Hello everyone! And welcome back to MHA:V! So… I honestly had a lot of fun writing the last part. Butttt… I am more excited about writing these next few chapters! I'll explain more in the author's note of course.

And this chapter is a big one! As this causes a domino effect for later chapters! How? …You'll see~

But for now? Enjoy!

My Hero Academia: Vindication

Chapter 2

The Sky's the Limit

As Izuku opened the front door, his mother rushed over to both scold and confirm if Izuku was okay. However, what awaited her was something that made her heart worry but also scream in joy. For walking into the house, she could see the fire of a dream back into Izuku's eyes.

"Mom…" Inko stopped as she looked at her son, standing determined. "I… I found someone. Someone who wants to help me become a hero. And not only that, I have a chance! Ketsubutsu never rejected me! …well, they were going to but then someone changed it. Someone decided to take me under their wing! Because they saw I could become a hero!" Inko's eyes widened as her son continued. "I know it's a dangerous dream. I… I know that being q-quirkless makes people see it as impossible. But…"

He looked up at his mother, eyes burning bright. "I… I will be a hero! I'll become a hero for those who are told 'they can't do it'. I… I want to become a symbol!"

"…Oh Izuku…" Inko walked up to her son. "I love you. And if this is what you want sweetie, I will support you however I can." She had some tears start to pour down. "You always were a hero and I'm so proud of you."

The quirkless boy had a stream of tears starting to form as well as he hugged his mother. "Thank you. I love you so much."

The mother and son let out their happy tears as they slowly calmed down. Once the tears stopped, Inko stepped back from the hug and looked at Izuku. "There's just one thing I need to request first."

Izuku smiled. "Of course, Mom… what is it?"

"I want to meet this new 'sensei' of yours." She gave a serious expression. "I want to know who it is before I trust them with my baby and his hopes & dreams."

Izuku nodded as he suddenly stopped. "O-Okay… but first… I think the adrenaline has worn off."

Inko was confused until Izuku faceplanted forward onto the floor. "…IZUKU!" Needless to say, another stream of tears escaped the worried mother.

…

…

…

After the waterworks finished up and the day passed, Izuku would send a call to Lady Nagant about his mother's request to meet her the next morning. Sure enough, later in the day, the former heroine was standing at the front door with her apprentice next to her. "Hey kid. How are things?"

Izuku chuckled sheepishly. "H-Hello Nagant-sensei… I-I'm alright…"

However, Inko walked into the room with a small frown. "I think collapsing out of nowhere onto the floor is not 'alright' dear."

Yumiko looked at Inko for a moment before turning to Izuku. "…Izuku-kun. Floors are not suitable for resting. Choose a bed or seat like a couch next time."

The green-haired boy just groaned as his mother and possible sensei laughed at the seriousness of Yumiko's words.

Moving over to the couch, the mother of the house offered tea to everyone as they all got settled in. Once they were, Inko looked at Lady Nagant. "So… It's obvious that you're a hero or former hero if the name my son said is any indication."

"Smart. Like mother like son." The indigo-haired woman nodded. "My name is Kaina Tsutsumi, also known as Lady Nagant. I'm a former hero."

Inko shook her head. "No. My ex-husband is a quirk analyst. Izuku got those smarts from his father. I'm just a simple nurse." She gave a closed eye smile as what appeared to be a heavy aura appeared. "A simple nurse with a quirk that lets her move anything classified as a small object."

Izuku raised a brow at his mother's word. What did her quirk have to do with anything?

However, seeing the paling face of Kaina as she sat up straight made him double guess himself. "I… see. Well, then it's a good thing we're all here for good things, right?"

"Mmhmm." Inko nodded as she looked at Lady Nagant. "So… why are you doing this? Why go through all this for a random boy you planned to reject?"

"Honestly, I understand the worry. It's why I was holding onto the letter in the first place." She sighed. "I understand what it's like to not be given a chance. To be forced down a road you don't want to take. I'm the newest teacher for Ketsubutsu. And already I'm doing things differently. I wanted to meet your son before I rejected anything. And what did I find?" She gained a sad frown. "A boy who was blocked from any chance of success. And I want to offer a door… a chance… if he's willing to work for it. That is… if you are alright with this offer."

Izuku sat there in nervousness as he looked at his quiet mother. Truthfully, a small part of him

Inko was silent for a moment before she sighed. "Very well. I'll allow it." Izuku looked at his mother with awe and shock as his mother gave a sad smile and continued. "I… I haven't been the best mother for my son. And now? I regret it. I wanted my son to be safe that I didn't notice that he wasn't happy. I still want my son to be safe… but I want more than anything for my son to be happy. And if this is how he will achieve his happiness, then I'll allow it. As long as you put his safety first."

