Disclaimer: I don't own Boku no hero Academia

Also, thnx for all the comments and love on the previous chapter!

Chapter 2

Izumi tugs at her hair, staring in the mirror.

It's been growing longer again. It isn't even close to her shoulders yet. Hell, it's barely past her ears, but it isn't the short-short cut she had before.

She doesn't know what she thinks about it yet.

She doesn't want it long. But this isn't long exactly.

And- And some part of her does like it.

It's softer… Prettier. Makes her look a bit more like a girl. Or like she could be a girl— like she looked— What's the word? She knows she's read in on forums before— more androgynous? She's pretty sure that was it.

She frowns at the mirror again.

Asari-sensei had told her to not let what her previous teacher did to her define her, her thoughts and her actions. This includes her appearance. More to the end of their routine sessions, they've had plenty talks about her sudden dislike for pretty, girly and flattering clothes and about her hair, no matter how unwarranted it had seemed to her sometimes.

But it's hard, she realizes quickly. She can't help but feel less confident, uncomfortable when she goes out in something too flattering, or tight, or revealing, or pretty. Reasonably she knows that there isn't some… predator lurking around every corner but-

It's like a whirlwind of thoughts that conflict every time she looks in the mirror.

She's thinking about it at least. Asari-sensei would say that was the first step, wouldn't he?

She sighs, tugs at her tie which looks more than a bit crooked, and then tugs at her skirt too. The guidelines of the school had been pretty strict about the gender-specific uniforms, but she's glad that the school allowed for girls to wear shorts or leggings under them at least. Besides, the uniform wasn't necessarily a flattering cut. That helps too.

She had always been rather plain-looking too.

It isn't her own choice like this. So, she won't feel guilty to Asari-sensei for not trying hard enough.

(She banishes the thought of girls from her previous class who would adjust their uniform just a bit, who would hike it up a bit to look just a bit more flattering and give them longer legs, who would make the blouse fit just a bit tighter around some of the areas, who started to wear make-up, subtly making their lashes long and dark and their lips glisten.)

She looks at her hair one more time, hesitating.

It doesn't matter. She doesn't have time to cut it before class today anyway.

Besides, she's going to Yuuei today for her first day. She has more important things to worry about than what her hair looks like.

Their homeroom teacher is a man.

Izumi swallows.

She'd known already, theoretically. Her mother had already told her about it, and asked her if she was sure she was going to be alright and to tell her if she had a bad feeling and all-

It isn't as though Izumi hadn't had male teachers after Nagai-sensei. Sure, her homeroom teacher had stayed the same woman for the rest of her years in middle school, but there had been others. Ones she had known from before the incident.

(They had mostly avoided her if they could. Been overly polite and distant. Izumi hadn't minded.)

Really, she doesn't know what she expected. The hero-industry was dominated by men. Sure, there were many heroes who were woman, very high-ranking ones too. Miruko, Recovery Girl and Ryukyu to name a few. But if you look at the whole of it, there's still a significant discrepancy between the amount of female and male heroes, especially concerning battle-orientated heroes. Additionally, females often end up becoming sidekick heroes, even if they did become heroes.

Izumi had read plenty of studies about the reasons for the phenomenon, all blaming it on different factors. Some claim the problem stems from the fact that females often have a lower ambition to push for the top, and are easier satisfied with a lesser if more stable jobs. Others argue it's because females are biologically less predisposed to violence. And again other studies, who maintain it's because of the social construct of gender roles which are still leftover from before quirks started to show up in society centuries ago, even though this theory is a controversial stance as other theories argue that the coming of quirks has absolved the previous gender-role as the biological physical power balance between the genders has been upset.

(Izumi personally thinks it's probably a little bit of them all.)

Whatever the reason, there had been a large chance that Izumi would get mainly male-teachers.

Izumi knew this, however subconsciously.

Besides, it isn't that females can't or don't make her uncomfortable either. Just less so, often.

Luckily, having had Aizawa-sensei for two days now, Izumi can already conclude that Aizawa isn't a very gentleman. He seemed rather blunt and well… His appearance wasn't exactly…

It was very different from Nagai-sensei. So, Izumi reasons, this should be doable. Perfectly doable.

She scratches at her nails. They're uneven.

It will be fine, anyway. She just has to get used to it. She had already worked with All Might as a teacher for hours.

(Even though that's maybe not really fair. Because that's All Might.

She's really got All Might as mentor.

She must have done something absolutely amazing in her past life.)

She could do a few more.

She's had plenty teachers.

(All had taken getting used to after her incident. All had been scrutinised. None had been trusted, no matter what the school-counsellor had said, no matter what mom had said, no matter what Asari-sensei said.

It wasn't like she could turn the nervousness or cautiousness off.)

