Chapter 9 - 6-7

Chapter 6: Explosions and Fallout

If Togata Mirio could be summed up in a word, it would be 'earnest'; if a second word was allowed, it would probably be 'humble'. He wasn't someone who boasted about his own abilities; if anything, he downplayed what he could do, because he considered so many other people, students and Heroes alike, to be better than him.

When All Might chose him as his successor, Togata had tried to refuse; he was positive that someone was a better fit, and had rattled off a dozen names, just to prove a point. But All Might didn't back down, and showed him a long list of the student's achievements as an intern. It didn't escape Togata's notice that that list had been provided by Sir Nighteye.

"You've done more with your natural abilities in your first two years at UA than I did with my inherited power," All Might had said. "You're strong, you've got a good head, and most importantly, you have a good heart. Believe me, if I didn't think you were worthy, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Togata could admit that his heart had swelled with pride—though the moment was ruined when All Might suddenly reverted back to his skinny form and spat out an alarming amount of blood.

When confronted with All Might's fading health, Togata reluctantly accepted the power of One For All. That had been several months ago, and he was now starting to get a handle on his increased strength.

At least, he thought he had, but the limited amount of power he could use was barely enough to catch Nomu's attention; the best he'd been able to do was distract him so that he didn't smash Eraserhead's face into the ground. His best punches had done nothing, even when he pulled a risky move and tried hitting the monster's exposed brain. At least he had been able to avoid injury in return—as powerful as Nomu was, all Lemillion had to do was use his natural Quirk, Permeation. Neither fighter could hurt the other, but as Nomu responded to his master's summons, Lemillion couldn't stop him, either.

Maybe I can at least get Midoriya out of there, he thought as he channeled all the power he could safely manage so that he could increase his speed. Unfortunately, Nomu was even faster—if that Shigaraki guy was telling the truth, then Nomu was capable of fighting a fully-powered All Might.

He tried to get Midoriya—because who else could that crystal guy be?—to get out of the way. Instead, Midoriya placed his hands on the ground; a moment later, huge spikes of crystal formed a barricade between him and the charging Nomu. If Midoriya had thought his barrier would dissuade Nomu, he was mistaken; the monster's momentum was only halted when the sharp spikes pierced deep into his body.

Lemillion winced; causing those kinds of injuries could give even experienced Heroes some trauma, let alone a first-year student. Still, it looked like Nomu had caused his own defeat, so—

"Not bad," Shigaraki said calmly, as if his trump card hadn't just been impaled. "If that was anyone else, they'd be crippled, or even killed. Too bad for you, Nomu is no ordinary Villain."

Without a word escaping the monster's mouth, Nomu pulled himself free of the spikes; as Lemillion watched in horrified fascination, torn organs and muscles knitted back together, and skin quickly grew over that. In seconds, Nomu looked like he had never been injured at all.

"Well, that's a problem," Lemillion said as he dashed over to Midoriya.

"Yeah, I know." It was strange seeing a man made of diamond take a deep breath like a nervous schoolchild, but that was what happened. "From what I can tell, he's got super-speed, some kind of shock absorption, and rapid regeneration."

"And crazy strength," Lemillion added, while keeping one eye on Shigaraki. "I'd say he has multiple Quirks, which is impossible, but look at you."

"Oh, but he does have multiple Quirks!" Shigaraki laughed. "He was designed to be the perfect counter to All Might: the Anti-Symbol of Peace!" Lemillion and Midoriya tensed as a black portal opened up next to Nomu, and Kurogiri stepped out. "Where have you been?"

"My apologies, Shigaraki Tomura, but I was waylaid by several students, as well as Thirteen, at the entrance." Kurogiri looked unharmed, though the metal collar he wore was scratched and dented. "They were able to help one of their own escape, and going by how fast he could move, I believe that the Heroes will arrive soon. We should withdraw."

"You want to run away?" Shigaraki scoffed as he made his way over to his allies. "We haven't even cleared the minibosses yet, much less All Might. These small-fries might be able to handle the pawns, but they're no match for overleveled players like us, especially Nomu."

"Man, this guy is cocky," Lemillion said, and then glanced at Midoriya. "I don't think we can get away without a fight."

"Then I guess we have to fight." Midoriya's hands tightened into fists. "I have an idea, but it's risky, and it's not foolproof, but it's all I have right now."

"I'm all ears," Lemillion said. "Hitting them doesn't seem to work, so if you've got another option…"

"I do—the problem is, I can only do this alone."

"Well, I'm not leaving my junior behind," Lemillion said; his voice brooked no disagreement. "You'll have to come up with another plan."

"Are you two done talking?" Shigaraki asked. "I've been playing nice so far, but your strategy meeting is going a little long. Nomu, get their attention."

Nomu took a step forward, but then froze—literally, as ice crept up his legs. A moment later, huge explosions bombarded the area.

"I told you to stay out of my way, Icy-Hot! I can handle these weaklings on my own!"

"I didn't hear any complaining when I helped you earlier."

"Because I was busy beating the crap out of some punk who tried to jump me!"

Lemillion scratched his head, bemused, as Bakugo and Todoroki stepped into view; neither looked injured, but the arguing was almost comical. Behind them, Kirishima didn't seem to think so.

"Come on, guys, you can argue when we're not fighting Villains. Oh, hey, Midoriya! That's a new one!"

"Uh, yeah, I call this one 'Diamondhead'."

"I like it!" Kirishima straightened when he saw the older student. "Lemillion! Are you okay?"

"I'm good, don't worry." Lemillion turned back to face the Villains. "These guys are going to be a problem."

"Not if this works," Diamondhead said. "You wanted me to come up with another plan, Lemillion? Well, I think I can now make the first one work."

He then slapped the dial on his chest. Once the green light faded, Lemillion saw a tall figure that seemed to be made of living magma. His oversized hands glowed almost white-hot, while fire burned around his head. "HEATBLAST!"

Lemillion put a few more feet between him and Midoriya's new form; even at this distance, he'd started to sweat from the heat.

Shigaraki stared, wide-eyed as he saw what happened. "That's not possible! Did he just go from tank to DPS? He can swap specializations, and elemental bonuses? Nobody naturally has that kind of variety in Quirks! That's just… that's not fair!"

Lemillion almost laughed as Shigaraki ranted; if it weren't for his deadly Quirk, he'd have a hard time believing that the man wasn't all talk. Still, Lemillion dragged his attention back to Midoriya, who had turned to the other students.

"Todoroki-san," Heatblast said in a low, gravelly voice, "I have an idea, but I need your help to make it work. That big guy might actually be a match for All Might in terms of pure physical power."

Todoroki kept his surprise limited to wider eyes. "But you have a plan to stop him?"

"Yeah, it's pretty simple, actually—you put a wall of ice between you all and me, and you don't stop making that ice until I'm done."

"No way, Midoriya!" Kirishima looked nervous, but he didn't back down. "We can't let you fight that freak on your own!"

"You're going to have to," Heatblast said grimly, "because I can't be sure this move won't kill you guys by mistake!"

…

"You're not planning what I think you're planning, are you?"

"You're going to have to," Heatblast said, ignoring Ben for the moment, "because I can't be sure this move won't kill you guys by mistake!"

"Oh my god, you are." Ben wasn't visible at the moment, but his disapproval was obvious. "This is a bad idea, Izuku. If you get this wrong, even a little, you could kill everyone within a square mile of this place."

Heatblast responded by way of aiming his hands at Nomu.

Ben sighed. "All right, if you're really sure; I'll monitor your output and make sure you don't fry the entire school, okay? You've had a lot of back-to-back transformations; between that, and the power you're planning on using, you've got maybe five minutes left. Good luck."

"Todoroki," Heatblast said, "now!"

Todoroki either thought his classmate knew what he was doing, or otherwise didn't have a better idea, because he stomped down with his right foot, and a massive wall of ice separated Heatblast from the other students. He just hoped that it was enough.

"Deku!" Bakugo shouted. "You think you're really tough enough to fight a guy meant to fight All Might!? You're such an idiot! If you die to this freak, I'm killing you myself!"

Ben chuckled, a little disbelieving. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he almost sounded worried."

Somehow, I doubt it, Heatblast thought. No time to think about it now, though.

"All right, Villains," he said out loud, "time to see if you're just all talk."

Shigaraki rolled his eyes. "Cocky little punk, aren't you? I don't care who you are, or that you have multiple Quirks, you're not on All Might's level, which means you aren't on Nomu's. You'll be dead in a second anyway, so I don't even care that your Quirk is weird."

Heatblast gave the best smile he could manage. "Then come get me."

"Nomu, kill him."

Nomu stalked towards Heatblast, who unleashed two columns of fire from his hands that splashed against the monster's chest. The skin turned crispy and burned off, only for it to grow back just as quickly.

"Did you forget that he could regenerate?" Shigaraki mocked.

"No, I didn't, but I'm just getting warmed up!"

"Two puns!" Ben laughed. "You're on a roll today!"

