Aim To Pass:
In the early, crisp hours of the morning, Izuku arrives at the dojo to get his stretches in before his jog to Takoba Beach. The sun had yet to peek over the horizon, and if he were quick enough, he might be able to spend a bit more time talking to Uraraka, which would be nice. She was a good sliver of sunshine in his life, and he would gladly admit that he looked forward to meeting her every morning. Even though their conversations rarely got deeper than what public news had happened that week or how their days were, he still always enjoyed her voice.
When he steps through the doors and sets his bag down, he realizes that there are two more people than he expected to see. Both women are dressed to kill in matching black suits, glasses that are darker than the night, and a powerful scent of cheap perfume following their every movement.
"...- with the Hero Public Safety Commission Division of Education and Training and this is my assistant, Nanami Seto. We're here to inquire about one Ryoya Harushi."
Ryu appraised them both with a raised brow. "Inquire about what, exactly?"
The woman called Nanami bowed and smiled. "We're here to extend an invitation to him, of course. We've heard a lot about him and he's been blessed with real talent. Definitely hero material!"
"Indeed, Mr..."
"Ryu."
"Mr. Ryu," the older woman continues. "Our agents have been watching him, and his skill and combat ability is frankly astounding for his age. Such incredible potential shouldn't be wasted, right?"
"...right. Midoriya."
Izuku flinches at the sudden sound of his name, surprised that his sensei noticed him even while hiding his presence.
"Wake up your friend before you head out," Ryu commands while taking out his phone, "You two ladies, follow me and we'll talk more."
Despite the weird start of the day, Izuku's morning followed a similar pattern. The run to Takoba seemed shorter and shorter. They'd been playing this little game for a while now - making playful remarks at each other when he visited on his runs, or scolding him for taking training too far - and a little banter was just what he needed to clear his mind.
A small part of him knew he should probably tell Uraraka that he was quirkless, at least. It was an honest thing to do, and it would, at the very least, explain to her why he chose to do such hellish training routines, despite him confirming that he did not possess a strength quirk. But another, just as small, selfish part of him wanted to keep it a secret for a little while longer. He didn't think it would change much between them - or so he hoped - and he enjoyed their little exchanges a bit too much to put it at risk.
Even though the girl lingered on his mind, he hadn't remembered that today was Sunday, and thus, she was likely scheduled to take a lighter load than usual. His suspicion was confirmed when he arrived at the beach to see it completely empty. A bit disappointed, Izuku takes this opportunity to relax and partake in a hobby he hadn't really touched: analysis. If he had found some time to look into some quirks between his martial arts training, then all the better.
Notebook in hand, Izuku finds a clearing on Takoba where there's a nice, semi-decent view of the seawall, and had felt impressed by the fruits of Uraraka's labor. He opened the book and read through some of his more prominent pages.
Sakura Kasugano. Quirk: Adaptability. User adapts to any outside stimuli, quirk effect, or status if exposed to it for five seconds. The body remains in the adapted state until the user turns it off. Multiple adaptations can be applied at once. Current weakness: Unknown.
He still had yet to figure out a proper way to deal with this ability. Sakura was frankly a machine even without it, so when used in conjunction with her ki, he struggled to think how anyone could manage to win. She had told him before that she reigned supreme at the top of her class at UA for two years straight, and it's easy for him to see why.
Izuku got lost in his own world for a moment, and as such, failed to register the foot-steps nor ki signature behind him.
"Mornin', Midoriya!" Izuku snapped out of his analytic haze when Uraraka came and parked herself next to him on the sand, smiling as she ate a bagel. She'd obviously just arrived, since he could still see the tiredness in her eyes, and the cleanliness of her hands and face. Normally though, it would be him showing up to chat with her on his run, not the other way around. He tried not to stare at the tone in her arms, or her lips and neck as she yawned.
"Uraraka! What're you doing here?" Izuku asked in surprise, only to immediately mentally facepalm. Luke's words rang true in his head. He chose the wrong dialogue option yet again. "I - I mean, I thought today was a rest day for you. I'm surprised to see you here."
