#dekumomo

 “That's Midoriya to you, Bakugou,” she told the blond. “I'm here as Aizawa’s protege. I'm not a teacher, but-”

 “What?!?” the boy roared and lunged, only for Midoriya to move. She threw the jelly pouch at his face while pulling out some pellets from her jacket pocket she threw that caused foam to begin expanding. The foam stopped the blasts Bakugou had begun making from his hands as his head jerked back from the pouch. He stumbled a few steps backwards as the Midoriya used a long stretch of fabric that erupted from under her loose sleeves to wrap around him.

 “Strike one,” Aizawa said, watching the incident closely. “Midoriya, here is my personal student. She's graduated from high school already and is very skilled. She may not be a teacher, but her word is to be followed, and she is to be respected.”

 “She's a Quirkless freak!” Bakugou screamed.

 “And? Japan hasn't had a Quirkless hero yet, but that hasn't stopped England, Canada, France, Taiwan and many more from having them.” Aizawa said calmly. “Now, you have two more strikes before I move you to Class 1C and give you a chance at trying to get back into the hero course.” He looked at the other stunned students, staring at the scene wide-eyed. “If any of you slack in this assessment, you'll be moving to the class too.”

 “HUH?!” that derailed the class from focusing on Midoriya. Except for one person.

 Yaoyorozu Momo felt her cheeks flush as the other girl removed the bindings from Bakugou, slouching once more.

 That had been fairly attractive.

(Izumi hadn’t seen Bakugou since she was twelve and had been saved from her father by Dabi, who’d come across the fire-breathing man threatening his ‘useless child’ with his Quirk. Dabi was not a good man, and Izumi would be genuinely foolish to think of him as a hero, but he had interfered. It caught the attention of a new hero called Hawks.

 Izumi honestly felt the whole thing felt like fanfiction, one of the self-inserts she read quietly at night, pretending she could be saved by a hero. And she was. More so when it turned out she had an uncle who was a hero, who took custody with his partner when she needed help.

 She was achieving her dreams, and she hadn’t seen one of the boogeymen from her childhood in years. Seeing Bakugou again was harder since he hadn’t changed. He still looked at her with contempt, a sneer on his face as he tried to attack her. He still hated her.

 She pretended it didn’t hurt. She had become someone else, and it shouldn’t matter. But it did.)

-0-

 Momo knew she liked women for a long time. There was no shame in that; frankly, no one cared anymore when your neighbour could breathe fire. Momo’s mother had cared, but the divorce her dad initiated when the woman tried to cut their daughter’s carb intake had her out of the girl’s life.

 However, Momo did… honestly she questioned her taste.

 “Trash Panda.” Midoriya was telling the class, face completely serious. “That’s my hero-”

 “No.” Aizawa sighed loudly.

 “Yes, it is.”

 “No, it isn't.”

 “It is. Midnight, let me.”

 “No.”

 “Too bad, Uncle Sho. I’m Trash Panda.” Midoriya grinned widely as the class laughed. Her grin was a bit terrifying, but she was related to Aizawa, whose wide smile when he moved Mineta to class 1C terrified the class.

 (Momo had been stunned and unsure. She thought it a ruse, the threat to move them to a different class if they failed to meet Aizawa’s standards. She felt nervous upon learning it had been the truth, her mother's sharp voice hissing about perfection and always being right in her ear.)

 “Now,” Midoriya turned back to them, the word coming out slightly strangely. She paused and swallowed before continuing. A speech impediment? It sounded a little like she had slurred her words, only slightly, though. The nasty snort from Bakugou had Momo side-eyeing him. How rude to make fun of someone like that. “I’m not going to be directly involved in teaching, and I'm not an assistant. I'll occasionally be around and spar with you, but I'm not in your class.”

 “Young Izumi here is very skilled!” said Yagi Toshinori, All Might’s secretary. He was a tall, thin man with a chronic cough, but he provided deep insight into their performances after gaining permission from Aizawa. Momo herself had been told she did perfectly, though he did mention she possibly would want to learn how to create things by instinct. That had been something interesting to think about and something she was glad that UA had thought of.

 Momo looked at Midoriya, who’d flushed, the girl rubbing the back of her neck. Her freckles stood out more this way as she looked at Yagi bashfully.

 “Thanks, sir,” she said, her words slightly more slurred. She paused again and looked down. Ah, so she had to focus on making her voice clear, and she was upset, so she kept slipping up. Momo felt for the other teen.

 “Any questions?” Aizawa asked the class.

 “Yeah,” Bakugou began rudely. “Is Deku being your niece why you took her on?” he asked with a nasty glare at the girl.

 “Yes and no. Keep that slur out of your mouth, or it’ll be expelled and not just demoted,” Aizawa threatened. Bakugou snarled, glaring at the ground as the gravity girl (Uraraka Momo thought) took a noticeable step away, looking at him with disgust. “There are no laws against a Quirkless hero, and the Commission supports us; however, UA’s board refused to allow Midoriya in as a hero student. As such, she chose to graduate early to work as my protege. Her being my niece made it easier. As well, as we have four different legacy students in this class you could pose them similar questions as I assume you are trying to claim nepotism as I am her mentor.” Aizawa looked at the boy with engines, Iida. “You will work as a sidekick under your brother, correct?”

 “During the first round, yes,” Iida said, eyeing the blonde boy. Bakugou crossed his arms.

 “My old man would want me to,” Todoroki said, his gaze resting on Bakugou without a word.

 “I have a position as soon as I graduate,” Ashido said, grinning widely. “Mom’s underground, but I plan on being an All Rounder.”

 “I won’t, but that’s because my Quirk is not like my uncle’s,” Monoma said casually with a hand wave.

 Momo made a note of the legacies; she was quite curious now after learning about them all. She knew two of their parents but wondered who the other two were related to.

 They were dismissed soon after, and Momo looked back to see Midoriya talking to both Aizawa and Yagi. Perhaps about the next few days.

 (“You did well, Izumi.” Shouta told his niece, giving her one of his rare genuine smiles.

 “I’m still annoyed I slurred that much.” Izumi sighed, shaking her head. She’d stopped caring when the other teens left, though she tried to sound clear still.

 “Other than Bakugou, I doubt any cared,” said Toshinori, his voice a bit hard.

 “We said we wouldn’t hold our past against him,” Izumi told her other mentor. She hadn’t taken One for All, wanting to be the first Quirkless hero no matter what. Instead, the baton was passed to Tenya, her best friend, who, at first, nearly self-destructed with the pressure, but his brother had stepped in to help.

 Toshinori had to be scolded, but he got much better at teaching afterward. Izumi liked learning from him, though he was Tenya’s mentor most of all. She just got help learning the All Rounder skills that Shouta was lacking.

 “Who put him in my class?” Shouta wondered. “Nezu knows of your history.”

 “The board,” Nezu’s voice came from the comms all three wore, which connected them to the other staff members.

 “Of course.”)

-0-

 The next day, at UA, they were given their costumes, which were all different from what they’d originally wanted.

 “It’s a new policy rolled out this year,” Aizawa said as he stood with All Might (which had caused plenty of squeals) and Midoriya. She was wearing her baggy pants, hoodie and jacket combination once more. Obviously, it was her hero costume, though Momo didn’t know why she chose it. “Normally, we give you what you want and then watch as you figure out how it went wrong instead.” Aizawa looked at Midoriya, who slurped obnoxiously on the jelly pouch she’d pulled out after what seemed to be an argument about her lack of lunch. “However, it was pointed out how many students continue to make the same mistakes even after becoming true sidekicks, so instead, we have changed your uniforms and left a list of why we did it.”

 Momo’s costume had been changed from the original style the designer gave her when she’d spoken with one: a pair of shorts and a crop top that let her stomach and back open. Along with it was a wrist computer so she could look things up and a visor connected to it with a voice-activated prompt. The notes said her original costume was too revealing, and the heels were impractical. The combat boots were much nicer. The image Momo got was that from the old ‘Tomb Raider’ games that had been remastered recently. They were pretty fun.

 “I liked my costume idea,” Kaminari whined. “If it’s to streetwear, what about Midoriya’s?” he asked. Momo looked at his costume. It still was more streetwear than not, with loose black pants, a white shirt and a jacket over it. It was only that his coat was covered in lightning bolts, making it slightly obnoxious.

 “This is my incognito costume,” Midoriya said, taking the jelly pouch out of her mouth. “I have a more in-your-face one, but this will be my lesser-known one. I aim to function in underground and limelight spheres like All Might.”

 “All Might’s limelight, Midoriya,” Bakugou said in a sneer.

 “HA! Actually, I do both,” agreed All Might, smiling at them. “You just don’t hear about my more covert operations due to the secrecy. I also do dress down.” He grinned at the class. “I am very good at disguise.”

 “What routes you all will go through is the discussion for today, with us also having a sparring tournament. No Quirks, we want you to go hand to hand and see your range of movement in your costumes.” Aizawa said. “All Might is your main Hero Foundations teacher, but I am here to talk about it as one of the main underground heroes in Mustapha.”

 The class continued through to the lecture first, with the investigation, underground, rescue, capture and combat areas of heroics laid out. All were routes someone could go down, and those who did an investigation, rescue, capture, and combat were called ‘All Rounders.’ The licensing for them (that had been interesting learning there wasn’t simply a single license, and you had to be given proper permits for each route) could occur throughout the year. Undergrounds were different in that they had to take all of the exams on the same day.

 When that was done, the sparring began. As they were missing a member, Midoriya joined in. She removed her jacket, as it was full of weapons she wasn’t allowed to use, and removed her hoodie too, revealing that she wore a tank top with the logo of some band called ‘Deep Dope’ on it, a scarf much like Aizawa’s wrapped around her arms. Jirou, a girl with jacks attached to her ears, perked up.

 The sparring wasn’t bad, though Momo felt off kilter she could not create a sword. Luckily, her opponent, a boy named Tokoyami, who possessed a sentient Quirk, was also having difficulty as he could not seek help from his companion. The companion, Dark Shadow, decided to manifest and trash-talk them both.

 She managed to defeat Tokoyami and moved on to her next match against a girl named Ashido. That was trickier, as the girl was very flexible and had dance training, but Momo managed, just as Bakugou screamed,

 “That’s BULLSHIT!”

 “You lost Bakugou. Ojiro moves on,” said Aizawa, making the blonde boy sit down. Momo rolled her eyes as she sat down for a break. That boy seemed to be the type who could not accept he could fail.

 She watched the next fight, realizing Midoriya would be fighting Todoroki. They were going with five pairs fighting at a time, and Momo was on the opposite set from the other girl. It was nice to watch someone more experienced than her fight.

 (And if Momo’s eyes lingered on Midoriya’s biceps and how her curly hair bounced as she dodged the dual-haired boy... That was her business.)

 Midoriya was good. It didn't look as polished as Ojiro’s style; it was more of a brawler style, as she used her legs and fists. She'd had to stop halfway through her first fight to remove some metal bad from her shins, apologizing she forgot about it.

 “We aren't using weapons, and those count,” she had told her opponent, Jirou. The two stood to the side afterward and discussed music. From what Momo had overheard, Midoriya was a fan of the same bands as Jirou.

  Momo watched as Midoriya ducked under a punch from Todoroki before grabbing his arm and performing a flip that had him on the ground. She knelt on his back, his arm in a pin. The boy looked stunned, lying there.

 “Winner Midoriya!” All Might boomed when Todoroki just lay there. The green-haired girl frowned at the boy beneath her and said something as Bakugou growled loudly.

 Momo did not know what to think about that boy. He seemed so angry, and how he acted with Midoriya was… concerning. She focused, though, on the criticism of Todoroki and Midoriya. Mostly, it was because Todoroki hadn't taken advantage of several openings that the girl had left open. (Ones she said she did on purpose because she realized he had a depth perception issue, which Todoroki was shocked she’d noticed.)

 The rest of the sparring tournament didn't draw Momo’s attention as much until the end, though she was knocked out in the next round as she went up against Ojiro. He was well trained, so Momo didn't feel too bad as she sat out. She watched the rest of the bouts, though she did get distracted by Midoriya again. This time, the girl was signing to Kouda (a rocky-headed boy), who seemed delighted.

  Skilled, and she knew sign? The girl was… fascinating.

 More so when she and Ojiro battled it out for the winner, the girl losing only by a throw that landed her outside the ring.

 Momo sighed a bit dreamily. That was really attractive.

 (Izumi was about ninety percent sure Todoroki had a hang-up about hitting girls or that he had some ego problem. He went into their fight way too confident and had barely tried. He seemed too scared to hit her. Why?

 She'd talk to Shouta about it. Or Hizashi. Zizi tended to know how to handle that sort of stuff with their own multiple hang-ups from the shit fire that had been their childhood.)

-0-

 Momo had to drink water the next day to stop herself from reacting to Midoriya, who showed up in her limelight hero costume. It was a crop top that showed off her abs under a leather jacket with the name ‘Trash Panda’ on the back in spikes, covered in pins. Her pants were tight and red checkered, leading into big black boots.

 Her make-up was still heavy around the eyes, and she had dark black lips curved into a grin, her hands (in fingerless gloves, and Momo hadn't realized she’d like that) on her hips.

 “Hello, fellow youths!” she said perkily. It was a bit of a whiplash from her more grumpy persona the last few days.

 “Don't,” Aizawa said, completely exhausted sounding.

 “Don’t what, my dear uncle?” Midoriya asked, popping a hip.

 “Don’t.” their teacher said. Midoriya just laughed.

 The sudden mood shift from the girl was confusing, but the class adjusted to it. She also ended up eating in the cafeteria with them.

 “Uncle Sho refuses to put up with me when I'm like this,” she told Uraraka, who asked. Momo, Iida, Uraraka, and Jirou had been sitting together, and Midoriya joined them swiftly.

 “Because you’re a menace,” Iida said.

 “Tenya! My cousin! My brother! How could you besmirch-” Midoriya said dramatically, pausing when her last word came out slurred. She continued, though, her smile remaining on her face. Iida looked sad as he gazed at her. Momo didn't bring it up; instead, she cautiously asked about her outfit.

 “It’s a persona. You’ll learn about them later in the year, but heroes act a certain way in public. I have two- underground and limelight. When I'm underground, I'm more of a random civilian. When I'm limelight…” Midoriya grinned and waved her hands towards herself.

 “She takes cues from Midnight,” Iida said.

 “You two know each other well? I mean, she called you cousin,” Uraraka asked.

