Chapter 8, here we go!
Creating a Friend
After checking for any other possible effects of his Quirk, Chiyo let Izuku and Yagi go.
"Now, you come back here if you have complications, especially with One For All!" she had said, " no telling what that'll do to you when you get it!"
"Thank you, Recovery Girl!" Izuku bowed, grateful; he had just received life-changing news, how could he not be?
She turned to Yagi; "You did good with this one, Toshinori, but don't go pushing him too hard, you hear?!" she warned, raising her cane threateningly.
"I-I won't!" He promised; even if he was the number one hero, that woman could be downright scary sometimes!
As the two made their way out of UA, Izuku had only one question on his mind; "Toshinori-sensei," he began, "what am I going to tell people now that I have a Quirk?"
Yagi sighed in his car seat; he had been expecting such a question, and had prepared for it; "Right now," he answered, "you don't tell them anything."
Izuku stared at his mentor; "What do you- I have to tell them!" he insisted; how could he not? Didn't they deserve to know?
"Think about it, Young Midoriya; in due time, you will receive One For All, and all the awesome power that comes with it," he explained, "you won't be able to hide that power, but you CAN hide this one."
He continued; "If you go around now, explaining what your Quirk is, and suddenly develop super-strength a month later, people are going to be suspicious," he reasoned, pulling in front of Izuku's apartment building, "I have a story ready for you to use once you've inherited One For All; I'm asking that you trust me, and promise that you'll keep your Quirk between us for now, ok?"
"But-" Izuku began to say, but the retort died on his lips; he was right, of course. Him having a Quirk would be a hard sell to begin with; revealing to have two, albeit somewhat similar, Quirks in the span of a few months? There would be questions that he couldn't answer if that was the case.
"I understand," he finally relented, "I promise I won't tell anyone about Vessel."
"Thank you," Yagi said, breathing a sigh of relief; he had worried the boy's excitement would cause complications, but he seemed to understand the nuances of his situation well.
"Will we still be training at the beach?" Izuku asked, "Or was that just an excuse to see if I had a Quirk?"
Yagi laughed, "Oh yes, Young Midoriya, you will still be cleaning that beach, that was not a lie; I hope you're not getting cold feet!"
Izuku shook his head; "No sir!" he exclaimed, stepping out of the car; "So same time tomorrow?"
For a brief moment, All Might inflated, giving a thumb up; "You got it!"
VVV
Izuku managed to keep his promise, if just barely; while he understood the need for secrecy, he found sometimes found his excitement almost too much to bear!
If he had been spending as much time with Katsuki as he had been previously, he may have slipped, but both boys found themselves much more busy than they had been in their lives; Izuku with Yagi, and Katsuki with his "American Dream Plan." Both still talked at school, and texted when they could (usually late in the afternoon as they prepared for bed); they acknowledged that, while it wasn't ideal, getting into UA was the top priority. Socializing could wait until after.
Most of Izuku's time was spent at Dagobah Beach; although he believed cleaning up the place was an admirable goal, he had other motives; the faster he could get it done, the faster he could receive One For All. He wanted as much time to get acquainted with the Quirk as he could before UA's entrance exam, and that meant finishing here as fast as he could; he was even cleaning without Yagi present, something that the pro hero didn't mind.
'Good to see he has initiative!' he had thought.
Izuku also spent a lot of time analyzing his own Quirk; reflecting on his life with the knowledge that Vessel was within him the entire time made a lot of things make sense, but also raised a lot of questions.
'Is there a limit to the amount of muscle I can build? Is it even possible for me to overwork them? If I do have a form of regeneration, how powerful is it?" he wondered.
But those answers could come later; it had been two months since he learned of Vessel, and after getting to Dagobah Beach nice and early, he had finally done it. All the trash was gone.
It was time to receive his reward.
VVV
The sun had yet to rise when Yagi parked near Dagobah Beach; he was early, but enjoyed the ever-clearing view of the sunrise.
'Young Midoriya should be here soon; he's made such progress!' he thought, approaching the beach proper. He had expected Izuku to finish quickly, but even he was surprised at the pace he was working!
