Chapter Text
The end of the examination week at UA was usually the most tedious for the staff. 160 new first year students needed to be recorded into the system whilst thousands of other applicants were given a simple apology letter and sent on their way. Plus with 160 new quirks and accommodations to be made for all of those students, it meant a lot of paperwork to go through.
For Shuuzenji Chiyo, it was at least a far cry simpler.
As UAs only healer, her job was relegated to learning allergies and potential Quirk drawbacks of the new students, of whom she would have access to the files of whenever necessary. She only attended the yearly class formations out of habit, being one of the oldest members of UA's staff meant these meetings were part of a long standing routine that she had no intention of breaking.
As per usual the meeting began with the business classes, showcasing each new student, a brief summary of their Quirk and snapshots from their gruelling examination process. It then steadily moved to the support class, with the only difference being the showcase of the final invention from their 6 hour exam. When the name Hatsume was brought up, Chiyo watched Maijima turn pale. There had been a Hatsume in UA before, there were so many laboratories exploded because of that student. She pitied Maijima, another three years of torment under the hands of an inventive Hatsume was not a fun three years.
General education was an easy affair, although Kayama had to be warned of a boy that was going to be in the Hero Course but failed on the grounds of attempted groping. His parents working for the Hero Commission was the only reason why he wasn't being rejected point blank. This meant a different student had been moved up into the Hero Course, one with a non-combative Quirk that Aizawa looked very interested in. For the boy's sake, Chiyo hoped he had potential.
Then came the Hero Course classes, starting with 1-B. Kan's class was full of transformation and mutation based Quirks which were by far his speciality as the blood based hero Vlad King. In fact, there were so many that had passed this year she was surprised that some had to be put in Aizawa's class. His Erasure Quirk was best suited to powerful emitter Quirks, which did make up a large majority of his first 17 students. But this year there was such a great influx it had to be done. She smiled briefly when she saw that Iida Tensei’s younger brother had passed, she remembered him being a delight who would often escort injured students to the infirmary to her. A loud cough from the principal brought her out of her thoughts, although it was obviously calming the other staff members regarding the conversation after the presentation of Aizawa's 17th student. The way Nedzu's eyes gleamed at her made a shiver run down her spine, just what was he planning now?
“I think you'll find this one rather interesting, Shuuzenji.” The principal’s snout was turned upwards into the most smug grin she had ever seen in her life. “Class 1-A, seat 18. Midoriya Izuku.”
The projected screen changed from the previous student to an image of a shorter boy with curly green hair and two very prominent wings protruding from his head. They weren't long enough to be used for flight, in her opinion, but it was a rather unique mutation to have. She frowned, however, not immediately realising why he would be interesting to her. Would he be like Togata and Toshinori, constantly in her office with injuries galore? Her confused expression made Nedzu grin wider.
“Why would I be interested?” She asked cautiously, knowing that rat for longer than anyone. If Nedzu was making a song and dance about one student, then his Quirk had to be something powerful that slipped the Hero Commission's grasp.
“Quirk: Medic Gunner.” He replied, still sporting that same smug grin as before. The room went silent. Even Toshinori, who had been muttering to himself, had completely shut up. Chiyo was shocked as well, healing Quirks were incredibly rare and one of the few to not be affected by genetics. The Commission had usually snapped up all of the best healing Quirks they could find the moment the kids were registered.
“A healing Quirk?” Toshinori spluttered, dabbing the excess blood away with his handkerchief.
“Oh yes and a rather powerful one too. No drawbacks to the user nor the one being healed from what the report says.” Nedzu clarified after taking a sip from his tea cup. Now that really did peak Chiyo’s interest. The other members of staff started to mutter amongst themselves at that revelation. Healing Quirks almost always came with a drawback. Chiyo's own Quirk took the energy of the person to speed up their healing process. If not the person being healed but the Quirk's wielder themself would face consequences.
“There has to be a drawback,” Aizawa broke the muttering with what Chiyo saw as a valid point. “It comes with the healing territory. If it doesn't then how hasn't the Commission jumped on this kid already?”