 “My uncle, Aizawa, is friends with Tenya’s brother. When I started living with Uncle Sho, Tenya was the only kid my age who wasn't put off by the fact that I was mostly stuck with sign language.” Midoriya said. No one asked, but Midoriya seemed to guess what they wanted to know. “I wasn't as good at dealing with my dysarthria back then.”

 “Your what?” Uraraka asked.

 “My slurred speech,” Midoriya said. She shifted. “I don't like talking about it.”

 “You have nothing to be ashamed of,” Iida told her.

 “Yeah. My mom has a stutter, and it doesn't make her less badass,” Jiro said.

 “I still don't like it,” Midoriya said. She bit into her katsudon and then pointedly changed the conversation to discussing that they'd choose their class president the next day. “Uncle Sho will announce it tonight and ask anyone who wants to be part of that to make a bit of a speech. He will also lay out exactly how Hero Schools handle it.”

 “Is it different?” Momo asked.

 “Heroes have to be prepared for anything. A class president is assumed to be the de facto head of the ‘agency’ and treated as such. You have to know all the schedules of your classmates, allergies, contact info, and anything important. You have limited access to the files as well. Mostly just the very bare basics and a note of people banned from interacting with them,” Midoriya said.

 (Momo did not react, thinking of her mother. The woman wasn't allowed to contact her, but emails often came. It… she should report them. But it was her mother. How could she not want to keep speaking to her?)

 “Wow, I didn't know that,” Uraraka said.

 “There are meetings weekly; you have to write progress reports—it's a big job. He’ll discourage anyone who isn't willing to put in the time and possibly outright sabotage those who shouldn't try Tenya.”

 “I have a handle on it,” Iida said.

 “You went through a Quirk evolution two months ago, and I know you broke your arm after school yesterday because of it,” Midoriya told the boy. Iida frowned but nodded.

 “You’re correct. I should focus on controlling my evolution first. Perhaps Vice President or Secretary would be better for me,” he decided.

 “Aren’t Quirk Evolutions rare?” Jirou asked. Momo was reasonably sure they were but not that uncommon.

 “We think I may have something similar to my engines throughout my body, a sort of fake machinery that makes me stronger,” Iida said, his eyes on his food.

 “He destroyed the zero-pointer with one punch!” Uraraka said, impressing the table. Then, Kaminari, one of their classmates, came up.

 “Hey, can I sit here?” he asked. “I just wanted to ask about your music after seeing your tank yesterday, but I was more focused on sparring.”

 “Oh, sure. Do you like Deep Dope?” Midoriya asked Kaminari. He nodded and sat down, an easy smile on his face. The rest of lunch was spent discussing music, and Momo walked away with a lot of recommendations she never thought of. It was very nice.

(Izumi was hopeful she was making friends. There was a strange relationship between her and the students. She was not in charge of them, but there was a level of authority over them. It was a delicate balance.

 Still, she knew she needed more friends her age. Uncle Sho, Zizi Zashi, Uncle Tensei and Auntie Nemuri were great, but they weren’t her age. Tenya was her best friend but even he wasn’t that much of a normal kid. She had Keigo too, but he was an adult. She had Dabi, but the weirdo was also an adult. Z was perhaps closer, being Quirkless like Izumi so the woman was always willing to help out with training. Yet even then they were a bit adrift, mostly due to Z’s stance as a mercenary. No one ever quite knew if she was on their side or the side of whoever paid her lately.

 She knew she needed friends her age. Maybe she was making them.)

-0-

  The rest of the week was normal, other than the press breaking in. Momo had become class president, and Iida was vice president, with Tokoyami taking the secretary position. Midorous spent time with the class and with the teachers, though class 2C already knew her.

 “They all were demoted from heroics by Uncle Sho,” Midoriya said when asked. “He demoted them all after the first week because half were idiots, some were just lazy, and a few were Quirkist as hell.”

 “And they remained demoted?” Momo asked.

 “Yeah. I mean… you know how many kids wash out of heroics, right? It's hard. You don't just go to school and learn it; it's a career and a lifestyle. Working out daily, eating right, and keeping on top of the laws. You break your body daily to be better. Not everyone can make it. Class C is traditionally the waitlisted kids who get extra classes compared to class D, so they can be slotted in when someone can't handle being in heroics. And it will happen- I think the rate is like 65% of students who start in heroics don't stay,” Midoriya obviously was very opinionated by the topic, as she was speaking very enthusiastically. Her voice had started to slur, and she tripped over some words, but they could understand her.

 No one brought it up. Jirou had opened her mouth, but Kaminari and Iida shook their heads at her, getting her not to voice any thoughts.

 “So anyways, the class was bad. And he shoved them into 1C but even THEY weren't all that great. So he didn't have a class last year, but they all know me. And hate me,” Midoriya shrugged. “Cause I'm the Quirkless brat who is being trained, and they aren't.”

 “Assholes,” Kaminari decided.

 “Not wrong,” Midoriya said. “Two of them even got arrested. Turns out they had a few people hiding their pasts dreaming about them becoming big-time heroes. When they got demoted the first week, people stopped.”

 “That's messed up,” Uraraka said as Momo stared in astonishment. That happened? She always thought it was fake. How could people do that?

 “It's not uncommon,” Kaminari said. “I actually got a lot of leeway in middle school since I wanted to go into heroics, and my Quirk is perfect. My parents, though, did not let me get away with anything, which, thank god. I'd be more insufferable if I had.”

 “I mean, I know a lot of people get a lot of privileges, and when that happens, it's just messed up,” Uraraka said.

 “I never heard of that, other than people claiming it happens,” Momo admitted.

 “You went to a private school like Iida, right?” Midoriya asked, and Momo nodded. “A rich private school wouldn't be obvious about it. Also all of you would be technically in the same class level? Like rich, connected, that sort of thing.”

 “So we do not see it as we receive the same privilege,” Iida said.

 Momo didn't know what to think. Was she that privileged that she did not see such a disgusting form of favouritism? Was she that blind to the truth of why her teachers had praised her most?

 Was she actually intelligent, or did they fake her grades? Did she deserve the praise? Was she as good as she thought?

 Was Mother right? Was Momo nothing?

(Izumi was worried about Yaoyorozu. The girl had all the marks of being a good hero if she overcame her desperate need for perfection. However, after the conversation about privilege, the brunette had been withdrawn and pale.

 Did she worry for herself? There wasn't a reason to do so; the girl was brilliant. Nezu was already arguing with Uncle Sho about training her, and Keigo had heard Izumi talk about the girl and expressed interest in her Quirk, too.

 Yet, well, Izumi understood the concerns that could happen when you became aware of a truth that you'd been oblivious to. Or when you were confronted with something you didn't want to see. How long had it taken for her to admit Bakugou wasn't a good person? For her to articulate how her mother (who loved her and had protected her as best she could) sometimes made Izumi feel weak.

 Izumi decided that after the USJ, she would reassure Yaoyorozu more. Maybe invite her to the cafe Izumi and Tenya liked to frequent. It would be a nice rest from the exercises that Thirteen would have the class do.)

-0-

 Momo was running for her life. It had started as a typical day, going to the USJ on a field trip. Midoriya was wearing her ‘underground’ costume and talking with Aizawa about things while Yagi hung around, too. All Might wouldn't be able to make it until later, but his secretary was skilled in heroics too, they'd been told.

 They got to the USJ; it started with a lecture, then…

 “We are the League of Villains.”

 They were separated and scattered around the facility, and it was Bakugou’s fault, along with Kirishima and-

 Momo dodged a blast from a villain, eyes wide, as she spotted Kaminari and Jiro facing four villains. Both were fighting—she had to-

 Smoke bombs soared out of the air, obscuring the view before it dissipated to reveal Midoriya. She’d landed on the biggest villain and was on his shoulders, yanking him back as she shoved something into his mouth.

 Whatever it was made the mad sway, and Midoriya jumped off, arms out, and the scarf under her jacket sleeves coming out to wrap around more villains. The teen yanked them so hard they flew off their feet to smash to the ground as Midoriya landed. She kicked out, and her shin hit the fourth in the side, making him wheeze as she took something from her pocket and threw it into his mouth.

 It took barely thirty seconds.

 “Holy fuck, that was hot,” Kaminari said. Midoriya snorted.

 “Sorry, I'm gay. But we need to move,” she ordered, and they were off.

 Momo tried not to think of what Midoriya said, but it played in her mind as they were attacked several more times. She helped as much as possible and took out her fair share of villains, but Midoriya? She was stunning. The girl moved fast and had various things hidden in her jacket. Smoke bombs, foam pellets she threw at a few fire Quirk users, and knives.

 A lot of knives.

 Midoriya threw them or used them to cut through an obstacle created by a Quirk before she dodged and weaved around someone trying to grab her.

 Then, they got to the middle of the USJ. Aizawa was on the ground, and the man with his hands on him was rushing towards Monoma, Uraraka, and Asui, who were trying to hide behind a rock.

 Momo didn't even see Midoriya move before knives were sticking out of an enormous villain holding Aizawa down, and the other girl was flying through the air to kick the hand villain off course. The big villain moved at her, only for All Might to intercept. He had a cut on his head already, and Momo wondered what could have hurt him like that.

 “Fuck you!” Midoriya was screaming; the words slurred and jumbled as she kicked the hand villain in the face. He fell back, and she lunged again, her leg coming up. The other villain, the mist one, began moving only for Todoroki and Bakugou to take care of him.

 It meant Momo got to watch as Midoriya began beating the hand villain. Her rage made her seem to glow as she aimed a kick at the villain again, who grabbed her leg. She pulled it back just as her pants started disintegrating.

 “Five-point activation,” Momo said out loud to herself, and Midoriya seemed to realize it, too. A knife appeared in her hand, and the green-haired girl dove for the villain, who roared in anger.

 Momo could not tear her eyes away as Midoriya dodged and weaved, the knife flashing in the air as she stabbed and slashed and-

 Three fingers fell to the ground as the villain yelled in pain. Midoriya’s grin could be seen from their distance, teeth bared, eyes wild, and a little blood on her cheek as she’d dived under a grasping hand to cut the fingers off.

 “That's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen,” Momo said out loud. She ignored the two people giving her judgemental looks, Kaminari not getting it either as Momo stared, besotted, with the image.

 Midoriya was divine.

(She wouldn't let her uncle die. Izumi could not let him die. She wouldn't lose him. She wouldn't lose the first person who'd said she could be a hero. She wouldn't lose the man who wrapped her hand around a knife and taught her how to fight. She wouldn't lose the man who sat through countless speech therapy sessions with her and never judged.

 This villain was a threat. Izumi could deal with threats.

 Take out the Quirk. Stop him from using it. Break his fingers- no. She needed it to be more reliable. So knife it was.

 The man was screaming, and Izumi grinned with all her teeth as she turned to slam her shin into his side, cautious not to aim for his head with her steel guards. Death? Not a good thing.

 Maiming? Oh yeah, that she could do.

 Uncle Sho taught her dirty fighting, Toshinori taught her how to smile, Keigo taught her how to play it off to make herself look innocent, and Dabi taught her where to hit. Z and Zizi Hizashi also taught her how to cover her tracks, though this wasn't useful when everyone saw her cut the villain’s fingers off.

 Not that she cared. This man had hurt Izumi’s uncle. She would have killed the students that she had begun to see as sort of friends. Uraraka was always at their table, smiling and ready to share a story or talk about anything. Izumi couldn’t let anyone die.

 Not unless it was the villain.

 The man lunged for her again, and Izumi dropped, but he changed at the last second, his intact hand going towards her face-

 A gunshot, and the man stumbled back.

 “The CAVALRY HAS ARRIVED!” Zizi roared, and Izumi grinned, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the villain. He’d failed; they won. They were safe-

 The man began coughing up black gunk, and she ripped herself away as he did so. Always get the hell out of dodge when weird things happen. Quirks were too varied to make an actual guess of what was going on.

 He began to be absorbed by the gunk, though, and Izumi lunged forward, eyes widening when she realized he was escaping, only for Toshinori to grab her. The man had thrown his own villain out of the USJ during the fight.

 “No, Izumi,” he said. She could only watch as the man responsible for the almost death of her uncle vanished.

 It wasn’t fair.)

-0-

 For the days after the USJ, the news played various segments. Only one of which genuinely caught Momo’s eyes. Midoriya, dressed in her crop top and leather jacket costume, was having an interview. The news of what she’d done during the USJ had gotten out, and most people were praising it, saying her taking care of a villainous Quirk was smart.

 “Quirks aren’t villainous,” Midoriya was saying in an interview. Trash Panda- Special Student of UA Teacher Aizawa, Honorary TA, was written under her. “It’s the people using them who are villains. My sperm donor breathed fire and abused me along with my mother for years, leading to the death of my mother. However, no one ever called his Quirk villainous. It matters what you do with your Quirk, not what it is.”

 “That’s your friend Midoriya, correct?” Momo’s dad asked her.

 “She is,” Momo replied, smiling at the screen.

 “I like her,” Mr. Yaoyorozu said with a nod. “She did the right thing, and she is right. Look at your mother. Her Quirk would be called heroic, but she is awful.”

 Mother. Momo had been trying not to think of her, given that the woman had sent an email stating that her child was pathetic for not beating the villains herself. It made Momo feel so small. Mother used the most disgusting slur for Midoriya that, for once, made her delete the email, not keep it.

 Yet her dad bringing the woman up stuck in Momo’s mind as she went to a mall for light shopping. She wanted new books after the USJ. More types of capture gear or things like the pellets Midoriya had used to take down multiple villains would be helpful. Momo could not stop thinking of her mother, though, and how she was compared to what Midoriya was saying and the girl’s words of her own father.

 Momo’s mother was mentally abusive and, in some ways, physically, but that had been mostly restricting her food intake. She was never beaten, never hurt. But how Midoriya said it…

 “Fuck off,” a familiar voice startled Momo from her thoughts. The slur to the word you, making it much longer, had her looking to see Midoriya dressed in a flannel shirt open over a band tee, jeans and the regular boots she wore also making an appearance.

 “No, I got tasked with babysitting you, you little shit, so I get to annoy you all I want.” The man Midoriya was with said. He was a thin man, covered in burns he’d used staples to keep his skin on with, dressed in a white shirt under a leather jacket.

 “I want to be at the hospital,” Midoriya said.

 “And Hizashi told me to take you out to the mall so you’d stop freaking out brat.” the man said. Momo hesitated but then approached. Midoriya spotted her first.

 “Yaoyorozu?” she asked, her voice becoming more controlled.

 “Midoriya, apologies. I saw you and wanted to know how you were doing,” Momo told the girl.

 “She’s acting like a fucking weirdo who won’t leave the hospital.” the man said.

