Chapter 113 - 26-27

Chapter 26: Work Hard, Play Hard!

"... because the universality of the Categorical Imperative demands that it be applied to all people at all times, it follows that it would be wrong to lie to the villain even if doing so would save lives. So while it does provide a framework of morality, it often fails in complex situations such as the ones heroes face daily." Aizawa underlined the cons column on the board before sighing. "And now, your class representatives have an announcement." He wiggled his sleeping bag up his body and nodded at Iida before lying down on the ground.

"Right!" Iida stood and faced the class. "As a reminder our approved class outing is tonight! For those of you going, meet promptly at 17:30 so we may all go together!"

"Woo!" Ashido cheered. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"Just remember to stay in groups." Yaoyorozu chimed in. Izuku had to crane his neck around in his seat to see her. "And make sure you check in throughout the night on the class group chat so that we can keep tabs on everyone."

"I can't wait! Horror movie classic night, here we come!" Kirishima high fived Ashido while Kaminari paled next to her.

"I thought you guys were joking about that…"

The bell rang, overshadowing Ashido's response to Kaminari. Izuku slowly gathered his school things into his bag, ignoring the way his classmates rushed to escape the classroom and get back to the dorms. He had a rare day off. It was a rest day from quirk training, and while he normally would have gone to grab an extra workout on his own, Nemuri and Toshinori had both banned him from any more training. According to his teachers he needed to stop obsessing over work and enjoy the "vigorous pleasures of youth", a phrase that had unnerved All Might almost as much as it had Izuku when Midnight said it. As he put his notebooks away, Ochako hopped onto his desk.

"Hey, Deku. What do you want to do tonight?"

"Well," he slung his bag over his shoulder. "I was thinking maybe we could go out to eat, the two of us, then maybe we meet up with the others?"

"Mmm, it's been a while since we've gone on a date, huh? I'm looking forward to it."

"Yeah, it should be fun." Izuku leaned close to whisper in her ear. "You, me, a nice candlelit dinner, maybe we find a dark little corner just for ourselves before we meet up with others…" He pressed a kiss to her cheek and almost burned himself from the heat radiating from her blushing cheeks. He watched his girlfriend stutter and blush for a few moments before he couldn't help but laugh. Once her brain had reset, she sent him a pout.

"You damn tease." Izuku gave her a wolfish grin.

"Who said anything about teasing, darling?"

"I must insist you stop this at once!" Iida chopped a hand between Izuku and Ochako, sending her into another blushing spiral at the reminder they were in a classroom and being watched by a great deal of their friends. "Public Displays of Affection are unbecoming of a pair of upstanding heroes such as yourselves! You should save this until you are alone!"

"Aww, don't be a prude, Class Prez!" Mina called. "Some of us love watching the love birds! They're just so cute."

"Yeah!" Hagakure's collar ruffled like she was nodding rapidly. "We need to watch our ship sail, Iida! JS IzuOcha forever!"

While Mina and Hagakure started to explain shipping culture to Tenya (Izuku wasn't entirely sure which one of those sides would come out worse, but he was pretty sure both were going to lose), he snagged Ochako's hand and pulled her out of the classroom. Ochako laced their fingers together and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Do you think we should go back and save Iida?"

"Nah. He can jump on this grenade. We weren't even doing anything bad enough to get a lecture. Besides, he owes me for the whole Stain fiasco." Ochako let out a little giggle and brought their entwined hands up to kiss the back of his.

"So where are you taking me out for our date?"

"Nu-uh, missy. You're not getting any more secrets out of me. Dress in something nice but not too fancy or anything. I'll take care of everything else." Ochako pouted up at him again.

"Tease."

"I told you, babe," Izuku shot her a wink. "I'm only a tease if I don't end up delivering in the end."

"What's up, Doc?" Garaki looked up to the familiar sight of Dabi lurking in the doorway to his office before turning back to the data that was flashing across the computer screen.

"Did you need something? I'm really rather busy at the moment." Garaki moved from the computer to the tanks holding the last of the high-ends he had managed to save from the disastrous battle in Kamino. It was a shame, really, that he wouldn't have enough time to truly test them. If only he had a little more time. Even for a man that didn't age anymore there were never enough hours in the day. "Besides," he added distractedly as he made a note on a chart. "I thought you were out on another recruiting mission."

"Aww, and here I thought we had become friends, Doc." Dabi flashed a sinister grin. "Recruitment's pretty much done. We've gotten pretty much everyone that we can. Most of the underground is still waiting for us to prove we can be a threat without Sensei."

"How dare those insects." Garaki clenched a fist. "Once the Master rises again they will regret their decisions."

"Yeah, yeah. He'll bring about a glorious revolution, blah blah blah." Garaki felt his heart jump at the dismissal in his voice, but bit his tongue before he could scream at Dabi. He had far too few allies to start pissing this one off. "How are the projects coming?"

"Slowly. The cybernetics are nearly ready. Sourcing enough Tungsten to make sure they don't melt was difficult, but thankfully some of the criminals in this country still respect their true master. The high-ends still need a few weeks of preparations before they can be awakened. It would be far easier, however, if I did not have to move to a new base every three days. Have you gotten any closer to figuring out where that traitor is?"

"One of our new allies is tracking her down right now. As soon as she has a location I'm going to take care of that bitch." Blue flames erupted from Dabi's hand. "Personally."

"Good, good."

"And the special project?"

"It should be ready for pickup in just a few days." He gestured towards the computer. "See for yourself." Dabi leaned over to study the data for a moment before shrugging.

"Let's hope all this effort is worth it."

"It is the will of the Master. He has never let me down before and never will. Just have faith, Dabi."

"Yeah, yeah, Doc. As long as I get my shot at Endeavor."

Garaki ignored Dabi as he wandered off to burn one thing or another. The man wasn't a true follower, but that was fine. He would be loyal enough for a thousand followers. His Master was a God amongst ants and had brought him so much further into his experiments than he possibly could have gotten alone. All these years he had dutifully served All for One, and now his Master was relying on him to bring his visions to life. Garaki had never once failed his Master. He refused to start now.

"'But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.'"

Ochako pulled back, lips swollen and stinging deliciously. In the low light thrown off from the main street, Izuku looked primal and fierce. The heavy heat in his gaze sent shudders down her spine. She never would have guessed that she would be the type of girl to make out with her boyfriend in the alley outside of the restaurant after a date, but what Iida didn't know wouldn't earn her a lecture tomorrow.

"Still think I'm a tease?" The rough growl of Izuku's voice sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach. There was something addictive about him when he got worked up like this. It was similar but distinct from the feral intensity he got in a fight. He felt more raw, more wild, and having it focused on her left Ochako feeling heady with want.

"I never said that was a bad thing, Izuku." He chuffed out a laugh against her neck and nipped at the skin over her collarbone. She could feel Izuku's phone vibrate in his pocket but she ignored it in favor of surging in to capture his lips in another kiss. After the fifth notification she moaned in disappointment and forced herself away from her boyfriend.

"We should probably answer them." Izuku looked about as enthused at the prospect as Ochako felt, but slid his phone out anyway. Ochako took a moment to catch her breath. She ran a finger around her throat and winced at the rough skin that was sure to bloom into a full-on hickey tomorrow. Worth it. Even if Mina will never let me hear the end of it.

"Hey." She turned her attention back to Izuku who held out his phone for her to look at. "They're at the karaoke place a few blocks north of here."

Class 1-A Official (DO NOT CHANGE)

Racecar Backwards

Attention all!

This is your hourly check-in request!

Please confirm you are still with your groups!

Terror of the Nostromo

You know, it's kinda ironic I have to keep my phone on in a theater because of you Mr. President…

But the Bakusquad is all here!

Local Battery Pack

Well, everyone except @Angry Dandelion anyway

Baby Shark

…No yelling? I'm shocked you got away with that bro

Local Battery Pack

Honestly? Me too bro

Top Shelf Reacher

Tokoyami, Sato, and myself are on our way back from the bowling alley

We will probably stop to pick up some snacks on the way

Edgar Allan

'Twas a mad banquet of darkness

You Can't See It, But I'm Judging You

Oooh! Could you pick up some wasabi paste?

Mashirao and I are having a spice-off

Top Shelf Reacher

Noted

Cake Boss

Koda and Shinso said they needed to study so their phones are probably off

Local Battery Pack

@The Answer Is More Cannons is Jiro with you?

The Answer Is More Cannons

No. She said she wasn't feeling well and elected to stay home.

Local Battery Pack

Oh shit

@Fall Out Girl do you need us to pick you up anything

Fall Out Girl

No, I'm good, just under the weather.

Terror of the Nostromo

Feel Better girl!

Women Want Me, Flies Fear Me

@Racecar Backwards Aoyama and I are on our way to the Karaoke bar

Local Theater Kid

It will be magnifique, n'est pas?

