Chapter Text
“Hey, Uncle D? What’s this?” Izuku asks, holding up a small box wrapped in silver and red.
“Woah-hey! That’s where your christmas present went! I was wondering why you never used it.” The white haired man speaks, walking over to Izuku with a smile. “Course, this was from Christmas five years ago, so…”
“Five years ago?! How do you lose something like this for that long? And for that matter, why was it in my closet?!”
“Well, I figured since you were so crafty, might as well put it in the worst spot to look. That way, no one would find it!” The man crossed his arms with a smirk, his eyes closed in pride.
“And that no one includes you, it seems.” Izuku dead pans, opening up the wrapping paper quickly. Underneath is a sleek box with a picture of a fancy pair of headphones on the cover, the actual pair held within. “Headphones? Well, thanks, but I barely listen to music as it is. I don’t even think I have a favorite genre…”
“Well that’s exactly why I got them.” Dante explains, taking the headphones and putting them on Izuku’s head. “You gotta branch out, broaden your horizons. You can’t just go through life without experiencing all of its pleasures. Sure heroes like me are cool and all, but there’s nothing quite like a sick guitar riff!” The man pretends to shred on said instrument, holding up his right hand in the classic rocker position. “And what better time than now to do that?”
Izuku takes the headphones off, looking over them in curiosity. “Alright, I’ll give it a try.”
Izuku shifts in his seat, adjusting the bulky pair of black headphones around his neck so that the speakers are resting against his cheek, the guitar riff pouring through now more easily heard. After going through the process of cleaning out his room and finding the long forgotten gift, he had quickly fallen into the genre of rock. Any and all rock appealed to him, but he did have a leaning toward metal and some punk-pop.
The bell signaling the end of classes for the day rang out, and Izuku hurried to grab his bag. Slinging it over his shoulders, he hurried over to the door, adjusting the headphones to fit on his ears.
“Hey, Midoriya!” A voice yelled out, and Izuku rolled his eyes. (Is it bad he wished people would ignore him again?) Izuku turns to see one of his classmates walk up to him, what was his name? Doesn’t matter. “Hey, did you want to go to the arcade today? I hear they got a new shooter in, maybe we could check it out.”
“No way! Midoriya, you should come with me! I hear they got a new line up of hero jackets at Wookies!” Another guy yells, shoving the first student to the side. “I think they even had a Rebellion jacket out too! Those sell out insanely fast, right? We have to check it out!”
“You guys are ridiculous.” A girl interrupts, shoving the two boys to the side. “Hey, Mido-do, you should totally come hang out with me. My parents are out of town, so the house is all mine. Maybe you could show me what that hand can really do ?” The girl flutters her eyelashes, pausing in shock to see Izuku having already left.
Izuku walks down the street, adjusting his bag a bit, as he looks at his clawed arm. Just as predicted, ever since he got a quirk, people have been looking at him differently, acting as if he was suddenly the greatest thing to exist. All because he had power… More power… Izuku clenches his fist, letting out a harsh breath of air.
Why does he suddenly crave power? He has power, his counsellor said as such when they went over the tests on his new Quirk.
Devil Bringer, that was the name given to this ability. A clawed hand that appeared in a moment of great injury and high stress, that kickstarted a change to Izuku’s biological systems. Increased speed, strength, stamina… The works. Of course, the hand itself worked on a higher scale than the rest of his body, but it doesn’t change the facts that Izuku was now… Powerful. Hell, he even gained a healing factor like his father…
Izuku stopped in his tracks, looking around his surroundings. He needs to clear whatever thoughts he’s having right now before his moods sours even further. A glance left, a glance right… Izuku’s eyes stop on one building in particular, as he slowly starts to approach it. “Red’s Grave Music…” He says to himself, looking at the sign. He shrugs, before opening the door, walking inside.
Red and purple checkered prints line the walls of the store, alongside various instruments and records. Rows of cd’s and albums adorn shelves like a library, each available for purchase. A woman gives Izuku a wave from behind the counter, before going back to assisting a customer.
Izuku adjusts his headphones, switching up the song with a button press. Guitars and drums start blasting through his ear drums as he begins to peruse the store, a small smile forming on his face as he digs through the closest shelf. There were plenty of good choices, from independent artists, to bigger names, to even some pre-quirk era tracks too. Izuku picks up a cd case, the offer for a free digital download attached to it. ‘Deep Dope…’ He reads the artist name in his head, before pulling out his phone, and browsing through it. He taps down on a song, new guitar chords and drums kicking up. ‘Yeah, I knew I recognized them! They did this kick ass cover! I’ll absolutely be getting this.’ Izuku assures his grip on the cd, turning to head to the counter.
And then he feels a tap on his shoulder.
The boy turns around to see a girl around his height (not uncommon, seeing as even with his increased physique, he was still on the shorter side) staring at his headphones with a bit of joy with triangular black eyes. Her short cut purple hair shines in the light of the sun from the nearby window, as she wears the black uniform of a neighboring high school. She motions to her own ears, from which a pair of headphone jacks hang from her earlobes. Izuku nods, pausing the song, and taking the personal speakers off. “Can I help you?” He asks the (very pretty) girl.
