Revelations

"Well done, students!" All Might bellowed, his voice echoing across the training field. "I am very impressed by your performance today! Now head off to the locker rooms to clean up and get changed!"

Izuku watched as the rest of Class 1-A trudged off the field in the direction of the main building, all of them exhausted and most sporting a fair number of bruises, but with satisfied smiles on their faces. Today was their first day back after the USJ, and it had been a sparring day, supervised by Aizawa – both arms sitting in slings and unable to do anything aside from giving advice – in addition to All Might. They had all been set against their other classmates to fight without quirks, rotating around every few minutes.

Some of them had questioned why they were training so soon after the incident, but Izuku saw the logic in it.

Right now, one of the best things that Yueii could do for them was to carry on as per usual, maintain a sense of normalcy for them to rely on. Starting off with relatively intense training would not only serve as a distraction, but could also begin working to assuage certain fears that they needed to be stronger.

This wasn't to say that Yueii was ignoring the incident altogether though. No, it had been made very clear to all of them that they were free to talk to any of the teachers at any time, or visit Hound Dog, the resident guidance counselor and therapist; because no hero school that was worth anything didn't have some form of mental care on standby when they were essentially training soldiers.

In fact, already today almost every one of Izuku's teachers had specifically spoken to him after their class had ended to let him know that he could visit Hound Dog. Present Mic in particular seemed especially concerned that Izuku seek out help.

No doubt it was a result of his – admittedly somewhat embarrassing – loss of control that day, that most – if not all – of the teachers had gotten a full view of.

Their concern almost made Izuku feel bad for steadfastly refusing to visit Hound Dog, or any mental health specialist for that matter. Almost.

Izuku knew that he had his fair share of trauma hanging over his head, one thing after another piling up throughout his life, and there was no doubt in his mind that a great deal of it had left lasting effects. But for the most part, he was content with where he was. He was happy with his living situation, and with his status in life. He had his sister, Rei, and Ochako, who was close enough to a sister by this point. His work as Deku left him fulfilled intellectually, and his work as Oni physically. He got satisfaction from suppressing the crime in his city, and more often than not, each confrontation left him stronger than he was before.

So no, he had no intention of visiting someone like Hound Dog to upend that peace. Not to mention the fact that to get anything done, he'd have to reveal much about himself that was best left hidden.

Now, normally these sparring days were interesting enough for Izuku, as he was content to watch how his classmates fought and make internal notes on how they could all be improved, even if he himself was limited to dodging and blocking his partner's attacks until it was time to subdue them. However, today he was far too distracted to even get much enjoyment out of that. He was too stuck in his own head to spare them much attention.

Now that everyone else was headed off the field, Izuku made his way over to where All Might and Aizawa were talking. Aizawa noticed him first, which pulled All Might's attention right after.

"Did you need something, Young Etsumi?" All Might asked, flashing a blinding smile.

Izuku wished that smile could cheer him up as it usually would.

"I do." He replied, not returning the smile. "I was hoping that I could speak with you in private after school?"

If All Might noticed his slightly subdued mood, he didn't show it.

"Of course! Shall we meet in the teacher's lounge?"

Izuku nodded. "That will work. Thank you."

Looking over at Aizawa, Izuku gave the man a slight nod, before turning to follow after his classmates.

Step one down. Too bad it was the easiest part of what he needed to do.

---

Izuku gripped his gloves between his hands as he waited for All Might to arrive, twisting the garments together with his anxiety.

It was a new feeling for him, this anxiety. Or at the very least, it was an old feeling, freshly dusted off and brought up to the surface. Either way, it wasn't something he was used to. He wasn't used to not being sure of himself.

He didn't like it.

For so long he'd gotten used to being completely certain of his actions. It was a very rare occurrence that he did something without being entirely confident in his decision.

But this…

This decision was one that he still wasn't sure of, despite mulling it over almost constantly since it had first come up. Despite how much he knew that it was necessary.

No matter from what direction he looked at it, he needed to have this conversation with All Might.

Even sorting through his quirks, trailing metaphorical hands through the fire in his chest, did nothing to calm his nerves as it normally would. It couldn't, not when they themselves were part of the issue.

A few short minutes later, that felt much too long to Izuku, All Might finally entered the teacher's lounge. He'd shrunk back down to his non-powered, skinny form, and had changed into properly fitting clothes.

The man's eyes locked onto Izuku immediately, and once again a blinding smile lit his features up,

"Ah, Young Etsumi!" He called, making his way over towards Izuku. "You had something you wished to discuss?"

"I did indeed." Izuku responded, nodding. "But first, follow me. This conversation requires a bit more privacy."

He turned without waiting for a response, heading for the conference room that was attached to the lounge. He'd looked into it, and the room was apparently entirely sound-proofed; a minor, but admittedly important security feature for such an important establishment.

Izuku had also asked Rei to ensure that the cameras within were turned off for the entirety of the conversation. She hadn't been happy about his decision to talk to All Might when he'd told her, but she saw the logic. She knew that this was the only option. The only thing she could do was stand behind him and support him as best she could, as she always had.

