Izuku leaned heavily back against the plush pillows of the hospital bed as his friends were ushered from the room. He exhaled slowly, a smile playing on his lips despite the pain in his cheek.

"I don't regret it," he said softly, glancing at his mentor who was at his bedside. "And believe it or not, last time was worse."

"...holy shit," Toshinori muttered in English, yelping when Recovery Girl smacked him. "You're going to have scars for the rest of your life, my- uh, Young Mid- um, Izuku are you sure it was worth it?"

"Hopefully fewer scars than last time." He beamed, glancing down at his mummified arms. "A friend needed help: that's not something I'll ever regret."

"Meddling when you don't need to is the essence of being a hero." The man shook his head, something like pride flickering across his features.

"You're too much like each other," Recovery Girl tutted with exasperation. "Go on, out you go, All Might. The boy needs his rest, and he can't get that with you here."

Toshinori heaved his skeletal form to his feet, offering a wave with one, large hand as he turned to leave. "Take care, my boy- uh..."

Izuku snorted, a pained laugh rattling in his chest. "Bye, dad."

His response was so worth it. Toshinori's cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he instantly turned his face away, coughing into a fist and speed-walking to the door. It closed abruptly behind him, leaving Izuku giggling and Recovery Girl observing with amusement.

"If you keep teasing him like that, I fear he's never going to act normally around you again." She chuckled a little, eyes crinkled at the corners with mirth. "I've known him since he was young, and yet I've never seen him so flustered."

"Thank you, it's a gift." Izuku flashed a smile, an echo of the Pro Hero Deku.

She chortled again, shaking her head fondly. "Honestly..."

*

Izuku couldn't meet Iida's eyes when he got back to the stands. The guilt was eating away at him, but at least he could play it off as exhaustion from Recovery Girl's Quirk. He sat quietly most of the time, staring at the pitch as Iida went up against Todoroki, forcing himself to focus on how well his tall friend dodged, sprinting around the court with steam blasting out from the engine exhausts in his calves as he tried to analyse his competitor's next move. The loss was obvious to Izuku, but he was still impressed by how well they both fought, showing off their battle prowess against one another.

At the end of the match, reality set heavy upon Izuku's shoulders as he realised that Tensei was likely lying in a pool of his own blood in Hosu. He bit down on his tongue, trying to combat the rising flood of guilt and hoping desperately that the extra Pro Heroes All Might contacted would find him sooner than last time, possibly even lessening the extent of Tensei's injuries if he got medical care sooner, and maybe... Maybe he won't be paralysed from the waist down, if things go well.

Iida returned to the stands, and Izuku offered a weak smile, hoping he didn't look as sick as he felt as his friend left again to take the fateful call. Uraraka glanced at the boy, her brow furrowed with concern.

"Are you okay, Deku-kun? You look a bit pale..." She asked worriedly, moving closer and placing her palm on his forehead.

"I-I'm okay," he reassured, lying through his teeth. "Sorry to worry you."

Todoroki versus Kacchan played out the same way as last time. Izuku was a little disappointed that he hadn't made enough of a difference to encourage his new friend to use his fire Quirk, even with his shouted support from the stands, but that just meant he had to try harder in the future. Tokoyami and Todoroki stood calmly on their respective podiums, while Kacchan was furiously writhing against his restraints in first place and Iida was already gone, rushing to the hospital to see his brother.

"That's too bad. Iida was really into it," Tsu commented, finger pressed against her chin.

"Yeah..." Izuku agreed softly, glancing at the ground regretfully.

The award ceremony passed, and 1-A returned to their homeroom. Everyone got up to leave at the end, buzzing with excited chatter about the eventful day and already making plans for their two days off.

"Midoriya, a word," Aizawa said.

Izuku waved his friends off and closed the classroom door, facing his teacher. "Yes, sensei?"

"I hope what you did in the Sports Festival isn't reflective of your Quirk," he drawled, slightly muffled through the bandages wrapped around his face.

