A/N: Just popping in to say HAPPY NEW YEAR! (a little late). This September 19th will be "My Hero's" second birthday, and I want to thank you all for joining me on this journey. It's been really, really rough over 2020, but you guys have absolutely helped me survive to 2021. I hope you'll join me for further adventuring through this year, and for years to come! Love you all, and enjoy this new chapter!
With classes over for the day and no real studying he had to do, Izuku wanted to use this time in the evening to practice his Ultimate Move. He had his notebook at the ready, he was dressed in shorts, a T-shirt and a hoodie, to keep him somewhat warm was also being easy to move around in, and he had a set idea in mind for what he wanted his new move to be.
For a while now, Izuku had reminded himself about All Might saying he had to make this Quirk his own, and for that time, he'd questioned what that really meant. Did he mean to use it for something different than he had, or did he meant to create his own path with One For All. It was more than likely the second option, but no matter what he meant, he knew that overall, he couldn't keep trying to copy All Might.
He had his hero name, and his costume, and thanks to All Might, he had his Quirk. Now, he had to make a fighting style that was his own. Using his fists was all well and good. It was effective and he could pack a strong punch, but with the damage to his arms that he'd sustained, he couldn't rely on them as much as usual.
The only other thing he knew he could do was to use his legs as well. If Full Cowling worked on his arms, it would work on his legs, and in some situations, a kick could be much more effective than a punch. All he had to do, was spend some time practising exactly how to kick.
The main person he had his mindset on, and his notebook open to, was his friend Tenya Iida. His Quirk was literally in his legs, and his fight style was entirely focused on kicks, and his legs, so there was no-one better to study than him. He remembered how Iida moved in their fight with Stain. How he led his kick with his upper body, focusing all his power at the point of impact. As soon as he was close enough, he forced his leg out, leading it with his entire body. There was no way this move wouldn't work. It wouldn't make sense if it didn't.
Setting his book up beneath one of the outside lights, he drew himself up and let out a sigh, looking over the sketches he'd done of the stages of a kick. It was only something simple, but once he had this finished, he could begin chaining other kicks onto this one, and sooner or later he'd be able to fight effectively with this new method.
He never tried kicking before, so he had no idea what to do, how to do it or if he'd even manage it. Then again, it couldn't be that hard, could it? Cracking his neck, Izuku activated five percent of Full Cowling, and got into the position he'd drawn down first. With his left foot forwards and his right foot back, he angled his bottom half to the side and his torso facing forward, making sure his body was loose and warmed up.
First, he had to shift his weight back a little, before lifting and swinging his right leg up and around, leading it with his upper body. In kickboxing terms, this kick was a roundhouse kick. Once he had that method clear in his mind, he could chain that to a side-kick, striking with his left heel, and finally, a jumping roundhouse kick to finish it off. That was what he wanted to have at least attempted before curfew.
He started off with the roundhouse kick, leaning his weight around in an anti-clockwise manner and dragging his right leg after it, swinging it up and around at what would roughly be the mid-riff height of his enemy. At the apex of the kick he did lose his balance a little, but other than that, it felt really really good. His Quirk felt comfortable and his body wasn't aching that much. Everything seemed to float and meld together perfectly.
Balance was something he knew would be a problem because, after his fight with Muscular, his legs had been feeling a little weak at times. He just had to take a deep breath, relax, and focus. He tried the roundhouse kick again, following the same method as he had the first time. His balance improved, but he wasn't getting enough force behind the kicks endpoint.
He tried again. Then again, and again, pulling his right leg after his upper body harder and harder, putting more and more force into the point he imagined his enemy to be. Then, on his sixth attempt, he finally ended up with a kick he was happy with. He found the perfect point in which he could get the most force behind the attack, without throwing his balance off. It would land roughly in his enemies ribs if they were around his height too, so it was perfect.
