The following is a nonprofit fan-based parody all rights reserved to Brandon Sanderson and Horikoshi Kohei. Please support the official releases.
Izuku inhaled deeply as he tried to empty his mind. His hand gripping his staff a bit more tightly as he focused on the feeling of the cool metal. Holding the breath, he waited until he felt his lungs just barely begin to ache for fresh air before exhaling and starting to spin the staff. It had been two months since the day of the Nagai incident, as he had started referring to it in his mind, and after working for all that time he had cleared out a nice little patch of sand that he used for his weapons training. The weapon in question was the object Sera had found for him after all her searching, an old length of pipe that must have been serving as a signpost or possibly as part of a fence. When he had found it, it wasn't much to look at. The metal had spots of rust and one end was still encased in concrete. He had been skeptical of the thing ever being usable but Sera had looked so excited that he had decided to at least try to save it. On his way home that evening, he had bought sandpaper and steel wool from a hardware store nearby and researched late into the night for how he could restore the length of metal. The next day, he got to work. He had been scared that the concrete would be the most difficult thing to deal with but during his research he had found a source that said by hitting the metal, vibrations would travel down its length and break up the concrete. He was skeptical but after giving it a few good whacks with a shorter length of discarded pipe the hunk of dried cement cracked and eventually fell away leaving only a few small bumps that were much easier to knock off. With that done, Izuku then pulled out the supplies he had purchased and sanded away the spots of rust before smoothing it out with the steel wool. When all was said and done, he was left with a metal post about 150 centimeters long and with a diameter of five centimeters.
With his new weapon found, he then started studying how to use it. He found that the staff was one of the most widely used weapons in human history so there were a plethora of possible styles to choose one. Unsure of where to start, he eventually found a video online that said a good way to familiarize oneself with the staff was to practice spinning it because, while it was impractical in actual combat, it helped the wielder learn the weight and feel of their weapon and helped to condition one's body. So since that day Izuku always tried to spend some time spinning his staff before practicing one of the katas that he had decided to use. Over the course of the month, he had become much more comfortable with the weapon in his hand. His movements were more sure and his spinning became faster. As he practiced, sometimes Sera would join in by trailing one of the ends of the staff as it spun giving it the look of having a luminescent blue streamer attached to it. Eventually, the exercise became a calming technique for him to use when he felt anxious or stressed or when he just needed to unwind after working on moving junk for a while. There was only one unfortunate side effect of him getting better at spinning his staff…
"Honey, are you sure you should be spinning that so quickly? You could hurt yourself."
Inko's voice pulled Izuku out of the zone he had been in and he fumbled the metal pole making it strike the ground. He immediately pulled back so that he wouldn't be hit as the staff swung around and bounced on the sand. Having his mother accompany him to Takoba Beach was the result of him keeping his word to tell her about the Nagai incident. She hadn't tried to discourage him from training as he had feared, but she did say that he should find a new safer place to train. Izuku had argued that in addition to training, he was also helping to clean the beach and that completing that service helped to keep him motivated. In the end, Izuku's mother consented to let him continue using the junk heap as a training location, but she refused to let him go unsupervised. He had agreed quickly, not wanting to risk her changing her mind. In some ways, it was nice having her there and she had even joined him in his work to restore the coastline. The issue that arose, however, was that she would often fret when he did something that could be dangerous, like move a washing machine by himself or practice with his staff. Luckily, Izuku had another person there to advocate for him pushing himself like he wanted to.
"Don't worry Mrs. Midoriya," Toshinori's voice called out, "Izuku has become quite skilled. I am sure he knows what he is doing."
