Chapter 9
Ochako wasn't entirely certain how she ended up in this situation. They returned to Izuku's apartment soaked, with bits of seaweed hanging off their clothing, giggling and barely able to stand as they kept breaking down into chuckles. Inko took one look at them and gave them the most mom Look, with a capital L, that Ochako had seen in a while. She sighed, pinching her brow, as Ochako's Mom just rolled her eyes indulgently. Her dad and Toshinori were in the other room, but when they entered, they both just stared at the trio in consternation.
Inko shoved towels into their arms, forcing them into the showers one by one, as Toshinori explained the plan to go to UA and do some training with their shared Quirks, which…Ochako was actually pretty in favor of. She kind of wanted to test the other powers out, and to see what and how she did that weird black hole thing during the exam! Only problem was…Inko wanted them to eat breakfast. With her parents. And Izu and Himi and Toshi and in front of everyone she had to eat.
Every fiber of her being resisted the concept, the very idea. Which…was a bit weird, wasn't it? She knew she was fine, after all, and it's not like everyone else wasn't eating. Like, it should be fine, Inko had plenty, right? Toshinori even said he'd been supporting Izuku and if anyone had money it was the Number One Hero, so it was okay, the cost wasn't too bad then, right?
Yet her hand trembled when she tried to clasp her chopsticks, making them clack loudly against one another and causing her parents and Inko to look at her oddly for a moment, but she quickly shoved a smile on her face and got her hands under control, acting like it had been just a slip up. Clumsy, butterfingers Ochako, she's got quite a grip problem due to her Quirk, everyone knew that. She just smiled and joked it away, making sure no one else noticed as she hid one hand beneath the table and the other rubbing the back of her head, at least until she could get them to stop shaking.
She forced herself to down the food, just as she'd done before, but again it weighed oh so heavily on her. She felt sick. Her stomach roiled as if it was warning her it'd erupt and spill all her secrets, all her choices, all the sacrifices she made, and she had to struggle to keep it all contained. Himiko was the important one today, and Izuku clearly was struggling too. She needed to be strong for them, like she was for her parents, like she was every day back home as she worked her ass off to make it here. Her issues with food weren't important enough to dwell on.
Idly, she wondered if she'd feel better if she just excused herself and…removed…the food from her stomach. She'd already gotten something from it, right? That's how digestion worked, so it wouldn't be a big deal, and she'd feel less bloated and wide and heavy, right…no! No no, that's how people with disorders did stuff, she didn't have anything like that. She chose to eat less to save money, that's all, no other reason, nope. And, and she'd be fine once they were at UA, right? Food there was part of the room and board, and she got the scholarships she hoped so it wouldn't be a problem! She'd be fine then, money wouldn't be a problem and she'd be okay. Just a few more weeks (assuming she made it in) and she'd be okay.
Which led to what happened after breakfast, the food heavy and choking inside her, as they actually were on UA Campus, being led to a training ground by All Might himself. Even with how disgusted she felt with herself, she couldn't help but feel a smidge of excitement…although that might be Izuku's barely contained excitement bleeding over to her somehow. He was nearly shaking in his boots, the thought of training under not only All Might, but Nezu and whatever other hero would be there had him nearly ready to vibrate out of existence.
She shared an indulgent smile with Himiko, feeling nostalgia wash over her and briefly pull her out of her food-focused mentality. Even when they were little, pro heroes got Izuku so riled up that Ochako and Himiko couldn't help but mirror his excitement at times. Ochako wanted to be a hero to help her parents…Himiko wanted to be a hero for those who were 'different', as she put it. But Izuku? He just wanted to help people, and Ochako had always admired him for that.
Although something was very different about him. Granted, she expected change…she changed a lot too. But it wasn't just in how he looked…sure, he grew up, and even though his clothes were generally baggy she got to see that he was in good shape when they were playing in the surf (no she wasn't checking him out why are you asking) but he was…it was like he was two people. When they first ran into him, he was the slightly stuttery, nervous, prone to crying boy she remembered from her childhood. But he seemed to have two other modes too now.
One, how he was acting when she ran into the room and saw him holding Himiko. It was like all his shyness and anxiety vanished, and in its place was a young man who was just…ready to do whatever it took to help the blonde. And then the other…that overly apologetic, fearful, nearly breaking down sight she saw when he was apologizing for 'forcing' his Quirk on them. He didn't stay in either of those modes for long, but…she noticed. She always noticed things about people after all, her childhood friend was no exception.
Her musings were cut short as the trio were ushered through a large, open gate, into what looked like a mock city not unlike the entrance exam. Standing before them was a hero all three of them recognized as Nezu, UA University's President, and beside him, a tall, black-haired scraggly looking man with tired eyes and a mug of what she assumed was coffee (although she could smell it from thereand had to wonder if this man drank the same atomic sludge her mother did).
"Welcome new students! Am I a dog, a mouse, or a bear? Well, I'm the President of UA university! Welcome to your future school!" the one recognizable hero exclaimed, his one hand high in the air in greeting.
"Wait…we passed?" Izuku asked, eyes wide.
Nezu turned to look at Toshinori. "You didn't tell them?"
Toshinori shrugged. "I assumed you'd prefer to talk to them about it."
"Good assumption. We have to go over their scores anyways," the tired looking man said with a drawl. He cast an appraising eye over the trio before him. "I'm Shouta Aizawa. I'll be your homeroom teacher this year. As part of our normal process, I'd pull each of you into my office after the first day to go over your entrance exam results and explain the scoring. Since you're here, it's only rational to do it now instead, and I get to save myself time on the first day with your classmates. So we'll go over that and then start working on your Quirks…plural."
Ochako flushed slightly at the reminder. She hadn't really thought a ton about it, but the fact she had multiple Quirks now was going to likely cause issues. Especially with how obvious it was now, with the whole eyes, fangs, and her Quirk's finger beans. All they needed was a pair of cat ears and a tail and they'd be some fantasy catfolk creature (although the other two with those would look really cute).
Aizawa continued. "Let's get this over with. You three swept the top three spots by a pretty significant margin. That's because we provide two types of points. Villain points, which you knew about, and Rescue points, which you gain from heroic actions unrelated to combat. Taking out the zero pointers in defense of the students around you netted a hefty amount of Rescue points, as well as the various heroic actions you each performed over the course of the exam."
He held up a tablet that he'd had at his side, showing the three short clips of various times they had stepped in to help other students up, push them out of the way of a strike from a villain bot, or blocking blows. Ochako pursed her lips as she saw how many times Izuku blocked strikes using his own body as a shield, but decided not to say anything right then..she'd confront him later about being so reckless.
