Hero Team: Rainbow Storm
Chapter 2: Eijiro's Brilliant Idea
"All right, that should be enough for today. You're getting really great Midori, keep it up and you'll be better than me in no time!"
Midoriya Izuku wiped his face free with sweat with one of his small towels, completely and utterly exhausted by the workout. Over the past three months, Mina had been giving Izuku private breakdancing lessons. As soon as Izuku had learned that his pink friend was something of an expert in the art, he had asked if she would teach him. Izuku had insisted that it was just another workout, and that he was doing it to build flexibility, agility, and to incorporate those skills into his fighting, but it was pretty clear to Mina that after the first couple lessons, he was hooked.
"I d-don't really think so, Mina. I mean, i-it's only e-easier for me because I cheat a-and use my quirk for some of the harder moves." Izuku's face grew a red blush at the praise he received from Mina. Despite the two of them being friends for four months now, Izuku was still the least socially competent of their little group.
"Yea, and I sometimes use my acid when I dance as well, so we're both cheaters." Mina laughed at her own joke, prompting the shy boy to laugh as well. Her laughter was always infectious, and more than not brought a blush to his face.
Izuku had become much closer with Eijiro and Mina over those four months, something that Izuku initially worried would be difficult considering that they had known each other closely for a couple years before he transferred to their school. His fear had been almost completely eradicated over the four months, especially because of how they reacted when they had learned that he had only had his quirk for a couple months. They had run into one of Izuku's old classmate a little over a month after they had started hanging out, and when he had referred to him repeatedly as quirkless Deku, Izuku had no choice but to explain, though he kept out the part where the man had given it to him in his hospital room.
Despite his fears that they would reject him, or call him a fake for making them think he had been born with his quirk like everyone else, they had responded to the news well. Extremely well, in fact. Kirishima couldn't help but exclaim how manly it was that Izuku kept up his dream to be a hero even when he was quirkless, and Ashido had excitedly stated that if he had become as awesome as he had in only a couple of months without a quirk, that she needed to work harder to catch up. Not the reactions that Izuku thought they would have, but they were much better than the alternatives. That had also been when the two of them had practically forced Izuku to refer to them by their given names.
"Izuku, are you and Mina-san done with your lesson? I've made you both some snacks, you two must be exhausted by now."
"Thanks Mom!" Izuku said as he started stretching out his limbs, all too familiar with the aches that accompanied intense workouts like this. Mina was eagerly downing the water from her leopard water bottle, taking a glance at Izuku as she did so, a habit she had recently picked up, though she wasn't sure why.
Well, maybe she could, but acknowledging it was an entirely separate thing.
The snack was a plate full of delicious tuna onigiri, something that the two teenagers were immensely grateful for. Midoriya Inko had to run some errands soon after the two of them sat down, leaving Izuku and Mina to talk by themselves. And of course, with the upcoming exams right around the corner, conversation naturally drifted towards that.
"Midori, do you really think the three of us can get into U.A? I mean, I know that we're all training our asses off, but nobody even knows what the practical exam is."
If she were being completely honest with herself, Mina was terrified that she wouldn't be good enough to get into U.A. Even if she were to pass the written exam, which was something she knew was unlikely, the uncertainty of the practical exam was something that had her staying up late at night thinking about.
She knew Izuku could get in. Out of the three of them, it was no question that Izuku was the smartest one. And Mina had learned early on that his intelligence wasn't just limited to what they studied in school, but hero trivia, rescue tactics, proper usage of quirks, potential combat scenarios. Anything there was to know about how to best be a hero, Izuku knew like the back of his hand. He would be able to get in no problem. Frankly, she was surprised that he hadn't already gotten in on recommendation. Her on the other hand…
"To be honest, I've been wondering the same thing myself." Izuku replied to Mina, with a small, nervous laugh. "Now that we're getting so close to the exams, I keep wondering if I'm good enough. I mean, there are going to be people taking the exams that are smarter than me, and have been able to train with their quirk for their entire lives. When I think about it like that, the chances of someone like me getting in are pretty low."
That was not at all what Ashido Mina wanted to hear, and hearing Izuku of all people say something like that only made her feel down. Izuku was the most qualified person that Mina knew. If he was having doubts, then the chances of her getting in might as well be non-existent.
"But," Izuku continued, surprising Mina that he had more to say, "You and Eijiro have really powerful quirks, and if it's a combat oriented exam like most of the heroics course exams have been, then I'm willing to bet a whole lot on you two getting in. Although, if the exam would let us be in groups, that would be even better."
