Chapter Text
Izuku had allowed his moms obsessive hovering when he got home from school. She had even gotten off of work early to come home and be with him. He couldn’t deny her the chance to make sure he was okay for herself.
“Mom,” He said, taking her hands away from where she was holding his face. “I promise I’ll be more careful with my wings. I plan to keep them tucked when not in use in case something like the breach happened again. And when in training I’ll try and stay back, my quirk and weapons are long range remember?”
Truth be told he would never be comfortable sitting back and letting his champion do all the work, but he could tuck his wings when fighting.
Problem solved!
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the idea of you fighting villains sweetie.” She sighed. “I think I’ll just have to get used to worrying for you.”
He gave her a small laugh, “No villains yet mom. Just practice in a staged environment for now.”
She sighed in relief at that.
They spent the evening watching one of the earliest All Might documentaries Izuku had ever found. It was an American production, made right after he returned to Japan.
Izuku pointed out the differences in the pro's old fighting style and agreed with the commentary's analysis. He had learned English ages ago, and his mom had learned it with him.
Inko could hold a casual conversation and Izuku was fluent, with barely even an accent. They had discussed a trip to America before but Inko never had time off of work. Izuku hoped they could take it before he started being a hero full time, or he’d be too busy too.
Maybe after he got his provisional license he could start saving up? If he found a mentor willing to let him work with them for pay that could work too?
He wanted his mom to have her vacation before they had no time.
+x+
Each morning Izuku kissed his mom goodbye as he left for school. He met Shouto and Momo at the train station and soon he was at his desk, greeting Uraraka and Iida as class began.
Today was most likely a hero training day, as they allegedly alternated days on and days off for students who got injured (see: Izuku) and needed any extra recovery time.
Izuku had already put his wings away before crossing the threshold of the school, it had been fixed before the day had been out after the press got in, and Izuku had noticed there seemed to be upgrades of security all around.
Mr. Aizawa addressed them after the bell finished ringing, he looked as exhausted as ever.
“Today’s training will be a little different.” He told them. “It will be held at a location off the main campus. And All Might, myself, and another faculty member will be supervising.”
Izuku filled that bit of information away for later. All Might was the heroics teacher, so no wonder he’d be there. Whichever member of staff was incharge of the facility would no doubt be there too. Those both made sense.
Was Mr. Aizawa there to make sure no one went too far again? Or was this another added security?
Sero raised his hand, “Sir, what kind of training is it?”
Mr. Aizawa took a deep breath, not in excitement, or even annoyance. Just a bone weary tiredness. “Rescue training. Shipwrecks, Earthquakes, all kinds of natural disasters.”
There was a murmuring of anticipation among the students.
“Disasters, this is gonna be one hell of a workout…” Kaminari siad, but his face gave away hsi excitement.
“Totally!” Ashido agreed. “This is gonna be tough!”
They had learned to not use the words ‘cool,’ ‘fun,’ or ‘exciting,’ around Mr. Aizawa, and tended to substitute them for words like, ‘challenging,’ ‘tough,’ or ‘intense.’ Or in Kirishima’s case-
“This is the kind of stuff that separates Boy from Man!”
‘Manly.’
Izuku wondered if he’d be able to make a champion. Usually he didn’t feel the pull to make a champion unless there was a high concentration of emotion or as Izuku liked to call it Potential from someone.
Sometimes it was fear or anger, but sometimes it was determination, which is what he had picked up on in Uraraka.
The higher the potential, the stronger the Champion.
“You have your choice on what you want to wear for this, just keep in mind you haven’t had much practice with your hero suits yet.” Mr. Aizawa pressed the same button that All Might had used and their costume cubbies opened up.
Izuku’s had been cleaned thankfully and no longer smelled of burning.
He heard a loud squeal and turned around to see Momo handing Hagakure a box.
“Our mentor managed to get you a new suit,” Momo was explaining. “It’s not super fancy since she didn’t know what you’d want, but it’s better than the ‘outfit’ you had before.”
The malice that was packed into the word ‘outfit’ was astounding.
Izuku repeated his routine of changing into his base costume before nodding to Noooroo. “Wings Rise!”