The Answer Is More Cannons

@Women Want Me, Flies Fear Me We have reserved a room towards the back, just ask for Yaoyorozu.

Racecar Backwards

It will be fun!

@Oop There Goes Gravity @Break Bones Not Hearts Will you still be joining us?

Baby Shark

Wow call em out Class Prez

Local Battery Pack

And I oop-

Tail-Fu

????? What?

You Can't See It, But I'm Judging You

Don't worry, Mashirao, I'll explain it when you're older

Break Bones Not Hearts

We'll be right there Iida

Ochako wanted to bury her head in her hands at her classmates' assumption of what they were doing… but they weren't entirely wrong. Instead she laced her hand in Izuku's and gave him a tug toward the entrance of the alley.

"C'mon. We should probably get going before Iida sends a full search party." His laugh at her stupid joke made any amount of teasing she would get for being late worth it.

"You know, it's too bad Jiro couldn't make it. I bet she's killer at karaoke."

Kyoka stood nervously in front of the door, knuckles poised to knock but unwilling to go through with the motion. She loved her quirk, but she would easily admit that it was occasionally a burden as well. If Mina ever realized the sheer amount of information that Kyoka picked up in an average day, the other girl would never give her a moment of peace ever again. She knew that Tokoyami's heartbeat quickened whenever he saw Sato flex his arms, heard the way Tooru recited affirmations to herself when she was in the shower, overheard far too many heated whispers in the dorms for anything to ever stay secret from her for long. Shoji could at least decrease the number of ears he had and block some of it out, Kyoka's quirk was always on and she was always listening. Even when she wished she wasn't.

She had known something was wrong with Bakugou for a while at this point. He was hardly sleeping, waking her up almost daily with those small explosions that seemed to leak from his palms in times of stress. His heartbeat was often erratic and he had started mumbling to himself almost as much as Midoriya. He was lashing out more than usual and even Kirishima was having trouble getting through to him. It had started to bleed over into training too. His normally impeccable control over his quirk was slipping. Sometimes he poured way too much power into a blast and other times he barely let out a puff of smoke. She had been trying to keep an ear on him to see if she could figure out what was going on and if she needed to intervene.

But nothing could have prepared her to overhear that.

"Don't call yourself a hero, you quirkless freak! The only way you could be a hero is if you had taken my advice and jumped off the roof while you had the chance!"

Bakugou was rough and brash, more prickly than a cactus in a mosh pit. It would have taken someone truly blind not to see the more-than-a-rivalry he had with Midoriya, but Kyoka had pushed it out of her mind before now. She made it a personal policy not to act on the information she overheard. It was a violation of privacy that she really couldn't help and it had gotten her a lot of enmity in the past for accidentally spilling secrets. But this? How could she possibly call herself a hero and not do something about this?

No. This was so far beyond the pale that Kyoka's hand was forced. She knew Midoriya liked to play things close to the vest but she couldn't just standby. Setting aside the question of why Bakugo kept calling Midoriya quirkless (maybe he just manifested his late or something?) Bakugo had told him to kill himself, twice! How was she supposed to ignore that? How could she look Bakugo in the eye and pretend to be his friend when she could hear his words on repeat in the back of her head? What was it Green said? Meddling where you aren't supposed to is the true essence of being a hero? Midoriya couldn't get mad at her if she was just following All Might's lesson, right?

Before she could second guess herself more, she let her hand fall, knocking softly on the door. She heard a curse from inside and the shuffling of paper followed by the familiar clacks of high heels on tile. Midnight swung open the door, a curious expression on her face.

"Jiro-chan? A little late for a school question, isn't it?"

"I need to tell you something. Please." Her teacher raised an eyebrow before opening the door wide to let her in.

"Alright. Let's talk then."

Izuku collapsed on the couch, sweating and tired. Who knew belting out Spice Girls lyrics would give him such a workout?

"Here." Izuku looked up at the proffered water bottle from Shoto, taking it gratefully.

"Thanks, Shoto." He downed half of the bottle in one long swig. "You know, I'm starting to think I should try singing during my runs. I bet it would be really good for building up stamina and lung capacity. It's almost like oxygen-deprivation training."

"You might need a hobby if you're still thinking about training on our day off." Izuku laughed as Shoto sat on the couch next to him.

"Training is my hobby. I've spent so long dreaming about being a hero and I want to throw myself into it full force."

"You're insane, Midoriya."

"Maybe," he agreed easily. "But don't we all need a little bit of madness to be heroes?" Shoto grunted in acknowledgment and took a drink from his own water bottle. 

Izuku ran a discerning eye over his friend. Shoto had always been quiet, but after the licensing exam he had seemed even more lost in his own thoughts than usual. Between the remedial course Shoto was doing and Izuku's own ramped up training for work studies, he hadn't really had the opportunity to check in with the other boy before now.

"Hey, Shoto."

"Mhmm."

"How is your Mom doing?"

"She's well," he said, still watching their friends make fools of themselves on stage. "It's been harder to get time to see her now that we're in the dorms but I still try to call her weekly."

"And… how are things at home now, you know, after Endeavor became number one?" That got his attention. Shoto turned away from the stage where Iida was doing a truly terrible rendition of Take On Me, and focused on Izuku.

"How do you mean?"

"Well, I guess… I'm just worried." Shoto's expression softened minutely.

"You should worry about yourself more and others less." Izuku went to respond but Shoto continued. "I haven't seen or heard from my father since we moved into the dorms. He can't get to me while I'm here, and even if he could he's so busy as the new presumed top hero that he wouldn't have time anyway. Fuyumi says that even she rarely sees him at home. Natsuo is all but moved into his boyfriend's apartment. We're doing better than ever before, Midoriya."

"That's good to hear," he said with a smile. "I didn't mean to pry, you've just been quiet recently and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"You did too mean to pry, but it's alright. You wouldn't be you if you weren't always trying to be a hero." Izuku burned with a strange mix of embarrassment and pride at that. "At the licensing exam one of the other students reminded me of who I used to be and it was… uncomfortable."

"The Shiketsu student?" Shoto nodded.

"I realized that for all those years I was refusing him, I also ended up acting like him." Shoto looked down at his left hand, clenched in a fist. "I let my hatred for him consume me and it spilled out onto everyone around me. I don't want to be like that anymore. I just want to be able to move on at this point."

There was something eerily similar listening to Shoto. Izuku couldn't help but think back to what Ochako had said a few days ago. "What's the difference between him and Endeavor then? I know you've been telling Shouto to speak out against his dad, so what's the difference? Why does he get to be saved but you don't?" Shoto needed to be saved though. He was doing so much better now that he was in the dorms and away from Endeavor. Izuku was fiercely proud of his friend for all the growth he had shown in the last few months. A thought wormed its way into his mind, one Izuku had been trying to ignore for far too long.

Would he have had the same growth as Shoto if someone had separated him and Bakugo too?

As much as Izuku wanted to banish the thought from his mind, he couldn't help but think about it. Katsuki wasn't Endeavor. What Shoto went through was abuse. Izuku wasn't abused… was he?

He shook the thought away. It was irrelevant. Endeavor was an adult, a pro hero that should know better. He made his own choices in treating his family the way that he had and he should suffer the consequences for it.

No one forced Katsuki to treat you like that either, a voice whispered to him. If Katsuki wanted to be a hero so much, shouldn't he have known it was wrong to do all that to you too?

He was a kid. Izuku thought back.

So were you.

"Midoriya?" Izuku pulled himself from his thoughts and focused on the concerned gaze of Shoto. "Are you alright?" He forced a paper-thin smile onto his face.

"Yeah, absolutely. C'mon, let's do a song together, Shoto."

His friend didn't seem convinced, but Izuku resolutely ignored the lingering tension. He didn't have to figure out what he wanted to do with Katsuki right then. He had plenty of time.

Nemuri stared at the glass in her hand before setting it aside. Screw it. This level of mess definitely calls for the whole bottle. She cracked the screw top on the cheap bottle of peach wine left over from her last dinner party and took a long swallow.

Jiro had tearfully relayed everything she had overheard between Bakugo and Izuku and somehow it was worse than she had been anticipating. She had known it was more than just a rivalry, had known that Izuku was holding back every time he talked about his childhood, but still…

The wine felt like pure acid in her stomach. Every time she closed her eyes she was haunted by all the things she didn't know. What else had Bakugo said to Izuku? How bad did it really get for him? Did he ever actually think about taking Bakugo up on his "advice"? That thought sent a wave of nausea through her. In her mind, the sight of Oboro broken beneath the rubble was overlaid by a pale and lifeless Izuku. She barely caught herself from collapsing under the pain of even the thought of Izuku ending up like that.

Deep breaths, Nemuri, she told herself. Take things one step at a time.

