Chapter 9
On the following morning after he had received his acceptance letter from U.A., Izuku Midoriya arrived at school with Kyo riding atop his head. Not that anyone could see the cabbit as he had burrowed deep into the fluffy locks of messy green hair. However, as the teen made his way down the hallway leading towards his homeroom he realized that his entire class was standing in the hallway. Drawing closer, Izuku noticed that a few of them were timidly sticking their heads into the doorway before quickly pulling them back. There was a nervous energy that seemed to surround them, wrapping around them like a thick fog of despair. Something that he knew could be done because he had read about a young boy whose quirk did just that, causing an entire train to fall into a deep state of fear and depression before a hero showed up.
It was only when he joined them that Izuku poked his head through the door. The room was empty save for one person: Katsuki Bakugo. The teen was sitting at his desk, hands clenched into fists while pressing down on his desk so hard that Izuku could see the cracks forming on its surface all the way from where he stood. His lips were parted as he snarled at nothing, visibly grinding his teeth with his bloodshot eyes focused at the front of the room. Overall it was a stark contrast to how he had been lately. What could have changed to-
"Ohh," whispered Izuku aloud, suddenly realizing what had happened. He recalled how All Might had shown him not just his own practical score, but those belonging to all those who were passing. So, unless he was someone special, they probably showed that to everyone. Including Bakugo who no doubt saw that Izuku was getting into U.A.
In retrospect, he should have seen this coming.
"We need a sacrificial lamb," said a male voice from right behind him. Then, before Izuku could register the meaning of the words, he felt a hand roughly planted on his back before he was suddenly pushed into the room. Izuku made several loud steps as he tried to right himself and not fall over, drawing the attention of Bakugo who turned his head to look in Midoriya's direction. Behind him, Izuku could hear the entire class getting out of the way while Bakugo stared at him with eyes that somehow began to glow red. Was that due to rage or did the teen have a second quirk?
"DEKU!" screamed Bakugo in anger, leaping from his seat. The explosive teen flew through the air in a manner that resembled a tiger leaping down to pounce on its prey. Izuku let out a cry of fear before doing the one thing he could think of: sidestep the blond. A move that surprised himself as he watched Bakugo sail past him and land with a thud into the hallway.
Slowly, cautiously, Izuku peaked through the doorway to see the ashen-haired teen had landed on the opposite side of the hallway easily. While he had not seen it, Izuku was certain that Bakugo had landed on his feet as his legs were bent in a manner which screamed that he was ready to lunge forward at a moment's notice. As if that wasn't enough, Bakugo's palms were outstretched, small explosions began to burst from them while their user breathed in heavily.
Thankfully, another attack was avoided as their homeroom teacher showed up. There was something about the man's expression that caught the attention of everyone including Bakugo, making them all stare at him. While he told them all to get into class, his voice was distant and his thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. Honestly, the man looked like he was in shock. Like he had just been visited by the ghosts of all his long-dead ancestors, told the meaning of life and was now having a hard time coming to grips with the situation.
As the class quickly entered the room, their teacher spoke up. "Bakugo. M-Midoriya," he said in that same distant voice as he staggered into the room. "Once you put your things at your desks, please make your way to the principal's office. He wants to c-congratulate the two of you for making it into the h-hero program of U.A."
At that, the entire class became silent. Then, as Izuku put his bag away at the side of the desk, he looked up just in time to see everyone's heads turning to look at him all at once. Everyone there just kept their eyes on him until the boy left the room with Bakugo right on his heels.
The walk to the office was tense. While Bakugo didn't try to attack Izuku again, the ashen haired teen remained right behind Izuku. With each second that passed, Midoriya could almost feel the stare of the blond burning into his backside. And when he did glance behind him Izuku nearly let out a yelp of fright to see the intense and angry look on the boy's face.
This didn't end when they got to the principal's office. The small, pudgy man greeted them both warmly as though he knew them both personally. However, in truth, Izuku had never interacted with the man at all. So much so that he didn't even know the man's name! Yet he continued to talk as Izuku stood somewhat rigidly in front of the desk while Bakugo leaned against the wall, his glare shifting from Izuku to the principal. It was like during the man's entire speech about how they would carry on all the lessons instilled to them while at this school into their futures at Japan's best hero school Bakugo was trying to decide who annoyed him more. Izuku, meanwhile, did his best to nod and say thank you politely while fighting the urge to teleport to anywhere else.
For the rest of the day, school was oddly calm and peaceful. It seemed that the shock of Izuku making it not only into U.A. but also the hero course had not worn off. Whenever the green-haired teen spoke to someone, the most he could get out of them was a strangled noise from their throats followed by either a nod or shake of their head.
Then, when the school day ended…
"Deku," came Bakugo's voice as the class was leaving. "We need to talk. Now." With that, Bakugo marched over to Izuku and proceeded to reach out in order to grab the boy by his jacket. No doubt with the intent of dragging him off somewhere where no one could see him. Knowing this, Izuku backed away at the last second so that Bakugo's hand swiped at empty air as Izuku put some distance between them.
