The Immortal Hero: Phoenix

Chapter 25: A Phoenix No More

When Izuka returned from Hosu General Hospital after healing Ingenium, it was very early in the morning, yet her parents were waiting up for her. She'd told them what she was doing, of course, but that didn't mean they had been happy. Izuka hoped they wouldn't scold her too much, since she was so tired, but she had to confess what happened. Inko and Toshinori sat on either side of their daughter as she told them about how Ingenium had been cripplingly wounded by a mysterious Villain in Hosu and had been left paralysed. She explained how she had promised Tenya she would come to help if Ingenium needed healing that the doctors couldn't manage, which had led to the 1AM desperate call. She told them of how she'd worked for hours and consumed as much blood from herself and the others present as she could, before deciding she had no choice. Inko gasped and Toshinori grimaced as she told them of how she had convinced Tenya to slit her throat to heal his brother, but she explained her reasoning and while neither liked it, they knew there was no real argument to be made or other option. The Hospital didn't have the blood to spare and Ingenium would help a lot of people, plus there was technically no downside outside of a potential hit to Tenya's mental health. When Toshinori had mentioned that, Izuka had begun to panic and cry, calling herself an awful person until her parents were able to calm her and lull her to sleep.

The next day, Izuka awoke late. In fact it was already evening and the Second Year Sports Festival had ended already, but when she came down, she found her parents sat around the dining room table, chatting with the Iidas. "Tenya! Ingenium! Mrs Iida! It's good to see you all!" Izuka smiled, running to hug Tenya and bow politely to the other two. She was glad she'd decided to ignore her urge to wander about in her Pyjamas.

"Izuka! We are glad you are wake! We had come to express our thanks properly, yet you were asleep and we dare not wake you!" Tenya yelled with a smile.

"That's nice of you! Ingenium sir, are you doing well? Everything working okay?" Izuka asked, sitting at the table with her parents.

The Pro Hero was dressed in his Hero gear, sans helmet, and grinned widely. His hair was buzzed down so the doctors could stitch a bad head injury, so while the injury was gone, the hair couldn't be restored so easily. "Please, if anyone has the right to call me Tensei, it's you. You saved my life, and at the cost of your own." he smiled.

"She tends to do that… more often than I'd like." Inko deadpanned. Izuka gaped as Tensei so cavalierly stated her secret in front of his mother. Seeing her daughter's expression, Inko giggled, "Honestly, we couldn't exactly not tell them. Tenya knew already, and Ingenium is a top hero! It's only fair I tell their mother."

"Indeed." Mrs Iida stated, standing up and bowing low, "My name is Yamiko Iida, the former pro hero Slipstream. I wish to offer my heart felt thanks to you for healing my son. Tensei lives to be a hero, and if you hadn't made the sacrifice you did, he would have been forced to retire. We of the Iida family are in your debt."

Izuka squeaked and returned the bow, forgetting to stand first so accidentally hitting her head on the table. The Yagi-Midoriyas tried to restrain their laughter while the Iidas watched bewildered as the girl whined in pain, then jumped up and bowed properly. "S-Slipstream! Oh gosh, I love you! You were one of the top female heroes of the last generation and THE top female Rescue Hero before you retired! C-Can I please have your autograph?"

Yamiko blinked, "Um, of course! Is there anything else you want? I'd be happy to do whatever I can! With my late husband having passed away and Tensei still unmarried, I am the de-facto head of the Iida Family. There's a lot I can offer you."

Izuka grinned; "Just the Autograph would be good! You don't owe me anything!" she said, before racing off to find her older notebooks. When she returned, she had an old and well-used notebook in hand, which had been well cared for, considering how it had been carefully repaired and the corners were still sharp and not rounded. Izuka flipped to one of the early pages and showed Yamiko the entry for Slipstream. The picture was a childish replication of an old newspaper photo, drawn in crayon and the notes were written in emotional language and in a childish hand, reflecting Izuka's young and immature self when she made the entry. The notes weren't as analytical as Tenya and Tensei were used to from their own pages in Izuka's notes, but they still showed a fair amount of interest and creativity.

"This is wonderfully done. You should have a Hero Analysis and Strategy business when you grow up." Yamiko winked, "You know, in what time you have between saving people."

Izuka blushed and had to suppress an excited squeal when Yamiko signed the book. Slipstream wasn't a hero well known for hanging around when there was no danger, so autographs of hers were rare and valuable.

"Now that I've signed that for you, we have something to confess to you..." Yamiko said, sheepishly pushing up her glasses. Izuka tilted her head in confusion as Tenya and Tensei exchanged apologetic looks. She turned to her parents, who looked mildly amused.

"What is it?"

"Well, it's probably best if we showed you. We recorded the Sports Festival for you, so you could watch it later, but before the festival started, they had the news, like always you know? Only the news story that was headlining… well..." Toshi gulped, "Well it's best I show you."

Izuka suspiciously followed her father to the den while her mom and the Iida's followed. They all sat around on the sofas, with Izuka in the centre as the recorded new story was played. It was on the National Hero Network, so that meant all of Japan would have seen it, assuming they were watching the festival.

"And now, before we get to our live coverage of the U.A Sports Festival's Second Year Event, we have a special report! Yesterday afternoon, we reported that the notorious Hero Killer suspected to be operating in Hosu Ward had attacked Pro Hero Ingenium and succeeded in gravely wounding the hero. However, in the early hours of this morning, we received a report from Hosu General Hospital that Ingenium had been permanently disabled. We here at the Hero Network were naturally shocked by this, but then just two hours ago, the Doctor assigned to Ingenium's case informed us that the hero had made a miraculous recovery and was now in peak physical condition, being discharged almost immediately after being healed.

The reason for this miraculous healing was revealed to be Izuka Midoriya, U.A Hero Department First Year whom has shocked the country multiple times in her short 15 years." Izuka's eyes widened and her mouth hung open. A picture of her was on the screen, and not just any picture; it was one of her during the final moments of her battle with Katsuki; with her six wings of light and her angelic appearance. Truthfully, she barely recognised herself.

"For those of you unaware, Midoriya first became known to the public when she tragically fell victim to the All for One Kidnappings. She was the only survivor and was rescued in a large Hero Operation a year after her capture. In the aftermath of the battle between Number One Hero All-Might and All for One, she was stated to have healed a wound on All-Might that was supposedly lethal, saving the man's life in the process. Three years later, Midoriya would make a name for herself as a young hero by aiding in the Moncalama Incident, healing the Hero Team Water Hose and assisting in the defeat of Villain Muscular. Just yesterday, she fought in the Sports Festival's First Year portion and achieved First Place, battling and defeating Ingenium's own younger brother in the process!"

A series of clips played, showing her actions in the Obstacle Race, the speech she made in Hitoshi's defence and the winning blows against Tenya, Momo and Katsuki, and even her final attack against Endeavor.

"But not even that was enough for the rising star Midoriya! In the middle of the night, allegedly due to a call from Ingenium's brother, Tenya Iida, she flew to the hospital and over a multiple hour procedure, she was able to heal Ingenium to full health with the same quirk as she used to heal All-Might and Water Hose! We were able to reach out to the Iida Family this morning and were lucky enough to receive interviews from them."

Izuka looked to the three Iidas with shock, but they all looked away, somewhat embarrassed. The anchorwoman vanished from the screen and a video of Tenya appeared in her place.

"Mr Iida! What can you tell us about Miss Midoriya and what happened last night?"

The recorded Tenya seemed startled by the sudden reporter approaching him outside Hosu Hospital, "Izuka saved my brother's career. At great risk to her health, she saved my brother. She is a hero. As a Student of U.A, this is as much as I can say to the Press. Apologies."

The Interview then switched to Tensei, "What about you, Ingenium? How do you feel about the girl that saved your life?"

"Well, I met Midoriya at the USJ for the make up Rescue Trial. She seemed a shy, but friendly and enthusiastic girl. From what I understand, she apparently promised my little brother that she'd come to my aid if Tenya called her. She was there fifteen minutes after he did, and when I lost consciousness and woke up this morning, I was in full health. I can say without exaggeration that without her, there would be no Ingenium. She has my eternal thanks!"

