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Part 3 of ja0s Blank Canvas AU
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2022-07-19
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2024-03-12
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Blank Canvas: Heritage

Summary:

This is part 3 of my Blank Canvas AU. If you have not read the first two parts, you should do that before starting this one. ;) On to the summary!

Midoriya Izuku has been tried and tested and is already making a name as the first Quirkless Hero. Winner of the Sports Festival and capturer of the infamous Hero Killer Stain. Whether his accomplishments are praised or criticized, Izuku is well on his way to be a Hero. Through thick and thin, success or ruin, he will fight the good fight with his friends, family, and mentors encouraging him on. Watch out Villains of the world, the Hero Edge is on the case.

This next part will follow through the exams, lead up to the training camp, and whatever other shenanigans these problem children get into. As always, this is a slow burn fic and honestly I have no idea how long this part will end up being. But I have a plan for an ending of sorts so we'll have to wait and see!

(Updated every other week on Tuesdays!)

Chapter 1: Pushing Forward

Notes:

Welcome to part 3 of Blank Canvas! Thank you so much for your patience with me going on hiatus to collect my thoughts. :) I made a lot of progress so I've got a healthy amount of buffer.

At the end of part 2, internships happened and the drama of Hosu took place. Due to circumstances, Izuku has full credit of capturing the Hero Killer Stain while those in the know are aware of their odd connection. Bakugou is facing real consequences for his actions and Izuku will eventually too for befriending a Villain. While Chizome has been offered a very special role in the investigation of a certain trash fire of a man.

With the start of part 3, Izuku finally has the chance to talk with his fellow Heroes-to-be about their Quirks and costumes. All while they prepare for the end of term exams! Ganbare, first year Hero students! Work hard so you can attend the summer training camp!

Again, thank you very much for reading Blank Canvas and I hope you enjoy part 3 as well! :D

EDIT: Added a part to this chapter with Izuku asking Aizawa what to do with Bakugou. Thanks to LadyPhoenix68! :D

Linktree to all the things!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Mom, I’m off!” Izuku called out as he stepped into his signature red shoes.

“Have a good day, sweetie!” Inko called from the kitchen. “I’ll see you after school. Love you!”

“Love you too, mom!” he replied before walking out the door with his yellow backpack.

Today was a new day. Third week in the Hero Course and Izuku was ready to take on whatever the universe threw at him. Growing up Quirkless had been hard and fighting to become the first Quirkless Hero student even harder, but the greenet was determined to see his dream through. He would face the world head on and take it by storm. Or at least he would but on his own terms. Which was why he routinely now hid his recognizable hair under his beanie before heading off to school.

Blending into the crowd helped make the commute an uneventful one which Izuku preferred. He had grown up with negative attention focused on him for something out of his control and it still persisted to this day though not from all corners as it had before. Now Izuku had people who had his back. Allies in family, friends, and mentors who believed and supported him. Let those who didn’t think what they want. Izuku was going to be a Quirkless Hero no matter what.

He arrived at UA and took off his beanie once he was a ways past the gate. Izuku felt comforted within the walls where he knew Nezu’s cameras were watching. Meaning that someone would have to be very stupid to do or say anything negative to him. Not with the principal in his corner. And even if they did, they would have to contend with not only Nezu’s wrath but also Izuku himself. He had enough training and fighting skills to defend himself if need be. Not that he thought anyone would because again they would have to be really stupid to try. Especially after Hosu.

No longer was Izuku the Quirkless nobody who won the Sports Festival on a fluke. He was the Hero-in-training Edge who took down the Hero Killer. True in part though not the whole truth, but it was enough that Izuku would tolerate being given more credit than was due. It was to protect his friends as well as not give the credit undeservingly to Endeavor. That bastard had no part in the capturing of Stain other than being there for the end.

Besides, the Number Two Hero didn’t deserve to be one at all. Not for all he has done to his own family. Thankfully Nezu, Aizawa, and Detective Tsukauchi were working together to take the hypocrite Hero down. And hopefully soon. They needed to get Shouto out of there as soon as possible. Aizawa mentioned Nezu had a plan which he hoped would be carried out quickly. Though as to what that plan was, he didn’t know as of yet.

Green eyes scanned the crowd as he walked looking for friendly faces. Off in the distance he noticed some fenced off areas on the grounds where it looked like some construction was planned. Perhaps new gyms or training grounds? UA already had so many but it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise if that’s what they were. With a shrug, the greenet walked inside to change his shoes.