The absolute first thing she needed to do was talk to Izuku himself. She pulled out her phone only to stop and stare at the last message Izuku had sent her, letting her know that Uraraka had loved the restaurant she suggested and that they were on their way to karaoke with their friends. Slowly, she put her phone away and slumped on the couch.

Izuku deserved some time to just goof off and be a kid. It wouldn't be fair of her to just dump this on him out of the blue on his night off. Besides, she mentally conceded, between this bombshell and mentally preparing to see my dead ex-boyfriend, I could use some time to get myself together too.

She debated for a moment whether she should let someone else know too, Shouta or Yagi would have been good options, but she dismissed that idea. Izuku was painfully avoidant about telling others about himself. He had been holding onto this for a long time. She could only imagine the betrayed look on his face if he found out she had told someone else before talking to him.

Better enjoy it while you can, Bakugo, she thought bitterly. You've just earned yourself a stay of execution. But one way or another, your days as a hero are numbered.

"Aroma of Strawberry! Flavor of Justice! Your reign of terror ends here, Gekko Society!" Bang! Bang! Bang! Five figures in brightly colored suits ran forward, explosions cratering the ground behind them.  

"You'll lose this, Gelato Five!" Bang! "This world will be overrun by despair! Say goodbye!" Bang! Skull faced minions were sent flying as the figures engaged in battle. The red clothed fighter deflected a heavy strike from the massive spiked head of a flail.Bang!

"Never! I'll protect this world to my dying breath! Even if it's from you,-" "MIDORIYA!"

Izuku shot up and out, crashing face first to the floor in a tangle of blankets. Reality faded back in, reasserting itself over his colorfully animated dreamscape. Dang it! Ochako was right, binge watching Love After World Domination after we got back last night was a bad idea.

"One sec!" Izuku stumbled up from the floor and yanked the door open. Aizawa stood outside, looking even more bedraggled and tired than Izuku felt. His teacher raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the Gang Orca themed flannel pajamas he was wearing and Izuku flushed. "Aizawa-sensei? Why are you here so early, sir? Is this a training exercise? Oh no! Did I miss a training exercise?! Did I fail?!"

"No, problem child." Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked distinctly off kilter, a stark difference from the sharp, vigilant, if exhausted, hero that Izuku normally saw in homeroom. A few strands of dark hair escaped from the bun it had been placed in. The scar beneath his eye that he had gotten at the USJ stood out in stark relief to his pale skin. "Would you care to explain to me why there's a top ten hero at the gates who woke me up looking for, and I quote, 'that feral green kid, Isosceles Meridian?"

"...uh, what?" Aizawa glared balefully at him.

"Apparently, you left such an impression on Mirko that she interrupted my sleep to search for her first ever intern." Izuku blinked dumbly at his teacher, prompting him to let out a harsh sigh. "Just put some damn clothes on and follow me. Pack a bag too. Nedzu already cleared you for a few days of training so grab the essentials and meet me downstairs in ten." With that, his teacher teacher left, muttering about morning people and a pair of psychotic bunny rabbits as he did.

Izuku wasn't entirely sure that he had stopped dreaming. His hastily packed duffle bag thumped against his thigh as he trailed behind Aizawa. Just a few days ago he had left Nighteye's office ready to bury himself in a UA gym and train for the next six months, and now he was walking towards the gates getting ready to meet the Number Seven hero and take his first steps as a working hero.

His heart felt like it was going to burst right out of his chest. Mirko wanted him? Mirko didn't even take sidekicks, let alone interns! She was notorious for working alone, the consummate lone wolf- rabbit? She prided herself on her ability to handle any situation. She rivaled Endeavor and Hawks in incidents resolved per year, and did more rescue work than Edgeshot or Best Jeanist, all without an agency to back her up. The only reason she wasn't ranked higher was because she patently refused to do press releases or advertisements. Hell, she didn't even have a twitter account!

If this was real then this was an opportunity he couldn't afford to miss. Mirko was the Number Seven hero in Japan and most analysts and fans agreed she was going to crack the top five in the next year. She was part of the inspiration behind Shoot Style. Who else could teach him to use his legs better than the Rabbit Hero?

What if he screwed up, though? If he made a bad impression as her first ever work study student would that slam the door closed for anyone else who wanted to work with her? He had done fairly well against Bearhead, but that was one villain. He had only had a short interaction with her so far. What if they didn't get along? What if she hated him?

It could not be more clear in my eyes that you are unfit to wield One for All. 

Izuku clenched his fist so hard he could feel the bones in his hand grind against each other. Fuck Nighteye and fuck everyone else. This was his opportunity. He impressed Mirko and earned this. He wasn't going to let a little bit of doubt stand between him and his future. Mirko wouldn't regret picking him for an internship. He was going to prove to her, to Nighteye, to all of Japan that he would be the greatest hero of his generation.

"There it is! That's the look you had on your face when you were fighting those villains." Izuku was brought out of his thoughts as Mirko hopped over the front gate and landed in front of him, probably setting off all sorts of alarms and sensors. "That's the face of a warrior, kid." The Rabbit Heroine was dressed in simple yoga pants and a warm up jacket, a baseball cap nestled between her ears which laid flat against the back of her head. Other than the massive combat boots on her feet, she could have been any normal yoga instructor in the city. If those yoga instructors also had the power to break mountains with a single kick or jump a couple hundred feet into the air.

"Thank you for this opportunity," Izuku said with a low bow. "You won't regret this."

"No, I don't think I will." Izuku slowly rose at the strange tone in Mirko's voice. She waved a hand at his confused expression. "We good to go?" She asked Aizawa.

"Yeah." He said. "Just make sure you bring him back in the same condition you found him in. This one has a tendency to break bones."

Izuku didn't know whether to be offended at the implication he just went around willy-nilly breaking bones or by the fact that he had just been compared to a particularly breakable piece of rental equipment. He settled on just being offended generally.

"Alright, Ignatious Middlefeather-" "Izuku Midoriya. That wasn't even the right language." "Let's get going! I've seen you fight, but let's see how fast you are. We're gonna have a little race. The finish line is the house I'm renting out in Tokyo for this little experiment. You keep up with me, you can stay." She shot him a shit-eating grin. "You get left behind, then we test your tracking skills next."

"Wait, what?"

"And, Go!" Mirko crouched, thighs bulging in her pants, and exploded off the ground. Izuku watched in awe as she shot into the air, leaving cracked concrete in her wake. In moments, she was bounding through the streets of Musutafu. With a sigh, Izuku stretched his neck and did a few squats to warm up his legs. Lightning flickered around him as One for All woke up. He let the energy from his squats store up until the sensation was almost painful and he shot a wink over his shoulder at Aizawa.

"Don't wait up, sensei!" He jumped, Fa Jin sending him rocketing into the predawn sky. Now, let's see if the Rabbit Hero can keep up with this!

"How… the hell… are you… so... fast?" Izuku panted out as he desperately tried to get oxygen back into his lungs.

"Cities are pretty much the perfect environment for my quirk." Mirko, or Rumi as she had already told him to call her, flexed her biceps and smirked down at Izuku, who had flopped onto his back on the sidewalk. "Your flying is good and all, but there are too many turns for you to really hit your top speed. I can just bounce off a building and keep going though." Izuku sat up, mentally reviewing the chase through the city.

"That makes sense. You're able to change directions a lot easier than I am in the air. I guess if I used Blackwhip to swing in wide turns I wouldn't lose so much momentum. But that would mean I can't turn as sharply…"

"Huh. You know, I was going to point that out while we were training, but I guess you're jumping ahead already. Man, I am nailing this mentor thing!" Izuku sweatdropped as Mirko fistpumped the air. Uhh, what? "Hey, by the way, Merope. What is your quirk anyway?"

"Oh, uhh, well it's a little complicated. Basically I have a huge pool of energy I can tap into and use in different ways. I can fly, make tendrils of energy, create smokescreens, or just generally enhance my strength and speed. I can't use all of it though, otherwise I would break my bones."

"So that's what the emo guy meant earlier, huh?" Emo guy? Does she mean Aizawa-sensei? "How much of it can you use?"

"About 12%? I can go up to 15 safely, but only for really short bursts." Mirko whistled.

"Damn, Mercurio. That's some quirk." Izuku laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "Doesn't mean shit though unless you know how to use it." He looked up at Mirko with wide eyes. Her smirk took on a distinctly predatory grin. If I had a nickel for every female pro-hero who gave me one of those evil grins before training, I'd have at least two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.

"Get up, Deku. We tested your speed, now let's see if you really know how to fight." She snagged him by the upper arm and dragged him toward the three story townhouse behind her.

"... I need an adult." Izuku mumbled.

"I am an adult!"

Chapter 27: Take Responsibility!