I've seen regeneration Quirks before, and I've read papers on them, Heatblast thought. They take a toll on the body, just like Recovery Girl's Quirk. Quirks are biological functions, which means that there's a limit to how much energy they can expend before shutting down. I have to force this guy to heal so much that he exhausts himself!

And so, Heatblast increased the firepower he was using; slowly at first, then faster and faster, until the heat burned away the oxygen around him in a screaming hiss. The pressure from the intense blaze slowed Nomu's progress, but he wasn't stopping—therefore, neither could Heatblast.

Ben had taught Midoriya about this move, but only the theory of it; it was incredibly dangerous, and they had nowhere to safely practice. Still, Midoriya had an instinctive handle on at least the basics of his aliens' powers, and his mind was sharp enough to put theory into practice.

More heat, he thought fiercely, more fire! Come on, push yourself to the limit of what you can safely do!

The fires around Heatblast had long stopped being a reddish-orange; now, they were a blinding white, but he still kept going.

…

Todoroki wanted to just stop and stare; he knew fire-based Quirks better than most, but he'd never seen anyone use that much power and not kill themselves. Not even Endeavor had ever pulled off a move like that, and Midoriya was using even more.

"Guys, I think we're about to be busy!" Todoroki glanced over his shoulder at Kirishima's shout; some of the Villains that Eraserhead and Lemillion had beaten were starting to get back up, and more who hadn't fought were charging towards them as well.

Bakugo, who had been glaring at Midoriya this whole time, gritted his teeth. "Fuck! Fine, we'll take care of these weaklings. Icy-Hot, keep up that shitty wall so that that idiot Deku doesn't roast us."

Kirishima charged first, while Bakugo flew overhead to start the fight. Before he left, Lemillion gave Todoroki a thumbs-up.

"Good work, freshman; just keep an eye on Midoriya, okay? We'll cover you."

Todoroki nodded, and then turned back to Midoriya's fight. He still refused to break his oath, to use his fire in combat, but today, he had a workaround. Normally, he could only use so much ice before he suffered frostbite; he avoided that by ending fights as quickly as possible, and then used his fire to warm himself up. However, the heat Midoriya was putting out was so intense that it was melting his ice as quickly as he could make it; theoretically, he could keep this up almost indefinitely.

"Be careful, Midoriya," he whispered. "I don't know what your limit is in that form, but I think you're reaching it."

…

"Let's see how you handle this!" Heatblast shouted as he pushed past what he considered completely safe, and unleashed a true firestorm.

"NOVA… FLAAARE!"

There was a primordial roar as a fraction of a supernova was channeled in a straight line. The light was blinding, and when it faded, Heatblast fell to his knees; his fires had dimmed, and he was panting heavily. He looked up to view his handiwork, and was shocked.

Starting at where he stood, a huge furrow had been carved into the ground, all the way to the domed wall of the USJ. Rather than burned dirt, the trench he had carved was made of molten glass. Standing in the middle of that trench was Nomu; the monster had shielded his head with his arms, but the rest of his body was a dull black…

Which then started to crumble away like charcoal, until only his head fell to the ground intact.

Heatblast stared in horror, unable to do anything else, as the Ultimatrix timed out from using so much power. Midoriya was snapped back into full awareness when the superheated ground under him started to burn through his clothes and into his skin—he quickly scrambled back to the edge of what he had done, though not before earning burns on his feet, knees, and hands. He was about to stumble towards Todoroki, but then heard a noise that sounded like tearing meat.

He turned, and saw that Nomu's entire body was starting to regenerate from the neck down; it took almost a full minute, but the monster stood back up, without a single mark.

"No…" Midoriya fell backwards and tried to get away. "That's impossible!"

Nomu took a step towards him, and then another… and then collapsed, and didn't get up again.

It worked, Midoriya thought with no small amount of relief. He was able to recover from the damage, but regenerating that much must have overtaxed his body.

"Nomu?" Amazingly, Shigaraki and Kurogiri were still standing, though the former looked like he had a bad sunburn, and the latter's metal collar was warped from the heat. "Nomu, get up! The boss battle hasn't started yet, you can't disconnect now!" He glared at Midoriya. "You. You did this! You cheated! I don't know how, but you must have cheated!"

"Shigaraki Tomura…" Kurogiri reached out, but Shigaraki batted him away.

"I'm gonna kill you, cheater." Shigaraki charged at Midoriya, hands outstretched to turn him into dust. "I had the perfect plan to kill All Might, and you ruined it!"

Midoriya was exhausted, hurt, unable to transform, and now, he was terrified. Shigaraki had never seemed like the most stable person in the world, but now he was a grown man with the power to kill with a touch, in the throes of a temper-tantrum.

Shigaraki was mere feet away from Midoriya when the USJ doors slammed open—more than that, they were ripped clean off their hinges.

"STAY BACK, VILLAIN!" Midoriya blinked, and suddenly, All Might was there, standing between him and Shigaraki. Instead of his costume, he was wearing his yellow pants and white shirt. "You won't harm anyone else today!"

"All Might!" Kurogiri created a portal, just as the Hero threw a punch. "Shigaraki, get back!"

"TEXAS—" before All Might could finish one of his special moves, another blur tackled him to the side. "What? Young Mirio, what are you doing!?"

"Stopping you from making a big mistake." Lemillion panted as he fell to one knee. "Ow. Must've pushed myself too hard there. Anyway, if you'd punched into that portal…" he pointed behind him.

All Might glanced back, and saw the other portal hovering behind Midoriya; it didn't take him long to figure out what he had almost done. "Ah. I see. My thanks, Lemillion." He turned back to the Villains. "Your mission is over, criminals! From what I can see, your pawns have all been defeated, and your big friend over there is down for the count. Surrender peacefully, and since none of my students were permanently injured, I'll put in a good word with the authorities."

"Are you… pitying me?" Shigaraki's shoulders trembled. "Don't you dare pity me, Symbol of Peace! Everything I ever suffered is because of you, and Heroes like you! I promise you, I am going to kill you, All Might, but now, I'll make sure you watch as I turn everything you love to dust!"

All Might just raised an eyebrow. "Not from Tartarus, you won't."

Shigaraki grinned behind the hand on his face. "Only if you catch me. Kurogiri!"

All Might reached out, but a dozen portals surrounded Shigaraki and Kurogiri in a dome, protecting them as another portal swallowed the pair up.

"Watch your back, All Might," Shigaraki taunted. "I want you to see it all coming…"

The portals faded, leaving All Might to ponder the Villain's words, until a hiss of pain from Midoriya pushed it all to the back of his mind. He could worry about the Villains later; right now, he had an injured student.

"Don't worry, young Midoriya," he said, and gently scooped the boy up into his arms. "I am here."

Midoriya tried and failed to stop the tears that finally caught up with him. "Th-thank you, All Might."

All Might glanced at Lemillion, who jerked a thumb at Nomu and shook his head. "No, young Midoriya—I think I should be the one thanking you."

…

With All Might and the other teachers' arrival, the remaining Villains were quickly captured, and the students were gathered together at the entrance of the USJ. Police officers arrived a few minutes later to take the criminals into custody and to collect statements, while paramedics worked to help anyone who needed it.

Uraraka, now trembling as her adrenaline faded, was hugging Iida in thanks; the boy had pushed himself to his absolute limit, and his engines were still smoking. He stiffly returned the embrace, though his smile was genuine and warm.

"Is everyone all right, Uraraka?" he asked, and then limped over to a nearby bench to sit down.

"I'm not sure," Uraraka admitted. "Ashido burned herself pretty bad with her acid, but she's already being taken to Recovery Girl. Aizawa-sensei looked bad, though. The teachers are still gathering up everyone else—oh my god, Deku-kun!"

Everyone who heard her voice turned to see All Might carrying Midoriya in his arms; the boy had ugly burns on his hands and knees, and his shoes had been melted through to his feet. Behind them came Lemillion, who was limping, along with Kirishima, Todoroki and Bakugo, though those three looked unhurt.

"I-I'm all right," Midoriya stammered as All Might placed him on a stretcher. "I just need to wait for my watch to recharge, and then I can heal myself with Swampfire."

Principal Nezu turned from his conversation with a detective. "Are you sure, Midoriya-san?" When Midoriya nodded, Nezu looked satisfied. "Very well, that's one less patient for Recovery Girl. Todoroki-san, could you please provide him with some ice to cool those burns until he can transform?"

Todoroki nodded and created a rough chair out of ice for Midoriya. Lemillion gave both boys a thumbs-up, and then limped over to Nejire-chan and Suneater.

"How is everyone?" he asked.

Suneater slumped, but his words were steady. "One student had to be taken to Recovery Girl for acid burns, but she kept saying that she would be fine. Eraserhead had more serious injuries—I noticed several broken bones, and the flesh around his arm looked… rotted away."

"Yeah, it was the Villain in charge," Lemillion supplied. "I saw that he could decay things when he put his whole hand on them. Any other injuries?"

Nejire-chan shook her head, though she wasn't nearly as energetic as before. "Just some bumps and scrapes, nothing serious. What about you?"

Upon hearing that the other students would be fine, Lemillion relaxed, and his easy smile returned. "Well, I think I pushed myself too far, but it doesn't feel like anything is broken this time. I definitely tore some muscles in my leg, though."