They entered the room, Yagi closing the door behind him. Izuku tried to ignore the way his hearts were beginning to pound a bit harder, his anxiety ramping up as he marched towards the inevitable.

"I take it this is about One For All?" Yagi questioned. "It's not strictly necessary for us to take such measures to discuss it here at Yueii. Though I do appreciate your devotion to maintaining its secrecy."

"Not quite." Izuku said, looking down at his hands, which were beginning to work at his gloves again.

He took a deep breath, before looking Yagi straight in the eye. No sense in delaying.

"The villain you fought all those years ago." He said. "The one that gave you your injury. I need you to tell me their name."

Yagi's smile evaporated instantly, and Izuku felt his chest clench ever so slightly at killing the man's good mood so harshly.

"Y-Young Etsumi." He stuttered out. "Why do you need to know such a thing? I-. I can appreciate an interest in history, but that man is-. He is no more. There is nothing to-."

"Yagi please." Izuku cut in, interrupting the man's rapidly spiraling dialogue. "Trust me. I need to know. It's important."

Yagi stared at him for a moment, before taking a breath. One that shuddered ever so slightly right at the end.

"All For One." He said, voice so somber it was as if he were announcing someone's death. "His name was All For One."

If there had been any doubt in Izuku's mind that there existed a villain somewhere in Japan that had the same quirk as him, it vanished with that statement.

With what he knew of Yagi's quirk, One For All, and what he'd suspected of the villain, the parallel was painfully obvious, and the connections between the two were almost laughably easy to draw.

One For All, and All For One.

One quirk to give power. To be passed along, handed down from user to user, giving all of itself to the next.

And the other to take and to steal. To hoard power for itself. To rip the very soul from someone and keep it for itself.

One good, and one evil.

It would make sense for one of the greatest quirks in existence to be in the possession of one of the purest people in the world. Just as it made sense for the most corrupt, vile quirk to be in the hands of the one who would oppose him.

���His quirk let him take and give quirks, didn't it?" Izuku asked, not noticing the rough quality to his voice.

"How-?" Yagi asked, clearing his throat. "How did you know that? Everything about that man is supposed to be classified."

"Because he isn't dead."

The silence in the room was almost painful as Izuku dropped that bomb on the poor man.

"He is still alive." Izuku continued. "I know that because the Noumu, the monster I fought in the USJ, had multiple quirks. Strength and speed, as well as an extremely powerful healing quirk and a shock-absorber. Based on that, and what the leader said, it was created specifically to fight you."

"How- ah." Yagi tried to ask, before swallowing past the apparent lump in his throat. "How do you know all of that? How do you know what quirks it had?"

Right. There it was. The question that Izuku had been dreading.

His heart thundered away in anticipation as he rolled up his sleeves. He didn't like it. This wasn't the sort of anticipation that preceded a fight, foretelling the sort of excitement he could only get from a conflict that put his life on the line. No, this was the sort of anticipation that came from knowing that he was at the point of no return, the dread of knowing that he could no longer go back, that his secret was about to exist beyond the confines of his mind.

He held up an arm, taking a deep breath and attempting to steel his nerves, before pulling on the quirks that he'd picked out specifically for this eventuality.

Immediately, thick brown fur sprouted from the skin of his arm, starting above the elbow, where his rolled-up shirtsleeve still covered, and making its way up his arm. As it did, the bones within groaned and audibly broke as the quirk reformed them, making them longer, and the muscles of his forearm twitched and squirmed beneath the skin, bulging as they grew and thickened, before being covered up an instant later by fur.

As the transformation reached his hand, he felt the bones break and shift as his forearm just had, growing longer, even as his nails and grew into claws and the skin on the palm of his hand became tougher and noticeably thicker.

Izuku watched Yagi as the transformation finished, revealing forearms that were almost twice as long as they were meant to be, covered in sleek brown fur, and hands and claws that could tear through flesh with next to no effort. They looked as though they belonged to a monster, which was fitting, given who they were attached to and the fact that Izuku had named the quirk 'Monster Arms.'

Yagi's eyes were wide, almost comically so, and his mouth was hanging open, but Izuku wasn't finished just yet.

Pulling on another quirk had small flames dancing on the tips of his fingers, and another after that had small arcs of electricity sparking around his hand. A final quirk and the brown of his fur faded to white, then to black, before settling on the same green as his hair.

He held his breath as he finished his demonstration, as he continued to watch Yagi. Where his hearts had been pounding in his chest just moments ago, now, as he waited for Yagi's reaction, it felt like they had gone still.

He trusted Yagi, really he did, but the secret of his quirk was one that he had never revealed to anyone before. The only two other people that knew were his mother – wherever she was – and Rei. And both had found out by accident. Yagi was the first person that he'd made a conscious decision to tell.

Izuku desperately hoped that his trust wasn't misplaced.

