How To Be a Hero Chapter 41!!!

Pre License arc chapter!!!

Alineko’s masterpost

Masterpost with my fics, AUs and some prompts (feel free to send asks or prompts :D)

Marvel

The Young and (a little bit) broken series:
>Not a kid (3490 in MCU)
>Totally an adult (NaK sequel)
>Phoenix (Iron man 1)
>Love Shades
Infinity War with Stuckony (reblog)

Boku no hero Academy

How to be a hero (fem!Midoriya Izuku x Dekubowl)
>Drawing: chp 1: tiny Izu saves Kacchan
>Drawing: chp 2-3 Izumi saves Kacchan (again)
>Drawing: Izumi screen redraw!
>Future Heroine Deku
>Drawing: Izumi Doodles!
>Drawing: chp 9: Izumi vs Bakugo
>Drawing: chp 5-6 Izumi ft All Might and Shinso
>Drawing: BakuIzu
>Drawing: KiriIzu
>Drawing: ShinIzu
>Drawing: TodoIzu
>Drawing: chp 28: Cute Izumi
>Drawing: chp 30. Izumi Full Cowl
>Drawing: 1k Izumi Collage
>Drawing: Izumi (messy) sketch
>Drawing: Izumi’s new suit (very messy) sketch
Flames of hope (Todoroki family fix it)

Mo Dao Zu Shi (The Untamed)

Golden Phoenix (reincarnated Jin!WWX au)
The day they come (DoNA x MDZS) –tumblr post–
Like in Fairytales (WangXian post canon) –tumblr post–
Sanctuary (Yiling Wei AU) pt.2pt.3
Squid Game Au
WangXian vs XuanXian
Transmigrator!Wei Wuxian
Drawing: Yiling Laozu
FoxXian and DragonJi AU
The lakes of Lotus Pier
WuJi Moana AU
Surface Pressure(Blind!WWX)
Alluring Secret (Black Vow AU
Yunmeng Siblings Personality Swap AU
WangXian Personality Swap AU

Some cute ghost!fem!deku

Pulling on the Strings of Destiny: Act 2 Chapter 4

Summary: Four days pass for Japan, and everyone is on edge.  They wonder, and wait. What will happen next for them? Will Midoriya  keep rising? What sort of things would she face. They all turned towards  the screens, wondering. None more so then the future class 1-A, more so  as they get a glimpse into their first sports festival, first  internship and their final exams. Watch as Midoriya’s future continues  to unfold, as she learns more about her family, society and herself.

Warnings:References to underage pregnancy and the assualt of a minor. References to child harm. Toga Himiko to, she is her own warning.

ON AO3

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“Midoriya…” All Might sighed. “I don’t…”

“I don’t want to be a symbol,” Izumi told him, looking away. “I just want to be a hero.“

“I know.” All Might replied, moving to sit at the counter with her. Aizawa and Mic didn’t leave, though both pretended not to be listening in. “I know Midoriya.”

“So why…” Izumi trailed off. All Might hesitated, reaching up to rub at his mouth with his knuckles before answering.

“Because I was planning to name you successor of my agency.” He admitted. Izumi’s head wiped around so fast she felt it ache as she stared at him in shock.

“What?!” She asked loudly. “You… what?!”

“Retiring has always been in the cards for me, young Midoriya.” He told her gently. “And I knew as the successor to my Quirk; I’d want to give you my agency. It’s only a single office with a manager, a PR group, and some support techs, but it is still something I think would benefit you.”

“I told you I wanted to wait-“ Izumi choked out, and he nodded his understanding.

“I know. And I fully support you in that aspect. My merch sales would support the agency and begin a transformation from my agency to yours while you’re at university.” All Might explained. “It will take a long time for it to happen. But given this would be public, the fact you’re my successor would have always come out.”

“And I would be the next Symbol of Peace no matter what,” Izumi said. “… I’ll be ripped apart.”

“No- Midoriya-“

“I will!” Izumi shouted. She stood up. “I’ll never be what you are, All Might! I can’t. I can’t destroy myself for the world when I have a daughter. She matters more to me than anything!” Izumi turned around, hearing noises from the playpen. “I can’t. I… I need… I can‘t.” She left the kitchen to go to her daughter, ignoring All Might’s broken expression as Aizawa and Mic looked between the two.

While Aizawa admired the fact that Midoriya knew her limits, Mic felt that the offer from All Might was simply too good to pass up. Being given an agency right off the bat, one that would be transferring fully to her control as she studied at university, could not be refused. It was admirable she knew her limit, but the fact was that turning it down would be the dumbest thing she could do. Mic started as a sidekick and later got his own agency after some trouble with his old one. Then he’d had to work three jobs. Aizawa went freelance only to end up homeless for a while. Financially both were good, and Mic cut back his hours considerably at the radio station though he still held his show.

But the offer was fantastic. Plus, it showed, to Mic at least, how much All Might cared for Midoriya. Some sort of familial feelings were between the two, even if Midoriya claimed not to see him as a father. They were close. The fact All Might trusted her enough to give her his agency just made it more explicit.

It was a bit humbling, but Mic would admit it only to himself. All Might loved this girl enough and trusted him and Aizawa to care for her. Even if it had only been a few days so far… Mic always looked up to All Might. It made things feel good that the number one hero trusted them.

As Mic pondered his own thoughts, the timer ticked down and down until the screen started back up.

The screen shows All Might, in his skinny form, and Midoriya talking in the empty room. Tomoe has finished her lunch and now plays with her new toy happily. The Cementoss toy has a hard head she giggles at when she smacks it on the ground.

“I am here?” Midoriya asks, “But, All Might, that’s your catchphrase! Besides, what can I do?”

“You know how the sports festival is set up, right?” All Might asks her.

“Oh yeah. Of course! Students are separated by class year, and then the support, business, general studies, and hero courses all fight against each other in a bunch of preliminary trials. Whoever makes it through the initial games faces off in the finals. It’s usually a big round-robin tournament,” Midoriya replied.

“Right! Meaning you’ll have plenty of opportunities to sell yourself,” All Might told her. “Plus, as the highest-scoring person on the heroics entrance exam, you’ll make the speech.”

“… what?” Izumi said as Tomoe whined.

“Stberry!” She said.

“Uhh, right, strawberries. We bought some yesterday…” Izumi muttered even as she tried not to freak out. The speech?! Really?!

She would not get first this time. Nope. No speech!

As she thought that, though, Nezu wondered about having her do it anyway. It would be more of a punch coming from her, after all.

“…What?” Midoriya asks. She stares at All Might for a long moment as he blinks at her. “…I… I really need to…” She closes her eyes and lets out a breath. “I knew that I would have to work twice as hard as a teen mom All Might- but this is a lot.”

“This is the perfect time to get your name out there,” All Might insists. Midoriya sighs.

“All Might- I’m happy you think I could take on your mantel, but… All Might- I can’t.” She tells him to his face. He tilts his head, waiting. “All Might… you are probably the first… stable male influence in my life since I was six and stopped hanging around the Bakugou family as much,” Midoriya tells him. “My dad was always gone for work, hasn’t come home in like six years, and I just…”

Hizashi scowled darkly. He was stuck in limbo because of All Might. That fool took everything from him that day. He couldn’t see his daughter, and her life spiralled out of control! He wanted the Buffon dead! Dead!

“Young Midoriya?” All Might asks slowly.

“All Might, I love you like your family,” Midoriya confesses.

“NO!” Hizashi roared. Damn All Might! Damn him! His daughter lacked a father figure because of him! He had no right swooping in to become one! That was HIS daughter! His!

Shigaraki matched Hizashi’s anger yet they were the only ones doing so. Most cooed over the thought. Some such as Stain felt that it simply showed that Midoriya was the perfect choice for All Might’s successor. Others though…

Sir Nighteye scoffed in disgust at the pandering the girl was doing. Blatant emotional manipulation in his eyes. The girl couldn’t care for All Might. Not if she selfishly took his Quirk instead of insisting on it being perfect for someone better.

David Shield closed his eyes and tried not to react. Melissa cooed over the scenes, but he refused to respond. He couldn’t. Not when he didn’t know how he would do so. Anger? Joy? He didn’t know. It made the entire thing nerve-wracking.

He also knew it probably would just get worse.

Eri clutched the sides of the chair she sat in, eyes staring at the screen hungrily. Could she choose her own family? Could she choose Midoriya and Tomoe? No, they hadn’t met yet. She couldn’t. But maybe… maybe, she could pick her own family. One day…

“You’ve been here for me since I met you. But… I don’t love you like a father, because I can’t. I’m sorry, but you’re All Might- the Symbol of Peace. You can’t be there for me when a father should. You’re always All Might- you’re never just Yagi. You’re always a hero. And… you can’t put me first. Which I understand.” Midoriya tells him.

Midoriya stands up to speak and walk, linking her hands behind her back as she paces.

“You’re the Symbol of Peace- the person everyone knows will be there for them if needed, and that’s great, All Might. We needed that before, but you always put being a hero first. Look at the USJ- you put being a hero before a bunch of students.” Midoriya says. She stops and turns, unlinking her hands to lift them and frantically wave them. “I’m not blaming you! I’m not, but I am saying that to you being a hero comes first and everything else second. Including your own health.” Midoriya looked at Tomoe, who smacked the hard head of the doll on the floor with a giggle again. Midoriya moves to wrap her arms around herself, watching her daughter.

“And you can’t.” All Might finishes for her.

“…I won’t. Some may say I’m selfish; some may say I’m a bad person. But my daughter always comes first. If I have to take a day off for her because she’s sick, I will. If I have to do extra paperwork because I ducked out of a meeting to pick her up, I will.” Midoriya tells him. She turns to look him straight in the face. “I can’t be the Symbol of Peace. Because I will never put her second.”

“A good mother who will be a great hero,” Stain said aloud. Her dedication to her daughter may cause her to miss some things, but it would only fuel her to. Of course, he still needed to test her, but he believed she was a true hero like All Might. Look at all she had done so far. She would be great.

Ojiro frowned as he approached UA in his uncle’s car as his parents couldn’t help that day. How could she say that? She needed to dedicate herself to heroics if she wanted to go anywhere… yet she also did become the greatest hero even after saying those things. It didn’t make sense. The entire idea felt like smoke to Ojiro. Impossible to grasp.

“Now that’s a good mom,” his uncle commented. “Always put your kids first.”

“Huh?” Ojiro asked.

“Kid, the best kind of parents focus on their kids first. Not to the point of losing their own sanity or like those weirdos who let being a parent become their core identity, but kids come first. Job second, spouse or partner third unless they aren’t worth it, family than friends.” The man shrugged. “Even then, it can be all scrambled up. Putting your kids first is fine until it destroys you. Putting friends first might be the thing you have to do if your partner is a fuck. Put your job first if you need to and rely on your partner or get help with the kids. You can’t give 100% all the time.”

“Mom and dad did,” Ojiro argued. His uncle didn’t respond, but the silence got to Ojiro more than anything.

Silence forms between the two for a long moment. All Might stares at her as Midoriya lowers her arms from their position.

“…Do you know who knows about One for All?” All Might asks. Midoriya frowns.

“Um… Nezu, Recovery Girl… the detective, Nighteye, I think from one comment you made…” Midoriya trails off.

“My mentor’s sworn friend who took over training me after she died,” All Might says, standing himself. He walks towards the window and looks out at the school. “David and Sarah Shield.”

David let out a sigh as Melissa turned to him in surprise.

“Daddy?” She asked.

“Sorry, honey, but I couldn’t say anything.” He apologized. Melissa shrugged.

“I’m fine with it, dad, don’t worry. But… did you ever consider…” she trailed off, and David winced hard. Did they ever consider giving her One For All?

“We did. But you chose to be a support engineer, so we tabled it. It’s better to remain as a heroic Quirk.” David explained.

“Oh, I see…” Melissa looked thoughtful. “I suppose if I lived in Japan, I’d be more upset. Other than insensitive comments, I never experienced a lot of issues.” She shrugged and smiled at her dad. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Of course, honey,” David said, even as his stomach turned and twisted. He wrapped an arm around his daughter and pulled her close, trying not to react too much.

Meanwhile, Nighteye tried not to be upset. Of course, the Shields would know. All Might was friends with them.

It didn’t matter that All Might never told him. It didn’t matter that Nighteye knew of the others but not them. It was fine.

Completely fine.

Midoriya looks at him with narrowed eyes, looking him up and down.

“The Shields? I know that they are in charge of your costumes and equipment.” Midoriya says.

“They are.” All Might agrees. “…my mentor had a son she gave up for adoption to protect him.” All Might tells her. “I… I realize now I never told you about the history of One for All.”

“You don’t have to tell me right now if it’s painful,” Midoriya tells him. She looks at his back, not moving from her position.

“Thank you. I… Nana was like my own mother, and I deeply grieve her. But she gave up her son because of One for All. She feared for him, and I… I thought…” All Might sighs. “I never thought he would find me.” All Might whispers.

“Who?” Midoriya asks.

“One for All’s legacy was created to fight someone.” All Might turns around to look at her. “I… I want to do more research into something before I burden you with demons right before the sports festival.”

“You didn’t do it before?” Aizawa asked angrily.

“I thought he was dead! He could be, and the USJ was the remainder of his backup forces.” All Might defended himself. “I checked his body myself. Dead. Face caved in. I then collapsed and wasn’t out of the hospital for months.”

