The Bright Hero, Cobalt

A/N: A big thank you to my editors, Penguin Lord0029 and nightwind83!

Chapter Three

The Next Day, At Izuku's House

"I'm glad you've made some good friends, little brother."

Izuku woke with a start, feeling a longing for someone he couldn't remember, for some reason. As he woke further and further, he forgot more and more, and he was now confused at the tears leaking from his eyes.

He didn't have long to think about that, though, before he was bombarded by thoughts and feelings that weren't his. He'd gotten used to that, having this power for ten months now, but this was...different. More prominent. Not just that, however...It was two-way. He could tell that the person he'd connected to was sensing his thoughts and feelings as well, and was also confused and worried.

"Ummm, I'm sorry? I don't know how this happened, Uraraka-san," he attempted to convey to her.

"Well, I was worried about you anyway, so I'm glad you're alright. You passed out right when you touched down from breaking that robot into pieces! Your legs were really messed up, so I'm not surprised you couldn't keep awake. Is this the first time you've woken up since the exam?" she responded, the concern bleeding into the words automatically.

"Well, outside of being more tired than I'm used to being after sleeping as long as I did, I think I'm all right. Do you think we should meet up somewhere and try to figure this out?" the green-haired hero wannabe asked.

He felt the smile through their link. "That sounds like a great idea! Let's meet at your place. Your mom is so nice after...wait, how do I know that?!" as soon as she was finished conveying her thought processes, the dam that had apparently been there for a moment broke. Memories that weren't his, knowledge he'd never come across before, came pouring into his head.

It happened nearly instantly, but it felt like at least an hour of learning things about his new friend, from her point of view.

"Oh no, are you okay?!" Izuku asked through the link. "I just learned so much in half a second, and it freaked me out. Did the same thing happen to you? Do you need me to call an ambulance or anything? You weren't doing anything dangerous when it happened, but-"

"I'm fine! I'm okay. We need to meet up even more now, regardless. I'm pretty sure I came across at least one secret that isn't okay for me to know. Your mom really is nice, though, and I'm living alone in an apartment right now so I can go to U.A., so hanging out with two nice people would be a fun change of pace."

Izuku sent a feeling of affirmation through the link. "I'll tell my mom. She's been worried about my ability to make friends, so she'll probably be really happy that I've got a friend coming over," he responded.

His heart fluttered when he felt her irritation at the idea that people didn't like him, and then it felt like it was being lightly squeezed when he felt her determination to help him out with those sorts of issues. The face he was making at the time was probably really ugly, so it was a relief that there wasn't a mirror nearby. Knowing that the two of them lived close enough that it wouldn't be hard for her to get here, he got up and started getting ready for the day, a flutter of joy in his heart. 'I'm having a friend over!'

He emerged into the kitchen, where his mom had already started on breakfast. "Hey, Mom?" he asked nervously, despite knowing he had nothing to be nervous about in the back of his head. "So, I made a friend at the practical exam, and, well, this is kinda hard to explain, but we kinda...linked? We're in each other's heads, and we can't really get out, so I'd like to have them over. Mind if I help make another portion for them? They kinda got hungry when they realized how good breakfast smelled, and they haven't had any yet, so…"

Inko sighed. "I'm really glad I was right. I knew it didn't make sense that nobody at that old school wanted to be your friend. Is it that girl Recovery Girl told me about, who hung out outside the infirmary until she had to leave to get things done elsewhere?"

Izuku blinked, and asked out loud and over the link simultaneously, "Did you really do that?"

He could feel the embarrassment burning in his chest like it was his own. "Y-yeah. You said a few things before you wrecked that bot that had me worried, so I wanted to stick around and see if things were all right."

"That's really nice of you! I'm really glad this link thing happened with somebody kind, and not somebody untrustworthy, though. I really dodged a bullet there!"

And really, he did. If this link had attached to, say, a villain, it would be devastating. He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of his mother chuckling. "Izuku, sweety, just go out and meet your friend on the way here. You were mumbling what you were saying to her, so I know who it is now, at least. You're a real charmer, though. Not even in high school yet, and you're already bringing a girl over!"

