Authors note:
Speaking: "…"
Thinking: '…'
___________
The following evening
„What the hell are you doing over there?" Katsuki asked from the direction of the kitchen, looking perplexed at the stunt Izuku was trying out in front of him. It looked like he was swinging some thin threads around the room.
"Practicing fighting with steel threads. They're pretty good at restraining, and in combination with my awakening, I can move them even more freely," the green-haired teen explained while impressively swinging them around, capturing various pieces of furniture and slicing some stone from his inventory into small bits.
"Shouldn't you be in my part of the apartment working on recreating the nanotech we stole from birdbrain? We still haven't finished it, ya know. And what the hell would you even need that skill for?" the red-eyed teen complained, crushing an empty can of Coke in his hand.
"You remember the vision I had yesterday, and the stuff about All Might I told you about? Well, it's time to get started on Project 'Eight Rings'. You should also start working on your combat in panther form with your claws," Izuku continued, still not breaking his focus on the threads.
"You actually wanna go through with it, huh? Well, I can't say I'm against the idea of actually killing dangerous criminals instead of locking them up in some prison they might escape from. But we don't even know half the team, and in case you forgot, your little girlfriend still has no idea about any of this!" Katsuki countered. Sensing someone approaching the front door, he moved near Izuku, touching his shoulder, and quickly told him, "Don't screw this up, idiot. Link start." He then disappeared to Aincrad.
"Speak of the devil," the green swordsman commented, putting the threads away with a light chuckle. Walking to the door, he opened it to find Luna standing there with a small white plastic bag in her hands. She was still wearing sunglasses, but this time, she had on a nice sweatshirt and shorts instead of a hoodie.
"Hoshino, I didn't expect to see you today. Do you need something?" Izuku asked respectfully, using her last name, though he desperately wanted to use her first.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something? If you don't have time right now, it's okay, I can just leave this here," she said, pointing to the bag she carried.
"Oh, what's that?" the green-eyed teen asked, intrigued as he caught a pleasant smell coming from inside the bag.
"It's two portions of Katsudon. I thought yesterday wasn't the best first impression, so I figured we could eat something together and talk a bit?" the white-haired girl explained, looking a little unsure.
"I see. Well, I think I'll take you up on that offer. Katsudon is actually my favorite. Come in, my roommate just left a few minutes ago, so you're right on time," he said, fully opening the door to let her in. She took off her shoes and walked inside after thanking him.
Looking around the room, she found the dining table and placed the food on it. Izuku went to grab some simple tableware, setting it up for both of them. As they sat at the table and began eating, he started a conversation.
"You said you're a student at Tokyo University for Quirk Science, right, Hoshino? What field are you studying in?" he asked before taking a bite of his food.
"Please, call me Luna. I know it's customary to use last names in Japan, but I grew up in America, so I'm fine with you using my first name," she clarified.
"Alright, then. Feel free to use my first name as well. Though, I have to say, your Japanese is really good for someone who grew up in America," the green-haired teen remarked.
"Yeah, my mom is Japanese, so I basically grew up with it. It's been really handy to have because now I can go to one of the best schools for Quirk research in the world. I even had Principal Daigo in one of my lessons. It was amazing, he was so good at explaining everything. It's a shame he has so much work outside the school and can't come in very often," she talked enthusiastically, the star in her left eye twinkling brightly. She didn't notice the glass of water she was knocking over with her elbow.
When the glass fell, Izuku twitched his fingers slightly, using his aura to move the threads, catching it midair without spilling a drop.
"Whoa, was that your quirk? Is it like a telekinesis ability?" she asked, crouching down to pick it up.
"Not quite. My quirk is a little more complex. Look closer," he instructed her. As she got closer and went to touch the glass, she noticed the tiny, almost invisible threads leading to his fingers.
"So, it's a thread manipulation quirk like Best Jeanist's, right, Izuku?" she analyzed after examining everything.
"The threads aren't actually part of my quirk. It's just something I use. I don't think you'd ever guess my quirk," the green-haired teen said smugly, finishing his food. He didn't expect the sudden barrage of her face right in front of his.
"I want to know everything!" she demanded, not leaving much room for negotiation.
"Alright, alright, I'll talk. Since we're done eating, let's go sit on the couch. It's more comfortable there," Izuku offered, walking toward the couch with Luna right behind him.
"Okay, now spill!" the white-haired student demanded again. In response, Izuku held up his right hand and waved downward, opening his inventory.
"My quirk is called Sword Art Online, and in simple terms, it's a real-life gaming interface. But that doesn't really satisfy your curiosity, does it?" he knowingly asked.
"You're damn right it doesn't! Now tell me, come on!" Luna exclaimed, shaking Izuku's shoulders back and forth. Giving in, he started the long explanation of his power.
____________________
1 Hour later
Wow, your quirk is so versatile! There's so much you can do with it, and you're so good at explaining it. Better than my professor, at least. I wish you'd be the one to teach my class. The old woman teaching us now is way past her working days. I don't know why she hasn't retired yet," Luna complained to Izuku, the star and moon in her eyes briefly turning black.
"Well, that might not be as far-fetched as you think," he clarified.
"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head slightly to the right.
"Here, I'll show you," he said, taking out his phone and selecting Asahi's contact before calling him.
