Mira chuckled as the Big three departed, grabbing her right shoulder and rolling it from the elbow, trying to get the numbness out of it.

Tamai shuddered, whimpering 'Too strong, too bright' softly.

"Hey, hey Tamai, did you see that?" Nejire cheered, skipping from one foot to the next, then floating in mid-air with a twirl. "They were stronger than most of our class, isn't that interesting?"

Mira laughed. "No wonder they asked us to show how much more they could grow."

Tamai didn't respond, the air around her growing gloomier. "I didn't fight at all."

"It's fine, its fine," Mira laughed, patting her on the back with heavy slaps. "I'm sure that only showed how much more they had to go- or somethin'.'"

Nejire giggled harder, throwing her hands up and floating higher. "Felt good to use my 100% after all this time- Ryukyu doesn't let me use it too much."

Mira tilted her head looking up at her friend. "Oh? Why's that? I thought you got to go all out in villain fights."

"Barely." Hado pouted, spinning in the air. "She says 100% is too much and I could kill the villains we go after, only when the villain pushes her to the brink do I have a 'go-ahead'."

Mira chuckled. "Well, hope you didn't break our underclassmen too much."

"Haha, me too! I wanna see if they can push me above 100% sometime!" Nejire cheered, landing on the ground with a giggle. "I wanna go plus-ultra too you know?"

Mira laughed. "Honestly? Me too."

She grew silent, recalling the last few seconds of the 'test'. She was doing every trick in Nighteye's book to land a solid hit on Izuku, but nothing connected.

The only other time that had happened was with Nighteye herself- even then, Madam was using her quirk, her eyes laser-focused on her target.

Izuku had managed to dodge without that level of focus or practice- and even landed a hit in, even if it wasn't full-contact.

Her Underclassmen of 1A were impressive.

"Now is it time for 1B?" Nejire muttered, some more cheer oozing into her voice, excited at the prospect

"Yeah, but Nozomi wants us to go a little softer on them. Something about one of them being too close to being unhinged?"

"Aww, but I was almost breaking a sweat," Nejire slumped, a pout forming on her face.

"We should get up from the ground already right?" Mina mumbled the rest of 1-A hissing in protest. "My everything hurts though."

Eiko grimaced then laughed in her spot embedded in the wall. "Wow- we all have a long way to go don't we?"

"Idiot!" Katsumi grumbled from her spot on top of Momo. "Did you really need this to show you that?"

"Can you get off me?" Momo mumbled gently, nursing a bump on her head softly. "and Katsumi is right, we were growing too content with the state we were in."

"Could it be…" Tomoyo mumbled, muffled but still audible from her own spot in the wall. "The exam was to show us how much more we could grow instead?"

"I guess that would make sense…" Ochako muttered, trying to get to her feet. "Sounds like a UA thing to do."

"Sounds like a Nozomi thing to do," Izuku clarified, letting his gauntlets fall off his arms and resting his limbs on the cold cement floor. "I can hear it now; 'logical ruse bitch ' as Aizawa gives us our grades next week."

The class chuckled lightly, ending with a few grunts of pain.

Doi blinked. "Wait so- we didn't fail the midterm physical?"

Kyoka poked Doi's thigh with one of her jacks. "Weren't you listening?"

"To be fair I was still in 'short circuit' mode- I think- why is the ceiling spinning?"

"Cause you got your ass beat Spark Plug-" Katsumi grumbled, then screamed, jumping to her feet. "That's enough laying around! Get the fuck up you weaklings!"

"Ow-" Jirou grumbled, getting up and holding one of her ears. "I'm in enough pain already you angry pomeranian, stop screaming."

"I do what I want!"

Izuku nursed the disappearing bruise on his chest, hissing lightly after peeling his hero costume off.

Guess the pressure of the wet-suit was helping with the pain?

"C͢o͉mpression ̰sh͕i͢rt͍s ̗a̠ren'̩t jṳst f̺or͎ s͎h͎ow y'k͇no̲w," Nana teased, giggling as his eyes lingered on his chest a bit longer. " W͓ell̤,̳ ̟the ̡s͟how͈ wa̯s g̜rea̰t e͚v̠e͇n wit̤hͅou̧t͓ ͕th̦e a̭ḍde̬d ben͎e̹fi͉ts~̭"

It should've been anxiety-inducing, having someone look at him that way, used to be anyway. But Nana was part of his brain too, and his brain relishing how his body looked actually felt good.

