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Morning rain hit the windows of U.A. High. Izuku Midoriya sat near the back of the bus and watched drops crawl down the glass. His green curls pressed against his forehead. He held his notebook close to his chest.
Katsuki Bakugo sat three rows ahead. Loud as always. Angry as always.
Ochaco Uraraka waved from the front seat.
“Deku! Hurry up before Aizawa gets mad again!”
Izuku smiled.
“Right! Sorry!”
He moved down the aisle and dropped into the empty seat beside Tenya Iida.
Iida adjusted his glasses.
“You arrived three minutes late. Your schedule needs better structure.”
“I know. Sorry.”
The bus rolled through the gates of U.A. Students talked over each other. Kaminari laughed at one of Mina Ashido’s jokes. Todoroki stared out the window in silence.
Aizawa stood near the entrance once they entered the building.
“Training exercise today,” he said. “Full combat. Pair work. Do not destroy the city block this time.”
Bakugo scoffed.
“Tell that icyhot.”
Todoroki ignored him.
Izuku opened his notebook.
“Pair work means strategy balance. Close range support mixed with mobility. Maybe rescue elements too if Present Mic set up civilians.”
Bakugo walked past him.
“Quit muttering, nerd.”
Izuku flinched.
Ochaco frowned.
“You don’t need to snap at him every day.”
Bakugo shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Tch.”
The class entered Training Ground Gamma. Tall fake buildings towered overhead. Cement roads split between narrow alleys.
Present Mic shouted from a control booth.
“WELCOME TO TODAY’S MATCH!”
The class groaned.
Aizawa looked exhausted already.
“Pairs are random. Midoriya and Shinso. Bakugo and Kirishima. Uraraka and Asui.”
Shinso walked toward Izuku.
“Looks like we work together today.”
Izuku smiled.
“Yeah. We’ll do great.”
A siren rang through the training ground.
“Villains hidden inside sector three,” Present Mic yelled. “Capture the targets and rescue civilians. Begin!”
Izuku sprinted forward beside Shinso. Dust kicked beneath their shoes.
“You take crowd control,” Izuku said. “I’ll focus movement and extraction.”
“Works for me.”
The fake city felt too quiet.
Izuku slowed near a dark alley.
“Something feels wrong.”
A pulse slammed into the wall beside his head.
Purple smoke burst across the street.
A masked figure leapt from the shadows.
“Surprise attack!”
The villain fired glowing needles from his palms.
Izuku dodged left.
“Shinso!”
Shinso wrapped the villain with his capture cloth.
The villain laughed.
“Too slow.”
One glowing needle struck Izuku near the neck.
Pain rushed through his body.
He stumbled backward.
“Midoriya!”
The villain broke free and vanished into smoke.
Aizawa dropped from a rooftop seconds later.
“What happened?”
Izuku pressed a hand against his neck.
“A quirk attack. I think.”
His skin felt hot.
Too hot.
Shinso stared.
“Uh. Midoriya. Your hair.”
Izuku blinked.
“What?”
Aizawa’s tired eyes narrowed.
“Your hair turned yellow.”
Silence.
Izuku grabbed a piece of his curls.
Bright yellow.
“WHAT?!”
Present Mic nearly screamed through the speaker.
“YO! MIDORIYA LOOKS LIKE A HIGHLIGHTER!”
Aizawa sighed.
“Recovery Girl. Now.”
Hours later, Izuku sat inside the nurse’s office while Recovery Girl checked his pulse.
“No poison. No damage.”
“Then why is my hair yellow?”
Recovery Girl hummed.
“Emotion trigger quirk. Rare type. Your hair responds to emotional shifts.”
Izuku froze.
“Emotion shifts?”
“Happy, sad, angry, scared. Your body displays each feeling through color.” She pointed toward his head. “Yellow means happiness.”
Izuku dropped his face into his hands.
“No no no no.”
Aizawa leaned against the wall.
“How long does the effect last?”
“A few days. Maybe longer.” Recovery Girl shrugged. “Depends on the quirk strength.”
