Chapter 10 Incident Zero by Ya Boy Guzma

You still wanna get into UA, right Izuku?"

Izuku, head deep in a notebook scribbling away about Mirko's latest fight even as he walked, started at the sound of Setsuna's question out of the blue. "Huh? Why do you ask?"

"You always wanted the same thing since we were tiny, you know?" Setsuna flashed her widest grin at him. "You told me you were gonna be Number One one day, and everything-"

Izuku groaned. "I was five, stop trying to embarrass me-"

"Hey, you said it not me!" Setsuna put her hands on her hips even as they kept walking. "You didn't even have a Quirk back then and you were so determined. Now you've got that super strong Quirk, surely you've got even more in your favour to go to UA!"

"Y-Yeah..." Izuku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I heard their tests are even stricter now they have less students coming in. You think I can still do it?"

"Hell yeah! It's the attitude that's half of it too. Nobody I know wants to make a difference more than you."

Izuku smiled. Tenko had said the same. If both of them thought it, then maybe he could.

After their heart-to-heart from Izuku seeing Tenko's darkest moments, Tenko had moved in and become part of the Midoriya family furniture. He hadn't accepted Inko's offer of being formally adopted, but it was clear she still thought of him as a second son. Nothing changed between the two boys, of course - they still remained practically inseparable, and still spent hours after school training their Quirks alongside each other - but in a world growing weirder by the day, it helped that they could be sure to keep each other safe.

All the while, as two boys forged a bond akin to blood brothers, and the world went in a handcart around them, those two bright young minds drew up a plan to right the wrongs around them. A plan to get Izuku into UA, the school of his dreams, to get him to graduate and stand up to inspire change not just in their city, but the whole country. Izuku had always wanted to become a Hero, no matter how impossible he had been told it would be, no matter what barriers people constructed in front of him while Quirkless. Now, finally, he could be given a chance to change things.

He closed the notebook, careful to keep a finger in it to save the page, and nodded to Setsuna. "I always wanted to go to UA... even now as the country goes nuts I still want it."

"No matter how much the people don't like Heroes?"

"No matter what. I... I can't just sit here and let it get worse. I can't stand by and let people corrupt what it means to be a Hero. I still want to save people, with a smile on my face. That's what I want to be and what I want others to want, more than anything." He nodded, clenched a fist. "I don't like how things have been going, so I have to try, right?"

"Never change, cuz." Setsuna detached an arm and glided it over to ruffle his hair. "Ain't he the most precious, Tenko?"

"Yeah... although I'm gonna go with him too."

Setsuna turned to look at Tenko, hands in his pockets. "You serious?! You want to try for UA? I thought you hated the Heroes!"

"Yeah... I still agree more with the Hero Killer than any of them." Tenko shrugged his shoulders. "But this idiot told me if I don't like it, I should do something about it myself, and he's right. I told him I'd have his back and go with him, so if I can get into UA with him, maybe I can be better than the ones I hate, and do something to fix society in the process."

"Wow..." Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "You didn't forget the part where you're two years older than us, did ya?"

"Heh. Figured you'd say that." Tenko smirked. "UA still allows deferred entry. I can join you in your class as a first year even though I'm older, if I apply at the same time. Guess this means I get to cheese the early levels."

"Damn. Kinda sad you think you'll be doing better than us, Ten-Ten. As if UA is gonna be easy."

Izuku shared a look with Tenko. They knew it wouldn't be easy, but then nothing worth doing ever was. This was the goal they had decided to nail their colours to the mast for, for now; if things got worse or things got insufferable, they would have to reconsider, but if there was any hope of changing anything, they would have to lead by example, and show people there was a better way. "We're ready. I know it."

"That's the spirit!" Setsuna pointed finger guns at the pair of them. "I'll get you both the application form tomorrow when I swing by to see my friend at Fondo High. Aldera might not like Heroes anymore but they ain't gonna stop us!"

"Thanks Setsuna!"

"No sweat!" She stopped for a second, underneath a sign pointing to Tatooin Station. "Say, why did you even come this way again?"

"You stupid lizard! What part of you asking us to walk you to the station did you forget?!"