Uraraka leaned back a bit and laughed, surprising him somewhat. It was the first time he's heard more than a light giggle, but not the first time he felt his stomach feeling lighter. "Calm down, silly. I didn't mean to scare you. Yeah, today is a rest day," Uraraka confirms when the laughter stops. "But All Might is, uh, a bit of a task master when he wants to be. So rest only means I do less today. I didn't expect for you to be out here doing homework."
"It's not homework!" Izuku protests with a light blush on his cheeks. "It's analysis that, uh, I do to pass the time."
"And that's better?" Ochako playfully shoots back, settling into a more comfortable position. "Can I see?"
Against his better judgment, Izuku slides her the notebook and waits for a response.
"Say, these are really neat. I can tell you put a lot of effort into this!" Izuku chuckles to himself sheepishly and mutters out a thank you. "I'm curious though," she says suddenly with a tilt of the head, "I don't think I've ever heard of you mentioning a hobby. What do you do for fun?"
"Uh, analysis, I guess?" He wondered if he should mention that he also enjoyed a good fight, but a second thought reminded him that it probably sounded bad that punching people in the face was something he found therapeutic.
"That sounds so boring!" She whines with a pout. Izuku felt his pitiful resistances start to give in already. "Sounds like you could use an actual hobby."
"Oh yeah," Izuku challenges with reddened cheeks. "What do you do for fun?"
Uraraka's face falls immediately, and Izuku watches in thinly veiled amusement as her cheeks blush more than they usually did. Her head snaps to the side, as though she suddenly found a mountain of trash to be the most interesting thing. After a few attempts to explain herself came and went, they both turned to each other and started to laugh.
"Guess we're both boring, huh?"
Izuku bites the inside of his cheek to prevent his smile from getting any wider. "Yeah, but we can, uh, go do something if you want? You're not from around here, right?"
Uraraka shakes her head no, "I'm from Mie. My family moved me here for some... special training for UA."
Izuku snorts, "Special training is a bit of an undersell. But when you're free, we can, uh, take a tour of the city," his eyes then widen in realization and a bit of mortification. "If you want to, of course!"
Ochako pushes the tips of her index fingers together and chews on her bottom lip as she contemplates the invitation. Then she smiles. "Sure! We can go right now, actually!"
"...huh? I thought you were -"
"I'm ahead of schedule anyway. And I could use a tour. I don't like walking around like a tourist!"
Another snort escapes Izuku's body before he stands up and dusts himself off. He reaches out a hand and Uraraka grabs it with a pinky sticking out. "Well, uh, we have some time before the morning rush? How about some breakfast? More breakfast, I mean? If - I know you were eating a bagel and -" as though he were in a video game, if felt like the world had stopped and waited for him to say something. He could say anything; charming, witty, smart and cool. Unfortunately, for Izuku, he'd never been good at quick time events. "- wanted to know if you wanted some cereal..."
Uraraka can see the boy recoil, as though in physical pain. She uses her hand to cover her mouth and stifle the giggles that were on the horizon, "I could use some cereal," she says coyly. "Lead the way."
Izuku and Ochako hummed in idle conversation as they walked, keeping their voices low enough as they moved past people in every direction. Musutafu Downtown could be a bit busy early in the morning, and while Izuku hadn't been a fan of crowded spaces filled with people he doesn't know, Uraraka's presence made him swallow down any lingering feelings on the matter. They still had plenty of time to train for U.A - as Uraraka pointed out - so taking the scenic route seemed like a given.
They swerved out of the way of another group of adults, not easing up on their conversation at all, but keeping each other close enough to not be separated.
He gestured to a corner store with a bright neon sign, looking through the window to see the contents inside before taking another step forward. "This is where I got most of my work-out equipment," he explains. "It's not the best quality, but it's not quirk specific, you know? Pretty cheap too."
Uraraka nodded enthusiastically. "Some of those things look really old," she says while pressing her face against the glass to get a better look.
"Simple, but effective."
Before the two could snake their way through the crowds of people and continue their tour, Izuku saw one face just at the front of the store staring back at him. Katsuki had almost completely missed him on his way out, but saw the green-haired teen and his brunette companion not a moment too soon.
