D3lph0xL0v3r: I don't understand, what do you mean who damaged White Diamond? His father will be revealed much later. No, Pink Steven is not the villain.
Kai: Funny that you compare Bakugo with Jasper. After watching the last episode of SUF Fragments, I come to realize she shares a few characteristics with Bakugo. At least the more develop version of Bakugo.
Evergone the Great: Right now, Izuku isn't as observant of other people's flaws as his mother was. He will get better at it in season 2, though.
dperson3569: Read this chapter and you'll see.
"… for the first half of the decade of 2020, the infamous COVID-19 dispensed immense and unforeseen misery and suffering upon the human race..."
The cool, moist air of dawn helped Izuku rejuvenate his stamina. He slowed his pace, his muscles pleased with the short reprieve.
He paused the audiobook and checked the time. "Half an hour. Better than my last record, at least."
To evolve at UA, he had to go 'Plus Ultra' on all of his efforts. In order to make time, he put studying and training into one. Morning runs and exercises recommended by hero training websites while listening to audio books on the various subjects of highschool. At UA, even teachers of non-heroic subjects like Math and History took teaching to another level.
The phone beeped, indicating the break was over. He pressed the audio book to play and restarted running.
Today's morning class started with homeroom. Eraserhead gave a report on their performance in the battle trial class under All Might, the day before. Each student was handed a written sheet of paper. Glancing around at the grimacing faces of his classmates told the diamond boy the lines were crude and unsympathetic criticism. The sleep-deprived teacher added a few spoken critics as a cherry on top.
"Iida, for your sake, avoid becoming a one-trick pony. Better than to have a plan of action is to have several. Learn to improvise on the fly."
"Midoriya, take things seriously. Outside, you have to be in full control of the situation. Leave nothing to chance or it will cost you lives."
The diamond boy nodded awkwardly. Those were probably deserved, he guessed, after the poor practice Iida and he demonstrated at the battle trial. The runner had opted for a strict plan with no room for improvisation which led him to be captured. Izuku's idea was more fluid, perhaps a bit too much as the lack of communication caused Iida to fall for the diamond boy's laid trap.
Aizawa-sensei announced the class was to select a president and vice. The cacophony that sprang was ended when Iida suggested they have a democratic vote.
Izuku stared at the blank piece of paper. An idea had been chewing at the insides of his skull and he felt it wouldn't leave him alone until he went along with it. Despite a tiny part of himself telling him it was a wasteful idea, he threw said part to the wind.
The results were pretty split considering virtually everyone voted for themselves. Momo Yaororozu was declared the winner by a total of two votes. Opting not to have a re-election for the position of vice-president, she handpicked Tsuyu Asui for the job.
"Phew!" Izuku sighed in relief. Lunchtime was the only part on his new schedule when he could totally relax. Even though today's homeroom class was mostly mellowed down.
He casted a sideways glance when he heard an exclamation of giggles a few tables to the left. The girls of 1-A were celebrating for two of them having been elected, by that Ashido girl's insistence. In spite of Yaoyorozu's pleads they should be quieter, the girls insisted on making a little party and congratulating the two girls for 'acing the elections', as the pink girl put it. They congratulated Yaomomo's level-headedness and for not being a stuck-up like Iida. And Asui, so calm and collected, would made a great second-in-command.
When Aoyama came to join him for lunch, Izuku motioned to the girl's party with a chuckle:
"I don't think that party will end with lunch."
"It is a disappointment I was not elected." Aoyamma sighed.
Izuku shrugged. "Well, we can't win them all." That peeked the blond's curiosity.
"I take it you voted for yourself, too."
The diamond boy almost chocked, feeling a little embarrassed. "Yeah, I thought being class president would be a good way to test myself. You know how sometimes having heavy responsibilities makes a person shape up to them. Since Aizawa-sensei said I need to take things more serious and all…" he trailed off there, now realizing what a poor idea that had been in practice.
"So your goal was to put yourself through another test." Aoyamma smiled. "I should not be surprised. You are always trying to evolve."