"I-If you want to talk, we can do s-so here," stammered Izuku nervously. As he did so, Kyo finally poked his head out of the tangled mess that was Midoriya's hair. With fur standing on end the cabbit began to hiss loudly at the explosive teen while looking ready to attack. For his part, a range of emotions flew across Bakugo's face. Surprise that Izuku had dodged him for the second time that day, shock that he was standing his ground, and bewilderment at the creature that was now on top of the head of the kid he had bullied for so long. His eyes lingered on the cabbit for a bit, face scrunching up in a manner that told Izuku that he knew he had seen something like Kyo before but couldn't place it. But, in the end, all that was moot as Bakugo defaulted to his usual setting: anger
"Fine," snarled the teen, his red eyes flashing as he kept his gaze locked on Izuku. "I want to know who the hell you think you are! Do you have any idea what you did? You stole my perfect victory! I was supposed to be the only one in this shitty school to get into U.A!"
"Well," began Izuku as he scratched his cheek while trying his best to come up with something to say that might defuse the situation. But that was interrupted as Bakugo grabbed a nearby desk, pushing it roughly to the side causing Kyo to hiss more loudly.
"You are not going," declared Bakugo, his words causing Izuku to freeze. "You are going to head back home, call up U.A., and tell them that you aren't enrolling. Then you're-"
"No," interrupted Izuku as a look of firm determination appeared on his face, the sight of which broke whatever stride Bakugo had in the moment. As Bakugo stared at him in confusion, Izuku recalled the conversation he had had with Ryoko back at Ice Jet's Ice Cream Parlor. About how she called Bakugo a princess. Well, her definition fit the teen so well right now that it made Izuku angry. Both of them had worked hard to get into U.A., there was no denying it. You had to do so in order to pass that exam. For all his life, Baukgo had been working hard to get into U.A. He had practiced his quirk, learning how to use it so expertly that he could easily control the force of the explosion. If he wanted, he could make a puff of smoke right in someone's face, forcing them to shut their eyes and cough to give him an opening to punch their lights out, or he could make an explosion powerful enough to rock the entire room. But he was more than a brainless brute who relied on his quirk. Yet, despite acing all of the mock exams and getting the top spot in the practical, Bakugo was still complaining. Throwing a temper tantrum while demanding that Izuku give up the future he had worked just as hard to achieve all so that he could have the perfect victory he had been dreaming about for years! He really was a princess…though Izuku was smart enough not to say that to his face.
"What did you say to me?!" snarled Bakugo as the room went deadly quiet save for the hissing and growling from Kyo.
"You heard me," stated Izuku as he recalled all the hard work that he had put into his training. All the days and nights he spent working with Ryoko and studying just to pass one of the hardest exams in the country. Everything he had done in the span of less than a year just to barely catch up with people who had had their quirks their entire life! After all of that, he was not going to roll over and let someone else take away his hard-earned prize. A prize he was grateful for.
"I said no," said Izuku, hands balling into fists as he locked eyes with Bakugo. On his head, Kyo's hissing had been replaced with a cat-like growl. "I'm going to U.A. whether you like it or not. And there is nothing you can say or do to stop me." With that, Midoriya turned around to walk away. As he did, there was a brief moment where he feared that Bakugo would attack him once his back was turned. Yet, that moment quickly passed as Izuku knew that his former childhood friend would not try that again. That first lunge this morning and what he had just tried to do was never meant to attack him, just to grab the green-haired boy before trying to intimidate him. Either to answer his questions or make demands. If Bakugo did attack Izuku out of the blue then he could kiss his future at U.A. goodbye.
Also, Kyo was keeping an eye on Bakugo. The cabbit had turned around, letting out a meow that Izuku translated into meaning 'I'll watch your back'. He even felt Kyo standing on his hind legs, bringing a paw to his eyes before making the 'I'm keeping an eye on you' gesture. And he kept that up until both were out of the school. Izuku finally let out a breath he realized he had been holding before freaking out.
-x-
At the same time, Aizawa sat at his desk within the teacher's office going over the list of students he would have. As he did, his mind slightly drifted to the irrational rumors that many of the students had about how the classes were assigned. Some believed that the two homeroom teachers of the first-year students would sit in a large room, a table between them and Nezu acting the role of judge as they argued on who got which student. Others believed that 1-A was composed of all the top students in the entrance exam while 1-B got the leftovers. Students whose sole purpose was to make 1-A look better. There were others of course, but all of them were wrong. There was no special meaning behind the classes. Nezu just handed them the files of the students and that was that.
Shaking his head to remove those thoughts from his head, the tired man looked down at the list before him with a pen in one hand. Ready to mark those who would be his problem students for the upcoming year.
The first was Todoroki, son of the number two hero and one of the students who had gotten into U.A. by taking the recommendation exam. While he had not been there in person to watch him perform, Aizawa had gone over the footage of Todoroki's actions several times. And when he compared that to the boy's file the underground hero was less than impressed. Simply put, the boy was a one-trick pony who used his ice to solve any problem set before him. The amount he could create was impressive, but that would only get him so far. What's more, the teen had a dual quirk of ice and fire. Near the end of the exam, Aizawa had noticed the frost covering the teen's body. No doubt the drawback of overusing his quirk. All Todoroki had to do was use his fire and he would be right as rain. But, he didn't. So, there were a couple of ways Aizawa could interpret this. Was it possible that the boy wasn't confident with using his flames as he was his ice? That he lacked the same level of control? Possible, yet highly unlikely given who the boy's father and trainer was. It also wouldn't explain why he didn't use even a little bit of fire to warm him up. Was it that the boy was cocky, thinking so little of the school and the rest of the students here that he only needed half of his quirk to get in? Again, it was possible as the teacher had seen it before. Was it something else? Well, time would tell what the issue was as well as finding out whether or not Todoroki belonged on this road.
