Chapter 2
Izuku Midoriya found himself running through the forest, though it wasn't the same one from the sludge villain incident. The trees and paths were far more familiar to him as this was the same place he used to go when he was little. Back when he followed his former friend Kacchan everywhere, even when the signs told him not to. How long had it been since he had last been here? Since he was four? Five or six? It was hard to recall.
The forest had not changed all that much, but the red shoes that hit the ground were. They were larger, holding up a boy now dressed in a green jogging suit as he ran through the trees, jumping over rocks and fallen branches, towards his goal while his lungs burned. That goal being the alien woman known as Ryoko. Dressed in her casual blue dress, the space pirate flew backwards in front of him, arms behind her back as she kept the same distance between them at all times with a grin on her face. Somehow she seemed to be aware of her surroundings, swaying back and forth to avoid the scattered trees. She also seemed to just teleport back and forth, like the weight on a pendulum. Every time she would do this, Izuku would correct his course ever so slightly so that she was right in front of him.
Sweat began to coat Izuku's face, but he continued to run after the flying teen in front of him while his mind raced. He had been at this pace for the last ten minutes, just chasing after her with no other clear idea on how he was supposed to reach her. But there had to be a way, something he could do to close the gap! He had already tried giving everything he had right out of the starting gate, only to find himself quickly winded with her easily adjusting her own speed. Perhaps if he tried to suddenly sprint after her he could catch her off guard? That might be possible as she might not suspect something like that given the state he was in. Or maybe he could use one of the trees, leaping onto one and launching off of it in a cool and heroic fashion? That was an option…except for the fact that he didn't know how to do that. Or how much distance it would give him meaning he would be expending a large amount of energy for something that might not be worth it. Or how to land.
Looking like she had suddenly become bored with this, Ryoko held out an open palm in front of her. Izuku's eyes widened as he saw the red energy she created pooling in her hand. Then, with a sweeping motion, she flung the orb towards the tired teen without so much as a word. Izuku saw it coming, leaping to the side in order to dodge and turned his head to watch as the orb zoomed past him.
"Where the hell are you looking?!" came a sudden shout mixed with anger and annoyance. A moment later, Izuku felt a now very familiar sensation of Ryoko's fist being slammed into his gut hitting him with enough force to send him flying off the ground. From there he flew backwards briefly before falling and landing onto his back to stare up at the forest canopy above him.
Wincing and panting in pain, Izuku thought back to a few days ago…
Flashback
"So you're telling me this…woman can help you get a quirk," said Inko Midoriya slowly, her eyes narrowed slightly in clear distrust as she sat at her seat at the dinner table. Squirming in his chair directly across from her, Izuku nodded while keeping his head down slightly as beads of sweat ran down his face.
One of the first problems Izuku realized he would have to face after he had accepted Ryoko's help was his mother. More specifically: how would he explain all this to her? After all, this was his mother. She was the only family that he knew of, living in Japan. The idea that he could just walk up to her saying 'I just woke up with a quirk after all these years' and not have her be suspicious was doubtful at best. Nor would it help explain why he wanted Ryoko to live with them in their apartment. Sure, Ryoko had a spaceship and could, potentially, live there. But seeing as how she's giving him her powers and was helping him to become a hero, it didn't feel right to leave her isolated and alone. The least he could do was offer her a place to stay, here on Earth, along with free meals. And judging by the way Ryoko's mouth watered at the suggestion, it seemed she liked the idea as well.
So before they headed out the door of his room the two came up with a simple plan: tell the truth. After all, there was no real reason to lie to her which might make things more complicated down the road. The only thing they were going to leave out was that Ryoko was an alien. That piece of information might be a little too much for Inko to believe or even process. Heck, if Izuku hadn't literally seen the crashing spacecraft, he doubted he would have believed it as well!
It was only now, as he sat at the table with Ryoko next to him, that he realized that the truth still sounded suspicious. Not helped by what Ryoko had decided to wear! Glancing at the space pirate, Izuku couldn't help but wince at the oversized lab coat she was sporting over her blue dress with her name scribbled onto the coat pocket in marker. She was also wearing comically thick glasses that looked like they came from the bottom of old soda bottles with rings in them. On her head was the rabbit creature, Ryo-Ohki, who was also wearing the same glasses…for some reason. Where had they gotten all that?
"Don't worry Mrs. Midoriya, I can totally help your son get a quirk," said Ryoko, her voice carefree as she waved a hand in the air. "All with the power of science and crap." As she spoke, more sweat began to form on Izuku's face as he saw his mother's lips tighten into a thin line.
"…I see," said Inko slowly, her narrow eyes focused on Ryoko for several long seconds as they oozed distrust. Slowly they moved up to her head, staring at Ryo-Ohki who was now stoking her chin as if there were a beard there before lowering it back to Ryoko. Then she sighed before looking over at her son, her gaze gentler yet holding a firm seriousness. "Izuku, I knew you were desperate but this is too much."
"But mom," began Izuku, only to be stopped by a look from the small woman.
"I'm sorry Izuku, but this is something you need to accept." There was a pause as Inko took a deep breath. "Izuku…we've done everything possible. Every legitimate doctor I have spoken to has said the same thing: if your quirk hasn't appeared by now it never will. Your father and I have even looked at some old gene therapies that were going on in America back in the day, but they were discontinued. Do you know why? Because nothing worked. You can't give someone something they never had in the first place." Inko paused again to let out another sigh. "Izuku, I'm sorry. I love you with all my heart, but I'm not going to let this snake oil salesmen get your hopes up with fake promises of getting a quirk. So, please escort this crazy woman out of our home because she is not getting her greedy hands on any of our money!"
