Izuku's pen danced on paper like a miniature ballerina, the light scratching of words being written accompanied by soft muttering. Though he was exhausted in both body and mind he still wrote, lines upon lines spiralling into that burnt notebook.
It may not look like much, but that little book meant a lot to him. It was the latest of his hero journals, chronicling all his foolish hopes and dreams. But now he actually had the chance to be a hero… and felt the burden of responsibility that accompanied it. This power of his… it was almost like it was given to him, not earned. That was why he had promised to work harder than ever, both to fill All Might shoes and be worthy of One For All.
Taking a break, he glanced over to his younger siblings who were relaxing on the couch. They were playing one of his old video games; All Might's Amazing Adventure. At least now there was a use for the second controller that came with his pre-order edition.
"To unlock the secret boss Toxic Chainsaw, you need to pick up the thingy and throw it into the other thingy." Mimi chimed, her head moving about animatedly. "There, on the left."
"Your left or my left?" Kiri asked innocently, thumbing the controller.
"We both share the same left."
"Oh yeah."
It was nice to see that they were getting along well without needing him to assist. The boy proceeded to start on his schoolwork, having dedicated most of his time to training. It was only after an hour later when he took a short break to check on his siblings. They were watching TV now, sinking back into the plush leather in comfort. Izuku thought for a moment and made his way over, deciding to spend some time with them. It was moments like this he had to treasure, especially when they were still growing. He slowly sat down in the gap between them, filling up that empty space with the warmth of familial love.
"Onii-chan." Kiri chirped, snuggling into him.
"Papa." Mimi nodded, hesitating a tiny bit before doing the same.
They sat like that for quite a while, the boy's younger siblings leaning against him quietly while they relaxed. He was living in the moment, acknowledging the cosy warmth in his chest at the thought of a bigger family. Before the two children appeared there was only him and his mother, to the point where they had to take turns cooking dinner just for some variety. His father was…
Izuku let the tension flow out of him before the sisters noticed. He didn't like to think about that man.
A few more minutes of warmth and cuddling up with his siblings continued until he found Mimi sniffing at a silver package he had handed over to them earlier; It was the chocolate Reiko had gifted to him. He watched as she took a cautious nibble, and was surprised when she stuck her tongue out.
"Bleh, it's way too sweet." Mimi frowned, then took another bite and stuck out her tongue again. "And it tastes like an MRE. Calorie-rich, with that special preservative flavour disguised with sugar. Where did you say you got this, Aniki?"
"An acquaintance gave it to me." Izuku hummed, smiling a little at the unintentionally adorable display. "So you can't take things that are too sweet, eh?"
"It's more of the slightly metallic MRE taste. Brings back bad memories." she grimaced. "You can have my share, Kiri. I'm going to get something else to eat."
"Really?" Kiri accepted the offering gratefully. "Thankies."
More time passed as the three siblings continued channel surfing while leaning against each other. Turning to Kiri, he noticed her gaze was sharp and focused, absorbing the TV's information like a sponge. Mimi was now snacking on some peanuts lazily, the occasional plume of fire snaking out of her and forming a ghostly hand to lift snacks into her mouth. Now they were watching a cheesy drama set in an age of pirates and sea monsters; The Black Freighter, it was called. With heroes becoming commonplace the allure of superhero fiction had diminished, leaving other genres to fill the gap.
"It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll,"
the handsome main character quoted, his voice a deep baritone. "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul."
"Ne, nii-chan." Kiri tugged at his shirt, eyes bright with curiosity. "Wuzzat mean?"
"Well, um," Izuku paused. "It means that you are in control of your fate, I guess. You are who you choose to be, Kiri. You decide what you want."
"Mmhmm." Mimi grunted.
The little girl blinked and thought hard, then looked to her sibling or rather, at the bowl in her hands.
"I want some grilly cheese."
Izuku blinked, before his features slowly softened into a loving smile.
"Alright, sweetheart. What about you, dear?"
"I'll have one with peanut butter and—" Mimi started, then paused. "Hmm. You know what, I'll make it myself."
She followed closely behind as Izuku made his way into the kitchen, looking for the bread they needed.
"Hey, papa. Something's been on my mind lately." Mimi spoke up, tiptoeing to reach the countertop.
"Yeah?"
"You how One For All is a Quirk that stores power, right? Augmenting physical prowess to superhuman levels." Two of Aftermath's arms manifested at her side, helping the little girl open a jar. "Did you know it augments the user's base Quirk as well?"
Izuku paused, his finger still poised on the toaster's switch. "It does?"
"Mmmhmm. When I used my version of OfA Aftermath was way faster and more durable, leagues more powerful than without it." Mimi squinted at her bread, applying a thick layer of peanut butter with a practiced motion. "If OfA amplifies a Quirk's power, shouldn't Kiri be way, way stronger?"
"Now that you mention it… yeah. But she doesn't seem any different."
Izuku thought back to the news reports of Valkyrie, to the child still lazing on his couch now. She had gotten much stronger over the years, but that was thanks to hard-earned battle experience. Even after he had obtained One For All, Kiri hadn't changed much in terms of raw power. Perhaps it wasn't affecting her?
Exiting the Kitchen with Mimi he found Kiri floating in the air, watching TV while upside-down. Those bright blue eyes lit up upon seeing the treat he had brought, though her face remained stoic as ever.
"Grilly cheese." Kiri said eagerly, reaching towards him with tiny fingers. "Thanks, nii-chan."
