Chapter 4: I Find A Secret Message.
Izuku was having a blast. Toshinori had given him an All Access Training Pass for Might Tower right before the entrance exam so he could train on his own, since the hero said he'd be busy for several days afterwards. He didn't think he'd ever get over just how cool it was that he had access to Might Tower's training facilities. Izuku tried informing him of a 'special development' with his quirk, but his texts were left unanswered.
After a full week of training, with guidance from Seventh, the future hero had a decent grip on [G-Direct]. He'd learned how to keep his acceleration pointed in a fixed direction, allowing him to maneuver his body in the air, as well as how to cancel his momentum in opposite directions, allowing him to float.
He'd been able to converse with Seventh for much longer after waking up from his injuries at the entrance exam. Seventh herself was even able to initiate communication. The other vestiges were also easier to speak to, but only a small amount. They assumed it was because he had manifested her quirk, seeing as he could also communicate with Eighth, although Eighth wasn't able to communicate much in return, just feelings of overwhelming joy and pride. Izuku cried for ten minutes after their first 'conversation'.
After he finished his training session for the day, Izuku returned home to find his mother waiting for him. "Izuku! You got a letter a little while ago. I tried calling you but you didn't answer…" Izuku checked his phone and saw two missed calls and a text from his mother. Oh man, she messaged me when I was on the train home. I was too busy talking with Seventh to notice.
"Sorry mom, I must've been stuck in my head. Is it… from UA?" Inko nodded her head and handed it to her son. He held it for a moment, processing the moment. He calmed himself with a deep breath and sat on the couch next to his mother, opening the letter.
"BOOYAH, I AM HERE! AS A PROJECTION!"
The green haired duo both yelped in surprise at the hologram of All Might that appeared on their coffee table.
All Might?! But, this is from UA?
"You're looking at the newest UA faculty member! I was pulled from my last minute teaching evaluations to come here to give a message to a special examinee!"
I guess that explains why he hasn't responded to any of my texts. Special examinee?
"Young man, you passed the written exam with flying colors, scoring fourth place! And for the practical exam, you scored forty-two combat points, placing you in twenty-second place.
Twenty-second... UA has two hero courses of twenty students per year... THAT MEANS I MADE IT IN!Izuku began vibrating happily and his mother began repeatedly tapping him on the arm as she came to the same conclusion. They both paused when All Might began to speak again.
"However, young Midoriya, that is not all! There is a hidden component to the hero course entrance exam that allows those with heroic hearts to shine. Rescue points! You assisted multiple examinees throughout the test, with no benefit for yourself. Recordings of Izuku appeared on screen. In one, he informed a kid with pincers to stab slightly above center mass to immediately shut down the robots. In another, he helped out the spiky red head. The biggest one on the screen, however, was when he saved the nice girl from the zero-pointer. "Because of your actions, you were rewarded sixty-seven rescue points, landing you in first place with one hundred and nine total points, breaking my record of one hundred and eight from over forty years ago."
The mother and son were stunned.
Izuku... first place... I'm so proud of him.
I got... first place? I beat Kacchan?
"Welcome, Izuku Midoriya, to your Hero Academia!"
Man, these hallways are really confusing. I hope I don't end up late.
It was Izuku's first day at UA. He fanboyed over seeing Cementoss and Snipe when he first entered and ended up with only three minutes to reach class 1A. Upon approaching the door, he steadied himself. I wonder if Kacchan's in 1A as well. I need to find out what's going on with him... Izuku's question was shortly answered.
"Were you born with that stick up your ass, or did you place it there yourself?" Katsuki was leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on his desk. The blue haired boy from the lecture hall was scolding him.
"Wha- what!? How dare you use such crude language! What kind of school would allow that?"
"Oh, are you some kind of stuck up private school kid? That makes a lot more sense now, Four Eyes."
The spectacled teen placed a hand on his chest in offense, he turned to head back to his seat, but changed course when he noticed Izuku.
"You there! Green haired boy! I am Tenya Iida, and I must apologize once more for my behavior during the entrance exam. I recognize you as the superior student. You must have realized the rescue portion of the exam. I strive to reach your level of perceptiveness!" Every sentence was punctuated with a different hand chop.
"Oh, uh, don't worry about it! I didn't know about the rescue points either, I just saw someone that needed help, that's all." Tenya looked starstruck.
"That only proves that you are even more superior as a student than I am. I have much to learn!"
He's pretty intense.
Izuku flinched when he noticed Katsuki staring at him. He had such pure anger in his eyes, but it didn't seem like it was directed entirely at Izuku. The green haired teen felt almost as if... Katsuki was angry at himself.
"Oh hey! I'd recognize that messy hair anywhere!" Izuku yelped and turned to face the nice girl from the entrance exam.
She looks pretty in that uniform... Izuku blushed as he realized what he was thinking.
"I never got to say thank you for saving me! I still can't believe you actually blew up the zero-pointer. I'm Ochako Uraraka, by the way." Every head in the class turned to stare at Izuku. His face turned as red, resembling at tomato as he waved his arms around.
"Oh, um, haha don't worry about that! I just, uh, wanted to help out, that's all. It's-"
"If you're here to make friends, then I suggest you leave."
Izuku leaned to see past Ochako to see who cut him off, only to see a homeless looking man in a yellow sleeping bag with a... juice box?
"It took you all eight seconds before you calmed down. That won't do." The man loudly slurped his juice box and stood to emerge from his sleeping bag. "My name is Shota Aizawa, I'll be your homeroom teacher. Put on those gym uniforms and meet me outside at the training field." He haphazardly gestured to the box on the desk in the corner of the room, then walked away, sleeping bag tucked under his arm.
He's a homeroom teacher, so he must be a hero. Why can't I recognize him? His scarf looks really familiar...
"Aizawa-sensei, won't we miss orientation if we do a quirk assessment test?" Shota turned to Ochako, smirking.
"Here at UA, teachers are allowed to structure things how they want. The orientation is redundant, everything you could learn from it, and more, is found in the pamphlets back in the classroom. I need to see a baseline of what I'll be working with. A standardized physical assessment while allowing you to use your quirks is the perfect way for me to determine said baseline. Now, Midoriya, you received the most points on the entrance exam. What was your farthest softball throw in middle school?"
Izuku felt the stares of his classmates again. He tried to stand tall, proud of achieving first place. "64.2 meters, sir." Shota nodded and tossed the boy a softball.
"Stand in that circle and throw the ball using your quirk. It has a tracking device built inside to measure your distance. Anything goes, just stay inside the circle." Izuku moved to the circle before turning back to his teacher.
"Anything goes? So there's no vertical limit to the circle, I just can't pass the boundary before throwing?" The teacher nodded.
Izuku steadied himself as he planned out his throw. Alright, I can use [G-Direct] to float into the sky so I can throw from a greater height, I just have to be careful not to float too high so as to not accidentally cross the boundary line. I can use [One for All] at three percent, then boost it to five percent at the last moment. It'll sting, but there shouldn't be any lasting damage.
Izuku began to spark with green lighting as his hair raised up and he floated into the air roughly twenty meters. The class let out 'ooh's and 'aah's at his ability to fly. All except Katsuki.
That damn nerd's had a quirk this whole time!!? He's been fucking lying to me his whole life!? How the hell did he beat me in the entrance exam if all he can do is fly?
His question was answered when the floating boy threw the ball.
"SMASH!"
The ball soared through the sky as a gust of wind hit the students. Izuku was pushed back a few meters, and he softly landed. He rubbed his throwing arm as the green glow faded.
"714.2 meters. Impressive."
How... HOW?! HOW THE HELL DID SHITTY DEKU GET SO DAMN STRONG?!! DID HE ACTUALLY MAKE UP THAT QUIRKLESS SOB STORY IN ORDER TO TRICK ME!?!
