Chapter 15: Clusters
Since it was barely more than a week before the sports festival, Izuku was scheduled to spend a few classes working with the class B students. Kan-sensei had complained that it was unfair for Aizawa-sensei's students to get their analyses early. That meant Izuku got one class to observe, time in between to review his notes and come up with constructive criticism and run it by Nedzu-sensei, and then one class working with the other students. The 1-B students would then have their classes the week of the sports festival to work on improving themselves based on his criticism.
Izuku wasn't against it. In fact, he agreed with the reasoning. It was just a lot.
He'd only decided to take the competition seriously lately, after Aizawa-sensei told the staff about their conversation and they all staged an intervention to convince Izuku to take part.
"Just because there's one negative aspect to it doesn't make the whole thing bad, ruff," Inui-sensei had said. "If you get hung up on that one bad thing, you'll miss a whole lot of good. 'Sides, you're a kid. You should be able to have fun and do what you want."
"And if anyone comes after you for not using a quirk," Kayama-sensei had said with a wink, "just leave it to us adults."
Yamada-sensei had smiled encouragingly, sitting on the floor next to the couch where Aizawa-sensei was sprawled out. "We'll all be cheering you on, little listener. If you don't compete, I'll cry my eyes out."
Aizawa-sensei had sat up at that and shot a glare at Izuku. "I'm giving you detention if you make Zashi cry."
"Aw!" Kayama-sensei exclaimed. "That's so sweet of you, Sho."
Yamada-sensei had looked very embarrassed, but Aizawa-sensei had just glowered back at her. "I'll have to deal with him up in the booth, and if he's crying, I'll have to talk more."
Kayama-sensei had cackled delightedly at that, but Nedzu-sensei had tutted disapprovingly. "There will be no threatening Izuku into competing. However, I can promise you a very entertaining competition should you decide to participate."
"So, no threatening him, but bribing him is on the table," Majima-sensei had said thoughtfully. "I take it we'd allow him to use support gear, since he is in the support course and all."
"Naturally," Nedzu-sensei had beamed brightly at that. "Since he is a hybrid student, I propose we allow him the use of two items. Necessary support gear of course does not count toward this total."
That was fine with Izuku. If he was going to compete, and take it seriously, he didn't want to rely too much on support gear. For one, it wouldn't be a good look. If he dominated, people would say it was because of his gear and claim he had an unfair advantage. It wasn't like he had the time to do anything fancy anyways.
The staff had been thrilled when he sighed and gave in.
That left him with barely a week to work on his support items. He had a few projects from his classes that could be adapted for use, but he wasn't satisfied with any of them. Ever since the USJ, he had been working to fill the gaps in his arsenal that had become glaringly obvious. He no longer had the throwing knives in his costume. He didn't want to use them again. Rubber bullets, or real bullets for that matter, were also a no-go. Besides, bringing a gun to the sports festival probably wouldn't have gone over well.
Since he wasn't cleared to start training with his class until Monday, more than a week since he'd woken up, Izuku had taken the opportunity to observe his classmates, both to work on the analyses for them and to use those observations to brainstorm ideas for his support gear. He'd always found quirks to be his biggest source of inspiration when it came to designing gear. He wanted to enhance them, control them, contain them, make them better, more beautiful, safer. Seeing his classmates in motion, he got ideas of how to replicate their moves, how to get the same effect without a quirk.
He wasn't looking to make something that would simulate having a quirk. What he needed was support items that would be practical and versatile, in the same ways that many of his classmates' quirks were. He needed mobility, like Sero's tape and Kacchan's explosions gave them. He needed a safeguard against falls, like Uraraka's quirk could provide. He needed a way to immobilize opponents like Todoroki's ice.
Watching footage of Class B had similarly given him ideas, some more helpful than others. Quirk's like Tokage's and Monoma's weren't really useful to him, but the way Kendo used her enlarged hands and Rin used his scales had promise. He would get a better handle on them once he observed them in person.
By the time he made it to the support labs after Heroics, Izuku was itching to get to work.
Support classes in the week leading up to the sports festival were mostly free work hours, with teacher supervision so they could get feedback on their designs, which was good for Izuku since he was going to miss some of his classes to work with Class B. It was also unfortunate because he was missing out on that much more time to spend working on his support items.
"Think of the sports festival as a test run," Majima-sensei had told them. "We have our own event later in the year to show off your work, but nothing beats the sports festival when it comes to field testing. It's optional, but I advise you to take advantage of the opportunity."
Despite this rousing speech, only a few members of the class were planning on participating, and most of them weren't aiming to win. Even Hatsume, with all her babies, had no intention of making it onto the podium.
Hatsume had been working herself to the bone preparing for the festival. She and Izuku were often the only ones left in the labs late after school. Trading ideas back and forth with Hatsume was a lot of fun. She was one of the only people that Izuku found he didn't need to watch his words around. He could say literally anything and she would take it in stride. He still wasn't sure if it was because she genuinely didn't care or if she was just that chill. As long as he didn't insult her babies, he could say anything.
The support lab was empty except for the pink-haired girl when Izuku dropped in, literally. Hatsume didn't even notice him until he was at his worktable flipping through blueprints, trying to come up with something that would work for the sports festival.
She looked up from what Izuku guessed was a jetpack, pushing back her goggles on her forehead. "Whatcha working one?" she asked.
"At the moment, nothing," Izuku admitted. It was a little strange not having a project to dive right into. Working on his Uraraka's costume, and then repairing his own, had meant every minute was dedicated to something. Now, he was back in the planning stage, but his brain had come to a sluggish halt and refused to come up with more ideas. Burnout, maybe? Whatever it was, now was not the time.
"Hm, then wanna help me test my jetpack baby?" Hatsume asked with sparkling eyes.
Izuku looked around the lab. "Where's Majima-sensei?" As students, they were supposed to be supervised at all times, to prevent incidents like this. If Majima-sensei oversaw the testing—which he might refuse to allow altogether—it would be a tame affair.
"Went to go get coffee," Hatsume said. "About two minutes ago. He thought I was busy sewing the straps. Jokes on him, they don't need to be sewn, and I already fueled it up when we were doing that lesson on engines the other day."
