Chapter 19: Call the Fruit Shop, We're Gonna Need Some Dates
The holographic image of Melissa Shield addressed the gathered Hero Students, and Mei, "So it seems that additional second stage Bonds multiply the range of the bond's effects, but the increased physical capacity is additive. You're at a forty percent increase in physical strength while within ten kilometers of each other…"
"Which means that at eight stage 2 Bonds, in addition to the telepathy, we will have an eighty percent increase in physicality at a range of one hundred thousand kilometers," Momo said, frowning, "Which is more than the diameter of the Earth, so for all practical reasons, we would be able to function anywhere."
"That's over a quarter of the distance between Earth and the moon!" Ochako's eyes bugged out. "If the International Space Station was still in use, one of us could be on there, the other could be on the exact opposite end of the planet, and we'd still stay within range!"
"Exponential growth is terrifying," Melissa said.
"Y'know, with Ochako's Quirk, we could start exploring space again super easily!" Mei said, getting ideas. "The biggest energy requirement is getting out of Earth's gravitational pull, so we could save a ton on fuel and launch costs by just having her touch some equipment and letting it yeet itself away from the planet."
"That would be AMAZING!" Melissa agreed.
"Totally! Though the idea of me being a hero and serving as a space taxi might be too much for one person…" Ochako said, thinking pragmatically.
"The fact that you can do it means that it is technically replicable," Izuku offered. "Though maybe we should table that discussion for now…" He turned to Tsu and Toru.
Tsu looked fine, and the bond wasn't conveying anything severe. Toru, on the other hand, looked absolutely fried, "Ugh, I fell for a bunch of nerds. Why couldn't I join a more fun polycule?"
"Does this mean our date this afternoon is cancelled?" Izuku asked. The bond, unfortunately, revealed that beneath his joking tone he was worried about boring the girls.
"Hell, no! Don't even joke about that, I'm not letting any of you go without a fight!" Toru leapt up, holding up her fist for emphasis.
"Perfect!" Izuku said, smiling in relief.
"Speaking of dates, I've solved one of our conundrums," Momo said, opening a purse, "I have opened an account for the group to use for our dates. I realize that outings with each other will add up, so I wanted to give us an option so that we aren't constrained in this way." She took out debit cards and distributed them to her paramours, "I have one for you too, Melissa-san, for when you arrive in Japan."
"It'll be after your internships end," Melissa smiled at them.
Ochako and Izuku each looked at the cards with some unease. Ochako said, "I know you mean this as a gift, but this still makes me feel like a parasite."
"Well, then we'll just have to go on a date where you spend some of it on me," Momo said with a smile. Ochako blushed, but nodded. Momo then turned to Izuku, "And you are the one who earned it. Father gave me the proceeds when we sold our shares in Detnerat after your crusade against our initial suit designs."
Izuku blinked, "Wow. So how much money is in there?"
Momo told them the number. Ochako fainted.
A part of Izuku felt bad about going out to have fun when one of his friends was dealing with something so difficult. Still, he realized that he'd offered his hand, and Tenya needed the space. And, if anything, this would be a good distraction.
Toru was wearing a bright cornflower blue dress and matching wristbands and a nice sunhat. Izuku, by contrast, had dressed nicely, but he was still wearing a joke T-shirt that read "kimono", which made Toru giggle.
"How many of those shirts do you have?" Toru asked.
"Too many, I suppose," Izuku replied sheepishly. "Full disclosure, I've never planned a wardrobe for hanging out with friends before, let alone for dating. I need to wait for laundry before anything truly nice is available again."
Toru frowned, which Izuku only knew because of the bond. Then, her whole body exploded in motion, "We should go on a shopping trip!"
Izuku paled, uncertain, "I mean, I don't want to exhaust Momo's account in one trip…"
"We don't have to buy much!" Toru stated, "We can model stuff for each other, see what works, see what we like, maybe use the bonds to find out what the others think look good on us!"
What followed was a trip to a shopping mall and a whirlwind assessment of various outfits. Izuku always treated clothes shopping as a chore, but Toru was making this so much fun, trying to coordinate outfits and showing them off for her.
It felt so nice. He felt like he was attractive, which he'd never felt before.