She can totally handle a few new ones.

That's alright. She doesn't have to be close to any of her teachers here.

Just interact with them politely.

Just get used to them. First Aizawa-sensei, then Present Mic, then Cementoss and on.

Step for step, she remembers Asari-sensei say.

It doesn't have to be anything special, just a normal, distant teacher-student relationship.

She can totally do that.

She makes acquaintances, or possibly even friends (!) surprisingly quickly and easily. There are Uraraka and Iida, who she both met before at the entrance exam.

Uraraka had been really nice and bubbly at the Entrance exam, even if afterwards she threw up on Izumi's shoes. Meeting her again, Izumi finds that Uraraka is chatty, cute, a bit blunt, overwhelming and touchy. Her overall happiness and sweetness are just as confronting as comforting. Izumi has never met anyone quite like her before.

(To be honest, the touching is a bit much. No one touches her this much, not even her mom. Not many people touched her anyway, but mom, Asari-sensei and recently sometimes All Might. Well, Kacchan's parents would try to her hug every time they saw her, but Izumi didn't see them often. It's not…

She has to get used to it, can't always stop the tensing, the flinches. Uraraka, luckily, doesn't seem to notice.)

Iida is a surprise. At the Entrance-exam the boy had been loud, scary and casually invasive of her space. When he joins Uraraka in asking her for lunch, Izumi had been surprised and apprehensive but as she learns, Iida is incredibly respectful if not a bit… unaware. He seems very set in his ways but when Izumi asks him awkwardly if he can back away a bit, he does so immediately, without even asking why and with a way too overboard apology, including a bow at exact ninety degrees.

It's a bit embarrassing but weirdly nice at the same time.

He reminds her a bit of Asari-sensei, in the weird way that they were polar-opposites but much the same anyway.

All in all, both Iida and Uraraka are incredibly nice if pretty intimidating and take getting used to. There are others of course in the class, of course. A lot of happy classmates that she's too awkward and shy to talk to still. But that's alright, she can almost hear Asari-sensei say again, just take it step by step.

It's weird to hope like this. It feels a bit like her breath chokes a bit every time Iida and Uraraka wait for her or turn to her or look for an answer or addition to the conversation from her. Every time Iida sweeps in with dramatic hand gestures and every time Uraraka bursts out in giggles, it makes something in her tingly.

(It feels desperate to hope.)

Of course, there's also Kacchan who she somehow ended up with in the same class again, but Izumi is fairly sure that she could deal with that if it means studying at Yuuei.

Better yet, Izumi could possibly deal with the class, Yuuei really as a whole. Just- A normal school, with no whispers following her, no stares, no pity and no teasing. She wonders if this is what school is like for normal people.

Then again, Izumi amends her thoughts, Yuuei isn't exactly a normal school, especially their hero-course. This idea is enforced as Izumi looks at Uraraka, eyes widening as she takes in the hero-costume she's now wearing.

It's cute. Pastel pink with black design, with some sort of large boots of a harder material, a belt and a head-device. It fits the aesthetic of both her personality and quirk very well. It's flashy but not over the top and will probably be a huge hit with the public.

Izumi can't stop the immediate stab of anxiety in her gut at how tight it is though.

She throws a quick look around at all the other girls and can't stop the frown that twitches her brow. Izumi's hero outfit is the loosest of them by far. A jumpsuit, with baggy pants and a tighter top, but still fairly loose, especially if you compare it to Uraraka, which seems the norm. To not even speak of the tall girl- Yaoyorozu Momo, she thinks the name was- and the invisible girl – Haga-something?

She clenches her nails into her arm subtly, counts to ten, then again. (Resists thinking about the girls' skin, which was just so easily touched, thinks about it no meaning anything when someone touches your bare skin, thinks about trusting others to respect your boundaries in such a way that you believe they wouldn't without your permission.) Another ten seconds and then she forces herself to function again. Her nails haven't broken skin, and she rather keep it that way.

To be fair, most heroes wear tight clothes, man or woman. It has a strategic advantage. The less fabric, the lighter the suit and a lesser chance of fabric getting caught on something or by a villain. Besides that, it's a preferred look by the public and often a side-effect of the fabrics used. Most manufactures for hero-costumes probably made the suits tight by habit and because it was plain easier unless it was specified differently.

The only other girl close to her looser style was Jirou. Who looked rather cool, to contrast Izumi in her rather mediocre kinda janitor like jumpsuit in green, with white 'hero costume detailing' in an attempt to pimp it up a bit. She plucked at the tough fabric. Her mother had made for Izumi and she had loved it instantly, especially because her mother seemed so aware of her need to just- have it a bit baggier than was really cute for girls, but now she suddenly wasn't so sure anymore.

She obviously had gone for a less flashy, more conservative choice than the rest of the girls.