All he had to do now, was chain it with another kick; the side-kick. Walking back over to his notebook, he got to his knees and looked over his notes. If he could get this right, the roundhouse kick would lead perfectly into the side-kick. Once his first attack hit, he had to bring his right foot down and pivot on it to bring his entire body and weight through for the side-kick. The more momentum he got behind the roundhouse, the more power he'd get behind the side-kick.
Then if he could perfect that, and push off hard enough with his left leg and get a little bounce behind him, he'd be able to raise his right-footed roundhouse kick even higher, landing a headshot and hopefully knocking his target to the floor. He'd looked through countless examples of chain attacks on YouTube, he'd studied Iida's attacks and some martial arts heroes attacks, and he knew that this would be the perfect starting point.
"Isn't he amazing to watch?" Toru sighed like a swooning cartoon character as Mina, herself, Tsuyu, Uraraka, Momo and Jirou sat looking down from their common area window over the back of the sofa at him.
"Hey, that's my boyfriend you're talkin' about!" Mina exclaimed, lightly slapping Toru's arm with a smile. The invisible girl let out a giggle and they looked back down at him as he again began attempting his chain attack.
"This must be something to do with his Ultimate Move." Momo suggested, cocking her head and taking a sip of her tea.
"You think so?" Jiro asked, looking over her shoulder at the black-haired teenager.
"Well, I've only ever seen Midoriya fight using his fists, and after his injuries, he must be trying to ease the strain on his body by using his legs too." She explained, talking into her mug.
"That's actually a really cool idea..." Uraraka muttered, thinking out loud.
Looking down to Izuku, Mina couldn't help but smile. Something about watching him practice fighting, and training, made her fall in love with him all over again. The way he moved was both elegant and aggressive, and with the sparks of One For All occasionally licking from his body, it was like watching a real hero train. As strange as that probably sounded.
Part of her wanted to go down there and help him, but she wasn't sure how she'd be able to help, or if she'd rather just get in his way. Not that she was complaining, because sitting here gossiping about him was actually quite exciting. Sometimes she felt little twinges of jealousy inside her, watching the other girls of Class 1-A looking down on his with admiring eyes, but she didn't really blame them. Watching him was something quite hard not to admire, after all.
"I'm glad he's found a way of creating an Ultimate Move that'll also help his body in the long term." Mina spoke up.
"I am too. If this means he doesn't keep breaking himself all the time, then I'm happy this is what he's settled with." Tsuyu agreed.
"We're not even sure if that's his Ultimate Move yet, so I wouldn't get your hopes up. Knowing Midoriya, he'll probably find a way to break a bone even after this." Jiro stated with a smirk before they all again returned their eyes to the greenette, who was now attempting to add a third kick to his combo.
"He really is amazing." Uraraka said over to Toru, who by the looks of things, was nodding quite profusely. Mina let out a little sigh but didn't pay much attention to the feeling in her stomach. It was to be expected anyway, and she knew she didn't have any reason to feel jealousy.
"I'm a little worried about the Provisional License Exam, at least... I'm worried about Midoriya." Tsuyu said after a few moments of silence.
"What for, there's no way he won't pass." Mina responded confidently. Tsuyu gave a meek nod but shrugged afterwards.
"I know, but after his injuries still being quite recent, I wonder if it'll put him at an unfair disadvantage." She said. Mina wanted to reassure her Frog Quirk friend, but on the inside, she couldn't help but agree.
The exam was on Saturday morning, however, which gave them four days, excluding today, to prepare the bodies and their Quirks to go all out. In that time, Mina had no doubt that Izuku would have recovered, albeit if he took it easy and didn't do much combat training in that time, which was unavoidable in terms of their U.S.J trip tomorrow.
"Well, we've got four days till then. I'll make sure he doesn't push himself too far and he lets his body properly recover after U.S.J tomorrow, and by the time the exam comes about, he'll blow the examiners and the other schools out of the water!" Mina beamed, clenching enthusiastic fists.
