"H-Hey Midoriya, uhm…" She looked at his bandages, "Are you okay? Didn't Recovery Girl use her quirk? Why are you still so bandaged?" Ochako said, unsure of what she was looking at. He blinked.

"Oh, this." He looked down at his arms. "Yeah, I'm getting out later today, they're about to run some scans just to make sure there aren't any loose fragments. They said the bruise on my head needed extra care, so I will have to keep them on after I get out." He said casually.

Guilt swelled within her when he mentioned his head damage. She shifted nervously slightly. I came this far, I might as well continue, but… she looked at Izuku, and frowned. "Hey Midoriya…" she started, looking at her hands. "Are you upset with me?" Ochako said, averting her eyes.

Immediately, the green-haired kid started panicking. What was she talking about?! Is this a girl thing? I must have done something! Uhm, I haven't talked to her since the incident, what did I say? I don't remember I, blacked out!

"Uuhh…" He swallowed, "What do you mean?" Izuku risked, knowing that if he slipped up he might end up in a unrecoverable scenario.

"W-well… you know, right a-after Thirteen was hurt? You teleported to go save her and… you were flung back," she looked away and started fidgeting with her hair. "And you were falling… and I-I Missed…" She started squirming. Uraraka couldn't blame him if he didn't forgive her, but ever since she moved to this area she didn't have any friends, and he was such a sweet and fun guy to be around.

"Oh that? It happens," he breathed, relieved it was about something so trivial like a wound. Izuku shrugged, "I mean, sure it hurt but I'm okay and everything worked out. I'd actually like to thank you because you turned off your quirk just in time for me to use mine on the villain."

Ochako froze. Was it that easy? He literally shrugged it off like it was nothing. The thing that had been plighting her thoughts since it had happened?

Izuku eyes widened as he thought he said something wrong. "A-ah! It's okay, uh, you helped me afterwards with the bleeding and I accidentally bled on your uniform! Sorry about that, so call it even?" he shook his hand, trying to defuse the tension.

"Hey Mi-, wait before I say that can I call you Deku again?" She interrupted herself, asking almost nervously. Izuku nodded. "Deku, why do you want to be a hero?" Ochako asked.

Izuku was caught off guard by the rather personal question. Since it was slightly unexplainable, Midoriya felt rather embarrassed, knowing that if you couldn't relate it wouldn't make much sense. "I want to save people." He broke eye contact, looking down at the bed sheets. "When I was young, my quirk couldn't properly be used, and I wasn't really able to use it until just before I got into UA." He glanced at his bandaged hand. He didn't like lying, but he couldn't betray All Might's trust.

"Since I couldn't show off or really use my quirk, I was pretty much deemed quirkless. If you went to a public middle-school, you should know how they get treated." He didn't like guilting people, but this was important to his resolution, and she did ask. "Despite this, I could only dream of helping people with a smile on my face. I hated those feelings of loneliness so much I thought that if I could help people, I could be what All Might was to me. A light among the darkness, perhaps." He said, completely serious.

Few things meant more than his dream to being a hero. He rubbed his head sheepishly. "I can understand if you don't get what I mean. N-not to say you haven't been through hardships, but you know, my mom was never that good at giving motivation, and…" he trailed off, already starting to ramble.

Ochako wasn't sure what to think. A simple reason. A justifiable cause for said simple reason, but did it really need to be complex? Not revenge, not to prove others wrong out of bitterness, just innocent desire- no, need to help others.

She giggled, some of the tension dissolving from their conversation.. "That sounds just like you, Deku. Thanks I… I needed that!" she sighed, thoughts swirling in her head. He tilted his head slightly in confusion, before shaking his head. To train to be hero who helps others?

Like fire, Deku's resolution seared its way into her mind. The question sparking and flickering within her, becoming a flame. Ochako couldn't quite figure it out, but she needed to spend that resolve within her. She would train and she would become a hero. A hero just like Deku.

-x-x-x-

It had been a couple of days since the USJ incident as the students started to settle down. Causing some to completely rethink their purpose as a hero.

Some were recovering physically, some mentally.

Some were determined, some demoralized.

Some had persevered, but some allowed the trauma to plague them.