Katsuki was breathing frantically as smoke and pops emanated from his palms. His red eyes were unfocused, darting to different positions on Izuku's body, as if it would reveal anything. One of the people Izuku assisted during the entrance exam, the one with red hair, approached the panicked teen.
"Hey man, you alright? Your quirk looks like it's going off. Are those explosions!? That's so manly!"
Katsuki snapped his head towards the boy. He focused on the scar the student had above his eye. He unclenched his jaw, taking a breath and relaxing his quirk. The techniques he'd learned in therapy after the sludge villain were actually proving useful. Not that he'd ever let the hag know.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just warming up."
"Oh, good. The name's Eijiro Kirishima, by the way. You?"
"Bakugo. Katsuki Bakugo."
"Well, Bakugo-Katsuki-Bakugo, it's nice to meet ya. I can't wait to see where I end up at the end of the assessment, this is gonna be fun!"
Katsuki scoffed at the enthusiastic teen. "Whatever, Weird Hair."
Izuku took his place back amongst the rest of the class as their teacher spoke up.
"Fun, huh? Let this be your first lesson: Treat this seriously, or you're going home. You've got three years to become heroes, and at any time, if I deem you unworthy or without potential, I won't hesitate to expel you." The crowd of students became tense at their teacher's words. They knew they had to give it their all if they wanted to stay in the hero course. "Alright, let's continue with the tests."
The rest of the tests went by without issue for Izuku. He was near the top of each exercise, which he was immensely proud of. He, alongside who he came to learn were Mezo Shoji and Momo Yaoyorozu, even broke the grip testers, Izuku and Mezo using pure strength, while Momo used a clamp she'd created seemingly out of thin air. He even tied first place in the distance run. After an hour of running until he ran out of breath and then switching to flight while he recovered stamina, the only other contestant was Momo, who was riding an electric bike that she could hot-swap the battery for. Shota asked them how much longer they had in them, and when they both replied with 'Several hours', he told them to stop and that they tied for first. Izuku smiled and Momo muttered 'Acceptable'.
The end results were as follows:
1: Izuku Midoriya
2: Momo Yaoyorozu
3: Katsuki Bakugo
4: Shoto Todoroki
5: Tenya Iida
6: Fumikage Tokoyami
7: Mezo Shoji
8: Mashirao Ojiro
9: Eijiro Kirishima
10: Mina Ashido
11: Rikido Sato
12: Tsuyu Asui
13: Ochako Uraraka
14: Yuga Aoyama
15: Hanta Sero
16: Kyoka Jiro
17: Toru Hagakure
18: Denki Kaminari
19: Koji Koda
20: Minoru Mineta
First place... I... that's incredible! [One for All] is amazing!
That damn nerd... He keeps beating me. I have to figure out what the hell's going on.
"All right, everyone go back to the classroom and grab one of those pamphlets I mentioned. You're free to catch the remainder of orientation, but it'll be much better if you read through what's provided. Keep the gym uniforms, they'll be your personal ones all year. If you need to change sizes or something, head to Ectoplasm's office. He's in charge of all uniform related matters. My contact number for both my personal and work phones are in the pamphlet, send me a text message from your phone to both numbers with your last name so I can verify your information is up to date. Please do not contact my personal phone for any other reason unless I have not responded to my work one. I will expel you."
"So, no one got expelled?" The pink skinned girl name Mina rubbed her hands together as she asked her question.
"So far, no. You all showed me at least a little potential. Keep it up, and you might make it through your first year with the same people you started with." Shota started to walk back towards the building when the frog girl spoke up.
"Aizawa-sensei, ribbit, why do you wear that scarf? Do you need to keep warm because of your quirk? Ribbit." Shota turned around to face the class, hand on his scarf.
"Extra credit option: If one of you can tag me without being apprehended, I'll mark one test this year as a one hundred. Careful though, only one person gets to attempt." The class looked around at each other, curious as to who would step up. Izuku, however, knew exactly who would end up charging their teacher.
"DIIIEEE!" Katsuki launched himself toward the hero with twin explosions, however he was immediately caught. The student was wrapped up in the gray scarf of their teacher, with no room to attempt an escape. "What the hell?! Why can't I use my quirk!? What the hell is this thing made of??"
Izuku realized, in that moment, who their homeroom teacher really was. The underground hero who instilled the fear of red eyes in criminals. Eraserhead.
"It's my quirk, [Erasure]. It shuts down the body's ability to interact with non-vital quirk genes. Don't make me overuse it." The teacher released his scarf's hold on the loud student and pulled out a bottle of eyedrops. "It gives me terrible dry eye. The scarf is my capture weapon. It's made of steel wire alloy with special carbon nanofibers." The hero rewrapped the support item around his neck. Katsuki was hyperventilating. "Are you okay, Bakugo? I didn't intend to harm you."
Twice. Twice in one day, I've been beaten. He took my fucking quirk away like it was nothing, like I'm some weakling. I have to get way stronger if I'm gonna be the best.
Katsuki composed himself, and nodded. "Yeah, just didn't expect you to be so fast." Katsuki began stomping towards the school building, ready to get his stupid pamphlet and leave.
"Don't beat yourself up. None of you had a chance at ever succeeding at that task. I've been doing this for too long."
After the students exited the field, Shota turned to face the corner of the building. "Come on out, All Might. I know you're there." The giant of a man in his yellow pinstripe suit stumbled from behind the corner.
"Oh, uh. Hello there, Aizawa! Funny running into you here." Shota held a blink for multiple seconds, wondering if it was worth it to just walk away.
"You've been watching my class the whole time. Now, care to explain what exactly interests you so much about my students?" Shota raised an eyebrow at the Symbol of Peace, clearly undeterred.
"I just wanted to see how the first real students I'll teach perform. I was worried for some of them after I heard about you expelling an entire class a few years ago." The smaller hero rubbed his palm up his face with a yawn.
"Those students would never have become heroes. Any of them that got a license would have ended up buried within a few years, I did them a favor by expelling them. However, I don't believe you're being completely honest with me. I noticed you were paying more attention whenever Midoriya was active. There isn't anything improper the school should know about, right?" The Erasure Hero glared at the number one.
"WHA-" All Might began coughing and choking on his blood. Quickly, he glanced around to make sure they were alone and released his muscle form. "No, of course not. I just wanted to see how an experienced teacher interacted with their students. Young Midoriya just seemed to be the most impressive of the group." Shota relaxed his gaze and walked past Toshinori.
Something's up with that guy. I don't think he has bad intentions, but I'm gonna get to the bottom of it.
"Midoriya! I am requesting to walk to the station with you!" Tenya was speed walking towards Izuku.
"Oh, hey Iida. What makes you wanna walk with me?" Izuku waited for the fast paced boy to catch up.
"To be completely transparent, I find you impressive. Despite only knowing you for a few hours, I can see a fire within that drives you forward." Izuku blushed at the boys praise.
He actually seems pretty nice.
"Don't forget about me, guys!" The boys turned around and saw Ochako lightly jogging to reach them. "Hm, your name's Iida, and yours is... Deku right?"
Izuku's heart dropped for a moment. He started wringing his hands together, tugging on different fingers and attempting to clear his throat. "Um, uh, n- n- no, my name's Midoriya."
"Oh? I thought that's what Bakugo kept muttering under his breath at you." Izuku shook his head a little too quickly.
"No, 'Deku' is what Kacchan calls me to make fun of me. It's a misreading of my given name, Izuku." Ochako's faced quickly turned to one of regret.
"Oh no, I'm sorry! Well, I kinda like 'Deku'! It gives off a total 'You can do it!' kind of vibe, you know? Plus, it's kinda cute!"
"DEKU-IT-IS!" Tenya turned to his new found source of admiration, instantly realizing his predicament.