Izuku sighed as he heard his mother tentatively agree, though he knew that she would still be keeping an eye on him, and he reached down to pick his dropped staff up to begin his practice again. He still remembered the moment that the two adults had met and how awkward it had been. Honestly, it was his own fault. At the time that he had agreed with his mother about coming with him to the beach, he had been so relieved that she hadn't forbidden him that Mr. Yagi had completely slipped from his mind. So the next day, when she had joined him in the afternoon after school and they were met by the skeletal visage of Izuku's friend, she nearly panicked and dragged Izuku back home. After the initial scare, however, Inko had calmed down enough for Izuku to explain the man's presence. Nowadays, the two had a mutual understanding of a sort. Inko was happy that there was someone who would watch over Izuku as he trained and she had seen that the man had a good heart from his desire to clean up the beach. Though at the same time she was still made uncomfortable by the man's unhealthy appearance, and she wasn't sure how much she trusted that he could step in if something went wrong. For his part, Toshinori was glad to see that Izuku's mother was supportive of her son's dream but he didn't like having someone there who didn't know his secret because it made buffing up and acting on a moment's notice much more difficult. In Izuku's mind, was just happy to have the two of them there to support him, even though sometimes his mother was a little overprotective. Thankfully, she only came once or twice a week after she found out that Mr. Yagi was there every day, so he got the benefit of spending time with her while still getting plenty of time to really push himself.
After spinning his staff for a few minutes more, he stopped and moved into one of his katas. Today he was practicing with a style that originated in France and involved swinging the staff from the near the end, almost like it was a large sword. When he had been researching Sera had seen this style and insisted that Izuku include it in his practices. Izuku agreed, figuring that the spren just liked how it looked. Swinging the pole around Izuku tried his best to mimic the movements from the video online. It was tough not having a teacher who could tell him whether he was doing well or not. Occasionally, Mr. Yagi would observe him and try to give pointers but, as he himself said, he didn't have much practice with armed combat. Making a final horizontal swing, Izuku lowered the staff to the ground and let his arms rest. A moment later he lifted the metal pole and rested it on his shoulder before walking over to and up the steps that led off the beach. Placing the weapon next to the truck, Izuku then made his way back down to begin moving garbage. His usual routine had shifted since Sera had found the training weapon. He now would jog to the beach, then, when he arrived, he would stretch before putting in practice with his staff. After that, Izuku would rest for a short time before moving garbage to either the pile next to the stairs in the morning, or directly into the truck in the afternoon.
Occasionally, he would add to the routine with some additional exercise to focus on a specific muscle group but for the most part, he worked within this system. As he got to work today he started by grabbing a few tires that were in the pile and putting his arms through them so they could sit on his shoulders as he moved quickly to the truck. As he worked, he paid careful attention to his form. Izuku had read online and also been warned by Mr. Yagi that how you lifted was just as important as what you lifted, especially if you want to avoid injury. So when it came to moving junk Izuku always made sure that most of the effort came from his legs. This was convenient because his staff training always wore his arms out. After running several loads Izuku stopped for a break and grabbed a drink from his water bottle. As he was drinking, he heard his mother's voice.
"You know Izuku, I am surprised at how little you are using your quirk."
The comment made Izuku pause and look at her, blinking curiously. She saw his expression and decided to explain herself,
"Well, I just figured with the fact that you have been waiting to get a quirk for so long, that as soon as you had one you would be wanting to use it at every opportunity and with all the food I have seen you eating I thought that my assumptions must have been correct." Inko finished and looked to Izuku for a response.
Swallowing the water in his mouth Izuku pondered what his mother was saying. It was true that he rarely used his quirk. He would occasionally practice sticking objects together, but most of his training time was spent moving garbage and training with his staff. Izuku's mind supplied several reasons for this. Perhaps, after so long wanting to be a hero without a quirk Izuku had subconsciously decided that it was more important to train himself than his quirk. Or maybe after learning that his quirk's regenerative factor could hamper his efforts to improve himself, he had been afraid of using it too much. Several other thoughts came out to explain the paradoxical behavior he was exhibiting, but the truth was that while Izuku loved studying and breaking down quirks, as evidenced by the notebooks he had in his bedroom, the power he held now was not a quirk. Izuku had formed a bond with an extraterrestrial, possibly even extradimensional, being that was facilitated by the timely intervention of an apparently divine entity. Izuku had thought about studying the power he now had before, he had planned on it when he asked his mother to make the extra food. But when he had sat down and started recording everything he knew so far about his powers, the information had overwhelmed and frightened him. In the end, all the extra food he had been eating was because he was hungry from working out so much and his new power was left pretty much unexplored. However, even though he realized the truth for his actions he couldn't bring himself to share all of it with his mother. After all, it was world-shattering information, and he didn't want his mom to think he was crazy. So he collected his thoughts and gave the most believable of his excuses.