He was suddenly tackled from behind by Mei as soon as she spotted him. Not all that out of the norm for their Pink Gremlin which he accepted with an amused chuckle. Izuku turned to greet her more normally before they headed off to class while chatting until they had to part ways with a quick hug and a promise to see each other at lunch. With that Izuku walked off to join his classmates in Class 1-A after stopping by the teachers’ room for his tablet.

His transcribing of his Hero Analysis was being put on hold for the time being. Izuku now had to focus on the new assignment Nezu had given him. Pairing off the first year Hero Course students against the teacher they would have the most challenge with. His mentor had given him a month to consider the 39 students as well as himself of how he would fair against the variety of Quirks of his peers. Though to be honest, Izuku didn’t think it would take that long as he had already started doing something similar on his own.

Not that surprising since his brain was constantly breaking down the Quirks around him. It was a long-standing habit of his since he was very little. Picking apart the little details to figure out the bigger puzzle. His father had sometimes spoken of Quirks with him growing up, answering his muttered questions from time to time when he was young. But when Izuku’s fascination turned specifically to the Quirks of Heroes, he had stopped bringing them up as his father didn’t very much care for them. Which was unfortunate as his dad had some good insight into Quirks if he remembered correctly, but Izuku didn’t want to bother him with something he had no interest in.

That was okay though. Now he had Nezu to talk to about Quirks. The chimera very much had interest in his analysis and had helped him a lot already to organize his thoughts better. This new assignment was going to be a challenge for sure, but Izuku would take it on eagerly. And when he met up with everyone to discuss their costumes about his proposed changes, he hoped to get more information to solidify his pairings. Especially with 1-B who he didn’t know as well as his own class. He looked forward to talking to Monoma in particular since his Copy Quirk potentially meant he had an interest in observing the Quirks of others. Perhaps not as fascinated as Izuku was but he would have to have some knowledge to effectively use his copies.

Having been lost in thought, Izuku suddenly found himself in front of the towering door of Class 1-A. He wasn’t sure if he would ever get used to the sight of it. Before the door had been an imposing barrier that kept him out but now it was more welcoming knowing that he was accepted within. Well, by the majority anyway. Bakugou was the wild card out of their unique deck of characters.

But Izuku wouldn’t let his ex-childhood friend keep him from ever pushing forward. He was here by his own hard efforts and he was here to stay. Taking a deep breath to pump himself up, the Quirkless teen sported a friendly and self-assured smile before walking through the door.

The class was in typical disorder before homeroom started. Friends were huddled in clusters around the room. Hagakure was chatting with Aoyama and Ojiro while leaning on the tail teen’s desk. Most of the Bakusquad were crowded around Sero’s desk except for Bakugou himself who was brooding in his seat at the front. Jirou was standing next to Yaoyorozu’s desk with Hitoshi sleeping at his own desk behind them. Tsuyu, Tenya, and Ochako were talking together in their seats while the rest were at their desks doing their own things quietly.

Izuku’s smile warmed at the sight. This was his class, his friends and future fellow Heroes. Together they were going to protect the world and every day, every lesson was one step closer to that future. The greenet closed the door behind him and greeted his friends and classmates as he headed for his desk.

Shouto, upon seeing him, stood up from his seat as Izuku neared his own. The taller teen crowded into his personal space but Izuku didn’t mind. In fact, he let out an amused huff when Shouto endearingly took a light hold of his shirt since his own hands were occupied taking things out of his bag.

“Good morning, Shouto,” Izuku greeted as he unpacked what he needed. “How are you?”

“Good morning, Izuku,” he replied, still clinging to his shirt. “I am well. You?”

“I’m good too,” the greenet replied as he finished his task before turning to face his friend properly.

Now that his hands were free, Shouto let go of his shirt to take hold of one of his hands. Izuku interlaced their fingers and he noted how nicely the cool digits fit between his own. They only shared their moment briefly before the bell chimed and everyone moved to get to their seats including them. They gave one last squeeze before letting go and sitting at their desks as Aizawa walked into the room.

“Morning, problem class,” the tired man said as he stood at the podium. “Today’s morning classes are business as usual and then in the afternoon we will go over your assessment exercise from yesterday. We will also start having you meet up with one of our Support analysts to discuss potential upgrades and changes to your costumes and gear.”

