A/N I feel so bad that it took three weeks to write this. But I'll try and have the next one done within a couple weeks.
*Sunday, near three weeks later.*
"A-are you s-s-sure you're not u-uncomfortable?" Asked Izuku nervously?
"Yup, I am very comfy. Are you uncomfortable?" Asked Mei with a relaxed smile.
"I-I-I'm fine." Squeaked out Izuku.
Mei's smile just grew larger as they continued what they were doing. She and Izuku were in his living room playing a fighting game based on the number one heroes throughout the world, which gave them a pretty big roster. Mei's favorite was Korea's number one hero Techie, who's quirk was Technomancy, which allowed him to mentally disassemble and reassemble machines as long as he had the know how and the parts. Izuku didn't particularly have a favorite, though he felt it might be due to his bias opinion of heroes. But he wished his mom or aunts were on the roster. He was looking forward to the next Japanese Heroes league game since he heard his Aunts would be in them, his mom wouldn't be since she's an underground hero. Normally this would be no big deal, but the position they're in has him on edge.
When they sat down, Mei immediately started to reposition Izuku a bit, so she could lie on him, and then she wrapped his arms around her. Otherwise, known as cuddling, something Izuku didn't expect, and had him quite nervous.
Ever since they got jumped by Yuno about three weeks ago she had slowly gotten more handsy with him. Despite her Initial reaction, she had taken it slow. It started with her holding his hand from time to time, to her sitting directly next to him, to now with her cuddling with him while she wears a tank top. Seeing her in the top nearly made his heart stop. He's seen her in a tank top before when he went to her house and helped her work on her babies. But he swears this one is showing off a bit more cleavage. Nah, it must be his imagination. Or his quirk messing with his hormones.
He really likes spending time with Mei and Komori, but he's caught himself checking them out more and more, and he hates himself for it. They are good friends, and he's disrespecting them by looking at them that way. And Mei helping him by giving him pheromones was not helping any.
It wasn't like she forced him to do any of this stuff, and despite getting nervous about it all the time, he enjoyed it immensely. She may be getting bolder and bolder with it, she has always made sure he knew he could say no at any time. Something he truly appreciated. It was even proven when she had him rest his head on her lap the other day. She started caressing and stroking his cheek. An act that actually helped him relax, and was making him start to fall asleep.
That in itself wasn't the bad part. It was when her hand went lower and her fingers lightly grazed his neck and over his throat. Izuku panicked and fell to the ground, panicking, in a cold sweat, and hyperventilating. Mei apologizes profusely after she and his mom calmed him down. Which of course Izuku told her it wasn't her fault, and that it was his, that he shouldn't have freaked out like he did. Mei knew his freak out wasn't over nothing, which was cemented by his moms solemn look. Despite her telling him he could talk to her, she didn't get any answers. He also didn't tell her about the nightmares he had later that night that included that same situation, only with a different outcome.
After that he didn't want to rest his head on her lap, and he told her as much. She didn't push it and accepted his decision.
"So what time is Komori showing up?" Asked Mei.
"Sh-she sh-should be h-here in a-a-a few m-minutes." He stuttered. She was on her way there to train with Izuku and Mei.
After what happened with Yuno, Izuku's mom insisted on training him as soon as possible. Well, after they managed to calm her down. It was an interesting sight watching her switch back and forth from wanting to throttle Yuno and her friends, to fussing over him. She decided that she would start training him, an offer that was extended to Mei, and Komori as well after she was introduced as their new friend. Both their parents were thrilled by the offer. Given the fact that this was the second degree time Mei had gotten assaulted in two months month, and Ms. Komori thought that not only would this help her with her dreams, but her personally to get more confident and spend time with her new friends. Though Komori didn't tell them her dad said it would just be a waste of time and that she should focus on her studies to get a realistic job. Thankfully after her parents divorce her mom had Komori the most.
Before long, they heard a knock on the door. "That must be her." Said Izuku as he reached for his cane as Mei sat up. He stood up without much hassle. Izuku has been doing a lot better, and was growing his muscles back. He was healing fast with the combined efforts of those at U.A. like lunch rush helping give his mom proper diet plans while he was healing (she had actually offered to cook for them, but Shoka wanted to do it to feel more like a parent. Plus her eating with him made the staff happy knowing she was starting to eat proper meals.), and Recovery Girl with the physical therapy. Along with all the encouragement from not just his mother and aunts, but from other U.A. staff. But it doesn't stop there. Mei being the inventor genius she is built a suit for him to wear under his clothes during his workouts. He didn't really understand the science behind it, but essentially it helps maximize any and all workouts and helps with recovery along the way. Turns out it was the baby Mei wanted to show him the day Yuno jumped them.
As he passed by the serving hatch, he heard his mother's voice. "Let me know when you guys are ready to go." She said with a smile. She was in the kitchen having some coffee with his aunts, while the three talked.
Izuku smiles to her and his aunts. "Ok, and thank you again." He said appreciatively.
"Oh we're happy to help. Just try not to overexert yourself before we go." Said Midnight teasingly and giving a wink, earning her a deep blush from Izuku, and a smack on the arm from Shoka. She had started teasing him and Mei after Mei started getting more intimate. It was embarrassing, but he knew it held no malice.
"I-it's not like th-that." Stuttered Izuku before heading for the door. Just like he guessed, it was indeed Komori. "Hey Komori. Glad you could make it." He said with a smile.
One that Komori returned. "A chance to hang with you and Mei, and get training from pro heroes? No way I'd miss that."
Izuku gestured her in. "Well they said we can start when we want, what do you want to do?" He asked.
"I'm fine with starting whenever. But do you have enough pheromones?" She asked.
The question made Izuku blush again. But before he could answer he heard Mei speak as she walked up. "If he doesn't I'm more than happy to keep cuddling." She said alluringly.
