An: Alrighty! Another chapter! I'm honestly a little surprised at the amount of positive attention this fic has been getting - thank you all so much for reading and letting me know your thoughts! I really appreciate it. It certainly pushes me to keep on investing time into it.

I would also like to take a moment to thank KyrosVasera for beta-ing this chapter. I really appreciate it!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the intellectual property referenced in this fan-written story.

Without further ado...

Chapter 3

"Oh shi-"

CRASH

Izuku groaned from the impact. Did he really just stand there and let that falling girl land on him? He was supposed to catch her! Not just watch her fall on him.

Wait. Girl. Fall. Land. Him?

He opened his eyes to see a girl staring back at him with curious royal blue eyes.

"Hi!" She chirped at him.

Izuku felt his face start to burn as if someone set it on fire.

'G-g-g-girl' he thought in shock.

A girl was talking to him!

"H-hi?" He whispered back causing her to smile brightly. The green-haired teen couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu wash over him. Had they met before?

She had really pretty eyes, he couldn't help but notice.

"Is your hair naturally green? Why are you so red? Do you eat a lot of tomatoes? Do you have a tomato quirk?" He blinked as she started to chatter off.

Izuku's eyebrows shot up as he started to feel someone running their hands through his hair.

"How did you get her hair so fluffy! It's so soft! What type of shampoo do you use?" Izuku suddenly recalled that she was laying on top of him.

His entire body started to radiate, if someone saw him at night they might've thought he had a glowing quirk of some kind.

"Wow you're really warm! Do you have some kind of fire quirk? Is that why you're red?"

"U-Uhm. I-I" he stumbled, "You f-fell" he managed to get out.

"Yep! And you caught me! Thanks for that!" She beamed at him again before furrowing her eyebrows in concern. "oh wait! Are you hurt?" She asked in worry before immediately getting off of him.

"I'm so sorry! You didn't break anything when I fell on you did you?" She started to pat him up and down to check for injuries.

'AIIIEEEE' Izuku internally shrieked.

With a massive blush on his face, Izuku quickly sat up, "N-no I-I'm okay. I t-think" he said as he finally got a good look at her.

She had cyan blue hair that seemed to go all the way to her knees. She seemed a little shorter than he was, but he couldn't really tell as she was kneeling next to him. She was wearing a deep blue spandex suit of some kind with white lines running across it. He couldn't shake the feeling that he saw her somewhere before...

The girl sighed in relief "Oh thank goodness! Sorry about falling on you! I finally figured out how to use my quirk to fly and I got really excited and then flew away from class and then I accidentally flew into a bird and it got mad and started to peck at me and I lost control and then I fell straight down right on top of you!" She spoke a mile a minute.

'Class? Quirk?' he thought.

"Wait are you training to be a hero!" He asked in awe.

"Yeah! I'm a student a U.A.!" She exclaimed.

"U.A!? The top hero school!? That's amazing!" He looked at her with stars in his eyes.

"Yup! I'm a second-year!" she grinned with pride "I'm gonna be one of the best heroes once I graduate!"

"So cool!" Izuku exclaimed causing her to giggle. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he pulled out a pen and notebook.

"What's it like to go to U.A.? Is it true you have Pros as your teachers? What type of hero stuff do you learn there? What exactly is your quirk? How does it make you fly?" Izuku bombarded her.

Nejire blinked in surprise before a wide smile etched itself across her face 'This must be what it feels like when I bug people with questions.'

"Are you a hero fanboy or something?" She asked teasingly.

Izuku couldn't help but feel bashful "U-uh y-yeah. I've loved heroes since I was a kid and wanted to be just like one."

She giggled again "Are you also enrolled in a hero school then? Which one? What kind of quirk do you have?"

Izuku grimaced "Oh...I'm still in Junior High. I really want to go to U.A. but...I-I don't have a quirk." He paused.

Remembering the feeling of vertigo and time slowing down around him from earlier, Izuku looked at his hand, perplexed, 'or do I…?'

The girl looked shocked 'In Junior High!? But he's almost as tall as Mirio! He looks like he'd be my year or older!' she then recalled his last sentence before frowning slightly.

"O-oh. I didn't know…" the cyan haired girl trailed off awkwardly before shaking her head.

