XI. New Beginnings
Izumi stood inside her room, getting ready for her first day at UA. She just came out from taking a bath and drying her hair from the bathroom. With a towel covering her body from the chest down, she looked over herself on the mirror with a small cheerful smile before leaving to go and open her wardrobe. As she began to gather her clothes, she still felt a surreal sense of satisfaction and disbelief at where she was going to school today. Finally, after years of dreaming and hoping to be in UA, she was now finally there to start her first day in class. The same school where her idol and mentor All Might went to.
Fulfilling that dream after all the effort she gave out these past few months was nothing short of fantastic. She grinned mentally to herself after her less than desirable performance in the Practical Exam. She was in fact depressed for weeks before the results of the exam came in. Thinking and overthinking that she did not get to pass having turned into a failure for not doing what the exam intended her to do.
To Izumi's luck however, it seemed like fate gave her a second chance since the message in the mail indeed came and out of it came her invitation to UA, complete with the surprise of All Might becoming a teacher in UA and the reasons why she was deemed a passing mark on the practical. Luck seemed to be at her side since all of those maneuvers and actions she did to save her co-examinees seemed to have paid off. Granting all her (embarrassingly hard) effort into something worthwhile. The amount of disbelief and shock she had on that day knowing that she passed was something she did not feel ever since All Might took her in as his student. The amount of celebration was obvious on Izumi's face, and it took a very pleasant day and night for her to get it all out of her system. With her mother and aunt, it seemed like everything was going her way.
Today on the other hand was a different situation altogether. She had to focus and strive to be the best student she could be in order to be worthy of this second chance. She had to repay all the effort she made again from both herself and those who taught her so that she could use all of it in UA.
Now however, the one thing that was seemingly stopping her from completely clothing herself into her new proud uniform…was the weird fact that the underwear she used for her chest seemed to be a bit tighter than usual. She frowned at that as she tried to move in it. She walked to the mirror and saw herself in multiple angles, contemplating what seemed to be wrong with her top.
She shrugged that fact away as she took the other pair of that set on her underside. As she fastened the panties to her waist and finally set where it needed to be… there was also a weird sensation.
It also felt tighter than usual. She looked over herself on the mirror yet again and tried to look at what was wrong. She moved sideways and as her red hair curved by her shoulder she didn't see anything particularly wrong at all. Trying to discern the problem in a more detailed sense, she moved her hands to slowly feel her breasts, trying to see if there was anything wrong with them. She did the same with her bosom as well, though nothing in particular seemed off… at least to her.
Izumi was not a typical girl that labored and made problems with how she looked or how people see her. She only preferred what she liked to wear and what she liked to put on herself, not even minding what other people think which was a stark contrast to most girls her age. She didn't even bother about things like make-up nor dressing up for something formal or just for glamour.
Anything of that sort did not make her comfortable, much like most of what her aunt wants her to wear. She shivered at that thought as she looked at herself in the mirror. Then a thought came that was related to her aunt, because a few days ago she and Nemuri went out on a little shopping date to relieve her depressed mood. She recalls her aunt buying her a set of underwear.
She pursed her lips as she thought about it, as the ones she was wearing right now was too tight for any comfort to be found in. With a defeated sigh, she walked to her wardrobe, took out the still-unopened plastic package of the set and trying them on after she cut out the tags.
It was less than revealing nor seductive than what most of her aunt's tastes were. Thankfully it was dark red in color and looked plain enough to be seen as normal. Except for the outlines, which made it look like it was closer to a lingerie type of underwear. It wasn't that close, but it was the type that still made Izumi flinch.
The result was the opposite of what she initially thought of it however. As she looked herself over again on the mirror, she blushed in response at how she came out but found the garments surprisingly soft, comfortable, and easy to move in.
So even with the minor detractors, she finally settled in wearing them.
Just as she finished putting on her tie, a knock was heard on the door. It was her mother.
"Izumi, we don't want you to get late on the first day…" Inko said from behind the door. Izumi greeted back with assurance that she will be finished soon. As her mother left the door, Izumi looked at herself on the mirror for one last time before leaving.
"UA…" she whispered as she made a thumbs up. She then took her headband and clicked it in place as she wore it. Finishing her look, she took her bag and opened the door to get to the living room. Ready to leave.
She stumbled upon her mother who was seemingly readying to leave as well.
"Oh… hi there, didn't know you were leaving too mom." Izumi said as her mother finished combing her hair. She was wearing a nice dark suit on with a medium-length skirt that finished her overall appearance. She had no make-up on but her mother looked ravishing like always. The kind of beauty that accentuated strength but to Izumi, it exuberated an essence of softness as well.
"I got a few appointments to make due with Izumi. One of them involves Toshinori's help too." Inko explained. Izumi smiled teasingly at her as she knew that All Might and her mother seemed far too close now these days. But it also meant she was coming to school with her. An idea she did not like.
"You're coming with me then?" she asked.
"No, I'll meet up with him at UA at about noon. I got to go somewhere first." Her mother aptly said, like a million different things were going inside her head at that moment.
"Care to tell me where?" Izumi said as she finished packing the bento that her mother had made for her on the kitchen table. Inko finished combing her hair and had now put on her small sling bag. Izumi did the same and they both stood up, looking at each other.
Her mother may not have told her where she needed to go, but with the continuous healing connection between them, a part of her trusted her mother enough to let her keep that secret. For now…
Inko smiled. Looking at Izumi where she stood, not even the brightest of words coming from her would explain how proud and happy she was seeing her daughter cheerful and happy. It also reminded her of her older days, when she was that young and it reminded her that Izumi was growing up. The girl smiled at her as well, feeling the appreciation coming from her mother. Inko then took the girl towards her and gave a kiss on the forehead. The first that Izumi ever got from her, and to the girl it felt like a rare and indescribable event that she did not know she could ever feel or witness. A loving kiss from her mother was a thing she didn't know she needed until now.
"Good luck on your first day." Inko said with a smile. Izumi reciprocated with a smile of her own as she took her bag and went to the door. Opening it while looking back, Izumi felt gratitude that her mother had changed for the better.
"Bye mom." She said simply as Inko nodded. Closing the door behind her with a smirk, the girl went to school. Leaving Inko inside the apartment.
"Be safe." She whispered.
07:14 Hours, Outside of UA Campus…
Izumi finally arrived at her destination, the walk wasn't that hard for her but after being so excited in going to school, she thought that being tired was the least of her worries. A few students were also entering the campus and some of them took notice of Izumi, probably because of that thing she did in the practical exam. She didn't mind it, she was just trying to come in terms that she was going to enter UA, officially as a student this time.
"Okay… deep breaths. You can do this." She said to herself as she grasped both straps of her bag with both nervousness and a sheer sense of excitement. She would be giddy with a smile right now if it weren't for the looming threat of UA's notorious difficulty when it comes to schoolwork.
But her excitement overdid her nervousness and with that said, she made another step forward… only to trip slightly because someone slammed themselves at her back.
"IZU! I made it in time today!"
It was Himiko. Her best friend.
"Nice to see you too Miko…" Izumi said with a small smile as she recovered her balance. Himiko promptly let go of her as she yet again made that same wide smile that had a toothy grin that Izumi knew well enough. It didn't bother her at all that she had canines. As for some reason… she seemed to be growing them too. Not that it was noticeable but she figured it was part of the numerous changes her body was going into because of her quirk. A thing she was slowly investigating now.
"It's great I got to join you here. My alarm almost didn't go off." Himiko said with a blush of embarrassment.
