Chapter 1

Aizawa brought his hand down on the pile of forms sat beside him on the desk. The sound reverberated round the classroom and focused attention where his hand had fallen.

"Finally, as you will already know, UA will be hosting its' annual open day and social at the end of the month." drawled Class 1A's teacher. "Here you will find the necessary forms that will need to be signed by your parents if they wish to attend. Each student will be allowed to invite two people; no more. The deadline for these forms is a week before the event itself, but I hate last minute paperwork. So I know noone will give me their forms later than the end of next week"

He surveyed the classroom, daring his students to contradict his factoid.

"Mr. Aizawa Sir! I will take it upon myself to ensure Class 1A is prompt and on time with its forms!" Ilda stood up, chopping in his own distinctive way to make the point. "UA expects no less care to be shown on administration than in heroics classes!"

Deku heard Bakugou mutter something less than complimentary under his breath from the desk in front of him about their class representative as Aizawa nodded in approval.

"Good. Just make sure to at least give me their pictures by that time. We will need them for the Guest ID passes." Aizawa eyed his class up. "And besides, if I am expected to speak to your families I would like to know who is who beforehand."

Deku knew that UA annually hosted these open days for the families of the student body. It gave the families a chance to look around the facilities, meet and speak to the teachers and to voice any specific concerns or queries they had. The latter would be carried out in a Q&A coffee session with Principal Nedzu himself. From conversations he had had with Mirio, Deku understood from the older hero in training that the Principal enjoyed these sessions and getting to speak to his students parents. This year, Deku expected the scrutiny would be a bit heavier than what Nedzu and UA had previously come to expect. The public was increasingly sceptical about the schools programme and security and so Deku wondered whether the Principal would find the event as enjoyable this year.

The day would be followed in the evening by a Barbeque, which historically had been run by Ectoplasm . That made sense to Deku; who better to cook for so many people than a chef who could clone himself. Deku had mentioned it to All Might in the last week and his teacher had chuckled and let him know that he was in for a treat.

"When I was in America, I had a lot of good Barbeques" his mentor had said. "But your teacher has a real knack for it. Many hands make light work!"

The Barbeque would be accompanied by music and fireworks in the evening. A talent show was also due to take place, although Deku would not be taking part. Just the thought of standing up in front of so many people and doing anything made him sweat and blush. No way. Besides, he didn't even have a talent, unless you counted finding trouble...or breaking bones...or observi-

"Midoriya! Are you listening to me?" His teachers sudden interjection made him sit up sharply, his train of thought broken.

"S-Sir!?" He stuttered out, the eyes of some of his classmates on him.

"I said, if you wish to volunteer to help run the event that you should speak to me before the end of the week." Aizawa drawled again for the green haired boys benefit.

"Yes, thank you Sir!"

"Good. Class dismissed." At that he gathered up his sleeping bag and curled up into his usual spot as the classroom began to empty. His classmates began to gather up their things and leave the room, grabbing a form each as they left.

Deku looked over the forms quickly, two duplicate forms with a series of questions that would be used to security vet the visitors. Many of them were the same as the ones he had answered on his school joiner forms when he had joined the school. He would pass a copy off to his mother next time he saw her. She had been up to the school a few times but had not really had a chance to ever look around. Deep down he knew she would likely ask the Principal and his teachers many a nervous question about his safety. She had gradually grown increasingly concerned about his attendance at UA following his increasingly severe injuries. The spike in villain attacks against the students and the violence of such attacks had also not helped her mindset. All Might had convinced her to allow him to continue and for that he was eternally grateful to him. Yet he knew the number 1 hero could never alleviate in full the worry his mother felt. He doubted even a hundred All Mights could. He hoped however she could find some solace from seeing the place he spent most of his time and interacting with the faculty that taught and defended them.

"Hey Deku!" As he made his way down the hall, he turned to see a familiar brown bob of hair and a beaming face. "This Open Day should be pretty fun huh. My parents are really looking forward to it. How about your mum?"

