I Have Always Had A Weakness

"Woah there, kid, aren't you in the wrong part of town?" Izuku glared up under his hood, his lips pressing into a thin line. Some low ranked thug, one that Izuku had never met before, was blocking the door with an arm across the frame. Izuku felt a spike of hatred at the man who was trying to keep him away from his best friend but . . . the moment Izuku saw the kind, soft look gleaming in all eight of his eyes the rage dissipated and was replaced by shame. The giant spider of a man didn't mean anything by it, he was just trying to keep a kid from getting involved in some pretty heavy shit.

"I'm here to see Tomura," Izuku said. The spider looked surprised but didn't move. Izuku sighed and without another glance he turned and walked through the wall, phasing directly into the bar and the middle of a villain alliance meeting taking place.

Only a few people glanced at him, but appeared to decide the beaten up high school student was hardly out of place. Izuku flipped his hood down and his unruly mane poofed free as he looked around the room. Kurogiri was behind the bar and, as usual, Tomura was sitting next to him. The laptop was beside them, but it was silent and the screen had 'audio only' lit up in purple. Sensei was still watching, Izuku had no doubt, but it seemed he didn't want anyone to watch him.

"I can do that," a woman who was floating about a foot over her seat said with a shrug, "I'm from China originally, after all. It's no problem for me to go back there. Once I've established a location I can send word to you, Kurogiri." Izuku frowned and glared. Why was she speaking so informally to Kurogiri? Who was she!?

"No, bring Telekths with you," Sensei's voice crackled over the laptop speaker, "she can pass word along without leaving any kind of trail." Floating girl huffed and she glared angrily at an older, proper woman in traditional garb across the room who was steadfastly ignoring her.

"Of course, Sir," Telekths said, "We will be done promptly, you have my word." Izuku liked her, he decided. If Izuku didn't know them then there was no way they would be close enough to the 'leaders' to speak casually.

"Now, about U.A.," Kurogiri went on and Izuku perked up, attention well and truly diverted. "The information we need would be stored in one of the main offices, we are uncertain as to which at this point in time. After we break down the outer wall we only need one person to get in-"

"I'll do it." Izuku's mouth moved faster than his head. It wasn't until every head swiveled in his direction that he even realized he had been the one to speak aloud. He suddenly felt flustered, and he felt a blush creeping up between the purple splotches on his face. Izuku shrank into himself a little but he still stepped forward, shifting between the gathered villains as he made his way up to the bar. Their eyes were digging into him, but he refused to look at anything but the camera of the laptop. "Sensei," He said, "p-please, I c-can get whatever you need from U.A. Probably without breaking a-anything either. L-leave it to me." His tone faded from bold to meek with every word and when Sensei didn't respond immediately he felt as though he had been too presumptuous for a moment.

"You want to do this?"

"Y-yes?" He shimmied a little, "um, w-well I'm already there most of the time so it makes sense." He was almost muttering now, and he looked down at his hands. He wanted to squirm, he wanted to wrap his arms around himself and try to find comfort but he was too afraid of the crowded room to move so carelessly. The silence felt like a knife being slid between his ribs and his chest felt painfully tight. Oh god, oh god had he done something wrong? Had he brought shame to Sensei somehow?

"I'm proud of you." Sensei said. Izuku's head snapped up and his jaw dropped. "I will give you the details after the meeting, Izuku. And I . . . see we have more to talk about." Self-consciously, Izuku put his hand over his broken nose without actually touching it so it was hidden from view. He couldn't help feeling pleased. His Sensei was proud of him? Izuku wasn't sure anything had ever made him feel that warm and floaty before. "This is all we needed to discuss," Sensei said, announcing it to the rest of the room, "You will be informed of the next time we will meet."

Izuku slid into the seat next to Tomura and without a word he leaned forward and tucked his forehead against his shoulder, seeking out the closest thing to a hug he had ever really managed to get from him. "I fucked up," he said weakly so no one else would hear him as the rest of the villains left the bar. Tomura stiffened a little at his words before he relaxed and continued to drink and talk to Kurogiri as if there wasn't a curly haired runt attached to his arm.