A simple statement at the end of the day. All that was really said was that Izuku believed she and Kirishima could get in. It was something she had heard before, and it was something she was sure she would hear again. But that was perhaps that strange thing. She had heard Eijiro say that as well, with a lot more enthusiasm and certainty, but she didn't feel the way she did now when he had said it. She didn't feel nearly as happy, as elated, as lighthearted when Kirishima was the one saying those things. But when Izuku said them, when he said something as simple as "I believe in you,"...
Mina forced herself out of those kinds of thoughts, not exactly sure what they meant, but feeling that now was not the time to think so in depth about them. "You say that like you're not going to be the one to get the highest score out of us, Midori." Mina said to the green eyed boy, causing a small blush to appear on his freckled cheeks. "If you don't get the top score on the practical exam, I know I'll be surprised."
"T-Thank you, Mina" Izuku said quietly to the pink girl, unable to meet her own black and gold eyes with his own. They continued talking, and before long Mina had to return home to finish up the homework they'd been assigned for the weekend. And it was when Mina had finally left the apartment that Izuku had a thought he had been trying to avoid thinking.
'Mina is really beautiful.'
***LINE BREAK***
It was late at night for Izuku when he heard the strange ring come from his phone, indicating that he had received a message from someone, most likely Eijiro or Mina, perhaps even both. This wasn't the first time they had messaged him at such a time, so it didn't surprise him at all, but with the math exam they had coming up he had hoped that they would be studying or sleeping. Evidently, his less academic friends did not think the same way he did.
Pausing his evening push-ups and picking up his phone and turning the screen on, Izuku saw that it was a message from Eijiro. Fully unlocking his phone, Izuku quickly navigated to the messaging app that he had.
Eijiro: Izuku, are you free tomorrow?
A simple question, and something that Izuku was easily able to answer considering that tomorrow was a saturday.
Izuku: Absolutely, is there something in particular that you have planned?
Eijiro: Yea, I thought of something awesome, but I need your opinion on it, and it would be easier to explain in person. Meet up at my house tomorrow for lunch, around 2pm?
Now Izuku was confused. What exactly was it that Eijiro wanted to discuss that was too complicated to call or text about? Was Mina going to be there as well, or was it something that only the two of them would be discussing? If it was just the two of them, was it something that they were keeping secret from her? All these thoughts passed through his head at an unrivaled speed as his crafted his response.
Izuku: I'll be there, see you tomorrow.
Eijiro: See ya.
The night passed quickly after that, and soon enough Izuku was heading out the door and making his was to Eijiro's house. The entire time he was thinking about what needed to be discussed. Eijiro wasn't one that usually needed to talk seriously, or explain things in an efficient matter, so all the effort that Eijiro was going through for this was just a little worrying.
After about a twenty minute walk, Izuku was standing on the doorstep of his friends house, having just rung the bell. And when the door opened, it was to a person he almost didn't recognize.
"E-Eijiro, is that you?"
Eijiro smiled at Izuku, taking his hair in his fingers and giving it a quick twirl in between them. Twirling his red hair in between them.
"You bet it's me! I guess you noticed my manly new hair. Red is a much more badass color than black! And if I'm going to be a great hero like the Crimson Riot, then I have to look the part as well. Half of being a hero is image after all."
Izuku gave a small chuckle at his friends words, having heard the new redhead say similar things in the past before. "Is that what you invited me over for, Eijiro, or was there something else that you needed?"
Eijiro widened his eyes at that. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Come in, come in. You're going to love this, it's gonna change our lives."
Izuku walked into the house, already familiar with layout, having been here a couple of times before. Eijiro led the freckled boy over to the living room where there was a large plate absolutely filled with mini sandwiches, no doubt made by the boys wonderful mother. But more surprising was the massive amount of papers scattered around, some with what looked to be notes, and others with drawing that looked comically childish.
"Woah, Eijiro, what exactly is going on here? And why does none of this look like studying material for our math test on Monday?"
"I can get to studying later." Eijiro said, completely brushing off the question. "But I had a thought yesterday, and I think it's amazing, but I wanted to talk to you about it first. I mean, you're kind of like the smart one of our group, and it would affect you and Mina."
"Um, okay Eijiro. What exactly is the idea?"
It was at this moment that Eijiro Kirishima decided that it would be best for him to take a dramatic pause. The two of them sat on the floor by the table for almost thirty seconds before Eijiro sucked in a breath and opened his eyes.
"Hero Team: Rainbow Storm!"
Another couple of seconds passed.
"Okay okay, let me elaborate. You, me, and Ashido should all become a hero team! The Rainbow Storm! You know, because with your green hair and eyes, my red eyes and new hair, and with Mina's pink hair and skin, we would make the most colorful team ever! I've got it all figured out!"