Izuku felt dread crawl through his stomach.
His hair flashed black.
Recovery Girl nodded.
“Fear.”
“This is awful,” Izuku whispered.
Black.
Aizawa stared at him.
“Useful for honesty training.”
“Aizawa sensei!”
The teacher turned away.
“Class starts again tomorrow.”
The next morning felt worse.
Izuku stood outside the dorm bathroom mirror.
Green.
Normal.
He sighed with relief.
Then a knock hit the door.
“Deku? Breakfast!” Ochaco called.
His stomach jumped.
Hair flashed pink.
Izuku stared in horror.
“No.”
Another knock.
“You okay?”
Pink deepened.
Izuku shoved a hood over his head.
“Coming!”
The common room buzzed with noise.
Kirishima argued with Bakugo about spicy noodles. Mina danced beside the television.
Izuku slipped toward the kitchen.
Mina spotted him first.
“Why are you hiding under a hoodie indoors?”
“Cold.”
Bakugo snorted.
“Liar.”
Izuku’s hair flashed red under the hood.
Silence fell.
Mina pointed.
“Did your hood glow?”
“Nope!”
Blue.
Iida adjusted his glasses.
“Midoriya. Your emotional state appears unstable.”
“I KNOW!”
Bright red.
Kaminari burst out laughing.
“Wait. Wait. Is your hair changing colors?”
Everyone stared.
Izuku slowly pulled the hood down.
Gasps spread through the room.
His curls glowed red.
Mina rushed forward.
“THAT IS SO COOL!”
“Please don’t look at me.”
Blue.
Ochaco blinked.
“Blue means sad?”
“How did you know?”
“Guess.”
Pink flashed across his head once she smiled.
The room went silent again.
Ochaco’s face turned bright red.
Mina screamed.
“OH MY GOD!”
Izuku slapped both hands over his hair.
“THIS IS A NIGHTMARE!”
Black.
Kaminari fell onto the couch laughing.
“Bro lost every secret in one day!”
Bakugo rolled his eyes.
“Pathetic.”
Red flickered through Izuku’s curls.
Bakugo paused.
“What color means anger?”
Nobody answered.
Training turned brutal after word spread through class.
Every reaction showed across Izuku’s head.
Embarrassment turned pink.
Fear turned black.
Anger turned red.
Sadness turned blue.
Calm turned green.
Excitement turned orange.
The worst part involved how fast the changes hit.
No warning.
No control.
By lunch, the entire class treated him like a walking mood ring.
Mina kept testing reactions.
“Deku! What do you think about Todoroki in glasses?”
Orange.
Todoroki blinked.
“Why orange?”
Izuku buried his face into the table.
“Because I got surprised!”
Kaminari grinned.
“Sure.”
A few seats away, Jiro watched him carefully.
Unlike the others, she looked concerned.
She sat beside him once the room quieted.
“You okay?”
Green.
Then blue.
Jiro frowned.
“So no.”
Izuku stared at his tray.
“I hate this.”
Blue deepened.
“Everybody knows what I feel now.”
“People already knew some stuff.”
“Not like this.”
He clenched his fists.
“I spent years trying not to show weakness.”
Red.
“Now everybody stares every second.”
Jiro leaned back.
“Then stop hiding.”
“Easy for you to say.”
Blue.
“You aren’t the one changing colors every five seconds.”
Jiro stayed quiet.
The cafeteria noise faded into the background.
Then she spoke again.
“You look exhausted.”
Blue.
Izuku laughed once.
“Yeah.”
That night he locked himself inside his dorm room.
Rain hit the windows again.
He sat on the floor with old notebooks spread around him.
Hero analysis.
Battle plans.
Strength estimates.
All Might sketches.
He stared at a page from middle school.
Kacchan’s explosions filled the paper.
Notes covered every inch.
Fast activation.
Strong mobility.
Aggressive habits.
Poor teamwork.
Potential weak point during extended combat.
Izuku closed the notebook.
Blue.
A knock hit the door.
“Midoriya?”
