13

Class had been cancelled for a few days after the USJ attack. Izuku was surprised to find that his phone had blown up with notifications while he was in the hospital; he expected texts from Ochako and Yui, but the rest of his class had apparently gotten a hold of his phone number from either Ochako or Iida (or both), and they bombarded his phone with well wishes and questions about his well-being.

The outpour of concern and support he received from his classmates was enough to warm his heart, but the lengthy text he received from Tsu thanking him for everything he did to heal and protect her and Mineta just about made him cry. He even got a text from Tokage (presumably thanks to getting his phone number from Yui) checking up on him after 1-B heard about the attack. He'd really have to do something nice for all of them.

A few days later, against his mother's wishes for him to take another day to himself after the Sludge Villain's failed attack, he returned to school alongside everyone else. He was one of the first people in class in an effort to get out in front of the inevitable swarm of attention he was expecting to receive. He was right, as Toru beamed at the sight of him, and even Aoyama expressed his happiness to have a "brethren of the sparkle" back in good health.

The most odd reaction, however, was from Bakugo. The two teens' eyes met when he arrived, and the usually bombastic blonde became rather pensive. He ultimately decided to hold onto whatever was on his mind, though, and he sat down in his seat in front of Izuku without a word. Izuku would have thought a little more about it, but a similar thing happened with Todoroki shortly afterward. The only difference was that the teen's varied eyes narrowed at him, but much of the animosity that had been there previously was gone. He'd take that as a victory if not for the reminder that the boy's two-toned eyes gave him of Matatabi's own heterochromia.

Eventually, amidst the chatter of the news covering them regarding the USJ, their homeroom teacher arrived wrapped head to toe in bandages, much to the shock of the class. The fact that he was even there and walking to boot was a miracle given the condition the Nomu had left him in.

"My well-being is irrelevant," he grumbled under the bandages. "What's more important is that your fight isn't over yet. The UA Sports Festival is set to start soon."

That elicited the collective excitement and concern of the class. Izuku, while he understood why the Sports Festival needed to happen given the international importance of the event, was dubious about the prospect of hosting it so soon after a villain attack on students. Luckily, Jiro voiced those concerns that he and many others in the room shared.

"Apparently, the administration thinks that this is a good way to show that the threat has been handled and our school is safer than ever, plus they're beefing up security compared to past years," Aizawa responded to their concerns. "This event is a huge opportunity for all students at UA. It's not something that can be cancelled because of a few villains."

Izuku was still a bit skeptical, so he resolved to see Principal Nezu during lunch to express his thoughts. After Aizawa finished his speech and classes proceeded as normal, the excitement for the festival was noticeably bubbling amongst the students. When the bell for lunch rang, that excitement only became more apparent. Izuku gathered his things to head to the principal's office, but he stopped to intercept a hand sneaking up on him, and he offered a smile to the expected culprit.

"Izuku, Iida, let's do our bests at the Sports Festival!" Ochako said with an intensity that he had never seen from her. No one else in the room thought she was capable of that kind of intensity, either, and the reactions to her declarations ranged from hesitant approval to outright concern.

Izuku, on the other hand, fully supported her fervor and opted to join her.

"Hell yeah, let's do our bests!" he shouted in agreement and pumped his own fist into the air.

She spun to face him and shot him a challenging smile, and they pumped their fists again in unison.

"We're gonna fucking crush it!" the two emphatically declared, much to the growing discomfort of the rest of the class.

Once they left the classroom, the three friends engaged in light conversation until Izuku went to split off from them to head to Nezu, but he remembered something.

"Oh, before I forget, I got you guys something," Izuku spoke up before reaching into his bag. The two looked at him curiously as he pulled out two bentos.

"I wanted to thank the both of you for being the first real friends I've ever had," Izuku began. "I don't really talk about my past much, but you both know about the situation with my old district."

When they nodded, he continued. "I'm not really great at the whole 'being social' thing, and most of my time at UA has been me winging it and hoping for the best, but I really appreciate having the both of you around, especially after what happened at the USJ. I figured I should do something nice in return."

With that, he bashfully handed them the bentos, one with a pink bow on it for Ochako and one with a dark blue bow for Iida. They wordlessly and gratefully accepted them, Iida launching into a heartfelt speech about friendship and being there for those you care about while Ochako silently opened the bento to see what was inside. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was full of mochi.

She stared down at the bento of some of the best looking mochi she had ever laid eyes on, and she completely tuned out everything around her, including Izuku sheepishly trying to deflect the praise Iida was giving him.

'He did this for me? Just for being his friend?'

She looked back at him, and her eyes zeroed in on his right arm. She remembered the absolutely abysmal state it was in at the USJ and what he went through to keep himself and the others alive.

'He went through all of that, and he still felt like he needed to repay us…'

Her expression hardened. 'Someone as kind as him doesn't need to put himself through all of that. He'd run himself ragged if it meant protecting people. I need to get stronger if I want to properly protect myself. We all do, and maybe we could protect him, too.'

