MHA - All For The Taking

[Darwin-18]

It sounds like you got the right balance as AFO is a major threat but he isn't unbeatable as All Might shown. He is just a really difficult opponent to deal with do to his age, connections and how many quirks he has stolen.

Click to shrink...

The key is not being too cocky, or thinking catching him off guard would work. I feel like people wont have an issue with the Eri rescue happing a bit earlier, and prevents several casualties from happening, plus it might give the thing Yukio needs to be ahead of AFO. Make no mistake, they aren't that easy to fully control as Overhaul spend what, 15/20 years learning his Quirk, so Yukio will have "fewer" options to work with due to having such a limited time window, but will help him survive.

Will also make sure Izuka doesnt fall back, can easily swing Full Cowling 15 or maybe 20% by UA, as well as a few other tricks up her sleeve.

 

[Darwin-18]

Supsup, here's another MHA update! Sorry for the delay, ran into some issues I wanted to fix to make the Chapter flow more smoothly, but I think it's fine now. Hope ye enjoy!

---

Chapter 7 - The Meaning Behind a Dream
"Hiyaaa!"

Came the war-cry of the brown-haired teen who was my sparring partner for the day, charging in with a barrage of quick attacks before doing a quick spin kick towards my chest, blocking it and the next right hook that came a second later, hitting him with an elbow strike across his left temple that made him stagger backwards, taking a moment to recover before charging back in.

I, however, had a rather simple task; to not get hit and upon blocking every fourth attack, I was able to retaliate with a single punch or kick before repeating the same cycle. A bit of an unorthodox method for a spar, but given how the lesson for today was centered around strengthening your defenses, might as well take Sensei's word for it.

While pushing my opponent back, I took the split second for my eyes to wander towards Izuka who was not to far away from me, going back and forth in her own match but instead facing an older teen, it was a against boy who I believe is in his first or second year of Junior High and was pretty decent, but that didn't stop her from going even in her own match.

During my time here, and even before arriving at this world, some things you just have to experience to truly get the full meaning of it, including proper physical training. Watching videos and going off of memory worked considerably well up until a certain point, but it would be foolish to rely solely on that or think I wouldn't need proper insight to fine-tune some Heroes, and those who plan on becoming one need to be prepared for anything and everything, and being able to defend yourself if you aren't able to use your Quirk for whatever reason. There were people of all ages, some being regulars and some who just recently started attending, so there was plenty of variety in terms of skill.

Besides, with Musutafu having plenty of options to choose from, I made sure to look everywhere till I found just the right one. I was a little picky for this particular case, so I made sure to take my time when searching around.

Having a few years of physical training on my own while growing up under my belt, I didn't have to go through the basic introduction, rather willing to spring into action and rather let the Sensei rate my current capabilities. The beginner and somewhat intermediate fights were a breeze, as either by base durability or strength allowed me to hold my own in a spar on its own, which was a nifty perk when in and out of combat.

Seeing a pattern after beating multiple opponents in, Sensei had me go up against some older students, the teenagers to be specific.

While some Quirks give base forms a passive boost, mine was simply stronger by default, meaning even by holding back, it was enough to get me a win without "fully" trying just by that.

The next time we showed up, he wanted me to face off against him so he could get a "hands-on experience" before continuing anything else.

Obviously, I wasn't going to use my Quirks for any additional boosts since I think even at this age I was packing quite the punch, but now I had more freedom going up against a more experienced fighter. Besides, tactics were more important than firepower in this scenario.

Now, how did that particular matchup go?

Simple, me getting way too overconfident and actually thought I'd manage to exploit the openings during our fight, only to fall right into his trap.

The man was too damn smooth with his movements, and definitely had the confidence in his skills to boot, wanting the last possible moment before swatting away my hands and legs to stop my attack. We did several other spars afterwards, given the green light to do anything to come out as the victor, but I didn't have much luck there either.

When I got completely bodied without holding back, in such a short amount of time to boot, I knew we hit the jackpot.

Just by observing him and the older people who would come to the Dojo, I could tell we were gonna have a splendid time here.

Now knowing where my starting point was, the Sensei commended my knowledge and current skill level but was quick to point out the "flaws" present in my form. He was critical but made sure to not look at the negatives, rather use it as motivation to focus on certain areas to further improve my form.

Makes sense when you think about it, as if I spent so much time doing so many different things, I wouldn't think or even know some tidbits that were equally important in their own right. Also helps out that the man was very thorough in his explanations, even if it's regarding something simple. I paid close attention so I could start identifying said issues on my own in the future.

Izuka, on the other hand, was making solid progress in her own right.

Due to only starting somewhat recently and still at a young age, there was a lot of room to work with. Initially, they didn't expect her to already know a decent number of techniques and not be a complete novice, which I feel the Quirkless aspect might have had a small part in that assumption. That didn't stop her from coming out victorious in her matches, ending them as soon as possible with minimal damage to boot.

That, and I'm positive her drive for improvement didn't go unnoticed by the Sensei, placing her against slightly more skilled students to see how well she does as a result. The first few were like the rest until she quickly met her match, but that was enough for Sensei to get an idea of how to go about her situation.

Also, after explaining to him what our goals were, and how determined we were on the surface level alone, we might have already proven ourselves to him, but only time will tell.

"Keep up the fine work, you two," Sensei addressed the two of us since we were the last to leave, "I expect this level of dedication to be present for the foreseeable future, it would be a shame to slow down after such an impressive start. Next week I'll have you focus on refining your skills and increasing your stamina before we move on to anything else. Is that clear?"

Strict and somewhat harsh, but had just the right amount of heart mixed in as well.

All the proper ingredients you'd want in an ideal training instructor.

"Understood, Sensei!"

Dropping the serious facade, the older man gave us a warm smile while holding the door open for us, saying our goodbyes as we exited the building.

"So? What do you think of it?" I asked Izuka as we walked.

"It's amazing!" Izuka said ecstatically, "All of the people there are so nice, especially ones teaching us. They didn't mind that I didn't have a Quirk, but were glad I was so determined to learn new fighting styles. The Head Sensei was impressed I already had some fundamentals down but said there was room for a lot of improvement. Still, not starting from scratch makes it a bit easier, saying he's expecting great things if I keep this level of focus."

"That's good to hear, I'm glad it's to your liking," I said with a smile, "I spent a few days searching all over the Internet for the best possible pick in Musutafu, as well for it to be manageable distance-wise. Some of them even have retired Heroes that show up quite frequently, so when I narrowed down the options, this seemed like the best one."

"It's also not that far away for either of us, which is a big plus, If anything, it's just the right amount of distance for a pre-warm-up jog" Izuka commented, "If i'm being honest, I was pretty nervous when we started out, but having some prior experience greatly helped! After going up against several other students and actually winning, even if it's not much compared to everyone else, I'm sure it will only get better over time."

"Ooof, we better make sure we don't slack off then, otherwise Sensei will kick both our butts for getting lazy," I said optimistically, "Might still take a while, but we've done a pretty good job on your combat skills in the last two months that gave us a head start. However, now that we're here, at the rate we're going, we'll have nothing to worry about if we keep going at it."

"No other way but up, right?!" Izuka said with a bright smile, one filled with nothing but determination.

Forming a wide smile at her enthusiastic nature, I looked off to the distance to admire the stunning view of an orange sunset. We continued to walk at a slow pace as we weren't in any rush, rather wanting to enjoy some relief after finishing another day at the Dojo.

I tried focusing on virtually anything else at the moment, but the rumbling sensation in my stomach. I could've easily tapped several machines to take care of that hunger, but I refrained from doing so since I really wanted to actually eat something rather than just feed off of energy. Actually, I've been doing this for the last couple of days since Dad's schedule was rather hectic, and I was somewhat lazy to cook for myself since I had an easy alternative.

It was weird, it was essentially the same as eating but drastically different where it could be described as a totally different experience overall.

I wasn't getting sick of it by any means, If anything, I'm starting to miss what actual food tastes like. No offense to Dad's cooking, but after seeing him eat a burnt steak like it was nothing, I knew then and there I should accept that not every meal would turn out "perfect", to say the least.

Eh, could've been worse, at least it's not an occurring habit, otherwise, getting through meals would be the real challenge

"Say, Yukio-kun…" Izuka began lowly, dismissing all the current thoughts in my mind. "I was wondering…"

"Hmm? What's up?" I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"W-Well, considering its Friday, and we just got off training, but I was thinking-"

"I see, you wanna get a head start on Sensei's advice and tackle those issues he mentioned," I deducted, "While I'm usually against doing excessive training without proper downtime, I think we can make an exception this time. Maybe we ca-"

"Actually," Izuka said abruptly, cutting me off mid-sentence, "It's not that. I had… something else in mind. Because… well… you see…"

"More garden work?" I asked, sort of confident in my answer, "Whenever you beat around the bush this long, it has to be that. There's really no reason to feel embarrassed by asking me that, you know. Having you around to help out with the layout just feels…''better", I guess? Dad and I somehow always second guess where we should put each plant when redecorating, and when I'm on my own I spend a majority of time looking up different places to get some inspiration flowing. Now that I think about it, it would be an ideal time to switch out the old ones before they die out, still haven't decided with what to-"

"-Would you like to come over to my house?!"

My train of thought was broken when the request came out, a short but necessary pause needed to think back on what she just asked me.

Maybe it had to be the fact that Izuka struggled a bit to get it out, added to the fact I might have had a sort of derpy face as I genuinely was surprised by her suggestion. For some reason, I kind of thought it might be revolving around an odd activity or maybe some sort of location she thought I wouldn't be on board, it truly did seem that way for a second there.

Yup, seems like I'm forgetting who we're talking about here.

Silly me.

"Sure!" I said cheerfully, "Sounds fun! I'm just surprised it took you this long to ask me, considering you've been over at mine a couple of times and I walk you home whenever it gets late."

"I-I don't know, I was meaning to ask you for a while now, but well… I guess I wasn't sure how to bring it up in conversation…"

"Regardless, I'm more than happy to come," I said, "It will be nice to just sit around and relax for once, maybe we can watch a movie or something?"

"Yeah! We can do that!" Izuka replied cheerfully, but quickly looked off to the side sheepishly, "A-Actually, most of my collection consists of Hero-related movies, if-if you're alright with that."

"Most of them?"

Forming a low pout, Izuka muttered, "All of them…"

Another chuckle escaped my lips as the scene unfolded. Oh yeah, this will never get old. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised there, that sounds a bit redundant now that I think about it. Still, I haven't watched a decent movie in a while now. Usually, I just turn on the TV and try digging something up but give up halfway."

"Maybe we can buy some snacks while we're at it?" Izuka asked with uncertainty, "I'm not sure if we have a whole lot of them at home, so it wouldn't hurt to stock up just in case."

"Any preferences, or do we find the nearest store and take whatever?"

"Hmm, not sure, really," Izuka said while rubbing her chin, "I kind of want to get my Mom something while we're at it, so probably some sweets? Mom's been on a chocolate craving of sorts lately, so might as well."

"Yeah… I'm not fond of chocolate all that much, or sweets in general."

"You're not?!" Izuka practically screamed, eyes going wide at my statement.

Laughing awkwardly, I rubbed the back of my neck before responding, "Okay, that might be slightly incorrect now that I think about it. I mean, I don't mind them, but I can't eat too much of it without starting to feel a little… nauseous? Wait… that's not the word I'm looking for. Here's an example, you know how some medicine or syrups have a sort of "unappealing" taste?"

"Yeah…?" Izuka asked curiously.

"It's kinda like that after I eat a decent amount of it," I began explaining, "Like, I don't mind it if it's syrup or in small pieces till a certain point, otherwise, the sensation gets severely irritating around my horns. Not sure if all sweets have the same effect, but I never put that theory to the test, or explore different kinds of foods in general, mostly because I only ever eat what Dad makes for himself and I just take it as is. However, if you wanna get some, I guess I can make an exception."

"Wait…" Izuka uttered slowly, taking a few more seconds before speaking up, "Your dad doesn't cook the type of food that you enjoy, or even ask him to make something different for a change?"

"Eh, I kinda never really felt like bothering him with that," I shrugged truthfully, "Most of the time, because of his work schedule, I almost never ask for a specific dish or complain if it turns out differently than the picture in the recipe book. After my Mom passed away, he tried so hard to get everything back on track, being picky about food seemed like the last thing I should bother him with."

"I see…" Izuka muttered lowly, turning her head forward as we continued to walk.

"You okay?" I asked, seeing this particular form of silence usually meant something was on her mind.

"N-No, I'm fine… just," Izuka paused momentarily before quickly continuing, "I hope we find something that's to your liking, so both of us can enjoy a movie in peace."

"Might as well try finding a needle in a haystack while we're at it," I answered back somewhat bitterly, recalling all the places I visited when I would go out randomly exploring Musufasu. "Either I'm too picky in that regard or I can take whatever and be happy with it."

---

"Should I add an extra piece? Gah, they're probably hungry, better to make more just in case."

Inko pondered the thought while making dinner, the reason being somewhat of an important one. This was it, the day Inko has been looking forward to for the last couple of weeks, finally getting to meet Izuka's first friend, Yukio.

Maybe for some, it wouldn't be considered anything special or that important, but the same things can't be said for her, not in the slightest.

It took a little bit to convince Izuka to invite her friend over for the first time, always being met with a "soon", "eventually" or a "the universe might implode if I do" as a response. Well, that last one was a bit overexaggerated, but her daughter was a firm believer that it was a possibility, even before she could even ask the question.

Due to her daughter being rather talkative, Inko essentially begged for Izuka to invite her friend over so she can meet the boy herself. Luckily, today just might be that very day.

Well, she hopes that is.

Inko wouldn't be surprised if Izuka backed out of her promise in the last second, the multiple rehearsals they had shown her how difficult it was on her part. It was completely understandable from Inko's point of view, but regardless, all the single mother wanted to do was reassure her daughter to not "worry as much" as there wasn't a need to, especially when she already went to his house on multiple occasions.

Given the circumstance, Inko couldn't even fathom how these simple things were very important to her, for obvious reasons.

Inko wasn't stupid, nor clueless, but in a way, she was helpless to do anything.

Worst of all, she was responsible for feeling like that.

The single mother will never forget the day when she and her daughter went to the doctor, the smile on her face that was crushed into thousands of tiny pieces, and possibly the last time formed a genuine one prior to their appointment.

When Inko was her age, the idea of becoming a Hero burned just as bright, but slowly faded over time the more she would think about it. It's easy to give in to peer pressure and not think too much of the consequences of certain actions after the fact. It was a well-respected and greatly versatile profession, but ultimately, it wasn't for everyone, for one reason or another.

Being a Hero is something almost every other person wants to be ever since Quirks appeared, and in a way, Inko could understand why. They put their lives on the line to save people and keep society in a stable environment with how cruel and dangerous the world is as a whole. The thought of someone using their Quirk to harm and attack others, either for dominance or simply enjoying made her sick, but that's the way of the world, a harsh reality.

While she respected the profession for what it was, and all those do their part to help society, she never went beyond the surface level of the "culture" of it. Like many others, she simply didn't have that kind of drive to be in touch with the hero lifestyle, only wanting to live a peaceful life and have a family of her own. Even if she wanted to, raising a child while being a full-time Hero would be a near-impossible task, as properly splitting time between the two just doesn't seem like it would work out all that well in the end.

Aside from Villains, who simply use their power to get what they want, with no regard to the problems they cause in their wake, Inko wasn't sure how to handle a specific issue, one that only came into fruition once Izuka got her doctor's test results.

Kids were cruel.

At face value, that statement might seem a bit too harsh, and Inko truly didn't want to think that way, but over the years, it was difficult to not think that way every now and then. How couldn't she notice when Izuka would come home with a downcast expression or at best, a forced smile while acting nothing was wrong, but she couldn't fool her. To make matters worse, it was the ruined pieces of clothing or the occasional bruises she'd manage to spot before Izuka would hide them from sight.

It was always the same answer, albeit slightly altered to not cause any suspicion. That didn't excuse her behavior at home, where she simply couldn't act like nothing was wrong all the time without slipping up.

Inko never learned how she got them, or who would do such things to her, but it would make her blood boil every time. No matter how hard Inko tried, Izuka would never tell the entirety of her day without lying at some places to cover up each and every bruise/mark she'd got.

For years, Inko was forced to watch the same scene play out, again and again, unable to learn the truth to try and figure out a method to help her. After a certain point, all she would do is worry each time Izuka would go out, yet, even on days where nothing "major" happened, it was impossible to get the honest truth out of her.

Alongside that, Inko failed on another major account, supporting her daughter's dream.

After that day, Inko's concerns only grew bigger as more time passed, because she had no idea how to properly approach that subject. The difference between people who have a Quirk and those who don't was just too massive to simply ignore, frankly, it was downright unfair. At least with a Quirk, even a "bad" one, the odds of surviving in a battle against a Villain are significantly higher than those who are powerless.

Inko was a selfish parent, and she wouldn't want for her Quirkless daughter to potentially face off against deadly opponents, especially when she had no ability to defend herself, but she couldn't.

That night, upon entering her daughter's room, after seeing her pride and joy in such a state, it was the final crack that split her heart in two.

Inko couldn't just say "give up your dreams" or "find something else", as by the time the mere thought of those two things would make her stomach sick if she would even attempt to utter those words. It didn't help that Inko had no idea how to properly support her daughter's dream, nor where to even start. Guiding your child through the early years is detrimental to their outlook on life when they grow up, as well as supporting their dreams and ambitions instead of deciding their route for them.

Being Quirkless as a child is difficult, not that she could know a fraction of what her daughter experienced first hand, and kids see that as a form of deficiency. She didn't deserve to face that kind of treatment or be ridiculed for having a single extra toe-joint.

That one, small difference made her daughter's life a constant hell, by something that was out of her control in the first place. Izuka wasn't defective, nor broken in any way, shape, or form. When she learned of her daughter's condition that day in the doctor's office, not a single thing changed to make Inko even consider that something was wrong with her child.

Sadly, none of the kids her age saw it that way, rather seeing it as some kind of sickness.

However, one fateful day, that finally changed.