He double checked his knives were in place and took his cane.
It was an almost magnetic quality to it and it stuck to his back so he didn’t always have to carry it.
The butterflies that followed him everywhere had multiplied with his transformation. And they appeared to be investigating his classmates.
Hagakure was showing off the new suit she’d been given.
She had the same gloves and boots the school had provided, but now she had a loose jacket made of a sheer pearlescent fabric. Her undershirt and leggings were gray with a streak of the same pearly fabric down the seams.
Even though it looked more like a casual outfit than a pro heroes suit, it was leaps and bounds better than before.
“And check this out!” She showed off a bulky watch-like device on the wrist.
With a press of a button, all that was left were her gloves and boots.
“The legs are kind of like footy pajamas!” She explained. “And the top goes to my thumb. So I can take the gloves off without risking my feet and hands either. My head’s still out- but that’s just better motivation to not be seen coming!”
Izuku concluded, not for the first time, that their mentor was the best.
“Thanks again for this Momo!” Hagakure told the dark haired girl.
Momo wasn’t looking at Hagakure anymore. Instead she was looking at Uraraka talking to Iida, or more accurately she was looking at the person looking at Uraraka.
Izuku was sure he could see steam coming off of her as she glared down at Mineta. Izuku had heard about her spectacular throw of the short boy for his ballsy move. Apparently the boy hadn’t learned his lesson.
Whatever Momo was going to do however, Shoto beat her to the punch.
“Hey.” He said, causing Mineta to slowly look up at him in what could be only described as pure terror. “If I catch you looking at any of the girls like that again? You’ll be lucky if you thaw out by next school year.”
Mineta nodded frantically, making excuses before going to look at the road and nothing, and nobody, else until the bus arrived.
“Alright everyone, make a line and watch your step as you get on.” Izuku said he and Momo stood at the door of the bus.
He knew everyone was here intellectually that everyone was here but he still counted 18, 19 with Momo, before summoning all his butterflies back into his cane and getting on himself.
The bus had open seating which meant everyone was dispersed throughout the vehicle. Momo was sitting near the front, with Shoto beside her.
Izuku found an open seat among the rest of the class, seeing as the other option was to sit next to Bakugou.
“Excellent direction Midoriya,” Iida nodded. If there was one thing he liked, it was order.
“Hey, I have a question.” Asui, who was the person to Izuku’s left, said looking to the greenette.
“Hmm, what is it Asui?” He asked, wondering if this was going to be a class rep thing or a personal thing.
Evidently it was a personal thing as she followed it up with, “Call me Tsu, and what is your quirk anyway?”
Izuku made several faces, ranging from unease, to consideration, to frustration. “It’s kinda hard to explain. For lack of a better title I call it Butterfly Champion. I have my patron butterflies which are an extension of my quirk, though they sorta have a mind of their own. And my wings of course. But I can pour some of my own power into them and ‘Enhance,’ for lack of a better word, someone else into a Champion with either an addition to their quirk or a new power altogether.”
He let a single butterfly out of his cane and let it land on his palm. “It sort of creates a bond between me and my champion so I can talk to them, and to some extent see through their eyes.”
“Woah,” Sero said, looking at the glowing insect Izuku held carefully. “What’s that like?”
The question was directed at Uraraka who pondered as everyone turned to her. Even Izuku was interested, as he had no idea what being a Champion felt like.
“It’s a little hard to describe?” She admitted after a moment. The butterfly in Izuku’s hand took off to land on hers instead. “I remember Midoriya explaining everything to me and asking me if I wanted to be a Champion. And when I accepted the butterfly- it was like- like- oh how to describe it.”
She thought a bit longer.
“Like when someone you look up to tells you your dreams are possible?” She said, “Or the first rays of the sun in the morning, it’s like a whole world of possibilities open up to you. And then I could just hear Izuku telling me what we needed to do, even when he wasn’t near me. Like we were on the phone or more like a one sided video call?”
Izuku thought Nooroo would approve of the poetic description.
“It’s a little draining-” Izuku admitted, “To give so much of your energy to someone else. But that will get easier as I get used to it. I’ll build up enough Stamina I can make multiple Champions!”