"Well," He said nervously, "from what I have learned of my power so far, when I use the light it multiplies my abilities so I am trying to focus on building up my natural strength so I get more power when I am using it."
"Ok," Inko said, accepting the explanation, "though I must say Izuku, you appear to have come quite far in the last couple of months. I would never have thought you would be able to move such heavy things with no problem, and the way you swing that metal pole around so quickly is impressive, even if it makes me nervous.
"Your mother does bring up a good point, young Midoriya," Toshinori suddenly interjected, "You have made some impressive progress so it would probably be a good idea to also start practicing with your quirk. I remember on the day we met you used your power to stick to a wall, and you have used it to stick other things together as well. That is a useful ability but you should practice with it so you know all of its limitations."
"Yes," Inko agreed, "within reason that is. I don't want you overdoing it and possibly hurting yourself."
Izuku sighed but he didn't meet their gazes. "Ok, you are right," he eventually said.
That night as he lay in bed he looked over to Sera who was sitting on the edge of his desk with her feet dangling off casually swinging them back and forth. Over the last month, they had grown much closer. He would talk to her at night, sharing his thoughts, fears, and hopes and she would share her dreams for when they became heroes and her insights into what she had experienced that day. She was still an interesting mix of childish and mature though she stayed mature more often as time went on. She hadn't been present when Mr. Yagi and his mother had been talking about using his power more, and he wasn't sure how she would have responded. She hadn't ever seemed discontent with the fact that he didn't use the powers of their bond more, but Izuku feared that she might be hiding it for his sake.
"Hey Sera, do you wish that I used our powers more often while I am training?" Izuku asked, getting directly to the heart of things.
Sera looked at him curiously,
"Why do you ask?" She asked in return.
"Well," Izuku said, sitting up in his bed, "Mom and Mr. Yagi both mentioned that I should start. Well, actually Mr. Yagi said that I should start, it was more like Mom wondered why I haven't been doing it already with how obsessed I usually get about quirks."
"It is out of character for you to not be constantly studying how your own powers work when you are so fascinated by everyone else's," Sera commented dryly.
"Ugh, I know," Izuku grumbled out. He then paused as he thought about the reasoning he came to on the beach earlier that day for his behavior. For a moment he thought about not telling Sera the full truth but he quickly dismissed the idea, he already learned the danger of keeping something that bothered him bottled up inside. "I think the reason for it is that what we have isn't a quirk. Not like what other people have. Most people are born with their power but I stumbled into mine and in doing so I learned that there are other worlds and that there is a god out there that somehow gave quirks to mankind and you don't even know how you ended up here. Our entire situation is honestly a little overwhelming." When he finished Izuku found himself breathing more deeply than he realized and for a moment he was afraid that he had been shouting. "Did I say that too loudly?" Izuku asked nervously.
"No," Sera said placatingly, "I am sure some people in Tokyo couldn't hear you."
Izuku gave Sera a flat look which made her giggle. She then stood up and floated into the air to make her way over to Izuku. Coming to rest on his lap she made the motion of patting his leg comfortably and while her form was too insubstantial for him to feel her, his mind still supplied a phantom sensation of her touch and he appreciated the gesture.