Suneater sighed in relief. "At least it's not serious; I'll take you to Recovery Girl, and Nejire-chan can help with the cleanup." He waved a finger under Lemillion's nose. "No arguing about this, okay?"

Lemillion held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, let's go." Suneater put a hand on his arm to steady him, but as they passed Midoriya, Lemillion patted him on the shoulder. "You did good, freshman. Seriously, you really went Plus Ultra back there. See you around."

Midoriya blushed and nodded; when the older student left, he looked at Uraraka, who had been waiting impatiently behind them with the rest of their friends. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when the girl hugged him tightly.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Deku-kun!" She pulled back and wiped her eyes. "When I saw you fall into that portal, I thought… anyway, you scared me again when All Might carried you outside! Don't do that again!"

"I'll do my best," Midoriya promised tiredly, his mind too unfocused to register that he'd just received his first hug from a girl. "Wait, I heard that Ashido was hurt, is she okay?"

Uraraka nodded. "It looked bad, but she was telling jokes when the paramedics took her to Recovery Girl. I think she's gonna be okay."

Midoriya sighed. "That's good. And everyone else is fine?"

"I think you and Ashido had the worst of it," Iida said as he limped over. "Everyone else will likely recover on their own in a day or two."

Now it was Midoriya's turn to wipe his eyes. "That's… that's great to hear." He, Iida and Uraraka all jumped when his watch beeped, and the dial turned green. "Oh, good, it recharged."

"Then hurry up and transform," Uraraka said, trying to sound stern, and failing miserably. "Those burns look awful."

"Yeah, one second." Midoriya cycled through his transformations, and then pressed the dial. "SWAMPFIRE!"

As Uraraka watched, the charred parts of Swampfire's body turned to a vibrant green. However…

"Uh, Deku-kun, I don't want to be rude, but that one smells really bad," Uraraka said, holding her nose with one hand and trying to fan away the smell with the other.

Asui wrinkled her nose. "I didn't want to say anything on the boat, Midoriya, but she's right, ribbit—that smell is awful."

"R-right, sorry." Midoriya quickly returned back to normal, and the smell faded. "I bet Recovery Girl is happy that I don't have to see her, though, right?"

Asui nodded. "Yeah, but poor Ashido is going to be with her, ribbit."

"That's true," Iida said. "As her friends, it would be uncouth of us not to check on her as soon as possible." Without his helmet, his wince was obvious. "And I admit that I might have strained something as well, so I should probably see Recovery Girl."

"Oh, Iida, I'm so sorry!" Uraraka dashed over to him. "Guys, come here and help me!"

Sero got to Iida's other side first, and between them, they supported the taller boy; Iida continued to protest, however.

"Please, this is unnecessary! I can walk to Recovery Girl on my own!"

Yaoyorozu smiled at him. "Maybe, but you obviously caused yourself some strong discomfort in an effort to get help."

"Yeah!" Midoriya walked over to the growing circle. "If you hadn't found All Might in time, he might not have been able to save me!"

Iida shrugged modestly. "Then it was obviously worth the pain."

"Regardless," Yaoyorozu said, and her voice was a little stern now, "we are going to help you get to Recovery Girl. Consider this an order from your Class President."

Iida probably knew she mostly meant it as a joke, but as soon as the words left her mouth, he straightened as much as he could. "Of course! I'll head there now." Yaoyorozu raised an eyebrow, and Iida winced again. "With help."

"It's nice to see all of you leaning on each other like this," a new voice said. Midoriya turned to see a man in a beige coat and matching hat. "Sorry, I'm Detective Tsukauchi, and I'm heading the investigation into this attack. I don't want to stop you from seeing Recovery Girl, but if none of your injuries are critical, I'd like you all to give statements to the officers here before you leave."

Yaoyorozu bowed. "Of course, Detective; it would be our pleasure."

Tsukauchi smiled. "Thank you. Don't worry, this shouldn't take too long."

For most of them, it didn't; only Midoriya took longer than a few minutes, since, among them, he'd had the most contact with the leader of the so-called 'League of Villains'. He had to describe Shigaraki's Quirk, his attitude, and any other detail he could. Thankfully, his analytical skills had their time to shine, and by the time he was done, Tsukauchi looked impressed.

"That was very detailed," he said. "I've met Pro Heroes who don't give reports that precise. It certainly cuts down on my work."

"Th-thank you, sir." Midoriya frowned when a thought occurred to him. "Um, Detective?"

"Yes, Midoriya-san? What is it?"

"Are… are we in trouble? None of us have our licenses, but we used our Quirks to fight Villains."

Tsukauchi tilted his head for a moment, and then smiled. "Don't worry about it so much. From every report I've received, you only fought because your lives, and the lives of your classmates, were in danger. As long as it's proven to be self-defense, Quirk use is allowed to fight someone else."

Midoriya sighed in relief. "Oh, that's good. Thank you."

"Just try not to get into situations that require self-defense," the detective warned, though he kept up his smile. "At least until you get your license."

Midoriya bowed. "Of course, sir."

"Good. Now, you should catch up with your friends." Tsukauchi pointed, and Midoriya saw Uraraka waving him over. "Don't worry about the rest, Midoriya-san; if we need anything else, we'll call you."

"Thank you!" Midoriya bowed once more, and then jogged over to his friends.

Most of the students were beginning to head to the locker rooms, but Mineta stayed behind, waiting until the rest of the class was out of sight before approaching the principal.

I can't do this, this was just too intense, he thought. I should just ask to transfer to General Studies.

"Excuse me, Nezu-sensei?"

Nezu turned. "What can I help you with, Mineta-san?"

Mineta opened his mouth, but then he looked at the retreating forms of Midoriya and his group of friends, and he thought back to when he was panicking in the water. Asui and Midoriya had been scared, just like him, but they hadn't freaked out.

I guess I just know there's no point in panicking.

I'm pretty sure that if I start panicking, I won't be able to stop. I'll freak out when we're not in danger.

They were no different from him; they were both beginners, yet they had maintained their composure in the face of true terror. More than that, they had saved his life several times in just a few minutes. If he backed out now… that would be spitting on their efforts. And he felt like he owed it to them to be better next time.

"Mineta-san?" Nezu tilted his head curiously. "Is something the matter?"

Mineta shook his head. "No, Nezu-sensei, it's just that I got a good look at the Villains in the Shipwreck Zone. If any of the police want to know any details, I might be able to help—I know I can identify them, anyway."

Nezu smiled. "Thank you, Mineta-san; I'll be sure to let the police know."

Mineta smiled back. Maybe this is my first step.

…

"He isn't weak," Bakugo whispered. "I hate that he's strong, but he is. What the hell happened? A year ago, he couldn't even look me in the eye, and now he's fighting Villains that can beat Pros."

He was still coming to terms with the fact that Deku had a Quirk at all; he was barely able to comprehend that the nerd had a powerful Quirk.

I have to get stronger, he thought fiercely. I've had my whole life to master my Quirk, and that useless Deku managed to surpass me. But I can focus on just my Quirk; that's the way I'll beat him. I'll show him and everyone else that quantity doesn't beat quality!

"Hey, Bakugo!" He almost stumbled when the red-haired kid—he supposed he owed it to him to learn his name, since he wasn't a half-bad fighter—slapped him on the back. "You good, bro? We all need to get out of our costumes and head home."

"Yeah, okay." Bakugo tried to look uncaring as he snuck a glance back at Deku and his worthless friends. "Whatever."

…

"Hey, guys!" Ashido smiled sleepily as her friends walked into the infirmary. "What're you doing here?"

"We came to see you, silly!" Uraraka bounced over and gently hugged her. "We weren't gonna leave you here by yourself."

"Aw, that's sweet, but I'm not by myself." She grinned at the two boys at the other side of the room and playfully swiped in their direction. "Hey, good-lookin'. Rawr!"

Togata seemed as tired as Ashido, but he laughed at her antics; Amajiki, on the other hand, pulled his hood further over his eyes in embarrassment.

"Looks like we're meeting again sooner than I thought," Togata said with a friendly smile at Midoriya. "You okay now?"

"Uh, y-yeah! One of my transformations lets me heal really quickly."

"Lucky you," Togata teased. "Recovery Girl had to fix up torn muscles and a fracture in my left leg. Nothing too serious, I just have to rest for a few hours."

"I agree with her that you need to be more careful," Amajiki said with a frown. "Your Quirk was already hard to master, and now it's causing you physical damage if you push yourself too hard!"

Togata nodded. "I know, and that's why I'm being careful not to overdo it." He gave the other third-year a confident smile. "I promise, I'm doing everything I can to make sure I don't end up here more than I have to, but I'd rather suffer a small injury than let someone else die."

Amajiki scowled. "What I really hate is that I can't argue with that logic." He stood up and looked at the younger students. "You know, none of us are supposed to stay in our costumes after lessons—even when they end up like today did. If some of you would keep an eye on Mirio and your friend, we can take shifts getting changed."