Tsuyu looked hesitant for a moment, but a smile quickly spread onto her face. It was all too clear, how painfully aware people now were of the train Izuku's body had been through, especially those in the class who were close with him. But, this is where being his girlfriend had a fraction of its perks. She knew Izuku more than anyone, especially in terms of his Quirk and it's origins. Thus, she knew there was no way he couldn't pass the exam, even if the odds were against him.
That was one of the amazing things about Izuku Midoriya. His passion and determination were yet to be defeated, and Mina believed in him with every fibre of her being.
This morning was much more eventful than the entire day just passed. Izuku was making his way towards the Development Studio, a recommendation of All Might. Izuku hadn't heard of this studio before, but according to All Might, it was an in-school facility for students on classes F, G and H. Apparently, this department was the only one that had permission for the support course students to adapt the other student's hero costumes, with supervision from qualified professionals, of course.
All Might had mentioned that there was someone working in the studio today who he thought Izuku would really hit it off with, and although he wasn't quite sure what that meant, the greenette highly doubted that it was a bad thing.
Up the last flight of stairs and around another corner, and a sign mounted on the wall came into view at the end of the corridor. 'Development Studio'.
"Deku! Wait!" The familiar voice of his brunette friend called faintly. Izuku stopped and looked over his shoulder, waiting a little while before both Uraraka and Iida rounded the corner, with Iida doing quite an uncomfortable looking speed walk to keep up with Uraraka, who didn't care about the 'no running in the halls' rule. Both of them also had their costume cases, to they must have come to have modifications too.
"Hey guys." The greenette smiled, turning to fully face them as they finally caught up.
"I thought we'd never catch up with you..." She panted, coming to a heavy stop and slamming her hands onto his chest, doubling over and using him as a support. He let out a small chuckle and looked up at Iida, who wasn't nearly as out of breath as she was.
"Are you guys here to get modifications for your Ulitmate Moves too?" He asked with a smile. Uraraka gave a very slight nod in response.
"Not specifically for my Ulitmate Move, but yes." Iida replied, putting his hands on his hips and looking past Izuku and at the heavy-duty door of the Development Studio.
"Shall we head in?" Iida asked. Uraraka picked herself up and stepped back as Izuku turned and knocking three times on the metal door.
"Come in!" The gruff voice of Power Loader called back. Izuku twisted the handle of the door and pushed it open, leading Uraraka and Iida inside. It smelled strongly of metal, wood and some other strange substances he couldn't name.
"Oop!" A sudden exclamation came from a voice Izuku wasn't familiar with, and before he could turn to look at the source of the voice, he was knocked to the side and slammed to the floor, a heavyweight landing on top of him.
"Midoriya!" Iida exclaimed. Izuku barely managed to shift his head out the way of a large wrench that came crashing down from above.
"Hatsume! How many times have I told you to be careful!" Power Loader boomed. The greenette's head was ringing and his head ached a bit, but he forced his eyes open and came face to face with someone familiar.
Crosshairs amber eyes, pink deadlock hair, around the same height as Izuku with a smiling face and...
B-b-boobs! The greenette screamed mentally, quickly looking away from Hatsume's large breasts, pressed against his chest.
"Ooo! I know you!" The pink-haired girl exclaimed, pushing herself up, but not off of Izuku. "You're that ten-million points boy!" She beamed, hopping up and pulling him after her.
"What were your names again?" She asked, retrieving her wrench and proceeding to ignore Power Loader.
"I'm Ochaco Uraraka..." She started, before getting cut off by Iida.
"I'm Tenya Iida, the man you turned into a walking advertisement!" The Engine Quirk user exclaimed.
"Never heard'a ya!" Hatsume responded, mimicking Iida's peculiar hand waving.
"What about you green boy?" She asked, softening her voice and leaning forwards at Izuku. Izuku back away a little and swallowed saliva nervously.
