Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The dog stood, it's wounds numerous, blood soaked and caked into its fur as it stood on shaky paws. The chain that tied it to the tree thick and heavy around its neck.

Is this what you want? Nature asked. The dogs wounds ached and screamed, as if coming alive to tear through its flesh.

'No.' the dog responded. 'But I will bear this weight regardless. These are my wounds to suffer.'

And if there was another way? A way to heal those sores that scream, to stop the mangling of your flesh from the scars and infection?

The dog paused. The wind howled, it's wounds cried, and the chain grew heavier.

I can show you a way, Nature said. I can show you how to rid yourself of that chain, how to heal you. How to make this right.

Izuku could barely contain his excitement. For the longest time, He'd always had two favorite heroes. All Might was his most obvious, his room was covered head to toe in All Might merch, he had several notebooks worth of notes and logs of his fights (which is actually quantifiable. He ended up typing up all his previous notes from his old notebooks and found that he was able to fill enough pages on All Might to fill a whole notebook and a half) and, he was Izuku's mentor.

Izuku did, however, also have another favorite hero. While he wasn't the most popular per-se, he was still in the top 20 charts, both world-wide and in Japan.

Fullmetal, the Century Hero. Despite his popularity, he never did interviews, and rarely allowed commercialized merchandise. All the Fullmetal merchandise Izuku had were made by hand and sold out of small businesses. There was one line of commercialized shirts that Fullmetal had allowed, and it was a gimmick shirt that had a cartoon version of Fullmetal on the front with a big thumbs up that read "I CONDONE GOVERNMENTAL DECONSTRUCTION" and on the back read "KICK ME!"

That line of shirts was shut down after 2 days. Izuku would pay an arm and a leg for one of those shirts, which is about as much as they cost now.

Truthfully, the only reason why Fullmetal didn't get in trouble was because he was immune to it due to his status- he was born before most government facilities were rebuilt after the quirk war, and his help with saving civilians and rebuilding- practically everywhere- made him the symbol of the people, and there had been riots in the past when people had found out that he was charged for quirk misconducts while helping save a family. After that, he was granted a hero license, but more than that, He was the hero of the people. He wasn't the symbol of peace- not like All Might, but he was known not for his massive feats of strength (of which he had many) but instead for his civilian work.

He was known to help hunt down simple purse snatchers, help animals out of trees, help find missing persons, assist people with anything they needed help with. he reportedly ran errands for people, helped transport goods between businesses, and made a point to only promote small businesses on his platforms. He didn't post anything else- well, that wasn't true. He also posted pictures of stray cats he happened upon.

No one knew where he lived- many suspected Germany, as he spoke the language and had a fairly notable german accent, but his time in the country was about as even as it was everywhere else. He was a wanderer, most people not knowing where he'll show up next. One day he could be in China, the next in Mexico. Due to this nature he was dubbed "the wandering hero" along with his many other titles.

All of this to say, he was not expecting two people to walk into the room for their first Heroics class.

"I AM COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!!!" All Might exclaimed, bursting into the room like an explosion of beaming light that instantly awed the kids in class- including Izuku.

All Might was their heroics teacher! Holy shit! Izuku wanted to faint. Toshinori told him that he would still be able to teach and help Izuku with his quirk, but he wasn't expecting it to happen like this!

Quickly following behind All Might was a teenager, shorter than some of the kids in class and was around Izuku's height, though he immediately spotted the inch tall soles on the kid's shoes, which meant that he was probably about Uraraka's height. He wore a button up shirt with a black vest and slacks, with some rather informal high soled shoes. He had bright golden hair pulled back into a braid with curtain bangs that framed his face, and matching golden eyes that pierced through his bangs easily. His skin was tanned, making the sunlight that shimmered in through the window make him look all the more radiant. Despite the frown etched on his face, he looked young- about as young as the rest of the class.

Iida raised his hand upon seeing the boy at All Might's side. All Might, who had just finished his initial speech about the heroics course, pointed to Iida and asked what his question was.

"All Might sensei, I was not under the impression we were receiving a transfer student so early in the year- and he isn't wearing his uniform!" Iida pointed out. The kid next to All Might scowled further, about to snap when All Might beat him to it.

"I was just getting to that, young Iida!" He sounded almost- upset? It was hidden well under his usual mask of enthusiasm, but Izuku had been around the guy for nearly a whole year, he could tell that he sounded upset about something. "This is your second heroics teacher, Fullmetal!" He announced, and there was a certain enthusiasm to the way he introduced the boy that left Izuku slack-jawed.

For more than one reason.

"THAT'S FULLMETAL!?" The entire class burst into hysterics, gawking and screaming at the absurdity of it all. The boy, Fullmetal- holy shit it was THE Fullmetal- looked at All Might and raised an eyebrow in irritation.

"Can't even let me introduce myself?" He asked, a slight sarcastic tone in his voice, and All Might scratched the back of his neck in a display of embarrassment. The class hit another wave of sheer insanity.

"Sorry…" All Might said quietly, and Fullmetal rolled his bright gold eyes, before stepping forward.

"All right, SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN!" he barked loudly. It was the kind of voice that made everyone snap to attention and sit still- almost like a military commander, Izuku noted dully. He was practically shaking in excitement. Fullmetal huffed, and a smirk crossed his face.

"This class is joint run by me and To-" Izuku's heart leapt to his throat in fear, and Fullmetal seemed to catch himself quickly. "All Might. He will mostly be focusing on training your quirks in combat situations, while I will be helping you train your bodies." There was a few groans and whines throughout the student body, but Fullmetal huffed. "Your quirks aren't the only thing you have at your disposal! To train the mind, one also must train the body, and the same goes for your quirks! If you're hit with or stuck with something that nullifies your quirk, and you don't have any other fighting style to fall back on, you'll die on the field before you can even hit your thirties!" He practically growled that last bit, and quickly shut the quiet complaints up.

All Might looked like he wanted to interrupt Fullmetal, or advise him to be a little nicer, but he kept his mouth shut. It was such a strange sight- the symbol of peace, the number one hero, shutting up and letting some foul mouthed kid run his class.

Except, it wasn't just 'Some foul mouthed kid', it was Fullmetal, the hero whose been alive for nearly 300 years. It made his head reel. Izuku felt like he was going to faint.

"Alright no more dilly-dallying, get your hero clothes on and get to Gym Gamma!" He barked orders again, and everyone scrambled to the far wall to grab their costumes.

Stepping into gym Gamma was surreal. Fullmetal had changed from his more 'casual' attire and into his hero outfit. It was black chunky combat boots with leather pants, a black undershirt, a leather jacket, and a red overcoat with a strange symbol on the back. His head was completely covered by a helmet, which looked like some gothic mix between a biker and old knight armour. His gauntlets had a fabric lining the inside, though it looked more rough and uncomfortable than he had expected from photos and videos.

This was how he had kept himself from the public eye for so long. He didn't give them any hints. This fact was only accentuated by the fact that his mask had a voice changer.

"I can tell you brats have a lot of questions. I'll let you all ask me a few, but we have to get started with our class soon- and I have the right to skip over questions or not answer." He said, and everyone in class raised their hand. Fullmetal sighed and ran his hands down the front of his helmet. He pointed randomly at a student.

"What's your quirk!" Mina asked, and Fullmetal huffed.

"I have two. One of them is manipulation of matter, the other is immortality- as you can guess." He said curtly, and whispers immediately broke out. He pointed to another kid.

"How do your quirks work? How come you have 2 quirks?" Sero asked, and Fullmetal grumbled.

"That's two questions." He stated, before moving on, leaving Sero downfallen.

"Why don't you ever do interviews?" Kaminari asked, and Fullmetal shrugged.

"I'd like to keep my personal and professional life separate. Plus, that way I don't have to worry about public image if I accidentally say something without thinking. I also find the fact that heroes are regarded as celebrities kind of stupid, and misses the entire point of being a hero in the first place." Several people's hands shot down, and whispers broke out again. Momo's hand shot up again.

"You with the ponytail."

"May you elaborate on what you mean by 'missing the point of being a hero?'" she asked, and he nodded.

"I will- however, I'll do it after the questions, cause it leads into what we'll be doing today." He said, and she nodded and lowered her hand.

Next up was Mineta. "Do you have a girlfriend?" He asked, and Fullmetal paused. Izuku could almost feel the incredulous look Fullmetal was giving from under his helmet.

"Kid, I'm stuck looking like I'm 16, and I'm nearly 300 years old. Dating anyone who looks like they're my age would be gross, and anyone that would want to date ME would have to deal with the fact that I look like a teenager. I want you to take a wild guess." There was a collective, sympathetic cringe at the idea, and Fullmetal Huffed. "Yeah, I thought so."

"Why don't you sell any merchandise?" Hagakure asked, and Fullmetal chuckled.