Togata laughed. "You make it sound like I'm gonna sneak out or something!"

"I can take the first watch!" Iida volunteered. "I already need to see Recovery Girl, so I can handle it all at once. Everyone else can get changed, and then return here."

"Hey, Yaomomo, can you grab my uniform, and my costume's case?" Ashido asked. "Recovery Girl said I can get out of here in a couple of hours, but if I'm changed and have my costume put away, I don't have to go all over the place before going home."

Yaoyorozu smiled. "Of course, Ashido. Come on, everyone, let's get changed before a teacher lectures us."

It only took about fifteen minutes for everyone to get changed and come back, though Midoriya had to drop off his costume with a note for the Support Department to repair his. He and Sero did decide to bring Iida's things as well, which he thanked them profusely for when they returned. When they opened the door again, they found Hado sitting next to Togata , talking and waving excitedly.

"You kids are so fussy," Recovery Girl said as the younger students crowded around Ashido. "She already has immunity to her acid, up to a point; between that and my Quirk, she won't even have a scar."

"You're the best, Recovery Girl!" Ashido smiled at the old lady.

"Ah! I'm not finished!" she waved her cane in the girl's face. "You probably know this more than most, but acid can be especially damaging to the nerves. If you push your Quirk beyond what you're capable of handling, you could lose your sense of touch completely, and possibly functionality in your hands."

Midoriya blanched, and he wasn't the only one; even Hado's ever-present smile dimmed.

Yaoyorozu put her hand on Ashido's shoulder. "Please, never push yourself that far."

Sero nodded. "Yeah, or you'll make Tsuyu sad. Tsuyu, give her your sad face." He gestured to Asui, whose expression never changed. "See? It's like kicking a puppy!"

Ashido giggled. "Okay, you're right; no making the best frog-girl I know sad."

"I'm pretty sure I'm the only frog-girl you know, ribbit."

"You are, which automatically makes you the best!" Ashido stuck out her tongue; in response, Asui reached out with her own tongue, from five feet away, and flicked Ashido between the eyes.

Everyone stared at Asui as her tongue retracted; her expression remained blank, but Midoriya was positive she was smug.

"Dang," Ashido said. "With tongue action like that, you are gonna have one lucky boyfriend someday."

Most of her classmates, even Asui, turned red, but the Big Three burst out laughing—or just smiling, in Amajiki's case.

"Oh, man, that was good!" Togata grinned at Ashido. "You guys are great; we should hang out more."

"That would be a great honor, Mirio-san!" Iida tried to bow, but since he was now lying on one of the cots, it just looked silly.

"Please, just Mirio is fine." He leaned back on his own bed and looked at his phone. "Whoa, it's getting late. You all might want to consider getting home soon."

None of the first-years wanted to admit it, but they had trains to catch. On the other hand, they didn't want to leave their injured friends.

Fortunately, Iida came to the rescue. "I will be released at the same time as Ashido. I can keep her company until then, and I can also walk her to her train; I believe we both use the same station."

Ashido blew him a kiss. "My knight in futuristic armor!"

Iida sputtered and turned red, but the rest of them went right back to laughing. Midoriya wiped away a tear; if this was what he'd been missing out on for most of his life, he couldn't wait for more.

…

Eventually, Izuku returned home, only to be nearly tackled as his mother ran into him.

"Oh, my baby!" she cried. "I know you texted me earlier, but then the police called, and your principal! I'm so glad you're not hurt!"

Izuku decided not to mention that he had been hurt, a few times, but turning into Swampfire had fixed everything.

"I'm fine, Mom," he said and hugged her back. "A couple of my friends needed to get fixed up by Recovery Girl, but they should be on their way home by now."

"You should have seen this guy," Ben said as he materialized. "He took down a bunch of the bad guys, including their heaviest hitter, saved two of his classmates from getting killed, and he didn't cry until everything was settled!"

Inko sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I can't tell you how proud I am of you, Izuku, but please, don't put me through that kind of stress until you've got at least a provisional license."

Izuku nodded. "I'll do my best, Mom."

"You look exhausted, sweetie," Inko noted. "I can heat some food up for you, but then I want you to get some sleep. Don't worry about waking up early—when your principal called, he said that class was cancelled for tomorrow, and you've got the weekend. Take some time to process everything, maybe talk to your new friends. And remember that you can talk to me, too."

Izuku hugged her again. "I'd never forget to talk to you, Mom. I think I'll just get some sleep, though. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Izuku." Inko watched as her son headed to his room, and then turned to Ben with a yawn. "All this stress has me exhausted, and I didn't fight Villains! I think I'll turn in early, too; goodnight, Ben."

"Sleep well," Ben said. "I'll keep an eye on everything, just in case." Inko turned and headed into her own room, just missing how Ben flickered erratically for a moment. Ben looked down at his hands and frowned.

"Already? I thought I'd have more time." He glanced back at Izuku's room. "You're going to have to be ready soon, buddy; I'm not going to be around forever…"

…

Far from the Midoriya household, in a bar located away from any major streets, Shigaraki was throwing a fit, along with several chairs.

"Everything was ruined!" he shouted. "All our men were defeated, Nomu was taken down by some kid, and All Might didn't even show up until we had no chance to beat him!" He picked up a barstool and hurled it into a wall. "No way RNG screwed us over that bad, and our plan was good, so what the hell went wrong!?"

"If you will calm down for a moment, Tomura," came a calm, cultured voice, one that froze Shigaraki on the spot. "The Nomu I gave you was one of my most powerful creations. I crafted it to match All Might, so who was this student who defeated it?"

Shigaraki scowled behind the hand on his face, but turned and bowed to the small television in the corner, the source of the voice. "No idea, Master. He wore a green hoodie with stupid-looking ears. He turned into different forms, all with different Quirks; one was a big dinosaur, another looked like it was made of diamond, and another shot fire so hot that it overwhelmed Nomu's regeneration!"

"Really, now?" Far from being upset, Shigaraki's master sounded intrigued. "Fascinating. I have not heard of someone with such vastly different Quirks since… well, we will have to keep an eye on this student. In fact, if mere students could defeat hardened Villains like the ones who served you, then we should be wary of that entire class.

"For now, rest and heal, Tomura. Once you have recovered, we will begin learning what there is to know about these would-be Heroes. You studied All Might in an effort to kill him; if these children are a threat to the League of Villains, then I suggest that you study them as well."

Shigaraki bowed again. "Of course, Master. I was prepared for the boss of the raid, but I didn't take the minibosses seriously enough. I also should have considered random encounters."

"See? Even though you failed to achieve your objective, you've learned something valuable."

"Thank you for your wisdom, Master."

"Of course, Tomura; it is why I am here."

Chapter 7: Bonds

The morning after the attack on the USJ, Midoriya had just finished breakfast when his phone alerted him to new messages. He saw that it was from 'UA's Rising Stars' and opened up his messenger app.

Glasses: How is everyone this morning?

Book: I am a little sore, but that's to be expected. But you, Mina and Izuku had the worst injuries. Are you three okay?

Glasses: Recovery Girl said not to use my boosters for at least three more days, but other than some discomfort, I'm fine.

All Might: I'm all healed up, actually. Swampfire's regeneration is better than Recovery Girl… please don't tell her I said that.

Crayon: only if u help me w/ my math homework. First week of skool, and we got trig. It sux and makes me want 2 cry

All Might: Deal. How are your hands, Mina?

Crayon: stiff, and it's hard to move them, but RG sez Ill b fine in a few days

Frog: Hi, ribbit. I'm fine, but my legs are sore. I don't normally do big jumps like the one on the boat. Also, you still owe me mouthwash, Izuku.

Tape: Hey, guys. Wait, what's this about mouthwash? Did you leave out something yesterday? I need to know!

Frog: I had to carry Mineta in my tongue. TWICE.

Tape: Ah. 'nuff said. On behalf of every male out there, I apologize for him.

All Might: ^

Glasses: ^

Comet: Morning, every1!

Comet: Am I the only 1 who isn't all sore and junk? Is it weird that I feel bad about that?

Book: You have something like survivor's guilt, Ochako, and you have nothing to feel guilty about. If anything, we are all glad that you aren't hurt.

Tape: Besides, you got hurt during the battle training, so it evens out. Also, if you feel guilty, I should feel guilty, since I feel fine too.

Crayon: preach! srsly, Ochako, dont let this get u down. U r much prettier when u smile

Comet: luv u 2, Mina

Midoriya smiled; it was good to see his friends so supportive of each other.

Book: I admit, the only problem I had was that I had some trouble sleeping. I had a close call yesterday, and I had some nightmares about all of you in danger.

Book: I know you can all take care of yourselves, and we proved that yesterday, but I have a selfish request.

Book: Would you all be willing to get together sometime today? I realize that this is at the last minute, and I apologize.

Crayon: time and place, ill be there

Tape: ^

Comet: ^

Frog: ^ ribbit.

Tape: I knew you'd do that!

Frog: I'm imagining your face right now, and it is hilarious.

Glasses: I would be happy to meet up with you all. I admit that I had some anxiety myself last night, but my brother talked me through it.