"But that doesn't mean you can't be a hero, right?" Izuku's head snapped up in shock.

"H-huh?" He stared up at her in confusion.

"I-I mean...you just saved me, right! If you hadn't caught me my face would have gotten splat" she waved her arms around in the air, "that makes you my hero!"

Izuku looked at her in shock before a small smile spread on his lips "Y-yeah. I guess so…" he didn't so much as catch as her as he did break her fall though...

Smiling a megawatt smile at him, the girl stuck her hand out, "My name's Nejire! Nejire Hado!"

Izuku reached out and shook her hand "Izuku Midoriya!" He grinned back, her positivity was really infectious.

"We should probably get up before people think we're crazy! Are you really in middle school?! You look way too tall for that to be true!" She exclaimed as she stood up and dusted herself off.

Izuku scratched the back of his head "I had a growth spurt recently, I'm in my last year though" he admitted as he also got up. Turns out he was taller than her by a few inches.

"Oh! You should apply to U.A. then!" She jumped up in excitement.

'Apply...to U.A….I mean that's what I wanted to do before I met All Might but…' he thought internally.

That makes you my hero!

Izuku couldn't help but recall her earlier words, a small smile playing at his lips again "Y-yeah, maybe!"

'I also need to figure out that time slowing down feeling. Maybe I'm not as quirkless as I thought, but I'll have to check somehow to be sure. Was it some kind of mutation? I mean my pinky toe can't suddenly lose a joint so that should mean I'm still quirkless, right? Unless science is wrong and having a quirk has nothing to do with your toes. Either than or it's not a perfect relationshi-'

"Hey! You okay? Watcha mumbling about?" Nejire had been watching the green-haired boy for the last few seconds. She had only told him he should apply to U.A. when he started to zone out and began to mutter to himself about something. She thought it was kinda weird but couldn't help but admit he did look pretty cute with the way he was so focused.

"Hu-huh? Oh!" Izuku panicked. He had been talking aloud?! "N-nothing. Um. Thanks for the suggestion. I-I'll have to think about it" he waved his hands around nervously as he recomposed himself, causing her to giggle again.

"A-anyways, Hado-san! I forgot to ask! Are you okay? You fell from pretty high...You're not hurt are you?!" he asked in worry.

Nejire blushed slightly at his concern "Y-yeah! I'm completely fine! Not a scratch on me." Izuku sighed in relief.

Nejire was surprised that she wasn't hurt herself though. She had gotten a little carried away when she finally was able to stay in the air longer than she had ever been able to before. She had been practicing all summer and her labor finally bore fruit. And so, to the dismay of her teachers and classmates, she had flown right out of the field they were training in excitement to test her abilities. She was so happy at her achievement she had flown pretty high up without even realizing it until she lost control.

By all logic and reason, she should have been a bloody mess on the ground with Izuku heavily injured. Just when she thought she was going to meet her end, she felt the oddest sensation. It was like she was falling down a straw and just before she reached the end, someone was sucking her back up "the straw" before letting her fall.

That might have been a weird way to describe it, but Nejire couldn't really think of a better way to describe what she felt. In any event, she was fine, aside from a few scratches. She wasn't going to complain about a miracle like that.

BZZT

Just then, Nejire heard her phone vibrating from her pocket. Smiling apologetically at Izuku, she picked it up.

"Nejire! I've been trying to reach you for ages! That was incredible with how you flew around like that! It was super POWER!" Izuku could hear excited chatter from Nejire's phone. He was just about to ask if Nejire was sure she wasn't hurt when the girl had picked up her phone. The poor boy awkwardly stood around, not sure what to do with himself.

"Mirio! Yeah! Sorry I flew away. I just got so excited!" the girl replied happily, jumped up a few feet before hovering back down slowly. Izuku's eyes widened in awe as he started to write in his notebook quickly.

"Aizawa-sensei is really mad though...he might give you detention" Nejire heard another voice from her phone.

"Aw don't worry about it Tamaki! Sensei is a softy! I bet he's really proud of you Nejire! He'll probably be super grumpy when you get back though…" the previous voice exuberantly exclaimed.

"He's muttering about problem children who break the law...you should get back soon Nejire" Tamaki whispered across the line.