Izuku turned fluorescent red, suddenly feeling his own embarrassment hit him like a truck. "O-okay! I-I'll see you in a bit, Mom!" he stammered.

"Well, that was weird. I managed to get on the train while you were prepping for the day, so I'll just head over to your place, and when we're close, we'll walk back together. I'm glad I was right about your mom, though. She really is sweet," the brunette conveyed, feelings of giddiness pushing through the link.

"Yeah, I'll see you soon. We can probably get some training in if we hang out long enough. I know a pretty good place for that," he responded, and headed out, waving to his mom before he shut the door.

The two focused on making their way to each other, which was made easier by the ability to sense where the other was. It was like getting closer and closer to a comfortable heat after a chilly day. It wasn't exactly like that, obviously, but that's the closest thing either could agree was an accurate analogy. Each of them was a beacon to the other when they focused, and at the moment, neither of them could see that as anything but a good thing.

Then they found themselves on the same street, and Izuku couldn't help but float himself over the morning traffic to be in front of her, smiling like he'd found the secret to world peace. His blue aura flung itself around the two of them, almost spreading out too much before he grasped and reigned it in, making it just an outline around him, not wanting to mess up anybody's ability to think by making them as happy as he was. He could tell some people were a bit irritated by his blatant disregard for quirk laws, but nobody seemed to be upset enough to call him out on it.

"I figured you were one of the good people I saw when I first awakened my quirk, but seeing it in person just feels so much better," he said, noting the tiny orb of sparkling light floating around within her, only visible now that the two of them were close.

Ochako furrowed her brows in thought. "What are you seeing when you look at me?" she asked, curious.

The glowing blue boy smiled. "A floaty light that just makes me happy looking at it. I saw a lot of them when my quirk first manifested. The world is full of good people, and I'm glad I got to see that," he explained, the two of them briefly seeing what he'd seen the day his power awakened.

The brunette gravity manipulator smirked. "Do you know what you look like to me?" she asked, looking forward to seeing his reaction.

Izuku tapped his index fingers together. "I mean, I could probably try to see through your eyes, but I don't want to do something like that without your permission or anything. Just the mind reading portion of this ability is a huge violation of the privacy of everybody around me, and I'm trying really hard to not pry at everything. Focusing on one person's thoughts could probably help, but I would only do that with their permission, so…"

His mumbling was interrupted by a gentle flick on his forehead. "Go ahead and look. I think it'll do you good to see what I see when I look at you," she responded with a gentle smile on her face.

Izuku nodded, and focused, seeing himself through the eyes of another. It was...enlightening, in more ways than one. "Why am I so bright?"

Ochako grinned. "Probably because you're such a nice guy!" she replied as if it should have been obvious. "It's a good thing I'm seeing it without my eyes. It's really weird seeing your body and aura thingy with my eyes, and seeing a supernova with my mind. At least, I think that's how I'm looking at you without going blind? It's really cool, but really weird!"

It was getting really hard to reign in the blue aura. She was wrong, obviously. He was a nice guy, but she was also incredibly nice, so the immense brightness he saw couldn't be due to that, otherwise looking at her would be similar. But it was so nice of her to just say that, like it was no big deal.

The greenette motioned with his hand in the direction back to his house. "Let's jog back. If you keep making me so happy, my quirk's gonna go all over the place, and that's gonna be weird to explain to people."

The two of them started on their way to the Midoriya residence with grins on their faces.

Half An Hour Later, In The Midoriya's Living Room

Ochako let out a satisfied noise. "Thank you so much for breakfast, Inko-san!" she exclaimed, having thoroughly enjoyed both the breakfast and the company that came with it.

Inko smiled. "Call me Inko-san! I'm really happy you enjoyed it. If you're ever feeling lonely in that apartment, feel free to come on over, all right? We'll have to exchange numbers before you go home today!" she responded, incredibly happy with the situation. Her son had made a nice friend, and she was such a nice kid, so Inko was very happy with the idea of her coming back soon. It didn't completely remove her bitter thoughts about how the students at Alderaan Middle School treated her baby boy, but this was a good start.

