out Of Time

Chapter Text

May 10, 2019

Akihabara was overwhelming on a good day, but going with her mom’s fiance and his brother was an experience on a different level.

Hisashi was nearly bouncing as he led the way into the district, “I’m sure between the three of us, we can find at least one thing for Inko’s birthday.”

Behind him, Yoichi was openly rolling his eyes while using his hand to mime Hisashi talking. Izuku bit her lip to stay quiet as they followed Hisashi into a store that specialized in Western fan merchandise. He went to the Star Wars section, and Izuku examined the figurines while the two men looked around.

After half an hour, Izuku went over to Hisashi, who proudly held up a figurine, “Look at this!”

Rubbing the back of her head, Izuku spoke up, “Uh, Hisashi, hate to break it to you, but Mom bought that the second it was released in Japan. In fact, everything here is stuff either Mom has gotten herself, or she hates for different reasons. We might have more luck looking at anime merch.”

He deflated, and Yoichi’s shoulders started to shake silently while Hisashi put it back on the shelf, “Where should we look then? She doesn’t like a lot of the anime that I watch.”

“Follow me, gentlemen.”

Izuku led the way down the street, stopping in front of an elegant store that was very familiar, “Here we are! This is where Mom and I go most of the time.”

Yoichi muttered to Izuku as they walked in, “Let’s see how many things Hisashi buys for himself while we are here.”

Both of them dissolved into giggles as Hisashi muttered to himself, “Let’s see what we can find here.”

He vanished from sight deeper into the store, and Yoichi sighed, “Anyone watching us would think that the two of us were the ones who are unsupervised.”

“Is he really that bad?”

Tying his hair back into a ponytail, Yoichi chuckled, “Yeah. There’s two things Hisashi overspends on: anything nerdy, and medical stuff for me. I have enough masks to wear a different one every day for three years.”

Leading the way over to the Sailor Moon section, Izuku started looking, “This is a good place to start. Mom loves Sailor Moon more than anything, to the point where my nursery was decorated in that theme.”

Yoichi examined the display, then pointed at the more expensive section, “What about that set?”

“Huh?” Izuku looked over at a stunning windchime and matching stained glass window decoration.

Both eyes went wide as she saw the price tag, “That’s too expensive!”

“What did I just say that Hisashi over spends on? It’s okay, Izuku. He wants to get her something nice, since last year he flopped so hard.”

A mental image came up in her head of the hideous cake that Hisashi had tried to make, and she chuckled, “I guess it won’t hurt to ask.”

They made their way through the store, and Yoichi finally pointed at the Cowboy Bebop section, “Found him.”

He was ogling over a lunch box.

Izuku held the box for the wind chime in front of his face, “Look what we found for Mom!”

He jumped back, and then inspected the boxes, not batting an eye at the prices of the items, “These are both beautiful! Sorry that I got distracted and didn’t help.”

“It’s okay. This is the first time I’ve ever been able to get something really nice for Mom. And you don’t live with us yet, so you don’t know what we already have.”

“Then let us go purchase these, so we can spoil the best mother in the world.”

April 30, 2221

The words on the page meant nothing after staring at them for an hour. Even the pictures were blobs in the textbook that Izuku was supposed to be studying.

A voice broke through her reverie, “Izuku, can you go play video games for a bit? I need to rant to Yamada about the finals, and I don’t want to give you an advantage.”

Reality came back, and Izuku looked up at Aizawa, “Yeah, no problem. Just flash my lights or tap my shoulder when it’s safe to take my headphones off.”

She went into her room (leaving that stupid textbook behind), closing the door tightly behind her. Flopping down at her computer, she connected her headphones and pulled up Skyrim with an unhealthy amount of mods. Even with the sound up as high as was safe, and her door closed, AND sound proof headphones, she could faintly hear Aizawa yelling about something in the common area. Muttering to herself, she shook her head, “It’s a good thing this apartment is so sound proof, or we’d have to make food to apologize to the neighbors.”

Hopping on Discord, she sent a message to her friends:

Capscicle: I’m online right now because Aizawa and Yamada are talking about the practical final in the other room. Something is upsetting Aizawa, because he’s yelling so loud that my video game and sound canceling headphones can barely keep his voice out.

ZukoElsa: I’m online because I needed a reason to avoid my dad today. A villain fight went poorly.

gottagofast: Who changed my username?

purely_aussie: who do you think? Cause it wasn’t me

zero gravity: do you want us to play a game with you?

Capscicle: kinda yeah, but the problem is that I can’t have my voice on because of the yelling

gottagofast: Midoriya, did you change my username?

Capscicle: yes, iida, i changed your server nickname because having your real name on social media (unless it’s a publicity account) is dangerous and can negatively reflect on you

God Herself: It wouldn’t be the safest option to go by your hero name in a gaming server. Also, Izuku, has Nezu told you any more of the research?

Capscicle: So far Discord and Spotify are both owned by different companies with no connection to crazy ex-step dad, so I can use them. But finding the owners of the other apps is proving to be difficult. The only good news is the fact that Nezu was able to put a million blockers on my computer, so even if there was a built-in way to monitor the players of the video games that I downloaded, he can’t do it.

zero gravity: can we play minecraft? that way we can chat in game

Capscicle: Sure, my world or the group world?

purely_aussie: let’s do the group one, since we don’t know when you’ll get off

Izuku was startled away from the virtual world by a tap on her shoulder. She pulled her headphones off as she turned to look at Yamada, “Is it all clear?”

“Yeah, sorry about that. Nezu is constantly changing stuff, which is making it hard on Aizawa. Were you playing with your friends?”

“Oh! Yes I was. I need to tell them that I’m hopping off. And I’m not surprised that Nezu is changing stuff considering how chaotic this year has been.”

Capscicle: I’m hopping off, apparently everything is cleared up, and dinner is going to be ready very soon.

gottagofast: Make sure to eat all of the food groups!

ZukoElsa: I don’t mind if the villain attacks my father’s house, can I use your Disney+ account?

Capscicle: Go for it. It’ll confuse him. Anyway I really have to hop off now.

Turning back to Yamada, she asked, “Is it time for dinner?”

He sighed, “We’re going to order food because we’re both stressed with the changes the Nezu has made. Is there anything you want?”

She shrugged as she logged off, “Anything is fine.”

“Izuku, you haven’t asked for a specific meal since you moved in. Be picky, and choose one thing you want to eat.”

Pausing for a moment, Izuku thought before replying, “Could I have some katsudon? My mom used to make the best katsudon, and so far I haven’t found anyone who can make it as well as her.”

Yamada smiled at her, “Of course. I’ll look for a place that has really good katsudon, and then Aizawa and I will find something we like there.”

She followed Yamada out, and saw Aizawa glaring at his computer like it had taken away his sleeping bag. He glanced up at them, “What’s the verdict?”

“Apparently we are eating from any restaurant that has katsudon, because that’s her favorite food. Do you know any places that have some?”

He shook his head, “Not off the top of my head.”

Mustering up some courage, Izuku looked at them, “If I had the right ingredients, I could make it. Near the end I cooked a lot because Mom was a lawyer, and everything that was happening was stressing her out.”

Without a second of hesitation, Yamada gestured at the kitchen, “Go ahead and scout out what you need, and I can run to the konbini to get what isn’t here.”

Searching through the cupboards and the fridge, Izuku found most of what she needed, “All that’s missing is beef and onions.”

“Any special type of either, or just whatever you can find?”

Scratching her head, Izuku shrugged, “She said that any beef works, but she said that white onions were the best.”

Yamada grabbed a coat, “Alright, I’ll be right back.”

While he was gone, Izuku gathered up the spices she would need, along with all of the ingredients that didn’t need to stay in the fridge.

About half an hour later, he came back in, and Izuku started going through the familiar steps of making her favorite meal. Yamada helped as much as possible, while Aizawa sat at the table grading more papers.

He only looked up when the food was placed on the table, and he put his papers on a nearby windowsill, “This looks amazing. You must have made it a lot.”

“Yeah. It’s one of the only recipes that I knew well, so I made it at least once a week. Mom’s boyfriend was hopeless at cooking, so it was mostly me and his brother doing the cooking.”

All three dug in, and Izuku smiled as the familiar taste filled her mouth, “It’s just like it used to be.”

May 16, 2221

Mina lied down across the table, causing Izuku to pick up her lunch, “Hey, Zuzu, do you know what the practical exam is going to be?”

“Nope. Any time they discuss it, I have to have noise canceling headphones on in another room. Otherwise it wouldn’t be fair for everyone else.”

She wilted, sliding off the table into a dramatic heap, “I just really want to know so I can actually study for it.”

Jiro spoke up, “I’m sure it’s just going to be another fight of some kind. That’s what the past ones have been. It just depends if All Might is planning it or if another staff member is. At least All Might tells us the secondary goal.”

Mina melted even further, and Izuku noticed that Kaminari was running over to them, nearly shouting as he skidded to a stop, “According to Kendo from 1-B, the upperclassmen told her that we are fighting giant robots like the entrance exam!”

Yamada’s voice echoed in her head: Nezu wants to completely change everything.

Knowing that her poker face was abysmal at best, Izuku focused on eating her lunch, tuning out her classmates. They chatted to each other at light speed, barely stopping for breaths or shoving food in their mouths. Finally, it was time to clean up, and Izuku let the rest of them rush ahead while she walked with Shoto.

On the way back up to the classroom, he spoke in a quiet voice, “It’s not going to be that simple, is it?”

“I may have heard something about everything getting changed.”

“So why didn’t you say anything?”

Popping her back, Izuku made sure no one was listening, “Because I promised not to say anything. And I don’t know what the change is exactly, just that it’s a lot more intricate than beating up robots.”

Nodding, Shoto held the door open for her, “That makes sense.”

Bakugo looked over, “What makes sense?”

“That whenever the final is discussed, I have to go to another room with sound canceling headphones so I don’t have an advantage.”

He huffed, marching over to his seat, while Izuku and Shoto moved to their own chairs. Class seemed to drag by until finally it was the end of the day, when Aizawa stood at the front of the classroom, “Finals are going to be the 7th to 10th of June, with the practical final being on the 11th of June. You are in charge of making study groups if you want to be part of one. Otherwise, you are on your own. This is UA, we aren’t going to hold your hand.”

As he walked out of the classroom, everyone burst into conversation. Ochaco came over to Izuku’s desk at the same time as Shoto, who nearly crashed into Bakugo who almost made it out of the room before Kirishima ambushed him. Ochaco bounced up and down, “Should we study together?”

“I’d like that, if you guys don’t mind studying here.”

Shoto shrugged, “Better here than my place, considering that my father still hates you for ‘negatively influencing’ me.”

Iida joined the group, “I would also like to study with you. Is that permissible?”

Val flopped down on Bakugo’s vacated desk, “Ditto.”

A smile spread across Izuku’s face, “At least we now have a fighting chance on our English final.”

“Kero, I can help with math.”

Everyone looked over at Tsu, who had silently joined the group. Ochaco dramatically flopped onto a table, “Thank you, Tsu!”

While the group started talking about where and when they were going to study, Izuku looked around the room. Bakugo and Kirishima were talking next to the door, while Momo was surrounded by Mina, Jiro, Ojiro, Sero, Kaminari, and Hagakure. The remaining students were gathered around Shoji’s desk.

She took a deep breath, and looked back to her group, glad that she finally had someone to study with besides her mom.

June 10, 2221

Izuku dropped her pencil, and her head, as she finished her last final. She could hear her classmates working around her, but her head was pounding from the sheer amount of knowledge, new and old, that she had just had to sort through. After a few more minutes, Aizawa’s voice called out to everyone, “Time’s up. Pass your exam to the front of the class. You will have the results next Monday, since I don’t have any hero work this weekend.”

Once he had all of the exams on his desk, he rubbed his face, “The practical exam will be tomorrow. You must be in your hero costume and be at the bus spot by 8 AM tomorrow. If you are late, you will instantly fail the practical. I don’t have time to wait for you to show up. We leave at 8:15 on the dot, not a second later.”

With that said and done, he climbed back into his sleeping bag, disappearing behind the desk. Everyone scrambled out, and Izuku walked down to the shoe lockers with Shoto, “I’m glad that’s over. I haven’t had finals since 2019, so I actually forgot how stressful they are.”

“How bad was history?”

Shrugging, Izuku opened her locker, “Only time will tell. That is one of the two that I’m actually worried about. It’s hard to prepare for a fight.”

He slid his shoes on, “Fair enough. I’m assuming that Yamada is picking you up?”

“Actually, the two of them are staying here to grade papers with Nezu, so no one can accuse them of me messing with the grades. Kayama is taking me to the apartment and staying with me until the other two get off. I’m supposed to meet her right at the gate.”

Both of them grabbed their stuff, and headed down the hill. As they walked, Ochaco caught up with them, “What does Midnight look like out of costume?”

“She’s different as night and day. The first time I saw her in costume I was shocked.”

The three of them came into view of the gate, and there stood Kayama. Her hair was in a ponytail, her prescription sunglasses were on, and she was wearing a cute outfit that hid her figure. She smiled at the group, “Hello! Are you ready to head out, Zuzu?”

“Yeah. Bye guys!”

Ochaco gave a bone crushing hug, “See you tomorrow!”

Shoto waved, “Hopefully, they’ll finish a lot of the exams today, so that your life goes back to your new normal quickly.”

“Thanks, Sho.”

Kayama led the way to her waiting car, “I’ve been thinking about what we should do while the guys are busy, and I realized that you were watching a lot of shows at Endeavor’s house. So you get to make me watch anything, and see how I react.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I can handle really gory stuff, and clearly I’m not phased by sex, so there’s nothing you can show me that will upset me.”

A million soul wrenching movie ideas filled Izuku’s mind, and she smiled back, “Okay!”

June 11, 2221

Izuku adjusted her cloak for the millionth time, sighing as she waited next to Shoto and Val. Everyone was present with 10 minutes left, with no sign of Aizawa. Shoji had even confirmed that there was no one sleeping behind any of the bushes, which meant that Aizawa was on his way, and not just hiding nearby.

Kaminari called out, “Hey, Midoriya! Do you know where Sensei is?”

“I haven’t seen him since we arrived this morning. He’s probably just making sure everything is set up by whoever is at the location.”

“You’re all on time. Good. Get on the bus and we will head to the location of the practical test.”

Everyone jumped a mile in the air as Aizawa was suddenly standing at the edge of the sidewalk. Even Jiro and Shoji seemed shocked by his appearance. He raised an eyebrow, “What are you waiting for?”

The bus pulled up behind him, and the students scrambled to their feet. Iida did his regular yelling as everyone climbed onto the bus, taking their usual positions. The mood on the bus was very jovial, and Izuku went over to Aizawa once he got on, “I managed to not let any of them know that this year was going to be different. They think it’s going to be fighting giant robots, but you complained that Nezu was tipping everything on its head.”

He gave her a slight smile, and waved her back to her seat, “You need to stay seated Midoriya.”

“Yes, sir.”

She flopped down next to Shoto, “Let’s see how bad this goes. All I know is that Aizawa has been stressing over this for the past month.”

For a moment, Shoto just stared at her, “That’s not comforting in the slightest. He rarely worries about anything.”

Pulling out her phone, Izuku pulled up her music, “Yeah, but worrying isn’t going to help us. Want to pick the playlist?”

Shoto took one of the earbuds, “Could you play the live singing?”

“Musicals it is.”

The two of them listened to the playlist as their friends continued to talk about what they hoped the results of their finals were going to be. Finally, they pulled up to the massive complex, where many of their teachers were standing.

Izuku put away her headphones, “Including Nezu and Aizawa, there’s nine of our teachers here in costume. If All Might is around, then we might have to fight them.”

Shoto looked at them, “Who do you think is unlucky enough to fight him?”

“Whoever it is, I feel sorry for them.”

Once the whole class lined up, Aizawa stood in front of them, “Now it is time for your final.”

Mina and Kaminari cheered in unison, “Fighting gigantic robots!”

With the most sinister positivity that Izuku ever heard, Nezu replied, “Nope!”

The two of them wilted to the ground as Nezu continued, “You will be facing one of us, your teachers, in a 2-on-1 battle, chosen by Mr Aizawa. Ashido and Kaminari will be facing me! Uraraka and Aoyama will be against Thirteen. Ojiro and Sero will fight Midnight. Asui and Tokoyami will be against Ectoplasm. Midoriya and Iida will be against Powerloader. Jiro and Koda will battle Present Mic. Todoroki and Yaoyorozu will have the joy of fighting Eraserhead. Kirishima and Sato will be against Cementoss. Shoji and Hagakure will be against Snipe. And last but certainly not least, Adeline and Bakugo will fight-”

All Might fell from the sky, and beamed at the students, “-They will be facing me!”

Izuku leaned over to Val, “Good f*cking luck.”

“With the bastard on my team, it’ll take a goddamn miracle to win.”

Chapter 28: Some of Us Are Winners, Some Are Born to Lose

Chapter Text

August 25, 2020

Izuku curled up on a beanbag, playing on her Switch while Yoichi did races against Haru in GTA Online. Yoichi beat him, cheering loudly as the camera focused on Haru rounding the final corner, “Dammit, I can’t believe I slid off the track that many times!”

Chuckling to herself, Izuku kept a close ear on the conversation, pulling something out of her hoodie pocket as Yoichi spoke up, “I was planning on ramming you off, but apparently I didn’t need to do that.”

Haru spoke with the confidence of a million frat boys, “I guess I just keep falling for you, even after all this time.”

Yoichi groaned, “That’s so bad.”

As silently as possible, Izuku slid a small box on top of Yoichi’s minifridge, and went back to her spot, pretending to be engrossed in her game. Haru spoke up again, “Yeah, it’s bad, but I didn’t know how else to propose to you during lockdown.”

“Wait, what?”

“I asked Izuku to put the ring box on that stupid minifridge of yours. Is it there?”

Yoichi turned to look, and picked up the box, “Yeah.”

Haru laughed, “I asked Izuku if she would do the whole kneeling thing by proxy, but she said that I would have to do it the next time I saw you, because she wasn’t going that far.”

“I can put rings out for you, but I am not kneeling in front of my uncle, that’s just weird.”

Both guys laughed, and Yoichi looked at his ring, “It’s beautiful, thanks Haru.”

“I promised that I would propose. Initially, I was going to wait until this all blew over, but that’s clearly not happening, so I figured that we could just start smuggling your stuff out a little at a time, get married, and apologize to Hisashi after. Robin, are you cool helping out with this?”

She looked up from her game, “Sure. I’d actually love to help.”

June 11, 2221 (still)

All Might looked at everyone, “To make it more of an even playing field, each of us will be wearing weights on our arms and legs that are proportionate to our strength.”

He demonstrated by putting his own weights, and Nezu spoke up as the other teachers put their own on, “The rules are very simple. You will be given a pair of capture cuffs, and your goal is to either capture your teacher, or escape out of one of my amazing gates that will be on the opposite side of the arena from you. If you cannot do either in half an hour, you will fail.