Izuka blushed madly. The interview with Yamiko was basically the same as her sons', and the whole report ended with the Reporter and the Anchorwoman asking the country to join them in wishing Izuka luck in her future career as a Hero. They made comparisons between her and All-Might, Endeavor, Edge Shot and Best Jeanist; all popular and powerful heroes with heroic stories from their high school days. When it was finally over, Toshi turned off the TV and turned to find Izuka red faced and practically steaming from embarrassment.

"Everyone is talking about you, my girl. We suspected this would happen due to your victory in the Sports Festival, but saving Ingenium… you've just become the Top Hero Student in Japan, at least in popularity. If you were already a Pro Hero, you'd likely get in the Top Ten after this." Toshinori said.

"Papa, I'm not ready for this! Oh gosh, everyone's going to be staring at me! And the Work Experience Placements! I'm going to get tons now! I didn't want to get famous so soon!" Izuka whined. Despite her boost in confidence, at her heart she was still a shy girl.

"For the record, we're sorry about this. We didn't realise that the Doctors would tell the press so soon. We had hoped to just pass off the report of my injury as a mistake, but we got there too late. They ambushed us as we left the Hospital and we had to give interviews to get through." Tensei explained.

Izuka sighed defeated. There was no going back. Idly, she looked at her phone and groaned… every single person in class had texted or called her, all about the Ingenium Incident. Damn, that was the fourth "incident" she was a part of. If she believed in such things, Izuka would have thought she was bad luck or something.

Toshinori stroked her hair to calm her, "Most of your friends came over at some point today, but left so they wouldn't disturb you. Katsuki wanted to stay, but he needed to finish packing for the move to the Dorms. They're all fine and wish you well, though I suspect you'll get quite a scolding from them if you tell them you died again. Are you going to tell them? I know you wanted to tell them about the Evolution and Human things." he said, being purposely vague so Tenya wouldn't know what he meant.

"Yeah, I'll tell them. I promised no more secrets… Kacchan's going to kill me, and Momo and Ochako will scold whatever is left. Then Shoto and Eiji will probably never let me out of their sight again." Izuka whined. She knew her friends cared deeply for her, so she understood why they'd be upset with her and she appreciated that they cared enough to scold her, but that didn't mean she liked it.

Tenya sighed; "I will share in the blame. I foresee Bakugou and Todoroki being most displeased with me…"

Both teens suddenly paled dramatically; "Oh no… Aizawa-Sensei!" Izuka suddenly said.

"He will be furious. I don't think we'll escape a life time of detention this time." Tenya replied.

"I just narrowly avoided it last time! Oh man… I don't think he'll let us watch anime like last time." Izuka sulked. Suddenly, she was much less eager to go back to school the day after tomorrow. "Well you never know, maybe he'll forget?" Izuka finally said, hope in her voice.

Toshi crushed that hope; "He texted me earlier and told me that you and he would be having a talk on the day you move to the dorms." he said guiltily.

"Well, this is my life now. I have become suffering. Tenya, you better say some nice stuff at my funeral." she whined.

Tenya frowned; "Your funeral? You're immortal! It'll be my funeral! Bakugou, Todoroki and Ochako will probably give me a Viking Funeral by firing me into the sun!"

The two teens sighed, before breaking out into laughter. After all the high emotion and stress of the previous day, the two were happy to release some of the pent up feelings. Yamiko quietly told Izuka that Tenya was being made to see a therapist (namely Doctor Miragi Nekozawa) for his experience in killing her. He'd be starting the sessions after their Work Experience, so Tenya's education wouldn't be interrupted. The Iidas ended up staying for much of the evening, having dinner with the Yagi-Midoriya family (though Izuka wasn't allowed to help since she was meant to be resting). It was a pleasant evening and by the time it was over, Izuka was exhausted despite only being awake for a few hours, so she returned to bed. She still had the next day off, then it would be time to move to the dorms!

On the last day of the Sports Festival, Izuka relaxed at home, forbidden from training or going out, she lazed around, doing some packing and watching the event on TV. Mirio, Tamaki and Nejire had all taken part and done fairly well, getting to the final event, though it was ultimately Mirio who took the top spot, challenging All-Might in the Exhibition Match. He had fought hard, but ultimately lost to the Number One's overwhelming power, but Mirio looked so proud that he'd even had a chance to fight the man! Izuka called him to congratulate him, and commiserating with him over Sir Nighteye not coming to watch either of them. Nighteye and Gran Torino were focused entirely on hunting the League of Villains, so they hadn't been seen much recently.

Finally, the day came when Izuka and her classmates would move to the dorms. Her parents had already departed since they were staff, leaving Izuka to say goodbye to her home on her own. It was a somewhat sad experience, but Izuka and her mother were of the opinion that it was the people that made the home, so since her parents and friends would be with her, the Dorms would be a happy new home! It was fairly late in the day by the time the bus came to collect her, where she discovered she was the last one to be picked up.

"Hey Izuka!" Momo greeted as Katsuki, Shoto and Tenya hopped out of the bus to help Izuka put her suitcases into the luggage compartment.

"Hi guys. Is everyone doing okay? I'm sorry I didn't reply to your texts before, but it's been kind of crazy." Izuka apologised, taking a seat beside Ochako.

"We're all good. My parents came to surprise me! We spent the last day in my apartment together!" Ochako grinned.

"That's great!" Izuka smiled, looking around. Including herself, there was only 19 students; the new student they'd be getting must have been collected separately. Aizawa-Sensei was lazily watching the group from the front, standing to address them once everyone was back in their seats.

"Alright you lot, here's the plan for the day. We'll be dropping off your luggage at the front gates and the robots will move it to the Dorms. During that, we'll be meeting our new student in the classroom. Izuka, this student has already signed a non-disclosure agreement about your quirks and relationship with All-Might, so they're safe to tell. Once the meet and greet is done and all the necessary secrets have been told, we'll head to the Dorms. Everyone got that?" he said.

"Yes Sensei!" the class shouted, and with that, the bus began moving to the school. The trip was fairly short, so the students chattered way, many of them proudly talking of how they'd been recognised by the public.

"I got so many stares! It was kind of embarrassing!" Toru said.

"Me too! Middle Schoolers kept asking me to use Plus Ultra Mode! They wanted to take a picture with "Punk Rock Ashido!" ain't that crazy!?" Mina gushed.

"Yeah, the same happened to me!" Kirishima grinned, "Some kids said I was like Ruby Knight from that anime we watched!"

"Good for you… I kept getting kids and old ladies saying "Nice Try!" to me all day." Sero complained.

Tsuyu croaked in laughter, "My little sister said the same after watching your fight."

"To think, one event and everyone's suddenly got their eyes on us! That's U.A for you." Kaminari grinned.

"But it was definitely Izuka that took the spotlight! You win the event then go and save Ingenium! I'm kind of jealous." Kyoka smiled.

Izuka blushed, "Yeah, I saw the news story… I'll explain what happened later, okay?" she promised. She had to tell them about her no longer being Human, and her own Plus Ultra Mode after all. A few of her classmates sulked and looked to Tenya, hoping he would spill the beans, but the boy simply shook his head; as far as he was concerned, he would let Izuka set the pace for telling this story.

Eventually, they reached U.A and disembarked, heading to their classroom while the little helper robots swarmed the bus to collect their belongings. Reaching their classroom, they all took their seats while Aizawa went to collect their new classmate, who was waiting in the Principal's Office after being given the run down of their new position. Finally, the Classroom door swung open and the class held their breath, eager to see their new classmate.

As Aizawa walked in, Izuka grinned widely, nearly leaping from her seat as she saw her new classmate; Hitoshi Shinso!

"Hi." he said with a smirk as the class looked at him.

Aizawa addressed them; "As you know, Hitoshi Shinso was the best Non-Hero Student in the Sports Festival. As such, several teachers, including myself, recommended he be admitted to our class to fill Mineta's empty spot. After a review by the admittance board and the Principal, Shinso is now officially a member of Class 1-A."

"Great!" Izuka cheered, leaping up to shake Shinso's hand in congratulations, "I'm so glad you're here! I hoped it would be you!"

Hitoshi grinned, "Thanks. I've got to thank you, I think your words helped the board make the decision."