"Careful, it's hot." Izuku shushed, gently setting her down beside him. He pondered about his previous thought before simply deciding to ask her.
"Kiri-chan," he said carefully, catching her in the middle of pulling a long string of cheese with her mouth. "Have you felt any… different after I got One For All?"
"Nn." The little girl blinked and rolled her shoulders, twisting about to test his theory. "Not really."
"You don't feel that there's a heat inside you, like," Mimi struggled to find the words. "A burning flame?"
"Nuh-uh." Kiri paused. "Something's different in onii-chan, though. I can feel it."
"You can feel One For All?" Izuku asked in surprise.
"Sometimes, when you use it. It's all tingly." she nodded enthusiastically. "And warm. Like a big, spiky blanket."
"Huh. Hiro did say that One For All affected different types of Quirks in different ways. Maybe it has increased your range, or your durability? Non-direct factors that are hard to spot. I wonder if…" Mimi mumbled.
"When you're mumbling like that you remind me of onii-chan. It's cute." Kiri said happily.
He smiled at her lightly, marveling at how innocent she was. Deep down, she was still a child… and so was Mimi. In fact, their old forms were a reflection of who they truly were; Valkyrie was the blank slate that absorbed all the information she encountered, while Aftermath was the intimidating shell that hid a lonely, frightened girl. Despite everything he loved them both, accepting all their flaws and negativities just like they did for him. For to be human is to be flawed, and all three of them certainly had no shortage of that. Even so, he would have to work hard. For them.
For himself.
For everyone.
Saturday came along like a summer breeze, rolling into Izuku's life before he knew it. Today he was training alone… at least, that's what it looked like to anyone nearby. Two miniature fairies floated above his shoulders, invisible to the naked eye. They had tested it with Inko, and only Izuku was able to see and hear the cloaked form of his sisters before him. It was surprisingly convenient, though he had to admit it felt a bit odd for them to give him snippets of feedback as he trained. It sort of reminded him of those old-school cartoon depictions of shoulder angels and devils, whispering into his ears.
"Keep going, onii-chan. Almost there." Kiri cheered, her tiny body bouncing atop his shoulder with every stride. "You can do it."
"You gotta keep your breathing even, aniki." Mimi puffed out her chest and exhaled, demonstrating. "Like this. One-two, one-two."
"T-thanks, you two." Izuku said breathlessly, his lungs burning. He had to keep on going, especially since it was almost time for the sports festival.
None of the three siblings realized it, but they had drawn the attention of a certain other. While Izuku jogged along a path parallel to the riverbank someone else was also jogging in the opposite direction, his tar-black feathers slick with sweat.
Fumikage Tokoyami stopped upon feeling a tugging from within his navel, jogging on the spot to preserve his breathing. A quick glance down at his stomach had the moody boy frowned, seeing the glowing yellow eyes of his 'brother' peeking out. Shadows twisted and writhed, the creature wincing and shrinking a tiny bit when it emerged in the presence of bright morning sunlight. Tokoyami cocked his head curiously; Dark Shadow never came out during the morning unless he called for him. Had something garnered his attention?
"Dark Shadow, what—"
"Thereeee. Something familiar." the wraith hissed, one ethereal claw stretching outward.
Tokoyami followed his projection's finger, eyeing the green-haired teenager he had pointed at. Midoriya Izuku, the boy in his class with the uncontrollable strength Quirk. He was… talking to himself as he ran? Some sort of psych-up technique, perhaps. Tokoyami often talked to Dark Shadow when training as well.
"Yes, of course you would find him familiar. He's my classmate, remember?" Tokoyami shrugged.
"No, not that. Fumikage…" Dark Shadow turned to him, an expression of curious excitement upon his features. "I see two little… fairies…"
[x]
It was days later when Izuku found himself slowly shuffling through the hallways, having just exited a meeting with All Might. In his opinion, it hadn't gone well at all. He was about to tell All Might of the situation regarding Valkyrie and One For All, but the Number One Hero had dropped a bomb on him; One For All was related to All For One. The greatest villain of the Dark Age was the direct cause of One For All; specifically its creation by forcing a Quirk onto his then thought to be Quirkless brother. Light, born from Darkness. Like a pattern repeating itself over and over again.
Izuku's gaze swept across the floor. He had been so shocked, so floored by the revelation that he couldn't bring himself to tell All Might what happened to everyone who had once held One For All. Pieces of their soul forever bound to that Quirk; a cursed immortality that was the price of nearly limitless power. He hadn't been able to tell the man about Nana. It was lucky that both Kiri and Mimi were at home right now; he didn't want them to see him in this sad, pathetic state. He felt like such a coward, especially after All Might had said those words while staring at a photo of Valkyrie at USJ taken with Snipe's helmet-cam. All Might was many things, but he wasn't stupid. The man had quickly realized there was some sort of connection between Shimura Nana and Valkyrie, but Izuku couldn't bear to tell him what it really was.
"Nana? Is that… really you?" All Might had asked while staring at the photo, and for a moment he looked sad, gaunt and tired… but quickly sprung back into a strained smile. "But enough reminiscing about the past, young Midoriya! Heroes must look to the future. I wish you best of luck in the sports festival! Remember, I want you to tell the world 'I am here'!"
The boy clenched his teeth. Nobody had told him about All For One, either. But that was to be expected; he wasn't ready, far from it. He knew that much. Still, it ticked him off… his own ineptness, and the frustration that accompanied it.
