Chapter 1
"Izuku, wake up. We're here." The gentle words of his mother, as well as the light shaking of his shoulder, roused the young boy from his sleep. A sleep which grew less and less pleasant as the days went by, each bone chilling event playing on loop in his mind every time he closed his eyes. It always started out the same, seeing the doctor slouching in the chair before him as he told the four year old boy that he would never get a quirk. Then it would move to him sitting there at preschool, with all of the other students around him keeping their distance as if just being near him would take away their quirks. But, he could still hear their words. Things like 'quirkless' and 'freak' were whispered by not only the other children, but the adults as well. He would sit there for what seemed like hours as their words would just echo on and on, their bodies becoming nothing more than silhouettes with their eyes glowing white. Then, at the end, he was back in that playground trying to stand up for another student only to get beaten up and left on the ground.
And then, after that, if he hadn't woken up the dream would simply repeat. It was as if his mind wanted to rub his face in his own shame. The shame of being born quirkless, of being a nothing. Of course, if he did wake up, it would be reality that would be rubbing his face in his own uselessness.
But this time, when he opened his eyes, he found that he was no longer in his room. No, he was in the back of a van strapped into a child safety seat. Slowly he looked around, spotting his mother struggling to talk to a man in a language he didn't know while the man, who sat up front, had the same annoyed smile on his face that the people who ran the preschool often wore when they had to deal with him.
After a few minutes, Izuku was freed from the chair and was helped out of the van. Once outside, the four year old winced. It had surprised him since, back home, it hadn't been this hot outside and the van had been fairly cool. But now that he was outside, the sun's light somehow seemed brighter than normal while making his skin feel like it was burning slightly! He almost wanted to head back into the van, but the slamming of the door behind him quickly dashed that idea.
As his eyes began to adjust, Izuku found himself on the sidewalk staring up at a large yard. The grass almost seemed to glisten and the boy could smell the scent of water in the air, telling him that sprinklers had been on not too long ago. The yard was large too, Izuku thinking how easily he could run around it and play all sorts of games with his friends. Well, if he still had any that was. As for the house, it was something that Izuku wasn't used to seeing. It was a long house whose walls looked like they were made of a yellow stone and several brick archways on the porch. And, on top of the archway where the front door was located, the green haired boy could see that someone had mounted a pair of horns there.
A moment later, Izuku felt his mother taking hold of his hand. He looked up to her, finding that she looked just as nervous as he was. Perhaps more. But then he watched as she took a deep breath before looking down at him, a smile appearing on her face. Without a word, Inko led her son towards the front doors of the house where, upon reaching it, she knocked all the while never letting go of Izuku's tiny hand.
When the door opened, all of Izuku's worries and nightmares seemed to leave him as his eyes began to sparkle at the sight before him. Standing at his eye level was a small girl he assumed was his own age, hiding behind the backwardly bent legs of the woman standing between them. Rather than looking up at said woman, Izuku took in the sight of the young girl's twin horns which sprouted out of her blond hair which was tied in short pig-tails. The boy also thought she looked very kind when he compared to those from his class, especially with those large blue eyes which matched the short dress she was wearing. Izuku also noticed that her legs also seemed to bend backwards as well and, instead of feet, she had hooves.
"Oh, you must be Hisashi's wife," came a voice from above, causing Izuku to jump a little. He had been so caught up with the girl that he had failed to look up at all. Slowly he looked up, his eyes staring at the hooves that the older woman had before trailing up her blue jeans and white top. When he got to her face, he saw that the older woman also had blond hair though it was much longer, done in heavy braids and resting on her shoulder. Her eyes were blue, but a darker shade while not being as big. But As Izuku took in the girl's appearance, he couldn't help but notice that this woman had a single horn sticking out of her forehead. Izuku's eyes widened as he realized he had seen this large, spiral shaped horn before thanks to a video link his father had sent him of a hero he claimed to know. Izuku's excitement almost exploded within his body as he realized he was meeting the American Pro-Hero: Unicorn!
He couldn't believe it! Not even his friend Kacchan had met a real live pro-hero face to face like this before! And she was a pretty cool one as well from what he had seen. Her quirk, Horn Drill, basically meant her horn could spin like a drill powerful enough to go right through the door of a bank vault. Not only that, it could be launched like a missile! Izuku's eyes widened as he wanted to ask her so many questions about her quirk. How tough was her horn? Could it drill through anything? After launching it, did she have to retrieve her horn or did she have to wait and grow a new one? Could she control her horn as it flew through the air?
"I'm Carol Tsunotori," said Unicorn, her words bringing Izuku back into the moment as he realized something else. She was speaking Japanese. It was slower than normal and a few of the words sounded off, but he could understand what she was saying. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, your husband just loves bragging about the two of you."
"Thank you," said Inko, her grip on Izuku's hand relaxing slightly. The younger Midoriya then looked up to his mother to see that she seemed calmer, more like her normal self. "Hisashi has talked about you as well. I'm Inko and this is my son Izuku. Thank you for inviting us." When she finished saying this, Inko bowed her head slightly with Izuku following suit.