“The only drawback is a cooldown time between being able to use aspects of the Quirk,” Nedzu read from the file in front of him. “But it isn't too long, not for something of this variety. That and for the Quirk to work the user needs access to fresh air. Apparently the details of the Quirk registration were changed shortly before his UA application was submitted, the name changed from Sharpshooter to Medic Gunner and the healing aspect was added.”
“His parent or guardian changed it just before the UA application, probably knowing that if he was accepted it would stop the Commission from taking their child.” Chiyo realised, having remembered an old friend of hers doing the same a long time ago. “And it would keep villains from coming after Midoriya. Healing Quirks are rarer than the chances of becoming the number one hero, anyone would try and take that child if they knew the full truth.”
“Exactly!” The Principal was still grinning, never a good sign. “Quite clever of them. What I think you'll all find even more interesting is a little demonstration, wouldn't you say?” Oh right, the CCTV clips made of each student using their Quirk. Whilst the main cameras stationed in the centre of the fake city and at the Zero Pointer's spawn were the ones focused on during the examination, there were cameras all over the arena for students who stuck to the edges or wisely didn't stay with the majority of the group for long.
The clip started with an image of three examinees, all covered in various stages of injury as three robots closed in around them. They were trying to use their Quirks, all various types of offensive emitters of elemental nature, but all three were exhausted to the point that their powers just flickered out upon ignition. The examinees squealed and yelled for help, with no one in sight in the camera's view… until it picked up on something from the darkened alleyway near to the open area of the fake city.
It looked like the nozzle of a gun, maybe some kind of rifle. It was then she realised that the Medic Gunner name for Midoriya's Quirk was rather literal. The small part of his weapon that peaked out remained steady, waiting for the optimal time as the bots continued their advance on the downed examinees. Without warning, the nozzle fired three bolts of blue energy, with a slight angle deviation between them. As the three other entrants were on the ground, the bolts flew over their heads and struck right through the reinforced steal the support department made the examination robots out of. A hole was blasted through the robots, metal melted to the point of crumbling at the edges. What the staff took note of was the fact the shots weren't random, but had been aimed directly at the heart space of bots. That was where Maijima had placed the core processing units for the pointed robots this year, meaning with those destroyed there was no way the hunks of metal and wires would work.
In the time it had taken for Chiyo to glance at Snipe, who had leant in closer to the screen in interest, Midoriya had run out from his cover over to the injured examinees. What he was holding was no type of gun she had ever seen. It was almost like a staff, with an incredibly decorated top including wing-like attachments that matched the wings on his head. The only thing clueing them into the fact it was a gun was the trigger built in at the lower third.
“You three okay?” Midoriya asked when he reached the down examinees, carrying his weapon like it was no issue.
“We're a bit beat up but we'll be fine.” The least injured of the three tried to reassure him, wincing at the movement of their arm. Chiyo scoffed at the exact same time Midoriya huffed, his wings fluffing up in indignation. So they were either a mutation he was born with or a part of his Quirk, he was seemingly able to control their movement.
“Yeah and I’m the Queen of England,” Midoriya sassed back, causing a chortle from some of the more immature members of staff. “Just lemme heal you a sec, you should be right as rain afterwards.” He turned his weapon so the decoration was facing towards the three. Surprisingly it began spinning, his wings expanding outwards as he closed his eyes in concentration. A few seconds later, he swung the gun staff as if trying to hit a baseball. Instead of whacking the other examinees, a cloud of green mist enveloped them, transparent enough to show the staff the effect it was having. Cuts and scratches closed up immediately, bruises vanished from their limbs. Even burns receded leaving unblemished skin in their place.
“Holy shit!” Another examinee swore, watching green sparkles settle on their arm and work their magic. “You have a gun and a healing Quirk?! Lucky.”
“Yes, yes you are,” Midoriya replied, wiping the sweat from his brow. The decorative part of the staff had stopped spinning and his wings had returned to their semi folded position, after having ruffled for a brief moment. “That was just a basic heal though, any internal injuries I need to know of?”