"Thanks."
"Mais, trying to become a leader when you feel you are not suited for it is not a very responsible thing to do, mon amie."
Izuku deflated. "Again, thanks. Oh hey, Kirishima!"
The red-haired, shark-toothed boy returned the greeting as he was passing by. Ashido suddenly got up and intercepted him. She said something they couldn't hear, then became disappointed with Kirishima's reply, whatever it was.
That lunch would be remembered an intruder alert. The cafeteria was in a panic that only settled when a third-year student with a strange face announced it was a false alarm. Days later we'd learn the alarm wasn't that false.
The afternoon lessons were wholly focused on pro-hero training. Today, under All Might's nubile teaching methods again, they would be reviewing their performances. Class 1-A had moved to a computer room where each student could watch the full footage of their Battle Trial. The Number One pro declared that no one could reach the top unless they faced up their shortcomings. But advised them to make haste, as they would only have 10 minutes to evaluate the footage.
Izuku observed his own blunders with a steely look. He didn't shy away from revisiting his mistakes. Although, he couldn't deny watching Iida hitting the ceiling multiple times due to his landmines was actually funny.
Afterwards, the class was moved to a battle gymnasium where they would engage on one-on-one fights against another classmate. Each student would participate in two battles. Victory would go to whom forced their opponent out of the square ring, made them surrender or immobilized them.
Izuku's first battle was against a silent, strange fellow named Tokoyami.
"Despite our contrasting natures, I hold you no enmity, soul of light." His opponent said at the beginning of the match as a form of greeting, which Izuku awkwardly reciprocated. All Might offered a few tips on how they could improve. He particularly noted Tokoyami's over-reliance on the
Tokoyami's quirk was an odd one; a sentient avian-like being made of darkness that he controlled. He had heard some commenting that the bird boy's quirk was a pretty tough one. As soon as it emerged, it lunged for an attack. Izuku tossed some bubble-bullets. It dodged some but at least two hit him, exploding in its face. Dark Shadow stopped dead in its tracks, clutching its body.
Realizing that his bubbles could hurt him, he tossed more in an effort to distract the quirk and leave the user defenseless. It was after a light blast that Izuku discovered Dark Shadow was weak against the light. So he unleashed a Solar Flare, making sure he closed his eyes. His gamble worked as Dark Shadow was greatly diminished and confounded. Izuku raced against his opponent and shoved him out of bounds.
The victor promptly helped his opponent back to his feet, in the spirit of sportsmanship. The seemingly anti-social boy held no grudge and even shook his hand cordially. All Might offered tips on how to improve their performance, particularly on Tokoyami's over-reliance on his quirk.
The matches progressed. Aoyama lost both of his.
His second challenge was against the tallest of the class, Shoji Mezo, the boy of multiple arms. Somewhat like Tokoyami, he was a silent type who preferred to fade into the backstage. The mutant-type greeted him friendly. Despite his frightening appearance, he gave off the vibe of a gentle giant.
Izuku noted his opponent was much fitter than himself, so attempting to push him out like before was a no go. Izuku attempted to fire energy beams but Shoji proved to be fast and agile for his size. When he got too close, Izuku made a desperate move with a Solar Flare. Thinking he had successfully blinded his opponent, Izuku moved a bit away and try and prepare a surprise attack. Without warning, Shoji grabbed him by the arm and flung him out of bounds.
"My quirk also gives me a keen sense of hearing." He divulged after helping Izuku up and apologizing if he roughed him up too much. Shoji was truly the gentle giant of 1-A. All Might proceeded to lecture Izuku's need to train his reaction time.
The rest of the class progressed somewhat dull in Izuku's perspective, probably because he didn't expect any more fight. The one highlight was Aoyama's second match…which ended even quicker than the first. To be fair, that Todoroki fellow was one pretty tough costumer.
"I'm so tired I think my diamond is about to crack."
It felt like a blessing when the school day was officially over as he walked at a slow pace out of campus. Thankfully to his morning exercise routine, most of the exhaustion was mental rather than physical.
