This chapter isn't very interesting, save for a few parts who are very much interesting. Izuku's fickle, unreliable powers are better explored.
"Italic" – thoughts
Underlined – writing or reading
Evergone the Great – yes, Izuku is capable of mind-controlling humans and gems alike, BUT, he doesn't have that power yet. And won't learn it for a long time. See, as son of White Diamond, Izuku will be totally OP, but you'll notice his stronger powers are completely unreliable.
Thesis – I am grateful and flattered for your confidence. I hope I can live up to expectations, but please don't be mad if I don't. Any feedback is welcome. Since this happens mostly in MHA universe, it's not 50/50 crossover and very few SU characters will show. However, one already has…
Person – I have no plans for fusion, yet. Probably will leave that power for much later. Since WD never really fused in her life, let's say that ability is very, very rusty. So, don't expect Izuku to fuse. If you want to see that, I recommend reading 'Dekiru: The Fusion Hero!' by '1 OmegaInfinity 1'. Though, yes, Izuku will get a summonable weapon. And no, he won't be poofed. Never. He needs his body to survive as much as he needs his gemstone.
HealSlut – I don't really understand your meaning…
"Plenty of targets for practice. Secluded enough."
On Dagobah beach, Izuku was surrounded by trash in every direction. He took a breath in wary preparation. A notebook laid opened on the page wrote on, last night. It was a training plan for his powers, with theories and ideas of how they could be used in combat or rescue.
"Okay, let's start with bubbles." creating bubbles was as natural to Izuku as breathing. It was the very first power he had gained, at the end of his kindergarten years. The bubbles were always translucid and white, able to float in midair if he let them. They were handy to store many of his personal items in his room. It kept things at hand without filling up compartments or shelves.
Normally, bubbles would be useless in combat. They're very light and easy to pop.
However, Izuku could produce them with varying hardness. Downside was, the harder it was, the longer it took. Standard bubbles were produced instantly, and they were about as hard as glass. Once, he made a bubble hard enough that it took dropping a big rock on it to pop it.
"Let's give it a try." He extended his hand and frowned. It always felt like a mass of energy flowed from his gem to his hand. The bubble was a little larger than an orange and was just as light as the standards. He checked the chronometer. "Took almost thirty seconds. Time to test it."
He spotted a barely rusty chassis amidst the garbage. Izuku hurled the bubble at it with all the might he had. The bubble popped upon impact, much to Izuku's dismay, which quickly turned to some satisfaction upon seeing big dent where the bubble hit.
"Progress!" he smiled, starry-eyed. He diligently wrote down on his notebook.
I can make bubbles hard enough to damage steel if I throw them. Yet, hard bubbles are just as light as standard ones, which doesn't make sense. If hard bubbles are harder, shouldn't they be denser and heavier? I need more research on this, for later.
He made a note to investigate the conundrum later. The next experiments were meant to refine the first when he tried to create hard bubbles. Turned out, the more time he concentrates in creating a bubble, the harder the bubble is.
Izuku made another note.
The amount of time is somewhat directly proportional to the hardness. If instantaneous meant a soft bubble, thirty seconds made one capable of denting steel manufactured to handle constant heavy loads.
Following, he tossed bubbles of varying timespans at random objects. The longest he had done was a 1-minute bubble. That one had punched a hole half-way through a mountain of trash and made it collapse. Izuku wisely decided not to try anything so destructive, soon.
"Thirty seconds, even one minute isn't much. But in a fight, much can happen in just one second." he would know, after years of viewing and reviewing hero vs. villain battles. He looked over a 15-second bubble. Those were good against softer metals, like aluminum, but no more. "This won't do. I need to make strong bubbles as quickly as I make soft ones."
He summoned an instantaneous bubble and compared the two. They were the same size, and both weigh the same, which was barely anything. Yet, only one of them made a somewhat decent canon ball.
How can two things look so similar but be so different?!
Izuku dismissed both bubbles in frustration. It nagged at him he couldn't even begin to make sense of his own powers! People with actual quirks didn't have this much trouble! Following more frustration, useless attempts to figure out an explanation, Izuku gave up on it.