Izuku sighed, relaxing his shoulder and brows to release some tension. The atmosphere was also charged thanks to the upcoming school festival, something that everyone was looking forward to. He thought back to what Ochaco had said earlier, about how she was in the heroics business for money to help her parents. It was an admirable goal, with him finding a newfound respect for her. But with that respect came another realization; what was his endgame in all this? He knew that Iida wanted to follow in his family's footsteps as the next Ingenium when he got older. Ochaco had been giving him some weird looks recently, too. Was he the only one without a clear, established goal? Ever since the argument with Johnny he'd been questioning himself on what he wanted to be.
He wanted to be just like All Might, but what did All Might truly represent to society? Victory? Power? Justice?
A series of small, panicked beeps echoed down the hallway, the welcome distraction pulling Izuku out of his thoughts. At first he thought it was some sort of malfunctioning fire alarm, but when the boy got closer he heard something peculiar.
"Help, help!" a tiny, barely audible voice voice wailed. "Help, help!"
Izuku frowned. Should he go to investigate? Of course he would. He was never one who turned away from someone who needed help, no matter what. Squaring his shoulders, the young hero diverted from his original path and went over to the source of the small commotion, wondering what he would find.
It certainly wasn't what he had expected. The green haired boy rounded the corner only to find one of U.A's security bots clutching something round and flailing in its grip. The large, mono-wheeled robot was the same variant the school had used in the entrance exam, the only difference being the words 'SECURITY' stenciled along its chest armor. It rotated on the spot to face Izuku, and he got a closer look at what it was holding.
It turned out that it wasn't someone who needed help, but something. In its claw-like manipulators the security bot held a smaller, apple-sized pink robot, the spherical little droid struggling to wriggle out of its captor's grip but to no avail.
"Help, help!"
"Attention. Unauthorized robotic unit. Neutralizing." the green security robot announced, squeezing the smaller pink robot roughly.
"Ouch!" the pink sphere wailed pitifully. "Ouch!"
Izuku considered his options for a moment. Was it really worth it to go up to them? He could get reported for interfering with a security bot, especially when it was none of his business. But then the spherical, apple-sized robot let out another monotone wail and Izuku sighed, making his decision. He couldn't help but butt in when he saw someone being hurt, even if it was a dumb little robot. Striding over, the boy quickly walked up to the larger bot and gently pried its victim out from cold, metallic fingers. The security bots were especially ordered not to interact with students unless there were special circumstances involved, so Izuku managed to retrieve the pink bot with little effort.
"Attention. Unauthorized—"
"Yeah, yeah. I've got it." Izuku groaned. "Look, I'll take it back to the support department, alright? That's probably where it came from."
"Understood." the security bot said flatly. The machine paused for a second before speaking again. "Midoriya Izuku, Hero Department. Student ID 0009814-2387. Incident recorded. Administrative staff have been notified of your transgression with school rules."
Izuku felt his eyebrow twitch, slightly annoyed and resisting the urge to make a face at the security bot as it rolled away. Dumb thing was probably controlled by U.A's master control program, something with no true intelligence. After 'Demon Lord' Zabanya and 'Mankiller' Brau-1589 world governments banded together to enforce strict laws and regulations on A.I technology, to the point where only thirteen true sentient still existed in the world. Two of them were situated in Japan; Disaster Prevention A.I Cassandra-IV in Mt Fuji, and Tartarus' Warden Supreme.
He glanced down at the pink sphere he was carrying. Bots like this one and the security bot were not true artificial intelligences, merely rudimentary programs running a personality protocol alongside their basic functions.
"Thankies." the sphere said, somehow managing to sound cute in its monotone, high-pitched voice. "Thankies."
Upon closer inspection Izuku realized what this thing was, having seen them online. A HARO unit. Heuristic Autonomous Robotic Operators, or Haros, were a type of personal assistant bot that were widely used in Europe. They came in a variety of sizes and colors and were often used in ship navigation, heavy engineering, logistics, and other various tasks since they had a dual purpose as powerful mobile PCs. However, the trait that they were most known for was their function as popular toys for kids, especially with their childish speech patterns that were programmed to repeat. Izuku flipped this one over to search for any markings, and was rewarded with several details stamped into its back.
HARO Type U (Custom)
Property of Hatsume Mei, Class 1-H
IF FOUND PLEASE RETURN MY BABY.
Izuku looked at the words for a while before sighing to himself, tucking the bot close to his chest. To the Support Department it was.
"Midoriya Izuku." the little robot chirped, its circular ear flaps fanning outward. "Midoriya Izuku."
"Yes, that's my name." Izuku mumbled, feeling a little weird answering to a machine. "I suppose you heard it from that security bot?"
"Yes, yes. Thankies, Midoriya-Izuku. You have saved us. We are eternally grateful, grateful."
"Uh-huh. Hopefully I won't be in too much trouble for saving you. What were you doing out here, anyway? It's a long way from the support department."
"Haru was exploring, exploring!"
"So you were." Izuku smiled tiredly. So it had a name, though a rather uncreative one. "Your owner lets you do that, eh."
"Not really. Haru wants to see the outside, outside!" the little machine wriggled in his arms to face him, its two beady little eyes flashing whenever it spoke. "But outside is scary, scary."
"You were programmed with an objective to go outside… are you a pathfinder bot?"
