Izuku Midoriya found himself running through the forest, though it wasn't the same one from the sludge villain incident. The trees and paths were far more familiar to him as this was the same place he used to go when he was little. Back when he followed his former friend Kacchan everywhere, even when the signs told him not to. How long had it been since he had last been here? Since he was four? Five or six? It was hard to recall.

The forest had not changed all that much, but the red shoes that hit the ground were. They were larger, holding up a boy now dressed in a green jogging suit as he ran through the trees, jumping over rocks and fallen branches, towards his goal while his lungs burned. That goal being the alien woman known as Ryoko. Dressed in her casual blue dress, the space pirate flew backwards in front of him, arms behind her back as she kept the same distance between them at all times with a grin on her face. Somehow she seemed to be aware of her surroundings, swaying back and forth to avoid the scattered trees. She also seemed to just teleport back and forth, like the weight on a pendulum. Every time she would do this, Izuku would correct his course ever so slightly so that she was right in front of him.

Sweat began to coat Izuku's face, but he continued to run after the flying teen in front of him while his mind raced. He had been at this pace for the last ten minutes, just chasing after her with no other clear idea on how he was supposed to reach her. But there had to be a way, something he could do to close the gap! He had already tried giving everything he had right out of the starting gate, only to find himself quickly winded with her easily adjusting her own speed. Perhaps if he tried to suddenly sprint after her he could catch her off guard? That might be possible as she might not suspect something like that given the state he was in. Or maybe he could use one of the trees, leaping onto one and launching off of it in a cool and heroic fashion? That was an option…except for the fact that he didn't know how to do that. Or how much distance it would give him meaning he would be expending a large amount of energy for something that might not be worth it. Or how to land.

Looking like she had suddenly become bored with this, Ryoko held out an open palm in front of her. Izuku's eyes widened as he saw the red energy she created pooling in her hand. Then, with a sweeping motion, she flung the orb towards the tired teen without so much as a word. Izuku saw it coming, leaping to the side in order to dodge and turned his head to watch as the orb zoomed past him.

"Where the hell are you looking?!" came a sudden shout mixed with anger and annoyance. A moment later, Izuku felt a now very familiar sensation of Ryoko's fist being slammed into his gut hitting him with enough force to send him flying off the ground. From there he flew backwards briefly before falling and landing onto his back to stare up at the forest canopy above him.

Wincing and panting in pain, Izuku thought back to a few days ago…

Flashback

"So you're telling me this…woman can help you get a quirk," said Inko Midoriya slowly, her eyes narrowed slightly in clear distrust as she sat at her seat at the dinner table. Squirming in his chair directly across from her, Izuku nodded while keeping his head down slightly as beads of sweat ran down his face.

One of the first problems Izuku realized he would have to face after he had accepted Ryoko's help was his mother. More specifically: how would he explain all this to her? After all, this was his mother. She was the only family that he knew of, living in Japan. The idea that he could just walk up to her saying 'I just woke up with a quirk after all these years' and not have her be suspicious was doubtful at best. Nor would it help explain why he wanted Ryoko to live with them in their apartment. Sure, Ryoko had a spaceship and could, potentially, live there. But seeing as how she's giving him her powers and was helping him to become a hero, it didn't feel right to leave her isolated and alone. The least he could do was offer her a place to stay, here on Earth, along with free meals. And judging by the way Ryoko's mouth watered at the suggestion, it seemed she liked the idea as well.

So before they headed out the door of his room the two came up with a simple plan: tell the truth. After all, there was no real reason to lie to her which might make things more complicated down the road. The only thing they were going to leave out was that Ryoko was an alien. That piece of information might be a little too much for Inko to believe or even process. Heck, if Izuku hadn't literally seen the crashing spacecraft, he doubted he would have believed it as well!

It was only now, as he sat at the table with Ryoko next to him, that he realized that the truth still sounded suspicious. Not helped by what Ryoko had decided to wear! Glancing at the space pirate, Izuku couldn't help but wince at the oversized lab coat she was sporting over her blue dress with her name scribbled onto the coat pocket in marker. She was also wearing comically thick glasses that looked like they came from the bottom of old soda bottles with rings in them. On her head was the rabbit creature, Ryo-Ohki, who was also wearing the same glasses…for some reason. Where had they gotten all that?

"Don't worry Mrs. Midoriya, I can totally help your son get a quirk," said Ryoko, her voice carefree as she waved a hand in the air. "All with the power of science and crap." As she spoke, more sweat began to form on Izuku's face as he saw his mother's lips tighten into a thin line.