After so long, Izuka was smiling again. Not a forced smile that she saw many times before, but one filled with genuine happiness, and the change was evident.

How noticeable was the difference? It was a literal night and day level of contrast.

Before, instead of barely getting a sentence or two of how her day was, the two are now hardly able to get through their meals before getting sidetracked entirely.

In her own words, she held her friend to a very high degree and had nothing but admiration, for good reason. It was a little difficult keeping track of how specific Izuka was when describing Yukio, as her daughter is known to be nothing short of a Hero lover but can get a little too excited at times.

Although, it would seem that Izuka wasn't exaggerating when calling her friend a genius. While she was fairly smart for her age, Izuka claimed she learned more from the boy than years of watching Heroes from her computer, as well as some stuff she'd never figure out on her own.

There were obviously a few personal things Izuka accidentally mentioned before abruptly correcting herself, but for Inko it was evident that the two established a bond of their own. Given the specific way that she describes her day, it wasn't hard to come to that conclusion.

Most importantly, the boy didn't care that she was Quirkless, not one bit.

It was that revelation that nearly made Inko cry out in pure joy.

She wanted nothing more than for Izuka to feel normal and befriend someone who likes her for who she is. After so many years, that wish finally came true. Knowing those things allowed her to rest peacefully at night, a very odd and specific worry that always loomed in the back of her mind now almost nonexistent, which was a gift of its own.

Now, the only thing she can do for the time being is to wait for Izuka to invite the boy to their home, and hope she was able to do it after so much time practicing beforehand.

Ring! Ring!

Inko's eyes widened upon hearing the doorbell, making her head snap in the direction at the source of the sound.

She wasn't expecting anybody to show up at this time, and Izuka said she would come back in about two hours or so, a quick glance towards the clock only confirmed that possibility. Obviously, Inko knew this fact already, as Izuka said she and Yukio would be coming home right after finishing another day at the dojo they recently started attending.

She just wanted to be sure this was it, and if fate had some kind of cruel joke in store for her, it would really be the worst timing ever.

Putting aside the cooking utensils in her hands, and quickly lowering the heat temperature so the food doesn't get overcooked while she's away, Inko wasted no time in rushing towards the front door, only slowing down at the last second so she wouldn't crash into it uncontrollably.

Taking a quick glance through the peephole, it indeed was her daughter standing next to a white and black-colored-haired boy that was slightly taller than her, patiently waiting for her to answer the door.

"Yes!"

Inko released a low squeal while jumping back before quickly regaining her composure. "Calm down, calm down. You already agreed to act "normal" if Izuka held up her end of the deal. Keep calm, and just act natural."

Taking a deep breath, then another one just in case, Inko's eyes shot open while still managing to keep her excitement at bay as her hand went towards the door handle.

Sadly, before she could even turn it halfway, whatever mental strength she had for holding her excitement at bay went out the window in the blink of an eye.

---

"Sooo… what's your mom like?" I asked while waiting for the door to open, "Should I know anything in advance?"

"Umm, well… she's-" Izuka was about to respond, before the door flung open in a blink of an eye, causing her to come to an abrupt stop.

Instead of being overweight, or a leaner form when she was younger, she was somewhere in between, still in her mid-thirties I believe.

"Izuka! You're back already…!" Inko said in excitement, eyes jumping back and forth between me and her daughter, "And you brought your friend with you as well!"

"M-Mom!" Izuka started waving her hands frantically, "We talked about this! You promised you w-wouldn't do anything embarrassing!"

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Inko asked in confusion, "I didn't even do anything!"

"Then it's better you don't know how it looked like from our perspective…"

I could only chuckle at the woman's excited behavior, the scenario playing out exactly how I imagined it in my head, sort of. Seeing I was the only other person, aside from maybe the Bakugous to be invited to their home, I can understand why one was excited while the other was a bit anxious.

Although, I just might know the reason behind that.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Midoryia-san but it seems that introductions aren't necessary," I properly greeted the single mother, bowing my head slightly, "Sorry it took so long to meet you in person, but Izuka and I tend to get a little… sidetracked whenever we meet up. Regardless, thank you for inviting me to your home."

"My, a polite young man," Inko said joyfully. "You forgot to tell me what a gentleman he is, Izuka."

Heh, impressing adults is something I'll never get bored of doing.

Before I could say another thing, the older woman bent down to wrap her arms around my small frame.

While I, almost, always have a composed demeanor, I was left completely stunned by the gesture. It was probably because the last time I felt a mother's embrace was when my mom was still alive, and seeing how much of an impact I had on Izuka, she probably couldn't help but show her gratitude. Then a thought occurred to me, it's quite possible that Izuka told her my living situation, as I'm sure that little detail was hard to shrug off on her part, and who knows what else Izuka must have told her in the meantime.

Yet, even though I had every answer in front of me, I was still unable to find the strength to speak up.

Once Inko released me from her embrace, I was greeted with a wide smile that only made the lump in my throat more noticeable.

"Thank you for taking care of my precious Izuka and being such a caring friend," Inko began, taking a slow glance towards Izuka before going back to me. "Izuka told me a lot about you, and what you two have been up to these last few weeks. I'm so glad to know that she was able to find such a kind and sweet boy such as yourself."

"T-Think nothing of it, M-Midoriya-san," I stuttered, releasing a brief cough to fix my composure,. "I really didn't do anything special, really. I just treat her the way I would want to be treated, that's all."

"Hmm, if you say so," Inko hummed in a joyful manner, taking a moment to fix the white parts of my already messy hair. "Also, there's no need to be so formal with me. You can just call me Inko, okay?"

For some odd reason, I couldn't respond right away, instead just nodded several times in quick succession.

"Here, let's get you two inside,." Inko said while moving in to take both our bags, making her way back into the apartment.

"That felt kind of… weird."

I stood still for a couple of seconds longer, still running the scene in the back of my head that just happened not even a minute ago until Izuka nudged me out of my daze.

Our homes were vastly different, the obvious difference being one is a proper household while theirs was in an apartment complex. Regardless, it was decently sized overall, while not being too small either. There were only two bedrooms and a single bathroom, but alongside the living room that was connected to the kitchen, it definitely gave off a spacious feel for what it was.

"You two… are right on time," Inko said excitedly while dashing towards the stove, "Dinner is about ten-is or so minutes. I know you two must be starving, hope you don't mind the wait."

"Oh, what are you making?" Izuka asked curiously with her head tilted towards the kitchen.

"Your favorite, sweetie, Katsudon."

"Yes!" Izuka gushed, before turning to me, "Have you ever tried it?"

"Can't say that I have," I responded with a neutral expression, causing the green-haired girl's jaw to drop, making me chuckle as a result, "But I take it I committed a sin for never trying it?"

"It's the best!" Izuka beamed excitedly, "Essentially, it's a bowl of rice topped with a deep-fried breaded pork cutlet, eggs, and some vegetables. A little bit of everything, really."

"Really? Hmm, sounds pretty good, and pretty simplistic as well" I said amusingly, going off of memory to recall what it looked like and dishes similar to it, "I usually like something spicy on the side for that extra flavor, otherwise, I always feel like something's missing while eating."

"I don't think we ever tried cooking it any other way, but I'm fairly sure there are different recipes that have some. I never bothered asking Mom to make it differently, since I thought it was perfect as is," Izuka said before looking off to the side. "Wish I asked sooner, but a detail definitely worth remembering."

That last part came out in the form of a barely audible mumble as if it was something to be kept secret that accidentally came out before momentarily excusing herself, disappearing and reappearing in the span of ten seconds.

Having some time to waste before dinner was ready, Izuka sprinted towards her room to grab ahold of the new book to her Hero Analysis collection. I will forever be amazed at how quickly she is able to write up so many pages in such a short amount of time. She told me her mom bought her a new notebook just two days ago, and has already used up about one-third of it already.

If anything, I'm amazed her fingers haven't developed arthritis from countless hours of non-stop writing.

"So, Yukio-kun," Inko said as she joined us at the table, prompting both of us to turn towards her. "Mind telling me the story of how you and my little Izuka met each other?"

Once the question came, my eye instantly darted towards Izuka briefly, neither of our facial expressions changing in the slightest, but that look in her eyes told me more than words could. It would seem she left out a few details on how we met, that much I expected. In canon, Inko never knew what kind of situation(s) her child was going through. Actually, that assumption was entirely false. She did know something was up, that much was evident in a lot of cases with Quirkless children and I find it doubtful that she was oblivious to it, but not knowing how severe it was? That was a whole other matter entirely.

Judging how secretive and closed off Izuka can be on certain topics, a sight I've experienced first hand, I'm positive she would tell her mother the bare minimum just to have a response of some kind. That aside, there was no way I was going to mention the "bullied" part on our first encounter, so I had to improvise.

Well, seeing as she didn't tell her anything about Bakugou, I'm fairly certain she told her almost everything about me, might as well add a bit of truth to our little lie.

Luckily, I didn't waste time coming up with a reply.

"I'm not sure how much Izu told you about me, but I sorta had a tough time making friends due to my Quirk… and not exactly being like the other kids, mentally speaking. I would usually go outside to the playgrounds near my house, but all the kids already knew what I was like so I stopped trying, deciding to go somewhere else for a change," I turned to look at Izuka, forming a smile that was both sincere and meant to hold up my part of the lie,. "When I first found her, I noticed she was the only one who wasn't playing with the other kids, or what I thought at the time, not using her Quirk because perhaps the other kids were scared of it. Knowing what it was like, I didn't want anyone to feel left out just because they were "a little different" than everyone else. The rest… is history, right?"

"Yeah… pretty much," Izuka followed along. "I was afraid he bothered with me not having a Quirk, but he was super nice and we actually ended up talking about them for the rest of the afternoon."

"Heh, if anything, I thought you'd be freaked out by my Quirk, not give me in-depth analysis on the ones I first showed you. Every other kid would think I'm a weirdo for talking too much regardless without mentioning that detail."

"Y-You know I would never think any of those about you!" Izuka waved her hands frantically.

"I know, I know," I mused with a cheeky grin. "Still, you know what I mean. Doesn't change the fact it was the best conversation I had in years, and got to meet an amazing person in the process."

Releasing a joyful chuckle, Inko spoke. "Now that I got to meet you in person, I can see why she talks so highly of you, Yukio-kun."

Throwing another, quick glance towards Izuka, she gave me a relieved smile for reacting appropriately on time, as well as acting it out brilliantly. That, and I'm positive she couldn't hide the joy from hearing that last sentence, even if it was worded like that so we can move on to the next topic, I meant it sincerely.

"But please," Inko continued. "Tell me a little more about yourself, dear. What do you like to do in your spare time?"

"Hmmm, I don't know, really…" I mused while thinking about how to give a proper answer, "Aside from training my Quirk, I rarely do anything else. Oh, I also spend every weekend tending to our garden, or whenever I need to clear my head… that's about it, really. I'm not all that interesting, to tell you the truth."

"Oh, don't be so modest, Yukio-kun," Inko waved with her hands playfully, "Izuka already told me about your Quirk, but I'd like a demonstration first hand if you don't mind." Inko asked kindly.

Having a Quirk that houses multiple abilities, using it for a showcase of sorts was the last thing I thought I would use it for. Wanting to be creative for my demonstration, I took a few seconds to think about what I should do. As my eyes drifted off across the room to think, I spotted a small pile of simple white-colored paper napkins in the center of the dining room table. That alone gave me an idea of how to impress her.

I thought while taking a single napkin, absorbing some wood to turn my finger to said material, molding inward so it was thin as a pencil with the tip covered in black ink. I made a specific type of pen with multiple options when I needed to use it, but might as well know how to make a substitute on the fly.

"Okay… I practiced this… in just one, swift motion…"

Starting off by drawing the head of a cat, moving onto the rest of the body with continuous strokes for added detail. Afterwards, I decided to make a dog with equal amounts of detail, as I didn't have any other Quirks at the moment that can create objects or creatures while also being able to control them. I found out I can use my other Quirks for my creations, adding Dust Manipulation to the cat while the dog would have a small amount of electricity around its body.

It only works if I put in the proper amount of focus into each of them, while still being considerably weaker than if I were to use them. Because I would add abilities to my creations, they won't last long as a slight drawback, but since I wanted to use them as a demonstration, it was more than enough.

Once the two animals came to life, the dog wasted no time jumping towards the cat, jumping a few centimeters into the air to dodge its advancements. The two ran circles across the table before taking to the floor, where the cat used its ability to make faint lines of dust as obstacles, but that didn't slow down the dog not one bit. While slightly juiced up with energy, the dog was still unable to close the distance between his target, chasing the cat all around the living room in quick succession.

Jumping back onto the table, the dog used extra force to lunge at its target, catching the cat mid-air while releasing the stored electricity from its body. Like a literal scene from a cartoon, the cat spazzed several times from getting caught before it exploded.

Before the ink could hit the table, I used the same napkin to make sure not a drop would ruin the wooden surface. Completing its mission, the dog moved towards the napkin while releasing several barks in happiness, dissolving a mere second later. "Tada…!"

"My, that truly is a remarkable Quirk, or should I say multiple Quirks," Inko commented in awe.

"I wasn't sure what to make at first, nor to accidentally make a mess," I began explaining while folding the napkin several times, "The ones I currently have are on the simpler side since I only recently started asking people if I could copy theirs."

"Mine is rather simplistic, unlike yours," Inko said while demonstrating her Quirk, doing several hand movements to make a ceramic cup from the table move towards her, "I can attract small objects by focusing on it and moving my hand several times if its too far away or heavy, so pretty basic, really. "

"A telekinesis-like power is never a bad thing," I commented. "Depending on its range, and how long it takes to pull an object towards you, there are plenty of applications it can be used for. If it is limited by chance, using Support Items to throw and pull back said projectiles, or maybe even reposition them depending what they are."

"I told this to Izuka before, but I never trained it properly to reach its fullest extent, so I can't say for certain what it can be used for. For what it's worth, it definitely comes in handy around the house, so it has its perks,'' Inko said before putting a hand on her chin, forming a thinking pose before changing into a smile. "Speaking about my Quirk… would you like to copy it?"

I was caught off guard by her offer, not expecting her to be so straightforward about it. For some odd reason, I wasn't able to easily accept her offer. While taking it was beyond simple, a part of me wanted to respond differently. "T-There's no need for that, Inko-san. I'd feel kinda bad to ask you such a thing, especially since this is my first time at your house, no less."

"Think nothing of it," Inko merely waved it off with a smile,. "I know how much Izuka loves studying Quirks and what they could do, I think you two would have a much better use for it than me. Think of it… as a small gift, for everything you've done so far, it's the least I could do."

Seeing as I was reassured it wasn't a big deal, I still felt a bit unsure, since this wasn't like any of the previous instances where I would try to ask for permission. That, and simply accepting it felt… wrong? On second thought, that wasn't the word I was looking for to describe the feeling, which only made me even more hesitant while pondering the offer.

Turning towards Izuka, all I saw was an eager smile with her head bobbing up and down in excitement, which was more than enough to tell me to not worry about it.

"Seeing as I'm outvoted here, I guess I don't have much of a say in the matter," I expressed with a low smile, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly. "Thank you, Inko-san. A lot of people wouldn't be too fond of someone else copying their Quirk, let alone offer it in the first place. It truly means a lot."

"I only hope it will be useful to you when you start applying for a Hero School," Inko said. "Speaking of which, Izu's also been telling me you two have been hard at work with your Hero training together? From what I heard, it's going pretty well so far."

"I guess you can say that," I said leisurely, wanting to keep this topic somewhat simple. "There's a lot of aspects to go over, really, so we're taking our time for now. It's mostly me showing the ropes and all that. Even though she might not have a Quirk, there are still plenty of methods for a person without one to become a strong and admirable Hero. I won't lie to you, it's gonna be a while until we see any proper results, but with how things are going, it's all but guaranteed."

"Although, I have to ask, Izuka told me you were rather knowledgeable in various fighting styles even before enrolling into that Dojo," Inko commented. "To even consider not using your Quirk in some scenarios is rather, what is the word I'm looking for… surprising, to say the least."

"I… had a lot of free time," I answered somewhat reluctantly, trying to find the right words to use. "You see, since my Quirk is a tad bit difficult to use properly, I took the slower approach of learning a bit of everything to figure it out, as well as ways to defend myself without using it all. Conveniently enough, a good chunk of it is just what Izuka needs to get into the groove of things. With my Quirk being so versatile, it's a useful tool for her to practice and find the right method we need so things go as smoothly as possible."

"While I'm happy to hear that you two are making excellent progress, I really do hope you're careful and don't overdo it," Inko said with a hint of worry, "Even though there's still plenty of time you can apply for a Hero School, you shouldn't push yourselves too much. You're still very young, after all."

"Not to worry, Inko-san," I reassured the green-haired woman's worries, "I already managed to find a Healing Quirk that helps us out when we're done at the end of the day. I was thinking of eventually going to a hospital and asking some of the doctors if I could copy their Quirks, which I don't think they would really mind honestly. It's better to have more than one just in case something happens."

"That's what I like to hear," Inko said with a wide smile, "It's reassuring to know how much you care for one another and make sure neither of you get too hurt in the process."

"Yeah… that's on her," I pointed towards Izuka with a cheeky smile, causing her to release an awkward chuckle. "I'm more of a "in the moment" type of person, rather than actually thinking stuff through all the way."

Well, both of us tend to bend that rule a bit, but that is to be expected, really.

After ten or so minutes of talking about various topics, up until Inko "innocently" started sharing embarrassing tales of her daughter's Hero obsession, much to her dismay. Due to her face turning into a very bright shade of red, even more than when I would tease her on my own, I simply contained my cynical nature while we waited for the food to be served, an action she was most definitely thankful for.

Dinner itself was rather peaceful, as the two of us we're too busy enjoying our food there was little room for any more conversation. Still, I'll give it too Izuka, her mom does know how to cook a pretty damn good meal.

Wait… why do I keep feeling like I'm forgetting something?

---

"Yo, Dad? You there?"

"[Yukio?]" Dad asked questionably through the phone, releasing a low hum as further confirmation. "[Where are you?]"

