Chapter 4: Asteroid (Friend)
Earth, year x800
"- And in recent local news, a preschool in downtown Musutafu recently received a big surprise. Miss Kitayama's, a small establishment that is well known by the area's residents, was surprised to receive an astounding donation of over four million yen from 'Yagi's Hero Locker', a pawn shop located in the same district. The owner of the shop, ' Toshinori Yagi', was happy to give the donation, amounting to more than twice the daycare's original goal of one point five million, which was to be used on new playground equipment. The original playground had been destroyed several months prior, when a child at the daycare awakened a powerful fire quirk.
When asked about the benevolent donation, Mr. Yagi gave this response.
"A few weeks ago, I had saved up enough for the playground on my own, by setting aside some of my profits at my shop. Unfortunately… I was robbed. All of the money, gone. I had lost all hope. See, not many people were stopping to donate to the preschool and well… I had sort of taken it upon myself. Well, that's all beside the point. Our neighborhood is filled with incredibly kind people, and I happened to run into two of them as I was chasing the man who robbed my store. Mr. Dante Romero and Mr. Izuku Midoriya. Both listened to what happened and offered to pitch in, with Young Mr. Midoriya even going so far as to take out money from his college fund to help with the playground. I cannot thank them enough for their contributions to this effort."
Izuku Midoriya, a young man of seventeen years, stopped by the preschool later that day to provide an extra donation of toys for the children of the preschool to play with. He was accompanied by Mr. Romero, who had used his position in the Musutafu District Indoor Volleyball team to quickly set up a fundraiser for the preschool, which was used for the playground fund as well as the new toys.
Many of the parents in the area have expressed their thanks, and Miss Kitayama's is expected to have their new playground ready within a few weeks time. When asked about the additional funds, the owner of the Preschool gave a short response, indicating that they will be using whatever is left to pursue a lawsuit against the construction company that installed the previous playground, citing the fact that they were overpaid for work on a quirk proofed play area, and only installed a basic play area with no protections, leading to potential hazards for preschoolers with emerging quirks.
For purposes related to the rating of this radio station, we cannot give the exact quote, as some choice language was used.
Nevertheless, it is safe to say that the sun is now shining on a little preschool in downtown Musutafu, and the world has gained three new heroes. More tonight at six.-"
->*<-
Ochako Uraraka was your average teenage girl. She liked music and pretty clothes, makeup, and heroes.
There was only one problem. Uraraka's family was financially challenged…
The small family owned a construction company that was based on the outskirts of the city, never gaining much renown or for that matter, business. They made enough on smaller repair jobs to get by, but it wasn't what one would typically expect.
Still, Ochako's parents loved her. While they didn't have a lot to give, they still found things to buy. Christmases and Birthdays were sparse, but still had gifts. And there were still times for little dates out to get coffee or mochi.
It was the little things that made every surprise even sweeter.
When she turned fifteen, she started helping out with the construction company, learning simple repairs and taking on a few of the jobs that her family would be called for. Since they were few and far between, it gave her the opportunity to get a second job part-time at one of the many hero coffee chains, "Under-grounds" Which served coffee at all hours.
When she had first gotten her paycheck, she was stressed as she didn't really know what to buy. So, she put a majority of the money in savings and went on with her life. Slowly, those savings built and she was surprised to find she had a good starting amount for college.
Her parents were proud of her too. They took her out to dinner when she started applying for schools.
At first, she had wanted to go into architecture and help her parents more, but they pushed her to follow a dream of her own, which was something that Ochako had never really thought about.
Sure, she always thought about being an astronaut when she was older. Her quirk was perfect for it. The ability to negate gravity on objects with nothing but a touch? It set her up for a life looking skyward…
But, society didn't really explore space anymore. Sure, there were space puns on certain restaurant dishes and more than a few references to the pre-quirk era space expeditions, but it was unanimously agreed upon that quirks made space travel just about impossible. Powers like that were just too volatile…
But… they weren't.
Ochako eventually decided that she was going to become a hero, to serve her own personal goals of helping her family and reminding everyone in the world that the stars were reachable.
Maybe it was selfish of her, but she really wanted to share the joy that she felt when looking at the stars.
So, she doubled down. Started pursuing more shifts and making more money. She applied for a grand total of one hundred and twenty-seven scholarships, of which she was awarded nineteen. All of them together would give her a full ride through a hero program, and she was ready for it.
Sure she was stretched thin. Sure, she was tired. But it would all be worth it in the end.
Imagine her surprise when on her day off of work at Under-grounds, her family's company got a call.
"Uraraka Designs and Construction, how may we help you today?"
The voice on the other end was that of an older man. One she actually recognized from the radio that morning.
" Hello, my name is Toshinori Yagi. I'm calling in regards to the construction of a play set for a preschool in the downtown area."
Ochako's heart beat fast as she tried to recall the details from the radio. The situation seemed familiar. There was something about a lawsuit that she had heard as she was fully waking up.
Oh no, were they going to be sued?
" Hello? Hello? Did the call drop or-"
"Er, sorry about that sir. You said you were calling in regards to a play set?"
" Yes. See, the company that installed the old one is pretty well respected, and a lot of other companies aren't taking the business… The owner of the daycare was about to give up and call the old company, but I said I'd do some searching. Then I found you! For a small company, you have some impressive credentials."
"Oh! That's my father, I assure you. We're a family run business, and he's well educated in all of those aspects."
A chuckle came from the other side of the line.
" Glad to hear it. Would we be able to schedule a consultation? It would be about four of us. Myself, Miss Kitayama, and two younger men from the area. They were a big help with funding and actually know a lot about the preschool-"
"I'm certain we can get you in. Would you like to meet in our office? Or at the potential work site?"
" If you would be able to meet us at the site that would be perfect. I can give you the address?"
Ochako smiled. "Of course. Let me just… alright. Ready when you are."