She was startled, though, when the mood dropped a bit, courtesy of Izuku's ability. "I-I'm sorry, I guess I had some dark thoughts for a second there."

"No, Inko-san. You're fine. I'm also bitter about that, even though I've just met him," she replied, then decided to try to think of something that would lift the mood. "So, Midoriya-kun, you do hero analysis, right? Aside from what you found out through the link, what all did you determine about my quirk?"

Izuku furrowed his eyebrows, concentrating to determine what information came before the link connected them so that he could give an honest answer. "Your quirk appears to affect the gravity of an object you touch with all five of your fingertips, and gives you a bit of telekinetic power over the object as well. Normally, I'd think it was just telekinetic control, but I remember the feeling my body had when you caught me with your quirk when we first met. I was either weightless, or close enough to being weightless that I couldn't perceive that I wasn't. You have a weight limit, after which point you need to release your hold on what you're influencing, or a time limit, after which point there would presumably be a cooldown…"

The brunette guest laughed with such joy, it got Izuku glowing blue again. "Wow, you're really observant! You got so much right in such a short amount of time! I'm shocked! But, no, I don't have any telekinetic power over what I use my quirk on. I just turn off the gravity of anything I touch with all five fingertips, and when I put my fingertips together, I return gravity to those things," she explained, then was about to continue on until she saw the startled look on Izuku's face.

It took only half a second for her to have his thoughts echoing through her own head. His anger at whoever diagnosed her quirk, his horror at putting the math together to find out what would happen if her quirk was only what she'd thought it was. His concern at what using it could do to her hand in such a scenario, and what it would have done to him the day before when she had used it on him.

Inko smiled fondly. "I think we've just learned something new about your quirk, Izuku. You're both glowing green right now, you know?" she informed the two teenagers. Sure enough, when the two of them checked, they were glowing green.

The gravity girl turned over to her new friend. "So, Midoriya-kun, blue comes from being happy. What makes green?" she asked with a bit of wonder in her eyes. The boy blushed bright red, not sure how to answer without embarrassing them both.

Thankfully, Inko was perfectly fine with teasing her son and his new friend. "It means he wants to keep you safe. The green power comes from a desire to protect somebody or something precious. He can make shields with it, and while those shields can be moved with enough force, we haven't found anything that can break them. He must feel really attached to you for both of you to be glowing like that!" she explained with a smile.

Izuku screamed internally, incredibly embarrassed. Ochako could now state with certainty that internal screaming actually sounded like screaming. She got second-hand whiplash when he turned to complain. "Mom, she's gonna be a hero! She doesn't need me to protect her like some fragile princess! Heck, she could probably throw me into orbit with her quirk if she actually wanted to! I don't think you appreciate how overpowered she's gonna be with proper training! Come to think of it, she's overpowered right now without training!" the green bean exclaimed, protesting the idea that his new friend needed protection like some kind of flower.

Inko smiled. "I know, Izuku, and I know you're smart enough to know that as well, but it doesn't change the fact that you care enough about her for that green power to show up when you're worried about something she said," she responded. The two teenagers blushed, knowing what this implied, but having their own separate issues coming to terms with it.

Clearing his throat, Izuku decided to get down to business. "Well, Mom, I think we should come clean...We've kinda had access to more than just each other's thoughts. We've seen a lot of each other's memories, and I need you to call All Might to get the situation properly explained," the greenette elaborated, poking his index fingers together in nervousness, then mumbled, "They're still flashing through our heads as we speak. It's kinda embarrassing."

Inko looked afraid for an instant, before schooling her features. "O-okay. I'll give him a call. I get the feeling he'll be busy, but all things considered, the subject matter will probably convince him to make some time to visit. On that note, would you mind if I spoke to Uraraka-san alone for a moment?" she requested, a bit of nervousness in her tone.

Izuku looked at her with a bit of confusion. "I mean, I can't exactly get out of her head. I don't know how alone either her or I can even be while this is going on," he explained, a bit concerned with how worried his mother seemed, along with a bit of...blurriness that was appearing in his quirk's ability to perceive things.

