Hello there!
Here's Ch 3! Hopefully it's an enjoyable read. Aside from that, thank you for all the reviews and support! The critique so far has been compelling and/or helpful, which is quite the pleasant surprise!
I have quite a bit to say this time, but to avoid filling up the top here with information you may or may not care about, most of the questions I'm replying to will be answered in the end-of-chapter notes at the bottom.
I will, however, answer two things briefly:
'Ryoko' is from the Tenchi Muyo series. There's a more specific description of her in this chapter, along with me explaining exactly which version of her—since Tenchi Muyo has a lot of different versions of her—I'm using in my end-of-chapter notes.
As for listing what series each spirit waifu is from, I'll start doing that in the end-of-chapter notes, so as to not spoil the surprise when they're introduced.
Several of them will be rather obvious, but there's at least two more niche-picks like Ryoko, so look forward to that!
Secondly, the watch is affixed to Izuku's left wrist. I must have forgotten to be specific with my prior descriptions before, but I'll take care to be better about that in the future.
Edit:
Fixed a few typos and formatting problems.
With that done…
On with the show!
"You want me to what?!" Bakugo Katsuki exclaimed.
Spending summer vacation training with All Might had been a surreal experience. Just the fact that it was happening at all was odd enough, but the sheer simplicity of the training was also astounding.
Cleaning garbage off a beach was not his first choice of activity.
Unfortunately, his mentor had made good points about the efficacy of the training. More conventional methods, like weight training, were good for strength with static, repetitive, motions. However, unless a significant amount of time was put into it, you would inevitably miss smaller muscles that were just as necessary for hero duties.
Given this, it made far more sense to build muscle through the kind of activities he was likely to be doing… and pushing garbage out of the way was something he'd need to do on disaster rescue missions anyway.
Beyond that, they'd also sparred occasionally—both increasing his general combat awareness, his creativity and quick thinking on the fly, along with even more of those smaller muscles that he would be relying on so frequently. It was, at first, a terrifying experience.
All Might is one of the few people Bakugo was willing to admit intimidated him, and seeing the ridiculous speed with which he could move his massive body would result in most people soiling their pants from terror.
Bakugo wasn't most people, however, so it was only rounded down to a mild yelp the first time he witnessed it up close.
Ignoring that incident, his training with the man had been quite beneficial. Already he was noticing more definition to his muscles and experiencing frequent moments of 'that didn't take as much effort as expected.' Add to that the little ideas he was having on how to more creatively use his quirk, and it was the best training experience he'd had in his life.
...Which brought him to this moment.
"Eat this, young-Bakugo!" the man declared, offering the boy a strand of golden hair.
"...Why?!"
This seemed to put the man off for a brief moment.
"Ah! Did I not explain?" he asked rhetorically. "Well, you see, when I took you on as my student, I wasn't just doing this for your sake, much as I may wish it were so. I mentioned having a legacy, did I not?"
"Yeah…?" Bakugo drawled.
Honestly, he had no idea where All Might was going here. Unfortunately, that was rather common when the man explained things beyond a certain degree of complexity. He was a classic case of a prodigy that never needed to learn why what they did worked, since it took them so little effort to figure out how to accomplish it.
Honestly, it was something Bakugo was familiar with personally, since he also frequently had that issue whenever he deigned to give his sycophants a chance. That didn't make it any less frustrating to be on the other side, though.
"My quirk, 'One For All,' was not something I was born with."
Bakugo gaped at the man.
"I was born quirkless, but I found a hero to mentor me. She had a quirk, which also wasn't hers originally, and passed it down to me," All Might explained. "'One For All' is a quirk that accumulates the strength of its wielders and passes it down to their heirs, creating an ever evolving quirk that grows stronger with each passing generation."
This… This was unbelievable.
Quirks just didn't work like that! There'd never been a documented case of something like that, or Deku would have found it by now and paraded it as his latest impossible hope!
"Inheritors need a strong body to handle the power, however, and that is why we've been doing so much training to build up your body these past several months. You were already almost there when we started, but given how long we have until your Entrance Exams, I thought it best to be safe." All Might stated.
"Alright…" Bakugo began. "But what's that got to do with eatin' one of your hairs? I know some teachers give their students stupid test to make sure they're commited, but I'm not stupid enough to fall for that shit."
That seemed to give All Might a brief moment of pause.
"Ahahah! No! Of course not, my boy!" the man chuckled. "No, the reason why I am asking this of you is that ingesting the DNA of the current holder—with them willingly providing it for this purpose—is necessary to transfer the quirk to the inheritor. This is simply the least unsanitary method of achieving that."
Bakugo snatched the hair from his hand without hesitation and swallowed it, wiping his mouth a moment later.
"So, what now?" he asked.
"We go back to clearing the beach of course! The transfer won't set in until tomorrow!"
"WHAT?!"
"Energy Manipulation…"
"Yes, sir, Energy Manipulation," Hawks confirmed. "Whatever was in the meteorite served as a catalyst to unlock an unusually strong quirk in a previously quirkless individual. Admittedly useful, but nothing truly exceptional."
"We'll be the ones to decide that, Hawks…"
A lull in the conversation was never fun with these kinds of people, but Hawks weathered it without issue—his expression remaining the exact same serious and genuine rock that it always was during these meetings.
"...Very well, your report is concluded. Carry on with your duties. If any other meteorites are discovered, we will handle them with our own means. You will be informed if your assistance is needed further on this case, but expect no further information in all other circumstances."
Hawks nodded firmly, pausing only to make sure the gesture was noticed, then turned on his heel and left—his stony countenance already fading into his habitual cocksure smile. A few minutes later he was flying above his designated part of the city, patrolling.
"Well, that went terribly. First time I've been kicked off a case," he laughed. "That's what I get for trying to be a good guy, I guess."
Despite his words… he didn't regret it in the slightest.
Summer vacation was already shaping up to be different than he'd expected.