All Might: I just need to let my mom know if I'm not going to be home in the evening, but I shouldn't have a problem. She'll probably just be happy that I have friends to spend time with.

Ben looked over his shoulder at his phone. "That might have been a little too much, dude."

"It's true, though." Midoriya shrugged. "I don't really know what 'hanging out' is like!"

Comet: OMG, you're breaking my heart, Deku-kun! That's it, now we HAVE to meet up today.

Crayon: ^

Frog: ^

Tape: ^

Glasses: ^

Book: I'll send you all my home address. Oh, and don't worry about any travel fares, I will reimburse you. Don't even try to fight it, I took debate in middle school, and I will counter every argument.

Book: I'll ask Mother and Father to set aside some rooms for us. There will be tea and food!

After a few minutes of discussion, the group decided to meet up a little after noon, and spend a few hours doing whatever came to mind. There was no real plan, but Yaoyorozu suggested something relaxing, like spending time in her family's library. Ashido made a token complaint, but the idea of spending time with friends in a stress-free environment overrode her dislike of academic studies—and she became more interested when Yaoyorozu mentioned a large section of romance novels.

Midoriya got himself ready for the day and sent a message to his mother—who was more than happy for him—and then looked up the best route to the Yaoyorozu home. He only checked for one stop on the way there before ordering his train tickets.

…

"Whoa," Ashido whispered.

"Yeah," Midoriya said.

"Ribbit."

Sero grinned nervously. "I knew she was rich, but… yeah."

The Yaoyorozu home was huge; calling it a mansion would have been a disservice. Midoriya could only see the front from his spot in front of the gate, and though it wasn't as tall as his apartment building, it probably still exceeded it in pure mass.

Midoriya very quickly felt underdressed; he was wearing jeans and a green t-shirt that had 'T-Shirt' printed on it, so he looked more than a little out of place.

Iida pushed his glasses further onto the bridge of his nose; with his khaki pants and polo shirt, he looked like he was heading to a business meeting, not hang out with friends. "I think this is her spring residence."

Uraraka, who had been gaping silently until now, whirled. "She has more than one house!?"

"Yes? I remember my brother once worked on a case that involved the Yaoyorozu family. They invited him to their winter home, and he joked that they were renovating their summer home."

Sero raised an eyebrow. "Does she have a home for every season?"

Iida shrugged. "Possibly; I'm not acquainted with the family, and I only met Yaomomo at UA."

As ever, Asui was the voice of reason. "We're not going to get anywhere just standing here, ribbit. Let's ring the doorbell."

She pressed the button on the side of the gate; less than a second later, Yaoyorozu's voice came out of a speaker.

"Oh, wonderful! You're all here! One moment, let me open the gate for you."

Ben chuckled. "You sure you're the only one who didn't have friends? She seems way too happy that you're all here."

Midoriya couldn't disagree; he could almost hear Yaoyorozu's smile in her voice.

The large doors opened just before the group actually got there. Yaoyorozu, wearing a pink blouse and white shorts, stood in the doorway and beamed.

"Welcome to our home!" she said, and ushered them all inside. They put their shoes onto beautifully carved wooden shelves, and Yaoyorozu took them on an abbreviated tour that ended in an enormous dining hall. "Please, make yourselves comfortable while I get the tea."

Midoriya sat on an oak chair that, despite its fine craftsmanship, was incredibly comfortable. "Okay, so… this is happening?"

"I guess so, ribbit," Asui said; her only sign of nervousness was how she kept smoothing out her yellow dress and green jacket. "I feel like I should be paying to sit down."

Uraraka sat limply in her own chair, and then looked down at her modest shorts and red shirt before looking up again. "I could fit every relative I have in just this room—it's bigger than my parents' house!"

Ashido nodded. "Aside from Iida, I think all of us live in places smaller than this room."

Iida shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that this would be so… overwhelming."

"Is something the matter?" Yaoyorozu smiled as she pushed a trolley that held a set of teacups that were probably worth more than what Midoriya's mother made in several months.

"No, nothing at all!" Sero tried to look nonchalant, and only partly succeeded. "I guess none of us have been in a house this big before. It's really cool."

"Oh, thank you!" Yaoyorozu began handing out tea and slices of cake. "To be honest, it's wonderful to have company over; usually, it's just the staff and my parents' business partners."

Uraraka leaned over to whisper in Midoriya's ear. "She has staff!"

Midoriya nodded weakly. But she acts like she's always alone…

"Thanks for all of this, Yaomomo," he said, gesturing vaguely to the tea, and then the room in general. The others quickly echoed his sentiment.

Yaoyorozu blushed. "Please, it was the least I could do."

"If this is the least, what happens when she pulls out all the stops?" Uraraka whispered.

"I'm imagining gold-plated robots serving meals from a five-star restaurant," Midoriya muttered back.

It took some time, but everyone eventually got comfortable enough to enjoy the tea—a brand called Imperial Golden Tips, which was a favorite of Yaoyorozu's—and have a casual conversation. None of them were willing to talk about the Villain attack yet; Yaoyorozu was just too happy to bring that up for now.

After the tea and cake, they were brought a light meal—which looked like something Midoriya had seen on a high-class cooking show—by several maids, whose uniforms were probably more expensive than Midoriya's nicest clothes.

Once that was done, Yaoyorozu brought them to the library, where huge shelves carried books on every subject Midoriya could imagine. What really caught his attention was an entire section on Pro Heroes.

"Wow!" Midoriya tentatively reached out and grabbed an older book. "This is a biography of Shimura Nana! This hasn't been in print for decades!"

Yaoyorozu nodded eagerly. "Oh, yes, my mother is a fan; she even met her once! If I'm being honest, Shimura-san inspired me more than any other female Hero."

"Wait, who's Shimura Nana?" Uraraka asked; everyone else, even Iida, looked lost.

"She was the first woman to get into Japan's Top Ten Heroes!" Midoriya exclaimed. "A lot of people agree that she was the one who helped women break into the Pro Hero business."

"Really?" Uraraka shrugged, which was mirrored by the others. "How come I've never heard of her?"

Yaoyorozu and Midoriya shared a sad look. "Well, she died in a fight with a Villain about thirty years ago," the former said. "Heroes dying to Villains, especially the more popular ones, isn't something the government likes to cover, so they let her fade into obscurity. I think they pulled all of her merchandise within a few months after her death. They didn't even say who the Villain was, or if they were caught."

At the mention of Villains, the group fell into an awkward silence as they sat on beautiful recliners.

"Are…" Ashido glanced around. "Are we gonna talk about what happened yesterday?"

"I feel like we should," Sero said. "I mean, better to talk about it with you guys than a school shrink, right?"

For another moment, they were quiet again.

"I was so scared," Uraraka said, her voice small. "Everything was happening so fast, and then Deku-kun, Tsu-chan, Yaomomo—you all disappeared. I mean, I was worried about the rest of the class, but you guys are my friends, and when you were gone, I thought you might be—"

Uraraka choked, and her eyes watered. Without even thinking about it, Midoriya reached out and took her hand in his.

"We weren't," he said firmly. "We're all okay, right?"

"Yeah!" Ashido held up her hands, which were still bandaged. "This was probably the worst injury any of us had, and I'm gonna be fine!"

Uraraka nodded and rubbed her eyes with her free hand. "Thanks. I think knew that, I just needed to hear it."

"Anytime," Midoriya said, and then realized he was still holding her hand. "O-oh! I'm s-sorry, I d-didn't mean to—"

Now it was Uraraka's turn to interrupt, though with a giggle. "It's fine, Deku-kun."

"Oh, look, he's back to stuttering!" Sero leaned over and playfully smacked Midoriya's shoulder.

"Fighting Villains, talking about Quirk theory, gushing about Heroes, being all noble—no problem at all!" Ashido winked at Midoriya. "Chilling out with a pretty girl? He turns into a mess."

"He's gonna make all the boys in class so jealous, ribbit," Asui said with the slightest hint of a smile. "Mina and Yaomomo think he's adorable, he saved me from the lead Villain, and it's obvious that Ochako has a crush on him."

Ashido just laughed, and Yaoyorozu looked away with a bit of color on her cheeks, but Uraraka's face turned a dangerous shade of red. She tried to cover up her blush with her hands, but accidentally made herself float overhead. Asui pulled her back down with her tongue, and she released her Quirk before she made herself sick.

"You know, I was hoping for a reaction from you, Ochako, but I didn't think it would be that good, ribbit." Asui patted Uraraka on the shoulder as the girl tried to calm down.

"Were you hoping for that reaction?" Sero grinned as he pointed at Midoriya, who had gone nearly catatonic, mumbling incoherently and blushing hard enough that Iida looked genuinely concerned.

"That's even better, ribbit."

…

Once Midoriya and Uraraka composed themselves, Yaoyorozu suggested they all find something they enjoyed reading. She picked out a science textbook—which made Ashido grimace—while Iida found a history of early Pro Heroes, something that he promised to trade with Midoriya when he was done reading the Shimura biography. Asui picked out an encyclopedia on frogs, to absolutely no one's surprise, and Uraraka found an old fantasy novel from the pre-Quirk days. Sero was revealed to be a fan of older genres when he came back with a noir detective novel. Ashido took the longest to find a book, and when she did, everyone blushed; the cover involved a woman wearing only a sheet, held in the arms of a near-naked man who looked like he'd been sculpted, not born.