"HA! Like I wanted it in the first place!" stated Ryoko as she stood up. As a worried Izuku looked up at her, waving his hands in the air in complete panic, Ryoko took hold of the lab coat and discarded it as well as the glasses. Even Ryo-Ohki did the same! Once free of the 'disguise', Ryoko placed a foot on the table with her hands on her waist. "You can keep the money. It's completely worthless to me! All I want is a nice bed and three, maybe four, square meals a day!"
Inko blinked. "…What?"
"You heard me!" stated Ryoko loudly. She then leaned forward a bit, bringing her head closer to Inko's. "And that's only if he gets a quirk! If he doesn't then you can do whatever! Kick me out of the apartment with a broom, call the police, or whatever else you want."
For a few minutes, Izuku sat there as he watched the scene unfolding before him. His mother was silent, her gaze never leaving Ryoko's. It was as if they were having either a staring contest or having some telepathic conversation. The only movement he could see came from his mother, lightly chewing her tongue from time to time. Finally, she pulled back a little from Ryoko and looked at her son.
"Alight. I'll let you try this. But, when it doesn't work, I want this to be over. No more talking about becoming a hero. You move on with your life. Is that understood?"
"Yes!" came Izuku's response, nodding as he did so.
"Well, now that that's settled," said Ryoko as she sat back down in her seat while fishing out the device once more. Izuku glanced at the device once more before turning to look at her mother. It was clear that she wasn't impressed, looking as if she were trying to keep her eyes from rolling…until they widened in shock. Izuku quickly turned to look back, seeing the device was now floating between them with several floating screens around it, each one the size of a sticky note with text zooming across them at speeds impossible for him to read.
The green haired teen was about to ask what was happening, only to be stopped as he felt something prick his arm. Looking down he spotted a small hole in the sleeve of his uniform which now showed his skin. He looked up to Ryoko, seeing that she had already pulled up her own sleeve revealing her smooth, bare arm. Then it happened. Blood began to flow out from her arm, suspended in the air as if it traveled through an invisible tube towards the device. The alien machine accepted the gift, allowing it to pass through it, before it flowed through to the other side and towards Izuku. The only thing Izuku could do was stare as the blood made its way toward him, making his body its new home while his mother's arms waved around frantically while fear etched her face.
Shocked, Izuku felt something as the blood entered into him, causing the teen to take a deep intake of breath. A weird feeling came over him before something far more familiar began to take over. One he felt every time Kacchan used his quirk on him. Burning. Only now, he felt like the fire was inside of him, moving through his veins like a wildfire. Speaking of his veins, he could now see that they were visible on his hand. All of them, clear as day. And he had a feeling that more could be seen than that. As more blood entered into his body, Izuku's head began to pound as if explosions were going on inside of it. He wanted to cry out, but the pain was silencing him! The burning and the pounding only seemed to get worse and worse until finally he thankfully passed out.
The light of the sun shining through the window was what awoke Izuku. The teen groaned a little, raising a hand up in order to shield his eyes from the light of the sun. At first his eyes were open just a crack, taking in the familiar surroundings around him. His All Might blanket was wrapped around his body, the All Might posters were all smiling at him, and even his collection of All Might figures were posed to face his bed. Everything seemed normal…except for him. He couldn't explain it but he felt different. The best way he could describe it was that he was a plate of scrambled eggs that someone had added bits of chopped bacon before mixing it all together.
As he thought about this analogy, something caught his attention. His index finger had small, green currents of electricity dancing around it. The sight caused his eyes to grow wide in panic, a scream escaping his lip as he bolted upright. Before he knew what he was doing, his opposite hand had taken a hold of the others wrist so that the hand was held up. Izuku stared at the lightning as pressure began to build inside of the digit.
"Izuku! My baby! What's happening?" came his mother's voice, the door bursting open as a panicked Inko raced inside. As she did, a thin beam of green light shot from Izuku's finger so suddenly that it scared his mother into falling on her hands and knees. The beam struck the ceiling, doing little more than singeing it.
For a moment, neither of the two said or did anything. They just stared at the finger as a thin wisp of smoke rose from the tip, something that only lasted for two to three heartbeats. Then, slowly, a smile began to form on Izuku's lips followed by tears. A sob escaped him, but the smile never faded. He could feel his tears running down his face, slow at first but, as his mother embraced him with a hug, they became like twin waterfalls to which Inko quickly joined in. He knew , without looking, that she was crying the same as him. Both shedding tears that had nothing to do with the usual feelings of pain, suffering, disappointment, and so forth that they had experienced for too long. No, these were tears full of unimaginable joy and happiness that no force on earth could quell until they became completely dehydrated and needed Ryoko to force gallons of water down their throats!
Finally, Izuku Midoriya, had a quirk.
Sort of.
Breakfast that day was one of the happiest that the Midoriya family had known for some time, with Inko making all of her sons favorite dishes one after another without a care or concern to how much it would cost. She became like a busy bee, moving from the rice cooker to the stove all to make sure that this celebration would be one that they would always remember. As soon as the dishes were ready, they were placed on the table with a proud flourish for Izuku and Ryoko to eat.
And speaking of Ryoko…
"Alright, now that you have my powers, it's time to get to work," she said between large mouthfuls of rice that she shoveled into her mouth. Next to her was Ryo-Ohki, sitting in front of a large plate of carrots and going through them faster than her owner's own food. "In order to use them to their fullest, wow this rice is amazing, you're going to need to get into shape! The stronger you get the better off you'll be! But…" she paused to take a bite out of a buttery pancake, "just so you know I'm going to be tough as hell! Oh, can I have seconds on my rice?"