"Izuku, the power that comes from the bond is yours. You get to decide how and when it is used. As long as you live up to your oaths it will always be there when you call for it." Locking her eyes to his she then spoke seriously, "But I want you to know this. A spren does not choose their partner lightly, I may have been only semi-conscious at the time but I came to you because I saw in you the traits that I admire; the traits that make you want to be a hero. I trust you completely Izuku even if you make mistakes I know you will move heaven and earth to correct them."
Izuku looked at Sera in teary-eyed awe when she finished. After a moment, he smiled brightly at her and wiped his eyes.
"Wow, you are so mature today," Izuku said absentmindedly.
Sera's face morphed to a look of indignation and she shouted out, "What? I am always mature, you take that back." She zipped up and began beating her tiny fists against his head in retribution, making Izuku chuckle nervously and begin to spout out apologies. Eventually, she settled back down and flew off in a huff to do her nightly wanderings while Izuku lied down to sleep.
The next morning Izuku stood on the beach with a familiar notebook in his hands once more. He poured over the previous notes he had made concerning the bond and its powers. As he read, he absentmindedly rubbed his chin and muttered quietly.
"So I know that the bond gives me the ability to strengthen myself and heal, which isn't something I can train to get better at, I don't think. I can also stick things together using the light, but when I have used it a few times in the past it feels like there is more to it than just that. I also need to do experiments regarding how effective each type of food is at granting me light. What am I burning from the food I eat, if anything? How long can I last on how little food? What is the most efficient foodstuff I can eat?"
"So what are you doing exactly?" Sera asked as she looked over Izuku's shoulder at his journal.
Izuku jumped slightly at the sudden comment breaking him out of his concentration. Turning to the spren he explained.
"I am thinking about how to best go about studying and training to use my powers." Reaching up to grab his pen from behind his ear he wrote the words "Radiant Training" and underlined it to separate it as its own section. He had finally gone to the quirk registry with his mother to update his file and the night before, he and Sera had decided to name the quirk Radiance after the order of knights that Sera had told him about when he began his training. "Our first order of business is to come up with a name for the energy that I use for them," Izuku said as he wrote. "Just calling it light could get confusing in my notes. What was it called on your original world?" Izuku turned to Sera as he asked the last question.
The spren floated a short distance away from Izuku and assumed a thinking stance of her own. "Well on Roshar, that was the name of the world, the light was collected during highstorms so it was called stormlight." Izuku opened his mouth to comment, but Sera continued before he could speak, "However, that light was purely of Honor, the light you produce is different because it is a mixing of both the light of Honor and of Valor."
Izuku was quiet as he thought about the mysterious and divine being that had appeared to him and Sera, even though so much of what had happened that day faded in his memory he still remembered his interaction with the deity crisply like it had been branded onto his mind. As he pondered it a question came to his mind.
"Why are they named like that?" Izuku asked.
"What do you mean?" Sera asked back.
"Why are they named Honor or Valor? Those names feel like they have a special meaning when you say them. Like you aren't just saying the word but the meaning behind it." Izuku paused then spoke again, "or maybe that is backward, maybe we understand the meaning of those words because the beings exist, if they are gods then they must have existed before the creation of our language."
"I don't know," Sera responded honestly. "That deals with things far greater than I am qualified to talk about. Though I do know that where Honor was concerned he truly embodied the concept. He was a god of bonds and when he made a promise it was always kept."
"Ok, so if we take that idea and think of the light I make as a combination of Honor and Valor... What is something that is filled with honor and valor?" Izuku eventually devolved into muttering once more trying to come up with a good name.
Sera stared at him questioningly but she couldn't stay silent anymore when she thought she heard the word "firefighterlight" come out of his mouth. "Izuku!" she shouted, snapping him out of his cognitive spiral. "Think about why you accepted this power in the first place. What is your dream?"
Izuku stared at her in confusion for a moment before his eyes lit up in realization. "Oh, you're right, thanks Sera." Opening his notebook once more Izuku turned to his new section and wrote at the top.