Nejire internally sweated, Aizawa was going to kill her, "U-uh y-yeah. I'll c-come back s-soon. I fell, but I'm okay! I'll get back as soon as possible!" she assured her friends before hanging up.

"Sorry about that! They must have been worried when I flew off…" Nejire sheepishly smiled.

"No worries! I know what that's like. My mom has been going crazy about where I've been ever since I went missing last week" Izuku waved her off. He had been theorizing about what kind of quirk she might've had while she was on the phone.

Nejire blinked in surprise "You went missing?! How? Where'd you go? Are you still missing?" she gasped "You're not running away from home are you?"

Blinking in surprise, the green-haired teen shook his head. "Long story" he replied.

Izuku nervously smiled before hesitantly continuing, "U-uh. A-actually...I was wondering...I-I like analyzing quirks. I th-think they're really cool! I know you probably have to go back to U.A. and all...but do you think you can tell me a-about your q-quirk someday? I-It looks really in-interesting." he asked nervously.

Nejire stared at him for a few seconds causing the green-haired teen to sweat internally 'Was that too weird?! Did I just creep her out?'

"Sure!" she beamed at him happily, causing him to sigh in relief.

'Oh thank god, she wasn't creeped out' he thought. Nejire suddenly stepped up to him and put her hand out expectantly.

"H-huh?"

"Your notebook! I need to give you my number right? How else are you going to call me?" she winked at him.

"O-oh!" his face erupted in a blush before holding out the book.

Taking the notebook from him she glanced at the page he was writing in earlier. A small blush appeared on her face as she looked at the image of her face he had started to draw 'he's really good at sketching…' she thought before quickly writing her number on the page. She then handed him his notebook back.

"Th-thanks!" Izuku stuttered, still blushing.

Nejire smiled at him "Make sure to call me okay! I'm so curious about how you went missing!" she exclaimed.

"U-uh yeah!" he sweatdropped, honestly he didn't even really know what happened to him.

"I should get back before my sensei decides to expel me! It was nice meeting you! Thanks again for saving me!" she waved to him before running off.

'I probably shouldn't risk another fall today' she thought.

"B-bye" Izuku watched as she turned a corner before something hit him.

HE HAD TALKED TO A GIRL

A REALLY PRETTY GIRL

He looked down at his notebook.

AND SHE HAD GIVEN HIM HER NUMBER.

BZZT BZZT

"Huh?" he was pulled out of his shock as his phone rang. Picking it up, he winced when he heard his mother's panicked voice rang out.

"Izuku?! Honey? Are you home? You didn't call me!?" his mother frantically shouted from the other side of the line.

'Oh shoot, it's getting a little late, how long was I talking to that girl?!' he thought.

"Izuku?!" he heard his mother say worryingly.

Smiling in exasperation at his mother's concerns, Izuku reassured his mother that he was fine before hanging up.

Turning back towards the direction of his apartment building, the teen frowned as he stared at his right hand again, slowly gripping it into a fist.

'More importantly...what was happening to me today? It happened when I was trying to save that girl...but I swear it also happened when Kaachan pushed me down earlier' he thought contemplatively as he started to walk back home.

'There was no way I was imagining it right?' he thought. 'Hado-san was too far for me to have run to in time to break her fall if time didn't actually slow down, right?'

He felt a small glimmer in hope arise in his chest. Did he really have a quirk then? What exactly was it? Slowing time?

'No' he thought. 'If it was just slowing down time, then I probably wouldn't have been able to move much at all.'

He felt a lightbulb go off in his head 'A speed quirk then? Was I going so fast that everything seemed to slow down?'

It seemed plausible. Super-speed would explain how he could still move freely during the episodes of slow-motion he had experienced so far.

Izuku took a deep breath before he looked around him.

Spotting an alley a block ahead of him, the teen quickly made his way near it and poked his head in.

'Clear' he thought in relief.

Taking a step in, he readied himself.

'Quirks are technically illegal to use in public unless you have a license of some kind' he thought.

'But if I do have a speed quirk, then the only way to test it is outside. I don't have access to a training facility. And I need to know if it's true' he thought as he got into a runner's stance.

'Of course. If I don't have a quirk, then it's not like I'd be break the law anyways' he tensed, 'So it won't hurt to try!'

And with that, Izuku set off into a run.