Ochako closed the bento and stepped toward Izuku, drawing the attention of himself and Iida. She, with a face set into righteous determination, hugged Izuku as tightly as she could without dropping the bento.

"We're gonna fucking crush the Sports Festival," she resolutely declared a final time before she quickly scampered away to avoid anyone seeing her newly burning cheeks.

Izuku had absolutely no idea how to react to the impromptu hug, so he stood in place even after Ochako released the hug and left. He turned a confused eye to Iida only to see him dutifully following after Ochako and yelling for her to not run in the halls. He blinked and turned around to head to the principal's office, deciding to think about it later.

When he arrived, he stood in front of the door without knocking and waited. 10 seconds passed without the door opening, and Izuku grew annoyed. After a few more seconds of nothing happening, he sighed and went to knock. Before he could touch the door, it swung open, and Nezu stood before him with a smile.

"Ah, young Izuku, I'm glad you've come for a visit," the chimera innocently chirped.

"I know you knew that I was coming and that I was at the door," he stated with a hint of frustration, entirely unconvinced by the principal's innocent act. "Why didn't you open it?"

"You didn't knock. How was I to know that you wanted to come in?"

An aggravated sigh and a maniacal laugh escaped the teen and animal, respectively, and Izuku entered the room and sat down in front of Nezu's desk.

"I have an idea as to what this may be about, but please share with me your concerns," Nezu instructed with a sip of his tea.

"Is it wise to have the Sports Festival as planned given everything that's happened?" Izuku went straight to the point.

"As I suspected," Nezu nodded, "your concerns are well-founded. Ordinarily, I would agree that it is a dangerous prospect, indeed, but the Sports Festival isn't an ordinary event. It is the most highly televised and anticipated event of the year, and it provides our young heroes in training the exposure and opportunity to present themselves to both the public and pro heroes for their future careers. Canceling it would cause a public relations storm that would be akin to a victory for the villains who attacked the USJ."

Izuku expected that answer, as it was along the lines of the explanation Aizawa had given them earlier that morning. Still, he furrowed his brow. "That's the official and likely business-oriented reason. What is your actual reason for moving forward with it?"

Nezu's smile returned with a glimpse of his sharp teeth. "I certainly made the right decision all those years ago." He reached into his desk and pulled out a picture. "Do you remember this woman?"

Izuku looked down at the photo on the desk, and he nodded in recognition. He wouldn't be able to forget pale blue skin and lilac hair anytime soon.

"I suppose you've proven yourself capable enough to be let in on what's currently transpiring," Nezu spoke up at his affirmation. "This woman is Chitose Kizuki, Executive Director of Shoowaysha Publishing. We strongly suspect her, and Shoowaysha by extension, to have strong ties to the Meta Liberation Army."

Izuku's eyes widened. "She's the one that interviewed me…"

"Indeed," Nezu confirmed, "and she's also the one who green-lit the slew of hit pieces directed at UA that you've no doubt encountered. She has been on my radar for some time, but only recently has she made any particularly bold moves."

"…Like showing up in person right on the campus that she's trying to smear," Izuku connected the dots. "You believe that the MLA is subtly fighting back against you for your takedowns of their districts?"

Nezu nodded, and Izuku continued. "Do you think that they'd use me as a means of discrediting UA?"

"It's not outside of the realm of possibility," Nezu mused. "They may use you and smear your name as a means of discrediting UA, but that isn't what worries me. What worries me is the possibility that now that you, specifically, are in their crosshairs as well, they would use you to smear not just UA, but the public's faith in heroics at large. Shoowaysha is a large publication with considerable reach and influence, and it is precisely why I did everything in my power to keep what happened to the Sludge Villain at the USJ under wraps."

Izuku flinched at the mention of that little detail. Nezu sighed, and he put his cup down on the desk. "It's very unfortunate that it happened for both the sake of your mental health and your potential career. Villain deaths do happen out in the field, and, under normal circumstances, no one would begrudge you for what happened."

Nezu made sure that Izuku was making eye contact with him before he continued. "However, given your declaration to be a beacon for those lost within the cracks of society, a villain death so early in your career will torpedo that notion before you can make any substantial progress with it. Had Shoowaysha caught wind of it, I have no doubt that they would jump on the opportunity to slander your name and create even more disillusionment among the fringes of society to draw people to their cause, as well as chipping away at the faith the general public has in hero institutions if someone with as noble of intentions as yourself was forced to take a life not a week into your very first year."

"That's… goddamn it…" Izuku cursed.

Nezu nodded in agreement. "That is the reason the Sports Festival must continue as planned. You will have an opportunity to ingratiate yourself into the hearts and minds of both the general public and those on the fringes of society that are potentially teetering on the edge of villainy. You must get out in front of any potential smear campaigns that Shoowaysha may undertake against you in the future by building a rapport with the public now. Give them a reason to like you and to want you to succeed, and don't give the MLA any means or opportunity to discredit you."