“And no one else checked?” Aizawa demanded.

“My Sensei did. He said the officials destroyed the body. He watched with his own eyes.” All Might scowled. “I’m not as dumb as you seem to think. I’ve been a hero a lot longer than you, and while you don’t like me, I’d hope you’d understand that I am quite capable.”

“You’re not,” Mic confirmed. He gave his husband a side-eyed look before turning back to All Might. “Sho just-“

“I passed the underground exam.” All Might said dangerously.

“What?” Aizawa asked in surprise.

“I passed the underground exam well over twenty years ago when half the country still was under threat from organized gangs. When my enemy was still fully pulling strings.” All Might informed him. “It was incredibly difficult, and I passed my first try Aizawa. So please stop assuming I’m an idiot.”

Izumi purposely ignored the byplay as she grabbed some strawberries for Tomoe. Lunch would be soon, but Izumi wanted her baby to eat as much as she needed with the recent reveal of Tomoe’s Quirk (carefully copied down). The drama of adults always mimicked teenager drama, in her opinion.

“You haven’t proven me wrong yet,” Aizawa responded after a second.

“What? One lesson that I messed up on? The inability to say no? I’ll give you the USJ. Young Midoriya pointed it out herself. But other than that, what do you know about me? Or are you basing everything on my interviews?” All Might asked. There was no answer from Aizawa, who instead looked incredibly uncomfortable. “And here I thought we were getting along well the last while,” All Might said in disappointment.

Aizawa tried not to flinch from the words too obviously. He didn’t know what to say. Part of him wanted to rant All Might was an idiot, but he knew it wasn’t entirely true. All Might’s experience as a hero, his successful missions and the fact he’d hidden such a massive secret for decades proved that wrong. It had shaken his worldview, something he accepted and moved on from. Or so he thought as he lashed out once more.

Am I really that against limelight heroics?Aizawa wondered. It was the only reason he could think of why he’d be so willing to fight with All Might. Even when he was getting along with the man, he would lash out. It was so… illogical to him. He hated feeling that way, feeling off-kilter and unsure of his own thoughts. He hated feeling as if he wasn’t approaching something logically.

He’d get into situations like he had with his cousin whenever he did. Toxic ones that just kept dragging him further into despair and pain. It wasn’t worth it to him.

“I understand,” Midoriya tells him.

“Thank you…” All Might turns back around and sighs. “…I was in a relationship with them. The Shields.”

Aizawa’s thoughts became derailed as he stared at All Might, the man looking pained. Even the shocked gasp of Izumi and the yelp from Mic didn’t disturb them.

Around Japan, people gasped in shock or dropped things. None reacted as much as Nighteye, who almost fell out of his chair.

“THE SHIELDS?!” He shouted. He didn’t know understand. All Might never said anything about that. It… didn’t make sense. All Might trusted him. Why wouldn’t he tell him!?

Was that why he always went to visit? Was it to spend time with his lovers? Why didn’t All Might tell him? How didn’t he know? Shouldn’t he have seen something in the future? Why…

Nighteye felt lost, completely confused by the whole situation. The fact All Might never confided in him, and he never knew, shook him to his core. If he didn’t know that about All Might… what else didn’t he know?

The screen focuses briefly on the wide eyes of Midoriya as she takes a sharp intake of breath. She stares at All Might, opening and closing her mouth.

“I… I didn’t expect that.” She says.

“Not many do. We kept it secret. Only the three of us knew anything. We were happy together. But…” All Might sighs. “One for All’s legacy has many enemies- ones I hope are dead.”

“But might not be,” Midoriya says. All Might nods slightly, not looking at her. “They attacked them.”

“I don’t know if they knew or what, but they did. David was wounded, and Sarah lost her leg. And… and we discovered she was pregnant.” All Might says. “I… I tried. I tried to stay, tried to be there, but…”

“Honey,” David said to Melissa. She looked at him in confusion. “I love you; you know that right?”

“Yeah…” Melissa trailed off in confusion.

“All Might…” Midoriya whispers, staring.

“Melissa was born. Blonde and with blue eyes. Sarah’s looks, not just my own. So we didn’t know. Not until they did a blood test. America is different then Japan- thanks to the Quirk wars over there, they take the blood right away to determine Quirks. Melissa… she tested Quirkless.”

Quirkless? Midoriya thinks. She frowns, looking to the side. Somehow, the way he said this…wait… Her head snaps back to him, and her mouth opens as she stares at him with wide eyes.

Quirkless women can give birth to powerful Quirked kids. But Quirkless men typically produce Quirkless children around seventy-five percent of the time.

“All Might, were you Quirkless before One for All?” Midoriya asks in a shaky voice.

“I was.” All Might says. He doesn’t continue. Midoriya shakes her head, putting the pieces together.

“What?!?” Bakugou barked. “He was Quirkless to?!” He stared at the screen in shock, unable to understand it. Others were the same, staring at the screen. A few fanatics about Quirks were shell-shocked. The greatest hero… originally Quirkless.

Endeavour barely held himself together as he looked over the rest of his son’s future class tricking in. Yayorozu, Iida, Kaminari, Sato, Ojiro, and a few others looked at each other in surprise.

Number one and Quirkless before. It wasn’t fair.

“Melissa is your daughter,” Midoriya says. “And you left.”

Nighteye nearly fainted, his heart-stopping upon hearing that. The pieces were in front of him, but he couldn’t put them together. Not until then. He hasn’t wanted to. Because right then, hearing that, he had to admit it.

He didn’t know everything. All Might never said. Never told him about his relationship or Melissa. Nighteye wouldn’t say he’d expect the other man to do so, but he honestly had. They were friends once. Why didn’t he ever…

A sudden cold rushed through him. All Might hadn’t told him because he didn’t trust him. It was the only explanation. Nighteye could admit he’d probably would have done something. Told Melissa… yes, it made sense. All Might couldn’t have given up his daughter willingly! It couldn’t be true! They had to have made him!

All Might… Sir Nighteye knew him. He knew him! There had to be blackmail; there had to be!

Gran Torino looked at the screen sadly. One for All was a heavy legacy, and he knew how much it hurt Toshinori. Part of it was selfish; Toshinori admitted that to Gran one drunken night. He wanted to be a hero so badly that with such an easy way to just… avoid his child, he took it. But the rest was fear. Fear of All for One. Fear of what he’d do to any child of All Might’s.

Midoriya was lucky. Or so Gran hoped. He prayed All for One was dead, prayed he would never darken the doorstep.

He prayed that the body of her child would never be broken as Nana’s husband had been.

Screams and people raging around Japan rung in the air. Chang, along with her employees, we’re yelling at one another for never knowing. Heroes were supposed to include any children on their files for protection, whether they raised them or not.

“I swear I’m petitioning for underground records to be at least seen by one of us!” Chang growled.

The unrest that broke out around Japan was offset by the silence that coated Melissa and David. The teen shook as she stared at the screen, not looking at her father, who didn’t know what to say. She slowly turned her face to look at him and then shook her head. She walked out of the room, leaving behind her father flinching, a hand raised towards her. She closed the door without looking back.

Eighteen years. Eighteen YEARS and no one told her. It ran through Melissa’s mind like it was on a laugh track. Over and over again. Uncle Might was her biological father. They never told her.

A part of Melissa understood not telling her as a kid. It would be hard to explain. But she was eighteen. She was more than old enough to know. The fact no one told her made her heart ache.

It also made her angry. Any time she could have been told. Any time she could have known. They could have said anything! She felt lied to, and she had! They never told her. She never saw her birth certificate, even after changing her gender marker. She trusted her parents when they said they had changed it.

Melissa sobbed, unable to help it. She stopped walking, having been doing so in a somewhat blind rage. She leaned against the wall to slide down, stifling her sobs.

Why did no one tell her?

“I… I was terrified. I was terrified I would bring my enemies to her, would see her dead because someone figured it out. I left.” All Might admits. “I left, and I have regretted it ever since. Even after I killed him…” the last part is in a whisper, his shoulders hunched over.

“There were a dozen different ways you could have helped be a father, weren’t there?” Midoriya asks.

“I could have been there through emails; we could have told her when I visited. I never stopped visiting after all. I just…”

“You chose heroics over your daughter.” Midoriya finishes. All Might nods, and the silence between them begins to thicken.

Nighteye choked, staring at the screen. No, no- it…

He was wrong. Completely and utterly wrong.

What… what else was he wrong about?

Stain stared open-mouthed at the screen. What?! All Might abandoned his child?! What…

Izumi stared at All Might, who refused to look at any of them, his eyes locked onto his hands. He didn’t move, didn’t react as the screen played. Cautiously she moved to sit next to him at the counter. She didn’t say anything, just sat there. He relaxed slightly.

Melissa sobbed harder, the screen having followed her. She pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around her legs as she felt a stab of pain in her heart. She had a dad. David was a good dad. All Might was a good uncle. If the three stayed together, maybe he would be her pops.

But he hadn’t.

“I gave up everything to be the Symbol of Peace…” All Might says out loud.

“Of course,” Stain said, latching into the answer as the piece of wood to keep him afloat. “He devoted himself to heroics! Like a true hero! Heroes need to do that!” It made sense, yes. Sure he felt guilt, but what good man wouldn’t? Midoriya… was different. Yes. She could be a mom to her child; she would have support. He may take one of them soon, but the other was underground, a more worthy hero than most thought he’d have to look into him.

Stain refused to accept anything else. All Might was a true hero, and nothing would change that.

Melissa screamed, yanking her head away from her legs. He did. He gave up everything. God, it hurt. It hurt so bad hearing this. She didn’t understand why it hurt so much. It just burned her.

David heard his daughter scream and felt himself crumble. He should have said something sooner, anything. Even just a tiny white lie that the three were together and it was possible. She’d be upset… no, it would be a worse lie than she was feeling now.

All Might felt his face get wet under his own tears. God, his daughter. She had to be watching right then, had to be. There wasn’t any other option for it with the island so close. She was watching. Ahe knew.

He didn’t know what to think. He was her uncle, and he was content with that. Always being the uncle and never a father. It was why he was okay with Midoriya being so firm about their relationship. He couldn’t have a child. Not when his own flesh and blood hadn’t known. Not until then.

All Might turns to face Midoriya. “I’ve been thinking on it since I met you. You… you haven’t. You’ve begun reaching out to others, looking for help. You’ve made friends. My friends sort of forced their way into my life. And I lost many.”

“… I can’t do that,” Midoriya tells him again. “I… I can’t.”

I can’t become All Might. I can’t end up like him. He has nothing left… Midoriya thinks.

“I…” All Might sighs. “I didn’t mean for you to become me. I told you once I never wanted you to become me. But I… I do want you to inherit my legacy.”

“I can’t be the next-” Midoriya attempts again, but All Might lifts a hand.

“I spoke poorly,” he said gently. “It is just… I wish for you to inherit my agency. With that will come the reveal of our relationship, making you a symbol one day.” He explains. He lifts his other hand, moving it as he continues. “I do think you can be a symbol as well, even without that. A symbol of your own making. A young teenager who fought hard to get where she was, who never backed down. A symbol… of strength. Of hope.” All Might tells her. “You can do that.”

“I…” Midoriya looks at him and then away. “…I’m sixteen. I won’t debut until I’m in my twenties.”

“I know. But… starting now, you can lay the foundation.” All Might says.

Midoriya looks at him and then away, her face troubled.

Melissa sniffed, reaching up to wipe at her eyes. God, she was a mess. She glanced at the screen and, for a brief second wondered why she didn’t hate Midoriya. She got All Might. She got the Quirk. Midoriya got the agency, the legacy, everything.

But Melissa knew why. She didn’t want the Quirk. She didn’t want the legacy. The idea made her shudder and want to run like hell. She was happy where she was. She only wished she’d known the truth sooner.

A sudden thought popped into her head. If All Might stayed with her parents; if she grew up knowing who he was to her. Because he had a villain on his tail, she doubted she’d have left the Island. Through that, she felt reasonably sure she would have stayed the same. But Midoriya… the image of the girl talking on the phone with her, working on support gear, and Tomoe laughing on a video screen…

It would have been nice to be there and help Midoriya through everything. But she couldn’t focus on that. No, Melissa had to… adjust. Had to adapt. Now that her parentage was out, I-Island would be under attack. She would have to help prepare.

And avoid her dad for a while. Some things cut deep.

The screen changes to show class 1-A hanging out in their classroom. Tomoe is out of her pen and sitting on the ground, playing with Dark Shadow, who holds one of the toys Midoriya brought.

Tokoyami entered UA with his parents, feeling some tension slide off himself as Dark Shadow cooed. He poked his head up from Tokoyami’s shoulder, giggling.

“Look!” Dark Shadow cackled. “Tomoe and I are awesome.”

“Indeed,” Tokoyami agreed. The relief coming from no longer witnessing such an intimate scene almost caused him to stagger. He felt for All Might and the ‘Melissa’ girl he spoke of. Imagining how they both would feel after seeing that worried him. Neither could be okay. Such personal information being shared would ruin anyone.

Tokoyami was one of few who felt that way, as more people were busy digging up information on the Shields to either write articles about them or see if they were ‘worthy’ of All Might. Stain among them. The fact All Might had a child would be the hot info for a while. Unless, of course some other secret came from the future.