"Coming up," said Inko happily, levitating the bowl with her quirk into the air where it then floated towards where the plump woman was standing. With a hum, she filled Ryoko's bowl before floating it back to her. "I'm glad Earth food agrees with you so much."
That comment nearly caused Izuku to choke on his food as panic filled him. He managed to swallow as he looked over to the chubby woman as new beads of sweat began to form. "Ah, Earth food? Haha. That's an odd thing to say. It's not like she…an alien…or something…"
Inko turned to look at her son, a frown appearing on her face for the first time that morning. "Give your mother a little credit," she said, her voice indigent as if she had just been insulted while her hands went to her hips. "I've sat by you as you watched all the latest hero news and listened to you spout off all sorts of hero facts for years. I was bound to pick up a few things. Like hero gear. So I think I have a good idea when I see something that is well above what some of the top heroes use out there." A small, embarrassed smile then appeared on Inko's face. "That and I may have overreacted a little after you passed out."
Ryoko let out a laugh. "She tried to hit me. Three times!" Stunned, Izuku looked over at Ryoko who began shoveling food back into her mouth. "The only way I could calm her down was by explaining everything."
"Oh," was all Izuku could say, leaning back in his chair as he stared in front of him with big eyes and his pupils becoming nothing more than tiny dots. And here he thought she'd be more freaked out that aliens existed.
"Izuku, you'd better finish your food quickly or else you'll be late for school," Inko said, gesturing at the clock. But despite that, she didn't turn down the temperature of the stove. Instead placing several carrots on a plate which she brought to Ryo-Ohki. Upon replacing the plate with a fresh one, the small creature let out a 'meow' of joy as it jumped up and down into the air before beginning to devour everything before it save the plate. And Inko stood there, petting Ryo-Ohki with a smile on her face before returning to the stove.
"School?" asked Ryoko as she leaned back in her seat. "Why the heck does he need that if he wants to bust heads for a living? Fat lot of good math and warp theory are going to do him. Besides, if he goes then there will be less time to get him into shape!"
"Ah, we don't study warp theory in junior high," muttered Izuku, sweat dropping as he looked at Ryoko. "I don't even think students in college really study it."
"Ryoko, a lot of people want to go into the hero business," said Inko, turning from the stove again after turning down the heat on the burners. "It's highly competitive. And the top schools around the world only want the best of the best. So if Izuku really has his heart set on U.A., the best hero school there is, then he's going to need to make sure he stands out. They'll no doubt be a written exam he'll have to take as well as testing his quirk!" Both of the Midoriya's sighed as Ryoko then shrugged, seeming unconcerned. Yet despite this, Inko's smile had not vanished. Diminished? A bit. But it was still there as she pulled out her phone. "I think I'm going to need to take a personal day."
A half hour later, Izuku left the apartment with his stomach fuller than it had ever been in his life. But before he closed the door, he could hear his mother and Ryoko still in the kitchen as they went back and forth on what they thought the best schedule for him would be.
Something that seemed to take longer than either of them realized as they were still working on it when Izuku got home! Both of them seemed to go back and forth, trying to map out each day so that Izuku would get the most well rounded training possible with time for study and recovery taken into account. One thing that his mother flat out refused to make any concession on was that the week before and during his exams were off limits. In return, Ryoko got full reign over Izuku's life during breaks or a cancellation of a school day for whatever reason. Once this had been agreed upon, the two went over the little details, writing everything onto the calendar for all to see, right up to the point when he went to bed.
End Flashback
Since then, Izuku had been put through the paces just like Ryoko promised. However, he was a bit confused by her workout regimen. Tying him up with a rope before tossing him off a cliff so he could climb back up, making him climb trees with his bare hands, carrying large buckets of water up a steep hill, and sitting on his stomach as he did reverse push-ups? All this felt like the crazy stuff one would find in a cheesy, material arts manga!
Then came the fight training which, well, wasn't going very well as he had only learned two things so far. The first was that Ryoko could hit harder than Kaachan. The other was just how well her powers seemed to suit her profession as he had gotten a good look at all of them. The phasing, teleporting, and flying made it so that, no matter the situation, she had options to get into whatever she wanted. There seemed to be no place that was out of bounds for her. If she ever got caught or had to fight, the energy orbs that she threw could do an insane amount of damage if she wanted, while her finger beams were used for small, more precise attacks. Then there was the sword…
Footsteps came racing towards Izuku as he pushed himself off the ground. By the time he got into a sitting position, his mother was next to him with Ryo-Ohki on her head. Both looked deeply concerned.
"I don't get it," said Ryoko as she teleported in front of Izuku, floating several feet above him with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Looking up, Izuku could see the look of…annoyance? No, that wasn't right. Maybe confusion? "Look at you. All that talk about getting into a hero school and it feels like you haven't worked out a day in your life! Please tell me you weren't planning on entering and just hoping for the best."
"Ryoko!" snapped Inko as Izuku looked towards the ground in embarrassment.
"It's not…" he began, his hands clutching at the grass and dirt that surrounded him. "It's not like I didn't want to. I wanted to get into a fitness program…but the gyms…their insurance doesn't cover the quirkless so… I was turned away. And, well, personal workout equipment can get a little expensive beyond simple hand weights." As he finished, Izuku looked up to see that Ryoko's expression had hardened. Not just that, but he could see that she had tightened her grip on her arms while a fire seemed to blaze in her eyes. The sight nearly made the teen flinch in terror, afraid that she might begin yelling and screaming at him. But, before he could, her expression softened as she looked away.
