AN: Thanks for all of the reviews and interest!
Ricardo Valencia - 1-A is going to be different, and Mineta is getting the boot. As for Shinso, you'll have to wait and see!
DestructionDragon360 - Aika is wonderfully dumb sometimes.
Mew-the-Dark-Matter-Buster1 - Sadly for our heroes, Izuku and Ochako both died before they found out about Slidin'Go's true loyalty. Let's hope that Nezu figures it out in time!
Arispuffer - sorry! I actually tried a few notes early on and people liked them, so I decided to make them a more consistent thing, except when I have back-to-back chapters. Glad you're enjoying the story though!
Fencer29 - Hopefully Nezu figures out what happened before they make a move!
"I hope you guys are ready because I'm ready to kick your butts today!" Aika called from the training ring, adopting a horse stance and trying to look intimidating.
Well, as intimidating as a 157 cm tall teenage girl in a bright orange tracksuit can be.
From the edge of the ring, Kyoka laughed. "Aika, you've only been taking Bajiquan lessons for a week. I think Mido and Raka have a bit more experience than you do."
"Hey!" Aika protested. "I've learned a lot in that week!"
Izuku couldn't help but smile at Aika's antics. "I knew someone who was able to train under Gunhead for a week, and she picked up a lot of Gunhead Martial Arts just from that week. I wouldn't be surprised if Shizu knows more than you think."
He caught the questioning glance from Ochako and gave a slight shake of his head in reply. No, they don't need to know who I'm thinking of.
The motion was lost on Aika however, who simply gave a victorious smile to her friend. "See! Midoriya believes in me! Why don't you!"
Kyoka gave her friend a resigned smile. "Sure, whatever you say."
"We'll see about that! Besides, those two haven't been training in a week-"
"-because they took on a freaking Yakuza boss-"
"-so they're gonna be rusty!" Aika finished, throwing a thumbs up to Kyoka. "Now's my time to shine!"
"And I can't wait to see them kick your ass."
"Ocha, do you want to go first, or do you want me to?" Izuku asked.
"I'll do it!" Ochako volunteered with a bright smile on her face. From their spot ten meters away, she activated Galactic Shroud and leaped into the arena, landing with a loud thud.
Whether it was bravery or idiocy, Aika didn't let herself be intimidated as Ochako dropped into her fighting stance. "Ready whenever you are!"
Aika began singing a song from one of her favorite idol groups as she began to charge, activating her quirk. From Izuku's analysis, her Sonic Reinforcement quirk was easily on par with the feats Kirishima had been capable of. The only difference, really, was the presentation. While Kirishima's skin became rocklike, Aika had no visible change in her appearance.
Instead, she was forced to sing to maintain her quirk.
As she approached, Ochako decided to throw a punch of her own, testing her opponent. Her fist glowed with a pale pink light as she aimed at the space where her opponent would be.
Aika countered by raising her left arm, using her forearm to block the blow while simultaneously using her forward momentum to throw an elbow at Ochako's chest. Much to her surprise, the blow connected, sending Ochako back several feet.
Much to Ochako's surprise, her gambit failed. Aika didn't stop singing to gasp or cheer. It was a common weakness of hers that she often exploited and would have to congratulate her on later. Instead, Ochako leaned over, lowering her profile as she touched the ground with her right hand before launching herself forward.
While her hands weren't dragon claws, her touch was just as deadly to someone like Aika, who was unable to use her quirk for propulsion once her gravity had been removed. Aika leaped to the side, avoiding Ochako's outstretched hand and landing in a crouch.
The two danced around each other for several minutes, and even Kyoka had to admit she was impressed by her friend's resilience. Despite only training for a week, Aikaalready picked up the basics of defense. From several meters away, Kyoka felt several of the blows the energetic girl was taking. However, between her training and her quirk, the singing girl was blocking and absorbing blows that would send an inexperienced person flying.
However, Aika was unable to land a second hit. She had gotten much better at spotting openings since they started practical training, but every time she tried to swing, she either used too much or too little force, giving Ochako ample opportunity to dodge or deflect the blow.
Given time and more practice, she could become a nightmare for any villain to run across. At the moment, however, her frustration was mounting and she was getting sloppy.
"Grr! Why won't you stand still!" Aika finally yelled in frustration.
Kyoka looked at her watch. It had taken almost five minutes. She was impressed that Aika held out that long.