Damn it, Izumi, failed Asari-sensei again.

She scowls and puts on her boots. They're red, looking just like her usual ones, but have more heavyweight than she's used to. It feels nice.

At least they're kinda bright. That can count for flashy, right?

''Deku?'' Uraraka's big eyes blinked down at her. It causes Izumi to notice that the pastel pink costume also is equipped with tiny heels.

''O-oh! I'm so sorry! Did y-you say something? I got lost in my head there.'' She laughs awkwardly, ducking her shoulders and trying to stop her hand from awkwardly going to back of her head. She fails.

Uraraka giggles at her, and Izumi hastily looks away, feeling red beginning to spread along her cheeks. Uraraka, who looks admittedly incredibly cute in her own hero-outfit, even with Izumi's reservations. She says so and now Uraraka laughs, turning a bit red and scratching the back of her neck.

''You don't think it's too tight? I didn't mean for it to be like this, but I guess I forgot to write the specifics down…'' She says, looking slightly embarrassed. Izuku frowns.

''Are you uncomfortable?''

Uraraka blinks at her, possibly a bit thrown at her sudden change of tone. ''No, no, it's alright! It's just a bit tighter than I expected. It's no problem!''

Izumi frown at her assurances. ''It's perfectly fine to wear something over it. We can go to All Might or Aizawa-sensei after the lesson and ask them if there's something to be done about it.'' She offers, already looking around if someone has a spare jacket which Uraraka can wear. Izumi spots something else though. Yaoyorozu is moving away and if Izumi can remember her quirk right then-

''Ah, uh, excuse me, Yaoyorozu-san,'' Izumi says, ''I'm sorry to bother but Uraraka-san's costume is a bit tighter than she's comfortable with. Could you possibly make something for her? Ah, i-if that's really your quirk? Can you make fabrics? Maybe I was wrong yesterday…'' She trails off awkwardly, suddenly feeling less sure of herself.

The tall girl blinks down at her for a second and then turns to an already protesting Uraraka.

She waves both of her hands frantically in front of her. ''No, no, no, don't worry about it! It's fine! I- It's just a bit different than I expected.''

''Are you sure?'' Izumi asks, ''I-It's completely fine if you aren't. You really shouldn't feel pressured if you're not comfortable.'' She hopes she isn't being too presumptuous but she doesn't want Uraraka to feel insecure. ''I think it will look just as c-cute if it's looser! E-Especially if you're more comfortable that way!''

Uraraka freezes. Then blinks at her for exactly three seconds before squealing and clinging to her arm. ''Aw, Deku, that's way too sweet of you to say!''

And there's the flush. ''No, no, it's just- you, I mean.'' She stutters, raising her other arm to hide behind it.

There's a soft laugh, and Izumi is harshly reminded there are in fact others in the room, specifically Yaoyorozu who's blinking down at them with a hand before her mouth. Izumi's face is becoming tomato-red. She just knows it.

''Oh, I'm sorry, Momo-san!'' Uraraka pipes up then, and Izumi has no idea how she's already so familiar with her that she gave her a nickname, ''It really is fine. Deku was just worrying too much. Thank you though!''

Yaoyorozu nods. ''If you're sure, Uraraka-san. But if you do want something, you just have to say. I don't mind helping out. It is indeed a weird feeling to suddenly wear something so different.''

Uraraka nods excitedly. ''I know right! You made such a bold choice though! I'm sure you've got it way worse than me.''

''Well, it's the most practical with my quirk,'' Yaoyorozu says as they follow the others outside. And that makes sense. Izumi had seen yesterday how she formed objects from her skin. If she needed larger things, it would make sense she needed more space for it to form, and thus less fabric covering her. Still…

''Oh, right! You can materialise things from your skin with your quirk, right? That's the reason you need a lot of bare skin, right? S-still, you must be brave. I would be c-completely terrified to wear something like that. I probably would've gone for something more traditional, like wearing shorts and a crop-top, or something. Or maybe a long skirt over it, with a slit? Something loose would be easy to sweep away but still cover. A cape?'' Izumi trails off, realising she'd begun to mutter.

Uraraka is smiling at her and nodding, already mostly used to it, but Yaoyorozu looks a bit surprised.

She flushes. ''I-It's really brave of you, that's what I-I meant.''

Yaoyorozu pinks a bit. ''Oh. Well, thank you. I did consider those other options you mentioned too. I actually send several designs in for my costume, because I wasn't sure what would be the best. The manufacturer ended up going for this one. It's a bit adjusted, as it was inspired by a family member. I guess it's flashier, and as such more marketable.''

A family member? Oh, right, Yaoyorozu was a recommended student, wasn't she? She must have family in the hero-business then. Still, Izumi frowns up at the girl. ''Are you comfortable then though? It sounds like you didn't get much say in the end result.''