“Absolutely, Mr. Good-Taste. I couldn’t help but overhear, but… That was the Deep Dope cover of Devil’s Never Cry, right?” She asks, a small knowing smirk on her face.
“Oh, y-yeah.” Izuku says, backing up a bit as he holds up the cd, attempting to hide behind it. “I found it recently, and got hooked, so I’m glad I found this deal.” Izuku said, a hand leaving the cd case, and rubbing at his nose.
“Well, I’d say you have a nice sixth sense if you’re choosing that one. Orange Revolution is one of their best albums in my opinion.” The girl says, poking the cd. “That said, you should check out their work on Capped Computers if you want more covers.” The girl reaches behind Izuku with one of her jacks, the quirk grabbing onto a cd case, and putting it in Izuku’s hand. “Same deal as Revolution, with a free download.”
Izuku watches as her jack retracts back to its normal position, his eyes shining a bit at the sight. “That.. That’s a really cool quirk.” He blurts out, the girl pausing for a moment.
“Oh, really?” She asks, a finger twirling around the chord on instinct. “I-I’m sure you’re just saying that. Besides, I see that claw, what, are you part monster?”
“No way! Who cares about that, when you’ve got completely prehensile chords attached to your ears?” Izuku smiles, hiding his hand behind his back for a moment. “Can you plug them into things? Can you transmit sounds? What’s their limit? Oh man, I can’t believe I met someone so cool in here.”
The girl grabs his hand still holding onto the cd cases, a blush on her face as she breaks Izuku from his trance. “C-can you chill out? I get your point.” She says, looking away from the boy.
“Oh, sorry about that.” Izuku says, once more rubbing at his nose (okay when did that start being a thing). “I uh, get pretty excited about quirks. I didn’t get mine until recently, so it’s kind of a habit I need to quit.”
The girl looks at Izuku again, her eyes growing and shrinking in realization as she lets go of his hand. “Hey, once you get those cd’s… How about we go hang out somewhere? You seem like a pretty chill guy, so…”
Izuku looks at the girl in surprise, his clawed hand still hidden behind his back.
“Eh?”
“So, mind telling me why you’ve dragged me out to the mall? I wasn’t exactly planning on going anywhere much else than the music store earlier.” Izuku says, the cd’s he bought earlier now at rest in his backpack.
“Because you seem chill, and like you need to get out more. Seriously, you’re so pale even your hair is turning white.” Kyoka Jirou, as she had introduced herself after Izuku bought the cd’s, responds, a smirk on her face as she points at Izuku’s mop of a head,
“Plenty of people have different colors in their hair. Agh, that’s not the point, why are we hereeee…” Izuku trails off, as the two stop in front of a clothing store, his eyes landing on a blue leather coat with a red hoodie attached to it. Kyoka smirks, dragging the boy into the store with her. “W-what is this place? I’ve never seen this store before…”
“That’s because you didn’t know me before, Greenie. Welcome to Hell’s Gates.” Kyoka says, passing a wave to workers by the counter, the manager nodding behind his own leather jacket and cool pair of shades. “This place has everything to fit out a sick aesthetic. One that properly tunes to rock. They fit some heroes out with costume stuff too, if it’s a bit more casual in appearance.”
Izuku’s eyes gained a little sparkle, before he found them wandering back to the coat at the front of the store. Something about the outfit piece was just… Calling out to him. Telling him to get that jacket. Kyoka smirked a bit more, letting go of the boy’s arm, and giving him a little nudge towards the mannequin holding the jacket.
Izuku walked up to the coat, his normal hand grasping at the leather, and then at the fabric attached to the hoodie underneath. He checked for a price tag, before looking back at the counter with the workers. “Um, do you guys happen to have a fitting room?” He asks, getting a thumbs up from the manager. Izuku nods, taking the jacket and heading towards the back, Kyoka following him the whole time.
“Looks like you found something good, Midoriya.” Kyoka says, coming to a stop as Izuku steps into the changing room.
“Well, I’ve been going through a lot of stuff recently and… I’ve been meaning to change up my wardrobe, alongside some other things. And there’s just this gut feeling that I just… need to have this coat I guess.” Izuku replies from the other side of the door. “Like… Like this coat confirms something for me.”
“Hmmm… I’m not too sure on what that means, but it’s probably best to trust your gut.” Kyoka replies, before the door opens up to reveal Izuku with the coat on, the sleeves rolled up on his arms. Kyoka pauses as she takes in the sigh, Izuku giving her a confident(-ish) smile. “Damn Green, you know how to clean up nice with just an outfit change.”
“Heh, well, I think anything looks better than a school uniform.” Izuku snarks, rubbing at his nose once again (again? Is this just what he does around pretty girls now). “But I feel better with this on. I think I’m going to get it.”
“Sounds like a plan to me, Greenie.” Kyoka says, giving the boy a thumbs up.