Eijiro quickly grabbed a couple of the papers to his left and scooted closer to his friend, placing them in front of the green haired boy. "Look, if we all get into U.A, then we can all take the hero team courses that they offer. It would be a lot of extra work, but I really think it'd be worth it. And I heard that sometimes the people in the hero team courses even get to go on real patrols with other hero teams as extra credit, and they go on a hero team exclusive field trip.
"And I know what you're thinking, about how the popularity of hero teams has been declining over the years in favor of single heroes. But if you look at the statistics, hero teams have been shown to save more citizens and perform rescue operations more efficiently than single heroes that get paired with other single heroes. Plus, popularity wouldn't be a problem with us, because of how awesome we'll be."
Izuku looked down at all the papers that Eijiro had handed him, skimming over their contents as his mind turned over what his friend had just proposed to him. His brain was swimming in thoughts, only getting more as he looked over all his friends facts, silly drawings of coordinated costumes, alternative hero team names, and how all their quirks would be able to interact with each other, as well as potential combined super moves.
"So, uh, what do you think? I know it's not completely thought out yet, I mean, I only had this thought yesterday. But I think it would be awesome for the three of us to become a team." Eijiro had a nervous smile on his face as he said that, his normal excited demeanor all but gone by now.
"I think… this is a wonderful Idea, Eijiro." Izuku said back to the red head, causing said boy to release a breath he had unconsciously been holding. "I mean, I can't believe that I didn't think about this before. The contrast of our quirks would be difficult to get around at first, but we've been training for a bit and I think we could get past it. And I think that with yours and Mina's quirks, we would be able to perform rescues pretty efficiently. Though it does look like these combination ultimate moves need work, but maybe we could do something with Mina's acid and your defense? I wonder how her acid would work on you when your quirk is active? Maybe we could use that to surprise potential villains"
"Izuku, man, you're mumbling again."
Izuku's face turned red with embarrassment. "Oh, sorry a-about that. But uh, in summary, it is a great idea."
Eijiro gave a small chuckle at his friends mumbling habit, before blowing into full blown laughter of happiness. Izuku grew a bit redder, but he soon began laughing with Eijiro. Both had to reach for the glasses of water on the table in order to calm themselves down, both to stop the laughing and to cool themselves off.
"Thank you Izuku. I feel so much more confident about this idea now that you've agreed with me. Do you think Mina is gonna like the idea as well? It'd be kind of weird if the two of us came to her with this idea and she didn't want to be heroes with us."
***LINE BREAK***
"That is the greatest idea EVER! Oh my god, yes, Hero Team: Alien Queen and friends! Oh I can't wait to get into U.A now! Those courses are probably going to be a breeze for us! Great plan Eijiro, you hit a homerun with this!"
'I guess that answers that question.' thought Izuku and Eijiro as their pink friend leapt out of her seat and began jumping around the cafe. Izuku thought about getting Mina to calm down, but she looked so happy, so he decided to let her have her moment. Soon enough, after most of the cafe had looked at her strangely and she had chanted her future hero name an extensive amount, she finally sat back down in her seat, her dark yet bright eyes absolutely glowing.
"I'm really glad you're happy about Eijiro's idea, Mina." Izuku said to the pink girl, causing a faint purple blush to appear on Mina's face, which he didn't notice, and a knowing and sly look to appear on Eijiro's face as he looked at the two of them.
"Thanks Midori, but I think we should really be thanking Eijiro. I mean, this is a seriously great plan. I had already thought about us doing some hero work together, but being a team makes that soo much easier. Oh, we could even live together or something! Get a cool apartment, like a headquarters!"
Izuku laughed at that, though now he was the one blushing about sharing an apartment with Mina. Eijiro only laughed, growing increasingly happy at how his two friends were making each other feel. They may not notice it themselves yet, but with the right pushes, he would make sure that they got together in good time.
***LINE BREAK***
"Come oooon Ashido-chan, it's just one afternoon. You never hang out with us anymore, you can take a day off."
"Eeehh, I don't know." Mina replied to Suzuki, a fellow classmate and friend, nervously rubbing the back of her head as she did so. "The exams are only three months away, and I have to work extra hard for U.A. I need all the training and studying I can get."
Izuku and Eijiro looked from their desks towards their pink friend, awkwardly watching as Ashido Mina once again turned down an offer to go to the mall with her friends, after having done so for what must have seemed like the millionth time. After Eijiro and Mina started training with Izuku, it seemed, at least to the rest of the class and their friends, that the two of them had basically dropped off the radar. Of course, most of them knew that they were spending their time with Midoriya, but there were just a couple of them that couldn't understand why they'd rather spend their time with the hero nerd than with them.