“We will go in the order that was announced, and your location is going to be sent to your phone. While you are waiting for your turn, you can wait in Recovery Girl’s tent, or you can wait outside of your zone. This bus is going to drop all of the teachers off, and then come back for everyone else. I highly suggest that Ashido and Kaminari get on the first bus, since your location is fairly far off.”

Once Nezu was done, he pointed forward, and Mic walked to the bus with him on his shoulders. The other teachers followed, most of them waving to the assembled students as they boarded. Ochaco rushed over to Izuku, “We’re going to get on the bus with the teachers so we don’t have to worry about being late. I’ll see you after, okay?”

“See you.”

Ochaco, Aoyama, Mina, and Kaminari all joined the teachers on the bus, while almost everyone else drifted off with their partner. Val stayed with Iida and Izuku, “I’ll try to come up with a plan with him, but just in case, what do you suggest?”

“How long do you think Bakugo is going to last against All Might?”

Val scoffed, making sure the person in question wasn’t nearby before responding, “Not long, why?”

Izuku looked her dead in the eye, “That’s how long you have to run and make it to the exit.”

All color left Val’s face, “So I need to cross a battleground that I’ve never seen before, in less time than it would take for the most powerful hero ever to beat up a teenage idiot. This is going to be the most intense f*cking race I’ve ever been in. Can’t All Might change the goddamn weather?”

Shoto nodded without looking up from his phone, “According to my father, All Might’s done that at least once.”

Momo walked over while Val processed that, “Todoroki, we should really make a plan right now.”

“Right. Let’s go over there so Izuku and Iida can help Adeline plan how to run away from All Might.”

She looked at the trio, “Good luck. At least Recovery Girl is here!”

As they walked away, Val rubbed her temples, “This is a bloody nightmare. I can only hope that All Might holds back some against us, or else we are going to be paste on the ground.”

Izuku rubbed her on the back, “If it’s any comfort, All Might is terrified of Recovery Girl, who gets mad any time one of us gets hurt unnecessarily. So he is going to hold back, we just don’t know how much. My suggestion is the second the match starts, you just run. All Might is pretty theatrical, so he might do a couple monologues during the fight, which will give you slightly more time. Once you no longer hear Bakugo’s explosions, throw all caution to the wind and run for your life.”

Val look a deep breath, and rubbed the back of her head, “I’m going to go stretch in Recovery Girl’s tent until it’s my turn.”

Waving, Izuku watched her walk away, then turned to Iida, “We better make a plan, since we go before Val. So, we’re going against Powerloader, right?”

“That is correct. Do you have a plan, or shall we bounce ideas off each other?”

Izuku flopped on the ground, “I don’t know a lot about Powerloader. My knowledge about him is basically just that he is the head of the support course, which means he likely uses support items. Do you know anything else?”

He joined her on the ground, “Not exactly. I don’t know much about his years as a pro hero before he retired to work at UA. But Nezu said that Aizawa put together the matchups, so we need to figure out what weakness we both have, and how to overcome that.”

Tapping her finger against her crossed leg, “Ok, so one thing about both of us is that we tend to overthink literally anything. So we might be against someone who can act quickly and decisively. We also heavily rely on our feet, as in, both of us are stuck on the ground unless the circ*mstance is right. So he might do something to the ground. But honestly, all we can really do is speculate until we actually face him.”

He nodded, “Then it would be best for us to go wait with everyone else.”

They got up, and wandered to the tent that Recovery Girl had set up, and found most of their classmates there. The only ones that were missing were the ones on their way to their tests, and Bakugo. Val looked bored as she stretched in the back of the tent, and she glanced over at Sero, “You’re one of his friends, do you know where he is?”

“No. After he stormed off, he set all phone calls to go straight to his voicemail, and he’s not answering any texts.”

She buried her face in her hands, “We’re gonna die because he’s an idiot.”

Recovery Girl looked over at the despairing Aussie, “Chin up, girlie. If All Might does actually kill you, I will bring you back to life and then kill him. I’m his doctor, I know where his weak points are.”

The screens in front of her lit up, revealing a massive cityscape. One camera was focused on Nezu in a crane that had a wrecking ball attached. Another was focused on an adorable arch decorated with Nezu’s face, saying “Exit Here” in an adorable font. Yet another was focused on a closed set of doors, while the rest were just pointed at empty buildings.

A clock counted down, and Recovery Girl pointed at it, “When that is done, the test for Kaminari and Ashido is going to start. Before that happens, let me warn all of you: when the Principal gets a chance to not act dignified, he can be downright terrifying. He is going to laugh like a lunatic, which is why I am warning you right now, rather than just waiting for you to figure it out on your own.”

She had barely finished talking when the timer went off, right as the doors to the arena opened. Kaminari and Mina just had enough time to enter before the doors closed behind them, blocking any retreat. Almost instantly, Nezu spun the crane, knocking over several buildings. Izuku watched in horror as the buildings tumbled down in a wave, finally ending right where Kaminari and Mina would have been if they hadn’t started walking down the street.

The two of them started sprinting for their lives as the world tumbled down around them. Up in his crane, Nezu did exactly what Recovery Girl warned, and was laughing like the Joker on cocaine. He was laughing so hard that he was spilling his tea all over himself, directing the crane with only one hand (paw? Who even knows).

Recovery Girl sighed as she watched the video, “Hopefully, they find the path he left for them, otherwise they aren’t going to get out of this in time.”

Izuku looked at her, “What do you mean?”

“The teachers are told to not be cruel. They can act like villains, but they can’t be merciless. Even with those weights on them, you kids wouldn’t stand a chance against them, so they have to set up parameters of how far they are going to push you. Speaking of which, Ojiro, Sero, Asui, and Tokoyai, you all have to leave now and wait for the bus to pick you up.”

All four of them headed out as the 15 minute mark of Mina and Kaminari’s test hit. At that point, half of the screens were filled with another cityscape with Thirteen inside of it. The gate opened, letting Ochaco and Aoyama inside, who both moved behind a building the second they got inside.

Thirteen just waited near the exit, not making a single move before they appeared around another building. Before they could react, they were being sucked towards the hero, both barely managing to grab a railing next to the mock street.

As Thirteen continued to use their quirk, everyone got distracted by Mina and Kaminari’s timer going off, and Nezu’s voice ringing out, “Time is up! Robots will come collect you two and take you to Recovery Girl to make sure you weren’t injured.”

Recovery Girl shook her head, “Poor kids. Anywho, Midoriya, Iida, Jiro, and Koda all need to go to the bus stop. Your friends can tell you what you missed.”

The four of them walked back to where the bus had dropped them off, and saw it waiting. All of them sat in the middle of the bus as it headed out, and Izuku smiled at them, “You guys nervous?”

Tsu nodded, “It’s really intense to fight our teachers, especially Ectoplasm-sensei, with his clones. How about you two?”

Iida did his regular arm chopping as he spoke, “We have a tentative plan, but we aren’t quite sure what we are going to face, so we are prepared to make a plan in the moment.”

After a short bus ride, they stopped outside of one battleground, and the driver called out, “Asui and Tokoyami off at this location!”

Tsu gave a fist bump to Izuku before following her teammate off the bus. Izuku watched them approach the arena while the bus pulled away, and she took a deep breath, “We can do this.”

A few minutes later, they were dropped off outside of another battle area, and they walked up to the door. Iida started stretching immediately, and Izuku started to copy him. After a few minutes, they heard a recording of Nezu’s voice counting down, “Ten, nine, eight…”

Both of them stood facing the door, and soon as it opened, they stepped inside. Izuku immediately started looking around for Powerloader, only to be distracted as a fracture opened in the earth in front of them.

Her brain and mouth moved a million miles a second, “Okay, so he’s literally destroying the ground. Keep dodging him until I can think of a solution, and I’ll just follow where you go.”

Plans flew in and out of Izuku’s mind, and she finally put one together, “He’s just going to keep destroying the ground. How far can you get on your max speed?”

“Roughly 35 meters, but then I can’t walk.”

Both of them jumped away from another ditch that opened up, and Izuku pointed, “The exit is there. Get us as close as you can, and if you lock up before we get fully there, I’ll use gravity to get you the rest of the way.”

She climbed on his back, and Iida launched himself forward. Izuku could barely believe how hot the air coming from Iida’s engines were, and how fast they were flying away from Powerloader. Iida just barely made it through the gate as his engines spluttered out, and they both tumbled to the ground. Izuku rolled to her feet, and crouched to check on Iida.

As she did that, a dust covered Powerloader walked over to them, and gave a thumbs up, “Great job you two! Are either of you hurt?”

Izuku shook her head, “I’m completely fine, and I think that Iida just needs a couple minutes before his legs get back online.”

“It usually takes about ten minutes.”

Their teacher crouched next to them, “Are you alright if I pick you up? That way you can get on the bus and head back.”

Pausing for a second, Iida thought, and then nodded, “Please.”

With that, Powerloader carried him to the bus stop, dropping him off on a seat. On the bus was Ochaco, Aoyama, Asui, and Tokoyami. Izuku flopped down next to Ochaco, “That was not fun. Powerloader dug under the ground, causing it to fall out under us. Are you okay, Tsu? You look nauseous.”

She was leaning back in her seat with her eyes closed, “Yeah, I just had to use my stomach thing to capture Ectoplasm-sensei. We couldn’t have done it without Dark Shadow, who managed to play both distraction and capturer.”

Dark Shadow appeared suddenly after that, proudly pointing to himself before vanishing back under Tokoyami’s cloak. Izuku chuckled as Tokoyami sighed, “He’s going to be unbearable for the next week, but at least we passed.”

Ochaco rubbed her hands together, “I hope we passed, we barely got done at the time limit, and that’s just because I lost my grip. Thirteen stopped Black Hole because they hate hurting anyone, and I managed to slap the cuffs on due to that.”

The bus pulled up at the stop, where Shoto, Momo, Kirishima and Sato were standing. By now, Iida could walk, so they all got off, giving high fives to those on their way out. Kirishima called over his shoulder, “Jiro and Koda are going against Mic right now, and it’s not looking good.”

All six students raced inside to see Mic screaming at the top of his lungs while Jiro and Koda were curled up on the ground. Izuku grimaced, and watched as Jiro was yelling something to Koda with her hands over her ears. He seemed to argue for a moment, but then steeled himself as Jiro shattered a nearby rock. Koda leaned over, shouting to the ground and Izuku’s eyes went wide, “He’s talking to the bugs. Holy sh*t, don’t piss him off unless you want bugs in your clothes.”

Every girl in the room (besides Recovery Girl) shuddered, and everyone watched in silent horror as bugs erupted from the earth around Mic, crawling all over him. Koda picked up Jiro, and raced through the gate at top speed, ignoring the writhing Mic. After a minute, the bugs dispersed and Mic collapsed, causing Recovery Girl to chuckle, “I’m sure he’s just fine. He just hates bugs. By the way, those of you who haven’t gone yet need to go.”

Val waved goodbye as she followed Shoji and Hagakure out of the tent.

All attention turned back to the screens, where Shoto and Momo were holding a conversation as they ran through an arena that looked like a cute neighborhood. As they ran, little Russian nesting dolls fell from Momo’s back, and Shoto had frost covering his arm.

Something that Momo said made them both stop, and Shoto put his non-frozen hand on her shoulder, speaking to her as she nodded. Izuku watched in horror as the dolls stopped falling at the same time that the frost melted off Shoto’s arm. Both realized at the same moment, and Shoto was yanked into the sky by Aizawa’s capture weapon.

Momo took off running while Aizawa turned Shoto into a burrito, hanging him from a lightpost. Shoto yelled something at him, which made Aizawa smirk as he threw caltrops on the ground below him, saying something in return.

Once he was sure that Shoto couldn’t escape, he went after Momo. She was running away, tears falling down her face. For some reason, she stopped midrun, and started running back towards Shoto. She got to him, and freed him. They barely started talking before Aizawa showed back up, and Shoto created a massive glacier. Momo took a deep breath, and made two blankets, along with a catapult. She also made something that looked like Aizawa’s capture weapon, loading it onto the catapult. Shoto covered Momo and the catapult with one blanket, and then covered himself with the other.

Aizawa finally arrived, and Momo threw off her blanket, launching the strange object at him. Everyone cheered as Shoto emerged, and sent out his fire to make it constrict around their teacher, turning him into a grumpy cocoon.

Momo and Shoto freed him just enough to put the handcuffs on, and then removed it the rest of the way. Aizawa gave a nod of approval, and they headed out the exit as he removed the handcuffs.

Around the time that wrapped up, Kirishima and Sato were locked in with Cementoss, and Izuku let out a breath, “This is going to be hard for them. Cementoss doesn’t have a time limit while both of them do have one for their powers.”

Ochaco paled, “Are you sure?”

“I hope they made a plan in advance, because Sato can’t think clearly when recovering from his quirk, and Kirishima isn’t the best at improvising. He tends to be single minded.”

Everyone watched as Cementoss kept making barriers for the two guys, and they tried their best to keep up. At first, they were moving slowly forward, but each time Sato had to eat more candy, they started to slow down.

The two guys continued to struggle as the others came back. Shoto sat next to Izuku, “Don’t tell Momo, but I think he let us win. She was doubting herself so much during that match, and I think he let us win because she was starting to have faith in herself.”

“Got it, and that does line up for who he actually is.”

On the other screens, Shoji and Hagakure were getting ready for their match. Due to the technical difficulty of making a costume that was completely invisible, this would be the first time that Hagakure got to wear her new costume.

Unlike most of the battle grounds, theirs was indoors. Almost immediately, gunshots rang out, sending the two of them into shelter. The two seemed to whisper to each other, and Hagakure’s shoes fell to the ground as Shoji attempted to poke his appendages out.

Multiple shots just barely missed him, and Snipe seemed to not notice the pair of handcuffs floating towards him. They slammed down on his wrist, and he put his gun away. Hagakure’s shoes got put back on, and she high-fived Shoji, who looked very close to smiling.

All that was left was Bakugo and Val, who were about to start their match.

The cameras showed Val attempting to talk to Bakugo, who kept yelling at her any time she tried to talk. Finally, she threw her hands up in the air, turning to face the doors as they opened. She immediately shot off over the rooftops, and Bakugo got sent flying backwards by a powerful gust of wind. He recovered quickly, and launched an attack against All Might.

Since this was the last match, half of the cameras were focused on Val, while the other half were aimed at the All Might/Bakugo smack down. The cameras that were aimed at Val showed her as she was racing across the top of roofs, swinging with the fluidity that only years of practice could achieve. Meanwhile. Bakugo was being tenderized like a piece of meat as All Might easily fended him off.

Finally, Bakugo was struggling to get up, and All Might realized that he hadn’t seen Val. He launched up to the top of a nearby building, and saw her as she was crossing the final stretch between the cityscape and the exit. He launched himself after her, and Val sped up even more.

She yanked herself through the gate as an attack just missed her, and fell to the ground breathing heavily. Robots collected Bakugo, while All Might checked on Val, who rolled over and held a thumbs up. He pulled her to her feet, and she followed him, likely to the bus stop.

After a few minutes, the remaining students entered the tent, and Recovery Girl went to go check on Bakugo.

Val flopped down next to Izuku, “f*cking hell, I can’t believe I made it that fast. I think my arms are going to be sore for the next month.”

Recovery Girl proved that her ears were not old by calling over to them, “Then get over here so I can check on you. Don’t just sit there doing nothing.”

She groaned to her feet, and Recovery Girl checked on her once Bakugo was sleeping off his injuries. Val got a quick peck on her forehead, and Recovery Girl nodded, “All you had was a slight case of muscle strain, quirk overload, and slight rope burn on your hands and wrists.”

“Thanks. Can I go to sleep now?”

When Recovery Girl nodded, Val took the furthest bed away from Bakugo and passed out.

Chapter 29: I'm Hoping That What Goes Down Must Also Go Up

Chapter Text

July 15, 2018

Yoichi finished setting up the game station in the living room, and Izuku curled up on the couch. Once he was satisfied with how it was set up, he grabbed the controllers and sat down, “This game isn’t one that’s massively popular, but it’s one of my favorites.”

“Okay. So am I going to play it without any help, or are you going to act like Navi?”

He chuckled, “I’m going to try to be quiet unless you ask for help, or are going to miss something that’s really important.”

Cracking her knuckles, Izuku loaded up the game, falling in love with the setting of the world. Her eyes couldn’t stop looking at the costume design, the flora, and the architecture. She panicked as the initial fight started, and her focus was so on the game she failed to see Yoichi’s smile.

When the plot kicked up a million notches, Izuku barely managed to muffle her own scream, dropping the controller in order to cover her mouth. Yoichi barely managed to keep his laughter under control, and finally Izuku looked over at him, “You didn’t tell me that this started with an ASSASSINATION.”

“I went in with no warning, so you got none.”

Huffing, Izuku turned back to the game, “Fair. But the little girl better be okay, or I will google spoilers for the latest Marvel film and spoil it for you.”

She fell back into the story, barely noticing anything happening around her unless it was Yoichi speaking up to give her information. She didn’t notice when Inko emerged from her bedroom office to start making dinner, or her smiling at her phone as texts came in.

Both Izuku and Yoichi did turn to look when someone knocked on the door, and Inko let Hisashi in. Izuku turned back to the TV when they leaned in for a kiss. Yoichi mimed gagging, and Izuku’s character fell from a high place as she laughed so hard she became short of breath.

Hisashi made his way over to her, “Here’s a present for your birthday!”

“Thanks, Hisashi. Do you want me to open it now, or after dinner when I open Mom’s and Yoichi’s presents?”

After a couple seconds of thinking, Hisashi sighed, “I can wait until after dinner. I’m assuming that we’re having katsudon?”

“Of course we are. Mom, is it ready?”

Inko looked up from where she was cooking again, “Yes, save your game and help set the table.”

Nodding, Izuku had her character climb to the top of a building, and saved the game. Her and Yoichi made their way over to the kitchen, and started setting the table like a fine oiled machine while Hisashi attempted to sneak food, getting whacked by Inko’s spatula multiple times.

Finally, Hisashi brought out the drinks, “I see that Yoichi got you to play his favorite game.”

“Yeah, I like it. The design of it is super cool, and the plotline is engaging.”

Inko brought the food over, “Let’s eat.”

June 18, 2221

Aizawa stood at the front of the class, seemingly dead as always, “I have the results for the finals in my hand right now. The number of students who failed the written exam was, shockingly, zero.”

Everyone started to celebrate, only stopping when the hair went up and the eyes went red, “Quiet down. Not all of you passed the practical final. Half of you could capture your opponent, while the other half of you were being tested on your ability to realize when you were outmatched and run. Ashido and Kaminari, your goal was to escape, and you failed. The same can be said about Kirishima and Sato. Another team that was in the same situation, and ONE of them realized, was Adeline and Bakugo. Adeline passed for fleeing, Bakugo failed for refusing to work as a team, but also for failing to realize that he did not stand a chance against All Might.”