"AArrrrrhhhhhhh" he yelled as he ran as fast as he could.

'Come on come on. Activate!' he thought as he ran down the alley.

'I know I wasn't imagining it! Something happened to me last week. Something that activated a quirk in me! I just have to figure it out. I know I have a quirk! I KNOW IT' he yelled in his thoughts.

Like a wave, Izuku felt a surge of energy wash over him as everything around him started to slow down.

"AHHHRHHHH!" He shouted as he zoomed through the alley. Bystanders tightly held onto their loose articles of clothing as a green blur suddenly sped past them, leaving a gust of wind in its wake.

'I...I was right!' Izuku thought in absolute glee 'I HAVE A QUIRK.'

He felt the widest smile spread across his face.

'This feels…incredible' he thought 'I feel...incre-' Izuku's eyes widened as time suddenly snapped back to normal.

His foot tripped over an uneven part of the street below him. 'Oh nononono-' Izuku felt his body twist around in the air as he jettisoned across the path and slammed into a pile of trash.

"Urghh" he groaned in pain as he tried to push himself out of the trash pile.

Checking himself over, he was relieved to see he was mostly unharmed. A few bruises were probably in his near future though.

Slowly, a grin took over his face.

'I HAVE A QUIRK!' He thought with exuberance.

Lifting himself off of the ground. The green-haired speedster gained a determined look on his face as he settled into runner's position again.

'Gotta get used to my new quirk, right?' he mentally excused his lawbreaking behavior.

'Next stop, home' he thought in anticipation.

WOOOSH

Musutafu was about to see a rise in wind speed.

XXXX

Nejire sweated nervously as she saw the U.A. building approaching from her window seat on the bus she was on.

She chose to take public transportation back to school. After all, it wouldn't do to nearly fall to her death by accident again if she had tried to fly back.

She might not have an Izuku to break her fall the next time, after all. The cyan haired girl giggled at the memory of his flustered face after she had given him her number.

She had spent more time talking to the green-haired boy than she thought. But she was happy to make another friend! Especially one who seemed super interesting!

'I wonder what he meant when he said he went missing' she thought. She really wanted to hear more about him, but she knew she was going to be pushing Aizawa's patience if she made herself more late.

U.A. had been holding a special quirk training class at the end of their regular classes. She was sure it had ended by now. So she was most likely heading back just to be chewed out by the teachers.

"This is U.A., please exit through the rear doors" Nejire heard an announcement ring out from the bus.

Sighing, she got off. Ready to face her fate.

"Hey! Nejire! You made it back!" Mirio waved at her as Tamaki followed after him. Both of them seemingly have just left the building and were on their way home.

"Glad to see you okay!" Mirio grinned as he ran up to her.

Nejire smiled at the sight of them, "Hey guys! How'd the rest of the class go? Manage to make any progress with your quirks? Did it just end? Or are you leaving early? Is anyone still there?"

"Yes…" Tamaki answered simply with a whisper from behind Mirio's back.

"Eh? Come on Tamaki-kun! You gotta tell me more than that!"

"Well we wouldn't need to if you didn't just fly off!" Mirio laughed boisterously.

Nejire looked abashed and huffed, "I was just so excited okay! I practiced all summer to learn how to fly and I thought I got it down pat just then! I wanted to see the city from the skies!"

"...Did you really fall?" Tamaki asked.

"Yeah! I'm okay though! Someone caught me!" She then added in her mind 'sort of.'

"Good to hear! You're not hurt are you? Sensei won't be lenient even if you are!" Mirio reminded Nejire of her upcoming scolding.

"Err...no I'm not…" she groaned "I guess I better go talk to him then."

Mirio and Tamaki looked at her in pity "Let us know how it goes, I need to head on home. You coming Tamaki?"

"Yeah. Bye Nejire" the dark-haired boy whispered.

The two waved her off before walking away. Nejire bit her lip as she looked on ahead. Aizawa was standing in front of the entrance to the main building of U.A.

'HE'S SO SCARY' She thought as his eyes flashed red at her.

Accepting her fate, the cyan haired girl drearily trudged over to her teacher.

XXXX

"Huff...Huff" Izuku panted as he finally made it back home.

Of course, it didn't take him long to get home. Not with newfound quirk.