"Of course." Lady Nagant gained a serious look. "I promise you that I will do everything in my power to help him achieve his goal. Of course, what I have for him will be harder than any other training plan."

"Because he has to catch up?" Inko gained a saddened look. "Because he was not allowed to grow before and now needs it in spades?" The green-haired mother clenched her fist in anger as she remembered the previous teachers.

Kaina nodded her head. "Exactly. The training I plan for the kiddo will be a challenge to not only catch him up to those his age but surpass his limits. After all, I have five parts to it I want him to achieve." She holds up a hand to stop Izuku from speaking up. He stays silent as Kaina continued. "Yes. I know I said only the one part. But I looked over all the key points you would need to tackle to prepare for the Heroics Exam. The first part is what we already talked about… cleaning Takoba Beach within these 10 months."

Breathing in for a moment, Kaina puts her hands together and points them at Izuku with a deadpan expression. "I'll be honest kid. I don't think you're going to be able to do it. It's 10 months and a metric-fuckton of garbage. I'll provide protective gear and all that… but you won't be allowed to get help from me, your mother, or any other adult."

This caused Izuku to stop and look at Kaina for a moment. Part of him wanted to scream at the impossible challenge. But… perhaps that was it. A challenge that was impossible when alone. And if he listened to her words carefully…

"So… no adult assistance?" Kaina nodded once more before a tiny smile appeared on Izuku's face. "Then…" He turned to Yumiko. "C-Could you a-assist me w-with this task Yumiko-san?"

The archer girl blinked at those words as Kaina smirked. "You really are a smart one. You caught my play on words." The former hero leaned back and nodded. "This brings forth the second part of this challenge. Networking."

She then turned to the mother. "I'll be honest… from what I've seen, I can tell your son is an intelligent individual. …But the school records he has don't reflect that."

Inko gained a serious expression as one could see flames of anger in her eyes. "Oh. I've seen the letters. And thankfully, I was able to fix it while my son slept peacefully."

"…Wait what?" Izuku turned to his mother with a look of uncertainty. "What does that mean Mom?"

"Oh, Izuku sweetie…" His mother gave a calming smile as she grasped her son's hand into hers. "If you're okay with it… we can move you to online schooling. You don't have to go back to Aldera anymore."

The quirkless boy was floored at that, as if in disbelief. "R-Really? But… I was f-fine-"

"Izuku." Inko gained a stern expression. "Do you remember what my job is?"

"…You're a nurse. But what does that-"

"Izuku. I can tell when our supplies are lowered. I can see the wincing. I…" Inko looked so upset. "I know you sweetie. You hid it because of how you are. You're a lovely wonderful young man… but you don't need to be so self-sacrificing all the time."

"…You knew?" Izuku looked shocked and ashamed. "I… I didn't want you to worry. You already have enough on your plate…"

Inko shook her head. "Izuku. I will admit it. Not bringing it up earlier was possibly the biggest mistake I've made. As a mother, I've made many mistakes. Well, no more. I'm fixing those mistakes and focusing on YOUR happiness… alright sweetie?" Getting a nod in response, the mother turned back to Lady Nagant. "Sorry about that. Continue."

Kaina blinked before she shrugged. "Well… that saves me a bunch of time. I was gonna suggest online schooling as well." Fixing her position, she continued. "As I was saying… networking. Heroes can't survive on their own. We network and support one another despite some heroes treating this job like a cutthroat business. Your goal is to network and make 10 friends."

Izuku paled at that. An introvert's nightmare… socializing.

However, Yumiko just tilted her head a bit. "…9 friends. I count."

This brought a blush to Izuku's face as Kaina laughed at her apprentice. "I guess so."

"The third part of this challenge is probably the simplest part. You need to practice close quarters combat. So, the point of this part is simple… you need to best six individuals in close quarters. Five being connections that you made and the last one being Yumiko here." The former hero said this while pointing her thumb to the archer girl.

…Izuku did not like his odds when he saw the gleam in Yumiko's eye. Nor her cracking her fist, ready for a fight.

"The fourth part is, in my opinion, the most important part." Staring Izuku dead in the eye, Lady Nagant spoke. "You need to create a fighting style. I will offer different combat styles and weaponry. I'll even help offer practice. But it's up to you to find a style that fits you."

This made Izuku confused. "Wouldn't it be best to use a style you can teach best?"

But Kaina shook her head. "You would think that. But no." She pointed to herself and Yumiko. "We have quirks suited for long range combat, and as such, succeed in it more." The former heroine then pointed at Izuku. "But you don't have that hard lock. Because you're lucky that you're quirkless."

This caused the boy to look absolutely shocked. "I'm… lucky to be quirkless!?" Part of him was offended at the words as flashes of bad memories enter his mind.