'At this rate, he'll finish before the month's out! That'll leave plenty of time fo-'
His thoughts were stopped dead in their tracks as he got a good look at the shore itself; "Hey, hey, hey…" he said in shock.
Dagobah Beach, once considered a dumping ground for the local's trash, was absolutely spotless! The only trash that remained was piled into a massive heap, which Izuku sat upon.
'How did he manage this?! I knew he was working fast but…'
"Oh my… Oh my… GOODNESS!" All Might exclaimed, inflating into his hero form.
This got Izuku's attention; "All Might-sensei!" he greeted, carefully climbing down his trash pile.
All Might approached him; "I have to say, Young Midoriya, my expectations were already high, but you've managed to completely blow past them! How on earth did you manage to do this so quickly? You weren't THAT close yesterday!"
His successor blushed; "I worked late last night and early in the morning! I wanted to go beyond my limits!"
The hero smiled at him; 'There's not doubt. You are a worthy successor, Young Midoriya!'
"Well," All Might said, "Its time then, for you to receive One For All!"
Izuku beamed, the faltered slightly; "Y'know… receiving your power… My Quirk… I can't help feel I'm cheating a little. I'm so lucky…"
All Might laughed, "Nonsense, my boy! Even before you met me, you've been training to become a hero all your life!" he ran his hand through one of tuffs of stuck up air, plucking a strand, "And while your Quirk may have helped, it would be nothing without your hard work!"
All Might held the hair out in front of him; "Someone told me this once: there is a difference between being lucky, and deserving; one is an accident, the other a reward! Never get the two confused. You earned this power, through your efforts!"
Izuku regained his smile; 'He's right, I worked hard for this!'
He nodded; "You're right All Might! I'm ready to become your successor!"
"Good! Now…" he handed the hair to Izuku, "Eat this!"
Izuku stared blankly at him; "Huh!?"
"In order to inherit my power, you need to consume my DNA! This is the least gross way of doing it!" All Might explained.
"This isn't exactly what I expected…" Izuku admitted, hesitantly taking the hair putting it in his mouth.
'Uhh… even if this is the best option, its still gross!' he lamented, swallowing the hair.
"Good job! It'll take some time for the hair to digest, so how about we get rid of that trash heap?" All Might suggested.
"Right!"
VVV
After several hours of work, all the trash was loaded onto trucks and hauled off to the dump; now the beach was truly a sight to behold!
"Good job, Young Midoriya," All Might praised, long having reverted to his skinny form. He checked his watch, "alright, its time. You should have access to One For All."
Izuku looked at his hands, clenching his fists; "Are you sure, All Might? I don't feel any different." He pointed out.
"That's to be expected; its not a power that is passive; you have to draw from it, use it," Yagi explained.
"Well, how do I do that?"
Yagi thought about it, 'Hm. When I received One For All, I was able to call upon it almost instinctually; is it not the same for him?'
He sighed; "well, what I do is clench both my butt cheeks, and yell 'SMASH' from the bottom of my heart; try that?"
Izuku took a stance, facing the ocean; 'here goes nothing…'
He reeled his fist back, tightening his behind; "SMASHHHH!" he yelled, throwing his fist forward.
The lack of any effect disappointed him greatly.
"Any other suggestions, Toshinori-sensei?" he asked, frowning
The hero rubbed his chin; "well, try imagining situations in your life where you'd want One For All's power; visualize it, immerse yourself in your feelings during that moment."
Izuku nodded, and closed his eyes; immediately, his mind drifted towards the Sludge Villain incident, and even that spike guy in the alley when he was a kid; how helpless he felt, how badly he wanted to save them…
How much he wanted to be a hero.
Then he felt it; an unfamiliar heat rose in his right arm; opening his eyes, he saw his arm glowing, with vein-like red lines crossing it. Green lightning crackled against his skin; it felt good.
Izuku reeled back his arm once again, lurching it forward; "SMASHHHHH!" he screamed once again.
This time, rather than a normal punch, a huge gust of wind followed Izuku's fist; the sand around him kicked up, and the sea split considerably. Izuku's arm was smoking; it hurt, but not enough to stop his smile.