Ochako, meanwhile, realized her opponent's mistake immediately. She threw out a kick with enough force behind it to stagger Aika despite her attempts to block and immediately followed up by reaching out and pressing her hand against her opponent's arm, activating her quirk.
"Umm, oopsie?" Aika said sheepishly as she suddenly found herself floating.
"That may be a new record before you cracked," Kyoka called out.
"I'm not sure if I should feel proud or insulted," Aika retorted as she crossed her arms, despite currently floating upside down.
"You did great!" Ochako praised. offering a hand. "That's really impressive for a week of training."
"And you weren't holding back on me, right?"
"Nope!" Ochako reassured the girl.
"Ok then!" Aika said cheerily. She unfolded her arms and grabbed the gravity girl's hand, letting herself be reoriented before Ochako released her from her quirk. Aika then turned to Kyoka. "See! Now, wait until I learn even more stuff!"
"I can't wait to see it," Kyoka admitted, feeling happy for her friend.
"So who's next?" Aika declared as she started bouncing around, encouraged to keep going.
"I think it's Izu's turn, right?" Ochako suggested as she looked at him pointedly.
"Yeah, I guess it is," Izuku said, before looking at Aika. "Are you sure you don't need more time to rest?"
"Nope!" Aika pumped a fist in the air. "I'm just getting started."
Aika held out better against Izuku. Izuku's foot wasn't quite back to full strength despite Recovery Girl's best efforts, and Aika noticed the difference between his speed and Ochako's almost immediately. Knowing this, she adopted a much more aggressive stance in the second round, putting Izuku on the backfoot. As time wore on, however, Izuku seemed to grow more confident and began mixing up punches with his own Shoot-Style and turning the tables on his opponent.
"Ok fine! Maybe I need a few more weeks of training!" Aika finally conceded from her position on the floor.
"I'm actually scared to see where you'll be when we start high school," Kyoka revealed as she walked over to her friend and offered her hand. "You'll be kicking so much ass."
"Against anyone other than those two, you mean," Aika complained as she grabbed Kyoka's hand and hauled herself up. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying!"
"We wouldn't have it any other way," Ochako said as she offered the other girl a bottle of water. "Especially not if you want to get into UA."
"Yeah," Kyoka replied smugly as she poked her friend's shoulder with an ear jack. "You need all the points you can get to make up for your written exam scores."
"Shut up!" Aika said, grabbing the bottle of water and downing it in a single gulp while glaring at her friend the entire time.
Izuku smiled as he watched the girls' antics before turning to Ochako. "Ocha, do you want to spar?"
"Are you sure you'll be ok?" Ochako asked, concern evident in her voice.
"Mhm." Izuku nodded. "I promise I'll stop if it gets too much."
"You'd better," Ochako warned.
Without another word, Ochako entered the ring. She walked to the starting position while Izuku returned to his position. As the two stared at each other, they both called upon One For All, wrapping themselves in its energy. Izuku gave an imperceptible nod and the two charged at each other, pulling their arms back for a punch.
"Smaaash!"
"Hammer!"
Their fists connected, and they saw the bright flash of light as One For All's energy absorbed and reflected off itself, dancing between the two holders' fists as they announced the start of their spar. As their arms both pulled back from the recoil, their real fight began.
Izuku launched himself at the ceiling, while Ochako used her quirk on herself and took off in a different direction. Unlike the rules they normally used when facing their friends, the pair fought under their own, and the entire gym was their battlefield. There was no ring out, only concession, and they wouldn't have it any other way.
Despite the speed Izuku moved, he was used to maneuvering at far faster speeds and had no trouble avoiding the four other individuals in the gym as he deftly maneuvered toward Ochako. Whenever the two were close, they would briefly collide, throwing a quick attack before they once again separated, launching to other parts of the room.
To others, it seemed random and uncoordinated, but to Izuku and Ochako, it was something different. A dance, beautiful and deadly. One wrong move, one moment of panic where one of them lost control of One For All, and one or both of them could seriously be injured. But they trusted each other absolutely.
In this way, they learned how the other moved. How they fought. How they thought. They honed themselves, each blow strengthening themselves and sharpening the other.
The dance went on for almost twenty minutes before Izuku began to feel the soreness in his leg. It was nothing compared to the injuries he had fought through in the past, but a promise was a promise. With a sigh, he angled his next jump off the wall and slammed into the ground. Moments later, he saw the pink comet that was Ochako slam into the ground next to him, a smug look on her face. "Done already?"
Izuku gestured to his leg. "I need a few minutes."
Ochako's eyes darted to his leg before looking at him again. "Alright, let's take a break."