When Setsuna had told them that she was heading away for a day and needed to leave Musutafu, Izuku and Tenko had agreed without hesitation to walk Setsuna to the station after their brief interlude of training. Not that she wasn't capable of defending herself in case any unsavoury types came for her, of course; Izuku had seen first-hand just how much Setsuna had trained herself and her Quirk when she laid out a random vagrant who had tried to rob their group for lunch money one day. No, this was more of a reaction to the area being unfamiliar. Yakuza seemed to be more and more common around Musutafu, Esuha, Kamino and Tokyo these days; not only that, but they seemed seemed to be getting bolder, travelling around in larger groups, making their presence felt. If they were out there, then it was best to band together too, especially around a busy hub like Tatooin Station with so many unknown people.

As they approached the busy intersection near the station and the formidable railway bridge across the road, however, something didn't seem right. There was a commotion up ahead and a few gasps and screams from people, almost as if a fight was going on. This in itself wasn't unusual; while it hadn't become a crime-ridden metropolis on the level of Kyushu or Esuha, Musutafu was seeing increasing crime which the police couldn't cope with entirely. Most of these situations could be ignored and passed by as someone else's problem.

Most of these situations didn't involve the sudden appearance of a giant beast-headed man growing to the size of an office block in the middle of a busy intersection, right by the station. The ground trembled underfoot as the brute reached his full size, and gave a deafening bestial roar as if challenging anyone to come forward. Izuku saw the giant appear right before his eyes, veins pulsing and engorged, a hazy look in his eyes, and he knew this was trouble.

"Sheesh," Tenko said, slowly slipping one glove off. "That's one huge villain. I didn't know there was a boss spawner round here."

"Do you think he's Yakuza?" Izuku asked, turning to his friend, before he started at the sight of Tenko willingly exposing his hand and flexing his fingers in public. "T-Tenko!"

"What?" Tenko deadpanned, wearing a complete poker face with ease. "It's just insurance, promise. We're getting out of here, but I wanna be ready if he comes over here."

"He's right, Zuzu," Setsuna said, looking completely unfazed by the giant villain in front of them. "I'd rather take my chances and stay alive than not be able to find all of my bits when he steps on me."

"Looking after number one is the way," Tenko agreed, shaking his fringe out of his eyes to glare at the behemoth. "We aren't looking for a fight, but we've gotta protect ourselves if he does come this."

"I knew you'd understand, Ten-Ten. Although if you wanna start looking for my bits any time soon then feel free-"

"NOT THE TIME, YOU TWO!" Izuku flushed red as Setsuna's wild side came out in full force, and he shook himself as his cousin cackled. "Alright, self-defence, I get it. Let's keep moving before he stands on us!"

As if to demonstrate Izuku's point, the enormous beast-headed man roared out, thick blue veins bulging on his neck and limbs, before he lashed out with one monstrous arm. With a sickening crunch, he tore through one of the energy poles rising from the street to stand alongside the railway, and the screams of the crowd horrified Izuku as the metal tower crashed to earth. There were people under there as it landed, and nobody in sight to help them, and Izuku and his group stood frozen no more than a hundred metres from the chaos as it unfolded, unable to bring themselves to flee at the sight before them.

"Where are the Heroes when you need them?" a lady shouted, dragging her winged toddler child behind her as she fled.

"There are people trapped under there! What are we gonna do?"

"Can't anyone stop this guy?"

"YOU'RE WELCOME TO TRY!" The bestial giant yelled, swinging a fist the size of a car into the side of a multi-storey car park and laughing as he pulled cars from the gaping hole in the building, raining them down on innocent bystanders.

"What the hell happened?" Tenko shouted, bracing his skinny legs as the ground shook from the footsteps of the villain and from the impacts. "Why is this guy entering rage state here?"

"Guy stole a handbag from a woman and took Trigger when the boyfriend fought back so he didn't get beat," replied an older man in a business suit, as he ran past Izuku's group. "He's on a fucking rampage, man!"

Trigger. That one word gave Izuku more of an explanation than any of the others. Trigger was a name that every kid knew, heard on the whispers of the dark sides of the Internet and in the shadows of the alleyways you weren't supposed to go down. Quirk enhancement drugs like nothing the world had ever seen before, Trigger sent people almost into a berserker state with a rush of blood to the head and a boost to their Quirk Factor; it was a good high and a means to overpower anyone in a pinch. The Yakuza had taken to handing it out like candy as a reward for anyone willing to do their dirty work, and there were whispers as to people making money in the underworld arming low-level thugs with stockpiles of the drug to create their own instant footsoldiers. The police just couldn't cope with how much of it was getting out there, or where it was coming from, and so villains like this with their pulsing blue veins pumped full of the stuff were all too common these days.

