Momo: Right, I forgot about that...

Mina: We've been way too distracted by Ikazooku...

Midoriya: Ika what?

Mina: Ikazooku. Because All for One keeps calling you a kazoo.

Midoriya: Uh...

Hitoshi was still getting used to actually being a part of the hero course. He'd taken the seat of the invisible girl, who was apparently on an extended medical leave after several months after being possessed by a villain, which was objectively no stranger than two separate individuals being brainwashed and given multiple quirks, so Hitoshi assumed that was just kinda par for the hero course. Aizawa hadn't shown up yet, so everyone was chatting and wasting time until he crawled in with his sleeping bag a minute before the bell. Hitoshi assumed it wasn't too bad as far as daily routines went.

Shinso: When did my life get this weird?

Mei: Since you met ten million.

Shinso: You know what, fair enough.

"Uh, Todoroki?" Kaminari asked. "Why are you staring at me?"

Hitoshi glanced over and was trying to be discreet until he realized that most of the class was eavesdropping too, so if no one else was concerned about it, he wasn't going to worry too much. Todoroki was looking at Kaminari suspiciously, almost like he'd figured out something important, "Are you Viridian?"

Recovery Girl: Ah, he's noticed the similarities in fighting styles too.

Kaminari blinked and took a step back, "Uh... what?"

"Oh, are you talking about the theory that's been all over the internet?" Mina jumped in. "It's been everywhere!"

Midoriya: Wait, everywhere?!

"Wait, what theory?" Uraraka asked. "What's going on?"

"Apparently somebody took the video of Kaminari fighting you and compared it side by side with some footage of Viridian." Jiro explained. "I watched the analysis video, they're like, scary similar."

Midoriya: That's not good! What if villains connect me to Kaminari and then they target him and-

Inko: Izuku please, don't panic, please, okay?

Kaminari: Yeah, don't panic, please. I'm going to be a hero, Midoriya, I'm always going to be in danger. This doesn't matter.

Midoriya: Okay... if you say so...

"No we're not!" Kaminari answered quickly. "I mean I've got a qu... an electricity quirk and Viri doesn't!"

Bakugo: Don't spill his secret like that dunce face!

"How would you know?" Sero asked. "Viridian's quirk is still unknown; nobody has any idea what it is."

"Uh, it's just that he's never..." Kaminari started.

"Kaminari doesn't look anything like Viridian." Hitoshi muttered.

Shinso: I should not have said that should I?

Suddenly, everyone was looking at him and Mina came bouncing up to him in excitement, "Have you actually met Viridian?!"

Hitoshi leaned back slightly, "Uh, yeah. Bakugo introduced us."

Mina turned on Kacchan like a hawk, "You've met Viridian and you didn't tell us?!"

Bakugo: And why should I?

Mina: Oh come on, Kacchan!

Bakugo: Don't call me that!

"If Kaminari is Viridian, then we all have." Todoroki pointed out."

"Guys! I'm not Viridian!" Kaminari insisted. "I don't even know why you would think that! I'm training to be a hero, why would I need to be a vigilante?"

(a few people looked at Iida)

"You could always just be using it as extra training or something." Uraraka grinned mischievously. "What? Are you telling us that you're not moonlighting as a vigilante?"

"I'm not!" Kaminari squeaked. "There's a million reasons why I'm not a vigilante..."

"All of which have at least a dozen theories online explaining how you might have gotten around them." Todoroki said. "And the fighting styles are pretty much identical..."

Midoriya: Okay how many days has it even been since the Sports Festival?! Why are there so many conspiracy theories already?!

Gran Torino: Welcome to the internet.

"Because Viridian taught Kaminari how to fight."

The class went silent as Aizawa strode into the room, putting eyedrops in his eyes. He looked more tired than HItoshi had ever seen him, which made sense considering that the entire UA staff was constantly being bombarded by the media and even just normal civilians about the sports festival attack and on top of that he had to worry about reintroducing Kurogiri to society and all the legal issues that came with that as well as coordinate internships for all of his students. Had he even had time to eat?

Mic: Knowing Shou?

Midnight: Nope.

Apparently not, because he pulled out some kind of jelly pouch and started opening it as he talked, "I already looked into it as early as the entrance exam and not only does Viridian not use electricity, their personalities are completely different, though it does seem they're compatible. This theory might be new to you, but the heroes have been aware of it for quite some time and have already gathered the evidence to dismiss it. Moving right along, your internships..."

