They'd started from the beginning.

The Sludge Villain; a mess of a man, heinous and disgusting, but minuscule in effectiveness. He was a powerful adversary for anyone but All Might, and his goals were shallow enough that there was little threat of any well-developed plot, but his role in the entire saga was inadvertently monumental. Without his kidnapping of Bakugou, there was no chance that Midoriya would have stood out to All Might that day - at least, from Midoriya's perspective.

While Ashido had doubts, she ultimately had no choice but to accept the teen's word at face-value. After all, it was his story.

From there, he spoke of his time training to adapt a suitable 'vessel' for One-For-All, priming himself with intense weight and endurance exercises in order to withstand the initial acceptance of the world's greatest hero's quirk, lest he want to be disintegrated on the spot. It was concerning - and very manly, in Kirishima's words - but it made sense with why Midoriya was unable to fully utilize 100%, as he'd later divulge.

He spoke of Full Cowling; the technique that allowed him to harness the power at a sizeable scale. A paltry 5%. Terrifying, when Mina actually thought about it. At 5%, he was already showing off flashes of brilliance, and threatening to emerge at the class's top student. He wasn't even a quarter of his way to full power... and that power wasn't even his full full power.

Honestly, Mina couldn't imagine that power falling into the wrong hands... let alone someone with an already powerful quirk, like Bakugou or Todoroki. It would've almost been unfair. They were already able to fight - more power would've been unnecessary icing on an already rich cake.

There were some things that Midoriya kept hidden - namely, the history between the Quirk One-For-All and villain, All-For-One. He didn't specifically delve into the reign of terror that All-For-One had once had, nor had he dipped into the predecessor history much, although he did passively mention the initial holder and the creation of the quirk. All-in-all, it was a lot more information than Ashido had thought necessary to disclose, but at the same time, she felt more at ease with the confusion on everyone's face.

Their suspicion had faded; at least, visibly.

"That's... a lot, man." Kirishima had remained silent throughout the most part, asking the fewest questions in total and saying the least, minus an insert here and there. His breaking of the silence was reassuring to almost everyone - if he wasn't mad, it was a positive sign. "Not saying I don't believe you... but how do I know you're, y'know, being honest?"

Midoriya rubbed the back of his head. "Well, honestly... you don't. It's... not exactly something I can prove. I know it's a lot to take... I-I was kind of in the same boat before, too. So the only way you'll know is... if you choose to believe me or not."

That was a lot to ask, and Ashido knew that. He was right; he couldn't prove his tale was fact or fiction. Unless he decided to surrender his quirk to someone - which, Ashido would physically protest if it came to that - there was no technical proof he could offer. It truly came down to everyone's interpretation and own belief. If someone didn't want to believe him... they simply wouldn't.

"I guess that why Bakugou is such a sour-puss to you, huh?"

While Hagakure hadn't meant it to bring up a sore topic, Midoriya didn't react as Ashido assumed he would. He didn't flip out or freak out at the mention of the explosive teen's name, but simply snorted softly and smiled. "Yeah... he wasn't really wrong about all the stuff he said. B-but... I'm making this power my own. I'll get there."

"That's true..." Jirou said quietly, mumbling to Kirishima. "Bakugou always did call him quirkless... which, would mean..."

"He's telling the truth," Kirishima finished, smiling at Midoriya.

Midoriya smiled back softly, but his face became stoic as he glanced at Ashido, before looking back at Kirishima. "I-I think you owe someone an apology."

A silence hung in the air, Ashido staring at Midoriya in surprise. Honestly, she had been expecting an apology at some point, but she hadn't considered Midoriya bringing it up. It was something she thought she'd deal with in private, and would come at an awkward time with an awkward meaning associated with it. Maybe after her two friends had time to think about what they were going to say. But to be put on the spot so suddenly?

"R-right..." Kirishima said lowly. Shame crept on his face as he scratched his head. He glanced at Ashido, and upon meeting her eyes, his gaze redirected to the floor. "I... Ashido. I'm sorry. I... wasn't thinking straight. When Bakugou was taken, all I cared about was getting him back - I wasn't even thinking. I said some pretty unmanly things and that's not cool of me. What's worse is that I kinda questioned you. Like... who was I to question your dedication?" He sighed, his voice thick with regret. "If you don't forgive me, I don't blame you. I was... really a jerk."