"That's what you always say." Izumi said as they huddled up and walked towards the school, passing the gate and entering campus grounds. The main building of UA was now clear to both of them ahead the pathway.
"Can't believe we're in the same class too! I'm excited." Himiko added as Izumi shared the sentiment. It was quite a good week for them both before classes started. At first, Izumi didn't want any contact from her friends due to her (embarrassing) depression and she was a bit apprehensive towards HImiko since she wasn't there after the exam finished.
The blonde girl being the eccentric and almost obsessive friend as she was didn't mind that and kept on going to her house almost every other day. They enjoyed those nights as well when they did slumber parties or go to movies again. It helped her during that stage.
This also was made apparent when they both got their entrance exam letters. As excited as Izumi was, it was almost comparable to how happy and excited Himiko felt when they learned they were at the same class. Oddly enough, the blonde girl even flexed her combat points on Izumi, who scored zero on that department. It was a small banter but it didn't ruin their friendship.
Izumi didn't know what to expect as they entered the halls of UA. Seeing the map to their designated room which was where Class A was to be held, they both followed the directions while they talked what they wanted to do and experience in this new school year of theirs. They didn't notice that they arrived at their destination, where a large door awaited their arrival.
"Why would they need such a large door?" Himiko asked.
"You wouldn't know what other people's quirks are I guess…" Izumi tried to explain, she wasn't surprised at all seeing these large doors. As she already made a stroll along these halls. Halls that weren't empty anymore when she and Himiko walked along them.
"But do they really need to make it that big?" Himiko teased. Only to see Izumi thinking deeply about that question.
"I do recall Mt. Lady graduating in UA. So maybe that's the reason?" Izumi said with a shrug.
"They couldn't get her fat ass through the door I think." Himiko replied making the two of them laugh for a bit. Izumi then recollected herself and moved to the door which was automated to open for them. As soon as the door opened a very odd sight lay before them.
"Please put your feet down from the desk! Good people work hard to make such facilities for us and UA isn't just a school for undisciplined students!" the blue-haired glasses wearing boy, Tenya Iida shouted on Katsuki Bakugou, the explosive blonde 'friend' of Izumi that was shrugging him off as he continued to do as he pleased.
"Shut your fucking hole nerd."
"Such language! Are you really befitting of this school with that sort of behavior? I came from Soumei Junior High and behaviors such as yours is unacceptable!" Tenya cried out.
"So you're from that stupid elitist school huh? Makes me think less of you now that you said that."
"UNBELIEVABLE!" Tenya once again cried out as he and Katsuki entered an argument with each other. Izumi and Himiko shrugged as they entered the room, the two boys not even noticing that they entered with their heated argument.
As soon as they stepped in however, Kyouka Jirou one of the people that hung out with Izumi from the Entrance Exam took notice of her arrival almost instantly. She had a grin on her face as she approached, while subtly twirling one of the jacks on her right earlobe.
"Hey! It's Redhead!" the tomboyish girl said, she got up and greeted Izumi the moment they entered. Izumi was actually pleased to see her, spending time with the frank, crass, but friendly girl was definitely one of the highlights of her day back in the Entrance Exam.
"Hi." Izumi said awkwardly but was inwardly happy to see her. Kyouka and Izumi exchanged greetings while the girl put her hands on her waist.
"Hey nerd! She finally arrived." Kyouka said as she gestured towards Tenya who was busy being loud with Katsuki. They both seemingly never heard what Kyouka said as their heated debate raged on.
"How long have they been doing that?" Izumi asked.
"Ever since he arrived. The nerd and douchebag over there have been at it for almost an hour now." Kyouka admitted as she crossed her arms, looking at the two boys who continued with their bout. Katsuki this time fought back with a bit of intensity as Tenya was going delirious at how he acted.
"Looks like you have competition Izu." Himiko teased with an elbow to Izumi, the redhead girl reacted with a scowl. Himiko giggled away as she poked Izumi's cheek. Kyouka who was listening in to the both of them wondered what that meant.
"Wait… is douchebag over there your boyfriend?" Kyouka suddenly said in a blind guess.
Izumi blushed up a storm and started to wave her hands and head with such speed that she was dizzy. But in no way was she going through this crap all over again. It was a nuisance back in Junior High and she wasn't going to let that happen again.
"NO! He is most definitely not. He is not my boyfriend nor will he ever be!" Izumi screamed with a high tone. She didn't anticipate how much volume it made since everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her direction. Even Katsuki and Tenya stopped their argument.
"Calm down Izumi, I was just asking." Kyouka said as she waved her hands on Izumi in a calming gesture. Himiko even stepped back a bit at that outburst.
"Sorry." Izumi said with an awkward smile to all of them in the room. Bringing them back to what they were doing earlier. Katsuki then took his feet off the desk and frowned at her, he looked away as Izumi rolled her eyes. Tenya who finally exclaimed his final argument sighed in relief and went to Izumi. It seemed for now, he won that argument. (at least that's what he thought)
"Sorry for that as well, and good morning to you Midoriya. I had hoped that you would pass the exam. Thankfully even without a score in the practical you showed us all the true meaning of that exercise. For that I am eternally thankful." Tenya said as he bowed at Izumi.
"Y-yeah… sure." Izumi said with a small giggle.
"You got some interesting new friends Izu, should I be worried?" Himiko teased again.
"Is this the Miko that you've been talking about Izumi? I'm Kyouka Jirou by the way." Kyouka said as she extended her hand towards Himiko, who stared at it for a second and smiled afterwards.
"Himiko Toga! Izu's best friend! Nice to meet you too."
"Likewise." Kyouka replied back with a small grin.
"And my name is Te-" Tenya was about to say when Himiko didn't bother hearing his turn and continued to talk to Kyouka. Izumi on the other hand, put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, she's like that."
"Ah I see… well I was going to introduce myself to everybody in the room later, so I don't think it will take that much to get me offended." Tenya replied.
"We already know you dude, you've been telling us your name and school for the past hour." A voice in the back said, one that belonged to a blonde who was talking to a group of guys and one short purple-haired boy that Izumi remembered seeing in the exam.
For some odd reason, the boy seemed to fixate his attention on her the moment he saw her. To say that she was creeped out by how he looked at her was an understatement.
"WAIT! IS THAT HER?" the short purple-haired boy suddenly cried out as he jumped in his seat and looked at Izumi, much to her discomfort. His gaze now had a weirder vibe in it.
"Who is she?" one boy said, who seemed to have tape-like appendages on his arms.
"Don't you guys know? She's the one that destroyed those gigantic Zero Pointers, in mid-air! And they exploded too! Didn't you all see that? She's the one that made the sky red on the practical exam!"
Oh shit.
The Redhead Girl's body suddenly froze the moment that creep said those things out loud. She wasn't really proud with how that Practical Exam ended, but she was in no way ready to go through with this sort of attention again.
Murmurs started to form around the classroom, and it was all pointed at Izumi. Katsuki who heard the proclamation was startled to hear that. He saw that explosion in the sky but he never thought of it as Izumi's doing. He gritted his teeth in annoyance once he heard that.
They never even got to finish that bet that they initiated between them and now he hears this. He frowned at her direction and figured talking with her about it later was something he needed to do.
A crowd of Izumi's classmates started to form around her. She then recalled the day when she came to school after the slime villain incident, and this here was almost the same to that. That incident while she was grateful with how thankful and cheerful people were with her act, it didn't make her comfortable with how pushy and excited they all acted towards her.
"It was you? Oh wow!" a pink-skinned girl said with what seemed to be curved horns coming out of her likewise pink hair. Her excitement and energy was almost comparable to Himiko's… though Himiko was a lot crazier and weirder at times.