Izuku rolled to the side, dodging an axe kick that cracked the floor of Rumi's home dojo. He popped up and shot off a few low powered flicks, desperate to give himself some more room to operate, but Rumi was too quick. She leapt up over the first volley, rotating midair so that she could press her feet against the ceiling before springboarding back down towards Izuku. He reeled back on the instinct to use Blackwhip and struck with a high roundhouse, but his hesitation cost him valuable time. Mirko landed on her palms, crunching her abs to duck underneath Izuku's kick, before popping up with a twirling double kick.

Izuku had time to think: The Luna Ring! So cool! Before Rumi's foot crashed into his head sending him sprawling to the floor.

"Ouch, that one looked like it hurt. Good thing we weren't going full force or you might've been roadkill, Megumi!" Well, at least she's back to Japanese names, I guess. Izuku rolled to sit up from the floor. He ran his tongue over his teeth, relieved to feel that none were missing. 

"That was your Luna Ring, right?"

"Sure was! It's a pretty good move to pull out if you find yourself surrounded, or if you manage to fall headfirst toward the ground instead of feet first. It takes a lot of core strength, though." Rumi pulled up her tank top and patted her abs. Izuku was fairly proud of his body, but Mirko put him to shame with her definition. Not to mention her lower body strength. His calves still burned from the weighted calf raises she had had him doing earlier. Rumi let her tank top fall back into place. "Not bad for the first day, kid. Why don't you go hit the showers then we'll wrestle up some grub and go over what you're in for during your first weekend with me. Use the guest suite on the second floor, it's all set up for you."

"Yes, ma'am!" Izuku gratefully snatched up his gym bag and made a beeline for the stairs.

"And quit it with the ma'am! Just call me Rumi, dammit!"

Rumi's Tokyo base was a three story townhouse that she had tricked out to hold everything a hero might need from an agency. The basement held a reinforced sparring Dojo and weightroom for training. The first floor had a well-stocked kitchen and first aid station in addition to a small lounge area and dining room. The second floor was mostly taken up by offices that doubled as guest rooms, and the third floor was Rumi's personal level. Izuku trudged up to the second floor, legs groaning in protest, and forced himself into the shower.

Like the woman herself, Rumi's house was fairly spartan. The furniture and finishings were all utilitarian. They were made of good quality materials but clearly were focused more on practicality than beauty. The food was full of meal-prepped portions of salads and other healthy options, the pantries packed with fresh fruits and Mirko's personal brand of protein bars. There was little in the way of decorations. A few of the offices had some framed pictures on the desks, but that was it. There were more personal touches in Nemuri's office alone than there was in Rumi's whole house!

It felt a little empty to Izuku, but he supposed it made sense. Mirko was a roaming hero, so this house was just one of several she probably had throughout the country. It wouldn't make sense for her to have a ton of decor for a place she didn't live in for most of the year.

When Izuku made his way back downstairs with a fresh set of clothes, he was unsurprised to see Rumi already setting out two bentos filled with food at the table. While he had been exhausted by their morning workouts, Rumi had barely broken a sweat sparring with him. It was both humbling and inspiring, seeing just how much farther he had to go to match one of the top heroes in Japan.

"Sit. Eat." She told him. "You need to get some energy back." Izuku, rarely one to argue with authority figures especially when they could kick his ass to Nagasaki and back, took the seat across from Rumi.

"Thank you for the meal." Together they dug into their lunches. At his first bite of the pork cutlet, he almost choked. It was the most tender thing he had ever put in his mouth! The combination of crisp breading and tender meat was divine, and there was just enough spice on it to make his tongue stand up at attention. Holy Crap! It might be even better than Mom's! 

"Did you," Izuku stopped to finish chewing and swallowed before continuing, "Did you make this, Rumi?"

"'Course I did." She said through a mouthful of rice. She waved her chopsticks around, gesturing at the room. "Do you see a personal chef around here, Mordred? If I didn't cook, I wouldn't eat. And believe me, you wouldn't like me when I'm hungry."

Izuku took a moment to contemplate that horrible possibility before dismissing it in favor of stuffing his face with more delicious pork. Seriously, she could have been a chef! I think she might give Lunch Rush a run for his money. Izuku was roughly drawn from his thoughts when a chopstick bounced off his forehead.

"You think too much." Izuku blinked in confusion at Mirko who twirled her last remaining chopstick in her fingers. "You're never gonna get shit done if you're caught up in your own head, kid."

"Uhhh…"

"Not at this moment specifically, but in general. It's something you should work on."

"R-right!" Rumi stared at him for a minute before reclaiming her thrown chopstick and continuing to eat.

"Anyway, we should probably go over what the next few days are going to look like. I've given my team the weekend off while I'm breaking you in, so it's just you and me until Monday."

"Your team? I thought you worked alone."

"No man's an island, Morpeko." Did she just call me a pokemon? "I'm the one out there resolving incidents, but even I have people I rely on. Fujioka's an analyst. She's the one that figures out where I should go next based on rising crime rates or likelihood of future incidents, shit like that. Reo's my manager. He handles the PR and branding and shit." Izuku waited a few beats for her to continue, but Rumi just went back to eating.

"Wait, that's it? That's your whole team? That was only two people!"

"First off," Rumi's ears twitched in annoyance and she pointed her chopsticks at Izuku. "There's no need to fuckin' shout, dammit. I can hear you from anywhere in the next two blocks. Second," she continued ignoring Izuku's stammered apologies. "What the hell were you expecting, kid?"

"I- I don't know. You don't have like a medic or a nutritionist or a trainer or something?"

"Does it look like I need any of those? I've been patching myself up for years. I make all my own food. Sure, I've got a few contacts I can call up when I feel like my fighting needs a tune up or if I run into an injury too big for me to handle myself, but why would I need them here full time?"

Izuku stared at Mirko in disbelief. Most hero agencies employed anywhere from two to seven sidekicks in addition to the main Hero who started the agency. Hawks and Endeavor had some of the biggest agencies with almost twenty sidekicks each. And, that was in addition to secretaries, accountants, trainers, medics, chefs, maintenance crews, support technicians, and the dozens of other jobs that were required to keep an agency running.

Mirko had managed to climb her way into the top ten with just two people behind her?

He could feel his respect for Mirko rising even higher. She didn't have the lavish agencies that other heroes did. She didn't have the teams of people to handle the paperwork for her while she went out to fight villains. What she did have was grit, effort, and an unrelenting spirit that drove her to keep fighting and rising her way up the ranks. Izuku could feel the stirring of One for All in his bones as Rumi's dedication fed into his own. His whole life people thought his obsession with becoming a hero was weird or creepy. Even now that he was at UA, his classmates' drive to improve couldn't compare to his need to push himself, to grow and learn and evolve. The only one who had ever come close was Katsuki.

But Rumi? He could see that same fire inside of her. That same unending drive stained her every action. This. This was what I've been looking for. 

"Please." Izuku bowed until his nose pressed into the table. "Please, teach me. I need to get stronger. I need to be a hero."

He waited a few beats before peeking up at her from underneath his hair. A wide, feral smile dominated Rumi's face.

"Let's get started then, kid."

Nemuri stared at Shouta in disbelief.

"And you just let her up and take him like that?"

"I wasn't exactly given a choice, Nemuri." He replied with a snort. "Have you ever tried to stop Mirko from doing something she wanted to do? You'd have better luck telling the sun to stop rising. Besides, she had Nezu's permission and all the right forms. Your kid will be back on Monday, so just relax."

Damn it! Nemuri clenched a fist. Her first concern was Izuku, and if she was honest with herself, having him off campus might have been what was best for both him and Bakugo right now. She wanted to talk to Izuku and figure out what it was that he wanted so she could come up with an action plan to bring to Nezu. But she had a bad feeling in her gut that if she didn't nip Bakugo's spiral in the bud now, something terrible was going to happen.

"Just-" Shouta turned back to her with a raised eyebrow. "Just keep an eye on Bakugo for the next few days, yeah?" Shouta's expression darkened.

"Is there something I should know about?" She shook her head.

"Not yet."

"Do you think whatever it is will hold until Monday?"

"It'll have to," Nemuri said with a sigh.

"Your basics are shit," Rumi tells him halfway through his second day of training with her. The first day was mostly spent with Izuku running himself ragged, letting Rumi push his limits to the maximum. After a 15 km run and morning workout, she dragged him back to the basement to get a sense of what his fighting style was like. Apparently, she was not a fan of his usual plan of 'smash hard until it stops moving.' "What the hell is UA teaching you punks these days?"

"We've mostly been focused on quirk development and control and some general conditioning. Second year is when we really dig down into combat training."

"Bah!" Rumi snorted derisively. "That's how we get all these useless heroes who can't handle themselves in a real fight."

"That's not really fair," Izuku pointed out. "Not every hero is suited to combat. And we need rescue heroes and investigative heroes just as much as combat heroes."