 “Shut up, Dabi, take your meds. I know you didn’t,” Midoriya threatened. He glared at her, annoyed.

 “Fuck off brat. Let’s go to the food court,” he said grumpily.

 “Fine. Do you want to come?” Midoriya asked Momo, who nodded. Dabi led the way, the girls trailing behind. “Are you doing well?” Midoriya asked.

 “I am. My Dad has insisted on me going to therapy for a few extra sessions,” Momo said.

 “Smart. Zizi insisted on it too for me,” Midoriya agreed.

 “Zizi?” Momo asked. Midoriya paused and sighed as Dabi laughed mockingly.

 “You did not hear this from me, but Uncle Sho is married. His partner is non-binary. I call them Zizi,” Midoriya explained.

 “Oh!” Momo blinked and nodded. “I see. He hides it to protect them?”

 “They’re both heroes, but he hides it because it’s a weakness. Few married heroes talk about it, and most keep a sharp divide in their lives. Endeavour-” Midoriya paused to let Dabi let out a sharp snort before she continued, “is the exception, though sometimes lower-ranked heroes may be open about their marriages to other heroes.”

 “I see,” Momo said. “I had not considered how having a public relationship could be a weakness,” she admitted, embarrassed.

 “Most don’t. It’s not talked about until second year, I think, when hero students start getting more attention,” Midoriya said.

 “Well, I am glad you have support,” Momo told Midoriya. “I was worried. You…” she hesitated.

 “Went feral at the USJ?” Dabi interjected.

 “No, you were upset. I was worried, and your uncle was hurt,” Momo quickly assured Midoriya who didn’t seem offended, simply flipping off Dabi before turning to Momo.

 “I did go feral. I was angry and scared,” Midoriya admitted. “Uncle Sho is important to me. He’s part of the reason I got away from my biological father.”

 Right, the interview. Momo hesitated, but Midoriya shook her head.

 “Don’t worry, I’m… open about it. Therapy plus trying to combat the fact he would never want me to talk about it.” Midoriya told her. “It sucks, and I have a lot of trauma, but I can’t let it hold me back. Right, Dabi?” she emphasized the man’s name. He responded by holding up his middle finger. Midoriya laughed, shaking her head.

 “Who is he?” Momo had to ask, keeping her voice a little low.

 “Dabi. He’s the guy who found my dad trying to hurt me and reacted. He’s got a lot of issues himself, but he’s doing better with medication and therapy.” Midoriya said just as quiet. “He works at a convenience store, the one near the Tatooine Station.”

 “The…” Momo paused, not wanting to say how run down that area was.

 “The front? Yeah. Not sure for who, but Dabi gets a lot of info working there, and as long as he balances things, he can work as an info broker,” Midoriya said, grinning. “Welcome to heroics, where you toe the line and hope you don’t trip.”

 Fascinating. Momo wanted to know more.

(Yaoyorozu hadn’t been offended by Izumi’s actions. It made her sigh in relief. After the USJ, maiming someone, and the interviews, Izumi worried the class would avoid her. Tenya wouldn’t, but the others? Izumi didn't know. But at least one still cared.

 Spending the day at the mall was excellent, even with Dabi. He decided since she liked to annoy him, he’d annoy her back. Izumi rolled her eyes at him when he teased her for having a girlfriend.

 Yaoyorozu was attractive, both in mind and body. And her Quirk? Izumi wanted to know everything about it. She wanted to sit for hours and talk about it with Yaoyorozu, wanting to know everything about her.

 Oh. OH.

 Izumi felt her cheeks warm. A crush on her friend? She’d have to be careful. Ruining her friendship wouldn’t be fun, and with her strange status in the school, there could be concerns there.

 Still, the memory of Yaoyorozu’s smile and wave when they parted ways stuck to Izumi as she went back to the hospital to watch over her uncle.)

-0-

  “Oi! Deku!” snarled Bakugou first thing the day they all got back when Midoriya entered with a frown.

 “Bakugou, I am not above reporting you continuing to call me about that,” Midoriya said. Bakugou bared his teeth, and Momo saw many people preparing to intervene. Bakugou’s dislike of Midoriya was well known, with everyone defending the girl. She didn’t deserve the boy tormenting her. Not that she needed help, she could handle herself.

 “Fine, Midoriya,” Bakugou sneered. “You were the one to get me in trouble!”

 “...What?” Midoriya asked, staring at him in confusion. “I’ve been with Uncle Sho for the last few days other than when they made me go to the mall. I haven’t done anything.”

 “They fucking told me off for trying to take down the mist fucker!” Bakugou screamed.

 “Hey, hey- Baku-bro,” Kirishima said, and the class did a double take. “I got the same scolding. We messed up; Thirteen could have taken the villain out if we-”

 “FUCK THAT!” Bakugou yelled. “Midoriya here has always been-”

 “Is this about us being kids and you falling off a log again?” Midoriya asked. Bakugou paused. “My therapist made me talk about everything, and while you always hated me, your hate only got worse after that.” Midoriya was getting angry, Momo could tell. Her words were becoming choppier, and she dropped some letters, but she could be heard easily. “I was five years old. You fell, and I was worried you would get hurt. But you apparently decided I was loook-innn-” Midoriya stopped, closed her eyes and breathed.

 “Oh yeah, your fucking slur. So damn useless you can’t even speak properly, huh Deku?” Bakugou taunted. Midoriya’s shoulders jerked up as Kirishima grabbed Bakugou’s arm.

 “Not cool, man!” he said as the rest of the class burst into chaos. They were already stressed from the attack, and for someone to lash out against one of their own- particularly the person who helped fight off the main villains, was not a happy experience.

 “She saved our lives, and you act like this?!” Uraraka shouted.

 “Wow, I knew you were a piece of shit but that?!” Kaminari snapped.

 “Hey Baku-bitch, you should shut the fuck up!” Jirou yelled. Aoyama was yelling in French, looking furious with his eyes almost shouting lasers themselves. Ashido was glaring at Bakugou, and Kouda had a very dark look on his face. Momo herself felt the schematics for a metal bat appearing in her mind, about to make it when the door slammed open.

 “That is enough,” All Might said from the door, sounding furious. “Another strike Bakugou. That is not the behaviour of a hero, insulting someone’s speech impediment.” Beside him is Aizawa, bandaged up but giving the vibes of a furious parent.

 “Extra lessons with Hound Dog required to continue in the hero course,” Aizawa said in a dark tone. “You will be going to sit through multiple lectures on disabilities and how heroes do not act as ableist monsters to anyone.”

 Bakugou looked stunned as if he could not understand what had happened. Momo rolled her eyes.

 How foolish could you be to say that and not expect anger?

(Izumi had never been defended by her peers. Tenya did not count as he was family. Before, when her slur was worse, everyone made fun of her. Even with her jaw wired shut, a shady doctor having done so as her father knew if a good one did it, his actions would get out; there had been no sympathy. No one cared, only following Bakugou’s actions. He never got punished, never was told no.

 Even when she went to a different school, Uncle Sho took her away from everything no one had tried. Bullying was stamped out, but no one seemed to think she was deserving of protection. And now, an entire room jumped in to protect her.

 She watched as everyone stepped in, saying something. How furious they all were. Leftover tension and nerves had to be the reason behind the outburst or at least the ferocity of it, but everyone had said something. Yaoyorozu had looked enraged herself, about to make something to hit him.

 Izumi took a minute to ‘go to the bathroom’ as Uncle Sho talked to the class about the Sports Festival, putting her face in her hands.

 This felt strange. But she liked it.)

-0-

 After school, the class was confronted with a mob of other students.

 “Whoa, what’s going on?” Kaminari asked.

 “They want to see the survivors of the USJ,” Bakugou said confidently. Most ignored him, and Momo frowned as she looked at the students in front of them.

 “That’s right,” a purple-haired teen said, coming forward. “I’m not impressed.” He sneered at the class, and Momo saw Midoriya’s eyes narrow slightly. “We hear a great deal of those in the hero course, yet I don’t see anything special.” He glared at them, not looking happy. “We gen eds-”

 “Can transfer into the hero course,” Uraraka suddenly said. Momo glanced at the girl who looked at the boy, her face strange. “We know if you came here to try and spook us.”

 “A student was moved to class 1C and so far has not impressed any teacher to move him back,” Midoriya said. “Any other waitlist kids in class C can easily prove themselves during the sports festival.”

 “Other…” the purple boy said before he shook his head. “You all just coast by, acing the entrance exams and having a TA who can help you. Meanwhile, those of us who can’t face the biased test-”

 “Hey Hagakure,” Midoriya said. “You’re just invisible, right?”

 “Yep!” the bubbly teen replied. Midoriya nodded.

 “And, no offence, but you’re…”

 “A noodle? Oh yeah. I’m going to start bulking up,” Hagakure said.

 “How did you pass the test if you’re just invisible?” Midoriya asked.

 “There were power switches on the legs, and I found my way to what looked like a control centre. Turning off the power there counted!” Hagakure chirped. The purple boy looked angry, glaring at Midoriya.

 “So… not as biased as people think,” she said in response to the glare.

 “You think you’re all so great, facing off villains already-” the purple boy began, but Iida spoke up.

 “I was terrified, running for my life as I tried to get back to UA to get the teachers.”

 “I was hiding while facing off against villains who could kill me,” Hagakure admitted.

 “We were fighting for our lives and facing off against people willing to kill us,” Monoma said in a calm tone, his eyes on the purple boy. “It wasn’t a good thing.”

 “Speak for yourselves!” Bakugou barked. “Those small fries were weak!”

 “Not all of us have trained to use our Quirks in a fight or against people,” Momo said. “I’m lucky I have training and that Midoriya was with me.”

 “Yeah,” Kaminari said. “She was badass and took on the head villain! Just BAM out in the middle with All Might taking on the next villain!”

 “Ah yeah, the perf Quirked protege,” Purple said, his voice angry. Obviously, he had been growing angrier as they talked back. “Like you didn’t eagerly jump on the media to put your name out.”

 “If you’re going to use slurs, and yes, perf-Quirked is a slur, use the right one,” Midoriya said in an eerily calm voice, eyes narrowed at the boy. “Null.” She gave a shark-like grin. “I’m Quirkless, something Googleable if you want to double-check that.”

 “What,” the boy said, not even a question.

 “I’m Quirkless, I’m also disabled cause my jaw got broken in two places, and it was set a bit wrong,” Midoriya continued, letting her slur show, surprising Momo. More so with her confession. “I have a hard time eating sometimes, and other times, my muscles ache too much. Now, what about you? What’s your Quirk?”

 “...Brainwashing.” the boy said stiffly.

 “Vocal, I assume, you have that minor hum in your voice. Lucky, it means you’d be valuable for heroics. Hell, you probably could have talked down the villains at the USJ,” Midoriya said calmly. “Like Melodee in Paris or the Pied Piper in Germany. But you didn’t get in because you decided to coast along on your Quirk instead of working your hardest.”

 “HEY!” the boy said, glaring. “I’m not like the hero course brats. I don’t just get by with my flashy Quirk and have everyone love me.”

 “We all hate him,” Kaminari said, pointing at Bakugou. “And he’s got the flashiest Quirk besides Todoroki.”

 “HEY!” Bakugou barked, glaring at Kaminari.

 “Stop being a dick, maybe we’ll stop hating you,” Ashido said snidely. “And no, Kirishima, I don’t care about your opinions when you are defending a guy who says the kind of stuff he does and acts the way he does.” Kirishima frowned, looking very upset.

 “He’s not-”

 “Even he’s worked his ass off,” Midoriya interrupted. “I grew up with him, and while our history is complicated, he’s had trainers work him into the ground, and he’s practiced until he gets things right. He doesn’t coast.” Midoriya looked at the boy with hard eyes. “We almost died. The teachers saved me, and yes, I was interviewed as a licensed sidekick. I got more attention because I am a protege, and I was willing to attempt to pull the attention off the students. Some of them may want to go underground, and having me shove my face into the limelight helps. But do not forget, I had a person with a Quirk that if he touched me, I would disintegrate inches away from my face. I saw my mentor broken on the ground. We got LUCKY they did not know our Quirks, and they sent us to stupid locations.”

 “HEY-” a new voice said, and they all looked to see a silver-haired boy. “You 1A bastards shouldn’t forget about us-”

 “1B should know better,” Midoriya said, her voice cold. “I can forgive an angry boy wanting to complain, even if he is a hypocrite. I can’t forgive a 1B student who decided that an entire class being in danger of death was showboating.” Midoriya glared at the other boy, who froze. “I’ll be reporting that to Vlad King and reminding him he’s on probation after people reported his encouragement of rivalry led to seven hospitalizations and three students dropping out.” The boy stepped back. “We almost died, and you treat it like a big fun thing 1A arranged to get ahead. That’s disgusting.”

 “Doesn’t fucking matter!” Bakugou said, pushing through the crowd. “I don’t care what any extras think of us.”

 “I hate how manly that is,” Kirishima said.

 “It’s not manly,” Ashido said, her voice angry. “He’s a bully with delusions of grandeur.”

 “Kirishima,” Midoriya suddenly said. “He actually meant it.” Kirishima shook his head, not listening. Midoriya shrugged and turned back to the crowd. “We almost died. I had to see my mentor, my uncle, broken and bleeding. I jumped in to save students from death, and I had to cut someone’s fingers off because it was that or dying.”

 “It wasn’t fun,” Hagakure said softly. The entire class nodded. The students in front of them winced and looked down, some moving away to let 1A walk out of the hall. The purple teen and the 1B kid stayed, though, looking lost.

 Momo glanced at Midoriya, whose hands were shaking. Was she okay?

(Izumi couldn’t breathe. Her tongue felt heavy, and her jaw ached. Why did she do that? Why did she say that? She saw the crowd, heard them blaming the class, and reacted.

 She knew the purple boy she had spoken to. Sort of. Being allowed in the teacher’s lounge allowed her to learn a lot of gossip. His teacher had words about him. He is skilled and has potential, but he needs to get his head straight and realize he’s in the wrong. That it wasn’t his Quirk holding him back, even if he faced hell for it. It was him.

 But Izumi hadn’t cared about that; she wanted to hurt him. Wanted to shake him and yell that he was in the wrong, that none of them had been looking for fame. It had been survival, and they’d done it.

 Plus, she wanted people to know she was Quirkless. The reporters hadn’t run it, not wanting to draw attention to that. Too afraid of what it would do to their ratings. Hearing Perf-Qurik, seeing a boy so angry at the world, he used slurs while ignoring the fact not everything was black and white… of course, she reacted. Talking about her slur, too, had been a split-second choice. She wanted… she didn’t know what she wanted.