All Might.
Izuku scrambled upright.
“Coming!”
He opened the door.
All Might stood there in loose sweatpants and a hoodie. Thin form tonight.
“Young Midoriya. Mind if I enter?”
“Of course!”
Orange.
Then blue again.
All Might noticed immediately.
“This quirk troubles you more than you admit.”
Izuku looked away.
“Everybody keeps staring.”
“You spent years hiding your thoughts,” All Might said.
Izuku froze.
Blue.
All Might sat beside him.
“You smiled through pain often.”
Blue deepened.
“You smiled after injuries. After insults. After fear.” He looked toward the notebooks. “Now your body refuses silence.”
Izuku’s throat tightened.
“I don’t want pity.”
Red.
“Nobody said pity.”
“People treat me different already.”
Blue.
All Might folded his hands.
“Then use this period wisely.”
Izuku blinked.
“How?”
“You study heroes. Study yourself too.”
Green flickered weakly.
All Might smiled.
“Rest tonight.”
The next week turned worse before improvement arrived.
Classmates noticed patterns.
Ochaco made his hair pink often.
Bakugo made his hair red every day.
Tests made his hair black.
Praise from teachers turned his hair yellow.
Nobody missed anything.
During combat practice, Aizawa paired Izuku with Bakugo.
The entire class reacted at once.
“Oh no,” Kaminari whispered.
Bakugo cracked his knuckles.
“Keep up, nerd.”
Red flashed across Izuku’s head.
“I will.”
They entered the training zone.
Mock villains waited near a collapsed bridge.
Aizawa spoke through the speakers.
“Objective involves civilian rescue under hostile conditions. Begin.”
Bakugo launched forward instantly.
Explosions shook the air.
Izuku chased after him.
“Kacchan! We need a plan first!”
“Move faster!”
A fake villain charged toward Bakugo with steel arms.
Bakugo blasted him through a wall.
Another attacked from behind.
Izuku kicked the second villain aside.
“Left flank!”
Bakugo clicked his tongue.
“I saw him.”
Red.
They reached the bridge.
Three civilian dummies hung over the edge.
A timer blinked beside them.
Twenty seconds.
Izuku analyzed the structure.
“The support beam broke on the east side. If we stabilize weight distribution then rescue order matters less.”
Bakugo stared.
“English.”
“Blast the support under the bridge. Small explosion. I’ll handle the civilians.”
Bakugo looked annoyed.
Then his eyes narrowed.
“Fine.”
He launched downward.
Controlled blasts shook the bridge into place.
Izuku leapt across the railing and grabbed the first dummy.
Ten seconds.
He threw one upward.
Bakugo caught it.
Seven seconds.
Izuku grabbed the second.
A steel beam snapped overhead.
Black.
Bakugo noticed.
“MOVE!”
An explosion destroyed the falling beam before impact.
Izuku stared.
Yellow flickered.
Bakugo froze for half a second.
Izuku rescued the final dummy.
Timer hit zero.
Aizawa’s voice echoed overhead.
“Exercise complete. Highest score today.”
The class waited outside once the pair returned.
Kirishima grinned.
“You guys worked together?”
Bakugo scoffed.
“Barely.”
Izuku smiled.
Yellow.
Bakugo noticed again.
His expression tightened.
Then he walked away.
That night, Izuku found Bakugo sitting alone outside the dorm building.
The sky stayed dark and cloudy.
Izuku hesitated.
Green.
Then nervous black.
Bakugo looked over.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing.”
“Then leave.”
Red flashed across Izuku’s curls.
Bakugo smirked.
“Still angry, huh?”
“You spent years bullying me.”
Silence.
Red deepened.
Bakugo’s smirk faded.
“Yeah.”
Izuku looked stunned.
Bakugo rarely admitted fault.
“I know,” Bakugo muttered. “You don’t need rainbow hair for me to know.”
Izuku stared at the ground.
Blue mixed into the red.
“I wanted your approval for years.”
Bakugo looked away.
“Dumb goal.”
“I know.”