“So, I say to the guy, ‘Hey bud, don’t look at me. Just ‘cause you got that stick up your ass, doesn’t mean I should have to suffer with you.’” Kyoka says, getting uproarious laughter in response from Izuku, the young man still dressed in the coat he had purchased earlier. The two teens on the cusp of adulthood hold large drinks from a convenience store in their hands. “And the guy just walked off!”
“HEHEHEHE! That’s so great!” Izuku cheers, barely holding onto his drink. “Oh man, this day has been so much better after its shitty start. I’m really glad I met you Jirou.”
“Heh, the pleasure’s all mine Greenie.” Kyoka says in response, holding her drink up high. “Still, I guess it is getting kind of late. I’m sure my folks are getting worried. Hey, hand me your phone.” She requests, Izuku passing it over quickly. She taps away at it for a moment before taking a selfie, and handing it back. “There you go. Text me before and after your classes tomorrow, we can hang out some more if you want.”
“R-really?” Izuku asks, Kyoka giving him a nod. Izuku smiles, pocketing his phone. “Hey, where do you live anyways? I noticed you go to Nabuu High, that’s a bit of a ways from here, isn’t it?”
“Oh yeah, I just go there for the music program. It’s a good program, but it's hell on my sleep schedule having to wake up so early.” Kyoka chuckles, standing up with a stretch. “I actually live here in Musutafu, in the neighborhood here over by the Skywalka Apartments.” Izuku begins choking on his drink, causing Kyoka to look at him in worry. “Dude, are you okay?”
“Y-yeah, sorry. It’s just… I live IN the Skywalka.” He responds, causing Kyoka to laugh.
“HOHOH MAN, are you for real? Damn, guess it's a small world after all.” She says, getting a chuckle from Izuku. The two come to a stop in front of the back entrance to the apartments, each giving the other a smile. “Well, I guess I’ll see you later then.”
“Right.” Izuku says, giving Kyoka a nod and a wave goodbye as she goes on her way home. Izuku lets out a wistful sigh, pulling out his keys to the apartment walk in gate, when someone opens it up for him. Izuku looks up, with his eyes shrinking in fear at the person before him.
A woman in a white button up shirt and black dress pants, with short black hair, and one red eye and one blue-ish green. She gives Izuku a coy smirk, looking at the direction that Kyoka just walked off in, before back at Izuku. “So, Izu is finally growing up, huh?”
“Lady, no, we only just met today.” Izuku says, trying to stand his ground in this, no matter how much of a losing battle it is to become.
“One day in and you’re already dressed up better than you ever were before.” Lady teases him, Izuku letting out a groan, as he hides his face in his hands.
1 Month Later…
“And that’s the usual bullshit happening at school.” Izuku finishes, walking along the park trail next to Kyoka, his hands dug into the pockets of his coat (which he now takes with him everywhere, the outfit piece having become a staple of his dress style). “But what about you? Anything interesting happening in your life?”
Kyoka gives a low hum, before shaking her head. “Nah, this past week was just kind of boring really. Not even music class has been exciting recently.” She crosses her arms, looking off to the side. “I need to find a place to practice my quirk though. Entrance exams are in nine months after all.”
“Oh yeah, they are.” Izuku says, looking up in the sky. Pretty early days in their friendship, they both expressed their wish to be heroes to make people smile, and were quick to join onto this aspect of their relationship, by deciding that they could become a hero duo. They’ve gone to the gym a couple times since then, but they haven’t had any real days to actually… Train.
Izuku comes to a stop, looking around his surroundings, until he sees a large pile of… Something off in the nearby distance. “Hold on.” He says, getting Kyoka to stop. He starts walking over to the pile, before arriving at the destination… The beach, where piles upon piles of trash litter the sands. “Hey… I think I just solved that problem.”
“Midoriya, you can’t be serious.” Kyoka says, Izuku looking at her with a smirk. “No. There’s no fucking way we’re going to be using the dump as a training ground.”
“It’s not a dump though! People have been illegally putting their trash here for years, because the current used to wash up a lot of trash. But now that the oceans are cleaner, it's just dumpers putting things here. If we start cleaning it up, we could work on our bodies, quirks, and the community all at once. That’s three birds instead of two!” Izuku reasons, putting up a clawed finger to accentuate his point.
Kyoka crosses her arms, looking at Izuku with a glare… Before letting out a groaning sigh, as her eyes roll as far back into her head as she can manage. “Ugh, fine. But you’re buying things to keep us safe until we get this thing fifty percent cleared. You’re also paying for my body wash for the next year.”
“I’ll buy you whatever you want if this doesn’t provide results.” Izuku smirks, putting his hands in his pockets. “Besides, it's not like it's going to take us a whole year. With both of us working on it, and with the use of our quirks, we should be able to knock this down in… Five months? Six or seven, tops.”
“You are an insane person, Izuku Midoriya.” Kyoka said, rolling her eyes with a barely hidden smirk.
“Heh, blame my Uncle for that.” Izuku jokes back.
Somewhere, Dante sneezes.