Shortly after the match, Izuku returned to the balcony, plopping down into a seat between Iida and Torodoki with a sigh. Instantly, everyone nudged away, glancing at him with looks of terror and panic.

The three chatted away–in a way that only seemed abnormal to others: Iida drilled Izuku with various questions, while Todoroki answered them instead. Occasionally, Izuku would interject to state something in his casually 'dead inside' voice.

Whipping out his notebook as soon as the next matches started, Izuku began muttering at high-speed, furiously scribbling notes like his life depended on it. A few words could be caught–something about the contestants' weaknesses and tactical exploitation. The class edged further away from him.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! I SEE SOMEONE IN THIS CLASS ISN'T HALF BAD!!!" A voice from the other side of the wall said.

Izuku gave a bored side glance, and observed a crazy looking blond hanging over the wall with a creepy grin. The deranged boy cackled once more, swinging his arms in a highly unnatural way. "Most of you stuck up Class-A students are too small to be bothered with us 'lowly' Class-B's! But you... oh you... YOU ARE SADISTIC AND CRUEL, JUST LIKE ME!!" The blond screeched.

Izuku stared.

The blond stared back.

Amidst the thick tension, Momo began to make a dog whistle, while Ojiro got ready to bolt. The class kept their eyes glued to the scene, closely watching. The class' resident gremlin was, after all, unpredictable.

Finally, after a long few seconds, Izuku stood. A few of his classmates gasped as he walked over to the blond.

Izuku put out his hand, offering it to the blond. The blond accepted, shaking it with respect. "Midoriya Izuku." Izuku introduced himself. "Monoma Neito" The boy responded.

"Here's my number. Let's plot something evil sometime." Izuku held out a small slip of paper, and Monoma grasped it, returning the other boy's smirk.

Now properly terrified at the implications of Izuku having a partner in crime, the class blanched. Iida began quietly sobbing, pulling out a calculator to estimate potential damages. Tokoyami began to chant in some odd ritual, but no one interfered–maybe the occult fanatic could help them, if God wouldn't. The now newly-christened evil pair giggled, confirming Class 1-A's suspicions.

"AAHAHAHHHHAHHA-"

"AHAHAHAHAHAA"

"AHAHAHAHAHA–"

CRACK.

Monoma suddenly choked, his cackling abruptly cut off as he went limp. Everyone watched with morbid fascination as his body was slowly pulled back over the wall, and there was a brief moment before an orange-haired girl popped up over the wall. "Sorry about him!" She apologized, grinning, and quickly disappeared.

Everyone quietly stared at the wall. Finally, Tokoyami screeched, "PRAISE SATAN!"

It was intermission, and Izuku was roaming the halls aimlessly.

"Ah! Young Midoriya! Just the man I was looking for!" All Might laughed heartily as he popped out of a trash can, ambushing Izuku.

Izuku narrowed his eyes. "What do you want, All Might?" He spat, obvious spite in his voice.

'What's with this kid? Shouldn't he be excited to see the Number 1 Hero? I feel like I know him from somewhere, though...' All Might thought, before pushing aside his musings, a bright smile returning to his face. "Well, Young Midoriya, I've noticed you're a strong individual–dare I say, the strongest of your class! This is why... I believe you are worthy of inheriting my power!" All Might spread his arms wide, his huge body taking up the entire hallway. "You'd be the successor to the Symbol of Peace! The next Number 1! So, Young Midoriya," All Might came to the end of his speech, holding out a hand to Izuku. "Will you inherit my quirk, One for All?"

Sure of himself, All Might smiled wider. Of course Izuku would accept! Why on earth would he not? One For All was a fantastic power–a once-in-a-world opportunity! It was a chance to become the #1 Pro Hero, the pillar of all light that pushes away the darkness!  He is, after all, a remarkable young hero-in-training. Surely, Izuku would see the greatness of such an offer. He was, after a remarkable young hero-in-training. With All Might's help, he could be-

"No."

All Might's confidence drained from his eyes. "No?"

"No. Never. EVER." Izuku confirmed, looking the man straight in the eye, and All Might staggered, flinching as if he took a physical blow.

"W-why, may I ask?" The Number 1 Americanophile asked, confused and shocked.

"Well, let's start with the fact that you shot down a young kid's lifelong dreams and discriminated against them all because they were quirkless. Then you have the nerve to not even remember, and ask me now why on earth would I accept your rotten, stuck-up, arrogant self's power!?" Izuku fumed with obvious annoyance and anger.