"Herolight"
For the rest of that morning, Izuku spent it filled with herolight as he worked. He planned to use that time as a way to become accustomed to his new strength so that he never overdid it accidentally and caused too much damage. But he once again fell to the trap of losing himself in the rush he felt when filled with the energy, and in no time his course of study shifted to how much he could lift as he gleefully hauled large stacks of trash to the stairs. He had wanted to test his limits, so he had burned as much food as he could to fill himself with light. As he worked, he thankfully still had the presence of mind to note the sensation of it all.
Transferring food to herolight was a lot like having a fire in his stomach that burned what he ate, then instead of smoke, it let out energy that he inhaled from inside himself. The analogy didn't make much sense but it was the best way he could describe it. He knew that he was filled with light because it felt similar to the feeling of taking as deep a breath as he could, eventually, there just wasn't any more room inside of himself. Once the light was in his lungs it spread through his body filling him with stamina and strength. Wanting to test his limits Izuku found an old refrigerator and tried lifting it. He was easily able to get it onto his shoulders and even succeeded in lifting it completely over his head. Wanting to test himself further he pushed with all his might and launched the broken appliance from where he currently was to the pile he had been making near the stairs a distance that he guessed was at least twenty meters away. The feat made Izuku laugh in jubilation and Sera, who was nearby, joined in. It had been so long since he had been this full and he had forgotten just how exciting it felt. From then on he continued pushing himself, lifting appliances and piles of garbage. His testing culminated with him finding a broken-down truck buried in a pile of scrap and after clearing most of the pile away Izuku grabbed the front bumper and started lifting, Sera cheering him on in the background. After struggling for a bit Izuku succeeded in getting the front half of the vehicle up above his head but he was not confident that he would be able to lift it completely and even with the light pushing him to act he had sense enough to put it down and push it to the stairs instead. After two hours of working, Izuku realized he needed to get home. Stretching out his arms, even though he felt no soreness or fatigue, Izuku decided that he would now test out his speed while powered up like this.
"Ok Sera, see if you can keep up," Izuku said playfully.
"Yeah sure," Sera said back, "I will see you there."
After a count of three Izuku took off at a sprint. Sera easily kept pace as she zipped along as a familiar ribbon of light. Izuku couldn't keep the smile off his face as he felt the wind whipping through his hair. He was moving at speeds that made some of the cars on the road look like they were standing still. He wasn't sure if he was matching the speeds that speed-specific quirks could reach, but he was definitely faster than the fastest quirkless runner on record. His joy was cut short however when a man in a dark blue jumpsuit with wooden arms landed in front of him. Izuku tried to stop but his momentum was too great. It didn't matter though, because in short order Izuku found himself tightly bound in wooden restraints. Tracing the wood around him with his eyes, Izuku eventually followed it up to see Kamui Wood glaring at him.
"You are under arrest for illegal quirk usage." the hero said sternly. "Now explain yourself, why were you running at such dangerous speeds."
Izuku was shocked into silence at what had just happened. He was arrested by a hero. He had broken the law by using his quirk in a populated area without a license or a reasonable justification. Bowing as deeply as he could in his restrained position Izuku shouted out.
"I am so sorry!" The hero was taken aback slightly by the sudden apology, but Izuku didn't see it and continued to talk, "I was training my quirk so that I could be a hero and I got caught up in using it. I just got my quirk recently and I am still unused to it sir!"
"Just got your quirk?" Kamui Wood said skeptically. Then after looking more closely at the boy and recognizing how he was shining the hero's eyes widened in surprise. "You, you are that boy from the sludge villain incident."
Izuku looked up sharply at that, not expecting to be recognized by the hero. "You remember me?" Izuku asked, in awe. Izuku felt the wood holding him in place pull away and the hero retracted the restraints.
"Oh, I remember you," Kamui Wood said in a stern voice. "I also remember that we gave you a warning about using your quirk incorrectly again."