"However, after we get your full total, we begin to deduct points for various demerits. An example is if you are reckless with your Quirk use when destroying a bot and put another examinee in danger or harm them, even a small amount, you will lose points. None of you lost points for that, as all three of you were judicious in your attacks. However, you did lose Rescue points for how you went about your rescue solutions." Aizawa took a moment to narrow his eyes at the trio, but Ochako noted how he seemed to laser focus on Izuku more than her or Himiko.
"Self-sacrifice is a fact of our job as pro heroes. There may come a time where you must let yourself be hurt for the sake of another. But it should never be your first solution…only a last resort. Because a dead hero saves no one. All three of you were reckless with your own safety during the exam, but you more than the other two, Midoriya. Let me make this clear: In my classes, that will not be acceptable. I expect you to do your best to protect others while keeping yourself safe. Am I understood?" Aizawa scanned over the trio, Ochako nodding along as Himiko offered a thumbs up. Izuku sheepishly nodded, looking down at the ground with an expression of shame on his face.
Aizawa sighed, stepping forward and putting his hand on Izuku's shoulder, making the teenager start and look up at him. The teacher made sure to meet Izuku's gaze, and then turned it to the other two girls, locking eyes with each of them in turn. "I'm not being a hardass for the fun of it. I want you to graduate and become the best hero you can, and you can only do that if you graduate healthy and with a good mindset. I've yet to see one of my students' names in the obituaries, and I'd like to keep it that way."
Izuku looked contemplative for a moment, before nodding along as if he understood what the teacher was saying. Ochako got it. He was being strict because he wanted them safe, which made sense. But that was okay, she'd make sure Izuku wasn't being an idiot out there! And Himiko too, if she started being dumb like that.
Aizawa took a step back and nodded, tapping on his tablet quickly. "That all said, here's your results." He flipped the tablet around, showing a listing of what seemed to be the top ten scorers in the list. Ochako quickly scanned the list from the bottom, expecting her name to be lower. She kept going up, passing name after name…not seeing any familiar names until she reached 3rd.
3rd: Himiko Toga:
Villain Points:43
Rescue Points:80
Gross Score: 123
Net Score: 79
2nd: Izuku Midoriya:
Villain Points: 38
Rescue Points: 95
Gross Score: 133
Net Score: 82
1st: Ochako Uraraka:
Villain Points: 41
Rescue Points: 85
Gross Score: 126
Net Score: 83
"...I-I got first?" Ochako asked, her voice shaking as she stared at the scoreboard, eyes wide.
"Congratulations 'Chako!" Himiko shouted, her excitement over the news shoving the gloom she'd been feeling all day in the background. She leapt over and nearly tackled Ochako in a hug, her arms squeezing the brunette's neck tightly. She looked over at Izuku, worried he'd be upset he got a higher total score than her but she got the better placement, but he was looking at her with so much pride and joy she felt herself flush in embarrassment.
"I always knew you'd be amazing, 'Chako," Izuku said, his smile wide and brilliant.
"You did g-great too!" she protested, wanting him to celebrate his own achievement as well.
"All three of you did great. You beat my score, in fact, haha!" Toshinori said, hands on his hips as he smiled wide. The trio stared at him in consternation, the blonde shrugged sheepishly. "I lost a lot of points to collateral damage heh."
"So…we're accepted?" Izuku asked nervously, as if he required that affirmation.
"That you are, young Izuku!" Toshinori exclaimed, his smile wide. After a moment, it softened a bit as he continued to speak. "That does lead into what we'd like to do, going forward." Ochako was…confused, by the way he sounded, but turned her gaze to the President as he stepped forward and raised his…hand? Paw? She wasn't sure what to call it, but he wanted their attention.
"Yes, after discussion with Toshinori on your situations, both living and Quirk, we wished to extend an offer. Your school years are, for all intents and purposes, over. You have two weeks left but already finished your final exams and have no work left, based on what I read in your school reports. UA normally does not start for another month and a half, but, the dorms are already cleaned out and prepared for move in, so, we'd like to have the three of you move in now, thus giving us plenty of time to train and practice with your now shared Quirks and learn the extent of your abilities in a safe environment!" Nezu beamed at them.
"I already spoke to Inko and your parents, young Ochako," Toshinori assured. "They understand and also agree this is probably the best path forward. Your school records are already done, and graduation is but a formality for you three, so we can get that handled behind the scenes." No one said it, but Ochako and Izuku both were side-eying Himiko, knowing what it was the adults were not directly saying. Himiko just stood there, blank-faced, keeping her composure. Ochako set her jaw, swallowing thickly as she shuffled closer to Himiko, pressing her shoulder against the blonde to show her support. She felt the gentlest press back, pressing down on her own smile at Himiko's returned affection, before speaking.
"I'd be okay with it," she said, willing to speak first.
"Yeah, that's fine with me too," Izuku added.
After a brief moment, Himiko cleared her throat. "Y-yeah. I can do that too."
Nezu clapped his paws(?) together. "Excellent! Then let us begin working on your Quirks! I am led to believe you've done some preliminary analysis on them, Midoriya?"
Izuku jolted for a moment, before nodding, pulling a notebook out from wherever he hid them (years later Ochako still didn't know how he did that. Quirkless her ass, he clearly could summon notebooks from hammerspace or something). He flipped it open and began to flip through pages quickly. "Um, so I have my notes from when we were kids, I've added them all here, but I know Chako and Himi both said their Quirks got better since then. Since we got the um, sharing thing, I've not touched Transform because Himi said not to yet, but I've used Zero Gravity a couple times on accident-"
"Wait, accident? Aren't you wearing the gloves I gave you?" Ochako interrupted, narrowing her eyes at him.
He scrunched his shoulders up in protest. "W-well yeah, but I can't exactly wear them in the shower can I?!" After his statement rang in the air for a moment, Ochako felt her cheeks flush, noticing his face go red too as he turned away from her at what he said aloud. Himiko let out an indelicate snort, covering her face with her hand to try and cut off her giggles at how embarrassed Izuku suddenly got. Ochako hunched in on herself, feeling flustered by having forced him to say that aloud.
"Your teenage drama is irrational. Let's focus on the important part here. So far, none of you have done much experimenting, correct?" Aizawa interjected, his eyes narrowed.
Izuku cleared his throat and nodded rapidly. "Yes sir. Um, we made sure they could both use One For All safely, but that's it."
"Fine. Let's start there." Aizawa pulled up his tablet and tapped on it once more, reading over whatever was on screen. "Based on what you told Yagi, none of you can wield the full strength of One For All. And with it split, you all have your own 'pools' of its strength, correct?" Izuku nodded in confirmation. "Now you say you can picture it in percentages, and the higher you go the more it begins to hurt. What are your current caps?"
"Um, I can go up to 19% before it starts to be hard to move," Izuku said.