"So… wow…" Izuku stammered at the information. Nezu patiently waited for him to get his thoughts together, and he was thankful for that. "You want me to win the festival and become a media darling?"

"Not necessarily," Nezu answered, picking up his cup of tea once more to take another sip. "You don't need to win the whole thing, as much as I'm certain that you will, and you certainly don't need to become a media darling since you've already made it publicly clear that you do not seek to replace All Might. Just be sure to not let them turn you into Endeavor. Think of this as your debut. Make the most of it."

Izuku's eyes widened even further as understanding sank in, and he determinedly nodded. "Got it."

"Excellent," Nezu nodded with a feral smile.

The end of the school day provided a rather peculiar situation for Class 1-A. They attempted to leave the room, but they found themselves blocked by a mass of students from the other classes. A few in 1-A nervously looked at the group of interlopers, Izuku looked on in curiosity, Bakugo stared in dismissive annoyance, and Todoroki remained as impassive as ever.

"Um, why the heck are you all here?" Ochako finally questioned.

"Do you students have some kind of business with our class?" Iida sternly asked.

"Why are you blocking the doorway?" Mineta spoke up in near hysterics. "I won't let you hold us hostage!"

"They're scouting the competition, idiots," Bakugo calmly answered as he strolled toward the doorway. "You all survived a villain attack, and they want to see the class that did with their own eyes."

He stopped in front of the doorway and took in the sight, shooting everyone a cold glare. "At least you all now know what a future pro looks like, now move it, ex-"

He stopped himself before he could utter the word, and his face twisted into a frown instead.

"So, this is Class 1-A, huh?" came a lazy drawl from within the mob. "I heard you guys were impressive, but you just sound like an ass. Is everyone in the hero course delusional, or just you?"

Mineta, Ochako, and Iida were continually mortified at the situation that Bakugo got them into by being rude and dismissive toward them, but Izuku only continued observing as a tall boy with a messy head of purple hair and eyes to match nonchalantly pushed his way to the front of the crowd to face them directly.

"How sad to come here and find a bunch of egomaniacs," he cynically lamented. "I wanted to be in the hero course, but like many others here, I was forced to choose a different track. Such is life."

Shinso ran his gaze over the rest of the class. "I didn't cut it the first time around, but I have another chance. If any of us in General Studies, Business, or even Support do well enough in the Sports Festival, our teachers can decide to transfer us into the hero course, and they'll have to transfer some of you all out to make room. Maybe some of my peers are here to scout out the competition, but I'm here to tell you directly that if you don't bring your very best, I'll steal your spot right from under you. Consider this a declaration of war."

His purple eyes finally landed on Izuku, and his gaze narrowed. "Oh, I recognize you. You're the special kid who wants to be a 'savior for the downtrodden' even though you hit the genetic lottery and left them behind, anyway. You're not even a pro yet, and you're already spouting empty platitudes."

Some turned to face Izuku in a mixture of concern and curiosity at how he'd respond, while others looked on in indignation.

"Hey, don't talk to our class rep like that!" Mineta shouted in Izuku's defense. "He's already more of a hero than you could ever hope to-"

He was cut off by Izuku placing a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Izuku staring blankly at the purple-haired boy. He, Ochako, and Iida all wanted to speak on his behalf, but a certain gleam in his eyes that betrayed the blankness of his face compelled them to take a step back and let him handle it. Izuku slowly meandered toward the door through the tense silence that fell amongst everyone in both the room and the hallway. Bakugo turned his head back to look at Izuku, and even he opted to step aside once he saw something familiar in Izuku's gaze.

That did not escape the notice of anyone in 1-A. Many clamped their mouths shut and kept an eye on their friend and classmate, and Todoroki was now paying attention to the scene. All the while, Izuku had not yet uttered a single word, offering only a blank, assessing gaze to the taller teen that got under his skin.

"What, nothing to say? Am I not far enough in the cracks to be worth your esteemed breath?" he tried to prod the green head.

Izuku still did not respond, and his emerald eyes only continued roving over the boy like he was up for dissection in a biology class. Izuku only removed his eyes from him to observe an even taller boy with silver hair prepare to shout something, but a detached hand grabbed onto his head, and his gaze flickered to the form of Tokage quickly shaking her head at the taller boy to keep him from getting involved. When he brought his eyes back to the purple pair in front of him, he observed a concoction of frustration and festering resentment.

The purple boy was going to speak again, likely to spit out another scathing remark, but he was interrupted by Izuku poking his abdomen. It took him so off guard that he did nothing to stop the boy from pushing his finger into different places on his abdomen and then grabbing and feeling up his arm. His wits returned to him, and he snatched his arm away.

"The hell are you doing?" he spat.