"It's no problem, I just said what I felt! You guys agree too, right?" Izuka looked to her fellow classmates and none could deny she was right, especially when faced with those happy sparkling eyes. Even Ojiro begrudgingly admitted Shinso was worthy of the spot, and had merely used his quirk as best he could to get as far as he could.

"Thanks for having me." Hitoshi bowed his head; "I'm Hitoshi Shinso, my quirk is Brainwashing. I like cats and riding my bike. I'll be living with you guys in the dorms now." he introduced.

The class clapped politely. Katsuki just raised an eyebrow at the boy's interaction with Izuka, but it was fairly innocent in the same way as Glasses and Shitty Hair, so he ignored it. Purple Fuck Number 2 was no threat to him. The rest of the class gave short introductions to him, so Hitoshi knew who they all were as he took his new seat behind Izuka. Once he was seated, Izuka shyly went to the front of the class for her revelations.

"Okay, Hitoshi, most of what I'm about to say is just for you, since I told the others already. A lot of it is going to sound crazy and unbelievable, but I swear it's the truth." she said shyly.

Hitoshi smirked; "Relax. Whatever it is, it can't be that crazy."

He was wrong… oh how he was wrong.

His face paled and he was certain his jaw would need to be surgically reattached from how hard it had hit the floor. Izuka told him everything, absolutely EVERYTHING that she'd told the rest of the class. Hitoshi could barely believe it… Izuka being the step daughter of All-Might was crazy, but he could understand it. The amazing power of the Link Evolution Quirk was really pushing it, but seeing the power used by Class 1-A in the Sports Festival, he had no choice but to believe it! But the power of Phoenix… Immortality. All for One had killed her over and over… Hitoshi's grandfather still hated the girl for surviving while Hitoshi's uncle had died, but she hadn't survived at all! She'd died a lot and only a one in a billion quirk had saved her from death by condemning her to unending torture! She'd even been tortured and killed in front of her classmates at the USJ! Hitoshi suddenly felt a lot more understanding towards Mineta swapping places with him; if he'd been forced to tell a villain to torture the girl, he might have done the same. No wonder these 1-A guys were so protective of the green haired girl… she'd literally died for them!

"That's… well. Aizawa-Sensei, can I curse?" Hitoshi asked.

Aizawa sighed and promptly plugged his ears with his fingers. The moment he was deaf, Hitoshi screamed "FUCK!" as loud as he could, startling most of the class and making Katsuki chuckle. "Izuka, what the actual fuck! You aren't going to be making a habit of dying for us, are you?"

"Don't worry Shinso." Momo smiled, "We've been keeping an eye on her. She hasn't died again since the USJ!"

Izuka gulped and Tenya paled; "Well..." the girl began. Instantly, all eyes were on her and she felt very much like a rabbit before a 19 hungry wolves.

Aizawa gripped her shoulder, "Midoriya. Explain." he said sternly.

Izuka blinked, "But I thought you knew already, Aizawa-Sensei! Dad said you texting him about talking to me."

"That was about you saving Ingenium and the effects it had on the public, not… wait! That's how you died isn't it! You died from overdoing your healing on Ingenium!" Aizawa frowned.

"Sort of..." Izuka said guiltily. She confessed everything that had happened, from Tenya's extremely early morning call to her healing Ingenium. She had tried glossing over exactly how she died, but Tenya stood and confessed that he had killed her himself, on Izuka's order, to heal his brother. He had bowed his head and apologised profusely, but the class was still rather angry.

"I can't believe it. You promised to value your life more!" Momo scolded, getting up and pulling on Izuka's ear like she was a naughty child.

"I do, really! I only did it because it would have saved Ingenium and let him get back to work! Then he could save more people! Come on, Ingenium saves at least three people a week! I couldn't let him stay in hospital for three months!" Izuka weakly argued. She was so sure of her decision, yet she still had trouble standing up for that decision when faced with the concern of the people who loved her. She looked to Tenya for help, only to find the boy was wrapped in tape and gagged while several boys surrounded him menacingly. She knew they wouldn't hurt him for real, but it was still kind of scary to see.

"Everyone, please don't blame Tenya! He asked for my help, true, but he argued against me dying right up to the end. He only agreed when I told him I'd do it anyway if he left the room." Izuka protested. To her surprise, it was Kacchan that freed the boy, ripping the tape off him with little effort.

"Don't be fucking dense." he scolded the other boys, "None of you would have been able to resist Deku when she does that damn cute stare of hers. Dumbass Glasses just did what he was told." Katsuki said dismissively, returning to his seat.

Tenya nodded in thanks, "Thank you, Bakugou. While it is true I tried to dissuade Izuka, I still ultimately caved. Aizawa-Sensei, if there is going to be any punishment for this, it should be mine." he bowed, "Please do not punish Izuka for doing what she felt was right."

Aizawa sighed, "I'll be discussing this with the both of you, but for now, rest assured I don't plan on punishing you. I really hate to admit this, but with all the information we have at hand, Midoriya acted in a way that was unavoidable for the sake of maintaining the public good. However, if I learn there was another option that would have let Ingenium keep working without taking your life, I WILL be punishing you. Understood?" he said, looking the girl in the eye.

"Yes Sensei. I'm sorry. For the record, I did think about every other option before deciding on dying." Izuka promised.

Hitoshi groaned; "What kind of insane class did I walk into?"

"Class 1-A!" Ojiro grinned.

Once the news of her dying again had calmed down a bit, Izuka set about explaining the rest of her news, namely what she'd learned after her battle with Katsuki. The news of her own Plus Ultra Mode was interesting to the class. She had to omit the part about One for All, since she'd promised her father not to reveal the specifics of that quirk, but it didn't take much for the class to accept that Izuka's own Evolution had done the whole thing, building a Plus Ultra Mode from the fragments of their quirks she copied during a link.

"So it's mine and Aoyama's quirks that made the power you used against Bakugou?" Momo asked.

"Yeah. I've been calling it Plus Ultra: Seraphic Light. Aoyama's contribution is obvious, since this mode let me shoot light beams from crystallised parts of my body but more than that, I don't know. I'm not sure how your quirk affected it, Momo." Izuka explained.

"How can you tell who is who with those links?" Hitoshi asked, "You can feel them? Does everyone feel different?"

"Yes. It's kind of tough to explain, but if I focus on a particular person I've linked with, I kind of get hints of smells, tastes and other feelings, including emotions. Speaking of links..." Izuka padded over to Hitoshi and took his hand, forming a link with him before almost immediately breaking it off and returning to the front of the class.

"That was… odd." Hitoshi commented, missing the brief feeling of completeness the link gave him.

"Now that I've linked with you, your quirk should have evolved in some way. Plus, I can now feel you a bit. Hmm, your link feels like a ball of yarn, and little whispers keep coming through, asking me questions I can barely hear. Kind of weird." Izuka explained.

"What about the rest of us? What do we feel like to you?" Kirishima asked.

"Ah, well..." Izuka focused, closing her eyes and concentrating on the various sensations, "Aizawa-sensei feels like tired mist. Like if I try to forcibly touch it, it'll slip through my fingers, but if I leave my hand out, it'll settle there. Aoyama feels like a shining star, no surprise there. Mina feels like warm silly putty and smells like bubble gum. Tsuyu feels and smells like damp earth and morning dew. Tenya feels rigid and sharp, like a perfect cube, but smells of a weird mix of gasoline and cologne. Ochako is almost the opposite, feeling like a perfect sphere and smelling faintly of cedar. Ojiro is kind of furry, like an animal and I hear little chittering sounds when I focus on him. Kaminari doesn't have a solid feeling and is more like how you feel when standing outside before a storm… kind of an impeding sense of static? Kirishima is easy; he feels like a rock! But just below the surface is something smoother and tougher. Koda feels really soft and gentle, but I feel like if I try to focus too tightly on him, the feeling will disappear. Sato doesn't feel like anything really, but when I focus on his link, I can taste something sweet and smell caramel! Shoji feels massive, but blank, like a giant canvas with nothing painted on it, and I sort of smell squid ink? Kyoka is another tough one; I feel something small and thin and metal, like a coin, but as I focus on it, I hear faint music that plays in tune with my heartbeat. Sero feels sticky, like if I grip his link, I won't be able to let go easily. Tokoyami is really weird; he feels just like those yin-yang symbols, two sided and contrasting. Shoto feels like eating ice cream on a hot day; I taste vanilla and feel the sun's rays on my face. Toru feels like a mirror, like every single feeling I have towards her is reflected back, but behind it all is something tiny and quiet, hidden beneath the mirror's surface. Kacchan's..." Izuka smiled warmly.