Speaking of attractive, Toru modeling outfits for him was mind-blowing. She had such a bright theatricality to her movements, and an infectious cheer that made her so lovely. He could scarcely take his eyes off of her.
In the end, they did end up buying a few things, mostly non-joke shirts for Izuku (which he bought with his own money). They went for dinner at the mall's food court.
"This was a lot of fun, Izu-kun!" Toru said as she began to eat.
"Same here!" Izuku said. "You know so much about how to coordinate an outfit, and you make them all look great!"
"Heh, well, I have to! Since, y'know, that's one of the few ways to get people to notice me," Toru said, and Izuku could feel that twitch of sadness when she did.
Izuku paused for a bit, collecting his words, "You know, back before my Quirk came in, I saw a lot of people who were conventionally pretty, but I always saw them at their worst. Even if they had perfect facial symmetry or expert hair and makeup or whatever, they'd be sneering or condescending, and it meant that no matter how nice they might look, they were ugly.
"Toru-chan? You're so upbeat and friendly and chipper that it doesn't matter that I've never seen your face, you're one of the prettiest people I've ever met," Izuku said, giving a smile that could blind a person.
Toru paused, then smacked Izuku on the arm, "That was the cheesiest thing I've ever heard." She said it fondly. And then he saw droplets land on her shirt.
"Did I upset you, Toru-chan?" Izuku wanted to be sure.
"Course not, you big goof. You don't have the monopoly on happy-crying, y'know?" Toru said.
"Sorry, the bond helps, but I keep worrying over nothing," Izuku said, smiling.
Toru laughed, then gently smacked the top of his head, "This bad boy can fit so much anxiety in him…" as she did so, she began to rub his hair, "Oh wow, you're so fluffy!"
"I… um…" Izuku had no idea what to do as his date started petting his hair like he was a puppy or something. He was afraid of the social faux pas he was causing, but at the same time, it felt really good. After about a minute, totally red faced, he said, "Maybe you should stop?"
Toru seemed to realize that she was in public, letting out an "Eep!" as she sat right back down in her chair. Izuku sensed that if she was visible, she'd be blushing.
"So, um…" Toru changed the subject, "I was hoping for some advice on where to go on my internship? I figured I'd let the others ask you in class since I was gonna have time with you later…"
Izuku smiled as he put his hand to his chin in thought, "I suppose the question is, what would you like to focus on? From the agencies provided by U.A., I can see two good fits for you, depending on whether you want to train up your stealth or your refraction."
Toru instantly knew the answer, "Stealth comes naturally to me, and we have an underground Hero for a homeroom teacher. I just learned about my refraction powers, I should train those up."
Izuku nodded, "Reflet is a heroine who can store, manipulate, and use light in a number of ways, and her sidekicks have similar Quirks. You should learn a lot there."
"Excellent!" Toru cheered. "I can't wait! Our internships are going to rule!"
Mei's date was the hardest to plan out. Honestly, Mei would have been happy if they spent it together in her workshop, him helping her make things and talking. But, this was their first date, and Mei's first date ever. That made it special. That meant he had to do something.
He rang the doorbell, upon which a man with white dreadlocks opened, looked at Izuku, and said, "Sweet Tesla, this is really happening…"
"What?" Izuku asked.
"Sorry, young man, I'm just in shock. One moment, please," he turned around, "Honey, the boy from the Sports Festival is here!"
A woman with lighter red hair came in, took one look at Izuku, and appraised him. She put on a stern face and said, "If this is an attempt to get my little girl alone so you can do something horrible to her, I'll-"
"Never!" Izuku paled in shock, "I've had jerks do that to me my whole life! I'd never do that to anyone!"
"Oh, that's good," the man said in relief. "Next possible scenario, are you perhaps being coerced in any way, shape or form? Blackmail, perhaps?"
"No… This is extremely weird," Izuku said cautiously.
"Tell me about it," the man said.
"We're sorry, Midoriya-kun," the woman, obviously Mrs. Hatsume, responded, a lot nicer. "We… our Mei doesn't have the best social graces or understanding and we were worried that something bad might have been going on."
"At first we thought she made you up," Mr. Hatsume said. "Then when we saw you at the Sports Festival, we thought she might have assumed you were her boyfriend just because you teamed up with her. Then we feared you might stand her up… My daughter is actually getting ready to go on a date with a boy. She showered and everything… She's willingly giving up time at the workshop. I don't know whether to be thrilled or horrified."