"Well," she began as she scratched the back of her head. After a moment or two she looked back down at the boy with a smile. "Guess that means I'll have to work you extra hard on our days, now won't I?" After cracking her neck a few times, Ryoko let out a laugh that caused Izuku's blood to run a little cold. But, regardless, he stood up anyway ready to begin again.
"R-Ryoko, are you sure that's best?" asked Inko as Ryoko turned, floating back where she had been. "I…I just think you might be going a little too tough on him right now. Couldn't you m-maybe go a bit easier on Izuku since he's j-just starting out? Start gradual and work his way up?"
For a moment, Ryoko just floated there while letting out a long hum. Then, when she turned around, they saw she was still smiling. Only this time, it felt like a mix between devilish and playful. Something that was also reflected in her eyes. "Well, I can either go hard on him now so that he can be more prepared when he faces real challenges or I can go easy on him and let him face those hard challenges on his own when his life is on the line."
Izuku gulped at Ryoko's words as he felt his mother suddenly grip his arm. He could feel her shaking with fear. And, if he was being honest, a part of him was shaking as well. But, that part was small as the majority of his being understood the weight behind her words. The world of heroes was not some walk in the park and he would be facing danger everyday. That there would be risks. But here, right now, Ryoko could put him through hell and back as she trained him while making sure he still came home in one piece. Something that would not happen later on. Not only that, but he had to play catch up to all the others trying to get into U.A., people who had been using their quirks far longer than him. And he had no idea how tough, how brutal the entrance exam was going to be. So the tougher the training, the better.
Looking down at his mother, Izuku saw that she too was beginning to understand that as well. Slowly, she let go of her son and nodded so that Izuku's training from hell could continue.
Chapter 3
"Alright, all set up," said Izuku, wiping away a small amount of sweat from his brow as he stood up. With a small smile of pride he took a few steps back in the mostly empty room he was currently in so that he was now standing next to Ryoko. The space teen had been waiting for the last half hour with a hand under her chin and a neutral expression on her face, watching her new young partner as he worked.. Slowly, carefully, Izuku looked over to her with hope in his eyes. "So, do you like it?"
"Hmm, no," said Ryoko, her answer almost making Izuku cry if not for her sudden teleportation. When she had reappeared, she was now laying in the hammock Izuku had just finished with her arms outstretched as if she were in the middle of a cheer. "I love it!"
Izuku let out a weak chuckle as he watched Ryoko place her hands behind her head, closing her eyes, growing more comfortable in her new room. Located at the end of the hallway, next to his mother's bedroom this room had, for the longest time, been nothing more than a place used for extra storage as well as a guest room. But now it had finally found a permanent resident in Ryoko as part of the deal Izuku's mother had made.
It had been interesting to watch as Ryoko seemed surprised when they had begun cleaning it out, taken aback that she wasn't just being given the couch by the smaller plump woman. Even more so when she was asked to bare with a traditional futon bed until she could go out and get one similar to the ones she and Izuku used. Blushing and waving her arms in front of her, Ryoko flat out refused, saying that she would get something herself. What she had gotten, from somewhere, was the hammock that Izuku had just finished installing.
"Are…Are you sure you don't want anything else?" asked Izuku.
"Nah, this is good." The answer made Izuku wince a little as he looked around what he could barely refer to as a bedroom at the moment. There was a desk by the window which had been his father's when he still lived here, but other than that and the hammock, there was nothing. There were no dressers for her clothing, which had just been dropped in a small pile in the corner of the room. No vanity mirror, pictures on the wall, or any personal possessions that Ryoko had brought with her. Like the place had no identity that said, like All Might, "I am here!" The lone exception was a small wicker basket with a pillow in it by the desk, a pet bed for Ryo-Ohki. The small alien rabbit/cat or cabbit, had leapt for joy when seeing this before running circles on the pillow as she happily meowed before finally falling asleep with a carrot held in its paws.
"Well if you're sure," said Izuku slowly. He watched for a moment before shaking his head. If she was happy with this, then he wasn't going to force her.
"Oh, Izuku, how's your mom holding up?" asked Ryoko suddenly, opening a single eye to look at him. "She looked a little out of it when I saw her last."
"She's fine," said Izuku as he sat down cross legged with his back against the wall. "Just nervous about going to the quirk registration office to, well, help me register your powers as my quirk. To be honest, I was nervous too."
Ryoko let out an irritated noise before closing her eyes. "Must be a big deal around here. I saw her packing her purse with a lot of money." Izuku blinked at that, having never noticed or seen his mother doing anything like that.
"…I guess she must have thought that she might have to bribe someone in the office," he said as he looked at the floor, head held low. "It makes sense. As far as I know, my mom's only been there twice. Once to register her quirk and the other when I found out I was quirkless. So we really didn't know how they would react to me suddenly changing my status."
"Is that so," said Ryoko, her voice now lighter. Happy even. Looking up, Izuku saw that Ryoko had rolled over to her side, head resting in the palm of her hand as she looked at the teen with a mix of playfulness and danger. "Well then, I have the perfect offer for you: I can break into this building no problem and change it for you. Why, I'd even be willing to find whoever tried to blackmail your mom and send him straight to-"
"No, no, no!" yelled Izuku quickly, waving his hands in front of him as he interrupted Ryoko. Sweat was pouring down his face. "It's fine, really! Nobody was blackmailed!" He then took a breath, relaxing a great deal as he looked at the alien woman. "It turns out stuff like this is pretty common. I didn't even need to use any of the fifteen cover stories I had prepared since my mom told me we were going. All I needed to do was fill out a form and explain what my quirk did. Didn't even give us a fine or anything. Well, this time at least. They said that the first change is free, but after this there will be a fee that increases every time I have to come back."
