There were some interesting people in U.A. There was this blond male from the second hero-course class for example. He seemed promising but wouldn't be easy to manipulate. He was the person who would think through things in battle; yet, his competitive nature sure made him plain crazy.

There was another with a mutating body in Class 1 A. He could try provoking him about his appearance to manipulate him, but he was too calm. The guy wanted to be a hero; he had his priorities straight. The same could be said for most of the students in U.A. Izuku smirked. Not to say I can't cause a little trouble. But...

He side-glanced the purple haired male next to him and briefly looked at the blond walking in front of them. I've already picked what piqued my interest.

"Deku," she called, "you're giving off a creepy vibe again."

Izuku titled his head to his right. This girl is unexpectedly blunt. She might hurt my feelings one day. He thought, mentally acting out being sad. "You've decided to call me Deku?" Midoriya stared at her with curiosity. "Yeah, it kinda stuck!" The brunette nodded and laughed.

Shinso averted his eyes away from the two. She really must be oblivious to the meaning of that name.

"Shouldn't I? I keep doing things without asking." She stared with the same curiosity.

Izuku had to process what he would say. These interactions were quite the new experience to him. He mostly dealt with small friendly exchanges, but the difference was the friendliness was usually one-sided. He always managed to tick most of the people he spoke to for 'some reason'.

"Pardon. I could not help but overhear what you said Uraraka!" A stern male voice exclaimed. Iida Tenya walked ahead to face them. With a chop, he said: "I do not think it would be appropriate for you to call your classmate such a name! You are a hero-in-training. I did not expect that from you!"

Uraraka flinched. Was it that bad to have called him a nickname without permission?  "Oh, um-" Should I apologize? Last time I did he laughed at me.

No, I should anyway! But, would that just worsen it?

A conflicted Ochako peered at Izuku, which was behind Tenya. For some reason, he was raising an eyebrow at Iida as if he'd said something he would never understand. His emerald eyes observed the engine-quirk user; until finally, he tore his gaze off him.

"Oh, wait a minute!" He exclaimed and snapped his fingers. "Ochako." Izuku smiled, knowing exactly what he said. Was this payback or something?

"Um... yes?"

"What do you think Deku means?" He asked, but he did not give room for an answer. "It was a nickname given by Katsuki, so naturally there was an insult in it. Deku; useless."

Midoriya Izuku. Deku. Useless. The gears turned in her head. Once she understood, she gasped in horror. "Oh, I'm sor-"

"Don't apologize. He'll be in another fit of laughter," Shinso interrupted. His voice was hoarse and deep from his exhausted state. "He suddenly remembered it in the middle of the night and wouldn't stop laughing for an hour." The gravity-quirk user's cheeks prickled with heat as if being pricked by heat. Her rosy cheeks had become a darker color.

Unexpectedly, her cheeks were poked by Izuku's cold fingers. "Wow, they're red instead of pink! So much darker. How did that happen?" He chuckled but kept poking her cheeks. "Oh, they're so soft."

"Wait, so you did not know what it meant?" The dark-blue haired male inquired more calmly. "Well, I didn't. It's just..." She trailed off and lowered her head. "Deku sounded like the words 'you can do it' to me," she said softly.

Izuku stopped poking her cheeks. The forest-green haired teen moved back; he blinked with a dumbfounded expression. It was his turn to feel his cheeks heat up. It wasn't so intense, but he blushed, nonetheless. "Call me Deku, then," he said in a stoic tone. It had reminded everyone of a certain red-and-white haired male.

"That seemed way too accepting," Iida and Shinso stated.

Izuku snapped out of his daze and gave them a shrug. "I'm an accepting person. See, I've made friends with you all so easily!"

"We're not friends," Shinso bluntly reckoned.

"Exactly. I'm accepting on his behalf!" Izuku laughed. He leaned towards the two students and whispered, "He's not very honest with his feelings, you see."

Shinso, hearing the not-so-subtle batter, face-palmed. He bit back his irritation. Honestly, Shinso would rather like it if he got to their new dorms soon, so — even if it meant having to share a room — he could collapse on his bed. He doubted he'd have any sleep with Midoriya moving about creepily, but he would try for the sake of trying.

As for the said green head, he laughed happily with Uraraka. He was not something anybody expected from a villain, but one had to take in account that he was a minor too. Izuku could, could, be contemplating as he smiled. What does he want to do. What does he want to be? What path should he take? Which path is right for him?

He could be wondering what is wrong and right. He could be questioning the world for an answer to something that couldn't easily be answered. One wondered, did he have anything like that?

They listened to Izuku's jests and battering over silly things. Uraraka had been laughing at his dramatic behavior, until Tooru tapped her on the shoulder. Izuku watched as she was dragged to go help with errands the girls had put together for moving in.

"Our things are already packed, so I'll just head up early," Shinso stated, not wasting any time. Izuku nodded and waved, "Bye!"

As Shinso left, Izuku asked with an overly sweet and cheerful voice, "Do you have a lot of packing to do? I can help if you want!"

"Ah, how kind of you! It is fine. I wouldn't want to bother you."

"It's fine! I have nothing better to do, anyway."

He could practically feel Iida's perplexed stare on him. Once the two were the only ones left, Midoriya's smile dropped. The young villain turned around and faced Tenya. "Say, you were saying something about being a hero-in-training. About being proper heroes and all."

Iida nodded. "Yes, but I seem to have misunderstood Uraraka, so I should apologize when I get the chance." It was strange. Iida scrutinized a solemn looking Izuku, which was the peculiar sight he had witnessed. He could've sworn the boy was smiling only seconds ago — taking everything as a joke.

Was this his true self? Why he was labeled as a villain?

"Tenya," Izuku's eyes were narrowed and he tilted his head, "In your opinion, what is a hero?"