Hide and Seek - What’s in a quirk?

The rest of the internship week passed extremely quickly, and much calmer compared to what had been happening.

The day after he sought retribution against The Triad, Izuku spent most of his time simply growing used to the sensory quirk he'd gotten. As he worked on his analysis for the day, he dedicated focus towards observing the cacophony that took place in the building and on the street beneath him. He wanted to get used to being able to see everything around him as quickly as possible.

The quirk, simply called 'All Sight,' seemed to actually be a combination of electrolocation—a method of sensory reception seen in certain species of marine life, detecting motion through the distortions in electrical fields—and magnetoreception—the detection of magnetic fields, found primarily in birds.

Just based on the level of detail he could perceive, he would've guessed that the quirk was solely electroreception, albeit an immensely empowered version of it. But rather than his body producing the electrical field, and detecting motion through it, the quirk instead allowed him to perceive the movement of electrons through objects. That theory would explain the precise level of detail he could see.

The only issue was in how he received the input. Air was a terrible conductor. Comparatively, electrons moved much easier and much farther in water. If what he had was true electrolocation, then he likely wouldn't even be able to see his entire office in detail, let alone a significant chunk of the building he lived in. Even in water he wouldn't be able to see that far.

This was where he thought the magnetoreception might come in. It was possible that the quirk somehow allowed him to perceive magnetic fields in some way, and that, somehow, that allowed him to perceive the movement of electrons.

Izuku wasn't sure. He'd likely have to do much more research before he fully understood. That was simply the best theory he'd come to after a few hours of thinking about it in the background as he worked.

He had a decent understanding of physics and biology—he had to, in order to understand how quirks functioned—but there were still certain things that were beyond him, at least for the moment.

Whatever the case, no matter how it worked, the important part was that it did. For the moment, he would simply enjoy himself and his newly unrestricted vision.

Aside from enjoying himself at home, he took a short break from his vigilante work. Or, at least, he took a break from pursuing The Triad. As Oni, he decided to take it easy and spend a few nights staying in Musutafu. He limited himself to simply patrolling around the city—'All Sight' working wonders for him—and spent most of his time acclimating to Shadow's quirk which, despite how fitting the name 'Shadow' was for it, he'd decided to rename as 'Sciakinesis.' Scia came from the Greek 'skia,' which meant shadow. He thought it fit, if only for how literal it was.

Over the three nights—Friday night and the weekend—that he had before the return to Yueii, Oni barely physically moved at all. Almost all of the traveling he did was purely through the use of 'Sciakinesis.' In order to practice with the quirk, he spent all of his time teleporting from rooftop to rooftop. And since he had kept 'All Sight' active, he discovered something fantastic: seeing his destination through 'All Sight' counted as visually identifying it. This meant that, so long as it was sufficiently dark, and his shadow was linked to his destination, he had a definite range of approximately one-hundred-fifty meters in which he could teleport with pinpoint accuracy. He could see a criminal doing something and immediately appear next to them with no physical exertion and no sound. Were he not concerned with keeping his having multiple quirks a secret, he would've made use of the quirk combo to teleport right next to Eraserhead. He saw the man a few times along the edge of his vision. But unfortunately, 'Sciakinesis' was a bit too far from what he'd already displayed. Showing several different, but mostly similar, physical features was one thing, but adding the ability to control shadows and teleport through them to that was a bit much. For the most part, everything that he'd shown thus far could be explained away—not that he would ever actually need to explain it—as a considerably complex quirk with both mutation and transformation aspects.

The one bit of actual movement he performed as Oni over the weekend was when he put the digging quirk to the test. As he'd suspected, the claw-like hands it gave him allowed him dig into the ground with ease. Combined with his enhanced strength and he could practically swim through the Earth. And while traveling through the ground wasn't exactly his style, simply having the ability available to him was quite useful, especially since 'All Sight' allowed him to see where he was going perfectly.

And though he'd kept his new stockpile quirk active, he'd yet to identify what exactly its purpose was. It obviously wasn't stockpiling energy or stamina, nor did it seem to stockpile anything physical such as food. Whatever it stored, he obviously hadn't come into contact with it just yet.

