Chapter 5! A bit of a shorter one, introspective and setup but the next chapter is the sport's festival!
Sorry about the delays everyone, it's been crazy hot here (35C~/95F~) and it's made it really hard to focus on writing. Once I post this chapter I'll have probably gotten the next chapter for a number of my stories done so I'll probably be updating at least half of them in succession. Thanks for being patient and understanding!
User/Reviewer SentinalSlice: Thank you for your review! How OFA would interact with this Izumi is definitely an interesting thought. I can see Float being the first quirk she'd unlock likely because of the similar intent or feeling behind using it and Drift. Considering how I have Izumi maneuver I imagine that Black Whip would come next since the intent of 'grabbing' can be close to 'capturing' too. I'm thinking I'll have Izumi make a trip to the support department soon for some upgrades to her gloves. Also the finger guns pose made me think a little of a JoJo pose and made me laugh.
User/Reviewer Kyrianae Narii: Definitely gonna play around with having more Monoma especially since Izumi is in 1-B. The floating pellet idea is a good one too, they would make for good accelerators so Izumi can build up speed and move in a single initial direction immediately. Kinda makes me imagine the Ripper from Dead Space 2 with how it floats away from the launcher and how it can also be purely shot as a projectile.
User/Reviewer EndlessChains: Thanks as always for your reviews! I'm gonna try and switch up which 1-B students Izumi primarily interacts with since I have a tendency to use the same ones a lot. Of course she'll be on good terms with pretty much all of them but I want to make sure to add variety. All Might is gonna be going through a lot here and there for sure.
To everyone who faved, followed, or reviewed thank you so much!
Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA
Enjoy, more notes at the end!
Chapter 5: Speed Bump
*All Might POV*
Toshinori sat in the staff room quietly thinking to himself. He had arrived quite early to work and he didn't even know why, well he did know, and he wasn't sure what he was going to do. After his phone call with Gran Torino, Midoriya had continued weighing heavily on his mind. It was unlikely that she even knew what had really happened to her great grandaunt and didn't she deserve to? As Gran Torino said, he would be pulling her into the secrets of One For All and All For One but if she knew then couldn't he at least actively watch out for her?
Continuing his quiet debating, Toshinori wondered if he could perhaps speak to the girl, after all the real reason he arrived early was in hopes to do so. He would be assisting class 1-A during rescue training at the USJ today so it wasn't likely that he would find a chance to speak with Midoriya afterwards. The blonde thought back to the battle trials and the image of Midoriya using 'Float' was burned into his mind. He'd checked her file and read up about 'Drift' and while her version was quite unique from Nana's it still clearly proved their connection.
With his usual smile gone, Toshinori stewed in his own thoughts. Should he confront Midoriya? Could he?
-break-
*Itsuka POV*
Sitting at her desk, Itsuka perked an eyebrow at her phone while she read the message. Sighing, the orange haired girl walked over to a window and opened it, the rest of the class giving her a questioning look.
"Yanagi-san?" Itsuka called, looking towards the girl who met her eyes, "Can you float my bag about here?" She asked, holding up her bag slightly away from and just above the center of the opened window.
"Of course, but what could the purpose be for?" The gray haired girl wondered.
"You'll see in a sec." Itsuka stated, standing to the side of the now floating object. The rest of the class continued to stare in confusion until a mop of green came flying through the window. Itsuka stepped around and Izumi stopped her own momentum and dropped into the orange haired girl's arms, "There, caught you."
Izumi giggled happily, "and I got your bag." She stated having grabbed the previously floating object and dropping it onto Itsuka's desk.
Itsuka let her best friend down, "Thanks for your help Yanagi-san." She peered over and the gray haired girl nodded having grasped the situation. "I told you to set an alarm Izumi." The orange haired girl scolded.
"I did but I kinda slept through it," Izumi admitted sheepishly, "Ah by the way sorry about missing you this morning Reiko-san" Izumi added.
"It is in the past Izumi-san, I believe you were exhausted from yesterday's events." Yanagi acknowledged.
Itsuka did her best not to grin, Izumi had mentioned how Yanagi had fallen asleep on her and she'd missed her stop the other day. Itsuka wasn't going to let Izumi just move past this one without a little teasing later. The orange haired girl would have started then and there but their teacher had entered and called for the start of class.
She would poke fun at her best friend later.
-break-
*Izumi POV*
Izumi sat on the couch staring at the screen blankly before she felt something knock against her head.
"What's got you thinking so much?" Itsuka questioned, her knuckles shifting away from the greenette's head.
Izumi scooted over and Itsuka sat beside her, "Still thinking about the whole USJ business." Izumi admitted.
1-A had gone to the USJ for rescue training only to get attacked by a bunch of villains but luckily All Might, Eraserhead, and Thirteen had been there and kept the students safe. Apparently there weren't many injuries but the experience still must have been nerve wracking and Izumi couldn't quite understand how the villains had even gotten in or why they decided to. After school had been called to an end, Itsuka had asked if she could stay over for the night knowing that the taller girl wanted to cover the event.
Izumi felt Itsuka hum beside her, "I don't really understand the whole thing either," Itsuka voiced, likely reading her thoughts.
"I'd ask some of the 1-A students but I don't want to pressure them if they don't want to talk about it." Izumi added on, while she was curious about the villains' intentions she by no means wanted to put the 1-A students through extra stress.
"Yeah, that wouldn't do." Itsuka agreed before she began pondering, "On another note, the sport's festival will come up soon won't it?"
"Yeah, in the next couple weeks I think." The green haired girl confirmed.