Izuku got up from his seat. "Let's do it!" Was what he was doing a little stupid? Maybe, but he had barely gotten to do anything all week due to everyone babying him after what happened at the USJ. He was itching for some action.
Hatsume slung the jetpack over her shoulder, grabbed a pair of very clunky boots and another backpack-like construction, and was off to the door like a shot, Izuku close on her heels.
They didn't go far. The support wings labs were all on the ground floor, because of the heavy equipment and safety concerns. One of the nearby open fields would be the perfect testing ground.
Once they reached the field, Hatsume plunked down her inventions. "Okay, guinea pig," she said, turning on Izuku, "suit up! Let's see how my babies work!"
"They'll be great," Izuku said, rolling his eyes a little. "At least, for the first five minutes. You did make sure to install safety features, right?"
Hatsume huffed, already holding up the jetpack. "What do you take me for? It's programmed not to go over certain speeds, and there's an off switch in case that malfunctions."
The heavy weight of the jetpack settled on Izuku's back, and he began to buckle himself into the harness. Hatsume had certainly been thorough about the harness design, although he suspected that was also just her aesthetic. She had a very steampunk vibe at times.
"So, if I'm about to hit something, I should turn off the jetpack so I can hit the ground instead?"
Hatsume swatted him. "That's what this baby is for."
Izuku couldn't see what she was doing, since the jetpack was already firmly on his back, but he could feel her locking something into place. She grabbed his hand and pulled it to the side of the jetpack until it rested on a lever. "Pull this, and my glider baby will deploy. I already tested this one. It works great. So, no pancakes today."
She went over the controls after that. They were installed in the shoulder straps for ease of use, although Izuku could see that being an issue. It would be far too easy to accidentally press a button, or for someone else to accidentally press a button.
However, he chose to focus on the bigger issues, like, "This only has two settings, Hatsume: turbo and hover."
"Yep!" Hatsume sounded far too unconcerned for Izuku's liking.
"Shouldn't you add something to slow me down, or perhaps a break? Or maybe directional thrusters?"
"That's what these babies are for!" Hatsume held up the boots. "I couldn't find a way to integrate all the thrusters I needed on the jetpack itself, so I made these babies. If you switch the jetpack into hover, and then angle the boots in front of you, it should stop you. I think. And you can use them to steer. And to land. Actually got the idea for them from another baby. I'm working on this suit, and then I remembered the thrusters from my portfolio and thought they would give it a bit of a kick, if you know what I mean. They ended up working better as a separate baby, especially with my jetpack baby. Aren't they wonderful?"
If he was being honest, Izuku was more interested in the boots than the jetpack.
Hatsume pushed the boots into his hands, then went back to messing with the jetpack. Izuku undid the straps then went to put them on, belatedly realizing that he wasn't able to bend down and reach his feet. "Um, Hatsume, little help?" he called. In retrospect, he should have put the boots on before the jetpack.
Hatsume had to help him sit down on a bench. That was definitely a design flaw. The restricted movement was no good for heroics. Izuku had no doubt Hatsume would find a way to fix it in time. He kicked off his shoes, and then Hatsume strapped the boots on, since he wasn't able to bend over to do it himself.
"Are your shoes a baby?" she asked out of the blue.
"Huh? My shoes?" Izuku said. "No, why do you ask?"
Hatsume was still occupied checking over the boots so she didn't look up. "I just noticed that they looked custom made. I mean, there's a brand logo on them, but you can tell the soles have been modified. The side has been reinforced, too."
"Oh, no. they're not a support item," Izuku explained. "I just needed to adjust them so they would fit. They were a bit big on me."
"Hm, not a bad idea though. What do you think about a shoe baby? Maybe something fun."
Lots of pro heroes had custom shoes for their hero costumes that worked for their quirks, so it really wasn't such a wild idea. Izuku himself had opted for practical combat boots, but maybe it was time he gave his footgear an upgrade. That was something to think about.
Hatsume patted the boots. "All done. How do they feel?"
Izuku flexed his feet, making sure the boots were snug, then swung his feet around. "Good," he said. "Ready to start?"
"You bet!" Hatsume said, pulling Izuku to his feet. "Get up there in the sky, green bean!"
Taking his place out in the middle of the field several meters away from Hatsume, Izuku prepared for liftoff. He went over the instructions Hatsume had given him.
Turbo for take-off, then switch to hover and turn on the boots. After that it's whatever. When you're ready to land, hover mode with the boots, then turn off the jetpack and with just the boots you should have a controlled fall.
Key word being should.
Izuku pressed the button on his shoulder to activate the jetpack. It roared to life with a burst of heat. He was airborne in seconds. He flailed, trying to orient himself as the ground grew further and further away. It was unnerving, being so much in the open, with nothing to anchor himself to.
His finger closed over the hover button, and his ascent crawled to a much slower pace. He was still going up, which meant Hatsume had some recalibrating to do, but he could handle it at this pace. He slid his hand down the strap of the jetpack and found the button to activate the hover boots. The extra boost made him climb even higher. Great.
Experimentally, Izuku kicked one leg in front of him. The force sent him drifting backward. With a lot of kicking and flailing, he figured out how to steer himself. It would have been much easier with gauntlets of some kind on his hands. They would have given him a better range of motion.
He was about twenty meters off the ground already, which was a little too high for comfort. Hatsume had said that the hover feature was meant to keep him aloft, no more no less, but he continued to climb. Due to the way the jetpack was weighted, it was difficult to orient himself any way except up.
Hatsume was a spot of pink and black against the dirt surface. If she was saying anything, Izuku couldn't hear her over the roar of the engines. They'd need to fix that. Definitely sound-cancelling headphones prevent ear damage, but also to establish communications.
He was nearing twenty-five meters now, and the further he got from the ground, the more nerve wracking it was. Izuku was accustomed to heights from parkouring with Aizawa-sensei, but that was different. Aside from a few weightless seconds, there was always something to latch onto. Up in the air, he lacked control. He was being pulled further and further away from safety, like gravity had been released. Come to think of it, it was kind of like Uraraka's quirk.
If that was the case, all he had to do was…
"Release!" he yelled and killed the engines. At the same time, he pulled the lever. Entertaining the possibility that it would malfunction, he kept a finger on the engines so he could start them up again.