"Maybe, maybe. Turn left, left!"
After a few more minutes of high-pitched lefts and rights they found themselves at a towering solid steel door, Izuku wondering how to open it as there wasn't a doorknob or slot of any sort.
"Password, password!"
A horrible grating noise reminiscent of an old internet dial up escaped from the little bot, and soon the gargantuan doors began to slide open by themselves.
"Sensei, I still can't find her! Did you think that Security nabbed—" a pink-haired girl emerged from behind a pile of metal scrap, eyes widening and rushing towards Izuku with open arms upon seeing him. "—BABY!"
"Wha—"
That was all he managed to say when the unknown girl crashed into him, laughing maniacally as they both went down in a heap of tangled limbs. Upon opening his eyes Izuku found himself face to face with the girl, now getting a much closer look at her. Her delighted golden eyes had crossed-shaped reticles for pupils, and she was squeezing him so tightly that his face turned red. That, or maybe it was because a girl was pressing her body against his. His first real hug had been stolen by a girl he didn't even know!
"Oooh, thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she picked up Haru and began spinning it around happily, hugging the sphere and giving it a little kiss. "Muah! My baby! You're okay!"
"Okay, okay. Midoriya-Izuku, Hero Department. Rescue, rescue."
Izuku got up with an embarrassed cough, backing away from the strange girl. She was dressed in a black tank top and workshop overalls, the top half of which was tied haphazardly around her waist. Her salmon-pink hair was accompanied by a pair of steampunk-looking goggles, twin prongs curving out their sides. The boy blushed as he looked away, remembering for a moment how soft she'd felt when she hugged him, especially…
His face turned as pink as her hair. She was covered in soot and grease but her girlish features shone through despite the grime, only amplified by the wide grin she wore when she strode towards him eagerly. This was someone who didn't give a damn about how she looked and still ended up attractive.
"So you're the guy that rescued my baby?" the girl smiled, then leaned forward to grab both his hands and began shaking them roughly. "Thank you so much! Oh man, I was so worried that almost considered hacking into the security mainframe!"
"Uh, I, um, er—" Izuku managed, fumbling his words and trying very hard not to stare down her top. "N-n-no problem. J-just doing what anyone would do."
She continued shaking his hand excitedly, and Izuku couldn't help but blush like a schoolgirl. A really pretty girl was holding hands with him! He barely registered that she tilted her head back to call someone else in the other room.
"Zenith, we found her! Your imouto's back!"
A small silver sphere floated out of the adjacent room, beady eyes flashing pink.
"Imouto. Imouto."
Haru's ear flaps rose again in acknowledgement, floating towards her fellow droid.
"Nii-sama! Nii-sama!"
In their rushed excitement the two little robots bumped into each other mid-air, eyes flashing again in surprise.
"Ow. Ow."
"Ouchies! Ouchies!"
"Um…" Izuku blinked at the strange display. Was the whole support department this… whimsical?
"Allow me to introduce myself!" the girl finally let go and did a crisp salute. "Hi, I'm Hatsume Mei! Nice to meet ya!"
"I'm Midoriya I-Izuku. N-nice to meet you too." Izuku said, rubbing his head nervously until it clicked. Wait.
He looked at her again, really looked at her—and his vision blurred for a split second. The tall woman with the prosthetic arm and eye from Mimi's memory overlapped her form. This was Hatsume Mei, the one who took care of Mimi. At least, she was this world's version.
Izuku gulped. This was the girl who would one day grow up with the knowledge to traverse dimensions.
Then she smiled with that big earnest grin and all his concerns floated away. Mei got up in his face again, golden eyes gleaming with delight.
"Hey hey hey. Since you're here and all, how 'bout a tour of the workshop? I mean, you are from the Hero Department after all. I sense that we'll be working together closely in the near future."
"Um, I'd love to, but I still haven't eaten lunch—"
"Oh! Then I guess I'll have to feed you! Come on!"
What.
Izuku was once again taken by surprise when she took his hand, dragging him into the back room happily. It seemed that Mei was someone that marched to the beat of their own drum, and Izuku was frozen as he again realized he was holding hands with a girl. Kiri and Mimi were his siblings so it was natural for them, but the way this girl's fingers interlocked with his even through her thick work gloves… it made his heart beat faster just a tiny bit. That was just how innocent he was.
"Zenith, take your sister back to diagnostics and make sure she's alright. Also, get Laserbeak to cancel his search, RTB." Mei instructed her silver robot. "We'll postpone the touch-ups on Aerosmith."
"Roger, roger."
"I, um, er… you don't really need to do this, Hatsume-san…"
"Treating you to lunch is the least I could do for you. This is also an opportunity to show off one of my newest babies!"
"Babies?" Izuku asked blankly, only to be interrupted when a mechanical falcon rocketed into the room through an open window, circling overhead before landing on Mei's arm.
"Laserbeak, good boy. Right, here's the charging cable..." she crooned, setting the bird robot down and plugging a wire into its back.
Izuku blinked, then leaned forward with renewed interest and sparkling eyes.
"Is that… an AE-19 Redwing? The very same type used by the hero Falcon?" he asked excitedly, his passion in heroics reigniting.
"Ooooh, you're a smart cookie." Mei grinned, fists pumping with equal excitement. "You're pretty close, but this one's actually a custom frame based on the Redwing series that I had to build from scratch! Machined the parts myself."