"Maybe Dr. Tsubasa has an idea. I'll ask him in our next scheduled check-up." he proposed to himself.
Dr. Tsubasa was the man his mom took him to at the ripe age of four when they still believed his diamond was an early-awakening quirk. The doctor was the one to reveal Izuku was a very, very rare case: a quirkless child with powers! The diamond he was born with on his forehead was a non-quirk deformity that gave him his abilities.
The doctor was kind enough to keep it a secret to avoid too much public attention. For the following years, they went for the man for check-ups to see if anything harmful came out of this non-quirk mutation. Thankfully, those fears were unfounded, but the bi-monthly check-ups continued by the doctor's insistence.
Back to the testing/training, Izuku was making very little progress. The main issue was how long it took to make hard bubbles.
Big and tough bubbles…
Hold it!
"Something doesn't have to be big, in order to be tough!" Izuku grinned creepily from ear to ear. He may have just found the solution. The time needed to create bubbles didn't depend solely on how hard they were, but also on their…
RING!
His train of thoughts was promptly stopped his phone started ringing. He picked up. "Yes, mom?"
"Izuku, honey, it's almost noon. Lunch is ready."
The white-haired one gasped, checking the hours. "Oh, man! I'm sorry, mom! I lost track of time. I'm on Dagobah beach, sorry! I'm running home now."
"Okay, I'll keep the food warm for you." was it just him, or did mom sound a bit strange? "And Izuku, there's someone here who wants to talk to you. About your incident with that slime villain."
"Uh…" Izuku blinked.
Much to his chagrin, Izuku had to slow down several times to regain his breath. His stamina left quite a lot to be desired. The race back home lasted longer than he wished. Maybe he should look into training his body, as well.
"I'm home, mom!" he announced upon entry. He found her sitting on the couch in the living room with a cup of warm tea in her hands. Sitting from across her was a lean, gentle-looking man of short raven hair and sharp look. Izuku bowed to the stranger, whom got up and respectfully reciprocated.
"Good day, Izuku Midoriya. I am Noamasa Tsukauchi, a detective and I've come here to ask you a few details about your encounter with the sludge villain."
Izuku nodded, sitting down on the couch. His mom looked apprehensive, but just a little. Detective Tsukauchi gave off a good-natured presence.
"Now, do you mind if I call you Izuku?" The man asked with a gentle smile.
Izuku agreed and the detective said he could call him by his first name, too. To which the white-haired kid politely declined.
"Izuku, as I understand, you were ambushed by the sludge villain, whom we have identified as Shinya Fukumatsu. Fortunately, you were able to save yourself with a flash of light of sorts, before All Might arrived, correct?"
Izuku confirmed it. Tsukauchi asked him to give a detailed description of the event. Izuku did so, in hindsight, the fact he could have died still made him a just little tense. His mother, however, was more affected. She was quiet during the ordeal; her hands trembled a bit while grasping her cup with too much force.
Tsukauchi nodded. "I'm going to be quite direct, Izuku. I am here because whatever it was you did to Fukumatsu, it seems to have erased his memory of his last few days up to that point."
Izuku blinked. The detective continued.
"After All Might handed Fukumatsu to the police, we interrogated him. He genuinely had no recollection how he ended up on that situation. After more days of interrogation, we discerned he lost his memories of the previous 93 hours."
Isuzu eyes were wide opened. "A-are you saying I erased his memory?"
"Apparently. Whether or not those memories will come back, or when, only time will tell."
Izuku was stiff. He had caused someone amnesia without even knowing he was capable of it. Tsukauchi must have deduced what he thought:
"I understand you are a very rare case, virtually unique, Izuku. I checked your records; quirkless and yet with some quirk-like abilities." Tsukauchi casted a very brief glance at the gemstone. He spoke soothingly. "Therefore, there are no laws that can apply to your case. Plus, your life was in danger and you reacted on instinct."
Then his tone became stern. "However, it still stands the fact that you have caused harm to someone else. Even if said harm is minimal or temporary, it's irrelevant, young man."
He would have continued, hadn't Izuku interrupted him.