After underlining Todoroki's name with a red pen, Aizawa went down the list until he spotted another name before repeating the process without a second thought. Mineta was a bright student based on his grades, but all of that flew out the window when he caught sight of a pretty girl. Aizawa had reviewed the footage of the practical exam given to the regular students, noting how the boy handled himself. Namely sticking the robots to the ground using his quirk before bouncing off his balls to press the kill switch on the back of the robots heads. He also 'accidently' entrapped several of the female student hopefuls to the ground who had ripped clothing, offering to help remove them while leering at the girls. Based on this, Aizawa felt like the diminutive teen was a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen.
As Aizawa stared at the name for a moment longer, tapping his pen to the side, he wondered if he might be able to convince Nezu to switch him out with another student. Mineta's letter of acceptance had yet to go out so there was still time. Instantly, two names came to mind. The first was a person who Present Mic had brought to his attention, already nicknamed 'The Second Coming of Eraserhead': Hitoshi Shinso. The boy had stated that he wanted to be a hero and, after going over the teen's file to see what his quirk was, Aizawa felt like he could be a great hero. One who could solve a number of situations without causing harm to innocents or causing property damage. And he made a rational decision by not entering the practical which heavily favored flashy combative quirks. On the other hand, if the boy had tried then there was the chance he could have gotten rescue points in order to make it into the hero program. The other was the one who had turned down his acceptance via recommendation: Inasa Yoarashi. The teen had skill and it was confusing as to why he would just give up the chance at going to the best hero school in Japan.
Moving on, Aizawa glanced down the list before underlining the next name on his list: Katsuki Bakugo. Here was another boy who had so much talent that it practically dripped off of him. But from what he had seen during the practical, the boy's behavior was an issue that needed to be addressed. While the teen had shown a high degree of combat skill and awareness, he radiated anger almost constantly. Nor could he forget how the teen looked, standing atop a pile of destroyed robots looking like a feral animal ready to find his next prey. That, along with his battle cry of 'Die', made the tired underground hero wary of the boy's future. Unless he managed to get himself more under control, the press would end his hero career faster than any villain out there.
After leaving Bakugo's name, Aizawa continued down the list until he came to the last one. Izuku Midoriya. There, the pro hero just tapped the pen next to the name several times before leaning back in his seat. This was a tough one as his thoughts on the boy were mixed. When the exam had started, Aizawa was ready to write the kid off after watching him be slammed into a wall by a one-pointer. But that quickly changed as he agreed with Nezu that the boy was resourceful. Using the arm of the defeated robot to use as a shield and weapon was a good, logical move given the setting. Then came the zero-pointer. Oh, that was an eye opener as the boy created a sword of some sort of green energy before flying up the side of the oversized robot to slice into it effortlessly. After watching the boy fall to his doom only to then be saved by the girl he had saved, Aizawa had something new to mull over. Was Midoriya like what the man thought of Todoroki, being overconfident in his skills and just putting on a show until the last moment to make some sort of eye catching event? No, given the nervous way he acted prior, it seemed unlikely unless he was a damned good actor. And if he was, Aizawa would do everything in his power to show the teen his true calling! More likely, the teen had held back using those moves as they seemed to drain him heavily. Perhaps something he had planned on only using in a last ditch effort to save himself only to then spot someone else in trouble. If that was the case, if he learned how to use those skills more effectively or increased the amount of energy then he could be an effective hero. After all, it wasn't like his quirk destroyed his body after one use making him both a glass cannon as well as a liability.
More understanding and questions came after the exam. Once rescue points had been awarded and tallied with the normal villain points there was a small period of time where the teachers waited for the final results of the written exam. Naturally, being the type of person that Aizawa was, he decided not to waste it and look into the files of those students who had placed in the top forty. Of course, this being U.A., the school had a bit more detailed information than what was provided to regular hero schools. So when Aizawa got to Midoriya's file, he only got past the boy's name before he noticed something that caused him to pause in surprise. Written right there was a note stating that the boy had changed his quirk status a little over ten months ago. From quirkless to Energy Manipulation. As the man tried to make sense of this, Recovery Girl walked into the room after treating the subject of Aizawa's attention. From her, the man learned that what they had witnessed was the first time he had used the sword as well as flying that high. At least, that's what the boy had told her and the woman was good at reading people.
Upon receiving this information, it felt like several puzzle pieces were falling into place. Izuku Midoriya, was simply late coming into the game. From what he had seen, the boy had done everything in his power to train his quirk with his own perceived limitations. Trying his best to close the gap in quirk experience with those who had their quirks their entire life. Something like that showed that he was, at the very least, a hard worker who was committed to putting in the time and effort needed. But now that he knew that his previous limitations were misconstrued, could he still catch up with the rest of his class while learning the full extent of his abilities? Speaking of, what would the full extent of his quirk look like? Thus far, the boy had moved from simply levitation to full-on flight. Would those finger beams turn into a high-powered laser? Would he be able to extend the length of his energy sword to cut an entire city in half? What if he discovered something else? The boy was essentially a living wild card. Having this boy in his class would keep the pro hero on his toes.
With a sigh, Aizawa brought the pen down and simply put a question mark next to the boy's name.
-x-
"Hey, Mama Midoriya we're out of-," called out Ryoko as she floated through the apartment while looking for the woman housing her. Her words, however, were cut off when she passed by Izuku's room. Glancing inside, she spotted the elder woman standing over the desk. While Inko's back was turned towards her, Ryoko could see a hand reaching down while spreading some papers around.