"Damn," said Ryoko with a pout, rolling over so that now she was looking up at the ceiling with her hands behind her head. "I was hoping to have a little fun. Oh well." She then glanced back at Izuku. "So, what did you register your 'quirk' as?"
"I thought a lot about it," said Izuku, his eyes brightening as he got on his favorite topic. Perhaps even more so now since it now included him. "There was a lot to go over. With all the various powers you have, I had to consider one that could explain all of them. But after going over all of my hero notebooks, checking the hero news over the years, and even looking up some older hero's, I decided that energy manipulation would be the most believable option."
"Oh?" came Ryoko's response, urging him to explain.
"The way I explained it is this: I manipulate my own body's energy in different ways. Like taking that energy to generate the blast that comes from my finger or gathering it into my hand in order to create a more powerful explosive force. It would also explain how I would be able to teleport or phase through objects. Simply turning my entire being into energy that vibrates at a different frequency than the matter around me would allow me to phase while dispersing that energy and recombining it at another location would explain the teleportation. As for flight, well, I guess that can be explained by either me creating a personalized energy field that allows me to defy gravity or something between teleportation and phasing. Oh! And if they had asked, I could have used this as the perfect excuse as to why my quirk took so long to emerge! That most of my body's energy was needed to help me grow and so it concentrated on that!"
"Not bad, not bad," said Ryoko, a small smile appearing on her face as she spoke in a slightly sing-song voice. "That might actually work out well for you. But, that explanation on how you got your quirk might come back to bite you in the long run."
Izuku blinked at that. "But…"
"Look, I don't get this whole 'quirk' thing but I heard you went to the doctor to see if you got a quirk," said Ryoko, her smile now gone and glancing over at Izuku with a single eye. "Your cover story might fool most people, but not all. There might be that one person who will ask why the doc didn't notice this." Izuku felt his heart stop when he heard this. He hadn't thought of that. "Then, you'll have to come up with another lie to explain that. Then another and another until the whole house of cards comes tumbling down upon you. Take it from me, these things always come back to bite you one way or another. Best to go with the truth. Or, at least, a modified version of it."
"That could work," muttered Izuku as he brought a hand to his chin, his gaze returning to the floor as he began to push out his thoughts. "Mom did say that she looked into gene therapy to see if I could get a quirk. Perhaps there are a few out there, just not getting the funding or attention that they used to get seeing as now eighty percent of the public has quirks. If anyone asked, I could say that I was part of a gene therapy and that I was the only one to get a quirk." Then Izuku frowned. "But, won't people still ask questions? Like who was behind this project? This feels like it would be some sort of major news."
"That's when you follow up with: I don't know," said Ryoko with a slight laugh. "Just say it was already poorly funded and you just so happen to stumble upon it figuring 'might as well give it a try'. Which, for the record, you did. Then just say that before your 'quirk' manifested, the project was closed. Again, true. You have no way of contacting the doctor though you wish to give her your undying thanks by going with her into space and living the life of a pirate!"
"…I don't think I'll say that last part," stated Izuku, a deadpan expression on his face. He then let out a tired sigh. "Both cover stories have their flaws. But it makes more sense than saying I'm just a late bloomer who got multiple quirks or something like that."
"Hey, you do what you feel like," said Ryoko with a wave of her hand. "I'm just offering my opinion as a known pirate."
Not long after this, Inko called the two of them for lunch. Ryoko grinned with giddiness at this, teleporting away without another word while Izuku got to his feet to walk out of the room with an excited Ryo-Ohki as his heels.
As he entered the kitchen, his eyes went to the calendar that would be dictating his life for at least the next ten months. On it, both his mother and Ryoko had placed in what they had agreed upon on the days prior. Izuku could clearly make out his mother's neat, legible handwriting in blue detailing the times when she wanted him to focus on his studies as well as what types of meals she had planned for the day. It honestly made him smile more than he thought it would, looking at the days labeled 'high carb day' or 'high protein day'. On the other hand, Ryoko's handwriting in red was done in a sloppy fashion, with multiple parts crossed off as she forgot to write down 'quirk training'. Something they needed in case guests came over.
Turning his head to the table, the green haired teen spotted Ryoko standing in front of the seat next to his own. In her hand was a tea cup with her name printed along the side which she stared at, as if trying to figure out what it was. Or was she trying to…
"Is something wrong with the cup?" asked Inko as she began to set the table, looking slightly worried at the alien girl. At her words, Ryoko jumped as if she had suddenly become spooked by something nearly tossing the cup against the ceiling in the process. Thankfully it didn't connect and Ryoko caught it with ease as it fell back down.
"No, it's…," she began, slowly looking confused for a moment as she looked at Mrs. Midoriya. "This is…for me?" Her tone nearly made Izuku trip. It sounded almost hopeful.
"Of course," said Inko, who blinked in confusion. "You're a member of this household now." With that, Inko went back to setting the table as if the matter was settled. As for Ryoko, she stared at the cup for a moment longer before sitting back down in an almost passive silence.
Something that didn't last long as food was soon placed before her.
"Oh yeah!" Ryoko cried, her chopsticks in the air after taking her first bite of the meal. Her eyes were closed, her face looking like she was savoring the taste of the food for as long as possible…before wolfing down everything in front of her like it was the first time she had something to eat in weeks. "I tell you, for a planet all the way out in the boonies, the food here is top rate!"
Inko smiled at the praise from across the table, eating her own meal with far more restraint than Ryoko or her son.
