Author's Note

I simply can't explain where all of this inspiration is coming from, but I don't want to stop it. We're finally coming up on Yuuei, I can't wait! To everyone who has reviewed thus far, it's much appreciated!

I've put together a new and final cover art for the story, it's worth checking out.

Uploaded

02/11/2025

LEGEND BELOW

"So you want to be a hero?" = Normal speech.

''He's not serious...'' = Normal thoughts.

Chapter 8

Rated-M

M rating for violence, mature themes, romance, and language.

Music of the day

KILL La KILL Ost - Ad La Lib

The exam day had come and gone with surprisingly little fuss, the ten minutes flying by in a flash. With the bell ringing signaling the end of the mock battle he knew that it was time to head back to the buses to begin the drive back to the city. From there it was really just a waiting game to see if he had passed or not, or at the very least what his score had been in the end.

Truth be told he hadn't the most confidence going into the exam today, nervous yes, but certainly not frightened to the point of failure. He'd come a long way since that first day he began tossing trash around the beach with his quirk, and his results in this exam did a good job showing that. Since there was no official screen that displayed everyone's score in live action, he had to do some guesstimating based off of what robots he'd destroyed and the numbers some of the other examinee's were tossing out there.

He was pretty sure he got second or third place in his section of the city battle, and he knew that it was nothing to scoff at.

Yet he didn't find himself fidgeting over what his score was or wasn't, at least not really. Honestly he found his mind wandering to Shadow and Bakugo. He already knew that Bakugo had probably fought hard for first place knowing him, and he was pretty confident that he'd gotten it too.

But Shadow?

He smiled, looking towards the gates of the cityscape as other potential students all began gathering around the bus. He knew that she'd knocked it put of the park, no questions asked. He'll bet that she probably aced the exam so good that she probably accidentally embarrassed the guys in her bus without meaning to.

She could be a bit of a show boat every once in a while.

"She sure is something…" He muttered to himself with a warm faced grin, blushing just thinking about her.

But…

As he approached the bus he heard someone fast approaching, a man or perhaps just a tall teenager around his age sprinting towards them then past them in hot pursuit of the main exam center. There was someone in his arms, steam wafting off of their body in spades. He felt his stomach drop as he caught a glimpse of red and black hair before the speedster carrying her blitzed down the road at over one hundred miles an hour.

He felt his throat clam up in panic, recognizing the tell tale signs of Shadow's overuse of her quirk on her body almost instantly. A dark malicious cloud wafted off of her alongside the steam, a trail following her wherever she went. Although he'd never truly seen her like this before, a certain red haired man had made it abundantly clear what he needed to do in the off chance she was to go overboard and destroy her limiters.

The two who called themselves Shadow's personal bodyguards had come up to him at some point many months ago, deep into his training for Yuuei. He'd recognized them from the description Shadow had given him once when she had talks about them, so he knew they were friendly faces. The bat lady certainly was an… eccentric person, and she'd seemed to take glee in teasing him about Shadow something fierce.

The other person, Knuckles was his name if he remembered correctly, had pretty much threatened him with untold violence if he ever hurt Shadow. Of course he took the threat back after having been smacked upside the head by Rouge who immediately told him off for threatening teenagers, but the impact had certainly been made. Izuku could detect a big brother like the red haired man a mile away, and knowing that Shadow had people like them looking after her made him feel secure.

However, one other reason behind that surprise visit that day had been the gift Knuckles had given him, a sort of emergency support item for a worst case scenario situation where Shadow was too far from Robotnik HQ and her safety limiters were destroyed.

It had unfortunately led to another conversation that he was sure Shadow had wanted to be the one to tell him about, but for her safety her feelings had to be hurt that day. He'd always wondered why she'd worn those large golden rings around her wrists and ankles, something he remembered that she'd done since he met her when he'd been no older than four or five years old. He knew there had been a solid reason behind why, but didn't feel right bringing it up to her.

But…

He'd learned that day, learned why she was always seen wearing those large golden rings, even when buck naked in the shower, or in her underwear at night in his bed…

N-Not that they'd slept together or anything!

W-Well they had…

B-But not like that!

"Her body contains a power so vast that she cannot control it or properly regulate its flow through herself without the aid of those rings. If she takes them off or overloads them then her quirk will begin to dump its excess energy into her body without stopping until it fills her up…" Knuckles had gotten straight to business with his explanation, not caring that he was sharing her secret without her permission, knowing that Izuku's lack of this information could one day prove catastrophic.