An unfamiliar twinge of pride ran through Aizawa as he looked over the students. While their mentality may be fragile, it was a good first experience into the 'real world'. Aizawa typically disliked that term, mostly because of its overuse as a way of saying 'you're naive.' Despite completely unexpected and unplanned, it was something that the students needed, if maybe more painful for him.

He spoke up. "while the usj incident caused a lot of issues for ua, i believe that it may have been a good experience for you students." He spoke in a monotone. "for now, be grateful that you all came out in one piece. if any of you still are having troubles with what happened, go to the counseling classes." Aizawa spotted Mineta fidget uncomfortably. He decided to add something on top. "There is no shame in admitting you're struggling with something, internal or external."

He couldn't help but glance at Midoriya, the one who stood as the most resolute as a hero. "we'll be continuing classes like normal. if you want suggestions on how to improve yourself and don't know how, you can talk to any of the teachers who specialize in said area or maybe you can find satisfaction training alongside a classmate. that is all." He said, before getting ready for the next class.

-x-

Despite having a newfound resolve, Ochako wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Aizawa's suggestion on improvement sounded good, but she still wasn't sure if anyone could help her. She felt like she needed to be a better 'hero,' but what did she want to be? Obviously she felt like she needed to be a 'rescue' hero, but she remembered how Thirteen, despite being a pro hero, was almost instantly rendered useless against the mist villain. Along with some nasty comments about inexperience. But combat…?

Every free thought went into determining what training she should do, and who the young girl should consult. Before she knew it, lunch was about to start. They were given more free time off than usual due to their heroics class being physically draining, giving students time to recover. They would be getting the rest of the week off, so she had plenty of time to do both her homework and figure out what she wanted to do.

As she started to pack up for lunch, and later to finish up the day, she saw Izuku scribble some notes down in his 'hero notebook,' before an idea dawned upon her. Deku was on his thirteenth volume, which meant he probably spent a lot of time before U.A. studying heroes. It was kind of nerdy, but because he was leagues ahead of them in the topic of heroes, so it must be justifiable in some sort of way.

As Ochako started to make her way over to him, a guilty voice in her head reminded her of the reason of the bandage around his head. She shook off the thought.

"Hey Deku!" He froze startled. She gained a cheesy smile, sometimes he could be as easy to startle as a deer. "Hey… um" she slowed, her wide grin flattening out, "I know that I have no real right to ask this, but… could ya help me?" she started to fidget with her hair. Curse these stupid nervous ticks!

He blinked owlishly. What would someone like Uraraka want from him? Regardless, who was he to deny her help? "Sure, what do you n-need?" he asked hesitantly.

"Well after our… conversation two days ago, I uh… I want to become a better hero!" Ochako said, cheeks flushing. Despite what Aizawa said, sometimes it was embarrassing to admit she needed help, especially among her peers. Especially after following someone with such admirable intentions like Deku.

Izuku's eye sparkled, his admiration showing for his closest friend. He paused for a second, "T-Thats awesome! I-I mean that's really cool but…" he looked away "W-Why aren't you asking me? I m-mean, All Might or Thirteen probably wil-"

"Because I'm sure you can help me the most! They probably don't know me as well, a-and you can help me outside of school- ah, I mean if your willing." she added quickly.

Midoriya paused, he briefly tapped his chin, and looked at the ceiling. "I-I've got time after school today." He stood up, packing his items in his bag, "Let's discuss what I can do for you during lunch!" he said, slinging his backpack on.

-x-x-x-

Despite trying to be focused on potential training avenues they could be taking, both Izuku and Ochako were sidetracked by Iida and his discussion at the group table. There weren't many around, the most vocal being Ashido.

"By the way, Midoriya," Iida turned to the green haired teen, "If I recall correctly, I was quite surprised to see you so angry during the USJ incident. I can't say I wasn't upset myself, but it was quite… different from how you usually act." he said with a twitch of curiosity.

Izuku was instantly flush with embarrassment as he became the attention of the entire table. Midoriya, a nice, quiet, nerdy person being angry? This of course got the attention of the social butterflies like Mina and Denki who turned in shock.

"Midoriya? Mad at something?" the alien-like student pondered,

"No, mad at someone." Iida corrected. "It was around the time as the purple villain showed up. It was the reason he was so upfront about attacking him in the first place, remember? I doubt any of you could think Midoriya would be the type of person to throw th-a first punch." Iida said.