Inko sighed. "Please humor me, Izuku. I need to ask her something, and I don't know if I can bring myself to if you're in the room physically. I'm okay if you hear what I ask, but I don't think I could handle seeing the look on your face if what I say hurts you," she replied, sadness in her eyes.

The broccoli-haired hero frowned, a bit concerned, but decided to respect his mother's wishes, and went into his bedroom to work on one of his notebooks.

As soon as the two women heard the door click shut, Inko sagged in her seat. "I'm sorry to pressure you like this, but is there anything unusual about his early childhood that you've seen? Things that are extraordinarily abnormal? I have to know, because of certain things that went into how he was born. Could you please be honest with me?" the short mother asked the hero-in-training seated across from her.

Ochako had to think about it, if she was honest. It came to her after a moment or so. "I guess that his early childhood memories are incredibly clear? I can't remember my life from that early on for the life of me, but I can see memories from when you first held him, from what I can tell, after he'd been born. He's already somewhat confused that I don't remember that from when I was born, but, well, he's trying to stay out of the conversation so all I really know is that he's confused and his confusion is about that," she explained, a bit worried about the woman seated before her.

It was a testament to Izuku's restraint of his abilities that Ochako only knew the woman across from her was feeling guilty about something from the look of regret on her face. "I...Thank you, Ochako-san. And Izuku, I know you're paying attention. You care too much about me not to. I'm sorry I made you nervous, but...there are things from back then you probably aren't remembering correctly. I want to tell you so badly sometimes, but I'm scared that it would break you, so please try to keep from prying about it until you're a bit older, all right?" she explained. Not even a second later, she was glowing green, and the older woman could have sworn her son was hugging her from the other room, a small smile appearing on her face.

Izuku emerged from his bedroom, having been given the go ahead from his mom through his empathic abilities. "Well, the two of us are gonna brainstorm ways to separate our minds for a bit, but regardless of our success or lack thereof, I think we should get some training done in a few hours. Are you going to be alright if I leave for a while, Mom?" he asked.

Inko nodded. "I'll be alright. Toshinori-san should be here soon enough after I call him. I'll be in my room if you need anything," she replied, smiling despite the seriousness of what had just been discussed. "I'm so happy my son has brought home such a nice friend! Thank you so much for seeing my little boy for the amazing person he is. Now if only he could perceive himself in a more positive light!"

With a bit of a chuckle, she made her way to her bedroom, down the hall from Izuku's. While she was telling the truth about calling All Might, she was going to make another call first. Pulling her flip phone out of her pocket, she dialed the number of somebody who had helped her with Izuku a great deal more than she'd like to admit. "Hello, Doctor Chiyo? I'm incredibly sorry for calling at this early hour...No, he's fine. He's made a lovely friend, and the two of them are hanging out in the family room...Yes, it's the young lady who stuck around outside your office yesterday, but may I make a request? I...I'm probably going to be speaking with All Might soon, and I want to come clean about how Izuku was born, but I'm afraid of telling him myself. If you could tell him in my stead…? Yes, I know I don't need to let him know, but I want him to know. He's become very dear to Izuku in the last few months, and if something ever happens to me, I want him to know so he can be ready to help, even if it's just with emotional things...Thank you. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful day, Chiyo-san." Inko hung up, glad she could rely on Recovery Girl as much as she has all these years. Her next call would probably go to voicemail, but she was confident it would be heard soon. Her new friend was the kind of person who couldn't leave somebody who was hurting alone.

Hours Later, With Izuku And Ochako

The two young champions of peace had thought long and hard about this link they now had. They had come to several conclusions about their ability to remove it. One was that it might be possible, and two was that the only methods they could think of were unacceptable to either teen. They had no desire to try to force their friendship to end, and either of them knocking the other out for the sake of removing it felt incredibly unappealing as well, since there was no guarantee they wouldn't injure each other. For obvious reasons, death was also unacceptable, though it was the most likely way to solve the issue, if it could even be called an issue at this point. The two had decided calling it a link was too formal, and a method to make it feel clinical, so they instead decided it was a bond. It was practical evidence of their friendship, and while it wasn't tangible most of the time, having a friend in the back of the other's mind was becoming less and less of a big deal to them. They were capable of not sensing what the other was sensing at any given time, and they decided immediately that if either of them were to access the senses of the other, they'd get their consent first, to prevent any embarrassing mishaps, like seeing private things from their homes or other parts of their lives. The two had turned fluorescent red the few times the thought of seeing the other in the buff passed through their minds, and both were relieved to find that their new friend abhorred the idea of violating such a privacy as much as they did, despite each finding the other to be attractive.