Silently, Ryoko floated into the room as though she were nothing more than a ghost. The older woman never noticed her drawing closer, nor did she feel the alien's presence when she was looking over her shoulder. For a moment, the space pirate was tempted to do something like pinching Inko's cheek to grab her attention or to just yell 'Boo' in order to get a good laugh. But such thoughts died as she saw the worried expression on the kindly mother's face.
So, instead, Ryoko looked down and what she saw nearly caused her eyes to bulge. The papers that Mrs. Midoriya's fingertips were on had, what could best be described as childish doodles. The one on top showed a figure with bunny ears, large white eyes, teeth that covered half of the lower jaw, standing in some weird-looking muscular pose. The rest of the figure's body looked like they were wearing a tracksuit with weird lines running down the sides. Also, those hands! They were just so large that they were comical! As for the other sketches, they were progressively worse! All of them had the bunny ears, but there were some other differences. Like how one had the same large white eyes and teeth on their face as well as on the chest. Like the thing was a two-faced creature! Another one had ears that were as long as the figure was tall, with the suit looking distorted. Just looking at them caused Ryoko's eyes to water as her smile became crooked. As her hands went to her stomach, neither she nor Ryo-Ohki could hold back their laughter.
Inko, for her part, jumped when she heard the explosion of laughter. As papers flew up into the air, the mother whirled around with a hand over her heart before relaxing when she saw who it was.
"S-Sorry," Ryoko managed to breathe out through her laughter. "It's just that they look so ridiculous!" The spacewoman continued to laugh, rolling around in the air as she did so. At the same time, Inko took on a more crestfallen expression. Seeing the papers fluttering around her, the older woman began to grab them with her quirk and pull them towards her. An action that didn't go unnoticed by a certain cabbit who suddenly felt bad for her laughter. She jumped off of Ryoko's head to take a hold of one of the doodles with her teeth before bringing it over to Inko.
"Thank you," whispered the elder Midoriya as she took the paper from the space bunny. Once she had the rest of the papers, she clutched them close to her heart as though she were cradling them.
"Where did you get those things," asked Ryoko, still talking between her fits of laughter. Inko, for her part, didn't answer right away. Instead, she sat down on her son's bed with the papers still in her arms.
"They're Izuku's," replied Inko, a more disheartened expression appearing on her face. "He drew them back when he was younger. Back when he was waiting for his quirk to appear. He used to show me them all the time, bouncing on my lap as we looked through them all. Some of them even made their way onto the fridge. But, he stopped drawing them after…we found out he was quirkless. Or maybe it was when I couldn't tell him what he needed to hear." As Inko took in a sharp breath to hold back a sob, Ryoko's body jerked as if she had been stabbed through the chest with several rusty swords. As the alien turned her body around in the air to look at Inko, Ryo-Ohki had made her way onto the kind mother's shoulder to pat her on the neck.
"Ah, ok" began Ryoko, feeling rather awkward in that moment. For a moment, she just hovered there, scratching the back of her head as she tried to figure out what to do. But a look from Ryo-Ohki, firm and screaming 'Fix this', told her what she needed to do. "So, why were they out?"
"It's probably because Izuku will need a hero costume," said Inko, somehow managing to pull herself together enough to talk. "I was looking over all the forms that came with the acceptance letter and one of them was talking about that. The school is giving him a costume allowance, asking him to put down all the support gear he'd like with his costume as well as to give them the basic design. The deadline is coming up so I guess he pulled out all his old designs to get some inspiration."
Ryoko nodded as she got into a sitting position in the air, her eyes briefly glancing up at the ceiling. Now that she thought about it, along with some understanding, she could see what Izuku was going for back then. Her honorary little brother had been trying to create his own costume to mimic All Might. Back when he was still a hopeful child, the future looking bright and full of possibilities. Honestly, it really shouldn't have surprised her given how obsessed he was. Well, maybe it was the fact that that obsession was there back then.
Sighing, Ryoko turned her attention back to Inko who was still holding on to the pictures as though she believed that as soon as she let go they would vanish. And it wouldn't be for the first time. Midoriya never really talked about what life was like around the time when he had been diagnosed as quirkless, always talking about what it was like before and the mundane life afterward. Never going into the details of the fallout. And while Ryoko would freely admit to not being the smartest person in the galaxy, even she could figure out what it had been like. Especially given what she was seeing now. First, the most obvious would be the tears. You only had to know the family for a couple of days to get the idea that they were hyper-emotional with massive tear ducts. But beyond that, she could see Izuku shutting down. He'd still talk about being a hero, just not as loudly as before. Perhaps the reason he stopped drawing pictures of himself as a hero was because he felt he couldn't show them to his mother anymore. As for Inko, it marked a time when she had to witness a sort of death within her own child. An end to those pleasant moments shared between them that came far too soon.
"I was thinking," began Inko after a long moment of silence. "While Izuku is out, I'd look at some of his old designs and make him a costume myself. My way of showing that I support him."
Ryoko let out a hum as she floated over to Inko. "Can you even make a hero costume?" she asked while reaching for one of the pictures. With practiced hands that had stolen so many things from across the universe, the picture easily slipped out of Inko's hold and into the grasp of the space pirate. There Ryoko held it up to her eye level, focusing on it rather than the woman before her. "And I mean a real costume. Something that can take a lot of punishment and not get ripped into shreds the moment he takes a single punch. Something that can go toe to toe with people who had their costumes sent in."
"I… well…" stammered Inko, words failing her as the space pirate pointed out the flaw in her plan. A very potentially fatal flaw. Finally, with fresh tears appearing in her eyes, Inko managed to speak again. "I just wanted to do something to show I support my baby."
