Author's Note: Once again, if you are going to dislike this story because of some elements, my representation of diversity in sexuality and gender identity for example, that's fine. Part of why I've written these aspects of the story is because of reactions like these. If a diverse groups of people being represented as such is something that upsets you, maybe you need to look inward and re-examine your beliefs and how you view people. Portraying different people as different isn't 'cringe', it's reality. What's cringe is hating something and belittling me because you don't like people being fluid in their perceptions of self and having the boldness to be who they are in spite of people like you who demean and hate them for it.
Not liking something is fine, but don't hide behind a guest account and belittle me from behind a screen because of that, though. It's immature and it's not going to change anything. If you feel that four whole instances (only two of which have been focused on) of non-straight and non-gender-binary characters out of dozens is somehow unreasonable, or going too far, then you need to reconsider what you find acceptable or okay.
The real cringe shit is being so bold yet so cowardly as to think that you can hide behind the veil of anonymity while contributing nothing of substance to the conversation about these issues. Grow up or get out.
"Final exams are coming up in a few weeks. I expect all of you to be studying and revising well in advance. I know that things have gotten out of hand a bit in the term so far, but that's no excuse to slack off with your academics. I'd think that most of you know where you stand currently. Those of you that are secure in their grades, I encourage you to help those who aren't. Get out of here," Aizawa said, dismissing the class a moment before the bell for lunch period rang.
Izuku always wondered how he had that uncanny sense for when to dismiss the class so that absolutely no time, down to seconds, was wasted. Maybe it was that supernatural time management the man seemed to possess, somehow finding time to teach, consult with the police and patrol as a Hero, as well as sleep. He sometimes thought that was Aizawa's real Quirk, but dismissed that as a joke.
As he got up and began to get ready to head out, Izuku focused on what Aizawa had been saying. It was true that finals were a few weeks away. It was strange how much time had passed. Maybe it was because there was nothing with All for One or Nomu or other Villains happening that it felt like no time at all had gone by, but here the class was in mid June. They'd had about a month of peace and quiet, which was weird because their first month and a half of school had been turbulent, having their first battle trial, the USJ, the Sports Festival, their internships and Iida's passing occur within it. Those six weeks or so had seemed never ending when the class had been in them, going through all of those crazy events, but it seemed like such a small timeframe now that it made Izuku laugh as he joined up with Ochako, Shinso and Tsu in the hall.
"Something funny?" Shinso asked.
"Just thinking about how far we've come. It's been two and a half months of school, and we're all so different than we were when the term started, don't you think?" Izuku said.
"How so?" Ochako asked.
"Well, you've discovered whole new ways to use your Quirk, Ochako. Shinso, you've got your Persona Chords and your relationship with Tsu, who's grown a lot personally. I've discovered new powers and things about myself that I never would have without the help of everyone around me. I guess I'm just looking back at the people we were when we all met, and seeing completely different people when I look at us now. It's kinda weird, but I like who I am now, and I think that if we continue to grow like this we'll all be top Heroes in no time," Izuku rambled on.
"Well, don't forget that you can't outclass us too much, y'know? Ochako said, punching Izuku's shoulder lightly.
"What do you mean?" Izuku asked.
"You've jumped in power like crazy since the term started, dude. You were barely controlling your Blackwhip power during the Quirk assessment on the first day, but now you've found and all but mastered three other abilities. I'd say that if you continue to grow like that, you'll be able to beat All Might in combat by the end of our second year," Shinso elaborated.
"Well, it helps that I have such amazing friends to lift me up," Izuku said, smiling knowingly.
The four continued walking toward the lunch hall, talking all the while. Izuku got katsudon for lunch, like he did most times, and began to chow down. It always reminded him of his mother, as she'd always make the dish for him whenever Izuku had a bad day at school to cheer him up, or as a reward when he got good grades, which was often enough that he'd developed a craving for it whenever he missed her. It was less often that Izuku did miss Inko nowadays, but it still happened, and though he moved into UA on a permanent basis so that she didn't have to worry, he still sometimes felt bad for making it so that she can't speak to her only son. Izuku kind of tuned the conversation happening around the table out, but was snapped back to reality when he heard a voice say his name.
"Midoriya?" Shinso asked, looking at him with a perplexed expression.
"Hmm? Sorry, zoned out there for a second," Izuku laughed.
"We were talking about new Quirk techniques we want to try. Do you have anything you're working on?" Ochako said.