“I think I've twisted my ankle,” the final examinee whispered, wincing as they touched a swelling mass under their sock. “I can't walk on it.”
“OK, don't move, I've got just the trick.” Midoriya twisted his weapon once more and slammed the nozzle on the ground as he yelled something the camera didn't pick up. From the point of impact, a green circle expanded outwards with a diameter of roughly 3 to 4 metres, the same kind of mist as before rising from where the circle covered the ground. The three unnamed kids let out a sign of relief as their aches and pains seemingly left their bodies completely, only leaving the tired expressions of Quirk overuse behind. Chiyo's eyebrow raised as she watched the swollen mass on the last examinee's ankle reduce into nothing instantly. She could now see why Nedzu was so excited to introduce her to this student.
Whilst the other examinees had already let their guard down, basking in the healing mist that surrounded them, Midoriya remained alert. His head wings twitched with even the slightest breeze that brushed past them. The camera picked up on two robots rolling towards the edge of the roof above them, their arm cannons preparing to fire at the four of them. Without a word, Midoriya kicked the nozzle of his gun staff, using his shoulder as a pivot so it was pointing directly at the oncoming bots. With two clicks of the trigger and a whirl from the spinning decorations, the bots fell backwards. Once again being hit directly where their central core processor was. That was an additional five points to Midoriya there. The healing circle faded, the mist it produced evaporated into the air as the other examinees watched in a mixture of horror and awe.
“Still tired?” Midoriya asked nonchalantly, as if he hadn't just pulled off a move that had made Snipe whistle proudly.
“Uh huh.” The most injured examinee nodded dumbly.
“Right. Power Ring!” The boy flipped his staff once more, slamming the nozzle into the ground like it was no big deal. Instead of a green circle, a red ring formed from the point of impact and spread out over a slightly shorter circumference. As with the one before it, a red mist rose from the circle. Within seconds the three other examinees no longer had tired, pained expressions. They seemed full of energy, standing up and firing off their Quirks for added effect.
“Holy shit, thanks a bunch man!” One of them cheered.
“How did you do it?” The most injured one asked. Midoriya shrugged, seemingly unsummoning his weapon out of thin air with a wave of his hand.
“I'm good at this whole healing thing. Whilst we're on the topic of what we're good at… the exam? Points? Time ticking down? You'd better get a move on.”
“You're right, thanks again!” The other examinees rushed off back into the fray, leaving Midoriya behind as the circle finally dissipated. The green haired boy groaned, rolling his eyes.
“They really aren't gonna take any caution with this, they could have gotten seriously hurt for sparks sake.” Without stopping his rant, the boy summoned his weapon again, slung it over his shoulder and fired a single time. The camera turned upon hearing the thud of yet another robot collapsing to the floor, a hole blasted right through its processing unit. “Quirks don't make you invincible, even in controlled conditions.” He manoeuvred his gun staff into a more comfortable position with his other hand rising to hold the barrel. “Right, back into the fray.” With that he ran out of the camera's sight, ending the clip.
The room remained in silence after seeing that. Nedzu was still smirking, looking more like a cat than a possible mouse. Kan raised his hand to make a point.
“Can he be in my class instead?”
“No, he’s been put in my class,” Aizawa was glaring at Kan very intensely, if looks could kill the blood Quirk hero would be six feet under right now. “Considering my other students, it's only logical.”
“HA!” Kan snorted at the idea. “You'll just expel them all anyway so what's the point?” Chiyo decided to put a stop to their potential childish argument by being even more childish, she was the youthful hero for a reason.
“Actually, gentlemen, I think you'll find he's my student,” she reminded them, sporting a smug grin of her own. “He'll have plenty of time to get to know both of your classes knowing how injury prone those Hero Course students are.”
“She is right,” Nedzu agreed. “As the first healer in a long time, he will be under the mentorship of Shuuzenji. The class that had the space happened to be Class 1-A as we had an increase in mutation and transformation Quirks this year, which is your specialty, Kan. But don't worry, Class 1-B will have time to get to know Midoriya as well, as will all classes across all the years.”