“Damn, that’s like the most hero-ey quirk I’ve ever heard of.” Kirichima sighed. “I wouldn’t trade my hardening quirk for the world, it’s great for a lot of things. But it’s not the most impressive, not this kinda stuff that makes a pro.”
Izuku’s eyes widened, “Are you kidding, you're awesome! Your pro material for sure!”
He laughed, “You really think so? Seems like it’s easier to be a big name pro hero when you have a flashy quirk?”
“I didn’t say anything about your quirk,” Izuku tilted his head in confusion.
Kirishima was shocked for a moment before turning bright as his hair as Izuku continued.
“You’re enthusiastic, you're nice, you’ve got a shining personality. Plus I got to watch the battle trials while I was with Recovery Girl getting my wings fixed, you’re a team player too!” Izuku listed off. “I mean, a quirk can affect plenty but that’s not what makes a hero. Mr. Azawa fights mostly quirkless-”
Their teacher didn’t look around or say anything.
“And Momo passed her exam without using her quirk at all.” Izuku concluded.
Momo nodded very proudly, “The powers one gives themselves are far more valuable than the powers you're born with.”
“What makes a good hero is determination, practice, a strong moral compass, and a certain willingness to stick your nose where it doesn’t always belong.” Izuku explained, “That’s how my mentor explained it. Who you are makes you powerful, power doesn’t make you who you are.”
Kirishima looked like he had been given a puppy with the grin he wore.
“I don’t know everyone here really well, yet-” Izuku admitted. “But I’m pretty positive we’ve all got the making of heroes, if we put your minds to it.”
His gaze brushed over the back of Bakugou’s head as he said it. He couldn’t deny Bakugou’s determination, his practice, or his willingness to butt in where he’s unwanted. He had plenty of potential to be a hero. A good one though-
“We’re here.” Mr. Aizawa announced and sure enough they were approaching a huge building.
Izuku peaked out the window and saw a few other buildings nearby, no doubt this was a branch campus of sorts for UA, seeing as he saw a building labeled ‘Testing Labs’ that was probably used to test gear made by the Support students.
However it appeared they were the only ones here today.
They all unloaded and Izuku took a silent head count again as they entered the huge building before them. Its roof was almost all glass, meaning the sunlight still poured in making it feel like they weren’t indoors at all.
Mr. Aizawa walked ahead of them and joined.
Uraraka gasped, “That’s Thirteen!”
Izuku couldn’t help but match her excitement. Who better to help them with rescue training than one of the best of the best when it came to rescue heroes?
“Hello Everyone!” She greeted the group eagerly, “I’ve been waiting for you, I can’t wait to show you what we’ve got!”
She gestured to the sprawling sets down the stairs. There was a fountain in the middle making the whole building look like a pinwheel in layout. If that pinwheel was the size of a city that it-
“Shipwreck, Landslide, Fire, Windstorm? We’ve got simulations for both natural and unnatural disasters!” There was a clear pride in Thirteen's voice. “I designed this facility to help you prepare you for different types of disasters. Welcome to the ‘Unforeseen Simulation Joint!’ But you can call it the USJ!”
“Oh, like Universal Studios Japan…” Several people said under their breath. Surely with the name and theme-park like layout it was intentional?
Mr. Aizawa had approached his fellow pro and they turned away from the class to talk quietly for a moment.
Whatever he asked Thirteen held up four fingers in response.
Izuku could only guess it had something to do with the absent teacher they had been told would be here. He wondered what held All Might up?
His eyes drifted from the teachers back to the facility, for a second, he thought there was a trick of the light. Because he saw something in the fountain, like a bird or a bit of smoke or something?
No, not in the fountain, in front of the fountain.
“Ah!” Izuku said, startling his classmates and teachers who followed his gaze.
The flicker grew until it was taller than the fountain which was sputtering now. A wall of black and purple mist was now in the middle of the USJ.
And someone was stepping out of it.
“Is this part of the training?” Kirishima asked nervously.
“Stand Back!” Mr. Aizawa shouted, already putting on his goggles. “This isn’t part of the test.”
“Those are Real Villains.”