“Bastard has a point,” Z remarked in the bar. She had migrated from sitting next to Dabi to leaning on him. He didn’t mind; Z’s intent was clear to him. He wouldn’t mind a bit of mindless fun that night, still reeling from not only All Might’s defeat but the reveal of All for One.

There wasn’t much info. Simply the fact that there existed someone who could take and give Quirks. It unsettled Dabi. A part of him, the part he thought died that day when his father didn’t come to see him, when the man chose Shouto over the first born, ached. What if he had known about All for One? Would he have gone to him, and asked for help? A Quirk to offset his own troubling one? Or a new Quirk altogether?

Dabi knew himself. He knew his hate for Shouto was illogical. He knew it and didn’t care because he frankly just couldn’t be bothered. He knew he loved and hated Endeavour. He knew that his mother had mental issues but still fantasized about murdering her. He knew himself.

So the idea he didn’t know what he’d do in the case of All for One unnerved him.

“Who has a point?” Dabi asked Z, wanting to not think about All for One.

“All Might. He did the right thing, separating himself from his kid. He was going to be the number one hero; that was his goal. It paints a target on anyone he knows if he let anyone close. If he were a lower-ranked hero, it wouldn’t matter. But that high? No. Better to be alone.” Z snorted. “I’ve taken so many jobs to kill hero families. Heroes themselves have even hired me.”

“Really?” Dabi asked. She nodded, though she didn’t elaborate. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-five, but I started at sixteen,” Z explained. “Not the point- point is All Might is smart. He managed to keep things secret. I kinda wonder how smart he really is, actually.”

“I suppose we’ll see,” Dabi allowed, hoping the screen would show some sort of other distraction. All Might made him think of his father after all.

It looks like their toys are fighting each other, Tomoe and Dark Shadow making noises like they were.

“She’s kinda tiny,” Sero remarks, looking at the little girl. “She’s two you said?”

“Premie baby, and apparently her Quirk feeds off her food intake,” Midoriya replies.

“Hmm, my parents say I was similar.” Yaoyorozu remarks. She is standing somewhat far away from the two Midoriyas but looks curious.

“I as well,” Tokoyami says. “It’s why I am my height and not taller.”

“Hopefully, we caught it in time then,” Midoriya says. “I don’t want her growth to be stunted.”

“She’s so cute!” Ashido squeals. “Are you bringing her tomorrow too?” the pink-haired girl asks eagerly. “Do you think she’ll be more open to all of us then?”

“Maybe- the daycare incident was… hard,” Midoriya tells her. “Apparently, they nearly slapped her.”

“What?” Kaminari asks in shock. “Dude- that’s gross!”

“It’s not pleasant, that’s for sure. And I’m still trying to find a place I can trust with her.” Midoriya says. “I don’t know who would be trustworthy. One woman at the daycare was but…”

“My parents left me with family, ribbit.” Asui remarks. “Now that I can watch my siblings, I watch them after school- they have to work double shifts to get a fraction of the pay others get, ribbit.” Asui shrugs at the stunned looks she gets from the others.

“That’s…. Horrific!” Yaoyorozu says in shock.

“It’s life,” Ashido remarks. “Too many people call me the devil because of my looks. Usually, the crazy tourists when I see them but some people here too. I was kicked out of a bunch of daycares too.”

“It is… hard being a mutation in this world,” Tokoyami says. He turns to Midoriya. “You are one of a rare few I have seen accept your child if they do not look human. You are… kind.” He tells her, and Midoriya flushes.

“She’s my daughter. She’s my number one- I’ve accepted I won’t debut until after hero university.”

“Then you’ll never be number one, Deku!” Bakugou barks, sneering at her.

Bakugou growled at the screen, agreeing with his other self as he tried to ignore all of what they had learned. All Might had a kid he left behind. It made sense; you couldn’t be number one with a kid! Deku being the greatest hero made no sense!

“Whoever said I wanted that?” Midoriya asks him. He freezes. “That’s your dream, Bakugou- it’s never been mine. I always wanted to be a hero. That’s it. I want to save people with a smile. Sure I’ve said I wanted to be like All Might, but have I ever said I wanted to be number one?” She rolls her eyes. “Stop making things up about me already- I thought you did it enough in middle school.”

Midoriya turns and begins to pack up Tomoe’s toys, Iida and Uraraka joining in. When she is picked up to leave, Tomoe whines, but her plush rabbit is given to her, and she quiets down.

However, as Kaminari opens the door, it reveals a giant crowd of students standing outside their classroom in the hallway.

Everyone in class 1-A jerks back, eyes wide upon seeing the crowd.

“Uh… Um, why the heck are you all here?” Uraraka asks.

“Do you students have some sort of business with our class?” Iida questions.

“They’re scouting out the competition, idiots. We’re the class that survived a real villain attack. They want to see us with their own eyes,” Bakugou tells them as he walks towards the crowd. He has a cocky smirk on his face.

“Oh god,” Jirou groaned, slumping onto the desk in front of her. All of the future 1A were finally at UA. A few people further away were helped by a handful of teleporting heroes who owed Nezu a favour or wanted some good PR after Kurogiri terrified Japan. “Can I say something snarky about him?!”

“I vote yes,” Kaminari said, making a face at the screen.

“Agreed.” Sniffed Ashido. She currently sat with Aoyama, the two bonding quickly with their dramatics. He seemed tense, but she put it down to everyone being inside. Their parents had left, a lot of them needing to work, though Endeavour stuck around.

“That boy isn’t here.” He said to Nezu, who shook his head.

“Due to the circumstances and as well an incident caused by him, Bakugou Katsuki is not welcome at UA. Instead, he will be sent to Second Chance.” Nezu explained to Endeavour. Kirishima looked in dismay at the news though he didn’t say anything. Ashido felt thankful for that.

The guy needed a wake-up call. She blamed TV. Not everyone who did terrible things had a sad backstory to explain it. Or were misguided. Hopefully, the rose-coloured glasses shattering wouldn’t be too bad.

“At least now you know what a future pro looks like. Now move it, extras,” Bakugou orders.

“Oh god,” Midoriya mutters.

“You can’t walk around calling people extras just because you don’t know who they are!” Iida tells Bakugou.

“So this is class 1-A. I heard you guys were impressive, but you just sound like an ass. Is everyone in the hero course delusional, or just you?” a purple-haired teen asks, walking towards the front of the class.

“Oh god,” Shinsou muttered. His grandmother and his father’s silence made him cringe. “I… he… I’ve got nothing.”

“Of course you don’t,” Recovery Girl sighed. “Hitoshi, I love you, but you really do have empathy issues.”

“I’ll let it slide,” his father voiced. He raised a hand at the shocked looks he was given. “One, you have a nasty habit of lashing out, but the kid did technically act first. Two, I believe you honestly did just go to see the class. Yet your grandmother is right. Perhaps another therapy session?”

“Oh god, no.” Shinsou groaned. But he probably would go to one. Just to brush up on his empathy. He struggled enough with it; he didn’t want to backslide.

“No, he’s just an asshole,” Midoriya says before she sighs. “And I cursed in front of Tomoe, honey- no cursing.” That gets the attention of the crowd, who all stare. The purple-haired teenager blinks and takes her in. He coughs slightly.

“Ah.”

“Yes, I’m the one the news was talking about,” Midoriya says calmly. “I’m Midoriya Izumi, and this is my daughter Tomoe. Ignore Bakugou; half of us do so.”

“YOU WANNA FIGHT DEKU?!” Bakugou shouts at her, glaring. Midoriya blinks at him while Tomoe makes a face at him.

“Loud-” Tomoe whines. “Loud and mean.”

“HUH?!” Bakugou barks, and Midoriya scowls at him.

“Back off, she’s two,” Midoriya tells him. Bakugou pauses, staring at her.

“Why the fuck did Auntie never tell us?” he demands after a moment.

“I already told you!” Midoriya snapped. “My mother didn’t tell anyone because she hates the fact I kept Tomoe and has so far refused to help at all. The only reason I get to eat properly and take care of Tomoe is because I have a mentor.” Midoriya tells Bakugou. “She’s never supported me.”

“That’s a lie-” Bakugou begins, angry, but Midoriya snorts.

“Again, I think I know my mother better than you do. You only saw her every other month when our mothers would meet up.”

“It’s a LIE!” Bakugou shouted. His door opened, and his mother stuck her head inside.

“Katsuki, stop screaming. And frankly, Izu-chan is right. You don’t know Inko as well as you think.” Mitsuki told her son.

“How the fuck don’t I?” Bakugou demanded.

“Because you’re a fucking kid, and I made sure to keep a lot of her bullshit away,” Mitsuki told him. “Inko has ideas about things, and a lot of it focuses on herself and her reputation. So it’s harmless to others, but a lot of the other shit is harmful. I don’t know if this term is still in use, so have you heard of a Populationist?”

“No…” Bakugou said in confusion.

“It means someone who fully believes everyone should reproduce to raise the population up after the Quirk wars,” Mitsuki explained. “Inko is one. She used to attend meetings and rallies. I’m a hundred percent sure that’s why she is so insistent on Izu-chan’s future. Because in her mind, Izumi will be protected, but there will be children too. Children she wants to call her grandkids.”

“That doesn’t sound bad,” Bakugou argues.

“It is when you go after people who don’t want kids or marry the same sex or infertile people,” Mitsuki said bluntly. “We had other friends; Inko drove them away with her comments. She hid it better after that, but Inko fully believed it. She’s not against abortion or adoption, but she sure as hell thinks everyone needs to make one kid. But that sort of thought process is toxic as hell. I know for a fact she would happily fill your head with it.”

“… you’re lying!” Bakugou snapped after a second. “I’m not wrong! Auntie Inko is amazing! This… this whole thing is a lie! I’m not wrong!” Mitsuki raised an eyebrow at her son before shaking her head.

“Believe what you want, but you’re going to therapy tomorrow. Maybe they can get it through your head that you can’t do this sort of thing.” Mitsuki shook her head before she left the room. Bakugou glared but didn’t react. They’d already told him he had to go to therapy. Part of a deal they were working out after his attempted attack on a civilian.

He hated it. Hated all of it. It wasn’t fair.

Midoriya shakes her head and turns to the purple-haired teen. “Are you trying to get into the hero course through the sports festival?”

“Ah… yes, I am.” the teenager blinks.

“That’s amazing! I’m a late bloomer- my Quirk only came in during the entrance exam, so I thought I was Quirkless. I heard about this route… I hope you make it in!” Midoriya beams. “We already have an open seat!”

“Oh…” the purple-haired teen blinks. “I was coming to declare war, but uh… thank you.”

“Don’t IGNORE ME, DEKU!” Bakugou shouts. “You still should have told me! Our parents talked about an arranged marriage!” Midoriya turns her head and stares at him, her eyes wide while the rest of the class gasps.

“…You’re one of the many she did,” Midoriya tells him. “Bakugou- Quirkless people who can get pregnant have like… an almost 100% chance of passing on their partner’s quirk ten times stronger. Mom talked about marrying me off constantly. Even now- I can’t pass on my Quirk. Tomoe has a version of Yamanaka’s Quirk that’s stronger than his. He could only move around objects, Tomoe can control people with her threads. You’re not that important that she instantly decided to marry me off to you.”

The confusion on Bakugou’s face causes Midoriya to sigh and turn away. The screen briefly focuses on Todoroki, who was looking at them with a furrowed brow, his eyes stern as he stares at the two. His hands are clenched as he looks at them.

Todoroki doesn’t flinch, staring at the wall as the others glance at him. Endeavour didn’t move either, ignoring the fact his son was like that. He felt more annoyed that Nara hadn’t been able to arrange for him to get access to the girl. Arranging the marriage would take time, but it could have worked. Hopefully.

Around Japan, though, people do notice. And some older reporters traded looks.

“Wasn’t his wife like… sixteen?” One muttered to another.

“Yeah. I mean- it’s legal, but…”

“I think they were an omiai marriage, though.” Another said. “So… like not illegal either.”

“Still. It’s kinda suspicious.” The first murmured. She then grinned. “I smell a story.”

“An expose on the number two hero?” The second raised an eyebrow. “Girl, you’re crazy. The Commission would never run it.”

“Oh, I’m just getting ahead of the game. The screen is focusing a lot on Todoroki right now. We know that the Quirk allows us to see the future like an anime or a show or whatever. And that? That’s classic foreshadowing.” The first reporter grinned.

“So the screen is going to reveal it anyway…” the third murmured. “… you know it’s kind of suspicious only his youngest with the really fancy Quirk went to hero school…”

Fuyumi didn’t want to think about why Shouto reacted how he did. But she couldn’t stop it. She knew why, and it rang in her head. Their mother. Their father. Touya as well… all of it.

For a second, she saw her father screaming at a little boy with green hair in her mind’s eye. An older Tomoe sobbed as her strings were pulled. Bile rose to the back of her mouth, and she had to excuse herself from the classroom, leaving her TA assigned for the time in charge so she could run to the washroom.

Natsuo himself clenched his fist, staring at the screen. Fucking Endeavour. Fucking Rei to, he held a grudge for all that Natuso understood and accepted she was ill. The marriage had been consensual. They were arranged by a matchmaker and set up through an agency, but they both agreed. His father might have greased some palms to get precisely what the man wanted, but it still was legal.

