The next morning Izuku awoke to the smell of breakfast filling the house and his mom humming in the kitchen. He also awoke to a good portion of his body feeling sore from the fight with the Nomu. Grabbing a change of clothes and heading to the bathroom, Izuku took a quick shower before meeting his mom for breakfast. She seemed so vibrant compared to when he last saw her, she must have missed him. He sat down at the table right as his mother finished up.
"I know you normally have so much going on, but I thought after yesterday and before you head back, we could just have a nice quiet breakfast together." Inko said after finally setting her own place at the table and taking a seat. It was a quiet affair, but it was nice to talk to his mom in person. Sitting there and enjoying her company like when he was younger. They went across topics from his school, to his teachers, and his classmates. Inko seemed to absorb every bit of information and hold onto it. Eventually, though, Inko had to go to work and Izuku needed to get his day started as well.
"Have a great day!" Izuku yelled as his mom was first to leave their house. Checking himself for his phone and his keys, he made his way out a bit later and headed to a familiar spot. To not open up any of his injuries Izuku walked calmly through the streets towards his destination taking in the sights. Food stalls and houses that he had passed a million times but never really looked at. Faces that were familiar for one reason or another. But ultimately today was taking another step forward.
The building came into view and the heat could be felt from where Izuku stood. Izuku pushed the door open to find Benimaru training along with some of the volunteer emergency services and even a couple of the pro heroes that had taken to patrolling the city. Benimaru excused himself as they continued to practice. He sat on the front steps patting the ground for Izuku to join him.
"So, what brings you here?" Benimaru asked as he took a sip of water. Izuku pondered for a second before he replied.
"Honestly, I need to get more technical skills. I have the power, but my own fighting style leaves too many holes that I can't manage at the moment." Izuku admitted. His fighting style had been limited to kicking or punching. There was really no combination between the two. It probably came from the lack of needing to fight, but from here on opponents would only be getting stronger.
"My class needs a demonstration anyways." A wicked grin crossed Benimaru's face, "Come, show me what you've learned since you left." Izuku stood and walked inside taking off his shoes as he walked into the building. The class had already been told by Benimaru and cleared to the edges of the building leaving the entire center for Benimaru and Izuku to face off.
Izuku and Benimaru slipped into similar stances and stared off at each other. "We'll go until one of us lands a single clean hit which that will decide the match. We'll start on your mark- "Izuku shot forward letting his flames propel him before they were extinguished. Benimaru was already moving to intercept Izuku. Reacting swiftly seeing Benimaru prepare his signature move, Izuku shot flames from his foot to adjust his position and slammed his leg down to prevent Benimaru's chop. They landed and repositioned squaring off again.
The crowd was captivated by the quick footwork and the seemingly complimentary quirks facing off against each other. And though Benimaru seemed to have the upper hand in combat experience, Izuku was definitely moving well to counteract. Benimaru slid forward letting flames cover his body and path; and by the time Izuku could erase his flames Benimaru was in his face with a fist raised and only quick reflexes prevented it from landing cleanly.
"We'll call that match. You're definitely slow today because of those injuries. And you're not using your abilities to their full potential, as for the technical aspect it seems to be more of a lack of practice rather than aptitude. You're not some genius that can see things once and adjust to them, but you work hard and adjust and learn and that's its own strength. To sum it up, you just have to fight stronger and work on it more." Izuku limped over already feeling the effects of fighting starting to catch up with him. Benimaru directed his class to begin sparring while he finished up with Izuku.
They sat at the front of the class as the class broke into pairs and began their sparring. "The only way to perfect this is through fighting, but don't make it unnatural. Build on your own fighting style and close the gaps in that moving forward." Benimaru said before he stood up to begin checking on the groups. Benimaru looked over his shoulder back at Izuku and could hardly recognize him. Though he was the same in name, he had grown greatly. Both in height and as a person.
"Thanks, Beni." Izuku said as he waved and exited the building. It had been a while since his last visit, but the place had hardly changed and Benimaru never treated him differently despite it. A soft smile adorned Izuku's face as he made his way out and through the city, back towards his house. A few painkillers and he would work on a bit of quirk control and his mother should be back a bit later.
Showering and heading to the kitchen after training, Izuku started getting some ingredients ready for dinner. Since this was going to be his last night here, the least he could do was surprise his mom with a meal. Looking through the fridge, Izuku quickly decided and prepped the food and ingredients. That night he and his mother had a nice quiet dinner and just enjoyed her company one last time before he had to go back to UA.
That night Izuku could only imagine how worried some of his classmates had to be that he hadn't contacted them since the USJ. Unfortunately, he hadn't exchanged numbers with anyone just yet. Despite a good bit of his improvements, he still had some trouble with social interactions. But that was a problem for future Izuku when he got back to campus. For tonight Izuku could simply rest and recuperate.
Early the next morning, Izuku showered, dressed and was gone by the time the sun rose leaving a simple note on the fridge for his mother. The early sun's rays slid through the window as the scenery rushed by as the train carried Izuku back to UA. He had to meet with Principal Nedzu and Mr. Aizawa today, which was already going to be a stressful meeting. Deciding to not worry too much about it, Izuku relaxed and let his surroundings distract him as he waited for the train to arrive at his destination.