On Friday evening, with the internships officially over, Izuku headed back out to Miruko's agency to pick Ochako up. Thankfully, he wasn't attacked on sight like he had been before, though such a thing would've achieved even less this time around. With the extra enhancers he'd grabbed, it would just be that much easier to overpower her. Though, admittedly, he found the idea of limiting himself to match up evenly with her somewhat exciting. He could see in her eyes—both when he'd first seen her and she'd attacked him, and when he saw her again as she saw Ochako off—that she felt the same. She wanted to fight him as well.

As he flew her home, drifting calmly through the air, high over the skyscrapers below, Ochako recapped her entire week to him, detailing everything she had done and everything Miruko had put her through. He didn't mention the fact that most of what she told him had already been communicated through text. He was content to hear it all a second time, and he certainly wasn't willing to interrupt her excitement.

Once he'd gotten her home and had cooked a meal fit to celebrate her completing the internship, he'd filled her in on his week as they ate. He told her about his meeting with Gran Torino, and subsequently the situation with Yagi, his involvement in the Hosu incident, and all the new quirks he'd gained from it. He'd even told her about Shadow. She hadn't heard much about him before that point, with the last time Oni saw him being the same night he told Ochako everything. All she knew was what little he had told her, that Shadow was a vigilante that he'd been working with.

This time though, he told her everything. He told her that Shadow had been his friend, that they'd been fighting quirk traffickers together, and that-that fight had resulted in Shadow's death, that he'd been deformed and mutated into the same type of monster that had attacked them at the USJ and that Izuku had been forced to kill him.

It had brought the mood down, but Izuku wanted to tell her about Shadow, to make sure that he was known by more than just him and Rei, and Ochako was happy to learn about him. To know what he had been fighting.

To cheer things back up again, Izuku demonstrated some of his new quirks. He showed the extra arms and extra eyes, and even deactivated his snake tail to show the talons he'd gotten from the winged Noumu and the scorpion tail. She particularly liked 'Sciakinesis' and 'All Sight,' as he turned the lights out and demonstrated his new ability to teleport and showed off his new visual prowess by describing things that he saw in the apartments below them.

After that, most of the weekend had been spent relaxing. The two of them went out to the beach both days, and filled much of the rest of the time watching movies. It was unfortunate that Rei wasn't able to join them. Most of her time awake was being spent preparing for her final exams, and she needed all the sleep she could get.

In fact, these were her final final exams. If she passed these, she will have completed her college education.

Izuku already had a celebration planned for when—when not if—she passed. And a proper feast was only the beginning.

Soon enough though, it was Monday morning. Time for them to return to Yueii.

The trip there went by as quick as ever, with the two of them touching down in the grass in front of the main building after a short flight. As per the usual, they were among to first to make it to the classroom, along with Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Iida, and Bakugou. As had been the case before the internships, Iida was much more subdued than his usual boisterous attitude. Though, at the very least, he did turn and greet the two of them as they entered, so Izuku took that as a good sign. None of the rest of the room's occupants were really ones to strike up a conversation about the events of the previous week, except for perhaps Yaoyorozu, but she was absorbed in a book, and didn't seem to have even noticed their entrance.

As the rest of their classmates trickled in though, the conversations started up. Most everyone was, of course, talking about their internship experience. They were sharing work that their hero had them doing or training that they participated in, or even occasionally patrols or fights that they assisted with.

Eventually, Eraser entered the room, bringing all conversation to a screeching halt. He moved to stand behind his podium, observing them all silently for a few moments before opening his mouth to speak.

"Congratulations on successfully completing your first internships." He started. "Yueii didn't receive any complaints or other poor remarks concerning your performance and behavior, and we even got a few compliments back for some of you. Good job."

"Now, this was your first look into the world of heroics from the heroes' side of things, so hopefully you made good use of your time and learned everything you could. Later on, you'll have the opportunity to take part in more long-term internships, so hopefully this has given you a good idea of the sort of hero or agency you wish to work with, whether it be the same one you were with this time or one that would better suit your future."

"And now that these internships have concluded, it's time to start looking towards the next milestone."

He ignored the collective groan that arose at the prospect of more work.

"In just over a month, you'll be taking your final exams."

His eyes flashed red as an even louder groan sounded out.

"These tests will be much harder than those that you took for the entrance exams, so be prepared. This is the heroics course. We have no intention of pulling any punches or coddling you."

"However, Yueii is offering something to incentivize you. For those of you that pass your exams, the school will be hosting a summer camp retreat to reward you."