"I am sorry," Izuku repeated; bowing once more, properly this time, now that he was once more on his own two feet. "I am still learning how to use my quirk and I was trying to test how fast I am."
"What do you mean that you just got your quirk? You must be at least 13 years old." Kamui Wood asked.
"I know, I am a late bloomer. The day of the sludge villain was the first time I had ever used my quirk." Izuku explained sheepishly.
"It's because of me," Sera said, suddenly joining the conversation. Her sudden appearance startled the wood-based hero, making him back up slightly. "I am part of his quirk and he wasn't able to fully utilize it until I had the chance to fully mature."
This was the cover story for Izuku's late development of a quirk that they had discussed at the same time that they had come up with the name they wanted to give it. Izuku was very nervous because this would be the first time that they ever tried to use it on someone. Both Inko and Toshinori had just accepted that Izuku was a late bloomer and never asked for further explanation. But when Izuku and Sera were coming up with the information to put on the official documents, Izuku wanted a believable excuse that he could use in case people tried to investigate him.
"Young man," Kamui said, his stern voice returned, "do you have any idea how fast you were going?"
Izuku didn't say anything but after a moment of silence, it appeared that the hero actually wanted an answer. "No," Izuku said honestly with a shameful tone.
"Exactly, the fact that your quirk is so new means you have to be twice as careful as anyone else. You were going at least 60 kilometers per hour. Running at those speeds means that you are a danger to yourself and others. One slip-up is all it takes for your chances of ever being a hero to disappear. In my time I have heard plenty of stories about people who thought they had control of their quirks and wanted to try to use them for seemingly harmless or even well-intentioned reasons, and they ended up ruining their lives and endangering others. You need to be careful, understood?"
Izuku shrunk more and more as the hero spoke. When Kamui Woods finished he sighed and waved his hand.
"Listen, kid, you have an impressive quirk and from what I have seen a good heart. I will let you off this time, but this is strike two. If I catch wind of you messing up again that is it, kiss your dream of being a hero good-bye."
Upon hearing that he was being let go Izuku bowed deeply once more and offered a teary, "Thank you so much."
Kamui Wood took off a moment later and Izuku walked toward his home.
"You okay," Sera asked as they went.
"Yeah," Izuku eventually said, "I was so scared that I had ruined my chances. I need to be extra careful from here on out. No more filling myself with light completely. The impulse it brings is just too strong, it is like having a storm inside that makes me want to move and fight, but I lose myself to it too easily. I need to add in practice on how to better control myself so that I don't make stupid mistakes that could lead to someone getting hurt"
Izuku's stomach growled as he made his way to the beach.
"Wow," Sera said, "even I could hear that one. Why are you starving yourself again?"
"It is for the experiment," Izuku explained ignoring the gnawing pain from his abdomen. "I have been fasting all day so that I can see what component of the foods I eat is most important for herolight generation."
When he finished his short explanation he looked at the beach as they arrived. It had been a month since he had decided to start seriously studying his powers from the bond and with the added help of his quirk they were making good progress on clearing off the beach. There was now a strip about twenty meters wide that stretched from the stairs to the water. Every time he looked at it a sense of pride welled up in his heart because it felt like he was finally progressing toward being a hero.
"So what are you testing for today then?" Sera said, interrupting Izuku's introspection.
Izuku sighed but explained regardless. "Ok, I have here a gram each of protein powder, and sugar, as well as 1 gram of vegetable oil and 7 grams of rice." As he named each item he pulled out a small container from his bag. "I will be using protein powder and sugar to test if protein or carbs give me better results when converting food to herolight. Then I will use the oil and rice to test if I need fat specifically or if any calories will work."
"So why did you choose those four things?" Sera asked.