Lady Nagant held up her hand in a 'one moment' manner. "Sorry. Worded that poorly. What I meant was that people like Yumiko and myself? We're templates. We have a set path on how to

fight at our best." The former heroine then grinned. "But you don't have that. You're a blank canvas. Meaning that it's up to you to find your fighting style."

Izuku slowly nodded as the words entered his mind. It made sense. If you had a leg related quirk, then a kick-based fighting style seems best. But himself? He had nothing to lean back on. He had to find what works for him.

"I see…" Izuku then started to ponder and mutter. "So that means I'm not going to specifically be a gunslinger nor a brawler. Swordsman? No. That takes years of training and needing a blade. But then again, it's going to be some kind of weapon. I need the firepower to take down villains if I want to-"

The boy was interrupted as Lady Nagant had stood up and flicked him on the forehead to break his mutter spree. "Brainstorm later, alright?" Getting a nod, the former heroine sat back down. "So, the last part of the challenge is the literal last part. Once you've completed the other parts… you're going to spar with me. No holds bar. I'll explain more as you complete the different tasks but just know? I'm not going to go easy on you."

Taking in all the parts of the challenge laid out to him, Izuku grew a little nervous. "That's… a lot to do."

"It is. Truthfully, I could have made it more challenging. Could have made it impossible. But instead… it's simply extremely difficult if you truly tackle it alone." Leaning back and gaining a small smile, the indigo & pink haired woman look at Izuku. "But then again… isn't that heroics? Extremely difficult alone, almost impossible at times? The question is are you up for it?"

Izuku, upon hearing those words, gave a determined expression. "I plan to go above and beyond. …To become a new symbol. So, bring it on!"

…

Over the next couple weeks, things changed significantly in Izuku's life. For one, Izuku was able to thrive in his online course now that he didn't have quirkist teachers holding him back, moving through the course work at a fast pace. The teachers of Aldera did try to stop him… but then in came his mother. Izuku learned that day that a quiet anger was much more terrifying than a raging anger like Katsuki.

Terrifying fun fact… having a mother who's a nurse and has a quirk that is the 'attraction of small objects' means that she knows a bunch of parts of the human body that classifies as small objects. He now understood why Lady Nagant was nervous by his mother's threat. It was both horrifying and enlightening to see his mother go on a mumble spree about what she was going to do to his old teachers.

Trying to block that from his mind to keep the image of his innocent mother… he honestly found the change to schedule very helpful. Not only did the online schooling give him more time for training, but also allowed him to continue his analysis books more. …Networking was still a work in progress…

However, despite all that? What was the most thing he gained from all this?

A friend.

Yumiko was a strange one. Where are Lady Nagant was snarkier and more relied on logical ruses (which apparently, she got the idea from a teacher friend of hers), Yumiko was blunt and to the point. But it wasn't bad per say. Honestly, he enjoyed the company.

When it came to skills however… dear lord was he far behind. Every spar ends with him getting judo flipped or knocked down with a powerful kick. Hell, she hadn't even used her quirk to beat him.

Speaking of her quirk, Yumiko had to face a full quirk 'nerd ramble'. But to be fair, Izuku was intrigued by her quirk Longbow. It makes sense why she was Lady Nagant's apprentice but also explains why Yumiko was so skilled in CQC. Her quirk, if running out of ammunition, leaves her defenceless. So being able to fight in close ranges helps her defeat possible villains who burst through the long-range gap. He'd go on longer, but then he'd be there all week.

So, at the moment, where does that bring us now? Simple.

Izuku getting his ass handed to him by Yumiko again.

"Uggghhhhh…" Izuku groaned as he laid on the sand. Lady Nagant headed off elsewhere for the moment, leaving the two varying verdantettes to spar. "You really don't hold back."

"Of course. Holding back offers the opponent a chance to strike. Precision and quick defeat of the opponent is of high priority." The archer girl then started to gain a tiny bit of mischief in her eyes. "You're stuttering less Izuku-kun."

Izuku nodded at that. "I think it's expected Yumiko-san. It started occurring the sixth time you beat me with ease."

This brought a tiny chuckle from Yumiko as she moved over and sat down cross-legged next to him. "Kaina-sensei would make a joke about how it should have been the fifth time."

"She would, wouldn't she?" Izuku chuckled weakly as he rested his eyes.

Lady Nagant, despite her snarky ways, was a very skilled trainer. With his courses going extremely well, she set up a schedule to help him with his training. He works on cleaning the beach on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays, Izuku is expected to work on his classes, while on Sundays, he's expected to go out and network.

Saturdays were his free days. Days where he can go out with friends or simply relax. He was told that on his free time, whether that's on Sundays or the other days, he could still do whatever he wanted as long as it wasn't anything straining. Lady Nagant drilled the lesson into Izuku's head when he thought about editing the schedule… … he had to rest the next day due to being an idiot.

