Izuku and Mei were in a construction tent that was currently doubling as Nezu's office.

"Do you think Nezu wants to talk about the tunnels or the trebuchets?" Mei asked. "Ooh! Maybe he has a new project he wants us to work on!"

"I'm not sure." Izuku hummed. "Don't get too excited though. He probably just asked us to come so we could talk about logistics."

Nezu: I don't think it would just be that.

Nezu's voice rang out behind them, "In a way, you are both correct."

Izuku and Mei looked to see Nezu walking into the tent.

"So... we have a new project?" Mei asked hopefully.

(Nezu paused thoughtfully. He had an idea about what it might be.)

"Of a sort." Nezu said, taking a seat. "I"m sure you're aware that the provisional licensing exam for our hero students is mere weeks away."

"Yeah." Izuku nodded. "Do you want us to give everyone another analysis? Or maybe help them train one on one in preparation for the exam?"

"No." Nezu smiled. "I would like you to take the exam."

Midoriya: Wait what?

Mei: But we're in support!

The walk to the mochi shop was nice. It was a warm day and even though he didn't have to, Hitoshi held her hand the whole way. Ochaco felt like her face was on fire and she really hoped her naturally pink cheeks disguised at least some of the blush but knew that was probably hoping for too much.

Finally, Hitohi broke the silence, "What do you think of the new dorms?"

"It's kinda weird." Ochaco said. "I just barely moved back in with my parents and now I'm gonna be moving out again, it's just a lot of moving."

Uraraka: Yeah that's a lot...

"Well, you're a teleporter." HItoshi smiled, "You're always going to be Ocha-going someplace or another."

Ochaco shot him a playful glare and he laughed, nudging her slightly and they walked the last block to the mochi shop in comfortable silence.

Izuku stared at Nezu in disbelief, "What?!" We're not heroes, we're support. We don't want to be heroes."

(a lot of people, especially those close to Midoriya, winced. That sounded so wrong coming out of his mouth)

"What Izuku said." Mei nodded. "I'm not abandoning my babies."

Power Loader: You don't have to. You can be support heroes like me.

Nezu held up his hand in a calming gesture. "We're not asking you to. You would still be primarily in support, but what with your prominent involvement in every villain attack we've experienced so far this year, not to mention the increased danger that will come now that your identity as Cheat Code is more widely known, it only makes sense for you to be able to defend yourselves, both in terms of skill and legality. And, of course, in order to do so most effectively, you would need hero licenses!"

Tsukauchi: Yeah, we don't need you two in trouble for vigilantism.

"But we don't want hero licenses." Mei said simply. "Licenses mean work and time that I could be using to perfect my babies, so no thank you!"

"It also means using those inventions to help others." Nezu pointed out. "Which you have already proven that you are capable of doing with great effect. The licenses would simply give you more freedom and resources to do what you have already been doing of your own perogative."

"But we don't want to be heroes." Izuku stood up. "And even if I did want to be a hero, which I don't, I can't."

Inko(sadly): Oh Izuku... you can...

Nezu tilted his head, "And why do you say that?"

Izuku looked at him incredulously, "Um, because I'm quirkless? I thought that was obvious by now."

Mt. Lady: That's just not true at all!

All Might: Young Midoriya...

"Ah," Nezu looked at him sadly. "I suppose your reaction makes much more sense now, even if I do not agree."

Izuku stopped, "What?"

"The idea that a quirkless person cannot become a hero is, quite happily, incorrect." Nezu chirped. "Of course, there will be more difficulties, but you excel at overcoming every obstacle in your path, so I have no doubt of your capabilities and there are no laws preventing it, so yes, I believe it is perfectly possible for you to become a hero."

Midoriya: Come on other me... accept...

Izuku shook his head, "Look, I gave up on that dream a long time ago..."

"Be that as it may," Nezu interrupted, "getting licensed is still the best course of action. You may not have had any legal ramifications from your involvement thus far, but if you keep assisting as you have been and performing heroics without a license, that will not always be the case."

Endeavor: Yes, the law will eventually become a problem if you keep doing what you are doing.

"But we're not performing heroics." Mei argured. "We're acting as support, which is what we want to do. That's why we came to UA in the first place."

"Yeah." Izuku agreed. "What we're doing isn't hero work."

Mitsuki: You're still saving people. I don't see the difference.

"You are saving people." Nezu shrugged. "I fail to see the difference."

"I've never wanted to be a hero." Mei said. "It would take my focus away from my babies."

"It would also give you better opportunities to advertise them." Nezu smiled. "Imagine seeing a hero use their own inventions and trusting their life to them, how much more enticing would those inventions look, both to the public and to other heroes. Much more effective than a traditional commercial, don't you think?"

Mei: Huh...

Mei bit her lip, "Well, when you put it like that..."

"How about I let you think on it?" Nezu suggested. "You two can talk it over and tell me your decision by tonight. That way we can properly adjust your schedules for the upcoming semester. I assure you that you will still be primarily students of Class 1F, but you will be joining class 1A for subjects such as heroics and combat. You would be both support and heroes... support heroes, if you would."