"You made a declaration of war," Izuku began while cupping his chin as if assessing him even further, "but from what I can tell, I'm not confident that you could back it up."

That really irked the purple boy, and the slight chorus of "Ooo's" from the gathering of students of students wasn't helping.

"I mean, your arms have no definition to speak of, and you're a little pudgy in the midsection," he continued, ignoring the growing snickers from his classmates and looks of disbelief and amusement from the interlopers. "You kind of got this skinny-fat thing going on that your height probably draws attention away from, but height only matters in a fight when the combatants are on equal footing, and I don't think you're physically on equal footing with anyone in either heroics class."

He took a look around the increasingly red teen in front of him to gaze at the other, wide-eyed students surrounding them. "Frankly, I really doubt that you're on equal footing with many in General Studies, Business, or Support."

That did it, and many of the students in attendance could no longer contain their laughter. 1-A transitioned from silently cheering on their class rep to actively cheering him on, and he even spied the toothy, approving grin of Tokage amongst the crowd.

Iida, however, was beginning to have flashbacks to their unfortunate interaction at the entrance exam, and he did not envy the purple teen's position whatsoever.

Izuku, still maintaining his blank countenance, refocused his gaze on the practically snarling boy in front of him. "I really don't recommend looking past your compatriots and challenging anyone in heroics directly. Not only are you punching way above your weight class, you're also prematurely discounting the efforts of those in your class who have probably worked even harder than you. That's the fastest path to failure and being swiftly overtaken.

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't shoot for the stars. You should always want better for yourself and strive to get there. The problem here is that you're declaring yourself to be among the stars when you've never taken the time to build the spaceship to get yourself there. Build that spaceship first, then meet me on the moon, alright?"

Whatever indignation the tall boy with silver hair was feeling at 1-A's perceived arrogance was gone, and he had joined the rest of the mob in trying to decipher if Izuku was attempting to motivate the other boy or if he was just being exceptionally petty in his response to the boy's earlier digs at him. Either way, the green-haired boy wasn't wrong, and he had succeeded in energizing many in the crowd by acknowledging their hard work and indirectly motivating them to show it off at the Sports Festival.

"Now, if you'll excuse us," Izuku continued, "there's a Sports Festival in two weeks that we all need to work our asses to the bone for. Bring your best, because we're all going to be bringing ours."

With that, Izuku pushed past the seething teen and through the miasma of determination and excitement, high-fiving a familiar floating hand on his way out of the crowd. The rest of 1-A and the crowd at large was pumped and ready to give it their all.

Shinso, meanwhile, was apoplectic at being verbally eviscerated so succinctly. It stung that everyone watched it happen and even laughed at him as it progressed, but it stung even more that Izuku wasn't exactly wrong in his assessment. It just fueled his anger and resolve even further to shut the green-haired piece of shit up for good. Like the rest of the group, he was really looking forward to the Sports Festival.

Unlike the rest of the group, however, he did not notice that Izuku never once mentioned anything about quirks in his assessment.

Inko had been finishing up dinner while Izuku was in his room when she heard a knock at the door. Assuring Izuku that she'd get it and lowering the heat on the stove, she made her way to the front door before looking through the peephole, and who she saw surprised her. She opened the door to see a nervous Ochako lightly clutching her left arm and struggling to meet her gaze.

"Ochako, it's lovely to see you," she said with a welcoming smile. "Izuku didn't tell me you were coming, but I think I made enough to make you a plate."

"Oh, no, I'm not here for dinner," she spastically corrected with a wave of her arms. "Um, I came to ask you something."

"Oh? What is it?" she inquired while motioning the girl inside and to the living room.

"Well…" she lowly began, trying to gather up the courage. Izuku poked his head into the living room to see what was happening, and he was surprised to see Ochako with his mother. Ochako saw him, and their eyes met. It made her think back to the bento of mochi, and she instantly found the resolve she needed.

"I want you to train me, Mrs. Midoriya."

Izuku's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and he promptly disappeared in a yellow flash back to his room. Inko was too surprised by her declaration to chuckle at her son's antics, and a large smile washed over her face.

"I was waiting for you to ask," she admitted. "I've wanted to since I brought it up after the entrance exam. Izuku is an excellent fighter, but he can afford to be more explosive and bombastic with his offense given his quirk. You and I, however, could do quite a lot together."

"You really think so?" she asked with both hope and disbelief in her tone.

"Absolutely," she answered with the same smile.

Ochako beamed at that, and the determination she had been feeling all day surged through her once more. "Then please train me as hard as you trained Izuku for the Sports Festival!"

"Do you want to be able to walk by the time the Sports Festival arrives?" she asked the girl after a pause.

Just as quickly, that determination vanished and wariness overcame her. "Uh… preferably?"

Inko hummed in consideration. "We'll pace ourselves and see where we end up by then."

"Um, right," Ochako hesitantly nodded. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Midoriya!"