He… He'd given up.
There was no way Midoriya Izuku, worthless and quirkless—which is somewhat redundant, now that he thought about it—could be a hero. He was sure of it, his mother was sure of it, even his idol was sure of it.
...Yes, somehow, that had changed.
His mother believed in him, finally. It was startling to consider, since the scene of her breaking down the night he found out he was quirkless was something firmly rooted in his memory. The fact that she'd just kept apologizing, not once saying what he'd wanted to hear… Well, it stung.
It was almost worse that her opinion had inverted so quickly now that he had a 'quirk.'
Was being a hero really nothing more than having power? It felt wrong to him on such a primal level that he was certain it wasn't just about strength… Yet everything he'd seen had pointed that out to him.
And that was another thing that had shaken up his world…
The watch.
It had so much potential… Honestly, it scared him somewhat. He knew how insane the things that Ryoko—and the form he took on when he was her 'little sis'—could do were. It was a lot of power. Too much power. It wasn't something he was worthy of owning, much less wielding.
But still, that wasn't the biggest thing. Not to him.
Sure, the watch had changed things, but Hawks had taken the nice, simple, and hopeless worldview he'd developed since his chance meeting with That Man and turned it on its head.
"You can be a hero,'' he'd said.
It was the one phrase Izuku had wanted to hear all his life, but it was too little, too late. Hawks had to be wrong.
But he's number three! Clearly he knows what he's talking about!
At the same time...
...the fact that I'm so sure Hawks is wrong kind of proves he is, doesn't it? What kind of hero can't even muster the nerve to say they want to be one?
It was… frustrating, to say the least. Izuku had no idea what to do anymore… So he just decided to go with the flow. There was no point in bothering Hawks when he'd already submitted an application for the Support Course.
It was fine.
So he picked up the red piece of plumage the man had left him and turned to the small trash bin next to his desk, ready to toss it away…
He just couldn't do it.
...I'll keep it as a keepsake. A memento of the time I was saved by Hawks!
Izuku slid the feather into his desk drawer and left it there.
"Izuku?" his mother asked, knocking quietly at the door. "Are you still awake?"
Blinking a few times, Izuku glanced out the window. It was well into the evening now, and the clock at his bedside declared that it was two in the morning already. Of course, the thing wasn't working properly yet. Making it was one of the assignments he'd set for himself to test his knowledge.
Given how consistently wrong the clock was, it was likely a bit after ten.
"Yeah," Izuku replied.
The green-haired woman opened the door and entered the room, glancing around briefly out of habit. She's been harping on him lately to clean up his instant coffee cans, which he kept forgetting to discard when he was staying up to study.
"I know you want to work some more, honey, but you need to be up early tomorrow," she said, "the Quirk Assessment is at nine, and the doctor we're going to is a good drive away."
Now that Izuku had spontaneously developed his 'quirk,' he was required by law to have a doctor's appointment to get it assessed. It was a rule enacted to make sure problems with new quirks were caught early, before they could spiral out of control.
"I know, mom, I'm just wrapping up," Izuku replied.
"Alright, honey. Finish soon, alright?"
"I will," Izuku nodded.
The woman turned around, exiting the room.
"Oh, I forgot to mention," Izuku began.
Inko looked over her shoulder to listen.
"About my quirk, it's not—"
He was cut off by a series of coughs, preventing him from continuing.
"Oh, don't worry about it, sweetie. I know that it's not the most… flattering… quirk for a boy, but I still love you, no matter what you look like," she declared.
Izuku paused, looking at the floor more than his mother.
"...Thanks, mom," he finally said.
With a gentle smile, his mother left the room—closing the door behind her. Light steps signalled her walking away, likely to her room so she could go to bed herself. Sighing, Izuku plopped himself back in his chair and grabbed several tools from their varied positions on the messy surface that was his desk top.
"So that thing with the villain a few nights ago wasn't a fluke… I can't tell anyone about the watch. And no one seems to notice it, either..."
Letting out another sigh, something he'd noticed he was doing a lot lately, he set to work.
It was probably a bad idea, scratch that, it was a terrible idea, but he'd decided to try and figure out how the watch even worked in the first place. Or, failing that, whether it was human tech or not.
Tonight would be the first time he'd worked up the nerve to actually mess with its inner mechanisms.
Izuku hadn't used it since the night it latched onto his arm, but it hadn't come off his wrist since then. No matter what he did, it remained firmly fastened to his limb. The thing would let itself be slid up and down so he could wash himself properly, but it would always return to its original position once he was done.
That alone was maddening to him… nevermind the fact that the thing was so light he barely noticed its presence half the time or the fact that he couldn't even scratch its surface with any of his tools.
Currently, he was messing with the mechanism that somehow raised the face of the watch upright. There was no segmentation to the supporting pillar, no thinning of its diameter that would suggest it was multiple parts moving next to each other to extend outward like this. The thing just… went up.
He'd tried using a flathead screwdriver to search for a seam somewhere, but there wasn't any lip in the mechanism for him to pry at. There were no screws or openings anywhere to allow for disassembly, so that was out as well.
"Ow!" Izuku exclaimed, accidentally jabbing himself with the tip of the flathead.
Frowning at the thing, he decided to give up for the night.
Pulling off his clothes until he was down to his boxers, he clambered into bed. Yawning, he turned off the lightswitch and pulled up the covers. Once he closed his eyes, he was asleep within moments.
...
Sometime in the middle of the night…
When he had activated the watch's mechanism, Izuku had, in a moment of fatigue and frustration, forgotten to actually depress the watch's surface. As such, it was still extended enough to catch on his blankets.
As he adjusted himself in his sleep, the fabrics of his bedding tugged on the watch-face, rotating it in place several times. The symbol on its surface switched multiple times, from the image of an orb wrapped in an inverted 'U' shape, to a pupil-less eye, and eventually stopping on a pentagram inset within a circle.