"O-Oh yeah! I think she'll want to go for sure Uraraka!" His friend raised an eyebrow.

"You haven't told her about it yet? I told my parents last month and they've been planning ever since! Its the talk of the neighborhood apparently; the Uraraka family all at UA together. My dad has been planning on making his world-famous potato salad for the barbeque. I've been negotiating with the girls to make sure none of their dads does the same. Wouldn't want them being showed up!" She said, playfully winking at the last part which made Deku laugh.

"Ha-ha, yeah. I just never got round to it. I'll be sure to mention it to her next time we speak." Deku rubbed the back of his head as he explained. "It will be good to meet your family Uraraka. I'm sure they're as nice as you."

"Oh man!" As he finished his sentence, Deku snapped his mouth shut thinly and his eyes widened. His face turning red. Had he really just said he was looking forward to meeting her family? Too personal!

He glanced over at Uraraka who had also turned a slight shade of pink and had snapped her head down to look away from his face.

"W-what I mean is I t-think as a-a-a friend it would be g-good and that a-a-as a good f-f-f-riend they will be n-nice like you are to me, and I mean, it w-would be interesting to see y-your f-family and w-where you came from. Not that I-I-I think there is anyt-thing unusual about you in that w-waaaay, you might have just a n-normal boring family, BUT NOT TOO B-B-BORING! I'm sure they are n-n-nice people and perfectly ordinary and n-not special or dull, just ordinary and n-nice. A-A-Although that sounds pretty b-bad sorry!" The green haired boy mumbled in embarrassment , rubbing he back of his head vigorously as his friend tried to not look him in the face.

"Thats ok Deku!" Uraraka said suddenly and sharply, as if to limit the noise she could make and hide her embarrassment. "I'm sure it will be nice to meet your family too. I've heard so much about your mum. And it will be cool to meet your dad too."

As his friends words left her mouth, Deku stopped in his tracks. His eyebrows knitting together in thought. Huh. He had forgotten he had a second invite. Guess that was wasted on him. He wondered if he could give it to somebody else. Maybe Todoroki could use his to help bring his brother, sister and mum; he didn't think it likely Endeavour would come as he was already familiar with he school. Plus he wasn't sure if Todoroki wanted to invite him anyway. Yeah, he'd have a word with him later.

"Are you ok?" Urarakas' voice broke him out of his thoughts. His friend a few steps ahead of him, looking back with a mild expression of concern on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine thanks" He smiled back. "I'm sure my mum will be glad to meet you too."

"Just your mum? I hope I'm not too annoying for your dad then!" They both laughed, although Deku more nervously.

"No, he won't be coming." Deku stated plainly with a sheepish grin. "I just lived with mum before we moved into the dorms. Dad works overseas or something."

"Ah right, that's' a shame." Uraraka stated softly, although she perked up quickly enough. "There might be time for him to come back if you let him know the events at the end of the month though."

"It's fine Uraraka" He said plainly, turning to look ahead and away from her.

"Ok then." His friend looked over at him with a concerned look "I'm sorry if I said something that-"

"I said It's fine." Deku said, more firmly than he had intended.

Uraraka blinked at the finality of her friends statement. Deku suddenly felt a little bad at how sharp his reply had sounded.

"Sorry Uraraka. Don't worry about it ok?" He smiled reassuringly, very aware of himself all of a sudden.

"Ok Deku...well...anyway it will be good to see your mum" She smiled softly, which he returned, happy she had dropped the topic. It wasn't that he harboured any resentment to his dad, no he knew he had a tough job overseas. It just, didn't feel right to talk about him. He made a note to ask his mum if he'd sent any emails recently. He couldn't remember the last time he'd even asked. Though his mum would surely have told him if so. Same as usual then.

They walked in a comfortable silence for a little longer.