"Oh yeah? And what happens when the villain that caused the earthquake comes back to finish the job?" Rumi asked. "Or if the investigative hero happens across a bank robbery while they're casing out a hideout? What happens when some C-tier punk tries to take advantage of the confusion during a flood and attacks a shelter? What are the civilians supposed to do when their heroes can't help them? A hero that can only do one thing is always a liability when shit goes sideways."

"I- I see." Izuku was reminded of Aizawa's words before he leapt into battle at the USJ. No hero is a one trick pony. "That makes sense."

"Anyway," she continued, stretching her arms behind her head. "You move like an old animated character. You need to be more 3-D."

…what the hell does that mean? She walked towards one of the dummies that lined the wall. 

"You're hitting and finishing a strike then waiting before starting your next one. It's like you're stuck going frame by frame. Kick. Punch. Back heel." She went through the strikes in exaggerated slow movements, pausing between each one. "Make the motions contiguous. No wasted energy. The end of your kick is the start of your punch, then immediately start your back heel. Make it more natural, more 3-D."

Rumi flicked her right ear and exploded into motion. Her left front kick connected with the chest of the dummy before skipping off. She let her momentum carry her forward and slammed a right cross into its face. Only then did her left foot land on the ground, and in an instant she transferred her weight onto her toes, spinning through and bringing her right leg up for a devastating backheel to the back of the head. She followed up with a left elbow in the same spot. A right knee to the torso blew the stuffing out of the dummy and she finished by leaping into the air, swinging her left leg around to trap the dummy's head between her thighs, and ripping it off in a vicious Luna Tijeras that sent rubber and feathery down flying all over the room.

Izuku gaped open-mouthed at the vicious display of power and skill. The whole sequence had taken her only seconds. She's… unreal. 

"You see what I did there, Mobius? Don't overthink it. Just flow from one hit to the next."

"Got it." Izuku set up in front of a non-decapitated dummy and bounced lightly on his toes. Right. Don't think just move. Super easy. Super simple. Just stop thinking. 

"Any day now, kid." Izuku ignored Rumi's taunting. He was plenty used to tuning out Nemuri's attempts at throwing him off during training. Izuku took a deep breath in and held it. On the exhale, he struck.

He used just a bit of float to get some extra height off the ground as he came down with an axe kick against the right shoulder. He let his leg slip off the shoulder and spun with it into a spinning 360 roundhouse kick. He landed on his right foot almost fully turned away from the dummy. Instead of stopping though, he let his momentum continue to turn him. He came down onto his left knee as he continued to spin through, and cocked his left hand back. Lightning flared as he lashed out with a left straight that punched a hole through the abdomen of the training dummy.

Clap. Clap. Clap. Izuku turned to Rumi, who stood watching him while slow-clapping.

"Not bad, kid. I wouldn't spin that much in a normal fight so you don't get dizzy, but it's definitely an upgrade from your last run."

"Thank you, Rumi!" She nodded.

"I'll send you some basic kata and tai chi routines for you to practice when you're back at school. For now," she shot him an evil grin. "I'm not letting you out of this basement until you do a thousand front kicks, roundhouses, and axe kicks on each leg."

"A- a thousand per leg?!" 

"Yeah. And dinner's in," she checked her watch. "Around six hours, so you better hop to it, Melville!"

"Sadistic bunny rabbit…" Izuku muttered under his breath. One of Rumi's ears flicked towards him.

"What's that? You want two thousand per leg?"

"No, Rumi!"

"Then get to work, kit!"

"Yes, Rumi!"

I really hope I survive this work study. 

When Monday blessedly rolled around, Izuku found himself awake in the pre-dawn light, shaking hands with Rumi's two-person support team.

Haruhi Fujioka was a slender, androgynous looking woman who was perfectly kind, if a little shy at first. After a few minutes however, her shy exterior melted away and Izuku found himself goggling at a picture of her in a wedding dress surrounded by six men in suits.

"You have six husbands?!"

"Yup!" She laughed. "It's rarely a quiet day in our house, believe me."

"Do they all work in heroics too?"

"No. Well," she furrowed her brow. "Sort of. Honey and Mori were heroes for a little while but they retired a few years ago to open a dojo. Tamaki still has them consult on some of the support gear his company designs, but mostly they just work in offices running their various businesses and such."

"It's still a damn shame that little blonde gremlin retired." Rumi chimed in. "Now that guy knew how to fight!"

"Could he keep up with you, Rumi?" Izuku asked.

"Ehh, it's kinda hard to judge. In pure technique he probably had me beat, but I'm still a lot stronger than he is. If we were both using our quirks it'd get interesting for sure." Izuku blinked. This guy could go toe to toe with Mirko? And he retired to open a dojo?

"Honey never really liked fighting," Fujioka told him. "He came from a very traditional family with deep ties to martial arts though, so he felt honorbound to become a hero until his younger brother could take up the family mantle."

"Wow. He sounds amazing!"

"Yeah, he's pretty great."

"Who's pretty great? I hope you're talking about me." Izuku turned to see a tall man in a sharp looking suit walking toward them from the direction of the train station. He looked to be in his mid-30's, long purple hair flowing down to his waist. He stopped in front of Izuku and offered him a grin. "Reo Mikage, at your service." He waved away Izuku when he went to bow in return. "No need for formalities, Midoriya, I already know who you are. I saw that interview you gave to the press the other day. You've been well trained."

"Oh, uh, thank you. Midnight has been working with me a lot on media relations."

"Well, here's hoping you make my job easy then!" Reo said.

"Reo's in charge of managing press releases, talking to the media, suing reporters when they say something stupid, all that shit." Rumi explained.

"More or less," Reo agreed with a laugh. "I'm also in charge of all the brand deals that Rumi doesn't want to deal with and I arrange her schedule of public appearances."

"That… sounds like a lot." Izuku said. Reo laughed again, and Izuku got the sense that there was very little that managed to pierce through his good humor. Probably an important skill to being a PR manager for a hero like Mirko, he mentally acknowledged.

"Oh, it can be, but it's alright. Technically, I work for a whole firm that helps deal with it, I'm just the only one Rumi doesn't actively run from the sight of anymore."

"Not that it hasn't stopped her from trying," Fujioka muttered underneath her breath.

"Alright, what is this gang up on Rumi hours, huh?! Don't you two have work to do or something?"

"Sadly, that is true." Reo said. "No rest for the wicked. It was a pleasure to meet you, Midoriya. I look forward to working with you in the future."

"Bye, Midoriya! I'll see you next weekend."

"It was nice to meet you both!" Izuku called back to the two support staff as they walked toward the townhouse. He turned to Rumi. "I really can't thank you enough for this opportunity, Rumi."

"Nah, don't worry about it, kid. Just make sure you're keeping up with the workouts I gave you. You start slacking and I'll kick your ass from here to Hiroshima, got it?"

"Yes, Rumi!"

"Good. Get out of here, Mildred. Go read a book, or whatever it is high schoolers are doing these days."

Izuku gave her a cheeky salute and walked towards the train station Reo had just come from. Already he could feel a difference in his legs. It wasn't huge, but Izuku could tell that he was getting stronger. He felt lighter walking toward the train station, adding just a little bit of bounce to his steps, like his legs were too used to jumping and squatting to walk normally.

Get ready, Japan. Cause one day soon, you'll realize that I Am Here. 

"Izuku!" Nemuri felt a chunk of her worries melt away at the radiant smile her student shot her way. She had been standing outside the gate waiting for Izuku to get back for a little while, and something eased in her chest now that her pseudo-little brother was back.

"Nemuri-sensei!" Izuku bounded forward towards her. "Oh my gosh, Nemuri, Mirko was so amazing! I feel like I've already learned so much from her and -" Izuku was cut off as Nemuri pulled him into a hug, crushing him against her. "Uhhhh, Nemuri? Not that I'm complaining, but I was only gone for like two days. What, is Sushi not as good of a cuddle-buddy as little old me?"

"No, I-" She tightened her grip. "I was just really worried about you, kid." Izuku relaxed in her grip and hugged her back just as tight. 

"I'm alright, Nee-san." He murmured. "I'm sorry if I worried you."

"No, no, it wasn't anything you did. It's just-" she sighed and held him at arm's length, giving him a thorough inspection. He gave her a look of concern, one eyebrow raised high. She knew she was acting weirdly, she just couldn't help that gnawing pit of worry that in her stomach that something bad was going to happen. Underneath his concern though, Izuku seemed energized in a way she hadn't really seen since Kamino. It was like all the weight he had been carrying over being All Might's successor had vanished. He was happy, and as much as Nemuri wanted to hang Bakugo up by his toenails already, she wouldn't take a few more hours of happiness from Izuku. Not when he was already struggling so much.

What's a few more hours in the grand scheme of things, anyway? 

"It's nothing." She shook her head. "But meet me after school, okay? There's some stuff we need to talk about." The concern on Izuku's face grew.

