(Author POV)

Izuku and Asriel had chosen to take the train to school today. Asriel had wanted to make it to UA without having to waste a bunch of energy on parkouring their way to school, but it was a mistake. Ever since Izuku made his debut, he's been getting a higher workload. While he appreciated that people were taking him seriously now and trusting him to handle things, it was an exhausting job, but a job he needed to get used to if he was going to be the "Symbol of Hope". After all, just look at the "Symbol of Peace". He's a very busy man, always running around fighting crime. And he works at UA now too, so that's a lot of paperwork if Toriel's job as a teacher is anything to go by.

But with his new fame, came lots of attention.

People were congratulating them left and right. Asriel wasn't used to this much attention all at once and got nervous. He stuttered out his thanks for all their compliments and encouragement, but Izuku didn't react. That last day of internships was spent interrogating, investigating, reporting, filing, calling, emailing, and just a lot of work. A tad more than Izuku was used to actually, and he was tired again. Hawks gave Izuku the card to the owner of the store with the fruit baskets so Izuku could grab one on the way to school if he ever missed breakfast at any point in the future. Toriel gave Izuku a warm cup of coffee in a travel cup for him to take with him to school, and Asriel got a cup of golden flower tea from Asgore because Asriel wasn't very fond of coffee like Izuku was.

When the brothers had reached their station, everyone waved them off with a few hopeful cheers amongst the crowd. Asriel smiled and thanked them while Izuku waved back. They walked into the gates of UA and were met with whispers and a very excited Shinsou and Monoma. "Yo, Izuku!" Shinsou called out. "Did you really take down the Hero Killer?" Monoma asked. Izuku nodded and handed them a few fruit bags he bought at the store. Despite already eating breakfast at home, Izuku bought them anyway as a "snack for later". Turns out it was a gift for Class B. Honestly, he should have expected that, since they have Lunch Rush to cook the food at UA. The two boys took them eagerly and talked more about the internships all the way to class.

Asriel watched them talk and smiled until Ilda zoomed past them all and yelled about always being early to class. Asriel let out a soft sigh. He really missed this. "Hey, Asriel!" Uraraka called, walking towards the group with a bounce in her step. "How was your internship?" she asked. "Pretty normal. Did a bunch of paperwork, ran a few errands, had a bit of self-training, and went on patrol a couple of times with Hawks. Izuku got a partnership offer, which is great. But his debut seems to be causing him more pressure than before," Asriel responded. "Wow, you'd think they would go easier on him because of it. He needs a break, huh?" Uraraka said. Asriel hummed in agreement. As they arrived at the classroom he wondered if someone else with Izuku's intentions would ever take the job or if they'll even be good at it. Perhaps he can ask Nezu for help, too? More support means less work, less work means more freedom, and more freedom means less stress. "Izuku needs a team, or he'll end up working himself to death trying to do it all on his own," Asriel muttered to himself.

Unknown to Asriel, a particular sleep-deprived hero was listening and worrying just the same.

. . .

"Seriously?! Seriously Bakugou?!" Kirishima and Sero mocked. Bakugou had walked into the classroom with his hair in an unnatural shape. Apparently, his internship with Best Jeanist had been comprised of being a "functioning member of society". Basically, Best Jeanist spent all two weeks trying to tame the pomeranian by styling his hair into a side-swept position, flattening his "spiky" hair. His hair was spiky by nature-- no hair products involved-- but he took good care of it so it was very soft. That being said, it was a fashionable hairdo on anyone but Bakugou, so he looked pretty cursed right now. Izuku took the time to record this little scene on his phone for blackmail purposes. A pretty look on an ugly face? Perfect material. He was sending this to all of Class B because he knew that they would make sure Bakugou never lived this down.

