Float With Me, My Friend:

"Oh my - oh my - oh my GOODNESS!" All Might exclaims, gazing upon the beautiful sunrise. Young Midoriya is atop the final monument of garbage. He's letting out a primal scream, one from his very soul that resonates with the very wind itself, and then topples over. But the Symbol of Peace catches him long enough the cold, hard sand could. "You've certainly earned this rest, my boy! But time is of the essence!"

Izuku's eyes slowly flutter open, blinking a few times to get adjusted to the way the sun rose and reflected off of All Might's smile. His eyes are still shaded, somehow, but the powerful blue iris pierce his very soul and bring a smile to his face. "All Might..!" He said, exhausted. "I - I did it..! I really did it.."

"Yes you have, my boy!" All Might booms with laughter. "And what an astonishing job! For a teenager, no less!" He places the boy down, but he's careful given his current state. The boy's on wobbly, jelly legs but after a few seconds, he stands proud. "Here! Look at this!"

Izuku pants and wipes sweat from his brow before focusing in. It's All Might's phone. It looks absolutely puny in the man's hands, but the picture is clear and high quality. It's him, ten months ago. It's not the most flattering image, in his humble opinion.

"That's you! From ten months ago! Quite the transformation, if I do say so myself! You did really, really good!" His head whips around left to right as he scans. The beach is beautiful without a spec of garbage to be seen on the pristine sand. The wind is cool, the waves are loud and crashing with renewed vigor and the sunset is breath-taking. All due to the efforts of the boy before him. "We've only just reached the precipice of the cliff that lies ahead, but you're a tried and true vessel now!"

Izuku chuckles to himself as he looks down at his hand. It's wider and full of earned calluses. "Heh, I feel like.. I've cheated somehow. I -" his chuckle slowly morphs into something different. A sob. An expulsion of his work in the form of the happiest tears he'd shed in a very, very long time. "You went so far for me, All Might, and I just - I just feel so blessed!" The tears are flowing more freely now, and All Might is content to just stand there and watch. Though he can't help the awkward habitual laugh that barely creeps from behind slightly blood-stained teeth.

"Quit being such a crybaby!" The man says, patting Izuku on the back. Surprisingly, he doesn't budge… much. "Now it's time for your reward, Midoriya Izuku! Now's not the time for waterworks!" A hand goes up, and down comes a single strand of blond hair. "You know, there's an old saying. There's a difference between getting something out of luck, and earning something through ass-kicking hard work! So puff your chest out boy! You've earned it! Here!" He holds the hair out. "Eat this!"

He could only grab an extra hour and a half of sleep, but Izuku's anxiety keeps him wide awake. He's a bit sweaty - as he was running a bit late and took off in a dead sprint a few blocks away - but he doesn't let the dampness of his brow distract him. He's here, standing before U.A. The school his dreams were made of. It's intimidating since the crowd is so thick and the buildings are so tall that they block out the sun, but he has All Might in his corner and for the briefest of moments, he feels unstoppable.

That is, of course, until the universe has decided that he has reached his happiness quota for the day.

"Fuck off, Deku." It's Kacchan because of course it is. He looks just as mean as he always does, skulking ahead with his hands in his pockets, a scarf around his neck and a deep scowl.

"Kacchan!"

"Don't stand in my way, or do you want to fuckin' die?" He hisses without stopping. Izuku's body panics on reflex alone. Both he and Katsuki fail to notice that his feet leave the floor for a split second.

He stammers something that could be a pathetic greeting, but Katsuki (thankfully) ignores him. He's been doing that a lot more since the Sludge Villain. It was strange but very much appreciated.

With that crisis narrowly averted for now, Izuku turns and tries to calm himself as much as possible. All Might told him about some breathing techniques that are supposed to be useful, but they're unfortunately little more than a way to make him look crazy. So he disgards them and steps forward on wobbly legs.

'So much things have changed, man! Just remember the last ten months! And take your first steps forward!"

He does, but his first steps are so shaky and off balance that he trips over himself and starts falling face first. By the time he realized what had happened, his body had mysteriously stopped falling. "...huh?"

"Are you alright?" It's a voice. A girl's voice. Light and feathery.

"...huh?"

"Sorry for using my quirk. I think it would just be a bad omen if you tripped, you know?" She says with an honest, joyful smile. Izuku does nothing, nor does he say anything when she balances him upright and pushes the tips of her fingers together.

Nothing happens. Izuku continues to float in the air, independent of the earth's pull and influence.

"Oh! You can fly! Looks like you didn't need little ol' me anyway! Oh well, sorry anyway. I'm pretty nervous and I bet you are too!" She looks at him with a smile, but he seems a bit… surprised. Or taken aback by something. His face is weird and his eyes are wide and he's making strange, awkward sounds. It's somewhat endearing, but she doesn't have the time now. "Well, good luck! Later!"

