Alrighty, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to a new chapter of Symbol of Hope? Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long! Anyways, I'm gonna take it a bit more slowly this chapter, since not a lot of action is gonna occur here. I'm also gonna try to make the characters more tolerable since one review mentioned how unlikable Iida was the previous chapters and I didn't like that. Also, I'll try to fix the pacing issues. No guarantees that it will be Stephen Spielberg levels of quality, but I'll try. Anyways, as usual, I don't own anything here, not even the references. With that out of the way, OPEN THE GAME!

"Do you have everything you'll need?" Inko asked her son, who nodded in response as he fit his spare clothes into the storage unit he had. It was finally the day that he was to arrive at the UA dorms, and the mother and son duo had to double-check for his supplies, especially since Hayden was overseeing his class preparations. "Are you sure?" His mother asked once again, earning another nod from him.

"I'm sorry, it's just," She breathed out as she wiped the non-existent tears off her face. "I'm just so proud of you. You're getting closer to your dream, but I still feel so worried." She felt her voice get shaky as she continued. "You disappear for nearly ten months, and when you come back, you became something completely different because of something that was too much for anyone. You've gone through something nobody should have ever gone through. I just want you to be safe. To be happy…"

Izuku looked at her before he gave the woman a sad smile. He walked up to her and gave her a hug that she returned, patting her back as if to tell her that everything will be alright. When they separated, he raised his hands and signed to her. "I'll try." He signed out, eliciting a sigh of relief from her. Soon, he grabbed his supplies before he began to head towards the door. As he did so, Inko looked down before she extended her hand towards him. "Izuku?" She said, getting his attention. "You… you look really cool."

The Slayer gave her a grin, the difference between his usual grins being that this one seemed more… human. He gave her a thumbs-up before he began to sign at her, first pointing at himself, then crossing his arms, and finally pointing at his mother. The woman teared up before she spoke up again. "I love you, too, Izuku."

With a smile, Izuku Midoriya finally stepped out of the apartment before he jumped over the railing to the ground, bending his knees as he landed. Without delay, he began running towards the train station, parkouring his way towards the station. As he did so, he noticed the stares he got from the crowds of people, who were surprised to see not just a male, but also one wearing a UA uniform.

He paid no heed to them, however, as he simply kept going forward until he reached the train station, boarding on to the transport before it could leave. He grabbed on to the roof handles, a part of him feeling excitement for his arrival at UA. Some things never changed, and his passion to become a hero was one such thing.

Eventually, he arrived at his stop, exiting the train in a childish hurry as his inner 4-year-old was bouncing in excitement, something he hasn't felt in so long. He kept walking towards UA, and his smile grew just a touch wider as he saw the university in the distance as he began to pick up his pace. As he went past the front gate, he looked up to the twin buildings that made up the main facility, his eyes wide with joy.

"Midoriya?" A voice called out and getting the attention of the Slayer, who looked around before spotting the one who called for him, Eraserhead. "Good, you arrived earlier than the others. Come with me, I'll take you to the dorms."

Normally, he would've gone ahead to find the dorms on his own, but it was nice that someone was helping out. Besides, it would be better to make a good first impression for the staff instead of antagonizing them. Thus, Izuku followed the underground heroine, walking at a pace that allowed her to remain in front of him. The pair remained quiet during the walk, never noticing another woman trailing behind them.

Eventually, Izuku felt as if something was off before he twirled around and raised his arms in a combat stance, surprising Midnight as she raised her arms to defuse the situation. "Woah, calm down, Midoriya!" She exclaimed in a panic, making him realize who was the one sneaking up behind him. Nearby, he heard Eraserhead let out a tired sigh. "Midnight, you know better than to do that," She stated in a tired voice. "Didn't you receive the file on him?"

"No?" Midnight said in a questioning tone. "I haven't had much time to check any student files with all the planning I had to do"

Eraserhead sighed in exhaustion, facepalming before speaking up again. "Check up on them later," She stated. "I have to get this guy to the dorms now."

"Oh, he's in your class, Aizawa?" Midnight asked in a playful tone. "Hope he survives whatever you throw at him. Later!"

With that, the dominatrix-clad woman walked away from the pair with a slight bounce in her steps. The duo watched as she left before resuming their walk to the dorms, eventually reaching the building that had a 1-A sign near the entrance. He opened the door, taking in the sight of the simple recreation room, which had a table, three couches surrounding it, and a TV in front of the area that there wasn't a couch.

Nearby, he saw a kitchen, which had a decently-sized fridge, one he had to check on later. "Fridge is fully stocked, and there's a grocery store three blocks down." Oh good, he had one less thing to deal with.