"Stop Laughing! My hair's gotten used to it so it won't go back even after I wash it!" He said, shaking in rage. "Hey, stop laughing! I'll kill you!" Though his threats meant nothing in the face of Sero and Kirishima. "I'd like to see you try, Side-Part Boy!" Sero teased. "WHAT'D YOU SAY?!" Katsuki screamed, his hair exploding back into its trademark spikes. "It's back!" Sero laughed, causing Kirishima to start crying from laughing so hard. Izuku decided that was enough and ended the recording. "Izu no don't-" Asriel tried to warn, but it was too late because Izuku had already sent it to the "B-Squad" chat. Seconds later, his phone received multiple pings in response to his video.

- - -

Hitoshi Shinsou: Oh he's never living this down.

Neito Monoma: Pomeranian has been tamed!

Itsuka Kendo: This is GOLDEN! Thanks Izuku! <3

- - -

Izuku watched with a victorious smirk as more messages slid into the chat with a few promises of spreading it around the school if he did anything. Asriel audibly sighed as he ran a hand down his face. Mina was talking to Jiro about how jealous she was that the purplette got to fight villains. "I just helped evacuate and did logistical support. So I didn't do any fighting," Jiro replied. "It's still amazing, though!" Mina praised. "All I did was train and go on patrols, too. There was just one time when we caught smugglers from a neighboring country," Tsuyu told her. "That's crazy!" the other two girls said. "What about you Ochako? How was your week?" Tsuyu asked. Uraraka was surrounded by a dangerous aura. "It was very worthwhile," she replied, punching the air and practicing her fighting forms. "Uraraka has awakened," Mina quietly joked. However, off in the corner Kaminari was intimidated by the scary face she was making. "That's a huge change for just one week, huh?" he muttered to himself.

"But the ones who made the most change were you three, huh?" Kaminari pointed out, turning towards Ilda and the brothers, who were talking amongst themselves. "Oh, yeah! The Hero Killer!" Sero commented, doing his best to escape Bakugou's wrath. "I'm glad you guys made it out alive! Seriously," Kirishima chimed in, also trying to wriggle free of Bakugou's grasp. "I was worried as well," Youyorozu commented, holding her hand over her heart. "I heard you took him down, right Izuku?" Sato asked. Izuku nodded in response. "He was strangely nicer than I expected. It was kind of unsettling, really," Izuku told them. "But at least now I know that I have a lot more supporters because of him," Izuku continued, shutting off his phone and silencing the chat. "That's amazing! As expected of our Angel," Touru chirped.

"I heard on the news that he was connected to the League of Villains. Imagining someone that scary coming to the USJ freaks me out," Ojirou said. "He wasn't," Izuku corrected. "He was actually against the League. He warned me about them, saying that they were targeting me and that I should be careful. There's word of my name in the villain underworld and how I'm going to be a great hero, so there's a chance that if the heroes can't help me fight, then there are a few villains who can. It's both comforting and not at the same time. Like I said earlier, it was unsettling," Izuku explained. This information caused a few different reactions from the class. Some faces of worry, some faces of relief, and Tsuyu looked more curious than anything.

"Well, more supporters means more peace, kero. That's what you're looking for right?" Tsuyu asked. Izuku smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that's always a good thing. The lower the chances of war, the better. I'm... a bit glad we met... does that make sense?" Izuku asked. Tsuyu nodded. Kaminari spoke up next, "And did you see the video, Ojirou?" "Video? You mean the one about the Hero Killer?" Ojirou asked. "Yeah. Seeing that, you can see how he's really single-minded and, like, tenacious. Doesn't it almost make you think he's cool?" Kaminari pointed out. "Kaminari!" Asriel shouted. "oh Il- sorry," he apologized, remembering Ilda's injured arm. Stain had left his forearm in bandages from being stabbed and temporarily paralyzed. "No, it's fine," Ilda told him. "It's true that he was tenacious. I understand how people could think he's cool. But he chose purging as a result of his beliefs. No matter what he thinks, that part is definitely wrong. To keep anyone else from turning out like me, I will return to the path of a hero!" Ilda finished his arm back in full chop.