"It's not. I want the villains to underestimate me so I can take them by surprise when it counts the most," he assured, clenching his healed hand into a fist.

"Villains?" Aizawa hummed lowly as Izuku squeaked in panic. "I won't ask."

"Thank you..." The boy breathed, hiding his face in embarrassment over the fact that he'd been so careless and accidentally revealed something.

"I called you here to tell you about an assessment," he informed, his tired voice giving away nothing. "Since we don't know what you can really do, Nedzu suggested that we put you to the test. You being in this school without pushing your power is unfair on the other students; I don't care about the circumstances. Depending on the results of this examination, we'll formulate some extra lessons outside of school hours to help you train your Quirk in secret. All Might has volunteered to take most of the responsibility for mentoring you, but I'll also assist where necessary."

"Really? Thank you!" Izuku flashed a wide grin, emerald eyes sparkling with excitement. "When's the exam?"

"Two days," Aizawa responded, as dull as ever, even in the face of unbridled joy. "Recovery Girl insisted you needed a day to recover from your injuries."

"Right." He nodded. "I'll be there, sensei!"

*

Despite the early hour, Izuku was bright-eyed and ready to prove himself. He waved cheerily at All Might and grinned at Aizawa, who looked a little more awake than usual – although that might've been because he probably didn't get to sleep in the fist place. Nedzu and Recovery Girl were also waiting for him, one looking distinctly more concerned than the other.

"Good morning!" Izuku chirped, coming to a stop in front of the gathered audience.

"Good morning, Midoriya-kun!" Nedzu responded brightly, clapping his paws together. "I'm glad you could make it. Before we begin, Recovery Girl would like to check you've healed enough to participate."

The elderly hero stepped forward, fussing over his arms and turning over his hands for a few minutes before backing up and nodding once. "He could still do with more rest, but... as long as you don't overdo it, you won't injure yourself further."

"Wonderful!" The principal beamed beneath his short snout. "If you're warmed up, how about we get right into this – Aizawa-kun?"

Aizawa made a grunt of acknowledgement, motioning to the field with one slightly-less-bandaged arm. "I'm sure you remember the fitness test on your first day. This is a retake to work out where we stand."

Izuku stood on the starting line of the sprint, staring determinedly ahead before hesitating and looking over his shoulder. "You, um... You might want to brace yourselves."

He dug one foot back into the dirt, waiting for the whistle before blasting forwards in a glitter of green, shooting across the finish line within the blink of an eye. Wind whipped around the area and a good chunk of grass had been kicked up in his sudden acceleration.

"0.14 seconds." Aizawa muttered, lifting his head and suddenly appearing ten times more interested.

"Incredible!" Nedzu praised excitedly.

The next tests all went similarly, with Izuku getting almost inhuman results that were infinitely better than his first ones. Toshinori was looking more and more awed by the second, pride shamelessly glowing in his blue gaze. When all the data had been collated, they moved on to an area off-campus, deciding to test him in a more abstract manner within an urban environment.

"I'll fight you first, Young M- Izuku," All Might said with his classic grin, before darting off and finding a good spot within the fake city before his successor entered.

Izuku fired up his Quirk as he walked down the silent street, glancing down every alleyway with paranoia thrumming in his veins. He remembered the few times in the other timeline when he'd gone against his mentor, thinking up effective strategies that wouldn't involve taking advantage of the man's permanent injury on his side, because that would be an awful thing to do. His toes pressed against the concrete as he crouched down, taking a moment to focus his power before launching into the air, giving him the advantage of wide vision and allowing him some time to consider.

Their skills were roughly parallel, which meant that a battle of strength would be tiring and likely end in a draw. All Might had more years of experience, but that didn't mean Izuku was any amateur. The boy had memorised every move and technique of his hero over the years, able to mimic them almost perfectly, meaning he could probably predict every response to any opponent. He also had the bonus of his hidden Shoot Style that no-one would expect, since he was yet to show any ability to fight with his legs.