Silver linings.

Thinking of which…

He sat down, looking up to the ceiling and recalling the events of the fight.

Even after all the growing he had accomplished, there was still much more to do.

He looked down, clenching his fist with the power of One for All, watching the green sparks cascade down his arm.

Just 5% isn't enough. But I can't go any higher without risking a heart attack and internal hemorrhaging the moment I stop paying attention.

"Spre͓adi͇ng̣ ̪y̳our͈ a̤t̥tent̩io̞n̖ be̲tw̠e̩en ̥ṯhe͢ fightͅ a̮n̨d kee͚p̞ing you̖r͜ ̲hea͔rt͍ ͔in͈ ch̖e͍ck ̗w̡o̱uḽd̻ ̱slow͢ you d̤o̼w̗n ̰m̢or̬eͅ ͉t̠han h͙elp͚ yo̖ṳ ̻any͓w͟ay͚," Nana noted, rolling back in his head. " Y͙o̳ų ͕nee̱d t͎o ̯c̫om̝e ͔u̢p w̙ḭth ͈s̖omethinͅgͅ ̱el̬s̝e̩."

"B͢esi̪d̝ȩs͙, ̗rạw power ͙w̖o͓ul͎dn'̼t ha͖vḛ ͖h͎ẹl͓pe̝d wit͈h̙ ̩t̖h̠at̺ f̩iģh̻t.̖"

Izuku nodded, letting the sparks die out, leaning back on the bench. "I need to figure out a way to pass the 5% barrier… but till then- how can I grow more?"

" E̼xp̤er̻įenc͔eͅ?̬ Mirͅa's ͙s̖c̮ari̠e͙sṱ p̼o͇w͍er̤ w͢a͕s ̤tha̮t-̘ s̘he̼ cou̜l̬d͎ ͕read̪ ̬y̯o̞u̼r͉ m̻o̮vͅe͕s fast̺erͅ ͕t̺ha̞n̯ ͕yo̦u̳ c͔oṵl̥d do̟ th̦em̪," Nana chimed, an iota of pride in her voice. " Ho̙nestl͓y̹ i̯t̘'̩s͍ im̬p͇r̲e͈ssi͖v̨e͍ ͚tha͓t sh͎e ͇cou̱l̢d͎ e̤ve̦n̪ do ̠th̟at ̡w̱ḩen̝ y̯o̲u̳ ͇hͅav̜e̱ ͙Fl͖ọw and̲ ̗O̻n̰e͟ fo̥r ̞All̜ a̧t your̙ di͓s̫posal̩.͖"

"Big Three were never a joke," he muttered, getting up and starting to get dressed. "Wonder if there is enough footage of them to learn Mira's fighting style… reading my opponents to that level would…"

He blinked, looking down. So far the greatest issue with Local Environ was its charge-up time. It made it nigh impossible to use it in an all-out fight.

He touched his abs, feeling the sting again. He had managed to almost negate that with the help of Full Cowl, but it knocked him out of the state.

Still. If he could end the fight with Local Environ…

He would only need to get one, good, solid hit in- nothing could withstand One for All if it was a solid hit.

"Yo̙u ̙are̫ ̙t͔h̜ink̼i͟ng͉ ͍i͎n͕ çircl̘e̡s̲,̯" Nana huffed in his head, a phantom of a flick against his forehead creeping through his senses. " Ge̖t ͍t̼o tͅhe͇ p̬oi̧n͟t͙, ͅdo̡rk͖."

"A combination of Full Cowl and Local Environ... I need to be able to flow from one to the other the instant my opponent gives me an opening- pure speed wouldn't help with that, I need to be able to read my opponent and see the opening I need…"

" Mi͓ra̯'s ̳te͎c͚hn͈i͉que.̘" Nana finished, her smile echoing on his face " Or, or̲-̺"

"J͓ust ̣so̰me͇ ̙p͍o̲i̫n̰t̜ers̻ ̣fro̠m ̗a͍ ̦c̤e̝r͕t͟ain͈ som̳eon͖e.͟"

Izuku smirked. There was something raw and addictive about finding gaps in his fighting style and filling them in.