It seemed to take forever for all the villains to piss off, like this was some kind of social event. They were invading his space, didn't they see that? This was Izuku's home, where he had access to the people who actually knew him well. They were invading his space and silently he wished them all gone from the face of the earth until, at last, the door closed for the last time and the bar was left empty.

"Izuku, I have to go talk to Sensei," Tomura said. Izuku mumbled against his tshirt and he felt a skinny finger prod at the side of his neck. "Get off me." Izuku groaned but didn't move. After another pause he felt a hand hook into the back of his hoodie and he was lifted up for a moment before he was propped up against the counter. "I'll see you in a little bit, okay?" He gave Izuku a three finger pat on the shoulder and Izuku listened to Tomura's footsteps click away until they stopped without a trace. Through a warp, he guessed.

He heard Kurogiri shuffling around, but he didn't look up until a glass was set before him. He lifted his head so his chin was rested on the hard wood and he could study the glass for a second. Well. Fuck it. He sat up and downed the glass of . . . apple juice. Izuku made a face and glared at Kurogiri. "Are you fucking serious?"

"What? I thought you were against underaged drinking?"

Kurogiri had something smug about his gaze as he set the metal first aid kit on the counter. Izuku still had little shards of glass stuck in his face and on his arms, and silently he started to peel off his hoodie and ALL M shirt. He was silent for a while, just looking at the counter as Kurogiri pulled out tweezers, cotton, and bandages. Izuku pressed his hand against his skinny collar bone and he tried his best not to start crying. "Kurogiri," he said. He was unable to keep the quiver out of his voice and he pressed his hands tightly against his chest. "I . . . I killed s-someone. I didn't mean to do it. But . . . I guess that doesn't really matter. That's where that power came from." Izuku let his hand phase through the counter for a second before he brought it back up. "I-I don't know if it was when I t-took her quirk or when I d-dropped a building on h-her. But s-she's dead. A-and it's my fault, I k-killed her."

Izuku's shoulders shook a little before he burst into tears. He couldn't take it, it felt like his heart was being squeezed and twisted in his chest. He was glad Kurogiri had closed the laptop so Sensei and Tomura couldn't see him weeping.

"I ki-killed someone. I destroyed someone's whole world a-and I didn't even remember doing it. I-I want to think I wou-would never do that b-but today I-I told Kacchan I would kill him too and I think I a-actually meant it!" Izuku was almost doubled over now, and one hand had moved to clutch at his heart. It felt like he was on fire and he felt one of his knees start to sink through his seat. He felt even worse for it. "W-when was this who I w-was? I-I thought I could still be a hero b-but I'm just a murderer! I-I didn't want t-to become w-who I am, w-what? How did t-th-" He couldn't string together a coherent question through his sobbing and suddenly he felt himself picked up and set down on the counter behind the bar with the aid of a warp. Kurogiri had his hand on Izuku's back and he was rubbing a small circle, waiting patiently for Izuku to get it out of his system.

"I-does-I-bu-," Izuku sputtered as fat tears streamed down his face. "W-when did I become this person? I-I'm despicable. I should just – just." Kurogiri put an arm around Izuku and he latched on, burying his face in the shadow's suit. Izuku hadn't been fully aware how much he had been craving this sort of contact until he got it, he had been so closed off with his mother that it must have been years since someone just . . . hugged him. Hugged him as his crying slowly turned into soft whimpers and he loosened his grip a little.

Not for the first time, Izuku wondered if Kurogiri had a child once, before all this started. He always seemed to know just what to do when Izuku got upset. Well, maybe giving him alcohol wasn't the best solution but it sure as hell made him feel better. In terms of immediate relief Kurogiri's treatment was absolutely stellar.

Kurogiri straightened him up a little and he picked up his aide kit again. "These must be infected by now, but I'll go ahead and treat them as best I can." They really needed a healer. Maybe Izuku could just steal that quirk, he thought dully. Pity to let that sort of thing die with Recovery Girl.