 She only reacted.)

-0-

 Momo found Midoriya at the back of the school, doing some breathing exercises after the incident with the other student. The girl was sitting at a picnic table, and others were around the area as well. Obviously, it was an outside option for the students to eat at. Momo cautiously approached the girl, sitting down next to her when there was no negative reaction.

 “Midoriya, are you alright?” Momo asked.

 “More or less. Just…” Midoriya swallowed, obviously trying to control her voice. “I reacted. She got angry. Revealed a lot.” she shook her head, tired. “Stupid.”

 “Why was it stupid?” Momo asked, curious. “You defended us.”

 “It was stupid because now people KNOW,” Midoriya said. “My stupid slur is known now.”

 “And… that's bad?” Momo asked.

 “You saw how Bakugou was. I faced that f-f-” Midoriya swallowed, obviously upset. “Years,” she said, giving up on using full words.

 “Those people were awful,” Momo said. “Surely UA…” Bakugou came to mind, and she fell silent. She couldn't say UA students wouldn't. Not when one already had.

 “I don't regret defending you guys,” Midoriya said, slightly slurred. She wasn't trying to keep it away fully then. Her shoulders were slumped as she spoke, eyes down though. “But I regret… telling them.”

 “It's understandable,” Momo said softly. “Thank you. For defending us and for the USJ. You were brave.” Beautiful and dangerous to Momo knew, but she wouldn't bring that up just yet. (Maybe not ever.)

 “I wanted to save my Uncle. And survive,” Midoriya said.

 “It was more than what we did. My Mother certainly thought so,” Momo said sadly.

 “You guys don't have the training I do,” Midoriya said with a head shake. “I've fought villains before on patrols with my uncle and the other family members I get assigned to for experience. I knew what to do. You were fantastic for having no training.”

 Momo shook her head, unable to answer. She could have done better. She was the top student and had blown the former record for recommendation students out of the water. Everyone put so much faith in her, and then… she failed.

 “Wait, isn't your mom banned from contact?” Midoriya asked Momo after a moment.

 “… how did…”

 “I may not technically be a teaching assistant, but I do get some of the files just in case.” Midoriya propped her chin on the palm of her hand, leaning her elbow on the table. She looked relieved at the subject change, and Momo was reminded they discussed that before. “How is she contacting you?”

 “Emails,” Momo said. She knew she should have told her dad and said something to an adult, but it was her mother. Even if each email burned and hurt, it was still her.

 “… my father killed my mom and beat me so hard my jaw broke in two places. That's why I have a bit of a slur to my words.” Midoriya said. Momo’s head jerked towards the other girl, staring at her. Midoriya didn't look away. She looked scared but determined, holding the other’s gaze. “He didn't do more because he wanted to auction me off more or less to some rich bitch who would want a Quirkless broodmare. I know that the Hero Commission was bidding; it's why they're very… accommodating about me being Quirkless and my being a protege. I have evidence and will use it.” Midoriya sighed. “Good thing I want kids anyway since I can hold that over their heads of letting them pick the donor. I'm gay, so no penis, please.” She gave a half smile. “But my point is… Mom had left him. She didn't speak to him, she had a restraining order… but he emailed her, and she never stopped him.”

 Momo looked down, her hands gripping each other firmly. Her mother… Her mother wouldn't…

 Her mother wouldn't beat her. Wouldn't kill her.

 But she wasn't safe, was she?

 That night, Momo told her father about the emails. He was upset she had hidden them but understood.

 “Your friend Midoriya is a good one,” he said when Momo explained why she finally told him, omitting the personal details.

 “She is,” Momo agreed, thinking of the half smile. Dark lipstick had been the makeup choice today, and it made her smile seem like a ray of sun coming through the darkness.

 Momo wanted to see it more.

(”I’m giving all my secrets away,” Izumi told Keigo, the two playing video games. The perks of having blackmail meant she could use it to get her friend some time off. He was an adult, so their friendship was strange, but they were friends.

 “Huh?” the winged hero asked, trying to beat her in combat.

 “Yaoyorozu. I told her about Hisashi,” Izumi said, completing a combo move.

 “Really?”

 “Yeah. She’s in a similar boat. I wanted to tell her about him to… warn her. That she should shut down her mother contacting her.” Izumi admitted. Keigo paused the game, earning a taunt he didn't want to lose, though he ignored it to face her.

 “This is the girl Dabi said you were crushing on?”

 “It is not a crush, and Dabi needs to focus on his weird ass romance with that mercenary,” Izumi muttered, mentally adding Keigo to the whole thing. She didn't want to touch any of that with a ten-foot pole. Z was intimidating as hell, and Izumi wanted no knowledge of whatever the three had going on because she felt she’d need brain bleach otherwise.

 “It's a crush,” Keigo teased. “I think it's good you're being more open. It helps.”

 “You, Uncle, Zizi and Auntie all tell me that. Yet rarely do you all take your advice,” Izumi grumbled. “I… I just said it. I'd already fucked up earlier, and then it came out because I was scared for her.”

 “Ah, the kid at the school. Hisashi called bragging,” Keigo told her. “Hence me being here since they did have to deal with that. You reporting the 1B kid kicked over a hornet’s nest, too.”

 “I wondered why you were here,” Izumi said. The blackmail to give him breaks had him sleeping more or doing whatever weird romantic thing he had with Dabi and Z. Sometimes; he hung out with her, but not like this. “I lost my temper.”

 “You were angry. It happens. I thought you wanted to be open anyway. Prove you do not need to be able-bodied or have a Quirk to be a hero,” Keigo said.

 “… I wanted to do it differently.” I wanted to be comfortable, Izumi didn't say. I wanted to be able to tell people I trusted. She wanted more control over her damn mouth before she admitted to the pain.

 “I get that. It's why there will be a big news story from me next week,” Keigo smirked, but Izumi just rolled her eyes. If it were news, she’d find out. “You wanted her to know. Wanted to help and have her know something private. Because you like her.”

 “It's not a crush,” Izumi insisted. Keigo rolled his eyes, and she kicked him with a pout. “By the way, the Commission was bugging me again. When do you want a kid?”

 “When you're a damn adult, and it's not skeevy to have you be a surrogate or when Z says she's willing to carry a baby,” Keigo muttered in disgust. Izumi just laughed, shaking her head.

 She felt a bit better now.)

-0-

  HAWKS COMES OUT AS THE CHILD OF A VILLAIN was a title that blazed all over the news a week after Midoriya’s confrontation with the other students. It finally beat out the low murmur of Vlad King being fired after he was discovered to have violated his probation. His encouragement of the rivalry and lacklustre handling of students had been pointed out as the reason.

 Momo felt the latter was more important than the first and told her friends so.

 “I don't disagree,” Iida said at lunch. While Hawks’s story is noteworthy, our concerns should lie with our sister class and the disturbance they are facing.”

 “I heard a couple of the kids got pulled from the hero course, the class president included!” Kaminari said in a conspiratory tone.

 “Same,” Uraraka agreed; Asui- no, Tsu, she preferred that- eating calmly beside her.

 “I hear it's for good reason,” Jirou put forward. “She was smacking other classmates for acting out. Imagine if she did that as a hero. Just SMACK at the back of the neck to a colleague.”

 “She could have seriously hurt someone!” Iida shook his head. “What if their Quirk made their neck weak?”

 “Agreed,” Midoriya said, coming up to their table. Her voice wasn't as controlled as it was earlier that day. She looked exhausted as she sat down, dressed in her limelight outfit. “Hawks only did this to ride off my speech; knowing him, he felt it the perfect time.”

 “You know Hawks?” Jirou asked, sounding disbelieving.

 “I know a lot of heroes. Some because they know I'm Quirkless and want the PR for when someone finally publishes it that I'm around,” snorted Midoriya. “Hawks, though, is my babysitter sometimes because I’m friends of a sort with one of his friends, and I also may or may not end up his surrogate, thanks to the Commission.”

 “...I think I need you to unpack all of that,” Kaminari said.

 “I’m Quirkless, meaning any child I have with someone who has a Quirk will have a ten times stronger Quirk than their other parent. The Commission is all too eager to support me in exchange for an agreement to carry a kid from a hero. Hawks is one of the possibilities; I know Endeavour could be one too,” Midoriya said distastefully.

 “Gross,” Kaminari said.

 “It’s life. I actually want kids anyway, so I don’t mind. Co-parenting would be simple,” Midoriya shrugged. “I’d rather have a shady deal and make my dream than not. It’s not that shady anyway.”

 “As long as I’m an uncle, I support you,” Iida said to Midoriya. She smiled at him, the amusement in her eyes painting this as a familiar joke before she switched topics.

 “Vlad King is a good hero, but he’s a terrible teacher,” she informed them. “I won’t go into what I know; a lot of it is private or at least confidential, but I will say his encouragement of rivalry has caused issues in the past that have now escalated into his removal as a teacher.”

 “What about the kids removed from the class?” Jirou asked.

 “1C has taken them. Gas Attack, the teacher, is in charge. She’s got a Class 9 Quirk for which she needs equipment, and she’s on a watchlist due to the dangers of her ability. She’s one of the best for sniffing out problems and driving home hard realities. She’ll get them sorted if she can; if not, she isn’t a bad teacher to have,” Midoriya shrugged. “I’m more worried about the media digging further into Vlad King.”

 “How so?” Momo asked curiously.

 “UA has secrets. Not many, and none are bad, but some could get dragged out,” Midoriya said. “Some stuff is kept quiet due to confidentiality or because it's like rescue points. It's something that any hero SHOULD think about, but not everyone does. As well… there's the program Nezu runs.” Midoriya hesitated. “You’ve seen the girl with space buns around, right?”

 “Toga? Yes,” Uraraka said with a nod. “She kind of seems intense.” Momo tried to think of the girl but had never talked to her. She was around often, though, her eyes glittering strangely at times.

 “Toga is part of a program Nezu keeps on the down low. It's a rehabilitation program for youth offenders. Toga has QAB, but her parent's neglect and abuse brought hers on.” Midoriya said quietly.

 “QAB?” Kaminari asked. “I think I've heard of that…”

 “Quirk Affected Behaviour, kero,” Tsu said. “I have it to a lot of people with a mutation or mental Quirks have it. It's why I act frog-like; my brain is wired that way.”

 “People with mental Quirks are more likely to have mental health concerns and are more susceptible to things like Huntington's and Dementia, too,” Midoriya said. “Toga has a physical Quirk that lets her shapeshift after she's tasted the blood of someone she's changing into. She needs blood, and her parents decided to keep her bloodless because they practiced Quirk suppression. She's very open about this, but she's also struggling.”

 “If she was denied blood, no wonder she has QAB, Kero,” Tsu said.

 “Exactly. She doesn't need it to live, but it helps her sanity and emotional regulation. Even just a bloody steak once a week would have helped, but her parents refused. So eventually, she snapped and killed three people before a friend of mine, Dabi, found her. He was also in the program and helped her out.” Midoriya looked at them sternly. “She is better and is in therapy. Her killings were deemed an action of insanity. Having her here isn't illegal, but…”

 “The media would cause a scandal,” Momo said. She didn't know what to think about a murderer being at the school, but as it was a sanity break, she could forgive it a bit more. It was a little unnerving, though.

  “Yeah. She can't be a hero- her psychosis is still there. She's aware it's wrong, but she can't move past her thoughts. But she is scary good with management stuff, so she's doing that. However, having her at a Hero School…” Midoriya shrugged.

 “Understandable. I made the cut-off for Heroics with my QAB, but my little brother didn't, Kero.” Tsu voiced. “He's upset about it.”

 “QAB is serious. My mom had it, which…” Midoriya sighed and shook her head. “It was not good.”

  “Can we befriend her?” Uraraka asked.

 “Go ahead, but if she talks about love, stop it. Part of her QAB is she is convinced that ‘love’ means becoming the person you love, which, for her, is killing them to take their place. She knows it's wrong, but again, she can't move past it.” Midoriya explained. “Do not encourage it and change the subject. She likes video games, cute stuff and pastel goth fashion. Also, if she says she loves you, go to a teacher.”

 “Sounds good,” Uraraka nodded, looking determined.

 “I wonder if we could point out Bakugou and say his attitude is Quirk-related, and they'd pull him,” Kaminari suddenly said. Momo pursed her lips. It was an attractive thought.

 “He doesn't have QAB. His Quirk is physical only, unlike Toga’s, which has a shapeshifting element. He got tested when my mom was diagnosed,” Midoriya said. “I did, too. Mostly because my mom was convinced, I had an analyst Quirk for a few years. I don’t, but she made me do it.”

 “We had to do a lot of tests to get into UA,” Uraraka pointed out. “A kid from my school had an IED, and he wasn't allowed to be a hero.”

 “IED?”

 “Intermittent explosive disorder. Basically, he had these emotions that caused him to fly into rages every so often. He had a fire Quirk and got away with a lot of stuff until his diagnosis. He's in a facility now,” Uraraka said.

 “A lot of mental health diagnoses or medical conditions automatically disqualify you from heroics. People don't know that, though, because it's not talked about,” Midoriya said.

 “The line is anyone can be a hero. But it's not the truth,” Iida agreed. “Anyone can be one; however, sometimes it's not safe for them or others to be heroes.”

 “… okay how did we get on this topic?” Jirou asked.

 “It's kind of all connected. Hawks has a criminal dad, meaning his worthiness of being a hero is in doubt, and Vlad King was removed from his teaching position because he isn't doing what is needed. So discussing qualifications of heroics is connected.” Kaminari said.

 Momo nodded. It had been an exciting conversation, and she was happy Midoriya wasn't hiding away. She was with the class all week but hadn't eaten with them.

 It was nice she was back.

(Izumi didn't like Toga that much. The girl always knew she was wrong but had gone along with her whims. Insanity or not, that had always disturbed Izumi. Toga had a psychosis, and it wasn't her fault, but it didn't mean Izumi had to LIKE the girl.

 But it was nice to chat with her friends after everything. Yaoyorozu talked with her still, and he wasn't put off by Izumi’s confession about what had happened years back. Izumi smiled, thinking of the other girl. The past week had been crazy with the Vlad King stuff and handling the outcomes of her little speech. The purple kid, Shinsou, had apologized to her. He was also in therapy, apparently, but he would swap his therapist, who'd been encouraging his attitude.

 The other stuff, though, was trickier. Vlad King wasn't a bad man; he was just very… competitive and had issues recognizing problematic behaviour. Uncle Sho had been similar in many ways before he took her in, and it was only because he wanted to set a good example that he started therapy for his issues. He still didn't like admitting he was wrong, but he at least admitted that therapy helped.