Vile substance. No match for true power.

He shook his head as that thought bounced around his skull. He had no idea where it came from. "Guys..."

"Yeah, I don't think I'm getting that train," Setsuna said, grimacing. "Not good."

"I wanna stop him, but we can't, Izuku," Tenko said, staring at the giant man. "Not if you want to get into UA. If we get arrested as vigilantes taking him down there's no way back."

"He's right Zuzu. We've gotta go, no matter how much we wanna help."

Izuku found himself grinding his teeth.

"Right!" Izuku made to spin and run off. "Let's get out of-"

Thump. As Izuku span on his heels to get away from the rampaging giant, he found resistance as he ran into someone. They weren't particularly tall or broad, but he certainly wasn't expecting to have someone standing immediately in his space, knocking them to the ground and sending the stuff they were holding flying.

"Oh crap, I'm so sorry!" he cried, picking himself up and turning to reach out a hand to the stranger. "Are you-"

His hand was clasped immediately by a skinny, delicate hand, and his green eyes met piercing yellow eyes which took him completely by surprise for a second. In front of him was a girl, about his age, with messy blonde hair tied up in two buns and a wicked smile on her face. He found himself taking a breath for a second, and couldn't help his eyes roam over her face, taking in the fact that he could see two canines poking out in her smile like fangs. That was kinda cute. She was kinda pretty.

Oh no. Not the time.

"Aw thank you! Such a gentleman!"

Izuku, going bright red at the thoughts in his head, flushed crimson at her response to him as she took his hand. "I-I-I-I-"

She giggled as he pulled her up, and dusted herself off. "Hehe! Guess I should look where I'm standing next time, huh? What's your name?"

"Ahhhhhh..." Izuku tried frantically to get his blush under control. "I-Izuku Midoriya, hi-"

"Hi Izuku! Cute name!" She flashed a brilliant smile at him. "I'm Himiko! You live around here?"

"Y-Y-Yeah I-"

"Apparently can't function when talking to a girl."

Izuku started at Setsuna's voice behind him, mocking him. "H-Huh! Setsuna why-"

She laughed, shaking her head. "Picking up girls in the middle of a crisis? Jeez Zuzu, time and a place." She smirked at the blonde. "I'm Setsuna Tokage, his cousin, and grumpy over there is Tenko Shimura. We live around here, yeah, I'll answer for him. You local?"

"Just moved here with my dad and big bro Shuichi!"

"Then I'm sure we'll see more of you." Setsuna's smirk grew wide and lopsided. "Going on his reaction he clearly thinks you're pretty, so I'm sure he won't mind if we hang out more."

"W-WAIT-"

"Thank you! He's kinda cute himself!"

Izuku tried and failed not to break as Himiko came out with that. "HAAH-"

"Is now really the time for this?" Tenko groaned behind Setsuna, rubbing his face with his gloved hand. "Can we just get outta here now, away from the miniboss wrecking the scenery over there?"

"Relax, we're at a safe distance now," Setsuna said, waving him off. "We should be fine around these parts if nerd-face over here wants to do notes on his Quirk."

Tenko, tutting at her, reached down and picked up a notebook off of the floor. "Speaking of that, Izu, you dropped your holy bible."

"Huh? But I've got mine still?" Izuku frowned, waving his own book at Tenko to prove the point. "Whose is-"

"Oh, that's mine."

All three of Izuku's group looked over at the new girl Himiko, as she gave a little awkward wave and took the book off of Tenko. "Huh?"

"I..." She almost looked bashful. "I kinda was taking notes on the big guy over there when I made Izuku fell over. Sorry about that."

"You..." Izuku's eyes were wide as saucers. "I do that too! We can- mrmph!"

Tenko had placed a gloved hand over his friend's mouth, and groaned. "Great, another Quirk nerd. Keep this up and he'll ask you to marry him."

Izuku shook himself clear of the hand over his mouth and glared at Tenko. "H-Hey! What was that for?"

"It's bad enough watching you try and flirt, I don't want to lose you to another classic Izuku mutterstorm in the middle of a boss fight-"

"I'm not flirt-"

"Look!"

Izuku didn't get to finish his sentence as suddenly, out of nowhere, a flash of brown swung over the heads of his group and the bystanders towards the villain, swinging on streetlights and telephone poles to get over the crowd and into the action. Other bystanders and commuters gasped at the sudden arrival throwing himself through the air, before landing in between the crowd and the giant villain as if to present himself as a barricade. "Have no fear, people of Musutafu!"