When Izuku started sniffling again, Kurogiri did actually hand him a drink, and Izuku downed it without complaint of the bitter taste. He just wanted to not feel his feelings for a while. That wasn't a bad thing, was it?

He tried to be still and dry eyed as Kurogiri treated him, and the shadow man had the decency to pretend not to notice his sniffles.

The bar was a mess. Villains weren't exactly the cleanest of groups and Izuku dully thought Kurogiri would be angry when he finally stopped paying attention to patching him. Izuku was going to have to clean up for him. It was the least he could do. . . Izuku let out a trembling sobbed again as Kurogiri carefully brushed burn ointment over his cheek.

"You aren't a bad person," Kurogiri finally said.

"Y-yes I am."

"Then you're no worse than the rest of us." Kurogiri began putting away everything again as he went on, "Tomura destroys everything he touches – one of the first things he did with his quirk was kill someone. All for One had been killing people since before your mother was born. And-"

"And you?" Izuku pressed when Kurogiri paused suddenly.

"Yes," Kurogiri said finally, "and me." He put his hands flat and lowered his head as he sighed. "It's always hard the first time. It's confusing and it's scary, isn't it?"

"I-I don't want this to be a first time thing. I want it t-to be an only time thing. I want it to be a n-never done it thing!" Izuku was trembling again, and he furiously rubbed his eyes. He didn't want to cry, not again, but the tears came anyway. "You . . . you were right, Kurogiri. I was always . . . always g-going to be a villain too." It didn't matter what Izuku wanted to be anymore, he WAS a bad guy. He should act like it, Izuku thought bitterly. He had been playing hero all his life but that wasn't something he could be. Everyone in his life, everyone who really knew him, had said he was always going to turn into this. What was the point anymore?

"Yes . . . I suppose," Kurogiri said as he handed Izuku another glass of something. Izuku wasn't going to ask, he was just going to drink. His arm moved mechanically, and he silently pleaded for this to snuff out his feelings. "But you should not think of that as a bad or good thing. It's just what it is. When I said you would be a villain I was not speaking of your morality – I meant you will always be by Tomura's side."

Izuku took a shaky breath as he tried to calm down, and he wrapped his arms around himself. "I don't know if I can live feeling like this."

"You can. You will. For Tmura, for All for One, and for yourself. It hurts, and it will probably always hurt. That guilt will always be a part of you now, but I think you have just grown immensely as a person. You have learned from what you have done, and it will change the way you behave in the future."

"Was that s-supposed to make me feel better?"

"A little."

"It didn't."

Kurogiri sighed. "Izuku, you are not a bad person, even if you've done bad things. Not unless you believe that Tomura is a bad person too." Kurogiri paused and stared down at him, waiting for a reaction Izuku didn't give. "You have to learn to live with it, Izuku. And . . . it might be wise if you lived here for a little while."

"Live in the bar?"

"No. There's an apartment upstairs that I don't use and I want you to stay there for a few days. Your mother, your . . . 'friends' don't know what you've gone through and they will not care for you properly." Izuku furrowed his brow but said nothing. Did Kurogiri think he was going to do something bad because of this? Well. He might not be wrong about that . . .

Izuku almost jumped out of his skin when Kurogiri's phone went off in his pocket, and in a swift motion Kurogiri flipped it out and read the text. "Ah. It would seem that All for One is ready to speak with you now." Izuku grabbed his hoodie, mercifully blood-free, and yanked it down over his head before Kurogiri had the chance to open a warp gate.

"H-hey, Kurogiri?"

"Mm?"

"Thanks." Izuku gave Kurogiri as dazzling smile, one that stretched across his face and made the black eye and tear stains seem to melt away before he turned and walked through the warp.

XXX

It had been three full days since Deku had been in class, and no one seemed to know what had happened. Most people just assumed he was sick or something but Bakugou, the only one who seemed to know anything, wasn't talking about it. But . . . if he was just sick then Aizawa wouldn't crinkle his face up every time he walked in and saw Deku's seat was still empty.

