Chapter 2! Sorry it took so long to update and the chapter is on the shorter end. Next chapters will definitely be in the 3k range at least.

I explained on my other stories but my hands have been hurting which makes it hard to write so all my updates have been slowed a little.

I seriously didn't expect Midair Collide to take off like it did! Thank you all so much for the reception!

To everyone who faved, followed, or reviewed thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA

Enjoy, usual notes at the end!

Chapter 2: 2am Roars

What Izumi was doing was certainly not illegal, nope not illegal at all. It was just, frowned upon. You weren't really supposed to 'publicly' use your quirk but in secluded places that didn't really interfere with people was usually fine among the general populace. Beyond technically illegal quirk use she also certainly wasn't currently hanging out with a group of drifting street racers at 2 in the morning. They were a cool group of college students and she had worked with them to haul off parts and whatnot from Dagobah Beach were she trained at. When Izumi was 14 she eventually asked if she could practice her quirk by chasing them during their practices.

Izumi had learned about her great grandaunt when she was 12 and she started to seriously train to become a hero. However, at 13 Izumi had hit a bit of a plateau with her quirk. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that her pull was almost like a grappling hook that didn't affect what it grabbed. It always dragged Izumi straight towards whatever she grabbed and to maneuver she had to use a combination of adjusting the power of the pulls, changing what she was pulling, and pulling on multiple things at once.

The 'Float' aspect of her quirk was a little weird as well. She wasn't sure how her Aunt Nana's 'Float' worked but Izumi's seemed tuned to work with the pull part of it. Izumi could suspend herself in the air but depending how much power she poured in and where she could be 'fluidly' or 'ridgedly' suspended. It was almost like when you eased on or slammed on the brakes and because of that she was able to maintain momentum so she didn't have to always be dragging herself around. She still had to build up speed with the power of her pull but float, which she had to use to not scrape the ground by putting more power in her feet, didn't interfere with it unless she made it by using float like brakes.

The issue that left her stuck however, was anxiety. Every little detail, everything that could go wrong, what she would be able to do. All the thoughts piled on her and she'd hit a speed bump in both her progress and slowly growing confidence. Eventually when she met the drifting group she had gained a bit of a crazy idea. Instead of simply trying to quell her anxieties she decided to increase them to force herself to crash straight into them. The group had been a bit worried at first but seeing how desperate the girl was they allowed it, although they made sure to provide her with all the protective gear that motorcyclists would wear.

Her first run had been terrible honestly, she was shaking the whole time and the fear threatened to make her quit but on the second run things changed a little. She had messed up one of her regrabs and was going to ram straight into a guard railing on a sharp turn. With the speed Izumi was going at she wouldn't have time to stop with float and her normally chaotic mind blanked. In desperation, her left hand shot out and she used her quirk to grab onto one of the leading cars multiple times in short strong bursts. Her body was bent in half and leaned forward and her back was facing the railing, her gloved right hand skimming it every so often. All the cars were drifting in unison and so was she. At the end of the run the racers had all excitedly recalled the moment and while Izumi was on wobbly legs and her body felt numb she realized that the feeling was exhilarating!

Izumi kept making runs with them, each time feeling that super charged moment and over the course of the year her quirk control and confidence grew. So here she was once again for one last run before she entered U.A. With her usual gear on, actually Izumi added it on the side to her hero costume, she gave a thumbs up to the lead and the group got started. Izumi listened to the roar of the engines and hopped up slightly, easing into her float so her right foot was inches from the ground and her left leg was kept up to help her shift her body. Hearing the others take off she grabbed and pulled onto each one in order and kept close to them.

Twisting and leaning her body had become part of the fun while also allowing her to change where she was facing and make full use of the maneuvering aspect of her quirk. Making a pose like she was sitting against a rail, Izumi drifted into the snaking left turn, she'd done this enough time now that she knew where and what to grab and how strongly to pull so she simply enjoyed the heart pounding turns. She blamed her infatuation with getting as close as possible to the railings on the groups' influences but she had become a bit of a thrill seeking person.

She could of course pull herself higher into the air and basically fly around, so long as she had something to grab onto at at that level, and Izumi made sure to practice aerial maneuvers for when she became a hero but nothing beat this in her opinion. One of her feet nearly scraping the ground, her gloved hand skimming a guard railing, shifting her body to position for the next turn, the wind cutting past her, Izumi absolutely loved it. She was sad that she would be unable to continue doing runs with the drifting group but her dream was to be a hero. That just meant she'd have to enjoy this run even more!