Power Loader: Yeah, just like me.

Izuku and Mei shared a look. They had a lot to think about.

Hitoshi smiled as he overlooked the large variety of mochi they'd ended up with, "You know, this is probably too much mochi for two people."

Ochaco hummed, "That's what a coward would say. What, Shindig? Aren't you up for a challenge?"

Shinso: Oh, I'm always up for one.

"Oh I'm always up for a challenge." Hitoshi smirked. "Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to catch a teleporter."

Ochaco blushed and ducked her head, "I guess not."

"Oh... uh, my adoption papers are going to be coming through soon." Hitoshi said. "It's weird timing right when we're having to pack everything up for the dorms."

Midnight(excitedly): You two are adopting!

Aizawa: Yes, I can see that.

"How is that even going to work?" Ochaco's eyes widened. "The dorms, not the adoption, obviously not. Oh my goodness. I am so sorry, uh, congratulations."

Hitoshi managed to hold back for a few seconds before bursting into laughter., "Well, for the adoption, you see when two men love each other very much..."

(everyone snorted)

Ochaco hit his arm, "Oh shut up, you realize I can just leave right?"

Mei: You're still there though!

Hitoshi gave her a cocky smile, "And yet you're still here."

Ochaco raised an eyebrow, "I don't have to be."

Hitoshi smirked, "They're giving my adults an apartment on campus so they can hang around and respond if there's any issues in the dorm or whatever. I get a normal dorm like everyone else, but I'll also have a room at the apartment if I want it. It's just kinda up to me."

Shinso: Well, at least I have choices.

Ochaco nodded, "It sounds like fun. I'm just glad you're in 1A now. It would be so weird if you had to live in the 1C dorm. I mean, it's gonna be weird enough with Mei and Izuku living in 1F."

Ojiro: Oh yeah, that's going to be really complicated.

"Let's be honest," Hitoshi rolled his eyes. "Those two are going to be living in the tunnels. The rat's already practically adopted them, so they may as well just make their home in the maze."

Recovery Girl: Mm-hm.

Ochaco laughed, "Yeah, they're probably there now."

Izuku paced back and forth in one of the few areas of the school that had been completed Mei sat on the floor working on her latest project as Izuku paced. "You're going to give yourself motion sickness."

Uraraka: Huh, they're not in the tunnels.

Izuku slumped down onto the floor with a huff, "What gives them the right to tell me I can be a hero now of all times, Mei-chan? I begged to be a hero for 10 years, that's a whole decade and everyone told me no, even my mom. But now that I've given up and found a new goal and am finally in a good place, now all of sudden, it was possible all along?! How does that even make any sense? What gives them the right to suddenly change their minds like that?"

Nezu: In my defense, I didn't tell you that.

"In his defense," Mei said, "Nezu was never one of the ones who told you that."

"My old principal did." Izuku argued. "And my teachers and Kacchan and everybody else. I finally accepted that it was impossible, Mei. I found a new dream and I even held a pity party for goodness sake! I threw a mental funeral for my old dream! What gives them the right to tell me I can be a hero after I put in all that work to come to terms with the fact that I couldn't?"

Mei put down her invention and reached for his hand, "You're being an idiot."

(everyone snorted)

Hound Dog: She's got a point though.

Mic: Inui!

She turned away and started tinkering with her tools again while Izuku stared at her in shock, "Excuse me, I thought girlfriends were supposed to be supportive."

"Not when you're bing stupid." Mei said simply. "I put a lot of work into inventions that never work out, but does that mean I shouldn't try? No! Even if it blows up in my face, it was still worth the work I put into it because I learned something from it. You're just over there giving into the sunk cost fallacy, so no, I'm not going to agree with you. You're being stupid."

Izuku froze, "Oh..."

Mei: See, now you get it.

Mei snorted, "Yep. It doesn't matter what work you've already put in, you can't change that. What you can change is what you do now. I think Nezu's right. Being heroes will give us a really great opportunity to market our inventions and give us more resources to do what we've already been doing, but you're my partner, so I'm not doing it without you."

Everyone: Come on, accept...

Izuku took a deep breath and took Mei's hand before walking into the classroom. Aizawa greeted them with a nod and Hitoshi and Ochaco smiled at them while the rest of the class exchanged glances of confusion. Izuku squeezed Mei's hand a little tighter and gave a little wave, "Hello everyone."

(everyone cheered)

Inko: They accepted!

"Class, you already know Cheat Code." Aizawa said. "Shinso. Would you like to introduce us to our friends and explain a little bit about why they're here?"

"Yeah." Hitoshi stood up with a grin. "Everybody, these are my kidnappers, Izuku Midoriya and Mei Hatsume and they are going to be heroes."

Mei: You're never going to stop calling us kidnappers are you? Then again that's exactly what we are.

Shinso: Mm-hm.

Jana: Anyway that was the last Cheat Code chapter.

Power Loader: Wait, it's over?

Jana: Yup.

Toga: What about Deku and Viridian?

Jana: Deku's got a couple more chapters left and Viridian's got several. Don't worry, you've still got a lot more chapters to go.