(the heroes snorted at Aizawa trying to move along already)

"But...!" Mina tried to interrupt, but Aizawa silenced her with a glare, turning on his quirk and staring down the rest of the class and making sure they were all behaving up to his standards before he blinked.

"As I was saying," Aizawa began again, "your internships begin this afternoon. Several of you have chosen to intern with top ten heroes, so make sure you're on your best behavior. Yaoyorozu, I'm not concerned, I'm sure you and Best Jeanist will get along fine. He reached out to the school personally to say he was very impressed with the individualized cheer outfits that you made for your classmates, so well done. Bakugo, could you please try not to insult Edgeshot within ten seconds of meeting him?"

Momo: Best Jeanist?! Really?

Kendo: Wow, that's going to be so much better than Uwabami.

"Tch." Bakugo rolled his eyes. "Not my fault if he can't take it, but I'll try."

(everyone snorted)

"Please do." Aizawa said dryly. "Now, let's go over some ground rules."

Hitoshi took notes on everything Aizawa said, not wanting to mess up his only chance. He was going to be meeting up with Aizawa later, but his teacher had already warned him that he might be a little late. Apparently, he was going to go track down Viridian and try to convince him to join them on patrol. Aizawa had sworn him to secrecy before admitting that he believed he had everything he needed to find Viridian's identity, but hadn't had a single moment since the sports festival to sit down and put everything together, so they were going to do that the second day of their internship and use it as a chance for Hitoshi to learn about information gathering and data compilation. If everything went as planned, they'd be coming back from their internships with one more student than they'd had originally.

That, of course, assumed that Viridian didn't manage to give them the slip at the last minute, but Hitoshi wasn't too concerned. They could always just try again. They had all the time in the world.

Tamaki: No they don't...

"Gran Torino?" Izuku frowned and pulled his laptop toward him. "I've never heard of him before..."

Denki chuckled and rolled his eyes, "I'll save you a rabbit hole; he was an old mentor of All Might's. All Might's terrified of him, but Seven says he's cool, just a little brutal when it comes to training. If all else fails, she can give me dirt on him."

(Gran Torino and All Might both sputtered, for different reasons, and Kaminari chuckled hesitantly when he noticed them both staring at him)

Kaminari: Guess that means the blackmail idea's a good one?

Izuku smiled, "As long as you're safe and having fun. I think it'll be really good for you to train with somebody who's more familiar with One for All."

"I mean I've already trained with a quirk expert." Denki teased, bumping his shoulder playfully. "I wouldn't have made it this far if you hadn't helped me. Speaking of, everybody thinks I'm you."

Izuku turned bright red and spluttered, "W-what? Why? How?!"

Sato: I'm honestly surprised he doesn't know yet. Isn't it a really popular theory now or something?

Denki laughed, "Izu, I fight just like you except for the fact that I use electricity instead of weapons. Also! I've been meaning to ask if you could teach me how to fight with your pipes! If I use, like, a super high conductivity metal in mine then they could extend my range and attack power and stuff."

Kaminari: Huh, that would be a really good weapon.

Mei: I can make you one!

Power Loader: Mei, Kaminari doesn't need you to make him a pipe.

Mei: I can make an exploding pipe!

Power Loader: Mei!

"But..." Izuku bit his lip. "I didn't want people connecting us, Denks, that'll put you in danger!"

Denki squeezed his hand, "I'm a hero student. I can handle it. And it's not like I can't just go to the hardware store and buy some myself, you know. Wait, did I ever tell you about the betting pool we had at work about you? I totally lost, by the way, not that anyone else knows that."

"You had a betting pool about me?!" Izuku squeaked.

Momo: Well you were kind of weird buying pipes and stuff.

"Have." Denki grinned. "Or at least I'm pretty sure they still do, I had to quit when I got into UA, but you always bought the most random stuff, Izu! Of course all the employees would have a betting pool about what you would do with it!"

"Do I even want to know what your guess was?" Izuku asked hesitantly.

"Oh, I just thought it was some kinda sculpture or something. You seemed like the quiet, artsy type when we first met." Denki shrugged. "One of my bosses thought you were a serial killer, though."

(everyone snorted)

Spinner: Seriously?