"I-I'm Izuku... Midoriya..." He started, his voice quickly growing quieter as she moved closer again.
"Midoriya huh?" Hatsume asked rhetorically, grabbing his right arm and squeezing his bicep. The sudden action caused him to recoil, but Hatsume's grip was strong.
"W-What are you doing to him!" Uraraka exclaimed. Power Loader simply shook his head and indicated to Iida, taking him to one side to talk about what modifications he wanted to his costume.
"I'm feeling his muscles." She responded in a playful tone, running her hand along his stomach and up to his chest. "Mmm, yeah, you're much stronger than you look!" She said suddenly, letting him go. Izuku's entire face felt like it was about to melt, and all he and Uraraka could do was stare at her.
"What's up, cat gotcha tongue?" She asked, cocking her head.
"N-No... Sorry..." Izuku stammered, holding out his hands.
"Hatsume, would you be able to make some modifications to my boots?" He asked, firing a glance over his shoulder at Uraraka. The brunette's face was curious now, and she averted her eyes to Izuku's black and red boots with a frown.
"Can I? That's a trick question, right Midoriya? I'll have whatever you need doing finished by this afternoon, no problem!" She beamed, clapping and taking his hand, dragging him off to what must have been her own workspace for the day. A cluttered bench covered in mangled looking devices, half-completed.
"You don't even know what I need yet..." Izuku muttered to himself.
"What can I do for you big guy?" She started in a teasing tone, sitting down in a tatty looking desk chair leaving the small wooden stool to Izuku.
"Well..." He started, lifting his right leg over the other and resting his hero costume case upon them." Would you be able to add some kind of steel-toe to these? Something strong, and reinforced at the sides to prevent me breaking my feet if I use them for kicking or things like that." He explained quietly, removing his boots from the case and tapping the toe of one, before running his fingers along the side and to the back for the reinforcements.
"Pssh! Is that all you want doing?" Hatsume laughed, folding her arms across her large chest and smirking at him confidently.
"Well... I'm not really sure what else could be affected by my ultimate move, so, for now, I think this is a good start." He responded with a smile. Hatsume gave him a sideways nod and sighed.
"Welp, as long as you're sure. Hand em over." She said, holding out her hand. Izuku stared at it for a moment before processing what she was doing, removing his boots and handing them to her.
"Thank you. Come back at... Let's saaay..." She started, before holding up her free hand and counting on her fingers for a moment. "One O'clock. I think you all leave at three for U.S.J, right?" She asked, finally. Izuku nodded.
"Good. So yeah, come back at one then. They'll be all sorted for you by then." She smiled, before turning to her desk, brushing her hair behind her shoulders and picking up his boots, looking them over with analysing eyes.
"Thank you, Hatsume." Izuku smiled, getting up and making his way towards the door.
"Oh yeah. I'm surprised you didn't come with the rest of your class yesterday. The ones who wanted modifications got them done yesterday. Seems a little rushed getting them done on the same day as your training, doncha think?" She asked. Izuku stopped and thought for a moment. She was right, but he wasn't really sure what to say to her. Instead, he looked over his shoulder, smiled, left his costume case in the rack by the door, and left.
He'd wait for Iida and Uraraka to finish specifying their upgrades before they went to get food. They didn't have classes today because today was like their preparation period for things like this, so Izuku wanted to spend the day with Iida and Uraraka for today since it had been a while since they'd last hung out together.
It was just about to tick over to three o'clock now. The cold morning air nipped at his ears and nose as he and the rest of Class 1-A waited within the rebuilt gates of U.A, for their coach to arrive. Everyone was already changed into their new and improved hero costumes and were greatly anticipating their teacher's arrival. All Might hadn't yet arrived yet, but Izuku had a pretty good idea as to why that was. With every passing day, his ability to maintain his muscle form was declining, and Izuku was becoming painfully aware of how close the end of his career could be. Of course, this was only a hunch of his, but he couldn't help but wonder.