Izumi realized they were coming to the end of the run and briefly thought about her choice to become a hero. She was going to go through a lot of emotional times, the fear and anxiety that she turned into excitement was going to be stronger than ever since other people were going to be on the line too. Would she be able to face that? Grapple those feelings and use them as fuel? Show the people that she could take all her own fear and theirs and turn it on its head? On an insane whim, Izumi removed her helmet, her head heating up even as the cold air slammed against her exposed face. Izumi's heart clenched and her throat tightened, but using her index fingers she pushed the corners of her mouth up and forced a smile. No way she was stopping now!

-break-

Izumi flopped down into her bed, exhausted from her final runs with the auto group. They had all told her to do her best and that she was welcome to join them again anytime. She was glad that U.A didn't start for another week and was looking forward to taking it easy the next few days. Izumi was broken out of her thoughts when her phone started buzzing, turning over she reached for the device and answered it.

"Whaaat? I'm tireeeed..." Izumi whined.

"Is that really the way to answer your best friend who's so caringly checking to make sure you got home safe from your illegal activities?" The voice teased.

"It's 5am thoughhhh..."

"Which means I woke up at 5am to call you."

"Mm I'm fine Itsuka, thanks for calling." Izumi yawned, listening to the orange haired girl's laugh.

"Of course, I just called to check on you but do you wanna hangout this week before school starts?" Itsuka offered and Izumi shifted in her bed.

"Sure, should I go to you or are you coming to me?"

"Can you make the trip? We did hangout in your area last time." Itsuka appealed.

Izumi peered over at her calendar, "Yeah sounds good, lets plan something." She was never one to turn down spending time with her best friend especially since they lived in different areas.

"Cool, I'll text you later or something," the girl confirmed, "Get some sleep Izumi."

"Niiiiight..." Izumi drawled.

"Morning!" Itsuka laughed before they ended the call.

Izumi set her phone down, she was glad that she would be in the same class as her best friend and she thought back to when they had first met. It was pretty simple all things considered, they both had grandparents out in the countryside and had spent a number of summer vacations there when they were younger. The two girls had met by chance when they both went to a candy shop on a particularly hot day for ice cream and then from there on they spent everyday of their summers together.

Still thinking about school, Izumi excitedly remembered that All Might was going to be teaching at U.A! She would have to get his autograph when she met him. She would also have to find time to visit Gran Torino again. Should she wait till she started at U.A or would it be fine to visit before then? Maybe the man would have some tips or advice that he could bestow on her, she would have to think about it.

Looking to her side, Izumi stared at the picture she had of her great grandaunt, Shimura Nana, and she hoped that she would do the woman proud. Izumi may not have ever gotten to meet her or known too much about her but she was Izumi favorite hero of all time, perhaps she could ask Gran Torino to tell her about the woman sometime? It would have to wait because Izumi knew that the old man must have remembered some bad things in regards to Nana if the way he locked up had anything to say about the matter. Izumi wasn't going to pry but it did make her worry about what happened to her Aunt Nana.

The green haired girl blinked slowly, she'd figure everything out later, before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

A few things to unpack here.

I broke down 'Drift' as well as Izumi's personality a little more as well so I hope you enjoyed that.

I'm still on the fence about pairings and where OFA is going. It's been one of the main points that's been stopping my progress on this story. I kinda like the idea of having a Gran Torino and Nana vibe using Izumi and Itsuka but I don't want to bore people by repeatedly using a OFA Itsuka (Even if I personally like it) I at least don't think I'll give it to Izumi cause it would kinda defeat the purpose of creating a maneuverable version of 'Float'. If you all have opinions on it then please feel free to let me know.

Another thing that has been slowing down progress is my need to research. I'm researching drifting to give myself an idea about what Izumi will feel and how she'll utilize her quirk. So a lot of time has been going into familiarizing myself with car drifting. Interviews, terms, etc...

If anyone wants a better idea about what Izumi looks like when using 'Drift'. If you've seen a play through or played Nier: Automata for yourself then imagine A2's dash just without the glowing. If you haven't done either of those then feel free to skim a gameplay video of Nier: Automata A2 Colosseum, it will have plenty examples of her different movements when she dashes.

Anyways I hope you all enjoyed and look forward to more updates from me!