On the other side, he saw a hallway that ended with an elevator at the end of it, which made sense for the two-story building.

"Your room is 206, on the second floor," Aizawa told him, getting him to turn towards her. "Get your stuff in there ready, because tomorrow is the first day of school. Hope to see you then, and if you can, help out your classmates." And with that, the older woman left the building, leaving the Slayer on his own before he went towards the elevator to the second floor, where he found his room.

He took a step inside of the room, looking around to see a bed, a desk, a drawer, and a TV on top of said drawer. He set his storage unit on his bed as he quickly inspected the room, equations and measurements running through his head to figure out the quarters. As a smirk grew on his face, he was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the dorm's door open, which was followed by the sounds of a woman grunting as if she was carrying something particularly heavy.

Downstairs, Momo let out a grunt as she lifted her suitcases one-by-one, regretting her idea of packing in so much stuff into each one of them. As she struggled to push and pull her luggage forward, she felt herself trip over as one of the suitcases she was carrying suddenly left her grasp before she regained her balance. "Oh, thank you for the-" She began before she saw who helped her out, her eyes widening in shock as she saw the absolutely BIGGEST man she has ever seen in her life.

"Do all men grow to be this tall?" She thought to herself, as the only man she has ever seen was her father. She was brought out of her thoughts when the man in front of her let out a grunt and waved at her, lifting her suitcase as he did so. "Oh, yes, thank you for this, mister…" She trailed off. However, instead of a verbal answer, he merely grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to her, the writing saying "Izuku Midoriya."

Momo quickly understood. "Oh, you're mute?" She asked, earning a nod from the man. "Sorry about that. My name is Momo Yaoyorozu. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." In response, Izuku placed the note back in his pocket before he signed at her. "It's alright." He said, making Momo look at him with a slightly concerned expression. She knows that it must be difficult for men to be quirkless, oftentimes seen as lesser, but to be mute on top of all that? That must be awful.

She was brought out of her thoughts when Izuku signed at her again, this time, asking for a response. "Which room?" He signed, making the ponytailed girl be alert again. "Oh, right! It's room 205!" She stated. "Thank you for helping out!"

The Slayer merely nodded as they carried the luggage towards the elevator, going up to the second floor before they reached her room. The man lowered the suitcase near the entrance before he turned to look at Momo and signing at her again. "Do you need anything else?"

"Oh, no thank you!" She said with a small smile. "I don't want to burden you with too much, after all!"

The Slayer merely grunted. "I can handle it." He signed out.

"No, it's alright!" She stated, raising her hands in front of her. "It's my responsibility, really."

Izuku grunted in resignation before giving her a thumbs-up as he took his leave to work on his room when they heard the door open again, followed by the sounds of more people walking in. The Slayer went down to see who it was, spotting a red-and-white haired woman with a purple-haired girl following behind her. The peppermint-haired girl had what seemed to be a frost burn on her left eye, and the purple-haired one had a heavy metal band's logo on her shirt.

Could she be a musician of culture as well? Only time will tell.

He walked towards them, letting out a grunt to get their attention. The pair turned towards him, and the purple-haired girl's eyes widened, the peppermint-haired one not even looking fazed. "Woah, shit," The purple girl muttered before clearing her throat. "So, uh, I, nice to meet you?" She said as she raised her hand for a handshake, to which the Slayer responded in kind, quelling the young woman's internal panic.

The Slayer let out a grunt before he signed out a greeting towards them. The pair looked at him for a few moments before they realize what he was trying to do. "Oh, sorry, I, uh, I don't know sign language," The purple-haired one said nervously. "I never expected that I'd ever run into a mute."

"And I never had any time to learn it." The peppermint said. The Slayer stood still for a few moments before he pulled out the piece of paper that had his name before he scribbled something underneath it. When he finished, he showed it to the two girls. "Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you." It said.

"Oh, same here!" Now Jirou was beginning to feel a bit more comfortable around the man. Even though his large size did intimidate her initially, it was nice to see that he was pretty friendly. Though she did wonder why a man was here in the dorms. Didn't they lack quirks?

Shoko Todoroki, on the other hand, looked at the man in confusion. All her life, she was taught that men were incapable of being heroes, so how did one get into the Hero Course?

They were brought out of their train of thoughts when the Slayer let out a grunt, pointing towards their luggage with an eyebrow quirked up. They quickly understood what he was asking, with Shoko speaking up first. "I think I'm good with my stuff. I appreciate the offer, though." She said in a monotone voice. "Yeah, I think we're good," Jirou told the Slayer, who nodded at the statement. As the girls took their leave to their rooms, though, he took a look at the open kitchen area.