He had power, he had speed. Now he needed the technique to make it work.

Thank you Big Three, for showing our faults.

He closed his locker, picking up his backpack.

Next time- it won't be such a landslide. You can bet on it.

In Training Ground Beta, Mira shivered in the middle of a group of knocked out 1-B students, a smile blossoming in her face.

Feels like I've been challenged.

Katsumi let her hands crackle and pop with sparks, watching the sparks go off with impotence.

Nejire had much better control on her output than her; she could pull out the max in an instant whereas Katsumi wasted time on the charge-up, was that why she lost?

No. she gripped her fist, eyes full of fire. I lost cause of many- many low comings…

Her eyes were full of fire as her mouth split open with a smirk. But, I can see the heights now. The goalpost.

I can grow stronger.

Next to her, Shoko looked on with curiosity, watching the crackle of her hand, before looking at her own hand and letting some fire out at her fingertips.

She couldn't even put up a fight, nor assist anyone else to help with the one-sided massacre.

For the first time, she felt like she was falling behind in terms of power.

"Todoroki, please stop that before you set the sprinklers off" Tomoyo chirped softly, gesturing with a hand-chop.

Shoko nodded softly, noticing how the fire had grown in her hand, echoing the fire in her eyes.

For the first time, she wanted to be stronger. Reach the peak of her quirk. A dark part of her lamented how she had grown lax during Endeavors training.

Another part just laughed at the concept. Just cause she had slipped didn't mean she couldn't catch up- hell the prospect was making her excited.

A soft smile etched its way onto her face. She had never felt this way before-

U.A. was something else.

"You know…" Eiko mumbled, closing her locker, "I can't get that fight out of my mind."

"If you could call it that," Minerva mumbled, tugging at her thigh-highs- they were getting tighter than usual. "Massacre more like."

"That," Doi nodded along, "sounds closer to what happened."

"Either way- anyone else just- pumped up after it?" Eiko asked, looking around the room with sparkling eyes.

Mina giggled, leaning on her locker. "I know what you mean- they just took us down so easily-"

"We got so much more growing to do, don't we?"

Nozomi smirked, re-playing the feed of the fight, while also paying attention to the feed outside of the locker rooms where 1-A was filing out, most of the students looking more determined than ever.

Part of her growled with pride. She loved seeing that expression in humans, something more primal than anything else- something she could get behind with all of herself.

Something that rarely happened in the wild- but still a part of every living thing- hardcoded in their DNA from eons ago.

The urge to be better, to overcome the next obstacle, to go beyond what they were minutes ago.

That's what UA was built upon. 'Plus Ultra'.

And now 1A was shown a glimpse of what that really meant with the Big Three throwing their weight around.

It was a loss for sure. A pathetic one-

A loss any hero worth her salt would use as kindling to be better.

They had all passed their midterm physical with flying colors.

"Momo- you got a second?" Izuku chimed, walking faster to catch up to Momo and Kyoka exiting the changing rooms. "I've got a favor to ask."

"Oh?" The taller of the two women tilted her head with a smile. "What could that be?"

"..." Izuku squinted down on his girlfriend "...something is up- why are you acting coy?"

Jirou looked between the two, smiled, and walked off, waving her hand behind her at them. "Have fun you two."

"...You know what I'm gonna ask already don't you?" Izuku mumbled, flushing a bit. "To be fair, I probably should've asked sooner- right?"

"Hmmmm…" Momo winked up at him, patting him on the shoulder. "Maybe so- but you were still getting to terms with other stuff, right? I think this is a great spot to train- but first."

She blushed shyly, bashfully- in a way that got his heart to skip a few beats. "If I'm going to tutor you in that, I want something in return."

"Wo͉w-̠ ͟ḏi͚dn̟'t̟ s͇ee̦ ẖẹr ̥b̦e̥ing̭ self͕ish…" Nana mumbled, but a smirk was evident in her voice- she didn't mean it.

"...You know I'd do whatever you say even without it 'being' for the training, right?" Izuku clarified, scratching his cheek.

"It's more exciting this way," Momo cooed, cupping his hand and cheek with her own hand. "So, you ok with doing something for the pointers?"

