With the final dismissal from Mr. Aizawa, class was over for yet another day. Ordinarily, when one is faced with a weekend, custom is to kick back at last and unwind after a stressful week. Not so this time, as exams were next week. UA's already precarious school/life balance would have yet another finger placed on the "school" side of the scale. Some in class grumbled; some remained positive. Some still, trapped and wandering in the fog of grueling schoolwork as it were, merely resigned themselves to the hell that would come to pass. Exam week was nothing new, of course; it had been a reality for everyone for some time now. But this was UA. The curriculum was stronger than most had dealt with until this point in their lives. Not only that, but it was a hero school. And that meant a hero-themed practical portion to exams. So, not only was it imperative that the students hit the books to shore up their knowledge, but also find time to keep themselves limber and fighting fit.

Midoriya, always the planner, had been drafting a rough schedule for the weekend. Today was Saturday, and on Saturdays, the TDL, the main gym, was open to students until 6 pm. It was a perk that was only taken advantage of by a few and usually not before exam week, but Midoriya was confident in his knowledge of the written material. He had made it a habit to study for an hour before bed every evening, covering a different subject every night. Also, Sundays were frequently the day he took to rest his body after working out all week. After his brief morning run, he would have all day to study. So, today seemed like a good of a time as any to work on his Full Cowl.

He already told Iida and Uraraka that he would be staying behind today for a couple extra hours to get a little extra training in, and that they should go on without him. The two of them dispersed with most of the rest of the class, save for a raucous few who had taken up residence a couple desks behind him. He closed the extra notebook he used as a planner, and began to pack up his bag, double checking of course that he still had his gym uniform on him. The plan was in place.

"Excuse me, Midoriya?" Or so he thought, as a call from behind him shook him out of his usual mumble-filled stupor. Stiff as a log, he turned his body around with an almost audible snap to locate the source of that call. Beside him stood the class vice-representative, Momo Yaoyorozu. Damn his tendency to get stuck in his own mind, he didn't even hear her step over to his desk. Mildly embarassed, he scratched his cheek and answered.

"Oh, h-hi Yaoyorozu! What uh… how can I help you?" The whole "talking to girls" thing was still a little beyond him. Though, compared to his interactions with Uraraka at the start of the year, he had gotten remarkably better.

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

"What… kind of favor?" He asked, mildly concerned. This was new to him. Few of his classmates asked anything of him. Kaminari and Uraraka had asked for his notes a couple of times, but that was easy enough. Yaoyorozu, however, was the top student in the class. Surely, borrowing notes was not the reason here. Every single possibility from "go out with me" to "go die" raced through his head, plunging his imagination down several hundred alternate-universe rabbit holes, all depending on her response. The somewhat bashful look on her face and in her posture narrowed down the field a bit, it seemed at least death off the table for now. Though that did little to assuage his nervousness.

"Well… I don't know if you heard the discussion around my desk earlier, but some of us are going to meet at my place for a group study session tomorrow."

"Do you want me to come, too?"

"Yes! Oh…but this isn't to insult you or anything!" That statement gave him pause for thought. She continued, "It's just that the group is now includes Ashido, Kaminari, Ojiro, Sero, and Jiro, and, as the one helping them study, I fear I would be spreading myself out a little thin. So, I just wanted to see if you wouldn't mind helping me."

Relief washed over Midoriya; nothing complicated, just a simple ask for help. Though something was a little bit odd. It's true he was one of the top in the class, but that was just it: one of the top. According to their mid-term scores, he was 4th; she was 1st. That meant two other people above him.

"B-but Iida and Kacchan have better scores than I do."

"You're not wrong." Midoriya frowned a little. You weren't supposed to affirm that statement! "However," she said, "I want to try and have a less intense and more relaxed atmosphere during the session, and if my aim is 'less intense and more relaxed' then neither Iida nor Bakugo are my first choice. Of the rest of the top 5 in class, you fit that bill the best."