Well, I at least hope the two of them don't dance around it for a decade like Tensei and Nemuri have been.
"Oh, I was meaning ask, how does your quirk work? It looks like you've got two, with the whole flying and super strength thing." Izuku rubbed the back of his neck.
I hope the cover story I came up with works.
"Well, I can guarantee it's not two quirks haha."
Not off to a great start.
"It's a form of Ergokinesis. I call it [Superpower]. I have a stockpile of energy stored inside me that I can manipulate and use as super strength. I can also use that stockpile as fuel for manipulating my own gravity, as well as the gravity of things I'm either in contact with or extremely close to. I'm a pretty late bloomer, so I've hypothesized that I'll be able to do more with my quirk once I get more training with it." Ochako and Tenya both looked amazed.
"What a remarkable power! I'm sure that UA, the prestigious institution that it is, will be able to draw out all of your latent potential."
"Wow, your parents must have some pretty crazy quirks if that's what you ended up with." Izuku laughed nervously and shook his head.
"Uh, no actually, haha. My mom just has a minor telekinetic quirk that attracts small things towards her, and my dad has a super efficient fire breathing quirk. We know I get the telekinetic stuff from my mom, but we think the stockpile of energy is a mutation of my dad's quirk, acting more like 'energy output' than 'fire breath'." Izuku was really hoping that they would believe his cover story.
"You really hit the genetic lottery, huh? You said you were a late bloomer though, how late was it, if you don't mind me asking?" Izuku stared at Ochako, contemplating answering her question truthfully.
"Tell them the truth, Izuku. If they don't respect you afterwards, then they should get the hell out of this school."
"Seventh! Hi… I'm just nervous about them making fun of me for training all my life, even when I thought I'd be quirkless."
"They don't seem like the type to mock someone for pursuing their dreams, now do they, Izuku?" Izuku couldn't find himself disagreeing with Seventh.
"Now hurry up and answer her, before she gets the wrong idea. You've been staring for quite the moment now." The boy's face went bright red.
"Uh, well… I've only had my quirk for... six weeks..."
Tenya's eyes grew to the size of saucers as Ochako's jaw dropped.
"Six- si- only six weeks!?" Tenya's chopping was nearing supersonic speeds. "Midoriya, I find your level of skill with your power to be incredibly high. The fact that you have had less than two months to train with it is nothing short of stupendous."
"Oh, it's... it's not that crazy... I have... a really good group of personal trainers."
Why the hell did I say that!?
"Midoriya, my older brother and I share many similarities with our quirks, right down to fruit juices being our fuel supply. He is very accomplished with his quirk, and it still took me years of personal lessons before I was able to do half the things I'm capable of, so unless these personal trainers of yours have the exact same quirk as you and telepathically communicate how to use it, I wouldn't discount a fraction of your effort."
Izuku swore he could hear all eight vestiges laughing inside his head.
"Alright, we peaked. Nothing's gonna be funnier than that for at least twenty years." This was the first time the vestiges had seen Second smile since the transfer occurred.
Later that day, Izuku was halfway finished with reading through the UA pamphlet, when he came across handwritten words.
"If you're reading this, immediately text my work phone the phrase 'spring reading complete' so I can verify. Do not share this knowledge with another classmate."
"Aizawa-sensei really was serious about us looking through the pamphlet." He sent the text to his teacher, curious about what would come of it.
Class 1A was fervently chatting amongst themselves the next morning.
"I wonder when we'll get to start our heroics lessons. I hope it's soon!" Mina Ashido was swaying her head back and forth, speaking to Tsuyu Asui.
"Uh, didn't you read the pamphlet, ribbit? It says our first heroics period is next Monday." Mina looked as if she'd tasted something sour.
"Ummm, I might have skipped over reading it." She recovered and brought the smile back to her face. "Besides, we'll be told about anything we need to know."
"I wouldn't be sure of that." The classroom became silent as all eyes landed on Shota. "Three seconds. You're improving already, nice." The teacher took to his podium and cleared his throat. "Yesterday, I suggested you all should read the pamphlet. I hinted at it more than once, and there was a reason. You're all aiming to be pros, and as pros, you cannot allow small details to be overlooked. If, for example, you hear someone mention a very specific topic, or make a strange request, but they aren't elaborating further, it could be a hidden message. Inside each pamphlet was a message that I'd put there. It was on a different page with a different password for each copy, to ensure no one cheated. Out of twenty students, only five responded. Asui, Iida, Koda, Midoriya, and Yaoyorozu. As a result, these will be the only students eligible for becoming the Class Representative. Cast your votes. You have until the end of homeroom."
Students gazed between the five named individuals. Koji was shaking his head, full of nerves. Tsuyu was blank faced. Momo had furrowed her eyebrows, staring at Izuku. Tenya was trying to organize the voting papers.
Class representative? Hm, that'd definitely put more eyes on me from hero agencies. Is that what I want though? I still get pretty nervous when it comes to interacting with people.
"Izuku, I'm gonna give it to you straight: You are the most qualified out of any student, let alone the other four, to lead your class. The only one that'd even come close is the Iida boy, considering his family history."
"Family history? Wait, engine quirk, Iida, blue hair... HE'S INGENIUM'S LITTLE BROTHER, ISN'T HE!?!"Izuku couldn't believe he hadn't noticed their resemblance before. Ingenium always talks about his family and how much he cares for his little brother.
"Yep, he looks just like his grandfather too."
"Were you friends with an Ingenium?"
"A friend of mine was a friend of his. They'd race each other up and down the length of Japan. We didrace one time, but he got all frustrated that I 'wasn't honoring the rules' and 'shouldn't have flown above every turn'. But anyway, you're an incredibly talented boy with a heart of gold, you'd be perfect for the job. Not to mention the fact that you've got a bunch of experienced veterans in your head for advice."
"Thank you, Seventh. I didn't even think about how I'd have all the vestiges to help me out one day."
"You wound me."
"Seven votes?!"
Izuku was surprised to see that he actually won the election. Tenya and Momo tied with five votes each, Koji receiving two, and Tsuyu receiving one.
"I mean, c'mon Midoriya, did you really expect to lose that? You're like, the coolest guy ever." Minoru was poking the back of Izuku. The green haired boy stood and took his place in front of the class.
"Um, th- thanks to everyone wh- who voted for me! I promise not to let you down." Shota emerged from his sleeping bag.
"Since Iida and Yaoyorozu tied for second place, you get to pick which one will be your Vice Rep. Choose now." Izuku looked between his options.
I'm definitely closer to Iida, and he seems more approachable than Yaoyorozu, but that might just be because I haven't gotten to know her yet. She's extraordinarily capable, I heard her mention to Jiro that she was the top scorer on the written exam, plus, she's a recommendation student.
"Aizawa-sensei, can I choose both? The two of them could share the responsibilities of Vice Representative, and if I'm ever unable to perform my duties, for whatever reason, they could fill in for me and we wouldn't need to worry about one person shouldering everything." The sleepy hero shrugged.
"Sure. Iida, Yaoyorozu, you heard it. You're both Vice Reps. All three of you will have to attend the meeting with the other first year representatives to establish a connection, but for now, it's time for-"
"IT'S TIME FOR ENGLISH, YO!" The door slammed open and Present Mic strode in. After setting down his lesson plan, he made hand symbols towards their homeroom teacher, who sighed and made a smaller gesture back towards him before leaving.
Huh, I wonder if that was JSL or something.
Tenya and Koji were both left blushing.
Chapter 5: I Fight My Classmates.
Man, I can't wait to see what's planned for our first heroics lesson! I hope I get to use some of All Might's training. It'd be nice if he were here to watch my lessons, then he'd be able to remind me of anything I'd forgotten.