Bakugo’s head snapped up, and Aizawa raised a single eyebrow, “If you want to argue with me, do it after class. A team that successfully realized that they had to flee, and achieved it was Sero and Ojiro. The final group that had to flee was Iida and Midoriya, who barely managed to do so in time. Because they succeeded, they passed.”

Izuku looked over at Iida and smiled at him. He nodded back at her in return before looking back at Aizawa, who wasn’t done, “The other teams were expected to use their own judgment, fighting when they could, but fleeing when they could not, or the reverse in a couple situations. The remaining five teams succeeded at capturing the heroes they were against, and therefore passed their exams.”

Sighs of relief were head across the classroom, and the screen behind Aizawa displayed the results:

Ashido/Kaminari - Lose

Kirishima/Sato - Lose

Adeline/Bakugo - Adeline wins/Bakugo fails

Sero/Ojiro - Win

Iida/Midoriya - Win

Asui/Tokoyami - Win

Todoroki/Yaoyorozu - Win

Uraraka/Aoyama - Win

Jiro/Koda - Win

Shoji/Hagakure - Win

Mina was messing with her hair when Aizawa spoke again, “Considering that the summer camp is a training camp, it would be quite illogical to leave behind the ones who need the most support. Everyone who failed will be coming, but will take extra lessons during everyone else’s leisure time.”

Both Mina and Kaminari fell out of their chairs before cheering and high fiving across the aisle. Meanwhile, Izuku leaned further back in her chair to get away from the human storm in front of her who looked five seconds away from exploding, literally. With that Aizawa handed stacks of paper to the front of each row, “Here is a list of everything that you need for the camp. It is split between necessary items and optional items. You must put identification on all of your items, as we are going on this trip with 1B, and we will not mediate any fights over unlabeled items. Those of you who are on scholarships will have the necessary items bought for you this weekend. If you need something specific, tell me after class.”

As class dismissed, Ochaco and Hagakure approached Aizawa, along with Momo. The class president waited at a distance while the other two spoke to Aizawa. Once they moved away, Momo walked over, asking him something, which he said no to. She nodded, then came over to the slowly growing group next to Izuku’s desk.

Shoto looked over the list, and glanced up at Izuku, “Who’s buying your things for you?”

“Midnight and Mic. They’ve bought all of my other stuff for me, so I trust them. I’m just sad that I can’t bring either of my cats with me. Mic is going to take care of them for me.”

Momo leaned against a nearby desk, “I asked if you could some with a hero as a protector, but Aizawa said that it was still too dangerous, since we only know what one of the villains looks like.”

“Yeah, I asked him yesterday and he said the same thing. Hopefully they get caught soon so I can act like a normal teenager.”

Ochaco leaned on the vacated chair of Bakugo, “I wish that you could go shopping with everyone. But I understand why.”

The group gathered up their stuff, heading downstairs together.

July 5, 2221

“Izuku, do you have everything?”

She hauled out her backpack to the entryway, “You checked the suitcase yesterday, and wrote a list over everything that should be in my backpack. Yamada, you’re worrying too much. The location of this camp is so secret that not even you know where it is. It’s probably one of the safest places for me to be right now.”

Aizawa sighed, “You’d think that we didn’t talk about this for an hour yesterday. But we have to leave right now in order to beat the early students.”

Izuku gave Yamada a hug, “I’ll see you in a few days. The cats will keep you company while we’re gone, and Kayama-san said to remind you that she’s going to drop by randomly to check on you.”

Yamada hugged her tightly, “Thanks. See you in a few days.”

She grabbed her bags, and followed Aizawa to the waiting taxi. The ride to UA was silent, as was the walk to the meetup spot. Izuku flopped down under one of the few trees, and started reading a book.

The rest of the class trickled in, along with 1B students not too far away. After a while, Izuku was distracted by a familiar popping sound, and she looked up to see Monoma of 1B taunting Bakugo and a couple others before Kendo gave him another nap. Shoto sat down next to her while he was being dragged back to his own class, “I had to wait for father to go to work before coming because he was upset that I was going to be at an undisclosed location.”

“Imagine being that entitled.”

He chuckled, and glanced at her book, “New or old?”

Adjusting how she sat, she showed the book to him, “Technically old, but it wasn’t out before I was yeeted. An author I liked a lot wrote this just before the wars started, so the series never got finished.”

“What’s it about?”

She closed the book, putting it away, “It’s speculative fiction, specifically focused around Greek Mythology and what our world would be like if it was real in the time that I am from.”

The buses pulled up, with Cementoss and Powerloader getting off. They opened the storage underneath the buses, and started to load up all the suitcases, duffel bags, and other containers while the two classes filed onto separate buses. Izuku and Shoto were some of the last kids from 1A on the bus, thankfully, Ochaco, Val, and Iida were saving spots for them near the front.

Shoto let Izuku pick where she wanted to sit, allowing her to sit next to the window instead of on the aisle. The noise on the bus was overwhelming, so within five minutes of them setting off, Izuku’s headphones came out as Iida started yelling at the other students, “Seats are meant to be sat in! Please sit down everybody!”

Val shook her head, pulling out a book of her own, plugging in headphones. Ochaco managed to lean around the seat, and drag Shoto into a conversation, so Izuku started one of her playlists to muffle Iida’s yelling. Aizawa turned around to say something, but gave up because of the volume.

After an hour of chaos on the bus, it pulled to a stop in the mountains. Izuku slid her headphones off just in time to hear Aizawa call out, “This is a rest stop. Everyone out!”

Everyone hopped off the bus, and Aizawa put his hand on her shoulder, “I need you to stay next to me.”

“Um, okay?”

She stuck next to the bus while everyone wandered around. A car pulled up and Izuku smiled when Pixie Bob hopped out of the car along with another woman in a similar costume. The two of them did a strange dance, “We’re the Wild Wild puss*cats, 50% power!”

Izuku inched closer to Aizawa, “They’re weird.”

“Didn’t you meet Pixie Bob when you were with Thirteen?”

She nodded, “I met her, but I haven’t been around any of the others. I was not prepared for a whole dance.”

“Fair. Most people aren’t.”

Pixie Bob slammed her hand against the ground, and everyone was sent flying over the cliff by a chunk of earth moving. Both women turned, and Pixie Bob jumped up and down, “It’s you! You look so cute in your school uniform!”

“Hi Pixie Bob.”

Izuku was swept into a hug, and Pixie Bob kept cooing, “I’m so glad that we get to spend this week together. The others were so excited when they heard that they would get to meet you!”

“Thanks. Um, what did you do to the others?”

She glanced at the cliff, “Typical training. They have to get past my adorable dirt creations to get to the camp.”

The other woman came walking back from the edge of the cliff, “I gave them pointers of which way to go. If they aren’t at camp by sunset, we’ll go find them.”

A loud, but familiar, boom echoed through the air, and Aizawa sighed, “I hope you are ready to plant more trees.”

He headed back onto the bus, “Izuku, come on.”

“Right!”

Being on the bus when it was empty was so uncomfortable, so she put her headphones back on. They went down a long dirt path, finally pulling up at a cute home deep in the woods. Waiting outside were the two puss*cats, along with a small child.

Izuku followed Aizawa off, and he looked at her, “Since the others are currently fighting their way here, it’s only fair that you help bring their stuff inside. All of the boys’ things go in the furthest room to the left, and the girls’ stuff all the way to the right. Also, you haven’t met Mandalay.”

The other hero walked up to Izuku, “Nice to finally meet you. Pixie Bob has told us so much about you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too. Just fair warning, I’m really bad at remembering hero names. There’s been so many so fast that I’m barely able to remember my teachers’ aliases.”

Mandalay smiled, “I completely understand. Now, let’s start moving stuff.”

Izuku grabbed Shoto’s and Iida’s bags, and carried them to the boys’ room. It was an impressively large room. She put the bags down against a wall, and returned to the front when she overheard, “She’s been in our time for almost 7 months now, right?”

“Yes.”

The first voice spoke again, “Poor thing. She reminds me of my nephew Kouta. He lost his parents this year, and she woke up and found that everyone she knew is long dead. It can’t be easy.”

Izuku didn’t hear the rest of the conversation, because all she could focus on was one fact that it had been 7 months since she last saw her mom and Yoichi. Tears threatened to escape her eyes, and she slipped to the back of the building, where she curled up and let the tears out.

I wish I had pictures of them, but I have nothing besides Yoichi’s streams and my tiktoks left of them. I wish my instagram account wasn’t just pictures of merch, I wish I had pictures of them there. I wish they were here instead of Hisashi. I just want my mom.

Someone walked up to her side and sat down, “This is why I hate adults who gossip. Do you need privacy, physical contact, or a distraction?”

Through tears, Izuku looked at Aizawa, “Hug.”

He wrapped one arm around her, letting her cry for a little bit longer. She finally stopped, wiping her eyes off, “Thanks.”

Once her face was mostly dry, she flipped her wristband to the red side, “I can help unload now. I just needed a minute to miss my family.”

“If you need more time, you are allowed to have it. But if you want to keep working as a distraction, I will support that.”

She stood up, dusting herself off, “After we put everything away, is it possible for me to talk to Yamada, or would that be breaking the rules?”

Aizawa put a hand on her head, “I’ll ask Nezu.”

It was 2 before the girls showed up, led by a proud Val. Each of them were covered in dirt, making it easier than normal to see Hagakure. Pixie Bob looked at them, “Congrats on making it here! I’m guessing you figured out that you didn’t need to fight all of the monsters to get here, right?”

They all nodded, and Shoto emerged right behind them, “They attempted to tell the others, but they were extremely excited to fight.”

Aizawa looked at everyone, “Midoriya helped drop off all of the bags in the rooms you will be staying in. Todoroki, you, along with the other boys, will be in the farthest room to the left, ladies, you will all be in the furthest room to the right. Get a set of clean clothes, and then Mandalay will show you to the hot springs.”

The girls all loud out a loud but worn out cheer, and everyone headed out. Aizawa looked over to her, “You should also get some clothes and go with them. Despite not fighting your way through a forest, you’ve had a long day.”

“Yes, sir.”

She joined the other girls in the room, “How bad was it? Aizawa made me stay next to the bus so I wouldn’t get thrown.”

Mina got right in Izuku’s face, “Those dirt monsters were terrifying! Thank heavens that Momo realized that they weren’t really fast, so we just avoided as many as we could!”

Val sat on the ground stretching, “We still ended up fighting a f*cking army of them, but at least we aren’t going to be fighting on empty stomachs like the idiots.”

Hagakure jumped up and down, “You should have seen Val’s face when she realized that she could control the really skinny vines!”

“It’s a damn shame that I couldn’t control the big ones. Those would’ve done more damage.”

Everyone grabbed a spare set of clothes, and went back to the main area where Mandalay was waiting, “Let’s go!”

She led the way to another building that was set up like a bathouse, and pointed at the door on the right, “Just remember that the girls are always on the right. Your friend is already in the guy’s side. Is he one that can be trusted, or should we have an adult here?”

Izuku spoke up, “Shoto won’t try to look at us. In fact, the worst thing he’d do is try to come talk because he doesn’t know the concept of privacy. I’ll tell him to not come over through the fence.”

The girls got rid of their sweaty uniforms, then entered the hotspring. Izuku went to the fence and called out, “Shoto?”

“Hello, Izuku. Is the water supposed to be this hot?”

Mentally, Izuku added another reason to put Endeavor on a hit list, verbally she replied, “Yes. They’re heated by the volcanoes that created Japan. Studies have shown that bathing in these hot springs help your health, including mental health. You’re supposed to do it without clothes on, so you have to stay on that side.”

“Oh, you’re supposed to have no clothes on?”

Rubbing her face, she sighed, “Shoto, please tell me that you are not in the hot spring, in your uniform.”

“I thought that’s what you were supposed to do.”

Several of the other girls were now looking in Izuku’s direction, fighting back laughter, “Well, now you know better. And it might be a good idea to fix it before the other guys get here, because some of them might be rude to you if you are still in clothes.”

“I’ll go change.”

Once everyone heard the sliding door close, the girls all let out a quiet laugh. Izuku got into the water, “To be fair, this is the first time I’ve been to one myself. I’m just glad that he didn’t do that in front of the other guys, because they would’ve teased him forever.”

Jiro nodded from her spot next to Momo, “Yeah. I don’t think a lot of the guys besides those who were at Hosu actually have any sense of decency.”

Momo looked at Izuku, “So, what was it like coming with Aizawa?”

“I had to drop off everyone’s stuff so I did some exercise. Had another panic attack, ate lunch. Pretty much just that.”

Tsu put a hand on Izuku’s shoulder, “The fact that you haven’t had a lot around us is pretty impressive, kero. Besides being scared of mutation quirks, you blend right in with the rest of us.”

Val called out, “To be fair, there are literal cults out there who are scared of mutant quirks. Izuku’s biggest tell is freezing when a quirk is used around her. Also, Izuku, if this is too much for you, just let us know and we’ll switch topics.”

Izuku could feel the world starting to move further away from her, and managed to get out, “Could we talk about something else? Like everyone’s favorite musicians?”

Mina started on a rant, and Izuku fought dissociation. She could hear the voices around her, but it was as if they had all switched to a language that she had never heard before. Her eyes wouldn’t focus, and instead were vaguely pointed at the surface of the water.

A hand gently touched her shoulder, and she jolted back to reality. Val was staring at her, “Are you okay, or should we get out?”

Words wouldn’t come to mind, and Val called to the others, “Hey, Izuku is getting overheated, so I’m going to take her inside.”

Ochaco started moving, “Should I come?”

“Nah. I’m sure a couple minutes in the locker room will cool her down.”

Izuku let herself be led inside, Val grabbing both of their towels. Once the cooler air hit, Izuku’s brain started to come back. Val grabbed her own dry clothes, “I hope you don’t mind that I used you as an excuse. I’ve never been that on display before, and I was trying to think of a reason to leave until I noticed that you were completely zoned out.”

“Thanks. I’m not sure if it was the panic attack earlier, or the heat, but I couldn’t snap myself out of it.”

Both changed in silence, then Val spoke up, “Should we tell Aizawa, since he’s your legal guardian and all that sh*t? And before you say that you’re fine now, you’ve had two mental health issues in one day.”

“Fine.”

Val led the way back to the main building, and Aizawa noticed them approaching, “What happened now?”

“Aizawa, she had another panic attack in the hot spring, so I dragged her ass over here to inform you.”

He looked directly at Izuku, “Nezu just responded. You can use my phone to call Yamada. Take it, and go call him. Adeline, go warn the others that the boys will be here in the next half hour.”

“Will do.”

Izuku took the phone as Val went back to the bathhouse. Once her friend was out of sight, Izuku moved to the back of the main house, sending a call to Yamada’s phone number. It rang a couple times before he picked up, “Hello?”

“Hey, I took Aizawa’s phone so I could call.”

Knowing what was likely to happen, she moved the phone away from her ear just before Yamada spoke, “Izuku! How are you? Why are you calling?”

Sitting down on the ground, Izuku switched the phone to speakerphone, “I’ve just had a rough mental health day. First I suddenly missed Mom and my uncle, and then when myself and the other girls were in a hot spring I completely zoned out, and I couldn’t snap out of it until someone touched me. Since Aizawa sucks at talking about emotions, I asked if I could talk to you.”

“That makes sense. What exactly were you upset about with your mom and your uncle?”

Her spare hand tapped her leg, “I was mostly wishing that either of them were the one still around, not my step-dad. And the fact that the only record I have of either of them is the videos that I posted online. I don’t have any pictures of them, I only have one video with my mom’s voice, and my uncle covered his face in all of the videos, so I don’t have any images of his whole face.”

“I can talk to Nemuri and Nezu to see if they can find any pictures. You deserve to have pictures of them at the very least.”

A smile spread over her face, “Thanks. That would make me feel better.”

“No problem. As much as I would love to keep talking to you, I’m afraid one of us might slip up and spill information. Be safe kiddo.”

Wiping away a tear, Izuku nodded, “Thanks, Yamada.”

They both hung up, and Izuku returned to the front of the building just in time to see the guys stagger out of the forest. All of their clothes were torn, burned, or in other serious forms of disrepair. She handed the phone to Aizawa, and Pixie Bob hopped closer to the boys, “Congrats! You made it despite my ADORABLE little creations! The girls and Todoroki arrived two hours ago, so you’ll get the bathhouse mostly to yourselves!”

Everyone blearily looked at her, and Aizawa took over, “Midoriya carried all of your bags into the room that you will all be sharing. It’s all the way to the left inside the main building. Go get a change of clothes, and then she’ll show you which building is the bathhouse.”

They trudged inside, and Izuku noticed the little kid again glaring at the boys as they walked past. Details of the conversation she overheard came back to her, and she looked over to Mandalay, “Is that your nephew?”

“Yes. Kouta, come say hi.”

He stayed in place, refusing to move. Izuku didn’t blame him, as the boys came back out, talking to each other loudly. Kirishima was the only one to notice him, and walked over to him, “Who’s the little dude-”

Izuku bit back a laugh as Kirishima got nailed in the nuts by a surprisingly strong kick from Kouta. All of the guys made sympathy pain sounds as he fell to the ground. Mandalay took a couple steps towards Kouta, but he took off. Aizawa spoke, “Mandalay, we’ve got the teenagers. Speaking of which, Midoriya, aren’t you supposed to be taking them somewhere?”

“Yes, sir.”

Sero and Kaminari helped Kirishima up, and Izuku led the way to the bathhouse, “Same as the house. You guys go through the left door. Last I checked, Todoroki is still in there. The girls are getting out right now, so you guys can be as loud as you want.”

As the words came out of her mouth, the girls started coming out. They all waved, and Hagakure put her hands on her hips, “We told you guys that fighting every monster would be a waste of time! Only Todoroki listened, and we’ve been here for hours.”

Bakugo moved close to them, “No one asked, Invisibitch. We’re here to learn how to fight, not how to be pushovers.”

Something inside Izuku snapped and she glared at him, “Considering that you failed your final because you refused to stop fighting, I think you should listen to her, instead of being the smallest dick in the forest.”

Jiro looked at her, “Don’t you mean biggest dick?”

“Oh, no. I mean the smallest dick, because, as I said at the beginning of the year, he’s definitely compensating for something by picking a fight with literally everyone.”

The crackles of his quirk started, and Izuku looked right at him, “Go ahead and attack me. It’ll only put me in the hospital for the third time this year, and get you arrested, thus ending your career.”

He stopped and stormed into the bathhouse, and Izuku went with the girls back to the main house. Pixie Bob was in the middle of cooking dinner, singing to herself as Mandalay got dishes stacked up on one end of a table that had several dishes on it already.

They noticed the girls filtering in, and Mandalay smiled at them, “The food should be ready in a minute. How was the hot spring?”

Momo bowed, “It was amazing, thank you.”

“Aw, thanks kitten. But we are just the ones lucky enough to find it.”

Pixie Bob moved one of the giant pots over to the serving table, “Foods ready!”