A sudden thought occurred to Natsuo, and he groaned in relief. Thank god his dad hadn’t known about Melissa before. Two Quirkless children, both the children of the number one and two heroes? He’d have been dragged into the chaos of the rivalry.

Hell, he still might, even if Natsuo legally was an adult and had no connections to his dad. He wasn’t even using Endeavour’s money for school, using his maternal aunt’s funds she set up for the kids. Endeavour would brag about him, and attempt to use him in the stupid competition.

Ugh, he didn’t want to think about it.

“What’s your name, by the way?” Midoriya asks the purple-haired teenager.

“Ah, Shinsou Hitoshi… your kid can control people?” Shinsou asks. Midoriya stiffens.

“Yes.” Her voice is clipped and cold, while Uraraka and Iida are glaring at him behind her.

Shinsou hesitates before cocking a smile.

“…Twins.” He says, chuckling. Midoriya blinks before a grin spread across her face. Iida and Uraraka behind her trade smiles as well.

Izumi grinned in the present time, even as she simply sat next to All Might. There was someone like Tomoe? She was going to find him to make friends if he wanted. Tomoe would have a positive influence.

Multiple people shared the enthusiasm, everyone chattering to one another as they looked at the screen. Most seemed to think it would be a good thing, though some more Quirkist people didn’t.

And a few people from the boy’s middle school traded pained gazes, knowing that they were going to eat their words. Though some traded furious ones, angry that the villain in training would be at UA to corrupt Tomoe. She had a shot at not being a freak like him after all.

“Would you like to train with us?” Iida asks.

“Yeah!” Uraraka says eagerly. “We can give you some tips to get into the hero course! And it would be nice for Tomoe to see a control Quirk in action!”

Shinsou looks surprised before he slowly nods, his smile turning gentle.

“I didn’t cut it the first time around, but I have another chance,” Shinsou says softly. “It would be nice to train with people serious about helping me.”

“We sure are!” Uraraka chirps.

“I’m in it to expose people to Tomoe who are like her,” Midoriya jokes.

“He’s the enemy!” Bakugou shouts. He reaches out to grab Midoriya, and she jerks away, eyes wide.

“Do NOT TOUCH me!” she snaps—the blonde pauses, eyes wide. “And honestly, Bakugou- I trust anyone else more than I trust you. Have a good day.”

"Hey, you!” a new voice calls—a boy with white hair and strange eye marking shows up. “I’m from class 1-B next door to you!” he looks at Midoriya, pausing before nodding to her. He turns to Bakugou with a scowl. “I overheard you! We all thought you were big-headed because of the incident, but it seems just one of you are!” He scoffs. “You talk a big game, but you’ll say a different story when you get KO’d.”

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu pumped his fists into the air. “I’m at UA!!” He cheered. Sure, he was shown now, but he got to yell at Bakugou, who was totally unmanly and deserved it.

But mostly, he was just happy he got into UA.

Bakugou glares at him and then turns to shove his way through the crowd around the classroom. As he does, Kirishima steps out.

"Dude, where are you going? You gotta say something. They’re all hating on you,” Kirishima says. Behind him, Ashido is giving them both a confused look.

“These people don’t matter,” Bakugo tells Kirishima.

“Huh?” Kirishima asks, blinking.

“The only thing that’s important is that I beat them,” Bakugo replies as he walks away.

“Hey! I’m coming for you!” the white-haired teenager shouts after him.

“I hate that that was such a manly exit,” Kirishima says.

“Huh?” Kaminari asks. “How is that manly? That was just rude.”

“You said it,” Sato says. “Bakugou is as far from manly as possible.”

The kids inside of UA shared the future sentiment, giving Kirishima looks. He didn’t notice, too busy gushing about how manly Bakugou was just to be able to shrug it all off.

Nezu made a note to arrange for him to get some therapy. Even if it turned out to be a simple case of the teen believing the best in everyone, a habit of confirmation bias would be best to nip in the bud… actually maybe he’d send Aizawa to therapy for that too.

“Mineta was worse personally,” Midoriya remarks. She adjusts Tomoe, who looks a bit stressed. “Excuse me, I’ve got to go-“

The door opens behind them, and Aizawa steps out. The crowd gasps upon seeing him, all stepping back.

“Holy shit.”

“Is that their teacher?” the crowd whispers to one another, horror-struck.

“Midoriya, your mother has arrived here to see you. She’s in the office with Nezu.” Aizawa says through his bandages. Midoriya blinks but nods.

“Thank you, sensei,” she turns to Uraraka, Iida and Shinsou. “Let’s all meet up in Gym B2? The one with the sparring area with rocks. It won’t be too long with my mother.”

“Sure!” Uraraka chirps. “Come on, Shinsou, let’s trade numbers…”

Midoriya walks through the crowd with Aizawa following her in a shuffle-like motion. The two don’t talk as they walk the halls to find their way to the principal’s office.

“- YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR HER!” a voice yells, and Midoriya pauses. A look of confusion passes over her face before she walks to the office. It opens, letting her and Aizawa inside. Nezu is sitting at his desk, a smile fixed on his face. All Might stands in his skinny form, looking furious, while the diminutive form of Mrs. Midoriya seems enraged.

“Oh, here we go,” Izumi muttered as Mic handed over lunch. It was scrambled eggs with cheese, meat, and some vegetables, though they added toast to it. “Thank you,” Izumi said as Tomoe said her own thanks.

“Your mother about to start something?” Mic asked.

“Probably. She had her ideas after all.” Izumi muttered. “Five hundred yen on her being there to try and get me out of UA or something.”

“…Well, something happened in here,” Midoriya remarks. The adults turn to her.

“Izumi, I need you to sign these,” Mrs. Midoriya holds up some papers. Midodriya frowns. “Izum-“

“She’s trying to get you to give up custody of Tomoe.” All Might snaps. Midoriya stiffens and holds her daughter tighter.

“Oh yay. That again.” Izumi muttered, ignoring the chaos erupting from the adults in the room.

Similar chaos erupted around Japan as people shouted in shock. Really? After learning the truth, that’s what she tried?!

“Of course she is. What, can’t stand the idea of people figuring out you’ve hidden away your granddaughter like a dirty secret?” Midoriya snaps at her mother.

“It’s what’s best for you! She’s a reminder of what happened to you!” Mrs. Midoriya shouts, throwing her arms open.

“Stop saying you know what’s best for me! You barely know me!” Midoriya tells her.

“You’ve never let me!”

“You have an idea in your head of what I’m supposed to be like; you always have!” Midoriya yells at her mother. Tomoe lets out a strangled sound, and the teenager winces. “Shit, I am so sorry, Tomoe-“

“See, you can’t-“ Mrs. Midoriya begins, but she’s interrupted by Nezu.

“Given you started this by attempting to trick your daughter into signing forms to give custody of her daughter up as well as trying to threaten heroes to go along with your scheme… you might want to think before you speak,” the principal says darkly, his smile growing just a bit. Mrs. Midoriya turns to glare as Tomoe looks up. The toddler’s eyes widen.

“Like me?” she asks, pointing.

“Yeah, baby, like you kinda,” Midoriya says to her softly. Tomoe grins widely but then looks at Mrs. Midoriya and buries her face back into Midoriya’s shoulder. For a second, the older woman’s face looks shocked, before it twists.

“Fine. If you don’t do this, then I will pull you from UA!” the woman looks victorious, a grin on her face as Midoriya steps back. She seems shocked, Tomoe in her arms making a confused sound.

“Not possible,” Nezu suddenly speaks. The screen moves to look at the mammal, who looks smug.

“Excuse me?” Mrs. Midoriya asks, the screen goes back to show the office.

“When Midoriya Izumi entered UA, you both signed papers granting us some legal power over her. Due to the frequency of parents panicking and yanking their kids out of hero courses in fear or forcing them to accept positions in our courses they don’t want, part of this power is over education. Without Midoriya Izumi’s permission, you cannot pull her from UA.” Nezu said cheerfully.

“That’s correct,” Midoriya speaks up. “It’s why I wanted UA so badly, the news article a few years back about how someone tried to force their kid into a marriage with someone like forty years their senior. You stopped it.”

“We did,” Nezu says with a nod as Mrs. Midoriya’s eyes widen, and then a scowl crosses her face.

“Oh, thank God,” was a general sentiment, though some made notes not to let their children go to UA. They didn’t like the idea of not having that control over their children.

Sadly for many of them, many hero schools had similar policies, and if they didn’t, well, they would now after this. Even some other schools were debating about adding that sort of clause.

“If you do not listen to me, Izumi then… then… then I will not allow you to come home!” Mrs. Midoriya looks victorious.

“WHAT?!” Shouts came from multiple people. Tomoe jumped and hugged her mother in confusion in the kitchen, the teen patting her head without thought.

“She… she would kick me out?” Izumi said softly. She never thought her mother… that Inko would do such a thing. Even through everything else. Then again, Inko did run, so perhaps Izumi didn’t know her mother as well as she thought.

It hurt still. Hurt that her mother would throw her out over that. It hurt she mattered so little to Inko; that her wants and wishes were secondary. At the same time, she felt free. Inko running freed her slightly, but this was proof her mother would never love her enough to let her live. To make her own life.

She could stop caring about Inko.

An easier said task than done.

Many others didn’t match Izumi’s turmoil. Instead, many were yelling at the screen in anger. Or glaring, such as the case with Hisashi. He wondered if the Nomu made from Inko could have a regeneration factor added as well. Shigaraki would enjoy a toy to test things on. The doctor told him that the Nomu would keep Inko’s appearance so that it would be a good stress relief that way. It would be helpful from the feed to the bar, where Shigaraki took his temper out on a few tables.

A handful of people, such as the Hagakure parents, agreed with Mrs. Midoriya. Izumi was her child, and she had the right to dictate the girl’s life as she wished. Midoriya should bend to her mother’s will. The only reason they weren’t going back to grab their daughter was due to already signing some contracts and the fact they knew their daughter would never disobey.

Hagakure herself only felt relief knowing her parents couldn’t do anything to her. Though there was plenty of disgust towards Mrs. Midoriya, something she knew was shared by her future classmates. A couple seemed more startled, possibly unable to grasp it. Such as Ojiro, the teen honestly just kept blinking at the screen.

Poor guy. He struck her as the type that was sort of like Mrs. Midoriya in that he had set ideas about things and couldn’t understand when said ideas went wonky. He’d get shaken from those ideas pretty quickly with everything going on.

Another person who caught her eye was Endeavour; the man looked torn. He agreed with Mrs. Midoriya but also didn’t. It bore watching, especially with Todoroki’s reaction earlier.

Mitsuki checked on her son again, unsettled by the fact he was silent. His face made her shudder, wondering what was going through his mind to put such a look on it. The sheer confusion and rage painting it made her wish to flee.

Midoriya stares at Mrs. Midoriya in shock. All Might’s mouth drops open as Nezu stops smiling. Aizawa jerks back, any other emotion obscured by his bandages.

“Are… are you serious? You…” the teenager looks at her daughter and then back up. “You hate Tomoe and me that much?”

“I don’t hate you! I want what’s best for you!” Mrs. Midoriya insists. “You just don’t understand!”

“Oh god, this again. Every time, you just don’t understand.” Midoriya rolls her eyes along with her head before giving her mother the flattest look she can. “Don’t understand what, mom? That you think I’m a weak broodmare only good for babies? That you believe you have the right to control my life how you see fit?”

“I want-“

“Give it a rest. I don’t know why you’re so fixated on the idea I need a man to be happy or that I shouldn’t have my daughter!” Midoriya tells her. “You probably have some idea of me being a hero for like three years and then settling down, don’t you.”

“It would be safer; that’s all I want-“ Mrs. Midoriya tries.

“So you kick her out unless she obeys you?” All Might demands. Mrs. Midoriya turns to him with a scowl.

“You stay out of this!”

“I’m a registered foster parent along with my husband,” Aizawa suddenly speaks. The room quiets and turns to him. “Nezu can get the paperwork going, and we can pick your things up, which legally you are allowed to do. Any tampering with your things we can sue for.”

“I was always going to end up here,” Izumi said softly. “Always.”

“It seems so,” Aizawa said gently. He looked at her, holding her eyes. “… call me Shouta when we’re here, Midoriya. This is your home now.”

It was jumping the gun a bit. Even as Present Mic spoke up his agreement, Izumi knew it was. But it made her heart ache less. Made her shoulders relax.

“Izumi then… for you as well, All Might.” She said cautiously.

“Call me Toshinori then, young Izumi.” The skinny blond smiled at her, sipping at the water he’d been given.

Izumi was right where she was supposed to be.

“What?” Mrs. Midoriya asks in alarm. Midoriya blinks and then begins to laugh, shaking her head.

“Sounds good to me,” she turns to her mother. “You have no power over me. You can’t make me do a damn thing.” Mrs. Midoriya opens and closes her mouth, looking stunned. “She works tonight, I’m sure, so we can pick things up while she’s there. I’m going to go spar with my friends if that’s okay?” Midoriya looks to Aizawa, who gives a single nod.

“No, you-“ Mrs. Midoriya begins but stops as her daughter walks out the door. She stares after the girl, green eyes wide and mouth slightly open. “This wasn’t supposed to happen…”

“Oh, you thought you could threaten her and force her to fall in line?” Nezu asks her. “That you could control her future and make it fit what you want?”

“I can’t be wrong!” Mrs. Midoriya shouts. She looks at him with wild eyes.