He knew that if more girls were going to arrive soon he could make a good first impression with them, especially since he's going to be in class with them for the next couple of years. What better way to do so than to show off some cooking skills?

He quickly checked through the fridge to see what was in the storage unit, nodding his head as he quickly came up with what he was going to make. Just because he ate nothing but Pinkies for who-knows-how-long didn't mean he completely forgot about actual food. Hell, he was able to make pizza back on the Fortress with very few cooking materials, so compared to that, this will be a piece of cake.

As he began cooking, he heard the door open, getting his attention to see a large woman with brown hair walked in, a decently sized suitcase in hand. She looked around before noticing him, her eyes widening in surprise. "Holy shit!" She exclaimed. "I heard some rumors that a guy was joining the Hero Course. I thought they were just messing with me. The name's Rika Sato! How's it going?"

Izuku grunted before he showed her his greeting card, eliciting a surprised look from the girl. "Wait, you're mute?" She asked, earning a nod from him. "Geez, that's gotta suck. By the way, are you cooking up something? Do you mind if I help?"

The Slayer gave her an okay gesture, earning a smile from the girl. "Great! Lemme just get my stuff in my room!" She said as she went down the hall. As she did so, several more girls began to enter the dormitory, one-by-one. "Wow! The UA dorms!" A brunette girl with a bob-cut styled hairstyle said before she noticed Izuku. "Holy cow! You're the guy that saved me!" She exclaimed in excitement, earning a nodding grunt from the green-haired man. "Thanks for helping me out! I thought I was a goner!"

The Slayer nodded as he pulled up his greeting card, letting the brunette read it before she spoke up again. "Izuku Midoriya, huh?" She muttered before her smile returned. "Well, it's really nice to meet you, too! I'm Ochako Uraraka!"

"So your name is Izuku Midoriya?" A familiar voice spoke, getting the pair's attention as they turned towards a familiar blue-haired girl with glasses. "I see you've also made it into the Hero course," She stated. "Before anything else, I am Tomoyo Iida, and… I would like to apologize for my actions when we first met!" She suddenly took a sharp bow, smashing her head through the kitchen bar countertop. "I thought that you were trying to make a mockery of the Hero Course, given the fact that you had no quirk, and yet, you were able to fight the zero-pointer head-on while the rest of us ran like cowards. For that, I am sorry for my transgressions towards you!"

The Slayer stared at the girl for a few quiet, tense moments before he let out a grunt, waving his hand in a nonchalant manner. Tomoyo and Ochako looked at the man before the glasses-wearing girl spoke. "Are… are you saying you forgive me?" She questioned, a concerned expression on her face. "At least let me make it up to you somehow!"

He signed towards her. "Lunch?"

It was obvious what he meant. "Of course! I'll get you whatever you'd like at some point!" Tomoyo declared in a determined tone, eliciting a surprised expression from Uraraka. "Wait, Izuku, are you mute?" She asked, earning a nod from the Slayer. "Oh jeez, sorry to hear that."

As this happened, Sato, Momo, Jirou, and Shoko finally came back into the main room. "Sorry, I'm a bit late!" Sato explained. "I got held up a bit!" The Slayer nodded before he resumed making the meal as the muscular girl joined him, with Momo looking at the ingredients with a bit of a wondrous look. "Oh, are you making food for us?" She asked, receiving a grunt of confirmation from Izuku. "Why, thank you, Midoriya! Do you mind if I help you set the table?" The Slayer gave her a thumbs up in response before he resumed work.

Soon, the doors opened to let in a yellow-haired girl with a black streak in it, as well as a short girl with purple balls on her head for hair. The blonde seemed decent enough, but the purple-haired one… she seemed off to him as if he needed to be wary of her. His gut feeling was proven correct when the short girl saw him and her eyes became clouded in lust. "Woah, guess being in the elite class has some serious perks!" She stated as drool flowed from her mouth. "Guess being in the best class means we get the best di-!" Okay, now she took it too far.

The Slayer grabbed a cleaver and slammed it down onto the cutting board that had a radish on it, scaring everyone within earshot as they all turned towards him. He pointed towards the short girl, then made lips flapping motion with his hand, and finally pointed to the cutting board. She received the message clearly if the horrified look on her face said anything. "Alright, I won't say stuff like that anymore!" She exclaimed as she bailed to her room, leaving her blonde friend behind.

The blonde sighed before she turned towards the Slayer. "Sorry about her," She began. "It's just, she's got a hard time not being a pervert. The name's Doi Kaminari, and that was Minerva. Nice to meet you!" The Slayer grunted as he gave a thumbs-up before showing her his greeting card. "Oh, shit, you're mute?" She inquired. "Sorry about that."