Izuku's blush darkened, making the two girls giggle, he even heard some giggling coming from the kitchen. He knew that they heard what Mei Said.
"I-I'm fine. I'm a-at 1,947." He stuttered. It's funny he thought, it took about a month to get to 443 last time, but it less than three weeks to get more than quadruple that, even after taking into account he started at 78.
But looking at the two they looked a little worried. "Are you sure that will be enough to train with? You said you used over 350 during the fight alone. And training can be much harder." Asked Komori.
Shoka walked out of the kitchen towards them. "That's why after he's in good enough condition I'll be training him in martial arts. That way he won't have to rely on his quirk, and it will just be a tool in his arsenal. A powerful one at that." She said as she gave him a side hug. "And Power loader is already coming up with ideas for support gear for him. Something I'm sure Mei is also doing."
Mei gave her manic inventor smile. "I'm almost done with my latest baby! You're going to love it!" She said excited.
Komori Bowed to Shoka. "Thank you for having me Ms. Aizawa, and thank you for training me."
"It's no problem. The more proper heroes the better." She said. After meeting Komori and being happy that Izuku and Mei already made another friend, she learned that Komori wanted to be an idol hero. At first, she wasn't impressed, she didn't like hero's who only care about fame and all. That was until she heard Komori's resolve. She wants to be an idol sure, but she said she wants to protect people even more, and making them smile. Shoka usually dismisses these claims since they're lies a majority of the time, but looking at Komori you could tell it was the truth. Shoka's smile turned into her creepy sadistic one. "Just don't expect it to be easy."
Izuku, Mei, and Komori all gulped and nodded their heads. "Yes ma'am!" They yelled together.
*1 hour later at training ground gamma.*
The three teens were hard at work under the guidance and instruction of Shoka, Mic, and Midnight. They have been working their butts off. Mei and Komori were currently doing some martial arts training. Turned out Komori has done some self training in that regard. She was already good enough to be the equivalent of a brown belt (just 2 below black) she would be a black if it wasn't for the fact that without instructions from a teacher, she picked up some bad habits and techniques. So she needs to unlearn and relearn them, which is much harder. But she has skill.
Mei, on the other hand, obviously never learned to even throw a punch. For as smart as she was, her technique was sloppy. But that brain of hers will definitely help her learn fast. The scary part is though. She. Hits. HARD. Years of her mechanical work has given her a lot of strength. Which was a complete surprise, given how small her arms are. Her punches will definitely do a lot of damage when she betters her technique. The two of them are currently hitting some punching bags that were brought over and hung with the help of some U.A. staff before they even showed up.
Izuku out of the three was actually having the most difficulty. Up until now he has used his quirk on pure instinct, but now that he is actively trying to use it, it's not wanting to work for him. At first, it was drawing on the power. He remembered it feeling like it came from his chest, but it was refusing to flow.
After about 20 minutes he was finally able to get some to flow, but had no control of it. The first incident was he couldn't put a halt to it, or even stem the tide, as it flowed faster than ever and caused a beam to shoot from his hand with abandon, he was able to keep it aimed towards the targets on the thick stone wall they asked Cementoss erect before they showed up. His mom thankfully used her quirk to stop it. The spot he held the beam at had a diameter of 3 in, and was 20 inches (50.8 cm) deep in the stone wall, thankfully Cementoss made it thick. The downside is how much of his stockpile it used. He was only using it for about 2 seconds before his mom used her quirk, and he was left with 866. It was a powerful attack, that's for sure, but was a huge drain, and considering how much he's able to get from Mei, he doubted he'd be able to use it.
On his second attempt, as he tried to hold the energy this time, it exploded in his palm, burning it. While the wound wasn't visible, he could still feel it. Despite only wanting to add 1 point(?) (He decided he needs to find a good name for it.) but instead he added 10, making the blast all that much more painful. He tried to act like he was ok, he's used to feeling a lot of pain after all, but once again he's not as good of an actor as he thought as everyone quickly called him on it. He did get a scolding from everyone about not taking unnecessary risks and taking care of himself. Thankfully he had the stamina for recovery girl to heal his hand, though she scolded him too when she heard about him trying to hide it.
After the healing, he once again had trouble getting the energy to flow, and once again after he got it going he had trouble controlling it. Only this time the ball of energy just kept growing and growing in his hand. It was the size of an extra large beach ball. When his mom canceled his quirk, causing the orb to dissipate. It only took so long because she was worried about what might happen to the energy when she stopped it, thinking it might explode like the last time. Considering she remembers how much a football sized attack hurt, she didn't even want to think about the kind of damage an attack like that would do. Everyone was relieved when that didn't hurt Izuku. With that he was down to 798.
As time went on Izuku was getting more and more frustrated and dejected. He had so much more control over it against Yuno, now he can't control it at all, and was wasting so much of the pheromones that Mei helped give him. Everyone kept trying to console him, telling him it's not his fault for not having any experience with the quirk. Only they could tell he kept getting more upset with himself the longer he kept being unable to control it.
His Mom and aunts tried desperately to help him, but they weren't used to teaching basic quirk control. By the time their students joined U.A. they have at least some semblance of control, at the very least they know how to use it, and are just fine-tuning its use. It also didn't help that they're only on their fifth year of teaching, they were only 31 after all. The biggest hurdle though is that resource reliant quirks have been known to be more difficult to control. For whatever reason, they didn't know, something they're determined to rectify for not just Izuku's sake, but for all their future students. So with Izuku's acceptance they decided to ask someone for help. Izuku expected them to ask another teacher or Nezu. But was surprised when someone else entirely showed up.
"Hiiiiii senseeeeeiiii's!" Yelled a girl with long light blue hair wearing the U.A. training uniform, as she burst through the doors.
Shoka could already feel the headache coming on. "Hello Nejire. Thank you for coming." She said. Shoka is her current hero teacher for her first year, and let's just say aspirin became a necessity. Nejire wasn't her best student at first, and Shoka truly does her best to help her, but her hyperactive behavior and lack of focus makes it difficult. While she wasn't the bottom of her class, she definitely wasn't the top.
