"O-oh m-m-my baby-baby b-boy is a m-man n-now!" Inko Midoriya wailed, her eyes a constant stream of tears that given how she was holding onto him so tightly was soaking Izuku's green hoodie. "Y-you're leaving the nest all g-g-grown up!"
Not that Izuku was much better.
"I-it's okay, Mom. I-I won't be that far away! You can visit in a f-few weekends too…" Izuku 's voice trembled, a smaller stream of tears falling down his face. He thought it was only because of how many years they had lived in the same apartment complex and their neighbors had learned to tune out the crying Midoriyas that no one had complained about them as they stood by the street. In a small pile of boxes was everything Izuku was taking within him to UA, they were just waiting for UA's mover bots to arrive to take Izuku and his belongings to the university - self-hired moving services were forbidden from setting foot on campus.
Given how high profile UA was and the number of heroes it churned out every year they spared no expense when it came to security - even for their new students.
"A-are y-you s-sure? Y-ou don't w-want y-your mother to be a b-b-bother?" Inko looked up at him, sniffling loudly.
"O-of c-course you wouldn't be! I'll get to show you...what I've learned about becoming a h-hero!" Izuku smiled shakley, he brought up both of his hands and placed them on Inko's cheeks.
His hands were bare of the usual gloves he wore. Ever since he had gotten his quirk she was the only person he wasn't afraid to touch with his skin or have touched him. Or at least she HAD been until recently...
Her quirk was an Emitter Type so there was no way for him to copy it but she was also his mother and he knew it would have broken both their hearts if he had been afraid of her.
"Oo-h Izuku. You've gotten so tall." Inko sniffed again, her tears starting to draw back from a dam breaking to a small stream, "It f-feels like it was o-only yesterday y-you were p-p-ulling on my pants for c-computer time to watch All Might."
Inko's face became somber at the mention of the #1 Hero, she bit her lip and looked at him as if she was holding something back. When she did speak her voice was quiet and full of guilt, "I-if only I had done more for you. Enough that it wouldn't have to have been All Might-"
"I-I've told you before…" Izuku interrupted her, putting on a brave, if small smile just for her, "It's my fault for not...not being open about how h-h-hard things were."
It had been thanks to Itsuka, Tsuyu, and even Mr. Yagi prodding him that he had admitted to his mother just how bad his daily life had been. How others had taunted him about his quirk, how his classmates had accused him of having a villain's quirk, of being chased by bullies (though he had not revealed Kacchan's or anyone else's names), how he had hated his quirk, and how bad his anxiety had become.
It had been painful to see and hear the pain she had felt, that she had failed him by giving him his quirk and not noticing how bad it had been for him. They had cried together for a while but in the end he had convinced her as much as he could that what had happened was in the past and he was moving forward to leave it all behind him.
"I know...oh, Izuku you are t-too good of a s-son." she smiled past her tears, the faucet finally having turned off, a bubbly laugh escaping her as she continued, "I-I'm your mother! You're supposed to b-blame me for everything b-bad in your life!"
"I c-couldn't ever do that!" Izuku was laughing too as he bent down and hugged the shorter woman tightly, "A bad m-mother couldn't make the great katsudon y-you do!"
They were still laughing and hugging one another when the UA moving truck pulled up to them. Reluctantly breaking the hug with his mom Izuku went up to the driver's side of the truck and placed his UA student badge that he had received from his pre-orientation to the dark glass of the side window. The entire glass pane flashed like it was a computer or tablet screen before it chimed with a green light.
"Izuku Midoriya. ID. 040316. Heroics Course. Class 1-B. Hero Name: N/A. Positive Identification." an electronic voice droned from the truck, "Deploying cargo bots. Please enter. The passenger cabin. Mr. Midoriya. Welcome. To UA."
The back of the moving truck opened with the screech of hydraulics and steam, the back section pulling back like a flower petal to reveal not only two bulky robots but other boxes as well. The moving truck must have already picked up one or two other students. He grimaced at the prospect of having to share the passenger seat cab with someone he did not know but he pushed it down - he couldn't let his mom see and worry about him any more than she was.