Ochako had never really thought of herself as being an overly nosey person, but if even the teacher seemed concerned over it then it was worth her checking it out. Besides, she had gone ahead and complied both hers and Iida's notes in her own immaculate handwriting from every single class they had AND she had talked Momo into giving her an outline of all the homework Deku had missed too! Surely, if he was laid up in bed, then this would be exactly the sort of thing he would want. Probably. Her old friends had done that for her when she missed a few days of middle school after her dad got hurt and it had made her heat feel warm and fuzzy.

No one else wanted to go with her. Iida had family business to take care of after school, Bakugou had actually growled at her when she asked, and no one else in class volunteered their services. Pity, since Ochako had scarcely an idea where she was going and had to check out all three buildings in the complex before she found a buzzer with the name 'Midoriya' beside it. 'Bakugou' was on a buzzer a few above that, and Ochako frowned. That jerk! Would it have killed him to at least tell her the building number?

Ochako patted out her skirt, making sure her uniform looked pristine before she pressed her finger against the buzzer. "Uh, hello!" She greeted as soon as the metallic ringing faded, "is this the residence of Midoriya Izuku? I'm Uraraka Ochako from class."

There was a long pause before a tired voice said, "oh. Please come on up."

The lock clicked and Ochako slid inside quickly and ran up the stairs at the end of the hall. She didn't want to run into Bakugou, and she didn't want to waste the time of such an exhausted sounding woman.

She patted out her skirt again when she got to the door but she barely had the chance to knock before the door was thrown up and Ochako found herself taken aback. The family resemblance was clear at a glance, she had the same green-black hair, the same rounded friendly looking features, and she was absolutely tiny. But . . . there were stress lines etched into the corner of her red-rimmed eyes and her round face had dark red blotches on it. She was looking at Ochako expectantly, even hopefully and Ochako held up the thick stack of papers she had prepared.

"Good afternoon, ma'am! I brought the schoolwork Deku missed," She said brightly but the woman just seemed to deflate.

"Oh . . . so you haven't . . ." She trailed off before she gave Ochako a strained smile. "P-please come in, Uraraka! I have tea i-if you would like some."

"Yes, thank you!" Now was her chance to see Deku! She followed the plump woman to the living room and took a seat on the offered couch. The house was small, not unlike her parents and Ochako's eyes flitted about rapidly, drinking everything in. It felt so much warmer than her dorm room, already comfortable in its familiarity.

"S-so you're on of Izuku's classmates?" Midoriya asked as she delicately handed Ochako a tall mug before she sat down herself.

"Oh, yes! Has he not mentioned me?" Ochako felt more disappointed that she had expected.

"Oh, no no no," Midoriya chuckled mirthlessly, "he doesn't talk to me about much. B-but, I was wondering i-if you'd seen him at all recently?"

"No," Ochako shook her head as she sipped her tea. It was some strange herbal blend she didn't recognize, too bitter for her tastes so she just sipped at it lightly. "Wait, has he not been here?" Was he missing!?

"Ah, no. N-not for a few days. Oh! Oh, n-no please don't worry!" she said when she saw the look on Ochako's face. "T-this has happened before and h-he's been texting me. The police say that this isn't s-something they're concerned with." Midoriya sank into herself, a defeated look in her eyes. Ochako felt like the ground had dropped out from under her. She . . . she really didn't know Deku at all, did she? Logically, it was stupid to think she could know him after so little time but he didn't give off a bad-kid vibe at all.

"Do you have any idea where he could be?"

Midoriya looked like she might start crying, and she dabbed at the corner of her eye with her sleeve. "No, I've never been able to get him to tell me."

"I can look for him if you want," Ochako blurted out but Deku's mother just shook her head sadly.

"Thank you for the offer, Uraraka. But I'd rather j-just put my faith in him. I know that might sound silly of me, but I think that if I just trust him a little more then m-maybe he'll finally start trusting me again." She looked down at her hands, her long hair falling over her face and Ochako wanted badly to reach out and put a hand over hers. But she wasn't close enough to reach across that gap, she didn't know enough to offer the woman any real form of comfort.