"I call it 'Soul Thief.'" Izuku said, breaking the silence as he looked down at his hands, sparking and smoking just a bit where the flames caught stray hairs that weren't lucky enough to be affected by the fire-immunity that protected his fingertips. "It lets me take quirks, use them, and give them away as I see fit."

'Soul Thief.' Rather morbid, and not technically the most accurate name, based on its functions, but it was what the quirk deserved. He originally thought of it for how the quirks felt within himself and others – small sources of heat, like a handful of flames sitting in his chest, larger or smaller depending on the strength of the quirk – and for the pain that others were subjected to, as if their very soul was being ripped from them.

It was a fitting name for such an evil quirk.

He dropped 'Ignite' and 'Taser,' the fire and electricity quirk respectively, leaving just his fur-covered arms.

"That's how I know that the Noumu had multiple quirks, and what they were specifically. Because I could feel them when I fought it, and because now I have them."

He looked back up at Yagi, dropping his hand down to his side, and saw that the man had closed his mouth. His face looked a bit green, and Izuku saw the slightest amount of fear in his eyes.

His heart dropped a bit at that. It hurt to see his friend afraid of him, of his quirk. Though at the same time, he couldn't blame the man. Yagi was coming to the realization that the person he'd revealed the secret of One For All to, the one he'd been consulting with on a regular basis regarding potential successors, held the same quirk as the single worst villain in history. His fear was understandable.

That didn't make it hurt any less though.

"Please believe me, Yagi, when I say that I have no connection whatsoever with that villain. I didn't know that he even existed before our conversation here, and I had no idea that there was another instance of my quirk until after the USJ."

He clenched his fists, probably too hard as he immediately found his new claws puncturing the skin of his palms. He felt his fur become wet with the blood that dripped from the wounds. Forcing himself to unclench them, he felt the skin twitch and knit itself back together an instant later.

"What I want more than anything is, and always has been, to become a hero." He said, eyes trailing to the floor.

Izuku needed Yagi to believe him. He may be a monster, a piece of shit that generally did more harm than good, and had a quirk that crippled people for life, but he wasn't a villain. He wanted to help. He wanted to do what he could to make sure that as few people as possible went through what he and Rei did. He wasn't-.

"I believe you." Yagi said, pulling Izuku from his quickly spiraling thoughts.

"You- What?" Izuku's eyes snapped back up to Yagi, inspecting the man's face.

"I believe you, Etsumi." Yagi repeated. "I don't think that you have any connection to that monster. And I believe you when you say that you want to become a hero."

Izuku let out a small sigh at the man's words. It wasn't much, but it helped soothe his nerves a bit. It was a start.

"Do you-. Is it alright if I ask some questions about your quirk?" Yagi asked.

"I can't say that I want to,�� Izuku replied, "but if it would make you feel better, then I'm willing to."

Yagi nodded, before grabbing one of the chairs that sat around the conference table, pulling it towards himself and all but collapsing into it with a huff. He looked down at the floor for several long seconds, seeming to collect his thoughts. Izuku took the opportunity to drop 'Monster Arms,' letting his arms return to normal

"You said that you have the Noumu's quirks?" He asked, looking back up at Izuku.

Izuku nodded. "Yes. Four separate strength enhancers, another four speed enhancers, one that displaced and absorbed kinetic energy, and an immensely powerful regeneration quirk."

Izuku pulled the handkerchief from his bag, wiping away the blood that remained on his hands.

"It's was almost perfectly designed to fight you." He said. "It had the strength and speed to match you, and the quirks to negate your attacks. I just barely held up against it, even after I started taking its quirks mid-fight."

"I don't doubt it." Yagi responded quietly. "That sounds like something he would do."

He paused then, for a moment. Likely to consider his next question.

"How- uh. How many quirks do you have?"

"Too many." Izuku said. Then, with a sigh, "Currently, I have one-hundred-twenty-six quirks."

Yagi broke into a coughing fit, hand going up to his mouth just quick enough to catch the blood that came up.

"T- That many?" He asked as soon as he'd recovered enough to do so. "How?"

Izuku grimaced. "I'd prefer it if you didn't ask that. My past is my own, and it'll stay that way for as long as I can manage. All I'll tell you is that my childhood was not the most pleasant. There were many times that I had to fight to survive, and what better way to do so than to take away your opponent's weapon?"

He had no intention of telling Yagi about his struggle to survive growing up, and he had even less intention of revealing his identity as Oni. There was a limit to how far he was willing to bare his identity at one time.

"I see…" Yagi muttered. "And if that's your quirk, then your tail…?"

"Correct. My tail is another quirk."

"Is there a reason why you've chosen to have it in place of legs?"

"There is, and its something that will remain a secret along with the specifics of my childhood. This tail is as much a part of me as my arms, or any other part of me, and by this point I've had it active more than my legs."

"I know you've met my sister." He continued. "So I know you probably want to know the story behind that, since the two quirks are obviously related, but that'll stay secret too. Though, just in case you were curious: yes, I do see her as my sister, as if we were actually related by birth."

Yagi nodded, once again turning to look down at the floor, leaving the room silent again.