"I did it! I did it Toshinori-sensei!" he exclaimed.
Yagi was beaming; 'That was powerful for a first try! Probably a forty percent smash, from the looks of it.'
He approached his student; "Good job, Young Midoriya! How're you feeling?" he asked.
Izuku grimaced a bit; "My arm hurts a little, but it's not too bad!"
"That's to be expected," Yagi explained, "the more you use it, the more accustomed to One For All's power you'll become."
He continued; "However, judging by your arm, its best if you don't go above what you just did, at least for a while; if you did, you may end up hurting yourself."
Izuku nodded; "Any tips for avoiding that?"
The hero thought a bit; "well, a visual may help you?" he suggested.
'A visual? Hm…' He remembered the heat rising in his arm; it almost felt like…
"A microwave!" Izuku exclaimed, "It's like an egg in a microwave, turn the power on too high and it'll explode!"
Yagi raised on eyebrow at him; "That's a pretty weird visual, but if it works…" he gave a thumbs up, "then go for it!"
Suddenly, All Might inflated into his hero form; "Now, give me a few more smashes, newbie!" he commanded.
"Yes, sir!"
VVV
By the time the two were done training, the sun was setting, Izuki covered in a thin layer of sweat.
"Wow," he said, "One For All really takes it out of you! Every movement is like its own workout!"
"Yes," Yagi replied, "that is something we'll be spending the remaining seven months improving on! Can't get into UA if you can't use your Quirk effectively!" he warned.
That reminded Izuku; "Toshinori-sensei!" he exclaimed, "now that I have One For All, can I tell my mom and Kacchan I have a Quirk?"
'Oh! I had almost forgotten!' Yagi thought; "Yes, although it's probably best if I'm there as well; do you think you could get the two of them here sometime tomorrow?"
"Mom should be no problem, but I don't know about Kacchan; let me call him," he said, pulling out his phone; quickly, he called Katsuki.
"Kacchan!"
"Izuku, what is it? I was in the middle of a workout!'
A workout? But that didn't make sense…
"Kacchan, it's a rest day! Have you been overdoing it?!"
There was silence on the other line, before Katsuki gave a reluctant "Maybe."
"That's not healthy!" Izuku admonished, "You'll do more harm than good doing that!"
"I know I know!"
"Then stick to the plan!" he commanded.
"Yea, I'll think about it mom. So, did you call just to lecture me?"
Izuku remembered the reason he called; "No, Kacchan, there's something I need to show you. Do you know Dagobah Beach?"
"That dump?" Katsuki questioned, "What the hell could you have to show me there?"
"Just trust me!" Izuku exclaimed, "And I know you can make it, since you need a rest day!"
"Fine, fine, just give me a time and I'll be there." Katsuki relented.
"I'll pick you up tomorrow, four-o-clock?"
"Yea that's fine; see you then Izuku."
Katsuki hung up the phone; "Alright, he's coming! But what exactly are we gonna say to them?" Izuku asked.
"Just leave it to me, Young Midoriya," Yagi assured, "I have the perfect story…"
VVV
The next day, Izuku, along with Inko and Katsuki, made their way to Dagobah Beach.
"I still don't understand why we need to go all the way to Dagobah, Izuku," Inko said, trudging along; she wasn't in bad shape, maintaining her thin frame into her early forties, but she was no athlete!
"Gotta agree with your mom, Izuku, you better have a damn good reason to dragging us to a junkyard!" Katsuki warned.
Izuku couldn't help but smile; they were in for quite the surprise!
"Just trust me, please," Izuku assured, seeing the beach in the distance; "We're here!"
What Katsuki and Inko were expecting was mountains upon mountains of trash; instead, they were met with spotless white sand and a beautiful shoreline.
They were awestruck, to say the least.
"What the… What happened? Last I was here it was a mess…" Inko asked.
"That would be Young Midoriya's work, Midoriya-san," Yagi revealed, walking up behind them.
"Oh! Mr. Toshinori! Izuku didn't tell us you were coming…"
"That was at my request; it's nice to see you again, Midoriya-san," he turned to Katsuki, "Young Bakugo, I trust your training is going well?"