"Kacchan smells like Cinnamon and I can practically taste it, faint whispers of it on my tongue. I feel fire, yet it is as soft as silk, and I feel a strength greater than even All-Might. There are hints of wood smoke around his link, like burning incense." Izuka explained, still smiling despite her bashfulness. Katsuki smirked, happy he was able to get such a reaction from his love.

Hitoshi rolled his eyes, "Down girl. You've still got a couple more to go."

"Ah! Sorry." Izuka blushed, "Mineta isn't here now, but I still feel his link. It suits him; small and easy to overlook, but smells strongly of berries, not just grapes. The smell has changed a bit since I first made the link; it's more natural and less artificial now. Momo feels like a big rubix cube that keeps changing shape and colour… at it's core, it's always the same but the rest always changes."

"Wow… all those thoughts and feelings. No wonder your body gets stressed if you go over the limit." Momo commented.

Izuka nodded, then made her final confession; the fact she was now classified as a Non-Human Person. This had been the thing she feared to tell them the most, yet oddly, this was the thing that got the least of a reaction from her classmates.

"It's kind of not a big deal, right?" Kyoka reasoned, "I mean your appearance and personality hasn't really changed, plus our class has a lot of people with less human looks. Aoyama's belly button is a gem, Mina is pink with freaking black eyes and yellow horns, Tsuyu is a frog girl, Iida has engines in his legs, Shoji, Koda and Tokoyami all have non-human looks and even I have my long ear jacks. Don't sweat the small stuff, so long as you're the same Izuka we all love, we don't care if you're human."

Izuka smiled and went to hug Kyoka, "Thanks Kyoka, that means a lot. And since you brought it up, I like your jacks! I think they're cute."

Kaminari smirked; "Wow, a nice comment from Jiro! Today's full of surprises!"

Kyoka promptly growled and stabbed him in the head with her jacks, making him shriek like a girl while the rest of the class laughed. With nothing else to confess, Izuka returned to her seat, where Hitoshi put a hand on her shoulder. "You've got it pretty rough." he commented with a small smile.

"Maybe..." Izuka looked at her classmates, "But I think it's worth it."

Hitoshi grinned and slowly but surely, the excitement died down and attention turned back to Aizawa-sensei. "Now that we've welcomed Shinso to our class and been updated on Midoriya and her health, it is time to get started with the Dorms. Follow me; Shinso, Iida, Midoriya, you three are to walk with me. We need to talk." he instructed. The Class cheered and piled out of the classroom, running to see their new home. The three requested students fell in step with their teacher as he slowly made his way to the Dorms, clearly in no rush.

"Shinso, this is going to be rather unfair for you, but you won't be given much time to catch up. The Principal has authorised you for weekend classes, so we'll be putting you through the Quirk Apprehension Test, Battle Trial and Rescue Trial over the next few weekends. It's going to be tough, but we have a month of training to get you through. Plus, we'll need to test your Plus Ultra Mode and see what it can do. There is a week before the Work Experience Placements start, so you'll need to work very hard if you want to be included in them." Aizawa explained.

"I've got it. I'm ready for this!" Hitoshi said eagerly.

Aizawa nodded approvingly, "Good. Midoriya, I'm assigning you to Shinso as his tutor to help catch him up on the theory classes. You'll need to schedule those sessions for yourselves, but we'll be counting on you."

Izuka nodded with a smile; Hero Theory was the one non-practical class where she was smarter than Momo, who dominated her in every other academic class. "We can do some each evening. I've got lots of notes."

"Good. Now Iida..." Aizawa-sensei looked to the boy, "I've been informed you've been signed up for therapy to deal with what happened with your brother and Midoriya?"

"Yes sir." Tenya admitted ashamedly. Aizawa narrowed his eyes.

"None of that. You made your choices, don't disgrace yourself or your resolve by regretting them now. I brought it up solely to let you know that you are to treat that therapy as a school mandated activity. Take it seriously. Despite the unusual circumstances, everything surrounding the incident with your brother has stressed you, I can see it easily in your resigned expression. I argued that you shouldn't be allowed to enter the Work Experience Placements until the Therapist signed you off, but the Principal argued in your favour so I gave in. DO NOT give me reason to regret that decision, understood?" the man said sharply. Aizawa cared a lot about his students' mental health, being one of the few teachers to recognise that it can be more delicate and dangerous than their physical health, especially in hormonal teenagers. He trusted Iida… but grief and trauma can have profound effects on even the sternest mind.

Tenya bowed his head, "Of course Sensei. I apologise; I regret that such actions were necessary, but I do not regret doing them. I refused to let Izuka kill herself for the sake of my brother; I did what was necessary and what little I could for the sake of Tensei, Izuka and the people they would both save."

"Good. Keep that in mind. Now you and Shino run along. I need to talk to Midoriya alone."

Hitoshi and Tenya exchanged looks, but ultimately agreed, running on ahead (though Hitoshi groaned at having to use so much effort so early in the day.) Once they were out of earshot, Aizawa turned to Izuka.

"Midoriya, there is a fair bit I have to say to you. Firstly, like I said in class, I am not happy about you dying again, however, since you did what you did to save lives and you had already explored other options, I can't rightfully punish you; you kept your promise about not recklessly using your power and as much as I hate to say it, if I had been in your place and possessed your power, I'd have likely done the same." Aizawa confessed.

Izuka nodded; "I know you would, Aizawa-sensei. You're a hero. I like to think all heroes would do the same if they had my power."

Aizawa hummed, not really believing all heroes would. "I know that being immortal, there isn't much point in being afraid of dying, and I know you don't fear pain either, but..." the man paused, trying to find the words, "How does it feel for you? Does it distress you? Do you feel things, or is it all blank until you revive?"

"It's… oddly comforting." Izuka confessed, "I just sort of… slip away. One moment I'm alive and in pain, the next I'm in an empty black void, floating like I'm in water. The pain is gone and everything feels calm and serene, but beneath it, there's a strange tug. Whenever I'm in that void, I feel the tug and sometimes I tug back. When I was with All for One, I tugged back so desperately that the void cracked and white light began pouring in. I felt like I was drifting away, but I suddenly got scared and recoiled. When I died next, the void was back to how it was before the cracks."

Aizawa's eyes widened; "Does that mean that if you really wanted, you think you could die for good?"

Izuka nodded reluctantly. "That light was haunting. It was more terrifying than the darkness of the void. It felt like a gate that once I stepped through, it would close behind me. I've never tried tugging on the feeling again. I… I don't want to die, not for real!"

"Alright Problem Child, relax a bit." the man said, seeing Izuka was becoming distressed. It must be awful for her, to have looked directly into the light of death. He felt like he'd seen something similar when Noumu had nearly killed him; the light he'd seen had been terrifying, yet hauntingly intoxicating, like the arms of a lover he knew would never let him go. "Maybe we should change the topic. This wasn't what I really wanted to talk about anyway. I wanted to discuss what you did with Shinso, and your place in Class 1-A."

"My place? Wait, I'm not getting expelled am I!?" Izuka panicked.

"No!" Aizawa groaned, "Jeez kid, calm down! It's a good thing, trust me." This girl seriously needed a stress ball or something, Aizawa swore she was about to pop a blood vessel.

The two stopped there slow walk as Aizawa fixed Izuka with a strange look; "Midoriya, what do you think your place in Class 1-A is?"

Izuka blinked; "My place? Well I'm seat 17, and in the top 5 for each class and activity. I'm a recommendation student… Oh! I'm the Vice President!" she chirped.

"All correct, but not what I meant." Aizawa said, "Midoriya, you are the core of our class."

"The core?" Izuka looked puzzled.