Izuku cleared his throat and bowed, "You don't have to worry about me Mr. and Mrs. Hatsume! I think Mei's wonderful the way she is! She's really smart and she has so many clever ideas for inventions. I'm really glad I chose her as my support technician, and she's great to be around. She's the first person I've ever met who can follow me when I go off about a Quirk and its potential applications, and she uses that to make great gear! And when she goes off about her babies, it's super endearing, even if I can't always follow the mechanical sciences, it's so awesome to see the theory put into practical use-"
"Oh, good," Mrs. Hatsume said, interrupting Izuku's mutterstorm. "Our Mei found another one."
"Great Scott!" Mr. Hatsume exclaimed, heading for a chair to sit down.
Any further discussion was tabled as Mei appeared. She was wearing a pair of coveralls as she always did, but they were good ones, free of any stains or tears. Her goggles were missing, but her dreadlocks were held back by a headband. "Izuku!" she cried out, nearly tackling him. "Where are we going?"
"Mei, sweetie, maybe you should wear something a little more-" Mrs. Hatsume began, concerned.
"It's fine," Izuku said, and it really was. This look was just so emblematic of her that seeing her in anything else would be wrong. "You'll fit in at the Hamada Enterprise Expo."
All three Hatsumes were shocked as Izuku casually dropped the name of one of the biggest technology expositions in the world, being held that week. "Aren't tickets to that super limited?" Mei said in shock.
"We have a Yaoyorozu," Izuku countered, holding the tickets as proof.
Mei squealed in delight, taking Izuku by the arm and dragging him outside.
There was a pause, and Mrs. Hatsume said, "Well, at least we won't have to worry about having grandkids?"
"Perhaps, but now we'll have to worry about our grandkids," Mr. Hatsume countered.
What followed when they entered the expo was a whirlwind. While most conferences of this scale were made for the business side of tech, the HEE was made by inventors for inventors. And Mei managed to be a support student who made it to the third round of the U.A. Sports Festival using the gear she'd built. And she'd showcased a Hero student using it effectively.
This, it turned out, was a big deal. Everyone showing off their inventions was as intrigued by Mei as she was by them.
Watching Mei was like watching a shark go on a feeding frenzy, except she was feeding on other sharks who were also feeding on her, and that caused her to feed even more, and the analogy was getting away from him. Izuku was basically reduced to a note-taker, but Mei was having such a blast that he didn't mind. It was great seeing her face light up.
When they were finally on the train back home, Mei was sleeping on his shoulder. And, unfortunately, once they got to their stop, she was out like a light. In the end, Izuku had to put her in a fireman's carry and bring her home. Luckily, he was strong enough to do it.
About halfway to her house, Mei stirred. "Hey, Izuku. Was talking with your grandpa, and your uncle who looks like a grandpa. They're nice," she said telepathically.
Did it bother you? Izuku asked.
"Nope! It was a little weird, but learning mindscape stuff was worth it!" Mei replied. She frowned, and switched to normal speech, "Could you maybe keep carrying me home?"
"Your parents might be a little concerned," Izuku said sadly. "And I want to make a good impression."
"Okay…" she said reluctantly, as Izuku crouched down to help her get to the ground. They continued walking.
When they got to her doorstep, without preamble, Mei grabbed his face and gave him a kiss. Their teeth clicked at first, but they quickly corrected themselves, continuing passionately until they stopped mostly for air. They looked at each other.
"I'm really glad to have you, Izuku," Mei said. "I'm doing so much better 'cause of you, and everyone you brought with you."
Izuku smiled, tearing up, "I feel the same about you." Mei then headed back to her home.
As Izuku walked away, he felt like he was floating, no Quirk or Hover Soles required.
The next day, at lunch, Izuku and Momo sat down to have meet with Shoda and Shishida. Monoma, of course, scoffed and came up to them, "Must our representatives associate with this riffraff?"
"Monoma-kun, it's imperative that we coordinate and exchange any and all insights we may have regarding Internships," Shishida said calmly.
Monoma sneered, "Still, to lower yourselves to-"
He was interrupted as Shouto sat down at the table, and said, "Hey, Izuku-nii." The tone was muted, but to the icy boy, it might as well have been a shout.