"He's here!"

"It's Kamui Woods! I'm your biggest fan!" came a cry from the crowd, and the cheers intensified the Hero who had just arrived straightened up. Nobody would ever mistake him for another Hero; no other Hero in the country looked like a polished oak statue, with skin entirely made of wood, or wore a bundle of roses on their waist like an emblem. He was short, paling in size even to nearby bystanders let alone the villain, but he spread his tree-like arms wide and made himself look huge as branches shot out like the tail of a peacock to make him look bigger, and protect those behind him.

Kamui Woods glared at the villain, a frown forming on his wooden face. "Stand down, sir! You've done enough damage here today."

"Heh, you really think you can take me on with that puny Arbor Quirk?! This Trigger shit is way out of your league, Woods! I'll crush you!"

"Don't say I didn't give you the chance to come quietly..." The Hero shook his head. "Fine, then I'll arrest you myself!"

"Get away from me or I'll break you like a twig!" growled the giant, as he flexed his monstrous arms and roared to the heavens, the epitome of evil in that moment.

"Not today villain!" Kamui Woods shouted, grabbing onto a nearby shop corner with an arboreal limb and launching himself into the air to go on the offensive. "This ends now!"

"Wow..." Izuku was starstruck all of a sudden from the back of the crowd where they were, as he watched the Hero throw himself into action. "That's Kamui Woods! He's still a private Hero, but he really works hard to ensure justice for all, and look after us all round here! He's making a big splash around here as a new hero for his work with the Police!"

The blonde girl, Himiko, shot a look at him as she scribbled a few notes in a scrawl Izuku could barely read. "So you're a fanboy, huh?"

"H-Hey! You're writing notes too!" Izuku blushed red again. "I just... some Quirks are really cool."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Some Quirks? Not some Heroes?"

"...No..." He paused for a second. "I wanna be a Hero but... I want to be a better Hero than what we have. One that protects people and puts a smile on their face, one they can have faith in. Kamui Woods is like that, but we don't have too many of those these days."

She looked at him then, with a strange expression on her face, as if something had piqued her curiosity. "... Huh. You really think you can do it?"

"I hope so." Izuku smiled at her. "Someone has to try, right?"

He didn't see the faint blush that spread to her cheeks, or the look in her amber eyes at what he had said to her, or the smallest of fanged smiles that had flickered on her face. In that moment there had been a loud crack like the sound of a tree falling in the woods, as Kamui Woods leapt away from the giant villain, bits of branch from his body falling away from the villain's face. Izuku had missed a new move! He couldn't miss another!

"Assault, robbery, drug use and illegal use of powers during rush hour traffic... you are the embodiment of evil!" Kamui Woods proclaimed, as he grabbed onto a streetlight with one arm and hung there to glare at the villain. "Have you no shame?"

"Gragh!" The villain spat out bits of wood he had apparently bitten down on. "You little pest! I'm done messing around!"

"Come on, Kamui!" Setsuna shouted, whooping, all threat of the giant villain seemingly forgotten in a second as the spectacle unfolded like the good old days. "Show us you're a proper Hero!"

Somehow, over all the other cheers of the crowd, Kamui Woods seemed to have heard that, and one wooden hand stretched out in a thumbs-up; Izuku couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia when he saw the gesture, at how much like All Might it was. He clearly wasn't the only one who had adored the Symbol of Peace. "Right away citizen! It's a Hero's job to save people, and to stop villains wherever they are! I won't let you down!"

"Hahaha!" The laugh of the giant villain came out like the bark of a mad dog. "And what do you think you'll do to me, pipsqueak?!"

Kamui Woods slung himself up onto the roof of Tatooin Station. "Just you watch, villain! Time for my special move!"

"Aw man!" Izuku cried, eyes wide, as branches began to grow from Kamui Woods' outstretched arms and writhe like snakes, flying towards the villain. "Here he comes-"

"Surely this is too obvious," muttered Tenko, wincing as Izuku reflexively kicked behind him to kick Tenko in the shin. "Ow! Hey-"

"Preemptive! Binding! LACQUERED CHAIN-"

"CANYON CANNON!"