"Or else I'll never be able to look in the mirror and call myself a hero."

That's what he'd said, wasn't it? He'd proven it, after all. He went - even after she'd verbally berated him. Despite all the risk associated with the half-baked plan, all of the ways that it could've ended badly... he still went. And even then, he'd come back alive. They all had. The most miraculous part was probably the part where they'd all come back relatively unharmed. A few scrapes, but no broken bones (she'd looked at Midoriya) and no new scars (she widened her view to include Iida and Todoroki).

Ironically, now that everything was in the open, Ashido was the one feeling a bit like a jerk. Kirishima hadn't asked for her opinion on the matter - he'd made the decision, and it was his decision to bear the consequences of. Technically speaking, she had no right to tell him how he was to live his life. If he wanted to toss that life to the wolves, then that was his right. She'd moved out of line. It was only because she cared, after all, but nonetheless, she'd stepped beyond her rights.

Guilt crept onto her expression as she fumbled with her thoughts. Should she apologize as well? Or accept his apology and move on, offering hers at a later time?

"I'm sorry, too, okay?!"

Both Ashido and Kirishima blinked in surprise, as Jirou's voice broke the stalemate between the two. They glanced at her - uncertainty etched onto their faces as they studied the embarrassed expression that the earphone jack girl wore. She was refusing to look at the duo, opting to grit her teeth and took straight down. "I-I just assumed... and that was wrong! I'm... that wasn't what a hero would do. That was wrong. And... I-I was wrong."

"Jirou... Kirshima..." Ashido whispered. She bit her lip. "I'm... sorry!"

Emotion broke the dam that she'd carefully constructed, and a stray tear leaked from her eye. "I didn't think this would... y'know, happen! This whole thing has been so crazy, and I was never sure what to do... the secrets without answers - and everything happening so fast! I can't blame you guys... I should've been honest. O-or..." She gave Midoriya a quick glance. "Maybe I shouldn't have been? Maybe I should've just asked you?"

Midoriya turned slightly red. "I... I don't know. This isn't really... m-my thing."

Secrets, he meant. Ashido could clearly tell that he was uneasy. Without All Might's retirement, there wouldn't exactly have been a reason for any of this, though. It was a catalyst. The driver. Without his retirement, Jirou likely wouldn't have cornered her, but by extension, Midoriya wouldn't have felt a need to reveal anything. One-For-All was purely his Quirk now. There was no changing that. All Might... was gone.

"I guess everyone's sorry, huh?" Hagakure pipped up, her cheery voice a stark contrast to the settling mood. "Now we can all move on!"

"I'm not sure it works that fast, Hagakure," Kirshima said hesitantly, though, he wore a smile as he looked between Jirou and Ashido. The two looked at each other, and the pink girl felt the need to offer up one of her infectious smiles to break down Jirou's awkwardness. She didn't count on Jirou blushing and crossing her arms, muttering something under her breath as she did so. "There's... still a lot of unfinished business."

"Aww, like what? We're all sorry, and we're all forgiven - and, we know the truth! What else is there?"

Jirou's uneasy gaze reappeared as she glanced at Midoriya, who suddenly became much more subconscious. His emerald eyes shifted delicately, betraying the fear that was dormant within them. He drew in a shaky breath, trying to smooth out his emotions, before releasing it, and out with it came obvious weight that was hanging on the poor teen's shoulders.

The truth was out - Hagakure was correct. But they hadn't even discussed what the next move was. They hadn't touched on the fact that there was such an ancient war that had been waged directly under their noses, or that their very own classmate was next in line to fight in the ongoing battle. They'd blatantly ignored the fact that Midoriya had been hiding his origins from them, simply because he'd been instructed to.

There were still a few untouched topics, and even then, there were more awaiting them down the line - assuming everything went smoothly in the moment.