"The heart, the soul, the glue keeping this motley crew together. Without meaning to, you've wormed your way into the hearts of all your classmates and brought them together. There are a lot of strong and contrasting personalities in our class, the kind of which I would normally worry over, yet you, just by being yourself, have brought them all together. Like your quirk, you have formed links that have joined them together. People like Bakugou and Koda are able to coexist because you are around, the eternal mediator keeping the peace."

Izuka blushed; "I… I don't understand. We're all friends, but I'm nothing more than that!"

"But you are, Midoriya. At least for our class, you have become a Symbol of Peace; a Uniter. The class feels strong enough to face anything because they know they have you behind them. It's the same way Heroes and the Public feel safe because they know All-Might is around to save the day. I wanted to tell you this so you understood how much your every action affects the class. You shape them with your words and direct them down different paths. For example, Bakugou and Todoroki… they're paths would be much different if they hadn't met you. All-Might, Ingenium, Endeavor… even myself; all our paths through life have been touched by you, helping us move forward when something had blocked the way." Aizawa explained; "Shinso is another example. If you hadn't convinced him to fight with hand-to-hand combat, the Admissions Board wouldn't have had enough of a grasp of his talents to promote him to the Hero Course, and your words about him galvanised the teachers and several pros into acting, which further pushed the board to accept him. Shinso has a chance to be a hero now, because of you. And then there's Mineta; without you, he'd likely have gone on with his old ways until he gave up, was expelled or killed, but your support lit a fire inside him and set him on the road to being a true hero."

Izuka gulped. She was nervous, embarrassed and scared at the implications of her Sensei's words, but beneath it all, she felt more than a little proud. "This is it for me, isn't it? The first step on my way to being Number One."

"Yes, Izuka." Aizawa smiled, switching to her first name and ruffling her hair; "By doing what came naturally, you've reached this far. But the road ahead is long and there will always be people looking to bring you down. I want you to use your new position with responsibility; your every word and action will effect your classmates, and those effects will spread out across the world. Be strong, Izuka and remember; we are all watching, and we are on your side."

"Yes Sensei!" Izuka declared, pumping her chest out proudly. The world would be watching her now; she would show them who she was, just as she did at the Sports Festival. She'd rise to the Number One, surpassing even her father and becoming an all encompassing and insurmountable Symbol of Peace.

Finally, the two caught up with the class, standing outside their new home; the dorms. Heights Alliance was the name of the Dormitories and each class in the school had their own, identical building with their class designation emblazoned on the front above the door. Each dormitory was like a small mansion and had been lavishly built and decorated. Izuka gaped at it as Mina and Sato ran over.

"Izuka, have you seen this!? It's crazy big! Talk about a school for gifted youngsters!" Mina cheered.

"Ah man, this is going to be sweet. Hey Izuka, want to help me bake a cake to celebrate the move?" Sato asked.

"Sure! This looks like a lot of fun!" Izuka grinned. She was slightly mindful of her interactions with her friends now, since Aizawa-sensei had told her how much she could effect them, but ultimately, she got this far by doing what came naturally, so Izuka opted to continue that plan.

"Come on you brats, no use loitering out here." Aizawa said, leading them into the dorm proper. "It's a class to each building. The girls will be on the right, the boys on the left. The first floor is coed space." he directed them inside and showed off the first floor, which housed a dining area, a large den complete with TV, a kitchen and a small work out space. "The Dining Area, Baths and Laundry Rooms are all down here. Naturally, the latter two are gender-segregated."

"So much space! It's all so nice too! We even have big sofas!" Mina gushed.

"Check it out, there's a courtyard too!" Sero grinned.

"Ah, it's like living at Izuka's place, but even bigger!" Ochako looked ready to faint.

Aizawa carried on, ignoring the kids reactions; "The rooms are located on the second through fifth floors." he said, showing them one of the empty ones as an example. It had a bed, air conditioning, toilet, small fridge and a fairly large closet as well as a desk. There was even a screen glass door that opened onto a veranda. "You've been assigned rooms already and your things have been sent there. Listen closely; there are no girls on the second floor, but Shinso, Aoyama and Tokoyami will be housed there. On the third floor will be Koda, Kaminari, Iida, Ojiro, Jiro and Hagakure. The fourth floor will be Shoji, Kirishima, Bakugou, Uraraka, Midoriya and Ashido. The fifth and final floor will obviously be Sato, Todoroki, Sero, Yaoyorozu and Asui." he said, showing a small room map with their names attached. "There is no way to get from the girls side to the boys without going through the first floor, and naturally, you aren't allowed in the opposite gender's side or bedrooms after curfew. Now for the time being, go get your rooms set up. I'll be back at Dinner to introduce you to the Dorm Manager."

"Yes Sensei!" everyone shouted before running to their rooms to begin the lengthy task of setting up their rooms. It took them all most of the day to unpack and arrange their rooms into the form they liked. It was already dark when everyone was finished, so they all convened in the common room and relaxed while they waited for Aizawa to return with their Dorm Manager.

"You know, the USJ was a pretty crappy situation all around, but I'm glad we can live together because of it." Kaminari smirked, sitting on the sofa arm beside Izuka.

"Ah, Community Living… this too is another trial to nurture our discipline and cooperative spirit!" Tenya proclaimed.

"So, I wonder who our Dorm Manager will be." Mina said, "I mean, we know Aizawa-sensei will be living here too, but he isn't the manager."

"Hey yeah, will they be a Pro Hero? I kind of doubt it, but they have to be someone special. U.A doesn't do anything small or easy." Kirishima commented.

Izuka suppressed a grin. Not even Kacchan knew who the Dorm Manager would be; it would be a surprise for everyone. A few minutes later, Aizawa arrived in the Common Room with All-Might and Inko, smiling to them all.

"Mama Midoriya!" Kirishima and Mina cheered, running to hug the woman.

"It's good to see you again." Tenya bowed politely, "Did you come to see Izuka?"

Inko smiled, petting the two hugging teens and nodding to Tenya; "I did, but that's not all. I came to see all of you. After all, I'll be taking care of you all from now on." she grinned.

The Class stared at her, not truly comprehending what that meant. Shoto was the first to find his voice; "Wait, does that mean that you are..."

"That's right." Aizawa smirked, "Inko Midoriya has been hired by U.A to be the Dorm Manager to Class 1-A."

"YES!" the class screamed, Izuka squealing excitedly as she hugged her mother. Hitoshi was bewildered, but it seemed to him that Izuka's mom was popular with his classmates.

"This is going to be great! Does that mean All-Might will live here too?" Ochako asked.

"I will be! I'll be sharing the Managers Apartment with my wife. We decided that to protect Izuka from the League of Villains, it would be best if I was here to protect her, and neither myself nor Izuka would ever leave her mother alone, so Nezu hired her as the Dorm Manager." Toshinori explained.

Inko smiled, "I look forward to looking after you all! Izuka has grown up so much and become so independent, I kind of miss having people to take care off! Speaking off..." she turned to Hitoshi, "You must be Shinso! I watched you fight my daughter; it was very well done! I've already met the others in Class 1-A, so any time you want, come talk to me and tell me your favourite foods. I'll be preparing Breakfast and Dinner for you all, and while I need to stick to a prescribed diet, I'd like to make your favourites from time to time."

"Uh, thanks Mrs Midoriya." Hitoshi bowed his head. It was easy to see how Izuka became the person she was.

"Okay, now I'm going to be breaking down the rules for you all!" Inko said, a tad more serious; "While I cook breakfast and dinner, you'll all be responsible for other chores, such as tidying the common area, keeping your rooms clean and occasionally helping me with grocery shopping. Curfew will be 11pm on school nights, but you can stay up as late as you want on days off. If you leave campus, you have to let me or a teacher know and tell us where you're going and when you'll be back. If plans change while you're out, then call and tell me, alright? I have the same authority as the U.A Teachers when it comes to discipline, and while I think you're all wonderful young men and women, I won't hesitate to ground you if you behave poorly! Please, if you have any trouble at all, come to me. I'm here to help you after all!"

"Yes Ma'am!" the class shouted in response. With that, Inko set about cooking dinner with some assistance from Toshinori and Shota, telling the kids to go and have fun for a bit while she cooked.