Unicorn, however, just waved it off as she stepped aside. "Oh, it's no trouble at all," she said as she gestured for them to enter. "That cheap apartment of Hisashi's is just no good for you to stay in. We've been telling him for years he should at least try to find something better, but you know how stubborn that man can be."
Izuku blinked as he heard his mother giggle slightly as the door closed behind them, the first time he had heard her do that since the trip to the quirk doctor. "I think being stubborn is just hard wired into that man." She then looked down at Izuku. "But…it's always been his most endearing trait. It's how he was able to get Izuku into this experiment on such short notice."
Izuku felt lost as the two adults continued to talk for a moment as most of the words they used just went over his head. And, when he glanced at the girl still hiding behind her mother, he could tell that she was just as lost as he was. Still he did his best to smile at her and, much to his own joy, she smiled warmly back at him. She then said something, using words he didn't know but he didn't mind. Izuku had been told that he would be staying here with them for a week, maybe two, so maybe he could learn what they meant in the meantime. And she seemed very nice so perhaps he could make a new friend who wouldn't pick on him because he was quirkless!
[hr]
Hisashi fidgeted, his hands running over the other in what felt like an endless loop as he stared out a window overlooking a separate room. He had felt so sure about this, moving heaven and earth so that his son could be part of his company's biggest project to date. That assurance had only increased yesterday when he had gone to the household of the Tsunotori's a few hours after his family had arrived in the U.A., just barely making it in time for dinner. When he had first seen Izuku walking to the table with his friend's daughter, Pony, his son's eyes seemed to lack the spark they held in many of the pictures Inko had sent him over the years. But that sparkle of joy seemed to return tenfold when Hisashi told him that, if everything went according to plan, he would have a quirk of his very own. Both the light in his son's eyes and the BBQ covered smile adoring his son's face was enough for the man to know that he had made the right choice.
But now, seeing it in action, he was beginning to have second thoughts.
Then again, how could he not when the sight before him looked like something straight out of a horror movie! The room was filled with a ten by ten grid of child sized rectangular tanks, each one of them full of a green liquid…as well as a child in each one. All of these children had their eyes closed, breathing masks strapped to their mouths while several tubes were connected to their arms and legs as they pumped various colored liquids into the systems of each of the floating children. And one of those children was his son, Izuku. More than once, Hisashi had looked down at his son who floated there with the rest while various technicians and doctors moved between the spacious rows, all of them carrying tablets of some kind as they checked on either the equipment or the status of the volunteers. Honestly, you would have to be pretty messed up in Hisashi's opinion not to be freaked out by seeing all this. He was just glad Inko wasn't here to see this herself.
Still, this was all for Izuku's sake all thanks to the dream project of his company and the United States government. Since the beginning of the hero society, this country had lost a good number of heroes. To be honest, that was something that all nations shared. But, with the crime rate in the United States being one of the highest in the world, so too was the death rate of those heroes. And, by extension, their quirks also died along with them as so many were unable to pass on their quirks to their offspring before their untimely demise. To combat this issue, the U.S. government contracted with several companies in the hopes of either helping to produce more powerful quirks…or finding a way to resurrect the quirks. Thus, Project 'Quirk Rebirth' (a horrible name in his opinion) began.
Hisashi had a good understanding of Project 'Quirk Rebirth'. For decades, his company had been studying the genetics of quirks with the assistance of samples that the U.S government had provided them with. Once they understood what they were working with, the issue became trying to find a way to graft the quirks onto another.
Currently, Hiashi was looking at their most recent attempt. It had been decided that after the company's last failed attempts that younger bodies that were still developing might be better suited. As such, all of the children below were between the ages of four and six as it was believed that that would be the ideal age group as it was then that children started to develop their quirks. Everything that these children were now going through was designed so that they would not only gain access to these quirks, but also altering their bodies so that they would be able to handle them as well.
Hisashi's gaze narrowed slightly as he saw a few doctors beginning to merge to where Izuku was. By the time there were ten of them, all huddled around and exchanging data with each other, that narrowed gaze turned into panic for his son. Was…Was there something wrong? Unlike all the other children, who came from powerful hero families who hoped that this process would either give them two quirks or combine the quirks into something more powerful, Izuku was the only quirkless child down there. Was…Was his body just not strong enough to handle the process?
"Mr. Midoriya," came a voice off to the side. Hisashi looked over, seeing a doctor running towards him with a tablet held firmly in his hands. At first, the father's heart sank as he began to fear the worst. Yet, when he saw the doctor's smile, that worry was set into a limbo of confusion.
"Y-Yes?" was all the father could say, speaking in English, as the doctor skidded to a halt.
"We have wonderful news, the procedure with your son was a complete success!" exclaimed the doctor, eyes brimming with pride and accomplishment. "We're already starting to see quirk levels within him rising and that his body is handling the changes without a hitch!"