"Well... there's the matter of what to do now." Kirishima tried leaving the statement open, but the second the words fell from his mouth, it felt as if a large iron slab had fallen behind, blocking off the rest of the sentence. He winced, noticing Midoriya's growing unease, and tried rephrasing his statement. "Nobody... has to know..."

"But don't they have that right...?" Jirou mumbled softly. "I'm not saying they do or don't... I'm just playing Devil's Advocate here."

Ashido, personally, had her mind made up about the whole thing.

As far as her opinion went, nobody else needed to know. It didn't affect them, it didn't bother them, and it certainly didn't help them in any way, shape, or form. It was unnecessary drama that could only lead to bad outcomes - the very things that All Might had been looking to avoid when he'd made Midoriya hide the truth. Even now, four people knowing outside of Midoriya… there was no doubt that it wasn't a good situation to put the young successor of One-For-All in.

"I... if I may...?" Izuku asked slowly, feeling the need to raise his hand. When Jirou's eyebrow rose and the corner of Kirishima's mouth perked, he timidly put his hand back down, feeling a rush of heat exude from his face. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to raise his hand. "I... would prefer to keep this a secret."

Neither Jirou nor Kirishima seemed surprised. "You sure, man? This kind of thing might happen again..."

"I'm sure," Midoriya said with clear conviction. "This is dangerous - not only for me, but for anyone that knows, too. The League of Villains is still out there, and they probably know the truth behind One-For-All. If that's true, then it's dangerous for you guys - and anyone else - to know about it... a-and, I can't do that."

"Do... what?" Hagakure asked.

Midoriya's hand balled into a fist at his side. "Put anyone else in danger because of me."

"Not to worry you Midoriya, but we're all already kinda in danger," Ashido said lightly. Well, as lightly as she could manage. She was just happy she'd kept the waver from her voice as she spoke. "Just being part of this class has kinda done that for us. Maybe it was started with All Might, but I mean, Bakugou was their target last time - not All Might. I think we're all kind of on their radar."

"W-well, yeah, you're right. With the Sports Festival being such a... spectacle, it's kind of natural that everyone would know of U.A. and its students... b-but, I don't want to give them the reason to single anyone out."

What Midoriya said made perfect sense to Ashido - Kirishima, though, wasn't as convinced.

"What makes you think the League of Villains would know about anyone knowing?" He hesitated, eyeing the room once over. "Unless... you think there is a spy?"

Immediately, everyone's postures changed. The relaxed, carefree demeanor that Ashido previously adopted was now gone, replaced by caution and concern. Her skin crawled uncomfortably as she suddenly felt as if there were eyes staring down at her, striping her of her vulnerability. She shivered unconsciously and drew her arms closer to her chest.

Subconsciously, even though she was no longer being accused of being a traitor, the memory of being accused hadn't faded, and was still fresh on her mind. She glanced at Kirishima - who was unaware of her gaze - before pulling her eyes away and locking them with Midoriya's deep jade orbs.

"I don't... know," Midoriya said finally. While it wasn't confirmation, it also wasn't a very confident stance to be adopting. If someone flimsy had made the statement, it wouldn't have carried much weight, but Midoriya - despite his personality at times - was not a flimsy person. His word carried weight. If he doubted someone, there was a very likely reason to doubt them.

Meaning, if he felt that someone might have been doing something illegal - or traitorous - then, perhaps, there was something going on after all.

"I-I'm not saying there is, or isn't," Midoriya rectified. "But... there's no denying that something happened. Somehow, the League of Villains knew our location, even though it was supposedly confidential."

"But it was only confidential to the teaching staff, right?" Hagakure pondered aloud. "Wouldn't that make it one of them?"

It was a good point, Ashido admitted to herself. With the process of elimination, the traitor - assuming there was one - would have to be someone who initially knew of the location change. That information had been limited to the teachers initially. Everyone else only knew of their location once the bus had all but dropped them off at that cliff.

But then again... it had been a bit before the villain's attacked. Long enough that a student could have relayed the new location to the villain's hideout. They hadn't been told explicitly to leave their phones and electronic devices behind, though it had been heavily alluded that any usage of them would result in a stiff punishment. For a traitor, though, that meant nothing. But when would they have the time to use a communication device...? The classes were kept together - and it was almost impossible to find a moment to slip away without someone noticing. With the classes mixed for the most part, there had been double eyes on everyone. And Aizawa was nearly impossible to escape from.