Itsuka hooked an arm around the greenette's neck and pulled her into a half headlock, "We better get training then."
Izumi felt a chill run through her, "Er, you don't mean..." She trailed off, dreading what was to come.
Itsuka grinned at her, "Yup, I'll whip your fighting back up into shape as always."
"You mean you'll kick my ass for an hour." Izumi corrected, remembering how their quirkless sparring always went.
"You never actually get hurt," Itsuka reminded her, "Your body is like a damn boulder nowadays."
"Fine, but lets do some quirk training too," Izumi conceded and Itsuka chuckled and released her.
"Of course," her best friend agreed before drawing a devilish grin, "Soooo, what's up with you and 'Reiko-san' hmm?"
The sudden question threw Izumi off for a moment and she had to seriously consider it since she knew what Itsuka was suggesting, "I...don't really know." Izumi admitted, she enjoyed being friends with the girl but was unsure yet if she could say she had a budding crush on Reiko.
"Well it looks like it's time for your best friend to help you out," Itsuka stated proudly and Izumi felt the chill return.
"I swore we talked about this." Izumi sighed, clearly remembering the old memories.
"Talked about what?" The orange haired girl huffed indignantly.
"About how we're both about as smooth as our hair and to never wing woman for each other." Izumi said flatly hoping to jog the girl's memory.
"Oh come on! That was years ago!" Itsuka exclaimed with an awkward laugh.
"Itsy...that was 3 months ago." Izumi facepalmed remembering their equally pitiful attempts to help the other impress another girl.
Itsuka blushed in embarrassment, "Well either way it's in the past! This time for sure!"
Izumi stared at her best friend, "Do your best."
"What do you mean 'Do your best' I'm doing this for you!" Itsuka sputtered, "Don't go looking at me like I've already failed!" The orange haired girl poked at Izumi's side making her squirm with laughter.
Itsuka was going to thrash her during training but it was worth it.
-break-
*Itsuka POV*
Hearing a loud thud, Itsuka peered around the tree she was hitting and saw the prone figure of her best friend nursing her head. Izumi had crashed into a tree for what must have been a dozen times at this point.
Walking over and crouching down she poked the taller girl, "I don't get why you always have to train with extra pressure."
The greenette groaned, swatting at the offending hand, "It forces me to get it right sooner."
The two had found a forest area to train in for a bit and Izumi had decided she would practice using her quirk without pulling with her hands. As always she added the extra stipulation that should she be about to crash she still wouldn't use her hands even to save herself. Izumi had stated that since it was low risk training then it would defeat the purpose if she had a net to fall back on. Itsuka stood up and went back to her own training while Izumi dragged herself up for another run.
It was always a sight to see Izumi use her quirk. The way she kicked things up as she flew by, the speed at which she raced about, even the way she'd position her body made for an incredible display. What Itsuka always made sure to focus on though was Izumi's expression and her eyes. The pure rush of excitement that appeared whenever Izumi was able to utilize her quirk exactly how she wanted, Itsuka knew that Izumi always had a craving for a kick of adrenaline but she had only truly come out her shell a few years ago. It made the orange haired girl happy to see her best friend grow in such a way and Itsuka promised she would stand on equal ground with her. A quick succession of strikes battered the tree she was practicing against and the orange haired girl smiled.
Alongside being her best friend Izumi was also like her rival and Itsuka wouldn't be left in the dust.
-break-
*All Might POV*
Toshinori sat alone at his table, his mind racing endlessly with unwanted thoughts. The attack on the USJ and that Nomu that he had to battle remained fresh in his head especially since that creature had multiple quirks. He didn't want to believe that it was the doing of that man but he also couldn't simply dismiss the idea. A freezing sensation drew over him, if that man was somehow still alive and he saw Midoriya in Nana's costume...
Toshinori had no place to just force her to change her outfit and even if he did then he'd owe her an explanation. Surely the girl must have thought about the risks of using the costume of another hero and indeed many heroes and students would at least pay homage to another with their costumes nowadays but Midoriya must have decided that she could take the weight that would come with the outfit. However, she didn't have any clue just how much weight that would be. What could he do? How could he protect her? If All For One returned and aimed for her and she had no clue why...
If that was the truth of the matter then he would have to consult with Gran Torino. The old hero was at least well acquainted with the girl unlike how Toshinori was a practically a stranger to her. Could he give her One For All? If he gave it to someone else would they look out for her at his request? What was the right answer?
Toshinori clenched his fists tightly, he felt absolutely powerless.
Notes and stuff
First things first is that All Might didn't use up all his time on his way to work and he still hasn't passed on OFA so the USJ got resolved with less injuries. Since Aizawa's quirk blocks the Quirk Factor I'm gonna say that he was able to stop both of the Nomu's quirks and then All Might pummeled it.
Izumi was nearly late to school so All Might didn't get a chance to talk to her either and also now Itsuka is aware of the potential Izumi x Reiko ship. Since Izumi and Itsuka are best friends since childhood I made them a bit dorkier when it's just the two of them.
Izumi doesn't have a set fighting style, she's a bit of a brawler and knows of course how to punch and kick properly but her style revolves around her building up speed with her quirk and slamming into an opponent. On the other hand, Itsuka who is properly trained and has know Izumi forever would definitely be able to beat her in a quirkless fight.
Remember, when I first explained Drift I put in that Izumi didn't have to use her hands to direct herself but it does make things much easier. When Izumi uses her hands it's faster, more powerful, and takes less concentration.
All Might is definitely going through a lot in this one. Between the issues he already had and now his constant and growing worry about Izumi he's going to be having a tough time.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and look forward to more updates from me!