He checked his cellphone to see what remember what was on the agenda for the rest of the day. Only one appointment, one that he had postpone since last week due to still getting used to the new school regime.
"I got to make time for them, today."
"Hey, Midoriya!" he was brought out of his own thoughts by a loud call-out from Ashido. She ran towards him and stopped, seemingly not fatigued. "Yo, Tsu-chan and I were going to hang out. Wanna come with?"
Izuku considered it. He would rather rest for a bit, but then again there was still plenty of time and he had no plans for a while.
"Sure. As long its not too long. We have homework and I have an appointment, later." Then he spotted his closest friend approaching. "Mind if Aoyamma comes too?"
Ashido shrugged with a playful smirk. "Sure, you sparkly boys go hand-in-hand, don't you?"
"Spare!" Ashido shouted. The remaining pins were knocked down.
"How does that count as a 'spare'? You used up the two balls and knocked all pins. There's nothing to spare."
Mina tsked with a patient, knowing smile, as if lecturing a toddler. "A 'spare' is when you knock down all 10 pins using up the two balls."
Izuku made an 'oh' of understanding.
Asui hummed. "Is bowling a hobby of yours?"
Ashido's idea of a hangout activity was going to the bowling gym nearby. Originally, none of the others were very intrigued by the idea, but the extroverted girl's demeanor swayed them to give it a try. She revealed she herself visited the place seldom. The person at the counter who handed them the balls was a mutant-type whose enormous body was made of stone. His mouth was crooked with sharp teeth. In spite of his monstrous appearance, the man's voice was acquainted with and friendly towards Mina.
"Not that much of a hobby. My dad showed me this, once. Used to be a hobby of his. To me it's more like an interesting distraction."
"If you do not like it, why play it at all?" Aoyama asked, so far the least interested in the activity.
"It's a good way of meeting new people. And sometimes 'old people'. I befriended Kirishima here, even though we went to the same middle school. And that big guy." she pointed to the stone behemoth at the counter. "Once, he was looking for a hero agency but the girls he asked for directions were too scared of him. Not that he was really a bad guy. He just gave that impression. So I pointed him in the right way. Later I found out he works here and can be kind nice when you get to know him."
I learnt then that Ashido had her own way of helping others. In a way, she was like All Might, bringing joy and smile to everyone else. So I asked her to teach me how to bowl. Aoyamma followed suite. And soon enough, we had fun with a small bowling competition.
Then I thought of introducing my friends to a place I knew myself.
"This is Bingo Bongo Sweets. The owner is a friend of mine. I think you'll find common ground with him, Ashido."
After the bowling match was done, with Ashido the unsurprising winner, Izuku suggested they go to a place he knew well.
They entered to see the establishment mostly vacated save for a few patrons having coffee. Upon spotting Izuku, foreigner pink-skinned employee greeted him jovially, not just professionally. The diamond boy introduced him as the owner of the Bingo Bongo Sweets bakery, Mathew Moy.
Ashido was quite intrigued in meeting someone with a quirk so apparently similar to hers. Though, Moy clarified his quirk merely turned his skin pink and nothing else. Still, she engaged the adult in conversation and found him pretty easy to get along.
Asui and Aoyama were checking the show window.
"There are many sweets here I've never seen. My siblings would love this." The frog girl commented. Izuku asked her about them and she described her little brother and sister.
"Oh, those are crêpes. They are a specialty from my homeland."
"Yep, Mr. Moy makes all sorts of international stuff." Izuku grinned.
Asui casted the man a sideways glance. "He must have travelled a lot to learn so much. Yet he doesn't seem very old. Is baking a family business to him? Most of these recipes could have been inherited from his parents or grandparents."
Izuku hummed. "Good question. Come to think of it, Mr. Moy doesn't speak much about himself. Only that he came here from America years ago to open up this bakery."
Back with the pink pair, Moy posed a question:
"So why do you want to be a hero, Ashido?"
She grinned. "I like making other people happy and helping others is fun."