"At least we all know each other's preferences," Midoriya pointed out, though to the group's amusement, he was still red-faced after seeing Ashido's choice in reading material.

For her part, Ashido glanced at the cover of her book, and then waggled her eyebrows at the boys.

"I bet you could be like this hunk if you hit the gym every day," she said. "How often do you boys work out?"

"I train at least three times a week," Iida said, flustered.

Sero shrugged, unfazed by Ashido's saucy grin. "I go to a gym sometimes, but mostly for the rock-climbing."

At this point, steam was dangerously close to coming out of Midoriya's ears. "I s-started a w-workout r-regimen almost a year ago."

"Well, keep at it, and you might at least look as ripped as Kirishima." Ashido grinned even wider and turned to the other girls. "Hmm, did you see the abs on that boy? You could grate cheese on that!"

Yaoyorozu gently nudged her. "All right, please stop—you too, Tsuyu."

"Fine, but just for today," Ashido said.

"I'll give you until next week, ribbit."

For a while, they settled into a comfortable silence, only broken by the occasional giggle from Ashido as she read. At one point, though, Uraraka let out a gusty sigh that got their attention.

"Does anyone ever wonder if Heroes in the early days acted like this?" She held up her book. "People who just did the right thing for its own sake, not because it got them attention, or because it was their job?"

"Technically, that's being a Vigilante," Yaoyorozu pointed out. "Many of them are people who couldn't get a license for Hero work, but still want to help. Many of their intentions are noble, but it's still illegal to use your Quirk outside of special circumstances. Still, most of them are left alone if they're just picking up trash or helping people cross the street. Some Heroes actually don't mind if they're around in a crisis, because they help evacuate civilians. It's just the ones that try to fight Villains and cause trouble that are the problem."

"Speaking of being heroes," Midoriya said, his tone innocently curious. "Can I ask you all a question?"

"Sure, Deku-kun," Uraraka said.

"Why do you want to be Heroes?" Midoriya shrugged. "I mean, it's kind of obvious that I was inspired by All Might, but what about the rest of you?"

Iida smiled proudly. "Well, I come from a long line of Heroes. I see it as a responsibility and a great honor to uphold that tradition!"

Yaoyorozu looked a little embarrassed. "I've been blessed with a good life, and a good Quirk. I felt that I should do all I can to give back to the world as a Hero."

"Ribbit, I really like helping people," Asui said. "And I'm pretty good at making my siblings happy, so I thought I could make other people happy too."

Uraraka was quiet for a moment. "If I answer, can you all promise you won't make fun of me?"

Everyone unanimously promised.

"Well… for the money."

Midoriya glanced at her. "Really? I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, being a Pro Hero is still a job, but—"

"No, it's not that." Uraraka looked down at her lap. "My parents… they have a construction company, but business hasn't been very good for a while. They don't have a lot of money, so I thought I could be a Pro Hero and make their lives easier. They kept telling me that I didn't have to do it for them, but they worked so hard to get me into UA, so when I make it big, I'm gonna send them on an all-expense-paid vacation to Hawaii!"

By the time she was done, everyone had stopped to stare at her.

"What?"

"That is incredibly noble!" Iida started chopping the air in excitement. "You're sacrificing some of your own future to help your family! Truly, you are a selfless person!"

"Yeah, now I feel kinda bad," Ashido said. "I wanted to be a Hero because of all the cool stuff I could do, but I never really thought about how I would help people. I think you just inspired me, Ochako!"

"I feel the same as Mina," Sero said. "Being a Hero always sounded cool, but helping people I know never really crossed my mind. I always pictured myself helping random citizens, but actually having a connection to people I've helped… I've got some stuff to think about now."

"Ribbit, that's really sweet of you." Asui hopped over and smiled. "You're doing a good thing."

Yaoyorozu just nodded, but when no one was looking, she made a note on her phone to talk to her parents about possibly hiring Uraraka's family for any construction projects in the future.

Midoriya, deliberately this time, reached out and put his hand over hers. "That is now my favorite reason why anyone became a Hero."

Uraraka beamed. "Thanks, Deku-kun."

Ashido watched the two of them gaze into each other's eyes and smirked; she lightly elbowed Yaoyorozu, pointed with her chin in their direction, and waggled her eyebrows. For her part, Yaoyorozu just rolled her eyes, though she did think it was very sweet.

…

The sun had set, and Yaoyorozu insisted that they all stay for dinner. Like before, the meal was incredibly expensive, but it tasted amazing, and nobody complained. Afterwards, they began getting ready to leave.

"We should do this again," Yaoyorozu said as her friends put on their shoes. "At the very least, we can have a good place to study for tests!"

"A wonderful idea, Yaomomo!" Iida nodded decisively. "We should organize study groups on weekends!"

"The weekends before tests," Ashido amended. "We all need time to relax, too, or we'll burn ourselves out. But I'm totally down for hangouts with you guys!"

The rest of the group quickly agreed; they were about to head out, but then Midoriya realized that he still had one thing left to do.

"Hey, Tsuyu?" Midoriya pulled the small bottle of mouthwash he'd bought from a convenience store between train stops from his pocket and tossed it to her. "I th-think we're even now."

For a moment, it almost looked like Asui would actually laugh; instead, she just smiled. "Thanks, ribbit."

"See you guys after the weekend!" Ashido called out, waving back at Yaoyorozu. "Aside from the whole thing with the Villains, this has been a great week!"

"Totally!" Sero shared a high-five with her, taking care not to hit too hard because of her hands. "I'm actually excited for school! How weird is that?"

They shared a laugh, but when it came time for them all to split up, Uraraka lingered with Midoriya.

"Hey, Deku-kun?"

"What's up, Ochako?" Midoriya blushed. "Wait, we're not with everyone else, sorry for calling you by your first name."

"It's fine," Uraraka said with a bright smile. "I just wanted to ask you something."

"Oh, g-go ahead."

"How are you doing?" she asked. "You were so concerned about all of us, especially yesterday, but you haven't said anything about yourself."

Midoriya took a deep breath. "W-well, I can't say I wasn't scared, but everything happened so fast, so I didn't really have time to think about it… until the end, I mean. Shigaraki was really close to grabbing me, and I ran out of time." He shuddered for a moment, but forced a smile back on his face. "B-but All Might showed up, and I'm fine now!"

Uraraka didn't look like she completely believed him, which was fair—he didn't completely believe himself. Still, she didn't call him out on it, since he'd at least admitted that he'd been scared; instead, she hesitantly walked up and hugged him.

Midoriya froze; he was getting used to talking to girls, but now there was a girl hugging him. Unlike yesterday, he was completely aware of what was happening—a pretty girl was hugging him, and he had no idea what to do! Ben, who had been absent for almost the entire visit, was no help at all; he just appeared, grinned, and disappeared again.

"I'm glad you're okay, Deku-kun," Uraraka said quietly, and then stepped back and smiled. "See you at school?"

"Uh-huh," Midoriya managed.

Once she was gone, Ben appeared again. "Man, you have had an interesting week. I hope the rest of the year isn't this eventful, or you're going to need anxiety meds."

Midoriya couldn't help but agree.

…

Unlike almost all of the other UA students, Midoriya didn't spend the entire weekend out of school. Though class had been canceled until next week, Nezu had sent him an email saying that the offer of extra training was still open on Saturday. He wasn't required to come for this one, but the tone of the email suggested he wanted Midoriya to go.

Which was why he showed up at school in the early hours of the morning. He was unsure of how to dress, so he came in his uniform. Waiting for him just past the front gate was Nezu, sipping what looked like coffee from a thermos.

"Good morning, Midoriya-san!" The little creature smiled widely. "I trust that you rested well yesterday?"

"Y-yes, Nezu-sensei." Midoriya bowed respectfully. "I was spending time with some of my classmates."

"I trust none of you were doing anything strenuous?" Nezu didn't seem serious, and was just making idle conversation. "Yesterday was meant for you all to recuperate."

"We just talked, had some food, and read in Yaoyorozu-san's library." Midoriya smiled at the memory. "It was the first time I've ever spent a day with friends like that."

Nezu's own smile turned a bit strained. "Yes, I imagine living Quirkless for so long prevented you from having many friends." He shook his head. "When Quirks first emerged, many of those who had powers were shunned by society. Now, it is those without Quirks who are treated as if they are unnatural."

"I-it wasn't so bad!" Midoriya protested, though Ben rolled his eyes. "Stop that, Ben!"

"While I can't see him right now, I assume that Ben has done something to refute that statement." Nezu shrugged. "But enough of such dreary topics today. We have a few more minutes of walking, so please, tell me what you read at Yaoyorozu-san's home."