Izuku snorted, "Do you really think I could kill anyone?"

(everyone suddenly got painfully vivid flashbacks of Mastermind)

"Only if it was the only way to save someone." Denki shrugged. "Now Seven warned me that this Gran Torino guy was kinda a prankster, so, like, do you think I should prank him back or...?"

Gran Torino: Yes, brilliant idea!

Recovery Girl and All Might: Oh boy.

Izuku wasn't quite sure what he was going to do this week. The internships were going to be so good and everyone was going to learn so much, but both Denki and Kacchan were going to be out of town and Eraser was going to be busy training Shinso, so Izuku didn't want to get in their way. It wasn't like it was a huge deal, he usually worked alone anyway, but there was a part of him that wished he could go on an internship too, just so he wouldn't be left out. Maybe if he had actually let himself be caught at the sports festival...

Izuku shook his head and jumped over an alley. He wasn't in the hero course, and probably never would be so there wasn't really any point in wondering how his life would be different. Even if Eraser didn't end up rejecting him the way everyone else had, the hero commission wouldn't want a quirkless hero running around. They'd probably just find a way to sweep the entire thing under the rug and Izuku would either be forced to stop or he'd continue being a vigilante forever. That was it. That was all he could expect out of the future, because even though he could fight fairly well without a quirk, it was still a limitation that other people thought was impossible to overcome, especially during combat. Izuku had thought that he'd come to terms with the fact that he'd never be a hero, so why did watching Denki leave on his internship hurt so much?

Inko: Oh Izuku...

Izuku stopped a mugging, then just crouched on a roof and watched the city for a few minutes, jumping to his feet with a start when Eraserhead landed behind him.

"You're a little jumpy today, problem child." Eraser said. "I haven't seen you since the sports festival. Is something wrong?"

Izuku shook his head, "No, I was just lying low after the attack. I thought it was safer for everyone and, well, I guess I was kinda just lost in thought. How have you been, Eraser?"

Aizawa: More tired than usual, it seems.

Mic: Somehow.

"Don't ask." Eraser groaned. "If I never have to do another interview, I'll die happy. I haven't slept in three days."

"Is that really any different from normal?" Izuku teased. "Denki told me about your sleeping bag."

(they giggled)

"It's functional." Eraser grumbled. "So, are you coming or what?"

Izuku frowned, "Coming where?"

Eraser rolled his eyes, "I'm teaching Shinso how to be an underground hero and that includes how to deal with and fight alongside vigilantes. It's only logical to have an actual vigilante present during the lesson."

Midoriya: Oh, Viridian kind of gets to go on an internship too!

"Oh! You actually..." Izuku swallowed his shock and smiled. He got to go on an internship! kinda. "Okay! Where is he?"

"He's waiting for us at a rendezvous point, and don't worry, we're not just using this as bait to capture you." Eraser grinned widely. "Shinso needs a little more training before he's able to get the jump on you."

Shinso: I'm not really sure that's possible with any amount of training.

Midoriya: I'm not that good...

Bakugo: Nerd, stop being stupidly self-depreciating!

"He'll get there." Izuku smiled and fell into step with Eraserhead as they ran across the rooftops. "He's been sparring with Kacchan for a while, right? And his quirk is developing really well! It was so cool how he was able to save Ogawa and... it was Oboro, right? Kacchan told me that Shinso managed to break the brainwashing."

Eraser nodded, "He's still being highly guarded until we can take down the villain factory as a whole, but he remembers us now and is almost back to his old self, just with a different quirk."

"I'm sure that's weird." Izuku said. "A good weird, but still weird."

Tsunotori: Yeah... imagine waking up with a completely different quirk...

"You've got that right." Aizawa sighed. "But Nezu's been working on the logistics of reenrolling him in the hero course somehow, maybe even through the vigilante program like you or Crawler."

Endeavor: How would that even work...?

Izuku's heart clenched, "I already told you, Eraser, I can't be a hero. I'm can't be in the vigilante program."

Eraser just gave him a small smile, "We'll see."

Izuku huffed, but skidded to a stop when he heard a loud, guttural scream, "Let's go. Or, uh, I can take care of it and meet you later? I know you're meeting Shinso and everything, so..."

Aizawa: Not letting you out of my sight, problem child.

Eraserhead snorted, "I already warned him I was going to be late. Hero work comes first, kid. Lead the way."