Izuku laughed, leaning into her hand. "Sure, anything ."

"Big Three…" Ibara mumbled, nursing some of her own bruises with a hiss "surely archangels sent down to test our skills"

"...no. I think they were just students like us," Makaira mumbled, ignored by most of the class.

"Do you think 1-A beat them?" TetsuTetsu mumbled, brushing pieces of debris out of her hair.

"..." Kendo huffed, crouching on the ground for a few seconds before rising back up with a sigh. "We are gonna get compared to them even after this aren't we?"

"We are better than them. They are being compared to us." Monoma wheezed, from her spot on the floor. Mira hadn't taken kindly on her attempts to copy her quirk.

"No we aren't." Setsuna sneered, closing her locker with more force than she needed to. "Not yet ."

That brought up a stillness to the class, students silently looking at each other, something new bubbling up in them.

They were going to surpass 1-A. And the Big Three.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Katsumi sneered, squinting up at her boyfriend "doing that? After that fight? Don't you wanna get stronger already? Why are you taking a break?"

"Cause, Momo wants one if she is gonna give me pointers on Nighteye's technique- you saw how dangerous that made Togata-"

"Not really, I was knocked out cold by Spiral- remember?" Katsumi huffed, crossing her arms with a pout that turned to a smirk "Fine then. Waste your time, I'll be waiting for you on the top."

Izuku laughed, leaning down and giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Let's see who gets there first then, huh?"

"Wait, so does that mean we won't get to sleep together tonight?" Mei whined, kicking her legs on the common room couch, "That sucks."

"We'll have tomorrow," Izuku responded, ruffling her hair "you can sleep in my room still though, I'll wake you up in the morning"

"If it's not with a kiss, I'll set my baby after you." Mei teased playfully, Mecha Might hissing with malice behind Izuku in an instant.

He didn't even look back. "Where are Mina and Ochako? By the way?"

Katsumi laughed "Training together, Angel-Face noticed Raccoon-Eyes' moves would help her in combat. I would do the same if I was you but you wanna go on a Romantic date. "

She thanked the heavens that her urge to get stronger was more intense than her envy, she really didn't wanna show it.

"Oh my-" Momo mumbled, opening her door and taking a good look at her visitor. "I didn't know you had clothes like that," she teased, blushing a bit and focusing a little too heavily on his arms and chest, before looking back up at the man himself with a small smile.

Izuku sweated a bit, feeling uncomfortable in the formal clothes.

From what he remembered when he checked the mirror out, the light gray dress shirt he was wearing was a little tight around his arms and shoulders, the buttons straining if he rose his shoulders even slightly. At least the black pants he was wearing were looser than his school pants.

And he hoped the tie was tied well enough.

Why didn't I just wear my school shirt anyway? That one is looser than this…

"Cau̟se̩ youͅ wan̢na̱ ̡sḩo͕ẉ o̞f̰f̟ t̪o yo̥ur gi͚rl͚f̲r͙iend,͉ ̨tal͍k̻iṉg͚ oͅf̭ ͟wh͕i͓ch…" Nana whistled

He sighed, taking a look at her.

He blinked, trying to make sure he wasn't still in the gym hallucinating after Nejire gave him too much of a concussion.

Momo's hair was set loose, cascading down her shoulders like a black waterfall, framing her face beautifully and contrasting her crimson lipstick that matched her dress-

That dress was cheating to be sure.

It was an elegantly cut, shoulderless dress that started around her neck and went down to her calves with a slit on the side giving him just a hint of her long legs. It was downright immoral how well it hugged her form, the added wavy fabric pulling his eyes to her bust no matter how hard he tried to look away.

"Well- what do you think?" she asked sweetly, tilting her head. "Hope I didn't go too all out-"

"..." He shook his head, trying to put his mind back together. "Sorry, what was that?"

She giggled, turning her back to him and beaconing him in. "I'll take that as a compliment then, come love- I don't want to miss the sunset."

He blinked, eyes gravitating towards the back window her dress had, and how well it hugged her a-

Down boy. He hissed to himself, much to Nana's amusement, turning sideways to fit the tray of food he was carrying through the doorway and to the balcony.