"We don't know which teachers knew, and which didn't," Jirou pointed out slowly. Her earlobes twitched uncomfortably; no doubt she was keeping a very close eye on the surrounding sounds.

Kirishima hummed quietly. "Trying to guess which of our teachers would do it is almost impossible - they're all professional heroes! Why would they even want to sell out their friends?"

"Maybe... they're not all friends. I mean... we don't really know how they are outside of class, do we?" Still being naked, Hagakure's shuffling in place caused a few short, uncomfortable glances. She paid it no heed as she continued bouncing in place, trying to vent the nerves that were creeping up on her.

Midoriya, a finger to his chin, slowly shook his head. "I don't know about that. I pay pretty close attention to the news, and heroics... they've all been in the business for awhile. All Might is the only teacher who is anything near new. To suddenly change ideals like that... it doesn't sound plausible. There would have be something drastic to cause that sort of change."

"Drastic..." Ashido echoed softly. What kind of event could turn someone who'd sworn to protect the people, against the vow they'd made? Most highly-ranked heroes didn't do families, it was simply too dangerous. With threats awaiting heroes at every stop, having a family waiting at home was more like a target.

There was also a time-crunch in the life of a hero; the time spent at home was almost nothing compared to the time spent at the Headquarters, or on the street. Then there were marketing campaigns to keep the cash flowing. Being a hero was a hectic lifestyle that didn't suit those looking to settle down for a nice quiet life.

Some heroes managed it. Most commonly, heroes on the tail-end of their career would begin looking for a partner, which commonly resulted in another hero. They'd spend the last bit of their career establishing a team-connection, mostly to avoid becoming irrelevant amongst the tides of the new generation, but it would also mount into something a little more. Otherwise, when it came to romance, it was built in the bedsheets, over the course of one night, only to be abandon in the morning. Those that loved, often lost.

The business was a beast, and the beast was untamable.

As far as Ashido knew, none of the U.A. staff had families waiting for them at home. Most of them were single, if not married to their job. For teachers like Present Mic, who worked both at U.A., did patrols, and also hosted his own radio show, it was more than impossible to see him settle down. Midnight was another prime example; she ran her own perfume company, doubled as a pro hero, and taught at U.A. as well. They had no families to speak of, did very well for themselves financially, and appeared fairly strong-willed - to sell out their ideals...

Mina gulped.

It would either have to be something extremely life-changing, or someone so insanely powerful, they were unmatched in combat.

All-For-One and All Might were the two strongest fighters she'd ever seen, though. To be stronger than that... she shivered again. It would be impossible. Unimaginable. They'd have to inherit One-For-All.

Her gaze slipped over to Midoriya. Would he be stronger than All Might one day? Wasn't that how he explained One-For-All? It stockpiled power; therefore, one day, he'd be able to do everything All Might could do, and more. Against her will, her eyes slid down to his biceps, which were uncovered by Midoriya's t-shirt. There were scars that adored them, and that, frankly, scared her. He'd already suffered several grievous wounds, and they hadn't even finished their first year. How many more injuries would he sustain? How many more could he sustain?

"So then it would have to be a student." Ashido blinked, tearing her eyes away from Midoriya, shame creeping on her face. A blush heated up her face, for a moment, she was terrified everyone was starkly aware of her staring. But, as her vision swept across the room, she sighed in relief; everyone was too wrapped up with their paranoia. Kirishima, specifically, was focused entirely on Midoriya. "Specifically, someone in Class 1-A or 1-B."

Midoriya shook his head again, but before he could speak, Jirou snorted, and spoke. "That's narrow-minded; we don't know if there's someone in another class, hiding with some sort of observation Quirk. Hell, if I tried hard enough, I could hear quite a bit of the stuff going on in this dorm alone. Positioned right, I could easily invade the privacy of the Faculty Lounge."