Without saying a word, the girls made a line, grabbing the food, and then sitting down, leaving a place for Shoto. He drifted in, grabbed his own food and then sat down, “I almost forgot how loud they can be without Aizawa keeping them quiet.”

Everyone chuckled, and ate in peace until the first boy, Iida, came in half an hour later. He sat nearby, turning to Ochaco who was the nearest girl, “So, we truly didn’t need to fight every monster?”

“No. when we got here they congratulated us for picking our battles wisely.”

He nodded, “That makes sense. Some of us, especially the guys, tend to get into many fights that we should have avoided. The training must have started early.”

The other guys trickled in, surprisingly with Bakugo being one of the first ones back. Not surprisingly, his group followed him like baby ducks. He took the furthest table away from the girls, with his crew following. They were laughing like they always did, while he was sulking.

Finally, the other guys came in, got their food, and spread out over the tables. Once everyone was eating dessert, Aizawa stood up at the front of the room. His hair went up, and everyone stopped talking. He waited until everyone was looking at him before he spoke, “Remember this is a training camp. Starting tomorrow your training will begin in full force, so today will be your last time to relax.”

Pixie Bob moved to his side, “And this will also be the last time we cook dinner for you. A good hero should be able to make their own food.”

Groans echoed around the room, and Izuku felt nervous about what tomorrow might bring.

Chapter 30: Powerless, We Are Powerless

Chapter Text

October 23, 2019

Izuku was almost literally buzzing with excitement as Hisashi led the way to the gates of Disneyland Tokyo. Right beside him was her mom, while she and Yoichi (with facemask on, Hisashi wouldn’t accept any less) trailed in the back. The dozens of sounds and smells hit her, and she almost didn’t hear Yoichi whisper, “Robin. How good are you at keeping secrets?”

She slowed down slightly to ensure that the other two didn’t hear, “Pretty good? I guess?”

Yoichi took another glance at the happy couple before he pulled a small box out of his pocket, “Hisashi’s doing it today. He asked me to hold the box so your mom wouldn’t suspect anything.”

Fighting down a squeal, Izuku smiled back at Yoichi, “Omigosh. I can’t wait until you’re my uncle.”

“Same. You’re like a little sister to me. It’s so weird to think that it will all be official soon. We just have to make sure to not blow it.”

The two of them sped up to get next to the “boring adults”, who were playfully bickering about where to go first. Inko had her hands on her hips, “I want to go see the castle.”

“And watch everyone in the world get proposed to in front of it? I promise that we’ll go there at some point, but they just installed a Star Wars ride. It’s how we met, so it’d be fun to go there.”

Yoichi tapped his pocket, and Izuku spoke up, “Mom, how about we all take turns picking, and Hisashi can go first since he paid for all of our tickets?”

Inko nodded, “That actually makes sense. But for my turn we are going to the castle.”

“Fair enough.”

Biting her lip, Izuku followed the three adults through the park, looking at the amazing decorations. Finally they arrived in the land of Star Wars, where Stormtroopers marched in groups, and dozens of people carried lightsabers. While Inko was distracted looking at a replica of a ship, Yoichi handed over the box, exchanging it for Hisashi’s phone. Izuku stood behind Yoichi to keep out of the shot, and Hisashi knelt down.

Inko turned around, and froze as Hisashi spoke, “My heart was carbonite before I met you. Would you do the honor of marrying me?”

She started crying as she nodded yes, and they hugged. Yoichi ended the recording there, stashing the phone in his pocket before Inko noticed.

Once she remembered the other two members of the group, Izuku ran over to give her mom a hug, “Congrats, Mom!”

Her mom wiped away tears, “Thanks. It’ll be nice to have more than just us two in the house.”

July 6th, 2221

A quiet rustling nearby woke Izuku up, and she sleepily looked around the shared room. The clock on the wall said that it was 4 AM, and Momo was grabbing something from her bag. She pulled out a small bag, and slipped into the bathroom. Letting out a yawn, Izuku staggered into the bathroom, where Momo was starting a facial routine. Rather than doing a special routine, Izuku just slashed freezing cold water on her face, “Morning, Momo.”

“Good morning, Midoriya. Did you sleep well?”

Flopping down on the ground, Izuku started stretching like Aizawa had drilled into her, “Not really. I’ve never slept in the same room as anyone. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve even slept in the same room as my mom.”

Momo glanced at her with the aid of the mirror, “If it would help, I can make earplugs for tomorrow night.”

“Only if you aren’t too tired after today. Aizawa was too excited about this training camp, and the stuff he gets this excited about are typically misery for us.”

This time, Momo actually turned around, “That’s not good. But I promise that I will get you earplugs regardless.”

Rubbing her eyes, Izuku looked at Momo, “By the way, why are you up so early?”

“One of the puss*cats knocked on the door, and said that breakfast is going to be soon.”

Shaking away the last of her sleep, Izuku poked her head into the bedroom, “If you didn’t hear it, we’re having breakfast soon! You better get up before one of the heroes comes in to wake you up!”

The other girls groaned to life, and Ochako stumbled into the bathroom, “But it’s so early.”

“Yeah. Trust us, we know.”

Izuku and Momo got dressed and headed down to the common room. Sitting on the serving table was a variety of breakfast ingredients. The two of them made breakfast for themselves, and settled down at a table. Guys and girls trickled in, getting food for themselves and sat with their friends.

Around 4:45, Aizawa dragged the remaining boys out, while Pixie Bob escorted the remaining girls. Mandalay called out once everyone was in the room, “You need to be outside by 5:30, which is when training starts. We’ll be doing training in your gym uniforms, so make sure you’re wearing those.”

Everyone groaned, a couple people slamming their heads down on the table. Izuku finished her food up at the same time as Shoto, Ochaco, and Momo, so they changed into their uniforms and headed out. Once again, the others slowly trickled outside, most people too tired to start a conversation. Even Bakugo was shockingly quiet in the cool morning air.

Aizawa stood in front of the assembled kids, a variety of strange things scattered around behind him, “Today is the start of training. Ideally, once you are done here you’ll be ready to pass your provisional license exam at the end of summer. Especially with the rise of hostile forces out in the real world. This training will make sure you are prepared to face it, so you need to focus and take this seriously. Before I explain how training is going to work, I need Bakugo to come up here.”

Angry Pomeranian stormed up, and nearly missed catching the ball that Aizawa threw at him. Bakugo muttered to himself, and Aizawa spoke, “At the beginning of the school year, you threw that ball 705.2 meters. After everything you’ve been through, how far can you throw it now?”

His co*cky smirk spread over his face, and he started stretching his arm. Everyone started whispering to each other.

“Oh, we’re being tested again?”

“After everything this year, I bet he can throw it a whole kilometer.”

“Throw that sucker, Bakugo!”

At the top of his lungs, Bakugo screamed, “Go to hell!”

Everyone got buffeted by the wind when he threw the ball, and Aizawa calmly measured the throw. 20 sets of eyes looked at the device, and a silence spread over everyone as they read: 709.6.

Without a change in expression, Aizawa examined the number, “Not much farther than before. While there is no doubt that you have all grown in experience, knowledge, and technique, we haven’t put as much demand on your bodies. So that is what we are going to be doing this week. We will push you to your limits until you feel like you are going to die.”

His smile chilled Izuku to the bone, “So try not to die.”

The class was silent as he gestured at the chaos behind him, “Each of you will have a different challenge. Tokoyami, you need to be on the same page as Dark Shadow, so that cave over there is for you two. Yaoyorozu and Sato, you two will be over at that table. You two are going to use your quirk non stop, and food will be provided to you as you do that. Kaminari, you will get lifted up onto that tower there, and work on your resistance to electricity so you get zapped out less. Aoyama, you are going to be over there, sending out blast after blast until you pass out. Sero, same thing but-”

Izuku watched as her classmates went to their assigned torture, trying and failing to hold in her shock. One by one, they went to their zone, and she noticed that 1B was walking up with Vlad and the other two puss*cats.

She noticed Aizawa looking in her direction, and started to pay attention again, “Todoroki, you will be in that hot tub there working on keeping your fire going for an extended period of time, as well as using your ice while being hot. Bakugo, you will be using your quirk to make that water boil non-stop, which will, in turn, help you produce more sweat. And Izuku, you will be on the other side of that dirt wall. Use your quirk until you can audibly hear your geiger counter go off. Then you will stay there until you’re not radioactive. Keep that cycle going until lunch time, and then you do it one more time after lunch, and stop because we don’t want the possibility of you being radioactive around the others.”

She held a thumbs up, “Will do.”

Grateful that her task was quite simple, relatively, Izuku went to her zone and started making stars. After a while, just making stars got boring and she started practicing with gravity, supernovas, and combining different effects to see what was most effective.

After a mind numbing amount of time, a voice spoke in Izuku’s head, “We’re going to be stopping for lunch soon, so Eraserhead said that you should stop now so you might not be radioactive when we eat.”

Izuku stopped to check her levels, and then sat in the middle of the area. Gradually the glow faded, and once she couldn’t see any more, she made sure her levels were safe before heading to the main house.

Lunch was sandwiches, but in reality it was just the ingredients laid out for the 40 kids to put together on their own. Izuku grabbed the toppings she wanted and joined her friends at one of the tables. Shoto was covered in a mixture of sweat and steam, Momo looked completely disinterested in her food, Ochaco had her head on the table, and the other girls looked equally worn out or sick. Iida was on the ground nearby stretching his legs, eating as he did so.

Most of the kids were quiet or groaning, and any conversations that were had were whispers. Several kids from both classes were on the ground like Iida, either stretching or lying down.

After an hour, Pixie Bob called out in a cheerful voice, “Alrighty, kittens! You have 15 minutes to get back to your spots! Chop, chop!”

Izuku sat on her side of the wall, yawning. She checked her watch to see what time it was, and if she had more time to practice before dinner. She had just looked at it when Mandalay spoke again in her head, “We’re starting to wrap up for the day. If you’re still going, please stop.”

She checked her radiation levels before she emerged from her nook. This time, instead of sandwich toppings, there was an assortment of vegetables, spices, and other ingredients that were explained by Ragdoll smiling at everyone, “Remember, the pampering stops today. You have to make your own curry tonight, and we’re just here to stop you from setting each other on fire or poisoning yourselves!”

Before anyone could protest, Iida loudly spoke up, “I understand. There may be times when a disaster strikes, and someone will have to provide food for the civilians. That too, is part of rescue operations. UA never misses an opportunity to teach! Let’s make the best curry ever!”

Everyone cheered, and Izuku made eye contact with Aizawa, then rolled her eyes. He smirked back in return, shrugging. He then called out, “We’ve split you into teams, so that none of you have to make a large amount. We’ve also provided recipes in case you haven’t learned how to make curry. My class, your groups for all meals will be group 1: Ashido, Hagakure, Aoyama, Koda. Group 2: Asui, Yaoyorozu, Iida, Kirishima. Group 3: Adeline, Midoriya, Ojiro, Sero. Group 4: Uraraka, Bakugo, Kaminari, Shoji. And group 5: Jiro, Sato, Tokoyami, Todoroki.”

Everyone split into groups, and made game plans. Izuku joined her group, “I’ve made curry before, has anyone else?”

Adeline laughed, “I haven’t. I’ve barely even had the chance to eat it before moving here.”

Sero shook his head, “That’s not the type of food that we eat at my place.”

Ojiro shrugged, “I know that veggies are involved, but I don’t know everything.”

Izuku nodded, “Alright, does anyone have any allergies, or vegetables that they dislike? I just want to know in advance before I start planning what kind of curry I want to make.”

All three of the others shook their heads, and Izuku pointed to the table, “I’ll get the basic ingredients, you guys pick out the vegetables and meat if you want some.”

When she got back to the cooking station, Momo was lighting it with a lighter that hadn’t been previously around. Shoto was lighting the fire next to Mina, his group’s already lit while Momo called out, “If you guys rely on him to light every fire, you’ll never learn for yourself.”

Shoto watched the fire for a little while, “I don’t mind. It helps me practice control since I haven’t used my fire as much as my ice.”

Izuku knew they were too used to Bakugo, because none of the 1A kids reacted at all when he attempted to light his fire with explosions. Many 1B kids moved further away from him, or hid behind classmates. Out of the corner of her eye, Izuku noticed Mandalay’s nephew glaring at everyone before storming off.

Her group finally finished making their curry, and Izuku served an extra bowl, “I’m going to take this to Mandalay’s nephew. He stormed off earlier, and I want to make sure he gets some food since they seem to be focusing on us.”

Val nodded, serving up her own food, “I’ll ask Todoroki to keep this warm for you. Go find the little devil.”

Quietly slipping out of the area, Izuku saw a pair of faint but small footsteps leading away from the camp. She followed it up the mountain to find Kouta curled up on a ledge overlooking everything. He jumped when she approached, “What do you want?”

“Just brought some food up. I wanted to make sure you ate, even if you don’t want to be around all the idiots.”

He looked confused, “Why?”

She shrugged, “It’s the right thing to do. Anyway, I know what it’s like to need space, so I’m just going to drop this off and leave.”

Kouta didn’t talk as she walked away, and she rubbed her arms as a million thoughts flooded her head, I wonder if he is used to being around heroes, or if he hates crowds. Having this many teenagers around you when you are young has got to be a nightmare, especially if it happens often.

After the walk, it was a jarring experience to be back among the others. Everyone was talking a mile an hour, and most people had slipped off to change. Izuku took her bowl from Shoto, who gave her a smile, “How was training for you?”

“Lonely, but it was kinda nice to just be allowed to go nuts. I’ve never pushed my quirk except in dangerous situations, so it’s quite the chance to just have time to get creative.”

Once she finished eating, she changed into her casual clothes and went for a short hike with the other girls from both groups (minus Mina who had her extra training). None of them really talked, which allowed them to soak in the silence of the forest better and calm down after the crazy first day.

July 8th, 2221

Izuku yawned as she waited for her radioactivity to lower. The ground in front of her was almost hard as rock from how many explosions had happened in the small area. Behind her, she heard someone yelp, followed by Aizawa talking, “Remedial group! I don’t care that you’ve had less sleep than the others, you don’t get to slack off. You all have been warned that this was going to be tough, but if you wanted to make up for your ABYSMAL performance during the finals that you would have to push through. Think of that when everyone else seems to be holding their own, but you lot are barely on your feet.”

She turned her head more to listen to one of Aizawa’s rare lectures as he continued one, switching targets, “Uraraka, Aoyama, you can’t go easy on yourselves either, because you just barely managed to pass! Everyone here should always be aware of who they are, what they need to fix, and why you chose to be a hero. If you give up now, you will never make it as a hero. That’s why we’re being so hard on you. We know how difficult being a hero can be on your mental health, not just your physical health.”

Mandalay joined in, actually using her voice for once, “Many first year heroes quit because they thought that being a hero was all about the glory and money. Your first years are going to be your hardest, so if this is too much for you, it’s a good idea to quit now, rather than after graduating.”

Drumming her fingers against her leg, Izuku thought about Kouta, and how he acted hostile to all heroes. She was so distracted that she didn’t realize that she was muttering to herself, “If his only examples of heroes are the Wild puss*cats, who are incredibly busy, then I don’t blame him for hating all of us. He gets to see all of the stuff that happens in the background, like worrying about how the public views them, and very little of the glory.”

Her muttering was cut off when Ragdoll almost literally purred out, “Since tomorrow is the final day that we are spending here, we are going to do the test of courage tonight! It’s going to be the two classes against each other, and this is your reward for working hard all week! But, since it’s your reward, you still have to work hard for the rest of the day!”

There was a mixture of groans and cheers, and Izuku stretched before starting her practice again.

After dinner, and a surprisingly good display of knife skills from Bakugo, Aizawa stood in front of everyone. He called out, “Before any of you can get excited, those who failed the final will be going with me for their final extra training.”

Sato, Kirishima, Mina and Kaminari were dragged away by Aizawa’s scarf, while Bakugo and Monoma followed, arguing the whole way. Kirishima and Sato were in the back of the group, talking to each other in a quieter tone than the others. Once they were gone, Mandalay started talking, “Each class will get a turn to walk along the path, while the other class attempts to scare them. Those who are scaring are allowed to use their quirks, as long as they do not touch those who are walking. Class 1B, you are going first, and Ragdoll will be at the halfway point to keep an eye on everyone to make sure you are safe. Class 1A will be put into pairs and sent along the trail every 2-5 minutes. When you get to the halfway point, you have to collect your name card.”

Tiger yelled out in his booming voice, “It is a competition! Whichever team can get the others to wet their pants more wins!”

Several of the girls grimaced at that internal image, while Iida started another highly energetic monologue, “I see! It’s a way to grow through competition, all the while working on different utilizations for our quirks! I expected no less of UA!”

Mandalay held up sticks, “You’ll be drawing lots for which group you will be in. Since there is an odd number of people, you will have to decide if one person is going alone, or if you want a group of three.”

Everyone drew sticks, and Izuku looked at the number eight on her stick. She quickly counted her classmates and grimaced, “Looks like I’ll be the one flying solo.”

The pairs gathered up, and people noticed Izuku standing on her own. Val called out, “Hey, cat lady! Can Midoriya be in our group?”

She shook his head, “She either joins team 7, or she has to go alone.”

Without a second’s delay, Koda nodded furiously, while Iida chopped the air with his arms, “Absolutely! She may join us so that she does not have to go through this alone.”

Mandalay nodded, “Perfect. We’re going to give 1B a little bit more time to set up, and then group 1 will head into the forest.”

Izuku moved over to Iida and Koda, sitting down next to them, “I used to watch horror movies for fun, so I’m looking forward to seeing what class 1B comes up with. Do you guys like scary stuff?”

Koda shook his head rapidly, whispering under his breath, “My whole family doesn’t like horror. I’m really nervous about this.”

“Then you can hold my hand. I don’t want you to be miserable the whole time.”

Tapping his fingers together, Iida spoke up, “I do not appreciate things that are designed to be frightening. Personally, I do not see myself as a person who gets frightened easily, but that could entirely be internal bias.”

Pixie Bob bounced around as she called out, “Alrighty! Team one, it’s time to go!”

Izuku and the boys played tic-tac-toe to distract Koda from the screams of their classmates. Two by two the others went into the forest, and more and more screams came out. Some were easy to define, like Aoyama, while others were harder to pin down. About half an hour in, Koda looked up sharply, “All of the birds are flying away.”

Both of the others looked up, and Izuku pointed to the distance, “Is that smoke?”

All three of the puss*cats were looking worried, and Izuku could just make out Pixie Bob muttering to the others, “What’s that burning smell?”

No one had time to react as a massive stranger appeared out of nowhere, slamming a giant pole down on Pixie Bob’s head, “Stay out of the way, kitty cats.”

The remaining five kids gathered together in a rush behind the remaining puss*cats, both standing with their arms outstretched. Mandalay’s voice echoed through their minds, “Everyone! We are currently under attack from an unknown number of villains! If you are able to, get back to camp immediately! If you encounter a villain, DO NOT engage.”