"You made this?" Izuku gasped, looking back at the robot bird, then at Mei. "That's awesome!"
"I know, right!" the support student said cheerfully. "I'd like to think I improved it, too. The baseline Redwing models always had an issue with overheating that I solved with—"
"A secondary drive unit that also functions as an auxiliary heatsink, allowing for a near perfect feedback loop?" Izuku observed, peering at the machine's bulky back. "That's one of the solutions proposed by the sky-high tech hero, El Condor. But wouldn't that get in the way of—"
"The transformation cog? Figured it out ages ago, dude. Just have to relocate it onto the—"
"Docking station!" they said at the same time, Mei's eyes growing wide.
Izuku flushed, gaze nailed to the floor. He'd done it again, hadn't he? His passion for heroism of any form always radiated from him like a dying star going supernova, overwhelming others around him. Now this person would think that he was just a weird hero otaku…
"Ah, s-s-sorry. I got a bit too excited—"
He was interrupted by his own squeak when Mei grabbed his hand again.
"You. Make a baby with me. Now." she demanded, a mad gleam of determination in her eyes.
"Eh."
She continued dragging him to the back room even as his mind struggled to comprehend what he'd just heard.
"EEEHHHHHHHHH?!"
Despite all his strength, he somehow couldn't struggle against her iron-hard grip.
"B-baby? W-what are you talking about, Hatsume-san?!" he protested, blushing all the while.
"Midoriya-kun. The moment I laid my eyes upon you I knew you were my dude." Mei said nonchalantly. "I'm gonna let you into my special workspace where we'll make a baby together."
"We barely even know each other! You need your eyes checked!"
"Nonsense! I have special eyes."
"Then look with your special eyes! I think we're a little too young for b-b-b—" he managed to force the words out through his overwhelming embarrassment. "Babymaking."
"Don't be ridiculous! No one's too young to experiment—"
"Uh." Izuku stammered, watching as Mei reached for a curtain that blocked them off from the next room. He began to panic. Mei was a very pretty girl and all, but shouldn't there be a few steps before he made it this far?!
"—with the wonders of technology!"
Mei flung the curtain open and revealed… machinery. All sorts of strange devices and tools were laid across the entire room, attached neatly on the walls and even hanging on the ceiling. In the centre of it all was a surprisingly clean workbench that clearly belonged to Mei, seeing as another pair of her distinctive goggles was disassembled atop it.
Izuku forgot the prior embarrassment he had held a moment before, taking it all in with a sense of wonder. This was the support department… so many support items for heroes! The inner fanboy in him could have squealed with delight. He quickly remembered Mei was still beside him and composed himself.
"Oh. Um, babies. By babies you meant… your inventions?" he said with relief.
"That's right! My beautiful, pretty little babies!" Mei said happily, flinging her arms wide. "Made them all myself."
Izuku's eyes grew wide. All of it? There were dozens, possibly hundreds of gadgets in this room!
"Wow." he breathed. "You're amazing."
The boy realized what he'd just said a moment later and turned into a christmas tree, green and glowing bright red.
"I-I mean, um, I didn't mean to—"
"No no no, don't look at me. Look at my babies!" Mei chided, gesturing to the room. "They're the amazing ones!"
It was a few seconds before Izuku remembered how to breathe.
"They are. I, um, sorry to disappoint but I don't really have any experience in engineering or robotics so I can't make any babies with you." he admitted.
"That's okay! I just need some ideas from you, my dude. That counts as babymaking too!" Mei clapped her hands together and a table unfolded itself from the ceiling. "Baby 5555! I need you!"
A strange spiderlike robot with a bulbous, swollen body creeped up onto the table, causing Izuku to nearly recoil. It had been fast, and the way it moved with those eight pointed legs was way too realistic. Mei sat down at the table. So did he, eyeing the spider-bot warily the whole while. He considered running away but the queue for the cafeteria was probably too long by now, so he might as well let Mei enjoy herself.
"About that lunch I mentioned." Mei gave the robot a strong pat. "This baby will create a hot meal from whatever preset recipe and ingredients you put in it. A mobile Lunch Rush!"
"Uh…"
He tried not to flinch when the spider scuttled around the table like some unholy mix of machine and nature, setting the plates and utensils for them. Once done it let out a quiet ding like a microwave, the abdomen section opening up and depositing the food onto their plates, some sort of reddish soup with a generous amount of sour cream. The way it deposited it wasn't very appealing, to say in the least.
"Go on," Mei urged him eagerly. "Try it."
Izuku gulped. How had he gotten into another weird situation? Now a girl had technically cooked him some food and was awaiting his feedback. Was his life really turning into a romcom, just like Setsuna had prophesied?
Then the spider-bot clicked its mandibles at him impatiently and he remembered how the universe loved to screw with him. With a sigh, he took a scoop and—
The memories flooded back to him like a bursting dam. He was a kid who had just come home from school, tugging at his mother's apron insistently until she lowered her ladle for him. Her smile was as bright as the sun, short light hair framing a beautiful face. He was tiny again, helping Mei to chop up the beetroots with one of Aftermath's arms. It was hard to get the beetroot stains out of the prostethic's gaps, so naturally he did it for her.
Before he knew it he was Izuku once more, overwhelmed with emotion as memories of home left him with wet cheeks. Warm tears rolled down his face.
Mei stared for a moment before wincing.
"That bad, huh? Sorry, dude. I didn't mean to—" she apologized, reaching for a tissue.