Green eyes widened in surprise at the announcement as he had asked to do just that but hadn’t expected it so soon. Not that he wasn’t prepared to do so with so many notes and questions to go over with each of them. There were just such blaring issues and questionable choices that needed to be addressed. That went for both classes which after a signed question from the Quirkless teen, a subtle nod from the tired man confirmed he would be meeting with both.

Good. Though I’m not sure how willing those in 1-B will be to taking advice from someone they don’t technically know. But perhaps if I talked with them as someone they do know…

Izuku’s thoughts trailed off as he thought of the beanie and borrowed goggles from Mei that still lived in his bag.

Meanwhile the rest of the class murmured their excitement and wonderings of who they would talk to. Though those who were more familiar with his work like his friends or those like Yaoyorozu who he had previously offered to help shot him curious glances probably already guessing it was him. Which honestly was kind of obvious by now or at least should have been, but Izuku wondered if Aizawa was being vague on purpose. Perhaps to see if anyone could figure out who the mysterious, but also quite obvious, person would be. It could also be to not set Bakugou off first thing in the morning. The Quirkless teen was sure that the blonde would lash out as soon as he found out that the lowly Deku would dare give him advice.

But then again, Izuku wondered if he would be meeting with Bakugou face to face so soon after his suspension. He knew that the explosive teen was supposed to stay away from him as much as possible. Perhaps they would have him meet up with someone else in Support. Or maybe Izuku could hand his own notes to be given to the blonde by proxy. Aizawa would probably be the best bet with Maijima there as well. Hearing his ideas from two Pro Heroes might make Bakugou ever so slightly more open to his proposed changes.

The greenet decided to worry about that later. For now, he was excited to help his fellow Heroes-in-training and get to know them better. While also analyzing them and their Quirks for his assignment. It felt a bit weird to do that with his friends and classmates but it would be good practice for collecting intel on others. A useful skill for any kind of Hero.

With those few announcements out of the way, Aizawa released them to work on whatever as he disappeared into his sleeping bag. Some took the opportunity to catch up on homework while others read books or chatted quietly with their neighbors. Or in Hitoshi’s case, a nap just like their teacher. Izuku took the time to skim through his notes he already had on his classmates, wondering who he should talk to first.

Homeroom ended quickly and they transitioned into their regular classes. Business as usual for the most part other than Izuku working on his new assignment during English. He went back over his coded notes for each student and focused on what their weaknesses were. The ones that could be exploited and once he had those, he would be able to better figure out which teacher would be their greatest challenge. He was so enraptured that he didn’t notice when class ended. 

“It’s time for lunch, Izuku-kun,” Tenya said suddenly, knocking him out of his own little analysis bubble. “Whatever you are working on can wait.”

Green eyes blinked a couple times before looking up to see his friends watching him curiously while other students were heading off to the cafeteria.

“What are you working on?” Ochako asked curiously as she peeked at his coded notes.

“An analysis assignment from Nezu-sensei,” Izuku answered.

“Ooh, what does he have you analyzing now?” the gravity girl asked since she couldn’t read what he wrote.

“I was told not to tell you,” the greenet replied with an embarrassed blush from the sudden attention.

“Why is that?” Tsuyu asked as she stood from her seat to look.

Oh yeah, I can’t believe I get to say this, Izuku thought, smirking at the perfect opportunity.

“It’s classified,” he said with a cheeky tone and a wink.

Some gave dramatic gasps in shock while others snickered around him. Izuku giggled himself as he moved to put away his things. Not that they could read his notes anyway. The code Nezu had come up for him would be a hard one to crack.

“You know what I think?” Hitoshi suddenly called out, gaining everyone’s attention. Izuku stared at him suspiciously as those conspiring purple eyes flickered from Shouto to the Quirkless teen before continuing with a smirk. “I think Izuku is just a planted student and is actually a government spy.”

That earned a collective ‘ooh’ from his friends.

“Hitoshi, no,” Izuku denied as he stood up.

The majority of them laughed at their exchange all except for one. Shouto on the other hand, in all his conspiracy theorist glory, eyed him in a way that showed he was seriously considering it.

“Shouto, no!” Izuku pressed. “I swear I’m not a spy!”

“That’s exactly what a spy would say,” the brainwashing jerk face snarked.

“Stop it, Hitoshi!” the pink cheeked greenet scolded. “You’re just giving him new unfounded conspiracy theory ideas!”