" It's sixteen seventy-six Jakuu Street, Musutafu. Is that good?"
"Sixteen Seventy-six Jakuu Street?"
" Yes"
"Perfect. Do you have a specific day in mind?"
" It's short notice, but to you think you could come by this weekend? There wouldn't be any school then, and we'd have the space to ourselves to go over the budget."
"I'll pencil you in for Saturday around ten in the morning, does that sound good?"
" It sounds perfect. Thank you so much for your help! "
"I assure you sir, the pleasure is mine. Thank you for calling. We look forward to meeting you!"
" Thank you. Alright then. Goodbye."
Ochako hung up the phone and stared at the wall for a moment, before letting out a high pitched squeal.
It must have been louder than she expected, because her mother and father were quick to run into the room.
"What's wrong, sweetie?"
"Is there another spider? I swear if any creepy crawlies dare to touch you I-"
"I GOT US A JOB!"
The two froze and stared for a moment, which prompted Ochako to hold up her notepad, where she had written down all of the details.
"It's the preschool that was on the news! They want to meet to discuss the construction of a new Playground!"
The two parents stared, before breaking into excited shouts and wrapping their girl in a tight hug.
"Ochakooooo! I'm so proud of you!"
"My baby is putting us on the map! Oh goodness, Asahi, do you think this is it?"
"I think if ever there's an opportunity, it's this one."
The two parents hugged each other and cheered before Ochako's father turned and mussed her hair. "This is amazing, sweetheart! We're so proud of you! When do we start?"
Ochako grinned. "They want to meet us this Saturday at the building location to go over space and their budget."
Both nodded, and the girl's mother sat down to begin jotting down notes of her own. "Preschools get a government subsidy for these types of things, but they typically have to pay a bit in on their own. They were on the news, right? They got a donation for the playground?
Ochako opened her phone and searched for the news report. "Yes. Miss Kitayama's Preschool received… dear stars above…"
"What. How much do they have sweetie?"
Ochako looked up at her parents and swallowed. "F-four million yen."
It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Ochako looked back at her phone. "And they're using some of it, along with a recent extra donation of an extra million to fund a lawsuit against their previous builders. They're expected to win the lawsuit since they have overwhelming evidence of being swindled…"
"That's a lot of money…"
"Enough for a playground, nevermind a play set. With the subsidy, we're talking an extra six, maybe seven million yen."
Asahi Uraraka nodded. "Maybe more. The subsidy can cover the costs of the equipment so long as we provide the labor."
"Still, we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. Let's draw up a quick plan based around their original goal of two million and then see what their budget is."
Ochako watched her parents work and smiled, before sitting down im her chair and leaning back.
"Sweetheart."
She quickly sat back up, looking at her parents who were smiling at her. "Come over and help. This is going to be your contract after all."
Ochako gawked for a moment before leaping up with a grin and running over to join them.
->*<-
Izuku sat in the boardroom of Miss Kitayama's Preschool, writing down small notes in his most recent notebook which he had bought specifically for the playground construction.
Since he got involved, he found it was much easier to use his well honed skills in data analysis to make sure that they had everything in line for the establishment. Mr. Yagi had been proud and had immediately introduced him to Miss Kitayama herself, who was happy to put his skills to further use.
Now, he was sat between Mr. Yagi and Mr. Romero, with Miss Kitayama and her head teacher- Mr. Ashido, sitting with them, chatting quietly as they waited for the design company to arrive.
"The girl I spoke to on the phone was quite kind." Mr. Yagi ensured everyone. "I'm sure they'll be raring to help."
Izuku nodded. "And with the acquisition of the playground subsidy, our building budget is tripled. I'm sure they'd also consider price based on our volunteering to help with construction."
"You three really are too much, you know." Miss Kitayama sniffled into a tissue. "So much kindness it makes every day bright!"
Mr. Romero grinned. "We're just doing our job as friendly neighbors, miss. It's what anyone would do."
The woman blew her nose into a tissue and tossed it in a small disposal bin next to her chair. Just in time too, as there was a knock at the boardroom door. In walked three individuals in semi-formal wear. They were well put together and gave off the feeling that they were simply an everyday family.
Mr. Yagi stood up to greet them with a smile. "You're the Uraraka design and construction company?"
The tallest of the trio, a man with short cut brown hair and a kind face gave the blonde man a firm handshake and a warm smile. "Indeed. We're happy you gave us a call."
"The pleasure is ours sir. You seem to be just the group for the job." Mr. Yagi grinned. "Shall we sit down to discuss exactly what we need done? We'll give you a full rundown and let you decide whether you'd like to take the job or pass it along."
The shortest of the group, a young woman who actually seemed very close in age to Izuku, gave a smile. "No job is too big for our company sir, I assure you!"
Yagi smiled as he showed them their seats. "You must be the young lady I spoke to on the phone!"
"Yes, this is our daughter, Uraraka Ochako." The other woman of the group smiled. "It's her first official contract, so she'll be assisting us with the design."
"Well, I'm sure that we're in safe hands then." Miss Kitayama gave a smile. "I apologise if I missed your introduction before, what are your names?"
"Oh we never said." The man chuckled. "I'm Uraraka Asahi, and this is my wife, Jennifer. Jen is from the states, so she typically likes being referred to by her first name."
The woman smiled and gave a slight wink. "Now, we do hope you don't mind. We did a bit of research into your situation and already drew up a few plans based on an averaged out budget."
"We weren't sure if you were applying for the district preschool playset subsidy, so most of these plans will only run you around two and a half to three million yen."
Miss Kitayama stared as Izuku leaned over and whispered something in Mr. Yagi's ear, causing the man's eyes to sparkle.
"We'd love to look at these plans, if you have them on you."
"Of course. Sweetheart?" Asahi turned to Ochako, who slung a cardboard tube from her back and pulled out a roll of blueprints.