"Is he alright?"
Tsukauchi frowned.
"Mr. Fukumatsu, is he alright?"
Tsukauchi answered almost instantly. "Yes. He's safely under custody, at a villain hospital."
Isuzu hesitated with his next question. "He's not allowed visitors, is he?" Isuzu had read villain hospitals had such security their patients couldn't get visitors, safe for extremely rare cases.
"No, he's not. Why do you ask?" Tsukauchi quilted an eyebrow. Izuku looked embarrassed.
"I... wanted to apologize for messing with his memories."
Tsukauchi was speechless for just a moment. "In spite of him trying to kill you?"
"He must think I'm stupid for it." Izuku mentally berated himself while weakly nodded.
The detective was quiet for another moment before his face adopted a warm smile. Not a professional, soothing one like before.
"You truly are a honest kid." There was a pause and the detective returned to his professional mode. "Understand, Izuku, you are not being charged of any crime, but this incident could have been much worse. Quirk or not, your power can be dangerous if you don't control it. That is any citizen's duty, not just a hero's. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
Before he left, Tsukauchi asked for their doctor's contact.
It was a bit late for lunch when mother and son started eating. The meal was awkward, to say the least. His mother asked more than once if he was alright. Izuku would gently reply everything was fine. The detective's revelation hammered in his head.
"Mr. Tsukauchi is right. Even if this was just a fluke, I can't let it happen again. I need to control all of my powers if I'm going to be a hero!"
The next day
Dagobah Municipal Beach was once again his training field. He started much earlier than the previous day. The first sun rays were shily reaching over the horizon, behind the mountains of garbage.
SNAP!
SMASH!
On one of said mountains, an old TV broke apart as a marble-sized white object went right through it at bullet speed.
Izuku turned to another target and repeated the exercise. He snapped away one tiny, marble-sized bubble. The insignificantly light projectile, with the hardness of a diamond, would travel on a beeline for the target and…
"Diamond Smash!"
…Smash it.
Izuku grinned with success, his pupils taking on the shape of stars. The round, white bullets pierced plastics and metals like hot butter with ease!
He wrote down a note, brimming with excitement.
The bullet-bubbles were a success! As it turns out, the time it takes to create a bubble depends both on the intended hardness and size. Making hard bubbles for smashing things takes too much time. But if I make them very small, it cuts back on the time. Bullet-bubbles take about five to ten seconds to make, each. Maybe with more practice, I can find a way to cut back even more on production time.
But when he looked over the broke down, scattered litter, Izuku's triumph turned sour. In hindsight, he had made a bigger mess than the place already was.
"Just like with the sludge villain" he thought, remembering the sludge villain. The diamond boy clenched his fists, determined to get absolute control over his abilities. "Maybe I should work on making my aim more precise, to avoid spreading the damage…"
"Good morning, kiddo!"
Startled, Izuku turned around to meet a familiar face.
"Mr. Moy!" It was the chief of the bakery who was friends with the Midoriyas. Matthew Moy was a man of very youthful appearance, pink skin and holed earlobes. "Good morning."
"Training to be a hero, I see." Moy leaned against a railing. He was wearing light, running clothes.
"Yeah, I have to control my powers better." He added in the privacy of his thoughts. "Especially after what I was told, yesterday."
Moy hummed. "I was finishing my morning run. Mind if I rest for bit around here?"
Izuku was conflicted. He wasn't comfortable with the idea of an audience, but there was no way he could refuse the man who had been so kind to him and his mother. Self-conscious, Izuku agreed and went back to his training.
Fortunately, Mr. Moy was a quiet observer. Izuku grew more relaxed as he fired away his 'cannon bubbles'. This time he worked on his aim, trying to tear apart only large objects so he could concentrate the damage on a spot instead of just scattering it.
Time passed and the boy almost forgot about the spectator. But was reminded of such when Mr. Moy spoke out:
"You know, Izuku, as handy as those bubbles can be, not all heroes are fighters. Have you thought about any rescuing moves?"
Izuku shrugged. "More or less. I think I can launch a bubble at an object, entrant it and then order it to come to me. But only small stuff."