"Did you really do that? How?" Another voice said and it belonged to the blonde boy from earlier that replied back to what Tenya said.
Izumi started to get overwhelmed as more and more people began asking her questions.
"W-Wait… It's great that you guys are asking me these questions but- "Izumi said out aloud but was drowned in the ruckus as most of them began clamoring on her. Kyouka and Himiko were trying to ward them off as well as Tenya but they kept coming.
Unbeknownst to them, a figure behind the desk next to the whiteboard in the front stood up in his sleeping bag and loomed all over them without anyone noticing. He was pissed off since this was the first day of the semester… and he had to deal with this.
"STOP IT. ALL OF YOU."
All the noise in the classroom vanished in an instant.
A small whimper came to everyone as the voice went up and above to be menacing. They all looked at the figure that stood up ahead of the classroom, still wrapped in his sleeping bag was the Erasure Hero, Eraserhead otherwise known as Shota Aizawa.
"Is that a caterpillar?" Himiko asked, unperturbed at Aizawa's anger, only to be looked at by the man himself of which she grew silent. However, those eyes instantly fell on Izumi whom narrowed and seemed to focus solely on her.
Izumi gulped in fear.
"It's already the first day in this new semester and you're all already despicable in my eyes. Do this mess again and I will make sure you get the boot early than you'd like." Aizawa menacingly said as he got off the sleeping bag. Everyone scrambled back to their seats as his eyes glowed in red and his hair seemingly stood up in a dangerous fashion.
Izumi was about to find a seat when Aizawa once again fixated his gaze on her.
"You… step forward." He said adamantly. Izumi looked around her and saw Kyouka and Himiko wishing her good luck in a subtle manner. She turned and looked at Aizawa straight in the face.
"Y-Yes sir?" Izumi said.
"I'm going to watch you… closely. You make any sort of trouble that I deem to be a nuisance for this class then I'm going to make sure you don't come back to UA." The way his eyes narrowed on Izumi reminded her about her nightmares, only this time this was reality and the very prospect of being kicked out was not a thing she wanted nor what she dreamed about.
"I-I will sir!" Izumi said as she straightened herself. It wasn't that much of a secret to the class the something was behind that seriousness Aizawa had with Izumi, but they shrugged that thought away since it could be related to what happened in the Practical Exam.
Aizawa nodded at her as Izumi found the nearest empty seat, which earned her a glare from Katsuki who was a seat in front of her. Izumi took none of it and sat behind him. She looked around and saw that Himiko, was seated a bit far away on her right, thankfully it looked like she was getting along with Kyouka, and what seemed to be an invisible quirk user that were both her seatmates at either side. She was quite pleased to know that her best friend seemed to find an easy common ground with new people she mingled with. She mused inwardly that her social anxieties were now vanishing somewhat.
Aizawa on the other hand stood in front and checked his watch while small talk returned to the class, it being whispers or low voices between conversations. Izumi looked at everyone and it seemed like most of them were already situated with the change of environment. With people becoming quick friends and the interactions were mostly positive.
THUD!
Until that…
"Why did you kick my chair?" Tenya suddenly said to Katsuki who had his foot on the back of his chair. Katsuki didn't respond back, only for Tenya to once again start an argument about him being such 'an undisciplined individual'. Luckily it was diffused as quickly as it manifested as Aizawa moved his glare upon them.
Izumi smiled at that, as things never seemed to change for Katsuki.
A click of the door of the room they were in was heard.
"You two are almost a few minutes late." Aizawa said with an agitated voice at two newcomers on the door to the classroom. It was Uraraka and the transfer student, Sylvia. They both looked happy talking with each other at first but shameful seeing that the whole class was looking at them and what seemed to be the homeroom teacher staring down like a drill sergeant ready to lay them in of their faults. To Izumi, she seemed to be familiar with how the man looked but she couldn't place it yet as he continued to stare at the two newcomers.
"Sorry sir!" Uraraka said with a bow, imitated by Sylvia a few seconds later. Aizawa frowned but he looked right back at the class.
"Alright, now that everyone's here, I would like to introduce myself to you all. My name is Shota Aizawa, you may call me sir or Mr. Aizawa, anything besides that is a warning I dare you not to say nor repeat." As he said this, Izumi couldn't help but notice how his voice seemed timid and almost bored in nature. He then turned to the two girls who were still standing by the doorway. "You two, join your classmates and to all of you here now I want you to change into your gym wear. We're going to have a little field day outdoors."
One of the girls next to Izumi, one that had spiky-standing hair stood up.
"But sir, what about the orientation proper?"
"If you want to go there, that's fine be my me… just don't expect any results nor grade coming from my book miss." He then took out what seemed to be a pair of the school's gym clothes out of his sleeping bag. He then threw it to Tenya who caught it just as he took out a juice pouch from the same sleeping bag and drank from it.
"Move it or be left behind class, I won't wait again for those who arrive late." He then walked towards the door as his words were meant on the two girls that just arrived. "Especially you two…" he added as he stood by the door waiting for the class to move and get to the changing rooms.
For the beginning of the first day, Izumi exclaimed it all with a sigh.
Things were truly different here than in Junior High.
10:16 Hours…
Inko held the strap of her bag tightly like a leash. She stood in front of an abandoned building in the quieter places just in the outskirts of Tokyo. The building was cordoned off and was slated to be demolished by next week. A sign lay on the metal fence that surrounded the unused structure. With the entire street around her empty, with only a few cars and barely any people around she decided that it was the best time of the day to enter this place.
Making sure one last time that there were no cameras involved, Inko looked around with her sensory field and found none. She sighed in relief and took a step closer towards the padlocked and chained fence gate. With a bit of focus, the locks unhinged themselves and the chains dropped on the ground with a clanging sound. It was rusty now and it seemed like the place was neglected for a long time and was only decided to be demolished recently.
Opening the gate slowly as it creaked aimlessly, Inko finally stumbled upon the grounds of the last place she thought she would have visited today. A rogue whisk of cold air moved around her as she took another step, as if the building itself was warning her on treading her feet inside.
It did feel that way for Inko and she motioned herself with soft and easy steps towards the old door that lead to an abandoned lobby. As she arrived at the steps of leading to the entrance, a feeling of nostalgia came upon her. Both good and bad memories holding her mind in a temporary trance.
A bit of reluctance was in her fingers and emotions as she tried to reach the handle of the dusty and rusty doorknob. She steeled her nerves and grabbed it, opening the door with a light push. The hinges still stuck on all ends but it seemed like one more motion could trigger it to collapse anytime soon.
Her footsteps echoed on the now abandoned halls of the lobby she once recalled being less than modest. A few traces of that past look remained, like the now broken clock on the ceiling next to the stairways and the crusty couch near where the guard posted himself in the past.
It was all dusty now as she approached them. Devoid of the poverty-stricken life this place once held. She smiled as she moved her fingers along the dusty walls leading to the stairwell. She arrived at the base and found the stairwell still in the same state as before.
She climbed up as her footsteps continued to echo the empty halls. Ghosts of residents passed seemed to occupy the place, wherever they are Inko hoped that they wouldn't show up and stop her. Not that she believed in ghosts anyway.
She kept on climbing as memories of old played around her like a track, rewinding the times she used to climb here. Rewinding the days where Inko didn't feel the need to run, where she didn't need to hide so many secrets under her belt. Days where it was easier, even with the state of what her life was.
Old newspapers and postings were crumbling on some walls. Recounting events of old that made her flinch and her heart race as emotions gathered back to her.
Titles and names of dead people.