Blue.
Wind rustled through the trees.
Bakugo finally spoke again.
“You kept following me anyway.”
“Because you were amazing.”
Yellow flickered despite the sadness.
Bakugo looked uncomfortable.
“Quit saying weird stuff.”
Izuku laughed softly.
Green.
For the first time in years, silence between them felt calm.
Midterm exams arrived three days later.
Stress consumed the dorm.
Momo studied nonstop.
Iida organized schedules.
Kaminari panicked over math.
Izuku’s hair stayed black almost the entire week.
Jiro found him asleep at the library table one evening.
Books covered every inch around him.
She nudged his shoulder.
“Midoriya.”
He jolted awake.
Black.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to sleep!”
“You look awful.”
Blue slipped through the black.
Jiro sat across from him.
“You push yourself too hard.”
“Everybody else works hard too.”
“Not like you.”
He rubbed his eyes.
“I need better control over One For All. Faster reaction timing too. My percentage output still damages my arms under pressure situations and I waste movement during airborne attacks.”
Jiro listened quietly.
“When do you rest?”
Izuku opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
Blue.
Jiro sighed.
“Exactly.”
She slid a canned coffee across the table.
“Drink.”
Yellow flickered.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
She studied his changing hair for a moment.
“You know something weird?”
“What?”
“You look easier to understand now.”
Izuku frowned.
“Because my secrets vanished.”
“Because you stopped pretending all the time.”
Green spread slowly through his curls.
The exams passed.
The hair remained.
Recovery Girl had expected a few days.
Two weeks arrived instead.
The class adjusted.
People stopped staring every second.
Some habits stayed.
Mina still teased him.
Kaminari still guessed colors before reactions.
Ochaco still turned him pink without trying.
Then came the internship attack.
Villains struck downtown during a rescue operation.
Smoke filled the streets.
Sirens screamed through the city.
Izuku sprinted beside Todoroki and Iida through broken pavement.
Civilians crowded near collapsed buildings.
A giant villain rampaged across the avenue.
“Support teams arrive in four minutes,” Iida shouted.
“Too long,” Todoroki said.
Izuku looked toward trapped civilians beneath falling debris.
Black.
Fear slammed through him.
Not fear for himself.
Fear of failure.
A child cried beneath concrete.
Izuku moved instantly.
“Iida! Evacuation route north! Todoroki, freeze the west side building before collapse!”
“Got it!”
One For All surged through Izuku’s body.
He smashed debris aside and pulled civilians free one after another.
Dust covered his face.
Sweat soaked his costume.
The villain roared nearby.
A massive arm swung toward the crowd.
Izuku saw the impact path.
Too many people.
Too close.
Black consumed his curls.
Then red.
Then bright white.
Energy exploded from his body.
He launched forward with a scream.
Detroit Smash shattered the villain’s arm before impact.
Shockwaves cracked windows across the street.
Civilians stared.
Heroes arrived moments later.
The fight ended fast after reinforcement teams joined.
Night settled over the city.
Paramedics moved between ambulances.
Izuku sat on the curb while medics wrapped his arm.
Ochaco rushed toward him.
“Deku!”
Pink exploded through his curls.
Then black.
“Are you hurt?”
“Only my arm.”
Ochaco crouched beside him.
“You scared me.”
Blue slipped into her voice.
Izuku looked at her carefully.
His own hair turned blue too.
“Sorry.”
She shook her head.
“You always do this.”
“Do what?”
“Throw yourself into danger first.”
Blue deepened.
“You act like your life matters less.”
Silence hit him hard.
His hair stayed blue.
Ochaco looked shocked.
“Deku?”
He looked away.
Blue darkened further.
“Sometimes I think people need saving more than I need protecting.”
Ochaco stared.
“That’s awful.”
“I know.”
Blue.
She grabbed his sleeve.
“You matter too.”
Pink mixed with blue.
Izuku’s chest tightened.
He wanted to argue.
The hair betrayed him first.
Yellow flickered weakly.
Ochaco smiled softly.
“Good.”