“You are,” All Might speaks.

“And now you’re facing the consequences.” Aizawa finishes for him. The screen goes to the timer, and the episode ends.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Notes:

-There were like two endings here but I went with this cause it felt more heavy compared to otherwise…

-Ojiro and his parents are okay. They love each other, there’s no abuse but Ojiro is like their third priority after work and each other. It’s not a great situation for a kid, but they spend a lot of time together. But sometimes he really feels it.

-All Might is not as dumb as people assume and the fact that people act as if he is is annoying. I fully believe that he made sure AFO was dead but without full knowledge of his Quirks and agents, the guy got out.

-Also, I love Aizawa but man the guy is judgmental and tends to be a bastard. So… yeah. *shrug*

-Alright, so yes!!! Melissa is All Might’s child, and there’s a lot of issues going on with him and family. He chose to abandon her and his relationship because of his fear. He knows this, and hates himself for it. Which is another reason he won’t push Izumi into being the next symbol of peace.

-SHINSOU! WE HAVE SHINSOU! He got adopted by the IzuCrew on sight. He’s theirs now, fight them. With a younger son, a poor kid and a single mom who got bullied, he fits right in.

-Also- I fully admit all comments I got about ‘oh what will happen when they see them declare war?’ Made me howl. I kept showing them to my Beta and giggling.

-Populationist is a term I came up with for a spite fic I never posted because I wrote it and then felt bad about it. As of now though I

Pulling on the Strings of Destiny: Act 2 Chapter 3

Summary: Four days pass for Japan, and everyone is on edge. They wonder, and wait. What will happen next for them? Will Midoriya keep rising? What sort of things would she face. They all turned towards the screens, wondering. None more so then the future class 1-A, more so as they get a glimpse into their first sports festival, first internship and their final exams. Watch as Midoriya’s future continues to unfold, as she learns more about her family, society and herself.

Warnings:References to underage pregnancy and the assualt of a minor. References to child harm. Toga Himiko to, she is her own warning.

 On AO3

KoFi

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The screen starting caused most of Japan to stop in their actions, the exceptions being the future class 1A, all of whom continued to walk towards the cars, trains or other forms of transportation they would take to UA. People have waited for this, and many have stalled in starting any job that would require less than their full attention. What happened after the USJ? Would the screen open up to the villains? To the students? 

 The future show started later then, which surprised them, but they all wanted to know. Those who didn’t see themselves yet wondered if they would appear. If they wouldn’t. A lot hoped they would, showing themselves being heroes or being amazing. They were cool, after all. And sure, it would only be a few episodes, given they were starting around 1 in the afternoon, but they still hoped.

 They watched as the screen flickered on, hop in their hearts while those who already appeared despaired at the idea of more personal things would be exposed.

“Up next: an update on yesterday’s incident at the UA rescue training center where a gang of villains attacked hero course students. According to new police officials, the criminal forces called themselves The League of Villains. Investigators have reportedly uncovered that this group has been plotting to kill UA teacher and popular hero All Might since the spring of this year. Police arrested 72 villains at the scene, but the League’s leader escaped. His whereabouts are unknown,” the newscaster says as a room full of nurses and patients watch the TV. One of them is Mrs. Midoriya, dressed in a pair of scrubs. She is standing with other people in scrubs as well. She has a water bottle in hand she lifts to her lips to drink. “There is some concern that these villains are tied to Yamanaka Hari, a teacher recently sentenced to sixty years due to the sexual abuse of a minor, who is a first-year hero student at UA.”

 Mrs. Midoriya drops the water bottle and stares with large eyes. Her coworkers look at her in confusion, reaching out to her, but her eyes are on the TV screen.

 “So that’s how she’d find out,” Izumi said softly, playing with the pull tab of her lemonade can, twisting it. Mic hummed, watching the screen with narrowed eyes. Aizawa crept into the kitchen, looking ruffled from the nap he’d been taking. 

 “The student’s name has not been released, but the records state that the student became pregnant from the ordeal.” The reporter says. “She is currently raising her child while attending UA. With this new knowledge, we wonder if UA is truly safe for a young teen mom and whom else might be attending in similar circumstances.”

 “Really?” Izumi asked. Mic snorted

 “I’m only surprised they aren’t outright accusing us of anything.” Mic rolled his eyes. “They love to do that.”

 “I’ve never heard of anything like that….” Izumi said.

 “Mostly, it just doesn’t go anywhere,” Aizawa said. He’d taken a look at Izumi’s lemonade before grabbing his own, popping open the can before taking a gulp. He drummed some fingers on the side, leaning on the kitchen counter. “It’s gossip, people making noises about things that don’t have any substance but wanting to be pests.” 

 “Everyone loves a hero rising to the top. Just as many want to see them fall.” Mic said. “Sometimes even the ones who wanted them to rise first.”

 The screen switches to show Tsukauchi, All Might in his skinny form, Nezu, Snipe, Midnight, and Vlad King in a UA conference room.

“Our investigators are trying to learn everything they can about this so-called League of Villains. We’ve made some progress, but we can’t find anything on this Shigaraki so far. We’ve searched our records for men in their twenties or late teens who are registered as having some sort of disintegration quirk, but so far, we’ve come up empty. Same for the warp gate villain, Kurogiri. So, either they’re not citizens, or they’re using aliases. Hard to find, either way,” Tsukauchi tells the pro heroes, shuffling through his papers.

"So what you’re saying is we don’t know anything?” Vlad King asks. The pro-hero leans back in his seat, arms crossed across his chest as he scowls darkly.

“We’ve gotta track them down. I shot their ringleader, but he’ll probably try pulling something like this again once he heals up,” Snipe says. The cowboy hero snorts and shakes his head. “What a pain.”

“He did seem like the type,” All Might agrees, the thin man leaning forward on his elbows.

“Is something on your mind, All Might?” Nezu asks him.

“The attack on the USJ was too bold. No sane adult would ever attempt it. The ringleader kept monologuing about the reasons he was there,” All Might says as he leans back in his chair, the screen briefly showing Shigaraki, Kurogiri and the Nomu leaving a portal in the USJ. “He bragged about the Nomu’s many Quirks like it was a tool, a prize.” All Might briefly glances at Nezu as he speaks. The mammal is drinking from a teacup, looking unbothered until the screen focuses on his teacup as it briefly shakes.

 He’s reacting to the Nomu being bioengineered, All Might thinks, his inner thoughts echoing. I can’t imagine how angry he is.

  Nezu’s claws unfurled. He rarely unsheathed them, but the sharp reminder that the Nomu were created in labs made him do so. He dug the sharp points into the desk, growling to himself as he dragged them down, leaving marks. 

 Oh, no one truly understood his anger. 

“ When things didn’t go his way, he was visibly upset. Like he was gonna throw a tantrum,” All Might continues, turning away from the principal. “Like… honestly like Tomoe.” All Might remarks, the screen morphing to show Tomoe crying and banging her hands on some sand while Midoriya looks stressed but firm. “Though bragging about the Quirks the Nomu had was an easy way to draw me into a fight.” The screen goes back to the room.

 “What?!?” Shigaraki yelled in anger. “I AM NOT LIKE A CHILD!” He slammed his hand onto the table he sat at, the table decaying under his hand. Kurogiri did not say a word.

 Meanwhile, around Japan, people were laughing at the image, giggling at the thought of someone throwing a tantrum like a toddler. Especially a villain.

 A few retail workers shuddered, sharing disturbed looks at the thought. While they didn’t have the same experience as some in America did, it was a pain in the ass indeed for them to deal with some customers. Seeing the villain in the place of some of them made a few nervous. 

 Others gleefully wondered if they could use this as a way to get people to stop being annoying. Being compared to a villain would stop some customers… hopefully.

“That might be true, but strategically, it was foolish to reveal his quirks upfront instead of keeping them a secret,” Nezu informs the group, putting his teacup down a bit too firmly.

“Shigaraki made wild, immature claims but did so with a completely straight face. And he talked about Nomu like he was some kind of pet.” All Might winces as Nezu twitches slightly, the rest of the room giving the mammal a side look in worry. “It seemed like he’d never been told no before, like he thought things would go his way no matter what. He has the personality of a spoiled child.”

"A child with incredible power, though,” Vlad King comments as he uncrosses his arms. “A power he seems very careless with.”

“It’s possible he never got the quirk counselling children should receive,” Midnight suggests. “Or if villains raised him, it is more likely he’s never had to learn the proper way to use his powers.

  “I KNOW HOW TO USE MY QUIRK!” Shigaraki shouted angrily, slamming his hand onto the back of his chair. It decayed quickly, making him fall to the floor. Kurogiri’s pointed silence made him scowl. “Fuck off.”

“Maybe so, but it doesn’t matter now,” Snipe replies, waving a hand to dismiss his thoughts.

 All Might frowns. The screen switches to show the red shoes Shigaraki wore before moving to reveal the red shoes Midoriya wears.

 ‘Red shoes… those feel important for some reason, All Might thinks.

 “Hmm,” Z hummed in the bar she sat in with Dabi, sipping from her beer thoughtfully. “I can think of a few reasons for red shoes.”

 “Other than a bad choice?” Dabi asked dryly. Z raised a single eyebrow at him, glancing down his outfit slowly. 

 “You don’t get to talk,” she told him. She ran a hand through her blue hair, speaking as she did. “The cheapest options for Quirkless shoes are sold by a company who makes red ones only. It’s an easy way to mark us, and frankly, the expensive options are terrible. I get all of my shoes custom.” She motioned at the knee-high boots she wore, the souls adding an inch to her already impressive height. 

 “He has a Quirk,” Dabi pointed out.

 “I know that. He could be a late bloomer in truth, or hell, maybe the boogeyman of the underground is real and gave him one, who knows.” Z shrugged. 

 “Boogeyman?” Dabi asked. Z looked at him with her eyebrows furrowed, confused for a second before they moved up as her eyes widened, her mouth opening in shock.

 “You don’t know about All for One?” 

 Meanwhile, Izumi had given a similar speech to Aizawa and Mic, minus the rumours of a boogeyman of the underworld. They frowned, studying the screen. A late bloomer may explain some of his more extreme methods. Not the childishness, however.

“There were 72 villains arrested in the aftermath of the USJ attack. They were all small-time thugs who usually lurked around back alleys. What worries me is that this man-child got them all to follow his crazy plan.” Tsukauchi speaks up, opening a file that lays in front of him. “They viewed him as a real leader.”

 “He was actually the one to gather them up?” All Might asks in surprise.

 “He was,” Tsukauchi agrees. “It could, however, simply be that criminals are starting to feel more pressure now that the world is brimming with heroes. Someone speaking up about an idea of ripping down hero society and destroying the pillar of peace,” the detective nodded to All Might, “that could be why they were so quick to back such simple-minded villainy.”

"Guess that makes sense,” Vlad King comments.

“There are plenty of people out there looking for a cause to get behind anyway,” Snipe says.

“So, what can we do to stop them?” Midnight asks, looking around the room. “I’m used to gang wars, but I’ve never fought a full-on villain group. Just petty crime mostly.”

“Well, thanks to you heroes, we have the time to devote ourselves to this case. We’ll expand our investigation and continue searching for the perpetrators who planned this attack,” Tsukauchi replies, closing his file.

"A man-child, huh?” Nezu speaks up, looking to All Might, who nods. “In some ways, he shares common ground with our students. They both have so much potential, yet some have little maturity. Like our students, I suppose it’s possible someone is guiding him, trying to nurture his malice and villainy,” Nezu says.

  Hisashi chuckled, not too surprised the rodent managed to clue in. The pest may prefer heroics to the darker side of humanity like Hisashi tried to tempt him towards, but he was still a fun companion to battle wits against. 

“I don’t want to think about what that could mean,” All Might replies. The red shoes come to the screen again.

The screen shows Midoriya sitting in her bedroom with All Might’s debut playing in the background. She’s dressed in a loose sweater and jeans while she packs up a large bag with things while Tomoe quietly plays with her stuffed bunny.

“School was closed the two days after the league of villains attacked the USJ. I think they wanted us to have a little break, but it was pretty tough to relax,” Midoriya narrates.

“Who is he? The guy’s already saved 100 people at least, and it hasn’t even been ten minutes. This is… This is crazy! I can’t believe it! Look, he’s got more!” The guy from the video yells.

“Fear not, citizens! Hope has arrived! Because I am here!” All Might says.

 “Aww, she’s watching the video again,” many cooed around Japan. “That’s so cute.” 

I’m still so far away from being a real hero,Midoriyathinks. During the USJ attacks, all my classmates and I did was slow Aizawa-sensei and Thirteen down. If it weren’t for All Might and our teachers, we never would have stood a chance against those villains. She sighs and stops packing. She stands there, looking at the wall thoughtfully.

 Plus the news- I let it slip to a few classmates during the USJ, but now the news did get a hold of it. Could Yamanaka be linked to these villains? Midoriya wonders.

 Shigaraki’s face, looking shocked, fills the screen, Midoriya facing him with her arm bleeding.

  No, Midoriya thinks, going back to packing. He looked too surprised at my words. If he did know about Yamanaka, he wouldn’t be. She finishes packing and puts a smile on her face.

 “Good,” Shigaraki muttered. His sister knew that he would never work with a rapist—especially not one as disgusting as Yamanaka. 