Currently, it was Thursday. Which is the day Izuku is supposed to work on CQC and his own personal fighting style. Which currently has been Izuku losing to Yumiko and struggling to find a way to fight himself. Speaking of styles…

"Ugh… I don't get it though." Yumiko tilted her head at Izuku's words as the quirkless boy continued. "If I'm supposed to learn a combat style, then why is she not trying to teach me how to fire a gun?"

Yumiko blinked. "…Oh. That's simple. Because you're not like us."

That caused Izuku to deflate. "Yeah. I know I don't have a quirk. Thanks for reminding me."

"Quirk? Oh. My apologies Izuku-kun. But that is not what I meant." She looked down at her hand as she transformed her fingers to create her longbow. "I'm an archer. She's a sniper. We play roles you wouldn't be happy with."

Izuku stopped and sat up as he turned to her confused. "…Wouldn't be happy with?"

"Yes. We play long range support roles. We work best when we're away from the close quarters combat… away from the people." She then looked Izuku in the eye. "Would you be happy in a role like that? Or would you rather be closer to the fight and save people first-hand?"

This caused the boy to stop for a moment. "…I… want to save people with a smile."

Yumiko nodded. "And as range, you would not be the smile the people see."

"I see." Izuku stopped and felt back onto the sand as he looked up to the sky. "That's something I never thought about."

Yumiko moved over and laid down on the sand next to him, looking up to the sky as well. "It's a tricky topic. When Kaina-sensei took me under her wing, I was tossed to the wolves like yourself." She gained a small smile. "Kaina-sensei… her teaching is strange. Whenever she teaches, she wants you to be certain about your choices. Despite my quirk, she would ask again and again if I truly wanted to be a Ranged Hero. And my answer never changed."

Izuku tilted his head towards her. "What was your answer Yumiko-san?"

"I don't care if I'm the one seen. I just want to do good." She tilted her head towards Izuku, the two looking at each other now. "You said you wanted to be a symbol, right?" Getting a nod in response, she continued. "Well… then you need to figure out how to become that symbol. Build yourself up from there. And when you become a symbol, I'll assist you as a ranged hero."

"Wait… really?" Izuku looked at her a little shocked.

On the other hand, Yumiko looked confused. "Of course. We're friends, right?" She held out a fist as Izuku stared at it for a moment.

And then… a smile appeared on his face as he returned the fist bump. "Yeah. Friends."

"Well, well, well." The two verdantettes then froze as they slowly turned their heads and looked up to see Lady Nagant standing there. "Seems you two are slacking off." A small evil grin appeared on her face. "Get up both of you… you're both going to face me one on one."

The two hopeful heroes paled. She would go easy on them… right? …RIGHT!?

Short answer? No. She did not.

…

…

…

It wasn't until the next day did things change once again. Friday was a clean up day, one that he finished up. And after saying goodbye to Lady Nagant-sensei and Yumiko, his mother texted him and asked if he could go pick up groceries.

Now, Izuku doesn't mind. Sure, it's a pain to walk across town to the one store that allows quirkless people to shop. He just finished up with clean up and training, so he was tired. So tired that once he started walking home, he didn't realize the danger approaching until he heard a familiar yell.

"DEKU!"

Sure enough, Izuku turned his head to see… Katsuki Bakugou.

And when looking back at this moment years later, Izuku will not deny that his tired mind had the right idea.

"Nope! NopeNopeNOPE!"

Instinctively, Izuku booked it away as fast as he could… which only proceeded to enrage the blond even more. "GET BACK HERE YOU FUCKING NERD!"

Izuku, however, chose life. So instead, he continued to dodge and weave as he started taking alleyways. While Kacchan was faster, Izuku knew the back alleys a lot more. Easy paths to get to hero fights for analysis. There was enough distance that Izuku started to feel safe. "I'm going to lose him!"

That was until Izuku took one turn… and slipped, proceeding to fall forward. "Or I'll just die."

However, instead of landing on the ground, Izuku felt himself land on something soft but dense as he started to float upwards into the air. He didn't understand what was happening as he looked to see that he was on a… cloud? Confused, Izuku's cloudy ride continued up to the roof the building he was next to before disappearing and dropping him to the roof floor.

Down below, turning the corner, Katsuki looked all around as a vein mark popped up on his head… before yelling out loud. "FFFFFUUUUUCCCCKKKKINGGGG DEEEEEEKKKKKKUUUUUUUUUU! YOU WON'T ESCAPE ME FOREVER YOU QUIRKLESS FUCK!"

As Izuku watched the blonde stomp away, he quickly checked his groceries. Noticing they were all good, he breathed a sigh of relief. "That was a close one…"

"I'd say. Talk about anger issues."