"W-Why are you telling me this?" He remembered asking, feeling as if his ears were betraying the girl by listening to the gruff red haired man's words that day. Knuckles sneer that marked his face at his question had pretty much ended any further questions from his mouth as he spoke further.

"Because she cares a lot about you, and I know damn well that when she sets her sights on something she won't let it go. She's got you in her greedy little claws now, so you don't even have a chance of escaping from her." He muttered lowly, arms crossed over his broad chest.

Izuku blinked in surprise, not quite one hundred percent sure where he was going with this.

"What he means is that once you two are married and banging four times a day on every surface of the house it's going to be your responsibility to make sure that her body doesn't overload with all of that negative energy, cutie pie." Rouge winked, giggling as the white haired teenager's face turned from its usual color to that of a ripened tomato, steadily growing redder the more he dwelled on the mental images the busty bat woman had inexplicably conjured up in his head.

Not giving him time to recover, Knuckles continued. "So when the time comes and she's nowhere near the help that she needs, she's going to have to rely on you." He muttered seriously, reaching down to place a dull grey ring in the palm of Izuku's hand. "And that's what this is for. Don't lose it."

Izuku struggled to work his mouth, opening and closing repeatedly before he swallowed thickly, glancing down to the dull grey ring resting on his open palm. The weight of the responsibility placed on his shoulders was intense, to say the least.

And yet, when it came down to the life of the girl he loved, he felt strangely calm with this newfound responsibility he was to shoulder. If he was even given an option, he would still accept it every time.

Nodding to himself he reached backwards, pulling his hair up into a tight ponytail before sliding it through the large ring. Placed at the back of his head with a little bit of slack, it suddenly shrank down to hold his hair in place. No one would even notice anything special about it if they were to look, and he doubted Shadow would either.

He dreaded the day that he'd have to use it.

The man had been sure that Izuku keep them on his person at all times, and as such Izuku had found himself using the golden ring as a hair tie to hold back his long white hair in a messy ponytail, something Shadow had never picked up on.

The device, while surprisingly simple looking, was capable of shrinking and growing in size to fit around her limbs. So empty of her chaotic energy as it was straight from Gerald's lab, it was able to shrink down small enough to hold his hair in place until the time came in which he needed to use it on her.

And that time had inexplicably arrived with little warning.

He felt his heart sink as he took off after her, nowhere near as fast as the blue haired teenager.

But he didn't need to be.

He wracked his brain for a name, knowing that he'd seen the guy somewhere before!

Damnit, what was his name?!

His eyes widened, remembering the short brief conversation he'd had with the teenager outside the exam center hours ago. Taking in a deep gulp of air he shouted as loud as he could. "Tenya Ida!!!" He exclaimed, his long head of silky white hair falling freely down his shoulders, the ring having been removed.

The teen looked towards the source of the shout, his eyes finding the white haired ESP user floating up above everyone else around him. Izuku tossed the ring his way, a green aura surrounding it as it approached the overloaded hedgehog girl. Tenya slowed his run just long enough for the ring to catch up to him, the device rapidly growing large enough to slip over her head before it tightened around her throat, suddenly beginning to glow a bright golden in color.

Almost instantly, the evil aura that had surrounded her vanished, sucked back into the ring with surprising efficiency. Shadow stopped struggling, sucking in a sharp breath as her lungs were finally filled with that life giving oxygen once more. Her body cooled down somewhat, no longer burning the teenager's hands as he ran.

The girl stabilized, he hastened his pace to the infirmary at the main exam hall.

Izuku sank to the ground in relief, his heart pounding in his chest as Ida vanished into the distance, the engines in his legs working overtime. It felt like a lot to trust someone else to take care of her in his stead, but he knew darn well that he wasn't anywhere near that fast. Ida would have to do.

When everything else had calmed down, maybe then he would find out just what had happened. When the bus finally came to pick him up he could barely hold in his anxiety as the vehicle sped off toward the center...

The dull slow sound of beeping echoed out softly in the room, the noise of the heart monitor a strangely calming gentle noise. He stared at the door with a strange amount of hesitation, worried what he was going to see on the other side.

"You're trying for the hero course, aren't you sonny?" He almost made a peep in surprise at the sound of a aged voice speaking to him, the green eyed teen glancing down to find a familiar, (to him anyway) face standing just down the hallway.