"15% for me," Ochako added.
"14% here," Himiko said.
Aizawa nodded. "Makes sense. Midoriya trained specifically for this Quirk and focused on muscle gain, while you two trained for your own Quirks. Fine. Show me your maximums."
Izuku nodded, clenching his fists as red began to bleed through his veins, green lightning sparking over his skin. His hair lifted slightly, sparks of green passing between strands of his hair as his eyes glowed an unnatural green. Izuku grinned. "Full Cowling! Cool name, isn't it?" he announced, with a bit of pride in his tone. Aizawa took a tiny step back, his eyes narrowing further.
Ochako took a deep breath, focusing in on herself the way Izuku had taught her. Reaching down deep, she pulled the power stored within her to the surface, the light around her body dimming slightly as white and pink lights began to sparkle and shimmer over her skin. She took a moment to brush her hair out of her eyes and smirked at Izuku. "Nah, Galactic Shroud is better!" Izuku pouted playfully at her as she giggled. Aizawa's eye twitched, but she barely noticed as she turned to look at Himiko.
Himiko's fists clenched in a mirror to hers and Izuku's, golden strands of light lifting off her skin and surrounding her in a nimbus of amber energy. Blood-red streaks began to slip between the lights, entwining with them and making Himiko blur slightly. Himiko rolled her shoulders and stretched, one hand reaching up to the sky as she leaned back. "I was thinking I'd go with Sanguine Cloak. What do you guys think?"
Ochako opened her mouth to reply, but she was startled out of her thoughts when she felt the Quirk suddenly vanishfrom her, Himiko and Izuku letting out startled shouts as they also depowered suddenly. She turned her head to see Aizawa, his hair lifted and eyes blood-red, staring at the trio of them, now an entire step back from where he had been before. She blinked, confused, noticing Nezu was now also a few steps back, and the fur on the back of his neck was lifted up. The only one who seemed 'fine', was Toshinori, the pro standing there with a nervous smile on his face.
"Wait…you're Eraserhead?!" Izuku exclaimed, completely ignoring the fact their Quirks vanished in his sudden excitement as he pointed at Aizawa. The older man sighed, his eyes dimming once more and his hair falling back down.
"Yes. I am," he replied. Not letting Izuku go off on what Ochako knew would be one of his sudden hero mumbles, he continued. "My Quirk is called Erasure. It lets me disable most Quirks. I activated it on instinct…and I'd like to know why I did, Yagi," Aizawa's words were growled at the end, turning to glare at the blonde hero.
Toshinori chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well…you see, I've always been told that One For All is a bit…terrifying, to others. It's why I try to always be cheerful and smiling, to offset the feeling. We never were sure why, but it seems to activate the fight or flight instinct in most people. At the lower percentages they were using it, it normally wouldn't, but since three of them were active at once, well…," Toshinori trailed off, gesturing towards Aizawa and Nezu as an explanation.
"Hmm, yes. I was quite used to the sensation of you going to higher tiers of strength, but this was novel. I believe that all three active at once caused an exponential increase in the 'fear' factor, as it were," Nezu mused.
Aizawa rolled his eyes. "Great. So if all three light up, my class is going to panic. Perfect. Well, they'll need to get over it. Exposure to it over time should mitigate the effect, yes?"
Toshinori nodded. "Yes, those closest to me started to ignore it over time, and if you have a cheerful attitude, people tend to dismiss it as something else either way!"
Aizawa sighed, turning back to the trio as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. Let's see how well you work with Zero Gravity now, and then we'll do Transform. Let's see what Midoriya and Toga can do, then we'll move to see the improvements for you, Uraraka." The trio shared a glance, before nodding…time to learn what they could and couldn't do.
It appeared that Izuku and Himiko both gained Ochako's normal Zero Gravity, as well as the 'improvement' she noticed where she could 'add' gravity to something touched, causing it collapse in on itself or at the very least, hold someone down if they were very careful in how much they applied. However, Ochako's new 'Singularity' ability, as she named the ability she used to bring down the Zero Pointer, was something they could not reproduce, and it turned out she could chain her Quirk through objects touched from one she had the power active on.
But when it came to Transform, it was…a bit of a struggle. Himiko was not keen on talking too much about it, but with gentle coaxing from Ochako and Izuku, she explained how it worked as far as she knew. Unlike with Ochako, they chose to test her changes first…and it began with seeing if she could use other peoples Quirk's. The short answer was yes, once she activated Aizawa's Erasure with the blood he had carried in a vial to the testing facility. The long answer was more complex, because she ended up accidentallyactivating it before she even changed shape.
More tests concluded she could temporarily mirror Quirks, with a time limit based on how much of that person's blood she had in her, and she didn't need to change to use them unless it was a mutation or heteromorphic Quirk of some kind. However, neither Izuku nor Ochako could use Aizawa's Quirk…but they were able to use Inko's, as Toshinori had brought her blood along as well.
Testing the blood of the other teachers at UA revealed the same results. Himiko could duplicate the Quirks, but Izuku and Ochako seemed limited solely to Inko's. Nezu postulated this may have something to do with the relationship they had with her…the closer connection allowed them to use hers, while Himiko, being the originator of Transform, could access any Quirk she had the blood for. Izuku was nearly bursting with excitement at the thought of testing it out further, but for now, they needed to test the actual shapeshifting.
Ochako and Izuku both chose to change into Himiko at first…a combination of wanting to change to someone familiar, as well as it would last the longest as her blood was the one they'd used the most. It worked perfectly, although neither of them were very good at acting like Himiko…Ochako got far too into it, breaking into giggles as she tried to mirror Himiko, the blonde cracking a grin and laughing with her. Izuku on the other hand, he seemed to feel a bit…out of place. The expression on his transformed face was weird, to Ochako, who was familiar with all of Himiko's looks. He looked like he was confused, and she vowed she'd ask him about it later.
Ochako and Himiko tried shifting into Izuku next, and Ochako was struck by the realization that, oh, the shapeshifting meant everything changed, but also, she didn't really feel off about it. Something to talk to Izuku about later, she supposed. It was weird though…her arms and chest kinda stung, for some reason, but she didn't want to just go around feeling up his body while changed into him. That'd be way too awkward. Maybe he had some sore muscles from when she drank his blood or something. Something else to ask later.
Still, it was kind of cool to have his muscles. She felt like she could run for ten kilometers without breaking a sweat! She decided to try and make Izuku laugh like she had Himiko, hamming up a fake Izuku performance where she started prancing about, acting like All Might. Izuku looked embarrassed for a split second, before her giggles seemed to infect him and he started laughing at her, Himiko now mirroring Ochako as well.