After a second or so of falling in which the boots tried their best to slow him down, the glider deployed, stretching its mechanical wings out on either side of him. It slowed his descent to a manageable pace, especially with the boots to help. Actually, the way he hung in his harness, without the upward thrust of the jetpack, he was able to steer with the boots better than he had in the air.
He drifted slowly toward the ground, using his boots to make sweeping turns so he stayed above the field. Only when the ground was just a few meters away and did he realize he didn't know how to retract the glider, and that he was about to plow into the ground face first.
Izuku looked desperately at Hatsume. "How do I put it away?" he yelled at her.
Hatsume shrugged. "I didn't get that far," she yelled back.
Izuku groaned. When he was barely a meter above the ground, he kicked his legs forward, using the thrust of the boots to slow himself down. It worked, suspending him in the air for a few seconds while the two forces cancelled each other out. Then, he turned off the boots and fell on his butt.
Could have been better.
Izuku winced at the pain in his tailbone. He couldn't even flop backward because the glider and jetpack were in the way. With shaky fingers, he undid the buckles keeping him tied to the weight on his back.
Hatsume ran up, breathless and excited. "What did you think of my baby? I've got so many ideas! If I add another thruster for forward motion, maybe on the jetpack. I don't think it would work on the boots."
By the time, Izuku had extricated himself from the contraption, Hatsume was already going over its parts with practiced hands. He smiled a little, at how quickly she became absorbed in her work.
"I used standard data to calculate the thrust, but next time I should calibrate it specifically for the user," Hatsume continued while Izuku sprawled out on the ground, rejoicing in the feeling of solid ground. "We didn't really get a good look at what you could do in hover because of that. I need more motions controls, too. The boots weren't enough."
"Gauntlets," Izuku suggested. "Something on the hands."
"A gauntlet baby!" Hatsume exclaimed. "That would need a bit more support than the boots did, some kind of arm brace to handle to power. I'd have to change the controls a bit to account for that."
"I liked the boots, though," Izuku noted. They were still on his feet, heavy like an anchor without the thrusters to counteract their weight. "We should probably get back to the lab, though. Majima-sensei is gonna have our heads."
Hatsume just hummed in response, too engrossed in her jetpack to care. Izuku sat up and undid the buckles on the boots. Once he had kicked them off, he stood, wiggling his socked toes to get the circulation back. Hatsume needed to add more cushioning. That would probably help with absorbing the shock from landing, too.
He looked over to the bench where he had left his shoes and froze.
Majima-sensei was standing there, coffee cup in hand and shoulders slumped.
"Hatsume," Izuku shook the girl's shoulder.
"Yeah?"
"I think we should run."
Hatsume looked up, saw their teacher, and grabbed her jetpack with the glider still extended, and leapt to her feet. "No shit, green bean."
Majima-sensei made them clean the support lab after that, since clearly neither of them could be trusted to do anything involving support gear. Izuku didn't really mind. He had Hatsume to talk to.
While Majima-sensei sat in the corner and graded papers, he and Hatsume scrubbed at stubborn grease stains and even more stubborn scorch marks that littered the lab. Most of them were probably Hatsume's, although Izuku had made his fair share of messes.
"What do you think of making some kind of immobilizing weapon," he asked.
Hatsume, soap suds in her hair, didn't even hesitate. "Net gun baby."
"Too bulky," Izuku said. "It would be great for crowds, but I wouldn't be able to use it many times. I was thinking, something like Todoroki's ice."
"Ooh, like a quick-drying cement grenade baby!"
That actually wasn't such a bad idea. "Like those old pre-quirk videos with elephant foam," he said thoughtfully, "but with some kind of hardening agent."
"You could make it sticky, too," Hatsume suggested. "Like a glue gun baby."
"Or paintballs." If he was working with a sticky substance, he would want it controlled. A paintball gun would be better for that so he could target small areas, while grenades would work better for capture in a large area. The logistics would be easier doing it like that.
"I was thinking about modifying my capture weapon, too," he admitted.
"The one that's like Aizawa's baby." Hatsume nodded. She'd seen the weapon before when Izuku brought it in with the rest of his costume, and like any time she saw something new, she had to find out how it worked. That resulted in her getting completely tangled up, but she hadn't made it explode so Izuku counted that a win.
Part of his reasoning was that the weapon was too much of a link to Aizawa-sensei. He hadn't used it at all in training for that reason. However, it also didn't quite fit his fighting style like it did Aizawa-sensei's. One thing he did appreciate about it, however, was the assistance it gave him in mobility. Aizawa-sensei used it for the same thing, similar to how Sero used his tape. It had its limitations, but it did come in hand for scaling buildings where the hand holds were too far apart or swinging across spaces too wide to jump.
If Izuku could modify it to be more optimal for movement, that would be ideal.
Hatsume scrubbed viciously at a particularly stubborn spot of grease. "I should make a baby for this," she muttered. "A floor-scrubbing baby for whenever Majima-sensei makes me do this."
"A Roomba." Izuku nodded. "But an upgraded Roomba."
"I could add knives."
There was a split second where Izuku was blessed with the vision of a Roomba decked out with knives, then he remembered that he was human and had tendons at that level and winced. "Hatsume, no," he said.
"Hatsume, yes! Think of all the stuff it could do! It could do spy stuff, or I could give it a flamethrower."
Izuku laughed. He had done a similar type of small robot for the entrance exam and found the design extremely adaptable despite the size limitations. "Do you think they'd let you use it in the sports festival?"
Hatsume grimaced. "Probably not," she admitted. "It's stupid, but I think there's a clause about robots with programming. Remote controlled gear is allowed, though." A wicked grin spread across her face.
Izuku decided he wasn't going to ask about that. If Majima-sensei was listening, he didn't want him to figure out how Hatsume was going to bend the rules.
"You're planning on competing, right, green bean?"
"Yep," Izuku confirmed. "I get to use support gear, even if it's a limited number of pieces."
"They put a limit on the number of babies you could bring?" Hatsume looked aghast. She dropped the brush she had been using into their water with a splash. "I know there was nothing like that in the rules. Support course students can bring whatever they want, as many pieces as they want."