"Does... does he not realize that Yagi's going to be his teacher? I thought his acceptance letter made that pretty clear." Sixth was looking between Seventh and Third for an answer.
Successor. Busy. Excited. Distracted.
"Alright, alright, place your bets folks! Over-Under 2.5 'Oh My God's' when Toshinori walks through."Third and Fourth placed differing bets.
"I highly doubt that Midoriya would be unable to contain his excitement. He's already had ten months to get used to training with him." Third shook his head.
"Thought I trained you better than that, little buddy. Think about it, kid hasn't had any real interactions with Yagi since he got into UA. Now, he finds out he gets to learn directly under him again, and at UA, with his new friends and classmates? Boy's lungs are gonna look worse than Yagi's from hyperventilating."Eighth shot a look of annoyance at Third.
Hurtful.
"Either way, you're both wrong." The two shared a glance, confusion in their eyes.
"How the fuck do we both end up wrong? It's Over-Under, there's literally two options." Seventh smirked.
"He's gonna say it exactly 2.5 times before cutting himself off. Watch."
As if on cue, the classroom door slid open.
"I AM HERE! COMING THROUGH THE DOOR, LIKE A RESPONSIBLE TEACHER!" All Might was standing in the doorway in his Silver Age costume. The class erupted in cheers whenever he approached the podium.
"Oh-my-God-oh-my-God-oh-m-" Izuku covered his mouth with his hands, but continued to squeal. I can't believe he's our teacher! I remember he mentioned the teaching lessons a few times, and that he'd be at UA, I just thought it was gonna be to instruct other heroes, not students! This is so cool!
"Oh, god damn it." Third and Fourth accepted defeat. Seventh chuckled.
"Alright, settle down and listen up, zygotes! All of you have passed the safety tests, which means you can finally get started on Heroics! And what better way to start than by diving into the deep in with... A BATTLE TRIAL!" All Might held up a jumbo index card with 'BATTLE' written on it. Class 1A as a whole seemed excited, but one student in particular was more than thrilled.
Perfect. I hope I get a chance to crush that nerd into the dirt.
"They say the clothes make the pros, and looking at all of your hero costumes, I am proud to have you all as my students!"
Izuku's costume had already gone through several iterations. During his month of training with [One for All], All Might had offered to get him a hero costume early so he could get a little practice with it. Izuku wanted to say no, that him getting practice with his hero suit before any of his future classmates wouldn't be fair. But he was overjoyed by the prospect of having his own costume, so he agreed. Their final design was a green jump suit with gray accents, long white gloves that provided compression for his arms so he could use Full Cowling for longer periods, black armored leg guards so he could protect them whilst kicking, a red 'utility belt' (First insisted on the name) filled with first aid supplies, and finally, his favorite addition. A respirator that doubled as a mouth guard. It was bright white and shaped to look like All Might's smile. Toshinori was flattered by the boy's imitation, if not a little worried about people making a connection.
As Izuku looked around at the rest of his classmates, his eyes stopped on Katsuki.
Wait... there's no way. There's no fucking way he's using my ideas. Izuku rarely swore, even in his mind, but this was a special occasion. Katsuki had large gauntlets on his forearms, shaped like grenades. Izuku couldn't see his wrists, but he was pretty sure there'd be tubing that siphoned off portions of his sweat to store in the gauntlets. I wonder if he even remembers that being my idea. We were pretty young and 'put your sweat in a bomb' is easy enough to come up with.
Focus. Self. Eighth was getting better at communicating, he'd upgraded to concepts beyond emotions.
"Of course! Sorry Eighth Might!"
Joy.
"Alright zygotes! Today we will be doing indoor battles. Statistically, the most heinous villainy is committed away from prying eyes. Since you all passed the entrance exam, which was outdoors, I thought it would be best to start you off with an indoor session. This should let those with more close-ranged and stealth capabilities shine. You will be partnered up randomly, into teams of two. Does anyone have a guess as to why it is random?"
Momo and Izuku both raised their hands. Not wanting to play favorites, All Might selected Momo. "It's to represent how heroes might have to team up together on the scene of a crime." All Might gave the young girl a thumbs up.
"Absolutely! Young heroes often won't have prior knowledge of who they'll be working with. There will be two teams, heroes and villains. The villain team will head inside this building and hide a fake bomb. They will have ten minutes to fortify their hideout and come up with a defensive strategy. The hero team will wait outside, and will only be able to prepare a plan of attack. The hero team's objective is to capture both villains by wrapping their torso in capture tape, and to touch two hands to the bomb within fifteen minutes. The villain team's objective is to simply run out the timer or capture the heroes. Any questions?" Multiple hands went up as several students began asking their questions.
"What kind of bomb is it supposed to be? Can we destroy it as heroes and still win or would that be a fail?" "Can we move the bomb from it's hiding spot once the timer begins?" "Isn't this stacked in the favor of the villain team?"
All Might latched onto the last question. "Yes, young Uraraka, the hero team is at a disadvantage. Such is the case in real life heroics. This exercise will not be graded on who wins, but by the effort put forth and tactics used. So long as everyone involved has good sportsmanship and tries their best, you will do fine." Ochako nodded and set her face in a determined grin. Izuku turned to notice her in her hero outfit for the first time.
Wow... she's so pretty!
"I hate teenagers." Third slung his arm around Second's shoulder.
"C'mon chief, I was still a teenager whenever we met in the resistance." Second raised an eyebrow at his comrade.
"I fail to see the contradiction." Third's eyes flashed red and he elbowed his superior in the exact spot where his liver stuck out between his ribs.
"No fucking fair, using your quirk when I can't." Third shrugged.
"To be more accurate, I'm using my quirk whilst you're choosing not to use yours. It isn't my fault you're afraid of your power." Second looked betrayed.
"Low fucking blow, asshole." And just like that, Second faded away, back to his portion of the core of [One for All].
"Yeah Third, that was kinda fucked up." Sixth nodded in agreement.
"I'll go speak to him. Try to cheer him up some. Third, I know you didn't mean it. Just... try not to set him off again." Third had crouched and was staring at the ground.
"Yeah, my bad guys. 150 some-odd years of existence and I still fuck up my words." Fourth placed his hand on his back for comfort.
"It's alright, Ojisan. We all slip up here and there, I'm sure Second won't hold it against you. For long, at least." Eighth's eyes widened at the words of Fourth.
Family?
"Oh, forgot to tell you I guess. Third is Fourth's uncle. Bruce didn't mean to get his nephew wrapped up in this mess, but circumstances forced his hand."
Izuku could tell something was happening within [One for All]. He felt a range of emotions, but he tried to push them down. He had just drawn Team A and was waiting to see who his teammate would be.
"Ooh, Team A! That's you, right Deku?" Ochako approached the boy while holding her ball that had 'A' written across it.
"Oh, uh, y- yeah! Looks like we'll be partners for the l-lesson."
She's really close!
"Awesome! I was really hoping to have you on my team. You're really smart and powerful. This'll be a breeze!" Izuku's blush looked like the world's worst sunburn.
"Uh- uh, th- th- thank you, Uraraka. That means a lot to hear from you." Too serious! "So, while the others are still determining their teams, can you explain how your quirk works for me? I know it cancels out gravity, but I haven't had a chance to see you in action." Izuku had pulled out a pocket notebook and pen from seemingly nowhere.
"Sure thing! It's called [Zero-Gravity]. I can remove the pull of gravity from any solid object I touch with all five fingers, including myself. I have to touch somewhere on my body that isn't my hands though, so making a fist doesn't work. I can restore all removed gravity by touching all ten fingertips together. My current limit is around three tons before I get nauseous, although if I use my quirk on myself or repeatedly remove and restore the gravity of things, I get sick much faster." Izuku was quickly writing down everything she said with great speed. He already had a few ideas on how to use her quirk.