"Wait... you're that young quirkless boy from the sludge villain incident...?" All Might guessed, piecing things together.

Izuku huffed in exasperation. "YES! DUH!"

"But... you're strong, muscular, tall, and that boy was weak and pathetic and tiny and shrimpy and-" All Might ranted, but stopped as soon as he saw Izuku's deathly glare.

"Ahem. Sorry. What I mean is, even setting this aside, why not accept my power? It could help you greatly, and you shouldn't reject it just because it is me who is offering it to you!'

Izuku gave All Might a wolfish, toothy smirk, showing off his quirk-sharpened canines. "It's also because I don't need your stinkin' power to become a hero. I want to show you, the whole world, and prove to myself that I can become a hero with my own power. I don't need your flippin' quirk, and I most certainly don't want it, either."

And with his newly unleashed sass, Izuku sauntered down the hallway again, pleased with himself, and leaving All Might standing there flabbergasted, whimpering.

Izuku makes his way to his room to prepare for his next match with Todoroki. On his way there, though, a large, rough hand stops him. Izuku turns, a retort ready sitting on his lips, but he stopped when he saw who was towering above him: The #2 Hero, Flame Hero: Endeavor.

"You..." Endeavor said, his voice loud and harsh. "You're that kid, Midoriya Izuku." Endeavor turned towards Izuku fully, and looked down at him with harsh angry eyes.

"You're fighting my son, Shoto, next match. I want you to convince him to use his fire side." Endeavor continued, "He's being rebellious lately, and he needs to use my fire so he can master it to surpass All Might!" Endeavor's eyes burned with an ugly passion.

A dark look crossed Izuku's face. "Ugh, you? Really, Endeavor, you're the #2 Hero. Act like it!" Surprise flashed briefly in Endeavor's eyes. What lowly UA student would dare speak up to him?

"Is Todoroki you?" Izuku spat, determination filling his face.

"What? No, of course not-"

"Am I All Might?" He continued.

"No!" Flames flared, burning hot, but the boy didn't back down.

"Then why do you insist that he must surpass me?" Izuku snarled. "I know what you've done, Endeawhore, and trust me, you will not get away with it. I promise you,  I will help Todoroki use his 100% fullest."

Endeavor was about to interrupt, opening his mouth, but Izuku silenced him.

"Listen to me!" the smaller roared, and Endeavor unconsciously took a step back. "I'm not doing what you want. I'm helping him move on from the fucked up life that you forced on him! He's not your 'creation' or a pawn to be used. He's Shoto fucking Todoroki! He belongs to himself!" Izuku was yelling now, voice thundering against the walls. Turning heel, he marched off into his prep room, flipping off the man behind him.

Endeavor's shock quickly turned to humiliation, before fully materializing as furious anger. 'Who the hell does he think he is to talk to me about my own son! That brat!!' Pulling out his phone, he slammed a few numbers in.

"Nedzu?" The Flame Hero growled, enraged. "Kick this upstart, Izuku Midoriya, out of the Hero Course." A pause, then , "What? What do you mea–WHAT? FUCK OFF? ME? NEDZU-"

The hallway went quiet once more, temperature leaping as Endeavor stomped off, footprints melting into the floor.

From behind a corner, Todoroki clutched his heart, a foreign feeling pounding from watching the interaction between his sperm donor and Izuku. "He's a true... friend." The boy spoke softly, before whispering to himself, "This feeling again... what is it?" Slowly, he trudged away, hands in his pockets.

Even a few minutes after that, when both Endeavor, Midoriya, and Todoroki left, the locker nearby burst open, and Shinsou Hitoshi tumbled out, catching his breath. He saw everything that happened. He heard everything that happened... including Todoroki's statement. Shinsou narrowed his eyes.

He was confused, because he knew he was a 4th wheel to the whole situation, but one thing was for certain. He wouldn't let anyone hurt his precious cinnamon roll. It didn't matter if Todoroki had a crush. Izuku was his to protect.

Hey guys! Sorry I didn't update this weekend...

Anyway, here in the Northern Hemisphere, it's summer. Don't worry, though, because I'm not going away or anything... I think. My schedule is a bit busier, but I'll make an effort to keep this story up!

Also, I'm going to be releasing a new BNHA story soon. It's a quirkless Izuku story. I will be shamelessly promoting it from time to time, like I am now.

It will be released within a couple of weeks. I've already written the first few chapters!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading!

Author-san OUT!