Izuku had the idea that Hatsume was going to abuse that clause. He sat back on his heels to look at her indignant face. "I'm a hybrid student, remember. Half hero course, and they're not allowed support items. I'm kind of an exception." He winked. "I don't think they'll limit you, at least not this year."
"Good. How else would I show off all my beautiful babies? This is the debut of Hatsume Industries. I can't afford to go in with anything less than my best."
Izuku grinned at Hatsume's enthusiasm before he noticed Majima-sensei trying his hardest to glare in their direction and got back to work scrubbing.
*
Friday afternoon found Izuku bidding goodbye to his own class and heading next door to the other end of the hero course instead of to the support course. Kan-sensei was expecting him, but he knocked on the door politely nonetheless.
He knew the names and quirks of all the members of the class, courtesy of stalking observing them rough camera records and swiping a class record off Kan-sensei's desk. If he didn't want Izuku reading it, he should have kept it in a safer location. He wasn't sure that they knew him. They hadn't had any training together, yet, and Aizawa-sensei hadn't allowed them to attend orientation, which was theoretically when the hero classes were supposed to start making connections with each other.
"Come in," Kan-sensei called.
Izuku slid the door back and stepped in. The 1-B classroom was identical to the 1-A classroom, with the exception of the students who populated it. All eyes were on Izuku as he walked across the front of the room to stand by the teacher's desk where Kan-sensei waited in full costume.
"Class, this is the guest I told you would be joining us today," he said.
Tetsutetsu, a silver-haired boy with prominent eyelashes, hardening quirk similar to Kirishima's, turns his body to steel, aggressively raised his hand.
Kan-sensei sighed before calling on him.
"Sensei, you didn't tell us we'd be getting a middle-schooler visiting us. It wasn't manly of you not to warn us so we could prepare and give him the best experience possible."
"I didn't even know UA did tours," Kendo murmured softly, just barely loud enough for Izuku to pick up on it.
Monoma huffed indignantly. "He's not a visitor, he's from—"
"Monoma, that is enough," Kan-sensei said sharply. Monoma grimaced, but he shut up and sat back in his seat to glare at Izuku. Kan-sensei continued, "As Monoma so helpfully said, Midoriya is not a visitor from outside the school. He's from the class next door, and he'll be joining you for your first two practical heroics classes this week. Midoriya, would you like to introduce yourself?"
Taking the cue, Midoriya stepped forward and bowed slightly. "I'm Midoriya Izuku from 1-A. I'm looking forward to working with you this week."
"Nice to meet you," the class chorused.
Keeping his eyes on Monoma, Kan-sensei addressed his students again. "Many of you will be wondering why Midoriya is here, so I'll tell you now. He will be watching and giving you feedback on your quirks in preparation for the sports festival. Yes, he is qualified to do this. Please, listen to what he tells you and comply if he asks you to do something to test your quirk. It's in your best interest. He's also the principal's personal student, which means if you value your place in this course, you will treat him with respect. Any questions?"
Kendo raised her hand, and Kan-sensei nodded to her. "It's not a complaint, but why is he doing this?"
"It's customary for first-year hero students to receive an analysis of their quirk during their first term," Kan-sensei explained. "Midoriya is the one responsible for those this year. You will receive more detailed analyses later in the year, but since Midoriya was providing advice to his class ahead of schedule, I thought it wise to secure his help so that you wouldn't fall behind."
Kendo nodded, looking satisfied.
"You may go now," Kan-sensei told the class. "Get changed, and we'll meet up at gym gamma."
Izuku noted how calmly the class B students left the classroom. He'd watched Kan-sensei's classes in previous years, perhaps not as much as he had watched Aizawa-sensei's classes, and he had come to expect this. The difference wasn't due to teaching styles so much as the type of students that were assigned to each class.
Class A was the powerhouse class, full of simple quirks that needed repeated training to grow stronger. Their quirks were versatile and easy to adapt. They also tended to be the more troublesome students, hence why Aizawa-sensei taught that class. It wasn't just his quirk that was a good match. His downer of a personality balanced out the exuberance of his students.
In contrast, class B was full of quirks that required more individual training, like Monoma's Copy. They had potential, but they required fine control. The students in class B were the more laidback as a general rule. Thus, Kan-sensei, with a quirk that required careful control and had stringent requirements for upkeep and recovery was an excellent fit. Despite how abrasive he was when put in the same room with Aizawa-sensei, he was actually a very patient teacher who truly put his students first. If anything, his competitive side was needed in his class most of the time. The 1-B students had quirks that could be disheartening to train. They needed drive.
Izuku followed the students out and was quickly approached by the class representative.
"Hi, I'm Kendo Itsuka, class rep." She held out a hand to shake. Izuku took it, noting how rough and callused her palm was. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I can get you started with names if you need."
"Midoriya Izuku, but you already knew that," Izuku said as they fell into step together. "I think I know everyone's names, but I'll be sure to ask if I'm not sure about anything."
"Kan-sensei's been telling us that you guys in class 1-A have been training pretty hard, since the USJ. That must have been rough. Not that I'm asking you to talk about it," she added quickly. "It's just kind of a bummer for you guys, I guess. That sounds like too weak of a word for it. I think all of us are still a little shocked, you know."
"Yeah," Izuku agreed. "It's…different now."
It was true. The air while they were training was undeniably more serious than it had been before their eventful field trip. He felt it himself-the urge to be stronger, to push himself further and further, so that he would never have to feel so helpless again.
"I'm glad you're here to help us, though. That's super nice of you to take time out of your training. I have to admit, I'm kind of surprised that it's a student doing the analysis. Kan-sensei said you were the principal's student. Is he the one who taught you analysis?"
"I started before I met him, but he's the one who's helped me get to where I am today. I'll do my best to help all of you. And don't worry, Nedzu-sensei checks over all my work, so don't worry about me messing up."
Kendo smiled a little apologetically. "I wasn't worried about that. I guess what I mean is that it's kind of cool we have someone who can do analysis right here in the hero course. Is it part of your quirk?"
"Nope." Izuku tapped his forehead. "It's all up here. Well, that's where it would be whether it was a quirk or not, but it's not my quirk. Just a lot of practice and training."
"That's even cooler then," Kendo said.
Monoma walked by them and rolled his eyes. "Bragging already? You class 1-A students sure are something."