"Well, I did at one point, but the hero commission didn't like it and had it taken down. Other than that, I mostly just let small businesses make merchandise for me. I don't like the idea of letting big companies mooch off my image, so if I can help out family businesses, I will." There was a mixed reaction to the information, some a little confused or frustrated, and others (including Izuku) found it more charming.

"Alright that's enough questions! Honestly I'm surprised none of you asked All Might any." He grumbled, and All Might Shrugged.

"It's because he does interviews and you don't." Someone in the back explained, and Fullmetal huffed.

"Well maybe that's the reason why! ANYWAYS! All Might," he prompted, and All Might straightened himself and cleared his throat.

He began to explain the premise of their class work today- mock simulations in city environments. Everyone will be split in teams of 2, the villain team will have a hostage bomb, and the heroes need to touch the bomb or capture the villains.

All Might paused at the end of his speech, nodding towards Fullmetal, who stepped forward again. "Both to start you all off and to answer Momo's question, the whole point of today is to cause as little damage to the city as possible. As a hero, your job isn't to be famous, isn't to look good, nor is it to be the best. Your job is to help people- save people- and that's the only reason why your job exists in the first place." He explained, before speaking something in an unrecognizable language. "That is a quote that my teacher drilled into my head when I started working under her. 'Hero, Be Thou For The People.'

"You are being given the power to use your quirks as you'd like, which isn't a privilege most of the people around you have. Because of this, your services and quirk should be used to help the people around you- regardless of how 'glorifying' it is. The amount of times I've helped repair roofs, doors, windows, sidewalks, or helped people carry home groceries, retrieve keys from cars, or walked people home at night far outweighs the amount of villains I've fought.

"That is the essence of being a hero. How many people would have had to move, or would have gotten sick from the weather had I not repaired their homes? How many people would have been targeted had I not been able to walk them home at night? It doesn't matter how fancy or public it is, helping people is your job. That should be all that matters as a Hero." He lectured, and the class was completely enraptured. All Might was practically beaming at the speech, and it suddenly occurred to Izuku that- because of how long Fullmetal has been around, there's a very likely chance that All Might was inspired by him.

"So," he started again. "As a reiteration of your job in class today, you will be doing mock battles in a city-scape while trying not to destroy the city. There are people inside these buildings going about their lives, and you must be conscious of the fact that many people could get hurt by the destruction of property- or could even become a casualty. While there aren't any actual people here, keep the idea that there are in your head. Are we clear?" He said, and the class gave an affirmative 'yes'.

Edward watched the current fight closely. It was the first matchup- Uraraka and Midoriya against Iida and Bakugou. One was a team made in heaven- Uraraka and Midoriya easily being able to work together and strategise, and the other was made in hell, mostly on Bakugou's part.

'He's got some serious anger issues, Ed.' Alphonse said, his voice loud and clear in Edward's mind.

'Yeah, I can see that.' Ed responded, watching Bakugou stalk through the building angrily. This was going to end up a disaster.

'Ironic, considering you used to stalk around my office with that same ugly scowl on your face.' Mustang chuckled, and Ed had to keep a tight control on the muscles in his face to not start mimicking the student on screen.

'SHUT UP! I was never THIS bad!'

'My point proven exactly.' Edward proceeded to block out the noise in his head as he watched the screen. Hearing any more of the Colonels voice would give him irreparable brain damage.

The kid was a strange mix of sloppy and experienced. It was clear he worked out and kept up on his physical fighting, but any time he tracked down and tried to fight Midoriya, it was as if he kept expecting the boy to just stand there and take it. A perfect example of why proper sparring is so important.

'the great Edward Elric, a true teacher at heart. To think that you've changed so much from just a day of work! If only the years in the office instilled the habit of doing paperwork in you.' he heard Riza affectionately tease, and his eye twitched.

'You guys are insufferable.' he grumbled internally, watching the monitor closely.

Things seemed to be coming to a very violent head with a lot of shouting, Bakugou very clearly hunting down Midoriya, and very aggressively at that. They both seemed exhausted, but as soon as Bakugou's hands went towards his larger gauntlet, Edward knew something was wrong.

"My gauntlets store the extra sweat I secrete from my gloves!" Bakugou's voice crackled through the earpiece, and Edward shot a look at All Might, who seemed frozen and unsure. "As soon as I pull this pin, it'll let loose everything that's been building up!" The poor camera quality of the monitor obstructed the view a little, but Edward could clearly see the manic grin on the student's face.

Panic welled inside him like a tsunami, so many voices crying out in worry- too many things were going to go wrong, the building could destabilize! The kid would surely get burned to a crisp! There's no way it wouldn't affect Bakugou, either!- Edward gripped his gloves tightly as he scowled, thankful his helmet kept his face obscured.

"BAKUGOU!" He yelled through the earpiece, and judging by the flinches from the other kids, it was louder than he had hoped. "Do NOT pull that trigger! Your gauntlets count as LETHAL FORCE against an enemy, something that is STRICTLY PROHIBITED DURING THIS CLASS! not only that but you will end up destabilizing the building and likely CRUSHING you and your peers!" He attempted to stress, and Bakugou seemed to hesitate, before leaning into his stance.

"If I don't hit him he won't die." He growled, before pulling the trigger.

Edward had to keep himself from doubling over as the screams in his head tripled, watching the explosion shake all of the cameras in the building, and seeing it blow a hole through the wall. He could feel his heart rate spike from the fear and adrenaline suddenly coursing through him. He tried to quiet the voices, shutting his eyes and listing the elements to block them out.

To say he was pissed was an understatement. As soon as the voices quieted and their fear wasn't overriding his senses, anger rose through him, boiling his blood as his teeth clenched. He had half a mind to go down to the training station and drag the kid out by his hair.

All Might shot him a look, and he straightened his back, and took a deep breath. He had to hold in his anger just a little longer. All Might gestured to the screen, and Edward watched as Midoriya used his quirk, not only forcing Bakugou into an incapacitated state, but allowing for Uraraka to acquire the bomb.

Once it was declared that the heroes won, Edward turned and stalked through the building halls and out onto the mock street, towards the building.

He followed behind the nursing bots, looking at the damages up close. The building was- no doubt- close to destabilizing. It seemed that most of the internal structures were still sound, but there was also massive holes in the walls and the ceiling caved in. The souls seemed to roll in displeasure and worry, some more angry- like him- and others more worried and scared. He looked down at the group outside the building, Midoriya being taken away by the stretcher as Uraraka and Iida talked.

Bakugou was standing closer to the building, with a strange, almost shell shocked look on his face. Edward took off his helmet, clenching it in one hand as he moved forward.

"BAKUGOU!" He roared, the anger that had been building inside him bursting as he neared the group. Uraraka and Iida jumped, and quickly moved out of the way. Bakugou just seemed surprised, eyes wide and mouth agape like a fish out of water.

"What the HELL were you thinking!?" He asked, and Bakugou seemed to just become more confused, if not a bit uneasy. "I told you not to use your weapons that deal LETHAL FORCE within a closed environment and you went DIRECTLY against my orders!" he stepped forward, and Bakugou leaned back.

"You are in the HERO COURSE." Edward emphasized, pointing a finger at Bakugou's chest. "You may have been playing the villain, but you are learning to be a hero. You are only as good as your will, and if you keep using your will to unrightfully maim your classmates I will fucking expel you." Edward growled out that last part, which seemed to shock Bakugou out of his stupor. He went pale, and while anger clearly flashed through him, he did well in keeping it under control. "Am I clear?"

"Yes sir." Bakugou ground out. Edward nodded, before turning to the building.

"Head back to the main control room, I need to fix this mess."

The rest of the class period went on rather uneventfully. Groups would go down, they'd fight, a team would win. The only notable incident after Bakugou and Midoriya was the fiasco with Yaoyorozu and Mineta.

As soon as they got down to ground floor, Mineta started acting weird and gross, and clung to the poor girl's leg. Edward felt nausea well in his stomach in time with the wave of discomfort and anger coming from the others. "Mineta, get your hands off of Yaoyorozu. Now." He ordered, and Mineta grumbled.

"But- but I'm scared! Momo's helping me!" He cried over the headset, and Edward wanted to drop kick him.

"If you're that fucking scared, I'm expelling you, cause clearly the hero course is not fit for you." And suddenly the kid popped off the girl's leg within an instant. He still felt gross even just watching the kid, especially when he moved to stand behind Yaoyorozu. "Mineta. You will lead into the building." He commanded.

"What!? You never gave anyone else orders like this!" He complained, and All Might rested a hand on Edward's shoulder. Good thing, too, cause otherwise Edward would have gone down there and beaten the kid black and blue.

"Maybe if you weren't a slimy little creep, I wouldn't have to order you around!" He snapped, and Mineta visibly deflated, before moving in front of Yaoyorozu, who seemed to relax.

Edward rubbed a hand down his uncovered face, silently hoping that he'll have enough strength to deal with this bullshit every day.