"I won't ask you where you got the quirks you have, or how recently you acquired some of them." Yagi finally said after a minute. "But can you at least tell me that none of them came from innocent people? That you didn't use it to harm others purposefully?"

"I can." Izuku responded immediately. "There has been exactly one instance where I've used my quirk on someone who didn't necessarily deserve it, and that was a special circumstance, as their quirk was actively decreasing their quality of life."

It was a lie, but not by much. There was one other person. The very first time he'd used his quirk.

His mother might be a criminal in the eyes of the law for what she did, and Izuku's own feelings on her were conflicted to say the least, but he wasn't sure if he blamed her for wanting to be rid of him. For not wanting to raise a monster.

Yagi let out a sigh. "Well, this has been an… interesting conversation. Thank you, Etsumi, for bringing this to my attention. As much as I dread the fact that All For One is still alive, it is better that I know that now, rather than in the future when it is too late."

"You're welcome. That's the entire reason I wanted to have this discussion at all. I know firsthand how dangerous this quirk can be. In the hands of a villain, it would be devastating."

"Can-." Izuku continued, swallowing past the lump in his throat. "Can I trust you to keep my quirk a secret?"

Yagi took a breath, before smiling at him. It wasn't one of his blinding smiles that could just about brighten a room, and it was a bit shaky, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"Of course, Etsumi." He said. "You've put a lot of trust in me, revealing your quirk just to warn me about All For One, I will keep your secret to the best of my ability."

Izuku tried to release some of the tension in his body, and did his best to return the smile.

"Thank you, Yagi."

---

Izuku took a deep breath as soon as he was back in the hallway. He was glad to have that conversation over with. It was necessary, to inform Yagi that his greatest enemy was alive and active, but that didn't mean that he enjoyed it whatsoever. It made him uncomfortable to know that his secret – one of them, at least. His greatest secret – was out.

If nothing else, he could at least take solace in the fact that Yagi was probably the person he trusted the most with this sort of secret. That and the fact that what's done, is done. He could no longer do anything about it – short of killing Yagi of course, but that wasn't an option for a multitude of reasons, least of which being that Yagi was his friend – so the only thing left to do was to carry on and hope for the best.

Shaking his head, he turned to start making his way down the hallway towards his next stop, humming to himself in an attempt to settle his nerves. He wanted to be at his best for the upcoming conversation.

In hindsight, it might've been a mistake to plan to reveal two of his biggest secrets one after the other, but it was too late to do anything about it. At the very least, 'Deku' wasn't exactly a huge secret, just one that he'd been keeping for a while.

Hopefully this one would at least not take too long, as Ochako was waiting on him. He'd told her that he had matters to attend to after school, and that she may want to head back to the apartment on her own, but she'd just said that she didn't mind waiting. She was planning on exploring Yueii's library while she waited.

A few short minutes later he found himself outside the door to Nezu's office. He gave it a light knock and heard a cheerful sounding "Come in!" immediately after.

Opening the door revealed a rather impressive office. First and foremost was the enormous wooden desk directly in front of the door, intricately crafted and dominating the space. Next was the floor-length windows that made up the entire wall behind the desk, offering a commanding view of the entrance gate to Yueii that made Izuku slightly jealous, despite the view he had from his own office. Bookshelves lined the same wall that the door was on, filled with a wide variety of novels and textbooks alike. Another door sat on the left wall, likely leading to a bathroom or closet, and the wall opposite from that was entirely covered in a mixture of plaques, awards, and what looked to be photos of Yueii's graduating classes.

Sitting at the desk, almost dwarfed by it and wearing a pleasantly neutral expression, was Nezu.

"Ah, Etsumi!" He greeted, smiling as much as an animal could. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Did you need something?"

"Yes I did, Principal Nezu. I believe we had a meeting scheduled for this afternoon."

"Oh? Did we? I don't seem to recall ever scheduling one with you. Are you sure you aren't mistaken?"

"No, you did. You just aren't thinking of it just yet because you don't have a face to put to the name. But we do have a meeting scheduled."

He paused for a moment, staring into Nezu's eyes, before continuing.

"Mystery Box Mammal."

Nezu's eyes went wide, and he stood up in his chair, slapping a paw down on the desk.

"It was you!" He exclaimed. "I knew there was something different about you, but I couldn't place it for the life of me!"

"Yes. I was wondering if you were going to end up putting the pieces together." Izuku said with a small smirk. "I mean, 'Deku' is just a different meaning to the spelling of my name. And I didn't put but so much effort into disguising my answers during the entrance exam."

"I did think your answers were curious, but was too distracted by your exemplary scores in the rest of it in such a short time, and then by your performance in the practical portion. Plus, it never crossed my mind to consider that Deku could be the same age as my students."

"Well, in fairness, there aren't many who would suspect that one of the top quirk analysts in the world is actually an eighteen-year-old student at a hero school."

"Very true. But wait… You've been Deku since you were eleven years old?"