There was a resounding silence as Jirou's words sank in. For a moment, the punk-rock girl had a somewhat smug look; but as soon as her words seemed to settle in, her face morphed into a scowl. "Don't you dare think I have anything to do with this!"

"Didn't stop you from assuming I did..." Ashido said without thinking.

Jirou whirled on her, a look of both anger and - betrayal? - written on her face. Her jaw was clenched; a sure sign of her rising defenses. "That's different," she said icily. "You were acting suspicious. Don't even deny it."

The Acid-user bristled, her body language reflecting the inner frustration she housed. The earlier slight she'd felt when she'd been accused of selling out her friends hadn't yet faded - it had simply faded into the background. However, this topic had brought it right back to the front, and now, she had a source to vent it.

"Oh, please. Like that wasn't suspicious at all!"

"Why would I out myself?! That makes NO sense!"

"None of this makes sense! Why would you suddenly think that this does?!" Mina shot back.

Jirou opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut off by Mina's sudden tirade. "None of this makes sense, and we almost died again! All the while, my closest friends decide to turn on me and question my loyalty to our school and our dream! So yeah, maybe I am a bit pissed, and maybe nothing makes sense, but that's not really up for us to decide!"

Nothing more was said.

Ashido's breaths came out in heavy, long gasps, her posture rigid, but defensive. Her eyes were stony, set directly on Jirou, who simply stared back at her with a guilty, slightly scared gaze. A lone bead of sweat worked its way down the pink girl's brow, and as she drew in one more deep breath, she realized that maybe she'd been lying earlier when she'd said it was alright.

A pang of embarrassment swept through her appearance as she drew back into herself, averting her eyes from her fellow students. "Sorry... guess I wasn't as okay as I thought."

"N-no, no..." Jirou said with a reluctant sigh. "You're right. We're all getting worked up over something that may or may not be true, and... you're right. Questioning loyalties won't get us anywhere." If there'd been a rock - or at least something - to kick, Ashido could've seen Jirou giving it a light kick right about now. Instead, the punk rocker had to settle for idly jabbing her toes into the floor, muttering lightly as she did so.

To his credit, Kirishima had kept a pretty good poker faced during the exchange, opting to show his frustration only in a deep frown. Without a way to see Hagakure, there was no telling the face she made - but, quite frankly, Ashido's focus wasn't on either of them, or even Jirou anymore. It was centered on Midoriya, and the exhausted look he'd adopted at some point.

It was as if the weight on his shoulders had finally pushed him to his knees; slight bags formed under his eyes, and the luster his vibrant green eyes typically had was dulled. He didn't look lifeless - he wasn't that tired. But he definitely lacked the spark that he'd been known for, and for a mere second, it worried Ashido.

For a moment, it looked like the weight of his heavy destiny had finally set in, and he had aged ten years right in front of her.

"Midoriya…?"

He drew in a heavy breath, further made uncomfortable by the sudden attention thrust onto him. A twitch of his nose, a comb-through of his hair with his scarred hand, but no obvious sign that he'd cracked under the weight. Another fact that quietly worried Ashido.

His eyes met hers, and for a second, they were lost in their own world. It was far from romantic; no, it was a connection they had, feeling the despair that had loomed over their heads since All Might's fight. Even though Midoriya had succeeded in his mission to retrieve Bakugou and right his wrongs... he'd lost something just as big that day. And it was difficult to say whether or not the young teenager assumed that guilt, amongst the rest of the weight he'd taken on when All Might fell.

"Are you okay?"

Part of her wanted to wince and curse at the question she'd thrown on him. How the hell was he supposed to answer that?! His mentor was a step away from death, his friends were at each other's neck, he was desperately trying to figure out how to control his insanely powerful Quirk, and all the while, guilt and failure was piling up on his shoulders.

How was anyone supposed to feel okay after all of that?

Just the mere fact that he hesitated spoke volumes about his mental state, even though he tried to cover it up with a shaky smile and a weak snort. "Yeah; I'm... okay. It's... there's a lot going on, isn't there?" Nobody answered; it was a rhetorical question that didn't have a correct answer. "I-I know that things are a bit odd. But, I don't know if second-guessing everyone is going to solve anything."