Shortly after heroics, the kids had Lunch. Edward was making his way through the halls with his own lunch in hand when he was stopped by Yaoyorozu and a few of the other girls.

"Mr. Fullmetal!" Edward turned around, watching the group of three catch up to him. Yaoyorozu bowed in from of him, before standing straight and looking down to meet his eyes. "I apologize for interrupting your lunch, but I wanted to thank you for earlier!" She said, and the girls next to her nodded.

"Yeah, Mineta is weird." Tsuyu croaked. Jirou nodded, quietly playing with her earlobe jacks.

Edward nodded, and gave them a smile. He could feel the souls roll around with a mix of emotions, some angry at the mention of the little twerp, some astonished they felt the need to apologize, and some more worried for the girls and how they were doing. "Don't worry about it. People like him piss me off, it's nice to be able to actually do something. If he bothers you guys more or does something out of line, tell me, alright?" He said, and the three nodded.

The three seemed to take that as dismissal, but Jirou hesitated, before turning back to Ed. "Um, about that sir, he was actually spying- or- attempting to spy on the other girls while we were changing. There's a hole in the wall between the locker rooms." She said, a bit quietly. The other girls paused and turned around, looking at Ed with a strange glint of hope.

Edward's blood boiled at the thought, the stone almost unanimously agreeing with him. He nodded gravely. "I'll see what I can do. I'll visit the boys locker room during my free hour and patch it over. Is that all you need?" He asked the last bit in a softer tone, trying to indicate that he wasn't angry at her.

"Actually, Mr. Fullmetal, I have a question." Tsuyu said, stepping closer. "What's your name? If you're comfortable telling us." She croaked, tilting her head to the side.

Edward paused. In the past, he didn't care much about telling the world his name. It didn't matter, he was still known mostly by "the Fullmetal alchemist" and his title proceeded him.

Now though, it meant getting targeted- even moreso than before. It would mean anyone he worked with or cared about would be at risk. This world was so much more different than his own. In Amestris, if you wanted to find someone you had to go through the excruciating process of finding their records in the first place. Here, though, you could pull out your phone and type a hero's full name into the search bar and find their home address within minutes.

It was terrifying, and he didn't want to deal with it. He sighed. "Well, what would I be getting out of telling you? Equivalent exchange and all that. A name for a pro hero can carry a lot of information and weight. I don't go throwing my name around for a reason." He explained, and the three girls considered this, before nodding.

"I see. I won't ask again, Mr. Fullmetal." She bowed, before smiling. "Thank you for helping us with Mineta."

Edward flashed her a grin. "Of course. I'm just doing what anyone should." He waved the three girls off, before turning to walk to the teachers lounge, food still in hand.

He was going to kill that stupid fucking kid.

The following day was extremely hectic. There was a massive mob of reporters outside the gates, blocking students from entering and even getting in the way of staff. Apparently, it had gotten out that All Might and Fullmetal were both working as teachers, and the press had gone mad.

Edward stared out the large glass window and sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. 'This is why I don't signal where I am.' he lamented.

'oh, don't be so full of yourself, Ed, you know that they aren't here JUST for you!' he heard Winry playfully scold in his head, and he couldn't help but scoff light-heartedly.

He continued to walk down the hall, coffee in one hand and the other in his pocket. He had a class to run soon, after all. God, what had his life come to- he was a teacher now…

He thought back to the offer Nedzu had sent him. How he got Edward's contact in the first place still eluded him, and the damn rat wouldn't tell him, but he trusted that the principal wouldn't leak it to anyone.

Edward, originally, didn't want to start working as a teacher. He didn't hate kids, some of them he couldn't stand, and high schoolers and middle schoolers tended to be the worst of the bunch, but he couldn't help but like them anyways. So many kids with bright ideas, so much energy and ambition, it was something too many adults lacked in their lives.

No, the reason he didn't want to teach was because of other things. While he didn't exactly look forward to having to wrangle squirrely teenagers, he mostly worried for his own inadequacy. He didn't know how to teach or coach, not really. There were plenty of people in the stone who did though, and while he would have been fine keeping his hands in the dirt, digging up as many underground villainous organizations as he could, many people in the stone wanted a change of pace.

He couldn't deny that it wasn't nice, being able to slow down for a little while. It had been a long, long time since he had a house of his own. Usually he just stayed at hotels or slept on trains like he used to in Amestris. He was moving around so often it wasn't worth it to own an apartment.

Now though, he had a job he had to plan around. He had a curriculum to make and follow- and while it wasn't as intensive as one for academics, he still needed to plan things ahead every night and figure out what areas to work on. Not only that, but he hasn't gotten to really work with the kids much one on one, yet. Their quirk studies were lead by All Might, after all, not him.

Today, though, he finally got to lead the class. He couldn't help but grin in anticipation.

Izuku already felt quite exhausted by the time their heroics period started up. He had gotten chosen for class rep, then there had been a breach in security during lunch (of which he almost got trampled over) but was able to get Iida to help direct everyone, and once they had gotten back from lunch he declared Iida as the new class rep.

Heroics period started up with a bang- literally. Fullmetal kicked the door open and barked at them to get their plain workout clothes and get to gym alpha. After scrambling to start, Izuku then had to deal with Mineta wailing incessantly about how the peephole in the changing rooms had been closed up.

He honestly looked forward to the physical training session. They finally got to work with Fullmetal! All Might was there was well, though he was off on the sidelines acting as supervision. Fullmetal stood in front of the class, arms crossed and stance wide, in full hero get up.

"ALRIGHT! Some rules for my portion of the class!" He started, voice booming from his helmet. 'Number 1! No quirk usage! If I see you using your quirk, I will dock you points and you will have to do double the amount of work you were ordered to do. Number 2! When I say do something, do it without question! Number 3! Keep your hands to yourself! The fact I even have to state this as a rule is utter-" he cursed in an unrecognizable language. "-And if I catch you either starting a fight or touching other students inappropriately, you have immediate detention! And finally, Number 4!" He paused, before letting out a deep, menacing chuckle that sent shivers down most of the kid's spines. "Be glad I'm legally not allowed to make the course worse than this."

The class went on with intense physical training, squats, pushups, jumping jacks, running, crunches, etc. it was a nonstop onslaught of physical labor. Izuku didn't find it particularly hard at first- All Might's 10 month training did wonders for him- but he got more and more exhausted as the training went on.

Then, about halfway through, Fullmetal started asking questions. At first it was simple math questions, but any student who didn't answer immediately had to drop and do 20 pushups. Then the questions started getting more and more strange, branching out into different topics- all of which were common knowledge, but still a bit strange. "Who is the number 13 hero in Japan?", "who is the current CEO of the Hero commission?", and "what was the recent biggest space shuttle launch" were some of the ones Izuku had to answer.

Some students struggled more than others, Kaminari, Mineta, and Tokoyami mostly, but there were others that excelled, like Todoroki, Bakugou, Iida, and Momo. As the questions went on, he found it easier and easier to clear his mind and answer, until around the 4/5th's mark of class, where he was starting to struggle from exhaustion.

"Full-" Kaminari huffed, running in place with the rest of the class. "Fullmetal Sensei, are the questions- are the questions really necessary?" He asked between puffs of labored breath.

Fullmetal paused in his stroll up and down the current line formation, before backing up a bit. "Would anyone like to guess as to why I would be drilling you questions during this exercise?" He asked, and Ojiro's hand went up. "Your name?"

"Mashirao Ojiro, sir. This is to help us train for thinking in battle, yes?" He answered, and Fullmetal nodded.

"Exactly correct. For the duration of this class and the following ones, I will be quizzing you on things- once we start getting into one on one sparring, you can send me a list of questions you might need help remembering for an upcoming exam, or questions from your homework. For class-wide exercises, I will be asking you more random, sporadic questions." He said, lazily pacing back and forth. "Additionally, as I will be asking sporadic questions, if you don't know the answer, say so. I will not punish you for not knowing the answer to something. This is to get you all to be quicker with your thought process, not punish you for lack of information. Is that clear?"

There was a resounding 'yes, Sensei!', and Fullmetal gave a small chuckle.

"Fullmetal Sensei-" Ashido huffed. "Shouldn't we have- I don't know- warmed up to uh- to this exercise?" She asked. She was one of the students that was doing better with the exercise, but it was clear that everyone- including Izuku and those that were excelling- were getting very tired.

Fullmetal tilted his head, as if pondering the question, before he laughed again. "Warm-up? You guys didn't complain about warming up yesterday, when we threw you into 2 v 2's! I need to get you all into top shape as quickly as possible, otherwise you're all going to really struggle from here on out. Just be glad you all don't have to deal with my old teacher." He let out a loud snort, shoulders shaking with laughter. "My quirk tutor threw me on an abandoned island with nothing but a knife at 8 years old and left me there for a month! After the month was up, I had to figure out her riddle, or otherwise she wouldn't even train me! Be glad I'm not allowed to follow in her footsteps!" He cackled, and Izuku and the rest of the class all looked at each other nervously. What the hell was this guy's problem… Even All Might, sitting on the bleachers of the gym, looked up at Fullmetal tensely, his smile seeming more like a grimace.

