Izuku Midoriya was not a particularly interesting boy if you believed the words of his old classmates in high school. Perhaps his hair-color was unusual, a wild whirlwind of green that refused to be tamed no matter how much they tried brushing it or using gel when he was younger. He didn't care about that terribly- so long as it didn't knot badly when he was toweling off from a shower, he sort of liked it. Wild and untamed, free to be what it wished; it was a feeling that had escaped from the spot that beat beneath his breast when he was little.
At a tender young age, he'd learned that he would be forever on the back foot. It was a harsh reality, but one he had long decided he just needed to accept, buckle down and work to be better. Especially if he wanted to get far being a Pro-Hero. Even if he had been born with a quirk, it was a proven trend in the hero industry that lighter-toned people tended to be highlighted more by the media, to say nothing of how tough it was for those who looked inhuman. He was endlessly impressed with Gang Orca because of it; anyone who could work their way onto the top ten like that was amazing in his eyes. Kamui was well on his way as well, and there was excited chatter that perhaps more than one not strictly human-looking Hero would make it into the top ten in the next rankings.
The student shook himself from that thought as he pushed himself along, feet hitting the pavement hard as he was practically sprinting down the sidewalk. The young hero student couldn't believe that he was about to be late to school so soon in the year! After all that had been sacrificed, everything that had been done- the amount of time All Might had put into training him for this- he couldn't just treat that investment like it was worthless!
Of course, it wasn't just for All Might. He knew that for himself, he needed to do well. Quirkless and powerless growing up, Izuku had almost given up on his dream of becoming a Hero in primary school.
But that time was past. The green-haired boy had trained relentlessly for days upon days, weeks upon weeks, months upon months. His muscles now sat tight and powerful under his clothes, a physique that was likely the envy of many in his class, once they had seen him in the changing room for their first combat class together. Well, envy existed in some like the skinny blond Kaminari, but Izuku's childhood... ah, friend had offered him no more than a mocking sneer. A mocking sneer that Izuku knew was hiding his incandescent rage, fueled by the other boy's frustration in having a rival in the once meek boy who could do no more than serve as a punching bag in primary school. Katsuki Bakugo, or Kacchan as Izuku still called him, was certainly not impressed by Izuku's dedication.
All the other boy seemed to get was a sort of perverse anger, though if it weren't for the small breakdown Izuku alone had been privileged to after their match that day, he would think that Kacchan's only emotion was either pure anger or smug pride.
If Izuku was being honest with himself, he was both very pleased and very anxious with how his school life had been going so far.
His eyes widened as he turned the corner and suddenly saw someone standing in his way to U.A.- certainly unintentionally, but if the stranger wasn't going to move, Izuku would plow into him! "S-Sorry, uh," crap, he needed to spit out what he needed to say!" "Please I need to get to class, I'm running very late-! Uh, not on purpose-!" Dangit, he hadn't even thought to tell the guy to move!
The stranger in his path seemed to get the message, however, and he moved back a step. It left Izuku with a few moments to take in the boy in front of him; a black cloak was whipping about him, covering what looked to be a suit of some sort underneath. It was a bit formal for just walking about town, but Izuku was hardly going to judge him on that. The most interesting part of the boy was his hair and his eyes.
His hair was like Todorokis, in the sense that it was split in straight lines that were weirdly perfect for being the coloring of his hair. However, unlike Todoroki's hair that was split down the middle, one side red and one side white, this boy's black hair had three white rings spread through it. The lowest of the rings was covering the ends of his bangs and wrapping back around, while the other two rings encircled his head evenly. It was striking and rare. That was coming from a darker-skinned boy who somehow had managed to snag his mother's rare green hair, instead of his father's more mundane hair-color, despite the fact he had inherited his father's skin and freckles.
But beyond even something as interesting as that, there were his eyes. At first, he noticed only that they seemed to glow and flicker with a golden color like rare gems were buried under his pupils. The greater shock was that the pupils he was looking into somehow formed skull shapes, which was something that if not for Quirks Izuku would believe to be biologically impossible.
Of course, it was impolite to stare, so the green-haired boy simply sent a grateful smile the stranger's way, only to receive a blank look in return- wait, was he smiling a bit? A smirk? The movement in the other boy's lips was so subtle that Izuku was unsure how to read him very well. It was as if he was trying to gauge what Todoroki was feeling, which despite their limited interactions Izuku could already tell was going to be a massive chore to sort out. It wasn't as if his adhd-riddled brain could pick up on social cues that well to begin with, let alone after a decade of dealing with Kacchan's plainly worn hostility.
He could think about his classmates later, Izuku, he needed to get himself to class.
"Thank you-!" The green-haired boy called out to the other as he rushed through the gate. It had been a good idea to study the hallways of the school map, even if that had only been a result of his hyperfocus trying to figure out every little detail of his new environment. Shoes lightly thud-ing against the ground as he slowed his sprint to a rather spirited walk, Izuku began to take some deep breaths to regain his composure and fix himself up a bit before he reached his class.
Enough time had been purchased with the burning of his lungs and muscles, still fatigued from his fight with Kacchan a day or two past, for him to reach his class on time. The last thing he wanted to do was make a bad impression again on his teacher after they had gone and made a mess of the fight. Izuku's heart still clenched every time he thought of him and Kacchan in that building, the other boy ready to blow him away in a way that was far too literal. It fluttered as a phantom ache drifted over his arm's bones, which had strained and broke when he'd ended the fight. He knew that he needed to try harder to keep that from happening again.