Izuku pushed his numb hands into his hoodie pockets and allowed his eyes to drift over to Mina. She was wearing the white hoodie Izuku had worn on one of their first 'dates', after begging him to let her wear it today, and she was laughing and giggling away with Toru and Jiro. Seeing her brought so much ease to his otherwise currently uneasy mind.
He found himself pondering just how long it would be until All Might truly would pass the torch to Izuku, and with it, the responsibility of becoming future number one. What was scarier perhaps, was knowing that All Might would quite soon be unable to continue being a pro hero. Izuku had seen how crime rates have grown since All Might had become less able, but now, with the idea of him being completely out of commission on the table, he hated to think what that could mean for everyone.
"What's up with you?" Sero asked quietly from the bench behind Izuku, the bare, autumn kissed tree standing behind that acting as Sero's headrest. The greenette looked over to the Tape Quirk user with a slightly absent expression.
"What do you mean?" Izuku falsely asked. He knew exactly why. All morning he'd been a little distant, and he knew that too. He was happy, and excited inside, of course! Things were really getting interesting with creating Ultimate Moves nad the Provisional License exam being right upon them, but his mind was also tainted with worry.
"I dunno... Something just feels a little off, y'know?" Sero responded with a shrug, half burying his face in the thick coat and scarf he was wearing. Izuku gently bit the inside of his bottom lip and sighed.
"I guess so..." He replied quietly. "I'm not really sure either. I'm just a little nervous about everything." He added, not looking at the black-haired teen.
"Yeah? Nothings changed since we started here then, huh?" Sero retorted with a chuckle. Izuku let out a small laugh too, but it quickly fell into another sigh.
"I understand why you're worried though." He added, a little more seriously, to which Izuku's interest was peaked. "It's the anxiety of reaching all those goals you've set for yourself. Living up to the expectations of those who matter to you. Right?" He asked, knowingly. Izuku's interest was replaced with confusion, and it showed on his face. Sero let out another chuckle.
"I figured as much. Everyone here has that same feeling right now, but I don't think any of us let it... You know... fill our minds." Sero said thoughtfully. Izuku slowly nodded.
"Yeah..." Izuku responded. He wasn't sure what else to say, but he felt like anything was better than nothing.
"If you want my advice, the best thing for you to do is just relax. I live by the saying 'everything happens for a reason'. It doesn't sound like much, but when you keep that mindset, it really helps you through the bad shit." Sero smiled, sitting forwards and cracking his knuckles before getting up from the bench.
Izuku watched as he walked away and headed towards the majority of the class. Everything happens for a reason, huh... Izuku repeated to himself, looking back off unto the horizon, towards the city. It had a really nice ring to it, that saying, and when he really thought about it, it did bring a little relief to his mind. It made bad things feel like good things when you applied it to them like there was something to earn from those hardships.
"Thanks, Sero." Izuku smiled to himself before the sound of loud footsteps coming from the school brought all of them to attention.
"Good morning class!" All Might beamed energetically, his hero costume seeming to glow in the warm morning sun.
"Good Morning All Might." Came their delayed response.
"The coach should be here any minute now, so I hope you're all feeling wide awake and ready to make some Ultimate Moves!" He continued enthusiastically yelling. It was a little early to be shouting as loud as All Might, but his excitement was undeniably shared by the rest of Class 1-A.
Through most of the evening, the class spend together in their dorms, people were disgusting some ideas they'd had for Ultimate Moves, but that they'd decided wouldn't work. The only one who didn't have anything to contribute to the conversation was Izuku.
He'd given Ultimate Moves a lot of thought since Aizawa first mentioned it yesterday morning, and even on occasion before that, but all of his ideas, in his mind, were plausible and could be used. No-one had said that they couldn't come up with more than one Ultimate Move, but Izuku felt as though taking on more than one wouldn't be such a good idea at this stage. Not that it mattered, because he'd already settled on what move he saw as the best for his situation, and he'd prepared to make it a reality.