By the end of class, everyone was exhausted, thirsty, and thoroughly drenched in sweat. No one was happy, especially the less physically fit kids. "My bones feel like jello…" Kaminari whined, leaning against one of the lockers miserably.

"Oh, shut up. it wasn't that bad." Bakugou barked, though it was evident he was also tired, shown off in his obvious lack of aggression and low energy.

"I thought having Fullmetal as a teacher would be cool, and it is! But…" Kirishima winced, rubbing his shoulders. "Man, that was rough…"

"No kidding! AND we're going to have to do that every, what, 2 days?" Sero groaned, as did a few of the other boys.

The USJ field trip was something that, truthfully, Edward wasn't looking forward to. He had unceremoniously been placed in position to go as a replacement chaperone due to Toshinori's timer running up. He had been looking forward to being able to clock in to work and do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day except sit around, read in the library, and possibly check out the support classes. Unfortunately, god hates him with a passion.

'Could they be ANY louder?' Edward mused, a headache slowly creeping up on him from the mix of the rustling bus and the loud, rambunctious kids in the back.

"Mr. Fullmetal Sensei?" He felt a tap on his shoulder, which prompted him to look over the back of the bus seat. He was met with Uraraka's big brown eyes. He couldn't help but smile a little under his helmet, seeing the innocent wonder on her face. "Sorry to bother you, but I have a question."

"Yes?" He prompted, and she looked a bit nervous.

"Do you think you could um… help me with something?" She asked, and he nodded, prompting her further. "Uh- my hero outfit currently isn't really what I wanted, but I haven't been able to get in touch with the support classes. I don't know if they charge money for remaking suits, either." She looked embarrassed for asking for help, but Edward just shifted in his seat to face her better.

"What about it is bothering you in particular?" He asked.

"Well, it's really tight. I was originally going to have a looser jumpsuit- sort of like a space suit, or something that looks more like Midoriya's, but then they made it into a skin-tight suit. I was mostly fine with it- it's not what I want, but it's whatever- but then." She made a face, and got a bit quieter. "Mineta started looking at me weird." She said.

Edward nodded, anger rising in his chest like a vengeful wraith, but he kept himself calm when speaking aloud. "I'll see what I can do. For now, if he starts looking at you weird, just hide behind me." He said, and she nodded, smiling.

"Thank you Fullmetal Sensei!" She said, before turning back to her friends. Edward flipped out his phone, and began to text Aizawa furiously.

Aizawa's phone pinged, and he got it out quickly. He sent a raised eyebrow to Edward, before responding. 'no, you cannot harm a student. If he keeps this up, I'll expel him. I'm hoping that he has enough sense to stop.'

Edward nodded, before shoving his phone back into his pocket.

'I still think you should punt him out a window.' Winry spoke up, and Edward responded in kind.

'God, I wish I could.'

Edward's day kept getting worse and worse. After they got to the USJ, they were able to meet up with pro hero Thirteen. Unfortunately, not even 10 minutes into the explanation, the lights started to flicker, and something strange appeared in the middle of the building.

Edward glared at the flickering dark spot. "Thirteen, escort the kids out of the building." Edward demanded, turning towards the other two heroes as he talked. "Aizawa, you can either choose to help me fight, or help protect the kids, but choose now." He said. Aizawa nodded, turning to his students as he whistled for their attention.

"Everyone, get out of the building! There are unknown intruders inside, leave as quickly but as efficiently and safely as possible!" As he began to corral his students, Edward rushed forward, running down the steps two at a time to be able to reach the plaza quickly.

He glared at the villains that came through the dark spot- a portal of some kind, no doubt. Perhaps a wormhole? It didn't matter at the moment, what mattered was the fact that there were villains infiltrating the school grounds.

"Fullmetal?" A scratchy, dry voice called out. Edward's eyes were drawn to the man in the middle of the group, with pale blue hair, dry and cracking skin, and severed hands clinging to him. "This wasn't the hero we were expecting…" his bright red eyes pierced through the distance, and Ed could see them narrow. The villain moved to start scratching at his neck. "No, no, this wasn't the fight we were supposed to be having just yet. We're under leveled…" he began to mutter, and Edward could just barely hear the last bit before his muttering got too quiet to parce out.

Edward waited, looking over the large group of villains that had come out of the shifting portal. Finally, it had been a while since he really got to fight. He could feel the itch of combat under his skin as he waited for the first attack.

With the final signal from blue hair (who he quickly clocked as their leader) the hoard of villains rushed forward.

While Aizawa and Thirteen struggled to get the doors to the USJ open, Izuku took this chance to watch Fullmetal fight. It was one thing to see it briefly on TV or to watch security footage of it posted online, and it was another to see it in person.

It seemed like Izuku could hear every clap of his hands resonating through the USJ, the crackling of electricity vibrating through the air from yards and yards away. It was entrancing, watching the way the ground moved to Fullmetal's whim, watching him dodge and weave each attack before returning the favor tenfold. There was a single instance where a villain caught up to him, and Izuku's heart lept to his throat, seeing the villain take off Fullmetal's left hand

But in a flash of red, crackling electricity, it was back, though now lacking the glove. It didn't seem to slow Fullmetal down even a little, as he kept plowing through the villains.

It felt as if something was calling him. He didn't know what it was, but even with the commotion going on behind him, he could feel the pull every time Fullmetal used his quirk, could feel that sting of electricity every time his hands connected with the ground, every time the ground moved and shifted to his will. Like a tunnel vision that seemed to pull harder and harder with each passing minute, curiosity and wonder guiding him along. It felt different than his usual quirk fixation, like seeing a tool that was being offered for him to use, not just look at and analyze. There was a flow, a push and pull to every move, the ground dipping and bending with each spike made, and he couldn't help but feel the need to know, to want to learn and understand.

"IZUKU!" His trance was broken with a cry of his name, right before he was enveloped in darkness, and began to fall.

After defeating the villains on the boat, Izuku, Tsuyu, and Mineta made their way towards the center of the USJ, which by this point was all misshapen rubble in the wake of Fullmetal's quirk usage.

Izuku kept his head down as he watched the ongoing fight. "Tsuyu, Mineta, do you guys think you could make it to the front by going around?" He asked quietly.

Mineta was already leaving by the time he finished, but Tsuyu stayed behind. "Midoriya, are you sure that you want to stay behind? Shouldn't we leave the fighting to Fullmetal?" She croaked out her question, and Izuku hesitated.

He, truthfully, wanted to get closer, wanted to see Fullmetal's quirk up close. Something about it was calling to him, something deep in his chest he couldn't place. Their current hiding spot, as shitty as it was, was a perfect spot to watch Fullmetal fight. However, he didn't really want to risk getting hurt just so that he can watch someone fight, and Fullmetal didn't even seem tired yet.

"I don't want to get involved, but what if something goes wrong? I don't have a lot of control over my quirk right now, but it's still powerful." He said quietly, attempting to justify his decision. Tsuyu gave him a flat look.

"You just want to watch him fight." She said, and Izuku flushed with embarrassment.

"Well- I mean- maybe a little, but-" she interrupted him, shaking her head.

"Midoriya, I don't think that this is a good idea, but…" she looked to the plaza, before looking back at Izuku. "I'll stick with you in case a villain spots us. I can get us away quickly." She said, and Izuku almost cried, gratefulness washing over him like a tsunami.

"Thank you Tsuyu!" He said, and she nodded, a small smile quirking her lips up.

They turned their attention to the plaza once more, watching the fight. It seemed to be nearing the end of the battle, as there were only a couple of villains left. Most of them looked beaten up already, and seemed shaky on their feet, so Izuku had to assume they had already gotten knocked down once or twice. Fullmetal was incredibly skilled in fighting, weaving around each of the villains with an ease only acquired after years of practice- and Midoriya wouldn't be surprised if his cumulated hours of training did amount to years.

As the final villain went down, thrown some ways away from the plaza in the process, Fullmetal turned to the ring leader of the villain group. They couldn't hear exactly what was being said, due to the distance, but it seemed to be a challenge, as Fullmetal had made a beckoning motion with his hand.

The villain leader was scratching furiously at his neck, and Izuku couldn't tell if he was agitated or afraid, though he would have to guess both by the defensive-yet-ready posture. That was, until he stopped scratching entirely. It was still for a few moments, before the ring leader slightly turned his head, and the fog villain drew closer. After a moment of talking, the fog spread open, clearly opening up another portal.