"Over at Izuka's apartment complex," I began explaining while leaning onto the wall. "She asked me if I wanted to come over when we're done at the dojo. Sorry, I forgot to tell you sooner, it was kind of a last-minute thing."

"[No, no, it's alright. If anything, I'm more surprised that you actually remembered to call and tell me where you are,]"

"Ah, come on, I'm not that thoughtless to just keep you in the dark, you know."

"[Oh, really? Is that so?]" Dad said sarcastically, but the tone of his voice signified it was meant to be taken light-heartedly.

"I-" I was about to immediately call out his claims, before almost every single instance I thought was nothing serious came popping up in my mind, instantly losing a good chunk of my credibility. "Okay… I might be flimsy with that at times, but I took the time to actually think about you and tell you where I am, okay?"

"[I can only imagine why,]" Dad replied with a grunt, noting the speaker was muffled as he was most likely talking to one of his coworkers.

"Anyway, you went to work today, it's your day off, right?" I asked curiously.

"[Nah, something came up,]" Dad answered, pausing momentarily before continuing, "[We took in two more orders in our already slightly overbooked schedule, so thought I might as well drop by and get us back on track. If you don't mind waiting, I can pick you up later after I'm done here.]"

"No, no, there's no need," I reassured him, "I already ate with them. Izuka's mom was already preparing dinner when we got here and had more than enough to serve me some."

"[Oh? That's… good, that's good,]" Dad said in somewhat of a relieved tone, "[Speaking of which, how long were you planning on staying over? I can stick around a little longer so I can pick you up later.]"

"Not sure, we were thinking of watching a movie so probably after that? Might stick around a bit longer if we get sidetracked, which most likely will be the case. No need to wait on me, I'll just walk home, it's not that far away regardless."

"[Well, just be sure you get home safely before it gets too late,]" Dad said, "[You know there more Villains out at night than during the day.]"

"Pfff, you forgot who you're talking to, Dad. There's no need to worry, If anything, they'll be more worried about the future hospital bills if they try anything on me."

"[Mmmmm…]" Dad hummed with a mix of annoyance

"Alright, alright, I won't take any chances and head straight home once I leave," I quickly corrected myself, "Happy?"

"[Very.]" Even though I couldn't see his expression, I could tell he had one of those smug smiles on his face while saying that.

Exchanging goodbyes, and Dad telling me to have fun, I ended the call before placing the phone back onto its charging port.

With that taken care of, I was about to join them back in the living room.

Until I came to a stop after not even taking a single step, a thought that just now manifested in my mind, one that I just now resurfaced.

Of all the time Izuka and I spent together, which was essentially every day, I noticed one thing that seemed to be drastically different from how I remember from watching the shows all those years back, aside from the protagonist being the opposite gender of course.

The All Might obsession.

Was it just me or did that whole aspect seem… toned down? Like, I did notice those tendencies, but on rare occasions, if that. Given that All Might is her main inspiration for becoming a Hero, it did seem odd that he wasn't frequently mentioned on her behalf, as both of us tend to talk for hours on end alone.

"I wonder…" I thought with temptation, unable to contain my curiosity any longer, "Hey, Izu, this is your room, right?"

Cue the redundant question while standing in front of a door with an All Might-style nameplate, elegant writing to boot, my question practically answered itself already.

But that's not what was on my mind observing the door.

One thing that has always puzzled me about hardcore fans is how much amount of stuff they have in their collection overall.

I'd always have a variety of crap I'd find interesting as if something catches my interest, but would never really clog my living space. At best, take a small number of each collection to stay around and put it in storage to not collect dust. Besides, I'm sure it's not that outrageous as I remember, and we're still kids, after all, it would take a few more years to expand the collection. If anything, it might have just been overexaggerated solely for comedic purposes.

Right?

"Ah! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!" Izuka screamed, running at full speed from the living room, "Don't open that-"

Before she could stop me, I already turned the door handle while gently pushing it.

Oh, I was wrong.

So wrong.

Everywhere, and I literally mean everywhere I looked, I saw All Might in some way or another.

Aside from the Number One Hero being present in every possible direction one way or another, the one thing that was drastically different was her desk. The shelf above it had a variety of different notebooks, mostly either light blue or pink for the main color scheme, with several stickers of the Hero's face or body scattered all over.

Little bit off-topic, but while scanning the room in its entirety, regardless that it was filled to the brim with All Might merchandise, everything was neatly organized and placed in such a way that it was close to perfect. Usually, most people would use any free space to add more pieces to their collection without a proper layout, but that wasn't the case here.

"Okay… I guess I should've expected this… but really? There's even an All Might rug…"

Seeing Izuka completely frozen in place, afraid of uttering a single sound, I contemplated how I should react to this. While going with an All Might joke seemed the easiest, I'd rather not put any focus on that. "You forgot how to breathe or what?"

That seemed to snap her back to reality, hiding her face with her hands to hide the newly formed embarrassed expression. "S-S-So… what do you t-think…?"

"When you said you were an All Might fan, I certainly wasn't expecting… this."

"I didn't know how to tell you about my… other hobby," Izuka began explaining, "I thought if you found out, you'd think I'm just some sort of crazy, obsessed fan… or worse."

"Oh, come on, what do you take me for?" I said lightheartedly, "You've been in my room, right? Between the two of us, I think I'm the crazy one here, thank you very much."

"Ah, it seems that you have found the All Might museum." Inko said, a devious grin on her face as she came into view.

"Actually, for a split second there, I thought I wandered into an All Might gift shop before I remembered where I was."

"Why me…" Izuka said in an embarrassed tone, using her hands to cover her face while simultaneously looking away. Oh, yeah, neither of us could refuse to give a lighthearted jab that was all pure fun.

It was just too hard to resist.

Not wanting to tease any further, and to let us spend some time alone, Inko placed the tray filled with the snacks we bought on the desk, closing the door on her way out while waving her hand joyfully.

When I was young, the one and only toy line I truly loved was Lego's Bionicles, and had an impressive collection, from the first ones until they had an abrupt finish to the product line. I might have had an obsession since in my eyes they were the ideal toys, with extensive lore behind them alongside stunning designs for their time. This, however, blows it out of the water by a large margin, at least I had variety.

Still, seeing as I had that phase, and would probably buy more if they managed to pump out more products while it was still popular, I can sort of understand why someone would have so many collectibles.

Not responding to her comment, I simply walked in with a curious look to scan the room in further detail. Logically, I instantly gravitated to the part of the room that had a wide range of action figures and statues.

"So many limited edition ones." I thought while observing the massive collection. I was too intrigued by the various designs and how every ounce of space was used up for an All Might item. At least almost all of them are action figures or collectibles, which were still cool for the toys there were regardless.

"Not gonna lie, I'm more surprised by the fact you don't have any merchandise from any other hero."

"W-Well, I do… but not as much as All Might stuff, if you hadn't already noticed…"

I merely chuckled. "Noup, can't say that I have."

Not wanting to fiddle with a rare collectible, I found the most basic and expendable All Might action figure I could find, using Inko's Quirk to pull it while simultaneously leaving a mark with a simple touch so I could use Rotation. Using the limited range of the Quirk, the toy flew either in circles or by quickly moving into different directions rapidly.

"I wouldn't say I'd be freaked out by this kind of discovery, rather interested in the reason behind it," I said leisurely, doing several spins in the air before plummeting down, then redirecting it to fly towards Izuka, with her catching the toy as I broke off the connection. "After knowing you for a while, I'm certain there's more to why you like All Might so much, right?"

Taking a seat on the edge of her bed, Izuka joined me several seconds later

"Sort of," Izuka said softly, eyes glued to the action figure in her hands. " At least I think there is."

"Now that isn't the type of answer I'd expect from you," I commented while leaning forward a little. "I expected a bit more… energetic response.

Izuka's lips formed a brief smile while releasing a chuckle. "I usually would, but I don't think fangirling is the right way to explain it."

"Then… how about you try a different approach?" I asked in a lighthearted manner, in an attempt to make it easier on her.

"When I first learned about All Might, I just thought he looked so cool and strong. Kind of basic, I know, but the more I watched him, something… clicked," Izuka began explaining slowly. "I somehow managed to watch every interview and talk show he did, and probably hundreds of articles online whenever new ones would be posted. Before I knew it, I wasn't just following All Might's Hero career, but everything he did and how it affected the people around him. There were instances where a Hero of his stature wouldn't be needed, but he'll do it regardless because he's just that type of person."

"He always makes sure everyone is safe, gives them reassurance in the form of a smile, and is never afraid in the face of danger. It's some of the traits that make him so memorable to everyone."

"So that's where you got your inspiration for becoming a Hero? To be able to do those things to the same degree as All Might?" I asked puzzlingly.

"Not entirely…"

"Oh…?"

There was a slight pause, with Izuka looking at the action figure with a blank stare before facing me. Silence was something I grew accustomed to over the years, yet this particular kind was filled with tension and uncertainty.

By now, we spent a hefty amount of time together, with the only exception being at most that would be separated. During which, a level of trust was established very early on, but there were still some limiters to it. That look in her eyes told me we were going into uncharted territory, on something that she might not be comfortable with yet. I immediately felt bad when I saw her expression, fearing I was pushing the conversation in a direction that might make her uncomfortable. I didn't want to put her on the spot or force the topic to continue, but I also wanted to show her I would listen and be open-minded with whatever she had on her mind.

In response, all I did was form a small, reassuring smile, as well as tilt my head forward slightly, as there was no real need to say anything verbally. I wasn't about to say a word that might insinuate she is required to tell me any of the issues that obviously bothered her. I told her I would do whatever is necessary to help out, and I genuinely meant every word that I said.

Only if she allows me to and feels okay in doing so, otherwise, let her walk at her own pace till that day comes.

However, it seems my action gave her enough encouragement to continue, in a slightly softer tone than before.

"When… I would try and protect someone from being bullied, I never cared if I was biting off more than I can chew. Okay, sometimes I wouldn't think about the consequences at all, but it would never really matter at the time. I always loved Quirks, everything about them, really. So whenever I would see someone get bullied, using an ability that can be used for good to harm others… I just couldn't stand it. Even though I was told to give up my dream because it was "impossible", I wanted to believe I could make a difference of some kind if I tried hard enough."

"I know I can never become the next Number One Hero like All Might, or anywhere in those leagues, as cool as it would be, it's just… not realistic… and that's okay," Izuka looked up with a low smile. "I realized that being a Hero ain't just where you rank on the popularity charts or boasting how much you did for society, but actually making a difference for the better. That's what All Might was able to achieve when more people learned about him."

Pausing for a brief moment, Izuka looked back down to the action figure in her hand. "With a powerful Quirk like his, he never cared about showing off, or making sure the spotlight was always on him, rather putting endangered civilians first before anything else. All Might can do so many amazing things, but he always puts the needs of others before his own. If anything, I'd want to have his courage and confidence to be able to accomplish such a thing one day on my own."

While I did have some question marks surrounding All Might and his sense of character, I often forget how big of an importance he was despite several flaws. Inspiring hope in others is a difficult job for a Hero if they can't back it up through their actions.

He was still a good man through and through, and I can't purely focus on the negatives with how much good he did for society. Guess I'll just have to see it before I could make my final judgment on the matter.

"Regardless…" Izuka said with a smile forming, making me solely focus back onto her. "I don't need to become the next Number One Hero to be a good Hero. Unlike you or All Might, I don't have a Quirk to help me out, so I have to make do with what I got. I was… sad that I never got an ability of my own, but now, after realizing some things, it doesn't bother me as much as it did before. If I am able to make a difference in someone's life, even if it's just one person, knowing I was able to help them in one way or another, no matter how big or small, it's enough for me to do it all over again without hesitation."

At that statement, I was left speechless for a few seconds.

This wasn't the type of answer I was expecting, but yet, I was so glad to hear it nonetheless.

Becoming a "Hero" in this world was no easy feat, not in the slightest. After observing for the last few years, I can easily come to the conclusion that a lot of preparation and dedication is needed without the promise of success of any kind.

To have that sort of drive and determination to make that dream a reality doesn't exist in everyone, regardless if more than half the population has an ability of some kind. To discover such ambitions, one must ask themselves if they have a reason for choosing such a profession in the first place rather than for it simply being a "cool" lifestyle.

Furthermore, she went as far as to tell me from past experiences what made her so determined and optimistic. Since my situation growing up was a little different, I was content with reality, unwilling to let this world knock me down, and that's before my Quirk even appeared.

For her, it was way different.

It was only four years, but that doesn't change nor excuse all the bullshit she had to endure, not in the slightest. People often forget that Quirks weren't present since the dawn of time, and that humans without any kind of abilities were the norm not so long ago. Sure, it mostly consists of kids/teenagers who have that sort of thinking nowadays when there are fewer Quirkless people around, but what gives them the right to judge others on what they can or can't for being normal people.

The issue itself with Quirkless people wasn't as severe as I was led to believe after doing some research, but it still existed nonetheless.

It was simply unfair, those thoughts alone were enough to make my blood boil, but I still managed to keep those feelings at bay. However, putting those thoughts aside, I was glad Izuka had put a hefty amount of thought into this, and a pleasant surprise I wasn't expecting.

She understood the full scope of being a Hero and what it means to risk your own well-being for the sake of helping someone else. Not to mention a whole lot of other stuff that might or might not happen, that not even a Hero can be prepared for in the worst case scenario.

For what it's worth, seeing how determined Izuka is in realizing her dream, and how her mentality was strong as ever, it gave me a wave of reassurance I didn't know I needed.

"I'm… trying to think of a response, but wow…" I expressed in a surprised tone, forming a warm smile before speaking up. "This was the kind of answer I was hoping to hear, to tell you the truth. Might seem hard to believe, but not a lot of people think that far ahead, I can tell you that much."

"It's been on my mind for a while now, I wasn't sure if it made any sense until recently," Izuka said sheepishly. "If anything, It was easier to put into words now that we were able to talk about it a little, and finally get it out in the open with someone aside from my Mom."

"Even so, I'm glad you shared this with me, Izuka," I responded in a softer tone this time around. "Lots of people want to become a Hero before applying for a Hero School, let alone the thought of what it takes to become a Hero in the first place. Without a doubt in my mind, I can proudly say that with this kind of mentality, you'll outshine all other Heroes by a huge margin…!"

"Thank you… Yukio-kun, it truly means a lot, especially coming from you." Izuka said softly with a genuine smile.

Forming a similar one in response, we enjoyed several seconds of comfortable silence after such a heavy topic slowly reached its peak.

"Speaking of which," Izuka perked up. "I never asked you, but do you have a favorite Hero?"

"Hmm, I don't think I do," I said with a curious look, trying to think of any Hero in particular that struck a connection to me, but that trail ended nowhere. "I kinda never bothered to pick a favorite."

"Really?" Izuka asked with her head tilted, somewhat surprised by my answer.

I merely shrugged,. "It's a bit weird, to tell you the truth. When I was very little and could think properly, the sheer concept of a society of super-powered individuals blew me away. While I was so fascinated by all the Heroes I've seen, picking a favorite never really came up, if that makes sense. Coupled with the Quirk that I got a few years later, I always had a hard time sitting on one thing at a time, y'know?"

"Yeah… seems kinda obvious when I think about it, now I just feel a little silly."

"Well, usually, almost everyone has a favorite for some sort of reason, whether it be sharing a similar Quirk with a Pro Hero, or looking up to someone for what they stand for, but I have a very specific goal so it's warranted."

"I just never heard you talk about any Hero in particular for longer than a few minutes at best, worth a shot asking, though."

"Anywho…" I took a glance around the room once the topic died down. "You said we're down to watch a movie, so where's that stash at?"

Walking over to the shelf and picking up a lengthy-sized box, Izuka tossed the lid to dump all of the movies onto the bed.

Okay, seriously, why do they still have physical copies for movies and such, especially when technology is so advanced? The same thought popped into mind when looking at books or cars to some extent, yet, no matter how hard I tried piecing it together, the answer to this question eluded me.

This is something I feel like will be on my mind indefinitely since there wasn't exactly a simple answer to it, even by "fictional" world standards this should've been considered outdated technology by now.

"Do you recognize any of the titles?" Izuka asked.

"Yyyyyyye-nnnnnnnnnnno, noup," I trailed off, forcing me to switch up my answer mid-way as for some reason, I thought I saw a cover with several characters resembling from DC's Justice League, but realized my mistake before I could give an answer,. "Though this one looked kinda familiar. Well, since there's so many to choose from, I'll go with the one that has the most badass artwork, I can never go with a random guess like that."

Digging through and taking a better look at the box covers, Izuka waited patiently for me to pick out a movie for us to watch, joining along to toss away the top layer of cases.

"Say, Yukio-kun." Izuka began softly.

"Hmmm?" I raised an eyebrow while picking up two cases before moving on to the rest.

"What made you want to become a Hero?" Izuka asked with her head tilted slightly, "I mean, I kinda already know why, but I never asked for your thought process about it. With a Quirk such as yours, wasn't there any other kind of profession that caught your attention before finally deciding on becoming a Hero, or is there a different reason?"

I didn't respond right away, solely because I was thinking the question over myself.

My reason for choosing this kind of profession was both simple and complicated. Why wouldn't you want to be part of something that was once considered fiction, especially in a world where a certain occupation is literally too good to be true.

Yet, it wasn't just because of that, if it only were that easy.

My gift, my true potential, can be used for far more than just saving people out on patrol. Developing new and altering existing forms of medicine, actually help some cases that never had or would never get the proper help by regular means, and so much more.

I had absolutely no reason to aim for that type of goal, especially with a Quirk that allows me to have everything with a simple touch, without any specific limits to boot. In my old life, I would have a different thought process entirely, since all negatives turned into potential positives, with so many options available to explore. Having several years to myself before my Quirk manifested, alongside knowledge of the events that will occur, a part of me couldn't just remain nonexistent, even if my chances would be far better by doing nothing at all.

While I'm given an opportunity to fix and improve this world as a whole, it was by no means an easy feat. Not to mention how difficult it will be once that whole thing takes off, only to get progressively harder from that point on.

That was my analytical and logical side talking, but for my human instincts, it was a lot simpler.