Immediately, the general mood in the room went from dreading the upcoming tests to excited for the reward that was being dangled in front of them. Izuku had no doubt that the 'reward' would most likely be some further form of training. It would be right up both Nezu and Eraser's alley to present something like a 'summer camp retreat' only for it to be something that would hurt more than the exams themselves.

With his announcement finished, Eraser immediately sank to the floor to curl up in his sleeping bag. Taking that as their cue to continue their conversations, the class immediately set about discussing what Eraser had just said. Most of them talked about the retreat, like where it would take place and what they would be allowed to do there, while a few discussed the exams that he had warned them about.

Leaning back away from his desk a bit, Izuku found himself wondering the same thing. The written portion of the exam wasn't much of a mystery. It would most likely be a case of each class holding its own test. Just as he didn't need to worry about the entrance exam, he doubted that he would have any reason to worry this time around either.

The physical portion of the exam however… That was much harder to discern. Izuku doubted that it would be anything that he and the rest of the class had seen before. If the point was to really test them, then not only would it be something that challenged them physically, but it would also most likely challenge them mentally in some way. Perhaps it would test their teamwork, or their problem-solving abilities.

Maybe some sort of rescue scenario? Simulating an ongoing disaster scenario? Balancing physical testing by fighting off whatever is simulating the disaster, most likely villains, along with the teamwork aspect of rescuing people from said disaster?

Izuku tilted his head. That was certainly a possibility. However, there were far too many other possibilities for him to put much stock in that one. He wouldn't know exactly what was in store for him and the rest of the class until it was revealed to them.

Pushing the thought aside for the time being, Izuku focused on the rest of the conversations filling the room. Everyone had their own speculations, both on what the retreat would be and what the exams would consist of.

After a while, the conversations were interrupted by the bell signaling the end of their homeroom.

The rest of the day passed smoothly, and soon enough Izuku and the rest of 1-A found themselves standing outside of one of the mock cities, already dressed in their hero costumes.

"Welcome back, children!" All Might called out, standing in front of the group. "I hope you all enjoyed your internships this past week. Now that you're back, it's time to get back into the swing of things. And what better way to start off than with a training exercise?"

The class buzzed with excitement with his announcement, despite the fact that they had all known what was going to happen from the moment that they were told to change into their costumes and report to the mock city.

"In light of the disaster that took place in Hosu last week, this training exercise will focus on search and rescue. As a hero, though we all hope otherwise, it is inevitable that you will one day have to assist in the aftermath of a disaster. Whether that be extreme weather, villains, or something else besides, you will be called upon to minimize damage or to rescue civilians. Depending on the type and the severity of the disaster, you will need to know how best to synchronize your efforts with others that have been called to help. More often than not, the most important thing to know and to pay attention to is the established chain of command in such a disaster. In organized search and rescue efforts, the numerous heroes, rescue personnel, and other volunteers don't simply operate on their own, otherwise it wouldn't be considered 'organized' at all. More often than not, there will be a person, or group of people, directing the operation as a whole, with a number of other people handling the more precise directions."

"Now, while we won't be simulating anything nearly so large or in-depth, we will at least be giving you a taste of such things today, with a focus on teamwork and the 'search' aspect of search and rescue. To start off, you all will be split into four groups of five, with the groups' members decided by me. For the exercise, each group will have a chance to act as the search and rescue party, while the remaining fifteen will play the part of the civilians in need of rescue. Now, as for the groups."

All Might pulled a notecard from his belt, clearing his throat before beginning to read off names.

"The first group will consist of Kouda, Satou, Iida, Hagakure, and Ojiro. The second will consist of Jirou, Uraraka, Aoyama, Sero, and Kaminari. For the third, Shoji, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Bakugou, and Ashido. Lastly, the final group will be Etsumi, Asui, Mineta, Tokoyami, and Kirishima."

"Each group must select a leader, who will then direct them to search for the 'civilians' spread throughout the mock city. As you find them, you must escort them to the center of the city, where the 'base of operations' will be set up. You have thirty minutes to find all fifteen, and you are expected to use the quirks in your group to your advantage. The quicker you find everyone, the better, as all four groups will be competing against one another. The group to find their civilians the fastest, wins!"

"Group One will be the first to go, everyone else will have five minutes to enter the city and find somewhere to hide. And your five minutes begins now!"