Another twist in his bed nudged Izuku's blankets down to his waist while he snuggled into his pillow deeply, occasional snores echoing from his mouth. His left arm slid up under the pillow to embrace it more directly, and a quiet 'click' resounded from the watch.
Green light filled the room for a moment, and the snores returned soon after…
Midoriya Inko could barely contain her excitement.
"Izuku, sweetie, it's time to go!"
Her son finally had a quirk. Finally!
For years she'd blamed herself for what he lacked; blamed herself since she knew that Izuku would never be able to follow his dreams without a quirk. It had to be something she'd done, some part of the parenting process she had messed up or forgotten.
The fact that, when she was pregnant with him, she was overworking herself probably didn't help either.
It had been necessary, regrettably, since money was hard to come by in those days. She would happily work herself to death if it secured his future, but the stress and lack of sleep probably contributed to how small he was when he was born… and the fact he never developed a quirk.
...Until now!
It was a struggle to contain her joy, she was so happy for his sake that she felt ready to burst. For him, though, she managed to keep it under control. Clearly, the nature of his quirk was bothering him. She understood that for a boy like Izuku, who had enough issues with his confidence already, having a quirk that made him a girl while he used it probably wasn't the biggest boost to his self-image.
Hopefully the doctor would be able to help him avoid that once it was assessed. Many people had quirks with embarrassing side-effects, after all, and part of a Quirk Doctor's job was to help mitigate those problems as best as they could.
So, when she opened the door to Izuku's bedroom, she hoped he was up and ready to go.
"Izu—!"
Inko froze the second she entered, staring at the unbelievable sight before her.
There was a girl in Izuku's bed.
Not the blue-haired girl that he became when using his quirk, but a red-haired young woman that was half-naked on her son's bed. She was splayed out sensually, in the kind of pose that would belong on a magazine that most teenage boys would hide under the floorboards. Her waist-length crimson hair fell like a curtain over her mostly nude body—draping over her very ample bust in just the right way to hide her nipples—somehow achieving a picturesque image that, were it less lewd, wouldn't look out of place in a painting.
"E-Excuse me," Inko mumbled, backing out of the room and shutting it with a quiet click.
She let out a quiet breath, her back against the door.
A moment later, her eyes widened in realization—she had Izuku's freckles!—and the woman spun around to re-enter the room.
Izuku was having a wonderful dream.
He was safe, half-awake in someone's arms. It was a man with spiky red hair and a tender smile, holding the boy's child-like form against his body as he carried on a conversation with two older adults: a man with similar red hair, but also a matching goatee, and a woman with elegant brown hair. Their voices were indistinct, but Izuku could make out a few words…
"I understand that… Pillars are important… Crazy… To Riser?!"
It was a jumbled mess from the comforting man, and a similarly messy string of words in reply…
"Necessary… For her future…!"
They were arguing… but Izuku was too comfortable to care…
"Mm… comfy…" high-pitched words falling from his lips.
"Izu—!" A familiar voice called, interrupting the dream and pulling Izuku into a half-awake state between full consciousness and sleep. In his partially-asleep state, he wanted the comforting man's presence back. It was like the older brother he'd never had.
As it was, he was still cozy and comfortable even if it wasn't quite the same as being curled up in the lap of the dream brother. Still, it was a good place to be, with blankets around his legs and comfortable pillows in his arms… or were they plushies? He thought he'd tossed all of them along with the posters and the other memorabilia...
Well, whatever they were, they were soft.
'Fufufu… They are, aren't they?' A voice whispered in his ear.
Izuku ignored the lilting tones, keeping his eyes shut out of the unconscious knowledge that to open them would result in being shunted into full wakefulness.
Mmm… Go 'way. I'm schleepin'…
'Are you sure?' the voice asked with that special tone a friend uses when they know something you don't.
'M sure. Go 'way…
'Fufufu…'
Izuku twisted away slightly, clutching the pillows to his torso and nudging his blankets further up his body.
"I-Izuku…?" his mother's voice called.
Clearly there was no avoiding it now. So Izuku sat up slowly, blearily opening his eyes and blowing his red hair away from his face.
"Hm…?" he grunted. "Yeah, mom? 'S it time to go already?"
'Wow, you really are oblivious!' the voice giggled.
"I-Izuku, honey… you activated your quirk again," his mother stated. "...I think."
Izuku blinked.
Wha…?
Then he glanced down.
"Gah!" Izuku exclaimed, instantly scrambling to simultaneously look away, cover her body with a blanket, and pinch her nose to stem the nosebleed she could already feel forming.
"I-I'll go get you some clothes then…? Unless you're able to turn it off…?" her mother offered.
Izuku let go of her nose and checked her wrist. The black tattoo of the watch was located exactly where expected, resting in the center of her left forearm.
While careful holding up the blanket that maintained her modesty with an elbow, she fiddled with the pattern. Unfortunately, it seemed to be just that: a pattern. Nothing she did seemed to disable the transformation.
"Sorry mom I—Wait, actually…"
Umm… You don't sound like Ryoko, but whoever you are, do you know a way for me to… disable this? The last time this happened it just went away on its own…
'My name is Rias Gremory, first of all— Oh wait, we're in Japan, right? Gremory Rias, then.' she replied.
'And, I do know a way, but you won't l-i-i-ke it.' She sang.
What is it?
'Exhaust yourself!' Rias declared.
'What?
'And I know just the way to do it.' The girl teased. 'You're in my body, after all, and I know all the best ways to enjoy it!'
Rias paused dramatically for a moment.
'Actually, now that I think of it, you'll probably like it too much, you little pervert! You already groped me in your sleep!'
"N-never mind!" Izuku squeaked, her face as red as her hair.
'Party pooper…' the girl stated.
S-stop that!
Inko gave the girl a confused glance, but said nothing as she left the room. The partly present duo sat there in awkward silence for a minute or so, with Izuku resolutely refusing to look at herself.