The upgrades Hatsume had made to his boots were better than he'd imagined, and he profusely thanked her accordingly. They were strong and robust, supporting his foot with small, comfortably padded metal beams, and they weren't that heavy either, compared to what he was expecting. However, their true test was yet to come, when he finally used them in his Ulitmate Move.
As he followed the backside of his class, Izuku watched as the coach at the bottom of the small hill grew closer and closer, and so did his anticipation. I was more exciting seeing what his classmates had come up with for their Ultimate Moves rather than seeing if his own would work. There was so much potential in their class, and he couldn't wait to see what people were going to do.
He would've liked to sit with Mina on the way there, but her massively excited energy was a little too much for his anxious stomach. That, and she was already sitting on the back seven seats with her usual group of haphazard friends.
"You okay back here all on your own?" Uraraka asked sweetly, taking her place as Izuku's side, towards the front of the bus.
"Uraraka... Y-Yes, I'm alright." He responded, a little taken aback by having his brunette friend sitting right at his side so suddenly. "How come you're not sitting with Iida or the others?" He asked, unzipping his hoodie as the bus pulled away, beginning its journey to U.S.J.
"Because I wanted to sit with you. That's alright, isn't it?" She asked, cocking her head with a cheeky grin. Izuku quickly nodded.
"O-Of course it's okay! It's quite nice actually. I feel like I've been a little distant recently." Izuku responded, before shaking himself and calming his unnecessary nerves. All the excitement was making him a nervous wreck.
"Hehehe, good." Uraraka giggled, bouncing her legs before sitting back in her seat, her arm pressing against his as she did. She was acting awfully touchy compared to usual. She'd hugged him before and that was okay, but she was basically sitting on his seat at this point.
"Is... I-Is everything alright with you?" Izuku responded after a minute or so of sitting in silence, Uraraka still not moving away from him.
"Yeah, I'm great!" She replied with a smile. Izuku slowly nodded, firing a glance over his shoulder at Mina.
"I-It's just... You're awfully close..." He muttered, swallowing saliva anxiously.
"Oh... Sorry..." She said, her bubbly attitude fading away a little.
"Are you really alright?" He asked again as Uraraka moved away from him a little.
"Yes... I'm just worried about you. You haven't used your Quirk since the training camp attack. I don't want you to hurt yourself." She said quietly. Izuku couldn't help but chuckle.
"You don't need to worry about me. I know my limits and I know I'll be okay." He responded confidently, a wide smile on his face. Uraraka nodded, and a little smile broke onto her face. She didn't say anything to him, but her smile was reassuring enough, and he looked back out of the window with a content sigh.
He really did feel confident in himself though, about using his Quirk again. He might have done himself no favours by over-working himself, but now he knew the consequence of forcing himself to exceed his limits too soon, he knew what he had to do to make real progress.
Something else Mina had suggested recently, was that maybe his limit being 'reset', so to speak, was just have been a temporary side effect. His body and strength never developed because he was working it too hard, and wasn't giving it enough of a chance to recover. However, excluding the battle with Muscular, he'd been going a little easier.
The training at the camp was difficult, but it was managed properly and monitored so that he or anyone else wouldn't end up pushing themselves too hard. It might not mean anything for his Quirk, but he felt stronger, and more able, which was surprising considering how injured he'd been only two days ago.
He felt like something had fallen into place, and he'd had that feeling since he'd come to, back in the hospital. Back in his room, he'd tried idly using five percent of Full Cowling, and it felt just as comfortable, if not more than it had originally. Maybe this was because he'd gone a few days without using his Quirk, or that he was using it whilst just sitting doing nothing, or maybe it was because he really had begun developing, even if it was only a tiny bit.