"Right, yeah," Kirishima mumbled. It was plainly evident that he wasn't pleased, but he could also see the toll the conversation was taking on everyone.

"I think... we should just get some rest. Maybe, think about it later?"

There was no flurry of movement - in fact, nobody moved. It was as if everyone was petrified; stuck to the spot they stood. Nobody looked at anyone else. Eyes remained diverted elsewhere; some to the ground, some to the roof, and some to the wall. The only sound that could be heard was the silent breathing of everyone, deep in thought about the next move.

It was probably Hagakure that moved first, but there was gap between an audible click of the door opening and when Ashido actually looked up when she noticed that everyone was gone - except for Midoriya.

He probably didn't even realize that he was the only one left, she realized. It was clear that he was deep in thought; his lips were moving ever so slightly, and his eyes were clouded over as he was lost in the landscape of his own brain. Part of Ashido's mind immediately wanted to tease the poor boy - it was her default reaction, and if anything, it would restore a sense of normalcy. For as long as that lasted, anyways. Which, she suspected would be barely any time at all.

The other half of her brain - recognizing the signs of stress on the teen - wanted to comfort him. Maybe envelop him in a hug, holding him close so the lurking dangers couldn't get to him. But she knew that wouldn't work. Even if he didn't wriggle free from her grasp, there was no protecting him from the days that loomed over his head like a terribly made prophecy.

Truthfully, Ashido didn't believe in destiny or fate, or anything like that. It seemed too... controlling. She hated the idea that there was pre-written script for her life; that no matter what she did, she'd end up the same way, in the same place. It almost felt pointless to do anything, if that were true. Why learn to dance if she was destined to be a hero? Why talk to any boys if she were fated to marry someone? It took the fun out of spontaneity - and although she wouldn't know her destiny or fate, she acknowledged that at the end of the day, it just felt wrong to her.

Once, she'd spoken with Tokoyami about it, since he had a firm believer in the destined path. It had been enlightening, if not a little depressing. His view radically polarized her own - which didn't bother her - but they reaffirmed her belief and hopes.

Assuming she was wrong, though, and there was a grand destiny to fulfill... she knew Izuku's couldn't be good.

Sure, maybe he would win in his fight, and sure, maybe everything turned out okay... but she didn't like that he had to fight. She hated that he had no choice. It worried her, yes, but more than that, it made her heart ache that he'd never really be able to live the way that she did, or the way any of Class 1-A lived. They were all training to be heroes, and they all had the responsibility riding on their back, but none of them were destined for a fight the way he was.

They were still free of that mind-breaking responsibility of living up to someone specifically. They were all going to be compared to All Might- every single hero was. But he was going to be seen as All Might. He would have to be All Might.

What kind of destiny was that...?

"Midoriya, I..."

She what?

Was she sorry? What did she have to be sorry for? She couldn't apologize for anything in his life, because that would be selfish to assume that she was in control of those things. It wouldn't make him feel any better - in fact, it might just make him feel worse.

She released a breath she'd drawn in. "I want you to know I'm here."

He looked up suddenly, as if surprised by her words. She was, too, in all honesty.

"H-huh?"

"This... whole thing you have going on. I get that it's, y'know, confusing. And hard. And frankly..." She snorted, though it lacked amusement. "It's all a little screwed up. Shit's kinda getting bad now, isn't it? But like, I'm here for you." She meant it, too. It came from the heart - the amount of thought she'd put into her words was a staggering zero, but somehow, they felt right.

"And if you need me, I'll always be here for you."

Midoriya simply stared at her, wide-eyed and unreadable. There were a few emotions that flashed within his eyes - confusion, concern, appreciation - but reading them all was impossible. His were like kaleidoscopes; every twist and turn brought a new image, with new colors. He was never going to be a good liar, she reflected. He could avoid the whole truth, but if one looked close enough, they'd see the guilt and pain he felt when he lied. They'd see the joy and jubilation he felt with the most minor of successes.

They'd see the very thing that was Midoriya Izuku.

"Ashido… I-I..."

