Author's notes: For those of you have been patiently waiting for the tagged Midoriya/Ochako content, well, this is where it starts.

Chapter 13: Impressions

Aizawa's review of their performance was thorough and thought provoking, far more in-depth than the on the spot commentary All Might had given. Tokoyami was credited for evacuating Asui from their frozen room, but was firmly informed that giving up just because a teammate was incapacitated would not be acceptable moving forward. Ojiro was praised for his adaptation to Uraraka's quirk but he and Hagakure were both told that they should have formed a better strategy than just sit and wait for the heroes to reach them. Midoriya found himself stunned to be used as a positive example of mitigating a known quirk backlash compared to Kaminari. Yaoyorozu was complimented on her ingenuity and wise use of her quirk but criticized for her choice of weapons when facing Bakugo. Iida was praised for his determination, but was then used as an example for heroes who underestimated the importance of support equipment. And Bakugo…

Bakugo had been excoriated in front of the entire class. Just about every single thing he had done was mentioned and everything, with the exception of his awareness of the building structure and his ability to briefly cow Mineta into inaction, was critiqued harshly. Izuku watched with mounting concern as Bakugo tensed more and more, winding tighter every time Aizawa spoke to him. Finally, he snapped when Aizawa brought up his inability to eliminate Yaoyorozu, protesting that she should have been counted as eliminated after his last blast. The suggestion was received frostily and Aizawa's eyes narrowed, "You all received an important lesson today." He scanned the class, "Just because a villain is down doesn't mean they're out. Be glad a classmate taught you instead of a real villain. It's often a fatal lesson." Bakugo had stiffened at that, but remained dangerously silent throughout the rest of class, stomping out the moment the bell rang without a word.

Midoriya breathed a sigh of relief and started taking the notes he'd been holding off on. He hadn't dared write anything while Bakugo was being criticized. He was fairly sure Bakugo wouldn't have lashed out at him while Aizawa was watching, but he wasn't about to risk the safety of Hero Analysis for the Current, volume one. Not after the koi pond incident, and not for adding examples of Bakugo's failures. And so he sat scribbling notes after the final bell rang. He was sure Hitoshi wouldn't mind waiting outside, and if he did, well, he was sure he'd be able to make it up to him.

"What are you writing?" Midoriya nearly jumped in his seat, his head shooting up to find Uraraka hovering next his desk, "Are you're still taking notes?"

He opened his mouth but words failed to form. He made a little noise and went red in embarrassment. 'Words Midoriya.' Hitoshi's voice rang in his head like a bell and he let out a little laugh, "Uh-yeah." He scratched the back of his head, "I uh, I like to think about people's quirks and how they could use them."

"Oh?" Uraraka bent a little and looked at the page, while Midoriya's heart began to thump in his chest, "So this isn't just about Bakugo?"

"No, just what I saw about him today." He felt like he was stuffing cotton balls in his mouth, but he could still speak, "He usually gets a few pages."

She blinked and stood back up, "That's right; you went to school with him before…" Her smile pulled into a small frown, "Was he always like today?"

"Mostly." Midoriya admitted, having no trouble saying it either.

And just like that her smile returned, "Well, I'm just glad I was partnered with you today!"

She beamed at him and his heart threatened to explode out of his chest. A girl was happy she'd been partnered with him. It was probably just because she hadn't been partnered with Bakugo, but they had won their match and All Might had told him he had done well before he left the nurse's office. He let out a shaky breath. "Thanks." He smiled, "I was really happy we worked together too." And then he realized what he said and felt his cheeks begin to burn.


Shinsou was up and out of his seat the moment the bell rang. He needed to get to 1-A before the halls filled or it would take forever to find Midoriya. Or at least a few more minutes, but right now that felt like forever. He completely ignored Hatsuhara calling after him; he didn't need another reminder to talk to Toshinori about bringing in his classmates, and instead put his training to good use, swiftly jogging down the hall. He had started at a run, but S-Effect was in his ear informing him that it wasn't allowed before he got more than five meters from the door.

It was probably for the best anyway, as he saw Bakugo at the end of the hall, thankfully walking away from him. It was hard to tell at a distance, but he looked hunched over with his hands shoved in his pockets, something Hitoshi recognized as a sign that he was in a fouler mood than usual. To his relief Bakugo didn't turn around before turning the corner and Shinsou, having no interest at all being delayed any further, walked to the 1-A door… and stopped.