Another villain emerged from the shadows, one that was dressed in a very familiar way. Izuku kept her eyes on the villains, but whispered to Iida, “Look at the guy on the right. Doesn’t his clothes remind you of someone we’ve fought?”

Iida looked over and stiffened, “He must view Stain as an idol. That’s not good for either of us.”

Biting her lip, Izuku managed to not point out something that would only make Iida feel worse. Instead she focused on listening to the villains. The one dressed like Stain was doing all of the talking, “We are part of the League of Villains Vanguard Action Squad!”

The other one tilted their head, “I wonder what the sound of a kitty’s head would sound like if I pushed a little harder.”

A deep growl came from Tiger, and he crouched slightly, “You’ll never get the chance.”

Before anyone could act, the Stain fan, who honestly looked like an Argonian from Skyrim, spoke up, “Hey, Big Sis Magne, remember: killing must not be done in haste. Only kill those who are unworthy.”

There was a part of Izuku’s mind that wanted to rub her face in frustration, while Iida yelled, “So you are a follower of Stain!”

“Why, yes, we are. And we know all about you, Glasses. You were one of the kids who interfered in Stain’s work in Hosu and got him arrested. Let me introduce ourselves, I’m Spinner, and this is Big Sis Magne. And I am going to finish Stain’s goal.”

He pulled a weapon off his back that reminded Izuku of Zabuza’s from Naruto, except it seemed to be made entirely of knives welded together. Thankfully, Tiger wasn’t phased at all, “Attack the two of us all you want, but leave Pixie Bob out of it. She’s been stepping back this year so she can work on starting a family. If you stop her from achieving that goal, you will never see the light of day again.”

During Tiger’s speech, Mandalay’s voice came in Izuku’s head, “We’ll cover your retreat. Get back to camp immediately.”

All five kids raced away from the villain-hero matchup, sticking together as a unit. Izuku followed the others into the woods before she stopped, “I have to get Kouta! You guys go ahead.”

Val pulled to a stop, “You shouldn’t go by yourself.”

“Normally, I would agree with you, but we don’t know how many villains there are. Traveling in groups is the fastest way to draw attention to yourself. Also, I can just stick a villain in one place with my quirk.”

Also the fact that once we get to the cabin, Aizawa’s not going to let me out of his sight. This is my only chance to save Kouta.

She took off to the mountain, dodging between trees. As she ascended the mountain, she heard a deep voice coming from Kouta’s spot, and it started to yell. She sped up as she heard Kouta yell, “Mommy! Daddy!”

The second her eyes could see the massive villain, she created a star the size of Nomu’s star at the USJ to yank him off his feet, “Kouta! Over here!”

He scrambled over to her, and she saw the villain fighting to get free, digging his hands into the ground, “Okay, Kouta. I’m going to fight him. You need to either run like hell back to camp, or stay hidden.”

Izuku turned around, and created another star just as the guy broke free. Without waiting for him to break free again, Izuku created two more stars, ramping up the gravity until her clothes and loose hair strands floated in his direction. The man looked over at her and started laughing, “Now, you. You are one of the ones we’re here to get.”

When she heard that, her stomach fell to the core of the earth, and he continued talking as he tried to fight free, his muscles starting to visibly appear all over his body, growing in size, “But there isn’t anything in my orders that says that you have to be in one piece, just that you need to be alive.”

For added security, Izuku added yet another star, “Well, tough luck. I’m not going to go down easily. And your colleagues are dealing with everyone else.”

“Not all of them. A couple are after the other one we’re after, that foreign bitch.”

Taking a couple deep breaths, Izuku hid her terror, I need to warn someone that Val is a target. We already knew I was a target, but why would they go after Val?

In her lapse of focus, the bastard managed to get himself free, letting out a deafening cackle. He flexed his impossible muscles, and took a step forward. Before he could take another step, a snap of her fingers created several explosions from the stars that were now at his back. He stumbled, giving her the unfortunate ability to see his body recover as his muscles turned into a pseudo armor covering him.

Chills and nausea rippled through Izuku’s body as the disgusting sight filled her vision. Fighting down the urge to close her eyes, Izuku started to set off more explosions. He continued his chaotic laughter, making his way closer and closer to her, “You think you can hurt me? It took two heroes to put me down, and they still ended up dying, while all I lost was my eye.”

An idea popped up in her mind, and Izuku exploded another star, rolling underneath him. He lunged for her, missing her by a hair, before twisting to face her new position. Izuku scanned him to see if any damage was sticking around, and was happy to see that there were a few spots that were starting to stay burned.

Before she could do anything more, a shockingly large jet of water came from behind him, and Kouta yelled out, “That’s for killing my parents!”

Something inside of Izuku snapped, her vision going white, and she created a star directly next to the bastard’s face, making it explode. He reeled in pain, clutching his face, and she let off another explosion next to his ear. The next star was exploded next to one of his burned spots, which was followed by another attack to his face.

Her arms were starting to glow visibly, but she felt like her body was doing all of the actions itself. She watched as her powers kept setting off explosion after explosion, until her arms were brightly glowing. The attacker collapsed to the ground, and she rushed over to him, stomping on his head several times before she was satisfied that he wouldn’t wake up as soon as she turned her back.

Once the threat was over, she looked around at the scene, and froze. The ground was glass from the countless explosions that she had set off. A good chunk of the mountain was missing, whether from one of her attacks or one of his, she wasn’t sure.

Kouta crept out of hiding, and she waved at him, “Good hit. You gave me enough time to think of a strategy. Now let’s get off this mountain.”

Izuku skidded down the mountain, Kouta running alongside her, “Why are you glowing?”

“Every time I overuse my quirk, I become radioactive and start glowing. That’s why I won’t touch you. Let’s get you back to the cabin ASAP.”

He shook his head, “I need to tell my aunt what’s going on. We’re close enough to the clearing, and I know how to be careful in the forest.”

Nodding, Izuku crouched to be in his line of sight better, “Could you also tell her that the Australian is one of the people that they are after? She’ll know who that is. Also, be very careful. Stay on the edge of the clearing so the villains can’t get you.”

He saluted, “I promise.”

“You’re a good kid. I’ll see you later.”

They split up, and Izuku made her way through the forest. A voice hissed, “Midoriya, duck!”

Without a second thought, Izuku hit the deck as something moved over her. She recognized both the voice and the moving object at the same time. Shoji, come with me! Let’s see if we can find Shoto to stop this!”

He followed her, and they ran for their life away from Dark Shadow, who was clearly out of control. After several terrifying minutes, they encountered Shoto and Val fighting something that Izuku’s brain genuinely could not process. She screamed at the top of her lungs, “Hit the deck!”

Both of them did so as Izuku and Shoji dove for cover. Dark Shadow attacked the creepy thing, beating it into submission in the blink of an eye. Izuku looked over at Shoto, “Help me calm down Dark Shadow!”

He created fire while Izuku created a star, and Dark Shadow folded back into Tokoyami. Izuku dismissed her star, and knelt next to him, “I’d pat you on the back to calm you down, but I don’t want to give you radiation poisoning. We don’t have time for you to be upset about-”

Mandalay’s voice echoed in all of their heads, “Aizawa is giving permission for all of you to use your quirks in self-defense. Also, it’s been reported that this group is trying to kidnap at least one student from UA: Adeline Valkyrie. If you see her, get her back to the cabin immediately.”

Val went pale, “What the f*ck have you been doing? Why are you glowing? Are you the one who found that out?”

“Yes, yes, and fighting off a villain that was attacking Mandalay’s nephew. The bastard refused to go down, so now I have to pray that the radiation goes away fast. But first, we need to get to the cabin, where we’ll be safer.”

Shoji nodded, “Midoriya has a point. We’re safer the more of us are together, and everyone was told to fall back to the camp. Plus, at least one of the teachers will be there.”

Everyone started making their way to the cabin, and Izuku added on to Shoji’s comment, “It’s probably Vlad at the camp. Aizawa is likely running around trying to find all of us.”

The group hadn’t made it far when a scream echoed through the trees. Everyone rushed forward, breaking out of the trees to see Tsu and Ochaco under attack from a blonde haired girl who was acting absolutely crazy.

A hand touched Izuku’s back, and her world turned blue. She was trapped in a tiny blue sphere, and she couldn’t hear the others anymore.

No one could hear her screams.

Chapter 31: Take All Your Lies and Leave Me Alone!

Chapter Text

July 8, 2221

Her blue prison burst open, dropping her on the floor of the stinkiest bar Izuku had ever imagined. The soundtrack for the bar was dripping faucets, muttering villains, and Val screaming at the top of her lungs in English, mostly just profanity punctuated by the occasional jab at hygiene or fashion choices.

The villains and Val were closer to the entrance, leaving Izuku and her radiation deeper in the bar, next to a very staticy television that looked ancient, even by her standards. Her watch was crackling like the pop rocks that Yoichi had tricked her into eating once on stream. Due to the terrible lighting in the bar, Izuku was a primary source of light.

She staggered to her feet, feeling lightheaded from all of the combat she’d been through. The villains had Val chained to a chair near the entrance, and the blonde haired girl was right in her face, getting the majority of the wrath. Near Izuku was Thanatos or whatever he called himself, struggling to look in her direction, “Why are you glowing?”

“Because I’m currently radioactive, which is kinda the thing that causes people to get cancer. Please come closer.”

A hauntingly familiar voice came from behind Izuku, “I presume that the watch on your wrist that is crackling doubles as a Geiger counter.”

Izuku turned around to look at the TV, which now had the words ‘Transmission in Progress’ across the screen, and the voice continued to come from there, “It would be completely irresponsible for UA to let you run around without one.”

Deciding not to address his comments, Izuku spoke, “Hi, Hisashi. If you had to be a villain, at least have the dignity to be a villain like Megamind. No villain worth their salt hides in the shadows. Right now you are giving off small dick energy.”

“Izuku, answer the question.”

She folded her arms, “Kidnappers have to go first.”

The sigh emanating from the TV brought back memories of arguments long past, “I am no more a villain than the Winter Soldier.”

“Really? Unethical science like creating zombies lines up more with Red Skull if we are going with a Marvel perspective. If we wanted to look at DC, it would be Ra's Al Goul. Also, good people don’t actively monitor the social media presence of someone who doesn’t live with them.”

Hisashi chuckled, “You don’t quite understand how much things have changed, Robin. One day you will.”

Putting her hands on her hips, she tilted her head, “Doubt it. I’m guessing that you kidnapped Val to make me comply. Which tells me that Yoichi didn’t just lie down and listen to you. How mad were you when Haru broke him free?”

“Izuku, you haven’t answered my question yet.”

Rolling her eyes, she tilted her head the other direction, “You didn’t ask a question, you made a comment.”

He let out a sigh, and Izuku’s mental image of him became Darth Vader, “I asked if your watch doubled as a geiger counter.”

A million thoughts flashed through her head, but one stood out: If he thinks that this is only a geiger counter, the heroes will have time to track us down with the GPS. She looked dead at the screen, “Yeah, after I got radioactive when using my quirk, they gave me a watch so I would know when to stop.”

“Clearly that didn’t work.”

Her mouth moved before she could think twice, and she folded her arms again, “The giant meathead that you guys recruited tried to kill me, and I took offense to that.”

Dead silence reigned in the bar, even Val stopped talking for a minute, leaving Izuku to regret what she just said. When Hisashi finally spoke again, his tone was ice cold, “What did you just say?”

Ice filled her gut, but she knew that she had already said too much, “The giant guy with a muscle related quirk tried to kill me. He claimed that he wasn’t told what condition I was supposed to be brought back in, just that I had to be brought back.”

Her step dad’s voice sent chills up her spine, “Tomura. I expect you to kill Muscular if he ever gets out of prison.”

“Yes, sensei.”

Izuku and Val exchanged looks, and Val mouthed, “What the f*ck?”

Before Izuku could send back a response, Hisashi spoke, “How long are you going to be radioactive?”

After the reaction to her attacker, Izuku decided against mentioning the resistance training, “Last time I got this bad, which was at the USJ, thanks to your zombie, it took a week for it to go away, which is why I wasn’t in the sports festival.”

“Very well then, take them downstairs. We’ll relocate them once the radiation goes down.”

Izuku saw a ratted old bible on a table, and picked it up. She could see Val being dragged away, kicking and screaming by the one in the top hat and the argonian, while two clones of the guy who looked like Venom came her way. Out of desperation, Izuku threw the bible with her full strength at the closest clone, screaming one of her favorite vine quotes at the top of her lungs, “Don’t f*ck with me. I have the power of god and anime on my side! Hya!”

It nailed the clone in the face, though it didn’t do much else. The bottle thrown at the same clone DID actually make it disintegrate. But before she could celebrate, another was created, and they grabbed her, dragging her down the stairs. As she was manhandled, she swore to herself that she was going to ask Aizawa for hand to hand combat lessons.

Finally they stopped outside of a dark room, and the clones gently threw her in, slamming the door behind her. Val was locked in a cage that took up a third of the room, floor to ceiling. On the other side of the room was a cot, a basket with some cloth in it, and a toilet with a curtain that could be pulled around it.

Val paced her cage like a wild animal, and Izuku went over to one of the two tiny windows, reaching through bars to try and open the window. Val huffed as she messed with her hair, “No offense, Izuku, but your stepdad is a piece of sh*t.”

Giving up on that window, Izuku moved to the other one, “He may have the memories of my stepdad, but he isn’t him, not anymore. My only family now is my foster family. All of the windows are barred tight, which makes me question how many escape attempts my uncle tried when locked up.”

Leaning against the bars of her cage, Val shrugged, “He’s extremely confident in his ability to keep us captive if he’s just letting you wander.”

“Or he’s watching us with security cams. Either isn’t going to stop me from trying to find my way out.”

Hours passed, and Izuku was starting to go insane after checking the windows for the millionth time, “I hate being trapped. Val, how are you doing?”

“Thank f*ck I got a bed at least. Otherwise I would completely lose my goddamn mind.”

Izuku looked around at the actual furnishings of the room, freezing when she saw a familiar blanket on the cot, “Val, that blanket on the cot was from my old house. It’s one my mom bought me.”

Val froze, “You’ve got to be sh*tting me.”

“I wish I was. I got that blanket when I was twelve. Why the f*ck is it here?”

Dread filled her as she moved to the basket in the corner, looking at the fabric inside. On top was her favorite T-shirt, one that Yoichi had bought her not long after they met for the first time, “Val. He also has my old clothes.”

“That’s so many levels of messed up.”

Izuku stepped back from the basket, and sat on the ground near the cage, but not close enough to worry about Val’s health. She hugged her legs to her chest, “I hope the heroes find us soon. I’m worried about what’s going to happen to us if I stop being radioactive.”

“What would he do?”

Rubbing her arms, Izuku looked at the barred window, “Considering that he literally put his own brother in a vault? I have my suspicions about what he’s going to do with us.”

Val started pacing again, “We really need to find a way out of here.”

July 9, 2221

Out of principle, Izuku refused to change into her old clothes (not because it was creepy AF, absolutely not). While her and Val waited for rescue, Val helped her practice her English. Occasionally, Izuku checked her radiation levels, which were dropping a lot faster than previously. She desperately hoped that Hisashi All For One was distracted so he didn’t come check on them.

Without warning, a note slid under the door, and Izuku grabbed it. The handwriting was very shaky, but she whispered, reading it to Val, “I grew up in a home that was run by a person like your step-father. No one should have to live with a narcissist. I’ve unlocked your door. The heroes should be here soon. The secret to your friend’s cage is that you can undo the hinges with a screwdriver which should be in the very bottom of the basket. Once you leave the room, go left and run for your life.”

She ran over to the basket, and dug until she found the promised screwdriver. Val looked at it as it was carried over, “How the hell is that going to free me?”

Izuku looked carefully at the cage, and then noticed something about the hinges of the doors, “It looks like the hinges are held together by a pin. I think I can use the screwdriver to pull out the pin.”

“Anything is better than nothing.”

The screwdriver slid between the hinge and the pin, and Izuku was able to push the pin until it popped free. Val gave out a nearly silent cheer, and Izuku removed the other pins. Izuku set down the screwdriver, “Ready to help me get this open?”

“On three, one, two, three!”

Izuku pulled while Val pushed, and they got enough of a gap for Val to squeeze out. Once she was free, Val picked up the screwdriver, using it to pry at the bracelet on her wrist that Izuku never paid attention to. She whispered an explanation as she started removing glue from one end, “My uncle told me to always have rope on me, just in case. We found this old ‘survival hack’ where people wore bracelets of braided rope to use in case they didn’t have rope in an emergency. We made one, and then glued some fabric over it to disguise what it was. Once I get the glue off, I’ll have a weapon.”

The bracelet unbraided itself, and wrapped around Val’s left arm, “Alright, let’s go.”

Izuku grabbed the screwdriver, then pushed the door open as quietly as possible. She double checked that no one was in the hall, and could just barely make out the voices up the stairs. Val slipped past her, leading the way to the left. Both girls did their best to make no noise as they headed to an exterior door. Val pointed at the frame of the door, and Izuku saw an alarm that had been destroyed. Her eyes went wide, and Val held up the note, mouthing, “Do you think they did it?”

Nodding, Izuku said a mental prayer to any deity, then pushed the door open, allowing fresh air inside. Nothing happened, so the two girls made their way down the alleyway. The path to the main road was blocked off by a wall, so the two followed the alleyway away from the main road, and walked past several buildings. Behind them, a deafening boom shook the ground, knocking both of them to the ground.

Pushing herself up slightly, Izuku looked over her shoulder, “I think that’s the heroes.”

Val pushed a few pieces of rubble off herself, “Pretty sure that you’re right.”

Rolling over, Izuku got to her feet, dusting herself off, “Should we go to them? They’re looking for us.”

“I don’t want to get stuck in a fight between heroes and villains, again.”

“Fair enough-”

Something filled Izuku’s lungs, and her world swirled black before she found herself in the ruins of a building. Val fell down next to her, coughing extremely hard. The villains were scattered around the space, and Izuku noticed that the smokey villain was lying on the ground. In front of the girls, and between them and the villains was a very tall man with a strange mask on his head that Izuku knew without a doubt had to be All For One.

Izuku held a hand on her chest, trying to get her breath back as All For One spoke to the villains, most of which seemed thrown off by the teleport as well. A million thoughts rushed through her head as his voice confirmed her suspicion, At least the smokey one is down, so we actually have a chance to escape, but if he’s down that means that All For One has a teleportation quirk. That means we have to wait for him to be distracted before we can do anything.

Movement caught her attention behind a ruined wall, and she saw Shoto duck out of view. She grabbed Val’s shoulder while All For One continued to speak to the villains, and whispered directly in her ear as quietly as she could, “There’s at least one of our classmates behind the wall. If we can just get to them we have a better chance of escaping. The second a hero arrives, get us over there, and I’ll blast them back.”

All For One turned to the girls, “Strange that you two got out of the building without setting off any alarms. How did you do it?”