"No, it's great!" Izuku said suddenly, taking another spoonful. "You're great."
He didn't even care that he'd said that last part. Mei stared at him enjoying the food before deciding to take a bite herself, a stunned expression appearing once she did.
"Hey, it's actually really good! In fact, it's just like how my mom used to make it, with a little too much flavour. Not bad, not bad at all!"
Izuku blinked, though he continued eating. "Wait, you used me as a guinea pig?"
"Think of it as a pre-order edition! You're my first client, after all!" Mei said shamelessly, pulling out a notepad. "Now, what's your feedback?"
"Well, um." the boy muttered, having mostly gotten a hold of his emotions now. "I think the design could be improved? I don't think the way it moves about and looks is very… kid friendly. Then there's the whole issue of the food coming out of it's—"
"Butt?"
"I was going to say 'abdomen', but I suppose butt works too."
"Alright~! Okay, so we have the design, and the presentation method, hmm. I wonder if…" Mei said to herself, trailing off.
Izuku watched while she scribbled down everything she thought in her little notepad, mumbling to herself quietly all the while. It reminded him of himself, actually. Perhaps she was his counterpart in the support department? How curious. The boy continued eating, enjoying the strong flavour of the soup. Might as well enjoy it since he was here. He even managed to talk with Mei about some of the equipment that local heroes were using, exchanging opinions and ideas. All in all, he actually noticed that they had a lot of things in common, from ideas for improving the gadgets that local heroes carried, to different applications of Quirks that could be boosted with technology. If only he had his notebook with him now. Time passed faster than he'd anticipated and his plate was nearly empty by the end of their long conversation.
The lovely fact that he was having lunch and chatting with a cute girl was a little ruined by the spider-bot constantly staring at him throughout the entire meal.
He finally realized it had been waiting for him to finish when it promptly scooped up the plates after they were done and loaded them into itself. The construct hopped off the table and skittered into the dark corners of the workshop, Izuku suppressing a shudder at the speed of which it moved. Yeah, definitely not kid friendly.
Either way he thanked Mei for the meal while she just patted his shoulder with a big laugh, saying that she was the one who couldn't thank him enough for his help.
"Say, what's your Quirk?" she asked suddenly.
"Me? It's called 'Super-Power'. It's an augmentation-type Quirk that boosts my base strength to incredible levels, but its uncontrollable for now. Breaks my bones if I'm not careful." he listed, rattling off the scripted excuse All Might had prepared for him.
"Oho~. Well then, come visit sometime! I'll be sure to make something nice for ya." Mei said happily, that big, radiant smile plastered on her face. "Also, isn't the sports festival coming up soon? Feel free to borrow any of my babies if you need them! How 'bout a phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range?"
"Um, I think Hero Department students don't get to bring gadgets onto the field."
"Is that so? Shame. Ah well, come back soon, y'hear? I can't wait for more feedback from you so we can make more babies together." she said earnestly, gazing into his eyes all the while. "In fact, I had a lot of fun sharing what my babies could do with you. I can sense this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, my dude."
"So did I."
"Which, the friendship part or the babymaking part?" Mei asked coyly.
"Both." Izuku returned her smile with one of his own, finding that he actually really enjoyed talking to her. "Be seeing you, Hatsume-san. Again, thanks for the meal."
"No problem! See you in the sports festival!" she waved while her two little spherical robots appeared beside her, flapping their ears to wave goodbye as well. He waved back as he left the support department. "Bye-bye!"
Izuku soon got back to class with a full stomach. Somehow, he couldn't get the feeling of childhood nostalgia out of his head after that meal, the lingering emotions he felt in those memories warming his heart. His memory or not, it didn't matter. It'd be good to have Mei be his friend too. No dumb spider bot was going to ruin that.
The boy paused for a moment at the realization. Did he just… make a new friend?
There was a big, silly smile on his face for all to see.
[x]
Classes went on as usual, the familiar chime of the school bell finally signalling that it was time to go home. Izuku hummed to himself and packed up his things, looking up to find Iida and Ochaco already coming over.
"H-hey, Deku-kun." Ochaco waved, her cheeks pinker than usual. "Wanna walk home together?"
"Sure, Uraraka-san." he smiled, before noticing her flushed face. "Did something happen? You're looking a little red."
"It's nothing." she squeaked, averting her eyes. Her ears were positively glowing, though.
Izuku felt some concern wash over him, mixed with some nervousness. Ochaco was someone he considered to be his first real friend in years, but at times like this he was reminded of how she was also a really cute girl. Seeing her blush like that made his heart beat faster, but it also made him feel some concern as any friend would do.
"That's a question we should be asking you, Midoriya-kun!" Iida's back straightened stiffly even when he praised Izuku. "You kept wearing that big smile on your face ever since you came back from lunch. Good news, perhaps?"
"It's, um, a little embarrassing…"
"Hm?" Ochaco blinked, peering at him with those large, innocent eyes.
"Well, er, I think I made a new friend." Izuku said shyly, rubbing the back of his head. "So I'm a little happy."
"Really? That's great!" Iida said.
"Yeah, Deku-kun!" Ochaco agreed, suddenly regaining her bubbly demeanor.
"R-right. Well, I suppose that's the third friend I made in U.A. Didn't really have any before—you were my first friend here Uraraka-san, while Iida-kun was my second. I think the two of you showed me that… that I was still someone worthwhile." Izuku gave them a small smile. "I'm really blessed to have met you guys."