 “So, it's official,” Hizashi said as Izumi entered the staff room. “ID is now the 1B teacher. They'll be here next week.”

 “Tensei will be happy,” Nemuri said. “Hey, kiddo, did you sit with Yaoyorozu again?” the heroine waggled her eyebrows, and Izumi rolled her eyes.

 “Yes,” she said, not bothering to hide the slur to the word. “Am I sitting in the announcer's booth this year?”

 “Nah, you’ll be working as a referee,” Hizashi said. “You have good insights and Quirk analysis, but you should keep that quiet for now if you really want to play up the flirty badass.”

 “Agreed,” Nemuri said with a nod. “Hide the brain, play up the flirt. Ooh, I think-”

 “No,” Izumi said. “I’m sort of a superior.”

 “And?” Nemuri joked, but she looked understanding.

 It wasn’t fair that Izumi always had to be aware of the issues surrounding her and the others. She couldn’t just be friends with them, not right now anyway. Maybe if she got a license early and signed on as a sidekick with someone else… not Nighteye. He was doing better after the verbal dressing down and therapy. But Izumi knew she couldn’t stand working with him long term. They were too much alike.

 However, the only one Izumi wanted to work with was either her Uncle or Zizi. She trusted them and knew they had her best interests at heart. Anyone else could use her for clout or be like that one hero who tried to make her quit out of ‘worry’ for her being Quirkless.

 “Is there anything I need to know for the afternoon lessons?” Izumi asked after a moment. Might as well get back to work.)

-0-

 The Sports Festival started out amazing. Momo got fourth place, behind Iida, Bakugou and Todoroki. They placed first in the Calvary battles. She had been so happy…

 Now, she was shaking as she stood in the hallway. She’d lost to Tokoyami. He was a strong opponent yet, but… it took five seconds for him to beat her. She covered her face, not wanting to look at anything.

 She’d lost. Her, Momo, the top student and the highest scorer on the recommendation exam. She’d lost.

 Was Mother right? Was she nothing? Was all of this because of her money? Was-

 “Yaoyorozu.” a voice said, sounding relieved. Momo looked up to see Midoriya, who was wearing her limelight hero outfit, plus an orange lanyard declaring her an apprentice. “You okay?”

 “I’m fine. I…” Momo wiped her face. “Tokoyami won fair and square. It… I am fine.”

 “No, you’re not,” Midoriya disagreed. “You want to talk about it?”

 “I…” Momo started to shake her head, but the words that came out of her mouth just came. “I lost so fast.”

 “Tokoyami isn’t just one person; he’s two people simultaneously. You’re not fighting just him,” Midoriya said reasonably. “But I bet that’s not a comfort,” she sighed. “Just an excuse.”

 “I’m the top student. I was recommended. How can I fail so badly,” Momo said. “He’s a strong opponent, but five seconds…”

 “Yaoyorozu, I’m going to be blunt,” Midoriya began slowly. “But you tend to go for the chess style of fighting. You like to plan and adapt. It’s why you’re amazing when we have scenarios you can think through. But reacting to a situation instantly is something you need to work on. You’re not bad at it, but the chess thoughts overcome your mind when you panic.”

 “Oh,” Momo blinked upon hearing that. “I am more trained for long-term plans.”

 “Which isn’t bad. It's a vital skill when you’re a hero working on large-scale operations,” Midoriya said. “But in a fight, you need to be quick on your feet. Do you know about batting cages?”

 “Yes…” Momo said slowly.

 “I suggest going to one where you can use your Quirk and have it firing at you. Respond with shields, and try to make it faster each time. Then get a friend to come and randomly surprise you.” Midoriya said. “I know that with Info Dropper now on staff they plan to use their Quirk to build better personalized plans, so that may happen soon anyway.”

 “I still lost,” Momo said, feeling guilty for being so upset about it.

 “It’s the first sports festival, and you beat how many others?” Midoriya pointed out. “I loved you drop-kicking Mineta when he grabbed you. It was beautiful.”

 “Thank you,” Momo said, smiling a little at the memory. “It’s mostly 1A students in the finals,” she said out loud.

 “It is. 1B is suffering from Vlad King’s mismanagement plus ID is a hard taskmaster.” Midoriya said. “Everyone else didn’t try to hard.”

 “Except for Hatsume and Shinsou,” Momo said. “Can I ask if anything has happened with him after the…”

 “Blow out?” Midoriya asked. She shrugged at Momo’s nod. “He’s been talked to, and he’s actually trying now, so I think we’re good. Hatsume did well until her fight, hence her disqualification after it turned out she lied to Tenya. That was dishonesty and very against the rules.”

 “She didn’t seem to think so,” Momo said, remembering the girl yelling about it being unfair she couldn’t show off her babies.

 “She lied to Tenya about wanting a fair match and then used it against him. It’s not a bad move as an underground hero, but in the sports festival context, it was dishonest and against the rules. She’s also probably going to be blacklisted for a year.” Midoriya said. “The sports festival is crucially important for hero students. If she were one herself or a dual program student, it would have been seen as a good thing. As someone in support, it will be taken as she can’t follow the rules or respect others. Plus, the Iida family is highly respected. She will find herself suddenly short a lot of friends.”

 “It’s that important?!” Momo asked in horror. What did it mean that she had failed so badly?

 “Yaoyorozu, you are a first-year student. No one will hold you, failing against you but yourself. You’re strong, smart, and adaptable, but you aren’t perfect. No one is.” Midoriya told her honestly. “You have time.”

 Momo nodded, deciding to take those words to heart. Or try to.

 She had gotten far.

(The next day back at school, Izumi was half listening to ID rant about the ‘dumbasses who allow certain heroes to request interns’ as the hero furiously tossed some requests into the trash. They’d been drafted to help pick out proper mentors given their Quirk.

 “I mean, I get why she does this, but for a first year? No,” ID said as they tossed a letter into the refusal pile.

 “Who?”

 “Uwabami,” ID said, their eyes flashing as they got the information from the name. “She tends to go after the girls who look down on other girls or for those she thinks need an ego boost. There’s that new law being debated for mutation Quirks, and she may look more human than not, but I’ve seen her unhinge her jaw to eat a full turkey. So she puts her face out there, looks pretty, and makes noises about her being a mutant, too, and how those laws affect her. Insert pretty pout, leaning over to show off her cleavage, and a lot of guys don’t want her to not be on TV.” ID listed.

 “But you don’t want her taking first-year students.” Izumi summarized.

 “No. That girl with the creation Quirk? Your crush? She would be very put off by the placement, and while sure she needs some self-esteem, Snakey isn’t a good choice.” ID shook their head. “I see why Nezu asked me to pre-screen. This is dumb as hell.”

 “ID!” Nemuri said upon entering the room. “How is Tensei?”

 “Good. He’s still shaken,” ID said with a sigh. “But Stain is in custody and will be for some time. I’m just happy my brother was in Hosu, even if it was to intimidate Engine Boy over his intentions now that we’re in the same country.”

 “Is Squirt in trouble for using his Quirk?” Nemuri asked.

 “No. He’s actually being praised. He’s also offered his own pseudo-internship to that purple kid from gen-ed. It is just a general ‘hey, so we both have similar Quirks, and I’m going to teach you ethics’ since the kid lacks a few. The Possum is in favour, so is the kid’s teacher and Done is alright,” ID listed. Izumi had to take a second to remember who the Possum and Done were. ID’s Quirk only worked with names and not the specific nicknames they gave, but they got confusing sometimes.

 “Why does Uncle Sho need to know?” Izumi asked.

 “Kid wants to be underground. He’s the guy who vets them usually, though the Possum is trying to lure others here,” ID said casually. “Done says he won’t take another apprentice other than basic training with his scarf; he’s got you. Hopefully, the ki… nope, students. Can’t gossip.”

 “She’s not a student,” Nemuri said.

 “She’s buddies with some,” ID countered. The two began bickering over it as Izumi listened, though her mind moved from their discussion to the first point.

 Yaoyorozu wasn’t confident. Izumi had picked up on it, but… this seemed more serious. If ID, who tended to brush aside minor issues and outright ignore solvable things, mentioned it…

 How to increase confidence, though?)

-0-

 Momo did not know how any of this happened. One minute, she followed her work studies teacher, Manual; the next, she made fire extinguishers while chowing down on high-calorie snack bars as the entire city burned.

 “Can you make wire nets? These things are vicious?” Her mentor said as he ducked a swipe from a Nomu, one of the creatures from the USJ. Momo shoved a snack bar into her mouth and made a net wordlessly. “Thanks!” he ran off with it, and she kept going.

 “MOVE!” a voice shouted, slightly garbled, and then there was Midoriya. She was on top of a Nomu, knife in hand, cutting at its wings. Momo swallowed a too-big chunk, choking briefly, and saw Midoriya highlighted by the fires behind her. “STAIN IS LOOSE! I REPEAT!” Midoriya shouted to everyone in a clear voice. “STAIN IS LOOSE! SUSPECTED INVOLVEMENT WITH THE GROUP THAT ATTACKED THE USJ!” her voice slurred on the last few words, but she pressed on. She looked at Momo and nodded before running off.

 Momo only had time to wonder why the other girl was here before she was distracted with work again. She and Todoroki (there with his father) worked side by side until a text came through their phones. He noticed, first, an address from Midoriya.

 “Manual!” Momo shouted to her mentor. “Mid- I mean, Trash Panda! She sent a location!”

 “Shit, alright,” Manual grabbed a sidekick. “Valkyrie, go with the students!” he said, pushing her towards Momo and Todoroki, who was already running.

 They found their way to the location, where a hero was on the ground with blood around him and an armoured figure recognizable as Iida. Fighting off a man with a red scarf carrying a sword was Midoriya. She was jumping around with her scarf, lifting her, and throwing knives. She’d lost her jacket and had a cut on her stomach. She seemed eager to keep away from the man.

 “It’s Stain!” shouted the downed hero. “He tastes your blood, you’re down!”

 “More fakes?” Stain said darkly.

 “Oh, for the love of fucking GODS!” Midoriya shouted, her voice slurred and angry. “Stop with the fucking self-congratulatory speeches about only you know what a true hero is!” she threw a knife at the man, who dodged with a snarl.

 “You fakes-”

 “Oh fuck off. All you’re doing is bitching. No one follows the ideals you set forward. What, you think certain Quirks should be banned from heroics too?” Midoriya mocked.

 Momo ran to Iida and the other hero- Native, she thought he was- while Todoroki and Valkyrie ran at Stain. Bandages were coming from her arms as she heard Midoriya continually mock Stain, calling him a rapid fanboy and an ‘egotistical mother fucker who wanted his name in the books. Does that sound familiar, Stainy?’ It was somewhat amusing, and she had to keep her eyes firmly on the people she was helping, or Midoriya would distract her.

 “I should have gotten help,” Iida said in shame. “But I saw Native was hurt and just couldn’t leave.”

 “So it really isn't about your brother?” Native asked.

 “That’s my cousin beating up Stain. She already beat me up when I mentioned revenge,” Iida said dryly.

 “Ah, I see how that would be…” Native looked at Midoriya, and Momo glanced back to see the girl kicking Stain in the face as Todoroki tried to freeze him. “Reason to reconsider.”

 “She’s amazing,” Momo couldn't help but say. Iidas gave her a look she flushed at.

 “She is gay if you're interested,” he said finally. Momo ignored him.

 That wasn't any of his business.

(Izumi wished they had more people who could block teleportation Quirks. Dealing with Stain after he got out, thanks to the League of Villains, was not fun. She almost wanted to cry when she sat down at the press conference. The long cut she got on her stomach was healed up but tender and her head ached from a lucky shot that had it bouncing off the ground.

 Yet there she was at a press conference, given she was again involved with something big. She looked out at the crowd of reporters, noticing how some looked smug. Why?

 “I have a question for Trash Panda!” one said when the time for questions started. She was blue-skinned with purple hair, and the smugness was oozing off her.

 “Yes?” Izumi asked, giving her best smile.

 “I’m Kizuki Chitose with Shoowaysha News. We interviewed Mrs. Watanabe, who said she was surprised you were on TV claiming to have graduated early. She said you frequently cheated but blamed others,” the reporter said in a smug tone. “You also got her fired for wrongful reasons. Your response?”

 “Aldera Elementary was investigated for abuse,” Izumi said bluntly. “I already spoke of the abuse from my father, but what few realize was that the school as well was abusive. They let students use their Quirks on each other and, when discussing anatomy, would drag certain people to force them to show their ‘freakish’ appendages.” Izumi said. “Among those were a girl with cat ears and tail, a boy with six arms, and me, as I am Quirkless. They were very invested in pointing at my feet to discuss my backwardness.”

 That got the crowd going, but Izumi pressed on, staring down Kizuki. “I am Quirkless. People say that means I have to be stupid, but the highest IQ was 400, achieved by a Quirkless man centuries ago. My so-called cheating was proven time and again not to be by the Anti-Cheating Board and various officials. Mrs. Watanabe was the worst of my teachers and once attempted to force me to strip to show off where my appendix was before I got it removed.” Izumi stood up and motioned to her side, where the faint scar was before she sat back down. “It’s funny you say you spoke to her. Did you do any research on her claims? Or did you simply decide that you could accuse me? Because it is public knowledge.” Izumi stared down the woman, who looked pissed.

 “What about the so-called speech impediment you used to have?” Kizuki demanded. “She says you faked it, and I don't hear it now.”

 “I have it,” Izumi stopped trying to hide it, letting it colour her words. “If you look into the case against my father, you’ll notice how I got it. I don't want to discuss the incident, so I won't. But it makes things hard to understand.” she looked at the sea of reporters who were all listening in. Some looked like they couldn't understand her, others looked thoughtful. “I am Quirkless. I am disabled. This is not something I hide. The claim I am lying or that certain things happened is false. Perhaps you should check your sources better.”

 The sheer rage makes Izumi want to flinch, but it lets everyone launch other questions. Some she was prepared for—why be a hero, how could she be a hero, the laws involved, and so on. But one…

 “Is it true you're engaged to fellow hero student Bakugou Katsuki?” a man asked. Izumi had to do a double take.

 “What?” she stared at him, completely baffled. “No? I'm not a hero student; I’m an apprentice. And no. My mentor is my guardian, and he cancelled anything my father set up, but I've never agreed to anything like that.” Izumi looked at the man, very confused. He raised an eyebrow.

 “A recent Tweet from said boy says different.” The man said.

 “… I am not engaged,” Izumi said dryly. “And it will never happen with him. I'm gay. Any other questions?”