“I dunno, Green Bean,” the Purple Panda replied as he moved toward the door with the rest following. “Doesn’t seem entirely unfounded to me.”

“He’s got a point,” Ochako said as they walked. “You do write in code and you were the one with a secret identity.”

“Disguise and code name included,” Tsuyu tacked on in amused bluntness.

Izuku just stuck his tongue out in response earning chuckles from all around. They got their food and lunch was filled with typical friendly socializing. Talking, eating, and not so secret hand holding. Soon enough lunch was over and it was time for their Hero Fundamentals class. Everyone filed off to class and there was some more last-minute socializing before the bell rang.

As soon as it did though they were all in their seats as Aizawa walked into the room followed by All Might. Most were still surprised that another teacher was joining the Number One Hero but Izuku was happy for the new routine. With Yagi’s lack of teaching skills, having another competent teacher there was comforting, especially Aizawa.

“As I said in homeroom, we will be reviewing your rescue exercise from yesterday,” the tired man said, pressing a button on the remote in his hand that lowered a screen from the ceiling. “Watch, observe. What obstacles did you all face and how did you work to overcome them? If you didn’t, think about how you could next time you face such a situation.”

With that, the lights dimmed as Aizawa started the recording of the first round. Izuku watched himself briefly making it to the tower he had started from before turning his attention to the others that were in his group. Sero and Ashido had positioned themselves similar to him taking the high ground. Ojiro chose more of the middle enough to be off the ground but not too high in case he would fall. While Tenya had chosen to stick to the ground which made sense for his Quirk.

At the sound of start, Izuku wasn’t surprised to see he was the first one to head straight towards All Might thanks to the tracker he had planted. The others had spent a short while longer trying to figure out where the Hero was based on his booming voice before they too were racing towards him. The rest was as he remembered.

Tenya sticking to the ground doing his best to navigate the labyrinth with Quirk boosted speed. Ojiro and Ashido using their Quirks to traverse higher up. Then there was Sero and himself, sailing through the air in similar fashions with one Quirk based and the other with tech. Izuku couldn’t help the spark of pride that flickered to life as he watched himself take first place with a burst of technological speed. As well as the warm feeling when Sero took his loss with grace and even congratulated the Quirkless teen on his win. The tape wielder even glanced back at him and gave him a wink and a thumbs up making Izuku blush but returned the gesture before they both turned back to the front.

At the conclusion of the first race, the light brightened and the homeroom teacher glanced up at All Might next to him. The blonde stood there for a moment waiting for something to happen before noticing everyone was looking at him. He blinked in surprise before shaking himself out of his stupor and stepped up to the teaching plate with a literal step forward.

“Now, students,” All Might said as he clapped his hands together. “What did you observe?”

Unsurprising Yaoyorozu was the first to raise her hand and the Hero nodded his permission to speak.

“The biggest obstacle was the course itself,” the creative girl said. “Those with the most mobility had the higher chance of success. In this round, Sero-kun had the best Quirk to maneuver around while the others were limited in one way or another. As for Midoriya-kun…”

Green eyes watched her somewhat nervous as she turned to look at him. He wasn’t expecting her to say anything mean or degrading as she hadn’t so far. But there was still that fear that the spell that made UA different would break at any second.

“…while he doesn’t have a Quirk, that doesn’t necessarily put him at a disadvantage as there were others with Quirks who were also challenged by the course. Besides, his use of his Support Items and obvious training were more than enough to place him in first.”

Izuku smiled at her and gave an appreciative nod which she returned in kind.

“I do have a question though if you don’t mind,” Yaoyorozu said to which he nodded again curious of what she wanted to know. “How were you able to determine All Might’s location so quickly?”

There were curious murmurs across the class as Aizawa rewound the recording back to the start of the race.

“As you can see,” the creation girl explained as they watched. “The others needed some time to figure out where the teachers were but Midoriya-kun seemed to find them immediately.”

The homeroom teacher played the clip a few times for the others to see what she was talking about. The other four looking around while he targeted them immediately. At the time putting the tracker seemed like a smart thing to do. Aizawa saw him do it and didn’t say anything so he thought it was alright. But now that he thought about it, would using his tracker like that be considered cheating?