"Oh, you're just saying that," said the older woman with a light blush.
"No, no. I'm serious," said Ryoko, pausing to take a long gulp of her tea. "Now that I know about this, I can't tell anyone or else the entire galaxy will be parking up in orbit just to get some!"
"Well, my mom is a great cook," said Izuku after swallowing a mouthful of his own meal with a loud gulp. The comment made the older woman blush a bit more, but stopped when she noticed that Izuku was now looking curiously at Ryoko. "I've been meaning to ask: Is it really ok for you to be eating earth food like this? I mean…"
Ryoko waved him off, picking up more food with her chopsticks. "Hey, hey, don't worry about it," she said with a laugh. "We have rice and stuff like this all over the galaxy. Nothing I haven't had before." A curious look then appeared on Ryoko's face, a hand going to her chin as she used her chopsticks to bring up some of her meal closer to her face. "It's a bit strange though. I've had similar dishes on other planets before and none of them ever tasted this good." Ryoko then shrugged before tossing the food into her mouth. "Oh well! Let's get our fill and then we can start today's training!"
Izuku nodded as he went back to his meal, knowing that he would need all the energy he could get.
-x-
While Inko was more focused on the mental awareness of her son as well as his nutrition, Ryoko set her sights on the physical aspects that Izuku would need. This included training his body to make it as physically fit as possible, teaching him how to fight, and (the thing that excited Izuku the most) teaching him how to use his new powers whenever they showed up. In order to do all this, Ryoko had taken time out of the day in order to find the best spots for each type of training that they would need. Most of the time, they stayed in the woods where the terrain was versatile enough to get the results Ryoko wanted. But, for more specific types of training, she felt a change of scenery was needed.
Such as the case right now.
"What you have right now is the equivalent to a baby's first crawl," said Ryoko, her voice just loud enough to be heard over the crashing waves of the beach they were on as she set empty cans and bottles on top of a refrigerator that was on its side.
Her words caused Izuku to deflate almost instantly, his head lowering a bit as he looked around the area for today's training. It was a section of the beach that had, more than likely, been just another part of the seemingly endless blanket of sand and water that stretched on for as far as the eyes could see. But, thanks to the currents, this part of the beach had become the eyesore of it all. Trash kept washing up onto the shore seemingly from all over the world as he could spot the faded images of flags of other countries on some of the smaller items as well as words written in different languages. Izuku had also heard that some people took advantage of this, dumping their own trash here in the dead of night. Since nobody came here, it seemed like the ideal place to do target practice.
"But," began Izuku, only to stop himself as he looked down at his index finger. He stared at it for a bit as a bolt or two danced around the digit, but nothing more before finally looking up. Ryoko had finished setting up the target, moving back towards him with pure confidence.
"Yes, the beam can hurt, but not that much" continued Ryoko, holding up her own index finger and waving it. Now that she was closer, Izuku could now hear the tone of her voice all the clearer. It was firm, but in a way that told him that Ryoko wasn't telling him all this to put him down. Rather, she was bringing him back to reality so that he could improve. All with a slim smile.
"Most of the time, my people use it to scare off small rodents and destroy small objects," she continued, red sparks now appearing around her own finger. She then turned to face the targets, pointing at the first and firing a red beam of light. In less than a second, a bottle exploded sending shards flying upwards in every direction. "At best, that'll be all you can hope for."
"Oh," said a slightly dejected Izuku, shoulders slumping. He had hoped that he could make it more powerful, something that would be better suited for hero work. Since he had first awoken with this ability, he had been writing in a separate note book with theories on what he might be able to use it for. Now, he feared that most of it, if not all, were useless.
"Hey, don't look so down," said Ryoko, regaining Izuku's attention. "Sure, it might not pack a wallop, but it does have its uses. Like causing a distraction or just annoying your opponent. And with enough skill…" Her words trailed off, her wrist flipping so her palm was up and finger extended. The next thing Izuku knew was that a red beam had been fired at his leg. Feeling like he had received a powerful kick there, the green haired teen reached down to grab it only for his head to be met with Ryoko's fist half way down. The blow was strong enough so that Izuku was flipped backwards, landing on his back.
"…Why?" he asked, staring up and the blue sky above before Ryoko's smirking face filled his vision.
"I'm more of a hands on type of gal," she said, her face taking on a bit of a Cheshire grin. "Helps drive home the point I'm trying to make. Now come on, we need to start practicing!"
With a small groan, Izuku managed to roll over before getting on all fours. As he stood, a smile appeared on his face as excitement flowed through his veins at getting a literal first-hand look at how he could use this new power he had received. Sure, there was a part of him that felt indigent towards Ryoko for showing him that move in the most villainous of ways. Yet that part of him was quickly overshadowed by his drive to become a hero which rationalized her actions. When he became a hero, villains would take cheap shots like that at him all the time! So he had to get used to it now so he would be better prepared for it in the future. Plus, now that he knew what it felt like first hand, he could begin coming up with his own uses for it.
Also Ryoko was a space pirate so…
For the next ten minutes or so, Izuku went to work on target practice while Ryoko watched from behind leaning against an old, rusty car with her hands behind her head. During that time, Izuku's heart sank lower with each green beam that flew from his finger. Part of this was because, now that he had seen Ryoko using her own finger beam, he couldn't help but compare the two. It felt like she could fire them instantly without much effort, while he had to wait. While that was both annoying and frustrating, it was nothing compared to the other problem that no one on earth could fail to notice as the green streaks of energy flew through the air. He was missing his targets. Badly.