The whole scene turned into absolute chaos in one moment. As the tendrils of wood shot at the giant villain, ready in an instant to secure him and completely immobilise, a deafening bang had come from the right of both Kamui Woods and the giant terrorising downtown Musutafu. Out of nowhere, a giant lady even taller than the rampaging criminal, clad in a white bodysuit and wearing a wide grin, had jumped over the station and the railway lines to land a monstrous kick into the jaw of the villain. Blindsided, the villain crashed backwards and landed with a crunch on a nearby clothes shop, the screams of those inside at the time audible to those on the ground.

As the dust settled and the villain lay unmoving in a crater of his own making, visibly shrunken in size and with the wounded forms of those in the shop he landed in, the newcomer straightened up and flicked her long blonde hair out of her face. Stretching out her arms, she turned to the crowd and flashed them a wink, seemingly uncaring about the people caught in the crossfire by her kick. "Peace of cake for the world's next hottest Hero! Hi there everyone, I'm Mount Lady!"

"Good job, Lady. An effective debut." Everyone nearby turned at the call of the gruff voice, an older man striding through the debris without acknowledging any of the bystanders at all. He was a hulk of a Hero, bulging muscles on display through his costumes, and chunky hazard-warning wrist guards clanking as he walked. "The Commission will be happy with what we've done today."

"Is that..." Tenko was incredulous. "Death Arms came all the way here from Tokyo to kill steal off of Kamui Woods? What the hell are the Commission doing?"

"Hear that, everyone? You're safe now!" Mount Lady waved at all the bystanders, oblivious to the rubble around her as she simpered. "Mount Lady and Death Arms of the Hero Commission, at your service! We'll be taking this villain now into Commission custody, so you can get on your way!"

"Stand back and let the Pros handle this, people," Death Arms shouted in that distinctive hoarse voice. "This is our scene now."

There was a brief pause for a second...

"WHAT THE HELL MAN?!"

"Who do you people think you are?"

"Kamui had that covered, you clowns!"

"Look what you did to my shop!"

"You're not Heroes, you disgraces!"

A vein appeared to pop on Mount Lady's forehead as she heard the angry shouts of the residents of Musutafu, angered that the Hero Commission had wandered into a situation under control and somehow made it even worse as if to spite the local Hero. "Hey! A little gratitude would be nice for saving your butts, people!"

"Sheesh, she seems like an asshole," Tenko said, staring around at the angry locals. "Ain't she the top graduate from Shiketsu last year, Izu?"

"Yeah, she's actually from round here," Izuku replied, staring at the frozen figure of Kamui Woods on the roof of the train station. It was clear that the Pro Hero was still completely shocked by what had just happened. "He had it under control and now look what they've done..."

"This ain't heroic," muttered Himiko, scribbling even more frantically and appearing (at least to Izuku) to draw a circle around Mount Lady's name. "This ain't right."

She isn't wrong. This time Izuku agreed with his inner voice.

After a moment of incredulity, Kamui Woods appeared to shake himself down and leapt off of the roof of Tatooin Station to land in front of Death Arms and Mount Lady. "What do you think you're doing? This is my business as the Pro Hero responsible for this jurisdiction-"

"Commission orders, rookie," Death Arms growled in response, as Mount Lady loomed above. "We got told to come here and seek out Trigger users to take in for the Commission. You got a problem, you take it up with them not me."

"No, I can't stand for this!" Kamui Woods cried, branch offshoots sprouting from his back like the spines of a hedgehog. "I had this under control and now you're telling me you're taking him away before the Police arrive? You've not even secured him or made sure the Trigger has worn off-"

"And when it does, he's ours." Death Arms punched his two meaty fists together and glowered at the wooden man. "Don't interfere with our duty, kid."

"No, you stop interfering with mine!" Kamui Woods did not appear shaken by the veteran in front of him. "Under the laws of this city, I am required to administer a Trigger antidote, take him into custody, and bring him before the Chief of Police to be arrested and stand trial, here in this city! The Commission don't get to trump justice no matter how much you may wish to steal the spotlight from Pro Heroes trying to get by!"

"He's resisting us, sir," Mount Lady shouted over her shoulder to Death Arms, as she looked down on the villain she had tackled. "Interfering with the duty of Pro Heroes of the Hero Commission is a crime-"

"Good memory, Lady." Death Arms cracked his knuckles, raising his fists and striding towards Kamui Woods with a glare. "Last chance. Get out of our way, small-timer."

"Call yourself Heroes?!" Kamui Woods was fuming, and splayed his branched arms in a defensive stance. "Back down, before I call the Police!"

"As if you think they could do anything!" Death Arms barked, the laugh of a smoker. "You brought this on yourself."