“I-I, um, I used a tracker?” Izuku replied, nervously looking down at his desk not so sure about his victory anymore. “It’s one of my Support Items that I made based off the com system we used at the USJ. It’s how I found…”

The Quirkless teen trailed off as he glanced at Tenya, unsure if he was allowed to say anymore. It was on the verge of talking about their fight with Stain. The speedster’s eyes widened in surprised realization having been unaware how they had found him. Izuku gave him a nervous smile in silent apology, but Tenya wasn’t having it. The taller teen let out a bit exasperated sigh paired with a small smile and a grateful nod. The greenet’s smile brightened as he returned the gesture.

The other two in the know watched the exchange while the rest of the class was preoccupied with his answer. Surprise that he would make such a thing with a mix of horror at the reminder of the USJ. As well as chattering of whether that was cheating or not. Not maliciously but rather out of curiosity. Comments that did not go unnoticed by Izuku and the teachers alike. Tired black eyes watched the Quirkless teen hunch his shoulders and stare down at his desk with guilt.

“That’s enough,” Aizawa ordered, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “While it wasn’t exactly how the exercise was intended to go, Midoriya using any and all methods and/or skills to get the job done is not cheating. If it were, I would have said something when I saw him plant the tracker on All Might before the exercise began.”

Some students seemed about to protest but were shut down with a raised hand as Aizawa asked, “Midoriya, did you have your tracking system active before the round began?”

“No, sir,” Izuku answered with a shake of his head. “I only placed the tracker on All Might as we entered and calibrated my goggle to prepare the tracking program, but I didn’t turn it on until after we started.”

“Then there was no cheating,” Aizawa declared. “Perhaps some invasion of personal space and privacy due to lack of situational awareness, but other than that no rules were broken.”

The Erasure Hero side-eyed the buff blonde next to him who was trying to hide his confusion behind his smile. Yagi was trying to figure out when exactly the boy had tagged him figuring it must have been when he had accidentally run into him. Or was it by accident? Deep set blue eyes found timid green and let out an impressed huff. The Number One Hero made sure to give the boy an assuring nod that he wasn’t mad or anything. Midoriya Izuku was just full of surprises.

“That being said, I would like to make a point,” Aizawa spoke up. “As I said before, the use of a tracker, while not necessarily prohibited, did go against an element of the exercise. To find a target without knowing the exact location. A situation you will find yourselves in plenty of times when on rescue missions.”

That was meant to be a point made during their trip to the USJ but given the interrupting Villain attack, that didn’t happen. But now seemed a good time as any to bring it up. The kid’s move was smart but there wouldn’t always be a chance to repeat it. Yes, the strategy had helped in Hosu and the assessment, but again, things did not always turn out that way.

“In disaster scenarios such as building collapses, earthquakes, and various others, there would be no time or opportunity to do what Midoriya did,” Aizawa continued. “However, if there is one then take it, but it is essential to practice finding those in need without such advantages. Understood?”

The Underground Hero scanned the room piercing each of his students with his serious gaze who all earnestly nodded. Especially the green one who he knew would take this lecturing to heart and do better.

“Good,” the tired man said with a nod. “Let’s continue. Now, any other observations or questions about the first group?”

Encouraged by Yaoyorozu being the first to speak, various students made comments about different parts of the race. The teachers also gave their own comments pertaining to each student’s performance and improvements they could make before moving on to the next group. The entire time Izuku was taking note of anything he thought would help with his analysis. He too had comments and questions but thought it would be better to save them for his one-on-one discussions with each of them.

The rest of the reviews went much the same. Yaoyorozu would bring up a good point here and there. The others would make their own comments and observations as did the teachers. Notes that each group had those with a clear advantage over the others who were limited by the specific terrain of Ground Gamma. It was a good way for them all to see that their strengths and weaknesses could change depending on any given situation or factor in a fight. Such as Tenya being the best at running with Quirked speed in an open area but was hindered in tight quarters.

“That about wraps up Heroics for today,” Aizawa declared as they finished going over the races. “But before you’re dismissed to beginning training, I have one more topic to discuss.”

The students quietly waited in their seats to hear what their homeroom teacher had to say.

“As I’m sure you’re aware the summer break is coming up,” the tired man said as he shuffled some papers on the podium. “Though seeing as you only have three years here to train yourselves to be Heroes, it would be irrational for you to waste time and take a whole month off. As such, we will be holding a summer training camp in the woods.”