"What am I doing wrong?" Izuku mumbled to himself after a while, looking down at his finger with a frown. "Is it because my arm is shaking a little because I'm nervous? That is a possibility. But it could also be caused by a slight arm strain from holding my arm straight for so long while I wait for the blast to charge. Or is there some sort of recoil that I'm not seeing. Something so small that I'm not even realizing it?"
"You're right about the arm," interrupted Ryoko, silencing Izuku as his face turned red with embarrassment and his shoulders to scrunch up. "But I'd say your arm is swaying slightly, not shaking." He was about to turn around to say something, but was stopped when he felt Ryoko pressing her chest onto his back. The green-haired teen's heart nearly exploded out from his chest at this, his entire body turning scarlet. Sweat then began to roll down his face as he felt her hand touch his wrist and her breath close to his ear.
"We're going to try something a little different," she whispered, thankfully not in her playful voice. If she had, Izuku felt certain that his vision would have begun to spin. Instead, she used a more calming voice that snapped him mostly back into attention. "Keep your arm down while you charge up your finger. Then, when you are ready, point at your target and release." Izuku nodded, already feeling the lightning bolts dancing around his finger. He took several deep breaths as he felt the pressure in his finger grow. Once he felt like he was ready, Izuku lifted his hand with Ryoko still holding onto his wrist. He fired, closing his eyes as he did so and waited for the sound of a can or bottle breaking. But no noise came causing him to slump.
"Better," came Ryoko's voice, causing Izuku to quickly open his eyes. He looked ahead at his target, an old can that looked like it was slightly singed on its side. He had only grazed it.
"Not really," muttered Izuku as he turned to look at Ryoko just in time to see her cock an eyebrow. Quickly, Izuku began to wave his hands in front of him as he tried to explain himself. "I mean, it's just that…well you see…"
"Izuku," said Ryoko as she stepped in front of him, now standing between the green-haired teen and the targets. "You're still coming into your powers and learning how to use them. Remember, you just learned how to crawl so you're bound to fall on your stomach more than once. Just keep working on it and, eventually, you'll be able to do," with a sweeping gesture of her hand, Ryoko sent several beams at the targets which destroyed all of them, "that."
"That's amazing!" shouted a wide eyed Izuku as he took a step forward. "How were you able to fire so quickly? I…I have to wait several seconds before I can charge the beam, but you…you were able to do it instantly!"
Ryoko folded her arms across her chest, looking pleased with herself as she closed her eyes and nodded her head. "Yep, I'm pretty amazing," she said before opening a single eye to look at the younger teen. "Just another thing you have to keep working at. You'll get there."
"Right! Let me get some more cans!" With a mad dash, Izuku raced out into the dump to collect as many of the discarded cans and bottles as he could carry. Within a few minutes, he returned with at least a dozen or so of them cradled in his arms.
For the next half hour, Izuku continued to practice his finger beam with limited success. For the first dozen or so tries he went with Ryoko's method. Doing it like this, helped relax his arm a bit between each attack. It was nice, but didn't improve his aim as much as he had hoped. So Izuku decided to switch it up on his own. The green-haired teen spread his legs apart before holding his hand steady by grabbing it at the wrist as his finger charged. While doing this, Izuku found that he could steady himself better. Yet, the issue with his aim hadn't changed much. He was still either missing or simply grazing the targets. Once or twice he had hit them, but trying to duplicate the results ended in failure causing Izuku to wonder if he had just gotten lucky.
Despite the lack of progress, Izuku was, at the very least, thinking about his training. More specifically, making a comparison between what he was doing now and the method Ryoko had shown him. While he had managed to hit at least a couple of his targets like this, he was already feeling a slight strain on his arms that the previous method had not done. Not enough to cause him pain, but just enough to the point where he wanted to lower them for a bit. What's more, if he continued to train like this, wouldn't that make his moves more predictable? As soon as a villain saw him holding his wrist, wouldn't they realize he was about to fire something at them even if they didn't know what it was? Seemed pretty obvious now that he thought about it. But at least this way he could work on his aim until he felt more confident and then could switch to Ryoko's style. But how long would that take? Would he develop a bad habit, form a sort of tell that would give away what he planned to do? If that happened, the sneak attack aspect of what Ryoko had shown him would fly out the window!
"That's enough for now," came Ryoko's voice, cutting through Izuku's thoughts like a knife. Izuku blinked as he turned to face her, seeing the alien teen walking over to him with her hands behind her back. "We only have a few hours to jog back to the forest, get some fight training in, and be home in time for dinner. Your mom's making a hot pot!" Ryoko licked her lips at that. "So come on, let's get moving!"
As Ryoko turned towards the path that would lead them out of the piles of junk, Izuku raised a hand. "Ah," he began, causing the slightly older teen to pause. "Actually, I-I was thinking that…couldn't we focus on this for today? Or at least trying to get all of the other powers?"
"Well we could," said Ryoko as she turned to look at her potential partner in crime. "I mean, yeah, we could adjust the schedule so that we spend every single waking moment trying to develop all of the powers sleeping inside of you right now. But then, when the day of the exam comes, you'll end up just like the Rei'zenbara."
"The…Rei'zenbara?" echoed Izuku, blinking at the name. "What's that?"
"It was a ship developed by the GXP several years ago," said Ryoko in a sing-song tone. "Ah, I remember how much they hyped that thing up. For months, you couldn't tune into any news channel anywhere in the galaxy and not see another interview with one of the top brass praising its development. About how many state of the art weapons they had mounted onto it, the shielding that was second to none, or every idea that was just shoved in there because some nerd they hired thought it would be cool. Countdowns until it launched were put up everywhere, promising when it launched, its sheer might would stop space piracy forever. Well, you can see how well that worked." As she said this last part, Ryoko gave Izuku a wink.