'...I'm sorry Izuku,' Rias suddenly piped up. 'I shouldn't have called you a pervert.'
Izuku blinked in surprise.
Thanks…? I wasn't really expecting an apology, though, since I'm pretty sure you were just jok—
'You're not a pervert if I liked it too!' Rias interrupted with an audible grin.
When Inko returned to the room with clothes for her transformed daughter, she arrived to see Izuku holding her head in her hands—utterly red-faced—with steam comically wafting from her ears.
The entire time, she kept repeating the phrase 'I'm not a pervert' over and over again.
Wearing her mother's clothes was… an experience, to be sure.
The process of getting dressed—since Izuku needed the help if they were going to be on time—was mortifying for the both of them. Less so for Izuku's mother, since she could mentally rationalize the situation into something equivalent to when she'd dressed Izuku as a baby… But, well, they were just too similar at heart.
Embarrassment was not something they knew how to deal with, it was a family trait even, and second-hand embarrassment was just as bad to them. As such, it created something of a feedback loop, made worse every time Izuku had to ask to try on a different shirt because it was too tight or the one time she had to ask for a belt to hold her pants up around her petite waist.
Whoever Rias was, she had a body designed to draw attention.
'Why thank you, fufufu…'
Even worse for Izuku, her mother had demanded she wear some kind of… support…
Unfortunately, nothing Inko had actually fit, so… they had to resort to piling on several t-shirts and a jacket to… keep things in place.
All of this had led to where they were now: the waiting room outside the Quirk Doctor's office.
While her mother filled out paperwork with the receptionist, Izuku huddled into her seat in the corner. She was hiding behind the collar of her jacket, nervously wondering if her face would just stay red forever after this experience.
All the while, children of various ages—though none above ten—were misbehaving or just making a general nuisance of themselves while their parents desperately tried to get them to settle down. Clearly, they'd each just discovered their quirks and were determined to make the most of them. One was manipulating floating blocks with his hair, another proudly shifting their coloration like the chameleon they resembled, and a third creating sparks of flame above her fingertips while giggling maniacally.
"So, what's a babe like you doing here?" A boy said, smoothly sitting down next to Izuku.
Startled, Izuku glanced over at the stranger.
He was incredibly short, probably coming up to her waist, with a cherubic face and purple hair made of gel-like orbs rather than strands or fibers. Jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt that said 'Oppai' on the front gave him a notably older tone than his height would suggest—compounded further by the fact his eyes never strayed from her chest.
'He does not have the looks to pull off that kind of blatant stare…' Rias added.
"Um…" Izuku began, utterly unsure what to do here.
"The shy type, huh?" the boy laughed. "Well, I'm here because my little brother finally got his quirk. It looks like he got the family knack for adhesives, since his saliva works a lot like glue."
"That's good, right?" Izuku asked uncertainly. "That he's got people to assist him with using his quirk, I mean."
The orb-haired boy nodded, looking away from her chest for the first time since he'd sat down and turning to face the children rampaging around the waiting room.
"See that one?" he said, gesturing at a boy that was slightly taller than him with similarly purple hair, though his was made of normal fibers. "That's little Miro."
"And he's your… younger brother?" Izuku asked before she could stop herself.
"Yup!" the boy confirmed, oblivious to the implications toward his height. "But, that brings me back to the point. What're you doing here? Do you have a little sister or something? We could set up a double-date!"
Shuddering internally at the thought, Izuku still managed to restrain herself from automatically responding physically to that suggestion. Was that some kind of instinct for this body?
'If you hit him, make sure to go for the balls. As a boy originally, I'm sure you know how effective a target they are…' Rias chimed in helpfully.
Ignoring the comments of the figurative devil-on-her-shoulder, Izuku replied. "Actually, I'm here with my mom. I… I'm a late bloomer, and my quirk only developed a few days ago."
"Really? I've never heard of something like that. Weird," the boy replied. "What's it do?"
"Well… I don't look like this normally, but I can't really turn my quirk off once it activates. It just goes away on its own," Izuku explained, choosing to keep it simple.
"Ahhh…" the boy hummed. "I take it that's why you're hiding those beauties?"
He angled his head at her chest, blatantly referencing them.
'How smooth does he think he is? Wait, actually, now I just want to know how deep a hole he can dig himself.' Rias commented.
It seemed almost like the girl was leaning over Izuku's shoulder at this point, eagerly watching like a spectator.
Do you want some popcorn to go with your show?
Ignoring the sarcasm, Rias replied: 'Oh, absolutely! Do you have any idea how annoying it is not being able to eat?'
Taking the silence as evidence of some kind of social blunder, which in any other case it would be, the orb-haired boy took the opportunity to continue making a fool of himself.
"Well, anyway, my name's Mineta Minoru, what's yours?" he offered.
'Oh! I have an idea!' Rias exclaimed suddenly. 'Say your name is "Izu," it'll be entertaining later, I swear!'
"Midoriya Izu…" Izuku replied, not seeing a point in denying the… spirit?
'I'm not quite sure what I am, actually. Then again, I'm pretty sure none of us know how we're in this watch in the first place. We should probably talk about that at some point.' Rias answered.
"Cool, cool," Mineta muttered as he pulled a notebook out of his pocket. Opening it, he scribbled something down, presumably the name Izuku had given him.
"And your numbers?" he added flippantly.
'Oh, heaven, he actually just asked that!' Rias exclaimed, mentally collapsing into muffled giggles—like she had a hand covering her mouth.
"...What…?" Izuku asked, bewildered. "Do you mean my phone number…?"
"No, no, I mean your—"
"Izuku!" Inko suddenly called. "The Doctor is ready!"
Standing up immediately, Izuku gave a polite bow to the… odd… boy.
"Sorry, Mineta, I have to go. Good luck with your brother!"
At first, the boy looked crestfallen to see her go, but once she turned around and began walking his face shifted into perverse glee as he watched—not that Izuku noticed.