Then she went to her work study with Ryukyu. Shoka still has no idea what she did to help Nejire, but she quickly started getting better and better with not just her quirk, but in class in general. She's still not the top of her class, but if she keeps up this momentum, she'll be one of the best in no time.
"You asked me to help someone? Who is it? What's their quirk? How good are they? Is it like mine? Is it true you adopted a kid? Oh, is that who I'm here to help!?" She asked in rapid succession, and kept rambling more and more questions.
Midnight and Mic were chuckling at Shoka right now. Shoka put her hands on Nejire's shoulders to try to silence her. "Yes, I asked you to help. Now I need you to not go spreading this around. Can you keep what happens here secret?" She asked sternly.
Nejire looked confused. "Uh, sure. But why?"
She asked, surprising Shoka by the lack of questions.
"It's for my son's sake." She answered, getting a bright smile and gasp from Nejire. "Look I seriously want to keep it a secret from the students please. He's gone through some things that make it hard for him to be around too many people and I don't want the students bothering him until he's ready." She said with such sincerity it silenced Nejire.
Nejire's face went blank with a bit of thoughtfulness. She understood this was no simple matter. So she simply nodded her head.
"Good." Shoka's face softened, something Nejire rarely saw. Heck she doubted most students have ever seen it. "My son Izuku can't control his quirk. For reason's I'm not going to divulge, he doesn't have experience with it. I will tell you that it's a quirk that converts a resource into energy like yours does. Do you think you can help him?" She asked kindly.
Nejire looked serious, more serious than Shoka has ever seen her. "I'll do what I can. Where is he?" She asked. Shoka gestured to a bench near the wall where Izuku was resting with his face in his hands and elbows resting in his knees. Nejire started walking towards Izuku. As she got closer, she could make out his features better. Her heart sank when she saw the part of his arms and legs stuck out from his tank top and shorts. 'There's no way his condition is normal.' She thought sadly, as she also noticed the cane next to him.
Millions of question zoomed through her mind that she want to ask Izuku. But a lesson she learned from Ryukyu overrode it. 'When Someone is suffering, keep the questions to necessity only. Anything else can make their suffering worse.' Came the voice of Ryukyu in her head. Nejire learned that one the hard way after she was helping get info from a man whose family was kidnapped.
She stopped a few feet in front of Izuku, and gave a kind sympathetic smile. "So I'm told you need help." She said gently.
When she spoke Izuku jumped slightly and jolted his head up to look at her. Nejire's heart shattered as she saw the still slightly sunken in cheek's that was a sign of starvation, and the look in his eyes. They showed unfathomable pain. "U-um y-yeah. Are y-you th-the person m-my m-m-mom called?" He stuttered out, clearly nervous about her presence.
"Yup, that'd be me! My name is Hado Nejire, but just call me Nejire." She greeted enthusiastically, sticking her hand out to shake Izuku's, making sure not to get to close and letting Izuku close the distance at his own pace.
Izuku looked at the hand and back at Nejire before slowly extended his hand to shake hers. The handshake was gentle, and it somewhat calmed down Izuku. "A-Aizawa I-I-Izuku." He said.
Nejire gave him a bright smile. "So to help I'm going to need to know about your quirk!" She said excitedly. She quickly picked up on Izuku's rise of discomfort, and calmed down. "Don't worry. You don't need to tell me everything if it makes you uncomfortable, just tell me how your quirk works and I'll see what I can do." She said.
Izuku was reluctant, looking down and gripped the hem of his shorts tightly. He didn't want to tell this girl that he literally just met his quirk. Looking up to his family and friends, seeing that Mei and Komori were training under the supervision of aunt Midnight, while his mom and Aunt Mic were looking towards him with smiles. They were most likely keeping an eye on him just in case.
Izuku took a deep breath. He knows this is a fear he needs to face. If they called him a villain, then at least he still has people who care about him in his life... Hopefully.
Nejire waited patiently, as she watched Izuku seemingly struggle with himself. She knew his quirk must be a touchy subject. But her patience was rewarded when Izuku started explaining his quirk, during which she never lost her smile, and never interrupted him. To say she was Intrigued was an understatement. Not only were their quirks similar, but his resource was female pheromones? She had so many questions. "Why do you only get pheromones from that Mei girl? Do male pheromones not work? Is there more you can do with it? What was it like when you got your quirk?..." she started questioning.
She didn't see his discomfort at first until her last question, only this time she was once again given a lesson of Ryukyu's advice. When that last question poured out of her mouth, Izuku looked outright depressed. Nejire was mentally cursing herself. "I'm sorry. I know this isn't the time for my curiosity. And I know I ask way to many questions." She apologized.
"I-it's ok. I kn-know what it's like t-to be c-curious." He replied solemnly.
Nejire could still see Izuku's depression despite his reassurance. She scooted closer and grabbed hold of Izuku's hand, startling him a bit. "I know you don't know me, but if you want to talk, I'm happy to listen. And if you need to cry, I have two open shoulders." She said giving a caring smile.
Izuku looked at her astounded. "W-why w-would you want t-to listen t-to m-my problems?" Asked Izuku.
"Because something is obviously bothering you. What other reason would I need?" She said kindly.
He thought about her answer for a few seconds with a smile on his face. She had such a pure reason to want to help. He couldn't help but wonder why it took so many years to find the people now in his life. "Thank you, but maybe some other time." He said appreciatively.
Nejire nodded her head in response. "Ok. So do you want to get started on quirk training?" She asked.
Izuku grabbed his cane and started standing up, to which Nejire shot up and helped him out.
The two walked back to where Izuku was training. "So let me see what you've been trying." Said Nejire.