Izuku said nothing, and moved nowhere under Katsuki's intense stare, standing uncomfortably like a deer in the headlights. Katsuki didn't say a word nor moved an inch when he saw Izuku notice him. The two boys stared at one another for a while, taking their own brief moments of pause, all while Uraraka remained blissfully unaware of the plight raging mere centimeters away from her. Izuku almost panicked, but Uraraka tapping him on the shoulder to ask a question broke his stare-off.
"So, how about places to eat or relax?" She asks without looking at them.
Izuku takes his cue. He levels Katsuki an even stare, and nods in acknowledgement then turns away. Katsuki scoffed and turned away himself, but not before looking between Izuku and Uraraka several more times as if to ingrain their images into his memory. He sulks away without giving either of them a second glance.
With the blonde now gone, Izuku and Ochako continue their tour of the city, the two tip-toeing through the sea of people to get to a place Izuku found comfort in: an old, tucked away hero merchandise store.
At least inside, the crowd barely existed save for one or two people dressed in dark clothes and sunglasses who ignored their presence. The first thing he did was circle around the store with Ochako in tow, eagerly showing her all of the latest things he could find, and watching her light up in excitement as they happened upon a rare bit of Thirteen merch; a poster of the woman herself contrasted by the endless starry sky, with none other than Annie of the Stars sitting on a nearby planet.
There were lots of other things too, but their exploration paused when an old man walked out from behind a curtain of beads. "Mr. Fuji!" Izuku happily calls out.
The elder's wrinkles turn up in unison as a small slowly forms on his face. "Midoriya, it's nice to see you again. It's been a while."
Izuku nervously rubs the back of his head. "Heh, sorry, sir. I've been a bit busy with training and stuff."
Mr. Fuji waves him off, "There's no need to apologize, young man. The gift of your youth has helped me more than enough," his bushy brows went up in amusement when he noticed that the boy wasn't alone. "And who is this lovely lady, young man? I didn't think I'd ever see you bring another friend around that wasn't that foreign boy."
Izuku can feel the tips of his ears getting warmer at the tone and opens his mouth to speak, but Uraraka does it first.
"Ochako Uraraka, sir! Midoriya is showing me around since I'm, uh, pretty new around here." Ochako introduces with an earnest smile that lights up the room. Mr. Fuji reaches out and shakes her hand with a surprising amount of strength.
"It's nice to meet you, young lady. Do you see anything you like, or are you just browsing?"
"No - no, sir." Ochako says slowly. Neither Izuku nor Mr. Fuji believes her, but they don't press it. "We're just browsing."
The old man nods and turns away. "Alright, feel free to look around. Midoriya has a good face around here, so let me know if something comes up."
Unfortunately, fate was a fickle thing. Something came up almost immediately.
"Aw, to hell with this!" One of the other people in the shop suddenly shouted. Izuku and Ochako's head snap to him to see his hoodie fly off. He's an older man with high cheekbones, cherry blonde hair and a scar over his right eyebrow. With a duffel bag thrown over his shoulder, the man brandishes a knife. "This is a fuckin' stick up. Empty the register now!"
Ochako moves first, taking a step forward until she feels someone wrap their arms around her shoulder and a cold, metal tube against her temple. She knows exactly what it is the instant it touches her and she could hear Midoriya off to the side.
"That's right. Empty the register now, " A boy this time - pale and with a salt-and-pepper ponytail - demands. "Any sudden moves and the kid gets it."
In her immediate sightline, Ochako sees Mr. Fuji goes pale.
"Thief Dollar, take everything of value. Money and merch. You two kids are gonna empty your pockets too," the kid commands. Izuku doesn't move. "Hey kid, are you fuckin' -"
Quick as a flash, Izuku strikes.
His right arm snaps up and moves the gun towards the ceiling, keeping a hard grip on his hand to prevent it from firing. Uraraka moves in tandem with him, stomping on the criminal's foot and landing a hard elbow to his stomach that makes him double over. Izuku completes the disarm, immediately unloading the weapon and tossing it to the girl. Its gravity is removed and it floats up, and before it hits the ceiling, Izuku uses a ki-infused punch to the criminal's temple that knocks him out cold.
The entire exchange lasted barely more than several seconds, and by the time the other criminal - Thief Dollar - realized what had happened, Izuku was already upon him.