Turning his head, Izuku got a better look at the person who just spoke. The individual was a taller boy with light blue, wavy hair that was swept back to flow upwards above his head, two shorter, ear-length tufts left hanging downwards to frame his face. He was wearing a casual outfit with a simple shirt, pair of jeans, blue sneakers… and what appeared to be an aviator jacket and pair of goggles on his head.

The boy was smiling joyfully with blue eyes and what appeared to be a small rectangular bandage over his nose. Extending a hand out to Izuku, the boy grinned even wider. "Hiya! Name's Oboro. Oboro Shirakumo!"

Hesitant, Izuku took the hand and gave a shy smile. "I-Izuku Midoriya." Looking around a bit, Izuku turned back to the boy. "W-Were you the one who saved me from Kacchan?"

"Yep." Oboro said that with a pop of the p at the end as he let go of Izuku's hand. He then jumped into the as a cloud formed beneath him. Sitting cross-legged on the cloud, Oboro gave a smile. "My quirk is Cloud. It let's me create clouds on command as well as control their density."

Izuku was silent as he stared at the blue-haired boy… before stars appeared in his eyes as he pulled a notebook out of nowhere. "Oh my god that is such a cool quirk! You said you can control the density, but does that mean you can change all the aspects of it? Could you potentially create a cumulonimbus cloud or storm clouds? Does this mean you can fly on your clouds? Howmanycloudscanyoumake?"

Oboro blinked for a moment before chuckling with a big teethy grin. "Shishishi! Calm down Midoriya-kun! I may be a quickster, but even I can't catch that."

"O-Oh! I'm sorry." Izuku looked sheepish. "I'm a bit of a quirk fanatic. Sorry if I was annoying…"

"Nahhh. It ain't like that pal." Oboro leaned back into his cloud as he smiled. "You can ask all the questions want man. As long as I can ask a question."

"Of course!" Izuku looked at him before stopping for a moment. "…As long as it's not about the notebooks. Nagant-sensei kept asking about them and truthfully, I don't know. It's not a quirk cause I'm quirkless but-" Izuku froze as he covered his mouth in worry.

Oboro stopped as he looked at Izuku confused. "You alright Midoriya-kun?"

Blinking for a moment, Izuku looked at Oboro in shock. "You… don't mind that I'm quirkless Shirakumo-san?"

"Nope. Why would a quirk change that?" The cloud boy tilted his head confused.

Wiping away some stray tears, Izuku shook his head. "I-It's nothing. So, what was your question?"

Oboro's eyes widened. "Oh yeah! So… who was that angry Pomeranian and why was he calling you Deku?"

"Well…" Izuku sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "He's Katsuki Bakugou. He's from my old school and is seen as the 'top dog'. Meanwhile, because I'm quirkless, I was seen as the bottom of the barrel. Useless 'Deku'. It just made sense and… well… he's not happy I'm trying to be a hero despite being a Deku."

Oboro closed his eyes and rubbed his chin in pondering as he took in Izuku's words. "Well, that's just dumb." Izuku turned him in shock at those words. "Personally, it just sounds like he's got the personality of a burning pile of crap."

Izuku stared at Oboro in awe. "Is… is he teasing Kacchan? I can't believe someone is willing to do that!"

Ignoring the surprised inner dialogue of Izuku, the blue haired boy floated there for a moment before his eyes widened and he grinned. "I GOT IT!"

This made Izuku look at Oboro confused. "…Got what?"

Oboro turned to the quirkless boy with a big toothy grin. "Here's what we'll do! We'll get rid of that crappy nickname with an even better one! A new one that you'll make into something new and better!" Izuku stared at him confused as he continued. "So! Got any names you can think of?"

Izuku stopped and thought about it for a bit. "Deku, worthless, waste of space…"

"…Well, we don't have time to unpack all of that. So… we'll have to work with changing that." The cloud boy tapped his temple as he started to think. "Deku… Deku… …Dekiru!" The goggles wearing boy grinned and as he pounded his fist into his palm with an 'ah-ha' motion. "It's perfect! Taking a bad nickname and changing it to a good one! Instead of 'useless', you'll be known for 'You can do it'."

This made Izuku stop and stare at Oboro for a moment as the word echoed in his head. Dekiru… you can do it… Dekiru… "Like the Copernican Revolution…"

This caused Oboro to stop and look at him confused. "Co-pe what now?"

"N-Nothing…" Izuku shook his head as he looked unsure for a moment, before giving a small smile. "L-Let's give it a shot." Izuku held out his hand to the boy with a small smile. "Call me Dekiru."

Oboro's smile grew wider as he took the verdantette's hand as he laughed a little. "Shishishi! Pleasure to meet you Dekiru!"

The two laughed for a moment before Izuku looked around. "So… ummm… we should probably get down from here, right?"