Izuku's radiant smile was like a brilliant morning sunrise, and he soon found Iida and Ochaco squinting at him with equally happy grins.
"Uh… guys? Are you alright?" the boy asked timidly.
"If your smile gets any brighter I'm going to get sunburn, Deku-kun."
"I'm starting to see stars."
"Uwah! S-sorry!"
The trio shared a quick bout of laughter at that, before making their way over the enormous classroom door. Sliding it open however, revealed a rather unexpected situation.
A crowd of students from the other classes had seeming gathered around the 1-A classroom, murmuring and chattering amongst themselves in hushed tones. Then they noticed class 1-A and started scoping them out, eyeing them cautiously. Izuku stepped in front of Ochaco protectively, shielding her from the mob.
"What the—they're crowding the exit!" Mineta squawked from beside Iida.
"They're scoping out the competition, dipshit." Bakugo growled and simply strode past them, ignoring the dwarf's indignant look. "We're the ones that survived the attack on USJ."
The blonde took one look at the surrounding mob, annoyance seeping through his posture.
"It's pointless to try so get the fuck out of my way, you goddamn extras."
"Bakugo-kun, you can't just call people 'extras' just because you don't know them!" Iida protested, his hand waving about mechanically.
Izuku held back a sigh while Ochaco continued to look nervous. Now everyone was going to think class 1-A was… well…
"I came to see what you guys were made of, but…" A tall purple-haired boy with dead eyes parted the crowd, staring down at Bakugo. "I didn't think you'd be this arrogant. Are all the students in the Hero Department like you?"
And there it was. Izuku tried to ignore the growl escaping Bakugo while he sized up the other boy.
"Seeing something like this makes me disillusioned. Did you know that there's a lot of people who ended up in the General Education Department because they failed the Hero Entrance exam?" the tall boy continued, unperturbed. "Based on the results of the sports festival, there's also the possibility of coming under review to be transferred to the Hero Department. The opposite is true as well."
Izuku paused at the words. So if one didn't do well enough, they could be kicked out of the Hero Department to make space for newer, stronger talent? It was a cutthroat world out there.
"Scoping out the competition? If anything, a General Ed student like me is thinking of how nice it would be to pull those Hero Dept students off their high horses." Tired purple eyes met enraged crimson ones. "Consider this my declaration of war."
Ochaco, Izuku, and Iida had the same thought running through their minds simultaneously. This person's bold too!
"You Class A students are full of hubris, aren't you?" A blonde boy pushed past the crowd to appear before them. "Our class will be looking forward to tearing down your Ivory towers on which you sit so high and mighty. Then we'll see who the real Hero students are—"
The blonde paused upon seeing Izuku, his smug expression vanishing instantly and replaced with a smoldering glare.
"You." he hissed.
Izuku looked left, right, and finally behind him where Ochaco looked just as puzzled before pointing to himself. "Me?"
"Yes, you. You're Midoriya Izuku. I've heard of you." Grey eyes met his, the boy's voice angry and challenging. "I know what you did; what you're trying to do. Did you really think you could get away with it?"
"Um, I don't—" Izuku tried, only to be cut off with another glare.
"I'm Monoma Neito from 1-B—"
Oh boy.
"—and I can't wait to kick your ass, Midoriya Izuku." Monoma growled, spitting his name as if it were a vulgarity.
"I think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding, Monoma-san—"
"Quit it with the nice guy act, okay? You're not gonna fool me." the blonde strode up to him quickly, fists clenched. "People like you who have such asinine reasons for becoming a hero disgust me."
Ochaco let out a small 'eek' of surprise while still behind Izuku, and the green haired boy felt a sudden surge of anger. This Monoma guy might have been misunderstanding him, but was there really a need to be so aggressive?
"Monoma-san, I can explain..."
"No, I don't wanna hear anything from you. You're everything that's wrong with the Heroics industry, and I'll be looking forward to beating some goddamn sense into you." Monoma refused to back down, getting right up in Izuku's face and baring his teeth. "Maybe then you'll rethink why you wanted to be a hero in the first place."
Izuku's head throbbed, dark green fury bubbling under his skin.
"Watch your mouth, blondie." Izuku snarled, eyes blazing. "You'll be eating those fucking words when I make you scream like a pussy."
There was short, stunned silence before a wave of 'oohs' rippled through the gathered crowd, Izuku quickly regaining his senses while Monoma stared at him angrily. Some of them took a nervous step back. What was—that wasn't…
Memories of middle school flashed in his mind, the burning fury he'd just felt back with a vengeance.
What can you even do?
"S-sorry." Izuku whispered and pushed past the crowd, Ochaco and Iida exchanging stunned glances before following behind him worriedly.
Their walk to the front gate was silent, through he could practically feel his friend's gazes beaming concern onto his back. That anger, that rage… it hadn't been him. Or had it?
He didn't know anymore.
"D-Deku-kun…" Ochaco began timidly. "Is everything okay?"
Izuku finally mustered up the courage to look at his friends, finding them glancing over at him with worried expressions. His heart ached. He was so, so fortunate to have people that cared about him.
"I-I'm fine, Uraraka-san, Iida-kun. I just…" he tried to find the words. "Have a lot on my mind. I'm s-sorry."
Please don't hate me.
"I didn't know what came over me, I—" Izuku tried, shoulders slumping. "I just got so mad and… and said something I shouldn't have."