A headline describing a tragedy that struck this place. A silent tragedy that none lived to tell the tale but her. Even with the echoes of the past haunting her of her faults, Inko continued on with determination to continue her journey.
She arrived at the dusty halls of the floor she always went to. Doors on all sides were either broken or were wide open by the amount of necrosis this building had been going through. Rooms where families once convened were empty. Some furniture remained…
And a teddy bear in the middle of the halls.
Inko stopped and picked it up. It smelled of years in isolation, years of having no one to take it nor even wash it with how dusty and dirty it looked. Some stitches of it remained, stitches that were opening up from the wear of tear caused by time. A quiver of a small reprehensible smile came on her face, she then placed the teddy bear on one of the rooms. One of the rooms that had a broken family picture still hanging on the wall. A face of a small girl holding the same teddy bear was on the picture.
"Sorry." She whispered.
She then left the room to itself. Walking again amongst the abandoned halls… and finally arriving where she needed to go. The place where it all began for her. The place where her normal life turned into a cesspool of craziness and bad decisions.
The last place she thought she would visit.
Inko took a sigh of sadness. Seeing even the numbers on the door gave back so many memories. She opened it as the hinges creaked as it moved. Revealing an empty apartment room. Nothing was inside, not even traces of who once lived there.
They really took everything…
She walked in with slow steps until she took one good look at the place. The one room apartment she and a parent of hers shared back in the day still remained the same, even when there was nothing left to remind her of those days. There was some, such as the wallpaper that was peeling off the walls on every corner, and window that could never be opened without forcing it to.
As she moved around and surveyed the place, Inko thought that it was time.
She sat on the middle of the floor. Took out a candle from her bag, and a rose that she bought before she came here. Inko then took out the lighter that she always used from the very day she took the Jade persona. She ignited it as she lit the candle and placed it on the floor in front of her.
She then placed the rose right next to it.
She sat in the same place where she once lived normally as Inko.
And at the same place on the floor was where she sat…. holding Hisashi's dead body in her arms.
Inko's emotions wanted to make her at the very least shed a tear for the loss. But today wasn't the day that she needed to cry for events of the past. Today was something different and as she held the candle and closed her eyes…
She swore she could feel his smiles again… the warmth of his presence. The voice and sentences that made him laugh. Along with the various memories that they shared.
It was time… time for her to move on.
Inko smiled happily as she opened her eyes. She set the candle back on the ground and took the rose. Kissing it lovingly like a final goodbye to her beloved that passed on.
No words nor sentences could replace what she could feel right now. In truth, she wasn't even sure if it was worth saying anything, because the intention and feelings inside of her was enough for her to accept what was already finished.
She didn't even know where Hisashi was exactly buried. She didn't know at all where the Midoriya's took him. But at least, even in this place where good and bad memories met, she knew that it was enough in order to say a proper goodbye.
Inko placed the rose back next to the candle and stood up.
Letting the silence overtake her for one last time before she left. This was undoubtedly the last time she was ever going to come back here, but to Inko the trip was worthwhile, since no tears nor sadness was felt. Only the acceptance and love shared of those who were gone.
She thought about Hisashi one more time as she stood up from where she sat. She missed him.
She missed him so much…
But his spirit will live on in her. She was going to make sure of that.
With a final smile, Inko left the room with the candle still burning… she hoped it would shine this lonely place to the very end and leave a final 'I love you' to the person she cared about most in the world back then.
She left the building feeling better than before, and as she thought about Hisashi…
Toshinori's face came into mind.
Truly, things were in fact different now.
8:12 Hours Ago, UA Campus School Grounds…
"Izu, what the hell are you wearing underneath your clothes?" Himiko stated as she looked at Izumi, wearing something that was akin to a lingerie in design choice. Joining her inside the girl's locker room was her new classmates and they were all changing inside together.
And for Izumi, she failed to realize that she forgot about her new underwear. She blushed profusely when Kyouka and Himiko looked at her in interest. This sentiment was shared by all the girls inside the changing room as well, as it seemed like her underwear was the only one that stood out from the rest of the girls.
"UH… shit. Don't look at me! I-I had nothing else to wear honest!" Izumi tried explaining in panic as she rushed herself to get her gym clothes and tried to quickly put them on.
"I never thought you'd wear such things… I'm a bit surprised." Himiko said as she looked her over. Kyouka thought of the same thing too as Uraraka and Sylvia joined them.
"It's not that bad, it kinda suits her actually" Uraraka noted as she put on her shirt.
"If you're saying she's hot then you may need to question your gender sister." Kyouka teased as Uraraka elbowed her. They all giggled as Himiko helped Izumi in her pants which for some reason got a bit tighter down her waist section. Some of the other girls who just finished up joined them as well. With most of them taking interest on Izumi herself.
"Your name is Izumi… am I correct?" Izumi nodded as she finally got into her shirt. "My name is Momo, it is nice to meet you." The spiky-haired girl said to Izumi as she offered her hand towards her. Izumi finally got into her shirt which like the pants she was wearing was getting a bit tighter on her chest section. She noted to herself to say this problem to her aunt later while she shook Momo's hand.
"N-Nice to meet you too… H-Hang on a sec." Izumi said as she stretched her shirt. Thankfully it worked this time and it seemed decent in comfort for her liking.
"Don't worry I have the same problem too; it helps that I'm not the only one having to deal with it." Momo said with a smile of admittance, Izumi looked her over and indeed… the girl's body was far matured than her, and were quite… sizable in some areas. Not that she minded that, but still she was impressed.
Another girl who was finishing up was the invisible girl who was putting her shirt on and Izumi was wondering why she never had anything underneath and if… Oh, she was completely naked while invisible. Moving on from that, the pink girl with horns from earlier just finished up as she carefully put her shirt on while making sure her horns never pierced the fabric. She cheerfully joined the other girls as well when they circled Izumi.
"Name's Mina Ashido. You can call me Mina!" the pink girl offered.
"Hi Mina, glad to meet you."
"I'm happy to see a fellow horn buddy as my classmate! I hope we get along!" she cheerfully said to Izumi. Izumi then quickly explained to her that her 'horns' were part of her headband and not actual horns. The pink girl seemed to get a bit sad on that but didn't mind.
"I'm Asui." A green haired girl said, and Izumi quickly recalled the days when she used to dye her hair. Nowadays, she gave up trying since it was easily torn off because of her quirk when it activated. She had an odd expression that didn't change on her face, but it wasn't something that Izumi judged. She seemed pretty cool and friendly as well.
This time, it was the invisible girl's turn.
"You can call me Toru Hagakure, nice to meet you Izumi." A ghost of a hand came upon Izumi that she shook with amazement. She nearly wanted to ask the girl so many questions about her quirk but she held it in. Wouldn't want to ruin her first impression on these people.
But she couldn't help but let her amazement out a bit.
"Whoa… that's so cool. I couldn't even tell where your hand was if not for that wristband you wear." Izumi said, Toru seemed to laugh at that as everyone continued to interact with each other in a friendly way. Himiko and Uraraka did the same with their classmates, along with Sylvia who had a hard time trying to communicate with her inability to speak. Luckily Izumi had another person to help bring out what she was trying to say in Momo, who knew sign language. In the end, it still didn't work, so she had to resort with the screen again. Momo and Sylvia seemed to interact pretty well too because they talked further making even the foreign girl to be at ease with everyone.
Until the topic changed back to her.
"Is it really true that you did all of that stuff in the Practical Exam?" the one who asked this was the green0haired girl Asui who held a finger on her chin in question. This drove everyone's attention to Izumi who really didn't want to answer that question.