 What had that been about?

 After the conference, Izumi checked her phone. There were messages from Todoroki, Tenya, and Yaoyorozu. Todoroki had sent a warning that his father was angry that she was getting recognition. Izumi sent back an acknowledgment and then forwarded it to Dabi. 

 Tenya was apologizing again. He'd gotten separated from Gran Torino and had been trying to find him when he'd stumbled on Stain. He did try to save Native, no revenge. Good, she’d kick his ass again otherwise.

 Momo’s made her smile. A congrats on her press conference and expressing hope she was okay. Izumi texted back a confirmation, tucking her phone away. She liked texting Momo. It was lovely.)

-0-

  The day after the internships, Momo backed up Midoriya, who was staring down Bakugou.

 “For the love of all that’s holy,” Midoriya was saying, voice slurred and annoyed, “why the fuck did you do that?”

 “Because it was true,” he growled. “We were engaged. The bag talked about it.”

 “Well, not anymore. Besides, you were one of many Hisashi who wanted to marry me off, too, so it’s probable we actually weren't.” Midoriya said dryly. “Why post it? Why do you have this constant need to be in the spotlight and this obsession with me?”

 “I'm not obsessed with you! You're obsessed with me!” Bakugou shouted. “Always following me around with your stalker notebooks and-”

 “I haven't been near you since we were eleven, and they weren't stalker notebooks,” Midoriya said. “I literally lived two blocks over from your house. I was going home whenever you saw me, and honestly, after I turned seven, I got bored with your Quirk. Everyone else had cooler ones.” Midoriya said bluntly. “You were the one who always had to have a go at me. You were the one always complaining. I kept away from you. Even now, who starts any of this? I literally walked in here, and you started. This is on you.” Bakugou glared at her, looking pissed as Kirishima looked torn.

 The gossip Jirou imparted to Momo the day before said that Bakugou’s disqualification for attempting to attack Shinsou after his loss had shaken Kirishima. His claims of cheating and that the ‘stupid Brainwashing bitch’ was a liar had been too much. The theory presented by Ashido stated Kirishima believed Bakugou to be a victim of bullying himself or someone who'd been told his whole life he would be a villain.

 Momo was confident it had no basis, given how Midoriya talked about him. She did see how Kirishima got that idea, though.

 “You’re a fucking worthless Deku, and you always will be!” he snarled at Midoriya.

 “And you’re nothing but the same asshole you were as a kid,” Midoriya said. She turned away as Aizawa came into the room. Bakugou looked baffled as if he didn’t understand what was going on.

 Momo focused on class, though, and left for lunch with her friends. Toga had been looking at their table before Todoroki joined the group, surprising them. The space bun girl looked put out but seemed to move on.

 “It’ll piss off my father being around you,” he told Midoriya, who shrugged.

 “You’re dad’s a bitch. I support this,” she told him.

 “He is,” Todoroki said as the others snickered.

 “Ah, shitty parents run in the class then,” Kaminari said. “My dad’s been starting shit about Midoriya now. No offense.”

 “Which does he have an issue with?” she asked.

 “The slurring,” Kaminari said. “Not the Quirklessness.”

 “Huh,” Midoriya shrugged.

 “My parents think it’s epic and want to have a talk with Bakugou. That was so weird seeing that,” Jirou said.

 “My mother emailed me, but I only sent it to my dad,” Momo offered. “She’s not supposed to have contact with me, and I let it go for too long, but… it wasn’t good.” There were a lot of insults and mocking of Momo for needing to be saved by a variety of words that made her make a picture of the woman to destroy.

 “My parents are similar to Jirou’s. They asked me to stay away from someone who’d post that sort of thing, more so with some videos they found,” Uraraka.

 “Videos?” Midoriya asked, her face paling. “Shit, they uploaded me being bullied, didn’t they?”

 “Yeah. Like… it’s dumb kid stuff, but some comments say Quirks were involved,” Uraraka admitted. “Didn’t you know?”

 “Sort of. I knew it was out there, but not what exactly.” Midoriya sighed. “I don’t want Bakugou expelled,” she said. It felt odd and slightly out of place, causing all the students to do a double-take. “I fear what he could become without the support and structure of UA. If he needs to be removed, sending him to 1C is better than outright expulsion. I’ll have to make some report now to clear that up.” She stood up, pushing away from the table. “Another thing…” she muttered before taking off.

 “What’s that about?” Uraraka asked Iida, who sighed.

 “It’s not unknown, but Shinsou, the 1C boy? He’s been half-accepted into heroics as long as he proves himself. He has a teacher giving him personal instruction. Mrs. Blink, she teaches second-year math,” Iida explained. “But he’s upset because he wanted Aizawa to teach him, as he idolizes the man and has even shown skill with a captured weapon.”

 “Yet Midoriya is his apprentice,” Todoroki said.

 “Exactly. So he’s upset at her, and it’s caused a mess. It’s become known among staff and even some of us other students who take extra classes,” Iida warned. “People are bad-mouthing Shinsou more for demanding even more from UA when he’s gotten so much. Which is causing backlash.”

 “Well, duh, he’s demanding a specific teacher when one’s already assigned?” Jirou shook her head. “This kid is… entitled isn't he?”

 Momo noticed a familiar purple hair behind Jirou and watched his shoulders stiffen. She ate her food quietly.

 Midoriya saved lives recently and helped take down a serial killer with delusions of grandeur. She then got bashed by multiple media sources for being Quirkless.

 Momo had a crush, but anyone with sense would know she didn't deserve hate for being lucky.

(”Did we catch it early?” Izumi asked Nezu.

 “No. The media got some from my minor hacking. I expect we’ll see articles tomorrow,” the principal said.

 “Try this evening,” Info Dropper remarked from where they'd been dragged into the miniature war meeting.

 “Shit,” Shouta rubbed his face as he glanced towards his niece. “You okay?”

 “I already said the schools were investigated. I'm just worried about how everything else will pan out,” Izumi admitted. “Bakugou won't let this go.”

 “He’ll be moved to 1B like we’ve been trying?” Nezu said. “Info Dropper is skilled enough to handle him, and he’ll be on a tight leash, so to speak. Other than verbal abuse, he hasn't resorted to his old physical bullying, so we will use that in our defence of keeping him on. We have the opening in 1B to make it happen.”

 “Suckerpunch needs more time in therapy before I want her back in class,” Info Dropper said. While the other students had returned to 1B after the sports festival, Kendo was still stuck in 1C. It wasn't going well. “I thought Sleepy Boi would be in my class with the issues concerning his tantrum.”

 “He didn't have a tantrum. He just complained,” Izumi said. “It's annoying and causing issues, but it’s not like he's insulting me and threatening me.”

 “Squirt will set the kid straight.” ID said. “Or I will. But should he go to Done?”

 “I'm honestly the best person to teach him, more so next semester when we get to the personal training I have with my students… unless the dumb plan to get them provisional licenses goes through,” Shouta said.

 “I vote no on that still,” Izumi said, even though it wasn't her call. “It'll let the Commission deploy them as heroes, and if things go as bad as we think…”

 “Point. I'll withdraw my request,” Nezu decided. I'd rather not have first-year students fighting a war.”

 “Well, we’ll move Bakugou. Tell the board they can deal with the PR nightmare if they complain,” Shouta nodded. “It should probably wait till finals, though. Bakugou’s on his last strike; if he messes this up, it’s demotion to gen ed.”

 “Does he know that?” Izumi had to ask.

 “I told him. We’ll see if he listens.”)

-0-

 Momo enjoyed studying and was happy that so many wanted to join her little group. Some were people she did not often spend time with, such as Ashido, so it was nice to devote more time with them. Midoriya had begged off when she was asked to hang out, the girl reminding them she was somewhat their superior. She knew what would be on the tests, so it was more reasonable she did not help out. Toga had offered to help, too, but Uraraka had made an excuse, confiding in Momo the blonde was being weird. She already confessed her love to the gravity girl, so it meant they needed to be kept apart anyway.

 Which was the current topic of discussion.

 “Bakugou’s saying since he has to be moved, it means the engagement is still on,” Ashido said to Uraraka, who rolled her eyes hard.

 “She’s gay, she went on live television to say so,” Uraraka said.

 “He said she’s bisexual and lying, but even Kiri is telling him to knock it off. Hopefully, being tutored by the asshole gets through the last of his weird block about realizing how much Bakugou sucks,” Ashido looked at her papers. “Ugh, math is the worst.”

 “Everyone knows Yaomomo and Midoriya like each other,” Sero said. Momo’s face went warm, looking away. “What? It’s true.”

 “Midoriya may like me,” Momo hedged. She didn’t believe it, but her therapist told her she should try to accept the idea people may like her. She’d been rejecting the notion for some time. “But given her position, it wouldn’t be appropriate.”

 “So? Wait till her apprenticeship is done. She’s been one for over a year; she just needs to pass the tests,” Sero said.

 “Can we focus on studying?” Momo asked, and thankfully, Uraraka helped get people back on track. Momo let her mind wander a little about that, though, the idea of dating after Midoriya became a sidekick. She’d still work with her uncle, Momo figured, but perhaps she would no longer work at UA. It would be sad to lose the girl, but… if they could date… maybe…

 Maybe.

(“I’m sorry,” Shinsou said to Izumi. She lifted her head in surprise, raising an eyebrow at him. They’d been recording his averages for the test he needed to pass to meet the physical requirements of UA’s hero course, something he’d forgotten about when complaining about the entrance exam. Yes, he failed there, but he’d also failed the physical requirements. It was simply easier to blame outside influences than your own shortcomings. “For the stuff with Eraserhead and me complaining.”

 “Squirt kick your ass?” Izumi asked.

 “He did. And Mrs. Blink and Gas Attack and a bunch of others. I was… I dunno. I built up the idea of being this lone wolf who was let down by society and saw Eraserhead as just like me,” Shinsou said. “And being trained by him was my dream.”

 “I get it.” Izumi allowed. “How’s therapy?” Should she know this stuff? Probably not, but somehow, she’s become the group TA for the first-year teachers, or at least Shouta, Info Dropper and Gas Attack.

 “Good. My victimization complex is under control,” Shinsou joked. “How’s Bakugou’s bullshit?”

 “How did you know about that?” Izumi had to ask.

 “Other kids are talking about it. Plus, he’s shown up trying to find you. We always send him off; it’s kind of weird.” Shinsou said. Izumi shook her head, focusing on finishing up the writing she needed. “Are you safe?”

 “I am,” she promised.

 “And your girlfriend? The creation girl?” Shinsou asked.

 “Not my girlfriend.” Izumi corrected.

 “Really?” Shinsou blinked in surprise. “Why not?”

 “For one, I don’t know if she likes me. And two, I’m technically a superior,” Izumi said.

 “She so likes you, but I’ll give the second,” Shinsou nodded and didn’t bring it up again.

 Izumi didn’t think Yaoyorozu liked her. Sure, They were friends, but… well, Izumi was the ‘half-feral’ Trash Panda, as one paper called her, after finding a picture of her biting a criminal. Yaoyorozu was so pretty, so proper… there wasn’t any chance.

 There wasn’t.)

-0-

 As finals approached, Kirishima punched Bakugou in the face and stopped hanging around him. It was right after some newspaper got an expose on the teenager about how he’d treated the rising star Trash Panda, whose fame was rising even more as Midoriya worked with Present Mic and others.

 Momo hadn’t been there, but it was retold with delight by Ashido, and it made her… feel strange.

 She didn’t like Bakugou. Not at all, and she would shed no tears about him being removed from the hero course. But for everyone to turn on him for things he did years ago was difficult. It wasn’t like it happened maybe a year or so ago; it had been when they were eleven. It would be different; Momo knew if he’d still been abusing Midoriya (for it was abuse with his words, fists and Quirk) when they were in middle school. Frankly, she’s halfway convinced he had other targets and wouldn’t be surprised if they started coming out of the woodwork now that the first gauntlet was thrown.

 But he was losing everything, and Momo could only watch him realize it. He would look around the classroom, looking confused or angry. He’d try to talk, only for people to ignore him or harshly remind him of their names. Any aggressive behaviour was avoided, and…

 It looked lonely. Not enough Momo would talk to him; she could not stand him. But she felt for him in a way.

 He lost everything and only received scraps in the end. Not even, actually. Momo should NOT have overheard his conversation with Aizawa a few days after the first study session with the class. She’d been waiting for Midoriya when she heard yelling. She’d gone to check just in case but overheard it.

 “You’re failing your ethics class and have two strikes, Bakugou. If you fail your final, you will be put into 1C, not 1B.”

 Bakugou was failing and would be removed if he didn’t pass, and now his entire class, including the boy who’d been insisting he was a good guy, had turned away. It was hard not to feel sorry for him.

 “It’s not on you,” Midoriya told her when Momo confessed what she heard. “I feel sorry for him, too, but it’s his bed.”

 “You feel sorry for him despite him being a bully?” Momo asked. “And for what he says to you sometimes?”

 “Bakugou is a teenager who has never been told no. I feel sorry that his first no, his first setback, is going to be about this,” Midoriya said. “I believe he can be a good hero, I do. I just also think he needs time. UA has connections to hero universities.” Midoriya shrugged, and Momo just had to say it.

 “You’re a good person for wanting him to be a hero,” she said honestly.

 “I don’t know about good,” Midoriya said. “I’m taking some glee in this even if I don’t show it.”

 “You’re a good person. You’re a good hero too, and…” Momo hesitated. “You saved me and the others at the USJ. You stopped Stain. Bakugou tried to form a connection with you, but you stopped it in its tracks without dragging him. If you get some petty revenge, I think you deserve it.”

 “Thanks,” Midoriya said after a moment. I’m thinking about taking the licensing exam soon. I'll be a sidekick and might decide to work with Present Mic or Nezu. He’s offered recently.”

 “Oh! Congrats!” Momo smiled at her friend, trying not to think it could mean they'd have a chance.

 Midoriya didn't like her like that. She didn't.

 “I… there are many reasons why I want to.” Midoriya babbled a little. “It's um…”

 “I…” Momo swallowed and gave a hopeful smile.

 Maybe she did.

(”I am a gay mess,” Izumi told Tenya as the two ran together.

 “And?” he asked. “I already knew that.”

 “Funny. I think Yaoyorozu likes me.”

 “I already knew that too.” Tenya joked, and Izumi nudged him with a pout. Or she tried; he dodged with a laugh.

 “I wanna date her. I'll take the sidekick exam this summer as planned, but now…”

 “Now, you may get a girlfriend later. Uncle Shouta doesn't take sidekicks,” Tenya nodded. “Who will you go with?”