“Traumatise the poor boy sooner, why don't you?” Kayama chuckled. Her smile quickly faded into a more serious expression. “Although another healer would be incredibly helpful for the school, even if they are a student. He'd be able to improve his Quirk whilst allowing other students to be healed without having a huge energy drain. The Sports Festivals this year won't be as affected.”
“Is that all you can think about?” Yamada asked her, rolling his eyes when she winked back smiling once more.
“You know I love being in the spotlight, darling!”
“Does he know about this yet?” Ishiyami inquired, looking up from the paper file in front of him. “It'll be a lot of extra stress, especially for a first year.”
“The letters have yet to be sent out,” Nedzu replied. “But since all the recordings have been made there is no chance to change it…”
“I'll tell him.” Chiyo offered, looking down at the file of her potential new mentee. “Give him his letter at the same time. Explain what we're offering, what it takes and…” she paused. “... this is what you planned from the start wasn't it?”
Nedzu simply laughed in response.
“Whatever could you mean, my old friend?” He asked with a fake innocent expression. “Although I would rather you meet him personally before he goes to accept the offer. You may not work well together, or he may not wish to follow the healing aspect of his Quirk.”
“That is up to Midoriya then, isn't it?” She smirked back.
“Well, that seems to be decided,” Nedzu clapped his hands together, not having lost his grin the entire time. “We still have two more students to review and then we need to get these letters out!” The entire workforce of UA high school let out a collective groan. “Fine, there will be a half hour refreshment and toilet break and then we will continue this meeting. It must be done.”
A few days later, Chiyo found herself outside a small apartment on the fifth floor. It seemed quaint, not the type of home she was used to seeing other healing Quirk users reside in. Her expectations for her potential mentee rose a few levels. Without further delay she used her cane to press the doorbell, smiling upon hearing a frantic cry of affirmation from the inside. A few seconds later, the door swung open to reveal the exact same boy from the footage. He wasn't in a simple green and black tracksuit this time, instead wearing a t-shirt with the kanji for dress suit written on it and a pair of sweatpants. Chiyo almost laughed at how terrible his taste in clothing was, almost. It was obvious Midoriya knew who she was, his wide eyes and sudden stutters were signs of internal fanboying. She felt strangely flattered, it wasn't often people recognised her.
“Good evening, Midoriya Izuku,” she spoke softly and politely, trying to show the boy she wasn't someone to be feared or revered. “I'm here regarding your application to UA, may I please come in?”
“Umm… I mean yes, of course, absolutely!” He was completely flustered, the poor dear. Chiyo managed to keep her composure regardless. “Please do come in.”
“Thank you.” She replied, walking through the doorway past the teenager who was covering his face with his head wings. Chiyo had wondered if they were just a side mutation, but he had full control over them, good to know.
“Who is it, Izuku?” A female voice called out from down the corridor in the main living space, from the small the heroine could tell the family had been cooking before her sudden intrusion.
“It's Recovery Girl, mum,” Midoriya answered. “I think she's here regarding my UA application.” There was a shriek, a clatter and a sudden increase of scurrying movement. Ah, so that's where the skittishness came from.
“I'll be there in a minute, please show her to the sofa!” His mother’s voice was a few octaves higher, the clattering getting louder as she rushed to clear up after the mess she just made. By the time Chiyo was seated and offered tea, the kitchen was sparkling and a skittish woman who also had green hair had come to join them. Noticeably she did not have the same head wings her son did. The three of them sat in a somewhat uncomfortable silence sipping tea before Chiyo cleared her throat.
“I have a feeling you both know why I'm here,” she stated plainly, not wanting to beat around the bush. “It isn't often UA gets an applicant with a healing Quirk such as your son's, Mrs…”
“Midoriya Inko,” the taller green haired woman introduced herself, giving the rescue heroine a seated bow. “But please call me Inko, Recovery Girl.”