But she couldn't lie either.
"Y-Yes… I did."
"Whoa… I wish I could've seen that. That would've been something to look at." Mina admitted as most of them seemed to agree. Most of them that weren't there to see Izumi up close that is.
"I've seen it in a recording… it was quite a spectacle seeing that happen on screen. Can't imagine what it feels like being close to that." Momo said, she then explained a bit that she was a recommended student so she didn't need to do the exam, much to everyone's slight jealousy that is. But the conversation came back to Izumi who was once again swarmed by another batch of questions. Oddly enough, while Himiko was indeed listening in, she didn't seem to have the same interest as most of the girls here.
"T-Thanks guys, I-I know you all mean well but I really don't want to talk about what happened in the practical. I barely even remember doing that last bit, as it took all of my strength out." Izumi said to them in an apologetic manner.
"Why so?" Asui said only to be answered by Kyouka and Uraraka who had first-hand accounts of what happened after. It disturbed some of them to know what happened to Izumi after that stunt and they all sent their regards and assuring smiles and statements at her to make her feel at ease. Even Himiko was startled to hear about it a bit and Sylvia looked to be more worried than usual with what she just heard. Izumi quickly made them feel easy saying that she was alright after what happened. She left out details that it wasn't the worst occurrence of her vomiting out blood with each major use of her quirk.
"You see… my quirk seems to have this major drawback whenever I expend energy out in large amounts." She then showed them as she let out her hand and made Black Whip to manifest and spark with light expenditure of her red energy. It quickly sputtered out as she turned her quirk off. "If I do it like that the drawback is next to nothing unless I use it frequently. Back then… I actually had problems with headaches after long uses of it. You can see how much energy expenditure I let out when I did that thing in the exam."
With that explanation, most of them were terrified to learn about that aspect of her quirk.
"Wow, my quirk only lets me get burned to my own acid after so many uses, yours is… scary." Mina admitted. Momo seemed to be concerned for her after hearing that, asking if there was any way to mitigate such damage to her own body. Luckily, she had an explanation for that.
"This headband allows me to focus the energy I need into something efficient but also lessens the drawback significantly. The Practical Exam's drawback wasn't as intense because I was wearing this… plus, it also gives me enhanced focus and enhanced senses. It's really useful and I use it almost all the time even when I don't use my quirk." She pointed on the horned device on her head.
"Interesting… I've never heard of a device like that before." Momo said as Izumi allowed her to touch the headband by the horns. Mina did so as well. Even Sylvia who gestured if she can be allowed to 'scan' it. Whatever that meant.
"I think even with the amount of firepower you hold Izumi, I don't think I like having such drawbacks. As simple as my quirk is, I think I'm going to keep it." Kyouka admitted as they all giggled somewhat. Izumi smiled at them, to have these many people care for her was a new experience. Back in the day, almost every girl she interacted with disliked her presence, except for Himiko there was no one else that really made friends with her. It made her smile to know that these girls were different.
The girls continued to talk to each other until a knock on the door was heard, signaling that they needed to hurry up. They were all done changing as they all walked together, continuing each other's conversations as they finally joined up with the boys lead by Mr. Aizawa who was walking them out to the field. Izumi made herself comfortable at the back of the line while talking to Momo, but was soon joined by Himiko afterwards. Momo let the two already established friends to talk to themselves as the class continued to walk.
Izumi then turned to Himiko to ask a question.
"Enjoying UA already?"
"It's nice… Kyouka seems cool. All of them seem decent, I don't know if I'll be close to them like I am with you but I think they're fine." Himiko said with a noticeable smaller grin this time. Izumi seemed to catch what seemed to be a bit of cautious reluctance in her voice.
"What's the matter?"
"What's the matter with what Izu?"
"I feel like you're a bit off with something." Izumi said, Himiko bit her lip after that but decided to respond back.
"It's nothing… don't worry about me." Himiko said as she shrugged the question away and decided to talk about something else. Izumi felt a bit worried about Himiko shrugging her question that easily, she wasn't like that to keep things from her. But with how she changed the conversation to something that included their fellow classmates, she decided to let the mystery be for now.
Although, she would need to talk about this with her later when they were alone.
"You don't have taste in style don't you?" Inko asked as she looked around the newly polished and made office room of Toshinori Yagi inside UA. To say that it was devoid of style and grace was an understatement. It was simply too dull and bland to look at what was inside the room. The only feature that seemed to have a bit of causality under this void of nothingness was a red camellia flower situated at the side of his desk. Not even his personal belongings nor workplace materials were placed in an interesting manner. The walls were white. The window closed, and the room while spacious seemed to sap out the life of everyone who dared to enter here.
There was a lack of appliances and furniture in the room as well. With a desk and a chair both in front as well as the main chair behind the desk. A brown couch overlooking a small coffee table also filled the rest of the room, with a semi-empty bookshelf at the far corner next to the window.
"I don't think I need it, and I wasn't the most stylish person around even in my younger days." Toshinori admitted as he finished making coffee for both of them. Holding both cups in his hand, he gave one of them carefully into Inko's hands.
"You mean to say Kaguya and your agency do all the style for your public appearances huh?"
"More or less." He replied back as Inko smiled.
"Does that include your lackluster wardrobe choices as well?" Inko teased, as Toshinori once again wore a striped suit, only this time it was in a different color. Though the design and look did not change in any way.
"Are you implying I'm a boring person then?" he asked.
"You've always been boring. Even back then." Inko sneered with a small giggle. Toshinori rolled his eyes as they both took a sip of their coffee.
"Where is that woman by the way?" Inko mused as she set her coffee on the desk.
"She asked to get a day off, said she needed to visit her mother."
"Really now? Never thought of her as a family-oriented person… much less to care about that. That woman's head is far too serious with this job of hers, I don't even know if she has time for herself."
"You're not wrong in thinking that. She rarely asks for a day off, much less time for herself. I've seen her own room in my house, and there's barely anything there to speak of."
"But it's better than this travesty of an office room I reckon?" Inko teased again.
"You could say that…" he said with a sigh.
"Anyway… thanks for getting me in this place again. I just wanted to talk to you." Inko said to him with gratitude in her voice. Toshinori nodded at her in return.
"You're always welcome to me you know…" he added.
"Yeah… thankfully I didn't get to see Mic and Eraser while I got in. Would have been awkward seeing them. Not that I don't want to, but you know what I mean."
"I do…"
"So… how's Izumi doing?" Inko suddenly said to change the topic. Toshinori thought about that thing ever since he got to UA and it was born with mixed results. Inko seemed to catch that as he bit his lip trying to discern what to say to her first.
"S-She's doing fine. Last I saw her she was mingling with that best friend of hers, and I was surprised to see that girl pass the entrance exam. They were heading to their classroom, because to my knowledge they were put in the same class."
"What's wrong with that?" Inko curiously asked.
"Well… there's nothing wrong about it at all… only that Aizawa is their homeroom teacher."
Inko was surprised to hear that tidbit. It wasn't that she doubted Aizawa's teaching ability but he could be a bit cold and serious at times. Almost like her back in the day with Izumi months ago. However, given Izumi's experience with how to deal with people she reckoned that she would be fine.
Rationally speaking of course…
The girl was strong… stronger and more hopeful than even her, Inko surmised. She would be fine with Aizawa. She knew it deep inside her.
"I think Aizawa would be a good teacher for her… he's hard on the edges but Izumi's already gone through with that kind of personality." Inko said with a positive outlook on that situation.
"Sure… I don't doubt Aizawa's ability, but…"
Inko narrowed her eyes.
"But what?"