"These are smaller playsets, but they each have the essentials for a preschool. Stairs up, a ladder, a climbing ramp and two slides down. They can be mixed and matched with different connectors. As you can see, this one takes up less space and connects the two platforms with a tube tunnel, whereas this one spreads them apart with a bridge, and this one places them at different ends, with a few different platforms to step across."
Ochako watched as the young man with green hair leaned forward, before looking her in the eyes. "May I?"
The young lady felt her face heat up as she nodded. "Of course. Feel free to take a closer look if you'd like."
Izuku smiled and took the blueprints, pulling them over to himself, Mr. Yagi, and Mr. Romero.
"While they look those over, could we ask you a few questions about your company?" Miss Kitayama asked. "We don't want to scare you away, but the other construction companies are sort of united against us."
Ochako's mother nodded. "Ask away."
"We noticed that your company is quite small. Though your work is exceptional, we don't want the construction to take too long. Nor do we want it to look nice, but lack function. Do you understand?"
"Ma'am. Our motto is 'by family, for family'." Asahi smiled. "We'd be run out of the country if our work wasn't functional and efficient."
"Of course. But with three of you, how do you complete your work so fast?"
Jennifer smiled. "Asahi and I have workers licenses to use our quirks. Mine will make objects lighter while his allows him to pinpoint the proper lineups for each piece that we use to build. Because of this, the two of us alone could effectively build a house in about two weeks? Minus the wiring of course, but you get the idea."
"Impressive." Miss Kitayama nodded. "Well then… I think that's really all I needed to know. Oh right. You understand that this playset will need to be proofed against destructive quirks. Will this affect your own quirks and the building time at all?"
"Our own quirks are pretty harmless all things considered. They wouldn't make anything less durable, and quirk-proof materials don't resist my own quirk. Changing the weight of something doesn't damage it."
"Understood. Mr. Yagi, you and your companions seem excited about something."
The blonde man looked up with a wide smile. "Oh! Yes. Erm. I'll let Izuku explain."
"First, I'd like to say how much we appreciate the fact that you drew these up without considering the addition of the playset subsidy. I will tell you now that the preschool was given the additional funding for this project, bringing the overall budget to around nine million yen."
Everyone around the table, minus Midoriya, Romero, and Yagi, gave a sharp inhale at the number.
"That's… a lot…" Mr. Uraraka croaked.
"Because of this. I think we can expand on the designs. Miss Kitayama, would you mind if we all went outside to look at the space for the play area?"
"Not at all Mr. Midoriya." The woman nodded.
Everyone stood up and followed the woman out of the boardroom, outside to the small recreation area that they had as a play yard. Izuku walked over to the Uraraka's and held up one of the blueprints, pointing out a few things on the paper and in the allotted space.
"He has quite a mind for this." Miss Kitayama spoke as she stood with Mr. Yagi.
"Young Midoriya always says he was born to help people ma'am. He adapts quickly to anything thrown his way."
Romero snickered. "You could throw the kid into nuclear engineering and he'd probably come up with some kind if infinite power source in less than a day."
The three laughed and Mr. Ashido walked over to join them. "I only caught a bit if what they were saying, but I think that young man has taken point in this project. He's a smart one for sure."
as they chatted, The Uraraka's continued to listen to Izuku as he made some marks on their blueprints and added notes.
"I think we could comfortably expand the playsets size from two main platforms to three. One with a ladder, one with a climbing ramp, and a third which could have a ladder. We can have slides on all three, and connect them together with a bridge and tunnel."
Asahi Uraraka nodded. "That still leaves a lot of money to play around with… Ochako, do you have any ideas?"
The young lady gave a human she looked at the rough sketch that Midoriya had drawn.
"I think we should see I'd we can change the grounding a bit. We can use rubber turf instead of sand to give a nice cushiony pad if any of the kids fell."
The green haired boy's eyes sparkled. "An excellent idea! It would also help with kids with amphibious mutations. Sand can irritate their skin. Great suggestion!"
Ochako smiled and looked back at the blueprints. "Then on a final note, we're just mussing one thing."
"What's that?"
Ochako smiled and pulled a pencil from behind her ear, using it to draw a tiny square off to the side of the playset.
"A sandbox."
The group chatted a bit more before nodding and shaking hands.
"Thank you for your time." Izuku smiled.
"Of course. We look forward to working with you."
Mr. Yagi smiled. "So we have an agreement?"
The head of the construction company nodded. "Yes indeed. We'd like to begin work as soon as possible."
Izuku nodded. "I need to crunch the numbers, but I believe we'll have more than enough to cover the cost."
Miss Kitayama sniffled and wiped her eyes. "You are all much too kind."
Mr. Romero smiled. "Mr. Midoriya and I would love to help you with construction if you'd have us. Mr. Yagi said he would as well, but we don't need him going to the hospital."
The group of adults chuckled as Toshinori blushed. "It really isn't as bad as it looks…"
Asahi Uraraka gave a sigh before looking at his daughter. "I must say, I am excited for the opportunity that you've presented us with. When it comes to numbers and extra paperwork, we'll have our daughter help you."
Mr. Ashido nodded. "We'd love to have you, and I think when it comes to paperwork, we have our own helper as well."
Izuku and Ochako blushed, looking anywhere except the other adults. Unfortunately, that just so happened to push them to looking at each other.
They were silent for a bit, before Izuku broke it.
"Would you erm… want to discuss extra details over a cup of coffee while everything gets set up?"
Ochako's face turned red, but she nodded nevertheless.
"A business meeting would be perfect. I think we'd be able to get a lot done."
Jennifer Uraraka elbowed her husband in the side. "I'll say."
"MOM!"
The other adults laughed as Ochako and Izuku turned redder than tomatoes. Izuku spluttered a bit as he tried to stop his brain from short-circuiting.
Toshinori coughed a bit and quickly went for his handkerchief, using it to dab away a few drops of blood from his chin.