Izuku let a happy smile stretch onto his face at that thought. He was really fast. Like. Really fast.

Because of his quirk. His very own quirk.

He didn't know just how fast he was exactly, but it felt incredible as he ran. He still hadn't managed to master activating and sustaining his quirk. But he had certainly gotten used to it more. He managed to get home without any more crashing. A few stumbles here and there as his quirk hitched every now and then, but nothing too bad.

'I need to write about this!' he thought. Immediately digging through his backpack for his notebook. The same one Nejire had written in.

He paused as he took a look at the book. It was a brand new notebook. He hadn't intended to start another quirk analysis book. He wasn't in the mood to do so after meeting with All Might.

'I guess old habits die hard.' he thought. He got too excited and started writing preliminary notes on Nejire's quirk before he knew it.

Of course he didn't have much on her yet, so he spent most of his time starting a rough sketch of her, as he did with all the heroes in his books. He blushed slightly when he saw her phone number written down next to the sketch.

Shaking his head, Izuku turned to the next page, 'I should text her so I can fill in her entry later, I guess.'

Grabbing a pen, Izuku prepared to write an entry that he thought he never would.

An entry about his quirk. Placing the pen down on the paper, he was about to write when he thought.

'Should...I get special paper for this? Maybe a nicer pen?'

Izuku shook his head at his ridiculous thought and focused.

'... I'm going to get a nicer pen for this.'

He never thought he'd do this, okay! Let him be extra.

XXXX

Inko Midoriya felt her very soul relax as she spotted her son scribbling away in one of his notebooks at their dining table when she arrived home.

It seemed things were finally going back to normal, much to her relief.

"Izuku? I'm home" she called out.

"Hmmm? Oh! Mom" Izuku shot her brightest smile. She hadn't seen him this happy since he was a child.

Confused, but happy, Inko stepped over to her son, "Everything alright? How was going back to school?"

Izuku grinned "Everything's great mom!" The green-haired teen looked like he was going to burst from excitement.

"O-oh. Well, did something happen?"

Her son's grin somehow grew even wider at her question.

Mildly creeped out by her son's exuberance Inko simply got to the point, "Why are you so happy? Not that I'm complaining, dear…but, you're acting a bit odd."

"Mom!" He started to rock back and forth on the dining table chair. "I have a quirk!"

"W-what?" Inko blinked in surprise "Izuku, what are you talking about?"

Izuku jumped out of his chair in excitement. "I have a quirk mom! I just found out about it today!"

Inko sputtered "wh-what. B-b-but the doctor said you were quirkless?"

"I don't know! Maybe it just had to take some time to manifest! I'm a mutation! Look!" Izuku took a runner's pose.

"Izuku what are yo-" Inko was interrupted by a blast of wind rushing over her.

BAM

"Ough" Izuku groaned as he slid down a wall in his living room.

"I-Izuku?"

"I-I'm okay! It's just hard to show off in small spaces!" Her son awkwardly laughed "But see mom! I have a quirk."

"Izuku all I saw was you running into a wall" his mother deadpanned.

"Agh! Okay um. Come with me!" Her son grabbed her hand and started to drag her out of the apartment.

Inko worryingly followed her son as he led her outside. Was he okay? She knew that her son desperately wanted to be a hero, but he wasn't deluding himself into thinking he had a quirk did he?

Inko had heard of quirk mutations and late bloomers before, of course, but both were incredibly rare. The oldest someone had ever developed a quirk, even as a late bloomer, had been 10. She knew it was theoretically possible for it occur even later, but she couldn't help but be skeptical. For the sake of her son's dream, however, she really did hope he wasn't deluding himself

"Okay! Um. I can't fully control it. But I think I can make it work. I managed to do it in the apartment so…" shaking his head, her son hopped from one foot to the other, seemingly warming himself up.

They were outside on the street below their apartment complex. Izuku had taken her to the end of one block.

"My quirk - it makes me super fast! I can probably run to the other end of the block in less than a second!" He explained.

Inko just nodded. Nervously waving at some of their neighbors as they curiously stared at the mother-son duo.

"Alright!" He got into a runner's pose again. "Here I….go!" Izuku broke off into a run.

…

Inko frowned as she felt her fears coming true. Her son was simply running at a decent pace away from her.