Katsuki gave him a grin; "Yea it is! Your plan was really kicking my ass at first, but its gotten better."
Inko cut in; "I'm sorry Mr. Toshinori, but did you say Izuku cleaned all this up?"
Yagi smiled; "Yes he did, and exceptionally fast. I might add! It was the first step in his training."
Izuku blushed at the praise; they didn't talk about this!
"So, Izuku, did you drag us out here to brag then?" Katsuki teased with a smile.
Yagi motioned for Izuku to walk with him as he moved to the shore; "I'm afraid not, Young Bakugo; you see, we… discovered something quite incredible during Young Midoriya's training;" he turned to Izuku, "if you would show them?"
Izuku took a deep breath; 'this is it…' he thought, feeling the heat rise in his arm.
Inko and Katsuki watched, speechless, as they saw Izuku flood his arm with One For All; their jaws practically dropped to the floor when they saw him throw a punch towards the sea.
"SMASH!" Izuku yelled, jolting up a hefty amount of sand around them; the trio of onlookers covered their eyes from the assault.
When the air was finally clear, Katsuki was the first to speak; "What in the FUCK was that Izuku?!"
Inko wasn't quite as… visceral in her response.
"Izuku…" she said, approaching her son, "you… you have a Quirk?"
He gave her a sheepish smile; "I-I guess so?"
Yagi took the opportunity to speak up; "It developed in the middle of his training, so I took him to a specialist," he explained, "They believe that Young Midoriya's Quirk didn't manifest sooner because his body couldn't handle it. Now it can." He gave a quick bow; "I apologize for not informing you sooner, Midoriya-san."
If Inko heard him, she didn't acknowledge it, instead, she embraced her son in a hug.
"Izuku… I'm so happy for you!"
Inko was no fool; she knew her son, no matter how much he trained, how much optimism he possessed, would always be at a disadvantage without a Quirk. No matter how unfair it might be, and how supportive she was, his chances of being a hero were always slim.
Now, that wasn't a concern.
"Thank you, mom…" Izuku replied, breaking the hug. He turned to Katsuki, gauging his reaction; so far, he seemed neutral to the whole thing, though his hands were clenched so tight his knuckles were white.
"You… had a Quirk? An amazing one? All this time…" he muttered, teeth clenched.
"Kacchan, I'm sorry; if I knew I wouldv-"
"You're sorry!?" Katsuki screamed; Yagi went to intervene, but was stopped by Inko; "Let them," she said.
"I should be SORRY!" he insisted, "I tormented you for YEARS because you didn't have a Quirk; I felt shitty enough about that as is! Now, you mean to tell me, that I couldn't even excuse it with my shitty reasoning!"
Izuku looked at his friend in horror; 'I thought we moved past this… though I suppose we never really talked about it…'
While he and Katsuki had grown to be friends, even best friends, they both avoided speaking about their relationship before then; Izuku had thought it was unnecessary; the past was the past, it wasn't like they could change it. He assumed Katsuki felt the same way; now he realized the truth:
He was ashamed.
"You should HATE ME! Like I HATED YOU! FOR YEARS!" Katsuki ranted, heat rising in his palms; "I DON'T UNDERSTAND WH-"
He was cut off by Izuku; not with a punch, not even with words.
With a hug.
"Kacchan…" he whispered, "I forgave you, a long time ago for all that…"
Katsuki was blinking back tears now; "Why?..."
Izuku smiled; "Because you're my best friend, Kacchan… And I want you to forgive yourself!"
He cracked a grin; 'Classic Izuku… always worrying about other people.'
He didn't know if I could forgive himself, not quite yet; but it was then, he resolved, that he'd start to try.
VVV
The three parted ways shortly after their little moment; neither could even begin to guess the truth of Izuku's Quirk, just as he and All Might intended.
With his mom and Katsuki partially let in on his secret, Izuku began the process of officially registering his Quirk; in the eyes of the law, Izuku Midoriya was no longer Quirkless.
For four more months, Izuku trained daily with All Might in the use of One For All. It was hard work, but slowly he was adjusting to the strain it put on his body; he figured he could use roughly forty-five percent before it became too much to bear.