Denki scratched his head. "Really now? I guess that makes sense but I doubt he was that mad at something. This is Midoriya we're talkin' about here guys. Right Midoriya?" he turned his question back to the one of topic.

Izuku sighed. Kaminari was wrong, unfortunately. He rarely showed it, but he could get quite frustrated with how things seemed to turn against him, despite how fortunate he was in recent times.

"Sorry Kaminari, I really was upset at the villain. Due to some… circumstances I wasn't really able to use my teleportation a-and strength quirk when I was younger." He paused to look at everyone's faces. He gnawed at his lower lip slightly, before continuing. "For my entire life I'd be told that it was rare for people to have a warp quirk, and that I should be proud." He'd have to be careful with his wording. In the corner of his eye, he saw Uraraka's eyes narrow in careful thought, and a twinge of worry struck him as he continued.

"But I couldn't find pride in it, because I couldn't use it properly. If the other people with warp quirks should be proud, then how could I shame them by failing to use my own? As stupid and ignorant as this was, this was my only solace when… I had nowhere else to look." Izuku finished, looking down slightly.

The table grew quiet, the prevalent yet awkward question lingering in their minds. Izuku quickly caught up and finished, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, uh, he made me mad because he used his warp quirk in a way that was rather shameless, and was the opposite of how I wanted others to act with a warp quirk.

This satisfied the young teenagers minds, though the little self-reveal left them feeling a little weird. Before long the chattier of the group started talking and the almost-awkward silence left them.

The bell rang as it signaled the end of the period for the rest of U.A., while signalling the end of the day for class 1-A. Ochako followed Izuku outside of the compounds as the class scattered, each having something to do in mind.

"Uraraka, if you don't mind me asking…" Izuku looked away slightly, "how fit are you?" he said, scratching his head roughly.

"I'm pretty fit for casual activities," she took this time to look somewhat ashamed, "but for heroic… Maybe not." She added with a sheepish grin.

Izuku rubbed the back of his head "I guess it's pretty normal that you wouldn't but… We're students of U.A.. Before I signed up, I had a… coach help me with my exercising. I get it's not everything, but it would help to stay in top shape, right?" he looked over to Ochako for confirmation.

She nodded, the sparks of inspiration reappearing. "I know now what we want to do for me," she sheepishly added "but what about you? Are you going to work alongside me or…?" she left the question hang.

He blinked "I'll probably join you or do homework. I've been meaning to do quirk training as well, but I would need to consult my trainer again, but I'm not sure he has the time, and I'm pretty sure you could also do it, because your quirk seems like it could be extended..." He mumbled, scratching his chin in thought.

"W-Wait Deku, how will I train? I uh…" she stopped short, quaking slightly in shame, "I can't afford a gym membership…" she admitted. She just managed to squeeze by on penny-pinching her foods, so how could she possibly…?

"I wasn't planning to go to a gym, so don't worry. The only real time that I could imagine going to a gym is if we needed to go some quirk training and if they allowed it. For my training, I had to clean up a beach, but it's already pretty clear so… we'll have to find some other place to train." He finished vaguely.

Ochako was surprised to know that's how he prepped for UA. She assumed it was either in a quirk gym or just a plain old gym. Suddenly a thought hit her. "Wait, if that's how you got up to speed, how did you get around the issues you had with your quirk without going to a quirk gym?"

"Not all quirks can be improved through a specialized gym. Sometimes quirks are tied to physical strength, or some weird mix of that and specialized training. B-Both parts of my quirk both required high physical condition. I still need to get stronger for the strength qu-part of my quirk." he responded. He was slightly scared by that questioning and slightly knowing look Uraraka was giving him. "A-Anyways, l-let's go see if there is somewhere you can work out."

-x-x-x-

The beach where Izuku had cleaned up hadn't really changed, still bright and clean. In fact the local populace were starting to notice that the beach had lost the unappealing garbage, and it wasn't uncommon to see people hanging around the area.

Ochako was slightly breathless when she saw the place. The strange mountains of trash that surrounded the entrance of the beach made her wonder whether he cleaned it properly, but the sands past the staircase demonstrated the thoroughness of his work. She snapped out of her trance as he made his way down the steps.