"Mina, you know you could go hang out with your friends after school if you want. It's not like missing one afternoon is going to set back all of our hard work." Izuku tried to tell Mina while the three of them were sitting at lunch, causing an embarrassed expression to appear on on the girls face.
"I know I could, but it just feels different going out with them now. I mean, I still love all the same stuff they do, but it just feels like they have different priorities. Besides, if we're serious about becoming a hero team, we need to start working twice as hard as we were before."
"How do you mean?" Eijiro asked, looking up from his protein filled bento. "It's not like we can train more than we already are. If we do that, we're going to overexert ourselves. And none of us can afford any extra classes right now."
"Maybe we don't need to up our training, Eijiro." Izuku replied to the thoughtful redhead. "We could spend a couple of our weekends studying for the hero team classes at U.A. I looked into it a bit more over the weekend, and it turns out that there's an extra test that we need to pass in order to join. I went over the mock exam and it wasn't too difficult, so that shouldn't be a problem, but there is always the practical exam. If we set aside some time on the weekends and study over some hero team rescue techniques and battle strategies, and try to adapt them for our quirks, I think we should be able to get into the course no problem."
"That sounds good, what days should we do those?" Eijiro asked the two of them, receiving an answer from Mina this time.
"Sundays, if we do it on Saturdays then it'll cut into Midori's and my breakdancing time. And we wouldn't want Midori to lose out on that part of his training." she said with a wink towards the green eyed boy.
"I-It is training! It increases my f-flexibility a-and agilty, and I've been using the b-breakdancing moves to help with my f-fighting style!" Izuku defended, his cheeks growing as pink as Mina's were naturally.
"Oh come one Izuku!" Eijiro laughed, slapping his friend on the back as he did so. "Just admit that you actually enjoy breakdancing. It's not bad to have a hobby you know. Especially one so cool."
And it's especially not bad to have a hobby that allows you and Mina to have some alone time.
"A-Anyways," Izuku started, quickly trying to change the subject away from himself. "I can get you two a couple of hero team mock exams to practice with, and I'll try to look into what exactly we'll need to study and add to our training. With luck, in three months, we'll not only be successfully be enrolled in U.A, but we'll also be in the hero team courses."
"Don't be such a downer." Eijiro said to Izuku. "We aren't going to need any luck. Trust me, we're getting into both of them. Hero Team: Rainbow Storm is going to kick ass!"
***LINE BREAK***
And so the Rainbow Storm upped their training and studying to include hero team studying and exercises. And for almost three months, Izuku, Mina, and Eijiro trained harder than ever before, spending almost every waking moment focused on their new dream. There were spars, mock rescues, obstacle courses, and quirk training sessions crammed into those three months, along with their regular community service project, until finally, one week before the U.A entrance exam, Dagobah Beach was finally cleared.
The three teens sat on the sands of the beach, each of them breathing heavily as they gazed at the sun setting upon the ocean, smiles plastered on all of their faces. Watanabe-san had already congratulated the three of them on their success and made his way home, eager to bring his wife the amazing news that their favorite spot in the world was finally cleared. And as they looked towards the ocean, towards their future, Izuku had to hold back tears.
Ten months ago, Izuku had been in a situation where life had no meaning. The words of his peers and his idol had driven him to jump off of a building, all in the hope that he'd be able to escape his cruel reality. He'd been scarred for life by many years of belittling, and ten months later he still bore a number of those scars under his clothes from his fall, each one reminding him how close he had come to meeting his goal.
And now, Izuku was doing better than ever before. He had a quirk, though how he had obtained it was still something he prefered to ignore, and more importantly, he had two friends that truly believed in him and valued him, so much so that they wanted to be in a team with him. And hopefully, in two weeks time, he'd be receiving a letter of acceptance at U.A.
Okay, now he was crying, but it should be justified! Right?
"Midori, are you okay?" Mina asked, her voice filled with worry as she looked at her crying friend. She had known Izuku for long enough to know that he tended to cry whenever he felt strong emotions, especially happiness, but each time she still grew just but nervous whenever he did start crying.
"Yea, I'm fine." he replied, quickly trying to wipe away the tears that were falling from his eyes. "I'm just… really happy that I'm friends with you guys. I don't know where I would be right now without you two."
Mina and Eijiro both smiled at their friend, understanding that the time before Izuku started attending their school was one of immense difficulty for him. Neither of them knew the full details, but he had told them during one of their other emotional training sessions that it was his attempted suicide that had caused him to transfer. So for him to be crying right now, expressing to them how glad he was to have them in his life, made them feel an enormous happiness within themselves.