Oboro paused at that. "I mean…"

Suddenly the door burst open as a janitor glared at them. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU KIDS DOING HERE!?"

Oboro nodded as he grinned nervously at Izuku. "Yeahhhhhh… TIME TO GO DEKIRU!"

Creating a cloud, the two boys hopped on and descended down to the ground below as the yells of the custodian above could be heard. The two boys, despite the worry, couldn't help but laugh as a small weight on Izuku's heart disappeared.

…

…

…

The next day, Izuku woke up to his phone going off, which confused him. Answering his phone, he heard an excited voice. "Shishishi! Finally, ya picked up Dekiru!"

"…Shirakumo-san?" Izuku blinked for a moment. Seems what occurred yesterday wasn't a dream of any kind. "How are you? Is there something you need?"

"I'm good but I wanted to ask something! Yesterday, you told me that your sensei gives you Saturdays off, right?" Izuku raised a brow at Oboro's question.

Hesitantly and confused, he replied. "Yeah? Today's my day off. Why?"

Oboro let off a whoop of joy. "Awesome! Then let's hang out today! You can invite your training buddy friend as well! What do you say?"

Izuku was silent for a moment before smiling. "Sure! Ummm… do you mind coming up with the plan?"

"Sure thing Dekiru! I'll text ya the meet up place! See ya then!" And with that, the cloud user hung up the phone as Izuku texted Yumiko.

A few moments later, Inko watched as her son came out of his room dressed in his 'shirt' kanji shirt and casual pants, heading to the front door. "Izuku? Sweetie? Where are you going?"

"Hey Mom! Sorry, I'm going to hang out with my friends! I'll text you when I'll be back!" And with that, the boy headed out, not noticing the happy tears of his mother.

"O-Okay sweetie! Have fun!" The mother smiled as she wiped her eyes. Despite giving her blessing, she had her worries about all of the training.

But hearing those words? How her son was heading out for fun with friends?

It made all the worries and anxieties worth it.

…

Meeting up with Oboro, who was in a similar outfit as the day before, the two waited as Yumiko approached. She was wearing a simple grey shirt, cargo pants, and sneakers, looking kind of like a cadet dressing casually.

Seeing the girl, Oboro held a hand out to her. "So, you're Dekiru's training partner huh? Name's Oboro Shirakumo."

Yumiko looked at Oboro confused. "Dekiru?" She turned to Izuku, looking for an answer.

"Ah. Well… Shirakumo-san heard a bad nickname for me and changed it into a good one. So… Dekiru. Does that make sense Yumiko-san?" The green haired boy looked a little embarrassed.

The girl nodded at that as she turned to Oboro and bowed lightly. "It is a pleasure to meet you Shirakumo-san. I am Yumiko Oowada. Please call me Yumiko or my future hero name, Beros, the Archer Heroine." She then turned to Izuku. "Izuku-kun. May I call you Dekiru as well? I will still call you Izuku-kun though."

Izuku blushed a bit and nodded as Oboro chuckled. "Sure thing Yumiko-chan. You can call me Oboro. You too Dekiru."

"A-Alright Oboro-san. And you can call me Izuku." The boy looked incredibly nervous as Izuku clapped his hands. "S-So! What are we doing Oboro-san?"

Oboro slung an arm around Izuku as he grinned. "Glad you asked Izuku-kun! We're already in front of where we're going."

Yumiko tilted her head and turned to entrance of the building they were in front of. "…OG Arcade? We're going to an arcade?"

"Correct Yumiko-chan!" Oboro slung his other arm over her as he grinned. "Games and play is going to be our day! …Hey, that rhymed!"

Yumiko nodded before she turned her head and frowned a tiny bit. "…Izuku-kun? Are you sick? You are looking rather pale."

The quirkless boy frowned and sighed. "I… don't think this is a good idea." He looked down to his red shoes. "People don't really like me in their business."

Oboro frowned but shook his head and started to drag the two in. "None of that! We're here to have a good time! It's going to be fine!"

Kicking down the door, the two awkward verdantettes looked around to see a very chill looking place with a slight old-school vibe. Old games were all around and what absolutely shocked Izuku was the old arcade game cabinets.

"OI! Loud! What did I say about kicking the door open!?" Izuku and Yumiko turned their heads to see a lady sitting at what appeared to be the prize desk.

She was a young woman of average build and height, with brown eyes, and long grey hair styled into dreadlocks and was currently tied up in a ponytail. She was wearing a dark purple dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, black jeans, black boots, and a pair of shades. On her shirt was what appeared to be a nametag.

Oboro looked at the lady nervously. "Sorry Needle… wanted to bring my new friends here."

The woman sighed and moved her shades as she rubbed her eyes. "Alright. Fine." Putting her shades back on, she looked at the two newbies. "Name's Shiori Mouri. Owner of OG Arcade. Here, we call each other by our gamer names. So call me Needle Hair or just Needle for short. You friends with Loud here?"