"My coach told me to clean up the beach. The different style of items I needed to clean up was varied enough so that I could get a proper throughout my body." Izuku said while looking out to the sea. "We only have this week free of hero courses. I can remake the schedule that my coach gave me when I was training, but I'll modify it for us so we can fit it around our schedule."

He took this moment to look embarrassed "I-I mean if you want to keep working on this throughout our time at U.A." he scratched his head nervously.

"Of course! I was so inspired by you, Deku, so if it works out this week then I'm sure I can do it during U.A. sessions!." She beamed at his uncertainty.

Izuku was startled, he inspired her? It wasn't that he didn't work hard, its that in all his time at U. he never felt adequate, never felt worth the responsibility All Might had entrusted upon him. If he had already helped inspire Ochako, maybe… Maybe he was a step closer to being a hero than he thought. Before his train of thought could continue, Ochako questioned him.

"What will we clean if you've already moved everything?" she gestured to the piles of trash on the lot of land. This made Izuku stop for a second.

"Well I wasn't completely sure, and I'd was kind of hoping that there was another trash pile around here… I guess we could just relocate the current trash to somewhere different. Another reason Al- my coach had me clean up the beach is because back before quirks, people would call those who did community service heroes. A change in definitions perhaps, but my coach believed in the original use of the term." Deku responded absentmindedly, scratching his head. Maybe he could get a cleanup location from All Might? He cringed at the weird thought.

"I think there is a large open area somewhere farther away from the beach we can move them. It took me 9 months to clear it with my quirk, but unless you want to do quirk training, it should take you around 10 months to do it by yourself." Midoriya lectured. "However, that was a rush training to make my body suitable for my quirk. If we want to do this at a healthier and adaptable plan, it should take around a year and a half to complete, excluding personal plans and plans the teachers have for us, I mean."

Ochako listened, making sure to hang onto his words. She raised her hand as if she was in a class. "Does this exclude other physical exercises?"

Izuku shook his head. "While picking up the trash definitely helps define practical muscles, we will also focus on training muscles that are less used, but help support your body."

Uraraka watched as the green hero brought out a burned looking notebook. Ah it's his Hero Volume series! He opened it and scrolled over some pages. Midoriya opened to a new page and started scribbling down some notes. She took a second to appreciate the devotion he was giving her, before noticing an something she hadn't noticed before.

The book oddly enough had burn marks that marred the edge of the page. It also looked like it had water damage, with some edges not correctly lining up with other parts of the page. Even as penny-pinching as she was, if Ochako owned something that damaged, then she would definitely replace it. There must be a reason he kept that book...

The bubbly teen stood there awkwardly as he sat down on the steps that led onto the beach. Not one to be doing nothing, she sat next to him and peered over his shoulder. Deku was quickly jotting down some notes for her training, as well as some possible things Ochako could do for quirk training. He paused, then grabbed the 'Class 1-A' tab in the notebook.

"Deku, you have a full tab on class 1-A?" Ochako said in astonishment. Was everyone really in there? She felt slightly guilty as he jerked with surprise. Apparently in the five minutes he had started writing notes, Midoriya had completely forgotten that she was right there.

"A-Ah, th-thats embarrassing… Y-yeah I take notes of people's quirks and techniques and note on improvements or how they could synergize with my own- i-in the case we ever have to team up in the future, I mean." He scratched the back of his head. Izuku turned back to the notebook and turned to Ochako's own 2 pages.

Apparently the more he hung around you the more things he picked up, even miscellaneous things, like favorite foods, blood type, and notable personality quirks. So while Ochako might get 2 pages, someone Midoriya didn't know as well, like Tooru or Shoji, would get half a page or a page depending if their quirks were complicated.

She inwardly-chucked a bit at seeing how All Might had his own tab. It was also interesting how at the front of the book, it only had few, lonely sounding tabs. 'Quirks around me' being a rather short tab, and 'Cool heroes.' being a few of them.

"Wow! You even have a section on combination quirks!" Uraraka said as she plopped down beside him.

As they started talking about quirks and how they could work in different situations, Ochako couldn't help but be astonished at how well thought up some of his scenarios are. For someone who was so socially timid, you wouldn't expect him to be so creative.

Their conversation only stopped as the sun started to set, interrupting their conversation when it became hard to see the notebook. Izuku apologize, "Sorry Uraraka, I kept rambling and now we don't have time to try out those exercises."