Now, instead of trying to separate one another from their minds, they were going over costume ideas, with Inko putting in her two yen every once in a while. Then something Ochako hadn't thought of had been brought to her attention. "You've informed the people making it that you don't want it skintight, right?" Izuku asked, suddenly remembering a bit of hero trivia that he kinda wished didn't exist.

Ochako gave him a funny look. "No. Why? Should I have?" she asked, concerned.

Izuku groaned. "Many hero support engineers will make their clients' hero costumes skintight if the client doesn't tell them otherwise. You should probably have a skintight unitard beneath the main costume, for helping with your nausea, but I think over that, you should have some sort of impact-resistant armor, maybe looking a bit like Thirteen's, but easier to move around in. You're going to be doing a lot of floating around, and since we're all still learning, you'll probably also be doing a lot of falling, regardless of your quirk's abilities. It would be practical, and simultaneously it would show a bit more of the kind of person you are, what with Thirteen being your favorite hero. I suggest sticking with the helmet idea you have now, though, because I like the idea of being able to see your face through it, and I'm sure your future rescuees would be relieved to see it, too," he explained.

Ochako smiled. "That's sweet, Midoriya-kun. You're right, though. Being able to see my face would probably help a bit with making a victim feel safer. Your outfit idea is pretty neat, too, all things considered. I'm impressed you and your mom were able to come up with this on such short notice, too! You haven't even had your quirk for a year, and you've already thought up a way to adjust your costume accordingly. I really like the surprise feature you thought up, too! We might even be able to use it for combo attacks, now that I think about it! I do have one thought, though…" she replied, then grabbed one of Izuku's nearby Hero Analysis Books, and flipped to the page she knew was there despite having never touched the book in her life, "Your original costume idea is really nice, and your mom has gotten a lot of it done already, if you're remembering right. Maybe have it beneath the armor, so you can have something full of love close to you while you're on the job? I bet it would help with your powers, and I'm not gonna lie, I really wanna see what it looks like fer real!"

Izuku and Inko chuckled, liking that the brunette would revert back to her original accent when she was excited enough. It really felt nice that she seemed comfortable enough around the two of them to do that, and it made it easier for them to feel comfortable as well. They continued their pleasant conversation for a few more minutes before the doorbell rang. The younger of the two greenettes looked up for a moment, then said, "All Might's here, Mom. I'm going to get the door. You're gonna need any help in the kitchen?"

Inko smiled softly. "No, I'll be fine. Green tea isn't that hard to make. Weird coincidence that we all like it, but it makes preparing refreshments easier in this case," she responded, getting up to go to the kitchen, then calling back, "Ochako-san, you should probably greet him as well. I'm sure he'll be happier seeing two promising young heroes than one when he's let in."

The two made their way to the door, and opened it, All Might in his skinny form on the other side. Ochako knew about his condition, due to the shared memories, but she couldn't help but gasp lightly seeing it in person. The man was gaunt, and appeared to be under some stress, though it was a relief to find that Izuku also seemed surprised by how stressed he was, implying that he was typically in a better mood than this.

"Yagi-san, please come in," Izuku said kindly, letting the emaciated man into his home. After he'd gotten his outdoor shoes off, and put on his slippers, Izuku spoke with a bit less reservation. "All Might, is everything alright? You feel really sad right now, and I'm a bit worried. This didn't feel like something you'd be as upset at as you are about it."