Izuku watched with baited breath as something stepped out of the portal. It looked horrifying, with an exposed brain and a beak full of razor sharp teeth, beady, wide eyes and a tall, muscular frame. It looked unnatural.

Fullmetal faltered, his confident pose broken by the few steps he took to back away, one hand gripping his helmet and the other gripping his chest, as if he were in pain. The ring leader motioned forwards, and in a blink the creature had dashed forward, punching Fullmetal.

Izuku couldn't see Fullmetal at the angle he was positioned in, but he felt his stomach drop at the large spray of blood, followed by flashes of red electricity.

Thankfully, blue light followed quickly after, and hands sprung up from the ground as they apprehended the large beast. Unfortunately, though, it only seemed to minorly deter the creature, as it quickly broke free. It seemed to have been enough time for Fullmetal to back away though. He could barely see it, but there was a snap with a spark, and electricity shot forward before exploding against the beast, engulfing it in flames.

"Wait," Tsuyu croaked. "Isn't his quirk matter Manipulation?" She asked quietly. Izuku sputtered, blinking as he watched the large beast burn.

"Well- I guess, air is also matter? You just have to condense oxygen around a target and then raise its temperature, Plus, did you see the spark? His gloves are super rough looking as well, they could contain a fiber mix of flint and steel to create an ignition?" He explained quietly, thinking back to a few similar quirks he'd seen before. She nodded.

"I suppose that makes sense, kero…" they both turned back to watch the fight. Surely, the creature would have been crisp, or at least singed, however as the flames disappeared, Izuku could see the creature's skin regrowing, could see it heal and stitch itself back together. 'A regeneration quirk? Then how did it move so fast?' Izuku watched intensely as Fullmetal attempted to dodge the incoming attacks, always just a hair's breadth away from getting hit.

"My, what do we have here?" A bone chilling voice spoke near Izuku, and he whipped his head to the side. He could feel his heart pulsing, roaring into a frenzy as those bright red, piercing eyes stared into his. "Some little brats hiding on the sidelines? How interesting. I wonder how your little teacher will feel having to watch you crumble to dust." He spoke with a dry hiss, and Izuku barely had enough time to register the villain's words as his hand darted forward, attempting to cover Izuku's face.

"NO!" A roar- a wail- a wave of anger and anguish filled Izuku's ears as he was thrust backwards. He felt disoriented for a moment, but when he finally focused back in front of him, he gasped.

Fullmetal's hair was loose and frenzied, draping over his back as he had his right arm held out in front of him, the man's hand grasping around it.

Before Izuku's eyes, he could see the fabric of Ed's cloak disintegrate, and underneath was a shiny, polished metal.

Fullmetal shoved the villain away, and the weakening of the metal plus the sudden force caused it to snap, and Fullmetal's right- metal- hand was left dangling from the wires and cords.

The villain stood back, staring with intrigue at Fullmetal, who was breathing heavy. "Interesting…" the villain said quietly.

"Mr. Fullmetal!" Izuku gasped, staring with horror at the dangling hand. Fullmetal turned a little to glance quickly at Izuku, nodding.

"I'm alright." He comforted, though his eyebrows were furrowed in anger and he was hunched over, staring at the villain with a fury in his eyes that burned bright enough to make Izuku's skin crawl.

"But- but your hand- won't you be unable to- to use your quirk?" Tsuyu stuttered out. Fullmetal huffed.

"Just get yourself and Midoriya up to the front- now." He growled.

"But-" Izuku tried to protest, and Fullmetal whipped around.

"GO! NOW!" He roared, his voice sounded strange, like the roar of a crowd- but it was so sudden that Izuku couldn't tell if he was making it up or not.

Quickly, Tsuyu wrapped her tongue around Midoriya's waist, and yanked him away, jumping as fast and as far as she could. "FULLMETAL!" He cried, watching his form get smaller and smaller as he was pulled away.

He could barely see the fight by the time it really started up again, with a roar of flames and bright red electricity.

The aftermath of the USJ was a messy affair- reporters and policemen swarmed the site as the paramedics arrived. Fullmetal was beaten and bruised by the fight, now down one arm as his hand dangled uselessly, still barely connected by fraying wires, and he was limping as his left leg seemed locked at the knee, but despite this he was still able to find the ability to corral the students away from the villains as soon as All Might showed up and took over. Thankfully, most of the students weren't hurt badly- there were a few low grade burns or a couple scratches -and there was the exception of Midoriya's quirk- but most of the students were relatively fine.

Aizawa, 13, Fullmetal, and All Might, on the other hand, were all beaten and bruised, with 13 and Aizawa needing to be put on stretchers. Fullmetal had very hastily stuck his hand back into place and hidden it under clothes- and of course, remade his helmet- before the press found him.

Midoriya couldn't help but watch Fullmetal try and avoid the peering eyes of the reporters and cameramen like they were some kind of deadly plague- seeming much more willing to talk to the actual detectives and police officers than anyone with anything resembling a camera in their hand- and it made sense, in a way, especially with what Fullmetal had told the class the past several days. He wasn't here to become a showstopping celebrity or for the glamour. This was his job, he was trying to help people, to save them and make sure things are safe.

He still looked a little bit ridiculous, hopping away as fast as he could on his good leg as a reporter begged for pictures and an interview. He heard Uraraka cover her mouth as she bit back her giggles at the strange situation Fullmetal had created for himself, barking at the reporters to go away very angrily and animatedly as he hopped surprisingly fast for someone on one leg. He had his right arm stuck at his side, only able to move at the shoulder, but it didn't stop him from nearly smacking a few of the press people who got a little too close for comfort.

Izuku looked away from his fuming teacher and instead looked over to Tsuyu, who was as making her way over. "Hi Uraraka, hi Midoriya, hi Iida." She greeted the three of them. Iida was sitting to Izuku's right, while Uraraka was on his left. The three of them were currently sitting on the edge of the curb.

"Hi Tsuyu!" Uraraka waved happily. "Are you doing ok? I know you and Midoriya were pretty close to the main fight by the end there…"

"I'm fine." She croaked. "We didn't get hurt, other than Midoriya's hand. Fullmetal was the one who took the hit for us. It's why his arm was all messed up like that." She said, looking over at Fullmetal, who was now arguing with a reporter who seemingly tried to interrupt a discussion between him and a detective.

"I noticed. Honestly I didn't even notice he had a prosthetic! The hand looked really intricate, too. It's a shame he covered it back up…" Uraraka sighed a bit.

"We know that Fullmetal would rather not reveal such things to the public! He is very secretive, I doubt he'd want his enemies to know of such a debilitating weakness!" Iida pointed out, authoritative and observant as ever. The three of them nodding along. Though, Izuku couldn't help but hum in thought.

"Tsuyu, you saw how his injuries got healed, right?" Izuku looked over at her. Tsuyu nodding a bit grimly, no doubt remembering the rather gruesome spray of blood he saw. Uraraka and Iida shot each other confused looks before looking over at Tsuyu, who moved to sit down.

"I did, kero. Whatever happened to his arm probably negated his quirk." She said. Izuku nodded along, before humming quietly.

"I wonder if he'll let me take a look at it…" Izuku mumbled. A reporter a bit away caught his eye, and upon meeting eye contact, they began to make their way closer. Izuku sent a look over to the girls before looking over at Iida, and they all silently agreed to not give any info on Fullmetal away if they could help it.

School had been closed for a couple of days after the USJ incident, which gave Izuku time to sit with his thoughts. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, his mind kept wandering back to Fullmetal's fight. He could still hear the sound of each clap echo in his mind like a sharp ringing, and the more he thought about it the more it seemed to call out to him, and his memories seemed to tunnel in on them.

It was strange, it was as if Fullmetal's quirk was calling out to him, but that didn't make any sense. Sure, some quirks- namely, One for all- could be passed around, but it didn't seem like Fullmetal's was like that. There was something so distinctly sharp and unnatural about Fullmetal's quirk that it made his head spin. No, not unnatural- unusual, Alien. His quirk was Natural in the way the moons pull on the tides was, as the shifting of the tectonic plates, and the magnetic field around the planet. Izuku could feel the power rushing through the earth every time Fullmetal had used his quirk, could feel the air grow thin and dry as he created fire, a strong, tangy chemical smell that he could only remember now, now that he wasn't hopped up on adrenaline.

These thoughts continued to wriggle their way deep, deep down into his mind as school started up again. He was walking through the halls, currently, on his way to the support room. He'd gotten a note to go pick up his new hero uniform, but that only gave him more time to dwell. Strange- Fullmetal was so, so very strange in so many ways. He was almost painfully bland looking ('just like me,' his mind supplied.) with golden blonde hair and eyes to match, but there was something about him that felt electric, that he was far, far more than he seemed. It would make sense, with how long he's been alive, that he carried enough secrets for multiple lifetimes, but even that seemed like the…. Wrong conclusion.

