Izuku felt his breathing stop when Hitoshi collapsed on the screens. His raspy breaths only got noticed by Yaoyorozu and Aizawa, the former taking care of him, and the latter rushing off to make sure Hitoshi was okay. It was only when Izuku saw his brother open his eyes and sleepily talk to Aizawa – Aizawa being firm on sending him to Recovery Girl just in case – that Izuku began to calm down.

"S- sorry, Yaoyorozu..." Deku calmed down quickly, knowing how important it was for the students to always see Deku as a firm and reliable hero, one they could rely on. "I kinda drifted off there..."

Yaoyorozu looked at him in a slightly worried fashion as Deku awkwardly chuckled, before letting the moment pass, and continuing on with their battle strategy. They were up against Kaminari and Jirou, two very strong opponents – Kaminari's quirk worked extremely well with Jirou's mind and adaptability, meaning their plan would have to be very precise and thought out in order for it to work.

"I'm happy to go with whatever idea you decide. You can count on me!" Izuku found himself a bit confused at hearing Yaoyorozu say such things. It felt like she was allowing Izuku to lead everything while she sat back as a tool for him to use to win, rather than a companion to fight alongside him as equals. Sure, he was an official hero whereas she was not, but they were the same age, not to mention she was still in training to become a hero – mental state and independence are both incredibly important factors. If you can't trust yourself in the heat of battle, then you will fail.

He sighed in response to her words, shaking his head slowly back and forth, as he sternly spoke her name. "Yaoyorozu." She turned her head to look at Izuku, and even though the two of them hadn't spent much time together, he could recognise the insecurity within her eyes. It reminded him a lot of when he was younger, doubting himself.

Noticing how nervous she seemed, he gave her a reassuring smile. "You... have a lot of pressure on you, don't you?" She didn't say anything in response, but her eyes widened slightly, letting Izuku know he was on the right track. While he hadn't learned much, Shouta had taught him a little about how to appropriately talk to civilians as a hero, how to help them mentally as well as physically. Sometimes Izuku wonders whether Shouta would've made a good therapist.

... no, probably not.

He's a great dad though.

"Stop worrying about what everyone else wants. This time, I'll be following you." He was unable to tell exactly what his words made Yaoyorozu feel, however he could recognise determination like hers from a mile away – and he could easily spot it forming in her eyes, as she smiles at him.

"Rest assured, you can count on me!"

After a little longer, the teachers focusing on Hitoshi, and on cleaning up the battle site, they called Deku and Yaoyorozu down to fight against Kaminari and Jirou. As the villains of this exercise, they were given an extra amount of time inside the building before the heroes had access to it. Yaoyorozu went in first, Deku casually following behind.

"Remember – today, I want to see your delegating skills, your quick thinking, and your leadership abilities. Today, I will be following your instructions. Alright?" He spoke sternly to her, like a teacher would. However, that tone of voice wouldn't last too much longer, because shortly, he'd be the one following her lead.

Yaoyorozu nodded determinedly in response, and they continued inside the looming building. There were several floors... which one should they take?

Of course, Izuku already had the correct answer, but this time, he was under his partner's instruction, and so he waited for her to make a choice.

"Knowing Kaminari and Jirou..." She murmured under her breath, thinking to herself. "Jirou doesn't have any fast moving abilities, and neither does Kaminari... however Kaminari would likely electrocute the tower... he'd probably focus most of his voltage on the highest floor, since they'd both assume we're there... so the best choice for us... would be the second highest floor...?" After her ramblings, she turned to Izuku, seeking approval. Izuku however, maintained a neutral expression.

"You are the leader, Yaoyorozu, you don't need my permission?" He looked at her questioningly, being careful to not give too much away with his face.

"Yes, however a good skill of a leader is the ability to communicate with their partners, to ask and offer advice, and to listen to everyone in a team. So I am asking you if you believe my idea is a good one." This is the first time she had stood up for her own beliefs and thoughts to him, and it made Izuku smile.

"Perfect." He grinned. "Your assumptions were spot on. Let's head up there."

Yaoyorozu looked taken aback for a split second, before relaxing and smiling back. There was an aura of confidence within her that Izuku had not seen until now. It was small, and it was flickering, but it was still there.

And it was his job to let it rise to the surface.

As the two of them reached the floor, he scouted the area with Yaoyorozu's direction and guidance, before eventually deciding on a room close the back – away from the stairs – but also forward enough that they wouldn't be easily backed up into a corner. They had a couple more minutes before the heroes began the exercise, so they sat down together in front of the fake bomb, discussing strategies.

"I believe Kaminari will try to electrocute the building straight away."

Izuku nodded at her statement. "Alright." He didn't challenge her belief, or contrast it with his own ideas, he took what she said at face value, and believed her. Trusted her. Honestly to him, that was something that most heroes nowadays struggled with doing. Most of the time, people don't need heroes to be fighting for the spotlight. The most important aspect of heroism is saving others, not impressing the media.

He turned to her.

"What's your idea?"

He wanted to watch her spark grow. Her confidence, dedication, perseverance. They needed to grow in order for her to be an amazing hero.

And he was certain he'd be able to make that happen.

New chapter out! I was planning on keeping this chapter with my other ones, but then I decided it'd be better to release one chapter now, so everyone who isn't following me (aka can't keep up to date with what's going on through my conversations tab) will be able to know what's going on.

Basically, I have a few chapters ready to publish (been writing when I can) however I decided for my mental health to write this book in my own time, and then publish the chapters when I've finished writing the entire book. This is because over the summer I will be busy with packing (Uni year just ended, so I'm currently packing everything so I can return home for the summer), my jobs (I have two part time jobs that will be taking up a lot of my time), seeing my girlfriend as often as possible (it'll be our one year in September!!) and trying to keep my mental health in check (I've only just started taking medication for my depression, it's not as easy as I thought it'd be...).

All in all, I love writing this book. Now that the Uni year is finally over, and my assignments have been submitted, my writing has been flying. I can't wait to keep writing honestly. The entire plot for this story has been fully written out, all I need to do, it write it.

I hope you all enjoy. I did have some extra ideas and plans, however I'm already at 200 pages of this book, and I do want to write more Hinakoma/Komahina stories, which means I gotta finish this! (and the Saiouma story too, don't worry that story is my next focus after this one). Either way, I'm fairly certain this book will end up having more than 100 chapters. This is so crazy-!

Lastly before I go, just a small note. Because it's been so long since I dedicated myself to writing this book, there will be inconsistencies between the chapters from back then and now. There will most likely be a couple plot holes and loose threads that I've simply forgotten about. If you read this and have anything in particular you want to see concluded that I may have forgotten about, or want extra info on a particular aspect of this book, then please leave a comment here so I can see. I'll do my absolute best to write a story that you can all be proud of! I love you all (platonically) so so much, and I can't wait to write more!

No promises (as always) but I'm hoping to get this book done and start uploading more regular chapters in August. This is based on important events – for example, one of my two jobs is incredibly busy in August, my girlfriend's birthday is in August, and I also have a week's worth of vacation with my family then too. We haven't had a serious holiday in over a decade, so I'm very excited!

With that all out of the way, I can't wait to see you guys again – hopefully very soon!

But for now...

Peachy out! 😊