"This is going to be so awesome! With Mama Midoriya around, this place already feels like home." Mina proclaimed.

"It's very nice. Izuka, did you already know?" Tsuyu asked.

"I did, sorry. I learned about it on the day the Sports Festival was announced, but I wanted to keep it a secret so it would be a surprise." Izuka grinned.

"You people haven't lived til you've had Auntie Inko's spicy waffles. That shit is like edible gold." Katsuki said, salivating.

Hitoshi smirked; "Your mom is pretty popular. Everyone was more excited to see her than they were to see All-Might."

"Izuka's Mom is basically everyone's mom now." Kyoka explained, "The goofy guys call her Mama Midoriya, but everyone else calls her Auntie Inko, like Bakugou. She's really friendly and gives some good advice."

"Aw man, I am so hyped now!" Kirishima cheered, "I can't sit still until Dinner! What should we do?"

Mina and Ochako exchanged smirks; "How about this… why don't we have a Room Showcase!"

"Yeah! Lets start with Shinso!" Toru cheered.

"Why me?" Hitoshi frowned.

"None of us really know you yet! It'll be a good way to get some insight into you!" Mina responded, though it was obvious she was just being nosy.

Hitoshi sighed and gave in, leading the class to his room. The inside was… kind of anticlimactic really. It was a fairly normal room with a few personal photos, some fantasy books and a poster of Eraserhead on the wall over his desk. When questioned on it, Hitoshi just shrugged; "He's an Underground Hero. My quirk means I'm best suited to that too, so I look up to him."

There was also a litter tray, a scratching post and some food bowls beside his desk, though no sign of the cat that they belonged to. "I have a black cat called Oreo, 'cause his belly is white." Hitoshi explained.

"Are cats allowed?" Tenya asked.

Hitoshi shrugged; "Not sure. I asked Aizawa-sensei this morning and he just said he'd overlook it, then stuffed Oreo into his scarves and walked off. Haven't seen her since."

"Well… moving on." Ochako said, trying not to think too much about their cat-napping sensei.

Next was Tokoyami's room, and after some stiff resistance (the bird boy had to be pushed out of the way of his door by Mina and Toru) they found his room to be exactly as imagined; dark and full of spooky and occult paraphernalia, including swords and fake skulls. Somewhat out of place in the room was a fluffy grey pillow beside the bed. "That's for Dark Shadow." Tokoyami begrudgingly explained; "Since I got my Plus Ultra Mode, he sometimes likes to sleep on his own, so I got him a pillow."

"Aw, how cute." Izuka gushed.

"Huh, still think it's weird that guys like this stuff..." Mina commented.

"Oh hey, I've got this same key chain! Bought in middle school!" Kirishima said, picking up a dagger key chain. Tokoyami promptly kicked them out.

Next up was Aoyama, and no one could stay in his room for more than a few seconds. Everything was expensive and very shiny, including disco balls, a crystal chandelier and even a suit of armour! The class fled fairly quickly, fearing their eyesight would deteriorate in such a place. Aoyama seemed unperturbed. Maybe Izuka's evolution had adapted his eyes too, there was no other way he could survive in such a room.

Moving to the next floor, the group visited Ojiro's room. It was pretty boring with next to nothing interesting, so when the girls struggled to make comments, Ojiro had sulked and sent them off; "You don't have to say anything..." he moped as they left. Tenya's room was full of books, to the point where every shelf and surface had a tidy pile of books arranged on it, all meticulously arranged by topic and title. There was nothing out of the ordinary… aside from the shelves of duplicate glasses.

Annoyed by Ochako laughing at him, Tenya protested; "What's wrong with having so many glasses! I'm merely prepared for if they get broken or lost during out training!"

"Dude, Four Eyes is really a Thousand Eyes." Katsuki deadpanned to Kirishima as they watched Ochako and Mina pilfer some of the glasses, running off with them on their faces, giggling all the way.

Next was Kaminari, whose room was a gaudy mess of mismatched junk and hobby items. "Hey, this is cool!" the Electric Boy protested, "My parents always encouraged me to try everything I could, so I picked up a lot of hobbies along the way. These are all my precious memories!"

"That's nice, Kaminari, it's just a little shocking." Izuka smiled, then blushed, "er, No Pun Intended."

"Pikachu's a pack rat, who knew?" Kacchan muttered, then noticed an actual stuffed Pikachu in the corner. Since the girls had taken glasses from Iida's room, he shrugged and took the Pikachu, forcing Izuka to hold it for the rest of the tours. It was cute enough that Kaminari didn't even complain.

Koda's room was next, and to no one's surprise, it matched the quiet and soft nature of it's owner with many pictures of animals, some stuffed animals on the bed and even a real rabbit. Kyoka smirked; "Great, now there are two Izukas!"

"Not funny..." Izuka pouted, but then Koda put the rabbit beside Izuka's face and the two fluffy, adorable and innocent creatures found their expressions mirrored by the other's. Despite the laughter it brought, Izuka hugged the rabbit to her face and Koda happily allowed it and was able to stroke Izuka's hair as a joke, pretending to mistake her for his rabbit. He smiled happily; he had been right; Izuka's hair was as soft as his rabbit!

The next room was Katsuki's, and to the surprise of most of the class, he didn't look all that bothered to let them in, just threatening their lives if they made a mess. His room had several warning signs and police tape decorating the walls, and the plain desk had been replaced by a work bench full of tools and small pots of paint. On either side of the desk was a display case, showing numerous models.

"Whoa, didn't expect Bakugou to be a Model guy." Kyoka commented.

"It is odd… his quirk is so destructive, I never expected him to have a creative hobby." Momo said, examining some of the models.

"I make my own stuff. I got good at sculpting a few years back and started making my own figures. Most of these old ones are garbage, but I'm pretty fucking proud of this one." Kacchan grinned, pointing to one. It was the figure he had made of Izuka, displaying her as a thirteen year old and wearing U.A Gym clothes. In one hand, the toy Izuka had a ball of fire and in the other, she had a tiny tornado of water, and of course, her flame wings were modelled onto her back.

"K-Kacchan! I knew you made one of these for Kota, I didn't know you kept one!" Izuka protested.

"What, and give away my best piece? No chance. If any of you scrubs get good, I might be bothered to make models of you too." Katsuki smirked, before ushering everyone out. The class was still reeling from Katsuki having such an unusual skill that they barely paid attention to Kirishima and his manly room, full of fight posters, training gear and even a clock with flexing arms.

Last on the floor was Shoji, but his room contained nothing but a folded futon and a low table and cushion to sit on. "Shoji, did you forget your stuff?" Mina asked.

"I think he's a minimalist." Shoto said blandly as Shoji nodded.

"I've never cared for material possessions. I have all I need." the tentacled boy explained.

Sero's room was the first on the fifth floor and was oddly Asian themed with vibrant patterns everywhere. Sero was happy at the surprise he got from the girls, since he was the only one so far besides Bakugou to break the expected mould.

The girls were excited to see the room of the cold and aloof Shoto Todoroki, but even they weren't prepared for what they saw… it was completely Japanese! It had tatami mats, wood and paper screens and even a Japanese style light fixture. "Did this room get built differently!?" Mina yelled.

Shoto shrugged; "My house was Japanese style, so I felt more comfortable like this."

"But how'd you do it so fast!?" Kaminari demanded.

"I worked really hard." Shoto said simply.

The last boy's room was Sato's and despite it being very plain in appearance, it had a much larger fringe, a small oven and a microwave. The whole room smelled delicious. "Oh yeah." Sato opened his oven, "I was finished early, so I baked a Chiffon Cake. If it's cool with Auntie Inko, we can share it after dinner." he said, pulling out a fluffy and delicious smelling cake. Everyone salivated over it, but no matter how tempted they were, they held back. Izuka had warned them once how scary her mom could be if they spoiled their dinner.

"Hey Sato, I thought we were going to bake the cake together!" Izuka said.

"We are. This isn't the celebration cake; I made this to fill time and use up some ingredients close to spoiling. The real celebration cake will be much better!" Sato assured her.