"Indeed I have. Just one more reason why those that are actually aware of 'Deku' wouldn't suspect that he earned several collegiate degrees by the time he turned twelve."

"A truly wonderful smokescreen." Nezu muttered, lowering himself back into his chair. "Disguised by the anonymity of an entirely online existence, and then even more so by your age. Even if someone were to find out that you were Deku, they wouldn't necessarily believe it."

"With several degrees under your belt by such a young age, and who-knows-how-many more since then, I would love to have more in-depth conversations than what online messaging can allow."

"It might interest you to know, then, that everything I've learned has been self-taught. From grade school up to doctorate-level."

"Oho? My, that is very interesting indeed."

Izuku smiled as he heard an almost inaudible laugh from Nezu. The dark, almost chaotic look in the rodent's eyes was amusing.

"Oh this is so very wonderful. To think, Deku himself has been right under my nose and I didn't even know it."

"Which brings us to the reason I chose to reveal myself in the first place." Izuku said. "Before you get too lost in your own fantasies."

Nezu shook his head, plastering the pleasant expression back on his face and disguising the darkness in his eyes. The transition was so quick that Izuku was almost impressed.

"Yes, of course." He said, voice cheerful again. "Your messages last night had turned towards the topic of your potential employment here at Yueii."

Izuku nodded, moving forwards and lowering himself closer to Nezu's level. "I've realized, in the aftermath of the USJ invasion, that the likelihood of the villains simply letting go and fading away is practically nonexistent. Especially given that these villains have the confidence, and the means, to invade Yueii of all places."

The atmosphere around Nezu grew serious as Izuku spoke.

"Yes. I had that thought as well." Nezu agreed. "Someone with the means to organize such an attack would not give up so easily after a single failed attempt."

"Precisely. So, if we know with almost complete certainty that our enemies will make another move in the future, and will likely be better prepared when that time comes, it would make sense for us to prepare as well."

"I am confident in my own abilities." Izuku continued. "I know my strength, and I know my limits. But the majority of the other hero students would be woefully unprepared. They were already unprepared this time around."

"I see. So that's why you have revealed yourself. You wish to train the students to better prepare them."

"Correct. I've already been analyzing their quirks, and I've been watching them train and fight, taking note of how they can be improved. I could have a full written report on what they should do to improve themselves printed out and ready to go tomorrow."

Nezu hummed to himself, paws steepled as he seemed to consider Izuku's words.

"I accept."

Izuku smirked. "Very good. I assume you have a plan already in mind for how we should go about this?"

"I do indeed." The rodent said, mirroring the smirk. "The sports festival is coming up in just over two weeks, and I fully intend for it to still take place, despite what some may think in the aftermath of the attack."

Izuku nodded. "Makes sense. Canceling or postponing the event would be a show of weakness. Admitting to the world that Yueii was hurt. If you continue as planned, you can use it as a show of strength."

"Exactly so. And if we have you training the students, as I have utmost confidence in your analytical abilities, and know that you are certified in quirk training as well, then we can show our enemies how much our strength can grow in a short amount of time."

"So," Nezu continued, "I would propose that we have you take over the foundational heroics class for the time being, focusing strictly on the improvement of their quirks and abilities, with All Might and Aizawa there to supervise and assist as necessary."

Izuku nodded again. "Sounds like a plan."

"Now, what about Class 1-B?" Nezu asked. "Do you wish to handle their training as well?"

"I certainly can. It would be easy enough to watch them for a class or two to get an idea of where their abilities lie. And it wouldn't exactly hurt me to take time away from my other classes to do so, I already know everything that they can teach me."

"If your classes are truly of no use, I'm sure we could find something else to occupy you. I, for one, would love to invite you up here for some proper discussions."

"I don't mind being in the classes themselves." Izuku responded. "Though not to say I wouldn't want to take up your invitation at some point. But I enjoy Class 1-A, and spending every class period away to do something else would do nothing but alienate me from them."

Izuku shook his head. "No, so long as I can have something else to occupy myself, then I have no issue remaining in the classes. For example, once my identity as Deku is revealed, if I could be allowed to pursue my analysis in class, that would be enough."

"I see. That certainly can be arranged. I will ensure that none of the teachers find issue with that, if you so choose to do that."

Izuku nodded. "Much appreciated."

"Now then. That simply leaves the question of how you should be compensated for your services. I could, of course, follow with your usual method of commissions, or if you prefer, I can offer you a proper salary, like the rest of my staff, especially if this arrangement were to continue in the long-term."

"I don't require much." Izuku said, waving a hand in front of him. "You can pay me however you see fit. In fact, if you wish, you don't even have to pay me for training 1-A. I like them, and have been waiting for an opportunity to improve them."

"Oh? That is very kind of you. What of Class 1-B?"

"Give me a chance to meet them first. If I find that I like them, I'll extend the same offer."

"I see." Nezu said. "Well, no matter what, I would like to compensate you for your services. Give me some time, I shall come up with something worthy of your work."