Pulling Val behind her, Izuku looked at where his eyes should be, “Pretty sure I told you at some point that I was in charge of the security system at the apartment. Also, you didn’t check me for anything. All of you were so concerned with my radiation that you never thought about what I could potentially have on me. I just bided my time until I was less radioactive.”

His head turned to face away, muttering to himself, “He’s getting slow.”

Izuku could barely see All Might as he rocketed towards All For One. Her view of him got cut off when a thin cord wrapped around her waist, yanking both girls out of the way of the blast. They were NOT however, far enough away to avoid the shockwave of the punch.

Both girls crashed into crumbling walls as all of the villains beside All For One got knocked off their feet. As a couple of them got to their feet, Izuku created a star, sucking them even further away from her. A wall of ice appeared between her and the battlefield, dwarfing the one created by Shoto during the sports festival. As soon as that was created, several of their friends ran over.

Iida was the first one to get to them, immediately dropping to a crouch, “Are you two alright?”

Val grumbled as she got up to her hands and knees, “f*cking phenomenal, I just love being thrown around like a ragdoll.”

Shaking her head, Izuku finally got her sense of balance back, “I’ve been better, can’t wait to get to safety.”

Momo, Shoto, Ochaco, and Tsu arrived behind Iida, and Momo held out her hand to Val, “We’re going to get you out of here. Iida is going to take Midoriya since the heroes think that she’s the main target.”

Iida nodded, “Midoriya, do you think you can get on my back?”

“Yeah. But fair warning, we can only go when All Might attacks. I think that villain stole Ragdoll’s quirk, because he knew exactly where we were when we tried to escape.”

She got on his back, and Val looked at her, “Do you think I should run?”

Another blast made everyone freeze, glancing at the wall of ice to make sure it was still in one piece. Izuku looked back at Val, “It’d probably be the best idea, since All For One will be even more distracted by us running in different directions.”

Everyone braced themselves for the next attack. Once the next massive shockwave hit, shaking the world, the others raced down the alleyway that they had been hiding in, while Iida launched himself and Izuku in the opposite direction. He had to dodge around several pieces of rubble before they finally arrived at a section of the street that was largely unaffected.

He put her down, “Do you think we are far enough away?”

“I have no idea. But we should really find the others.”

No one in the world would understand how someone making hand chopping motions made her feel safe at that moment, but she smiled as Iida spoke, “Ah, right. We agreed to meet up near the first large screen I could find.”

Izuku led the way down the street, stopping when she finally found one of the many screens. She looked at it while Iida pulled out his phone and started texting someone. The image on the screen was clearly from a helicopter flying over the fight, but Izuku had no idea that the devastation zone was as big as it was on screen. Several city blocks were reduced to rubble, and it was only getting worse with each blow between the two men. To Izuku’s surprise, none of the other villains were present.

Thankfully, Iida asked a bystander after he put his phone away, “Pardon me, but what happened to the other villains?”

A nearby person looked in his direction, “They all got teleported out. Hopefully the heroes managed to rescue those two girls who got dragged into this mess. It’s a good thing they moved when they did, or the villains could have used them as meat shields.”

Several thoughts flickered through her head, and Izuku realized something, I’m really close to a lot of people, I’d better make sure I’m not radioactive.

First, she checked her skin, which wasn’t glowing anymore. Then she glanced at her watch, looking at her radiation levels, which were in the single digits now. She let out a sigh of relief, both out of relief that she wasn’t going to make anyone sick and relief that she wasn’t glowing, so she could blend in with the crowd.

On the big screen, the battle continued, and Izuku noticed the tiny angry hero from Hosu getting people out, along with Endeavor. All Might was shielding them with his body, but not making much of an impact on All For One. Izuku realized that he was, in fact, slowing down and starting to steam.

By this point, the others in the rescue squad joined her and Iida, also watching in horror. Izuku moved to Ochaco’s side, whispering, “He’s slowing down, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, ever since he passed it on, he’s been struggling.”

An idea popped up in her head, and Izuku grabbed Ochaco’s hand, “Then let’s try to motivate him.”

At the top of her lungs, she screamed out, “Go, All Might!”

People around her picked up the cheer, and the volume rose as everyone started to cheer for the aging hero. It was easy to tell when the hero and villain both heard the cries of the city, because All Might stood up tall, while All For One’s hands clenched.

All Might started punching him insanely fast, and the wind from that knocked the helicopter off course, even sending some wind all the way to where Izuku and the others were standing. Shoto grabbed Izuku’s hand as they watched him pummel All For One into the ground, until he finally stopped moving.

More steam came off All Might, and he reverted to the skinny version, holding his hand up in the air. The murmurs started, but Izuku and Ochaco both started to cheer. The other members of the rescue team joined in, and everyone else started to cheer for him too.

Other heroes rushed onto that scene, and Momo sighed, “We better get you two to emergency services or the police so you can get checked over.”

Val sighed, running her hands through her hair, “As long as they let us take a f*cking shower. I feel disgusting.”

“I agree. Neither of us have changed since we got taken, so I still have sweat and dirt on me from the fights I had in the forest.”

Everyone followed Momo as she walked down the street, until she spotted a couple police officers staring at another screen, “It’s probably best for us to not be seen with you, so we don’t face any legal repercussions. We’ll wait here until you two are safe.”

Letting go of Shoto’s hand, Izuku grabbed Val’s instead, “Let’s go.”

The two of them approached the officers, who both froze when they saw the girls. Izuku let out a tired sigh, “Could you guys please get us somewhere safe? We’re exhausted, and genuinely just want to get somewhere where we can calm down and not constantly look over our shoulders.”

Chapter 32: What's Left of Summer but a Faded Rose?

Chapter Text

July 10, 2221 (crack of dawn)

It was a blur from when the police hurried the two into their cruiser, up until they pulled up at a hospital. Several people in scrubs met the cops at the doors, and the two girls were whisked away into the emergency room. Izuku spoke to one of the people around her, “A side effect of my quirk is radiation. I’m currently below the level of an X-ray, but could you tell someone to check my friend to make sure she isn’t radioactive?”

One nurse looked up, “Of course, I’ll go right now.”

She ran out, and a doctor started talking to Izuku while a nurse started attaching a blood pressure cuff and an oxygen monitor, “Did you get hurt? Have you eaten recently? Did you get any sleep?”

Half exhausted, Izuku yawned out her answers, “I mostly just have scrapes, they gave us really greasy, disgusting food, and no we didn’t get any sleep. We were too nervous to try to sleep.”

The blood pressure cuff tightened on her arm, and a nurse recorded her stats. A different nurse handed over hospital clothes to change into, and the doctor spoke again, “While you get changed, just double check that you don’t have any cuts or scrapes. Call out if any part of your body feels broken, and one of the women will come back in to check to make sure you don’t have any broken bones.”

All of them filtered out, finally giving Izuku a moment of peace. She carefully peeled off her sweat and dirt covered clothes, grabbing a couple paper towels to do a light clean of herself before putting the clean hospital clothes on. As she wiped herself off, she checked her body over for injuries of any kind, and felt relief when she found none. She took a step towards the door before stopping, I’d better grab the screwdriver and hide it, so I can give it over as evidence.

She pulled it out of her pant pocket, sliding it under her pillow. Finally, she cracked open the door to her exam room, “I’ve changed.”

One of the doctors came back in, and gently touched her stomach, arms, and legs while they checked for serious injuries. A nurse waited until the doctor was done, then drew her blood, “After this, all you have left is a psych evaluation. Soon as that is done, we’ll move you upstairs where you can get visitors.”

The psychologist came into her room as soon as the nurse left. He was a very tall man who looked exhausted, and Izuku couldn’t help but ask, “Did you get woken up to talk to me?”

“No. I was already on the night shift. It’s just getting close to the end of my shift, so I’ve started running out of energy. How are you doing?”

Izuku pulled her legs to her chest, “I don’t know. Part of me is happy that I’m safe from the villains, but I feel guilty that heroes had to come save me. I almost got free without their help. I also am upset at how the villains were so convinced that I would do what they wanted just because they had one of my friends.”

The psychologist took some notes before speaking, “Did they try to hurt you?”

“I was radioactive for most of the time, so they knew if they tried to touch me they would get severely sick. Which was a nice change from the USJ attack, where the one with a million hands kept trying to kill me.”

After writing some more things down, the psychologist handed over a card, “If you have panic attacks, here are some helplines that you can call. I also would suggest that you see a therapist.”

With that, they left, and a nurse came back in a little while later, “Alrighty! We are going to take you up. We’ll give your dirty clothes to your guardian when they show up, so that everything can be washed.”

She wheeled Izuku to an elevator, then took her to a room with three beds, “We’ll be bringing your friend up once she’s been cleared. You can hop off the bed, and take a shower while you are waiting. I’m sure you would want to get clean after everything.”

Yawning, Izuku slid off the bed, taking the screwdriver with her while the nurse focused more on her balance. She walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Dropping the screwdriver on the top of the toilet, Izuku took a shower, getting back into her mostly clean hospital clothes afterwards.

She opened the bathroom door to see Val sitting on one of the beds. After letting out a yawn that could fit the moon, Val noticed her, “Hey. Leave enough hot water for me?”

“Hopefully. How are you feeling?”

Val hopped up, moving to the bathroom, “Like I could sleep for a week. You?”

“Same. I have a feeling that we’re going to get questioned by the heroes about what we went through, so I’m going to wait until that happens before lying down.”

When the bathroom door closed, Izuku flopped on the bed that Val hadn’t claimed, putting the screwdriver on the bedside table. A couple minutes later, the door opened and Aizawa stormed in followed by Tsukauchi. The very exhausted pro hero rushed to Izuku’s bed, “Was it him?”

She nodded, “It was definitely my step-dad. He referenced things that only he would know, and scolded me just like he used to. But he wasn’t expecting me to fight him so much verbally. Which is funny, because we got in a lot of fights in those last few months. I guess he only remembered my sweet, childish side.”

At that point, Val came back out, “She just constantly kept sassing him until he locked us up in the basem*nt.”

Chuckling, Izuku nodded, “After that, they left us alone. I think they only brought food once or twice.”

Flopping down on her bed, Val piped up, “It was two times. One was the fries and really greasy chicken, while the other was instant ramen.”

“Right,” Izuku groaned as she rubbed her face, “I’ve never wished so much for healthy food as I did then. But that’s just more evidence that it was my step-dad, because he couldn’t cook worth sh*t.”

Tsukauchi spoke to the duo, “I know it’s really early in the morning, but I need to get your full statements before you can go to sleep.”

Untangling her hair with her fingers, Izuku asked, “How far back do we have to cover?”

He adjusted the notebook in his hands, “Start with the test of courage.”

Val sighed, “I was going through the woods with Todoroki when we got attacked by a dude in a straight jacket. There was something spiky coming out of his mouth that he kept attacking us with. At some point, Izuku and Shoji showed up with Tokoyami behind them. Dark Shadow obliterated the guy attacking us, and then Izuku and Todoroki helped Tokoyami get control back. By that time Izuku was glowing like a spotlight. Mandalay announced that the villains were looking for me, so we ran through the forest to get back to the cabin. While we were running, we heard someone screaming. I remember just barely being able to see Uraraka getting attacked when I was suddenly trapped in a blue ball. Next thing I know I was being held by a villain, and Shoto and Ochaco were facing us. I got dragged backwards into a portal. The bastards chained me to a chair, then the one with a top hat dropped a little blue bead, which broke open to free Izuku. From there we can both tell the story.”

He finished writing down what Val said, then turned to Izuku, “So, what happened to you?”

“When the attack started, I was in the clearing with the puss*cats. We were all distracted by the smoke until Pixie Bob got hit in the head - wait, is she okay? Please tell me that the villains didn’t kill her-”

Tsukauchi raised his hand, “Everyone survived. The doctors say that she’ll recover enough to go back into the field. What happened after that?”

Wiping away a couple tears, Izuku kept talking, “Mandalay told us to run, so we did. That’s when I realized that Kouta was missing. I knew where he was hiding, since I took him food a couple times over the week, so I told the others that I was going to try to get him. Iida tried to stop me, but I told him that I would draw less attention if I went alone. When I got there, Kouta was being attacked by a giant meathead. I did my best to get us away without fighting, but I ended up fighting him. Finally, he stopped getting up, and I started running with Kouta. I was very radioactive after that fight, which is why I was glowing.

“At the bottom of the hill, Kouta promised to be safe, and ran to tell his aunt that the crazy guy said that they were after Val. I ran through the forest, and barely managed to avoid being hit by Dark Shadow thanks to Shoji warning me. In the distance, we could barely make out Val screaming, so we decided to lure Dark Shadow in that direction so he could take out whatever Val was fighting. That plan worked, and it was about then that Mandalay told all of us that we had permission to fight. Before that we were told to avoid using our quirks unless we were in mortal danger. We headed to the cabin like Val said, and we heard Ochaco getting attacked. I just barely made out the girl who was attacking her when I got trapped in a blue bubble. After that, I have no memories until we were in the bar.”

Both girls stayed quiet until Tsukauchi finished writing, “That all matches with what the other students said. Now, what happened inside the bar?”

Izuku adjusted her position on the bed, “All For One wasn’t in the room himself, he was talking through a TV. He and I got in a verbal fight about heroes versus villains, then Val and I were taken downstairs. Val was moved by actual villains, while the one in a black and white hood created clones of himself Naruto-style, and those dragged me down the stairs after I managed to destroy one by throwing a bottle at him. We got locked in a room, where Val was in a cage that took up one half of the room. On my side of the room, there was some of my stuff from before I was turned into a doll. It-it honestly creeped me out. We passed the time by talking about English, and trying to get out. We were both too paranoid to sleep for very long. I think the longest either of us slept was like an hour.”

Val piped up from her bed, “Then this note was slid under the door just a couple hours ago. Izuku found a screwdriver in the clothing basket, used it to pry open the cage door, and we got the hell out of there. We only made it about two buildings away when an explosion or something like that happened at the bar. And then we got sucked away and ended up in a war zone.”

Tsukauchi took the note, and Izuku handed over the screwdriver, “I took it with me in case I needed a weapon.”

“Alright, we could somewhat see what happened there, but do you have anything else you want to add?”

Izuku spoke, “We got ourselves out of there, just in time to not get hurt by All Might’s attack.”

Neither girl added anything, and Aizawa looked at them with a deadpan look, “Who helped you escape the fight between All Might and All For One? I know for a fact that at least one of your classmates was involved, because their quirk leaves behind remains.”

Val spoke, “We’re going to keep their identities private. They didn’t engage with the villains, we were the only ones who fought them. I pretend to not know the law, but I actually know enough to know that they didn’t break any vigilante laws.”

Even when Aizawa turned to look directly at Izuku, she stayed strong and defended her friends, “What do you have to say?”

Shrugging, Izuku yawned, “I can agree with Val about the fact that none of the others fought the villains. All they did is guide us to safety, and make sure we made it to the police. They even waited for us to get in the police car to make sure that we were completely safe.”

Rubbing his head, Aizawa let out a sigh, “Fine. But I will be scolding all of them. Especially two of them, and you know why.”

Tsukauchi stretched, “We’ll leave you two to rest and recover.”

Once they left, Izuku dimmed the lights and flopped on her bed, “Night Val.”

“Wake me up if you have nightmares, because I’m bound to have a couple.”

Both girls were thankfully woken up several hours later when a nurse came to check on them, and not by nightmares. She checked on Val first, nodding after taking her vitals, “You are healthy enough to go home, we just have to wait for a hero to come get you.”

“So I can’t leave yet?”

Moving over to Izuku, the nurse shook her head, “Unfortunately not. You two are under high security, there’s even two police officers patrolling the hall to make sure no one comes in here. Until you get picked up by a pro hero, you have to stay in this room.”

Izuku stayed quiet through her exam, and the nurse smiled at her, “You are also good to go. I’ll call both of your guardians, and arrange for you to be picked up.”

About an hour later, a guy came in wearing extremely tight jeans, “Hey, Val.”

“Where the f*ck is my uncle?”

The man rubbed the back of his head, “He was part of the rescue crew at the second location. Thanks to him, all of the other heroes got out with just bruises and minor cuts, but he’s going to be in the hospital for at least a week, and then leave for who knows how long. He got a collapsed lung.”

Val took the clothes he brought with her, vanishing into the bathroom. When she came out, her eyes were red, “I’ll message you soon, okay Izuku?”

“Yeah. I hope you get to visit your uncle soon.”

She followed the man out of the room, and Izuku waited for one of her guardians to show up. It was only an hour later when Yamada came in with her messenger bag, “Hey, listener! It’s good to see you!”

Hopping up, Izuku pulled him into a hug, “I missed you guys.”

“Aizawa told me that they didn’t hurt you, just treated you annoyingly. But it’s still good to see you myself. Now, let’s get you into your own clothes, and get the hell out of here.”

A smile spread even further on her face, “Please. I’m going crazy.”

He handed over the bag, and Izuku also rushed into the bathroom. Yamada had picked out a baggy t-shirt and jeans, thankfully with the necessary underwear. He also had brought a beanie and a clean scrunchie.

Throwing the clothes on, Izuku tucked all of her hair into the hat. When she came out, Yamada gave a thumbs up, “Here’s the plan. I’ve got the car parked just in front of the building, and I’m going to walk behind you. People know who I am, so they’ll be looking at me instead of you, but I’ll be able to keep an eye on you.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Yamada guided her from behind, giving quiet but clear directions until they got to the front door. Once there, Izuku walked to Kayama’s car, hopping in the backseat where temporary tint had been added to the windows. Yamada took his time, talking to the reporters before he got in the driver’s seat.

As he drove away, only a few reporters realized that there was someone in the back seat. But by the time they aimed their cameras, the car was fully engulfed in traffic.

Izuku was quiet the whole ride home, leaning against the window as Yamada sung to himself under his breath. Finally they pulled up at the apartment, and Izuku hopped out. Neither of them really talked until Yamada unlocked the door, letting them in, “Nezu asked that you stay in the apartment while he figures out a better way to protect all of the students. Either myself or Aizawa will stay here with you, just so you aren’t alone. Adeline is being asked to do the same thing, since you two were the ones targeted.”

Izuku let out a sigh as she picked up Chat Noir, “Great, just great.”

July 25, 2221

Aizawa picked up one of the cat carriers, “Hopefully the dorm for 1A will finish construction soon. I’d rather not spend a month in the teacher dorms with two cats.”

Izuku petted Mariposa through the bars of the carrier, “We’re not going to be able to come back here for a while, are we?”

He sighed, “Not in the foreseeable future. I’m worried that his people will be able to find it. We might be able to come here for a weekend here and there, but not long term. Not until I’m sure that you can defend yourself better.”

Izuku rubbed her arm, looking at the empty bedroom that she had previously decorated, “This isn’t happening just because of me, is it?”

“No. There’s been so many attacks this year that Nezu is doing this to prove that we are willing to do anything to protect our students. He’s also concerned about how easily they’ve gotten past our defenses, so he wants to limit how much people go across the threshold, because then he can raise security in the wall without inconveniencing any of us.”