"You mean…my son isn't quirkless anymore?" breathed Hisashi, his lips beginning to form a smile as tears threatened to appear. Could it be true? Would his son be able to have a normal life like every other child out there? Not being teased or made to feel like a lesser human being due to his lack of a quirk?
"That's right," beamed the doctor. "Now, we're going to need to watch over him for the next week while he's in the country to see if this holds up. And he's going to need to get a yearly evaluation for the next several years to see if there are any long term side effects. But, if all goes well, he will be able to live a long and healthy life like any other-" The doctor's words were cut off by a sound that chilled both men's hearts on the spot. Red lights flashed as a buzzer sounded over and over causing the doctor to run off without another word. At the same time, Hisashi looked back towards the window to see what was happening, hoping beyond hope that his boy was alright.
And he thanked every deity that had ever existed when he saw that his son's condition looked unchanged. If only the same thing could be said about all the others. Nearly all of them were thrashing in their tanks as the doctors rushed over to see them. Many of their quirks were going off, endangering those around them in numerous ways that the nightmarish stillness that was the constant of the room prior became more violent in nature. Fire erupted from one of the tanks while another child became disfigured, his body twisting around itself as skin and bone broke. Another child's body looked like it had become diamond before sinking to the bottom of the tank while another just exploded, sending body parts all over the place. Chaos reigned supreme with the man unable to take off the events happening before him until it was all over and his son was the last child left alive.
[hr]
The rest of the week had been a blur for the young Izuku Midoriya. He couldn't remember much about the time when the doctors had put him to sleep or anything for that matter until he woke up the next day in the Tsunotori household. But since that morning, he was taken to a hospital every morning and would not be allowed to leave until well into the night. Each day, they ran test after test as they did things like taking his blood or putting him into very large machines that made noises that sounded scary to the child. Throughout all of this, his mother had been by his side looking like she was about ready to cry at any given moment. What had happened to make her so upset, all she would ever say was that he was too young to understand. Not even his father, who was also there and did most of the talking to the doctors, would tell him.
What Izuku did know was that he now, finally, had a quirk of his own! Said quirk had shown itself in the doctor's office the day after they had put him to sleep. He could still recall how frightened he had been when it had appeared, before excitement overtook him. Sure, his quirk wasn't lifting things with his mind like what his mother could do or breathing fire like his dad. Actually, what he had wasn't all that flashy right now like many of the other quirks he knew about. But it didn't matter because now he had a quirk. One that he hoped would make him a hero like All Might. Someone who could save the day with a smile on his face.
This was practically confirmed by the doctors who explained to him about his quirk. They had, with help from his mother, explained to the boy about who the quirk had originally belonged to. How it worked and how the fallen hero had used it to save people while fighting villains! And what they told the boy blew his mind apart! The sheer number of ways the original hero who had this quirk used it, the power behind it, tickled the boy's imagination. Yet, at the same time, he was a bit scared. His quirk was powerful and, well, could hurt someone very easily if he wasn't careful. Something the doctors stressed more than once.
But while getting his quirk should have been the happiest moment of his life, something else happened that he treasured just as much. That something just so happened to be his growing friendship with the girl named Pony Tsunotori.
Simply put, it was nice to have a real friend again. One who didn't fire small explosions in your face or scream at the top of his lungs when angered. From the time he got back to the house till when he finally fell asleep, he and the blond girl would play. And despite them not knowing the other's language, that never proved to be a real issue. Instead they used simple gestures to say things they wanted to do. It was just a simple joy in life that Izuku had missed.
One that he now had to leave behind now that the week was over.
So here he was, standing in the doorway hugging Pony who hugged him right back. As they did this, the dads present were helping to load up the van that would take them to the airport while the moms just spoke their own goodbyes while commenting on how adorable the pair looked. While it was still hot outside, Izuku just stood there with his arms wrapped around the girl and savored the feeling of her doing the same. A part of him wished he knew the words in her own language to tell her just how much he would miss her. How he hoped that they would remain friends even when they were far apart. But, something inside of him told the boy that she understood. And that same something told him that she probably felt the same.
As he was gently pulled away from the girl, Izuku made himself a promise. He had been told by his father, who was coming back with them to Japan, that they would be returning every year for a special check up. With that knowledge, Izuku vowed to himself that he would learn enough English so that next time he could say goodbye to her properly.
As well as telling her he'd see her again.
Chapter 2
"The Morning Is Here! The Morning Is Here! The Morning Is-" The alarm caused by the All Might alarm clock situated on the nightstand next to Izuku's bed was swiftly silenced as it's owner's hand flew over and behind it to press the off button. All while never once opening his eyes. It was only after several seconds of pure silence that a pair of green eyes opened to greet the light orange glow of the morning sun that was just now beginning to fill his room.