"I'll text you later when I am all unpacked! Take care Mom!" Izuku leaned down and gave Inko one last hug.
"I will Izuku! I know...you'll be fine too." Inko said into his ear, pulling back to give him the same beaming smile he had inherited from her, "Especially with those two lovely ladies taking care of you." Inko winked at him.
Izuku chuckled, the images of Itsuka and Tsuyu flashing in his mind's eye, "Yea they really d-URK!" Izuku's words came to a crash as he realized what his mother was implying, his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as he was hit over the head with a full facial blush, "I-i-i-it's not like t-th-that! They-! We-! Us-!"
"Mr. Midoriya. We have. A schedule to keep. Deploying The Clamps." The moving truck's robotic voice chimed again behind him, a moment later he heard the passenger cabin door pop open and a metallic claw clamped on his arm from behind. With a single tug he was pulled off his feet and thrust into the passenger cabin, the door closing behind him.
Who had programmed UA's robots to have such little to no concern for their students' well being?
Izuku hit the floor of the cabin, it wasn't a very large space to begin with, his body squeezed between the steel wall that separated the cab from the 'driver' cabin and the single wide seat. One of his legs was laying lopsided on an empty space on the seat, he would have to squeeze his arms under his body to push himself into a sitting position.
"Oh my! A poor sheep dragged here before their time. Are you well?" a woman's voice asked him, a moment later a woman his age - who to Izuku's shock had hair made out of vines - leaned into his view - directly above him. Her dark eyes squinted at him, her lips downturned in concern.
Wait. From the position he was in, he had fallen on top of her feet, a glance to the side told him his shoulders were wedged between the steel wall and her skirt covered legs. Given her hair she most likely had a Mutation Type quirk. Which meant if he wasn't very careful in getting up he might brush against something he shouldn't and copy her quirk.
She's so close. Izuku squirmed, goosebumps sprouting on his arms. He shut his eyes and swallowed trying to calm himself. He had to focus. Wait. He had not said anything to her. To not touch him. He needed to get up before she offered to help him.
"Do not be afraid. Your salvation is within easy reach." she said softly, clasping her hands together her vine-like hair shivered and then stretched out to him.
"Wait! Don't do that-" Izuku panic shouted but his warning was too late as he felt her vines curl around his body and brush against his ungloved hands pinned at his sides.
Scandent Vinea.
It felt like an itching in his scalp, like every single fiber of hair was trying to wriggle its way out of his skin. Then it was over, but he could still feel his hair - but also move it - like when he had first copied the multiple-limbs quirk in the Entrance Exam except multiplied by a hundred and from his skull. He definitely felt like the weight on his neck had become heavier, it would certainly take a couple minutes at least to get used to it. He wondered-
No! You shouldn't be thinking about her quirk right now. Focus on this awkward situation.
It oddly felt like someone had planned for him to be thrown into a confined space with a woman who would help him up and have a quirk he could accidentally copy.
Who could possibly do that though?
Izuku braced for the shock in her dark eyes to inevitably turn into horror or disgust. For her to lay out accusations calling him a thief or a villain. To say his quirk was-
"My! What a miraculous quirk you have. I am honored to share the blessings of my own quirk with another."
She seemed to almost shine as she smiled at him, clasping her hands in prayer for a moment before Izuku was gently placed in a sitting position on the bench seat. Then her vines retracted like snakes, sliding back until it framed her like a halo.
What-?
Izuku could only blink as the moving truck finally lurched into motion, the robots had probably finished packing his boxes.
"I'm sorry?" he coughed.
"You have no reason to be, little sheep. I heard the machine. It cut short your touching moment of filial piety - very rudely I might add." She motioned with a hand to the window behind him set in the passenger cab door. He realized the glass must have been tinted, he couldn't see into the cab when he was outside but now he could see out. Familiar scenery of his neighborhood zoomed by as the moving truck continued toward UA.