"Hey!" Kendo smacked the back of his head. "Be nice! He's here to help."
"Sure, sure, A Class. He'll probably just go and tell his classmates all about our quirks to give them an advantage in the sports festival." Monoma stalked away, still grumbling.
Kendo sighed as she watched him go, letting out the breath in a slow and controlled manner that made her suddenly look very tired. "Sorry about him," she apologized. "That's Monoma. He not normally so…antagonistic. I think 1-A just gets on his nerves. He's actually pretty great to work with in class."
"Copy quirk, right?" Izuku said, even though he already knew. "It must be nice to be able to get a second perspective on your quirk."
"Sure is, although it doesn't work on everyone. He can copy small mutations, but the big ones are no good. He picks up quirks really quickly, too. He's just…well, you saw it…a little competitive when it comes to 1-A."
Competitive wasn't the word Izuku would have chosen. Kan-sensei was competitive with Aizawa-sensei. He could put it away, though, when the situation called for it. Monoma had a chip on his shoulder. If that wasn't obvious by the way he literally showed up to their classroom, then his reaction to Izuku coming to help them made it perfectly clear.
Kendo left him outside the locker rooms. Izuku briefly debated changing into his P.E. uniform in the boy's locker room but decided against it. He popped into a secret passage instead and was back before anyone else finished changing.
Tetsutetsu was the first out, followed by Tsubaraba
"Midoriya!" Tetsutetsu waved enthusiastically at him. "The name's Tetsutetsu! I'm glad you're joining us today."
"I'm glad to be here," Izuku responded politely.
The other boy introduced himself as well, and the conversation drifted to a discussion of heroes. Tetsutetsu was a huge Crimson Riot fan. Like Kirishima. Tsubaraba had been following the newer hero Kamui Woods.
A few of the girls came out, Komori with her hair over her eyes, and the silent Kodai, who nodded to him wordlessly when she caught his eye.
As more and more members of the class finished changing, Izuku got a good look at their costumes. Some were good. Some…less so. Like Monoma's. The pocket watches actually weren't such a bad idea stylistically and in regards to their function, but they gave away too much. Izuku could appreciate the theme. He did not have to appreciate how functional the costume was overall. He'd have to talk to either Monoma himself or Kan-sensei about it.
Once everyone was out, they walked to the main body of the gym where Kan-sensei was waiting to get them started on their exercises.
Izuku was working with Kuroiro when it happened. He wished their classes had joint training together to see how Kuroiro and Tokoyami's quirks would interact. Did Kuroiro possess the same qualities as Dark Shadow when he was in a shadow? Could Kuroiro possess Dark Shadow? It was technically a shadow, but it was also sentient.
There were two ways to find out. Tokoyami was one of them.
"Monoma!" Izuku called. "Can I get your help over here?"
Monoma, who had been training with Tokage's quirk, started walking over obnoxiously slowly. Izuku was almost certain it was just to piss him off. The sneer on his face made it all too clear.
"What do you need me for, class A?" he asked once he had joined them.
"I wanted to check something with Kuroiro-kun's quirk," Izuku explained. "If you could copy his quirk, and then both of you try to use the same shadow."
Monoma rolled his eyes but complied.
As it turned out, it was possible for Kuroiro to take over an already possessed shadow. He was able to wrest control from Monoma. Izuku took copious amounts of notes, trying the experiment with a few different shadows to determine if that had any effect.
Satisfied with his findings, he thanked Monoma.
The blond just rolled his eyes. "You can drop the act, you know," he scoffed. "You're looking down on us, aren't you? Waltzing in here, thinking you know our quirks better than we do."
"Hey, man," Kuroiro said nervously, looking over in Kan-sensei's direction. "You know that's not why Midoriya's here. He's actually been super chill."
Monoma ignored him. "What's your quirk, anyways? Must be something special if the principal took an interest in you?"
Izuku sighed. "My quirk is not relevant here. Thank you for your help, Monoma. Kuroiro, do you know where I could find—"
It happened so quickly that Izuku barely had time to react. He had turned his back on Monoma when he felt a rush of air on the nape of his neck and whirled.
"What the—" Monoma exclaimed. His hand was encased in a block of solidified blood, only inches from Izuku's face.
Kan-sensei was already running toward them. "Monoma! You have detention!" he yelled. He stopped next to Izuku, carefully looking over both boys. "He didn't touch you, did he?" the pro asked. His face was wrinkled with concern.
Izuku shook his head. "He didn't."
Kan-sensei breathed out heavily. "Good." He turned to Monoma. "That was a blatant violation of protocol. You were not authorized to use your quirk on Midoriya."
"With all due respect, sensei, we're in Heroics training," Monoma argued. "I'm supposed to be training my quirk. All of us are. I have permission to use my quirk."
"You have permission to use your quirk with consent. This is not a battlefield, nor an emergency. You had no right to try what you did without Midoriya's express permission. Am I understood?"
Monoma looked away. "Yes, sensei," he muttered.
"Good." Kan-sensei liquefied the blood covering Monoma's hand and recalled it to himself. "You have two days of detention. Next time it will be two weeks. After that, it's expulsion. Don't say I didn't warn you."
"What's so special about him?" Monoma muttered.
Kan-sensei sighed. "The rightness or wrongness of what you did, Monoma, has nothing to do with Midoriya. It would be wrong no matter whose quirk you tried to copy without their permission."
"He gets to know all our quirks. Why can't we know his?"
Kendo, who had wandered over when she saw the disturbance, tapped Monoma on the shoulder. "Just give it a rest. He's here to help us. Isn't that enough?"
"What, with his fancy analysis quirk? Or maybe an intelligence boost? I could do the same with his quirk. Why is it such a big deal?"
"Let it go," Kuroiro said. "Let Midoriya have his secrets."
Kan-sensei shot Izuku a glance with an arched eyebrow. He made a few subtle signs with his fingers, using the basic hand signals frequently employed in heroics. Relay Information? Your not quirk?
Pro heroes didn't tend to have a very large vocabulary when it came to their sign, but Izuku got the point. Kan-sensei wanted permission to tell them that he was quirkless, to put the matter to rest. After the scare of Monoma almost copying his quirk—what would have happened, Izuku didn't know—it was probably a good idea to put whatever bad ideas Monoma had to rest. If they kept putting him off, there was a chance he would do something all of them would regret.