 “C’mon, baby, we’re going to stay with Unc tonight,” Midoriya says to Tomoe, picking her up. The toddler leans her head on her mother’s shoulder.

 With the news released about me, Iida offered for me to spend the night to prevent anyone from tracking me down until they can get someone to watch the apartment. Midoriya thinks. Uraraka will be there too. And mom… well, she’s out during the night, and no one is stupid enough to attack during the day.

 “She’s got good friends now,” Spinner remarked to one of his crew, an immigrant from America who ended up in debt after a nasty divorce from his husband. Liam, the man, was an engineer currently helping figure out where the support beams were in the house.

 “She does. Better than most people I know, honestly,” the man snorted. “Knowing them such a short time but already going for bat? Those three are going places mark my words.”

 Midoriya stops to leave a note on the table and walks out without glancing back.

 “We have an appointment this morning Tomoe,” Midoriya said to her daughter. “Gotta register your Quirk and get you looked over. Then it’s the park where Unc and Auntie will help us celebrate your Quirk!” She kissed her daughter’s cheek, and Tomoe hummed.

 I wish she didn’t get it. It’s awful to think that, but I genuinely wish she didn’t. Midoriya thinks. Her pulling a block to her or coughing up fire wouldn’t have this much damage to her. She’s barely speaking. Midoriya hugs her daughter tightly.

 The screen goes back to the apartment they just left, the door opening and Mrs. Midoriya entering.

 “Izumi? Izumi?” she calls out. She steps in and then spots the note. Her shoulders slump.

 Izumi frowned at the screen. Her mom came back then? Why? She couldn’t really care what happened. After all, she left as soon as she could when her reputation was on the line. Why come back at all?

 The screen shifts to show Midoriya and Tomoe getting on a train. Midoriya moves to sit in a seat. Tomoe buries her face into her mother’s shoulder as people around them look at them, one of them a child somewhat older than Tomoe.

 “Doll!” the older girl says, reaching out, and Midoriya frowns.

 “She’s not a doll; she’s a little girl,” Midoriya tells the other girl firmly.

 “Oh, don’t lie to my daughter,” the woman next to the child begins, but Midoriya gives her a look and points to the bright orange vest Tomoe wears.

 “Extreme mutation Quirk, thank you,” Midoriya tells the woman.

 “…Why aren’t you in school?” sneers the woman. “Did you decide not to go to high school?” Midoriya stares at her, her eyes brows raised, and her mouth open slightly. Around them a few others are glaring at the woman. One of which is a green-skinned man with a tail who gives the woman a very nasty look.

 “Hey, it’s me!” Spinner said. He then scowled at the screen. “Ugh, I hate that crap.”

 “It happens all the time,” moaned Akari, the dragon-like man shaking his head in disgust as he carried away an old chair. 

 “It really does,” Benjiro said, the bug-like man clicking his mandibles together. “You shouldn’t bring animals on a train was common when I was younger.”

 “Same,” Spinner said in disgust. “And I can count how many times they apologized for the mistake on the one hand. Other times it was either disgust or them doing the same thing this woman’s doing. Trying to lay some sort of blame, so they aren’t at fault.” 

 Meanwhile, the woman speaking on the bus found herself being stared at judgementally. She purposely looked down, feeling her neck warm. Damnit, why did it have to be a brat who mattered she spoke to.

 “I go to UA.” Midoriya answers. The woman looks shocked and then scowls.

 “So you’re not going to do homework and instead-”

 “I’m taking my daughter to the doctor,” Midoriya tells her and then looks away. The woman goes pale while the others all glance at each other and their phones. One phone is shown, an article about a UA student having a child on the screen.

 The screen again switches, this time showing Midoriya in a doctor’s office with Tomoe in her lap. A woman sits in front of her with scrubs; her short blonde hair pushed back with a headband. The woman flicks through the papers in a file she holds.

 “Well then,” the woman looks up with a smile. “I’m happy to tell you that Tomoe is very healthy for a premature child, especially one who has been neglected by her caregivers at her daycare.”

 “That’s good,” Midoriya says with a smile. “Thanks, Dr. Yamanato. I was worried about that.”

 “Think nothing of it, kid,” The doctor says. “My job, after all. Now I am slightly wondering about her weight, but after checking her a bit more and running it by my wife, she’s a Quirk Specialist slash counsellor slash consultant, and she was in the office today, we think that Tomoe’s light weight may be caused by her Quirk.” The doctor moved to put some photos onto a white screen that she flicked a switch on, showing a few X-rays. It’s a child’s body, with what looks like lines leading from various places on her body towards her stomach, where a ball is.

 “Whoa,” Izumi murmured. “That’s so cool. That’s my baby’s Quirk?” she smiled, feeling her cheeks ache slightly. Her baby’s Quirk!

 “That’s her Quirk?” Midoriya asks.

 “Yes- Tomoe is able to… burst, for lack of a better word, her stitches to make threads that can attach to people and things. We think that when Tomoe eats most of the food, it goes to creating these threads given how close they are to the stomach.” Dr. Yamanato says. She points at some thicker lines. “There are larger ones and only attached to the palms of her hands and the arch of her feet. We think they’re stronger too.”

 “The daycare says she could control the other kid,” Midoriya says.

 “Yes- that I did need to bug my wife about. I am much more used to physical Quirks rather than mental ones, and your daughter has a combination of a mental and physical one.” Dr. Yamanato informs the teenager. She points to a very long and thick line that goes along the spine of the x-ray. The doctor trails her finger up it until it reaches the top of the spine. “We believe this connects to her brain. She’s a little young for a brain scan, but around five or so, she should start coming in every year to make sure the threads are connected properly. We think that it enables her to control her threads and control what is attached to them. She can only physically control what’s attached by moving her hands, but it’s possible she can eventually control people mentally as long as one string is attached.”

 “Alright…” Midoriya nods. “Anything else?”

 “According to the note written by a member of the daycare, Tomoe seemed to feel pain being removed from the girl she was attached to. We don’t know exactly why, but it’s possible there is a limit or such. For now, if she does end up attaching to something, try and get her to let go herself. If she can’t…” Yamanato looks pained, saying that, and Midoriya clutches her daughter tightly.

 “…Anything else?” Midoriya asks.

 “Feed her a bit more, be careful with her Quirk and… that’s it. For now, anyway. There’s a slim possibility there may be more to her Quirk than present, given her high emotional understanding, but I doubt it. It looks straightforward, and from the Quirk history, I doubt it will end up showing any other surprises. I just want her to be at a higher weight.” Yamanato shrugs. “I don’t want to put her on supplements until we know if she needs to eat more or if we need to add extra to her meals to keep her healthy.”

 “Why would it matter if she’s emotionally mature?” a student wondered aloud. Todoroki Natsuo looked up at his teacher. They were in a general class for those studying medical sciences, and he was curious about the answer.

 “High intelligence levels often mean Quirks that are tricker than we understand,” the teacher explained. “For example, I know Dr. Yamanato. Her Quirk is the ability to make a child with the genes that the parents desire. She was emotionally mature very young, and could understand complex emotions. Her mind just matured faster since it requires a high level of control and understanding to be able to do what she does.” The woman shrugged. “Quirks are strange. It’s possible that Tomoe could develop a secondary aspect to her Quirk, such as a low form of empathy or emotional control like how she controls people. We wouldn’t know unless we see it later.”

 “Fascinating,” Natsuo muttered, writing down the information. While he hoped to work with psych patients, it didn’t hurt to understand what was going on with Quirks. 

 “Does that happen?” Midoriya asks.

 “Yeah, from time to time. I’ve had a few cases where the kid could not eat more because they felt full, but their Quirk ate it all, so they really needed the supplements.” Yamanato tells her. “Now… do you want to name it?”

 “… She can change the name later, right?” Midoriya asks.

 “Yeah- we just need a name for her records. I’d just slap Strings or something on there myself, but if you have an idea…”

 Midoriya looks at Tomoe and hums.

 “… Strings works for now,” Midoriya says. “She can decide when she’s older.”

 “Nice.” Dr. Yamanato says with a nod, writing it down.

 The screen morphs to show Midoriya and Tomoe on the train again. Tomoe is sleeping this time, and Midoriya is texting someone.

 The train stops, and Midoriya stands to walk with her daughter off the train. Uraraka and Iida are waiting for her, who both beam at her, carrying a basket and a bag.

 “C’mon!” Uraraka says. “Time to celebrate Tomoe’s Quirk!”

 Izumi smiled softly, looking at her friends. They went out to celebrate her daughter, to celebrate her Quirk. They weren’t running away or shunning Tomoe. They truly cared.

 It was enough to give Izumi some tears in her eyes, rubbing at them as she finished off her lemonade. Mic and Aizawa kindly didn’t comment; instead Mic pushed a glass of water toward her and started making lunch for them. 

 On the train, Uraraka plotted a party for Tomoe and her Quirk in the future. A tradition to hold the party after the activation, she wouldn’t let the fact they knew already stop her. A picnic in the park, and time spent playing games, would be perfect. Iida made similar plans as his brother drove him to UA, wondering what the best gift would be. Something fun for her… possibly a hero toy?

 Midoriya smiles herself, walking with her friends.

 The screen shows Midoriya dressed in her uniform and walking into UA, Tomoe in her arms. Tomoe wears her bright orange vest and a pair of leggings, and a t-shirt that looks like it is in All Might colours. In Tomoe’s arms is a stuffed toy of Ingenium. Beside her are Uraraka and Iida. Iida is carrying a long rectangular bag with him as he walks.

 “Thanks again for the toy, Iida. I think Tomoe likes having a version of Big Unc.” Midoriya says, grinning.

 Tensei playfully pumped a fist into the air while Iida let out a small sigh of relief. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but hearing ‘Big Unc’ made him feel a hundred times better than when he got called ‘Tiny Tensei’ as a kid.

 Around Japan, people all cooed at the image, finding it absolutely adorable. 

 “Of course!” Iida says with a smile.

 “Your parents are so nice,” Uraraka tells him. “I thought that reporter who called asking about ‘the teenage girl with the kid who entered your house’ would get their head bitten off.”

 “Same… they really are amazing, Iida.” Midoriya smiles at Iida, who nods, a brilliant smile on his face.

 “They are excellent parents!” He agrees. He frowns for a second. “Though sometimes they miss the mark, I suppose you could say.”

 “Please don’t let mother or father jump me with another speech on how they love me and feel badly about forgetting me from time to time,” Iida said to Tensei, who snorted.

 “No promises.”

 “Working parents are like that. Can’t tell you how many times my parents forgot stuff,” Uraraka says with a wave. Iida nods, though Midoriya gives him a sympathetic smile he returns. 

 The three walk to their classroom, the sound slowly vanishing from the screen, replaced by Midoriya’s thoughts.

 I called and informed Principal Nezu about the fact that I couldn’t find anyone to take Tomoe and that I couldn’t trust anyone else. Midoriya thinks. He says it’s okay, but… I worry about how the class will react…

  The class themselves wondered as did many others across Japan, trading worried looks. Good, bad? Would anyone be disgusted? Would they not? 

The screen moves to show the rest of class 1-A, excluding the three friends and Mineta.

“You guys! Did you watch the news yesterday?” Hagakure asks, the arms of her sleeves waving.

“Yeah,” Ojiro replies, the teenager looking exhausted as he slumps forward n his seat.

“It was so cool that we got a few seconds of screen time. I’m even happier about my costume now; I stood out!” Hagakure says happily.

“We’re totally big deals. Those news channels love us; we’re basically celebrities,” Kaminari says as he runs a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, it’s kinda crazy, right?” Kirishima agrees.

“Get over yourselves. The hero course that pumps out pros was attacked, and that’s what they care about,” Jirou tells the two boys, rolling her eyes. They both make faces at her.

 “Like, I know, but it’s nice to focus on the good stuff other than the terror we felt,” Kirishima tells her. Jirou pauses before she slowly nods.

 “Kyoya…” Mr. Jirou groaned at his daughter, clutching the steering wheel tightly as the girl in question winced in the backseat of the car. Her mother spoke up, though.

 “Honey, would this be you trying to be mature?” She turned around in the front seat to look at Jirou, who’d been looking at her hands. “Or trying to appear like a teen girl-“

 “I am a teen girl!” Jirou shouted, lifting her head to glare. Her mom winced.

 “I know, honey. Poor choice of words, baby. But what I mean is could this attitude be you attempting an image? Or you not understanding why they foul focus on positive things right then?” Mrs. Jirou asked gently.

 “…I dunno,” Jirou muttered. She looked back down. It didn’t seem like a huge thing in the circumstances, but her parents seemed to be jumping at everything she did with everything going on. And it could be traced to her wanting to seem mature, she supposed. Or not. 

 Or is it because Kaminari was involved, and you need to put him down? A small voice wondered. Jirou tried to ignore it, but it blared inside her mind, making her nervous. Why did she always target Kaminari?

 “… does anyone know anything about the supposed teen mom?” asks Ashido. The class all stops and look around at each other.

Asui looks impassive while Kirishima looks down. Bakugou’s hands are clenched, and Todoroki just stares at the wall.

 “If not for your own sake, for my daughter who doesn’t want All Me-t to get injured, be careful.”

 “Be raped by your teacher and give birth. It’ll raise anyone’s pain tolerance.”