Ochako blinked as the adults rushe to help, only to be waved away from the blonde man.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just have to watch how hard I laugh. Thank you for the laugh Mrs. Uraraka."
"Please, call me Jen." The woman smiled.
Ochako gave a huff and turned to grab Izuku's hand, her face still burning from the picking that she had been put through. Midooriya blinked as she dragged him away from the group, being brought out of his panic by the feel of her fingertips.
' Must be a part of her quirk…'
The adults continued to chat as she sat them down against the wall of the building. "My Mom and Pop like to talk a lot, so we have some time."
Izuku nodded, still focused on her hands.
"You okay? I'm sorry if they went too far."
"Hm? Oh no! I'm just, not really used to jokes like that. Kindof the awkward kid on the block." Izuku chuckled.
Ochako smiled. "Well, guess I have my work cut out for me then."
"Yeah. Wait, huh?"
Ochako dug her phone out of her pocket and turned it on, navigating the well kept screen to find her contacts. "Here, let me write down my number for you and we can figure out a time for us to meet."
"Just business, right?" Izuku blinked.
"It's not professional to mix business and pleasure, Mr. Midoriya," Ochako spoke, causing the boy to turn red again. "But… I think that we'd get along quite well as friends for now, wouldn't you?"
Izuku nodded, taking out his phone and punching her number into his contacts.
"So, there's a really nice cafe across the street from here."
"How's their pricing?" Ochako raised an eyebrow.
"Really good. The owner is a friend of my mothers. Seriously, she would give me the store for free if I let her…"
Ochako laughed. "Sounds like a good spot to meet up then. We'd have a bit of time until the parts for the playset come in… wanna meet tomorrow to go over pricing and additional notes?"
Izuku nodded. "That would be perfect!"
->*<-
Asteroids are rocks, which travel through space in one direction, until they bump into other asteroids, or fall into orbit of a gravitational well. Some asteroids may fall to the surface of planets, plowing into their surface, and wreaking havoc. Some become moons, taking up position around a planet. And some… some become planets themselves, orbiting around stars and reflecting their light, reminding them that their presence is warm and bright and beautiful. An asteroid can be all these things and more…
But only time will tell.
Chapter 5: Flare (Explosion)
Stars constantly emit energy. Light and heat emanate from their core to their surface and outward into the vast expanse of space. Though these things are constant, there are still bursts of energy, brought about by complex twists in the stars magnetic fields. These bursts eject enough plasma and coronal material to hold their own magnetic fields, traveling at varying speeds and swelling outwards, before following the light and heat that their parents have shed.
->*<-
Life is simple when you're at the top. Extras flock to you, stumbling over themselves to get noticed. All of them bow at your feet, thanking you as you walk across their backs. And why wouldn't they?
You're the greatest. You were born to be at the top, so why not get used to it?
So you let it hit you. You let them kneel. You let them beg for your attention. You let them beg for your acknowledgement . You watch with a smirk as they all live the lives of pesky little ants, like they were born to do.
Until you see the one… the one who- despite being the smallest and weakest- still dares to look at you like you're some kind of… failure. His eyes are lit with a burning flame that refuses to be put out as he tells you every day.
" I'm going to be a hero too!"
It's infuriating.
Katsuki mourns that it isn't like that anymore.
Once, Izuku Midoriya pushed him. Made him keep working. Made him gnash his teeth as he promised to be the best.
Then it all stopped. The loser went quiet and Katsuki really didn't know how to react. He watched as the class picked, poked, prodded, and laughed. He sneered as the idiot looked to him for help.
Then there were no more looks.
Izuku was cold. So cold that it burned . Somehow, him always talking and grinning had been so much better. Better that… this.
Where once there was a hero nerd, there was now an ice cube. He kept to himself. He answered questions quietly and packed his things first. When other kids picked on him he laughed along. It was a chilling sound. Hollow and empty, but it still held a message.
" You're laughing now."
He wondered what had happened. When it had happened. Why it had happened. Well, not entirely why…
He knew that some of the extras could be… unbearable. If anyone knew, it was Katsuki. The one kid who could pop his eyes out was unbearable, and the other, extra with long fingers, bragged about how great he was when all his quirk was good for was picking his nose.
Yeah… He understood why Izuku laughed back sometimes.
What had really shocked him was the day that he showed up with a broken nose. The strip of metal stuck between his eyes was a sight to see, and at first, Katsuki had thought it was just the nerd trying to look tough.
Then the nerd took out a kid twice his size in phys ed, when the dumbass got physical in floor hockey.
The gym had been silent. When their teacher had shaken it off and shouted for the nerd to go to the principal, he had already disappeared.
Then the next day, in homeroom, their teacher had passed out college application forms, only to be stopped by the nerd when he returned to the front of the class.
" You gave me the wrong paper."
The man had sneered, telling him off, that he wouldn't go to college. He'd just fit better in the workforce.
Katsuki shuddered because, in that moment, it wasn't Izuku standing there, but his auntie Inko. His form was as rigid as she had been when she tore into his mom and dad for an offhanded comment.
To this day, coming across that woman's anger was Katsuki's worst fear. It's why he hit Deku a lot less than he had back in elementary school.
But instead of ripping the man a new one, the nerd sat back down at his desk, his eyes boring into the teacher as he filled out the form without looking at the paper once.
"I'm glad you can see reason."
At the end of homeroom, Deku had turned in the paper, getting a huff from the teacher. "Is this some kind of joke, Midoriya?"
"Not a joke sir ." The nerd hissed. "I figured you'd want to do something helpful for society, instead of sitting at a scratched up desk while kids with a shitty attitude get their ego's stroked by your wriggly little pedophile fingers."
The class was silent as Deku leaned in.
" I got your address right, didn't I?"