It was cozy, to say the least, a small table with two chairs, silverware shining brightly in the near-dusk darkness by the lit candle in the middle.

"...Wow," he mumbled, setting the tray against the stand on the balcony wall, looking at the slice of luxury Momo had built in her room.

Honestly, it looked like a part of a high-class restaurant transposed into the balcony of the dorms.

"Sorry," she smiled, blushing and avoiding his eyes. "I wanted this to be perfect…"

"With you… it's sure to be," Izuku reassured, smiling softly back at her. "Let's eat?"

He proposed the question while lifting the lid on the tray he had been carrying, revealing its contents for her to see.

For a moment, Momo was taken aback by the sheer amount of food on the tray, not to mention its contents.

Instead of a more traditional Japanese fare, it was more Italian than anything else. A platter of some sort of green sauced pasta, layered with cheese and heavy with herbs rested next to sliced open loaf of bread with a beautifully golden color and the smell of butter and garlic.

Breaded chicken was sitting in a red sauce, and sat next to a chilled bottle of lemonade. It was thick, hearty, and savory, and Momo could even see why Izuku chose it.

With her heightened metabolism, and his own hunger and diet, this would be a very satisfying meal.

By the time they finished the small dinner, the stars were covering the night sky, both taking a moment to look up and watch the twinkling lights far above.

"You know…" Momo started, taking a sip of her drink "...I never imagined UA would be like this."

Izuku chuckled, resisting the urge to pop one of the buttons on his shirt- the tightness was growing to be annoying. "I know- I didn't either…"

"Oh? You didn't think you would have- four girlfriends? Or is it five now?" She teased, an elegant smile spreading on her face.

She had gotten much bolder since the training with Nighteye. Sultry, assertive Momo wasn't something he was used to-

It just made him love her more.

Her foot poked his knee. "Izuku- did I say something wrong?"

"No- no… just lost in thought," he mumbled, resting his head on his palm, looking deep into her eyes, blushing slightly. "What did you ask?"

"Dork," she breathed out, following his lead and resting her head on her hand too, looking at him intently, "...Why do you want to be a hero?"

He was taken aback by the question, brows furrowing in thought. "...It's-" he sighed with a smile. "It's been a while since I thought about that- not since that day with Ochako on the roof…"

Momo didn't interrupt, only smiling softly, hanging onto every word he uttered.

"Honestly, it's not that profound. Little me would've been confused at the question-"

Momo blushed at the image of a toddler Izuku, his hair darker than his fathe-

Bad Momo, that comes later.

"From the moment I knew- well, myself really, I wanted to make people smile. The gallant, carefree smile that one can only do when they feel safe," he mumbled, eyes drifting from her to the sky, as if imagining a world where he had already accomplished it. "The same smile All Might gave to people, with her own reassuring one. I wanted to be her- or rather be like her."

She glimpsed him take in a heavy breath, one hand resting on his chest, right above his heart.

"Even as a kid- all I wanted to do was to protect people, like All Might. But all I could do was to get protected. I know you probably can't imagine it, but Kacchan spent most of our early childhood protecting me." He laughed a grim laugh. "Maybe- I held a grudge over that… thoughts for later-" he mumbled, cutting the tangent before it led too far away. "But yeah, I just wanted to be a source of happiness, of safety- not one of worry."

He blinked, brows furrowing for a second. "Wow, when I say it like that- I've been failing that for a long while now, haven't I?"

Momo smiled, running a finger on the brim of her glass. "Well, to be fair, we have been through a lot. And All Might took how long to be what she is?"

"I know, I know," he chuckled, resisting the urge to run a hand on his head. If she read that twitch right. "But, what about you?"

"Why do you wanna be a hero?"

She blinked, her finger stopping its circle on the brim.

Why do I want to be a hero?

"...It's funny" she breathed out, looking up to the skies "It feels like I spent so much time thinking about how I wasn't cut out to be a hero that I feel like I forgot why I wanted to be a hero."

Izuku's face soured but had a certain light in it that she couldn't ignore. He wasn't judging, just worried about…

Her losing sight of her goal, maybe?

It was just like him to do that. The reason why she loved him...

"Don't worry, Izuku," she smiled, continuing the movements of her hand. "I said 'feel' for a reason."