'Izuku... I'm so sor-huh?!' the mother gaped as a rush of wind blew past her and her son vanished before her eyes.

"Where…?" Her eyes widened as she recognized a spec of green all the way at the end of the block.

"Izu...ku?"

Woosh

Inko stepped back, startled, when her son suddenly appeared in front of her, nearly tipping over and falling.

"Wa-woah" he stumbled for a moment.

"I'm still getting used to it hehe. But see!" Izuku smiled brightly at her.

"You...you really do have a quirk?" Inko stared at him in awe.

"Yeah! I know right!" He grinned.

Inko loved her son. More than anything. She wouldn't trade him for the world. And that was regardless of whether or not he had a quirk. She was worried for his sake for that last few years because she knew that all Izuku ever wanted to be was a hero. And so she grew more and more stressful thinking about the day her son might come home in utter despair upon realizing he could not be the hero he wanted to be because he was quirkless.

So when she cried at the new revelation. It wasn't because she no longer has a quirkless son. That didn't matter to her. She cried tears of joy because she no longer had to fear for that day. Her son would not be robbed of his dream. He could become a hero. And that made her happier than anything.

"Izuku!" Izuku blinked in surprise as his mother embraced him in a crushing hug and bawled her eyes out.

"This...sniff... it's incredible! I'm so happy for you!" She cried.

"Th-thanks mom" Izuku replied, startled.

"You can be a hero!" Held him tighter.

"Ye-yeah" he hugged his mother back.

You're my hero!

Izuku recalled Nejire's words from earlier, a smile playing at his lips.

"I can be a hero."

XXXX

"Izuku...do you think your quirk has something to do with why you went missing?" Inko asked her son causing him to pause.

He had been writing about ways he could work on improving the use of his quirk when his mother asked the question.

"Uh...m-maybe" he didn't really think about it until now. But the timing was suspicious, he admitted internally.

"You haven't remembered anything new yet?" His mother asked worryingly as she stirred a pot, she was preparing dinner for the two.

"Nope" he frowned "Actually...I forgot to ask. Did All Might say anything about what might have happened to me after he left? You said he was helping out in the search for me, right?"

"Yeah. He mentioned you guys talked on the rooftop, but he didn't see you after that" Inko replied "What did you guys talk about anyways?"

Izuku pursed his lips. "I...I uh , just had some questions for him, you know. Him being a hero and all."

He didn't really know how to feel about All Might right now to be honest. Sure, he was happy he had a quirk, and would be able to become a hero. But was that all that made him hero-worthy? What does it really mean to be a hero? According to his conversation with All Might, it just meant being able to fight with a strong quirk. Izuku didn't really know how to feel about that.

"Maybe you can ask him? He was really worried about you. He came over to apologize and make sure I was alright multiple times when you were missing. Even if he doesn't know anything more, I'm sure he would be happy to see you okay" Inko continued.

Izuku blinked 'All Might...came here?'

"I have Detective Naomasa's number, I could maybe get you in touch with him if you want? They're apparently good friends!"

Izuku hummed in thought. 'Well, at the very least. Maybe I can ask him about how to train my quirk?'

"Yeah that sounds good mom," Izuku replied. His mom nodded and mentioned she'd get in touch with the detective soon.

It's not every day you can get some advice on training by the number one pro, right? Even if the green-haired speedster wasn't fully sure on how to feel on All Might anymore, his advice might still be useful to help him get into U.A.

'Oh! That girl! She's from U.A.! Maybe I can ask for her advice too!' Izuku thought.

He turned his notebook back to the first page and glanced at her sketch.

"Oh! She's cute!" His mom proclaimed from behind him.

"Wagh!?" Izuku shouted in surprise.

"Who is she?" She asked with a smile.

"Uh-uhm. J-just someone I m-met to-today!" Izuku stuttered.

"Mmm okay. That was her number there though, right? Izuku...Did you forget to call me earlier today because you were busy flirting?" His mom teased.

"Uh- mmh- I. No- I mean" he garbled out nonsense in response causing Inko to laugh.

"Mom!" He whined.

She giggled, "Alright Izuku, put your things away. Let's eat!"

XXXX

Katsuki Bakugo was really really pissed for some reason.

Actually, he knew the reason: Deku. Something was wrong with that guy.