The teacher just took the paper quietly. "We'll be contacting your mother about this…"
"You know, in the last few years, my mom and I became well acquainted with some nice lawyers." The nerd gave a cheery smile. "We wouldn't want the school to be investigated for discrimination, would we?"
It reminded Katsuki of how his mom talked about the nerd's father, who breathed poison and set it aflame. His words had apparently plummeted his rank in the US hero listings. Multiple times in fact.
What the hell was a kid like Deku doing with that attitude?
He tried to confront him after class. But the only response he got was a cold glare. His face was pinched together into a chiseled picture of anger. But in those eyes, burning hotter than ever, was that fire.
Katsuki had made a mistake, and he knew it in that moment. He had written Izuku off as a dreamer, who deigned to look down on him in some semblance of pity, when in reality, Izuku was just like the extras, trying to prove himself.
It was clear that he was done bowing. Those eyes… that fire…
Now they had a clear target. A goal.
To be better than Katsuki was. And dear stars above, that was a thought, wasn't it. It should have made him angry, but all that Katsuki felt was shame.
In several years, he would realize the monster he created. The demon he pushed to ascension.
The star, ignited by an explosion.
->*<-
Stars are beautiful, yet they still burn. Even the smallest and dullest in the universe burn hot enough to reduce matter to mere atoms.
Does one feel such heat in the end? When they are consumed, will they come to an understanding of themselves as their atoms are split and fused until being shot away?
Will that heat burn hot enough to mask what it extinguishes?
->*<-
"MIDORIYA!"
Izuku blinked as he walked out of Aldera. There stood Ochako, dressed in a cute skirt and blouse, with a white jacket thrown overtop.
"Uraraka! W-why are you at my high school?"
The girl blushed. "Well, I had to come into the city earlier to go over some things with Mr Yagi and the Preschool board. Nothing big, just asking about parking and such for when we bring in our work trucks."
"Oh… so then Mr. Yagi told you I was here?"
"Well, I was at the preschool for a while, then I went to his store with him and looked through some of his merchandise. He got tired of it after a bit and just told me to go meet you here."
"But Mr. Yagi's is on the other side of my apartment building. You walked all the way?"
"Nope!" Uraraka grinned, pulling out a key and clicking a button. A pickup truck flashed its lights in response. "Mum and Dad gave me one of the pickups when I got my license. Since I work for them anyways, it had been a long time coming."
Izuku gawked. "How much does your family have?"
"Just the two pickups and the family car. Believe me, it's not much compared to a lot of places. We're actually still paying this one off…"
Izuku nodded and pulled at the straps of his backpack.
' I had wanted to go home and change, but if she's already here…'
"DEKU!"
Izuku stiffened as he heard the tell-tale signs of one Katsuki Bakugo chasing him down. Uraraka seemed to notice, because her face immediately fell into a frown as her eyes looked over Izuku's shoulder at the blonde boy.
"WHERE THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING YOU DAMN NERD?"
Izuku turned around, giving a poisonous smile as he assessed the blonde. "Katsuki, didn't your father teach you it's rude to yell?"
"IT WAS MY MOTHER WHO TAUGHT ME THAT, DEKU!"
"Why am I not surprised that that didn't stick?"
Uraraka giggled at that, which was probably the worst thing to do as it got the blonde boys attention.
"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT, CHUBBY CHEEKS?"
' Chubby Cheeks?'
Before Ochako had the chance to be angry, Izuku had given a scoff and turned away from the loud boy.
"Katsuki, if you're just going to scream your head off like always, go find a different target. Uraraka and I have places to be."
The blonde boy blinked, before snickering. "What, is this just the next reason that you're better than I am? Who's the chick Deku?"
"I don't see why that's any of your business." Midoriya replied coolly. "Why don't you run along to your extras now, like a good future hero?"
Uraraka had never really seen this side of Izuku before. Sure, this was the second time they were meeting face to face, but Izuku never really gave off a feeling of toxicity. Still, the way he was talking to the blonde-
"DON'T TALK DOWN TO ME LIKE THAT, NERD!"
Midoriya glared at the blonde boy. "Considering you feel free to say whatever you want, I figured I'd do the same. You really have a problem with that?"
"I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH YOU THINKING THAT YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME YOU USELESS FREAK!"
"HEY!" Uraraka shouted, stepping forward. "What the hell is your problem?"
The blonde let his quirk pop, causing Uraraka's face to lose a bit of color as the smell of burning caramel wafted through the air with the sound of explosions.
"You stay out of this. Just because you're Deku's bitch doesn't mean you have any say here."
"Katsuki," Izuku spoke. The blonde boy froze as he met Izuku's eyes. "Say whatever you want about me. Do not insult my friend."
The blonde scoffed and shook his head. "Yeah, whatever. It's not worth my time anyway."
"Run along, Katsuki. Tell Auntie Mitsuki I say hello."
"I'll tell her what I wanna tell her you fucking nerd."
And with that, Bakugo stormed off. Uraraka turned to Izuku, her face scrunched in a frown. "What was his problem?"
Izuku sighed. "I'm not really the most popular kid here."
"I'll say. He called you a freak!"
"Bakugo has the strongest quirk in the school. That means he rules the roost."
Ochako grunted. "Well, that's stupid. Quirks aren't everything. My cousin doesn't even have one and she's a fucking brilliant student."
"Your cousin is quirkless?" Izuku blinked.
"Look, she's had to deal with a lot, so if you're about to say anything-"
"No! No… I am too."
Ochako stared for a moment. "Oh."
"Yeah. So I'm kind of at the bottom of the food chain here."
Ochako frowned. "That's-"
"It's okay. I'm almost done with high school and so I won't have to deal with any of it anymore." Izuku smiled. "Look, why don't we forget this happened and just go to that cafe?"
Ochako nodded. "Yeah… that's fine. Hop in the truck and I'll drive us there."
' I'm not going to forget this happened.'