When Midoriya talked about the Shimura biography, Nezu laughed. He told Midoriya that he himself had read that same book, and had met Shimura Nana years ago. To Midoriya's disappointment, a good part of the biography was guesswork, as Shimura had kept a great deal of her personal life a secret. He did hint that he knew some of those secrets, but they were not his to tell, which Midoriya could respect.

After all, Nezu was keeping his secrets.

"Ah, here we are," the principal said. "Gym Alpha. There is equipment here that can be useful for almost any Quirk, as well as modular terrain for different techniques, and rings for full-contact sparring."

"What am I starting on first?" Midoriya asked, excited to train somewhere that wasn't a field of garbage.

"It's less of a 'what', and more of a 'who'." Nezu giggled to himself as he stepped inside. "Though, in this case, you'll recognize them."

"Hey, freshman!" Midoriya jumped a foot into the air at the familiar voice. "And here I thought it would be a while before we saw each other again!"

Standing there in their gym uniforms was the Big Three. Togata was doing some stretches, Hado was casually flying overhead, and Amajiki was lifting several weights with the massive tentacles that now replaced his fingers.

"Hey, hey!" Hado darted back to the ground and landed in front of Midoriya. "It's great to see you again! How're your friends, the one with glasses, and the pink one that hit on Mirio and Tamaki?"

Togata laughed at the reminder, while Amajiki groaned.

It took Midoriya a moment to adjust to Hado's enthusiasm; she was also a pretty girl that had gotten well within his personal space.

"W-well, Iida is d-doing a lot b-better, and Ashido sh-should be able to t-take off her b-bandages in another day or two." He looked down at Nezu. "You didn't say the Big Three would be here!"

Nezu grinned up at him. "To be fair, I didn't tell them that you would be here, either." He started walking towards a flight of stairs. "You four get started on your training. Midoriya-san, remember that I want you to focus on just one transformation for today. Togata-san, Hado-san, Amajiki-san—I would appreciate it if you didn't kill him."

"Y-yes, Nezu-sensei!" It took Midoriya a second to register what Nezu had said to the Big Three. "Wait, what?"

Togata slapped him on the back hard enough to send him stumbling forward… directly into Hado, who immediately hugged him.

"Oh, he's so cute, Mirio!" She gave the older boys pleading eyes. "Can we keep him? Please?"

"Only if you let him go, Nejire," Togata said with a laugh. "I'm pretty sure he stopped breathing; that's even worse than the first time you hugged Tamaki."

Hado pouted, but let Midoriya go. "Um, I'm, uh, gonna go get into my gym clothes, be right back."

Hado laughed, Togata grinned, and even Amajiki smirked for a second. Poor kid, he's been here for two minutes, and those two have already decided to take him under their wing. I might as well make sure they don't accidentally kill him with embarrassment.

…

Nezu entered the observation room to find three familiar faces. "Ah, you're all here. I was wondering if I would have to resort to drastic measures."

A tall, lanky man in a white suit adjusted his glasses. "That wouldn't have been necessary, Nezu-san. I was prepared for this meeting."

A short, old man in a white costume with yellow boots, gloves, cape and belt rolled his eyes behind his double-diamond mask. "If you say you saw this coming with your Quirk, I'm gonna hit you, Nighteye."

Sir Nighteye, former Sidekick to All Might, smirked. "Nothing so dramatic. It was fairly obvious that Nezu-san wanted us to meet when he invited me to observe Mirio's extra training." His customary frown returned as he turned to the final member of the group. "What I don't know is why you aren't down there training him, All Might; he's your successor."

All Might looked rather silly at the moment; in his skinny form, he was practically swimming in his costume. He also looked distinctly uncomfortable being in the presence of his employer, his old teacher, and his former Sidekick; after his fateful battle years ago, he had parted with the latter two on less than the best of terms, and conversations over the last few months had been awkward at best. Choosing Togata as his successor had helped mend that fence, but it was slow going.

"Well, I actually have a good reason for that."

Gran Torino jabbed his cane at the man's chest. "You better not have pushed your time limit again, Toshinori."

"No, no; in fact, I'm taking a break today." He held up his hands at the incredulous looks he was getting. "It's true! I only used my muscle form to get here quickly, because I slept in a bit. Anyway, the reason I'm not down there is because young Mirio has already developed his fighting style. He's now incorporating the extra power, and learning to regulate it safely; if anything, I'm just here to make sure he doesn't overdo it. And yes, I know that's being a little hypocritical."

Gran Torino glanced at Sir Nighteye. "Should we be concerned that he's being all responsible for once?"

Sir Nighteye shrugged. "I can't discount the possibility that choosing a successor has opened his eyes, so to speak." He turned his attention to the fourth student to arrive. "What perplexes me is why you have brought that first-year student, Nezu-san. Is this the one with multiple Quirks?"

Nezu nodded. "Yes, I brought him here because he has potential the likes of which I've never seen. However, he only learned how to use his Quirk recently, and in terms of practical application, he is woefully behind the rest of his class. Thankfully, he is a quick study. My aim is to have him train with the best students in UA; their experience will help him, and the sheer variety of his transformations will hone them in turn."

All Might laughed, and then spat out blood. "I think Aizawa would call that a very rational decision."

Sir Nighteye just raised an eyebrow. "I wonder… Mirio is already set to be the next Symbol of Peace. Will someone like this Midoriya help him, or hinder him?"

"I suppose we'll find out," Nezu said.

…

"All right, let's start with some sparring," Togata said, and pointed to the ring. "You and me, freshman; show me what you've got."

Midoriya nodded. "Okay!" He cycled through his aliens, and then made his choice for the day. "HUMUNGOUSAUR!"

"Ooh, I remember that one from the other day!" Hado hovered a few feet in the air and quickly circled around him. "This form is pretty tough; you took a blast from my Quirk and shook it off! Sorry about that, by the way."

Humungousaur shrugged. "It wasn't that big a deal. I'm just glad it was me and not someone else."

"Aw, that's so sweet!" She turned in midair and gave Togata a stern look. "We just got him, so no breaking him!"

Togata laughed. "I'll do my best!"

The two students went to opposite sides of the ring; Togata cracked his knuckles, but to the surprise of the Big Three, Humungousaur started to grow in size, until he was almost forty feet tall. Large plates sprouted from his back, and wicked spikes emerged from the end of his tail.

"Oh, so this form actually has a surprise," Togata noted. "Does Mount Lady know you're copying her?"

Humungousaur scratched his cheek. "Well, in her defense, she can reach just over sixty-seven feet tall, and my maximum is about sixty."

"That's some spot-on trivia." Togata grinned. "Also in her defense, you aren't as pretty."

Humungousaur couldn't help but chuckle. "You're not wrong." He took a deep breath. "All right, let's do this!"

Hado reached up and fired a tiny spiral of energy. "Okay, go!"

Humungousaur charged, covering the distance between them in three massive footsteps. He swung his fist in a downward arc that was aimed at Togata's chest. However, an instant before he made contact, Togata's clothes melted off his body, and Humungousaur's fist passed harmlessly through him.

"Wait, what?" Humungousaur watched as Togata then sank into the floor. "I thought he had enhanced strength!"

Togata then popped straight up, completely naked and crackling with golden energy again; he caught the surprised Humungousaur on the chin and sent him tumbling back.

"POWERRRR!" Togata roared as he landed on his feet. "Come on, Midoriya, that can't be all you've got! What happened to that kid who beat Nomu?"

Humungousaur rubbed his sore jaw. "Okay, fine, let's try again!"

No matter how many times he attacked, or from what angle, he was unable to land a hit on Togata. His blows just passed through, and then Togata would counter with a punch or kick that left Humungousaur more like a dinosaur-sized punching bag.

He considered using one of his other aliens, but Nezu had told him to only use one for the day. Even if he could, he wasn't sure if he had anything in his arsenal that could hit Togata.

Finally, after an hour of being beaten into the ground, the Ultimatrix timed out, and Midoriya was left a panting, bruised mess on the floor. Hado knelt by his side and gave him a bottle of water; Amajiki gave another to Togata, after the boy put his pants back on.

"A valiant effort, Midoriya-san," Nezu said as he walked back into the room. "There are many Pros who couldn't last that long against Togata-san, and you only transformed back because you reached your limit. Sometimes, the best you can ever hope for is to keep your opponent busy while other Heroes evacuate the area."

"Can I…" Midoriya took a long drink of water and then tried again. "Can I use another transformation to heal up?"

"Of course, but you can only use that one for that purpose, unless you train using it next week." Nezu turned around. "I'll be back in the observation room if anyone needs me. Please continue whenever you're ready."

Midoriya nodded in thanks, but froze again when Hado started stroking his hair. "H-Hado-san, w-what are you d-doing?"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist!" Hado giggled, but didn't stop. "You're just so adorable, and you never gave up, even when it was impossible to hit Mirio! Speaking of which…" she turned a devastating pout Togata's way. "I told you not to be so hard on him!"

Togata took a step back. "He has a transformation that heals him, and I didn't go all-out!"

Midoriya glanced down at the Ultimatrix; the dial was still red. "While I wait, can I ask you three a question?"

"Sure, go ahead," Togata said.