'Seriously? How does he just grow like half a foot in a week?' he grumbled. Deku being taller than him was really annoying.

But his height wasn't the main thing that annoyed Bakugo.

The blond was currently sitting in class, the green-haired boy he was internally grumbling about sitting in the desk behind him.

Izuku was being very content with his life. And that confused Bakugo.

Normally Deku was a nervous wreck, an easy prey for Katsuki to squash. But the explosion quirk user found that Deku seemed to develop a backbone over his week-long absence.

Not to mention, the green-haired idiot was acting so fucking weird.

Bakugo would catch him smiling to himself every now and then as if he had just won the lottery. And it was seriously pissing him off. It was like Deku was floating through life without a care.

He'd tried to corner the idiot during the past few days, but Izuku had simply nervously excused himself before rushing away. Eventually, Izuku just started to vanish immediately after the school bell rang like he had never even been there. Bakugo didn't even get a chance to blow up at him.

Katsuki grit his teeth 'It's like he thinks I'm not worth his time or some shit' no one waved off Katsuki Bakugo. No one.

Some of his classmates started to sweat in fear at the aura Bakugo was leaking out.

Izuku didn't seem to pay any mind to it though, seeming like nothing around him mattered as he continued to write in his notebook nonchalantly.

Whatever was going on with Izuku, Bakugo really didn't like it. He really just wanted to punch that damn nerd's face in.

If only he could actually get the chance.

When school ended that day. Bakugo chased after Izuku to try and confront him. Unfortunately, Izuku had magically vanished, just as he had multiple times earlier that week.

XXXX

Izuku grinned as he quickly turned around a corner, narrowly avoiding crashing into a pile of junk.

'My response times are getting better' he thought with pride.

Ever since he got his quirk, he had been pushing himself to master it. There were roughly 9 months until the U.A. entrance exams would be held. He had to catch up with all his peers in how accustomed he was with his quirk so that he could get in.

And so, Izuku found a suitable place to train his quirk: Dagobah Beach.

He was worried, at first, about not having a suitable place to train. Since he needed a large space to run around, his primary concern was that he would be prosecuted for illegal quirk usage in public as Izuku was worried he wouldn't find a private open space he could just use for free. But the beach had suited his needs just perfectly. It was littered with junk and refuse that nobody ever went near the area. Not the best circumstances for the environment, but it did provide Izuku the perfect place to practice. Especially given the junk that was lying around provided a good opportunity for him to build an obstacle course.

He had spent the very first day on the beach attempting to activate his quirk at will. He was happy to say that he finally figured it out.

Originally, it activated sporadically when he moved. The teen figured it was because his body wasn't used to having a quirk, and so it took him a while to find the trigger to activate it.

On the first day that he found his speed, he noticed it mostly activated when he thought about running. But the first few attempts would only be successful at will only after he had a running start for a few seconds.

But that changed on the second day. After a few sessions of muttering and theorizing in his quirk-book, Izuku had tried different approaches to thinking about his quirk.

Originally, when he practiced running fast, he thought about going faster as he ran. Much like pressing a gas pedal on a car. Izuku was thinking about accelerating over time.

But that's not how his quirk worked. Not quite. Upon reviewing the notes he had taken on all the his experiences he'd had so far, especially the one where he saved Nejire and the feelings of vertigo, Izuku realized he wasn't thinking about his quirk correctly.

His quirk wasn't acceleration. He wasn't just running faster over time. He was just fast - regardless of if he was moving. He saw everything fast. His entire body and mind was just fast when he activated his quirk. Hence the slow-mo vision episodes.

And so he got rid of the "pressing the gas pedal" attitude he had at first, and instead viewed his quirk activation as a trigger mechanism.

Of course, it was easier said than done. If anyone had been watching him they would've sweatdropped at how many times he had pushed himself off into a run with a constipated face in the beginning as he willed his quirk to activate.

It wasn't until he gave up on his running start and instead tried the will the world to slow down that he started to get a better grasp on activating his quirk.

And it had paid off. He no longer struggled in activating it.

The green-haired boy had been beaming with such happiness upon his success it seemed as if the world around him just grew brighter.

Crash

Izuku groaned as he crashed into a refrigerator that had been dumped on the beach.