"Should we talk about it now? I'm sure Aizawa would understand-"

"It can wait." She said firmly. "Just don't forget, alright? After classes, meet me in my office."

"Alright, Nee-san." She gave Izuku a smile and threw her arm around his shoulders.

"Now, tell me all about your first weekend with Mirko."

Izuku made sure to take a few extra minutes to stretch as 1-A waited for All Might to arrive for class. After the intense weekend of workouts, sitting through all of his classes had left him stiff. His muscles groaned as he warmed them back up. Hopefully, this will be a nice and easy class. Maybe after my meeting with Nemuri, I can grab Ochako and we can watch something together and just relax. 

"I Am Here! Ready to teach!" All Might walked into the gym, still a little slow on his feet even two months after Kamino. Aizawa trailed in behind him, silent as a ghost. "I hope you all took the opportunity to warm up, because we're jumping right into it. Today, you will be tasked with combating the odds! We'll have two teams per round: an Attacking Team with two members and a Defensive Team with just one. Both teams will be let into a cityscape with a ten minute timer. For the Attacking Team your goals are simple! Either capture your target or wait out the timer for reinforcements to arrive. For the Defensive Team, you can either escape or take down your opponents, but if you're still in the city when time expires, you lose! Now, can anyone tell me what we're simulating here today?" Several hands went up. "Yaoyorozu! You're up!"

"Well, if the Attacking Team are heroes, they could be chasing down a villain. In that case, keeping them in one place and waiting for reinforcements is a smart move. However, it's possible the Defensive Team is a hero who was working undercover and was discovered. From their perspective, escaping is the best option. No matter which side we are assigned to, both can consider themselves a hero."

"Well said!" All Might shot her a thumbs up. "For that superb explanation, you may pick your lot first!"

One by one, the students went up and drew lots to determine their teams. Sato looked nervous on a team by himself against Shinso and Koda. Iida and Kaminari were strategizing for their matchup with Hagakure while the girl herself stood by smugly. Or at least, Izuku assumed she was smug. She had good reason to be; no one on the opposing team was much of a threat to find her unless Iida tripped over her. Izuku was still figuring out what his own strategy would be in finding Hagakure when his name got called. He pulled out a 'J', and found his place on the lineup. Team E - Kirishima and Todoroki vs Team J - Midoriya. 

Izuku grinned. That was a good matchup against him. Kirishima was the only one in the class who could reliably tank his hits and Todoroki had enough long range firepower to overwhelm him while he beat up on Kirishima. They were a well balanced duo and could prove to be a significant challenge. Izuku cracked his neck from side to side. Let's see if I can put what Rumi taught me into practice. 

"And, because we have 20 students in the class, our final match of the first round will be a 1v1! We'll have Uraraka on the Attacking Team and Young Bakugo on the Defensive Team!"

Izuku stilled. Ochako was facing Katsuki? He looked over at Bakugo who was glaring murderously at the floor, small pops of explosions crackling in his palms. He looked over to his girlfriend only to see her normally adorable face twisted into a visage of pure, unadulterated rage. This is going to end badly. Izuku sidled over to Ochako as the first match got started. 

"You alright?"

"I'm great." Izuku winced at the aura of competition that wafted off of Ochako. "I've just been itching to get my hands on Baku-bitch."

"Ocha-" "No, Deku. Not this time. I told you, it's hands on sight, and I refuse to hold back against him. Not even for you, babe." Izuku sighed but pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"You don't need to do this for me, you know."

"It's not just for you. I also still owe him a beat down from the Sports Festival."

Seeing the stubborn set to Ochako's shoulders, Izuku gave her a smile and let her prepare for her matchup. The other matches went quickly, none of them even coming close to taking the full time. Koda was easily able to keep track of Sato, who fell for Shinso's quirk after getting hyped up on sugar. Hagakure, as Izuku had assumed, walked out of the city without issue while Iida and Kaminari scrambled to try and find her. Aoyama put up a valiant fight against Sero and Jiro but was brought down when Sero managed to tape his ankles together and hoist him from a streetlight. Ojiro managed to take down Ashido in their match before outrunning Shoji to the exit. Momo and Tokoyami had the fastest win so far, with Momo creating small puddles of liquid nitrogen that cooled down the arena, nearly sending Tsu into hibernation.

Every time I see Momo's quirk in action, I think I understand it less, Izuku thought to himself as he went to the arena for his match. The smart thing for him to do in this scenario would be to run. Between Float and One for All, he could easily outpace his opponents and escape without a fight. He could use Smokescreen to obscure their vision and get out while Todoroki and Kirishima wandered around blind. It would be practical and he was sure he would score well on the assignment if he went that route.

But Izuku had goals beyond just passing the exercise. He wanted to be a hero. He wanted to be the greatest hero. He wouldn't get better by only doing what he already knew would work. No, he wanted to test himself. To prove, even if it was just in his own mind, that he was doing everything he could to improve. Izuku walked out to the center of the mock-city. It wasn't the largest that UA had, only a few square blocks in total. Izuku bounced lightly on his toes in the city center, across the square from where Todoroki and Kirishima stood waiting.

"Young Midoriya, you'll have a fifteen second head start as the Defensive Team." All Might said over the communicators. Izuku nodded towards the drone that flew slightly overhead. "Ready? Start!"

One for All roared to life in his veins. His quirk was just as eager for battle as Izuku himself. He floated a few inches off the ground and stayed there hovering. Todoroki raised a curious eye at him.

"Not going to run for the exit? Are you sure that's smart?"

"It's manly is what it is!" Kirishima slammed a fist into palm. "That's what I'm talking about Midobro! Let's do this!"

"5." Frost gathered on Todoroki's right side. "4." Izuku prepared Blackwhip, tendrils of the quirk squirming underneath the surface of his skin. "3." Kirishima cracked his knuckles, light glinting off his shoulder gears. "2." Todoroki exhaled heavily, fogging up the air with his breath. "1. Ready? Begin!" 

"Heaven Piercing Ice Wall!" A glacier, magnitudes larger than the one at the Sports Festival, tore through the downtown streets. In an instant, skyscrapers were frozen into popsicles as a new Ice Age began in UA. 1-A gaped at the display of power. Even for Todoroki, one of the strongest heroics students in the country, that had to have taken a tremendous amount of power.

"Do you think that got him?" Kirishima asked after a beat. Todoroki narrowed his eyes at the glacier, but as he went to answer a voice rang out behind him.

"You really need some shorter names for your super moves, Shoto." Izuku dropped from the sky above Todoroki, leg brought up for a devastating axe kick.

"Denver Smash!" Kirishima leapt at Shoto, shouldering the other boy out of the way as he took the strike on his hardened forearms. The force of the kick shattered the concrete underneath Kirishima, but Red Riot was only sent to a knee. Tendrils of Blackwhip burst from Izuku's gloves, wrapping around Kirishima as Izuku floated away from the landing site. He spun, muscles straining, and whipped Red Riot across the street, sending him crashing through an office building.

Izuku let out a pleased hum and tapped his undamaged boot against the ground. I didn't feel anything when I hit Kirishima. Hatsume really outdid herself this time. 

Danger Sense pinged behind him. Izuku rolled out of the way as a gout of flames shot over his head. He turned to see Shoto glaring his way. He looked like an avenging elemental, frost spreading out beneath his right foot even as flames licked at his left side. Damn, so cool! 

"You know, I think I prefer when we're fighting on the same side." He told Todoroki.

"You might, but I'm not here to make friends." Shoto gave him a feral grin. Izuku felt his face morph into an answering smile. The callback to their fight at the Sports Festival was surely intentional on Todoroki's part, but Izuku wasn't about to let this fight end the same way.

"Come at me with your full power, Todoroki."

"Jet Kindling!" "St. Louis Air Force!" 

Fire and air met in the center of the square sending an explosive wave of pressure rippling through the city. Izuku's compressed air shot through the middle of Todoroki's white hot flames resulting in both boys having to dodge for cover. Note to self, Izuku thought as he watched a nearby building collapse after the shockwaves knocked out a support beam. Explosion plus downtown equals bad idea. Oh well, time to end this. 

Izuku put on a burst of speed as flew back towards Todoroki who was only now recovering from the explosion. He could only widen his eyes in shock as Blackwhip engulfed his form, smothering the flames that still lingered on his jumpsuit.

"That's enough pyrotechnics for now, buddy. Now let's find Red Riot and wrap things up here." Mumbled shouting came from the mummified form of Shoto, though Izuku wasn't sure if it was at losing the exercise or the pun. He flew back to where he had thrown Kirishima, only to find him standing in the road, arms braced in an X in front of his chest.

"I know that isn't everything you've got Midoriya! Bring it on!" Izuku smiled viciously at his friend. Well, I have been looking for an excuse to try out Melissa's new gauntlets. One for All surged to 15% and his left arm heated up as Fa-Jin flooded the limb with power.