It was a nurse, or at least she appeared to be, standing at an easy five foot three inches tall, dressed in a white lab coat with her aged white locks up in a messy bun. Underneath her lab coat was slow cut orange and white dress, with pink leggings that came up to the middle of her thighs, leaving a gap between them and her dress. On her head, however, was a sort of helmet, smooth pink panels surrounding each side of her head with her eyes shielded with a purple visor.

He knew her anywhere.

"Y-You're the nurse hero, Recovery Girl." The usual desire to launch into a spree of muttering of his typical nerdy antics didn't come this time, his surprise coming out in a far more mellow manner. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he was in the medical ward of the exam center, which was thankfully on Yuuei grounds, or because he was overcome with worry.

Either way, the woman in question appreciated it verily.

"That I am, kiddo." She smiled kindly at him, the sound of her heels echoing out as she approached him. "You must know her, I presume?" She asked, motioning to the door that stood between him and the dark haired girl.

He swallowed thickly. "That's right. S-She's.. my girlfriend." It felt embarrassing to admit that openly, yet strangely invigorating. Still, the proper amount of redness expected of him crossed his cheeks.

Her smile widened slightly. "You're both heroes in training. This sort of situation is going to be commonplace once you make it to the top, you know." She explained with that gentle sagely advice that could only come from someone with a long history underneath their belt. "I healed her up good but her body was overtaxed. She'll be out for a while, but she just needs some sleep to recover."

Izuku's gaze hardened, knowing well that what she said was completely correct. The hero job wasn't easy, sometimes it wasn't glamorous, and sometimes the people you loved got hurt…

Or worse.

"I know…" He murmured quietly, fists clenching up at his side.

She huffed a little amused sound. "So then why are you out here and not in there by her side?"

Izuku sucked in a sharp breath as if she'd struck him, her words ringing out nearly deafeningly in his ears. He looked down at his open palms in bewilderment, as if realizing where he was standing for the first time.

Why was he out here instead of in there with her? It wasn't like she'd died, like she'd been attacked by a villain and was barely clinging to life and he was afraid the woman behind that door wouldn't be the same Shadow he'd known since childhood.

Why was he hesitating so much?

Why…?

Why was he so afraid?

"You know…" Recovery Girl spoke up gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. He gasped at the touch, looking up at her in surprise. The look she gave him touched him on a level he'd never thought capable. "This is exactly why every top hero that you know of refuses to get into a relationship, because sooner or later one of you are going to find yourself standing outside in the hallway of a hospital room, because you know what's waiting for you on the other side isn't the one you loved anymore."

It was only there for a moment, a haunted look crossing the older woman's face before it was almost instantly and effectively covered by that gentle smile of hers.

But Izuku hadn't missed it.

He looked up to her, the words weighing heavily on his mind before he turned back to the door. "I know… But…" He murmured, clenching his fists by his side.

She arched an eyebrow curiously. "But?" She dragged it out of him with a curious lilt to her voice.

Determination crossed his face that instantly reminded her of a certain blonde muscle bound knucklehead, the resemblance almost uncanny. "But we're still going to become heroes!" He stated firmly, a rock solid conviction in his voice. "I know the risks, the dangers of the job… But I want to do this anyway, because I have the power to help those that can't help themselves."

She smiled, gently reaching over to push the door open for him. "Then go help her in her time of need. She might not be awake, but your presence will mean everything to her." She ordered firmly, smiling widely as he took those courageous first few steps into the otherwise quiet hospital room.

The door shut behind him with a soft click, his eyes immediately drawn to the girl laying quietly atop the bed near the window. His eyes darted over her form, watching as her chest slowly rose and fell with small soft breaths, eyes locked closed. She looked so peaceful, so serene, so gentle. The loudmouth girl with wild mood swings and anger issues wasn't there in that moment, instead someone who just needed him by her side, even in her sleep.

His eyes slowly shifted down her body, his heart clenching as he eyed the white bandages that wrapped up the entirety of her right leg from her ankle to the plump swell of her thigh, stopping just before it met her groin. The blankets only covered half her leg, probably shifted off of her from the breeze by the open window.

His heart tightened as he crossed the room, quietly shutting the window before moving to shift the blankets up over her again. He found himself standing there for a long moment, mind running a mile a minute as he got lost in her presence.

When his legs got tired he reminded himself to sit, slipping into the chair by her bedside, scooping her right hand up tightly into his own.