Next up was the Girl's rooms, so they all went down to the first floor and began climbing again, this time on the right side (leaving the Chiffon Cake with Inko, lest they be tempted). Kyoka's room looked like a recording studio and was full of just about every instrument used in modern rock, from Bass Guitars, to Keyboards to a full drum kit and mixing table.

"Kyoka's a real rocker girl!" Ochako smiled, gently strumming a guitar.

"Can you play all these?" Momo asked with a warm smile. Kyoka blushed profusely and nodded.

"Just the basics."

"Huh, pretty cool. I rock on the drums." Katsuki said, playing a damn good drum solo while Kyoka stabbed Kaminari and Aoyama with her jacks for making rude comments on her lack of femininity.

Then it was Toru's room, which was a very normal and very girly room, covered in pink and stuffed animals, as well as soft and fluffy pillows. Hitoshi blinked; "Maybe I'm just not used to girls, but being in this room somehow feels like I'm doing something immoral..."

"It's okay if we invite you." Tsuyu assured him.

Mina was next and her room was full of dark, but vibrant colours and patterns and some rather psychedelic furniture, making it look like the room of a Hippy from the 60's. Kirishima certainly liked it, but compared to some of the rooms they'd seen, it was kind of normal. Ochako's was even worse; there was no real style to the room, and just had her stuff unpacked and put away without any real attempt at redecorating the place.

The final room on the floor was Izuka's and it was one most of them were curious about. All of them (sans Hitoshi) had seen her room at the Yagi-Midoriya Home, so they wondered how she'd decorate her dorm room. Truthfully, it wasn't much different, just smaller. Izuka had covered the walls in posters of heroes (mostly All-Might) and her own drawings. There was her collection of Hero Figures and the figures she got from the Gem Knight Anime and the Princess Knight collection she'd collected alongside Sir Nighteye. Her shelves were full of her analysis books and in the corner was a small easel so Izuka could do her paintings when she wanted.

"It's not much, but it's home." Izuka smiled nervously.

"Wow, it's like you condensed your old room into this one." Ochako marvelled at how closely the two rooms had been decorated.

Hitoshi whistled; "You really are a Hero Fangirl. Hey wait..." the boy picked up a photo album, flipping it open to a random page, which happened to show a ten year old Izuka running and playing with Katsuki.

"Cute!" Tsuyu declared, taking the book to look through later with the class, no matter how many adorable squeals of protest Izuka made.

Tsuyu herself was the next one to have her room showcased and was more than happy to do so. She had definitely taken the frog theme and run with it, replacing her normal bed with a water bed with a lily pad shaped blanket. The room had soft green carpets laid out and numerous pictures of Tsuyu and her Froggy family covered the walls. There was even a small goldfish bowl on the desk and a giant frog plushy than doubled as a beanbag chair.

"Frog themed and cute! You really like your quirk!" Toru declared.

The final room to be seen was Momo's, who had overestimated how much space she'd have and as a result, her room was cramped full of expensive, regal furniture and shelf upon shelf of reference books.

"Jeez Yaomomo, you went overboard." Sero said, mildly jealous of the expensive décor.

"It's just that all the furniture I'm used to is quite big. I didn't expect the rooms to be so narrow..." Momo said shyly.

"Rich Girl… well whatever. Food will be ready soon and I want go get this crap over-width. Let's go downstairs and pick a winner or some shit." Katsuki said, practically dragging most of the class downstairs in a giant katamari ball of limbs.

Once in the common room, everyone voted for room they liked best, ultimately resulting in Sato winning due to the cake he made, earning him the votes from all the girls (minus Izuka, who voted for Koda because she got to play with his rabbit). The guys complained, but before things got too heated, Aizawa-sensei had them set the table for dinner and the evening slowly gave way to relaxation. The twenty students, their two teachers and their Dorm Manager spent the evening together, enjoying a meal, playing games, watching TV and discussing the future that awaited them, with Izuka being forced to watch as her classmates looked through her photo album until she was so red faced she looked ready to pass out.

The end of the week came and went with a relaxing and fun weekend, but before long, it was Monday again and school was back in session. After the excitement of the Sports Festival and moving to the dorms, Class 1-A was almost glad to get back to their routine. They'd been given forms over the weekend to have their Hero Costumes updated and they'd be testing them this week before the Work Experience Program, but first, they had to get through Hero Informatics.

Aizawa-sensei started the class as he always did; "Today will be Hero Informatics. It's a special one too. You'll be seeing the results of your work at the Sports Festival by seeing how many offers you got from Pros. Not only that, but you'll be choosing your Hero Names."

"YES!" The class cheered. This was their chance to shine even more!

"Concerning the Work Experience Offers, they're based on who the Pros think will be ready to join them in the Hero Workforce after you graduate. You could say this is their way of showing interest in your future and implementing themselves into your origins. Some older agencies outlast their founding heroes by taking in powerful youngsters and raising them until they take over. It helps to raise the prestige of these old agencies. Of course, these offers can be revoked without the agency stating a reason if their interest in you wanes or they find another person they want more. Being picked now means you'll have to work even harder in the future to maintain their interest! Now, here are the numbers..." Aizawa pressed a button and a series of names and numbers came up.

Midoriya: 5439

Bakugou: 4245

Todoroki: 4149

Yaoyorozu: 3763

Iida: 360

Tokoyami: 356

Uraraka: 321

Shinso: 274

Aoyama: 222

Ashido: 199

Kaminari: 121

Aizawa smirked; "It's usually more spread out than this, but the top four sort of dominated this year. Incidentally, after the Ingenium Story went live, everyone who fought Midoriya suddenly got a lot more offers.

Kaminari groaned; "Aw man, if only I fought her instead of Iida, I'd be swimming in offers."

"At least some Heroes have an eye for my dazzling talent." Aoyama boasted.

"Man, the top four got crazy offers… over 5000 offers for Midoriya alone! That must be practically every agency in Japan!" Kirishima said.

"It's actually only about a third. There are over 15000 agencies in Japan, but its definitely all the ones in the prefecture! Hey Bakugou, you got a monster number too!" Sero grinned.

"Of course I did! I was a finalist and almost won!" Katsuki smirked.

Momo smiled proudly, glad so many pros had acknowledged her strength; "We did well, didn't we Todoroki?"

"We did. I'm sure some of those offers are because of my father, but I'm proud of my performance. Congratulations to you too, Yaomomo." Shoto smiled kindly. Momo grinned; that was the closest he'd come to actually using her name!

Ochako was busily shaking Tenya in happiness that they both got offers. Shinso leaned forward, "Hey Izuka, looks like your standing up for me got me a lot of attention. Thanks for that." he said, smirking despite the sincerity in his eyes.

Remembering what Aizawa had told her, Izuka shook her head; "You got that attention by yourself. You showed everyone your abilities and earned those offers. You shouldn't thank me for your own hard work." she smiled.

Aizawa brought attention back to him; "With that settled, those of you who didn't get offers will still have Work Place Experience with a series of volunteer Pros who'll take anyone. Now, you've all faced real villains and real hardship, so this kind of training may seem underwhelming, but it is definitely worthwhile. There are things we can't teach here in school, so you'll be going out into the world to work with the public."

"And that's where our Hero Names come in!" Sato cheered.

"Yeah! This is going to be fun!" Ochako added.

"These will likely only be temporary, but you should still take them seriously." Aizawa began, before he was cut off by the door slamming open.

"Or you'll have hell to pay later!" declared Midnight, walking into the room as seductively as possible, "These names can stick, leaving you with something terribly inappropriate."

As the class babbled excitedly at the arrival of the R-Rated Hero, Aizawa began to crawl into his sleeping bag; "Midnight will help you pick the names. I'm no good at this sort of thing. However..." his bored look turned serious; "These names will help focus your future. By choosing a name, you are helping to cement your image in the future, because names are capable of reflecting one's true nature. Take "All-Might" for example."

The name cards were handed out and the class began to focus on what to call themselves. Kacchan handed his card to Izuka too, since as the loser of the bet they'd made in the Sports Festival, he'd have his hero name picked by the winner. Izuka stared at the two blank cards for a few minutes, trying to decide on a name.