I could take it easy, and use every ounce of my abilities to just stay out of the limelight and try separating myself from all the responsibility from dealing with a new problem every other day. Why risk your life when you already have everything at your fingertips.

But alas, like most people, wish fulfillment is something everyone desires, and an escape from boredom at all costs. I definitely belonged in that category.

Guess I finally learned that lesson that I could never properly comprehend if the circumstances were different; what is there left for you to do when you can do anything and have everything you ever desired, especially with an ability that does all the work for you.

I wanted to feel alive since I was never given a chance to truly experience that kind of sensation in my old life in the first place, and I didn't want to waste it a second time.

Somewhat of a moronic choice, all things considered, but what can I say, this world needed fixing. Not just reducing crime rates, but so many other things looming in the shadows and who knows what else. Society could very easily turn to ruin with how poorly built the foundation is, so making sure it all doesn't turn to shit while striving for a brighter future doesn't seem like a bad thing.

Does it?

"I can do so much with my gift, way more than just any other Hero around," I began slowly, turning to face Izuka after staying silent a bit, finding the green-haired girl patiently waiting for my answer. "It was a thought that manifested probably not even a day after figuring out my Quirk, and ever since then, it only grew larger as time went on. And… I thought about it a lot. I was basically gifted with everything, quite literally speaking with how my Quirk works, yet, I never let that cloud my judgment. It seemed way more beneficial to focus on what it could do to benefit humanity for the better, rather than for my own personal gain. It would be so easy to do… yet, I would lack any sort of purpose, or actual meaning if I simply thought that way for everything."

"Even after knowing you for some time now, I'm still impressed how easily you're able to talk about it in that regard," Izuka said softly. "It's one thing to have a single ability, but a Quirk that can do anything is way different. Holding onto that kind of responsibility must've been difficult, not just looking on the surface level of it being a cool and powerful Quirk."

"Not so much in that sense," I elaborated, "I knew how dangerous and powerful it was right from the get-go, and I immediately made several promises to myself on how to use it. Sure, some kids found out a third of my Quirk's capabilities and left a bad taste in their mouth, but thinking ahead, rather than in the moment, greatly managed to shape my viewpoint. If anything, it compelled me to one day try and fix this issue, which includes both Quirkless people and those who are deemed "dangerous" for being misunderstood. Not just that, but so much more to make the world a far better place than it currently is. I accepted that part of myself already, cause there is no use in preventing the inevitable."

"Especially when people find out you are able to use multiple Quirks, not everyone might be accepting of it," Izuka said before quickly correcting herself. "Not saying they would automatically assume that! It's just that… with good Copy Quirks being extremely rare, and becoming a Hero a difficult journey of its own, there are a lot of variables that people most likely aren't aware of. That's also disregarding making new techniques on top of everything else, there is much more to discuss than what's on the surface level. More importantly, the person using those abilities is what people should take into consideration, not go off of what their Quirk can do."

"The general outlook and a good chunk of my abilities will be revealed to the public at some point regardless, and to be honest… I really don't care what they'll say about me," I said leisurely, not bothering to deny the truth. "I'll probably see some type of ridicule in the future because of it, might as well swallow that pill now and cross that other bridge when I get to it."

"You really thought this whole thing through, didn't you?" Izuka asked softly, prompting her to lean forward a little while yet to break eye contact.

I gave her a slight nod,. "People will find reasons to be concerned over a person having multiple Quirks and the "potential danger" if they turn into a Villain, while also taking into account those conspiracy theorists and biased news networks, talking won't get me anywhere. Sometimes, even honesty won't convince people of your true intentions, it's just how humans are, the mere thought of that is already depressing but it's just how things are. However, I learned that actions speak louder than words, and made sure my goals never get pushed off to the side because a few people have a bad impression of me. Those who care and take the time to get to know me will see who I truly am."

Silence filled the air once more, as there was a lot to digest at first.

"Besides…" I shifted the tone of the conversation with a simple smile. "It would be boring to just sit around and do nothing, can't hurt to live a little, can it?"

Izuka merely chuckled at the last part of my answer. "You really do have a unique viewpoint on certain things, Yukio-kun."

"What can I say?" I said with a simple shrug. "I told you I tend to overcomplicate stuff at times, keeping things simple never was my type of style."

"Well, you can expect me to be your number one fan when you make your debut," -

"Heh, I always thought that goal was a bit far-fetched and insanely difficult to achieve, but at one point, I just stopped worrying about whether it's possible or not."

"How come?" Izuka asked curiously, only to be met with temporary silence as I was forced to think carefully before answering. Not only to be honest to her but to myself as well.

While it was true I was a total nutjob in terms of training constantly these last few years, there was one issue that always set back a fair amount. Like I said before, human connection is a tricky one, and I'd be lying if it didn't affect me to a more severe degree if I wasn't so focused on becoming stronger, which was a valid enough reason on its own.

I was lacking a certain element I thought I could live without, or at the very least, make adjustments to said issue to ease both mine and my father's minds by a small amount. Yet, mental fortitude can only get you so far before it starts dwindling away.

I already experienced childhood, but the entire universe changing around me was a completely different learning experience altogether. As humans, we evolve and adapt to new changes, it's the reason we were able to survive since our inception.

This is a hellish and unforgiving world, completely biased and some people get treated as a freak as a result, disregarding the history of Quirks and how they can be essentially random/unorthodox given their nature.

Not to mention the Hero system having several flaws that shouldn't be even present in the first place. That was another headache down the line, but it needed a massive revamp, or it's inevitable gonna come crashing down like a house of cards.

I wanted to do so many things, but over time, being on my own slowly shaped my view of the world with constant paranoia and always thinking of what's to come rather than living in the moment. It was daunting and difficult to say the least, but I refused to let this world chew me out or get the better of me.

Sadly, for the longest time, I found it difficult to ever feel at ease no matter how hard I tried.

Yet, with a simple glance towards Izuka, I had my answer.

I didn't just see her as the main character in a story that was once fiction, nor what I was doing to be considered babysitting to reach her full potential, it was far more than that. What I wanted to do, the goal I wanted to accomplish, the crap I'll eventually have to go through, I won't have to deal with it on my own. I may have underestimated how important it is to have someone you trust by your side, to be able to help in such a way where there weren't any specific limits or restrictions.

The only real secret I had at the moment was my abilities, but by meeting Izuka, I was finally able to simply "not think" after years of doing nothing but that, and it truly was a blessing. Besides, if there was a single person truly worthy and deserving of inheriting One For All and mastering it, it's her.

Well, I'll be damned, it seems that the little promise we made to each other was in full effect.

I still can't believe that at one point I wondered if I made the right decision by interfering, but I am so glad I didn't make the wrong choice that day.

"Because I have you," I said with a wide smile, that alone caused the girl to gasp slightly but I wasn't finished,. "If I hadn't met you, I'd probably go on with a completely different mentality and likely to be even more stubborn than I usually am. No other kid was able to talk to me longer than five minutes before straight up leaving, but you never did that, and truly wanted to get to know me for who I am. Not to mention helping me with essentially fifty percent of the entire training and thinking process, I seriously doubt any other kid can do the same thing you managed to do for me since we met. Besides… just because we're gonna be Top Heroes doesn't mean I won't watch over you and those closest to me. You can always count on me for anything, because I know I can count on you whenever I'm in a tough spot, right?"

I ended my little monologue with a wide smile, feeling she should know how much she meant to me, having no reason to hide that fact since we're way past the point of hiding how much we meant to each other. In this world where you get scrutinized for having an unorthodox Quirk or not having one at all, I'm simply happy that someone was able to give me some basic human decency, and I was more than happy to return the favor.

Izuka, on the other hand, was left utterly speechless, her jaw left hanging slightly. Not like it wasn't unwarranted, as this type of stuff is something that was relatively new to us both, and still getting used to expressing ourselves on a level where neither of us is uncomfortable.

She eventually did break the silence, albeit in a different manner.

"D-Did you find a m-movie to your liking?! If-If not, I recommend w-we watch this one!" Izuka spluttered while hastily picking up a case from the large pile,. "Here, I'll go put it on!"

Before I knew it, Izuka appeared in front of the TV within a blink of an eye, making it so her back was turned on me. Logically, I knew how big some words are to digest, and given who I'm talking to, all I needed was to wait a minute or so for her to calm down.

Sadly, it would seem that it's gonna be a while till she doesn't get embarrassed so easily.

"Are we gonna watch the opening menu or the actual movie?" I said with a chuckle, making Izuka's head snap in different directions, quickly grabbing the remote to set everything up while the movie itself was paused.

"S-Sorry…" Izuka apologized sheepishly, walking back to sit beside me on the bed, still not able to look me in the eye.

"What about the snacks?" I asked with a small grin, making the green-haired girl apologize once more. Before she could get back up, I gently pulled the edge of her sleeve to stop her, wanting to save her the trouble this time around. "This one's on me…"

Now having Inko's Quirk, it was the ideal scenario to use it, and make sure nothing from the tray doesn't fall off. Since it was on the opposite end of the room, it wasn't too far distance-wise, but the only thing I was worried about was if it would be too heavy for the amount of fuel I use at the start.

Focusing on the tray filled with snacks, I took the slow approach while it gradually levitated into the air, keeping it in place to figure out how much energy needs to be distributed in what area.

"Interesting…" I thought as the tray shook slightly, locking it in place before making another move. "So it's necessary to not only focus on lifting an object off the ground but gradually increase the flow for it to actually move towards the user. Adding my own energy to compensate for the one-tenth version of the Quirk I got is a lifesaver, but it would seem I'll need to train up so I don't accidentally put too much or too little when in use, otherwise, I think it will just flat line completely. All three areas need the same amount of concentration and fuel to work."

It was only till it was only another meter away did it start to shake once more, springing forward from my position to touch the edge of the tray, Rotation immediately activating upon contact to make it weightless.

"Here ya go," I placed the tray in-between us, Rotation still in use so we can easily move it when needed. Absorbing some of the plastic tray to make a small ball, I aimed for the light switch with surprisingly good accuracy, instantly retracting it since it was marked and had better focus on it than the first two objects I tried it on. Huh, good to know, actually. "Shall we?"

"Y-Yeah, let's…"

After about roughly eight or so minutes into the movie, where the opening action and introduction scene just concluded, I couldn't help but take another slow glance around Izuka's room. Alright, the absurd collection I can see, absolutely nothing too extreme… but some design choices were questionable, one poster in particular.

I tried focusing back on the movie, especially since the opening plot truly did seem interesting, but my eyes couldn't stop looking back to that poster, cause damn was it distracting.

"Okay, for real now, I just have one thing that's been on my mind constantly since we got here."

Turning over to face me, no longer avoiding eye contact that we were several minutes into the movie, all Izuka did was tilt her head while waiting for me to continue.

"Don't you like… I don't know, in the middle of the night, if you had a bad dream, and wake up to find that there's something else in the room until your brain processes it?" I asked genuinely, turning over to point out a specific poster,. "Like that poster over there just above the door. If I, for the life of me, woke up randomly during the night and still half-asleep, the way that poster is designed with All Might's head being way bigger than the rest of his body, especially from a downwards angle, would jump every time. I don't know, something feels… off about that one in particular. It can't be the only one, right?"

I explained my random thought to Izuka with the most genuine expression I could muster, as once I spotted that weirdly designed All Might poster that looked too absurd at the right angle, especially with the lack of eyes on said hero.

All I got was an awkward laugh as Izuka twirled her fingers, most likely trying to find a suitable answer to my rather unorthodox question. It's there I realized how absurd my observation sounded, not intended in any harmful sort of way, but at the very least, it sure was questionable how I managed to come up with this wild and random thought as everywhere I looked, I was met with the smiling grin of the Number One Hero.

Hey, at least the room has personality to it, unlike my jungle of an unorganized mess of a man cave.

---

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

The low sound of Inko's finger gently hitting the surface of the couch while she tried to watch some random romance series on the television.

The keyword "tried", as she didn't pay attention at any point for the last thirty minutes when settling on the channel, spending an additional fifteen minutes flicking through the rest as a minor tick. She also spent an additional hour and a half after dinner mindlessly cleaning, serving as nothing more than an excuse to stay occupied, sadly, it was to no avail.

Her excitement was just too hard to contain, and could anyone blame her?

Now after finally getting to meet Yukio, it would seem Izuka's detailed, and somewhat lengthy descriptions of the boy weren't anything but accurate. It was fairly easy to see that he truly was different compared to any child his age, but she certainly didn't know what to make of it now that she got a chance to meet him.

Inko has seen and read about a handful of kids being exceptionally gifted at a very young age, making sure their career as a Hero is nothing of a successful one. Due to certain Quirks standing out more than others, that aspect alone attracts a lot of attention, and if the user is skilled enough, it was way easier to earn recognition amongst a sea of other potential Hero candidates.

But it wasn't all that, there was much to that whole process.

That's not even taken into account that every child must be taken care of differently, especially with exceptionally powerful Quirks to boot.

What greatly stuck out to Inko while talking to her daughter was when she told her that the boy lost his mother at a very young age, not even getting the chance to properly get to know her before the accident happened.

She wasn't solely concerned because it was her daughter's friend in question, but because Inko witnessed firsthand how being raised by a single parent can have tremendous effects on a child. All the times Izuka would ask about Hisashi and look away in sadness when she couldn't give her a proper answer on why he wasn't able to be with them, as a proper family.

Now for Yukio, who has great potential in various fields, while simultaneously outcasted, it can greatly affect their mentality while growing up.

Much like Izuka, the boy experienced ridicule and foul comments at a young age but for different reasons. It could be easily mistaken how mature the boy actually is for his age, but sadly, his peers only saw this kind of behavior to be unnatural and distanced themselves from him. That's not even taking into consideration what his Quirk is capable of.

After hearing all that, it was difficult for Inko to show any visible anger while her daughter first told her, but it just rubbed her the wrong way. While there's no doubt in her mind that Yukio's father tried to raise and nurture his son to the best of his capability, the unfortunate circumstance regarding his situation while being labeled a "freak" had its own fair share of obstacles.

There are just some things a parent simply cannot do, they can't connect to their child how a close friend or a significant other could be on an even level where communication isn't an issue, to understand them to such a degree where a parent never could. It was just how growing up works, plain and simple.

That is especially concerning in the process of befriending someone new. A parent can't hold their child's hand or try finding someone for them, but not caring about their social skills and not helping in whatever small way possible to ease that process was just wrong. Izuka had great trouble in that regard, and for Yukio, a similar case can be made as well.

However, after today, Inko knew that was a thing of the past.

How did she come to that conclusion? There isn't a clear answer, but one might call it a mother's intuition.

While she was cooking, Inko could barely focus on the task at hand as every few seconds, her eyes would instantly go to the two kids, chatting away like no tomorrow. The first time she did so, such a simple sight left her momentarily speechless.

The way her eyes sparkled when showing him one of her new Hero notebooks, and how Yukio was able to follow along with equal enthusiasm, It was all the proof she needed as far as she's concerned.

It also helped that their personalities were drastically different but compatible in just the right places. While her daughter is somewhat closed off, reserved, and timid, Yukio was more lively, expressive, and energetic. That allowed them to bounce off one another with such ease and it was an overall joy to simply observe their dynamic from the side.

Sadly, she was yet unable to distract herself, no matter how hard she tried.

Looking to the side and leaning back onto the couch so she can barely see Izuka's bedroom door, Inko desperately tried dismissing the thought of bargaining in and interrupting them.

Although… It was a little over two hours and neither of them came out or took a break from watching their movie. A semi-excuse to check up on them? No, it was still rather early, and probably too caught up in their own world without bothering to leave the room, no need to be a nuisance

Then why was she still walking towards her daughter's bedroom?

After staring blankly at the door for a solid thirty seconds, and yet to return back to doing literally anything else, Inko took a sharp breath before her hand turned the doorknob slowly. Upon opening the door just enough for her head to a peak, the single mother wasn't prepared for the scene in front of her, almost giving her a semi-heart attack.

Not for the wrong reason though, actually, it was quite the opposite.

Izuka was hurdled up next to Yukio, both sound asleep.

Her head was resting on his shoulder with her hands wrapped around his arm, positioned in the just-right position to not be considered uncomfortable. Yukio on the other hand, was sleeping in an upright position, his head slightly tilted to the side while still managing to sleep in such a position without an issue.

While watching them, Inko's eyes widened when Izuka's body jerked slightly, fearing she was caught spying on them. Instead of waking up, Izuka strengthened her hold onto the boy and rubbed her cheeks on his shoulder, but because of that, Yukio's head fell to the side, crashing onto her daughter's hair. Neither of those things was enough to fully wake him up, rather making him bury his face onto Izuka's head to use as a make-shift pillow, an action that caused her daughter's body to jerk once more before continuing to sleep comfortably.

Due to being so far away, Inko wasn't sure if she was seeing things, but she was quite positive she spotted Izuka's lips forming a small smile upon moving closer to her friend.

That was enough to make Inko release a low squeal, trying her hardest to keep that excitement from accidentally waking the kids up.

If Inko had difficulty taking her eyes off the two before, looking away now was outright impossible.

Memories of her daughter coming home with a forced smile and feeling down each time solely because other kids couldn't understand she was different came rushing back the longer she observed the two. It would hurt her each time as it always was the same issue, one she couldn't mend, fix or help no matter how hard she tried.

Now, however, in that specific moment, it felt like all of those issues never existed.

From here on out, all Inko wants is to continue seeing that smile every single day, but it seems a certain someone has the ability to do that simply by being right next to her, even while sleeping.

Taking a slight risk, Inko gently tiptoed across the room towards the bed, taking the untouched blanket from the side, covering the both of them in one swift but elegant motion, picking up the tray that was left off to the side before exiting the room.

Before closing the door, Inko couldn't help but take one last look at the two kids, a little longer than she originally intended, slowly closing the door as the smile on her face continued to grow.

Inko might have to possibly call Yukio's father personally and notify him of the… unforeseen circumstance that might prevent the boy from coming home tonight.

-Quirks

Attraction of Small Objets (renamed to "Attraction" for convenience sake xd) - grants the user the ability to use a telekinesis-like power that attracts small objects to them. The exact size limit of what the user can attract is unknown, although it may be possible to extend its limitations via training.