She didn't even make a peep.

The reality that this sort of situation, and very likely one far worse than this was potentially in their future made his desire to become a hero waver if for a brief moment when he took the time to think it over.

This was the girl he loved, the one he wanted to stay shoulder to shoulder by for the rest of his life. Yet the job they were doing meant that either of them could be inexplicably taken away from the other without warning one day, and seeing her in that hospital bed was almost enough to shake his resolve entirely.

He loved the idea of becoming a hero to save those that couldn't save themselves almost more than anything else in his life…

…

…

…

But…?

…

…

…

Did he love it more than her?

"U-Um, excuse me…? Could I come in?"

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of a nervous voice speaking up to him from the doorway. He sat up a little straighter, noticing that the sun had already begun to set, hours having passed since he'd entered the hospital room. He blinked bleary eyes over to the door to find an anxious if cute looking brunette standing in the doorway, hands clasped nervously together as she looked his way.

"I-I can come back if-!" Suddenly getting cold feet she was quick to make an excuse to leave, but he stopped her.

"No it's ok." He reached out to her, beckoning her to stay. "D-Did you need something?" He asked quietly, the events of the day catching up with him rapidly, the black bags underneath his eyes apparent.

The girl squirmed for a little with something, before pulling out a small vase of flowers. Izuku found his breath stuck in his throat as he watched the girl fidget about as she spoke, clearly deeply conflicted. "I-I just… wanted to thank her for… saving my life."

The white haired teen felt the oxygen leave his lungs in a strangled gasp, eyes widening as he snapped back to the girl on the bed in awe. That's what had happened? She's gotten hurt because she'd risked herself to save someone else?

He couldn't help it, his heart skipping a beat as if falling for her all over again. He thought that there had been some sort of accident, or that she'd pushed herself past her limits.

Not this.

He wasn't upset, no, far from it.

He was happy.

"T-The big robot, the Zero Pointer had pinned me underneath some of the rubble. I-I-I don't think it saw me underneath it." She bit her lips, hands shaking. "If Shadow didn't run in and destroy it…" She swallowed thickly, a shaky smile gracing her lips. "I'm pretty sure I'd be dead right about now." She said with a smile, scared from the encounter yet more than ever she was happy that she was still alive.

Izuku's jaw dropped at the mental image she'd put together in his head. The idea of her crushing the two hundred foot tall machine of absolute destruction was…

His face erupted into a fiery red blush, something suddenly tight.

He cleared his throat to try and regain his composure. "S-She save you?" He asked quietly, looking her way. It seemed to do the trick of getting the girl to open up as she smiled, setting the flowers by the stand by her bed.

"Everyone else had run away, but she'd stopped. I-I don't know if she heard me, but I was pretty sure she'd already overused her quirk seconds before the Zero Pointer showed up. I-I guess she got this bad because she had to stick her neck out for me…" She looked down in shame as she looked the unconscious girl over once more, the feeling of guilt washing over her.

"Don't say that." Izuku cut her off with surprising intensity, pulling her out of that depressing spiral as he smiled. "She didn't have to do anything. She chose to help you. Don't apologize for that." He muttered to himself, turning his attention back down to the girl. Her fingers twitched in her sleep, unconsciously curling around his own as her shoulders finally lost that tension that had been present in them.

"Don't ever apologize to a hero for saving you." He smiled, unconsciously taking that out of poison that had been brewing in her belly and tossed it out the window.

She reached down, grabbing the fringes of her skirt with a smile. "Thank you…" She whispered, biting her lips as she tried to hold back her tears. She'd been so torn up after seeing what had happened to the girl in her attempt at saving her life, she'd been beating herself up over it this whole time. And she was positive that if this guy didn't say something like he'd just done that she'd probably hold onto that guilt for a long time too.

Izuku smiled a sad look of understanding. "Don't mention it." He whispered, gaze snapping down to Shadow as she moaned in her sleep, face scrunching up in discomfort. Unconsciously his thumbs rubbed soothing circles in her hand, watching as her expression slowly shifted back to a more peaceful one.

"I-I should probably l-leave you two alone…" She whispered, bowing her head as she quickly made her escape.

Izuku tried to reach out for her, but she was already gone. He'd not even the chance to get her name.

He sighed, smiling a gentle look as he leaned down, leaving a small kiss on her lips before he too made his departure. She was probably going to need her sleep…

Chapter

8

End