'He's fun,' Rias commented with an amused chuckle.
…
"So, uh, Ms. Midoriya…?" the doctor began somewhat awkwardly.
He was a balding man, with a plush white mustache and circular glasses. Dressed in a lab coat and baggy scrubs, he looked to be the proto-typical doctor.
"Er, Izuku's fine, sir," Izuku suggested. "It's probably easiest."
"Izuku then," the man replied seriously. "You're something of an unusual case, I must say—though I'm sure you're already aware of that."
The redhead nodded.
"From what your mother wrote on the pamphlet and…" he paused, flipping a few pages on his clipboard and glancing at a few more on the desk to his left. "...your medical records, you showed no evidence of the 'Plus Alpha' gene—Quirk Factors—throughout your entire life, yet… here we are."
Izuku nodded, again. There wasn't really much to say.
"I apologize if you've heard this before, but it's standard procedure to explain to children when they discover their quirk," the doctor began. "Having a quirk is a serious responsibility, one you cannot abuse. There are laws that prevent the public usage of certain types of quirks and many bits of regulation to mitigate their use in various aspects of life. I'll be giving you a pamphlet when you leave that explains the most common rules to worry about."
"Thank you, sir," Izuku responded.
"Right," the man coughed. "Well, there are three main categories of quirks: Emision, Transformation, and Mutant. From your mother's transcription, you sounded like a cut and dry case of a Transformation/Emitter hybrid, where you change into another form and emit energy your cells generate to accomplish various things. Quite impressive, really—you'd have a lot of potential if you pursued being a pro-hero—but, your mother described your other form completely differently to what I see now."
The doctor paused, wiping his glasses on the hem of his collar.
"Now, I have my theories and conjecture, but I need to confirm something first," he began, replacing his glasses on his nose. "You've only used your quirk twice now, yes? Once when it was discovered and once while you were sleeping last night?"
"That's right, sir," Izuku confirmed.
"Well, I'd like you to do something for me. Could you try to use the energy you had in your first transformed body?"
Huh. Why didn't I think of that?
'Because you were too busy groping me and getting embarrassed to question the situation?' Rias answered cheekily.
Ignoring the verbal jab, Izuku held up a palm, staring at it forcefully as she imagined the feeling of that familiar orange energy from before.
Nothing happened.
'That's not how you do it,' Rias interjected.
A ghostly image of the girl erupted from the tattoo on Izuku's wrist, circling the doctor briefly and coming to rest by Izuku's hand. She was dressed in something akin to a school uniform, though it had an odd black overcoat resting on top that had a rather conspicuous hole for her dress shirt covered chest to extend through. Add to that the obnoxiously short maroon skirt, and it made for a very… enticing image.*
Despite Rias' presence, the doctor didn't seem to notice anything unusual.
He can't see you?
'Of course not! I'm just an illusion out here!' Rias replied. 'I'm still inside the watch… Quite the reversal, huh? Usually it's the boy—'
Izuku felt her cheeks burning again.
"It's alright if it—" the doctor began.
"No, that's not it, sir. I think I can do it." Izuku interrupted.
Can you stop it with the innuendo…? Please?
'F-i-i-n-e…' Rias agreed.
The apparition gripped Izuku's hands in her own, though the temporary-girl didn't feel anything from the contact, and closed her eyes.
'This is what it feels like…'
Slowly, crimson energy appeared in Izuku's palm, folding outward into a flame-like rose. It was beautiful in a completely different way than the comparatively simplistic energy of Ryoko, but beyond that it was heavy. Not in the literal manner, but in the force it seemed to exert on the world around it. It carried a sense of powerful density with it, and a wild, depraved, hunger…
'Oh pooh, I thought I'd worked past that look,' Rias commented, her eyes open and her hands no longer around Izuku's. 'The fabled "Power of Destruction," just doesn't look scary when it's a flower. Big brother's is so much better…'
Izuku stared in awe at the flowing energies in her palm.
"Beautiful!" the doctor laughed good-naturedly. "That's quite the perfect quirk to go with that form's look, Izuku. Matches the hair, as I'm sure my daughter would say."
Startled by the sudden sound, Izuku's hold on the flower wavered.
Instantly, the thing twisted and morphed away from her, turning ugly and unnatural as its aura oozed from its form. At the same time, Izuku felt a disturbing pressure from the muscle around her scapula and her tailbone, like something was trying to press its way out from her skin.
Within moments, the terrible thing had spiraled toward the doctor, striking out to eat/corrupt/destroy!
'Aht!' Rias exclaimed, shaking her finger in a 'no-no' type of gesture.
Izuku could feel control over energy that was coursing through her body to form the demented rose get ripped away from her—the pressure on her back dissipating immediately—with the figurative reins shifting so fast into the spirit's hands that it actually made the temporary-redhead dizzy from the change.
The garbled mess of formerly rose-like energy halted just as it made contact with the Doctor's glasses—dissipating an instant later.
Despite that, the man's glasses rapidly fell apart, a red aura spreading across its surface within moments and swiftly incinerating the poor accessory. After only a few seconds, the things had been reduced to ash-marks on the man's face.
"Oh my god—" Izuku exclaimed, only to be cut off by a sharp jab of pain from her head. Wincing and rubbing the spot on the back of her cranium, she forced the rest of her sentence out. "I'm so sorry, sir, I didn't mean to—"
She was cut off again, this time by the doctor's words.
"It's quite alright!" the man chuckled, though the sweat on his brow wasn't doing him any favors in being convincing. "Do you have any idea how many close calls I've had in my career? It comes with the job description, I'm afraid."
Izuku let out a sigh of relief.
Why am I so tired all of a sudden?
'Using my powers for the first time and then being stupid enough to use his title will do that to you,' Rias replied. 'Don't do that last one again. After all, you and I… we're Devils.'
WHAT?!