Izuku barely hears her, having been too busy trying to figure out what was happening.

'Think, Deku! Think! You're floating! All Might didn't say anything about this!' He hurriedly thinks to himself. 'Think heavy thoughts. Uh, iron. Metal. Cars."

When nothing happens, Izuku groans and closes his eyes. Then he sees something.

It's brief - barely longer than a moment - but he's sure it's there. It's an image of him being on the beach again, but it's early morning. The skies are clear save for eight glowing stars of various colors. One of the stars pulses, letting off rays of light that force him to open his eyes and when he does, his body drops back to the ground.

He desperately wants to stay there and unpack it all, but he can't. Not now. He has to hurry, lest he miss his exam. But he will talk to All Might later. He has to.

" - are you ready?! YEAAAAHHH!"

The silence in the auditorium is like that of the grave.

While Izuku would normally be amidst a fanboy-ish rant right now regarding the pro hero, Present Mic before him, his mind is far too preoccupied with other things. Namely, trying to keep himself seated. Literally.

It's hard to do with Kacchan's growling and him being within arm's reach, but Izuku can feel his behind lightly levitate from the chair. It's not high enough to be noticeable - he hopes - but it's high enough that he feels the difference.

He closes his eyes, and hopes for the same thing to happen again and is disappointed when it doesn't.

"Did I do something different this time? Did thinking heavy thoughts really help?"

"Shut up, Deku."

Weirdly, that helps since Izuku stops floating and plops back down in his seat. Good timing, as Katsuki had just craned his head over to look at paper. Present Mic had just said something he missed.

"They don't intend to let friends or classmates cooperate with each other, huh?"

He doesn't know if it's an actual question or not, but his mind is foggy and he fumbles out a response. "They - they gave us several numbers for the exams but - but the actual meeting areas are elsewhere." He turns slightly, trying to see Kacchan's page. Bad idea.

"Don't look at me, or I'll fucking kill you." The blond growls. "It's probably set up so I don't get to crush you."

One nervous laugh later, Izuku goes back to his own thoughts.

The beach and those.. Orb, star things. They didn't show up the second time. But Kacchan's voice made him want to flee, yet, he stopped. Although previously, Kacchan's threat had the opposite effect.

Maybe it had something to do with his fight or flight response? A switch, maybe? He wasn't floating before, at least not until the girl touched him. She seemed to have a quirk with similar effects, so maybe he could ask her.

" -moreover, what's with you? Yeah, you! Curly-haired kid!"

Izuku curses himself. Of course he was muttering.

"Can't you sit still for one second… you're distracting!" A teen with blue hair, rectangular glasses and a strict glare chastises. "If you think U.A. is just some pleasure jaunt, then leave this place at once!"

"Sorry…"

"Okay, oookay! Thanks for the segue, much appreciated, examinee 7111! The fourth -"

Izuku tries to listen, but is once again pulled to the beach when he blinks. This time, he's there for longer.

The beach is clear and filled with soft pink and white sand, but the first thing he notices is not that. It's the fact that the sky is moonless and filled with stars, and the eight glowing spheres have dimmed. The furthest one is also the smallest and dimmest. It glows a soft white; brighter than the other stars, but eclipsed by its colored companions.

The second one is easily double the size of the first, glowing a deep sea blue. It's closest to the first, nearly overlapping it entirely.

The third is a brilliant scarlet, and is the same size as the second. It's far away from them both, but no less captivating.

The fourth is near the third, and is the same size, and its glow is a poisonous, acid green.

The fifth is a warm orange, looking more like the fruit itself if it were engulfed in flames. It's a bit far, and marginally larger than the fourth.

The sixth is a mixture of purple and lavender and is smaller than the fifth, but shines just as bright.

The seventh is purple, too, but a different shade; one of royalty and riches. It radiates comfort and is the second brightest of all.

The eighth and final one is by far the brightest. It's golden like the sun itself and dwarfs the others by an almost comical degree. It's not as unruly as some of the others - the third and fourth - no. It's refined and gives off… peace and hope.

".. .. already..?"

" -.. e's speci -..."

"You're safe.."

"You used my quirk… Float."

Izuku shakes his head. The orbs were speaking to him. The seventh one glows even brighter until it takes the shape of a vaguely humanoid outline. She's a beautiful woman who looks like a pro hero. Tall, muscular with a white cape, yellow gloves and white boots, a black bodysuit and a red sash that's tied around her waist. Her hair is tied up in a messy ponytail, and there's a beauty mark on the left side of her chin. Her smile is soft and fond. "Don't worry kid. I'm the seventh. I'm Nana."

Izuku opens his mouth to say something - anything - but before he can question what was happening, he's yanked from this realm.

" - PLUS ULTRA! And may you gladly suffer the trials to come!"