In a blur, the scene erupted into pure chaos. The crowd in front of Izuku and his group screamed and scattered, and through the melee Izuku saw Death Arms throw a right hook with his beefy arms straight at the local hero. Kamui Woods reacted instantly, ducking underneath the punch and grappling with one wooden arm to wrap around the torso of the older Pro and launch him away with a throw, sailing past Mount Lady and the fallen villain to crash through the front window of a nearby shoe shop. Watching her mentor be thrown away so easily by Kamui Woods, Mount Lady turned her back on the downed Trigger user and howled at Kamui Woods, rushing towards him in a few earth-shaking strides to wind up for a kick...

"Titan-"

"Lacquered Chain TRIPWIRE!"

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Faced with a charging Heroine at least ten times the size of him, Kamui Woods reacted instinctively in the only way he could, and Izuku marvelled at the Pro's ingenuity. Any direct attack from his branches would have been met by the sheer wall that was Mount Lady and would have snapped his branches as if they were nothing, so Kamui Woods used her own size and momentum against her. Pulling himself to the side of her charge and reaching out with one arm of solid wood, he turned it into a single straight barrier of wood and launched it across the street, burying it into the roof of a nearby shop. He was safe out of the way, and the giantess' shins collided with the firm wooden trip hazard he had created, meaning that her charge had become her own worst enemy; she was going down hard.

Wait... the harder they fall. Oh no.

As Mount Lady yelled out and smacked her face on the side of another clothes shop, bloodying her enormous nose, she reached out with her massive arms and carved chunks into the side of an office block as if to try and stop her fall. She still face-planted into the pavement with a thud that shook the whole neighbourhood and laid Tenko flat on his ass, but now her massive hands had clawed out part of the building next to them, and rubble was falling onto them...

Onto Himiko, stood frozen beneath a chunk of concrete the size of a piano, which would crush her in an instant if he didn't act.

No!

"AIR FORCE SMASH!"

He moved without thinking.

Almost as if everything was in slow motion, he raised both his palms out towards the piece of rubble descending from the heavens, and felt black and red lightning crackle around his biceps, under his shirt. With a cry, he pushed with all the force he could manage in his palms, and inwardly breathed a massive sigh of relief as he watched the blast of air blossom upwards from his palm. Ripping through the concrete as if it were papier-mâché, the chunk of concrete disappeared into dust which rained down on all those in the alleyway, safe and sound from any injury.

Wincing slightly as a tiny chunk hit him on the hand and caused a gash which started to bleed, he turned immediately to Himiko, who was standing there as if dumbstruck by his actions. "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?"

Now he had the opportunity to see the faint blush on her face, the look of awe in her eyes, as she looked at him and bit her lip shyly for a second. "... Dang, Izuku."

He flushed. "Hey, I just wanted to help-"

"I know..." She smiled at him, no trace of anything in her eyes but gratitude and admiration. "You kinda saved me. Thank you, Izuku."

"You there! The green-haired boy!"

Izuku was shaken out of the brief moment in which he got lost in the amber eyes across from him by the sound of Kamui Woods' voice from the street, and turned to see the Pro staring at him with wide eyes. "U-Uhhh..."

"Was that your Quirk? The air blast just then?"

Izuku hung his head. He had been seen using it in public by a Pro Hero- this was trouble. "Y-Yeah-"

"Izu!" Tenko hissed from the floor, alarmed. "What are you doing? You can't go admitting that just like that-"

"Well done."

Both the boys froze. "HUH?!"

Kamui scratched the back of his head with a distinctly wooden sound. "I know I shouldn't approve of public Quirk usage, but you just acted in pure defence out of instinct, and saved someone in an instant. You did well."

Izuku melted, completely sheepish. "T-T-Thank you, s-sir!"

"Don't call me sir, I'm not that old!" Kamui Woods cocked his head to one side. "Are you planning on becoming a Hero?"

"Yessir, we all are." Izuku gestured to Tenko and Setsuna, who stood like rabbits caught in headlights because of his unfailing honesty. "We all want to go to UA!"

"My old school." Kamui Woods nodded and gave Izuku a thumbs up. "When you get there, come find me and we can talk internships. For now, get out of here- this isn't a safe place for kids!"

"No shit, tree man!" Tenko shouted, as Setsuna pulled him upright with a detached hand. "Not like the fighting gives us many places to run at the moment with people that large!"