He laughed, leaning back and relaxing. "Don't mess with me like that, I was getting worried"

She laughed along, a blush creeping to her face. He looked so handsome in the candlelight.

Then again, she struggled to find a moment where she didn't find him to be handsome.

"...If it was left up to my parents, I would've been in the business course of U.A.- nothing against them, of course. They supported me from the ground up after I relayed them what I wanted." She sighed, then placed her hand on an empty spot on the table, slowly lifting it up to reveal a matryoshka doll. "Do you know the first thing that came to my mind when my quirk manifested?"

Izuku pondered for a moment. " 'Geez this is going to be tough to master.' "

She laughed a genuine laugh, almost tearing in the eyes.

For a moment she came to terms with how- perfect it would be to finish the night off by closing that last gap between them.

Yes… just like in the books...

She didn't fight the hungry smile that slowly built up on her face "That was the second thought. First was how useful this would be for hero work. How many lives I could save."

"...Wow" He mumbled, looking at the matryoshka doll, then to her. "You-"

He cut himself off with a chuckle "No, no. of course not."

She tilted her head, unable to read him even with Madam's training. "What?"

"No no, it wasn't important-"

"No, no- I'm curious now," Momo mumbled, smiling with an edge. "What did you mean?"

I can't ask her that- that's offensi-

"Izuku…" she breathed with a pout, her foot poking his knee again. "Ask it. I won't be offended."

"I- uh…" he relented, slouching in his chair. "I was about to ask if you were doing all of this, just cause of your quirk."

He itched his forehead. "Like it would've been a waste for you not to be a hero with a quirk like yours."

Momo paused.

A/N: Smut goes here on the Ao3 version, just search 'total command Epsilon110' It should show up there

And before you comment, yes I know I could post it here, but its still against the rules according to the terms of service of FFN, so tough titties

and while I have you all here- no I didn't nerf Izuku. Mira's just that powerful, have you forgotten the shit she did in the overhaul arc?

And another thing, TC Izuku's 5% is closer to canon Izuku's 20%- TCzuku can generate Air-pressure attacks, I thought that would've tipped it enough about how much power he had

guess not?

on with the rest

Izuku groaned as daylight hit him, bringing him out of the hard-earned slumber.

"What time is it?" he grumbled to no one in particular, rolling over and snuggling closer to the woman sleeping next to him.

Momo giggled, hugging him closer and dropping the book she was reading. "Time to get up, love"

He laughed, enjoying the new nick-name he'd gotten. "You're right. Wouldn't want Mecha Might knocking our door down."

"He wouldn't do that, " Momo cooed, snuggling against him a bit deeper. "At least I hope not."

"Worth to chance it for snuggling a little bit longer?" he mumbled, opening an eye.

"...No, this bed feels too… empty to be comfortable." Momo added with a look that made his heart melt.

He was the luckiest man alive, and maybe even dead.

Mei moaned into a kiss before she knew what was going on, waking up to the lips of her loving boyfriend on hers, and Momo in his arms

"Mind if we crash here? The other bed felt empty." Momo mumbled, tugging Izuku's shirt closed around her.

"Like you need to ask," she mumbled with a manic smile, rolling over and giving some space to the two. "How was it?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," Izuku mumbled, laying Momo down then sliding into bed himself "Feels weird."

Mei huffed. "If you saaaay so." Then nuzzled his chest. "Would've been good data."

"Data for what?" Momo asked, smiling on the other side of him.

"You know- now atleast," the pinkette shot back with a smile. "Bet it felt great~"

"Yeah," Momo whispered under her breath, smiling a bit. "Gonna savor that one for a while"

Mei giggled, running her finger between Izuku's chest muscles. "You're covered in lipstick, arent you bothered by it getting on the sheets?"

"Were you bothered by the oil you brought back?" he shot back with a smile. "I'll just have to use the 'plus ultra' setting you added to the washing machines".

"And hope they don't blow up again," Momo added with a smirk.

Izuku blinked and looked at the ceiling of his room. "You okay with telling me the hints now, Momo?"

"It won't stick unless I show you on the training grounds. It's hard to visualize," she added, rolling to look up too.

"Wanna go now?"

"Five more minutes."