This announcement earned a series of excited reactions. Rejoicings of games, fireworks, summer foods, and the like washed over the classroom. Though personally Izuku doubted that would be the case. This was Aizawa they were talking about. When has he ever designed a training that would be considered ‘fun’? The answer was never. Training was serious business when it came to the Underground Hero. It was extremely unlikely the training camp would be fun and games as they were assuming.

Yeah, no. Not with hardass caterpillar man in charge.

“Quiet down, problem class,” Aizawa ordered with a quick Quirked glare. “Seeing as it will be out in nature, our training activities will be adjusted as needed. But let me make this clear…”

The terror of the night that was their teacher passed a stern stare across his students.

“…anyone who fails the upcoming final exams will be put into summer school hell instead. You have a month until then. Study hard and remember to keep up with training as well. The written exam is only one part of the final. Prepare yourselves to pass the practical portion as well.”

“Yes, sensei,” the class said together.

The tired man gave a nod and said, “The rest of the day will be spent training while some of you will be meeting with the Support analyst I mentioned earlier. Now go change into your gym clothes and meet at Gym Gamma.”

Everyone started packing up their things before heading off to the locker rooms. Izuku purposefully took longer than the others figuring that Aizawa may want to talk to him as he was the mentioned Support analyst. His friends seemed to realize that too and didn’t linger too long to wait for him. Unfortunately, they were all used to Izuku not joining them for training but hopefully that trend wouldn’t last forever. He was a Quirkless Hero relying on Support Items to help him along the way but he still needed time to actually train with his fellow aspiring Heroes.

Izuku busied himself with his things as he waited for all the others to leave. Most of his classmates didn’t pay much attention as they left in groups. His friends left in their own sending him various friendly greetings on their way out the door. All Might also left as he was probably low on time and had other work to do and so bowed before leaving. The only other person who paid attention to him was Bakugou who sent a glare his way but said nothing as he trudged to the changing rooms. Finally, the student and teacher were alone.

“So, what do you have in mind for the hellions?” Aizawa asked as Izuku approached him with belongings in hand.

“Lots of things,” the teen answered as he handed over an open notebook. “Some are more personalized for their given situation and Quirk backlash, but I have other ideas that I think should be applied to all.”

“Such as?” the teacher inquired while he looked over the notes having purposefully made himself familiar with Nezu’s code.

“For costume wise, I think everyone in general needs them to be made with better and more protective material,” Izuku said as he pointed to parts of his notes. “Like Tenya’s armor. When we fought against Stain the knives went through it like butter. What’s the point of him wearing armor that doesn’t actually protect him?”

“Good point,” Aizawa agreed with a nod.

“As for the others, adding material similar to kevlar or material that would work better with their Quirks would be ideal. Also for the girls, there are certain aspects that I question the suitability of them.”

“For example?”

“Ochako’s suit for one. She mentioned it being tighter than she was expecting and some of her gear is oddly designed. Like her wrist guards. Sure, they’re designed to stimulate her pressure points to help her suppress her nausea but I don’t think they have to be that bulky. Also, her boots. I get that the heals were designed with shock-absorbing components but they literally click when she walks which would not help with stealth. Plus, the design itself affects her footing and if she had decided to race along the pipes like Ashido-san did during the race, she could have taken a wrong step and fallen. And they too are also bulkier than they need to be.”

He had other ideas to possibly add to her gear but that he wanted to talk to Ochako about during their own meeting. Same for other additions he had for several of his classmates. But the young analyst walked his teacher through the other ideas he had for improving what was already there. Adding steel toes to everyone’s shoes, giving all the girls more chest support because they didn’t seem to have enough if any, and everyone should have first aid supplies on their person while in costume. Regardless of whether they knew how to use them it would be helpful to have on hand in case of an emergency.

Izuku also brought up ideas he had for improving everyone’s training. Hand-to-hand combat with and definitely without Quirks. Never know when you’re going to go up against an opponent like Aizawa who could take away your Quirk. Or just being in a situation when you couldn’t use your Quirk safely.

It also would teach them to not rely on Quirks for everything. Sometimes they aren’t even necessary and yet society had become so focused on Quirks that many think Quirk first and have no backup plan if that failed. Much like the Villains that Eraserhead went up against in the middle of the night who were caught by surprise with the loss of their power giving the Underground Hero the opening he needed to end the fight quickly.