Moy suggested. "Why don't you train your light powers, too?"
The memory of what he learnt the previous day silenced any reply to that. What he had done to another person, even if he was a villain, made his stomach sick.
The pink man noticed the somber look on his face. "Is everything okay?"
Izuku sighed. He hadn't spoken about it with anyone else, not even mom despite her pleads. He had come to the beach early to work off these negative feelings. Now, they were back. So Izuku spilled them. He told the baker his encounter with the sludge villain, what the detective revealed his powers had done to the man. By the time he was done, Izuku stared down at his feet like a scolded child, even though Moy had said nothing.
While the boy looked dejected with himself, Moy was hesitant on what to do. He sighed and said.
"Everyone makes mistakes, whether intentional or not. You didn't even know your light could mindwipe people. What you did was just instinct kicking in, right?" Izuku nodded slowly. "And there wasn't much harm done, right?" another nod. "Then be glad for that. When I make a mistake, I find it best to look at how much I can make up for it. It also helps to think how much worse it could have been. You've learnt your powers can cause harm, but they didn't cause too much and now you know it."
He let that be absorbed. Izuku's face turned up, losing some of its gloomy look.
"Maybe you can't take back what you've done, now. When it comes to mistakes that can't be undone, all we can do is try our best not to repeat them."
Izuku took a heavy breath. He glanced at the spots of trash where he had practiced his shooting.
"That must be why he was an early bird, today. Probably felt he needed to get the hang of his powers." the man of American descent mused.
"You're right. I screwed up. That's all the more reason I need to control my powers." Izuku looked over the craters and holes he made. Still needed a lot of work.
Moy put a gentle hand on his shoulder. He declared kindly. "For what it's worth, the simple fact that you're concerned for someone who tried to do you wrong, shows you're true hero material." The pink man looked him over with a look that felt a bit nostalgic. Any remainder of Izuku's bleak disposition disappeared after hearing that.
Moy asked curiously. "This mindwipe power, you never did anything like it, before, right?"
"N-no." Izuku then pondered. "Come to think of it, it activated when I thought I was really going to die." he couldn't help but shudder at the memory. "Like my super-strength and endurance. Those powers only kicked in when I really needed them to avoid getting hurt. I was never able to use them on command. Maybe my most powerful abilities are like that."
"Okay, enough with that, Mutter Kid. Just go back to your training." the pink man rolled his eyes amusingly, much to Izuku's embarrassment.
July 14th
It was on the day before Izuku's birthday that he was scheduled for the bi-monthly medical check-up. Following the routine x-rays, Izuku revealed his discoveries to Dr. Tsubasa, particularly the conundrum about the bubbles. The doctor confessed he couldn't of much help, as he was no physicist.
"I do have a theory about this density paradox." the doctor scratched his thick moustache. He examined a bubble Izuku created per his request. "I think these bubbles work as a... projection of the natural hardness of your gemstone."
"My diamond's hardness?" Izuku blinked.
"As you know, diamonds are the among the hardest natural materials. And you've reported when you create your bubbles, you have a sensation going from your gem to your hand. That might be your diamond 'transferring' its own properties to your bubbles."
Izuku nodded a bit doubtfully. Honestly, that explanation didn't sound scientifically solid, but he wasn't about to offend the good doctor. This man had been nothing but helpful over the years, going as far as to maintain a level of secrecy about the nature of Izuku's gemstone.
"I can't make promises, but I will speak to an associate of mine. With discretion, of course." the doctor assured him. "Maybe he'll have some insight. In the meantime, please inform me of any new discoveries."
"Yes, thank you very much, doctor." the white-haired boy bowed gratefully. The doctor chuckled.
"You're welcome, my boy. And happy birthday."
July 15th
"Happy birthday, son!"
"Thanks, mom!"
Izuku Midoriya turned fifteen today. As usual, the celebration was at home. No one of Izuku's age was present. Just him and his mother. On occasion he got a text from a school acquaintance or a wish of a happy birthday but nothing more. He got along with other kids, but none of them were his friends. He was too weird. It didn't bother him, though.