With a small yawn, Izuku pushed the All Might covers off of his body before getting up. A tiny shiver ran through the boy's body as his feet made contact with the hardwood floor of his bedroom, a stark contrast to the warmth his bed had provided as he wiped away the sleep from his eyes. Soon Izuku stood straight up, beginning his morning ritual of stretching until he heard both his back and neck make a cracking noise. A soft, pleasurable noise escaped him as Izuku felt a nice tingle running throughout his body caused by this action.
Now fully awake, Izuku walked across the room towards his closet on the opposite side of the room. As he did so, his eyes shot over to his deck hutch which was flanked on either side by his rarest All Might posters. Overall it was a fairly standard desk, with the upper area being used as a bookshelf holding his various study aides for school as well as a number of his hero notebooks. Below that, sitting in the middle of the desk, was a desktop computer with a camera attached right above the screen. Izuku looked at both of them carefully before relaxing that he hadn't left them on. Again. The last thing he wanted was for his foreign friend to get another eye full of himself getting changed.
As Izuku began to undress, his attention was constantly returning towards the desk. Or, rather, the bulletin board behind the computer. Hanging from it were some of his favorite pictures he had collected over the last ten or so years, each one framed at different spots where they would never be obscured. The one that started this trend was positioned at the top corner. It was a simple picture, showing an almost five year old Midoriya standing between his parents, all of them smiling as they stood in front of their new house. Looking at it, Izuku recalled how his parents had decided that the apartment had been too small as well as just wanting a fresh start now that they were all together. Thus they had bought a large, two story house in a more rural area thanks in part to a non-disclosure settlement. Though, if he recalled correctly, it might have also had something to do with making sure to get Izuku away from a certain bully who lived nearby.
Hanging next to that one was another picture, this one showing a young Izuku standing rigidly and looking scared out of his mind while wearing a white Gi. Standing in the picture next to him, wearing a matching Gi, was a man with an almost square like head with short salt and peppered hair along with a matching thin mustache. This man, who preferred to go by his former hero name Secret Slash, stared forward with his small, narrowed eyes while his entire being oozed intimidation.
The rest of the pictures, save for one, had been taken overseas during Izuku's trips to the Tsunotori household. A soft chuckle escaped Izuku as he saw one of the pictures of his first return to that house, the younger Izuku looking scared out of his mind while looking like he was talking to Pony who looked confused by what he was saying. He recalled that he had been trying to talk to her, using the lessons he had learned over the past year…and made a mess of himself. He had mispronounced several of the words, using them in the wrong order, and said a word or two that he thought sounded right but clearly wasn't. Thankfully, Mrs. Tsunotori had been the one taking the picture and was able to clear up any misunderstanding. Besides, Pony hadn't been any better.
Following that picture, many of the rest were fairly innocent. Just images of them playing together, returning from the All Might movie, going to the Texas Hero Hall of Fame, and so on. But some of the more recent images just reminded Izuku of how much the two had grown up. In particular, one picture of them taken last year when they had visited a water park. The two of them stood there, side by side with the sparkling pool in the backdrop. Izuku, wearing lime green trunks, was grinning as his matted hair clung to his head while the moisture of the pool water glistened off his well defined chest and abs. As for Pony, dressed in a blue bikini, she was all smiles as well as her own long blond hair was matted against her as well with water running down her horns and long legs. Izuku had wrapped an arm around her bare waist, bringing the two close enough for their bodies to be pressed against each other. The girl who had taken it had laughed afterwards, telling Pony she should show this to the guys who kept asking her out as proof that she already had a stud of a boyfriend.
Izuku blushed at the memory as he tore his gaze away to look at the most recent photo. This one had been taken a few weeks when Pony had come to Japan in order to take the entrance exam at U.A. Naturally, she had stayed at the Midoriya household during her week-long stay. In particular, the room right next to Izuku's. The picture showed the girl standing there in the doorway, waving as she wore an over the shoulder red, white, and blue crop top that showed off her stomach as well as long jeans. It wasn't as revealing as the previous picture, but it held memories of the time she had stayed here in Japan.
Once Izuku was fully dressed in his jogging suit, he moved over to his deck to start what had been his morning ritual for the last eight years. He sat down in front of his PC before activating it, the device quickly lighting up. Once it was on, he clicked the appropriate windows to bring him into his morning video call, seeing that Pony was there waiting for him.
"Morning Izuku!" said the horned girl, her voice dripping with happiness as she spoke Japanese. Today she was wearing another crop top, the thin straps draping her bare shoulders while a tie-dye pattern covered her chest. From the way she was sitting, Izuku could just make out a little bit of her stomach. But what caught his attention was her eyes which seemed to sparkle with an extra dose of happiness and the way she moved her arms about told him she was fighting tooth and nail not to start spinning in her seat.
"Good morning Pony," said Izuku, though he knew that it was only morning for him. "I take it you got the results?"