"…I see," said Inko slowly, her narrow eyes focused on Ryoko for several long seconds as they oozed distrust. Slowly they moved up to her head, staring at Ryo-Ohki who was now stoking her chin as if there were a beard there before lowering it back to Ryoko. Then she sighed before looking over at her son, her gaze gentler yet holding a firm seriousness. "Izuku, I knew you were desperate but this is too much."

"But mom," began Izuku, only to be stopped by a look from the small woman.

"I'm sorry Izuku, but this is something you need to accept." There was a pause as Inko took a deep breath. "Izuku…we've done everything possible. Every legitimate doctor I have spoken to has said the same thing: if your quirk hasn't appeared by now it never will. Your father and I have even looked at some old gene therapies that were going on in America back in the day, but they were discontinued. Do you know why? Because nothing worked. You can't give someone something they never had in the first place." Inko paused again to let out another sigh. "Izuku, I'm sorry. I love you with all my heart, but I'm not going to let this snake oil salesmen get your hopes up with fake promises of getting a quirk. So, please escort this crazy woman out of our home because she is not getting her greedy hands on any of our money!"

"HA! Like I wanted it in the first place!" stated Ryoko as she stood up. As a worried Izuku looked up at her, waving his hands in the air in complete panic, Ryoko took hold of the lab coat and discarded it as well as the glasses. Even Ryo-Ohki did the same! Once free of the 'disguise', Ryoko placed a foot on the table with her hands on her waist. "You can keep the money. It's completely worthless to me! All I want is a nice bed and three, maybe four, square meals a day!"

Inko blinked. "…What?"

"You heard me!" stated Ryoko loudly. She then leaned forward a bit, bringing her head closer to Inko's. "And that's only if he gets a quirk! If he doesn't then you can do whatever! Kick me out of the apartment with a broom, call the police, or whatever else you want."

For a few minutes, Izuku sat there as he watched the scene unfolding before him. His mother was silent, her gaze never leaving Ryoko's. It was as if they were having either a staring contest or having some telepathic conversation. The only movement he could see came from his mother, lightly chewing her tongue from time to time. Finally, she pulled back a little from Ryoko and looked at her son.

"Alight. I'll let you try this. But, when it doesn't work, I want this to be over. No more talking about becoming a hero. You move on with your life. Is that understood?"

"Yes!" came Izuku's response, nodding as he did so.

"Well, now that that's settled," said Ryoko as she sat back down in her seat while fishing out the device once more. Izuku glanced at the device once more before turning to look at her mother. It was clear that she wasn't impressed, looking as if she were trying to keep her eyes from rolling…until they widened in shock. Izuku quickly turned to look back, seeing the device was now floating between them with several floating screens around it, each one the size of a sticky note with text zooming across them at speeds impossible for him to read.

The green haired teen was about to ask what was happening, only to be stopped as he felt something prick his arm. Looking down he spotted a small hole in the sleeve of his uniform which now showed his skin. He looked up to Ryoko, seeing that she had already pulled up her own sleeve revealing her smooth, bare arm. Then it happened. Blood began to flow out from her arm, suspended in the air as if it traveled through an invisible tube towards the device. The alien machine accepted the gift, allowing it to pass through it, before it flowed through to the other side and towards Izuku. The only thing Izuku could do was stare as the blood made its way toward him, making his body its new home while his mother's arms waved around frantically while fear etched her face.

Shocked, Izuku felt something as the blood entered into him, causing the teen to take a deep intake of breath. A weird feeling came over him before something far more familiar began to take over. One he felt every time Kacchan used his quirk on him. Burning. Only now, he felt like the fire was inside of him, moving through his veins like a wildfire. Speaking of his veins, he could now see that they were visible on his hand. All of them, clear as day. And he had a feeling that more could be seen than that. As more blood entered into his body, Izuku's head began to pound as if explosions were going on inside of it. He wanted to cry out, but the pain was silencing him! The burning and the pounding only seemed to get worse and worse until finally he thankfully passed out.

The light of the sun shining through the window was what awoke Izuku. The teen groaned a little, raising a hand up in order to shield his eyes from the light of the sun. At first his eyes were open just a crack, taking in the familiar surroundings around him. His All Might blanket was wrapped around his body, the All Might posters were all smiling at him, and even his collection of All Might figures were posed to face his bed. Everything seemed normal…except for him. He couldn't explain it but he felt different. The best way he could describe it was that he was a plate of scrambled eggs that someone had added bits of chopped bacon before mixing it all together.

As he thought about this analogy, something caught his attention. His index finger had small, green currents of electricity dancing around it. The sight caused his eyes to grow wide in panic, a scream escaping his lip as he bolted upright. Before he knew what he was doing, his opposite hand had taken a hold of the others wrist so that the hand was held up. Izuku stared at the lightning as pressure began to build inside of the digit.