"I can only apologise! For now let's hope the Police get here soon and-" Kamui Woods was interrupted in an instant as a massive fist slammed into his chest and launched him backwards. "Urk!"

Death Arms, the man behind the punch, staggered forward, glaring at the younger Pro. "All of this because you couldn't back down when you were told to. You're lucky you have good sponsors, kid, because you're a sorry excuse of a Pro Hero."

"There are kids here! What do you think you're doing?"

"My job as a Hero of the Hero Commission," the Punching Hero growled, before turning to glare at Izuku's group. "Get out of here. This is between Heroes."

"That's right." Mount Lady had pulled herself upright and now towered over the group, staggering slightly on gigantic legs. "This new guy needs to be taught not to interfere with our duty as Heroes."

"Nah, I don't think you two pieces of trash count as Heroes."

Izuku nearly screamed and Setsuna did a spit-take as Tenko bit back at Death Arms, and the older Hero looked stunned. "What the hell did you say to me, boy?"

"Kamui Woods had it under control and you just wandered in for glory and for your own agenda." Tenko met Death Arms' stare with a manic smile. "You're not Heroes. You never will be."

Mount Lady was as angry as her mentor, as Himiko actually laughed. "Who do you think you are, talking to us like that, you little creep?"

"Oh what, you disagree with me?" Tenko folded his arms, unrelenting despite pleading looks from Izuku and Setsuna. "Fine, then answer me this. When you both decided to pick a fight with our local Pro Hero, which one of you defended the main objective? Who secured the villain?"

There was a brief moment of silence in the middle of that street, as both Death Arms and Mount Lady shot each other a questioning look, quickly followed by a panicked look in response, as Mount Lady's eyes went wide. "Oh fu-"

"RARRRRGH!"

In the blink of an eye, Death Arms and Kamui Woods were sent flying by a colossal foot punting them into the side of an abandoned taxi nearby, a kick worthy of the most ferocious games of football that took them out of commission immediately. The realisation by Mount Lady had afforded her a split second extra to gather herself and her defence, and she was able to bring an arm up to block the attempted uppercut from the giant villain, back on his feet with renewed desire to tear the neighbourhood apart. Even this extra second hadn't completely saved her, as the sheer force behind the punch threw her staggering backwards to fall on some empty housing nearby with a crash, and put her on the ground.

The villain roared to the skies above, triumphant as the titanic Heroine struggled to pull herself up again, before his attention snapped to Izuku and his group below, right beneath him with nowhere else to run. "Damn kids! Where's your Heroes now?!"

As a giant fist was raised above him, blocking out the sun for a moment in readiness to come crashing down, Izuku couldn't hold back. No matter what the cost to himself of acting out and using his Quirk to fight in public would be, Tenko and Setsuna were in harm's way. Himiko, the newcomer, was in harm's way. Nobody else was coming to save them, and so he felt the familiar crackle of black sparks on his arms, the buildup of air pressure in the palm of his hands.

He wouldn't let those he cared about down. "AIR-"

"HOWITZER IMPACT!"

Boom.

A colossal explosion, burning bright orange and crimson, slammed into the chest of the giant villain standing in the middle of the streets, with the shockwave that followed shattering any glass in the area that had somehow remained intact until now. The force of the blast launched the giant backwards, smacking his back into the railway bridge at Tatooin Station with a sickening crack like the sound of twigs snapping. Giant limbs flailed as he went down, demolishing a nearby cafe and putting an even bigger hole in the side of a car park; the screams of bystanders nearby grew even louder.

"No way..." Izuku was struggling to speak. "Is that-"

"YOU IDIOTS!" The source of the Explosion dropped down from a nearby rooftop to land in the middle of the street, planting himself between Izuku's group and the villain who had been launched downtown. "Call yourself Heroes when you're gonna fail like this?"

"What the..." Mount Lady was beside herself as she got back on her feet yet again. "Is that a schoolkid? What the hell are you doing using a Quirk like that, you brat?"

"One giant wannabe villain in public, and you wanna fight each other rather than take him down?" The snark of Katsuki Bakugo was ferocious, and could probably be heard on the other side of the city. He had landed in the middle of the street, palms sparking with his signature Explosions as sweat ran through and soaked the sleeves of his school shirt, and he looked furious. "Fine! If you won't do your job as Heroes, I'll do it for you, you bastards!"

"Holy shit." Tenko had finally found it in himself to speak. "BAKUGO?!"