He also suggested that everyone should have at least some basic first aid training to go with them carrying the supplies. Izuku himself would eventually be training with Shuuzenji, hopefully soon, on just that and felt it was important for the others to know as well. He also thought that everyone should periodically go to see Hound Dog to check on their mental health. Taking care of the mind was just as important as the body after all.

“You have good input, thank you,” Aizawa said as he finished with his overall suggestions. “I will confer with the others to help implement these changes.”

“Of course,” Izuku said with a smile, happy to help. “Thank you, Aizawa-sensei.”

“Anything else you would like to address?” the teacher asked looking through his notes.

“Oh, um, yes,” Izuku answered with a nod. “How are we going to handle the, um, Bakugou situation?”

“Ah, yes…that,” Aizawa uttered with a sigh. “What do you think?”

“Well, I was figuring he would take it better from someone else than me,” the Quirkless teen said because there was no way Bakugou would want to listen to him. “Like maybe Maijima-sensei and you? Maybe even don’t tell him they’re from me so he’ll actually consider it?”

“Yes to the former but a hard no on the latter,” the tired man stated firming getting a questioning look from his student. “You can’t hide from him forever. He needs to be open to working with you in the future or else his stubbornness could affect both of you out in the field. You don’t have to like each other but you do have to work together.”

Izuku considered that and knew his teacher was right. He nodded as he said, “Well, I’m willing if he’s willing.”

It hadn’t been him who was the first to push the other away. Ever since his diagnosis, Bakugou had been the one to put distance between them. In fact, he could pinpoint the exact moment it started. A memory of watching his friend fall off a log into a stream and reaching out a hand to help him while the others laughed. Only for his hand to be smacked away. But Izuku would never hesitate to reach out and offer to help anyone. Not even his childhood friend turned bully.

“Alright then,” Aizawa said with a nod. “Anything else?”

“Um, no?” the student replied. He was sure he covered everything he wanted to talk to Aizawa about.

“Well, what about you?” Aizawa asked as he looked up at the teen.

“Me?” Izuku responded with a tilt of his head.

“Any costume changes you can think of for you?” his teacher pressed.

“Oh I want to figure out the whole dual Hero identity thing for sure. My suit will have to be able to change pretty quickly between them to be effective. I also want to add head protection of some sort. Concussions are not fun and also my hair is very recognizable. Plus, I could incorporate my goggles and fire mask tech into it as well along with listening devices inspired by Jirou-san and Shouji-kun. I also need to find a better material for my capture bombs. People keep breaking out of those too quickly. Oh, and I was thinking of some sort of tranquilizer to help immobilize an enemy.”

Many of those improvements were inspired by the fight in Hosu. Injuries, lacking in reconnaissance, failed capture attempts, and just the unnerving, but affective, tactic of taking away someone’s ability to control their own body. He would have to ask Maijima about chemical mixtures that could be used as such without harming the person under its affects.  

“Is that all?” Aizawa asked, pleased with his improvements but there was one thing he felt the boy overlooked.

“Huh?” the greenet let out in confusion.

“Is that all?” the tired man repeated. “No other thoughts? No other improvements or changes?”

Green eyes tried to search tired black but couldn’t think what he was getting at and said, “…no?”

“So, with these improvements,” Aizawa stated, trying to make a point but not outright wanting his student to come to the conclusion himself. “Your suit and gear will be the best it can be for this current upgrade. Technologically as well as practically?”

Ah, I think I know what he’s getting at, Izuku thought though the added sight of the Underground Hero touching his capture weapon helped.

“You mean the scarf, don’t you?” the greenet said with a grimace.

“Yes.”

“Ah,” Izuku let out with a defeated sigh, disappointed he didn’t think of it earlier.

“I understand why you chose to wear it,” the man said. “But, in all honesty, it could be a liability in the field.”

“I-I know,” the Quirkless teen replied, doing his best not to flinch at the ‘L’ word. “But I figured I could cut myself free with the knife if anything were to happen.”

“But then what would that leave you?” Aizawa asked.

“What do you mean?” Izuku countered tilting his head again.

“I understand how important that scarf must be for you,” the tired man explained, letting out an understanding sigh. “I’m not really one for…things. Not like Zashi and his perpetual need to buy out every store we go to.”

Izuku couldn’t help but giggle at that, easily imagining the blonde going crazy buying everything in sight. He wondered if that was the fate of Hitoshi when they first took him in. With his brother being so similar to their teacher he could picture their twinned tired expressions while following after their energetic shopping trip leader.