There was something about him that was- 'Otherworldly?' his mind supplied, and he pushed that thought down- unusual, down to his core. He didn't know if other people felt it, but he was only able to notice the strange oppressive feeling Fullmetal gave off after seeing him use his quirk, after seeing it roar to life before settling down once more. It felt so out of reach, but at the same time like a tempting meal, a power he could get his hands on if he simply dug in-

He opened the door to the support classroom with little fanfare, holding his piece of paper up as he turned to close the door. "Ah, I got a note saying I need to pick up-" Izuku paused as he looked up, body freezing up as he stared at Fullmetal.

Fullmetal, who was wearing nothing but shorts and missing two limbs, which were strewn about the work tables in a million pieces, with one pink haired girl laser focused on them. Despite Fullmetal being in such a vulnerable situation, Izuku could still feel that strange, world-bending force emanating from him, and Izuku could immediately feel that strange pull start up in his gut. Fullmetal only looked over when Izuku started talking, having been interrupted in his conversation with the support teacher, Power loader. Fullmetal waved at him, and Power loader sighed, turning to Izuku fully.

"You're Midoriya Izuku, yeah?" He asked, and Izuku hesitantly nodded, trying to focus on anywhere but his heroics teacher. "Hold on a moment, let me go grab your uniform." He said, turning around to move further into the workshop, grumbling about having to patch up his suit in the first few week of school. Fullmetal just chuckled, his right leg gently swaying as he sat on the table.

Izuku, despite trying to be polite, couldn't help but glance over at Fullmetal's missing limbs, both where their pieces were on the table, and also the- sockets that were in Fullmetal's body. Fullmetal caught sight of it very quickly, and sighed. "You can ask, y'know. Might not answer depending on the question, though." He said, Throwing poor Midoriya a bone.

"How do they work?" He blurted out immediately, and he couldn't help but flush a little in embarrassment. Fullmetal kicked his leg up onto the table, and he rested his elbow on his foot, chin in hand as he hummed.

"Well, do you want the long version or the short version? Short answer is that they connect directly to my nerves via these ports." He wiggles his right shoulder, and the rather short stump of his left leg. "The ports themselves are drilled and screwed into my bones for support, similar to how they do join replacements nowadays. The ports act as a sort of buffer and connector between the nerves and the wires, making it so that electrical mishaps don't go straight to my brain and fry me, but also it makes sure the nerves can connect to the wires without scaring and causing the nerves to become less active." He explained, and Izuku nodded along, his hand twitching with the need to write the information down.

"Wait, why'd you come to uh- to support? Was it to help repair your arm?" Izuku asked, and Fullmetal laughed.

"No, I can repair them completely on my own- I originally came here to get some info on how uniform requests are handled, but then that one-" he pointed to the pink haired girl. "Saw my hand and jumped on the opportunity to look at my prosthetics. They're pretty handy, and they've saved me a million times over. I've noticed that-" he hesitated for a moment, and Izuku only barely noticed the slight twitch in his hand. "- after the quirk war, a lot of prosthetic knowledge disappeared, and the prosthetics nowadays just aren't as good as the ones I've got are. Now, to be fair, mine are quite heavy- they're made of full metal-" he snickered "and that can be quite heavy for the average person to maintain, but with the right materials..." He trailed off, looking to the wall as he seemed to get lost in thought.

It gave Izuku a moment to let his eyes catch on the multitude of scars that covered Fullmetal's body, the gnarly scars that surrounded the Automail, as well as the ones that spoke of many fights. There was one on the left side of his stomach that looked particularly nasty, a strange I-like shape that was on its side, almost like a cross cut of a steel construction bar. He quickly looked back up to Fullmetal's face, trying to ignore the slight feeling of dread the rather gruesome scars gave him.

"You um-" Izuku started, trying to gather his thoughts. "You said that it was done medically, right? What was the surgery like?- if that's not too personal…" he quickly added onto the end, but he couldn't help but feel curious. His mom was a nurse, and he briefly looked into surgical schooling before meeting All might, and so while now he was on the path to be a hero, he very nearly missed becoming a surgeon, and there were still things he found fascinating and interesting about medical knowledge.

Fullmetal snapped back to reality, blinking once or twice, before chuckling. "Oh, it was hell on earth! I can barely remember it now, but it was like someone had set me on fire and dunked me into an arctic lake at the same time." He laughed, and Izuku couldn't help but feel even more mounting dread. "The procedure has to be done while the nerves are still active and awake, so numbing isn't an option, lest the doctor make a mistake and you end up losing function in your Automail. Hell, depending on where it is and what nerve they hit, you could end up becoming completely paralyzed in that area." He said it rather cheerfully, but Izuku didn't feel better in the slightest. "Not to mention, putting them back into the ports is like getting shot with all that pain all at once. It's not as intense, and it only lasts for a couple seconds, but it's always quite a bit nerve-wracking whenever they go back in." He smirked, and Izuku could only numbly think 'was that a fucking pun?'

"Any more questions?" Fullmetal prompted, and the gears in Izuku's mind started running again, glancing over at the intricate pieces of metal and wire.

"Who made your prosthetics?" He asked. "They're disassembled now, but." He trailed off a little, looking at each piece, and he could see the beautiful hand welding on several pieces, the small dents of a hammer, the wires gently worn down by hands that have worked on them over and over. He could see the gentle polish of each piece, and he could practically feel the love ingrained in them.

He turned back to Fullmetal, who was now looking at the table. There was a strange, far away look in his eyes, one that spoke of many loaded memories. He couldn't help but recognize the look- it was the same one his mom wore when she stopped to look at the pictures of his father. One of longing for a love that was out of reach.

It took a little while, but eventually he let out a soft sigh. "An old friend of mine made my Automail." He was quiet as he spoke, his golden eyes as soft as Izuku had ever seen them. "We grew up together. She was the one who maintained them for a long time." He explained. "I don't let anyone else touch them. I was the one who took them apart for her to look at, I'm helping her with the blueprints." He said the last bit a little louder, tearing his eyes away from the table after a long time.

Izuku looked back over at the pink haired girl, paying more attention to her- lo and behold, she didn't put a finger on any of the parts, not a screw or a bolt. One of her hands was behind her back, clutching the leather of her bag, while the other was up near her face, using a pair of magnifying goggles.

Power-loader came back a few moments later, holding the suitcase out for Izuku to take. After a quick thank-you and speedy exit, Izuku was left alone with his thoughts once again.

Fullmetal was very, very strange. Izuku couldn't help but think about his prosthetics more, though now focused on something else. How. How did he lose his limbs? He said that he got them from a childhood friend? So maybe from before his quirks kicked in? But why would they kick in so late anyways? There were so many questions he had, all of them far too personal to possibly just ask. Fullmetal was secretive, but at the same time such an open book. It was clear that he loved whoever made his automail- and loved them deeply, but who was she? What was her name, how did she act, everything he said was just so Vague and it made Izuku's head swim.

'Maybe later.' he told himself, re-entering his classroom. 'Maybe I can ask him about that stuff later. For now-' he ducked his head as a book went flying in his direction, followed with yelling from multiple people, including Present mic, yelling at Bakugou to stop throwing things. Izuku sighed internally. 'i need to just get my work done.'

'God, I hate rain.' Edward bemoaned internally, his ports screaming at him, joints creaking and groaning and the scar tissue burning hot to the touch. He sat down on a stool in the front of the classroom, cane propped against the lectern. It was early in the morning, before classes started, and he was sitting 1-A before homeroom started. There were a few kids scattered about in their seats, though most had questioned him when they came in. A simple 'I'm your sub today' was enough to quell most of the curiosity.

He was currently resting his chin on his hand, peering over the Lectern at the few kids currently in the front. Kaminari, Jirou, Kirishima, and Uraraka. The four of them had started working on Chemistry questions near the back, but he had told them to come up to the front when he heard the four of them start going in circles on a specific question. Momo was up at the blackboard, helping him write down the questions and giving her own input periodically.

Momo was quite nice to converse with, he found. Her quirk was incredibly interesting, and while not 1:1 with Alchemy, the basic principle was similar enough that he found himself getting excited when she started talking to him about chemistry and how her quirk worked.

Slowly, more and more kids started to file in. He could feel his ports crying out any time he moved around, so he tried to be as still as possible, though it was hard when he kept feeling the urge to get up and start lecturing the kids on their chemistry, especially as more students joined in. By the time Homeroom started, a large portion of the kids were out of their proper seats, huddled near the front as Ed explained and helped with their questions.

"Get to your seats." A gruff voice said from the doorway, and the entire class jumped to a scramble, Momo letting out an eep! Almost dropping the chalk before she rushed to her seat, and the other kids weren't much better.

Edward sighed, turning to the Doorway where Aizawa stood in his mummified glory. Ed would have laughed if it wasn't so frustrating. "Aizawa, why are you down here? You're supposed to be in the infirmary." He argued, scowl on his face.