Izuku gave a determined nod and rushed in the direction of the scream. He went cold as soon as he realized who was in the alley being attacked and immediately dropped down into the ally, Eraserhead right on his tail, "Kacchan!"

A lot of people: Bakugo?!

"Go away, Viridian!" Kacchan snarled. "I've got these (*&^$#!"

(Toga frowned at the picture. Something seemed... off...)

The villain he was fighting wasn't one that Izuku had ever fought before, but he was pretty sure that he recognized him from the news as Muscular, the guy who had killed the water hose duo. Eraserhead obviously recognized him too, because he immediately reached for his comm, "$^&@. Get ready to fight, kids, I'm calling in backup."

"Oh, don't do that, Eraserhead." Kacchan grinned creepily and Izuku was hit with a profound sense of wrongness as he lunged forward and slashed at Eraser's hand with a knife. "We just wanna see a little bit of your cute blood!"

Mitsuki and Inko: Katsuki?!

Toga(delighted): Oh, it's me!

In the split second it took Eraser to recover from his student attacking him, Kacchan plucked the comm from his ear and tossed it to Muscular, who crushed it in his fist before smirking and letting the pieces fall to the floor in a shower of metallic clinks. Then Kacchan giggled.

Izuku couldn't breathe, "Why, Kacchan?"

Bakugo: That's not me you idiot!

"Why, Kacchan?" Kacchan mocked and his grin got wider. Then his face started melting away. "Because he's super cute and I stole a drop of his blood the last time we met, obviously!"

Izuku stumbled backwards and grabbed his slingshot. Eraser wasn't recovering very quickly from the attack, which meant that whoever this girl was, she either had a quirk that caused disorientation or she'd drugged the knife and considering that he'd just seen her quirk, his bet was on drugs... unless they were dealing with the villain factory. Oh no.

Toga: No, the knife's definitely drugged.

Shigaraki: But this is the villain factory.

"Eraser, we need to retreat!" Izuku dodged a slash from the girl's knife and ran to grab Eraser. "Come on, I think this is the villain factory."

"Not so fast." Muscular grabbed him by the collar before he had the chance to reach Eraser. "You're not getting away that quickly. I got this one Toga, don't worry."

Everyone: Muscular?!

Inko: Izuku!

He pinned Izuku's arms to his sides and Izuku was pretty sure he heard one of his ribs crack. Eraser was stumbling now, tripping over his own feet as he tried to grab the capture weapon, "Get... get away from him!"

Midnight: Shou!

"Nah, I think I'll just tear his limbs off." Muscular grinned savagely and Izuku started struggling harder, but it was useless until Eraser managed to activate his quirk. Even without the extra muscle mass, Muscular was still strong, but it was just enough that Izuku managed to slip out of his grasp... and walk straight into Toga's knife.

Everyone: No!

Uraraka and Bakugo: Deku!

He managed to stumble back at the last second, so the cut between his ribs wasn't very deep, but it still burned and he could feel the sedative burning as a numb sensation started spreading from the stab wound. At least she wouldn't be able to use his blood if it was drugged, right? Muscular grabbed him again, holding his arm in a bruising grip as he hoisted him into the air, "Now can I tear him limb from limb?"

Inko: No no no no no!

"Don't you dare."

Izuku managed to gather enough strength to glare at the newcomer, some sleazy guy who was smirking around the cigarette in his mouth, "Sensei wants the merchandise as unharmed as possible, at least to start with. And you managed to nab the hero too! That means we get a bonus, good work. Now drop the kid."

Muscular threw him to the ground and Izuku could see Eraser trying to reach him, even though he was fighting unconsciousness as well. The new guy crouched down and grabbed Izuku's chin, yanking his face upwards so he could look his captor in the eye, "Not sure what you did to piss the symbol of evil off, kid, but I don't envy you."

Izuku blinked, his vision starting to go back as he struggled to stay awake. The broker dropped him and turned to the villains, "Tie them up and put them in the trunk. We have a delivery to make."

Inko(accusingly turning to Jana): You said he would be okay!

Jana: I did. I mean, it'll get worse before it gets better but he's okay in the end and isn't that the important part?

Hound Dog: Maybe for you. But some of us are more worried about the getting worse part.

Jana(shrugging): Okay then. (she went to the next chapter.)