 “Zizi offered. As did Nezu, actually.” Izumi said.

 “Nezu is better professionally, and it removes you fully as a superior to Yaoyorozu. Nezu’s sidekick will be doing Nezu's chores, not marking or teaching.” Tenya said.

 “That's true,” Izumi said. “Wow, I may get a girlfriend soon. You need a boyfriend now.”

 “No thanks. I prefer most of the boys in our class to be friends, and the one I would consider at all is going through things,” Tenya said. “And no girlfriend either for me.”

 “Is it Todoroki?” Izumi asked. “Uncle Sho is saying that he will expel Todoroki to 1C if he refuses to use his fire.” Nothing they were saying seemed to be getting through to him. He was friendly and sat with them to spite his father, but there was a gap. He didn’t want to listen. It reminded her a lot of Dabi when he was first going through the rehab program, needing to get it drilled in that he wasn’t a special snowflake. Others had just as bad lives.

 “I won't say,” Tenya replied.

 That meant yes, and a puzzle for Izumi to consider.)

-0-

 Momo was paired with Shinsou for the finals, and she found that she had to take control of the situation quickly as the boy did not know what to do—working with someone eager to listen and respectful of her felt… nice. Momo smiled at the boy after they finished the exam, having beaten Aizawa sensei with a catapult and a quick insult from Shinsou.

“I think you have officially gained entrance, Shinsou!” Momo said to the boy. Sure, there were the rough parts of his complaints, but he'd gotten over it, working with the other students to learn more.

 “Thanks, Yaoyorozu,” Shinsou said. “Worried about Trash Panda’s bout?” Momo fell silent.

 It had been decided that Midoriya would fight Bakugou and Todoroki herself, as All Might didn't know how to hold back. Momo could only feel fear, knowing that her… almost-girlfriend might be facing those two. Todoroki Momo didn't worry too much about it. But Bakugou?

 He was a worry.

 Still, Momo didn't let it get to her. Instead, they watched the rest of the exams until the final one. She couldn't look away.

 Midoriya led the boys into a trap, jumping around a warehouse-like building. She was cunning and swift as she lured them into Two rooms as the boys had split up. Bakugou was trapped with foam that prevented his Quirk from working while Todoroki was locked in an ice room.

 “This is… Disappointing,” Kaminari said as the timer began running out.

 “It's teamwork for Bakugou and fire for Todoroki,” Iida said after some thought. “We were all tested on our weaknesses. Yaoyorozu with her self esteem so she had to take a leadership role, Shinsou with working together…”

 “With someone I’d assume is a silver spoon asshole,” Shinsou interjected a little bitterly.

 “Yes. Ashido with Kaminari on their intelligence and figuring out more than direct routes… these two were paired up to see if they'd work together and if Todoroki could use fire.”

 “And they failed,” Recovery Girl said as the timer ended.

 Momo watched as Midoriya slumped on the screen, disappointed in the boys.

 Momo felt the same.

 (Izumi didn't stick around when Shouta came to free the boys. Bakugou’s screaming had proven that she should not be there. The yells of cheaters and unfairness lay on her shoulders.

 Had she been unfair? When they split up, she’d quickly taken advantage. Todoroki would need to use his fire to escape the cold room and free Bakugou. That had been her plan the entire time. Everyone agreed to it.

 But had it been unfair? Was it cruel? Did she do the right thing?

 “Well, Bakugou is now in general education until the second-year sports festival, and Todoroki has until the end of summer to use his fire, or he joins Bakugou,” Shouta said, sitting beside her.

 “… I feel guilty,” Izumi admitted.

 “Don’t. You did the right thing.” Shouta told her. “The boys would have failed with All Might, and you only used a scenario we all agreed on.”

 “The Bakugous might not see it that way,” Izumi said.

 “We told them this morning. We laid out our plan, and they agreed. We also told Endeavour, who might not like you but agrees his son needs to use his fire. Izumi, you did well.” Shouta told his niece. She laid her head on his shoulder with a sigh.

 “Thanks,” she signed, not feeling like talking. He hugged her.

 “You’re welcome, kid,” he said softly.

 She still felt guilty. Still felt awful. But… it was good, Izumi thought, that she had helped in some way.

 Hopefully, it would lessen the ache.)

-0-

 While it was revealed all the students would get to go, out of the last exam, only Todoroki would be going to the summer camp, and on his last try. The boy seemed numb and unfocused as he stared at his hands. Momo glanced at him in worry but had to focus on other things.

 Like asking Midoriya to the mall, sure, everyone was going, but Momo actually asked the girl herself. And Midoroya agreed! It was amazing.

 Momo put so much effort into her clothes that day, ensuring her hair was nice and everything. She beamed upon seeing Midoriya- dressed in skater pants and a denim jacket over a band shirt- who flushed upon seeing Momo in a blue dress with her hair down.

 “Hello Midoriya!” Momo said.

 “Hi,” Midoriya hadn't bothered controlling her voice other than making it clear in a while. It sounded so nice, and Momo just kept smiling at the other. “Umm, what did you need to get?”

 “Some new shoes. I can make my own, but I prefer buying them. I may be able to make them, but there's something about an actual company knowing what they're doing…” Momo shrugged as the group all entered the mall.

 Inside, Momo spotted a stall selling Trash Panda mercy, little stuffed figures of the girl beside her or little raccoons poking out of trash cans. Along with that, there were shirts, jackets and more. A familiar space-bunned girl was buying something, but Momo had to point it out, getting the entire class all cheering.

 “Oh god,” Midoriya blushed, covering her face. “Zizi said they would have some stuff up…”

 “It's cute. I'm going to get a raccoon!” Ashido said. Midoriya refused to approach the stall for fear of being recognized, so Momo hung back as they watched the class surround it.

 “I never thought about this until now,” Midoroya said softly. “Me having merch.”

 “Well, you are a hero,” Momo said softly. Midoriya shrugged.

 “I suppose. It's just… strange. I'm a hero. Me, the Quirkless girl who got the shit beaten out of her by her dad. It's… nice.” Midoriya smiled. “I wonder how many Quirkless kids are buying my stuff.”

 “Every single one, I bet,” Momo said as a man came up behind them.

 “Hey, you're from UA, aren’t you?” he asked. Midoriya was turning, elbow going up to block the man’s hand as she shoved Momo out of range before the other girl could blink.

 A look at the man’s face showed who it was. Shigaraki.

 “Oh, you recognized me.” the villain said darkly.

 “Shigaraki, I am placing you-” Midoriya began, but he interrupted her.

 “Why is everyone obsessed with Stain?” he demanded.

 Momo almost fell in shock, but instead, she stayed standing, staring in confusion.

 “What?” Midoriya asked. “Stain?”

 “He's the one talked about! Him and you! What’s so special about a whiny bitch like him?” Shigaraki growled. It was true- Stain dominated most of the reports, but it always mocked him. His ideals were ‘alright,’ but he was saying things everyone already knew, according to Midoriya in an interview. He was ‘just a sociopath desperate to get his name in history books.’

 “He had a goal,” Momo said, and Midoriya shook her head to prevent her from saying more. Sadly, Shigaraki seemed to take it to heart, a gruesome smile on his face.

 “A goal, huh? I can think of some…” he grinned further and then ran right at a civilian. Midoriya had to move, the scarf under her jacket coming out, and all Momo could think was she messed up.

 Again.

(”He got away. I was trying to get civilians out of the way while keeping back.” Izumi told the officer. “Looks like he got his fingers grafted back on. No signs if they work or not.”

 “Understood. Thanks, Trash Panda,” the man said before leaving. Izumi turned to see Yaoyorozu sitting at a table, looking upset.

 “It's not your fault,” Izumi told the girl, approaching the table.

 “I suggested a goal. He's now going to use that, won't he?” Yaoyorozu whimpered.

 “He was always going to do something,” Izumi said as she sat at the table.

 “But I-”

 “Said something dumb to a villain. It happens.” Izumi told Yaoyorozu, who still looked upset. “Know how Toga got caught? I told her she was cute, and she stalked me for a week.”

 “Oh.” Yaoyorozu looked a bit better after that. Izumi hesitated before asking softly,

 “Hey, this… mall thing was a bust. After the camp and my licensing exam, do you want to come back? As an actual date?” Izumi asked. Yaoyorozu smiled at her, eyes shining.

 “Yes. I'd like that.” the girl said. Izumi smiled, reaching out to touch the other’s hand.

 Despite everything, it had been a good day.)

-0-

 A promise of a date made Momo feel like she was floating in the weeks before the training camp. She kept smiling and giggling, which made her friends laugh.

 “You'd think you guys had a make-out session rather than just a promised date,” Uraraka joked as they left the pool. The girl had gotten permission to use it for recreational purposes. Apparently, the guys had decided to rent it the next day for some training, though Kaminari apparently made comments about swimsuits he was told off for. He hadn't meant anything bad, but he did feel awful when it was pointed out how the comments could be seen.

 “I bet she hopes it happens,” Jirou teased. Momo went red and shook her head.

 “I’d rather not talk about it right now,” she said. Tsu nodded and got the other girls off her case as Ashido frowned.

 “You know we don't hang around each other all that much. You four are friends more than us,” she motioned to Hagakure and herself.

 “Well, I just kind of fell into that dynamic,” Uraraka shrugged. “We hang out with Midoriya a lot too.”

 “And I hung out with blasty. Usually against my will, but because I worried for Kiri.” Ashido sighed.

 “And I'm getting over some issues. Midoriya is nice and kind, but a part of my brain mutters that she doesn't deserve to be here,” Hagakure offered. “Blame my parents and me being a bit jealous she got so far when I've always believed that at least I have a Quirk compared to people like her.”

 “Oh,” Momo hadn't even realized Hagakure felt that way until now.

 “You’re good at keeping it to yourself, ribbit,” Tsu said.

 “I’m aware it's a Quirkist thought, even if it's hard to get rid of. So I try to overcome the thoughts before I put my foot in them, you know,” Hagakure said.

 “That’s very mature of you,” Uraraka said as they headed through the school. They passed by other students, such as Hatume, Shinsou, and Toga, who were all in school doing extra work. However, The sound of blasts made them look into a gym to find Bakugou blasting apart dummies. They traded looks.

 The explosive reaction from Bakugou that he had failed was fresh in their minds. He had screamed, threatened and tried to attack Midoriya multiple times. So, the girl tried to leave quickly, but Bakugou seemed to have sensed they were there.

 “Oi!” he shouted. He stomped towards them. “Ponytail! Round face! Frogger! Where the fuck is Deku?”

 “Midoriya is not here; she is with Aizawa-sensei,” Momo said stiffly.

 “Fucking… well, where is HE?” Bakugou snarled. “I’m sick of this game! Haha, real funny pretending I didn’t pass. She’s just pissed I called her out on faking being gay!”

 “Faking being gay?” Uraraka asked. “How the hell did you come to that conclusion?”

 “She has to be. Nothing is working out like it should! I’m supposed to be number one, with everyone just pebbles in my path. I’m supposed to be the best!” he shouted. “She was nothing but my childhood sweetheart! A pebble I overcame, someone who had to realize she needed me to protect her!”

 “You’re crazy,” Ashido said. “You failed the final because you couldn’t work with someone for five minutes, and Todoroki failed for only using half his Quirk. We all know that. You’re just pissed because poor little Bakugou isn’t the great hero his mommy told him he’d be.” she sneered.

 “None of this makes sense!” Bakugou looked desperate, and Momo realized what was happening.

 “It doesn't to you, but it does to everyone else,” she said out loud. “You aren't the top dog of the hero department. You're just like everyone else here, except you assumed you'd be better. And now that the truth is in your face, you can't handle being wrong because it means you're the villain.”

 “I’m not a villain!” Bakugou screamed.

 “You are to Midoriya in a way. You are to the others you bullied. You are to me at least a criminal with your abusive attitude,” Momo responded calmly. “You're no hero, Bakugou. And I doubt anyone wants you to be right now.”

 “I don't,” Ashido snorted. “I barely could stand him even when Kiri brought him around.”

 “Me either.” Tsu shook her head. Uraraka made a face while Hagakure raised her hands. Bakugou just looked at them, genuinely seeing their reactions and only looking lost.

 He didn't understand, Momo knew. He didn't realize what he'd done wrong, not because he didn't think he had done it wrong but because he wasn't being allowed to do it. Double standards had always applied to him, and he'd been happy.

 Yet when the actual consequences came about, he was a little five-year-old boy unable to understand why he was in trouble, so he kept doing the same thing. It was all he knew despite knowing it was wrong.

 Momo looked at the boy and saw what Midoriya saw. Potential if he could get his head out of his ass. She didn't say that, though, knowing in her heart he'd take it as a sign Midoriya was, in fact, bisexual or something.

 That was confusing to her. How he just decided she had to be lying. It seemed less like he was unable to understand the consequences and more like he was rejecting reality, which was worrying…

 Momo walked away from Bakugou before any more conversation could occur, pulling her phone out to text Midoriya. She should know what happened.

 (”Mrs. Bakugou-”

 “I want to hear from her myself!” The woman's loud shriek finally made Izumi snap, coupled with the text she had just received. Izumi stomped out of the office to find the Bakugou adults facing Nezu and Snipe. The two had been trying to calm them down.

 “I want no contact with you,” Izumi said instantly. “I never liked either of you with how you treated my mother and how you ignored any sign my father was a bad person because it benefited you. I am gay, I refuse to even consider a fucking surrogate contract with your son, and I want nothing to do with any of you.”

 “Inko was my best friend-” Mitsuki began, but Izumi snorted.

 “You only bothered with her because she was the only girl too spineless to tell you fuck off. She told me all the stories of your childhood. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and your son is just like you. A brat who doesn't take ‘no, you aren't the best’ as an answer.” Izumi looked to Masaru, whose face was blank. “And you. You consistently put my mother down all her life because you were convinced there had to be something wrong with her for having a Quirkless child. Of course, if it could benefit your son, you were happy to have me around. A strong grandchild was in your future with me, wasn't it?” she sneered.

 “Do not take that tone with us, young lady,” Mitsuki snapped.

 “Don't take that tone with me, Mrs. Bakugou. I'm the apprentice who failed your son despite you both trying to cheat for him. Nezu monitors ALL cell phone usage on campus, as stated in the forms you signed. He knew exactly when you texted Bakugou after we contacted you about the exam.” Izumi held their gaze even as they tried to look away. “You all had the perfect plan. A son who becomes a hero rising from a shitty school. A mother too much like him for some light drama. A girl to be the childhood sweetheart. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if you knew Hisashi was abusive. I'll give that you were unaware he murdered my mother, but I don't doubt you had some plan concocted about Bakugou saving me from my father.”