"I think there's a hidden aspect to your quirk. When you caught me before the entrance exam, you only touched my shirt, not my actual body, and that was enough to float everything I was carrying. I think you have a mental aspect that relies on what you perceive to be an 'object'. Can I have you test something, real quick?" Ochako was looking at the boy in a new light. She hadn't seen this side of him in their week at UA. She'd only been privy to the parts of him that fanboyed over every hero. She quickly nodded and agreed to his test.
"I'm gonna turn the sleeve part of my glove inside out while keeping my hand inside, that way there's a bit of distance between me and it. I want you to only touch the inside out portion of the glove, but try to imagine floating me." When Izuku confirmed he was ready, Ochako placed her fingers on the boy's glove. Immediately, his entire body lifted off of the ground, hovering in the air. Ochako placed her hands on her face, keeping her pinkies raised, and gasped.
"It worked! I can't believe you figured out a part of my quirk that I hadn't even noticed so quickly." She released her quirk and gave the boy a hug. "Thank you! This is sure to help me out as a rescue hero!"
Izuku stood there, body stiff as a board as he rebooted. Pretty girl. Hug. Confusion. PANIC. He stepped back, breaking the hug and turning towards All Might. He'd just finished setting up a whiteboard that had all the teams and battles listed on it. Izuku, noticing his team was up first as villains against team D, searched the board to see which of his classmates he'd be facing. He felt his voice get caught in his throat as he saw team D's members.
Iida and... Kacchan. This is going to go poorly.
Scanning the room, he noticed Katsuki staring at him with the most excited expression he'd seen on the boy in all twelve years they'd known each other.
"Team A, take your places inside the building. Team D, wait outside. The preparation time will begin as soon as the villain team enters their hideout."
I'm gonna break you, Deku.
"PREPARATION PHASE OVER! THE TRIAL BEGINS NOW!"
Team A had placed the bomb on the third floor, the direct center of the building. They figured Tenya would search each floor room by room, but they didn't know if he would start at the top and make his way down, or simply start on the first floor and head up, so they split the difference. Izuku had warned his teammate that Katsuki would ignore the objective and focus entirely on him, so he should head out on his own to keep him away from the bomb. She didn't like the idea, but she couldn't come up with a better plan in such a short amount of time, so she begrudgingly agreed.
He took his position in a small room on the first floor, hoping Tenya would head upstairs first. He had his comms open with Ochako so he could alert her if the speedster was headed her way. As soon as the hero team entered the building, a loud explosion rang out.
"GET OUT HERE, SHITTY DEKU! OR ARE YOU TOO SCARED I'LL KICK YOUR ASS?!"
Yeah, that's pretty much what I expected from him.
He heard a frantic voice from Katsuki's direction, followed by engines whirring and footsteps that grew quieter. Iida didn't seem to know Kacchan would do that, meaning they didn't have a plan. That's good, it'll make them easier to defeat. He whispered into his earpiece. "Uraraka, Iida's on his way upstairs, look out."
"Understood. Good luck, Deku!"
Izuku activated Full Cowling. He was prepared to wait until he could tell Katsuki was nearby on the other side of the wall, but the explosive boy had different plans.
"I SAID FIGHT ME, YOU DAMN NERD!" Izuku had only a moment to dodge before an explosion devastated a portion of the wall next to him. He took a defensive position and waited for the smoke to clear. "You wanna hide your quirk your whole damn life, fine. Fuck it. But today, today I'm gonna show you exactly who you've been looking down on all these years. I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S BETTER, YOU USELESS DEKU!"
Katsuki rocketed towards Izuku, propelled by his explosive hands. Right hook. Pivot left, get inside his guard, grab, twist, flip. Katsuki shot his right arm forward, just as expected. Izuku followed his plan and slammed the blond boy into the ground, cracking a few tiles upon impact.
"I've analyzed every amazing hero, all my life. Especially you, Kacchan. I always wanted to be a hero, and now that I have my own quirk, I'm gonna show you, and the rest of the world, that I'm not some useless kid anymore. From now on, I'M THE DEKU WHO WINS!"
"I can't tell what they're saying, is there any audio to this thing?" Denki was trying to read their lips, but it was hard on such a small screen.
"I chose to mute the audio for you observers so you could try to guess what each team might do using your own analytical abilities. I'm still listening in, however, just in case an emergency comes about."
"Oh man, analysis is hard..." Mina nodded along.
"Yeah, I'm glad that isn't part of the grade."
Katsuki stood from the ground, catching his breath. His mind was replaying painful memories.
"Kacchan, are you okay? I thought you might have hit your head or something."
"You scraped your knee, Kacchan! Let me rinse it off so we can bandage it."
"You should relax on your quirk training. Your body can only take so much damage, Kacchan."
"Kacchan, I- I couldn't just stand around and watch you die."
He thinks he can look down on me? I'll show that bastard who the real weakling is.
"DIE!"
Katsuki released a powerful blast from his left hand. He darted forward and let off another explosion, but he didn't see him anywhere. He heard a small crinkle of fabric and immediately shot off an explosion in its direction. He knew it connected when he heard Dekuyelp out in pain. "You really think you could sneak up on me, eh Deku?"
"Chicago Smash!"
Izuku brought his hands together in a powerful clap and blew away all the smoke in the room. Having eyes on Katsuki, he channeled all of [G-Direct] in his direction, flying feet first in a sideways drop kick.
"Dakota Smash!"
When his feet met Katsuki's chest, he kicked off of him and reoriented himself to the ground, leaping forward once more. His attack was countered, however, when Katsuki used an explosion to launch himself into the air over Izuku, exploding the green haired teen's back.
"Since you were always scribbling about my quirk in your creepy notebooks, why don't you tell me what these gauntlets are for." Katsuki raised his arm parallel to the ground as he pulled back the large slide of his gauntlet, activating the first stage of the firing process.
All Might was watching carefully. He wanted to call off the match right now, before anyone could get too hurt, but deep down, he wanted even more for Izuku to prove himself. He wanted his successor to face this threat head on.
"Run Izuku, he's going to-"
"I'm not running. I have a plan."
"I've waited a long fucking time for this moment, but I never thought I'd get so lucky as to have it fall on my fuckin' birthday. DIIEEE!!" Katsuki's face held a manic smile.
Izuku knew he had to time this perfectly. He waited for the moment his opponent pulled the pin, sparking the gauntlet and sending a wave of explosive force towards him. As soon as Katsuki could no longer see him, Izuku jumped as hard as could at five percent, using [G-Direct] to add to his speed. He burst into the second story and landed on the ceiling of the room above them. He landed in a crouch and pushed off the ceiling, reorienting his gravity and aiming for the spot Katsuki was last seen on the floor below.
New York Smash!
He shoulder checked the floor, creating a big enough hole for his body to fit through as Seventh's quirk carried him downward. Seeing the surprised face of his former best friend, he went in for a punch.
"New Jersey Smash!"
The [One for All] user intentionally aimed too far to his left, dropping low and catching Katsuki's ribs with a surprise elbow.
"Uh, Eighth, have you ever used any of these moves?" Eighth shook his head.
Successor. Inventive. Proud.
Katsuki doubled over and began wheezing, but Izuku didn't let up. He was striking Katsuki all over, weakening him bit by bit. After dodging one more explosion, Izuku ended their duel by wrapping Katsuki in capture tape. "Happy birthday, Kacchan. I'm sorry it ended up like this."
"Young Bakugo has been captured! Five minutes remaining!"
Looks like I'm all on my own now. I only have time to search a few more rooms on this floor, then I have to move. Fortunately, Tenya was on the third floor, soon to enter the bomb room. His engines were prepped for maximum speed, ready to make contact with the bomb as soon as he spotted it. Unfortunately, Izuku had other plans.
"Missouri Smash!"