Finally they tried turning into her, and this was where they found one more caveat for Transform. While they were in her body, it appeared like they could mirror her Zero Gravity ability to affect a radius around them. Izuku realized this by accident, as he was back to looking off put by the change…not like he was disturbed, but like something didn't make sense, but during his confusion, he accidentally activated it. Which Himiko then mirrored a moment later.
And so, they tried another round of changes…while in Himiko's body, they could mirror any Quirk now, and while in Izuku's, they both found they had access to the higher percentage of power he could use. Izuku was nearly catatonic from the overflow of information, muttering under his breath rapidly about the ways they could utilize such a series of powerful Quirks, while Nezu chuckled gleefully under his breath. Ochako was treated to the strange sight of the President of UA University clambering up onto Aizawa's shoulder and sitting in his weird scarf, still chuckling, as Aizawa's eye twitched.
Toshinori just looked proud…not just of Izuku, but her and Himiko too. He was effusive in his praise, making Ochako flush at the random compliments. Izuku was his successor, not her, she just got lucky she got this special power now. But she kept her mouth shut…by now, she'd figured out Toshinori would try to reassure her or something, and she didn't need that. If anyone did, it was Izuku, or Himiko…Himiko because her parents were twats who she planned on punting to the sun if she encountered them again, and Izuku because he kept being so damned self-deprecating. Something else she was going to have to address.
Ochako's mental notes set, she nodded to herself. She added a second long-term goal now. Make Izuku and Himiko happy. For her short-term follow ups, she just needed to keep an eye on them and help them push past their clear self-esteem issues. Himiko's Quirk was beautiful and her parents were stupid not to see that, and Izuku was always more than just his Quirklessness, he just never realized that. She could do this, she could fix them. Like her parents taught her, you gotta build up from below.
She winced internally as her stomach tensed, feeling a bit queasy, but she set it aside as unimportant. They knew how the Quirks worked, they were gonna move into the dorms in a few days, and train all the way up to class. She could do this. They could do this. Just had to buckle down and focus. Her goals were now in reach, and nothing was gonna stop her from succeeding. Nothing
Chapter 10
Moving into the dorms was both one of the easiest things Izuku had done and the hardest. Easy, because between One For All, Zero Gravity, and his own now rather fit form, he had no issues moving any of the boxes he was taking to the dorms (no it wasn't all merch, shut up Mom). Hard because they found out something else about the shared Quirks…and he felt awful about it.
When Ochako had left to her home to pack up and start moving her own things, everything was fine at first. Himiko didn't have much to her name, so she was busy helping Izuku pack his things up as well, but the longer Ochako was gone, the more and more…off, Izuku felt. He could see in the corner of his eye that Himiko was feeling the same. They got more lethargic, more snippy…and more easily annoyed.
Which led to him snapping at his mom when she came in to check on him. He nearly snarled at her, teeth bared, eyes slitted (or so he was told), and after the brief moment of shock on her face processed in his mind he felt absolute horror at what he had done. Himiko had the same expression on her face, completely aghast at his sudden rage, and Izuku broke down into teary apologies within a single moment.
Inko had grabbed onto him and hugged him tight, telling him she wasn't mad and that was partly why she was coming to check in on them. She'd just received a call from the Uraraka's, where they mentioned how sullen Ochako had gotten once they'd been a few hours away…to the point she also snapped randomly, screaming at her father for a moment before she seemed to come to her senses. With the weirdness of the Quirk in question, it took little time to realize that when the trio were too far apart, they would get more…bitter, for lack of a better word. Himiko explained it the best, saying she felt gray and lifeless, but not until Ochako had been gone for a while. Which coincided with when she had gotten far enough away on the train back home.
They didn't have time to test the full distance before moving in, but it was a noticeable difference when Ochako came back in range. Even knowing the cause of their feelings didn't let them ignore them, and they remained rather surly and snapping with everyone but each other, even though they tried to keep it under wraps. But at a certain point, while they were angrily lugging Izuku's luggage to the dorm…they suddenly felt lighter, as if all their anger and annoyance had just vanished into the aether.
Which led to another phone call with Inko and Miu, and the two confirmed Ochako was now on the train to them, but still a good twenty to thirty minutes away. Still not an exact distance, but enough that they could clearly be somewhatseparated and still function…just not too far. Still, it was a huge relief for her to be back in range, and Izuku and Himiko breathed a sigh of relief as they now could unpack without that dark haze hanging over their minds.
Aizawa had let them into the dorm and told them they could pick whichever one they wanted. They were adults and could manage whatever, dorms were dorms, the teenagers could handle themselves. So they chose three rooms, side by side, on the top floor. For some reason they all felt more comfortable higher up (Izuku theorized this also had something to do with Himiko's cat mutation, but he wasn't sure yet). Izuku took the one closest to the elevator, Ochako was going to take the middle one, and Himiko the one next to hers. Not that Himiko had anything to really unpack.
Or so she hadn't…until Toshinori arrived and pulled the two downstairs, choosing not to comment on Izuku's slowly growing hero shrine in his bedroom that heavily featured his merchandise. He spoke to them for a bit, saying he had something to tell them both and Ochako once she arrived, and when she did he quickly intercepted her to make her sit on the couch before him. Her parents had not been able to make it, but she'd been able to bring her belongings to UA by herself thanks to Zero Gravity and One For All. As soon as Toshinori had the trio sitting on the couch before them, he stood up straight and planted his fists on his hips.
"Well my young successors, it is time to handle one more thing before your move-in is finished!" he said with a wide grin. Izuku blinked, confused, as Himiko tilted her head to the side in question. Toshinori's wide smile softened slightly, shifting from number one hero to a more parental gaze as he spoke softly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a trio of small cards, holding them out to Izuku. "I already know you will protest this, but please, for once, don't. I've set aside some money for each of you to take care of yourselves. I know you're doing alright financially, Izuku, but it is still a strain on your mother without the scholarships you got, and those can vanish at any time if someone is feeling prickly. And well, we may not want to speak of it, but Himiko has nothing. And Ochako, we know about your situation as well. So this is what I intend on doing to help rectify it."
He could see the trio all gathering steam to refuse him, but he cut them off, well prepared. "Stop. Let me finish. Set aside your pride and hear me out. Izuku, you are my chosen successor. I am by any and all accounts invested in your success. You are my hope for the future. And through a series of circumstances, now these two young ladies are also my successors. Which means I am also invested in you," Toshinori pointed at Himiko and then Ochako, narrowing his eyes. "I want you to succeed. I want you to do your best. Setting that aside, I actually do care. I'm not a hero for fame or fortune, after all. I want to help people. And finally…it is literally a drop in the bucket. I don't use my money. More than eighty percent of it goes to charities and I still have yet to ever bother checking my bank accounts."