"This is the person that expelled his entire class last year because he thought that they were deemed unfit for the hero course."
Inko winced at that.
"You're joking right?" Toshinori didn't respond and Inko frowned instantly at that. She then cursed Aizawa for his stupid ideals on teaching… even back then he was far too uninterested with what their circle of friends was doing with each other for fun. He usually kept himself on the sidelines and to Inko, knowing that he hadn't changed a bit since High School made her question why they were friends back then at all.
"He really kicked them out huh?" Inko asked with a less than pleased tone.
"He did…"
As soon as he said that, she stood up and took her bag.
"Hey… where are you going?"
"To check on Izumi… can you show me where her class is?" Inko said to him and based on how her expression looked, it seemed like she didn't want to take no for an answer.
"I can't help you disrupt their class Inko." Toshinori said to try and reason her out.
"I'm not. I don't even intend to show myself to her class nor to him. I just want to see how her first day goes. Would you help me with that?" Inko said, this time with what seemed to be a small alluring smile that seemed to invite him in.
He winced at that statement as his heart beat a little faster than normal for a bit there.
"I could just find her myself then." she said, a bit of teasing in her voice.
"Fine… but only because I want to see for myself as well. This school's changed a lot in terms of the curriculum from my day. I want to make sure my protégé lives up to that difficulty." He said as an excuse. Inko had a victorious smirk on her face as the door opened, gesturing him on to take the lead.
He rolled his eyes with a small laugh and proceeded to go with her.
As they left the office through the halls of UA, they didn't notice that a few eyes had just witnessed their exchange. Those eyes that belonged to Midnight and Present Mic that was supposed to pass by until they encountered the two.
Nemuri had a large smirk on her face. Present Mic on the other hand looked confused.
"Hey… aren't those two enemies back in the day?" he said.
"Yeah… they are. What about it?"
"I'm a bit concerned at how they're acting with each other." Nemuri seemed to understand what he was trying to say as she did notice that those two had been very close for these past few months. It was obvious already that something fishy was in between their relationship.
"Midnight… you trust Inko right?"
"Of course… why would I not?"
"Nothing… just a question." He said as he moved on ahead whistling as he walked. Nemuri watched him move on with a bit of reluctance still with the thought of trusting Inko, but at least he wasn't as reprehensive about it than Aizawa was…
Some old wounds would take time to heal between them and Nemuri understood it best.
As for Toshinori and Inko, Nemuri smiled knowing that maybe that happiness that was lost with Hisashi was rekindled with Toshinori. Maybe.
At first, Izumi thought it would be something that the whole class would enjoy, since quirks were allowed in this physical test courtesy of Mr. Aizawa. They were all thrilled to learn that until he came in with another sinister explanation of his own. Which left the whole class, while still motivated and thrilled to continue, but also with the anxiety of the threat he just mentioned.
Yes, he had one good threat to keep everyone on edge.
And it was that whoever would score lowest in this series of exercises by the final count would automatically be expelled. Knowing that, most of the class was intimidated as soon as they heard that, coupled with Aizawa's less than friendly chaotic grin, it made Izumi feel a bit scared for herself.
Not everyone seemed to share her sentiment, but being a naturally worrisome person did make her feel anxious at how well she would do with this exercise. Since she already made a fool out of herself the entrance exam.
However, the seriousness that Aizawa said in regards to the situation of the class and hero course they were in did have a good point. Even with the seemingly harsh method of immediately proclaiming instant failure on anyone who would be left behind, his way of making them do their best was commendable on some aspects. It reminded her of how Gran Torino used to haze her into doing almost every situation where her quirks limits were used. She didn't like that, but she respected it.
This proved to be the same with Aizawa's method. So she told herself that if she got through with that series of hardships, she can manage to do so with this as well.
If the threat of expulsion was on the line, then she needed to damn well make sure that she would do her best. Her newly accustomed friends seemed to share that sentiment wholeheartedly. Even Himiko while still looking uninterested, had managed to curl her fist in ready.
Aizawa noted that there were eight consecutive tests… one exercise each to gauge the aptitude of one student in order for him to get a clear picture of how good they were with their quirk and how exactly he could nurture that potential in the hero course. This also included if he deemed it necessary to determine if the student can't pull through.
This also meant that he had on-hand instruments and devices to record and ascertain with pin point accuracy on how well the student does. Meaning, no data can be falsified.
With all that said, Izumi felt a bit more determined to push through with what she can do.
Unfairness was the reality she knew all too well throughout her life and as Aizawa explained the necessary sacrifice and hardships that came with UA's Hero Course, she knew she was going for a bumpy ride. A bumpy ride she rode from the very start.
UA wasn't kidding at how they're the top Hero School in this side of the world.
"Prove to me that your admission here wasn't a mistake..." Aizawa taunted at the end of his long speech. He smiled again with a hint of a sadistic side within him. Izumi gulped at that gesture, and the first ever test in this new semester of her school life began…
TEST 1 – 50 Meter Dash
Seeing Tenya earlier with this test made Izumi gawk in amazement. He breezed through the exercise with ease. The Engine-looking contraptions on his feet allowed him to reach speeds that got him to the end of the track in mere seconds. After that, most of her classmates did very much the same with varying techniques and styles with their own quirk set. Himiko, while naturally nimble was able to make it through with her physical prowess alone. Kyouka did so as well, but her being catching a breath at the end made her wonder if she did this kind of thing at all. One of the boys, Aoyama as Izumi had heard his name used a beam-like laser coming out of his abdomen to propel him to the end of the tract. The purple-haired boy from earlier with the weird stare whose name was Mineta used those ball-like structures on his head and stuck it to his feet. Allowing him to skip with how elastic it was. Uraraka used her quirk on her feet and hands to lessen the gravity in order to do the same maneuver.
Momo and Sylvia, competed with trying to make objects and devices to further speed. While it was a close call on both of them, it seemed like Sylvia managed to shave a second off of her record beating Momo in the process. Not that they minded, the two seemed to get along pretty well.
Izumi also got to see Shoto… at first she was surprised that they were in the same class but he breezed through the test being 2 seconds earlier than the other boy Sero whom he was paired with. Sero was the boy with the tape-like appendages on his arms.
When everyone was set and done, it was down to Izumi and Katsuki who were the last pair to do the test. As soon as they were called out to be the final pair, Izumi already felt his explosive companion excited to beat her with this exercise. Even though this wasn't meant to be a race nor a competition.
"I'll show how better my quirk is compared to yours Deku." He grinned evilly at her.
"Bring it! I'm not losing to you, you'll see." Izumi spat back. The wave of competitiveness when it came to Katsuki returning. A more than weird occurrence to those who never expected Izumi to act that way. Himiko simply cheered her on.
"Beat his ass Izu!"
Izumi and Katsuki got ready on both starting points. Aizawa who was at the end of tract waited until they got settled. Izumi thought of what to do with this exercise… luckily a thought came to mind as she recalled one of Kaguya's teachings.
"3…2…1… START!" The robot which was recording the test said out loud. Sputters of smoke and lightning seemed to form from the starting points of both students. Resulting in a haze that blocked most of everyone's view.
BOOM!
Katsuki's strategy was simple, aim his hands backwards to boost his speed moving forward. He satisfyingly looked in victory as he reached the end. He felt great showing 'Deku' that his quirk was in fact superior… only to see that as the smoke cleared… Izumi was standing beside him. A bead of sweat on her forehead and some crackling red energy coming out of her headband.
"3.89 Seconds!" this assessment, was for both of them.
"H-How?" Izumi grinned at him as she tried to slow her breath.