Das it for Ch7, hope it was worth the wait.

Now, before someone points out it's another Slice of Life Chapter, I can reassure its the last one for a while, since the next one will be a slight time skip. I thought it was necessary to get this one out of the way instead of briefly mentioning it in a paragraph or two, and a good way to end off their early years than just do time skips without anything in between.

Also, a small surprise for what's in store for the next Chap (well, an idea at least but down to doing it), to help/comes across/redeem Toga or Twice before canon starts.

Lemme just say right off the bat; no it's NOT turning into a harem or will Toga have any feelings towards the two in that particular way. I thought about it, and a good number of LoV people could've had a different fate if at least one person managed to help them instead of society neglecting them. I was thinking either Toga or Twice, since they seem like the best fit.

I'm more leaning on Toga since I don't think she gets enough love and would be an interesting addition to our little duo. She'd make a badass Underground Hero after finishing UA (I'm thinking Class 1-B would be a better fit since Vlad King is their homeroom teacher which would greatly help with her Quirk,), doesn't seem like a bad idea.

Also a little question I'd like to ask yall so I know how to continue; is it necessary to change the way Izu meets All Might or can it stay the same. If it's the latter (something I think is ok with), the only changes would be from Izu's thoughts after the encounter but different than in canon, and charging in to save Bakugo regardless, but a little more tactical and smarter about. That sligh change would be the right tweak for her character to be consistent with how different she is compared to canon. That's just my thoughts on the matter, at least.

I also won't ignore All Might in this, or how most people portray him. I'll dive deeper into this once we come around to it so I can explain my point better.

Welp, das all I got, I'd go on a bit more but A/N's are short not this long xd. Now we're getting to the good stuff, since I think that's what everybody's been waiting for, myself included. Lemme know what you think by leavin a review, will start doing the next one right away. If there are any typos or errors, I'll reupload the file tomorrow when I wake up.

The link for Discord is " www - discord gg - bTyYgzEm7r" (Removes the - for the internet links).

Cya

 

[HoboGrugSangriel]

Very cute and wholesome. Also in that moment where Yukio told Izuka that she had an amazing impact on his development, I could perfectly picture in my head Yukio gaining a flowery frame whilst sparkling as he smiles brightly like one of those Shoujo Romance manga.

 

[TravelerofTime]

Very cute. Not to mention getting a wider look at the whole Hero dream career from Izuka's perspective.

If you're still up for suggestions, I'd consider having Yukio go through 'stages' when it comes to mastering his quirk.

Specifically, how it visually and physically reflects him.

A part of Kevin's original problem with his powers was the fact that they affected his mental state. Once he mutated he became super aggressive, not to mention how unrefined and messy the character design looked.

For reference purposes, I'll refer to this as Unstable Kevin.

Spoiler: Unstable Kevin (Classic, 10,000, Alien Force/Ultimate, Omniverse)

Now visually, these designs are all over the place, but technically speaking, this is an Osmosian powerset at its absolute worst. When they've become so consumed by hunger that their physical forms have mutated uncontrollably to reflect this. This is what Yukio needs to avoid.

Aside from the dangers of too much power, Yukio's hero suit could incorporate his ability to transform through some sort of smart fabric that stretches or shifts to accommodate his transformations, and hold samples of DNA or inorganic matter from multiple different sources. It could also feed him different levels of energy through something similar to a built-in battery.

Eventually, if Yukio truly masters his powers, you might see him being able to attain 'alt-forms' that are essentially stylistic mashups of Heroes, Villains, and people he's known for long periods of time.

A Ben 10 Style Transformation, in essence.

Spoiler: Pictured: Total Mastery

Just thought this would be a neat thing to consider.

 

[Darwin-18]

Very cute and wholesome. Also in that moment where Yukio told Izuka that she had an amazing impact on his development, I could perfectly picture in my head Yukio gaining a flowery frame whilst sparkling as he smiles brightly like one of those Shoujo Romance manga.

Click to shrink...

hmm, now that I think about it, there's a very high likely hood of that being the case. She definitely won't forget that moment for the foreseeable future, that's for sure lmao.

 

[Darwin-18]

Very cute. Not to mention getting a wider look at the whole Hero dream career from Izuka's perspective.

If you're still up for suggestions, I'd consider having Yukio go through 'stages' when it comes to mastering his quirk.

Specifically, how it visually and physically reflects him.

A part of Kevin's original problem with his powers was the fact that they affected his mental state. Once he mutated he became super aggressive, not to mention how unrefined and messy the character design looked.

For reference purposes, I'll refer to this as Unstable Kevin.

Spoiler: Unstable Kevin (Classic, 10,000, Alien Force/Ultimate, Omniverse)

Now visually, these designs are all over the place, but technically speaking, this is an Osmosian powerset at its absolute worst. When they've become so consumed by hunger that their physical forms have mutated uncontrollably to reflect this. This is what Yukio needs to avoid.

Aside from the dangers of too much power, Yukio's hero suit could incorporate his ability to transform through some sort of smart fabric that stretches or shifts to accommodate his transformations, and hold samples of DNA or inorganic matter from multiple different sources. It could also feed him different levels of energy through something similar to a built-in battery.

Eventually, if Yukio truly masters his powers, you might see him being able to attain 'alt-forms' that are essentially stylistic mashups of Heroes, Villains, and people he's known for long periods of time.

A Ben 10 Style Transformation, in essence.

Spoiler: Pictured: Total Mastery

Just thought this would be a neat thing to consider.

Click to shrink...

Uuiuu, interesting. Definitely a creative one. In canon, his mentality is what his greatest weakness was, so its a shame he only had "Unstable Kevin" stages most of the time. It would be an interesting Battle Form, especially if the suit is adaptable/versatile to accommodate such changes to the body. I never thought about transformations like the last 2 pictures, but it I will put it in my box of ideas for the future. I thought about forms and what to do with them, the idea of using "Unstable Kevin" design choice with Heroes and Villains mixed together could create an interesting appearance depending on what's used.

 

[Flowering Enigma]

Since Izuku, or Izuka rather has changed heavily in terms of personality despite maintaining her core features. I wonder how her eventual meeting with All Might would go, and so on, where it'd be. Oh, and wasn't Kevin used as a conduit to transfer the powers of aliens to others and change others? Could he quite literally transfer into OFA and empower it, nuff thoughts.

 

[ArcherOfBlades]

Uuiuu, interesting. Definitely a creative one. In canon, his mentality is what his greatest weakness was, so its a shame he only had "Unstable Kevin" stages most of the time. It would be an interesting Battle Form, especially if the suit is adaptable/versatile to accommodate such changes to the body. I never thought about transformations like the last 2 pictures, but it I will put it in my box of ideas for the future. I thought about forms and what to do with them, the idea of using "Unstable Kevin" design choice with Heroes and Villains mixed together could create an interesting appearance depending on what's used.

Click to shrink...

Seems a bit tacky, absorb too much powah and you mutate? No thanks.

 

[Darwin-18]

Chapter 8 - One's Self Worth

It was the end of the first week of her second year in Aldera Junior High, but unlike last year, there was no excitement this time around.

While she was optimistic and had hoped Junior High would be a different experience, it soon became apparent it was nothing more than the same cycle as before, not like she wasn't expecting it regardless.

No matter how much effort Izuka spent trying to befriend other kids, the outcome was always the same, some were a bit more harsh and subtle in their remarks when learning she was Quirkless. Not all cases were that bad, at best, only giving her odd stares and/or simply walking away without saying another word. It wasn't much of an improvement, but it was far better than being on the receiving end of foul comments, or made fun of for not having a Quirk, which was something, at least.

Most of her time was spent writing notes regarding Quirks or potential strategies she can employ in the future that might be helpful in combat. Some days she wouldn't even pay attention in class, either being ahead of schedule for certain subjects or it was something simple that could easily grasp at home. It's not like she had anything better to do in the meantime.

Nevertheless, a big part of her didn't bother dwelling on those things, it's the effort that counts, at least.

The green-haired girl had a goal that kept her mind occupied in the meantime. One she was preparing for nearly four years and still had so much to go over before trying to apply for U.A. when the time comes. The journey itself was going relatively smoothly, all things considered, making sure her studies and physical capabilities are constantly improving without any issues.

It was a steady process, with only a few years left before she could apply for U.A. and realize her dream of becoming a Hero. Working towards her goal made it easier to ignore the dull sensation of attending school.

Closing her locker, Izuka was about to head towards the main entrance, before locking eyes with a particularly explosive blonde, Bakugou Katsuki.

It was purely by coincidence, and it only lasted for a few seconds, but just like many times in the past, resulted in nothing more than a hateful glare sent her way before immediately turning around and pretending she doesn't exist.

Ever since she met Yukio, and realized the difference between a healthy and toxic relationship, there were only a handful of times the two would even interact with one another. Most of the time it would only include Bakugou expressing foul comments or trying to insult her verbally in the off chance that they did run into each other, but it wouldn't go anything beyond that.

In each encounter, the green-haired girl could only sigh at her former friend's immaturity. Losing any hope of managing to hold a decent conversation, as if they ever had one in the first place.

She didn't even bother responding back at him, as it would only cause an additional headache in the process. They technically weren't even considered friends anymore, so he really had no reason to further harass her as much since she wasn't following him around anymore, yet she didn't let that get under her skin, not in the slightest. Izuka could barely take him seriously with the way he would "threaten" her, nor would she back down if he actually tried to attack her.

While his Quirk was impressive and versatile, her physical capabilities greatly improved over the years, and so did her confidence to not back down from a fight, especially with everything she learned up until this point. The element of surprise was also on her side, as surely he wouldn't expect her to end said fight before it would get any messier.

That was half the reason, at least in her mind.

With a certain someone around her at almost any given moment, Bakugou wouldn't dare to say anything, only a spiteful glare before walking away entirely. It was obvious their first encounter left a bad taste in the ash-blonde's mouth but never tried instigating a fight of any kind on his own, as compared to everyone else, Yukio was the only one who would stand his ground and never get intimidated by him. That's not including how their fight ended, which stuck as a reminder to choose your battles carefully.

At the end of the day, just like with Bakugou, and even in another school with new faces, It seems like some things just never change, and learning to accept that was a part of life. Simple enough.

She only hated how unfairly one-sided it was, she truly did.

"Izuka!"

The green-haired girl's eyes widened slightly upon hearing her name being called out, all other thoughts that were floating around in her mind vanishing instantaneously.

Looking off to the side, Izuka's eyes landed where the sound of her name came from. Even though the hallway was filled with students with unique appearances because of their Quirks and somewhat crowded in general, it was impossible to miss the combination of white and black darting across each of them with such grace and confidence.

Unlike her, who had a pretty crappy start to Junior High, the same couldn't be said for Yukio.

Given the nature of his Quirk, to not repeat the same cycle as in Elementary School, Yukio decided to settle on using a single ability without utilizing the others they've collected over the years. Initially, she expressed concern over the idea, as it would basically mean putting extra attention to not accidentally revealing his other Quirks to the other students, which would be a difficult task in itself.

However, her friend simply reassured her it was the least of their concerns. To put it into his own words, he "wouldn't care" if others found out about the true capabilities of his Quirk, rather it being a security issue. For the foreseeable future, it was best to keep it a secret while simply training and collecting others to be well prepared when they go to apply for U.A. after graduating Junior High.

That's not what made him stand out, not by a long shot.

While restricted to using a single Quirk, it didn't stop his name from being quickly spread across the entire school like it was wildfire for other reasons.

Aside from him being a talented student overall, he was exceptional when it came to physical activities, even going as far as not needing to use his Quirk when they were allowed to be used. Theories of him being Quirkless quickly began to spread, but he immediately shot them down, giving a simple answer as "I don't need to use it" whenever it was brought up, or being cheeky in front of many students who could only stare in shock after getting the same kind of response each time.

His personality and rather "unique" appearance helped him to stand out even more. It was fairly difficult to not notice all the attention he was getting, and how can it be when almost every other person would come into contact with him and attempt to befriend him whenever they were at school. The worst offender is when they would completely ignore her existence to get him to notice them, which would happen quite frequently.

Despite all that, Izuka remained silent each time, fearing she might get in the way of Yukio befriending other students that were eager to talk to him. She accepted the fact that there may come a time when Yukio would simply want to interact with other people and be a part of different groups in general. While growing up, Izuka wanted nothing more than for her friend to experience success and receive the admiration he rightfully deserved.

Given this newfound popularity, and being the talk amongst the entire school, in a positive light to boot, she was afraid that they would spend less time together as a result. Being unable to befriend anyone else, Izuka didn't want to use that as an excuse to be clingy and for her inconvenience to prevent him from going out and meeting new people.

However, that never happened.

No matter how different their circumstances were now compared to a few years ago when they first met, this was one of those things that always stayed the same.

There wasn't a day where the same scene would play out over and over again. Never, and quite literally never did he venture off with someone else during school or after, as in his own words it's an "excruciating" experience at times, something she simply couldn't wrap her head around.

Even though he was popular and was able to strike up a conversation with anyone so easily, the thought of him not wanting to socialize with other people made her question why he kept doing that, it just didn't make any sense, from her point of view at least.

Regardless, it would bring her so much joy each time when school would end, as he would be always there with the same expression and walking by her side. That single aspect is what made her entire school experience worthwhile, wishing that the very next day will play out the same way as it did up until this point.

For once, even though she plans on becoming a Hero who would do anything to help those in need and make compromises so others could be happy, this was the one thing, no, the only thing that she couldn't easily let go of.

If things really do stay the same, with no sign of any change whatsoever, then it's only fair this stays the same as well.

It was okay for her to be selfish, only for this one, specific instance.

Was it?

---

"Thank god you're still here!" I said joyfully while coming to an abrupt stop. "Did you grab all your stuff?"

"Yeah…?" Izuka asked curiously, tilting her head to the side. "Why are you in such a hurr-"

"Good!" I said hastily while gently turning her around and pushing her forward. "Cause we're leaving, right now…!"

"Y-Yukio-kun…!?" Izuka stuttered as she allowed me to keep on pushing her as we walked. "What's gotten into you…!?"

"If I have to listen to one more obnoxious "hey man!" or an attempt to talk to me while minding my own business, I will lose it," I said lowly, ignoring the numerous sets of eyes that follow me each day I enter this school. "Like seriously, I can't spend a single hour actually doing work in class without getting pestered in some way or the other. I won't even mention the bunch that follows me around everywhere I go."

"Oh, come on, Yukio-kun," Izuka said. "They can't be that bad, can they?"

I was about to respond before my eyes trailed down the hallway, finding the new group of the week I was trying to avoid and keep the interactions down to a minimum. Compared to the others I had to deal with, this particular bunch was particularly annoying for following me and trying to get me to hangout with them.

The curse of being exceptional in P.E., who would have guessed?

"Act like I said something funny," I whispered into her ear while hunching down slightly, putting an arm over her shoulder. "Try to make it convincing as well, please."

Without even missing a beat, Izuka did exactly what I instructed her to, placing a hand over her mouth while releasing a continuous laugh. I quickly followed along by "continuing" with a random story as we walked, making it so any attempt of catching my attention fell flat on their end.

"Yes… they are…" I said through my clenched teeth, already feeling slightly better that I don't have to think of another excuse to slip away. "I can't even go to the bathroom without some peace and quiet."

"I'm sure you're just overthinking this," Izuka said calmly as we walked through the main gate."

"Listen, you have to understand, I'm not willingly avoiding them, I'm doing it so I can keep my sanity intact." I expressed while rubbing my temple, recalling all the absurd interactions I had over the past year. "I hoped Junior High would be a better experience, but it seems I just caused the opposite effect. Makes me think that keeping my Quirk a secret might have been the wrong choice…"

"I… genuinely can't tell if you're serious or not…" Izuka said with a blank stare.

I sighed. "Okay, I'm exaggerating a little here, it's not that bad, but… some of them don't even have basic manners, Izu," I began explaining. "There are probably a handful of people I can talk to without catching a headache. I spent the last year trying a different approach and so far, I haven't been able to hang out with anyone else longer than ten minutes before wishing I had a Warp Quirk to escape each time."

"Well… now we don't have to worry about that anymore…!" Izuka said cheerfully while changing the subject. "We got a weekend with no training planned, might as well make the most of it!

"Finally, some good news," I clasped my hands while looking up to the sky in a joyful manner, only for another thought to pop up in my mind as a result. "Speaking of which…"

I stopped in my tracks for a brief moment to get behind her, lightly tossing her ponytail off to the side while trying to unlock her backpack.

"Y-Yukio-kun…!" Izuka blurted out. "What are you doing…!?"

"Digging for treasure, what does it look like I'm doing?" I replied sarcastically while rolling my eyes, proceeding to search through her backpack now that we've momentarily stopped. "I know you keep it somewhere around here…"

Flipping through the many notebooks within her bag, I found the item I was waiting for all morning.

"Oooh, nice, very nice," I admired the manga choice of the day, a new one she picked up not too long ago. While admiring the book, my thumb trailed the edge of the neatly placed cover protectors that were noticeable on closer inspection. "You even got these cover protectors on it as well. Bet you can set these babies on fire and they wouldn't leave a scratch on them."

"When it's a series I'm fond of and I know I'll be carrying it around a lot, I'd rather not have them get damaged in any way. Attaching those protectors was a hassle, once they're on you can't take them off anymore. A one-time use, basically," Izuka explained before changing the topic. "Anyway, did you catch up on that?"

"Why did you think I went digging for it in the first place?" I replied with a grin, opening the first page that held a quick recap within several panels. "It's the only thing you've been gushing over for the last month or so. Decided to take a look for myself and got immediately hooked."

"You'll like the newest chapter," Izuka said. "I don't think I paid attention to a single lesson in class today because of it."

"What about the others?" I asked while flipping through the book for a quick overview. "These seem familiar, but my memory is a bit flimsy."

"You'll just have to find out for yourself, not giving away any spoilers…!" Izuka replied with a cheeky grin.

"Train or on foot?" I asked before diving into the opening panels.

"I don't mind walking, honestly," Izuka replied while doing numerous stretches. "Sometimes it's just better to relax after school with a nice walk. Besides, considering it's a Friday, you already know the ten minutes it takes to get home ain't worth the constant elbows to the head and lack of oxygen in such a stuffed crowd."