"Whatever you see fit to give me will be enough." Izuku said, before raising himself back up to his proper height. "Now then, one final thing. I would like to ask that you not reveal my identity to the teachers just yet. I'd like to wait until we begin training to make the reveal."

"Of course. That won't be a problem. May I ask why?"

Izuku shrugged. "Why not? I'd like to see everyone's reactions when it happens."

Nezu smirked at that. "Of course. Simple shock and awe. I can appreciate that."

"I knew you would. Now, unless you had any further questions for me, I believe Ochako is waiting for me down in the library."

"Not at all. You're free to go. I think we should plan on the training to begin the day after tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me." Izuku responded, turning towards the door. "I'll have everything ready by then."

"I look forward to it."

As Izuku shut the door behind him, he could've sworn he heard another quiet laugh from within. He smirked. He could understand the feeling; this was going to be fun.

---

The next day, Izuku was settled at his desk, waiting for homeroom to begin. He had a journal in one hand, reading through the notes he'd made for a training regiment for Class 1-A, and with the other, he absentmindedly rubbed at a spot on his arm.

He'd gone out to help Shadow again the night before, and a criminal had gotten in a lucky hit with some sort of toxic claw quirk. It had been healed immediately after, but the spot still itched.

He wasn't worried about whatever toxin they'd hit him with, as his new healing quirk was powerful enough to correct any damage it dealt. That, and he knew from experience that his older healing quirk worked very well against poisons. Whatever it was, it wouldn't leave any lasting damage, it seemed like it would just itch for a while, though even that was beginning to fade.

As the clock finally marked the start of the period, he watched Eraser emerge from behind the teacher's podium, his sleeping bag falling down around him. The class was already silent as he stood.

"Right, to start off, I have a few announcements to make. First off, is that the sports festival will be taking place in about two weeks."

Right away there was a small uproar as some of his classmates questioned why Yueii was still going forward with it, which Eraser was quick to shoot down.

"We're still doing this so that we can show the world that Yueii isn't weak. That it hasn't been fazed by the attack. We'll be going all-out in terms of security and hero-presence."

"Besides, this is too big of an opportunity for you all to miss out. This is your biggest chance to make yourselves known, to impress the pros that might want to take you on as interns. You'll only have three chances throughout your time at Yueii to make an impression, so I expect you to make the most of it."

Seeing that no one had any more questions, Eraser continued.

"We'll be using the next two weeks to prepare you for the event. We'll be pushing you to your limit every day, training you and your quirks to ensure that you are as prepared as possible. In fact, Nezu has informed us that he'll be bringing in Deku, the quirk analyst, to help."

Excited whispering broke out amongst the students at that, which wasn't too surprising; even if there weren't but one or two in the class that he'd analyzed, he was still very active with his work. He wouldn't be at all surprised if most of his classmates at least knew of someone that had requested his services.

At the same time, Ochako's head snapped around to look at him, her eyes wide and questioning. He gave a lazy wink in return and looked back to Eraser.

"From what Nezu's told us," He cut over the chatter, silencing it, "They'll be here tomorrow to get started, so be ready."

With that, Aizawa started pulling his sleeping bag up around himself, already lowering back down to the floor. "That's all. Do whatever you wish until your next class, just be quiet."

---

The rest of the short period passed fairly quickly. Izuku took the opportunity to work on his plan for the next day. So far, he was thinking of implementing an alternating schedule of training their quirks and sparring. Not just the regular sparring they'd been doing though, but full-speed fighting with quirks, against him.

It would be a trial by fire. He would push them to fight harder than they had before, and to think of ways to fight effectively with their quirks.

As it was nearing the time to head to the next class, Izuku perked up from his notebook. 'Proximity' was picking up a number of people gathering on the other side of the door. A blink of his eyes and his vision became muted. He looked over towards the door, and saw the skeletons of their visitors. All of them seemed to be wearing the same outfit, carrying bags on their backs, and none of them had any noticeably unfamiliar physical mutations.

Students then, most likely. Nothing to be concerned about.

Besides, Izuku knew that Aizawa was already aware of them. If he had no issue, then neither did Izuku.

His vision returned to normal as he went back to his book. He'd keep an eye on them, but otherwise he would let whatever was about to happen play out however it would.

A few short minutes later, and his classmates were starting to gather near the door, with him staying at his desk as he usually did in order to avoid crowding the door with his bulk.

The moment the door was opened, he heard Ochako's exclamation of "What the!?" as his classmates finally noticed the mob.

"What do you all want!?" She asked.

"Hey! You! 1-A!" He heard someone else call out, not wasting any time apparently. "I'm from 1-B! I heard you took down some villains, and wanted to hear it directly from you! You'd better not be a bunch of arrogant jerks like I've been hearing!"

Izuku frowned at that. It sounded like some of the other students were under the impression that 1-A was taking advantage of the fact that they were attacked, that they were enjoying some form of glory from it.

He narrowed his eyes towards the door. They did realize that the villains had outnumbered them nearly ten-to-one, right? And that all of them had come with intention to kill students?