No argument there. Though that would throw a wrench into his Sunday plans. He pondered on it, only for a moment, but to the two of them it felt like the longest moment each other had experienced all week. Finally, Midoriya removed his hand from his chin, and looked up at her.

"Okay, I can do it."

"Fantastic! I'm having everyone over at noon, but if you could come about a half hour early that would be wonderful!" The sudden burst of enthusiasm was unexpected, but not unpleasant.

"Uh, y-yeah sure, I can do that!"

"Oh! What kind of tea do you like?" The glimmer in her eyes was blinding.

"Tea? Well, I-"

"You know what, I'll just have a few different kinds at the ready. Thank you so much, Midoriya! I'll see you tomorrow! When you get there, just hit the intercom, and I can have you buzzed in."

"Wait, what do you mean 'buzzed-'" His sentence was stopped as he realized that in her excitement, she ran off without hearing a word of what he said. Mouth still agape and hand still outstretched, he stood stock still and wondered just what the hell he got himself into. He sighed to himself and decided he should be going along to the gym. The campus was awash in afternoon sun; only a few students hung around, most of them, Midoriya assumed, were support class students. As he understood it, the support course exam process was different from the other courses.

After a few minutes of walking he finally reached the gym. He expected at least a couple of students to be in there, but not today. There weren't even any teachers; almost like the whole building was devoid of life entirely. That was okay though; it meant he could get down the nitty-gritty and improve Full Cowl. Having changed into his tracksuit, he stepped out of the locker room and walked out into the large concrete covered cavern that was the TDL. He took a moment to think.

His control over One for All had been improving, especially since his internship with Gran Torino. The process was, though, the definition of "trial and error." Full Cowl seemed like a perfect solution to the problem of broken bones and extreme pain. "Seemed" indeed, but there were small cracks showing in that theory. During the encounter with the Hero Killer Stain, Midoriya sustained a hairline fracture in his arm. He's still not sure if that's because he went over the 5% limit that he can safely handle or not. Could it have been the result of maintaining One for All for as long as he did, causing incremental wear and tear until his bone finally cracked? If that was the case, it was a troubling sign, possibly that his body was already too damaged to handle even 5%.

The rescue exercise the class underwent after internships was also weighing on his mind. All Might said his performance was incredible. But that slip… It was carelessness; unsteady terrain or not, that slip shouldn't have happened. He overshot that jump, just a hair. One for All was an amazing quirk, even .1% more power than you meant to exert could have serious consequences. Still, it was his quirk now, and it was his duty to master it. He powered up to his normal 5%, and began zipping all around the gym in typical Gran Torino-like fashion.

Training time was Midoriya's opportunity to clear his mind. One might think the mumbles were his way of doing that, but really that was just his way of venting his thoughts, as opposed to actually clearing and sorting his thoughts. During his training on Dagobah Beach with All Might last year, he found he achieves a kind of pseudo-serenity when he's working out. For some people it's meditation, for others, music, some while practicing an art or craft. For Izuku Midoriya, his zen came about at times like this one: while hurdling towards stone walls at irresponsible speeds.

How do you control the fluctuations in One for All? He wanted to ask All Might, but if Gran Torino was to be believed, All Might had One for All down pat right away. Of course he did, he was the world's greatest hero. But wait, he didn't always use 100% at all times, right? Was that true from the beginning or did that mean he overdid it at first, too? Like, say, he cause a little TOO much destruction once or twice which made him rethink how he used his power?

He continued zipping around, occasionally switching over to shadow boxing or running. Perhaps it was his paranoia affecting him, but he could swear he felt some fluctuations. 5.5% in that one punch. 5.35% in that one stride. 5.7% in that one jump. Each little jump in power left a new residual soreness. No breaks, thank god, but still annoying. Was he just incapable of handling One for All altogether? He pivoted off the north wall and changed his trajectory, aiming to bounce off the ceiling. Without warning the rush of power through his body vanished, and he smacked against the ceiling like a limp noodle. Unceremoniously, he fell back to the floor, landing on his wallet. That wasn't a fluctuation in power, that was an outright failure. What the heck just-

"Midoriya…" called out a familiarly dry voice.