"W-What happened?"
"Destroyed on its maiden launch," Ryoko exclaimed with a laugh. "Lost to a crew of pirates piloting an old freighter ship that was two generations older!"
Izuku felt his jaw drop and his eyes grow wide. "But…how?" was all he could say as his mind reeled with what Ryoko was telling him. It was just so hard to believe. It would be like having a modern day hero losing in a fight with a villain from back when quirks had just started to appear.
"Because," said Ryoko as she raised a finger, waving in the air as she spoke. "The pirates knew what they were doing. The crew of the Rei'zenbara were mostly recent graduates from GXP academy who were still learning their way around the ship. Even the captain was nothing more than a rookie who had never been in combat before except in a simulator! From what I heard, when the attack started they all began to panic! Sure, some of them were doing their best to keep a cool head. But the others, well, some of them were trying to remember which button fired the beam cannons and which turned on the laundry machine on the bridge. Meanwhile the pirates knew their ship wasn't the fastest, had the best weapons, or even the best shielding but worked with what they had."
Izuku found himself nodding at this. It made sense. No matter how powerful the weapon, even those equipped to a spaceship, would be meaningless if you didn't know how to use them properly. Had this GXP taken a bit more time to train the crew, making sure they all had a better understanding of the Rei'zenbara and its systems, then maybe things would have played out differently.
Ryoko paused for a moment as she began to float in the air with her hands behind her head. "Look Izuku, I didn't get to be the most dangerous space pirate in the galaxy on my powers alone. Sure they helped, but they never would have gotten me as far as I've gone unless I picked up how to fight with them as well as without them. And even less if I didn't have the strength and the stamina to keep going."
"You're right," said Izuku as he looked at Ryoko, a fire now lit in his eyes as he began to see something for the first time. Something that he had been blinded to for the last several days since gaining this new power. "If I want to go to U.A. and become a pro like All Might, then I need to cover as many of my bases as possible! Everyone else will have had ten years of training their bodies along with their quirks so I need to-" Izuku was suddenly cut off as Ryoko's shoe was pressed gently against his lips.
"Ok, I get it. You understand," said Ryoko, looking a little annoyed but still smiling. "You can give the motivational speech or whatever while you're running to the forest. Come on, times a wasting!"
Izuku nodded, taking off instantly as fast as he could while pacing himself. Though, as he did, he failed to notice the yellow eyes watching his feet as he was airborne for a few seconds longer than normal.
-x-
The one thing that both women seemed to agree on was that Izuku would need time off for himself. Time to rest both body and mind. While Izuku was thankful that they were looking after his well being, his own thoughts on the matter were very different. The entrance exam to get into U.A. was not something years into the future, but rather nothing more than a few short months! As such, he needed to make every day count!
So, on his first rest day, he had decided to exercise in his room for the first half and then head to the beach for some target practice. After all, this was supposed to be his day off meaning he could spend it however he chose.
"Hey Izuku, I just got my hands on this new ga-" began Ryoko, her voice causing the green haired teen to pause in mid push-up as he turned his head to look at the alien, eyes wide with shock. The only thing he could see of her was her torso coming out from the door from her waist, floating several feet from the ground with a video game disk in one hand. Her eyes, at first, had been wide in surprise and her mouth was hanging open slightly. Then it snapped shut, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"What are you doing?" The question was simple enough. But the tone in her voice, the lack of a smile, and the way she was looking at him all combined to send a shiver down Izuku's spine.
"J-Just thought I'd get a little extra work down," said Izuku with a loud gulp as he quickly changed position from a push-up to getting into a kneeling position. "Y-ya know, trying to make up for lost time."
"Izuku, we just had a workout day yesterday," said Ryoko in an almost monotone voice that nearly made Izuku yelp in fear. He had heard her scream, bare her teeth, and show so many signs of her rage. But somehow now, as she walked into his room with her eyes glowing yellow and her voice displaying no emotion, were far more terrifying. "Are you telling me you were half assing that?"
"What?!" yelled Izuku. "No! I'm giving it my all! Honest!"
"Oh really?" she asked, now a small bit of emotion in her voice. Anger. Frustration. He could hear it clearly as red sparks appeared on her hand. At the same time, Ryo-Ohki appeared on Ryoko's shoulder to look down upon him. It was weird seeing a cute bunny-like creature actually giving him a disapproving look. "That's funny. Because, the way I see it, if you really were giving it your all you should be too weak to even be considering this!"
"I'm sorry!" screamed Izuku, sweat pouring down his face now while rivers of tears appeared in his eyes. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Ryoko then reached out her hand, the sparks stopping as she grabbed Izuku by the shirt before pulling him up to her eye level. For a moment, she glared at him with those piercing eyes that just seemed to endlessly bare into his soul.
Then…
"Good," she said with a more cheerful tone, a smile returning to her face. "I hope we won't need to have this conversation again, right?" Izuku could only sputter out several clumsy attempts to agree while all the while nodding his head like a mad man as both Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki gave sage-like nods.
Five minutes later, Izuku found himself in the living room with a gaming console controller in his hands and Ryoko sitting next to him. For the rest of the day, Izuku stayed there playing games with Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki…losing every single time. While it was embarrassing to lose to an animal that didn't even possess opposable thumbs, the young Midoriya found it hard not to enjoy himself as he laughed at the little victory dances Ryo-Ohki made whenever she won. Or be awed by how into these games Ryoko got. It made him feel, for the first time in a long time, that he was just an average, everyday teenager living in Japan.
And it was good.