"The metal idiot is mostly right." A new voice said. "We came here to see what you were made of. To see if you were really as impressive as you're made out to be."

"Honestly? I'm a bit underwhelmed."

The speaker ignored his classmates' exclamations of shock, carrying on with what was likely a preplanned monologue.

"You hero course students are all full of yourselves, despite the fact that none of you probably had to do any work to get in. You all got lucky, born with quirks that were perfectly suited to heroics, while people like me got left behind, to get whatever was left over."

Izuku shut his notebook, clenching it in his hand. He wanted to let this play out however it may without stepping in, but he was very quickly being pushed to the limits of his patience. There were few things he disliked more than people bitching and moaning about their own quirk without even putting in the slightest amount of effort to develop it.

Which, based on their words, this person had clearly not put in any effort. Not if they were spouting nonsense about the hero students being lucky enough to be born with powerful quirks.

"People like me got left in Yueii's other courses because our quirks couldn't make the cut for heroics. The entrance exams are too skewed in favor of those with physical quirks. But, depending on how we do in the sports festival, we may have the opportunity to move up to the hero course, which means that we have the chance to kick you back down."

"So consider this a declaration of war, hero students! If you aren't careful, you'll have the rug pulled out from under you."

Izuku slammed his notebook down onto the desk with a resounding boom, cutting off the monologue and leaving everyone in silence.

"Right. That's enough of that." Izuku muttered to himself as he rose up from his desk and moved towards the door. His classmates looked over at him, parting for him as he moved, clearing the way.

Once he reached the door, he grabbed Ochako's bag and picked her up, gently moving her to the side.

With full access to the mob outside the room, he placed himself in the doorway, raising himself high above everyone's heads and gripping the doorframe with enough force to crack it.

The person who he assumed to be the speaker stood at the front of the group. He had a head of wild purple hair and eyebags that came close to rivalling Eraser's.

He, and everyone else that had gathered, stared up at him in silence. The space was thick with anticipation for what was about to happen.

"Is there an actual reason you're here? Or was it just to accentuate how much of a waste of space you are?" Izuku asked, breaking the silence.

They all physically recoiled at his words. Though, Purple-hair recovered fairly quick, his expression very rapidly shifting to something just shy of rage.

"What did you just say?" He all but snarled.

"I asked if there was a reason you decided to come here. Because so far all I've heard is misinformation and you spouting your own insecurities."

"I-."

"Be quiet." Izuku said, cutting him off. "First off, your claim that no one in the hero course has had to work for what they have is so grossly incorrect that I'm honestly at a loss for how someone could possibly be so stupid. Yes, obviously some people might have it a bit easier than others because of their quirk, but everyone here had to work for it."

"Second, do you have any idea just how many applicants showed up on the day of the entrance exams, hoping to make it into the hero course?"

"I-. You-."

"Three-hundred and two applicants." Izuku said, ignoring purple-hair's expression. "That means just over three hundred applicants fighting for thirty-six positions in the hero course. Which means that a lot of people didn't make the cut, which includes a number of those with quirks suited for combat. Anyone that managed to get in, did so because they earned it."

"And as far as certain quirks not being suited for combat, you're right about that. There are a number of quirks that are either weak or useless altogether in a fight. But all that means is that you need to improve yourself in other ways. If your quirk isn't suited for that, why wouldn't your next move be to learn some form of hand-to-hand combat to give yourself an edge? Unless maybe you thought that you could become a hero and never have to fight anyone ever, in which case you're an idiot."

"If you were serious about getting into the hero course, you would've done everything you could to shore up your weaknesses. You could've contacted any official trainer and they would've provided you a step-by-step guide to prepare yourself for the exams if you really wanted one."

"I tried that." Purple-hair growled. "But it didn't work."

"Then you must've picked someone worthless."

"I sent a request to Deku himself, since he's supposed to be the best, but he never sent back anything."

Izuku's fingers dug into the wall where he was gripping the doorframe. There was no way he just said that, was there? As if Izuku didn't remember every single request he'd ever gotten? As if he didn't put effort into each and every one?

"No you didn't." Izuku said quietly, a dangerous undertone to his voice. "You most definitely did not send Deku anything."

"And how would you know? What gives you the right to say what I have and haven't done?"

Fuck it. It would seem as though he's doing this now instead of later, as he'd planned.

"Oh I think I have plenty of right to say what requests were, and were not, sent to me."

The hallway went deathly silent for a few moments, as everyone processed his words.

"What did you say?" Purple-hair asked, eyes going wide.

"You heard me perfectly well. I'm saying that I'm Deku. And I promise you that you never sent in anything. I remember every request I've ever gotten. Every single one. And not one of them was half-assed or overlooked. So if you really did send anything to anyone, it wasn't the real deal. And even that isn't likely with how hard I crack down on anyone trying to impersonate me."

He heard whispering coming from his classmates behind him, but ignored it in favor of leaning towards Purple-hair.

���I would appreciate it if you didn't try to insult my name like that just to cover up your own incompetence."