"Oh! M-Mr. Aizawa! How long have you been here?"

"Midoriya, I've been trying to get your attention for the last 5 minutes." Aizawa's hair fell back down to the side of his head, indicating he stopped using his quirk. "It's 6 o'clock. Go home." 6 o'clock already? Apparently before he knew it, all that time had passed. Perhaps it wasn't a lack of control of One for All that caused all his soreness. Maybe it was just plain old fatigue. Meekly, Midoriya gathered his things and started his trek to the train station.

As it turned out, yes, yes it was fatigue. Once the endorphins ran dry, he found he could barely move his legs. Perhaps training for nearly 3 hours straight without breaks was not the best idea he'd had this week. After getting on the train he finally noticed the 3 missed calls from his mother. And just as he was about to tap on her contact info, call number 4 popped up on his screen.

"Izuku! Thank god, are you okay?"

"Yeah mom, I'm fine. Just got a little lost in my workout at school."

"Next time, be sure to take a moment and give your poor old mother a call. I was terrified that you got into some trouble out there." He winced, that was a little irresponsible. "You have finals next week, right? I expect to see you studying tomorrow." That reminded him.

"Actually mom, a friend invited me to a study party at her house tomorrow."

"A party? Like a group session?"

"Yeah, apparently a bunch of people asked her for help, so she's hosting them all, and she asked if I wanted to come."

"Well that'll be good! But more importantly… 'she?'"

"Uh… y-yeah, what about it?"

"Is it that Uraraka girl you told me about, by any chance?"

"No, Uraraka's not the one hosting it, the class vice-rep is."

"That's nice of her. Anyway, hurry home, Izuku. I have dinner ready."

"I should be home in about 10 minutes. I love you mom."

"I love you too, dear" After hanging up, a thought occurred: he had no idea what tomorrow was going to bring. Yaoyorozu wanted him to help with the study session, specifically. There was no way to know exactly what that would entail. The conductor announcing his stop got him out of his own head. Tomorrow's a big day, he thought, better rest up.

The following day, an unfamiliar sensation kicked in as we walked up the long driveway to Yaoyorozu Manor: the feeling like he was severely under-dressed. A pair of khaki-colored cargo shorts and plain t-shirt served him well most days, but today his destination gave him the sense of "white tie mandatory." Just how rich was this family. He gave a quick peek at his phone: 11:25 am. That should be early enough, he figured. Despite his ambitions of a good night's sleep last night, he was up later than intended mildly fretting. Still, his morning run did him some good, even if all that training from the day before made his legs feel like long water balloons filled with pudding.

He outstretched his hand and hit the intercom's page button.

"State your business please," said the cold, yet strangely foreign sounding voice on the receiver. Whoever this person was, Japanese was clearly their second language. And he guessed that the price for security detail was not insignificant, whether foreign or domestic. In other words, the Yaoyorozus weren't just rich; they were loaded.

"H-hi! My name is Izuku Midoriya! And I was invited here by Yaoyorozu for a study session!"

"Thank you, please wait. Jesus Christ, no need to yell. God damn kids." English? Midoriya wasn't the best in the world at English, but he knew enough to know what it sounded like. However, the fact that the guard said something under breath meant that he didn't quite catch all of it. Sure didn't sound friendly, though.

"Midoriya," the more familiar voice of Yaoyorozu came through the intercom, "good timing! Please come in!" On cue, the gates to the manor creaked open invitingly. Midoriya gulped, and carefully strolled up the rest of the driveway and along the long, winding path to the front door.

Note: This was a rare story idea that I kicked around my head for a couple of days, and since I sometimes get the urge to write something, anything, I thought I would try it out as a kind of writing exercise. It is my first shot at a fanfic, so bear that in mind. Give it a follow if that's your pleasure, or not; that's fine too.