Monoma was speechless. He'd been trying to get the son of Endeavor to be a team player with the rest of the class for weeks, and suddenly he was buddy-buddy with their archrival?!
That was compounded when Hitoshi and Akira came by, "Izuku! It's good to see you, bro!" Hitoshi waved as well, and they sat down, too.
Izuku sighed at Shouto. He still wasn't sure if his former opponent was trolling him or just that socially awkward. "Hey, guys! How's it going?"
"Well, once Internships finish up, you're looking at 1-B's two newest members!" Akira said, his fist pumping.
"We'll be spending the week in, essentially, boot camp to catch us up to where you guys are," Hitoshi replied.
"Well, it appears that 1-B has traded up," Monoma smirked as he sat down. "Thankfully, the loss of those two barbarians kept you from being subjected to 1-A."
"What actually happened? Why were those guys thrown out?" Akira asked.
"Prior to the Sports Festival, both Hero classes sparred together to test that we wouldn't do anything rash on live television," Shoda explained.
"Bakugou was a violent, sociopathic egomaniac who had a history of denigrating Midoriya-kun when he was erroneously labeled as Quirkless, and as such was present in the Hero Course on probation," Shishida explained. "He unleashed a potentially lethal blow on Uraraka during their spar, against All Might's explicit orders. Mineta was an even worse degenerate, who used the opportunity to molest his female opponent."
Momo shivered. Izuku didn't hug her, knowing it would be unwelcome thanks to the bond, but tried to project comfort to her.
"A bully and a pervert," Hitoshi said. "Yeah, good riddance." Akira seemed relieved. He was still trying to parse Shishida's vocabulary.
"So, where are the rest of you headed for your internships?" Izuku changed the subject.
"Shishido's agency scouted both Shoda and myself," Shishida stated. "Apparently, he strives to mentor people who only made the second round."
Monoma smiled smugly, "I, meanwhile, have been sought out by none other than Best Jeanist!"
"I'm interning with my father," Shouto said.
The entire table went silent. Apparently, this was news to the members of 1-B as well, given the shocked looks on their faces.
"Shouto-kun, are you certain?" Izuku said. "I mean, I turned down the offer he sent me…"
"That was probably wise," Shouto said. "Unlike you, Endeavor is invested in my future, even if it's for selfish reasons. And whatever else can be said about him, he's a highly skilled Hero, one who has successfully trained numerous sidekicks with fire Quirks. You convinced me to use my fire. If I want to be the symbol you think I can be, I need to be as skilled with it as I possibly can be. That's the only reason I chose his agency."
That sank in, and Izuku said, "Just be careful, all right?"
"I will," Shouto said. "And at least now, if something goes wrong, I have people I can turn to."
Izuku's eyes lit up, "Huh… Momo-chan, Shoda-kun, Shishida-kun, that gives me an idea to pitch to Nezu…"
The last date before Internships would be Ochako's. When the day approached, he'd been going over everything. He wanted this to go well.
"You're worried over nothing," Yoichi stated.
Maybe I don't need to be worried, but it's not nothing, Izuku replied. Occhan's really important to me. She's the first real friend I ever had. The first person I've fallen in love with… She's special to me.
"She is," Hikage said. "Which she's aware of, and which she reciprocates. Any time spent with you is going to be special to her as well. So, just try and enjoy yourselves."
"... Okay, Shinomori, where the hell did that come from?!" Daigoro asked incredulously.
"Just because I like to avoid social interactions doesn't mean I'm not aware of them," Hikage replied.
"This guy…" Daigoro whispered. "Anyways, little man, just relax. You're going on a first date, not proposing. Keep it chill."
Izuku paused.
"Izuku, you're not giving Ochako a ring tonight," Nana ordered.
I wasn't thinking that, Izuku said unconvincingly.
"I know you're lying. The Quirk's been moving things quickly, but it's still too soon," Nana admonished.
"Yeah, at least wait until you get your Bonds from the edgelords and get rings for the whole set at once," Daigoro quipped.
En seemed to shake his head, "Stop. Please."
Izuku knocked on Ochako's apartment door, nervous, but ready. Soon, the door opened and he got to see Ochako.