With only three months before the entrance exam; Izuku was putting in extra work everyday to hone his body, usually at the Dagobah Beach, which had found itself receiving visitors for the first time in years. Today, he had planned to go on a brisk run up and down the shore.
It just so happened that a certain someone was also at the beach.
VVV
"Please, leave me alone before I contact the authorities!"
Momo Yaoyorozu was a woman of high stature, both literally and figuratively. Being born into a wealthy family of heroes, she stood at 5'8" and sported jet-black hair tied in a spiky ponytail with a single bang hanging on the side of her face. Her physique could best be described as mature, a fact that served as both a benefit and an annoyance.
Right now, it felt firmly as the later.
"C'mon baby, I just wanna talk; what's a beauty like you doing around here?" the teenage boy bothering her leered.
'You can thank my father for that,' she thought; he had business in Musutafu, and insisted she come along. Something about "quality father-daughter time."
Now her father was stuck in endless meetings, and she was left to wander the city on her own. Eventually, she came to a pleasant looking beach; 'a good a place as any to spend my time,' she thought.
How wrong she turned out to be; "that's none of your concern, now if you'll excuse me," she waved, attempting to walk away, only to be stopped by a hand on her arm.
"I wasn't done talking to you, broad; now sit down and get comfy," he commanded.
Momo looked around the beach; there weren't many people around, and those that were seemed content to mind their own business.
'You'd be on the ground right now if I could use my Quirk…' she reasoned; the ability to create anything using her body's fat was a particularly powerful one, but the law was the law.
She attempted to pull her arm free, but his grip was tight; "Didn't you hear me, lady? I said sit do-"
He was cut off by a muscular hand grabbing his wrist and forcing him off Momo's arm; 'finally, someone took notice!'
Izuku stared at the boy; "I don't think she wants you touching her."
"Oh yea? And what're you gonna do about it?"
"Nothing," Izuku said, glare hardening, "as long as you leave."
The man laughed; "well I ain't leaving, so you can just walk awa-"
He never got to finish, as Izuku quickly swept the feet out from under him, knocking him to the ground.
Channeling a small among of One For All in his leg, Izuku stomped on the ground, creating a small crater; "Leave."
The boy didn't need to be told twice, quickly scampering off down the shore.
Izuku turned to Momo; "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"
She shook her head; "No, I'm fine; thank you though. I was starting to wonder if he would ever leave," she stuck out her hand, "I'm Momo Yaoyorozu."
"Izuku Midoriya," he greeted, shaking her hand; "I don't think I've seen you around here, did you just move here?"
She shook her head; "No, no. I'm just visiting with my father, but he's busy so… I'm alone," she lamented.
Izuku frowned; "Oh, I'm sorry," he said; "If you'd like, I could show you around? I'd offer a swim, but you don't seem dressed for the beach!" he joked
Momo smiled; 'Well, he seems nice enough… and he's a big guy, would probably keep any creeps away…'
"I'd like that," she replied, "lead the way!"
Izuku led her around Musutafu, showing her all the noteworthy sights he could think of; eventually, the duo grew hungry, and stopped at a local ramen shop.
"So," she asked, swallowing her food, "what that Quirk you used on the beach?"
"Hm? Oh! That was Vessel; it's nothing fancy, just an enhancement type Quirk," he explained, taking a bite; not a complete lie, but not really the truth either.
"Well it certainly seemed powerful," she commented, "you kicked up quite a bit of sand with your leg; it must come in handy a lot, but you know its illegal to use it in public right?"
Izuku averted his eyes; "yea, I know but… you needed help, and that guy wasn't gonna go away without a bit of force, y'know?"
"I guess so; still, you should be a little more careful with that," she warned.
"I know, I will," he swore; "what about you? What's your Quirk?"
She blushed slightly; "I call it Creation; I can make any non-living object from the fat in my cells, as long as I know how it's made," she explained.