As the two moved out of the ring, Kyoka and Himiko grabbed their practice weapons and entered the ring. Kyoka had been practicing with a long sword as her weapon of choice in case someone managed to get inside the range of her sonic attacks. Himiko, meanwhile, displayed the same uncanny affinity for knives that she had displayed in both of their pasts. Even with the recent revelations about what could have been, she decided not to change that. Rather, she would embrace it and show the world what she was capable of.
At Ochako's insistence, the pair sat down on a bench as their friends squared up, dull weapons at the ready. As they watched, Aika called for the match to begin. Himiko and Kyoka charged toward each other.
As the days passed, things began to settle down for Himiko. She had a very long and tear-filled conversation with her therapist and scheduled several more appointments to help her work through everything going on in her head.
However, today was different. As she woke up with a smile on her face, she knew that nothing was going to stop her from having an amazing day.
Because today was her birthday!
But not just any birthday. Today was different since it was her first birthday as Himiko Midoriya!
Since their mentors thankfully declared the day a 'rest' day, she didn't set an alarm and slept in until almost 8 AM, and it felt great. As she sat up in bed and stretched, she glanced over to her phone and saw several messages awaiting her. Grabbing her phone, the first message she saw was from Hifumi, saying she was excited about the party this afternoon. With a smile on her face, she told her sister she couldn't wait to see her before selecting the second message.
It was a message from Emily. Sent hours earlier, due to the time difference between I-Island and Japan. She sent birthday wishes along with a photo of a small gift wrapped in fancy paper, promising to deliver her gift after she moved to Mustafu next week. Himiko felt her permanent blush deepening at the thought that she had already become that important to the American girl.
Throwing her phone aside, she grabbed her outfit for the day, a cute red dress with a black covering, and dashed off to the bathroom. After a quick shower, she came out refreshed and ready to start her day.
As she padded into the living room, she saw Inko setting out her plate for breakfast. "Happy Birthday, Himi!"
"Thanks, mom!" Himiko couldn't keep the grin off of her face as she hugged her mother before she sat down and tore through her breakfast.
"Slow down! Your appointment isn't for another hour!" Inko teased as she sat down across from her with her plate.
"I can't help it!" Himiko insisted between bites. "I've been dreaming about this for months!"
"I thought you were dreaming about being a Midoriya for months."
"I did! Which meant I had to think about everything else that went with it!"
Inko just gave her daughter a warm smile. "I see you're also picking up Izu's habit of overthinking things."
Himiko opened her mouth and then closed it with a groan, slamming her head against the table. "You're right."
Inko couldn't help but laugh at the poor girl's plight. "Well, you did say you wanted to be a Midoriya…"
After breakfast, Himiko said her goodbyes and dashed out of the house to make her way toward the shopping district which was her final destination.
Now, several hours later, Himiko happily skipped out of the hair salon. Her hair hung loose, the strands dancing in the morning sun. She couldn't help but catch the strands that flew in front of her face, admiring the shade of green she had chosen. With many apologies to Inko, she had ultimately chosen a shade of green closer to Izuku's than Inko's, having decided that the brighter color better matched the pale tone of her skin.
Once on the sidewalk, she continued to skip to her next destination: a local restaurant she had chosen for lunch. They served an amazing Gyudon, and she decided to indulge. She had discovered that they were willing to undercook the beef at her request, preparing it at the perfect rarity for her adapted taste buds, and it made her salivate in anticipation as she waited for her lunch.
When the bowl arrived, she took a moment to take in the smell of the beef mixed with the seasonings of the dish. After that, she began to mix the egg yolk with the beef before she tore into the meal with vigor.
All in all, it's been a pretty great morning, and it only promised to get better as the day went on.
When she finally returned home, Himiko saw that the Urarakas had already arrived and that her mom and Miu were both busy in the kitchen preparing dinner.
"Mom, I'm home!" Himiko called from the entrance. She practically ripped her shoes off before dashing into the kitchen. "How do I look?"
"Himi, you look wonderful!" Inko said as she looked over the counter.
Himiko allowed herself a moment to selfishly bask in the praise before she took in the ingredients laid out on the counter. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"No, we have it under control," Inko assured her daughter. "Why don't you go relax with Izu and Ochako?"
Himiko stuck out her tongue as she faked a gag reflex. "No, I don't want to intrude on them." She suddenly brightened up as she got an idea. "If you need me, I'll be in my room!"