He needed to, but he had no idea how to. And for all that All Might was, being the amazingly strong #1 Hero and Symbol of Peace for Japan, he was obviously not trained or experienced as a teacher. A personal trainer when it came to fitness? Yes, he could manage that. But helping a student who had only just recently gotten his Quirk? That was a bit out of the older man's wheelhouse.
It wasn't something Izuku blamed him for, heaven forbid. No, it was more a... disappointing but understandable situation. All Might hadn't spoken much, if anything, of his predecessor who had given him One for All, but given the haunted few words that could be construed as being a reference to them Izuku had a fair idea. If his mentor hadn't had much time with his teacher before they had been removed from All Might's life, it would only make sense that he would be unsure how to train Izuku to use One for All. Even the fact that All Might had figured a couple of Izuku's bones might break the first time he used it spoke volumes of how All Might's first days with it were.
But it hurt, oh did it hurt. It hurt that his mentor was as lost as Izuku was in figuring out how to limit this Quirk, hurt that Izuku was to a degree expected to figure it out on his own to some extent.
NO. No. All Might was trying his best with what limited knowledge he had; the green-haired student just needed to be thankful that the older man had been so willing to take him under his wing to train him, even when Izuku was still Quirkless. It was a lot to ask of anyone, especially someone who was the number one hero and likely had the run of the nation's top sidekicks and heroes to pick from as a successor. Izuku was just grateful that he was being given such an opportunity to change his own fate.
Nodding to himself, Izuku pushed open the door to his classroom, waving to Iida and Uraraka who were seated in the far back of the first column of desks. Uraraka gave him a big grin and waved back eagerly while Iida giving him a stiff but friendly wave, both clearly pleased to see him. He got a hearty hello and good morning from Kaminari and the red-headed Kirishima behind him as Izuku moved down to the last column of desks and began moving to his. He was sandwiched between Kacchan- who he studiously ignored -and a purple-haired boy with an eternally tired expression.
That guy's name was Shinsou and it was actually sort of funny on the first day seeing Aizawa-sensei and Shinsou walk past each other. A person could have mistaken one for the other if they were the same age at least. And didn't have wildly different hair in both color and style. And Shinsou just seemed to have eyebags, not the red eyes of their teacher- okay, maybe there were a few more differences than he thought of initially, but still! He knew Uraraka agreed with him.
He slid down into his seat, looking back at Shinsou with a tentative smile, "Good morning Shinsou!"
Nothing more was offered to him but a tired glance, a reminder that the boy's eyebags probably were around for a reason. Izuku swallowed a bit but kept a smile on his face. Shinsou wasn't the only student to wear an icy demeanor in the classroom; Todoroki was just as closed off and silent as Shinsou tended to be.
Both certainly seemed to have their own deals. Shinsou's was pretty obvious when the green-haired boy had heard how Shinsou had helped his team win by brainwashing the other group, and he could see how a decent portion of the class cringed away from him a bit. The class would probably warm up to them if either he or Shouto were interested in trying to make friends, yet it was clear that neither boy was going to try and make an effort to bridge the gap between them. If there was one thing Izuku was, however, was persistent and stubborn, and he was going to make friends with the both of them! But the dual-toned boy wasn't seated behind Izuku every day at school, so for now Izuku would focus on bringing Shinsou into his small little friend group, even if it took a while longer.
At that point, Aizawa-sensei made his appearance into the classroom, looking around the place with his constantly red, but focused eyes. "Good, you all are here. We will begin shortly, but before that, we need to discuss an important development that happened early this morning." That got everyone's attention- with the invasion of the press so recent, everyone's nerves were a bit fried and on edge.
Their teacher's eyes scanned their now attentive faces and nodded, "This is not meant to alarm any of you; I know that with the press getting into the school, you are likely stressed." He said, placing a paper down on his desk, "Early this morning a large energy field of unknown properties moved over the city." A couple of students seemed like they were about to ask startled and worried questions, but a sharp glance from Aizawa-sensei quieted them so he could continue. "This isn't an unknown phenomenon. This field, in particular, has been detected before, however, any instrument that tracks it for any decent amount of time to try and pinpoint where the center is and where it is moving overloads and fries up. Our instruments just aren't built for the energy- all they do is notice it's here and then blow up."
The lanky teacher sighed, "Normally, we would just note it's here, then attempt to coordinate with local heroes to get some proper readings or find the edges to calculate the size and center before it goes vanishing off to another part of the globe. And of course, none of you would need to worry about this. However, with the recent incursion on school property yesterday, we need everyone to be extra vigilant. While we don't believe it has any ill will, it is better that you are aware of its existence and can report to us any strange sightings."
His eyes scanned the room severely across the room, "This doesn't excuse any slacking. We will handle this phenomenon, but I insist that if you do see anything at all, you report it immediately to me. Now," Aizawa-sensei said as he picked up his papers again, "Let's get started on roll call..."
Izuku wasn't sure what to think about that- something so powerful that an elite school with cutting-edge tech couldn't so much as detect it without destroying its equipment? That was absurd, and something about the chill in the air despite the warm day just made it worm its way through his heart faster. He knew that if it was someone like the guy who'd injured All Might, his mentor would've recognized it, that he was sure of.
Granted, that villain had been taken care of, so it wasn't going to be him but, well, who else out there could be that powerful?