"I told you that you can just call me Inko," she assured. "I'm not even married anymore."

"Can I call you Sensei?" Ochako compromised.

"That works for me," she acquiesced. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?"

"I'd love to, but I'm sure," she politely declined. "My parents are actually coming in to visit tonight, and I'm going out to eat with them."

"Oh, that's lovely! I hope you have a great time," Inko responded, and then her smile became predatory and her eyes shadowed. "We'll start your training tomorrow after classes end for the day. Don't worry about finding me, I'll find you."

On that note, Ochako hastily made her way out of the apartment and away from the sense of danger she was getting from Inko. On her way down the hall, she passed by a short, old man with scruffy, grey hair and a cane heading in the direction of the apartment. She then felt her phone vibrate, and she saw that it was a text from Izuku.

"Let me know when you need healing."

"Don't you mean 'if'?"

"No."

Ochako was truly wondering if she had made a mistake.

Meanwhile, Inko was chuckling at her new student's hasty exit. She was going to have a blast with the challenge of turning her into a world-beater. She was on the way to the kitchen to set the table and make their plates when there was another knock at the door. Curious, she returned to see if Ochako had forgotten something, but she didn't see the girl in the peephole. Instead, it was an older man.

"Hello, can I help you?" she asked the man after opening the door.

The man's eyes widened for an instant before he schooled his features. "Are you Inko Midoriya?"

"Yes, may I ask who you are?" she carefully probed.

"My name is Sorahiko Torino," the man gruffly stated. "I was a friend of your mother."

Inko stared at him with utmost seriousness, and he returned her gaze in kind.

"Akatani or Shimura?" she finally asked.

"Shimura," he answered simply.

She nodded and stepped aside to allow him into the apartment.

She led him to the living room before she went to the kitchen and turned off the stove entirely, putting a lid on every pot to keep the food warm before returning to the living room.

"So, you knew my mother," Inko stated as she sat down in a chair while Torino found himself on the couch.

"Yes, I did," he answered with a bit of sorrow. "She was one of my closest friends. Probably my best friend, honestly."

She took that in and remained quiet for a few moments. "Did you know about us? Kotaro and I?"

"Yes," he answered with a sigh and a downcast expression. "She had to give you two up after your father died. Things were becoming much too dangerous for her and you both, and she didn't want anything to happen to either of you."

"I figured as much," she answered with a sigh of her own, and, at Torino's quizzical expression, she continued. "Yagi told us about everything. I know that my mother was the previous wielder of the quirk before him, so whatever or whoever put him in the state he is now was likely the one who killed her."

Torino was not expecting that. Toshinori had only told him that he found Nana's daughter; he hadn't been under the impression that the oaf told her the whole story as well.

"Why did he tell you all of that, if I may ask?" Torino questioned. He didn't want to offend Inko, and if anyone had the right to know what happened to Nana, it was her, but the information was privileged for a reason.

"That would be due to my son," she answered with a fond smile. "The son who thinks he's being sneaky in his efforts to eavesdrop on the conversation."

A frantic shuffle from the hallway resulted in a thud and a hushed "shit" before he sheepishly entered the living room. Torino turned an amused eye to him and looked him over. Recognition then flashed in his aged eyes, and he assessed the boy even more carefully.

"So, you're the kid who wants to help those that slip through the cracks, huh?" Torino questioned.

"You saw that, too?" Izuku bashfully asked.

"You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn't by now, especially after the USJ attack. I wouldn't be surprised if people are pushing it just to jump on you at the first scent of blood," he mused.

"Well, you're not totally wrong, there," Izuku lamented with a sigh. "I'm surprised to see Gran Torino of all people in my house."

It was Torino's turn to be surprised. "I'm surprised you even know about an old fart like me."

"I did a bit of research after I learned about my grandma," he explained. "It started with trying to figure out what happened to my uncle, and then I just fell down the rabbit hole and discovered that you two were in quite a few photos together. I figured you were pretty close with her."

Torino's expression fell at the mention of Nana's son, and both mother and child noticed.

"I haven't seen my brother since we were separated in foster care," Inko revealed. "The families that adopted us didn't want a duo, and the orphanage didn't really care about keeping us together, so they split us up. I was only 4, and by the time I was even able to really think about what happened, I was afraid of what I might have found if I went looking. To this day, I don't know what happened to him."

Torino sighed. "I tried to keep an eye on the both of you in the aftermath, but the family that adopted you skipped town right afterward, and I never knew their names. Kotaro was easier to find since he kept his surname, probably because he was a little older than you were. About 15 years ago, he and his family were killed in their home. It was probably quirk-related, since they were all reduced to dust. He had a wife and two kids, but no one survived."

'They were reduced to dust?' Izuku pondered.