Yes, Izuku signed back. Tell him no quirk.
Kan-sensei nodded. "Copying Midoriya's quirk isn't a good idea. I wasn't going to tell you this, because it had no bearing on the exercise, but Midoriya is quirkless."
Monoma froze, his scowl still in place, but not matching the confusion in his eyes.
"Hopefully, you understand now. There's no point in trying to copy his quirk."
"You mean he doesn't have an analysis or an intelligence quirk?" Kuroiro said, tilting his head to look at Izuku.
"No," Kan-sensei said flatly. "The services he is offering you are skills he has honed with years of practice. You should be more respectful that he is willing to offer you his expertise." Kan-sensei frowned at Monoma.
Izuku looked down at his shoes, mustering as much bashfulness as he could. "I didn't really want to tell you. And, um, about copying my quirk, I was…well, I don't know exactly how your quirk functions, Monoma-kun, but if you copy quirk factors, and my quirk factor is non-existent, well, I don't know what that would do with you."
Monoma's face had faded to a blank look. "Oh," he said.
"Yeah," Izuku chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "I'd suggest not trying it. I wouldn't want to damage your quirk. Anyways, I think I should be moving on. I want to get through everyone today." He stepped away from the group, but Monoma grabbed at his elbow.
"I shouldn't have done that," he said, eyes locked on the ground.
"Just, don't do it again," Izuku told him, shaking off the other boy's grasp. "I'll call you over if I need your help again."
Monoma nodded and stepped back. He looked like he would have said more, then bit his lip and turned away. Izuku left him still looking anywhere but at him.
The rest of the class went smoothly. A few times, Izuku called Monoma in to assist. He was quiet every time, answering questions in a low voice and with the bare minimum of words, and refusing to look Izuku in the eye or get too close to him.
It gave Izuku a curious sense of déjà vu. He hadn't felt the need to be so careful around someone in years. And, he hadn't had anyone being like this around him—he swallowed thickly—since his mother.
They were nothing alike, Monoma and his mother. There was nothing connecting them, nothing but the way Monoma startled when Izuku got too close, or the way he refused to look him in the eye, the way his mother had when he was young and desperate to be comforted but unable to be touched. He didn't want to remember. He didn't want to be that person, who made people afraid just by being around them.
He put more distance between himself and Monoma, who was assisting him in testing Shoda's Double Hit. He wanted to see if the effect stacked with two users (it didn't).
Even with his bracelets, Izuku was still a risk to Monoma. He couldn't be sure, of course, but in theory, if Monoma copied his quirk, it would destroy Monoma's own quirk factor, since it would register as a foreign quirk. There was no way Izuku was going to test that. It would be better to make sure they never touched.
His explanation about the effect of Monoma copying quirklessness likely wasn't accurate. Monoma didn't have to know that. The quirkless population was so scarce that he'd probably never have an opportunity to test it, though. Not that he'd have a reason to try copying a quirkless person's quirk, especially after what Izuku had told him.
Izuku barely got through everyone before the bell rang. As it was, he had to rush the last few. He'd just have to make due with what he'd been able to observe and any supplementary footage of their training he could get his hands on.
As he was going to put his notebook back in his bag, Kan-sensei joined him.
"What you said about Monoma hurting his quirk if he tried to copy yours, was it true?" he asked, a thoughtful frown on his face.
Izuku looked at him in confusion. "Well, I don't know about copying quirklessness, but copying me would probably erase his quirk, or at least damage his quirk factor."
"I…didn't think of that."
"Then why did you stop him?" It made sense that Kan-sensei had prevented Monoma from copying Izuku's quirk because he was going to hurt himself. If he didn't know that was the case, had Izuku just gotten lucky? Had Kan-sensei thought Monoma was really attacking him, not just trying to copy his quirk?"
"Izuku, if he had copied your quirk, he would have known about it," Kan-sensei said seriously. "Unless I've been very dense for the past few years, you're not okay with that."
Izuku sighed. "That's if he was able to copy my quirk, and you're right. I don't want any of them knowing. Thank you for stopping him. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't."
Kan-sensei grimaced. "I'm not sure I want to find out. I'll make sure to keep contact between you two to a minimum from now on. We'll make sure the other teachers know, too."
"Right." Izuku nodded.
Another rule. Another warning. Another airlock between other people and the void within him. Try as he might, Izuku couldn't escape the pull of his own quirk, dragging back to his destruction. If it was going to swallow all of his light, he'd have to shine that much brighter. He wouldn't give in. He'd escape its pull someday, to be a shooting star without its influence until he burnt out.
*
After class, he joined the Big Three and Shinso for after school training. Once they were finished with their workouts, Izuku pulled Shinso into the side room again.
"I have something to tell you," he said, as soon as the door was closed behind them.
"What is it?" Shinso asked, Izuku couldn't quite explain it, but Shinso was acting differently than he had on Wednesday. The sharp angles of his personality seemed somehow smoother. The differences were minute in someone as unexpressive as Shinso, but Izuku could feel it in his tone, and the way he didn't glare at Izuku like he had the other days.
Now was not the time to address that, however, nor did Izuku think Shinso would appreciate it if he shared those observations.
Izuku kind of wished he had Shinso's phone number so he could have told the other boy as soon as he made his discovery. He hadn't had time to drop by the Gen Ed wing, and he hadn't seen Shinso in the cafeteria, so he'd had to wait almost two full days with the new information burning a hole in his pocket, so to speak.
"Your quirk can alter memories!" Izuku said excitedly. "And you can give like subconscious commands that people will follow even after you drop your quirk!"
"What?" Shinso stared at him, searching Izuku's face like he was waiting for Izuku to yell "Gotcha! Just kidding!"
"When we were testing your quirk the other day, remember, you told me to find out your shoe size, and then you told me to forget about it."
"Um, yeah, I guess."
"I don't remember you telling me that. I only figured it out when I went over my notes. And then I was able to check your shoes later, remember."
Shinso frowned in concentration. Izuku could see the exact moment the realization dawned on him as his eyes widened and one hand went to cover his mouth. "Fuck. You're right. I didn't even realize. What the fuck?" he whispered.