She was wearing a deep purple dress and black tights, along with a nice pair of boots. Izuku wore a navy blue button-down shirt and black slacks, along with the shoes created for his date with Momo.
And Izuku also wore his All Might themed smiling flu mask, this time with a matching All Might cap complete with hair antennae. Ochako, not to be outdone, was wearing a Miruko themed cap with rabbit ears, and a Thirteen themed flu mask.
The two of them looked at each other for a second, at their nice outfits and their disguising accessories, and the tension broke as they began to giggle, then belly laugh. When they finally recovered, they shook their heads.
"You look really nice, Occhan," Izuku said firmly.
"You do, too. I wish we could do without these, but after I got waylaid at the grocery store, it's become a necessity," Ochako said sadly.
"Same here," Izuku said. "Well, we'd best get used to the price of fame. It'll be good practice for when we hit the top ten."
"Maybe you will, I'd be lucky if I get that far," Ochako grumbled.
Izuku raised an eyebrow, "Tell me, who managed to reenact the Chicxulub impact during the Sports Festival again?"
"And I ended up vomiting and passing out immediately afterwards," Ochako blushed under her mask. "We're getting off track. Where are we heading, Izu-kun?"
"Achuto Planetarium," Izuku responded, holding up tickets. He felt such pride at the way her face lit up.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
The actual trip to the planetarium was amazing. Ochako was in her element, and Izuku loved to see it. He remembered seeing her gush over meeting Thirteen and wondering if this was what he looked like to others (the vestiges had confirmed that, yes, it was).
The show itself was breathtaking. Astronomy, like all innovation, had suffered after the Dawn of Quirks, but it wasn't completely stagnant. Even if space exploration had been halted centuries ago, scientists were still working to gain knowledge about the cosmos. And the planetarium showed them all the infinite vastness of the universe.
And it also gave the two Hero students the chance to cuddle in a darkened room, which was always a plus.
When it was over, they left for a nearby French bistro, which had Ochako a little uncomfortable. Izuku looked conflicted, "Are you okay?"
"This is really nice, but… I've never eaten at a place like this before," Ochako said, voice low. "I can't help but feel out of place."
"Well, there's one way to solve that," Izuku smiled. "We need to do this more often!"
Ochako blushed, "Y-yeah. Momo mentioned that after we each had our first date with you we'd be going on dates with each other…"
"That's great!" Izuku said. He was relieved, he'd been worried that this was all a bit too centered around him.
"Yeah, and she's been helping out. My family's been getting a ton of work lately," Ochako said. "A few contracts from the Yaoyorozu Group, and it's like a floodgate opened."
Izuku nodded, then looked at her, feeling her mental conflict through the bond, and decided to ask her privately. Do you think that I don't deserve One for All?
"What?! Never!" Ochako cried out telepathically. "You worked so hard just to get it, to make it work for you! You never seem to stop!"
But I got extremely lucky, being saved by All Might, being trained by him, given a Quirk by him, Izuku said firmly.
Ochako relaxed, "Same principle, I suppose? We got a lucky break, but we needed to work hard to make the best of it?"
Exactly, Izuku smiled at her.
She practically melted at that smile. "Let's change the subject. How's Blackwhip coming along?"
A bit oddly, Izuku responded. It's hard to pinpoint the ideal emotional state, as well as get used to what's essentially a group of extra limbs. Daigoro-ji-san is helping, but it's difficult. Luckily, they're packing the same punch I do with One for All. I'm hoping Sir Nighteye can give me insights on how to improve it, as well as ideas for the Quirks I haven't unlocked yet.
"I'm sure you'll do great!" Ochako said happily. "With Ryukyu, I'm hoping to improve my mobility, combat, and tolerance to my Quirk. I almost went with Gunhead like Kendo-san, but Ryukyu's also skilled at hand-to-hand."
Well, hand-to-claw, Izuku stated, causing Ochako to giggle.
At that point, their food was served, and they learned one of the upsides to telepathy. They could eat and hold a conversation without having to worry about looking rude, or choking.
On the day of the Internships, as 1-A gathered before they would start heading towards their chosen Hero Agencies, Eraserhead handed them all their costumes. Once they all had them, Izuku cleared his throat.