With that, the majority of the class ran into the mock city, with the exception of the five students assigned to Group One. Izuku followed behind at a slightly slower pace, watching their progression with 'All Sight.' As he moved, he wondered if All Might realized that this exercise was essentially just Hide and Seek. The civilians were literally hiding themselves from the heroes, who had a time limit to come find them.

Shaking his head, Izuku sped up a bit, picking out a spot on the roof of a building standing near the center of the mock city, close enough that he would be able to see most of what happened. If he was going to be sitting around for a bit, might as well do so in a spot where he could sun himself. Besides, it wasn't as if the civilians were being judged based on where they hid. It wasn't like they necessarily needed to make things more difficult for the heroes.

Spreading his wings, Izuku took off into the air, turning towards the building he'd chosen. A few moments later, he was touching down. He wasted no time coiling his tail, lounging overtop of it as soon as it was. He spread his wings to either side, laying them flat across the surface of the roof to soak in as much heat as possible.

A few minutes later, Izuku heard All Might's voice sound out across the mock city.

"Group One may enter the city. Your thirty minutes begins now!"

Izuku watched as the first group entered the city, just at the edge of his vision. Naturally, it seemed as though Iida had taken the lead. Despite his dampened mood as a result of his brother's hospitalization and his attempt to fight Stain, he'd stepped up to take charge. He watched as Iida spoke to the others, before speeding off towards the far side of the city. As soon as he was gone, Izuku saw birds begin to gather around Kouda, along with a group of mice. He bent down to say something to the gathered animals, before they all scattered, likely to search for civilians.

That was another thing Izuku had noticed, all three of the students who were best suited for searching were on different teams. Group One had Kouda, who could use animals to search, Group Two had Jirou, who would be able to put her enhanced hearing to good use, and Group Three had Shoji, who could do the same. Izuku's group was technically at a disadvantage, with the quirks that they had, at least before Izuku's were taken into account.

Each group also had at least one quirk that provided some form of increased mobility. Iida, Ochako, Todoroki and Bakugou, and then Izuku himself. All Might had divided the teams to ensure a good balance between sensory and mobility.

As Izuku watched, Animals began returning to Kouda, who then began directing the rest of the group towards certain buildings. As they all split up to search, he stayed outside to continue to direct. Iida was the only one who didn't come to him for directions, making use of his enhanced speed to make quick work of the buildings farthest away from the group.

Izuku supposed that method made sense. Iida could search buildings faster than Kouda could receive information from his animals, so splitting off to cover more ground, while the rest of the group was directed by Kouda was a decent decision. There were flaws to the logic, such as Iida potentially missing people that an animal wouldn't, but for the sake of the exercise and the people in the group, it would work.

He noticed a bird hovering over him for a minute, before turning to fly back to Kouda, who relayed the information to the first member of the group to return, who happened to be Hagakure. He tracked her progress as she made her way towards him, already rising up from his relaxed position by the time she emerged onto the roof, out of breath.

"Really?" She huffed out between breaths. "You had to come up to the roof? You couldn't pick somewhere easier to get to, like the ground floor?"

Izuku shrugged. "It's comfortable up here. And if it's any consolation, I'll be doing the same thing to the other two groups."

"I guess…" She grumbled. "Can you please go to the 'base of operations' or whatever he called it?"

"Sure thing." He said, spreading his wings. "Good luck finding the others."

Making his way to the edge of the roof, Izuku let himself fall, his wings catching on the wind and allowing him to drift to the ground, right next to the tent that All Might was sitting in, watching everyone through cameras spread across the city. Jirou, Tsuyu, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero were already there waiting.

As the exercise went on, more of his classmates trickled from all around the city. Kouda's method of searching, combined with Iida's, was proving to be quite effective. Multiple pairs of eyes sped up the process by quite a bit. Despite that, however, by the thirty minute mark, they had yet to find everyone. Ochako, Bakugou, and Ashido had all still been missing when All Might called time.

Izuku had seen Ochako using her quirk to float near the ceiling in her building of choice. It was one that Iida had searched. He'd passed directly underneath her, not noticing her at all before he moved on. Bakugou had been waiting on the top floor of a building along the outskirts. Iida's team simply hadn't made it to that building before time had run out. And Ashido had simply been lounging in a middle floor of a nearby building. He wasn't too sure how she hadn't been found. He'd even watched some of Kouda's mice pass on that floor.