"Sooooo..." Uraraka turned to eye him as they walked with a glint in her eye. "Are you gonna enter the talent show?"

"What!? No way! I don't have any talents!" Deku suddenly flustered again as his friend giggled at his reaction.

"But I can see it now." She held her hand sout dramatically as if introducing a circus act and put on a deeper voice. "Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls! Introducing for your entertainment, one night only; the Amazing Deku! "

"And what does the "Amazing Deku" do?" raising his fingers to make air quotes around his new show name.

"I hadn't got that far yet!" the two laughed. "But I was considering entering. Jirou told me today shes decided to take part. She's going to play some of her own songs on guitar."

"That's so cool!" Smiled Deku at the thought of his friend performing. So far a few people had asked to take part. Hagakure was going to perform some magic with Ashido. Although from the bickering he had heard over the last few days between them they had not decided who would be the glamorous assistant and who the magician. Yaoyoruzu was going to tap dance, Shoji was going to juggle (which, knowing how many arms he could grow should be pretty cool), Sero was going to perform "Extreme Yo-Yoing" and Kaminari had volunteered to everybody's unending amusement to perform standup comedy (Jirou had promised to do whatever it took to sit front and center to heckle). Ilda had volunteered to help organise the event overall and was taking it very seriously. To their friend it was as much an exhibition of their class and UAs future Alumni as it was entertainment for the teachers, students and family in attendance. Class 1B were taking part too although he didn't really know who was entering on account of the fact he didn't see them too often.

"I was thinking it might be fun to enter myself actually!" Uraraka smiled nervously.

"What were you thinking of doing?"

"Umm...well...this might sound a bit silly but I was thinking of doing a Gunhead Martial Arts display?" For effect she punched forward, almost as much to give herself confidence in the idea as for effect.

"No that sounds really cool actually!" Midoriya stroked his chin. "Gunhead is a great combat hero. Seeing a demonstration of his self-designed fighting style by one of his students would be informative. Plus you are one of the best melee fighters in our class"

She waved her hands in front of her face in embarrassment. "Ahh Deku, I'm not really a full student of his! I just learnt a bit on my internship and kept up the practice in my spare time! Thanks for the compliment though!"

Deku grinned , pinking again slightly at her acceptance of his praise. "No problem. But yeah I think it sounds like a good idea."

Uraraka nodded with confidence, buoyed by her best friends support. "Ok. I'll do it! But I need one more thing!"

"What's that?"

His friend stopped and turned to him. He shivered at the look on her face. "An Opponent"

Deku blinked, not liking where this was going. And pointed at his chest gormlessly. "Me?"

Uraraka nodded. "I can't show off Gunhead Martial Arts without somebody to fight, well, spar with."

She clasped her hands together. "Please! I'll even show you some moves. You can win one or two of the rounds on the night too!"

Deku began to turn red again. The thought of standing in front of all those people and performing!? Oh man. Although, on the plus side he wouldn't be alone. He'd be with his best friend and she would be leading anyway. They'd have to practice before though if he was to be any use he expected so they'd have to make time together after class. It could be fun. On the other hand he imagined it would involve her throwing him around alot. Taking blows from her. Being wrapped in holds by her.

Deku suddenly felt quite warm despite the cool breeze that caressed his face as they stood outside.

"Ummmm...Thank you for asking me Uraraka...uh...I'm not sure I'll add much though" He stuttered out.

"Please Deku! I need a partner to perform!"

"Whatabout Iida? Or Tsuyu?"

Urarakas' sighed "Well i guess I could ask them. But...I thought it might be fun if we did it together. I mean you've sparred with me before and its' nothing serious."

Dekus' eyes widened. "Oh...I'm Sorry Uraraka. I just, I get a bit nervous at the thought of being in front of so many people. Especially my mum. Remember how awkward I was when I was elected class rep?"

The brown haired girl laughed at the memory. "Yeah you looked pretty horrified!"