Word about the emotional quirk spread beyond Class 1 A after the attack.
Students from other classes stared.
Support course students asked questions.
Mei Hatsume begged for color tracking equipment.
Izuku hid inside the library more often.
One afternoon, Shinso found him there.
“Still avoiding crowds?”
Izuku sighed.
“Trying.”
Green.
Shinso sat nearby.
“Your hair says otherwise.”
Izuku groaned.
“I hate you people.”
Red.
Shinso smirked.
“No you don’t.”
Green returned.
“Yeah.”
Shinso studied him quietly.
“Your class likes you more than you think.”
Blue flickered.
“You don’t believe that.”
“I didn’t say everybody understands you.” Shinso leaned back. “Big difference.”
Izuku thought about those words long after Shinso left.
The sports festival training arrived soon after.
Pressure rose again.
Television crews filled the campus.
Hero agencies watched every move.
Izuku’s hair shifted nonstop through every practice session.
Aizawa stopped him after class one evening.
“Midoriya. Walk with me.”
Izuku followed him across empty hallways.
“You improved since the quirk incident,” Aizawa said.
Green.
“Thank you.”
“Your combat improved because you react honestly now.”
Izuku blinked.
“Honestly?”
“You spent too much time thinking about how heroes should behave.” Aizawa shoved his hands into his pockets. “Now your emotions hit the surface first. Your instincts follow faster.”
Izuku thought about the downtown attack.
The speed.
The decisions.
The fear.
“I still hate the hair,” he admitted.
Green shifted toward blue.
Aizawa glanced sideways.
“You hate exposure.”
Silence.
Blue.
Aizawa stopped near the dorm entrance.
“Heroes work under public eyes every day. People see weakness eventually.” He looked tired as usual. “Your classmates saw yours early. Nobody left.”
Green slowly spread through Izuku’s curls.
The sports festival arrived under bright sunlight.
Crowds packed the stadium.
Cheers shook the air.
Present Mic screamed introductions loud enough to crack concrete.
Class 1 A waited beneath the arena tunnel.
Izuku’s stomach twisted.
Black.
Kirishima slapped his back.
“Relax, Midoriya!”
“Easy for you to say!”
Orange laughter spread through the group.
Then Ochaco stepped beside him.
“You’ll do great.”
Pink.
Mina screamed again.
“HE DID THE THING!”
Izuku covered his face.
“Please stop announcing my feelings to the universe.”
Even Todoroki looked amused.
The festival events blurred together.
Obstacle race.
Cavalry battle.
Combat rounds.
Every victory shifted his hair.
Yellow after success.
Black before matches.
Red during battle.
Blue after injuries.
The audience loved it.
Commentators turned his emotions into predictions.
“Midoriya enters the arena with black hair! High stress levels before this match!”
Izuku wanted to disappear.
Still, he fought harder than ever.
During his match against Todoroki, the stadium fell silent halfway through.
Ice covered half the arena.
Todoroki stood frozen in place.
Conflict filled his eyes.
Izuku looked at him.
Blue spread through his curls.
Todoroki noticed.
“Why sad?”
“Because you look miserable.”
Silence.
The crowd quieted.
Izuku clenched his fists.
“Your power belongs to you. Not your father.”
Green mixed into the blue.
“You get to choose who you become.”
Todoroki stared at him.
Fire burst across the arena.
The crowd exploded into cheers.
After the match ended, Recovery Girl treated Izuku again.
“You destroy your body too often,” she snapped.
“Sorry.”
Blue.
Recovery Girl sighed.
“Stop apologizing every three seconds.”
Later that night, Class 1 A gathered in the dorm common room.
Food covered the tables.
Kaminari replayed sports festival clips on television.
“LOOK! Midoriya turned six colors in thirty seconds!”
“Please erase the footage.”
Red.
Laughter filled the room.
Izuku watched quietly from the couch.
Green.
Peaceful.
Simple.
Bakugo dropped onto the seat across from him.
“You fought well today.”
Izuku blinked.
Yellow flashed.