"It's awesome, isn't it?" Izuku exclaimed. He was bouncing, unable to contain his excitement. "Just think of all the ways you could use it. You could order a villain to lead you to their hideout, then make them forget you ever met them, and then you could follow them back! I wonder if you could use it to treat PTSD? Maybe not. But it would be so useful in infiltration missions."
Shinso sat down heavily on the ground. "Fuck!" he whispered again, covering his face with his hands.
"Are you okay?" Izuku asked, crouching down next to him. Shinso looked paler than usual. It made his eyebags stand out even more, like bruises beneath his eyes.
Shinso took a deep breath in and exhaled shuddering. "Yeah, I'm good. That was…a lot. I had no idea I could do that." He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"It's not exactly obvious with your quirk description," Izuku said. "You'd have had to test it to know for sure." That was true for most quirks. People never really knew what they were capable of until they tried them out. Shinso had never had the opportunity to use his quirk freely to test its limits. Until now.
Shinso chuckled weakly. "Yeah, I guess so. This whole time, I could have just told people to walk away and forget me. It would have been so much easier."
One hand hovered over Shinso's shoulder. If he had been in Shinso's situation, Izuku knew he would have wanted a comforting touch. But, Shinso wasn't him. He was more reserved. Even if he had agreed to train together, that didn't mean they were friends.
He could understand the feeling of having power that could have changed his past, although in his case, unlike Shinso's, using it wasn't an option. Shinso was bound to have even more regret because of that.
Shinso took another shuddering breath and relaxed his shoulders that had been hunched up to his ears. "Well, what do we do now?" he asked.
Izuku wanted to insist he take few minutes to rest and calm himself down, but he could see from the determined set of Shinso's jaw that the other boy wasn't going to accept that. He needed something to be doing, to take his mind off the subject until he was ready to work through it.
He forced a grin onto his own face. "You plan on winning the sports festival, right?"
Shinso frowned, looking a little confused. "Yeah, but you already know that."
"We better get preparing, then," Izuku said. He sat down cross-legged across from Shinso, spilling notebooks out of his backpack. "I don't know how this year's festival is going to go, but I have data here from past years. Your quirk will be useful during the tournament round, that's for sure. One-on-one, anyone would be hard-pressed to beat you if they didn't know your quirk. But, the tournament round is generally the last round, which means you need to make it through two other rounds where your quirk may not be as useful."
"It's a competition, right? All I have to do is order people to lose," Shinso said, a smirk crossing his face. "I don't see how my quirk wouldn't be useful."
Izuku swatted at him playfully with a notebook. "You'll give away your quirk long before the tournament round like that. Besides, quirk exhaustion?"
"Right. So, what do I do? Lose?"
"No, you study my spreadsheet of possible events to mentally prepare yourself. Round one is designed to thin the herd. Think challenge or obstacle course. Round two is the team-based competition."
Shinso took the paper that Izuku held out and scanned its contents. "I'm not sure I follow you," he admitted after a minute or two. "You don't want me to use my quirk in the first two rounds. That sounds like a great way to lose."
Izuku huffed and took the document back. "Look, all these events for the first-round aren't combat-centered. Your quirk could help you, but using your quirk would hurt you in the long run. It would be better to run it using your quirk only if necessary and saving your quirk for later."
"I don't know if you noticed," Shinso said, holding up one of his bony arms, "but I'm not exactly in the same kind of shape as the hero course. They'll beat me in a heartbeat."
"Okay, you're not buff, but your stamina isn't all that bad," Izuku protested. He'd noticed it during their workouts. Shinso had obviously never done strength training, but when it came to cardio, he was above average. "You're not in bad shape at all. At the very least, you should be able to make it past the first round. You're pretty fast. Maybe not as fast as Iida, but he has a speed quirk. You'd beat about half my class in a sprint by my estimates."
"I run," Shinso admitted. "It's about the only way I can get in a workout. And it's nice, being out of the house. Guess it's good for something."
"And, I know how we can give you a bit of an extra edge." Izuku tapped his notebooks. "Are you ready for the most epic training montage of all time?"
"Do I get to say no?" Shinso asked.
"You don't." Izuku jumped to his feet and pulled Shinso up after him. "Trust me, you're going to impress Aizawa-sensei so much he's going to adopt you on the spot."
Shinso snorted. "Sure." But he followed Izuku out anyways.
*
Tamaki watched Shinso leave with his mind full of questions. They weren't easy to ask, so he'd probably end up without any answers, but that was something he had grown accustomed to.
The new boy that Izuku had dragged in reminded him a lot of himself, quiet and withdrawn, but also strangely of Himiko during her first weeks living with them. She'd had a vicious, distrustful edge to her, like at any minute she was expecting to be hurt. Shinso was similar. His eyes were always moving, tracking everyone in the room. His posture was closed off. Tamaki would know because his posture was the same. And Shinso didn't relax around any of them, except Izuku apparently.
After one of their exercises, when Shinso was sprawled on the floor, trying to get his breath back, Tamaki had tried to approach him to offer him a water bottle. Shinso had sat bolt upright so quickly it made Tamaki's spine ache in sympathy. He'd tersely accepted the water, and Tamaki had resigned himself to never speaking to anyone ever again.
Tamaki didn't know how the two had met. Perhaps Izuku just attracted strays. The way they had met hadn't exactly been the most normal.
They ran an obstacle course that day in place of their usual workout. Izuku had requested that they try it quirkless, a necessary rule when you had someone like Mirio who could just run though all the obstacles or Nejire who could just fly over everything or Tamaki who could fly or swim as needed. It was good practice for the sports festival, even though they'd be able to use their quirks then.
They had yet to see what Hitoshi's quirk was, if he had one at all. It would be just like Izuku to take another quirkless kid under his wing. Mirio was of the opinion that Shinso did have a quirk, and that that was why Izuku was doing private training sessions.
That made sense to Tamaki, but they could just have easily been sparring lessons or yoga lessons or weapons lessons.
Something about Shinso didn't sit right with Tamaki. He couldn't put his finger on just what it was. He didn't want to say that he thought Shinso was taking advantage of Izuku, because Izuku wasn't that dumb and because Shinso may have been closed off and hostile, but that didn't mean he was a bad person. The desire not to be around others wasn't something inherently bad. Perhaps it was worry because of the bitterness in Shinso's eyes, like loneliness gone sour and mixed with rightful distrust.