"You know, Izuku already said you've supported him enough," replied Ryoko as she brought her hands to her hips.
"It still doesn't feel like I did," said Inko with a sad chuckle. "Especially when I compare everything that you've done for him. You gave him the power to help my baby achieve his dream. You've made him stronger. Taught him how to fight. I doubt he would have gotten as far as he did in the entrance exam if it wasn't for you. What's more, you've given his smile back. All the times the two of you go out and enjoy life. But me? All I did was help make sure he was eating right and studying. And before that?"
"You were there for him," said Ryoko as she teleported next to Inko, a slender arm wrapping around the older woman's shoulder and pulling her in for a half hug. "Look, you might not have supported his dreams. You might not have punched the teeth out of those jerks that owned the gyms and dojos that wouldn't let him in. But…as moms go, you're one of the better ones in my book. You made sure that he always had a roof over his head, always well fed, and actually worry about him. That may sound like the bare minimum of what a parent should do, but trust me on this, there are billions of parents out there in the galaxy who can't even manage to do even that. Or would have just abandoned their kid the moment they saw a flaw they couldn't fix. Maybe if I had…" Ryoko paused, shaking her head to push away memories of her past. "The point is you're lightyears away from being a horrible mother. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."
"Thanks," whispered Inko as she gave Ryoko a small smile. However, the woman then looked down at the papers still clutched against her chest. "Still, I want to do everything I can to support my son."
"Well then, if you insist, let's make sure Izuku has a costume that will put everyone else's to shame," announced Ryoko as she got up. As the space pirate spun around so that she was facing Inko once more, Ryo-Ohki jumped onto her partner's shoulder. "And the best place to do that is out in space!"
"What?!" cried Inko as Ryoko teleported behind the woman. With hands-on Inko's shoulders, Ryoko began to push her off the bed and towards the door. "But I…why space?"
"Because that's where all the best stuff is," replied Ryoko in a sing-song tone. "Come on, it'll be fun! You can shop for pretty much anything. And I mean anything your heart desires. Regular clothing you find out there is like a thousand times better than anything heroes on this planet are currently wearing. So just think what it'll be like when you get him something made for combat? Plus, given the amount of customs, traditions, and holidays across the entire galaxy, there's a chance they're having a sale."
Inko was now breathing hard as the pair phased through the front door, leaving it locked behind them. "But what about money?" asked a panicked Inko. "Will they accept earth currency? Shouldn't we stop at an ATM first? Or a bank?"
"Don't worry, I got you covered," said Ryoko. Inko opened her mouth to object, saying she wanted to do this for her son and it wouldn't count if Ryoko paid for it. But the space woman cut her off before the words could leave her throat. "I have a nice little hideaway not too far away from this solar system. I'll exchange the money for you free of charge."
Before Inko could say anything, she found herself on the roof with Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki. She watched as the cabbit jumped off Ryoko's shoulder as she flew through the air. There, she changed. Her mass and shape began to transform wildly, spikes coming out of odd angles as all traces of the cute little thing she had been, vanished. And when it was over, Inko looked up at the mammoth thing that was Ryoko's spaceship! As her mind was still trying to process this, a red orb of light surrounded the pair of them before they vanished off the roof.
Once they were gone, Ryo-Ohki took to the sky while letting out a loud 'meow'.
-x-
As Inko and Ryoko took off to the stars, Izuku Midoriya found himself walking down the street. Today he was wearing a light green jacket, a white shirt with the word 'casual' written on it, and loose jeans. His head was down, eyes focused on the images of various heroes on his phone as he scrolled down. But despite this focus, the training the teen had been given via Ryoko allowed him to navigate through the crowd almost perfectly. Never once did he bump into someone or cut off another passerby.
As the boy's eyes continued to comb through all the colorful designs, he could feel his shoulders slumping ever so slightly. Ever since he had read over the information about his hero costume and the allowance the school provided, the teen had found himself in a whirlwind of emotions. In the beginning, he had been excited to create his own costume. What kid who dreamed of being a hero had never imagined themselves in some sort of outfit? And with the deadline approaching fast, mainly due to him not opening his acceptance letter for so long, he needed to come up with something. So, he had decided to look back at some of his older drawings. The last ones he ever did of himself. And what he saw made him feel uneasy. Not because they were horribly drawn, which they were, but because they were all just rip-offs of All Might. He tried to imagine himself wearing them, using the skills he now had at his disposal. Yet no matter what, the image just felt wrong.
So, Izuku had tried to move on. With a new sense of determination, the teen sat at his desk, pulled out a notebook for school that still had some pages left, and began to create something new. Something that would feel right for the type of hero he was now. Yet with every attempt he made, All Might's influence slowly began to worm its way into the drawing. By the fourth attempt, Izuku's optimism was replaced with frustration. Then, on the twentieth, depression began to set in. Why was this suddenly so hard?
Eventually, Izuku decided that maybe it would be a good idea to clear his mind. Since getting Kyo, he had wanted to go out and do some shopping for his new pet/partner. And while he was out, maybe inspiration would hit him. Maybe if he examined the costumes of the heroes, rather than just their quirks, something would come to him. Maybe-
"Midoriya?" came a familiar voice, the sound of which caused the teen to stop dead in his tracks. With his heart thumping quickly, the teen turned his head to look in the direction he had heard the person talking with nervous excitement. And there she was: Ochaco Uraraka. And she was looking super cute! She was wearing a puffy white blouse that showed off her shoulders and a jean skirt that went down to her knees. On her back was a small pink backpack which had a chibi version of the Pro Hero Thirteen on the back, waving.