Thief Dollar narrowly avoids a heavy punch by raising his duffle bag in time, but the force of the blow is enough to send him flying across the room.
The villain recovers faster than Izuku expected and reaches into his bag. He pulls out a small circle with a skull on it.
"Take this!"
Izuku's mind moves at a mile a minute, and reflexively spikes his ki like Luke-sensei had taught him. The explosion, all things considered, isn't that big. It barely phases him through his defenses, but the blast is enough to shatter glass and knock over displays. Uraraka yells his name.
The smoke clears after a time and Izuku is left standing there, looking no worse for wear other than some burnt clothes and soot on his forearms.
"I'm fine! Focus on that guy. He has bombs!"
Uraraka needn't be told twice. Thief Dollar reaches into his bag again and pulls out another, bigger bomb and draws back. He never gets the chance to throw it, however.
Izuku's forearm starts to steam for a fraction of a second and he throws a punch, harder and more desperate than he ever had before. "Sand Blast!"
The concussive bullet of air slams into Thief Dollar's arm and forces the bomb to drop. The thief howls in pain and, in one fluid movement, is knocked off of his feet by an Uraraka shoulder charge. She grabs the bomb and the bag, removing their gravity in unison then sprints to the exit. She throws everything upward at once and takes cover.
The bag barely reaches several stories up before it detonates.
The sky, for the briefest of moments, illuminates in such a way that you could've mistaken it for a second sun. The fireball is gargantuan and the shockwave shatters the glasses of every building for several blocks. Car alarms blare, security alarms go off and the tops of buildings are lined in ash and soot.
Inside the store, Thief Dollar watches in horror. "You stupid kids! That bag had important Mad Gear things!" He roars, taking a knife out of his boot. "Die!"
His initial charge is met by Izuku's wide eyes, and the slash of his knife is caught in a bright blue glowing hand. He gasps. Izuku doesn't hesitate in letting Ki pool to his arm a second time.
The flash knuckle he throws is little more than a pale imitation; not having the skill nor timing down to perform a perfect one like his sensei before him, but it's still more than enough to defeat the criminal in a single blow.
Thief Dollar falls over, unconscious, and Izuku rushes to Ochako's side. "Are you okay!?"
"Yeah - yeah," comes her shaky response, "I'm fine, just a bit dizzy."
The sigh of relief Izuku lets out is enough to make him physically deflate.
"Never fear, citizens! For I am... here?"
All Might lands with triumphant bombast and heroism then pauses when he sees his apprentice and young Midoriya standing over two defeated villains and a cowering elderly man. He blinks and then looks between the two and then towards the villains, then the man, and then back to the teens.
"You're really starting to steal my shine here, young Midoriya! Haha!"
The President of the HPSC - Konan Kumai - looks over the documents on her desk for a second time.
Birth name: Gouten 'Ryoya' Harushi
Age: 16
Quirk: Visionary
Nationality: Hawaiian/Japanese
All in all, nothing particularly eye-catching. His quirk was something that she couldn't wait to explore and mold to be a tool for the greater good, but the boy himself seemed unremarkable.
Until she got further along in his files. He had no traceable family tree in Japan, and even searching his name only got a small list of his accomplishments in martial arts tournaments and not much else. He was, effectively, a ghost. A smile creeps to her aged face. A ghost, someone who nobody really knew, with a quirk as devastating as that? Truly, luck had shined down upon her. It was time she made some calls to some of her better connections. She wondered what Zeku or Bang Shishigami would be up to these days.
Droves of police and heroes gather at the scene of the crime to assess what had happened. Medical personnel attended to Izuku while All Might himself personally made sure that Uraraka had her needs met. After ensuring everyone's safety, Izuku prepares to leave, only to be called back by Mr. Fuji. "Here, kid. I saw you eyeing it." It's the same poster of Thirteen and Annie. Izuku's eyes went wide; this thing had to be valued a fortune. He tries to protest, to tell the man that he didn't help him for reward, but Fuji waves him off. "Take it, you whippersnapper. It's the least I could do. And if you don't want it, I'm sure your nice lady friend would like it." For the second time, the tips of Izuku's ears went warm at the implication, but he didn't argue.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading and the continued support on this fic!