Izuku wondered whether or not he should tell them that he'd get Smokescreen and Fa Jin, as well as the other Quirk inside One for All that neither All Might nor Izuku was able to find anything on. It was a complete unknown, and every time he went to the vestige realm, the second and third, the only two who could know what it was, would ignore him and just sit in a corner like a child having a tantrum. Did they not like him? Did they not want him to have their powers? Why? They lived in a time when All for One was at his peak of power and influence, so it made sense that they'd be slow to trust a kid with their Quirks. Izuku honed back in on his previous train of thought, and decided it wouldn't be too bad to let it slip that he was trying out new things under the framework of his Quirk being energy manipulation. Hell, this was an actual chance to share his theories about the way some of the Quirks within One for All work; Izuku wasn't about to pass on that.
"Uh, yeah, actually. I've got two ideas that I really wanna try. So, I've seen how Heroes like Eraserhead and Midnight use stealth to get the drop on most of their enemies, and I thought that I should try something that could conceal my location. My existing powers don't really give me an edge in that area, but I thought that if I could create a kind of plume of smoke around me that would hide my location, then I could use that in conjunction with Danger Sense to eliminate the downside of blindness while in the smoke. If I can use that sixth sense, I'll have not lost anything while the other people would be blinded," Izuku explained.
"How would you create smoke, though?" Tsu asked.
"That's a good question! I've thought about it, and have come to the conclusion that I could do it, in theory. See, it wouldn't be smoke; it'd be steam. Heat is energy, and my Quirk works off manipulating energy for a variety of effects. If I drew on the energy in just the right way, I could raise the temperature of the air around me in order to create a fog," Izuku elaborated.
"Wouldn't you overheat? If this is creating steam from your body, would it burn you to use this power?" Shinso asked.
"That's the block I ran into a while back. If that is the way it works, it would hurt me to use it. But, I think I've figured out a loophole that would make it work without hurting me. Do you all know how I talk about Super Strength?" Izuku asked.
"Like a warmth?" Ochako said, clearly unsure of where Izuku was going with this.
"Exactly. So, if the energy of my Quirk is like a warmth, then if I remove that heat and make it into steam, my body will then be cold. So, it'll cancel out, hopefully, and bring me back to normal. That's how this power, which I call Smokescreen in my notes, works in theory . I'm having trouble implementing that in practice, though. I know that I can do it, and it feels like I can get a part of the way there in the moment, but then it just fizzles out. Like something's holding it back," Izuku said, hoping that En knew he said that.
"Sounds legit. What about your other idea?" Shinso prompted.
"Ah, that one I'm still working out the theory of. I call it Fa Jin, after the martial art technique. It's all about drawing energy to the surface and then holding it there for later release instead of letting it go all at once. This is also a branch of my ability to convert energies into other forms. Smokescreen works with converting the potential energy in my body into heat, but Fa Jin works with converting kinetic energy to potential energy," Izuku said.
"What's potential energy?" Ochako asked.
"Oh, it's a concept in physics that basically boils down to being what kinetic energy is before it's kinetic energy. I think the best example would be throwing a punch. When you're throwing that punch, all the strength that you're holding in your arm from the tensing of your muscles is potential energy. It's not going anywhere, just being held in place for when the hit lands, which then forces all the potential energy into the thing you've hit, which is what kinetic energy is," Izuku explained the best he could, but he was no scientist.
"You're looking to be able to hit something but keep the energy that would have been released?" Tsu asked.
"Yes! My theory is that if I hit something at, let's say, ten percent of my power with Fa Jin active and working as it should, then I keep that energy. Then, when I hit again and release that built up power, I'll be hitting with what is essentially twenty percent. That's the way it should work, but I'm stumped on how to go about training that kind of thing. It'll come to me, I know it will, I just don't know how inspiration for that kind of thing can come up naturally," Izuku concluded.
"You've done a lot of thinking on the science behind this, huh?" Shinso asked.
"Yeah? It's been a fascination of mine since I was a kid. You guys know that I didn't have a Quirk until later in my life, so I kind of became obsessed with the Quirks I saw around me. I'd say that I'm pretty good at it after doing it for eleven years," Izuku answered.
"How long does it usually take for you to finish an entry in your notebook?" Tsu asked.