'Oh, it's time. How do Japanese girls say it again…?' Rias mumbled to herself, ignoring Izuku's mental shout. 'Ah, that's it!'
The exhaustion intensified a bit as familiar tingles spread across Izuku's body.
'Bai-bai!'
There was a flash of red light… and Izuku was back to normal.
"Well, I believe that narrows things down a bit!" the doctor declared with some excitement. "I believe I have an idea as to the basics of your quirk, young man!"
Izuku, busy as he was happily patting himself and making sure that he was truly back to normal, glanced up at the doctor.
"Huh?"
"Your quirk is quite fascinating, really!" the older man started. "Were I younger, I'd probably be begging you to let me study it for a thesis! Alas, I'm in the twilight of my career…"
The doctor stroked his mustache a bit, deep in thought for a moment.
"But enough of that!" he exclaimed. "I believe you have a multi-quirk!"
"A 'multi-quirk?'" Izuku parroted.
"Yes, a multi-quirk," the doctor confirmed. "It's an incredibly rare phenomenon where a person is born with multiple, co-existent, quirks that meld together into something that can only be technically categorized as a singular ability. As an example, I heard from one of my colleagues about a young man who was born with both of his parent's quirks and can use them interchangeably! Fascinating, really."
If only it actually was a quirk… but I can't really say that, can I?
"In your case, I believe your quirk is a transformation quirk at its base, allowing you to turn into another person, but it allows you to utilize the quirks of the people you become!" The doctor rambled with excitement. "Do you happen to recognize the young women you re-create?"
They're clearly based off of Ryoko and Rias...
"Well, I—"
Izuku was forcefully cut off by a cough.
I guess that's on the 'no-discussion' list too.
"No sir, I've never seen them before," he replied, lying only by omission. He'd never actually seen the two girls in person, after all.
"Hmm… It's possible that they're original creations, then, rather than imitations…" the doctor mumbled. A moment later he perked up. "As for what that means for you, I'll unfortunately have to resort to conjecture. It's unlikely you will develop any more 'people' that you can become, as having no limiting mechanic would destabilize your already highly complex quirk."
Izuku nodded as the man continued.
"Legally, I'll have to mark you down as a 'partial-danger.' The quirks you have access to appear to be highly volatile and dangerous, but the transformations themselves are harmless to others. If you prove yourself able to control their powers, you'll be given a 'defence' license that grants you the right to use the dangerous aspects of your quirk in public to protect yourself or those near you in cases of extreme emergency. For anything else, you'll need a Hero license."
"Right, thank you sir," Izuku affirmed.
There's no reason for me to bother practicing, though, so I don't need to worry about that.
"Well, I don't believe there's anything else for us to cover today. That pamphlet I mentioned will be on your left as you return to the waiting room," the doctor explained. "Have a nice day!"
The green-haired boy responded in kind and left the room. Halting only to grab the pamphlet the doctor had mentioned.
He would need to send them a name for his quirk in the next week or so, for record-keeping purposes, but he was otherwise free to do whatever now. To be a normal, quirk-having member of society. Well, as normal as he could be with a 'quirk' like his.
Once he entered the waiting room, his mother perked up and smiled at him.
Izuku returned the gesture, but didn't walk toward the exit immediately. Instead, he walked back to a familiar face. Despite how… awkward…? The boy had been earlier, he seemed like someone Izuku might be able to get along with, and he was depressingly short on friends.
"Who're you?" the orb-haired boy asked, rather bluntly, when Izuku stood in front of him.
"I'm Midoriya Izuku, sorry about earlier," Izuku explained with a smile, oblivious to the implications of the other boy's greeting. "You asked for my number, and I didn't get a chance to give it to you. I'm not too great with people, and don't have any friends, really, so it'd be nice to talk with someone occasionally."
Mineta stared back in confusion when, suddenly, his eyes widened comically as he made the connection.
"Y-you…" he stuttered, pointing at Izuku's now baggy, but still recognizable, clothes. "You're not a…"
Izuku held out a sticky note he'd borrowed from the doctor's office and wrote his phone number on it.
Rias said he was fun, too, so maybe we can actually be friends? Even if he's a bit of a pervert.
"I've got to go now, but maybe we can do something sometime? I've never really had a guy friend I could just hang out with."
"T-the Oppai… The glorious, beautiful, Oppai…" the shorter boy whimpered. He looked like he was mourning the death of his best friend with how tears were streaming down his cheeks.
With a spring in his step, Izuku rejoined his mother and exited the office.
"Who was that boy, sweetie?" she asked.
"I think I may have made a friend!" Izuku declared happily.
Despite how weird it had become, he was starting to think that his life was taking a turn for the better. He had a new, safer, dream that was well within his grasp, a pseudo-quirk—weird as it may be, and even his first friend since he and Bakugo had fallen apart!
Look out world! Life is coming up Izuku!
"I hate everything!" Izuku moaned dramatically.
'Hey! You can't say that!' Ryoko denied. 'I happen to qualify as part of everything! What kind of little sister hates their big sis?'
'A smart one," Izuku snarked under her breath.
It had barely been a few days since the appointment, and Izuku had already activated the watch again. Like the last time, it was a result of her tinkering. Unlike the last time, it happened while she was awake. Though frustrating, it was not without its benefits.
Izuku had finally managed to figure out how to open the activation mechanism without actually transforming when he closed it. Of course, the moment he went to celebrate this fact, he accidentally set it off again.
Am I stupid, or just clumsy…?
'Definitely clumsy,' Ryoko confirmed. 'I wouldn't tolerate a stupid little sister.'
Oh, right, you're here still.
'Hey!' Ryoko griped indignantly. 'How could you possibly forget me?'
Sorry… I'm just frustrated. It's already been a week since I got the watch, and all I know is how to activate it! It's driving me crazy! I'm supposed to be going to the Support Course next year, and I can't even figure out how to open up a watch…
'If you wanted to know about it, you could have just asked,' Ryoko suggested.