Izuku's body is moving on its own. His mind is eons away, drowning in the depths of comprehension. He had no idea what any of that meant. He didn't even know where to begin. She was the seventh? Her name was Nana?

Either way, he can't stop to think about it as much as he'd like. He doesn't have the time. The exam is starting soon and he's only just arrived at his testing site. It's a massive place, bold and intimidating - much like the building of U.A itself - and is a replica of a city that Izuku isn't aware of.

People are muttering, murmuring and mingling among themselves, completely ignorant to his current plight. Why does everyone seem so confident? Is no one else nervous? In his observations, he sees someone who helps his nerves a little. It's the girl from before. Thankfully, she's been assigned to this area too. Maybe she'll be able to help with what's happening.

He begins to trod over while she's concentrated on other things, but then he hears a voice he would really rather have not.

"I see what you're trying to do. You're planning to measure that girl's concentration, aren't you?"

Izuku keeps walking, hoping and praying to any god that would listen that the boy isn't talking to him. But tragically, he was and Izuku's fears are confirmed when a hand lands on his shoulder. "Who exactly are you, my friend?" The boy asks. Izuku can feel his feet leave the floor.

'Oh, no.'

"You didn't come here to obstruct your fellow test takers, did you?"

"What?! No!"

There are people muttering and laughing at the display. Izuku instinctively wants to retreat in on himself, but something inside of him doesn't allow it. It's a warm feeling, like people are with him. It gives him enough confidence to ignore what's happening, if only for a moment. He's still floating.

"AAAND START! What's the matter!? There is no such thing as a countdown in a real battle! Run! RUUNN!"

By the time the message registers in Izuku's mind, students are already off. He panics, and tries to run, but given his current state, all he does is move his legs in the air and remains stationary.

"Oh geez! What do I do!?"

"Fly… like a jet."

It's that voice. Nana.

"Imagine you are a kite, taking off with the wind. Don't think about it too much, kid. Just be free." With that, the woman goes silent.

But Izuku, having no other option, listens to her advice. He clears his mind as best as he can. He imagines himself as a kite adrift in a gentle breeze, slowly rocking away at nature's mercy. And then he starts to move forward. Slowly, at first then faster. He goes as fast as a jogger's pace, and then faster. And before long, Izuku soars.

"Quite the crop this year."

"Indeed. A strict time limit on such a vast, chaotic battleground. Nothing quite like it. Well, the first few minutes are always rather exciting. Isn't that true, All Might?"

The symbol of peace completely ignores the question. His mind and eyes are glued to young Midoriya. The boy's flying. Like his master. This was unforeseen, to say the least.

"All Might?"

"Oh! I'm sorry! I was simply so immersed in this generation. So many fine quirks," he says easily. Years of being in the media allowed for such skills, to speak with complete neutrality and yet still sound a certain way.

"Oh, it's always like that for first time viewers." Nezu chuckles behind his paw. "Is there anyone in particular that catches your eye?"

All Might inwardly debates on whether or not he should be honest. After all, the rodent knew about One For All, but he had no idea that the man had already given away the quirk. "The one who flies," he says honestly. "The ability to fly is such a rarity these days. He seems… a bit wobbly, but he's doing fine work."

"That's putting it mildly." The perpetually tired Eraserhead chimes in. "He looks like a newborn giraffe."

"Shaky flight aside, he's been helping people left and right. He can't really do much to the bots, but he's at least rescuing people." Midnight points out while licking her lips. "My kind of man that knows when to swoop in and take a girl off her feet!"

"He certainly is insightful and agile."

The teachers prattle on after that, but All Might doesn't bother with adding anything else. He remains quiet and thoughtful with his head down at an angle. When he gave the boy his quirk, he hadn't expected this. Nothing of the sort. He almost wants to stop the exam and grab the boy for himself, but he doesn't.

"All Might," Nezu calls. "Would you be so kind as to do the honors this year?" He gestures to a big red button with the words "Yaruki Switch" underneath.

Izuku had once again narrowly managed to save a student from a virtual storm of bullets from a wave of two pointers. He himself had only gathered a single point - which came from him finding out pretty quickly that flying comes with no brakes and slamming face first into a robot is not a pleasant experience he's eager to have again - but there wasn't a single bone in his body that felt against his current objectives. This most recent person, a girl that vaguely resembles a frog, leaps away after saying thank you and leaves him to fly around.

He's no master of the art, far from it. But he'd only slammed into the side of a few buildings so far and hadn't yet knocked himself out, so it was a win in his book.

He lost count of how many people he'd helped so far, but he still feels good about himself, even if his scores were pitifully low.

That was until he saw something looming over the horizon. He's not particularly high off the ground, hovering at just a few meters, but he sees it before anyone else. It's a truly titanic marvel of engineering. It fills his body with such dread and fear that he stops floating altogether, landing painfully on his backside.