Phoenix… that had been the name she'd assumed she'd take for so long, but now… she'd changed. She wasn't the little Phoenix Girl she had once been; she was a whole new person now, and no matter how she stretched it; Phoenix did not send the message she wanted. Coming up blank, she leaned forward to speak to Katsuki; "Hey Kacchan. What do you want your name to say? What image do you want people to see?"

Katsuki smirked; "Power! Explosiveness! A name that a Number One could wear! But also..." he blushed a bit, "I want a name that lets everyone know that you and I are a pair. A team."

Izuka smiled softly and turned back to the cards while Katsuki chuckled to himself. "You really are a little angel, going around caring about my name. If I had won, I'd probably have picked something for you without even asking."

Izuka giggled, but without realising it, Katsuki had answered her question. She knew exactly what she wanted to be to the people; she knew exactly how she hoped to be seen. Fifteen minutes later, Midnight called an end to the thinking time and began having the class present their names.

Aoyama went first; "I am… The Shining Hero: I Cannot Stop Twinkling!"

"That's not a name, that's a sentence!"

Midnight hummed, "It'd be better if you take out the "I" and shorten the "Cannot" to "Can't" How's that?"

"It's stunning, Mademoiselle. I am the Shining Hero: Can't Stop Twinkling!" Aoyama repeated.

Mina hopped up next: "Me now! I'm the Ridley Hero: Alien Queen!"

Midnight shrieked; "Like the monster from that movie? That's awful!"

Mina pouted and looked to Izuka with pleading eyes. Izuka just blinked, unsure what she was supposed to do about it, but upon seeing everyone look to her, Izuka sighed and stood up; "Alien Queen isn't so bad… she does have a kind of cute alien look. Maybe change the tag line to something friendlier? Something that'll make you sound cool to kids and not scary?"

"Oh! How about The Extraterrestrial Hero: Alien Queen?" Mina offered.

"Actually, without the connection to that movie, it doesn't sound bad at all. Good work, Alien Queen!" Midnight gave Mina a thumbs up and secretly winked at Izuka, making the girl blush.

"This is what it means to be the Heart of the Class I suppose..." Izuka thought with a pout.

Tsuyu was the next one to hop up: "I've had this thought out since Elementary School. I'm the Rainy Season Hero: Froppy."

"It's very cute! It makes me want to get to know you; Gold Star Froppy!" Midnight cheered.

The loveable Froppy inspired everyone else, making them more confident in their chosen names as they stood up to offer their names. Kirishima was the next one up: "Call me the Sturdy Hero: Red Riot!"

"I like that a lot. Could it be a homage to the Chivalrous Hero: Crimson Riot?" Midnight asked.

"Yeah! I know he's kind of before our time, but he's the kind of hero I want to be!" Kirishima explained, blushing sweetly.

"You have spirit. Bearing the name of your personal hero comes with a lot of pressure; you'll need to work hard." the teacher smiled as Kirishima pumped his fist and returned to his seat.

Izuka smiled at the boy. She remembered how when she was little, she'd come up with all kinds of homage names to All-Might, such as Super Might, Mighty Girl, Captain All-Girl Might and so on, but as she'd grown up, she'd realised that she didn't want to become a Symbol of Peace in the same fashion as All-Might. She wanted to be something more, something greater. For now, that wasn't possible, but she'd made progress, so until she reached the peak and then flew even higher, Izuka would remember her humble beginnings.

After that, several students came up in quick succession: Kyoka was the Hearing Hero: Earphone Jack. Shoji was the Tentacle Hero: Tentacole. Sero was the Taping Hero: Cellophane. Ojiro was the Martial Arts Hero: Tail Man. Sato was the Sweets Hero: Sugar Man. Kaminari was the Stun Gun Hero: Chargebolt. Toru was the Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl. Momo was the Everything Hero: Creati. Tokoyami was the Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi. Koda was the Petting Hero: Anima. Lastly, Ochako was the Gravity Hero: Uravity.

This left just Shoto, Hitoshi, Tenya, Katsuki and Izuka without announced names. Izuka took notice when Shoto stood up, smiling to her as he passed, putting his name card on the lectern. "This is my name." he said, "I am the Freezer Burn Hero: Celsius."

"How creative! Celsius like the unit of temperature, right?" Midnight asked.

"Yes. It perfectly measures the points where water freezes and boils, showing both sides of my quirk. Plus, it sounds cooler than Fahrenheit, which feels more like a fire name, while I still prefer ice." Shoto explained. He had originally planned on just using his name, but he wanted to use this moment to baptise himself into a new life. His father was changing, HE was changing… from the remains of those two lives, the Hero Celsius would be born.

Tenya was the next to stand up, showing his own card; "I feared for a while that I would have to take the name Ingenium from my brother, but that didn't come to pass. However, the person that made sure that didn't happen also gave me a different idea." he smiled, nodding to Izuka. "I am the Slipstream Hero: Blue Zephyr."

"You inherited the tag-line from your mother's Hero name, right? Well done; a good choice Tenya!" Midnight praised.

Next to stand was Shinso, who walked to the front. "It's not too much, but I want to be an Underground Hero anyway, so it'll do. Call me the Mind Hero: Dark Answer."

"Ooh, that's actually a bit intimidating, but I suppose it's fine for an Underground Hero. Good work Shinso, and I'm glad to see you got promoted!" Midnight congratulated.

Finally, it was only Katsuki and Izuka left, the whole class watching them. Izuka shyly handed a name card to Katsuki, who read it for a second then smiled broadly, leaping to his feet. He marched confidently to the lectern and slammed the card down with a vicious grin; "I made a bet with Izuka that the winner of the Finals would get to pick the loser's name. Since I lost, Izuka chose this for me, and I like it! I'm the Big Bang Hero: Burst Magnus!"

"Oh man, that's a really manly name! It suits you Bakubro!" Kirishima cheered.

"Yeah, it's pretty good!" Momo smiled.

Kyoka grinned, "Out of curiosity, if you picked, what would you both be called?"

Katsuki smirked; "King Explosion Murder and Queen Inferno Murder!"

"THAT'S TERRIBLE!" the class shouted.

"Thank goodness Izuka won… you can't give a girl like her the name "Queen Inferno Murder!" she's way too nice!" Toru argued.

"Boo this man!" Kaminari yelled, though a small bang from Katsuki's palm ended that thought pretty quickly.

"Well, I can honestly say that I'd never let those names pass!" Midnight declared, "But Burst Magnus sounds good. I approve!"

"Yeah yeah, I know. Izuka, you're up!"

Izuka gulped and slowly made her way to the front, placing down her card. Even Aizawa moved from his sleeping bag to see it and joined the class in their surprised expressions. Ochako was the first to snap from her surprise. "It's… not what I expected. I like it, but I thought you'd be called Phoenix."

Izuka smiled; "So did I. Before the USJ, I was pretty much resigned to it; the Immortal Hero: Phoenix. But then things changed… I died, and learned that someone with that name could never reach the top. Dying and coming back… it always defined me, and I thought it would define me as a hero, but I realised that it didn't match my goals. I wanted to be a hero that inspired hope in everyone, that made everyone stand up and say, "We're okay now, because She's here." Defining myself by my death just didn't work, especially after I saw how much it hurt you all. Phoenix was a name given to me by villains and was how they defined me, but I chose a different path." Izuka blushed, "But you all called me something different. You called me an Angel, and just like that, it became clear to me… that's what I want to be! An Angel; someone who flies down from heaven to restore hope and peace; an eternal symbol so above the mortal world that they're an incorruptible force… so that's who I am. Magnus was the name of an Angel, so I gave Kacchan his name so we matched… but this is who I am."

Midnight grinned. "Shout it out, Midoriya!"

"Yeah! Tell us your name!" Kirishima yelled.

"We support you, Phoenix or Angel, so shout it loud!" Tenya declared. The class shouted similar words and just outside the classroom, Toshinori stood, listening in and whispering his own support.

Izuka, her heart bursting with light and love, puffed her chest out proudly, stood straight and summoned her wings. "I am the Eternal Hero: Seraphim!"

XOXOXOXOX

IMPORTANT

Izuka's Story will continue in The Eternal Hero: Seraphim

Starts September 1st and new chapters will be released every Saturday at 8pm London Time afterwards!