"Well, I'm never really done with them. If I learn something new about a Quirk I've written about before, I'll go back and edit it. If there's been a misunderstanding at a basic level about the Quirk's function, I'll make a new entry. Like with you," Izuku said, turning to Ochako.
"Right. We completely reworked my Quirk Registry file. I think I'm finally able to pull off Grav-Pad combos semi-smoothly, now," Ochako said.
"Awesome! It's gotta be hard relearning how to use your Quirk after a decade, so it's great that you're getting it so fast," Izuku said.
"It's gotta be harder to use a Quirk for the first time in a life-or-death situation, though," Ochako replied, making Izuku fill his mouth with katsudon to get out of justifying his actions.
"So, how do you think your other powers work?" Shinso asked.
"When did this become about me? I thought we were all discussing new moves," Izuku said.
"Right. Well, there's not a lot of diversity in the way my Quirk can be used, but I did think that it's possible that I can straight up put people to sleep," Shinso said.
"That makes sense. I think that Brainwashing works by somehow connecting your brainwaves to your target's, maybe through a mutation that makes your brain kind of like a radio, and that way your brain is rewiring the target into doing what you tell it to. You're subconsciously altering signals in the brain to your own whims. It isn't impossible that you could tell the target to mimic the brain function of a sleeping brain, but I think you'd have to practice it in a safe environment before trying it in a fight or somewhere more chaotic," Izuku theorized.
"Yeah, that's what I thought, too. Obviously less technical, but I knew the basics of it," Shinso said, looking a little put off.
"I think you could do it, though. What about you, Tsu?" Izuku asked.
"I've been thinking about training my mucus ability. I rarely use it, but I think that if I did, it would be more potent when it mattered," Tsu said, putting a finger to their chin.
"Oh, that's super cool! What exactly can your mucus do? Is it poisonous or something?" Izuku asked again.
"It's incredibly sticky, kind of like glue. If it touches your skin, it stings, but only a little bit as it is. If I train this power, I think that I can get the sting to increase, and maybe some other things," Tsu replied.
"How incredibly vague of you," Shinso chuckled from beside them..
"Everyone has secrets, Hitoshi. It's how we level the playing field," Tsu said, giving Shinso a look that Izuku couldn't quite understand the meaning of. He had a feeling that he didn't want to know.
Izuku chuckled to himself as Shinso turned as red as a tomato. He thought back to all the times that he'd done the same, mostly from being complimented. Izuku thought it was funny to look back at it and contrast it with the present, when he could actually be told he did a good job and not break down. Izuku guessed he had these three to thank for that, as they'd helped him through so much. Shinso and Ochako had helped him through his situation with Bakugo at first, Shinso and Tsu had been there with him at the USJ, Shinso had affirmed his right to be who he was, Ochako had helped him resolve his feelings of confusion, Shinso once again had been there with him on his internship and all three of them had, with some help from a certain vestige, brought him out of the dark place he'd guilt tripped himself into over Iida's death. That wasn't even mentioning Hagakure, who, while not at the table, had also done so much to help him be happier and healthier than he'd ever been. He just had so many people to thank for being in a good place, and even people like Aizawa, All Might and Kayama. Everyone was doing so much for Izuku that it felt like he didn't deserve it some days. But, he knew that he did, because everyone deserved to have love in their lives.
"Moving away from that …" Shinso began, his voice cracking slightly. " … does anybody have study plans for finals?" he asked.
"That's a good point. We should all get together to study!" Ochako said, smiling brightly at the idea.
"I agree," Tsu said, nodding their head.
"Sounds good. Anybody have a place in mind?" Izuku asked.
Ochako seemed to think for a second, before shrugging her shoulders. She looked at Shinso, who looked at Tsu, who looked at Izuku. He laughed, because of course all of them were excited to study together, but none of them could come up with a place to study at . Izuku thought for a moment more and then suggested something.
"How about Ochako's place? It's close to UA, so we can easily go there after school," Izuku offered.
"Wouldn't your place be easier then, since it's on campus ?" Shinso said, a knowing smirk on his face.
Izuku facepalmed, not having thought of that before. He really did have to start thinking about himself more. He laughed with everyone, but got a hold of himself again before it looked like he was avoiding the question.
"Of course! Yeah, we can just go to my little apartment on campus. I'm thinking that we can meet up on Mondays so that we can set ourselves study goals for the week, go home and complete them, then meet back up on the next Monday to check in and compare notes. How does that sound?" Izuku said.