Aizawa didn't respond at first, shuffling into the classroom and shutting the door. "This is my class." He said simply. "There's work to do."

Edward rolled his eyes, even as those in his chest poked and prodded at him, the word 'Hypocrite' rolling through him so loudly he was afraid for a moment that he'd said it aloud. "You're gonna piss Chiyo off."

"That's my problem, not yours." He glared at Edward, and Ed glared back. "Plus, I thought you were supposed to be at home today due to the storms." Ed's eye twitched, Aizawa hitting the nail on the head.

"I took some pain killers, I'll be fine." He grumbled out, and he could feel Alphonse mentally hitting him in the shoulder.

'As if! You forgot your meds today, too, dumbass!' Ed had purposefully not taken them, actually, cause he was feeling sick and he knew that he was just gonna end up throwing them up. They don't even work that well anyways! Yet another wave of outrage wracked through his brain, and he struggled to hear what Aizawa was saying.

"-dless, I'm here. I don't need a substitute." Aizawa said, and Edward rolled his eyes. There were several reason Ed was being so stubborn, one of them being that Aizawa clearly wasn't alright, still, and another being that he really, really didn't want to get up.

"You want me to move, then you're gonna have to pry me from the seat." He challenged. He and Aizawa glared at each other for a good minute or so, and Edward could see the class get antsy from the corner of his eye. He was not giving up his seat, not when his leg had finally settled down and he had a nice Lectern to rest his arm on.

Eventually, Aizawa just sighed sufferingly, and moved to the corner of the classroom, getting his sleeping bag out to rest. Ed couldn't help but feel prideful as he settled back down into his seat fully, a smirk gracing his lips. Aizawa was as stubborn as a mule, but Ed was far more stubborn.

"Alright, brats, now that I've got your attention," he started, and he could see a couple kids puff up and huff at his teasing. "There's some stuff we have to go over today. Including the event that's taking place in two weeks!" He grinned, and the class all began to get excited and look at each other.

Ojiro held his hand up, and Ed pointed to him. "The annual sports festival is happening soon, right?" He asked, and Ed shot him a finger gun.

"Bingo. While it might look flashy and fun from the big screen, there's a reason why U.A does it for the first years." He started off, enunciating his words with his left hand as he talked. "Not everyone who tries out for the hero course has a quirk meant for physical combat, some quirks that could be incredible for a hero aren't the most physically applicable. Additionally, some kids could have simply gotten unlucky with the test." He continued, and he watched the class look around at each other, silent but clearly wanting to gossip among each other. "Because of this, the Sports Festival is made so that the other students, those from courses like support, business, or general education, can get the chance to go up against their peers in the heroics course and fight for their spot." He grinned wide, slightly maniacal as he continued to speak. He could watch the kids go from excited to worried and anxious, but still buzzing with energy.

"Now, its a case by case basis. Some of you might not be able to make it through all the challenges, and that's fine, that doesn't automatically mean your spot will be taken- but it DOES mean that you'll be more likely to get booted." He clarified, and it helped calm some students, but others simply got more anxious.

Mineta raised his hand, and Edward mentally prepared himself to deal with the kid. "Yes?"

"Are we able to secure our spot in the course somehow?" He asked. It was probably the first thing Ed's heard from him that was actually reasonable.

Ed grinned, wide and menacing. "Well, the better you do, the more likely you'll be able to stay. My advice?" He paused for a second, watching the dread filled students look at him with a sudden glint of hope in their eyes. "Train yourself as much as you can the next two weeks." He said, and the hope was crushed in an instant. He couldn't help the maniacal glee he had seeing them all resign themselves to their fate of extra daily training.

'Edward, you're forgetting something.' Hawkeye chided, and he felt confused for a moment, trying not to let it show on his face. 'The recommendations?'

He jerked upright at the realization, making several other kids jump a little at the sudden movement. "Oh right! Another reason we do the sports festival!" He started, settling back in his seat. "It's to get your names out there, so that hero's will be able to see you. After the sports festival, the Curriculum states you'll all be doing hero internships. Heroes will see your performances and send in requests for you to shadow under them for a few week!" He explained, and the class got very excited about that.

"Before the sports festival, you'll all be choosin-" he started to explain, but was cut off by the door to the room slamming open.

"HERO NAMES!" Midnight walked in, in all her large puffy white jacket glory. She was wearing her hero suit underneath, he could tell by the way she wore her heels, her gloves, and her mask, but she wore a giant, near floor length white coat over top it all. He sighed as she sauntered over to his side.

The class was in an uproar immediately, and Edward had to close his eyes and try to tune out the kid's excitement. Their cries and squeals were enough to make his head throb and pulse, bringing his aching joints back to the front of his mind. This was going to be such a long day…

Thankfully, Midnight was able to wrangle the students quickly, and his growing headache dulled. He was able to mostly tune out what was going on, watching midnight as she passed whiteboard and dry erase markers around with only mild interest. Instead, he let himself daze off, the chatter in his head slowly drowning out the quiet muttering of his students.

Winry was gently reminding him that once his off hour starts, he needed to get some pain killers and go lie down, and while he was still feeling particularly stubborn, the idea of being able to lay down in the teachers lounge with a nice warm cup of coffee and some heat pads for his ports was becoming more and more enticing.

"-ullmetal, sir?" Ed's eyes opened, and he saw Toru's raised glove.

"Yeah?" He responded, gently lifting his head so he could see her better, and her glove seemed to go to her chin.

"How did you choose your hero name?" She asked. The entire class seemed to look up from their white boards. Some were more obviously interested- he even saw Kaminari put his board down, and Ed could see the multiple layers of erased smudges on it- while others, like Todoroki and Bakugou, seemed to just glance up and wait for an answer.

Edward sighed, putting his chin on his hand. How could he spin this to something believable… "I didn't come up with it myself." He started. "It was a coworker of mine who came up with it a long time ago. He kept calling me 'Fullmetal' as an inside joke between the two of us- mostly to poke fun at my prosthetics- but it ended up sticking." He shrugged. There were a few mutters and whispers, but it was Midoriya who spoke up eventually, nervous and hesitant, but there was a fire in his eyes, a glint of inspiration and light.

"Why would you stick with a demeaning nickname?" He asked. "Don't- don't get me wrong! It sounds really cool! But-" Midoriya bit his lip in hesitation. "How come you didn't come up with a separate hero name?" He asked finally.

Edward was curious about that look in Midoriya's eye, but didn't press about it. Instead he gently drummed his metal, gloved fingers against the lectern. "Well, I didn't hate the nickname, plus it was fun teasing between fri-" Ed felt a wave of discomfort and nausea roll over him. Oh god, he and Mustang were friends by now, weren't they. "Friends." He ground out, before shaking out his shudders, ignoring the incredulous looks from his students. "I called him a worthless bastard, and he called me Fullmetal. But more than that, my prosthetics, they're a part of me. They've helped me save many, many people." He settled into his seat more as he talked, slowly sinking into a more comfortable position. "They're what help me stand and walk, what help me protect and carry those that need it. Even with all the issues that come with being an amputee-" he gently knocked against his cane with his foot. "I couldn't be more grateful to have them." He couldn't help but smile, and he could feel Winry and Al in his chest, the two of them practically bursting with pride, making him feel warm and comfortable.

But, that wasn't all of it, he realized. He rarely had people to share his thoughts with outside of the stone, and now that he finally did, it felt like it was all pouring out. "Even more than that, I've turned it into a mindset, of a sorts." He began, eyes drifting to his gloved hand. "Life is full of so much pain and suffering. Equivalent Exchange- You can't gain anything without losing something first." He spoke, gently looking back over to the kids. The ones who had previously been half paying attention were now looking at him fully, and he couldn't help but smile. "But, being able to endure that pain, being able to walk away from it, and continue forward… You'll eventually find you finally the strength to overcome any obstacle…" he nearly trailed off, lost in his thoughts, looking out the window to the trees gently swaying. He could remember Nina so clearly, his mothers face, Maes Hughes and his wide smile, Nana in her flowing cape, so so many people he'd met and had to watch grow old before his eyes- "A Heart made Full Metal." He breathed out, looking back over and grazing across the class.

Midoriya practically had stars in his eyes. He was glowing, but there was also the slight mist of tears in his eyes, and he seemed to quickly pull himself together.

Midnight was smiling wide, a fond look in her eye as she rested a hand on her hip. The others were all in various states of awestruck, some far more than others. He could see Bakugou from the corner of his eye, gently shrinking in on himself.

"Beautiful speech, Fullmetal." Midnight praised, and Ed couldn't help but chuckle.

"Honestly I was more just rambling." He shrugged, but Midnight waved him off, turning back to the class.

"Fullmetal provided the perfect example as to the thought process you can take to a Hero name. Something inspiring and true to yourself- it doesn't matter how it might start, but choose something catchy, inspiring, and memorable!" She encouraged, and the class seemed to get back to work with a new wave of invigoration.