 Their faces gave it away. Izumi shook her head, turning away. “If you cared for my mother, Mitsuki, I know she would hate you.”

 Izumi left the group to head to the staff room, where Toshinori and Tenya were waiting. She wordlessly sat in her cousin’s lap and hugged him. Tenya hugged back without a word. Izumi buried her face into his neck, holding tight. The two men kept talking, simply letting Izumi seek out the comfort she needed after that moment.

 The door opened a while later, and Shouta came in to sit beside Tenya. “Feeling verbal?” he asked Izumi.

 She shook her head. It had taken everything to sound clear with Mitsuki and Masaru. She looked at two people she remembered who had been part of the hurt, even if they weren't the hurt itself. Now, her tongue felt heavy and odd in her mouth. Like talking with it would cause pain. Along with that, her jaw ached with the familiar sensation that came from overspeaking on bad days. She hugged Tenya tighter.

  She had been scared of how to act around Tenya for the first few months of his presence. At least until that day, he'd gotten into a fistfight with a fellow student who had been mocking Izumi using signs when her mouth wasn't working. Tenya had gotten in so much trouble, but it also led to this: Izumi sitting in his lap to hug him.

 When Tenya needed it, he'd lay his head on her lap, letting her play with his hair. They had gone from awkward people to close-contact cousins reasonably fast. More so when Izumi helped him admit to the abuse from his parents, Tensei took him in, but the guy didn't know how to react to the realization the parents he’d adored could harm their youngest so much. Izumi could understand, though. So could Shouta and Hizashi. Info Dropper, too, but their support had been distant, and Nemuri had been struggling with her demons at the time, her oldest friends finally cutting her off for a while when she crossed a line concerning their new ward.

  Things worked out in the end: Nemuri got help, Info Dropper moved back to Japan to be a ‘divorced couple child Hero,’ spending six months in Canada before going to Japan for the rest of the year, and Tensei got his head on straight. But it built a strong bond between the two teens.

 Izumi squeezed Tenya before pulling away to sign to the men, “I just need a day, I think. I can't lose focus with the exam next month after camp.”

 “No, you can't.” Shouta agreed. “Maybe you shouldn't come…”

 “I want to come. Kouta needs someone who doesn't go on about the duty of a hero around, and I know you'll push too hard with a student and fuck up,” Izumi said, her hands moving quickly.

 “And you want to see Yaoyorozu,” Tenya teased. Izumi pinched him for that, making him pout. “Rude.”

 “How is the young lady?” Toshinori asked with a smirk, making Izumi pout as Shouta laughed.

 They were all mean. Where was Zizi… Actually, no, they'd make it worse. Nevermind.)

-0-

 Momo knew not to expect favouritism from Midoriya or Aizawa, but she did not like being thrown off a cliff.

 “This is fun,” Monoma grumbled as he grabbed Todoroki’s hand to use his Quirk, fire and ice flashing. The dual-haired boy looked annoyed upon seeing that, and Momo wondered what the plan was with him before she had to refocus on the monsters they were facing.

 Getting through the forest took hours, and when they finally made it, they found Midoriya waiting for them while playing a game with a little boy.

 “You guys made it earlier than the Pussycats were betting,” she said upon seeing them. “By about an hour.”

 “That was awful,” Uraraka and Ashido complained.

 “Plus ultra,” Midoriya replied with a grin. There was laughter among the class, and Momo easily fell into line with Midoriya, leading them to an eating area where a tired 1B sat. “They had a different route. ID is just as evil as my uncle.” Midoriya said.

 “Thanks, kid,” the hero said as they approached. A combat vest and a metal mask replaced their usual jacket and face mask. I'm glad I got to terrify my students a little.”

 “What did they do?” Momo asked Midoriya as the hero walked away.

“Paintball gun and kept ahead. Plus, Tiger was acting as an opponent,” Midoriya said. “They're terrifying with a gun.”

 “They are,” Tenya said. “I'm happy they are marrying Tensei, but being related to them is terrifying.”

 The class laughed and headed to eat, Midoriya walking with Momo. The boy was still there and eyeing the taller girl suspiciously.

 “Yaoyorozu, this is Kouta. Kouta, this is my… almost girlfriend Yaoyorozu.” Midoriya introduced them. Momo flushed, pleased upon hearing those words.

 “Almost girlfriend?” the boy asked, squinting at Momo.

 “We can’t date until I become a sidekick,” Midoriya told the boy who scowled. “Kouta…”

 “Heroes are stupid,” he grumbled but didn’t leave. Momo decided not to ignore him but to focus on Midoriya. She was a much better topic to focus on.

(“You ready for this?” Izumi asked Dabi, who scowled.

 “Fuck no,” he grunted. The burned man glared at his hands as he waited in the small room set aside for this moment. Hawks had finally convinced him that Endeavour needed to be called out properly, and Z had also agreed. But Dabi hadn’t wanted to make this move. Even if everyone said he should.

 “You both need closure,” Izumi told the man, who gave her a dirty look she ignored.

 The door opened, and a sullen-looking Todoroki walked in. Aizawa was with him and looked at how Izumi felt.

 Very nervous.

 “What’s going on?” Todoroki asked, glaring a little. Still upset he was failed then. Endeavour had been furious he failed, and while they signed him up for extra lessons, both Izumi and Shouta worried that the hero would take his anger out on the boy. Yet Todoroki had honestly failed. No amount of talking or lessons had gotten through his head. Now, he was paying the price.

 “Endeavour is about to be exposed for abuse,” Dabi said bluntly. “I gave them the info.” Todoroki stared at the man in shock.

 “How… he’s rich. It’s his word against mine.” Todoroki shook his head.

 “I have the backing of Hawks, other heroes and a mercenary who had previously worked as an assassin for Endeavour. He will go down even if we don’t get your testimony.” Dabi said casually.

 “Who are you?” Todoroki stared at the man as Izumi edged her way out of the room, not wanting to be in the front seat of this family drama.

 “Don’t recognize me, little brother?” Dabi said as Izumi left. Shouta joined her, and they hung outside the room, ears open for anything other than the yelling.

 “The Bakugous tried to have me investigated,” Shouta told Izumi casually.

 “What is with all the drama recently,” grumbled the teenager, shaking her head. “The final exam, the mall crap, this and then Bakugous? I’m going insane.”

 “With them, I think it’s a last-ditch effort, so they don’t have to admit they’re wrong. The mall was because Shigaraki is a villain. This is because Dabi needed years of therapy and medication, so his brain chemistry stopped being fucked,” snorted Shouta.

 “I’m pretty sure, as a teacher, you shouldn’t say that.”

 “I’m certain that as the guy who has dealt with Dabi before because he’s friends with you, I can say what I want,” Shouta muttered. There was shouting, and both tensed up before it quieted. “If this doesn’t work, Todoroki is out of the program.”

 “It will work. Either this or something happens where he doesn’t use his fire and gets reamed out,” Izumi shrugged. Are you okay with me dating Yaoyorozu?” Izumi asked.

 “I think I have no say in who you date,” Shouta said. “But I do approve. She’s a good kid.”

 “She’s nice. I told her about Hisashi, and she didn’t treat me differently.” Izumi smiled to herself. “I really like her.”

 “I’m glad. You deserve happiness,” her uncle said, and Izumi smiled up at him, eyes twinkling.

 It was a good day, even with the drama occurring behind them, which wasn’t solved. Todoroki was surprisingly hard-headed, and Dabi could not get it through his skull that all he was doing was hurting himself.

 Izumi sighed, wondering what would break that final barrier.)

-0-

 There was ice everywhere. One of the 1B students had turned into mud, revealing herself as Toga before she launched herself at Midoriya. The two toppled into the forest as gas filled the air. Momo had managed to get gas masks on but couldn’t chase after the two. Then the ice came. Thick walls forced them to run through a maze or break them down.

 Momo could only run with the boy from 1B, Awase, dragging the unconscious bodies of classmates with them. It was terrifying and dangerous and-

 Midoirya was there, kicking Toga away with a snarl. “I knew not to trust you.” Midoriya snapped.

 “Oh, come on, Izu-chan!” Toga whined. “We can be happy together!”

 “Go shit yourself,” Midoriya sneered, and then she tumbled off, still fighting with Toga. Momo looked after the two, longing to follow her, but shook her head.

 Rescue first, combat second. They’d been taught that ages ago. Rescue first, combat second.

 Rescue…

 But the rescue desperately needed Momo would learn a day later, after she’d managed to land a tracker on a Nomu and wake up after falling unconscious, came late.

 Midoriya had been kidnapped.

 And it was all Todoroki’s fault.

(Izumi couldn’t blame the kid. He was technically a bit older than her, but he was a kid despite everything. She couldn’t blame him for being unable to summon the fire he’d suppressed for so long. She really couldn’t.

 She could still be angry, though more so as she sat in a dingy bar glaring at the League of Villains who’d kidnapped her. Toga luckily had been pried off by a woman named Magne, who seemed disturbed by Toga’s antics.

 Good.

 “Jack off with your Quirk active,” she told Shigaraki when he tried to speak to her. “Or suck a boil filled with puss and let it explode in your mouth.”

 “What the fuck?” Shigaraki asked as the green guy- Spinner apparently- snorted. He looked very uncomfortable being there. Given how he was dressed, Izumi pegged him to be a Stain groupie. Even after her loud dressing down of the man, he was still liked for some reason.

 The ice maker was some guy with white hair in a blue coat. He glared at Shigaraki, so Izumi bet there was little love there.

 Mr. Compress, a petty thief she recognized from Nezu’s files, was there, which was baffling. But what was most shocking was the blue-haired woman blowing a bubble with her gum.

 It was Z. Dabi and Hawks’ sort of girlfriend? Their lover? Their hook-up? Izumi didn’t know. The woman looked bored, and Izumi felt angry as she stared at the woman, at least until she blinked rapidly.

 A code. Help was coming. Izumi only felt relief then and settled in to listen to the sales pitch: ‘Hey, so actually, you should join us, and we can give you a Quirk.’

 Boring.)

-0-

 Momo punched Todoroki as soon as she saw him outside the hospital, daring to want to help.

 “This is your fault!” she screamed at him.

 “I know,” he said.

 “You KNOW? You think KNOWING makes it better?” Momo raged. “I don’t care WHY you felt the need to hold back your Quirk, but whatever it was, it was garbage!”

 “My father bought my mother like a broodmare to have me,” Todoroki snapped. The others, who had been eyeing him darkly, paused. “I have faced pain and abuse for years at his hands as he tried to mould me into the perfect hero to surpass All Might. I never wanted to use his fire-”

 “My mother starved me half to death and used to torture me emotionally,” Momo hissed. “We all know Midoriya faced abuse. I bet half of us have similar stories, so don’t dare hide behind your claims as a way of going ‘not my fault.’” Todoroki looked down before looking up.

 “I’m trying not to,” he said. Momo glared, but in the end, they all headed out together. Or at least they tried. Dabi appeared before they got to the train station, along with Hawks. All the students froze.

 “None of you should be here,” said Hawks in a firm tone.

 “How did…” Iida trailed off, looking nervous as he stood with Todoroki, Momo, Kirishima and Uraraka.

 “Yaoyorozu checked out against medical orders, and we checked the find your phone app your brother has,” Hawks told the teen. “We have people in place to rescue Trash Panda, including an undercover agent. You will just get in the way.”

 “But we can’t leave Midoriya!” Momo said.

 “It’s my fault, I-” Todoroki began, but Dabi interrupted him.

 “Fuck that. Look, Shouto, it’s not fully your fault. I was there, too, and my flames burned hotter. I was just too late to melt all the walls so Aizawa could get to the brat,” the scarred man said bluntly. “Should you be using your Quirk? Yes. And I hope this is a damn good lesson on that, having Izumi be kidnapped.”

 “You don’t like me, Touya,” Todoroki said.

 “True, but I have an excuse of borderline personality and anti-social personality disorder going on for why I hate you. Not you being a dumbass about your Quirk,” Dabi said. “Grow the fuck up and stop thinking you’re more important than you are.”

 “All of you go home,” Hawks said. Momo glared at the two, not wanting to obey. But what choice did they have?

 Momo went home to her father, who scolded her and wrapped her up in blankets, letting her watch the news where Info Dropper was acting as UA’s voice, speaking of the situation.

 “Do you think Trash Panda will join the Leauge?” asked one reporter- that blue-skinned woman who seemed to have it out for Midoriya being Quirkless.

 “I think that’s the dumbest thing I ever heard.” ID said bluntly. “I have seen that girl help rehabilitate a man who was almost too far gone. I have seen that girl shoulder a burden with a friend and keep walking. I have seen that girl set her jaw and force herself forward. I have seen that girl learn to speak clearly after a terrible event. That girl has every reason to go villain I know. But she won’t. She is too good to do it, too kind and too strong. She’d rather die first, and to assume otherwise would be to admit you have a set of prejudices that makes you want to think she will.”

 Momo smiled, watching the news. At least until it changed to show a battleground with the green hair of Midoriya running around. Her stomach tightened and Momo could not look away.

(Izumi ducked under a swing from Toga, slamming a smoke bomb filled with Midnight’s gas down before leaping away. Z was shooting at Magne and Spinner, the supplies the mercenary had handed Izumi the first thing she did.

 Izumi appreciated it as she dodged Shigaraki. This would be worse without the supplies. She didn’t know how long Z had been working with the villains, but their shock she changed sides was pretty funny.

 “We could have given you anything!” Shigaraki was screaming.

 “I don’t need a damn Quirk to be complete,” Z snarled and oh, that was a thing of beauty that shot. Shigaraki stumbled back with the wound in his shoulder, Z taking a second to shoot the villain before concentrating on her targets.

 Izumi took advantage to yank out another smoke bomb, dancing away from the fumes while he fell. That was when All for One noticed the other fighting.

 “NO!” he shouted. He would have gone after Izumi if All Might hadn’t intervened, kicking him away. Izumi moved to attack Mr. Compress, focusing on her own fights.

 She would never know that many lives would be saved. She would never know what the future could have been if Shigaraki had escaped. She would never see a war that claimed lives. Never hear an apology half meant from a boy who tormented her once.

 Izumi simply fought.)

-0-

 Midoriya showed up at Momo’s home three weeks after everything. She looked tired but smiled upon seeing the other girl. She held up a license.

 “It’s official. I’m working with Nezu now strictly on heroics. No school stuff.” Midoriya said. Momo smiled and… well…