She cut him off, smiling widely and sincerely. "Hey now, it's bedtime! We can talk about this more in the morning, okay? We have a busy day ahead of us; I doubt Mr. Aizawa is going to go easy on us just 'cause of everything that happened!" Her eyes suddenly twinkled as she narrowed her gaze at him with a smirk. "Unless you're looking to join the honorary 'Slacker's Club'?"

"W-what, no, I... you're right!" He exclaimed, balling his hands into fists. The energy he emitted died down for a moment as he gazed at her, before he offered her a wide, toothy smile. "Thanks, Ashido."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she said, ushering the boy from her room with gentle shoves. He protested weakly, suddenly overwhelmed by the contact, but she paid him no need. "Rest first, thank later! Night Izuku!"

Not realizing her choice of name, she caught half of a 'goodnight!' from him, before she closed the door in a haste, pressing her back to the surface. Slowly, she slid down the door, her face breaking out into a massive blush. The way her heart was racing, she was sure it would take off right out of her chest. She clasped a hand over her heart, trying to catch her breath, before cursing.

Somehow, in a night of accusations, explanations, and wild theories, she'd only realized one single thing:

She had begun to fall for Midoriya Izuku.

A few people have asked me if I plan to start a , and that answer is: no. I don't update regularly enough to do something like that. But I do have a request. I joined a Podcast team a year back, and I've been putting out videos about gaming; if you want to show a bit of support for me, I invite you to like the page.

We're on Facebook: ThatGameShow, and we're also on Twitter That_GameShow. Additionally, you guessed it, our YouTube is ThatGameShow.

I know you're thinking: wow, shameless plug much? But it's something I love doing, and I want to keep on doing. There's ZERO money involved, it's just a way to help me out a bit. I'd appreciate you guys so much!

Anyways, onto the chapter. This was a busy, hectic chapter, and a LOT happened. You might have some questions and that's natural. But I won't answer them because I suck. Haha.

Responses:

shadefeuer: Thanks!

TruWarrior: Yeahhhh, I feel bad that I disappeared again. But that'll happen. But I'm glad you enjoyed everything! The divergence really starts here; like, it'll get pretty wild moving forward.

Firedon: Jirou is someone who I see as a no-nonsense person. I see her as a bit shy when it comes to actually calling someone out, but I also see her as the most likely to do it. Hagakure, on the other hand, would probably be the most observant person, and I think her invention would also make sense. Plus, she IS suspicious. This chapter is the introduction to the title. Kind of like how Civil War was the breaking of the Avengers, this is the possible break or unity of the heroic community.

BOW-B-4-ME: I hope this settled some questions; I have no intention of everyone finding out about One-For-All... yet? Or maybe at all? The fact of the matter is that you're right; a Quirk is just a Quirk. But secrets can tear things apart, and while I think everyone would be supportive if he TOLD them, that's not exactly happening here. Still, this story will be the exploration of the division/unification of the heroic community, as it stands to secrets.

Greer123: Much appreciated, and I hope you are well, as well!

avidreaded: Well, damn. Here's another big reveal lol

jlee0799: Well, people were hurt - Midoriya is the kind of person who would see that as his fault, even if it wasn't. Even though it isn't. It's HIS existence that is causing this divide between his friends, so naturally, he'd want to repair that. He's selfless like that.

Mr. Enlightment: You've caught on! This chapter begins that title that we've been waiting to see! I'm sorry for being away, it shouldn't happen again, I don't think.

Thegr8tn8t: I'm pleased to hear! Thank you!

NekoBoi: I hope you're doing well, too! Thank you!

sonic: Thank you!

Midnight Angels Say GoodNight: Let's be real; could we really see Midoriya holding onto his secret if his friends were fighting each other? Haha. He's exactly that - selfless. I fully believe he'd throw it away in the face of this sort of calamity.

Whitetiger789: Thank you!

HankFlamion18: Oh, I plan to! This is my favorite story to write, actually. I plan on updating this one the most, in all honesty.

Red Riot: Riiiiiiight… now!

Garbouw Deark: QuirkedQuartz has an unbelievable story, and to copy that would be insulting haha. I definitely love reading it, but we're two different people and I'm glad we can write different, because it gives you guys two different ways to read!