Deku laughed along, wondering yet again how on earth he had managed to be elected.

"I'll...I'll think about it." He conceded. Uraraka smiled broadly.

"Thanks Deku. Let me know as soon as you have made a decision!"

"I will." Sighed Deku, wondering what he might be letting himself into. He might not have said yes but he was pretty sure he had been volunteered all the same by his friend into her act. And to be honest, while his stage fright freaked him out, having Uraraka beside him made the idea alot worse. It was only a bit of fun afterall, right?

Deku climbed into bed and took out his phone. The light illuminating his upper body which sat propped up by his pillow in an otherwise inky black room. The only other light seeping under his door from the hallway forming a narrow yellow band.

He often sat on his phone, like most teenagers before he went to sleep. He was sure it was a bad habit and he had regretted getting lost in social media and various articles many a time during one of Aizawas pop quizzes. Tonight he was looking at a series of articles that Uraraka had sent him on Gunhead. After their talk earlier that day, she had sent him some material to "get him in the mood". He smiled at her enthusiasm as well as her ability to understand what made him tick. She knew that the best way to get him involved was to make him invested. And the best way to do that was to give him information. Some of the articles were interviews with Gunhead and they gave insight into how he had adjusted existing martial arts into his new style, as well as how he had modified said style to make it more universal to those who didn't share his unique quirk. What was especially interesting was how that knowledge shed light on why his hero agency was so open with internships; the process was two way. It allowed Gunhead to continually adjust his style, whilst retaining the core proficiencies through the input of fresh new students with multiple new quirks. On the other hand it also gave the new interns a knowledge of self-defence that didn't need a quirk to be effective and could be especially useful for inexperienced new heroes when they graduated.

Deku had taken the bait in other words.

As he sat reading another article on the history of his dojo, he noticed he had an unread message in his messenger app. He must have missed it during the day he thought as he opened it up to see it was from his mum.

Mum: Hi Izuku. I hope you are doing well dear. When you are next home we have something we should talk about. You aren't in trouble. If you can come home this weekend that would be best. Please don't worry though. Love Mum xxx

Deku sat there staring at the screen intently, as if willing it to give up its secrets. It had been sent alot earlier in the day and looking at the time, he expected his mum would be asleep now anyway so he didn't want to wake her potentially by texting back now.'Something we should talk about'? What did that mean. Was she ok? It was true he hadn't seen her as often as maybe he should have since he had moved away. Or maybe she was having second thoughts about his attendance at school? She had taken some heavy convincing before she had relented to allowing him to stay at UA. He felt his chest tighten and felt the familiar nervousness that he had never found the strength to leave behind, despite all the progress he had made since middle school.

He told himself to focus on the last part. His mum had told him not to worry. But didn't people always say that when there was something worth worrying about? And she had specifically asked him to come home. Whatever this was, it had to be quite sever for it to require a face to face conversation. But if it was so sever to warrant him coming home, why had she only sent a text? He checked his phone records; no missed calls from his mum.

He frowned. Not too urgent then, but time must play some sort of factor if she wanted to see him this weekend.

He decided he would call her tomorrow. Have a quick chat to work out what he was being asked to come home to. He took a deep breath. It was probably nothing. His mum got emotional, like him. Maybe she was thinking of getting a pet to keep her company and wanted his help picking. Or maybe she was thinking of starting work again.

Or maybe, said the voice in the back of his head, she wants to take you away from your dream again. He knocked the front his forehead lightlly with the back of his hand as he clutched his phone, suddenly ashamed at the unbidden dark thought. He quickly put the phone away and threw his sheets over him to go to sleep, which was slow to come.