 The words echo through the screen, and all four look to the door just as it opens. The rest of the class turn to smile, all about to speak, but they freeze as Uraraka steps in with Midoriya following, the small form of Tomoe in her arms. Iida enters with his bag and smiles at his friends while ignoring the others.

 “I will set up the playpen!” Iida says, heading over to do just that as Midoriya shifts Tomoe in her arms a bit. The little girl looks around the classroom before spotting Shouji. The little girl gasps.

 “Like me?” She asks, pointing at the teenager. “Mama? Like me?” Midoriya looks at her in surprise before smiling widely, her shoulders slumping in relief.

 Shouji took a long breath as he clutched his bag on the train. He… he saw it. Tomoe looked at him and saw herself. She wanted a hug from him, wanted him. It was all he wanted as a hero. And he got it.

 He tried not to cry, tried not to show how much it truly meant to him that someone saw him as more than just a monster. Someone saw herself in them, a child at that. It made his heart ache. 

 When I get to UA and see you, I’m giving you the biggest hug possible, Tomoe.

 “Yeah, baby, that’s Shouji. He’s a mutation type like you.” Midoriya tells her. Tomoe blinks and then looks at the boy whose eyes are slightly wide.

 “…Hug?” Tomoe asks, pointing at him still.

 “Only if he wants to, baby,” Midoriya tells her before she looks up to look at Shouji. The tall teen blinks but then stands. He walks over as Midoriya places her daughter on the ground.

 Shouji kneels, and Tomoe toddles into his arms to hug him around the neck as he hugs her back.

 While Shouji’s face is mostly covered, it is easy to see he is shocked by the hug, the little girl still holding her toy in one hand as she hugs him.

 “I Tomoe!” the girl says, pulling back.

 “Nice to meet you, Tomoe; I’m Shouji,” Shouji tells her. The little girl grins. She then looks around the classroom and gasps.

 “More like me!” she says in a shocked voice.

 “Yeah, baby, more mutations like you,” Midoriya says.

 Tomoe looks so shocked that she turns back to her mother and motions for her to be picked up. Shouji steps back, allowing Midoriya to do so. Holding Tomoe, the toddler cuddles her toy, looking around the room with big eyes.

 “So many…”

 “Wanna meet them?” Midoriya asks. Tomoe blinks and then hides her head. “Later?”

 “Yes,” Tomoe says, her voice barely audible.

 “Alright.” Midoriya looks over the class.

 Many people are staring in shock. Yaoyorozu and Jirou both look ill, along with Kaminari and Sero.

 Ashido has a hand in front of her mouth, eyes wide and obviously trying not to squeal or scream or anything.

 Todoroki also looks like he might be sick, while Asui stares at them with eyes that look angry. Kirishima has become pale, and Bakugou seems as if he is in shock.

 “You all saw the news probably. Yes, I am the student they talked about.” Midoriya tells them. “This is Tomoe- she’s two and came into her Quirk on Monday itself. We’re calling it String- the ability to produce strings from her stitches that can control people or objects. The daycare workers reacted badly. So, she’s with me until I can find a place for her.”

 “What a mad banquet of darkness,” Tokoyami voices. His Quirk pops out of him then.

 “That sucks! It happened to us too!” The shadow complains.

 “Dark Shadow-” Tokoyami begins, but the shadow scoffs.

 “It did! I come out, suddenly you’re being thrown into a room and told you’re a terrible thing! It sucks!” Dark Shadow retorts. The shadow moves to look at the two. “Tomoe, I will play with you when you want, okay?”

 “Hell yeah!” Dark Shadow cried, poking out of Tokoyami. The bird-headed teen groaned as the Shadow cheered happily on the train. They attracted amused looks from the other passengers.

 “Dark Shadow!”

 “Nu-uh! I’m going to get to play with Tomoe! That’s awesome, Fumi!” Dark Shadow cheered some more.

 “I agree, but decorum, please!”

 “Fun sucker.”

 The little girl nods slowly and then buries her face into her mother’s neck. She’s overwhelmed, obviously.

 “Thank you, Dark Shadow,” Midoriya tells them, looking very thankful.

 “Ah! The playpen is ready!” Iida announces. The screen shows that the bag he had carried was a playpen for Tomoe. Uraraka is dropping some toys into the pen for Tomoe. Nothing noisy, just some random toys.

 “Wanna go in the pen?” Midoriya asks her daughter.

 “…Blanket?” Tomoe asks.

 “Yes, I’ll put a blanket over it,” Midoriya tells her. She moves and places her daughter in said pen. The toddler grabs her rabbit plushy and hugs it. Midoriya then takes a blanket offered to her by Uraraka, who had pulled it from Midoriya’s bag. Midoriya lays the blanket over the playpen, making sure to leave some open spots so her daughter wouldn’t be stuffy in the pen.

 Once she does, she turns to the classroom, lifting her chin and staring at them.

 “…Your daughter is beautiful,” Aoyama speaks up. Midoriya looks at him. He smiles at the green-haired teen. “She is astute as well, yes?”

 “Good job Yuuga,” his father muttered, making Aoyama wince while rolling his eyes. The future him didn’t know that Midoriya was a person of interest. And Tomoe was a beautiful child. Even if morons couldn’t see, it didn’t make it untrue.

 “Her Quirk is a combination physical and metal Quirk. Her brain moves quicker than other children, and the doctor mentioned she might be more emotionally aware than other children because she can control people.” Midoriya explains.

 “Magnificent,” Aoyama says, smiling and nodding.

 “Is it okay she’s here?” Yaoyorozu asks. She cringes at the entire class looking at her. “I mean, shouldn’t she be with a teacher?”

 “Today is the first time she’s spoken since the daycare incident. Neither of us are really willing to separate,” Midoriya admits. “I’m fine with her staying with All Might during hero classes, but that’s just because I’m there.”

 “Ah, I see. My apolog-“the dark-haired teen begins only to be interrupted.

 “Why the fuck didn’t you tell anyone?” Bakugou barks out. He’s glaring at Midoriya, looking furious. “No one- not Aun-”

 “You lost any right to call my mom Auntie,” Midoriya tells him bluntly. Bakugou looks taken aback as the class trade looks. “And to be frank, I was terrified. I had no idea I had a Quirk, I was scared they wouldn’t believe me, and I would get in trouble, and I just wanted to pretend it never happened. Of course, I couldn’t but…” Midoriya sighs. “Mom as well is no help. She hates Tomoe- keeps telling me I ruined my life, won’t help at all-”

 “A- Your mom isn’t like that!” Bakugou says, standing up. Midoriya simply looks at him.

 “I think I know my mother better than you do. You only know the face she gives to the public. I know how she plans on marrying me off to some random person with a strong Quirk. It’s why I wanted UA so badly. She needs their permission to.” Midoriya tells him.

 The screen switches to focus briefly on Todoroki, who has clenched his hands tight enough to be white around the knuckles.

“You’re a-” Bakugou begins, looking angry and so confused. 

 Bakugou snarled, slamming his hand onto his bed. It had to be wrong. Deku had to be exaggerating. It couldn’t be true. There was one instance of Auntie Inko being distant shown and…

 What about the news? She left. Mom even went to check, and Auntie is gone. The thought filled him with an awful dread that almost drug him down, his heart aching as he tried not to panic. No, it couldn’t be fake. It couldn’t be. Because if the whole thing did happen then, Bakugou would be wrong. Something he couldn’t be. He couldn’t be wrong. Not about something like that. He had to be correct, he had to be. 

 If he was wrong about this, then that meant a lot. It suggested his judgement could fail. It meant that Inko had fooled him. It meant Deku suffered both at home and school. She deserved his torment, but he’d never expected Auntie to let her suffer at home. It just… made his gut squirm. Deku deserved to be reminded of her place. Yet…

 Bakugou shuddered, shaking his head. No. No, it was all lies. Auntie just felt standoffish since Deku had a kid. The following few parts would show Auntie being good that he was right. That Deku blew things out of proportion. When the truth came out, he’d be in UA, where he belongs. He’d be in 1A with asked and her lackeys in 1B because teachers would know that they’d just cause problems. It… 

 It had to be like that cause if it wasn’t, then it meant Bakugou could be wrong. And if he was wrong about Auntie… what else could he be wrong about?

Before Bakugou can speak, though, Iida interrupts him.

“That’s enough!” He tells the class, eyes narrowed and hand raised in a chop. He looks to Midoriya, who simply stares at her friend blankly. “Homeroom class is about to begin. Everyone stop talking and take your seats.”

 Midoriya goes and sits down, as do her friends. The playpen is right next to them, and the soft sounds of Tomoe moving come from it. Bakugou slowly sits as Shouji also sits down.

 Silence fills the classroom for a long moment before Ashido speaks up.

"Hey, Aoyama.” The pink girl asks the boy in front of her, who looks over his shoulder at her. “Who do you think is gonna teach class today?”

“Ah, I do not know,” Aoyama replies. “Aizawa-sensei’s still in the hospital recovering from his injuries. Perhaps another teacher? Snipe-sensei, perhaps?”

 Mic paused in cooking the pasts he’d decided on for lunch to give his husband a hard stare. Aizawa responded by pretending to be engrossed in drinking down the rest of his lemonade.

 The door opens, and the entire class turns to see Aizawa stepping in. He’s covered in bandages, with both arms in casts and slings.

"Morning, class,” Aizawa says as he walks into the classroom.

 “WHAT THE FUCK?!” Most of Japan yelled loudly. Or something along the lines anyway. Those who knew the man just groaned loudly. 

 Of course, the moron did.

“Aizawa-sensei! What are you doing here?” the students ask simultaneously.

“Whoa! What a pro,” Kaminari comments in shock.

“Aizawa-sensei. I’m glad you’re okay,” Iida tells him, rising from his seat with an arm raised.

“You call that okay?” Uraraka asks, staring at him with raised brows.

“My well-being is irrelevant. What’s more important is that your fight isn’t over yet,” Aizawa tells them as he moves to the podium.

“Our fight…” Bakugo says, a grin on his face.

“Don’t tell me…” Midoriya says. She looks nervous as Aizawa gets to the podium in front of them.

   Japan traded worried looks. Was there something more? Something the heroes found out? Was there a mole in the group? What was happening? 

 “I swear,” Mic said in the kitchen, pointing at his husband with his spatula. “You’re a dramatic ho.” Izumi looked at them in confusion right before the screen showed what Aizawa meant.

“The UA Sports Festival is about to start,” Aizawa tells them. The class pauses before groaning in relief.

“Yes!” Kirishima cheers.

“Ugh! Why would you scare us like that?” the students ask Aizawa before cheering, “The sports festival!”

 “You’re cruel,” Izumi told Aizawa, who just chuckled. Many people around Japan shared Izumi’s opinion though others cackled in amusement at the chaos sprouting from the situation.

“Let’s go kick some ass!” Kirishima yells. He then blanches and looks to Midoriya, who simply shrugs.

 “Tomoe will hear it sooner or later hanging around here.” She says. The blanket on the playpen has moved, so Tomoe pokes her head out in confusion.

 “Loud?” she asks her mother.

 “We’re happy, baby,” Midoriya tells her. Tomoe nods and then spots Aizawa.

 “Owie?” the toddler asks, pointing at him.

 “He got hurt- and is being very naughty coming here like that. You are never to follow that example, okay?” Midoriya tells her daughter, who blinks and then shrugs before going back into her pen.

 “I’m not saying sorry,” Izumi says when Aizawa shoots her an annoyed look. “I don’t want Tomoe picking up bad habits like that.”

 Aizawa grumbled under his breath as his husband chuckled in amusement. Many others in Japan were also giggling. Ms. Joke and Midnight being two of them, the women cackling in their separate offices. 

 Ms. Joke still found herself aching for the man she’d fallen in love with, but she wouldn’t do anything to make him uncomfortable. Not only was he gay, but people pining in hopes of someone magically liking them or expecting it to happen typically annoyed her. She understood that sometimes feelings were hard to deal with, and you couldn’t help them, however, there came the point where people stopped feeling sorry for you since you never moved on. And expecting people to return feelings just was a horrible expectation. There were stories about people taking rejection badly or the crazy things they did to get someone’s attention. Hell, Ms. Joke arrested some of them. 

 As Joke thought about her love life, Nezu shook his head. Aizawa tended to focus on his work to the degree that worried him, even if he did find it funny that Midoriya called him out like that. 

 Yet Nezu found himself focusing more on how his employer announced the festival. The stoat felt concerned towards the fact Aizawa would pull something on his students so soon after the attack. The potential for backfire, causing the students to distrust him more, was to high. Aizawa did judge it correctly, but the fact he risked it at all, especially with a potential scandal awaiting them as Midoriya’s circumstances were released… not good. Perhaps a refresher course would work on it…

 The entire class is snickering while Aizawa just sighs.

 “As you all know, Midoriya, here is the student talked about on the news. If I catch anyone being cruel to her, I will expel you.” He tells the class. “Her daughter is here for a while until alternate care can be found. Please try to keep your language appropriate.”

The class all nods before Jirou speaks up.

“Is it really such a good idea to hold the sports festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?” The girl asks, leaning forward in her seat.

“They could attack once we’re all in the same place,” Ojiro agrees.

 “The morons who run the school probably had something to say,” Aizawa scoffed. “Idiots only think about money, PR and their jobs.” 

 “True,” Mic admitted. A few retired pros did sit on the board, but most were business people with little knowledge of how messed up heroics could be.