Without waiting for her mom to answer, she left and collapsed onto her bed. Pulling up Emily's contact information, she found her finger hovering over the 'video call' button. She bit her lip in hesitation. Was this a step too far? The two had messaged each other a lot over the past several weeks, but they hadn't spoken directly since their encounter on I-Island.
On the other hand, the other girl did ask to see her hair after she got it colored, and what better way to show it off than with a video call?
Making a decision, she hit the call button, feeling the bite of her fang tearing into her lip as she heard her phone dialing.
Himiko sat in her living room with her friends and family when she heard a knock on the door. Since everyone else had already arrived, that meant it could only be one person. Without a second thought, she jumped up from her seat. "I'll get it!"
Racing to the door, she threw it open to see her sister standing there. "Fumi!"
"Himi! Happy birthday!"
"Thanks!" Himiko rushed forward and pulled her sister into a hug, which she enthusiastically returned. "I'm glad you could make it!"
"Me too."
"Why don't we head inside?" Miho Ayako asked from behind the girls, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Oh! Yes!" Himiko blushed as she released her sister from a hug and stepped aside, allowing the pair access.
Hifumi allowed Miho to go in first, watching as her foster parent removed her shoes and went deeper into the apartment. Only then did she step inside herself, slowly taking off her shoes to give herself a moment of privacy with her sister.
"You were right, Himi."
"Huh?" Himiko asked in confusion.
Hifumi giggled. "About the Ayakos. After we talked, I asked them if I could think of them as my parents. They were surprised at first but seemed genuinely happy that I wanted to see them that way. So I decided to take that risk and started seeing them as my moms."
Himiko smiled at her sister. "What about adoption?"
Hifumi had a hesitant look on her face. "They still haven't said anything about that. But I don't care! I'll- I'll take that risk!"
Himiko smiled and ruffled her sister's hair. "I'm sure they'll come around eventually!"
"I hope so too. I'd like to keep them." The two sisters shared a laugh.
After a large dinner with plenty of blood-based foods, Himiko was ushered back to the living room and instructed to sit on the floor. As she sat there, Izuku gathered up the small pile of presents from her friends and placed them in front of her. She had already received her present from Inko; her green hair reminded her, but now it was time to open the rest.
From Jiro and Hikari, she received several music CDs. Aika had found several cute T-shirts from the shows she watched. Hifumi and her family bought her a new digital camera so that she could keep taking more photos and building more happy memories.
And at the bottom of the pile was a large box. Lifting it up, she saw the tag showing that it was from both Izuku and Ochako. She looked at the pair in confusion.
"Open it," Izuku encouraged her.
Himiko carefully removed the wrapping paper and opened the package. Inside she found a photo album. Throwing a questioning glance at her brother, she opened the book and stared at the first page.
"How did you even get this photo?" Himiko asked in disbelief.
"It took some convincing, but Kayama managed to convince the hospital to let her have the tapes," Izuku admitted awkwardly.
There, on the first page, was a photo of Himiko sitting in the hospital bed, looking at Inko in reverence as she held her hand.
Himiko felt her eyes beginning to water as she flipped the page. Page after page were photos of her, some with her friends and family, but many were photos of just her. From her training at the beach to shopping to simply spending time lazing about the apartment. And then she reached the final page. The header at the top, in green letters, simply read: "Himiko Midoriya." But the page was otherwise empty.
Himiko looked up from the album in concern. "Why is this page empty?"
Ochako pointed to Himiko's hair. "Because you didn't change your hair yet!"
"Oh." Himiko felt a grin spreading on her face. "So what are we waiting for then!?"
Himiko gently put the book down on the table before she jumped up and grabbed Izuku's arm. A few moments later, she arranged herself on a chair with Inko and Izuku standing behind her and Katashi holding her new camera. She gave a blinding smile as she felt the flash go off.
It would be hard to top this birthday.
AN: Yoichi Shigaraki was sitting in the room that he had unofficially dubbed his office within the observatory, silently meditating when he heard a loud cry.
Eyes snapping open, he rushed through the halls, instinctively seeking out the source, only to see his counterpart waiting outside the door.
"Did it work?" Yoichi asked.
"I think so. Are you ready?" His counterpart said.
"Yes."
Without another word, the pair opened the door and stepped inside. There, a woman sat upright on a bed, her head in her hands. She looked lost and disoriented, and they couldn't even imagine what was going on in her head.
Yoichi tried to adopt the warmest smile he was capable of, before he finally spoke.
"Good morning, Nana."