Once a week, Deku and All Might would go for lunch. All Might was always available to speak to Deku as often as possible during school hours, but he liked to keep an eye on his protégé from a personal perspective as well. Their meals were a chance to sit down and talk about anything other than school; the Number 1 Hero had a no-school-work policy for their meals. As much as he admired Young Midoriyas' work ethic, he also knew it could be his Achilles heel. The boy struggled to switch off at times and long term it would burn him out, All Might had seen it happen too many times to otherwise talented heroes. It was a brutal profession that would chew you up and spit you out if you let it. He therefore wanted to imprint on his student as early as possible the need to take some time to breath and relax. Thankfully, he had a wide circle of friends in the class and seemed (mostly) able to do so. In a sense then he knew the lunches purpose was obsolete, but All Might simply enjoyed the boys company. He had grown to care about him and his development, not just academically, but as a person. He had been proud to watch him rise up from the meek boy he had first met to the brave young man he was becoming.

Today the pair were sat in a booth of a local American style diner. A pair of burger meals sat in front of the pair. The red and white decorated diner reminded him of his time training in the USA. He remembered coming to a diner similar to this with his old ally David Shield. He wondered absent mindedly whether it was still open? They had made a mean Sloppy Joe. He considered that he would go back if he was ever in the neighborhood, although he wasn't sure what a retired old skeleton like him would be doing all the way in America nowadays. Maybe he was a due a vacation one of these days though. Young Midoriya might enjoy accompanying him. He would bring it up with him and the boys mother one of these days.

"So my boy, what do you have planned this weekend?" The hero asked warmly before taking a bite of his cheeseburger, letting out a grunt of approval as the taste filled his mouth.

Midoriya held onto his burger short of taking a bite. "Oh, well, I'm going home to see my mum tomorrow after classes finish. It's been a few weekends since I saw her. Though I still speak to her over the phone every other day or so."

Midoriya took the first bite of his burger as All Might nodded in approval. "Yes, that sounds most pleasant. Do tell your mother I send my regards."

Midoriya nodded in acknowledgement as he continued chewing his meal. "I will All Might. What about you? Are you doing anything with your weekend?"

"Me? Oh, nothing exciting. Detective Tsukauchi has sent me some current cases to look over. I'm acting as a consultant these days for the Police. It's not much but it's a way I can continue to help."

"That sounds interesting."

"Sound interesting is how Tsukauchi got me involved with it" All Might joked before taking another bite of his meal. "Most of the actual work has been done. I'm just looking for any obvious errors or angles that might have been missed. I have time to be thorough nowadays."

All Might knew the work would maybe take him a few hours tops and would most likely finish his response by lunchtime on Saturday. In truth, his days had grown increasingly empty now that he was retired. His work at the school absorbed his time during the week and normally for other teachers there was always paperwork and marking to do. All Might however had too much free time these days, he had gone from being one of the worst for having their paperwork in order and on time to the best. Boredom had made him a punctual paper perfectionist, something Present Mic had jested about in the teachers lounge. In reality he would likely spend the day watching television or reading. He had used to enjoy solitary walks before his true form was exposed to the world. Those days of anonymity were rapidly vanishing as more and more people began to recognize him and those once enjoyable strolls had become increasingly crowded unless he planned his routes away from more public areas.

"Oh, uh anything else though?" Midoriya's questioning look badly hid a look of sympathy at his teachers situation. His analytical nature allowing him to read between the lines.

"Well, not per say" The older man adjusting in his seat slightly. The line of questioning making him uncomfortably aware of his shrinking list of hobbies. "Mmm. I may call Melissa to see how she and her father are doing. Hmmmm...On the subject of her father, I must tell you a story from my early days in America!"

The older man told his story to his pupil who listened with a happy smile on his face. He was convinced as he got halfway through that he had told the story before. He kicked himself for the repetition and wasn't sure if Midoriya was being polite in reacting so positively to his tale or whether he was genuine in his reactions. Still, it was nice to relive the event and it was nice for Midoriya to allow him that. The longer he was retired, the longer he began to realise that his old memories were all he would have left. It was up to the boy in front of him to make new history.