Ed couldn't help but chuckle a bit as he watched the kids work. There was a weird feeling in his chest- raw, but also happy. Being able to see the direct effect he had on the students, being able to see how much they looked up to him- it hurt, a bit. It hurt because he knew that he wasn't perfect, he wasn't this monolith of heroism they thought he was, they didn't know the atrocities he's committed, the monster he is-

'Don't call yourself that, Ed…' Winry whispered to him gently, and his heart squeezed.

-but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of pride and joy, being able to bring light and inspiration to people so directly, to be able to influence their actions and to see how they seemed to flock to him. It was scary, but also heartwarming. Not for the first time did his mind wander to a similar vein of thought- the thought of being able to grow up and have kids of his own, see them flock to him, see them become inspired and taken after him- but he shut that thought process down quickly. He had other things to worry about, and he couldn't let that overwhelming hope get crushed. That was for him, and only him, at the moment.

Edward walked through the halls of the police station, following behind Tsukauchi. He had personally called in to check up on the Nomu, having been previously at the scene. they were (albeit reluctantly) willing to let him come into the station and check on the Nomu firsthand.

Tsukauchi had briefed him on what they'd found so far, about how the DNA matched to a man who'd gone missing several months prior, and how they'd found genetic traces of other people, specifically the genes that make up one's quirks.

Just hearing the debrief made Edward sick to his stomach, but coming face to face with the Nomu again was harder.

It sat against the back wall, not moving an inch from its spot even as people passed by. Ed could feel that same oppressive force the homonuculi exuded, could feel the anguish rolling off it in waves, could feel it's pain from behind the bars.

'it feels just like central…' Ed could hear May's soft little voice chime in the back of his head, and he could feel his stomach roll in discomfort.

"Can I go in?" Ed turned to Tsukauchi and asked. The detective paused, muttering something into his walkie-talkie, before waiting for an answer. After a few moments, he nodded. Ed turned back to the prison door, and took a deep breath. He watched Tsukauchi unlock the door, and he pushed himself forward and through.

The Nomu didn't respond at first, but once Ed got close enough, it's eyes snapped to watch him. Ed suppressed the shiver that ran down his spine, and instead moved forward to crouch in front of the Nomu.

He took a deep breath, glancing at its sawed, sharp beak, pulsing and exposed brain, and it's wide beady eyes. He shivered again and closed his eyes, letting the darkness wash over his vision as he leaned forward to press his hand to the Nomu's chest.

Immediately wails flooded his ears, and he could almost see the bright blood red light in its chest, spreading out in a cacophony of anguish. There were people in there, stuck to the body without a way out. Edward swallowed hard, eyebrows knitting as he searched more with his alchemy, spreading his search through its veins.

He could feel the static necrosis in its muscles- this was a dead body no doubt, stuck in time and being regenerated over and over by the poor souls trapped inside their cage of flesh. Edward could feel the heat in his cheeks and the tears welling up in his eyes, but he pushed forward.

He began to count. More and more the souls piled up, there was about 12 different people stuffed inside the body, all broken and shattered and not entirely whole anymore, clinging to each other in an amalgamation to try- desperately- to reform into something living, something whole. Someone's eyes, stitched to another leg, stitched to someone's torso. All it was was stitched to the man laying beneath it all, tortured and wailing and trapped.

Edward wanted to help, to set the souls free, to return them to their owners, to somehow give them hope. He searched, for some way to tear them from this web of stitched flesh and bone. He called out, to see if any were willing or able to hear him.

'Kill me.' it cried back, and Edward couldn't help the sob that wracked through his chest. Ed felt horrifically useless, powerless for the first time in so long. His mind flashed back to Nina, so full of life and joy, before being killed, stitched to her own pet like some sort of toy. Attempting to unstitch them would kill all the souls bound to the Nomu.

'Though.' Hohenheim echoed gently. 'That may be for the best, my son.' he spoke quietly, gently pressing forward, as if attempting to pull Edward into a hug. Edward wouldn't admit to it, but the tears that ran down his face picked up in frequency, and he gripped his jacket tightly.

He pressed forward. There has to be something, Anything to help him, some remnant that he can follow. He filtered past the cries, and focused on the souls themselves, trying to identify any trace of who had done this.

There was something that seemed to emanate from the stitched parts, an electricity, an energy that seemed so quiet under the agony. He pressed forward, trying to make sense of it. The underlying body wasn't covered in the energy entirely, just the hands were. 'More.' he urged, and with effort pressed further and further, head aching and hands trembling as he pressed closer.

The energy echoed against his alchemy, and rang back with its own chimes. It felt familiar, so unnervingly familiar that he pressed onward, past the chemical processes flying through his mind, telling him how to use the energy, how to direct it differently for each limb, until finally he reached out and touched it.

His mind flashed with knowledge that unlocked from the back of his mind, and a splitting headache took over. The gate. He suddenly felt like he was drowning. He could practically see it- their gates were what allowed them to use their quirks, each one woven into the person's soul, engraved into their bodies. Their souls- their gates- now woven and tangled in an amalgamation that couldn't move on, that couldn't rest.

He could feel the energy that was stitching them together, a distant echo of a soul that seemed to howl with emptiness, sticking like a thick molasses to the gates. 'i found it.' he realized. He found the trace he needed to hunt down the man who'd done this.

He eventually pulled away from the Nomu, Shaking and shuddering with tears soaking his face and making his eyes itch and burn, his head aching like someone had split it. He gently opened his eyes, hoping, praying for some sort of expression, for some sort of sign of thought. Instead, he was met with an empty husk, just as he had seen when he'd closed his eyes.

He shakily stood up, thankful that his helmet covered his expression as he walked out of the cell, and had to face Tsukauchi once more.

"May I ask what you were doing?" He asked, and Edward cleared his throat.

"I was testing your theory- about the DNA traces, and yeah. There's about 12 people that were used to make it." He said. Tsukauchi's face was perfectly blank as he wrote something down. He paused, before looking up again.

"Do you mind answering some questions for me, so that we can figure out more about what happened with the Nomu? It will be about your quirk, and how you were able to get the information, additionally anything else you found would be helpful." He said, and Edward sighed. He was so exhausted, he just wanted to go back to his apartment already.

"Sure. Hit me with em." He said, rather unenthusiastically. He was very glad for his microphone, as otherwise Tsukauchi would be able to easily hear how Horace his voice was.

"How were you able to get a number for how many people were used for the Nomu?"

"My quirk, Immortality. That's what I have it listed as, but its a lot more complicated then just living forever. It draws from the energy of the soul, and because of that, I can use it to feel for the soul in other people and animals." He explained. It wasn't entirely the truth, and he could tell that Tsukauchi's quirk was picking up on a few things, but it was vaguely true enough that it seemed that Tsukauchi wasn't bothered about it much.

"I see. Can you elaborate more?"

"On my quirk, or on the Nomu."

"The Nomu - how the souls relate to what we were able to find in the DNA." He explained, and Edward nodded, calming a bit more.

"Your quirk is ingrained into your soul. Just like how every soul is unique and different, so is every quirk. I was able to differentiate how many people were in there because I could feel their different quirks and souls." He explained, and Tsukauchi nodded along. "However, it also allowed me to find something strange." Edward started, And Tsukauchi looked up, nodding for him to continue.

"There was traces of someone else in the body. It was faint enough I struggled to find it, but it was- essentially - the glue that held the souls together. I could feel that it was someone else's quirk that was combining them." He said glumly, and Tsukauchi nodding, a look of strange recognition on his face.

"Was there anything else you found?" He asked, and Ed shook his head.

"Not anything you all haven't already figured out." Ed said, and Tsukauchi sighed. After some pleasantries and another walk through the building, Ed was led outside, where the cold, night-time spring air washed over him, chilling him for a few moments.

He began to walk to his apartment, taking alleys and roofs to avoid the gawking eyes of the public, while also vaguely being on the lookout for any villains. Mostly, though, he was stuck in his own mind.

It was so long ago, so, so very long ago when he was dropped into this world. 'All for One.' the name was still burned in the back of his mind, the man who he was sent to stop, sent to hunt down and track. Truth didn't tell him how long it would take, just that it would take however long it had to. 'Bastard could have warned me it would take over 300 fucking years.' he thought bitterly.

'it'll be ok, Ed.' Alphonse comforted, and Ed could practically feel his little brother's head on his shoulder. 'he won't be able to evade us anymore. We'll be able to find him, now that we have a lead.' he soothed, and Ed tried to cheer up. They were going to do it, they were going to make it home. Just a little bit longer.

Thankfully, no one in the stone bothered him as he collapsed onto his apartment bed, and began to sob himself to sleep, wails of agony and nightmares of fleshy amalgamations burned into his mind.