Moy showed a very small smile. He could tell she spoke truthfully, but there was something amiss. Or rather, something was present that normally shouldn't for someone so young. There was a need, a reason, a motivation behind that desire to 'make other people happy'. It's something that Izuku himself was missing.
"Good for you. And good for Izuku to be your friend. Make sure that boy keeps his goal as straightforward as yours."
"Sure thing." The girl wasn't sure what he meant by that, but agreed, nonetheless.
They left Bingo Bongo, Aoyama and Asui bags on their hands full of baked goods. Ashido suggested they go to the arcade next. Izuku checked his cellphone for time and was disappointed to see it was getting late.
"Sorry, I can't. I have another appointment."
Ashido looked a tad disapointed. "Oh, come on. I was hoping to make this a class bonding fun-time, but everybody was too busy. And now you're going too, Midoriya?"
"In all fairness, we all just met, so it's normal. Some of us are still getting used to the new routine." Asui's wise observation fell on deaf ears.
"Well, I've known Kirishima since elementary school and he was a no-show. Said he has a lot of training to put in, now that he's competing in UA."
"I'd say he was quite intense while watching the battle trial. That must have motivated him." Asui opined.
Izuku felt they were losing the subject and had to remind himself he had to go. "Guys, I have to go. There are some people I..."
"Wait, some people?" Ashido's lips curled upwards in a smile. "Are you going to meet other people, or other girls?"
Izuku hesitated. He wasn't sure what their reaction would be if they knew…The universe whimsically decided to save him the choice, as Ashido's cell started beeping, with a catchy tune. She excused herself and picked up. Turned out her parents needed her home sooner than she expected.
"Looks like I got to split, too. But how about we take a big one to celebrate the moment." She waved her cellphone to indicate her meaning. They agreed to take one group picture.
Mina squated and extended her hand hold the cell upwards so that her face was at the bottom of the picture. At her indication, Asui and Aoyama took positions above and at her sides, the girl at the right and the boy at the left. Izuku got the top spot, his face nestled above and between the blond and greenette. When he asked why he got the top, Mina shrugged and just said he earned it by showing them to Bingo Bongo.
"Say 'cheesecake'!"
The picture displayed a rough rhombusof faces. The pink girl at the bottom. Frog girl at the middle right and French boy at the middle left. Finally, the diamond child at the top of the rhombus.
After a farewell, Ashido and Aoyama went their own ways. Asui turned to Izuku. "I still have some free time, Izuku-chan. I can accompany you, if you don't mind."
"It's not that I don't mind. It's just that you might not be interested, Tsuyu."
She put a finger to her chin and asked what it was. He answered and she readily agreed to go with.
As she followed him, a loud, familiar whistle drew Asui's attention. Ashido hadn't quite left yet. She winked at the frog girl and mouthed the words: 'tell me, later.'
The journey involved some more walking and a bus journey. All while the diamond boy spared sideways glances at the frog girl. If she noticed, she was unperturbed. To increase the discomfort, she didn't even engage in much talk, save for a commentary or afterthought. Or the gratitude for showing her to Bingo-Bongo.
He stopped by a three-story building with a courtyard surrounding it. It was taller than the surrounding infrastructure and not sandwiched between others. It looked old, despite appearing well maintained enough and steady on the outside.
"Here we are. My old stomping grounds." Izuku sighed with a feeling she couldn't quite place but was certainly not nostalgia.
"Saisei Orphanage." Asui read the tittle in the large board above the entrance. 'Saisei' meant 'rebirth'.
"The name is just that. Sad truth is, very few kids had a good 'rebirth' after leaving here. I am one of such rare cases." His smile didn't carry that shine that Asui was used to see in class.
They went inside to meet a middle-aged receptionist behind a counter. She turned from her computer to give a quick look and a tired smile to Izuku.
"Hello again, Midoriya."
"Good morning, Mrs. Aiko." The woman's eyes travelled to his classmate who bowed and introduced herself.
Aiko motioned to the corridor to their left. "The children are in the playground. They'll be glad to see you."