The task was immense and by rights, the boy was too young; far younger than he had been when his mentor had fallen. But All Might had vowed to do everything he could to help him bear the weight and stop it from breaking the boy in two.

As the boy continued to smile across from him his mind swam to the dark forces arrayed around him, that were determined to snuff out his young life and destroy the world as it existed, whatever the cost. He thought of the encouragement from the people he had received whilst last fighting his nemesis, a tidal wave of support in fact...but also of expectation. Expectation of success, expectation that would soon rest on a teenage boys shoulders. Izuku Midoriya was worthy of All for One, more so than anyone else he had met...but privately he had begun to resent that fact, and to resent the life that that fact may have denied him.

He wasn't supposed to care this much he knew, his original plan, his original rule when his search for a successor had begun had been to stay as detached as possible to his heir. The pain he had felt from his own masters death had wounded him deeply for some time and he had considered that a more detached relationship with a more accomplished understudy, one who would need less personal attachment beyond training, would be the best avenue. Hence his earlier consideration of Mirio Togata, a young man All Might was sure would make a wonderful hero in the future, no matter his current difficulties and who would flourish without need of One for All.

And yet here he sat, not only breaking that initial rule he had set, but flouting it. He wanted to be close to Midoriya Izuku, not only because he needed his mentorship but because he wanted to give it.

As the story ended Midoriya laughed. "Wow, that's' a great story All Might. You sure have had some amazing adventures."

"Indeed my boy!" Laughed All Might, gesturing at him with his soda. "You too will have your own stories one day though!"

They continued their meal and their conversation, turning to more trivial matters. Local news, hero gossip, the possibility of an All Might film that had been floated online(All Might would never allow one to be made with THAT actor playing him). As they drew to the end All Might noticed Midoriya looking out of the window, distracted and lost in his own thoughts. This wasn't uncommon by any means, Midoriya was a heavy thinker. At times however he became lost in his own head. A product of the meekish nature his circumstances had foisted on him before they had met.

"What is it today that you are thinking about Young Midoriya? Remember, my rule is no school work at lunch!" He playfully wagged his finger at him with a wink.

"O-Oh! Its' nothing really! Just...thinking." He gave a smile which All Might saw straight through.

"My Boy, your thoughts are your own. Just remember not to get swallowed by them."

"Yeah, yeah...its' just...well..." Midoirya trailed off, tightlipped and with a thoughtful look on his face.

All Might sighed and gave a reassuring smile. "Is it about your mother?

"What? N-No! No I don't think so, well hope so!" Midoriya said suddenly, perhaps a tad too loudly as well judging from the waitress who gave the boy a look as she walked past. He lowered his gaze.

"Are you worried she may reopen the subject of your attendance?"

" Its'...its' kind of personal..." Midoriya looked guilty even saying It, scratching his cheek and avoiding All Mights' gaze.

All Mights' heart sunk slightly in his chest, his smile dipping ever so slightly. He had hoped the teen opposite him would feel comfortable enough to speak to him about anything, although his head told him that the boy had every right to keep such things to himself.

"I am always willing to listen if you are happy for me to do so Young Man." He smiled at him warmly as he brushed his face with his napkin, finishing his meal. "If you want to keep it to yourself, you won't find any complaint from me. Just know that I am here if you need a friendly ear."

Midoriya gratefully smiled at him. "Thanks All Might."

"Nonsense. Think nothing of it my boy. My door is always open. Although if you are not comfortable speaking to me, I'd at least consider speaking to your mother. Mums the word!" All Might gave him a goofy thumbs up which made the green haired teen chuckle.

Shortly after, having finished their food, the pair began to get up to leave. All Might heaved himself heavily to his feet, despite his light frame. He could see Midoriya from the corner of his eye stop himself from coming over to help, conscious no doubt of offending his pride. He silently cursed his body, which had grown ever more decrepit after his war with All for One and then the pair made their way out. He had a class to teach to Class 1B next and Midoriya had his own studies.