Izuku nodded and tried to shoot an energy blast at one of the targets again but the energy wasn't flowing again. Izuku was already feeling his frustration grow. While he was doing that Nejire watched him intently, walking around him and observing him at every angle.
Izuku's frustration kept rising as he was still unable to use his quirk properly. He was mentally cursing himself when Nejire spoke. "You know, you told me what other people think of your quirk, but what do you think of it?" She asked simply with a blank expression.
The question caught Izuku off guard, he looked at Nejire questioningly not knowing the others overheard the question and quieted down to listen in. "Wh-why do you a-ask? What d-does th-that have t-to do with th-this?" He asked trying to dodge the question.
"Everything. So what do you think of your quirk?" She asked again.
By this time Izuku noticed the others looking his way, seemingly waiting to hear his answer. Izuku looked away, and at his hand. "It's weird, and difficult." She said shortly.
Everyone sans Nejire looked at him worried, while Nejire's expression didn't change. "Izuku?" Whispered Mei.
"And what else?" She asked.
"That's it." He said irritated.
"I know that's not true. What else?" Asked Nejire.
"That's it!" Yelled Izuku, his emotions getting the best of him.
"What? Else?" Asked Nejire.
Izuku gritted his teeth before quickly facing Nejire, looking angry. "I hate it, ok!?" He yelled, surprising the others with his anger. "This quirk has caused me so much suffering! Everyone calls me a villain because of it! I spent years getting hurt because of it! Even my own mother abandoned me because she didn't want to raise a villain!" He screamed angrily, breathing heavy.
Mei and Komori gasped and tears started forming in their eyes at what they just heard. Shoka, Mic, and Midnight all were surprised and upset, they knew about the abandonment, they just didn't know why. While Nejire kept her neutral expression, but inside her heart was hurting. She only kept the expression in case he had more he wanted to say, which he did.
"And I don't blame her!" He yelled but quieter, his face falling into a dejected look and tears started pouring from his eyes. "Not with how my quirk manifested. My quirk could so easily be used for evil." He said holding back his sobs, it didn't take him long to realized that he just yelled at Nejire. Panic started to rise in him as raised his hands to protect himself from the beating he knew would happen, resisting the urge to run knowing it would only make it worse. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..." he started before being startled by Nejire wrapping him in a hug.
"It's ok. That had to have been weighing heavily on you." She whispered soothingly in his ear, letting the tears fall from her eyes.
Izuku was too stunned to move, he didn't expect this reaction. His fear was eventually overridden by the sorrow he had kept hidden and buried. Tears started to fall from his eyes faster, and he hugged Nejire right back before he started crying in her shoulder. It didn't take long before he felt several pairs of arms wrap around him as well. Looking up to see everyone hugging him, and they seemed to be crying as well. "I'm sorry, for yelling, and unloading that on you guys. I didn't want to burden you further with my problems." He said.
"You dummy." Said Mei, as she cried into his back and squeezed him tighter. How she managed to get her arms between him and Nejire, he had no clue. "How many times do we have to tell you we want to help? That includes listening to your problems."
"We're here for you. You don't have to keep the pain inside." Said Shoka gently.
"I may not have known you for very long, but I truly care for you. I'm not going to abandon you." Said Komori, wanting to take away Izuku's pain. She couldn't help but find it strange that in the short amount of time she's know Izuku and Mei, she feels closer to them than she has ever been with her old friends. But now wasn't the time to think about that.
"You don't have to stay silent little listener, you can talk to us any time." Said Present Mic lovingly.
"We're not going to force you to talk if you don't want to, but never feel like you need to apologize when you do." Said Midnight in a caring tone.
Izuku didn't know what to say as tears poured from his eyes. The amount of love and support he was receiving was almost overwhelming. He could barely squeeze out a quiet "Thank you." as he relished the kind moment he had only dreamed of growing up.
After a bit, Nejire gently prompted the others to release Izuku. She continued to give Izuku a kind caring smile. "I know it might not be easy, but to help you with your quirk, there are a few things I need to know. Is that ok?" Asked Nejire.
Despite his mind telling him not to trust Nejire still, he decided too anyways. After all, it tells him not to trust anyone. "Yeah." He said a little reluctantly.
"Would you like us to listen too?" Asked Shoka, hoping she could do something to help.
Thinking about it, he didn't know what Nejire would ask him, and was nervous about what she'd ask. So having people who have shown time after time that they cared and had his back would be a great comfort. And if this is going where he thinks it is, maybe it was fine to tell them a bit about his past. "Yes please." He said quietly.
The others smiled and nodded at him while Nejire gestured back to the bench they sat on earlier. They all followed him as he went to sit down, with his mom sitting on his left, and Mei on his right. They both grabbed hold of one of his hands to help comfort him. Something that did help, he gave the two of them an appreciative smile. He turned to Nejire. The amount of pain and emotional fatigue in his eyes was staggering. But past that, you can see strength, the strength to stand after the world itself beat him down. "What do you need to know?"
Nejire, still giving him a caring and supportive smile said. "Let's start at the beginning. When did you start hating your quirk and why?"
Izuku sat there with a sad but thoughtful look as he dredged up memories he dreaded reliving. "I think I started to hate it when I was about six or seven, but the reason why starts from when it manifested." Izuku took a deep breath, he was nervous for what he was about to tell them, afraid of what they might think of him. He started to rethink telling them, until he felt his mom and Mei both give his hands a comforting squeeze, giving him the courage he needs. "I was a late bloomer, I didn't get my quirk until I was about four and a half. It wasn't too late, but it did make me the last in my class to get one. Originally I was actually diagnosed as quirkless, I have the extra pinky toe joint and everything." He started. Looking around to see the wide eyes off Mei, Komori, and Nejire. But his mom and aunts didn't look surprised. He should have figured they'd know about that, considering it would probably be in his medical records.
"Really? I though that test was 100% accurate." Said Komori.