So instead Ochako smiled and nodded. "Of course! As soon as I hear from him you'll be the first to know. Oh, but I don't know how to get in touch with you. Could I get your phone number?"

XXX

Spacechild: are you guys up?

Frogger: I am now.

Ripley: always!

Spacechild: so I met Deku's mom today and it was really weird.

Ripley: is ur future mother in law nice?

Spacechild: shut up

Spacechild: no but it's like REALLY weird!

Spacechild: Deku's been like actually missing for three days. His mom didn't know where he was.

Ripley: wat

Spacechild: I'm serious, his mom asked me to call her if I saw him and stuff!

Ripley: WAT

Spacechild: ikr??

Ripley: you're not dicking around here are u?

Frogger: I looked and he's not listed as a missing person. Did she not contact the police?

Spacechild: I'm serious Mina!

Spacechild: wait you can do that?

Spacechild: his mom said she tried but they weren't worried

Ripley: ???

Spacechild: she said he's done this kind of thing before

Frogger: ah

Ripley: we're talking about Izuku still right?

Spacechild: ikr

Frogger: still, I can talk to my parents about it if she wants.

Ripley: lol is ur dad a cop or something?

Frogger: no

Frogger: but mom is a detective

Ripley: WHAT

Spacechild: omg

Ripley: IVE OFFERED YOU BEER TSUYU

Frogger: I am aware

Spacechild: omfg

Spacechild: but I can ask her. She seemed really unhappy.

Frogger: k

jackROCK: guys it's three in the fucking morning would it kill you to use a convo I'm not in?

Spacechild: omg I'm so sorry!

jackROCK: don't be sorry just shut up

Frogger: Jirou read back

jackROCK: oh

jackROCK: oh holy shit

jackROCK: oh my god???? This is for real?????????

Spacechild: yeah

Ripley: lol

jackROCK: I gotta tell @pikachu!

Frogger: he's in this chat too?

jackROCK: uh…yeah?? He's my best friend

Ripley: hey!

Ripley: I added u on the strict condition that ur my best friend

jackROCK: how does betrayal feel Mina?

jackROCK: -this image is incompatible with your device-

Ripley: did u just fucking meme me?????

jackROCK: lol

jackROCK: brb gonna get @pikachu off his lazy ass

Spacechild: what no u can't spill

Frogger: ah.

Ripley: oops

Spacechild: GUYS

Spacechild: I can't tell u anything jfc

XXX

Uraraka usually didn't mind being alone in the morning, it helped calm her mind before the day could begin. Usually, this meant no one would roughly grab her and spin her around before shoving her back roughly into the wall but hey, first time for everything.

"What the FUCK do you think you're doing!?" Bakugou snarled in her face. Uraraka's gaze flitted past his shoulder but no one else was nearby to stop him so she fixed him with her own steely eyed glare. "Do you just fucking get off on sticking that stumpy nose where it doesn't belong? Why the fuck did you drag Inko into your stupid little crusade?"

It took Uraraka a could seconds to figure out what he was on about – she hadn't heard Midoriya's first name before – but when she did she wrinkled her brow and pressed her lips into a thin line. "I'm worried about him! He's my friend!"

"No he fucking isn't," Bakugou snarled almost before she could get the words out, "you have no idea what you're doing you stupid bitch. DON'T." He squeezed her shoulder hard when she moved to push away from him, and Uraraka's hand flew to his wrist. She wasn't afraid of him. He was a bully, and she'd met more than enough of people like him but . . . there was something strange about the way he was looking at her that kept her from shoving him off and breezing by.

"I want to help," she said firmly.

"Then stay out of it. You don't know shit about who Deku really is-"

"And you do?"

"Y E S. Yes, I fucking do! I've seen the kind of people he runs with, fuckwit. I know the kind of person he is better than anyone else and you do not want to go digging any deeper." He tightened his grip on her and in response her own hand grew vice-like. No one ever really expected her to be as physically strong as she actually was, but she had grown up helping her parents in construction and her grip was harder than anyone who was used to only throwing punches. She could feel the bones of Bakugou's wrist shifting out of proper alignment but if Uraraka was hurting him he didn't show it. Instead he just kept talking, "you do not want to get into whatever shit Deku fucks with, just leave it be and leave Inko out of it. It's none of your business, anyway."