"It's fine. We have all week with no hero exercises, so we've got some time to recover. It is getting late, so I'll be going, Deku. Bye!" She said, waving behind her.

"W-Wait Uraraka!" Izuku said quickly grabbing her attention, "Meet here at 5 a.m.!"

"Eh?!"

-x-x-x-

Despite having nothing to do with her, Inko started getting up around the same time as Izuku to see him off. It was a little hard adjusting her schedule to meet it, and sometimes when she worked late night shifts she was unable to see him leave, but she always made an effort to at least say goodbye.

It was, however, unusual to see him make two bento boxes for his usual routine. She blinked, wiping her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing anything. She greeted Izuku and gave him a small hug before they both did their own things, before she couldn't help but ask him.

"Two boxes is a bit much even for a growing boy, don't you think Izuku?" Inko asked humorously. As per usual, he didn't seem to expect the comment. It was weird for the boy who usually was super conscious of what he was doing to be so absentminded. This was, in fact, a recurring pattern ever since he started training, and even more so when he joined UA.

This wasn't a bad thing, as ever since he started going he tended to look happier and his overall quality of life just seemed to improve. Something Inko was forever grateful for, as this meant her son finally got out of this shell

"A-Ah This is for a friend. We're going to be training ourselves over the recovery week that UA gave us from the Hero course." Izuku said, turning his attention to his mother, who froze.

Friend? "I-Izuku sweety, friends? You have friends?" Familiar tears started to grow in her eyes.

If literally anyone in my middle school heard that, they would have probably laughed. A small voice in Izuku's head echoed, briefly catching his attention before he shook his head. "I-I had friends before UA, Mom, I h-"

"Just because his Mom and I are friends doesn't mean Bakugo was your friend, Izuku." She interrupted with an stern look on her face. More times than not Izuku returned home with something from that kid, either a comment or a bruise, it didn't seem to matter.

"O-Okay Mom…" he sighed. They had been over that topic before, and at this rate he may run late. "Anyways my friend can be forgetful sometimes, but even if she remembers her foo-" Izuku started again before getting interrupted again.

"S-S-S-She?! Izuku honey I'm so proud of you, just remember that women are delicate and you need to treat them kindly and-" Inko started scrambling, grabbing his shoulders, squaring him up with her before fixing up how he looked with her quirk and hands.

Izuku started blushing, "A-ah it's not like that Mom! She would never be interested in someone like me. She just wanted me to help her become a better hero is all." Izuku started, believing he had fixed the situation.

Her look darkened. "So she's using you-"

"Mom," Izuku began, looking exasperated, "we're friends, and that's all! I-I have to go, or I'll be late. Bye!" He hugged her and made his way to the door.

Inko watched her son leave, her eyes bittersweet. As much as she was thankful for Izuku to finally have friends and get the life he deserved, she couldn't help but feel left out.

-x-x-x-

It had been a rather rough week for Ochako to start her new routine, as she was never a morning person to begin with. As the days ran by however the dark rings around her eyes started to fade as her body began adjusting to the sleep schedule. It was, much to Aizawa's ire, impacting her ability to properly pay attention in class as her teacher had to pull her aside to question the apparent lack of sleep.

After explaining the situation, Aizawa completely understood, going so far as to saying that a small dip in her grades would be temporarily be acceptable as long as she straightened out her sleeping schedule over the next couple of weeks.

It wasn't just Aizawa who noticed, however, as those who were tended to be observant noticed Ochako's new exhaustion, as well as the growing appetite she had during lunch. Being only the first week, her body hadn't shown any noticeable growth, but she felt less gravity on her while walking around after a few days.

Deciding that both Izuku and Ochako needed a break from the exercises before Hero courses began again, they lightened the schedule around days that didn't have Hero courses, information that Aizawa gave to them under the condition that they never share it with anyone.

Which showed a noticeable lack of assigned dates from a week from the current date. Upon being asked, their teacher told them to wait till the next day's class.

"The U.A. Sports Festival is coming up in two weeks. Now I'm sure all you have at least heard of it, but as first years, it's your job to show yourself to the Pro world and it is very important that you put your foot in the door. You will only get three tries at this. Am I clear?"