“The administration thinks 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. This event is a huge opportunity for all students at UA. It’s not something we can cancel because of a few villains,” Aizawa tells them. He sighs. “The sports festival here is one of the most-watched events in the world. Not having it diminishes the sponsorships we get and lessens your chances of being noticed by pros.”

“That’s right! Top heroes everywhere will be watching. This is where you get scouted as limelight heroes,” Yaoyorozu says.

“She’s right. After graduating, many people join pro agencies as a sidekick,” Kaminari says, grinning widely.

“Yeah, but that’s as far as some people go. They miss their chance to go indie and stay eternal sidekicks. Actually, that’s probably where you’re headed. You’re kinda dumb,” Jirou tells him, smirking widely.

 “That’s rude,” Midoriya speaks up at that. She frowns at Jirou, who looks surprised.

 “What? I’m just teasing him.” Jirou says.

 “…Kaminari, do you find it funny or okay?” Midoriya asks the boy, who looks at her and then shakes his head.

 “No, but I put up with it. She’s no worse than others, and I don’t think she means them to be cruel.”

 “What-” Jirou looks lost as she stares at Kaminari. “But you never said…”

 “Why would I?” Kaminari asks her.

 The adult Jirou’s didn’t say anything, given a glance at the rear-view mirror showed the horrified look from their daughter. 

 Jirou herself didn’t know how to react. She… yeah, sure, she picked on him, but she didn’t mean it. He seemed so used to it, and he was right. She didn’t want to be cruel. She only wanted… she didn’t know what she wanted. It just… she wanted someone else to be a target. Not her. And Kaminari worked for that since everyone knew him already. But she’d been different than the others who did it, right? She hadn’t meant it cruelly or anything. 

 Jirou wrapped her arms around herself, trying very hard not to let her emotions out. Kaminari had to know she didn’t mean it like that. He had to; she wasn’t cruel. It was different than the others. It was!

 Right?

 Jirou looks lost and confused as she looks around the room. Most were surprised by the interaction, but others nodded slowly in understanding. Aizawa coughs to break away the tension.

“Please do not put down your classmates unless it’s agreed upon banter.” The pro hero announces before continuing his words as Jirou sinks into her seat. “Joining a famous hero agency can indeed garner you greater experience and popularity,” Aizawa tells them.

“That’s why the festival matters. If you want to be a limelight pro one day, then this event could open the path for you. One chance a year. Three chances in a lifetime. No aspiring hero can afford to miss this festival. That means you better not slack off on your training,” he says.

“Yes, sir!” the students reply.

 “Now, before I end homeroom,” Aizawa begins. “I want to inform you that Mineta has withdrawn from UA after the attack.”

 “…What?” Ashido asks in shock.

 “What?” Bakugou demands. “Could he not hack it?”

 “Mineta expressed that he had not been fully aware of the true dangers of life as a hero before the attack and decided it was not for him,” Aizawa replied. “He has left UA.”

 “Really?!” A lot of people cried out in shock. 

 “Wow, he must have been shaken more than we thought!” One Sakusei Iroko said out loud, the woman looking to her coworker. 

 “Looks like.” The other woman, Mika, agreed as she stretched an arm up to grab some of the trash on the fire escape. The two worked for the city and several others to clean up vandalism and trashed areas. Sakusei’s Quirk let her change the colour of things, making it useful to remove graffiti, while Mika’s Quirk Gangly gave her a long reach to get items. The other workers were around, though they were lagging, which made sense. No one wanted to really clean up graffiti calling out mutation discrimination. “Not too surprised, though. I mean, he did a bit for the girls but nothing great. Plus, no one drew attention to it.”

 “What, you’d think he would have stayed otherwise?” Sakusei asked.

 “Probably. Who knows?”

 Endeavour sniffed as he escorted his son to uA, entering the gates. The blonde electric Quirk boy was also there with his mother. Endeavour paid some attention; the boy’s Quirk did seem practical. But he focused on Shouto.

 “Shouto, that Mineta boy is better off leaving when he did. Some people are not cut out to be heroes. Keep that in mind as you meet people.” Endeavour said sternly. He missed the look Kaminari, and his mother shot him, both looking confused. Why would he say it like that?

 The class all trade shocked looks.

“If anyone else wishes to withdraw, inform us sooner than later. Homeroom is dismissed,” Aizawa tells them. “You may talk until your next teacher comes in.” He leaves the classroom, and everyone begins quietly speaking before the screen changes again.

The screen now shows the 1-A classroom, Cementoss walking out as a bell rings.

“That villain stuff sucked, sure, but I’m pumped for these games!” Kirishima yells.

“We put on a good show, and we’re basically on the road to being pros!” Sero comments.

“Yeah, this is why I’m here in the first place,” Sato says.

“We get so few chances. We have to make the most of this,” Tokoyami tells them.

“Oh, man, Ojiro, I’m getting kind of nervous about the festival. I have to come up with a way to get noticed!” Hagakure says as she bounces around nervously.

“Uh, sure,” Ojiro replies.

“Maybe with a cheer!” Hagakure says.

“My, what’s a boy to do? I stand out even when I’m standing still. That means the scouts won’t be able to take their eyes off me! Don’t you agree?” Aoyama asks Koda, who nods his head rapidly in response. Aoyama dramatically poses with a hand on his chest, getting some giggles.

 “That guy is going to be one of my best friends,” Ashido decided as she sat on the train going to UA, having ditched her parents in the house as they argued. Her mom would send more things later if needed. The pink-skinned girl drummed her fingers on her suitcase, trying to ignore the tightness in her stomach as she wondered if her dad would be living with them in a few days.

“You’re so lucky, Shoji. People are bound to notice your unique quirk,” Kamianri tells him, sighing.

“Sure, but what matters is that I show them how useful I can be,” Shoji replies. Jirou opens her mouth, looking at Kaminari but pauses. She turns away, a frown on her face.

“This is gonna be interesting! Everyone’s so excited,” Midoriya comments. She is picking Tomoe out of her playpen, the girl looking like she just woke up from a nap. In her arms is a new toy- one of Cementoss.

 “That little girl is going to be spoiled so badly.” Midnight said with a chuckle. She knew her coworkers, particularly the mutation Quirk ones. They’d go gaga over a little girl idolizing them.

“Well, yeah, of course, we are! We enrolled at this school with the sole aim of becoming heroes. So naturally, we’re all getting fired up,” Iida says, dancing.

“Wow, Iida. Those are some interesting moves. Ribbit,” Asui tells him. Tomoe giggles sleepily at Iida’s dancing.

“You have to be excited too, right? Midoriya?” Iida asks.

“Well, yeah, of course I am! And also nervous,” Midoriya replies.

“Midoriya! Iida!” Uraraka yells. It looks like black smoke surrounding her, and she looks fierce.

“Uh…” Iida says.

“Ah…” Midoriya says.

“Let’s do our best in the sports festival,” Uraraka tells them seriously.

  “Holy shit, how can one teenager look that terrifying?” a businessman asked aloud.

 “Teenager girl. They’re all freaking terrifying.” His coworker said. “They go for the throat a lot.”

 “Oooh,” Toga cooed as she skipped along the roads. “She’s cute too. So feisty! I wonder how she looks like bleeding~.”

“Uraraka, what happened to your face?” Midoriya asks.

“Seriously, what’s up? You’re normally like the most laid-back girl ever,” Ashido tells her.

“Everyone, I’m gonna do my best!” Uraraka yells, punching her fist into the air.

“Yeah!” Ashido, Midoriya, and Iida all yell punching their fist into the air. Tomoe copies, cheering sleepily.

“I said I’m gonna do my best!” Uraraka yells again, turning to face Kirishima Sero, Sato, and Tokoyami.

“Got it…” Kirishima says as he and Sero slowly punch their fists into the air. “You okay? You kinda look like you’re losing it,” he tells her as Tokoyami and Sato slowly put their fists up too.

Now that I think about it, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask her, Midoriya thinks as Uraraka continues to yell about doing her best.

The screen shows a hallway of UA. Uraraka, Iida, and Midoriya walk down the hallway towards lunch. Tomoe is more awake and is drinking from a juice box.

“Hey, Uraraka?” Midoriya asks.

“What’s up?” Uraraka questions.

“Why did you decide to come to UA? What made you wanna be a pro hero?” Midoriya asks.

“Oh. Well… Because…” Uraraka replies. She hesitates and then sighs. “For the money.”

 Most of Japan felt their mouths drop open, eyes widening in shock. The money?!

 Stain growled, clutching his phone. Midoriya’s friend was a false hero! A disgusting one, only wishing to be a hero for the money. A despicable reason. He would make sure to remove her from the running to be a hero when he went after Present Mic. Midoriya deserved to be surrounded by true heroes, not fakes. 

 While some perhaps agreed with Stain that being a hero for money was a bad idea, many others only felt shocked she didn’t want to help out people. In the bar where Z and Dabi sat, she was praised for another reason.

 “Honesty! I love it!” Z laughed. “We need more honesty in heroes.”

 “You aren’t disgusted?” a man asked her, squinting. “Stain killed-”

 “Please, Stain is a whiny pissbaby.” Z scoffed. She pointed at the man. “I don’t care why people are heroes. It has nothing to do with me or you. He’s crazy and wants a cause. Something to make him different from the other killers. I like the girl. She’s honest, open, and that’s all I care about.”

 “So you don’t think people can be a hero for bad reasons?” Dabi asked her. Z paused.

 “Well… no. I don’t think money is a bad reason. Wanting a legal reason to beat people up is. Wanting to be an asshole with a license is. Fame, money, those aren’t bad reasons.” Z shrugged. “It can become a bad thing when you become obsessed with it when you forget that heroes are supposed to save people.”

 “You sound as if you like heroes,” Dabi said, sipping his beer. Z snorted.

 “Oh, no. I think heroes are fucking stupid,” Z clarified. “And often hypocrites. You would not believe how many hire me to take care of their problems.” Dabi looked at her with more interest, and she shook her head. “Nope. I keep my word. My main points: I’m honest, and I never go back on a deal… unless the person in the deal I’m with does it first anyway.”

 “Interesting,” Dabi said. “I suppose I’m with you in my thoughts on heroes.” He would never like them, and in his opinion, most deserved to be torn down from their pedestals with their sins laid bare. Yet, he supposed he could admire someone so honest as Uraraka. 

 Her friends both stop and stare, blinking. Midoriya adjusts Tomoe in her arms and opens her mouth before closing it.

“For the money?” Midoriya asks. “You… you don’t seem like the type to just want it to get rich.”

“If we’re cutting to the chase, then, yeah. I’m sorry if it sounds greedy. You two have such admirable motivations. I hope you don’t think less of me now,” Uraraka says.

“Not at all! Your goal is to support your well-being, which is a perfectly admirable ambition to have,” Iida tells her, waving his hands around.

“Mm-hm. It’s just kinda surprising,” Midoriya agrees. And I don’t think I’m entirely selfless, she thinks.

“Well, you see, my family owns a construction company, but we haven’t gotten any work lately, so we’re flat broke. As well, my parents trusted the wrong guy. He took everything from them.” Uraraka says, looking down. She then sighs. “Anyway, this isn’t really something I usually tell other people, but… you guys are special.”

 Uraraka blushed, keeping her head down on the train. She’d already gotten plenty of looks before, but the pitying ones just made her feel worse. 

"Construction, eh?” Iida asks.

“If you got a special work license, you could reduce the costs,” Midoriya says.

“And they could sell their heavy-lifting equipment. She could float everything!” Iida agrees

“I know, right? I’ve been telling dad that since I was a kid! But…” Uraraka says before the screen moves to show a younger Uraraka and her parents.

“You want to work for us?” her dad asks.

“When I grow up all big and strong, I’ll help you and mommy out any way that I can,” Uraraka says.

“I really appreciate the thought, Ochako. But as your dad, I’d be even happier if you achieved your own dream. That’s the way to make us happy. And if you do make money, you can take us to Hawaii or something!” her dad tells her.

“Daddy…” she says.

 Uraraka refused to look up, hearing the coos from the others on the train. Her cheeks were redder than normal as she firmly kept her gaze down. God, why this?!

The flashback ends, and the hallway can be seen on screen again.

“I’m gonna become a pro. I’ll sign with a good agency and make plenty of money. Then I’ll be able to let my parents have an easy life!” Uraraka tells them.

  The fake hero… had an honourable… NO! Stain shook his head. It was still the wrong reason. Sure she would give her parents the easy life as well as herself! No true hero would wish to be one for the money, for any reason! The girl’s position may be more honourable than he thought, but it still didn’t matter. She would fall like any other!

 Others, though, felt a little bad for their judgement. Poor girl just wanted to help her family. 

 A couple of heroes watching the screens decided to look up the girl’s name later. Good construction workers were hard to find somedays, and if they could raise such a daughter, perhaps the Urarakas would be better than most.

“That’s beautiful! So noble! Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!” Iida says, clapping. Tomoe follows, looking confused but happy to make noise.

She’s not here because of some hero fantasy. She just wants to help her parents, Midoriya thinks.

 “I help mama!” Tomoe says suddenly, a smile on her face.

 “Just be you, Tomoe, that’s all I need,” Midoriya told her daughter.

 “Always and forever,” Izumi vowed, glancing behind her at the playpen where her daughter still rested. Mic made a cooing noise, covering his heart as Aizawa chuckled to himself.

Al