The gates of UA looked as imposing as when Izuku first arrived. As he walked in, Mr. Aizawa made it to the gates and guided him towards the principal's office. They walked swiftly and his teacher didn't say a single word to him even as they stepped into the office. The principal spun around in his chair with a tea kettle in hand. "Mr. Midoriya thank you for meeting us this early in the morning. We have much to discuss, would you like some tea?"
Izuku nodded and accepted the tea as the principal pulled out a few files and sipped through his own tea. "So, given the current circumstances I know you understand that the school knows of your vigilante work, correct?" Izuku stared forward and nodded understanding that the principal had more to say. "Normally these events coming to light would call for immediate expulsion but considering how they turned more into a community service project UA is willing to completely ignore this situation."
Izuku almost fell out of his chair at the revelation. He had hoped for some leniency in his punishment but getting off completely unscathed sounded too good to be true. "Don't be mistaken, this is simply our way of making amends for our own failures. Had the USJ incident never occurred the staff wouldn't have found out by normal means. And us not finding this information put you and the other students in greater danger." Mr. Aizawa chimed in. "That being said don't make this a habit because you'll run out of protection eventually."
As Principal Nedzu and Mr. Aizawa finished their deliberations, Izuku found himself being led to the nurse's office. Mr. Aizawa and the principal had somehow noticed he was favoring a side and were going to fill out the paperwork after providing a final warning about his vigilantism. And that's where Izuku was now, sitting in the nurse's office waiting for the nurse. 'Recovery Girl used to be the nurse if I remember right, but she'd be well past retirement at this point, so I wonder who they have- '
"Hello, young man, what brings you here today?" An extremely short old lady walked in with a cane and a large syringe in her hair. Izuku stared at the old moment before he realized that this was the hero he was just remembering.
"Ah, you're Recovery Girl. I'm Izuku Midoriya from 1-A, I'm here because I have lingering injuries from the USJ." Recovery Girl took the information and began poking and prodding along Izuku's body to get an idea of his injuries. She took notice of the many bandages that covered his body.
"Are these all from your injuries from the attack the other day?" Izuku shook his head no and Recovery Girl continued her prodding before turning around and writing something on a clipboard. She then turned and whacked Izuku in the leg with her cane. "I'll heal you up, but don't make a habit of ignoring your injuries because you think it makes you tough, it won't make you last longer."
"I understand." Seemingly satisfied Recovery Girl's lips extended and Izuku suddenly felt like most of his energy was sapped from his body. His eyes were heavy, and he suddenly felt them close and when he opened them again the sun was much lower in the sky seemingly in the afternoon.
"You must have had a lot of lingering injuries to just fall asleep like that. You should be all healed up now but take it easy the rest of today." Izuku nodded lazily and checked his pockets before making his way through the halls of UA. Checking his phone, it was almost eight hours since he originally arrived on campus. Another thing Izuku immediately noticed was that beyond his injuries some of the usual stiffness in his body was also gone. If it wasn't for Recovery Girl's orders, he might have to test it out. But he was already in view of the dorms and there was still some lingering tiredness from Recovery Girl's treatment.
Izuku opened the door to the dorms and several of his classmates rounded on him. Some ran forward and jumped in his face while others gave him gentle nods of acknowledgment. "Midoriya, it's good to see you in such good health," Iida said as he chopped his arm in his usual fashion. Iida didn't look much worse since the USJ, but some of his classmates were sporting dark circles under their eyes. The entire incident obviously hit some of the class harder and that was troublesome.
Pulling Iida aside, Izuku decided on the course of action that he should take going forward. "Iida can you go get everyone who is currently in the dorms down here for a class meeting if you don't mind." Iida seemed to straighten being given a mission and speed walked off and up into the dorms while Izuku sat down on one of the couches. A few minutes later groups started coming down into the dorms in bunches. And while they were in their own small groups and conversed for a moment Izuku eventually found the room to be filled with the class. Even though some of the less social of the class stood on the stairs and watched.
"Alright everyone can I have your attention!" The class immediately quieted down and clearing his throat Izuku began. "I know we're all sort of shaken up after the incident a few days ago so I think we need to clear the air. We were attacked by villains, and it was scary. And I know it didn't feel very hopeful and some of you might still be hurt by the incident. That's why I would like to strongly advise that if you need to go visit the counselor on campus, Hound Dog, in the counseling offices. I'll be making an appointment personally and I encourage everyone to do so. We're still students, this was not something that we were prepared for and I think you shouldn't think this is the norm because this is a hero school. And even if you can't bring yourself to go to a counselor make sure to talk to someone about this."
Some of the class seemed to let the comments Izuku made brush right off, but others, some of the one's that Izuku could tell had been fighting for days seemed relieved. "Even if we haven't been classmates for long, that doesn't mean we can't take care of each other. Thank you for your time." With that Izuku bowed at a perfect angle and excused himself to his room. Some of the class seemed shocked to watch Izuku walk up the stairs and towards his dorm. And though the class had not yet fully recovered, the gesture and the return of their injured classmate helped bolster the room.
That night Izuku went up to the roof and sat for a bit. Looking out over the campus he could already see some of the changes the school was making to improve security. Overall, there wasn't much he could do for everyone, but he could at least try and be a strong enough leader for his class to lean on when they needed it. Later when Izuku returned to his room, he found a couple of small notes under his door thanking him for what he said in the commons room. And that was reason enough to say it if a couple of his classmates could benefit from it that was enough.