Izuku walked down the street, picking at his gloves nervously. He'd picked up the habit a few years prior and had just never gotten rid of it, no matter how hard he tried. Izuku had started picking at his gloves when he'd gotten his first pair when he was ten. He'd been trained by a Quirk specialist when he'd first gotten his power in order to always keep one finger off of whatever he was touching so that it didn't disintegrate, but Izuku had been paranoid that he'd accidentally do a repeat of kindergarten. Bakugou bullied him enough, Izuku didn't need Quirk incontinence added to his ammo.

He was walking toward the spot that Uraraka had asked him to meet her at. Apparently, she'd gotten in! That was wonderful, it meant they'd be going to school together. It was nice that Uraraka already felt comfortable enough to call him a friend, but now he'd have a friend that was at his school? That was just too much for Izuku's frazzled brain to handle. So, he walked dumbly down the road toward the small market that stood a few blocks from his house, and apparently a short walk from Uraraka's. That meant that they lived relatively close to each other. Would she ask him over? That would be mortifying! Izuku would be lying if he said the idea wasn't enchanting, though.

That was too much, though. They'd just met each other a week and a half ago. Then again, it wasn't as if Izuku had a normal view of friendships, considering he'd never really had one, and even if he could stretch the definition to include his brief admiration of Bakugo back when he was four, he hadn't properly had a positive relationship with someone his own age for eleven years. Izuku didn't really know what he was talking about. Was going over to each other's houses too much for a second meetup, or was it casual? He really didn't know.

All that worry melted away, though, when Izuku spotted Uraraka's brown head of hair standing out against the gray of the wall she was standing near. Her roaming eyes seemed to immediately meet his, and Uraraka waved at him with a wide smile on her face. Izuku felt his cheeks heat up at that smile. She was really so happy to see him? Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, Izuku began to make his way over to Uraraka, meeting up with her at the corner of the market that she'd settled into.

"Midoriya, hey! How've you been?" Uraraka asked.

"Not great. Kinda nervous about my results," Izuku admitted, the truth slipping out before he had a chance to think of a lie.

"Why's that? I'm sure you did great!" Uraraka cheered. She pumped her fist in the air in excitement, making Izuku stifle a chuckle.

Izuku had a choice to make. He could've lied, said that his letter was late and that he wasn't sure that he'd gotten in. The problem with that was that Izuku couldn't lie to save his life. He'd never succeeded once. So, Izuku sighed and took a deep breath, preparing to tell the truth.

"Yeah, that's sort of the problem. I'm not totally sure that whoever my teacher ends up being will be as accepting of my Quirk as you were. UA prides itself on letting anyone apply to their Hero Course, but I think we all know who can actually get in. You saw what the exam was, and what the rules about interference with other applicants were. Applicants weren't allowed to use their Quirks on other applicants. That's shorthand for 'Quirks that only work on people are screwed'. We're just lucky that neither of us have that kinda Quirk. Someone that can buff their allies, though — while having tremendous potential in Heroics — would fail from the start. Rescue points were a thing, so I'm not exactly sure how that sort of thing would be counted, but I'm willing to bet it's not the same thing in the eyes of the judges," Izuku explained.

"Oh, my gosh. I never thought about it like that! It does seem kind of unfair when you put it like that, though. Do you really think there'd be someone like that at UA?" Uraraka said, furrowing her eyebrows in worry. She was looking at Izuku with … not pity, but something else. Something genuine, not the look of every teacher he'd ever had.

"I don't know. Maybe. I won't be sure until school starts. What about you, any worries?" Izuku said, pushing the focus away from himself.

Uraraka's smile, previously genuine, had changed to a strained, awkward smile when Izuku had started talking about the unfairness of the system UA had in place. He felt bad that he'd pushed such a thing onto her like that and made her stop smiling, but that false smile had nothing on Uraraka's frown. It felt like he'd kicked a puppy, but Izuku barely had time to pick up on it because she reverted back to her fake smile, as if she'd broken character momentarily and was now back. Izuku felt his eyebrows draw together at that, and looked at her as she shakily breathed to speak.

"I'm fine. I'll be away from my parents, which won't be fun, but I'll be at UA. It's been my dream to be a Hero since I was young, and now I'm finally getting there. My, um, my parents and I have lived in Mie for as long as I remember, and I can't exactly go there and back every day, so I'm getting used to not seeing them every day now. It's … lonely. But, I'll be fine. I always am! I just have to smile and think of the future, when I can see them!" Uraraka confessed, seemingly injecting some fake pep back into her voice toward the end.

Izuku grimaced at this admission. It didn't seem like Uraraka was happy living the way she was. Izuku wished he didn't understand that. Life had other plans for him though, and Izuku could relate all too well to living a lonely life. His heart went out to Uraraka, and Izuku just wished that there was something he could do to alleviate that pain in her heart. At that moment, Izuku had an idea, but it would take guts on his part. It'd be bold, but if Uraraka accepted, it would benefit them both. Izuku swallowed down his anxiety and breathed a shaky breath.