"Merely activating my quirk boosts my physical prowess as well Kacchan and I was taught a good trick on how to sprint faster in a small distance." Izumi explained as Katsuki was about to start a fight with her, only for Aizawa to call everyone to the next exercise.
Katsuki groaned in annoyance but did as the teacher said. Izumi had a triumphant grin on her face as he left. Only to be joined by Himiko who celebrated her victory.
TEST 2 – Grip Test
Izumi was amazed by her classmates who excelled in this phase of the exercise. The likes such as Sato whom after taking in sugar gained immense strength as a result. He was able to put on a high record of strength on his account with that quirk. Others such as Shouji, the boy who can manifest multiple appendages and body parts from his body was able to maximize the grip strength of his quirk by tenfold by stacking them up to each other.
Naturally, those like Katsuki were gifted with strength. Tokoyami, who had a very interesting and amazing quirk (according to Izumi) used his shadow-like familiar to do the strength test for him. While his records sky rocketed, he deemed that his quirk 'Dark Shadow' could do more in darker places or in night. Izumi took that into consideration as he watched each of this classmates, taking note to make entries of each of them in her journal later at home.
She then saw Sylvia and Mina being showed upon by Mineta and Sero, only for Sylvia to frown and make a mechanized construct on her right arm and deliberately broke Mineta's record. Which what he was trying to brag to the two girls. Mina laughed hysterically as they moved on.
Izumi smiled at that. It looked like the foreign girl was settling in pretty well.
Now, it was her turn as she looked at the grip device. Her strength levels were relatively low in her normal state. Due to the workout All Might gave her, she could only do above than average levels of strength when needed. But her quirk which she nicknamed as 'Black Whip' seemed to double her normal strength, enabling her to move objects and people twice her own. She recalled how efficiently she used it on the Practical. Here, she thought of doing the same but also she wanted to test how powerful her limits were because in strength levels… that stunt she did with the two enormous Zero Pointers was no joke.
It made her wonder if she can replicate it.
She charged up and wrapped her black tendrils on the grip device. She was going to surge enough power on to it, only to be stopped by a tap on the shoulder by none other than Aizawa.
"You shouldn't unleash such things close to your classmates. A real hero thinks about the safety of those around him first than his own. If you're a danger to those around you then I don't think your good enough to be a hero in the first place if you're that reckless." He said with an intense glare.
Izumi nodded. His words made her recall how All Might initially thought of her. This was different however and Izumi understood what he said.
"I won't sir."
He shrugged at her as he left while saying another few words of caution.
"Like I said earlier Midoriya… I'm watching you."
Izumi was left on her spot as her classmates were finishing up on their own tests. Izumi contemplated what Aizawa said to her and thought about how to mitigate her own strength. It was stupid of her to even think of that earlier. She knew that controlling her very volatile quirk was the key thing that Gran Torino and All Might taught her.
She would do the same here.
Doing it again while wrapping her tendrils on the device. She made a good grip without using her energy and she was satisfied at the result.
"464.57 Pounds"
As she smiled at her final result, Kyouka who came next to her suddenly couldn't believe her eyes at what she was seeing.
"That's bullshit! Those things weigh thousands of times more than that. Why didn't you give it your all?" Kyouka exclaimed, which drew the attention of her other classmates again. Making Izumi in the same spot as earlier in class. They were quickly dismissed by Aizawa again who scolded her for making a ruckus. Katsuki on the other end, once again frowned further at the amount of attention Izumi was getting.
He felt the same again back in Junior High, even though he said to Izumi that he wouldn't get mad at her for attracting attention again. His pride was wounded by this new development and it only increased his frustration on the girl.
TEST 3 – Standing Long Jump
Like prior tests, multiple strategies were used with how their quirks worked here. Thankfully, to Izumi this was a test that she mastered (according to her) from Kaguya who trained her for hours on end to quickly maneuver with quick nimbleness, speed, and efficiency. This allowed her to master how to scale vertical walls and how to launch herself with great distances. The advantage she learned from that she applied here…
With more than great results.
Like the Practical Exam, maximized the distance she could set out with her quirk. She made her black tendrils slam into the ground and hold with as much grip as possible. Setting her head in angle to lessen the effect of whiplash and efficiently readying her legs on a full jump, she let go of her hold on the ground and overshot the track that was being used.
She fell perfectly toes first into the ground with grace. Just like how Kaguya taught her.
A few of her classmates cheered her as she finished, but Izumi being introverted quickly dismissed them both in fear of Aizawa and how she didn't like being praised so much.
To Aizawa on that test, he was in fact impressed. As she only did the jump with technique overruling the usage of her quirk. It was instances like that which made him feel impressed on a less than usual basis. But, he still kept an eye on the girl as most of her earlier results were filled with setbacks and slip ups.
TEST 5 – Ball Throw
"DIE!" Katsuki roared as he threw the ball with an explosive caused by his hand. It propelled the ball to such heights that it was never seen again by the entire class. He did his all, pouring every inch of frustration and anger he had on Izumi after getting decent to high scores that sometimes eclipsed his own on the tests. The whole class felt a shiver after he said as he pointed at Izumi.
"BEAT THAT DEKU!"
Izumi merely stared at him with her tongue out as an insult. She didn't even seem remotely afraid. A thing that made everyone wonder as to why.
Moving on from that, everyone once again had varying techniques they used to propel the ball as high and long as they could reach. The best of them which was Uraraka scored a score of Infinity as the ball never came back down. A thing that Izumi was amazed at and began asking her a series of rapid questions that Uraraka had no ability to answer.
Himiko thankfully diffused the situation quickly before it spiraled out of control.
This time, it was her turn.
Aizawa gave her the ball as she stood at the base of where to throw it. She looked back at her classmates, finding most of them smiling at her. Including Shoto who did a thumbs up, but his expression didn't change. She frowned at that but got her attention back to the ball.
She was at a good distance from her classmates, and Aizawa did say that they needed to throw it as far as they can reach, but would he even allow that to her. To use the full extent of her quirk that had limits still not quantified?
Would he allow the risk?
Izumi reckoned that maybe she could… in a limited form. She tapped her headband as it glowed bright red. Her eyes turning into the vision mode that she used every so often. Turns out, they also allowed her to 'see' how much outage her quirk can give off. It came in handy in trying to quantify how much energy she can give out, this discovery was made accidentally when Himiko and her went on a movie together.
She charged up her hand as the black tendrils emerged from her.
As soon as she was readying herself to throw…
BRZZZTTTTT!
Izumi was knocked off her feet after a small explosion came from a stream of energy coming out of her hit something behind her. It turned off her quirk instantly, and as she looked back to see the source, she saw Mr. Aizawa standing while holding his head from a small headache.
She wondered what happened.
"Mr. Aizawa?" she said as she stood up. The man suddenly looked at his hand as relief settled in. he wondered what happened as well as he looked at Izumi. He was bewildered to have that interaction as the only thing he did was try to cancel the girl's quirk.
And it didn't work as intended.
Something sent a feedback to him when he put his eyes on the girl. Like something forced the influence of his quirk out from him. He made a mental note to say this to everyone later, as it was a crucial detail that needed discussion.
"Mr. Aizawa?"
"What have I told you Midoriya? You were going to try that same stunt I warned you about earlier. People are in a distance yes… but with how your quirk worked at full power in the Entrance Exam, I can't condone possible danger to happen to your fellow classmates." He scolded.
"R-Right… I'm sorry."
"Sorry isn't going to cut it young lady. I warned you before not to cause a ruckus and you've done that for a series of consecutive times that I don't even think it's gotten under that thick skull of yours how much of a problem you are." his mood continued to go serious.