He wouldn't know for sure until they got to U.S.J. Once he had a moment to take All Might to one side, he would ask about how to recognise his power limit, and once he knew how to do that, he would be able to know whether or not he'd become any stronger. He knew that after such a short time, he probably wouldn't have come any further than he had since the Practical Exam, so he wasn't expecting much. However, he wouldn't be sure until he asked the man who'd given him this power in the first place.
When Izuku woke up again, Uraraka was shaking him, with Toru and Mina craining over the seats behind, watching him.
"Oh good, you're okay! I thought you'd died." Uraraka exclaimed as Izuku slowly opened his eyes.
"S-Should I be worried about that?" Izuku asked slowly, looking out of the window and towards U.A. Mina giggled and shook her head.
"Come on, let's not keep All Might waiting." Uraraka smiled, nodding for her three friends to follow as she got up and started out of the bus and towards the specialised training facility. Izuku nodded and followed after her quickly, with Uraraka and Toru on his tail.
"Have you guys decided on your ultimate moves yet?" He asked Mina and Toru took began walking on beside him with Uraraka.
"I think I have an idea..." Uraraka said simply. Mina nodded too and, although Toru wasn't visible, her excited movements said that she had something in mind too.
"What about you? I'll bet you've got loads of ideas buzzing around in that little head of yours." Mina asked, firing the question back on Izuku, ruffling his hair. Izuku couldn't help but chuckle, and when she let him go, he shook his head.
"Actually... I don't." He stated. "I've only got one idea." He added, smiling between the three girls. They all looked a little surprised, but Mina's face was by far the most shocked.
"You've only got one!?" She cried, startling them all. Izuku laughed and nodded again.
"Yeah." He said quietly.
"What is it? Oh please tell us! Please, please, please, plea-..." Toru begged, before Izuku held up his had and the floating pair of gloves and boots walking beside Mina.
"I can't. Everyone's saving their moves to surprise each other, and I want to do that too." He responded with a smile.
"Awwwwwh..." Toru complained, her hands falling to her sides.
"I think I'm most excited to see what you've come up with." Mina spoke up. "Obviously I could be biased because you're my boyfriend..." She added.
"Well, I know quite a few people are excited to see what Deku's come up with. I think everyone's going to have found something really crazy for their moves, but considering your Quirk needs limiting, I'm curious to see what you've decided on." Uraraka chimed in as the group of four walked through the huge automatic doors of U.S.J and spotted the rest of their class waiting at the stairs which led down into the main area of the facility.
"Glad you could join us you four!" All Might called up at them. Cementos, Aizawa and Midnight standing with him.
"That's weird... When did they get here?" Toru asked as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
"I told them to meet us here. We'll need all the help we can get!" All Might smiled, putting his hands on his hips. Izuku looked between the four teachers as his group came to a stop in the centre of the class huddle.
"Before we get started, there are a few things I'd like to talk to you all about." Aizawa started as Cementos gently placed his hands upon the flat area in which they were standing, and erected stone pillars up from nothing, almost like a kind of climbing course.
"Some of you may already have ideas for what your ultimate moves will be, but for those who don't, just know that an Ultimate Move doesn't have to be attack based. For example, Iida's Recipro Burst in a simple temporary boost in speed, but it's enough of a threat to be called an Ultimate Move." Aizawa started. Behind Iida's mask, Izuku noticed a twinkle of joy in his eyes, and he couldn't help but smile at the class rep.
"You don't have to think mainly about attack based moves. Consider mobility and utility. Sometimes they can be handier when you're in a pinch." He added, his eyes glancing up to Izuku briefly.
"Anyone else have something they'd like to add?" He asked, looking back at the other teachers.
"Be mindful." Midnight perked up. "Your Ultimate Move should be effective in apprehending villains, but they cannot put any civilian lives in danger. For Quirks like Todoroki's, Bakugo's, Izuku's and Ashido's, for example. If anything affects a large area, it could cause damage to property and person, so be mindful." She explained. Izuku took a deep breath and sigh, looking over to Mina, then to Bakugo and Todoroki.