''Oh, no, I'm fine! It's a bit different than I expected and it's a bit of an adjustment, sure. But the manufacturer has probably a better understanding of costumes, so I'm sure it's for the best. Besides, we're here for three years, I'm sure there will be other adjustments to the costume on the way.'' Yaoyorozu assures.

''Well, if you're sure..'' Uraraka says. ''It is a cool look though!''

Izumi nods and says, ''You both look very hero-y.''

Uraraka giggles and then proceeds to drown her in compliments for her hero-costume in return, causing Izumi to almost chokes on her own tongue. ''I love yours though. It's so practical and badass! I could never pull that off, but I mean you got that whole cool mechanic jumpsuit vibe going on! You look like you could totally mess villains up and- !''

She feels her shoulders rise, just like the red in her face and quickly pulls up her hands to hide behind them. Uraraka is really just a bit much, but really rather sweet.

And if Izumi feels a bit more confident walking around after in her new hero costume, that's no one's business but her own.

Izumi has to fight Kacchan on her first battle-training. Kacchan is wearing even baggier pants than her with a skin-tight shirt. Izumi thinks it looks rather cool, even if Uraraka, who's she so lucky to have been paired with for this lesson, whispers it looks a bit scary.

Of course, Kacchan has been having a fit since yesterday, since she revealed 'her new quirk'. So, it's probably more the ugly frown on his face which has Uraraka intimidated than his costume, but Izumi refrains from commenting.

Predictably enough, Kacchan immediately hunts her down when the timer starts. He screams a lot at Izumi and she has a lot of fun slamming him into floors and slamming her fist into his solar plexus, causing him to double over coughing.

Of course, like always with Kacchan, it can't stay fun.

It isn't really hard to reason why Kacchan's angry, even if she has to omit the actual understanding part. Kacchan is angry because he hadn't known about her quirk. Because somehow, he has the right to know everything about her business, even if they would rather slam each other's noses in than actually talk for longer than ten minutes.

Of course, his stupid obnoxiousness manages to make Izumi angry too, because what does he think happened? That she had hidden her quirk from him for years? Just to mess with him or something? That doesn't even make sense. Though it is just typical enough of him to think in the sense that the world revolves around him.

But really, does he think that she would've let that happen, let her teacher do that to her if she had this quirk?

(Would she have? Would she have been too afraid to do something about it anyway? – She likes to think she wouldn't have been.)

So, she ends up screaming right back.

(Kacchan hesitates as always when she loses her temper and pushes back. Then he grins manically and comes for her again. It only manages to anger her even more.)

She ends up breaking his nose, getting burns all over and breaking her own arm, in several different places, but it's worth seeing the look in his eyes at the end.

.

At the end of the day, she runs after him and hisses at him ''Do you truly think I would've let him do that? That I would've just taken that if I could've done something-!'' because she hadn't been able to let the thought go and it makes her throat close every time she thinks about it.

He backs down a bit, like always happens when that particular part of the past is brought up but at the same time his brows furrow. Then his eyes clear and finally he relaxes a bit.

He doesn't answer her but Izumi is pretty sure it isn't because he wants to spare her feelings.

Ha. Kacchan, as if.

He hadn't thought about it like that. That's strangely comforting. He doesn't think she would let someone do that to her if she had to power to stop them. (He just thinks she's a weak little quirkless nobody, who wouldn't be able to save anyone, not even herself.)

''Your quirk came late, really late.'' He concludes finally.

It's not quite true, but it might as well have been.

''Last summer.'' She snaps back, because this still really wasn't his business, and even though she had brought it up again, he should have let it alone in the first place. Kacchan frowns but Izumi isn't done yet. ''I can't really control it yet, but I'm going to. And then I'm going to become a hero, one of the best. A hero who will save people with a smile.''

All Might interrupts them then, but that's alright.

Izumi has said her piece already.

So, the facts.

One; wasn't really planning on continuing this story. Figured it worked well as a one-shot.

Two: I now have 20.000 words written out already, not including these chapters.

So, yes, there will probably follow more updates, however, they'll be very sporadic.

A warning for you all: this isn't going to be one of those master stories of more than 100K words. This is going to be a (probably) chronical drabble series about Izumi in this universe with possibly a bit of worldbuilding. Everything I won't write about, you can assume happened mostly the same as cannon, or use your imagination or somethin. So, the entry-exam and all. It was just too tiring to write all that out, especially, because most of y'all already know the details.

This chapter is a bit shorter than I usually go for, but I figured, what the hell, I wasn't planning on this mess anyway. And I did not do my normal grammar-check, which is miserable, but at least something, so.. yeah, sorry.

Enjoy?

Kisses!