I… In my defense, why would I expect you to know anything?
'Because your big sis knows everything! Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha!'
Did… Did you actually just say 'Mua-ha-ha?' You do know that you're supposed to just laugh maniacally, not enunciate each syllable, right?
'O-of course I knew that!' Ryoko exclaimed.
Izuku leaned back in her chair, the spiky blue hair she currently had draping past the top of the backrest. The way she leaned was enough that, normally, it wouldn't offset the balance of the seat, but given the extra height she had currently…
It was clear the moment she lost control of her stability, with her pinwheeling her arms around in a last ditch attempt to halt the fall. Of course, it wasn't enough and she fell anyway, slamming into the—
"Oh, hey mom!" Izuku called, her upper body hanging through the top of the first floor's ceiling.
Inko jumped in her seat, her gaze shooting away from the television—which was running a story about the typhoon that had just hit Singapore and debating the possibility of it approaching Japan—and darting up to Izuku.
"I-Izuku?" she stumbled. "What're you doing?"
"I tripped and fell through the floor, sorry!" she explained, rubbing the back of her wild hair sheepishly.
"R-right. Try not to do that, please? I don't think my heart can take it…" the woman requested.
"Yeah... Again, sorry about this. I don't really know what I'm doing," Izuku stated.
A moment later, she swung herself upward, slipping through the floor like it wasn't there and returning fully to her room.
Well… I think that's a good first question. What exactly is your quirk, Ryoko?
Ryoko's image popped up on his side, and this time he actually paid more attention to her image. Before, he'd been a little too freaked out to notice, but she was dressed rather oddly. She had a green dress on, with a chinese collar, puffy shoulders, and a skirt that opened at the front, tapering into curved points. Atop that, she had a pink vest, with a black sash keeping it all in place. It was elegant, if exotic looking.**
Despite being an illusion, the young woman summoned a tooth pick that was as opaque as she was, picking at the gaps between her incisors and rather pronounced canines.
'I have no idea what you're talking about,' she stated.
"What?!" Izuku gasped out loud.
'What's the big deal?'
Everyone knows what a quirk is! Besides that, pretty much everyone has one, too!
'Nope. Not ringing a bell.' Ryoko declared, shaking her head and leaning back, as if she was sitting in a reclining chair.
I… Well, then how do you do the things you do?! It's impossible to move through walls or make laser swords without a quirk!
'I'm just awesome that way, little sis!'
Izuku simply stared at her blankly.
'Pull the other one, Ryoko, it has bells on it.
'But I just told you how it works, Izu-chan!' Ryoko pouted.
Ryoko, I'm serious! How?! It's important! Either you somehow don't know what a quirk is despite having one, or you're something completely new! Don't you get how big of a deal that is?!
'No, Izu-chan, I—'
Ryoko! This isn't something to joke about! Stop being so imma—
'I was created to do those things!' Ryoko shouted, interrupting Izuku with a glare.
Her face took on an unusually serious tone as she wrapped her arms around herself and looked away.
'I was created to do those things and I… I'd rather not talk about it,' She stated with a shiver. Izuku had never imagined that someone like Ryoko could look… scared.
It was the teen's fault, like usual. She'd pushed too far into something that wasn't her business. It was wrong, seeing the, admittedly somewhat childish, woman like this. Despite how briefly Izuku had known her, she knew that Ryoko was supposed to be smirking at him because she'd 'won' an argument or laughing at something stupid, or—
The point was, it was her fault, and she needed to make it right.
"Don't be scared, Ryoko!" Izuku exclaimed, though she was careful to keep the volume low enough to not disturb her mother. She took a dramatic pose, her one leg on her bed and an arm raised in the air like she had a sword.
With a stupid grin on her face, she declared: "As long as I'm here, no one can get to you!"
'Hehe, really?' Ryoko giggled softly, blinking away the wetness in her eyes. 'I thought you didn't want to be a hero, Izu-chan!'
I don't! ...but I don't need to be one to protect my friends!
Ryoko laughed again at her, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that the frown was off her face and the fear was gone from her eyes.
'...How long are you going to stand like that, Izu-chan?' Ryoko asked, a teasing smile on her transparent face.
Izuku blushed and sat back down.
…
The discussion with Ryoko resulted in a lot of information… sadly, a lot of it was just more questions.
Specifics like where exactly Ryoko came from and why she was in the watch were gone from her memory—like they'd been wiped clean. Though it was clear she wasn't just… a fake person made by the watch.
She still remembered most of her past; like whatever it was that frightened her, but the blank spots were all the more worrying because of their specificity. There were more questions, like where the watch itself came from and how to take it off, but the young woman didn't have any better ideas than Izuku did.
There were some answers, vague as they were.
For instance, Ryoko knew that the watch had hidden features within it, though she had no idea what they were, and she had a basic idea of how the transformations worked. She couldn't explain how she knew, simply that she did, which itself was yet another question Izuku had about the situation.
The way that transformations worked was… frankly unbelievable.
The process was something akin to a spiritual bridge, with Izuku on one side and the spirits on the other. When Izuku activated the watch, one of them stepped onto the bridge—granting him their form and rudimentary access to their powers. From there, depending on how much they trusted each other, they could walk towards the middle to meet, which would increase the effectiveness of the Izuku's transformation and how well he could use its powers.
Walking on the bridge is taxing, however, and the closer to the middle they get, the more taxing it becomes. Once Izuku runs out of stamina to power their connection, then the bridge collapses and the transformation ends.
'Oh! I just remembered something.' Ryoko exclaimed.
Really?!
'Mm!' the blue-haired older woman nodded.
What is it? Did you remember how to—
'The watch has a name,' Ryoko interrupted.
Huh... It does?
'Yup!' Ryoko said with a grin. 'It's called the "Waifutrix," whatever that means.'
...You've got to be kidding me.