The voice of his teacher knocked him out of his imagination as he said, “But you remember that friend I told you about.”

“You mean the one that…” Izuku’s voice faded out not wanting to say it out loud.

“Yeah, him,” Aizawa confirmed with a reminiscing sad sigh. “The goggles, the ones he gave me, I still have them.”

“You do?” the greenet asked with a tone of surprise.

“Yes, they mean a lot to me,” the tired man replied, a fond look crossed his scruffy face for a moment before going back to serious. “A lot like that scarf is to you I’ll bet. The knife is practical but the scarf…not so much.”

“Yeah…you’re right,” Izuku agreed with a relenting sigh. “I wore it more on a whim than anything else. But you’re right that it could be more of a liability and isn’t worth it just for aesthetic.”

“Exactly,” Aizawa said with a nod. “It’s irrational to wear something impractical. It could get caught on things. You could get snagged, dragged, or caught up in them.”

“Like elevators or jet turbines,” the greenet offered. “Or even a stray missile.”

“Morbid but yes,” the tired man conceded. “As a famous Hero costume designer said…”

The student and teacher then finished together, “…no capes.”

Notes:

We're back in it now, folks! Izuku is going to be busy as usual leading up to the end of term exams. Sh-sh-shout out to all those who helped me with the upcoming ideas for costume and quirk improvements. This is more of a blanket thank you since their suggestions are sprinkled through the first part of part 3. So thanks to the_second_one, XysidheQueen, Seagirl Neptuna, boba slushie, Mon, remy, mayhemrea, SinningInTheRain(Sinned), Christina, SoFewSpoons, thePanopticon_isJust_azkaban, Doraemax, RowanTheRamblingRavenclaw, Jeskridge001, Kaiya Azure, Live_like_the_wind, JFC, and EnergeticEccentricism. (I think that's everyone...) Much appreciated!

To those who were worried, Izuku 'cheating' has been addressed. Aizawa did see him and didn't say anything so he essentially gave permission. But I do agree that doing that did go against the intention for the exercise. So a little of yes and no for that, but he's not in trouble or anything. Just another learning opportunity. EDIT: I found who commented on this. Thanks again, RavensphirSeltos!

See? The scarf was only temporary. :) Seriously, it was more for aesthetic for just a short while. Because come on, he's got the scarf. Why not wear it at least once? Chizodad would be so proud to see him in it. But yeah, definitely the least practical thing on him so it's gotta go sadly. Izuku can at least wear it outside of costume though! And he'll still have the knife from Chizome on him in costume.

So All Might's awkward reaction when Aizawa is silently all 'your turn' is based on my own experience. When I was still figuring out the whole ALT thing, I had a teacher who it was my first lesson with turn to me and expected me to just go for it. And I was all '...um...' because we hadn't even discussed anything. Which can happen from time to time and you just had to go with the flow in the moment. After that we talked more but it definitely caught me off guard. My last year I had something similar with a new teacher who worked with me at my last school. Thankfully I was prepared by that time to improvise a lesson with games. Distracting them with a few rounds of shiritori while I went and got my laptop for a powerpoint game. By that time I had several versions for different times of years so we passed the time with English games. Again we had better communication after that but yeah...sometimes the main teacher can spring something on you when you're not prepared.

Fun Facts About Japan:

Not really related to anything actually in the chapter but more connected to the mentioned shiritori game above. I don't think I've talked about that one but it is a great game for the students to practice vocabulary. Shiritori is a Japanese word game where the basic rules are that the next word has to start with the last kana character of the previous word. Or in English the last letter. Which makes sense since shiritori ( しりとり ) means 'taking the end/rear'. There are some other rules like typically nouns are mainly used and anyone who uses a word ending in ん ( n ) loses since no other Japanese word starts with that.

For when I would do shiritori in English, I had a couple versions. The traditional next word has to start with the last letter of the previous one. I would also have one where they had to do it with them all starting with the same letter. Or my favorite which was what I called 'ABC' order where they had to think of words that started in the order of the alphabet. On top of those I would have a limit of how many letters had to be there with more for the higher grades to be more of a challenge. Or even the allowance of the textbooks to look up words limiting the higher grades or if we were near the end of the year.

More info on the original version can be found here.

That's it for this chapter but not for this update! As a further thank you for your patience, you're getting a double update. ;) It's time to get those one-on-one sessions started! As always let me know of any typos and whatnot. Now let's go!