"Can I ask you about your Quirks?" Midoriya was particularly interested in Togata's, but he wanted to know about all of them.

"Ooh, me first!" Hado sprang up and generated a small spiral in her hand. "My Quirk is called Wave Motion! I turn my own stamina into spiral shockwaves; I can exhaust myself if I overdo it, but I've always got lots of energy! Oh, and I can use it to fly, which is so much fun! Hey, do you have a transformation that lets you fly, Midoriya-kun? We can be flying buddies!"

"I, uh, I do have a few forms that can fly," Midoriya said as he limped towards a bench. As soon as he sat down, Hado resumed messing with his hair.

"Your turn, Tamaki!" she said, pointing at the boy in question.

Amajiki slouched tiredly. "My Quirk is called Manifest. I can gain the physical properties of anything I eat." He held up one hand, which morphed into a giant crab claw. "I like to eat seafood as much as possible."

Midoriya's eyes went wide, even the one that was starting to darken from Togata's last punch, as he pulled out his notebook. "That's incredible! Does it work for non-animal food as well? How long does it last? Is there a limit to what you can do?"

Amajiki flinched at the enthusiastic questions. "It's not as impressive as your Quirk, but I can utilize non-animal characteristics. I once used a plant's ability to photosynthesize during an internship and I was really tired. And I can use it until I digest it. Other than that, I don't really have a limit, though it can get exhausting when I force my body to go through so many changes."

Midoriya had gone starry-eyed at that point; it made Amajiki uncomfortable, but Hado and Togata found it adorable.

"Your turn, Mirio," Amajiki muttered. "Don't make me do that again."

Togata just laughed. "Fair enough. Okay, freshman, my Quirk is called Permeation. I can turn my body intangible and pass through anything, but it requires a lot of steps, because if I don't get it right, I'll just sink into the floor, or I might make part of my body intangible, but the rest of me will just smack into the wall I'm trying to go through."

"Sinking into the floor worked well during our spar," Midoriya pointed out.

"Yeah, but when I do that, I can't see, hear, or breathe, since all the air passes through me," Togata said. His smile didn't waver, but his tone was more serious. "And gravity gets weird when I do that, so I'll keep falling until I turn my Quirk off. Thankfully, as soon as I do, it spits me up and out of the ground, since matter can't occupy the same spot. Also, without my costume, I always become naked when I fully utilize my Quirk."

Midoriya frowned. "What about the strength and speed?"

…

"I'm interested to hear how he explains that," All Might said as they listened in. "We never gave him a cover story."

"He's also not a good liar," Sir Nighteye commented. "To be frank, none of them are."

…

Togata chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Well, it turns out that I've only been utilizing half of my Quirk. When I pass through an object, I'm absorbing kinetic energy—something involving physics that I don't understand. Since I didn't know how to release that energy, I've just been storing it up for most of my life. I only figured out how to tap into that power a few months ago, but since I have such a big store of it now, I'm still learning how to regulate it safely."

Amajiki scowled. "You might have heard us the other day, but the first time he used this energy, he broke his arm."

"Yeah, it was scary," Hado said, and hugged Midoriya like he was a stuffed animal that comforted her after a nightmare. "The bones were sticking out and everything, it was gross."

Togata nodded. "Yeah, it took a while to figure out how to properly use it, and even then, I can only safely use about fifteen percent of my maximum. I can push it to about twenty, but I'll be sore all over for a few days. Anything more than that is asking for a visit to Recovery Girl."

A small part of Midoriya was glad that he'd brought his notebook; the rest of him was distracted, because Hado was still hugging him. Thankfully, he was saved when the Ultimatrix finished recharging.

"Um, you're going to want to take a step back," he advised—much to his relief, Hado let go. "This one… smells. Bad."

Sure enough, when Midoriya turned into Swampfire, the Big Three all held their noses and backed off. Still, they watched with fascination as all the bruises faded away, and Togata grinned when Midoriya turned back to normal.

"So, you can turn into a walking stink bomb that can regenerate? That's awesome!"

Midoriya went red-faced again. "I can also use seeds that trap people in vines, and I can throw fireballs."

Amajiki leaned back, as if he learned that Midoriya was a dangerous weapon. "How many transformations do you have?"

"Right now?" Midoriya shrugged. "Fifty."

…

All Might was treated to the rare sight of Sir Nighteye looking completely floored when they heard Midoriya's words. Granted, he was also surprised, but he'd suspected that the boy had plenty of transformations they'd yet to see.

"He has at least fifty Quirks?" Nighteye leaned against a nearby desk to support himself. "The only person I can think of who might have that many powers is—"

"Young Midoriya has no connection to All For One," All Might said firmly. "Nezu investigated him, and I trust Nezu's word."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, All Might." Nezu hopped onto the desk so that he could more easily meet Nighteye's gaze. "The boy has been able to transform for less than a year. If he was truly connected to All For One, I'm certain that Midoriya would be much more dangerous."

"He's right," Gran Torino said. "All For One would never have let someone with such a powerful Quirk walk around while he was alive, and if the boy had been working with him, he'd be a lot more experienced than he is. It just doesn't add up."

Nighteye took a long, steadying breath. "Very well, I accept your reasoning, but I feel uneasy about someone so unsure of himself possessing such power. I mean no offense, but I will be keeping an eye on him if he is going to be spending time with Mirio."

"Overprotective, isn't he?" Gran Torino stage-whispered, and All Might chuckled, only to become serious again.

"Speaking of… him," he said darkly, "Tsukauchi contacted me about one of the Villains from the attack. He's called Nomu, and he had multiple Quirks; unlike young Midoriya, this appears to have been done artificially."

Nighteye grimaced. "You think he's back? That he's alive?"

All Might's hands tightened into fists, and he switched to his muscle form on reflex. "I hate to even consider it, but I think he just might be."

"Then Mirio has to be ready." Nighteye glanced at the screen again, where Midoriya was chatting with the Big Three. "They'll all have to be ready."

…

Midoriya didn't just spar with Togata; he traded off between Hado and Amajiki as well. Hado was able to bombard Humungousaur with her Quirk, and evaded almost all of his strikes. The only exception was when Humungousaur had guessed where she was going, and managed to swat her out of the air with his tail. Technically, because he had knocked her out of the ring, he had won, but all she had was a bad bruise on her side, while he was covered in scrapes, bumps, and burns.

It was when he fought Amajiki that things were more even. Both of them were suited for close-quarters fighting, and Humungousaur could smash aside the giant clamshells that Amajiki used as shields. He had more trouble dealing with the boy's tentacles, because the thick muscle absorbed the shock of his blows. Amajiki almost won by choking him into unconsciousness, but Humungousaur again managed to push him out of the ring. Still, everyone admitted that if it had been a real fight, Humungousaur would have lost all three rounds.

"I think I need to use Humungousaur against slower, weaker opponents," Midoriya said, after he'd finished recovering. "He's probably better at clearing out areas of thugs when fighting. Anyone with mobility and a decent understanding of their own Quirk is going to cause me problems. Actually, I might have better luck with rescue work."

Togata looked at him curiously. "Oh? What are you thinking?"

"Well, Humungousaur is strong, which means lifting up debris will be easy. Oh, and if I need to carry people to safety, all I have to do is grow really big and have people hold onto my back plates while I carry others."

"Not a bad idea," Amajiki said from the wall, against which he pressed his forehead. "You should remember to have the stronger adults hold onto your back, while you carry the weaker civilians."

"Ooh, good call!" Hado commented, and then tilted her head. "Hey, Midoriya-kun?"

"Y-yes, Hado-san?"

"First of all, if you don't start calling me Nejire by next week, I'm gonna make Amajiki cover you in slime with his tentacles—"

"Please don't make me do that again, I'm pretty sure that one guy is still in therapy."

"Anyway," Hado pointed at the Ultimatrix. "How come you sometimes refer to your forms like they're other people?"

Thankfully, this was something that Midoriya had an easy answer for. "Well, some of my transformations make me feel like a different person; it's still me, but at the same time, it isn't. Also, um…"

When Midoriya hesitated, Togata slung an arm around his shoulders. "Hey, if you don't want to talk about it, it's fine."

"No, no, I just…" Midoriya sighed. "I actually thought I was Quirkless for most of my life. Even now, it sometimes feels like none of this is real, so I have a hard time seeing my different forms as… me."

Togata nodded in understanding. "I'm gonna give you some advice that I got recently. No matter how weird your Quirk is, just remember that it's part of you; once you accept that, the rest will just fall into place."

"Th-thanks, Mirio-san."

"Anytime, freshman." Togata looked at his phone. "Well, I've gotta get home; I've got homework to do, and let me tell you, Midoriya, third-year classes are harder than anything you can imagine."

Midoriya tried to smile. "Something to look forward to, I guess?"

Togata and Hado laughed, and though he'd deny it until his dying day, Amajiki's shoulders twitched in a way that suggested laughter.

Togata held out a fist. "Same time next week?"

Midoriya hesitantly brought up his own arm to complete the fist-bump. "Sure!"

And so, Midoriya headed home with three new contacts in his phone.