As they arrived together back at the campus they bid each other farewell for the day. As All Might turned to go, his students voice rang out.

"Um... Hey All Might? Are you sure you aren't too busy this weekend?" He turned to see Mioriya standing hunched over, looking at the floor fiddling with the straps on his backpack.

All Might chuckled. "Does my life really seem so empty these days?"

He noticed his student about to fret and mumble what was likely to be a long drawn out apology and so he continued in order to cut him off before he began. "In truth, I am available this weekend Young Midoriya, yes. Retired heroes tend to have more free time. Do you want to train?"

Midoriya shook his head. "N-no, that isn't it. Ummm...I was thinking though...D-Do you...Well...I-if you...uh".

"Yes?" All Might asked with a tilt of his head, curious as to the purpose of the conversation.

"Well...I'll have to ask my mum... but...uh...I don't, don't think she would say no..." He took a breath and looked up at his teachers face with a bit more confidence. "Would you...like to come to dinner?"

All Might paused widened his eyes slightly. This was unexpected.

"But if you actually are busy It isn't a problem! I just, forgive me if it sounds rude but..." Midoriya held a hand up in potential apology, speaking quickly. "Well you sounded like you had a lot of time on your hands and...well...it was Just an idea...and like I said I'd need to ask mum...but also, and this is fine, you might not want to com-"

"No." He interrupted, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "No. I would love to come to your home for dinner. I am flattered. If your mother is willing, It would be my honour."

Midoriya for a moment looked stunned, like he hadn't expected this result, before shifting to a happy grin. "I'll make sure to ask today! Thanks All Might!" he said, forgetting he had given the invite himself.

"No, Thank you Young man. Now hurry up, you'll be late for class!" The pair parted ways and the former number 1 hero , who these days felt increasingly hobbled by his body carried a spring in his step all the way to his next lesson.

Deku, once All Might was out of sight, slowed down. He had a few minutes before class. Just enough time to call his mum. He had just spontaneously decided it was a good idea to invite his his teacher to dinner and needed to confirm it was ok.

That last time he had visited and met his mum, he had been on school business, to discuss his mums' proposed plan to pull Deku out of UAs' heroics course. It had been an emotional meeting and honestly, not the way Deku had hoped to introduce his mother to his hero. His mother however had said she was happy to host the Symbol of Peace and he was sure she was already fretting over what to cook.

"Hopefully this time they can get to know each other". Thought Deku as he pulled his phone out. It had been a spur of the moment thought and Deku had felt like he wanted to crawl away after suggesting that his teacher lived a dull life. But truthfully, when he had heard his teachers lack of plans, he had thought, well, he sounded...bored. He had picked up on the signs across multiple interactions with his teacher and Deku didn't like the thought of somebody as great as him being alone. Her wondered if that was a product of his own success; the phrase "lonely at the top" came to mind. All Might had been such a big presence as the pinnacle of Herodom, what had he sacrificed in his personal life to achieve it? He hadn;t seen David Shield for years before their eventful trip to I-Island. Gran Torino had always seemed more of a gruff coach than a close friend All Might had stayed in touch with. Detective Tsukauchi was surely constantly busy nowadays with the crime spike now that the smiling hero had retired. The other teachers had their own duties to cover, both academically and on the streets. Hero work can't have just been his job, but his social life too. Deku privately wondered if he would ever suffer the same fate before pushing the thought away. It was too early for such misgivings, and besides he had survived alone for longer than he had had friends. And he had his mum too. And All Might. He'd manage.

A good night sleep however had made a slight difference to the initial late night anxiety the message gave him. Nothing good would surely come of it right? No one sent messages like that which were good news. He wasn't upset, more anxious at the lack of information. If it had been an emergency, like he'd said before he would know already by now what his mum had to say.

He had wanted to tell All Might, but honestly it seemed too trivial for All Mights' time. It was probably nothing. And he had better things to be doing than listening to his insecurities.