->*<-
Katsuki Bakugo growled as he stalked down the road. He couldn't believe that nerd had the balls to tell him what to do. And that bitch with him was obviously just a fucking friend his mom probably paid to hang out with him.
"Fucking Deku and his fucking bitchy bitch. Probably just started talking back to look cool."
He stopped at his house to change out of his uniform. His mom and dad were out, probably doing a shoot for some new clothing line.
He didn't really give a shit. He was going to be out with some extras, checking out that new arcade on Jakuu Street.
Rolling his eyes at the thought of those insufferable idiots, he quickly grabbed a protein bar and his wallet before walking out the door.
When he got to Jakuu Street, he found that Deku was there too. And that fucking doughball of a bitch was sitting right with him in the window of Coffee Dreams.
He was gonna throw up.
"Bakugo! Over here!"
Thank god for the extras. He'd never been so relieved to see them. He would rather look at eye tape than Deku and his bitch sitting there.
Talking over papers and…
Computers and…
Coffee and…
No. It was disgusting to think about that nerd and that fat faced bitch. He needed to go somewhere else.
"Hey man, I got a few cigs from my dad's drawer on the way over. Why don't we go hit them behind the arcade?"
"I'm not gonna smoke, dipshit. You guys can kill your lungs while I finish my protein bar." Katsuki growled, pulling his afternoon snack from his pocket.
The group walked into the alleyway, where fingers lit up a cigarette and began to puff on it. Katsuki grunted as he smelled the tobacco and walked over to the opposite wall, right next to the sewer grate.
A mistake.
One moment, he was standing there, eating his protein bar, and the next, he was covered in some weird, cold sludge.
"Looks like I got rel lucky today! You'll be perfect for getting me into the bank!"
The extras screamed and ran, leaving Katsuki to fend for himself against the living ooze. He kept his mouth shut, holding in as much breath as he could as he let his quirk spark.
All the explosions did was give him a breath as both he and the slime were launched into the center of Jakuu Street.
"Just stay still, kid. It'll be easier that way!"
Civilians ran and screamed as Katsuki fought, unaware his explosions were tearing buildings apart. His vision began to get blurry as he struggled for breath.
' Somebody… help…'
Chapter 6: Ignition (Shine)
Protostars are the first stages of a stellar body, which are not considered true stars as they cannot fuse hydrogen to helium in order to shed light and radiation. Instead, these bodies absorb mass from their mother nebulae, growing denser and denser until they develop a core temperature hot enough to fuse elements and properly burn.
We call this moment, when a star begins to shine, a stellar ignition.
->*<-
Izuku chuckled as Uraraka worked on her third latte.
"I take it the coffee is good?"
The girl stopped for a moment, blushing as she slowly set her cup down. "I may have a caffeine problem…"
"Don't worry. If I could drink coffee I'd be right there with you." Izuku chuckled.
"Not a fan of the elixir of life?" Uraraka grinned.
"So long as it smells like skunk and tastes like dirt? No." Izuku shot back. "I'd rather stick to my green tea. It's much more calming than coffee."
Uraraka shrugged. "To each their own, though I get where you're coming from with the taste. It is a bit… earthy."
Izuku nodded and slung his backpack off of his shoulder. "So… now that we're settled. The preschool?"
"Oh right! So. Everything is in order for the playset, All we have to talk about is budget. You said that the preschool had a budget of nine million yen, correct?"
"Yes. A little more, but rounding makes it nine." Izuku nodded.
Uraraka reached into the purse she had carried in with her and took out a small notebook, which she quickly began to write in.
"Dad said that the equipment would run us about six million. We're building this to last, so we're going to take a bit more time with it. So long as we have the parts, mom, dad, and I can have the playset constructed in a week and a half? We have licenses to use our quirks for work, so-"
Izuku blinked as the girl wrote down notes and worked out the math in the blink of an eye. For anyone else, it would probably be mind boggling, but Izuku hung onto every single word.
"Only a week and a half?"
Uraraka nodded. "Er… yeah. My mom's quirk will help us move a lot of this quickly, and with a few pairs of extra hands we can definitely set everything up quickly."
Izuku nodded as he looked over the numbers. "This… this seems great! Miss Kitayama will be beside herself!"
Uraraka blushed as the boy gushed over her calculations. He flipped the page of the notebook to see a rough sketch of the proposed playground design.
"You draw?"
Urarak giggled awkwardly. "A bit. Only for architectural design… It's kinda nerdy, don't you think?"
"What? No it's not!" Izuku pulled a notebook out of his own bag and flipped through it, before picking out a page and turning it over to her. There, drawn out in fine detail, was Uraraka, her image frozen mid text.
' Did he draw this after seeing me share my number? It's really good!'
"S-sorry if it's creepy. Quirks are kinda my thing and I slowly got used to drawing the heroes that caught my eye. I made an entry for you after our first meeting…"
Ochako looked over the notes, finding the information written down to be quite extensive. Her height, eye color, hair color, notes about her personality, and guesses as to what her quirk would be.
"The eye color and hair color could be a bit much, but everything else is really good! You're really close to guessing my quirk too."
"Oh? I knew it had to be some psychic manipulation of objects… You have a mutation of your mothers quirk that gives you true telekinesis?"
Ochako giggled as the boy gushed about his guesses. "Since you're so invested, I'll tell you. It's called zero gravity. Anything I touch with five fingers," The pen in her hand glowed as she tapped her pinky down, before floating in the air. "Has its gravity negated."
"Incredible." Izuku blinked, writing down what she had said. "Such a cool quirk. You have a weight limit I assume?"
"Currently, two tonnes."
The green haired teens jaw dropped. "Uraraka… that's incredible…"
"You think so?"
"Uh, yeah? You could stop a building from falling to save a bunch of people inside if you were a hero. If you stayed a civilian, it's perfect for your path in construction! You can easily move supplies and equipment with little effort!"