"You want it, Red Riot? You got it!" Izuku rocketed forward.

"Detroit Smash!" 

"Unbreakable!" 

"I blame you for this." Aizawa told Yagi with a heavy sigh. "After leveling a city block, Midoriya is the winner of this round. Kirishima, are you sure you don't need to go see Recovery Girl?"

"Nah, sensei. I'm okay! I promise!" Kirishima raised a thumbs up from where he was laid out on the ground, a cold compress over his eyes and his head slightly raised in Ashido's lap. Izuku rubbed at the back of his head as Aizawa glared at him again.

"Let me take this as an opportunity to remind you all that while the school's motto is Plus Ultra, you do not have to send yourself or one of your classmates to the infirmary after every training session. So stop doing it. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sensei!" The class chanted back, Kirishima's a second or two delayed.

"Very well. Yagi, get on with the last match."

"Er, right." All Might said awkwardly. "Well, our final match is Bakugo vs Uraraka! Bakugo will be the Defensive Team and will have a 15 second head start!"

Izuku watched nervously as the two of them walked toward the starting area. The tension was thick in the air and Izuku knew he wasn't the only one who had a bad feeling about the upcoming matchup. Kaminari and Sero shared uneasy glances over Mina's head. Jiro was talking to Momo in quiet but urgent tones. As All Might began the countdown, Danger Sense flared in Izuku's head. He rushed to Aizawa to try and get him to stop the match when All Might called out.

"Ready? Begin!"

Izuku's heart dropped as flashes lit up the viewing screens. Please be okay, Ochako. Please. 

Ochako flexed her hands as All Might reminded them of the rules. She was filled with a burning intensity, far more potent and vengeful than what she had felt at the Sports Festival.

She didn't lie to Izuku earlier. She wasn't just doing this for him, but this wasn't just about redeeming her Sports Festival performance either. She wanted to prove to herself that she was strong enough to stand beside Izuku, not in his shadow. She wanted to show the world that when push came to shove, she could protect Izuku just as fiercely as he protected her, even and especially, when it was against someone he wouldn't fight on his own. She didn't care if he had some overpowered quirk that let him level up like some shounen protagonist. Izuku Midoriya was hers and she was going to annihilate anything that threatened to hurt him.

"Last chance to give up, Cheeks." Bakugo taunted her. "Why don't you go whimper in Deku's shadow like a good little bitch and leave the fighting to the real heroes."

"Not on your life, Kacchan." Bakugo growled.

"I'm gonna send you back to that quirkless bastard in a body bag, you damn extra!"

"Ready? Begin!" 

"DIE!!" Heat and light consumed the world around Ochako as she rolled underneath the massive fireball Bakugo shot at her. She felt her stomach tighten as the debris she brushed with her fingers became weightless and started to float upwards. She popped up onto her feet and dashed towards her opponent.

At the Sports Festival she had only kept in close to distract Bakugo from her meteor shower. She had known that she wasn't a match for him and only barely managed to stave off the worst of his attacks.

Now though? Ochako was able to get in close before Bakugo had even realized she had moved. His look of naked shock at the fact that she was fighting in close combat was almost as delicious as the snap his nose made as she broke it.

"Motherfucker!" He screamed as he staggered backwards. The gout of blood that spurted out of it coated her stinging knuckles. Ochako knew she should probably feel bad for hurting someone, but all she felt was satisfaction.

"Don't worry, Kacchan. There's nothing I could do to your face to make it any uglier than it already was." Bakugo snarled, flames leaking from his palms.

The next few moments were a whirlwind of punches and heat. Bakugo managed to block her follow up strike and slammed an elbow into her stomach. She kicked at his knee, sending him stumbling. She went to press the advantage but had to roll out of the way of an explosion. The flames licked at the back of her costume and Ochako winced as she felt the suit bubble from the heat. There was no way she was getting out of here without some burns.

"Fuck off, Extra!" Bakugo lashed out with a wild right hook. Ochako stepped into his swing, clamping her hand down his forearm. Her smirk turned downright sinister as she felt her quirk activate.

"Eat dirt, bitch!" Ochako whipped the weightless body of Bakugo over her shoulder and slammed him into the pavement. Deku had done the very same thing to him in their first battle training and Ochako felt herself smile at the symmetry. She whipped him around again, not giving Bakugo any time to react or plan, as she sent him crashing into the ground again and again. Eventually, she flung him across the street and pressed her fingers together to let him fall into a heap. She heard All Might and Aizawa over the comms asking Bakugo if he could continue as he stumbled to his feet.

"Had enough yet?" She asked.

"I'm gonna kill you," Bakugo slurred. Ochako shrugged.

"Suit yourself, then." She pressed her fingers together again, letting the debris from earlier fall from the sky. "Meteor Storm!" 

Bakugo looked up and aimed a gauntlet at the incoming projectiles. With a demonic sounding screech he pulled the pin and let loose a massive blast. The meteors were incinerated in a cloud of fire that towered as high as the cityscape around them. When the sound of the explosion finished ringing out, Bakugo let his arm fall exhaustedly to his side.

"Is that… the best you've got?"

"Not even close." Bakugo had to turn to find where Ochako had run during the blast. She smirked dangerously at him, a compact car floating two feet off the ground at her side. "I already knew you could counter that one, remember? This time, that was just the distraction." She spun in place, building up momentum. "Let's see how you like the new move I've been working on. Orbital Slingshot!" Ochako let go of the rear bumper, sending the car hurtling towards Bakugo. "Release!"

Bakugo let a blast loose from his palms to escape, but just when it seemed like he would make it out of the path of the incoming missile, his left hand sputtered and went out. Instead of dodging it entirely, the car slammed into his right shoulder with a sickening crack. Bakugo collapsed to the ground with a cry of pain. The car continued its trajectory, crashing into the building behind him.

"That is enough!" Eraserhead snarled over the comms. "Bakugo is out, Uraraka wins. Both of you stand down! Iida, go get Recovery Girl." 

"Yes, sensei." Uraraka panted out. She'd probably get a couple of detentions for excessive force, but it was totally worth it. She had just dominated one of the strongest in their class in a 1 on 1 battle. If Bakugo wanted to come after Izuku again, she had just proven she had what it takes to put him in his place.

Bakugo pushed himself up from the ground with his good arm. His right arm dangled slightly in its socket, clearly dislocated. Probably a couple of cracked ribs too, she thought. That car was going almost 40 kilometers an hour. Even if it had the engine block removed, that's still a lot of force he just got hit with. As the memory of what Bakugo had said to Izuku filtered back in, any guilt she may have had left her body. Whatever. Fucker is lucky I didn't drop a whole building on him. 

"I ain't done yet." Ochako stared agog as Bakugo forced himself to stand, swaying lightly, but clearly moving in her direction. "I'm gonna fuckin' kill 'er."

"Young Bakugo, stay down!" All Might shouted. "You're in no condition to fight and the match is over-" "IT'S OVER WHEN I FUCKING WIN!" Bakugo roared. "I'LL NEVER LET SHITTY DEKU'S FUCKING WHORE BEAT ME!"

Bakugo leaned over and vomited a mixture of blood and bile onto the ground. With the blood staining his chin and a wretched caricature of an All Might smile, he looked like a devil come to life. He grabbed his right wrist with his left hand and wrenched his arm back into place with a pop. Bakugo didn't seem to feel any pain at all. He just kept on smiling.

"I'm going to kill you, Uraraka." With a start, Ochako realized that may have been the first time Bakugo had ever said her name before. "I'm going to do it right in front of that quirkless bastard. And when he's weeping over your broken body, I'm going to blow him up too. I'll be the best. I am the best! And I'll kill anyone who stands in my FUCKING WAY!"

Ochako could feel her heartbeat in her throat. Bakugo had been threatening to kill everyone in 1-A since the first day of class. Never, though, had he been so serious. Killing intent rolled off of him. Her knees shook subtly. For a moment, Ochako felt the same kind of fear she had felt at the USJ watching the Nomu. It was paralyzing and overwhelming, a visceral terror that was hardwired into the instincts of all humans. The fear of seeing an insurmountable predator waiting to pounce.

But Ochako was different than that girl at the USJ. She had survived that, had fought in the Sports Festival, had earned her provisional license and became a hero. She had just gone toe to toe with Bakugo and won. She pushed her fear to the side and raised her fists in a combat stance.

"Bring it on, Blasty."

He lunged forward with a roar but was stopped by strands of white cloth wrapping around his body.

"That's enough out of you, Bakugo." Eraserhead stood a few feet behind him, eyes glowing red and hair floating up above his head. Ochako almost swore it looked like a halo. "I suggest you stop talking before you dig an even deeper hole for yourself."

"Fuck off!" Bakugo writhed in his bindings, unknowingly tangling himself even more. "I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you! You're nothing! Nothing but stepping stones beneath my feet! None of you matter! You're all just extras! I'm the wolf here! I AM!"