Bakugo rolled his eyes.
“Damn hair.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t get cocky.”
Red.
Bakugo smirked.
“There he is.”
Hours later, after the others went upstairs, Ochaco stayed behind.
She sat beside Izuku near the quiet television.
“Your hair stayed green most of tonight,” she said.
Izuku looked around the empty room.
“I guess I felt calm.”
Green deepened.
Ochaco smiled.
“Good.”
Silence settled between them.
Comfortable silence.
Then she spoke again.
“You know something?”
“What?”
“The colors helped us too.”
Izuku frowned.
“How?”
“Before this happened, you hid pain all the time.” Her voice softened. “You smiled even while hurting.”
Blue flickered through his curls.
“Now we know when you need help.”
He stared at the floor.
Blue remained.
“I didn’t want people worrying.”
“Too bad.” Ochaco nudged his shoulder. “Friends worry.”
Pink spread slowly through his hair.
Ochaco laughed quietly.
“You still do that every time.”
Izuku covered his face.
“I know.”
Pink stayed.
Weeks passed.
The quirk effect weakened slowly.
Colors shifted less often.
Long stretches of green returned.
One evening, Recovery Girl checked him again.
“Looks stable now,” she said. “Another few days and your natural color should return for good.”
Izuku touched his curls.
Green.
“Finally.”
Yet the relief felt smaller than expected.
On the walk back toward the dorms, he thought about the past month.
The embarrassment.
The fear.
The honesty.
People learned things he never planned to share.
His anger toward Bakugo.
His feelings for Ochaco.
His fear of failure.
His low sense of self worth.
Still, nobody abandoned him.
Nobody mocked his pain once they understood the depth.
Even Bakugo changed.
Slowly.
Roughly.
Still changed.
Izuku entered the dorm common room.
Class 1 A looked up from homework and television.
Mina gasped dramatically.
“Midoriya! Your hair!”
He froze.
Green faded.
His natural dark green curls returned fully.
Silence spread.
Kaminari leaned forward.
“Whoa.”
Ochaco smiled softly.
“Guess the quirk wore off.”
Izuku touched his hair.
No colors.
No glow.
Normal again.
He expected relief.
Instead, sadness hit first.
Blue did not appear.
Nobody saw the feeling.
Then Jiro spoke.
“You okay?”
Izuku blinked.
“Huh?”
“You looked sad for a second.”
Others nodded.
Mina tilted her head.
“Yeah.”
Bakugo crossed his arms.
“Your face still gives stuff away, idiot.”
Laughter spread through the room.
Warm.
Easy.
Izuku stared at them.
Then smiled.
A real smile.
No forced grin.
No hidden fear.
Ochaco noticed first.
“There.”
“What?”
“You look lighter now.”
Green no longer covered his hair.
Still, peace settled inside his chest.
The next morning brought clear skies over U.A.
Izuku walked toward class beside Iida and Ochaco.
Students crowded the halls.
Normal noise returned.
Iida talked about schedules.
Ochaco laughed beside him.
Izuku listened quietly.
Then Bakugo shouted from down the hallway.
“MOVE, EXTRA!”
Izuku laughed.
Simple.
Natural.
No glowing colors needed anymore.
Class 1 A entered the room together.
Aizawa lay inside his sleeping bag near the desk.
“Sit down,” he muttered. “Pop quiz today.”
Groans filled the room.
Izuku smiled wider.
Life moved forward.
Messy.
Loud.
Honest.
He liked honesty more now.
Not every feeling needed hiding.
Not every weakness ruined a person.
Heroes carried fear too.
Heroes carried sadness.
Heroes needed people.
He finally understood those facts.
Aizawa glanced toward him once class settled.
“Midoriya.”
“Yes?”
“Your hair stayed normal all morning.”
The class laughed.
Izuku groaned.
“Please stop bringing that up.”
Bakugo smirked.
“Nah.”
Ochaco laughed beside him.
Warmth filled the room.
The colors vanished.
The feelings stayed.
This time, Izuku stopped hiding them.