"That's what I tell my parents, but they keep saying I should follow my own dream, and not worry about them." Ochako rolled her eyes. "So far, acting as the head of this playset project has been the best deal I've had with them."
"Well, I should count myself lucky that you are a natural then."
Uraraka giggled again as Izuku took a sip of his tea. He was awkward, but he did have some… accidentally smooth lines. She opened her mouth to ask if he wanted to go look around Jakuu street, but was stopped as a series of explosions sounded from outside.
"What was that?"
Izuku looked out of the window, his gaze hardening as he spotted whatever was causing the commotion.
"We need to get out of here."
No sooner had he said it then the ground began to shake. The windows of the cafe cracked as the ceiling began to crumble. Izuku quickly grabbed Uraraka's hand and pulled her to the door. "Come on Uraraka! We need to go!"
There was no time for an explanation, and much to her disappointment, the croissants that they had ordered were left behind at their table. Izuku dragged Uraraka out of the cafe as the rest of the customers, as well as the staff, escaped just before the storefront crumbled to the ground.
"Our snacks…" Urarak sniffed.
Izuku didn't hear her. His eyes were focused on something down the street. Soon enough, the sound of explosions caught Uraraka's attention as well.
"What's wrong, Midoriya?"
Izuku simply took her hand. "We need to get everyone off of the street. It's a villain attack."
Uraraka looked to where he was looking and saw the sludge villain writhing around, taking chunks out of the road. "Oh my-"
"Uraraka. We need to get these people out of here."
Ochako nodded and turned to those who were in the store, who were still staring at the wreckage. "Everybody, it looks like a villain is attacking the street. We need to get to safety!"
With that, everyone snapped out of their shock, seeing that Uraraka was correct, and that there was a villain.
"We should quickly walk to the other end of the street. Hopefully the heroes will be here soon."
Izuku took Uraraka's hand and they led the group away from the fight, getting to the end of the block right as several heroes began to arrive.
"This doesn't look good." The Punching Hero: Death Arms, spoke as he finished putting up road blocks. "Everyone please remain calm."
The Wood Hero, Kamui Woods swung down the street, preparing to attack the villain. But, just as he got close, an explosion popped out from within its roiling form, blasting him back.
"Shit! Kamui!"
"Death Arms! He's got more than a few tricks. There's a hostage in there!"
Izuku stiffened. The villain had a hostage?
"That's not good…"
Izuku and Uraraka turned, finding that Mr. Yagi was there as well, holding a plastic grocery bag with a two liter bottle of cola.
"Mr Yagi!"
"Oh! Young Midoriya and Uraraka! Are you two hurt?"
Izuku shook his head. "Thankfully everyone with us got out unscathed. Can't say the same for the cafe…"
Another explosion rocked the street, this time blasting through two buildings and sending debris flying. Before it could hit the civilians, it was blocked by a large hand.
"Mt. Lady!"
"Death Arms! I can't fit down the street without causing more damage."
The punching hero nodded. "It won't do much good anyway. Kamui said there's a hostage, someone is trapped in there. If you attack they won't make it out."
"Then I'll remain back here to defend the public. You work with Kamui to try to stop this guy."
The heroes all nodded to each other and began to move. Death arms punched his fists together, causing his arms to bulge as Kamui swung upwards. A woody vine extended from Kamui's arm and wrapped around Death arms torso, leveling him with the sludge villain.
"Team Attack"
"Ballistic Arms!"
Kamui swung forward and let go, letting Death Arms fly as fast as possible on the fly. Izuku leaned in. "They're trying to throw him through the sludge. Are they going for the hostage?"
Mr. Yagi nodded. "I would assume so. In a situation like this, Heroes are supposed to prioritize the lives of civilians. But… this is going to be tough…"
Uraraka looked at the skeletal blonde. "What's the matter?"
They were pulled back to the fight as an Explosion went off in Death Arms face, halting his approach enough for the slime to grab him and hurl him face first into the ground.
"DEATH ARMS!"
Kamui Woods quickly swooped in and pulled his teammate out of danger. "Are you okay?"
Toshinori shook his head. "That guy has a body that he can move however he needs. And it seems like he's taking advantage of his hostages quirk too…"
"He's the one who robbed your store." Izuku spoe after a moment. "That was him, right?"
Toshinori nodded. "And he has enough control to use a gun. Imagine how he can punch."
Kamui swung in as Death Arms took a moment to breathe, cracking his neck and getting ready for another approach.
As Kamui got close, the sludge lashed out. A strand of slime flew out with a loud crack, striking the wood hero with the strength of a whip.
"Stop buzzing around me, flies!"
Kamui screamed as his left arm was ripped out of position. Panting, he withdrew and made to fix his injury.
"Its no use… he got my bone." The hero grunted to his allies. "We might just have to send Mt. Lady in."
"And kill the hostage? Are yu crazy?" Death Arms growled. "We have to keep trying."
"Whoever is in there won't be alive for much longer. He's drowning them as we speak."
Death Arms grit his teeth as the sludge rolled around the destroyed street, letting off explosions as it worked on finishing its hostage off.
"Then we have to stll him. Give enough of an opening for the hostage to breathe while we wait for backup to arrive."
Izuku stared at the villain as he listened to the heroes plan. Toshinori sighed beside him. "This isn't good… if only they had one more set of hands…"
Izuku noticed that the man clutched his side as he gave a cough. Uraraka quickly ran to his side. "Mr. Yagi! We should get you to a spot where you can sit."
"It's quite alright miss Uraraka. I have to watch-"
Izuku felt the world drop away as he got a clear look at the villain. Green slime with a set of eyes and large square teeth. Another explosion went off and he saw the lower half of a face emerge, taking a gulp of air before being covered again.
Another explosion, another breath. Blonde hair, red eyes.
The sludge put its teeth over the hostages face, preventing another explosion from giving room to breathe.