The mightiest of heroes shook his head, a small smile appearing on his face. "No, young Midoriya. I've just learned something distressing recently, but it's not something you have to worry about. I'm happy to see you, young man," he replied, his sincerity coming through Izuku's empathy, along with a feeling of protectiveness and determination, then turned to Ochako and added, "You must be young Uraraka! It's very nice to meet such a promising future hero so early on in their career. I heard what you two pulled off in the exam through the grapevine, and I have to say, I'm really looking forward to seeing where the two of you will be in a few years!"

Izuku frowned in confusion. "I didn't think you'd be as stressed as you were a second ago, but this amount of levity is also surprising. Are you sure you're okay with her knowing as much as she does? I know we can trust her, but it seems weird that you're so sure of that as well," Izuku confessed, letting his two yen be heard.

Toshinori rolled his eyes. "Anybody who's seen what happened at the exam knows the two of you can be trusted to watch each other's backs. And I'm not long for retirement anyways. Give it a few months or years, and my quirk will be entirely passed on to you. It will be more your secret than mine soon regardless, and take it from me, having some close friends you can trust with it is nothing to take for granted. Now let's get over to the kitchen. I smell your mother's tea, and I could use some right about now," the number one hero explained, the three of them heading to the kitchen with a comfortable silence between them.

Once seated, the four of them took a few sips of their drink, enjoying the taste. Toshinori and Inko both had silly thoughts about the younger pair's names and the play on words that could be used with the drink they were all enjoying, but decided to try to keep those thoughts to themselves, knowing that the empath in the room was getting good at keeping from reading the conscious thoughts of those around him, and would probably sense their amusement and nothing more.

Once they were satisfied with what they'd had thus far and set their mugs down, Toshinori cleared his throat. "Well, I think we should get down to what little of the matter actually needs discussing. Young Uraraka here has learned things we'd wanted to keep to ourselves, and honestly, I'm okay with it. Young Midoriya also seems to be fine, so there's just one more piece of business, then I think we can just enjoy the rest of our tea and then get a bit of training in," All Might spoke, and nobody had any objections, so he decided to continue.

"Young Midoriya, I'm sorry to say this, but I've had time to think about it, and I must disagree with what you spoke of last time we were at Dagobah Beach. I understand that you wish to protect your mother from the secret of my quirk, but no matter how I look at it, I can't help but feel like it's a mistake. I did the same thing with my parents, and as far as I know, they had no idea what became of me when I vanished one day. It eats me up inside, knowing that they probably grieved at my sudden disappearance. I know it's not the same situation here, but she is your mother, and if you can't trust her, who can you trust?"

Inko looked between the two of them, a worried expression on her face as she brought her hands up in a placating gesture. "Now, now, you two. I don't know what you're talking about, but there's really no reason that I need to know about Yagi-san's quirk," she said, trying to reduce the bit of tension in the air.

Izuku looked into his tea, a look of guilt reflecting back at him. "You're wrong, Mom. There is a reason. I was wrong, too. It would be horrible of me to keep this from you, because it's not going to be his quirk for much longer," he confessed softly, then turned to his mother and explained, "All Might's quirk is one that gets passed from user to user. He...he chose me to inherit it, and I accepted. I'm the ninth holder of One for All."

Inko shut her eyes, a bit of stress showing on her face, then took a few deep breaths and responded. "Y-you're right. Thank you for telling me. I'm...I'm glad my son means that much to you, Yagi-san. I doubt it's something you decided to give him without any sort of thought. Thank you for insisting on telling me, though. Izuku probably would have tried to keep it a secret forever if you hadn't convinced him otherwise. He cares so much about me, and it sometimes ends up hurting us both, though I guess the secrets I keep from him might do the same someday…" she responded, then took another sip of her tea.

The only blond in the room nodded. "Your son is an inspiring young man, Midoriya-san. He'll definitely surpass me someday. There's more I need to tell you all, but that was way too much stress for me just now, so I'll have to suggest we talk more on the subject later in the week. Let's just finish our tea, and then the four of us can go out, and get these two youngsters trained up a bit," he said, finishing with a smile.

Izuku, Ochako, and Inko all smiled back, very much okay with the idea of getting some exercise in, and went back to their tea.