"You should thank Mr. Moy later, son. He spent all morning working on this. It has your favorite, peach and kiwi."
He assured her before taking a bite out of the first piece while the mother had her own. They had a more or less one-sided conversation. Izuku narrated the discoveries he made with his powers.
"Well, I'm off back to the beach."
"Izuku." his mother called, looking and sounding a bit hesitant.
"What is it, mom?"
She turned to a package leaning against a wall and picked it up, giving it an odd look. "While you were out, this just came through the mail. It's for you, but it's anonymous."
Izuku approached the box. There was a small note attached to it.
Your mother entrusted this to me for safekeeping. Now I give it to you, as part of your heritage. Keep it close.
Happy birthday, little diamond.
"Little diamond?" he muttered. So, whoever sent it must know who he is. And had known his biological mother. In all honesty, Izuku never cared much to learn about his biological family. He was just an infant when they perished in the fire caused by a villain. He was mildly curious though…
"But for someone to send it anonymously." the white-haired boy wasn't one for being paranoid, but this looked suspicious at best. Still, curiosity was making some noise.
"Izuku, maybe its best that you don't open it." the mother advised and Izuku knew that was the right thing to do...but, curiosity kept eating at him. He knew if he didn't open it now, it would consume him until he caved in.
"I'll just take a peek first." he did so and used his gem to illuminate the inside. He blinked; it was a fist-sized octahedron. Each facet had one of the four colors: white, yellow, blue and pink. Two colors for each facet.
Slowly he pulled the object out and showed it to his mother, whom was just as confused. The octahedron had a smooth texture and the facets reflected some light. Like they were made of crystal. Yet it was incredibly light.
"What is it?" the mother asked, more to herself than her child.
"Funny." Izuku noted that - the object being like two pyramids attached to each other at their bases - the four colors were all distributed equally on both halves. Meaning, each 'pyramid' had one of the four hues. Also, they were not in the same order; only the two white faces were adjacent.
"Maybe it's a piece of art." Inko suggested.
Out of curiosity, Izuku grabbed the top half and, surprisingly it span. So, it wasn't a stone or a sculpture or even a single piece. He rotated the upper part until the two blue facets were adjacent. Nothing happened.
"Maybe it's just a toy, like a Rubik cube." Izuku frowned. A Rubik cube would at least be a challenging toy. This felt more like a baby's challenge. Frankly, the idea that someone out there sent him a baby toy for a present left Izuku quite miffed. Then again, the object carried an appearance perhaps a bit too...regal to be a mere toy.
"I'll check this out later." he settled to put it back in the box and leave in his room. He had his still elusive powers to work on.
A month later
My training with bubbles has bore fruit. Aside from offensive capabilities, I developed other uses for them for rescuing. For example, I can launch a bubble to capture objects in midair and bring them safely down.
Izuku took a short break from his documentation to gather is thoughts. He was writhing more than just a page dedicated to his powers. It was a journal of his experiments and the results.
It's been two months and I think it's time I turn my attention to my light-based powers.
He paused again, this time in hesitation.
The light beams I can emit from my diamond are just that; light. I use it just for illumination. For heroics, they could be used to spot villains, civilians in the dark. Or used as a flare to signal my location. As for offensive capabilities, I doubt I can do more than blinding enemies.
Another pause, this time longer and more hesitating.
Honestly, I've been avoiding that subject for a while. Since Detective Tsukauchi's visit...guess I've been a bit afraid of touching the subject. My light never did anything like that. I assume the mindwipe is another power that only kicks in when my life is in danger.
Like the detective said: 'Quirk or not, your power can be dangerous if you don't control it.' I must do this, if not for the entrance exam, then at least to try and make sure it doesn't happen again.
I don't know if training my ordinary light will prevent another mindwipe fluke. But, for sure, I must try.
Weeks later
"Light Blast!" a beam of light was projected from his gem and hit a trash pile. Some of the trash was burnt, the rest simply knocked aside. Izuku sighed. "Aim is still a little off."
He pulled out his notebook, looking over the already written chapter.