A purple mist seeped onto the battlefield. Slowly, Bakugo stopped his struggling and fell unconscious. Eraserhead reeled in his capture weapon slowly, one hand tugging a filtration mask from his tool belt.

"Nice timing, Nemuri."

"You should thank Izuku," she said, stepping out from the shadows. "He's the one that went and got me when he saw Bakugo beginning to lose it."

Seeing the danger had passed, Izuku bolted out from behind Midnight and wrapped Ochako up in a hug. Ochako let herself be picked up in his arms, sagging against his steady chest.

"Are you okay?" Ochako nodded numbly, breathing in the familiar scent of Izuku's hero costume. For a moment… for a moment she really thought Bakugo was going to try and kill her. Izuku must have gotten a sense of what she was thinking about because he squeezed her just a little tighter.

"What's going to happen to him?" Izuku asked Midnight.

"That, kid, is a really great question."

Nezu hummed merrily as he poured himself a cup of tea. What an intriguing day! There were so many bright unpolished gems in class 1-A that he had felt truly giddy watching their combat exercises.

Tokoyami was a paradoxical powerhouse. He hated his own strength and refused to unleash it to its full potential. Nezu harbored a theory that his Dark Shadow was really just a manifestation of his base Id, but he couldn't confirm it without some minor brain surgery, and really the board was just so stingy when it came to giving hero students lobotomies. Uraraka had been a surprise standout of the day in her vicious take down of Bakugo. He did so admire the humans who let their baser instincts take over every once in a while. The Yaoyorozu heiress had also surprised him with her nitrogen stunt. He hadn't thought she'd be able to do that for a few months yet!

The Todoroki boy was a show stopper, and he would have been the jewel in the crown for any other year, but the real champion of this class was the boy who had defeated him. His precious future symbol.

Midoriya Izuku was truly growing at unprecedented rates. He had been pleasantly surprised by the boy turning down Sir Nighteye for his internship (the hero was far too rigid in his views of the future for Nezu's tastes) but never had he expected him to gain a mentor in Mirko! That meeting had been born of pure, illogical chance, proof that his young symbol could take an unforeseen situation and turn it into an advantage. And the press was just eating it up! He had helped a little, his various programs boosting the views of the video on social media, but the interview with Midoriya had been widely praised online. The name of the Symbol of Hope was already being talked about. Soon, Japan would rest on the shoulders of Izuku Midoriya, and Nezu could rest knowing the future was secured.

Of course, not all in 1-A were made for such heroic heights. Nezu let a frown cross his features before it was wiped away again with a grin. He already knew that Nemuri wouldn't rest until Bakugo was expelled, and this time, Aizawa and Yagi were going to join her in her crusade. He weighed the options for a moment before relenting.

Bakugo Katsuki was an acceptable loss in the grand scheme of things. He could have been a great hero in his own right, but his primary value had always been in fostering Midoriya's growth. Now that he had a better competitor to fill that fiery-rival-niche in Mirko, what use had he for a broken boy with a terrible temper? He had noticed, of course, how Bakugo had been deteriorating over the past few months. He had filed it down to stress and a degenerative heart disorder from his mother's father, but now that Bakugo had flipped from a motivator to a potential distraction for his symbol, he supposed the source of it didn't really matter.

The boy had simply outlived his usefulness.

Nezu would allow Nemuri to expel Bakugo, earn back some good will with one of his better teachers, and remove a potential distraction from the board in one fell swoop. It was honestly a coup. All for One was no longer of relevant concern locked away in Tartarus, so there was little concern of him being used against UA in the future.

Besides, even if the boy did somehow turn villain, there was an 81% chance that Midoriya would feel honor bound to track him down himself. In those scenarios where Bakugo was caught, 92% of the time the pain from seeing his first friend turn into a villain propelled Midoriya to even greater heights as a hero. Those were the type of odds Nezu was willing to gamble with.

Decision made, Nezu took a sip of his steaming hot Imperial Gold Tips. Yes, the students of 1-A were going to revolutionize heroics as the world knew it. And Midoriya Izuku would be at the center of it all.

He guaranteed it.

Izuku probably should have been expecting this. On some level, this confrontation had felt inevitable ever since his showdown with Katsuki in their first heroics class.

"Izuku…" He shook his head.

"It doesn't matter, Nemuri. I've moved on."

"It does matter. He never should have been allowed to become a hero in the first place. Was… was that all of what he did to you." 

"I-" Izuku shifted uncomfortably on the chair in Midnight's office. "It wasn't always that bad. When we were younger it was mostly just name calling or pushing me around on the playground. Middle school…" He sighed. "Look, middle school sucked. It was awful. And yeah, I'm starting to realize what I went through wasn't right, but I handled it. I made it out. There's plenty of quirkless kids out there who didn't."

"...kid, I think you might need some therapy."

"Probably." The pair lapsed into silence. Izuku hated this feeling in his chest. It was like he had swallowed something bitter and spicy and now it radiated a dull pain throughout his body. He hated dwelling on his past. He'd much rather just ignore everything that had happened to him and focus on his future as a hero. But there was a part of him, a part that sounded a lot like Ochako, that told him that he deserved some justice. That what he went through was wrong and he shouldn't have had to endure it for all those years. 

"What's going to happen to Bakugo?" He asked curiously. Nemuri sighed.

"I'm not sure, kid. I have to tell them about all this, you know that, right?" He nodded. She gave him a small sad smile. "Well, given that now we have precedent for his actions, it's unlikely he'll be allowed to stay at UA. Frankly, I'd be shocked if any school in the country will take him after."

For a moment, Izuku wanted to protest. Part of him wanted to tell them to ignore his history with Katsuki, for them to not levy such a harsh punishment against him. If he could change, he could still be a hero. He could still save people.

"... you shouldn't have to be a martyr, Izuku." 

Izuku closed his mouth. Katsuki had made his choices. No one forced him to do any of this. If these were the consequences of his actions, then Katsuki would just have to lie in the bed he had made.

"This isn't your fault." Nemuri crossed from behind her desk and perched on the front of it. "Bakugo's actions are what led him here." She said, unknowingly echoing Izuku's thoughts. "You had nothing to do with it."

"You're a good kid." She stood and ruffled his hair. "Your past teachers may have let Bakugo get away with this shit, but I won't. I'm going to protect you, Izuku. I promise."

"So we're all in agreement then?" The teachers of UA nodded to one another. Not a single voice of dissent amongst them.

Nemuri narrowed her eyes toward Nezu.

"And you won't interfere." Nezu smiled at her, spreading his palms to show he didn't have anything in them. Nemuri just squinted at him harder. If there was one thing she had learned during her time at UA, it was that the Rat always had something up his sleeve.

"I am capable of admitting when I made a mistake, Kayama. I believed Bakugo-kun was deserving of a second chance. This incident has demonstrated that he was not. Thus," he said, smile slipping away. "We are left with little recourse. The consequences must be enforced."

"It is unfortunate." All Might concurred gravely. "But there is simply no room in heroics for that kind of behavior."

"Then it is done." Nezu said. "Inui, Aizawa, I would recommend that everyone in 1-A take at least one meeting to discuss how they are doing after this. As I understand it, humans can be quite affected by seeing one of their friends in such a state."

"I might have to call in some outside help," Hound Dog admitted. "We should probably also do check ups for all the heroics students. Just in case."

"Make it a yearly thing," Snipe suggested. "Lord knows all the youngin's are gonna be stressed. Most of my third years have had to pick up double and triple shifts with the increase in crime rates."

"Midoriya should also be given therapy. If we have to go outside for it, fine, but it has to be done." Nemuri gave Shouta a nod of thanks for suggesting it before she could.

"All excellent ideas!" Nezu cheered brightly. "Call in as many outside consultants as you need, Inui. I'll make sure the board will cover it. For now, please call in the Bakugos. Aizawa, All Might, I'm tasking you with bringing the youngest Bakugo to the conference room. Let us end this unpleasantness and move on."

"Katsuki Bakugo, it is our estimation that you are far too emotionally unstable to continue on in the hero course." 

Katsuki wandered away from the house, the hag's ranting echoing on in the background. Something… something was wrong.

"Your blatant disregard for others, your violent outbursts, and general demeanor leave us with little impression that you could ever develop into a true hero." 

The world was so blurry. He stumbled on the sidewalk, knocking into someone. Why… what was going on? Where was he?

"You have left us with no choice but to remove you from the heroics course. And in light of your previous conduct, you are hereby expelled from UA High School." 

"You alright, there?" He looked up at the blurry smudge who had spoken. The shape leaned in, and all of a sudden they were in clear and terrible definition. Patchwork skin crinkled in a mockery of a grin.

"You should watch where you're going, little wolf." Dabi told him. "Otherwise someone might just snatch you up."