"Yes!" she cried, no longer able to contain herself as both arms shot into the air. She then reached out of the sight of the camera to pull out a disk similar to the one Izuku had gotten in the mail. "I got in! Forty-two villain points and twelve rescue points! And that wasn't even the best part! All Might! All Might himself told me my score and welcomed me into the school! I can't believe it! I'm going to be living in Japan!"
"I never doubted you," said Izuku honestly as he smiled at her before pausing to scratch his cheek. "Though, I wish I could have said the same thing about myself."
All of Pony's cheerfulness vanished instantly as her hands went to her sides, her cheeks puffing slightly as a cute frown appeared on her face. "Don't give me that. I heard all about what happened in your group! You took down three three-points in a single attack like they were made of paper!"
At that, Izuku gave off a sheepish laugh. "Yeah, well, the only reason I was able to do that was because they were standing in a straight line," he admitted. He then let out a sigh. "Sure I could destroy them no problem, but I was just worried that I wouldn't get enough points in time. My quirk really doesn't do anything for my speed and finding ones that no one else had became a bit of a problem near the end."
"I guess that makes sense," admitted Pony with a sigh, her head hanging slightly. But, when she looked up, Pony made a move with her arms that made it look like she was about to slam them on her own desk while giving Izuku a fiery look. "But come on! You destroyed that giant zero-pointer all by yourself with that overpowered special move of yours! That alone should have earned you a spot in the hero course! I mean…it's a giant robot! How could any school see you destroying that thing, in less than four seconds, and say 'Nope, not good enough'?!"
"To be honest, I wasn't thinking about the exam when I destroyed it," said Izuku. "I was more worried that it might hurt someone. Turns out I was right. If I had been a few seconds slower, that robot would have walked through a building where several students were in." As Izuku spoke, he fought back a shudder while his hands tightly gripped the armrests of his seat as he recalled how he had found this out. All Might, when presenting his scores, had decided to show him video footage of the exam when explaining how he had achieved his rescue point. The scene that Izuku witnessed was of at least a dozen examinees who had become trapped on the first floor of one of the mock office buildings. How they had gotten there wasn't shown, but the situation was clear: the stairway had been destroyed somehow while parts of the ceiling had caved in. What made the image truly haunting was the looks on their faces as each step the zero-pointer took seemed to shake the building. All twelve examinees worked as hard as they could, the exam all but forgotten about as they dug through the debris with clear fear and panic on their face. He recalled how one student even broke down, sobbing while slamming his fists into the ground.
When it was over, the image of All Might had turned to look at Izuku to explain why he was showing him this. He had wanted to show him the panic people in danger face and, via his actions, had saved them. Had this been a real disaster and he had been a true pro hero, those people would have been able to continue with their lives thanks to his efforts. How he should hold this image in his heart as he moved forward into the future. And finally, how All Might said he looked forward to helping shape the future of a true hero.
"Well, I guess it didn't matter," said Pony, a small smile appearing on her face. "We both got in." At that, Izuku nodded. His score had been seventy-six points on the practical exam; thirty-four villain points with the remaining forty-two being rescue. When he had gotten his score, Izuku had wondered how they had determined this since the max number of rescue points was sixty. The best he could come up with was that he hadn't known for sure if anyone had been in those buildings. But, as Pony said, it didn't matter. He was in. He was going to U.A., his dream school ever since he had heard about its existence. The best hero school in the country! Maybe even the world!
And the icing on the cake was that he was going to be living there with Pony! While U.A. wasn't purely a boarding school, it did have a single building to house students that either wanted to live on campus or lived too far away. Since Pony was traveling from America, it was pretty much a no brainer that she had to stay there. As for Izuku, well, just getting to U.A. was a half a day trip by train. On a good day. Meaning if he wanted to go to U.A., he would either have to stay in the dorm or have his parents help him get an apartment. And while he liked the idea of having a bit more independence, Izuku much preferred the idea of being in the same building as Pony.
As Izuku was about to ask when Pony would be moving into the dorm, something primal within him began to stir while a fantasy began to play within his mind. Izuku suddenly found himself back in his bed with Pony standing in the doorway wearing nothing other than the blue bikini as well as a smoldering smile that made the primal thing within him purr. Without a word, she made her way to the bed without ever breaking her gaze from Izuku's. The teen trembled, not out of fear but of something else, as she was soon standing next to him. The Pony in his fantasy then leaned over, placing herself on the mattress next to him. The primal force purred even louder as Izuku could once again feel her skin pressing against his own as he found himself not in either his jogging suit or his swimming trunk…but his boxers! The feeling of her body pressed against his own, his hands running along her warm and soft skin while he breathed in her scent. He could recall it all, from every time they had touched, only now it was a thousand times better. The room around them slightly changed and something told him that this was now his dorm room. And that they were the only ones on this floor. Meaning they could-
Izuku snapped out of the fantasy, causing the primal force within to let out a growl as it retreated within him. Silently he cursed himself for getting lost in another fantasy, ones that had become more common as of late. Especially after Pony had stayed at his home. And given the imagery, the frequency, and the one person who was in all of them, Izuku had a pretty good idea what his mind was telling him. That he liked Pony. More than a friend that he had known since the lowest point in his life, but as a woman. But was this love or simply lust, he had no idea.