"I think that we should be thanking you, Izuku." Eijiro said to the shorter boy, causing the latter to turn to him in confusion. "Well I mean, without you, I don't think I'd have ever become so invested in training and studying. I'm absolutely certain that we can get into U.A now, and it's because of you and your drive."
"Seriously Izuku," Mina started, surprising the boys with the use of Izuku's given name as opposed to her nickname for him, "you're the best friend either of us could ask for. And it's because of you that we're able to be where we are now."
If Eijiro and Mina were trying to make Izuku stop crying, it wasn't working, and now there were streams coming down his face as he looked towards his best, and only two friends. He kept trying to wipe away the tears that were falling, but nothing he could do would stop them from appearing. He shut his eyes tightly as he held back a sob, reaching for the bottle of water next to him in order to quench the immense thirst he suddenly felt.
'What did I ever do to deserve them.'
***LINE BREAK***
As Sorahiko gazed upon the trio as they spared on the now beautiful beach, the only word he could use to explain how he felt would be proud. Proud of how far those three had come in less than even a year, proud of the drive that each of them possessed, and proud of the level of maturity that the three of them were showing as they moved towards their dream. Sorahiko could say for certain that there weren't many others that he felt deserved to be admitted into U.A as much as those three.
Of course, he was also worried for the three of them, particularly Midoriya Izuku. Despite his warning ten months ago, Yagi Toshinori had contacted him about two months ago, telling him that he had accepted a position as a teacher at U.A. While the man didn't say it, Sorahiko knew that All Might had accepted the position in the hopes of finding a successor. And while that disgrace was allowed to do whatever he wanted, the thought of him being in the same vicinity of Midoriya was not one that the old man enjoyed.
But there were more pressing matters to think about. Even after ten months of observing Midoriya Izuku, and ten months of investigation, Sorahiko was nowhere closer to discovering whatever it was that All For One wanted with the young boy. He couldn't figure out what the villains plan were, and hadn't even been able to get a solid lead on where the villain might be hiding.
There were, however, two things that Gran Torino knew for certain. First, and most importantly at the moment, was that there was a successor to All For One. Sorahiko hadn't yet been able to see the boy in person yet, but he knew without a doubt that Shigaraki Tomura had been receiving personal instructions from the villain himself, one of them being to start looking for suitable members of a villain league. So far no villains of note seemed to express interest, at least not according to any of Sorahiko's sources, but this was not something that he could take his eyes off.
Secondly, though this one was not one that could be connected to All For One's plans, and wasn't in any way bad at all, was that the villain hadn't given Midoriya a quirk. He had given Midoriya two quirks.
Well, that was a misleading way for Sorahiko to think about it. What most likely happened was that All For One had stolen two quirks, experimented with them and combined them to make them one, and then had given that quirk to Midoriya. And so far, Midoriya had only been using one aspect of that quirk. Sorahiko couldn't say what that second aspect of his quirk was, but he had been in this game long enough to know when someone hadn't even begun to tap the full potential of their power. After all, he had helped train two seperate users of One For All.
It was of little consequence though, and if the three hero hopefuls got into U.A like he believed they would, then the school would surely do a fantastic job in teaching Midoriya not only how to unlock that aspect of his power, but also how to train it properly. U.A wasn't the top hero school in the country, and arguably the world, for nothing.
The three teens would be just fine. All they had to do is stay together and they would be able to demolish any obstacles in front of them. And Sorahiko had a very good feeling that that wouldn't even be close to a problem for them.
***LINE BREAK***
It was finally here.
He was finally here.
His dream was within his reach, and the first step was literal steps away. U.A stood in front of him, the sun casting a heavenly glow on it, the cool air of a dying winter gently blowing through everyone's hair. He closed his eyes as he stood there, feeling at peace rather than a jittering mess of nerves like he thought he would.
Ten months of training brought Midoriya Izuku here. Ten months of constant stress, self induced pain, passing out, carefully calculated diets, research and studying, all of it led to where he stood now, and the tests he was about to take. But none of those things, nothing Izuku could have done, would have made Izuku guess that if he ever got here, he'd be standing at the entrance to U.A with friends.
With Ashido Mina standing to his right and Kirishima Eijiro standing his left, Midoriya Izuku felt the strongest he had ever felt in his entire life. Nothing could stand in their way, not when the three of them were together. Team Rainbow Storm was unstoppable, and nothing short of a worldwide apocalypse would slow them down, and certainly not some stupid entrance exam.
The U.A entrance exam was about to begin, and Team Rainbow Storm was coming in like… well, a storm.