Turns out if I concentrate enough, I can pour more energy into my light. Make it into actual concentrated energy blasts. Nowhere near as destructive as Kacchan's, they're good for knocking stuff away. I doubt they would do more than stun a person, but I'm not about to test them on people. Plus, using too much power gives me a headache. Perhaps when I get into UA, they will have the means to test how dangerous my energy blasts can be. Until them, use them minimally.
Izuku began writing another paragraph.
Light Blasts are coming along, but I still need to perfect my aim. It would be much better if I could just fire them from my hands. Unfortunately, energy projection from my hands doesn't come off easy. And training doesn't seem to be helping it along.
Sighing, Izuku aimed his palm at the trash pile a few meters away. There was the familiar rush of energy travelling down his arm. Only instead of spawning a bubble in his palm, a humble blast of light fired. It never connected with the target. Instead, it withered out and dissipated halfway.
Izuku facepalmed. "No use. Guess I'll have to stick with head-blasts."
A hour later, Izuku was through with his morning run and passed by the opening Bingo-Bongo Sweets. Mr. Moy was an early bird that day and had the butter bagels warm and ready for pick up. They were mom's favorite ever since the pink man introduced her to them.
"Here you go, big hero!" the man handed him a bag. The sweet aroma was welcomed into Izuku's nostrils. "So, how's training coming along?"
"Good enough, I'd say." he smiled wearily. Much better than the light-beam training, anyways.
"Glad to hear it." Moy went to inspect another batch of baked goods. They looked like oversized beans of bread and were unfamiliar to Izuku, which was a seldom case. Mr. Moy was ever eager to show and sometimes offer his creations to the Midoriyas.
"Mr. Moy, what are those?"
"Oh, these. You can call them a work in progress." the man scowled a little. "I've been trying to adapt an old recipe of filled cakes into this form of bread."
Izuku empathized with the pink man. He too had issues with his recent lack of personal progress.
"See, the bread is actually a very thin layer. The inside is a chocolate filling that hardens a little once cold. That way, when you take a bite, it doesn't spill all over."
Izuku looked over the sweets. A thin shell encasing a sweet but potentially messy substance.
The white-haired gasped. "I've got it!"
The shout startled Moy. Izuku beamed at him, starry-eyed. "Thanks, Mr. Moy! I figured it out." He pointed the 'work in progress'. "These sweet are the answer. They're have a lot of fillings that wants to burst out of the thin shell!"
That did nothing to clear Moy's confusion. Izuku thanked for the bagels and took off to his home without another word. He had a new training plan to write down.
Months later.
Nine months had passed. Nine months of theorizing and practicing, of training both physical and power related. Of exploring his unmapped abilities, which, sometimes, feel like they want to remain a mystery.
Izuku's white eyes locked onto the big initials at the prestigious school's gate.
"Ready or not, I am here!"
List of Diamond Deku's powers:
Ones he can control: these powers can be called upon easily with training.
Bubbles: He can create translucid white bubbles. The time required depends on hardness and, slightly less, on the size intended for the bubble. Soft bubbles used for storing his belongings are instantaneous. Hard bubbles used for combat require more. An effective way of cutting down on the needed time is to create small but very tough ones, called cannon-bubbles. Bubbles are all very light, regardless of size and toughness, so they can be easily tossed or shot.
For offensive purposes, cannon-bubbles can be fired like bullets against enemies. In time Izuku learnt to command bubbles remotely, so long they're not too far away.
Light: Izuku is able to project light from his diamond. If he concentrates, the light can be energized and fired as a laser. He is also capable of channeling the power through his arms and shoot it from his hands, but it's far less efficient and the light disperses in a short distance. Shooting light from the arms is useless for any purposes. And shooting from his diamond always gets the aim a little off. However, Izuku found a way around this problem…
Ones he can't control: Izuku's most powerful abilities can't be controlled at will, no matter how much he tries to train. They only manifest when his life is in danger.
Mindwipe: erases memories. The most recent ability, discovered when Izuku was attacked by the sludge villain. His diamond emits a flash of light that knocks out the enemy, whom would wake up later with a period of hours missing from their memory.
Super strength.
Super endurance.