"Izuku," came Pony's voice, snapping the green-haired teen out of his thought. He blinked, suddenly realizing that his friend was giving him a worried look. "Izuku, are you ok? You kind of spaced out."
"Sorry," said Izuku, a slight blush on his face. "Just, well, thinking about things." For a moment, he wanted to tell her how he felt. About how much he enjoyed waking up at this ungodly hour just to talk with her. To see her smiling at him and how it was a million times better in person. To tell her all the things he had wanted to tell her when she had stayed at his place. But the more rational part of his mind warned against that. Soon she would be moving to Japan, starting a new school and moving into the dorms. There was no need to make any of that awkward for her. They had time.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Izuku smiled at Pony in a reassuring manner. "I'll tell you about it later. Promise. Anyways, do you know when you're-"
"Pony, it's time to," came a muffled voice of another girl speaking in English, the door opening causing both Izuku and Pony to jump a little in their seats. Izuku watched as Pony turned her head to look at who had entered her room and, a moment later, another face filled the screen. The new face had a sly look in her brown eyes as looked at Izuku before speaking in decent Japanese. "Should have known she'd be chatting with you. So, how's it going Broccoli Boy?"
"Hello Jazz," said Izuku, his heart rate returning to normal at the sight of one of Pony's friends. Jasmine St. Peters, or Jazz as she preferred to be called, was a friend of Pony's and a girl Izuku had known almost as long as the horned girl herself. With her red hair tied in a ponytail and her heavily freckled face, she looked cute…though Izuku privately maintained that Pony was the cuter of the two. "Things are going great. Oh, before I forget, I heard your audition went well."
"You know it!" said Jazz with a big smile on her face. "Which is why we're going out tonight to celebrate on our parent's dime!" Unlike both him and Pony, Jazz had no desire to be in the hero business. Instead, she wished to devote her life to dancing either on the stage or to open up her own studio. And she happened to have the perfect quirk to help her do it! Her quirk, Dancing Flames, allowed her to bring existing fire around her legs and manipulate it into various shapes as she moved. He had seen this quirk in action a few times while at the Tsunotori's, especially when they were having an outdoor barbecue.
"Well, don't forget to send me tickets for your big début," said Izuku with a chuckle.
"Only if you promise to give me an autographed picture of your hero rookie card or whatever you have over there in Japan," said Jazz. "That thing will be worth a freakin' fortune when you become one of the top heroes in the world!"
"Pony! Jazz! Come on, we need to get going," came another voice from off the screen, again in English. Only this one was not familiar to Izuku. Before he could say anything, another girl entered the frame of the screen. Upon seeing her, Izuku couldn't help but think that, due to both her voice as well as her half closed eyes, that she had a bit of an air-headed personality. She was wearing a skin tight shirt that showed off every curve, including her mammoth sized breasts. Also, Izuku noticed that she had a thin tail that was the same color as her wavy, purple hair, ending with a heart shaped spade at the end.
"Oh, who's this cutie?" asked the new girl as Pony and Jazz shot her annoyed looks. Before he could say anything, the girl's eyes widened for a moment before returning to their previous appearance. When she spoke next, the girl's voice came out almost like a purr while her tail wagged in the background. "Isn't he the boy in the picture you were using to ple-"
"Sarah!" they both cried together, leaping over to the newly named girl to tackle her. Within moments, Pony had her arms around Sarah's stomach as she tried to pull her away while Jazz had her hands on the girl's mouth. Or, at least, was trying to as Sarah was thrashing about.
"What's the big deal?" demanded Sarah after pulling away Jazz's hand. "It's not like he understands what I'm saying!"
"Actually," began Izuku, speaking in English, "I can." His words caused Sarah to freeze, her eyes wide as she looked at Izuku.
"I GOT TO GO! BYE IZUKU!" screamed Pony as she made a mad dash to her screen. A half a second later the feed went dead leaving a somewhat confused Izuku alone in his room.
[hr]
"You know, Izuku, I'm going to miss these morning spars once you leave," said Secret Slash as he delivered a roundhouse kick to the boy's head. The teen spotted this, leaning backwards far enough so that the blow sailed above him before fluidly righting himself. Izuku then moved to Secret Slash's side, launching his own kick which the older man blocked with his own. Rather than pull back, Izuku fired off another three kicks which the master blocked with the same amount of ease. The green haired teen looked like he was about to do it again, as if he were preparing to kick his opponent's leg enough times until it broke, but came short so that he instead spun around while bringing himself in closer for an arm strike. Secret Slash saw this, leaning to the side to avoid the blow before countering with his own strike. The teen reacted by raising his own forearm to block, their legs flying through the air as soon as their upper limbs connected.