"The protein powder and the sugar have the same amount of calories and other nutrients with the only large difference in their components being protein and carbohydrates respectively. If one gives me a significantly better result then I can confidently say that one of those two nutrients is an important component in herolight production. With the oil and rice, the rice will be my control and the oil will be how I test for fat. I want to single out those three components specifically because there are documented quirks that use each of them as essential components. In today's test, I will consume one of the samples, burn it completely, then time how quickly I use up that amount of herolight. I can then use the times that I get to try and form some conclusions about what kinds of food I should be eating. That should help lighten some of the load on Mom."
That was one of his biggest reasons for doing this test. His mother had been amazingly helpful during these last three months of his training. She was supportive through his time managing the effects of the trauma he had suffered when he unlocked the power, always praised him for his accomplishments, and made sure to remind him every day that she believed in him. Then on top of that, she had accepted his request for additional food and run with it. Every time he opened the fridge at home there were bounteous options to pick from and Izuku knew that couldn't be easy or cheap. So he hoped that by finding out exactly what types of food he needed for his quirk, he could lighten her load.
Opening his notebook to the table he had created for the data from this experiment, Izuku put in the first column "Carbs," then grabbed the container labeled as such opened it up. He had dissolved the sugar in water for ease of consumption, figuring that water wouldn't contaminate the data due to its lack of nutrients. Downing the shot of sugar-solution he waited a moment. As he had started using his new powers more often, Izuku had learned to sense when something he ate became available to be burned for herolight. It was a unique sensation in his gut that couldn't really be compared to anything else but, regardless, he felt as soon as the sugar was ready and burned it immediately into herolight, starting a stopwatch he had brought at the same instant. The amount of light he produced was very small, which was good for the test because he had found that a full supply of herolight could last for hours and he wanted to deal with more manageable times. He worked for about ten minutes before he was depleted, so he went to his notebook and recorded the time. He then grabbed another small container also labeled "carbs." He had brought three samples of each substance so that he could average the times for a more accurate test. Two more iterations of the test were finished and all of them resulted in roughly equivalent outcomes. When he finished his third trial he was interrupted in his note-taking by a grunt of frustration from Sera.
"Ugh, Izuku only you could find a way to make superpowers boring. I am going to look for something interesting." With that, she flitted off over the junk piles on the beach.
Izuku chuckled slightly then looked back to his notes. Before he could continue writing, however, he saw a shadow cover the page and looked up to see Mr. Yagi looking curiously at his notes. Another explanation of his experiment later and the man gave him an encouraging thumbs up and left him to his work.
As the afternoon came to a close Izuku looked over his completed chart, and ate from one of the Tupperware that his mother always had ready in the fridge which he had grabbed for after his experiment was finished.
"Izuku," Sera's voice called out as the spren returned from her wanderings.
"Hi Sera," Izuku said cheerfully, "did you find anything cool?"
"Nah, but I saw some people that looked like they were talking about the beach and that someone is cleaning it up," She responded. "What did you find out?"
Izuku's face became eager at the question and he held up his chart and notes so she could see it. "From the results of the experiment, it looks like none of the nutrients themselves are particularly important. Instead, all that mattered was the calorie intake. See?" As he said this, he pointed to the average times that each bout of herolight lasted for. "In the oil and Rice experiment, both of the consumable types gave me about nine calories while both the sugar and the protein powder only had four. What's more, I did three iterations of each of the first two tests because I only got about ten minutes of herolight from them but I only did one each of the oil and rice because they both gave me about an hour of charge. From this data, I can conclude that the most important aspect of the foods I eat are calories. So from a scientific standpoint the ability I gained from Valor to make the bond viable is the capacity to convert energy from calories to herolight."
"Huh, neat," Sera responded simply, making Izuku give her a flat stare.
Packing up his notebook and now empty food containers, Izuku stood to go home for the night. He was glad that he had decided to start taking the study of his power seriously. There were so many wonderful things to discover and he could hardly wait to find out more.
Special thanks to ACreativeMindAtWorkHere for being the beta reader.