"Uraraka," said Izuku, feeling a lump forming in his throat the longer he looked into her bright, chocolate-brown eyes. Thankfully he managed to gulp it down as he approached her. "It's nice seeing you again. Ah, I didn't know you lived in the area."
"I don't," replied Uraraka, her tone slightly nervous as well. "I mean, I didn't but now I do. Well, sort of." She paused, letting out a frustrated noise before taking a deep breath in order to compose herself. "Sorry. The truth is that my family lives pretty far away from U.A. So I decided to check out some apartments in the area. One of them is a student dorm that a friend of the family owns. He's letting me stay there super cheap. The other is actually in a nice apartment building. The reason it's so cheap has something to do with the tenets right above me."
"Oh?" began Izuku, as Uraraka pulled her backpack off and began rummaging through it. "That's weird. What kind of people are they?"
"Don't know," said Uraraka as she pulled out a printout. "According to the landlord, the people above the apartment are a nice family. But somehow their apartment has been known to flood and that water leaks down to the one I'm looking at. The pipes have been inspected so that can't be the problem. I wonder if one of them has a water quirk they can't control." As she said this last part, Uraraka showed Izuku the flier. As soon as he looked at it, the boy's body went rigid as a good amount of color from his body faded away. The apartment she was looking at was the one directly beneath his!
As beads of sweat began to roll down his face, the teen began to recall a memory. After All Might had welcomed him to his hero academia, both mother and son began to cry the famous Midoriya family tears like never before with Ryoko hovering in the air above them. While he couldn't remember everything, he thought he had heard someone yelling 'This is the last straw'. At the time, Izuku had thought it was his imagination or he just misheard it. But now it seems like that wasn't the case.
"What's wrong Midoriya? You look like you've seen a ghost," said Uraraka before she suddenly gasped. "Wait! Do you know that apartment complex? Does it have a bad reputation or is it haunted?"
"No! I mean yes! I mean," began Izuku before he began shaking his head around rapidly. Then, when he was done, he handed the paper back to Uraraka before a slightly strained smile appeared on his face. "What I meant to say is that my family has an apartment there. It's a really nice place."
"Oh, that's good," said Uraraka pleasantly as she took her printout back. Little did she know that, while she was putting it back into her backpack, Izuku was silently planning on what to do if the girl in front of him did end up renting that apartment. Maybe from now on, when he and his mother felt their emotional dams beginning to break, they should just stick their heads out a window of something.
Right as she was zipping up her backpack, a passerby pushed into Izuku while the same thing happened to Uraraka a moment later. Realizing that they had been just standing there in the middle of a somewhat busy sidewalk, the pair silently made their way out of the path of the crowd and closer to the building. As they walked, Izuku glanced over at the girl while remembering the video. What she had done on his behalf. So, as they stood there with their backs pressed against the wall of a shop, the teen spoke.
"Ah, Uraraka," said Izuku, causing the girl to look at him with a pleasant smile. "I never got the chance to say this after the exams were over. But thank you for saving me. I probably would have died had you not slapped me like that."
"Well, it was only fair," replied Uraraka with a giggle that caused Izuku to blush. "I mean, you did save me from that giant robot. Though I wish I could have done so a tad more gently."
"Yeah, but that's not all you did," continued Izuku, watching as the girl tilted her head in confusion. Seeing this, Izuku continued. "How you went to Present Mic? That you asked him to give me some of your points?" For a moment, Uraraka just stood there with her eyes slightly wider than they had been and her mouth slightly hanging open. Then, starting from her neck and moving upward, a neon red blush took over her face! This was followed by a tiny squeak before her hands flew upward to cover her face.
"You saw that?" she cried.
"Ah, yeah," said a panicked Izuku as he brought up his hands in a manner meant to calm her down. Not like she could see it. "All Might showed me the video of your conversation on my acceptance letter."
"No," wailed Uraraka as she began to float off the ground, no doubt accidentally activating her quirk in her embarrassment. Thankfully, Izuku was there to grab her and bring her back down to the ground before anyone saw her. Though, as soon as her feet touched the street and stayed there, the green-haired youth realized that he had touched a girl causing his face to flush.
For a moment, the two red-faced teens just stood there while being unable to look at the other. Then, from out of his nest, came Kyo. The little cabbit poked his head out of Izuku's messy locks while yawning loudly. This sound caught the attention of both teen's, causing Izuku to look up with his eyes while Uraraka turned her head upwards. Upon seeing the still yawning cabbit, Uraraka's eyes turned into hearts.
"Awe, he's so adorable," squealed the anti-gravity girl. "What's her name?"
"Actually, it's a boy," said Izuku as Kyo began to rub his eyes with one of his front paws. "His name's Kyo. I just got him not too long ago." At that moment, the cabbit turned to look at Uraraka so that his large eyes were looking down at her filled with curiosity and wonder.
Unable to control herself, Uraraka began to stand on her tippy toes as she reached up to pet the cabbit. At first, Kyo looked at the hand with some degree of worry and suspicion before flinching at the touch. However, as the girl's hand began to rub the fur, scratching behind the ears and under his chin, Kyo began to let out several meows of pleasure. Izuku could even feel the cabbit's hind legs twitching against the top of his head. He would have laughed at this had his own face not gone nuclear red at just how close such a pretty girl was to him.