Izuku knew those eyes. Those pleading eyes. Those eyes which
Looked
At
Him
.
.
.
"I need to stay and watch this to make sure everything is o- MIDORIYA!"
Izuku didn't even realize he was running until he heard Mr. Yagi's shout. It was too late though. He tore past Death Arms and Kamui Woods, his feet thudding on the ground as he picked up speed.
"STUPID KID!"
"YOU'LL BE KILLED!"
"YOUNG MIDORIYA NO!"
"IZUKU!"
The cries of the heroes and his friends fell on deaf ears as his heartbeat thudded in his head. Izuku ran closer and slung his backpack from his back.
' I have to save him. His body is liquid, but his eyes aren't. If I can-"
Izuku jumped to the side as the sludge villain lashed out, dodging the attack quickly and continuing to get closer.
"You git a death wish kid? Who am I to tell you no!"
Izuku grit his teeth and dodged another swing, landing on one foot and pivoting to throw his backpack. The Sludge gave a scream as one of his textbooks fell out and smashed into its eye.
"YOU BRAT!"
Izuku quickly lunged in and ripped one of the eyes free before jumping back. "LET HIM GO!"
The sludge villain froze, and Izuku could feel it in his hand. The eye was shaking.
' Good… be angry. Make a mistake. Something!'
"The Sludge growled and raised a tendril, but Izuku just raised the eye. "If you hit me, you'll hit this first. I can't imagine that can feel to good, now can it?"
To prove his point, Izuku squeezed, causing the villain to give out a whine of pain. "Let him go."
They were at a standstill for a moment, before the Sludge sneered. "I can always regrow it!"
Izuku's eyes widened as the villain burst outwards, tendrils taking on the shape of fists, spikes, and hammers and swinging down to obliterate him.
The teen closed his eyes.
' I'm sorry mom!'
All he felt was a gust of wind.
Izuku blinked, before looking up. There, holding the villain back, was the number one hero.
The Symbol of Peace himself.
All Might.
"That took a lot of guts, kid! I'm impressed!"
Izuku stumbled back as All Might jbbed a hand into the slime and pulled out the hostage. Katsuki fell down next to him, retching out chunks of sludge.
"Get him to safety young man, and let us protect the public."
The sludge roiled angrily, but had no time to speak as All Might turned his full attention to the criminal.
"Picking on highschoolers, huh? Along with the destruction of property, robbery, and other charges that you've piled up. I'm disappointed that i couldn't get to you sooner."
The sludge rolled back in fear as All Might cocked a fist back.
"No matter. I'll finish this in one DETROIT SMASH!"
The punch was fast, blowing through the sludge and blasting it apart. Izuku grabbed onto the ground with one hand and Katsuki's shirt with the other, keeping them anchored as the shockwaves from the punch blasted down the street.
"Holy shit…"
Death Arms stared. "He beat it in a single punch…"
Kamui looked up as rain began to fall. Overhead, clouds swirled around a large dark spot in the sky. "That's not all… he changed the weather!"
The civilians all cheered as All Might turned and gave a grin. Izuku blinked at the number one hero.
"IZUKU!"
He quickly turned as Uraraka ran forward and tackled him in a hug. "You're okay, right? Did it hit you? Of all the stupid, brave, idiotic, heroic-"
Izuku cut her off with a hug, before freezing. "Where's mister Yagi?"
Uraraka pursed her lips. "I'll tell you, because he has a lot to explain."
Izuku turned as she pointed, finding himself staring into the blue eyes of All Might. The hero gave a small cough, making Izuku's eyes widen.
' WHAAAAT?'
->*<-
Cleanup had been… an experience. A lot of the heroes praised Katsuki for holding out for so long, while others lectured Izuku on safety protocols as he was assessed by the paramedics. That was, until All Might gave them a glare.
"The boy is a hero… yes, what he did was stupid, but we owe todays victory to him."
All the while, Izuku was nearly catatonic with the realization that Mr. Yagi was All Might in disguise.
He had basically been adopted by All Might!
The hero had disappeared and reappeared later as Mr. Yagi, who signed off on Izuku's discharge and walked both him and Uraraka to his shop.
"Make no mistake, what you did was incredibly stupid. You could have died!"
Izuku remained quiet, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I'm sorry…"
"But… I am proud of you."
Both Izuku and Uraraka stared at the blonde man, who gave a grin. "I have a lot of explaining to do myself, so why don't we talk about it for a bit."
"It's getting late though, All Might. Uraraka needs to-"
The girl shook her head. "My folks are out on a new job tonight. Apparently word travels fast about a situation like Miss Kitayamas. I was going to spend the night at a hotel down the road."
Izuku gawked. "You should have told me! We have a guest room that you could use!"
Uraraka blinked. "Are you sure?"
"Of course!"
"Ahem." Toshinori coughed. "Back to the topic at hand?"
"Right." Izuku nodded. "Why didn't you tell us that you were-"
Mr. Yagi sighed and cut off Izuku's question. "That I was All Might? My civilian identity is a state secret kid. Only about nine people really know who I am. Please don't hold that against me."
Uraraka shrugged. "I mean, if villains knew, that would probably be pretty bad."
Izuku nodded. "Good point. Sorry that I made you-"
"Young Midoriya, you didn't do anything wrong other than put yourself in danger. Your bravery inspired me to act, which is why…"
Izuku blinked as Mr. Yagi pointed at his face.
"I want to train you to be a hero. My successor. The next symbol of peace!"
Both Izuku and Uraraka gaped at the blonde man, their eyes popping out of their skulls.
Then they fainted.
Toshinori sighed. "That could have gone better…"
->*<-
When a star ignites, its light begins to shine. With nothing to hinder it, the light it generates will travel on and on, eventually reaching distant planets and galaxies, inspiring others to ignite. Whether protostars, or organic lifeforms…
This light catches everything, and the flame spreads.