"You come here often, Izuku-chan? Ribbit."
"Whenever I can. It's been a while, though. My time here was short, and I barely remember it. Apparently my biological family was killed in a fire that destroyed their apartment building. I don't know a thing about them, not even their names. When I was four, my mom came by and adopted me."
"You live only with your mother?"
Izuku hesitated, his stepping faltered for a moment. "Yeah. My adoptive father, Hisashi Midoriya, left about a year after I was adopted to work overseas. He sends over money every month." He refrained from mentioning the subject of Mr. Midoriya was always a delicate one when he brought it up in front of his mother. Inko preferred to speak of her absent husband only when necessary.
"So, your mother is the only family member you've lived with, Izuku-chan?"
He nodded.
"Are you happy?"
He nodded again.
"That's good." after a croak, she continued. "In my case, I have a family perhaps too large. I live with my parents and my two younger siblings. Sometimes, my aunt stays over for a few days. It can be a house full, but I'm happy and that's all that matters." She gave him a wide smile that Izuku couldn't help but reciprocate. That was probably her attempt to comfort him. Not that he needed such; he answered honestly when he said he was happy with his very small family. But it was still sweet of her.
They crossed the doors to the playground outside to see clutches of boys and girls of kindergartener ages playing alone, in pairs or in small clutches. That resemblance of order crashed when Izuku's presence was noted by a lone boy with four eyes.
"It's Izu-chan!"
The little ones came clustering around the older boy, hugging his legs, speaking loudly and simultaneously. He chuckled and asked for silence, but the children wouldn't listen. So tried a more practical approach; clapped his hands loudly, producing a large amount of sparkles like tiny fireworks that awed and silenced the children. He addressed one of them, a little girl.
"Okay, what have you been up to, Kiri?"
"I got my quirk! I can sparkly like you!" she waved her hands to demonstrate.
Izuku attended to a child, one by one. Even performed more demonstrations with his light powers to satisfy them. All the while, Asui observed from the sidelines with a wide smile.
A little boy of black hair approached her. "Who are you, miss?"
She bent down to meet the boy's face. "My name is Tsuyu, but you can call me Tsu-chan."
He nodded in understanding. "Are you Izu-chan's girlfriend?"
She croaked and replied steadily. "No, I'm just his friend. We attend the same class of UA."
"UA?" of course the little one wouldn't know what UA is.
"A high-school for heroics."
The little one beamed. "You and Izu-chan are heroes?!" he ran off the others surrounding the diamond boy and spread the news. Instantly, what little order Izuku was able to instill collapsed. The orphans started a riot of questions and exclamations.
Tsuyu chuckled watching her poor classmate dealing with the fallout. "Izuku-chan you're already a hero to some people."
To reinstall order, Izuku gave another surprise that caught Tsuyu's interest. He displayed his right index finger for everyone to see. The appendage emitted a faint glow and started changing. Growing a swollen, round tip and hair. In seconds, the finger had become a miniature puppet shaped after Izuku himself, with white hair and even a little jewel on the forehead.
"Look everyone, it's Minizuku-chan!" the diamond boy introduced the shape-shifted finger.
Reactions were somewhat mixed; boys found it either 'gross and cool' or 'weird and cool'. Most girls' fell into the category of 'cute', a minority saying it was 'gross'. When asked for more, he started a session of bubble tricks. Izuku would make bubbles float and the children tried to hop and pop them.
Now with hands less full, Tsuyu took the opportunity to ask him about this new revealed ability.
"Shape-shifting is something I've had for almost a year, now. I haven't gotten the chance to train it much. It's really hard and even painful." He said with a sad smile. "So I abstain from using it much. Only on my fingers."
She adopted that pensive-finger-on-the-chin look. "So you minimize the pain by restraining that power to your finger? Clever. A bit risky, but clever."
He shrugged. "Well, it's not like shape-shifting causes real damage whenever I use it, like breaking bones. That would suck."