He let his shoulders slump and took a seat on the chair across from the trio. "I didn't hand you millions of yen, mind you. This is money to help you make your dorms more comfortable, to buy supplies for food and drink as you continue, to cover whatever expenses you need, and maybe to go out and actually be teenagers and have fun. Consider it my investment in your future. Or if you must, your wages from working for me, because by being my successors it's a similar thing!"
"...it's really not, Toshi," Izuku replied, refusing to meet the older man's gaze.
Toshinori sighed. "Maybe not, but I am just trying to impress upon you three that this is not a handout. This is me helping my successors. If you were in my position, would you not do the same?"
Silence reigned over the room as the three realized they didn't have much of an argument against that argument…except Izuku. "But um…I mean, for Himi and Chako that makes sense, b-but you already gave me so much with my Quirk and-"
"If you say one more time that I've given you too much I swear I'll…well, I wouldn't want to upset you so I won't yell but I will be very disappointed and I have been told I do an excellent disappointed dad impression!" Toshinori replied, a cheeky grin on his face as he tried to cheer up Izuku before the boy went off into another one of his self-flagellating tangents. He needn't have worried, not when the girls were there.
"Izu…stop that," Ochako sighed. She was just so damned tired she couldn't even muster the energy to argue with Toshinori about this, so she didn't bother, just slumping over until her head was resting on Izuku's shoulder, the green-haired teen shifting slightly so she could get in a more comfortable position. She was not okay with a handout and she still did not like the idea, but she had a sneaking suspicion that if any one of them refused to take it, the others would too, and Himiko clearly needed some support. She'd be fine, she managed before, but Himiko…
"Are you…tracking this?" Izuku asked, staring at the card still in Toshinori's hand.
Toshinori shook his head. "Nope. It's a gift. You choose what to do with it. I already trusted you with my deepest secrets and the source of my power…I trust you to use this for your benefit. However!" he held up one finger to draw emphasis to what he had to say next, "I want your word you use this not just for essentials, but also to actually enjoy yourselves. Go out to eat, play games, go to movies, etcetera. Even buy some merch…but don't waste it all on that, Izuku." Toshinori's grin was wide as Izuku flushed at the reminder.
"Toshinori, I really think this is unnecessary," Himiko began, but was cut off once more by the older man's deep sigh.
"Himiko, Izuku, Ochako. Please, please just let me do this much for you. I know each of you has your own problems that you're keeping close to the chest. And one final thing…this is the most manipulative thing I will say to you, but I also know it will work." Toshinori paused, making sure to meet each of their eyes one by one, narrowing his own. "...think about what you could get each other with some extra spending cash."
"That is cheating, Toshinori," Ochako growled, glaring at the hero.
"Sometimes heroes must resort to underhanded tricks to win the day!" he replied with bravado.
"...Stupid smart heroes," Himiko muttered, glaring down at the floor.
Toshinori couldn't help but grin. "I knew that'd work."
"I agree with 'Chako. That's cheating," Izuku sighed.
"And it worked, didn't it?" The quality of silence he got in response made him chuckle. Once more, he held the cards out, and grudgingly, his three successors took them. "Excellent! With that handled…let's go to the mall. I know you don't need anything Izuku, but Himiko needs more clothing, and let's get some nice furnishings for your dorms! You want to feel at home after all!"
"...we're not getting out of this, are we?" Ochako deadpanned.
"Nope!"
'Dammit,' three teenagers thought in their mind.
Izuku let out a sigh of relief as he closed the door to his dorm. Shopping with Toshinori was…an experience. One he did not intend on repeating. Izuku knew he wasn't exactly up to trend with fashion and color coordination and all that, but Toshinori was atrocious at it. And it turned out Ochako wasn't much better than Izuku was. She didn't say much about why, but she said they had better things to spend money on than fancy clothes.
So the entire trip ended up being Himiko having to show them what clothes actually looked halfway decent on them. Not that Izuku felt like he needed any, but apparently his childhood friends didn't think his joke t-shirts were as funny as he did no he wasn't salty about that at all. Ochako said she didn't need more clothes either, but Himiko said if shewas being forced to shop, they had to join her so she didn't feel awkward so…there it went.
And then the furniture. Once again, no one could rely on Toshinori to pick something out that actually looked good, so it came down to the trio picking things they liked. Izuku got to skip this, since he did have a nice desk from home along with plenty of merchandise, but Himiko needed a full kit and Ochako, though she protested, also needed a lotmore in her room. Which worked out, because they managed to convince her to get a real big, nice, comfortable bed they could all sit on when hanging out. Since her room was in the middle, they'd already silently agreed her room would be their hangout spot. (Also a little bit because Izuku's merchandise was a bit much, and Himiko, once she found the plushie shop, may have gone a bit overboard on plushies.)
But now, he was alone, late at night and about ready for bed…or so he told the girls. There was something he needed to check on, and he didn't feel comfortable talking to them about it, at least…not yet. He stood in front of the mirror that hung on the back of his closet, just standing in his underwear as he stared at himself for a moment. Thanks to the work he'd put in with Toshinori, he was fairly fit. Honestly, he was a little bit proud of it, but he didn't think he could ever admit that out loud. He ignored the scars littering his torso, the starburst burns on his shoulders and chest, the ones he knew were on his back, mostly just focused on…him.
And that was the crux of the matter, wasn't it? When he'd turned into the girls, he'd been…confused. He expected to feel awkward, but he didn't. Part of him figured this must be a side-effect of Transform, since neither Himiko nor Ochako seemed bothered by turning into him or any of the teachers, but it got him wondering about how it…didn't bother him? But it also didn't make him feel better.
He knew about trans people, of course he did. There were transgender heroes, like Tiger, who he'd always admired for his great rescue work with the Pussycats. But he dismissed that thought pretty quickly. He didn't feel like he was a girl; the problem was he didn't feel like he was a boy either. He thought about it after he had been training with Transform and for some reason, he just…didn't even know what it meant to feel like one gender or the other. It didn't make sense.
He'd never cared much for gender roles or clothing, to be fair. Skirts looked like fun, if he was being honest, but he didn't overly care. He liked simple clothing, so he tended to stick to shorts and t-shirts, but he didn't overly care about what clothing was considered masculine or feminine. The more he thought about it, he wondered if he'd ever even considered the difference. It never meant much to him, the whole gender thing, and he'd always just thought that was how everyone felt, but now, he wasn't so sure.