"Hey, everyone. I just wanted to say something real quick. We're going to be working with pro Heroes this next week. While the danger for us will, hopefully, be minimal, it isn't nothing. I still remember the promise I made to all of you after the USJ, where I said I would make sure to come back to you all, safe and sound.
"Right now, I'm asking you all to make the same promise to me right now. No matter what, the first goal is to come back here, safe and sound. All right?" Izuku asked solemnly.
Eijiro and Tetsutetsu seemed like they were going to cheer, but Izuku glared at them, and they shut up. The entire class agreed to the terms.
"To that end, I asked Nezu to give each Hero student one of these," he held up a small flip device with a single button. "They're included with your costumes. This is similar to the panic button I have for U.A. If any of us gets into a dangerous situation and we need help, this will send a text with our name and location to the U.A. staff, as well as all members of 1-A and 1-B. If you receive one of these texts, inform your mentors before anything else. We don't need to run afoul of vigilante laws. And don't abuse it. Any notification from these things will be treated as a full-scale, USJ-level emergency."
Itsuka looked at him, "Was that the lecture you were given, Midoriya-kun?"
"No," Eraserhead interjected. "He was told to stop running headfirst into certain death, please use this instead."
As the class laughed, Izuku blushed and, knowing he couldn't defend himself, stayed quiet.
"Hey, nice to meet you, kouhai-kun!"
Izuku was startled as he turned around to see another muscular young man, one a head taller than him, with blonde hair spiked upward and simple blue eyes. He looked vaguely familiar. It took a second before it clicked with Izuku.
"Oh, you're Mirio Togata! The third year Sports Festival's winner! One of the Big Three of the Third Year students!" Izuku said in awe.
"That's right, fellow champ!" Togata said proudly. "I've also been interning with Sir Nighteye since my first year! He let me know you were going to be joining us this week."
"Really?" Izuku said, relieved. "That's wonderful to know! I was hoping he'd be a good teacher, and if you've been coming back consistently…"
"Oh yeah, Sir's the one who turned me from a wreck who barely had the ability to use his Quirk to what I am today! He's great at figuring that sort of thing out!" Togata's smile was blinding.
Izuku sagged in relief, "Oh, that's so good to know. The reason I picked him was that my Quirk has a bunch of moving parts to it, and I wanted to get a good foundation on everything. So many of my best offers could only focus on one piece of the puzzle."
At that point, the train arrived, and the two of them made it to their seats. Luckily, they were grouped together. Once they were settled, Izuku opened a notebook, "So, Togata-senpai, I-"
"Just call me Mirio, Midoriya-kun! We'll be working together after all!"
"Sure thing! You can call me Izuku as well! So, Mirio-senpai, I have a few questions about Permeation after watching the Sports Festival. Would you mind?" Izuku asked.
"Heh, I should introduce you to Nejire-chan. Go ahead, Izuku-kun! Just don't be surprised if I start hitting you with questions myself!" Mirio replied.
"I'd be happy to answer! First things first, are you the one who got disqualified two years ago because you kept phasing out of your uniform?" Izuku said, looking sympathetic.
Mirio, for his part, just laughed, "Yeah, that's my legacy, it seems! That's how I measure how far I've come, that I've taken a Quirk as finicky as mine and used it to become a top Hero student. I spent so much time feeling utterly useless because of my Quirk."
Izuku smiled sadly, "I know that feeling well enough."
Mirio blinked, "Right, Eraserhead's commentary. He'd mentioned Decade Force came in late. How late?"
"Morning of the U.A. Entrance Exam," Izuku was used to this answer by now.
Mirio was stunned. "Wow, and here I thought it was impressive getting Permeation under control in such a short time…"
"Oh! It's not like that!" Izuku said, "My Quirk… it's like the ocean during a typhoon, and my body's a dam trying to hold it back. I can use a tiny amount of it safely, but if I stay in that safe zone, I'll never improve. So, I have to walk a razor thin margin whenever I use it, just enough to make sure I can acclimate, straining myself just short of the point where it will break me… The first day I had it I overdid it, turned my arms and legs into jelly as my bones were practically powder."
Mirio gave a golf clap, "That's awesome! My issue was different. See, my Quirk isn't as simple as it may seem. If I was to just render my entire body permeable, I'd start plummeting towards the Earth's core. And I'm permeable to everything. Light passes through my eyeballs. Oxygen passes through my lungs. It's total sensory deprivation, aside from the sensation of falling."