"Hey, I recognize that one!"
Izuku flew in from behind Tenya and chopped the back of his neck with enough force to slam him into the ground face first. "Now, Uraraka!"
As Tenya raised himself up, his eyes scoured the immediate area. I can't see her. What is she up to?
His question was answered when he heard the muffled voice of the girl say 'Release!' as a giant pillar crashed through the wall and into him, pinning him to the ground. She then ran towards him and wrapped him in capture tape.
"Young Iida is out! Villain team wins!"
Ochako quickly removed the gravity from the pillar once more and helped Tenya to his feet.
"That was certainly surprising. I cannot say I expected a sneak attack from either of you." Tenya had a slight limp, so Ochako removed his gravity and Izuku held onto his waist to keep him from floating away.
"Yeah, it was all Deku's plan! We both knew I'd have to catch you by surprise in order to take you down, since you're so fast and all, but he was the one who came up with the idea of using one of the building's support pillars as a projectile! He broke it off at the top and bottom and I waited until I heard you reach the floor to float it. I was gonna wait until you opened the doors to throw it at you, but Deku was able to catch up and tell me where I should aim."
"Remarkable plan, Midoriya. As expected of a Class Representative. Great performance on your part as well, Uraraka." Izuku rubbed the back of his neck with a blush.
"Oh, it's not that crazy. Uraraka did all the hard work of actually floating and throwing it. I just had to punch some concrete." The boy did not realize that punching through several feet of solid concrete would be considered impressive on its own.
They searched for Katsuki, but he had already left the building.
He beat me. He fucking pummeled me into the ground. How. HOW THE HELL DID HE GET SO STRONG!? It doesn't make any damn sense. Why did he hide his power all these years? Could he... have beaten me at any time?
Katsuki's spiraling thoughts were halted when All Might placed his hand on the boy's shoulders. "Young Bakugo, you need to slow your breathing. Whether you win or lose, there is always something to gain. So long as you're open to learning."
As Izuku was leaving that day, he told Tenya and Ochako to head to the station without him.
"Don't worry guys, I just have to do something. I'll be fine."
"Okay Midoriya, good luck in your endeavor!"
"Yeah, good luck Deku!"
Izuku stood still as the two left the hall. "I know you're there Kacchan."
Katsuki stepped out from behind the wall and approached Izuku. "Explain. Now."
Izuku sighed, knowing exactly how this was going to go. "You wouldn't believe me, even if I could tell you." Katsuki furrowed his eyebrows as his hands sparked.
"How long have you had a fucking quirk?! How long have you been looking down on me, laughing behind my damn back!?!"
"Is that what you really think? That I've been hiding my quirk and laughing at you? Even after you'd leave me burnt and bruised, simply for the crime of standing too close to you?"
Katsuki was taken aback. When the hell did the nerd get a backbone? "Of course. What other explanation could there be? You always thought you were better than me. Now I know why." The blond boy grit his teeth. "You got off on hiding your damn super quirk our whole lives. Well it doesn't fucking matter! I'm still gonna be number one, and you'll stay beneath me."
"Kacchan, can we make a deal?" Katsuki scoffed.
"A fucking deal? What the hell are you on about?"
"I promise that, one day, I'll explain everything. But until then, I need you to believe that I've never once looked down on you. You were always an inspiration for me, someone full of confidence, someone I always wanted to be like." Katsuki looked down, his hair covering his eyes. However, this did nothing to hide the falling tears.
"That's how it's gonna be? You expect me to believe any of that crap? The real reason you were trying so hard all those years is that you had a quirk and was training it the whole time. All that bullshit about being a quirkless hero was you trying to get under my skin." Katsuki stuffed his hands in his pockets and stomped away. Izuku spoke under his breath.
"I swear, Kacchan, one day, I'll let you know."
Chapter 6: I Teach My Friends To Fly.
A little more than a month had passed since the battle trial. It was the start of June and Shota was wrapping up for the day when he informed his class of the upcoming event. "In two weeks, you all will head to the USJ with myself and two other teachers." He tried to continue, but he was cut off when Denki raised his hand and spoke.
"Universal Studios Japan?! UA's the best!!" Shota activated his quirk, glaring at the outspoken student.
"It's not too late to transfer you to General Studies. Knowing their course load and your current grades, I guarantee you wouldn't have the chance to make it to the sports festival to transfer back to Heroics." Denki gulped and bowed his head.
"Sorry, Aizawa-sensei."
"As I was saying, we'll be visiting the USJ, the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. There, you all will participate in various rescue exercises. Due to the various environments of the USJ, you'll have to pass an advanced safety test in order to participate in the more dangerous zones. You'll have multiple opportunities to take and pass this test, just like the standard safety test you took at the start of the year, but you must have passed prior to June 15th, the day of the training. You're free to go home now." The teacher picked up his sleeping bag and exited for the teacher's lounge to take a nap. Several students were panicked. Mina spoke first.
"Oh man... I had to take the first test four times before I got a 100%. This one's supposed to be harder?!" She slumped forward onto her desk as Denki spoke up.
"Crap man, it took me seven tries! I was lucky Present Mic let me take it during his class on the final day. What are we gonna do?!" He turned to his right to face Mina as they wailed together. The purple haired teen to his left jabbed his side with her quirk.
"I don't know Jammingway, maybe you could study for it, like the rest of us?" She chuckled to herself as his wails grew louder.
"I do study! Everything just falls out of my head as soon as I enter a classroom. The only class I can get work done in is English. It's so weird, I sucked at English in middle school, I don't know why UA is so different." Izuku was scribbling in his new "Hero Analysis for the Future: Class A" notebook, idly listening in on the loud conversation when he got an idea. He quickly flipped to Denki's entry, rereading the portion about his drawback of overloading his brain.
"Um, Kaminari, can I ask you something about your quirk?" Denki turned to face the student, despair in his eyes.
"Sure, Midoriya. What'cha wanna know?"
"So, your quirk lets you absorb, create, and release a large amount of electricity, but if you release too much at once, it hurts your head and puts you in a 'lower functioning state'." Denki pouted.
"Jeez, Class Rep, are you trying to fry me?" Izuku waved his hands in front of him.
"N- no! Not at all! I was just thinking, since you have, like, a passive absorption element, and your quirk directly affects your mental capacity, maybe there's a way to combat or reverse it? What if, instead of lowering your intelligence, you could find a way to use your quirk to increase it." Denki looked at the boy with stars in his eyes. A trickle of electricity shot across his skin.
"That's so cool Midoriya! I never even thought about something like that. How would I figure something like that out though? Stick a fork into a toaster or something?" Izuku shook his head.
"Well, Midnight-sensei is the certified quirk counsellor for the school, so you could probably bring it up to her. I'm sure she could come up with something." The stars in the blond boy's eyes changed to hearts.
"Miss Midnight... I'm gonna go do that right now!" The boy packed up his things and rushed out of the door. After a few seconds, he meekly stuck his head back inside. "Um, where's her office?"
"It's on the third floor, but she's probably in the teacher's lounge right now. That's where everyone tends to go at the end of the day for debriefs and stuff." Denki gave the representative a thumbs up and left the room once more. Another few seconds passed before he opened the door again.
"Um... where's the teacher's lounge?" Kyoka busted out laughing as Izuku answered his questions.
"At the very end of this hallway on the left." With a double thumbs up, the blond boy exited the room.
Kyoka spoke up. "So, do you think that'll actually work? He'll stop going all 'whey' on us?"
"Well, I'm not entirely sure. I have a few ideas, but Midnight-sensei is more qualified to figure these things out than I am." Ochako stood and walked towards Izuku's desk.
"I wouldn't discount yourself, Deku. You taught me about an entirely new aspect of my quirk after seeing it once." The boy in question blushed at her praise.