Which led to him needing to do this test, alone, in his room. Transform had been changed by One For All, and now he wanted to test and see if it had changed in a way he'd thought it might. He took a deep breath and pulled his wrist up to his mouth, nipping at it with his teeth to rip a hole in it. He sucked up the blood, wincing as he realized that his own blood did not taste great, but he wanted to test something…and activated Transform, with a very specificmental image in his head. If he was right about what Transform could do when under the influence of One For All…
The gray sludge he was used to seeing when Transform ended quickly seemed to wrap itself about him, and as he watched in the mirror, it became him…but more of a her. His face softened, his hair lengthened, shoulders and hips rounded. His chest became more pronounced and he could feel the other changes taking hold, changing him into…well, a female version of himself. Part of him was elated that his experiment worked! He could change shape into alternate variations of himself! But that was only part of him…the other part felt differently.
To his frustration, it felt exactly the fucking same. This didn't make sense! Maybe Transform stopped dysphoria, but he still didn't get why it didn't have some effect! He should care, shouldn't he? With an annoyed huff, he dropped the transformation, ignoring the sludge as it pooled onto the floor, knowing it would dissipate in mere moments. He slumped into his desk and decided research was needed. He wasn't transgender, he was pretty sure of that at this point, but he didn't feel like he matched his birth gender either! So…he'd ask the internet and see what it said. A few links in, he saw a number of comments about people not feeling like a man or a woman, and he clicked into them for more information, reading further down the page and…
Oh.
Chapter 11
"So…you um…you learned something about yourself last night?" Ochako asked, just making sure she understood correctly.
Izuku nodded, rubbing the back of his, no, their head. "I-I think so? I'm not really sure though. It's all brand new a-and I don't know how I feel yet but it also…feels right? Sort of? I don't really know for sure."
"Well, we still got time before anyone else joins us in the dorms, right? So um…we can just…try it out? And you can change your mind at any time?" Ochako offered. It wasn't something she was fully familiar with, but Izuku wouldn't be the first person she knew who felt like they weren't the gender they were at birth, so it wasn't that difficult to translate in her head. She turned to look at Himiko, the blonde teen having been very quiet the entire time. She could almost feel Izuku's nervousness at how little Himiko had said, ever since Izuku had sat them down and tried to explain what they had learned last night.
Of course, neither Ochako nor Izuku was prepared to see Himiko pouting, her arms crossed over her chest and brow furrowed as she glared at Izuku. Izuku gulped, worry visible on their face as they shrunk in on themselves. "...i-is that a bad thing, Himi?"
Himiko looked stricken for a moment, as if Izuku had struck her before her eyes went wide as she realized what her expression might imply. She quickly shook her head in negation. "No, of course not! I'm just a bit…well, upset isn't the right word, but like, annoyed at myself? Because you figured something out about my Quirk that I didn't even think of!"
"I mean, I think it really only works because of One For All's influence, to be fair, we tried when you were little and it didn't, but I thought that with the enhancements…" Izuku trailed off, gesturing helplessly at the air.
"Still! It's like…you were having a crisis and still figured out something new! I just…sometimes I'm jealous of your brain, Izu," Himiko said, offering a wide smile to show she wasn't actually upset.
Izuku chuckled, feeling slightly better about their current confusion. Huh. Their. Thinking about themselves that way…kinda felt good. Even if they still weren't sure what the right term to use was. They were interrupted by Himiko turning to fully face them, her hands in her lap.
"So…you want us to use they/them for you, then?" She asked, just to confirm. Izuku nodded hesitantly. It was so new they weren't entirely sure, but…they felt like they could trust Ochako and Himiko with this, as a sort of trial run. Himiko nodded in return. "Okay. So like…you got a term you feel too? Or is it like, still unsure?"
Izuku shrugged. "I'm still not sure if non-binary or agender fits better, or even if it's one of those? I um, looked up a lot of stuff but still haven't really nailed down how I feel about it yet. I just wanna try this out, if that's okay?"
"Of course!" the girls chorused, nodding vigorously. Izuku flushed at how well they took it, but couldn't help but feel a bit elated at how easily it went over.
Izuku swallowed thickly. "For now, can we um…keep it between us? I know Mom'd be fine with it, but like, since I'm not sure yet I don't wanna tell her yet? A-And I think Toshinori would, but same reason, you know?"
"We won't tell a soul till you tell us to, right Himi?" Ochako said, looking at Himiko for confirmation.
"Course not! It's just between us, until you're ready or make a different decision or something!" Himiko said. Izuku breathed out a sigh of relief. Only to have to leap back in their seat with a startled squeak as Himiko shoved her finger in the green-haired teens face. "But now that that'ssettled, you're gonna show me how you did that whole self-transformation thing!"
"...right."
For all of Izuku's worries, not only was the whole switch to they/them seamless amongst the trio, it genuinely felt right. Izuku still wasn't sure what term fit them, but for now they went with non-binary since it seemed simple enough. And it was going so well…they chose to come out to their mom. Which went really well, Inko accepting it without argument. Emboldened, they'd followed the same pattern…Toshinori, who simply clapped them on the shoulder and proclaimed as long as they were happy, he was. Aizawa, who shrugged and made a note on their class sheet about the altered pronouns. The other teachers they'd run across (Midnight, Cementoss, Present Mic), each one adjusting without issue.
Izuku…really appreciated that. Not that they expected anyone to be too terrible about it, society was pretty good about those things in today's day and age, but…they couldn't forget how society treated Quirklessness, so they weren't exactly keen on finding out how well they handled this. At least their school seemed supportive, and they'd been informed by Toshinori that the school had a strict no intolerance policy around anything of the sort, so they had no reason to be worried.
But things weren't all sunshine and roses for them, much less Himiko or Ochako. Quirk training was going great. They kept getting stronger and stronger, each of them expected to breach twenty percent by the time classes started, and Izuku was likely going to be nearly at 25. Six weeks of intense training with experts really seemed to be working out for them.
But for some reason, at night, all those feelings Izuku would shove down into a safe and lock away, all those clawing, choking feelings of inadequacy and disappointment, would rear their ugly heads and rip and tear at them from the inside. Some nights they barely slept at all, their skin tingling, their head pounding, tears flooding silently from their eyes as they tried desperately to keep quiet so the girls wouldn't notice.
Sometimes their stomach ached, feelings of guilt and shame that felt unfamiliar tearing through them. Sometimes it was a desperate self-loathing, the word 'monster' repeating in their head. Sometimes Izuku would want to reach for their blades and barely be able to resist, hating that they were even there, but they hadn't been able to leave them behind.
Maybe the girls weren't taking it as well as Izuku thought either. Four weeks in, they'd found themselves standing outside Ochako's doom room door, desperate to just…feelsomething other than the pain, only to be surprised by Himiko's door creeping open and her amber eyes meeting theirs in the dark, confusion and pain evident.