"Aye aye."

Four years have passed since Izuka and I first met, and my, how time flies when you're busy.

During this, we found and experimented with a bunch of new Quirks, alongside improving the ones I had from before. As I got better with each individual ability, we were able to precisely discover its limits and find further improvements, always managing to branch out into other fields one way or another during the planning phase.

Sticking to our excessive training plan, with the help from Sensei and everyone at the Dojo, we came a long way since we first joined. While improvement is an endless cycle, and I tend to be a bit harsh on how I measure it, it would be wrong to spit on all the progress we've made in the meantime.

My physical capabilities experienced slight improvements now that I'm a little bit older, but still a few years away from developing properly, which was a decent trade-off. With certain Quirks demanding a decent level of stamina and strength to use properly without any issues, it was better to be extra prepared just in case.

Since a part of my Quirk is Energy Absorption, we kept on trying to figure out how to make a sort of battery to always have it on hand, as you could never be too careful. It took a while, but we were able to make a prototype at the very least. Needing to have something small and compact, it's one of the many nifty devices we spent our time working on over the years.

Meanwhile, Izuka on the other hand was on a completely different level than when we first started.

We covered plenty of fighting styles till finding ones that best suited her, added with training her body to be able to accomplish many different feats. She practically memorized countless techniques and ways of dealing with her opponent in a fight, I should know, having experienced them firsthand many times over the years.

Our sparring sessions became more interesting, and personally, a lot more fun as well. Her stamina and endurance improved significantly, making it less one-sided since Izuka's combat knowledge had greatly expanded over the years.

By now, it was evident the progress wouldn't be slowing down any time soon, and the results were definitely starting to show. Naturally, I didn't go all out, as I knew what level to keep it on, but that doesn't mean her hits didn't pack one hell of a punch and kick.

Because of that, we were able to achieve quite a lot in these four years. One of my picks was to ensure she can tank heavy hits and how to deal with them, as knowing how much your body can withstand is essential to not make a wrong choice during battle. Pain endurance is a tricky one, but greatly beneficial in the long term.

Her determination truly shined after going over many different exercises, I don't think I ever heard her complain or upset when we trained, simply doing what was instructed and making sure to do it properly.

Aside from training constantly, we made a habit of doing other activities in our downtime so things wouldn't get repetitive. Since the number of Quirks I had could be used in various ways, it was easy to find a new method of entertaining ourselves in our downtime.

One of those new hobbies included gaming, instantly rekindling an old passion I have completely forgotten about, or to be specific, didn't think much about as I couldn't talk to anyone to resurface those interests. We totally didn't geek out over the potential abilities and combos we could mimic if we found the right combination, only further fueling our addiction while getting some ideas in the meantime.

School might have been a chore to deal with, considering every day I'd have someone new walk-up right into my face and act like personal space doesn't exist, but luckily, with Izuka being able to save me each time, I was able to stomach through it.

It was at moments like these I enjoyed the relatively slow pace the world was moving at, as well as once again experiencing the joy that comes with teenage hormonal changes.

Sadly, there are only a few years left to savor, but I might as well just keep doing the same routine and just live the moment while I can. After all this time, actually having some breathing room made this whole experience a lot more manageable, and to be honest, a little bit enjoyable in the process.

Even if it wasn't meant to last.

"Aghh! S-Somebody! Help!"

It happened so suddenly, and by the time I raised my head from the book, another scream quickly filled the air.

"What was that?" Izuka asked suddenly as we briefly shared a look, instantly bolting towards the direction of the noise while sliding her book into my bag.

Me being slightly faster, I turned the corner several seconds before Izuka did, finding a middle-aged man with black hair on the ground, trying to pry off a girl with blonde hair down to her shoulders, wearing nothing more than a simple black-colored school uniform.

While quickly observing the situation, my eyes widened as I noted the girl's features.

For a brief moment, I was stunned when I realized who the man's attacker was, Toga Himiko, a future member of the League of Villains.

More importantly, it would seem that the man was bleeding somewhere, the numerous red streaks of blood on both their clothes.

After I saw that, there was no more room left to think, only to act.

"You make sure the man is alright, I'll restrain her."

I instructed her as I took off my bag and jacket, throwing them off to the side before bolting towards the injured civilian. At the right moment when she raised her hand to strike again, I crashed into Toga to push her away, instantly standing up in a defensive stance to shield the man.

Instantly getting back up on her feet, Toga's head spun around with her shoulders slumped, breathing in and out quite heavily in the process.

We exchanged glares for a brief moment, getting a better look at her up close. Areas of her mouth were covered in blood alongside small sections of her clothes stained as well. Like a wild animal, Toga lunged headfirst towards me, briefly seeing her sharp fangs as closed the gap between us.

Before the bite could connect, I simply activated 'Dinosaur' for my arm to grow in size by a small amount, the outer layer of skin forming light brown-colored scales in the process. Just as she bit down, her facial expression didn't change in the slightest, only trying harder to pierce my skin but it was to no avail.

When that didn't work, she tried slashing my face with her surprisingly sharp fingernails, the Quirk once again came to the rescue, only affecting the side of my face where her hand went. While I wasn't afraid of getting injured, as I was easily able to avoid each of her attempts, my mind trailed off elsewhere.

"Something's not right here…" I thought the more I observed Toga up close. "The way she's behaving is not like how I remembered it, although she is still twelve or thirteen years old, so that explains the lack of any "psychotic" tendencies. It must be because of her Quirk, that much I knew, although not to this extent.

While she was reasonably fast for her age, there wasn't any strategy or plan by the way she was moving. It was dealing like a feral animal, releasing nothing but growls each time she would try to attack me.

Standing my ground, I grabbed her left wrist when she went for another attack, tightening my grip just enough so she couldn't slip away. Instead of playing tug of war, Toga merely

"It's okay! You're safe now…!" Izuka kneeled down to the injured man, trying to help him stand up. "Here, let me h-"

"A-Aghh, g-get away!"

Pushing Izuka off to the side and making her lose her balance, the man bolted towards the empty street, not even bothering to look back.

"He didn't appear all that injured, he's probably just in shock," The thought immediately came to mind while momentarily looking off to the side to take a proper look, catching the backside of the man turning the corner at the last second. "At least now he's out of harm's way."

Just as I turned my head back, Toga thrust her body forward to headbutt me in the nose, making me take a step back. The hit itself wasn't painful but the unexpected action on her part still took me by surprise, trying to do it again with more ferocity.

It was enough to make me lose my hold on her, using that opportunity to push me backwards while Himiko made a run for it.

"Damn it…!" I mentally cursed as I instantly got back on my feet, "Izuka! Watch out!"

Even though she saw her coming, Izuka didn't have much time to react as the blonde-haired girl crashed into her, throwing both of them to the ground with Toga on top of her.

Not wasting time, Izuka grabbed her wrists to keep them in place and pushed her back, preventing Toga from swooping down to bite her so easily.

When the opportunity presented itself, Izuka retracted one of her hands to hit her in the solar plexus. It was enough to stop Toga from attacking momentarily, taking quick breaths after getting hit in such a sensitive area.

It gave her enough room to wiggle out from underneath the blonde-haired girl, pushing her from behind to sit on her back.

"W-Woah!" Izuka uttered while trying to keep Toga in place, holding both her hands behind the blonde's back with some difficulty.

"Don't worry, I got you," I said reassuringly upon kneeling down beside her, absorbing a little bit of concrete in the process. "Just give me some room…!"

Still sitting on her back, Izuka moved back slightly while keeping Toga's hands, making the blonde-haired girl's body jerk upwards in an attempt to break free, but was unsuccessful. Using the stone I absorbed moments prior, I laid my hand on top of Toga's to release some in liquid form, commanding it to form makeshift cuffs. Just as the process was complete, Toga started thrashing around once again, only more wildly than before.

Needing to keep her from escaping, Izuka and I moved her off to the side, briefly touching the cuffs to connect them to the wall's surface.

"Okay… what now…?" I asked the question that was on both our minds.

"Well, for starters, does anything seem… off, to you?" Izuka asked with a hint of uncertainty while looking down at Toga, who was still unable to stay in place for longer than a second.

"Aside from her refusing to use words and only growling at us, I can think of a few things," I commented in a light tone but still containing a hint of seriousness. "She appears to be our age, but for her to act this way is…

"Well, for her to be in this 'feral state', it could mean only one thing, her Quirk is messing with her physical and mental health, most likely from a lack of appropriate control. She seems almost… What's the word… hungry?"

"That's what I think as well," I agreed with her. "While on that topic, I'd wager it's a Blood-related Quirk."

"How do you know?" Izuka asked.

"If you look closely, you can notice some of her teeth are different from the rest, they look like fangs if you ask me," I explained. "When she tried attacking me, she wasted no time trying to bite me anywhere possible, and when I used my Quirk to reinforce my skin, she immediately switched to a different area. That aside, she would've used it already if she wanted to harm someone."

"That does make sense," Izuka pondered with a thoughtful look. "If that's the case, who knows how long she's been dealing with these kinds of issues, but I feel like it's more complicated than just that."

"What are you talking about?"

Izuka stayed silent for a few seconds, staring down at the blonde-haired girl with an apologetic look. "I'm not sure but… when she was on top of me and I got a chance to look at her up close. If she needs blood because of her Quirk, I'm fairly certain she hasn't gotten any for a long time to behave this way. It's like… she's aware of what she's doing but can't control herself. I know it sounds off but… that look in her eyes, I can tell she's in pain, and I'm positive she didn't mean to do any of this. I'm just curious what she's been through for her to act like this."

Oh, why did this day have to get so complicated?

Himiko's case was fairly complicated, to put it lightly.

The fact that her parents completely neglected her and forbid her from even using her Quirk, an ability that requires Blood so the user can stay fully functional, it's actually baffling that they truly thought she wouldn't grow up without any issues.

I'm fairly positive Toga indeed was normal during her childhood, with her issue gradually becoming more serious over time, staying like that before finally reaching her breaking point. Putting her Quirk off the side, the way her upbringing affected her mental health only further contributed to where she would end up. Being labeled with a villainous Quirk, keeping it a secret seemed the best thing to do, but at what cost?

A person's Quirk doesn't represent their entire character, but some give into peer pressure and convince they're someone they aren't, with a good amount of mental problems forming over time.

That's where I asked myself a simple question, was there any room left to help her?

A part of me kept saying there was still hope, she was still relatively young, after all. That factor alone weighs a significant amount, and if so, a few years of adjusting to get her back on track seemed reasonable.

At the same time, it could already be too late to try and help her, the feral state she's in making me think it was. The story was vague when detailing the exact date where she "snapped", as from that point the effects of her Quirk changed her mentality completely, possibly even passed the point of repair.

Psychological and mental trauma can come in all sorts of shapes and forms, some more complicated than others. Furthermore, in this world, how much can a person truly endure all that while also factoring in a rather essential part of life that is different compared to everyone around you.

Crap, what do I do? What can I do?

"Help me… p-please…"

My thoughts were shattered when I heard that weak and barely audible plea.

I wasn't prepared for the sight before me, at least my morality wasn't.

Instead of thrashing around and yelling to be released, Toga's entire demeanor changed completely, replaced with a horrified expression with tears flowing out uncontrollably.

"I-I'm… s-sorry," Himiko uttered while the tears continued to trail down her face uncontrollably. "I-I didn't m-mean to hu-hurt anyone…"

This was no act, rather genuine remorse upon realizing what Toga just attempted to do.

That means our theory of Toga acting this way solely because of her Quirk is now harder to dismiss, as I couldn't find a hint of cunningness or an ulterior motive in her eyes. Any sense of concrete logic I had was replaced with empathy, finding it difficult to imagine her as the same person that would end up being a serial killer, rather a scared girl with a Quirk her own parents were afraid of and forbid any use of it.

Instead of teaching her healthy ways to deal with her feelings and situation, they did everything in their power to force her to hide and deny that part of herself and pretend to be "normal" like other kids. On top of that, with an ability like this, where it can potentially twist one's sense of reality and common logic if not handled properly, especially when a child develops that kind of power from a very young age.

Taking a look towards Izuka, I was met with an equally worried expression, unsure what to make of this situation. While we're both aware of how some Quirks have certain needs that may cause the user to behave differently as a result, there were simply too many variables to take into consideration. However, after witnessing this, it just didn't sit well with me, not in the slightest.

Again, I'm forced to make a difficult choice, one that might have a massive effect on how some future events will play out. Furthermore, there is no possible guarantee that our meddling will change something that might be already too late to fix. I kept going back and forth the more I thought about it, unable to reach any sort of conclusion to this dilemma.

Yet, the longer I looked down at Toga in such a weak and miserable state, coupled with her plea for help that kept ringing in my head, I was reminded of a cruel lesson, one I learned years ago.

Monsters aren't simply born into this world, rather they're made by how society treats its own people.

Not everyone could be placed in the same category, some never even got a proper chance to find the right path for themselves, or an ounce of help to guide them towards it. The whole system was completely unfair, and nobody deserves to live in such conditions when they never had a glimpse of what it is like to be treated properly in the first place.

Seeing her head slowly falling off to the side, using the last of her strength to stay conscious while quietly sobbing, my mind was made up.

I made a gamble before, might as well do it again.

"Crap, she's a minute away from passing out entirely," I commented on her weak state, doing several additional checkups for extra measure. "Quick Heal is basically useless since it can't help her with what her Quirk needs, or keep her awake."

"Well, if blood is what she needs, maybe there is still a way to help her." Izuka suggested while rolling up her sleeve, kneeling down to Himiko with her arm right in front of her face. As if on instinct, and with heavy breaths, Himiko opened her mouth to bite down, but couldn't do more than lightly
nibble on the surface of her skin.

"She doesn't have enough strength to even open a wound to take it." Izuka said hastily.

"Furthermore, I don't think it would be enough to simply bite down if she could," I said in a serious tone. "If she's like this, she's gonna need way more than a few milliliters from us two in this weakened state."

"What do we do?" Izuka asked worryingly. "None of your other Quirks are useful in this situation, maybe we should try finding a Hero?"

"Might not be enough time," I responded hastily, thinking of ways on finding a solution to our little situation. "Unless they would have a mobility-type Quirk, it would still take a while before she can get any medical attention."In the likelihood that we get separated, or if I arrive before you do, I'll be near the reception desk or something. Sound good?

Without replying, Izuka hastily took out her phone, fingers furiously tapping the screen while bringing it closer to her face.

"There… is a hospital… not too far away but not exactly close either," Izuka explained, turning the phone over so I could see. "We're all the way over here, and we have to go… here."

"That just won't do," I said bitterly, thinking about what we can do at the moment.

Taking out a random notebook, I wasted no time finding an empty page before making a stone pencil in my free hand, producing a small amount of ink from my forearm to draw a small bird with wide wings. Once its body was complete, a brief moment of silence passed as it manifested out of the page, instantly darting upwards into the sky to find any Heroes that might be in the area.

After about a minute, the bird came flying down at high speed before landing on my wrist, merely shaking its head in a loop.

"There aren't any Heroes around the area either, meaning we can't depend on them to rush her to a hospital." I said with a frown.

"Can you make it there by carrying her?" Izuka questioned. "Judging by her state, we shouldn't waste any more time doing nothing. Getting her to someone who can properly help as soon as possible should be our main priority."

"What about you?" I asked, feeling like something wasn't clicking. "I can't exactly stay at an even pace if I were to carry her."

"Don't worry, I'll catch up," Izuka said reassuringly. "I may not be as fast as you, but that doesn't matter right now. If we both know we're heading, me being a little behind won't be an issue

She did have a good point, time was of the essence, and having knowledge of how her situation will turn out, every minute from this point onward was critical.

Still, I didn't want her to leave her behind, but luckily, I had a decent solution to that issue.

Flipping to an empty page, I quickly began drawing a relatively detailed sketch of a lion, taking a total of thirty seconds before it was fully complete. I am aware that using Quirks in public was against the law, but seeing as there weren't any Heroes around, and this was somewhat of an emergency, might as well make it so Izuka doesn't have to run all the way there on her own. I tossed my jacket into the backpack before putting it on from the front, so it wouldn't bother me nor cause any discomfort to Toga while we were moving.

"They may easily dissolve if I don't put in the proper amount of focus and energy, but since only one would be active and be right behind me, it should last a while," I explained to her, kneeling down to place Toga's arms around my neck, grabbing her legs while slowly lifting myself up."

Hopping onto the tiger's back while giving her the direction of where we were going, giving me a thumbs up in understanding, I gave her a nod before entering a slow run, waiting for her to catch up before we turned the corner. Once we did, I blasted off towards the hospital, making sure to stay at a reasonable pace without shaking too much.

Taking a look behind me, I found Izuka several meters away, riding on top of my creation without any issue or making too big of a gap distance-wise.

Focusing my attention on the blonde-haired girl once more, observing her for a few moments before turning to concentrate on the empty sidewalk ahead of me. In the span of those few, short seconds, all the thoughts I had in the last several minutes began replaying back in my head, briefly second-guessing my decision before dismissing the thought entirely.

Nothing is set in stone, at least not yet.

---

"Where… am I…?" Himiko thought groggily upon opening her eyes, quickly closing them as the sudden light felt like "What… did I do…?"

Trying to recall the last thing that happened, Himiko vaguely remembered the events prior to her blackout, everything else was hazy at best.

At one moment, she was simply walking around aimlessly while trying to get her Quirk to calm down, which led absolutely nowhere. The next, Himiko found herself running after a random civilian before "blacking out" again.

Over the past few months, these urges caused by her Quirk only got more intense, and incredibly difficult to contain. The lack of blood in her system was gradually beginning to take its toll, both mentally and physically.

Despite that, informing her parents of what was going on proved to be futile.

Her parents told her doing such things was wrong, and like with many other instances, she understood that, but she couldn't do anything when her Quirk started acting up.

It was out of her control, it truly was.

Last year in school, her grades and social interactions gradually began to decline, as any resemblance of focus was impossible to hold for long periods of time.