"B-But sir…"
"No buts. I wanted you to be better than that. You have skill and talent and I see that very well but since you're a danger and a liability to those around you, I don't know if I can allow you to continue here at UA."
Izumi's eyes widened in fear.
"Mr. Aizawa please… I can't-"
Aizawa was now walking back. Having zero care for the girl who was now pleading at him.
"You have one more chance Midoriya. Prove to me that you can control that quirk of yours and I may reconsider." He left with an ominous and foreboding tone. Izumi now felt bad about herself. Her classmates who didn't know what was going on started to worry for her.
She made a series of stupid mistakes. Mistakes that she thought she was done with back when she trained with her mentors. She hated this feeling, the failure to live up to the trust those people put on her. She grabbed the ball with a bit of frustration as she thought of her misdeeds.
"You've always been worthy Young Midoriya… even back then, I was foolish enough not to see it. But here you are." All Might's words echoed through her and she finally calmed down.
With an idea that would solve her problem.
"What is she doing?" Kyouka asked as everyone in the field saw Izumi hold out her arm, letting her black tendrils wrap around the ball partially and in the next second she was twirling the tendrils in a volley. She picked up speed as she moved her arm to double the strength and pace on each roundabout.
Katsuki and Shoto watched in interest while Himiko smiled at Izumi. Knowing what was to come next. Momo wondered why the blonde girl was smiling and as she was about to ask, the speed on Izumi's volley was increasing rapidly to the point that wind started to blow on each revolution of the ball.
As she did this, small to medium torrents of red energy funneled into the black tendrils as well as the ball. As it turned with such great speeds, it left an afterimage of something glowing in a circle with the energy intensifying only slightly and the wind current rapidly expanding. Everyone covered their eyes as they saw Izumi's eyes glow in intensity and her face full of a tightened expression. Gritting her teeth to ready one last roundabout Izumi screamed to release the ball.
BWOOOOM!
The ball launched high up into the sky so fast that it took less than a second to reach to heights where it was never seen again. The dust cleared around Izumi and she looked up the sky, smiling in victory. Her arm was a bit bruised but otherwise okay.
"I feel so small… and useless…" the blonde electric quirk user, Kaminari said as some of the boys behind him patted his back because of how he felt.
She looked at her classmates who were just as stunned as she was with how fast and far the ball went out. That volley didn't use much of her destructive electric field but more so with the technique she used by making her whip-like appendages as a volley to assist with the throw. Letting physics and gravity to take the speeds faster, Izumi perfectly guessed how the outcome would transpire, yet was amazed by how it came out.
She looked at Aizawa who had his eyes widen in appeasement.
"D-Did I do good Mr. Aizawa?" Izumi asked as she huffed for a breath.
The only answer he gave her was a smile and Izumi knew that she managed to pull it off.
16:37 Hours…
"Is this what being proud feels like?" Inko asked Toshinori as they returned to the office after watching Izumi a few hours earlier in the field. To say that she was amazed was an understatement. They didn't catch the other field tests conducted by Aizawa but they were there when Izumi did the ball throw and like Inko, Toshinori shared the sentiment. He was amazed at how she pulled that off, while also managing to lessen the blow her quirk had on her system.
With how Aizawa acted after that short event, it seemed like he was pleased as well. He smiled knowing that she managed to pull through yet again with Aizawa. He now wondered if there was anything the girl couldn't do (in terms not of her quirk that is).
"Oh God… his face. I can remember the last time he made a face like that. It was when he finally beat Hisashi on an arcade game back in the day. He looked so happy it made me laugh how he smiled…" Inko said as she laughed afterwards. Toshinori did so as well after.
"She still manages to amaze me… I don't even know how she does it." Toshinori admitted.
"I don't think it's possible losing faith in her. She still makes me surprised with how much she's already accomplished. He would have been proud if he saw her." Inko said, with the tone of her voice Toshinori knew who she was referring to.
"Yeah." He simply said.
"What's the matter?" Inko asked, noticing the change of tone in his voice.
"It's nothing…"
"For real?" Inko teased. He giggled at her as Inko smiled. It felt great seeing that smile he mused. It had been a long day for both of them after watching Izumi in the field. When classes ended about an hour ago they continued to discuss with Nezu about a few other complications. It turned out good at the end but this also raised a meeting from Aizawa who had something to say about Izumi's quirk. Frankly speaking, they were only waiting in the office room now for that meeting.
Nemuri also said that Izumi said goodbye to her, with a group of new friends accompanying her home. Inko wasn't going to stop that, in fact the both of them were pleased to know that Izumi was less of an unsociable person now and that she was finding a common ground to ease in within UA.
Inko even managed to talk to Nemuri, musing that they should celebrate later when they go home for the girl's first day in school. It was met with a mixed response as Toshinori was busy that night and Nemuri had a list of things to do with her classes the next day.
Luckily, it seemed like they agreed to compromise a bit.
"Can I ask you to wear your costume later? Might make Izumi feel a bit better seeing you in your stupid looking suit." Inko teased.
"Hey… people like that suit."
"I don't… so can you do it?" Toshinori sighed at her reply but nodded. It made the woman giggle a little so he couldn't say no otherwise.
"I could buy her some of her favorite cookies later-" she continued to talk about plans this night but as he was listening in, he felt his phone vibrate. He took it and saw that the caller was his former sidekick, the hero Nighteye.
"Hey… are you listening?" Inko said.
"Sorry… I'll just take this call. Excuse me." He then smiled at her as Inko rolled her eyes. He motioned himself near the window and accepted the call.
Inko having left in her thoughts tried to think of what to do later. Her mind then wandered to Izumi, and by checking the time on her watch she knew that the girl would be home by now at this hour. She looked at the red flower placed on the desk.
She felt a bit of happiness knowing that the flower was Izumi's favorite. Toshinori had been nice enough to leave a small reminder of Izumi in his office and she liked that dearly.
She looked at Toshinori after in the window…
Then the mood changed.
"What? What do you mean? D-Does it involve-" he said to the phone. Inko lost her smile when he seemed genuinely concerned about something. The way his face contorted made it downright obvious that something big was going on.
"Toshinori… what is it?" she asked.
"Wait just a second…" he replied to her as he seemed agitated and worried. Inko was about to ask again when she heard her phone vibrate. As soon as she took it out, her heart almost dropped. It was a text from Izumi and apparently… this had been the sixth text she sent. The most recent one read:
"MOM CALL ME PLEASE!"
The text message was clear on the screen. Inko suddenly felt fear course through her veins as panic overtook her. She quickly dialed Izumi's number and the call was almost instantly taken.
And Izumi's voice was full of panic.
"Izumi, what's going on? C-Calm down I can't understand you." Inko said as Izumi's voice seemed to be in panic. The girl calmed herself for a bit before replying back to her.
"M-Mom… t-there's a dead body. In our living room."
END OF CHAPTER 11
AN: Sorry for the lengthy wait... I had to do a bit of revisions on the ending and this is a lengthier chapter to compensate for that. I hope you enjoyed since this time there will be two sidestories after this. I'm excited to show you what both are since they're pretty significant to the plot as to what's happening here at the ending. Heh.
Keep Yourselves safe guys! and I'll see you in the next few posts...
NEXT CHAPTER: "Small Complications" - Izumi is left with a large question and as time goes on her quirk seems to have a problem that makes it harder to control when she removes the headband. Inko and Toshinori are left with a foreboding threat as someone or a group of people are starting to move against them.
SIDESTORY 8 & 9 Coming soon!