The door to Ochako's room slid open, the brunette staring at the two before her, eyes red and puffy. The logical part of Izuku's brain was already adding things together, putting the pieces together one by one to notice how much more extreme they felt, how they could see their pain in their heart reflected in the eyes of the other two…but that part was drowned out by a desperate need to just be together.
They collapsed onto Ochako's bed in a tangle of limbs and clothes, the blanket pulled up as an afterthought as the trio snuggled in together. The pull was desperate, blinding, clinging and cloying, but the feeling of them in their arms had Izuku nearly sobbing in relief. Izuku curled around Ochako's form, their slightly taller body molding to her back as Ochako had pulled Himiko into her arms, the blonde wrapped up with her. Himiko's one hand had entangled Izuku's fingers, the other one trapped between the girl's bodies. Izuku's other arm was being desperately clung to by Ochako, as if she feared they'd vanish in the dark.
Izuku knew they had to discuss this in the morning. Something was very, very wrong. Even at their lowest, they rarely if ever felt this desperate, this needy, this hurt. And this pull, this need to be together, it was concerning and probably unhealthy…but right now they did not care. For the first time in weeks, they felt warmth flood into their body, into their bones, chasing away a chill they hadn't even realized was there. Considering the soft sighs they heard from Ochako, relief evident in her voice, and the gentle breathy purrs coming from Himiko, they could only assume the other two felt the same. It was a conversation for the morning…for now, Izuku would sleep, the first good sleep they'd gotten in weeks.
When Himiko woke in the morning, the first thing she felt was warm, and she felt herself purring as she curled into the soft warmth in front of her. She'd always felt a bit cold, and now this delicious warmth was right there. She never wanted to leave it. A weird sensation in her ear made her grumble though, like air blowing across it. She felt her ear twitch, and the annoyance was enough she grumpily opened one slitted eye to glare at what was causing it.
Which…was what? All she could see was fabric, gently sloped fabric…her mind finally catching up, she blinked open her eyes to realize she was curled into Ochako's chest, the brunette still asleep as far as Himiko could tell. She probably should feel awkward, since her face was practically buried in Ochako's chest, but honestly at this point she didn't care. Ochako was the one who pulled her in so, that was good enough for her. But dammit, that air that kept whistling into her ear periodically was getting really annoying.
She shimmied in place a bit, twisting herself to glance behind to see if Izuku was there, but…wait, no, they were on the other side of Ochako, their long-sleeve covered arm haphazardly tossed over Ochako's waist and resting on her side, her fingers entwined with theirs. The pressure of their hand felt nice, comforting, but if they were there and Ochako was in front of her, what was causing the air to hit her ear? She felt her ear twitch again at the sensation…only for it to occur to her that ears don't twitch.
She quickly untangled her hand from Izuku's and slid her fingers up the side of her head, expecting to find her ear and…not? But, she clearly could hear, and her ear was twitch…oh fuck no. She slid her hand up further and further, to the top of her skull and felt something fuzzy poking out of her hair. With a gentle tap, she felt the reverberation in her ear and panicked.
Leaping out of bed, she scurried over to the mirror Ochako had on her desk, feeling weirdly off-balance as she went. She ignored the grumbles from Izuku and Ochako, who reacted to her sudden response with annoyed groans, nearly skidding across the floor in front of the desk and staring at the mirror and "Oh…my…god," she breathed out.
"Himi? Waz wrong? C'mon back to bed," Ochako grumbled, patting at the bed with her eyes still closed.
Himiko spun about, eyes wide, and felt her gaze following the trail her hand had taken, up Ochako's face to the crown of her skull and…yep. Those were cat ears sticking out of the top of her hair. Her eyes trailed past the still half-asleep Ochako to see Izuku blinking blearily at her, green-furred ears atop their head. She noticed their eyes trailing up her head, the bleariness clearing a moment later as they seemed to spy the same thing she had. Izuku's jaw dropped, and they began to shake Ochako's shoulder.
"'M sleepin'!" she whined, trying to snuggle her head back into the pillow further.
"...you're gonna want to wake up for this, 'Chako," Izuku murmured, their hand tentatively tapping at Ochako's new cat ear. The brunette flinched, her face twisting at the odd sensation, blinking open annoyed eyes.
"What?" she growled, annoyed. Ochako was very much nota morning person, as Izuku and Himiko were aware, but this felt like something important.
Izuku smiled sheepishly, gesturing the top of their head and then back at Himiko, Ochako following their gesture one by one. It was almost comical, how she didn't seem to notice at first, before her gaze suddenly sharpened, sitting upright in bed and staring in jaw-dropped shock. After a moment, she swallowed thickly and reached up to the top of her head, patting at it until she located the ears. She shivered slightly at the sensation, turning to look at Himiko a second later. After a moment where she noticed the ears, her gaze drifted downward and she just…stared.
"...'Chako?" Himiko asked, now nervous as to why Ochako was staring at her…waist? Wordlessly, Ochako reached beneath the blankets and began patting around for something, her cheeks flushing a second later as she froze, apparently finding what she was looking for. With a visible gulp, she pulled the blankets off her, revealing a brown, furry…rope? Resting across her waist…which twitched, a moment later. Himiko's brain put two and two together, and she glanced down…seeing the golden furred tail now twitching by her feet.
Izuku hopped out of bed and began spinning about, looking over their shoulder to try and catch a glimpse of the dark-green furred tail that was now visibly poking out of their shorts. After a few futile twists, they seemed to realize how it looked and their shoulders slumped. "Okay. Um…that's…new," Izuku managed to get out.
"...we're actually cats now. We are actual cat people. What the fuck?" Ochako exclaimed, all traces of sleepiness gone as she fell back on the bed, covering her face with her gloved hands.
"...there's something else," Izuku began, drawing the attention of the two girls to them. "Last night, um…I realized that uh, maybe…well, you know how like, everything was just too much last night and it was very extreme?" Himiko nodded, having thought it was weirdly painful even for her own feelings but having dismissed it. She noticed Ochako shrugging helplessly in the bed, refusing to look up but still listening. Izuku cleared their throat. "Well, um…I think we might be sharing emotions too? Some of what I felt didn't feel like my feelings, if that makes sense?"
Himiko felt everything in her crashing down. This…this was all her fault, it was her dumb quirk that- "Himiko!" Ochako's voice snapped Himiko out of the spiral she had begun falling into, turning to see the unamused glare Ochako was giving her, followed by her turning that same glare to Izuku, the green-haired teenager looking as stricken as Himiko felt. "Izu's probably right, because what I just felt was notmy feelings, that's for damn sure. And I don't think I know how to deal with this right now either, I'm all sorts of confused and twisted up, but I'm not going to sit here while you two wallow in self-pity and self-blame! I already know you're thinking those stupid thoughts about it being your fault, and Izu's doing the same, and I am sick of it!" her voice rose to a loud growl, barely below a scream, making both Himiko and Izuku flinch away from her for a moment as they could now feel the anger seeping through, now that they knew what was going on they could sense it.