"Well, I have a lot of free time. What do you say I show you around Musutafu before the school year starts?" Izuku offered. He hated how his voice shook, but didn't let it show on his face.

It seemed like Uraraka had been slapped by the question, her shoulders rising and her breath halting. She looked into Izuku's eyes, and he tried to send her good vibes, stuff like confidence and all that, but he really wasn't feeling any of that. Instead, all he put out was probably a mess of nerves, shame and embarrassment. But, Izuku could see the look in her eyes. She was thinking, likely considering his offer. He really hoped she'd take it, not only because he needed a friend, but because Izuku knew that Uraraka was in the same boat.

"I'd … like that," she said, the pink of her cheeks turning a deep red for a moment.

"Good. Speaking of the school year … you got in! Congratulations!" Izuku said.

"I know, right? What class did you get?" Uraraka cheered.

"1A, you?" Izuku asked, Uraraka's enthusiasm spreading to him in the form of a wide smile that he couldn't contain.

"1A! We're gonna be classmates, that's so cool!" Uraraka exclaimed, pumping her fists like before, yet more intense somehow.

"Yeah. I can't wait," Izuku said, his energy dimming slightly as his trepidation at the thought of his teacher returned. It seemed that Uraraka noticed this and stopped her celebration.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure that whoever our teacher is will be perfectly nice. He'll be kind, nurturing, and he won't be some kinda jerk who judges people for things they can't control," Uraraka said, smiling sweetly at Izuku as she spoke.

Yeah, because who at UA would judge someone based on their Quirk? A flash of his meeting with All Might a little over ten months ago flashed through Izuku's mind, but he pushed it away. His bad blood with All Might wouldn't ruin his good time with Uraraka. They were there to have fun, and he wasn't going to drag it down with his own issues. He smiled back at Uraraka as she continued on about how they'd have the best teacher in the world, and how they'd be all these great things, and at a point, Izuku wondered if she was just talking about Thirteen, the Space Hero.

"So, what do you wanna do now? We've got plenty of time 'till it's dark," Uraraka said.

"Well, there's a few things around. The market is one, but I'm not sure if we wanna hang around here. The fish always starts getting to you after a while," Izuku replied, making a face that got Uraraka to giggle under her breath. It was a light, airy laugh that Izuku found himself smiling even wider at for some reason. "We could check out the park. Mr. Esabako should be feeding the ducks right about now; I'm sure he'd lend us some bread so that we can give it a try," he added.

"Oh, I don't know. I've never fed ducks before," Uraraka said, wringing her hands together carefully so as to not make herself float away.

"Don't worry, they're basically domesticated after all the years Mr. Esabako has been feeding them. He's practically raised whole generations of them!" Izuku said, seeing that he'd gotten Uraraka to at least look less worried about it. That was a start.

As Uraraka gave in to her desire to at least see the ducks, Izuku began heading toward the park. It was a beautiful location that was meticulously kept that way, even if the quality of the upkeep had wavered over the years. Now, though, it was a magnificent spot, and Izuku was glad to be able to show it to Uraraka in all its glory. She looked as if she'd seen an angel when she first saw it, and acted like a dazed fan meeting their idol as she walked along the paths that Izuku chose, which led them to the pond that he could already see Mr. Esabako sitting by.

A feeling had crept up on Izuku during this time, though. There was a strange draw to Uraraka, a pull that Izuku couldn't quite describe. It was like he'd been missing something, and she was it. She accepted his Quirk without issue, even praising it, when everyone else had been scared and treated him like he was dangerous because of it. She'd called him a friend after just one meeting. Uraraka had already treated him so well, so nicely, that he just couldn't wrap his head around the feeling that she was a kindred spirit. He sensed loneliness in her heart, and not just because of the distance from her parents. There was something else, something deeper in there that ate away at her the same way it did for Izuku. Izuku couldn't understand that. How could someone so nice, smart, and pretty be so lacking in friends?

Ignoring that he'd just thought Uraraka was pretty, he took deep breaths to cool his face down as the two of them approached Mr. Esabako. Uraraka slowed as they got closer, as Izuku had expected. He kept walking so that he was within hearing range of the elderly Mr. Esabako.

"Hello, sir," Izuku said, waving in a pronounced arc to get his attention.

"Ah, Young Izuku. It's been a while since I've seen you around here. How are you? And Inko?" Mr. Esabako asked, shakily gesturing for Izuku to sit beside him, which he did.

"Mom's alright, and so am I. I've been getting ready for high school," Izuku said.

"High school already, eh? I could've sworn you were saying the same about middle school the last time we talked," Mr. Esabako said with a deep belly laugh.