"Last I checked i-it wasn't your business either, Kacchan." Uraraka and Bakugou's heads swiveled in tandem and they locked onto the boy standing in the center of the hallway.

Deku had seen better days.

His shaggy hair seemed more unruly than ever before and his face had taken on a paler shade than before which stood out painfully against the yellow-green bruises on his face and the shadows under his eyes. Now more than ever, Deku was standing rigid and Uraraka saw he was trembling even as he held his head high. He looked like he had aged five years in so many days.

But then he smiled.

Deku had a smile that could light up a room and all at once the illusion of age had melted away. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry, Uraraka!" He said with a bow.

"You piece of shit!" Bakugou snarled. He let go of Uraraka so roughly that she fell to the floor with a yelp. Bakugou stormed up to Izuku and grabbed him by his collar. Deku flinched but he met Bakugou's gaze with an unfamiliar glint in his eye. "What the fuck did you think you were doing to Inko!?"

"I texted her."

"She's your MOM you fucking asshole!" Bakugou looked like he was about to punch Deku in the face but before he could, Deku placed one hand on the taller boy's chest and Bakugou froze. Uraraka couldn't see his expression but she saw Deku as he smiled again, but for once it didn't reach his eyes. The light he usually radiated was suddenly gone, and it made his expression look eerie. The wrongness of it made Uraraka's skin crawl.

"You used your quirk on me all our lives. I-I'm not afraid t-to use mine on you, Kacchan," Deku said so softly that Uraraka didn't think she was supposed to hear it, "please don't forget that." Bakugou went rigid and he flinched visibly, but he didn't move until Deku let his hand fall and walked by him.

"Uraraka, are you okay?" Deku asked and she nodded, but she stood up without taking his offered hand.

"Come on! Everyone's been really worried about you," she said as she began to guide him away from the Bakugou. He was still frozen, and he didn't seem to react at all to their fading footsteps. Uraraka couldn't help but glance back at him. He had never been so subdued before, and she wondered what his exchange with Deku could have possibly meant. "Uh, hey Deku? Where were you?"

"Oh, just home sick. Sorry, I didn't mean to worry anyone!" His apology and his smile both seemed entirely genuine but Uraraka's heart sank.

He didn't know she had gone to his house then. She looked down at her feet for a second as she mused that he must have had a good reason for it. And it wasn't any of her business anyway – but she should let him know what everyone else had heard.

"Really?" She asked as she pressed her hands together, "I heard you had gone missing! I'm glad it wasn't anything so serious! I accidentally told the class that's what happened so I'll tell them it was my mistake!"

XXX

Izuku kept his head hung as his face burned in shame, even after Aizawa got up and left. It took everything in him not to wrap his arms around himself and try to sink into the couch completely. For such a lazy guy he sure didn't like his students bailing on class for a full week. Izuku was actually surprised that Aizawa wasn't threatening to expel him.

He waited a minute before he was satisfied that Aizawa was leaving him alone in his office for now. He took a shaky breath and got to his feet. The office was too big, much like everything in the school was, but filing cabinets were filing cabinets and locks didn't do much when you could just reach your hand through the door. Praying that Aizawa bothered to alphabetize, Izuku fumbled around inside of the drawer, slipping out hanging folders and desperately skimming the tabs until he finally found the one labeled '1A Pro Hero Schedule'.

Izuku's heart was throbbing painfully in his chest as the sound of blood thundered in his ears. He pulled his phone out roughly from his pocket and flipped open the file, taking pictures of every single page and sending them to Kurogiri. He just needed to know when he could find All Might, and unfortunately Aizawa only had copies of his own personal class files.

At absolute top speed Izuku took and texted pictures and almost got through half the school year before the door was flung open and the man himself boomed, "HELLO YOUNG MIDORIYA!"