"That sounds good. I'd put in at least one more check-in throughout the week so that we can make sure nobody's getting left behind or straying from the path and getting lost down a rabbit hole, you know?" Shinso suggested.
"Good idea. Maybe we can have Mondays be the bigger, task setting meet-up, Wednesdays be smaller check-ins, then Fridays can be a sort of last minute, 'if you need help, ask now' kind of thing," Ochako said.
"Good, good," Izuku mumbled to himself, writing the schedule in his phone's notes app.
The table fell into a comfortable silence after that. Izuku finished his katsudon, Ochako started floating her spoon so that she could practice the effects of her Grav-Pads in combination, and also to explain how it worked to Tsu and Shinso, and the lovebirds simply sat with each other and took in Ochako's explanation. Izuku took stock of the situation and came to the conclusion that he liked this. It made him feel whole, like he was lighter without having to Float. He could get used to this kind of thing. Izuku supposed that he already had. He smiled, knowing that he had a good life with friends that he loved and loved him back, as well as a future that he couldn't wait to get to. When he was young, Izuku was … not happy. He was fine , because he didn't know that things could have been better. Now that he was in that better life, Izuku intended to take full advantage of it and love as much as he could.
Izuku zoned back in to everyone looking at him. He chuckled slightly at having to be pulled back to Earth again, but brushed it off easily enough. Izuku smiled and asked, "Sorry?"
"You still owe us a Quirk analysis," Shinso said.
"Of myself? I don't really think it's all that interesting. All my powers are just extensions of my ability to manipulate my personal energy reserve. At first, I tried using superstrength. But, I didn't have a way to regulate it, so it resulted in my body shooting up to everything it had and wrecking itself in the process. So, I figured out how to dial it down to a safe baseline. At first, that was five percent, but I've been increasing that over the last few months so that I'm at ten percent now. It's like a warmth in my core that I can extend to whatever part of my body needs it most. But, my power was unwieldy because I was basically just stuffing it into one limb at a time. I was able to figure out what I call my 'Full Cowling' technique, where I spread the power across my entire body at the same time so that no one part of my body is overburdened by the power at once. It's given me a huge boost in combat power and maneuverability, so I think it's working," Izuku explained.
"I'd say so. You're one of the strongest and fastest people in our class. I think the only people that are stronger than you are Sato overdosed on sugar, Shoji putting all the arms he can into it and … I think Dark Shadow in pitch darkness. Four out of twenty isn't bad," Tsu reasoned.
"Yeah, then there's speed. Only Bakugo and Todoroki, I think, can beat you there," Ochako exclaimed.
"I think Tsu could outpace him, just out of experience being that fast," Shinso said, tracing an erratic movement pattern with his fingers.
"I was gonna say the same. I think I want to start leaning into speed more, though, because I'm strong, sure, but I'm only strong when I can get a good hit in. If I just go for potshots, then I'll get nowhere. I want to be like Tsu, in a way, moving around so fast that I disorient my opponent and then go for the strike when they're distracted," Izuku explained, Tsu smiling brightly at his explanation.
"So, how in the hell does Blackwhip work?" Shinso asked, seeming to be genuinely interested in the Quirks' mechanisms. Izuku appreciated that, so he got over his reservations about it and explained.
"Well, it's a non-Newtonian fluid. That means that it reacts differently to other substances when under stress. Examples of this are stuff like ketchup and that weird oobleck experiment that was blowing up on YouTube a few weeks ago. Ketchup becomes more liquid and oobleck becomes more solid when they absorb force. I think that Blackwhip is like these non-Newtonian fluids in that it's both a solid and a sort of gaseous substance. When I call on it, it's a smoky kind of gas, but when it latches on, it becomes solid. During my battle with Bakugo, I figured out a way to shape Blackwhip before it became fully solid, making my Blackwhip Shield. In the Sports Festival, I kind of started working out the elasticity angle of it, and made my Dark Slingshot move. I had a plan to encase myself in a big ball of Blackwhip during the cavalry battle in the Festival, but that didn't end up happening," Izuku rambled.
"Do you think that you could make other constructs out of Blackwhip?" Tsu asked.
"I don't know. I had an idea, but it's a little … brutal," Izuku said, looking down at his empty bowl.
"Brutal? Izuku Midoriya? What, are you gonna use the power of friendship on them?" Shinso laughed.