Izuku was still at his desk, his face flush, and next to him was the girl from lunch. It was hard to see through the narrow window, but she seemed to be blushing as well. He blinked owlishly, and his face split into a grin. Oh, oh wow, now he had something to talk to Izuku about on their way home… after they talked about the x-ray results of course. He was sorely tempted to take a picture to prevent Izuku from denying it when a flash of grey blocked his view and the door slid open. He blinked looking up to see one of the other students from lunch, Iida he thought his name was, standing in front of him with a deep frown on his face. The blue haired student stiffened, and Shinsou backed out his way, "Er… Sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Iida's expression softened slightly, from active anger to merely a stern look, "You're Midoriya's friend, Shinsou correct?" Shinsou found himself nodding dumbly, and the boy stared at him, as if evaluating him, "You said you wanted to join the hero course?" Shinsou hesitated, wondering where this was going, but then nodded again. Iida's expression lingered on him and Shinsou wondered if he should do more to get out of his way. "Then I wish you the best of luck. I hope a position opens up for you soon."

Shinsou didn't know what to say to that, but Iida finally dropped his gaze and shook his head, "Excuse me." Shinsou took another step back, even though he was already out of Iida's way, and watched for a second as he walked away, turning back to see a few concerned students from the 1-A class. He was tempted to ask what had just happened, but thought better of it, "Uh, can I come in?"

The red haired student who had apparently been right behind Iida, along with a pink haired and skinned girl, backed out of his way and he slunk inside with a quiet thanks. He tried not to look around, as if their classmate's odd reaction hadn't already made things awkward he wasn't sure if he was allowed to be here. But the desks he passed were normal, the podium matched the one in his class, and out of the corner of his eye he could see that the board was the same. It was a normal classroom, but it wasn't. He could feel that most of the class was looking at him, wondering why he was here, and he felt like the intruder he was, coming in to grab Izuku and leave. He walked down the front, finally catching Izuku's startled attention as he reached the last column of desks. "Ready to go?" He tried his best to look at ease, but he could tell that Izuku saw through it.

"Sure…" Izuku murmured and looked up at Uraraka, "Uh, I'm gonna go with friend. I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled nervously, but he was speaking words coherently.

"Oh sure." Uraraka smiled at Izuku and then, to his surprise, at him, "Take good care of him."

"Uh… I will." Shinsou muttered, and returned his gaze to Izuku who looked chagrinned as he stuffed Hero Analysis for the Current, volume one into his bag and then got up to leave.

Shinsou turned, eager to leave, when he noticed someone on the far side of the room. He stopped, eyes widening, "You!" He pointed at the girl his voice rising into a cheerful shout, "You made it!"

"I did." The green haired girl croaked.

Most of the class was looking at him now, but he couldn't care, "That's fantastic! I'm so happy for you."

He felt tears prickling at his eyes and then Izuku was beside him, looking between the girl and him. "Should I ask? Or…"

Shinsou grinned, "That's the girl I told you about, the one who caught me after Hatsuhara blew me up during the entrance exam. She's the one who carried me to safety." Izuku's eyes widened and he turned to her, beaming.

"Wait really?" Uraraka asked, smiling, "That's almost like what happened with me and Deku."

Shinsou's thoughts came to a screeching halt, and he turned to her with a scowl, but Midoriya was already dragging him towards his rescuer who had suddenly become the center of attention. Reluctantly he turned back to her, catching Izuku's red headed classmate call her save 'manly' which earned an eyeroll by a girl with earlobes that stretched into aux cables, but if the green haired girl was bothered by the compliment, it didn't show.

Izuku was grinning like a maniac, "Asui, this is my best friend Shinsou, Shinsou, this is Asui."

"Call me Tsu." She murmured.

"Tsu, got it." He nodded quickly, then bowed, "I'm sorry I didn't really thank you properly, I was just-"

"It's fine." She didn't quite smile, but she seemed pleased, "Was Midoriya the friend you were looking for?"

Hitoshi scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, I found him okay, and hey, he got in."

"I'm glad. And thank you for what you said to Present Mic. I appreciated it."

Izuku's eyes widened and he looked between them, "What? When did you meet Present Mic?"

"Oh… uh… that." Shinsou scratched the back of his head, he was sure he was going to get flack for not mentioning it earlier, "I met him before we left. You were kinda… out of it after the exam."

Tsu turned to Izuku, "He tried to give me the points he earned during the exam."

Hitoshi laughed nervously as most of the class turned to him in surprise, "I hadn't earned many points before I was blown up and she spent so much time rescuing me and protecting me… it only felt fair…" He trailed off lamely with a weak little laugh.

"Very manly dude!" The red head shouted and slapped him on the back with enough force to make him step forward.