“Only if you call me Shuuzenji in return,” the older woman took another sip of her tea. “Or Chiyo if you prefer. Either is fine.”
“Chiyo then,” Inko, despite her skittishness, did seem to be a welcoming and kind person. “However I do have a question, I thought the response from UA came by letter?”
“It does,” Chiyo confirmed, pulling said letter out of her coat pocket. “But like I said, your son is a special case. Healing Quirks aren't as common as they used to be.”
“The Quirk doctor that we saw said the same thing,” Inko was clutching her teacup tightly. “She agreed to keep the healing aspect of Izuku’s Quirk private until he entered high school. It's part of a new government initiative to keep children with healing Quirks safe from villains.”
“That was incredibly smart of you to do so, the staff at UA said the same thing,” Chiyo agreed, noting the younger Midoriya’s excitement at the mention of the other members of the UA faculty. “Well, I'd hate to spoil what is written on the letter but that is why I'm here.”
“I passed?” Midoriya questioned, a shocked expression adorning his face.
“With 21 villain points and 35 rescue points? I should hope so!” Chiyo huffed. She stopped speaking to let the family celebrate the good news, and by celebration that meant the two bursting into waterfalls of tears. Whilst the near tidal amount of tears did unnerve her slightly, she felt happy to be the bearer of such good news. From the brief interaction so far, she had a feeling the Midoriyas were chronic worriers.
“Yes, congratulations Midoriya,” Chiyo smiled, clapping lightly as the waterworks died down. “That is not actually why I'm here.”
“I'm guessing it has something to do with Izuku's Quirk, right?” Inko asked, hugging her son closer to her.
“Exactly.” Chiyo replied. “Healing Quirks have been getting rarer as time has passed, to the point the last UA student with a healing Quirk was forty years ago, just after I had gained my professional licence. There is no department at UA that helps train healing Quirks, the Hero Course which you have been accepted on is not equipped to deal with it either.”
“It's okay,” Midoriya had a sad smile, as if he was used to the fact that an entire part of his Quirk wasn't catered for training wise. “I'll just train even harder to keep up with everyone and make my healing even better. Healing isn't all my Quirk does, right?”
“Let me finish,” Chiyo huffed, rolling her eyes fondly when the boy bowed multiple times in quick succession to her as an apology. “Whilst yes, there is no department to cater to your specific type of Quirk, there are other options. Such as becoming my mentee and learning all you need to become a successful rescue hero.”
“Really?” The boy asked after a long few moments of silence.
“Yes. There is more to being a healing rescue hero than just having a healing Quirk,” the older hero found herself smiling as Midoriya clung onto her every word. “You need to learn general non-Quirk based healing, professional bedside manner, how to boss around injured Pro Heroes…”
“Wait, you can do that?” Inko had a raised eyebrow, giving her gleeful son a side glare at his giddiness to Chiyo’s last point.
“If it is in their best medical interests, then yes, we can.” She was quite proud of that one, even Endeavor feared her when she was on a healer war path. “Once a villain is beaten, a healer is the highest ranking on a scene. Multiple lives are in our hands, not just civilians and heroes but villains as well.” Chiyo took a deep breath in. “So before I continue I'd like to ask, why do you want to be a hero?”
“That's easy,” Midoriya answered without a single moment of hesitation. “To help people.”
“That is rather broad, young man.” She said with narrowed eyes.
“It's meant to be,” Midoriya smiled, looking down at his knees as if remembering something fondly. “I don't care about the rankings or popularity contests, I just wanna help as many people as I can. I know it's cheesy but I wanna be like All Might in the way he makes people smile and feel safe whenever he's there.”
“All Might, huh?” Chiyo stroked her chin, deep in thought. “That is really a high goal, Midoriya, one that will be incredibly hard to accomplish.”
“Yeah, but I know I won't ever be like All Might,” the boy rubbed the back of his head nervously. “My Quirk does have an offensive aspect but that isn't the main focus of it. No, what I mean is I want people to see me there and feel safe knowing that they won't be in pain or be hurting anymore. That's what I mean when I say I want to be a hero to help people.” Chiyo couldn't hide her smile even if she wanted to.