The two of them had been going at this since Izuku had stepped into the dojo a half an hour after his chat with Pony had been cut short. Well, he did take a few minutes to change out of his jogging suit and into his Gi, but that's beside the point. The two had been relentless in their bouts, going at it without ever taking a single break. They just continued to attack each other, spinning and weaving around in a circle as their movements flowed effortlessly from one to the other. Dodging blows by leaning back with incredible flexibility or simply moving to the side with so much grace that it almost looked like they were dancing. And even though Izuku's Gi was growing damp with sweat, his breathing was heavy, and was getting knocked down every single time…the teen would just get back to his feet ready to go again. What's more, the two had been at this for so long the empty, silent dojo that they had been in was starting to fill for the morning classes. Some of the people who were now milling into the dojo were students like Izuku, from either the local middle or high school. The rest were sidekicks, sent here by their respective heroes to get in additional training for hand-to-hand combat.
"Thank you sensei," said Izuku, noticing out of the corner of his eyes that several of those who had already arrived were seated on either side of the dojo hall, watching master and pupil in great interest. And Izuku could see that Secret Slash had done the same.
"Hmm, looks like class is about to begin," said Secret Slash as he dropped out of his fighting stance. Normally, when he did this he would give Izuku a short bow but instead he turned to get a nearby towel. As he began to dab his face with the towel, the older man continued. "I do hope you will continue to put this level of dedication with your hero training once you get into U.A. I expect you to put up even more of a challenge once you return from break. If not, I will be sorely disappointed."
"I…I promise sensei," said Izuku, quickly bowing before the older man with so much speed and force that it looked like he might have fallen forward. "And…And I'll make the most of the time I have left training with you."
"I would have been disappointed if you didn't," said Secret Slash with a nod, turning to look at the green-haired teen with a bit of a smile. "But then again, there was never a doubt in my mind that you would continue your training under me for as long as possible." Then, the older man brought a hand to his chin while a look appeared on his face as if he were trying to recall something. "Tell me, did your friend manage to get in as well. The foreigner with the blonde hair and horns?"
Izuku felt his face heat up as he recalled when he brought Pony with him to the dojo, wanting to show her where he had learned to fight so well with his quirk. "Y-yes. She made it in as well," he managed to say, earning a laugh from the older man.
"Well then, that changes things a bit," said Secret Slash. "Izuku, while I know you will not slack in your training, please be sure to make time for her as well. Give your relationship with her the same level of dedication as you do with your training."
Izuku's face began to burn all the brighter as his sensei said that. And, as he brought his hands up to wave off the comment, he could hear a few people snickering. "W-We're n-n-not…I mean, we're n-not yet," stammered Izuku, panicking at being called out on his feelings from his sensei out of the blue like this. Just how did he even know? "I-I mean, I p-plan on it. J-Just, well…what I mean is that I would have thought someone like you would tell me to focus on my training and school. T-That I won't have time for those kinds of, ah, distractions."
"Well now," said Secret Slash as he lowered his head again, a hand coming back up to his chin to stroke it over and over again. "I can see why you would think that. To be completely honest, that was the mindset I had back in my old high school days. That I should devote every moment I was in school to my training, both with my quirk as well as my studies if I wanted to be the best hero. That everything else was merely a distraction. What a fool I was."
"Sensei?" asked Izuku, staring at the older man who slowly raised his head to look at him.
"Young man, take it from an old pro: do not waste the best years of your life," said Secret Slash as his eyes locked with Izuku's, the older man placing a hand on the younger's shoulder. "Make as many memories as you can, both good and bad. Hang out with your classmates and friends beyond training to be a hero. Go out of your comfort zone and try new things, even if you wind up making a fool of yourself. Do not think that there will be time later because later might never come. More so for people like us." He then shook his head as he removed his grip from Izuku's shoulder. "Just enjoy yourself for as long as you can."
"I…I'll do my best sensei," said Izuku as he took in the older man's words.
"I hope so, because I also expect to hear about everything you've been up to when you return," said Secret Slash, his serious and intimidating face returning in full force. "And if the only things I hear about are training, I shall have to engrain this lesson into you."
Shaking in fear, Izuku nodded as his sensei passed him by, ready to begin the lesson for the rest of the class.
[hr]
Izuku sighed as he dropped his school bag on the floor next to his bed, walking towards his desk while unbuttoning the first couple of buttons on his black school uniform. The rest of the day had been long for the young Midoriya. Today's lesson with Secret Slash had been a bit more intense than normal as he had sanctioned the use of quirks during their one on one bouts as long as they didn't do anything too destructive. All of Izuku's opponents had been challenging in their own rights, like this one student from Izuku's school who could heat up his body's temperature so that it matched boiling water or a girl who could control her hair to such a degree that it became another fist. The hardest, however, was Secret Slash himself. The master of the dojo had a quirk that allowed him to have limited control of the air around his limbs. While he couldn't send massive blasts of wind at you to knock you off your feet or launch himself high into the air, his control allowed him to use the air like invisible blades. This meant that even if you dodged his fists or kicks, the wind would slash at you. Hence the hero name 'Secret Slash'. Thankfully, Izuku's sensei had only used very dull wind blades which never drew blood.