"Hey, son, what's the matter?" the voice on the other end asked.
"Hey, Asahi, I was wondering if it would be possible for me to start working as a full-time professor for a class?" the green-haired teen asked.
"Oh? And what brought on that revelation? I thought you wanted more free time to work on the nanotechnology," Asahi questioned.
"Remember when I substituted for Mrs. Chen three weeks ago? Well, a student from that class told me how much better my teaching was, and they'd really like me to be the professor," Izuku explained.
"I told you, didn't I? You're really good at this stuff. Glad you finally realized it. Looking at the results from the class you taught, more than 80% of the students expressed a very positive feeling about you. Plus, I've been searching for a replacement for Mrs. Chen for quite a while now, she should be in retirement already. So, sure, her class is all yours. You can start in two days," the phoenix man declared, relieved to finally be able to send his employee to retirement comfortably.
"Wow, really? That fast? I didn't think you'd be able to do it on such short notice," Izuku responded, quite shocked by the news.
"Well, your mother is quite good at this kind of thing, so it's no big deal. Just make sure to read the curriculum beforehand, okay? Good night, son," Asahi clarified before hanging up.
"Well, there you have it. I'll be your new professor starting in two days," the green swordsman stated proudly.
"No way! How can you speak so casually to Principal Daigo? And he even granted your request this fast! Who the heck are you?" she asked, jokingly.
"His favorite student," Izuku replied smugly.
"No way! Do you know how difficult it is to get into his lectures?"
"Well, I can't say I've had that problem. My roommate and I were actually homeschooled privately by him from age seven to thirteen when we both finished our doctorates."
Looking at her face, he realized how hard that would be to believe.
"You think I'd buy that? You're lying."
Taking out his phone again, he scrolled through his photos and stopped at a picture of him and Kacchan holding their doctorate certificates, with Asahi standing behind them, his hands resting on their shoulders. Showing it to her, he said, "If you don't believe me, here's our graduation picture with him back at my mom's place."
Taking the phone and looking at the picture, she nearly fainted in disbelief. "Holy shit, you really weren't lying. He's..." she began but suddenly stopped, touching her face after seeing her reflection in the phone.
"W-where are my sunglasses?" she asked frantically, the constellations in her eyes turning from bright yellow to black.
"Oh, you took them off about half an hour ago. They're over there," Izuku stated nonchalantly, pointing at the couch table where they rested.
"Fuck, this is bad. Why didn't you tell me when I did? Now you can't unsee them!" she muttered, hiding her eyes behind her hands.
"If you're worried I don't like heteromorphs, don't be. I think your eyes are—"
"Beautiful, yeah, I know. Everyone who's ever seen them says the same. My eyes change color depending on my mood, and I have a little healing factor. After people see them, they treat me differently. They look at me like I'm some sort of doll. Gah, why am I even telling you this? It's not like you understand. I'm sorry, I need to leave," she quickly said, grabbing her sunglasses and heading toward the door, tears forming in her eyes.
"Luna, wait," she heard from behind her. Something was off about the way he said it. Turning around, she froze. Gone were the warm green eyes and the gentle smile. Instead, he stood there with no expression, his eyes changed to a familiar black and white.
"W-what's going on?" the white-haired girl asked, a bit frightened.
"You're right, I don't know what it's like to be treated differently because of my appearance. But I know this: when my mom saw these eyes, she freaked out, asking if I'd just changed them or if she was hallucinating. She saw them on my father before he died, and to her, they mean something bad. So I told her she was imagining it. These eyes you see are my second quirk, the Void Veil. Besides my roommate, no one knows I have them," Izuku explained, still void of emotion or expression.
"Whenever they're out, I become incapable of feeling emotions. I get hyper-focused on whatever I need to do, and I see something I call void energy. It tells me where another person's quirk can be released, and the more I see it, the better I can predict how the person will use their quirk next. On heteromorphs, it usually doesn't show much since their abilities can't be turned on and off. But on you, it's clearly telling me you have an emitter ability in your eyes. I can be indifferent about your appearance all I want, but I'm truly more interested in what you're hiding about your quirk," Izuku stated, still emotionless as he looked at her.
Taking a step back in surprise holding a hand towards her chest she thought. ‚ what's this feeling in my chest, and why is so familiar and comforting. His eyes are creepy but they somehow feel warm and reassuring. What's going on'. After that the shock and fear were replaced by a light smile and a couple tears still in her eyes.
" You know, nobody ever asked if there was more to my power than just my eyes changing color and healing me a bit. Not even my doctor when I was first diagnosed cared to look deeper into it. They all just think that's all there is to me, a pretty face. Fine, I'll stay, but please put those eyes away. They're scary," Luna accepted, sitting down on the sofa, watching the gentle smile return to his face. He sat beside her, listening.
"My quirk is called Stellar Eyes. Each eye has two different abilities depending on my mood. My left eye can create a purplish-black flame, wherever I'm looking, that only stops burning when I tell it to. I can use it when the star is black. When it's yellow, it does the same but with a pinkish flame that can heal injuries. When the moon in my right eye is black, I can increase the gravity on whatever I'm looking at, and I can decrease it when it's yellow. I don't know where the healing factor comes in, but I assume it has something to do with my left eye's ability to heal."