Inko remained quiet for a few minutes. No one said anything, and Izuku only disregarded his own thoughts for the moment to approach his mom and rub her back. She wasn't crying, but he could clearly see from the strangled distress on her face that it was really affecting her. She gave him a warm smile in gratitude for his support, and she quietly assured him that she was okay.

"You look just like her, you know," Torino spoke up again. "You both do."

He took a few moments to focus on Izuku. "Did Toshinori pass the quirk on to you?"

"Oh, no, not at all," he quickly denied.

"Not for lack of trying," Inko muttered.

"My quirk is really complicated," Izuku continued, missing his mother's comment while Torino hadn't, "and another aspect of it awakened while I was in the hospital. Apparently, I can talk to ghosts now, among other things, and I was able to briefly meet and speak with Grandma Nana through All Might's quirk as a medium."

For the third time that evening, Torino was surprised again. That was quite a nugget of information to have. "Your quirk allows you to speak to the dead?"

"Eh, kind of," he sheepishly replied. "Like I said, it's a really complicated quirk that's multifaceted and pretty contradictory at times." His face lit up when something crossed his mind. "Oh, actually, when I was doing research, I looked into your quirk and fighting style."

Izuku paused, and a wave of embarrassment washed over him. "…I may have started studying it a bit to apply some of the principles to one of the facets of my quirk."

Now, the little zygote had Torino's attention. Not only had he known who he was, but he was actively studying him to improve his own combat prowess. He'd be impressed if he wasn't already biased towards him for being Nana's grandson.

"Wanna show me?" Torino asked with a challenging smirk.

Before Izuku could quite literally leap at the offer, Inko shut that thought down. "Absolutely not. I will not have you two bouncing off the walls of this household."

She then developed a smirk of her own. "That said, you're more than welcome to drop by UA after classes are over tomorrow if you're able. Izuku needs a decent sparring partner to prepare for the Sports Festival coming up."

"I'll be there," Torino chuckled.

Sitting in his home with a cup of instant ramen, a chill traveled up Toshinori's spine. He would usually attribute a chill to either Torino or Verdant, but the chill was much worse than usual. That meant that either All For One had returned, or Verdant and Torino would be in the same building as him at the same time.

He truly did not know which one he preferred.

Izuku practically floated in excitement, and he had to be careful to not activate his quirk and go up in a crimson blaze. The two adults laughed at his excitement, and all three were glad that the atmosphere had been sufficiently lightened.

"Torino, would you like to stay for dinner? I'm certain I've made enough for three," Inko offered.

"Sure, I can stick around for a bite," he assented. "I'll be able to get a better grip of this little whippersnapper before tomorrow."

Izuku was definitely looking forward to sparring with him.

Izuku should not have been looking forward to sparring with him.

It was so reminiscent of his days training with his mom that he was having trouble accepting the fact that he wasn't trapped in a time loop. Or, perhaps that was just a concussion. He couldn't really be sure.

"Eh, I may have gone a little overboard with that last hit," Torino commented while rubbing the back of his head with his comically bulbous gloves.

"You think?" Izuku dryly retorted while still on the ground.

"I gotta admit, though, your mom definitely taught you well. You dodge like your life is on the line every single time, zygote."

"Because that's never really been inaccurate."

"What other things come with your quirk?"

Izuku sat up and rested a hand doused in pink flame on his head. "Well, there's this."

Torino was surprised yet again. 'This kid…'

"My quirk has the base form where it's just kaleidoscopic fire that does regular fire stuff, and then it separates into its individual colors, each one providing a different, specific benefit. The pink, as you can see, allows me to heal myself or others at the cost of my stamina."

"And the yellow you were fighting with enhanced your speed," Torino mused.

"Yeah, but only in a straight line and in short bursts thus far," Izuku confirmed.

"I can see that, your movements were often too predictable when you only used the yellow," Torino chided. "What else can you do?"

"Well, green improves my strength, white improves my cognitive ability, red allows me to locally superheat things, orange makes shields, but I'm not that great at summoning them; blue gives me necromancy, and I don't really know what black does, but I try to avoid it."

"How good are you at using two colors at once?" Torino asked, and Izuku only twisted his hand in a "so-so" motion. "Activate the yellow, and then activate the green on your arms and try to maintain them as long as you can without hurting yourself."

Izuku hopped to his feet and did so, letting the bright, yellow flames overtake him before he pushed the emerald to the surface and coated his arms with them. A few wisps of green appeared in specks around his body to spread the strain and prevent it from purely being on his arms.

"Good," Torino nodded. "Now, try to keep up this time."

Izuku internally heaved a heavy sigh, and he wondered how his classmates were doing with their training.

Ochako fell to the ground in a boneless, exhausted heap. She now completely understood why Izuku was the way he was. Inko-sensei was a taskmaster among taskmasters. The first thing they did when they entered the training grounds was something called "dodge training," which consisted of Inko-sensei pelting her with small, rubber balls with accuracy akin to Snipe's. If that weren't bad enough, she'd use her quirk to yoink the balls back to her hand, and Ochako would have to dodge those, too.