"Yes Sir!" they all responded, each with varying levels of enthusiasm, of course, the battle hungry were undeterred, but those who were more or less scarred from the USJ incident were hesitant.

"I'd recommend you prepare your mind and body for this upcoming event. There will be no hero courses the week prior to the event," he glanced at Midoriya, "and during that time the gym will be available for any to use."

"Any questions?"

-x-

"I s-should have known the Sports festival was coming up." Izuku rubbed his head thoughtfully. "I've been watching them since I was a little kid. It is a little surprising that they're continuing with it so close to USJ, though…" He said, still in thought.

They were still in the classroom, talking after class.

"As expected of UA! They won't let something as little as the USJ deter with their plans!" Iida said while adjusting his glasses.

"I don't know Iida, it's kind of scary. I mean, what if they do a sneak attack or something?" Ochako asked, placing her finger on her chin.

"I doubt it. In front of all those cameras? While it would be show-boaty, the last time they attacked us was to kill All Might. Even if they got a few of us, it wouldn't be long before the pro's show up and take care of it for us." Izuku paused, "Remember what that hand-villain guy said when the pro Heroes arrived? They obviously can't take all of the teachers by themselves." Izuku responded.

They never got the chance to respond as a commotion broke out at the entrance to the classroom. As per usual, Bakugo had made himself the center of attention. "Outta my way, extras! Your stupid scouting routine won't help you against me!" he said cockily, refering to the large group that had formed at the entrance. Of course the rest of U.A. would be interested in

"H-Hey! C'mon man! Are you trying to make all of us targets as well?" Ojirio said, trying to calm him down.

"Oh I don't mind. If they want to make me look better when I crush them, then go for it." A wicked smile grew on his face. Before suddenly dropping. "Now get out of my way."

Slowly a few of the people that were previously gathered around the door backed off. But rather than move forward. Bakugo stopped. Izuku moved over to see who it was. A peculiar person with purple hair hair and sunken eyes stood in front of the doorway, his eyes almost as condescending as Bakugo's.

"I expected more from 1-A. Survives a villain assault and half of you don't even look qualified, while the rest yowl like harmless cats." He shrugged. "I'm not here to judge you, despite your appearances. I'm here to declare 'war' on you, and hopefully take one of your seats. Let's hope that your bite is as strong as your bark." He scoffed, while walking away pretentiously.

Bakugo was surprisingly quiet as he watched him walk away, before scoffing.

Izuku looked at Uraraka and Iida. He didn't know Class 1-a had such a high bounty on their head. Apparently, they were jealous them their incident at the USJ, which only astonished Izuku. Aizawa, their… beloved… teacher, almost died.

It did give them pretty good exposure to the professional field, however, as well as decent experience in combat. "I don't remember him from class 1-B, so he is probably from either General studies or Support classes. … 'Take one of your seats'... what is that supposed to mean…?" he trailed off.

Maybe they should take this competition more seriously.

-x-x-x-

Ochako fidgeted. They were currently in the waiting room, ready to be called out onto the big stage. This was almost as bad as the time she had to appear on T.V. for UA's apology back before she joined the school. The aftermath with her parents was almost frightening as the backlash was both embarrassing and overwhelming.

That felt like ages ago at this point due to the tedious training Izuku was putting it through. The past two weeks were full of training for Izuku and Ochako as they carefully planned out their days in order to not overwork or stress themselves. The week before the festival was full of mental training and light workouts as it was impossible to properly prepare for the event.

This wasn't to say she didn't appreciate it. In fact she working out started becoming a stress release from homework or excess frustrations that came with thrift shopping and bartering. The fruits of her efforts started to show ever so slightly, as the physical strain of the Hero course became less and less evident.

That ember that had woken during Milkshake Deku's Darkest Hour had yet to be quelled, but she found that the motivation that came with it had driven her to new heights. She would no longer become a hero for herself, but for those around her.

...which is where her current dilemma came from. What if she was put against Deku? How could she face someone she owed for helping her so much? It didn't help that he quietly provided breakfast meals to her, acting like she didn't notice. Of course, being the penny-pincher, Ochako guiltily accepted the gifts, adding him to the "People I owe a lot too" list.

She shook her head, freeing herself from the thoughts. Deku was hopelessly lost in a conversation about heroics with Iida while they were still in the waiting lobby. She was about to walk over before someone bumped passed her, acting like she wasn't even there.