Then there was a lack of blood she was able to obtain, that was a whole separate issue on its own. While she was able to make some "friends" in Elementary School, asking them such a request seemed pointless the longer she considered it. There was also a momentary discussion where Blood Quirks were mentioned through conversation, with one pointing out how It was enough to make her forget to ask anyone else about the topic ever again.

The only substitute she had that managed to ease her suffering was occasionally finding a dead bird or a cat on her way home and drinking what little amount of blood she could from its carcass to calm her urges for just a few brief hours.

Sadly, in the end, all she could do is pray that the next time it won't be such a painful experience, but that was nothing more than wishful thinking.

No matter how much she wanted it, her situation only got more severe as time went on, today being a prime example.

She remembers the man's horrified face as she tried to drink his blood, the one single bite she was able to do before being smacked away, the scene replaying in her head over and over on repeat. Chasing him down through multiple city blocks like an animal, her body unresponsive to any of her commands to stop right then and there, only focusing on the blood when she briefly tore into his skin.

Despite doing that, it still felt like the blonde-haired girl was forgetting something.

"Oh… that's right…" Himiko thought remorsefully as she slowly remembered the last few minutes before blacking out. "I attacked that boy and girl as well…"

If Himiko felt awful already, this was the icing on the cake.

Neither seemed to have any intention of harming her when she was in that state, yet, Himiko was unable to calm down, despite her efforts.

Himiko only wished she could apologize to the man and the two

"Why… can't I just be normal… like everyone else…?"

She asked herself that question countless times before, always being met with the same answer. Maybe it was just who she was, a girl with a "villainous" Quirk that she couldn't change, which in turn meant people would see her as a monster with the need for blood.

It was just unfair.

.

.

.

Wait, why was her body "shaking" constantly… in sort of a rhythmic motion as well?

Furthermore, why were her arms and legs locked in place?

Opening her eyes once more, Himiko tried to keep them from closing again to find out what was going on. Countless cars and bystanders passed by in a blur, the constant change in scenery making her only more nauseous, forcing her to turn her head to get a hold of herself.

What instantly caught her attention was a black and white-colored lion not that far away from her, adjusting her vision to spot a girl with green hair riding on top of it. Why did she seem familiar?

Slowly sliding her head forward, her eyes immediately noticed black-colored hair on her right side. From such an awkward angle, she couldn't properly identify who it was, but the streak of white hair from the front made everything click.

It was them, the boy and girl she attacked.

What was going on?

"Where… are you taking me…?"

Himiko tried uttering those words with as much strength as she could muster but came out nothing more than a weak croak.

"Oh! You're awake…!" The black and white-haired boy said softly while turning his face slightly to the side so she could see his face properly. "Hang in there, we're on our way to a hospital. We're should be there any minute now, so hold on for a little more

Did she hear that correctly, or was her mind deceiving her?

Why… why would they be helping her, even though she tried to harm them?

No, that's not it. It just doesn't make any sense, there had to be some sort of misunderstanding.

People are afraid of her when she behaves unnaturally, why would this instance be any different?

Taking another look behind her, Himiko's eyes locked on the green-haired girl while trying to keep her head from shaking constantly.

Because the other girl was a little farther away, her blurry vision made it sort of difficult to focus properly, only able to see her face but not much more than that.

Before she knew it, the girl smiled and Himiko saw her lips moving, but she couldn't make out what she was saying. For some odd reason, a part of her kept saying it really didn't matter, the way her expression changed before addressing her with a reassuring smile made her feel… at ease?

Even though she tried her hardest to not pass out again, her eyelids were growing heavier with each passing second, unable to give in without finding out why this whole ordeal was happening.

Regardless, the odd sensation in the blonde-haired girl's stomach kept telling her not to worry about it, somehow washing away all other questions and concerns that troubled her at the moment.

Over time, the idea of this all being a very vivid hallucination kept growing in Himiko's mind, unable to fathom that the same two people she attacked are trying to help her. The idea of that is just absurd.

Yet, even if that was the case, she desperately wanted to believe otherwise

---

After about fifteen or so minutes of running without stopping, the only exception being the occasional red light to not cause a traffic incident, we finally made it to the closest hospital.

Before we departed, I memorized several key places that I would pass by on my way over here, knowing exactly how much more is needed to reach our destination.

On our way here, we encountered a Hero that warned Izuka about using Quirks in public, to which I explained the reason why we were in such a hurry. While the man understood the situation, Quirks weren't allowed to be used in public but it wasn't a big issue, only forcing me to run faster and wait for Izuka at the hospital.

Luckily, the moment I brought her in, a doctor with his assistant immediately took notice, taking her into one of the many rooms to conduct their procedures.

While I was able to recall how the story presented Himiko and the insight into her psychology, I still needed her to get a medical check-up before I could proceed forward. I could only guess, but I'd assume the one and only time she got one was when her Quirk appeared, and her parents

Whatever the case may be, I just need some of the fine details, handling the rest is manageable afterwards.

I just really hope the damage wasn't that severe yet, but only time would be able to give me an answer on that.

"Yukio-kun!"

Being snapped out of my thoughts, I looked off to the side to find Izuka at the entrance waving at me, jogging a bit more to close the distance between us.

"Damn, you're quick," I said to her with a smug look. "Could've sworn I kicked it into high gear when that cop told you to jump off my lion."

"Yeah…" Izuka said in-between breaths, resting her hands on her knees. "I didn't stop running until I saw the hospital in the distance… we're lucky it wasn't too far away…"

"Here, drink up," I handed her the water bottle that was nearly full, only taking a few sips myself and playing with it to pass the time.

After gulping down half the water bottle, Izuka didn't waste time asking the main question "What about her? Did they tell you anything?"

"Dunno yet," I merely shook my head. "Still haven't gotten any update on her condition. It taking so long makes me think they want to be thorough in her check-up than immediately assume the worst.

In the corner of my eye, I spotted the same doctor that went to do a check-up on Toga, talking away with a colleague.

"Talk about good timing," I said quietly as I instantly started walking toward the doctor upon spotting him. "Excuse, sir?"

The two men stopped their discussion when I grabbed their attention, the younger man speaking up with an eyebrow raised. "Oh, so you're the boy who brought her in?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "She passed out roughly twenty minutes ago. We were thinking about calling an ambulance, but that seemed like it would take too long so I just carried her all the way to the closest hospital."

"Well, it's a good thing that you brought her in," the doctor responded. "Considering what her Quirk is, it could've been way worse if you arrived any later."

"Really? How bad is her condition?" Izuka asked.

The doctor looked towards his assistant for a brief moment, releasing a sigh before turning his attention back to us. "Look, you have done more than enough by bringing her in. Trust me, it is better if you two don't worry yourselves over something that does not concern you."

The other man quickly followed up. "We promise you that we will notify her parents of her condition, as well as advise them of what to do in the future so she doesn't have another accident such as this."

After the doctors recited this statement, the two men turned away to leave.

Oh, hell no.

There is no way I'm letting that happen.

If her parents find out she ended up in a hospital it will cause all sorts of issues.

While the question of what happened can easily be altered, the aftermath is what I'm more worried about. If anything, it just might make things even worse for her when she gets home.

Not on my watch.

"Sir…!" I called out to the doctor, making the two men turn around with a puzzled look. "I know I may not look like it, but I am a member of the student council, and I take my job rather seriously. Knowing her condition and the cause of it isn't just for our sake. but for her as well. Also, my Quirk might be capable of helping her if I know the details regarding her situation. So please, if you could, any information you are able to share with me will be of great help to prevent any incident in the future."

The doctor merely blinked several times in confusion, most definitely surprised by what he just heard.

"Oh, just explain it to them, already," The colleague expressed hastily in a relaxed demeanor. "I have a hard time keeping kids focused for their Quirk checkup, let alone getting a chance to teach them something and not talk to the parents all the time. I'll go check if the others need help with anything."

The doctor pitched his nose while releasing another sigh. "Might as well, I guess…"

While motioning with his hand to follow him, we began walking through the doorway where we first spotted them.

"How is she?" Izuka asked worryingly as we walked beside the medical professional.

"She's stable, your friend's timing couldn't be any more perfect," The doctor began. "With these sorts of things, especially among children, it can be rather dangerous if they go without a medical check-up."

"When do you think that was?" I asked. "For her case, I mean."

The doctor shrugged. "We checked her file, and quite a lot of time has passed since then. That is, unless her family has a doctor they already know, but I find that to be very unlikely. It's not mandatory to do checkups for Blood-related Quirks but it is advised to monitor the child's growth and to spot any issues before it's too late. As well as to prescribe the right dosage and permit to get it from any pharmacy."

That doesn't surprise me. For such specific Quirks, having a note from the doctor makes things a whole lot easier. Sadly, her parents are paranoid nutcases, so that was never an option.

"What about an addiction?"

"Hm?" the doctor raised an eyebrow at my question.

"Well, with Quirks such as these, I read that it's essential that users always have a supply of blood ready to not get any odd "urges" or cause any interior problems. Now, I'm not sure whether any of that is accurate, or not, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on the matter."

"Yes… that would be the case if the person in question goes without it for several years at the very least. To be honest, it really depends on the Quirk. Say, two people have the exact same Quirk with only one minor difference, on the surface, it doesn't have to mean much but in some cases, that difference can mean a tremendous amount to the person in question ." the doctor paused momentarily before continuing. "Excuse me, I'm still bewildered that I'm having this sort of discussion with a Junior High student."

"I get that a lot," I replied casually with a smile. "I can't really blame you, if I'm being honest."

"Speaking of which…" The doctor turned to me with a puzzled expression. "I have to ask, from the way you were talking about her, has this sort of thing happened already before?"

Obviously, tip-toeing around certain questions can always be tricky, and while talking to a medical professional, I'd rather be honest. However, the best I could do is give half a lie.

"We met her last week when school started," I began explaining calmly. "She is a transfer student, so she didn't really know anyone else besides us who showed her around. We learned she had a Blood Quirk of some kind, but she never gave us the specifics, seemed to be like a sensitive subject so we stopped asking her about it."

"Makes sense, some children tend to be rather secretive if their Quirk ain't normal in their point of view."

"I'd rather not focus on what caused her to act that way, rather the solution to make sure it doesn't happen again," I told the doctor with a serious expression.

The man stayed silent for a few seconds, studying me intently before forming a low smile. "Guess I was wrong about you, my boy. I'm glad to know she has such caring friends to look out for her, many kids would most likely be afraid solely because of her having a Blood-type Quirk. As for your friend…" The doctor turned back to look at Toga through the window. "I'd heavily advise making sure she drinks blood in small doses, for now at least. Since she didn't have the chance to do so properly for a long time. Poor girl is probably having black-out moments with how she looks."

"Will she need to spend the night here or?" Izuka asked after the doctor finished.

"She'll be fine in another half hour or so," the doctor motioned with his hand. "Just for safe measure, keeping her a bit longer for the fluids to properly set in. By the way, you said before your Quirk could help her, may I ask what it is?"

"It's a Copy Quirk, I'm able to store several Quirks at a downgraded level than the original, but still be decently effective," I began explaining to the doctor. "If it's alright with you, I was kind of hoping to ask either you or one of your colleagues if I could copy a Healing Quirk of any kind to have, just in case."

The man rubbed his chin for a few seconds before responding. "You have no issue with copying Emitter Quirks? That's the type that is most commonly used for medicine."

"No, in fact, those are the type of Quirks where I excel the most," I answered, unable to tweak the truth about my Quirk, as almost all healing Healing Quirks are categorized as Emitters. "Transformation and Mutation ones aren't my forte."

Damn me and this ever-present paranoia I carry around everywhere I go. It was probably unnecessary, but with a certain other doctor roaming around somewhere, I'd rather keep details down to an absolute minimum.

"All of them seem to be rather busy at the moment. Although…" He turned around to scan the rather hallway, stopping once his eyes landed on another colleague talking to the woman behind the desk. "Hmm, I may have just the thing that might be of use. Come, follow me."

---

After a few more minutes of talking to one of the doctor's colleagues, we finally found a nurse willing to share her Quirk with me.

The Quirk itself, called Healing Aura, was a jack of all trades in terms of healing abilities, not exactly super regeneration but leagues above Quick Heal for what it could be used for. The one-tenth aspect would be an issue if I didn't have Energy Absorption to make up for it, so I'll be able to use it with higher potency after some training.

Upon entering Himiko's room, we made our way to her bed with each step slower and more delicate than the last. She was still asleep when we entered the room. She lay on a bed in the deepest part of the room by a plain white wall. The room itself was sparse with two beds divided by a curtain that was white with blue rubber ducky print all over. Our Initial steps into the room must have been a bit too loud and piqued her curiosity.

For the first few minutes, both of us merely talked in a hushed tone, as to not disturb her rest.

Until at one point, her head began to turn in our direction, it abruptly stopped when she spotted us with her eyes widening slightly

Both of us were surprised for a brief moment when we established eye contact, but we didn't wait too long before she spoke up. "It's you…"

"Heeeey…" I spoke softly, while Izuka smiled with a slight wave of her hand.

"How are you feeling?" Izuka asked in a gentle tone.

"I'm…" Himiko stopped herself before uttering anything else with an abrupt pause. Despite her being in a weakened state, I could tell she was "afraid" as this was the only instance of somebody acknowledging her issue and willingly helping her, with the constant neglect she experienced over the years hard for her to process everything that happened in such a short amount of time. Biting her lip briefly, she finished her sentence. "Better now… thanks to you…"

"Good, good," I merely said, more of an instant response than anything. "Told you it wouldn't take us long to get here. Even better, the doctor said you'll be good as new in an hour or so."

Himiko merely bobbed her head up and down slowly, not taking her eyes off us. "Can… I ask you two… something…?"

"Of course…!"

"What do you want to know?" Izuka followed up softly.

"Names…" Himiko uttered softly before repeating her question once more, a bit louder. "What are your names…?"

Forming a warm smile, I introduced myself while doing a slight bow with my head. "I'm Toshiaki Yukio."

"And I'm Midoriya Izuka," The green-haired girl replied softly. "Do you mind if we learn yours?"

"I'm… Himiko…" she paused momentarily before speaking up a bit more confidently. "Toga Himiko…"

There was a long silence that filled the room as we stood there staring at this timorous girl. Regardless, we merely allowed her to save her energy and reassured her that we will accompany her home when we leave the hospital.

The declaration most definitely came to a shock to her, that much I'm sure of. Yet, all she could do is give a nod in approval, before the room fell into silence once more.

---

"Do you think she'll actually be there?" Izuka asked as we exited the train.

"Something tells me that's all but guaranteed," I replied with certainty, taking a moment to look around if this was the right stop. "After yesterday, I can't shake the feeling that she needs this. I have a hard time thinking she wouldn't at least want to talk about it."

After the whole hospital incident, we had to think about how to tackle our next issue, befriending and getting to know Toga. Turns out, Izuka had no issues with it whatsoever and wholeheartedly agreed that the person we saw that day wasn't the real Toga, not caring all that much about "first impressions" given the circumstance. Being passionate about Quirks in general but born without one, she never saw any of them in a negative view and was aware that every case was different by nature, even this one.

Her perspective made it easier to just think in the moment, helping a small bit to ignore the image of Himiko in her later years and her rather tragic fate. It wasn't a recurring thing but still managed to pop up every now and then on its own, for good reason.

There was still hope, all we have to do is be present from here on out.

While the station was rather crowded at this time of day, it took all but thirty seconds when the next train came for it to disappear, a new batch exiting that dispersed over the course of a few more minutes.

I didn't immediately jump to conclusions, simply deciding to wait a little longer.

Yet, the longer we waited, alongside the dead silence at the train station,

"Oh… seems like I was wrong…" I said with a frown while looking around the train station, finding the blonde-haired girl nowhere in sight.

"Maybe she's running a little late?" Izuka pondered. "Or she missed her train and is waiting for the next one?"

I could only shrug in response, feeling a little disappointed that she had second thoughts and didn't want to meet up with us.

That was until my ears faintly picked up a few, but silent steps in quick succession.

"Hey… you two…"

Turning around, we laid our eyes on Toga wearing a simple black-colored hoodie with a pouch, and a white skirt.She was also carrying a purple bag that was cinched at the top instead, foregoing the zipper, and a pink cellphone. Her hair was put up in two round neat buns on each side of her head as she cautiously approached.

First of all, with Echolocation, I could sense any movement in close proximity, even to greater lengths if I were to put more energy into it, meaning I could sense if something was coming my way. Here, only noticing it barely a few seconds before calling out to us, it means she was hiding somewhere and waiting to see if we would keep our promise to meet up.

Regardless, that small detail wasn't important, she showed up in a non-threatening manner while displaying obvious signs of shyness and anxiety in her overall demeanor.

Oh yeah, there was definitely still hope.

"Himiko-chan! You made it!" I greeted the blonde-haired girl with a smile. "For a second there, I thought we got dropped off at the wrong station."

"Yeah…I arrived a little earlier than what we agreed upon…" Himiko replied shyly, looking off to the ground before continuing. "I didn't want to be late…"

"Regardless, we're happy you wanted to meet up

"Well then, shall we?"

The initial few minutes of simply walking in silence were rather calm, with only Izuka asking if she was alright and small nitpicky questions to be double sure,

"So, Toga, do you have any hobbies?" Izuka asks. Toga looks surprised at first and replies after a bit of time to consider.

"I-I guess I never ever considered if I had one or not." There was a moment of pause before Izuka asked another question.

"Do you have any allergies? Just want to make sure since it will make more sense when we get there."

"None that I can recall, so I don't think I have any? So…umm," Himiko began but had difficulty continuing. "Did you two have s-something in mind…or?"

"We do, actually," Izuka replied happily. "I think you'll like where we're going."

"You see, Izuka and I have a small tradition we do every Saturday, by eating at one of the best food places in Musutafu. We found it two years ago when we were done with training, and made a promise to visit at least once a week.

We walk into a small alleyway off of the main thoroughfare and wind down a series of small streets to a bustling downtown wholesale market. Fresh fish and produce were being sold openly in crates and buckets all in tightly packed stalls. We push past the many businessmen to one of the only permanent structures in the whole place.