Midnight scoffed. "That piece of information came from when quirks first started showing up. Back then they were more concerned about what was causing their appearance and what they can do, than finding out how accurate the test is. Professionals still are for that matter. Not every kid gets tested, only late bloomers and the quirkless, so the statistics are bias. While it is accurate, it's not unbelievable that it isn't 100%."
Everyone mulled over what Midnight said, coming to the conclusion that she made a good point. But soon the reality of what Izuku said started to sink in. How quirkless are viewed and treated is common knowledge after all.
"Did other people know?" Asked Mei.
Izuku just silently nodded his head, adding to the heartache they were all feeling.
"Then shouldn't you have been ecstatic to have a quirk?" Asked Mei.
"For a bit I was, despite how it manifested, but with how people treated me because of it, than I would have just rather stayed quirk was." He said solemnly.
"How did it manifest?" Asked Nejire.
"After a... bad day at school." He started, everyone picked up he was downplaying what probably happened. "My mom Inko took me to the park to try to cheer me up. For the most part it worked. She took me to a park a bit further away to try to help me make some friends. Since nobody there knew I was quirkless, nobody treated me any different, so for the first time in weeks, I had people to play with. Well after a little while a group of moms came to tell their kids it was time to go home, that's when it happened. My gaze of lust activated. Even though it requires them to look me in the eyes as well, it makes my eyes glow, which I'm guessing attracted their attention."
Everyone grimaced, it didn't take a genius to see where this was going. It seems that no one thought about what Izuku's quirk manifestation could have been like. Or at least refused to think about it.
"There were four of them, and at first it confused me on what they wanted. They started by touching me and even started kissing me all over. I didn't mind at first, just thought they were being friendly. Then they started touching elsewhere. That's when I started getting scared. I tried to push them off of me, and the rest of my quirk started to activate. The energy blasts came rushing out of my hands, hitting the ladies. I couldn't stop the blasts from coming. Eventually they did stop, but before I knew it I felt something hit me on the back of my neck and knocked me out. I later found out that when the women started touching me, my mom called for a hero. And Endeavor showed up."
Hearing that everyone had the same thought. 'Oh shit.' Endeavor had a reputation of being both brutal and uncaring. None of them doubted that he would attack a child.
"Apparently while I was out was when everything went worse. In Endeavors view I attacked random citizens. At first my mom was trying to tell him that I was just defending myself, but the women had gotten up and told endeavor that I was controlling them with my quirk. And everything just spiraled from there." More tears started to fall from Izuku's eyes as he took some shuddery breaths. Mei let go of his hand and wrapped him in a hug. "By the end of it, everyone believed that I was the one at fault. That I was old enough to have a handle on my quirk."
Everyone's hearts were going out to him, it was obvious he was a victim of circumstance and horrible judgmental people. They all figured that one or all of those women wanted to make sure none of the blame landed on them, so they made Izuku seem worse than he is.
"But your mom should have known you didn't have a quirk. Didn't she say anything?"
"I don't know. If she did, someone must have convinced her I was lying about not having a quirk. She became distant from me, almost afraid I might do the same to her, she even pulled me out of school, so I wouldn't do anything to my classmates. After a few days, my mom took me to the quirk doctor again. I was uncomfortable using my quirk again, but was convinced otherwise. They got a nurse to volunteer and that's where we discovered that I used pheromones. The problem was I didn't know how to turn off my quirk, so several people got effected. I'm guessing they were prepared for something like that, and they stuck a needle in my arm, and I was out like a light. Things between me and my mother became even more strained after that. She wouldn't even want me in the same room as her, to the point that if I entered a room she was in she'd yell at me and treat me with disdain. Eventually I overheard a phone call she was making. I don't know who she was talking to, but she told the person she couldn't do it anymore. That my quirk is evil, and she couldn't continue to raise a future villain." Everyone was feeling a mixture of sorrow for what happened to Izuku, and anger at Inko for treating him the way she did. "I vowed that day I would prove to my mom that I wanted to be a hero and help people. But I never got the chance. The next day she told me to pack up a few things, that I was going to go stay with someone. I thought it would be for a few days, hoping our relationship would be better afterwards. But she dropped me off at my first foster home. And never came back." He finished. Tears poured from his eyes like natural falls. The pain and hurt in his voice not once leaving during his story.
"You talked about your mom, But what about your dad? Did he not do anything during all this?" Asked Komori. This was easily the saddest story she's ever heard, her heart feeling like it broke several times, but she needed to hear more for Izuku's sake. He needed to get it off his chest. She almost regretted her question when Izuku's eyes showed greater sadness.
"He abandoned me and my mom when I was diagnosed as quirkless." He said, earning some gasps from Komori and Mei, while the others just looked pissed. "My mom stuck up for me when my dad brought up just putting me in a foster home after that. She was a kind and loving mom, but I guess she figured he had the right idea."
For the first time in a long time, Nejire didn't want to ask any questions. She was horrified by Izuku's story, angry and what happened to him, understanding why he hates his quirk, and dreading the feeling she's barely scratched the surface of Izuku's suffering. But she was here to help him, and that's what she is going to do. "Is there more you want to tell us?" Asked Nejire. Only Izuku stayed silent. It told everyone that he didn't want to tell more, at least for now. Nejire kneeled in front of Izuku, and knelt down and enveloped Izuku in another hug, everyone else giving them the moment, except Mei, who hasn't let go of Izuku. After Nejire let go, she kept her hands on his shoulders and looked him directly in the eyes with a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry you had to go through something so horrible."
Izuku tried to give her a smile, but couldn't. "It's not your fault. But what did this have to do with getting better with my quirk?" Asked Izuku, who was honestly just wanting to change the subject. He did feel better getting that off his chest, but it was still extremely painful. And seeing the others reactions to his question, everyone but Nejire seemed to have forgotten the reason this was brought up. Which told Izuku they were more focused on his well-being, a fact that made him feel warm inside.