"Um, my name is Izuku Midoriya." he replied, turning back to look at his, presumably, future classmate. She had to have a Mutation Type quirk which meant she was going to Class 1-B unless 1-A did not have any many Emitter Types. With a start he realized it was getting harder for him to concentrate on her, the strange sensation of a new quirk that was just -begging- to be analyzed in one of his notebooks was hammering at him. He was peripherally aware of his hand already sliding toward his pocket where he had one of his notebooks stashed.
The quirk is plant based, I wonder if its affected by the weather or needs constant watering to retain its-
"Ibara Shiozaki." the vine-haired woman inclined her head toward him, she smiled pleasantly, "Of Class 1-B. I believe we may be classmates?"
"You're right! I-I'm in Class 1-B too. Um, my quirk is called Mutate. I can copy Mutation and Transformation Type quirks." Izuku responded, he blinked and noticed his notebook and pen were somehow in hands, looking back at Ibara he noticed it had drawn her curious gaze, "I-I, it's sort of a hobby of mine. Analyzing quirks. I-I mean we are going to be classmates. If...If I am not prying or anything c-could I ask you a few questions about your quirk? I'm sorry, you don't have to of course. Just forget about it."
Izuku fidgeted when Ibara did not immediately respond, confusion written all over her face. It felt like he had already weirded out a new classmate of his and soon it would be his entire class who would think he was useless and a nuisance! His anxiety swelled and it felt like it was crushing him.
Then Ibara surprised him - again.
"Ah! You wish for succor. Mana in the desert. Of course!" a beatific smile flowered on her face, "It would be a useful way to spend the rest of our ride together. You may ask away with my blessing, Midoriya."
They spent the rest of the ride to UA's campus discussing the ins and outs of Ibara's quirk - much to Izuku's delight. Her quirk, Vine, was a Mutation Type as he suspected, it gave her an amazing ability to grow and manipulate each of the many vines that grew from her head. Thanks to the innate ability of his own quirk to understand the ones he copied he was able to mimic her as she moved her vines in demonstration.
He even managed to get out a full body shaking laugh from the courteous woman as he manipulated his cines into different hairstyles and shapes - a unicorn horn, a pair of large ears, a stetson hat, and more. He settled on letting his vines grow out to his shoulders - he never had straight hair before, it was an amusing experience.
He was happy that he could feel comfy talking to a stranger, quirk analysis always pushed down his anxieties and made the close quarters they were in more bearable. By the time the moving truck arrived at UA's campus he felt excited. After a few more minutes the moving truck came to a stop.
The same robotic voice from behind buzzed in. "We have arrived. Heights Alliance Dormitory. Designated for Class 1-A and Class 1-B. Heroics Course."
Without further ado the doors to the passenger cabin at either side of the truck swung open. Izuku and Ibara exited the truck from different doors. He was impressed by the sight of his dorm building. It was only two levels high but it made up for that by sprawling out. He would have taken longer to admire the view but a familiar head of green hair floated down the front entrance steps - followed by the rest of its body.
"Yo! Moptop!" Setsuna's floating head called out to him, zooming over to him he could make out her sharp toothed grin, "You finally made it he-WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HAIR?"
Shorter chapter than I had planned but I have not been feeling well this week and I have family coming over this weekend and I want to stick to a 1 chapter per week schedule! To keep up the momentum.
Anyway Brainstorming!
I feel like with Gang Orca's Internship, Izuku would definitely focus on 'accepting' how he may be seen as scary or villainous based on his quirk and appearance from his chimera like appearance. How he can save lives by intimidating villains which would lead into him developing an Alter Ego like Wayne/Batman or Nemuri/Midnight.
With Ryuku his internship would definitely focus more on his technique and timing when transforming when his quirk. There is definitely a weakness when he copies a quirk that can be exploited. Maybe controlling Transformation Quirks better.