The dodge training continued in the form of spars in which Ochako would have to keep from being hit for 3 straight minutes. She hadn't made it past 14 seconds; Inko-sensei was ridiculously fast, and she hit hard, so contorting her body through the pain to dodge even more strikes was a task in and of itself.

Then there were the instances in which the roles were reversed, and she had 3 minutes to land a single hit or negate her gravity. Inko-sensei would stay on the defensive and wouldn't strike back, but she would knock her hands and wrists away at any given opportunity. Ochako hadn't landed a single clean hit even once.

She refused to give up, though. She would take the torture and see it all the way through. She would get stronger. She would become a great hero and support her struggling family financially. She would become strong enough to protect herself and others so that Izuku didn't always have to. She would become great enough to stand alongside him as an equal.

She dragged herself back to her feet, dusted the dirt off of her arms and tank top, and shot a look of pure grit to her sensei while reentering a fighting stance. "I'm not done, yet. Let's do it again."

Inko smirked and nodded in approval before entering a defensive stance. "Let's."

"Everyone, get your game faces on! We're entering the arena!" Iida shouted to his classmates in the 1-A waiting room. They all had spent the last two weeks training themselves to the bone like Izuku not-so-subtly suggested in his talk with the tired kid from General Studies. They prepared not only their quirks, but their own bodies, as well. They did not want to be picked apart because they were lacking physically and relied too heavily on their quirks.

Conversely, they also didn't want to be one-trick ponies with their quirks, either. Many of them searched for new applications for their quirks, some even asking Izuku for help branching out since branching out seemed to be part of his shtick, and he was happy to help. The result of one such incident involving confectionary sugar, double-sided tape, a floor covered in sticky balls, and two angry bears was Izuku receiving a week's ban from Ground Beta while it was being repaired and the fake city's power grid was being fixed.

"Midoriya," Todoroki called while approaching the sitting teen.

Izuku looked up at the approaching boy with a bit of caution. They hadn't ever spoken much to each other, and Izuku figured that Todoroki just didn't like him a great deal. He motioned for the slightly taller boy to speak while many of the others turned their attention to the interaction.

"From an objective standpoint, I think it's fairly clear that we're the strongest in the class," he bluntly stated. That drew a few different reactions from the room, Bakugo in particular narrowing his eyes.

"I suppose," Izuku shrugged. "Where's this going?"

"Our first and only bout was interrupted, so there was never a real winner crowned. I can't say for certain who was stronger between us back then, but what is certain is that I will beat you here and now," the boy declared with a nonchalant confidence.

"Man, what's with all these declarations of war lately?" Kaminari joked.

"Yeah, what's the big deal?" Kirishima asked Todoroki. "Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden, and right before we get started?"

"We're not here to be each other's friends," he coldly responded while shrugging Kirishima away. "Don't forget that this isn't a team effort."

"Todoroki," Izuku called before the boy could walk away, and Todoroki stopped, but he did not turn around. "Like I told the other guy, you're making a mistake by looking past everyone else in your bid for the top. It's the easiest way to be left in the dust."

Todoroki finally turned to face him, and Izuku continued. "Everyone else in 1-A has worked their asses off for this, and they're all gunning for the top, too. Not only that, but 1-B is also gunning for the top, and all of the other classes will be fighting tooth and nail just to prove that they belong."

He fixed him with an intense stare. "You're good; really good. In fact, you're one of the people I'm looking forward to taking on the most."

Todoroki was temporarily taken aback by the admission, but he schooled his features before it became apparent, and Izuku continued again. "Make no mistake, though, you're not the only good one here. If you want to beat me, fine, but you'll have to make it to me first, and that's not going to be as easy as you think. A proper rematch between us isn't anywhere close to being set in stone because any single one of us can be knocked off by any other one of us if we rest on our laurels for even a single moment."

"Seriously, why the hell does he ask why we voted for him?" Mina whispered to Tsu, who merely shrugged.

"So, sure, bring it," Izuku continued with a challenging smirk. "But know that I don't plan on losing to anyone today."

"Let me hear you scream as our students make their way to the big stage! This first group aren't strangers to the spotlight, dazzling adoring fans and villains alike, give it up for Hero Class 1-A!"

The cheers and adulation that 1-A received were almost overwhelming for them, Izuku included. However, he kept replaying Nezu's words in his mind to keep himself focused.

'This is my debut, and no MLA is going to stop that.'

"They haven't been getting nearly as much screen time, but rest assured that they are not to be underestimated! Give a warm welcome to Class 1-B!"

The cheers were not as loud as they were for 1-A, but the hero students still received their share of praise nonetheless. Izuku looked to the arriving class, and he shot Yui and Tokage a thumbs up when he found them. All he received from both girls in return was the gesture of them making horns on their heads with their index fingers. He wasn't sure what that meant, but he rolled with it anyway.

