Crystal Clear - Chapter Four

Stepping Stone

"It's remarkable, don't you think? How we can all live such normal lives, even though we're surrounded by super powers. Since when could something comparable to magic become so mundane and normal?"

Not long after leaving the subway, Akiko hurried towards U.A., which towered in the distance. She had witnessed its magnificence before, but it still enamoured her. It was still about a five minute's walk away when she heard someone running behind her, and turned around to see.

"Midoriya-san? What's the matter?" She asked, knowing that he would obviously be taking the same route to U.A. as her, but she didn't think he would approach her due to his nervous nature. She didn't mind at all, however. "Um, would… would you l-like t walk? To U.A.?" Smirking a little, Akiko feigned innocence. "I already am walking there, Midoriya-san, what do you mean?"

"I- um, I meant we should. Walk t-together." Izuku stammered, nervous. He always got like this around girls, and even other boys, depending- his social skills weren't the best. "I, uh… Wanted to know more about your Quirk?" This time, Izuku wasn't lying, he truly was interested. "Like what other substances you can create. A-and why your eyes are such a unique colour."

"Well, I'm not one hundred percent sure why my irises are pure white. Maybe it has something to do with the colour in my hair?" She offered, unsure. "Your hair? Isn't it dyed?" Izuku asked curiously. "Or is i-it related to your Quirk too?" Akiko nodded her head slowly, making a popping noise on the 'p' as she said "Yep". "Normally my hair is dark blue at the roots and fades to a light blue, but when I use up a lot of calcium, the colour gets drained, and the roots turn light blue that fades to white. Kinda freaky, I don't like it." Her expression was one of disgust. "Makes me look like an old lady."

Izuku couldn't help it; he let out a hearty laugh, snorting a little in the process. He stopped himself instantly, embarrassed, but Akiko gave him a warm smile that calmed him. "There's a laugh. It suits you." Izuku eyed the taller girl, confused. "S-suits me? What does?" Akiko shook her head from side to side, as if it was something he should know. "Smiling. Laughing. Being happy. A smile is when a person looks their best, because they're showing the world they're full of joy, or confident, or at peace. At least, that's what my Pa told me." Ponytail blowing in the wind, she gave Izuku a quick thumbs up, but grew concerned when he didn't reply, and seemed to stare off into space. "Midoriya-san…?"

Shyly, Izuku smiled and nodded. "Th-that's really wise, Iwasa-san. Th-thanks for reminding me… I've b-been so nervous that I've forgotten how it important it is to smile in the f-face of danger, just like All Might. O-or, uh, in this case, failure, heh." He reached back and scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed again from confusing his words.

Akiko then gave him two thumbs up. "You got it, dude." She paused, picking up on Izuku mentioning the number one hero All Might. "Say, aren't your Quirks similar? You and All Might's, I mean?" Izuku began blabbering, not a single word could be understood. "U-um!" He began, but was spared from the interrogation. Akiko eyed him suspiciously as a warning bell rang out, signaling that homeroom was about to begin soon.

Dropping the topic entirely, Akiko took out the slip of paper detailing directions and more on her classroom in U.A. Studying it, she saw that she was in Class 1-A. "Hey, Midoriya-san, what class are you in?" She calmly asked, contrasting Izuku's restless behaviour- he was bounding from foot to foot, not wanting to interrupt the tall teen, but terrified. "There's n-no time, we need to hurry to class!" He proclaimed hastily.

Sighing, Akiko rolled her eyes. "Relax, Midoriya-san. It's just a warning bell, it's only 7:05." Nonetheless, she reached over and gripped his wrist, pulling him along as she began to walk into the establishment. "I'm sure Class 1-A and 1-B are close to one another, if that's the class you're in." She looked behind her shoulder, seeing Izuku had tensed up from her touch. "If you wanna hurry, then start moving your feet. You're slow us both down by making me drag you."

Izuku couldn't express how surprised he was; he certainly didn't expect the crystal creating girl to touch him, let alone drag him to class. He didn't really mind the sudden aggressive behaviour, it just felt to him that they were merely acquaintances and she was already making physical contact with him without a second thought. Snapping out of his trance, he slipped his arm away, and began walking on his own, directly behind her. "About time. You're heavier than you look." Akiko commented, keeping up a lively pace that Izuku struggled to match with his shorter legs.

As they walked, Izuku took his own bag off, straining to rummage through it as he speedwalked. After some time, he located his own info sheet; and noted that he was in Class 1-A as well. His eyes lit up as he put it away, and found himself about to ram into the wall - then Akiko stopped him in his tracks. "Hey, before we go in…" She murmured, unsure. Other students passed by them, getting into class.

Before Akiko could continue, a blonde delinquent-looking student rammed into Izuku. "Get out of my way, Deku." He spat in a nasty tone, and Izuku cowered away from him. Akiko, angered at this guy's lack of manners and respect, glared at him as he stalked into the classroom. Declaring him a jerk under her breath, she faced the shorter U.A. student. "I have an idea."

"Wh.. what's that…" Izuku practically whispered as he appeared meek. Akiko felt bad for him, but wanted to put her idea out in the open before they were required in class. "How about we do a challenge?" She smirked slightly, trying to help him feel better and show off her confidence. "Try and make a bunch of friends, and at lunch, we can have this little group table. I think it's a lot better than a lonely lunch, huh?"

Izuku commented back inside his head: 'I'm no good at being social, I'd much rather be alone, or even have it be the two of us. That's probably wishful thinking, though…' Despite this, he saw how eager Akiko was to do this, and nodded. If he weren't such a nervous wreck, having a group of friends to hang out with sounded enjoyable.

"Great!" She exclaimed brightly, clapping her hands together, then faced the doorway. "Good luck in there, Midoriya-san. Deep breaths." She advised, then took a step forward.


A/N: We hit 500 views! Thank you so much for your support, everyone :) don't be shy, though! I love getting reviews and responding to them! Feel free to ask me anything, whether story related or not.

1fangirl12: I'm so glad you think so! I actually came up with Akiko about a month ago when me and my friends discussed original character ideas with each other. In the beginning, she was going to be able to use ANY vitamin or mineral to create things, and each combination would produce something different, but that would have gotten way too complicated, so I just stuck with good ol' calcium. Milk is good for you!

Guest-san: Thank you so much! I really dislike characters that are like Mary Sues, so I always strive to not go down that path, even though it might be tempting to write a flawless character at times.