Bakugo whirled at his name, ready to snap at whoever recognised him, before recognising the green-haired young man at the front of the group. "Deku..."

"B-B-Bakugo!" Izuku found himself squeaking. "What are you-"

"Shut it you worthless loser! I'm gonna go beat that villain up." His palms crackled. "Get the hell out of here before I set you on fire as well, you bastard!"

As Bakugo launched himself forward at the struggling giant villain, still somewhat embedded in the railway bridge, Mount Lady hurled herself upright and began charging too, hurling obscenities and screaming about a kid breaking the law as a vigilante and trying to take her victory. For a brief moment, Izuku found himself tensing up, before as he took a step forward, a skinny hand grabbed his and pulled him. "Huh?!"

"This is our chance to get out of here!" Himiko said, shooting him a pleading look and pulling him down the street away from the fight. "Let's go, come on!"

"She's right Zuzu!" Setsuna shouted, hauling a stunned Tenko in much the same way. "Less talk, more running!"

For a moment, Izuku wanted to resist and run back in. For a moment, he wanted to help and stop the villain, to do the job that the Heroes were doing, and he hated how much he agreed with Bakugo. But in that moment, he saw his friends were right. He couldn't risk his UA dream or the safety of his friends on this fight. "R-Right! Coming!"

As they sprinted down the street, Tenko turned to look at him, stunned. "I didn't dream that right? That was Bakugo turning up at the end of a cutscene to fight a boss-"

"No, that's him," Izuku replied, in as much disbelief. He hadn't seen his childhood bully in years, and now suddenly he was throwing himself into a fight in front of Pro Heroes. "What was he thinking?"

"You know that guy?!" Himiko asked. "He seemed like an asshole!"

"That's because he is!" Setsuna shouted, over a roar in the distance. "He was a bully because he had a strong Quirk and now he's let that go to his head? Mad."

"I just can't believe it," Tenko said. "Izuku told me he always went on about wanting to become the strongest Hero ever. Now he's gonna throw that all away and break the law to fight a guy on Trigger, when there's Pros already there? It's suicide."

"He's not changed one bit," Izuku said, shaking his head. Suddenly they reached an intersection in the road, and while Tenko and Setsuna ran back towards his home, he found himself pulled the other way by Himiko. "H-Hey, wait-"

"Huh?" The blonde girl who had joined them only a few minutes ago skidded to a halt and then realised why he had stopped. "Oh, you're the other way?"

"Y-Yeah. Downtown over near Aldera High." Izuku scratched his head sheepishly. "Will I... will we see you again?"

She giggled and something inside him soared. "Of course, silly!" She held out her other hand, the one that hadn't been holding his, and pressed something small into his palm. A ball of paper? "Text me on that number, okay?"

A girl had given him her number! He was going to text a girl! "O-O-Okay!"

An explosion louder than any of the ones before rocked the ground beneath them, and she jumped. "Right, gotta go!" She paused for a second, smirked with an oh-so-devilish smile, and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, making him flush brighter red than he ever had before. "That's for earlier... my hero."

That was a kiss! "WHAAAA-"

She winked at him, and ran off. "Catch ya later, Izuku! Nice to meet your friends too!"

He froze absolutely still, trying and failing to get his brain back in action after such a simple thing. A girl had actually kissed him. "What just-"

"Come on, dumbass, you gonna stand around all day or are we gonna get home safe and sound?" Tenko laughed, pulling the hood of his green hoodie and getting him to keep moving, dragging him as he and Setsuna sprinted back in the direction of the Midoriya household and the other side of town. "I'm happy for you and all, but maybe don't start pursuing a love ending when we're still on the edge of the boss fight."

"LOVE?!"

"Aww, my cuz got his first kiss!" Setsuna teased, detaching a hand to nudge him in the side as they ran. "Proud of you, green bean!"

"Say, we're definitely telling Inko about this, right?" Tenko asked as they ran, smirking. "She would love to know!"

"Oh hell yeah!" Setsuna's grin was predatory now. "I can't wait to tell Auntie Inko about Zuzu getting a girlfriend!"

He had no idea what was happening. How had they got from the middle of a fight between villains and Heroes to this? How had he ended up with a girl kissing him? How had Bakugo ended up turning up in all of this? What even was this day anymore?

"Say, Zuzu, can you work on her taking me as a bridesmaid? I know Ten's gonna be your best man but I don't wanna be left out here!"

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

Well, this is fun