"My idea was that I could conjure Blackwhip and shoot it out at somebody, but shape the end of the whip to be sharp, kind of like throwing knives. I don't want to do any damage that I don't have to, though, so I dismissed it as soon as I thought of it," Izuku hastily explained.
"Huh, that would be kind of … out there for you. I mean, I'd totally use knives as a last resort, but you have other options," Shinso said, staring off into space.
There was an awkward silence that formed between the four after Izuku's explanation of the bladed Blackwhips. He was uncomfortable with even being able to, so he could imagine how it sounded to others that he'd even considered it. Izuku had a very strong belief that Heroes shouldn't need to kill to do their job, and that it was in the best interest to rehabilitate Villains, not end them. He just couldn't get the memory out of his head from way back when All Might had admitted to going for the kill on All for One all those years ago. It hadn't sat right with Izuku then, and it still didn't. He hadn't told All Might that he didn't approve, but he didn't think it was his place. That was before he'd ever even heard about One for All and All for One, so who was he to tell All Might how he should have used his Quirk?
"Uh, what about Float? I think you've explained it before, but I'm blanking on it now," Shinso changed the subject, to Izuku's relief.
"Right. Uh, Float works by projecting a pocket of my Quirk's energy out under me in order to create a semi-tangible platform that keeps me afloat in the air. I think it works similar to a magnet," Izuku began, smiling wide.
"A magnet?" Ochako asked, frowning.
"Yes, a magnet! See, magnets have poles, which are charged. Poles of a similar charge, let's say positive, will repel each other. A negatively charged pole and a positively charged pole will attract each other, but two positives and two negatives will push each other away. I think that Float works like this, with myself and this pocket of energy as two positively charged poles, per the analogy. We have the same charge, so we repel each other, and if the second pole is beneath me, I Float!" Izuku explained.
Ochako looked just the slightest bit lost, but Shinso and Tsu seemed to be heavily focused on his explanation. They were staring at Izuku with unblinking eyes, which made him kind of nervous about continuing, but he soldiered on. He smiled at the two of them, silently asking if they got what he was trying to say, and they nodded at him slowly. It felt nice to just be allowed to talk like this. At Aldera, he'd be beaten up after school for going on for this long, and about Quirks of all things, but at UA, with his friends, Izuku was allowed to just be who he was; a gigantic Quirk nerd, and that felt pretty good.
"And what about this mysterious fourth power you have?" Shinso asked.
"Oh, Danger Sense! It warns me of incoming danger to myself and those around me, though I don't know the exact range that it works within. The farthest danger from me that I've detected has been blocks away, so it might just warn me about danger that I have a chance at stopping. That's speculation, though. I think the way it works is by creating electrical impulses in my brain so strong that they extend outside my body. They kind of 'ride' the ambient electricity in the air in order to get to other peoples' brains and then gather information, namely of the 'I'm gonna kill you' variety. Then, the signal travels back to me and feeds me that information in the form of an urge to move in a way that will help me avoid the danger being sent my way. I actually think that's the way your power works, Shinso, with the electrical signals, but it obviously does something different when it gets to the target's brain. Danger Sense is also mostly passive, which is kind of annoying when I wake up in the middle of the night feeling that someone in town tripped over something, or got mugged like the first time Danger Sense really worked for me. It's fine though; I'm learning to close off my senses so that Danger Sense is only focused on danger to myself and, if I want, my allies. Interestingly, I can't sense if what I'm doing will seriously injure my enemies. Maybe it's because I subconsciously don't care if I hurt them, which would be bad if that's the case, so I may need to work on that," Izuku ranted.
Ochako, Shinso and Tsu sat there and listened, but Izuku didn't think that they understood anything by the looks in their eyes. He didn't want to make the comparison, but his friends listening to his rants about the mechanisms by which Quirks worked looked like a Nomu taking orders from its master. Lifeless eyes just listening to whatever was being said. No real thoughts. Izuku laughed, and that got the three looking at him to snap out of their stupor and laugh along with him. At least they were self-aware about it.
Izuku and his friends spent the next few minutes talking about different things that they could try with their Quirks, and it was honestly more fun sitting around and talking about the theory of these kinds of things than actually fighting. Of course, any Hero should strive to de-escalate, but there are simply times when that's impossible. If his stunt with that Nomu during his internship was anything to go by, Izuku knew that well.
When the bell for class rang out, the group excitedly ran toward their classroom and their Foundational Heroics class. They all had so many new ideas to try out.