"So, Mina and Kaminari aren't the only ones stressing about the safety test. Would you guys wanna have some kind of study group? I learn best by bouncing off of others and I'm sure at least one other person here does too." Eijiro was looking towards his class reps when Toru noticed something.
"Wait… you called her Mina!! That's her given name!! Are you two dating already!?" The pink girl blushed a deep purple while the red haired boy laughed.
"Oh, haha, no. We're just good friends, grew up together and stuff. Also, I uh, don't exactly swing that way, if you catch my drift." No one could tell, but Toru was immensely relieved at the two of them not being a couple. Mina groaned and jabbed her finger into Eijiro's chest.
"Yeah, and you just had to figure that out after kissing me in truth or dare. I still don't think you realize how embarrassing it is to have a boy run away after kissing you." The shark toothed boy blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I said I'm sorry, Mina! It's not like I wanted to make a scene." Momo cleared her throat and gathered the attention of the rest of the class.
"I believe a class-wide study session would be a wonderful idea. We can host it at my estate sometime this week, preferably soon, if that works with everyone." Mina nodded enthusiastically.
"That sounds awesome Yaomomo! Do you think we could do a few of them for all our classes? The semester finals are coming up soon and I am notfeeling confident." Momo smiled, happy to be useful.
"Of course, I need only to inform my servers of company. My parents are out of town for the next few weeks due to a merger they're closing." Everyone in the room remembered exactly how rich Momo was at that.
"So, you don't think my quirk can make me smarter?" Denki was feeling dejected. He was happy to have a one on one session with Midnight, but it quickly turned into a bunch of questions and tests.
"It doesn't seem like that's within your quirk's capabilities. Your decreased intelligence comes from electrical interference within your mind, not the lack of a charge." Denki threw his head back and groaned, hands pressed into his eyes.
"Oh man... I was hoping I'd get better at stuff other than English." Nemuri quirked an eyebrow.
"You're good at English, you say? Have languages always come easy to you, or is this a new development?" Denki dropped his hands and faced forward.
"It's a new thing. I've actually always been really bad at it. I guess Yamada-sensei just does something different. I always feel more relaxed in his class." The quirk counselor narrowed her eyes at the boy and steepled her fingers.
"Have you felt relaxed in other classes in the past? Have you experienced this feeling in other places, or just when he's around?" Denki seemed confused.
"Uh, no? No other class has been like his. I feel the same way at home though. I've always been able to focus better when the lights are off, and he likes to dim them when he teaches." Nemuri's eyes widened as she developed her hypothesis.
"Kaminari, I'd like to perform a test." The boy groaned. "Don't worry, it should be the last one for the day, and it might help you tremendously." The boy seemed a little more hopeful. "I want you to complete a math worksheet, once with the lights on, and then a different paper with the lights off. Sit by the window, so that when the lights are off, you'll be able to still see." Denki hesitantly nodded.
"Okay, not really sure what this is supposed to do, but I'll give it a try."
"Just do your best, sweetie."
As he was working on the papers, Nemuri texted Shota.
MoreThanASleeperHit
Heads up, Kaminari's gonna need special accommodations.
NoSleep
Elaborate.
MoreThanASleeperHit
I'm like, 90% sure that electromagnetic waves have been interfering with his intelligence.
NoSleep
God damn it. Schedule him for daily sessions with either me or you until he can figure it out.
MoreThanASleeperHit
Good. TTYL, bestie ;P
NoSleep
You're Zashi's friend, not mine.
Nemuri was pouting the entire time Denki was testing with the lights off. Luckily, they had moved to her personal office whenever he asked for quirk help, so as not to disturb any of the remaining teachers. Nemuri also removed all phones and unplugged all electrical devices, wanting to get as much of a control as she could. The electric boy did significantly better, working through problems and equations nearly twice as fast. His body wasn't as tense, he let his shoulders slump and jaw unclench. He was truly able to focus on his work, not looking around for distractions.
The counsellor quickly graded the papers, and just as she suspected, he had improved by a large margin, nearly thirty percent.
"So, I think we can safely assume that your quirk is affected by outside interference. We'll run more tests as time goes on trying to determine what exactly has the largest impact. Until you learn to combat this issue, all of your classes will have the lights dimmed, similar to Yamada's, and they will be recorded for your own further viewing at home, in case you end up needing it. Try to avoid things that are actively producing an EM field, or anything with current running through it. I have a meeting to attend very soon, so I'll send you on your way." She placed her hand on one of the boys shoulders. "Thank you for coming to me with your issue. If anything else comes up, my door is always open, Kaminari." He smiled and nodded.
"Thank you Midnight-sensei! This is awesome, I don't have to be a dunce anymore!" He exited the room with a newfound pep in his step.
This place... is fucking crazy...
Izuku had just arrived at the Yaoyorozu estate, alongside Kyoka and Fumikage. They had all taken the same final train in the Aichi Prefecture, from which they walked to the wealthy girl's home.
"Holy shit, is that gate made of fucking gold?"
"There's no way this is like, a regular level of rich, right?!" Fifth and Sixth were both aghast.
"We're all in agreement that she used her quirk to make her family exorbitantly wealthy, correct?"
"Yep."
"Absolutely."
"Duh."
"For sure."
"Can't see any other way of having this much money."
"Positive."
Agreement.
Izuku felt [One for All] pulse within him, feeling unified for the first time since he'd received it.
"Jeez, I knew Yaomomo was loaded, but this is unreal." Jiro was tapping her earphone jacks against the gate, wondering if it was solid gold or just plated. An adult man's voice rang out from the intercom attached to the gate.
"You must be the acquaintances Yaoyorozu-sama was excited about. Just follow the path up to the main entrance and someone will be there to take you in." Fumikage faced the ground.
"What a mad banquet of darkness." Dark Shadow peaked out from his shoulder.
"He means this place is crazy and he wants to know if Yaomomo would make him a black sword." The bird headed teen scowled at his quirk.
"Silence, fiend!" Izuku and Kyoka giggled to themselves. As the trio was walking towards the front door, Izuku got curious.
"So, Dark Shadow, did you manifest when Tokoyami was born, or did you come in at a later date?" The sentient quirk twisted around their host's neck to get a closer look at Izuku.
"You're... speaking to me directly? Not Fumi?" Its glowing yellow eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Of course? You're sentient right? At first I thought you were some kind of subconscious thought being projected into the world, but from everything I've learned, you and Tokoyami are separate beings." The quirk's eyes grew wide as it stretched and tackled the boy in a hug.
"You're on my favorites list! Right next to Mezzy!" It released him from the hug and returned to its host's personal space. "I manifested when Fumi was four, but I was born with all his memories at the time, so I'm kind of like a clone, but we just call each other siblings to make it easier." Izuku pulled out a notebook and began writing.
"That's so cool! So, do you two have some kind of telepathic connection? Can you turn it off? What happens when Aizawa-sensei uses his quirk on Tokoyami? Can you pick yourself up and fly?" Fumikage answered.
"Our minds are linked, however we both can close communications whenever we desire. When Aizawa erases my quirk, Dark Shadow is sent back to within my vessel. I can still communicate with it however, as they are able to see out of my eyes." The boy tilted his head to the side in confusion. "I don't see why you think we'd be able to fly."
"Well, Dark Shadow's able to pick up really heavy stuff, like several tons, but it doesn't weigh on your body at all, or else your legs would get crushed. If that's the case, then why couldn't they pick you up by the shoulders or wrap themselves around you and start moving?" The boy and his quirk slowly turned to face each other. Without a word, Dark Shadow wrapped themselves around their sibling's body and lifted him off of the ground.
Fumikage floated for several moments, staring at the ground beneath him. He gently landed and turned to the Class Representative. "We shall repay this debt in due time, Great Green One."