Soon, a tall, multi-armed girl wearing a mask entered the building, followed by a familiar red-head. "Alright!" The red-head exclaimed. "Finally at UA! Our next step to becoming heroes!" She looked around before spotting Izuku, gasping in excitement before she went over to him. "Hey, you're the guy I teamed up with at the entrance exam! You got in as well, that's awesome, man!" The Slayer nodded as he showed her his card. "Ah, so you are mute?" The masked girl inquired. "It must be difficult to have no voice." The Slayer gave her a so-and-so gesture before another girl walked in, this time, it was a pink girl with eyes that reminded Izuku of a raccoon.

"Woah!" She exclaimed when she saw Izuku. "I thought Kirishima and those girls were messing with me when they said that there was a dude in the Hero Course!"

"I told you I wasn't lying, Mina!" The redhead, Kirishima, exclaimed. "Would I ever BS you like that?"

"Nah, I just found it weird that you actually ran into an actual male!" The pinkette retorted. "It's even weirder than the fact he used you like a baseball bat!"

"They're probably going to continue this for a while," The masked girl stated, getting Izuku's attention. "My name is Mai Shoji. The redhead is Eiko Kirishima, and the pink one is apparently Mina. Nice to meet you." Izuku nodded in greetings as well before the girl continued. "By the way, has a girl named Kanna Koda arrived here yet? She's my girlfriend, you see."

The man shook his head, eliciting a sigh from the masked girl. "She must've gotten lost. Thanks, anyway." With that, she went down the hall to her room, leaving the group in the main living room and kitchen to their devices. Eventually, the door burst in an explosion of light, surprising many as the Slayer brought out a knife to attack the intruder, only to stop when he saw a dazzling blonde walk in, her outfit glimmering in the light. Behind her, a woman with an avian head entered the building, shielding her eyes from the light that shone from the blonde. Walking alongside the two, a blonde with decent muscles and a tail dressed in a plain outfit was also shielding her eyes.

"Ah, it's so good to finally be here!" The lead blonde said in a giddy tone. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll go see myself in my room!" With that, she left her companions behind, who sighed in relief now that they weren't blinded.

"Oh good, I thought I was going to lose my eyesight." The plain-looking blonde muttered, earning a murmur of agreement from the avian woman before she suddenly stood still. Her eyes darted around to spot Izuku, and upon first sight, she immediately stood straight, a look of respect in her eyes. "I see…" She muttered. "You have found darkness, and in the process, you became far more dangerous than it to be a protector. Revelry in the Dark." With that cryptic message, she walked down the hall, sinking away into the shadows.

Everyone in the living and kitchen space looked at where the girl was before the plain girl sighed. "I'll… go set up some of my things in my room." She said tiredly. "I'll be back for the meal, alright?" Earning a nod from the Slayer, the blonde walked down to her room. After a few minutes of silence, the doors opened again, letting in a girl with frog-like features, a girl with black hair and almond-shaped eyes, and a girl who had a rock-like face, albeit she did have some tentacles for hair. "Kero. I guess those girls weren't lying to us when they said a guy was in the Hero Course." The frog girl said in a nasally voice.

"Still, it's pretty awesome to see one in real life!" The black-haired one stated before she went up to the Slayer. "Yo! I'm Hana Sero! Nice to meet you!"

Izuku waved at her before he showed her his card. "Oh, you're mute too?" Hana asked, earning a quirked eyebrow from the green-haired man. "Yeah, Kanna here is also pretty quiet." The rock-like girl let out a noise of surprise before she began signing at him.

"Hi, I'm Kanna Koda. Nice to meet you."

Izuku perked up at the signing before he followed suit and signed towards her. "Hello there. I am Izuku Midoriya. It's nice to meet you as well."

The girl smiled. "Has a girl named Shoji pass by earlier? She's my girlfriend, you see."

"Yeah, she's already in her room."

Kanna let out a gasp of excitement before she went to her room, hoping to meet her girlfriend soon.

Hana let out a snort of amusement while Tsuyu let out a croak. "How cute." She uttered before turning to the Slayer. "We'll be back for the meal. Don't worry." With that, the frog girl walked towards the hall to her room, with Hana following alongside.

After that, the door opened again, and a set of floating clothes walked in, the panting given off signifying that the young woman was out of breath. "Oh geez, it's kinda hot out today!" She exclaimed before noticing Izuku cooking in the kitchen. "Oh, wow! An actual dude! Are you cooking for the class?" The Slayer nodded. "Alright! I'll be back later! Gotta get my stuff unpacked and all that!"