"Now, it's time for class! Everyone get in your seats!" Ilda shouted, returning to his old self. "Aaand he's back," Izuku joked, earning a light jab from his brother. "He's loud," Kaminari muttered. "It's 'cause you talked about weird stuff, Kaminari!" Jirou scolded. "Sorry..." he sulked. Asriel smiled, glad to see his friend feeling better. Izuku rested his head on his hand. It was weird not having any work to do.

. . .

(Shoto POV)

I couldn't help the pit in my stomach as we walked to gym Gamma for another training exercise with All Might. My mind was still stuck on that one moment in Hosu. Even though it pained me to know that a villain had been the one to save Izuku from dying, that wasn't what was eating me alive at the moment. Both times he was in danger, I did nothing. Both times he got hurt, I did nothing. I felt even more useless and weak than when my father would "train" me. As I was changing into my hero costume, I couldn't help but think of the fear in his eyes as the Nomu escaped containment. I thought of the terror that filled him when Stain stood over him. I saw the pain he was in when the Hero Killer filled the air with his bloodlust. And I couldn't do ANYTHING!

After the sports festival, I wanted to thank Izuku for helping me somehow, but every time I got close he was surrounded by others. I just wanted a bit of alone time with him so I could finally express my gratitude, but now I want that same thing for the sake of apologizing. I want to save him from his pain as he saved me. According to Ilda, he finished all his work from his job and was finally getting a well-earned break from the neverending stress. So he has a day off. Maybe I can catch him after school before the others do and perhaps treat him to something to make him feel better. Maybe even make up for my failure, and I only hope we can be friends again.

We arrived at the training site where All Might was waiting for us. I wasn't listening when he was explaining the exercise. I barely heard the whispers of everyone's excited voices going on about a 'race' and 'rescue'. I didn't even care when All Might singled out Bakugou when telling us to "keep damage to buildings to a minimum". Despite everyone's laughter and jokes, I was filled with a twisting feeling of regret that just wouldn't shake no matter how hard I tried. I did everything I could to keep a straight face and even my breathing, but I felt like my mascarade was slipping more than usual. It occurred to me that this wouldn't go away until I did something about it, so I just pushed it down like everything else. 'Can't feel the pain if you can't feel anything.' I thought to myself. 'Feelings come later. Focus on now, Shoto.'

That's right, I can deal with this later. I know it will only hurt worse when I finally let it out, but that's a problem for future me. Current me is in class, current me is in training, and current me is on a mission that I can't afford to mess up. 'Okay, let's do this,' I thought, preparing myself for the exercise. Izuku, Ilda, Ojirou, Sero, and Mina were up first. People started betting on who would win second place, as we all knew very well that Izuku would be first.

Sero landed in second place, swinging his way around the mock city with his tape. Mina got third by using her acid to slide across the pipes like she was skating on a skateboard. Ojirou had bounced through the city by slapping the footholds with his tail and boosting him into the air. And Ilda had used his engine quirk to speed through town.

Izuku had zoomed past the competition, as expected. But what surprised everyone was his lack of magic use. He was doing all of this without a single power boost. It was just normal parkour with perfect balance. Everyone was amazed at Izuku's display of skill. He didn't even look like he was trying. Asriel went on to explain that they usually take the rooftops to go to school, which is how they met Hawks in the first place. Learning that Izuku was just this amazing by nature seemed to excite them even further. Are all quirkless people this amazing? I couldn't help but wonder what the world would be like if quirkless people were in power. Maybe I'll find out soon if Izuku's current progress is anything to go by.

I'll root for you too, Izuku!

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(I'm sorry I took so long to get these chapters out but these last few weeks have been busy. My schedule is back on track and I took a mental break to recharge. I'm back in business and ready to write again.

Two chapters in one day, and another 3000+ words in this one.)