All of this was brought up to Iida's group as All Might reviewed their performance. Their strategy, while effective, wasn't as effective as it could've been, nor was it quite fast enough. Though, admittedly, there wasn't but so much they could do about it with only five people.

Up next was Group Two, who was instructed to leave the site while all the civilians hid again. Izuku chose a roof again, though on a different building. He settled down to watch the rest of his classmates spread out across the city, before All Might once again called the start of the exercise.

This time around, the group of heroes, with Jirou taking the lead, moved a bit more efficiently. For one, Jirou didn't need to wait for input from another source in order to locate people. Her hearing was greatly enhanced on its own, and when she plugged her jack into a building, the effect was only further increased. She was able to point out where most people were once she was in range, and then she could plug into a building for a final sweep.

Izuku was found quicker by this group than he had been by Iida's. He saw Jirou point up to the roof he was relaxing on, followed by Ochako activating her quirk and kicking off into the air to make a beeline for him.

"Hello Ochako." He greeted with a smirk, looking over to where her head had appeared over the edge of the building.

"Found you." She said with a giggle, smiling over at him.

"Indeed you did." He said, getting up. "I suppose I'll make my way back down."

"Yep! See ya later!"

With that, she disappeared back behind the edge of the building and he saw her darting back towards the ground. Ochako would definitely be a significant boost to her teams ability to retrieve people. Iida might be fast, but even he couldn't quite compete with the ability to fly straight up to whatever floor the civilian was on.

Once again, Izuku fell from the roof, drifting down to the center of the city to await the end of the exercise. This time, there were quite a few more students waiting by the time he got there.

Jirou's group ended up finding everyone with about four minutes to spare, thanks largely in part to Ochako's effort. All Might was quick to praise them for how efficiently they moved as a team, with Ochako taking most of the civilians on higher floors while the others handled floors that were easier to reach by foot. Really, the main reason they performed so well, despite their teamwork and despite Ochako's proficiency, was because of Jirou's quirk. For this sort of specific situation, it was simply on a different level compared to Kouda's.

For the third and final time, Izuku flew himself up to a roof to await the third group. This time, Shouji was leading, with his sensory quirk doing what it could to locate the civilians. Yaoyorozu helped, making some form of listening device. Ashido, Bakugou, and Todoroki all had quirks that enhanced their mobility, allowing them to race through the buildings to retrieve the people they located.

Despite their seemingly impressive efficiency, this time around, Izuku wasn't discovered until the very end of the exercise, with All Might calling time just as Todoroki made it to the roof. At the very least, Izuku was the only one that they didn't find. Everyone else had already been gathered in the center of the city.

Finally, once All Might had finished his review of the group's performance, it was Izuku's turn. As the groups before them had, they left the mock city to allow the rest of the students to hide.

"So, obviously Etsumi's the leader, right?" Kirishima asked as soon as they were out.

"Works for me, kero." Tsuyu said, shrugging.

"Same here." Mineta chimed in.

"I see no reason to disagree." Tokoyami agreed.

"Alright then." Izuku said. "If that's what you all want, then it's fine by me. Though it's not like it matters all that much, we're going to find them all no matter who's in charge."

"Do we even have a way to find them?" Mineta asked. "I don't think any of us can hear like Jirou or Shoji, and I know that I at least can't control animals."

"I'm part snake." Izuku replied simply, flicking his forked tongue out of his mouth. "You think I can't find a few warm-blooded creatures?"

Izuku didn't even need to find most of them, he'd never lost the ones that had remained within range of 'All Sight.' He knew exactly where eight of the fifteen civilians were. The others would be revealed as he got close enough.

His group didn't do much in the way of talking or planning as they waited for All Might to signal the start of the exercise. They didn't need to.

Once they finally did get the signal to start, and moved back into the mock city, Izuku got to work immediately.

"There's one hiding in that building there." He said, pointing to one of the closest ones to them. He could see Aoyama… posing? "They're on the fifth floor, northeast corner. It's all you Tsuyu."

She nodded, immediately peeling away from the group and running towards the indicated building.

"One there." He said, pointing at another. This time it was Kouda. "Ground floor, also northeast corner. Mineta."