'Get a grip Deku' He told himself mentally. It was just a stupid message. You'll call mum and realise what an idiot you've been. Play it cool.

He took his phone out and hit dial over his mums contact information, leaning outside a fire door near where his next classroom was located. It was quiet here and slightly secluded so he would have a measure of privacy. It took a few rings for his mum to pick up but he smiled as he heard her answering the phone.

"Hello? Izuku is that you sweetie? Are you ok? It's the middle of the school day isn't it?" She asked with a concerned tone of voice.

"Hey mum, yeah its' me. I'm fine, I'm fine. How are you?" He asked, pacing back and forth in front of the entrance slowly, fidgeting with his other hand at the strap of his backpack.

"I'm good thank you Izuku. Are you...are you calling about my message?" She sounded as if she was holding her breath. Deku frowned. It sounded like trepidation in her voice. His original plan of starting with All Mights invitation evaporated.

"Yeah, yeah. So, is everything ok with you? If you need me to come back now I'm sure I can talk to Mr. Aizawa about leaving early." he offered sincerely, not liking the thought of his mum anxious and alone at home.

"Oh no no no. I'm fine. It's just, there have been some...developments dear." A look of confusion spread across his face. Before he had a chance to say anything his mum continued. "It's about your father Izuku...he... he's coming back to Japan. He'd like to come home."

"...Oh."

"It must be a lot to take in dear I know. So I thought it would be best if we saw each other." His mums voice was the only thing he could focus on now.

"Yeah, yeah. That sounds, um, yeah..." He trailed off. He suddenly wasn't sure what to say anymore. "Um...listen mum I've got class...uh..."

"Are you ok Izuku? Its' ok if you want to talk now." His mums reassuring tone was meant to make him feel at ease but he wasn't sure what he was feeling now. His dad? His mind began scrambling for whatever facts he could remember. Even his face wasn't easy to quickly recall.

"No...No... It's ok Mum. Lets' talk when I'm home." He said after a pause, collecting his thoughts and trying to rebuild his composure.

He heard his mum take in a breath and hold it, thinking over his response. "...You're sure you are ok?"

"Mum! I'm fine. I promise. It's just er, not what I was expecting." He kicked the floor, the sound of scuffing shoes echoing slightly where he was standing.

"...I feel bad for telling you this so soon now." A pained tone affecting her voice. "I shouldn't have done this by text. I'm sorry baby, I've upset you."

"I had to find out somehow mum." He said in a soothing tone, despite the mix of feelings he was experiencing. "I promise you. Its ok. I'm not upset. We'll talk this weekend though ok?"

"Ok Izuku. But I'm right here if you want to speak sooner." He smiled. He was so lucky to have his mum. This wonderful loving woman, he didn't know what he had done to deserve her.

"I love you mum."

"I love you too Izuku. Try and enjoy the rest of the day."

"I will. Bye"

"Bye baby."

They said their goodbyes and Deku stood there and took a few deep breaths. Collecting himself. He didn't have much time too though as he knew he was going to be late for class. This could wait, he told himself. He's been gone for years, what's a few more hours of not thinking of him. Not that he didn't miss his dad. He guessed.

Deku shook his head. Not now. Later. He had class.

Pulling his rucksack further up on his shoulder, he opened the door and made his way to class. Filling his mind with thoughts of heroics and quirks. As he sat down at his desk he let out a groan . He'd be thrown completely off balance by his mum and forgotten to ask her about All Might coming for dinner! He considered sending her a text before class started in earnest, but it didn't feel like it should come that way. He'd ask her tomorrow when he saw her. It might be a little late for Saturday evening but Sunday would be good right? He'd hate to have to cancel after All Might had accepted so graciously. He'd have to make a call on it when he got home.

"It'll be fine." He reassured himself, taking a breath and getting out his things to begin his lesson.