"Midoriya. Objectively, I believe I'm stronger than you." Todoroki said, his voice not condescending yet very confident. He narrowed his eyes. "But All Might has his eyes on you, doesn't he?"

Ochako watched Deku flinch slightly. A dark thought passed through her. That was a strange question, yet a stranger reactions.

"It doesn't matter. I'm going to defeat you." He stepped back, ready to sit back down. At this point, their tense conversation had silenced the others to pay attention.

Izuku didn't miss a beat. "O-Of course you're stronger than I am Todoroki. In fact, you may be the strongest and most capable here." He looked down at his hands, his eyes temporarily unfocused as he thought about it.

Kirishima, who had just been sitting right next to them, stood up. "H-Hey Midoriya-"

"But I can't afford to fall behind. Not now." He looked into Todoroki's eyes, determined. "So I'll win."

Something had changed between now and three weeks ago, where the normally shy boy would have never responded like that. The USJ really did change everyone. But Ochako thought different.

"Right." was all Todoroki said, his eyes meeting Izuku's. For the first time, maybe as something as an equal. Bakugo scowled at the sight.

Hesitation seemed to be her only obstacle as she watched Izuku challenge Todoroki, pushing himself to be better. Ochako bit her lip.

The tension dispersed when someone broke out in a whisper. While Ochako knew that Izuku was capable then most here, Todoroki was the top of the class, the 'cream of the crop' of their already strong class. For him to randomly challenge Izuku meant he saw him worth fighting, a worthy adversary. He rarely spoke, let alone challenge, anyone. Even the powerful and adaptive Bakugo wasn't worth the time.

The rosy-cheeked girl wasn't sure about her position among her classmates, but she did know that this tournament would cement their hierarchy

-x-x-x-

In.

Out.

Izuku calmed himself. Bakugo's almost ridiculous proclamation put everyone in class 1-A on edge, as if they needed more attention and pressure. Despite this, Midoriya was slightly grateful. This way he could rise to the challenge, bringing more eyes upon his visage. This entire event also represented his chance to show All Might and the world that he was worthy of inheriting the title of "Symbol of Peace," even if they didn't know it.

The green-haired hero was quite confident in his chances for the first competition. It was an obstacle course, so it would naturally be simple for him as his quirk was suited for such events. A simple run around the stadium. The biggest threat was the other competitors, assuming that they are able to keep up with him. Almost perfect, in fact as he didn't hardly had to consider the obstacles. He may not even-

Izuku's thought process stopped as he felt a hand tap his shoulder. The event was just about to start, seconds away, who would be trying to talk to him now?

"Oh? You're one of those guys from class 1-A. I haven't heard much about you, so you'll be a fine candidate." The figure said, sounding almost cocky.

"What ar-" and then, fog.

-x-

Todoroki knew something was up immediately. While he had not cared too much about the quirks of his classmates, it was hard to ignore something as peculiar as Midoriya's quirk. Teleportation and Strength were a very strange combination. Regardless, paying attention to how he started it, his plan was to freeze everyone at the start, minus those who got around it, and immediately freezing Midoriya who he predicted would teleport immediately past the crowd.

...Except he didn't. The green haired boy was pretty clever, but he didn't even see any signs of a plan or anything.

Which was disturbing. He continued on, casually noticing that Bakugo was catching up. Regardless he continued on, tipping the large robot with ease. Something was holding Midoriya up. For better or worse, Shouto could only guess.

-x-

Izuku felt barely conscious as his body moved for him. The forced movements themselves felt entirely normal, it was when he was trying to move against them that he felt like he was moving through thick mud.

What was this? He was obviously carrying someone… Who was it? Unfortunately he didn't have any eye focus as even his eyes were forced into position. This wasn't right. This wasn't fair! He needed to show the world that he was available!

He struggled, desperately trying to move his body out of the stuck position. He couldn't lose like this! This wasn't… a wave of frustration and unfairness washed over him. Maybe he should give up. That's what his body was telling him. He felt tired anyways…

"Deku?" He heard, a slight echo ringing in his ears. All the sound around him was muffled, but he heard that clearly. Deku… Useless. The name he had adopted from Kacchan. It had always meant useless. But… Someone changed it. Ochako, who was possibly his best friend, told him that she looked up to a person named Deku. Izuku giving up would be failing her expectation of the person named Deku. Even if 'Izuku' was to mean useless, he was going to make sure 'Deku' wasn't.