Nejire gave Izuku a wide smile. "Everything!" She said ecstatically, trying to cheer up Izuku. "But first, has there ever been a time when you had your quirk under control?"
Before he could answer, Mei spoke up. "Yup! When we got jumped, he fought against a girl with a fireball quirk! He was amazing!" She said excitedly. She noticed what Nejire was doing, and was trying to help.
Izuku blushed. "It wasn't anything special." He said sheepishly.
"Izuku, how many times do we have to tell you? It was awesome. Dozens of fireballs and energy blast colliding midair, before Izuku overtook her." Said Komori happily, the mood steadily lifting.
Nejire looked at Izuku eagerly. "Really!? How fast were you sending them? How much damage do they do? How do they...?" She started before catching herself and clearing her throat. "I can ask later." She said to herself quietly, before giving Izuku a serious look. "How did you feel during that fight? What was different about it from now?" Asked Nejire.
"How I felt?" He whispered to himself, looking down thoughtfully as he recalled that day. "I... I was scared. Angry. No. Livid. But not for myself. I was afraid of Mei and Komori getting hurt. Pissed about what she was saying about them. I wanted, no, needed to protect them." He said resolutely. He didn't notice they both started blushing. His mom and aunts were both proud and scared about it. Proud he fought to protect others, but scared that he wasn't worried about protecting himself.
Nejire gave Izuku a wide smile. "Very noble of you." She said, making Izuku blush. "So would you say you hated your quirk at that moment?"
Izuku once more thought back to that moment. "No. I needed my quirk, wanted it to work. Why does that...?" Izuku's eyes went wide in realization, making Nejire smile wider. "You're telling me that hating my quirk is making it not work?" Asked Izuku.
Nejire nodded her head. "Yup. But not exactly 'not work' more like unstable."
Her answer made everyone give her questioning looks. "I've heard of someone's emotions making it harder for people to use their quirk, but never about it making it unstable." Said Shoka incredulously.
"Well it's because his uses a resource." She answered like it's the most obvious thing in the world. When everyone still looked at her questioningly, she let out a sigh. "Quirks that don't require a resource are ever present in the body, something you just release, turn on, or whatever. The body is adapted to the power being present. But with a resource it's completely different. Our bodies are used to containing the resource, not the power itself. Strong negative emotions against your quirk makes it harder for the body to convert or hold it properly."
"How come we've never heard of this?" Asked Present Mic.
Nejire looked thoughtful. "Maybe because it was only discovered about two to three years ago? Or maybe because your way too used to teaching those that can already control their quirk?" She answered as she gave a shrug.
'She... has a point.' Thought the three simultaneously. Seems they have a lot more to learn themselves. They should have known better. Known that to better teach the more advanced stuff, they should know all the basics too.
Izuku started clenching his hands into fists. "But I've already tried emulating the feelings I held during that fight. It didn't work." He said, frustration clear in his voice, prompting Mei to squeeze him tighter, hoping to calm him down.
"It's because the situation made you forget your hate. Your desire overrode it. But you've held onto that hate for so long it's second nature to you now. I know it's not easy, but you're going to have to let go of your hate." Replied Nejire, tenderly.
Izuku's face quickly fell, as he looked down solemnly. "How? How can I stop hating something that ruined my life?" Asked Izuku to no one on particular.
Everyone remained silent at that. They couldn't give him an answer to that. Well, except for one. "By fighting it with something stronger than your hate." Answered Nejire.
Izuku slowly raised his head to look at her. "What do you mean?" Asked Izuku.
"I mean fight your hate with something more important to you. You say you already tried emulating your feelings from that day and it didn't work, but that doesn't mean you were on the wrong track. You have to do more than emulate it! You have to feel it! To let it completely flow through you! And not give your hate any room in your heart or mind! Smother it until it's completely banished!" She said encouragingly, as she became more and more bubbly as she spoke, before she calmed down and gave Izuku and encouraging sympathetic look. "It's not easy, and it won't change your mindset overnight. But if you truly want to get better with your quirk, that is the best advice I can give you."
Izuku sat there silently as he mulled over what she told him. 'Smother it until it's completely banished.' He thought. He looked to Mei, Komori, his mom, aunt Mic, and aunt Midnight. 'If I truly want to get better with my quirk.' Determination started welling up inside him, and it must have shown on his face because everyone was smiling at him. He nodded his head. "I'll do it. I need to get better if I want to be a hero." He said resolute. Everyone nodded back at him with proud and supportive looks.
Mei released Izuku as he reached for his cane, he was brought back up to 813. They all watched as he stood in front of the targets again and closed his eyes. He dug back down to the feelings he had that day. His desire to protect Mei and Komori. The desire to save them, to keep them safe. But more than that he started thinking about his mom, his aunts, Tsukauchi, Recovery Girl, Nezu, Mr. and Mrs. Hatsume, Hound Dog, the entirety of the U.A. staff, and even Nejire. All who have been there for him, who have helped him so much, who have cared about and supported them. He thought about how much he cares about each and every one of them. About how he wants to continue this life with them. About how he wants to be there to protect them, as they have protected him.
He started to feel the energy in his chest again, but unlike earlier, it felt more controlled. Opening his eyes, he aimed his arm at one of the targets, let the energy flow to his hand, and released a ball of energy. 812.
He missed.
But he didn't care. Well, not much. But he was happy that he was able to use his quirk properly. He stood there smiling at the burn mark on the wall about 3 feet (0.91 m) away from his target. Before he had a chance to turn to the others, not one, but two people slammed into him giving him a hug. Thankfully they didn't fall over. He looked down and saw Mei and Nejire hugging him.
"I knew you could do it!" Yelled Mei ecstatic.
"That was amazing!" Yelled Nejire, just as excited.
Izuku started blushing up a storm. "But I missed." He said embarrassed, but couldn't help but smile.