“I see,” she said softly, clutching the top of her cane with both of her hands. “Well, I think I'll have no regrets in asking for your place as my personal apprentice during your years at UA. That is, if that is what you want from your time in high school.” Both Midoriyas looked at her as if she had hung the moon in front of them.
“You truly mean it?” Inko asked shakily, wrapping her arms around her son who was buzzing with excitement. “You want to mentor my son?”
“I've seen his Quirk in action from the entrance exams,” Chiyo chuckled, not at all phased by her future apprentice's reaction to her invitation. “A healing Quirk with no drawback to the person being healed is always wanted in the hero industry and the HPSC often takes the best healing Quirks for their use…”
“My husband and I did fear that,” Inko admitted. “Then when they never showed and Hisashi was promoted and moved to a London branch, I guessed it was because we registered only the offensive part.”
“That is probably why. A gun Quirk with a cooldown isn't the kind of Quirk they would be after,” she nodded, remembering the kinds of children the Commission usually recruited at a young age. “However it does mean we do have a lot more to work on considering all findings on your Quirk would have been self made and not in a controlled environment. That is what UA and I am for. With your hard work and effort, you can be an amazing healer hero, Midoriya Izuku. What do you say?”
“Yes!” The younger Midoriya said with glittering eyes and the biggest smile Chiyo had seen in her life on his face. “I'd love to be your apprentice, Recovery Girl! I promise to do my best, I'm in your hands.”
“Glad to hear it,” Chiyo was rather excited herself, not that she outwardly showed it. When she had agreed to become UA’s nurse, a part of her wished to be able to help the next generation of healers grow into incredible heroes. Now after many years, she was finally getting her chance. “You'll find enclosed with your letter a basic equipment list plus a form for your hero costume… please tell me you've planned for a hero costume?”
“Ever since I was a kid!” Midoriya was even more excited now. “It's basic but I'm trying to be comfortable, not flashy.”
“Good, but please add a red cross and a location for a white band to signal your status as a healing hero,” she sighed loudly. “It's a recent requirement, you see. That way heroes, civilians and villains alike can see you are there only to heal and not to fight.”
“Oh that'll be an easy change.” He muttered. “I don't really have much in the way of pattern work.”
“Just make sure it is sorted by the end of the month, they need to give the design to support agencies to get it made before the start of the school year.” Chiyo nodded. “As well as that, I am assigning you pre-apprenticeship homework.”
“What kind of homework?” Inko inquired, obviously having had an interest in her child's education all his life. If anything, his exam results showed Midoriya was a highly intelligent boy.
“I would like for you to start studying body anatomy and non-Quirk based healing techniques.” The healer heroine stated, pulling an additional piece of paper from her handbag that was not a part of the original letter. “Here's a list of the ones I would recommend starting off with. I'll properly teach you once you start in the next academic year.” The Midoriyas took the paper from her and began to read through, nodding occasionally at some of the entries.
“Is there anything else I need to do?” Her protege asked.
“Keep up your good grades and I’ll see you at UA next year.” Chiyo took that opportunity to stand up off the sofa. “I shall leave you two to celebrate. Once again, congratulations on getting into UA Midoriya, and I look forward to teaching you personally in April.”
“Thank you, Recovery Girl.” The boy said with tears starting to well up in his eyes.
“Please, call me Shuuzenji or Ma'am, I will be your teacher after all,” she replied with a soft smile. “And you worked hard for this, congratulate yourself. I will see you at UA, Midoriya.” As Chiyo had gotten up and turned the corner, she heard the unleashing of a well of crying from both the green haired family members. Letting herself out, she felt grateful that her new student had such a supportive parent backing his dreams. She hadn't gotten very far until a familiar voice cried out from inside the apartment.
“Wait, my homeroom teacher is going to be Eraserhead?!”
Chiyo chuckled and continued walking away, this year was going to be fun indeed.