Izuku screeched and jumped as he shoved his hand back into the cabinet before he could be caught red handed. He whirled around as he sloppily tucked his phone back into his pocket and he stared at the hero with big eyes. He felt as though his guilt was radiating off him, that his face must surely spell out 'hey Might, just trying to get as much of your personal information because I'm secretly a villain and by the way also a murderer'. He also wanted to ask for All Might for his autograph. But all that came out was a weak little pip, "A-All Might!"

"Come, sit down Midoriya, my boy!" He didn't seem to be questioning what Izuku had been doing and Izuku was extremely grateful for that because he really didn't have any kind of answer. He'd turned scarlet again and his hands shook from the effort of keeping them at his sides. He sat down on the couch again, nestling close to the arm and trying to make himself look as small and insignificant as possible. All Might sat down on the other side and fixed him with a bright stare. "You worried a lot of people there, my boy."

"I-I know, sir," Izuku said weakly.

"I know you haven't told anyone what happened," All Might said and Izuku suddenly found the floor very interesting. He never thought about how old All Might was but he sounded soft and kind, completely unlike his booming declarations of triumph. He sounded like he was trying to be paternal. "I understand if you don't want to tell me, or even your mother. But would you like to tell someone confidential? Recovery Girl, for instance, is an exceptional and trustworthy woman. We only care about your safety, my boy."

Izuku wished that was true. But even if it was, even if he could tell Recovery Girl or anyone everything and trust no one else would find out he would refuse. Nothing mattered more to him that Tomura. "Sorry A-All Might, b-but I really can't talk about it. If it was a-anything else . . . b-but I can't." He curled into himself a little nervously before he felt his shoulder engulfed by a giant hand.

"Understandable Midoriya, my boy! You're at a delicate age!" Izuku made a face. What the actual fuck did that mean? He was perfectly mature! "But you are still a student and after all the work you put into getting into U.A. it would be sad to see you fall back into old habits."

Izuku went rigid. "Y- . . . you know about . . . that?"

"It's on your record, my boy. You've had a lot of disciplinary issues before. In elementary school you missed entire months at a time."

"I st-stopped doing it in middle school!"

"Ah, but you're doing it again now," All Might pointed out and Izuku deflated. It wasn't the same. But from an outside point of view it would seem like he really hadn't changed at all since then. He was still a brat who couldn't be bothered to get an education. If he still could have had a future as a hero he would have been far more concerned with what that might mean for him getting into a hero agency. It was all he could do not to throw up his hands in despair when All Might continued with, "entering U.A. might be a tremendous feat but that alone won't get you very far in the world of heroes."

"I know," Izuku said. It came out far more sharply than he had meant and he immediately turned beet red and began to backpedal. "I mean! I-it's just it's really something i-important. I know that I'm e-expected n-not to have anything more important t-than school but I c-can't help it." He voice lowered as he sank into his familiar habit of mumbling a stream of consciousness, "I don't know how t-to explain it, All Might, a-and I really wish I could. B-but when I started I had to p-promise that I wouldn't l-let anything else come first a-and I have to honor that. N-not that this time had anything to do with that! This time it was my own fault. I mean it wasn't like I skipped out for f-fun but Kurog- I mean – my good friend Kuro. Just Kuro said that i-it was important for me n-not to leave after what happened a-and I m-mean it's not like I could j-just ignore him I mean he had a point and-"

"Midoriya!" All Might cut through his jumble and Izuku yelped before he clamped a hand over his mouth. His eyes had gone wide and he ran over everything he had blabbed, horrified at his own stupid tic. "It sounds like you really need to talk it out. Are you sure you don't want to?"

He did. He really did. "N-no sir."

All Might looked at him sadly and gave his shoulder a gentle pat. "Very well. Please keep in mind that it is an option. Ah! But I must be going. Aizawa wanted me to keep it brief. Please do your best! Plus ultra!"

Izuku was silent as All Might left. His best plus ultra, huh? Izuku tucked his arms against his stomach as he just about doubled over in his seat. That really was all he could do.

And . . . even if he was hopeless now, He could still become a hero in Tomura's new world.

Couldn't he?