"Izuku! My baby! What's happening?" came his mother's voice, the door bursting open as a panicked Inko raced inside. As she did, a thin beam of green light shot from Izuku's finger so suddenly that it scared his mother into falling on her hands and knees. The beam struck the ceiling, doing little more than singeing it.

For a moment, neither of the two said or did anything. They just stared at the finger as a thin wisp of smoke rose from the tip, something that only lasted for two to three heartbeats. Then, slowly, a smile began to form on Izuku's lips followed by tears. A sob escaped him, but the smile never faded. He could feel his tears running down his face, slow at first but, as his mother embraced him with a hug, they became like twin waterfalls to which Inko quickly joined in. He knew , without looking, that she was crying the same as him. Both shedding tears that had nothing to do with the usual feelings of pain, suffering, disappointment, and so forth that they had experienced for too long. No, these were tears full of unimaginable joy and happiness that no force on earth could quell until they became completely dehydrated and needed Ryoko to force gallons of water down their throats!

Finally, Izuku Midoriya, had a quirk.

Sort of.

Breakfast that day was one of the happiest that the Midoriya family had known for some time, with Inko making all of her sons favorite dishes one after another without a care or concern to how much it would cost. She became like a busy bee, moving from the rice cooker to the stove all to make sure that this celebration would be one that they would always remember. As soon as the dishes were ready, they were placed on the table with a proud flourish for Izuku and Ryoko to eat.

And speaking of Ryoko…

"Alright, now that you have my powers, it's time to get to work," she said between large mouthfuls of rice that she shoveled into her mouth. Next to her was Ryo-Ohki, sitting in front of a large plate of carrots and going through them faster than her owner's own food. "In order to use them to their fullest, wow this rice is amazing, you're going to need to get into shape! The stronger you get the better off you'll be! But…" she paused to take a bite out of a buttery pancake, "just so you know I'm going to be tough as hell! Oh, can I have seconds on my rice?"

"Coming up," said Inko happily, levitating the bowl with her quirk into the air where it then floated towards where the plump woman was standing. With a hum, she filled Ryoko's bowl before floating it back to her. "I'm glad Earth food agrees with you so much."

That comment nearly caused Izuku to choke on his food as panic filled him. He managed to swallow as he looked over to the chubby woman as new beads of sweat began to form. "Ah, Earth food? Haha. That's an odd thing to say. It's not like she…an alien…or something…"

Inko turned to look at her son, a frown appearing on her face for the first time that morning. "Give your mother a little credit," she said, her voice indigent as if she had just been insulted while her hands went to her hips. "I've sat by you as you watched all the latest hero news and listened to you spout off all sorts of hero facts for years. I was bound to pick up a few things. Like hero gear. So I think I have a good idea when I see something that is well above what some of the top heroes use out there." A small, embarrassed smile then appeared on Inko's face. "That and I may have overreacted a little after you passed out."

Ryoko let out a laugh. "She tried to hit me. Three times!" Stunned, Izuku looked over at Ryoko who began shoveling food back into her mouth. "The only way I could calm her down was by explaining everything."

"Oh," was all Izuku could say, leaning back in his chair as he stared in front of him with big eyes and his pupils becoming nothing more than tiny dots. And here he thought she'd be more freaked out that aliens existed.

"Izuku, you'd better finish your food quickly or else you'll be late for school," Inko said, gesturing at the clock. But despite that, she didn't turn down the temperature of the stove. Instead placing several carrots on a plate which she brought to Ryo-Ohki. Upon replacing the plate with a fresh one, the small creature let out a 'meow' of joy as it jumped up and down into the air before beginning to devour everything before it save the plate. And Inko stood there, petting Ryo-Ohki with a smile on her face before returning to the stove.

"School?" asked Ryoko as she leaned back in her seat. "Why the heck does he need that if he wants to bust heads for a living? Fat lot of good math and warp theory are going to do him. Besides, if he goes then there will be less time to get him into shape!"

"Ah, we don't study warp theory in junior high," muttered Izuku, sweat dropping as he looked at Ryoko. "I don't even think students in college really study it."

"Ryoko, a lot of people want to go into the hero business," said Inko, turning from the stove again after turning down the heat on the burners. "It's highly competitive. And the top schools around the world only want the best of the best. So if Izuku really has his heart set on U.A., the best hero school there is, then he's going to need to make sure he stands out. They'll no doubt be a written exam he'll have to take as well as testing his quirk!" Both of the Midoriya's sighed as Ryoko then shrugged, seeming unconcerned. Yet despite this, Inko's smile had not vanished. Diminished? A bit. But it was still there as she pulled out her phone. "I think I'm going to need to take a personal day."