When it ended, Uraraka now standing properly on the ground with her cheeks a little more rosy from petting Kyo, Izuku mustered up the courage to ask her something. Something he had never before asked any girl his own age before. "So, ah, I was heading to a couple of stores to pick up some things for Kyo. W-Would you like to join us?" he asked, the teen's cheeks burning anew.
"You want to come with you?" asked Uraraka slowly in surprise.
"If you wouldn't mind," said Izuku, pulling on every ounce of bravery he had cultivated while training with Ryoko. "I'd really like to get to know you a bit better. So that, maybe, we could become friends? Plus, I can show you around the area as a way of saying thank you for what you did after the exam."
Uraraka didn't say anything at first, just tilting her head to the side as though she were confused about something. Though this didn't last long as a slight frown appeared on her face. "I thought we were already friends," she said, a pout appearing on her face.
"We are?" asked a shocked Izuku, only to then take a step back as Uraraka's pout grew. "I'm sorry. What I meant to say was that I wanted to think we were friends, but I didn't want to assume that you felt the same way."
"Well I do," said Uraraka with a nod. "I would appreciate my friend showing me around his neck of the woods." With a grin, Izuku nodded before the two of them began heading down the street.
-x-
"Alright, we're here," said Ryoko as she maneuvered Ryo-Ohki into an asteroid belt. The space pirate sat in her chair which, to an earthling, would have looked like one of those woven basket-style chairs with a cushion placed on the seat. It might have passed for one as well had the ones on earth been able to float several feet off the ground. In front of Ryoko were two red gems that she could easily wrap her hands around to control the ship. What's more, several floating red diamonds floated around her as well as Inko who was gripping Ryoko's chair tightly.
If the space pirate had to guess, it was because Mama Midoriya had expected something more out of a spaceship bridge. The interior of this part of Ryo-Ohki was extremely minimalistic, meaning that besides the chair and crystals around her, there was nothing. Just a wide-open gray floor that went off till you reached the dome. On the outside, the dome looked like a red gem that was nestled between the four large spikes. But on the inside, it was so perfectly transparent that you wouldn't even know it was there! In her opinion, it was the best way to travel through space! No clutter, just you and the vast void dotted with stars.
As Ryo-Ohki entered the area, Ryoko watched out of the corner of her eye as Inko braved to look at the sight before her. Docked next to some of the asteroids were spaceships of all sorts. One was a sleek blue ship whose shape reminded the space pirate of a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird that she had seen online. It was a racing ship, one that even someone on earth could tell that the owner had put plenty of time and money into. Clearly, that same level of care did not extend to the apartment it was attached to. The red-painted blast door had several scorch marks on it along with a couple of new dents while the apartment number next to it looked ready to float away. Not too far from the door was a window that looked like it was being held together with tape and a prayer, the inside of the apartment looking dark. The unit next to it had a Jurain ship attached to it. It was one of the smaller ones, a pink saucer-like object with what looked like wood surrounding it but never coming into contact with its core. The 'branches' started at the front, looking like a rounded point before making a V formation in a woven fashion so that the ends looked almost like wings. Compared to the blue ship, it had clearly seen better days as Ryoko could see that the core of the ship was tilting while several of the 'branches' had cracks in them. As for the apartment, the door looked to be in good shape with the lights on. Through the window, Ryoko could see a couple of potted plants hanging off of the sides with their vines wrapping around the edges of the panels with their flowers in bloom. She could also clearly see a middle-aged woman doing the dishes. Said woman looked up at them as the pair passed, raising a soapy hand to wave at them.
As they continued to pass more apartment units, Ryoko saw how Inko began to look at the apartments in greater wonder and awe. Seeing this, Ryoko let out a content noise as she moved closer to her own unit. To the right of this unit had a small, one-seater spaceship that looked like a rusty old car painted white while the one on the left had several space motorcycles parked in front of it.
Once they were parked in front of the unit, a red light surrounded the pair. When it faded, both Ryoko and Inko were now right in front of the door with Ryo-Ohki still in her spaceship form right behind them.
"RYOKO! WE'RE OUTSIDE! WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" wailed Inko as she looked down at the endless void beneath her feet. Her arms instantly wrapped around Ryoko's body, holding onto her for dear life as if she believed doing so would keep her alive. For her part, Ryoko just looked down at the smaller woman while her hand reached over to a holo-keypad that just appeared. She could feel her eyes were wide as she blinked at Inko in confusion. What was she-
"Oh yeah," said Ryoko as she lightly pounded her fist into an open hand. She then looked at Inko. "Guess I forgot to tell you about the force field technology out here. Here, watch." With that, Ryoko lifted a foot off the ground before slamming it on the ground. As soon as she did, the area around where it landed distorted slightly. When she saw this, Inko began to slowly calm down as she reached out with her toe to press against the same area. While she couldn't see it, she was met with some resistance.
"Once a ship is parked, a barrier is put up," continued Ryoko, typing her key password into the holopad while Inko continued to tap away at the barrier. "There's a really complex description of how it works, but it all boils down to this: barrier goes up connecting the ship with a unit and fills it with a livable atmosphere…for about five minutes. Less if you haven't paid your rent here. I tell ya, the cheapskates who run this place." As she said this last part, a wide smile on her face, Ryoko noticed that Inko had frozen in place. What's more, the elder Midoriya looked like all the color had drained from her body.
"You mean," began Inko as she began to shake, "that at any moment we'll be dropped into endless space?"