However, the man had mentioned 'first,' suggesting that the others would possibly fight him afterwards, and he didn't want to spill all his secrets at once...

A rush of air thundered down the main street, tearing up the walls and shattering windows. Izuku dropped onto the closest roof and pressed himself down, peeking over the edge as he worked out where it had come from. He stealthily hopped from building to building, sneaking down the street and easily noticing the bright costume of the hero – his enemy.

All Might stood tall and proud, not giving any indication that he was at all concerned. Of course, the boy knew better, noticing the subtle way his blue eyes skimmed over his surroundings and his stance was steady, ready to retaliate to a hit from any angle. Izuku grabbed a couple of rocks from the roof, waiting for the perfect moment before leaping off the edge towards the other side of the street. While he was directly behind the hero, he flung one of the stones, immediately shooting back onto a rooftop, staying unnoticed. The man turned only slightly as he heard something, cautiously stepping back to avoid the projectile and squinting suspiciously down the street, falling for the ruse of his enemy being somewhere he was not.

"Was that intended as a distraction, my boy? That was clever." All Might started walking in the direction the rock was thrown from, shoulders tense. "It didn't work though, I'm afraid."

Izuku flung the other stone high into the air, waiting until it landed before dropping down into the street and landing a hefty punch to the man's spine as he was distracted. It was strong enough to make him stumble forwards, but not falter, and he didn't miss a beat as he whipped around with the intention of returning the hit. The boy was faster than him and had the added advantage of being so small, allowing him to duck under fists and smoothly leap over shoulders, getting in rapid jabs whenever he dared. An unexpected punch to his gut had Izuku reeling back, breathless, but he quickly regained his bearings and sprung off the side of a building like a pinball, much to the man's shock.

"You move just like... Oh. Don't tell me you've trained with Gran Torino?" All Might asked, his voice uncharacteristically small and nervous.

"There wasn't really much training," he admitted. "It, uh... got interrupted about halfway through."

"I see." Relief was palpable in his tone, even as he swung back around with another hit. "Perhaps things will go more smoothly, this time."

"Perhaps," Izuku agreed doubtfully, quickly breaking into a smile as he noticed the strain starting to show on his mentor. "Don't give up now, you zygote!"

"Oh my god." All Might whispered in English, a mere three words enough to betray his immense internal panic at the phrase of his old mentor coming from the mouth of his new student. "My boy, please don't ever do that again..."

Izuku grinned widely, too widely, his eyes alight with mischief as he dropped in front of the hero. "Sorry, dad."

"Young Izuku, ple-" The man's spluttered words were cut off with a powerful punch to the face, causing his head to jolt to one side and the rest of his body to crumple downwards.

He stayed on the ground, conceding defeat just to hide his red face in the dust, laughing almost hysterically into his hands. Izuku knelt next to him, one hand hovering uncertainly over his mentor's back, muttering up a storm as he panicked over whether he'd accidentally caused some serious harm.

"'m fine, my boy," All Might assured when he stopped acting like an emu, getting to his feet. "That punch would've easily been powerful enough to take out any villain. Were you a Pro Hero, in your time?"

"Yeah," he responded, a rueful smile playing on his lips as he reminisced. "I don't know how things work with time travel, but... I really hope they don't miss me. I know Oc- a good friend will feel guilty because, as far as she knows, she couldn't save me. And my mum... oh, I really, really hope things are okay..."

The man hesitated before wrapping a large arm around Izuku's shoulders, squeezing him in a side-hug. "I'm sure they'll all be fine, my boy. I know it's difficult when you can't save everyone, so... try your best to help out as much as you can in this timeline, just like you've been doing. You've already helped me keep more time on my transformation, you've stopped Aizawa-kun from getting permanent damage to his Quirk, and you've given Ingenium a better chance to recover – you're doing great things, Young Izuku, and I know you're going to continue achieving incredible feats, because you're an amazing hero."

Izuku blinked up at his mentor with big eyes, then promptly burst into tears.