"So? It was your first proper shot? You'll get better in no time." Praised Shoka, as the others walked up, all of them smiling. "Nejire. Thank you for the help. You definitely earned the extra credit."
Nejire let go of Izuku and looked at Shoka confused. "I was getting extra credit for this?" She asked sincerely.
Shoka, Present Mic, and Midnight all looked stunned for a couple seconds before they started chuckling. "Don't ever change Nejire." Said Present Mic. "You're good to go if you want."
Nejire gave a wide smile. "Nah, I want to see more of what Izuku can do. He's really interesting."
Shoka looked toward Izuku, who was back to staring at the burn mark with a smile. "More than you know."
It was then that Komori walked up to Izuku. "So how did you suppress your hatred?" She asked.
Izuku's eyes went wide as his face turned crimson. He looked away from them embarrassed while poking his index fingers together, mumbling something under his breath.
"Come oooooon Izukuuuuu." Whined Mei. "Speak up. I want to know to." Izuku once again Mumbled something they couldn't hear. Mei cupped her ear facing Izuku. "What was that?" She asked.
"I thought about how much I care and want to protect all of you and everyone else who's been there for me, and how I don't want to live without you!" He yelled out rapidly, eyes squeezed shut, expecting to hear them laugh at him.
He stood there waiting until he felt something soft on both his cheeks. His blush deeper to reds no man has ever even dreamed of when he noticed it was his mom and Mei kissing him on the cheeks. He was too flustered to realize the number in his head had jumped to 828. "Wh-wh-why d-did y-y-y-you g-guys do th-th-that?" He stuttered.
They were both giving him a wide smile. "Because it was very sweet, and we wanted to." Answered Shoka.
"And we feel the same." Said Mei.
"Now hold still. I still gotta give you my kiss." Said Midnight lovingly.
"Me too." Said Present Mic.
Izuku had shut down and had smoke coming out of his mouth as the two of them kissed his cheeks as well. He was absolutely embarrassed. He was brought back as he felt another pair of lips on his right cheek. Looking at the source, he saw a very embarrassed Komori.
"I feel the same." She said, barely loud enough for Izuku to hear. He could also hear several girls giggling.
He looked at all of them with an appreciative smile. Happy at where his life has gone.
'They'll all abandon you eventually.' Came the voice in his head. While it did sour his mood a bit, he shut it away.
Nejire watched from the sidelines. She kinda wanted to kiss him to, because she found his flustered reaction hilarious. But she wasn't going to impede on their moment. But once hey calmed down, she walked up to them. "So you ready to practice?" She asked.
Izuku gave her a determined look, and nodded his head. "Yes."
At that, everyone went back to what they were doing, with Izuku having both Nejire and Shoka both overseeing him. They stood next to each other as they watched Izuku make more shots. They were slow, he was only launching one every few seconds, with him having difficulty from time to time. It even went out of control a couple more times, including firing off that beam of his again. As Nejire said, it wasn't going to be easy to just forget his hate. And Shoka knew it was going to be awhile before he could use his quirk freely. She was going to have to inform Hound Dog of this update.
Speaking of Hound Dog, she was going to have to thank her. Just a few weeks ago, there was no way Izuku would have opened up the way he did. He's obviously still keeping a lot buried, he's still struggling. But he made a lot of progress today, and she'll be there to continue helping him on the long road ahead. But for now, she wanted answers from someone else.
"So how did you know he hates his quirk?" She asked, without even looking away from Izuku.
"Because I used to hate MY quirk when I was younger." She replied nonchalantly.
Shoka quickly turned her head to Nejire. "Why?"
"My quirk uses my own vitality. It sucks literally draining your own stamina just to use your quirk, it's also not the most comfortable thing in the world. To train I had to have someone watch over me just in case, which I couldn't always find." She said simply, before looking dejected. "And constantly being reminded that my own quirk could kill me if I'm not careful, really isn't all that pleasant either." As if flipping a switch, she went back to smiling. "But at least my own experience came in handy in helping someone else."
Shoka smiled at Nejire. She felt she needed to re-evaluate her opinion of Nejire. Maybe of other students as well. "Thank you. I really owe you one."
Nejire shrugged. "Nah. You've helped me a bunch in your class. You may be harsh, and outright mean sometimes, but I know you do it because you care. That you want us to be the best we can be. So the way I see it, I still owe you."
Yup. She definitely needed to re-evaluate her opinion. "Be a proper hero and consider us even. Ok?"
Nejire nodded to Shoka happily. "Way ahead of you."
Shoka nodded back then turned back to look at Izuku who was currently muttering up a storm while looking at his hand. She walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his trance.
Izuku quickly slammed his hands over his mouth looking scared.
Shoka mentally facepalmed for startling him, she figured she would have learned by now. She gently put her other hand on his arm. "Hey it's ok. You're not in trouble. I was just wondering what you were muttering about." She said gently.
The fear slowly faded from his face as he took a few deep breaths through his nose. Once he calmed down he lowered his hands and looked at them. "I-I was just th-thinking about the e-e-energy flow."
"What about it?" Asked Shoka.
"W-well it travels t-to my palms from m-my chest a-and I release it." He said before looking at her. "But I-I was wondering I-if there was a-anything else I could d-do if I directed it e-elsewhere."
Shoka smiled at him. "Well there's only one way to find out. And a lot of things to try. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you."
Izuku nodded with an appreciative smile. He started debating on what to try first. Unfortunately thanks to accidentally firing his beam again earlier he was down to 340. 'Mom has some amazing reaction speed.' He thought. He had to be smart about what he tries. As he debated what to try first, a memory came to him. It was of the dream he had the morning of the day his life changed for the better. More specifically, he thought about the flying. He had always thought about how awesome it must be to have a flying quirk. To feel the exhilaration that must come with it. The freedom.