Yeah, he really reminded Tamaki of Himiko. Himiko had been more…feral, but the wild look was there in Shinso's eyes as well, if more muted. Tamaki wouldn't call him aggressive per se, but, well…he didn't look like he would take anything lying down either. He looked like he was one provocation away from baring his fangs and going for the throat, in a defensive sort of way. Like he thought he needed to be on guard. Like Himiko.
A towel was unceremoniously dropped over his head, disrupting his thoughts. "You good?" Mirio asked. "You look a little spaced out."
Tamaki pulled the towel off his head, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he did so. "I'm fine," he said, a frown tugging at his mouth. Something wasn't right about Shinso.
Mirio handed him a water bottle. He took it almost mechanically, sipping at the cool contents as if that would somehow give him the answer. People weren't his thing. Mirio would know better than him, though, if something was wrong.
"Shinso," he said, "what do you think about him?"
"He's got a lot of determination, but not a lot of muscle," Mirio answered brightly and took a gulp of his own water. He wiped his mouth. "I get the feeling there's something he's not saying. Don't know what it is. Might not be a problem."
"Ooh, are we gossiping?" Nejire asked, leaning her head between them and resting her hands one on each of their shoulders. "Hot gossip about the purple—hm, he's not a bean, so what is he?"
"Don't gossip about Shinso!" Izuku called from the other side of the gym where he was sitting in a pile of notebooks spread out in a circle around him.
"We're not gossiping, we're sharing information!" Nejire called back. "It's what pro heroes do."
"That sounds like gossiping," Izuku said, sounding the least bit amused.
Nejire pouted. "It's not our fault you won't tell us anything about him and he won't talk to us. It's not like we dislike him. He just has a lot of secrets, and I like secrets."
Izuku shook his head. "I trust you guys, but he doesn't, yet. If you try to get involved before he's ready, I don't think he'd like it."
"Aw, green bean! It's not like I'm gonna stalk him or something." Tamaki could have sworn Izuku winced at that. Nejire continued blithely, "I just wanna get to know him."
Mirio shared a pointed glance with Tamaki that said, this could go on all night. Out loud, he said, "Spar with me?"
Tamaki nodded his assent and walked over to the mat with Mirio, Nejire trailing behind. If anything, he only had more questions. Izuku knew Shinso was hiding something, maybe he even knew what he was hiding, so that meant it wasn't anything bad. The real question was—what was there to hide?
*
Hitoshi held his breath as he stepped inside the house. He toed his shoes immediately and walked silently forward in his socks.
In a way, he was glad Izuku hadn't wanted to train his quirk that day. As much as he needed to work on his quirk, Hitoshi didn't know if he could take it again. The migraines left him so vulnerable.
He just had to hold out until the sports festival. He'd make it into the hero course. Then they'd see.
He walked out of the foyer and into the kitchen, where his foster mom was making dinner at the stove. She was looking his direction as he entered, and Hitoshi had to try not to cringe. He'd tried to be quiet, but the door was too loud to silence completely.
Ando-san, his foster mother, nodded as he entered. She was a small woman ho always wore her hair clipped back with a few strands carefully pulled out around her face. "How was school today, Hitoshi?" she asked.
"It was good," Hitoshi answered. "I can help with dinner."
Ando-san looked over his face for several long, tense seconds. "That would be nice," she said at last.
Hitoshi nodded and padded down the hallway to leave his backpack in his room. He quickly changed out of his UA uniform and into casual clothes before returning to the kitchen.
Ando-san set him to work rinsing the rice while she made a sauce, stirring it methodically over the stove. "UA is a good school," she said thoughtfully, and Hitoshi felt his stomach drop. Here it was again.
"You're very lucky to have gotten in. None of the public schools around here would be very good for you." She wrinkled her nose at the thought, giving the pot a vigorous stir. "I know it's hard for you, but you need to have better control over yourself. I don't want you to get expelled."
"I don't want to be expelled either," Hitoshi said.
"I know, Hitoshi, of course you don't. That's why you need to be more careful."
"I will be." Next time, I won't let you know.
"You were doing so well, too," Ando-san lamented. "You're a good boy, Hitoshi. You didn't break your promise once since you started at UA. I was so disappointed when you came home like that. I was disappointed because you broke your promise, Hitoshi." She looked at him expectantly.
Hitoshi kept his eyes on the rice in a suitable show of penitence. "I am sorry. It won't happen again."
If he could just catch her, he could make her forget it all. How much easier would that make everything. Things had been going so well until Wednesday when he'd used his quirk with Midoriya.
He'd come home with a headache, which Ando-san knew was a sign of him using his quirk. Stupid. He should never have let that out. But, in the early days of staying with the Ando family, he'd thought it was a safe place. Ando-san had told him she wouldn't be like the others, that she wouldn't punish him just because of the quirk he had.
She didn't punish him just for having his quirk. That much was true, but she did punish him for using it.
She'd laid out the rules plain and simple for him. He was not allowed to use his quirk. He was not allowed to ask questions. And she would be so disappointed in him if he did, because Hitoshi was better than that.
He was used to being punished for using his quirk. It had happened often enough in middle school. He had already resigned himself to whatever extra chores were going to eat up his already scarce free time. Or perhaps she'd make him read one of those self-help books and write a book report on it again.
He hadn't expected the muzzle.
Afterward, Hitoshi had tried to rationalize it. He'd only been muzzled for an hour, while he "reflected on his actions." It hadn't even been as bad as the ones he'd been forced to wear before. He'd had so much worse. That didn't stop the rush of fear and dread that flooded his system at the thought of having to put the damned contraption on again.
It wasn't even the first time Ando-san had made him wear some kind of restraint. Just that weekend he'd accidentally asked one of the other kids a question and gotten a lecture about how disappointed Ando-san was in him. The restraint she'd used then looked like the kind used for an animal on a leash, unpleasant, but just cord, no metal. The muzzle came later.
Hitoshi never wanted to experience any of it again.
If he could just make it into the hero course, he could put an end to this. She'd see that his quirk wasn't some evil influence that he had to fight against.