'What?' Ryoko asked, befuddled.
That is such a stupid name...
* I'm using Rias' classic design from the DxD anime here. In Rias' form, Izuku looks essentially identical to Rias, the only difference being the freckles that she has in every transformation. Age-wise, they're close enough for it to not affect Izuku's 'Rias form.'
** I'm using Ryoko's original appearance from episode one of 'Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki!' the OVA series as the basis for her design here. Izuku looks like her twin sister when in her form, just aged down a few years and with freckles tossed in.
AN:
So, lots of stuff to cover here, some of which could get into spoiler territory, but I'll do my best to avoid that.
The biggest thing is the Waifutrix itself. People have expressed interest in it's functions and limitations, but I actively want to keep some of that under wraps so as to maintain the mystery of the watch—which is a long-running plot thread I have plans for. Here's what I will explain:
-What is, without doubt, the biggest thing for me to cover is the question of 'how many waifus?'
To be blunt, I'm keeping the number low and already have a mental list of what characters will be used. The reason for this is twofold.
For one, each of the waifus are 'alive' for a certain definition of the term, and will each be proper characters rather than plot mechanics. As such, it's a bad idea for there to be too many of them if I want them to actually have character arcs and influence Izuku in different ways throughout the story.
Secondly, if I introduce too many of them, it's inevitable that their power sets will either make Izuku ludicrously more capable than he currently will be—which is something I'm already going to struggle with balancing—but I will also run into the issue of spirits seeming redundant. Either their defining personality traits or their combat styles will have too much overlap for them to remain fully distinct from each other, and that's something I refuse to allow.
It would be boring... and as an author, that's practically sacrilege to allow in my work.
As for the Waifus on the list, I've picked a several that are very recognizable, Rias being one of them, but I've chosen to go with more niches selections for others in hopes of both exposing people to some of my favorite characters but also because they fit specific roles in Izuku's development quite well.
Who there are, on the other hand… Well, that's a secret!
However, if you have suggestions, feel free to send them to me! While I want to keep the number of spirits low, I'm currently at a number where there's probably enough wiggle room for one or two more. As such, I'm happy to consider whatever you may suggest, though I make no promises that I'll use them.
-On the topic of transformations…
Duration of transformations varies based on how 'in sync' Izuku is with the spirit and how much energy he expends while transformed. To continue my bridge analogy from above with greater detail, the closer to the center of the bridge Izuku and the spirit are, the closer they are to each other's wavelength. This makes Izuku's abilities in their form more powerful proportional to how in sync they are, potentially even exceeding the original's capabilities, but also drastically decreasing the duration of the transformation on the same gradient scale.
This is something that will improve with time and familiarity, like a muscle or a skillset, and Izuku will be able to handle the strain better as he grows as a character.
For now though, Izuku can probably last roughly half a day/night cycle if he avoids absolutely anything strenuous, hence why he transformed overnight in this chapter but was still transformed when he woke up. On the other side of the spectrum, he can currently barely handle using the spirits' abilities a few times without the transformation cutting off.
-As for the idea of Izuku being able to switch between forms on the fly, as well as actually choosing to end a transformation… This is a mechanic I've toyed with and will likely introduce at some point. How and when is undecided, for now.
-When it comes to how the Waifutrix effects Izuku as a person…
His personality doesn't change much, if at all. It's like being partially possessed and having a ghost you can talk to in your head. You're going to act differently than normal, sure, but that's because of circumstance, not because you're suddenly a different person. But, since he is sort of possessed, Izuku does pick up the physical habits of the spirits, including nervous gestures and the like, and sometimes even a bit of their speech patterns.
-Another thing to worry about is sexual orientation and the implications of its presence on the narrative.
To be clear, Izuku maintains his perspective and preferences, even while transformed—though that doesn't mean the girls won't comment if it's in character for them.
Furthermore, on the topic of relationships/romance, I currently don't have any plans to include anything serious in this story. I have a comedic subplot in mind, taking inspiration from Ranma ½ by having someone interested in one of Izuku's transformations without the knowledge of who they're after, but an actual romance is unlikely to occur.
I'm not entirely against it, if I have an idea for something fitting, but I have no such plans right now. Though, again, to be clear, if I do end up involving Izuku in a romance, it will be a straight relationship (as much as that can be in his circumstances, anyway.) Simply because I have no faith in my ability to do a gay relationship justice with my writing.
Sorry if that disappoints you.
-Finally, a minor thing… The freckles!
Basically, whenever Izuku uses the watch, his new form is something of a combination of himself and the spirit. Similar to how Ben from Ben 10 is 'what he would be if he was born with that DNA,' Izuku becomes something like what he would be if he was the waifu. As such, he retains his age and a defining feature to separate him from the original: his freckles!
It's a simple way of keeping him visually distinct and establishing that he isn't just a copy of something better all the time. He's his own person… even when he's not.
AN 2:
Sorry to continue with my ramblings, but I feel this is important enough to include as well. This is a big subject, enough so that I even separated it into its own Author's Note!
So… Hawks!
A great guy and an even more interesting character, am I right? Well, I'm sure Izuku's reaction to his suggestion wasn't quite what you were expecting from the cliff-hanger I ended on last time.
Thing is, it would make no sense for Izuku to hop back on the metaphorical 'Hero' train the second someone tosses out an offer. The only reason he did so in cannon was because he actually had a hero moment and the person who'd killed his dream came back to correct their statement on the same day that he gave it.
Here, it's been a few weeks now since All Might crushed Izuku's dreams. It's set in. He's gone through the states of grief and finally started to find closure in his new path—pursuing the Support Industry—when Hawks jumped in with his words of encouragement. Given Izuku's acceptance of reality, there's no way he's going to expose himself to the potential pain of losing it all again just to chase what is (in his mind) probably false-hope.
Don't worry though, I have plans for Hawks and his offer… and that's all you'll get out of me on that subject!