"Well, if that's all, then let's get going! We've got Ultimate Move to create!" All Might called, clapping his large hands together. Izuku fired one more glance around the class before walking over to All Might.
"Hey, All Might..." He started, once everyone was out of earshot. "Can I ask you something?" He added.
"What's on your mind young Midoriya?" The pro hero asked with a smile.
"How do I know what my limit is? Is there a way to tell what my max is without destroying my body?" He asked. All Might, surprisingly, smiled at him and rested his hand on Izuku's shoulder.
"The way I tracked my progress, all those years ago, was because One For All told me." He said. Izuku looked up at All Might and frowned.
"What?" He responded simply.
"One For All told me. Well... It'd didn't actually tell me, but I simply felt it. When I was training, and I powered the Quirk up. When I let it flow through me and around my body, I could feel what my limit was. It was like I knew the whole time." He explained. Izuku could only stare in awe. Nothing he was saying made any sense. How could he 'just feel it'.
"Alright..." Izuku said simply, firing his mentor a smile. "One more question." He said, stopping himself as he went to walk away. All Might fired him a smile to show he was listening.
"Can you break off a chunk of that boulder and throw it at me. A-A big one." He requested. All Might's expression faltered a little, but he didn't question his young friend, walking over to one of the boulders Cementos had made, and punching it into chunks. His plan was to have All Might throw that bolder towards him gently, so he could test his new equipment in the best way possible, without getting in anyone's way.
His idea was to use his legs. His fists and arms had taken a lot of damage recently, but he only focused on punching attacks because that was what All Might did. He was trying too hard to be like All Might. He'd never really made this Quirk his own, so this would be his first step towards it. Adding a new fighting style to his roster. Obviously, there was some risk in this method, but it was the only way to really test this fighting style; his Shoot Style.
"Are you sure about this, young Midoriya?" All Might asked, holding a fraction of this rock in his arms. Izuku jogged back a few steps and nodded, coming to a stop around twenty meters away from the blonde-haired hero.
One For All, Full Cowling... Five percent. This was the most efficient way to test if his move would be effective. He'd had all the necessary changes made, and he'd practised kicks for a few hours the night before, studying his notes on Iida and try to perfect his technique, so going all out on his first attempt would be the most effective test.
"I hope you know what you're doing, young Midoriya." All Might said, straining as he let the rock fly, gently throwing it into the air and towards Izuku. This was it. He crouched down a little and let out the breath he was holding, before pushing off and into the air, putting a little spin into is movement. Using his arms, he twisted his body to rotate anti-clockwise and lifting his right leg, ready to throw it out for his move.
SMAAASH! His foot impacted the boulder and his boot sunk into it, splitting it without much resistance from the object. It worked! He recovered himself and landed elegantly, the rubble falling to the floor around it. His Shoot Style worked and better than he thought. He expected to break the boulder a little, but not completely shatter it.
"All Might. This is my Ulitmate Move; my Shoot Style. This is my next step to becoming my own hero." He smiled up at his mentor. It worked, and he was one step closer to becoming his own One For All user. For too long he'd tried to be All Might, to become what All Might was and fill in the space that would be left when All Might inevitably had to step down.
What he didn't realise, however, that what All Might wanted, was for Izuku to lead his own path, and to use his Quirk to become his own hero. It was only something small, creating his own fighting style would be his chance to become his own number one.
Now he knew his move worked, with All Might, he could perfect it, and once their session here was over, he would have a fighting style unique to himself. He could become a new One For All user, instead of trying to become the previous user. All Might's eyes twinkled with pride, and it was all the reassurance Izuku needed to know he'd taken his first step towards becoming number one.
"Once more?" All Might asked excitedly, smashing his fist down onto another bolder, splitting it open and grabbing another chunk form the floor.
"Once more." Izuku responded, clenching his fists and getting into a fighting stance.