As this happened, however, the door slammed open, getting the attention of the Slayer, who's eyes widened when he saw who entered the building. "Deku…" Katsumi Bakugo muttered, an expression of surprise on her visage. "You… you're alive?"

The pair stared at one another as the man's eyebrows furrowed. Despite it having been Eons since he'd last seen the blonde, he still remembered her as clear as crystal. Apart from the increase in muscle mass, she hasn't changed a bit since the day he left. As if she saw his glare, the blonde turned her sight away from him, looking down at the ground and closing her eyes, teeth gritted together. "I… I'll deal with you later, nerd." With that, she walked away, leaving the Slayer in a surprised state. He was sure that she would've started yelling at him, trying to pick a fight to get him out of UA. What the Hell happened while he was gone?

Eventually, he and Sato finished up cooking, and when they brought in the rest of the girls down, the mood alleviated for everyone. The class was conversing with one another, Mai and Shoji were having decent interactions with the others, Mina, Kirishima, and Doi managed to start up a couple of games with the others, though some almost did break out into fights.

That was to be expected of UNO.

One thing that did seem off to the Slayer, however, was the fact that Katsumi was hidden in her own corner, away from the others. This got the Slayer somewhat concerned, wondering if something bad happened to her recently. What could've made her like this?

"Hey, guys!" Mina exclaimed, getting the attention of everyone. "Since we got some good snacks, why don't we watch a movie?! It'd be fun!" After some noises of agreement, Mina grabbed the TV remote excitedly, the grin on her face never leaving as she pressed the ON button.

The TV came to life, but instead of a film, it was an Emergency News Report that greeted the class. "According to the reports, numerous heroes have been called into action to combat this threat," The reporter stated with a panicked look on her face. "But even with the forces of justice on our side, the enemy has shown no signs of stopping anytime soon, and civilians are-" The report was cut off when an explosion went off behind her, sending her forward as a "Technical Difficulties" message replaced her on the screen.

The students looked at the TV in shock before they were broken from their thoughts when the channel changed to show another report on the attack, this time showing footage of the enemy. It then changed again, and again.

And again.

And again.

Soon, they heard the remote crack, and they saw Midoriya toss the remains of it to the ground as he snarled in rage before he went to his room. Alarmed, the class followed after the young man to his quarters. The door was open, allowing them to see the man putting on armor, piece-by-piece before he finished off by putting on his helmet. "Midoriya," Tomoyo muttered in horror. "You don't plan on fighting those things, are you?" She received no answer, only silence as the green-haired man grabbed his shotgun from the pocket space of his suit, cycling through his arsenal before he settled on Lucifer's Bane, quickly reloading it before he began to walk to his doorway.

"No way you're going out there!" Kirishima exclaimed as she grabbed the edges of the frame and hardening her body. "Haven't you seen what's going on there?! It's crazy, you'll get killed!" The Slayer did nothing to stop his stride, and when he reached the doorway, he pulled Eiko to the side, surprising the girl enough that she deactivated her quirk.

"Oi, she's right! You're just one guy, what can… you… do…" Mina began, only to quiet down when she saw the glare through the Slayer's visor, the raw fury in his eyes terrifying her to back up away. She wasn't the only one affected, as the others slowly backed away from the Slayer with fear in their eyes, the silence only being broken by the sounds of the panicking news reporter on the television.

However, one stood in his way. "Oi, what the hell are you doing, Deku?" Katsumi growled as she placed her forearm on the Slayer's chest, trying to push him back. "It's way too dangerous out there! Leave this to the Pros!"

He thought he heard her mutter something else, but the cries of the people on the TV were louder. His rage kept building, even as he dragged Katsumi out of his way, surprising the blonde.

"Please, to anyone watching," The reporter continued. "If you can… Please… PLEASE HELP US!"

With that, the Slayer bolted out of the dorm building, quickly maneuvering across the area to head towards the conflict. Despite how many heroes were there, despite how powerful those women were, He was the only one who could stop this attack.

For HE is the only thing they fear.

Holy SHIT! This is easily the longest chapter I've written so far, and I don't think I'm gonna top this anytime soon. Anyways, sorry about the late chapter, but motivation juice is pretty rare to find nowadays. Also, sorry about that cliffhanger, but some things changed during the planning stage for this chapter, but hey, at least you're getting action next time!

Anyways, alongside planning, I also decided to update the Harem, and since FF doesn't have tags, I've decided to write it down here!

So the Harem is:

Miruko

Katsumi

Eiko

Ochako

Tomoyo

Shoko

Momo

Mina

Jirou

Melissa

With that out of the way, I will see you lovely sons of guns next time. Klyju OUT!