Ochako took a deep, bracing breath, the anger simmering and slowly easing off. "Quirks are bullshit. We know this. We all chose to drink your blood, Himi. We were a buncha dumb kids, but we still chose to. And how was Izu supposed to know what One For All would do to it? How was anyone? It's a bunch of weird stuff at once and it's no one's fault and I hate when you two do this! It hurts me too, you know? Not because of me feeling what you feel, but because I don't like seeing you hurting!"
She slumped back in the bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling. "...I'm weirded out by all the changes, and I don't like feeling like my body isn't mine. I wanna get to the bottom of this. But that all said," she sat up once more and made sure to meet both Himiko and Izuku's eyes, "I don't really mind it. I-I like being close to you guys, like this, you know? And sharing Quirks is fun, and cool, and I feel super powerful with you guys beside me, you know? So yeah…some of it isn't great, and it's like, frustrating and weird at times, but…the rest of it is really cool to me. So like, let's just talk to the teachers and figure out what all's going on, okay?"
Silence filled the room for a moment, Ochako's stern expression shifting to one of worry as she thought she might have upset the other two…but those thoughts were thrown out of her mind as she felt herself being tackled back into the bed by Himiko, Izuku sitting down next to them a moment later and wrapping their arms around the other two. Izuku managed to speak, their voice thick with tears. "...thanks, 'Chako. You always know how to cut through the bullshit."
Himiko just nodded into Ochako's neck, her new cat ears rubbing against Ochako's face with a tickling, featherlight touch. Himiko did not realize what the brunette was planning on doing, until a moment later when tentative fingers brushed over the shell of her ear and making her melt into Ochako's arms. She felt boneless almost, as Ochako seemed to find her confidence, pressing more firmly, only to find herself losing all sense of worry when a new hand pressed against her other ear.
She felt the rumbling bubbling up out of her, a loud genuine purr echoing through the room and making both hands on her ears freeze for a brief moment, long enough for her brain to catch onto what was going on. With blood rushing to her face, she jolted upright and away from their hands, narrowing her eyes at her two friends. "Oh…you're gonna pay for that," she swore, seeing both of them staring at her with wide-eyed apprehension. She gave them no time to react, lunging forward and clapping her own hands on top of their heads, instantly rubbing at their ears and internally giggling at how she witnessed both of them melt into her hands like putty. Okay…this she could get used to.
"Alright. I am…95% certain these should be the lastchanges you go through," Recovery Girl announced as she read over the report sent back to them from a discrete Quirk research facility Nezu apparently owned. She flipped the page, scanning over the next one, nodding at it. "The researchers believe there is a chance of a further minor mutation, but it appears that it mostly reached the full possibility with Himiko's cat mutation. Anything further would be something like whiskers or claws. But you should remain without fur beyond what's on your ears and tails."
Ochako breathed a sigh of relief. For all her words in the morning, she still didn't really like being forcibly changed like this. Not that it didn't have its benefits, she mused, her cheeks going pink at the thought of how long the trio had ended up toying with one another's ears before actuallygoing to speak to Toshinori. Her attention was dragged back to Recovery Girl, who was continuing to read from the report.
"Instincts will likely begin to filter into your actions though. Nothing overwhelming, they say it shouldn't override your sense of reason, but you may find yourselves feeling well…more like a cat. Things like seeking warmth, grooming behaviors, etcetera. Once again, you should keep your sense of reason just fine, but it will impact you subtly, or so the researchers believe," Recovery girl snapped the file shut, sliding it across the desk towards Izuku, as they seemed to be most interested in it.
"Problem children, the lot of you," Aizawa sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Sorry sir," Izuku said, dropping their head in shame.
Aizawa sighed again. "I don't blame any of you, it's clearly beyond your control. Quirks are bullshit. It'll be fine, Midoriya, don't beat yourself up over it. We have two more weeks before classes start. We'll work on training your fused Quirks and whatever instincts show up so you're prepared."
"...what if I keep notes on when one of those instincts shows up? M-maybe we can be better prepared if we know what they are?" Izuku offered, thinking aloud.
Aizawa nodded, looking slightly impressed. "Good thinking. Can you two do the same?" he asked, turning to glance at Himiko and Ochako.
Himiko scratched the back of her head. "I'll try, but I think some of them were um…already there for me? Since it's originally part of my Quirk."
"Good point. Just take note of anything out of the ordinary then. And you, Uraraka?"
"Can do, sir!" Ochako replied, nodding fervently. She sounded more confident than she felt…she never was the best at introspection, and she tended to live in the moment, but with Izuku and Himiko's help, she felt like she could keep up.
"Good. Take the day off training. It'll be good for you to get used to the changes. Yagi may come to check on you later, once he's back from his duties, but for now, we'll start training back up first thing tomorrow morning. Got it?"
The trio nodded along, excusing themselves as they started to walk back to the dorm. Walking was a bit weird now…the tail threw her balance off, but it also seemed to automatically correct it? It really seemed to have a mind of its own at times, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Especially since they had to tailor their clothes to let the tails fit. Luckily, Ochako was pretty handy with needle and thread (she had to fix her own clothes a lot) and Izuku had an entire sewing kit in their room (she still wondered why when they said they didn't really sew), so they'd been able to make do.
Nezu had apparently already called for a tailor specializing in clothing for mutants who would be stopping by to help fix up their clothing and give them options for future wear, which she wasn't looking forward to but felt like she had no real choice. Then again, that seemed to be her daily experience lately.
Hiding food from Izuku and Himiko was difficult. More than it had ever been back at home. They always wanted to eat together, and they were both way more observant than she wished they were. It had gotten so bad she'd nearly thrown up by the end of the first week, she felt so bloated and full. But she'd started to find ways…excusing herself early, finding ways to slip food under the table and then clean it up before they noticed, skipping out on snacks when they watched movies together. It wasn't perfect, but she'd still kept it down to a level she could manage. Because she was fine, she really didn't need this much, she was fine. Yeah, money wasn't an issue at UA, but she was okay without too much anyways! She didn't need that much, she just needed to train harder is all.
Didn't matter that she felt so cold, that she kept feeling like she might black out at random if she moved too quickly, or that training sometimes made her feel like she was going to just pass out. She was fine.
It was fine, really. So what if she hated taking a shower because she felt like she could physically see the food seeping into her form. It was fine, she was fine, she was just controlling and eating healthy, that's all. She got plenty of calories from the blood she had to drink anyways (wait how many calories were in blood). She didn't need to worry about that, it was okay. She was fine. They had more important things to focus on right now. She would be fine.