"Next up, General Studies classes C, D, and E! Support Classes F, G, and H! And Business classes I, J, and K!"

"I get the feeling that we're only here to make the hero kids look good," a general studies student muttered to another.

"Speak for yourself, I'm gonna win this whole damn thing!" the other general studies student responded with a confident fist to his other palm.

"…Well, I admire your enthusiasm, I guess," the first one replied.

Meanwhile, Shinso was stewing in his rancor. He didn't like having to lay eyes on those arrogant shitheads in the hero course that all had flashy quirks perfectly suited for heroics, but it got even worse when his eyes landed on Midoriya leading the pack.

'That sanctimonious prick wants to be a hero for the downtrodden? Don't make me fucking laugh.'

It was probably an irrational level of spite, but Shinso just could not help it. Seeing the kid made his blood boil. He had spent his life up until UA at schools where anyone and everyone would always subtly imply that his quirk was villainous or that he would use it villainously. Granted, his quirk had some pretty useful applications, so he didn't get it nearly as badly as some others did, but he was never encouraged to seek better for himself or to try for the path of heroics. It was always, "Cool quirk, bro; don't use it on me, though," as if that was the goddamn expectation.

Meanwhile, the green-haired fuckhead claimed to have been quirkless at an indoctrination zone and then miraculously developed a ridiculously powerful quirk that he used to leapfrog to the top of the UA entrance exam with only a few years of use? If that wasn't an indictment of UA favoring flashy quirks for their heroics classes, he didn't know what was. And all that talk about working hard for years to get to where he is when he only won the genetic lottery? If Shinso decided not to give him the benefit of the doubt, then the whole thing just sounded like bullshit, especially once he said he wanted to be a hero for the downtrodden. It was the kind of disingenuous drivel that Shinso was so tired of and actively wanted to help wipe out when he became a hero, because he would become a hero. The two weeks he spent living in the weight room at UA out of spite was proof of that. He would become a hero.

So caught up in his internal ranting was he that he didn't notice that the center of his thoughts was standing at a podium, nor did he notice the fact that his classmates had backed a great deal away from him when he became progressively redder and started literally steaming.

Meanwhile, Izuku had been chosen to give the student pledge, much to his surprise, as he scored the highest on the entrance exam. He made his way to the podium and took a long look at the sold out stadium of onlookers focused entirely on him. He took another look down at his classmate and competition; many were looking to him with respect, others were looking on in admiration, some were looking at him with disdain, but most just appeared impassive.

'Think of this as your debut. Make the most of it.'

Izuku grabbed the mic and stared directly into the crowd.

"No one told me I had to make a speech."

The resulting silence and the incredulous looks on the faces of both the audience and the other participants at his dry delivery was almost enough to make him laugh, but he held it together despite feeling in his bones that Grandma Nana was laughing her ass off within All Might's quirk. The tension sufficiently broken, it was time to make his mark.

"A few weeks ago, Class 1-A was attacked by villains during a rescue training op. Thankfully, we all made it out with our lives, but we were lucky to do so. It was a wake up call, not just for us, but for everyone standing here today. Just because we made it to UA didn't mean that our jobs were finished. We still had to get stronger, we had to get smarter, and we had to become complete heroes. Today is just the first step towards that goal.

"Today, Class 1-A will show that should any villains want to run it back with us, we'll be ready, and we'll be waiting. Class 1-B will show that they are just as if not even more dangerous than we are, and they won't lay down for any villain attacks either. The General Studies, Support, and Business classes will show the world that just because they're not in heroics doesn't make them any less capable; underestimate them at your own risk, and that goes doubly so for those crazy bastards that make our gear in the first place."

Within the crowd of students, a short girl with pink dreadlocks and goggles smiled viciously, and several of her classmates gave her a very wide berth.

"We're the First Years of UA, and every generation is said to surpass the previous one. So, get a good look at the future, and survive if we let you."

The crowd erupted into a thunderous roar, and many of the other participants gave him a round of applause with dual shouts of "SO MANLY!" sprinkled into the group. In the luxury boxes where pro heroes that weren't on security detail were watching, Inko smirked in approval. She'd have to steal that last line.

"Without further ado, it's time for us to get started with the first fateful game of the festival!" Midnight announced to the raucous arena. A large screen behind her began cycling through a lengthy selection of events until it landed on something.

"The first event is an obstacle course!" she excitedly announced. "All 11 classes will participate in this treacherous contest. The track is 4km around the outside of the stadium. So long as you don't leave the track, you may do whatever your heart desires!"

The competitors collected at the entrance to the track, which was a narrow hallway that led outside of the stadium, and it became even narrower as it went deeper. The students prepared themselves for action, and Izuku readied himself to move at a moment's notice. The countdown steadily reached toward 0, and everyone readied themselves for the fight of their lives.

"BEGIN!"