As for school, that had been a bit of a mixed bag as everyone there knew he had gotten into U.A. He had expected that his teacher as well as the principal would have congratulated him and was glad they had done it behind closed doors…but he had been somewhat embarrassed as he stood there. Sure, U.A. was extremely difficult to get into but they talked about his achievement as if he had just returned from a war which he had single handedly won! Thankfully, the rest of his classmates were far less intense as most just congratulated him along with a pat on the back. Sure, there were a few who voiced that he had just gotten lucky or showed clear disdain that they had failed to get in, but those people were so few that Izuku could have counted the number of people who did that on one hand. If he bothered to keep count.
The only other thing that had happened was, well, the notice he got from some of the other girls in his school. Sure he had some friends that were girls and had been asked out once or twice since starting school. Nothing major. But today, it was like a switch had been flipped! During lunch a fight nearly broke out as over a dozen or so girls, many of whom he didn't know, wanted to sit next to him. While he had managed to slip away from that drama, he couldn't escape them entirely as they began to flirt with him between classes. Hopefully this would last a couple of days or weeks before things died down.
Now inside his room, and without checking the time, Izuku went over to the PC to boot it up. Within a few minutes, the image of Pony appeared on the screen looking like she had just gotten up. The first thing that caught his attention was that her hair was a little messy, with the golden locks sticking up and tangled about as if she had been tossing and turning all night. He watched as she nervously moved some of her hair away from her eyes, which were slightly downcast while her face was a light shade of red. As for her sleepwear, a white two piece with an apple pattern on it while also showing off a large amount of skin, looked extra crumpled today.
"Morning," she managed to mumble in English. "S-Sorry about, ah, what happened last time." As she spoke, Pony looked away as if there were something very interesting on the floor.
"It's fine. Not like she was the first person to think I couldn't understand what she was saying," said Izuku, speaking in English as well.
"It's not fine!" Pony half shouted, surprising Izuku as she raised her head slightly while also letting out a frustrated noise. "Izuku, you're my best friend in the whole wide world! We've known each other since forever! And for Sarah to just walk in here and think that she could say whatever she wanted thinking you wouldn't understand…All I could think about last night was how hurt you must have felt. Then she went and broke her promise not to bring up the-" Pony's eyes suddenly widened, her face turning a bright scarlet as Izuku merely looked back in confusion.
As Izuku sat there, watching Pony in the pits of her own embarrassment, a mix of emotions began to swirl inside of him. What she was saying right now, about him, was stirring that primal force within him again. That she was this worked up, worried about how he felt about it, made him feel special. But there was also a part of him that wanted to be there, at her side right now in order to comfort her. To reach out his hand to touch hers. To just hold her close so that he could whisper that everything was fine. He didn't know what Sarah had tried to say nor was he going to ask Pony if she felt this uncomfortable about it. But, what he could do was what All Might did: smile while telling her 'I am here!'. In his own way of course.
"Pony, it's ok," said Izuku, smiling as gently as he could. "To be honest, I barely thought about that all day."
"…Really?" she asked weakly, slowly managing to look Izuku in the eyes.
"I was barely fazed by it," said Izuku, still smiling. "I mean, that was the first time I had ever seen or even heard about her. She's a stranger. Now, if Jazz or one of your other friends had done that I'd be more worried about them. I mean, after all the times I spoke to them in English? I would have assumed they were hit by a quirk that altered their memories again." Izuku paused as Pony let out a brief laugh, no doubt remembering that one interesting afternoon. Seeing that her mood was improving, Izuku continued. "And Pony, you should know that you can always text me or email me if you're worried about something. I might not have been able to answer it right away, but I would have as soon as I could." As Izuku spoke, he could see his friend's expression beginning to lighten. Bit by bit, her normal cheerful expression began to return that Izuku loved to see so much. That is, however, until he got to the end.
"Why didn't I think of that?" wailed Pony, reaching up to grab her large horns as she spoke. She then lowered her head completely so that all Izuku could see was the top of her head. "I had to leave the party early because everyone else was more worried about getting me to feel better than having fun. Now I feel even worse."
"Well, we could put our heads together to figure out how to make it up to them," said Izuku in a helpful tone, Pony's head rising as he spoke. "After all, we should have some more time before you have to get ready for school."
Yes, they still had time. While the two talked, Izuku went over his own thoughts as well as the words of his sensei. No one knew how much time they had, especially heroes who risked their lives saving others. Some lived long, happy lives while others were not so lucky. That was something Izuku had known since he was four years old. So he would tell Pony how he felt about her. How she was the kindest girl with the bravest heart that he knew. That he loved how much she took other people's feelings into consideration. How her smile brightened up his day and how her touch gave him a burst of energy. But now wasn't the right moment. He just wanted to wait just a little longer.