Of course, he then realized his next problem pretty quickly. Although he was fast and perceived the world in relatively slow motion, his reflexes weren't always fast enough to respond to his obstacles as he ran.

And so that's why he had built himself an obstacle course, to train his reflexes and maneuverability when he went super speed.

'I've gotten better...but it's not enough' Izuku rolled his arms around one by one, trying to roll out any kinks in his shoulders.

'Another issue is that I might also just be getting used to the obstacle course…' he thought as he stared at the beach that was littered with a random assortment of junk. He wasn't sure if his improvement was because his reflexes had improved or if it was him developing muscle memory of the obstacle course.

'It would definitely help if I had someone else to throw stuff at me to respond to. That way, my reflex training doesn't become predictable' he placed a finger on his chin in thought.

'Of course, it'd be even better if things were being fired at me at super-speed' He thought.

Unfortunately, there wasn't anything else he had access to that he would be able to train his reflexes with. The only thing he could think of was running into a bullet storm between the authorities and criminals and try to avoid them all. Something told him that was probably not a good idea. He also wasn't sure if he was faster than a bullet anyways.

'If only I had someone to train with who also had super-speed' the greenette thought.

He paused before a far fetched idea grew in his mind.

XXXX

"Mom! I'm home!" Izuku announced as he closed his apartment door behind him.

His mom poked her head out from a room in the hallway "Izuku! Welcome back! How'd training go?" She responded in a nasal voice.

Izuku sweatdropped at the clothespin she had pinched onto her nose 'I guess you really start to smell after a few hours in a junkyard, huh' he thought.

His mom had finally seemed to relax a little about his whereabouts. She was still worried about his safety, but she stepped down from the helicoptery role she had occupied the week before. It took him a while to convince her to let him train his quirk alone on the beach, but she calmed down a lot once he had mastered activating his quirk. After all, if he had got into trouble, he now had the power to run away at will before anyone would realize it.

"It was alright! But I actually have a favor to ask?" He started to walk over.

"Nuh uh! Go shower first!" She scrunched up her face in disgust before swiftly retreating to her room and shutting the door.

Izuku sweatdropped again before sniffing himself. "URGG!" He gagged.

Yeah, shower it was.

XXXX

Toshinori, in his true form, bit his lip as he glanced at the "Call Ended" screen on his phone.

'So the kid wants to talk to me…' he thought before sighing.

He hadn't meant to avoid the kid. Not that he would ever really be accused of avoiding anyone. He was All Might after all. He was out saving the world and stuff. He was just busy.

He wanted to talk to Izuku when he found out he had been found, but he couldn't help but remember the kid's disheartened eyes as he broke his dreams to pieces during their last conversation.

He didn't know if he could apologize for his words as he still believed that being quirkless would be near impossible to be a hero. Admitting anything other than that might give the kid false hope, and the last thing All Might wanted to do is be responsible for Izuku accidentally getting himself killed in an attempt to be a hero.

The reason he wanted to see Izuku was to just see him safe. He didn't know why, but he felt attached to the kid despite the short amount of time he knew him.

'Maybe... it's because his story is a little like mine' the blonde man thought. He had been quirkless once too.

Even so, he couldn't help but keep imagining Izuku's broken and disheartened eyes whenever he tried to convince himself to visit the kid. As such, he made an excuse not to go see him every time.

All Might seemed fearless when it came to punching villains and putting his life on the line, but the man was incredibly awkward when it came to some social interactions.

And going to talk to a kid that went missing for a week immediately after he had crushed his dreams made him feel - dare he say - anxious.

And now the kid directly asked his mom to ask Tsukauchi to ask him to meet with him if he had time.

'Look at me, the number one hero having anxiety over talking to a kid! Master would be laughing her ass off at me' he thought before sighing.

He grabbed his phone and texted Tsukauchi to ask if he could get Izuku or his mother's number.

In another part of the city, a cyan haired girl was mildly annoyed that she hadn't gotten any texts or calls from one Izuku Midoriya. She had forgotten to get his number so all she could do was wait for him to reach out to her or run into him again.

'What did he mean when he said he went missing last week?! Ugh. I wanna knoooow' she whined internally.

An: And there's chapter 3! Izuku and Nejire met! He discovered his powers! How fast do you think he is? Things will really start to kick off soon! Let me know what you all think so far!