Ryoko shrugged. "We could," she admitted. "But unlikely. Ryo-Ohki would teleport us back inside of her the moment she sensed that the barrier would fade. Plus, my rent for this place is on auto-pay. So unless someone managed to hack into one of my bank accounts, it should be good." As if to help bolster her point, the door finally opened.
Instantly, Inko charged into the place with Ryoko casually walking right behind her. Upon hearing the door closing behind them, Inko fell to her knees as she began breathing hard while the renter of this unit walked past her.
"It should take me a moment," said Ryoko. "So, how much are we exchanging?"
Inko, with her head still down, nodded before standing up and searching the purse she brought along for the money. It was only when she was handing the space woman the large amount of rolled up bills she had finally she looked around. And, much to her surprise, the apartment looked strangely normal. Close to the door was a kitchen, complete with an electric stove/oven and a refrigerator. In front of it was a small island-style counter with a bar stool placed on the opposite end. But beyond that, the place seemed completely devoid of any furniture and additional rooms. She did spot a cylinder sticking out of the floor and looking embedded with the rocky wall across the room next to the bay window that took up the entire back wall of the room. But that was it. There were no pictures of family hanging on the wall, no beds, chairs, couches, or anything. It looked so lifeless for someone so lively.
"Is this really your place?" asked Inko as she looked around. Not that there was much to look at.
"One of them," replied Ryoko as she went to the wall opposite of the cylinder. The rock suddenly vanished, replaced with various bags which the space pirate began to dig through. "Usually I'm flying through space and when I'm not I'm either at one of my other hideaways or pitching a tent on some deserted planet I stumbled on. Can't really set down any roots. You know, on the account that I have one of the biggest bounties placed on my pretty head." As she said that last part, Ryoko turned to give the older woman a smile.
Inko however, did not smile back. "It must be lonely," she said.
"It can be," responded Ryoko with a sigh. "But it's not all that bad. I still have places I can go to have a fun night out. Also, while this may not be one of the places I visit on the regular, it has one hell of a view."
With that, Ryoko gestured to the window with one hand while reaching with the other to grab a purse with the Juria royal symbol on it. After checking to make sure all the money she had stolen from a certain princess was still there, Ryoko looked up in time to see Inko approaching the window cautiously. Once she was in front of it the older woman gasped at what she beheld. Before them was a spiral of stars that seemed frozen in time. The light's twinkled like diamonds sitting on a bed of black silk, their majesty on full display for anyone to look upon whether they be rich or poor. But that wasn't all there was to see as a few occasional streaks of lights dashed just within the vision. Looking out further, one could see a few nebula clouds of blues, reds, and purples. Ryoko knew that both the Midoriyas had seen pictures of outer space before. But those images would always pale before a sight like this.
"Well then, we'd best be going," said Ryoko as she lifted Inko's hand to place the money she had pulled out of a certain princess's stolen purse into her hand. However, Inko barely seemed to notice it. Her body just went through the motions as her mind seemed fixated on the sight before her.
So, Ryoko gave the older woman a few more minutes to drink in the sight before teleporting them back into Ryo-Ohki in order to continue their shopping trip.
-x-
"Ok, I think I found the perfect bed," said Izuku as he walked through the small pet shop, holding the pet bed he had discovered in the back with a triumphant smile on his face. As he made his way back to where he had left Kyo, the boy passed many other items meant for smaller pets. On one side were rows of various pet food meant for smaller animals in plastic bags, each one showing a picture of the animal they were meant for. The opposite side of the aisle was a bit more varied. At first there were nothing but different types of cages or habitats, all packaged up in their boxes. Then it changed into treats, exercise wheels, additional items for the cages, and some things that Izuku had no idea what they were for. All he knew was that the shop owner had suggested them more than once.
The only item from this part of the aisle that piqued Izuku's and Kyo's interest was a small blanket. The material was green and a bit on the thin side, but Kyo seemed over the moon for it so Izuku decided to put it in the cart along with a few other items.
After another moment, he found Kyo right where he left him in the section where the normal pet beds for small animals were situated. There the cabbit sat on one of the more basic designs that they had, a simple wicker basket with a cushion inside it that could easily fit four or five of the space cabbit comfortably. With a front paw touching his chin, Kyo looked like he was deep in thought. As though he was trying to figure out if this bed was good enough for him. Luckily, he had Izuku who had found him something much better!
Kyo let out a meow when he saw Izuku approach, hopping around in the bed excitedly. But before Midoriya could show the cabbit what he had found, Uraraka appeared on the other side of the aisle holding up her own find.
"I think Kyo would love this," she said, extending both hands to show off her prize. Upon seeing it, Izuku nearly took a step back while Kyo raised his front paws as if to shield itself in fear while a cry escaped him. The first thought that both cabbit and owner had was that this bed was very pink. The main body of the bed was made of a hard material which, for the life of him Izuku didn't know what it was called, with pink fur sticking out. The cushion inside was also pink and seemed to be attached to it. At the opposite side of this bedding had a hooded head rest of the same color and decorated with pink ribbons and white fake pearls. Honestly, it looked more like it was made for dolls.
"Ah, where did you find that?" asked Izuku, sweat pouring down his face as he looked down at Kyo. There was a moment where a silent conversation passed between the two, trying to decide who should break the news to her.
"It was in the discount section," replied Uraraka happily. "Not only is it super cute, but it'll also save you up to 80% percent off of what a normal bed costs. So it's a win-win! I'm sure Kyo would love it." Uraraka then looked down at Kyo, her eyes full of hope which then shattered when she saw the cabbit shaking his head no vigorously.