"That was very nice of you." A demure voice from his side said and he glanced over, and then did a double take. A jawdroppingly beautiful girl was smiling at him and had complimented him. He opened his mouth, still searching for a response, when another student stepped in front of her. Hitoshi blinked and his eyes widened in recognition.

"You got in too?" He said before the guy with tape dispensing elbows could even speak.

"Heh, yeah." Shinsou felt a weight fall off his shoulders as Izuku's classmate pointed his thumb at himself, but then he paused, forehead furrowing in confusion, "Have we meet before?"

Shinsou forced a quick smile, "We were in the same exam area." Not even a lie, he thought to himself, "I saw you using your quirk, it looked really effective. I'm glad you got in." The boy grinned.

Izuku was smiling broadly, "Shinsou, that's Sero, Kirishimia is to your left. Actually, let me just introduce you to everyone." Hitoshi wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep track of all of them as Izuku went over them but the morning briefing gave him a leg up. He could at least put a quirk to most of them.

Ashido popped up in front of him with a wide grin, "So you want to get into the hero course Shinsou?"

"Yeah. I'm hoping to get in after the sports festival." He answered, a sense of impending doom sweeping over him.

"Ooo," She laughed, "You gotta have a strong quirk if you think you'll be able to earn a spot during that. What is it?"

Smiling faces waited for an answer to an innocent question and he shot a frantic glance at Izuku who thankfully caught it and took a second to conspicuously check his phone as he prepared to answer. "Shinsou, we gotta go or you'll be late for your training."

He seized the lifeline eagerly, checking his own phone, "Shit, I'm going to be late." He glanced back to Ashido and gave an apologetic shrug, "Sorry, but if I'm going to earn a spot, I'm going to need to keep training." She pouted, but moved out of his way, and he hustled out of the room with Izuku in tow.


Hitoshi let out a huff as they exited the building, "Thanks for the save back there, but time to spill. What happened after I left the nurse's office?"

Izuku let out a breath and pulled out his phone, "She let me take a photo." Hitoshi reached for it, but Izuku held it back, "Its better now, so don't freak out."

Hitoshi flinched, "How bad was it?"

Izuku sighed, "It's bad, okay? She gave me two x-rays, one before and one after so mom won't worry." He looked down at his phone, making sure it was on the after picture, "This is what my finger looks like now." He held it up and Hitoshi nodded slowly in acknowledgement. Izuku sighed, "And this is what it looked like when I got there." He scrolled back to the picture and watched the color drain out of Hitoshi's face.

"That's…" Hitoshi struggled with the words, "Comminuted. Uh. Broken into different shards. Maybe segmental?" Despite himself he gave it a closer look, "No. Definetely comminuted. Too many shards, but all three? And across the entire length… it almost looks like they were pulled apart." He shivered and turned away, trying to shaking the image away, "What the hell is your quirk?"

Izuku bit his lip, "Sorry…" He wished he could tell Hitoshi. The longer he kept the secret the more uneasy he felt. But All Might… he wasn't prepared when Hitoshi lurched into him and wrapped his arms around him. Hitoshi took a shaky breath, squeezed him and let go, took a step back and grabbed his shoulders instead.

"I'm going to help you with this. I promise." Hitoshi nodded quickly, blinking away tears, "I'll help you. Or I'll find someone to help you."

"You already started." Izuku gave his friend what he hoped was a comforting smile, "Recovery Girl told me to follow your advice." He took a deep breath, "But that's only part of the problem. She gave me an MRI. The bones are bad, but she said they heal easily. Your multivitamin will help, but she said it's my joints I need to worry about." He took out the bottle of collagen tablets, "She wants me to take these too, and some exercises to help them recover."

Hitoshi nodded wordlessly and wiped away tears. "I'll start reading about them." He shouldn't have a breakdown before officially leaving campus. He cleared his throat, "Make sure to keep your fingers still after using your quirk. Don't move them. Those shards could cut you from the inside."

Izuku turned green, but forced a grin, "Yes doctor." He received a playful punch for the joke, but it seemed to help, "We should start heading home though, you do have training with Toshinori."

"Shit, that reminds me." Shinsou pulled out his phone, "Hatsuhara and Sadaharu wanted to see if they could come. Let me send him a text."

Izuku watched his friend typing about the message, "Are you sure about inviting Hatsuhara? He did blow you up."

"Yeah, he's an ass," Hitoshi frowned and hit send, "but he's not Bakugo. He did apologize and he hasn't threatened to do it again." He paused and glanced at Izuku, "Was something up with Bakugo? I saw him stomping away on my way to 1-A."