"You should totally hear his thoughts right now! He wants to hug you so bad!" The bird boy grabbed his quirk and forced it inside his chest.
"Begone, foul demon!" Izuku was blushing as Kyoka spurted out more laughter.
Eventually, the trio reached the front door. There was a butler standing outside to greet them. He bowed with grace and began to speak.
"Greetings, I am Mino Atsushi. Please remove your shoes and put on the provided house slippers. I will escort you all to Yaoyorozu-sama's study." The three of them did as they were told and followed the butler.
They entered a large room where, from ceiling to floor, every wall was lined with filled bookshelves. The group was unable to spot any labels signifying what types of books were where, it was all seemingly unorganized, but they knew better than to think that the recommendation student would haphazardly store her books. They spotted Ochako, Tsuyu, and Momo gathered at one end of a large table with several textbooks and papers strewn about. The butler cleared his throat to announce their presence and Momo lit up.
"Oh, hello everyone! I'm glad to see more of you make it. That leaves just Koda, Shoji, Kirishima, Ashido, and Kaminari until we're all here." Fumikage took a seat next to Tsuyu, shooting glares at Dark Shadow anytime they would stick their head out. Kyoka sat by Momo at the head of the table, immediately requesting help with her schoolwork. Izuku took his seat across from Ochako, next to Kyoka.
After some time, all of the expected students had arrived. They finished all of their currently assigned homework and studied for an extra couple hours before Mina got bored.
"Guyyys, I'm so bored. We're supposed to have fun!" Mezo pointed an eyeball and a mouth her direction.
"I'm pretty sure the express purpose of this gathering wasn't for fun, but for learning." Mina rolled her eyes and groaned as she dropped her head onto the table.
"My brain feels like Kaminari's that one time Blasty spooked him during training." Denki winced.
"Please don't remind me of that. He nearly blew my head off when I shocked him." The blond sighed. "I'm definitely on your side though. I know my brain's gonna be working better now but I'm still scared I'm gonna overload myself." He had explained to everyone his recent discovery about his quirk. "Thanks for recommending me to Miss Midnight by the way, Midoriya. Totally saved me there." Izuku waved his hand meekly.
"Oh, don't worry about it Kaminari. It was nothing, really." Fumikage spoke up.
"First you removed the veil over Uraraka's eyes, then you assisted our electric acquaintance with his intellect issues, and just a few hours ago, you broadened mine and my demon's horizons. All with just a few words. You really are remarkable, Green One." Ochako joined the conversation after hearing Fumikage.
"Oh, how'd Deku help you and Dark Shadow?"
"He taught us how to take to the skies, like a true bird of prey." Everyone was stunned for a brief second before Mina piped up.
"HE TAUGHT YOU TO FLY?!" She leaned over the table towards the green haired boy. "MIDORI!!! TEACH ME HOW TO FLY! PLEEEASE?!" His face flushed red as he played with his fingers.
"Um, it's not like, how I fly. It's just Dark Shadow picking him up and carrying him through the air. I don't think you could create enough propulsion in order to lift off of the ground, but maybe you could do a kind of double jump or something if you put enough acid into it." Her eyes glossed over, mind racing with new possibilities.
"I've never even thought about using the momentum I get from releasing my acid!! I only ever skated on it, but now I could, like, dodge with it or something! Thank you so much Midori!!"
"Uh, haha, no problem, Ashido." Eijiro stood up to get everyone's attention.
"Midoriya! Do you think you could do a quick analysis of everyone here before we head home? It's so cool and manly how you're always helping us out and reassuring us."
Acceptance. Friends. Successor. Joy.
Izuku, feeling the comforting presence of Eighth, pushed past his anxieties. "Um, sure yeah. I can start with you if you'd like?" The enthusiastic red head nodded. "Okay, so, I've noticed that you never roll with punches or anything. You just stand still and tank the hit."
"Well yeah, that's what my quirk's for!" Izuku nodded.
"Yes, your quirk makes you incredibly durable, but it's like having a really good phone case and dropping it on the floor anytime you're not using it. Sure, the case is supposed to protect it, but eventually it'll wear down. The same applies to your [Hardening]. You should, ironically, learn how to be more fluid. Whenever Iida and I are sparring and he kicks me, I always move in the same direction the kick is pushing me, almost letting it guide my path. It dramatically lessons the impact than if I were to plant my feet into the ground and just let it hit me." The red head nodded, listening intently.
"I never even thought about it that way, but that makes a lot of sense. Thanks Midobro!!" Mezo raised one of his hands.
"I would like to be analyzed next." Izuku thought to himself for a moment before speaking.
"Are you able to extend your membrane when you're growing your arms?"
"Yes."
"Have you ever thought about using your arms like a wingsuit? If you grow them out far enough and spread them wide enough, you should theoretically be able to glide or fall slowly."
"I will try that at the next available opportunity. Thank you for the insight, Midoriya." Mina pouted.
"No fair! You taught Tokoyami and Shoji how to fly." Izuku rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sorry Ashido, your quirk just isn't exactly suited for sustained flight. You're much better in close quarters." She continued to pout. "Um, Koda, you could also theoretically fly if you gathered enough birds to lift you up. You could even carry a whip that splits into many different ends so that you could hang from them like balloons, which would prevent your vision from being obscured." Koji nodded shyly. Tsuyu softly ribbited as if she was giggling.
"Koda with a whip sounds really funny." Izuku and Koji both blushed at the implication.
"Th- that's not what I meant! Moving on!" He turned to Momo. "I'm sure you already know that you could just create a jetpack and fly, so you don't really need my help in that department. However, there's a few things I've never seen you use that I am curious about."
"Oh? And that might be?"
"Midnight's sleeping gas." Momo seemed confused.
"But, that's her quirk?"
"It's her quirk byproduct. She has her 'Night-Night Grenades' where she stores a condensed amount of gas within a sphere, so her gas doesn't seem to decay after releasing it, suggesting that it isn't organic. You should be able to create it as long as you had the chemical formula, right?" Not for the first time this evening, Izuku was looking at a classmate whose world was turned upside down.
"It's so simple... I can't believe I never thought about that... Um, thank you Midoriya. I'll use this knowledge to become a better hero." He smiled softly.
"You're welcome, Yaoyorozu." He turned to Tsuyu. "I was actually gonna ask you what your training regimen is like." The frog girl blinked asynchronistically.
"Like lifting weights and stuff, ribbit? Not too much really, I mostly just swim and jump to keep in shape. Ribbit."
"Well, I ask that because most animal type heteromorphs have much stronger bodies and muscles, even if the animal that their quirk is based on isn't particularly powerful. Take Mirko, for example, she's the second strongest hero in terms of body strength, second only to All Might, even though bunnies aren't known for having crazy muscles. I was thinking that you might be able to train like her and grow your upper body strength and stuff."
"Thank you." The girl nodded. "Ribbit."
"Jeez, Green. You're on fire today. Got anything for me?" Izuku nodded.
"Well, if you had the right support gear, an amplifier of sorts, you might be able to propel yourself in the same way that Kacchan does. You could plug your jacks into speakers on your hands or feet, or a system that connects them all together, and if you can output a large enough noise, you could also fly." Kyoka was taken aback.
"Damn. You really like flying, don't you?"
"Well, it's just the thing I've been focusing the most on in my training, so I have a lot of fresh ideas on my mind about it." He looked towards Ochako. "And uh, Uraraka, I was thinking, if you were able to train the new part of your quirk, you might be able to install cords or wires in your gauntlets. You could send them into something you want floated, and if you can picture the cord as being part of the person, you should be able to float them from far away. It'd give you more options at range, other than throwing things." Ochako smiled brightly.
"Oh wow, thanks Deku! That's super cool. I've got a lot of training to do, huh."
"We all do. No one should be beating themselves up because they have things to work on."