The afternoon passed them by fast as they engaged in some games to entertain the orphans. Tsuyu proved to be an expert at appeasing the children. When they would pout or throw a tantrum, she kept collected and argued patiently. Izuku admired her talent.
Mrs. Aiko came to tell them visiting hours were almost over so the UA students' excused themselves, much to the kids' disappointment. Izuku promised he would visit again, someday. His pale cheeks reddened with embarrassment when one of the girls demanded that Izuku brings his 'green girlfriend' next, too. To add pepper to injury, the others began chanting 'green girlfriend' in unison. Izuku's pink blush spread to the center, uniting over the skin on his nose. He didn't dare to look at Tsuyu.
Seemingly taking pity on him, the girl assured the children she would try to come with Izuku next. The pair bid farewell and only after a full minute of walking did he dare to look at the girl and apologized. She waved it all off and thanked him for the experience. The two went their separate ways upon arriving at the station.
By the time he arrived home, the sun had already set. His mom had phoned him on the way, sounding just a little bit worried. He hastily explained the afternoon he spent with his new friends. That relieved her immediately.
That night, after a shower and a warm dinner, Izuku had another vivid dream. The kind of dream he would remember in detail after waking up the next morning.
It was tempered with a fair does of ludicrousness, this dream…
He and his new friends were spending a day at the swimming pool. The ludicrous part was that Asui's neck was ridiculously long. She wore a yellow one-piece swim suite. Another thing was Aoyama, who wore a long blue hood over his person. The two sat by the edge of the pool, like they were expecting him. Izuku approached and sat in between the two, with Asui by his left and Aoyama by his right.
An excited shout brought their eyes to a newcomer. It was Ashido in a magenta swimsuit. Rather than sit with them, she jumped over the edge and went cannonball in. The three friends were splashed but didn't mind. Ashido became a pink, sunk speck at the bottom. Bubbles raised to the surface, unleashing a melody when each met the outside air.
She was singing.
"It's 'A star is born'." Asui said in an emotionless tone.
"Non, non. It is 'Tilted' by Christine and the Queens." Aoyama interjected.
"I still think it's 'Diamonds' by Rihanna." Izuku opined.
The picture Izuku and friends took is a reference. By now it should be obvious.
Izuku's powers so far:
Light: He can emit light from his gem, either in a beam of scattered. The light can be just for illumination or a form of energy attack.
Moves:
«» Diamond Blast: fires a beam of energy from his gem or hands. From the gem is more potent but harder to aim.
«» Solar Flare: emits a sudden flash of light from his gem that temporarily blinds nearby enemies
Bubble: Can create translucid white bubbles from his hands. The bubbles can float in midair and are perfect for storing stuff. The size and hardness of the bubbles can vary; the harder and bigger, the longer it takes to make one. To maximize its potential, Izuku creates bubble-bullets; very tough bubbles the size of peas to try to minimize the production time. This is Izuku's most versatile and explored ability.
Moves:
«» Diamond Smash: Creates bubble-bullets that can be easily shot with a flick of fingers. Basic move for melee long-range offensive.
«» Light Grenade: to compensate for the aiming problem of firing a Diamond Blast from the forehead, Izuku invented this move. He creates a soft bubble the size of an orange and fills it with energy from his gem. Then tosses it like a bomb or a grenade. Alternatively, he can place them on the ground, hidden, like land-mines.
Shapeshifting: Theoretically, Izuku can shape-shift his entire body, but due to the mental and physical stress he takes, he hasn't even tried. The best he can do is shape-shift his finger to minimize the pain. So far, this ability has no use for heroics.
Mind-wipe: Discovered by accident in the aftermath of the sludge villain attack, this power first activated when Izuku was in danger. A flash of light erupted from his gem, knocking out the aggressor and wiped a whole week of his memory. So far, it activated only on that time. Izuku has made no attempt to rediscover or train this ability.
Super-strength: Completely unreliable. Activates only when Izuku is in true life danger.
Super-endurance: Resistance to physical damage. Completely unreliable. Activates only when Izuku is in true life danger.