She followed him out to a waiting UA van, which had most of their belongings already loaded up. Yamada started it up as they got in, “I’m curious to what the dorms are going to look like. Nezu didn’t give us a lot of detail, so we’re all going in blind.”

“What teachers are going to be there besides you guys?”

Aizawa looked at the roads, “So far it’s just going to be us, All Might, Cementoss, Nezu, Ectoplasm and Hound Dog. The others have to figure out their housing situation and their hero work before they can move in.”

While they drove down the streets, Izuku posted a message in the group Discord:

Capscicle: We are about to see the new dorms. The one for 1A is almost done, but neither Mic or Aizawa have seen it yet, so we’re all seeing it for the first time together.

purelyaussie: please let us know what our glorified prison is going to be like

GottaGoFast: Adeline, it is not appropriate to call our dormitories a prison!

purelyaussie: know that if i had access to a middle finger emoji i would be using it right now

ZukoElsa liked “know that if i had access to a middle finger emoji i would be using it right now”

Finally, the car arrived at UA, and Yamada drove the van down a new road past multiple buildings under construction. There were three streets next to main campus, with about 8 buildings on each. At the end was another building and a dumpster zone. Yamada pulled up next to the final building, “Here we are.”

Izuku hopped out, looking at the other buildings, “Which one is 1A?”

Aizawa pointed to the building that was on the first row, and closest to the staff building, “That one. We put it there so we could respond quickly if something happened.”

The building looked like a short apartment building, and it looked pretty much done on the outside. Izuku grabbed Mariposa’s carrier, and nearly ran into Cementoss on her way in, “Oh, sorry sensei!”

He smiled at her, “Don’t worry about it, Midoriya. We’re all just happy that you’re safe. Hopefully we get 1A’s building done in the next couple days. We’re focusing on it and 1B first, then the other hero classes. Everyone else will come after, since they don’t need as many safeguards built in.”

“Thank you, Cementoss-sensei.”

Aizawa nodded to Cementoss as he left, and led the way in, “Our temporary rooms are on the second floor.”

July 27, 2221

Nezu led the way through the dorm building, “We’re still finishing things on the boys’ side, but everything else has been finished. We felt that letting you guys move in now would give us an idea of how things function, and help us fix things up before any other students move in.”

Aizawa looked around, “How good is the soundproofing in here?”

“We’ve done the traditional methods of soundproofing in the common areas, but we are doing extra measures around the rooms of Jiro, Shoji, and Bakugo. Each bedroom has a well hidden alarm that the kids can activate if something happens, as well as one in the kitchen and living room. I trust you to inform them about those alarms, and make consequences for abusing them.”

Nodding, Aizawa examined his own quarters in the back part of the bottom floor. It was a two bedroom apartment, already furnished. Nezu pushed a button on the wall, and a painting slid aside to show a security camera system that covered the entire building, “If necessary, you’ll also get access to other parts of campus to monitor students. And Midoriya, you are allowed to sleep in your dorm room or the spare room in here. It’s entirely up to you. Your cats are allowed to wander the girls’ tower, but I want you to keep them in there, so they don’t scare any animals that young Koda will bring.”

“Fair enough. So, am I allowed to walk around campus, or do you want me to wait until the other teachers get here?”

Nezu put one of his tiny paws on Izuku’s leg, “As long as you have your watch on, you are free to roam campus. Please just tell one of us where you are roughly planning on going so we can make sure you are safe. That reminds me.”

He turned to Aizawa, “Could you please start a group text with the entire staff and Izuku. That way she can message all of us at once if she needs us or if she is going for a walk.”

Letting out a long yawn, Aizawa pulled out his phone and typed for a bit before hitting send. Izuku’s phone buzzed, and she looked at the latest group chat.

Teachers and Midoriya Safety Chat

Aizawa Shota: Nezu asked for this chat to be made so the rest of you can participate in being Midoriya’s guardians. She will mostly use this chat to update us on her location.

They were just heading back to the apartment when Hound Dog sent a message in the group chat:

Hound Dog: Nezu and Powerloader, I need you at the front gate.

One of the villains just dropped off a lot of sh*t that all has Midoriya’s name on it.

[Picture message]

Izuku looked at the image and her heart skipped a beat, “That mother f*cker kept literally all of my stuff. I don’t know how to feel. I’m going to go cuddle my cats until I forget about this.”

Chapter 33: Glowing Dim as an Ember

Chapter Text

July 28, 2221

Three piles sat around Izuku’s room, the smell of dust mixing with the smell of construction. Taking in the scene of mass chaos, Izuku cracked open the sliding door to the balcony, letting in a (thankfully) cool breeze that took some of the smell with it. She then moved to the towering pile of clothing and bedding, embraced her inner Marie Kondo, and started sorting.

Some items were put into her laundry basket, while others were tossed into the boxes that had hauled all of her belongings up. At first it seemed so easy, until she stumbled upon a shirt that her mom had given her for her 12th birthday. The tears exploded out, and she curled around the shirt, clinging it to her chest, “Mom, I miss you so much. I wish you were here.”

Eventually, the tears slowed down, and she carefully dropped the shirt in the laundry basket. More clothing brought more memories, and by the end, the laundry basket was overflowing. Near the door, piles of clothing were in and around the boxes, with a couple sitting in her brand new trash can that hadn’t made it the 200 years despite whatever All For One had done to them.

Carefully, Izuku packed away all of the clothing that hadn’t passed muster into the boxes, treating them like museum pieces (which they certainly could be, with how old they were). She taped them shut, pushing them just out of the way of the door before sorting her laundry into different loads.

Yamada came in as she was doing the last few pieces of clothing, looking around at the piles of laundry, “I wasn’t expecting you to go through this much in one day.”

“There was an organizing guru back in my day that said that it’s better to do everything in a category all in one setting, because the longer you take, the more you start to second guess yourself.”

He started moving the boxes into the hall, “I didn’t think about that. Do you want me to store this, or donate it?”

She sat on her bed, pulling her legs to her chest, “I don’t know. Maybe store it for now? Until I know for sure what fits in here?”

“Fair enough. I’ll put it in the spare room you used until the dorm was ready.”

Izuku kept a smile on her face until the door closed behind him, then let it fall. Her eyes passed over the remaining piles before focusing on her bed, which she flopped down on, letting out a massive sigh. She pulled up Discord on her phone, loaded up #rantspace, and posted before she could second guess herself.

Capscicle: You guys remember the smoke villain? All For One had him drop off stuff of mine that he’s kept since I went missing 200 years ago. I’m on the brink of screaming.

GottaGoFast: Are you alright?

purelyaussie: what the sh*t?

ZeroGravity: did he keep all of your stuff, some of your stuff, how much?

Capscicle: Out of everything I’ve managed to sort through, all of my clothes, bedding and decorations. Everything is being screened before I’m allowed to touch it, so I don’t even know how much has been dropped off yet.

God Herself: I’m glad that the teachers are checking over everything before they give it to you. That man didn’t seem like he was mentally stable.

Capscicle: Me too. Powerloader and Nezu are doing the majority of the screening, so I feel safer about what makes it through. It’s a little stressful to figure out what I’m keeping, because I haven’t seen any of this in six months, and not all of it will fit in my dorm room.

ZeroGravity: can they put the stuff you want to keep but don’t have room for in some kind of storage so you can get it later?

Capscicle: So far we’re storing it in a spare room in the teacher dorm. There’s a lot of stuff that I’ve realized that I didn’t miss at all, so getting rid of it wasn’t making me as emotional. I’m doing that sort first because it’s easy, then I’ll move onto the hard stuff.

She looked at the pile of space decor that was threatening to take over her room, an idea popped into her head, and she sent a text to Aizawa.

Izuku: Can I give some of my extra stuff to my friends? I know Uraraka is not coming in with a lot, and I think it would make her feel less self conscious if she had a couple extra embellishments.

His response was as straightforward as she hoped.

Aizawa: Sure, I don’t see why not. It’s your stuff.

With a smile, Izuku gathered up everything that she couldn’t fit in her room, and carried it upstairs to Uraraka’s room. Locks hadn’t been installed on the rooms yet, so Izuku hid it all in the finished bathroom, knowing no one would likely be going in there for a while.

She took a picture, and sent it to Ochaco.

Izuku: Thought that you’d get more use out of this than I would.

A minute later, a reply came through.

Ochaco: OMG! Are you sure?

Izuku: Yeah, it’s either you have them, or they go into storage for who knows how long. I’d feel better if they were being used by someone.

Ochaco: I promise that I’ll take amazing care of them.

Izuku: Thanks. I’ve put them in your dorm room. They should be there when you get here.

August 15, 2221

Izuku adjusted her shirt, hoping that there weren’t any stains in it that she missed before putting it on. It was one of the shirts that went to camp with her, and she had only washed it a couple days previous. Aizawa walked out of the staff room, double checking the list of rules that Nezu was expecting to be covered. He glanced up, “It would be faster to check your clothing in a mirror.”

The lie fell out of her mouth easily, “Yeah, but the bus is going to be here any second. I don’t want to miss it.”

He rolled his eyes, and moved to the door, where Izuku joined him. They waited just inside the doors for a couple minutes before the bus pulled up. As everyone trailed off, Aizawa led the way outside, Izuku sticking close to his side.

For a minute, the class was distracted by the building, talking to each other excitedly. Izuku was happy that she had followed through on her promise to not send pictures of it, so the whole class could react at the same time.

Aizawa cleared his throat, “Welcome back, class 1A. I’m glad to see you all made it.”

Jiro rubbed the back of her head, “It was an uphill battle to get my parents to agree to let me come.”

Hagakure jumped up and down, “Same! My parents changed their minds like three times before they finally agreed.”

Ojiro looked at the two of them, “It makes sense, you two were the ones knocked out by that gas, and were in comas for two weeks.”

Many other students nodded, and Tsu spoke up, “I’m glad you’re back, sensei. There were a lot of talk show hosts that were demanding that you lose your job.”

“Trust me, I am quite aware of that. Nezu had to fight the hero commission. But enough of that, we need to focus on the task at hand. As some of you overheard at camp, or have pieced together, our purpose at the training camp was to prepare you to take your provisional license exam so that you can legally fight back against villains when you inevitably get in another fight. Our goal hasn’t changed, even with the attack, in fact, it made us, as teachers, even more convinced of our decision. So, for the next week you are going to be training for that, but we’ll talk more about that tomorrow. Today is set aside for settling in, and setting up rooms.

“However, you should all be thankful that All Might retired, or else my class would be four students: Midoriya, Val, Jiro and Hagakure. The rest of you either illegally went into a dangerous situation, or knew that it was being planned, but didn’t tell the authorities. Because All Might retired, we need as many heroes getting into the field as fast as possible, so I am letting this one incident slide. But the next person to step a toe out of line is out. Now, let’s go inside, where I’ll explain the rules and show you the layout.”

With that, he turned around and went back inside. Silence reigned for a minute, making it very obvious when Bakugo grabbed Kaminari and yanked him beyond the hedges surrounding the dorm. Iida took a couple steps after them when electricity went off, and Bakugo returned with a fried out Kaminari. As Bakugo stormed past, Iida tried to stop him, “Bakugo, it is entirely inappropriate to do such a thing to a classmate.”

Bakugo didn’t look in his direction as he stormed past, vanishing inside without a word. Most of the class was looking at Kaminari as he failed to process anything, swaying back and forth, but Izuku slipped inside behind Bakugo.

He looked over at her, calmer than she had ever seen him (but still pissed off), “Did you get hurt by any of those freaks?”

She stood near him and Aizawa, “It’s sad that I was thankful to be radioactive, because it meant that none of them came close to me. After their boss monologued to us, we got locked up in a room in the basem*nt. Besides when we were initially snatched, and the fight at the end, we never saw them. Most of our injuries happened because we got hit by shrapnel during the fight that was on TV or from the villains at camp.”

Everyone else came inside, Kirishima guiding Kaminari who was starting to come back to reality. The second everyone was inside, Aizawa started talking, “The only floor that touches both towers is this floor, which contains the baths, showers, laundry, common area, dining hall, kitchen, and courtyard. The east tower is for the girls, and the west tower is for the boys. The bedrooms start on the second floor, where each of you will have your own room. It contains the furniture and luggage you sent in advance, along with an AC, closet, fridge, a small bathroom, and a private balcony. They also have a panic button above your door, which will only be pressed in emergencies. It has a cover on it to prevent it being pushed by accident, but if it is pushed without an emergency being present, whomever pressed it will be expelled immediately. Do I make myself clear?”

The class turned into bobbleheads, and he continued, “Good. I’m going to lay down the rules in a clear way so you all understand how things are going to proceed from here. I am your guardian while you are here, and you must treat me as such. My word is law. You have to be in the building from 9 PM to 6 AM, no exceptions. If you break this rule, you will miss class for an equal number of days as hours you were late, and have to make up lost work without any help from your classmates. If you make a mess in the common area, it is your job to clean it up immediately. Your bedroom is left under your control, but if anyone can smell it from the hall, I will force you to clean it. There are three animals in the building, and they cannot leave their respective tower, so do not prop open doors.

“During curfew, no one is allowed to be in anyone else’s room without permission from me. If it happens with a certain person or people more than once, I will install an alarm on your bedroom door. You are allowed to be in the common areas as late as you wish, but I will not give you any leniency for staying up late. If you have no experience cooking besides what you did at summer training, do not cook without a more experienced student with you, because I don’t want to deal with fire alarms.”

Bakugo looked directly at Kirishima, and Izuku had to fight back the urge to laugh as Aizawa plowed on, “No quirks are allowed inside the building unless you are using it in a nondestructive or nonviolent way. There will be no threatening other students, or extreme profanity on campus. We are here to turn you into heroes, and we are going to start cracking down on you because villains have thrown your class into the limelight. In addition, the media has figured out that Midoriya is the stasis child, so she’s not allowed off campus for any reason without one of us with her, so don’t ask. If anyone asks you about her, your response will be ‘no comment’. And Adeline, your legal guardian asked that we impose the same rules about leaving campus on you that we have on Midoriya, so you cannot leave school grounds without a pro hero escort.”

All of them nodded, and Aizawa stepped to the side, “There’s a map of where each room is inside. You have the rest of the day to settle yourselves, and I will see all of you in the classroom at the usual time tomorrow for more information on the training for the exam.”

2nd Floor Boys: B: Ojiro Mashirao, C: Koji Koda, D: Shoji Mezo

2nd Floor Girls: A: Adeline Valkyrie, C: Midoriya Izuku

3rd Floor Boys: A: Iida Tenya, B: Sato Rikido, C: Sero Hanta

3rd Floor Girls: B: Ashido Mina, D: Jiro Kyoka

4th Floor Boys: B: Aoyama Yuga, C: Tokoyami Fumikage, D: Todoroki Shoto

4th Floor Girls: A: Asui Tsuyu, C: Hagakure Toru

5th Floor Boys: A: Bakugo Katsuki, B: Kirishima Eijiro, C: Kaminari Denki

5th Floor Girls: B: Uraraka Ochako, D: Yaoyorozu Momo

Izuku watched as nearly everyone rushed to their rooms, leaving Val and Shoto behind. Val let out a big sigh, “At least here I won’t have jeans mysteriously appearing in my room.”

“Does your uncle do that?”

She nodded, “He seems to think that they are the only pair of pants in existence. It’s bloody annoying.”

Meanwhile, Shoto was looking around, “It is strange to be out of my father’s house. I think part of my mind is trying to process the fact that I’m now the sole person in control of my training. I hope that the teachers don’t mind me visiting my mother on the weekends still.”

Val cracked her knuckles, “If they do, I’ll give them hell.”

Izuku smiled at them, “Val, remember that one of the rules is that you have to cut back on swearing.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. I’m gonna go set up my new prison, so I’ll see you guys later.”

Izuku waved as she headed up, then turned to Shoto, “I noticed that some of the stuff that was dropped off for you included flooring, do you want some help putting that in?”

Shoto smiled at her, “That would be very helpful. Are you sure you want to do that?”

“Yeah, I’ve already set up my room, and had time to rearrange it, so it’s not like I have anything else to do. I’ll just change out of my uniform and meet you up there.”

She rushed back to her dorm, throwing on shorts and a T-shirt that said “I love π.” Almost as an afterthought, she hung up the clothes that she had just been wearing, since they had only been on for half an hour at most. Within a couple minutes, she was walking down the 4th floor hallway, walking past two shut doors, and an open door that already had too much light coming from it.

Knocking twice, Izuku waited until Shoto opened the door. He had changed into a sweater and sweatpants, not that Izuku was surprised. She smiled as she slipped inside, “I have a feeling that Aizawa isn’t going to forget the incident in the forest with Dark Shadow any time soon. That’s why Tokoyami is in between two people who can make light.”

Shoto tilted his head like a puppy that just heard the word walk, “I didn’t think about that, but I can see the reasoning behind it. How hard did he think about everything is the question.”

“He put the two kidnapped people on the bottom floor, along with Shoji who has sensitive hearing. On the third floor is Jiro, who also has sensitive hearing. Meanwhile, Bakugo, who makes the most noise, is on the top floor. He was also the most meticulous about his sleep schedule at camp, so I have a feeling that he goes to sleep early. The girls are staggered so we aren’t directly above or below anyone, meanwhile the guys on the ends are staggered, and are typically people who prefer quiet, like Iida, Shoji, and you. Bakugo is also on the end, likely to prevent anyone from hearing if he yells in his room. His floormates are people that he’s been proven to tolerate more than everyone else, so he’s less likely to threaten them. Koda is the person next to Shoji, with Ojiro on the other side, ensuring that the floor that Shoji is on is as quiet as possible.”

He pushed all of his boxes and furniture to one side, “Shall we begin?”

Izuku stretched her arms, “Let’s do this.”

They both ripped off tape, and started rolling out the mats across the floor. It took about an hour to arrange all of them on one side, and move everything onto that side so they could do the next. After that, they did the other side, then put his bed in one corner.

Izuku opened the balcony door to let fresh air in, and flopped down, “Now that I live on campus full time, all of the teachers are now my active guardians. Aizawa is my main one still, since he’s my homeroom teacher, but Nezu had them make a group chat for me to communicate with them, so they are all on the same page. It sometimes feels like going in front of the Senate from Star Wars everytime I ask about something, because someone always turns it into a debate.”

Nodding, Shoto handed her a water bottle that had a layer of frost on it, “That makes sense. With you living in an apartment off campus, there was a limit on how many of them you would interact with on a daily basis, but now that all of you live on the same property, you are naturally going to see them more. And a group chat saves time, so you don’t have to text all of them individually.”

Pressing the water bottle against her forehead, Izuku lay all the way down, “Yeah, and it helps me calm down, knowing that I have their protection, especially after the smoke bastard dropped off everything that All For One kept this whole time. Part of me is happy to have my video games and manga back, but it’s just weird to think of him keeping my clothes this whole time.”

“Is All For One in jail?”