Just like Tsuyu, he split off as soon as Izuku told him, heading for the building.

"Tokoyami, there are two in that one." He continued. Todoroki and Sero. "Third floor, southwest corner and sixth floor, northwest corner. After you get them, there's one in the building just past it, top floor, southeast." The third person was Shoji.

"Kirishima, there's one in that building there. Second floor, southwest."

Yaoyorozu this time. She seemed to be toying with some sort of trinket that she'd most likely created with her quirk.

Moving further into the city, Izuku was starting to find some of the few that had been outside of his range. Four of the missing seven had been located.

As soon as his teammates returned to him, Tsuyu and Mineta much quicker both because they'd been the first two sent and because of how easily they could reach their civilians, with Tsuyu climbing straight up the wall, he directed them back out again. Tsuyu was sent after Hagakure—he tried to subtly give just a bit more direction to locate her seeing as she was invisible—and Mineta was sent after Bakugou.

As he waited for the other two to return, he set his sights on two civilians that he would retrieve himself. He spread his wings, bunching his tail up beneath him at the same time. Then, driving his wings down, Izuku launched himself through the air towards Jirou and Kaminari. Landing on the side of the building a few moments later, and sticking to it with 'Gecko,' he made his way to the seventh floor, towards the room that he knew they were both hiding in. Maneuvering to the window almost directly beside them, he tapped on the glass, making them jump.

"Found you." He called through the window, before letting himself fall away from the building to fly back to where he'd started from, leaving the two of them to see themselves to the center of the city.

Tokoyami and Kirishima were both waiting for him. He directed them both to the two nearest civilians, Ashido and Ojiro. Only three remaining.

As soon as Tsuyu made it back to him, Izuku pointed her in the direction of Satou and Iida, who were hiding in adjacent buildings. Then, with only one civilian remaining, Izuku launched himself into the air once more. He made his way to the top floor of one of the buildings that was farthest from the center. It was one of the few that didn't have any glass in its windows, allowing him to go right in. Making his way over to the room he knew Ochako was hiding in, he poked his head through the door.

"Found you." He announced, smiling.

"Indeed you did." She said, mimicking him.

He held a hand out to her. "You're the last one. Would you care for a ride back?"

"Sure!" She answered, wasting no time hopping up onto his back.

A minute later, and the two of them were landing in the center of the mock city, just as Tsuyu was arriving with the civilians Izuku had sent her after.

"Outstanding work!" All Might called. "A total time of fourteen minutes and thirty-six seconds! Truly wonderful! I believe that means that Etsumi's team is the winner of this exercise!"

He turned to the rest of the class. "All of you did well! Regardless of your performance, hopefully now you feel a bit more familiar with search and rescue, and how such operations would be performed. In the future, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to experience larger-scale efforts as we hold bigger exercises. As I said, the point of this one was purely to introduce you to the concept of having to search for victims."

"We'll start by going more in-depth into the processes these operations usually involve, tomorrow. For now though, you've all performed admirably! Go get changed, then you're free to go!"

Izuku turned to follow the rest of his class as they all made their way out of the mock city and towards the main building.

Once he'd changed back into his uniform, and had been cleaned thanks to 'Shower in a can,' not that there had been much to clean in the first place, Izuku scanned through the building to find All Might. He needed to talk to the man.

Thanks to 'All Sight,' Izuku found him rather easily. He was in his office, in his 'Yagi' form, sifting through papers at his desk.

Letting the quirk guide him, Izuku made his way towards Yagi, texting Ochako as he went to let her know that he would be a few minutes. After a few short minutes, Izuku was knocking on the man's door.

"Enter." He called, prompting Izuku to open the door. When he did, he caught the sight of Yagi's expression morphing to surprise.

"Etsumi." He said, still surprised. "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to talk to you." Izuku replied.

"A-ah. And what about?"

"I visited Gran Torino last week, spoke to him."

"Right. He'd said that you had stopped by. He'd wanted to know why you didn't look anything like how you did at the sports festival."

Izuku nodded. "In hindsight, the disguise might not have been totally necessary, but it had been a precaution. That aside, Gran Torino told me everything. He told me the full story behind your quirk and All For One. Told me about all the past holders and their fight against him, and told me about your fight against him."

"Etsumi, I-."