"Wow! That sounds amazing!" Izuku exclaimed, "there are so many applications for a Quirk like that! You could do anything you wanted…"
Her blushed deepened; "T-thank you…"
After finishing their meal, Izuku decided to take Momo to the one place he hadn't yet: the park, where he had spent so much of his childhood.
"Wow… its so pretty out here!" she observed, strolling with him; the sun was beginning to set, casting an orange glow on the grass and trees.
Izuku smiled; "you don't get out much, do you?" He teased.
She frowned a bit; "my mother is very strict… she only allows me to do urgent things, which include studying and training my Quirk…" she paused, "I don't have many friends…"
His smile faltered; "I'm sorry…" he said sincerely; 'I know what that's like…'
Momo waved it off; "Its not your fault, besides its not all bad; all that training means I'll be a great hero one day!"
Izuku's eyes widened; "You wanna be a hero too?"
"Of course, all my life," she replied; "you want to be a hero?"
"More than anything," he said resolutely, "I used to train here every day, all so I could be the best!" He turned to her, "What school are you going for?"
"UA; only the best, as mother says," she answered.
Izuku grinned at her; "Maybe we'll see each other at the entrance exam then!"
Momo frowned again; 'do I tell him? He seems to work so hard, and yet…'
"Yaoyorozu? Are you ok?"
She snapped back to reality, meeting his eyes; "actually… I already got into UA… via recommendations…"
What was at one time a source of pride for her quickly became something she wished to hide; whenever she did tell people, they often accused her of "cheating," or only getting in because of her parents; she had to work hard too! And now she was gonna hear the same thing again…
"Wow. You must be more amazing than I thought!"
What?
"Huh?" she said, confused.
"I mean, it can't be easy, getting in on a recommendation," he clarified, "you must be really talented!"
Momo was shocked; no one had that reaction before, hell no one has ever said something so kind before, not without expecting something back.
"I- That's too much, I'm really nothing special…"
"Nonsense!" Izuku exclaimed, "you seem really special to me!"
Realizing what he had just said, a blush creeped across his face; 'Was that too forward?'
'He… he really means that?'
"…you seem special too, Midoriya," she admitted. She checked her watch, gasping at the sight; she had completely lost track of time!
"I'm sorry," she apologized, "but I really have to go!" She turned to leave, then stopped, pulling out a pen and small notepad; quickly, she wrote something down and handed it to him.
"Here, its my phone number," she explained, "text me sometime?"
Izuku looked down; "Of course, Yaoyorozu!" he exclaimed, his blush growing redder.
She began to walk away, only to stop one more time; "please," she requested, "call me Momo!"
And that's a wrap!
First girl has appeared, Momo! This seemed like the easiest time to introduce her that wasn't at UA, which I wanted to do for a variety of reasons. I hope the interactions between the two were good, I wished to keep her character intact; a confident air, clouding an insecure center.
Speaking of, I hope Izuku's and Katsuki's little "interaction" was up to snuff; I couldn't very well have him reveal a Quirk and have Kacchan be just A-OK with it, y'know?
Yea, Izuku's not going all out with One For All, not yet; don't worry, we'll have plenty of badass moments with him without going 100%; I have a possibly stupid idea to get around that, which you will be privy to next chapter!
Now, the reviews!
tiguylerobot: A valid point, one I hope I addressed this chapter!
MIKE202303: Thank you!
ProjectIceman: Interesting! I gave a few chapters a read, and it seems really good! Not exactly where I went with it, but I can see the vague similarities.
Beingwithu: GG indeed!
OMNISENSE95: Well we'll just have to see, now won't we ;)
maxridelover: Thank you, I like it too (though I might be a bit biased)!
ALIE: You're too kind, really!
fencer29: Funny you should mention that, originally, I was gonna have it be a kinda big deal, but cut it. Your review inspired me to bring it back in a small way :)
TheGreatBubbaJ: That's exactly what he did!
That about covers it; I don't know how many of you read this, but over 100 favorite a week in to the story is absolutely insane to me; I don't know how that compares to the average, and frankly I don't care. Its so humbling so many have taken an interest, and I'll try to meet your expectations.
As always, review, follow, and favorite! Those are a writers main sources of sustenance!
Next chapter: The entrance exam!