Izuku forcefully removed his hand from where it was partially embedded in the wall, flexing it to try to relieve some of the tension.

"And as for your little declaration of war?" He continued. "If you were smart, you wouldn't have said anything. You would've kept quiet, so that we wouldn't have even known you existed, and you would've come from behind to take us by surprise during the sports festival. But now that you've gone and made yourself known, what's to stop me from purposefully targeting you as soon as it starts? What's to stop me from ensuring that you never get close to the hero course?

Purple-hair narrowed his eyes as he spoke. "You wouldn't."

Izuku shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. You'll never know now, because you've made the mistake of putting yourself in the spotlight."

The boy stared at Izuku a moment longer, outrage clear on his face, before he turned to storm off, the other students clearing the way for him.

As he left, Izuku surveyed the rest of the students, looking to each of them.

"Now, did anyone else have anything they wanted to say? Or can we be allowed to go to our next class?"

"Wow." Another voice called out. "I'd been expecting 1-A to be arrogant, but this is on another level entirely."

Izuku looked over to the speaker to see another boy with short, blond hair.

"Clearly this is just one more example of why 1-B is superior in every way." He said, clearly flaunting for the sake of the crowd. "Much better than these arrogant 1-A bastards."

Izuku leveled a look at the boy, before snorting.

"Inferiority complex."

With that, he pushed out into the hallway, before turning to the wall that the door was on and climbing up the side with the aid of 'Gecko.' Ignoring the angry calls of the blond, Izuku made his way up onto the ceiling to head towards his next class.

Pulling out his phone, he sent a message to the number Nezu had seen fit to grant him.

8:38 [Deku]-

-'Just met 1-B outside of 1-A's homeroom. They won't be free.'

8:38 [Nezu]-

-:Thumbs-up:

-'I saw. Don't worry about it. I certainly don't blame you. I intend to have a word with Vlad and the general education teachers about their students' behavior.'

-'You definitely achieved your goal of shock and awe, though.'

8:38 [Deku]-

-'Not exactly how I'd planned it, but oh well. I think my words added to the shock value well enough.'

8:38 [Nezu]-

-'They certainly did. It was rather entertaining to watch.'

Izuku sighed as he tucked his phone away. What he said might've been harsh – he had no real intention of ruining that boy's chances to get into the hero course, but he needed to realize how out of line he was – but the other students had gone too far; there was a limit to how far even his patience could be pushed.

They'd come after his classmates, ignorant of what they'd just gone through and going so far as to call them arrogant. Then Purple-hair had taken it a step further by claiming that they didn't even deserve their positions in the hero course.

And sure, maybe there were some that didn't work as hard as others, or that had an easier time of things because of their quirk, but that did nothing to detract from the fact that they'd earned what they had.

It was made even worse by the fact that he hadn't even tried to improve himself, and yet he still claimed that others didn't work for it.

He sighed again as he lowered himself to the floor in front of his next class. Part of him really did hope that the boy could make it into the hero course. But if he wasn't willing to work, then Izuku would have no sympathy for him when he failed.

---

Toshinori stared blankly down at the phone in his hand. He'd gotten home a short while ago and had immediately slumped onto his couch. He hadn't moved, almost an hour later. He was stuck running over the developments of the day before. Stuck thinking about what Etsumi had told him.

He'd tried his best to carry on as usual throughout the day, but it weighed on him, and now he could barely think.

It was almost too much to take in. The fact that his nemesis, All For One, was still alive, and worse, that he was active once more.

Or the fact that the reason that Toshinori knew he was alive in the first place was because Etsumi, his friend and student, apparently had the same quirk.

And wasn't that a punch to the gut? That for so long, he'd been so very close to the quirk that had given the world so much trouble in years past.

He trusted Etsumi, truly he did. He didn't feel he was mistaken in sharing the secret of One For All, and he did believe that Etsumi wanted to be a hero. But right now, he couldn't quite work past the low-burning panic that came from knowing his nemesis was still alive. Or that his friend had such a quirk.

Toshinori placed a hand over his side, over the wound that man had given him. He felt the constant burn in his chest that came with every breath, and the metallic taste that sat permanently at the back of his throat.

He'd given it his all, at the prime of his power, and even still he'd ended up with such wounds. And now? Now the man that had given them to him was back?

Toshinori couldn't do it.

He just… couldn't.

He powered on the phone in his hand, maneuvering to a contact he hadn't touched in so long it would've gathered dust were it not electronic. A moment later, he brought the ringing phone to his ear.

It was answered barely two rings later, and a gruff voice greeted him.

"I trust you've got a good reason for calling me out of the blue after so long avoiding me, Toshi."

"Gran." He said. "I've got something to tell you. Something important has come up."

"Well? What is it? Spit it out already."

Toshinori took a breath.

"He is back."

The silence from the other side was almost deafening, until his teacher spoke up again, his tone much more serious.

"All For One? He isn't dead?"

"Correct. He's alive. He's the one behind the recent attack on Yueii."

"And… And that's not all."