He decided, even if it doesn't work, he has to try it. Thinking on all the positive emotions he felt the power gather in his chest, but instead guided it to his back. It felt... right. The power streamed slowly, as he felt a pressure on his back, like something was pushing out. But it was slow. 330. He hated thinking about the possibility of wasting Mei's help, but he was determined to see this through. He willed the flow to increase, and suddenly a huge surge blasted from his chest to his back, as he felt like his back expanded... a lot. 220, and steadily dropping. By about 10 a second if he had to guess.
He opened his eyes as he heard a few gasps. Turning around to the source he felt resistance on his back, where he noticed the others stare at him wide-eyed. 170. Only he noticed they weren't staring at him, they were staring behind him. 150. He turned his head, and his eyes shot open. 130. He knew he was attempting it, but this isn't what he hoped to see.
Instead of vibrant wings with feathers his heart dropped at what he saw. 100. On his back were wings that reminded him of a bat. He stood there inspecting the wings on his back 80. No. 70. A demon. 50. Complete with spikes at the end of every ridge. 40 He knew his quirk was named after a demon. 30. Something his birth mother chose for him without his consent. 20. But from what he saw now, he believed she was always right. 10. His quirk is evil. 0
When he hit zero, the wings retracted into his back. It just felt like a pressure on his back, going the opposite of how it felt when they were brought out.
Izuku turner back to the others terrified of what he might see. But they still had shocked faces, but less so than before. "Izuku..." Said Mei. He clenched his eyes, bracing for what she was going to say. She was going to call him evil, a demon, a villain, something along those lines and tell him she didn't want anything more to do with him. "That was awesome! How did you do that!?" She said excitedly as she rushed up to him.
Slowly he opened his eyes in surprise, looking at the smile on her face. He was confused. He looked at the others who were smiling at him as well.
"I don't know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't that." Said Shoka.
"Bring them back out! I want to check them out!" Yelled Nejire.
"That looked kickass." Said Present Mic.
"No kidding. With those he can easily pull off the sexy devil look." Said Midnight with a smirk, earning her a backhanded smack to her arm from Shoka.
"That was really cool Izuku." Said Komori, who has a blush on her face.
Izuku looked at all of them with surprise. It was not the reaction he was expecting. And it made him feel like such a fool. 'I keep expecting the worse from them. But they've constantly been there for me.' He smiled at them. "Thank you all. And I can't bring them back out. They seem to require a constant stream of energy, and I'm all out now." He said scratching the back of his head.
As if on cue, Mei grabbed hold of him, holding him in an embrace. "Here let me help." She said happily. For some reason he's getting pheromones a little faster, and while still very nice, the embrace felt different. He even noticed Komori was still blushing and looking away.
"Mei, you might want to let him put on a new shirt." Called Shoka with a smirk.
'Huh?' Thought Izuku. He looked down and his eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he saw his shirt was missing. No, not missing, just ripped and on the floor. He failed to realize or even notice that his shirt ripped when he summoned the wing. He was blushing from embarrassment. 'I really need to think these things through more.' He was really glad he wasn't wearing The training suit Mei made for him. He would have felt horrible if he destroyed it.
"I'm comfortable with this." Said Mei happily.
"Um M-Mei? Can I-I please put o-on a shirt?" Asked Izuku. Mei started pouting and reluctantly let go. 'So cute.' Thought Izuku.
"Fine. But we're cuddle AND I get to be the big spoon later." She said firmly.
He could hear his aunts snickering. "O-ok." He said nervously, before turning to leave, only for the fatigue to hit him and making him stumble. Mei quickly helped keep him stable.
Shoka could easily see his fatigue, and looking over Mei and Komori, they were tired too. They have been here for about an hour and a half. "You've all worked hard, so we'll stop here. Go ahead and shower as well."
Before he could say anything, Midnight spoke up. "Separately." Present Mic obviously holding back laughter at that, and Nejire giggled.
Both Mei and Izuku had full face crimson blushes. "I wasn't going to do that!" Shouted Mei embarrassed. Though if she was being honest, now that he thought was in her head, it sounded appealing. She walked off when she saw Midnight and Present Mics knowing smirks. Izuku stiffly following behind with Komori, who was also blushing at the thought, behind him.
Shoka walked up to Midnight and smacked her on the arm. "You know they're too young for that." She scolded.
Midnight simply smirked at Shoka. "They're of legal age. And you know if we're right about Izuku's quirk, you're going to have to get used to the fact that it's going to happen often."
Shoka pinched the bridge of her nose. "And I accept that. Doesn't mean I want to think about it." She said annoyed.
Midnight and Present Mic we're chuckling when Nejire walked up, earning their attention. "Sensei's, can I help with future training?" She asked.
Shoka smiled at her, while Midnight and Present Mic smirked. "Oh? And why do you want to help?" Asked Present Mic, in an implicating tone.
"Izuku's quirk is interesting, and want to see more of what it can do." Said Nejire, seemingly oblivious to what Present Mic was implying. "I want to know why that pink haired girl is the only one he can get pheromones from. Oh! And maybe find out how I can give him some! Maybe that will help him do more cool stuff!" She said excited, looking ready to ramble off more reasons before Shoka stopped her by putting her hand up to stop her.
"You can help. We'll let you know about future training sessions." Answer Shoka.
Nejire smiles wide. "Thank you! Guess I'll be going now. Bye!" She said as she started running off.
The three were left there standing, Present Mic and Midnight still with smirks on their face. "If I didn't know better, I'd assume Izuku's quirk is being a ladies magnet." Said Present Mic.
They faced Shoka. "You know this means you're probably going to be a mother-in-law to several girls, with a LOT of grandchildren." Teased Midnight.
Shoka hung her head, putting her face in one of her hands. "What did I get myself into." She mumbled.
"You regretting it?" Asked Present Mic, already knowing the answer.
Shoka smiled towards the exit. "Not one bit."