Resolve filtered back into his mind. This was no place to give up, not in this lucid, dream like state. He fidgeted, moving his fingers, that gripped the person he was carrying.

Evidently that surprised the boosted student.

Deku didn't have time to carry the competition. He struggled, desperately trying to drag his eyelids down. He just needed to get them closed… and

Blink. Immediately, his vision cleared, sound resumed, washing over Deku's muffled senses as he panted from the mental effort. He turned around to see the cause of his trial.

It had been the same kid who had declared war on class 1-A! Deku never got the name of him, but whatever quirk the purple-haired student had was a lot more serious than someone from the general studies would typically have. His sudden disappearance had apparently surprised the student to where he fell off the human 'horse,' that he created.

He moving, running to the next course. Apparently it was Ochako who had spotted him and called out in curiosity. Izuku knew he should thank her, but for now he needed back into first place.

He was far behind, several hundred meters behind first place. Izuku skid across the ground as he blinked acros parts of the casm. He was quickly catching up to both Todoroki and Bakugo, who were both crossing the minefield, trying to push each other onto one of the harmless traps. He could blink across it blindly and possibly fall onto a mine, but that as far to risky and would set him back too far. He was running out of time. Then he realized. He hated to do this but…

"Sorry!" he yelled at some poor student as he replaced himself with them. He really did feel bad for them, as they were closing in on finishing. He slowly stepped over the mines, waiting for his cooldown to finish. Todoroki and Bakugo were speeding up, desperately trying to make it past the end of the minefield.

Think! How can I catch up safely? If I replace one of them, they'll either obstruct my teleport or they'll wait til I am about to cross the finish line and then stop me! Deku grit his teeth, unsure. What if… He looked down at his feet. Pressure sensors… His eyes lit up.

-x-

"A close race between the two front runners, both the explosive Bakugo and the extreme temperature Todoroki! But who will pull out victorious?" All Might heard Present Mic's narrating ringing throughout the stadium, the crowd roaring in response. It was truly unfair for him to play favorites with his predecessor, but at this point it was almost worrying. It would-should have been immediately obvious who the favored was going to be in this race. For the first couple of minutes Toshinori was sure Young Midoriya simply had a plan in mind.

Until he finally spotted him crossing the pitfall at full speed, coming close to missing his chance at first place. Evidently, something had held him up, as he looked almost wild and desperate.

He snapped out of his thoughts as he was brought back to the screen. "...AND CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, IN ONE FELL SWOOP, MIDORIYA TAKES OUT THE COMPETITION AND MAKES HIS WAY FOR THE GOAL!" All Might huffed slightly. He supposed when you were dealing with someone who was faster than you could blink, you really can't lose focus.

-x-

Izuku bent down, carefully digging around a mine, placing his hands carefully on the side. It was obvious that even though the sensors received the pressure from the top, they could also explode through sheer force. Wrapping his fingers around the bottom, carefully holding it in place, he jumped towards another mine, and

Blink. He swiftly replaced Bakugo. While Bakugo was a hot head, he had chosen the right side of Todoroki carefully, considering the ice user's favored side, and picking the side that wouldn't be of any trouble.

Taking the mine that he had carefully teleported with him, he tossed it in Todoroki's direction as he sprinted forward. He had to move, even if the mine didn't hit as intended, all he needed was a few brief seconds of disruption as he continued.

"...AND CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, IN ONE FELL SWOOP, MIDORIYA TAKES OUT THE COMPETITION AND MAKES HIS WAY FOR THE GOAL! " Deku heard Present Mic's loud announcership from the stadium.

He had no time to turn and look as he heard loud, very loud, sounds of yelling behind him, which were evidently Bakugo and his explosions.

He cleared the line easily, placing first place.

Izuku- no, Deku, placed first. For once in his life, even if he was lucky with the course choice, won. I still have to thank Uraraka. He scolded himself. He shouldn't get cocky over one win.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Yay chapter. I felt uninspired for a while and felt that you guys would enjoy some of my creativity coming back into play.

As always,

Criticisms welcome,

-MLY