Izuku used to come to the park to do some light exercise after school. Mom had banned him from doing any intensive workouts, like lifting weights, until he was at least fifteen, UA be damned, so he'd had to abide by that rule. That had meant that he'd worked as hard as he could to become as athletic as possible for a young boy to be. He'd used the winding paths of the park as laps, and worked on getting himself to beat his records as fast as he could. That's how he'd met Mr. Esabako, when he'd taken a break one day and actually looked around for once to notice how great the park was. Mr. Esabako had asked him to sit with him, and had given him some pretty good advice about pacing himself, which Izuku had appreciated. In the years since then, they'd developed a kind of rapport with each other. They weren't friends, per se, but they had a dynamic. Izuku didn't tell him what his Quirk was, describing it in vague terms so that it could be inferred but not stated, but Mr. Esabako never tried to pry or anything, which Izuku was glad for.

"So, what have you come to an old man for, hmm? I can see you've got a lady friend with you," Mr. Esabako said, keeping his voice low toward the end.

"Uh, haha! That's … not what you think. I suggested feeding the ducks, and she's never fed them before, so …" Izuku trailed off, barely having gotten through his coherent sentences, let alone able to attempt more.

Mr. Esabako slowly moved his hand over to Izuku, dragging the bag containing the chunks of bread he fed the ducks. Izuku carefully took it in his hands, letting Mr. Esabako rest his hands. He knew that the man had trouble with his motor skills more and more as he got older, and that he'd probably have to stop coming out here soon. Izuku knew how much Mr. Esabako loved his hobby, and how much it pained him to be steadily declining in his ability to do so. Maybe Izuku could start doing it in his stead. That would be a nice thing to do, and maybe Uraraka would join him if he asked. Maybe it could be a thing they did together, to carry on the tradition that Mr. Esabako started so many years ago. That would be nice.

Deciding that he'd thought enough for the day, Izuku stood and waved to Mr. Esabako. He walked over to Uraraka and took a piece of bread, about the size of the tip of his finger, into his grasp. Izuku got closer to the edge of the water and crouched down. He dipped his uncovered finger slightly into the water and moved it around some, drawing the attention of the group of ducks, technically called a raft. The lot of them began to paddle toward him, and Izuku turned back to Uraraka to see that she was hesitantly standing a few steps back from him, her hands clasped together nervously.

"Come closer. They're not gonna hurt you or anything," Izuku said, unable to stop himself from laughing lightly.

"Okay," Uraraka said, stepping closer until she was next to Izuku.

She hesitated for a moment more, but sucked in a big breath and crouched down to get on Izuku's level. He gave her a smile, which she shakily returned, making Izuku's face hurt with how wide his smile got. Izuku looked away from her to hide how stupid he probably looked, and focused on actually feeding the ducks. He gently threw the piece in his hand into the water, letting it drop into the water with no real noise accompanying it over the slight breeze that had begun to blow. The ducks all swarmed toward the bread, but only a few got any. Izuku looked over at Uraraka, who seemed to be intently focused on the ducks now. He held out the bag to her in an offer to try it herself.

"Not so bad, right?" Izuku asked.

"Yeah. Not so bad," Uraraka said, meeting his eyes for just a moment, though it seemed like much longer than that for Izuku.

The two of them spent the next few hours hanging out around the park, doing the miscellaneous things that they could. It was refreshing to share this with someone, and Izuku found himself smiling wide for the first time in a long while. At the end of the day, his face hurt from smiling so much, but Izuku couldn't bring himself to complain. He'd thoroughly enjoyed his time with Uraraka, and he was sad to see it come to an end soon, but he knew that they could always meet up if they had time, which he knew they both did. Izuku was thrilled to have a new friend, but he was being caught off-guard by strange thoughts, which he often couldn't completely explain. Oh, well. That was an issue for Future Izuku. Present Izuku was pretty happy, which is the first time he'd really thought that in a good long while, and Uraraka was to thank. He was looking forward to his … friendship with her, as well as their high school career together. It was sure to be interesting, at the very least.

Author's Note: Fun fact: Mr Esabako's name comes from the translation of 'bird feeder', which is 'tori no esa-bako'. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as it's kind of an interlude between arcs. I've been experimenting with having official interludes in my writing, and figured that I could try it here. This one's titled New Horizons, as it details Izuku's first actual meetup with a real friend his age.

I know it can come off as annoying, but I do want to link my book here again, so if you do like this fic and others I've written, please make sure you check it out. It shares a lot of themes with my fics and is hopefully the beginning of something great. I would be unspeakably grateful if you did check it out, even if you don't buy it, so, yeah, it is available for just three US dollars, and the link is below.

dp/B0BRLTG1K7/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

See ya in the next chapter, detailing Izuku's continued preperation for UA.