"I can show you." Izuku's smile spread across his face and he pulled a cd case out of his bag, "I was given a recording of the class because I missed part of it." Hitoshi's eyes widened and made a grab for it, but Izuku held it back and out of his reach, "Sorry Hitoshi, but All Might said I need to keep it," He ignored the almost comical outrage on his friend's face, "but he didn't say anything about letting anyone else watch it with me."

Hitoshi relented, "Do you have to give it back?"

Izuku shook his head, "I don't think so, but just in case I'll leave it at home so if I need to you'll get to see it if you can't come over tonight."

Hitoshi huffed, mollified, "Fine."


Toshinori sat down and sighed, "I wasn't exactly expecting you to advertise my training." Shinsou had the decency to look embarrassed, but at the same time Toshinori couldn't deny that this was exactly the sort of thing he'd suggested to class 1-C. Midoriya had seen fit to offer his friend cover, sending texts explaining that it came up in conversation and he hadn't expected them to ask for it. His successor also let him know that they all three had been very happy with his apology, which Midoriya was sure hadn't really been necessary… Toshinori brushed it off, the sooner Midoriya realized he wasn't infallible the better, and he still had more classes to visit. But that was tomorrow, right now he was supposed to be training three general education students, two of whom were still missing, "They did say they were coming, right?"

Shinsou nodded, "Yeah. I made sure they knew the name of the park and where to find us. Sadaharu said she took a train the other way after school, but should be here soon. Not sure about Hatsuhara, he just said okay."

He didn't look saddened by that either, Toshinori noted, which wasn't too surprising considering that he was the one who had ended Shinsou's entrance exam early. He was surprised he'd heard it from Midoriya before Shinsou though. "Well, start your stretches. From what it sounds like neither of them had done much in the way of training, so I'll be looking for what they need to improve on first."

A few minutes later they heard someone running, and the girl who'd spoken up in class staggered to a stop, clutching her knees and sucking wind. Toshinori shot a surprised glance at a similarly startled Shinsou, and rose to his feet, "Are you okay?"

She bent over, holding her knees panting, "Sorry. Late."

Toshinori shook his head and chuckled, "Its okay. Take a minute to rest and catch your breath, we're still waiting on your other classmate." She was certainly eager; he'd give her that, "Sadaharu, right?" She nodded breathlessly and he chuckled, "Well in future I'd prefer you arrive a few minutes late rather than winded, especially since you should do stretches first." She looked red faced, chagrin tinging her exertion as she nodded. Toshinori grinned and cast a backwards glance at his other trainee, "Don't think you can slow down, Shinsou, I haven't forgotten that you're here." Shinsou flinched and resumed his stretches as the girl recovered.

Toshinori had her start the moment she had recovered, having her run through the basic stretches she was taught to go through at gym. Shinsou had long since finished his and was working on refining his quadrupedal movement. He was tempted to ask Shinsou if he'd received a message from his other classmate; but almost forty minutes late a tall well-built teen approached at a sedate pace, "You're the trainer?" There was no mistaking the incredulity in his voice.

"I am." Toshinori acknowledged, as if Shinsou and Sadaharu weren't enough of tipoffs, "You're Hatsuhara?"

"Yeah." Hatsuhara was still looking him skeptically, "So what do we do?"

"Start with stretches." The boy's expression curdled and Toshinori bit back a sigh, if only he had a hero to save him from overeager teenagers, "The last thing you want is to get injured and stretches are the best way to prevent that. Start with what you did in middle school; I'll correct any issues with your form-" And then, to his consternation, he began to cough, and of course he started to cough up blood. Hatsuhara gawked, but Sadaharu's eyes widened and she stopped her stretches, scrambling to her feet and hovering just in front of him.

"Are you alright? Can you breathe? Do you need me to call an ambulance?" Her phone appeared in her hand as he tried to wave her off, "Nod if you can't say yes."

Shinsou rose from his crouch, looking as concerned as he usually did, but calm in comparison to his new female pupil, "You okay Toshinori?"

"I'm fine." He coughed again, but it wasn't bloody and he was able to take a cautious breath, "I'm fine. Put your phone away."

Sadaharu hesitated, but Shinsou cleared his throat, "Toshinori has a medical condition." He blushed in embarrassment, "Sorry I should have mentioned it."

She faltered, but accepted the explenation and slipped her phone back into her pocket. She didn't move away from him though, offering a weak smile, "Maybe you should sit down then?"

Toshinori nodded wearily, "Fine, but get back to stretching, I should be able to spot any flaws in your form from the bench. And don't think you can take a break Shinsou, get back to it, you still need to do the laundry run once you're finished."