Izuku held up a hand, cutting him off. "It's alright. While I'm not quite sure if it's enough to make me forgive. At the very least, I understand why you did what you did. I can see things from your point of view, and how you likely felt. So… it's alright. I can move on."

"R-right. Well… I'm glad that you feel that way."

Izuku nodded. "As am I. I apologize for reacting the way I did. I should have heard you out before jumping to conclusions."

"Oh, it's quite alright, Etsumi." Yagi reassured, waving his hands in front of him. "You're not at fault here. I am for telling your secret in the first place, and then for waiting so long to tell you."

"All the same, I still apologize for my actions."

The two of them were left staring at each other for a few moments, before Izuku decided to try to break the tension.

"Have you given my suggestion any thought?" He asked. "Do you think that Bakugou would be a good fit?"

He was successful.

"Ah, yes. I have. I'm still giving the matter some thought, but I believe you might be right that Bakugou would be the best suited out of the rest of your classmates."

"That's good." Izuku said. "Let me know if you decide to tell him. I'd still like to provide assistance in getting him used to the quirk."

"Of course!" Yagi said with a smile. "I'll let you know!"

"Very good. Thank you." Izuku said, nodding as he reached for the door handle. Opening the door, he escaped out into the hallway.

He was glad to have that issue resolved. Both he and Yagi had messed up. It was good to put the whole thing behind him.

Izuku's shoulders sagged as he let out a sigh, before he forced himself to perk back up a moment later. Shaking his head, he turned to head towards the nearest set of stairs.

He had one last stop to make.

Izuku reached a hand out to knock on the door in front of him, the noise echoing through the quiet hallway.

"Come in!" The voice inside called out.

Opening the door, Izuku entered the office. Nezu was already standing up on his desk and holding out a cup of tea.

"Ah, Etsumi." He greeted, as if he hadn't been aware the moment Izuku had started heading in his direction. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Izuku watched him for a moment as he sipped at the tea he'd been given. He didn't much care for it. He wasn't really one to drink tea, or coffee for that matter. Given the option, he would much rather stick to hot chocolate.

"I have a question for you." He answered. "And a request, depending on your answer."

"Oh?" He questioned, returning to his chair. "And what might this question be?"

"As the principal of Yueii, how far does your influence extend into the government? Particularly Child Welfare and matters of orphanages and foster homes?"

"Hmm." Nezu hummed, narrowing his eyes at Izuku. "I suppose it would depend on what one was looking to do with that influence. After all, there is only so much that can be affected in such places by one such as me."

"Let's say that, hypothetically, I was to put in an application to become a foster guardian. Would it be within your abilities to push that application through the processes a bit faster than it normally would? Not bypassing any of the required checks or steps, of course."

He could practically see the gears spinning behind Nezu's eyes as he considered Izuku's every word, possibilities racing through his mind as to why Izuku would ask for such a thing.

"Such a thing would not be beyond my capabilities." He answered. "Bureaucratic feet-dragging is one of the easiest things to bypass."

Nezu stared at Izuku for a few moments. "Could it be that perhaps you or your elder sister wish to adopt someone specific? And that you wish to do so as quickly as possible? Ah, hypothetically, of course."

Izuku smirked at the rodent, who reciprocated the expression as much as his inhuman face allowed. There was no reason whatsoever for the two of them to be so vague when talking to one another. Maybe it was simply a natural reaction on both of their parts. He and Nezu had been in communication with one another for years, and now that Nezu knew that he was Deku, perhaps he was simply enjoying talking to someone that resided on the same level as him. Izuku could understand the feeling.

"Hypothetically," Izuku responded, "We certainly may have our eyes on someone specific, whose circumstances we are familiar with, which, as you said, would be the reason for our wanting to speed the process along."

"Ah, well in that case, I certainly can provide assistance. Should this hypothetical scenario ever become a bit more substantial, all you would need to do is send me the application you wish to speed along, and I will see to it that it is."

Izuku nodded at him. "I appreciate it. I'll be sure to send it should such a scenario come to pass."

Rising up from where he'd settled for the short conversation, Izuku turned towards the door. He could feel—and see—Nezu's gaze boring into the back of his head, as he pulled it open to head back into the hallway.

As he traveled down the hallway towards the stairs that would lead back down, Izuku allowed himself a small smile. He was one step closer to solving the issue with Iona.

Not much longer now, especially not with Nezu providing assistance.