She points her thumb at Oboro as the blue-haired boy chuckled. "Yeah… I go by Loud Cloud here. Don't worry about paying for the ID cards. I invited you both out so I'm paying."

Yumiko nodded as she turned to Shiori. "Yumiko Oowada. My title will be Beros."

Shiori smirked. "Straight to the point. A girl after my own heart." She then took a picture of Yumiko with her phone and walked back to the counter. Typing a few things into an old-school computer, a small machine popped out a new ID as she tossed it to the archer. "All done. What about you green boy?"

Izuku looked at the grey-haired woman nervously. "Umm… I-Izuku Midoriya. I'll go by Dekiru. …If it's alright for me to be here…"

Stopping her typing, Shiori sighed and looked at Izuku. "…You a thief? A villain? You a cheater at games?"

Izuku shook his head. "No-"

"Then why the fuck would I give a damn?" She took his picture and printed out another ID card, tossing it to Izuku. "If it has to do with them Primordial Reds you wear? Then I ain't kicking ya out. Loud's paying for your start up fees. If you keep coming back every month and renewing your card? I don't give a fuck."

Izuku felt some tears start to form as he shook his head and smiled. "T-Thank you Mouri-san!"

Shiori pushed her shades down and gave a smile. "It's just business kid. And call me Needle."

The green-haired boy nodded as he joined his friends. Oboro took the two towards the games around before stopping in front of a certain game. He gained a serious look. "…Of course. My rival."

Izuku blinked and turned to the game. "…Disco Disco Rebellion?"

"Yeah. The most intense of dancing games." Oboro pointed at the high score list. "See right there? I'm currently in second place! Alien Queen took my top spot! Again!"

Stretching his limbs, he prepares to take the high score once more. Yumiko tilted her head. "If I may… why did you invite us out instead of this Alien Queen?"

Oboro paused and gave a weak chuckle. "Well… honestly? I've never met Alien Queen before. A cool rival and I wish to meet them at some point. But when it comes to actual friends, I have…" He turned to the two with a smile. "It's actually just you two."

Yumiko was silent for a moment before she gave a tiny smile. "…That's the same with me."

"…S-Same here. I'm h-honestly shocked you guys want to hang out with me." Izuku looked away nervously.

"Of course we want to hang out with you dude!" Oboro smiled as he chuckled. "We already avoided getting in trouble on that roof, remember?"

Yumiko looked between the two and tilted her head. "I did not get in trouble with a roof. Do we need to go to a roof and get in trouble to make friends?"

"No, I- …Well I mean…" Oboro stopped and thought about it. "It worked with Dekiru and I so… maybe? Wanna commit roof trespassing later?"

"Not at the moment as we are currently going to play arcade games." Yumiko nodded seriously. "Perhaps when we get into Ketsubutsu?"

"Ketsubutsu?" Oboro looked at the two before smirking and chuckling a little bit. "Shishishi! Guess I know which course I'm going to try for. Then we can do some heroic roof trespassing."

Izuku stared at the two's strange conversation for a moment before, slowly, he started laughing. That caused a chain reaction as Oboro burst out laughing while Yumiko started to quietly laugh.

The three hero hopefuls, all with different stories, would look back to that moment and remember fondly. Remember the day that Dekiru, Beros and Loud Cloud's friendship truly started. Not due to some crazy event… but just a silly moment between friends.

Calming down from laughter, the three would turn back to the arcade games with smiles on their faces. The two verdantettes would cheer on their friend as he worked to surpassing the high score of his rival.

Later on, the two boys would look absolutely defeated as Yumiko stood behind them with a neutral face and a peace sign. Behind them was a zombie shooting game… Yumiko smoked both their scores as Shiori laughed from behind the counter.

A little bit later, the cloud user and archer would be slightly ribbing Izuku as he blushed. On the "All Mighty Quiz" game, Izuku ended up getting a perfect score, toppling the current top players such as NightI and SlippyCrawly. Despite the teases, Izuku was smiling widely.

After that, the trio would then end the day off with Oboro dragging the two introverted greenettes into the photo booth. After a flash, the three walked out as the booth printed three copies of the photo.

With the photos in their hands, the three friends laughed joyfully as they said their goodbyes to Shiori. Leaving, they were filled with joy, even as they said their goodnights to one another. …As well as creating a promise to hang out again next weekend.

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…

As Izuku returned home after a long day, he couldn't erase the smile plastered on his face. Over dinner, Inko felt so much happiness for her son as he recounted all the fun he had with Yumiko and Oboro.