"Laundry run?" Hatsuhara asked, looking at Shinsou warily, "Are you doing his laundry as payment or something?"

Toshinori gave a rusy chuckle, "Its part training and part community service. I've been teaching Shinsou parkour so he can navigate urban environments and pursue criminals, and to give him real world experience I've had him doing deliveries for those who can't or would have difficulty. Groceries, laundry, that sort of thing, I arrange pickup and delivery, and he tries to beat his best time between locations. Once you're ready I'll have you so something similar."

"Oh..." He could see Hatsuhara's enthusiasm waning.

Toshinori was tempted to shake his head. "Heroics are about more than fighing bad guys and looking good for the camera, it's about helping people. The sooner you get used to that line of thinking, the better your chances of getting into the hero course." Hatsuhara still didn't look convinced, but at least he didn't argue, "Now start your stretches."


"Can we watch that again?"

Izuku snorted, "You still have another nine matches to watch."

Hitoshi grinned, "I know, but that was amazing. And it wasn't just because Bakugo lost either." Which was the truth, but he would be lying if he denied thoroughly enjoyed the look on Bakugo's face when Mineta wrapped the capture collar around his forehead. Still, it had been an incredible match, and Yayorozu's plan of hiding the real bomb and guarding a decoy was something he doubted even Izuku would come up with on the fly. It also put Iida's questions in a whole new light. For Iida's sake, he hoped Bakugo didn't sit anywhere near him.

Izuku just rolled his eyes, "Later, okay?"

"Fair." He sat and watched the matches, asking Izuku what he thought his classmates should have done and listening to the answers. Tsu's matchup bothered him almost as much as Bakugo's had entertained him. "She needs something to deal with the cold." He murmured absently and Izuku quietly agreed. It was hardly something that could be disagreed with. "Think support could give her something?"

"I'm sure they can. Insulating her costume might be enough, but if not they should be able to figure something out."

Hitoshi nodded along and then sat up straight as Izuku's match began. It was surprisingly dull, especially compared to the others, but watching Ojiro go pinballing off the ceiling floor and a wall made his eyes widen. He exhaled, almost missing Uraraka grab Midoriya after the announcement to cheer their victory while Midoriya had blushed and tried to keep his injured finger away from her. Hitoshi frowned and hit pause, "She seems pretty thrilled about winning."

"Yeah." Izuku smiled.

Hitoshi leaned back, "So why'd she call you Deku after class?"

"Oh." Izuku frowned, "That."

"Yes, that." His frown hardened, "For someone so happy with you she turned on you fast."

Izuku shook his head, "It isn't like that at all."

"Then what is it like?"

Izuku ducked his head, "She said she that Deku gave a feeling of 'I can do it'." Hitoshi's frown remained fixed, and Izuku gave a little shrug, "Deku is close to dekiru, you know, 'to be able to do'."

Hitoshi sighed and let his head fall into his hands, "Izuku…"

"It's fine Hitoshi. Really." Izuku gave a weak little smile, "It's… it was different when she said it. I know she's not saying it the same way." He shrugged, "Maybe Deku can be the name of a hero?"

Hitoshi snorted, "If you say so. But I won't be calling you that."

Izuku smirked, "If I make it my hero name, you'd have to call me that in the field."

Hitoshi blanched, "Even hearing you explain it I can't understand why you didn't tell her to knock it off. I can't believe you'd even joke about that, I've always hated that Bakugo calls you that."

Izuku hesitated, but gave another little shrug, "Yeah, I guess."

Hitoshi shook him by his shoulder and smirked, "We should finish up, I need to head home soon and I want to see Bakugo get his ass kicked again."


Author's notes: Well this took a long time! It felt nearly as endless as this day must have felt, but it's finally drawing to a close. At the very least we'll be moving onto the third day of class next chapter! Hopefully things should start speeding up a bit though I'm going to be working on the next chapter of Analytics before starting the next chapter.

Iida is most certainly going to have to his brother before he calms down. And hey, I didn't forget that Shinsou needed to thank Tsuyu (and learn her name) and would be relieved to know that Sero had gotten in as well. The video was very much a gift from All Might to Shinsou for helping Midoriya, even if he couldn't say it out loud. I doubt Nedzu would mind, but I'm sure Aizawa would question the necessity if he heard about it.

I spent quite a while researching bone breaks for this. I figure what's actually happening is even *worse* than the simple explanation I gave, but Shinsou is technically correct as to what the fracture would be called if only because they'd have to come up with a whole new word to describe what's actually happening.