The Street Food restaurant, which was a sort of a mix between a stall and a dine-in eatery, opened up to a lightly populated interior. The shop stall had a hodgepodge menu that was influenced by whatever was available in the market that morning. It's not always packed but the fried chicken bites are an ever-present and very popular item. They have always been made fresh to order for any passerby to purchase.

We go to the nearest table and wait for the owner to notice he has new customers. It takes about three minutes as he jots down notes on his pad from a customer that seems to be commissioning a rather large order.

The owner and waiter noticed us as he jots down a line at the bottom of his pad, with a finality that can only be had when a customer has finished their order. The kind man makes his way to us as he weaves through the motley of disorganized tables.

"Ah, you finally noticed us, Ichiro-san." I joked as I noticed the owner approaching our table. "Took you long enough."

"I can only be at so many places at one time, my little friend," Ichiro, a man with tanned skin and brown hair in his mid-thirties says. So, how have you two been?

"Oh, the usual, school's tedious, we know everything they teach us already, and train in the meantime," I replied while leaning back into my seat.

"Aside from us, how's business?"

"The usual, boring during the mornings, hectic during the evenings. Chicken has been selling out a little too fast, so I am trying my hand at selling takoyaki. So we'll see how that turns out." he stops for a second and leans in while forming a smile. "You two didn't stop by the other week, so I didn't get the chance to thank you for taking a look at my deep fryer."

"Oh, please," I waved it off. "I knew how many times you said it gave you issues so I decided to take a look-see for myself. Turns out that just some of the interior parts needed slight repairs and a little maintenance at the same time."

"For that, I can't thank you enough," Ichiro replied with a slight bow and hand clap."And I see you brought a new face, so today's bill is on me, it's the least I can do. So, what can I get you?"

Going over our order, with Izuka helping Himiko out on what to choose since she was a bit lost, we waited patiently for it to arrive.

While waiting we talked about many different small things to kill time. We were a bit careful on what to bring up topic-wise, as it was easy for us to assume that Toga might have a difficult social life.

"S-Sorry, you two," Himiko looked down in embarrassment. "I'm not exactly good at this sort of thing…"

"What… exactly, I mean?" I blurted out.

"This…" the blonde-haired girl gestured to both of us, and then herself. "Meeting and getting to know new people…"

"Don't you have any friends at your school?"

"I do, well… I can't really consider them "friends" if I'm being honest," Himiko clarified. "I never really told anyone what my Quirk really is, let alone anything about me without lying."

"Really?" Izuka asked for clarification. "Not even a single person from your school?"

Himiko looked down before replying. "When I first told a few other students what my Quirk was, most of them were weirded out by it," Himiko explained with a downcast expression. "They said it reminded them of something a Villain would have, or that I couldn't become a Hero because I would freak people out. After a while… I just tried ignoring everything but it became too difficult, so every time someone would ask me about my Quirk, I'd just make up an excuse why I can't use it."

"Yeah, but just because a few people say that doesn't mean it's true," I said softly. "More importantly, what are your thoughts about it?"

"I…" Himiko started, but quickly stopped herself to think it over a bit more. "...I'm not really sure. All this time… I tried so hard to keep it a secret after seeing other people's reactions after telling them, I just didn't want everyone to see me as some kind of Villain. On the other hand… I know I can't just change or replace it, and after yesterday, it just makes me think I'll be stuck like this forever."

"Well, there's a rather simple answer to that."

That made the blonde-haired girl perk up, looking at me with a hopeful expression that was a bit sad to see. She was so desperate for a friend and an honest connection to anyone or anything that would treat her with kindness. So Izuka looks her in the eyes and grabs a hand reassuringly.

"Those who are able to forgive themselves for who they truly are and are able to accept their true nature. A person's Quirk doesn't dictate who they are or who they'll be in the future, but rather trying to overcome their flaws and issues to better themselves. While learning who you are in this world is difficult, finding the things you don't like about your identity and wanting to better yourself is harder if you don't know where to start. Even so, making an attempt is sometimes more than enough to find your own path in life."

To which, I simply smiled. "Besides, being a little different doesn't make you weird, if anything, it makes you more unique. Regardless of how you look at it, you met up with probably the weirdest duo in all of Musutafu. So I think we'll get along just fine if you ask me. Right, Izu?"

Izuka released an awkward laugh at my statement. "Well… when you put it like that…"

The rest of our meal was spent mostly in silence, but in a comfortable atmosphere that made it enjoyable nonetheless. When we were finished with our meal, and saying goodbye to Ichiro-san upon leaving, we decided to stay a bit more in a nearby park before it got dark.

"Oh, I almost forgot, we brought a little something for you…"

Reaching into my bag, I took out a small cube-shaped box that, with a press of a button, had several parts open up to reveal what was inside.

Himiko wasn't sure what to make of it, but the obvious red-colored liquid in small bottles spoke for itself. "Is…that…!"

"Yup, it is," I replied with a smile. "When we were at the hospital, I talked a bit with the doctor that diagnosed you, and we got plenty of info from him. You obviously need blood in your system because of your Quirk, so we thought of this little idea to help you out. The two big ones are mine and Izu's blood, the rest are some of my dad's friends I asked last night. "We wanted to show you it's alright to tend to your Quirk's needs and not see it as a burden, or to be ashamed of it," Izuka chimed in. "All Quirks are unique in their own way, some more different than others. Yet, that doesn't mean the others are valued any less or deserve to get neglected. Gotta start somewhere, right?"

Looking back and forth between the two of us with a face full of utter shock, her eyes went down to the box, slowly moving her hand towards Izuka's bottle, lifting it up while shyly pointing at it. "I can…?"

Izuka and I immediately responded with encouragement, wanting nothing more than her to experience her gift in peace.

Taking a slow sip of her blood, Himiko's eyes went wide after a few brief seconds passed for it to

"It's so… sweet!" Himiko exclaimed joyfully while jumping slightly in excitement. "It's like… eating strawberry ice cream but ten times better! Also, I didn't tell you guys… but I can also do this…"

Before we could ask her to elaborate, Izuka jumped back slightly upon seeing Himiko's form change into an exact copy of her, including her clothes. "Woah, you can shapeshift into different people when you drink their blood?!

"Y-Yeah…"Himiko said shyly while rubbing the back of her head. "I learned I could do this a few years back, just never had much of an opportunity to use it. Since it was a while ago, I'm not sure how long I can stay like this, or if it depends on how much blood I need to extend the duration."

"Hmm, interesting…" I hummed, playing along like I didn't know what her Quirk was capable of. "Well, now that you can drink it whenever you need it, we can help you get it under control and hopefully learn more about it."

"You will?! Thank you so much! You don't know how much-" Himiko stopped mid-sentence when she turned to Izuka. "Umm, Izuka-chan… where did that notebook come from…?"

"Hmm?" Izuka hummed upon looking back up, tilting her head to the side.

"Don't even bother with that one," I said nonchalantly while waving the question off. "To this day, I'm still not sure where she keeps them. She does this anytime there is a new fact or idea she gets about a Quirk, don't mind her. Besides, about the gift, I'm glad you like it. Here, try mine."

While the blonde-haired girl perked up in excitement, she quickly composed herself to gently take the bottle, waiting a bit more before drinking it. It was obvious how much she appreciated the present as she shivered in delight while sipping the blood.

Toga, looking down, noticed the labels with names on the bottles. About three bottles had my name on the labels and two had Izuka proudly scribbled on it. Toga, curious, looks at the other bottles and notices there are about five bottles each from three names she doesn't recognize. The other bottles were from my father, two of his colleagues from work and some from Izuka's mother.

"There are plenty of those since they are grown-ups and can give more, I can sorta refill mine every now and then, but Izuka can't unless I use my Healing Quirk to make up for the lack of blood in her system." I began explaining. "Buuut, part of my Quirk also allows me to manipulate liquid as well, to a reasonable extent. With it, I just might be able to develop a way to reproduce the blood we already have, so we'll never have a shortage of it. Furthermore-"

.

.

.

"Wait a minute…"

I said suspiciously as I slowly brought my face closer to the girl with the ability to shapeshift, who at one point decided to transform into me while I was still talking.

Regardless of seeing my reflection in a full-body mirror every day in my room, it was far different from seeing your face on someone else entirely.

"Is that how I look from a different angle…?" I asked while tilting my head, beginning to feel an odd sensation from observing my own features the more I looked at her.


"O-Oh…" Himiko uttered before laughing awkwardly. "For a second there, I thought you might have gotten mad for turning into you."

"No, no, just weird seeing my face on someone else y'know?" I smiled, then motioned with my hands. "So how does mine taste?"

"Your blood is totally different from Izuka's! There are more 'flavors' to it, I guess? Not in a bad way, though! If anything, I think it has a unique taste to it, definitely not like any other I had before…!"

"Heh, sounds about right," I said jokingly. "Since my own DNA adapts to the Quirks I've copied, I guess it would only make sense my blood would be a little different as a result. What do you think, Izu?" I said while waiting for her to chime in on the matter, only to be met with silence. "Izuka?

Tilting my head to look past my lookalike, who did the same thing, I found Izuka staring at us with a blank expression while her mouth was slightly open.

"Izuka?"

"Izuka-chan?"

The two of us asked at the same time, with Himiko sounding more concerned as she brought her face closer to Izuka.

It immediately snapped Izuka out of her daze, shaking her head momentarily before responding. "What? O-Oh, yeah! I-I'm fine…!"

"Are you sure?" Himiko asked worryingly.

"Absolutely, Yu- I mean Toga-san…!" Izuka quickly corrected herself. "S-Sorry, just got confused for a second there… heh."

"Okay, if you say so, Izuka-chan." Himiko responded with a worried expression, which only made the green-haired girl even more apologetic for some odd reason.

Oh, yeah, this whole ordeal will be interesting. That's for sure.

---

For the first time, while walking towards her home, Himiko didn't look nervous, or fidgety. she instead just stared at her destination.

Her eyes didn't move an inch, just blankly staring forward while deep in thought, unable to do anything but go into auto-pilot mode.

Now that they went their separate ways, Himiko instantly felt saddened that the encounter ended so quickly, despite lasting several hours at the very least. A part of her wanted to turn around and go spend more time with them, but knew better than to do that.

That wasn't the only thing that was on her mind, though, the bag in her hand that contained a small box with numerous bottles of blood inside took up a considerable amount of space as well.

While the taste of blood was delicious and eased her entire being, the proper combination of words to explain that sensation to her simply didn't exist, and now after so long, she would be able to have it at a moment's notice.

Yet, this time around, Himiko didn't want to give in to her desire so easily.

Most likely because it was a gift from her actual "friends" that are meant to help her, and encourage using her Quirk instead of ignoring its existence. On top of which, even though Yukio implied getting more wouldn't be much of an issue, she didn't want to drink the entire batch in a short amount of time to get more.

Then her mind trailed back to her new friends, which instantly pushed everything else to the side.

It truly was weird, Izuka didn't have a Quirk and Yukio had one that allowed him to use multiple abilities and retain them. Through their conversations, Himiko could barely piece together what their school life must be like given their circumstances. Izuka, regardless of not having a Quirk, was full of kindness and compassion. While Yukio, who seems rather non-threatening in appearance and has a relaxed demeanor, was knowledgeable in a variety of things and used his ability to help others,

In her case, it was a bit difficult to compare.

She understood how her Quirk functions, but there were plenty of other small titbits she never learned about, or rather didn't get a chance to, but the fact still remains. Controlling it would be the most essential aspect and yet, she didn't know where to start.

Maybe despite her Quirk being what it is, the two easily pushed that fact off to the side and focused on her as a person above all else, even her "episode" she had upon their initial encounter.

It was there Himiko found herself at a crossroads of sorts, to put it in simple terms.

Before, the blonde-haired girl would have to keep plenty of aspects of herself a secret or tweaked to maintain some sort of relationship with other students, but it still felt… hollow.

She would work so hard to remain "normal" to experience any form of social interaction with her peers, yet, not once did it ever be what she hoped for. Having to pay attention to small details regarding her life to prevent any slip-ups in her story, only became mentally tiring over the years. On top of which, she never had the opportunity, to be honest with anyone or let alone others having a genuine interest in her Quirk.

That's why these last two days were so weirdly paradisiacal.

Himiko would be lying if she wasn't at a loss of words when the two showed her the gift they made for her, having another moment of pure disbelief at the events unfolding in front of her.

Her own mother and father repeatedly told Himiko nobody should see her Quirk or to even use it, but Yukio and Izuka wanted to see her use it freely and not think of it in a bad light.

"Never judge someone by their Quirk, but their sense of character…"

The sentence echoed inside Himiko's mind upon remembering their discussion during their meal. In her case, the concept seemed so foreign as she disliked her own Quirk since it first manifested and caused all sorts of issues because of it, as her entire personality was built on top of a lie as a result.

Now, for the first time, she doesn't have to keep that part of her a secret.

Even though she knew the duo for barely two full days, she wanted nothing else but to spend more time with them and re-experience the odd sensation in her stomach that made her feel tense but also a wave of reassurance as well. They weren't like any other kids she encountered before, there was something different about the two of them.

She was both scared and excited at the same time, the latter feeling being more unknown territory than anything else, but she wasn't ready to lose that odd feeling.

Not now when she finally got a real taste of what it was like.

Lightly gripping the bottle with a look filled with pure determination, Himiko raised it towards her mouth.

Allowing the liquid to flow back and forth in her mouth for a few seconds longer to savor the taste, the blonde-haired girl swallowed and licked her lips afterwards, raising the bottle once more so she could seal it properly without a second thought.

While the obvious sensation of wanting to drink more was present, she refused to give in to her urges. Regardless if it was easier than ever before, it simply wasn't worth it.

That's what she was slowly starting to realize, and it was impossible to not think about it even further.

Himiko herself wasn't sure where the sudden willpower to ignore those feelings came from, but the thought of Yukio and Izuka potentially being happy with her progress in controlling her Quirk made her all the more motivated.

The blonde-haired girl wasn't sure how this new development would transpire, considering it was only the first day, and thinking too much ahead proved to be difficult.

However, it would seem it's true what they say, you can always stay focused on something with the right type of goal in place.

Forming a low, but contagious smile, Himiko's face once again lit up with hope.

Waiting until tomorrow seemed like an eternity, but if it meant spending another day with her new friends, she would even wait a whole week if she had to.

-Quirks-

Healing Aura - emits a jade-colored aura from the user's hand that is able heal/repair abrasions, bruises, small to deep cuts etc. Initial usage has no requirements, but the longer it's in use, begins to drain the user's stamina and energy to compensate. The more energy used, the more severe wounds are able to be healed.


Dat concludes Ch.8, hope ya'll liked it

This was rather interesting for me to write, solely cuz Himiko's backstory always intrigued me. Canon itself was a bit vague on her past, both in the anime and in manga. I'm a firm believer she was a completely normal child during her youth, but due to the neglect of her parents regarding her Quirk, some mental/psychological issues began developing over the years.

I didn't want them to just meet when she didn't have any sort of issues, as I don't believe there was a time when that was the case. Maybe, at best through the age of four to six, but beyond that, that's where the issues gradually started growing. Here, we get an idea of how she appeared to be before she fully snapped, so hopefully, I got it right on how she would act around the two.

It won't take long to rach episode one of canon timeline, from this point on. One chap showing how our trio is doing after meeting each other and that should be it. I asked before whether the All Might scene upon meeting him should stay the same or not, and still debating it, but will have a decision soon enough.

Before anyone asks, I think Toga being the same age as Yukio and Izuka is a better choice, one year difference is potato potat0 either way. Want her to attend Class 1-B and consider a small buff to her Quirk to be able to manipulate blood to make weapons, but that's just me.

As always, if you have any suggestions or ideas or critiques, be sure to let me know by leaving a review. If they are any errors, as I'm know to let a few slip past me, I'll revisit the file again in the morning when I wake up

The link for Discord is " www - discord gg - bTyYgzEm7r" (Removes the - for the internet links).

P.S - If anyone is concerned about the name Healing Aura for the Quirk, I already asked Kairomaru for permission, he said it was perfectly fine if anyone's concerned.

Cya

~~~~~~~
Hipnyah - Temp beta here. It was a thrill to be in the writing process. I got to experience as a life coach, a writer, a beta reader, a lizard person (it was a wild deleted scene) , a friend to a writer that doesn't listen…. good times… till next time!
Chiao

 

[Hipnyah]

that looks like SO much more on here than i was expecting.

 

[Venyr4434]

Himiko opened her mouth to bite down, but couldn't do more then lightly

Click to shrink...

Sentence cuts off

"They may easily dissolve if I don't put in the proper amount of focus and energy, but since only one would be active and be right behind me, it should last a while," I explained to her, kneeling down to place Toga's arms around my neck, grabbing her legs while slowly lifting myself up."

Click to shrink...

"Is that how I look from a different angle…?" I asked while tilting my head, starting to feel a

Click to shrink...

Sentence cuts off

---

Tilting my head to look past my lookalike, who did the same thing, I found Izuka staring at us with a blank expression while her mouth was slightly open

Click to shrink...

Hmmm, kinky.

 

[Hipnyah]

Sentence cuts off



Sentence cuts off

---

Hmmm, kinky.

Click to shrink...

i'll be honest with you... i had 2 things he needed to fix last time and he took like 8 hours to get to them and fix them... So while i'm sure i would have found them... i think he would have waited to post this for another day at thee least if i made him fix those too XD

 

[Igeras]

Sentence cuts off



Sentence cuts off

---

Hmmm, kinky.

Click to shrink...

Pooor izuka is gona have some very nice dreams xD

 

[Darwin-18]

Sentence cuts off



Sentence cuts off

---

Hmmm, kinky.

Click to shrink...

Sigh... why did I know a few of them were going to slip past me xd. Ty for the notice, will fix em' up now

 

[GasperVladi0]

.....Yandere vampire Waifu get? Ah, fuck it, Yandere vampire Waifu get! Before I shipped Izuka and Less dickish Kevin- I mean Yukio. Now I ship them all, harem, trio, or poly please?

 

[CmirDarthanna]

It's be interesting if Toga could combine traits of the people she drinks blood from and then inject it back to the donors. Like an artificial instant quirk marriage.