A half hour later, Izuku left the apartment with his stomach fuller than it had ever been in his life. But before he closed the door, he could hear his mother and Ryoko still in the kitchen as they went back and forth on what they thought the best schedule for him would be.

Something that seemed to take longer than either of them realized as they were still working on it when Izuku got home! Both of them seemed to go back and forth, trying to map out each day so that Izuku would get the most well rounded training possible with time for study and recovery taken into account. One thing that his mother flat out refused to make any concession on was that the week before and during his exams were off limits. In return, Ryoko got full reign over Izuku's life during breaks or a cancellation of a school day for whatever reason. Once this had been agreed upon, the two went over the little details, writing everything onto the calendar for all to see, right up to the point when he went to bed.

End Flashback

Since then, Izuku had been put through the paces just like Ryoko promised. However, he was a bit confused by her workout regimen. Tying him up with a rope before tossing him off a cliff so he could climb back up, making him climb trees with his bare hands, carrying large buckets of water up a steep hill, and sitting on his stomach as he did reverse push-ups? All this felt like the crazy stuff one would find in a cheesy, material arts manga!

Then came the fight training which, well, wasn't going very well as he had only learned two things so far. The first was that Ryoko could hit harder than Kaachan. The other was just how well her powers seemed to suit her profession as he had gotten a good look at all of them. The phasing, teleporting, and flying made it so that, no matter the situation, she had options to get into whatever she wanted. There seemed to be no place that was out of bounds for her. If she ever got caught or had to fight, the energy orbs that she threw could do an insane amount of damage if she wanted, while her finger beams were used for small, more precise attacks. Then there was the sword…

Footsteps came racing towards Izuku as he pushed himself off the ground. By the time he got into a sitting position, his mother was next to him with Ryo-Ohki on her head. Both looked deeply concerned.

"I don't get it," said Ryoko as she teleported in front of Izuku, floating several feet above him with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Looking up, Izuku could see the look of…annoyance? No, that wasn't right. Maybe confusion? "Look at you. All that talk about getting into a hero school and it feels like you haven't worked out a day in your life! Please tell me you weren't planning on entering and just hoping for the best."

"Ryoko!" snapped Inko as Izuku looked towards the ground in embarrassment.

"It's not…" he began, his hands clutching at the grass and dirt that surrounded him. "It's not like I didn't want to. I wanted to get into a fitness program…but the gyms…their insurance doesn't cover the quirkless so… I was turned away. And, well, personal workout equipment can get a little expensive beyond simple hand weights." As he finished, Izuku looked up to see that Ryoko's expression had hardened. Not just that, but he could see that she had tightened her grip on her arms while a fire seemed to blaze in her eyes. The sight nearly made the teen flinch in terror, afraid that she might begin yelling and screaming at him. But, before he could, her expression softened as she looked away.

"Well," she began as she scratched the back of her head. After a moment or two she looked back down at the boy with a smile. "Guess that means I'll have to work you extra hard on our days, now won't I?" After cracking her neck a few times, Ryoko let out a laugh that caused Izuku's blood to run a little cold. But, regardless, he stood up anyway ready to begin again.

"R-Ryoko, are you sure that's best?" asked Inko as Ryoko turned, floating back where she had been. "I…I just think you might be going a little too tough on him right now. Couldn't you m-maybe go a bit easier on Izuku since he's j-just starting out? Start gradual and work his way up?"

For a moment, Ryoko just floated there while letting out a long hum. Then, when she turned around, they saw she was still smiling. Only this time, it felt like a mix between devilish and playful. Something that was also reflected in her eyes. "Well, I can either go hard on him now so that he can be more prepared when he faces real challenges or I can go easy on him and let him face those hard challenges on his own when his life is on the line."

Izuku gulped at Ryoko's words as he felt his mother suddenly grip his arm. He could feel her shaking with fear. And, if he was being honest, a part of him was shaking as well. But, that part was small as the majority of his being understood the weight behind her words. The world of heroes was not some walk in the park and he would be facing danger everyday. That there would be risks. But here, right now, Ryoko could put him through hell and back as she trained him while making sure he still came home in one piece. Something that would not happen later on. Not only that, but he had to play catch up to all the others trying to get into U.A., people who had been using their quirks far longer than him. And he had no idea how tough, how brutal the entrance exam was going to be. So the tougher the training, the better.

Looking down at his mother, Izuku saw that she too was beginning to understand that as well. Slowly, she let go of her son and nodded so that Izuku's training from hell could continue.