“Yeah, All Might has visited him. He claims to be ignorant of what his followers do, but considering the lengths he went to, with preserving everything I loved, I highly doubt it. He has asked to see me, but absolutely no one is giving the green flag for that, not even me. I never want to see him again. As far as I’m concerned, he’s a stalker with the memories of my step-dad.”

Hopping up, Izuku stretched, “Let’s get the rest of your furniture put in place, and then I’ll go see if Val needs help.”

Izuku made a boba tea and sat on the couch near a very dead looking Mina, “Is your room set up?”

“Yeah, but I’m so tired.”

Hagakure flopped down nearby, nearly spilling her cup ramen, “I wanna do something fun before class tomorrow. We’re not going to have any energy to do anything if it’s anything like camp.”

Without looking up from her own meal, Val yawned, “There’s not much we can do, since it’s past time that we are allowed out of the building.”

Mina shot up, “We could ask to look at everyone’s room! It’s a good way to really get to know each other.”

Ochaco paled slightly, “Everyone’s room?”

“Well, the guys’ rooms. What do you all think?”

Izuku watched all of the food present get consumed at Mach 5, and followed the rest of the girls over to the lump of guys nearby, still sipping her boba. Mina put her hands on the back of the couch that Kaminari and Kirishima were sitting on, “How about we go look at each other’s rooms? It’ll give us one last fun thing to do before training tomorrow.”

Kirishima was the first to agree, “Sure, sounds fun.”

Everyone leaned away from Iida as he spoke, “That sounds like a great team building exercise! It will give us insight to each other that cannot be picked up on through mere conversation.”

Bakugo scoffed, walking away while grumbling, “That sounds f*cking stupid. I’m going to bed.”

Almost no one noticed him leaving as the rest of the guys agreed, moving as one mass up the stairs. The first room up was Ojiro, who looked sheepish in front of his door, “It’s not fancy, it’s just a room to sleep in.”

He pushed the door open, and Izuku bit her lip so she wouldn’t say what others were saying. Besides the school supplied desk and bed, the only decoration was a calendar and a clock. Turning to a now embarrassed Ojiro, she smiled, “Thanks for letting us in, even though everyone is being rude.”

A smile ghosted across his face, “And thank you for being kind.”

Everyone moved next door, and Koda took several breaths before whispering, “Please keep your voices down. I have a rabbit in my room, and she gets spooked easily.”

Over ten people looked directly at Mina, who shrunk back. Koda opened his door, revealing a room with cute animal decor, stuffed animals, and a literal bunny. Most of the girls cooed over it, while Izuku pointed to a shelf that had animal faces carved into it, “That’s really cute, Koda. Did you buy it, or did one of your parents?”

“My mom.”

Iida spoke up, quiet but firm, “We must head to the next room, so we don’t overwhelm the pet rabbit.”

With that, everyone trickled out of the room, standing in front of a very done Shoji, “If any of you make comments like you did to Ojiro, I will literally move you out of my room.”

He pushed the door open, revealing almost nothing. Most of the class went silent as they took in the mattress (directly on the floor), floor desk, and single cushion. Shoji looked at all of them, “I’m not much of a material guy. I prefer the base necessities.”

Nodding, Izuku looked up at him, “Fair enough. I imagine that having more stuff around with your arms just makes your life more difficult.”

Most of the others were already heading upstairs, giving Shoji a chance to close his door as he smiled at her, “That is definitely part of the reason. I also just don’t feel attachment to items like other people do.”

The two of them headed upstairs, where everyone was gathered around Iida’s now open door. One wall was entirely bookshelves, with book piles scattered around the room. The opposing wall was filled with shelves of identical glasses. Before Izuku could think twice, she muttered, “It has got to be a pain to get all of those prescriptions updated.”

Iida stopped in the middle of a lecture to Mina about the importance of backup eyeglasses to look at Izuku, “I didn’t think of that.”

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to say that outloud!”

A clearing appeared around Iida as he started to speak, “No, it is a good point. I will have to think about that for future endeavors like this.”

Mina started moving towards the door, “Let’s move on to the next room!”

Everyone trailed after her, stopping outside of Sato’s room. He rubbed the back of his head, “My room is a little unique because of my quirk. Just giving you fair warning.”

An amazing smell filled the hallway as Sato pushed the door open. Inside was fairly normal furniture on one side, and on the other side was a fridge, mini oven, and other cooking supplies. Momo drifted to the mini oven, looking inside, “What kind of cake is that?”

Sato smiled, “It’s a chocolate bundt cake. I was baking it because I’m a little low on energy after working on my room all day. Do you guys want to have a piece?”

Most of the girls nodded, along with a couple of the guys. Izuku smiled at him, “Thank you, but I want to sleep tonight. But it does smell amazing.”

He returned a smile, “I completely understand, and thank you.”

Izuku continued to sip on her boba as everyone received a piece of cake. Once everyone ate their piece, Sero hopped up, “Time to go to my room!”

He proudly led the way next door, swinging his door open without a millisecond of hesitation, “Ta-da!”

Out of all of the rooms so far, this one was extremely warm and cozy. There was wicker and woven furniture everywhere, bright blankets and wall hangings with patterns that Izuku had only seen in pictures, along with a hammock on the balcony. All of the girls were admiring everything, but Izuku overheard a couple of the guys grumbling from the hall, “It’s not fair that we’re only looking at the guys’ rooms.”

Turning around, Izuku shrugged, “I’m fine with you guys seeing my room, but we can ask the other girls.”

Kaminari perked up, “We could turn it into a competition between everyone, and vote on who has the best room.”

Mina overheard that, turning around, “Yeah! Let’s do it!”

Everyone nodded, and Izuku took a deep breath, bracing herself for inevitable reactions to all of her very old anime merch. Most of the other students were talking excitedly, but Kaminari and Ojiro were talking quietly, “How are we going to win a competition against this and Sato’s cake?”

Aoyama was bouncing on the balls of his feet for several minutes before he finally caved, “Now it is my turn.”

Val rolled her eyes as everyone followed him up, and Izuku whispered in her ear, “Wait until you see Shoto’s room. It’s nuts.”

Before anyone could brace themselves, Aoyama threw his door open, blinding everyone. When Izuku’s eyes could finally recover, she could make out multiple disco balls, colored glass hanging all over the room, spotlights, and a literal suit of armor.

The reactions were split on Aoyama’s room, some admiring how fancy it looked, while others, like Izuku, were blinking their eyes and heading out to the hall (or had never left). Izuku chuckled to herself when she saw that Tokoyami was guarding his room with crossed arms. As everyone else trickled out, Sero and Kaminari teamed up to push him out of the way, while Kirishima opened the door.

Due to the room that they had just seen, everyone struggled to see Tokoyami’s room for a minute. Izuku looked around at the edgy Halloween decor around the room, and the stuff that reminded her of e-girls and e-boys from her time. Eventually, she turned to Tokoyami, “Revelry in the dark.”

Unlike when anyone else had attempted to cheer him up, Tokoyami smiled at her, “Revelry in the dark, indeed.”

Dark Shadow emerged to shove everyone out of the room. Once everyone got their footing back, they looked at Shoto. Izuku walked over to him, “Are you ready to show them what you’ve been doing all day?”

He shrugged, “Sure.”

Izuku opened his door, and a good chunk of the class froze. Shoji looked at the pair, “Did this room come with different flooring?”

Shoto shook his head, “No. I don’t like modern floors, so I had the mats sent with my luggage. Izuku and I put them together today.”

Flopping down onto one of his cushions, Izuku pretended to be exhausted, “It took forever. We could only do one half at a time, then had to move the furniture.”

Val pulled Izuku back up, “I’m offended you didn’t help me nearly as much.”

“I saw everything that was brought in, so I knew he would need help even if he would never ask for it.”

Iida spoke up, “We should head up to the final floor of the boy’s side, so that we can say that we are halfway done. It is important to get our rest.”

Pushing down a sassy comment, Izuku picked up her boba tea cup from the dresser where she’d dropped it before her dramatic flop. Mina looked around as they went up the stairs, “Where’s Bakugo?”

Taking a sip from her cup, Izuku shrugged, “He went to bed before we actually started. Said that the idea was stupid.”

Kirishima smiled, “That means that I’m next.”

He pushed open the door, and Izuku smiled. There were flame decals everywhere, a punching bag, multiple weights around the room, and a surprising number of inspirational posters. He smiled big at everyone, “I think it’s pretty manly. What do you guys think?”

Ochaco was the first one to talk, “If I talk to you in advance, can I use your punching bag and weights? I’m trying to build up my strength.”

“Absolutely!”

Immediately, the two began chatting, while the others trickled out to the final door. Kaminari swung his door open with gusto, revealing a bedroom that wouldn’t look out of place in a coming of age movie that Izuku and her mom would make fun of on rainy days. It came complete with a dartboard, skateboard, and what looked to be a record player.

While everyone else talked about his decoration choices, Izuku investigated the record player, which turned out to be fairly new, only being made about ten years ago. Most of the others were looking around, but Val moved to her side, “I’m not exactly bursting at the seams to be the first girl to go. I don’t know if any of these boys have seen a girl’s room before.”

“I’m nervous too. My room is decorated in a mixture of my old stuff and new stuff that the teachers got me.”

Mina started bouncing up and down, “Time to head over to the girl’s side!”

Chapter 34: Happy is What Happens When All Your Dreams Come True

Chapter Text

July 15, 2221 (still)

The group split in half, some going in the elevator (or waiting for it to come back for a second trip), while the rest went down the stairs behind Izuku and Val. The second the elevator door closed, Val called over her shoulder, “Let’s see if we can beat them down!”

Izuku was glad that Aizawa’s quarters were slightly soundproofed as a horde of teeangers raced down the stairs, Iida yelling behind them, “It is unbecoming of UA students to cause such a ruckus!”

Val used her quirk to make it to the bottom fast, while Izuku just ran with the others, mostly in an attempt to not be run over. By the time she arrived on the ground floor, the elevator door was sliding open. Everyone on board clambered out, letting the elevator go back up, meanwhile, Val and Izuku led the way to their hall.

It took about ten minutes for everyone to gather in the 2nd floor hall for girls, and Val stood proudly in front of a door with cloud. She counted all of the heads, then pushed open her door. It had progressed so much since the time Izuku left it an hour ago. It looked like stepping into a cloud. Fluffy blankets covered everything, fairy lights hung across the room, only leaving breaks around the silk swing and hanging chairs.

Everyone spoke in whispers, and Izuku overheard Kaminari whisper to Sero, “I thought girl rooms had more pink and cute animals.”

Val whipped around, “Have you ever seen me wearing pink? Or using anything that was pink and kawaii? No, you haven’t, I like neutral colors.”

Both backed up, and Izuku slipped out to wait in front of her door. Anxiety threatened to bubble up, but she focused on looking at her old nameplate on her door. It was a Sailor Moon one her mom and bio-dad had picked out for her before she was born. Hisashi All For One had offered to buy her a new one, but Izuku never had the heart to replace the only thing she had from her dad.

Once everyone had trickled over to her door, Izuku spoke, “Please don’t make a lot of noise. My cats have never been around this many people, and I don’t want to scare them.”

Taking one last deep breath, she pushed the door open, letting her pastel green and purple room talk for itself, “Keep in mind that it’s been hard to get decorations that I like, since most of them are completely out of production. I did my best.”

Mariposa vanished under the bed in the blink of an eye, while Chat Noir looked down upon everyone from the top of the closet. Koda immediately forgot the purpose of the room visit, and started to communicate with Chat Noir, while everyone else spread out.

A million thoughts raced through her head as everyone looked around at her decorations. About 2/3rds were from her past, a mishmash of action figures, Etsy buys, anime merch, and posters, while the other 1/3rd was modern. That was mostly sheets, chairs, fairy lights that looked like fairies, books, and a calendar.

On one of the shelves was her figurines. Izuku had gotten her mom’s dolls back, but didn’t trust them in her room because she didn’t know what powers All For One had, and she knew that he likely had the power of the man who turned her into a doll. She wouldn’t put it past him to replace one of her mom’s regular dolls with one of his own choosing, so they were firmly in storage.

On one side of her room, she noticed some of the guys posing like her figurines, while some of the girls were looking at the stained glass Sailor Moon decoration that she and Yoichi had gotten for her mom ages ago. It was a bittersweet reminder of when powers didn’t exist, and she was allowed to be a normal teenager.

Eventually, everyone filed out of the room, and Izuku checked on her cats before she closed the door. Following everyone up the stairs to Mina’s room, she noticed that Mina’s door was already open. Mina stood proudly next to the doorway, “I couldn’t wait!”

Inside was an explosion of hot pink and zebra stripes. Kaminari looked around with a smile, “This is slightly more of what I thought a girl’s room is like.”

Mina got in Kaminari’s face without a second of hesitation, “Just because I like pink doesn’t mean that I’m more of a girl than Val or Izuku. Just like boys, we have favorite colors, and different things that we like. Val likes neutral colors, and Izuku likes cool tones. Just like your favorite color is yellow.”

Kaminari and Sero walked out with their metaphorical tails between their legs, and everyone started trickling out. Jiro moved over to her door, rubbing her arm as everyone amassed. She waited for everyone to gather, then silently pushed her door open. The first thought that crossed Izuku’s mind when the door opened was, It looks like an American diner from the 50’s.

It was red, black, and white, with checkerboard patterns, filled to the brim with instruments. Near the balcony door was a soundboard, and a pretty blanket with music notes was on the bed. Jiro stood in the middle of the room looking like she’d rather be anywhere else. Momo picked up a saxophone, “Jiro, can you play all of these?”

“Um, yeah? My dad’s a professional musician, so he taught me.”

While Momo looked like she was having an existential crisis, Val whistled, “Impressive. I don’t have the patience for that.”

Jiro went progressively more red as the class complimented her, until Iida spoke up, “If we wish to finish before it’s time to go to sleep, we should move on.”

Tsu led the way up the stairs to her room, and Izuku could feel the humidity in the air rise as the door opened. Everything was covered in plants and pictures of her family. A humidifier ran in the corner, next to a basket of blankets. Shoji looked around from the doorway, “What kind of plants are these?”

“Most of them are different flowers that haven’t bloomed yet, but that one in the corner is a vine.”

Ochaco gently touched one of them, “It’s really pretty in here.”

Everyone filtered out as Tsu smiled back, “Thanks, kero.”

The group gathered at the other end of the hall outside of Hagakure’s room, who bounced over to swing her door open with a flair, “Ta-da!”

By the time Izuku and her friends got to the room, most of the guys were inside, chatting, Kaminari being one of the loudest, “I take it back. Now, this is what I expected a girl’s room to look like.”

Mina slapped him on the back of the head, but Izuku couldn’t exactly blame him this time, since Hagakure’s room looked like it was copy pasted from an anime. Kawaii animal images were everywhere, stuffed animals filled the bed, soft pink curtains covered the window, and her bed’s shade of pink matched perfectly with the chair at her desk.

Val looked at it, muttering to Izuku, “It looks like it’s from a teen comedy movie.”

Nodding, Izuku yawned, “I was thinking something similar.”

Ochaco wiped her palms off on her shirt, “I’m so nervous about people seeing my room. I would’ve worked on it longer if I knew people would be looking at it.”

Izuku poked her in her side, “Calm down, people are going to love it.”

Taking a couple deep breaths, Ochaco nodded, “Right, they were polite to everyone else’s room.”

She started going up the stairs, and the group followed behind her like a group of sheep. A smile filled Izuku’s face as Ochaco pushed her door open. Glow in the dark stickers covered the walls, holding up posters of space. The blankets that Yamada had bought Izuku in March were now on Ochaco’s bed, making it look like an entire galaxy. On her desk was the computer that Shoto had bought her. Overall, it was a testament to her friends, and how they helped her out without expectation of reward.

Momo looked around at everything, “You should see if they could turn your costume more galaxy patterned. There are some truly beautiful images of space that are more pink that could make your hero costume stand out even more than it already does.”

“Really?” Ochaco was nearly buzzing with excitement upon hearing the news, “Could you show me some examples so I can show Power Loader?”

The two of them gathered around her phone as everyone looked around, before Mina poked Momo, “Momo! You’re the last one to show off your room!”

“Oh, I completely forgot, I’ll be there in just a second.”

Almost as if on cue, everyone slipped out of the room, Momo and Ochaco taking up the back as they talked about the pictures they had just seen. As everyone gathered in front of the final bedroom, Momo took a deep breath, “I was not aware of the difference of dimensions between the dorm room and my bedroom at home, so I slightly miscalculated on what I could fit in here.”

She pushed the door open, and Izuku struggled to process the king sized canopy bed dominating the room. When her brain finally allowed her to process the rest of the room, she noticed the elegant chair at the desk, the number of books that could compete with Iida’s, and photos in elaborate frames.

Val shook her head as Shoto joined them, “This has been quite informative to how all of our classmates’ minds function.”

Rubbing her face, Izuku let out a sigh, “Shoto, that makes it sound like you want to literally dissect their brains.”

“Who says I don’t?”

Letting out a laugh, Val looked around, “I thought I was f*cking high and mighty, but at least I measured sh*t before I asked for it to be delivered here. And she can make them, I had to steal one of my uncle’s.”

Iida called out, drawing everyone’s attention, “In order to prevent this from keeping us up all night, we should immediately convene in the common area and cast out votes for best decorated bedroom. Please do not vote for a room simply because you liked one thing about their room, but nothing else.”

Everyone headed down to the common area, where Momo passed out pencils and paper, “Everyone write down your vote for best room, and then Iida and I will count them up.”

Izuku took her paper, thinking for a while before writing Tsu’s name. She dropped it in the box that Momo had made, and took a spot on one of the couches as everyone else filled theirs out. Once everyone put their paper in, Momo and Iida took it over to a different area and counted the votes, leaving everyone to gossip.

Mina turned to Izuku, “All of your stuff was really cool! Was that old anime stuff?”

“Some of it was, other parts are new, and some other stuff was from books or movies that myself and my mom collected.”

Multiple people looked at her, and Val stepped in, “Her old step-dad put everything in storage right before the world went to sh*t. Some detectives found the storage unit around the time of Kamino, so they brought it here for Izuku to sort through.”

Nodding, Izuku stretched her arms, “Yeah, it took me several days to go through everything, and see what aged well. I had to throw some of my old clothes away because they were thinner than handkerchiefs. But it’s nice to have my actual stuff around, even if I’d rather have my mom back.”

Iida called out again, “We have the results! Third place is Adeline, second place is Uraraka, and first place is Tsu!”

Momo spoke up as well, “We should really all head to bed, so that we aren’t tired for whatever Aizawa has in store for us tomorrow.”

Several groans echoed through the room, and everyone slowly dispersed upstairs. Izuku grabbed Tsu, Val, Shoto, Iida, Ochaco and Momo before they could go up, and waited for everyone else to go upstairs before bowing deeply, “Val and I wanted to thank all of you.”

Val folded her arms, nodding, “It was f*cking stupid, and you could have lost any chance of being heroes by rescuing us, but you did it anyway. If you guys ever need us to help you with anything, just ask. We owe you more than we can ever explain.”