He starts to scoot backwards along with the other students as panic ensues.

"Is this some kind of joke?! I've gotta escape!" he shouts to himself, trying and failing to fly once more.

Until -

"Ahh, oww…"

A voice, low and faint. So low that he almost didn't hear it over the chaos of the area and the screams of his fellow examinees. It's that girl again, and she's in dire straits, pinned under a rock by the ankle and the titan looms overhead like a god about to cast judgment.

"You know what to do kid."

"Don't hesitate."

"Don't think."

"Soar."

And he didn't, and he does. He doesn't think about it and doesn't even realize when his body leaves the earth again. He bursts forward, quicker than he's ever ran. Quicker than he's ever moved before in his life and is upon the girl in seconds. There's no real sound when he moves, only a boom and then a noise so utterly loud that he can't comprehend it. And then, in a millisecond, it's all over and all the sounds slam into him at once, rattling him to the core.

He doesn't have the time to parse what just happened, nor the pain he's in from the speed boost, but what he does have time for is the girl. "Are you okay!?" he shouts, louder than necessary. "Don't move! I'll help you!"

The rock pinning her ankle isn't heavy, and neither is she. When he crouches down, his plan had been to let her use him as support while they hobble away, but with the Zero Pointer getting closer and closer, he throws caution to the wind and grabs the girl, picking her up in his arms and darting away. He's not moving as fast as he did previously, but he didn't need to. He only needed to get away just long enough to get them both to safety. When he finally slows to a stop, he's wobbly and oh so tired and he can't really hear anything and his eyes, mouth, and all of the skin on his face is really dry and uncomfortable.

He can see the girl talking, but it's so muffled and distant and is closer to a faint ringing than any words he's heard before.

"TIME! THE TEST IS OVER!"

Izuku passes out but not before hearing the applause and cheers of a few people that he knows aren't coming from the outside world.

"Did he just…?"

Someone whistles. "That's some serious speed there."

"Ho - holy shit. Did you feel that boom?!"

"But how did a guy with such an insane quirk end up so timid?"

"Well, no matter how you slice it… the kid's incredible."

"Just leave it to me, children. Here, enjoy some gummies. Everyone who isn't injured can head to the main hall, while others can be treated by my sidekicks." An elderly pro heroine arrives on the scene, meandering with her cane. When she got near Izuku, she shook her head at his unconscious form. "Oh dear. You really did a number on yourself with your own quirk, didn't you? From the looks of things, your quirk and body haven't synced up yet, sonny boy," she says sagely. She uses her quirk - extending her lips down the length of her body and planting a kiss on the boy's forehead - and studies the boy a bit closer. "Alright, this poor boy should be sorted now. Is there anyone else?"

A few days following the exam, Izuku and his mother are home watching television. The results of the exams aren't expected until the end of the week, but that hasn't stopped either Midoriya from experiencing their own share of anxiety. Izuku struggled to contact those strange vestiges again since that day, and even All Might seemed to all but drop off the face of the planet since he left the exam site. It was weird and did nothing for his stress levels.

Ding-Dong!

"I'll get it!" Izuku says. He wants to float there, if only to practice the quirk, but he can't. When the door opens, he raises a brow, as he sees no one.

"Down here."

Izuku tilts his head down and sees an extremely short, elderly man with heavy wrinkles and a scrawny build. He has a light, somewhat sun kissed complexion, with gray, short, spiky hair. He's standing with a cane and looks somewhat off balance.

"Um, hello? Can I help you sir?"

"Eh, who are you?"

"...I'm sorry?"

"Who are you? Ain't this the pizza place?"

"...no, sir. I'm Midoriya and this is my house."

"Oh!" the man says with the expression of someone who just solved a difficult math problem. "Anyway, I'm hungry. What's for lunch?" He asks casually, taking a stroll into the Midoriya residence without a care in the world. Izuku reaches out to stop him, but his hand is swatted away by the man's cane.

"Ouch! Sir, you can't just -"

"Um, excuse me." Inko chimes in. "Izuku, who is this man?"

"I don't know! He just showed up and walked in."

"Come at me with One For All. Toshinori said you could fly instead of what we expected." The man said suddenly, catching Izuku so thoroughly off guard that he actually did start to float.

"...what?"

"Izuku… What is One For All? And how are you flying?!"

The elderly man looks left and right at the display and realizes his mistake instantly. He swears under his breath, 'Dagnabbit, Sorahiko.' Then he sighs. "Look, sorry. I'm a friend of All Might's. I didn't mean to spook you, but the big oaf left out a few things." He looks up at Izuku on the ceiling. "And so did you. Sorry about this ma'am, but we need to talk."

A/N: Welcome to my new fic. If you enjoyed, feel free to leave a review. Thank you for reading.