Later on, after doing his night time routine, he found himself laying down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. With a small turn, he found himself looking at the new picture frame. It held the arcade photo booth picture with him, Yumiko, and Oboro. Oboro slinging his arms over their shoulders as Izuku looked nervous but smiling and while Yumiko stared at the camera stoically but holding a tiny smile. Overall, it looked like three friends hanging out.

…Friends. That was a change that Izuku had to get used to. But… not a change that he hated. Not one bit.

A small smile formed on his face as he found his eyelids growing heavy.

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…

"So… our 'so called' Goliath wasted the technology and was arrested?" The figure in the darkness spoke as the sounds of life support could be heard all around.

An old looking doctor nodded as he walked up to the individual in the chair. "Yes, my lord. Still, a solid test run. Our technology did work… but was too weak and exposed." The doctor then gained an evil grin as a strange monster walked up to his foot. "Thankfully Johnny was able take our test subject away… Now we have the perfect base for Nomu."

"Ah. Perfect. Hopefully young Tomura will be able to work with it." The individual then paused. "Speaking of… how is he and his caretaker?"

The doctor sighed. "Still acting like a brat my lord. How that Nomu can stand him, I can never tell."

"She truly is a skilled caretaker. And patience Garaki. Tomura will grow into the perfect vessel of hatred with enough time." He then motioned with his hand. "But… for now, I will not hold you from your work."

The doctor nodded. "Thank you Lord All for One." Garaki turned to the monster next to him. "Johnny. Back to the lab." The monster named Johnny screeched as a black ooze escaped it's mouth, covering the doctor and itself… making them disappear.

The man, now named All for One, held a photo in his hand. He smirked. "Now…" In the photo was the broken gauntlets from the Giant Villain. "…What should be tested next?"

All the while, the sounds of life support echoed in the darkness.

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Izuku Midoriya's Ketsubutsu Analysis for the Future – Book #1

Entry 2: Yumiko Oowada

- Lady Nagant's apprentice. Hasn't said how they met but seems to have been her apprentice for a good few years now.

- Quirk: Longbow. Allows her to transform her left hand's thumb and pinky into a bow. Can shoot anything using that bow with absolute control and can, as she states, 'imbue power' into what she shoots for more strength. (What else can this imbued power do? Questions for later)

- Plans to get into Ketsubutsu as well. Has already decided on her hero title "The Archer Heroine: Beros"

- My training partner and very skilled with close quarters combat. We've sparred many times. (I lose every time.)

- Seems unused to friendship and interaction like me. While not expressive most of the time, the small expression shows her emotions clearly.

Overall Review: Yumiko is my first friend in a long time and we're both working towards becoming heroes. While she is strange at times, she is a great friend and I truly believe she is going to be an incredible hero. While I don't know much about her yet… I'm just happy to have a friend.

-TO BE CONTINUED-

Hello everyone! Void here!

And man… I'll be honest. Writing about the different characters? I'm loving this.

So… to explain why I'm excited for these chapters. In these chapters, I get to explore the different characters we are going to be having for this story. It allows me to be more creative with the introductions and interactions.

Last chapter, while unique, needed me to set the baseline plot. Why Izuku is where he is, what he is doing, and what the goal is. I wanted to set the basics. And now? I can do things differently. But anyways…

Our next student! Oboro Shirakumo! …My lord I did not plan for this guy to show up.

No, really. See, while figuring out this chapter, I was finalizing my cast. And there was one spot that kept evading me. I tried many characters, all with varying results, but none of them felt right. And then… while looking through possible characters… I saw Oboro.

Now, out of all the characters I picked for this story, Oboro is BY FAR the trickiest to make an argument for/work into the story. After all, he was super involved with the main plot… well… sort of. Needless to say, there's a lot to this decision and I'm sticking with it! So, prepare!

In quick summary: We are following the main plotline but also said 'Screw your canon' before destroying it with my cannon called "Rule of Cool".

And as for the small cameo of Shiori Mouri aka "Needle Hair". That character, along with others, were 'ALMOST' characters who were members of the cast before changes were made. And while part of me thought of just leaving them… Why not use them? So introducing the owner of OG Arcade… Needle Hair!

As for the ending bit… well… looks like our heroes will have a lot more troubles to face in the future! What will happen, we'll have to wait and see!

But yeah… with that all taken care of, time for the updated cast list!

Teacher: Kaina Tsutsumi aka Lady Nagant
Quirk: Rifle

Student 1: Izuku Midoriya
Quirk: N/A

Student 2: Yumiko Oowada [Beros from My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission]
Quirk: Longbow

Student 3: Oboro Shirakumo [Oboro Shirakumo from MHA School Days Arc]
Quirk: Cloud

Next time, we're actually going to have a trio of characters introduced! And all three are connected! Who will they be? You'll have to wait and see!

But… that's all for now! Until next time! See you all later!

VoidRebirth signing out!