Izuku's eyes widened and his stomach dropped as he heard the description, but he was still diligently writing down what his senpai was saying, "Wow, that's terrifying."
"Yep!" Mirio somehow said cheerfully. "One good thing about my Quirk is that, since matter can't coexist in the same place at once, if I turn Permeation off while stuck inside a wall or something, I just rocket right back out of it!"
"So THAT'S how you seemed to teleport during the Sports Festival!" Izuku said, writing feverishly, "You were falling, then using the displacement to rocket back up at high speeds. You must have been changing your trajectory mid-fall to ensure you emerged at the right place… And to do all of that completely blind…"
"Sir helped me out SO much going through the individual steps of using Permeation, until the delicate steps needed to do something as seemingly simple as walking through a wall became second nature to me," Mirio said. He held out his fist, "Troublesome Quirk brothers!"
Izuku smiled, "Troublesome Quirk brothers!" he bumped Mirio's fist with his own.
"It's a good thing Toshi didn't choose him," Nana mentioned during a lull in the conversation. It only happened while they were arriving at the agency.
Izuku had gotten used to hearing revelations in his head. It was the only thing keeping him from tripping right then and there, Wait, what?!
"Togata was Nighteye's choice for All Might's successor," Hikage stated.
Now that it was pointed out, Izuku could sort of see the physical resemblance. Did Nighteye deliberately choose Mirio because of that? Or maybe it was unconscious?
"Even without the accelerated aging, a Quirk like Permeation would be ill-suited to work with One for All," Yoichi stated. "Even if we hadn't hit singularity, the power of One for All would have been devastating to wield and highly destructive. Combined with a finicky Quirk like Permeation, and it could easily destroy him."
"Yeah, Blackwhip's about as bad as it gets when it comes to messy Quirks among all of us," Daigoro said. "Your main issue's gonna be making sure they all work well together."
As soon as they reached the entrance, they found Sir Nighteye waiting for them, looking at Izuku sternly. The vestiges were on guard, but didn't raise an alarm.
Izuku for his part, smiled and bowed. "Thank you for your offer, Sir! I hope we can work well together."
"Hmm," Nighteye nodded, "Togata-kun, you know where to place your luggage. Midoriya-kun, I would like to speak with you in my office regarding your Quirk."
Mirio nodded, flashing Izuku a thumbs up, as Izuku followed the pro.
Is this normal? Izuku asked.
"Surprisingly, yes," Yoichi stated.
"Oh, don't let him touch you. His Quirk works through a combination of touch and eye contact," Nana added.
Good to know, Izuku said as he entered Sir Nighteye's office. And immediately saw a dream come true.
The office was covered wall-to-wall with All Merch. Some of the rarest collectables known to man were there. Posters that were out of print forever. Figurines with runs of less than one hundred. It was a fanboy's paradise.
"Sir, my collection wants to be yours when it grows up," Izuku said.
Nighteye let out a contained snort, but quickly, his face returned to sternness, "I must confess, when I sent you my offer, I didn't think you would accept it."
"You and All Might parting ways is common knowledge. I was told why, but not by Toshinori-sensei himself," Izuku said, bowing. "I chose you because, in addition to knowing the secret behind One for All, you are skilled in training heroes who have many disparate Quirks."
"Yes," Nighteye's voice became even colder, "I'm quite good at correcting the mistakes people make with their Quirks."
Izuku's heart sank, as the vestiges grumbled.
"You are quite the inferior successor to All Might," Nighteye said. "Your arrogance at the Sports Festival was on full display, antagonizing people in power, showboating with your abilities, toying with your opponents in the tournament rounds, and even now you refer to All Might by his given name? I was right to be concerned about you as a successor. No one would look to you as the Symbol of Peace…"
Izuku was extremely confused, until he remembered something, So, Nighteye's Agency doesn't have any official accounts on social media. Does he not follow it at all?
"Ugggh, yes, he always avoided it," Yoichi said mournfully. "How did I forget that about him?"
"The first thing you should do is to transfer One for All to Mirio Togata immediately, so that we can give the world a proper Symbol of Peace," Nighteye said.
Without thinking, the first words out of Izuku's mouth were, "I'm not going to let you kill Mirio-senpai."