"You got angry, and that's alright." Iida said suddenly, nodding. "Everybody gets angry sometimes. You don't have to keep bottling up your emotions, you know."
"Right, Deku-kun! I mean, even I get angry sometimes!" Ochaco agreed. "Plus, that guy was being real mean. What was he even talking about?"
"A harmless misunderstanding, that's all." Izuku sighed, wincing when he remembered the look on Monoma's face. "I'll apologize to him when we meet again in the sports festival."
"Deku-kun… are you really alright?" his brunette friend asked worriedly.
It took him a moment to look up at her.
"I don't know." he answered honestly, voice quiet.
"Well, then—"
Izuku was surprised by the sudden warmth enveloping his hand. Ochaco squeezed his palm reassuringly, looking right into his eyes. He felt his cheeks and ears warm up.
"—If there's anything that you're having trouble with, you can talk to us!" Ochaco said confidently, nodding. "We're… we're your friends too!"
"That's right, Midoriya-kun!" Iida grasped his other hand, looking emotional for the first time ever. "Don't worry, we'll be here to help!"
Izuku couldn't help it, emotions welling forth from deep within his heart. They were his friends… real, true friends that actually cared for him. Something he lacked for the past ten years. A tear rolled down his cheek as he lowered his head with a bow, grateful to the both of them.
"Thank you… both of you…" Izuku whispered, barely enough for them to hear.
Iida and Ochaco didn't need to exchange looks when they wrapped him into a tight hug, the former giving him a few encouraging pats on the back while the latter kept squeezing his hand for dear life. They knew he needed it. It was a few seconds later when they parted, Izuku's entire body red from embarrassment.
"That was pretty lame, wasn't it? A mistake on my part, I guess." Izuku said sheepishly.
"That's not true! I think it's really difficult to open up like that!" Ochaco shook her head, before giving him another one of her bright, hope-filled smiles. "Feeling emotions is nothing to be ashamed of, even when you're a guy. We're only human, after all."
"We're young, Midoriya-kun. There's a long road ahead of us." Iida smiled. "So feel free to make all the mistakes you want, especially when you can learn from them."
A small silence plagued the air before the corners of Izuku's mouth curved upward, evolving into a series of light giggles which he shared with Ochaco.
"Did—did I say something wrong?" Iida asked, puzzled.
"It's nothing. I just didn't think our straightforward, rule-abiding class president would be an advocate of mistake making." Izuku smiled.
"Yeah, Iida-kun! So you do have a side that isn't as serious, huh?" Ochaco cheered, relieved that the situation was somewhat back to normal.
"Of course, I am not saying you should make mistakes, but rather, treat them as a learning experience to grow and—" Iida began defending himself, rambling to them in one of his infamous speeches once more.
The trio of friends walked together, chatting amongst themselves like all teenagers did. Izuku continued walking with them, refusing to let the past drag him down.
[x]
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! WELCOME! To the annual U.A SPORTS FESTIVAL! EVERYBODY SAY HEEEEEYYYY!" Present Mic howled over the speakers, his trademark voice echoing throughout the stadium.
Sound erupted in the stands when the crowd responded with thunderous cheers. Celebratory fireworks filled the sky with colored smoke and noise.
"My name is Present Mic, and I'll be your host on this lovely morning. Joining me is none other than U.A's famous bagworm-san, ERRRRAAASSSERRHEAAADDDD!"
"Yo."
There was a minute of small talk where Present Mic listed out the safety procedures, along with the emergency exits and entrances of the stadium. Finally, it was time for the main event.
"You know their names, you know their stories, but do you know their style? Let's give it up for the first batch of this year's Hero Department, CLASS 1-A!"
The audience roared with excitement, the sound of cheering and whistles meeting Izuku's ears. This was it, huh. He thought back to only yesterday, where he gently told Kiri and Mimi to stay at home for the festival. He felt that it wouldn't be… fair to have both of them help him, especially with their overwhelming power. That, and it would cause a panic if both vigilante sisters suddenly appeared in the stadium.
Kiri had been a little disappointed at first, but then cheered up at the prospect of spending more time with Inko. Mimi had been more focused on solving the memory leak issue that he'd been experiencing. In fact, he was pretty certain she felt guilty; that she thought it was her fault the other's memories were seeping into his mind. He quickly reassured her that it wasn't her fault, it was something that nobody could have anticipated. Either way, he made sure that both sisters were happy before he left for the stadium that morning, remembering how they'd waved to him excitedly and cheered for him.
"Good luck, onii-chan! You can do it!" Kiri waved rapidly, her other hand gripping the hem of Inko's apron.
"Good luck, aniki! Kick some ass for me!" Mimi grinned, pumping her tiny fist into the air.
"All the best, Izuku." his mother smiled at him, tears beading at the corner of her eyes. "You've come so far, my baby boy…"
Izuku had engulfed all three of them in a warm, loving hug before setting off, promising that he would do his best.
Now he was back in the present, the roar of the crowd meeting his ears while Present Mic started to introduce the rest of the classes. For a moment he thought of Todoroki's strange declaration of challenge before shrugging it off, remembering what he was here for.
'I want you to tell the world 'I am here'!'
All Might. Kiri. Mimi. Mom.
Izuku took a deep breath, emerald eyes snapping open and gleaming with determination.
Just watch me.
"Sports Festival STAAAAAARRRTTTTTTTT!"